I wasn’t feeling great today. Kept waking up in the night thinking someone was walking through the cottage. Woke up with serious anxiety, went for a run, did a meditation, took a nap. Called mum when after my rest and talked it out. Had a cry, felt a bit better. Mum has a magical way of calming me down, looking at things rationally, and helping me see clearly. A nap always helps too, everything seems more intense when you’re tired. Today, Toronto announced new ‘red zone’ restrictions as cases keep rising in the GTA. Ontario is now seeing over 1,000 cases/day which is kinda scary. As of Saturday, restaurants can no longer have indoor dining, gyms can’t hold fitness classes, no indoor meeting spaces, and bars have 9pm last call. They’re also encouraged people not to hang out with anyone who doesn’t live in their household. It’s crazy we are living through this right now. Being at the cottage feels like we’re escaping and sometimes I start doing something where I forget what’s going on, then I remember. It’s normal to have anxiety, especially now, I’ve found that exercise and meditation have been really helpful. A couple of years ago I was gifted a membership to the Calm app and really got into guided meditation. I found that I really missed using the app and purchased a new membership in the summer. I love the sleep stories by Matthew McConaughey or Harry Stiles. I swear I’ve never heard the end of the story, I always fall asleep! Their website is offering a free week if you’d like to give it a try. If you’re feeling pandemic anxiety, it’s normal, take some deep breaths, go outside for as walk, call a friend, or do something that makes you feel happy. We’ll…

Spent the entire afternoon sitting in the sun and it was so lovely! Read my book, did a little workout, perfection. Hard to believe we are having such warm days in November. 2020 is such an interesting year! We’ve been having the most beautiful sunsets the last few days. I love summer up here but there’s also such a good vibe in autumn. Sending love from the woods!

Today is the USA election. Everyone is on high stress! I’m sure we won’t see the results tonight. I hope Joe Biden wins. Another 4 years of Trump won’t be good. This necklace from Jenny Bird keeps following me around the internet. I’ve been working out using the Peloton app and there are no live classes today so the instructors can all vote. Have been making Story Art on Instagram, you can see them all here.

Most people usually dread the Monday after Daylight Saving Time. Not me though, I love waking up early and today marks one year since I started working out. Last year, I took that extra hour when I woke up early to start gong to the gym. I didn’t enjoy it at first but I learned to love it. I would spend 5-10 min on the treadmill and 10-15 min with weights. I wanted to establish the habit of going and knew that I didn’t need to work out for a long period each day for it to become a routine. After about a month I started to feel different, mostly my mental health, I had more energy and I was happier. After two months, I really started to notice a difference, my arms were getting toned and I saw a glimmer of an ab or two. By the time I went to Cuba in January, I was feeling really good. I lost about 30 Lbs since this time last year, improved my eating habits, and learned to love exercise. It was cold running outside today but the sun was shining through the trees and the air was fresh. Started a holiday wreath. It’s been ages since I made one. I picked a few branches from the woods between meetings and did a bit more after work. Today I felt that same creative energy I had back in the March/April quarantine. I’m happier when taking a bit of my day to make something creative, a craft, sewing, or try a new recipe. I’m committing to working out each day (M-F) like I did last year, I feel it was a BIG part of what kept my spirits up in the winter months. Creativity and exercise can change your mood. Do something…

It snowed today for the first time this season. I’m not ready for it but I also feel so romantic about it. I instantly want to start playing Christmas music while it falls slowly outside the windows. The sun came out for a minute in the afternoon and the snow finally stopped. I needed a break, so I put on my witch outfit and went into the woods. As one does! I am definitely my fav subject to shoot and highly recommend taking your own photo once in a while. I could have asked Sean but I find I like to do it myself and take my time. I don’t always know what I’m doing when I start so I like to just go with the flow and feel it out. Sometimes it works out and sometimes I just pack up and go inside and do it another time. I usually end up with a couple of good photos and a whole bunch that get deleted. I also like to take Live photos so I can turn them into short videos with the Lively app. I set up my tripod and use a self-timer or one of these handy Bluetooth remotes from Amazon. Most of the photos in my Instagram posts are taken by me with this method or a straight-up selfie. I made this video and was laughing so hard at the witch cackle, Sean was like ‘what are you DOING?’. Oh nothing, just being weird haha. See the video with AUDIO on Instagram here. With love from the woods!

