The universe is talking to me...

Yes it is true...the universe (via pinterest) is talking to me.

In this, the last month my business is open, the universe had this to say to me today:

via my pinterest

via my pinterest

Both messages so very appropriate for me at this point in time and very befitting how I feel at present. I feel strong and powerful for letting go of that which I have worked so hard to achieve and maintain, but that I also feel it is time to move on from. I am also very thankful for all the lessons learned over the last four years and very ready for what the future now holds.

And as I prepare to finish this post the radio starts to play...'have a holly jolly Christmas...it's the best time of the year' and yes it is. Here is to a great December and a wonderful New Year!

To Be Thankful...

Today, for many, is the beginning of an extra long weekend as we here in Canada celebrate Thanksgiving, so today I thought I would share why I am thankful.

Today I am thankful for my husband and children. Jake is my best friend and I truly do not know what I would do without him. He makes each day brighter in some way or another, can always bring a smile to my face even amid tears and he loves me like no other. My Girls bring me innumerable moments of joy, whether it is my oldest settling into life as a grown woman, and doing so with strength, courage and a great deal of poise, or my middle daughter running her first cross country race to my youngest who decided to sail to India this morning in a wicker laundry basket.

Today I am thankful for my mother, father and brother. My mother who cares for my wee girls when I cannot and who does so with such joy and happiness that the moment she enters the room they run screaming  N A N N Y !!!! and jump into her arms...even though they see her every day. My dad who at this very moment is tiling my tub surround because I have to be at work, but more than that he is a man who would do anything for his children and we know it. My parents are full of the most important kind of love, the love that abounds and lets their children know that no matter what and above all else they are loved. I am thankful for my brother who is going through a major life change and has sacrificed a lot to do so (perhaps more than he should). We are excited to have him in our home as he starts this new chapter in his life and we are excited to have 'Uncley J' around for lots of fun and games with the girls.

Today I am thankful for the friends I have...though not many they are the best kind of friends who are there when you need them, no matter if it has been three days, three weeks or three months since you last saw them.

Today I am thankful for the changes we are about to undergo as we begin the process of closing our business and moving on to the next stage in our lives. I am thankful for the opportunity that being a small business owner has given me, for the things I have learned and the people I have met along the way. And although we will be open for the balance of the year, I am thankful for the many words of kindness and understanding that we are receiving after having shared this very difficult decision.

Today I am thankful for the job I have waiting in the wings and the people who have so generously understood my current situation and are still willing to wait to take me on board. I look forward to the new challenges this job will bring, to returning to a world I love, and to be working once again with some amazing people whom I have had the pleasure of working alongside before.

I have so much to be thankful for, I am brimming with gratitude and hope you have half as much to be thankful for and moreover that you are able to recognize all that you do have, it is a wonderful state to be in, and I hope you can join me...what are you thankful for?

Cheers,
Jo

Monday Musings...

Happy Monday!

It has been a few days since my revelations and realizations took hold, but let me tell you that the shift is palpable...and welcome...and wonderful...and joyful.

I'm not completely there yet, accepting myself wholly and fully is going to be a process but I can see it happening...feel it. This morning I walked down main street and where I normally look at myself in the shop windows and think negatively, today my inner dialogue was different...it was more accepting and appreciative, it liked what it saw.

All around me the world is changing and the direction is a glorious one primarily of acceptance and appreciation how can one not help but be happy? When you are happy those around you are happy, and supportive and appreciative and loving and generous and kind...it really is true...the energy you put out into the world is the energy you get back.

I stumbled upon a new to me blog last week and today's' post was a good one. Over at Marc and Angel Hack Life they are talking about the 9 Things you Do NOT Need to Be Happy. Check it out, it is worth the read and will have you realizing how true this list really is.

And because every post needs a photo I thought I'd share something from my 'Beautiful Inspiration' board on Pinterest...

via my Pinterest

Happy Monday! Hope your day holds beauty love and laughter!

In my household of late...

Good Day everyone in blogland...oh how I am missing you. I have tried to keep abreast of what is going on out there, comment when I can but time is tight these days as many of you well know, and some things just fall to the bottom of the imaginary list...not today!

