a peek inside the fishbowl

This is my second giveaway for the NAC Orchestra’s Casual Fridays event. I’m thrilled. Not only is the NAC a wonderful patron of the blog, but I truly love the amazing things they add to the cultural scene of this great city we live in.

If you haven’t heard of Casual Fridays, here it is in a nutshell: it’s an opportunity to nosh on artfully/deliciously/wonderfully prepared food AND socialize AND enjoy a lovely glass of something AND see a show.

The media launch of the new season happened last night in the NAC kitchen. Paul Wells, who will be hosting the next event, described Casual Fridays quite succinctly in a tweet at the media event last night:

The #nacofridays concert I’ll host March 7 is simple: Early start. Booze, schmooze and tapas. 90 minutes of great music. Then mingle.

— Paul Wells (@InklessPW) February 25, 2014

I went to the launch with the intention of taking lots of photos but I had such a great time chatting with fellow party goers that my phone stayed in my purse almost the entire time. Sorry NAC, but you can interpret that as a SURE SIGN OF A GOOD TIME. ;)

I kid. I do have a few views to share:

Here’s the good news for you… I have a pair of tickets to give away to the next event on March 7 but before I do that, there are a few things about this next Casual Fridays I wanted to bring to your attention:

• Two words: Amanda. Forsyth.
• The culinary overtures menu is brand new and it’s Italian-inspired. I promise you will love it. Everything we sampled at the media event provided an explosion of mouthhappy delight.
• They’ve totally changed the food service portion of the evening. I strongly encourage you to buy your tickets online ahead of time as there are limited tickets and I predict a sell-out. Line-ups were an issue at the last event but there is a plan in place to prevent this from happening.
• Good news: you can now watch the show with your beverage of choice. No more chugging before curtain call! Besides, music and wine, in comfy theatre-seats? HELLO. That’s a match made in heaven.

Interested in going? Please read the following details carefully:

• This giveaway is for two tickets to the March 7, 2014 edition of Casual Fridays at the National Arts Centre (NAC). Please please make sure you are able to go (i.e. have a sitter on speed dial) before you enter! These tickets include admission to the culinary part of the evening, so you’ll be sampling some of the dishes pictured above.
• In order for your entry to qualify, please leave a comment below telling me where you went for your last date night. If it’s too long ago to remember (and I hope that’s not the case!) you can tell me where you’d like to go for your next one. :)
• For a second entry, leave a comment on this Facebook post. (But don’t forget to let me know that you did in a second, separate comment below.)
• This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.
• If you can’t post your comment for whatever reason you can email it to me for posting at andrea at quietfish dot com. Please note, I cannot be responsible if your entry is misdirected or gets stuck in my Spam folder!

I will draw one name using Random.org at noon EST on March 4, 2014.  The winner will have to pick up their tickets at my place. :)

Good luck everyone!

My friend Stefania Moffatt recently announced the launch of her second children’s book, Headstrong, which is based on the true story of a girl born with a cyst on her brain and needed surgery when she was only nine days old.

I wanted to ask Stefania a few questions about her projects and her writing process and she kindly obliged.

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Can you give us a bit of background in regards to your first book?

I self-published Everyday Superhero in 2012. Everyday Superhero is a children’s book featuring an eight-year-old girl, Kat, who has cerebral palsy (CP). The book highlights all the cool things Kat can do. Everyday Superhero is aimed for kids of ALL abilities. The inspiration for the book was my niece, Katrina, who has cerebral palsy. I was inspired by Katrina’s strong spirit and strength during major surgery and ongoing physiotherapy.

My goal with Everyday Superhero is to get kids and parents talking about cerebral palsy and to teach kids about sensitivity towards others and how to overcome adversity.

There are probably a lot of Fishbowl readers who want to hear about the writing process from your perspective, especially since you’re a busy mother of two! How did you find the time to write, edit, and do everything that needed to be done in order to get a book published?

I was committed to writing and publishing Everyday Superhero. I looked into a couple of publishing options, but I wasn’t comfortable with “shopping the book around” until a publisher picked it up. Since I have a background in media and public relations and I worked as a writer and editor I took on the task of not only writing the book, but publishing it as well.

