I'M OUT OF A JOB (EXCEPT STAMPIN' UP! THAT IS)!!!

Firstly I have to say "thank you" to so many of my fabulous customers, downline, and friends who have been contacting me worrying that I might be one of those affected by the restructuring at Yellow Pages - I was very touched that you thought of me!

I have to say that yes, I have been made redundant, but I have to tell you the story of last week so that you understand how FABULOUS this is ...

Monday I went into my boss's office (still sick with the flu) and told him that I had to give my notice as I just couldn't keep working full-time, doing Stampin' Up basically full-time, and now with Harry (my hubby) working I am also having to do things around the house that he has been covering for us up until now. I have been getting run-down and hence was sick as a dog. Anyway, my boss basically told me that he didn't want to hear it and that I should just wait a couple of days ... I thought that was a little weird, huh??

Anyway, Wednesday we were all called into the boss's office with him and his boss and were officially told that there was some restructuring and that one of the admins would have to either move to another office or take redundancy!!! I managed to stop myself from dancing on the table, but I think there was a little smirk on my face anyway ...

So now I have 9 more days of work before I get paid to leave Yellow Pages to go and "work" (I don't think you can call it work when it's this much fun?) Stampin' Up! full time!!! I am so excited I'm just about busting.

Watch out world, very shortly I'll have another 32 hours each week to create all sorts of havoc with ...

Returning to earth after Convention in Brisbane ...

WOW! That's the only word to describe the incredible weekend that we have just spent in Brisbane at the Stampin' Up convention. I think we are probably all still on a high and probably will be for quite a while.

It was amazing to be able to meet with almost 300 other crazy stampin' people (not just women - there were a couple of male demos too!). I got to meet all sorts of incredible people who I had only ever e-mailed or read about on their blogs, so that was a special highlight.

The team:  Trish, Beth, Marise, Emma (NZ Manager), Michelle, Megan, Me, and Sharlene (she's so cool that we adopted her into the Naki girls team during convention!!)

DREAM BIG!

The theme for convention was "Dream Big", but I obviously hadn't dreamed big enough, because I still can't believe that everything that happened during convention would ever happen to me! Obviously I need to start dreaming bigger ...

When we registered I was blown away to find a "Demonstrator of the Year" pin in my Convention bag, meaning that I was one of the top 10 demonstrators in New Zealand. Imagine my surprise when it was announced that I had won the Stampin' Up! Demonstrator of the Year Award for New Zealand!!! I am still a little in shock - who would have ever thought??

The really awesome thing was that 3 of my super team were also there with me. Michelle, Megan, and Tracy all ranked in the top 10 in New Zealand - how amazing is that! I have told you before that I have the best team in New Zealand, this just proves it! Congratulations to the 3 of you - you totally deserve it!

I also received a pin for Level 2 Recruiting (10-14 Recruits in the last year) and another one for earning the Incentive Trip (an all-expenses paid holiday for Harry and I to go to Palm Cove in August), on top of that I also won lots of free stamp sets to play with and show you when we next meet!

Thank you all - to my amazing team for your support and hard work, and to my customers for all the encouragement you have provided and of course the orders you have placed (especially customers like Debbie D who seems to have single-handedly tried to sponsor my "honeymoon" to Palm Cove)! Without each of you I wouldn't have been able to come close to achieving this dream ...

I will have more photos in the next few days, stay posted.

IT REALLY HAPPENED ...

If you are wondering what this is all about, this is a picture of a grining Cheshire cat! His grin is almost as wide as mine right now ...

I am so excited about my news that I'm smiling and doing the happy dance all over the place (aren't you glad you're not here to witness that!!).

Harry and I are off for an all-expenses paid trip to the Gold Coast in August - courtesy of Stampin' Up! What an incredible end to our first year of Stampin' Up! in New Zealand. There are 3 of us from New Zealand that achieved the trip, so we are probably all doing the happy dance right now.

I have an absolutely amazingly talented team of demonstrators who have done so much better than I had ever thought possible. Thanks to each one of you for your hard work and dedication! All my team are amazing, but Michelle and Megan have totally blown my mind with what they have achieved - you guys all rock!

I want to take some of my team with me next year! If you are already part of my team, then I will get with you and we can plan how we are going to achieve that for you. If you aren't right now, but want to know how you build a business at the same time as building towards joining Harry and I for the annual incentive trip next year, then give me a call on (06) 753-5337, or e-mail me on torresfamily8@hotmail.com and we'll chat about how we can make it happen for you too. Then we can all do the happy dance together ...

To all my fabulous friends and customers who have encouraged and inspired me, and placed larger orders than their husbands think they should have, I say THANK YOU!!! You are all so awesome, and I feel very priviledged to know each and every one of you. I can't wait to stamp some more with you over this next 12 months.

If you want to know what my special thank you is to everyone who has placed an order with me during the last year, make sure that you have signed up for my twice monthly customer e-mail as that information will be coming your way shortly ...

Have You Seen What I've Done with my Stampin' Space?

I've been doing a little rearranging of my craft room in my spare time. Check it out ...

Okay, so maybe it's not even close to looking like my room, but I can dream can't I?? You can't actually get electrocuted from drooling on a keyboard can you???

This is actually a lady named Benita that posted pictures of her new "space" on the Two Peas in a Bucket forum. If you want to check out the rest of the photos you can here: http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1285148&f=n#

Wouldn't you just die to have a room like this? If it has a toilet and a back door so you have have pizza delivered right to the door you would never need to leave this little piece of heaven again ...