Memory Works Spring Cleaning!

In preparation for the new Memory Works catalog to be released on April 16th, the Memory Works team announced this week that they are spring cleaning the warehouse and you can get items for 10%, 20%, or 30% off!!! Check out the list below and feel free to order directly from my website Scraps of Time.

To see the list of products and/or product categories that are in the clearance section, you can either scroll down or view through Google Docs

2007 SPRING CLEANING CLEARANCE SALE

Out with the old, in with the new! With the new MemoryWorks 2007/2008 Product Catalog right around the corner, we’re doing our spring cleaning to make room for the fresh new product line! We’re saying good-bye to tons of products and this is you and your customers chance to make a clean sweep with an additional 10%, 20% and even 30% off the regular retail price on our retired products.

Manufacturer Product Name/Category Discount

American Crafts Play Collection 20%

American Crafts Good Things Collection 20%

American Crafts Trademark Rub-Ons 20%

Autumn Leaves Splendor Collection 20%

Autumn Leaves Enchanted Collection 20%

Autumn Leaves Going Places Collection 20%

Autumn Leaves Summer Collection 20%

Autumn Leaves Hall Pass Collection 20%

Autumn Leaves Select Clear Stamps 20%

Basic Grey Blitzen Collection 10%

Basic Grey Color Me Silly Collection 10%

Basic Grey Lollipop Shoppe Collection 10%

Basic Grey Lucky Collection 10%

Basic Grey Skate Shoppe Collection 10%

Basic Grey Book Clips - Pewter 10%

Basic Grey Jumbo Bookplates 10%

Basic Grey Rub-ons 10%

Basic Grey Undressed Chipboard 10%

Basic Grey Rolls of Ribbon 10%

Three Bugs in a Rug Rub-ons 20%

Three Bugs in a Rug Theme Set - French Country 20%

Three Bugs in a Rug Theme Set - My Wish List 20%

Three Bugs in a Rug Theme Set - Spicy 20%

Three Bugs in a Rug Theme Set - Rhapsody 20%

Chatterbox Theme Sets 20%

Chatterbox Embellishment Kits 20%

Chatterbox Doodle Genie - Botanical 20%

Chatterbox Doodle Genie - Decorative 20%

Chatterbox Mini-Album Kits 20% Chatterbox Transparency Letters 20%

Coluzzle Accessory Starter Kit 10%

Coluzzle Template - Folk Heart 10%

Coluzzle Template - Gift Tags 10%

Cropper Hopper Select Products 20%

Crop-in-Style Select Products 20%

Daisy D’s All Inventory 20%

Etcetera All Inventory 20%

Fancy Pants Chi-Chi Collection 10%

Fancy Pants Dapper Collection 10%

Fancy Pants Frou-Frou Collection 10%

Fancy Pants Spiffy Collection 10%

Fancy Pants Wild Heart Collection 10%

Fancy Pants Biggest Board Chipboard - Flourishes 10%

Fancy Pants Biggest Board Chipboard - Tabs, Tags 10%

Fancy Pants Big Board Chipboard - Mats, Corners 10%

Heidi Swapp Chipboard Albums 20%

Heidi Swapp Chipboard Frame Kits 20%

Heidi Swapp Chipboard Letters 20%

Heidi Swapp Decorative Photo Corners 20%

Heidi Swapp Decorative Tape 20%

Heidi Swapp Florals 20%

Heidi Swapp Mini Iron 20%

Heidi Swapp Fuzzy Rub-ons 20%

Heidi Swapp Iron-ons 20%

Heidi Swapp Roller Stamps 20%

Imagination Project Carnival Collection 30%

Imagination Project Dig It Collection 30%

Imagination Project Sings At Weddings Collection 30%

Imagination Project Take A Vacation Collection 30%

Imagination Project Treasure Hunt Collection 30%

Imagination Project Wonderland Collection 30%

Junkitz All Inventory 30%

KI Memories All Inventory 30%

Making Memories All Inventory 20%

My Mind’s Eye All Inventory 20%

Pebbles Theme Set - Easter 10%

Pebbles Theme Set - Great Outdoors 10%

Pebbles Theme Set - Happy 10%

Pebbles Theme Set - Summer 10%

Pebbles Theme Set - Zoo 10%

Prima Flowers All Inventory 10%

Rob & Bob Studios All Inventory 20%

Simply Chic Stamps All Inventory 20%

Scenic Route All Inventory 20%

Scrapworks All Inventory 20%

SEI All Inventory 20%

Wild Asparagus All Inventory 10%

We R Memory Keepers All Inventory 10%

Essentials - Ink & Pens Fiber Scraps EZ Tintz 20%

Essentials – Adhesives Click & Stick Tabs 10%

Box Albums Bay Box Albums 20%

Album Accessories Bay Box Albums Refills 20%

Albums 12x12 Premium Leather Albums 10%

Albums 12x12 Suede - Sky 20%

Albums 12x12 Suede - Violet 20%

Albums 8x8 Suede - Sky 20%

Albums 8x8 Suede - Violet 20%

Promotional Disclaimer: Discontinued clearance items are good only while supplies last. MemoryWorks inventory quantities vary per item. Even though we do our best to keep our inventory numbers as accurate as possible, there may be times where discrepancies with inventory levels may occur. If an order is placed and any items are out of stock at the time of fulfillment we will issue you a product credit into your account for the cost of the item.Clearance sale prices are good beginning March 28, 2007 and will be in effect until supplies last. Sale prices are not retroactive or do not apply to previous orders. Visit the MemoryWorks Product Availability section of the website for availability of retired products.

