One Little Word

Three little letters. W - O - W

That would sum up my afternoon/evening yesterday, at the big crop in Pigeon Forge with Heather. What a phenomenal time!!

Mark and I decided that it would be best for me to run home after church, change clothes, and load stuff in the van then rather than dash out after church. It really worked well. I got to ditch my church clothes -- which were not that different from my cropping clothes. But, I digress. . . .

On the way home from church, I called Heather's cell phone - just to make sure things were still on. They were -- and she put my mind at ease. I was kinda nervous. I'm not real great just jumping into big crowds by myself. So, it was really good to get a little bit calmed down before heading out.

Edison was in the van with me -- and when I hung up the phone, he said, "What's going on, Mom?" I guess we hadn't told him about my plans until this time -- so I shared my afternoon plans with him. Our conversation went something like this:

E: So, where are you going?

M: Pigeon Forge -- to a scrapbooking crop

E: Who's going to be there?

M: Well, Heather -- my "blog" friend, her sister, and a bunch of people I don't know.

E: You've never met these people? Not in person?

M: Nope. But, I've been blogging with, and talking to Heather for the past couple years.

E: Mom, this is so random.

M: It's okay, Edison. Heather knows Julie. Remember when we met Julie & Randy out at Brock's house last year?

E: Yeah. But still. . .

M: Look, I'm not worried. It'll be fine.

E: Okay, but I'm just saying -- if they offer you candy -- DON'T EAT ANY!


What can I say? I'm raising one hilarious kid.

So, after taking his "great" advice, I headed out. I stopped at Walgreens -- gummy bears are a MUST when I scrapbook -- and I stopped at Taco Bell for lunch. It wasn't great. . . I mean, it's Taco Bell. But, they have Diet Mt. Dew. Need I say more? I didn't think so.

I had my GPS with me, and it's probably a good thing. I had directions from the resort's website -- but it was nice having the GPS, too. I was especially thankful for it as I made my way "back down" the holler and out into civilization again.

I pulled up, and could see the ladies from the parking lot. I knew I was at the right place. And, Heather recognized me right away -- I guess it's all the pics on here and on Facebook. And yes, of course, when I got to the crop, I told Heather all about it. And we laughed.

After the pleasantries, and after I got my stuff all dragged in, she told me that the ladies were doing "Make & Takes" which are pages you get to make -- they provide all the supplies -- and you take them home. They had decided to do all six M & Ts at once -- I got in on the last three. It was enough to get my feet wet -- and then it was time to crop. . . or eat.

You see, these ladies had been going at it all day, and they hadn't eaten lunch. So, at 3 p.m., or so, they took off and ate lunch. Yep -- they all left the building.

Now, they asked me if I wanted to go along with them. . . but between being full of Taco Bell, and being excited to be there. . .I declined so that I could start scrapping, and playing with one of the many Cricut machines they had there. Oh my sweet Simon Cowell, I want one of these.



I also walked around and realized what a "rookie" I felt like I suddenly had become. . . My friends, I only thought I had an ample supply of scrapbooking materials.

I do not. I get by. But, these women were LOADED.

I was completely overwhelmed when I got there and saw their stuff. Rubbermaid containers, rolling organizers, stamps, markers, stickers, ribbon jars, buttons. . . I was in Paradise!

They all eventually made their way back from dinner -- and everyone was surprised that I had stayed behind. But, I got a couple pages done while they were gone. And, I took a few pictures. Wanna see em? Of course you do.

Here are some pictures of the room, and the displays.



Here are a few pictures of peoples' stashes. This is where I knew I was a short puppy in tall grass. I mean, I was able to get my stuff in from the car in two trips. . . but, I was just there for the afternoon. But seriously, take a look.....




And, it's too late at night for me to photograph the layouts I got done. I'll try to do that tomorrow. I really was proud of the work I did. (Having that Cricut really made a difference!)

Toward the end of the evening, Heather surprised me with this. . . .


After Edison's story, it was the perfect gift. And, as hokey as it sounds -- I will treasure it as a memento of my day. Oh . . I'm a realist. I think all the participants of the weekend crop either received these, or made them at some point during the weekend. Because, everyone had one. And, they all ate the candy safely.

But for me -- it's more. It's a reminder that I have a stinking funny kid.
I have a really cool "imaginary" friend in North Carolina. (Her husband refers to her blog friends as imaginary friends.)



And most importantly. . . I have two things to put on my Christmas list:

• The 6" cricut
• Money to attend next year's retreat -- 3 days of total fun!!!

And, I plan to attend, and will hopefully bring my own cricut. How's that for bringing it full circle? Ooh, and you should see how that cricut can cut circles! :)