I’ve been writing here for enough time that I figured it was time to share a little more about myself. Obviously this isn’t all there is to know about me but it’s a bite size amount that’s probably good enough for today. Ha!

• I’ve been with my husband for over 2 decades and we still like each other. This feels like an important detail to add.
• I have 2 boys who are nice to each other most of the time and 3 outdoor cats named Cutie, LuLu and Bophead. Bophead loves her name.
• Somehow I accidentally started mountain biking and ended up loving it. The love came only after an entire season of feeling pretty scared all the way down the mountain.
• We had our babies through IVF after 6 years of trying to get pregnant and not even one positive pregnancy test. We had plenty of people ask when we were going to have kids and it was painful every single time. My advice is just don’t ask. It’s not really your business anyway.
• I am an enneagram 1w2. If you don’t know what this is, just skip this one. For those of you who do, don’t you feel sorry for me? lol. Seriously though… enneagram 1’s have the strongest inner critic of any personality type. I have spent the last several years learning how to turn down that volume.
• My sister-in-law makes me laugh harder than anyone else I know.
• I am passionate about travel. If there was a way for me to travel more than I currently do, I would. However, the kids we worked so hard to have go to school so they’re crushing my other dream 10 months of the year. 😉
• Planning travel is also something I love, love, love. Finding cool places to visit, unusual experiences and good food makes any trip even better. My family likes that they don’t have to do anything except show up!
• My favorite place I’ve ever traveled is New Zealand. My brother lives there with his partner so we had the best private tour guides on our visit! We can’t wait to go back!
• In another life, I sang a lot in public. I don’t do that anymore but I still sing a lot at home. I’m 100% satisfied with this! I also love that my kids sing out loudly at home. They don’t know that I record them sometimes. lol!
• My husband and I are almost concert junkies. We love live music and currently have tickets to several great shows that got postponed because of Covid. We’re ‘patiently’ waiting.
• I think the best concert I have ever been to was a Gregory Alan Isakov show in Vancouver in a small venue. It was perfect sound + ambiance + good music. A second favorite was seeing Coldplay in San Francisco. I had dreamed of seeing them for years and they finally came back on tour. We left our kids with their Nana and went for the weekend. It was such an amazing show!
• I’m Canadian and have lived in the United States for 18 years. My whole family lives in Canada, with the exception of my brother in New Zealand, and we haven’t been together in ages. I can’t wait for the borders to open again!
• Spreadsheets make me happy, especially budgets. I am a numbers nerd and also love statistics much more than most people. I know it’s weird.
• In what feels like a lifetime ago, aka before covid, I flipped houses for a few years. I’ll probably do something again in the next couple years but I’m also exploring other career ideas for my future self.
• Writing this blog has been a breath of fresh air for me. I love to write and have something I can think about during the week that has nothing to do with errands, laundry, food or parenting. It’s nice.

Well now you know a little more about me. Thanks for reading!

xo Bonnie

Happy New Year!

What a wild ride 2020 was. I know I’m not alone when I say that it had its highs and lows. The entire year wasn’t a total dumpster fire but there were definitely moments. If I’m really honest though, there were more good moments and happy memories that I can hold onto if I pivot just a little in my focus. I’m thankful for that.

With that said, 2021 is here. I know I’ve expressed on Instagram earlier this month that I don’t really have much focus for this year and it’s been something I’ve been very hard on myself about. I’ve always loved the idea of a fresh start for new goals, making changes and a list of things to check off the list throughout the year. I’ve always loved a good list!!  I don’t know what my deal is this year but it’s felt like the wind just left my sails. The unprecedented times we’re living in with Covid restrictions, my kids at home SO MUCH and a feeling that all the days are blending together into one long day have all contributed to this feeling. Don’t ask me what I did yesterday because I can’t remember.

During this time, we’ve all probably had a little more time to look at the way we do life and identify the things that aren’t working and the things that are. I’ve had to be really honest with myself about the reasons why I don’t pursue dreams or take baby steps to see if something is a good fit for me. The most obvious reason is one of my biggest struggles: Perfectionism.

It’s one of the biggest challenges in my life. I would love to say I’m a recovering perfectionist but I still struggle with it a lot. I’ve definitely learned to let things go, especially since having kids because sanity but I can still see all that I didn’t do or wish I’d done better all the time. (Shout out to all my enneagram 1’s! This is especially hard for us!! If you don’t know what the Enneagram is, I’ll write a post about it sometime soon. Or just google it and enjoy the rabbit trail!) I also have a hard time starting something unless I know it will turn out exactly how I want it to which is totally unrealistic. I know this.

On the flip side, the way I do life (my husband calls this “my standards”… eye roll) has served me in good ways. If I’ve been an employee, I’ve always been a great one. When I’ve volunteered, I’ve always been totally committed and reliable. When I started doing house flips, the stress of knowing the final product was a reflection on me was A LOT of stress but also made me push to do a good job. So it’s not been all bad.

This brings me to why I’m writing this. I have blogged over the years and I enjoyed having something to put some energy into besides the endless laundry life so I decided to give it another try. I’ve deleted all the old posts because it’s a fresh start and changed the design of my website. Part of me is scared of starting something again without really knowing if I’m going to like it in this season of life and then you will have seen me start and stumble if I don’t do it well or for very long. It also feels vulnerable because I don’t like to do something unless it’s guaranteed to be good. Remember?

So welcome to my 2021. The year I started something that might be fun or I might not like. It might be worth reading or you might not enjoy it. It might be a lot of things but at this point, moving in any direction is better than not moving at all.

xo, Bonnie