The Passionate Voice

Sunday’s are for Thanks

• Inspiration, Lifestyle, Social Media

Sunday’s for me are a day of reflection and for gratitude. I realize everyday we must be grateful but Sunday’s in particular allows us peace, calmness and clarity to see through the busyness of life to realize how fortunate we are. I think we all struggle with gratefulness in some form or another – especially in the social media age of keeping up with everyone’s perfected instagrammed lives, it can be hard to keep our brains focused on what it is in our lives that is good.

For the first time in a while, we weren’t road warriors this weekend with Blake. We stayed put and enjoyed the things that we love about the city we live in. It made me appreciate the small things we did that had such a big impact on why our weekend was so awesome. Here is just a sample of our weekend that has me full of gratitude….

  • The best news from friends
  • Catch ups with friends by a fire outdoors, reminding us of the last few summer weekends we have
  • Free tomatoes from a stranger/neighbour down the road whose garden was too plentiful… something I think many gardeners experienced this year with their tomato crops
  • Trying this alternative version of a 7-layer dip from Alberta Milk that was super quick to make (still haven’t tried it, its chilling in the fridge!) and a new chocoloate zucchini bread recipe (baking in the oven as we speak!)
  • Sunflowers to brighten the kitchen table
  • Watching your newborn discover new sights and sounds in the most simplest things
  • Prepping for an upcoming social media presentation this week and loving every minute of it!
  • Working on an exciting social media project that captures the social media usage of Ontario agriculture stakeholders.. its in its early stages but the results are going to be interesting to say the least (have I mentioned how much I love figures and stats when it comes to social media?!)
  • Reading Magnolia Journal on a Sunday morning with a coffee in hand and a sleeping baby in my arms
  • A bike ride on the most gorgeous Sunday evening… this weather couldn’t be more perfect!
  • Fulfilling my promise at the beginning of the week of blogging every day this week which I am happy to report I did.. 7 for 7! And the best part?! More ideas are a brewin’ so watch for more to come!

I’m trying my hardest this year to practice gratitude, its why I’m proud to have kept up with my commitment and one of my goals for this year of writing down one thing each day I’m grateful for. Let’s just say that my #365DaysofGratitude jar is overflowing. I can’t wait to read them all at the end of the year.

A line from the latest Magnolia Journal said it best, “Gratitude turns what you have into enough.” Amen to that. Happy Sunday!

“Gratitude turns what you have into enough.”

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What a Day in Toronto (with a Baby) Will Remind You

• Communication, Lifestyle, Making a Difference

When you visit Toronto as a tourist, it is a whole different feeling than when you hustle and work in the city as I do. In July, I did what every new mama would think to do, and spent a day in Toronto with our newborn Blake. Can you sense my sarcasm? Ha!

A crazy idea as a new mom, I know or at least, I thought. But I wanted to take advantage of Blake being a newborn, manageable baby and introduce him to colleagues and friends while taking in a city that has become a staple in my daily routine the past 3 years.

Doing a day trip too by myself with our newborn was also a way to get out of the house and feel independent again. Why not take advantage of public transportation and the sunny summer weather and enjoy a day in the city to surround myself with my old habitat and take in sights that would be new for the babe.

As I wade into the waters of this whole motherhood thing, I’m realizing there are so many small details in our everyday that we do so easily and take for granted. Things that as a new mom, you quickly learn to have a new appreciation for.

Drinking coffee – while holding a newborn in your arms. Getting ready quicker than before – with a newborn (impatiently) waiting. Realizing that not forgetting diapers and wipes is as important now as not forgetting your purse/keys when you leave home.

A day trip to Toronto also quickly reminds you to be grateful for these small details.

My recent trip to Toronto restored my faith in humanity.

It reminded me of the kind gestures that can mean so much to someone, including this new mom. The ladies on the train who offered to help me. The man who helped get our stroller off the train. People on the sidewalk who helped to make it easier to navigate a stroller in the city. Complete strangers smiling when they saw me with the baby. Striking up conversations in checkout lines with people I didn’t know, but who were inquisitive and interested in Blake.

The day trip to the city reminded me of so many little things to be grateful for.

