BONUS EP: Retreat Recap, Travel Updates & Trusting Spiritual Guidance

What's up guys, welcome back to the podcast. I'm excited to give you the December bonus episode because we have so much to go over. This was such a busy, busy month and yeah, I mean, it was my birthday, we had the retreat which I want to recap for you, and then obviously travel and going home for the holidays. So I'm just going to give you the rundown of what December looked like, all the things. So I'm very, very excited. Also this week, if you're listening to this in real time, I just feel so weird this week. Every year, I mean, people talk about it. They call it like the Twilight Zone. It's like this weird time between Christmas and New Year's. This week just feels so fucking random and like confusing. And I'm technically off of work, but I'm still doing some things like recording this podcast and I want to have a look back at my financial year and I have a tax meeting and I want to kind of prepare what I'm thinking and planning for 2023. But also, it just like— I don't know, the energy is just weird, weird, weird. So anyway, if you're feeling like you're in a weird spot, um, you're not alone. And I also feel that energy, like I'm very excited and motivated when I wake up, but then like midday I'm like kind of like weirdly like sad and like melancholy. It's bizarre. Anyways, that's where I'm at right now. But I want to give you a quick reminder, if you are listening to this in real time, the Reset Reset Challenge is going to close for registration very soon. So we officially close registration on January 8th because the challenge kicks off on the 9th. So the Reset Challenge is our 10-day challenge for movement, meditation, and manifestation. I'm going to provide all of those things to you for 10 days. So we work Monday to Friday for 2 weeks. So it's basically a 2-week challenge, but 10 days total because we take the weekend off, you know, hashtag balance, right? But anyway, this is just like a fun way to kick off your new year and really get into those good habits of moving your body, of meditating and taking time for your mind and your mental health, and then also working on your manifestations for the year ahead. So it's my favorite way to start the new year. You may have heard about it. If not, there is so much more information available on my Instagram, or you can always send me a DM. It's $55 to join us. It's an amazing experience. It's really high vibes, and you're going to get everything like delivered to you so that you don't have to plan or prepare. And that's the thing that I love about it most, because we all want to start the new year in really great energy, but we're so busy around the holidays and stuff that January comes around and you're like, oh, I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing. I don't have a workout plan in place. I don't know what meditation app I should be using. How am I going to manifest? I haven't done my vision board. I haven't done any of my things. This challenge facilitates all of that for you so that you don't have to plan or prepare. And we just give you everything. We give you the workout videos, we give you the yoga flows, we give you the guided meditations, we give you the daily manifestation work so that you can do your vision board, so that you can lean in and clear space and do all these daily things that are actually gonna set you up to attract your desires in 2023. So if you wanna join us, there's still time, but registration does close on January 8th. So make sure you slide in before then and we'll see you in the Reset Challenge. There will be a link in the show notes below this episode that you can click on to register. And also that link will always be in my Instagram bio at _sabrina_ Samantha Daly. Okay, without further ado, let's dive into this recap episode. Welcome to the Makeshift Happen podcast. I'm your host, Samantha Daly, entrepreneur, life coach, and your no BS bestie, here to bring you all things mindset, manifestation, and personal development. This podcast is designed to help you expand your mind and uplevel your life. So turn the volume up and roll the windows down if you're coming along for the ride. Let's go make shift happen! So December was a big month. We kicked off the month with my birthday on the 2nd, and I went out to dinner in downtown Fort Lauderdale with Jaime, which was really nice. We went to this Italian place that's It's kind of like new and everybody's talking about it down here. And I had the best truffle gnocchi ever. It was so freaking good. And then we saw these cute little like Christmas lights in the city. They were on palm trees, which is new for me because I'm not used to warm Christmas, but it was kind of cute, you know. It was still a vibe, like Christmas lights on palm trees. I feel like that's kind of— that's my winter vibe. I actually really, really enjoyed it. So that was fun, that was cute. And then Lori came, my assistant. You guys are familiar with her, she's been on the podcast. You know her, she does astrology for Samantha Daly, all the things. So she came all the way from Australia and she actually arrived a few days late because there were flight cancellations and delays. So she was supposed to be here for like on my actual birthday, but it didn't work out that way. But it turned out whatever, it was fine. It all worked out. She got here from Australia. I was so excited to see her. She stayed at my house. We went out to dinner, which turned into like some cute little drinks. And then the place that we were having dinner at, by the time we finished our meal, inside. We were eating outside on this cute little like patio with all these like twinkly lights and it was really cute. But then we started to hear like this bumping music going on inside. By the time we finished our dinner, the inside had like turned into this kind of like club environment. Like the lights were really low. There was a lot of people there from like work, like holiday parties, which was funny because, you know, people witnessing people at their, um, at