Well…as you can see, post #2 yesterday simply did not happen! When you hear the story of my Friday experience it will make sense to you! Before we get to this story and trust me…it is one that you will want to read and then you will see why I chose to give away (2) of the Marvelous Markers. It is funny about life, sometimes someone touches you and makes you stop and think….“they’ve got something special inside:”

Before we get to “story time with Susan” you need to look and see the great deals that Stampin’ Up! is offering for just a very short time…actually we are on day #2 so please do not overlook this special! See below my top 3 favorites! (no particular order….as they are all keepers)

1 – Designer Tin of Cards Kit – o.k. – on Thursday I put this together and was WOWED…..so WOWED that I drove it over to Jeanie’s to show her! It is a great kit and tomorrow I will share with you the end results and also the extra “Susan Simple Touches” that I did….Here is a video that will “shine the light” to you…and then I think when you see them tomorrow, you will see that you need this!

I know that last year Stampin’ Up! had a kit but to me…there is NO COMPARISON to this one! This one is OFF THE CHARTS and if you live in my area, I will be doing a workshop/stamp a stack on Sunday October 23rd.

2 – Envelope Punch Board – O.k. – this IS an amazing tool and I will say that EACH and EVERY TIME I use this – I am AMAZED at how a piece of plastic like this can create so many AMAZING envelopes and also other 3-D projects! (you can see that it does not take much to make me happy!)

This is another product that would be a great gift to a stamper friend. It is a must have and you will be amazed at how easy it is use!

3 – Fast Fuse – SUPER DEAL…..this is my friend, actually one of my very best friends and BY FAR – this one of the products this year that I have have learned to LOVE and one that I would never, EVER be without as it is not only super strong….it is like riding a bike – when you “GET IT…you – GET IT” As I have blogged many times before, there is a learning curve so I hoe that this video will help you!

I know that many of you do not like it, and I honestly felt the same way and I cannot tell you how many I have sent back to Stampin’ Up! (they are the best in customer service if there is a damage or simply you are not happy)

Here are a couple of tips that have been “game changers” for me and I hope that they help you! This is a great deal, buy the Fast Fuse…you will get a refill free~ which on itself deserves a huge WOOT-WOOT as that is a $7.50 value. You cannot lose but remember, this is only until the 5th!

• When you hold it in your hand…DO NOT GIVE IT THE DEATH GRIP – I know that his personally was one of the things that I did and then I also held the “nose” of the fast fuse (the white part) really, REALLY HARD against my paper and many time, it snapped! Hold this in your hand and RELAX and let the adhesive do its job! 🙂

• As you pull back on the adhesive…again, let it do its thing and then when you get to the end of the area that you are covering…TAKE A DEEP BREATH and pull you hand to the right (this cuts off the adhesive) and then when you do it again, pull your hand to the left.

• I admit, I am right handed and I have a tendency to go to the right all of the time…it works for me but sometimes there is a “build up”….if that happens, I take the container and open it…take an alcohol wipe and pick off all of the build up….put the adhesive back in – GOOD TO GO!

• I will say that I usually will go through about 10 refills before I buy another “fresh one”….I think that this is important as there does get a build up so just starting fresh is a good idea. This is a fabulous deal and it would also be a great gift to give to a stamper friend…you can keep the refill and give away a fresh and amazing adhesive.

Please take moment to watch the below video…I am sure that you will learn a tip from it!

Ready for the story…it was scary for me and Stanley but there is a GREAT ENDING…I know that it will touch your heart.

On Friday ~ Stanley, Milo and I left to go to Durham, NC to see Hannah and take Stanley down to be with her. I decided not to leave at the crack of dawn because of the traffic in the Washington DC area and then also on Interstate 95 towards Richmond. For those of you that know that area – it can be a nightmare.

As I plugged in the barn address into the GPS, it said that I should arrive at 5:13 and I thought…this will work perfectly, I should arrive around 6 with 2 stops for gas.

