Things that inspire me to write #46: Martha Stewart’s incarceration

December 14, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

Metal bars, concrete floor, those super unflattering orange uniforms. If I ever found myself in prison I’m pretty sure I would spend the whole time wallowing in self pity. Martha Stewart, on the other hand, was probably carving bars of soap into matching sofa sets. Though many people predicted her media empire would be over […]

Things that inspire me to write #59: Cindy Crawford

November 30, 2012.Reading time 2 minutes.

Yes, I will admit it: I used stare at Cindy Crawford’s sand caked bottom regularly–of course, all in the name of getting fit. At fourteen, and pursuing my own modeling career, I was an avid disciple of her Shape Your Body workout. Cindy had thighs, and muscles, and faint but real abdominal muscles. While I took that all that for granted back […]

Things that inspire me to write #60: this leaf

November 29, 2012.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I have just arrived at my sister’s house this fine November morning–which is no small feat. From my Vancouver apartment, the drive to her suburban house is almost an hour, and today included several freeway exits, non-stop pelting rain, and a whole lot of fat and gusty wind. And through it all, this little guy […]

Things that inspire me to write #61: Julia Cameron

November 28, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

I was hit with a quick but potent round of the stomach yesterday and for once, found myself completely unwilling and uninterested in sitting down at the computer. However, in those precious moments between Dora the Explorer episodes when I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself, I did get to thinking about writing and pain and […]

Things that inspire me to write #62: Kate Jacobs

November 26, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

A constant grey fog hanging overhead, large wooden deer and moose statues on almost every corner, and not a single green emblazoned grande cup in sight. If you ever have been to the Canadian town of Hope, you will know that is a small and sleepy little town—in every sense. In other words, the […]

Things that inspire me to write #63: This cake

November 25, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

When I was ten my mom made me a quilt with my name in the centre and words like ‘creative’ , ‘funny’ and ‘clever’ sewn around it in pink and yellow satin. I thought it was pretty embersassing at the time, hiding it under my bed whenever I had friends over, however years later I […]

Things that inspire me to write #64: Christianne’s Lyceum of Literature and Art

November 24, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

It started with a short story and a night of open mic. Pretty soon I was coming to writing workshops, volunteering with kids’ zine-making groups and even worked as a program assistant at one point, helping to build floating poetry lanterns and then heading down to the ocean to set them free. Being involved, just […]

Things that inspire me to write #67: Sans Soucie Clothing

November 21, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

Rich, bright colors, organic lines and textiles which are amazingly soft and rugged at the same time. Looking through my closet this morning in preparing for my big night out at a silent fundraiser auction for Christianne’s lyceum of literature and art, I stumbled upon one of my favorite shirts–a black and maroon nylon top […]

Things that inspire me to write #68: My son

November 20, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

A trip to the recycling bin is no longer a trip to the recycling bin, but an epic quest with Spiderman and Iceman to locate Dora’s lost macaroni. An orange is not an orange, but a dinosaur egg / woodpecker egg. And of course, bed time stories are always up for revision–why shouldn’t the three […]

Things that inspire me to write #69: Amanda Todd

November 19, 2012.Reading time less than 1 minute.

It takes a lot of courage to admit there is something wrong—even more to share that pain with others. Amanda did. Faced with increasing cyber assaults, insults and bullying Amanda Todd created a video about her experience which garnered over 20 million hits and has since spurred an entire movement raising awareness about teen […]