2 years later... alive and well!

Today has been one of those magical days! I’ll tell you about it..

A few weeks ago, after taking part in a Yoga Dance class, another participant asked me about the scars on my neck. I love when people are curious enough to ask about them, and I’m open and happy to share my story! She explained that she was a photography student at the SPAO (School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa) and happened to be creating a collection of portraits and photos of people who have gotten surgery on their neck. When she asked if I was interested in being one of her models, I lit up with a bright smile..“YES!”. We shared stories of our health journeys and were both excited about this serendipitous opportunity to collaborate!

We discussed a few possible dates to meet up and were finally able to connect today, January 27th. It was only yesterday that I realized that the day of the photo-shoot marked exactly 2 years since my cancer diagnosis – a day that changed my entire life in amazing ways! During the shoot, I mentioned the significance of the day and we both started tearing up as our hearts smiled! It was nice to recognize what a magical journey I’ve been on since that day.. and what a perfect way to celebrate and express that magic!

I made my way home, created a scrumptious meal, and enjoyed a delicious macaroon (that I made yesterday). The fun continued as an exciting gift arrived at my front door - my new iPhone 4! My intention with this phone is to tap into my creative side more often – with videos, pictures, and the use of Skype and Facetime with my family, friends, and clients. Perfect timing to mark the beginning of new adventures!

The sky is showing patches of blue and the sun is making an apprearance – so it’s time for me to put on my favourite walking boots, plug into some inspiring music, and take a wander around my neighbourhood. And when I get home, it’ll be time for Day 27 of my Dance Party! I have so much to reflect on today! All that comes into my life is a beautiful reminder of how something NEW can be exciting - and it all happens with perfect timing!

Enjoy your adventures!

And be sure to stay tuned for new pics, videos, and portraits to come!)

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dancing through twenty eleven

We started the New Year by celebrating at my new fave local pub – Irene’s, in Ottawa. It was a magical night full of good music, good peeps, good energy, lots of laughs, and dancing!

My roomie and I agreed to start 2011 with a 40 day DANCE PARTY! We're both really excited about the idea and friends have been inspired to join in! Anyone and everyone can do it. It can be as simple as dancing to one of your new favourite songs for 3:33, having a 30 minute dance party with friends.

If you have a dance party of your own, any day of the week – from wherever you are, feel free share your photos on the Love Inspiring Love Facebook page, or your own profile!

It’s a magical year! Dance your way through it all!

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a love note from the Universe

A beautiful and timely message from the Universe that I feel a deep connection with - and it is meant for everyone! Enjoy!


If it's not yet obvious to you, the real reason for this, and all seasons, is you. A more perfect child of the Universe has never lived. Until now, only celebrations cloaked in myth and mystery could hint at your divine heritage and sacred destiny. You are life's prayer of becoming and its answer. The first light at the dawn of eternity, drawn from the ether, so that I might know my own depth, discover new heights, and revel in seas of blessed emotion.

A pioneer into illusion, an adventurer into the unknown, and a lifter of veils. Courageous, heroic, and exalted by legions in the unseen.

To give beyond reason, to care beyond hope, to love without limit; to reach, stretch, and dream, in spite of your fears. These are the hallmarks of divinity - traits of the immortal - your badges of honor. May you wear them with a pride as great as the immeasurable pride we feel for you.

Your light has illuminated darkened paths, your gaze has lifted broken spirits, and already your life has changed the course of history.

This is the time of year we celebrate YOU.

Bowing before Greatness,
The Universe

Wishing you all the happiness in the world!

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finding inspiration..

..an amazing, never-ending process!

When I reflect on the past few years of my life, a common (and favourite) theme seems to be INSPIRATION. Following a Cancer diagnosis and major surgery in March '09, I was fortunate enough to take a lot of time off work. I was free as a bird! I was able to do whatever I wanted with my time! As I was healing and recovering, my focus was on nourishing my mind, body, and spirit. I wanted to feel as good as possible, every day. I wanted my journey to be organic, inspiring, and holistic. I let my heart lead me, and I connected to feeling FREE and the joy of LIVING!

