Alright, I’m really supposed to be sleeping right now given that I need to be up in 5 hours to eat and hop on a bus to the manufacturing plant in Kanab… but I just had to share with you some of the cool things I did and saw (including new product samples!!)  So, I’m going to try to make this quick, since you’ll soon learn that I cannot pare down photos to save my life.

Oh, and if you want more realtime updates, make sure you visit my Facebook page where I post periodically throughout the day!

Ok, so the great thing about Thursday is that we didn’t have anything scheduled for most of the day.  No schedule = SLEEP IN!!  Some gals got up and went canyoneering at 6:30am and while I love rock climbing, I don’t think I could have gotten my butt up in time for that.  Instead, I had plans to go horseback riding in the afternoon – a much more civilized time.

So the morning was spent trying to meet more people and chat and socialize.  I also had to check out the Horseshoe Lounge (our hospitality suite) and it had grown overnight!

There were now tons of couches, more treats, new project samples, make & take tables!

And they had special treats for us… a build-your-own-trail mix bar!  When I put together my crafting retreat, I’m totally stealing this idea!

You can kind of see the little mason jars below the table, that is what we were given to fill up.  Here is my yummy jar I’ve been munching on all day… I missed lunch so I was really grateful I had it!

Finally, each day we get to toss a horseshoe for prizes.  Depending on where your horseshoe lands in the pit, you get 1 of 3 prizes (today I won Eastern Elegance designer paper; yesterday I won Silver Taffeta ribbon); but if you get a ringer, you get all 3 prizes of the day!!  Here is hoping tomorrow I will finally have the technique down and get a ringer!

I retreated to my room to catch up on emails since I was woefully behind (if you have emailed me and still not gotten a response, please try again as you should have heard from my today otherwise!)  So, I got caught up and then it was time to head off for our trail ride.

I got the horse Jazzy to ride for the afternoon and he sure did have spunk!  But that made it fun.

I did the trail ride with the fabulous Lyssa Zwolanek, Christi Beck, and Karen Trelfa.  We went through trees and meadows and ended up an hour later overlooking an AMAZING canyon!

The ride was great, but we ended up getting back to the hotel with 15 minutes to eat, change, grab our swaps, and get to the PJ party!  I managed the fastest shower in my life (just under 4 minutes) because I wanted to wash the dust off and made it just in time to listen to some great presentations by other demos.

I think the most powerful part for me was hearing these other very successful demonstrators talk about some of the same problems I was struggling with (life balance, pushing hard towards goals while still making sure family is a priority, trying to make sure their business was being run with the right intent behind it,etc.)  Tissue was flowing around the room as many of the women saw the same reflection in their lives.

But it ended on a lighter note as we headed into the halls to line up to swap.  With almost 120 of us, we literally stretched halfway across the hotel!

Then we finished the evening with some handmade ice cream sandwiches.  I tried the Snickerdoodle/Strawberry Cheesecake.  Yum!

Then more gabbing until we realized we had to get up pretty darn early to head to Kanab to visit the manufacturing plant and eat lunch with it’s employees.  (I CAN’T WAIT!!)

And back in our room was another pillow gift!  This time a cute wooden tube (that took me FOREVER to figure out how to open) and inside was a lovely infinity scarf.

You know, those scarves that have both ends sewn together to form a circle.  I have no idea how to wear one of those, but it looks comfy and cute.  So, hopefully I will get a lesson on using it or if you know how, leave me a comment and let me know!

And finally, I just had to lay out all my swaps on my bed to see what all I got.  Um… I got a lot!!  This is almost 120 swap cards, and you should click on the picture to see it bigger so you can see the amazing cards and projects!

Alright, was that enough photos for you?   I even cut down some.  But now it is time for me to crash.  My wakeup call comes in 4 hours and so time to grab as much sleep as I can.

I’ll be back with more soon!

Don’t forget!  Founder’s Circle Specials this week!

**Receive DOUBLE your reward punches for each purchase!
That is right! For every $40 you order, you will receive two punches on your punch card and be that much closer to receiving a free stamp set of your choice!  See how Northwest Stamper Reward Punches work

and as an extra thank you,

**Everyone who places an order by 9/22 will be entered to win a free Christmas Star stamp and package of rhinestones!