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2010 was a crazy year. A year of massive changes, and totally organized chaos!
Here’s a recap of the insanity:
I Sold My Condo
Got Married
Took A Trip To Argentina
Started My Own Company
Moved (Twice)
Phew! Here’s hoping 2011 is A LOT more relaxing!
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Every New Years loads of resolutions are passed around – eat less, exercise more, take your lunch to work everyday….all sorts of promises that don’t typically live for longer than 2 weeks.
For real, have you heard anyone who actually kept a resolution for a full year? I don’t think it’s actually happened.
So, instead of making resolutions we’re making some lifestyle changes.
Our goal is to make 2011 the best year ever!
How are we going to do that? By making 5 important changes in our life:
Focus On What Makes You Happy. That’s right. If you don’t like, don’t do it. Enough with saying yes to people, invitations, obligations that don’t really “work” for us. If it doesn’t make us happy, we’re not doing it!
Make Fun A Priority. In university life was good. We got together with our girlfriends, watched movies, went to free concerts, had picnics in the park, and most importantly WE HAD A BLAST! We didn’t have much money, but we sure had fun! Now we socialize by going to restaurants, having wine with friends, but it’s all getting kind of routine, and we only do it when it fits into our weekend schedule. After all, we spend all our time during the week thinking about work! Now we’re making good old “fun” a priority. A street party on a Tuesday night? Sign me up! The free lunchtime concerts hosted by the Canadian Opera Comany – sign me up! Bring back the good old fashioned fun!
Save More Money. You can’t live rich if you feel poor, and as women taking charge of our finances is extremely important. We’re not going to live like Scrooge, but we arere saving more. Remember that saying – “Pay yourself first”. We’re doing it and we’re having more “free fun” at the same time.
Relax More. That’s right, we’re going to chill out more. Enough with the crazy speed of life and all the work stress. This year, you’ll find us sitting at the cafe, watching the passerby, taking a stroll after dinner, and reading good books. When we work, we’re going to work really hard. When we’re not, we are either having fun, or relaxing.
Surround Yourself With Happy People Who Make You Feel Good. Your social circle has a huge influence on your happiness. Breakup with your negative friends, and spend more time with positive, interesting and inspiring people who make you feel good.
Sound like a recipe for a good life, doesn’t it?
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This year why not give gifts that are budget wise AND actually make you feel good?
1. Water.org’s “Camelbak Water Bottle”
Promoted in part by Matt Damon this cool water bottle gives 100% of the proceeds to support nearly a billion people in the world who lack clean water.
The bottles are $18.99 and can be bought here.
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2. Me To We Style’s “Maisha Life Key Ring”
The folks at Me To We Style sell socially conscious and environmentally friendly clothes, books and music – as well as life-changing experiences. This key ring is part of the Artisans line; original accessories, handcrafted by artisans in Free The Children countries across the globe. Each unique piece is a connection between you and a working artisan, sustainably produced and using as much local supply as possible.
The key ring sells for $9.99 and you can buy it online here
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3. Unicef’s “Beautiful Birds Magnet Notepads”
These stylish notepads are beautifully designed and you get 2 in a pack with a pencil. They have a bird design and a fresh cut flowers design.
Two magnetic notepads: 9.5cm x 9.5 cm. One pencil: 16.5 cm.
The notepads are on sale for $6.99 and you can buy them here
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I’m not sure that I’m fully in the grinch category…but Christmas does not excite me at all, which means I wait until the last possible moment to buy gifts and do all the preparations necessary.
I’m not into complaining, so I’ll leave the long list of things wrong with Christmas off this post (hint, hint, it’s freezing, expensive, stressful, involves terrible music and forced encounters with work mates you’d probably rather avoid…..just to name a few). Regardless, the fact remains, a little coaxing is required to bring out the “ho-ho” feeling.
To get ready to get in the Christmas spirit here’s what this (faux) Doctor orders.
1. make yourself some wonderful hot chocolate with marshmallows. Add lots of cream, and things you wouldn’t normally drink.
2. put on a warm sweater.
3. curl up on the sofa.
4. make mental notes of memories you’ve shared with all the people on your Christmas list.
