Self-Isolation Chronicles: Life After Four Weeks at Home

As of yesterday, I’ve officially been self-isolating for four weeks. I’ve left the house a total of two times - both quick trips to get groceries. Here’s a little background for you: my mum and I share an apartment. She’s retired (she’ll be 80 in a couple of weeks, which puts her in one of the most susceptible age groups for Covid-19) and I work from home. We don’t have a car so we normally travel by bus. Our city’s bus system is decent; it has its issues and annoyances like any other mode of public transit, but it gets us where we need to go. It can be difficult hauling groceries home, but we’ve been doing it for a long time. Near the beginning of March, I saw a lot of my friends in the UK talking about how bad things were getting there. The virus was spreading and so was the panic. People were emptying shelves of food and, of course, toilet paper. Will we ever get over the whole toilet paper thing? It honestly boggles my mind and I’m still hearing people say it’s scarce in a lot of places. Anyway, seeing this on a daily basis made me realize it was only a matter of time before the same thing happened here. My mum and I decided to make as many trips as necessary to get stocked up on supplies so we could avoid taking the bus if things got really bad. We made a total of three trips in the first two weeks of March, with the last one being Friday the 13th. By then, the panic was spreading here and people were beginning to stockpile. I had seen pictures and videos online and on TV of crowds of shoppers and empty shelves, but it was incredibly sobering to see it in person. I was grateful I’d had the foresight to start stocking up the week before because I knew that Friday would be our last trip before going into isolation. I want to note that while we stocked up on essentials, we didn’t stockpile; not only is there only so much the two of us can carry home on the bus, there's are also only so much storage in our two-bedroom apartment. For the first week and a bit, I was in a near-constant anxiety spiral. I pretty much lived on Twitter, reading news from around the world and stories of how people were coping - or not coping. I quickly learned I was far from alone in my inability to concentrate on anything. The countless other creatives who said they were unable to focus on work made me feel marginally better. I wanted to get off Twitter and do something - anything - and yet I’d get stuck in a loop and suddenly huge chunks of time had gone by and I couldn’t account for any of it. Reading the news was upsetting and heartbreaking, and left me feeling like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. Between my anxiety and my empathic nature, it was all so overwhelming. Add to that the fact I wasn’t writing or doing anything work-related, and I was a wreck.

The view from my balcony. Wishing on all the stars these days.

It took me about two weeks to wean myself off Twitter. Now I’m on it about as much as I was pre-pandemic. I still haven’t done much writing, but I’m back to reading, which is a huge relief because it’s a great escape. One of the weirdest things about this whole situation is that in the grand scheme of things, my life isn’t that much different now than it usually is. I work from home and I don’t have much of a social life. The only people I typically see regularly (besides my mum, of course) are my brother and my youngest nephew and niece (who I'm currently missing like crazy; their absence is one of the hardest parts of all this). The majority of my friends are online and are scattered all over the world, and my best friend lives out of town so I’m used to not seeing her for months at a time. And yet everything feels different. I think it’s the uncertainty and the fear; not knowing how long we’ll be in isolation, and also being afraid of somehow catching the virus or someone we know and love getting sick. It’s knowing this has affected the entire world, and so many are suffering.
I’m ever hopeful I’ll be able to get back to writing regularly, but I’m slowly learning not to be so hard on myself. I keep seeing people saying ‘this is not normal working from home, this is working from home during a pandemic - it’s not the same’. The thing is, my anxiety often manifests as guilt, and I was feeling a lot of guilt those first couple of weeks. I constantly felt like I should be doing something productive and using this time wisely, but it just wasn’t happening. I told so many other people not to be too hard on themselves, but found it difficult to extend that same compassion to myself. I’m slowly getting better at it. Now I’m concentrating on the things that bring me joy and provide a distraction. Some of them make me feel productive and others don’t - both are valid. The two routines I’ve managed to maintain through all of this are my daily French lesson on Duolingo and my daily step goal. What’s helped with that last one is having an ongoing weekday competition on Fitbit with my best friend and her siblings, in-laws, and a couple of friends. We started around the beginning of the year and have kept it up every week. We've all been doing fewer steps the last two weeks, but we’re still going, and I know for me it’s a huge motivator because it keeps me accountable. I’ve been cooking a lot lately. I’ve always been the main cook in my home and I swing between loving it and doing it out of necessity. I’d lost a lot of interest in it before all this, but since being isolated, my passion has been rekindled. One night my mum pointed out it was likely because I had more time, and I realized she was right; I’d normally work all day, stop to cook and eat, then often go back to work for a bit. It was a chore. Now it’s nothing for me to spend up to an hour in the kitchen every evening, and I’ve gotten back into experimenting and having fun with cooking again.

