Monday, June 9, 2014

Memories of May by Jodi Ohl UPDATED with Winner!







 

UPDATE::   Our winner for the blog hop part 1 is :

Lucky Number 2:


Oh Jodi, this is looking so wonderful and inviting. I won't make it this year but I do want to go maybe next year!


Dee-simply email me your addy and I will get your prize off in the mail!  Congratulations!!


jodiohl at hotmail dot com

And a big thank you to all that stopped by.  Be sure to click on this LINK here for Memories of May  Part 2 with Penny!  More prizes to be won!


Today kicks off a "Magical Memory Tour" of our first ReMe Retreat event (experience...retreat..life changing moments..what words truly fit?) where all of the founders of ReMe including myself,  Jean Skipper, Penny Arrowood, and Theresa Zurku, along with  some of the students of our May event will be sharing some of the wonderful memories that we made just a short month ago, so you can be a part of it all, too!
 Each Monday in June we will be having a blog hop starting on the blogs of each of the participants, then landing on our ReMe blog where you also have an opportunity to win a handmade goodie or treasure from our event. The giveaways will all be hosted on ReMe where you simply have to leave a comment on this post to enter to win!  Ez Peezy..right? 




As I was mentioning on my blog post you can see here...the anticipation & excitement of our first ReMe event began long before stepping on the ferry to Ocracoke, but at the same time, that was the point where we all could feel it sinking in that this was truly becoming real for all of us and our guests.  We chose Ocracoke for the launching of ReMe because it has long been the place of solace and amazing memories for each of us who founded ReMe, most notably our true brainchild of ReMe..Jean Skipper who even met her husband on the island.  As we unloaded our jampacked cars Sunday evening and began the set up of our house, you could feel a sense of peace and wonder in the air amongst all of us, but none of us could have imagined how truly amazing the week would prove to be. From the moment the first guest stepped out of her car and was greeted by all with welcoming arms and hearts full of love, we all knew in our hearts that this was one of those times in our lives that we would never forget.



What's impossible to do is to share with you every moment of magic.   There was laughter, hugs, smiles, breakthroughs, tears of joy, even tears of sadness as we totally let down our guards and shared with each other our true authentic selves.  
Moments of Renewal, Recharging, Restoration, Remembering, and Relaxation are just a few of our beloved ReMe words I can think of.
As the sun rose and fell around us, we felt the energy that only can be felt when you are open to an experience and the people that take journey with you.

Jodi Ohl and Terry Commander

Terry wrote in a facebook post shortly after the event that she walked into the retreat a bit apprehensive as one would expect because it is unknown, you don't know everyone who is coming, how you will get along, even what you will be doing and will it all work.

But her comments resonated the truth of what we all felt,  "I walked away with 11 New Besties" by the time the week was over.
Truer words were never spoken.  I feel like I have not only 11 new besties, but sisters bonded by not just the experience of the week, but our stories of our lives that were all shared.


It's hard to pick out my favorite moments from the some 500 pictures I have of the week.  The smiles on our new friends faces from the first moment we saw everyone probably ranks up there.
Debra Gabel wrote in our journal to us that she began to recognize everyone not just by their name and their faces, but by their laughter.  By their laughter...yes..that is so true. I can still hear it today and my heart is full of each one of your voices.


Our journey together revealed many discoveries, about the island, nature, each other, and most assuredly, of ourselves.  Ocracoke is a perfect setting for all of that and more. But, I believe the dynamics of having 12 like minded yet truly unique individuals together created an intimate and safe setting for revelations none of us could have imagined.
This is a scene that makes my heart swell with pride.  Smiles. Laughter, and beautiful souls that we all call family now.  It's incredible to think how different we all were/are but how everyone was so giving and accepting of one another in every way possible!

In addition to all the fun and incredible artwork we created, we also were treated to a bunch of goodies from one of our sponsors, Sanford/Sharpie Markers so a special shout out to their rep Cary Sullivan, for supplying us with tons of  colorful goodies for our classes! I'm sure Penny will go into more detail of our sponsors generosity but I didn't want this opportunity to go without a huge thank you to him from me as well!



When we weren't creating, laughing, talking, soaking in the beauty...you guessed it...we were eating! Leisurely lunches on the front porch or wide open dinners in the kitchen, there were always stories to be shared and good eats and delicious drinks to be consumed.
Our guests were treated to fresh muffins, hearty and delicious lunches, snacks and treats throughout the day, a cocktail in the evening, followed by amazing dinners and sweet treats in the evenings.

Best of all though was sharing our meals together and getting to know all of our guests and each other more and more with each passing day.


Just like any adventure, there are moments of apprehension such as one would expect if you are doing something you never have done before....but every single one of our students tried out all the projects we placed before them  with bravery.  Again, I was so proud of them all taking risks and even having moments of breakthroughs once they realized that yes...they could do anything they set their mind to. And they did just that and more.   True Awesome Sauce!
In my second class, a painting  workshop... we spent the day painting away (go figure from me, right??) setting out to transform our guiding words into abstract paintings full of texture, color and symbols that were meaningful to ourselves and our journey.
Renewing our inspiration with each brushstroke and cheering eachother on along the way.


