Did I mention that I was going to Omaha for Silver Bella? Well, if I didn't, you must not have noticed that I was gone ;-) I got back Monday, after having a pretty decent time in Omaha. I left Thursday morning, and all of my flights went well. That was the first day that I had flown in a smaller jet, and despite what Tom thinks of them, I thought the flights went well. They didn't feel any bumpier than a big jet. So when I got to Omaha, Wanda's flight was coming in about 20 minutes later and four gates over, so I stuck around and tried to embarrass her while she was getting off of the plane, but my camera didn't take the picture - probably too busy auto-focusing. She introduced me to a bunch of ladies she'd met in Denver on the way up, and we went to get our luggage. While waiting for the shuttle from the hotel, we met a few other Bellas. We stayed at the Embassy Suites in the Old Market District, and it was beautiful. I just loved the courtyard interior, with streams and waterfalls, fountains and Koi. After checking in, we enjoyed the Manager's Happy Hour before the Meet and Greet, which was right before the Welcome Dinner Buffet. Immediately after the dinner, a group workshop was held at the dinner tables, and I finished my project! When Wanda and I returned to our room, we finished pricing and packaging a bunch of items for Wanda's booth at the Vendor Fair, and got to bed way too late.
The next morning started around 6 am, so that we could enjoy the complimentary breakfast bar before the classes started at 8 am. I ate a large breakfast, and boy was that a good idea, because there was not much time for lunch. I started out with the Better Backgrounds class, where I completed two collages. The next class was Do You ATC What I ATC?, where we started to make books to hold ATC's with. I completed the cover, but the rest will have to wait. My last class of the day was Winter Faerie Shrine. I almost completed the project in that class, but I'm not completely happy with it, so I hope to start anew and make one that I'm more pleased with. The evening ended with the Vendor Fair and Bella Prom. After a slow start, Wanda's booth had a nice, steady flow of business, and I'm quite impressed with the amount of stuff she sold. There were hors d'oeuvres being served, but by the time I got to serve myself, there wasn't much available, so that's why a big breakfast is always important. The Vendor Fair was over at 11 pm, so we packed up, headed back to the room, and crashed.
The next day started out pretty much the same, except a half hour later. The breakfast bar was good, and I ate big again. My first class was Tiny Treasures, and I just about finished two out of three of the projects provided. We then attended a luncheon where Mary Englebreit was the speaker, and I got an autograph before heading to my next class, which was Holiday Home Tour. In that class, we made little paper houses, and embellished them. I think this was my favorite class. I finished one house, and started a second. Afterwards, Wanda and I joined Carol and Marion (our meal partners all weekends) and went for a walk in the Old Market District. We took a horse carriage ride and had dinner at the Spaghetti Works where I had a combo platter with eggplant parmesan and fettucini alfredo and tirimisu for dessert. We stopped at an antique store, Second Chance, and did a little shopping before heading back to the hotel for the night.
The next morning, after breakfast and packing, Wanda left for the airport. I stayed in the room until check-out time, then camped out in the lobby where I read, slept, and listened to the water gurgling around me. When I got to the airport, those of us on my flight were notified that we were being delayed until 6 pm due to weather in Newark. At 6, when the captain did a walk around, he found an oil leak, so we were delayed another two hours. We finally arrived in Newark just before midnight, and luckily Continental put us up in a hotel for the night (the Wyndham Gardens Hotel). The next morning, I found out that the flight to Baltimore that I was booked on was oversold, and I was on the standby list. That sucked, because the guy in Omaha said that we'd be guaranteed a flight in the morning. Luckily, someone was willing to give up their seats for a $300 travel package from Continental, and I got back to Baltimore around 9:30, instead of having to catch the 1:20 flight.
Now that I'm back, I'm ready to do some crafting that's in a whole new league from what I've been doing - inspiration has it's perks!
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