Final Blog ... Bunny spills Highlights of 2018 with all the juicy details

Well, It’s Blog #30 and as it turns out it’s our final Blog of 2018. I have to tell you that I have found it very therapeutic to take this time every week to craft these entries. So, if you are reading now, thank you for indulging me!

I love writing. It was something I was actually good at when I was in elementary school. I remember having my stories read aloud and my compositions being entered into contests. I loved English and Art as much as I loathed Math and Geography! I have always used journalling as a means of helping me to process information and to document portions of my life.

But I digress…

Today it’s all about sharing highlights from 2018

As you can well-imagine, publishing The Butterfly Trap was not only a highlight of the year but a highlight of our lives.

Let’s flashback to December 2017 when I was working on daily illustrations for an Advent calendar and posting the images on Social Media - Inspired by Inktober. I received so much great feedback including inquiries and comments such as “you should illustrate a children’s book”

This of course appealed to me in every way. In fact, I had already written and illustrated a children’s book years ago but never taken the next steps. I vowed to myself that I would finally make this dream a reality and submit my story and artwork to a publisher in 2018.

To be honest, I was further propelled to make this happen as a trusted friend, mentor and colleague had just announced that he was leaving Canada. I was devastated. This impacted me so deeply as much of my passion and dedication to my work felt integral to our relationship at this time. I felt unhinged by his pending departure so I needed to channel my energy into something productive and meaningful.

When I shared my decision with Kuki, we considered the options and possibilities for publishing. It became very clear that what we really wanted was to do this together. We knew that our shared interest, combined talents and abilities were the perfect formula for book success. We decided to reboot the project from scratch…. together as Dragon and Bunny!

We renamed the main character who was originally Lulu, to a combination of both of our names, Kuki and Lee-Ann, Luki. And there you have it! The rest is history.

Re engineering the illustrations and story to reflect both of us was a complete labour of love.

Over the course of the past year, we have gone through all of the emotions: from anticipation to anxiety, regret, fear, elation and bliss.

But despite the rollercoaster of emotions, what has become increasingly clear is what makes life meaningful, rich and memorable. Life expands when we expand. Pushing our boundaries and growing, doing things that are a little crazy, this is the real stuff of life. Acquiring new skills and being able to stand on your own two feet… that is where the highlights are.

When my boss/friend/mentor left I wasn’t sure how I could stand on my own two feet. But I soon learned that I could. Plus, I suffered from all kinds of self doubt with regards to publishing The Butterfly Trap but nonetheless, I persevered.

Here’s the thing, one of the best ways to silence self doubt is to prove it wrong.

So, the highlight of 2018 isn’t really about the actual publishing of the book it is more about the grit it took to acquire new skills and abilities in the process. Grit creates a deeper and more sustainable sense of well being, like the kind of well being that trumps other accomplishments likely because it endures.

I could make a list as long as my arm detailing the skills, knowledge and insights that this process has taught us. I am so grateful for this. It is worth every ounce of effort, time, energy and money that we spent.

Maybe one day I can share some of my learnings with you or someone you know who might be interested in publishing. We would love to share!

We are so excited to work on our next project in 2019. And can only dream of the things we will learn along the way! This journey really is all about the process!

Don’t go anywhere you guys because the best is yet to come!

See you in the New Year…. I wonder what Luki will be up to in the next round??? Any guesses or suggestions welcome!

Learning to heed wisdom from iconic 80's Movies

It’s been busy for us.

Since we took the leap of faith and decided to embark on this book publishing journey, it’s been busy for us.

It’s been so busy in fact that we really haven’t stopped.

Here’s how busy it’s been…

We get up early and make an effort to eat something decent, squeeze in some time at the gym, some prayer, yoga, and / or meditation.

Then we start our work day early.

We work all day and in the evening we make sure that we are keeping an eye on my geriatric mum by doing her laundry, groceries and checking in. We also care for our sweet 17 year old dog who is losing interest in foods she once loved and we are now on a continuous quest to stimulate her appetite. We try to cook healthy food and eat properly and are usually depleted and in bed by 9pm. We run a youth group on Sunday mornings and Kuki plays hockey on week ends too. And of course, there is always groceries and household chores

AND…

as you well know,

we wrote, illustrated, published and marketed our first children’s book…THE BUTTERFLY TRAP. Since then, we have been doing book readings / signings and online events while building our brand, a website, social platforms etc etc….