I downloaded some pictures off my camera this morning and thought I would share all that has been happening in our household of late.

The tree is up and trimmed. This is my favorite thing to do getting ready for the season ahead. Nothing starts until the tree is up for me. My husband tries to hold me off as long as he can, but this year he did a wonderful thing and surprised me with a tree... Or he would have, had I not looked at the bank account and noticed a transaction that did not make sense. Still it was a nice surprise that I totally needed. More important...he knew I needed it. I could love him for that alone.

Last week I came home to find this wonderful craft that my daughter made at school, it is her handprint on a glass ball with the fingers made into little snowmen (I'm sure you've all seen versions of this on pinterest) but it was so nice to receive it along with it's little poem about how fast she will grow up...not gonna lie, I cried...yup it was a nice gift to receive and hang on our tree.

 My tree is steeped in tradition and memory. My family growing up was not big on following the same traditions each year, there was never a right way or a wrong way to do Christmas, but the one thing we always had were our ornaments. The same ones went up every year, I always had my favorites, and I still do today. the ornaments have been passed to me, and for that I am thankful. Each year I realise just how much these simple little things mean to me. I am not one to hold onto things for sentiment, so these things that I pack away every January and dig out every December bring me great joy.

Another thing I try to do each year is to build a Gingerbread house. One year I even made my own gingerbread...only one year because ugh that was a chore, and a frustration to beat all frustrations...so now as un inspired as it is, I buy a kit. The girls and I did this one day last week, it was fun, they enjoyed and I let them...meaning I did not take over too much, try too hard to control the outcome wanting perfection, these moments were perfection enough...

 

A self portrait by Isobel...I couldn't resist :o)

So this is what has been up in my neck of the woods in my moments at home with the girls...the rest of the time I have been in the gallery where I am happy to report that people are shopping local and buying handmade.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each of you!

2 Days until my big girl comes home...

2 More Saturdays to shop...

10 Days until the big day...

YIPEE!

Thanksgiving...

And so it is that as fall takes it's hold on us here at the top of the northern hemisphere, it is our Canadian Thanksgiving. This is truly my favorite time of year as I have posted about before. I love the changing colours, the crunch of leaves underfoot, and the chance to wear the boots, leggings and warm knits that have been tucked away all summer. But what I love the most is the time for reflection that Thanksgiving brings.

via pinterest

This weekend we will be travelling as a family to stay at my oldest daughter Caitlin's apartment. She will be, at the fair age of 21, hosting her first family Thanksgiving. We came upon the idea when she and I were enjoying the St. Jacobs Market a couple of weeks ago...you can read about it here, and ever since she has been a ball of excitement at the idea of it all. Jake and I have been telling her not to get stressed over it, it is just us after all...and she insists she is not, and I believe her. So sweet is she, that  she even started a Pinterest board for Thanksgiving ideas. Her words to me last week were "prepare to be amazed". To say that we are proud and excited would be an understatement. I have been getting a play by play all week about her preparations, list making, grocery buying schedule etc.,  and with each call or Facebook message my smile grows just a bit bigger.
 

 

via Caitlin's pinterest


As my smile grows I reflect on how thankful I am that my daughter is growing up to be such a mature responsible young adult. She is thoughtful, caring, and funny and of all the paths that teenagers can travel down she went the right way. I am thankful that though for much of her life I was considered a 'single parent' I was not, as she and I had the love and support of my parents.

I can only hope that I can get it right with my two little girls who I am so thankful to have in my life. They bring me such joy each and every day with something as simple as a look or just the sound of their giggles. I am thankful that I still have the love and support of my parents who are part of my little girls lives on a daily basis...what would I do without them? 


my mom and dad at the 'X' 1966

  

I am thankful for the love, support, friendship, strength and humility of my husband. I wonder often where life would have taken me if I had not met him, and shudder to think of a life without him. He is my rock even though he gets tired of that every now and again. He makes my heart smile every day and what a joy that is.

I am thankful for wonderful friends too many to mention, and above all else thankful for my health and wellness.

I hope everyone out there whether celebrating Thanksgiving or not can take a moment to be thankful for someone or something in their lives.

Have a wonderful weekend! Happy Thanksgiving!