It’s quite cold and windy up here today. Sean and I set out to run together then parted ways at the end of the road. I did 3.5km and then we did a short abs workout. I’ve wanted to be a workout couple and being isolated together, it’s slowly starting to happen. ?I finally made those vegan + GF sweet potato brownies (these ones!). They turned out a little more like fudge but they’re delicious. Another success with the food processor! I had to check a date calculator for what day of isolation we are on because I lost track. I’ve been eating a lot of junk this week and not working out as much. Feeling pretty sluggish and unmotivated. I know this won’t last but some days are harder than others. I was working out so much and really loving life before this happened. I’m trying to keep some workout schedule but I feel lazy and anxious. My favourite part of the day has historically been first thing in the morning but I’ve really come to love magic hour up here on sunny days. The light shines so brightly in the windows, it almost makes you forget what’s going on in the world around us. In other news, my hair is really growing and I’ve been taking Hair & Nail gummies each day (these ones!). In my Instagram memories, I discovered this hair I posted 5 years ago, it’s almost exactly the hair I have now. ? I always loved this song and music video. Good one for today and the days pass by and we’re approaching our first month. Please hang in there, we will get through this. If you’re looking for inspo, I’ve been sharing some things that inspire me on Instagram Stories and things to do…

This morning I woke up and really felt like I needed a workout. Sean was up before me (as usual!) and suggested we go for a canoe. We had to take a bunch of stuff out from the basement including the hot tub, which we might set up later today. I am so happy it’s finally getting warmer, we’ve been waiting for this. The sun has such an influence on my mood, it always makes me feel like everything is ok. The first canoe of the season is always pretty magical. We were hoping to be the first ones on the lake but there was a rower passing by before we set out. Saw a few other canoes out later in the morning. There is still a bit of thin ice across the lake but most of it is all melted. There were so many birds out singing in the sun. Today I am making sweet potato brownies, pasta salad, and tuna salad. The other day I made this great granola recipe and I made a another batch yesterday. It’s so easy and we’ve all been enjoying it for breakfast or a snack. I’m planning to go for a long run today and get in a yoga class in the afternoon. I’m hoping it’s warm enough to do it outside! Video: First Canoe of 2020

The lake melted yesterday! We’ve wanted to be here to see it happen for years. In one day, it goes from being icy to flowing water. It’s beautiful. Sean set up a timelapse to capture it and I took photos throughout the day. Today is Monday and the TDSB starts online classes for students with assignments due end of the week. We’ve got Em set up on a desk in the master bedroom so she has her own workspace. Cut My Bangs! I caved and trimmed my bags yesterday. I like to dry cut with them combed straight, then use the electric shaver to get a straight line, and clean up with good scissors. I’m so glad to have grown my hair out last year, I can only imagine I’d be about to shave my head right now. I love having my hair done at Sassoon but luckily, I’ve got a lot of experience in cutting my own bangs so I’m happy with the result. No disasters! After dinner, we finished Unorthodox and How To Fix a Drug Scandal, both good shows. Today we made coleslaw, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, pie dough, and another round of Instant Pot rice. If you aren’t making rice in your Instant Pot, you are missing out, it’s so easy. Add 1 cup of rice to 2 parts water or broth in the pot, a bit of butter and salt, set to cook on the rice setting (10 or 12 min depending on pot size), and voila, the BEST rice! Good song for today! P.S. TUESDAY IS FULL MOON! See some of my rituals in this video from the fall. I’m going to do a few of these today including writing some thoughts & intentions on paper & burning in the fire.

The news today is a very sobering reality of just how intense this situation is. I have been watching the live news reports on CP24 from 1 pm-3 pm and my chest is tight with anxiety. It is hard to believe the world we are living in, it’s not a movie or simulation, this is real life. It’s heartbreaking. Ontario alone could see 15K deaths and over 1M cases have been recorded around the world. Today I sent a couple of invoices for the last round of work I did and to be honest, I’m not sure what’s next? This Day in History: Covid-19 The Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic was declared on March 11, 2020. I am putting this information here as a reminder to look back on one day when this is all over (it has been floating around on Facebook). Premier Ford said we are looking at 2 years for this to fully be over and once the first round of the virus starts to ease up, we could see a second and third wave. There are now 11,283 Confirmed Cases in Canada on this day with 173 deaths. Gas prices are at a record low 68 cents.  School cancelled since March 13th until May 1st (kids aren’t likely going back until September) Self-distancing measures on the rise. Tape on the floors at grocery stores and other stores to help distance shoppers 2m from each other. Limited number of people inside stores, with 1 per family, therefore lineups are outside the store doors. Hand washing stations in the Store Entrances and Pexi-glass barriers installed around the Cashiers/Check-out Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed. Parks, trails, entire cities locked up. Entire sports seasons cancelled. Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events – cancelled. Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings – cancelled. No…

