My Visit with Clint Eastwood

Okay, it wasn't a personal visit but I did get to see Clint Eastwood up-close-and-personal. A couple of weekends ago, I headed down to the Monterey Jazz Festival with my sons. David was scheduled to play with his old high school band, which he did - but unfortunately the photos didn't come out very well because the theater was so dark. Clint was on the schedule to appear at the festival, along with up-and-coming modern jazz artist Jamie Cullum. They were interviewed by a Downbeat magazine writer and talked about how jazz has influenced them and their work, and indeed they have collaborated on some film scores on a couple of soon-to-be-released movies. Clint Eastwood, by the way, is very musical himself (and so is his son Kyle) and in fact serves on the Board of Directors of the Monterey Jazz Festival. What a kick to see him in person - we were seven rows from the front.

Jamie Cullum, Clint Eastwood, and the Downbeat writer/interviewer

Here are Joseph and David while we're waiting for the interview to start. (Nice face, David - he's such a dork sometimes.)

So this week I was surprised to receive not one but two blog awards! My friend and fellow-designer Candee sent me this for Never-Ending Energy (yeah, right...)

Thank you, Candee - and now I get to pass this award on to three people.

Bunny Cates gets this award because she's such a support to the ladies who work for her. Bunny owns the DSO site and is always available to her staff. Seriously, I don't know when this woman sleeps. Everyone who knows Bunny knows she's a tough cookie but a total softie on the inside (shhh, don't tell her I said that). Bunny, thanks for all you do.

Julie Olree is another deserving recipient. Julie is the owner of SAS and is another real go-getter. She has worked tirelessly this month, revamping the site, moving to a new server, and hosting the biggest birthday bash ever! It's been a lot of fun but a ton of work and Julie really deserves this.

Lastly, the Never-Ending Energy award goes to Barbara (aka digiMom Designs). Barbara is extremely active on the forums and super-helpful to anyone who needs a hand. She's kind and an all-around good person, and I believe very deserving of this award.


The second award I received was a total surprise, especially because it came from someone I never met, so it means a lot. Anne sent me this "I Love Your Blog" award and said some nice things about me, so I really appreciate that! Thanks so much, Anne.

I get to pass this award on and there are many blogs that I love, but I can't list them all - so I choose Nani. Nani is on my Creative Team and a terrific "cheerleader." She deserves this award in her own right - and if you check out her blog right now, she has graciously linked all top 11 contestants of the SAS Next Designer Contest, along with previews of their kits - which you all can download for FREE (but do it quickly - I don't know how long the kits will be available). Nani, you totally rock for doing all that work!!

Okay, quick update on what's new. The Halloween Mega Kit is up at SAS, and it's really cute. Right now it's 34% off, so you can get 127 elements and 85 papers for only $5.95!

And for more Halloween fun, don't miss the Trick-or-Treat blog event at DSO. Make sure to check out the DSO Blog every day in October to snag freebies! (Yes, they're all treats - no tricks!) These treats may or may not be Halloween-themed - you just have to collect them all to find out.

I have a new kit and coordinating Quick Page set at SAS (coming soon to DSO as well). You can pick up One Autumn Evening on sale right now for 30% off for a limited time. It's a pretty kit for all your seasonal layouts, even Thanksgiving. The colors will remind you of changing autumn leaves.

Finally... here's this week's freebie. It's a couple of flower elements that coordinate with my Sunshiny Day kit. Please, no hotlinking or sharing the download. Click on the preview to download and have fun.