Recently I was granted the opportunity to interview actress Bree Williamson. She tells us about acting, motherhood, and how the two intersect and work in harmony.
JH: Let’s talk about work first. Tell us about your career thus far. What have been your favourite roles?
One part of parenting that I constantly struggle with is Mom guilt. Household homework discipline isn’t the greatest, school lunches aren’t always balanced and sometimes I cop out by letting the kids watch Pokemon Youtube videos instead of having meaningful conversations. Any technology that can help me feel like I’m doing something right is a winner, but the Dyson Pure Cool Link Desk model is a winner for a whole ton of reasons besides alleviating my guilt.
With all of the corporate options available, it isn’t really necessary for anyone to “shop local” anymore. You can get all sorts of exotic flavours and colours at the large chain supermarkets. Before I share a fun recipe for ‘Farm Fresh Linguine and Tomato Sauce’, I want to first get you excited about the many benefits of shopping locally at the farmers market!
I have two boys and very real concerns (read: I’m petrified) about their entry into the digital space. While I haven’t been one of the parents who refrained from submitting the kids’ photos or names into cyberspace, I am one of the last hold-outs for allowing them an instagram account. There’s also been a significant amount of avoidance about when they can get cell phones. After a lavish essay about why instagram is a good thing, our older child was awarded his own profile, with very strict rules and unlimited access by me. As I now venture into parenting kids who will eventually own a mobile phone, a roundup of parental control apps is in order.
Comic books have always been inextricably connected in my mind with the simple joys of childhood. Leafing through the pages of a comic book, it’s easy to get lost in the fantastical storyline, imagining superheroes swooping in and saving the day when all seems close to lost.
Comic books of yesteryear are places where reality stands still and fantasy can take over. Anything is possible. In adulthood we tend to lose that magic. It’s sad we get hung up on limitations and practicalities. We cease to be incredulous, overwhelmed by the day to day that threatens our ability to imagine.
I will never forget how connected to my body I felt with each pregnancy. The cravings for nutrients, sleep and extra calories balanced out against my desire to nurture, nest and send love and energy to the little human inside. It’s always yin and yang, somehow, and the abundance of what I was receiving helped the balance output I was expending.
It is vital during pregnancy to care for both the mind and body. Sleep should be increased and embraced, calories increased by 300-500 per day, and clothing sizes will invariably widen so as not constrict your beautiful growing body. Smile.
Fall is a time of new beginnings. Out of nowhere, the nip enters the air and the laziness of summer morphs into productivity. Well, I’m trying anyway! We organize closets, embrace an earlier bedtime and fill the freezer with family meals. My favourite meals are always ones that can be produced out of the pantry. The problem with this, though, is that essential ‘stock’ items like oats, flour and rice never seem to drop in price, so squeezing room out of the family budget from the food category doesn’t seem to work. Until now. Here’s how you can save money on the staples with help from our friends at Safeway.
What I was eleven years old, I went to the bathroom and discovered that my underwear had blood in it. I called my Mom, who opened the bathroom door, looked at what happened, and then asked, “Did that come from YOU?”
(I’m not sure where else she thought that would come from.)
Celebrities don’t usually affect me. I’m not one for autographs, oohs or aaahs. Maybe it’s because I was an actor at one point, and relate to people as ‘people’, without the cloak of fame. But Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston have always been slightly mystical to me – which makes my fascination with them more vivid in its abnormality.
Remember the Big Bang Theory where Howard has a blind date and doesn’t react well to some spicy food so he clogs the toilet and climbs out the bathroom window of his date’s apartment in embarrassment? Even the smallest room in your house can leave a big impression. A new survey commissioned by Gut Inspired, a group of Canadians living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), revealed that 61% of Canadians are not comfortable doing.. their business at a friend’s house.