Wednesday 29 November 2017

Taking absentmindedness to the next level


The last few weeks have not been the greatest.
Rich has been plagued by mysterious pains for over 3 months, and nobody knows the cause. The pain usually likes to hang out in his knee, strolling down his leg towards the ankle on a daily basis. But it gets bored by the same scenery after a while and likes to adventure around his body, visiting his elbows, neck, and sometimes the other knee, just to see if the grass is greener there (it isn't). 

We're regulars at the lab, inadvertently giving the old blood letting a go by giving copious amounts of blood in the hopes that it will reveal what's going on in Rich's body. So far, no luck, but hope dies last, right?  
We've also seen a specialist who did the most thorough note-taking of Rich's health history I've ever seen, filling several pages with everything from his chickenpox when he was 5 years old, to the bump he had surgically removed from his wrist a few years ago. 
At some point, she kicked me out of the room, on the pretense that she had to do a physical "and it's so crowded in here" (it wasn't). 
In truth, she asked him about any possible STDs and sexual partners, wondering aloud if what's bothering him is Chlamydia (it's not!).
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Wednesday 22 November 2017

Boss Women: Suzy


I'm thrilled to introduce you to the next incredible woman in my Boss Women series: Suzy
Ever since I found her blog, I've felt a strong connection to this powerhouse of a woman. She's living the life I'm striving for: writing books, teaching yoga, being comfortable in her skin and stylish to boot! Also, she's a fan of BC, my home province, and everybody who adores Canada as much as I do has my heart!
Since I'm a newbie to the world of book writing and publishing, I'm eager to learn a bit more about the tricks and habits of a successful author.  

Q: You have published 12 books. That's an incredible accomplishment! When did you start writing book?
A: Thank you Miriam! I actually started writing when I was made redundant from my job as a magazine editor about seven years ago. It was the kick in the backside that I needed. 

Q: Did you always want to be a writer?
A: I guess I'd always been interested in writing - when I left school I became a trainee journalist before moving on to become a features writer and eventually, editor. Writing was always something I was quite good at, but I didn't think about actually writing fiction until I was in my 20s. I wrote my very first book then, but put it away and didn't do anything with it until recently. 

Q: How does your editing process work? Do you work with the same editor all the time, or with different ones for each project?
A: To be honest, I've used a few different editors over the years. Most have been good but I've yet to click with anyone in particular. I must admit, editing is my least favourite aspect of writing books. I love the creativity more than anything else. 

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Saturday 18 November 2017

Good people



The doorbell rings and I look up, surprised. It's 8:30 in the morning - who could that be? I get up, annoyed at the intrusion, and open the front door. A young man is standing there, looking at me uncertainly. "Hi, Jake sent me. He said Richard might need help with the farm?" I'm momentarily speechless, before finding my voice. "Wow! That's - great," I say, taken aback. "Let me check with him. I'm Miriam, what's your name?"
"I'm Tony. Very nice to meet you," he says politely, shaking my outstretched hand. 
I smile at him gratefully before turning around to talk to Rich about this unexpected gift from heaven. 

Richard has been in pretty severe pain for the past 3 months. It started out with some swelling in his ankles and calves, and has since evolved to bad knee pain and limited movement. We have no idea what's causing this pain, and are regulars at the doctor's office. We are suspecting rheumatoid arthritis, but the blood work is inconclusive, so the doctors keep looking for other explanations. 
Anyway, our friends know that he's been having a hard time with his mobility, so Jake offered to send us some help. 

Tony stayed for several hours, cleaning out the chicken barn and putting fresh shavings in, and we've agreed to have him come by once a week to help out. 


Then, last night, we stopped in at our friend Todd's place. He has an old shed with a wood-burning stove, and we love to hang out in there. There's nothing better than fire heat! We were sitting around, chatting, and I said something about how I thought we would be finished with all our projects at our place, and that I'm bummed we are still not done. 
He looked at me kindly, and told me: "You are still on coastal time, kiddo. Relax! You've done a lot, and the rest will be finished in good time. Stop rushing."

What good advice! I've always been an impatient person, and I have the unfortunate habit of setting myself a multitude of tasks with unrealistic deadlines. When I inevitably fail to achieve everything I've set out to do, I'm disappointed in myself and think I should do better. Todd's reminder came at the perfect time! One of our goals with the move was to slow down and relax more, and the only person standing in my way is me. I'm working on it!


Last but not least, the door bell rang again at 4 in the afternoon, with our smiling neighbours standing in front of it, bearing gifts: a bottle of wine, homemade caramel popcorn, and fresh sausage rolls. They hadn't seen us in a while and wanted to see how Richard was doing, offering their help if we need it.

There are good people in our life, and we are so grateful. 


xoxo Miriam

Top and bottom photos found on Pixabay, a great place to find copyright free photos and videos!   



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Friday 17 November 2017

Shop my closet!


Hi guys, I'm on a downsizing mission, and I've decided to sell a few of my clothes. Since our move to cowboy-land, my style has changed, and I don't wear some of the girlier items I own any more.

You can see the clothes in my brand new section Shop my closet on the top! I will add more stuff over time, so check back once in a while 😄

Happy Friday!

xo Miriam



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Wednesday 15 November 2017

One year in our new home!

Today we've lived in our new home for exactly one year! To mark the occasion, I am going to take you on a nostalgic look back. Ready? Let's do this!

