Back after a time out

Ever need to put yourself in a timeout? It’s like putting your child in the corner for not listening, except I need to check myself and my bad attitude. Yep I admit I have a shit attitude sometimes and if I don’t check myself it ferments into anger. So, time-out complete, and I would like to think I am back in a better mood. Maybe not entirely, but after my much anticipated road trip next week I am positive I will be back to my old self.

So day 11 I was to share 10 of my dislikes and 10 of my likes. I attempted this last night, and I was in such a bad mood my dislikes were actually making it worse.

My dislikes are things that make me tick, things that hurt me and things I don’t like done to me. I have a lot of integrity. And being raised on the golden rule this is important to me to be treated with respect as I hold a lot of respect towards others.

I dislike being ignored. I dislike people talking behind my back. I dislike being taken advantage of. I dislike being lied to and I dislike being used. Pretty obvious dislikes for anyone I would think. On a lighter side I also dislike people who whistle. My kids think I dislike this because I can’t whistle and maybe this is true, lol, but seriously it drives me crazy….. I dislike soggy bread because it is soooo gross! I dislike cold coffee, my allergies and dogs that beg for food when I’m trying to eat.

My likes now. The smell of fresh bread, movie theatre popcorn with junior mints and when my children listen and help out. I like sunny warm days, the beach and the sound of native drummers. I like travelling, friends that become family, sleeping in and fresh coffee. While writing out my likes it really grounds me and puts me in a good mood. It makes me think of all the good I have in my life and the things I have to look forward to. This is why I write. It helps me and it helps others see we are all more alike than we think.

So, day 12 is a little boring. It asks what I have in my make up bag. Thing is I never bring a make up bag anywhere unless I travel, and when I travel I bring everything ? yes. I’m one of those girls. Some would say a diva, a princess but I would just say I am me and I would much rather be prepared than not at all. So here is a picture of my make up drawer. Yes I have a whole drawer, and believe it or not I have downsized by about half in the last couple months.

Well that is all for tonight, now I get to attack my messages and emails. Thanks to depression and isolation blues I have over 1000 emails to sort through. Yay!

Stay strong, stay safe and stay Badass.

xx Badassbon

Day 11 and the places I would like to visit

Well first off I would literally like to go ANYWHERE right now because I am going absolutely batshit crazy and have never been so bored and never felt so alone in my entire life!

Okay now that that is out of the way. Here are the places I have always wanted to go in no particular order.

Egypt

Jamaica

Mexico

Italy

Paris…. Again

Graceland

Those are just the top places I can think of, but realistically I would love to see the whole world. I would love to immerse myself in the different cultures around the world and eat so many different types of cuisines.

I have done a little bit of travelling already. I have driven from Vancouver to Ontario, I have travelled to multiple places across Canada and have seen many towns in BC. I have been to Los Angelas, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Las Vegas, Arizona, Oregon, Utah and Paris. I definitely have many years ahead of me for travel and would like to make it a priority..

If I could pick up right now and go anywhere right this second it would probably be Mexico. I’m really feeling like some sun and fun.

Stay strong, stay safe and most importantly stay Badass.

xx Badassbon

Day 10 and my thoughts on education

The exact question is actually how important do I think education is.

I think education is important as society expects you to have one. I have found it difficult getting jobs without one, so yea it is pretty important.

However, there are many of us who do not have an education. I made it to grade 8 and didn’t return for many years. I think education depends on where you’re going on life. Me, I hustle. It is what I know. I know how to figure shit out and push myself and my brand. I have determination and street smarts that no schooling taught me.

Everything I know I know from my life lessons. However if I could go back in time knowing what I know now I would’ve pushed myself harder and further with my education. I found it very hard to go back to school with 3 kids, but I did. There’s that thing again, choice. We all have a choice.

I do believe also that we don’t learn enough in schools. I am passionate about sexual abuse awareness, domestic violence awareness and confidence. These things are not brought up often in schools and I think they should be. I also think the schools should teach about budgets, balancing your budgets and debt.

And that’s where I stand on education.

Come back tomorrow to hear about the places I absolutely must visit.

