I was recently invited to participate in a fall fitness exchange with Canadians. As a Canadian Sweat Pink Ambassador I thought this was a great way to connect with other Canadian Bloggers. Also, I love the idea of connecting with new people and if they love running/fitness as well, bonus! Besides, who doesn’t like giving and receiving gifts. 😉
A fellow Sweat Pink Sister from Ottawa, Brittany, came up with the exchange idea. Brittany and I recently met as we were making plans to launch an Ontario Sweat Pink Chapter. You can follow Brittany over at My Momma Journey.
There were some general rules to the exchange. Share a favourite fitness dvd or book that you love (even if it is gently used), favourite recipe or two, a motivational note and an item of our choice.
Our names were exchanged and we were paired up with our exchange buddies. I ended up getting Rebecca, who crazy enough also lives in my neighbourhood, like what are the chances of that!! I was able to do up a gift bag and drop it off at her door!! What’s also cool, is Rebecca and I are both Team Awesome Members for the Ottawa Race Weekend 2016! If you would like to see what I sent her, check out her blog: Running.Food.Baby
My other exchange buddy, who had my name, lives in Calgary. Tina and I first met online through Bondiband, as we are both Ambassadors! She connected with me, asked some questions and came up with some pretty meaningful gifts.
Now before I unveil them, I’d like to share a few things. First, I love hearts, always have. After being diagnosed with a heart condition that seemed inevitable that one day I would require surgery, I was determined to not let a diagnosis define me. Nor did I want to go on long-term medication if I could avoid it. I was not being stupid, nor do I recommend for you to ignore your doctors advice, however, my doctor and I came up with a plan. I continue to show improvements (which is a small miracle in itself) therefore I remain off medication.
The symbol of the heart is one of hope, strength and of course love.
I got this tattoo as a symbol of the intense love I have for my family. My husband and I (the larger hearts) are intertwined, the three smaller hearts represent my three children and the small pink heart inside my heart is in memory of my mom. The heart also represents the hope and strength I have to live and be healthy.
Now for the butterfly. A few years ago there was a series of events that took place that in of themselves, each one would have been heartbreaking, combine them over a fairly short period and it was almost too much for me to work through. During this time the butterfly became a symbol of hope. As I was working through life, the idea that “sometimes the struggle is part of the plan” came to me. Like the caterpillar there is a time in the cocoon (we won’t go into the gruesome details), and in the perfect moment the butterfly emerges. A complete transformation has taken place. It’s like pain with a purpose or a struggle with a plan. There was a purpose for the caterpillar to enter the cocoon. Just like I believed there was or could be a greater purpose for what I was going through (as well as my whole family).
So yes, another tattoo 😉 
Of course I did not share this with my buddy, I mean gosh we just met. 🙂 I did however share things like favourite colour, number, workouts and that I do like the butterfly symbol.
Here is what she put together for me:
Amazing gloves, cute bird paperclips, really cool race bib clips (wore them for my marathon last weekend – amazing!!), a bondiband headband (hearts and butterflies), a buff (more hearts) and a beautiful card…oh and inside the card was this (a magnet – now on my fridge)
The past two years or so this has been a thought of mine, and yes, I’ve said it out loud. Live Out Loud! Be, Do and Say who you are. Live authentically with intention. Be free to be who you were created to be, unapologetically.
It was a true blessing to open this gift with all the reminders of what is important to me and also to continue to “live out loud” proudly!
Thank you so much Tina!
Have you ever participated in an exchange similar to this?
Check out the others who participated in this exchange.