Autism Speaks

Those of you who frequent the scrapbooking celebrity blogs, know that Ali Edwards is raising funds for the organization Autism Speaks through Kevin Bacon's organization of 6 degrees. Ali's son was diagnosed last year as being on the autism spectrum. She has used the forum of her blog to educate and to request donations for the disease that effects 1 in 150 children and has no known cause or cure. As a thank you to her supporters, she has posted the directions to create one of her books that she teaches around the world. If you scrapbook or craft, make sure that you check it out Ali's blog today.

At the end of her entry, Ali has a note that Technique Tuesday is also supporting autism research as the philanthropic support for 2007. The are supporting this in two ways: 1) they have created a set of stamps from which 50% of the profit will go to Autism Speaks, 2) you can enter an autism awareness scrapbook challenge during the month of April, and 3) you can make a donation.

It is really amazing to me the more I learn about autism. It has such a broad spectrum of symptoms that it is amazing. It is also amazing at how much control it has over families who struggle with it daily. I have a good friend who is up against autism daily and she absolutely amazes me.

I am also amazed at how powerful a community can be. In this case, the community is the scrapbooking community. It is an amazing network of people who can really make a difference!

Alexander's New Bike!

Look at Mr. Alexander on his new bike with his new matching helmet!! Yes, my SIX year old is on a 24-inch bike! The sales clerk at Penn Cycle could not believe that he was only 6 years old.

We did a trip around the block after dinner tonight. It was a little dicey at first since he hasn't been on a bike this big before. He had some difficulty remembering to keep calm and steer with the handlebars rather than taking his feet off of his pedals. It was very cute for us to watch, but very frustrating for him! I am sure that he will be a pro at his new bike in no time!

iPods: Are They Leading to Anti-Social Behavior?

During my time on jury duty, I have been taking advantage of using the Light Rail Train to ride from the Mall of America to the Government Center. It is my favorite form of transportation because it is clean, both environmentally and physically, and more importantly, I do NOT get motion sick while riding! So, I am able to read, write in my journal, people watch, or listen to music.

Listen to music. This is something that approximately 80% of the commuters that I watched did on their way to work and/or school on the LRT. All of the music-systems were personal players such as iPod or another type of MP3 player. I was one of the masses listening to music. Listening to music in public places reminded me of our honeymoon to Greece where music was everywhere! There was music in all of the stores, restaurants, hotel lobbies, and even in the airplanes. It was a sort of communal music that you were exposed to, but everyone was exposed to, so it became a sort of background noise to the conversations that were loudly occurring in order to be heard over the music. Music and conversation co-habited in the society.

What has happened to the conversation in society now that the iPod has become so prevalent? Do we miss an opportunity to have a conversation with some who may end up being a friend or even a soulmate? Okay, let's not take it that far, but are we losing our ability to hold conversations with new people?

Is the iPod and other MP3 players leading to a new type of anti-social behavior? For instance, the first day I rode the LRT, I did not have my headset on immediately and the woman next to me struck up a conversation with me. Come to find out, both of us were headed for jury duty and we had a really nice conversation about the process and how it was affecting each of her lives. She is a stay at home mom with a husband who is fighting cancer and is trying to start up a remodeling business. She expressed how she was going through a series of feelings: excitement to be out learning something new and talking with adults, guilt for leaving her husband with the three children, and concern for her husband's health. Overall, it was a snippet it time that left an impression on me. Neither one of us knows each other's names, but when we saw each other 3 days later at the LRT station, we were able to readily (and easily) strike up another conversation and we caught up on the court cases that we had both been assigned to and how impressed we both were with how the deliberation process worked. If I had been wearing my iPod that morning, I would not have had an acquaintance with whom to share notes about our perceptions of a common experience between us.

