Nothing short of inspiring

I know it has been a while since I've wrote a blog post, but today I was truly inspired to become better at it and make it a point to become more regular. 
If you've joined me in the past you know that I am a proud member of the beautiful WeddingGirl team as a Bridal Lifestyle Blogger and Wedding Planner; and while I've been blogging away over there I have been neglecting this blog, which is something I just love doing and wish I would focus on more.
The person that inspired me today is Mary, the girl behind WeddingGirl.ca. Mary built WeddingGirl five years ago, and yesterday, it all went down. Literally. We're calling it the Great WG Crash of 2014. The website is only now off life support.
It's amazing isn't it? Everything you built for yourself can be gone in one second. This is true for various different scenarios (i.e. death in the family, losing your family fortune, etc.); and though you think it could never happen to you, the truth is is that it can.
What's so inspiring about the whole situation though, is the sheer amount of love, support, and words of encouragement that has come her way. From friends, family, strangers, and WeddingGirl fans on Facebook and beyond. It's truly amazing how much people step up to the plate when you need them. Through this, Mary has gone ahead and continued to inspire and share her personal life (and blog, for the first time ever) with the rest of the social media world. Something she always thought would be separate.
What's more inspiring is that she makes time for everything. Her business, her family, her friends, her personal blog, and of course mentoring and inspiring a group of great women.
She is inspiring me to be a better person; a better wedding planner (duh!), a better writer, a better friend, a better mom (she might laugh at that one), a better spouse...a more true version of myself. Someone that won't let fear stop her; how can I when she conquered her fear by travelling the world alone, trekked Mount Everest, and that moment when she had that 'teeny tiny moment of being debilitatingly afraid' when a group of 25 people RSVP'd to hear her talk on WGx (me being one of them). 
Mary, you truly are inspiring, and I know the rest of our WG team thinks so too. Thanks for motivating, inspiring, and helping us turn our can'ts into can's and our plans into dreams; I can't wait to read your journey, and in some ways be apart of it.
For everyone who has helped Mary with the website, thank you so much for your efforts. The whole WeddingGirl team truly can't thank you enough.
And so my friends, stay tuned for more with me. There is a lot more coming.

Want to follow my WeddingGirl journey? Friend me on Facebook and follow me on Instagram!

Inspire Me 2014: The side of me nobody knows

It's that time again, time to link up with Showered With Design and Happiness is a Mood Not a Destination, for their Inspire Me Blog Challenge! 

Today's prompt is: The side of me nobody knows.
This question can be a loaded one depending on how you spin it, but I am definitely going to gear it towards the blogosphere, and since there isn't much about me on this blog yet this is a perfect way to start! So let's get to it!

1. I am hearing impaired and wear a hearing aid in each ear. 
   
   I was born with poor hearing and it has gotten progressively worse over time. I got my first hearing aid in grade 9 and my second in December 2012. I've had multiple ear surgeries to reconstruct my ear but they have all been unsuccessful. If I don't have them in, I barely hear anything at all.
   
2. By day, I am an HR Specialist in Training & Development.
   
   However, I am also an aspiring Wedding and Event Planner (my dream job!). I am currently taking the Wedding & Event Planning course through the New York Institute of Art and Design.
   
3. I am an introvert (mostly, lol).
   
   I am often shy and awkward when meeting new people and I am terrible at small talk. I plan to work on these two things in 2014.
   
4. I absolutely love country music.
   
   Dallas Smith, Luke Bryan, and Taylor Swift are some of my faves. Though, I like to throw in Lorde, Ed Sheeren and several other pop artists into the mix.
   
5. Family is the most important thing to me.
   
   Need I say more for this one?

I hope you enjoyed these little tidbits into my life. I would love to learn more about you, so please join in on the challenge or comment below.

Happy Friday!

Ringing in the New Year!

Today I decided to take the 2014 Inspire Me Blog Challenge hosted by (Showered With Design) and (Happiness Blog). Each day I will try to post their suggested topics in an effort to provide my readers with more content and so they can get to know me a bit more.

Today's prompt is: What did you do for New Years?

We actually kept it pretty simple for New Year's. We had about 10 friends over for food, poker and movies. I made some chili and we had everyone bring a snack; there was absolutely no shortage of food. The guys then played poker and the remaining three ladies watched Pitch Perfect (which is one of my favourite movies). Seriously, if you haven't seen it yet I would highly recommend it.

The one thing we all did though was watch the ball drop in New York City during the live broadcast. Everyone then gave kisses and hugs before going back to playing poker or watching the movie. However, I did attempt to get a 'selfie' of my husband and I right after midnight and as you may have seen in my 2013 recap post, we were hilariously photobombed by our friend Chris.

On New Year's day, our family went over to my parents house for some Chinese Food. My sister and her family were there, as well as my grandparents. We had a really nice time and the kids had a great time playing with each other. There is really nothing like ringing in the New Year with your friends and family.

How did you celebrate?