21 Days Till the New Year – Why Wait to Make a Change?

Went for my first yoga class in a while today. I feel so good. Found a studio that’s a 7min walk and beside a great coffee shop. I also downloaded a countdown app for my next trip (California!) and set a countdown till the New Year. There’s 21 days till 2017 and since it’s been such a sh*t year for heaps of reasons, I’m gonna try and make the last bit really great. IF NOT NOW, WHEN? In case you’re just tuning in, I had breast reduction surgery this summer and have been a bit slow getting back to it. The recovery was not too long/hard but big stretches with arms over the head were not in my favour. I did some aerial yoga about 3 months after but not full on yoga-yoga. Plastic surgery is something that I had been thinking about for a long time so I made sure to do as much research as I could before committing to a procedure. One of my friends has recently had a breast reduction operation at the luxurgery facility in New York. I cannot wait to meet up with her soon so we can swap stories about our procedures. Today was the day. Registered for a noon class at YOGA YOGA and set out to make it a good one. A couple weeks months ago I picked out some great yoga gear from the new Gaiam website as a gift from the brand. THANK YOU! Today I opened all the packages and put on new stuff for class. WOO HOO. YOGA YOGA is a vinyasa yoga studio in the Junction Triangle super close to my house. Had it not been a snow storm I’d totally have been there in 2mins via bike. Felt good to stretch. The class was warm…

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These Are The Vines of Our Lives

I loved Twitter’s Vine app. I used it heaps when it first came out and have 200+ thousand views and 400+ videos. Yesterday Twitter announced it’s shutting the app down (and cutting 9% of global staff). This is a good reminder, it’s not about the platform, it’s about the content. As someone who’s been on the internet, making stuff for over a decade I’ve seen a lot of apps have their rise to fame, go viral, get a huge user base, then die. Lets look back at 12secondstv, I was one of their top users and in 2010 they got bought by AOL and closed up shop. I made short videos of almost everything I was doing and posted them on the app. Around the same time I’d been an active user on Dailybooth, a website where you shared a photo of yourself everyday (mostly from your computer webcam). When Instagram came out, nobody needed Dailybooth anymore, there was a new app with filters right in your phone. Dailybooth died in 2012. Anyone remember Viddy? I hung out with the founders in 2013 at CES in Vegas and joined the app right away. It was the video version of Instagram!  Justin Bieber and bunch of celebrities used it all the time. Then, one day, Instagram added video. It was game changer. In months Viddy was done. Users jumped ship to an app they were already on to share content to an existing audience. “it’s not about the platform, it’s about the content” SOME OF MY FAV VINES OF THE TIMES Here are a few of my fav Vines from my channel and the Internet. I hope you enjoy. As a reminder, keep making good content and try all the platforms to see what is out there.   LADA GAGA SCARES LEO – Remember this? OOP! https://vine.co/v/iMAHYTw00bH https://vine.co/v/inAiBuI6UOX THIS KID IS ALL OF…

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Return on Enjoyment: Finding That Work-Life Balance

I find taking vacation or ‘staycations’ essential to my sanity. If you’re following my Twitter or Snapchat you’ll know that I’m always on the go doing something, events, speaking, dinner, travel. I love it, but tbh it’s pretty exhausting. Putting heaps of energy out (friends, work, or social) can take a lot out of you. In a recent TD survey, they found that us millennials have a hard time finding balance between financial and work commitments, and taking time to relax is a challenge. I can totally relate to this. TD found that 46% of millennials don’t take their allotted vacation days, mostly due to heavy workload (31%) and lack of travel funds (29%). Back when I was working in an agency, I hardly ever took vacation, felt pressure to work late, and when I did take vacation, found myself constantly checking my phone and responding to emails. I know I’m not alone here! The survey found, 90% of Canadian millennials agree that vacation time, even mini-vacations or “staycations”, are essential to keeping them happy. Taking time to recharge doesn’t have to be expensive, I find a good binge weekend with some cooking, takeout, and a nap (or two!) boosts me up. Having a financial plan and a budget will help you get that ROE – Return on Enjoyment. ? This weekend we opened the cottage, going there, even for a 24 hour getaway gives me leaps and bounds of energy. Don’t have a cottage? Make friends with someone who does (heh heh) or check out options like Airbnb or Glamping Hub for affordable getaways. Millennials like us can save for activities by creating a financial plan to account for funding life’s pleasures (or unexpected moments). We could all use a little more vitamin SEA, amiright? ? Other activities with…

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Speaking | United Nations IWD 2016 & Planet 50-50

This past weekend I was joined by mum and my sister for an event with the United Nations Association of Canada where I spoke on a panel for IWD 2016. Although International Women’s Day was on March 8th, we celebrated the economic, political, cultural, and social achievements of women in an afternoon at the Fairmont Royal York. Visiting the Royal York was always so iconic growing up and to be speaking there as a grown up felt pretty neat. Having my family there made it even more special. The first question I answered from the stage was about inspiration and I proudly shared things mum taught me and a quote from her. [symple_testimonial by=”” fade_in=”false”]Just because you don’t have money, doesn’t mean you can’t compete, you just have to be more creative. – Judith Stewart, my mum[/symple_testimonial]

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IWD 2016 – Women @ Work Managing Career, Family & Legacy

Yesterday I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. I know we all have those days. I’ve been working on something with my speaker agent, prepping for a keynote in Edmonton, and then there’s a mounting email, and social updates. Sometimes I feel like I just need to shut down and take a break, I wonder how the heck I’m gonna do it all?! That’s usually when I ring mum and she talks me through, reminding me not to give up, and how hard I’ve worked to get here. She reminds me I’m probably tired, and maybe hungry. For this, I’m grateful. I call her almost everyday with something, so today on International Women’s Day, I’m especially thankful. When I got off the phone with mum the other night I arrived at the Rotman School of Business at U of T for a special presentation with TD, their 10 Lessons: Women @ Work Report. I was happy to see my friend & fellow social entrepreneur Gracie’s smiling face and we sat down together, all ears. Tweets from the night can be found at #YourStoryYourFuture. Excited to attend @TD_Canada's Women @ Work talk tonight with my girl @casiestewart! WERK! #yourstoryyourfuture pic.twitter.com/ZBtplnt3h1 — Gracie Carroll (@GracieCarroll) March 7, 2016 TD partnered with University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management to release a joint report that uncovers insights about how women across the country perceive the challenges and opportunities in advancing professionally. Career, relationships, family, finances, it’s hard (and often stressful) to manage this stuff all at the same time. I don’t have my own kids yet but there’s challenges with a blended family, we’ve got a sassy 8yr old 50% of the time, and Sean and I are both entrepreneurs, managing very different businesses. Learning about the challenges of other women in professional careers, really…

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