One of my favourite creations so far; click here to find out what's in it

Talking to friends has been a huge help through all this. I swear I spend half the day sending memes, pictures, and various funny things to my two closest friends. We still vent and talk about the things bothering us, but we always make sure to keep each other laughing too. I've also been chatting a lot more with people on Twitter and Instagram; it's been nice having the chance to grow closer to people I already cared about and to make some new friends too. We really are all in this together and it's important to remember that.
I'm keeping myself entertained with books, Instagram, and Schitt’s Creek. I’ve been gravitating toward the light and funny, and Schitt’s Creek is perfect for that. I guess I’d been living under a rock because I don’t remember really even hearing about the show until late last year. I started watching it a few weeks ago and it’s exactly the type of thing I need right now - hilarious, ridiculous, and heartfelt. I also absolutely love the fact it’s filmed in Canada and features almost an entirely Canadian cast. As for reading, my lack of concentration affected my reading for awhile but I’m back to it now, thank goodness. I’m all about the light and funny with books too, and I’ve been recommending tons of my favourites on bookstagram lately. I have a few blog posts with book recommendations planned too, so stay tuned for those!

How are you dealing with everything? How has life changed for you since all this began? What's been bringing you joy and keeping you sane through this?

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2019: A Year in Review

2019 has been a memorable one for a lot of reasons, both good and bad. I’ve grown and changed a lot, gained a ton of confidence, and have been through things that have left me with both literal and emotional scars. When I look back at the last twelve months, I have the urge to both laugh and cry, but overall I’d say it was a good year. I wanted it to be a year of big changes and it certainly was that. 

The highs and lows (some of which came simultaneously)

The first real curveball 2019 threw at me came in May. One day I suddenly developed what felt like really bad heartburn; when it didn’t go away after two days, I finally headed to the ER. After hours of waiting and a few tests, I was finally told I likely had gallstones and would need to spend the night to have an ultrasound in the morning. My first thought was 'Spend the night? In the hospital?!' My second thought was 'I don't care, just give me drugs'. By that point, I was crawling out of my skin because I was in so much pain (afterward I had a couple of friends tell me they'd had gallstones and the pain was as bad as or worse than childbirth).

They put me on heavy-duty drugs and by some miracle, I got my own little cubby-like room in Emergency where I spent the night. The ultrasound the next morning confirmed I did indeed have gallstones. I was told I could go home and would be contacted soon by a surgeon who would assess me and likely want to remove my gallbladder. I felt okay as I left (except for being queasy), but by the time I got into a taxi to go home, the pain was returning. It increased throughout the day and I wasn’t able to keep anything down - including the morphine they’d prescribed me. I ended up back in Emerg the next morning, where they did another ultrasound and then admitted me.

Long story short(er): besides the gallstones, I also had jaundice and pancreatitis, so they decided to keep me so they could manage my pain (I was at a level 8 or 9 by the time they admitted me), give me antibiotics, monitor my blood work, and prepare me for surgery. In the week leading up to my surgery, I had an MRI (not gonna lie, I’m still traumatized by that), and a procedure where they put me under and basically shoved the gallstones back into my gallbladder. They removed my gallbladder two days later, and I was sent home the next day after being in the hospital for a total of nine days. I spent the next six-ish weeks recovering.

This whole thing was obviously physically trying, but it was the emotional aspect that’s had a lasting effect. This was the hospital where my dad spent countless days and weeks while he was dying of cancer in the early 90s. This was the hospital where my Grama died eight years ago. There have been good things there too - all four of my brother’s children were born there, and I was present for my youngest nephew’s birth. But that hospital stirs up a lot of stuff for me. Then there was the fact the elderly woman in the bed next to me was dying. Her family was there pretty much 24/7, which made resting difficult. The constant noise (they made no effort whatsoever to be quiet, day or night) added to my stress, but somewhere along the way, this ragtag group of people adopted me and my mum and we became this strange little family in the span of a few days. I listened to them say their goodbyes over and over, pray over her with ministers, tell her they loved her, share stories and memories, all while quietly crying from my side of the privacy curtain. Being attached to an IV and being weak from not eating (I was on a liquid diet my entire stay because they were never sure when I might have surgery) meant I was stuck in my room a lot of the time, so I was an unwilling witness - and at times participant - to this family’s final goodbyes.

