Fabulous!
Have you ever had one of those moments where someone or something was ever better than you thought they/it would be and what you thought would be a good experience ended up being fantastic?
Yeah, that was last night.
I've really tried to stay away from putting people on pedestals in recent years, mostly because when you do that you're inevitably disappointed by them as they come tumbling down from that lofty spot you placed them at in your mind. Yes, I realize no one is perfect, but we still tend to put a human being up there occasionally, perched up so high you have to crane your neck to see their face.
As an individual, I have found that I want to believe people are good and do the right thing... and that everyone is true and honest. Time and again, by many in my own life, I've had those wants and beliefs crushed by dishonest, fake people. Sure, there have been some who have not disappointed, but well, I've found that having lower, perhaps more realistic, expectations, I tend to not be disappointed as much (though I still am because as much as I try and be a realist about people, I'm an optimist) and sometimes I'm very pleasantly surprised.
Ali Edwards surprised me.
I'd hoped she'd be nice and pleasant -- you know, not a "diva." I hardly expected to meet and hear from such a honest, grounded soul.
She blew me away.
There wasn't anything especially revolutionary about what she said or how she acted and that was what was SO appealing about her. She was, from all appearances, herself. I'm sure she was her "I'm talking in front of a bunch of strangers in public self" but even that person was pretty great.
Now, don't get me wrong. She's extraordinarily talented and to see and hold her work in my hands helped me realize just how much creativity and artistic skill she possesses. These pages and books... I mean, they're really amazing. They look so effortless, but knowing how they're NOT effortless from the work I've done, made the ease and creativity of the pages that much more impressive. If you were to ask her (and we did), she claims she doesn't "reinvent the wheel," but rather "finds what works and repeat that over and over again." Well, let me tell you... she's found what works, but I'm not sure most of us could truly repeat it over and over again and make it look half as good.
Yet, even with having that incredible talent, she was a remarkably likable, real person.
Despite the bunches of scrapbooking women clamoring for a picture -- she actually commented about all the cameras at the beginning of the evening -- she was remarkably non-plussed and yet, you could tell she was excited to share a bit of her love for the art of scrapbooking with us. She admitted to not knowing all the answers, including to my questions about what to do with all those extra photos you print but don't scrap and how to know what size to enlarge a picture to before you've started to lay things out (she prints a lot of those at home, which makes total sense).
Plus, she shares my politics, my love of books and my dedication to family and memories.
What I think made the biggest impact on me though, was the fact that if she wasn't living in Oregon and we'd met under different circumstances, we'd probably be friends. There was no pretense with her. What irks me about a lot of people who see lots of success quickly is they almost always seem to adopt an "I'm better than you and I can't relate to you" attitude. I didn't get that from Ali at all. It's obvious that she's talented. If she wasn't, she wouldn't be where she is today. It's also obvious she's quite bright and well-read. You can only fake that so far (and it's usually easy to spot) and she wasn't faking it. I can totally see her at one of the Book Nights I go to, or sharing beers with a group of friends and their husbands at Happy Hour.
So, no, she's not on a pedestal now, but I've gotta say she made my week, and probably my month, by being real and open (well, as real and open as you can be with essentially a bunch of strangers). I feel better about this hobby I dedicate so much time and money to doing because I know someone who is quite a bit like me that is doing it also and giving us, as a group, a better reputation one public appearance at a time.
So, a fantastic evening overall. I am still tired today, although I slept better last night than the night before. I'm not running on a lick and a prayer, and an Americano with four shots of espresso -- full caffeine. Yikes! Tonight I am going to sleep!
Oh, and the Palm Springs pics... expect a little photo collage comin' at ya soon!
Yeah, that was last night.
I've really tried to stay away from putting people on pedestals in recent years, mostly because when you do that you're inevitably disappointed by them as they come tumbling down from that lofty spot you placed them at in your mind. Yes, I realize no one is perfect, but we still tend to put a human being up there occasionally, perched up so high you have to crane your neck to see their face.
