Suggestion Box Week 1

I am so incredibly lucky to have two really great students working with me this summer. They are both hard workers, super productive and really nice and really funny girls. There is a lot of laughing in our office, they keep me entertained. 

 

Over the years, I have had a few great supervisors and a lot of not great supervisors. I am taking what I learned from all my supervisors- the good and the bad- and applying it to my own role as supervisor. I want the students to have a great experience and enjoy their time working for our organization. I also want them to feel valued, appreciated and heard. The students are aware of this.

Last week, they, jokingly, asked if they could have a suggestion box when they could anonymously leave suggestion on how I can do my job better. Of course, I agreed and told them that we will read the suggestions at our weekly team meeting. 

 

Here are this weeks suggestions:

 

Drip. Drip. Drip. How's the water shut off? The day of our meeting, the City turned our water off due to construction. 

 

More espresso beans. Someone gave me chocolate covered espresso beans as a thank you gift and I left them for the students.

 

Don't crush dreams. This is actually something that was said jokingly and with laughter. And I'm the one who wrote it down and put it in the suggestion box.  

Keep a list of funny things that are said in the office.  The students say hilarious things on an hourly basis (ex Student 1 to Student 2: I feel like we're complete opposites. Everything I like, you don't. Everything you like, I've never heard of). Plus, after the summer I can read the list and remember how funny they were. 

Bowling party. No idea why this was suggested, but we are now going bowling after work in August. 

Co-worker should be the supervisor because she brings cupcakes and folds brochures. A co-worker brought in the most amazing cupcakes for the office one day. I only bring Timbits and store bought cookies. Plus she helped them fold brochures while I was in a meeting.

Love the way we have to fold the suggestions to submit. Suggestions are written on the back of a post it note and folded so the sticky part attached to the other end. With everyone submitting suggestions the same way, it helps them stay anonymous.

Paper beside the suggestion box to help with anonymity. Everyone was writing on different kinds of paper, which would help me figure out who suggested what. If we use the same paper, it helps conceal the identity of the suggestion maker. I put a pad of yellow post it notes beside the suggestion box to address this.

Espresso beans. Yup, suggest twice. They REALLY want more espresso beans.

More opportunities for "gold stars". I give out stickers to people who earn them...from doing a good job with a task to surviving a rough morning. There are no set 'rules' for earning stickers but they would like more stickers.

Respond efficiently and effectively in a timely manner. I often have over 100 unread emails- it's a combination of reading select emails from the day before and people just emailing me a lot. It does take me a couple of days to respond to stuff. I'm sure this was a semi-serious suggestion, but the students are in my office and usually say "I'm emailing you a draft of a poster, can you look at it and let me know what you think?" so I look at it and give them verbal feedback. It's not like I'm ignoring them.

Co-workers in our office, but not on our team, were surprised (as was I) that no one suggested I clean my desk/workspace, which is a disaster. Both students love to organize and have been counting down the days until I was on vacation so that they can organize my desk, workspace (the floor around my desk), my filing cabinets and my business cards.

The suggestion box was a really fun activity and a great way to start our meeting.I can't wait to see what suggestions they have next week!!

So, You Want To Work For A Non-Profit...Part Deux

I have worked for a non-profit (NPO) for about 5 years and get asked all the time what it's like. I'm happy to share my experience and try and give a balanced answer- sharing both the pros and cons- but also pointing out that everyone's experience is different and that not all NPO's are run the same.

 

Thanks to contract work, I've had the opportunity to work for 3 different NPO's. There were the aspects of the job I loved and aspects of the job I didn't love so much- or at all.

 

Last week I shared 6 things about working for an NPO that I had never told anyone. So, this week, I thought I'd share 6 of my favourite things about working for an NPO.

 

1. Work doesn't always seem like work. In the past month, "work" has included going to the park, museum and butterfly conservatory (scouting event site locations); shopping (thank you gifts for speakers, event guests and auction items); going out for lunch with people (building relationships) and reading magazines (creating a prospect list of people we can ask to donate auction items to our event). On of my favourite work experiences was when I worked on a commercial.

