I blog therefore I am...

I am so enjoying this world I have only just become a part of.
I have always had lots to say and well...no one to say it to (or who will listen), so sending it out there in the ether that is the interweb is a wonderful thing for me. I am a long ago letter writer who used to put pen to paper when something was bothering me...or pleasuring me. I almost never sent them but I would write them and thereby it was out not in. I can often be heard saying 'better out than in' when referring to sneezes, gas, piggies (our name for the lovely mess that comes from a child's nose) and the like...the same has always held true for me and my inner most thoughts.
Exploring the world of blogs out there has been wonderful, enjoyable, sometimes perplexing, but most of all inspiring. I have been away from my professional world as a designer for many years now as I have been home raising my two young daughters. It has been hard to feel connected to a world I have been so removed from. Gone now are the days when I would wake at 5am to be in the city for 6am wearing killer heels and a fab outfit all to make sure the current project was going according to plan and that we had not missed anything along the way. I loved the pace, the energy, the problem solving, and most of all being creative each and every day. The only problem solving I have done recently is to break up the fight over the fisher price puppy or the argument over who gets to have their bath first (when bathing in the kitchen sink...otherwise they bathe together). What is the point you ask? Well the point is that with this new (to me) world of design blogs I feel a connection to that world I forgot I loved and have missed so much. I feel true inspiration for the first time in what seems like forever and the inspiration is not fleeting, because it comes with each new post...even if the post has nothing to do with design.
So thank you to all the bloggers out there that I am so happy to follow. Thank you Lisa Roy you were the first blog I started reading and in a sense introduced me to so many more. Thanks to Sarah at A Beach Cottage, a world away and so much inspiration. And thanks to the 'Authoress' of  Wind Lost as her most recent post about flowers being the best accessory along with her gorgeous photos (one of them is below) inspired this post.

Simple Food, Food for Thought

We woke early in this household this morning...before 7am and Jake and I are longing for the day that the girls know what a weekend morning should look like. It is rainy here in Muskoka and I am longing for some sun, there seems to be hope for tomorrow...but will everything dry out enough to play outside..we'll see. The girls have been struck by a monster summer cold so vegging out inside today won't be the worst of things....however I digress

As the girls veg comfortably in front the of the TV watching Super Why (love it btw) I take the opportunity to read a few of my fav blogs. As you will see to the right the first in the list is A Beach Cottage and her post this morning was a day in the life (I'll apologize now if these links do not work as planned). Anyhooo... Sarah's post this morning touched on simplifying life and how she shops for food. Based simply on buying local and organic where possible she is making small changes to simplify this part of her family's life even if only by being more aware. I can relate as we are trying to do that here as well.

This past winter Jake and I decided it was time to make a change in our lives. As Izzy prepares to go off to JK (I trust you'll here more about that as fall approaches...sigh) we started looking closely at ourselves. Both having been overweight most of our adult lives we knew it was time to shift life to ensure our girls a better chance at healthy bodies. Now, I cannot speak for Jake but part of my motivation was not wanting to be the fat mom...and so begins our tale of clean eating.

Since starting in mid February we have both lost just about 40lbs each.... to put that in perspective we often say we have each lost one of our children (actually more now as they are each only 30lbs soaking wet). I started by asking one of my best friends (and a personal trainer) Natalie for help. Nat talked a lot about eating clean and I had no clue what she meant by that...did she wash everything before she ate it? When asked the answer was simple...clean eating is eating whole foods as close to their original state as possible. So, little to no processing...fresh fruit, veg, meats, whole grains healthy proteins. She begged us to pick up a copy of Clean Eating Magazine and the rest as they say is history. We were hooked. We are seriously eating the best food imaginable. We feel fantastic and by nature the way we eat is better for the environment...less processing means less packaging...and fresh foods (and their scraps) mean a huge compost heap. Last night we had Grilled Chicken and Veggie Quesadilla's with tomatillo sauce...yum yum yum! The recipe can be found in this month's Clean Eating Magazine...or email or leave a comment and I'll share.

Now that we are into summer here, our farmers market is up and running and while not huge it does offer us the chance to purchase some local produce which is sooo much nicer. The problem with living in Canada, in that we only have a few months of growing...so getting local fresh produce year round is impossible, and living in Muskoka, the land of lakes rocks and trees there is not much land suitable for farming so finding much variety can be difficult. However living where most come to play it is a trade off I am willing to make.

So this me...before and after (well during really) ... We are thrilled with the food the flavours and how much better we feel.

Thanks for joining me today

Jodi

Another First

Hi and welcome to my first post on my first blog.
As I start out I cannot tell you what this blog will be about other than it will be about me, who I am, the life I lead, the people in it, and the things I find funny, sad, frustrating, and most importantly beautiful.
I suppose I should tell you a little bit about myself in order for you to determine if you wish to return.
I grew up in a small town and after having lived in a small city while raising my first daughter as a single parent (she is Caitlin and she is now 21) I met and married the love of my life and my best friend Jake and we settled in Bracebridge, the heart Muskoka, Ontario's cottage country. Jake and I have two daughters Isobel 3 and Lilah 2. My mother and father live in an apartment in our basement and this makes life just about perfect, if not much easier. Just over a year ago Jake and I bought a business, an Art Gallery...Silver Bridge Gallery, a wonderful (if I do say so myself) gallery featuring emerging and established artists and artisans from Muskoka and across Canada.
So there you have it...the basics...no real insight into what makes me tick, but that will come later. I love the life we are creating and I love to be surrounded by beautiful people and things. My girls are the lights of my life and funnier than I'll get out. My mom can make anyone smile on the darkest of days and my husband makes my heart happy. I hope you come back to join me in this the journey that is life.