Yep, it’s that time again. My somewhat annual post so it seems. How does time fly by so quickly? Every time I see the date of my last post here I want to grab time tightly in my fist and slow it down. There have been some precious moments lately that I just hope I can hang on to. Milestone birthdays, graduations, new opportunities, overcoming challenges, they’ve all had roles to play over the past year and I am grateful for each one.

Speaking of roles to play, I took lessons from a local improv group and took part in an evening showcase at a café and while I wasn’t on stage long it was something I had challenged myself to do. I thoroughly enjoyed the classes and will hopefully take part again next winter.

The reason I have to wait until winter is because I interviewed for and was accepted as a member of a Community Emergency Response Team which has training dates in the fall on the same evening I was taking my improv classes. I’ve missed being part of the search and rescue team I co-founded and when this opportunity came up I jumped on the chance. I may not be as physically fit as I once was but perhaps this will incentivize me to work on that.

DS turned 19 and graduated high school the same week. He has learning disabilities that affect his ability to read/write, perform mathematical calculations, give his time and spatial awareness issues and a few other things so we couldn’t be more proud of his accomplishment. He also worked at a co-op in rough carpentry with a construction company which is his career goal. We are hoping that the contacts he made there will result in a full time job during construction season.

I moved into the role of President of the Toastmasters Club I belong to and have lots of ideas and goals that I hope come to fruition. I took over as President yesterday so we shall see how it goes. The other club members are all very supportive and have so much to offer as well. It is a fun group and I am looking forward to all of us developing our skills together.

There are other developments that have happened over the past year but I will save them for my next post.

Until next time… “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman

~ Crimson ~

It’s been quite a break from my last post in large part due to my reaction to the COVID-19 situation. I was never in real fear of contracting it because I took the recommended precautions; it was more the economic fallout and the uncertainty surrounding it that had me spinning. Already being prone to serious bouts of depression and anxiety due to being bipolar it was no wonder it hit me hard mentally and emotionally. So I stepped away from almost all of my activities for the last year. Some of it such as volunteering at fundraising events was due to circumstances but the majority was because I wasn’t in the right head space to do anything about it. That included updating my web site.

I am just now ready to get into my activities again which includes the web site, journaling, story writing, crafts, volunteering, hiking, etc… I am also on day 3 of my Miracle Morning program again which has helped me be more productive and creative. I am hoping to get back to podcasting soon which the plan is to start over since my podcasting partner and I only recorded six episodes before our mutual hiatus. I’ve started journaling with a focus on my ‘Wreck This Journal’ book. It has helped me relieve some of the stress and anxiety with destructive yet creative energy. If you haven’t heard of it, you are missing out. It is a lot of fun trying to wreck this thing and would be a great family project.

So that is it for now, I want to ease back into this. My apologies that the focus wasn’t something more uplifting and motivating but I wanted to be honest about what I have been going through.

Until next time… Look for the rainbows after the storm…

~ Crimson ~

Over on my project blog darklight.ca I listed my 20 goals for 2020 and while I like them all I want to add some fun things that don’t really have a deadline and aren’t necessarily things that ‘need’ to get done. Rather they are things that if time and money allow (and sometimes even if they don’t allow) I will do them just for the joy, fun, and creativity they will bring into my life.

Travel seems to be on every bucket list I have read and mine is no exception. Last summer I traveled to Costa Rica with my son and while Costa Rica wasn’t specifically on my list, traveling to another country outside of Canada and the US with my son was. This year I will be heading to Panama with my daughter and a friend of mine. Some places I would truly love to go are Scotland and England to research my ancestors and visit family, Japan for the history and architecture, Croatia for the national parks, and Greece for the beauty, mythology, and architecture too. There are other places I’d like to visit but those are my top five at the moment. Next year it looks like I may go to California with my daughter and her friend as they go to Coachella and I visit the sites in the area. I also want to go on a road trip to visit the House on the Rock near Spring Green Wisconsin and see other sites along the way.

So aside from travel I want to go parasailing, finish writing a YA book, go back to school for free when I am 65 (if it is still free then), learn how to build things like a deck and pergola, and learn a new language.

I think it’s important to put these things in writing and to look at them repeatedly or they are more likely to fall by the wayside and never get done. There are lots of other things but I will save that for making my board which I will share when it is done.

Until next time… Sometimes the biggest regrets are for the things you didn’t do rather than those you did.

~ Crimson

Quote: “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll (I needed this reminder)
Music: Sara Bareilles, The Fray, The Chainsmokers, The Weeknd
Mood: Melancholy, Motivated, Dull, Excited
Grateful For: high-quality dark chocolate, literacy

Random: I tried a trampoline fitness class at an indoor trampoline park. Because of all my wipe-outs I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. I am definitely going again.

