2021 Turned Out Better Than Anticipated + Goals For My Best Year Yet! 🥳

Ho-Ho-Ho Sexy wordpressers! How are you this mornin’? 🙂

Right now I’m finishing my morning cuppa & I feel like sharing – I am already drafting my goals for 2022. I don’t know, the spirit’s in the air and all that jazz. You too? Tell me about it in the comments section!

Anyways, it is that time of the year (I usually do a huge purge of un-necessary physical stuff too but aside from that …) when goal-setting is appropriate.

But first, and since I went AWOL for so long, I would like to share the highlights of my 2021 especially since, I wasn’t expecting anything to come out of 2021 to begin with.

No. 1. I went plant based.

And I think I know enough to distinguish between the terms now, I could say I’m vegan but vegans do it for the environment. I’m doing it for my health primarily because … let’s just say there’s so much that’s considered “normal” out there for women in their mid-40’s (even much earlier!), that’s just not. That wonderfully disappear when you eat plants.

I even did an experiment on my 14 year old who, earlier this year, complained of irregular periods. They came back, in beautiful succession. And her face cleared up and she stopped experiencing stomach pains & her bowel movements became glorious.

But eventually I got tired of nagging. And the indomitable duo of Pizza Hut’s super mega cheesy soupy thingy with globs of pasta & meat (a.k.a. lasagne) & twice-stuffed-crust pizza ultimately won. And I had to return to wielding my power silently in the kitchen.

But I lost 16 pounds. Uh-huh! No, not from the nagging, silly! From eating plants only! So yes, jingle those bells! 😆🥳 🥳 

What else? Ah!

No. 2. Yoga.

Yoga never appealed to me before. It looked boring. Too uneventful. Passing gas inadvertently. Awkward! 🙄

But the toddler and I were at each other’s throats. I needed an excuse to get out of the house and into the presence of other adults. I could only do it once a week on Saturdays, and there’s Covid so no group classes … Ahh well, one-on-one yoga classes then. I was desperate!

And now I’m hooked 😌 I don’t want to do any other type of exercise. What for? Yoga has everything I need and want – flexibility, mobility, balance, power, challenge. Ok maybe I’ll do a 30 minute Leslie Sansone here and there, but I now consider myself a yogi and look forward to prancing about in colorful & sexy yoga gear. (As opposed to, you know, those ratty tshirts & leggings because “this is just to get me out of the house anyways”).

Also, and I don’t know if this is a win but I think it’s worth mentioning ~

I stopped crocheting/knitting. I just burned out like that! I wish it happened before I invested in a closet-full of yarn because now I just don’t know what to do with it. I invested much more in yarn & knitting/crocheting paraphernalia in the past 2 years than in everything else combined, including clothes. And maybe that’s because of Covid too but, all that buying was becoming an addiction & it was getting out of hand. I think it’s also because I went on IG. A show-and-tell platform always makes life “more interesting” and the buying somehow felt justified. Does that even make sense?

