Gather Round, Young Uns

Grammy has a story about the olden days. And by Grammy, I mean me - a person born before MTV was.

Grammy grew up in a time where phones had DIALS. For those of you reading this on your Iphone, this is what I'm talking about. This is the origin of the mysterious phrase "Dial the phone." (oooh, ahhh - I see the faces lighting up at this revelation. You're welcome.)

This is a picture of the phone Grammy grew up with. She had to put her little fingers in those holes, and spin the dial, like on Wheel of Fortune, then wait, while the little ball bearing laden thingy slowly spun the dial back to the starting position so that you could dial the next number. YES I AM SERIOUS. This is where the phrase "speed dial" comes from. Anything under 45 seconds per number (God help you people with zeros in your number - you probably lost a lot of friends) would have been considered LIGHTNING SPEED.

Now there was one feature of these phones that Grammy would like to call to your attention.

THEY #)($*^)#*&^(ING WORKED!!!

When you did finish dialing the number, and you heard that purring sound that ringing used to make and your buddy answered, YOU COULD HEAR WHAT THEY WERE SAYING! It wasn't like the Aaron Neville style experience we have now, where maybe you get every third syllable, but because of the stupid satellite delay, by the time you HEAR Aaron Neville, you're already talking at the same time. Then you both say "What?" in sync four times, and then "No, you go ahead" in sync 4 times, at which point you would rather be in front of the person just so that you would have something to punch.

My dad is right - phone service is deteriorating at exactly the same rate that phone technology is proliferating. Exponentiallly.

Now - here's the kicker. You know that Grammy has a hate hate relationship with the faceless phone monopoly, right? Well do you want to know what they did? In Grammy's day, that gorgeous black hunk of ball bearing laced wires that was heavy enough to kill a feral hog with that was plugged into our wall in our house BELONGED TO THE FACELESS MONOPOLY.

That's right. All equipment belonged to "the company." And when "the company" split up, on a tearful day many decades ago, "the men" came to our homes and they took those hog killers.

That's right. I am not making this up. They took our phones. That's when all this started. I'm pretty sure that's what Don McLean wrote American Pie about. The day the music died was the day they took our phones.

And if I had had the foresight to know I would never ever have anything that good again. I would have hidden that thing with all the passion and resourcefulness of Winston and Julia in 1984, believe me. My mom would have been screaming - "RUN, CHILD, RUN - DON'T STOP - WE'LL FIND YOU - JUST DON'T LOSE THE PHONE." I would have eaten tree bark for months. If only I'd known.

I don't think I'm alone in pining for those days of crystal clear sound, heavy handsets, black ball bearing-y goodness. Why do I think that?

Look closely little ones.That's no Iphone, ladies. That is a REAL PHONE. It's in the stamp set Classy & Fabulous. From the new catalog.

And I'd let you see the rest of the card, except - it's for my club. Have you joined? You can do so in my sidebar. But back to the subject at hand.

This is a signal. We are lighting the torches. We are kicking it off. We are getting our PHONES back!!!

Viva La Revolucion!!!!


Have you signed up for the UBlue Cyber Club? Attended one of my Webinars?? Come on - get your geek on! :)

Want to see my other blog?

Blog Hoppers, Unite!!!!

Yeah baby - at the very moment I will be unveiling my Cyber Club projects to both my real club and my cyber club, I will also be participating in a Starving Artistamps Blog Hop!!!

This is my first hop as a real designer! YAY!!!!

This hop will begin at 11 AM Eastern Time tomorrow morning. Stop back by for my creations with the new releases, your chance to WIN the new releases, and all my sister designers' creation. You will NOT be disappointed, I promise!In the meantime, two things....

One, a sneak peek of the third project for the Cyber Club. MAN WAS THIS ONE FUN!!!!


Oh, I love the raspberry tart paper, and if you could only see what I did with it for Valentine's Day, you would probably kiss me!!

But you can only see it if you're in the club!! Click the link at the bottom of this post for info.

Now, IMPORTANT - I need to announce my superbowl winnerz!!!

You guys are HILARIOUS!!

First of all, the following are all true:

The cardinal looks PISSED. Amusing!!
The rule of three is ssooooo eternal!
Yes, primary colors was a big factor. Yours truly doesn't do anything without them!

So, because I am amused, amazed and in awe of the truth in all these, I picked the following winners:

Nikki
Kim Williams
Diane
Amy
Melody
Deb Neerman

Please email me your snail mails!!

