Things that inspire me to write #28: Bogs Boots

Welcome to Vancouver: as gray and rainy as a Twilight love scene for pretty much the entire winter. It’s almost enough to make me want to curl up in my bed and watch the entire selection of romantic comedies on Netflix—even the ones with dogs. Thankfully I got a pair of Bogs this Christmas. They […]

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Things that inspire me to write #29: The ‘Best Ofs’

The year in photos, the top 40 songs, the 100 most influential people…that’s right, the ‘BEST of’ season has officially arrived. With New Years Eve quickly approaching, every magazine, newspaper and website in the world suddenly appears to be focused on that one all important question: what the hell did we do with the last 365 […]

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Things that inspire me to write #30: Fifty Shades of Grey

No, I haven’t read it, but with 65 million copies sold by what started as a  self-published ebook, I don’t need to. So, thank you Fifty Shades of Grey, one of these days I’ll get around to seeing what all the excitement is over, but in the meantime, the fact that the excitement exists, and has taken […]

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Things that inspire me to write #31: Instagram

Because sometimes those 29 likes on that blackberry shot I took this morning (Willow filter) is just what I need to keep me plunking away on the keyboard. And yes, when it comes to warm fuzzies, I will take them where I get them. So thank you Instagram, you inspire me.

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Things that inspire me to write #32: Flow

Time passes by unnoticed. Noises, objects, even people fall away and nothing exists but the keyboard and the screen above it. A few years ago, back in that exceedingly luxurious period of my life when I had loads of free to myself,  not only did I read but also took extensive notes on Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s […]

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Things that inspire me to write #33: This Quote from Jane Buchanan

Where do your ideas come from? My mother-in-law asked me this question a few weeks ago, and I have been pondering over it ever since. Where do I get my ideas? Am I getting them from the right place? Should I be getting them from somewhere better? Ahhh! I’m doing this wrong!! Thankfully, this afternoon as […]

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Things that inspire me to write #34: The Polar Express

  It’s Christmas day, which at our house means time for the annual holiday movie-a-thon, which usually includes Scrooged, Elf, or any other show that includes a good dose of sarcasm. However, this year with three wee ones to entertain, we did something different and watched The Polar Express. And I think I actually enjoyed […]

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Things that inspire me to write #35: My Gramps

Tis the holiday season, a time all about being with family—in addition of course to the over eating and overspending parts. Not surprisingly, after spending the last couple of days with my partner’s grand folks, I found myself thinking about my own, long deceased ancestors. Particularly my grandfather, Philip Amsden. I didn’t know very well […]

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Things that inspire me to write #36: Santa Claus

His whole purpose in life is to make children all over the world happy. I don’t care if he was a product of a Coca Cola ad campaign, we are surrounded by some pretty messed narratives in this society (has anyone else watched Dexter lately?) Compared to all that, the character of Santa Claus, a […]

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Things that inspire me to write #37: Winter solstice

Winter solstice has passed which means over here in the northern hemisphere our days our getting longer, our nights shorter—and if you believe what a lot of new agers, particularly my father, are saying, a new phase of energy in the world is now beginning. I don’t normally listen to any kind of proclamation that […]

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