And, we wouldn’t change a thing!

But lately I’ve been feeling it.

There is no down time, friend time, goof off time or leisure time… that can’t be good.

Sometimes I look back at the person I was when I was a teenager. I remember feeling so carefree. Many teen agers are really stressed: they may have performance pressures and are high achievers, they have extra curricular activities. They are wound up and worried about the future.

That doesn’t describe me… nope. I was a dead beat.

• no self discipline,

• no structure,

• no sense of consequences.

• I hardly attended high school,

• I hung out with friends in cafes instead and didn’t worry about a thing.

AAAAAAHHHHH! That was the life!

Obviously I am joking. This was certainly not the life. I struggled with low self esteem, depression and was in a downward spiral of apathy and non productivity. It took me years to recover and I am sometimes still haunted by fears that no matter how hard I work I am not good enough. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

But lately I’ve been wondering… how about if I could embody some of these traits like just for a day… ok a half a day… or even an hour! I think of that iconic 80’s movie, Risky Business, where Tom Cruise and that other guy are philosophizing about life and the importance of throwing caution to the wind and the value of learning to say “What the f@#%” .

Then it strikes me that I may need to lean into this message, to soften a little, to heed the wisdom of the film Risky Business. Maybe not crash a Porsche, hire a sex trade worker, have an open house, out of control party and break a Fabergé egg but you know schedule some time for reading and art, take a day off and go to the movies, let something slide knowing that I can recover with ease…

So, this is my newest ambition. I’m not sure if I'll be able to follow through but at least I will make time during the Christmas holidays to sleep in, unwind and watch a little Netflix.

Our Holiday Traditions! And some stories from Christmas Past...

We have a few things that we do each Christmas that we can’t live without! But first let’s take a quick look at Christmas Past…

Since we write and illustrate children’s books it’s imperative that we know the mindset of the child and part of this is being connected to our own inner child. We will each share a few things about Christmas that would light up our hearts.

Bunny:

“I LOVED Christmas as a child! Like LOOOOOOOOOVED it…

…The snow, the music, the tree, tinsel and decorations, presents and crafts at school. We had a plastic brown “organ” that made it’s way from the basement to my bedroom once a year and we used to perform Christmas hymns with our Grandmother, with it. There are hardly any words for the joy this would bring! Christmas specials on TV and spray snow on the mirror! OMG! It was hard to contain myself in those days! Plus I really, really believed in Santa, the elves, the flying reindeer - the works!”

Dragon:

“I always wanted to catch Santa! I hatched a plan to wake up really early on Christmas morning so that I would be the first to announce, in the most loud and obnoxious voice, to my teenaged brothers that Santa had come. We left cookies on the table, that had to be Oreo’s although my parents strangely allowed me to eat the inside and leave Santa the chocolate outer layer only. This tradition was no longer effective once our family dog Pippin entered our lives lol.

Tree decoration was always left to my Grandmother (Noni) and I. We would carefully unwrap the delicate ornaments from Kleenex and place each one on the tree with great consideration. Now here’s where it gets good. Somehow I figured that if I clustered all the little bell ornaments on the bottom of the tree they would serve as a booby trap so I could catch Santa in the act! To top it all off, my Father would shake the tree periodically to provoke me. I never caught Santa but you’ll find out how I still keep hoping to when you read on!”

This brings us to 2018. We are currently celebrating our 8th Christmas together as Dragon and Bunny and we have established some new traditions as well as kept some from the past.

• we always decorate our tree together

• we always drink out of Christmas coffee mugs

• we always make breakfast and sing Christmas carols for my mum and our dear friend and neighbour on Christmas morning

• we make our own Christmas cards

• we still hang a booby trap bell at the bottom of our tree :)

• we listen to Christmas music in the car (until we can’t take it anymore)

• we watch Christmas shows that make us nostalgic (Dragon loves National Lampoons Christmas vacation while Bunny loves the original version of The Grinch who Stole Christmas)

What are your Christmas traditions?

