Swap Inspiration

Note: I arranged for this to post while I'm attending our South Pacific Convention. . . wanted you to have something to read. (smile)

Sara has great group meetings every quarter, and in the past I’ve blogged about them. This time I was thinking I probably would skip posting, just because I’d blogged about the last one. But when we got together and I saw the swaps, they were so adorable I wanted to share.

So here they are. . .

As always, I loved her meeting. Sara’s group is small, and I love the casual, informal atmosphere. . . it really does just feel like we’re getting together to stamp with friends. Her agenda is simple: a Make & Take (everyone takes turns sharing), sometimes a technique demonstration, swaps, questions and answer, and treats. Never takes longer than two hours (unless we do an overnighter—which is WAY fun!), and I enjoy them.

I don’t do a swap. Sara does one that counts for both of us (she didn’t give me one, so hers isn’t in the photo), and her group members always bring one for both of us; I’ve told them they don’t need to, but they are so thoughtful! I supply the house and treats (something healthy and something sweet) and just enjoy spending time with fun stampers who all share a love for Stampin’ Up!

A Rainy Spring Game

The season for watching children’s (and grandchildren’s) spring sports games has begun! We went to one of Sidney’s lacrosse games this morning and enjoyed watching her play. I was impressed—she was fast and good and looked like she was loving it!

The weather this morning wasn’t great—we were wet and chilled by the end of the first game, even though we brought an umbrella. Sid played two games in a row, but we didn’t stay for both games . . . we did find out her team won both games, though, and even more importantly, she enjoyed it!

I spent most of the rest of the day preparing for our South Pacific Convention--we leave tomorrow. Not sure if I'll blog before I get back. . . I won't make any promises, so if I do it will be a pleasant surprise! Either way, I'll definitely be sharing how our first 25th Anniversary Convention of the year goes when I come back!

Starting the Day with Freddy the Frog and Kona

Sterling and I spent a wonderful morning watching Kona in his first-grade play. It was the cutest elementary school play I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen several!)—there were songs and dances, and every child had a part. I was impressed because it was almost an hour long, and those first-graders were engaged the entire time. . . they loved what they were doing.

The play was called “Once Upon a Lily Pad,” and was the story of Freddy the Frog, who didn’t think he was important or had value. He went around visiting all the creatures in the pond, who helped him recognize how important and valuable he was. Just adorable!

In addition to Freddy, there were fireflies and fish and alligators and all sorts of fun insects and animals, each with a simple but darling costume. Kona was an otter, and Makai wanted ears just like his big brother! (I snagged a few close-up photos but didn’t get any of the show itself because I don’t get great long-distance photos with my phone.)

We were glad that Sage invited us to come, and we were very proud of Kona! Great way to start the day!

Best Mother's Day Weekend Ever!

Yesterday morning I woke up and lay in bed, thinking back over the great weekend we’d had so far.

“Best Mother’s Day ever,” was my first thought.

“And I didn’t take one picture—gosh darn it!” was my second thought.

Then I thought, “Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. This post will just have to be a thousand words, because I want to remember this weekend!”

Just kidding about the thousand words—I won’t write nearly that many! But I do want to remember this weekend, and even without pictures, I can do that with a few shared thoughts.

I think the weekend was so good because all the girls and their families were together, and that hasn’t happened for a long time. Mom Pat even joined us. Earlier last week, Sterling and I had taken a drive up the canyon and seen families gathered together around campfires, and we texted the girls and said, “Let’s Dutch Oven this weekend!” We try to do that every year, but it usually ends up being later in the year. This year we decided there’s no time like the present, which just happened to be Mother’s Day weekend.

We headed up to the cabin on Thursday, and a few of the kids joined us then, but on Friday, everyone was together for at least a few hours. The weather was gorgeous, so warm that we actually went swimming in the outdoor community pool, organized target practice, played games, and enjoyed papercrafting. We had Dutch Over dinner, with each of the girls bringing a side dish. And then I got to open my Mother’s Day gifts (again, no photo!)—a cute maxi skirt and some antique horse ribbons and riding trophies. The girls know I want to decorate our bedroom at the cabin in neutral colors and with a horse theme, so they’re helping me get started. . .such a thoughtful, personal gift. I felt loved!

On Saturday we got home in time to take in a yoga class, go riding in the afternoon, and settle in Saturday night. As we were trying to decide what groceries we needed to get for Sunday dinner, Megan invited us for dinner! Sweet! They ended up having a fabulous BBQ and a yummy dessert. (Can you tell great food makes great memories for me? Smile)

Anyway—like I said, best Mother’s Day weekend ever! And not a photo taken. But I’ll definitely remember it anyway! Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Taking Care of the Rocks

At the beginning of the year when they asked me to do an “anniversary” blog every month or so, looking back at some aspect of Stampin’ Up!’s 25-year history, I wondered what would be most interesting for people to read about, what they were most curious about or wondered about. Soon afterwards, Sara had a downline meeting, which I attended, and I asked the members of her downline what sort of things they would like to know about. The first question that was asked was, “How did you do it ALL?”

I hear that question a lot when I talk about Stampin’ Up!’s history, and my first response is, “We didn’t!”

Vonna and I did our best in the moment, and I certainly believe in the adage that you can do whatever you set your mind to, but that doesn’t mean we did it all right. Back then we were growing so fast and there were so few of us. . . it was both exciting and overwhelming! Sure, we did it all, but we didn’t necessarily do it right. I didn’t sleep well, didn’t eat well, didn’t take time out for myself or my family. There are many lessons I learned and things I would do differently.

Mostly, I would put first things first. You pay a dear price when you don’t have your priorities straight, and the one thing I always tell people is that I would spend more time with my girls and my sweetheart! There were so many times when I put the business first, thinking that I’d do “whatever” (vacation, date night, Mommy-daughter time) once certain deadlines were met or projects completed.

What I learned is that there is always a deadline or project, and if you wait to do the important things until “after” certain things are done, those important things never get done. I heard someone once talk about trying to get rocks, pebbles and sand to fit in a container. If you put the rocks (the most important priorities) in the container first, the pebbles and sand will fit around them. So I’ve learned to take care of the rocks!

I lead a much more balanced life today than I did back then, and I encourage others to lead a balanced life as well! That doesn’t mean I’m always doing it right, but I’m definitely doing it more right than I was two decades ago!

I have also learned to delegate, let go, and say “no.” I am one of those people who need to have order in order to think and function, so I hired help with the house early on. That was actually a hard thing for me to do—I like things done a certain way, so I had to let go of certain ideas and expectations, and learn to live with the way other people did things. That’s been an important lesson that has served me well through the years as well.

Along with letting go of some control, I let go of some expectations. I have a hard time telling people “no,” but I’ve learned that I have to do that sometimes too. Even when I’m saying “no” to a good thing. It’s that whole idea of good, better, and best. . . sometimes the hardest choices are when you have to choose between good things and good causes. We really can’t do it ALL, so we have to choose what we do. And really, I’m no different than anyone else. We’re all learning how to make those choices. . . how to take care of the rocks!