A New Look

You’ll notice that I’ve got a new blog header today. . . what do you think? In case you’re wondering, it was created using our new My Digital Studio. It’s pretty amazing what you can do with this digital software! I haven’t spent the time I want to become familiar with it, but I can hardly wait to see what I can come up with! I’ll have to post the first page I create.  (Does that sound like a commitment?)

You may notice that the photo on this header looks a little different than  most of the photos of me. It’s a little different approach, but I like it. It’s part of a series of photos--What Defines You--that my son-in-law Jon is doing.

Of course, most of us share some common things that define us—our relationships (family, friends, etc.) primarily, along with our values or beliefs, etc. But once you get beyond those, you start to discover the things that make us each individual and unique.

For this series, Jon takes a photo of a person holding something that they are known for. For example, he took Shalae’s photo with shopping bags hanging from her arms, Sara is holding a pan of Texas sheet cake, and Sterling has a saddle.

When we were trying to decide what I should be holding, I thought of bling (love it!), antiques (our home is full of them). . . all sorts of things. I even asked my granddaughter Sidney what she thought of when she thought of Grandma Shelli. Her answer? Beautiful. Made me smile and I gave her a big hug, but I didn’t know how to hold that and wasn’t comfortable with that word defining me anyway.

I don’t know why it took us so long to decide on a stamp. Duh! They’ve only been my one of my main focuses for the past 20 years! So that’s the story behind this photo.

In case you’re wondering, Jon has posted the “What Defines You?” series on his blog (seeingbrown.blogspot.com), so you can check it out. 

Good-Bye Georgia

Sterling and I have spent the last few days in Savannah helping the Brown family get settled in. While we’ve enjoyed organizing and decorating, the last day or two have been pretty solemn because we’ve known the inevitable was going to happen.

We would have to say good-bye.

I took this picture this morning, hours before we actually left, because I knew the actual good-bye would probably be much more tearful than any of us would like.

And I was right.

I’ve needed the hours-long flight home to get myself under control. Our time in Georgia was productive, I’m exhausted, and it’s time to move on.

I’m kind of a move-on girl, so while this good-bye was very difficult (I won’t see my Brown grandbabies until Christmas!—or at least that was the plan. . . hmmm), I’ve had several good cries and I’m determined to look forward.

And there’s much to concentrate on. We have all-day strategy meetings for the next three days at Stampin’ Up!--as well as current issues at hand--which will keep my mind plenty occupied. In addition, Sara, Sean, and the Douglass children are still at our house. Their moving truck arrives Thursday, and I’m planning on helping Sara with all that she has as she juggles unpacking, organizing, and mothering five children. 

So life marches on—in Georgia and Utah!

A New Tradition

I just couldn’t go to bed tonight without posting—even though I’ve already posted once today.

Earlier, I mentioned that we were going to have a summer barbecue, something new we haven’t done before. I didn’t plan on showing pictures or mentioning it again, but it was such a delightful experience that I had to!

I’m smiling even now as I think about the great time we had--it was a well-deserved break for our hardworking, dedicated employees!

We eased up on the company dress code—shorts and flip flops were pretty much the norm! Music played in the background, the weather was gorgeous, and the food was delicious.

The highlight had to be the volleyball tournament, though. We had 10 teams sign up--some of the team names included The Big Shots, Vicious Vinyl, Team Chim Richols, Stamp, Set, Spike!, Warehouse Warriors, and Team Zilla (I believe they were the winners!). A lot of people came out and watched the games throughout the morning and cheered for their coworkers, and there was a quite a crowd watching the championship match.

I think a new tradition has been born! 

A Retreat?

Just about every year, Stampin’ Up!’s corporate team schedules a retreat to focus on the most important aspects of the business. This year was no exception--although we didn’t retreat far. We actually just headed downstairs to the Ideas Room on the main floor of our home office.

We spent three full days brainstorming, problem solving, envisioning, and discussing—and we did all that in the first 30 minutes. (smile)

Seriously, the last three days have been high-energy, productive, and intense, but I feel good about what we accomplished. We aren't done by any means--we can never do it all in three days! So we've got another few days scheduled next week  when we'll continue what we started.

