1. ezlinks.com
If my dad could be anywhere, he’d be on a golf green so an EZlinks giftcard is the perfect present for him. EZlinks is a website that lets him choose a course, date and tee off time at tons of different clubs all around the world (and at a great rate too). – Allessia

2. spin pins
Spin Pins for all! Affordable and the best hair tool ever! I own a truckload and will be putting these in every girl’s stocking. – Ali

3. printstagr.am
I love this idea of taking people’s instagram photos and turning them into a book. It’s a unique gift idea!  – Kristina

4. gym essentials kit
The answer is in the name. It’s simply essential. This little guy has not only taken me to and from the gym but to Paris and London too. It’s the perfect companion for trips short and long.  – Tiffany

5. strengths finder 2.0
For people in my family who are in the early career stage, I get Strengths Finder 2.0. It's been my most powerful career development tool yet and I want to pass that on to others. (The Alchemist is also a standby book that I give to anyone that doesn't have it.)– Carolyn

6. cooking lessons for two
I’ve organized with my partner’s favourite restaurant to run a private cooking class, to show us how they make their sinuous, silky pasta. Equal parts romantic and practical. – Michael

Have a list you’re checking twice? What are some of the best gifts your giving this year?

Pictured above:

A = Bev, graphic designer
B = Dora, repairs specialist
C = Natasha, community relations administrator
D = Lindsay, strategic sales account manager
E = Elissa, internal communications specialist
F = Wes
G = Ray
H = Hubert
I = Jon
J = Edmond

Scroll doooooooown for the answers:

A - J
B - H
C - G
D - F
E - I

Happy Father's Day!

Luckily for us at lululemon, we've just welcomed Gerardo into the Benefits Manager role... he's definitely got his heart in the right place, and he has the mind to make great things happen. Say hi to Gerardo!

Gerardo, with his family.

what are you most passionate about?

I have a great family that I love with all my heart. My wife is a fitness trainer (who loves lululemon clothes) and we have two boys. They're very active and have allowed me to see the world with new eyes. My five-year-old is fascinated with the night sky. He constantly asks questions about the stars, planets and the Milky Way. My eight-year-old loves science and riding his bike anywhere he can (particularly to the local convenience store). He's taking Tae Kwon Do and is pursuing his goal of becoming a black belt.

what's your favourite way to sweat?

Cardio and some weight training three to four times a week has kept me in shape. I love sweating using the treadmill at the gym. I also do 30-minute power walks at least twice a week.

Playing in the snow.

biggest goal you want to accomplish in 2010?

Career goal: Review our current benefits offering and propose those changes that will have the most impact to employee health and wellness.

Health goal: Learn to inline skate and then go skate along Stanley Park’s seawall at least two times this year.

what would an ideal gerardo day look like?

A day spent with people you love doing something you don’t do every day, like go swimming in the lake or ocean. Go hiking or camping somewhere really peaceful. That would be the perfect day.

Gerardo and his kids, in front of the Olympic torch!

what is the best thing about your role at lululemon? most challenging?

The most challenging is to define a benefits philosophy/guiding principles that will be acceptable by all stake holders. This is the first step towards having a consistent benefits strategy.

The best thing is that I get to work with great, optimistic people with many goals and full of good ideas. I really enjoy talking to our educators and asking them what they think about our benefits offering, and getting suggestions that may help improve what we are doing in this area.

If you're interested in joining Gerardo at the Store Support Centre, check out our current opportunities.

Let me introduce you to our amazing team of blog artists.

Janice, blog artist and Regional Community Guru for Eastern Canada.

Something you may not know about our team of writers: we all work at lululemon! We're in our stores around the world, we're on the end of the phone when you call the Guest Education Centre, and we work at the Store Support Centre in Vancouver.

Shawna, blog artist and Online Community Coordinator in Vancouver.

In addition to working at lululemon and being a member of the blog team, we are yogis, runners, triathletes, swimmers, dancers, parents, students, travellers, and goal setters.

Blog artists Lauren (on the left), from lululemon Carlsbad, and Jenna from the GEC.

Our blog team is committed to extending the culture of lululemon online - through stories, product fit sessions, and photos.

Here's a breakdown of our team, by region:

British Columbia

Alana - Online Content Specialist, Store Support Centre

Allison - Elite Athlete Coordinator, Store Support Centre

Carolyn - Online Community Manager, Store Support Centre

Elim - Educator, Guest Education Centre

Elim: blog artist and GEC educator

Elissa - Communications Specialist, Store Support Centre

Elissa is a blog artist and Communications Specialist at the Store Support Centre

Jenna - Educator, Guest Education Centre

Jenny - Educator, Guest Education Centre

Kelsey - Educator, Guest Education Centre

Liz - Educator, Guest Education Centre

Melissa - Store Manager, lululemon Lab

This is Melissa, blog artist and manager of the lululemon Lab! Notice anything unusual about her photo? (Hint: sdrawkcab)

Paula - Educator, Guest Educator Centre

Shawna - Online Community Coordinator, Store Support Centre

California

Abbie - Contributor

Eileen - Educator and ambassador, lululemon Walnut Creek

Eileen, blog artist, educator and ambassador, with her BFFs.

Jocelyn - Key leader, lululemon Grant Ave (San Francisco)

Kirsten - Key leader, lululemon Carlsbad Forum

Lauren C - Key leader, lululemon Carlsbad Forum

Tori - Educator, lululemon Plaza El Segundo

Tori from El Segundo!

