I am so blessed with amazing friends!!!

Rocio

Laurie

Erin

Thank you for being my friend and always being there for me!!

I love you gals!!
Hugs

Suzy West

CHA was a blast!!!

CHA Chicago was AWESOME!!! We had such a great time!!! There is noone that I would have loved to do CHA Chicago with than these three girls.

We laughed so freaking hard the time we were there I came home with a stomache. Regular words like "special" and "wonderful" became something crazy that we would laugh over!LOL You had to be there to understand. :)

As much as I enjoyed ordering for the store and seeing all the new products, it was the girls that I was with that made my time so memorable!!

Don't get me wrong, when it was work time...it was work time. LOL All of us had a "job!"

Rocio--photography and the one in charge of "the credit card!" I think she liked that job a lot!LOL

Sylvia--Marking all the catalogs for us to remember what we ordered. She was awesome!!! She cracked us up @ the Maya Road booth!! Nothing is marked but we ordered everything time's 8!LOL (one of the laughing for hours moment)

Erin--had "the binder!" SHe had to write down the estimated ship dates, the totals, and keep the invoices together.

ME--I was in charge of getting to all the places we needed to go to. Find out what was new and how and when we could incoorporate things into classes, events, and more.

Anyways, when it was time to work we worked.

When it was time to play, we played...

Picture of us in front of the BEAN!!

I love this picture of me taking a picture of us in front of the bean.

This is us at the restaurant that we walked MILES for because I forgot where it was and couldn't remember the name. It was a place where they served all MINI foods. So much fun! Finally decided to ask someone if they knew of the place and they said, "yes, it's called....Mini's!" ROFLOL

Sylvia and I @ Mini's

A beautiful street we walked down while trying to get to Mini's

In front of the famous Chicago theatre.

A picture I took while standing 103 stories high @ Sears Tower!!

The first two nights we stayed with our fried AC in Chicago. We went all over the place!!!

Erin, Sylvia, and I posing for another shot!

Just another fun photo!!
We also saw the building where Oprah does her show. We saw the ABC Studio and where they film the news. We saw tons but I can't remember it all.LOL

Next show....Memory Trends!!!!

Exhausted!!!

So there is a lot going on this month which is why I'm so exhausted!!! LOL
This past weekend we had a big crop on Friday. A 10am-10pm on Saturday. A huge garage sale(all the mechanics) on Sunday. We then took out the family to dinner and then watched the new movie Rat-a-something. SO CUTE!!!

So it must have hit me last night that I was exhausted and then realized that I...

**got the kids ready in the morning and dropped them off at my parents house.
**only to realize I should have brought Sierra with me because we had kids camp at the store. Lizz picked her up for me. She was there for an hour!!!
**Then took out FOUR teenage boys to the mall and to lunch.
**went back to work.
**closed the store @ 7pm and then took Sierra, Ashleigh, ANgel, Tanner, and Christian out to Golfland for some mini golf game. At the same time Paul had the four boys that I had earlier and ended up going to Golfland too!LOL
** got home around 10:45pm.
**watched Will and grace....and somewhere there fell asleep!

So let's see what's next...

We have a trip in 9 days. I have to still pack for that. We have to finish kitting my class that I'm teaching @ Windy City Scrapbooking. There are weddings and a few baby showers. We've had four birthday's in the last few days and two more this next week. We have a few classes and lots more going on.

Even though I'm tired, I enjoy going home and spending time with my kiddos.
I'm excited when I'm with them and Sierra is telling me, "You're the best mommy in the world!"

Okay so off to work. Have a great day!!
Hugs
Suzy

The Big event!!!

I'm excited about an event we are having @ our store!!! We just announced it yesterday and we had a great response!!!!

The big event is a two day event that will be filled with classes, lunches, crops, and fun!!!
When the two days are over, attendee's will go home with 8 completed classes.
They will be taught by our awesome teachers and one GUEST teacher!!!

Saturday, October 27th & Sunday, October 28th

Teacher list:

Krista Lund
Nichole Pereira
Michelle Tornay
Erin Yamabe
Rocio Duran
Sylvia Bargas
Emelyn Magpoc
and.......... Michelle Hill from Lil' Davis Designs!!!