As an individual, I have found that I want to believe people are good and do the right thing... and that everyone is true and honest. Time and again, by many in my own life, I've had those wants and beliefs crushed by dishonest, fake people. Sure, there have been some who have not disappointed, but well, I've found that having lower, perhaps more realistic, expectations, I tend to not be disappointed as much (though I still am because as much as I try and be a realist about people, I'm an optimist) and sometimes I'm very pleasantly surprised.
Ali Edwards surprised me.
I'd hoped she'd be nice and pleasant -- you know, not a "diva." I hardly expected to meet and hear from such a honest, grounded soul.
She blew me away.
There wasn't anything especially revolutionary about what she said or how she acted and that was what was SO appealing about her. She was, from all appearances, herself. I'm sure she was her "I'm talking in front of a bunch of strangers in public self" but even that person was pretty great.
Now, don't get me wrong. She's extraordinarily talented and to see and hold her work in my hands helped me realize just how much creativity and artistic skill she possesses. These pages and books... I mean, they're really amazing. They look so effortless, but knowing how they're NOT effortless from the work I've done, made the ease and creativity of the pages that much more impressive. If you were to ask her (and we did), she claims she doesn't "reinvent the wheel," but rather "finds what works and repeat that over and over again." Well, let me tell you... she's found what works, but I'm not sure most of us could truly repeat it over and over again and make it look half as good.
Yet, even with having that incredible talent, she was a remarkably likable, real person.
Despite the bunches of scrapbooking women clamoring for a picture -- she actually commented about all the cameras at the beginning of the evening -- she was remarkably non-plussed and yet, you could tell she was excited to share a bit of her love for the art of scrapbooking with us. She admitted to not knowing all the answers, including to my questions about what to do with all those extra photos you print but don't scrap and how to know what size to enlarge a picture to before you've started to lay things out (she prints a lot of those at home, which makes total sense).
Plus, she shares my politics, my love of books and my dedication to family and memories.
What I think made the biggest impact on me though, was the fact that if she wasn't living in Oregon and we'd met under different circumstances, we'd probably be friends. There was no pretense with her. What irks me about a lot of people who see lots of success quickly is they almost always seem to adopt an "I'm better than you and I can't relate to you" attitude. I didn't get that from Ali at all. It's obvious that she's talented. If she wasn't, she wouldn't be where she is today. It's also obvious she's quite bright and well-read. You can only fake that so far (and it's usually easy to spot) and she wasn't faking it. I can totally see her at one of the Book Nights I go to, or sharing beers with a group of friends and their husbands at Happy Hour.
So, no, she's not on a pedestal now, but I've gotta say she made my week, and probably my month, by being real and open (well, as real and open as you can be with essentially a bunch of strangers). I feel better about this hobby I dedicate so much time and money to doing because I know someone who is quite a bit like me that is doing it also and giving us, as a group, a better reputation one public appearance at a time.
Last night was totally worth staying awake to experience! Plus, I found a few things at Ever After I've been wanting (like some cool '70s Hambly Owl rub-ons, some Queen & Co. red felt ribbon and some Love, Elsie Papers) and they were offering a discount, which was a definite plus (and I had filled my crop attendance card which got me $10 off)... so BONUS!
Then, when I got home, I was all wired and after telling DH all about the night, I sat down with half a sandwich (they had tons of food at the event, but none of it looked appealing to me) and ended up finding "Shopgirl" on one of the cable channels. The movie is based on a novella by Steve Martin and I really liked the book when I read it, so I watched the movie (I missed the very beginning, but saw almost all of it). Steve Martin and Claire Danes are the main characters. It's quite good (a bit dark underneath) and I was very impressed.So, a fantastic evening overall. I am still tired today, although I slept better last night than the night before. I'm not running on a lick and a prayer, and an Americano with four shots of espresso -- full caffeine. Yikes! Tonight I am going to sleep!
Oh, and the Palm Springs pics... expect a little photo collage comin' at ya soon!
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