How much I love Toronto. How kind the people are. How revisiting places like the CN Towner, Hockey Hall of Fame and St. Lawrence Market to introduce them to your baby can feel like your experiencing them all over again for the first time. How smiling is such a strong form of communication. How good it feels when a complete stranger smiles at you and you know why. The feeling you get as a new mama when you realize that you CAN and in fact DID navigate the ‘big smoke.’

And does it ever feel good to know that even while navigating the new world of motherhood, a day trip to Toronto can make you feel independent again and remind you that you CAN do anything if you set your mind to it.

Thanks for the time Toronto, we’ll be back again soon.

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A Week in Reflection

• Food for Thought, Lifestyle

+ One of the greatest controls I realize we can have in modern day times is knowing when to unplug from social media and take breaks when you need them most. This is something I did this week. Not worrying about taking pictures in the moment and just capturing those moments in your mind to cherish, is needed more often than I think we realize.

+ One of those moments this week, was watching Blake turn two months. The smiles and giggles that are coming from him more and more everyday are so much fun.

+ There is nothing better for the soul than walks outdoors in beautiful summer sun, especially when its with your best friend (and her baby!) or husband and a good cup of coffee.

+ Another thing that feeds the soul? A good book like Erin Loechnre’s ‘Chasing Slow’ which I have completely consumed this week. The way in which Erin writes is truly incredible – its as if she can read my mind.

+ You can make chocolate chip cookies a hundred times and still make a batch that is a #BakingFail.

+ Visits from friends during the day, mid-week for a quick coffee and chat are the best.

+ There truly is no way to know what Donald Trump will get up too next and what his tweets may result in by the end of the week #FacePalmEmoji

+ Sometimes, you just need those deep-fried pickles you are craving. And so deserve (that’s what I keep telling myself anyways).

+ Fresh cut flowers in the house brighten up everyone’s mood.

+When you search out some awesome finds at the local antique market in Aberfoyle and negotiate the price too!

+ That feeling of accomplishment when you get through your weekend to do list (almost all of it anyways)

Summer Searching

• Career, Food for Thought, Inspiration, Lifestyle

I’ve been struggling with words lately. How to find the right ones – how to string words together to create a well-articulated thought. Words just aren’t flowing as easily as they typically do. I’m not sure if its because I’m ‘baby drunk’ (drunk on the baby, not alcohol), sleep deprived, stepping outside of my comfort zone or what. It could also be that wordsmithing, what I did in my ‘day job,’ has taken a back seat to motherhood as of late.

I start the day with such intention to write, only to be met with mid-day fatigue (or a hungry baby). This leads to another day gone by, resulting in me lying awake at night with what feels like hundreds of ideas being thrown around by my brain. To the point, I’ve put a notepad beside my bed to write everything down, afraid that it can’t wait until the morning to document (or in case I don’t remember).

I’m sure you’ve been there with me.

Blog posts unpublished; tweets sitting in draft form; instagram posts deleted because you didn’t think the photo was ‘good enough’ for its angle or lighting and you couldn’t put your own unique words/thoughts to the picture.

Writing is a lot like a muscle. To get stronger or in the case of writing, better at it, you need to work at it and eventually you’ll see results. My writing will never be perfect but doing more of it will help to get better at it.

So I’m going on that basis for my writing this summer – its better to put thoughts out there as they are, imperfect with errors, rather than have the ideas sitting in the draft folder. I’ll keep going with my #Blog452 commitment – blogging every week, for 52 weeks of the year.

I love that summer as a season allows us to do this – relax and be easier on ourselves. Summer is a time for welcomed self-reflection for our society – we are just too damn busy the rest of the year.

Summer is the only time of year (besides the two weeks at Christmas) where we as a society see it as ‘acceptable’ to unplug. We accept that people are away on holidays and relaxing during the summer months. It is almost a societal norm that everyone takes it easier on each other during the summer.

The summer also allows us time to rest our brains, self-reflect and take stock of what we love about our lives and also, what are the irritants/things we want to change, or wish we could change. Its probably because we have the time to finally think and self-reflect while we feel at peace and ease… or its the beer or wine that helps to stimulate our thoughts and relax 🙂 I think its why so many of us come back in September recharged with motivation to want to tackle our goals.

