So it’s been awhile, I think about four months to be exact. The return to school was all encompassing for me, with my immune system still not up to snuff I spent most of the first term sick and I really struggled with fatigue. So unfortunately that meant I did not direct any of my energy here. However, a lot has happened and I’m glad to be back to share some of it with you.
I have a tutorial that I will be putting together for a button tufted headboard my partner Kevin & I made, inspiration from Little Green Notebook (again!). I think I bookmarked Jenny’s tutorial about 4 years ago because I just loved the look of what she created. I did however use a different method from Jenny but her colour choice I was so in love with! We got very lucky with our fabric purchase. We went to Designer Fabrics, which is an amazing fabric store in Toronto, and got a beautiful piece of camel coloured velvet on clearance! Woohoo! Velvet is usually very expensive but because this was a pre-cut piece, not only was it clearance priced but another $2.00 cheaper per yard because it was pre-cut. I love when things work out like that! Exactly what you love for an excellent price. Here is a sneak peek of the finished result and some of my bedding choices.
The other exciting thing I wanted to share is that I spoke at a fundraising event I was a part of in November called Take it to the Mat. It is a yoga and wellness fundraiser for Lymphoma Canada and I shared my survivor story with all the participants. It was really exciting, I was definitely nervous because the last time I gave a speech may have been in elementary school! It was a real honour to have been asked and the whole process of writing and editing my speech, revisiting my story, was very powerful for me. My team was really successful with our fundraising and it’s such a lovely experience to come together in helping. It is an experience I will never forget.
I have an urgency in me a lot of the time, an urgency for life, however I don’t always have the energy to match. I am excited about the things I’ve become involved in but trying to not overcommit. I am currently a peer mentor for Lymphoma Canada and volunteering in a number of capacities with the rescue organization through which we adopted Tequi and lastly I’ve put in an application for another organization I’ll talk about if I am accepted. Going through my cancer journey has really lit a fire in me to give more, to spend my time sharing and connecting. In the past I was interested in volunteering but found all the opportunities I looked into were either daytime 9 to 5 type hours or required a strict commitment of every saturday for a year, neither of which was something I could commit to in a real way. Luckily, all three of these organizations came into my life and all are relatively flexible, meaning I can contribute sustainably and manage all of them.
I have this frustration in me at times because my fatigue limits my ability to do all that I want. I want to do more, give me, create more but I have to continually remind myself; no one does it overnight, great things take time, it’s process not product. I like this quote as well, gotta love Pinterest for some support:) 
The last thing I want to share is that my interest in gratitude has deepened, I really into reading the science behind it and why it’s effective, what it does to our brains and it’s role in resiliency. I’ve been reading a great book by Dr. Robert Emmon called Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier. If you’ve never heard of gratitude or are curious about why it’s so amazing I encourage you to check out this TED talk, David Steindl-Rast is a beautiful speaker and I don’t doubt it’ll intrigue you.
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