 

2. You get invited to a lot of places. Some of the invites make sense, like when I was invited to LeaderCast, and some are 'really? that counts as work?' invites I get invited to Strawberry Socials, spa grand openings, concerts, theatre performances (including opening nights), horse races, casino bus trips and tv stations. I don't go to everything I'm invited too, but I do get a lot of fun invites.

 

3. Event leftovers. This is probably one of the best parts of my job. Whenever I have an event for work, the caterer sends me home with the leftover food. I can usually get three or four meals out of the leftovers and the food is usually pretty good.

 

4. Free stuff. It's mostly pens, notebooks and post it notes. But, I've also gotten energy drinks, magazines, mugs, DVDs, gloves, food vouchers, hand sanitizer, Bailey's, books, chocolate...a variety of stuff. People give me stuff as a thank you for working with them or free samples so I can see what they offer and use their company in the future.

 

5. Summer Students. People have mixed ideas on summer students. I personally like them. It's kind of fun (and stressful) finding the right fit for our organization. If you hire the right student, it can be a really great experience. They bring different skills and ideas to the table, assisting with different aspects of the job. I try to make the experience a fun, memorable and educational opportunity for the students I work with. I like to provide them with cupcakes, road trips to site venues, stickers and a suggestion box where they can provide feedback on how I can do my job better- like to provide more flavours of cupcakes. There are lots of laughs while being productive.

 

6. Feedback. This is hands down the most rewarding and best part of my job. I am in charge of fundraising, which means I am responsible for bringing money so we can offer our programs and services to our clients (no pressure there). When I hear clients say how much they gain from our services, how they don't feel so alone, how they don't know what they would have done without us, how we have made the process easier on them...this makes everything that I do and have to put up with, worth it. I know the work I am doing, all of my sacrifices, headaches, frustrations and even the fun stuff as listed above, is making a difference in someone's life.

 

 

Like everything NPO's offer good and bad. Every experience is different. Within the same organization I have had the best experience of my life and the worst experience of my life. It is all about who you interact with and work with. It also has to do with your personality and how invest you are in your organization. I'm ok with being underpaid because the feedback from our clients more than makes up for it.

 

I repeatedly say that you have to really love what you do to work for an NPO, and I stand by that statement. Like all jobs, there are a number of pros and cons, and the industry isn't for everyone.

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my magazine reading at the park...kidding. We went to the park on Wednesday.

Milk In Bags, Eh?

One of my favourite friends, who is American, was asking if it was true that Canadians buy milk in a bag. I confirmed that this is actually true. It's not hard to pour or messy or even weird for that matter.

 

Luckily for all of my American friends, one of the students working with me this summer found this informative video, that will answer a lot of questions, including how we get the milk from the bag to the glass.

 

Inspire Me- Why Not?

Mondays are tough, especially in the summer. This is not news and I am not the only one who feels this way. I received a grant to hirer two students for the summer; they are both great and I'm really enjoying working with them. But Monday morning are our team meetings. We report on what we did the previous week, what needs to be done this week and divided up between the three of us. 

 

This is also a chance for me to check in with them and see how they like working with us, what I can do to help them, etc. I want this summer to be a fun experience for them and I actually want them to learn and develop skills. Which means, I try to keep the menial office tasks- such as filing and stuffing envelopes- to a minimum. 

I'm trying to be a good leader. I've always tried to lead by example but this is the first time where I am officially in a leadership role and I have to supervise, manage and motivate other staff. It's a learning experience for me. On Friday, both of the students told me that they really liked working for me, that it was fun. I was happy to hear that. 

 

As you all know, I like to start my week with a quote to inspire me and focus on for the week. This is what I picked for this week:

 

I have used a variation of this quote since high school. Every time there is something I want to do, I ask myself "why not?" and if I can't come up with a reasonable answer as to why I shouldn't do it, I do it. 

This is also something I hope my summer students walk away with after this summer, that they can do anything. There is nothing stopping them from achieving anything they set their mind too. I am giving them both challenging tasks, and I'm there to help them, but I'm also letting them take the lead. I want them both to develop critical thinking skills, to think outside of the box and to approach challenges from different angles. I want them to know there are so many ways to do things- we can take different paths to get to the same destination- and there is not single or 'right' way to do anything.

 

I want them both to have the confidence to take chances in life and know whether or not they succeeded, they are still successful for trying.

