DC Earthquake!

I was in downtown DC when Tuesday's earthquake hit, and yes, I was terrified.

I was at the client office building, in a 7th floor conference room with a coworker when we heard a noise and felt a vibration through the building. She wondered if the A/C was acting up. I thought it felt and sounded like the ridges in the road as you approach a toll booth. It had a rolling motion to it.

It seemed to go on for about 15-20 seconds, and I realized it was an earthquake. We both stood, and as we did, the building started to sway. This is when I began to freak out, and so did she. The building movement seemed enormous. I wondered if someone had driven into the building and images of the building collapsing all around me flashed through my mind. It sounds dramatic, but seriously, I was terrified.

We ran to the doorway and folks were dashing about the floor. I heard someone yell "it is an earthquake, get in a doorway" and grabbed a second coworker to drag her into the doorway -- making three of us. That is when I realized I was holding hands with the first coworker.

The building continued to sway, and we felt a few more vibrations. I know now the quake lasted about 45 seconds. Stabilized, I ran to the windows to see if people in other buildings were reacting, and they were.

There was a question as to whether we should leave, but I didn't want to be in a stairwell. We sat back down and I posted to Facebook. Folks tried dialing loved ones, but the calls would not go through. The intercom crackled and we were advised to leave. I gathered my things and joined the exodus from the building.

On the street, I thought perhaps I should text my loved ones. It turns out my texts to Mom and Mike got through but I didn't get their texts and voicemails until about 24 hours later. I saw a spot on the Weather Channel this morning regarding the hurricane (seriously, what is going on?!) that cell service is often disrupted and using the internet may be the best way to keep in touch with friends and family. It certainly was true that day.

We were on the sidewalk about an hour, and then allowed back in the building. Within the next hour, the federal government had dismissed and traffic was a bear. I only had to walk a few blocks to my hotel, and the streets were eerily quiet.

I can't imagine going through this on a weekly basis as they do in CA or Japan, though I supposed you'd get used to it. I'm not so sure the buildings in DC are as safe as those in CA or Japan either.

With one natural disaster behind me this week, I'm ready for the aftereffects of the hurricane ... since I'm scheduled to fly back to DC on Sunday.

Dear Delta, I'm Sorry

Dear Delta,

I'm sorry.
I was trying to save money. Splitting the flight and taking American to DC was $600 instead of $1000. You know I"m a bargain shopper.
I'm sorry.
It won't happen again.

When I got to the airport at 11:30 or so, to check in for my 12:20 flight, the ticket agent asked if I was on the 3:10 flight. Um, no. Why would I be checking in 3.5 hours early for a quick trip through Chicago to DC?

Oh, the 12:20 is canceled. Let me see what I can do.
But our next flight out isn't until 3:10.

So I called Mike and Aly back to get me and we went to lunch. I still had hours to kill, so I worked from the airport for a while. Finally, it was time to board.

And just as we all sat down, the pilot announced there was a 90 minute delay into Chicago, so he was going to let us get off the plane. I guess that legislation with the high fines for airlines is working, at least.

Straight to the gate agent I went. Am I going to make my connection in Chicago? "Well it says here you will. But really? No. Let's avoid Chicago and put you on the 4:15 to Dallas." Okay. Then she said it .... "In about 10 minutes I"ll know if Delta has room on their afternoon flight."

I should have waited. I should have taken the chance.
I'm sorry.

Back to work for an hour and finally, on to the Dallas flight. Working from the air, I thought it seemed to be taking a long time. Here comes the announcement from the pilot. "You might have noticed we've been circling Longview TX waiting for Dallas to give us clearance. They assure us we are first in line to land once the weather clears." That should have been a clue. Why would we be first? Because we were almost out of gas! Yep. Next announcement from the pilot: "Well, we're not yet cleared and we've reached almost the end of our fuel, so we're gonna put down here in east TX and get some gas."

