Videos for new products

Aug 3, 2013 | Big Shot, family, Thinlits | 1 comment

Did you know that the new Holiday Catalog has embedded videos in it?

Yep – there is an app that you put on your mobile device called LAYAR  – then you use it to scan over the icons in the catalog and it will unlock a video.  The instructions are on page 5 of the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog.   I found the icon 13 times in the Holiday catalog – I check ed it out briefly this morning, but found I needed better light to get it to scan – I was getting a glare in my kitchen and had to move to another room for it to work better.  If you don’t have a mobile device you can also find the videos online at stampinup.com/showmehow.

And if you want to see more videos there is also the Stampin’ Up! Youtube channel.  One day I’ll make another video – just not sure when that will be.   Here is one I found from Stampin’ Up! – showing the new Thinlit card dies that just came out.

Hopefully mine will be here soon. They will probably be a feature item in my September classes.

And now the continuation of the journey home from San Francisco story –

To begin with I do want to tell you that Tyler is fine we just didn’t know what was going on at the time.

I left off with us at the Emergency Clinic in Los Angeles – after waiting for a while they finally took us back to a room.  The doctor came and did an exam, checked his vitals, etc.  She could not find anything wrong and her only other suggestion was to get a CT-scan of his head.  But the problem was she didn’t have the equipment there we would have to go to the real ER to do that.  So we discussed his pain level some more talked about pain medication and if he thought he could travel home and then see a doctor there.  She gave him a prescription pain med and we waited a short time.  I asked about if it could be anxiety related to the plane crash in San Francisco and she talked to him about that and it was not a concern for him.  She checked back to see if the paid meds were working and he said no.  She wanted to know if Tyler felt he needed to go to the ER and he said no – he thought he could go back and fly home.  So we were discharged and told if the pain got worse to go to the ER, and to follow up with a doctor at home.  My thought was that if I got us back to the airport he could maybe sleep for a few hours before we boarded a morning flight home.  The clinic called the taxi and gave us a voucher for $6.50 to get back to the airport.  And we waited.  The doctor saw us in the lobby after her shift ended and asked if they called a taxi I said yes but they didn’t show up and the reception girl left earlier so we were just sitting and waiting.  So the doctor tracked down the taxi for us.

I was a bit nervous about the taxi driver – he came in a van that was empty except the two very back seats – not sure what goes on in the middle of the empty van but I thought that was weird.  Then he complained as soon as I handed him the voucher.  Most cabbies wouldn’t come pick up a ride for $6.50.  And we should be glad he came to get us.  Ugh – believe me it wasn’t my choice to even be there.  He drove and I watched the meter and as he got caught up in airport traffic (it was probably approaching midnight so I’m not sure why there was so much traffic) he started to complain more because the voucher wasn’t even going to cover the cost of the ride.  Ugh!  Now I’m thinking he is going to dump us out when the meter hits $6.50 and I had no idea where we were.  So I offered if I could pay the difference – and he says “that’s up to you” – which I took to mean that yes he wanted the money but he wasn’t going to say it.  Luckily Greg had given me the money earlier which included some small bills which I pulled out.  Then he asks if he can drop us off down stairs.  I said I don’t know I have never been here and don’t know where to go – but we need to go to the check-in.  He says yeah just go up the escalator and he stops for us to go out.  OK.  We get out and go to the escalator – it goes down not up and now I don’t know where to go.  We enter the building which is under construction – with plastic hanging everywhere and many of the signs covered up.  Somehow we must have managed to find a way up stairs to the checkin/ticketing area.  Although I really don’t remember how.

Inside there is a line at the special services desk – which is where we needed to go since I didn’t even know what flight we might be on or if we had seats/tickets.  Once we got to the front of the line at first they didn’t want to let us check-in because the flight wasn’t until the morning (and it is like midnight) and we were there too early.  Finally she gave us boarding passes for a 5:45 am flight.  I wanted to take Tyler to the gate and let him sleep before we got on the plane.  Now it is late and once we got down to the terminal there were many people there – all the restaurants and shops were closed up and locked.  We went down and tried to find a place for him to lie down – the only option turned out the be the floor – yuck!  But I really wanted him to try to sleep.   There was still one Delta help agent and a few people down there trying to get their flights changed or fixed or whatever.  There were still some arrivals coming in but otherwise I think the next flights to leave were early morning.

It didn’t take long before Tyler said he couldn’t sleep and he was sure he couldn’t fly either – the pain medicine from earlier hadn’t helped at all and now it was getting worse.  He wanted me to call the EMTs back.  So I went to the help desk and waited for a few minutes while he finish up helping someone.  Then when I said can you call the ambulance/EMTs please – I think I scared the guy because he dropped everything he had in his hands.  It took him a minute to calm down and figure out what to do – he was a young guy – and I just stood there calmly waiting.  I gave him the basic info which he relayed to them and then went to sit back with Tyler.  After a few minutes the guy came over to tell us they were coming and then the whole terminal went dark – I asked was that supposed to happen – he said yes they are doing construction so they probably had to turn the power out.  OK. I was fine with that.  Except that over the intercom there was a lady and she did not seem fine with that “I’m in my office and the power is out.  Why am I sitting here in the dark in my office?  Can someone please turn the power back on. ”  etc, etc.  So now I’m thinking that it wasn’t supposed to happen after all.