If you want more information go to www.bayareascrappers.com

Thanks
Suzy West

Happy birthday Jeremy!!!!

Unbelievable, my son is a teenager!!! Thirteen years ago I gave birth to my amazingly sweet and handsome son!!
Thirteen years ago today I was 34 weeks pregnant and for some reason I woke up that morning and felt horrible. I was so emotional and could not stop crying. I had no idea why. I called Paul and told him that I couldn't figure out why it was but I just needed to cry that day. He told me to stop or he'd take me to the hospital. I told him to take me because I couldn't stop crying. I also made a decision that it was the day to have Jeremy. Ummmm you can't just decide to have a baby whenever you feel like it. Well I had this overwhelming feeling come over me that Jeremy needed to be born that day.
After hours of crying I went to the hospital and of course they checked me. They said I was perfectly fine. They were about to send me home, and I got mad because I just FELT that he had to be born that day.
They had hooked me up to some monitors and were about to take them off when they saw that his heart rate was dropping. They brought in an ultrasound machine and saw that there was absolutely NO amnioc fluid. They looked at me and said, "I hope you didn't have plans because you are having your baby TODAY!". They also told me that if I had not come in that day he would have died!
So thirteen years later and look at him!!! He's so sweet. Last night we went to the movies and he put his head on my shoulders and it just touched me. I love him so much!! He's such a great kid!!
Tonight we are taking him to his favorite restaurant, Nijo's Castle. It's like Benijanas(sp?). Tomorrow I'm taking him and his friends to the mall to hang out and then Paul is taking them to a two story Lazor tag place!!! He's so excited!!!
I love you sweetie!!! Happy birthday!!

TONS and TONS of stuff!!!

We are having a garage sale here at the store. We have so much stuff it's crazy!!! Tons of totes, paper, albums, and more!!!! If you are in there area come and see us.
Sunday, July 8th
10am-2pm.
These are just a FEW little pictures. YOu have no idea how much we have!!!! LOL

Our day @ 6 flags on the 4th!!

OMG I had such a great time on the 4th of July. It was Sierra's birthday and we told her we'd take her to 6 flags. We had a blast!!!! The kids loved all the shows and getting on a ton of rides. The firework show was spectacular! The only thing that would have made the day better was if it wasn't over 100 degrees!! It was freakin' hot!!!

Here are some of the pictures from our day.

The kids watching the dolphins swim. The firework show at night.
The kids being WIERD!!! LOL
Sierra holding Tanner The girls!!!
Angel, Tanner, and Christian enjoying the show
Tanner totally into the dolphins, so cute!!
The kids watching and petting the sting rays.
Happy birthday Sierra!!!!

ohhhhhhh, she got me....

Erin tagged me!! Crazy girl!!
Here are my answers.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? no
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? The day of Angel's wedding.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? salami
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? YES.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? yes
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yes.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? no
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? yes
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? Lucky charms
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? sometimes
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Kind of.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? cafe mocha
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? How they treat others.
15. RED OR PINK? red
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I rush everything. I need to slow down.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my grandma
18. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? capri's and I'm not wearing shoes.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? hamburger
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Rick Springfield
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? bright red
23. FAVOURITE SMELLS? my little Sierra always smells so sweet, chocolate fondue, and certain soaps. WIERD!
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my friend Betty
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I absolutely ADORE her!
26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Football and baseball.
27. HAIR COLOUR? Dark brown with tinges of GREY!!! what the freak? LOL
28. EYE COLOUR? Brown
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? nope
.30. FAVOURITE FOOD? fondue- blue tomato cheese, chef salad, milk chocolate and everett!
OMG!!! Erin and I had the same answer!!!! LOL
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Definately happy sappy endings.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?Pirates of the carribean #3
33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? my favorite beige blouse
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer baby!
35. HUGS OR KISSES? I love hugging and kissing my kiddo's. My dh--(sorry can't say...too hot)
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I guess
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND. I don't even know who I'm going to tag.
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? I'm reading some of my old diaries. LOL NO JOKE!LOL
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? nothing
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? old re-runs.
42. FAVOURITE SOUND? The sounds of my Sierra screaming out, "MOMMYYYYYY" when she see's me.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? the Beatles 100%
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? I've been to Maine.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Honestly, I have no idea. I take good pictures? LOL
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? California
47. WHAT SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU LIKE? I would love to fly. I've had dreams where I'm flying and I'm looking at everything down below. I'm clumsy in real life and apparently in my dreams too because I flew right into a wall. LOL

Okay I'm tagging...
kerry lynn
JJ

CHA--Chicago

I'm so excited to be going to CHA in Chicago this year!!! I'll be going with three of my good friends, Rocio, Erin, and Sylvia!!