We were on the ground for at least 90 minutes. For about 45 of those minutes, I was trying to see if my connection was delayed. You see, AA.com apparently doesn't have a mobile site. And AA.com is too big to work on my Blackberry. So I had to call. And they don't have live people. But you can't push buttons either. They want you to SAY your selection. Like Kramer on the Moviefone line. Except on a cell phone. With a plane full of angry people yelling into their own cells phones. After 47 "I'm sorry, I didn't understand you"s, I finally got confirmation my connection was cancelled. I've been rebooked on the 9:20 flight, arriving in DC at 1:10am
I'm REALLY sorry.

So now we make it to Dallas (with a free snack -- cheese, crackers and Craisins), but I've missed that connection. I rebook on the 6:15 am to DC. (We'll have a "What was I thinking?" moment later on that.) I made an online reservation for the Airport Sheraton, waited 15 minuts for a shuttle, and stood in line behind 12 other people who had travel horror stories and wanted to share. No thanks. I was finally in bed at 11pm. A murphy bed. You know, the kind that folds out of the wall and sits a foot off the ground. Whisky Tango Foxtrot? At a hotel??!

I woke up at 5:45. Called American. Waited 14 minutes on hold. Changed my flight to 9:15. Ate a free breakfast. At least I stuck with the Starwood brands, where gold status means something. Once I got to the airport and reviewed my boarding pass, I was incredulous. Boarding Group 6. In a middle seat.
Dear Delta, I'm so very sorry. You would have had me in first class.

So after they called Group 5, which should have been called "everyone but Tonya, a family of four (hello, travelers with small children? PREBOARD!) and grandma & grandpa (hello, persons needing a little extra time? PREBOARD!)", I vaulted around the family, elbowed grandpa outta the way and hit the jetway. Good thing too. Grandpa had to check his bag. Mine just fit. 10 rows behind my seat, but it was on. It just meant I had to wait for ten additional rows to clear before I could retrieve my bag and get the heck off the *&^$ American plan.

I'm so VERY sorry.

And I promise to spend the government's money much more lavishly. Ignoring cheaper flights. Always booking Delta.

I'm sorry. Will you take me back?

Commutageddon

Last year President Obama dubbed the February DC snowstorm "Snowmageddon." This year the local news called it "Sn-oh Em Gee." I like Commutageddon.
Yesterday, I was working late to be sure my proposal made it in on time. The office (and the Federal Government) closed at 3:30 due to an impending storm. It started sleeting at 3:30 and snowing heavily at 4:00. I found it amusing that Virginians freak out over a little snow, although it was nearly impossible to see the road from my 6th floor window. I later learned snow was falling at 2” per hour. When I finally left at 5:00, the roads were awful and traffic was at a complete standstill. The Westin shuttle couldn’t make it out of the parking lot, and I couldn’t get through to a cab company, so I walked over to the Ritz, hoping to catch a cab there. During my two hour wait at the Ritz (which was, of course, sold out), the valets brought me a chair to sit in, bottled water, and hot tea. I seriously considered walking over to Macy's and buying snow boots to make the trek on foot. Folks were appearing at the Ritz covered in snow and freezing after walking a few blocks, so I decided een the lure of new boots wasn't worth it.
Finally a cab arrived, at the same time as a co-worker from Boston, also headed to the Westin. Another fellow joined us, as he was going to the Marriott, which wasn’t far from the Westin. After two hours in the cab, we had only gone 1.5 miles and were still a block and a half downhill from the Tysons Marriott. The cab couldn’t make it up the hill, so we triple tipped the driver and trudged up the hill. In 5” of snow and ice. Carrying my computer bag. Wearing 3” suede heels. After catching my breath at the Marriott, a coworker’s husband drove us the mile to the Westin, which took yet another two hours, but at least no hills were involved. I arrived at my room at 11:00, six hours after my adventure started.
There was no way I was going out today, though most of the roads were clear. I'm glad I didn't. A co-worker sent me a note to say the shuttle ride to the office took 50 minutes (instead of 7). Thankfully, I was not involved in any of the dozens of accidents, nor was I trapped in a vehicle overnight. Flights tomorrow should be on time, so I'll get a full weekend at home. Before I come back on Monday. I will be checking next week's weather for sure.

Scrappy New Year!

