Last year presented some physical challenges that were, if not very painful, certainly a nuisance. In the summer, I took to running up the mountain in the mornings before work. At first, it felt amazing. After a while, I began to experience abnormal muscle pain in my hips, butt and upper legs – as well as a nerve pinching in my butt. I felt like an OLD LADY. And no offense to the old ladies out there, I am sure you are rocking your thing, but I’m 31 years old and NOT ready to feel physically limited!

In the fall, an ergotherapist unblocked my hips, which had been causing me to run with all of the elegance of an elephant – and I regained some motion I didn’t realize I had lost. She also determined I had weak core muscles which was causing a lot of trouble. So this year is the Year of the Core. I will become the Wonder Woman of the core muscles. Just joking. Sort of.

In 2012, I’ll become the master of my gluts. The ambassador of my abs. A leggy priestess of all that is fitness.

This is not about losing weight. It’s about building a strong body that will carry me through the years.

A bit of inspiration to help me along: I started a Pinterest board called Strength Inspiration.

What are your resolutions this year?

Photo via Pinterest, by Marc Thyssen

Mexico was our long-awaiting vacation. Barring the unfortunate experience we had with a rental car and the Mexican police (!), we had a super sweet vacation in Playa Del Carmen. We also made it out to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and to the island of Cozumel. Here are a few Instagram shots from the trip!

Road trip in the countryside:

A pit stop for some fresh coconut water:

Chichen Itza was fascinating.

A Tequila Sunrise and an afternoon snack:

Reina Roja (a cool bar with all of these cozy nooks and crannies to sit down and have a drink):

New Year’s Eve at Coco Bongo:

Dear readers,

To state the obvious, it hasn’t been a very prolific blogging year for me.  Working 50 to 60 hours a week all year wiped me out. After making time for exercise and bonding time with those I care about, I wasn’t left with much bandwidth for blog reading and writing. I basically fell off the grid. It turns out running your own business, while super rewarding, can leave you pretty time poor.

But I really miss blogging and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to come back to it. I was overwhelmed by the number of blogs I was trying to read, Twitter feeds I was trying to follow and email lists I had subscribed to, so I drastically pared those down. Now that I’ve cut down on the noise, maybe I’ll better be able to focus on my own content?  What are your own methods for keeping up a productive blog?

I’m a little rusty, I won’t lie. In fact I think this post is awkward. But I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a fantastic new year. Thanks for sticking around.

Photo: Rummey Bears

A couple of weeks ago, I flew out to Moncton, New Brunswick to see my best friends from high school. Despite the rain we had tons of fun, and it was amazing to see everyone together again (everyone except Melanie, who was stuck at home, pregnant with twins!).

I also attended an event at the furniture boutique Artemano on St-Laurent here in Montreal. This store was a nice discovery for me: lots of beautiful wood furniture, Indian influences, lots of pieces with rustic touches. One of their massive and irregular-shaped wood tables would make a lovely addition to any home.

Also, I managed to snap a few shots my friend’s baby boy and the family cats.  Because there’s always room for some cuteness.

What have you been up to lately?

As for me, it would take less time to say what I don’t do, I feel like I’m trying to do so many different things right now, and I’m trying to do them all well.  Besides running a small advertising and web agency, investing in private companies and running this blog, I’ve somehow got myself into organizing a conference-style event in the fall.  It’s funny to think how full my life has gotten – I definitely used to have more free time, but I’m really happy to be doing things I love.

We used to have an old tomcat named Valentine (my parents thought he was a she at first, hence the rather feminine name). We had him for the first 6 years of my life and I loved him dearly. I used to dress Valentine in my dolls’ dresses, which made him totally flip out. To his credit, he never once scratched me, just ran off for dear life…

Photo via: Girl in the Green Knee Highs

My life completely changed in the last six months. I run my own business – an advertising and web agency called Remarquable Communications – which is taking up a large part of my time. But a lovely time it is: it has been going really well. We have offices in the old port of Montreal, with gorgeous light and brick walls. And some adorable, talented employees. And actual, real live clients whom we are proud to work with. All this in about four months.

Aside from that, I’ve been spending some time with my father evaluating and investing in investment projects. Meeting tons of entrepreneurs and successful business people.

Aside from that, I’ve been spending my spare time reading voraciously, keeping up a regular gym routine and trying to keep some semblance of a social life.

All that to say that I’ve not really had time to blog, but I miss it so much. Hence, my attempt at returning!

I really like this photo of an in-progress canvas by artist Jérémie Martino. It really makes me feel like the world is a playground. That you really have the power to define what you want to do with your life and who you want to be. OK, maybe I’m reading a lot into a simple photo. But that’s how I feel about life these days. And it’s really a very cool feeling.