Everytime I'm with either or all of them it's so much fun!!! Our main focus for this show: shop like crazy for the store. I've already placed some orders. So it's going to make things just a little easier for me when I go there.

We have planned to meet with some of my reps, attend cool events like the one Scrap in style tv is doing, check out some cool sites, and I'll be teaching at one my most favorite stores, Windy City Scrapbooking!! I was asked to teach the last time we were down there for another trade show. I'm thrilled to be teaching there again.

Last reason I'm excited to be attending CHA this year? I have two books debuting(sp?)@ this show. My last canvas book and a fun little felt book.
Rocio and Sylvia are excited because this is their first time doing a book.
The canvas book has: Sylvia, Krista, Nichole, and myself.
The felt book has: Sylvia, Krista, Nichole, Rocio, and MUAH!
Sylvia even made the cover of both our canvas and felt book!!! Can't wait to have them in my hands!!!
Here are a few pictures of Michelle, Nichole, and I on our last trip to Chicago!!!

Next time...Miss Laurie...you're coming with us!!!!

OMG!! Check out this class that Nicole is teaching!!!

Last night Nicole brought her class over to the store. My mouth dropped to the floor. This book is AMAZING!!! The pictures do it no justice but I couldn't wait show it off for her!!!

These are not all the pages but it gives you a glimpse of the class. The entire cover is filled with buttons, gems, and glossy accents. It ROCKS!!!!

For those of you that are in the area and want to take the class:

Date: Saturday, July 14th
Time: 3pm
Cost: $40.00 (everythin included!!!!)

SO EXCITED....

We are going to Six Flags on Sierra's birthday!!!!
My family going, my parents, Angel and her family, Carlos and Erika, and maybe my brother and his family.
I'm such a theme park junkie!!! I especially love any place that has animal shows!!!LOL So yeah, I'm slightly giddy to be going.
I can't wait to see Tanner's face!!! It'll be his first time. I'll be sure to post pictures when I get back.
Hugs
Suzy

Getting older

In 8 days not only will we be celebrating the country's birthday, but Sierra's as well!!! She is so excited to be turning 6 this year. It's a big number. It requires her to put up both hands to show the #6 with her fingers.

Five days later, Jeremy will be turning 13. The word "teen" is in this age and he's thrilled. Paul just got him a new "cool" phone. He's excited!! He's old enough to stay up a little later, do more things with his friends, and stay home a lone for a little while.

I can't believe how big they are getting!!!

So this year, my gift to them is to take them to Disneyland. I'm also taking my niece and nephew so they can go on rides with them. They can't wait!!!

Engaged and underage...

Last night Angel and Christian were on Engaged and Underage. I cracked up over most of it and felt a little bad for them for some of it.

I laugh at reality tv. A lot of it isn't real. They (the producers) will ask you to ask the other something that they know will cause problems between the two.

Another funny thing is that they can add or change anything they want. You can say, "I hate cheese" and they can change that to say, "I hate (insert name here). LOL

Anyways, I got a lot of emails from people saying they laughed through a lot and felt sorry for Christian and ANgel because of his mom. The two of them are really happy and they try to avoid being around her so there are no problems. He's mostly close to his grandparents who raised him but they live in a different country. He has such great respect for them.

Did you guys see all the online episodes? I was almost pee'ing in my pants from laughing so hard.

If you haven't seen them yet, check it out here:
Angel and Christian talking about stuff after the wedding.

There is the bridal scene.

The guys getting their eyebrows wax'd scene.

and the looking for a dress for Sassy scene.

