13 Weeks

How Far Along? 13 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss? 8 pounds up, which is suprising considering the amount of food i'm eating!

Maternity clothes? Still loving tunics and leggings. Have given up totally on my skinny jeans- even with a Bella Band they won't stay up.

Stretch marks? None

Sleep? Still interrupted by snack time but I am able to fall back asleep really fast.

Best moment this week? Getting a pedicure and a foot massage. So good!

Miss Anything? Coffee!!!!! I can almost handle the scent of the coffee isle in the grocery store so I may be able to sip some soon!

Movement? Some little flutters but I cant tell if they are my tummy grumbling or baby moving around.

Food Cravings? Sour anything- oranges, grapefruits and sour soothers are working to eliminate them.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Sadly still coffee. I seem to be able to stomach most veggies again but am still craving meat.

Have you started to show yet? The belly is definitely sticking out, I have had strangers comment on it now so I know it's not just my imagination.

Gender? No idea but everyone keeps telling me they think it's a girl.

Labor signs? None!

Belly Button in or out? It's in.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on.

Happy or Moody most of the time? Still happy.

Looking forward to? Dr's appointment this week. They called me this week because of some test results but wouldn't tell me what test over the phone. I am trying not to worry- if it was anything really serious they would tell me over the phone or want me in sooner but it is still driving me a bit nuts.

One year

Wow, I can't believe how fast this year has flown by!
A year ago at this time I was at the salon getting my hair and makeup done in preparation to walk down the aisle. The years of planning and dreaming were all going to come together. I was finally going to marry my best friend.

Once we were done at the salon we went back to my parent's house to get dressed and I was laced into my dream dress. It was so perfect for me- despite the fact that I went to the shop asking for something completely different. As soon as I had it on I knew it was the right one (but still tried on a ton more...)

The boys got into their suits and posed for a few photos before heading down to the church.

We loaded up the limo with lunch so that we could eat between the ceremony and photos and then I figured out that my lip gloss could go down the top of my dress so I would be able to do touch ups between photos and kisses.

We arrived at the church and were surprised by the minister's Star Wars themed sermon. The boys were joking with him about it at the rehearsal dinner and he went through with it. He was talking about storybook endings and how they never show you what happens after the movie. Who do you do Christmas with? Who actually does the laundry?? We were all laughing so hard....

We did a rose ceremony in french for Jon's family. We knew that we were going to have guests who didn't speak any english and wanted to include them. Two of his cousins helped us by reading it in french and our english guests followed along in their programs.

We were  pronounced husband and wife and did our kiss. Then the photo spree started. We did formal photos in the church and then a great big group shot which is customary in Montreal.

We took some great photos on Whyte Ave that duplicated our engagement photos.

 We also got to add some new poses with the rest of the bridal party....

And then we went to the reception where we had speeches, drinks, dances and kisses all night. It was an amazing day and such an perfect start to our life together.

 Looking back a year later I am still so grateful for everything that people did to make our day special. We are just as in love today as we were a year ago and we still feel so blessed.

People are strange

I have had an incredible few days at work. Our clients are so much fun to work with and I really love finding them that perfect item. I have a few bridal registries on the go and 2 of the brides called my manager to compliment me. Our boutique manager is wanting to hand all of the registries over to me because the other girl who handles them has received complaints this week. Yeah! I love doing the registries- the couple comes in, gets to pick out goodies and I build a relationship with them. If I treat them right they will come back to me even after the wedding is past. Their guests get the same treatment and they will come back to me over and over again for good service. It is an easy way to make strong contacts and bond with people. Which makes me wonder, how do you screw it up? Why is the other girl getting so many complaints? I just don't get it! Maybe I should ask my biggest question....

Why are people who aren't "people people" working at a commission based store???

We all have to shop, and some people enjoy it more than others, but don't you understand that good customer service and a smile will make people come back? I would rather pay a bit more than deal with bad customer service. But that's maybe why i'm good at what I do. 

via

So True

I really need to email this to some of the girls I work with....We are 100% commission. If you are in a bad mood your clients will feel it and run away.  In fact, they will run to anyone who is smiling.

Mrs.Kelly Latour, Award Winner

I'm not usually one to toot my own horn, but today I am tooting like crazy! Wait, that sounds bad....oh well!
As all of you know I have recently moved to a new city and started a new job. The store I work at carries unique products for gifts and your home and we find that people come back again and again to see everything. Lots of people come in to pick out wedding presents because our stuff is so unusual. I had the pleasure of helping a lady find the perfect wedding gift via email in April and she wrote this lovely email to my bosses:

Such a great letter! And I love that she sent it in to my managers. I am still within the 3 month trial period, so this recommendation pretty much guarantees that they will keep me at the review meeting! What I didn't know is that she also sent it to Tourism Victoria's Hospitality Award program. They loved the letter too and selected me as the winner for the April!!! Yeah for winning an award!!!
Usually a standard work week involves coming in an hour early for 1 or 2 days a week to meet with sales reps. Well, last week one of the meetings was a fake. It was an awards ceremony instead. All of the managers knew what was happening but the rest of us were waiting to learn about rugs. 12 people from the Tourism Board came to present the award and congratulate me. It was incredible!

The Certificate

The Goodies

The Medal

Click here to see what the award is all about!