PACK YOUR BAGS - Winner

I bet you guys thought I forgot about the giveaway! Well I didn't. I have been busy and just now getting time to sit down and use RANDOM.ORG to get a winner.

The winning number was 144!

LadybugCarrie said...

I would love to go on a Cricut cruise so that I could scrap with other scrappers and meet new friends! Thank you for the chance to win! :-)

Thanks to everyone for reading the Cruising With The Cricut blog and entering the giveaway!

Funny story about in class giveaways and Pink Journey

I am sure I have said this before and I know I will say it again...ProvoCraft sure did take care of us on the cruise!!

During classes they would have drawings and people would win prizes, generally cartridges. There were all different ones and they would pull a cart and then pull a name. Well during class, I think it was the first class actually *okie tries to remember and thinks she is remembering correctly*, they picked up Pink Journey. Of course most of you know that is one of the most difficult if not THE most difficult cart to get! I have seen it go for $170 on eBay! I was so excited and was hoping they would pull my name!

Cricut and Cindy were digging through the bucket to pull a name. Cindy opens the piece of paper with the name on it, obviously Cricut couldn't because of his chubby fingers, and she says "THE WINNER IS SHIRLEY!".

I jumped up immediately and was hollering "oh yeah on yeah" and I think I even danced a little on the way up to the front of the room. I looked at Cindy and she had this kind of "deer in head lights" look on her face and Cricut was shaking his head no *okie wonders how big of a can of raid it would take to put that Cricut in his place* and pointing at the paper. Bless her heart, Cindy was still standing there with this bit of terrified smile and wide eyed look. I look down at the paper and it reads "SHIRLEY S". Well I am not Shirley S, I am Shirley T!!

I looked at Cricut, who was still shaking his head no *okie is wondering about a fly swatter now* and I said "THAT ISN'T ME! I AM SHIRLEY T!". Well the Shirley S was very excited. It didn't even occur to me that there was another Shirley on the cruise. I mean come on! How common of a name is Shirley????

I looked at Cricut and Cindy and said "Did Mike put ya'll up to this?" and then I turned to the back of the room and yelled at Mike "YOU DID THIS DIDN'T YOU!". Some of you might have read my post about the call from Mike telling me I won the cruise so of course it was only natural that I would think he was pulling a prank on me. Mike immediately said "NNOOO!! I didn't do it!". I still didn't believe him. I wasn't angry at all because I thought it was funny and they were pulling a joke on me *okie can have a really good sense of humor about most things, and if her blood sugar levels are stable*.

I sat back down at the table and was laughing when I heard a voice say "Don't worry, I'll take care of it". And for the sake of anonymity I won't say whose voice it was...but in a few minutes I had a Pink Journey cartridge laying on the table in front of me!!

I really think the PC staff felt bad because I was so excited thinking I won and then to find out it wasn't me. Cindy even told me later "I was just going to let you take it but Cricut kept shaking his head no!" *okie really likes Cindy*.

Here is a picture of Cindy and I that was taken on the last night of the cruise. Cindy is such a fantastic person and was great to get to know. She and her husband are wonderful genuine people and both have a sense of humor that makes them shine!

OUR CRUISE layout - Pack Your Bags Giveaway!

First off I would like to apologize for the delay in posting about the cruise. If things got any crazier around here I would be begging for a bottle of valium and a shot of gin! Anyway I am going to try and get more posted...I PROMISE *okie says a little prayer hoping she can keep her promise*.

We received a little booklet that had our schedule and showed the classes and projects we would be working on. Sadly there wasn't enough to go around so I didn't receive one *okie truly is sad about this* so I am having to depend on others for the information from the booklet.

Our first class on the Cricut Cruise was with Joy Tracey of OBSESSED WITH SCRAPBOOKING. Joy had a great layout for us to make using Pack Your Bags, and even made it easy by having the kits all ready. In the booklet there was a page that had a picture of the finished layout and then also all the instructions. I think this was great because if you didn't have time to finish you could always refer to the instructions and finish it at a later time. There were papers that had been printed from the Imagine and while we didn't use it right then we did get a short tutorial on what was done to make the layout.


Kristy, Melanie and Tammy were great about going around and helping those who needed it. I let my daughter put my layout together. I was a bit busy talking to Dan Larsen about my reasons for hating the Gypsy. I think he still thinks I have a screw loose for not loving my Gypsy. Evidently Dan loves his Gypsy. He saw a picture of my daughter and I from formal night and said we both looked so friendly and that he was going to put the picture on his Gypsy. Have a mentioned that Dan can be a bit of a smart azz? *okie so loves smart azzes and laughs*. Dan is the one who was in charge of getting most everything ready for the cruise I believe and he did a BEYOND AWESOME job!


