The Sickness that is Scrapbooking

Well friends and neighbors (0k, friend and no neighbors) I have registered for the coveted CKU! *insert Handels messiah music* Yes, if you read westexgirl's Random Musings (excellent reading whenever she updates, though I'm not pointing any fingers) She mentioned something about speind $345 american dollars for a scrapping retreat and picking classes and all the stress that came with that. Well, let me tell you, not only was it kind of stressing it was crazy! Registration began at 7 pm online. We heard horror stories from other previous CKU students. We were ready (ok I was driving into the school parking lot to get to my computer at 10 minutes till, I was there man with a few minutes to spare), we had alternate schedules, our log on ID's, our credit cards (for certain) and quite possibly our passports, birth certificates, all college transcripts, 3 letters of recommendation from certified scrappers, confirmation and or baptism certificate, and finally just for extra measure that piece of paper with your baby footprint on it. I also found and lit my baptismal candle, it never hurts to have Jesus on your side when your registering for CKU.

So we both log on to the website awaiting the magical scrapping hour of 7:00 pm exactly and on said website theyhave a countdown clock. Sweet mother Mary! As if we weren't already about to upchuck from the stress! Augh augh augh! It says 2 minutes and 24 seconds! 1 minute 15 seconds! 54 Seconds! 15 SECONDS!! As the clock ticks down we are "refreshing" the page so that as soon as the glittering, golden "Register Now" button is available we can click it with lightening quick index fingers! Augh AUGH! "Register Now! REGISTER NOW!!! We click!

I'm so shakey I can barely type in my email address and password, "who am I ? who am I ? Oh yeah yeah, Redfox!" Finally we key in our credit cards which the website hungrily takes first "uh uh uh, no lookey lookey at the classes until you pay-ee pay-ee" so we pay the sum of $345.00 and start to register for classes, there is only the sound of keyboard clicking and random mutterings...."10:45....Ribbon rehab.....Yes!.....2:00.....card.....creations...oh yeah thats me........Saturday......Fabric of life......" and so on. Until we have booked our classes. Luckily neither one of us ran into the dreaded "class is full" signal. We finish giddy with the excitement of getting the classes we wanted and when we wanted them, Hah! Beat the system! but then, I got a feeling of well, let down, you know the feeling after you've ripped through all your gifts Christmas morning and your hoping you missed one under all the wrapping paper or behind the tree, but no, you got them all. It was a bit anticlimatic. Although mind you I'm not complaining I'm happy to have had an uneventful registration versus a more "exciting" one. But anyway, so now we are on our way to scrapping nirvana. Where everyone knows the ongoing saga of "silent eyelet setting" and everyone knows what your talking about when you say you distressed your bazzill, and where I would most assuredly get a loud cheer as I loudly proclaim "Chatterbox Rox my Sox!" Where we will be "Deja Vue Diva's", "Junkitz Junkies" and "Making Memories Maidens".*

This sickness known as scrapbooking is great, while I admit I have bought far more product than I have put out product. It doesn't matter, its the adult version of sticker collections and pencil collections, of drawing and making pretty things and creative things and glueing and pasting. Except now, someone takes your results seriously, the refrigerator was a lovely gallery when you were six, but now, you have beautiful books to put your latest creation in, or hang them in frames, or even get them published in a magazine. Awesome.

I hope they never find a cure. May the Mantra "I am so good at this!" ring out with every layout, card, or paper project. I can't wait for September!

-The Fox


*Ok one more, "Simple Scrapbooks Sluts" not one I'm nominating for the T-shirt.