Stuff About Me Archives - A Flimsy Plan

My 2026 Word of the Year: Nourish

January 7, 2026 No Comments

Remember last year when I said that it makes sense to post the Word of the Year a few days into the year? Once again, I am living that truth. (But, tbh… I’m mildly doing better than last year? Like… MILDLY. Like by 3 days…)

It’s mid-January, if we’re being honest, as horrifying as that is. I just got home from a long day that included work, the gym, emails I didn’t want to answer, play outline refining, and DM messages that required my full brain. I’ve eaten dinner, I’m in my comfiest clothes, and I’m settling in for a quiet night at home.

And honestly? That feels very on theme for this year.

Reflections on 2025’s Word of the Year: Elevate

Last year’s word was Elevate, and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that it worked.

I elevated my work. I did a workshop at the International Conference on Residency Education that was not supposed to be a solo presentation but still ended up highly regarded. Full Circle Theatre had a massive year… artistically, structurally, and reputationally. We pulled off projects that would have 2011!Erin. We received five CAT Awards, which seems insane as new members. I elevated my professional life at my day job, stepping more fully into leadership, responsibility, and trust. (Ugh. All the worst words… especially as I’m still not an official, compensated leader.) I elevated my personal relationships, my collaborations, and my expectations of what I deserve from the people around me, even when it sucks.

I also, quite literally, elevated my physical effort. If you asked anyone… I moved more. I lifted weights. I pushed my body harder than I had in years.

Until I burnt out and I stopped.

Because here’s the honest part:
I elevated a lot… but I didn’t always replenish what that elevation cost.

Somewhere in the process of doing amazing, meaningful, ambitious things, I quietly let go of some of the things that are just for me. Goodreads will tell you, I read fewer books. I cooked less. I spent more money eating out and drinking than I wanted to. Certainly, I moved.. but inconsistently instead of sustainably. I wrote constantly, sure… but often for output, not for nourishment. I created all the time, but not always in ways that filled me back up.

Elevate asked a lot of me. And I answered.

But by the end of the year, I could feel it: I didn’t need to go higher. I didn’t need to keep Elevating. I needed to come home. To myself. In this life that Calgarians live, barely above sea level.

My 2026 Word of the Year – Nourish

So this year, my word is Nourish.

Not discipline.
Not optimize.
And not grind (absolutely not grind). Last year was kind of about grind and I failed. I said I was going to move and feel better about my body and feel better about myself and I ultimately didn’t. So I’m picking something kinder for 2026.

Nourish.

I want to nourish my body… not punish it, not correct it, not chase some ideal version of it. I’m never going to be 24 again, as much as I love to joke about 2011!Erin. I recognize how things feel in my body. I want to move consistently because it makes me feel strong and grounded. Honestly, I want to cook more food at home that actually feeds me. I want to feel good in my body again, not just about what art it can produce.

If we want to put a pin on it, I want to nourish my creativity. That means finishing my novel. Writing on this blog because I want to, not because I feel like I should. Bringing Off Book back in a way that feels sustaining instead of another thing on the list. Making content that uplifts me, not just content that serves a brand or a strategy.

I want to nourish my attention. Less vegging out. Less unfocused doing. And less scattering my energy everywhere just because I can. I don’t want to do less. I don’t think. It makes me so incredibly mad when people tell me I’m “busy” like I’m not just doing what everyone else is doing… I’m just louder about it and I don’t always make the choices that make my personal life better. I want to do what I’m already doing… but more mindfully, with intention and care.

And maybe most importantly, I want to nourish myself with kindness. Less shame about my body. Less guilt about rest. And less beating myself up for not doing everything perfectly, all the time. (Yeah. Shockingly, I didn’t fix that in 2025. In fact, I may have made it worse.)

Elevate was about going up and out.
Nourish is about going inward and staying.

That doesn’t mean this year will be quiet or small. If you know me at all, you know that’s not happening. I don’t have that ability in this silly little body. But I want the work, the movement, the art, and the ambition to be fed by something real, not just momentum.

So that’s the word. Nourish.

If you were to pick a word of the year, what would it be? Do you do resolutions instead?