For a few years now, I've been really exploring some big questions - why am I here? what am I supposed to do with my life? how can I serve? what do I love? how can our problems and struggles inspire us? how can I continue to grow? how can I heal? how can I feel better in every moment?

So let's start with this one: WHY ARE WE HERE?

I've learned that it's ALL about feeling good. The world is our playground. We are here to create joyful moments! Life is supposed to be FUN! And though there are contrasting experiences all over the planet (peace/war/abundance/poverty/joy/pain/inspiration/fear), we always have the freedom to CHOOSE what we want to focus on in our surroundings. Every day I deliberately CHOOSE where to direct my energy. I have learned how to feel good, no matter what is happening in my life! Sometimes it takes a bit of time and reflection, but the opportunity to feel good is always there. I can always connect to it..

Each day, I look for and expect to find amazing things going on in my life and on the planet. I choose to feel excited about my life! I am SO grateful! And more and more, I am learning to put thoughts around what I want to see more of - what I want to attract, and what I love.

I'm definitely still a 'student' in this game of creation. I'm excited to be the creative visionary of my own life - and I want to empower and inspire others to do the same! I'm happy with what I've started creating and I'm expecting to continue making big shifts. I know I'm getting the hang of the whole notion - 'you create your own reality, so continue to put your thoughts and feelings around what you want to create!' It feels good to believe and KNOW that ANYTHING is possible! ANYTHING! I know I am in charge of my experience. And I'm in the process of clarifying what it is that I TRULY want. I know most of my desires involve sharing and creating an amazing life experience with other incredible co-creators. I believe that everyone can do ANYTHING they truly want to do. This life experience is all about JOY and FREEDOM!

And this is a never-ending process (thank goodness - because I plan to continue dreaming BIG in new ways!). We are here to learn, grow, love, and feel inspired - that's when the really good stuff starts to flow.

Wayne Dyer explains 'inspired' as being 'IN Spirit'. I like that. In many ways, Inspiration is synonymous with Spirituality. It's a way to connect to whatever or whoever makes you feel good! It could be Buddha, Jesus, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Allah, Source, The Universe, Technology, Your Higher Self, Creativity, Music, Art, Healthy Food, Sports, Gratitude, Love.. whatever it is, whatever makes your heart sing, do more of that. Feel more of that. Live more of that. BE more of that!

We can spend our energy worrying and pointing out all that's going wrong in our lives and the world.. or we can choose to bask in the energy of inspiring teachers, uplifting stories, exciting ideas, and LOVE! It feels good to deliberately choose love in every moment, trusting and knowing that good-feeling experiences are available to everyone, in every moment!

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30th Terry Fox Run, Sunday, September 19th!

It's that time of year again! Time to get out on a Sunday and walk, run, bike, or rollerblade the 10km Terry Fox Run! This year is the 30th Anniversary - so make it extra special!

For more information on the day, check out: http://www.terryfox.org/Run/

Here's my re-post from earlier this year, celebrating the 1st day of the run, 30 years ago in April.

Monday, April 12, 2010
honouring Terry Fox

One of my best friends sent me a message to remind me that it was 30 years ago today that Terry Fox started his journey across Canada with the goal of raising money for Cancer research! Wow! An incredible beginning to such an inspiring story! Today, over $500 million has been raised in his name.

I LOVE Terry Fox, always have. I keep a $1 Terry Fox coin by my computer workstation so I can see it every day. I’ve read books, watched the movie, tv specials, and love participating in the annual run. His story still brings me to tears. I couldn’t believe that a guy in his early twenties with ONE LEG decided to run a marathon a day across Canada to raise awareness. He ran 143 consecutive days of marathons! To me, his story is the definition of inspiring!

I loved reading notes from his journal that he kept along his journey. I felt like I ‘got to know him’ and I remember reading that on my exact birth date (May 25, 1980), Terry wrote that it was a beautiful sunny day, and that it was the best-feeling day of his run, to date! I loved knowing that he was feeling so good on the day I was born! It brought me to tears.. as that marked the start of a really big journey for me too!