It stirred up so many emotions over my own beloved Grama’s death. It set off a chain of events that would lead to me feeling like I was in mourning all over again, even though it’s been eight years since she died. That whole experience changed me in many ways. I don’t want to sound dramatic, but I feel like I dealt with mild PTSD in the following months. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t think of anything other than my hospital stay. I’d replay it all over and over in my mind. I’d have strange, vivid dreams, and wake up thinking I was still in the hospital. Despite all of that, I was honestly amazed by my own strength. I managed to stay calm throughout my whole stay and all the various procedures and tests, plus the emotional trauma. My best friend Krista came to visit me one night and when she took my mum home, she told her how surprised and proud she was at how calm and collected I was. Having known me for thirty years, I think she probably expected me to be a blubbering mess, but I guess all that yoga, meditation and inner work I’d been doing earlier in the year really paid off!

The whole experience was also a really interesting and enlightening reminder of who my true friends are. Krista checked in with me every single day (which you might expect since we're lifelong best friends, but we don't normally talk daily), as did my amazing friend Jaimie who lives in Wales, and another friend who lives on the West Coast. A few other friends checked in regularly during and after the whole ordeal, and the people who didn’t bother to check in, despite knowing what was going on, confirmed things I already knew about how important our friendship was to them. That was further compounded by the other low point in 2019…

Just a few weeks after my surgery, my mum’s only sister lost her long, brave battle with cancer. We knew she was terminal and it was only a matter of time, but she suffered so much. It was agony watching my mum’s anticipatory grief, knowing what was coming, and then the full-on grief of actually losing my aunt. The visitation and funeral - which were an incredible tribute to my aunt, with hundreds and hundreds of people attending - were like a nightmare for my family. My aunt’s death also continued to stir up that shallowly-buried grief over my Grama.

Even the greatest high of my year had an undertone of deep sadness. My amazing best friend decided it was time to buy a house and she did exactly that. She said she’d need to get a roommate in the fall to help with expenses, and we joked about me living with her for part of the summer as a trial run since she’d lived alone for so long. The joking soon turned serious, and I ended up living with Krista in her brand new house for six wonderful weeks this summer. It was an incredible experience; Kingston is my favourite city and, I mean, who doesn’t dream of living with their lifelong best friend at some point? The whole thing was an exercise in me stepping outside my comfort zone over and over in big ways and small. We did so many fun things together, including a Harry Potter photoshoot at Queen’s University, a visit to a brewery, fun days with her family, hikes, plus we ate lots of amazing food (I tried sushi for the first time and loved it).

But...during the six weeks I was there, Krista’s grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, went into the hospital, and died. You hear of it happening quickly for some people, but to actually have it happen within your own family was shocking and heartbreaking. One minute they were talking about a course of treatment, and the next she was in the hospital, not expected to survive. Adding to the difficulty: the fact Krista’s grandma lived four hours away so it wasn't easy to just pop up for visits. Now here’s the funny thing (obviously not funny-haha): I was originally only supposed to stay for a month. One day Krista randomly said I could stay longer if I wanted to, and in that moment, I knew there was a reason for me to stay. I was sure of it. Turns out that reason was that Krista had to leave several times to go visit her grandmother, and then she was gone for a few days for the funeral, so I stayed to look after the house and the cats. Krista provides foster care for the local animal rescue, and during the summer she had her own three cats, plus a mama and four babies. Two of the kittens weren’t well when Krista had to leave for the funeral, so I was there to take care of them. I was also there as emotional support for Krista, who would otherwise have had to deal with all of this largely on her own.

But that took me right back to having my own Grama ‘issues’ stirred up. I tried so hard to be strong for Krista (and for her mother when she came to visit us), but I would break down anytime we talked about her grandma. I’m one of those people whose emotions are always very close to the surface and I cry at the drop of a hat, so it was difficult to keep it together, even though I wanted so badly to be strong for Krista. We’ve been friends for thirty years, and I feel like this year cemented our friendship in so many ways. We spent those six weeks together, I visited her again in November for a few days, and she came to spend Christmas Eve with my family, which was absolutely amazing. I’m so, so incredibly grateful to have such an incredible friend.