In 2011 my youngest started school so I had time in the mornings to dedicate to writing. As any writer knows, I would spend hours working on text for one page only to delete it and start over the next day. Over the course of a few months I had written the book and was pleased with the story. I then asked for recommendations for illustrators. There are lots of talented artists out there. I chose an artist because her style was bright and beautiful. Turns out the illustrator, Jessica Fleury, lived minutes from me! Once the illustrations were complete the book was laid out by a local designer (Michael Beddall) and then it was off to the printer, which was recommended by a friend. I’ve simplified the process to fit a paragraph, however, there was lots of going back and forth with every professional involved. Once I had hard copies of Everyday Superhero I started a public relations campaign, which continues today. I reached out to bloggers, schools, organizations, media, libraries and relied on word of mouth. I’m indebted to everyone who helped me get the word out regarding this book, which was a true labour of love.

What would you say has been the toughest part of this process for you?

I love writing and the promotional aspect of self publishing. I would have to say that the toughest part of the process is keeping costs down. Because I’m a “one-man show” I’m paying for the illustrator, designer and printer out of pocket so I have to be careful with my spending. While sales of the book puts money back into my pocket it’s a process that relies on my hard work promoting the book and takes time.

So what inspired you to take on your new book?

The inspiration for the new book, Headstrong, is a friend’s daughter. I was actually talking to my friend in my kitchen when a lightbulb went off. Her daughter, Elissa, is such an inspiration having had brain surgery when she was only nine days old due to a cyst on her brain, which turned out to be hydrocephalus. (Hydrocephalus is a condition in which fluid accumulates in the brain.) [You can read a blog post from the mother's perspective.] The book teaches kids that you’re never too young to overcome challenges.

I took a different approach with Headstrong. I still used Jessica as the illustrator and Michael as the designer, however, I decided to make the book available as a PDF download for $10 on my site. Eventually I’ll make a hard copy of the book available, but that won’t be for a while. I think this approach is “safer”.

I know you’ve done a lot of writing – all kinds of writing – but did you ever think you’d be doing THIS kind of writing? It kind of sounds like a dream come true!

The simple answer is no. As a writer I wanted to see my name in print on some kind of story, but I never thought it would be a children’s book — let alone two! However, I’m happy and excited with the way things have turned out. I love that my books are real. They’re about real people and real events and that kids can be encouraged and learn from them.

Do you have some good advice for those who are interested in self-publishing?

My advice is to just start writing. If it’s a topic that you feel strongly about then make it happen. Also, ask around if you need to help to illustrate or design your book. There are so many talented people out there. There are a few options to self publish so I suggest that people do their homework. How I went about self publishing may not work for some people, especially if they’re shy about self promotion. In that case there are companies that will help you with promotion and/or  support your project in other areas.

 So what’s next?

I want to continue promoting both books while writing a third book. The book is a chapter book about a family of raccoons living in an abandoned mansion. Purely fictional. Of course, if an opportunity comes up where I get asked or am inspired to write a children’s book (or any kind of material) that is inspired by someone I will consider it.

I recently was certified to teach yoga so I want to focus on that while integrating my nutrition studies. Of course, I want to keep on writing and editing, which I love. I’m juggling a lot of balls, which keeps me happy and busy.

I think it’s important to get out and experience life because I typically write about what I know. Travel is very important to me, but so is everyday human experience. I love talking to people and watching interactions between others (people watching). I volunteer in my daughters’ school and a couple of their activities. I think it’s important to give back to the community while growing as a person.
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Thank you Stefania! Stefania will be appearing with Elissa Mendes, the inspiration for Headstrong, on CTV Morning Live tomorrow (Wednesday February 26) at 8:10 a.m. If you’re interested in more information about Stefania, or buying copies of her book, I recommend you check out her website at stefaniamoffatt.com.

How important is it to be mindful of the best moments in our lives?
How do they change us? How does holding on to these moments affect the rest of our waking lives? And our mental health?

These are the things that I think about as I jot my thoughts down in my one-line-a-day journal every night.

If I go to bed and my last waking thoughts are about what went wrong today, or what I’m worried about, will my sleep be affected? Is it helping those small anxieties eat away at my gut? Do I want to give them more power over me by writing them down?