So right now there’s this whole space that used to be occupied by crochet/knitting that’s just waiting for something new to come in (oooh, that’s such a nice way of saying it 😄).

~~~ oOo ~~~

And next year?

Well, next year has more yoga, more WFPB (whole foods, plant-based) eating, I am finally (finally!) going to learn how to use make-up, I will find a way to grow luscious hair, I will initiate parties, blog again, seek out online communities & go out more.

These things might seem mundane, minute even, to most of you but these are things I’ve just never been interested in or never had the chance to explore because of being an expat SAHM. Or just plain laziness and/or cockiness 😀

And you know what, I’m not even going to wait till next year! See you in my next post, yes? Love you too! 😊

I Was Sane When I Was Blogging

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Hello sexy WordPressers! 👋

I’m baaaack! And this time, I mean it. Yessiree, I do.

Oh you have no idea how many times I tried to start a “new” blog, because I thought that this would be best after a very long hiatus.

But today, the thought occurred to me: why not just pick off where I left? And so here I am 🥳

I don’t know if you’re still interested in the ups and downs of an introvert expat SAHM, but I really missed talking to y’all. I’m a person who thinks a lot, overanalyzes almost everything, gets in her own way … but prior to the hiatus, this was not a problem at all. Because it just meant more to share with you and, because I was putting it out for the world to see, I was also forced to frame everything in as positive a way as I could. Which in turn had a positive effect on me personally.

So when I stopped blogging, oooooh boy, let’s just say I became somewhat of an emotional hothead! Without a safe place to “dump” my ruminations, and without the impetus to look for the silver lining I became, let’s just say, annoying. To myself most of all, because I didn’t want to be like that. Now I’ve come to realize that blogging is very much like journaling but with the added responsibility of restraining the negative bent your thoughts can sometimes have if you allow them to go on unchecked.

Also, when I was blogging I cared about stuff. I cared about reading good books, about exercising, about trying new things, about my mismatched eyebrows, about this and about that … it’s like being excited about life because you have friends to share it with. When I stopped blogging it’s as if I also fell into a rut. I did try a few things but overall, I’d say that without the perspective of a narrator, things just weren’t as exciting.

I don’t know if I’m making any sense but, that’s how it feels to me.

Today also my baby turns 4 years old and I think it’s high time to start adding more things into my life. Yes, I am still a slave to this adorable tyrant, but things are not so chaotic and unpredictable anymore, a routine has started to emerge.

So yeah, I’m excited to be back. I look forward to our upcoming (and cathartic) “chats” aaand, you know, I just want you all to know that I appreciate you for being here, for spending a bit of your valuable time to read my story. This thought just makes life more interesting … is that crazy? 😄

I’ll soon be back for more ❤️

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! 💋

July 8: Stop/Start Something

Good morning awesome friends! 🌞

It’s a brand new week and I’m excited to continue with my mini-assignments [of the ordinary kind]. I’ve been feeling more purposeful since I started this challenge and I love how blogging about it turns it into a lesson of sorts. The real goal here is to be blogging again, and this self-designed challenge is definitely helping me with that 📌

Today’s assignment is to start & stop something. Ideally it should be something permanent, perhaps a habit change, if not at least something I can do for a certain period of time.

I have chosen to:

Stop drinking coffee ☕️

This is a huge one for me as my morning cuppa is so ingrained into what makes my mornings magical. I look forward to it, I love the warm sensation, and without it my mornings just aren’t the same 💔 (Because yes, I tried this challenge a few times in the past already).

The reason why I’m “picking on” this wonderful elixir (again) is twofold. One is that I suspect it upsets my stomach, and therefor could be undermining my weight management efforts. And two is because it really does tinker with my energy levels throughout the day & even into the night.

This week I will observe what the absence of coffee does and we’ll see what happens next. (I don’t want to promise anything because my love for it is overwhelming 😆😆).

Start weighing myself daily ⏲

Just something small that I can use as a reminder to focus on my weight management efforts.

⏲ ☕️ ⏲ ☕️

So! Although I already did these two for today, I realize that the best time to report on this assignment will be on Saturday yet. So I’ll see you guys then.

Tomorrow’s assignment is to (finally) finish my emerald green crochet crop top. I’ll have pictures for you so I’d love it if you checked back in 🙂

July 3: Goals

It is said countless times that what separates successful people from all the rest is that successful people have goals written down.

Allez, let us therefor join the ranks of the successful and write down our goals for July, shall we? 🙂

Mine are:

Blog 6 days a week – do mini-assignments everyday

I want to blog again so I’ve given myself a ‘challenge’ to do one small ordinary act with intention everyday, and to blog about it.

I am an expat SAHM who is less-than-happy with my environment. I have found it really difficult to take root in this foreign country despite having lived here for 4 straight years already. Because there is nothing outside the house that I find worth going out for, nothing interesting ever goes on in this city, plus I have a 1-year old, I very rarely go out of the house which, definitely does not contribute to my happiness.

I have since learned that I need to exert more effort than usual not to fall into depression. Blogging gave me an outlet for  my thoughts. It was like I had friends to talk to, and every time a “stranger” (yes, I’m looking at YOU dear) would care to comment, I would feel heard.

So I am coming back to “friends” because I need all the friends I can get, real & virtual 🙂 🙂 🙂

Be consistent with my exercise routine

After giving birth in October of 2017, I was only able to get some momentum going on any type of exercise last May (2019). Pre-childbirth I used to LOVE exercise and HIIT-type routines were my jam, jelly and butter combined with dance fitness & strength training.

That is why it came as a total shock and huge downer for me to observe that my body, 1 year post-natal, still loathed exercise! I just couldn’t bring myself to do anything, not even a beginner 10-minute mat-Pilates routine. Heck, I couldn’t even do a walk-in-place!

I tried several times and each time I would fail. Last May, after reading so many self-help books & listening to motivational podcasts, I finally got myself to walk around the block 2 evenings a week. Fortunately, the experience was enjoyable so since then I have been able to do it 3 times a week and at a much faster pace. (Yaaaaaay!!!)

Inspired by this success, by the end of last month I also started adding in some strength training routines into the mix, but only for 3 times a week.  I am taking it veeery slow because whenever I do a strength training routine, no matter how short & light, my body feels like it’s been hit by a ton of bricks for 5-6 days after! So I only do body-weight, mostly Pilates, and for max 30 minutes at a time only.

Painstakingly slow based on my previous standards, but you gotta work with your body and respect its own drum beat.

That said, I am hopeful that this schedule & intensity will work this time, and my goal therefor is to be consistent with it.

❤

Which brings me to today’s mini-assignment: listen to music & crazy-dance 🙂

❤

 

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.

 👇 👇 👇