Do you share any with us?

Let us know!

Blog #27 Live and Learn - Lessons from Newly Published Authors

Soooo…. you’re still with us!

Yay! That’s great news! Thanks for that! In fact, this is our 27th blog which means our website and blog are already 27 weeks old!

At this juncture, we wanted to touch base and share some of our learnings just one month into the official release of The Butterfly Trap! We are still learning and leaning into the newness of it all!

Here are a few things we know

1. Energy, drive and consistency are essential. Every time we think we have climbed a mountain and can coast a little, we realize that there is yet a taller mountain still waiting to be climbed.

2. This process cost twice as much money as we had budgeted for. We agreed to spend a set amount in the initial stages of publishing and we have easily doubled this projection.

3. Our friends, family and community have been SOOOO supportive! We have read our book to hundreds of kids and families already and our book is getting rave reviews! But breaking out and getting our book into stores, into the media and the wider community has yet to happen.

   The learning curve has been steep and we will continue to navigate this new territory and share our findings with you as we go!

Thank you for your support, presence and encouragement. We never take any of this for granted and we look forward to bringing you more blogs, videos and content that add value to you and your children’s lives!

Hey! Did you check out the Saturday morning Book Club last week? It’s linked here in case you couldn’t make it! We read our book and sang our song and had the absolute best time! FYI, we are planning on making this a regular thing so stay tuned and let us know what you think! Comments can be left below!

Plus, be sure to read alllll the blogs! There are 26 other after all!!

Oh! And shop now because our Swag Bags, make the best Christmas and Chanukah gifts!

The thrill of reading books Aloud

One of the highlights of teaching is story time. It’s a thrill to hold a book in your hands and bring it to life with your voice, using tone, cadence and timing to captivate the attention of your audience.

When small children imitate teacher behaviour, it’s often by assuming a seated posture in a chair, with a pointer finger on the book facing away and directed at the students on the floor. It’s hilarious to see them do this! Especially when you hear them imitating your voice and using some of your expressions (including your slightly sarcastic tone) lol

Teachers love to read for many reasons, the benefits of promoting literacy, language and vocabulary building etc but it’s also one of the more calm, soothing and focused activities in the classroom.

Reading aloud also promotes bonding and strengthens group dynamics, encourages creativity, self reflection and discussion and it’s FUN!!!!!

When we read The Butterfly Trap to kids, it is beyond any other. Passing on this story from our imaginations and seeing it come to life and take shape in the imaginations of others is such a special feeling.

Oh! And Guess what! We are reading our book on FB and Instagram Live on Sat. Nov 24th at 10 am EST. So we can bring all of this good fun stuff right to you wherever you are.

We will also do a Q&A

Sing our song inspired by the story …

and more!

We want to share the thrill of reading our book with YOU!

Will you join us?

What Kids are saying... and How our Hearts are Bursting

As we all know, kids don’t lie, sometimes we wish they would. If they don’t like the food, or the clothes or the toy, or the book …

They tell you!

At our Pop Up Shop, on the eve of our launch, one of our first young customers took a copy of the book and asked if she could go off into a corner to read it. She ran away enthusiastically with her little sister in tow to find a quiet reading nook. We were busy meeting and greeting our guests and had forgotten about her departure. When she and her sister returned they had a look of resolve on their faces. Without any fanfare or gratuitous flattery but with a sincere expression in her eyes, she simply declared ….

“It’s Good”

Our book is being given rave reviews from our little readers!

They have written us notes and cards and given us so many genuine compliments.

For some, the book is a constant companion! Others have memorized the story and they recite it on their own. They sing the song and refer to Luki as a friend.

Now, we are not parents and we have been reminded that there is no love like a parents love and we don’t claim to know this love

… but this feeling…

we have never known this feeling before.

It starts deep in our hearts or is it the belly? Our eyes get all moist and our legs feel like jelly…

Knowing that our story is seeping into the hearts of children, is provoking them to reflect and question and identify with Luki's journey…

THIS IS PRICELESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS………

We are grateful for any and all feedback from you and your kids … including photos of you and your kids reading The Butterfly Trap, working in the coloring book, or anything else related to the song, story etc…

Keep ‘em coming!

