Today was cold and so windy. On days when it’s really sunny, the sun streams into the cottage living room, casting a beautiful light onto the couch area. I was mesmerized by it today! I could feel the warm energy on my face and it gave me hope for spring and longer days ahead. Daylight Saving Time is on Sunday and it will be so nice to be able to go for evening walks without it being dark. This week at the cottage has been so nice, calm, relaxing. I’m looking forward to being home next week, checking on my plants, and going for distanced walks with friends. Both Muskoka and Toronto are still in lockdown so there’s not much to do but with warmer weather, we can hang outside. Please stay safe, stay home, and wear a mask when out. We’ll get through this, hang in there! The sun shines for you!

New fav lunch is making smoothie bowls, I didn’t realize how simple and beautiful they were. I’m always looking for more ways to integrate fruit, vegetables, and fiber into my meals and this is IT. Picked up a great mix of frozen fruits & veg for smoothies, then add coconut, bran bits, dairy-free coconut yogurt, and fresh fruit. Absolutely divine! Spend most of the day working, really quite enjoying my job, and will be working more over the coming months. Sometimes I dream about working in an office but other days I love the freedom of working from home. I’ve been going through old posts and looking back over the past 12 months. This weekend marks one year of pandemic life and I’m so glad to have kept this diary. I feel like I’d have no idea where the year went without it! Should I keep counting the days after one year?

Yesterday we had an epic day of outdoor adventure with Pat & Miranda at their cottage. Sean has been really into Wim Hof breathing and cold plunges for the last year. Some benefits of cold therapy are reducing inflammation, swelling, and sore muscles, improved quality of sleep, more focus, and improved immune response. To read up on it, check out wimhofmethod.com. If you can tough it out for a few minutes, you’ll feel AMAZING after. Sean filmed this with a drone and it turned out so good. Watch the video on Instagram here. Pat had to break the ice with an axe before we could go in the ice hole. He went first for about 2 min, then me for about 1.5 and Sean too. The temperature outside was about -6 and the ice water was VERY VERY COLD. Felt so energized after going in the cold water. I’m gonna try and go in our ice bath at the cottage a few more times this week. I find it really helps with arthritis in my arm and sore feet. Here’s to a great week!

Nice morning walk on the frozen lake. The ice is very thick. Crazy to think we went right across to the other side. Walk on water, baby! I love these smoke bombs, thanks Sean! You can find them at your local fireworks store or here on Amazon. Made a video and posted it on Instagram. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE It’s so quiet and peaceful out on the lake. The shifting ice makes these subsonic sounds that you can feel in your bones. With a shift in temperatures, ice moves, vibrating up and down, kind of like a drum or deep-sounding bass. It’s really cool to feel when you’re walking on it. Sometimes it’s loud and we can hear it from inside the cottage. How great is this jacket?! It’s Sean’s mum’s and has matching hot pink snow pants. I love it! Hi Lorna if you are reading this, miss you!

Today we had an adventure and went to visit Talia & Nelson at their cottage. I dressed for playing outside and it was a beautiful day. Around this time last year, we spent a night at their place and went snowmobiling. We even drove snowmobiles to a lake-side restaurant and ate inside. Inside! It was the last weekend before the pandemic hit. It was so mild today, I even unzipped my jacket for part of the walk. Nelson & Talia showed us all the targets they have set up for shooting. I’d never shot a gun until this day but it was the right place and time. Nelson turned to me and said “Casie, you’re up!” and carefully walked me through it. I’m not a gun person by any means but at this moment, I felt safe and decided to give it a try. Proud of myself, I was pretty good at hitting the target! Feels good to spend the day outside enjoying winter, making the most of each day. We drove back to the cottage as the sun was setting.

I always kinda danced to my own drum but over the past year, I’ve realized how much I really like hanging out with me. I’m so fun. I love walking, running, exercise with me, making crafts, sewing. I love writing alone in my room with the lights dim and Netflix in the background. I love playing in my closet or going through the bins under my bed. I love being alone with my stuff and talking to myself. I laugh when I’m alone with me about all kinds of things. I smile into my phone when I text friends. I smile when I write emails and I think it shows. I think one of the best things we can learn from the past year is how to JUST BE with our thoughts and who we really are. It’s the biggest life lesson we can learn. It’s a journey, not a destination. The process of getting to know oneself is ongoing and there are bumps along the way. The road to self-love is less traveled and you have make your own path. We can all get there, it just takes work. Don’t get me wrong I love my family and friends, but when you really know and love yourself, you have more to share.

It’s almost been one full year since this thing changed our lives and today we’re back in the month of March. Did it March ever end? ‘Pandemi Lovato’ is my new fav nickname for the Pandemic, others include panny, panini, pandemi, Patricia, borona, & pantalangio. Over the next few days, I’m going to read over posts from the start of the pandemic and roundup some things to remember. Journaling is such a beautiful thing and I’m glad to have this space to share and document. Thank you for reading and following me on this adventure. I know we’ve all gone through so much the past year and I hope that reading my blog has made you feel less alone at least once. We are in this together. The collective experience of Covid-19 has changed us, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Feeling pretty happy today, I was excited for Monday meetings, getting dressed up (Monday tradition), and doing work after a relaxing weekend. I have definitely learned to slow right down over the past 12 months and have no problems creating time for rest. My skin and hair have never had so many masks and I make time for running, workouts, walks, and sleep as part of my routine. The countdown to one year of the pandemic is on the home stretch and I’m sure we’ll see heaps of one-year roundups. Please don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t have a list of new skills or milestones to recap. Surviving is the greatest gift as so many precious people lost their lives and loved ones. Hopefully, we’ll have some more good news about vaccinations soon. I will 100% be getting the vaccine when my turn is called. Hang in there. ? I love this March/James Franco gif so much. If you…

