CKU Anaheim

Call this CKU #6 for me! And another very cool ride, it was! What happened, you ask?

Reunion with friends!
Yes, it was a chance to meet up with many of my friends from CKUs past. Some I've seen on several occasions, others just from the boards. My two roomies were also former dormies, having been with me as one of the ever-popular Scrappin' Biker Babes (...wavin' atcha, Maria and Kim...). And Carol from Davis! We met in San Jose last year (I was thrilled to have been tablemates with Carol and her DD, Kim, during our "Personal Treasury" album track). Josianne, who so generously offered to help me with the Rainbow Embellishment Swap. Alison (in Wonderland), who knows how to coordinate one mean (and totally awesome) bus tour. Crafty Faye, from Personal Treasury, the 100+ paint can swap, and my oh-so-awesome Secret Sister! She spoiled me rotten with all sorts of sweet and lovely and wonderful goodies.

Meeting new friends!
Oh so many of them. Where do I start? Well, with my dormies, of course. Karen, Becca, Julie, and Connie. What a great group of gals. I have been so blessed with having great dormies. Everyone pulling their weight. No egos. Just lots of hard work and fun and memories. Linda, the newbie who I got to spoil as her Secret Sister (I hope you had a great time!). Susan L from Freckle Friends (yooohooo!). Man, talk about a great gal. So easy to talk to. We hit it off from the start. Maria W (who happens to be Faye's SIL). And besides being a new CKU friend, we found out that we live "next door" (she's in the next town over from me)! How cool is that! Oh, and last but certainly not least, Michelle Hill (she of Li'l Davis). I not only had the joy of being in her album track (HAPPY Things) and class (Garden of Ideas), but also had a great time helping out at her booth during the Make and Takes. Somehow or another, she didn't have any helpers that day. So, Carol, Maria, Karen and I just rolled up our shirt sleeves (which wasn't too hard since we were in short sleeves) and dived in. What a totally fun day! Don't get me wrong, CKU is great for all participants. But I'm not a big M&T fan (after having done soooo many over the years). I was perfectly content to help hand out goodies to my fellow CKUers. Michelle is such a kick; so genuine and personable. And TOTALLY and SERIOUSLY fun! Told her to give me a buzz for Nashville!

Bus Tour!
Allison, Jessica, and their co-creators really outdid themselves with this bus tour. We got sooo much free stuff. And the LSS that we visited had the best discounts and specials for us. One store in particular provided sandwiches...which, by the time we got there, were sooooo appreciated (many of us hadn't eaten yet). Roomie Kim even won the grand prize of a scrapper's retreat crop (around $300+ value). I spent way too much, but isn't that the idea?

Tons of great classes!
Loved my entire schedule. Besides Michelle's track and class, I was able to get into both of Tim Holtz's classes (great! Love them!), Candice Stringham's photography class, and a chipboard album with Fancy Pants. Not a bad 'un in the bunch.

Dorm performance!
Yeehaw, we were one of the 3 dorms selected to perform. What a kick that always is! I thought we had a great song (a little biased since I wrote it). Came in 2nd. Never a bad thing since we got to share in a big box o' goodies. And we all love our tshirts, aprons, and chef's hats. Oh, and Karen's digitally altered photo of Becky Higgins was THE BEST!

Shopping and Eating in Downtown Disney!
Maria, Kim, Carol and I hit DD for a few hours before heading back to the hotel. A great meal! Some wonderful Disney atmosphere. Fun with friends. What better way to start our CKU experience?

To sum it up, it was FABULOUSLY AWESOME, TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY WONDERFUL!