As you might have noticed from the last couple of posts, I spent new year's online at a couple of scrapbook forums (fori?) and got a lot of cute things done. So now, you're going to read all about 'em. Thanks to the gals at Creative Soup for a great weekend.
FYI - a "challenge" is just a prompt to help you get an idea for scrapping. There were no swords involved. :D

First, some pages from an album I've been working on that is all Zak. This is a spiral bound album that measures about 9x9. The first page explains where all the photos came from and was submitted for the "no photo" challenge. It really is important to scrap the details, even when you don't have photos. The two holes in the cover show a photo and the letter Z from the first page when the album is closed. I printed on a transparency (for the first time, and it came out great!) but the writing didn't show up so well, so I painted on the backside for contrast (just yellow acrylic paint). I love this patterned paper and have no idea where it came from or the manufacturer, so comment if you know!


Here's a layout of one of those photos; I think this one even has a thumbtack hole in it. I have no idea where this patterned paper came from either, but it matched itself nicely and worked for the "quilting" challenge. I (ok, Aly) cut the title with my Cricut Makin the Grade cartridge (shadow setting to make the letters a little thicker) and I used CM metallic markers to highlight them. I added American Crafts ribbon and random buttons and flowers (ribbon and flowers on a "boy" layout? YES!) along with an index card with CM marker and distress ink for journaling. I think the part that took the longest was finding a quote/title. I love Dr. Seuss, and I didn't want to be campy with something like "big shoes to fill" or "like father, like son". I love how this turned out.

Next up, we had a conversation to get to know each other a little better by answering a few silly questions. The challenge was to use one of those questions as the basis for a layout. The title is Cricut Printing 101 ("if I") and Makin the Grade ("could be"). Shaped buttons are Jesse James, I think (check the sewing section of Hobby Lobby and Michael's). Patterned paper is new from KI Memories classic prints paper pack. Rubons ("a cat") are Ms Elizabeths from Dollar Tree. I used a CM marker, and props to Aly (again) for helping put this one together. We worked fast to meet the challenge deadline so I turned to Becky Fleck for a sketch. I love the Fleckster so much, I bought her book, which is spiral bound (love that) and came with a deck of cards printed with all of the sketches (handy for carrying to crops!). Actually, I pulled this sketch from the 4x6 photo sketch blog here on Blogger.com. I love that you can click on the number of photos or the size of your layout to see the options. You can see this sketch was only 8.5" x 11" and had the photo going the other way. The great thing about sketches is really making them your own!

This next one was from another sketch. Again, I love it because it uses standard 4x6 photos. This is my darling niece on Halloween. I'm pretty proud of the photos, since I took them. The glitter paper is from DCWV Citrus stack. I cut those flowers out of the patterned paper by hand. ouch. By the way, we had some trouble sticking things to this glitter paper, so comments appreciated with your ideas there. The line running through the middle is random ribbon (yellow and sheer white with black dots). Letter stickers are Stickopotamus. Title was again from Cricut Makin the Grade, and I used a CM pen. All the girls loved the doodled bee trails on this layout -- and that was all Aly. Oh, and the title is a play on my sister's home business selling legwarmers and tutus, Beez Kneez Boutique. Check her out on Facebook too!

My last layout was in response to the "out with the old, in with the new" challenge to use some old supplies along with some new ones. No problem there; I have a ton of old stuff and somehow still seem to buy new stuff like crazy. My OLD stuff included the MAMBI stickers and paper from the original Slab (those giant paper packs from Michaels). My NEW supplies included Basic Grey buttons, black bling on the journal box, and orange ribbon. Oh, and this is a page in the Zak album. I tried to keep it really simple. I am pretty sure I have multiple copies of these photos, and I'll be scrapping them again in a Halloween album.

Now scrapping isn't all about pages you put in a book. This is my take on the perpetual calendar from my friend Monica's find at Design Sponge. There is a separate card for each date, and you can journal for several years on each card. Instead of a fruit basket, I used a Longaberger tea basket and tied on a wooden charm from P. Graham Dunn in Gatlinburg (my favorite verse, Phil 4:13). Aly stamped the dates for me on 4x6 index cards (cut in half), and I cut the month dividers from scraps of cardstock. Each divider will have a photo to represent that month (those are on order from Snapfish). I think this is something I'll actually keep up with. I am going to keep this on my bedside table and jot a note each day before I go to sleep. Journaled cards move to the back, so the new day is up front. I haven't figured out how this will work when I'm traveling. I may email myself the blurb, or record it in my blackberry, or maybe I'll just take the cards with me.

