An Update

Wow! It's been a while! But it's good to be back :) I thought I'd give you all a little update on my life, and I've got a card to share as well (it's at the end, so feel free to skip now to the good stuff!)

So the main reason I've been MIA this summer is because...well, it's summer :) Ben has had marginally more time to spend with me this summer, so I'm spending as much time with him as he'll allow! We've had a couple of major achievements this summer as well, which have contributed to our busyness and my absence from the stamping world (yes, not only have I not been posting here, but I haven't even been stamping! At all!). The first major achievement is that of my husband. Ben earned admittance to the University of Chicago Law Review (a prestigious law journal, of which only 29 of 190 students in each class earn admittance to the staff). This was a HUGE deal for him. He worked so hard this past year, and all his hard work has paid off...and it has paid him with more work :) Oh well. This achievement will almost certainly aid him tremendously in his search for a job once he's out of school. Obviously this is important, especially considering today's job economy. So I guess we're in for another year of even more work than last year...so that means you'll probably be hearing even more from me!

The second of our major achievements this summer was my getting my first "real" job! Last summer, I had worked several short-term temporary positions before landing a long-term temporary assignment with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Unfortunately, the office I was assigned to was a hour drive from my house, each way. Although I enjoyed the position, I hated the commute. I started looking for a position in the Blue Cross Blue Shield office that is only a short 15-minute train ride from my house. After a long hiring process (that included three interviews!), I was offered a position. It was such great news! I started in mid-July, so I've had about a month in the new position. So far I LOVE the job. The people are great, and I love the work. It's so perfect for me, and I'm so thankful God had everything planned out perfectly (as always!).

So although we're technically still in "summer" as Ben doesn't start classes until the last week in September, both of us are so busy that it sure doesn't seem like summer (except for the crazy heat of course). I am very excited by all the new products Stampin' Up! has created for us with this new catalog. I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the new colors! I could not be happier with the new Color Renovation. It's so nice to have a bin full of totally stylish colors...but it's so hard to choose which colors to use!

Now...on to the stamping! Speaking of the color renovation, this card features one new "regular" color and one new "in color":



Sorry the colors are a little off in this picture. I just made this card tonight, and the lighting in my living room is not ideal for picture-taking :) I used the new Greenhouse Gala DSP along with the polka dot embossing folder and a retired (sorry!) Sale-a-Bration set from this past spring. The flower is actually yellow--I used one of the small Paper Daisies (p. 188) and dyed it using the Daffodil Delight ink. The card stock colors are Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Pear Pizzaz.