Shows
Leaving BusyMy Year of Wigs2020 unleashed a series of events that took me by surprise. Although my intensifying struggle with my hair had been brewing for some years, epic health crisis, the emergence of COVID and lockdowns emboldened me to try something equally dramatic. After years of wrestling with my hair, I decided to give up the struggle and explore the unknown territory of wearing wigs.
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2023-05-0411 min
Leaving BusyPainting the Door RedAt the dawn of our 29th wedding anniversary, we are celebrating a long-dreamt milestone, the fulfillment of our home mortgage!
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2022-04-1205 min
Leaving BusyExtraordinary Women in Focus: Renée Haney Brings Light and Joy to RealtyOne of the joys of life and friendship is having the opportunity to watch extraordinary women grow and come into their own as the years progress. I have the privilege of knowing many fabulous women who are doing amazing things and am excited to feature them periodically in my new "Extraordinary Women in Focus" article series.
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2021-03-1016 min
Leaving Busy8 Secrets to Creating Lifelong LoveFebruary 2021 is upon us, and I have fully embraced the love theme of Valentine's Day by decorating my home in an unprecedented way. There are pink flowers, white ribbon, hearts, lights, candles, and traditional colour-themed candy.
Everything that speaks of whimsical romance and creating lifelong love and it makes me happy.
Walking down the aisle almost three decades ago, my husband and I may have been voted least likely to succeed in marriage, but somehow we beat the odds. This season has me feeling grateful while contemplating our lives together and what secrets we might...
2021-01-3122 min
Leaving BusySerial Dieter: 12 Diets I Tried And Failed At (And What I’m Going To Try Next)Confession: I am a Serial Dieter and this is a list of the 12 diets I’ve tried and failed at over my lifetime.
Nutrition is an overall health-related topic that needs to be included in this blog but as a serial diet failure, I was delaying as long as possible.
How could I write about something that is a glaringly current personal struggle for me? Who is going to listen to my “sage” advise on nutrition when I am obviously not following it myself.
The initial intention was to wait until I had a better handle on my eating habits and ha...
2021-01-1220 min
Leaving BusyNew Year Goals: Daring to Dream Again in 2021As December drew to a close and 2021 was dawning on the horizon, I was decidedly shy about emotionally investing in new year goals.
I have always advocated making life plans and daring to dream, but my optimistic agenda was drop-kicked and knocked unconscious last year. When I woke up, the world had changed, and so had I.
Still, nothing inspires dreams and new year goals like a pristine, blank calendar and the promise of a fresh start.
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2021-01-0606 min
Leaving BusyPreparing for WinterNothing about 2020 has been normal. Life has changed significantly in the wake of global events. Regardless of faith, political leanings, social-economical status, race or life season, 2020 has had an array of events and ripple effects that have touched us all. Everyone has a different spin on who is to blame, what decisions should be made to hold those people accountable, how our society should move forward and what we can personally do about it. Our debates about COVID, politics, vaccines, guns, masks, end-time events, racial issues and the host of topics that divide us are important and need to happen...
2020-09-0630 min
Leaving BusyGroup Support or Sabotage?My friend eyed me inquisically, and I found myself unburdening years of negative experiences trying to connect with hobbyist groups in search of "support and encouragement." It was apparent that I had found precisely the opposite. Not that all these groups were terrible and didn't have support to give. Just that they were too intensely focused on their own agenda to welcome someone who didn't share their cult-like devotion or think outside their formula of success. Sometimes it was just collective limiting beliefs that I chafed at, and when I proved them wrong, I found myself facing suspicion or...
2020-06-1815 min
Leaving BusyLife Tsunami: Rebuilding (Part 3)After every crisis, there is a time of rebuilding. Even as I write this, our country of Canada is beginning to rebuild after six weeks of closing all non-essential businesses and mass quarantine to slow the spread (flatten the curve) of the COVID-19 virus. Rebuilding can be slow and painful, but it is necessary. This narrative is a recollection of the rebuilding that I experienced following my recent health crisis.
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2020-05-2115 min
Leaving BusyLife Tsunami: Through the Looking Glass (Part 2)During my sedation, I was aware that things were not going as planned. The combination of fentanyl and morphine I was given while sedated had an effect on my perception of real and imagined events. In Part 1 of Life Tsunami: Surviving the Unexpected, I lay out the facts that lead up to my surgery, two weeks of sedation and the aftermath I woke up to. This article, by contrast, features the imaginary experiences I mistook as reality. The following narrative is fiction except for the rare occasions where I reference real events that intersected and influenced my dreams. It...
2020-03-2425 min
Leaving BusyLife Tsunami: Surviving the Unexpected (Part 1)As my friends and I toasted the arrival of 2020 on New Year's Eve with all my hopes and plans for the months to come, I had no idea of the events soon to crash the peaceful shore of my life. A silent storm was brewing, and a life tsunami was about to break, not only for me personally but for everyone globally. Since that celebratory evening, life has taken on a surreal, cartoon-like quality with a theme similar to the post-apocalyptic movies that my family and I can't get enough of.
