I AM - BECAUSE YOU ARE

107 days. That is how many days it has taken since surgery to reach one-derland! After a frustrating 5 week long stall, the scale finally started moving again about 6 days ago and I rapidly lost the 7lbs holding me back from my first major weight target; to get out of the 200-range forever! One (hundred), a number I haven’t seen in so long I can’t even remember. But I do remember the weight gain; 165, 170, 185, 192, 198, 201… 244. Telling myself with each pound that it had to stop, I had to stop. I could blame the fertility hormones for a lot of the fluctuations, but I could only hold myself accountable for the rest. But truth be told, it was easier not to. Until now! With every pound I shed, the shame of who I had let myself become vanishes along with it. With every inch I lose, I gain a newfound respect for myself. Because of the extra long stall, I was able to do some blood tests earlier than scheduled. I expected the worst because I hadn’t been feeling too well, but the r...

It's Time - By Donna Ashworth Ladies Pass It On

While several people filled my social feeds with songs daily throughout April, I decided to take a blog approach to this challenge. And, one step further, I made sure not to use the same artist twice… gah! Day 1: A song you like with a color in the title Black Velvet by Alannah Myles Day 2: A song you like with a number on the title I Would Walk 500 Miles by The Proclaimers Day 3: A song that reminds you of summertime Summer Nights from Grease Day 4: A song that reminds you of someone you´d rather forget Troy by Sinead O’Connor Day 5: A song that needs to be played loud Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne Day 6: A song that makes you want to dance Danza Kuduro by Don Omar ft. Lucenzo Day 7: A song to drive to Life is a Highway – Tom Cochrane Day 8: A song about drugs or alcohol Rehab by Amy Winehouse Day 9: A song that makes you happy Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper Day 10: A song that makes you sad Invisible and Silent by Covena...

After 45 days in lockdown/quarantine/work-from-home-and-parent-hell due to Covid-19, last Monday our government announced their tentative plan to reopen schools in the coming weeks; more specifically, daycares and primary schools only – which means us. No one will be forced to send their children back to school or daycare, at least not until September depending on how things go. The government will even continue paying our daycare fees through August if we choose to keep our LO home, which is fantastic! But, at what cost to us? Let the debates, mom shaming, judgment and guilt begin! Within minutes of the announcement, one of my Facebook mom groups made a post saying that this is a choice parents must make, in order to do what’s best for their families and their individual situations, and they expect others to be respectful of everyone’s choices. Well, that lasted all of 2 minutes before people started commenting on what horrible parents you are if you are even considering sending...

I remember I was about 9 or 10 years old and I felt completely overwhelmed by extra-curriculars. Sundays were Church/Sunday school, Tuesday night Girl Scouts, drama club met many times through the week and Saturday mornings were either filled with ballet class or skating practice depending on the season. Heck, even my extra curriculars had extra curriculars! Church had special events, Sunday school put on plays and other activities for the congregation, girl scouts wanted you to sell cookies, school wanted you to sell various items for fundraising, drama club had it’s performances, ballet had extra group rehearsals and recitals and skating needed extra practices (mainly because I hated it and wasn't very good at it). Oh, and I also took swimming lessons after school and throughout the summer! I have no idea how I fit those in. I was constantly struggling with my schoolwork and life at home was anything but easy, so all these activities were simply exhausting! I quit skating first, ...