It's Oscars Night!

It was January 3rd when I returned home from our xmas holidays. I had big plans to get organized in my home and mind and to continue on the path of our incredibly family focused journey that 2010 had created. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. Within four days of returning home, the Red Carpet email came in and it has been the focus of my everyday since. The past 8 weeks has been the wildest ride I have taken in a long time. It has proven to be an incredible week on so many levels. It is amazing how defined time can feel when you have a deadline. I have a very vivid time line of happenings of the past month and a half. Being invited to have my jewelry included in the Oscar Gift Bags was absolutely a highlight in my career. I explained it to a friend that it was like I had arrived or that I was finally legit when people asked me what I do ( which i still think is the lamest question ever... i am not what i do- and i feel so sorry for those who actually believe that the letters behind their name give them anymore credibility as a decent person than those without) and I reply that I am a jewelry designer. Really, I am actually an artist first and jewelry is just my most successful medium. I am so grateful for the amazing opportunity that has found me. I have put every effort in maximizing every aspect of the benefits that can be derived from this situation. I have aligned myself with the PR GURU that has worked with me as a partner and together we have landed some incredible media coverage. This month I have been seen and heard on Global Morning News, Global Noon News, The Express, eTALK, Entertainment Tonight Canada, I was on the Cover of the Vancouver Sun, I was in The Edmonton Journal, The Ottawa Citizen, The Windsor Star, The Phoenix Star, 24 hrs, The North Shore News, The North Shore Outlook, The Mike Bullard radio show, News 1130, QMFM with Mike & Tara which will air tomorrow, and more local print that will come out in the next few weeks. It has been an incredibly humbling compliment to have been invited to be featured on all of those different media outlets. Every experience was amazing and I have learned a great deal. I mean quite honestly, to land the cover of the Vancouver Sun is quite an accomplishment. Even the 'Silver Fox' was a bit confused by it... he looked at the cover and his first words were..." How did you get a bigger picture on the cover than the Sedins? lol Seriously... so funny. The next round of media will be in the bigger magazines. I was contacted by the company that is presenting the Oscar Gift Bags and they informed me that their press release has gone out to all of the media/ magazines with photos and names of the gift bags and the contributors. So keep your eyes posted while you are perusing through the magazines in the next couple of weeks and watch for the gift bag and watch for the lariat on all of those lovely starlets! Let me know if you see anything! Beyond working really hard to prepare all of the jewels for the Oscars I have also seen some real life action. In one week I had 2 sick babes, 1 traveling husband, a root canal, a clogged toilet (thanks B.Man) , a sick dog, and of course the rest of life's dailies. It was full on and in the midst of all of it all I was watching my email stack up with dozens of orders from across the country. It was a range of emotion that only continued to seek extremes when the next week a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer that has taken over her body. The week after that, last week I had one of my closest bff's get caught in downtown Christchurch where the earthquake hit. She actually watched the spire on the church collapse. So if you want to talk about polar opposite emotions... as I was watching my Entertainment Tonight interview I was also texting with my friends trying to source the latest information on our bff and her journey back to Canada. ( Thank God she is home safe and sound!) Although I try really hard to live in the moment I have actually been waiting for today to arrive for 8 weeks. I feel this huge relief. The work is done. The celebs have my work. The blessings I have bestowed are working their charm just by being in their possession. Now I need to trust that the love I have put into each piece will find its way to the person who needs it most. Tonight the Oscars will air. I had big plans for a red carpet affair for tonight but alas I am home with two sick babes who just need to have Mama envelope them in the warm mama love that seems to make feeling ill just a little more tolerable. No matter what I am or what I do, I am a Mama first and nothing I do could ever be more important than making these two little spirits feel loved and cared for. While some will be sipping Champagne tonight and donning their finest silks, I will be sipping left over chicken noodle soup that I will make for the kids tonight and that Champagne will be replaced with decaf Earl Grey tea. That is my speed and I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to call these sweet spirits mine to nurture and to love. There is no other award greater or more valuable to me than having the honour of hearing them say to me "Mama, how come you love us so much?" Those words affirm that I am doing a great job by doing what I truly love most. I love to love my family. That said, eyes peeled for the lariats! ;) love & light, t.

Exhale.

On a morning like today when my family wakes up to the sound of birds singing in the forest behind our log home, accompanied by the sweet smell of the warm air and the sight of trees coming back to life- it is hard not to appreciate all that we have. I cannot begin this blog post any other way than to give thanks that Egypt has been heard and their president has stepped down. My father(in-law) was born in Egypt, and it was only a couple of years ago that he and his 'The Silver Fox's Mama returned there again for another visit, one last visit. Their pictures were amazing. I cannot help but be so heart broken for the pain and destruction that has occurred, but also so grateful that our immediate family is here, safe, together and whole. Godspeed to those in Cairo and to those with loved ones there. It is hard to think of anything more than the real issues of our day to day life. I had friend tell me yesterday that he has to fly to Bangkok today- as his father passed suddenly of a heart attack. My heart broke for him as he explained the situation to me, yet he himself was so strong and so stoic, it was a such a fantastic reminder that attitude and spirit are everything. My heart is with he and his beautiful wife and family. Now on to seemingly superficial excitement... I am going to be on Entertainment Tonight next week. I am very excited about it for sure. It is just hard to separate world chaos and a television show. I am very excited to be appearing on a show I love to watch. The opportunities that are attached to such an honour are overwhelming. So far, of all the media I have been working with, this is the one I am most excited about. I love that I will be sharing the segment with Karen Buder of Sugarlime Jewelry. I am not sure how she feels about it, but I do feel very excited anytime women are acknowledged. This past week has been monumental. I have been dealing with exciting stuff, and real stuff. I was on the cover of both local newspapers, I have had a family with the flu, recovering from a root canal, having to unclog a toilet (thank you 'B-Man' for shoving a compact down there) I filled the Thomas Haas order I had for custom Valentine's Day cards. They are now there and available for purchase. Yesterday was amazing, I shipped off my Oscar Jewels and they are on route. Relieved, honoured, humbled and amazed are a few of the emotions that came within the tidal wave of emotions that through me all over the tissue map yesterday. It has been a long month full of amazing moments, and my family has been amazing. My friends have championed my every success and I have been stunned by the response of strangers. I have tried to share this spot light with as many different women as I can. I have tried very hard to pay these opportunities I have been given, forward and I have learned a great deal about how guarded some people are about sharing success. It has been so interesting, and a lesson in trying to respect a behavior I do not understand. Prior to this Oscars excitement, I began this year with a commitment to get my whole self organized. My body, mind & spirit. My home, my routines, my systems. I knew this year was going to be a TSN Turning Point in my life, I just didn't for see how that was going to manifest. Now that I have a clue, I need to return to my mission and I have had the 'Aha' moment. I can't do it by myself. I need help. So I have enlisted a professional to help me. We all have our strengths and I have acknowledged that being an organized person is not mine. 2011 is the year that I find balance, simplicity and that I accept that my imperfections are a gift that allows me to better myself. Someone recently reminded me of one of my favorite quotes that has been quite obvious to me in the past month: "When you do what you love, the universe will rise up to meet you." - Oprah Love & Light, t.