Do you know anyone moving?

Guest blogger - My friend, the fabulous Amy

At my monthly girl’s dinner last week my friend Jill surprised another friend of ours with the cutest little gift: Return address labels. Now I know that doesn’t sound super exciting, but wait until you see them:




Cute right?

At Vista Print (where I also ordered my wedding invitations and must say was very happy with the quality), you can order address labels with a variety of different designs. In this case Jill customized Katie, her husband, and her cat’s caricature on to the address label. Caricature options include customizing one’s head shape, eye color, hair color etc not just for humans, but for your animal too! That way you can make sure to include everyone in your house on your label. You can even put head pieces like antlers on your little furry friends. Jill’s gift also included matching pens and sticky notes with the same design. So cute!

I ran a half marathon - what did you do?

On May 30th I completed my first half marathon with some of my good friends - including Amy, Elizabeth and Alison. My mom, aunt and cousin were there to cheer me on, which made the experience extra special.





What an awesome day. Now as this was my first, I learned of a few items that I absolutely love. Here are a few:

My favourite by far is the Nike Sports Band. It comes in a variety of colours and tracks pace, kms or miles, time, calories burned. I will admit when I first got this it didn't collaborate properly (off by .5 -.75 kms, but Nike has since fixed the problem and when I ran my half last May, it was dead-on. A small chip attaches to your shoe laces or if you have a Nike shoe, goes under your insole. The black piece (show below) communicates with the chip and plugs into your computer so that you can track your distance. My mom - who is just getting the hang of technology - uses one and loves it. She has only had to call me a handful of times with questions. I find the band is a motivator as when I start to feel tired, I know how much further I have to go and keep pushing through.


Another item I love is Road ID. They come in many different styles - ankle, wrist, shoe pouch or shoe id. The idea is that should you ever get into trouble while running, all of your important info will be on your id so that you can get the appropriate help - eg. year of birth, telephone numbers, city etc. (especially since a lot of runner don't carry ID. While I don't own this yet, I will be purchasing in the near future. I like the shoe id myself, because I wouldn't have to worry about remembering to put the id on before each run - plus I already wear my sports band on one wrist and sometimes an interval timer on the other.




I love he Lulu Lemon Running tights. LOVE!!!!! Their running shirts with the scuba hoods and cuffins are also great. Check out their full line of running gear.

I could probably go on forever about the things I like and dislike, but instead I am going to start training for the next Women Set the Pace - Toronto Women's Half Marathon in May. This year will be special as my mom won't be cheering from the sidelines, but joining me for the run. I couldn't be more proud!

Make your gifts memorable!
The Gift Geek

So - I won a trip ...

I'm not sure if I shared with you all that I won a trip for 4 to Orlando from Breakfast Television and iTravel 2000. At the end April I boarded the plane with my guests - Dianne, Fraser and Jocelyn. If you want to read out blog from FLA, take a look: http://flafour.blogspot.com/

Enjoy the weekend and keep your umbrella handy ...

Speaking of umbrellas ... I'll share that in another post. But believe me- It's a great gift idea in my mind and an awesome conversation starter!

Keep on gift giving!
The Gift Geek

Miss Muggs turned 5 on June 8th - Happy Birthday Ethel

My baby ethel turned 5 years-ols on June 8th. We celebrated with a trip to Bark & Fitz to get her some yummy puppy birthday treats, followed by a walk in her FAVOURITE park in the beach - a place we go every year on her birthday.

Here is Miss Ethel Muggs with one of her favourite birthday treats!

Happy Birthday ethy baby!

The Gift Geek - Your Mama

Rhys & Super Rhys

Thank you to my dear friends Tatiana and Sean for sharing this adorable picture of new baby Rhys with the sock monkey I made him. The sock monkey is complete with a cape - making him Super Rhys ... Baby Rhys' little buddy.


I can't wait to met you Rhys! I am sure that Super Rhys will watch over you until then.

xo
The Gift Geek

A gift that touched my heart

Four of my "little friends" surprised me with a very special Christmas gift, purchasing a bedkit for a child in Belgaum, India through Sleeping Children around the world.

I was thrilled to know that these four little girls (thanks to their terrific moms) already know the importance of helping others.

The photo shows 1 bedkit that each of the children will be receiving. 4000 children in total received bedkits via the SCAW kit distribution in Belgaum. AMAZING!

The sign in front of "my child" reads: Erin Truax - Christmas 2009 -From Ava, Kyla, Emma and Janessa.

Each bedkit includes a:
towel, sheet, mat/carpet, mosquito net, blankets, cap, water bottle, bowl, plate, glass, raincoat, pillow, pillow cover, school bag, sweater, flip flops, stationery, slate, slate pencil, clothes and a packing bag.

I was so touched when I received the photo in the mail. It was a complete surprise and after reading through the newsletter that accompanies the photo, I was truly moved.

What an excellent gift!

Thank you to my little gift giving friends who not only put a smile on my face, but also one on the face of a little person in Belgaum.

To learn more about Sleeping Children Around the World, visit www.scaw.org

Still smiling -
The Gift Geek

Babies, babies and more babies ... A perfect reason to give a gift!

Congratulations to all of my friends who have had babies over the past couple of weeks -

The Glenfield/Jovic family welcomed Rhys

The Bourgon family welcomed Kiera

The Chambers family welcomed Matthew

The Proudfoot family welcomed Matthew

The Reid/Cansino family welcomed Maeve.

Congratulations to you all ...

Still waiting on my new baby cousin to be born. Thinking of you April and Ryan.

I love babies -
The Gift Geek