3 Cheers for the Teacher!

Hi, everyone.

I have some great news that I'd like to share.  Drumroll, please....

Tomorrow afternoon I will be conducting a product demo at Michael's and will soon be teaching scrapbooking classes there.  Yippee!

I'm all excited and nervous at the same time.

So if you're in the neighborhood of the Rego Park Michael's on Metropolitan Avenue, come on down.  I'll be there at noon!

Wish me luck!!!!!!!

Comic Con 2012 - Picture Heavy Post

Jim, Logan, Eddie, Raja and Caterina went to this year's Comic Con at the Javits Center last Saturday.  It was a much anticipated event for them, especially Jim. 

Here is a picture showing just some of the people that were there.  The picture below shows just the entrance corridor. Talk about a sea of people.  No wonder it took them 2 hours to find each other once they got separated.  Caterina who writes for the school newspaper spent most of the day downstairs on the lower level interviewing stars from TV shows like Haven and other celebrities.

Next we have some "good" characters.

 Green Arrow

 Ironman and Hulk.  Yes, there is a body in that green costume!!!

 Captain America.  (I'm not sure who the black and yellow girl is.)

 Aquaman.  He's looking mighty regal isn't he? 

Then we have the villians.

Catwoman and Bain

 Harley Quinn

 Poison Ivy posing with Batman and Robin

 Venom.  Spidey was there too somewhere.  In fact, a friend of mine saw him on the subway train that day. 

 Darth Maul

 I have no clue who these two are but with horns like that, he can't be a good guy.  LOL

Then, of course, there were the zombies.  I heard there was a "Walking Dead" parade in the afternoon.

Next up...I don't know who they are supposed to be but they obviously spent time on their costumes.

Naturally, there just had to be Playboy Playmates there.

Not sure why her face is covered but those contact lenses are cool!

Take a guess who this guy is.  Betcha won't get it!  Well, maybe the "golden ticket" will give it away.  That's Peter Ostrum from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. 

Let's not forget the pro wrestlers.

And in all this, my husband was to be found grinning from ear to ear with some Storm Troopers.

They all had a great time and are already looking forward to next years' convention. 

Sleeping Beauties

I caught this picture very early on Saturday morning.  While this is not the most flattering picture of my son with his bedhead, it is a great picture and I just love it.  As you can see, there is a little while paw sticking out from under the blanket touching his face.  That's Gizmo sleeping next to Logan under the blanket.  Gizzy often sleeps with Logan and always needs to have a paw touching Logan's face or chin.  I peeked under the blanket after taking this picture and Gizzy was all nestled into Logan's chest.  It was so cute to see them cuddled together like that.

Here's a small example of feline agility.  Giz can often be found in the craziest of sleeping positions. 

What can I say?  Gizmo is just that kind of cat.  Gotta love him! 

Really Cool RAK/Birthday Present

So last Sunday night, I came home from a work dinner to find Logan freaking out with joy. I'm telling you, the kid was over the moon jumping up and down and grinning like a fool from ear to ear.  I, of course, was surprised and more than curious what could have elicited such an overwhelming display of emotion from my normally unimpressible, whatevah kind of attitudy teenager.  

Logan managed to contain himself long enough to show me what all the commotion was about.  He brought out the 8 foot reason for his elation.  Yes, indeedy.  He was the proud owner of a surfboard.  The very thing he's been asking for since early summer when our neighbor, Dave, taught him how to surf. 

I looked at Jim with wide, questioning eyes like, did you really buy him a surfboard?!?!  Jim, reading my eyes, put his hands up while shaking his head back and forth and said, "not me".  Then Logan told me it was Dave who'd bought him the surfboard.  I stood there a moment while I tried to understand that our neighbor, not a family member, not a really close family friend, but a neighbor bought my son an expensive gift like that. 

Logan explained that Dave had just brought it over and given it to him as a belated birthday gift.  Logan's birthday was earlier this month but this is a huge gift.  I couldn't believe it but there he stood in front of me with all 8 feet of proof. 

I took a walk across the street and knocked on Dave's door to profusely thank him.  But how little the words thank you seem in the face of such a hugely generous gesture.  I came back home to find Logan lying on his surfboard which he'd laid on our king size bed.  Later on I think I caught him hugging it!