Our favourite thing...

Heyyy Guys! Blogging today about one of our favourite things….

OUR RELATIONSHIP!!!!

So many people have commented about “us”. They tell us we are so cute together and that they enjoy watching our Live videos, our sing alongs and all of our quirky antics!

We have been told that we should have our own kids show and that we should be the new Sharon, Lois and Bram!

This is so sweet and we really appreciate these comments. We’re so glad that our closeness translates to good chemistry but let me tell you how it feels….

when we are in front of an audience and we open our book and read our names on the cover  

That

IS

Pure

JOY

We LOVE to be engaged with kids and families in this way! This is when we feel that we can really shine and share our gifts! This is a mutual passion for us and we make each other better through our collaboration.

The Butterfly Trap is a true collaboration and a reflection of our beautiful life together.

We have this amazing relationship where we actually say kind things to each other, we lift each other up, we listen and encourage, we help and support and we laugh! Lord knows we laugh!

And we do this for each other …

EVERY

SINGLE

DAY

And we have never been happier!

Our book has been a labour of pure love. We have poured ourselves into this project completely! We combined our favourite things, storytelling, art and music! When we read it and we look at the little faces staring back at us with a spark of curiosity in their eyes, there is nothing better! We can’t wait to read it to you!

Post Launch Truth Bombs

Well… As we sit here on this Sunday morning with an extra hour on our hands, thank you daylight savings time, we are reflective.

Prepping for the Pop Up Shop meant transforming a large empty space into a cosy shopping venue.

We prepared platters of fruit and veg (in the shape of a butterfly no less)

And miraculously crammed boxes of books, merch, food and helium balloons into our tiny Toyota Yaris and transported everything in one trip! (Kuki truly is a wizard as was documented in our Instagram stories)

On Saturday, at our Book Launch,  we received over 100 families and we performed two readings of The Butterfly Trap including the release of our new single inspired by the book, Hooray for Butterflies …..what a thrill for us!!!!

Sometimes, in the hustle of this process, we have lost sight of the long standing dream of publishing. We have to remind ourselves how far we have come. But it became crystal clear when we looked up at you all when we were reading our book for the first time… It was a feeling unlike any other!

If you were with us for this precious moment, we thank you. This was a mountain top experience for us and one we won’t ever forget.  

Final Blog.... Before the launch

…Final Blog before the launch…

WOOT!!

This is it people! We will be hosting two events to mark this monumental occasion. Find everything you need to know about what we’re doing and why you need to be a part of it!

Tomorrow, November 2nd, we will finally be together for the first time, mingling, chatting and hanging out at the Pop Up Shop at the St. Philips Church hall (7505 Sherbrooke W) 5 - 7 pm

What to expect at the Pop Up?

• Celebrate the release of The Butterfly Trap

• Book Sale

• Book Signing

• Light refreshments

• Our collection of merch will be available on a first come first served basis

• Hang out and chat with friends

The following morning we will be back at it!

On Saturday, November 3rd, from 10 am - noon we will be at Youth Innovation (1647 Ste. Catherine W.)

What to expect at the Launch

• Celebrate the first ever public LIVE reading of The Butterfly Trap

• Story time! We will read our book

• Music! We will sing our song!

• Face Paint! Christina-Marie will be on the scene painting the best faces in Mtl!

• Refreshments

• Giant Butterfly Coloring Pages

• Book and Merch Sale

• Book Signing

• Author Q&A

• Light refreshments

OMG!! This is actually happening!

We have said it before but it is actually happening….

Our living room has been turned into a virtual Santa’s workshop. It actually does feel like Christmas for us! Soooo many packages waiting to go to their new homes. This fills us with promise that our story will…

…delight children and families and teachers

…inspire creativity and imagination

…awaken a deeper love of nature

…reflect on freedom and what it means to really love something

We wonder how The Butterfly Trap will impact you?

We can’t wait for you to let us know!

Love Always, Dragon and Bunny

Confessions of an Almost Published Author

Confessions of an Almost Published Author

What is the point of following your dreams?