Stay safe, strong and Badass

xx Badassbon

Day 9 and my handwriting

I promise as the days go on this will get juicer, but tonight it’s simple. Here’s my handwriting of something I read every single day multiple times a day.

Happy Friday. Be safe. Be strong. But most importantly be you! Because when you’re authentic and vulnerable you’re fucking Badass!

xx Badassbon

Day 8 memory lane

Post a picture was today’s prompt so here is one with story time included.

I met my bio dad at what I thought was the age of 12. What I remember from this day is that my mom took me to her friends house in downtown Vancouver for a bbq. Of course there was drinking involved, as the day wore on the drunker she got. We were sitting at a picnic table in the backyard and she blurts out “Gord is your father.” He was sitting across from us at the table.

I knew my step dad had adopted me, but I wasn’t expecting this kind of introduction to my bio dad. I didn’t know how to react. after this initial meet I wasn’t sure how to continue a relationship with this man. It was all very awkward for me. He had bought me a Christmas gift and a birthday gift but I didn’t call him or try hard to know him. My mom later told me he stopped trying because of my lack of effort.

I never saw my bio dad again for over 25 years.

Fast forward to meeting my father a couple of years ago and going on a camping trip with him. It was my first time re-meeting my aunt and uncle. While camping my aunt gave me this picture. She said I was 9 and it was the last time they saw me. They didn’t know the bad side of my mother, they didn’t know about my step dad molesting me and they didn’t know the hell I had lived through.

I sat in all of this and wondered why I thought I was 12 all these years when I had met my father when in fact I was 9. Where did those 3 years go? I wonder what my timeline actually looks like as a child. I have minimal memories of my childhood. Maybe a dozen prominent memories but up until I was 14 it is either a blur or a complete blank. Trauma changes us. It changes the way our brains work.

I know now how I am different from others because of my ptsd and I am much easier on myself thanks to being aware and willing to learn.

If I could go back to this day and tell my younger self something it would go something like this.

You are strong, and everything that has happened to you is not your fault. You are beautiful and meant for great things. You are not your mother and you are not defined by what you have gone through. Stand tall always and never back down from your gut instincts. You will grow up one day into a beautiful woman and you will make a difference, but first you will be thrown some curveballs; you just need to learn to catch the fastballs and not be afraid of them. You are important!

So to anyone that has gone through trauma, you are enough! It was not your fault but what you choose to do with it now is. You can either sit in it or get up and move away from it.

Stay Strong everyone. We need you here!

xx Badassbon

Day 7 and my bucket list

Considering my bucket list is always growing I will share my top 10 must do before I die list.

1. Skydive. This is something I have wanted to do for a very long time, but I’m super freaked out about it. Not necessarily afraid of heights but jumping out of a plane seems a little crazy. I just really want the adrenaline rush…..

2. Go back to Paris and enjoy it properly. I was 15 when I spent a month in Paris. I was irresponsible and a bit dumb back then. All I wanted to do was party and shop; which I did a lot of lol. There was this amusement place called mini France or something and I quickly walked through the place taking pictures and I was satisfied with “seeing” what Paris had to offer. Sad…. I did go to the Eiffel Tower. So a redo trip there is high in my list.

3. Give a TEDx talk. I feel being on a TED stage would be quite an accomplishment. My goals are to perfect my speeches and work towards this.

4. Take a train across Canada. Honestly this isn’t one of my bucket list choices, but my grandmother always told me if you get the chance to take a train across Canada you definitely should. Now that she is gone it has always been on my mind to experience it. Not high on my list but would do if time and finances allowed.

5. Write my damn biography. I have the time to write it, but bringing up 39 years of trauma is an emotional rollercoaster. It will happen I can promise you that.

6. Write a dating book. Think Amy Schumer’s bio but me. It will be raunchy, hilarious and completely honest. Now this is one that will be fun to write and even funnier for all you guys to read.

7. Write a children’s book. Actually two. One on confidence and one on abuse. I see a trend going on here and a whole bunch of writing in my future.

8. Live somewhere warm year round. I love BC and this place will always be my home, but I am not made for cold weather. I’m a big baby regarding the cold, so this momma needs to live somewhere warm with sandy beaches. Big dreams for this woman!