Stuff About Me

My 2025 Word of the Year: Elevate

January 10, 2025 No Comments

Remember last year when I said that it makes sense to post the Word of the Year a few days into the year? Well, I’m really leaning into that this year! Not since 2021 have I posted my Word of the Year so late. But still. Posting it today feels right. I just got home from a very long day, including a committee meeting, working at my day job, a full body workout, and a super-fun rehearsal for an upcoming project. And now I’m sitting at home, drinking soda water and watching Drag Race. When you look at my 2025 Word of the Year, it’ll seem very appropriate.

Reflections on 2024’s Word of the Year

Last year, I wrote that my 2023 Word of the Year, Intentional, was a garbage fire of a word. This was true. But thank god this year’s Word went better.

I’m not going to pretend that I picked the word Priority and then immediately got all my priorities in line. I’m not going to pretend that I immediately phased out the people in my life that didn’t ever make me a priority. I don’t think anyone could do something like that.

However, what I will tell you, is that I feel like I walked out of 2024 with a good sense of what I want to prioritize in my life. I spent the year slowly building more and more habits to focus on my wellness, from journaling to regularly seeing a chiropractor to actually delegating things for the first time in my life. We did a massive production of Riverona this summer (as my readers likely know) and I actually let people help me.

The whole process of letting people in to help also served to identify what qualities I want in my collaborators moving forward. I may be a little bit pickier in the future, who can say? And I made so many new friends!

All of this culminated with Tyler and I joining a gym and getting personalised workout plans. I know I go to Moveology regularly, and I don’t intend to stop that, but I want to lift weights. To be quite honest, I’m ready for a body transformation and I’m willing to work hard.

My 2025 Word of the Year – Elevate

And I’m also very embarrassed to admit it. The fact that I’m eating and drinking and working out to change my body in some way. It goes against all the work I’ve done on loving myself and breaking down the toxic discourse around my body. It’s not supposed to be where I get my value from. Yet I still want to change.

All that brings us to my 2025 Word of the Year. Because I’ve decided to reframe how I’m approaching this. It’s not about changing my body because it’s bad. It’s about elevating it. Making something I love even better.

That’s what I think this year is going to be about. Elevate. Full Circle Theatre is ready to go to the next level and we have so many amazing things planned for the first half of 2025. (Some announced, many not yet in the public consciousness. Y’all are going to lose your minds when you find out, though.) I have some plans that I think will make keeping this blog alive easier. I’m building the type of relationships I want to have in my life. Even at my day job, we just hired a good friend of mine to work on my team and I know we’re going to do such amazing work. (Also, I’m motivated by collaboration.)

Plus I’m literally going to lift some weights.

So, we’ll see how it goes this year! This year, my regular challenge spread is going to look a little different. Though I’m stretching and yoga-ing a ton, the 12-week challenge at my gym is going to override my usual yoga challenge. However, I will still be completely a Slightly-Damp January, and a No-Spend challenge hosted by the wonderful Jenny. For interested parties – I’ve only drank once in January so far, and it was a single beer, so things are looking good!

If you were to pick a word of the year, what would you pick? Do you do resolutions instead?

Culture, Stuff About Me

ShakesPeers Holiday Bash

December 8, 2024 No Comments

One of the hallmarks of this blog, ever since it started, was “fun things I do in Calgary”. And slowly – sloooooowly – I’ve moved into creating fun things to do in Calgary for other people. I mean, I’ve produced theatre on and off for over a decade, so that counts as something. But over this past year, Full Circle Theatre has started putting on community building Shakespeare-inspired salon events. And that is definitely creating “fun things to do in Calgary”. Tonight was our most recent event, the ShakesPeers Holiday Bash and it was everything I needed it to be.

First, What is ShakesPeers?

Great question! It is, obviously, a pun on Shakespeare. And the fact that we get together with our peers. And shake, I guess?

Basically, we wanted to make something that would bring theatre people together, but wouldn’t be a class or a performance. It would just be an opportunity to nerd out with other cool theatre people and potentially practice our craft a little bit in a low stakes environment. Our first event was a Roles in a Bowl reading of Much Ado (which was exactly what it sounds like) and our second was a Scene Exploration (where we just selected scenes, messed around, and talked about them). We’ve met new people and gotten comfortable with Shakespeare. And more importantly, for my sanity, they’ve been really easy to plan.

What About the ShakesPeers Holiday Bash?

Also, kind of what it sounds like! It was our holiday party for people we wouldn’t normally be able to attend a holiday party with! We rented a basement events room at The Joyce on 4th, and they were fantastic. Very attentive, gave us access to their full menu, and decorated the room in a cute festive manner… What more can you ask for in a private room!?