I’m doing so much self-reflection recently thanks to summer and of course, because of Blake. Even before May, I had made a commitment in 2017 to set goals, create a routine and adjust/adapt along the way to work towards accomplishing these goals.

I think summertime reflection is necessary to a healthy lifestyle, both professionally and personally. Self-awareness is the key to happiness. Its healthy to take stock of what we’re good at; what we could be better at; what we want more of; and what we could get rid of. This type of reflection allows us to enjoy more of what we love and (finally) take action on the things we want to change. This is something I’ve gotten a lot better at this year since becoming a mom, as I blogged about earlier – we should “Strive for progress, not perfection.’

I really love the liberating and ‘free’ feeling of summer. There is no better feeling than sitting on a dock at dusk, looking out at the calm waters and mentally taking stock of everything I love about life and what I want to change/do more of.

Summer searching fuels an incredible sensation to want to kick butt. I’ll be so ready for fall when summer decides to be over. Until then, lets take advantage of the warm, sunny summer weather as long as it lasts.

It All Begins With a Lemonade Stand

• Career, Food for Thought, Inspiration, Leadership, Lifestyle, Making a Difference

With a newborn, you can find me most days outdoors, gallivanting  around with the baby in the stroller, enjoying the summer sun. I always love seeing what adventures I’ll get up too or things I’ll encounter.

Last week, I was out for a walk in our neighbourhood when I came upon a young girl selling lemonade.

I looked like I was going to be her next customer as I was walking closer to her. It was then I realized I didn’t have $$$ on me so I quickly turned around to run back home and grab change. I can only imagine the look of sheer disappointment on this girls face thinking she was losing a customer as I ran away from her. I was happy to return a few minutes later to buy a cup of her homemade lemonade.

There was nothing better than watching the pride on this young girls’ face when I returned and asked her ‘How much?’ With the biggest smile on her face, she confidently said, “$1 please.” She had all the right things going for her – a well-written, visible sign with the $1 per cup cost; she had the cute little table and chair; she had manners and spoke well; and she genuinely looked like she loved what she was doing.

And to top it off, she was so pleasant when I approached her with the baby – she even asked questions about me and the baby, the customer. Who taught this girl proper marketing etiquette at such a young age?!

It was one of those moments, as a random stranger, that you take so much pride in doing what you did to help encourage this person.

It also brought back so many memories for me as a kid… because I did the exact same thing! I held many a rummage sale and (tried) to sell lemonade to no avail.

The difference for me was that growing up in the country, trying to sell things on a random weekday in the summer, half way down a long driveway was not that financially viable or successful. There aren’t that many customers who probably think stopping in a car and walking up to a young child in the country looks OK to those driving by. I get it now, but it was hard to swallow at the time.

Clearly my entrepreneurial spirit was evident already at a young age.

The acts of this little random stranger last week was an amazing reminder of what we’re all capable of and how it all begins at a young age:

  • The ideas we have that spark within us;
  • How unafraid we are of big, hairy, audacious goals (and we don’t even know what ‘goals’ are yet);
  • How we take a pretty basic product and only because of how we sell it, the product becomes a hit;
  • The complete, random strangers we are OK with meeting in order to make a sale (and a buck);
  • When we realize we can make money doing something we love or at least enjoy doing;
  • And ultimately, we have the guts to do something we have never did before (and don’t know the outcome of as to whether we’ll be successful or not) and we still go ahead with the idea and sell the lemonade!

It takes some serious guts as a young kid to have the motivation, confidence and persistence to want to do something like sell lemonade, while other kids are out playing with their friends.

At what age or stage in our lives do you think we lose that self-confidence and belief in our abilities that so many of us clearly have as young kids? When do we lose that entrepreneurial mindset of fending for ourselves and running with our own ideas, only to worry what others think of us and our skillset to land a job that may not be for us?

As a quote I found perfectly says, “When life gives you lemons, you build a lemonade stand and profit.”

“When life gives you lemons, you build a lemonade stand and profit.”

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As the young girl packed up after selling me her last cup of lemonade, I encouraged her to make sure she sets up shop more this summer because I’d be sure to be back. She said she would.

I better start saving my loonies now because she has a repeat customer that will guarantee her sales for her young start-up venture (or college education) 😉

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