And, my final project, probably the one I'm the most excited about. This was in response to a "get organized" challenge that recommended altering (decorating) a clipboard to help with your daily to-do list (or your scrappy project list). Another scrapper used the word "priorities" and it reminded me of a quote I took from the Manager Tools podcast series.

Time is finite and unchanging. It cannot be 'managed.' Stop trying to manage your time and focus on managing your priorities.

This might be the biggest to-do list ever. That is a 12" green scallop ruler in the bottom right corner for scale (so this measures about 2ft by 3.5ft). It is an old porcelain countertop I got at a flea market for $7. I've had it for a while, and I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but I knew something crafty would come out of it. I was excited to find out it was magnetic, and I took a little time last week using rust remover on the surface. With about an hour left to upload our projects to the website, I started on the project. I painted around the edges with pink acrylic paint, making sure to smear a bit on the surface of the board. I added flower and letter (wall) decals from Dollar Tree and some magnets from Mary Kay (the square ones that say "body," "soul," "mind," and "health"). I made magnets out of the pink and green polka dot flowers with some magnet buttons (sticky on one side, magnet on the other). I added a magnet to a button of Zak playing soccer too. Those are Princess Bride magnets near the bottom and a blank weekly calendar from Big Lots finishes the board. I'm excited to get this on the wall and start using it. I tested dry erase markers, and they work great on it too!

So that is what I did with my weekend. I hope all of you had a great new year as well!

Scrap Inspiration for the Year

My scrappy friend Bree, and the folks at Creative Soup have a cool way to keep up with all of the memorabilia you collect throughout the year.

Jump over to Bree's blog for details and photos, but some quick steps are listed below.

HOW TO GET STARTED:

1.Start collecting STUFF: the label from favorite products, menus from your go-to take out place, labels from your clothes, ticket stubs from the movies, used gift cards, and so on. Don't worry about how you will use it. Just KEEP IT.
2.If you have a camera on your phone, start snapping more photos. Try to document everyday things.
3.Jot down a few quick notes on post-its or a small notepad if you think you will forget the what and where of your memorabilia :)
4.Come back each week in January to learn more about the various formats each team member is using to create their album.
5.Then play along and share a link to your work. Join us over at http://creativesoup.forumotion.com to chat with others doing the project and for a chance to win prizes!


Project Life Memorabilia: capture more of your life

A New Place to Scrapbook

Well, virtually at least.
My favorite online spot, ScrapFreak, has closed, but there is a great new place I've been hanging out and today is the launch party at Creative Soup.
Come over and play!!


11 am - Get Sketchy Challenge
Noon - Scattergories Round 1
1 pm - Get to Know You Game
2 pm - Out With the Old, In With the New Challenge
3 pm - Think Different Challenge
4 pm - BINGO
5 pm - Get Your Scrap On Challenge
6 pm - Flower video tutorial with Sara
7 pm - Scattergories Round 2
8 pm - Organization Hour
9 pm - BINGO
10 pm - Go Photoless Challenge
11 pm - Scattergories Round 3

One for the Record Books

I've had some travel adventures, but this might be the longest trip EVER.

First, leaving Monday for a 6am flight meant I had to get out of bed by 3am to shovel the car out from the 'blizzard'. The good news was that the sustained winds of 25mph had scoured most of the snow off the car. It had also frozen some of the doors and all of the windows shut.

I made it to the airport, through Atlanta and to DC right on time. I will note, the other flights out of Evansville through Detroit and Cincy were canceled. I just got lucky that I happened to make this one through Atlanta.

Work was work. It was a crazy week of client meetings, long dinners and little sleep.