 

At one point, we divided up into two teams, and each team was given the same task. One team stayed at the tables to tackle the job, while the other team headed to the other end of the room, where we (yep, it was my team) made ourselves comfortable. Both teams dealt effectively with the assignment, but I found it interesting to see the different ways we approached it.

  

We also always have things you can do with your hands. I’m a believer that keeping your hands busy with mindless work can sometimes help your mind focus. We had several containers of Playdoh, and they were opened and used frequently. I shot a couple of our creations for your entertainment!

These are the people I work with most closely, and they are so dedicated to Stampin' Up! and to our demonstrators, customers, and employees. I am honored to associate with them and am reminded how grateful I am for all that they do.

With a week in Australia, a three-day retreat, a video shoot one morning before the retreat, a teleconference with our leaders last night, and a board meeting this morning. I have to admit that both my body and mind are exhausted! I'm grateful that this afternoon is our summer barbecue at the home office--I'm looking forward to just visiting with employees, watching a volleyball tournament, and taking a little rest.

A Celebration Down Under

Sterling and I returned home from Australia yesterday—exhausted (we spent about 24 hours in airports and airplanes one way) but happy! It was fabulous to spend a few days with some of our demonstrators from Australia and New Zealand.

I won’t give an all-day, day-by-day report of our incentive trip to Noosa Heads—I’ll just hit the highlights for me.

The first thing I loved was getting there a day earlier than we have the past two years. Last year and the year before, we arrived at the incentive trip the same day as demonstrators, sometimes even on the same flight. I felt terrible trying to greet our demonstrators and their guests while looking and feeling like I’d spent 24 hours on a plane!

This year we had one day to recover from jet lag (although honestly we didn’t really feel like we were on local time until about the day we came home!) and were able to greet everyone and visit with our eyes open.

We started off with a welcome dinner the first night, which was a great way to begin our time together.

The next day we took a ferry from our hotel and headed over to Ricky’s, a beach restaurant where we cooked with professional chefs. We donned chef hats and aprons, split up in teams, and cooked some delectable dishes—it was so fun! My team made crème brulee, and I learned all sorts of cooking tips and techniques.

After all the teams finished, we got to eat what we cooked. (At least that’s what they told us! It tasted so delicious that I think perhaps they served us what they had cooked themselves and “tucked” our creations aside.)

That night we all enjoyed karaoke. This wasn’t an organized Stampin’ Up! event, but a big group of us headed over to a club down the street and we pretty much took it over! (smile) I thought karaoke was just a US thing—not so! Australians and New Zealanders definitely know how to karoake! We sang and danced and I think we started a new tradition; I’m sure we’ll be doing this again!

 

Make & Takes are always a highlight, and this year was no exception. It’s one of the few times we are all gathered together in one room, and we get to chat, stamp, and swap—three of my absolutely favorite things!

Saturday Sterling and I joined a group of demonstrators and their guests for an all-day adventure tour to Fraser Island.

Most memorable parts of this trip? Riding a four-wheel-type bus at full speed along the beach (people drive along the beach in both directions just like they do on the highway!). . .

. . . and exploring McKenzie Lake, a crystal-clear, freshwater lake up in the mountains.

That night was our final dinner, which was incredible! We took a bus to a site where antique cars were lined up, and then rode the cars to an Australian plantation, where we had a delightful dinner and dessert and enjoyed star gazing. I loved looking through the telescopes (the astronomer said they were actually small- to medium-sized telescopes, but they seemed pretty big to me!)

On top of all this, Noosa Heads was just a charming beach-front town! You could stroll along the beach, walk through the national forest (or the bush, as they call it), and do all the relaxing you could possibly want!

So you can see that the week was wonderful!

It was also great to get back home last night. We arrived home just in time for a barbecue with a lot of the family. The Browns (who are moving away) and the Douglasses (who are moving back) are all staying at the Gardner home, so it’s a party! It was nice to sleep in our own bed, and it was even nicer to wake up to our own little one-year-old alarm (Phoebe) and a houseful of grandchildren.