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10 Questions with Amber Ozero

Each month, we play 10 questions with one of Alberta’s most interesting mamas. This week we hear from Parkland County’s Amber Ozero, who owns and operates Good Morning Honey, along with her husband Richard. You can find Good Morning Honey on Facebook and Instagram, or connect in person at Callingwood Farmers Market, 124 St. Grand Market, and Millwoods Farmers Market in Edmonton.

1. How did your career path evolve from working as an editor/videographer/reporter for major media companies in Western Canada, to owning and operating Good Morning Honey along with your husband?

After having two kids under two, I decided to put my television career on hold and be a stay at home mom. We moved to a farm and I really enjoyed being with my kids and living the country life. It was my husband Richard’s idea to get into beekeeping. He was very passionate about it and before I knew it, so was I! It was a natural progression. I take care of marketing, promotions, farmers markets, event planning, website and social media along with any other jobs that need doing like pouring, labelling and delivering honey!

Photos from a Good Morning Honey hive in Parkland County as part of the Photo Collection Legacy Project Parkland County, AB, Canada.

2. What is the most rewarding aspect of running a family owned and operated business?

Seeing what you can accomplish when you work together.

3. How does a typical day unfold in the Ozero household?

Richard heads down to the shop (a short one minute walk!) to get things going for the day. I usually answer emails and plan out social media posts while having morning coffee. It all depends on the weather and the time of year as to what happens next! Some days are busier than others but there never seems to be a lack of things to do. Richard takes care of the beekeeping. I’m often filling orders, delivering orders, cleaning, doing paperwork, organizing, promoting, loading up for farmers markets, organizing events on our farm like long table dinners and Open Farm Days.

4. Can you describe your parenting philosophy?

Now that we have teenagers, I’m a big believer in honesty and straight talk. I think that having an open dialogue about what is going on in their lives is important. Being a teenager is tough and I want my kids to know that they can come to me with any problem they might have.

5. You can recommend one book to Alberta Mamas readers. Which title do you choose?

Taking time to read a novel is something I struggle with! I read a lot of news and articles online. The only time I seem to squeeze novels in, is on vacation. I just started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. My Mom recommended it to me.

6. It’s Sunday morning. How are you spending the day?

I like to make crepes or maybe bacon and eggs. Most likely two coffees on a Sunday! Last week, we hopped in the 57 Chev and went antiquing and out for lunch and a movie. That was a pretty good Sunday.

7. What do you like most about living in Parkland County?

The people! We love our neighbours and all the farmers that we work with. It’s a great place to live and operate a business.

8. Who do you find most interesting to follow on social media?

@Thediymommy and @Brickbubble.

9. What’s one thing about you that might surprise others?

I beat Gord Bamford (country recording artist) in a singing competition in grade two! (He obviously did more with his singing that I did!!!)

10. What would you tell people who want to know more about Good Morning Honey?

We are very passionate about bees and honey! We take great pride in our beekeeping practices and in our family business. Richard and I are big believers in working with local businesses and other entrepreneurs and feel fortunate to have the support from our amazing customers!

Kirsten Clark is a high school English teacher, a reader, a writer, a runner, a podcast junkie, a lover of good food, and, most importantly, a mom. She lives in Beaverlodge with her husband and son, a curious and energetic toddler, who keeps his parents on their toes! Connect with her on Instagram @kirstenlanae , and at thefaucet.net, where she blogs every Monday, no matter what.

Tips for Surviving Long Haul Flights with Kids

Dreaming of taking trips to incredible destinations? Dreaming of taking your children around the world to experience new cultures and take on new adventures? Having nightmares about the long flights? We have all been there!

From when my children were old enough to have a passport (so basically the first few weeks), my husband and I have been taking our children on trips around the world. Our first long haul trip was with our 6 month old daughter to Turkey. Of Course we were terrified. As new parents and never having travelled with children before we couldn’t even anticipate what it might look like. To make it worse, him and I had this image of exhausted parents not having slept for 24 hours pacing back and forth in airplane consoling a screaming baby in our minds. Our first experience wasn’t too far off from that image to be honest. On the way to Turkey, we had crying, no sleep, we had many many outfit changes and throw up. Lots of throwup! Not a great way to kick off a 2 week vacation. BUT we sat down, and we worked out a great plan for the return, taking into account everything we had experienced. It was almost perfect! We got it all worked out and we were now prepared. Fast forward 6 years and 2 kids later, we have taken many long haul flights including Egypt, Singapore, Indonesia, and The Philippines.

I want to share with you my tips for taking long haul flights so that you can get past the anxiety of flying with children and start enjoying all the amazing places this world has to offer!

BABY:

The Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta (CPAA) is ready to host their 13th Annual Life Without Limits Challenge event this September where people of all ages and abilities come together to celebrate their accomplishments, raise funds, and most of all … have fun!

This yearly event is not your typical walk-a-thon, as the CPAA puts a big focus on making the event fully inclusive and open to the community.

“Many of the individuals we work with have some form of a disability and live right in your community. This event is giving them a day to have fun with their friends and family. It’s something they look forward to each year. The more participants we have out, the more fun they have.” Says Joanne Dorn of the CPAA.

Each month, we play 10 questions with one of Alberta’s most interesting mamas. This month we get to know newborn photographer Hailey Hamilton. Hailey hails from Calgary, and is the owner and artistic talent behind Hailey Hamilton Photography. As a mom herself, Hailey gets that life with a new baby can be crazy, and strives to be flexible and understanding with her clients in order to make their experience relaxed and enjoyable. Connect with Hailey, and check out her beautiful portraits, by visiting her website or Facebook page.

