What's Up Wednesdays: Fresh Start

This is it. Here we are with the final speedlink of 2015. It’s time to look back at the year that was and prepare for the world of possibility that the new year can bring. To start things off, we have Larry Bernstein asking all sorts of questions about Christmas from the perspective of a Jewish man. From the outside looking in, many Christmas traditions just don’t make sense. Why egg nog? Why the yule log? And what’s the deal with the Elf on the Shelf?

My life has changed a lot since becoming a father and I’ve been faced with several new challenges as a result. Blogging Tips explores some of the ways that you can still work from home with kids if you put certain rules and boundaries in place. It’s simply not realistic to be working full-time while simultaneously tending to a wee one, so you need to be much more strategic about time and space management. Extra desk space helps too.

New year’s resolutions don’t start until the new year, right? Before you prepare for that fresh start, you might want to follow Amy “Food Queen” Smith down to Seymour street to indulge in some smoked meat at Dunn’s Famous. They can load it up on a poutine or pile it high on a rather epic sandwich, complete with your choice of fatty meat in an off-menu XXL size. She’s right that the deep fried pickles look like they have way too much batter though.

There’s always a lot of talk around Vancouver about the housing bubble and how the dream of owning a home is out of reach for many families. I feel what it takes is a shifting of perspective and realizing that not all families need a single family detached house with a white picket fence. Indeed, Steffani Cameron argues that many families are choosing to stay put even after they outgrow their homes. This is because the community that surrounds them is more valuable than the square feet enclosed between four walls.

And finally, if you’re not sure what goals you want to set for yourself for 2016, Jenn Gill has compiled an extensive list of 200 new year’s resolution ideas to get you started. While I would argue that you should convert these ideas into S.M.A.R.T. goals that work toward something even greater, the ideas should at least give you an initial direction to follow. Get more sleep, save more money, and stop procrastinating. Do it now.