So, by next week this time our Pop up shop will be behind us, we will have formally launched our book, The Butterfly Trap. We will have read it to you and sung for you, and introduced you to this new chapter in our lives which is a dream come true…. Right??

As we continue to wade through the final details of making this happen, the dreamy parts aren’t always all that clear. There are lots of preparations for our events and money to spend and sometimes I have stopped and wondered what the hell we are doing this for???

And then I remember our main character, Luki ….

Her story, the message and the special ways that books capture our hearts and imaginations.

…

I remember my own dreams of being an author and doodling characters for story books since I was a small child. I was even labelled by my high school History teacher as “the artist” in the least affectionate way.

The truth is I doodled and drew a lot in school, and not just in Art class. Today, people often wonder how I have so much energy and get so much done; but I haven’t always been a high achiever. In fact, as a teenager I had major struggles with motivation, organization and keeping up. High school was a low point for me. I felt like a failure, not only did I not pursue my dreams but I could hardly make it to class. Most days I didn’t. It gets worse, I repeated grade 11 and dropped out of CEGEP.

“ The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

— Alice Walker

A lot has changed since I was so adrift. Thankfully a few years later I found the drive to return to school, completed certificates and degrees at CEGEP and university. But in the backdrop of my awareness even today is intimately knowing what failure and disconnect feels like. This is likely why I am so motivated.

• I want to make a difference in peoples lives

• I want to inspire positive and affirming beliefs

• I want my art to have a meaningful impact in the world

Yes I am scared but I know that I am more than my worst fears.

In fact, as a creative, I am aware of the importance of failing as a part of the process. But that doesn’t quell the insecurities.

So, there you have it. Now you know…..

What is the point of following your dreams?

I don’t know, but something tells me there’s more value in trying, than not trying.  

So, that is what we are doing with The Butterfly Trap. We are putting ourselves fully out there and I don’t think we often regret trying stuff in life. It’s a lack of trying that leads us to regret.

Wouldn’t you agree?

The Butterfly Trap ELEVATOR PITCH we give it to you here first

Well….. You have waited long enough! Our book has been listed as a new release on our publishers website… we are about to go live on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and our books will soon be flying off book shelves everywhere.  Since you guys have been with us, waiting patiently and following us on this publishing journey since the beginning, we are giving you our elevator pitch first!

Let’s start with a fun fact… did you know that The Butterfly Trap has been published before?

And did you know that originally she was called Lulu? Well, we have already shared that our character is now called Luki which is a combination of Lee-Ann and Kuki.

The Butterfly Trap was first released 15 years ago with the same title but a much more crude version that I wrote and illustrated without the creative direction from my gifted and talented wife, Kuki. I had it scanned, and laid out by a graphic artist, printed and bound at a local printer and was distributing copies in the schools that I worked at, to friends and family etc.

The takeaway here is that the story has already been extensively field tested by children from ages 2-11. Children are the best test market because they are so honest and uninhibited. Their feedback is golden because they have no filter!

And here’s the best news...

EVERY TIME we have READ THIS BOOK, in many different contexts, classrooms ages and settings it was met with delight! There was laughter, engagement, reflection and attention. I created this book from my heart for the hearts of children and they connected.

Most importantly though I want you to know that the new and improved version of The Butterfly Trap has surpassed my expectations because it was conceived thanks to Kuki’s vision and creative direction. We also owe a debt of gratitude to our collaboration with our publisher, editors and creative team. Thanks to this, our story has been tweaked, reworked and reborn and is now a more well thought out, consistent and well developed product overall.

So, It’s all happening now friends and we can hardly even believe it….

But we promised you our elevator pitch so that you will be the first to get to know Luki and The Butterfly Trap book so, here it is P.S we memorized it!!

“The Butterfly Trap is a book about a girl named Luki. Luki is a willful little girl who won’t let anything stop her. Not even her Mother!

She loves butterflies so much that she wants to have one as a pet. But how much is too much? This story is special because we learn why Luki’s dream may or may not be such a good idea.”

— Lee-Ann and Kuki

Check out our first ever video debut of our elevator pitch here!

