Yesterday I met up with Natalie for a distanced walk outside. Instead of taking the TTC or an Uber, I decided to take a long walk from my area to meet her at Yonge/Bloor. It’s about an hour away by foot, I left at 4pm to get there before the sun went down. We walked around the ROM/Yorkville for about an hour before I headed home. I don’t normally walk outside when it’s dark but since I didn’t have any Friday night plans, I took the hour to walk home along Bloor. Made it back to the house just in time to catch the very last episode of Jeopardy hosted by Alex Trebek. Edited these with the new PinkPapaya app! Mask is by Considerate Goods. I’m planning to spend some this weekend catching up on a few things I didn’t get done for work last week. Found it really hard to concentrate the last few days with everything going on, hard not to get distracted by the news, and fall into a deep doomscroll. I’ve found that taking a little walk during the day helps to boost my spirit and help me refocus when I get back home. It’s all going to be ok. We’ll get through this. xo

Here we are, we made it to the end of this insane year, New Years’ Eve 2020. I had a nice day & went to bed before midnight. Feeling good about the year ahead. We have a lot to be grateful for. Looking back at everything that happened this year, I learned a lot. Despite being home/cottage for 90% of the year I did a lot of new things, ditched some old habits, made some new ones. On a side note, I’m really glad to have grown my hair out. I wanted to do it for years and this is the most un-dyed it’s been since I was a teenager. I’m celebrating the growth. My word for 2020 was BLOOM. At the end of 2019, I had a deep-rooted need for change, I wanted something different in my career and was well on my way to leading a healthier lifestyle. In my mind, by the time spring arrived in 2020, I’d be ready to bloom. In January 2020, I went to Cuba, stayed in a hotel, went to events. One weekend in February, I met with some friends and one specific conversation bloomed into something really great career-wise. In March, most of my work was canceled and I ended up on CERB until the end of summer. During that time I did a lot of creative things, I wrote every day, did tie-dye, learned to propagate plants, read books in the sun, and worked out heaps. There were a lot of hard times too, don’t get me wrong, but for the purpose of documenting this memory, I want to be thankful for all the ups and downs. I am grateful for the opportunity to slow down, to create, to be in the moment and not the rat race. As a…

Look at the camera. Check the lighting. Fix your hair. Grab a pen and notebook. Pay attention. Mason jar of water. Listen, respond. Don’t touch your hair. Have some coffee. Smile. Look at the camera. Smile. Write something down. Look at the camera. Stop looking at yourself. Listen. Don’t touch your hair. 2020 work in a nutshell.

Today was the first day the lake was fully frozen. The ice is nice. This year, we’ve been up on the woods from frozen, to not, and back again. What a year! Tomorrow we’re going back downtown to spend a few days in the city and pickup Emily. Don’t worry Mum, Sean is standing on the dock here. It’s safe! Once making sure it was fully frozen, Sean cleared a section for an ice rink and cold plunge pool. He’s really been into Wim Hof Method the last year. It’s amazing how a dip in ice water gets your blood pumping and leaves your muscles feeling fire. ?

This year we have all spent more time on Zoom or Google Meet than ever. If you’re feeling Zoom-fatigue, you are not alone. It’s totally normal to feel exhausted right now, there are so many contributing factors work, health, covid, money, plus the holidays are just around the corner. I used to love getting groceries but I find it stressful now. The other day I download Snap Camera for Mac and it’s a great way to spice up your meetings. You can get festive for the holidays, add a filter for perfect skin, or use all kinds of camera effects. It’s kinda fun. I’ve been using a colour filter to change my lighting and make my skin look flawless. Check out this great video by my friend Amanda Cosco on how to easily add Snap Camera to your computer.