I think we should face-plant more.
Dogs and snow.
They get right down into it, making it their absolute favourite thing. Having fun with it.
Letting go...not even conscious they're surrendering. Non-stop face-plants in the snow.
Just having fun ya know?
Imagine getting snow in our jackets while IN the snow!?
that's just crazy...insane! Almost like getting sand in your toes at the beach.....uh....
Rock it. It's there.
Put your snowsuit of LIFE on and face-plant! Dress for the occasion, BE right in it...and enjoy!
White POW of face-planting extravaganza ...if you let out the little party in you, perhaps the kid that was five OR the Wallie (that might be in everyone) ...you may be surprised.

Thanks Conners for a fun (wet and snow-filled) extravaganza yesterday!
love xo
jodi renée

PS. Tara can kick anyone's ass into FIT -- check out her link here (and she's an awesome RMT!)

Labels: family, Kitchener, life, lifestyle, winter

The city of Charleston honestly took me by surprise. It has EVERYTHING! From the gorgeous, expansive beaches, to an uber charming downtown ...
Cobblestone streets with architecture that was mind blowing; ornate in details, massive columns and elaborate balconies.
I'll have to make my way back...a weekend wasn't enough to take in all the beauty and history this American jewel has to offer.
...really it's the amazing people and food that make the city......y'all are unbelievably friendly!
(and I thought we OWNED 'friendly' Canada) ...not even close.
xo
jodi renée

Labels: beaches, Charleston, history, landscapes, South Carolina, travel

Strange how at home I feel...in the sky.
Maybe instead of fighting "Gypsy" I need to give her a big fat hug. The kind of hug you get when you someone you haven't seen in a really long time...and by hug osmosis you're almost giving each other pieces of you. Weaving love through embrace.
Cuz I know this girl. Gypsy.
And I run...I fight her. At times almost loathe her. Representing flighty, airy, non-committal, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants...unpredictable. Gypsy.
And yet, how could I not LOVE her. She takes me places, pushes me. Meeting the most incredible people and seeing so much of the world.

We try so hard to be 'this' or that...to give the illusion that everything is 'perfect'...when in fact. We are perfect. With all of our fu$k-ups and complications, our misguided direction...making a mess out of life, out of love. We run from the only thing that truly matters, hiding from the double sided coin that is ALL OF US. It's okay to be everything. It makes you, YOU.
In fact...all of that messiness, leads to clarity. Even tragedy has a path...
While it may be difficult to SEE, holding onto love, and purpose will guide you. And you don't have to hold your head up, maybe just hold your heart up. Have trust. And FAITH.
The things that knock you down happen FOR YOU...not TO YOU.
The difference separates those that lead a FULL life from those that merely ride as passengers.

The past five days have been some of the most UNFORGETTABLE in my life.
I have seen fierce strength from so many women in the past few months...
The kind that knocks most down sending them into a time-warp of despair, and devastation. With a RIGHT to not get back up.
Heartache and pure tragedy.
It's a choice.
You get to to choose...
LIFE
And only you decide
And one is so much easier than the other.
Co-pilot in the flight of their life is not an option for women with a PURPOSE.
Defeat and circumstance. No way.

I am inspired by the woman who show ALL of themselves to the world with NO apologies for anything. Why would you want to TRY and be something when you already are...everything?
Even when life knocks them down they bare NO apology for 'who they are and what they feel'...
Because it's real.
It's life.
And it's beautiful.
What if the so-called 'worst' parts of you are actually the best? What if the person you run from actually has much to offer?

Pilot of your own flight will take you anywhere you want to go. No matter what happens along the way...you've always got control. It's just a choice.
YOU are all that you need to fly...to soar.
Give up any ideas about who you are or aren't and just LOVE what IS...ALL of you.
That's all you need.