their office holiday parties is really funny because you know that they're with their colleagues and potentially their bosses and they're just getting like lit. They're dancing, they're twerking, there's people on tables, and it was just really, really funny. So we go in and we got a couple drinks and we were dancing and bumping to the music and it was really fun. And then we called it a night. And, um, I think it was the next day we went to the beach. We went to a girls' brunch with my other friend Annelie, who's also a coach. She's been on the podcast. You may have heard her. She talks a lot about relationships and, um, healing from narcissistic relationships. And so we went out to a girls brunch, all of us together, at this really cute vibey spot. It was such a nice day. Like, the December weather here, I'm blown away. I really thought the temperature was going to get at least a little bit lower. It is still fully like summer weather here. So anyways, most beautiful day. We sat outside at this cutest like outdoor brunch spot. It It was so vibey. Um, and then Lori and I packed up, we did some last-minute work stuff, we recorded that podcast together that you guys would have heard a few weeks ago, and then we went to the Dominican Republic. So we traveled there like 4 days before the retreat actually started, just to kind of like have our own little vacation time and also get into the vibe and just be there and yeah, enjoy basically the experience. So we went a few days early and we stayed at this really cute like boutique hotel and we went to the beach and we went exploring. And we kind of stayed near the town so we could walk from our little hotel into like this little town area. And we found lots of cute different spots for lunches and dinners every day. We ate amazing food actually, which sometimes, you know, in these little like Caribbean islands, it's hit or miss depending on where you are, especially when you go to like resorts and all-inclusives. Sometimes the food's amazing, sometimes it literally sucks so bad. So we were at like a little boutique hotel, which they had this amazing breakfast that they would make for us every day, but then the rest of our meals we had to kind of figure out on our own. And luckily we were right near that town area, so we were able to go and find places, and we actually had amazing, amazing food, which was so good. It was like such a pleasant surprise. And, um, we just worked by the pool. We like were definitely doing work stuff and final preparations for the retreat and just finalizing some things, but we also got like full body massages and we just enjoyed. It was really honestly a nice time and we had so much fun together. Like, that's the thing that I love about being able to work with people that really truly are just your friends and that are awesome people, is obviously you have to make sure that they do good work for you, but if they do an amazing job and they do great work for you, and also you can have this relationship where you're just like fun and goofy and like hang out together like you would with a best girlfriend. To me, like, that's a dream come true. The fact that I get to work with people that honestly just are amazing people, they're good humans, they're so much fun. Our personalities like get along so well. I'm so blessed in that way. And I think this trip was really like, um, a moment where I had a lot of gratitude for that and a big realization of, oh my gosh, how amazing is this? Like, most people don't get to have the experience of like their employees and their clients and the contractors and the people that they work with could literally be like their best friends. Like, it's just such a vibe to hang out and spend time together and travel together and yeah, share a hotel room together and all the things. So we had a good time the few days before leading up to the retreat and finalizing everything, packing up everyone's goodie bags, doing all that stuff before we actually got to the villa. And then we arrived at the villa and the retreat began, and I'm going to do like some of my favorite— I'm going to share some of my favorite parts for you guys. Um, I can't like recap the whole thing because it was a full like 5 days of just like so much stuff. But if you go over to my Instagram account, we did do a reel for every single day of the retreat. So you can kind of have a behind-the-scenes look of what we did on day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, and day 5. So we did a reel for every day with like video and caption kind of letting you know what we got up to. So if you're curious about the retreat experience and the types of things that we did and more of the nitty-gritty, those reels is a good way to kind of like catch a vibe really in like a quick, like fun sort of way. But some of my favorite parts of the retreat was, first of all, we went on this waterfall hike, which turned out to be— I mean, it was amazing. The view was amazing and the waterfall was amazing, but the journey to get to the waterfall was so hilarious. Like, it stands out to me because it was literally one of my favorite parts. And I remember like one of the, one of the guys, one of the workers at the villa had told us that it gets really muddy. Actually, I think it was the photographer who was like, are you guys prepared? Cuz it gets really muddy on that hike to the waterfall. And he was like, it can get— you can be like in mud up to your calves. And I was like, what? I'm sorry, I knew it was going to be like obviously a hike, like dirt, mud, whatever, but up to my calves in mud? I'm sorry, come again? And so Lori and I were like, oh my God, should we cancel it? Like, are people going to be upset? Are they going to not like it? Like, what do we do? And then I'm like, you know what, we have to go because we just have to. It's going to be an experience. We're going to trust it. We have to go. And then luckily, the guy that was going to be our guide for the hike, he was like, no, no, I was there a few days ago. Like, it's not super wet right now. The mud is not