And come back tomorrow for the COOLEST FREAKING STUFF!!!

Oh, and to answer an earlier question - absolutely, God willing, I will be at convention in August - I may try to plan a little UBlue dinner for my blog friends - anybody interested in hooking up in Salt Lake?

Have you signed up for the UBlue Cyber Club? Attended one of my Webinars?? Come on - get your geek on! :)

Want to see my other blog?

Superbowl Contest, Sneak Peek and Webinar Updates

Lots going on. I am procrastinating, so I thought I'd entertain you.

How would a crafter pick the winner of the Superbowl this year? Hmm... I've got theories. But instead of just telling you that theory - how about a contest?

Here's what we'll do. I want you to come up with a theory of how a crafter would pick the winner of the Superbowl based ONLY on these two logos. Get creative! Whoever makes me laugh the hardest or guesses MY pick for the winner based upon just the logos will win their choice of the memo pad holder, the silk pencil case or a paper sampler from Leadership! As a bonus, if you get my exact theory and not just the winner, you will win TWO of these items. Ooohh - aaaahhh. Deadline - Kickoff!! Leave your answer in a comment.

Okay, on to a sneak peek!

This is a tiny peek at what will be going on in my Cyber Club next weekend. Have you joined yet? You better!!! I will never reveal these projects on my blog, so this is your only chance!! I have opened additional clubs for February. You can read the details here, and see another sneak peek here.

Finally - I don't know why the organizers of the Superbowl do not check my webinar calendar, but obviously tomorrow was a poor choice!

If you want to join the Google Reader Webinar that will now be on Monday, February 2 at 8 PM CST, then see my sidebar to register! In this webinar you will learn to use Google Reader to organize all your fave blogs, get rid of all your email subscriptions and bookmarks and retrieve your favorite posts by keywords you choose - FOREVER. Nothing is stored on your hard drive so you will never lose your card ideas or have to keep them in a word document again.

If you want to attend my webinar on setting up your own blog - see my sidebar to register for that - there are several options. The first person who signs up gets to have me set up their blog for them as the example on the webinar!

I am playing with the Texturz plates today so I will post some of my experiments tomorrow.

Have you signed up for the UBlue Cyber Club? Attended one of my Webinars?? Come on - get your geek on! :)

Want to see my other blog?

Today, a Peek - tomorrow, CHA!!

Um - Coach. But on my BELOVED Southwest. (If you don't see an image in your reader - click over for a giggle!)

That's right - I head off to CHA tomorrow. I could not be more thrilled!!

I hope to bring you updates on the latest and greatest products the craft industry is putting on display - you know how I love the updates...

I've heard there might be a photography restriction, but I'll let you know when I get there. At worst, I will describe what is revealed! So be sure and visit me for the scoop.

Meanwhile, I've been hard at work with my new catalog goodies, and will have some posts over the next few days while I'm in California with what my take on them is. Do you know how hard it is not to post them all tonight?? HARD!!

Before I go on, please pray for my downline Micki, who is having her knee replaced next week! She is an amazing woman, with an energy level that I am very envious of - and I'm energetic!

First tonight, a peek at my UBlue Cyber Club. This is a tiny fraction of one project we'll be doing for the February Club. Have you signed up yet? Do so by clicking here! These projects will never appear on my blog, so the only way to get them is to join!

Next tonight, some rough drafts. My friend Claudia (wife of my trading guru, Frank, at work) had the coolest idea. She is having her first baby in March, and in a few weeks will be having a sort of reverse shower. She is inviting people who will be very important in the baby's life and will ask them to write a personal blessing for little Olivia, each of which will be framed and hung in the nursery. How cool is that? So she needs a little backdrop for these blessings and was nice enough to ask me to mock a few up. I made three styles, a vintage, an ultra clean and simple and a modern. They are 5x7 and have an open space for the blessing. The colors are chocolate chip and varieties of pink - Pirouette Pink and Regal Rose.Babies are so fun!

Speaking of, check out these two! I continue to be amazed that in 7 days, (actually 4, truth be told) these beasts are completely recovered from major surgery! Give me what they are having.

Sweet as ever, I'm pretty sure they are the coolest looking beasts on earth, my friends... What do you think?
Hope your Friday is fun!!

Have you signed up for the UBlue Cyber Club? Attended one of my Webinars?? Come on - get your geek on! :)

Want to see my other blog?

Inventory Blowout Sale and Answers to some ?s

Hi Ladies!!