Hey, It's Ok

To be happy that the World Cup is over. I'm just not interested. I didn't watch a single game, I skipped over the tweets and I avoided conversations.

That I want to take more time off this summer. I only have three days booked off.

To be living off of food found at the Farmer's Market. I don't even know the last time I did groceries, but every week I stock up at the Farmer's Market.

That I think this is the worst cast season of Big Brother. There's no one I like, except Frankie but he gets lost in the cast of horrible players.

To be looking for a copy of Star Wars. I promised my boss I would watch it while she's on mat leave, which ends in about a month.

Inspire Me- Wasted Time

I can't believe that we are in mid-July! This summer is going quickly and I feel like I haven't done anything! This could also be because last summer was so packed full of fun activities. And because last summer our office closed at noon on Fridays, making the weekend seem longer. I honestly feel like I've wasted my summer and haven't done much to fully enjoy it.

Plus my summer was 'delayed' by 6 weeks to work on my dad's campaign. My dad didn't ask that I give up my weekends at the beach to help with his campaign, this was something I voluntarily did and I was happy to do so. Working on campaign's, especially my dad's, are fun to me. A LOT of work, but fun.

This weekend was a fun one for me...it started with dinner at our family cottage, with my parents and cousins on Friday night. The cottage is owned by my great-uncle, with his kids primarily using it. My parents have their own place about 10 minutes away, so no real reason to be at the cottage. I love the cottage...5 generations of our family has and currently spends time there. You can check my instagram for some pictures from the weekend.

I have another busy week full of meetings and a summer student starting, before I can get to my next beach weekend. Here is some inspiration to help me get through the week:

A lot of people, myself included, suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out). This results in packed schedules, running from one event to the next, and not being able to really enjoy life and the experiences we find ourselves in. 

I do so much during the week, that when the weekend comes, I kind of crash and don't do anything. Even if I have a list of things I want to do; Beer tent, Summerfest, Farmer's Market, Flea Market, visit a neighbouring town, laundry, organize my room, get caught up on blog stuff- all things I wanted to do this weekend and, with the exception of laundry, didn't. 

What did I do this weekend? I alternated between napping and reading, with movie watching at night. I wasted my time. But, as this quote points out, if you enjoyed it, it wasn't wasted time. 

Some people might think I did waste my weekend...and I did too, until I remember this quote. I was relaxed and happy. I got caught up on my sleep and worked on my summer reading list. I didn't use my time as I had originally planned, but I still did something with my time and I enjoyed it. 

Maybe next weekend, I'll be more productive.

Hey, It's Ok!

That I do not have a secret/little known skill.

To not like any of the house guests on this season on Big Brother. I don't think CBS did a good job of casting this year. Also, I do not like this new twist of two HOH's and the Battle of the Block...too confusing.

That I am looking forward to lunch on Thursday. We are ordering from the most amazing place and it's all my co-workers could talk about yesterday. One even changed her schedule so that she would be in our office specifically for lunch.

To have gone to the same book sale 3 times on the weekend. Paperbacks were $1 and hardcovers were $2. Each time I went, I walked away with books. I bought 9 books for $11...that is a great deal!!

That I feel I need to up my blog game. I feel like I haven't really been posting quality material recently. I have so many ideas and things I want to blog about...it's just a matter of finding the time to actually sit down and do it.

Inspire Me- Choice

Ugh...I can't believe Monday is here once again...and that we are heading into the second week of July...where has the time gone?! I had really low key weekend, spending it at my family's weekend home. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that had a busy weekend; craft show, farmer's market, the beach and a book sale- where I got 9 books for $11! 

But alas, my weekend adventures are now over and I am heading into a VERY busy work week. I have 3 meetings this week to prepare for a meeting next week (yes, you read that correctly), a staff meeting, board/staff social and I'm interviewing 5 people for a summer student position. I might be getting a little stressed just thinking about it all!!

So, here is a little inspiration for the week:

This is such a simple thing...we always have a choice. How many times do we say 'I didn't have a choice'? I know that I say it all. the. time. But I also know it's not true. Instead of interviewing 5 people, I could interview 2...but I want to make sure I hire the best person for the job and didn't feel confident in narrowing down my choices based only on how they are portrayed on paper. I made the choice to load my day with interviews. I made the choice to RSVP yes to the board/staff social. I made the choice...