Hannah was happy as this was perfect timing as she gets off work at 5:30 and will be able to be at the barn to meet us as it is around 30 minutes from her apartment.

During the drive I did run into frustrating traffic from a road construction area (that no one was working on) and then there was a HUGE down pour of rain (which I have learned to just pull over and wait) and my end goal was to be safe and get there before dark as I had never been there.

I was about 6:15 p.m. and I was 45 minutes away and Hannah was already on her way to the barn…Milo  and I were getting excited and POP…I had a BLOW OUT on the Trailer. I was on the left side (passing lane) of the highway so I had to carefully get in the right lane to pull off on the shoulder. Unfortunately I have had this experience before as I have been driving the truck and trailer all over but it does SCARE THE HECK OUT OF YOU.

Fortunately I was able to get off the road safely and it was on my side of the trailer, right beside where Stanley was. We all know how crazy the traffic is on the highway and my main concern was to see what happened, go into the trailer and make sure that Stanley was ok and then take a deep breath and deal with it.

Everything was ok (other than I was stuck) so I called Hannah and she could see exactly where I was because of our smart phones and she was already at the barn. (Now she is over an hour from me)…I called John and shared with him everything and the biggest concern we had was the fact that I was on the side of the road and it would be getting dark.

After calling over 10+ places and being frustrated and even more frustrated with “no’s” I had a call from Hannah saying “I FOUND SOMEONE” and he should be there in 20 minutes. She was driving towards me and it was now dark.

I stayed on the phone with John until someone arrived and this man came and identified himself as “Your daughter called me” – I admit, I was happy but scared and still kept John on the phone.

His name was Fred. I now have a new friend called Fred. He was so kind. He asked me to get back in the truck as he did not want me to be on the highway while he was changing the tire. I felt so bad as I wanted to hold a flash light for him but he was insistent that I was off the road so I said, ok – I will go into the trailer to keep Stanley calm….(he was a trooper but he was scared) and Milo – he was doing what he does best – SLEEPING!

Hannah pulled up and I was so happy to have someone else with me. She had said to me, Mom – this man said that he does not take credit cards, just cash or he will take a check. I usually do not carry a bunch of cash but I did have my check book.

Fred did his thing and then said, lets drive to the next exit and go under good light and let me check the rest of the tires and also put on the trim to the wheel he just changed. We did this and Hannah took Milo out for a potty break.

I had my check book ready and asked him how much do I owe you. He looked at me and said, YOU OWE ME NOTHING. I immediately said, absolutely not – without your help I would still be helpless and on the side of the road.

Are you ready for this…he looked at me and said, When I heard your daughters voice and knew that she was scared for you and then when I came to help you, I could see how scared but how appreciative you were. When I can do kindness it makes me feel good, so please, I do not want anything.

WELL – I MELTED…

Hannah arrived back to us having this conversation. I said to him that there was no way that I could not pay him…he walked to his truck and I followed trying to hand him a check, he turned and said….just do something kind for someone….well, I AGAIN MELTED and my heart was so happy as THERE IS SOMEONE ELSE out there that loves to do random kindness.

He then looked at me and said, make a contribution to a charity…then he said, my son had cancer, make a contribution for children’s cancer research. I now pulled Hannah in and said, Hannah works at Duke in a lab. He said, Duke Hospital is where my son received his treatment….(Talk about FULL CIRCLE)

We said our goodbyes and the whole ordeal as bad and as scary as it was – it turned out to be a fabulous life experience. I was so blessed to be ok – to have a total stranger reconfirm to me that doing random acts of kindness DOES make a difference.

As tired as I was after we went to the barn. got Stanley settled etc….I was in such a personal, internal high! I am still not done with Fred, he is helping me again today as finding a spare for my trailer is not the easiest in a day as it needs a specific type and I do not want to come home without a spare…I found a tire but Fred is going to put it on the rim for me .

My heart is happy and I hope that this made you smile…..kindness DOES MATTER!