Hillary Heidelberg's Blog

It's Halloween!

Today we're heading out to Brooklyn to do some trick or treating in my old 'hood..One Darth Vader, one Chewbacca and two tired parents in tow. :) Seriously, this halloween thing is terrible for my waistline. I bought reese's cups for the kids because we missed out on the goodies at the Financial Center party last weekend, and of course Michael and i have eaten most of the bag ourselves. Blech.

I am almost recovered from being sick, thank goodness. It really sucks being sick when your kids are full of energy and perfectly HEALTHY. In addition to recovering and chilling at home, I have spent most of the last week being sucked in to the vortex known as DISNEY WORLD VACATION PLANNING HELL. Did you know that Disney World is twice the size of Manhattan? Did you know that there are over a dozen on site resorts and many complicated 'levels' of ticketing that you have to maneuver? Did you know that there are a variety of coupon codes out there that can give you a discount on certain days, but not on others, and only in certain rooms, with certain views, in certain resorts, but nobody tells you which ones? I swear, I know more about the damn Magic Kingdom (or "MK", as aficionados call it) than I truly care to. I know which resorts are on the monorail, the ETA to arrive from AK (yes, that's Animal Kingdom Resort) to MK, which rides will be closed, which rides will have waits, and which characters are booked for dinner (yes, you can actually book a meal with a character. Luca and Julian have requested Buzz Lightyear and Cinderella...so far....)

I *think* tomorrow a so-called "general" coupon code comes out giving a discount for travelers in January. That would be us, if i can hold it together long enough to actually pay for the trip....I have a travel agent working with us, and she's being quite patient as I ask her such arcane questions as "will 7 nights in the Poly with a MYW ticket plus dining and park hopping cost less than a 6 night vacation at the WL with the MYW ticket plus dining but skipping the park hopping??" Yes, I really asked that.

I was asked to be the guest designer for Scrap for A Cure for November, and am sharing my creations. Get on over there and buy a kit--they're for a good cause too--Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research.

Man, I'm sick....

Is there anything worse than being sick when you have 2 little (and HEALTHY!) ones at home? Ugh. Seriously, I have a bad cold, coughing, headache, and the kids are running circles around me. I can't keep up. And Michael is working some crazy-ass hours so I am just not catching a break lately. Well, yesterday he did take the boys out to dinner before going out to a business dinner, so I got an hour or so of Peanut Butter Cup icecream and Us Magazine. That was nice. But this morning, I wake up and I'm EVEN SICKER. How can that be?? It's like my body is saying "oooh, looks like there's some time here to get really really sick!" Yucko.

Anyway, the other night before the snot hit the fan, I created a super fast layout for Elisha's SS challenge to create a super fast and easy layout. Did this one in 25 minutes--go me!

I also managed to order some stuff from frugalities.com. Amazing how the shopping urge doesn't go away even when you're sick. Got some AC chipboard numbers, and some 7gyps paper for a mini album I am going to do of a weekend out in East Hampton we recently had.  Love Frugalities.

Debbie's class over at nycscraps.com is going SO well. That woman is simply amazing. Her classes have something to teach everyone, and the layouts her students are producing are just wonderful. Luckily, Debbie has agreed to teach another class, probably next year, for nycscraps so if you haven't signed up for the newsletter, get yourself over there now.

Memory Makers opened up a Cafe Press store, and is selling these rockin' messenger bags. They also have some fun t-shirts for kids and adults, so be sure to check them out at their Cafe Press Store.

I am getting so psyched for the Get Cropping event in Chantilly!! I am going there with Sara Dickey, Debbie Hodge and MAYBE Paula Gilarde and Jen Mayer...Basically we're going to spend three whole days just scrapping and chatting. Maybe we'll even fit in a couple of classes and some scrappy shopping...It will be wonderful to get to hang with some online friends in real life.

Okay, I am going to go grab a tissue and some Sudafed....until later.

So I ordered 125 prints from Shutterfly.....