Even when you make a choice, you still have choices. You can change your mind. Life is about choices and decisions. You have the ability to change your mind, to make another choice. 

Choices have consequences, remember that, but there's no such thing as a bad choice if it's in your best interest.

Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!!! It is a beautiful and sunny day here in Southern Ontario and I plan on spending the majority of the day outside...specifically at the beach!

I am so incredibly proud to be Canadian and love everything my country has to offer. I've done a fair bit of traveling and, in my opinion, no other country has been able to match the beauty and diversity of Canada. Canada is this little gem that often gets overlooked. 

 

I have an entire pinterest board dedicated to Canada, showing images from coast to coast to coast- from the Sea to Sky Highway in British Columbia to Peggy's Cove lighthouse in Nova Scotia to the igloos in our Northern Territories.

Tourism Canada asked Canadians to share their Canada, here is two minutes, from 65 hours of footage that was received: 

Canadian Tourism has a ton of videos on youtube showcasing different aspects of Canada. You can find them here.

 

Last year, I co-hosted a Canada Day link up for Canadian bloggers, which you can find here. All of my posts about Canada, including 5 Questions- Canada (where Canadian bloggers shared info on their home provinces) can be found here.

Finally, how can we celebrate Canada Day without a little Classified??

Monthly Round Up- July

Idea taken from Jen, Our Love and Our Blessing. What's Monthly Round Up? On the first Friday of each month, you recap some (or all) of your posts from the previous month!

In July, I...

...started the month of by celebrating Canada Day with this post and by co-hosting a Canada Day Link-Up.
...recapped my June posts for Monthly Round Up.
...talked about my flip flop melt down.
...reviewed Borealis.
...experienced some rain.
...shared my Friday's 5.
...went back to Weekly What?
...revealed what I got in my July Cara Box.
...wrote about the first time I pumped gas.

Throughout the month, I...
...posted some songs I love (here and here)
...started a weekly feature on my blog showcasing different Canadian Provinces (here, here, here and here)

I also participated in two weekly link ups;

Hey! It's Ok (here, here, here and here)

Sunday Social (here, here, here and here)

Lots of different posts...I can't wait to see what August will bring!

Weekly What?

Idea taken from my darling friend Jenn from Party of One for Weekly What?

After not doing a 'Weekly What' post for almost two months, I thought I'd give it a try again. I love the concept of having all of your posts from the week in one post- it's a great summary of the week on a blog.

Basically, you put all of your Monday-Friday posts in one post on Saturday and then link up your Saturday post! What a great idea!

 

Here is my Weekly What?

MONDAY: I started the week off with Chelsea and Canada Starts Here. 

TUESDAY: I linked up for Hey! It's Ok.

WEDNESDAY: I shared the highlight of my day and a rainy trek.

THURSDAY: I posted...nothing. Took a blogging day off.

FRIDAY: I finished by posting my Friday's Five.

Friday's 5

After 22 months of blogging and 2 hours of trying to come up with topic for this post, I've decided to steal/borrow Friday's 5 from Kathleen.

5 things I'm loving this week:

 

Cake Pops from Starbucks

Image via Starbucks

On Tuesday, when I went to Starbucks, I was offered a Birthday Cake Pop. I was reminded how delicious these are and may or may not have bought Cake Pops for my co-workers yesterday, just so I could have the Salted Caramel one. 

 

 

Hollywood Game Night

Image via NBC

I love this show! Funny and so much fun. I possibly spent a night re-watching episodes On Demand.

Brock University Homecoming

Image via Brock University

As everyone knows, I am proud to be a Brock University grad and I am active in the Alumni Association. Information for Homecoming (formally Alumni Weekend/Brock Days) was released this week. There are tons of great events lined up- sports, pub nights, tours, guest speakers and so much more. I can't wait for Homecoming...it's going to be a blast!

Jane Austen Ruined My Life

Image via Amazon

My sweet friend Lacey, sent me this book with my Pamper Me Pretty Swap package. I've started reading it and am hoping to have the chance to finish it this weekend.

Joffrey Lupul

Image via Twitter

*sign*

 

 

I actually have today off, so I have a long weekend at the beach ahead of me. Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Hey! It's Ok

Idea taken from Amber at Airing My Dirty Laundry One Sock At A Time.

