living dreams

On my way.

Off to the airport for 2 weeks in Asia. I'll be teaching at Laine's Papeterie in Singapore, Smida Paper in Penang (where I was born!), back to Scrappingville in KL and Papier Love in KL as well and then off to the Phillipines and Scrapbukan.

We cleared all the orders about 3 hours ago. Boy, does that feel good. The mailman has been busy and we need to restock on envelopes and other packing materials!

We are also now doing inventory for the next 2 weeks so we have cleared the FW site of inventory (the images are still there), and we will be updating with new images and adding the inventory back up by mid May, which is when our next newsletter will go out.

Looking forward to this trip and also to June, July and August as those will be travel-free months - nice to have a break!

See you on the other side, friends.

The days, they go marching on and on.

You look up, and bam, days, even weeks have passed on by. Wow, it's April, and it's been a while since my last post. So much has happened since then and I have so much to share. I'm currently in Arizona for the CKC-Mesa event, and hoping to get some down time to post some pics and share all that has been going on.

My mind is also boggled at the fact that in 2 weeks I will be back in Asia teaching at 5 different stores in Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines. So amazingly grateful for all the opportunities and am so looking forward to it. I'll post some links on those over the weekend as well.

I'll be back soon!

My own fault.

I haven't posted in a few days because I've been feeling I can't go on posting without a recap on CKU, Japan and how wonderful it was to have a vacation with my hubby. Felt guilty about not posting my thanks to all who helped out especially my team at CKU... and my photos are still not processed from that trip. I keep saying "tonight I'll do it," and well, the last few nights have been Spring Break nights, which meant:

Monday evening: Girls Night Out with Emily, we went clothes shopping, out for dinner and to a local youth theatre play of High School Musical. We had free tickets courtesy of a midweek kid program at our church called KidsRock. Em and her friends loved it. I loved that she loved it. One of the kids from our condo complex from year ago played one of the main characters - so cool to see him up there. And he was so kind and cool to Em, remembering her and getting down to her level and talking with her. So sweet.She came home with stars in her eyes.

Tuesday night: We finally used our movie tickets from a school fundraiser and went to the movies for the first time as a family, to Horton Sees a Who. It was an ok movie, some laughs but I felt it was longer than it needed to be. Em loved it (so did Rob) but Cameron had almost finished his popcorn and icetea even before the trailers ended. He ended up eating his Kinder Surprise about 1/4 way through the movie and on my lap as well as Rob's lap for the rest of it. I'm glad we waited this long to take him to the movies as I'm not sure he would've made it through if he was younger. Although, if it was a movie like Cars....

Last night: We stayed in, but cleaned up our living room and kitchen as a family. The kids were in a great mood and were fantastic helpers. Rob made dinner and Cam sat down to help me with a few things. We let them go to bed at 10.30pm. It's spring break after all.

Other than that, just work, work, work. Have a friend coming over for dinner tonight, so Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast is on again. Hurray!

... and I'm still feeling guilty about the non-post about Japan. I WILL post about it very soon. As well as a visit to a letterpress place coming up that I am so excited about. Woohoo!

So many things.

My mind is crowded with thoughts every second of every day, even when I sleep, I'm sure. There just seems to be so much to do, so much to create, so much life to live, and not enough time to do it all.

Things are going to change a little by little around here. I'm just stepping to the edge and peering ever so nervously over. I have no guarantees what will happen when (if) I jump, but lots of hopes of good things.

Little things, big things. All need but a tiny step forward to get the ball rolling, right?

Onward!

If you're in Arizona - help!

We will be exhibiting at CKC-Mesa April 18-19 and are in need of 1-2 people to help set up, run the booth and take down, so if you are available April 17,18, and 19 to work, please contact me asap. We'd need at least one person who could work all three days. Pay is $10/hour or $20/hour in product, or you can mix/match. We cover lunch and parking as well.

If we don't get any local interest, we are also open to flying people in.

Thanks!

A brand new bed for $0.

When Rob and I got home from Japan, we fell into our bed in almost unconscious tiredness and slept and slept and that is how I came to regard my old bed with renewed love and appreciation for $0.

Today is my first day back at work and there is so much to do. So no photos today. Lots of orders and emails and phone calls to return first.

Good to be back though. Haven't had enough of hugging and kissing the kids yet either. :)

Konichiwa!!!

I have internet in Japan!! So exciting. It has been a full, intense, fun and tiring few days here in Japan. CKU J was amazing and I had the best translator and assistants I could ever ask for. We've been to Tsuchiura to see my aunt and see my cousin graduate. We've taught in Osaka and I was thrilled to pieces to visit the Sakura offices - yes, Sakura the pen company. Rob and I were treated to an extraordinary personal tour by Kumi, a friend we made in Osaka. Tomorrow we head to Hiroshima and back to Tokyo for a day and a tour of the imperial palace before heading to Mitaka to teach and then flying back to Vancouver.