Kevin put together six rounds of Shakespeare inspired trivia and I learned I don’t know nearly as much about Shakespeare as I think I do. We did a classic White Elephant gift exchange. I brought some local bitters and fancy tonic water, and walked with a nice bottle of wine. (There were also gifts that weren’t beverages, but beverages is my brand, as we know.)

We did Burt Reynolds shots, which I certainly have not done since I worked at Earls.

Now, I will say that the one challenge with putting on events is that you never quite get to socialize as much as you want to. There are always small things that you need to attend to that pull you away from being fully involved with the event. But it’s so worth it when you know you’re creating something great for other people.

And, hey, maybe it’s just a good excuse to get back together with my friends again and again and again.

So tell me, what holiday party plans do you have on the menu?

Stuff About Me

Feeling Like Myself Again (Wellness Wednesday)

December 4, 2024 No Comments

This is an interesting post for Blogmas. It’s not very festive and I don’t know if it’s going to end up positive. I mean, it probably will end up positive, because that is my default, but who can say?

It seems appropriate, though. What I’m about to write about is what has been on my mind lately and this blog has always sort of been about vomiting what’s on my mind onto the internet. Blogmas wouldn’t be Blogmas without me writing a few posts that are weirdly and specifically personal.

I feel like I’ve recently gotten on a real wellness kick, without actually doing anything, during what is really the worst time of year. I’ve been thinking and talking a lot about my sleep hygiene. Things like getting into my bed earlier, putting screens away an hour before bed (which I’m terrible at), building a nighttime routine. I’ve also been thinking – and talking – a lot about paying attention to how I’m nourishing myself. Maybe tracking my food and how I feel as a result for a bit.

This all sounds good, right?

But I’m also catching myself feeling guilty when I don’t work out. (Which, honestly, I do need to do more, for my strength and for my sanity and for my sleep. The guilt just doesn’t help.) I’m catching myself feeling guilty any time I have a drink or eat pizza for the third week in a row. And all that guilt and self-flagellation is making my wellness worse because I just reach this point of paralysis and stress where I let my current habits completely take over.

So why am I putting myself through this at notably one of the most stressful times of the year? (So they say, anyway. I honestly find the holidays full, but not that stressful. Which I know may not be normal.)

I’m just ready to feel like myself again.

We worked on Riverona for so long, which took over a lot of my life. And then I travelled in October and have basically been sick since I got back into the country. And, quite honestly, I’m sick of feeling shitty.

I’m ready to start feeling good. And more importantly, feeling like me.

So that’s what Wellness Wednesdays are going to look like for the foreseeable future. Wanna join?

Life, Stuff About Me

My Holiday Bucket List

December 2, 2024 No Comments

Y’all. It felt so freaking good to hit “post” on yesterday’s post. This is why we do it, friends! (For the dopamine and the self-indulgent attention.) As you can imagine, life has been very full lately, between Full Circle Theatre work, launching ShakesPeers, a trip to London, actual work, training at Moveology, joining the Calgary-ACTS executive board and nom-com, friends, family, relationship…

Well, I hate it now that I wrote it down. That’s too much.

But Blogmas is so good. It feels good to write down my thoughts and feelings, to document my life, to share with all of you. I also really love finding new blogs that are doing Blogmas every year. It’s so much fun to learn about wildly different people, the type of people I would probably never stumble across by accident. Blogs somehow still feel more pure and less curated than vlogmas and tiktok, and I love that.

But this post is not about how blogs are still a weirdo fun corner of the internet. This post is about my Holiday Bucket List!

Because why not create yet another challenge for myself this holiday season? But I’m going to make this very easy. And fun. And use a classic productivity hack – including things that I am going to do anyway, so that I can check them off my list and feel like I’m getting some momentum. The Progress Principle, am I right?

My Holiday Bucket List

Stuff About Me

Erin’s Favourite Things

December 27, 2023 No Comments

Okay. Come with me on this very self-indulgent blog post. It is the week between Christmas and New Years, I am living in my feels because this is the time where I get to. I am watching a competitive makeup show and enjoying a glass of wine from my new “Riverona High School Fencing Champion – By Default” mug. (When do you ever get to have merch that is about you? When!? This is the coolest.) And I am also about to give you the ultimate cheatsheet for becoming my friend and/or boyfriend. Because this is a list of Erin’s favourite things.