Sandie and Deanne worked hard on their layouts and to tell ya the truth I think they just liked to show off and work quietly and quickly. Of course that didn't last beyond the first class after we got even more acquainted.

Sandie was really good about using the Cricut Cutter, which I admired since I had problems and had never used one before. Both were helpful in helping me, Karen and Shiane with learning to use the cutter.




Here is a close up of Deanne working on her layout. I know it is her not only because she sent me the picture to post but also because of the dark purple nail polish.

This picture also shows the great colors in the layout, looking very tropical and cheery! I plan on using pictures of when we first got on the ship and were on deck for the sail away party to put on my layout.





I really wanted to post the finished layout with pictures but since I haven't finished going through and editing pictures I figured I better get a post up before you guys lose interest!Here is the page from the booklet we got. It shows the full layout completed. It is a lot cuter in person! Joy did an awesome job.




















Now to make up in the delay of posts I am going to giveaway the Pack Your Bags cartridge! We received one on the cruise and it was a cartridge I already had. I thought it would be nice to give it away on this blog since it was used for the layout.

To enter all you need to do is leave a comment on this post about why you would like to go on a Cricut Cruise. The deadline to enter will be midnight Friday March 25th. Comments will need to be approved so make sure you comment only once please.

There will also be other giveways as we go along, maybe not cartridges but items from the cruise, so be sure to check back with us!

Check In Gifts

I totally forgot to tell you guys about what we got when we checked in at the hotel!

When we first arrived at the hotel there was a table set up for the Cricut Cruise folks to check in so ProvoCraft would know we had arrived. Dan Larsen and his wife Kayela were there to get us all settled in and gave us some gifts. Kayela took our pictures so they would be able to identify us later on. I told them I didn't think that was right because no one ever looks good after being in an airplane all day. Okay, okay, I actually said "do you have to do it right now? I look like total chit!" But I didn't say chit. And yes, they had to do it right then evidently because they laughed at me and took the picture anyway *okie so hopes the picture has since been destroyed because she believes a mug shot would probably look better than that photo did*.

We received an email before the cruise asking for shirt sizes so I figured we would be getting t-shirts but I was surprised about the water bottle and sunglasses. I just love free stuff!!

I totally forgot to take a picture of the items but Annette Hindes was nice enough to let me use one that she took. Annette was great about setting up a facebook page for us before we went on the cruise so some of us could chat and get to know each other before hand. She has also agreed to allow me to use any of her photos she has on Facebook. THANK YOU ANNETTE!

~okie

I think she drank the Potion!

LOL... When Deanne and I got to FT Lauderdale we decided to take the water taxi to the shops on the other side of the channel. While we were strolling down the street we saw this Alice in Wonderland chair. We so had to have a picture taken in it, because it does look like she drank the potion...lol. We had already had so much fun before we even started the cruise.

Okie and Shiane

This is one of my favorite pictures from the cruise. They are having a moment that every mother and daughter should have. Even thought it was only a moment...lol. I love it anyway. We all met up in the crows nest of the ship for a little meet and mingle and maybe a little drink or two. We all had fun but again me and the foursome kinda stuck like glue together.

Dinner with Good Friends

Well here we are all together at dinner. When I knew I was going on the cruise I was so glad I was going with my BFF Deanne, because you always feel comfortable when you are with someone you know. I had no idea that as soon as I met Okie, Shiane and Karen that I would feel like I have been friends with them all my life. I could not have asked for a better foursome to hang with on the cruise. Ladies start saving those pennies for next year.

Go for the Quad Cabins!

If you ever go on a cruise and don't care about a balcony or window then I would say go for the quad cabins! Since there were three in our cabin we got the quad and I have to say it was the roomiest of the cabins I saw. I didn't see the high dollar ones because we were on the main deck and not up top and I would think some of those have more room. But for the economy friendly ours was great!

There was a queen bed that split into two beds and that is where Karen and I slept. Shiane slept in the pull down bunk bed. Karen did hit her head a few times and I think that is how she ended up with a headache one day! There were little lights next to our beds so if we wanted to read we could. There were also controls for the main lights in the rooms at the head of the beds. Shiane had a light up in her bunk area as well.

The beds were amazingly comfortable and I wish I could have brought the pillows home with me! The linens were awesome feeling as were the robes! I don't think Holland America is chintzy about anything!

