When looking for a Real Estate Agent to represent you in selling or buying a  home, what kind of qualities do you look for? Obviously honesty and integrity would rank high up on the list but can you really tell that from a brief  conversation with someone? I guess it all comes down to first impressions. In  that case, we probably form an opinion of someone within the first 60 seconds of  meeting or speaking with them. Even if we can be engaging enough to make it past  the first 60 seconds, we better be able to continue holding someones interest so  they want to continue to get to know us better. Like it or not, our appearance  plays a huge role in the first impression we make. That is the first thing  someone will notice about us when they meet us. And after the initial encounter,  people are forming opinions each step along the way, we judge each other not  only by what we say, but also by what we do. Our body language is quite often  more telling than anything that actually comes out of our mouths. Are your first  impressions of people normally right or are people able to fool you and you  later find out what a dufus they are? Personally, my first impressions are  almost always right but that might be because I'm sceptical of most people so I  pay a lot of attention to both their verbal and non-verbal
queues from the very  beginning. With me, you likely won't get a second chance
to make a good first  impression.

I want to hear from you... What qualities do you look for in  a Real Estate Agent and what do you find to be the most important? How quickly  can you tell if your Agent possesses the skills you deem important? Is it  something he/she says or something they do?

Confidence?
Arrogance?
Friendliness?
Assertiveness?
Attractiveness?
Compassion?
Loyalty?
Diligent?
Transparency?
Personable?
Meticulous?
Persevering?
Dedicated?
Innovative?
Forthcoming?
Sociable?
Reputable?
Knowledgeable?

Looking forward to hearing from everyone!

Picking up where my previous blog left off...

We were surrounded by family and friends when we reached Sick Kids hospital. People who loved us, who loved our little girl. It's always amazing to  see how quickly people rally together out of sheer unconditional love. 

We waited ever so (im)patiently to see our baby girl and they finally called us down to see her around midnight. We watched them do an echocardiogram as our precious little angel lie there quietly, peacefully, hopefully dreaming of angels and rainbows and butterflies. There was a team of doctors and nurses in and out of her room and we told her "story" over and over and over again as they tried to determine what caused our baby to be so sick. After spending some time by her side and being reassured that she was stable we made our way to our tiny little family sleeping room to get some rest.

The next day Jaidyn's  health had improved dramatically. The breathing tube was taken out and she was  given oxygen support for a few hours and then she was transferred to her own  room where we could stay with her. It was amazing to see her turn around so  quickly and it felt so good to be able to hold her and feed her and rock her  again. We hadn't held our little girl for 2 days... words could not
describe how  great it felt to hold her in my arms again and kiss her beautiful
little  face.

They continued diagnosing her and she underwent an esophegal test  on the Monday morning and they're suspicion was confirmed that Jaidyn has a  condition called SVT (surpa ventricular tachycardia). A condition where her  heart has an extra electrical pathway causing it to go into tachycardia. They  prescribed medication, monitored her for another day and then sent us on our  way.

What a week!

After everything we had been through previously  I don't think we ever took our baby girl for granted. We knew what a precious  gift she was from the moment we saw those beautiful 2 pink lines on the pee  stick. But this week seemed to remind us of all the little day to day things we  may not have thought about. Holding her in our arms, 2am feedings, 5am feedings  lol, hearing the sound of her cry.

We count our blessings every day.

Today Jaidyn is a happy and healthy 14 month old who is the light of our  lives. She is loving, smart and funny and so full of personality.

To  anyone who may be reading this, take nothing for granted. Squeeze your  kids more, let the housework wait and listen to their laughter, soak in their  smiles and love and cherish the little things.

Sometimes a picture is  worth a thousand words...

One year ago today my baby girl was 7 weeks old. We had a fabulous photographer (http://www.devonpetersphotography.com)  coming to take her "newborn" photos  in the afternoon and life was good. We  were tired but so very happy to have our little girl in our lives. For the first  time she slept for 8 full hours through the night and I remember how thrilled I  was to get some good solid sleep!

