Category: rants raves life & love

RANT: Justice – Or Lack Thereof

After my sister-in-law’s house was set on fire and burned down, killing my baby nephew, our family has been on long journey through the justice system. Before this event, I had never experienced any close encounters with our justice system. I led a very sheltered childhood, have always followed the rules, and my Asian genetics never even allowed me to...

LIFE: Facing Grief’s Gifts – Anniversary of Hunter’s Death

One year ago today, my family’s life was completely shattered. My sister-in-law and her 5-month-old baby boy were trapped in their house that was set on fire. She was brought to ICU in critical condition. My nephew died from smoke inhalation. Their 2 puppies were also killed in the fire. These are things we will never get over.   As...

LIFE: How to Remember the Ones We’ve Lost – Hunter’s First Birthday

Today my nephew Hunter would have been 1 year old. He was taken from us at just 5 months old, and it still boggles my mind how it happened. And how he could not be here with us, hitting those developmental milestones, taking a monthly photo with his huge grin. I imagine that Hunter would have been cruising by now,...

LIFE: A Victim’s State of Mind

We pulled up to the police station and saw a parking spot. There was a sign that said “Edmonton Police Service. Customer Parking Only.” My husband read it and muttered to himself, “Customer Parking Only. Yeah. I guess we’re customers.” I wrinkled my brow and said, “Customers? I guess – that’s better than saying Victims?” I never wanted to be...

LIFE: New Year, New Beginnings, Hopefully NOT a New Pile of $h!t

It’s time to bid farewell to 2017, and I am more than happy to wish it good riddance. This year has been incredibly traumatic, emotionally draining, mentally exhausting, and… there were some good moments. But they’ve been overshadowed by the bad shit. The Christmas season was one of extremes for me this year. I love Christmas. I love spending time...

LIFE: The Shadow Proves the Sunshine – Grief and Loss

It has been 2 months since my 5-month old baby nephew Hunter died in my sister-in-law’s house in a fire. It has been 2 months since the day I received the text messages from my husband that would turn my life upside down. 2 months since I waited to see my sister-in-law in the ICU because the police wouldn’t let...

5 Ways I Refresh My Spirit #FiveonFriday

Do you ever feel like you keep going and going because there’s an endless list of things to do and you can’t ever catch up? Like you’re in survival mode – permanently? Like you want to sit down and chill but you feel guilty because you’re wasting precious time that you could be doing something productive. I feel like that...

Does Going Toxin Free Really Matter?

Well, it’s a new year, and with that comes new year’s resolutions. Perhaps you made a resolution about going toxin free, or maybe you thought about it but then felt overwhelmed / discouraged / unsure / insert your emotion here because you’re not fully convinced about the answer to the question: Does going toxin free really matter? Obviously I think...

Five on Friday – Moments of Zen #FiveonFriday

It’s time for my weekly Five on Friday post! I am part of a group of Canadian bloggers who all share 5 random things each week. This last week was an interesting one for me, with lots of different “life” things going on… so I want to cap it off with 5 Moments of Zen to keep myself grounded. 1...

Last Week Tonight #FiveonFriday

It’s time for the weekly Five on Friday post! A group of Canadian bloggers all share 5 random things each week, which is a lot of fun! Today I’m sharing 5 of my favourite clips from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.   I watched The Daily Show with Jon Stewart since Jon Stewart started hosting the show (I saw him on...