Surviving CHA!!

Well, I made it back...but I had to wonder if I would survive the last couple of hours in Chicago Sunday evening as the GPS system took us down North Cicero to go to the airport. (ummm, wrong airport!) Let's just say the doors of the car were locked, I could not read the signs or names on the shop fronts, and I felt very blessed and rich living in a 1,000 square foot home. I wasn't afraid of dying on Cicero...that came a short time later as we were speeding down the interstate trying to reach O'Hare in time for a flight. But enough about that...I am sure you will be able to learn more of "adventures at CHA" from my friends Stephanie, Melissa and Lynne at Homegrown Scapbooks. I just pray Lynne has made it home today. I know she did not make her flight, and I caught my nearly filled bus JUST in time! I haven't prayed that hard in years! (LOL)

Because friends had told me what to expect at CHA I did not feel overwhelmed. I went prepared with a new pair of Ryka walking shoes and Aleeve. My chiropractor was very impressed this morning that I needed little adjustments - we are chalking this up to the new Rykas. Thank you RYKA! The worst was having to lift my small wheeled suitcase onto my lap Friday evening at the end of the show day to allow the bus to completey fill. I knew I threw my back out, but returned to my room to rest a bit, take more Aleeve, and prayed it would go away. I felt great Sat. morning.

I had no set schedule at CHA, so could meander and stop at booths at will. I was so happy to meet Sharly at PageFrames, Deb, Stacy and Wanda from ScrapTalk, Tami at One Heart...One Mind, Jamie from BusyBee, and Laura doing MNTs at Your Pictured Memories. I actually ended up meeting lots of "avatar familiar" faces Saturday - it was fun! I did very few Make N Takes and focused on finding potential product for our kit club. I took very few pictures...can you believe it? I had so much to carry, etc. that I just couldn't do everything. It's funny how mfrs. either blew me away, or completely did not...there were "uknowns" who TOTALLY blew me away with product. My plan for the next week or two is to reveal the "Best Kept Secrets at CHA" on this blog, with some photos and links of newer companies that I really think will knock your socks off.

I was hoping to meet the editors of several of the magazines, but only Creating Keepsakes had a schedule posted of when you could "great and meet" the editors that I was aware of. I enjoyed meeting Cath Evaldson of PaperCrafts, who recently requested my Selah layout for an upcoming issue. I love that CK is launching severeal new magazines. ALso, I was thrilled to meet Brittany Mellen, CKs Creative Editor and show her a project that Lana, associate editor, had requested on the Thursday evening before leaving for CHA. We discussed the project and then I set out on the CHA floor Sat. afternoon and Sunday morning to obtain some vendor products that would work for the ideas we discussed. As luck would have it I learned moments ago that my project is too similar to the December challenge. Oh well...


My other BIG thrill at CHA was meeting the talented Wendy McKeehan and fabulous Miss Kitty Foster at the Memory Makers booth. I had them sign my own personal copy of "Finding Your Groove" - don't forget to check page 94! (LOL) Aren't these gals the cutest? I just loved the t-shirts that Wendy's sister had made for them...even if they did have a hard time catching their breath. (LOL)

Stay tuned...I plan to share and post more in between some project deadlins!