So was our first event a success in every sense of the word?  

I hope you know the answer to that question without me having to tell you in between my cartwheels and happy dancing around that it was 150 million percent...yes, a huge success.

It was a leap of faith to form a new company with 2 of my closest friends, Jean Skipper and Penny Arrowood... but we knew we had something special to share with the world and this is only the beginning.

By the end of our second full day, all 8 of our guests signed up for May 2015 without even having gone through the whole 5 days of the retreat!!! What the what??!
 Yes...celebration, hugs and kisses were in order.  We did this but we couldn't have done it without each other and that included our fantastic group of students, friends...sisters.....
 New besties.
Renewed spirits.
Happiness abounding from every inch of our core.

ReMe Ocracoke, May 2014 we will always remember you.


You have to be open to it though. Truly that is part of the key.  It was an adult version of spring and summer camp where we made memories that were magical and that will surely last a lifetime.
What more could we ask for other than for you to join us in October where we will be doing it all over again with a new group of soon to be sisters and friends, and in the future when we reveal more events that we have up our sleeve. Even though May 2015 is sold out, you can join our waiting list for the next opportunity or join us this year in October.



Even if you can't join us now, do this for yourself in the future! You have to invest in yourself and place value in the fact the life is meant to be experienced, even if  you step outside of your comfort zone and join in an adventure with seemingly strangers...it won't take long for you to figure out that we all have threads of commonality that will bond us together forever.

In honor of this first event,  we are all doing this blog hop so you can share in the journey from a distance and have an opportunity to walk away with a few gifties from us...including this giveaway from me,  a 6 x 12 lighthouse painting:
Simply leave a comment on this blog post that tells us your favorite memory of May or what perhaps you did last month to 'Renew".
Winner will be selected over the weekend and announced here next Monday.
Share this post and then come back again to let us know for an extra entry!

"Such a Beautiful Sunset"

And so now as I close out this most special post, the hardest part of any beginning is knowing that all too quickly our time together had to end.  I'm taking solace in the fact that although our time went swiftly, it's not good-bye, but rather until we meet again.

Thank you to everyone who made this event so special,  your engagement, hard work, energy and enthusiasm every minute before,during and after is what made it truly remarkable.
And that is what we were going for..

R-remearkable
E-Extraordinary
M-Memorable
E-Experience

ReMe.
Looking forward to our October event with another group of awesome sauce students and guests...we have just a couple spaces available.  Pull the trigger and join us. You won't regret it! 
Down payment buttons are on the left sidebar of this blog.

Questions?  Email us at reme@remeretreats.com

Yours Truly,






9 comments:

  1. I'll be there in October, so I'm hanging on every word during the blog hop! I can't wait! I renewed in May by taking a trip to New Orleans and by starting work on "renewing" a little tiny family farm house I want to make an art studio/guest space.

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  2. Oh Jodi, this is looking so wonderful and inviting. I won't make it this year but I do want to go maybe next year!

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  3. yumminess!!!! I want to go back! I had such an incredible time! Smiles, Debra!

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  4. Move over ladies!!! I'll be there in October and can't wait! This sounds like the perfect 'retreat'. Not just art classes, but truly a retreat at the same time. What could be better!!! So excited!

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  5. My mom came for a weekend visit in May and we had a lovely girls weekend including massages, art making, pedicures and wine and chocolate night. It was amazing!

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  6. I hope one day to be able to do one of your retreats. I'm also hoping you will do one in VA...*hint, hint!* ;-)

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  7. It all sounds HEAVENLY! Just what I'll need in October. In May, I took my Mom to New York City for a long Mother's Day weekend for renewing our love for each other and our spirit of adventure. Very little relaxing, that's for sure, but we had a wonderful, memory-filled time.

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  8. Jodi, Thanks for inviting me to your ReMe blog hop!! I so enjoyed reading your post o your wonderful time with all your old and new friends. It filled my heart with love! My favorite memories for May was the last days I spent with my dear Mom. She passed on May the 25th but I can say we had a lot of laughs and good times in the weeks before her moving on to be with my Dad in heaven. She will always be in my heart. Memories are all we have left and are so important to make those connections in life. Creating makes me whole and to be with those who feel the same way is such a blessing.. Thanks again Jodi for being a very special teacher to me..Your student, Barbara

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  9. This entire experience looks like an incredible opportunity of growth and renewal. During the month of May I planted sunflower seeds in my little tiny garden, this being the same little tiny garden where I planted last year. The sunflowers last year grew to an amazing 13 feet high and were enjoyed by all passing by, both on foot as well as in cars. Often looking out the window I would see people who had stopped to take pictures of the amazing giant blooms. I am happy to be able to share these beautiful flowers with all who have the time to open their eyes and enjoy. And the sharing continues in nature...there is a big plump squirrel who, last year, treated himself to all of the seeds from the sunflowers. I do hope he returns this year.

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