My husband said I need to call this posting Shelli and Becky's Excellent Adventure, but there were so many, many other people involved, it just didn't seem right. Funny tho...good one, George!
If you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, you most likely have been following this on the Stampin' Up! demonstrator website, but for those of you who don't know, here is what happened. Stampin' Up! set a huge goal to recruit 10,000 new demonstrators in 2010. We've all been watching as the number has been getting closer, and closer and closer...
Ok, backing up to Monday....I was shopping at the book store with my son when my phone rang. I was busy so I hit ignore. IMMEDIATELY they called back again so I thought I should answer. I said hello and the voice on the other end said 'Hi Becky, this is Shelli Gardner from Stampin' Up!' Huh? I just about peed my pants! She asked me to tell her about my latest recruit. I have recruited a few since the half-price sale, so we had to narrow it down a bit. She said what about the one in Florida? I said, 'Oh yes, Farida. I've known her for two years and was so excited she made the decision to sign up!' Shelli said Farida was our 10,000th recruit and congratulated ME for recruiting her! She said they were going to fly to FL and deliver her starter kit in person...how cool is that??? We chatted a little longer and I'm not sure what all was said, but I do remember her asking me what my Thanksgiving plans were and telling me somebody else was going to be calling me back to get a few details on my recruit.
Sure enough, the phone rang again. It was Kellie & Elizabeth from Events at Stampin' Up! They asked me a few questions about my recruit...like did I think she was going to he home on Wednesday Ü.
This was just WAY too exciting and I was not focused enough to cook dinner, so George decided for his safety and the safety of the kids we should probably eat out! When we returned there was a message from Kellie and Elizabeth to call them back. They said they wanted me to go with them to FL but didn't ask me on the first phone call because I said I was cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my family...then they thought about it more and decided to ask anyway and give me the choice. Hmmm...what would you have said to Shelli Gardner? No thank you? NOT!!!!
I was to fly to SLC on Tuesday evening, stay the night there and get on the chartered plane with Shelli and her staff in the morning. Oh my word, my brain immediately went into overdrive...I need a welcome gift for my recruit, I need a thank you gift for Shelli (WHAT does one make for Shelli Gardner????), oh then I need to lose 50 pounds real quick, and what should I wear?
I got to the airport for my 7:30 pm flight and found out shortly that the Salt Lake City airport was closing for this giant storm that was coming there. My flight was cancelled and needless to say, I was not happy. I called Kellie and told her I was not coming and to count me out. George came and got me and we went home. It was kind of a quiet trip home. :(
Minutes later Shelli called me to say that she too was disappointed and we talked for a bit about it all. She was still hopeful that they would be able to fly out in the morning to meet Farida, my new recruit without me.
How sweet was that for her to call me and say she was sad that the plans didn't work out? What a kind heart!
7 am Wednesday morning the phone rings. It was Shelli! She said they the storm turned out to be nothing and they were going to FL. She said she was telling the pilot what had happened the night before and he said, why don't we swing by Boise and pick her up? Shelli asked me if I could be at the airport in 40 minutes?
Blog friends...I was still in my jammies, no shower, I had unpacked my stuff...but let me tell you, I showered, did my hair, I think I had mascara on both eyes, repacked, gathered up the gifts, woke my husband, left the kids a note and made it to the airport in 39 minutes!
The photos below are my personal journey of the day. Shelli has the whole story and the Stampin' Up! photos on her blog, So Shelli.
Shelli got off the plane to come get me with camera crew in tow. 
It was a quick hug and a hello and then immediately into my first interview to tell the SU! demos what was going on! 
Shelli told George she would take good care of me. Ü 
I asked Brian, Stampin' Up!'s video man to take a quick photo of us on the plane before take off. Say hello to Shelli, her daughter Shalae on her left, Laura from events on Shelli's right, then Bonnie and Amy after her. On the left side behind me are Casey and Phil. The plane was ready and we were off for the 4+ hours to Florida. The men edited the interview from the airport, posted it on the website, did some Facebook and Twitter stuff. The rest of us chatted, laughed, snacked and got to know each other. OK, what do you want to know...I got all the dirt! Well not really, she is about the nicest most normal person around. She even eats potato chips! I almost forgot she was Shelli Gardner a couple times!! About a half hour before landing, you could feel the tensions rise as final preparations were hashed over. It was back to business! Cameras were getting ready, shoes changed, make-up touched up, excitement was building, my heart was in my throat...
You can view this video to watch us surprise her, and believe me we surprised her!!
Farida was so kind and accommodating, inviting us all inside her home and agreeing to be interviewed. Her little girls were in a half time out (I never thought of a half time out...that is just a little bit of trouble!) and were so happy their mom was distracted. They were delightful as Shelli explained to them why we were there with all those cameras.
We stepped outside for a few photos and were back on the plane and headed home. Guess what? Stampin' Up! is sending me one of these signs too!! Do you think it will fit in my scrapbook?It was just the most incredible day to share this with Shelli and Farida. It was such an honor and a privilege to be invited to share this once in a lifetime moment with Stampin' Up! This is still so surreal...seriously, who does these kinds of things? Oh ya, Stampin' Up! does this! Wow!
And guess what? I got to have a sleep over at Shelli's that night! I know, right! Can you believe it? Shelli even cooked dinner...ok, well she warmed it up but who cares! We finished up a little bit of work for the day, viewed the video on the website...I'm so sorry for that obnoxious shrill voice of mine!! We visited about the day with Sterling, Shelli's husband and Jon, Shalae's husband. Then off to bed I went.
A few minutes later there was a knock on the bedroom door. It was Shelli and that thoughtful, kind hearted lady said, Becky, do you want to see my stamp studio before you go to bed? Hmmm...what would you have said?
Shelli, Shalae, Bonnie, Amy, Laura, Brian, Phil and Casey, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for including me in this incredible day! Thank you to the pilots, who will never read this blog, for a safe trip. Thank you God for not bringing a huge snow storm on that day and thank you Stampin' Up! for truly making a difference in peoples lives. I hope no one pinches me, I'm not ready to wake up!