What? Why?

Because earlier this year, one of my favourite podcasts Hey Riddle Riddle did “Favourite Things” Brackets on their Patreon. They have a host named Erin Keif. It started with Erin’s Favourite Things (in bracket form) and then it expanded to the other two hosts and their editor and one of their most popular guest hosts and… anyway. It was delightful.

I’m not going to do a bracket, because how could that even work with just me? And also, maybe I’m hopping on the “Erin’s Favourite Things” SEO, but who cares? It’s my name too!

Also, I’m doing 50 things because that is what Erin Keif did. Please enjoy some wholesome and fun stuff from two women who would like to do the splits. And if you wanna bracket it… who am I to stop you?

Erin’s Favourite Things

Diet Coke on Fridays
The part of The Hold Steady’s “Sixers” where this riff happens (You should listen to the entire song, but this moment is the reason why this was my #2 most listened to song this year)
Uggs. I wore them when they were trendy, I wore them when they were cheugy, I wear them now.
When it’s raining exactly the right direction outside so you can open the window and read or sleep without any of your things getting wet
When the entire Riverona cast breaks because Joel David Taylor slapped Principal Prince and came up with an unreasonably funny ad lib
When your niece or nephew demands that you flip them upside down “again and again and again and again”
When you find a new recipe that is both delicious and good for leftovers so you can meal prep on repeat
That moment where your podcast is the exact same length as your walk
Pantyhose/tights that are exactly the right size and still compressive, despite the size chart making zero sense
How hard this part of Taylor Swift’s “Now That We Don’t Talk” sticks in my soul (especially “with important men who think important thoughts”)
Rose gold anything
The last 20 minutes of a Paint Nite where finally you start to feel like you’re a good visual artist
Megan Baldrey’s tinted lip balm from Wild Briar Body Care
When you’re in a fitness class and the instructor perfectly times the beginning of jacks with the beat drop
Cambozola
Having an amazing theatre project that other people are equally excited about
Friends’ Trips with Claire
Rom-com novels about sports boys that have a secret soft side
Those rare moments when you finally overcome your time blindness and arrive at something early enough that you can circle for parking or read your book without being stressed about time
When Kevin Weir introduces me to a book series that scratches an itch I didn’t know I had
Gerard Bertrand’s Cote Des Roses rose. And not just because of the bottle.
Transforming any Starbucks seasonal drink into an americano misto and then going for a walk with said hot beverage
Seeing plays with my mom and then debriefing them afterwards
When I’m out in public and see someone who I know but I think they won’t recognize me, but then they say hi to me!
Vertigo Theatre opening nights
Clean sheets and freshly moisturized legs
The moment that Hans Wackershauser takes a joke too far that it becomes a joke again
Para-social relationships with people I actually know on Instagram but don’t get to see nearly often enough (you know who you are!)
When an actor walks into an audition and they are absolutely the right person for a role (Sarah, Mike, this is about you!)
Getting needlessly fancy cocktails with Claire and Kendra
When you’re thinking about someone you haven’t spoken to in a hot minute and they text you at that exact same moment
Aerin Amber Musk perfume
Ice cream with cookie dough or brownies in it
When people do really good TransAtlantic accents or vague 1940s movie impressions
Every single Seanan McGuire book, especially when you forget you had a pre-order and it’s delivered to your ereader
Cooking mushrooms and onions in butter (or, honestly, anything in butter)
When you arrive at an airport 45 minutes before you needed to and you just get to hang out, have a bevvie and not stress
The Bath & Bodyworks Champagne Toast scent
Sibling cooking nights (yes, Kevin Weir, Darci and Bryan, I’m talking about you)
Titanic (the James Cameron movie. All of it.)
When you can hang out with your partner’s family or friends without them and it’s cool
Similarly, when you are equally friends with both parts of a couple (Mike and Meg, Hans and Megan, I’m looking at you!)
When you let your hair air-dry and it does exactly what you want it to do
Backyard fire pits
Having a solo beverage and a book while in a bar or cafe
Surprisingly comfortable 5-inch heels that are also cute
Waking up early but also naturally
When you go to a farmers/craft/holiday market and all the vendors are friendly but not too friendly, so it’s not awkward
Hotels with heated towel drying racks
Discovering someone else you just met or don’t speak with often is also super into that very niche thing you love and you both talk about it excitedly together.

