Imitation is the Best form of Flattery
I was so flattered on Tuesday night. I went to Claire's house for her monthly downline meeting. Tuesday's event was swapping ATCs. I think I shared some of mine in an earlier post. We had a fabulous time, I learned some great techniques, but guess what...I looked on Claire's desk and she had a card that looked just like one of the ones I made!!! I was SO flattered! It's the "Thank You" card that was inspired by my purse. You must remember that one, right? Remember my whole Brown and Teal thing? Yup, that one!

Today I've been preparing for Albuquerque. I probably should have started earlier (story of my life), but I decided to participate in some of the card swaps. So, I've been an assembly line. I'll show you a preview. Oh, and if you forgot what my Brown and Teal card looked like, I decided to swap that one too!

Last night I had a quiet evening at home, stamping. I received four or five new stamp sets on Monday, so I decided to put them to use! So, I decided to share those with you too.

Oh, and my USAirways story gets better - I'm flying first class tomorrow! Yippie!!! Now, if I can just get my return upgraded, I'll be a very happy camper!

I Love USAirways
Whew...what crazy travel stuff has happened in the last 24 hours. I told you about my trip to Portland, right? Okay. Well, I'm flying to Portland, Oregon on Thursday, March 8th. I had planned to stay until Saturday, March 10th when I'd take the redeye home. I'm attending a Creating Keepsakes Convention. They're tons of fun. If you're interested, there's also one in Valley Forge in July - I'll be going to that one too. Hopefully the power doesn't go out this year. But, that's a story for another day! Anyway...I was documenting my itinerary for my travel plans and class schedules. That's when I looked at my flight home. I was confused. I was sure I had booked a direct flight, but the website showed me flying through Phoenix. I was thinking, "Cool, more miles!" That's when I looked at the departure time - 11:30am. Then I was even more confused. I have classes scheduled through 2pm that day. Apparently USAirways had cancelled my flight and put me on a flight 12 hours earlier. What?!?!?!? So, I called and they told me that I had two options. The latest one had several connections and five hours in total layovers. I wasn't happy, but I took it.

The more I thought about it, the unhappier I was. I then realized that my redeye was still scheduled for Sunday, March 11th. I thought it was a longshot, but wondered if USAirways would change my return, again, for the next day. I finally called today. I figured I'd use the extra day to do some sightseeing. Although, it would cost me an extra $130 at the hotel. After some convincing, USAirways let me do it. So, next I had to book a rental car and change my hotel. Well, I had forgotten that there's a promotion with Hertz and Marriott. If you rent a car, you get a free third night at a Marriott hotel. My rental car is only $26 and will eliminate the need to get a cab to the airport. And, my extra night at the Marriott is completely free! Isn't that awesome!?!?!? I also won't have to worry about where to keep all of my stuff and luggage on Saturday when I'm at the convention.

So, thank you USAirways, I'm getting an extra day for only $26!!! I'm going to check out some of the Oregon wineries. I've been wanting to do that for years! So, now I have to leave room in my luggage for scrapbooking stuff AND wine! Oh dear.

A Prairie Home Companion
Have any of you seen "A Prairie Home Companion"? It's got several well-know actors/actresses. Anthony and I watched it last night and couldn't wait for it to be over! We still don't understand it. Sure, we laughed at times, but what on earth was the storyline? We understand that the movie is about a radio show that is performed live, on stage, and broadcast every night or week or something. A company from Texas has bought the building and is closing the show. The movie is about their final show. Who cares? What are we missing? What didn't we get? Can someone explain it to me?!?!?

Countdown to Albuquerque
I'm excited. I'm getting on a plane on Friday. Yippie! I love to fly. I love to travel. I haven't flown since September. For some reason I was thinking Albuquerque would be like Phoenix - nice and warm this time of year. I was WRONG. I checked weather.com this morning and it was like 26 degrees or something. What was I thinking? I was hoping not to have to pack a coat. Oh well. I'm sure I'll have fun.

Australia 2008
I've also started planning another trip to Australia. I'm aiming for the fall of 2008. I was looking through all of my hotel points and I have enough for 8 free nights throughout the country (that's what I stayed last time). I'm thinking five nights in Sydney, a couple of nights in the Yarra Valley wine region outside of Melbourne, and maybe the Great Barrier Reef. Last time I did the Barossa Valley outside of Adelaide and Ayers Rock. So, I'd get to see two, new areas of the country. I would definitely catch another show at the Opera House, maybe two. I'll also be climbing the bridge again! That was worth every penny. After my trip to Portland, I will only be 648 miles away from my free first-class ticket. Technically, I could go for free this year, but my vacation money is already earmarked for stamping/scrapbooking events. Anyone want to go with me?!?!?!? I'm giving you plenty of advance notice to save money!!!

$350 for Gas???
Happy Monday to all of you. Isn't it pretty outside? That's what I thought too before I left the house for Philly this morning. By the time I got to work, I hated that stupid white crap! Yes, I had a rough commute. I just had to share with you my experience with the gas station this morning.

