The Shadow and the Shimmer

Holy hell, I'm exhausted. I'm tired and I want to be un-tired. What's caused me to feel this sleepy, frazzled and "overcooked" you ask? Too much vacation. Does that even make sense? Aren't vacations meant to be restful? Well, yes, they are. But this year's "vacation" was not spent lying on sandy beaches and playing Crazy 8's. This year's vacation was more like...family visitation. We had a week in Swizzy with my dad and stepmom, followed by a week in England with the entire English gang, and then came home to greet my Canadian mom and host her for two weeks. It's been lovely, it really has, but I'm goddamned tired now and am really looking forward to going back to regular, daily grind life. I just love my regular, non-over-the-top, boring-to-others' existence!!! I don't have FOMO, I don't feel like anything is missing. I don't care if my social life is now mostly centered around mommy tea dates an...

We live in a super fast-paced world. We are continuously exposed to a plethora of digitized information; be it on television, on the Internet, or on our smartphones. We are smack dab in the age of information and of disinformation. Our brains rarely get a pause to regroup and relax. On top of the near-constant "logged in" status, we, collectively as a society, glorify busyness. This turtle has his priorities in order! I don't think he's freaking out about making it to three different social events in the same night. He doesn't need a babysitter. He's heading home to chill out and watch Netflix with the littles. People are viewed as "achievers" and "responsible" when they juggle a full-time job, parenthood and social and leisurely activities. Not to mention those types who manage to do all of this while still dressing to the nines and looking polished and professional. While showing the world an image of cool, calm and coll...

Or more like, non-boozy. The truth is, I am ready to make a real, typed in ink commitment where alcohol is concerned. I am over it. I am giving it up completely. Not one drink "here and there", not a glass of wine to "unwind". Zero alcohol. My mission statement/explanation (not that I need an explanation, but I do have one and want to share it!) is the following: ALCOHOL HAS NEVER MADE ANYTHING BETTER FOR ME For me, guys. I know that plenty of you are super responsible drinkers that aren't prone to anxiety. Alcohol has never made anything better for me, and in fact, has made many things significantly worse. I really think getting pregnant with Theo was a major "slow down,Ariane!" sign from the Universe. I was drinking too much. Too often. Too alone. The spectrum of alcohol abuse and mis-use is vast. It can creep up quietly. I was drinking from the age of 14, so almost going on 20 years of quite regular drinking. A lot of the drinking was bingei...

I'm getting pretty good at these titles, aren't I? The truth is, this is a topic that has been resonating with me since I got pregnant, and even more so, after having my baby. Our culture seems to fixate on the negative aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and parenting, whilst undermining or completely ignoring the absolutely wonderful parts that come with bringing a child into the world. A good friend of mine is starting to really consider having a baby of her own, and we've discussed this at length. She is equally discouraged that the narrative surrounding what should be considered miraculous and amazing is littered with so much negativity. Why do we, collectively, focus so much on the hard stuff?! Why can't we lead by telling women the GOOD THINGS that come with becoming mothers for the first time, instead of terrorizing them with horror stories of the "worst case scenarios"? I'm not saying that it's always going to be a walk in the park. Preg...

That title is definitely going to suck you in, but the truth is, the birth of my first child, Theo, was smooth and uncomplicated. It wasn't a horrible, anxiety and fear-filled experience, as so many Western birth stories tend to be. My entire life, the birth stories I was subjected to made labour seem terrifying, painful and more or less unsurmountable. The fact that most women go into labour filled with fears and anxieties about their birthing experience does little to encourage a more holistic approach. All of this fearful chatter leads to an increase in unnecessarily medicated births, obstetric interference and longer recovery times for both the woman giving birth and her newborn child. Before I proceed, I would like to add a disclaimer that I am not a doctor or midwife. I have absolutely no professional training in the department of bearing children. My opinions on childbirth are the result of my own research, discussions with friends, family and other moms...

Holy heck, where has the time gone?! I have been so busy with my professional writing that I have neglected my blog, yet again. I need to get better at this. The truth is, as a writer, there are different personal side-effects to my writing, dependent on what I am working on. When I am writing for "work", I am more focused on producing quality pieces that will engage audiences, and make me money. It's a creative job, but it's still a job! The reality is that I want to make money. For myself, for my family and so that I can buy more books! When I am writing in my blog or journal, the results are non-monetary, but more rewarding on a soul level. Makes sense?! So, what I ultimately want to do is fuse the two. I'm finally in my groove, writing for two reputed websites and getting steady  income. I just want MORE. I want to write my book. I want to share with the world the things that go on in my head. My deep thoughts, my hilarious stories, my fears and insp...

Hallo! So, if you read my blog, or know me personally, you probably know that I have a history of being a pretty big boozer. I started drinking at the tender age of 13, and basically evolved into a binge drinker in a very short span of time. I spent about 17 years drinking regularly-albeit, some years were less boozy that others- but you get the point. Not only did I drink a lot, I thought about drinking a lot. I still think about drinking a lot. I don't think about it in an "oh my God I need a drink" kind of way. I think about it in an "oh my God, was this the reason for 99% of my problems my entire teenage and adult life?? Can I, maybe, like, not do it anymore and save myself a lot of hassle??" The truth is, in a nutshell, yes. Yes, booze was the problem. Drinking was my escape from the most minute problem, to the biggest. Booze allowed me to escape, pretend, sugarcoat, deny and generally just fog up my reality. If I didn't like a certain feeling or...