If Not Now, began on my lunch break when I was working from home on a wintery, snowy day in Calgary. The temperatures were around -20 degrees celsius, so taking our dog Hank on a walk around the block was not an option! Hibernation mode, ACTIVATED!

It was the first week of 2024, and I was reflecting on my mood over the last few weeks. I had spent my Christmas break a little down and out about what I was doing with my life. (Dramatic, much?) Although I had a great job at a big corporate company, I felt unmotivated and unfulfilled. I kept leaning on my husband to tell me what to do to make myself happy. Can you imagine? Relying on someone other than yourself to tell you what makes you happy? Good thing I married someone who is patient with me.

I had thought about starting a blog several times. Originally, it started when I moved to Canada. I would start a blog about moving to a new country! No. Didn’t spark my interest enough. Ok, I would start a blog about interior design! No. I’m not an interior designer and did I even know enough on the topic to have an opinion worth sharing? Not really. Years later, I reached out to one of my best friends to see if she would start a blog with me about all things beauty. I still believe this one has potential, but I also realized that I was wanting someone else to give me the confidence to do it. Again, I found myself relying on someone else to make me happy.

Fast forward to now, 2024. I googled “books to read if you feel stuck” and the first book listed was “The Power of Now.” The book is about getting out of your own way and understanding that you control the effect emotions play on you, not the other way around. Being present, living in the now, all can help you live a happier and more purposeful life.

From there, I googled how to start a website, and on that snowy, wintery day in Calgary, I began my very first blog.

What to expect…

I plan to share regular journal entries documenting my observations and learnings of things that interest or challenge me. When I look at what all I have learned and experienced over the last 15 years, like learning to ski, hiking a 14er, moving to a new city where I didn’t know a single person, running my first 5k, learning how to camp, moving to a new country, taking a leap of faith for love, changing my career path to gain an understanding of how to manage people, I am proud of my accomplishments so far, but I want to learn more.

Things I know that I want to explore and learn more about:

• Fitness - what should we all be doing to ensure our bodies are in peak physical health?

• Nutrition - how the foods we consume affect our bodies and brains

• Beauty - can we age gracefully without injectables, surgeries and millions of dollars?

• Food - different from nutrition, I love cooking. I love experimenting or finding new recipes to test. Using this platform I hope to share what I have tried andloved and provide any tips and tricks that I discover along the way.

Thanks for joining me and I hope that I can provide inspiration to you along the way!

Xo,

Leigh