Fireworks from Dewolf Park. Bedford. NS

I think it’s safe to say the first half of this year has flown by…

At the beginning of 2019, I felt it impressed upon me to focus on the word ‘Curate’ and it has remained with me every day since.

Personally

This year has taken turns we were not expecting. Dealing with a beetle infestation and having to embrace that our home needed us to put some financial investment into it not down the road, but right now, was a blow to a few of our plans this year. In reflection, I see how those hard and confusing months allowed us to see how important it is to invest in our home and property and that we are 100% capable of doing so. I believe that God has a way of providing what you need exactly when you need it. So many little things along the way helped me to see that even when it feels like a step back, so often that step back is so you can leap forward in a more clearer and better direction.

Professionally

Earlier this year I had a break through with my use of time. I recognized I was acting as if I still had a very dependant toddler at home when really we were thriving together and individually. When I started assessing how busy I felt I realized it was because I was doing tasks like a scattered mom with young children. Making an effort to re-evaluate how I can have a better work flow has been essential and of course I discovered all of this to only have to put a lot on hold to deal with our home, but that time of distraction allowed me to see how necessary developing a proper work flow for this new stage was and how efficient I could be for my work and projects.

As I enter into the last half of 2019

I recognize I still want to continue curating our home and it’s atmosphere. Putting our house back together after months of upheaval in a mindful and intentional way will allow us to find rest, to host others and commune together in it. I also want to continue re-evaluating on a weekly, monthly and seasonal basis how I allot time for paid and non paid work. Both are worthy causes and both deserve the appropriate attention.

New Years Eve Sparklers | 2019

The ground is shifting.

It’s quaking and rumbling beneath my feet. I can sense the place in which I am planted is about to change in this new year.

If I am being honest, it has created a lot of questions for me.

How will I manage in 2019 as these shifts take place?

Will I and what’s important to me, fall through the cracks?

Will I find that I am even more capable, or will I crumble?

Spinning these thoughts in my head over the past month has led me to the unique word: ‘Curate’.

Curate verb

• select, organize, and present (online content, merchandise, information, etc.), typically using professional or expert knowledge:

& although it’s often reserved to explain an art gallery or other aspects of gathering information/elements together, it has struck a chord within me. As I am adjusting to the ‘shifting’ and ‘growing’ in my / our lives, it is time for me to make careful and precise choices with where I place my energy and time.

PERSONALLY

Raising a ‘little’ into a child to equip her to handle the various aspects of life that will be thrown at her in less than 2 years (entering the public school system) means we need to be even more focused on bringing her the opportunities to grow, learn and mature in a new way. My time with her in this format of life is limited. Instilling values of kindness, empowerment, literacy, imagination, etc, before her world becomes more than just us, is increasingly heightened in importance.

As a family we are capable of more than we ever have been before. Leaving the baby/toddler stage has meant we are more able to connect and interact with our community, family and friends on a deeper level. It’s time to open up and pour out our energies in a new way.

PROFESSIONALLY

Continue to carefully align myself with the work atmosphere, collaborative teams and projects, knowing that what I commit to will get my full attention. Learning not to downplay myself & what I have to offer is a practice. I have learned so much in the past year about my craft, the industry I work in and where my boundaries are. Continuing to cultivate these interactions and various work projects while upholding my values is not a risk, it’s an integral part of who I am and how I choose to function within this world.

& as I close on this first day of the New Year,

by learning how to ‘curate’ in both my personal and professional life, I will be finding the proper footing to keep my feet actively on the ground while also gaining insight on how to adjust wherever 2019 puts me / us.

Happy New Year!

In January I made this statement:

"Focusing on excellence in my work, my choices and my lifestyle ideals are what is forefront in my mind as I journey into this next year..."

How has this played out?

IN THE PROFESSIONAL

I have been in the process of levelling up in my work quality.  I have created a few pieces that surprised me and they are in various stages of development.  I have also had to learn what it means to say no.  To have to stand up for myself in a professional setting shook me up.  It reminded me of my values, of what I will and will not work towards.  It reminded me of why I do what I do and what type of writer that makes me.  In essence, excellence might look a bit like having a strong sense of self tied directly to my professional being.

