I would love to post tons of pictures from our days at CHA, but alas, I left my camera in California (Doh!) and it will be arriving in Utah via the U.S. Post Office in a couple of days. So, here are a few random recollections and experiences from our escape to California, punctuated by pictures I snapped on the old iPhone.
When my sister Michele, an Orange County resident, said, "It's going to be raining the whole time you're here, so pack accordingly," I thought to myself, "Mmm-hmm, I live in UTAH. Like a bit of sissy California rain will even faze me!" Little did I know it would be airport-closing, house-flooding, buckets-falling-from-the-sky precipitation. Good thing my sis has plenty of umbrellas.
My niece Gillian (aka Gilli-beans) and I share an umbrella on a short walk around the block. My sister graciously hosted Wendy and me during our CHA stay.
I was a panelist on The Paperclipping Roundtable CHA podcast, which was recorded in Noell Hyman's tiny hotel room. Imagine a table surrounded by six microphones and six panelists (including Stacy Julian and Wendy Smedley). Equipment everywhere. Ten audience members crowded on the bed. Naturally, hilarity ensued. I'll post a link when the show goes up.
Gillian, age 2 and a half, had just met Wendy for the first time, and she couldn't wrap her brain around her name. She thought we were saying "Windy." Once, when Wendy was out of sight, Gillian came up to me and said, "Angie where's...uh...Cloud? Where's...Cloudy?" Looks like Ms. Smedley has a new nickname!
CHA shows are exhausting. Long days walking the floor, shaking hands, catching up, absorbing trends. Long evenings of meetings, receptions, and planning sessions. This year, it was delightful to wake up early (presumably before everyone else), softly open my door, and almost trip over a 5-year-old in footie pajamas excitedly whispering, "You're awake?!?"
We handed out Ella Mints, "I'm an Ella Author" buttons to the six authors in attendance, and "I'm feeling Ella good!" buttons to anyone who would take them. We wore custom-sewn lanyards in Ella colors that Wendy and I dreamed up and assembled the day before the show. We had incredible meetings with Shimelle Lain, the Write.Click.Scrapbook. crew, Elizabeth Kartchner, Jessica the Crafts Editor from Country Living magazine, Scrapbooking From the Inside Out, Tricia from Scrapbook.com, Jenni Bowlin, and tons of manufacturers. In short, we're bursting with ideas and ready to put them to work.
But I'm still bummed that I don't have more pictures to share. They'll have to come later! For now, it's back to work for me...