Random: I got carried away with the subscription boxes and ordered one from Kiwi Crate, OwlCrate, Geek Fuel, FabFitFun, TopBox, and Loot Vault. Fortunately I was able to track down some good coupon codes to get them at discounted prices. I received emails that the Loot Crate and OwlCrate have shipped so far. Can’t wait do some unboxing videos and open them !!!

One of the focuses in the videos will be value for money. I am not impressed by brand names. I am looking for good quality products that will fair well over time and that I will actually use (or display in the case of geek items).

Merry Geekmas!

Quote: “If you put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” ~ Bruce Lee
Music: Gavin DeGraw, Meghan Trainor, Bastille, Lady Antebellum
Mood: Disappointed, Tired, Headachey, Excited, Numb
Grateful For: formal and informal learning opportunities
Act of Kindness: Bought some Tim Horton’s gift cards to give out to random people. I will give one out today.

Random: I have been wanting to order a subscription box from Loot Crate for quite sometime but was concerned about value for money especially since it is in American dollars which the exchange rate is awful plus extra shipping costs for Canadians. They had a really good sale on for the holidays for some of their previous Crates that didn’t sell out as well as a deal on a new Crate so I ordered a few and am excitedly looking forward to when they arrive. I may do some unboxing videos on my YouTube channel since I haven’t really used it for anything.

It’s been a long time since my last post and lots has happened.

First of all I joined Toastmasters and as I always do, I didn’t just jump in, I cannonballed in by joining the Executive as VP Education after only being a member for 3 months. It has been an exhausting but wonderful learning experience.

Shorty after that I applied for and succeeded in becoming a Regional Representative with Random Acts (therandomact.org). This organization is dedicated to conquering the world one random act of kindness at a time which is a cause I have been passionate about for more than a decade when I was involved with a group on Onelist (a precursor to Yahoo Groups) which encouraged participating in acts of kindness and sharing stories with each other.

In the summer I started a small home business by becoming a design consultant with Elanne & Ivy which is a jewellery design business that focuses on selling glass lockets and charms. So far I have only been developing my business by word of mouth until I have more time to dedicate to it.

Also keeping me busy is Air Cadets which I have become more involved with by taking on more responsibilities and more of a leadership or mentorship role with the Level 4 cadets.

Meetup has been a source of new activities and groups too where I have joined some fascinating groups involved in bushcrafting, meditation, adventure travel, and socializing. I even started two groups, one focused on random acts of kindness in my area and the other on geocaching. I am planning the first meetings for these groups in the new year.

School has returned to my life and I have missed it. Now I am taking online learning courses to get my Records and Information Management certificate from a community college.

Yesterday I interviewed to become a Social Media Officer with Random Acts in addition to my current role. If I pass that stage then there is a second level interview and tasks to perform before I will find out if I get the position. It will take a couple of months all in all for that.

So that is what has been keeping me busy and I have more stuff in my head to unleash on the Internet so I will continue to keep myself occupied for a long time to come.

Have a peaceful Winter Solstice and a new year full of kindness and love!

S and I have a busy winter and spring coming up for plays. He is in a production of Pippin as the little boy Theo who is the son of a young widow. I’ll be doing props and costume changes for that one. Rehearsals for that one overlap with a production of Oliver where he will be playing one of the orphans. I am not sure what backstage work I’ll be doing for that one if any. Then I have a production of Cabaret where I will likely be running the lighting boards. At least for Cabaret I won’t have weeks and weeks if rehearsals to go to, it will just be tech week and the run of the show. I adore theatre though so I am really looking forward to it.

The scavenger hunt is now over. My team got a lot of entries in so now we wait to see how many points we got. Send some positive thoughts into the universe for us to win please…lol. I probably would have done more stuff but with work, finding out my grandmother passed away, and the play, it was a very very hectic time.

I had a lot of fun though and will definitely do it again next year.

~ Crimson ~

Now that the play is done I dove head first into another project. This is an international scavenger hunt with the hopes of breaking the Guinness Book of World records for largest scavenger hunt.

The items are hilarious and some so out there that there is no way to get some of them even though we are in teams of 10 with members around the world.

Go to gishwhes.com and see for yourself!

P.S. Anyone want to volunteer to wear a dress made out of bacon or perhaps go jousting in a supermarket?

No?

Really?

Thought I would have thousands jumping at the chance.

Lol!

S and I finished our last performance of ‘Gypsy’ today! It was a wonderful experience especially for him as his first play.

He has been asked to be in a production of Pippin so he will be playing Theo. Rehearsals start in January but this time I will be backstage rather than onstage. I used to always like being onstage but at this point I prefer being backstage so for Pippin I will be doing props and something.

In the spring I will be helping out for a production of ‘Cabaret’ running the lighting boards or something. Gypsy and Cabaret are with a theatre group I haven’t been a part of before so I have to work my way up from the bottom. I am hoping that in a few years I can work my way up to stage manager. I have been a stage manager before for a production of ‘West Side Story’ as well as ‘The Lion in Winter’ and I loved it.

I love being back in theatre!