Writing career highlights:

In the spring, I finished writing my contemporary romance, Maybe You, and published it in June. I also pulled out an old manuscript that I finished writing two years ago and revised it for publication. Hung Up on You will be hitting e-readers worldwide on January 14th, 2020! I’m so excited to share this story with fellow romance lovers. I’ve also dabbled in a few other projects throughout the year and have a good start on my writing for next year.

Back to the '90s

One of the other highlights of my year was attending a '90s Nostalgia concert in the Toronto area this summer. The line-up included S Club Party (formerly S Club 7, who I was obsessed with for years and still listen to regularly), Aqua, Vengaboys, Right Said Fred, and Prozzak. It was co-hosted by Rick "The Temp" Campanelli, who I grew up watching on Much Music. The whole thing was incredible and was just the balm my '90s-loving heart needed. You can see pictures and videos by visiting my Instagram account (@rambling_daydreamer) and clicking on the highlight called '90s Party.

That's a wrap

Honestly, in a lot of ways this year made me feel like I was being tested. I’ve definitely had worse years and despite everything that happened, I wouldn’t even say this year was bad, just emotional and trying. When I think back to the beginning of the year, I feel like a different person now. I’m stronger, smarter, and more confident. I’m more willing to step outside my comfort zone, and I’m learning to go with the flow more since life has a way of making you veer off the expected course. I was going to share my goals for 2020 in this post, but considering it’s already novel-length (I’m sorry! And thank you, sincerely, if you've made it this far), I guess that’ll have to wait until my next post.

How was 2019 for you? What were some of the highlights? Or the lows, if you're comfortable sharing?

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Previous Yearly Recaps:
☆2018: A Year in Review
☆2017: A Year in Review
☆2016: A Year in Review
☆Looking Back on 2015
☆Reflecting on 2014 and Looking at the Year Ahead 
☆2012: A Year in Review
☆2010: A Year in Review

Thoughts on How You Want to be Known in Life and How You Want to be Remembered

Like many people, Luke Perry’s death at the beginning of March had a big impact on me. There have been several celebrity deaths over the last few years that have made me sad enough to shed tears (including Robin Williams, George Michael, David Bowie, and Alan Rickman to name a few), and Luke’s death was no different. I was only six when Beverly Hills, 90210 started, and while I didn’t watch it until I was older, I was always aware of it and the actors. In the days and weeks after his death, my social media feeds were full of pictures and stories of Luke. Whether people had worked closely with him or had only met him once, he seemed to leave a lasting impression. The general sense I got about him was that he was kind, generous, thoughtful, a true professional, and also a true gentleman. The stories made me smile and cry, and really got me thinking. Luke was only 52 when he died, and yet it’s clear his memory will live on through the people who knew and loved him, and those of us who just felt like we knew him. A few days after Luke's death, on International Women’s Day, I shared a post on Instagram paying tribute to the two women who have most shaped who I am. My Grama was the type of person everyone loved; she treated everyone with kindness and respect, and her inherent goodness radiated through her dazzling smile. Everyone who met her loved her. My mum is the same way; she makes friends wherever she goes, and people are drawn to her. Among countless other valuable life lessons, these two women taught me about kindness, strength, following your dreams, and never giving up. All of this has made me think about the lasting impression we can have, sometimes without even realizing it. How one encounter or a handful of encounters or a lifetime with someone can shape who you are or change your life. I’ve mentioned before how I’m making big changes in my life this year, changes regarding my mindset, my mental and physical health, living with joy, and much more. I’ve been gravitating toward like-minded people, those who encourage others to live with intention and to discover their purpose or their ‘why’. These things have been on my mind a lot lately, coming up again and again during meditation and through journaling. And it’s led me to wonder a few things: How do people see me? How do I want to be known? What kind of impression do I want to leave? How can I leave a lasting, positive impression? How can I help people? I already have a good sense of my purpose in life (something I’ll likely talk about in future posts), and I’m learning to live in service to that purpose with intention and joy. I'm also learning to make positive changes and improvements to become the best person I can be. When I think of the two women who helped shape who I am, and of Luke Perry and the legacy he left behind, several common things come up: Kindness. Humour. Wisdom. Honesty. Integrity. All traits I admire and try to embody. All traits I hope to be known for. I want to make a point of adding here, when I say thinking about ‘how people see me’, I don’t mean that I allow other people’s opinions or judgments to influence me. Some people live their lives worrying about what other people think and changing who they are to fit certain labels or adhere to society’s norms. That’s not what I’m talking about here. I mean consciously making changes that feel right to you in order to be the type of person others look up to and admire, someone who inspires people, someone who leaves others better or happier or more enlightened than they were before.

