The Journey of a Friendly Giant

I think the word “Hangry” was invented for me. I’m told 2 things quite regularly : 1. I’m always smiling, and 2. I’m always eating. In my world there is a direct correlation between my happiness and the time of my last snack. Unfortunately my toddler has inherited that trait from me and we are both absolutely miserable hungry people. My peaceful, kind and ridiculously patient husband of mine always reminds me “Think of the solution, not only the problems.” The equation is simple ; me+Food=Happiness I’m busy so I need food to be quick to prepare, I’m lazy so I’d like it to be easy to make as well, and I’m always on the move do portability is ideal as well. Behold! My 4-ingredient no-bake delicious peanut butter energy bites! Ingredients 1 cup of natural peanut butter 2/3 cups of oats 1/3 cup of ground flax seed 1/4 cup of real maple syrup Optional Coconut flakes to coat The sticky messy balls... :D Delicious, quick, 15 minute prep, just mix all ingredients and mak...

But it was part of my plan. This is what I pleadingly repeat to myself as I attempt to wipe the sleep out of my burning red eyes on yet another late night in front of a glowing screen after a long day at work, followed but an evening being the best mother and wife I could be to my family. Juggling a full-time job, being a mother of a toddler, and being an online Graduate student is very difficult, most of my friends described my life as impossible, but I’m stubborn. It was simply a part of my plan, and though I strongly miscalculated said plan Out of inexperience and naivety, I feel this relentless weight to just keep my head down and pummel through. That’s when I started to notice that though I was a fantastic student, I was starting to slack in other areas of my life. For example, Some of my best friends have just had babies that I haven’t even met yet. Very uncharacteristic of me, I love babies! I’ve said it before, babies are the physical becoming of time passing. If a baby has be...

If you don’t already follow me on Instagram I suggest you change that: @Cassi_opia For those that do not know my husband, he is a plant expert. And I mean that quite literally inside of his mind is encyclopedia of everything nature. I find this fascinating and he has taught me so much but I did not know before about our planet. So last year every Thursday I started posting an educational post revolved around nature and gardening named: #JeudiJardinage These posts were made mainly on Instagram , search the hashtag on the app to see all of the posts you’ve missed, you might learn something cool and interesting . Today’s posting is as follows: Happy Jeudi Jardinage (Thursday gardening, but better because it’s in french) to celebrate the beginning of spring, our feature of the week is a big stinky one. Eastern Skunk Cabbage, or (symplocarpis foetidus) is one of the first to bloom in a the spring. This magnificently unique creature of a plant earns it’s name from its pungent putrid od...

“You don’t look like you’ve had a baby.” I get that line a lot. I know it’s meant as a complement, but I always feel a bit insulted. It makes me wonder what is thought about women that don’t lose the pregnancy weight? That are curvier than me, or don’t have time to workout because they are too busy taking care of their high-needs baby? It also sort of undermines all of the hard work that I’ve put in to achieve my own goals. I’m sure you will notice that based on many of my posts; but What I struggle with most is being openly over-criticized during the process of motherhood. Parenting is hard enough as it is without getting constantly judged by every Jane, Dick and Joe that crosses your path. I also wonder what that says to them about the quality of my parenting? Does it suggest that I am a good parent or a bad one? The way that I look should have nothing to do with that information, people should instead gauge how well I’m doing, and how well any mother is doing based on how happy,heal...

Have you ever met someone that has heard of you before meeting you? This is happening to me more and more as my motivational speaking gains momentum, and I’ll never get over this strange phenomena. I’m always extra careful when meeting those people for the first time because I know I’m human, but sometimes they don’t! I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying that says something about how meeting people you admire could often lead to disappointment. I always tread lightly in these situations, and if I feel like I’ve been put on an unattainable pedestal, I’m quick to correct that misconception. It’s easy to make assumptions about those you don’t see on a regular basis. From a distance, everything looks much simpler than it is in reality, especially the lives of The trouble is, we do this almost unintentionally, which makes it difficult to monitor. It takes “ unlearning ” behaviour, which is much more difficult than learning something brand new for the first time, especially for adults....