The sky is grey and it’s raining, again. We’ve hardly had any sun over the last week, today is a gloomy Monday in the woods. Friday was beautiful and over 20 degrees, but I was inside working the whole day. We had a really relaxing weekend, I swear I could have used another two days to charge my batteries. I did nothing but watch Netflix all day on Saturday and it was glorious. I’m on S3 of Gossip Girl now. Yesterday I did a bunch of food prep and then took I nap. Things are really exciting these days lol. Sunday afternoon, we met up with Emily’s mum in Gravenhurst to do the switchover. This morning, ‘Stage 2’ is trending on Twitter and Ontario is seeing the highest Corona cases since the start of the pandemic. Sean and I are thinking to stay up here in the woods for most of the week. The cottage isn’t fully winterized but I would be happy to stay up here as long as we can. Please stay safe and wear a mask. We’re all dreaming of the day this is over. I hope you have a great week.

It was absolutely gorgeous today! The sun was shining and it was over 20 degrees. I spent most of the day working but got out for a run in the am and gazed out at the lake from my desk. The air was warm and it felt like summer. At 4 pm we got alerts about a tornado warning as the sky turned from bright blue to dark and grey. We got hit with some pretty insane hail that ranged from tiny bits to about the size of a quarter. Sean and Em went out to get a some stuff in town and the cottage power went out for a few minutes. They were in Bracebridge when the whole city turned black from a power outage. Crazy!

This week has been really busy. Come Friday, I’ll be taking my business head off and retreating to the cottage from some much-needed creative time. I feel like each day lately has so many ups and downs from work, personal, and everything going on in the world around us. Trying to maintain an equilibrium can be a real challenge. I think we need to ride the rollercoaster and feel this wave out. Stay home, wear a mask. Take breaks. I’m so looking forward to being back in the woods tomorrow, sitting down with my sewing machine, and curling up beside the fire w/ Kindle.

I’ve wanted to write for the last few days and I didn’t feel like it. It wasn’t until I just started writing whatever came into my head that I was reminded how much I love to write things down. It might seem silly but sometimes you just gotta sit down and let it out. Having a diary (online or off) is so good for thinking through your own issues and reminding yourself who you are. It’s a great way to get to know YOU again. On Day 7 back in March, I wrote a post called Give Yourself A Break and I’m surprised I haven’t started a series with the same name because we all need it right now. The theme for this post is the same. I haven’t been feeling great today. I’m low energy and tonight I plan to watch Gossip Girl and go to bed early. It’s ok to give yourself a break, actually, I quite recommend it. I didn’t post on IG Stories for two days (even longer for the feed!) and it’s a small thing but it gives me a small pleasure. Sometimes I just don’t feel like posting. Everything seems a bit harder these days and we gotta know when to take a break. You never know what might happen so it’s important to try and see the bright side. We all have something to be grateful for, remember those things, write them down if you need to. I really love the caption on my good friend Brigitte’s post today. A good reminder, it’s ok to feel the feels.

Some days are harder than others. It’s important we check on each other, a simple, ‘you ok?’ might just be what your friend needs to hear. Reach out to me anytime. Yes, I’m your friend on the internet but also a real human typing these words. Today was the first day back after the long weekend and I had planned to do more work over the weekend than I did. So, I’m starting a short week a day late and behind. I really tried to catch up as much as I could today but I also felt overwhelmed and tired. When I get like this, it’s hard to concentrate. I find myself staring at my screen, knowing what needs to be done but I just can’t seem to connect my brain to the fingers and make it happen. I decided to start watching The Bachelorette at night as a way to distract me from everything going on in the world, then my iPad died. I went back to trusty Gossip Girl and made it into the second season. Tomorrow we are going back to the city and I’m borrowing a car from Mini Canada in the afternoon. I’m looking forward to having my own vehicle for a week, taking scenic drives, and maybe going to visit mum. I could really use a hug from her today. Sending love through the internet. We’ll get through this. It’s gonna be ok. We’re gonna be ok.

For the last few years, Sean and I have spent Thanksgiving at the cottage. We’ve been getting the Swiss Chalet ‘festive special’ for about four years now. This year we couldn’t dine-in so we got takeout and went down to Muskoka Beach Road to watch the sunset. Thanksgiving 2020 ftw. This year I’m thankful for Sean and my family, how close we’ve all gotten the last few months through the pandemic. I’ve also really become close with a bunch of friends and somehow, even though we’ve not seen each other much in person, we talk more than ever. I am also very thankful for the internet, for keeping us all connected. To the internet for hosting my blog diary that’s helped me build a career and document my memories. I can’t imagine trying to remember everything I’ve done over the last week, 6 months, or 15 years without having it written down. Around this time last year, I decided to make a change in my life and start working out. I’m grateful that I stuck with it, that I didn’t give up, that I changed my eating habits, and learned to love myself more. I remember seeing this Nike ad years ago, the message stuck with me. Why put off until tomorrow something you could check off your list today? If you want to make a change in your life, start now. Start today. By tomorrow, you’ll already be on day 2. Sending you love, hope you had a nice wekeend.