Some people possess enough self-awareness that they already know they’re leaving an impact and doing good. Their relationships are strong and healthy and they’re confident in who they are and what they’re doing. For others, it might take some soul searching. If you’re not sure, start by thinking of the people you admire most and the traits they embody. How can you be more like them while remaining your true, authentic self? Digging deeper, I think the easiest way to figure out what you want and who you want to be is to first address what you don’t want and who you don’t want to be. Think of the people around you, both in your everyday life and on social media. We likely all have some of *those people* in our lives who do nothing but complain. People who are incredibly negative, confrontational, passive-aggressive, play the victim, don’t take responsibility for any of their actions, make endless excuses, brag constantly, take joy in saying offensive things, and the list goes on. Do you just know those people or are you, perhaps, one of them? If you can definitively say you’re not one of them, chances are you can also definitively say you don’t want to be one of them. That’s a good place to start. Some questions to ask yourself: If asked to describe me in a completely honest way, what would the people closest to me say about me? Am I a good friend/partner/sibling, etc? Do I check in regularly? Do I make an effort? Do I initiate contact and get-togethers or leave it up to them? Am I supportive and encouraging? Do I show gratitude? Do I take them for granted? Do I use them? Am I providing value in their life? Do I get upset with them easily? Do I take my anger and frustrations out on them? Am I someone people can talk to openly and honestly? Am I trustworthy? Do I follow through with the things I say I’m going to do? Do I only ever talk about myself and my life/problems/plans? Do I make time for others freely and willingly or only when it’s convenient for me? Do I hold grudges and hold onto bitterness and resentment? Am I petty or jealous? Am I dependable and reliable? Do people know they can count on me? If some of these questions bring up negative answers or emotions for you, that’s okay. The important thing is acknowledging and addressing those issues. The beautiful thing about life is it’s never too late to change. You can take responsibility for your actions and behavior and change your life at any moment. It’s a process and it certainly doesn’t happen overnight, but with some adjustments in your attitude and mindset, anything is possible. You can be whoever you want to be. You can’t control how people see you, but you can control your actions, which might help people see you in a different way. Something that has really affected my own actions recently is being put in the position of being a role model. I have nephews and nieces, and I’ve always tried to be a good example for them, but lately my five-year-old niece is my shadow. Wherever I am, she’s there too; whatever I’m doing, she’s doing it too; whatever I say, she says it too; whatever I’m interested in, she’s interested in it too. The way she admires me, copies me, and looks up to me has made me extremely aware of the power I have to influence and shape her. So I make sure to teach her about being true to herself. I make sure to praise her wonderful attributes, like her intelligence, her humour, her kindness, and her generosity. It’s a really weighty responsibility, and it’s one I take seriously because I know how important those early years are and what an impact I can have on her growing mind.
Someday I want her and her brothers to talk about me the way I talk about my mum and Grama. I want the people in my life to think of me with a smile on their face. I want the people who follow me online to feel like I’m providing value and being authentic, and I want them to feel inspired, uplifted, hopeful, and like they’ve learned something.

How do you want to be known? When other people think of you, what do you hope they think? When you’re gone, how do you wish to be remembered?

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2018: A Year in Review

Happy New Year!

I’ve been sick for over a week (this is actually Round 2 with the Cold From Hell in the last month), and instead of continuing to go full-tilt like I normally do, I’ve taken the time to rest and relax, plus reflect on the past year and plan for the year ahead. One thing I know for sure going into the new year: I need to be more mindful. It was something I intended to work on in 2018, but now when I look back and so much of the year was a blur, I realize the life of intention and mindfulness I wanted to lead turned into a big jumbled mass of days with a few highlights in between. Despite that, unlike the last several years, I can look back and say 2018 was mostly good.