The downside of being an optimist that is committed to living my happiest life is my aversion to struggle. When things are too difficult and not going smoothly I assume that they simply “aren’t meant to be” and that I should let it go. That’s a problematic way of thinking because struggle is an inevitable part of life. It also doesn’t make sense in “all” scenarios, take motherhood for example, after a rough day with my baby I can’t simply decide “maybe motherhood isn’t for me... I gave it a shot though.” That’s absurd. This is my first week back at school, I’m working towards obtaining a masters in Education and doing so online. It’s my second year at it and I’m a few classes shy of achieving my graduate goals. There’s been some hiccups though! My account wouldn’t allow me to sign in, and when it did eventually with the help of a long back and forth with IT, I didn’t have access to my class :(. I couldn’t join the lesson until late Wednesday, just in time for a deadline! I spent my ...

What if life has nothing to do with the stuff we distract ourselves with? What if it has nothing to do with money, or stress and everything to do with discovery, relaxation and freedom? What if we are all addicted to pleasure and instant gratification because that’s what life would be like if we allowed ourselves to let go of this image of who we are told our entire lives we need to be. If we are tired of working because life isn’t about working, at least not in that way. Those that took alternative paths and failed are thrown in our faces time and time again in the news media. It’s unavoidable, the negativity is constantly spewed so we remain filled with doubt and insecure. yet unable to thrive and feel alive unless we are away from it all. On vaction or weekends. I want to live like I love myself. Like I love my husband, my son, my mother and brothers. Like I am not choosing work, money, and material possessions over the those I value and cherish most in this world. When everyone...

Becoming a mother has changed my mind in ways I never expected, for example: I am motivated to be a better version of myself, instead of just talking about it. I used to make elaborate self-improvement plans especially this time of year but now I just tell myself, “he’s watching you mama.” And he already thinks I’m the best, I might as well become it. That being said however, I'm convinced that God made hangovers so that adults learn something... That lesson intensifies for those with children because kids wake up at the crack of Dawn regardless of how late your night was and how many wobbly pops you've consumed. & As an avoider of pain, especially the self-induced kind, my conclusion is simple : Don't get hangovers. It's not like it's a mysterious phenomena that comes out of nowhere, we know how they arise and why they occur. So that’s my resolution, not to et hungover. It happens so rarely that it practically consumes me whole when it does. My other-not-so-...

I've always been a giver. Always obliging to the needs and desires of others, while thinking of myself last. At least that's what it looks like from an outsiders perspective. But something I always like to share with those that care enough to listen is that self-love has many different faces depending on who you're speaking to. For me an act of self love involved not* skipping my workout; it involves taking good care of myself by being mindful of my dietary habits and ultimately my health. From my perspective that often looks like ingesting a green smoothie that is my personal favourite life-hack to consuming more raw green superfoods, fruits, nuts and seeds that are all very useful things for digestive health and a high energy lifestyle. That being said however, if you speak to some of my family members for example, indulging in a piece of chocolate cake is their act of self-love. From their perspective, it is because they love themselves that they do not want to deprive ...

New parents have a bed reputation for being overbearing, too rigid and strict and worried for nothing ... because according to the generation before us, yes I'm talking about our parents, we turned out "fine". I used to agree. When I was pregnant. In fact  I didn't even buy any parenting books, and thought the best source of information were my midwives and my family.  Now that I have a child however, I realize that I was wrong. I'm exactly the kind of over bearing parent I've described above and I couldn't care less about your opinion.  I love my son more than anything else in the world. And when you love someone that intensely, their wellbeing becomes your obsession.  So yes... I do have hard limits and cringe at he thought of my baby eating junk food... but who the hell cares? Is respect too much to ask for? The midwives have also done a wonderful job of empowering me to be confident in my decisions about parenting. My family as well, ...