..on Wednesday night, and they got here this morning...not bad, especially since their ETA was next week sometime. Anyway, it's been ages since I uploaded photos to a developer and ordered a bunch of 4x6 prints. For the past year and a half, maybe longer, i've been fooling with the photos in PS (for way too long) and then cropping them to the size i want, and then printing them...let's just say it was a good hour before I even GOT to the scrap table. So i wanted to try something new, and go back to the basics, so I uploaded some summer shots as well as shots from my brother's wedding last weekend. Oh, and by the way, all the shots were taken with my new Canon SD1000, which I now think takes GREAT pics. There was no way I was going to lug my new Canon Rebel to the wedding and the reception etc. etc. I get too worried that I'll misplace it after I've had a few drinks. And yea, I suppose the guests are trustworthy LOL but still, I wouldn't want to leave it on my table while I danced. So ANYWAY. I got all these photos today and was totally psyched that I could just GO SCRAP. Like, right away. So I quickly pulled out some cardstock and started cutting and gluing. Woohoo! I whipped out these two pagers and I really like both of them....and hey, if anyone in my family is visiting, you can click on the images to see them larger.

What else? Oh! Simple Scrapbooks called me last week and requested a page of mine for their "Share" Feature--it's a page about my 'hood and I love it, so I was psyched when they requested it. Memory Makers also emailed me, requesting that I write an article on scrapping simply for next spring, and also do five layouts for them. It's nice to know they haven't forgotten us old Masters :)

For those of you who have been following HOF-Gate, I just want to remind people not to forget all the very wonderful Hall Of Famers themselves who created the wonderful layouts in the book which is in stores...I especially want to give a special shout out to Summer Fullerton and Paula Gilarde--I love their layouts in the book and they are both wonderful scrapbookers.

In Hollywood news...can we just say that JUST WHEN YOU THINK  Unfitney Britney has gone as low as she can go..she goes lower still. First the girl was unreachable to set up drug testing, which the judge in her custody battle mandated, and then she failed to show up for another court-mandated requirement, parenting lessons. So the parenting coach basically called the judge as was like "I quit." I do think though that Brit Brit is keeping Starbucks in business. Having two young boys myelf, I can't quite fathom how someone can act like her. The only thing I can imagine is that she is a drug addict, and hence acts like a total idiot. That can be her only excuse. I actually had this weird dream a few weeks ago (okay, I know this is going to make me look like some weird freak, but really, it's EMPATHY!) that I met Britney and told her to come over and stay with our family for a few weeks. So she comes over, and I show her how to push a swing in the park, change diapers, rock your baby...it was really weird. And I was so happy to help her, and she was so grateful....A little background: a friend of mine, another acupuncturist, actually went on TOUR with Britney on her last European Tour (cool, right?) and all she would say was "she's sweet." I always tried to get her to divulge more, but darn that doctor-patient privilege thing....Just kidding! I think this began my interestcoughfascinationcoughobsession with all things Britney. Come on girl!!! Go into rehab for a year!!!

Okay, enough Britney commentary. I need to go watch Thank You for Smoking.

Back from my brother's wedding!!!

Yes, my sweet little brother got married last weekend to his loooong time girlfriend. The wedding was down in Savannah, Georgia, and let me tell you--if you've never been there, it's time to visit. That city (town, really) is so lovely. The wedding took place on the Ford Plantation which is basically a beautiful resort community. Everything about the wedding was gorgeous. My brother has the most amazing, close, long-standing friends I have ever met. His best man cried (as did most of the guests) during an incredibly touching speech at the wedding reception, and the band ("Sugar and Sppppiiiiice!!!" as my brother repeated to me well into the festivities) was ROCKING. My brother and his fiance actually managed to stay up until 4 am so as to not miss their flight to Mexico for their honeymoon. All I can say is WOW..I could barely make it to midnight on the night of my reception...but from what I hear, they made if safely to Mexico where they could nurse their hangovers with fresh margaritas :)

I even got to go horseback riding, and I was in seventh heaven.  The boys were reasonably well-behaved, but seriously, it's WAY too exhausting traveling with two little boys.  We got back Sunday night, and Michael left for Vienna on Monday, so i am all alone this week. (well, me and my 18 piles of laundry). The boys are getting back in to their routine, thank God.