Here are a few of the highlights of 2018:

I wrote and published a new contemporary romance, ONLY YOU, plus worked on a few other projects. I thought 2018 would be the year I finally got back into the swing of writing and publishing, but it was still a struggle. I’m proud of what I did accomplish though, and I love this sweet, funny, sexy romance.

In June, I met one of my favourite authors, Susanna Kearsley. My mum and I have been big fans of hers for years, so I was excited we could share that experience. Susanna was so lovely, warm, and funny, and I had a total fangirl moment when she immediately recognized me and came over to hug us and speak to us. She spoke for an hour or so about writing, publishing, and researching, and then signed books. If you follow me on bookstagram, you'll recognize Foxy, my little felt fox in the picture below; I brought him along and Susanna didn't bat an eye when I asked if he could be included in one of our pictures. It made me love her even more!

I didn’t travel far in 2018, but I did get to go to one of my absolute favourite cities (Kingston, Ontario) twice to visit my friend Krista. It was hot as hell when I visited in July, but we had so much fun playing tourist, eating a ton of amazing food, and vegging at her apartment. One of the highlights was visiting Queen’s University while it was completely deserted and getting to wander around and take a bunch of pictures. My trip in November was equally amazing, especially because we got to attend a Victorian Christmas tea; we’d wanted to do a high tea when we visited London in 2015 but didn’t have time, so this was amazing. The November trip was an early 35th birthday celebration for me since my birthday is so close to Christmas and I rarely get to do anything out of the ordinary. Both trips and all the new memories I made with Krista are high on my list of best days of 2018.

Bookstagram continued to be a huge source of joy for me. I’ve made so many wonderful friends there, and I love the creative outlet it gives me. Two major highlights this year: being chosen as a July rep for Canterbury Road Co and recently being asked to be a rep for 1107Studio. I love these companies (and their respective owners) and it’s such an honour to get to represent them.

Looking ahead at 2019...

I have a lot of writing-related goals this year. I'm currently working on a companion book to ONLY YOU, and after that, there will be one more book in that standalone series. I also have a romcom I wrote year before last that I plan to edit and publish toward the end of the year. I've also been thinking about mixing things up and working on something different from my norm...but it's early days yet, so you'll have to stay tuned to see what I'm talking about!

I read 105 books in 2018, and my goal for 2019 is to read at least 80 books.

I want to be more consistent about blogging. After 8 years of having this blog, I finally bit the bullet just before writing this post and officially bought a .com domain for it. No more .blogspot.com for me! Hopefully that'll inspire me to do something with this little of the net and produce more content. My goal is going to be at least one post a week, ranging from bookish and writing posts to travel posts to general lifestyle posts.

I don't have any concrete plans yet, but I decided last year that 2019 is the year I'm finally going to Scotland. Stay tuned for more as I figure out the how and when and all that fun stuff. I'm going to make it happen!
My word for 2019 is CONNECT. I want to connect to my self - be more mindful, intentional, and work on a lot of personal things that are important to me. That also includes connecting to my body and working on getting healthier and stronger. I want to connect to readers, both old and new, and make them laugh, feel, and fall in love when they read my stories. I want to connect to my roots by finally visiting Scotland. I want to connect to nature and not spend so much time at my desk. I feel good about this word because it's broad and it covers a lot, but it can be specific in a million little ways that mean a lot to me.

How was 2018 for you? What were some of your stand-out moments? Do you have any goals or big plans for 2019? Do you have a word for the year?

{Bookstagram || Instagram || Facebook || Twitter || GoodReads || Pinterest}

Previous Yearly Recaps:
☆2017: A Year in Review
☆2016: A Year in Review
☆Looking Back on 2015
☆Reflecting on 2014 and Looking at the Year Ahead 
☆2012: A Year in Review
☆2010: A Year in Review

Follow Ramblings of a Daydreamer on Bloglovin'

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas for the Special Woman in Your Life

Yesterday was my mum’s birthday, and in three weeks we’ll be celebrating her again on Mother’s Day. Last month, I got a photo pillow with a picture of London from CanvasPop, and my mum is constantly telling me how much she loves it. She’s super subtle about it, naturally. *wink?* But her obsession has given me so many ideas of what to get her for Mother’s Day.

