Lisa's Blog

Hi Friends.

These photos go along with my November message on my home page. They are images that will always be with me from my recent visit to Amish Country. As I mentioned, Marie Roberts (the wife of gunman Charles Roberts) was so gracious and kind. She introduced me to her parents and three children and told me about their plans for Halloween (she was dressing them up like the three children from Peter Pan). I took a photo of us together so I can remember what a great example she's been for the rest of us to follow. She seemed sad yet doesn't appear to be blaming herself (which she absolutely shouldn't do). She's a woman of faith and I feel lucky for the privilege of meeting her. I got her address and plan to stay in touch.


The first photo is the place where the school once stood and the second is where the children are now going to school. I was impressed to hear that the same school teacher remains in her position. What a hard road she must also be going down.

I wanted to take more photos but knowing the way most Amish feel about pictures wanted to respect their privacy. I have the images of happy faces in my heart--a memory I'll cherish forever.

Thanks, again, to all of you who sent cards. I looked at each one of them and they were so beautiful. What a talent, caring bunch of gals you are. (I don't think any guys sent any. Brian??)

Have a great rest of the week. Maybe I'll see you in Bellevue, Washington at the Creating Keepsakes Convention??

Take care,

Lisa

I returned from the Bellevue Washington CK convention late Saturday night and what a rockin' time it was! I met so many incredible people. Thanks for making me feel so welcome, Washington! The only bummer was I didn't get to enjoy the city because it rained the entire time I was there.


I got a laugh from Johanna Boyle. She was at the Gig Harbor Toadilly Scrappin' Retreat which I attended on Friday night. She wanted me to add to her tattoo collection! It was a permanent marker. Just hoping it will come off! At the convention in Valley Forge in July, one man had me sign my signature on his bald head. An hour later I noticed his head was very red and my signature was gone. He said after he did it, his wife reminded him that he was an usher in church the next day and that the autograph wouldn't be appropriate! So he spent 30 minutes trying to get it off!

Johanna also sent me a signature Becky Higgins once did! I'll keep you all guessing where it was on the body! I was going to post it, but I thought I'd rather keep it to tease Becky when she comes up next week!

Hope you're having a wonderful week! I've got a packed schedule!

Sincerely,
Lisa

As you can see, there aren't any photos with this post. I got a G4 Mac laptop two years ago and for the most part have loved it. I also have loaded 8,000 photos on the computer, plus many PowerPoint presentations, i-movies, documents, addresses, phone numbers, etc. My husband has told me over and over again to not keep all my photos on the computer--to back them up. I'm always under a time crunch and have loved the convenience of having them all in one location so I backed up very few. I thought, "This is a new computer--nothing's going to happen." Two and half years ago we lost everything on my hubby's computer. We paid $3,000.00 to get half of the photos back. Right now my computer's in California because the hard drive totally crashed this week. I'm hoping and praying they will be able to recover my photos. I get sick to my stomach thinking of all the memories that might be lost. My family's trip to England and France last Spring, first day of school photos, Kade in his kilt dressed up like William Wallace ... okay, I have to quit before I cry.

Take it from me--back up your computer. You'll have peace of mind and $3,000 in your pocket.

Sorry for the downer message. I'm just not having the best of weeks.

Thanks for listening.

Lisa

Tuesday night I was in heaven! I went to a class at my local scrapbook store and it was sooo much fun. My friend, Pam Taylor, taught us how to make adorable "I'm Thankful" albums. I took my daughter, Brecken, two sisters and three friends.

If it's been a while since you've taken a class, you should take one. It was so fun doing a project that was already thought out--I didn't have to do a thing except assemble the book. It was such a nice change.

Here's a photo of everyone in the class. My sisters are on the top right-hand corner. My daughter is to the left of me and my nanny (she's been with our family for 10 years--what a blessing!) is right behind Brecken. My neighbor, Karen, is on the back row in pink and another friend, Marci, is by Karen. Pam Tayor, the amazing teacher, is on the back row (furthest gal on the left).

Fun, Fun, Fun!

I'm off to Timeless Treasures in California tomorrow. Hope to see you there.

Sincerely,
Lisa

Last night was one of the most memorable of my life! My son became an Eagle Scout and it was an amazing experience. My husband gave a wonderful talk about the journey of a scout. Then, a man brought a real eagle into the church and compared the eagle (animal) with an Eagle Scout. There was a movie made about each of the scouts and their journey through life.

It was just neat seeing so many people I loved in the same place and knowing that Kade's hard work has paid off--he's completed his goal of becoming an Eagle Scout. He's learned so many incredible qualities along the way.

I'm thankful for the Boy Scout program and what it's done for my family. One down--one more to go. Collin should get his within the year.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Lisa B.

I've got lots of cool things to share with you this week. I can't wait to tell you about my trip to Timeless Treasures in Orange County, CA this past weekend and some of the neat projects I brought from there to show you!

As you're aware, there's been a delay in shipping the 4th kit in the series (Year-In-Review). It should have shipped in October, and I believe you should have received a letter from QVC notifying you of the delay and providing an estimate of November 24th as the new ship date. This makes the kit almost seven weeks late. I'm sorry if this has inconvenienced any of you. I really feel terrible. I've been assured the product is at the QVC warehouse and they'll be doing everything they can to turn it around and ship it out to you as quickly as possible. Again, I apologize for the delay and hope it doesn't put a damper on your excitement to capture your Year-In-Review. As we approach the holiday season I'm reminded of now blessed we are. It's one of my favorite times of the year - it's a time for me to reflect on the year that's past and to set goals for the coming year. It has a way of sorting out the things that are most important, and putting things in perspective.

Thanks for your understanding.

Lisa B.

Last Friday and Saturday I was in Orange County, California at a fantastic store called Timeless Treasures. Nancy Krauss, the owner of the nine-year-old store, was one of the first supporters of Creating Keepsakes magazine. She's a fantastic gal and has created an amazing store.


This is a photo of the employees of the store. I met soooo many neat people. I loved my time there--can't wait to go back. In my next blog, I'm going to share some of the work of two of the gals that I met. You'll love the things I'm going to show you!!

Thanks for the warm welcome, Timeless Treasures!

Sincerely,
Lisa B.

At Timeless Treasures last week I met lots of talented gals. I want to introduce you to two of them! First is Stepanie Tafoya (I hope I'm spelling your last name correctly, Stephanie.) She is simply one of the most talented gals I've met. She made me a purse she just dreamed up in her head (I'll share this photo later), is an incredible baker and an amazing scrapbooker. I saw this album she created from a 21 day challenge from Rhonna Farrer and I was mesmerized. The first three images are from the album. Stephanie's soooo creative with her lettering, writing and orginal artwork (and doodling). Her pages in this album are all flat--just pen, chalk, colored pencils, etc. yet they pop off the page. Go to her blog at homegrownhospitality.typepad.com. You'll be as inspired as I was (and am!).
Deena Ziegler made me the adorable "Thanks" bucket. It's made out of a clear paint can, paper and ribbon. The can is full of cute tags that were sentiments from the gals at the crop. Deena also made a neat 21 challenge book (actually two). She's also got a great style!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful creations, girls! Love this stuff!

See you on QVC on Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. (EST).

Have a great week!

LB