I was asked today to do an article for May Memory Makers as well as all the layouts, so that made me happy. But truthfully, I am actually scrapping for ME these days...no more design team work, just lots of fun scrappy goodness. I am participating in Debbie Hodge's class over at nycscraps.com and she is a PHENOMENAL teacher. Seriously, get yourself over to the site and get on the mailing list so you can take her next class, because THIS is what online scrapbook classes can and should be.

Sharing some photos from my trip....

Today is my birthday...

and it was a GREAT day....first off, DH let me sleep in by taking the kids out for breakfast and to the park....ahhhhhh. So I awoke a quiet house, had some coffee and (get this...) SCRAPPED!! I made a layout for the Simple Scrapbooks' due today, a bit late but hey. Then I took the boys to the park and played basketball with them, and this evening, we went out to our favorite upscale pizzeria called Adrienne's over in the financial district..YUM...then...I SCRAPPED AGAIN! I know, a miracle, right? Did another page for the SS call, at this point just 3 hours before the deadline LOL...I loved them both.

I also fit in a run today, which was great and rejuvenating. During the run, as happens, I started thinking about where I am in my life right now, both with scrapbooking and with my family. I have placed a self-imposed deadline of tomorrow to decide whether I will leave my manufacturer Design Team positions, and while running, I realized that while I definitely still value the layouts I create, I am more and more creating for someone other than myself. And that's not okay with me, at least not at this point in my life. I also realized (belatedly) that the last year has been FULL of deadlines: the book deadlines, which were very stressful, combined with the deadlines from the magazine, all while trying to be a great mother with no sitter. I want to 'get back to the basics', scrap for me, use the products that I feel like at any given moment, and shop. Yes, I said shop. I haven't been shopping much at all for about the last 8 months simply because I have been sent a lot of stuff by manufacturers, which (don't get me wrong) is FANTASTIC. But in a sense I feel like I 'shouldn't' shop but rather use the stuff that has been sent to me. Now, I often DO want to use the stuff that is sent to me, but I also have a specific style which doesn't work with every product. Am I making any sense here?

Anyway, to make a long story short, I am leaving my design teams, along with Project X which I left last week. I want to focus on nycscraps.com, focus on my kids and focus on my husband. He's told me often that i don't work very well with tight deadlines, and I've always argued that I do indeed. What I finally figured out is that while I may produce work I am happy with on tight deadlines, and enjoy that rush of adrenaline that accompanies them, I tend to get stressed and short-tempered and nothing is worth that. Okay, some things might be worth that :)

Oh! I almost forgot to mention what my lovely husband got me for my birthday!! First of all, to all the feminists out there whom I call my sisters, do not be offended by this gift, because I ASKED for it. I am now officially a housewife. I got a Dyson Animal. Which I have been coveting for years. I also got a GORGEOUS Canon Rebel which he used for about a year at work but is now giving to me as he needs to upgrade. This thing is fantastic, and just about brand new since he only used it indoors. It's so much lighter than my old Rebel! So two gifts that make me happy happy.

Some shots from my bday dinner:

Need some inspiration????

So, I've been spending a lot of time in the Simple Scrapbooks Gallery, and I feel totally, completely, wonderfully inspired. Now, I haven't found the time to scrap for about 2 weeks, and it's killing me. What with preparing for my brother's wedding next week, running my One-in-48 over at NYCscraps.com, preparing for Debbie's upcoming class, and Michael working weekends and also til 10 pm during the week, I feel totally exhausted by the time the boys hit the hay. BUT. I am still totally inspired. Let me share with you some of the layouts and projects that have truly caught my eye.

This mini album by the incomparable Severine took my breath away.

These layouts by Danielle Marie-Claire are the perfect example of simple simple simple when you have a sentiment to convey.