We have a large canvas print from CanvasPop with a picture of two of my nephews that hangs over our TV in the living room. We love looking at it, plus it’s a great conversation piece. People always remark on the great quality and want to know where we got it. My mum has often said she wishes we had a special keepsake that includes a picture of my niece, which has got the gift-giving wheels in my brain turning. Mum loves the canvas print we already have and she loves my pillow, so I know she’d be happy with either.

My mum, like so many other mothers, does so much for our family. She’s the heart and soul of our family, and has made countless sacrifices for us over the years. She rarely buys anything for herself and doesn’t do much for herself, so I figure the least I can do is get her something extra special for Mother’s Day. Flowers and a card are well and good, but flowers fade away and die. Don’t you think our mothers - or grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and the other special, hardworking women in our lives - deserve something that will last, something with sentimental meaning that they can keep and enjoy forever?

Treat the mother or mother figure in your life to something special this Mother’s Day. Take one of the pictures she loves and turn it into something beautiful like a canvas print, photo pillow, or photo collage. Show her the recognition she deserves and let her know how much you appreciate all she’s done for you.

Get started making a beautiful photo gift now!

Do you know what you're getting your mother this year for Mother's Day? If you're a mother, what's the best gift you've ever received? What would be your ideal gift?

 

 

 

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2017: A Year in Review

I just read 2016’s recap and ugh. Emotional. I spent a lot of 2016 in a very dark place; by the end of the year, I was seeing things in a different light after a lot of self-reflection, but it’s still really painful to read. For 2017, I’m doing something different: I’m going to focus on the good parts of the year and do a highlights/best of. 2017 wasn’t all sunshine and roses by any means. A lot of the things I struggled with in 2016 carried into 2017, but I want to focus on the good parts. The things - and the people - who made me happy and made it a memorable year. So here we go!

My Mum and The Littles
Every single day spent with my mum is a day I consider myself truly blessed. She’s not only an amazing mother, she’s the best friend a girl could ask for. We have so much fun living together, and even the most mundane task (like grocery shopping and hauling tons of bags home on the bus - blech) can turn into an adventure.

Then there’s the Littles (my youngest niece and nephew, 4 and 7 respectively). They brought so much joy and laughter to our lives in 2017, as they’ve done since the day they were born. Those two tiny humans are so incredibly intelligent, creative, imaginative, hilarious, and sweet. I cherish every snuggle, every funny/sweet/ridiculously smart thing they say, and every memory we make together. I’m so lucky I get to spent so many days with them drawing and colouring, snuggling, playing games, watching movies, and going on adventures around our neighbourhood.

Writing
In 2016’s recap, I wrote this: “Professionally, 2016 was a joke. All the crap going on in my life took up so much time and energy at the beginning of the year, I basically had to put my career on hold.” I wish I could say I spent 2017 writing my heart out, but there were still quite a few distractions, and my lack of motivation carried through the year. BUT...I did write a Christmas novella at the beginning of the year, which I published in November, and I finished writing the romantic comedy I started writing the year before. That feels like a huge accomplishment, especially considering I felt like such a failure after 2016.

Mistletoe Kiss was the first new book I’d published in two whole years, and the response to it was better than I could have hoped for. I talked about how I was afraid people had forgotten me and I had become irrelevant in the publishing game, but the support I received was overwhelming (in the best way possible). I owe a lot of this to the bookstagram community, and a good chunk of my sales I owe to my childhood best friend, author Athena Wright, who mentioned the book in one of her newsletters, which prompted dozens of people to buy it. (*insert me crying like a baby*) I have a lot of writing plans for 2018, and I sincerely hope I get such an enthusiastic response for those projects as well!


Travel
I didn’t make it too far from home this year, but I did take an amazing trip to Toronto with my friend Krista. We got to explore Cabbagetown (a gorgeous part of Toronto I’d never seen before), and we shopped at the Eaton Centre and Curiosa (the second being somewhere I wanted to go from the moment I heard about it but figured I’d never actually get to go...also, I still have to write about our experience and what we bought there. I mean it's only been, like, two and a half months since we visited *facepalm*). The ultimate highlight of that trip: attending Jacquelyn Middleton’s launch party for her sophomore novel London, Can You Wait? Held at the Wickson Social, Jackie’s party exceeded all my expectations. Amazing food and drink, fun people, and meeting Jackie in personal after a year of being friends online was one of the high points of 2017. Plus it was great to spend two whole days with Krista since we didn’t get to see each other much last year.