Soon, we will have the privilege of reading the story to you and give you access to our exclusive line of limited edition merch. Over the first weekend of November our hearts will be bursting because this project has so much heart in it, there is so much history and is literally a piece of who we are. Nothing feels better than sharing who you are with authenticity.

Thank you for receiving it.

Yours,

Dragon and Bunny

Pop Up Shop Friday November 2nd

Book Launch Saturday November 3rd

Today we answer YOUR questions! It’s DragonBunny Books Q and A day….

Many people have been asking us questions and we have been listening. So, here we go!

Q. Why are we hosting a Pop up Shop AND a Book Launch / Reading back to back?

WELLLLL……we decided to host the book launch on Saturday Nov. 3rd at Youth Innovation downtown from 10 am-noon because the space is beautiful and has a great community vibe with a gorgeous library. We knew right away that this venue would be perfect! Our objective for the launch is to host an event for both parents and kids that is conducive to our first live reading of our book, while we offer a few activities for the kids, some snacks and can get access to our exclusive The Butterfly Trap line of merch. When we started talking to people and inviting them to the event, we began thinking about the configuration of the space… (did we mention that it’s a beautiful space and has a great community vibe, natural light, exposed brick walls ...the works! Yes, I know we did but it’s important.)

But here’s the thing … the space for our launch is beautiful but it’s not HUGE!

It accommodates around 100 people comfortably and we really wish to focus on reading and animating the story at the launch, perform some live music and encourage movement and dancing too! Because of course, you all know how much we love to whip out our skills and demo our innate love of delighting, animating and entertaining little humans.

Soooo…… Because we wanted to accommodate you and offer you a more intimate opportunity to  SHOP, we decided to open our POP UP SHOP (Friday, Nov 2nd). A one day only event is dedicated exclusively to selling and signing our book and displaying our exclusive merch all for the very first time!! We selected another location (Mtl West), that is very spacious and accessible

Please note that we want you to attend both events as they will each offer something different, (from setting to vibe, space and content) However, We will NOT be reading or animating at the POP UP Shop. This will be more like a meet ‘n greet! If you wish to hear the story being read and / or have kids who would then the Launch on Saturday morning is the best option.

Q. How are you guys feeling? Are you excited now that you are published authors?

No. We are actually pretty anxious right now. I know that I am personally having a pretty major anxiety flare up tonight and am pretty sure it’s cause of the stress of the book. We still haven’t even held a copy of our book. We have been through rounds of edits and approval and admired oodles of digital files but have we made face to face contact? No… All we are doing is spending more money and time and energy on something that is only theoretical at this point. Is that scary? Yes. Are we feeling insecure? Are doubts creeping in? Absolutely yes. Right now the whole things is kinda surreal. We are in a bit of shock and the learning curve has been steep….

Every spare moment we have we are knee deep in marketing, branding, edits, merchandising, strategizing and planning our next book! Soooo…. Are we excited? Yes! For us to actually get to the other side of this project that was conceived 9 months ago! Isn’t that ironic?

I feel labour pains coming on….

POP UP SHOP

We are excited to announce our

NEW event …

Our first ever ….

Can’t even believe it’s real

POP UP SHOP!!

We wanted to give you an exclusive chance to buy our book, have it signed, meet ‘n greet and check out our new line of limited edition merch while having some refreshments.

Join us anytime between 5 à 7 pm at 7505 Sherbrooke West (Mtl West)


Please note that the OFFICIAL PUBLIC LAUNCH and READING will take place on

Saturday, November 3rd as planned… so, if you wish to experience

“THE BUTTERFLY TRAP”

story being read for the first time then JOIN US AT BOTH EVENTS!

Thanksgiving is Gratitude Time

Well… its Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend and we thought it would be the perfect time to list some things we are grateful for….

1. EACH OTHER (DRAGON + BUNNY)

2. OUR BOOK (THE BUTTERFLY TRAP)

3. YOU!!!

We are so close to releasing our first book and have been through some challenges and frustrations evoking the whole range of emotions lately in this final stage of the process

(ugh! feels a little like how late stage pregnancy must feel. It’s like we are about to burst here!!!)

BUT….

• We must remember how far we’ve come

• We must remember the importance of pursuing our dreams

• We must remember to be grateful for every drop!

