#Takeoutday: My First Writeup on Muskoka411!

#TakeOutDay is a nationwide effort to help our favourite local restaurants by ordering takeout. The national campaign was started by Canada Takeout in an effort to help Canada’s hard-hit food industry and is now being co-signed by celebrities, chefs, and notable Canadians nationwide. I chatted with a few notable Canadians to find out their fav spots to eat in the Muskoka region. See tweet below or read it here. Last week we ordered takeout from Muskoka Beer Spa, they’re offering pizza from pie Muskoka, beer & food from Clear Lake Brewing, and several other local items. We even got meat pies! ? For more information on how you can help, visit CanadaTakeout.com.

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Day 44: Through The Woods

Personally, today was a good day. Ran 4k in the morning and took Sean’s route down the road and though Balfour Woods. It felt great to be out in nature and I made it back just before the rain. For lunch, I made tortilla soup with leftovers and then tried a recipe for sweet potato gnocchi. It was my first time and they turned out pretty good! Watched Netflix at night and made bracelets to send to friends in the mail. Parenting wise, today was a very challenging day.

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Day 43: Isolation is Exhausting

Was not feeling great today. Felt sluggish and unmotivated. Did not exercise. Started a new book, read outside in the sun. Hung some new plants in the kitchen window. Had a dip in the hot tub. My arm has been very sore. Have been applying CBD cream and heating pad all day. Made a nice lentil coconut curry for dinner with rice. Took an afternoon nap and then went to bed at 8 pm. Tomorrow is a new day. Still have about 10k to conquer on my monthly NTC Challenge so hoping to get up early and go outside like I used to. I think my body and mind are exhausted. It’s ok to rest. This whole experience is tiring. Read a great article on Medium, see below.

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Day 42: Baking Bread

I finally made bread! I didn’t take a photo because tbh, it wasn’t that pretty. I’ll try again but I turned out pretty flat, a flatbread. ?It tasted great right out of the oven with some butter. Today was a lazy day and I did next to nothing other than baking bread and eating it. Took a 24 -hour break from Instagram to laze around and recharge my batteries. Found this book from my childhood and am rediscovering my love for bracelet making. We’ll see how I get on with this, would be nice to send these to friends in the mail.

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Day 41: FRIDAY SUN, FUN!

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Day 40: Quarantena, Meaning “Forty Days”

Wow, 40 days! Thankful I’ve kept a diary because all the days would have mixed into weeks by now. It’s taken about forty days to figure out what balance looks like right now. It’s been a bit challenging to adjust to this new way of life but I think we’re getting the hang of it. Below I’ve linked to a few of my favourite posts since the start of isolation. We ordered takeout for the first time in 40 days today and it was so good! Muskoka Beer Spa offers pizza, beer, and a few other local pre-made items for pickup at the brewery in Bala. Aside from pre-made pizza from Pie Muskoka we got butter tarts and meat pies. When we were driving back we say the most beautiful fox. I think we interrupted him having a little snack. Looked right at me! Yesterday by 10am I’d written a blog post, done some client work, and ran 2.6K. Some days are productive others not so much. I did 3.85K today and I’m on track to complete my goal of 55k by the end of the month. I can’t believe how much I look forward to running. Order new shoes today because I’ve worn mine out! Looking Back, 40 Days of Isolation

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Day 39: Book Recommendations

Last night I finished the first book I’d read a while and then we watched 1917. I’m not usually into period pieces or wartime moves but it kept me in suspense the whole time. I started another book in bed before falling asleep. I think an escape from reality was just what I needed yesterday. A couple of months ago I was wandering aimlessly at Chapters (remember doing that?) and surprised myself at how many books I’d actually read. I took photos of all the covers to make a blog post with recommendations. I guess I didn’t really find the time until waking up at 5:30 this morning saying, today’s the day! You’ll notice a theme, lots of thriller/suspense, almost no self-help. Reading for me is a distraction from the outside world and I love a good story involving some type of crime or murder. Idk why, I just do. This post isn’t sponsored, I bought my own Kindle and most of these books. A few in the list below were advance reader copies from the publisher via PR or Netgalley. All books are linked on Amazon and can be found in my reading list here. I love reading on the Kindle. Until I got an e-reader, it had been ages since I’d read a whole book. I love traditional books but with Kindle, you have almost any book at your fingertips, you can read in the sun, in the dark, in water, or highlight things to look back on later. I also quite enjoy Audible, especially when the book is read by the author. A great feature of both Audible and Kindle is you can preview the book before you buy it, this has really come in handy with recommendations and the discovery process of finding your next read.…