1. How did your career as a photographer evolve towards a specialization in newborn photography?

At one time, I photographed almost everything. After a bunch of my friends had babies (and I was asked to take photos), I quickly learned how much fun it was to pose them and squish them into adorable curly positions. I found it was much easier to be creative with newborns and to be able to achieve the looks I was envisioning. As a mom myself, I’m also very comfortable working with babies!

2. What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

Having the opportunity to snuggle new babies is obviously amazing, but as an artist, the most rewarding thing for me is achieving the final finished portrait and seeing my vision come to life!

3. Which three words best describe your artistic style?

Clean, simple, minimal

4. It’s Sunday morning. How is your family spending the day?

Brunch at our favorite breakfast spot, and then wherever the day takes us!

5. What’s your favourite kid-friendly destination in Calgary?

My son is a teenager so we don’t usually do too many kid activities. But escape rooms and go karts are always a hit.

The first thing I asked myself is – What the heck is Spark The Energy Credit Union?

Here is a snippet from their About Us Page to give you an idea:

“Originally founded in 1953 as a credit union for employees of Shell Canada.
As the energy industry evolved, so did the credit union. On June 13, 2018, the membership approved to change the name from Shell Employees’ Credit Union to SPARK The Energy Credit Union to signal our opening to the people of the energy industry at large – no matter if you’re an employee, contractor, or consultant.”

They’re not just like any other financial institution – they’re for Albertans, by Albertans and they have the financial products, advice, service, and understanding to help you and your family thrive financially.

And they’re opening a Credit Union branch in Fort Saskatchewan to do just that!

The Grand Opening provides you with an opportunity to check it out AND have a little family fun!

DETAILS

When: July 26, 2019; from 10 to 2 pm

What:

Special SPARK gift bags for first 50 attendees
Door prizes
FREE treats from the Tiny Tim’s mini-donut food trucks
Face painting & balloon animals
Mix 107.9 will be live on location
Grand Opening Giveaway of a Family 2019 Seasonal Membership to Jurassic Forest

By Leah Elzinga Read more

5 Reasons We Love The St. Albert Botanic Park

This past weekend we decided to take advantage of the sunshine – it’s few and far between lately! My daughter has become interested in taking photos – especially of flowers – and we had never been to the St. Albert Botanic Garden so that’s where we went!

1. It’s FREE

You park in the lot and it’s right there. There is a gift shop you can peruse if you like but entrance is free.

2. It’s bigger than you expect!

I hadn’t looked up anything more than where it was so when we got there, the entrance gardens were already impressive. But then we kept walking. It’s LONG. There is an entrance park, an East park, a West park and more additional gardens. We stopped along the way so much to take photos we spent almost 2 hrs there.

From age 9-16 I was a competitive swimmer for a small summer swim team in Jasper National Park ; the Jasper Red Fins. We were small but mighty and we called ourselves “RED HOT!” WE were very proud. I didn’t actually learn to swim until age 9 but my parents focused on it so much that within months, I had completed all the levels and joined the swim team. Swimming became my life. I wasn’t the fastest swimmer but my technique was good and I loved it! I enjoyed early morning practices and I would even go to the pool to “swim laps” on my own regularly. Our pool had a Kilometer Club and where the goal was to swim 100km in the specified time frame and we got prizes at different milestones. When I say swimming was my life, I’m not exaggerating!

After age 16, I started coaching the swim team. First I was an assistant coach then a year or so later, I was the head coach. The team was mine! I was a “take no crap” kind of coach. I was a 6am practice kind of coach. I was a “no junk food or unhealthy food the week before a competition” kind of coach. Like I said, swimming was my life. I did this until about age 21 when I stopped spending the summers in Jasper.

WAHM/D, SAHM/D, Work out of the home or other? WAHM

# of Kids? Ages? 2 Kids: I have two kids; Manessa (6 years) and Malik (3 years)

What movie makes you cry? My Sister’s Keeper. It just hit close to home. When it came out, I was struggling with some health issues. Most often, I tear up in movies that have to do with Parents and their children.

Tell us about a mom/dad who inspires you?

My own parents for sure! My parents made a very tough decision to leave home; Egypt; to seek a better future for themselves and their children. They learned the language, worked 7 days a week, built their life together one brick at a time. They were typical immigrants working for the dream. They raised my sister and I here in this amazing country trying to balance an Eastern culture and Faith in the Western world. They taught us to be proud of who we are, and to remain rooted. They taught us to work hard, be honest and to do what you can in life then leave the rest up to God.

By Leah Elzinga

“My kid spends all their time in their room playing video games. I’m worried they’re not making friends. At least they like technology?! Maybe you can teach them to code!”

Every six weeks or so I receive an email or request similar to this one, with frazzled parents begging me to teach their kid to code to get them out of the basement but… that doesn’t work. Here’s the thing: I love technology. I love the thing itself, I love the process of building it, and I love the people involved. In and of itself, though, technology isn’t the solution to all of our problems: people are.

So let’s unpack this problem. Kid spends all their time playing videogames online. Ok, so this isn’t really a problem in and of itself. Is the kid still active? Gets their homework done? Let’s assume the answers there are a “yes”.Kid is anti-social. Ok, so this we can work with, but maybe not in the way you’d expect.

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