Okay, do NOT get me wrong, I am NOT going to be getting rid of my iPod. I love it AND I purposely used it to avoid conversations when I don't want to be bothered. I just find it interesting that we might be missing out on different opportunities to meet other people. Of course, I am a chatty person with strangers (I think I inherited this from my Mom), so other people may never even consider striking up or continuing a conversation with a stranger on the Light Rail.

What about you? Have you thought about iPods and lack of conversation? Do you feel a sense of isolation (this can be desired isolation, not just the negative connotations derived from the word) when you have your iPod or MP3 player in your ears?

More Memory Works Sneak Peeks!

There are LOTS of new sneak peek items being released at Memory Works!

Check out my Home Page on my website Scraps of Time for the latest news
and links to all of the newly released products.

Here are some things that I am really excited about:
Pebbles Foam Stamps and paints:
http://tinyurl.com/ywadgs

Cosmo Cricket (LOVE this product line!):
http://tinyurl.com/yrpsor

and Piggy Tales, a new company for Memory-Works:
http://tinyurl.com/2euxz4

Please let me know if you are interested in ordering any products! 

Was It Anxiety or a Premonition?

Yes, as you may have guessed, I was called for jury duty this afternoon at the 12:15 pm call in. Not only was I called in, but I have already been selected for a case. Of course, I can't and won't talk about the case, but let's have a discussion about the physical things around me today.

As soon as I called in and heard my group number to be the first on listed, I hung up and immediately packed up and headed downtown. I got there in plenty of time, which is not normal for me, if you know me! I got there so early that after checking in, I got myself a cup of coffee and started to look around me. It was then that I realized that I was in a government offices building and that I might be able to get my driver's license renewed (it was due at the end of the month). After obtaining directions to proceed to the giant blue S (what does that stand for? Service Center? I don't know, it wasn't obvious to me!) to do DMV types of things. I waited in line for about 5 minutes to have a form and a computer generated number (C277) handed to me. This number then flashed above one of the counter areas in the next isle. Okay, so I hurried over there with my form and had to fill it out while the young clerk waited for me. He was actually a hoot and made a couple of funny, cynical remarks. Of course, I can't remember any of them, so that isn't too funny to you!! As soon as I finished the paperwork and handed him my check, he said, "OK, I'll meet you at desk 15". Ahhhh...the picture taking area. He had to do two takes of my picture (the joy of glasses) and after the second one, he asked me if I liked the picture. There was NO way that I could even see the picture. The two photos that he took of me had practically blinded by the gigantic flash on the machine. I said, "All I see is two giant white blobs - I trust you." And that was that!!

I then returned down, down, down to The Jury Assembly Room. This room is a lovely, circa 1970s room in the bowels of the government center. The interesting thing about this room is that every now and then the entire room and all of its contents shake and rumble. I thought that we were having a mini-earthquake with the first rumble. No, it wasn't an earthquake - it is simply the fact that the Jury Assembly Room sits directly beneath 6th street. LOVELY. So every time a big truck or a bus passes overhead, everything shakes. At one point, I was getting concerned about motion sickness after what must have been three buses passed overhead. Would you consider that poor planning, designing, or engineering???

Okay, enough about my experience so far. I will have to leave some more to share tomorrow.

Tomorrow, you will learn about my little, oddly placed seat that was assigned to me!

Jury Duty Anxiety

I have been summoned for jury duty. I should be proud to be fulfilling my American duty, but it does nothing except fill me with dread.

I am on a "call in" status where I need to call in daily after 6:30 pm to see if I am needed the next morning. If not (as in last night's phone call), I need to call in at 12:15 pm. If I am summoned at that time, then I need to be at the Government Center no later than 1:30 pm. Well, that doesn't give a huge amount of time for getting there and it didn't hit me until right now that that is the case. I am now starting to stress because I realized that I don't have cash for parking and I don't have enough time to make it to the Mall of America to use the Light Rail. Yes, this response is ridiculous. I am stressing over little things that can easily be handled:

• I can run out around 11 and get some cash from the bank
• I can drive into Minneapolis to make it to the afternoon call time in time
• If I want to ride the light rail (which is a very nice option), I could start driving towards the Mall of America at lunch time and then call from the road. I would be able to catch a light rail (I have a free pass and therefore would not need cash!) and would be calmer.

