Inspiration

Apparently this is what I inspired in Mike Cane on Lord Likely’s inaugural #thrustthursday:

Lovely!  Just lovely!  Not exactly the lustful thoughts that this gal was going for.

Eat Your Vegetables

Teddy – if you won’t take my advice on eating your vegetables, I thought this might help:

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

Griswold Family Vacations with Teddy

Teddy

Teddy

Meet Teddy – one of my grandest friends in the world!  He’s the most lovable, huggable Canadian Toon Town bear that there ever was.  He and his cat, Beams, are two of Fuzzywiggle Furrypants and my best friends.  Fuzzy’s and I generally make a point of stopping in for a Toon Town visit once or twice a year.

Teddy and I at Fox & Hounds

Teddy and I at Fox & Hounds

So how did I meet Teddy?  In the most glamorous of fashions, of course.  Hobnobbing at the Banff Television Festival.  Guessing most of you are picturing us dressed up all fancy at some well to do function (I’m calling it a ‘function’ as thats more hoity toity than a ‘party’) in the Rockies – you know, him in a top hat and tails with an eye monocle, of course, and me looking like I just walked off a runway in Paris.  The reality?  I think it included (although I must note here that it is a little fuzzy – altitude you know) late night, drunken revelry at the St James Gate with my favourite Canadian film folk, the Saskatchewan boys (and girl).

At any rate, somehow dear Teddy won his way into my heart despite frequent ploys to get me in my swimsuit and lounging  in the hot springs (my downfall in this was the words ‘hot springs’ – clearly another weakness of mine along with Teddy’s hugs).  And so the downwards spiral begins with regular Toon Town visits and adventures with Teddy that can only be described as our very own Griswold Family Vacations.

A few highlights from the latest Griswold Family Vacation:

  • Teddy announcing to me that, “It’s a good thing were not a couple, as our sex life would suck.”

I would like to note here to all future suitors:  This is not because I suck in bed (or in Teddy’s defense that he sucks in bed).  We’ve never really taken our relationship into the bedroom (we’ll thats a lie cause we have – okay, now I sound like a tramp. To clarify here:  our relationship has gone into the bedroom, but fully clothed – okay I was wearing the towel the one time – wow this sounds bad to my virtue.  OK heres how it is, our relationship has gone into the bedroom in a bath towel, but in the most platonic of fashions – we were doing a photo shoot – and NO not those kind of photos, I’m not that girl. IE TEDDDY AND I HAVE NEVER HAD SEX).  So to make a long story short, we don’t know how each other is in bed.  Teddy just has a habit of being sick whenever I visit and I always seem to have my period when I visit.

Bath Towel Photo Shoot

Bath Towel Photo Shoot

Darn good thing the two of us weren’t looking for a little ‘rendezvous’.  The sounds of children screaming might have broken the mood.

A Room with a View

A Room with a View

  • Teddy loosing all hearing to a head cold and shouting everywhere we went.

My favourite was his conversation with his Mom into his cell phone at the top of his lungs in public about diarrhea.  It was a very proud moment for me to be on his arm.

Friday Night at the Doctors

Friday Night at the Doctor's

  • Teddy telling his dear Mom that he was thinking of moving in with me in Van City.

No wonder she thinks were dating. TEDDY!!!!!

  • Teddy’s response to the suggestion that a personal coach might help him follow a healthier lifestyle, “Oh I’ll see a personal coach if she’s hot and cute.  Better yet, you could be my personal coach.”  Once again, he did this in front of his 78 year old mother!!!

Teddy – take note, a proper personal coach needs to be accredited. Me giving you advice whilst wearing a skimpy towel generally isn’t as effective.  Please see my conversation with @cognoscento Try Jennifer Priest.  She’s hot, cute and a professional.

  • The incorrigible Teddy at his Mom’s and my discussion on how he needed to eat healthier and get more exercise, “Bed wrestling is a good full body workout and not at all stressful on the joints.”

Honestly!!!!  And he told me that I’d have to be the one to break it to his parents that we aren’t dating!  I wonder where they ever got that idea!?!

Love you Teddy! (and you too Beams)

Emme xoxo

Nothing to Hide

Something I don’t really think I’ve mentioned before is that I’ve grown up with depression.  Not personally – aside from at times of morning, job loss or break ups – but in my family.  My Mom and my sister, Bella, have struggled with depression (thanks to anorexic youths) most of life’s. As a result, I feel rather strongly about the topic.

Photo by Sarah Azavezza

Photo by Sarah Azavezza

Depression is a very normal thing.  It is not something to hide or be embarrassed about – whether with yourself or in your family.  In fact to overcome depression and better understand it, it is so important to talk about it.  It is not all in your head and is not part of your imagination.  It is a very real condition that all of us struggle with to one degree or another at some point in our life’s.  It is for this reason that I am so pleased and proud of my friends Raul Pacheco and Isabella Mori for organizing the first ever Mental Health Camp.

What? A conference about the intersection of social media and mental health.

When? 9 am – 6 pm  Saturday April 25, 2009

Where? Workspace:  #400 – 21 Water Street in Gastown, Vancouver

Who? Anyone who suffers from depression or has a family member or close friend who suffers from depression.

A couple of things I have learned from living with depression my whole life and with the odd bout with it myself:

  • Get Regular Exercise
  • Eat Well & Healthily
  • Get Fresh Air & Sunshine
  • Take a Break & Get Out
  • Talk About It
  • Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help
Photo by Lola May

Photo by Lola May

I had a scary little bout of depression a few years back that terrified me, because I knew what was wrong, but I didn’t know how to escape from it.  Finally my Dad said to me, “I think your depressed”, at which point I burst into tears and said I was.  He saved me that day as it didn’t take him long to find the source of the problem – I hadn’t taken a proper day off in over two months.

Recently, even though I haven’t had any depression, I have been getting a little extra help.  I’ve been seeing personal coach, Jennifer Priest.  This is the first time I’ve ever seen or talked to a professional and I wish I’d done it years ago.  I’m loving it!  She encourages me to speak and work through my thoughts aloud and be more introspective. I feel more relaxed, happier and focussed.  We talk about everything from work to relationships to living with depression.

My one piece of advice, if you have depression in your life, don’t sweep it under the rug, talk about it.

Thanks Raul, Isabella and Jennifer for starting the conversation!

The Emergence of a Butterfly!

I love stories like this!

Proves, yet again, that we all have a bit of a sexy beast inside us just waiting to be released.