And of course, the incomparable Celeste, who was just selected for the Simple Gal Team at Simple Scrapbooks. She has a wonderful ability to use patterned paper as her base, a skill  I have yet to learn.

My life is too full....

so....I am still simplifying my apartment...and also simplifying my life. I decided a month ago or so to leave the design teams of Scrap Room and Scrap Hype. Much as I loved the kits, I just had so much going on that I couldn't give the teams the attention they deserved. And now, I am considering cutting back, or perhaps even eliminating, my manufacturer design team obligations. It's such a difficult decision. I adore both We R Memory Keepers and Die Cuts with A View. The people are WRMK are TOP NOTCH. They're responsive and good people, and it doesn't hurt that they send boatloads of superb product to each of their DT members. DCWV has so many fabulous new things in their pipeline--it just seems to get better and better.  Nonetheless, homeschooling Luca, my online classes at nycscraps.com and focusing on my family life really needs to be the priority, so here I sit, trying to decide what to do. Both companies were more than gracious when I talked to them about my dilemma, and left it up to me to decide what I would like to do. So. The decision is mine. Have I mentioned I'm a Libra? I know I will figure it out, but I sometimes wish I was one of those people who could just make a decision and move on.

Today we headed over to TKD for luca's class, and also to pick up his BRAND SPANKING NEW yellow belt. He was SO proud when his teacher wrapped that yellow belt (okay, double wrapped it) around his waist.  I have a shot I took with my brand new Canon SD1000 and I will post it this evening.

Now, if I could only get Julian to STOP this terrible new habit he has: shrieking at the decibel level of a freight train at the top of his voice to get my attention. Word to the young: a simple "mommy, could you help me?" will work too. Luckily, he managed to pipe down during his haircut yesterday......

what a day!!!

So....today Luca got his full YELLOW belt in TKD....I am so proud of him!! Finally graduated from the "junior" belts into the big league. On the way home from the test, Michael swung by Amish Market on his scooter and picked up some cookies and treats, and after the boys' bath we sang "Happy Yellow Belt to You"...so cute. 

In other news, I finally got my layouts out to Sherry for her upcoming Memory Makers book yesterday. Whew! All those forms are a PITA. But I am happy with how the layouts came out, and so excited to be a part of the book. And did you hear the HOF requirements came out?  I've never entered, and it looks like I won't be starting...just don't feel the mojo for this contest right now...really, I'd love to just submit a lot, get pubbed more (particularly in SS, which I am LOVING right now) and enjoy teaching my classes.

Speaking of classes, Debbie's class is FILLING UP!!! So if you have any interest in taking it you better hep to and get over there and sign up. Seriously, if you've ever worried that an online teacher wouldn't "care" enough, or that you wouldn't feel "connected" enough to the class to get anything done, this class will prove you WAY wrong. Debbie has a relaxed, kind and knowledgeable person which really comes across whether you're talking to her in person, or online. And the community of students who continue to come back for more to nycscraps.com just bowls me over with their talent and their dedication....okay, schmaltz over...really though, I am serious....

What else...oh yea...so Michael tells me that he's going to Vienna and I am like 'when?" and he's like, um "friday?"...Ugh...he's since changed his departure date to AFTER my brother Whitten's wedding, which is good. The wedding is next weekend in Georgia, and yes, we're all going and yes, by kids will be in the wedding. Mimi and Whitten clearly do not have kids yet. Don't worry Whit, I will dope em up before the ceremony with a little Triaminic....kidding!!! Kidding! Michael is SERIOUSLY busy right now at work, coming home past 10 pm most nights lately. Julian was so pathetic tonight in bed, crying out for Papa. So I put Michael on the phone to him and Julian just says "I want Papa!" Way to make a working man feel good, right? Poor M felt so guilty. But he did get to see the kids a bit today, as he came to Luca's belt test, and had a quickie Indian dinner with us. The benefits of being self employed...

Okay, so tonight I am going to do a fun simple layout for me...been VERY inspired by the work of Danielle Marie Claire over at Simple Scrapbooks' site....i feel a scrap inspiration coming on!