Day 78: Black Lives Matter

This weekend I watched, I listened, I had conversations that were heartbreaking. This is a human issue and I can’t sit by and not say something. I acknowledge my privilege, I can speak up, I can do better. We all can do better. A post & illustration by @mimimoffie has been running through my mind, “if you’re tired of hearing about racism, imagine how fucking exhausting it is living it”. BIPOC friends & I love you, I stand with you, I support you. White friends, do your research, educate yourself, talk to the people you love. Acknowledge the role white privilege plays in racism. ??????????

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Day 63: A Slice of Summer | Hayley Elsaesser x Coors Slice

Different boats = social distancing!??☀️We didn’t actually hang out with anyone on another boat but I guess we could have?! Had a nice day hanging out around the house, it was warm and sunny. We had some work to do in the afternoon for a Tuesday deadline. It’s so nice to have the boat in the water. She’s running well! A box showed up at our door on Friday w/ this outfit and beer. Lol how did I get so lucky in this life?!?? I love the creativity of this summer collab w/ Hayley Elsaesser x Coors Slice. This print is tiny Corrs Light cans made by Hayley. The collection comes out Monday at 3pm here. They’ve got summer swimwear, bucket hats, button-ups, and my fav item, a fanny pack cooler. So good! ??? HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GREAT LONG WEEKEND! PLS BE SAFE!

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Day 48: Ray of Sunshine

Nice little Saturday! Ran in the morning, did a dance workout in the afternoon. Spent most the day inside. New running shoes are so great. This movie was pretty good. Had a few White Claw at night and chatted with some friends. I really hope the weather gets warmer next week!

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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 22: Make Something Each Day

Yesterday I made granola, a chickpea lentil curry, spicy roasted chickpeas, roast potatoes, and Sean made meatballs. I spent some time drawing on my iPad and decided to test out my old Crimper. It still works! The granola was a recipe from Pay Chen in The Kit. I modified for what I had and MY GOD IT IS DELICIOUS. I forgot how much I love granola. I am now a forest dwelling, yoga lady, who makes her own granola. I am not surprised at all. Em made a mask from an old bathing suit and we went through my art supplies. I did Soca Yoga and some stretches while watching movie in front of the fire. TY Amy for the reco, great class! There was an Amber Alert to stay home that came thorough our phones. This is the second time it’s happened, the last alert was for anyone who had travelled outside the country. We have not left the compound for one full week and Sean is planning to get supplies Monday. I’m gonna stay here with Em while he goes out. We made the strategic decision for him to go during the week so people who can’t go M-F, can have the weekend. We have a running Google doc with everything we need for the house and he will wear gloves, a mask, and change clothes as soon as he gets home. Aside from some groceries, need a part to fix the washing machine. Made a pavlova for Jake Gold’s birthday party on Zoom. We don’t have birthday candles so a big one had to do. It was BYOC – Bring Your Own Cake, everyone lit candles and sung HBD at the same time. Welcome to life in the year 2020. Sean and I started Unorthodox on Netflix…

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Day 17: Opportunity

Today I slept in a bit (8am!) and woke up feeling better. It’s amazing the difference a day makes. I need to set a reminder that this situation isn’t permanent. Last night Sean said to me, “we have the opportunity to make this the best, most memorable experience“. It helped shift my perspective, creating space to think differently. I chatted with a friend who has a child the same age as Em, she inspired me to take a more relaxed approach to the whole home education thing. The school stuff will work itself out and until then we’ll wing it. We have an opportunity to teach Em the things we know, how we work, life skills, gardening, cooking, making stuff. This situation is already stressful, we will figure out what works as we go. There are heaps of resources out there and the teachers are working to have online class material available. I made a Google Doc with a bunch of online stuff to do, you can access it here. The ice is starting to melt. Mum, don’t worry we won’t go out there! You can’t see it but there is a concrete dock under where Sean is standing. After breakfast, I worked with her to create a WordPress blog for her art. We talked about brainstorming, branding, I showed her fonts, hex colours etc. I work from the kitchen table so it was natural to sit and blog. She has been working on designing images and it’s nice to see her excited. We made a TikTok and I had her show me do most of it, she knows the app better than I do. (FOR NOW, haha.) I watched a YouTube on how to add VO to TikTok using screen capture on iPhone for another video. We dyed her…