To be more than a little annoyed that I've had to work on my days off (Friday and Monday)...days that I took off because I was also working Saturday and Sunday.

That I feel mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. Probably from working so much.

To be looking forward to having lunch with my cousin on Friday! She's visiting from BC, and while we attempt to have lunch together every year, it usually only happens every other year. I cannot wait!

That I Kate finally had her baby. I kinda figured she was having a boy...something she said months ago about tradition. I'm hoping now that she's given birth, the media (and people) will quit talking about it. While I'm happy for her, I am not one of those people who follows her every move. Give the girl some space and privacy. 

To be wanting to spend some time alone. Sometimes you just need that quiet time so you can gather your thoughts and put things into perspective.

To think that everyone should enter this really great giveaway!

Sunday Social- TV

It's been a crazy week and it's still not over! I had to work yesterday and I have to work today. So, I didn't get a weekend this week...good thing I love my job! 

But the reason why you are here:

1. What was your favorite TV show as a kid?Romper Room, Fred Penner, Under the Umbrella Tree... Full House, Family Ties, everything on TGIF.

2. What is your current favorite TV show?Big Brother! Hollywood Game Night, Dance Moms, Big Bang Theory, Awkward.

3. Which reality show would you NEVER do?

Most of them! Especially anything survivor like. 

4. Which reality show would you LOVE to do?

Big Brother is my favourite reality show, but I don't think I'd go on it. 

5. What is the TV personality/character that you feel is most like you?

Oh man...I have no idea! I can't even come up with a good answer for this. Hoda Kotb came to mind, but I don't know why... I kind of feel like I don't watch enough tv to answer this...lame, I know. What about Charlotte from SATC?

6. Which TV character would you want to date?Hmm...Toss up between Evan and Cappie, both from Greek. So, I guess, to answer the question above, that would make me Casey. Or Rebecca...she dated both of them.

Borealis Grille- The Experience

I recently had the opportunity to have dinner at Borealis Grille, which is known for serving seasonal food from Ontario. I love the concept of this place- think globally, eat locally. I had heard the food was pretty good too- I've been wanting to try this place for ages. So, when a friend suggest we venture over for dinner, I said yes!

We got their just before 5, so the place was pretty quiet. The atmosphere and decor were nice. There are three places to sit- the bar, the patio and the dinning room (which was mostly booths!). We ate in the dinning room, where the one wall was all window. The room was bright and cheerful.

Their menu was pretty limited- not a ton of options- and there were only a handful of things on the menu I wanted to try. At most places, this would be a 'negative' but I won't hold this against Borealis, knowing that their limited menu is due to what is in season and what they can get from the area.

I ended up ordering... 

Chicken Pesto Linguini (chicken, basil pesto, sweet peppers, tomatoes, goat cheese)

It was really good and something I would get again. My friend had vegetable and quinoa curry and a side of yam fries- she said it was good. To drink, I had iced tea and she had a glass of 'Dolomite', a riesling by Cave Spring, a winery in the Niagara Region. It's one of her favourite wines and you can only get it from the winery (you can't buy it at the LCBO).

I didn't save room for dessert, but did order dessert to go. My friend insisted that we 'stage' a picture of the dessert...

Cheesecake in a mini-mason jar

I had to order this for three reasons:

1. I love cheesecake
2. It came in a mini-mason jar...how awesome is that|???
3. I had along day/week and I deserved/earned dessert

Oh. My. Gosh. Not the best cheesecake I've ever had...but really, really good. It was the perfect size, especially for how rich it was. It was more of a dense consistency, but a creamy enough texture and you could really taste the 'cheese'. I would go back to Borealis just for this!

Because they serve food grown in Ontario and what is in season, their menu changes frequently. I will definitely go back during the other seasons  to check out their menu and try something new. 

I also felt the price points were pretty standard and reasonable. My entire meal (entree, drink and dessert), including tax, was just under $30. Some people might think the wine is a bit pricey (my friend paid $10 for her glass), but they serve a nicer quality wine and wine that isn't easily available outside of the winery. Based on this, I think the price is reasonable. 

Did Borealis live up to the hype? I'm not sure...but if it didn't, the seasonal/local concept, to me, more than makes up for it. 

