Dawn, Ellen, and the latest road trip

Well..... Lets just say I like to take the road less traveled. On Friday Dawn and I scrapped a bit (SS Kit already posted pics so I'll save you the redundancy). Then Saturdy we got up to drive to Houston. Our journey was fun, as it took us down little country roads through out Texas and through little towns. There was one town - I want to say Bellville - where the courthouse sits in the center of town and the road goes right around it. Funny thing is that on Saturday they were also having a little market day. We drove literally through the market because it ringed the courthouse.





Then we went to visit my friend Monica in Katy. She was shocked to se us because I forgot her number at home and didn't call first. She has a beautiful house out there, and is right next to her sons school - even better. It was short visit because we had to stop at one of our favorite stores - Scrapbook Junkie. If you've never been it's worth the visit. The first time we went the owner was there - Beth - and she's just so personable. This time she was busy, the store was busy! But her staff greeted us with pure southern hospitality. So worth a visit if you're in the Houston area.





After that we drove on down to By Design Scrapbook Boutique where we were scheduled for a few classes the next day. Did a litle pre - class shopping. This store is full of litle places to find buried treasure. We just love it! We also like the staff there. So here's a few pics of our classes.




Do you see who we took classes with? We were totaly filthy with ink and paint by the end of the day, but it was so worth it to learn from Tim. Despite recovering from a tomato incident Mario ade an appearance and was genuinely him. I love visiting with Mario, though there's not a lot of time to visit. For those of you who haven't taken a Tim class, Mario is his assistant. Some days I think Mario is the glue that holds Tim together. I totally need one of those, it would take the presure off my brain a bit. Best part is that the classes were exactly things Dawn and I had wanted to learn. We did a completely clear album - still trying to finish that one. Coolnes factor - alcohol inking in fine detail. Once Tim showed us I went "DUH!". The second class was amazing. How owould you like to crate a minibook completely out of grunge board with the master of grunge teaching you everything possible about it? Did you know that you can die cut it in your cuttlebug? The third class was not Dawn's favorite, but I had fun doing it. Painted, all sorts of messed up canvas. You know me - the messier the better. We used the paint daubbers a bit and I'm feeling much more comfortable with them.

Class got out at 9:30pm and we had the long drive back to Austin. I was pulling into my drive way just before 1:30am knowing that the summer madness would begin. Get Z to camp by 8:30am, A to swim by 9:25am, then to school. Lets just say that life as mom as NUTS! Z is completely enjoying camp despite not geting lunch on Monday. The problem has been corrected. I think they realized how upset I was because they continue notifying me that Z will get lunch. A & K went to a ballet recital yesterday and LOVED it! They start class next week. I'm ready to take a break from my litle update here andeat lunch. Have a great day!

Ellen