I learn so much everyday

I'm feeling a bit tired tonight and don't have any "hot" topics to write about but when I think about my life I realize that I learn so much from this little guy of mine. Jake reminds me to be in the moment, to give hugs and kisses with enthusiasm, to say "I love you" all of the time and for no reason. He goes after what he wants with persistence and isn't afraid to let me know when his needs aren't getting met. I love doing things with him and if we've had a hard day, well, there's nothing that a little mug of steamed milk can't cure. I'll treasure these moments with him for a lifetime.

Dream big. Imagine. Be inspired.
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Just Decide...

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about who I am, what I do, what matters, and what I'm choosing to create in this life. All of these thoughts are tied into my previous post in some way or another. What I know is that until I really choose to commit to something I can waffle in the world of indecision and confusion forever. And sometimes, for me to choose to commit, I just need to forget all about the "how's" and the "why's" and just say YES. And, once I do that things really do seem to fall into place. What do I mean by commit? I mean going after the things in my life that are important to me just by simply DECIDING to do so. It may mean registering for a course, signing up for a marathon, booking tickets for a vacation, or conducting a new workshop--but you'll see that for all of these things one simple thing is required: ACTION. I need to say "yes" and then follow through with the details (like actually registering, making a phone call, posting a brochure up, etc.). It's almost a formula:
DECIDE + COMMIT + TAKE ACTION = ACCOUNTABILITY & FOLLOW THROUGH which leads to HAPPINESS & FULFILLMENT

What I also know is that going after the things that I want won't always be easy. It might mean waking up at 6 am to fit that run in, having to ask for help, saying NO more, or whatever my challenge in the moment might be, but in the end it will be worth it because I will be living my life and moving forward. What do you need to decide just to say "yes" to? What action can you take to increase your commitment? Do it!

Dream Big. Imagine. Be Inspired.
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Commitment

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one fact, one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans. That the moment one definitely commits oneself then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance that no man could ever have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."
-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I had to get this up and I'll write more tomorrow on the significance of the above words in my own life.

Dream big. Imagine. Be inspired.
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Are You Kidding Me???

Don't oversleep. Don't oversleep? Are you kidding me? This fortune was clearly not meant for anyone in our household as sleep is a precious commodity around here. Our days end somewhere around 10-11pm and can start anywhere from 5:30-7:00 am. Once upon a time I actually enjoyed getting up at 5:30am to start my day with a good dose of healthy exercise but it was summer and I was younger and I could take a nap in the afternoon if I needed to. Things are a little different now!

I'm all for having a productive day tomorrow--there are still boxes to unpack, recycling to drop off, toy baskets to organize, workshops to plan, and despite the hours I'm awake during the day, there still never seems to be enough time. At least, that's the perspective that I'm in at the moment. But is that really true? If I'm honest with myself, the answer would be "No, of course there's enough time". The question I need to ask myself is "What needs my focused attention right now?" which reminds me of a quote I saw the other day:

That which matters the most should never give way to that which matters the least.

How true is that? So, even though there are a million "things" that need to get done around here I'm probably going to take Jake swimming or to the park to run and play and then we might celebrate our day by sharing a yummy steamed milk (his favorite). The boxes will be there for another day but who knows, maybe Jake will have a memory of his day tomorrow that will last him a lifetime.
(By the way, I've tried to get this section to match the font size in the above section about a million times but it won't publish correctly, any ideas???)

Dream big. Imagine. Be inspired.
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An inspiring reminder about friendships

My mother-in-law forwarded me a link to the short video below (thank you!)--if you have 5 minutes it's well worth viewing. Author Kelly Corrigan wrote this moving essay about women's remarkable capacity to support each other, to laugh together, and to endure.


I'm in my early 30's (can I say that if I'm 34?) and haven't yet had to go through some of the experiences Kelly Corrigan spoke about yet I found myself teary eyed at the end of her reading. I identified with so much of it and could imagine the rest. I find myself at a point in my life where true friendships are deeply cherished and I long to connect more with my best friends and make new ones. Lots of things make that difficult--time, geography, careers, kids, schedules, vacation time, money, etc. I'm in this weird stage in life where I've lost touch with my university friends, have moved cities & provinces to move forward in my own life and wept and hugged friends goodbye as they've moved away to go live theirs.

Girlfriends have always been like air to me--a necessity. Yet, as I juggle the priorities in my life nurturing my friendships seems to be something on my "to do" list and I can never quite seem to find enough time which is just NOT ok with me anymore. Because at the end of the day my girlfriends will be there with me in the good times and celebrations and will also help get me through the hard, sad, scary moments that I know will be in my future (and just for the record my husband is not exactly chopped liver but this post is about girlfriends not husbands).

I dream of a girls weekend away with good food, great wine, late nights, long walks, and tons of giggles. I know if I can dream it I can create it and that will make it become a reality and something to really look forward to.

What do you need to do to strengthen your friendships? Do you think you "create" friendships or do friendships just "happen"? Thoughts?

Dream big. Imagine. Be inspired.
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Is it Time To Renovate?

It's very weird to have our house go from this...

to this in a matter of 24 hours. The above photos were taken before we took possession of our house and so it's not our stuff but it gives you a good idea of what it looked like. The photos below were taken on Saturday.
As you can see, we're doing a massive renovation of our house. Both the main floor and basement are being gutted and essentially we're redoing everything. It's a big job. What's interesting for me is how this renovation is serving as a metaphor for my own life. It's made me think about my "foundation" and "bones" and also what needs to be updated on the inside. What have I outgrown? What was useful at one point and now doesn't serve a purpose? This means consciously paying attention to things like my habits, routines, things I say to myself, my story if you will. Just because that's the way I am/was doesn't mean I need to stay that way. I can choose to change. I can choose to renovate my life--keep what I like and ditch the rest.

I saw a quote the other day that I liked--it went something like this "The purpose of life isn't to find yourself, it's to create yourself everyday" or something along those lines. This links in perfectly with my "renovation metaphor"--what do I want to create for myself today? What do you want to create for yourself? How would life be better if you did or didn't have something? Who would you get to be?

Dream big. Imagine. Be inspired.
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Pure and utter chaos!

This is the state of the basement of the house we just moved into on the weekend-craziness. We're about to start renovating the house we just bought 4 months ago with a cool company called Rectangle that's based here in Calgary. I have to keep telling myself that this will all be worth it in the end. And that means taking it all in stride that we'll be moving again in 5 1/2 months with a 2 year old and a brand new baby.
Jake was an absolute star throughout this whole move and to say that I was a proud mama would be an understatement. He rocked! Today is about getting rid of the chaos and getting a bit more organized, seeing our midwife, meeting with our contractor, and trying not to eat ice cream and hot fudge sauce for a snack.

Dream Big. Imagine. Be Inspired.
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