Until I met Priceline.com! Now, my search is easy – I find the “best deal” on other sites, cut the price down by at least 40% (depending on just how saucy I’m feelin’) – send a positive note out to the universe – and BAM! The price has always been right!

I didn’t want to boast about my luck too loudly, err, ya know – not on my blog…but I just booked a week in Kona for less than $400 at a 4star resort! And we have a car rental for $9/day!

Tell me, what are your favorite sites for special prices? There is definitely something about a sale that makes this chic smile:)

When I wake up in the morning, I brush my teeth and grab my crackberry. Not because I’m addicted, not at all in fact. But because part of the recruiting team is already awake in Europe and I’m guaranteed to receive crazy emails of the work she has been doing all night long! It kick starts the day perfectly!

And when I enter the office, I’m greeted with ambitious grins – the rest of the team are each up to so much more than their inbox holds, be it in or out of the office, and it radiates out of the smiles behind their eyes….pure potential.

You see, I’m blessed to lead a team of remarkable chics – who each remind me of myself in certain ways and daily hold up a mirror of the same questions, doubts and ambition that I possess. Who I am to respond? They know the answers, they know the truths, they know that anything is possible.

We wear different clothes; we’ve all come from different places; we have different goals; but one thing we do all have in common: a completed Bucket List! And that feels right. While I may not be the leader, the manager or the mentor they are looking for, my hope is that if this is all they take away from our time together, it creates 100 new amazing memories in their lifetime! Truly, my only ask of this remarkable team is that they come alive, and expect the same from me.

This team makes Monday mornings exciting and Friday afternoon laughs hilarious; they are uniquely amazing human beings; they are authentic lululemon recruiters and I could not ask for more!

Thanks for being so Awesome, Team!

Until The Happiness Project hit the shelves….

I’ve followed Gretchen’s blog for quite some time. A friend read a review in the Globe and told me that “The Happiness Project is pure Corkchop”! And then while gallivanting the streets of Vancouver during the games, my partner-in-crime told me she had a coupon for Chapters, so we did what any raving Vancouver fan would do and went shopping! I left with The Happiness Project…and quite literally couldn’t put it down. After Chapter2, I began recommending it everyone I spoke with.

It’s written by a lawyer, who lives a wonderful life in the Upper Eastside with a caring husband and two beautiful daughters. Nothing was wrong in her life, per say, but she thought she could be happier. And what I love the most, is that it is her story, told straight from the hip – about her journey to a higher level of happy, written as any good lawyer would write. In fact, it almost feels like you are in a court room and she’s defending happiness! She determines 12 Resolutions – one for each month of the year – and builds off of them, so by December she is now living with 12 enhancements to happy. Oh Snap!

Because I think you should read this book, I will not spoil the stories, but I will share my favorites (cause they are fabulous!):

* 12 Commandments: to keep her in check while pursuing her resolutions (not goals, because goals have an end date – resolutions do not!)
1. Be Gretchen. –> my absolute favorite. I will commit to “Be Steph Corker Irwin”, always.
2. Let it go.
3. Act the way I want to feel.
4. Do it now.
5. Be polite and be fair.
6. Enjoy the process.
7. Spend out.
8. Identify the problem.
9. Lighten up.
10. Do what ought to be done.
11. No calculation.
12. There is only love.

* “There is an I in ‘happiness’” –> Hello, Self-Responsibility! It’s so nice to meet you!

* On why you should keep a Gratitude Notebook? “Gratitude is important to happiness. Studies show that consistently grateful people are happier and more satisfied with their lives; they even feel more physically healthy and spend more time exercising. gratitude brings freedom from envy, because when you’re grateful for what you have, you’re not consumed with wanting something different or something more.” --> I started one in October 2009, because I knew that in one year, I’d want to look back and grin over what was once “the best part of my day”… and how it had only gotten SO! MUCH! BETTER! Highly recommended!

I just finished this book – I read it cover to cover. It made me smile. It made me feel real. It made me realize how many people really just want a lil Mo’Happy!

