I have selective OCD

I have selective OCD. Those who know me well will not be surprised by this confession. I'm NOT a neat freak, germaphob, nor do I have to touch my food to my chin like the guy on Everybody Loves Raymond. But I do have my things that set off this tendency. Maybe it is more like an addictive personality or something. But here are a couple of things that set it off for me.

1. DISNEYLAND! We just got back from the happiest place on earth just a week or so ago. Keep in mind that A.J. is just 4 years old and this was his third time there. This time we went with our good friends Tera and Darren and their two daughters Brynn and Clara from Idaho. Here's a picture of our family by Big Thunder Mountain, one of my favorite rides!

I had to warn our friends when we started planning this adventure that I tend to go a little crazy when it comes to Disneyland and that they may not want their first trip to be ruined by a crazy woman who was gets up at the crack of dawn to get to the park BEFORE it opens. I spent weeks scouring the Internet for tips and trick and then meticulously put together an itinerary that outlined every ride we would go on and when we'd go on it as well as the shows and where we'd eat etc. See, I have a system and if you follow it, you don't have to stand in line more than 20 min for any ride. But I tend to be a little militant about it.

Well, we all survived and Tera and Darren say they even had fun. Not sure they'd ever go back to Disneyland with this crazy lady, but maybe they've learned a trick or two that will help them the next time they do go back.

The other cool thing, A.J. was tall enough to go on most of the rides and old enough to really experience the magic. His new favorite ride is "Soarin' Over California" at California Adventure. After we went on it he kept saying that he wanted to ride "Horin" again (sounds like whorin'). Took us a few minutes to understand what he meant and the poor kid will probably never live that down.

So, my obsession with Disneyland can take a break for a spell. Although, I am already planning our next trip in 2009. After all, the lines for Finding Nemo were too long so we HAVE to go back!

2. PAPER CRAFTING. And lately it's been RUBBER STAMPING! When I started scrapbooking about 9 years ago I purchased some white cardstock, some colored cardstock and a few stickers. I wasn't going to get that into it. Then I bought a few printed papers and some punches, some markers. Then I had to have brads, eyelets, the tools to set the eyelets. . .. You get the picture.

During all this time, I'd have friends invite me to Stampin' Up! parties and I'd fight it off saying I just know that if I buy one thing, I'd have to have it all. Well, I finally broke down about a year ago and bought that one thing and the dam broke. I blame my neighbor Michelle, who introduced me to her SIL Bry who is a SU demo. The rest (and a lot of our money), as they say, is history.

Then my dealer -- I mean demo -- told me about this website called splitcoaststampers.com. HOLY COW! There are other women out there who are just as obsessed about all this as I am. And we feed each others obsession and enable each other by telling each other about all the wonderful things out there that we HAVE to have.

Take for instance the Cuttlebug by Provo Craft. There have been die cut machines out there for years and I never had too much trouble avoiding purchasing one. I spend a few weeks reading what everyone is saying about this cute little machine and seeing what they are making with it and suddenly I am dreaming about it and thinking about it all day long. I finally had to buy one so I could sleep at night. But I do love my 'Bug and I do use it almost every time I do anything. Here's a card I made this week with the embossing folder feature.

This is a very exciting time over at SCS (as those of us who live on the sight call it) because Stampin' Up!'s new catalog debuts on July 1. The anticipation is killing us all! However, the catalogs are starting to arrive at demo's doors. Bry called today to tell me that she had her copy but didn't get her costumer ones yet. Maybe tomorrow. AHHHH! I feel like a kid on Christmas eve.

The kind of sad thing is that I haven't scrapbooked since last October. I have done more than a hundred cards and all kinds of other paper craft items, but not my first love. My goal for the next few weeks is to actually get around to doing some real pages. Let's see if I can do it or if I get too swept up in all the new stamps in the catalog to actually do anything.

BTW, SCS also give us a chance to post our creations for the whole world to see. If you want to see what I've been up to my new craft room, you can check out my gallery.