It's very rare that your first time traveling will be your only time. Once exposed to the exciting and unpredictable newness that often comes with leaving home, the chances of you making more travel plans are very high. What I enjoy most about traveling is the reminder it gives me that life comes in different colours, flavours, tastes and smells. Traveling also does a wonderful job in teaching lessons of humility and tolerance of different ways to live life. I'm no rookie to the traveling game, my travel bug has become more of a monster; I've lived in over 5 countries and visited over 25 in my lifetime so far. In fact, this blog originated as a travel blog for an international internship I was fortunate enough to experience with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). I wouldn't be the person I am today without having traveled as much as I have, and I hope my now 14 month old (already!?) can say the same one day. Needless to say however, like most thi...

"So how's daycare going?" When I say ‘okay’… what I really want to say is that it’s not that great.  Daycare isn't getting easier for me, but it is getting easier for him (apparently). He still screams "MAMA!" every morning with big tear drops streaming down his face. It still crushes my heart every morning, (how can it not?...)  I'm not numb to his crying yet (What If I never am?)....  Plus I'm still breastfeeding so physiologically, and quite literally… I'm a hot mess. This is the beginning of week three, and he has now started crying for the entire 20-minute car ride to daycare. He then proceeds to fight me when I try to take him out of the car seat when we arrive. He's strong too! He has ripped a blouse and a necklace almost effortlessly because he didn't want to let go of me when I tried handing him off to the daycare attendants. He also head-butted one of them right in the mouth, taking her by surprise and frankly,...

I've returned to work this week. *Moment of silence for all of the new moms going through this difficult and tragic time.* When I’m asked “how is daycare going?” and I say “ okay… ” what I really want to say will be in the following blog posting. Day 1 –I drop off the unsuspecting man-cub who is quickly distracted by new toys and new friends to play with. I proceed to sneak away when he’s not looking because I hate goodbyes. Phew! Made it to the car, scotch free, he didn’t see me, so he didn’t cry. Avoided situations always turn out well right? … The French daycare he’s in has a smartphone app that very much resembles this blog. It has pictures and text updates as well as a timeline of previous postings. I am distracted in my office constantly checking the app for updates all day, missing my baby like CRAZY. Do you blame me? He has become my 24/7 loyal little side-kick and companion until today, cold-turkey style, a full 8hr day without him. I digress... I...

It's almost 11pm and my baby and husband are fast asleep. My own eyelids are growing heavier with each passing moment. "I can't, I refuse to break a promise to myself ." I say to myself out loud (yes I talk to myself, deal with it). So I count myself down from 5-4-3-2... and then I unglue my half-melted butt from the couch and drag my heavy tired legs to the bathroom, where I splash my face with cold water. I'm locked in now, so I sneak downstairs and do a quick 24 minute home workout in my cold unfinished basement so I don't disturb the sleeping monarchy. Has my post-partum fitness journey been easy? Hell no. If it was easy the expression "mom-bod" would bring a different image to your mind. ... actually forget I 'said that' "Bad mama! I must remember that all bodies are beautiful.   It's tough to remember that sometimes, Facebook keeps showing old photos of me at the beach too!... so I meditate, and I ground myself and remember to...

If I were to write a book about motherhood it would be called "what day is it?" Or "Did I eat today?" Better yet "when was my last shower?" Motherhood had been equal parts blissful adventure and blind faith in myself. I have no idea what I'm doing but My baby is alive, happy and healthy so I must be doing something right. I haven't posted anything since my birth story which feels like last month but somehow it was 4 months ago! (WHAT?!) Babies are the physical becoming of time passing. 4 months used to come and go, now it grows before my eyes and becomes more aware, more vocal and man... these chubby cheeked smiles are just magical. Motherhood to me is the best decision I've ever made and I'm thankful everyday to be blessed enough to experience it. So much has changed, too much for one posting, But here's my attempt to share some of those changes. 1.My house is a mess most of the time, (yes, more than "normal" mess mom...) ...