Before isolation, I’d been going to the gym 5-7 days/week between 6-7 am from November to March. Over that time, I gained muscle, confidence, a new attitude, and lost 25Lbs. I wasn’t happy with who I was for a long time before I started working out. I was overwhelmed and burnt out. April 2020 marks 15 years of my blog and I’ve spent that whole time being online, sharing my life, and being social. I was tired and needed change. Part of that process was growing out my hair, it’s getting kinda wild. My new hair inspo is Debby Harry! Got a surprise call from Sergio and it was so nice! I love how technology is bringing us together during this weird time. I am here for calls from friends near and far, anytime, on any platform. I’m available, reach out. ? If you need or want to escape I will take you for a walk in the woods. Did some work on my garden and it’s coming along. The lettuce is enough ‘for a garnish‘ as Sean calls it. The celery making some moves too. I saw the news that said ‘Don’t Go To Your Cottage’ and I have anxiety that we’re gonna get cottage shamed. We’ve been here for three weeks, we are staying and isolated. Having things delivered, minimal trips to town. We come up here all year and there’s lots of work to be done. It’s the best place for us to be right now. Emily and I went for a nice walk in the woods about 4k. Today was a pretty good day. It’s been really nice watching winter melt away, things are starting to bloom, and there’s no ice on the road. I hope the sun comes out tomorrow.

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…

When I was a kid my mum made this rule that if my sister or I had a friend over, we would both have a friend or some mix of friends to make it an even number. She started this because if only one sister had a friend over, someone from the group was left out and would end up upset, left out, angry, or crying. For a long time, until my mid 20’s, I would never do things in threes. Even the simplest things like eating nuggets, buying things, or actions I had to repeat, it was almost always two or four. I was conscious of it daily. I’d hold back on eating something if it made it three or I’d have two more to make it four. I hated things in three, I avoided it wherever I could. When I was 18, I dated a guy for two years and three was his baseball number, I tried to like the number but it was never going to work out. I carried my fear of three (Triskaphobia) until I was about 26 and then one day, I decided to stop. My grandad always said 13 was lucky and one day I made a tattoo appt for Friday the 13th. I had drawn it on paper, sixteen evenly placed dots to go on my left forearm. Eight dots of two different custom shades of green, two by two, in a pattern around my arm like a beaded bracelet. Sixteen, a square number, two times my birthday number 8, the fourth power of two. Since that Friday the 13th, I have been tattooed on that day a bunch of times. This month, Friday the 13th was my last day out and about in the world before isolation diary started. Today was…

Today we went to the city with the trailer to get supplies, my plants, our bikes, and Emily. Having new clothes feels like a dream. This pose is inspired by my friend Maca in Montreal, she always takes these at her studio. Check her out at @hey.maca! You will love her. Read my post on IG, maybe you have some tips to share!? The drive was a breeze because there was no traffic. It was pretty weird to be on the roads with so few people. We picked up Emily from her mum’s and she got in the car with fresh baked cookies, homemade soup, and fresh ice tea. It is really great to have a supportive co-parent team, especially now. Her mum also sent a folder with lessons, a schedule and some work she’s completed. I am so thankful! Despite my efforts to plan, I’m not a homeschool expert so teamwork is key. We are all figuring this out as we go. Sean stopped into both offices to get some gear while I packed up all our remaining food and got everything on our list at the house. I put most of my plants into two big bins and I can’t believe how much I missed them. Is that weird? I was pretty surprised to see how busy the neighborhood was, SOOO many people out walking, riding bikes, two families playing soccer with their kids’ in the courtyard. Do people not understand STAY TF HOME? Do you want this all to be over? Yes? Ok, stay home pls. The curve is not flattening! Maybe this will help? Briony wrote a book inspired by Go The F*ck to Sleep and had some of her friends read it. I am stoked to have my Apple Pencil to work on a letting…

Feeling good today. Danced in the morning sun to my fav Friday mix from the radio. Did some work then jumped rope. Tuned in for a great talk w/ the founder of Fohr about the state of influencer marketing. I’ve got a blog post with the details to share. Sean and I played outside on the frozen lake near the cottage. It was so warm in the sun. Sean set up the Muskoka chairs on the front deck and tanned in the sun to a meditation. We finished Tiger King. I really like the outfits. The story is wild. Tomorrow we’re going home to get supplies and pick up Emily. She’ll be here with us for two weeks. I feel like next week I’ll be more productive and creative. This week I felt so many emotions with everything going on, the weather, my moon time, it was a rollercoaster. It’s going to be different with Emily here but I think it will be fun. We chatted about things she wants to do and I’m looking forward to the homeschool part. My mum spent heaps of time teaching us and it was so valuable to learn from her and spend quality time together. I hope the weather warms up so we can get started on the yard work. Here’s to staying home and making the most of the time we have. Have a great weekend. ?