Hi everyone, I have decided to give my own site a shot.. I have had the domain for years now but didn’t bother to get it up and running.. so I have moved my blog to: http://inspiredmind.ca/wp/ The focus of my blog has shifted a bit.. less about the journey from my surgery and more about my life currently. Additionally, I will be posting the occasional product/restaurant/book review as well. Eventually, as I have time and ambition, I will also be building and developing my main website to hopefully include all of my poetry and art projects… hopefully it all lives up to the name of my domain Hope you follow me over to my site! If you have any questions/issues, email me! Pia

I have a lot of blogs to convert from other sites to compile here.  But now, finally after 3 years of paying for a domain and hosting, I officially have something up and running!  WHEW!  Stay tuned..more to come!!

I leave for England in less than 48 hours. I am just overwhelmed that I am going back to England only a couple months after being there for the first time. I am excited but so not prepared.  I haven’t even begun to pack and I have no idea what we’re going to do there besides the actual Christmas stuff. I find myself very emotional today. Feeling really down and introspective.  I watched Julie & Julia tonight and I thought.. why didn’t I think of that?  I love to cook, I saw myself in many aspects of that movie and I love to blog.  I am a writer.. why couldn’t I be the one to write some super cool blog that everyone wants to read?  I got a book from work today. “What Color is your Parachute?”… The funny thing about the book is that it is “A Practical Manual … Read More →

So I have been thinking a lot lately about where I am in my life.  Several years ago I set 5 goals for myself.  One was pretty minor.. (quit biting my fingernails) and one was completely out of my control (meet the love of my life) but the other 3 were pretty huge goals that I did have control over.  1) Quit Smoking 2) Find a career I love 3) lose weight. Ok so admittedly I still bite my nails ;P … BUT… Some of these goals have been there my whole life and all of them have been on my list for more than 15 years.  So what happens when you have set 5 goals (some of which seemed impossible to achieve) and you actually achieve them?? You start over I suppose. Back to square one.  Back to the bottom of the uphill climb. I think the hardest part … Read More →

I’m going to post my thoughts in the order that makes most sense to me.. I want to end on a positive note.. Not to say that this entry will be particularly negative but blogging is one of a few outlets I have to vent and I plan on taking full advantage of that Anyone who knows me well, knows that I can be a bit high strung about certain things. I have pet peeves and I get easily annoyed especially when it comes to human behaviour. I try my best to stick by certain golden rules such as “never going to someone’s home empty handed” or “simply saying please and thank you”. Seems pretty brainless but I feel like certain common courtesies are beginning to see their way out of our society. It could be that humans are evolving towards a new era of “wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am-ism” or perhaps we are … Read More →

I think there is a certain expectation in this world that people follow a specific pattern when it comes to relationships.  In “traditional” families, a woman would likely not have sex before marriage much less share accommodations.  Well anyone who knows me, knows my family is far from traditional and even though I am not a wild and crazy rebel, I do have a nose piercing, a tattoo and I flew to Brazil for surgery not knowing much more about my surgeon than the (hopefully) good word of a bunch of Americans I had never met.  So at the end of August, Neil moved into my house.  We moved him out of his apartment and I am thrilled to say that I have never been happier.  For those of you who are unsure of how you feel about us “shackin’ up”, wait till I tell you that on Monday, September … Read More →

Part 3 – Food… I love to cook… that is a phrase I never thought I would say.. but I really do love to cook! Pre-Marchesini, I really didn’t enjoy cooking. I think part of it was that I almost always felt like crap. But I think part of it was also that I was afraid of food to a certain extent. Food was my enemy.. and even though I had a few signature type dishes, I didn’t get excited about cooking. Now.. I am a HUGE foodie! I have learned a lot about food, cooking techniques, flavor, control, experimentation, variety… especially variety. I now grow my own fruits & vegetables (in the little space I have). I (hopefully) grow carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, beets, parsnips, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and a wide variety of herbs (Basil, dill, rosemary, catnip, chives, parsley, sage, oregano & thyme). I say “hopefully” because … Read More →

Part 2 – Future… I have had a lot to think about regarding my future. I can’t help but think ahead. I do that a lot but now that I have Neil in my life and with all the changes I have made over the past 2 years (Happy 2 year Surgiversary to me! 2 years on July 24th), I have this extreme desire to plan my future. Besides the obvious planning of a life with Neil, I am also thinking about one day having kids and moving into a bigger place with more bedrooms. A lot to think about! I am not worried at all. I know that what is meant to be, will be. As much as I think about my future with Neil and about a future family etc.. I feel somewhat like I need to pull back on the reigns of my brain. I am so … Read More →

It has been a long time since my last blog post. Almost 2 months… In that 2 months, a lot has happened.  I tend to have a lot going on in my life but this was something more.  Almost exactly one month after my last blog, my Stepmom June passed away. It happened so damn fast. I can’t believe it.  I was asked to write her obituary and eulogy before she died, and that was just so hard to fathom at the time.  How could I start writing about someone who was still alive?  But I wanted to write it and was hoping to be able to read it to her before she died.  But I didn’t really get the opportunity.  Around the time of my last blog, I planned a trip down to Lethbridge with Neil.  I wanted to introduce them.  I wanted her to meet him. about a … Read More →