I fed her her morning bottle and almost immediately she vomited the entire bottle back up and then was hungry again so I  fed her some more which she kept down. She then went back to sleep and slept a  few hours until her Daddy got home for our afternoon photo shoot. Little did I  know what lay in store for us in the next couple of days.

Our precious  little peanut was placid and sleepy and we got some really great shots of her curled up in baskets, snuggled in a sling and my all time favourite, stretched out on Daddy's arm. Exhausted from her afternoon of fame she ate and slept well again in the afternoon.

I has just finished making dinner and Steve fed Jaidyn a bottle and once again she vomited the entire contents back up. It was this time that we noticed her breathing seemed a little "off" to us. We counted and timed her breaths which seemed normal and then I proceeded to call Telehealth to seek some expert advice. After running through the symptoms and Jaidyn's behaviour with us the nurse suggested we go to emerg, and her words were "sooner than later". With dinner left on the counter and rushed attempt at packing the diaper bag we headed out to the hospital in Orangeville.

We arrived and Jaidyn was assessed by the triage nurse and when we took her
clothes  off to weigh her the nurse noticed a deep indraw under Jaidyn's rib cage when  she was taking a breath in and it sparked enough concern that they decided to  admit her. We spent the night with Jaidyn in her room as she received oxygen  from a machine whose alarm sounded all night and drove us a little loopy. lol.  The next day the pediatrician arrived in the morning to  assess the situation and  started running various tests to see what was causing  the laboured breathing.  Chest Xray, upper GI Xray, blood tests, all were clear. It was a bit of a  mystery but Jaidyn otherwise seemed fine. She was eating and  she didn't have a  fever, her saturation levels were good, her only symptom was  some listlessness  and the deep indraw under her rib cage. The investigation and treatments at this  point were pretty calm and relaxed and everyone was pretty calm and relaxed,  although perplexed lol.

Dr. Murphy decided we would try a Ventolin  treatment through a mask in case there was some constriction in her airway,  hopefully this would open things up. Her first treatment went well but her condition didn't change. During the second Ventolin treatment things took an  entirely different turn and it was the beginning of a nightmare that had us  heartbroken and helpless in the hallways of Orangeville Hospital.

I sat  snuggling my precious little monkey with an IV in her scalp in her hospital room  administering the Ventolin treatment prescribed by the doctor and as she lay in  my arms the monitor that she was hooked up to measuring her oxygen levels and  heartrate suddenly alarmed. I looked to the machine which had been alarming  falsely all night and her oxygen levels took a dive and her heartrate plummeted.  I yelled for Steve to hit the nurses button and get a nurse right away. Dr.  Murphy was out in the hallway and him and a team of nurses rushed in, got Jaidyn  on the bed and at this time the panic and urgency of the situation set in. We  left the room and sat outside watching people rush to and from her room for what  seemed like hours. Dr. Murphy rushed in and out and for the first time he  wouldn't make eye contact with us, he wasn't his usual calm and placid nature,  he was worried. After what seemed like an eternity Dr. Murphy came out to us and  said "you have a very sick baby". Although he still didn't know what was wrong,  he had consulted with Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto and had arranged for an  emergency transport team to come and get our sweet little angel to try and  figure out what was wrong. 

When we walked back into Jaidyn's room our  hearts sank as we saw her with a tube down her throat lying there helpless. She  was a feisty little thing even at that age as she continuously tried to pull at  her breathing tube. We stroked her and snuggled her and waited for the transport  team to arrive. 