We continue to learn about the publishing industry and are gathering up knowledge and experience for future projects and to share with others who might wish to pursue their own book publishing dreams.

We continue to ride the wave of emotions from elation and joy to fear and self doubt.

But on this Thanksgiving week end, with a month to go before our book launch, we are THANKFUL and wish to thank you for believing in us and following us and being on this publishing journey with us!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM DRAGON and BUNNY! WE LOVE YOU GUYS AND ARE FILLED WITH GRATITUDE THAT WE GET TO DO THIS WITH YOU xo

DO WHAT YOU LOVE! LOVE WHAT YOU DO!

BLOG September 28 2018

This may seem impossibly simplistic and idealistic. This may not always be an option. This may be something for only the privileged few. I know that’s how I felt. For most of my life I have had to do what I had to do and didn’t have the luxury of reflecting on what I loved or even what I needed.

I needed to pay the bills

I needed to eat

I needed to survive

I’m not sure if it’s generational, cultural or a result of my life circumstances but I am shifting into a more purposeful stage of my life. I am relentless and driven but resolved to pour myself solely into projects that uplift and serve. This past week I was reflecting on why I still teach yoga to kids. I have had to decline so many work related offers lately but this is one of the commitments I am determined to maintain.

Why?   Yoga has inherent value and so many benefits but, I love it because when I teach yoga I get to remind my students that they are seen… like really seen for who they are. Not how they look or what they wear or for their performance in sports or academics but for their being… dare I say for their soul! This is something that I believe we all long for. We long to be seen and to feel connected. In class, I don’t articulate this using formal or religious language but it’s something we experience… together. Through music, listening, stillness, movement, play, yoga poses, breath practices and meditation. We experience the holistic, beneficial, profound and uplifting benefits of yoga in community.

I am drawn to people and places where being seen and feeling connected (to self, community and source) are paramount.

Working on the “The Butterfly Trap” book filled me with a deep sense of connection that I can hardly put into words. Developing the main character, Luki, expressing her journey through language and images, capturing the essence of the story in this way was a transcendent experience.

I asked Kuki how she felt about this. I mean, I am confident that she agrees because we both gush at the end of the day sharing how much we each love and are thriving at our respective jobs. But I asked her to say what it is she loves and why…

She told me that she loves teaching kindergarten because she gets to give back the most beautiful gift that her late grandmother gave to her: unconditional love! Being a part of the lives of children as they navigate the world independently for the first time fills her with indescribable joy. “I have my finger on the pulse of their lives” She believes that modelling kindness and fairness will have a profound impact and help her students to enhance their capacity to be decent human beings.“I have always wanted to be an artist. I have had this dream  for as long as I can remember. I pursued Fine Arts even before Education so co creating The Butterfly Trap and starting DragonBunny Books feels like a dream is coming true!”

“I have always wanted to be an artist. I have had this dream  for as long as I can remember. I pursued Fine Arts even before Education so co creating The Butterfly Trap and starting DragonBunny Books feels like a dream is coming true!

”

I believe that doing what you love means that you are aligned with your higher purpose and this is something to encourage and nurture in ourselves and each other. But I also appreciate what might hold us back from doing this. My hope is that we can stop and take a look at aspects of our lives that flow, where there is both ease and challenge, find the sweet spot and pour ourselves into those areas and watch them multiply!

A Day In the Life of A Dragon!

OK, Here it is …. A Day in the Life of A Dragon… Because you asked for it!

Dragon wakes up at the crack of dawn.

She roars and stretches with a giant dragon yawn.

The little dog and cat need to go pee and get fed

They always make sure that she gets out of bed.

The Bunny and Dragon eat breakfast at last

Even early in the morning, they are having a blast!

Iron the shirt

Get dressed and shower… when it’s time to go to work, she smells like a flower.

At Kindergarten house she tells stories and sings

All the children line up when the bell rings

Coffee time gives dragon the energy she needs

To soothe and teach children and put Band-aids on knees

In the evening, there’s hockey YES! Dragons even skate on ice!

After there will be dog walks, holding hands feels so nice

Good night Dragon

Good night Bunny, dog and cat

Tomorrow we’ll do it all again - if you can imagine that!