Before heading off to University in 1999, I was awarded the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award. It was a $20,000 scholarship, honouring my involvement in humanitarian volunteer work, physical activity, and academics. I remember feeling overwhelmingly honoured – definitely because of the generous monetary gift, but I remember feeling so grateful to feel even more connected to someone that I loved, admired, and respected so much! I still feel the same way today.

And ‘funny’ how things work out, I was diagnosed with cancer in January of last year. Another reason to feel even more connected to Terry and his work. I knew that (like Terry) this would be an exciting journey for me and that everything would be ok.. and it is! It always is! Reading about his story again is inspiring me to really consider what type of ‘work’ I’d like to do in my life. I’ve gone through some really incredible experiences.. so the opportunity is definitely there to inspire others! I just love knowing that I am eager, excited, and ready to do BIG THINGS in this lifetime!

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create a life you love!

Like so many around me, I am on an amazing journey! In the past few months, my feelings have been all over the map – from the lows of despair and confusion, all of the way to complete excitement, inspiration, and clarity!

I feel like I have done my homework. I understand the laws of the Universe. I know that I am creating my life with all that I FEEL in each moment. I know that I have the choice to flow along my journey in this Universe. I often remind myself to stay connected to those good feelings.

On January 11 of this year, (01/11/10), I had a moment of clarity where I felt a KNOWING that I am here to create an incredible life experience. I KNOW that life is supposed to be FUN!! It was time to really start getting creative with my life!

NO MATTER WHAT is going on in my life, I know I can feel inspired, grateful, and excited about the journey. I am AWAKE for it all!

I recently connected with a guy named Charlie Mingroni- who is on a similar journey. Our stories have many parallels. We share amazing experiences around Cancer. Once we were diagnosed, we both chose to believe that it was a gift. We KNEW the circumstances were going to inspire us to grow in some way. We enjoyed our journey through diagnosis, surgery, and treatment. And we KNEW that this was a very special wake up call to really start enjoying this ride through life!

Charlie and I are both inspired to share our positive experiences with cancer – to show others that you can actually CHOOSE to enjoy the journey – regardless of the details of your story. Cancer doesn’t have to be scary. You don’t have to FIGHT it. It is an experience that can accepted and even ENJOYED! We would love people to recognize that a diagnosis can inspire amazing shifts! You can develop a new awareness and appreciation for all that is going on in your life. We both believe we're here to share these messages.

We’re looking to create a new vibe around cancer. We want to create a community of people that are excited to share how cancer has inspired positive changes in their lives. We want people to understand that HOW YOU FEEL in every moment is always YOUR choice! Choose to feel good! We want people to ask questions, and we’re excited to share answers! Connect with us. Spread the word. Since Cancer will most likely be around for a while, we want people to find ways to enjoy the journey. Find clarity in the chaos. We want to create a new vibe around diagnosis as we start to tell a different story!

This is BIG! This is EXCITING! This is what I am inspired to CREATE!

Here's how I found out about Charlie's story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YAQ_Fs7xYI

Here's Charlie's new video, introducing a little about what we're up to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Tz8w5447w

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i am refreshed.

Summer is definitely here and the sun is hot! Cool off with this refreshing and healthy treat that I created this afternoon. I made up a jug of wild raspberry-lemon, iced green tea, sweetened with stevia.

Delicious, nutritious, and definitely refreshing! Add more ice and blend it up for a slushier treat!

- wild raspberry herbal tea (brewed for 5 minutes in one and a half cups of boiling water, let cool)
- freshly squeezed juice from half of a lemon (and slices to decorate)
- 40 drops of green tea concentrate (I get mine from Body Ecology)
- 3 cups of water
- ice cubes
- stevia

More pics here: http://www.facebook.com/loveinspiringlove?filter=1#!/photo.php?pid=5965261&id=307278863973

Enjoy!

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