Adventurous Love and a Wild Heart

I have a few constant inspirations in my life and I consider myself incredibly lucky for this. Inspiration ranges from children to adults, and from paintings to a good book or tune. Today, I want to shed some light on one of the most inspirational woman in my life. More than just a part of my life, she is a part of me. She is my sister.

Beautiful Bride.

Recently, my gorgeous, incredibly smart and creative big sister dove head first into her calling. Photography. She is owner and talented Wild Little Hearts photographer. Although, talent does not even begin to describe her work, or her take on life.

Ever since I can remember, she has been a role model for me. From her adventurous worldly travels, to her calm, but firm opinions and her keen, stylish, sense of fashion, I have emulated her in becoming the person I want to be. WWKD (What would Kenji Do)? Is a question that runs through my mind before every major decision. Then I remember that she would/does follow her heart, and as do I.

Naming her business Wild Little Hearts is a perfect reflection of her curious, adventurous, and compassionate spirit. The evidence seeps out through her fantastic photos that capture the fun, loving hearts of everyone she photographs.

I owe much of my own wild, little, heart to her support, love, and guidance. I could not ask for a better sister, a more supportive friend, and the mere blessing of knowing someone so full of life, laughter, and of course, love. She is not just an inspiration to me, but to everyone she meets.

Below are a few of my favourite pieces of her work. Please take a moment to check out her website, or Facebook page and if you are interested, have her make your heart shine through beautiful images.

Love you Sister Bear,

<3

Photo: Wild Little Hearts (All Rights Reserved)

Photo: Wild Little Hearts (All Rights Reserved)

Photo: Wild Little Hearts (All Rights Reserved)

Photo: Wild Little Hearts (All Rights Reserved)

Just call me Crusher.

I am not new to embarrassing moments, as some of you learned with the #recycling #crusher incident, where I danced/stepped backwards and fell slow motion into a bucket of empty cans. For anyone who was lucky enough to witness, it was epic. It was hilarious. Even the tiny half circle tall boy bruises on my butt were funny. For those lucky friends, and for anyone who just needs a laugh today, here is the most recent event in the clumsy life of Lauren.

Before I start, I will refer to a classic piece of advice that some say. This advice is that life isn't about the destination, but the journey...

Well... When you find yourself on your hands and knees on a dirty streetcar floor (minds out of the gutter please) it becomes less about the journey and more about the embarrassing place you ended up.

Enter hilarious, clumsy, dignity-losing Lauren.

Walking onto the streetcar was a breeze. I can even say my balance is improving when the streetcar starts moving before I reach the safety of a seat. No, this is not where shit (I) went down.

Fast-forward at least ten, confident steps in my almost-flat thong sandals carrying a large umbrella. Confident moments are always when embarrassing stuff happens. It's a rule.

So here I am walking, hips swinging, feet thudding to maintain balance, when my left ankle decides to take a little roll to the side. Ouch. 

Off balance I go, but I caught myself. 

Honestly, I did... Briefly. 

Then the streetcar started to brake to come to a full stop. So much for balance. I lurched forward, slow-motion forward running style until my body could no longer hold me up right. I landed on my hands and knees with my nose centimetres from the disgusting TTC floor.

One man, kindly asked if I was okay, and offered to help me up. This was embarrassing, but I was thankful of his kindness.  I wanted to cry at the time. Dignity gone. Face Red.

Another man clearly saw. How could you not???  He ignored everything and pretended like it never happened. I hope he laughed to himself all night. Humour is the only good thing to come from such humiliating moments.

The part I do not understand is the umbrella. If I had of dropped the damn thing, I could have saved myself easily. But no. My hand had to grip that thing like it was a newborn baby I was protecting. Ridiculous.

Bahahahaha when I got to my seat, and the redness faded, I started laughing to myself and did not stop until I reached my stop 45 minutes later. It was so funny, so awkward, and a fall I will never forget, much like my epic recycling fail, the time I slipped and fell under Lisa's car, or when I fell at Jenna's grade eight graduation. See, it happens often, and every time, it is hilarious.

In the spirit of my also sometimes clumsy sister, I drew a paint diagram for some visuals. I am not great with paint, but hopefully it's amusing, if nothing else. Check it out below, and laugh and laugh and laugh. Laughter is the best medicine, you know.

Coffee & Great Friendship

My love for a hot, strong cup of coffee has only increased with age. A twenty year old Lauren would have made gagging noises at the word coffee, but not the *cough cough* almost thirty *cough* Lauren. This girl loves nothing more than to sit and chat over a cup (or ten) of joe.

Friends and coffee go hand in hand. Like bacon and eggs, music and dancing, or sunshine and a good book. Over the weekend, I had the amazing privilege of reconnecting with several friends. One of which had me over for, you guessed it, coffee (and the most delicious breakfast).

We had not seen each other in a long, long time. Too long. The funny thing about great friendships is that no matter the gap in time, conversations sounds the same, laughter always happens, and there is a general ease to the relationship. This was one of those cases. We sat on her sweet balcony and talked and laughed and talked and people watched and laughed. For hours.