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Day 38: Sometimes I Don’t Feel Like It #20

Fitting that the 20th post in this series is being written in 2020. It’s been a while since I wrote one of these. This year started out pretty good, we woke up January 1st at the cottage and six days later I was in Cuba. The month flew by and I saw a lot of friends in February. Little did we know what March would bring and now, April is almost over and the world is a different place. We’re in a global pandemic, the death toll is rising everyday, people are out of work, businesses are collapsing. Yesterday 19 22 people died in a mass shooting in Nova Scotia. It’s a lot to process. I feel tired, sad, grief. I woke up overwhelmed by it all. I’m cold, my arm aches, maybe it’s the weather? I didn’t workout today. All I want to do is lay on the couch, read, or watch a movie that makes me feel warm inside. Around noon, I pulled myself together and put on a nicer sweatsuit for a trip to the post office. It was the first time I’d driven somewhere alone since lockdown. My weighted blanket of anxiety was heavy on my chest as I got in the truck and backed out the driveway. Why did I feel so nervous? I’m an experienced driver, I’ve driven the truck on the these roads heaps. I had a mask and gloves, my tracking numbers. You have to mentally and physically prepare every time you leave the house right now, plan your route, give yourself extra time. It’s hard to adjust to the way things are right now. Some days I’m happy in the isolation bubble, creating, making things, then days like today, it all hits me and I’m filled with anxiety. It’s ok to…

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Day 37: My Blog is 15 Today!

At the start of the 2020, I’d planned that this year, finally, I was going to have a blog party. Well, that didn’t quite work out! Today marks 15 years since I started writing ‘Casie Stewart: This is My Life‘. My first online diary was MSN Spaces during university in Australia (2004), next I moved to casiestewart.blogspot.com (2005), and finally, found a home at casiestewart.com. I have grown and changed so much over the past 15 years. I’m really thankful to everyone who has been part of this blog. It’s been a huge part of my career development and me growing as a person. I was in my early 20’s when I started and over the years, keeping this diary has helped me work through so many ups and downs. Glad I didn’t give up, there were many times I didn’t feel like blogging but writing was what helped me though. Thank you for reading, commenting, reaching out, and for your friendship. Maybe next year I’ll do a Sweet 16!

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Day 36: How to Bleach Dye Your Denim

This little project turned out so good! I’d seen this DIY on Pinterest and Instagram (@primandprimp) so I decided to give it a go. If you want to try, it’s easy, here’s a how-to. You Will Need Jeans Tape Plastic Bag Bleach Spray bottle Gloves Somewhere to bleach with good ventilation ex. outside A couple hours 1: Tape Your Denim Pick a side you want to bleach then tape along the middle seam. Make sure to really get in there so the tape goes right to the edge of the stitching, you don’t want bleach to leak onto the darker side. Once done, grab your plastic bag, roll up the leg that’s not being dyed, and secure the bag. Tape to seal. 2: Spray Get your gloves and workspace ready. If you’re able to go outside, great. I like to use the lid of a storage bin and cover with a garbage bag to avoid making a mess. If you have to do this inside, open a window and turn on a fan. Start spraying your denim and make sure the whole leg is covered. Don’t forget the inseam and sides. If you don’t have a spray bottle, a sponge will work. Use what you can find! 3: Wait Set your project somewhere safe where the colour can develop. I had mine outside on the lawn for about 2 hours then moved inside to the shower for about 45 minutes until the colour stopped changing. It might be a bit drippy at the start, so keep away from anything bleach will ruin. 4: Wash Rince the dyed leg in cold water. You might find he tape is starting to come off because the fabric is wet. This is ok. Throw your new jeans in the washing machine and then the…

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