"Back Home Agaaaaaaaain, In Kan-sas Ciii-tyyyy"

Hi everyone. Boy, has it been a wild (and not always in a good way) last few weeks. I hope that you are all doing well. How's everyone been?

Life, as usual, has been insanely busy. My poor body has been trying (sometimes more successfully than others) to get sick in these last two weeks. I've had wonderful, feel-just-fine days, and other days where my sinuses and the general-overall-body-ache-that-comes-along-with-sinus-infections have just knocked me out of commission. I was TDY for a little while (that's governmental-speak for "out of town on business"), and returned home earlier today. I don't really believe in the work my colleagues and I were called away and quasi-forced to do, but the actual experience of doing it was good (does that make sense?) I learned a lot and it's good to be a contributor to a high-visibility, "hot" project. (I'm bucking for a big cash award, or, better yet, a geographically reassigned billet that allows me to telework here in Kansas City post-BRAC. Yeah, that'll happen.) Anyway, it's very good to be home. I will sleep so, so well tonight. As a matter of fact, I oughtta head on up and do exactly that - SLEEP.

(Nah, I've got more blogging to do...)

In the last few posts, I'd mentioned a card swap I was taking part in...one that had certain criteria that participants had to follow. I was really worried that my cards wouldn't be good enough. I am so new to this Stampin' Up stuff, and I just worried that my cards wouldn't look as good as those made by people with more experience. Well, I guess my fears were silly. The woman who ran this swap said she thought my cards were the best in the bunch. Wow - high praise! Anyway, check the cards out for yourself. I'd love your thoughts and feedback (hmmm....maybe you might wanna leave me a comment at the end of this post????)



This is the first card I made for this swap, and it damned near took me four hours to make it (well, it and ten others LIKE it!) Stampin' Up products used include the Paris In The Spring stamp set, Pretty In Pink, Real Red, Mellow Moss, and White cardstock, gold brads, the convex punch, and "The Tearing Edge." The square punch and colored pencils are not from Stampin' Up.



This one was easier (and, truthfully, more enjoyable) to make. Stampin' Up products used include the Paris In The Spring stamp set, Perfect Plum, Barely Banana, and White cardstock, Pale Plum eyelets, Stampin' Dimensionals, 3/8" White Organdy Ribbon, and "The Tearing Edge." The colored pencils and curvy scissors are not from Stampin' Up.

So, whaddaya think? (HINT, leave me a comment at the end of this blog post!)

So my Longaberger party is shaping out much better than anticipated. You know, this whole in-home party nonsense really, really irritates me. I love going to (and hosting) these parties. Longaberger, Southern Living At Home, Stampin' Up, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, the list goes on and on. And you know, each and every single time that one of my friends or colleagues has one of these parties, I either go or send in an order. Hell, I was never really "in" to Mary Kay until one of my sorority sisters started selling it. And it's because of her that I'm now an addicted customer. And don't even get me started on Stampin' Up. I hadn't ever HEARD of that line of in-home parties (or even homemade card-making) until I was invited, by a neighbor, to come to a show. Given (a) that I'm a continual and constant support to everyone who invites me to a show and (b) that all of us run in basically the same social circles, you'd think it'd be a safe assumption that my parties would be jam-packed full of supporting friends, all of whom were simply dying to order from my shows. WRONG. Before any of you crack at me about this being petty (yes, I know it is), give me a second to fully explain myself. I can totally understand that Longaberger's products are expensive. VERY expensive, for that matter. Too, I am certain that there are many folks out there who just don't get "in" to the baskets and pottery. What I fail to grasp is why these otherwise nice, kind, sweet people seem to think it's perfectly acceptable to neither acknowledge nor respond to invitations from my parties. Don't like the baskets? Fine! Can't make it on that particular date? Totally understandable! But I'm getting a little fucking sick and tired of sending out mass invitations to my parties and having less than half the invitees even bother to RSVP. And what's really shocking? These people turn around and invite me to their parties as well. Unreal. This has bothered me for quite some time now. I've never had tremendous success with in-home parties (yet another reason I'm not a Longaberger or Southern Living At Home consultant, let me add), but am continually amazed when these same women all flood to one another's homes (me in tow) for parties. It's just amazing to me. And yes, I know this is petty and that there are significantly more important things going on in the world. But it all just really, really fucking irritates me. Now, I'll swing this pendulum right back the other way and say that I am having a successful show. I'm getting more book orders and have yet to actually close out my party. I'm happy for the orders and am so grateful to the same people (three neighbors, two relatives, and one sorority sister) who continually support me. And those folks will always have my support. But I've finally decided to put my foot down. We're all moms and wives and homeowners, and we're all always having these sorts of parties. And I've just finally decided that enough is e-fucking-nough. I will only support those folks who have supported me in the future (or who are new friends, of course). Period. Why, as a matter of fact, just today I received an in-home party invite from someone who fell in that "don't-RSVP-don't-come" group referenced above. Know what my immediate reaction was? "You've gotta be fucking KIDDING me." I have no plans to attend that particular party, however I may find another consultant who sells the stuff and place an order. We'll see.

Well, it's storming out and I am dead-exhausted, so I'd better go. Everyone, please have a wonderful night and weekend!