Originally intended to simply focus on book reviews, over time, KaliDesautelsReads has morphed into its own entity.
I write about issues that are near to my heart, be they political, feminist, motherhood, mental health, or, as the title holds, books.
A thirty-something Canadian woman in my mid-thirties, I have been “super married” to my high school sweetheart since 2006, and together we have two crazy, clever, kind, hilarious, wonderful kids.
My first book – How Not To Blog: Finding Myself, One Post at a Time is available on Amazon (in eBook formats for you clever tech readers, and paperback for those of us who love that new book smell!)
I have tried a podcast – it’s still on Apple and Google Podcasts – but writing is where my heart is.
My life changed dramatically when my husband was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer in 2018, and I am now a writer for a leading Canadian Cancer Non-Profit.
I am lucky enough to have a family that loves me and pushes me to be my best, even if it is outside of my cushiony comfort zone. I have a village of friends that nourish me, mentally, and spiritually.
Welcome to my thoughts. Sit down. Stay a while. Enjoy a cup of coffee!
This little angel has learned to French braid and woke up early to braid mama’s hair for work ❤️
.
.
.
You know when your babies start growing up and becoming their own little people with their own abilities, likes and dislikes? As much as I miss the baby cuddles, and the chubby toddler cheeks, I really love this age.
This enrages me – it is not what we should be expecting of our girls. And they do not “owe” their virginity to their fathers or their future husbands.
Before you get all angry about how I wouldn’t understand, and in this day and age it never happens, understand this – I believed that withholding sex until my wedding night was a badge of honour and I wore my virginity proudly because I was told that sex before marriage was wrong.
It put a massively, ridiculous amount of pressure on me to be “good”. It taught me that being “good” meant that pleasure from sexual activity was “bad”. It put a huge taboo on sex and helped me to create a mindset whereby being bad meant engaging in activities that were not the domain of little girls.
Would I ask this of my daughter? Never. Nope. I am teaching her to be safe, to understand what is happening in her body, but a healthy ADULT woman includes a healthy sex life and sexual appetite.
Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.
Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of Germans marched in Berlin to protest the racism and xenophobia of the country’s far-right political party. This will be us on January 19, 2019. The #WomensWave is coming and it’s going to sweep the entire globe.
.
.
.
IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An aerial shot of thousands of people marching in Berlin’s Tiergarten district.
In 2015, I decided to watch my very first episode of Doctor Who. I was on vacation just me and my kids, and wanted something to watch while the kids were in bed. As a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock, and soooo many Sherlockians were also Whovians, I found Doctor Who, which was on Netflix at the time.
…..
From the first time meeting The Ninth Doctor, until now, my infatuation with the zany, crazy, touching, silly, nonsensical, adventurous Gallifreyan protector of Earth has continued to grow. In 2017, it was announced that Peter Capaldi was stepping down as the Doctor, to be replaced when the show runners changed. I was hesitant, as all Doctor Who fans are when I knew I would be approaching another regeneration. Losing the Eleventh Doctor had me in actual tears, and I never quite cottoned to Capaldi’s take on the Doctor. I think it was because I had loved Matt Smith’s portrayal so much, that the 12th Doctor’s furrowed brow did not resonate well with me. Then Jodie Whittaker was announced, and I was beyond ecstatic for a female doctor, hereafter known as the 13th Doctor, and had enjoyed Jodie in Broadchurch. I was leery, as most of what he did on Broadchurch was cry and be angry, so I wasn’t sure if she would be a departure from or continuation of the 12th.
….
Now that 11th Season is out in the world, I am so excited that the 13th Doctor brings back many of my favourite elements of 11 – kooky, optimistic, cheerful, and physical. I thoroughly enjoyed the monologue wink at changing completely, while still remaining true to oneself. It felt very apropos.
……..
All in all, Jodie Whittaker makes a wonderful Doctor, and I am so excited to see the rest of the season!
5 years later and this picture still gets me every time. My 3 year old son, looking like he stepped out of GQ. Usually, when my kid picked out his clothes, he came in with some ninja/superhero/biker/child-rolled-in-dirt combination, topped off with biker boots; that Thanksgiving, though, he decided to put on his “fancy clothes” and asked Sisty to do his hair like Superman. Which resulted in this 3 ft tall handsome young man, hands in his pockets and all, looking so suave.
The Universe, everything and everyone around you, is responding to who you feel you are, not who you say you are! ….
… #Follow @bruce.vanhorn
….
… If you are ready to raise your life, relationships, leadership, or business to higher levels of satisfaction, significance, abundance, and peace, just contact me at BruceVanHorn.com and let’s start a conversation.
Double tap if you are ever afraid to feel good about yourself, proud of yourself, pretty, smart, etc. for fear of being thought arrogant. Like if you have thought that you do not DESERVE to feel that way about yourself because you are “too skinny”, “too fat”, “too short”, “too tall”, etc. ……..
You know what? Who gets to decide how you feel about yourself? Some random? A friend who is suffering her own insecurities? Your parents? Who? Who do you consider to be “the boss of you”? If the answer is “none of the above”, then why do other people get to decide how you feel about yourself??
…..
I’ll tell you what, though – 9 times out of 10, no one else is thinking those things that you are afraid that they are thinking. And that one out of ten chance? Guess what? That person is a jerk! Or suffering their own insecurities and projecting, because the things that we most judge in others are the things that we think about ourselves. So stop worrying about what anyone else thinks. Start feeling good about yourself. Start loving yourself. Don’t love yourself conditionally. Don’t love yourself “when”, love yourself NOW! Because who the frack cares, you guys, what ANYONE else thinks about you? Especially since far fewer people are concerned about your stuff. They are way more concerned about themselves, too. …………
Kali J Desautels 