So, I needed gas. According to my gas-ometer-thing, I could only go another 45 miles on my tank. Well, that's not enough for a round-trip commute. So, I stopped for gas at the Valero station in Elmer. It annoys me that they don't have the modern pumps where they can just swipe the cards, but they are the most convenient for me. Plus, I noticed they'd finally dropped their prices to $1.97/gallon too. Sounded like a good deal to me, so I pulled in. Big mistake. The attendant filled my tank at his normal pace and I handed over my credit card. That's when the fun began! I waited about 5 minutes or so and wondered what was taking so long. Then a second guy joined my attendant in the booth and they were flipping through a book. I was annoyed. Why would they be distracted and make me wait. After another 5 minutes or so, my attendant returned, and explained that he had mistakenly added an extra 0 to my $35.00 fuel charge - therefore charging me $350.00 for my gas. He explained that they were trying to figure out how to cancel it. Another 5 minutes or so went past when the second guy approached my car. This time they asked me for help. How on earth was I supposed to help them figure out their credit card machine?!?!? So, I read the instructions that some guy who can't speak English had written. They didn't seem to match up with any of the menu options. I got to learn the manager's password. After fumbling for another 5 minutes, they got some other guy on the phone and handed it to me! I was no help. Finally, they got it figured out and 30 minutes later I got on my way. Lesson learned = pay cash or go across the street where they have modern pay-at-the-pump pumps! That of course put me further behind so I hit traffic and put me in a bad mood. Oh, and when I got to work, I realized I had missed Anthony's morning call when I was out there fighting with their credit card machine. Grrrrrrr. Hope your day started off better than mine or you can at least get a laugh at my experience!

Kelly and Matt's Wedding
I know you've all been anxiously awaiting these pictures....yesterday was Kelly and Matt's wedding. Oh, what a beautiful day! It was a bit too cold. Some of us single bridesmaids were threatening to have our weddings on the equator (Tina) or in August (me). But, we all survived. And, there was snow. No, it didn't stick around, but when we walked out of our hotel rooms Saturday morning, we did see snow flurries!!!

Friday Night - The Rehearsal
So, let me start with Friday night. We had a nice time at the rehearsal. The bridal party was HUGE. There were a total of 20 of us if you count the bride, groom, junior bridesmaid, ring bearer, 8 bridesmaids, and 8 groomsmen. Kelly and Matt are truly blessed with lots of wonderful friends. The rehearsal dinner was held at Lamberti's Cucina just off of the Kirkwood Highway at Price's Corner. Thank you so much Kelly and Matt for inviting our significant others. It was the largest crowd at a rehearsal dinner ever! I think I heard that there were 44 of us! Here's a sneak peek at the dinner. I just had to post the "grab something inappropriate" photo.

Wedding Day
I was tasked with getting five of the eight bridesmaids to the salon and church on time. I succeeded! I appologize if I got a bit....well, I can't say that word on here. Everyone looked beautiful! Apparently, I didn't get too many pictures of us getting ready in our dresses, but I did manage to capture all of you, so here's a sampling of some of the different dresseses. We all wore a different style of platinum two-piece dress. They were by Impression Bridal.

All of them needed major alterations, but I think we all looked beautiful even if we were all uncomfortable!

Kelly looked beautiful and so happy! Her dress was so pretty! It was also a bridesmaid dress from the same line at Impression Bridal. And the flowers she picked out were gorgeous!

The ceremony was held at the Mount Pleasant Meeting House. The ceremony was very nice. They chose the bonding ceremony which I had never seen. If you clicked on the link for the meeting house, you'll notice how small the front of the room was. All twenty of us fit. However, to leave the ceremony, Matt climbed over the altar rail and lifted Kelly over. It was so romantic.

We raced off to the reception which was held at the Patio at Archmere. It was truly a special location. The ceiling was stained glass. Kelly's mom explained to me that the ceiling used to open making the room a patio - hence the name. There was a fountain in the middle of the marble room. The bar was served in one room, the entree in another, and the FANTASTIC dessert in a third. The rooms were gorgeous. We all just wanted to wander and explore the very cool building. Those of us in the bridal party did have the opportunity to go up to the balcony and look down on the guests. It must have made for a very cool picture. Anthony did a fantastic job taking pictures while I was doing the wedding stuff.

Dinner was super yummy. Here's a sampling of what we were served:
Hors d'oeuvres:
Mini Pizzas, Espresson Crusted Tuna, Spiced Tequila Shrimp, Vegetable Spring Rolls, Veggies, Dips, Cheeses, fresh fruit.
Followed by awesome salad with candied walnuts.
Entree:
Herb Crusted Flank Steak, Chicken Roulade, Scalloped Potatoes, Veggies.
Dessert:
Wedding cake. We think it was chocolate with peanut butter and jelly filling! How fun! Plus, canoli, mini tiramisu, and FANTASTIC truffles. Wow!

Here are a few other fun photos from the wedding...take note that Kelly's skirt changed color!!! Oh, and yes, let me introduce you to Anthony!!!

Kelly and Matt, have fun in Jackson Hole!!!