May Long Weekend in Muskoka

We drove up to the cottage on Thursday night to spend the May long weekend in Muskoka. I haven’t been up North much this year but was really looking forward to a few days out of the city. It was meant to rain all weekend but Friday was a magical sunny day. I took FULL ADVANTAGE. Went for a nice 7K walk/run in the middle of the day and it was beautiful. At Funday, we get a bonus vacation day during our birthday month so I booked mine to make an extra-long weekend. We took the boat out and Sean wakeboarded even though the water is still pretty cold. I don’t mind being captain lol. Fun times! With love from the woods!

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Hvr: Where Browsing Meets Social

Right before the pandemic hit, Sean and I spent a weekend hanging out with my good friend Talia and her husband Nelson. I’d met Nelson briefly in passing but we’d never really chatted. Once we got to talking, he shared what he was working on and we bonded over our thoughts about the web, publishing, and social. Nelson grew up in the publishing business as his family were co-owners of the Toronto Star. He and his brother Henry were building an app called Hvr that blends the features of browsing and social, bringing engagement back to websites. One of the first things he said was “We’re making browsing fun again” and from that moment, I was on board. As a long-time creator and publisher to the web, I’d never seen something so exciting! Since 2005 my blog has been my home base on the internet. As social media emerged in 2010, conversations moved to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, taking engagement with them and away from websites. Today, when I hit publish on a blog post, then copy-paste the URL from a browser to a social platform, people will talk about it there. This gives engagement to huge platforms but doesn’t do much for me as a creator or for my website. Fast forward to 2022, the web is changing, social media is just rented space, the best thing you can do as a creator is have a place you own online, a website. Introducing Hvr, Where Browsing Meets Social For the past year, I’ve been working closely with the Hvr team to develop the app by sharing my experience on the web and contributing to everything from design to copy and marketing. We’re changing the browsing experience by making it easy to follow your favourite sites, discover new content,…

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Cold Therapy Does a Body Good

This weekend Sean and I were up at the cottage. It was the first time I’d been up north since our getaway over the holidays. On Sunday we went to visit a friend on Lake Joe just north of Port Carling. Pat & Miranda have become cottage partners in crime for ice cold dips in the frozen lake. Don’t mess with a girl and chainsaw! ? Ok, ok, to be honest, I only carried it down to the lake (like Baby in Dirty Dancing with the watermelon), Sean is the real chainsaw king. Pat had a hole in the ice already but in 24 hours 2 inches of ice had formed. The boys made a nice fire beside our pool so we could warm up after going in. I know it seems crazy but I absolutely love cold therapy. I was never someone who liked winter but since we’ve started doing cold dips in the ice, I’ve learned to love it. I’m listing a few benefits but please note this is not medical advice, do your research and check with your doctor before you do it. Some Benefits of Cold Therapy Decreased inflammation Improved metabolism and weight loss Mental clarity Improved sleep Boost your immune system My other advice is to always do your dips with a friend. No ice is safe ice and your personal safety is the most important. For anyone following my adventures, I haven’t been able to use our stock tank in the city because the patio door has been frozen. Excited to get back out there soon tho!

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Bars Are Open Again: Hemingways!

Went for dinner with Erin & Natalie at Hemingway’s. Was nice to be out! I had fish & chips and it was kinda greasy (obvs) but I wanted something that reminded me of New Zealand. Wore a cute outfit and wasn’t out late. Sean picked me up at 8:30 and I got takeaway tacos. My last visit there was summer 2021 when bars opened after lockdown, Natalie and I had a ball of a time lol. If you’ve been reading my blog a long while you’ll know I used to work at Hemingway’s 10+ years ago. I love that place and all the New Zealand nostalgia. Always a good time!