IN THE PERSONAL

I have a better sense of where I want my energy to be poured out in my family, my friends and my community.  I have a better sense of what I can be giving and it has created some clarity over the past few months.  Attending our local church has allowed me to truly sink into creating deeper relationships with people who live near us.  It has been an anchor and given me space to inhale and exhale while connecting with family, friends and anyone else who crosses my path.

OVERALL

This half of the year hasn't been easy by any means, but it has developed in me a sense of strength and discernment in situations that are beyond me.  I have been reminded of Who made me, Why I am driven to create and What makes me unique.  Striving for excellence has never been about prerfection, but about truly understanding who I am, what I can fully bring to the table and how I can serve. 

Happy New Year!!!

It's no secret that I absolutely adore the New Year.  A fresh start with time to reflect and kick start what needs to change and what needs to move forward.  It is my cat nip.  My elixir of choice.  Every season that turns and every year that arrives brings new insights, new ideas and new ways of evolving.  Another year of life to live to it's fullest.

For anyone who has checked in here from time to time, it is obvious that our layout for this website has changed.  As each year changes so do we and this website has undergone another shift.  We have shifted the focus to become a landing page, running portfolio of the work and projects I am doing, along with a current and continually updated CV.  I will still be maintaining a bi-weekly blog post presence for those who want to continue following the blog format, and hope that these changes will be a better reflection of the work that I am doing today.

Thank-you to every person who is invested in the journey that I am on as a writer and creative, whom litter my inbox with encouragement, inspirational thoughts and walk with me through the highs and the lows.  You are an incredible force in my life.  

2017

Was a year of growth, discovery of my place in the creative world as it is now, and claiming that what I had to offer was of value and worth.  That as a writer, I am worthy of being here on this earth.  I discovered that with that journey of claiming what I have been called to do, a joy follows it. 

I have experienced over the last year a peace and a joy that has surpasses my own understanding.   The questions of "What the heck am I doing?", "is this worth it?" have been eclipsed by the joy of the work.  

2018

for me is about pursuing that joy, what I can learn from the industry I have found a passion for and continuslouy hitting the desk, meetings and inspirations to pursue what has been given to me.  It became so evident as the reflections began over the last few months that a new word was to be focused on this year:

Excellence

noun . The quality of being outstanding or extremely good.  
           an outstanding feature or quality

Excellence because it's not about perfection or a specific rating.  Excellence surpasses a rating because it reaches for more than the 'right' delivery and goes straight to something unique.  It reaches for what cannot be fully described or put in a box.  It is, as it is.  

Outstanding.  Of itself, a high quality. 

Focusing on excellence in my work, my choices and my lifestyle ideals are what is forefront in my mind as I journey in this next year!

May you be inspired by this New Year given to us and reach into your depths for whatever it is you are called to be and do. 

Cheers & Happy New Year!

Words make up a sentence.  A sentence makes up a paragraph, and a paragraph makes up a page.  All those pages make up something, someone thought was worth reading.

Why read?  Why put anything down at all?  

Words on page put something we dare to attempt uncovering, discovering, and demystifying out in the open. They become accessible, tangible, real, raw and honest.

Word : (noun) a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed. 

oneword365.com has given a concept to grow through a 365 day journey with just one word.

"One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. One word that you can focus on every day, all year long.

It will take intentionality and commitment, but if you let it, your one word will shape not only your year, but also you. It will become the compass that directs your decisions and guides your steps.

Discover the big impact one word can make." - http://oneword365.com

For this writer, a word has emmerged, before I knew of the one word vision.  Before I knew that there was a movement to intentionally one word, one was already being chosen. 

FIRE (noun) combustion or burning, in which substances combine chemically with oxygen from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke

As a writer, fire doesn't mean death, it means everything that is risked when you walk into fear.

FIRE burns artists into gold.

FIRE ignites truth

A 365 Day journey into refining this writer.

Risking it all for the refining of fire.