Until January 18th, Stampin' Up! is having a giant inventory blowout sale! Check the items here for some unbelievable deals, then head to my SU site to place your order. Every person placing an inventory blowout order prior to the 18th, will go into a drawing for a gift certificate for $30!

Then stay tuned below for answers to your ?'s about the UBlue Cyber Club.

Click the flyer image to enlarge and see the prices.
Onto the club.

1) Yes - the $10 Just the Facts does include postage to mail the supplies like paper, ribbon, etc. to you - it's a flat $10. The PDF will come via email.

2) There will be 3-4 project each month - I do 3 if one is particularly involved.

:) Thanks ladies!!

Hoping to post a card before I leave for Leadership - well, because I like to procrastinate stuff like packing!

CU.

Have you signed up for the UBlue Cyber Club? Attended one of my Webinars?? Come on - get your geek on! :)

UBLUE Cyber Club Update

The January start for the UBlue Cyber Club is closed - there are spots left for a February Start - click below! :)You won't want to miss any of this fun. Have I mentioned I'm excited about Leadership? Just checking!!!




Have you signed up for the UBlue Cyber Club? Attended one of my Webinars?? Come on - get your geek on! :)

The UBlue Cyber Club and a WINNER!!! (or two...)

WOW - you guys are GOOD. Stay tuned for the answer to the blue vestments riddle, the winner, and why you are the best blog readers in the universe.

But first - an exciting announcement!!!

Many of you have asked me how to join my hostess club from distant lands, so in response, I have created the UBlue Cyber Club!

Here are the deets:

• Beginning in January, I will no longer post my hostess club projects on my website. This will make my hostesses even more special than they already are, and it's a way to reward them and say thanks for participating.
• Every participant of the club and virtual club will receive a PDF via email with color photos and detailed instructions for each project, as well as the cardstock and mailable accessories (brads, ribbon, etc.) needed to make the cards/gifts. Obviously, stamp sets, punches, etc. will not be included.
• Remote participants will have three options to participate:

1. Club Light - PDF + Instructions - $5 per PDF, no ongoing commitment, no strings, but no hostess benefits. Back issues available.
2. Just the Facts - PDF + instructions + supplies - $10 per club, no ongoing commitment, no strings, but no hostess benefits.
3. Lay it on Me - PDF, + instructions + supplies + hostess benefits - no fee, but a $25 minimum product order required monthly, prior to the start of club, with a commitment for 6 months.
4. I'm so Mysterious - PDF + instructions + supplies + a chance at mystery hostess - no fee, but anyone who places a $50 order will go into a drawing for one month's hostess bennies - no ongoing commitment.

To enroll in any of the three clubs - all you have to do is email me.

The January club is January 3rd, so any Lay it On Me people will need to lay it on me by January 2nd! I will be posting sneak peeks of the projects between now and then.

So email me - can't wait to get you in the CyberClub!

So now on to today's mystery.

Wow - you guys are good.

A little background. I was raised Lutheran, and am a closet Catholic. The only thing that prevents me from becoming a full fledged Catholic is the fact that they have abbreviated the Lord's Prayer, and so I embarass myself regularly at Catholic weddings, by bellowing out that last bit after everyone else has stopped talking. Shocking for all involved. :) Well, and maybe this....

Blue vestments are not only not allowed in the Roman Catholic Church, they are forbidden contraband!! There are numerous quite passionate essays on the subject all over the internet. The Catholic Church uses violet twice - at Lent and during Advent - one of only five accepted vestment colors. Lutherans typically use blue, the color of hope, at Advent and stick to violet at Lent. For Catholics, the color violet is the color of a bit of gloom and mortification, and the only break, as in the Lutheran church, is a bit of pink - for Lutherans, the Rose of Sharon color, during the darker violet seasons.

However, in the Russian Orthodox church tradition as well as some Catholic traditions in South America feasts of the Virgin, the fifth Friday of Lent and other celebrations call for both light and dark blue, and in some traditions, not Roman Catholic, Indigo is seen as a variation of violet and is acceptable during Advent or Lent.

So, as tricky as my question was, the answer is steeped in a Lutheran tradition, where Advent is marked by the color of hope. You guys outdid yourselves!!

Anyone who commented and sends me an address will receive something - because I am impressed!!

Finally, I simply give to you, in a gorgeous blue & yellow number, our Pope, and congratulate Snappy Stamper and Kathie T who tied for the first correct answer! And Kathie, since you are Catholic, if you haven't read Peggy Noonan's book John Paul the Great - you will LOVE it!
Have a great evening!