Hello Blog Followers,

Let me tell you about my fun filled weekend I recently experienced. I bought tickets for Creative Estates Retreat several months ago with my mother and sister, unfortunately a family event came up which was going to prevent us from coming. We were able to sell 1 of our tickets but as of last weekend I had not sold the last 2 so after discussions with my family, I decided I would go while they attended the family event. Well let me tell you I met some of the most amazing women from across the United States.

To recognize the awesomeness of these meetings you should understand a few things about myself. If I had went to the retreat with  my family or even friends that I knew, I would not have been able to appreciate the experience of having to get out of my comfort zone and meet these ladies. I would have stayed next to my mom’s side (she is really cool to be with and I dont get to spend enough time with her as it is so I would have stayed close) and not ventured out into meeting all the fabulous women I did. Had I gone with a friend, I would have been more comfortable sitting back and observing rather than putting myself out there to be rejected or embraced. So the retreat not only made me meet fabulous women but overcome a fear of going somewhere where you know absolutely no one! In the past several years I have become shyer than I was as a child and young adult and so therefor dont deal well with situations where I do not have control (my family calls me a control freak, I rather like to think of it as a cautious nature) so venturing out into this event was great for me to learn how to let things go and deal with the hear and now!

So now that you know that let me tell you about the ladies I met!

I walked in the door and immediately met Stephanie from http://sandandstarfish.com/ She had travelled all the way from Panama Beach, Florida for this event. Over the course of the weekend, I was able to learn from her the geniune ability to go with the flow and pick out the positives of life. She has a most handsome husband and an even more adorable daughter that she had left for the weekend to travel to AZ to learn and meet fellow bloggers and crafters. She has the most amazing smile and it is so quick and genuine you can not help but smile back at her! I ended up sharing a room with her for the weekend and I am blessed to have met such a neat lady!

Next up was Jules- This girl is hilarious! She says whatever comes to mind. She is a texan and the accent comes out every now and again! She blogs over at http://www.juleshollis.com/ and in person lets just say she is much funnier! She encouraged me to try twitter and after several teasing comments from this group of gals I relented and they all have been super nice and even decided to follow me on Twitter! Jules is great and is thinking of opening a handmade shop online- Dont worry folks I will keep you posted because she makes some fabulous cards and such so I will be sure to share her shop with you when she puts it up!

My other roomie for the weekend was Tricia from http://www.mamamarchand.com/ Now this folks is by far one of my favorite new people. First up she is a pastor’s wife and has a beautiful daughter Norah with the most infectious laugh I have heard, and seems to be a wonderful wife and mommy from the little time I was able to spend with her. She designs jewelry for her shop and helps out in the ministry of her life with her hubby! We were able to spend tons of time together during the weekend and she encouraged me in sticking with my blog and making it a priority! Once I have it redesigned I hope to be able to have her as a guest blogger for her information on blogging, living a christ centered life and being a working mom!

ANDREA! Yep thats her name and she blogs over at http://bubblewrappd.blogspot.com/ She is living in Oklahoma and is a sooner fan so we immediately had something in common. One of her adorable sons is slightly confused in his young age and is a fan of the OSU Cowboys but as my family is divided on that topic as well I can only hope in the end when picking colleges he goes with the right one! jk! Andrea is a hoot and has a most adorable shop selling wooden blocks with phrases or words on them. I was able to ask her a few questions about her handmade business and learn what makes hers so successful (she has had over 1000 sales in less than a year)

A LOCAL! Yep I was able to meet a new local phoenician and although she lives on the other side of the valley, we already have plans to hang out. Heather from http://kustomkissers.com/ is amazing! She is shy and fun to hang out  with! I loved that she quit her job and embarked on this new venture of hers all by herself. She makes great chapstick which if you live in AZ that is a necessary requirement of keeping your lips moist and free of dry skin! She cracked me up the first full day when we were there when I asked her to join our table and she said she was good sitting by herself cause she couldnt be outgoing for the whole four days! I loved it! We have plans to meet up this weekend to check out a local craft fair https://www.facebook.com/#!/hissyfitshullabaloo

Well ladies that is it for today but check back tomorrow for my continued reflections on Creative Estates and all the wonderful women I met!