Day 102: What Would You Do If you Were Free?

I worked in the morning and then went out for a bike ride to meet Miche & Jackie in the park. Wore one of my fav bathing suits from Bathing Belle as a bodysuit with these old American Apparel shorts. They used to be so tight and now they’re a bit big. Haven’t been running as much this week but the bike keeps me moving. Saw this on Sterling Road as I was heading downtown, stopped to take a photo up close. Been thinking about this statement, what would you do if you were free?

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Day 101: Creativity & Content

Today I spoke about Creativity & Content at the FreshBooks #IMakeaLiving 5-Minute Mentors conference. I was the first speaker to kick off the morning and talked about my life over the past 4 months, uncertainty about work, and how we can all use creativity to think about business differently. If you’d like to watch the stream you can see it here on the #IMakeALiving Facebook page. This video has only one view that includes the speakers and doesn’t include slides. Here’s a couple of slides from my presentation if you’re curious! Remember, you don’t have to monetize every hobby. Creativity is a powerful tool to OPEN YOUR MIND. You might learn a new skill, something about yourself, or find inspiration for another part of your life. Have fun creating, step out of your comfort zone, that’s where the magic happens. I drew this about 10 years ago and always look it up to remind myself, and you, to find that spark.

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Day 97: City, Here We Come!

Today we’re heading back to the city, Sean is dropping me off for the week and picking up Emily. I’m speaking at a conference with Freshbooks on Wednesday so I want to be home where we have good internet. Sean put the Corvette on a trailer and took it up to the cottage. It’s a beautiful champagne colour but you can barely tell here, it’s so dusty from the garage. We’re gonna keep it at the cottage and give it a good clean. She still runs! I went for a nice bike ride to watch the sunset in a park near the house. I love the energy of the city.

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Day 96: Today is Juneteenth

Today is Juneteenth. Not sure what that is? Look it up! Educate yourself! Freedom Day, Juneteenth is the celebration to commemorate the end of slavery towards black people in America. Today is my last full day up here for a week. Tomorrow Sean is taking me to our house in TO and picking up Emily. I’ll be spending the week there to do some work and then go visit mum on Friday for her retirement. I can’t wait to see her and my sister, it’s been months!

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Day 95: Where I Need to Be

To be honest, today was not great. I spent most of the day in a bad mood, filled with anxiety, feeling stressed, snapping at Sean for no reason. I had drinks last night with some girls from the lake and one of them fell on the boat, cut her arms, and had to get stitches. Luckily, no permanent damage and everyone was ok but it had me in my feelings all day. You really have to be on your toes and keep one hand on the boat at all times, an accident can happen in a split second. Later in the day things turned around and Sean & I decided to take a road trip together. We picked up takeout from Pie Muskoka and drive through Bala, to the Wahta Reserve, then back home through Gravenhurst. Sometimes you just need to shake it off and change your surroundings. The journal above is a gratitude journal gifted to me by Cheryl, the owner of Please Notes. She has some really great affirmation filled goods you can find here. We met last year when we were both speakers at I Make a Living last year hosted by FreshBooks. I’m speaking at their next online event on Wednesday 24th, 11am. Sign up here!

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Day 94: Smashing Records in Style

Today I smashed my own 5K record and completed my 55KM challenge for the month. I am so grateful for these challenges hosted by Amy aka @lesbest. It’s really kept me motivated to get my shoes on and hit the road. When I got back to the cottage a package was there, it’s was like a reward for hustling hard. The PR team sent the Hayley X Coors Slice shorts and shirt. Sean is wearing the set in a size small, looking like a supermodel! He’s been a really good motivator for my running doing does 4-10K a day on his morning runs. We’re both feeling so much better since we stopped eating so much crap and started moving our bodies. ILY. Thank you for supporting me my love! Idk if he will see this bc I’m pretty sure he doesn’t read my blog, he gets enough CASIE IRL haha. I hope you are having a good day! ?

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Day 93: We’ll All Float On Ok

Today was pretty quiet. I spend the morning working, as I usually do then set out on my paddleboard for nearly two hours. I packed some water and my Kindle and floated and read in the sun. I have been reading a couple of books from Netgalley, a medias review site for authors. My two most recent reads are Coming for You Deborah Rogers, The Dead Girl Under the Bleachers by Donna M. Zadunajsky, both linked here on Amazon. Find more book recos in my store! I typically read the same type of books with a female lead, there some relationship/family drama, at least one murder. I hardly ever read self-help books, I like to escape reality in a book, take my mind on a suspenseful & thrilling adventure. In the afternoon, I went to town and stopped by our cute little post office to pick up some packages. I look forward to visiting Judy at the Postie each time and try to take her a little treat as a way to say thank you. I was happy my order from Biddell arrived! Canadian designer and friend Evan Biddell has been making stylish masks you can order online here. I happened to have a swimsuit to match one of them, safety but make it fashion! For $45 you will receive a 4-pack of animal print masks. They fit great! Thinking of this jam, always loved this song.