Bottom line: I would go back to Borealis and I would recommend to others.

Hey! It's Ok

Idea taken from Amber at Airing My Dirty Laundry One Sock At A Time.

To be speechless over the way that GinaMarie from Big Brother reacted when Nick was evicted. And to think that it's great that CBS is showing all of the stupid and racist things contestants are saying- it keeps 'realism' in the show and it proves, sadly, that racism still exists. I think what is being said is horrible and that there's no place for it in today's society...but the behaviour of the houseguests is a real eye opener. 

That I have some really exciting things happening at work right now, specifically with my job and the way it's going to look in the very near future. Too early in the process to say much, but I'm really excited about it.

To be sad that Cory Monteith died. I didn't watch Glee after the first season...I think it's so sad when someone so young dies.

That I missed the premier of Amazing Race Canada! I didn't realize that it premiered last night. I'm not a fan of the US version of the show, but I wanted to give the Canadian version a chance. Besides, I wanted to see Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod. 

To be unimpressed that July is half over. The month has gone by too quickly and I feel like I haven't done much with my summer. I have quite a few fun things happening in the next month and a half...but I wish I had the entire summer ahead of me still.

That I love July's Ipsy bag! I haven't opened the eye shadow yet...but I love everything else and I can't wait to try the products!

Sunday Social- Music

Another weekend spent at the beach! My parents and sister are here, so it was nice to spend time with family. We have another beautiful day ahead of us...perfect beach weather!

1. What is your all-time favorite song? 
I have so many favourite songs, it's hard to pick an all time favourite, but I'm going to say Better Man by Pearl Jam. 
 

2. Who is your favorite singer/band?
Joel Plaskett, Luke Bryan and David Myles quickly come to mind. Again, so many favourites, hard to pick just one. 
 

3. What song reminds you of your childhood?
Gangster's Paradise by Coolio... we made a "music video" for this song...haha. 
 

4. What songs put you in a good mood?
Anything upbeat that you can sing and dance a long to. Country Girl by Luke Bryan and Nowhere With You by Joel Plaskett are good examples. 
 

5. What is your music to rock out to in your car?
I alternate between a Top 40 station and Country station and a CD- which is currently Ashley MacIsaac.
 

6. What is the most embarrassing album or song you own?
Some 90's Boy Band stuff.

Flip Flop Meltdown

I may have a had mini meltdown this week and it may have involved a pair of flip flops. Yes, I realize this is utterly ridiculous. But I LOVE my flip flops...I even wrote about it.

On Wednesday, I had a meeting at one of our out of town offices- about 30 minutes away- and flip flops are easier to drive in than stilettos. Plus, I knew I had to work at a community picnic later that day, so another reason to wear my beloved flip flops.

When I got to the office, I went into Finance' office, sat at an extra desk and changed from flip flops to work shoes. Had a brief chat and went into the meeting. As I was driving back, I thought 'I don't think I have my flip flops'. 

Panic set in. If I wasn't driving on the highway, I would've pulled over and started going through my bags to see if I had them. I thought about turning around and going back to the office. I told myself that was crazy...I was half way back to my office. Besides, if I had left them, two people from that office would be in my office the next day for a meeting and one of them could bring them to me then.

When I got to my office building, I parked my car and went through my bags. No flip flops. I BBM'd Finance asking if she had seen my flip flops. I went up to my office and proceed to pull everything out of my bags, panic attack in full swing. No flip flops. Finance had yet to BBM me back, so I semi-calmly called the other office. Finance was busy so I asked Reception to go look in Finance's office. My flip flops weren't there. 

More panic and anxiety set it. Volunteer and Counsellor looked on as I frantically searched my bags again. They both tried to keep me calm and reassure me my flip flops would show up. I searched my car...nothing. I tried to keep calm.

Throughout the afternoon I called the other office a few more times. I made people go and look for my flip flops while I was on the phone. Having them retrace my steps- including the parking lot-, describing them to everyone who would listen (pink, with gold straps and a peacock feather design...you can't miss them!), requesting they spread the word about my flip flops to the rest of the office, in case someone else stumbled upon them. 

I spent the day, evening and night praying to St Anthony (the Saint of Lost Things).

