3 intentions for May 2018

Hello friends!

I know it’s already been May for a week, but I can’t start the month without my usual practice of intention setting and looking back on everything that happened in April – which was a lot! It’s finally feeling like winter is behind us here in Vancouver, and not only am I excited for warmer weather, but also for a whole bunch of really exciting things coming up over the next couple of months. I’ll talk more about these soon, but for now, a peek back on April.

The 3 intentions I set were:

Thoroughly spring clean my apartment

This happened, and it’s still happening! After having been inspired by a few people who live very minimalist lifestyles recently, I’ve really been thinking a lot about the value I place in physical possessions. During April more than ever, I’ve realized that clearing a lot of physical space in my life has also opened a lot of mental space – and room for opportunities that I didn’t feel I could go after in the past. It’s an interesting and incredibly liberating feeling.

Channel my inner nerd at a conference for work.

Oh did I ever! At the beginning of April I went to Chicago to attend a marketing conference related to my full-time gig, and it was a lot of fun to see how other retail companies are solving challenges that I experience in my day to day. While the business and networking side of the conference was great, I also really enjoyed exploring Chicago and shaking up my usual routine for a few days.

Launch the Feel Better Sugar Detox

Success! She’s live! And this brings me right into…

1. Dedicate this month’s blog content to Sugar Free May

I mentioned this last week as part of the Feel Better Sugar Detox program launch, and I intend to fully deliver! Since sugar is one of the most common topics that comes up in the struggles you guys have shared with me, so I’m excited to help all of you kick the habit. Expect a whole bunch of low sugar/no added sugar recipes, tips and tricks for cutting consumption, healthier swaps, and answers to the top sugar-related questions that I’ve received via email.

For those of you doing the Feel Better Sugar Detox, you’ll be able to use this information to further supplement what you’re learning through the program. You’ll also notice that the ingredients in the recipes I share this month are all on your Sugar Detox Grocery List, so you’re free to combine them with the weekly meal plans if you like.

With all of that said, I’m more than happy to answer your burning questions as part of Sugar Free May. Feel free to leave them in the comments below, or submit them here.

2. Schedule time every weekend to doing something creative.

As a kid, I was the crafty type. I was the kind that could colour for hours, made friendship bracelets for friends, chose science fair topics based on whether they’d allow me to paper maché something, and created dioramas out of everything from tissue boxes to cardboard boxes. (Side note: dioramas is a really, really weird word.) Those aren’t really the crafts that get me excited today, but making things still does.

I’ve shared some of my DIY natural beauty product recipes on the blog already, including lotion bars, lip balms, a face mask and body mists. There are more I’ve been working on, more on my list of must-try DIYs, and a bunch of food recipes I’ve been wanting to get to as well. I see all of these ‘making’ projects as creative pursuits, and they all have the same effect of making me escape my analytical/logical brain and switch on the more artsy side.

Those of you who are also bloggers and/or entrepreneurs might be very familiar with what I mean when I say that if I’m not careful, I could be working all week long. (Full time work, then blog work, then biz work.) There’s always something that can be done, photos to edit, posts to write, etc. But my goal is to intentionally set aside time every weekend to disconnect from these tasks and do whatever creative pursuit my heart desires. That might be colouring for 10 minutes, or an entire afternoon of baking or creating whipped body butters. Anyone else up for channeling your inner Martha Stewart meets hippie meets Pinterest DIY junkie?

3. Work on achieving one my biggest BHAGs to date.

(That means a Big Hairy Audacious Goal). I know that reading about other people’s ambiguous, vague goals can be annoying, and I 100% feel the same frustrations sometimes. I’m always as honest and open as comfortably possible with you guys, and in this case, it’s just a little too early to be talking about the whole thing in front of the whole wide world. Just like anything worth working hard for, it’s going to take a lot of time, focus, commitment and perseverance. But I know it’s all going to be worth it in the end, and I promise, you’ll hear a lot more about this soon!