I just realized that my previous Moment of Bliss also took place while I was on a neighbourhood walkabout with Piper. This one happened at night for a change. The streets were still, and the only sound was the crunch of ice and snow under my boots. My way was illuminated by street lights that cut the darkness open like a knife. I walked from one swath of light to the next, feeling protected and strong. I took deep breath, and focused all of my attention on this moment as it unfolded; a tiny sliver of time in which I remembered that I am warm, and walking, and breathing, and so very lucky.

Black bean chili with corn (pictured above)

Warm butternut squash and chickpea salad

Lemon chicken with bok choy

Pan fried tofu with spicy sauce

Mini baked donuts (This one sounds like a good thing to do with the kids!)

I decided to introduce a new feature in the March issue of Capital Parent Newspaper, an “editor’s picks” column in which I list three items I love enough to recommend to parents across Ottawa. For March I chose Stash peppermint tea, Bare English chapstick, and the FitBit One. It’s the latter that I want to talk about today.

I bought the FitBit in January after seeing some friends post about it online. I thought it would be a good thing to try in regards to that “Treadmill before Facebook” promise I made to myself.

In my column I called the FitBit One a pedometer on steroids. Like other pedometers it tracks steps and distance but this one also tracks sleep quality, flights of stairs taken (among other things), and wirelessly uploads it to my online account in real time.

My goal is to take a minimum of 10,000 steps per day, and if I look back at my fitness history since January there’ve only been two days I didn’t reach that goal.

Here’s why the FitBit has worked for me: it’s a social pedometer. I’ve linked accounts with friends who also have FitBits (Friends with Benefitbits™) and am really enjoying the friendly competition between us all. I have an iPhone app which shows me who’s walked the most number of steps and automatically determines a ranking. (Let it be known I’m usually fourth out of the ten friends I have listed!) The competitive side may not appeal to everyone, but it is a real motivator for me. Plus, I can’t stand the thought of underdelivering. I need to reach that 10,000! As a result the FitBit has caused me to do a number of crazily uncharacteristic things. For example, one evening I was watching TV when I suddenly realized that someone was beating me by a few hundred steps. So I did what many gals would do in my shoes… leap up off the couch and run to the treadmill in order to catch up.

I have a bunch of other tricks that help me squeeze extra steps into each day:

• As per my Treadmill Before Facebook post, I get changed into my gym clothes as soon as I wake up and walk for a minimum of 20 minutes every morning. At the end of my treadmill time I will often round up. (“I’ve done 2600 steps, might as well make it an even 3000!”)
• I make phone calls on the treadmill. Next step: teleconference meetings. :)
• Listening to music while I’m on the treadmill keeps me there longer. Watching a show on my tablet also helps.
• The dog gets longer walks. And if she’s sniffing, I’m pacing.
• I park farther away from the grocery store than usual and return the cart when I’m done unloading the groceries.
• Mini in-house walkabouts – done at a time I’d normally be standing around waiting for something – help me reach my 10,000 steps too. Let’s say my coffee is steeping, which takes five minutes. Instead of catching up with Twitter or staring off into space, I can use that time to walk around the house. Usually I end up walking around the main floor tidying as I go.

(It occurs to me that these are all great ways to get extra steps in your day, regardless of whether you have a FitBit or not.)

Here’s where I have to confess that it drives Mark crazy when I jump up during a commercial break and start pacing around the kitchen. But hey, it’s all in the name of good health, right?

What else do I like about the FitBit? I like the size, the brightness of the screen, and the longevity of the battery. (It comes with a USB charger.)

I don’t like its stair tracking. I don’t think it’s very accurate, but this isn’t a big deal since it’s the mainly the steps I’m concerned about and I’m pretty sure those are being measured accurately. I am worried about losing my FitBit and wonder about potential failure of its pincer grip the more I use it. The FitBit One is not exactly cheap ($99 at places like Chapters and Future Shop) and I’ve already lost it twice: once in the house and once outside when I was getting in the car. It’s a good idea to keep it inside a pocket instead of clipped onto one. It can also be fastened to a bra strap, and given its size it is virtually undetectable.

Overall I’ve been pretty happy with my FitBit so far. It’s kept me engaged, amused, and encourages me to go a little farther each day, one step at a time.