Providence Moved Already!

Hello sexy wordpressers! 💗 Rise and sparkle/smoulder! 🔅

I feel awesome this morning because I just finished a 30-minute HIIT and lower body strength combo workout and … it’s only 8AM 😀

So as I’m enjoying my morning cuppa, I am reflecting on the amazing fact that I am doing HIIT + strength workouts. It wasn’t too long ago when I truly thought I wouldn’t be able to do them again because … well because post baby I really had a hard time getting back into the workout zone. I tried several times, each time starting slow and having had to adjust my pace even slower … I tell you even a 20-min lower body Pilates workout would leave me sore for days. Pilates! 😭  (And my baby turns 2 this month 🤨).

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

But now let’s talk about this post’s title because it really is amazing what happens when you articulate your goals. Here’s the backstory in case you guys are interested.

So after the said post/backstory I sat my lazy arse down and proceeded to crochet, unconsciously adopting the mindset that I was gonna start working on my goals in January (because I’m a perfectionist and I’m fond of clean starts).

But then I thought … but it’s only September! 🤔 Why waste all that precious time? What can I do NOW to make sure I hit the ground running in January. (Because we all know there’s usually a lot of hemming and hawing at the start of something 😴).

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.

Soooo …

Goal #4 is to find an outside interest that I could do regularly at least once a week. Preferably with a good chance of socializing.

Well, 2 Sundays ago I [finally] found a good Christian church that my family can attend every week. Mind you, this is no small feat considering we were looking for an English-speaking church. What’s even more awesome for me is that this church is made up of foreigners (like, 9 out of 10), so we have something in common right away.

Plus, they have Bible study classes for kids of all ages 😀 Score!!!

Goal #3 has something to do with my crochet & knitting hobby. It’s been a goal for almost a year now and I knew “something” was preventing me from moving forward.

Well, I finally understood what was standing in the way and it’s not what you think! 🤗 But it’s a long story and it’s about my chosen artforms so I’ve decided to talk about it in a separate post.

And as for goal #1? Well, I seriously & excitedly believe that my (sudden comeback) ability to do higher intensity cardio & strength training will help me achieve this in time. Maybe I’ll talk about this in another post too because getting to this place has been a real journey that I struggled both physically and mentally with.

I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!”

In any case sexy people, my message to you is this: start now. Don’t wait for January (but you can wait until Monday because I believe Mondays are perfect for starting something 😁 😁).

The start of something can be slow, filled with additional challenges & roadblocks that are usually unexpected and can undermine your efforts. I’m beginning to think it’s good to start something at the tail-end of the current year if you want to see real results by the following year. I don’t know 😏 maybe that’s just me 🤪.  But sometimes we start something in January expecting to see results in March and are frustrated that we didn’t meet our deadline. I think it’s because starts can be messy and you just have to account for it depending on your goal.

~~ oOo ~~

So okay, I’ve blabbed enough for today.

Thank you for visiting and reading and you can always give me warm fussy feelings by sharing your thoughts below 👇

Have a sexy one! 💋

Expanding Horizons

What one new thing (or two) are you excited to learn or explore in 2019? 🙂 (We gotta keep levelling up, right?)

Howdy amazing folks! We are moving into the final month of the current year which … likely means that you’re giving a think about the year ahead, right? 😉 And if you haven’t yet then I would love it if you used this prompt to do so 😀

So that up there is Question #4. Give it some thought and share your answer/s below so we can inspire each other with awesome ideas & positive intentions 👇👇👇 And don’t worry if it’s not final yet, we’re all entitled to brainstorm! 😀

~ My answers:

1.  crochet earrings
2.  working with t-shirt yarn

 

What are your answers? 😀

What one thing during your normal day …

… which, when left undone, will “nibble at your sanity” until you finally do/fix it?

And that’s Question # 3 folks!

Is it taking the dog out for a walk? Giving your cat a nice tummy rub? Making up the bed? Tell me in the comments section below 👇😀 👇

My answer: cleaning out the dining table.

It’s just a surface that naturally gathers “stuff” during the course of the day, be it earphones or breadcrumbs, and for some reason, I just need to have it wiped clean. Only then can I go on with my day 🤭

How about you? Do share below 😃

Have a great weekend y’all.

 👇 👇 👇

Is Your Blog In A Rut?

Mine is! And it bothers me 🙄

So okay I’m 7 months pregnant and I can’t be into a lot of stuff because I should be taking it easy, which also means less things to blog about.

My interests of late has also gone to pregnancy specific topics from post-delivery recovery to breastfeeding … and I don’t want to blog about those 🤔

But I want to blog, because blogging is a life saver for me. Every single like and comment is precious human interaction. The act of putting my thoughts out there not only cathartic and soothing but also, undeniably fun.

Ergo, I am not having a lot of fun lately by allowing my blog to fall by the wayside.

We need a remedy.

Blog Events/Challenges

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when I participated in a few weekly blog challenges. They were always fun, thought provoking, and guaranteed my blog had fresh content every week. They definitely get your blog out of any rut it might be in!

So off I went to WP’s Events page to see if I could fish a few that would light my fire. Here are just 3 I’m considering at the moment:

🌈  The Weekly Smile/Wednesdays – simply share something that made you smile that week.

