Loulou's views

Day 7 of the 30 Days or Truth writing prompts asks us to write about someone who has made our life worth living for. This is probably the easiest prompt so far. And of course, pretty predictable, right? Without a doubt in my mind, The two people in my life who have changed it forever in the most positive, beautiful, wonderful and awe-inspiring way are my two children. My two baby boys have made me love with all my heart and soul, make me strive to be a better person, make me appreciate life and everything it has to offer, make me thankful, more loving, and more aware of the world around me. They teach me as much as I teach them, it seems. They constantly make me smile, and laugh. I cherish every second. Without a doubt in my mind, my children make my life worth living for.

I had plans to have a huge garage sale this summer so I could get rid of some of the clutter in our basement—baby books, clothes, and toys. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to have another baby, so I thought selling the things we no longer needed was a great idea. Other items, I had already donated to our children's hospital. I had organized everything into boxes and bags. I was about to pick a date for the garage sale when my sister called me to tell about an ad she saw online. "Loukia, this pregnant single lady is looking for gently used baby toys and books. Why don't you give her all your stuff?" she suggested to me. I thought that was a great idea. I emailed the mom-to-be, and we made arrangements to meet at the shopping centre near my house. I arrived with bags of goodies for her unborn child. After I gave her the baby gear, I got a little teary-eyed. I knew that her baby would enjoy the same books my boys enjoyed, I knew her baby would play with the same t...

What do you hope to never have to do? It's time for Day 6 of the 30 Days of Truth writing prompts. Day 6: Something you hope you never have to do. There are tons of things I hope to never have to do . Of course, having to say goodbye to my loved ones tops that list, and just the thought of anyone close to me passing away is a topic so scary I can't even talk about. I hope to never have to deal with the sadness that comes with death, even though I've dealt with it before. I know this is a part of life, but it's a part that I am most afraid of. I hope to never be in very uncomfortable situations. I never want to be in a plane crash. I never want to consider sushi a favourite food. I never want to play dodgeball again, and I never want to be on Jeopardy because I was once on the Greek version of that show, at my community centre, and OMG, did I ever SUCK. (My dad was all, "You'll do great!" My mom was all, "Loukia, you'll do HORRIBLE. How embarras...

I have been thinking long and hard about Day 5 of the 30 Days of Truth writing prompts. It's been the hardest one for me to write so far (wait—don't I say that every time?) which caused me some panic because if I don't know what I hope to do in my life, then clearly I'm lacking direction of some sort. ( Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 ) Day 5: Something you hope to do in your life. I know what some of the things I want to do in my life are. I consider these things pretty attainable and I know if I really wanted these things to happen, I could make them happen. All it takes is drive and perseverance. - Get a job in the media world again—in radio, print or television. - Publish a parenting book and a children's book and keep on writing. - Get enough stamps in my passport so I need extra pages—travel extensively. - Buy a house in Miami. Wake up to the sound and smell of the ocean. - See Formula 1 in Monaco. - Quit smoking for more than one year —become a true non-s...

Here in Canada, we are celebrating Thanksgiving this long weekend. In other words, we're all eating a LOT. Which is awesome because all this eating has made me really excited to go back the gym on Tuesday. And to kick carbs to the curb once again! What are you thankful for this year? I'm thankful for so many things but especially for my two little boys who make me smile and fill my heart with so much love every second of every day. I was interviewed on my friend Avitable's blog today too, about Thanksgiving, so come visit me over there! Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

Another day, another writing prompt - now that I've forgiven myself for something, it's time to forgive someone else for something they did to me. I thought rather than writing about something really serious, like forgiving the biggest bully ever in my middle school—for beating the crap out of me in grade 7 because I didn't run fast enough in relay during track and field—I'd talk about something else I'm going to forgive someone for. (And by the way, I ran FAST. She was just evil.) If you want to play along, you can find out more here: Day 1 ( Day 2 , Day 3 ) Day 4: Something you have to forgive someone for. Dear S, It's all your fault I had to get braces. I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was at your house, and I had brought over my entire Strawberry Shortcake collection. Strawberry Shortcake, Blueberry Muffin, Raspberry Tart, Orange Blossom and Lemon Meringue. You only had Strawberry Shortcake, but that's okay—I was going to let you play with ...

The 30 Days of Truth writing prompts have been great so far. Are you playing along? You totally should! Some great posts have been written here and here , too. Here is my Day 1 and Day 2 . Moving on... Day 3: Something you have to forgive yourself for. I am a pretty forgiving person. I forgive other people easily, especially if they apologize for something they've done to me, as long as they are sincere. I don't have the time or the energy to hold major grudges, and there are very few people... actually... there is no one I really hate. No one has crushed me that badly yet, and although I've had my heart broken before, it was nothing that I wasn't able to get over. As for myself, what can I forgive? I forgive myself for not being a perfect mom. Growing up, every single night, my family and I would sit around the dinner table, enjoying a home cooked meal. Dinner time was important, and we never missed an opportunity to sit together, eating the food my mother had cook...

When I saw the 30 Days of Truth writing prompts, I was excited to blog about them. It was surprisingly easy to write down the things I hated about myself for Day 1 . But thinking about the things that I love about myself? That was a little harder. Hmm. That's not right, is it? Anyway... Day 2: Something you love about yourself. I love my body. I have always been comfortable in my body. Even when I was pregnant. I've never been a size 2, and I've never had the desire to be a size 2. I know my body and that is simply not attainable for me. I have curves. I love food. And I'm happy. However, after having children, I hated my body. I wanted my pre-pregnancy body back so badly. It was quite depressing, those first few months after my son was born, to realize that wasn't going to happen for a long time. My favourite t-shirts from abercrombie and fitch didn't fit me anymore, my jeans were too tight, nothing looked right. 5 years and two children later, I love my ...