Here we thought things couldn't get any worse at this  point. Just before the team from Sick Kids arrived Dr. Murphy noticed the  monitor was picking up a rapid heart rate. He immediately listened with his  stethoscope and then sent a nurse for some ice. He placed a baggy of ice on  Jaidyn's tiny little head and once again, it seemed things were getting suddenly  more critical. The team from Sick Kids arrived and when they walked in Dr.  Murphy immediately explained that there was a bigger issue that needed to be  dealt with because Jaidyn was in Tachycardia. They hooked up additional monitors  to her and we watched in horror as the doctor took the baggy of ice and smashed  it into our precious little babies face while saying to us (this isn't going to  be pleasant but it is necessary). We couldn't watch any more and we quickly left  the room and sat outside her door once again listening to urgent phone calls and  watching nurses rush in and out of her room getting meds and running tests. The  entire situation felt surreal. Why was this happening to our baby girl? I made  pleas to my daddy, her guardian angel, to take care of her and keep her safe.  Our hearts sank as we heard them call "all clear" several times and we knew that  they were defibrillating our tiny little peanut. Once they had her stabilised  and ready for transport we were able to go in and see her. 

Our tiny,  precious little baby who we fought so hard to bring into this world, lay there  lifeless in an isolette, hooked up to more machines than I could count with a  breathing tube, iv's and an empty stare. We kissed her and said we'll see you  soon (no goodbyes) and watched them wheel her away from us to the awaiting  ambulance to be rushed to the greatest hospital on earth. 

At the blink  of an eye our lives were changed. We were living a parents worst nightmare with  a critically ill baby and no answers in sight. We were numb and terrified and  thanks to the Mario Andretti driving skills of my sister, arrived downtown  Toronto in record time, actually beating the ambulance there. We were panicked  to know how Jaidyn was doing after being away from her for an hour and  thankfully we bumped into the transport paramedics in the hallway who informed  us that Jaidyn was still stable and she had no further episodes during the drive  down.

The next few hours while we waited in the waiting room to see our  sick little girl seemed to take a lifetime...

... Cast Your Blessings and Doula Services


If you're looking for a unique and affordable keepsake of your pregnancy Cast Your Blessings is your answer! I cherished my pregnancy. After years of struggling to conceive and realizing that I may never get to experience pregnancy again, I watched my belly  grow with sheer joy and excitement. We documented every new week with a new  profile belly picture and I loved every single moment of being pregnant. What a  unique idea it would have been to get a "cast" of my precious bump to memorialize it forever. That is exactly what Cast Your Blessings offers.

The casting is usually done around 36-38 weeks in an uncomplicated pregnancy and you can also treat yourself to a pedicure during your belly cast from a local expert. Who doesn't want to feel a little pampered when you've been waddling around with cankles for the last 8 weeks!

Sarah, a busy mom of 2 kids is also a practicing Doula and in all her spare time (ya right!) she knits and crochets! Where does she find the time?

Sarah is passionate about everything she offers. She became a birth  Doula after her own fabulous experience with a wonderful Doula when she herself  gave birth. Every birth is special to Sarah. She fosters her birth moms and their partners with an abundance of support and love in a home or hospital, with a Midwife or OB, and prides herself with making personal connections and  friendships that last a lifetime.

Sarah's Knits Bits offers personal handmade items such as hats, photography props, bags, cup cozies, and she also handles custom orders...anything you can dream up, she can create!!

Sarah  truly loves all she does and puts 100% into everything!  She's not happy until  you are!

Stop by Sarah's website and her fanpage on facebook and show  her some "Like"!

Contact Info:

Website: www.castyourblessings.weebly.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cast-Your-Blessings-and-Doula-Services-in-Orangeville/75590943557
Email: khermit08@yahoo.com

Like many people, I have been in the customer service field in one way or another my entire life. My first job was at the age of 13 when I worked at Wendy's and I know sometimes my "customer skills" were not all that refined at that time. I then went on to my second job at Food City. Remember Food City? I think I'm dating myself here. lol. Being a teenage/young adult cashier who  was full of piss n' vinegar I'm sure it didn't get much better. I was never one  to turn the other cheek and bite my tongue when it came to an abusive customer, and yes, there were plenty of them. As I matured I learned to become more "political", bite my tongue more often and find a way to smile through an  unpleasant experience dealing with a not so amiable customer. Don't get me wrong, I still find a way to speak my mind, I've just honed some new skills on  how to make it less abrasive. lol.

