Scrap & Yap Weekend

Holy moly what a weekend! My cousin invited me to join her and a bunch of friends for a scrap weekend.  Their own version of a “retreat” which I totally loved because we simply set up in a boardroom of an office, left our stuff there and locked up when we left. No travel out of town, sleep in your own bed, come and go as you please and scrap like a maniac.

I wish I could say I scrapped like a maniac but I didn’t. I actually spent the majority of my time putting the finishing touches on some layouts I’d done from 2007 and 2008!! Yes, you read that right. Stuff I started, but did NOT finish THREE YEARS AGO. That is sooooo lame. Can you tell I’m a procrastinator? Maybe it’s just that my feeble menopausal mind forgot I hadn’t finished those layouts. No, that’s a lie. I’m lazy. I just didn’t do it. I didn’t follow through and finish the damn things until now. Ugh. I’m not happy with myself but that’s the way the cookie crumbles and at least I finished them FINALLY

The first layout I worked on was cat related. After all, I love cats and have had many over the years. I don’t know when I started this particular layout but it had to have been about 3 years ago. The first three pages featured our cat Scooter, a lovely all black guy who was our “baby” for 13 years. I had some great pictures mounted, had added some embellishments and then planned to add some stuff from his Catster page to finish it off. The pages were printed and with the layout, I’d just never done it. So, that’s where I started. The first pages are of Scooter and then the next ones joyfully announce the arrival of our new kitten ( a lovely Tuxedo cat, fondly referred to as Toonses the Driving Cat - see my Facebook photos!!). I finished the cat layout and moved on to finish a “Zoo Day” layout from 2007, and another 2 pager from 2008. You’d think that wouldn’t take me long to do and I’d be moving on to new things, but I work so slowly. My mental function just isn’t as quick as it used to be and I find it extremely frustrating. I also don’t have as much confidence in my work as I should. I look at what others are doing and wish I could do what they are. My cousin was sitting next to me pounding out layouts like she was on an assembly line and that of course made me feel inferior too. Mind you, she had gorgeous professional photos that were larger. I’m so impressed with the level of talent I saw in that boardroom over the time I spent with this new bunch of what I hope will become friends. A couple of the girls did Olympic layouts that were brilliant. Many of them were working on photos of their children, or of a recent vacation destination. I had photos of our trip to St. Lucia but didn’t even get to them! I took the easy way out and did another layout featuring one of my nieces. And I didn’t even get it finished. Gaaaaaaa

We started out Friday night and went til about midnight, returned Saturday at 10am and I shut it down and hauled my stuff home that night at 11pm because my cancer-filled spine just couldn’t handle it anymore. We had breakfast shortly after arrival that was catered by Bad Ass Jacks. Bad Ass Jacks and breakfast you say?! YES. And it was awesome! I had no idea that Bad Ass Jacks has the variety they do. We had a veggie & dip tray and assorted fresh wraps from Bad Ass Jacks for lunch, so I was able to try different things and saw their menu. Did you know Bad Ass Jacks does Asian Boxes? For breakfast they have Breakfast Boxes! Everything you need, nice and hot in a box you just open and eat out of (sort of like the asian take out boxes you see in movies). And there’s a lot of chicken breast in the chicken products so it’s very healthy. They even have pizza.  I am going to be an “Official Bad Ass” from now on. If I’d known how fresh their food is, and how seriously they take that freshness I would have been there much sooner. I guess I live a fairly sheltered life. I don’t go out to restaurants very often and when I do, it’s to places I know FOR SURE will be good. Translation: somewhere I’ve been before and always go to. Fish & chips? Joey’s. Vietnamese? Saigon on 33rd or Saigon Rose downtown (their crispy ginger chicken totally rocks). Steak? The Keg. Fast food? Subway. I could keep going, but since losing 40 pounds a few years ago we don’t do fast food anymore and Subway would be the only “fast food” restaurant we’ll eat at because we know there is something there that will not totally throw our system out of whack. I know that Bad Ass Jacks WILL fit into my regimen so they are now added to the list of go-to’s if we are going to eat out/take home.

Not only did I feel inferior in my scrapbooking inability to make a totally awesome layout, I felt completely out of touch with respect to technology and scrapbooking. The machines those girls brought for all to share mesmerized me! There was a Slice, a Cricut Create, and a Xyron. I’ve heard the names before but have never understood what they do and what their benefit is. I have to SEE something with my own eyes and see how it works to understand it. That’s just how my brain works. As soon as I tried Cindy’s Xyron I wanted one. I didn’t get the guts to try the Cricut til later on Saturday and had my cousin help me. And of course after using it I wanted one. It’s all I’ve been able to think about since Saturday. Why, why, why?! Is it a case of envy that I don’t have the “toys” that the other girls do? I wondered about that for the first few days and then I just realized that I really believe I can use a Cricut. A LOT. I checked them out at Michaels and Walmart, I’ve done a lot of internet cruising, and I can’t get that thing out of my mind! I like the smaller version which is the “Create” but for some reason I want the “Expression” - the big one. I could afford a Create and likely be satisfied with it, but I’m thinking I would regret not just going big and going home. Just the fact that I could put a 12 x 12 piece of paper into it is enough to sell me on it. The Create can’t take a full sheet of paper and I see how I could do so many different things with the bigger Expression. But will it help me to actually FINISH a layout? That remains to be seen, but having a new toy to play with makes me think it might be possible

Thanks to the girls I met over the weekend (see, I didn’t share any inside info…you had nothing to worry about!) and who treated me as if I was one of them. Thanks for teaching me how to use these new machines, thanks for letting me borrow everything from ink to stamps to an eraser, and of course “the toys”. I knew on the drive home that I was going to have to bring up the topic of this wonder-machine to my husband and try to justify “why I NEED it”. Poor guy. All he’s heard all week is the word Cricut, and has sat beside me on the couch watching TV together as I surf the internet looking at them and comparing prices. He even came with me to Michaels tonight to look at one! Now that’s progress He has given me the go-ahead to get one if the price is something we can handle. The prices I’ve seen so far are prices we can NOT handle, but I found one on Kijiji that I hope to check out tomorrow so perhaps I’ll  be a proud Cricut owner before the weekend. Maybe I should just be content to have a brand new Create…at least it’s more affordable. I’ll have to do a performance test of this one from Kijiji and determine whether it works and if it’s a safe buy. I’m a bit hesitant about it, but once I see it and try it, hopefully I will be able to walk away if I still have doubts. I have to be able to walk away because I’d never forgive myself if I bought a lemon and was out all that cash. Long term disability doesn’t give me the freedom to be frivolous with money. And of course there’s the guilt that comes with purchasing something like this that is expensive. I always feel guilt for spending money on something for myself. I like to buy things for others and I never feel guilt about that. What’s up with that anyway? I’ve got incurable cancer for crying out loud! Shouldn’t I be able to get myself something without feeling guilty? Too bad the “cancer card” won’t get me a better price on a Cricut

Oh, and by the way….I bought a Xyron this week. At least they’re affordable with your 40% off coupon at Michaels. All I need now is a Cricut to cut things out so I can use my Xyron to stick them to the page

Wish me luck. I need all I can get.