Hillary Heidelberg's Blog

Heading to GASC

Off to Grand Rapid, MI to teach at the Great American Scrapbooking Convention...leaving in a couple of hours, and just getting together the last minute things that inevitably need gathering at the last minute. My classes are going to be so much fun, and I really can't wait to meet my students.

Yesterday we had another birthday party for Luca (yes, it's birthday central around these parts)...this one was for all his neighbourhood friends, and it went off well! No matter what, it seems, these things are always exhausting. There's something about getting 8 five-year-old kids together (along with assorted siblings) that makes these parties totally, completely exhausting. But Luca was happy, and his friends had a good time. When Michael and I finally got the boys into bed at around 8:00 p.m., we literally collapsed in front of the t.v.

Speaking of which, Kameron is definitely getting kicked off tonight. His hair is cute, but seriously, he's just not in the same league. Sabra is looking better and better, I have to say, but I still have a girl-crush on Lacey. But what was up with that awful solo Wade put together? I mean, I am all for public declarations against the war, but I really didn't like the choreography at all. Speaking of politics, Luca and I were having a conversation the other day on the subway; we were talking about the YouTube presidential candidate debate that happened a few days ago. So Luca says "Is President Bush going to be there?' So I said no, since he wasn't up for re-election and he was a Republican besides. So Luca says "well, that's good because I really don't like him..." LOL....The guy sitting in the seat next to Luca looks at him, then looks at me, and then says to Luca "Why don't you like President Bush?" and Luca turns to him and says "Well, you know he won't let the soldiers come home?" That pretty much shut the guy up, and the people around us started cracking up. Nothing like a simplified version of 5 year old politics to get people smiling....

Okay, gotta go find my suitcase and get packed up. I will try and blog from  GASC!

Okay, I know I already posted today...

...but I just HAD to post this...Lisa Tutman-Oglesby just pointed out this link to me. This guy's from the British version of American Idol.

Never let it be said....

..that I am not a woman of my word.....65 lbs and $52 dollars later, my RAK box has officially gone postal to the winner Miss Brooke...the first time I tried to send it, the postman who came to get it from my apartment deemed it "too heavy". I tried to convince him it was under the 70 lb pickup limit by bringing out my trusty bathroom scale and perching the box atop it (all the while balancing one corner with my toe). But no go. I am guessing the box wouldn't have fit in his trusty mail carrier thingie. Anyway, I called the PO and explained my problem, and they promised they would send another postman the next day. Which they did. And happily, he found my jerry-rigged weighing station quite satisfactory.

In other news, Paris was released yesterday and then sent back to the slammer today. Seems a bumbling sheriff deemed her "mental issues" too severe for the Los Angeles jail system. Would seem to me that if any jail were able to handle mentally disturbed celebrities, it would be LA's. But that's just me. I don't want to go on too much about it though, since everyone and their mother knows way more than they'd ever want to about it (oh, except for my mother who famously once admitted she'd never heard of either Steely Dan or U2. A pop culture hound she is not. Oh, and my soon to be sister-in-law Mimi most certainly doesn't know about the "Paris Incident", simply because her wicked boss keeps her locked up in the office for upwards of 200 hours a week-hi Meem!)

I am such a dork. I had fun today downloading a little app called Windowblinds. It allows you to totally change the "look" of your Windows interface--so cool. It's free for 2 months, and then 20 bucks after that. Having fun playing with it for now--I love the "Buff" theme, sort of a neutral thing. I guess if you work on your computer a lot, as I do, it's fun to customize Windows. Or maybe it's just me procrastinating as usual :)

Working hard on some projects for a show next week on Home Shopping Network and I am having a blast! I don't normally do projects other than layouts, but I am branching out this week! Tomorrow we're headed off to East Hampton to my mom's house...I am really looking forward to going to the beach...it's been waaay too long. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics when I'm out there!

what the judges would have said about Bette....

Simon: "Now, if I'm going to be totally honest..and I know I'll get booed for this, but really, that was like something I might hear at a Vegas lounge act...and you know, I would probably ask for my money back. No, really, really...It was really quite awful. "

Randy: "Yo yo yo dawg, okay check it out, check it out...You know, man, that just didn't do it for me,  man, I know you're Bette but I gotta say I'm a little disappointed...it was a little pitchy in spots, and you know, not one of your best. Just not one of you're best. I gotta say it."

Paula: "Aaaaw, you know what I love about you Bette is your spirit. I mean, look at you up there. You're living your dream. You're giving it your all, and that's what people love about you...We still love you..."

So, what'd ya think??

So....who do you think is gonna get the boot on AI? Michael and I were discussing it last night (important things get discussed after the kids go to bed, y'know) and we couldn't decide. Although Michael doesn't really 'get' Blake, I think he's pretty original and bold, although I do wish he had better fitting pants (I know, I'm so shallow--but his pants look like he slept in them for a week). I thought Jordan could have done a better job with Donna Summers...I mean, Donna Summers!!! Who hasn't sung her tunes in the shower and was hoping for a WOW performance from young Jordan? Melinda was the best, I thought, and I liked the fact that she brought her backup singers out front--paying homage to her past, kwim? So my guess is that Blake will be going home tonight, simply because Jordan has the cute, 17-year old thing going for her and a great voice, and Melinda is simply perfect.

Sharing two layouts I created with the June Sweet Pea Scraps kit...if you haven't pre-ordered one yet, get over there and buy one--they're moving like hotcakes!!! I am working on a few other things, but thought I'd post these today.

Check out Ricki Lake...

This woman is really cool, I have to say. First of all, she promotes midwifery and natural birthing--both her kids were born naturally, at home, and she just finished a documentary called The Business of Being Born about her experience with natural childbirth--you go girl. To top it off, she got healthy and lost like a bajillion pounds. My first birth with Luca was all natural (for the first 34 hours...) I started out at a birthing center near Union Square which has since closed due to financial issues. After about 34 hours of labor with no progress, I was so physically exhausted that I was moved to the nearby St. Vincent's hospital, where I was administered pitocin to speed the labor along. I gave birth about 6 hours later. I have always been a proponent of, if not natural birth, at least of women knowing all the options availalble to them and NOT BEING SCARED. I do think the medical establishment has really made women scared of their own bodies in so many respects--their weight, their ability to give birth. It's almost like their body is their enemy, know what I mean?

Can things get any weirder?

Can things get any more pathetic? First Alec Baldwin, then David Hasselhoff Seems the Hoff has been banned from seeing his kids after his 16 year old daughter (yes, 16) filmed him while he was drunk and eating a Wendy's burger.  Her reason? She wanted to prove to him that he basically looked like an idiot when he was drunk. Point taken. But really. Makes any illusion that being a celeb is fun look so, um, NOT FUN. (If you feel the need to see the video yourself, go to Inside Edition Warning-it is so not the uber-sensitive Hoff we know from AI...sniff sniff)

In other news, I actually got both boys to nap today. At the SAME TIME. For those of you with young children (plural) you'll know that that is a minor miracle. So what did I do? I napped too of course. For a whole hour. A whole house of quiet napping people. So totally awesome.

Tonight I am preparing all the paperwork for my FINAL BOOK mailing of layouts to my editor. Yes, after 6 months, I can actually say that I am DONE with the artwork. DONE! Okay, so there's this little matter of the text to complete. But still. Combine that with the tandem napping today, and I've definitely got reason to celebrate!