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2020-03-2425 min
Leaving Busy3 Ingeniously Practical Ways to Expand Your Resources in 2020I’m talking about the stuff that we know we should address but don’t and somehow, we think that 2020 is going to be different without us behaving differently. Changing our behaviours is something we can do at any time, but most of us are more receptive to change at the ushering in of a new year. So here are 3 Ingeniously Practical Ways to Expand Your Resources in 2020.
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2020-01-0209 min
Leaving Busy21 Memorable Ways to Celebrate Christmas on a BudgetChristmas. It is supposed to be the season for joy and merriment and for the most part, it is; however, even for the jolliest Santa, Christmas preparations and celebrations can bring out their inner Scrooge! No-one likes going into debt, but we all want to enjoy generous festivities, bless our loved ones and extend our giving to those less fortunate. Between parties, gifts, Christmas dinners, charitable donations and holiday-themed events, by January, our pocketbooks can become rather thin. With this in mind, here are 21 memorable ways to celebrate Christmas on a budget.
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2019-12-1016 min
Leaving BusyChristmas Advent Calendar DelightMy love for Christmas advent calendars is progressively turning into an obsession. It started as a child when my mother introduced me to the store-bought cardboard version that contained chocolates. I suspect this was her way of coping with the “How many more days is it to Christmas?” question I posed to her multiple times a day. Now though, chocolate advent calendars are a relic of my childhood, and I am finding more creative ways to count off the advancing toward our most celebrated holiday of the year.
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2019-12-0315 min
Leaving Busy17 Profound Ways to Prevent Burnout During the HolidaysIn the Christian community, Christmas is traditionally celebrated on December 25th as a religious holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. However, in the marketing world, preparing for celebrations is launched well before the Canadian Thanksgiving, Halloween, continuing past the US Thanksgiving through to Christmas Eve. All this results in a rush to buy presents for family and colleagues, send greeting cards, plan celebrations, decorate the house, trim the tree, wrap presents, clean the house in preparation for visitors and overnight guests, and hopefully make it all happen by Christmas Eve. It is necessary to take proactive measures to...
2019-11-1910 min
Leaving BusyBook Review – Total Surrender: Transformation from a Self-Serving Life to God’s Servant for LifeThe more I delve into the world of blogging and writing, the more I realize how important it is to build relationships with fellow bloggers and authors. Online communities have been invaluable in achieving this and I have been the recipient of unexpected, generous support from others as a result. When I announced the publishing of my first book, I met some local writers as well. One of these individuals who reached out to me is John Edward Habib, who recently authored his first book, Total Surrender: Transformation from a Self-Serving Life to God’s Servant for Life.
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2019-11-1207 min
Leaving Busy10 Reasons - Why Smaller Holiday Gatherings are Better for FamiliesThe holiday season can be one of the most stressful times of the year. Starting around mid-October, straight through into the New Year, it seems like we go non-stop. From preparing food to home decorations, parties, shopping for presents, booking accommodations, and incurring travel expenses, etc., celebrations can become overwhelming if you're not careful. If you are considering simplifying your festivities, here are 10 reasons why smaller holiday gatherings are better for families:
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2019-11-0609 min
Leaving BusyProphecy FulfilledHalloween season does surface the universal beliefs of good versus evil and the supernatural. It appeals to a lot of people who don’t embrace the same belief system as I do. As limited humans, we all long for power that elevates us from our limitations to expand our realities.
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2019-10-2917 min
Leaving BusyThanksgiving ThistlesIt was the beginning of Thanksgiving weekend and although Kara was going through the motions of preparing a traditional turkey dinner, her heart wasn’t in it. It felt like there was nothing to celebrate.
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2019-10-0731 min
Leaving BusyHow to Self-Publish Your Book Using Kindle Direct PublushingWriting and self-publishing your book. It’s the ultimate lifetime dream for those with a passion for writing. For most of us the path is not a direct linear line but a weaving, scattered journey.
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2019-09-1923 min
Leaving BusyHow to Organize a Self-Hosted Retreat on a BudgetI love the idea of a reflective retreat and try to set apart time to pursue a meditative, learning or development activity at least once a year. It is so healthy and centering to pull away from the regular demands of life to quietly examine one’s inner self and pay attention to the weightier matters of the soul.
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2019-09-1213 min
Leaving BusyFinances, Foiled Canada Day Plans & Childhood MemoriesEmail to subscribers featuring 2 latest articles
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2019-07-0605 min
Leaving Busy16 Practical Tips To Fund Your DreamsOne cannot responsibly preach a message of slowing down, rest and sabbaticals…living the life you’ve always dreamed of…without addressing the hard reality of finances. A more reasonable balance between work and play sounds romantic and enviable until the bills pile up and the car breaks down. Still there is a path one can proactively walk that will lead to having means to fund your dreams on some level, whatever those dreams may be.
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2019-07-0421 min
Leaving BusyChoosing Life, Community & ForgivenessThere is pro-choice rhetoric that claims pro-life advocates of having little interest in the wellbeing of mother and babe past the initial decision to decline abortion. This story is a celebration of the community that rallied around my mom and me in my first years of life, a violation of trust and innocence and how ultimately love and forgiveness overcomes all.