Blog Highlights
Some of my most popular posts in 2017:
Writing and Publishing: 
☆5 Things I’ve Learned in 5 Years of Publishing
☆6 Mistakes Authors Make and How to Avoid Them
☆7 Things Every Author Should Have on Their Website 
☆Instagram for Authors: Everything Authors Need to Know About Using Instagram
☆Everything Authors Need to Know About Beta Readers
☆5 Tips for Surviving NaNoWriMo

Book Recommendation Posts:
☆Books Set in England
☆Books Set in France
☆Books Set in Italy
☆LGBTQ+ Books
☆Book Recommendations for Romance Lovers

All the Rest 
☆I spent some super fun days with my friend JaimeKristal while she was home between travels. She arrived back in town in November 2016 after 2 years of living in London, and left again in August 2017, this time for 2 years in Ireland. In the months we had together, we went to a Harry Potter event at Chapters, saw a local production of Pride and Prejudice, had a fancy tea party, watched the Canada Day fireworks by the bay, and spent hours chatting, watching movies, and shopping (mostly for books and Funko Pops, naturally). I enjoyed my time with her so much and was sad to see her go, especially since I’d initially hoped to go with her. It puts a lump in my throat just thinking about it, so I won’t get into it again, but I talked all about it in a post called Pity Party: Table of One. This wasn’t an easy post to write, but the response I got to it made me feel so much better, and the embarrassment and shame I felt over potentially coming across as a whiner was completely washed away by the support I got.

☆I saw my college best friend Missy for the first time in almost ten years. We spent the day with our mums and her three kids at the park. It was an unexpectedly emotional experience seeing her again after so long, and we unpacked a lot of baggage and reminisced about our college days, plus caught up on a lot of current news.

☆I read a lot of great books in 2017. Added several new favourite books to my shelves, and discovered new authors. I hit my GoodReads goal of 85 books read in 2017 (completed this goal 2 hours before midnight on the 31st!). If you’re looking for some recommendations to kick off 2018, I shared my 17 favourite books of 2017 as my last post of the year.

☆Bookstagram continued to be a great source of pleasure for me. I’ve made so many friends in that community, and I love that I get to share my passion for books there, and that I can be my nerdy self. It’s also been an absolute joy to continue being a rep for NerdyGrlDesigns (who’s in the process of moving from an Etsy shop to a standalone webite, which is why I linked her Instagram rather than the shop; you can keep an eye out there for updates) and seeing Melisa branch out and turn her business into a thriving one, plus she created a Society6 shop with her designs. I also co-hosted my first ever photo challenge in December with my wonderful friend Caryn, which exceeded all my hopes and expectations. We had so much fun, we’re hosting another challenge for January. I also had a lot of fun with my personal/author/blog Instagram in 2017. I posted there more consistently and created more of a focus for my feed. I did most of this with the help of Helene Sula’s blog, Instagram, and her course Instagram for Success. Her tips and advice helped me more than double my following on my personal account, and I’m continuing to grow and learn and improve slowly but surely, as well as apply those things to my bookstagram account. Let me just say, one thing that was a massive game changer for me: Lightroom.

☆I changed the direction of this blog from a book blog to a more general blog...but still with an emphasis on books! I know some people say having a niche is important and there are all these things you ‘should and shouldn’t do’ on your blog, but you know what? Screw that. I want to talk about what I want to talk about. I want to help other writers (especially those who choose to self-publish like me), I want to gush about books, I want to talk about travel and photography and life, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I basically just want to be my nerdy, quirky self, and hope I find other nerdy, quirky people who will appreciate what I have to say.

So, that’s my 2017 in a nutshell - the good parts, at least. It was a year of ups and downs, as most years are, but it was certainly better than 2016! I have a lot planned for 2018, which I’ll talk about in an upcoming post. Watch for that soon!

What were some of the highlights for you in 2017? Did you travel? Read some great books? Start a new hobby? Have great things happen in your personal life? I’d love to know! Tell me in the comments below, and if you posted a yearly recap, feel free to leave a link so I can check it out. Wishing you a wonderful 2018 full of laughter, light, hope, and love.

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Previous Yearly Recaps:
☆2016: A Year in Review
☆Looking Back on 2015
☆Reflecting on 2014 and Looking at the Year Ahead 
☆2012: A Year in Review
☆2010: A Year in Review

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