The closets were great! In each closet there were life jackets *okie is rather grateful those were not needed*. In the first closet there was a safe where we could put our money and valuables. It was big enough to hold our purses, jewelry and other items. We were able to set the code specifically for us. Being the organizer I am *okie knows EVERYONE is surprised that she organized right off* I went straight away to unpacking and getting things organized when we got to our cabin. We were able to put the suitcases in the first closet. The second closet had shelves and we put clothing and eventually our Cricut projects in there. The last closet is where our clothes were hung. There was a DVD player for our use and we could call for movies from the list provided, at no charge. The TV did get a few channels but I think we watched the ship announcements the most.

Now here is what was really nice, or we thought it would be, was the sofa! But actually we rarely used it because we were not in the room very often. There is a bed in the sofa as well. They had it pulled out at first but it was difficult to get to the bathroom and we opted for the bunk bed instead.

The couch and table were great to have for when we ordered room service for breakfast. The vanity was nice as well for when we were getting ready.

We had plenty of room for all three of us to walk around and not be in each other's way while getting dressed and ready for the day or evening.

There are a lot of things I missed getting pictures of and might just have to make commentaries about those. I wish I had gotten pictures of the social on the first night but I think the only one I have is of me and my evil twin Diane aka Capadia.

I am hoping the other bloggers will start posting soon and share their perspectives, but if not, ya'll are stuck with me! *okie raises one eyebrow and is ready to lash anyone with a wet noodle if they complain*. I will be getting to more of the Cricut classes and stuff soon so hang in there.

Had some snags...but GIVEAWAY coming soon!

Sorry I haven't gotten to post more, I have had some snags this week and also been busy trying to make up for lost time at work. I promise I will get more posted soon. And I will also be having a Giveaway coming next week so be sure to stay tuned!

ALL ABOARD!!

The morning we were scheduled to board the ship we had breakfast together. Okay, to be honest most everyone else had breakfast together. Karen, Shiane and I were late...this was to be a pattern for the rest of the week.

We finished our breakfast and left out of the room via the back doors. As we did my daughter leans over and says "Mom I think those women are talking about you because they kept staring and whispering" and Karen said "yeah I noticed that too!". I looked around to see who the heck would be staring at me and suddenly a woman pops around *okie won't admit that it almost scared the chit out of her* and holler "OKIE!". I look at her and say "yeah" and she says "IT'S SCRAPDEE!" Of course then I immediately give her a hug and then another lady pops aroud and says "SJOX44!" And I have to give her a hug. Well that was it for us! While we had several others we did spend time with we for the most part spent most of our activity time together and have declared the 5 of us are now BFF's for life!

Everyone gathered in the lobby with their luggage, some folks had enough to fill the lockers of a football team, I am just sure of it! *okie cracks up laughin*. We got to meet more people and it looked like total chaos with everyone making sure they had everything. The afternoon before we had gotten checked in at the Renaissance hotel and I met Dan Larsen and his wife who were an absolute hoot! I did feel for Dan since he had several boxes that he and his wife were having to tote around. Luckily they had one of those rolly things that hotels offer.

Pretty soon they called us to go out and meet the buses. Well once again we were at the back of the line. The bad thing about this was that one of the buses got held up at customs and while the first bus filled up there were quite a few of us standing out on the curb waiting...and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...Finally the first bus left. And were stood there and waited....and waited...and waited...and waited. At this point I told everyone if they could find a screwdriver I would hot wire the hotel van and take us to the port. No one seemed to think this was a good idea *okie thought it was a fabulous idea*. I wasn't too worried since I noticed that we were the only cruisers left behind, and the others left behind were the ProvoCraft staff and the travel agent. I figured we had a better shot of getting on that ship than anyone else at this point.

Our travel agent Rusty was getting a bit hot under the collar by this time. Someone finally called for some cabs to come and get us. This is when I soon discovered that when you go on a trip with ProvoCraft, THEY DO TAKE CARE OF YOU! Well there were like 3 cabs that drove by, and then 2 van cabs...none stopped. At last a cab turned around. Mike (from ProvoCraft) had Karen, Shiane and I get in that cab. We also took a lot of luggage that was on the curb in the trunk of our cab. I have no idea whose luggage it was but since I didn't see any naked people on the cruise I guess the luggage found it's owners!

Shiane was excited and said "THIS IS MY FIRST CAB RIDE!" Cindy (from ProvoCraft) had give us bottles of water as a consolation prize of having stand on the curb and we were very grateful to get it!

