January Eh!

Well, as many of you may know, the city I reside in has been battered and shaken by horrible winter storms. The snow fall has been extreme to say the very least. I am a mere 5'3" tall and the snow piles are now well over my head and my ability to shovel and toss. My guess is that we'll be shovelling until well into June to clear all this fluffy white goodness.

This is no excuse for my lapse in blog posts, but gosh darn it, it's hard to get in the mood to write when your teeth are chattering and your fingers are so frozen even the hot cocoa can't warm them up.

We've (meaning me and Gail and Lacey) have been quite busy on the Retreat front. Our first retreat of the year was January 7-9th. It was "oversold" so it was comfy and cozy and everyone was so productive and energetic. Then the snow dumped on us and viola, we were snowed in at retreat. Now some of you would be cheering and giggling uncontrolably right now if you had been there. However, the neighbouring farmer and his larger than life tractor came over and with the movements of a ballerina, swept all that snow away so to encourage our cars, trucks and minimom vans to brave the roads to return to our families. URGHHHH...

It always amazes me how great the country we live in is, how great our neighbours are and how super special the gals that come out and visit us at retreat are. I am truely gratefull for such a great bunch of women. Year after year they come out and join us 12 times a year for great quilting, great scrapbooking, great knitting, whatever their obsession is....they come. So in the words of a very cute actor....Build it and they will come!

Now on to this January EH! title....what do you do to keep the January BLAHS away? Do you only crafts with bright and bold colours? Do you plan summer meals? What is it that you do?

Post Retreat Stress Disorder...do you suffer?

PRSD Post Retreat Stress Disorder

Do you know or suffer from post retreat stress disorder? Not sure, if you can answer yes to any of the following, you need to keep reading.

· Do you get home on a Sunday night after retreat and feel the buzz of creativity still running through your veins?
· Do you hyperventilate at the thought of returning back home to hubby and kids?
· Do you know that getting home means a stop to the creative splurges at any moment, only to have to wait ‘til the kids are napping or the dishes are done, or 'til 5pm hits and you can go home from work?
· Do you get home from retreat and want to turn around and drive right back?

It’s the crashing feeling of coming home from retreat that ultimately breaks some creativity inspired moments of scrapbooking and quilting. While some may be able to deal with the stresses of returning back their normal lives with ease, they can be turned bitter by the monotonous and often rigorous life that follows the days in between retreats.

Post Retreat Stress Disorder can affect individuals on varying degrees but overall the feeling is the same. The responsibility of real life comes crashing down like a cartoon inspired bomb after experiencing the good times. Quite often in order to go to retreat, crafters must take mundane jobs in unattractive fields that can afford to see their “employees” go away for weekends at a time. These may include but are not limited to working in a kitchen, laundry room, child’s homework, hard labor, mother duties, wife duties, or (and dare I say it) real jobs in real life positions.

Funny, I know, but the reality is that a lot of you suffer from this little setback. You get on the road after a great weekend of creativity with your girlfriends, sisters, moms, etc and all you can think of is the next page or block, the next card or album, the next quilt configuration, the next creative step. Your car ride home (or in most cases a large vehicle filled to the brim) is spent talking up great ideas with your co-riders. So then what do you do when you get home?
You need to find a support system (husband, friend, sister) that will infuse, encourage and accommodate your retreating lifestyle which is so essential to your personal well-being and rejuvenation regime.

Securing your money situation before heading out will allow you to enjoy retreat and go without the stress of worrying where your next retreat will come from. In the months leading up to retreat, try putting at least some money away each week into a special piggy bank or secret stash area.

Another common cause of PRSD is unreasonable expectations. Do you want to relax and rejuvenate with friends, do you want to finish an entire album or quilt, do you want to get the kids Halloween favors made, do you want to make a card for a dear friend, these are the expectations you need to set out for yourself before you arrive. Know what you want and set the target to be achieved. By knowing what you want to complete and setting yourself up to achieve that will make the weekend and your return home much more pleasant.

It’s very easy to register for a retreat, but even harder to go home. While it’s very true that every retreat must come to an end, it doesn’t mean that you have to stop your experience. Take some of the tips and tricks and great friendships that you’ve made at retreat and capitalize on them. Have some gals over on a Saturday afternoon, or a Tuesday night for a “tips and tricks” night, or a swap or fabric challenge.

No matter what, enjoy your retreat, enjoy the new friendships and better yet, book for your next retreat early so you can enjoy more, more, and more!

Cheers

oh my!

Oh my goodness, has the summer just flashed by my eyes. I work full time and do the retreat business parttime so I am usually quite busy, but really this summer has slipped away from me completely.
I've been busy for sure, I participated in the Applique Posy Needle Case Swap, my partner lives in Austrailia so I was sewing and shipping treats to her. I participated in the Siggy Swap with 147 other ladies from all over the world. I have been tagging along with Quiltygirls Summer Star Samplere, which is nearing it's completion.
I attended Scrap-A-Lots August All Day Crop and got some really fantastic scrapbooking done, bought and ideas coming from every which way!
I wanted to share an idea with you, when you make a really great page and want to show it off. Go to MIcheals, Homesense or Winners and purchase a "cork board" I bought a 16" square one with a fabulous white frame on it (really doesn't even look like a message board) and then pin (it usually comes with four cute little pins) your fav page to it. I did a page of my mom on her 60th birthday party last May and was able to use 3D Flowers and putting it up on the "board" was easy peasy then we hung it in a prominate spot in the Living Room for everyone to enjoy. Then when we want to change it easy!

My upcoming retreat season is starting soon...Sept 30-Oct 3rd we host a 4 day (sold out) retreat, then back at it on October 22-24, November 11-14, December 3-5, January etc. Time to get the doorprizes in order...

Fun Fun Fun....
Hope ya'all are enjoying your summer splashing! Remember, Craft unsupervised, you'll never know what can happen.

I'll try to post my board layout later today....

RETREAT in 2 more SLEEPS

have you ever been on retreat? If not you are missing out on a real experience.

I happen to run a little retreat business, and it all started way back when because I loved going to retreat and couldn't get enough dates through my local stores.

If you have been on retreat, then you know what I am talking about when I say our record is 6:30am...yep someone(me in fact) stayed up all night and went to bed at 6:30 in the morning. When that creativity bug hits you, you just can't hold back. Retreats make it easier to be creative, there is no spouse calling your name, no kids yelling for you, no chores, no meals to make (THEY MAKE THEM FOR YOU) and no interruptions unless you do the interrupting for a nice walk down to the lake or a quick trip from the lodge into town for some "retail therapy".

I get very excited before a retreat begins, wondering what will I take to work on, what will i get done, or not done? Who will I meet? There is always a newbee at retreat and meeting over 300 new people in the past 3 years has been the ultimate highlight of my retreat experiences.

Sock Monkeys are our theme, my friends and I have become "addicted" to these cute and memory filled little creatures. We each have one, they all have names, they (the monkey's) have outfits, quilts of their own, books, scrapbooks and "keepers"...it's actually a really fun time, the monkeys tend to do the things that we would never!!!hahahaha

If you haven't enjoyed a retreat yet, GO, let nothing stop you, it's a great down time, great relaxing time and superb for regenerating yourself.....ENJOY!

visit our retreats at www.gigglesandgirlfriends.com