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Day 11: Skipping

I haven’t been running but I picked up skipping again! My sister and I used to be a skipping demo team for the Heart & Stroke Foundation as kids. We would tour around to different schools doing routines to music, double dutch, and cartwheels in & out of spinning ropes. It was fun. I’m sure I have a photo of us in our uniforms under my bed at home. I forgot how much of a workout skipping is, it’s hard! I started listening to Roz & Mocha again on 92.5 and if a song comes on I like (ex. Lady Gaga), I grab my rope and skip. I can still do most of these need to work on a couple of the harder ones. We ventured out to get some supplies today like groceries, TP, and gas. We divided the list so we could do a quick job. Walmart wasn’t too busy and people were keeping their distance. It’s hard to believe this is really happening. A lot of shelves were empty but we get all the things we needed and don’t need to get anyting for another two weeks. I went to the LCBO and then cracked a beer when we got home. I have had more beers in the last week than I have in a while. Not making new habits but being in quarantine is hard sometimes. I had a few FaceTime & Houseparty hangouts again. It’s a weird thing these online hangouts, have you ever joined a Houseparty and been like, ‘whoops nope, leaving now?‘ It’s awkward. I took off my shellac using this tutorial which went great. However, painting my own nails? They’re brutal. I’m embarrassed. Gonna take my polish off today and go au natural. At this point, I’m giving up on having nice…

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Beat Winter SAD: Sweat!

Since making exercise part of my life over the last few months, I’ve started to crave the feeling I get from working out. Each night I lay out my gym stuff and look forward to going each morning. I wrote a bit about my fitness journey here and once I started to see results, it motivated me to keep going. I’m committed to not letting this winter give me seasonal affective disorder like last year, I never want to get that way again. I’m sure there will be sad days here and there (there deff are), but I know I can fight it with fitness. Today’s tip to beat Winter SAD is to SWEAT. Find a class, get a YouTube video going, download Nike Training club, dance, or jump around. Do something to get yourself moving, create endorphins, get your brain high on body moment. My Fav Apps & Fitness Resources I like the NTC app for exercises and the NRC app for running. I often do Yoga with Adrienne on Youtube or find workouts on Pinterest. There are so many free resources available online if you don’t have a gym membership. If you are in GTA and want a workout buddy to try a class, ask me anytime! I love hanging with friends and movement makes us all feel good. You got this, we can beat winter SAD!

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Just Take the Photo

2020 is bringing more of the #oneleggedselfie, a fav of @hey.maca and the original Man Repeller. This is the year I start taking photos of my outfits. If I see an opportunity, I’m taking it. I used to share my looks a lot but I stopped because I didn’t feel good in my clothes, in my skin. So, I made a change, I’m moving forward. I want to document what I wear so I can remember. Like this dress over a mesh t-shirt and pants, with running shoes? Oh, yes. I am finally, after all these years, starting to plan content out a little more long term. I have some great stuff coming including a series on beating winter sadness, cause we all need to try and avoid Seasonal Affective Disorder. Last winter really got me down so I’m actively attempting to stay in high spirits till summer. I am here when you need a pick me up on cold days or a reminder of what spring feels like. I AM IN BLOOM. Saw this on IG and thought it was a nice finish to a great week. Professional Cialis

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Rebuilding Your House: I Broke My Collarbone

A year ago today I slipped on some ice at mum’s house, breaking my collar bone, getting a massive black eye, and severe nerve damage to half my face. It was right after receiving an Alumni Award from the President of Conestoga College. What a DAY. It was horrible. I was in severe pain most of the winter and did you know that having nerves repair themselves feels like you have a hair on your face that’s not there? Something so simple as taking a selfie was hard for months because I couldn’t move my arm above 90 degrees. I felt like half my face looked different. Does it? I declined attending a lot of events because I didn’t feel good about myself. This is a couple of days after the accident and before it got worse. This night I was up for an Ontario Premier’s Award so I had to attend the ceremony. My eye was watering the whole time and I was so self-conscious about the makeup running. This past year has been all about rebuilding, reprogramming myself, changing old habits, and loving myself more. I’ve been working on strength and can finally Chaturanga Dandasana again. I’ve been thinking about what happened a lot the last few days and I want to remind you that what you see on the internet is only a fraction of someone’s life. I’ve always been honest and real on my blog but this was something I wasn’t ready to face head-on, I didn’t know how to deal with it so barely mentioned it at all. I felt bad about not being strong, my arm was so weak and my confidence was broken. A year later, I’m feeling better and have another X-ray tomorrow that is hopefully my last. I want to remind…

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