that bad. Like, it's definitely going to come up on your shoes about like an inch, but it's not going to be to your calves at all. Like, you'll be fine. And so we're like, okay, we're going ahead with it. We're doing this hike, like, whatever, it's gonna be fun. We warned all the girls, like, it's gonna be muddy. And then when we got there, it was really nice. They actually had these boots that you could rent, like, kind of like, um, Wellies, or I don't know what other people call them, but basically almost like rain boots, like rubber boots. Um, you could rent them. So a couple of the girls ended up renting these boots for a couple bucks, um, to save their shoes. But the, the hike itself was just so much fun because of how challenging it was. Not in the sense of we're like huffing and puffing and like challenging, like what you would normally think of a hike. It was just so muddy and slippery. It was like a slip and slide. And a bunch of the girls were like falling all over. Like there was mud all over their butts, their arms, their hands, their face, their legs. Like people were getting absolutely covered in mud. And it was just so funny. We're all holding on to each other and screaming and just like a bunch of girls trying to get through this like muddy hike together. It was just really, really, really funny. And it ended up being like the thing that we thought might ruin it for people ended up being the thing that made it so much fun because we were all just dying laughing the entire time. Like it was fucking hilarious and just so funny and made for like the best memories. And it was so worth it because when we got to the waterfall, the waterfall itself was incredible. It was so much bigger than I thought it was going to be, and it was so much more powerful. Like, as soon as you get to like the clearing where you can see the waterfall, you're already being hit with like intense wind and mist from just how strong the water flow was from this waterfall. It was, it was crazy. The water was cold, but it was like so beautiful. It was this like kind of turquoisey blue-green color. So we swam there for a while, and it was just like a beautiful experience. And then Weirdly enough, when we were going to hike out, we're all like, oh my God, are we prepared for this again? Like this mudslide journey? What about going uphill in the mudslide? What is that going to be like? And it was so easy. We were like, wait, what just happened? Like, I'm so confused. Did we— I think we're like living in a simulation or something because it is not even funny how easily we hiked out and how much we fully, fully struggled hiking in. We're like, this is so confusing. And people are like, well, the sun has been out for a few hours. It's midday. Like things have dried up. I'm sorry. It did not dry up that fucking fast for it to be that much of a difference where people are literally eating shit left, right, and center, falling covered in mud on the way down. And then on the way out, nobody falls. No problem. We were actually hiking out, some of us carrying coconut cocktails in one hand, like one-handed, like hiking. And didn't even slip or fall or slide or anything. It was the most bizarre thing, but it was the universe, you know, working out for us. Things were working in our favor. And then on the drive home, we plugged our phone into the car with our driver and we were like jamming and he was laughing and smiling and he just like loved it. He was like, I'm so happy. Like his vibe was just raised by being in a car full of us girls, like having the best time and singing and having fun. He kept saying, I'm happy, I'm so happy. Because we were just like in this beautiful infectious energy. So anyway, the day that we did that hike, that was like one of my favorite, favorite parts of the experience. It was so much fun. Another thing that I loved was in part of, part of our subconscious healing workshop, I ran an experience for people around sacred rage. So we did a sacred rage practice and you could just feel so much being released in that room in that moment. And I loved it because of the intensity and because of the depth of emotion and just how much was able to actually come through for people and be moved through their bodies and be released. So much stored emotion, stored trauma, unprocessed feelings, anger, frustration, sadness. It all just— we moved it all and it came out and through them. Them. And I could actually feel it, like it was so powerful standing in that room and feeling all of that stuff be like dredged up inside everyone and just like released out. It was amazing. It was, it was a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful experience and such a good, good, good feeling. And then one of the other things that I loved was we had a wealth embodiment. I think this was on day 4. We had a wealth embodiment workshop that I ran and then we followed that by Suzy's hypno breathwork, and that day she did Joy Frequency. And those two things just right side by side with each other were so potent and powerful for people. It was like a big, big breakthrough day. So I loved that experience. I have goosebumps literally right now. I'm looking at the hair standing up on my arms just thinking about what happened in that room when we did Wealth Embodiment and then the Joy Frequency hypno breathwork with Suzy. It was incredible. Like, you could just feel it again. It was so, so potent and amazing. I can't wait to get the photos and videos back and share more of the footage from this whole experience on Instagram with you guys. You can see more of what went down and just the rawness of it all and the transformation. It was really, really beautiful. And our photographer Angel, he did a great job at capturing some of those really incredible moments. So I'm excited to share that with you. Keep an eye out on Instagram. As soon as I get all of our footage and stuff, I will be sharing more about it so you guys can see like the behind the scenes of, of actually what happened and how everything went. Um, other favorite moments. Okay, so I have something I think you're really gonna love and your business is gonna love it even more. Do you wanna steal the strategy I've been using to seduce premium buyers and sell out my offers on Instagram Stories. Chances are you're already posting, you're already making sales, but if your Instagram Stories aren't working as hard as you are, you're leaving money on the table. Sold Out Stories is going to teach you exactly how to change that so that you can sell out any offer at any price point. And even high-caliber coaches miss this because selling on Stories isn't about how much you post or how frequently you show up face to camera. It's about psychological sequencing, and the way you're posting right now might be giving the premium buyers in your audience the ick. 