Off to Leadership

Well, I finally got dressed this morning, after spending most of the last several days in my pajamas and focusing all day long—and into the night—on Stampin’ Up!’s upcoming leadership conference.

I’m excited about what I’m doing at leadership, and I’ve had so much fun working on the projects for my main stage demonstration. But it’s taken a lot of time, and I have to admit I’m feeling a little stressed.

When I say I spent most of the past few days in my pajamas, I’m really not exaggerating. I did get dressed yesterday and attended church, and I got dressed on Friday night to attend our son-in-law Jon’s art show. I mentioned earlier that he’d graduated in December with a degree in photography, and he’s participating in a one-month art show/gallery walk in downtown Provo, Utah, that opened on Friday.

I went with Shalae and Jon and their children to check things out—loved the eclectic feel of the café/gallery and loved Jon’s photos even more.

Shalae read the blog recently and said, “Mom, you need to explain why you mention us so often in the blog! Your readers will think I’m the favorite or something!”

As I looked back on my posts, I realize I do mention her a lot, so I could see her point—they do pop up a lot! But the explanation isn’t because we love them more, it’s simply that they live closer and, in Shalae’s words, “We impose on you a lot!”

Of course, spending time with our girls and their families is never an imposition! I love every minute we spend with family. Shalae and Jon live only a couple of miles away, and they do drop by often. Sage and Jason are the next closest. They live only about a half hour away, but that half hour makes a difference!

So, that’s why you see Shalae and her family a bit more than the others!

Now, I’m heading off to leadership, and I probably won’t post for a few days. I’m still wrapping up a few details on a couple of my projects tomorrow, rehearsing on Wednesday, and the party begins on Thursday! I’ll let you all know how it goes—and hopefully I’ll see a few of you there!

Comments

[Dixie Finn]

Wow, I can't believe Leadership begins on Wednesday. I hope to meet you again, I really enjoyed the last time.

[Lydia]

I appreciate so much everything you do to prepare!!! I'm leaving tomorrow and I can't wait to see the new catalog and all the great things you will do and say on the stage! Safe travels!

Lydia

[Sharon Bridwell]

Can't wait! I'm finishing up swap directions and packing as I type. No matter how soon I start preparing there never seems to be enough time. Add to that the freezing rain here in Texas today and UGH! Safe travels to everyone going to Leadership! See you in Orlando!
Sharon

[Sharon Field]

Oh Boy! I'll see you there! It is my first leadership conference, and I'm really looking forward to it! My upline (Lee Conrey) has been and says it is a fabulous experience, so I'm really looking forward to it!
hugs
Sharon

[Dale]

Have fun Shelli. So many stampers will look forward to meeting and seeing you.
With this being said, I plan to attend the London, Ontario regionals in the spring. Do you plan to be there too? If so I look forward to meeting you. I am so pumped to attend (my first) and learn so much. I wish I could bottle the energy and take it home with me.

[Michelle Peace Wilkinson]

Hi Shelli,
My name is Michelle. I am so excited to see you have a blog. We're cousins. Your Grandma JoAnne Baker and my Dad Gary Peace are first cousins. It's probably been a five years or so since I saw Pat and went to Ivins to see JoAnne. How Fun!!! Please shoot me an email and I'll write in more detail.

Best Wishes,
Michelle Peace Wilkinson

[Joy Willinger]

HAVE A SAFE, FUN TRIP!

[Britiney]

Hey, Shelli! Maybe you could pick me up some of those great Momento Mall items! *wink*

[Gwynne]

Shelli
Have a wonderful time at Leadership! Prayers that all are safe and have wonderful time learning from each other.
Sorry unable to attend this year, will truly miss your smile and hug.
Gwynne

[Tammy Nelson]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that can enjoy a day or more in their PJ's!

[Elissa Moise]

I am so sad that I didn't qualify for Leadership this year. My sales really took a nose-dive with all the stress of relocating. My New Year's Resolution is to get going again with enough business Jan-June to keep my Supervisor title, then bump it up a notch in July to promote back to Senior Supervisor. Wish me luck!

[KT]

Hello Shelli! I am a SU customer and I recently discovered the JOY of converting my SU sets so that they can be used with clear acrylic blocks and stored in CD cases. Honestly, until I made this discovery, I was reluctant to buy more SU stamp sets because I was hooked on the advantages of acrylic stamping blocks -- I love the way I can accurately and quickly stamp my sayings and objects with the clear blocks AND it saves so much space (and trees!) by storing the stamp sets in CD cases. As you head off to your Leadership Conference, I am hoping that your group will discuss how important these issues have become to your customers. Thanks so much!

[Susan]

Love this blog! I have been out of the Stampin' Up! Loop for a few years and the changes are amazing! I am thinking of signing up again to become a demo... do I just contact a local demo or do I have to do something special?

[Lisa Foster]

Hi Shelli!
I wanted to share this with you...
Having done this myself, and proven beyond any doubt...Stamping in your pajamas results in higher creative thinking, greater relaxation, and improved project outcome :)
Have fun at Leadership!
((Hugs))
Lisa

[Eveline van Heijst]

Hi Shelli, I got interested in Stampin Up when I started reading Papercrafts Magazine, I always read the list of materials and products people use when making cards. I read SU so many times I looked it up on the net. I love it. So my question to you is: SU came to Europe but not to The Netherlands, is there a possibility SU will come here too. I know Starbucks didn't succeed coming here (sob) but I hope SU will.
Eveline.

[Sue McGettigan]

Shelli you make me feel so much better - I LOVE PJ days where I just get on with what needs doing and don't even get dressed :) but I always feel just a tad guilty about it!

I've seen you on stage doing presentations several times - you are always wonderful to watch, let those nerves float away. You connect with your audience right away, and besides, they LOVE you and everything you do :) You can't go wrong!

[Bridget]

I'm a member of your church and I was a demonstrator. I expressed my concerns about the message you send by having alcohol related stamps to the demonstrator web site. I requested to be heard by you (that request was never met) because I had an incident at an upline meeting about the integrity of the church due to the alcohol related set. Your employee told me exactly what I thought he would, that not all your employee's are members, neither are your costumers. But I really wanted you to know that some people DO NOT see a difference between You and the church you belong to. They call it a "Mormon" company. I understand the difference, but some do not. As a result, they see the "Mormon" company meeting the needs of "The World". I feel really upset that you continue to put your stamp of approval on things like alcohol and gambling by having products related to them because some people are so glad that the "Mormon Company" is supporting drinking and gambling. Is that what you want? Again, this is the message I wanted you to see because, in the end, you will need to account for the direction of the company you helped found. Also to say it again, I fully understand that your company isn't solely you, but you are such a visual part that people are watching. And as a result, they are forming ideas about members of the church by the way you live your life and the decisions you make. That is why I felt so strongly about the issue. So please, someone besides Shelli reads this and decides not to let it stay posted, please have the courtesy to pass this on to Shelli, she deserves to know what happened to me.

[Bridget]

P.S. What does my previous post have to do with this blog. Well, it has to do with leadership. Where is your leadership leading your company? What do your decisions as a leader say about you?