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Day 92: Find The Magical Moments

This afternoon, while Sean was wakeboarding our neighbour (who has a plane), landed on the lake. It was so magical so see them plane fly over our heads before touching down on the water. I went for a long walk & talk and was feeling pretty happy in the sun. This shark print is one of my fav suits from Bathing Belle. It has a matching scrunchie and you can now get a mask to match too! Had an absolutely perfect avocado. It’s a small but wonderful thing when that happens. We have to celebrate the small wins today, and always! Went for a sunset boat cruise. Sean and I try to do this each night to take a break from work, spend time together, and enjoy the views.

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Day 91: Sunday Funday!

I have really come to love driving the boat to take sean wakeboarding. I was scared of it for years but after taking the Boater Exam and getting my licence, I feel more confident. There’s a spot on the lake where boaters meet to wakeboard and hang out so it was fun to hang there for the first time. Up until last summer, we didn’t have lake friends. It’s a nice experience to have people hang with. Boating is social distancing! Wore my fav Hayley Elsaesser x Coors Slice outfit with the bikini, overalls, and cooler, it was a hit. I’m expecting another delivery from them next week so I can’t WAIT to see what it is. If you want to check out the collection find it here. ALSO, how beautiful is this incredible dragonfly?! It’s black & yellow with polka dots. I looked it up and I think it’s called Painted Skimmer (Libellula semifasciata). NATURE ISCOOL.

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Day 90: Catch a New Vibe

Beautiful day today! Sean took Emily back to the city yesterday and I spent the night alone. I had a few drinks, talked loudly on the phone to my friends, sang old Alanis at the top of my lungs, danced around and changed outfits a few times. It was perfect. I was so happy to find these shorts in one of my bins, almost too big now and last summer they were SO TIGHT. Yeahhhh, my hard work is paying off! Sean picked up a few packages that were delivered to the office and one was a beautiful surprise from Coach Carey & Hoame meditation. THANK YOU!!!!!! It is always nice to get gifts in the mail, really appreciate small gestures more now than ever. I burned the rose wrapped sage right away, gave Sean the meditation bracelet, and added the crystal & candle to my window collection. I am here for changing the vibe we had over the last week with the storm, losing power & internet, then my website crashing. In the afternoon we boated over for a safe distance hang with our cottage friends. It was so nice to laugh together, to yell, and have fun. I miss hanging out with people. Since we’ve been at the cottage for so long, we haven’t really been around other humans for months. Here’s hoping we can safely spend time with the ones we love soon. ?

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Day 89: The Day My Website Crashed

Today I woke up feeling great, we have internet, I ran 5K, all is a-ok! However, I sat down to update my website and THERE WAS A CRITICAL ERROR. I spent the morning on the phone with my hosting company and trying to get the issue sorted. I updated my security certificate and have someone working on a spam issue. HOW MUCH MORE CAN WE TAKE? SHEESH. I stayed pretty calm through the whole thing, I used to freak out about little things but have been working on how to remain CALM in times of uncertainty. It was also pretty cold out. Brought out the flannel!

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Day 88: The Day We Had No Internet

I was so tired today from staying up most of the night. I couldn’t sleep with the crazy storm and we had a slight leak in the kitchen ceiling. I was stressed! Our power came back on around 1 am but we still didn’t have internet access. We decided to take a break from work/school and watched a DVD of Edward Scissorhands. It was also a bit cooler so we made a fire and took the time to relax. We had a chipmunk in the cottage and they’re cute yes, but not INSIDE. We haven’t set a trap to catch him but the little guy gets in sometimes and I scream, then Sean manages to safely escort him outside. I took a 2hr nap in the afternoon and by the time I woke up the internet was back in action. THANKFUL FOR WIFI!

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Day 87: Wild Wind, Mega Storm

This afternoon we all hung out on the dock in the sun. Finally got Emily outside to have some fun! She’s been spending a lot of time on the computer. We knew a storm was on the way and stayed out to watch the clouds roll in then danced in the rain. It was so warm but VERY WINDY (see video below haha). The storm rolled in around dinner time and then we lost power for most of the night. We sat around with candles and talked about what’s going on in the world.

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Day 86: Dressing Up for Town

Today I took a trip to town and picked up my online order from Walmart. A couple of weeks ago I ordered some solar-powered Edison bulbs for outside on the stairs. I think they’ll look great! Each time I go to town, I put on a cute outfit, makeup, and pack a mask. I really miss seeing people and getting dressed up. If a trip to Walmart is my outing for the week, I’m gonna wear something nice. Celebrating the small wins these days! Earlier the afternoon, I went out on the paddleboard for an hour and a half, circling around a few of the little islands and laying in the sun. I didn’t take my phone or anything, just me, the lake, my board, and the sun. Saw this little guy when I came back. Haven’t seen one this big here before!

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