Over the years many managers and supervisors would remind me that "the customer was always right" and every time I would hear it the hairs on the back of my neck would stand up. It drove me crazy to "lose" to a customer who was clearly in the wrong, or have to apologize  for something that was not my fault. It's funny that now that I'm all grown up I  have pretty high expectations for the service that I receive. I am certainly not  unreasonable by any means, but I expect a cashiers attention when checking  through my groceries, I expect her to NOT be smacking on her gum (gum was a BIG  no-no when I was a cashier), I expect exceptional service when dining out, I  expect the prices to be right and if something scans wrong I expect the store to  understand their "Scanning Code of Ethics" policy and not make me "remind" them,  I expect a business email to be responded to in a timely manner, I expect my  phone call to be returned. I expect to be treated with respect and common  decency.

In the world of social media there are far more outlets to  express yourself these days than when I was a snot-nosed teenager. I can only  imagine the things I may have posted to my facebook status if it was around back  then. But what amazes these days is that there are mature adults some of  whom are business owners who still think they are teenagers airing their dirty  laundry all over the internet. And not only do they air their dirty laundry but  they post complaints about customers. It dumbfounds me that grown adults can be  so oblivious to the detrimental effects that may have. Negativity breeds  negativity and if your posts are negative, argumentative and down right nasty,  that is what will surround you. Even if you think this information is "private"  someone, somewhere is reading it and it certainly won't breed positivity.  Furthermore, it says an awful lot about a person if everything they post is  adverse and antagonistic.

As a business owner I am very conscious about  what I post through social media. I certainly don't want someone to google  "Kerri-Lyn Cuppage" (come on - you know you want to google it now lol)and  stumble across a bunch of derogatory and tasteless comments I have made. I don't  think it would bode well for business. lol. But then, I have never been one to  air my dirty laundry on facebook. I have written other personal blogs about our  struggle with infertility and allowed people a glimpse into what life with  infertility is like, and I am proud of those blogs, although I no longer write  there (I should though), and wouldn't change any of that.

To sum it all  up, to all the managers out there who told me to bite my tongue and the customer  was always right... I get it...you were right... without our customers (even the  nasty ones) we wouldn't be in business. There are many colourful people in this  world and through life experiences and maturity I have found a way to manoeuvre  my way around the varying personalities and I am able to appreciate my customers  in all their shapes and forms.

...FitSpot Training!

I met Lori Bowman with FitSpot Training though a mutual friend this year who was attending her Boot Camp classes here in Orangeville. After reading Facebook updates about their training sessions I decided it was time to get my butt off the couch and get out and join them! Just  before my first class I found out we would be doing "PLYO" that night. I quickly  googled what PLYO was and after reading up on it, I was wondering what excuse I  could come up with to avoid going! LOL! It was a gruelling but AWESOME workout!  It reminded me in a big hurry just how out of shape I was after being so  inactive throughout years of fertility treatments and then pregnancy. I remember  sitting out a section as I sat on the floor leaning against the wall wondering  what on earth I was doing to myself! lol. The sessions quickly got easier as my  body bounced back and I no longer had to spend time trying to keep the contents  of my stomach down! Lori is a great supportive motivator who encourages everyone  to work at their own pace and will show various techniques from beginner to  advanced so everyone can work out a a level they are comfortable with. I need to  carve out some "me" time again and get back into Boot Camp with the girls, as  long as we're not doing Burpees right Lori??? ;)

What is Boot  Camp?

