Remembering CHA - January 2009.

Last year, I really didn't do a re-cap of the year, but I wanted to. So I thought I'd do a few posts to re-cap the year.

This first one... well, this is LONG overdue. LONG! I should have done a CHA Winter 2009 post right after it happened, but well, I was going through a tough time, and I just couldn't. I couldn't do much of anything. LOL.

January 2009 was the worst month of my life. That being said, CHA was my favorite thing about 2009, so it all worked out. ;-)

I was really depressed before I left for CHA... I was crying a lot, and I wanted to just suck it up, do my job, have fun, and forget about the misery! That was tough. And then I met Wendy...

Wendy was with Megan right outside the press room. I had just walked out and saw them, Wendy looked at me, and at the same time, we realized we were both wearing purple tops with green blazers.

Well, that started what was one of the most amazing conversations I had at CHA. We chatted about organization (of course!), scrapbooking, Disney, The Container Store... all kinds of things. It totally made my day, and I just could have sat there ALL day talking to them. I love that out of that meeting grew two friendships I'm beyond blessed to have! (And Megan, next time I see you, we will have to get a photo of the two of us as well!)

So THEN... the next day, I was in the Ranger booth, had just gotten finished filming Donna Downey and Tim Holtz (how perfect was this trip... really?!), and I get a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to these two beautiful ladies...

Scarlet and April. *sigh* And I thought my trip couldn't get any better! HA! I was SO wrong. They are two of the sweetest (not to mention, SUPER cute accents!) girls I've ever met! I pretty much screamed and threw my arms around them! LOL.

Later on that day, I ran into Ally at the PaperCrafts booth...

This meeting started an awesome friendship (that woman is FASCINATING!), AND we got to meet again and hang out (another highlight of my year!) just last month!

I got to room with Suzy, who is totally sweet! And I didn't even realize it at the time, but when we went to the SplitCoast Stampers meetup, she was like a celebrity! Seriously, women were screaming when they met her and asking for her photo! I was like, "Oh cool! My roommate is FAMOUS!" LOL. So here's a photo of me with the famous Suzy Haghighi... a MASTER Copic stamper!

I also got to hang with the Studio Calico crew... for Reveal. *sigh* And my trip would not have been complete without running into my old friend, Kelly. On the last day, we ended up running into each other as we were each about to get lunch, so we got to have lunch together. Love impromptu lunch dates. :-)


I'm not really one to get "scrappy star-struck," but when I saw Amy Martin and CD Muckosky together, I did go up and ask for a photo. They were happy to oblige! Scrappers are so sweet!

Oh! And I almost forgot! I took this awesome (if I do say so myself...) photo of Paris Hilton while she was unveiling her new scrappy line...

She really was beautiful in real life. MUCH shorter than I thought (definitely not 5'10" like her online bio states), and she was lovely. Didn't have a clue, but lovely. ;-) I thought her interview at CHA was HILARIOUS, so I spent like 90 minutes transcribing it for Craft Critique. Priceless. LOL.

While waiting for Paris to arrive (being on time is not one of her talents...), I met the fabulous Paige. Funny... we didn't become friends until several months after CHA, but this girl... I love this girl! She has one of the best blogs on the net, and she is just as sweet and cute as can be. AND she is the best enabler! I have the cutest dishes from Target... thanks to her! ;-)

Wow... I'm just realizing that I made quite a few friends that January. I don't even have photos of Emily P. and Kirsty and Steph and Nicole H! :-( But in a time in my life when I most needed some wonderfulness, that's what I got... in several fantastic, scrappy women! Thank you ALL so much! You are all fabulous!

And that was my January 2009.

p.s. And thank you to Sarah at Craft Critique for giving me the opportunity to interview and write and make new friends... making that week one of the best weeks ever!