Amy Volume's BIRTHDAY WISH - Year 4!
Help me celebrate my birthday by giving a gift to a child receiving in patient treatment at CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario). All proceeds go directly to CHEO’s Child Life department who provide kids with wonderful and much needed distractions in many forms: books, toys, craft kits and other forms of entertainment.
I’m turning 36 on April 25th (woah!) - help me celebrate by buying a gift for a kid receiving in patient treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, aka CHEO! All money raised goes to CHEO’s Child Life fund and you can learn more about the fund by CLICKING HERE.
Launched in 2019, we’ve raised $5,000.00 and I”m hoping to add another $2,500.00 in 2022. This is a mighty ambitious goal but, as long as I have a birthday, I’ll keep trying to provide entertainment and levity to those who deserve it most: kids in hospital.
This cause is very important to me. I am a CHEO kid. I spend a lot of my childhood in hospital, diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at eighteen months (1988) it was Sick Kids in Toronto until CHEO built their own Rheumatology Clinic (which I believe is the Infectious Diseases clinic in today’s terms).
As you can imagine, I missed a lot of school - never did make it on to any teams (sporting, social or otherwise) - in fact, I missed my own highschool graduation due to joint fusion surgery.
When you’re little and in need of a smile, CHEO’s Child Life department delivers. Please consider giving a gift to a child to help me celebrate my birthday. This fundraising effort is ongoing, year round. If you cannot donate at this time, there is no pressure! There are no deadlines! I just ‘get loud’ about it every April because that’s when I celebrate my birthday.
Help me celebrate by making a financial donation OR by buying a gift from my Wish List (will be delivered to my work address and brought to CHEO by me):
The photo above this text is of me delivering gifts & money to CHEO. This was my first year buggin’ you for donations. If you consider the average gift costing $25, to date, we have collectively given over 200 gifts to kids (aged 0-18) receiving in patient treatment at CHEO.
Calgon, take me away (to Nordik)!
I'm 30. I've lived in Ottawa for 12 years and I've never been to Nordik Spa-Nature in Chelsea (Quebec).
Lucky for me, that all changed the fateful day they decided to follow me on Twitter...
Thanks for the follow @NordikSpaNature! I've never EVER been to Nordik but always hear the most wonderful things. ✌🏻️
— Amy Volume (@amyvolume) June 9, 2016
My first time at Nordik was juuuuuust right. Ryan & I started with the Thermal experience. You can choose this package ($51 Mon.-Thurs./$61 Fri.-Sun.) to have access to the saunas, spas and relaxation areas. This is the one most people go for at Nordik. You could easily spend an entire day going from spa to pool, sauna to relaxation in whatever order you want (though "hot - cool - hot - rest" is recommended).
Personally, I'm not huge on saunas. I did enjoy the Finlandia sauna. It was large and offered window seating (which I took full advantage of and lay down). I found this sauna the best for breathing and comfort as smaller, hotter saunas send me into some weird anxiety "I CAN'T BREATE IN HERE" panic (best to avoid).
The Tellura area was also pretty awesome. You lay down in a sauna like room on hot stone (quartz) slabs. While laying on stone slabs may not sound very comfortable, the heat of the room and radiating warmth from the stone is very calming.
Nordik's Källa treatment is the second of it's kind in the world. Källa offers unparalleled serenity in it's silent, underground setting. Guests can achieve total relaxation as theyfloat weightlessly in pure water saturated with 12% Epsom salts.
Nordik Spa-Nature's Källa Treatment
- Purifies body
- Improve blood circulation
- Accelerate wound healing
- Stimulates creativity
- Reduces stress
- Releases physical and intellectual tensions
- Reduces inflammation
The Källa treatment can be added on to your Thermal experience for an extra $40 and is also available as a stand alone service. Click the photo above for more information.
Since Ryan and I chose to go during the day (10am-2:30pm) we didn't go all out on a fancy meal at the restaurant but we did have some light lunch at the Panorama Lounge. The food and service were amazing. They have a great selection of fresh vegetarian options, too!
My favourite part of our four hours at Nordik was actually spent in Kaskad (the total silence zone) in the Ëdena (forest beach) area. They have these large floating beds at the back where you can easily drift off listening to the sound of waves. Just as the sun was peeking out, we lay there for a while after the Källa treatment.
All in all, I highly recommend making the 20 minute drive from downtown Ottawa to Chelsea's beautiful Nordik Spa-Nature. See for yourself why North America's largest spa is the go to getaway for so many people. Treat yourself to a mini vacation today!