Then the EMTs showed up – this time 2 guys (not the same ones from before).  We talk to them – and they apparently already knew it was going to be Tyler since the other guys had come a few hours earlier.  I explained what we did at the emergency clinic and that now we needed to go to the ER.  We got our things and followed them out one of the secret security doors – you know the ones that say don’t enter and you need id and codes to get through.  Once we got through that door we were in a small room with secure doors on all 4 sides.  The EMT tries to get the next door open – and it won’t open – so I mentioned the fact that the power was out and could that be a problem.  Yeah it might be.  My thought is that now we are all stuck in this tiny room.  But eventually they got back in the door that we originally walked through so we were back in the terminal.  And we walked to a different door and got out as the power came back on.  Went down the stairs and onto the ground where the airplanes would be and all the trucks and equipment and stuff.  We walked until we got to the ambulance and they loaded us in and started driving.  Lights on but no sirens.

They actually didn’t do anything on the ambulance.  Didn’t check anything on Tyler – I guess they used all the information from the first guys that came.  He didn’t even lay on the stretcher – he was just buckled in a seat and so was I.  I got the bill when I got home from convention and yikes!  It seemed to me we drove for ever but he assured me it was only 5 miles away from the airport.  Once we got out and they took us in they sent us out to the waiting room – as we were told earlier he was low priority.  And we came to find out Monday is their busiest night in this ER and they were completely full when we arrived.  So we waited and waited and waited.  I’m sure it wasn’t as long as it felt but it seemed to take forever.  Eventually Tyler started getting nauseous and kept gong in to the bathroom.  And I went to the desk to ask how much longer it would be.  Finally a bed opened up and they took us back and put him in a bed and me in a chair against the wall facing the end of his bed.  But I could see the beds on either side and they didn’t have the curtains drawn so I was trying really hard to look only straight ahead at Tyler and not look at the other people.  I also thought it was odd that none of the other patients had people with them – everyone seemed to be alone.  In fact when we were in the waiting room several people left saying to call them and they would come back to pick whoever up.  Maybe its just me but I would not leave a family member or friend in the ER alone.  Another odd thing was that they didn’t put a band or anything on Tyler at all to identify him.  At one point I asked and the reply I got was – “that’s Tyler, right?”.  Greg and I were finally able to text – I think he was back home now or maybe in Cinn. I forget which but he wanted to know what hospital we were at.  Uhhh – good question – I didn’t even know.  I had to go to the nurses station and ask someone.  It was Marina Del Ray Hospital.

Tyler slept some in the bed while we waited on a doctor.  The other 2 patients left and their beds were cleaned.   Eventually the doctor came.  She checked Tyler again.  Asked about family history of brain aneurism – no, family history of brain tumor – no, had he been sick – no, had he been partying – no.  No explanation.  Again the next step was a CT scan and did I want to have that done.  I told her I didn’t want to take him on a plane without knowing the cause since if  we were in the air and something went wrong we couldn’t get to help quickly.  So they would take him to get the CT scan.  And somewhere during that time they gave him a morphine shot and then anti-nasuea shot too.  I asked if I could lay in an empty bed and they said yes and then I heard the nurse go out and tell them not to put anyone in that bed until last because I was using it.  And I also called to tell the airline we wouldn’t be back for our 5:45 flight and that we needed a later flight.  At that point they said they wanted to charge me for changing my ticket – so now I was mad – and I ended up hanging up on that person.  I decided it might be better to go to a person at the airport with all our paper work from the clinic and hospital and Tyler with me.  We waited on the results on the scan which came back in about 5 am.  The doctor returned and said she couldn’t find anything bad on the scan and that it appeared the pain was because the sinus cavity over his left eye was completely full and inflamed and had no where to drain.  And the pressure from flying made it feel like his head was exploding.  Relief that it wasn’t anything terrible – so now what do we do to make it go away so that we can fly home.  They give him an antibiotic, steroid, and a couple of other things.  Prescriptions to fill when we get home.  Follow up with doctor when we get home. She says to go to pharmacy and get sudafed to take before getting on the plane.  Uh – yeah first I don’t know where we are nor where a pharmacy is and we are going right back to the airport.  So we decide they will have that at the airport.  So she will clear him to fly and then discharge us.  They can call a taxi (this one I have to pay for – again good thing Greg gave me all his cash).

I’ll stop there for now and finish the rest in my next post.  Because there is more.

I hope you are enjoying the weekend!

