Last week, my beloved husband, Paul, and I celebrated our 24th anniversary. Hooray!

Usually, we like to go for a hike to honour our special day, but we didn’t make that happen this year (heat wave, etc), so we didn’t really have anything planned.

The night before, our 14-year-old son, Oakley, asked if I was excited.  

“Not really,” I replied.

“Why not?” he asked, a little surprised.

“Well, we have nothing planned, so there’s nothing to look forward to.”

Without even pausing to think, he said, “I’ll treat you to lunch. Where do you want to go?” (He’s been busking with his guitar at the Farmers Market and some parks and because he’s so talented and endearing, people just flock to him to throw money in his case. As a result, he’s making a fortune!)

With his offer, I perked up and made reservations for lunch at one of our new favourite places in Calgary. (If you live here too, you must...

Did you know that underneath absolutely every activity, endeavour, goal and intention, what we really want is to be more present? That’s what we’re all about whether we’re aware of it or not. Presence.

I’ve been reading a very interesting book called Mind, Body and Sport by Dr John Douillard. As a former Phys Ed Teacher, I’m finding it really fascinating because basically we’ve got sports, physical activity and exercise all wrong.

According to the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda (the science of connecting with nature and unifying mind, body and spirit), exercise has three functions. 

1-to rejuvenate the body and cultivate the mind

2-to remove stress

3-to develop body-mind coordination

So, let me ask you first: do you move your body regularly? And if you do (you would be in a very low percentage of the population) do you find that physical activity does those 3 things for you?

If you’re like most people, probably not. For the majority,...

In our home, we’re very careful about the kind of media that we consume. We don’t read the newspaper, listen to the news or watch it on any kind of screen. We also don’t subscribe to any gossip magazines or any magazines at all really, except for one. 

We used to get a publication called Ode and it was awesome because it took a good look at all the things that are going right in the world. Somewhere along the way, Ode changed to The Intelligent Optimist and we loved it even more. Then it disappeared for a while. Last year, the publication made a comeback as Kamp Solutions and we’re so happy to once again be hearing about people making a positive difference all over the world. (Plus it’s printed on stone paper, which leaves no environmental impact and uses leftover waste from mining. And it feels amazing!)

In the latest issue, I learned something valuable that I thought was worth sharing with you. In an article by Alberto Villoldo, an energy expert,...

We just got back from my Grandma’s celebration of life. She was 95 when she made her transition, so her life was full and rich. She died her hair pink, wore sparkly shoes and glittery clothes and was the life of the party. One of her favourite expressions was: Ooh la la! Ca c’est bon! C’est la vie! It means: This is good! This is life! (And it sounds much better in French, especially in the way she said it, being not french at all.)

On the day of her celebration, we had a beautiful experience. After the service, our family gathered in my aunt and uncle’s Airbnb, which was a stunning old house in Saskatoon with a gigantic porch and a zipline in the backyard. (You can just make out Oakley flying through the air in the picture below. Note also the way to get to the backyard from the porch was a slide!)

My son, Oakley, wanted to play and sing a few songs in honour of his great-grandma. We gathered around him in a circle of lawn chairs and he sang so sweetly....

A number of years ago, Paul and I started doing book studies as a family. We wanted to introduce our kids to books that have been impactful in our lives and this seemed like a great way to do it.

For our first book, we read it before bedtime every night. The kids could only handle so much of the Four Agreements at once (being young and used to fiction), so it took quite a while. For our next book, we realized that if I read it in the car, it would go a lot more quickly. That one was called 3 Simple Steps.

Several books later, we’re onto the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Every so often, I’ll read a little snippet of it and then we discuss what stood out for each of us. 

I learned a great little tip that I’ve been implementing and so I wanted to share it with you (because anything that makes a difference is totally worth spreading the word, n’est ce pas?).

Gretchen has a number of commandments for herself and here’s one that I especially...

After years of renting (which I totally love because any home issues are never really our problem…), we’re getting back into the home ownership game. My husband would rather own and since I’ve gotten my way for years, it’s his turn. (I know; I’m soooo nice.)

Serendipitously, to help with our downpayment, we received an inheritance from my grandma, so everything has been lining up beautifully. 

Except for the actual house. We’re getting a very good lesson in divine timing. If it were my timing, we’d be moving next week. However, since it’s up to the Universe, it’s clearly not time yet, because we haven’t found the ideal home.

We’ve found a lot of homes that make for great stories, though. Let me share a couple with you. 

On Saturday night, we went to see a few potential places. I had really high hopes. They seemed great in the pictures and mostly they were. The main issue with the first two options (which...

First off, a tout petit reminder that we’ve got our ½ Year Review coming up this Saturday, June 25 and you’re invited. It’s a complimentary call starting at 9:00am Mountain/8:00am Pacific and you can expect to:

• Be surprised and delighted by noticing how far you’ve come already in 2022
• Feel deep gratitude for your life and the goodness in it
• Get more clarity on what’s working and what’s next

Click here to register

In other news, here’s something that’s been in my awareness lately: 

The way others treat you is a direct reflection of how you treat yourself. Which part of yourself, you may ask? Well, it’s the part of you that’s very young, that’s all about feeling and that’s looking for your unconditional love.

As a general rule, people tend to treat that young and feeling part of themselves pretty poorly. There’s a lot of ignoring, abandoning and shunning. 

You probably can’t imagine...

You’ve probably been waiting on pins and needles, wondering: When is Christina going to be doing her Half Year Review?!? (Well, now that I consider that slightly disturbing phrase, you most likely haven’t been waiting on actual pins and needles, because a) who has that many pins and needles around anymore? and b) ouch!)

Regardless of how you’ve been waiting, sharp implements or not, never fear because it’s right around the corner and you’re invited!

I’m hosting a complimentary community call on Saturday June 25th creatively titled The 1/2 Year Review. (At least you know exactly what it is.)

If you feel like: 

• you’re always on the go 
• that your life is very busy and stressful
• there don’t seem to be enough hours in the day 
• you kind of have that ‘wind-blown look’ 

… then this call will help you get a handle on things.

One of the key teachings in Courageous Self-Care is to create a better...

Back when I was a high school teacher, I learned an important lesson doing report cards. (I didn't know it was self-care gold at the time... I don't think I even knew what self-care was.) Anyways, as I sat there one day, determining how to comment on various kids’ behaviour in class, I developed a system.

It became evident that the kids who were the most successful in the dance and PE classes I taught did things consistently. Then there were the kids who did things frequently. They had reasonable levels of success. The kids who struggled either had beneficial behaviours sometimes or rarely. 

When it comes to self-care or self-improvement, there are some takeaways here. On the report cards, as in life, it was best to avoid the absolutes of always and never. Always just seems like too much to ask (because it doesn’t allow for the flow of life to happen) and never generally isn’t true. 

For ultimate success, consistently or frequently are very gentle and...

A few months ago, I read Mud, Sweat and Tears by Bear Grylls (which was a great read; adventure and inspiration mixed with life lessons; always a great combo).

One of the key points I took away was something that one of his friends said to him. To paraphrase, it went along the lines of: If it’s in your heart, when something is important, there is often a birth, a death and a resurrection.

Boy, can I relate to that! I’ve had so many births and deaths when it comes to projects, self-care activities, and other commitments I’ve made to myself. 

What I really love is the idea of the resurrection. If something that has “died” keeps coming back to you as an idea or an awareness, it’s meant to be resurrected. 

For example, yoga is important to me. I’ve built up the capacity to get on the mat every day for at least a few sun salutations. And yet, for a few weeks, I just didn’t have it in me to do longer classes. It was kind of like...