The days have been full. I am tired but energized. I've ridden more trains than I ever have in my life. My brain is overwhelmed by all that has happened and all the people I've seen, the sights I've visited (my favorite being the Nijojo Castle in Kyoto), the food we've eaten and I cannot wait to share the photos with you.

One thing I know, I will come back to Japan in a heartbeat. It totally rocks.

And I now know how to count in Japanese!

Updates, more details on CKU and other classes as well as photos coming soon!

T-minus less than 48 hours.

Did you know Rob and I have never travelled anywhere outside of Canada by ourselves besides the one time we went to Mexico for our honeymoon more than 11 years ago? We didn't travel much when we were first married and to a certain degree I regret that. But we are changing that very soon because we are headed to Japan! I will be teaching at CKU-Japan in Tokyo and also in Osaka and Mitaka (and sorry, we are teaching at Scrapaholic!in Mitaka, not Scrapholic Japan as I had indicated in a previous post). In between we are hoping to travel to Hiroshima - I am already overwhelmed at the thought of getting to go there - and also spending some time with family in Tsuchiura and taking a day trip to Mt Fuji. I'm very grateful to be able to go and participate in the events and also make this a time for Rob and myself to have a little vacation by ourselves. Thank you Mom and Pa for watching the kids for us.

In the meantime we are packing orders like crazy and packing bags and getting our bottles of Canadian Maple Syrup ready for gifting. Spending some time with the kiddies and loving on them before we leave.

Please note, our office is closed Feb 27 - Mar 10 and no orders will ship within that time, and we will start shipping again on the 11th.

Next post, probably from Japan!

CHA catch up.

The days after CHA always rush by in a blur, and I always catch myself a few days after the fact, thinking,"wow, has it been (insert: a day, 3 days, a week) since CHA?!"  This time is no different.

And I had terrible internet connection while at the show, hence no show photos. I need to upgrade my laptop desperately and I am eyeing one of those Mac books.

Didn't take too many photos as per normal. I wonder why I even bring my camera sometimes. I did take more photos on her camera but don't know if they turned out. I really need to keep focused and keep practicing on my photography. That is a big goal for me this year.

Here's Sara showing off our lines at our booth:

... and some products (this one's the Frame-a-ma-bob set)...

... and the real reason I go to these shows... (hee hee)

.. is to hang with people who get it.

Highlights include getting a Garmin and naming her "Laura" in tribute to our own Laura, who waltzed in AFTER set up was done and LEFT before take down. Our Garmin Laura got us lost a few times and so the term "damn Laura" was coined and we had fits and giggles saying it in front of our own Laura. Speaking of fits and giggles, Sara, MG and I played a little trick on Laura and we were laughing so hard that our waiter at Pei Wei's asked if we were sure we weren't drunk. That of course got our giggles going even more. Every time, these girls get me. Every time, it's laughter til our sides hurt and tears come. Good times!

We also got to see MG in action teaching her class at the Scrapbook Oasis and debuted our very first batch of FW stamps -  we had a very small shipment come to us before the show and the Oasis snapped it up, I think there's a photo of the rush to the stamp wall on their blog.

Had a great time at the show despite the slow foot traffic (I think attendance was down about 30%). Didn't get to Disney despite our best efforts to take Jill from AMLT to dinner one night. Ended up at Red Robins one night much to our surprise and to the delight of Wendy from Scrap Supply.

Right now, am coordinating orders and trying to return the masses of emails that came in while I was away. If I owe you an email I will get back to you within the next day or so. Also packing up for CKU-Japan and 2 other classes at Scrapaholic Japan and at Colors Lovers - Rob and I are making this a working holiday, and will be doing some exploring of Japan while we're there, and visiting my aunt as well. We leave in a few short days so it is crazy busy around here.

We will be putting the CHA W catalog up on the site sometime today so you can peruse our new items - and yes, the chipboard shapes and albums ARE priced very very competitively, we had many surprised people who couldn't believe their ears when they found out how well priced they are. Most shapes are $1.20 and our albums are $1.40, $2.20 and $3.60 (for the 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8).

Anyway, that was CHA. And here's my favorite photo from the show: Why we love the iphone.

 

Last day.

I was going to post from CHA but have been trying to get better (and I am, thanks for asking) and lost the cords to my computer so didn't get to check in before yesterday. It's the last day of the show today and we've had a good time here in California. The show traffic was a little lighter than anyone anticipated, and there hasn't been the normal CHA-W "buzz" but we're still getting good orders which is a good thing. Have had a great time meeting new people and making new connections and exploring some new business opportunities. Our chipboard shapes and their prices have been blowing people away. The stamp designs are being called "innovative" - especially the "Goes With" - and so I am happy. :)

The girls leave today and I have an overnight stay in Irvine as my flight leaves in the afternoon tomorrow. Anyone with good tips where to shop - I do have a car and can get around. Will try to upload some photos from the hotel tonight.