Met up with Michelle to go for a nice walk in the sun. I was thinking of taking the King Streetcar from Bathurst back to Dundas West but changed my mind. Decided to follow the sun and head west on foot, picked up some flowers, and walked home. Went through Trinity Bellwoods then along Dundas, when I passed Lansdowne, the sunset lined up perfectly with the bridge at Sterling Road. Got home as the sky turned to night. Was feeling big moon energy and said my 6 wishes under its bright light. Learned this manifestation from mum and always go out and talk to the moon, tell the universe exactly what I want. It’s amazing how fast the universe responds if you go confidently in the direction of your dreams, leaving doubt behind. For the full moon, I attended on an online sound bath hosted by Sound Meditation Presents. A sound bath is an opportunity to travel inward, explore your thoughts and feelings through sound and breathing. In January 2017, after 3 crazy days of CES in Las Vegas, I drove to LA. I offered to drive a friend back and he brought 2 friends for the ride. I was on a solo mission so didn’t mind the company. One of the friends was Suzy, who invited me to join her for Sound Bath LA. Had no idea what it was but I went. We grabbed blankets and pillows and drove with her friend to a dance studio. It was such an incredible experience, I wrote about it here. I left that night feeling like a different person, I’d changed. Spent the next week in LA, alone, staying at different Airbnbs and going on adventures. There is nothing like traveling by yourself to rediscover who you are. I was forever…

Went for a nice walk went near High Park today. It was so lovely outside, felt like spring. Last night I was a co-host of Toronto Creator Power Hour, a Clubhouse room hosted by Joëlle Anello, Casey Palmer, Solmaz Khosrowshahian, Trisha Enriquez. I pitched the idea to have a chat about blogging and we had Hawley Dunbar from Sidewalk Hustle join us. We had a GREAT chat about blogging and how as a creator, it’s important to have an online home for your content that you own. When it comes to social media, it’s more like renting space as you do not own the platform and you can’t control what happens on IG, Facebook, etc. After work, I listened to my latest book on Audible, ‘Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol‘. This is the viral book Chrissy Tiegen read before getting sober. I also made a delicious sandwich, I love sandwiches. ?

The weather this week has been so nice. I’ve gone on some great long walks. met up with Aisha on Wednesday to go for a distanced walk with her and Kermit, her cute pup. We started out a warm drink and followed the sun walking around the Junction. I swear, every time I see a friend lately, I jump and scream, hugging myself to show how much I’d hug them if it wasn’t a pandemic. The sun is a star and so are you, don’t forget it. Each day we have more minutes of daylight, and in a few weeks, we’ll have another hour. Before we know it, daylight saving time will kick in on March 14th and spring will be here close. Kermit is so cute, he’s 5 months old and has a lot of energy. The fluffy fur!

Yesterday I was so exhausted. After watching Y&R (as usual) from 4:30-5:30, I put on my pajamas, washed my face, and got ready for bed. Had a couple of phone chats with friends and finished S2 of BONDiNG on Netflix. Good show, it’s about a Femme Domme, a comedian, and their relationships. Got an advance copy of a new book on Kindle via NetGalley called ‘The Girls Are All So Nice Here‘. It’s a suspense thriller about two best friends and comes out on March 9th, 2021. This month I’m determined to read more books, I read heaps at the start of the Pani and fell off my reading game over the summer. I did a Peloton sleep meditation before bed last night and woke up feeling refreshed. According to my watch, I slept 9 hours & 24 minutes and my average sleep per night has increased in the past 14 days. I’ve really been loving the Calm SleepStories but decided to switch it up, I know, WILD. I used to stay up late but given the current circumstances, I figure I might as well get as many ZZZs as possible and make some new habits. I’ve been finding it harder to get up in the morning so I’m actively trying to fall asleep earlier. If I get a good 8 hours, as the days get longer, I’ll feel more like doing my morning workouts. At least, I HOPE THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS.

Today marks 300 days since the pandemic hit. I remember Friday, March 13th, 2020 so vividly. It was the last morning I woke up at 7 am to hit the gym. I started keeping a diary as a way to remember this experience, never thought it would last this long. Also, might have beat my own blogging-streak record with almost 1 post/day for this entire period. That week was the last time I had a big brand photoshoot, my hair was freshly cut and super blonde. Earlier in the week, I went to a massage and swam in the pool at the Shangri-La, recorded a podcast, went to an event, and on Friday night, had a pint inside the local bar. On March 13, 2020, we went to Walmart and the shelves were empty. Panic buying had started, TP, paper towels, and disinfectant wipes were sold out almost everywhere. Staff were wearing gloves and people started making masks at home to wear when they went out. On Monday, March 15th Sean and I decided to pack a bunch of stuff in the truck and head to the cottage. We usually open it up in March/April so thought why not spend a few weeks until this ‘whole thing’ passed over. As cases started to rise, an announcement was made that the kids wouldn’t go back after March Break and they’d eventually start virtual school. What a year It’s been. Despite the tragedy and loss, I’ve learned a lot this year and grown tremendously as a person. Trying to be gentle with myself these days and lean in to this slower way of life. I’m grateful for friends, family, our home, my new found love for cooking, exercising, and taking care of my plants. This week we are seeing 3,000+ cases a…