Thursday, DC got about an inch or two of snow, which crippled the city, canceled schools, and eventually canceled my 6pm flight through Cincy. At least I found out before I left for the airport, and I was able to get back into the Sheraton, where I'd spent the week. The rate was so low, I was able to book a 'bed and breakfast' stay for less than the per diem. And it was good I had a nice big breakfast Friday morning, because here is where the fun starts.

I left a bit early for the airport for my 11am flight, because Delta wouldn't let me check-in online. The kiosk didn't work either, so I stood in line (the priority line) for about 30 minutes. By the time I made it through security (no frisking!), I was essentially able to walk right on to the plane. I had a middle seat, but it was an exit row, so I had plenty of legroom and my seat mates did not appear to be talkers or mouth breathers.

Unfortunately as we pushed back from the gate, the pilots realized the right engine wouldn't start. Maybe it was the starter. Maybe they'd have the part on site. Either way, y'all better get off the plane. Great.

They asked us to get in line to rebook, but being the experienced traveler I am, I knew to get on the phone too. First call to our travel agency, Amex. Since the airline had changed my flight to Friday, Amex couldn't alter it. So I called Delta. They were happy to get me on another flight. On American. At 6:30. Arriving after 10pm. So I have to exit security and go get my tickets? No, says the Delta agent on the phone, American is in the same terminal. Just go to the gate and they'll give you boarding passes.

Um, no.

American and Delta are in the same physical building, but their concourses require you to exit security and go back through. Of course, once you exit security, and you don't have a valid boarding pass, you cannot come back through security. So up to ticketing to wait, yes, another 20 minutes in line for American. The priority line wasn't moving. I had luck in the regular line.

The American representative indignantly informed me all of their flights were oversold and that Delta shouldn't have booked me. I'll have to go back to Delta and have them find something else. Oh goodie. I actually said that, but as I walked away, the American rep said "oh wait, let me try something else" and SURPRISE found my reservation on the 5:15 flight, all ready to go. Well, except Delta hadn't turned the reservation over to American. I'd need to go back to the Delta counter. "But don't stand in line here again, just come back to me."

To Delta. Who can't figure out what is wrong or where I should be. After much button-punching and mumbling, she finally read the piece of paper I gave her and found me. Yay! Here's your itinerary. Just go back to American.

Yes, well, jumping the line sounded like a great idea, until the people standing there saw me do it. I momentarily feared for my life. But finally I had boarding passes. And four hours to kill.

Finally, it was time to go. I made it through Chicago, had time for dinner and after one gate change, was on to Evansville. Yay.

Where my car was dead. And covered with a sheet of ice. All week I had the feeling my car would be dead when I got in. I thought the cold would kill it. Apparently when I thought couldn't get the door open to the back seat on Monday, I was mistaken. It was open just enough to run the battery down. I have jumper cables, but no idea how to use them. I call my daddy. Yes, I am 40 years old and on the management team at a big four accounting firm. I still call my daddy.

Dozens of people walk past the woman chipping ice off her car in dress shoes with the hood up. They avert their eyes. That's the Christmas spirit! Finally, one man asks if I need help. Thanks, you are the only person to ask, but my dad's on the way. The stranger doesn't have jumper cables anyway. I do. Well, then let's give it a shot.

The battery is on the passenger side of the car. We'll have to push it out of the parking spot. Several more people walk by as we slip and slide across the ice, trying to move the RAV4 out of the spot. Finally, it is out, Mr. Niceguy jumps the battery and I'm all good. Daddy's already at the airport, so he'll follow me home to be sure I make it.

But we aren't done yet. There is still a half inch of ice covering the car. Now that it is running with the heater on, it is a little easier to chip it off. I still break the handle off the ice scraper. And there's slush down my sleeve. Gloves are soaked. Feet are frozen. Ice is melting out of my hair and dripping in my eyes. But finally, we're on the road.

A dark road with curves. Thank God I was actually following Dad. An eight-point buck was standing at the side of the road, watching us go past. I might not have seen him, but dads are trained for that kind of stuff.

And that was the last of my adventure. Home, hugged the girl, snuggled with cats and dogs and started some history show to put me to sleep. Ahhhh.

All in a week with the Pook.