I am liking that last option more and more. The other nice thing is that my workout club is on the way to MOA, so if I don't get called in, then I can stop and get a lunchtime workout in!!

Okay, I am feeling better. Sometimes just putting the anxiety down in writing helps to alleviate it!

The Red Crab

Last night, we ran some errands after both boys had playdates and decided to grab dinner while we were out. All of the boys, including Kyle, were trying to guess where I was taking them for dinner, so they started to read all of the restaurant signs that they could see.

My favorite was Alexander yelling "The Red Crab! Let's go eat at the Red Crab!" Both Kyle and I were confused until we looked up and saw a Red Lobster sign. It really does look a little bit like a crab, doesn't it?

Plato was Accepted!

Ethan was very proud as Plato Aristophanes yesterday. So much so that he wore his oxford shirt and clip on tie ALL day! The reason that he was so proud is that he was one of the few immigrants in his class who made it into the United States. It was a really clever system where they had open and closed information about their characters. They could use the open information to gain points. For instance, the fact that Plato had some money and education got him some points. There were several characters in his class who were healthy and had some money, but were running from the law. Those characters were able to gain several points, but when it was found out that there were charges against them, then they were sent back to their home countries.

Here are some pictures of Ethan in part of his costume (he thinks he left his sweater vest at school), his suitcase (love the "chicken" in his bag!), and his paperwork.

A Missed Photo Op of Plato Aristophones

I am bumming! I missed an EXCELLENT photo opportunity this morning because I was too busy trying to rush out the door to piano lessons. I think we will need to re-create the moment this evening so that I can take a photo (come on, admit it! I KNOW that you all have done that to preserve moment in time!).

The missed photo opportunity was of Mr. Plato Aristophones at our house this morning. Ethan's class is studying immigration and today is the big day. Each child was assigned a role to play as either an immigrant or an immigration officer at Ellis Island. They are to dress up to fit their roles. The immigrants will then move around the entire school today representing their different countries to simulate the trip across the ocean and then will enter Ellis Island, aka their classroom.

Ethan's character is Plato Aristophones. He is a young man who is the son of a Greek business man. He is in good health and has money (Ethan assumes that this will help him get into the country). He is coming to New York to setup a rug business. Ethan chose a cute little "travel" suitcase and filled it with what he thought Plato would have: a chicken, money, a can of beans, and an extra pair of glasses. His attire was khakis, white oxford shirt, a sweater vest, a tie, and fake "glasses". He looks very cute. I wanted to get him a mustache, but we ran out of time.

I can't wait to hear if Plato Aristophones is allowed into the United States! I MUST take a picture tonight!

My new website is up and running!

In a moment of impulsive craziness, I signed up to be an Independent Memory
Works Consultant. This place is pretty cool because they sell my favorites like
Basic Grey, Wild Asparagus, etc., but they do not sell by the sheet; instead,
they sell by the "theme". Yes, it is a way to continue to feed my obsession! :)

My Memory Works website is now and running! Please check it out at

http://scrapsoftime.memory-works.com

Here is how it works:
- you can place an orderly DIRECTLY on the website!
- I will receive a notification that your order is waiting
- I will contact you to talk about payment options (in the future, I will have a
Pay Pal account tied to the website so that you can pay directly)
- The product will be shipped directly to you (unless, of course, you want to
visit with me, then I will deliver it to you!)

Thanks so much for your support!!

Marcy
http://scrapsoftime.memory-works.com

The Late, Yet Consistent, Tooth Fairy

Alexander lost another tooth during school yesterday! This one is on the top on the left side (his left) of his front teeth. He looks absolutely adorable with the missing tooth and I can't wait for the one on the other side of his front teeth to fall out. I love that look in kids with the big, adult teeth in the middle and nothing on the sides. In fact, I spent the weekend at CJ's catching up on scrapbooking 2006 photos and Ethan spent most of that year with with two front teeth. I kept commenting on how much younger it made him look than now with all of his front teeth grown in.

Okay, so you scrapbookers are probably saying, "Where is the picture of Alexander with his missing tooth?" Well, Alexander is the second child and he is officially plagued with the second child syndrome. Not only did I NOT take a picture of him (yet - I will add that because now I am feeling a huge amount of motherly guilt), but the Tooth Fairy forgot to come yet again!! She has forgotten to come to our house during the night so often with Alexander that he has come to expect it! He calls me into his room and says, "Mom, the Tooth Fairy hasn't made it here yet. I wish she would come to our house first rather than last!" He then proceeds with eating his breakfast and getting dressed. Then, he asks to cuddle with me on my bed and read a book while Ethan plays piano and Dad is in the shower so that the Tooth Fairy has the opportunity to sneak into his room undisturbed. How could I resist that request!! So, on my way to my room, I poke my head into the bathroom and loudly recap Alexander's request to Kyle.