There is going to be another show, the I do re-do show this weekend. It's going to show Angel's bridal shower and her bachellorette(sp?) party. So watch out for that, it should be quite funny and there maybe some more drama!LOL

Thanks for looking!!!
Hugs
Suzy

Check out these awesome shots!!!!

I'm so excited!!! My good friend Rowena photographed Angel's wedding. She's photographed many events but never a wedding. She did a fabulous job! Here are some of the shots that she took. You can view them at her blog as well. Thanks for looking.

Tanner @ one

He was so cute at his party. He's so little, his shorts looked like pants. We gave him his first present, the little car he could ride in and he was in HEAVEN!!!! He had the biggest smile.
Right before the party I went to Old Vavy and bought him about 10 outfits!!LOL I couldn't help myself. Mommy and daddy had big smiles on their faces when they saw the clothes. LOL
He got a lot of nice things from everyone.
The party was at the pool so a lot of people were swimming and hanging out. It was such a nice day.
Here are two shots of him before we went outside.

I love you Tanner!!!

Different stuff...

So today Tanner is ONE!!! I can't wait to see my little porkchop! He's so cute!!

I'll take a ton of photos and post them tomorrow.

In the meantime, I scrapped another page. Really truly trying to get my mojo back. It's not quite there yet, but I'm having fun.

I don't know if you can see the two little words next to the word *before*, they say, "the wedding". Love the photo!

This weekend...

My grandson, Tanner turns one. I can't believe my little munchkin is getting so big. He's such a sweetie. Today my mom, Sierra, and I took him out to Toys R Us to pick up his present. I got him something called my push buddy. It's a little car that he sits in. There's a big handle in the back so we can push him. He's going to love it!!! I'll give it to him at his birthday party on Saturday.

He's so adorable. He wanted me to hold him everywhere we went. He's so hyper I came to work exhausted after watching him for just a few hours!!! LOL

He's been walking since he was 9 months. He's saying a few words, is into everything, and has a smile that can make anyone happy!!

I also left toys R us with a brand new bike for Sierra. I got her a helmet. I got her a swimming pool for my parents backyard and other fun stuff.

This weekend I'm also making plans to take my kids to Disneyland. It'll happen in August.

I'm finishing up kitting some kits for Scrapbook Island in New Hampshire. They have an awesome store!!! They are doing a cruise to Bermuda!! If your aching for a cruise this is going to be a good one.

We have a crop of 28 this Friday. I can't wait too see all my gal pals!! :)

I plan to scrap a few pages this weekend. These are the pictures I'm working on.

I scrapped...

I have hardly scrapped. I've been so busy doing so many other things that I haven't been able to do the one thing that I love to do, scrap. Saturday night I was with all my gal pals celebrating Rocio's birthday and I decided to go ahead and do a page. It wasn't super but atleast I did one. LOL

My goal is to try to do one page every other week. I want to work on some pictures from Angel's wedding.

Thanks for looking!

Hugs

Suzy

A wedding, cha, and more

So this has been a crazy month!! Holy cow! So much going on. I just learned that a family member(can't say who because they haven't told her mom--planning a big surprise at a family dinner this weekend) is getting married!! Another wedding! Of course I was told that they needed my help. Oh sure like I'm a pro at this. LOL

Whatever, I need and want to help. This wedding came at a bad time though. I had planned to go to Burmuda and now I can't go. I'm bummed about that.

Anyways, I am going to cha with three of my gals that are on my team. I'm really excited!! I have two books debuting at this show. It's going to be a crazy week because as soon as I get back we have the wedding.

I'm again going to be busy these next few weeks so if you don't hear from me, you know why. LOL

Hugs
Suzy

My daughter the scrapper

I got a phone call from Angel this morning. She had been busy with Tanner and was getting ready to put him down for a nap. I asked her what she was going to do and she said she was going to scrap. She's been scrapping A LOT!! I'm so thrilled that she is. It's been such a good thing for her to do. When I opened the store and made her manager I told her one of the requirements was for her to become a garage girl. She immediately freaked out because she hardly ever scraps but agreed. Well she has become such an addict. I went over to her house and she had an entire album filled with pages and when she came into work she showed me her assignments that she completed...EARLY!! They aren't do until next month.
I'm so happy that she's scrapping.
Hugs
Suzy