TODAY WILL BE AWESOME!

This statement is printed on the front of one of my youngest daughters t-shirt's. She wore it today.   It was a hand-me-down from her big sister and one of my favourite treasures from The Gap.  The reason I love this is perhaps obvious.  I'm a huge fan of wearing a message that's positive and this one simple t-shirt hopefully made an impact on everyone who read it today. But in addition to that, it's about the powerful magic of intention. 

I was driving home from work a few nights ago listening to a radio station..the show was called jazzology. I didn't catch the name of the man being interviewed but he was asked to share music that made an impact on his life and he told a wonderful story leading up to a favourite piece called Laumeier Outro by Horace Bray. He commented that he chose the piece because it was so different from anything he had heard at the time. I pulled over to text my partner Deryk the name, mostly because I didn't want to forget it but also because I thought perhaps he'd be familiar with it. He messaged back laughing and called me a weirdo, which is pretty funny since he's the music nerd.  Anyways...

When I drop my girls off at the gym daycare (which is most mornings) for my 2 hour mommy break, aka solace for my soul, I always drop them off with a snack. And last weeks peppers, cucumbers and hummus got the attention of another mom who asked "how do you get your kids to eat vegetables?"  Well this has never been an issue for our family. And I guess I'm pretty lucky. I hear there are some really picky eaters out there and some moms that are bending over backwards to make sure their children eat at all.

So, I was discussing with a coworker the other day how it feels to be overwhelmed. We weren't busy at the time but we were speaking about a time when we were. And I'm talking the kind of busy that's so crazy that you can't think straight.

If you've ever worked in the service industry you know exactly what I mean. In the weeds is a common expression although I don't personally use it but can recall many times when a coworker would say this. It's being so busy that you don't know where to start. And truly, I'm sure every one of us at some point in our lives feels this busy - and I hope that if this is daily for you that would consider perhaps changing something in your lifestyle or adding yoga or getting yourself outside to connect with nature to bring some balance back to you life. It's very important.

A couple of weeks ago my partner Deryk and I were at the park with our girls and we saw a mom chasing her daughter around the playground with her phone in her hand. And I don't want to judge...perhaps she was waiting for an important call. But the reality is, probably not. And this certainly wasn't the first time I've seen a parent connected to their technology, I've seen parents mindlessly scrolling through their phones while their children play. Too many times to count.

I also came across a story in the news just weeks ago with a full page photo of a baby sitting in front of an iPad. I only read a small portion of the story but it was basically saying how cute and adorable that this little baby would wake and ask for Old MacDonald's Farm every morning. This isn't cute or adorable. It's alarming.

Nearly 10 years ago now I read two books that changed my life.  'The monk who sold his Ferrari', by Robin Sharma and 'Zen and the Art of Happiness', by Chris Prentiss.  If you're looking for a new read, these are definitely my top two that will impact your life dramatically and help you to see the world more beautifully. And really this could be a podcast on books alone since so many titles come to mind when I think of books that have made a monumental impact on who I am and what I believe in.

Since I began reading books on personal development I have been able to quiet the chatter in my brain - for the most part...and bring focus and clarity to my actions. And as a result I have created a life I truly love. www.1010zen.com/32

I was texting a friend yesterday and when she asked how we were, Deryk and I, I responded "Stronger than ever and crazy in love"  And so this morning when I was thinking about a topic for today's podcast I realized this is something that is pretty important to talk about. The topic of love.

I gave online dating a try almost 6 years ago now and I'm so grateful that I did. I have the most wonderful and supportive partner and two gorgeous girls...I'm so happy...and that was all because I chose to follow my heart and trust that the kind of love that I wanted existed.  www.1010zen.com/31

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of chatting with a lovely woman with a show called 11:11. The concept behind her show is to trust whatever conversation is meant to come up...so no plan and no sales pitch. In fact the only rule was that we couldn't discuss our financial and business agendas. I jumped at the chance, one, because I truly believe that every opportunity to share our story that comes along is for a reason, two, because the concept is one that I absolutely love (the idea of trusting whatever conversation is meant to happen is such a beautiful one) and three, it was an opportunity for me to get out of the house and go for a drive by myself. There's something so freeing in just jumping in the car without the kids and the myriad of things that you need to travel with. Moms out there you know what I mean!

I have been creating vision boards now since 2010. A vision board is literally a board where you display images of things you'd like to have in your life, or things you want to do or be or of things that inspire you.

I remember exactly when I started making vision boards because it was back in my single days and my friend and I decided to do some garage sale shopping in the rich neighbourhoods in our city. I highly recommended this by the way, we had a lot of fun.  Anyways, I came across this incredible and massive framed board,  covered in different coloured and different sized canvas all layered on top of each each and it was selling for $20...the lady had painted it for a display at a fancy store.  And I remember telling the women that if I could fit it in my car I would take it...