Fun fact: At the beginning of last year we had no idea that we would be living in a new place in a new town by the end of it. 
In May we had no clue, as evidenced by this post where I escaped into an elaborate daydream to escape my dreary reality. 
In June we still were blissfully unaware of the upcoming radical change in our life, because otherwise I would have never embarked upon this tedious kitchen renovation project.
But then, July rolled around, and with it a cryptic blog post. Don't you just hate those? So do I, which is why I revealed what was going on only 4 days later. 
In August we kicked our selling and buying adventure into high gear, and I documented it all

As anyone who has bought a house can attest, the process doesn't go by without some dramaconfusion, and near-fatal mistakes
But we survived, and on November 15, 2016, we officially moved into our new home!


So, what has happened since then?
A lot.

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Thursday 9 November 2017

Things that are in places where they shouldn't be


The other morning I stepped outside - and found a deer head on my front stoop. Attached to it wasn't the body of a deer, but our dog Tom Snow, happily chewing on the deer's face.
I should have been more surprised, but I really wasn't. It's hunting season, and I assume that one of the hunters in the neighbourhood cleaned his dead deer and flung the head over the fence, where Tom Snow found it and brought it home, like the good gatherer he is (he's not a hunter, the sweet boy). 
Gives the expression "Don't lose your head" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?

The dogs took turns chewing on the head, but eventually we took it away from them. Raw deer makes for terrible farts.

Finding a deer head in front of my house made me think of all the weird things I have found in places where you'd least expect it.
I always hear from my friends with kids that kids are crazy inventive when it comes to putting stuff where it doesn't belong. An entire toilet paper roll stuffed into the toilet, lipstick in their face, marker on the walls, peas in their nose, batteries in their stomachs - that's all just a normal morning in a kid's life.
I don't have kids at home, but I have a husband and animals, and seriously, that might be worse.

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Monday 6 November 2017

Cut the bullshit



Have you ever lain down in the grass on a warm summer night, look up at the sky, notice the trillions of stars (really notice them, as if seeing them for the first time), and had this deep, profound moment of realizing just how small you are? I hope you have. It's an oddly satisfying experience. 

It makes you appreciate the fact how tiny and insignificant you really are. And how tiny and insignificant your problems are in the big scheme of things. I mean, when you get a glimpse at the vastness of the universe, you can't help but see your seemingly larger-than-life worries from a new perspective. 

Like all of us, I get caught up in the tedious annoyances of daily life. He hasn't emptied the dishwasher; she never cleans up after herself; this person is so fucking annoying. Work sucks, my husband has the longest man cold mystery illness ever, why am I losing so much hair, dusting is the most pointless job in the world. The list of petty little grievances can quickly become a long one - if you let it. Looking at the stars helps with that. How can you worry about dust when dust is even smaller than you? When the entire world is made of dust? When it will all be gone in the blink of an eye?

Photo credit @itseriksen

But looking at the stars is not something you can do all the time. There are several prerequisites necessary: It has to be night; it has to be cloudless; you have to be in the right frame of mind. It's a wonderful occasional reminder, but it doesn't help in a pinch. 

You know what does? Pretending that you only have one year left to live. 

If you think that's a horribly depressing thought, and the last thing you want to do when you're already fed up with the world is thinking about death, hear me out.
I believe that being aware of your own mortality is an incredibly powerful tool that works for you. 
It's my secret weapon that I pull out when I feel scared, overwhelmed, or unsure which way to go. 

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Saturday 4 November 2017

Where I want to be in June 2022



... still in bed with Tom Snow. The end.
That's the short version. If you want to know more, here comes the long one! 😉

Last night I went through the drafts folder of my blog. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, the draft folder is where blog posts go to die that are unfinished. I tend to write down titles or quick notes when I have an idea, and save it in the drafts folder, with the intention of getting back to it later. 
Well, good intentions are apparently not enough, because I've collected 110 unfinished posts in there. Yikes! 
Many were a lost cause (I only had a title and no clue what I meant to write down), but some might just see the light of day. This is one of them! I can't remember exactly why I settled on June of 2022, but I'm assuming that I planned on doing a 5-year-plan post back in June. You know, like the interview question about "where do you see yourself in 5 years?".

I looove making big plans for the future, writing them down, and then looking back on them a few years later. Almost exactly 3 years ago (it was Nov 18, 2014), I wrote a post describing my dream for the future. At the time, we had no idea when, how, or if we'd ever be able to turn that dream into reality. Three years later, a lot of my wishes have come true, which is freakishly awesome and reinforces my belief in manifesting your dreams.

Let's do another round, shall we?

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Wednesday 1 November 2017

You are not responsible for other people's opinions


Words are powerful. They can heal, and they can destroy. They are a weapon that needs to be yielded carefully; because if it isn't, it will cause pain. 
Unfortunately, while everybody learns to speak, not everybody learns to speak with kindness.
Most people aren't mean on purpose, but careless; however, the result is still the same: we are getting hurt. 

The good news is that we can learn to shield ourselves. Instead of being helpless against barbed comments and sharp words, we can create an armour weaved out of even stronger words. The power of words goes both ways!
I'm one of those people who gets easily discouraged. When I was younger, I wanted nothing more than for people to like me. Fitting in and being accepted were my two most important goals in life. 
However, I also have this wild streak in me of wanting to be wild and free and not giving a damn about the naysayers of this world! How can I become this fearless woman I want to be when I'm also annoyingly oversensitive?

I'm currently reading Mark Manson's book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck (I highly recommend it!), which is all about learning what to give a fuck about. The opinion of other people is not amongst them.
On my path to self-empowerment and fierceness, I've been reading lots and lots of life advice from people much smarter than me. 
And it has dawned on me that I've been making lots of mistakes in the past. 

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