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Another sold out her event in under 6 hours with 8 strategic story slides. No sales calls, no paid ads, just the right frameworks. You'll walk away knowing how to sequence for desire, transition into your offer seamlessly, and sell daily without ever feeling salesy. You already know your offer's incredible, so now it's just time for your stories to sell it like it is. Grab Sold Out Stories today and turn 10 slides or less into your highest converting content. Let's make your next story your most profitable one yet. Click the link in the show notes below and I'll see you inside. Peeing my pants laughing while dancing on a table. Like the times where you actually, it hurts because you're laughing so hard. I think I just needed that so much and it felt so good. And I just loved that we created an environment that was like so, I don't know, like fun and funny and carefree and beautiful, but also so deep and raw. And there were so many emotions. And we just kind of like went through this whole roller coaster all together as a group, and it really brought us like really close. But we had this, um, champagne toast on the last night, and then we had like a little dance party. We just basically played a bunch of music and we're jumping around and dancing together and being silly and whatever. But I was like standing on a table towards the end of the night with a bunch of the girls, just like dancing. And I was just— I can't even explain to you the scenario of what was happening because It's like one of those things where if you weren't there, it's not funny, but it's just like the stupid one. Those stupid, stupid things just make you laugh so freaking hard. Anyway, I ended up laughing so hard that I was literally like holding pee in. Like I was holding myself from like wetting my pants. Um, but those moments are always like super memorable and it was just so much fun. Um, other, like my other favorite thing, which I kind of mentioned earlier, was getting to do all of this with Lori was so much fun because she's not only my assistant and a huge integral integral part of my business, but she's also like my friend and we have so much fun together. And we actually shared a room on the retreat so that we could make space for more women who wanted to come. So we literally like went to bed every night and we were probably overtired and a little bit stressed, but also just like in a really good energy. So we would go to bed every single night, like laughing hysterically. We'd be recapping the day, we'd be making fun of things that like happened, like behind the scenes that we had to deal with. We were just cracking up, laughing so hard. When you like get the giggles because you're like overtired and you're just laughing at everything. And so that's how we would go to sleep every single night is like dying laughing. And then we just pass the fuck out and then wake up at 5 in the morning to like get everything prepared for the next day. But that was just so much fun. I can't imagine doing the retreat experience or guiding it or trying to lead it completely by myself. It actually would not have been possible. Because yeah, I just like wouldn't have— there's not enough of me to be able to do all the things that needed to be done. And I had to be able to teach and guide and lead and do so many things. And there was other things that needed to be coordinated behind the scenes and stuff that needed to be solved for guests and people's requests and setting up the spaces and taking down the spaces and all that stuff. So Lori was like such a huge part of that. And I'm so grateful that we got to do it together because It was just so much fun. Like it was a great time, even though we did have like behind the scenes things that we had to deal with. And every day there was kind of like an obstacle where we're like, oh shit, what are we going to do? Okay. Change of plans, change of itinerary. What's happening. But like we handled it together as a team and we were in really good energy the whole time and we were just having so much fun. And obviously another favorite part of course is being able to witness the breakthroughs and the transformations that took place for the women on the retreat as part of this experience. And I just think like the gratification that comes with being able to witness women heal and evolve right in front of your eyes in such a short period of time too is like nothing I've ever experienced before. Like, it's so rewarding to be able to be part of that and to be able to help facilitate that for people. So that, of course, is like my favorite favorite part. And that's the whole reason why we did the retreat. It's the whole reason why we create experiences like this, is to be able to help shepherd people and guide them to that place where they're able to heal and evolve so quickly in such a short period of time. And so at the start of the retreat, as part of our opening ceremony, you know, I advised the women to stay open to the miracles and to look for these these sacred moments that would happen for them throughout the experience. And I wrote down along the way just a couple of the things that, that these women found by doing that. And so there were women that felt worthy of love truly for the first time in