There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. – Robert Louis Stevenson

This year we decided to leave Hallmark alone and make our own day of magic. The only rule: we had to both LOVE whatever the day would entail.

And the day was just that: a morning spa appointment, followed by a quick brunch, I ran in the sunshine (he did not), a walk with Willy in the sunshine with an icecream cone and the best part of all…grocery shopping, with purple tulips to boot. *grin* I wouldn’t have had it any! other! way!

A perfect day. A day of Love. Vday tradition has officially been set…with a spa together every Feb14th!

Do you love love? Hope so! XO.

1. Qualify (& finish!) IM Hawaii
2. Expand TeamFab to include two beautiful children
3. Sit next to Oprah on her show
4. Run a sub3:30 marathon
5. Do a yoga class with my kids
6. Own a sunny destination family getaway home – perhaps on an island, that we share with our very best friends, the Watts’.
7. Take all Corkers/Watkins/Irwins on a family (all expenses paid) vacation as a token of our gratitude of their love.
8. Go on an African Safari with DouglasJamesPhotography
9. Create my own empire – where bliss is encouraged and passion grows on trees…and no one is confined to a “Monday-Friday” cubicle lifestyle.
10.  Costa Rica Fam Vacay – feed the monkeys, slide down the mountains & watch Doug teach the kids to surf!
11. Hike Patagonia
12. European bike trip – France or Italy would do nicely
13. Successfully grow a veggie garden – maybe even an avocado tree too
14. Kayak trip to the Broken Islands in BC (guided)
15. Appear on the cover of Fast Company OR Inc. magazine for Entrepreneur of the Year with Bro & the CMO
16.  Look into the eyes of our first born and be able to authentically tell him/her that they CAN do whatever they want in this world. Because I’m living my dream!
17. Say Yes to someone…and make it change their life!
18. Own a VW – NoMoSolo branded Van – orange & purple, of course, with custom licence plates
19. Take the family on a missions trip to a 3^rd world country
20. Ride a custom painted road or tri bike w/ race wheels
21. Own (read: no mortgage!) a modest home with an outdoor kitchen and big windows with a view of possibilities
22. Learn how to paddle board in Hawaii
23. Drink a cappuccino in Paris with my Man
24. Own Porty named Ocho!
25. Sit front row when my Bro receives his first Noble Peace Prize – he’ll know I’m his biggest fan.
26. Plan an annual “Sister Weekend Getaway” with my Sisters-in law
27. Attend a training camp in Arizona
28. Hike West Coast trail (or Juan da Fuca!)
29. Weekend getaway to Portland, Oregon
30. Take my Mom to spa in Red Rock, UT
31. Run/Walk a 5km race with the Irwin Family…just because I know they can! NYC, Team Irwin?
32.  Plan crazy-awesome-madly-in-love 5, 10, 15, etc, etc, etc Wedding Anniversary getaways!
33. Swim in a custom Splish suit
34. Be apart of a female only cycling club – fabulous women, strong legs, loads of laughs
35. Skate-ski in Whistler, après too!
36. Yoga retreat on Salt Spring Island
37. Invite a homeless person in for dinner
38. Live (permanently and unapologetically!) in Hawaii or San Diego for a finite period of time (so the gov’t doesn’t put us in jail!)
39.  Hike Elffin Lakes, BC – with trail runner or snowshoes!
40. Hollyhock Resort on Cortes Island for a retreat
41. Ride to Jordan River for Surfer Balls
42. Golf in Ireland with my Man (He may golf, I may spa)
43. Weekend getaway to Rockwater Secret Cove
44.  Pick up my Man for a date in a plane
45. Shake Anthony Robbins’ big, lovely hands. (Or maybe just give him a hug!)
46. Spend a weekend on Savory Island (pie included?)
47. Start a happiness movement that spreads globally.
48. Own on boat – of any shape or size, really
49. Custom closet organizer in every closet of our home, garage included.
50. Spend a week in the summer at Hornby Island, BC with our friends + kids
51. Surprise my best girlfriends with a weekend trip to the spa
52. Buy cruiser bikes for us to get around with a smile – mine will have a basket and his will have a kid-carrier!