That’s it. I’ve been looking forward to this post literally all December and, even if it doesn’t help me garner new friends and/or boyfriends, it helped me realize what I care about. I’ve always been relentlessly positive but it feels so good to deliberately articulate things that make me this way on the blog.

So! What are some of your favourite things!? And do you think we can make this a bracket? Many of the things are universal, so I think we could!

Stuff About Me, YYCEats

Beer Exchange Day 5 (and a Friendmas Party!)

December 10, 2023 No Comments

You know when you have one of those life experiences that makes you stop and think “We’re the grownups now”? I fully just had one of those last night. It was nothing serious, nothing life-changing. In fact, it was something I have done lots of times in the past. Together with friends of the blog, Megan and Hans, I went to a Friendmas party at our friends’, Scott and Dee’s, place.

I know. I really hyped this up and it’s just a fun holiday party.

But here’s the thing. I distinctly remember always going to a yearly holiday party that one of my dad’s coworkers put on when I was a kid. I remember a table of snacks, peanut butter marshmallow squares, adults wearing Christmas sweaters, and singing Christmas songs while his wife played the piano. And this party felt very much like that. (Minus the singing with the piano. I feel like very few people are actually that wholesome.)

But, you know. We talked about mortgages and our to-go easy meals for weekdays. We played a (modified) version of Name that Tune. There were cute outfits and holiday-themed sweaters everywhere. People brought their very well behaved dogs! Dee and Scott put together a super aesthetic selection of delicious snacks (peanut butter marshmallow squares not pictured but definitely included).

Oh! And I drank Beer 5!

Culture, Stuff About Me

Riverona – Nov 12

November 15, 2023 No Comments

Another Sunday, another Riverona rehearsal.

This day was a bit of a unique day because we actually started out by having a production meeting between myself, Claire, Megan, Hans, and Kevin. (The team that writes the Riverona script.) There are many forms a production meeting can take and most of them are significantly more professional than what ours look like. (I assume. Because we meet in a place with great food and drinks then proceed to discuss every element of the production and make sure someone has every element in hand. Or we decide we don’t care about that element anymore. haha.)

We spend most of our writing or production meetings at First Street Market, by the way. If we’re not currently in production, catch us there on a Tuesday evening, y’all.

Image of FCT working on Riverona at First Street Market — Yes, Feb 28 was a Tuesday.

Culture, Stuff About Me

Riverona – Nov 8

November 9, 2023 No Comments

Hello Riverona friends and fans! I’m here with another recap of a rehearsal that will maybe make theatre purists lose their minds about our process. So before I share what we did on Nov 8… just know that we had a very talented cast who is very familiar with our weird vibes. Look at how cool Hans Wackershauser, Sarah Nearing, and Joel Taylor all look in this show photo from Riverona Ep 1: Two Households by Hannah Anson and also know that all three of them are in Episode 2.

Riverona Ep 1 Production Photo of Joel Taylor, Hans Wackershauser and Sarah Nearing — Joel (Benvolio) is definitely saying “seeeeeee”(x). IYKYK.

So anyway. Controversially, maybe… on Nov 8, our fifth rehearsal, we did a stumblethrough of the entire show.

Culture, Stuff About Me

Riverona – A Rehearsal Journey

November 7, 2023 No Comments

Erin Weir (Tybalt) and Megan Baldrey (Juliet) in the cafeteria scene during Riverona Ep 1: Two Households — A very collaborative Director’s Relationship During Riverona Ep 1… (maybe don’t slap your hand over your co-director’s mouth?)

Y’all! I feel like this will be a bit of a unique series over on A Flimsy Plan, but it’s also very appropriate. This blog has always been about fun things that I do in Calgary, with a strong arts lean. It’s also always been super fun when I talk about the behind the scenes of the theatre industry. Finally, as the co-artistic director of a theatre collective in town, I’ve started hosting the Full Circle Theatre website as a sub-site on my blog. (Look, life is expensive now, let’s share web hosting costs.)

So, all that to say… it seems super reasonable that I should document the process of Riverona Episode 2: Yonder Window Breaks, from rehearsal to performance, on my blog. This gives everyone involved in the situation what they want – and also helps me get back into the habit of writing on this blog. You can expect a post sometime after every Sunday rehearsal and sometime after every Wednesday rehearsal.

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