awyer. Writer. Explorer. Mom. In no particular order. With my kids launched to university, a whole new chapter has begun: I climb, I play, I work, I write -- and I have published my first book! What's next? What fits with a rock climbing harness, work boots, a meditation cushion and yoga gear? Who knows? But I can't wait to find out.
ear daughter: What is the best graduation gift I can give you? The best way to launch you into life? And do you know how to wash delicates? These were the questions facing Lisa as her daughter finished high school. Her response is The Laundry List, All the Things I forgot to tell you about Laundry and Life. From Murphy’s law of tissue to minding your own laundry basket, there’s plenty of advice to ensure that the new university student will be well-equipped for both laundry and life. The perfect gift for anyone navigating life after mom, The Laundry List shares funny, practical and profound wisdom from a mother to her daughter embarks on a new adventure away from home.
Lisa is currently at work on her next book, a collection of essays called "Worth Keeping – The Best of Things I Gave Away"
Available at : Lulu – Amazon – Barnes & Noble - ITunes/IBooks
Coming Soon to these retailers : Chapters/Indigo
I am a small town girl who loves to explore. Rock cliffs and trees. Meditation, martial arts and yoga. Books, podcasts and thoughtful conversation. I value kindness, curiosity and I don't mind sitting still because quiet and solitude are like oxygen to me. I am a lawyer and a writer; a mom, wife and daughter. All roles I cherish because they nourish me in return. And in the end, it doesn't take much to make me happy. A winter sunrise spreading light across my front yard, the sun warming my back as I walk, the colour of the light at dusk. Lucky me, that's all free.
In the sixth grade, after a hard-fought classroom debate on capital punishment, I decided that I wanted to be a lawyer. My mom argues that my best friend’s dad, who was a lawyer and our local MP, was the more likely instigator for my choice of careers. Whatever the inspiration, from age eleven on, life held a single career track for me leading to two years at the University of Western Ontario followed by Osgoode Hall Law School, not once, but twice. Today, my law practice focuses on intellectual property law and trade-marks in particular.
For twenty years, I lived the modern working mom’s full catastrophe, wired to do and be everything to everybody at all times: chief financial manger, cook, chauffeur, seamstress, tutor, power-drill wielding home-repair person and house-painter, not to mention cat-owner–all the while managing my solo law firm. Now my daughters are university students who travel on their own and work full-time in the summer. We're as close as ever but the ways we connect are increasingly online. My husband-- whose been left behind through all of that--I get to meet and fall in love with all over again.
The spark of an idea. A flash of insight. That moment when all the tumblers click into place and a truth reveals itself. Is there anything more thrilling? Inspiration may come in the midst of conversation, while walking alone on a trail or scrubbing up in the shower--what is it about the shower? Wherever it happens, inspiration arrives unbidden. A writing teacher once gave me a great piece of advice: ride the waves of inspiration when they appear and paddle when they don’t. We spend a lot of time paddling but it is worth it for those moments when the waves roll in and we can surf effortlessly on their energy.
n my working life, I am a corporate and intellectual property lawyer, helping people protect their ideas and find sensible ways to do business. I have practised law since 1993 and earned a Master's Degree in intellectual property law in 2001. I am “of counsel” to US law firm Symbus Law Group where I serve US clients with trade-mark interests in Canada and have access to an experienced legal counsel in the US. I work with businesses of all sizes including companies working in national and international markets, as well as municipal governments, educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations.
IGA is about giving things away and letting go, and about seeing what happens when we do. There is the obvious: too small clothes, outgrown toys, dishes we don’t use anymore. There is what`s past: a photo of my law school graduating class, love letters from my youth, every school art project my kids ever made. There’s the intangible: expectations, control, hard feelings. Thought patterns that serve no useful purpose. Control freak methods of household management. That kind of thing. It’s an exploration and a divine quest, because on the other side of holding fast, of clinging, there lies the opening of a clenched fist. A place of letting go, of open space and freedom.
Join me, won’t you?
arrior Girl grew out of a series of posts on Things I Gave Away called Warrior Girl Dashing. WGD was inspired by fear, fear of showing up for a 5-km obstacle race without having trained for it. So, in a three week period from June 13, 2011 to Race Day, July 9, 2011, I kept an online training journal. In the end, I was still not especially well-trained for the race, but it was a fascinating journey. I became hooked on the training and hooked on examining the connection – or as often as not, the dis-connection – between body, mind and spirit. Since then, I completed four obstacle races, discovered yoga, re-discovered the gym, learned to jump a horse over fences and began climbing trees and cliffs, all the while paying attention to what my mind and soul are doing. It’s a fascinating journey and a life’s work.
click awyer. Writer. Explorer. Mom. In no particular order. With my kids launched to university, a whole new chapter has begun: I climb, I play, I work, I write -- and I have published my first book! What's next? What fits with a rock climbing harness, work boots, a meditation cushion and yoga gear? Who knows? But I can't wait to find out.
ear daughter: What is the best graduation gift I can give you? The best way to launch you into life? And do you know how to wash delicates? These were the questions facing Lisa as her daughter finished high school. Her response is The Laundry List, All the Things I forgot to tell you about Laundry and Life. From Murphy’s law of tissue to minding your own laundry basket, there’s plenty of advice to ensure that the new university student will be well-equipped for both laundry and life. The perfect gift for anyone navigating life after mom, The Laundry List shares funny, practical and profound wisdom from a mother to her daughter embarks on a new adventure away from home.
Lisa is currently at work on her next book, a collection of essays called
"Worth Keeping – The Best of Things I Gave Away"
Available at : Lulu – Amazon – Barnes & Noble - ITunes/IBooks
Coming Soon to these retailers : Chapters/Indigo
n my working life, I am a corporate and intellectual property lawyer, helping people protect their ideas and find sensible ways to do business. I have practised law since 1993 and earned a Master's Degree in intellectual property law in 2001. I am “of counsel” to US law firm Symbus Law Group where I serve US clients with trade-mark interests in Canada and have access to an experienced legal counsel in the US. I work with businesses of all sizes including companies working in national and international markets, as well as municipal governments, educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations.
click
IGA is about giving things away and letting go, and about seeing what happens when we do. There is the obvious: too small clothes, outgrown toys, dishes we don’t use anymore. There is what`s past: a photo of my law school graduating class, love letters from my youth, every school art project my kids ever made. There’s the intangible: expectations, control, hard feelings. Thought patterns that serve no useful purpose. Control freak methods of household management. That kind of thing. It’s an exploration and a divine quest, because on the other side of holding fast, of clinging, there lies the opening of a clenched fist. A place of letting go, of open space and freedom.
click Join me, won’t you?
arrior Girl grew out of a series of posts on Things I Gave Away called Warrior Girl Dashing. WGD was inspired by fear, fear of showing up for a 5-km obstacle race without having trained for it. So, in a three week period from June 13, 2011 to Race Day, July 9, 2011, I kept an online training journal. In the end, I was still not especially well-trained for the race, but it was a fascinating journey. I became hooked on the training and hooked on examining the connection – or as often as not, the dis-connection – between body, mind and spirit. Since then, I completed four obstacle races, discovered yoga, re-discovered the gym, learned to jump a horse over fences and began climbing trees and cliffs, all the while paying attention to what my mind and soul are doing. It’s a fascinating journey and a life’s work.
click