Hi, I'm Chika Chika

And this is my friend Hot, better known as Donna Downey. (Her blog is hilarious!)

Yes, I finally got to meet the infamous Donna Downey and sit in on her class. She is a totally awesome person--so down-to-earth and plain funny. In fact, she had a talk about the comparison between a Fiskars drill and a penis. The class was a total uproar--well, the second class that I happened to be helping with, but the first time I heard the story. She is just a hoot!

So, what did I make in her class? This album...

She based it on the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List. I have no idea yet what I'm going to put into it, but I'm awfully glad I took the class because I don't think I would've been able to create it just from instructions. In fact, she did change the original instructions since the company that makes the kits is back-ordered until July. The version we made was modified by Donna, with a few changes to the original. Very cool!

It was a really long day for me. Got to the store by 8 am, so we could start checking in the 8:30 class, and went up and down the stairs too many times. (Who needs a Stairmaster????) Finally left around 5:40 or so, once we got the tables rearranged for the crop. It was an interesting process.

In any case, it was a blast to be caught up in all this. Boy, this is a tiring and tough job, but I am loving it!

Oh, and in case you're wondering why my name tag says "Chika Chika," it's because Donna gives all her students a special name. I'll introduce you to La-La and Oooh as soon as I get the photos! ;)

UPDATE:
Just got a hold of a photo with the others...

Left to right, meet Oooh, La-La, Hot, and Chika Chika. (Boom-Boom was on the other side of the classroom!) Other interesting names included Princess, Frangelica, Chantilly, Latoya, Paris, CoCo, KiKi, Xena, and more!

Thanks, Donna, for a memorable (and inspiring!) class experience!

Oh, and La-La also posted her thoughts on her blog!