5. Enjoy those memories. Savour the fun times…when you laughed together, beautiful meals you shared together, maybe getting out of some sad times together. Enjoy the *real* moments you shared.
6. Then think of what each of those people would like for Christmas. Not some fancy, new, hot thing…but something meaningful, and set yourself a nice modest budget for each person.
Maybe their grandmother’s favourite vase broke this year and you know a guy who can fix it – get it repaired for them and wrap it up for Christmas.
Or maybe they are always losing their golf balls when playing – get them a golf ball personalizer (you can type your initialls on the ball!)
At the end of your list if you have some empty names make an effort to do some good this year – buy gifts from great (& charitable) organizations such as Me To We, or Unicef. Give your friends a gift & the proceeds will go to the charity!
Doesn’t that make you feel excited about Christmas already??
See, it’s not so bad after all.
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Women are famous multi-taskers. You know the kind. She’s having a shower, brushing her teeth, planning her outift for the day, and sticking one hand out of the shower texting her client to confirm their meeting time.
Sound familiar? Chances are if you are a woman, that’s what your life is like.
But does it get you anywhere faster, make you achieve more, and MOST IMPORTANTLY….does it make you happy?
How much of the multi – tasking is truly essential? How much is keeping busy? How much is wasting time? And how much is leaving you totally exhausted and unfulfilled?
In an effort to achieve everything imaginable (because you’ve been told you can have it ALL), women are pushed and pulled and stretched to do all sorts of things at all times of the day.
But is it necessary?
What if we just sat back, did one task at a time. Focused on what we were doing. Said no to helping everyone out all the time. Just took care of what we are supposed to take care of, instead of doing loads extra on top.
We would feel less stressed, less stretched, we’d actually complete projects, instead of having a million loose ends at all times, and we’d feel pretty accomplished.
Are you ready to take a pause, figure out if it’s essential and then just FOCUS?
It could be the start of a less stressed, higher achieving and happier you.
….That seems to be something worth trying out!
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Congratulations to all the lovely ladies who completed the 30 Day Fitness Challenge! Our final challenge – to complete the challenge survey – got a gazillion responses, and 7 lucky ladies were picked randomly as the final winners.
The big winners are:
Allison McManus – winner of the Burts Bees Beauty Package
Catherine Martens – winner of the 4 week Booty Camp gift certificate
And the following 5 ladies who won a copy of Women Food and God from Simon and Schuster Canada
Ekaterina Trapeznikova
Lauren Biggs
Amanda Marseille
Megan Richardson
Sonya Rogozynski
Congrats ladies! Well Done
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Thanksgiving is the best holiday. There’s no pressure, no presents, it’s still nice outside, and it’s all about being thankful! Does a holiday get any better than that?
And, it’s also a time to reflect and really think about what you have to be thankful for.
Here’s my list of things to be thankful for in 2010:
- I’m thankful for my husband. He’s a great guy, very loyal and someone who I really look up to. I’d been looking for someone just like him, and I finally found him!
- I’m thankful for having the guts to start my own business. It was a big jump…and took some serious chutzpah at times, but I did it, and it’s growing and I was able to surpass my income goal by June!
- I’m thankful for my aunt and uncle. They stood by me when things were at a very low point in my life, helped me grow to be a better person, and we have a lovely relationship now.
- I’m thankful for facing some of my biggest fears in life, being honest, and moving on. Getting married was a big worry – having to trust someone so much after growing up in a family where you couldn’t trust anyone was a big deal. But, I pushed through. And soon after being married we were arguing all the time. But we put it all on the table, scrapped it out, and I stood up for myself where before I would just let everything go. I was worried that really fighting would tear us apart…but guess what, it brought us closer together! Now we argue whenever things come up, we deal with it, and we move on in peace. It’s great!
There are many other small things to be thankful for, and I really try to appreciate them on a daily basis…things like a good cup of coffee, a sunny day, a nice chat with a good friend. Those are real heart warmers that I’m exceptionally grateful for.
What about you? What are you thankful for?
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The long weekend is almost here, and if you are not sure what to do there are lots of fantastic things on! So grab your sunglasses and take full advantage of the last long weekend of summer. Make it a great one!
