i was exhausted ... having stayed up until 2 a.m. to finish my layouts for the memory makers masters contest - an entry that i didn't even decide to do until less than 48 hours before deadline. after a little sleep, first thing the next morning i double-checked that the entry was complete and hauled the thing off to the post office, attached delivery confirmation, and off it went.

and i promptly forgot about it.

when the phone rang in september, i was vaguely aware calls had started but it hadn't really registered to me that i might be a part of that.

because that day in july, one year ago today, i literally thought, "well, that was fun. now i can say i once entered a contest."

i had no idea that i was about to be thrust into one of the most amazing, whirlwind, inspiring, exhausting, blessed years of my life. i've created projects that i'm so in love with (unfortunately, most won't be shared until the "ask the masters" and "601 pages" books come out), i've made friends that i'll love the rest of my life, i've traveled to a place i never planned to see (california), i've become a teacher, and now it looks like my one life-wish is coming true: i'm writing a book about a subject near and dear to my heart. not sure how much more i can share about that, but trust me: it'll be awesome.

yes, this year has been amazing. and after meeting in anaheim for cha-winter, catherine, ronee, crystal, katrina and i all agreed that memory makers would have to pry us away from our titles. and in chicago two weeks ago, we again told the powers-that-be that maybe they should just keep us and avoid having to train a new group. really, wouldn't that be more efficient?

we've seen the magazine go from that unfortunate december issue to what it is now - a magazine people once again love and praise and look forward to receiving. and we have to think that being a part of that is something special and amazing. we feel like we have a little ownership over the future of memory makers.

so to christine and holly and patty and beth and mr pyle and greg and katie and our handler and tom todd and anyone else with whom we may have crossed paths this year - be warned: we love you and aren't ready to break up!! (hee hee) and to all you designers out there who are biting nails right now, i want to say good luck, and prepare to fall madly in love with the next year of your life.

(oh - and cha and gasc were truly amazing. will post more - including pix - as soon as possible.)