Today, the boys went to the beach so Logan could try out his cool board.  The waves were a bit much but that didn't stop him.

 Here's Dave and his board.

 Here's Logan getting up on his board.

Jim rented the wetsuit for Logan today but I think we'll have to invest in one for next season and then he'll be all set for a summer of surfing. 

I sometimes take a double look at that white surfboard, at first because I'm not used to seeing such a big thing in my house, then because I can't believe Dave actually bought that for my child.

I am really, truly blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

Project Life Products

 

Just a heads up for those of you doing Project Life.  I took a peek at Becky's site and she's got some core kits in stock, i.e., the Clementine and Turquoise core kits. The Cherry Edition is also still available. 

She also has journaling grid cards, blank white cards as well as coordinating cardstock cards in both sizes 3 x 4 and 4 x 6. 

I'm off to order me some.  Yay! 

Happy Shopping!!!

Michael's Rewards

Hi, everyone.

Remember how I said I was going to return the Clover mini iron the next day after I initially bought it?  Well, stuff happened and I didn't get around to returning it the next day.

In preparation for it's trip back to Michael's, I had placed the mini iron back into the white Michael's shopping bag with the receipt and left it near my door so I would remember to take it with me.  That didn't work as I forgot to take it when I left the house in the morning. 

So fast forward a few days.  Someone in my house in an effort to try to straighten up, removed the mini iron from the bag, placed it on my scrap table and tossed the receipt and bag into the trash.  Uh oh!  Without a receipt how was I going to get my nearly $20 back. 

Remembering I used my Michael's Rewards card when I bought the iron, I called the customer service number on the back of my card to try to get a duplicate receipt.  I wasn't sure they even offered that service but I thought it was worth a call to try to retrieve my $20.  Surprisingly, my call to customer service was immediately connected to a person, no automated system or even hold time.  Whoo hoo!  When is the last time that happened, huh?

I spoke to a very nice woman named Jessica who told me I didn't need the receipt, so long as I'd used my Rewards card at the time of purchase.  All I had to do was make a visit to the store, (no problem there.  I love having an excuse to visit Michael's), let them scan my card and they could make the return right at the register without a receipt.  Cool, right???

I also learned from Jessica that my status had been upgraded to Gold and she was sending me a new gold card instead of the red rewards card I was using. 

I'll admit I was skeptical thinking it couldn't be that easy but the next day (I did remember to take the iron with me that day as I left the house), I went to Mike's at lunch time as it's not far from my office.  When I got to the register, I explained to the cashier I wanted to return the mini iron but I didn't have the receipt.  Before I could finish my sentence, she said no problem and took my Rewards card.  She proceeded to make the return and gave me back cash instead of putting it back on my debit card.  A few moments later I turned around and gave her right back the money and then some (along with 2 coupons) to pay for the 6 tombow glues I was buying. 

So, remember.  Always use your Michael's Rewards card when making purchases at Michael's.  Not only does it earn you more coupons and incentives from Michael's via email, but it also comes in handy should you lose a receipt and need to return something. 

Happy Shopping!!!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Today is my baby's 15th birthday.   Wow!  It's hard to believe he's not a baby anymore.

We had a relaxing day with absolutely lovely weather which was a nice change considering the severe storm we had yesterday that even brought a tornado with it.

For lunch today, at Logan's request, I made homemade meatballs and linguine.  That's not a regular kind of lunch around this house but it is his birthday and the birthday boy gets what he wants.  The good thing is I made plenty of meatballs while I was at it so I have dinner covered tomorrow night.  Yay!  I love when I get two meals out of one cooking session. 

Tonight, again at Logan's request, we went out for Chinese food.  The usual gang was with us Eddie, Caterina and Raja.  We had a very nice dinner and even brought home some doggie bags.

We didn't ask for this delicious dessert but our waiter brought it anyway. 

We sang Happy Birthday to him and then our waiter put his phone on speaker and played the Chinese Happy Birthday song for Logan.  By the way, it's a very pleasant tune and we were all swaying to it while we listened.  It was nearly 9 pm when I took the below picture and that's why the restaurant looks empty.  It was quite busy when we arrived.   

Logan had a happy day which is what we wanted for him.  He also got some nice presents from us and from his friends, too.

Happy Birthday to the love of my life!