Alexander proceeds to read "Big Pig on a Dig" in our room with hopes that the Tooth Fairy is making her final stop of the night at his tooth box! We finish reading and I get up to head into the shower. I ask Alexander if he is going to check his room (note: Kyle had come back into the room and given me the subtle, affirmative head nod that the Tooth Fairy had successfully completed "her" task) to see if the Tooth Fairy had visited. He replied that he didn't dare look in case she was still in there and he didn't want to scare her. I encouraged him to get up and take a look. To his delight, the Tooth Fairy had left him a dollar bill instead of her usual gold coin. He was thrilled and ran around the house with it! Ethan and he then ran into the playroom to add it to Alexander's horde of cash!

Wet Walls and Big Reader!

Last night, while attempting to get the boys ready for bed, I heard the inevitable taunting of Alexander, followed by the angry yelling of Ethan, followed by a scream from Alexander. This seems to be the latest developmental pattern in our house. Sadly, I think it is payback from my childhood! Well, fearing that the youngest (who is perfectly capable of defending himself) was being pummeled by his brother, I entered the bathroom. Well, I entered to a WET mess. A had taunted E, who got mad and yelled, which made A laugh in an even more taunting tone, followed by E spraying water from the shower onto his brother. LOVELY. At least they are old enough to clean up their own messes (after a bit of tyrannical yelling by their mother).

Their immediate punishment was to lose their remaining 1/2 hour of play time and they had to sit on their beds until bedtime. I suggested that they sit there while I folded a load of laundry and then they were to pick out books to read. Ethan's first request was his Pokemon book. I immediately replied with a "No" and asked him to pull out the chapter book that he is working on. Alexander walked into the playroom, where we have an entire wall of books, and whined that he was unable to find anything suitable. I walked in, reached in one shelf and happened to pull out "Big Pig on a Dig":

This book was an absolute favorite on Ethan's when we was beginning to read, so I thought it would be fun to work with Alexander on it. Well, Alexander opened the book while I was folding laundry and started to read. The boy absolutely blew me away! He was able to read 99% of the book on his own! I couldn't believe it. Of course, it made me feel like a bad parent because how was it that I didn't KNOW that he could read that well. He loves to be read to and since he is in Kindergarten, I just naturally tended to read to HIM. Well, "HELLO, MOM!!", it is time for Alexander to read to YOU more. I can't wait until tonight when we read "Toad Makes a Road"!

Off to CJ's!

Hard to believe, but it is already that time of year to head off to CJ's Creative Cottage in North Branch, MN. It is a wonderful weekend with 14 women sharing a house. My favorite part is that we all spend the weekend creating and having fun. Several scrapbook pages will be created of varying styles. It is the different styles and personalities that make these weekends so much fun. And our group has what we might term the "extremes" of styles: pure Creative Memories all the way to collagey, distressed shabby chic. It is just wonderful!!!

My pages will be simple. My goal is to just have fun and do whatever feels right at the time. I often feel that most of my pages look the same after a while, but it is still a blast to create them and see them come alive!

I am posting today because Susan requested it yesterday! I ran out of some of my favorite Bazzill cardstock colors: crimson, sunbeam, parakeet, and java. So, I ran to Scrapbooks Too to get some more paper and some more adhesive. It was so nice to see her again and to chat! I do miss the store and I miss seeing people all the time with an equal level of obsession over yummy paper designs and fun stamps!!

Okay, let's do a bullet point list of the things that have been happening to me:

• I had laproscopic RNY gastric bypass on 12/12/06
• I have lost about 52 pounds and 3 pant sizes since the liquid diet for the surgery (started 12/2/06)
• I performed in "Godspell" at church where I attempted to act, sing, and dance - this was an amazing experience and I should do a post about it!
• I am still working at ShopNBC and having a blast "winning" auctions of old samples. I now have a great collection of leather coats!!
• Ethan and Alexander continue to amaze me in how much they are growing and learning. Alexander is spelling out sentences on his own and Ethan is rocking at multiplication and working with maps.

Okay, it is time for me to hit the shower so that I can hit the road and get up to CJ's. I don't think that the cottage has an internet connection and I don't think that there is a restaurant in town that might have free wi-fi. Granted, the Tanger Outlets are there, so there might be something. I am already having withdrawal thinking about how I won't have e-mail!! I will have my cell phone and it accepts text messages, so drop me a note!!