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2019-07-0410 min
Leaving BusyFather’s Day Tribute: My 3 DadsI stood in front of the Father’s Day card display at our local Wal-mart crying. Having stopped to pick up some items on my way to a work meeting, I came across a random mid-isle display.
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2019-06-0622 min
Leaving Busy9 Fantastic Reasons to Use Essential Oils (and a FREE E-Book with 10 Favourite Recipes to Get You Started!)Essential Oils. Even two decades ago, I had never heard the term. I certainly had no idea that I would not only try them but come to love and share my love of oils with friends as well.
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2019-05-2912 min
Leaving BusyFood Convenience Services: How Goodfood and PC Express Grocery Pickup Changed My MindThe coupon codes were everywhere. In my Facebook feed. Little coloured slips of advertising in my regular correspondence. Tempting ads in my Google finds.
Goodfood.
Another meal subscription service that promised to make my life more convenient while allowing me to enjoy better home-cooked meals.
Honestly?
I ignored the message. I kept on browsing. Threw the coupon codes away.
I wasn't interested.
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2019-05-2215 min
Leaving BusyStretching the Truth About FitnessThis morning I dragged my reluctant body through a 30-minute stretch routine. Struggling to harness my attention span, I would catch myself staring listlessly off into the distance as the drone of fitness instruction guided me through a series of body positions.
In this stage of fitness repentance, stretching is full of awkward reminders that my late-forties body doesn’t move like it did a couple decades ago.
Tightness in my chest muscles from years of sitting over a computer keyboard with less than stellar posture makes the meeting of my palms behind my back im...
2019-05-0812 min
Leaving BusyKonMari Your Heart: The Life-Changing Power of ForgivenessThis year, Marie Kondo’s system of tidying up has swept North America. Households are embracing the very practical “KonMari” method and purging record volumes of excess possessions from their homes. Why? To enjoy the promised mental, emotional and relational peace that comes from making decisions, getting rid of clutter and moving forward in life with the items that serve them best.
What if we looked inward and applied the same decluttering principles to our hearts as we did our homes? What would that look like? It is totally possible to overhaul heaps of useless junk that is smo...
2019-04-3010 min
Leaving BusyHealing ConfrontationI’m convinced that unresolved conflict is a major cause of poor mental health and that confrontation that leads to healing can be the best elixir to a troubled soul. Yet even the word “confrontation” brings a sense of adversity, does it not?
The truth is that conflict doesn’t have to be adversarial! Addressing offences can be loving and gentle. Healing confrontation is the portal where vulnerability and greater understanding merge to create unity and growth.
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2019-04-2410 min
Leaving BusyPets With BenefitsAdopting a pet comes with multiple benefits! Dogs definitely lead the pack when it comes to pets but cats are a very close second and their owners are no less enthusiastic. While there are many other creatures one can enjoy like hamsters, gerbils, fish, turtles, lizards, snakes, spiders, pigs, rabbits, horses and more…we’re going to focus today’s article on the stereotypical dog and cat variety.
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2019-04-1629 min
Leaving BusyViolence of EasterEaster is just over a week away and it brings to mind a springtime long weekend, pastels, bunnies, chickees, eggs, and CHOCOLATE! It also includes a festive Sunday morning church service with best dresses, excited musical pageantry over Christ’s triumphant resurrection and an afternoon with family around an abundant table. Tucked in there is the somber assembly on Good Friday for those who choose to acknowledge it and the violence that makes all the other celebrations as intensely beautiful as they are.
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2019-04-1010 min
Leaving BusyDevour Emails, Web Articles and eBooks Without “Reading” a WordYou just signed up for a blog filled with oodles of great information that you need and earnestly want to read. The moment you hit “subscribe” your inbox is filled with confirmation emails, offers and those valuable facts you plan to consume…later on when you have time. Soon those emails are sandwiched between work and personal correspondence, volunteer schedules, sales notices and social media notifications.
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2019-04-0612 min
Leaving BusyMental Health Crisis-3 Risk Factors to AvoidLast week I shared the personal mental health crisis that gave me the courage to leave the security of my job. This ultimately lead to starting this blog dedicated to promoting mental health and helping people live more healthful, balanced lives
Today I want to share 3 risk factors to avoid mental health crisis. There are many factors that contribute to poor mental health including genetics, trauma, drug abuse etc. and this article will not be covering those. This list is presuming that other more serious psychological issues are not at play and we are dealing with a relatively well-adjusted...
2019-03-2710 min
Leaving BusyMental Health-Finding Hope in the CrisisIf you’d told me that I would be starting a blog dedicated to the promotion of mental health and the many topic threads woven in and around it…well let’s say I didn’t see this coming. Before we move on, let me introduce myself and how the topic of mental health became one of importance to me personally.
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2019-03-2010 min
Leaving BusyThe Dream BeginsAn introductory welcome to website visitors in the first weeks of development
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2019-03-0500 min