9. Host a kickass event around being a Badass person. I’ve been to many conferences and I would love the opportunity to do one myself. I had plans to do one in 2020, but now I’m thinking 2021. This will be a day or weekend of growth, love, understanding, vulnerability and acceptance. I get chills just thinking about it. This will be one not to miss.

10. Hike up a mountain and take pictures dressed up. I’ve seen groups of people doing this before and I’ve always wanted some photos with an amazing background dressed to the nines. I think this one will be checked off my list first. I’ve been thinking about this one a lot this past month. Social distancing hike anyone?

Stay Strong and safe out there ✌?

xx Badassbon

Day 6 and a random look at my playlist from shuffle

Mostly rap as I suspected it would be with a sprinkle of country hahaha. Not much I can say about my music, but I can definitely touch base on other things.

Like how fucking crazy I am going, yet how anxious I am about what the future will look like. I am used to living alone with my kids, and I’m definitely used to being single, but I am not used to not seeing so many of my friends. Yes, I have gone out and seen some people but in a safe and distant way. A lot of people are practicing complete isolation and I respect everyone’s decision but I need some form of human contact or I would be in full depression I am sure.

Then I think about schools possibly opening and I’m like nope! Ill stay home in isolation. It’s a very strange feeling. I want to see people but I don’t want to get sick. I want the kids to socialize but I don’t want to take any chances. I feel some sort of fear about everything going back to normal. Anxiety can suck sometimes. I can’t seem to win.

I’m sure some people were offended by my decision to go quadding two weeks ago with friends, but I assure you we were all safe. I think it is important to do what is best for you. Yes if I got covid it would be deathly for me, but sitting here alone is feeling pretty hard too. It’s like the walls are closing in on me and I have no one.

I do have many people I can rely on, but I hate talking on the phone except to a handful of people, and I can’t spend my days texting everyone I know or I wouldn’t have time to even eat. Seems to be a lose-lose situation.

What I do know is TikTok has become my past time, cooking has become a chance to try new things and the amount of time my teenage daughter actually spends in her room is astonishing. Am I that bad to hang around hahahaha….. today I actually did my hair and make up and went to check the mail. #livingthedream

Whatever your situation during these times know you definitely are not alone. Some of us are really struggling.

Stay Strong because we are all doing the very best we can.

xx Badassbon

Day 5 and 15 interesting facts about me

Okay this is going to be hard digging up 5 facts people don’t already know about me, so I’ll do my best to dig deep. Considering also this is my year to be fully transparent I will hold nothing back tonight or in the future. I will try to dig some facts up from my younger days until I hit 15. Here goes.

Fact 1. I grew up on 50 acres between two houses. My parents house was on one side of the tennis court and my grandma’s house was this huge 10,000 sq ft house on the other. Although there was some terrible moments in my childhood this property gave me a lot of joy. I will never forget the days of “the big house.”

Fact 2. I always wanted to be famous. Guess that stems from my mother putting me into everything. I started dance at age 3, modelling around the same age, acting in my early teens, I played the saxophone, flute, sang in the children’s choir, but I was a terrible artist that went to a fine arts school. Ok ok ok that was a few facts rolled into one. Fact 2 I’m somewhat into the arts.

Fact 3. I am a high school drop out. At the age of 14 I was living with my step-father and that in itself was unhealthy. The details of this time can stay with me until I write my book. Let’s just say I grew up real fast.

Fact 4. My step-after was a full blown needle using addict. When he would take off for days at a time I sometimes had to collect rent from the numerous tenants that lived at his house. I came to love authority and again another reason for growing up so fast.

Fact 5. I met a guy online when I was 15. It was 1996 and the internet was fairly new to many of us. I made friends with people all over the states on this group chat called irc (internet relay chat) I went to San Francisco for my 16th birthday to be with this guy. Yep my parents let me……

Fact 6. Growing up at such a young age I pretty much lived the life of an adult by age 14. Bars, parties, travelling to the states for long periods of time, etc. This was my normal.

Fact 7. I mentioned this before but here it is again. Carnie up in here! Yep! Best time of my life actually. Travelling Canada and making money. Perfect! It also helped that my grandma put me up in a fifth wheel trailer and new truck so I could live my carnie dreams.