their life on the retreat. There were women that cultivated the willingness to forgive and repair strained relationships with family members in their life. There were women that felt like they met God on the retreat for the first time. There were women that slept through the night for the very first time in over a year after having a traumatic experience, finally feeling like they could let go of that trauma and actually sleep a full night and not be tortured by it. There were women that felt the presence of past loved ones being with them and around them and communicating to them. There were women that made really big, bold decisions to leave everything behind and start a new job or move to another country. There were women that cultivated the courage and the bravery to leave something in their life, like a relationship or a safe job, and actually pursue their passion. And it kind of ignited that spark in them to really go and do that for real this time. And there were women that opened their heart to love fully and unafraid. On the retreat, which was just so beautiful to witness. And so not only was the retreat transformational for everybody else, but it was also so transformational for me because I've talked about this on the podcast before, but the retreat was like a manifestation come to life for me as well, right? I first wrote down my goal to host retreats all the way back in 2018. This was like at the very, very the beginning of my business. I didn't have any clients. It was nothing like that yet. It was just a seed that I was planting that I wanted to have a business of some kind. I was starting my newsletter. That was basically the only thing that I had was Monday Motivation. And I put down this goal that I wanted to host transformational retreats. I actually wrote it down in these words every day for several years as part of my signature journaling practice, my 3-5. Those of you who are clients or have from Burt Dot to Badass, you know that journaling process that I use and that I teach. But I wrote down every day as part of that process, I host transformational retreats for women in luxury locations around the world. I host transformational retreats for women in luxury locations around the world. I host transformational retreats for women in luxury locations around the world. Like I have it memorized because I wrote it down so many freaking times. I wrote it down for years. And obviously I spent a lot of time between 2018 and this year, 2022, doing all the things that would help me actually bring that to life, building my online presence, scaling my business, growing this podcast community, and getting excellent results for my clients, building that trust, all of that. But even so, earlier this year, I still kind of wondered if I was really ready, quote unquote ready for in-person retreats, like if I really was prepared to take on the magnitude of that because Honestly, taking 18 women to a foreign country, taking them to a foreign island, and like making sure that they are all fed, that everybody is safe, that nothing bad is going to happen to them, that their, their transportation is taken care of, that everybody knows what's happening, that all the things are coordinated at once, that you know who's landing when, from where, what places, who needs rides. Like, it's on— there's— and there's so many other things too that go into it, but it's It's just, it is a massive undertaking and it's an immense amount of logistical planning organization. And there's a lot of forethought that is required. Like you need to be an extremely organized person if you want to host a successful retreat. That's just the, the fact of it. And although I am very good at planning and I'm very skilled in organization, and that's a lot of why my clients hire me for business, cuz I do have that Virgo rising element of structure and organization and all that, I still wondered, like, am I really ready to, to take this on, to, to host retreats? And what I know at my core and what I teach so often is that we're never truly ready, right? Like, ready is a lie. We're never gonna feel ready for the big leaps in our life that our soul is calling us towards. The things on our heart that we wanna do, they're always gonna feel scary until we just like go for it until we just do it. And so I know that, I know that to be true. So when I went on this retreat that I was participating in this year, back in April when I went to Tulum and Spirit spoke to me in a hypno breathwork ceremony that Susie was leading also, she was guiding that, that hypno breathwork ceremony for us. And I heard the message so loud and clear. You must be hosting in-person events now. Now. That was exactly it. That was the statement. It came to me. It was delivered in a very straightforward, a very stern manner. It was, you must be hosting in-person events now. And that was it. And so I listened. I listened because here's what I believe. I believe that there's no greater offense to the universe than being the person that asks for guidance and then doesn't actually follow that guidance once you receive it. And so I always remind my clients, like, if you're asking for answers, you better be prepared to act on the ones that you get because you don't want to be in a relationship with the universe where you're asking for help all the time. You're asking for guidance, you're asking for signs, you're asking for answers, and then you're getting signs and answers and clues, but you're not doing anything about it. You're not taking the scary action. You're not actually making the leap because you're still too scared. If you are going to be bold enough to ask the universe to provide for you and to ask for those answers, then you need to saddle up and get ready to take the action that is attached to the answers that you may receive. So I knew when I received that message from spirit and breathwork that I had to listen and that that was it. There was no more hemming and hawing of, am I ready? Can I do it? When should it be? Where should it be? I don't know. It's too hard. So many