Back from Vegas!

 Hello, all!

I pray this finds you and your family enjoying the last days of summer - hard to believe how quickly summer has flown.

I am back from the amazing balloon education in Las Vegas. I have yet to unpack all of my "balloon stuff" but I will eventually get there... maybe by January if it is anything like last year. Hee hee.

For those who have been receiving these updates for a while, you will notice the new picture - I was blessed to have the opportunity to have my picture taken by Richard Faverty of Beckett Studios in Las Vegas, while I was out there, and was thrilled to have the picture above as a result of our quick photo session. He is a pleasure to work with!

I was able to enjoy Las Vegas with great friends who I have met in this fun, balloon industry.

I have posted pictures from this event on my Facebook Fan Page and they may be viewed here.  Many thanks to the generous individuals who stepped up and "saved the day" by creating these events in less than one month's time: Don Caldwell, Tawney Bubbles, Todd Neufeld (Alternajam) and Mark Zettler (Balloonstitute). Catching the magician, Jeff McBride, at Alternajam was an extra amazing bonus. I'm not a magician by any means but he made it look like fun and was an EXCELLENT speaker!

One of my favorite moments was hanging out with Laura Caldwell, aka Annie Banannie, at Alternajam.
She is as sweet in person as I imagined her to be. Kind of a bummer that I am located on the East Coast and she is on the West Coast but then it is probably lucky for her as I would be one of her groupies! ; )

Balloonatic RN, Annie Banannie & Miss Balloon Heart

I was blessed to spend most of my time with my buddy, Diane, aka Balloonatic RN, the majority of the trip. We saw the sites together and attended many of the classes together. We even were able to take in a Vegas show with our new friend from Australia, Matt.

Okay, so, yes, this educational trip was great. I learned a ton that I will be able to use in my business over the next year and years beyond. Now that I am back in Pennsylvania....

                   ...the CBA Exam that I was scheduled to take in Vegas will be held in New Jersey next month so I have a few weeks left to prepare and study for that. September 15th is exam day! I do need to say that I love the CBA program, I went from being unsure about doing decor to having a solid foundation and confidence in creating beautiful decor. I can not honestly say that I am super calm about the exam but I know it will be over before I know it - it is feeling a little too college-like for my taste...you know... read the entire 500-page textbook and there will be 5 questions worth 100 points total, kind of thing. ; )

This coming Friday, I have the privilege of decorating a wedding and am very much looking forward to that event. I will be sure to post pictures. I will be at my regularly scheduled restaurants, as well, this week, Red Robin, Exeter on Tuesday evening and Friendly's on Shoemaker Rd. in Pottstown on Wednesday.

May you all have a blessed week. As always, thanks for taking the time in your day to read my blog!

Christine
aka Miss Balloon Heart
"Balloon Genie"

The hot air balloon was created in Robbie Furman's Floating Decor Pieces class... the bride and groom I added later in a silly moment. They are also his designs but not exactly his recommended placement. : )