Fact 8. I birthed two children while living the carnie life. My two children’s father and I quit not long after my middle child was born and I never travelled with them again. I do however stay in contact with many of them today.

Fact 9. I was in an abusive relationship for almost 8 years. Sometimes it was good, sometimes it was great and many times it was hell. I came out of it a stronger person and I have spent the last 7 years finding myself. Trauma changes a person.

Fact 10. I never found myself to be attractive. I always settled after that relationship. I met a guy and we got married less than a month into the relationship. He saw someone willing to give him a comfy lifestyle and I thought I found someone that loved me.

Fact 11. We divorced less than 3 years later. I started realizing I’d rather be alone than with someone that didn’t love and respect me. He killed whatever small amount of confidence I had left in me.

Fact 12. I’ve tried committing suicide, I’ve cut myself and I’ve hated everything about myself. This was my rock bottom. The point when I couldn’t even stand to look at myself any more. Of course there is more to this story, but as above this I will save for my book. What I can say though is that there is Hope. I still have days where I wish I looked different but they are rare now. I’ve come to love myself and my journey. My story is who I am and I am willing to share it in hopes it helps lift others up.

Fact 13. 13 is not my lucky number 6 is.

Fact 14. I have 3 chapters published in books that hit international best seller. These chapters were my therapy. 1 was about my sexual abuse, 2 domestic abuse and 3 my handicapped brother and some insight on my upbringing. The best advice I have other than investing in yourself is to write your story. Even if to share with one person. It is the most freeing thing I have ever done in my life. I will continue to write now because of this leap I took.

Fact 15, I’m part black. Yes I am native obviously and definitely resonate with my indigenous culture the most, but I definitely embrace my African American side too. I am proud of all my cultures. Can’t forget I am Métis and Norwegian too. Peep that mix yo.

Well that wasn’t hard at all! Come back tomorrow for my playlist shuffled and the first 15 songs it gives me. This should be interesting as I go from gangsta rap to country in a heartbeat.

Stay Strong

xx Badassbon

Day 4 and my 5 current goals

Well first and foremost I would like to survive isolation depression! Maybe not a goal but a need I don’t know. All I know is some days my bed is where I stay for 24 straight hours and it sucks but thanks to social distancing there isn’t much options. So goal one. Survive.

Goal 2 would have to be to finish organizing my house. Yea yea, to all those that have been to my house and think it is ridiculously clean; it is not to me. So goal two goes to having my place in tip top ocd shape.

Goal 3 is to get this damn podcast running. It’s something I keep talking about but my inner beliefs keep shutting it down. Nope it won’t last forever and soon you’ll be seeing my goals being crushed. Maybe it’s a little bit of nervousness. I have found that goals without deadlines never get accomplished for me, so with that being said I give myself until June 1st to drop my first episode. Holy shit did I just do that. Yep!

Goal 4. Spend more quality time with my kids. Yes we are in isolation together, but we seem to all be surviving the best we can. I think family game nights, and daily walks should be incorporated into our schedule.

And for my last goal, this is a big one. Lose some weight. I don’t know how much, but I’d love to just be less than I am now. So time to get back to who I used to be. I remember a year ago I was dropping 100 squats a day, doing yoga and Zumba all at home. No excuses just time to do it.

As I write these goals out I think back to a conversation I had today with my ex-mother in law while dropping my son off for his week at his dads. I was telling her some of us are in this isolation depression and the only reason I haven’t fully fell into it is because I try to keep some normalcy in my life. Like doing my make up and hair. It is on the days I get ready where I feel good about myself and actually do stuff. So if you too are struggling try to keep a schedule. You’re definitely not alone.

Stay Strong

xx Badassbon

Day 3 and what I wore today

Well thank goodness I chose today to be the day I try and look human at least ???

That’s the thing about isolation. It is so easy to just be lazy. I will be the first to admit I’ve had days of utter nothingness. Today, however, after a few bad days I chose to get my butt out of bed and get dressed. Go into town for some supplies and actually cook a good home cooked meal. It feels good too.

So, if your sitting at home in a funk get up and get ready. It feels good and puts some normalcy back into your life.

Come back tomorrow to find out some of my goals.

Stay Strong

xx Badassbon