Thursday, we had another meeting but at my office. Boss was there and she asked me why she was being asked if she had seen my flip flops. I had to tell her the story, trying to keep my panic under control. During our meeting (4 of the 5 people had been at yesterdays meeting), I asked if anyone had seen my flip flops, described them and tried very hard to hide my anxiety. Boss suggested getting Reception to send an email blast to all staff about my flip flops. I thought that was a great idea and something I was near requesting myself...but didn't want to request because I didn't want people to think I was a overly ridiculous- which, clearly, I am. 

Late in the afternoon, Finance called me. My flip flops had been found- THANK GOODNESS!! They were under a desk, right where I thought I had left them...a place that a couple of people checked several times and had previously not seen them. Finance, who had looked the day before, said that she was standing in a different place and just happened to see my flip flops from that angle. (Thank you St Anthony.)

All is right in the world...almost. While my flip flops have been found...they are not yet in my possession. 

I hope I get them back soon.

In the meantime, I'm back to wearing Old Navy flip flops, which I used to love before switching over to Havianas. Old Navy flip flops are fine...but nowhere near as good as my Havianas! Can't wait to have them back!

And if anyone asks, I will deny/attempt to downplay how much I over reacted.

Hey! It's Ok

Idea taken from Amber at Airing My Dirty Laundry One Sock At A Time.

To be excited that 60 Canadian bloggers linked up! I was surprised to see so many Canadian bloggers. I'm slowly working my way through everyone who linked up...I can't wait to connect with some fellow Canucks. 

That after almost 3 years of working on contracts, I'm finally a permanent employee! I had an e-mail from my boss yesterday saying that I was being made a permanent employee, which was a great way to start my day! Yesterday was technically the last day of my contract and I had an email a few weeks ago saying they were extending my contract until further notice...so the permanent employee email was a total surprise!

To be sad about the flooding in Toronto yesterday. The pictures are devastating-but artistically beautiful- and I'm sad for the people of Toronto. I'm happy and relieved that my friends and family (including my brother) are all ok and safe.

That I had to work until bout 12:30am yesterday and I'm not looking forward to getting up extra early for an out of town staff meeting. Plus, I need to get gas and with construction...it'll be an even earlier day. I want to sleep!

To have had a great weekend! I had co-workers/friends visiting for the weekend and we had an amazing time! We spent a lot of time at the beach, walking around town, sitting on the patio and just spending time together. Can't wait to do it again!

Blogger Opportunity- Giveaway

Samantha from Spectacular She has reached 1000 Facebook fans and is celebrating with a beauty essential giveaway! She is currently looking for bloggers to sign up and participate. 

Interested? Keep reading!

>>>>>Free/Paid Blogger Event<<<<<

OPEN TO US AND CANADA – Event Dates are from July 19th to August 2nd. Signups close July 17th

The more bloggers pitch in = the better the prize = the more traffic/fans brought in = the bigger the success!

Prize: Beauty Essentials – A basket of must-have products suggested put together using a list of suggestions from participating bloggers.

Check out the current prizes here.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Think of your favorite must-have beauty item.
2. Gather links that you would like promoted through the entry form.
3. Fill out the form and send money via PayPal (if applicable).
4. I will purchase from the list of suggestions I receive from bloggers who have signed up, and the rest will be out of my pocket.
FREE link with Announcement post. You can use the post found at (http://www.spectacularshe.com/beauty-essentials-giveaway-signups/) and edit it to suit your blog. If you do not want to post the announcement, you can still purchase links below.

Choose from the following entries:
Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Blog Lovin’, and Twitter, Daily entries/votes or Comments.
Additional links are 1/$5, 2/$9, or 3/$12.
Co-host spot – $15
Includes:
- backlink
- photo of you :)
- your choice of five links/entries
Each Co-Host must submit a 300×300 photo of themselves once they are reached out to by me so they can be featured in the HTML post <3
–You can combine this with the free link for a total of six links if you have an announcement posted.

You need to post the giveaway on time and promote it at least three times a week on each social media site you have. If this is something you’re not willing to do, please refrain from signing up this time around. I ask this simply so each blog gets the most out of this giveaway.
$15 Paypal Cash to the blogger with the most referrals (more than four).
Any questions can be sent to samantha@spectacularshe.com

Sign up here.