Some chatter and 2 firsts!!

Hi all
Well, we had a great stampin session today with some awesome ladies....we were definitely stampin up a storm!! 20 cards each!
One of my long time super-talented stampers/downline has been dealing with her husband's recovery after a recent motocycle accident. I know she enjoyed the silly banter and time away from those stressors for a few hours. She deserved some fun after the challenges of her recent weeks. Another of my super stamper/downline came in a bit jittery; she had one of those mornings that can put you off your tempo. Once she threw herself into her cards, she gradually got back into her usual groove and regained her centered self. She left smiling (and with a template for clouds - she loved the way we added clouds to one of the cards. I know she will do something fabulous with that template - and I know she will share it with us!). One of our ladies has a creeky body but she pushed past her aches and pains while she stamped and brought us up to date on the latest about her world traveling grandson. Hi Josh!!! Two of the ladies giggled over 3 x 4 versus 4 x 3 - they knew they needed twelve ornaments but boy did we get confused for a minute on where the 12th one went. Some of us are just not into math! One of our stampers had to miss the session at the last minute but I tag teamed with her mother in law (a lovely lady who is often traveling back and forth to her mom's home out of state to support her mom as she confronts cancer.) and we got all their cards done. So what is the point? My ladies are the perfect illustration of the heart of stampers. As much as we all enjoy the pleasure of creating great projects we can share, what we really value is all the chatter and support that piles up on the table along with the snips of paper and the waxy red backing strips. These gals are wonderful ladies! They would gladly welcome you into the group as well. Hope you will think about joining us, whether you are a "newbie" or a seasoned stamper. There is a place at the table just waiting for you.
I'm looking forward to my repeat session tomorrow (really, later today) with another vivacious group of women. Stamp on!
My stampin class was followed by dinner at Red Robin - Dave wanted to go there because it is near where we get the dog's food. Each time we buy a big bag of dog food we tell Remy, "OK Rem - you can stay another month." Nutty dog!
Dave didn't know that Red Robin had sent me a coupon for a free burger for my birthday. They were gracious enough to let me switch it to a different meal as I really cannot do big burgers on big buns with my dietary restrictions. I got my favorite salad and Yum! I brought half of it home - my lunch on Monday will be fab, too! They even brought me a little sundae (which I tasted and then shared with my boys - too many carbs!!) and the obligatory public birthday song. I have been celebrated! Good thing, 'cause on my actual birthday, I will be having dinner at Chic fil A - another band fund raiser. The highlight of the evening was my younger son's milestone - he had his first date. My guys are definitely growing up. I know some mom's get teary at such moments - sad that their baby's are growing up - but I am mostly grateful that I am here to see each milestone reached. I am grateful to the heavens above that my guys are good guys!
Tomorrow I hope to start posting the cards from today's holiday stamp a stack - still need to compress and upload and all that jazz. I haven't forgotten to share with you - I promise
Before I head to bed I wanted to give a shout out to my newest blog follower...from Australia!!! I love it each time someone chooses to sign on as a follower and when I can, I try to send off a welcome. But when I found out that my most recent follower made me an international blogger, I gave myself a whoo hoo. Not sure how Bridget found my little blog but I'm happy to have her...as well as each of you silent viewers!! If you are a lurking stamper, let me know you are out there so I can give you a shout out too!!! Nuff said, I'm off to bed!!
Nighty Night
Peggy