53.  Eat an avocado with Jason Mraz, from his farm
54.  Receive an email from Howard Schultz expressing his interest in partnering with NoMoSolo (I will respond quickly with an enthusiastic, YES!) … because he knows it will drive Sbux revenue thru the roof!
55. Surprise a family at Christmas with dinner, anonymously.
56.  Meet Leo of ZenHabits in San Francisco for coffee (organic & fare-trade, obviously)
57. Find a great reason to visit Colorado
58. Custom stationery, designed just for TeamFab so we can easily send gratitude snail mail J
59. Have dinner with Seth Godin in NYC
60. Complete an Executive MBA
61. Live off of cash, in jars perhaps
62. Hire a Personal Shopper who knows how to splurge at Anthropologie!
63. Jam in a drum circle (outside)
64. Have the world’s best NoMo Partners in all major cities around the world who are living the happiest life they could ever imagine!
65. Own black Range Rover – he will drive it.
66. Bathroom full of Aveda products
67. Experience a Christmas morning on a beach with mimosa’s and flip flops
68. Earn $1,000,000 before I’m 40
69. Live within close proximity to my Bro, always – our kids will be best friends!
70. Blow up DouglasJamesPhotography around our home – it will serve as a gallery!
71. Have my website crash from too many views.
72. Invite Sheryl Crow & Wyatt over for dinner at our home (Doug won’t mind!)
73. Coffee in Fort Langley, BC
74.  Feng Shui our home – garage included – clutter be gone.
75. Go for a ride with the Corbinator in MT (or Hawaii!)
76.  Own a pair of dark purple Hunter Rain Boots
77. Be a guest on Danielle LaPorte’s TV show where she rocks out with amazing entrepreneurs
78.  Take my kids to swimming lessons – they don’t need to want to become pool rats, but they will learn to swim.
79.  Appear on Dragon’s Den…and hook those dragons, simply for 5 smiles.
80. Cheer for my Mom in her first marathon! It will be a walk of victory in so many ways for her.
81. Hike a mountain with my Dad. Anywhere. Any size. Just make it to the top for a picture with “thumbs up!” – so totally appropro!
82. Read Atlas Shurg
83. Keep a jade plant alive long enough that I am able to cut branches and give them away to friends
84. Stay in a hut over the water in Bali
85.  Buy Doug a BMW K1200RS motorcycle, with hard bags, matching outfits and a ticket for a road trip for his 50^th birthday!
86. Hire a Nanny and help him/her live their wildest dream when they are done with us.
87. Meet Asher for a spontaneous spa getaway – where we compare our crazy entrepreneurial tails – and leave with a spring back in our step!
88. Own hard-cased orange luggage
89.  Sponsor a child in Africa/ South America as a family who the kids consider their sibling
90. Take acro-yoga classes
91. Create a Home Office courtesy of Pottery Barn (I see a large white desk with cupboards and drawers, oh my!)
92.  Commission Katy Chan to design and create kitchen linens for us (with bicycles perhaps!)
93. Own a Le Creuset pot – preferably in red
94. Take the mic at TED with BRO – rock the stage sharing our story on generating smiles.
95.  Learn to make home made, organic candles.
96. Have dinner & a bottle of something real good with Danielle LaPorte and our Firefighters.
97.  Winter storm watching weekend in Tofino.
98. Attend Bro’s wedding with the biggest smile ever and be humbled by the love in the air!
99.  Own a king size bed with a dark wooden zen-like bed frame
100. Ice cream cones (Kawartha Dairy!) in Ontario cottage country, with my Dad and his boat, my man and our kids…it is hands down one of my fondest childhood memories, that the next generation simply must experience!

(I notice a trend: lovers and loved ones, adventures, freedom and spas. Pretty sure it may be the recipe for Blissful Living!)

… waiting for our favorite man of lululemon…

(Check out that BLISS!)

The Games are 1 day away…and our hearts are glowing! WooooHoooooo!

I believe the time is right now. Stand tall and make the world proud.

