• living_with_gratitude
    Travel

    Living with Intention and Gratitude Even in Hard Times – Getting Spiritual in Durham Region

    April 6, 2020 - By 

    “Wake Up Every Morning with the Thought That Something Wonderful is About To Happen,” – Winston Porter Living with intention and gratitude is something I choose every day, even when the days are hard, when the silver lining is hidden so far back behind the clouds you doubt that you could ever find it. Here’s how a trip helped drive this new mindset. My visit to Durham Region was hosted by Central Counties Tourism, Durham Region and the Hive Bee and Bee through Toronto Bloggers’ Collective. Travel changes you in many ways. Sometimes it’s a relaxing, restorative, experience after a…

  • Health

    Mental Health Resources To Access Right Now

    March 31, 2020 - By 

    It’s no secret here to most of you that I have children with mental health diagnoses. One of my biggest concerns at the start of this pandemic was my older girl’s anxiety disorder and my younger girl’s aggression, which is a result of her FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.) Both teens do therapy on a regular basis and the youngest was in crisis for most of 2019. She might have turned a corner on that just recently due to therapy she’s finally been able to access. But jeopardizing any progress also was a concern for me. Keep These Mental Health…

  • family

    19 Easy Things To Do To Keep Teens Busy Right Now

    March 21, 2020 - By 

    There’s no denying this has been a tremendously hard week for all. One of the hardest in our history. We had to postpone our family ski trip and March break due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. It was recommended here in Ontario, Canada last week that all travel be stopped, so we followed the health unit and Government of Canada protocols. But, that has not been easy. We are all genuinely disappointed because we had an amazing ski trip to Vermont happening. My younger girl has FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder) and she doesn’t cope with change well at all.…

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    family

    Best Inspirational Quotes About Being Different – For Misfits and Rebels

    March 2, 2020 - By 

    Here’s to Being Different and having the strength to stand strong in a world that makes you feel often as if you need to conform. What a dull place the world would be without unique and rare thinkers. Last month, my inspirational mental health quotes post did really well. So, with that in mind and because I love creative thinkers, here’s the Best Inspirational Quotes About Being Different. Post may contain affiliate links as a service to readers. I receive a small commission via qualifying purchases. “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs…

  • healthy_eating_cookbooks_the_healthspan_solutions
    Food

    Three New Healthy Eating Cookbooks To Try Now

    February 10, 2020 - By 

    This Healthy Eating post contains affiliate links as a service to readers. If you know me at all, then you know that I am active. I exercise a lot to try to stay on top of my health. But, healthy eating is an area that we are always striving to improve. That’s why I was pretty excited to give these new healthy living cookbooks from DK Canada a try. Healthy Eating With a Twist I have an extremely impressive collection of cookbooks in my kitchen already, so what’s so special about these new ones from DK Canada? Will they find…

  • Health

    Best Inspirational Mental Health Quotes

    January 20, 2020 - By 

    I read a story this morning about a skier’s wife who committed suicide in 2016. That story reminded me again how fragile mental health is. I know too well how hard it is to secure mental health supports and help for young people who need treatment. In fact, I just wrote a CBC Parents piece about that precise issue and the unbearable weight of being waitlisted. But there has to be something that sometimes gives us the strength and the ability to get through the wait. Right? It’s completely undoable otherwise. What Can You Do to Get Through the Hard…

  • Parenting

    We Don’t Get That – Friendships and FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder)

    December 4, 2019 - By 

    “You know how everyone else has a best friend when they are small and they kind of grow up with them? Well, it’s like we don’t get that.” – my daughter, 15, who has FASD. Recently we found a peer support group for my younger daughter. This has been a long time coming. In fact, I’ve basically been looking since she was old enough to have been diagnosed with FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder) at 4 or 5. For years, we had nothing. No support. No local FASD parenting group. I mean, I had a loose group of online advocates…

  • prevent_osteoporosis
    Health

    10 Ways to Prevent Osteoporosis Now!

    November 17, 2019 - By 

    How to Prevent Osteoporosis post may contain affiliate links as a service to readers. According to the American Orthopaedic Association, more than 30 million Americans have a pronounced risk for developing osteoporosis, or low bone density. So, learning how to prevent osteoporosis should be top of mind for many people. Although women over the age of 65 are more likely to develop osteoporosis, this serious health problem affects men as well, and impacts nearly 10 million adults in the United States. In Canada, those statistics are also high. Two million Canadians are affected by osteoporosis. An estimated 1 in 3…

  • good_gut_health_markofruct
    Health

    A Soothing New Remedy for Good Gut Health

    October 12, 2019 - By 

    Post may contain affiliate links as a service to my readers. I receive a small commission for purchases made via qualifying links. It should come as no surprise to most people who regularly read this, or follow me online, that I struggle to maintain good gut health. I have Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease, and talk about that here on the site sometimes too. In fact, I am on a constant quest to maintain, or establish good gut health. That can be an uphill battle often. Frequent exercise, research and self care work in my favour to help me…

  • Health

    Honeybird Weighted Blankets for Anxiety Relief

    August 12, 2019 - By 

    Honeybird weighted blankets offer comfort, relaxation, and anxiety relief that’s clinically proven to work. For a host of reasons, weighted blankets work. Post contains affiliate links and I received product for consideration. Insomnia? Yes, they help. Anxiety? Yes also. Simply need to relax? Yes indeed, also useful. Five Reasons to Choose Honeybird Weighted Blankets For Sensory Issues Both of my daughters have varying degrees of anxiety, which can also cause some issues with sleep. My youngest daughter has used a weighted blanket on and off since she was 4 years old to help with sensory processing disorder. Her weighted blanket…