This time last year I made a list of things I wanted to achieve in 2017. I wrote down health and fitness goals, I wrote down education goals and I wrote down career goals.
I am so proud to look back and see the entire list has been crossed off and much more has been accomplished!
Nearly 3 years ago I packed up my life in New Brunswick. With my little truck and my trusty kitty cat companions once again we made the move to the land of oil and money. The thing I wasn’t expecting was a full-blown recession to welcome me back. My last experience with Alberta was in my early 20’s when I moved here to cash in on the economic boom that had many Easterners packing up their lives on the wave crashed coast for the fortune and opportunity of the Mountains and Plains of the West.
I was waitressing in Calgary back then and raking in the cash that flowed like it was nothing to students, business men and service industry alike! I rarely had a shift where I went home with less than $250 cash in my pocket and often found paychecks in the bottom of my purse months later I really had forgotten about… Imagine that?! Well, this time around it has been the complete opposite experience.
My first year back in Calgary was hard, I had a roommate for the first time in many years, I was single and I was BROKE. Now into my 30’s, I couldn’t nor did I want to do the late night shifts of the waitressing life. I found a few day time waitressing gigs but as the economy continued to suffer so did I. Lunch tips had a cap now on business accounts and they were not very generous. Spending accounts were being cut in half and business lunches were becoming fewer and fewer, meaning scheduled shifts for me were also being cancelled on a daily basis. The trickle effect of this recession was real. I looked for other jobs, I advertised my photography, and I sold everything that was worth anything to keep myself a float.
Something had to change. But what?
September 2016, now a year after my move, my roommate decided she was going to move to Toronto to pursue her Clothing Line she was designing. This was good timing for me as my new boyfriend was also planning to move to Calgary from Saint John so I had a quick transition to living with him. Also, somehow my roommate convinced me to take over her job she had just begun, as a NANNY. I never in my life would think that would be something I would ever consider, but with the economy in a downward spiral and me HATING waitressing as well as it being so unstable… why not?
Fast forward to January 2018. I am well into my second year with the nanny job and have truly been welcomed into a family that I may have never known had it not been for the leap in faith of a 20-year-old ditching me to chase her dreams in Toronto! I love the girls I nanny like they are my own, in fact people get very confused when I talk about them, “you have kids?“ they often ask puzzled, as I refer to the girls as my oldest and youngest in conversation. Funny how it all came together so perfectly for this time in my life. Not yet in the position for kids of my own but still filling that void for the time being.
Another big part of 2017 was my education.
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, fitness is a HUGE part of my life. So, I took it to the next level. I sought out a Personal Training program that spoke to me on a larger scale than the typical CanFit certification. I discovered this small (but growing) business called Fit Chicks out of Ontario. I talked with them on the phone one night and I was convinced enough that the next day I went to the bank and asked for an extension on my already overdrawn AMEX. The bank saw my passion and allowed for it so I could pay for the course that day. Fast forward 6 months, a ton of work and frustration and there I was a certified Personal Trainer! The course also labels you as a nutrition specialist, but I don’t personally feel I gained enough knowledge from this course to advertise that. Yet.
So as that course completed and my certification was in the mail I started college, yup college. Again, with lots of research I decided on jumping face first into the world of Holistic Nutrition. I thought I knew a lot already, but man oh man was I wrong. I was prepared to work, to study and to even give up gym time. However, can we ever truly prepare ourselves for going into the unknown? I would say not, but I can honestly say I have put every ounce of my strength and energy and brain power into this course. I want to succeed so badly, mediocre isn’t even an option. Who would want to hire a mediocre Nutritionist anyway? I want to be so proud of my CHN title that I slap it on EVERYTHING! Tattoo anyone?? Kidding 😉
I am now nearly half way through this new nutritional journey, which has unexpectedly taught me a ton about myself and has me slowly converting over to a holistic lifestyle. I am sure I am also driving my boyfriend, family and friend’s crazy with my new knowledge. Please tell me you aren’t going to eat THAT?! Is that a natural product? You are going to breast feed, right?……
Sorry, not sorry.