🌈  Weekly Small Pleasures/Sundays – you guessed it 😉, it’s about the small things/pleasures that made you happy that week

🌈  Share Your World/Mondays – answer random questions each week and share your world in the process

And since cultivating an attitude of gratitude is such a huge happiness booster, I’m also quite interested in the following gratitude-focused events:

🌈  My Gratitude Project/Wednesdays

🌈 Thankful Thursday/Thursdays

🌈 Ten Things of Thankful/Saturdays and Sundays

There are definitely more events to choose from and you can even narrow them down by topic of interest, such as books, photography or running.

Craft Related Events?

I didn’t find craft related events on there though, which is a bummer because, as someone who’s into crochet and knitting, I’d like something that encourages me to create.  I am aware of WIP (work in progress) Wednesdays for crocheters and knitters (only?) and FO (finish off) Fridays.  Is there anything else of the kind out there?

Of course, you can always create your own blog challenges, but it’s a lot more fun if you do it with others 😊

What Blog Events Are You Participating In?

I’d like to get your suggestions if you’re a participant (or have been) in a blogging event. What was it and what did you like about it?

Also, I suspect that not all events are listed on the WP Events page and you might know about them. Do share! I might like some of them enough to join and, you’d be doing me a favor 😊

Share Your World 2016 #12

Wanting something to quench your thirst, what would you drink?

Plain water. Ice cold, since Indonesia is so hot! XD

What made you feel good this past week?

Losing a little more weight and seeing more muscle tone through consistent exercise 😀 😀

When you’re alone at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?

50% slippers, 50% barefoot. Because it’s just so hot! XD XD

Would you rather live where it is always hot or always cold?

Whaaaa?!? It’s like I had this question coming XD Well, how hot and how cold? XD

Okay seriously, I think I’d lean towards hot because I love sunny days.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week ~

I’m still feeling very grateful for this.

~ and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

It’s gonna be April – we’re inching closer to a much anticipated short trip we’re taking by month-end. (Yay!)  I’d tell you all about it but not right now, I might jinx it. LOL! 😉

~ oOo~

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~ oOo ~

An Exciting Milestone 🎆 🎆 🎆

🎆 🎆 🎆

Some time over the past several days I reached 1K followers – a very significant and exciting milestone in my blogging life 🙂 Needless to say, I feel so happy and exhilarated and lifted up and so encouraged 🙂 🙂 🙂

When I started out all I wanted was reach 200+ and now … well … pheeewww!!! 🙂 I feel like I’m on top of the world! 😀

❤ THANK YOU SO MUCH to all you sexiest followers on wordpress! ❤

~ Paardje 💋‍

Feeling Good Is Receiving Another Award

I love it! Another badge of sexiness. Another kind gesture of thoughtfulness and appreciation from a fellow blogger. Such fun! Such blessing!

Squeal! 😀

This award comes from Be Kitschig, a wonderful & insightful blog I regularly visit but was surprised to find out I hadn’t followed yet! (Dan-dan-daaaaaaan!) 😰 😰 😰

Well this is now not the case so please disregard my severe blushing and let’s (very quickly) move on …

The Rules:

Thank and follow the blog that nominated you.

(she likes garden gnomes so …) 😀

Tell us 11 facts about yourself.

I love to tidy up and organize.

I recently discovered I like guavas.

I’m a bit of a lazy cook and prefer to do the dishes.

In addition to The Tribez I am now also addicted to PVZ.

I believe the best gift you can give to your loved ones is to be a happy person.

I am of mixed nationality. I am also 1/4th enigma & 1/4th dragon according to husband & daughter.

I cannot sing.  But for Karaoke nights I have prepared this and am ready to sing it with gusto.

Have you noticed that the sentences are getting longer?

My tolerance for spicy food has significantly increased while in Indonesia.

I have hooded eyes and want to learn how to make them up so that they pop!

Do a quick body roll if you’re still reading this. Yes, I like to mess with you like that XD

I love to exercise at home using YouTube videos. My favorites are from him and them.

I believe the world would be a much better place if more people got enough quality sleep at night.

(insert cheesy smile here)

Answer the questions that were set for you to answer.

1. Tea or coffee  – coffee!
2. Clinton or Trump? – errrr …
3. Cd’s or vinyl? – downloads 😀
4. Smart or 4WD? – 4WD
5. WordPress or Facebook? – WordPress
6. Art or Kitsch? – both
7. Screaming it out or sitting it out? – definitely screaming it out XD
8. Planning your goals or accept your fait? – planning
9. Opportunistic or idealistic? – idealistic
10. Black and white or shades of grey? – pink, purple & aqua XD
    
11. Cats or dogs? – dogs!!!

Nominate 11 bloggers and set questions for them.

Oh dear … I am fresh out of nominees this coming so close at the heels of this and this. (Shameless plug not intended) 😛

So I’d like to pass the baton on to all my amazing followers – I know you guys deserve this award because I follow you back and you’re all awesome. I just can’t come up with a short-list at the moment as I am blinded by your awesomeness 😎

Here are your questions:

1. What makes you laugh the most?
2. If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be and why?
3. What would you sing at Karaoke night?
4. If you could hire someone to help you, what would it be for?
5. Favorite thing to do in the evenings?
6. What are you planning to do on Valentine’s day?
7. Do you collect anything?
8. Name a personal quirk.
9. Colorful or single-color socks?
10. How or why did you choose your blog name?
11. Favorite posts on your blog.  Link them here.

Make it a great weekend, y’all! 🙂 ❤

~oOo~

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~oOo~