Our cab driver was super nice. He pointed out some of the ships to us and pointed to ours, the MS Eurodam. He also pointed out the FREAKINGLY HUGE ship and told us it was one of the largest cruise ships, MS Oasis of the Seas, that exists today. I could not believe something so big even existed!! I swore I would remember our cab drivers name, but ya know what? My memory is not what it use to be! *okie wonders of some of that ginkgo bo bango or whatever it is would help her memory*. Anyway I did get his picture! I informed him he would be blogged and scrapbooked. He didn't seem too impressed with that, but he did like the tip we gave him, and yes I mean money! *okie shakes head knowing some readers are such smart azzes*

We had to laugh when we realized we arrived at the port before the bus that left almost 30 minutes earlier. The check in went smoothly. Karen had a passport and Shiane and I had our official emboss sealed birth certificates and state issues photo id's and we didn't have a problem. Right now if you are going on a closed port cruise an official birth certificate and driver's license will work in place of a passport. But with that said I do plan on getting a passport soon.

Before The Cruise Even Started

I was very fortunate to meet up with some friends from Florida that I have made via the Cricut, in Ft. Lauderdale. Carmen aka Scrappinbee, Robin aka rcz28, Tisha aka TPthatsme and Caroline aka Doxieluv01 met Karen, Shiane and myself for a great evening of fun.

Robin came in and picked up Karen at the airport and Carmen met me and my daughter at the airport, talk about fantastic service!

We went to the beach, ate at Bubba Gump and visited for hours at the hotel. Heck I didn't even have time to meet the others who would be on the cruise with me but I figured I would have a whole week with those folks and I wanted to enjoy my precious time with my friends.

We all were laughing until we cried that night and I can tell you that I wish these ladies had went on the cruise with us!





My daughter got camera duty for a little while and looked like a professional tourist with the cameras hanging from her neck and her wrists. I did notice a few people laughing at her. She didn't seem to mind, especially when we snapped this picture of her. She is such a ham!!

I think she learned never to go on an adventure with 6 scrapbookers at once!! *okie nudges Sandie and Dee in the side and then says..* BLESS HER HEART!! *okie then holds sides with laughter*









Here is a picture of my daughter and I on the beach. It was very very windy and I was totally enthralled by the folks on surfboards and huge kites they had making them sail around. I also thought those parents who had little ones in the water were nuts because to me the water was freezing!

I also kept wondering why people were staring at me then I realized I had on my Paper Ho tshirt and figured they were wondering "WHAT THE HECK!". Oh well, at least I was easy to spot! HA HA



Here are a few more pictures at dinner at Bubba Gump.


Tisha and Karen at the dinner table. Tisha, poor thing, wasted a good drink by letting it get watery! Something I will never let her live down because I sure enjoyed my Lt. Dan punch! *okie thinks that was the name of it only she can't remember exactly because it went away so fast*








Karen and Carmen looking over the menu. It really was hard to order because everything seemed to look and sound so good!











Robin and Shiane smiling for the camera. I swear they were having some kind of contest about who could sport the biggest grin!

Caroline joined us at dinner but by the time she got there we had put away the camera's so we could eat. I mean seriously how can you think of taking pictures when you have all that shrimp in front of you. Caroline, aka Doxieluv01, did order a Cobb Salad. She asked for no avocado's and some how she ended up with avocado's and no chicken! She did get her chicken, and Shiane was more than glad to take the avocado's. Carmen wanted one and Shiane put it on a fork and acted like she was going to give it to her but then turned the fork around and popped it into her mouth! My child does not play when it comes to avocado's!

~okie

Serious Snag At The Beginning

My daughter and I had Lucy drive us up to my sister's house on Thursday afternoon so we could take Lucy to stay the week and we could stay the night. Luckily my sister only lives maybe 20 minutes from the airport and that makes it convenient not to have to drive an hour and 45 minutes.

Once we got to my sisters we went to Khol's to pick up a few things and then stopped and got a bite to eat. When we got to my sister's house we decided to go to the casino "for a little bit" and while I did come out $75 a head I sure did regret staying out late because I was so tired when we got home and then I was also too excited to sleep. My daughter and I made sure we had everything packed the night before so we could just toss on our clothes and head to the airport at 6am.



Bright and early the next morning grabbing our stuff and loading it into the car. I was sad to see Lucy trying to follow us out the door but I assured her I loved her and I would be back. My sister dropped us off and we headed to check in. After getting the luggage checked we headed security. SNAG! My daughter goes to grab her license and says "OMG! I LEFT MY LICENSE IN MY JEANS POCKET AT AUNT CHERYL'S!".

This is little Miss Porsche' Shiane looking very sad because she forgot her license.

We quickly called my brother in law and Shiane told him where to find the license. He found it and as soon as Cheryl got home he gave it to her and she drove back to the airport. I was seeing about catching a later flight when my daughter comes running waving her license in her hand.