Another interesting part of 2017 was the launch of my new brand, co-founded by my boyfriend Matthew Hellingwerf.
East West.
For those in between.

This was an idea I came up with when I first move to Calgary, still single and trying to find my place. I was home sick, but I was also happy to be back in the city. This made me realize there are probably a ton of people just like me that are “home away from home”. So, came the idea, a brand to represent all of those people who are somewhere in between, not quite home but home for now. I wanted to represent them, us, me.
I let the idea sit in my head for nearly a year, then as I kidnapped Matt from the East Coast and drove across Canada to bring him to his new home on the West I told him about it. He loved it, and I have to give him credit for making the idea a reality. So here it is, East West. The brand for the nomads and all those in between. For those who miss their homes but need to be somewhere else for the moment. We get you.
Check the link for shopping, like us on Instagram @eastwest2017 and Facebook http://m.facebook.com/eastwestapparel.ca/ too 😉 Share the love!

I also mentioned my health and fitness goals. Yes, this year has been ground breaking in those. The biggest part was realizing that I was doing more harm than good. I was over training, and under knowledgeable on my nutritional needs. Therefor sabotaging myself and any progression I should have been making. The funny thing is, I figured this all out by accident.
Like I mentioned earlier, school has taken over my life which has led to WAY less gym. You would think that would result in weight gain and laziness, however it changed everything. My body is having more time to heal and look after itself. I am feeding it well (minus Christmas, let’s just pretend that didn’t happen, whoops) and I am exercising when I have the time, being sure to break a good sweat at least 3 times a week. A big change from my “rest is for the weak days” hey?
I have learnt to listen to my body, and connect it to my mind. I need to do well in school, I need to stay healthy, and I need to be happy.
I am not happy when I am running around like a mad woman. Ok, I actually I thrive in chaos, BUT when it gets to a point that I am DEPRESSED because I can’t do it all… that’s a problem. I actually see it as an illness. My mental health was fading because I was trying to be and do too much! So, I slowed down. I prioritized school, and focused on eating well, drinking lots of H2O and making sure my supplements were ones that would help support my mental being and energy. Guess what happened, I lost nearly 20 lbs. Yes, a few pounds were probably muscle however my clothes from 3 years ago fit again. That was huge, let me explain why. Matt has tried to get me to empty my closet many times since living together as he had never actually seen me wear 3/4 of the clothes I had hanging, collecting dust (besides in photos I plastered all over my feeds in those days…#sjsmosteligible ring a bell?…oh boy lol). I don’t expect a guy to understand my reasons for holding onto them, but I explained anyway. Those clothes represented a good time in my life, I time when I was at my fitness peak, my independent high, and the happiest I had ever been. Those clothes made me want to work hard for that happiness again, and I knew with that happiness would come fitness which means voila! THEY FIT!
**Insert happy jumping on the bed dance, wearing a leather skirt I couldn’t get over my thighs a few months ago paired with a bikini top, HERE 😉 **
So that being said with this new freedom and the knowledge I am gaining through my educational pursuits and the ever-growing new circles of like-minded, driven and positive friends, happiness is coming back. It’s not quite at its peak, but it will be… soon.
So, 2018 is the year of happiness.
The year of nurturing positive relationships and sorting through the toxic people, things and even places in my life.
And so, 2018…. BRING IT ON.
Oh, another little accomplishment for 2017 to pat myself on the back… I ran my first Half Marathon! Beating my goal time but 15 minutes! Whoop! Never mind I couldn’t walk for a week afterwards, ugh. Runner problems…
Thanks for taking the time to look back on my 2017 with me.
I hope you also set goals, checked things off, and grew.
Happy New Year to You!
xoxo
B