When I left, I could not help but think about how amazing she is. Let me tell you, this woman is the definition of inspiring. She is hilarious. I mean really hilarious. It takes a skill to be that funny without being annoying (I tread on the annoyingly funny line like it’s my job… Seriously, ask Mike). She is a creative soul, an excellent writer, and has one of the cutest, most charming apartments I have laid eyes on.  She is so full of love for everyone and everything, especially for her adorable dog. She has a soul that gives her the power to be honest, and not many people carry that trait. Whether you like it or not, she will tell you what she thinks, and it is fabulous. I cherish her wisdom, and endless backbone. She takes on the world, and is not afraid to do it.

 

On top of having an inner beauty that is astounding. She is edgy, tattooed,  and has wild, beautiful hair with curls I can’t pay my hair to have. She is a stunning, natural beauty all around and what hit me the hardest is how long I had gone without making sure to see her. Not anymore. Nope. I missed those hilarious conversations more than I could ever put into words. I won’t let that gap in time happen again, not if I have a say in it.

Not to mention, she loves coffee just as much, if not more, than I do. It’s a match made in heaven.

I went on that day to reconnect with several old friends. It was a day of general nostalgia, and I could not have asked for a better trip home, or a better person to haul back into my life. For good.

Cheers to friendship, and copious amounts of coffee,

Lauren

The Next Five

Well it only took over a year, but I did it. I lost the next five pounds.

Let me be clear, I took some (a lot) of time off. From June of last year, to April of this year to be exact. So I gained back five of the first ten I lost (please see blog post titled “The First Ten”). Between summer beer-drinking, and winter fat-layering, I was not the most active girl. However, I can now say that I have not only lost that five that was gained, but also five more. I am thrilled.

Between the Fitbit, eating more consciously, and a little routine called “write for thirty minutes and run on the spot like a lunatic for fifteen”, I have been kicking my butt into shape. I even started, and am still working on an month-long abdominal challenge, I think I will have to repeat it next month before any results are shown. Although, if you poke your finger into my flesh, through the layer of remaining fat, you can feel the beginning outlines of stomach muscles. Maybe by next year I will have a six-pack… of beer to congratulate myself on a four-pack of abs.

The most important mantra I try and remember is that it doesn’t matter how many times you fail, as long as you keep trying. Truth.

I am trying my butt off. Literally, where did it go? I am trying every day to be a better person from my mind, to my body, and especially in my soul.

Mind.

Keeping it sharp by writing every single day, regardless of whether I enjoy the subject, doing word puzzles, and being my witty, adorable self. You know it's true. Becasue negative energy consumes positive body image, I remind myself daily that I am beautiful, and trust me, you are too.

Body.

Showing my body that she is an incredible, reliable, machine and deserves to be treated with the up-most respect. Occasionally I fail, and poison her a little with alcohol, and maybe some poutine. The important thing is that I try every day to show her how important she is to me by working harder the next day.

Soul.

Ah. My soul, she is full of laughter, kindness, creativity and love, but she also has hatred. It is a continuous struggle to let the hatred go, and give room for endless good things. Even today, I came across a Facebook post that I truthfully despised. It sparked a really good idea for a rant, but I stopped myself. I decided, that even though the message of the rant was good and important, it stemmed from a hateful place. So I axed that idea, and did my yoga. Here we are, child’s pose anyone?

My body is not the only part of me that requires conditioning, love, and attention. There is always room for improvement and the path to being the best form of yourself is a lifelong path.

Take care of your very own curious mind, hard-working body, and your delightful soul. This is what makes up you, and you are awesome. 

Until next time,

Lauren

Selfies

Yes, the queen of the selfie is brave enough to write about the controversial photos.

First of all, I love a good selfie. No, not duck face or funeral selfies. A good up close shot of anyone’s face is a beautiful photo to me.  Your face is your best tell all. It’s the feature that both shows and hides your feelings, as well as, reacts to your surroundings and shows others just how unique you really are. I believe every face is beautiful in every way, and I love to show mine. Don't even get me started on selfies that feature multiple faces, it is the best. Top that with a photobomb, and it is going on my fridge!

My Awesome Brother and I 

Secondly, aren’t faces the whole reason we all joined Facebook in the first place? Back when it was primarily a College/University social networking site and you had to be over 18 to sign up. The whole point of it is to connect with each other, to keep in touch with each other, and to share with each other. Last time I checked, everyone has a face. Now a days I see many more videos, website links, and memes than I see of anyone’s interesting, stunning face.

Lastly, what is with the hatred? Are you insecure of your own face? Do you hate that other people love themselves? Is it self-confidence you lack? I don’t get it, if you are a #selfiehater (Yes I hashtagged that, I am going to make it huge on The Twitter) what made you that way? Can’t we just all get along?

I am not a vain person, nor am I insecure. I love my body, I love my spirit, and I love my face. When I take a good photo of myself, I love to share it. Not for likes. Not for compliments. For me. Because I like it. I am pretty selfish when it comes to social media, and I share what I want, not what I think everyone else will like. I WILL post selfies. I WILL post fitness crap. I WILL post videos of cats failing to make their jump. Regardless of the lists people post about “The worst things to post on Facebook”. I really don’t care if you can’t stand it, because I am not you, I am me, and I freaking adore me.

My last piece of advice is that if you are a #selfiehater (yeah I did it again), or you hate anything that gets posted by me, or anyone else, then hide them. It’s simple, efficient, and you don’t even have to tell them.

Sometimes a good rant feels great. Now, bring on those gorgeous faces!

Until the next time I have something to say about… something,

Lauren

Mike and I