logistics. I'll figure it out later. I'm trying to buy a house. There's too many things going on at once. I can't do it. It was like, no, You better fucking do it. That's it. There's no other option. You're doing it, right? So I went home, I did some research, and within like 2 weeks, I think I had booked the villa for this retreat, which was going to be held on a foreign island outside of the US. I had to fill at least 16 spots, which is quite a large group for a first retreat. And I don't know, I was just just like, okay, well, I hope I can fill these spots because if not, I just lost like thousands and thousands of dollars, right? So it was just like full trust mode, full surrender. And I think that's something that was— that held true for the entire experience of the retreat. I had to trust so much in this experience, which I can kind of get into, um, because one, I never met our photographer before we got there. So I had to fully trust that he was going to be capable of like seeing my vision and capturing it and creating content that I enjoyed and all of that. I never saw the villa in person before we got there. Literally the day that the women were arriving to the retreat was the same day that I got to the villa because this place is totally booked out all the time. I couldn't even get it a day ahead or a day after at all. So I was like, okay, we just have to fully trust that it's gonna be what it looks like in the pictures and that it is what they say that it is and that it's gonna be nice. And that was terrifying cuz like, what if you rock up and you know how it is, like people really advertise stuff on these websites for like hotels and Airbnbs and things like that where like it looks amazing, but then you get there and you're like, mm, it's like, I can see how it's the same place, but like it looks so much worse in person. So that was like total full trust, like just full surrender mode of like, okay, it is what it is. Like, hey, don't forget that every month we are picking a listener of the month to win $50 in cash just for showing love to the show. All you have to do is leave an epic review of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, screenshot the review before you hit submit, and DM that screenshot to us on Instagram at Makeshift Happen Podcast. And that That's it. I want to thank you for being such a loyal listener and show my appreciation by putting a little extra cash in your pocket. I know it's super easy not to do it, but every single rating and review seriously helps the show rank higher and reach new people, so we appreciate them more than you know. We'll announce the next winner at the end of the month and slide into your DMs if it's you, so keep an eye out and good luck. Love you guys, and thanks for supporting Makeshift Happen. We have to make it work, right? And the same with like our, um, the staff was provided by the villa and they were going to chef everything for us and do all the meals. Like, there was no way for me to know what their food was like or to taste it or to try it or to, um, you know, get really specific reviews from other people that were doing what I was doing because because they haven't really hosted retreats before. You know, they've done like weddings and other things, but it was all just like fully trusting it and letting it be what it was going to be and hoping for the best and believing that the universe would have my back, like the whole experience from start to finish, especially investing in the villa because it was a large, large investment, um, you know, to book something like that for 5 days. And I mean, it was a mansion, like you can fit 28 people in there. It sleeps, I think 17 bathrooms or something like it was fucking enormous. And it's obviously right on the waterfront. Enormous, like amazing beachfront ocean views, like all the things. And it was so, so worth it. Of course it was because it turned out to be amazing. But in the process of it, it was like, oh my God, well, I hope people want this. I hope people want to come. I hope people can come. I hope these dates work for people. I hope the— I hope the price pricing works out and I hope people can afford this and I hope, right? Like it was just trust, trust, trust, trust, trust, trust, trust. But to actually see the vision from 5 years ago finally come to fruition was so surreal. Like actually getting to the villa that day and standing there in the space and feeling like that picture in my mind actually came to life. And I was looking out over the infinity pool and into the ocean and seeing the palm trees and the sunset. Women were arriving in their taxis from all over the world, from the UK, from America, from Canada, from Australia, like to actually feel that moment come to life and to see those women walk in the front door with their suitcases and come running towards me so excited and screaming and happy and wow, like that again, I have goosebumps. The hairs are literally standing up on my arms right now because it was like an actual manifestation come to life. And whenever that happens, if you've had that that experience in your life of seeing it in your mind and then seeing it in reality because you manifested it, it's always surreal and it's always potent and powerful and beautiful to witness. So I also want to say thank you to every woman who was brave enough to go first and help make this retreat a reality. You know, like, this was the first time that I had ever run a retreat like this. And so these, you know, the women that, that leap and go first on things with me, I always hold a really special place in my heart for them because it also requires a lot of trust on their end, right? Trusting me enough to be the guide and not only guiding like the workshops and the experiences and the healing and all of that, but also trusting me and my vision and trusting my discernment and trusting that I would choose the right place and that I would choose the right people to hold the space for us and to take our photographs and to, you know, cook food for us and all those things. Like, they had