• Deliciously Ella’s Oat Bars

    07/11/2016 - By 

    As you know, I have to stay gluten-free. Most of the time I just troll the internet for gluten-free recipes that may or may not work. I rarely buy cookbooks, but when I saw the cookbook “Deliciously Ella” in the discount section at Chapters, I knew I had to have it! I recognized her name from her blog, which I had happened to visit once or twice, and had liked the couple of recipes I had gotten from it. The biggest appeal for me was that the cookbook used a few core ingredients over and over. None of the buying…

  • Making Time for Myself

    04/11/2016 - By 

    The title of this blog post is a bit of a misdirection. It is more of a public promise to myself to do just that. Currently, I rarely make time for myself. My husband calls me a “slave driver to myself”. When I did the Discovery Dyet this year (more on that later- in a word, fantastic) I found that I am an Analytical/Driver personality. It means a lot of things, but one thing that applies here is that I am a self-motivated person that can very easily focus on work and ignore the rest of life. I will put working…

  • When We Open Presents

    02/11/2016 - By 

    Hunter had 3 birthdays to go to this month. It made me think of a switch in how we do things at ours, that I thought we would share, in case you wanted to try it, too. Birthday parties have changed a lot since the ’80’s. When I was little, you went to birthday parties and they were always the same. You would show up at their house in a nice dress or good pants and greet the birthday girl or boy. Then, everyone would play some games like pin the tail on the donkey or guess how many sweets…

  • Isabella the Future Hockey Star

    27/10/2016 - By 

    My daughter, Isabella, is her own person. She needs things to switch up a lot, is naturally fidgety and is very vocal and competitive. She doesn’t put up with any long-term B.S. – in fact, we have been called a couple times to the school when things have gotten physical between her and someone teasing her (almost always a boy). I recently bought a pair of pants for Hunter that were a bit too big for him, so Isabella wears them now and they are her fave pants because they have the most pockets for collecting rocks and specimens to…

  • Decluttering and Unexpected Emotions.

    25/10/2016 - By 

    When I begin my decluttering journey, it was more about the effort to find the things I need more quickly and not feeling as if I was drowning in “stuff”. How many times can one person trip over a laundry basket of “things to be sorted later” before they feel frustrated? (Answer: Once past ‘too many times’). Even the amount and assortment of clothing I had was starting to annoy me. (You can read about that here). I took a test in a magazine that pointed out I am a “sentimental clutterer”. I keep things because, once upon a time…

  • How to Lose Weight: Without Dieting or Extra Exercise.

    20/10/2016 - By 

    My gut was always healthy as a kid. I could eat anything, and did. Since my bout with severe food poisoning a couple of years ago, I have suffered from destroyed villi and a severe gluten intolerance. (You can read about the history of that here , where I optimistically predict 6 months gluten-free). After awhile of being gluten-free, I started to feel a little better, then all of a sudden I felt gross again. Gut pain, cramps, gas, bloating and joint pain, after eating some meals, persisted. I was at a loss, until I remembered something a girl had told me…

  • Carving Out Personal Space

    17/10/2016 - By 

    My kids love people. They are fiercely loyal to their friends and will do anything for them. Family is a huge priority for both of them. My kids spend a lot of their time planning time with family and friends or writing them letters and drawing them pictures. That said, they are both sort of introverts. I find that once they have spent some time out socializing, they both need alone time. Carving out a bit of personal space for my kids every day is essential to their well-being, which we discovered at a very early age and they are…

  • How Grief Made Me a Better Parent

    14/10/2016 - By 

    My son’s six-year-old playmate died suddenly not long ago and we are still going through the waves of grief. I still wake up at night to check on my own kids. I believe that Hunter is just now realizing it is a forever thing….I am sure that this will affect him forever. Sometimes I find him just gazing at her photo and I am comforted by the fact that he has his own interpretation of the afterlife. I have read on countless websites that you must impress on yourself and your kids that your life must go on. It is…

  • Growing Basil Indoors During the Winter.

    12/10/2016 - By 

    I love my potted plant garden that I have inside and want to keep it going all winter so that we can continue to cook with fresh herbs. I used to have a “black thumb” because I refused to put in the research and work to keep my plants going. Now, I do the necessary reading and research the plant thoroughly if something isn’t working. I take shortcuts whenever I can, but I have been mostly successful with my experiments, and I am happy for that. My biggest hurdle this winter will be basil. I used to buy them from…

  • Capsule Wardrobes

    10/10/2016 - By 

    Have you guys heard of Capsule Wardrobes? You must have! The sites touting the benefits of them is everywhere and there is major inspiration all over Pinterest. I stumbled across the idea of a Capsule Wardrobe on the blog Un-Fancy , and I instantly loved the idea. I started it, but then I got scared of taking my wardrobe in that direction, and I quit. My style now is very teen-inspired-eclectic and I thought I loved it that way. Nowadays? I crave basic staples I could mix-and-match easily and effortlessly. I also want to accessorize more but, with my current wardrobe,…