the chickies have landed!

by cynthia on January 21, 2012

I spent a *ahem* bit of time on Pinterest compiling images in honour of the Year of the Chickies. They are just so fluffy and peep-ily insistent, how could I resist?

Have you landed on your intention for the year? The clues are everywhere! One smartie that I know picked their intention from this list.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

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While my twinkle lights will stay up for another week or two, the holiday season is done and I hope that you had exactly the time that you wanted and needed. What I needed was to celebrate Grinchmas, and, boy: did it ever get me where I needed to be.

There was celebration, nourishment on many levels, and time spent enjoying simple pleasures and silence. I played and created playlists and learnt some great lessons.

My favourite lessons were about choice.

  • Choosing to co-operate and help instead of super(s)heroing.
  • Choosing to shelve the “shoulds” and focus on my wants.
  • Choosing to honour the years’ wild journey.
  • Choosing to be the best boss in the world. (I like that one a LOT.)

I hope that you enjoyed celebrating Grinchmas with me: thank you for coming along for the journey!

And to land so squarely on the topic of choice brings me right to this moment:

The beginning of 2012. The fresh page. The choosing of an intention for this year.

Have you chosen your intention, or word(s) for the year?

There are a lot of way to get there. Chris Guillebeau has a great practice. My  pal Laura McGrath has a great reflection/visioning offer that I got to play with and would definitely recommend. Or you could try out some mondo version of a Fireside Chat for yourself.

Last year, I declared it the Year of the Wild Things, and holy macaroni: did it ever turn out to be just that! Through reflection and visioning, this year has a decidedly different tempo. Officially I am decreeing it to be: The Year of the Chickies. 

Why? Because I can feel things that are ready to hatch. Little peeps keep me awake at night, longing to be heard. Things feel fluffy and wee, but plucky and insistent. And while chickies need loving tending, they have big personality.

Welcome Chickies!

I am curious: will you chose an intention for 2012?

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grinchmas day twelve: confession + the best boss in the world

January 2, 2012

My confession is that I am a nervous host. I love to participate and heck: I will even bring decorations, five types of cheese, and a killer bottle of wine. But my perfectionist gremlins stop me from opening up my own space: from putting myself out there and stepping up to the hostess plate. And [...]

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day eleven: rocking out the in-betweens

December 30, 2011

As a kid, the week between Christmas and January 1st was a bonus. Time to play, gorge on treats, be shuttled to one house or another, special nights out, fort building and generally driving the parents up a wall. As an adult, the in-between week feels different. Weird and itchy different. Like there’s something that [...]

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day ten: stress-tivus for the rest of us?

December 26, 2011

The holiday season is a busy one and it can feel like a blur of activity and preparation, especially if, like in my family, the holidays are about the feasting. There are a minimum of four family-related feasts in my world, which means a days of kitchen work, prepping and planning and generally cooking up [...]

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day nine: revelling in memories

December 24, 2011

My hilarious cousin dragged this picture from the archives and sent it over yesterday. What a gift! You see, for many years, the Gunsinger family Christmas Eve tradition was to have “Santa” (aka Nono, our grandfather) show up with “Suzie Snowflake” (played by yours truly) with much bell ringing, ho-ho-ho-ing and little prezzies for each [...]

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day eight: sneakin’ away to play with my friends

December 22, 2011

I am having a long, luxurious lunch with a new pal today and am leaving a drive-by Grinchmas gift for you. Marcel the Shell Part Deux. (Check out Part One if you haven’t already, it’s cute and poignant and makes you want to hug a shell.) P.S. Love, love, love why Marcel smiles all the [...]

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day seven: the playlist requirement

December 21, 2011

Last week, I woke one morning from a tumultuous slumber with the remnants of a yucky, small-feeling dream still fresh in my cobwebby brain. I turned to my musical muse Danette for help to groove it away. She recommended the perfect tune, via hoop goddess Allison Tarr. Thus, Katzenjammer’s “I Will Dance (As I Walk Away)” [...]

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day six: a true love story never ends

December 20, 2011

One of my most favourite things to do with a brand-new coaching client is actually one of their first assignments:  project themselves 10 years into the future and write the story of their life over the past 10 years. So many good things come out of that process, it leaves them (and me) all glow-y [...]

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day five: savouring simple pleasures

December 18, 2011

I have been under the weather for the past couple of days, staying at home and keeping my germies to myself. To my surprise, the Grinchmas celebrations have not ceased over this time, and I have channeled my version of Martha Stewart under house arrest. Celebrating Grinchmas over these days has been about noticing the pleasure [...]

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