to fully trust that I was going to curate everything for them in a way that they would enjoy. And so I just— I salute every single woman who was brave enough to go first on this and say yes and make this retreat, you know, a dream come true for me. Me, and I can't wait to do it all over again. Like, I'm— I was already talking about— I was already talking to the host about, you know, the next retreat and when we're gonna book and all the things. And so yes, we're definitely doing it again. We have a waitlist open already for 2023. So if you're excited about the idea of coming on this retreat and having this experience, you want to get your name on the waitlist. I think there's like almost 100 names on it already, and there's only going to be you know, like 15 to 18 spots probably. So the waitlist is very full, but you'll— so you'll definitely want to be on it because those people will know first and foremost when spots are available for the next retreat, um, and you'll get like a little discount and you'll be able to put a deposit down before anybody else. So if you know that you want to plan that into your 2023, definitely just add your name to the waitlist. We will leave it at a link in the show notes and also a link in my bio on Instagram. Okay, so moving on to after the retreat, come back. Um, we had— I had like one— I had like basically like 3 days, I think, of work. I did work a little bit. I had some clients, I took some calls, I saw my groups and all that stuff. And then again, it was, um, out of the office and traveling again. So we were off to North Carolina to visit my family, my parents parents to go home for Christmas. And that was really nice because I just— I don't know, we didn't have a tree here. December was kind of hectic, obviously, with my birthday, the retreat, Lori coming. I had visitors, like, all that. So we didn't have a Christmas tree here. We had no nothing. It would just— would have been weird to spend Christmas here alone, just Jaime and I. Also, it feels weird, like, Christmas in Florida. I'm not used to warm weather Christmas. It just the vibe is just really not really there. So it was nice to be able to go home for Christmas. It was so fucking cold. Like, North Carolina is in the South, and so I always expected that it would be kind of like warm, and sometimes it is. Like, this was weird obviously, cuz there was a huge cold front going through the entire US. And, um, in my hometown of Buffalo, you may have seen on the news, like, really tragic, like huge, huge blizzard snowstorm. Um, I think the death toll is like upwards of 50 or 60 people at this point. Um, like a really deadly winter storm. Luckily, all of my family that lives in Buffalo still, they were fine. They had power, they had food, they were safe at home. Their Christmas plans obviously got messed up because they couldn't leave their houses, but luckily everyone was safe and warm and fed and all the things. Things. So, so, so grateful for that also. Um, but it was way colder than I expected in North Carolina. Also, it was freezing, below freezing. So, but it was kind of nice to have that like actual cold Christmas vibe that I'm used to. So some of our Christmas traditions that we do every year, I bake Christmas cookies with my dad. We do the cutout cookies, like the Kris Kringle cookies, just the classic Christmas cookies, and then you frost them and That has been a tradition for me and my dad since I was a teenager. I think since I was in high school, because my mom is a nurse and there were some years where she would have to work Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. And so one of the years, and my mom was always like stressed out about all the baking and the wrapping, and Christmas is hard for moms, so I get it. Like moms have to basically deal with everything when it comes to Christmas, making it an amazing experience for everyone in so many ways. So a lot of the burden is left on moms and I get that. So she was like, you know, stressed about the Christmas cookies and all that. So my dad and I actually made them, and we so enjoyed the process. So then every year we're like, this is our thing, we're doing it, you don't have to do it, Mom. And so we've baked Christmas cookies together every year since then, which is fun and cute. And Jaime helped us this year, and we frosted them, we just hung out, and it was a fun little, fun little day. And then we did our winter solstice. You may have seen on Instagram, I share— we also do this every year with my parents. Um, my mom started this tradition for us. She loves it. So on the winter solstice, the first day of winter, which is December 21st in the Northern Hemisphere, um, and it was like a— I think it comes from a— yeah, it was a pagan holiday called the Yule. And this is like way, way, way before Christmas was even a thing, right? So like long history of the, the Yule log and all of this stuff. You can look it up or Google it. But anyway, we do this like winter solstice, like fire ceremony together as a family. And we create a yule log. Basically my parents just go out and they find like a nice sized log because they are surrounded by trees and they have a lot of property and they cut it down and we decorate it. So my mom and I like wrap it with like ribbons and we use hot glue and we like put little pine cones on it and dried orange slices and We put some actual real herbs like thyme and rosemary, and we do some like actual branches, like some evergreen branches and things. Like, you just kind of like decorate it like nature-y but beautiful. We also put some ribbons and bows on it and things. And then everyone in the family on a little slip of paper writes down their wishes or their manifestations for the year ahead. So what you're desiring, praying for, calling in in 2023, however you want to think about it or look at it. Really matter. Just write down what you want, basically. I write it like I would manifestation, so I write them in the present or the past tense, like as if it's happening or already happened. And then we just roll those up and we like