Whitney - Educator, lululemon La Jolla

Hawaii

Marisa - Educator, lululemon Ala Moana (Honolulu)

Illinois

Billie - Educator, lululemon Evanston

Billie, blog artist from Chicago, who works at lululemon Evanston!

Michigan

Kristina - Online Community Assistant

Kristina on a recent visit to the SSC in Vancouver.

New York

Ariel - Educator, lululemon SoHo

Ontario

Fouj - Educator, lululemon Vaughan Mills

Janice - Regional Community Guru, Eastern Canada

Lara - Educator, Rideau Centre (Ottawa)

Tiffany - Key leader, lululemon Kingston

Tiffany from lululemon Kingston in blogartistdancer pose.

Washington DC

Elyse - Educator, lululemon Logan Circle

Washington

Alison - Store Manager, lululemon Pacific Place

Our BHAG

Our big, hairy audacious goal is to be the best company blog in the world. How are we going to get there? With your feedback. Tell us what you think about our blog. What moves or inspires you? What could we be doing better? Leave us a comment so we can get to know you, too!

p.s. We are growing - look for a follow up post in the next few months to meet the rest of the team!

If you look closely behind her desk in the photo below, there is a little hole in the wall.

And this is life on the other side of the hole: a mysterious-looking hallway with a cryptically-numbered door.

Today we decided to add a treat to the other side of the hole.

Stay tuned... I'll let you know what happens!

***BREAKING NEWS***

15 minutes after publishing this post, the gum was replaced with this!

Can't wait to see what happens next.

Above: Natasha achieving one of her goals to run her first half marathon. Read her inspiring story below.

My journey of goal discovery started on May 20th, 2008 – my first day at lululemon.

My first day in the Store Support Centre (SSC) was a surreal experience. I was overwhelmed by the number of faces and names – but what still stands out in my mind today, as clear as my first day here, was the culture. I remember my first trek up the stairs to the third floor, surrounded by everyone’s goals, dreams and aspirations. The concept of setting goals was totally foreign to me. I understood having goals and dreams, but I didn’t get how important it was to set goals, put them on paper, and to share with your family and friends.

The first goal that I set was to learn how to run, and to train for my first half marathon. When I say learn how to run, I literally mean that; I couldn’t even run one city block without losing my breath.

This was a huge BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) for myself and Shari, my payroll teammate, deskmate, half marathon training partner in crime, and most important – friend forever. We apprehensively signed up for half marathon training after much convincing by our fellow SSC’ers. We showed up for our first run not knowing what to expect.

At 8am on a sunny Saturday morning in July I showed up at the seawall, ready to run and to start working towards the first goal I had ever set. About 15 minutes into the run I was in so much pain that I started crying and decided to turn back, I convinced Shari to go on without me. I was totally discouraged, and in that moment I decided that I was going to quit and wasn’t going to bother continuing on. But wait - I had set this goal, and had told everyone I was going to do it.

After the run I received some great goal coaching and encouragement from my fellow SSC’ers (you know who you are!). I decided to go to the next scheduled training run.

There were many runs like my first, but the most important thing was that I kept coming back, and kept working towards this goal that I had so fearlessly set.

After a little over three months of training I was set to run my first half marathon. Although I was sick with a sinus infection I ran and completed 15 minutes under my goal time. I still remember the rush of crossing the finish line. I was bawling my eyes out, partly because of the pain, but mostly because of the emotional rush of seeing something that seemed so impossible through and finishing. It was that very moment I realized how important it is to set goals, dream big and to see them through. I continue to run and set even bigger BHAGs, but nothing will keep me going like that first goal that I ever set.

I am now working in Community Relations – another one of my goals. What’s next? My BHAG is a half ironman. I want to do this by the end of Summer 2010. I still need to learn how to swim… But at least I have the running figured out!

Want to write your own goals? Here is a little help to get you started! http://goals.lululemon.com/

"Thank you for calling lululemon! It's Elissa speaking."

Curious about what goes on behind the scenes at the Guest Education Centre? I'm going to tell you - a lot. More than you'd expect. Today there was even a piñata. Intriguing? Read on...

Over the course of any given day, we wear a lot of hats. I am a product expert, a solution seeker, a community guru, and an order specialist. I can tell you what the name of that favourite shirt is. (You know the one from Fall 2006? Yeah. I loved it too.) I'll listen to your concerns and ideas, and make sure they get heard by the team at our Store Support Centre. You want to apply for our Strategic Sales program? Sure! Check out our website. Team Sales? No problem! Right this way. There are days when I feel like Tamara Taggart’s stand-in, sharing Vancouver’s weather with our friends around the world. (And in case you're wondering, it is 21 degrees Celsius and partly cloudy.) If you're planning a trip to Vancouver, I’ll tell you my favourite place to put in 10K and who teaches a mean hot yoga class. I can help you find exactly what you need to help you sweat once a day and like it.

It's a happy place to work. The room dazzles the eyes with bright colours, much like your favourite local store, and our goals bring the walls to life. The aforementioned piñata was a fundamental part of today's fiesta, as we said goodbye to one of our favorite educators, Gab. We have pancake parties and potlucks to celebrate each others successes and achievements - we even helped our Ta Ta Tamer, Melissa Content, on her fundraising journey for The Weekend to End Breast Cancer.

The best part of working at the Guest Education Centre is going above and beyond for you, our guests. We delight in being people, not automated recordings, and we love to interact with you. Have you met us yet? Give us a call at 1.877.263.9300. We'd love to chat.