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2022: Be Consistent

Well, well, well, guess who’s back? I really jumped the gun when I stopped counting the days about a month ago because shortly after, Omicron took over our lives. December feels like a blur, I was mostly at home, Sean was up north. I hung out with friends, went to an event, things started to feel normal, right before they weren’t. Covid was everywhere. Sean and I were both sick over the holidays and spent Christmas alone together in the woods. I really enjoyed a break from work, life, and the city, even though I was sick for 90% of the time. The past year has been exhausting for a suite of reasons and it was nice to check out for a bit. I have opened this blog to write something more than a handful of times but I just couldn’t do it. I haven’t felt like myself and I haven’t felt like sharing. Up until this week, I still had a brain fog that left me feeling like a dull pencil needing to be sharpened. I took a break from running and didn’t start the New Year with goals and aspirations like usual. BE CONSISTENT This year I commit to ‘Be Consistent’, that’s my theme. I will keep running, eating well, drinking less, and working on myself. I am going to come out of this damn pandemic a better person. ARE YOU WITH ME? Over the past week, I’ve been back to my morning runs, got my hair done, and have been cooking great meals in our new air fryer. I’ve not been doing much other than watching Amy on Jeopardy, finishing 3 seasons of Succession, taking care of my skin, and going to bed early. I also started a class on crypto with a friend. It’s boring-ish life…

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Day 623: What if it turns out better?

How many times have you been in a situation, or given an opportunity but worried the outcome might be bad? Never? Well, that must be nice! LOL. I’ve found that through the pandemic my anxiety has gotten worse and it’s not that I think things will go bad, it’s just that I feel anxious something might go wrong. The thing is, what if it turns out better than you expected? Better than you could have ever imagined? What if all your hard work, late nights, long days, sweat, tears, finally pay off like you always dreamed? It’s possible. One of my fav books from when I was little is from the ValueTales series, “The Value of Believing In Yourself“, the story of Louis Pasteur (published 1977). Pasteur is known for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization. The story is about him finding a cure for rabies because he believed in himself. Funny side note about this book, I got a new copy for Emily when she was a kid and didn’t remember the part of the story where the dog passed away. Sean was like, “um the dog DIES?! What kind of story is this?!” HAHAHAHA. Safe to say, neither of them feels the same passion for the book as me. Whoops! (I’m sure mum will find this hilarious.) Believe in yourself, anything is possible!

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Day 622: Morning Light That Shines

Worked from Sean’s office today and it was nice to be back at my desk. I’ve been spending so much time at home I almost forgot what it felt like to ‘go to work’. The morning light that shines in from the south-facing windows is enough to keep me coming back. Drove to Hamilton in the afternoon to pick up our first round of merch for Funday. After months of design meetings and emails, our order was ready and turned out amazing! Needed to get some steps in so I took a long walk after work. It’s really nice to be downtown. Hard to believe I used to go out ALL THE TIME. These days once the sun goes down, I really just want to be home. As the days get shorter, here’s to finding that light in your day!

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Day 621: You Have Everything You Need

Wore this outfit on our weekend drive to Orillia when I was really excited to pick up the stock tank. It wasn’t available to Sean and I went to the liquidation store and got Wendy’s. These pants are from Zara kids last winter and my sweater belonged to mum when I was a kid. Dad made this car in real life, IRL! Leaving this look here as a reminder to wear more of the clothes I don’t wear that often. You don’t need new clothes, you have everything you need!

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Day 594: Full Moon, Happy Heart

Went to the Stackt Market w/ Cory before our ladies dinner date. It’s so lovely there! Took a bunch of photos, looked around, admired the sun setting over the train tracks, under the full moon. We had dinner at Clio, the new restaurant on the 3rd floor of the old Spoke Club. Gail is a member there so she was able to book us all a table. I had the kale salad, scallops, and broccolini, all delicious. Met up w/ Sean at the office after, stopped on Ossington for one cocktail and was in bed before 11. Nice to be out but I also love being home. ?

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Day 592: Run for Your Life!

Went for such a nice run this evening and then a bike ride. It’s quite cold today but perfect for getting that heart rate up. Not looking forward to really cold temps but I love running in the winter, as long as it’s not slippery. I usually head out in the morning but today we had contractors over to fix one of our exterior walls at 8 am and Sean was already on his run. Someone had to be home! Planning to run the rail path before work tomorrow as I’m meeting some friends for dinner in the evening. I’ve not seen a couple of these ladies in almost a year so really looking forward to it. Hope your week is off to a great start!

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