staple them. You can tie them, you can glue them, whatever. You attach them to the log. And then we have a fire out— we like to do it outdoors. So my parents have a big fire pit around the pool, so we lit a fire and we all sat around it and we cheers. And my mom read a few poems by the fire, and then we put the log in and we watch it burn, and we kind of talk about what we're desiring for the year ahead. And that's basically it, but it's a very cute little, like, fun ritual to do, and it just makes you feel good about going into the new year because you're really clear on what you're desiring and hoping for and calling in. And it's really nice. Um, some other things that we did while we were home— because it was so cold, Jaime and I thought it would be fun to do like hot tub in the below freezing temperatures. So we ran outside in robes and then would get into like— take the robes off and you're in your bathing suit and it's literally so cold, like well below zero, super, super freezing wind chill. But then you jump in the hot tub and it was just fun to do like kind of like the hot-cold exposure thing. So that was a fun thing that we did. Um, another tradition that my family has that a lot of families do, I know, is the Christmas Eve pajamas. So you get your new pajamas on Christmas Eve, you sleep in them, and then you wake up on Christmas morning in your nice new cozy Christmas PJs. So we do that every year. My mom does the Christmas pajamas. But this year it was really funny because my mom accidentally got a, like a, she got like, uh, these thermal tops, you know, that are like the waffly material, long sleeve thermal tops. And the one that she got for Jaime was accidentally a women's top. So we go to go to bed that night and he puts it on and it's so tight. And the collar is like a scoop neck collar, so you can see his like pec muscles like sticking out of it. And it's so tight around his arms and around his chest. And it was just so funny. I'm like, you have to wear that downstairs in the morning, like pretending like you slept in it, and see my parents' reaction. And it was just so funny coming downstairs the morning of Christmas and he's in this this tight-ass black, like, fitted, skin-tight, with his chest out, like, women's top. It was just really, really, really funny. So that was a mistake— grabbed the wrong one, Mom. Grabbed the women's medium, not the men's medium. So that was funny. Um, obviously, like, home cooking, there's nothing better, right? My mom's an amazing cook. She made beautiful homemade meals for us, like breakfast, lunch, dinner. It was just the best being cooked for and taken care of. There's nothing like it. It was so wholesome and heartwarming and just the best to be able to have home-cooked amazing, amazing meals all the time. And Storm loved it too. It was good for him. Like, it was such a good trip for him because he loves the cold. He obviously thrives at the beach, but like, he also was so into just being out in the cold. He could stay out there forever. So my parents have like this back porch that's normally like— it's designed to— for you to sit out there in the summer. It's screened in, but it's totally like open to the air. So it's cold out there in the wintertime, especially now that it was like below freezing. But there's a little, um, like, there's patio furniture out there. So there's this little couch and we just cover it in a blanket. And Storm would lay on that couch all day long, just sleep outside in the below freezing temperatures, in the sunshine, just living his best life. He was having the best time, just full husky mode. He loved it, loved it, loved it, loved it. So all around it was a really good trip. It was so good to see family and to be off of work and just really, yeah, relax and do nothing. Like we really just hung out at home basically. Um, we went and did like some touristy things one day. We went out to a nice meal and, but like other than that, we really did nothing. We just hung out at home and played games. We played Uno. Played, um, what's the name of that thing, Rummy Cube something, that game with like the numbers with all the angel numbers. If you know, you know. It's not about angel numbers, but if you've played that game, you know that you have to make these like sets of like 222, 333, 444. We played that. We played Uno. My parents have like a pool and ping pong and darts in the like entertainment like bar area of of the barn on their property. So we had like everything that we needed there. We had the hot tub, we had darts, we had ping pong, we had pool, we had card games. My dad was making fires every night in the fireplace. We watched a bunch of movies. It was just like the best sort of like wholesome Christmas at home vibe. So anyway, that is the recap for the month of December. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thank you so much for listening. I am so excited to go into this new year and bring even more incredible content to you in 2023. The podcast is one of my favorite things that I do. I love it so much. I appreciate you so much for listening, and I'm already getting stoked for all of the episodes that I have in mind and what I wanna create in the new year and how much value that I wanna deliver to you. So I'm really, really excited. I hope you'll stick around and stay with us for the new year and have a beautiful start to 2023. If you decide to join us in the Reset Challenge, I can't wait to see you there. We're gonna kick off the new year together. Together from January 9th to the 20th. We're going to be moving, meditating, and manifesting together every day. We'll be in a group chat. I'll be providing accountability. We'll be chatting. I'll be answering your questions. It's going to be so much fun. So I hope to see you there. And if not, I hope you enjoy whatever plans that you have for ringing in the new year. And may the year ahead be a beautiful year filled with health and happiness and fulfillment and joy and abundance. For all of you. I love you so much. Thank you for listening. I'll see you next time. Bye!