Home.

It’s good to be home.

Home. One of my favorite words. :D

Thankfully, travel is another one,  so all is well there. I arrived back from CKU  few hours ago, in time to turn around and go pick up my MIL from the airport for a 9-day visit. She came just in time for the record-setting 100-degree temps around here. :)

CKU.

Was awesome. I have so much admiration for the brave ladies (and gent!) who took the chance on the digital class and came ready to learn this whole new thing. It takes a lot of courage to bring a laptop to a scrapbook show. My very favorite thing about CKU is about 2:00 on the album days, after everyone has been working for a few hours, plugging away at pages, practicing the techniques and the layer and file management, the room goes quiet, and gets this air of concentration about it. The sound of smart people thinking. And it becomes obvious that everyone is getting it. The number of questions goes down, and everyone begins to gain that rhythm. It’s incredible. So humbling. Photoshop is not an easy program to learn (and still harder to master), so being able to be there when this moment begins to happen is so cool.

A huge shout-out to the brave TA’s who joined me in the adventure on Friday and Saturday, so willing to offer patient assistance - thank you for your help!

I love being able to see my far-flung friends Ali and Paolo and Margie and Tim every couple of months, going out to dinner or chatting over lunch - and can we talk about the Houston location? The Westin Galleria is located directly attached to a huge mall. Oh yes. And you have to cross the mall’s hallway to get to most of the meeting rooms - it was hard not to get sucked out into shopping every time I went by there. I did manage to resist. A few times. But I also managed to get my shopping fix in the off-times as well (I haven’t been to a mall in like 6 months). Sometimes there’s nothing sweeter than a quiet no-kid stroll in a mall. :)

But more than anything, I’m glad and grateful to be home. CKU gives me a great inspirational pick-me-up - being around all the scrapbookers, and being part of this awesome event reminds me why I do this, why I started scrapbooking in the first place, and what I value most about my life, and so it’s good to be home to see my peeps again. :D

I hope your weekend was great! If you were at CKU this weekend, big waves and hellos to you wherever home is, from  my home, N.C.

Comments

[Lynda]

So glad you made it back home safely....you're right. No place like home! We look forward to hearing from you on the boards. Hugs those children and Jared tightly!

[Carrie]

Hey Jessica - It was super great to meet you and get to hang out so much!

Take care,
Carrie

[LivE]

Welcome back, my friend!!! So glad you got your CKU-dose of witnessing a-ha moments *and* shopping ;) and hanging out with friends! So glad to have you back home too! :D

[latz]

Welcome home--so glad the the new class was a hit--knew it would be with you as the teacher. As much as we love and adore our kids, it is nice to have some time without them too!

[DI]

Glad to hear all went well at CKU - one day we will entice you to Canada! Have fun with your MIL.

[klogan]

I just used one of your phrases to create my new header for my blog, so I felt the need to say,"Thank you." In the June CK issue, you talked about how photographs allow us the ability to "taste life twice." I loved that. It stuck with me and every time I take a photo now I think about being fortunate enough to taste life twice!

[Lycia]

It was great to meet you in person at CKU! Like I said, your class is the ONLY reason I came to CKU and it was worth every penny. Hope to see you again. Enjoy being home!!!

[Mandy Watson]

I really enjoyed helping out as a TA with you this weekend at CKU! Not only did I learn from you, I met some great, very kind, and very talented people as well. Thanks again Jessica for giving me the experience! Enjoy visiting with your MIL and have a great week!

Mandy Watson :)

[ScrappyGuy]

Meeting you was such a HOOT! I had an amazing time in your class. Thanks for all the inspiration and chats. I'm almost done with my album. Can't wait to share.

[Suzette]

Jessica,
This was my first CKU, but it definitely won't be my last! I was excited about learning something new, but a little scared at the same time. You not only taught the class, you mingled with us and answered every student's question.
That "aha" moment was incredible! I've completed almost half of my album. We have just walked in the door (after driving 12 hours), and I can't wait to finish it. I'll probably work on it most of the day tomorrow, because I can't wait to get it in the mail!
Thank you for taking the chance on us and allowing us the opportunity to learn a new way to scrapbook. I don't think I'm ready to go all-digital, but hybrid pages are definitely in my future!