Things To Do In Toronto
1.Take A Day Trip To The Toronto Islands (click here to read more)
One of our favourite things to do is to go the the Toronto Islands.
2. Go To The Beach (click here to read more)
The Beach is also a favourite place to be this weekend. Take a stroll on the beach, play some volleyball, watch the seagulls, or enjoy a delicious brunch along Queen Street.
3. Visit The Harboufront Area (click here to read more)
There’s also lots of great things happening at the Harbourfront in general. Read on to find out what to do, where to go, and where the best patio is!
Things To Do Outside Of The City
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4. Take A Day Trip To Niagara On The Lake (click here to read more)
Niagara On the Lake is an absolute favourite. Here’s a short post on what do while you’re in Ontario’s favourite wine country.
5. Go To Cottage Country (click here to read more)
Cottage country is gorgeous, and there’s no better weekend to enjoy it than this one! Here’s a link to a last minute cottage rental site…so tempting!
Things To Do Anywhere
6. Host A Fabuous Dinner Party (click here to read more)
It’s going to be gorgeous, so host a fabulous outdoor dinner party with these amazing recipes.
7. Go On A Cheap, Fun & Active Date (click here to read more)
Great suggestions for cheap, active and super fun date activities. If you’re single don’t fret, grab one of your girlfriends and make it a girls date!
8. Go Hiking With Your Girlfriends (click here to read more)
The great outdoors, great girlfriends…well it all sounds pretty great. And it is. Do something totally different this weekend, and go hiking with your ladies. You’ll love it!
9. Day Dream What Your Fantasy Life (click here to read more)
In a relaxed environment, with no pressure or noise, or stress, or anything to disrupt you, let your mind wander…and create a picture of your dream life. It will be the start of great things for you!
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I can’t say that I’ve always wanted to run away with the circus, in fact, the closest I’ve ever got to the big top was reading Fifth Business as a kid, and creating body image issues for myself in funhouse mirrors. But as I approached my 35th birthday, I wanted to do something different, something that would test my boundaries and help me to regain some of the fearlessness of youth. I decided to try the flying trapeze. Now it’s not an original idea – I admit I saw it on an episode of Sex in the City, but the key was translating this idea into reality. I thought it was going to be difficult to find a circus in Toronto, but through the wonders of the internet, I discovered that the Toronto Circus school offers drop-in trapeze classes in a hangar at Downsview park.
I convinced a few friends to join me and off we went into the unknown. When we arrived we were greeted by a pleasant looking woman who asked us to sign a waiver. I shrugged it off as a precaution and happily signed away my life – all in the name of fun. My friends and I looked at each other and broke out into a nervous giggle. This was safe wasn’t it…??? I tried to reassure us as we walked into the gymnasium. There was nothing to be afraid of. We would have a harness, a net, someone spotting us and of course a lot of practice before we even got up the trapeze.
Or so I thought. As we walked in, all I could see was the 20 foot ladder leading to a precarious looking wooden platform and the vastness of the distance between the trapeze and the net. We all looked at each other and gulped.
There would be no easing into the trapeze; we received a routine, saw a quick demonstration and were strapped in for the horror ahead. The first person up made it look really easy and gave us a false sense of security (we found out later that she was a regular). The trembling people that followed were more the norm. The closer we got to the front of the line, the more nervous we got.
As I had been the instigator of the madness, I had the pleasure of going first. I never thought I had a fear of heights until I got up to the ladder. My arms were trembling and I had to force myself not to look down. As I approached the platform, I kept worrying that I would lose my footing and plummet to the ground. The platform itself was probably only 3×2 feet wide and had to support the weight of two people.
I was sweating as I walked onto the platform and having some serious second thoughts. The spotter told me to grab onto the trapeze with one hand and perch my toes off the front of the platform. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I looked at the net below. Then I was to grab the trapeze with my other hand and when she yelled “hup”, (carnie talk for “go”) I was supposed to jump off with my feet. She yelled, I jumped and swung like a pendulum. I could feel the rush of the air beside me and my arms being ripped from their sockets. I hung on for dear life and could barely hear the instructions of what to do next. After a few swings I was to tuck my knees up and throw them over the trapeze, let go of my arms and then release to fall gracefully onto the net.