In this exciting time leading up to the Vancouver Winter Olympics, there is a certain buzz about town – traffic will be crazy, visitors will flock by the 1000’s and most importantly, dreams will come true! All the dreams that were once sparked by a goal and the question of “What if I could…”

At Lululemon, we are maniacal about goal setting. Within your first week, you will develop your own amazing hedgehog and set 1, 5 and 10 year goals. Your goals are broken down into categories of Career, Health and Personal with by-when dates of when they will be achieved. Some of these may be BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and some may feel totally achievable – either way – they are written down and plastered (literally!) around the halls and on the walls of the office. That way everyone else knows what you are trying to accomplish and can help you get there! (Chip’s goal: to do the Grouse Grind the same number of times in a year as his age!)

This has inspired a culture of attracting high performing, goal oriented, boundary-pushers who care about their health and see the glass ¾ full! Kind of like the Olympics, it creates a buzz about the office, daily. Because every day is a day a goal can be achieved and we are all one step closer to realizing the dream!

Wanna lead like Lululemon? Get your egos outta the way – and get every employee to start drafting their goals! Organizations don’t need more people. Organizations need people who will come alive! Help your people come alive and they will contribute in ways you’d never have dreamed of. (And then you might need to hire more people as you will have inspired some to go off and pursue their goals. Isn’t that awesome? Bonus: they will leave as your biggest raving fans!)

The time is right now. Set goals. Take yourself on. The world is waiting for you!

(A great clip brought to you by Matt Corker, Champion of Community @ NoMoSolo and Olympic Volunteer extraordinaire!)

Go Canada Go!

In this rejuvenated state, I grab my yoga bag and proudly prance off (EARLY, might I add!) to a YHot Yoga class with Will…only to find a jam packed studio and familiar smiling faces. In a line. A line you ask? A WAITING LINE to get into HOT WILL’s HOT YOGA CLASS!? The young yoga instructor – who breaks the yogi rules – who sings like only he can and has his entire class do gay-hand-snaps – is SOLD OUT! The poor yogis so scared of someone getting angry yet clearly having no clue what to do, offer us a spot in the 10pm class. And I think, right, yoga classes are now available at 10pm in the wonderful suburban town of North Vancouver. wow.

In the moment of chaos, …I raise my right hand to High Five the Studio Director, Nico and commend him on running such an amazing place that we all crave to come to… and then I see Beautiful Will getting ready to run into class, and give him a quick hug of congrats for being the best yoga teacher that keeps us lined up out the door.

Hilar!

And I leave with a smile on my heart for Chip Wilson. It was 10 years ago he started making our patoots look good in his luon…and now these bums are lined up out the door.

What would you start today if you knew in 10 years people would be lined up, on wait lists, craving, begging, throwing their hard earned money at you to get in on?

I’m sick. I’m down for the count. And there is no getting up on my own terms. My body wasn’t being given the attention it deserved and clearly was requesting some down time.

Middle of the day: still sleeping, Willy wants to play, MacBook sits waiting to be picked up...

Health is something so easily taken for granted until you lose it – even just for one weekend. I promise I will go to bed earlier, consume my daily vitamins and drink more water…come back energy!!

I came home and decorated two jars – one for Him and one for Her, obviously. Cut the cash in half-ish (he gets more, i need less). Wrote the Rules of the Jars on the fridge. And week #1 has been A) a success and B) so darn easy!

This is how it works, for us:

* All necessary expenses: mortgage, bills, credit card spend, groceries, transportation costs (ie. bus tickets & gas), Willy’s requirements & health expenditures (ie. massage/chiro/acupuncture – because they are returned to us) come out of our joint account.

* Then we set a weekly amount that is fair and reasonable for all other expenses: gifts, coffees, lunch, coffees, dinner, clothing, fresh flowers…you get it…comes out of our cash jars. When the cash runs dry, so do the fresh flowers! It is replenished on Saturdays and lasts until Friday.

And it works. In one short week, it has given meaning and purpose behind every purchase. I value what I spend my money on and have learned to have a new relationship with cash in my wallet (it used to burn a hole!).

Week #2..to infinity and beyond!