It's going to be one hell of a ride and the best adventures usually are...aren't they...

with love from the sky xo
jodi renée

Labels: gypsy, inspiration, life, travel

The places I end up...
That I'm not even aware ...there was a path. That would lead me...somewhere.
And the beauty of opening yourself up to just going with the flow? Life wants to take you for a ride and it's usually more thrilling than the one you dreamed for yourself.
South Carolina. Not on my 'to-go' list...
Charleston? where?
And an opportunity presented itself on my birthday weekend that just 'worked'...
Sooooo WHY when things 'work' do I often just stand. Like a bull.
With no matador.
NO hot, tight-panted Spanish matador waving a red flag.
Well maybe there is a flag, I'm just not moving. Ok and the flag can't just hover so whoo! Matador!
So I really am a 'bull'...head. The flag is supposed to get you to move! GO! ...and I stand there. Seriously. More like a strolling bull towards the flag. And that's a great pace...
Just not an event that most would pay tickets for.

And it's not the 'event' per say. It's not about getting THERE. It's about GETTING there...
The ride. The rip roar, by the seat of your pants, totally surrender to the journey.
Matador in the drivers seat for the best road trip. Shrimp the size of your head.
I'm sorry America but y'all are really gluttonous! I battled the bulge the day before my birthday trying to get out of Cypress. Bursting, on courses and courses of the most delicious food ever (thank god for the waistline-less dress...aka poncho. Like an elegant poncho. Did I even just say that? ....poncho and elegant are not even allowed on the same page let alone in the same paragraph)
Rewind...
I had a really nice black dress on...soooo not a poncho.
Erase the poncho visual.

Moving forward...
A week-end full of amazing people, amazing food. Lots of food. Copious amounts of food. My god the serving sizes (insert 50 lunges and 200 ab crunches here).

Sometimes fear is a great thing.
And often times fear is just you....standing in the way of...well...you.
It's crazy how we come into this world of unlimited possibilities. Just the creation of US that we're here and surrounded by SO much - unbelievably amazing. Our hearts beat, we're sheltered, have jobs (even ones that we loath still pay the bills!) rooftops, tabletops...fresh air and food. Extra large jumbo shrimp battered in coconut at the marina grill in South Carolina on your birthday.
Thankful.
33 candles in a chocolate cake and a belief that says I can't tell you what I wish for however I create my own rules and mine says..."tell the world what you wished for and it'll come true"
MORE LOVE.
this was my birthday wish...
for me, the people around me...friends, families...strangers...
The world.
More love for who you are and what you have. More love for the miracles that happen EVERY DAY...that go unnoticed.

I still have more photos to post however I kept gravitating to the one I posted above.
The beach and water for me represent ...everything. Possibility. Freedom. Beauty.
Truth.
Nature doesn't lie. Perhaps why we all feel connected near the water, in the mountains...
It does what it does...without force. Without standing in its way. It goes with the flow. Clearing your mind of...EVERYTHING.
If we could only surrender to life the way we surrender at the ocean...
Waves and tide, in and out. Like the breath.
Natural. So easy. Effortless.
Sometimes leaving a wake of shells...or a crazy, beautiful corrugated pattern of...beauty.
And always leaving something.
Experience, a journey...
...maybe just jumbo shrimp tails.

xo
jodi renée

Labels: beach, inspiration, landscapes, my birthday wish, personal, south caroline

...so much to say
Sweet South Carolina you took my breath away...
more to come...xo
jodi renée

Labels: blackberry, inspiration, isle of palms, landscapes, south caroline, sunrise

...I don't care for your bitterness (and my cracking, dry 80 year old hands that no moisturizer can seem to replenish!)
But you certainly take my breath away...

Off to somewhere warmer for a birthday 'break'...and a LOT of inspiration...
xo
jodi renée

Labels: blackberry, inspiration, Kitchener, landscapes, winter

...I feel down
and blessed.
That at my disposal I can create a smile where there was none.
Going through the archives of photos that I've not posted (which is A LOT! eek!) ...I was in search of something that would lift my spirits...
And found these :)
xo
jodi renée

Labels: Calgary, family, life, lifestyle, love