Hello Everyone:

Happy Spring!! Apparently it arrived in Toronto officially as of March 20th, but we got another 5 cm of snow Friday night and even more up north. Good thing I’m still skiing or able to. Although on Saturday there was so much snow, that I felt that I was skiing moguls. Very difficult conditions. I had to take an Epsom salt bath when I got home to help with the burn and ache. (*le sigh).
The bitter cold has left me feeling quite arthritic on some days. Not good for my skiing form when my instructor tells me to shift my hips from side to side to create my ‘edges’.  Boy, do I ever feel geriatric sometimes. :p  LOL!!  He says that it’s just like dancing – but I’m very sure that I don’t look so uncoordinated when I’m dancing!! (I’d better practice in the mirror just in case). HAHA.

Time. We have to remind ourselves how precious it is. How we need to make the most use of it and love and live. It goes by seemingly so quickly. Four years ago I was healthy, working hard and living life. Three years ago I finished a full, rigorous chemo schedule and was preparing to have major surgery to remove some bad body parts. And now, thankfully, I’m back to being healthy, working hard and living life again…. Just a little more “creaky” than before.

I had my annual mammogram – and it has come back fine. Phew. Although with everything they are saying about mammograms these days, who knows how accurate or helpful they are?!

As I was thinking about my overall health, I figured I’d better find out when I had my last full physical check-up. To my horror, my doctor’s office said it was December 2011. A couple of months after I finished radiation. I thought REALLY?! This is what can happen if you don’t advocate for yourself or keep track of your personal health care – you get lost in the mix. I now have an appointment for early April and insisted that they do full blood work and everything. Maybe I have been subconsciously avoiding it. (I am afraid I suppose?!) I guess that can happen after what I’ve been through. I might be developing an aversion to hospitals and doctors (Sorry Mom – won’t be marrying a surgeon after all LOL!)..Stay tuned!

So I continue to move forward, live life and try to be upbeat and age gracefully as time goes by. And since I am already forty, this is my new mantra to aspire to from a fashion icon:
“Personne n’est jeune après quarante ans mais on peut etre irresistible a tout age.”
Translation: No one is young after forty, but one can be irresistible at any age.  Coco Chanel (1883-1971)

I was reading, “French Women Don’t Get Facelifts” by Mireille Guiliano. I share with you a passage from the chapter pertaining to Attitude:
“”Quelle Coquette!” A nice compliment a woman can get from a man or a woman. It’s a hard one to translate, but basically it signifies someone who is concerned about her appearance, someone who has a knack for fashion, but who also desires to gain admiration, to please, play, flirt or seduce, or all of the above depending on the circumstances. When it’s done a certain way – and to me it takes a woman at ease with herself and knowing herself – it shows. Balzac said it best, “La coquetterie ne va bien qu’a une femme heureuse”. Being coquette suits only a happy woman.”

So I guess Stephane, the owner/chef of my favourite restaurant in Paris, L’Ami Jean – wasn’t far off about me. He actually wrote when he signed my menu as a souvenir back in January when I was in Paris with the ladies!! Imagine that?!
I am a happy woman, finally at ease with myself and I have learned a lot about myself in the last few years and really know myself now. Amazing.

There are two things that save us in life, according to Indian journalist and novelist Tarun J. Tejpal: love and laughter. If you have one of the two, all is well. If you have both, you are invincible.

Laughter boosts one’s mood – so laugh out loud, a lot and often.
Love keeps us balanced, offering security and shelter to our souls. That’s why it is so important that we reach out to each other regularly. It’s work, but it’s worth it!! So my goal as mentioned in an earlier writing is to try and reach out and see as many of my Warriors as possible in the next year. Sadly, I have lost touch with a couple but I am going to renew my efforts! After all, it has been all of you that have helped me and continue to help me through the good and bad days.

You all keep me laughing and feel loved. And it’s going to keep us all healthy and living long and happy lives!!
Thank you for supporting me. As for Love & Laughter: I know I have both, so I should be feeling invincible…..well, sort of….LOL!!

Always, Winnie
“Quelle Coquette”.
P.S. I have included a recent photo from an “Oscar Night” event I attended with one of my Warriors. (No hair envy for me that night!!) LOL.
Enjoy the sunshine.