Girl About O-Town

This summer, things are going well. 

The novelty of leaving my job has passed, and the tough slogging early on has begun to bear fruit.  Slowly, the business is starting to take shape and my confidence is growing.  I’ve settled into a comfortable pace, and know now that the downs are always followed by ups.  In fact, they’re usually a sign of an important development!    Obstacles are easier to identify, and increasingly, I find myself able to embrace where I am instead of worry about where I should be.  It’s  not always easy, but being in business has turned out to be both enlightening and deeply rewarding.

Interestingly, as an employee, I was always acutely aware of time.  I could never seem to escape the feeling that I was wasting it working on stuff that was slow to change, and I feared it was going to run out too soon – before I had the time to do what I wanted to do.  I selfishly hoarded those rare spare moments that happened to come my way, and always craved more. 

Now, things are different.  Now, my days are spent productively turning my dreams into reality, and finally, time is on my side.

The past is just the past – savoured instead of squandered – and the present is almost always about  doing what I want to do.  Most significantly though, the future – while impossible to predict – is more markedly under my influence than it has ever been before.   Often, I find myself feeling like I have nothing else but time – and let me tell you – choosing how best to use it can definitely be daunting.  It’s also downright empowering. 

So what does this all of this mean?  Well, for one thing, I’m perceiving progress.  I’m actually going forward instead of spinning my wheels, and I’m having fun.   Living this way is profoundly satisfying rather than selfish, and my happiness begets benefits far beyond the obvious grin I wear so much more than before. Oh, and as if the smile wasn’t enough, this girlaboutOtown is also stopping to smell more roses these days, and enjoying the randomness of life as much as someone pursuing a master plan can!

So, how about a roundup of random stops I’ve made in the last little while?  To smell the roses, of course…

Image source.

Lunch at Absinthe Cafe at 1208 Wellington.  Hot day outdoors, cool indoors.  Stylish surroundings and great service.    Tuna Nicoise.  Simple.  Fresh.  Divinely delish.   Need I say more?

Image via Umi Café.

Iced Tea at the Umi Café at 610 Somerset West.  While I didn’t stay long, I was lucky enough to experience a truly great conversation in this community-oriented coffee house chock full of local character(s).   This is a café that takes culture seriously, and clearly, a place people return to regularly.  Count me in again.

Photos by me.

I went to Ombrella Pizza Cone at 527 Bronson Ave., home of Ottawa’s latest culinary craze, and tried the Pizza Cone.  Yes, I did.  It’s exactly as it sounds.  Call it a snack or make it a meal, but it comes in the form of a cone.  Curious?  Why not stop by and decide for yourself if the Pizza Cone is here to stay…