I asked Shiane "what did Aunt Cheryl say" and Shiane laughed and said "She told me 'YOU DOOFUS!' ".

Luckily there were no more snags! But it is definitely a scrap worthy moment! And to be honest, pretty funny since everything worked out okay!

First night of goodies

When BFF Karen and I went back to our room the first night on the ship there were two pails on one of the beds filled with goodies. We were so excited to see what was included!

Included in the pail was -
Cricut Cartridge Pack Your Bags
Imagine Cartridge Kate's Kitchen
Cricut Toolkit
Small Cricut plush animal
Stamps






Of course being afraid someone would take my wonderful goodies from me I decided I best sleep with my pail next to me! Heck I don't even have an Imagine but I was still excited about the cartridge!

Sadly my bucket didn't get to make it home with me. My daughter packed our bags as tight as she could and there still wasn't room for it. Me being the dummy I am didn't think of it until now that I could have stuffed my purse in the bucket and carried it that way! *okie bangs her head on her desk because she really did love her bucket*.

This was only the beginning of the nightly gifts we received!

~okie

How did I get to win a trip?

I won my trip on the Cricut Cruise by participating in the Cricut Circle membership referral program. I was lucky enough to be one of the top two recruiters. But let me tell you a little story about this...

I received a call from Michael at Provocraft and well the conversation went something like this...

Mike - I just called to tell you that you were one of the top 10 recruiters for the referral program

okie - NO WAY! That's awesome! I get a free years membership to the Circle!

Mike - Oh wait...let me check the numbers

okie - what do you mean check the numbers *okie wondering what the heel*

Mike - I'm sorry, that's wrong. I just checked the numbers.

okie - WHAT THE HELL! YOU ARE GONNA GIVE ME A FREE YEAR! Uh uh Michael you can't do that!

Mike - I can't believe I looked at the wrong numbers

okie - uh uh! I want my free year!

Mike - Well let me check the numbers again

okie - *about to really cuss Mike out*

Mike - Okay what if I told you that you were one of the top two recruiters

okie - *silent for a few seconds* Uh....what

Mike - Yeah you were one of the top two recruiters. YOU WON THE CRUISE

okie - *yelling and mean voice* DON'T PLAY WITH ME MICHAEL!!!

Mike - *laughing* Yeah you won!!

okie - *skeptical* dontcha play with me Michael!!

Mike - *still laughing* I wanted to call you myself and tell you when I saw your name after they pulled the numbers. YES YOU WON THE CRUISE!

okie - *jumping up and down and screaming* OMG OMG OMG NO WAY!! I AM GOING ON A CRUISE!! OMG OMG OMG!! NO FREAKIN WAY!!

Then I did a little more screaming and some dancing. I think poor Michael might have ended up with some hearing problems. But if he did he deserved it for being mean to me about how he told me I won!! *okie cracks up laughin*

Here is a picture of Michael and I on the beach at Half Moon Cay. He really is a great guy, although he likes to throw stuff at people, more about that in another post though. Oh and don't ya'll tell him I think he is a great guy because I think I finally convinced him I don't like him! I swear I am gonna put his wife up for sainthood! *okie makes exasperated sigh to put emphasize on the sainthood*


~okie

Wow!! What an amazing trip!!!

After a very long day being at the mercy of Delta I am am home.....

I just spent the last week cruisin with cricut!! I am lucky enough to have a best friend that allowed me to tag along with her on the Provo Craft cruise! We had the best time ever and made some life long friends!
When I started scrapping 13 years ago I would have never imagined that this little hobby of mine could have opened so many doors and given me so many awesome friends!

As soon as we started our trip we ran into Shirley(aka Okieladybug) and her BFF Karen....what great friends they became!

I will be posting much more about the trip and more about the awesome job Provo Craft did for us....I have tons of photos to share and lots of projects we did on the cruise to share. Stay spinning with me, we will have a blast together!

Thanks for spinning!

WELCOME TO CRUISING WITH THE CRICUT

When I found out I won a cruise with ProvoCraft I was thrilled! I searched high and low for information about the cruise from the previous year. I was able to find a few pictures but very little information about what it was all about.

I decided to ask a few of my fellow Cricut Cruisers to help me with this blog so we can share the experiences, pictures and projects with people who might be interested in knowing what it is like to go on a Cricut Cruise. I can tell you now that I believe each and every person who will be posting on this blog is making plans to go on the next Cricut Cruise if ProvoCraft plans to sponsor one!


Oh and guess what! There will be a few giveaways along the way so make sure you check in to see what we have to offer!

~okie