Ready for kids AND a pet?

For me, a pet came well before kids, but I know for many families, kids are the impetus for getting a pet. I'm glad that our fur baby Bingley had us to himself for a few years before kids arrived on the scene (and ruined everything I'm sure, in his mind!). But I'm also glad our kids are used to being around a dog, and learn the importance of respecting and caring for another living being. I explore the topic of pet ownership and kids for Today's Parent.

Throwing an Architectural Curveball

Photo by Gary Campbell

Recently I went and checked out a cool house in the community of Wildwood in Calgary. The ultra-friendly owner, John, and helpful architect, Stephen, took me for a tour of this funky curved-wall home. John was chatty, which I love because it helps me get the low-down on why he and his wife opted for curved walls. It was one of those homes that had definite "ooh" factor, yet was still totally lived-in. Check out my story in The Globe and Mail.

A Poverty-Free Alberta

Many factors influence our health, but our wealth (or lack thereof) acts as one of the biggest social determinants of health. Think how money affects your health choices--access to healthcare services, participation in recreation and wellness activities to get/stay fit, food insecurity and quality of food, even things like being able to treat ourselves for mental wellness or taking time off to enjoy your friends and family or leisure activities. For Apple magazine's summer issue, I chatted with some prominent Albertans to get their takes on what a poverty-free Alberta could look like.

Gold Rush!!

Photo by Colin Way/Swerve

Every summer, no, more like every season, my hubby discovers a new "hobby." I use quotations because his "hobbies" are never leisurely like hobbies should be. Instead, they are all-consuming and often leave me speechless and fearful for all that they entail.

His most recent exploit is none other than gold panning. Yes, that's right, folks, I said gold panning. No need to check your calendars, it is 2015. And yet, he has embarked on this old-timey pursuit with as much ferocity as all his others.

Since he's so far only found a microscopic flake here and there, I realized that I had better sell a story as that will likely be the only money we ever see out of this venture! Ha!

Have a read of it in Swerve magazine.

New real estate player means new writing gig

An old buddy of mine recently started working for a new luxury real estate brokerage in town, Engel and Volkers. At the same time, I was looking for real estate story ideas for a potential new writing gig. And so, my first piece for The Globe and Mail was born today. Wrote a piece for the new Calgary Real Estate section about why E&V would launch in the midst of an economic slump. Seems the timing is working out well for them branding-wise. Worked out for me writing-wise. Isn't it nice when things all work out?

Nanotech gets a boost at Queen's U

What seems like a million years ago, you know, back when people just started to post editorial content online ONLY, I helped launch a website with the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. It was a cool experience, figuring out the differences between online and print editorial, and showcasing some of the finest research taking place in Canada.

Several incarnations later, innovation.ca continues to provide great online editorial showcasing research in Canada. I've just recently contributed a piece about a new nanotech lab that opened at Queen's University, which will help researchers take their experiments into the real world. Amazing stuff--that nanotechnology!

College Towns, Not Too Cool For School

Photo courtesy of University of Lethbridge

My younger cousin is looking at doing a post-secondary certificate, and it reminded me of this package I contributed to last summer for enRoute magazine about cool college towns. I didn't go away to attend uni, but part of me always wishes that I did. I think it can really play a formative role in "growing up" and becoming an adult. But I guess I turned out okay despite missing out on that experience.

Homes of the West

Photo by Don Molyneaux

I'm just working on another Homes of the West feature for Canadian Cowboy Country magazine, and thought I'd link to the photo galleries of past features. It's a cool bit in CCC mag where we feature a home in the mag that in some way represents a Home of the West. It doesn't have to be western themed or inhabited by cowboys, though they can be, but the defining factor is that the homeowners consider their home a Home of the West whether the connection is through history, decor, location, or lifestyle. The current issue features the home of equine artist Kim Penner while a past story featured the abode of my lovely neighbours and friends Jen and Tom Gordon.

If you have a Home of the West or know of one, drop me a line! I'd love to hear about it and perhaps feature it in the magazine.

Back to Work or More Accurately: Back to Paid Work

Baby Boy is coming up on a year so I find myself making the transition back to paid work. Sure I freelanced a bit here and there, especially since there was no EI for this self-imposed maternity leave, but now I'm going to to attempt to return to some steady work to line the pocketbook and regrow my brain.

Not surprisingly, parenting has been top of mind, and so, I hope to write some parenting pieces in the near future. In the meantime, here are a couple of pieces I did for Today's Parent magazine. One is about colic (thank goodness we didn't have to deal with that!) and the other outlines an interesting study that showed ethnicity may play a role in birth weight.