THE END

Patience is a virtue … in all the ways BLAH BLAH BLAH

Since we have been on this book publishing journey, we have had to explore the boundaries of our patience. This is a polite way of saying, that it has been, at times, difficult.

When dealing with third parties, this often means having to accommodate timelines that are disappointing, human error (other than your own) and ideas that may not coalesce.

For the most part, I consider myself patient or perhaps I am mistaking this for what I freely give to others and deny myself, as I tend to just push myself until I get the job done. I get easily frustrated / impatient if things don’t get done expediently.

But the thing is, to publish a book, there were things that we simply had to delegate and couldn’t accomplish on our own. In fact, we hired a book publisher / publishing consultant to walk us through the process.

We are learning as we go that each step takes not hours or days, but weeks and sometimes even months to complete. Each round of edits and reviews is time consuming. This is particularly tricky I am noticing, because we live in a world where we are used to waiting mere seconds for everything! Downloads take moments, deleting is instantaneous and payments are processed with but the tap of a card. Personally, I am the type to stay up all night to see a project through because I don’t feel settled until it’s complete. This probably isn’t something to advertise because it is likely a symptom of my anxiety, or some mild form of OCD. This is by no means humble bragging, just saying it like it is. I also drive Kuki a little nuts with my determination. In fact, she has called me manic when I am in this mode. So, as I said, this process has, at times, been difficult. We have had to sit back and wait, patiently as our book has undergone this transformation. From idea, to words, to drawings, paintings and ultimately, to print!

But, we are, in fact finally actually nearing the very end. We are now able to celebrate an actual book launch date

Saturday, November 3rd 2018 at Innovation Jeunes

and we will even have sales and distribution details for you shortly.

You will soon read our story

“The Butterfly Trap”

where Luki has her own battles with patience (or lack thereof). I was actually thinking of her as I was blogging today and am realizing that the very story that I co-wrote still has something to teach me. You will see exactly what I am talking about when you read the book yourself! We believe that good stories will morph with you and offer you and your families different lessons and insights over time.

As long as you are patient of course!

Here is a link that will make you impatient with your own impatience

9 Reasons why Patience is A virtue

Why aren’t there 10" lol?

Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover

I suppose it’s a part of human nature to see something and judge it very quickly. We form opinions, opt in or out of opportunities, people and places in the blink of an eye.

Our culture is obsessed with appearances. It’s commonly understood that we go to great lengths to put our best foot forward. We spend thousands of dollars on clothes, beauty products, accessories, hair styling, cosmetic procedures etc.  We are preoccupied with posting pictures of ourselves, preened and filtered to perfection, on social media platforms.

In fact, if someone doesn’t measure up, we might dismiss them entirely, assuming they are not credible or worth investing any time and energy in. Sadly, we might even ignore them altogether.

So, if  this is the world we live in, you can understand why It’s so scary for us to reveal our first potential book cover / title to you….

So before we share it, we will simply ask that you

Please don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

Unless of course, you like our title and book cover in which case, we hope you will judge it accordingly and be deeply convicted that this is the best children’s book ever written! You will then automatically rush to buy it and tell everyone you know. Soon after, Disney will approach us to sign a movie deal! Right?

This is what we hope but the truth is, it’s scary and vulnerable to be in this position. There are so many other books, artists, stories and concepts that are way better than ours. On Instagram alone, I am floored by the raw talent and dedication of so many of the artists who produce children’s books that literally knock my socks off every day. Too often I am left wondering if our book even measures up….

We are revealing the title here today and are nonetheless hopeful that you will stick around even if you don’t like the title and potential cover because there is more to it than meets the eye…

Every page tells a story and our story has a message because our books do that. Tell stories with a message.

Our slogan is ...“Big Questions for Little Humans” after all

Any worthwhile endeavour requires more than a glance and can evolve over time so, take a glance and give it some time. We are planning on sticking around for a while and we wish to grow with you all on this awesome publishing journey.

So, here it is what do you think….. Do you want to know more? Leave us a comment... 

It's True!

We are publishing our first children's book. Available SOON! If you have subscribed, you will be the first to know more! Subscribe HERE

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