Thinlit Card Dies for the Big Shot

Aug 2, 2013 | Big Shot, family, Thinlits | 3 comments

I wanted to show you a little more detail on the Thinlit Card Dies that came out yesterday from Stampin’ Up!.   Here are close ups of all the pieces for each set.

Thinlits Circle Card Dies

Thinlit Label Card Dies

And these were some samples that they had posted when we were at Convention on the Display Boards.

I can’t wait for mine to get here so I can play and show them to you in person.

And now to continue my San Francisco story from the other day.

Monday afternoon Kyle dropped us off at the San Jose airport – we got there several hours early so that he could get back to work for a meeting.  Even though our travel plans were messed up we were trying not to mess up his schedule too much.  The delay in leaving did allow us another visit and lunch at Facebook before we went to the airport.  Once there we settled in to wait on our flight.  This airport is small and quiet compared to what I am used to in Atlanta.  The boys played cards while we waited.

In the evening we boarded a small plane to fly to LAX.  Everyone was still a bit uneasy about flying and when we heard a rattle in the overhead bin and the flight attendant couldn’t get it to stop all the people around me were just kind of looking at each other – still not sure what it was but the flight wasn’t too long and we finally landed at LAX and pulled up to the gate.  I watched out the window as the bridge was moved out to the plane – almost – then backed up – then to the plane – almost – then backed up – finally the pilot comes on and says the bridge isn’t working and they need to wait on maintenance to come out before we can get off the plane.  Finally the pilot comes on again and says its not the bridge but rather the plane is in the wrong place and needed to be moved – everything put away, everyone buckled in seats before we can move.  Finally that gets done, the bridge comes out and we get off the plane.

I wanted to stop at the help desk to check again on the direct flights – of course the same answer – they are full and overbooked just stick with the flight to Cincinnati.  So we walk from one terminal to another and find our gate.  Find some food and sit down to wait on the next flight which leaves just before 11 pm.  It is the red-eye – yuck.

After a while Tyler gets up to say he has to ask the Delta agent something.  I thought that was odd – I couldn’t think of what he would have to ask her that he wouldn’t ask mom or dad.  So we waited and he came back and sat back down.  Greg and I are looking at him wondering what he asked.  Well apparently all this time his head has been hurting – like its exploding – and he had already taken some ibuprofen after we landed and that didn’t help.  He asked her to call the EMTs because it hurt so bad.  OK then.  We sit and wait.  A short time later here come what look to be 3 fully decked out firemen – I guess they are the EMTs from the fire station that drive the ambulance – they have all their equipment and sit down with us.  Tyler gets hooked up and they talk to him and ask him questions about what is going on.

The options are to go to the ER – which will take all night since he would be low priority – not bleeding, breathing is normal, heart is good.  Or we can go to the emergency clinic nearby and probably see a doctor in a couple hours.  Problem – they can’t transport us there – it’s not part of their jurisdiction.  But one of them remembers that the clinic has an EMT on staff that runs a shuttle service and he can come get us – so they call him.  The EMT says one of us should go with Tyler and the other continue home with Ryan on our scheduled flight.  So we decide that I will go with Tyler and Greg and Ryan will continue home.  Now we all go talk to the Delta agent and wait for the other guy to arrive.  She interrupts travel for Tyler and I and then says she will put us on another flight – so i ask her to put us on a morning flight to Atlanta – the first one leaves at 5:45 am.  At first she starts to say she can’t do that since our flight isn’t direct – to which I pointed out that yes we in fact did have direct flight to begin with and should have been home already not here at this airport at all – so I expected her to get us on a direct flight – she said she needed supervisor approval and I said well you get that while we go to the emergency room.  As we left she assured me that she would take care of getting us on a morning flight direct to Atlanta.  Greg and Ryan and our luggage would continue on to Cinn. and then ATL.

Now the other EMT showed up so I luckily remember to give things to Greg – like the car keys!  the little tickets for the luggage and I even managed to remember the coupon for parking.  Gave them their boarding passes.  And then he gave me all his cash.  The first 3 EMTs left and we went with the 4th guy that showed up.  We walked out of the terminal and back towards the security area.  As we approached the security people made everyone stop – I mean they made everyone FREEZE – no moving, not even one step in the entire area.  Guess what – it was a security breach!

After a few minutes the security agent asked the EMT if he had a patient – he said yes a patient and his mom – he showed his ID and we were allowed to leave the airport and go to his shuttle.  And he drove us to the Emergency Clinic.   Once he dropped us off though the shuttle service was done for the night so we would have to take a Taxi back to the airport and the clinic would give us a voucher for that later.  OK – I didn’t need to stress about getting back to the airport.  So now we waited at the clinic to see a doctor.

I’ll stop here for now.  So if you want to know how the story continues be sure to check back.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  And I always enjoy the comments – including the ones about your travel troubles – glad to hear I wasn’t the only one.