A fitness boot camp is type of indoor/outdoor group exercise class  that mixes traditional calisthenic and body weight exercises with interval  training and strength training. While there are a variety of styles of fitness  boot camps, most are designed in a way that pushes the participants harder than  they'd push themselves and, in that way, resemble a military boot  camp.

During the 4 week classes, you'll get up early or come to class  after work to run sprints, perform many push ups and various forms of  plyometrics and interval training with little rest between exercises. These  fitness classes have grown in popularity over the years primarily because they  offer a new way to get a low-cost, efficient and challenging workout. They  definitely aren't for every exerciser, but with the right instructor (like  FitSpot Training), these fitness classes get fast
results and create a  supportive and motivational community of like-minded
people. Come on out to a  Boot Camp session with FitSpot Training... I know you
will love it as much as I  did!

A Typical Fitness Boot Camp with FitSpot Training:

The  standard fitness boot camp offers all or most of the
following:

A small  group environment (6-10 people).
An open public outdoor space such as a park  (Outdoors from June to September- Indoors from October to May)
Orientation -  Your first session will include time for completing paperwork, reviewing the  class rules and safety guidelines and performing a basic fitness  assessment.

Warm Up - Each session will start with a 5-10 minute warm  up.

Workout - The 40-50 minute workout will typically include:

push ups 
squats 
Lunges 
speed training with sprints 
team competitions 
obstacle courses 
partner exercises 
plyometrics 
interval training 
squat thrusts or burpees 
core strength 

 
Cool down and stretching: The session will end with some gentle stretching and possibly some education and homework.

Fitness retesting: At the end of fitness boot camp, you will repeat the original fitness assessment to determine your results.
 
Contact information:
 
Website: www.fitspot.ca
Email: lori@fitspot.ca
Phone: 647-267-4298
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/FitSpotTraining
 
Happy exercising to all!!

...Memories Photography by Kimberly Ann

I first met Kimberly Ann at  a  trade show in Orangeville and we immediately hit it off and stood and talked for quite some time, much to her husband's dismay I'm sure. lol. It was much to my delight when I got home and realised that she immediately looked me up on facebook and sent me a message. What a wonderful girl, I thought, and I knew that it would be the start of a great new relationship. She later invited me over to see her home in order to get an idea of the market value and to seek my opinion about some upgrades they were considering, once again, we were off on a tangent talking about anything and everything. I'm sure her husband was looking on wondering "when on earth are they going to quit??" lol. All of this to say that Kimberly certainly made a spectacular impression on me and her enthusiasm and joyful spirit show up in every conversation we have.

It is with great  pleasure that my first "feature" blog is about her photography
business... "Memories Photography by Kimberly Ann"


Kimberly specializes in natural journalistic outdoor shots, but she is also able to work with traditional poses as well.  She has a studio setup for newborns and also can accommodate a maximum of 5 people for indoor family pictures. She is open to working with her clients own ideas regarding a photo shoot, or she can help you customize something based on your likes and personality. She will take the time necessary to get to know you and develop a plan that suits and celebrates your uniqueness. 
 
Kimberly can help you with all your photography needs:

• Family portraits
  
• Weddings
  
• Special events
  
• Animals portraits
  
• Newborns
  
• ...and much more

Please stop by and visit Kimberly's fan page on Facebook and show her some  "like" ;)  and I hope you will consider her to capture your  special memories.
 
Contact Info for Memories Photography by Kimberly Ann:
 
Phone: 519-939-1597
Email: kimgooderham@rogers.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/memoriesbyka

In an attempt to build some business-to-business mutually beneficial relationships, I would like to start blogging about fellow small businesses and events in and around this area. Each day I will blog info about a different business or event and post links on twitter, facebook, linkedin and my website.

If you would like your business or  event featured please send me a message with some details about your  business/event and what makes YOUR business the BEST in the area.

All I ask in return  is that you keep me in mind if you know of anyone looking to buy or sell real  estate in Ontario. 

Look forward to seeing my inbox full and making your  business/event a STAR!