This is what happened – I kept swinging, my arms quivering, my body feeling like a dead weight. Try as I might, I couldn’t get my knees over the bar and was stuck there in limbo. After what seemed like an eternity, I heard a voice say something that sounded like “let go”. So I did. I fell onto the net in a heap and rolled onto the floor. I felt exhilarated. I took a second to think about what I had done and smiled. I just did the flying trapeze. Now how many people can say that?
P.S. I did better the second time around.
Heena is a labour lawyer with a large Canadian financial institution and has contributed several articles to Cashmere Clutch.
If you liked this article you may also like Heena’s other articles:
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Our latest Fearless and Fabulous Female Entrepreneur Series feature is Orlena Cain – founder of Sugarcain Entertainment, an online magazine that supports up and coming, aspiring female journalists, Belleville’s Mix97′s morning announcer, and The Shopping Channel’s TV presenter. Orlena also works closely with the Children’s Aid Society, and other charitable organizations. Busy does not even begin to describe Orlena, but you’ll be surprised by what makes her tick and what she would do differently if she could do it all again.
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How did you start your business?
I created it 6 years ago to help me build my portfolio of interviews and I kept meeting women who wanted to come on board and do the same. 2010 marks the end of a significant run in the world of entertainment news for Sugarcain Entertainment. We started out with one and currently have 25 journos that are in Toronto, Barrie, Kingston, Ottawa and Montreal. Vancouver, BC, Los Angeles, CA and TEXAS! We really are everywhere!
What’s your typical day like?
Throughout the ownership of my own online magazine, I have also continued to work as a television host and now morning show radio host too. A typical day starts at 430am/530am depending on if I wash my hair or
not, which also depends on how restless my night was…lol! Its on air 600am – 1000am in Belleville on MIX97 radio (Mon-Fri)and then if need be I may have to travel an hour and 45 minutes to The Shopping Channel (TSC) studio to work an afternoon or evening shift. I usually work weekends in Toronto at TSC.
What was your biggest worry when you started your own company?
My biggest worry was that no one would find it interesting enough to read and to date we have 250-thousand readers! Not too shabby for no advertising and purely word of mouth.
How long did it take for you to feel confident about working for yourself?
For me confidence has never been something that I wait for to do something. I walk fearlessly and sometimes foolishly in the path of the least expected. Sometimes I fall flat on my face…but most times noone is around to see it and I dust myself off, wipe a tear away if it has strayed and keep moving. Life is a battle. You don’t stop – keep moving!
What surprised you the most about working for yourself?
I will tell you what surprised me most about working for myself – you can make anything happen and it is true, ” If you build it, they will come.”
What’s the biggest reward in working for yourself?
The biggest reward is that I have had a successful online magazine for 6 years and I have helped alot of young women help themselves. I feel incredibly grateful to have met over 50 women who have been affiliated
with Sugarcain Entertainment. Some have moved on to great jobs like Monika Platek who is an in house announcer for their live TV coverage for the TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS or Loriann Vilani who works on 102.1 THE EDGE as an anouncer.
What have you sacrificed?
I have sacrificed having or starting a family. I have sacrificed sleep. But I would change nothing, because, everything is as it should be.
Is there anything you would have done differently?
EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE. If I could change anything, I may have told a couple of people to go SCREW THEMSELVES. However, the world is small, so I silently have said it and not verbalized it, even though they deserved it.
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Other Inspiring Women: Fearless and Fabulous Female Entrepreneurs
Ali De Bold – cofounder of ChickAdvisor
Equipped with a great business idea and loads of hard work she and her husband and business partner, Alex De Bold, started www.ChickAdvisor.com – Canada’s first user generated reviews community for women to share advice on their favourite products and local places. Find out how she did it, and the one thing she would have done differently!
Lisa Ng – founder of HelloDJ
Lisa Ng is a woman that goes after what she wants. She’s never worked in a corporate office, she owns her own DJ company, Hello DJ, and she’s not afraid to take risks. But how did she do it and what’s it like?
