Hello everyone! It’s been a while – I bet you all thought I forgot about my little corner of the internet! Last time I wrote here was July 27 2016 and it was about my desire to slow things down in my life…well now it is 2017 and I haven’t had a moment since July to relax one bit! Funny how life throws curveballs like that, just when you think you have it all figured out.

It turns out that days after I made that last blog post that I got some thrilling news. But to fully explain I have to rewind back all the way to fall 2015 – when I applied for a contest to win a free kitchen from a big Canadian home decor magazine…and then Eric and I got into the top 3 entries of 400 and promptly lost 😦 Womp womp womp, sad trombone. I was sad for about 1 day until I hatched my next kitchen renovation scheme (in true Rebecca fashion). With the almost success of that kitchen winning venture I was finally able to convince Eric that we might be a good candidate for something I had wanted to do for years – to apply to be on a home renovation tv show!

Naturally Eric still thought there was no way we would be chosen, but bemusedly gave me the thumbs up to start applying. I hounded the casting calls page of a Canadian home reno TV channel for months. Several shows posted casting calls but they just weren’t what I was looking for. Until one day a brand new show opened a casting call that just sounded perfect for us and I got that tingling feeling that meant we HAD to apply. Eric also agreed it sounded good for us so I applied to it – and I had a strong sense we would get casted.

I applied in early May 2016 and waited patiently for months, the tantalizing possibility of the show nagging at my brain. In early August I received the email that we had made it to the next stage of casting! Then after two months of interviews, video tours, house visits, questions, and nail-biting waits we were finally cast right before Thanksgiving in a show that would renovate our very outdated and rundown kitchen – with us performing some DIY to help keep costs down!

Ever since Thanksgiving both Eric and I have been in overdrive – before the reno/show filming began we had to pack up our kitchen and main floor, then lots of filming days and reno days, then the big reveal near the end of November! After that we then had to put our upside down house back together, prepare for Christmas, and host a 16 person dinner on Boxing Day!

Our 2016 Christmas Tree – we were so busy we ended up putting it up on December 23rd! Needless to say, it stayed up until mid-January!

Needless to say, we are both due for some R&R in 2017! We are so proud of what we accomplished in 2016 but so tired – I feel like hibernating until our episode airs in the spring (last air date we heard was sometime in April). I am so looking forward to relaxing and getting cozy in our new space! Of course, this will include cooking, baking and decorating so stay tuned! I will be able to reveal my new kitchen and main floor once the episode airs but it is truly beyond my wildest dreams for the house. I am very excited for life to slow down so I can blog again; writing has always been so relaxing for me!

But I digress; time to get to what I really wanted to talk about – what this experience and what 2016 in general taught me. I learned that opportunities are everywhere and you not only have to reach for them – you have to also work your butt off, without even knowing if the opportunity will be yours. The hardest times are when you give an opportunity everything you have and it just slips away. But one door closes and another will open and it will be time to decide if you want to leap and try to grab a new opportunity and hold it close and make it yours.

So 2016, you’ve been a real ride – but now it is time for a long nap to start 2017 off! Enjoy these cozy winter months everyone, spring will be here before we know it 🙂 I will be back soon with more blog posts – stay tuned!