the thirties grind

I’m retiring!!!

Okay…not really.

Things are changing around here.  My husband is buying a business, which will be keeping him quite busy (basically he will be working around the clock for the coming months).  We have always had a deal that one of us would be around for our kids.  Our eldest is in school full time and my little guy has one more year at home.  With me working full-time, I knew it would not be possible for us be around as much as we would like…something would have to give.

So my husband and I had a very difficult conversation.

What you should know about me is that I am not a risk taker.  I like to have things planned out and don’t like surprises.  For me, taking a leap – even with a parachute – can be super stressful.  Where my husband always sees opportunity and possibility, I see what can go wrong.  The idea of completely leaving my secure job was scary…but, as it turned out, I didn’t have to. Read more…

The REAL Real Housewives of Vancouver: Tiffany Gordon Wilson

Tiffany sells beautiful children’s books and gifts from Barefoot Books from home and via a travelling bookstore (http://mybarefootlife.com). She will be doing school book fairs, community events, fundraisers and more with her barefoot books.  She will also be blogging on her soon-to-be launched site http://sojustimagine.com, and last but not least will welcome her second baby into the world in the next few weeks!

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Is there a double standard for women in power?

I recently was at a meeting of all women professionals, when something happened that has not sat right with me since.

The meeting was being led by a very powerful executive and her (male) assistant sat in on the session.  He was there, I imagine, to stay on top of her messages and keep a watch of the time.  When the meeting got close to its end, the assistant walked over to his boss and quietly reminded her of the time.  To this she responded with (in a loud voice , waiving him away) something like:

Who are you?  There are no MEN allowed in here – be gone with you! Read more…

The REAL Real Housewives of Vancouver: Bruna Myers

Bruna Myers was one of VancouverMom.ca’s Top 30 Bloggers from 2012.  She is a First Grade teacher and a mom to three beautiful girls, Teen B, Little B and Little .  She’s been married for 8 years to her best friend J.

Bruna has been teaching for 14 years at the primary level and can’t imagine doing any else. She loves kids (her own and other people’s) and learns so much from them every day. When not teaching, Bruna is also the CEO of the blog Bees with Honey and has been writing for it since October of 2010. Bruna also enjoys reading, spending time in the outdoors, shopping, nurturing her addiction of social media, taking photographs of her girls, tackling one-day projects and spending time with family. On Bees with Honey, Bruna shares her crazy journey through life. She writes about what inspires her, makes her happy or sad and what new things she’s up to or into as a teacher and mother of 3. She enjoys sharing the challenges she faces trying to balance a career and a family life.

If you’re not yet following Bruna, you should get on it!  You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram (@beeswithhoney) Read more…

The REAL Real Housewives of Vancouver: Laura Madera

Laura Madera is a mother of one and graduate of the University of Guelph’s MFA program. Recently, she was chosen among the top “Emerging Artists” in Magenta Publishing’s nationwide survey book “Carte Blanche Vol. 2: Painting”.  Her artwork has been shown across Canada as well as in New York and the United Kingdom and can be seen at www.lauramadera.ca.  In addition to making art and parenting her toddler, Laura runs a small business making very poofy tutus for girls of all ages. They can be seen and purchased at www.poofytutus.com and http://www.etsy.com/shop/poofytutusshop. Read more…

Sheryl Sandberg: Many women give up on their careers before they even begin

I’m pretty torn about how I feel about this article referencing Sheryl Sandberg’s thoughts on women and their careers.  It states:

Sandberg says many women are quietly checking out of their careers, years before they actually start a family. She believes women rarely make a sweeping decision to give up work to look after children, but instead make a string of choices from early on that propel them towards that end result, none the less.

But rather than reinforcing firms’ grumbles over maternity leave, her point was that more openness (in companies) could actually help women themselves, as well as helping companies plan staffing and maternity leave. Read more…

Afraid to tell your boss you are pregnant? Maybe your fear isn’t totally unfounded.

Yesterday, I participated in a radio panel discussing  “The Challenges of Maternity Leave” on CBC.  The conversation was sparked by a recent case where a Vancouver woman was fired from her job the day after she had told her employer she was pregnant.  Aside from the obvious poor judgement of this employer, our discussion was more around what challenges women face, career-wise, once they decide to start a family.

There is an age old debate about whether we, as women, can actually “have it all”.  We see women in high-power positions being both praised and judged for their decisions around maternity leaves.  A good example of this is Marissa Mayer, who was recently hired as CEO of Yahoo!.  She recently made headlines (in the Style section of many publications…which is a discussion unto itself) when she announced her pregnancy.  So what?  She’s a woman and she’s pregnant.  Who cares?  Well, it seems this is newsworthy…particularly because Marissa publicly stated that, although she would be bringing a child into the world, it would be business as usual at Yahoo!.  She plans on taking minimal leave, 3 weeks spefically, which she will “work right through”.  Some women applauded her choice, after all, it is her decision (a privilege that women have fought for in the workforce).   Other women criticized Mayer and questioned what kind of mother she would be if she didn’t even take the time to bond with her child in the first few weeks of his or her life. Read more…

Fear and loathing in motherhood: thoughts on anti-feminism and modern parenting.

As mothers, I’m pretty sure we can all say that we are guilty, from time to time, of passing judgement on the parenting style of another.  I’ve been at this job for five years now and I am not innocent of critiquing the way another mom is doing it and thinking my way is better.  On the other hand, and more often than not, I am constantly questioning, worrying and wondering if my way actually is the right way…so who am I to judge?

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