Go Outside

I remember having listened to a health podcast last Friday where a well-renowned MD was sharing a story about how he almost lost his young son due to Vit D deficiency. And since Vit D is something you get from sunlight, it immediately reminded me of one of the pillars of keeping sane while being a SAHM – go outside.

Fortunately for me, there’s a temporarily re-purposed (still vacant for many years now) residential area within walking distance from where we live which I’ve taken to calling “the oval”. This was our destination last Friday.

So off I take the girls for what we expected to be a pleasant & relaxing afternoon stroll.

Unfortunately, the walk to the oval was anything but pleasant & relaxing. It was basically an obstacle course 😱

Yes, I went back just to snap this picture of a beautiful work of art 😤😤 The dried palm frond does unmistakably call to mind the letter “L” for the loser who did all this 🤬

You do see there is ample space for the garbage along the sides of the footpath, don’t you?

Then why place all the garbage ON the footpath? Whyyyyy??? 😖

All this navigating around trash was annoying, not to mention really tiring with a stroller, and I was truly irked at the lack of common sense by whoever did this.

But we somehow made it.

Aaaaah, finally!

But we were SO tired that we needed to rest.

Never mind the itchy, dry grass, I was tired 😫

Riri and mom ❤️

All was right again in paradise until 2 rowdy boys decided to kick around a ball in the same space we were in 🤯🤯🤯 I kept looking at them in the hopes they’d get the message – I’m with a baby for goodness’ sakes! – but noooo, they remained oblivious to me and my eldest’ worried glances. It reminded me of author Elizabeth Pisani’s comment in her historical fiction about Indonesia that Indonesian children are misbehaved. Well, I certainly wasn’t going to put up an argument considering what was just happening 😤😤

My thoughts were escalating from upset to murderous so we decided to hit the asphalt and try to get a decent walk out of it before we went through the obstacle course again on our way home.

Cotton candy on the horizon.

Holy sh*t, I was tired, sore and miffed upon arriving home. I am so out of shape that the walk and all that navigating around obstacles with a stroller really made my abdominal muscles sore. I might have gotten us some Vit D but I sure need to do something about my lack of fitness!

Okay, I had good intentions and, at least I tried. For the sake of sanity 😉

✨ Happy New Year ✨

Finally Getting Around To Doing It

Today is a sunny Sunday over here at my small, sleepy corner of Indonesia and as usually happens when I’m not alone in the house (the hubs and daughter are home), I get a burst of energy 😊

So up I went to my potted plants to finally start the repotting process I’ve been putting off for about 2 weeks now.

But first let me introduce you to them (no names because I don’t have a clue 😀):

This is how they look now after I transferred them away from direct sunlight.  They looked so much worse a couple of weeks back due to my ignorance 😟 I thought as long as they weren’t in direct sunlight for an entire day and they got enough water, they’d be good. Well, as you can see from the 2 in the front row, the Indonesian sun is just way too much for them.

Bigger Homes

I was able to repot 3 (back row) and salvaged a 4th that had died but had these little off-shoots that seemed like they wanted a chance to live 🤞 (3rd from left).

I’m going to do the rest sometime within the week as I believe they are the most challenging.  The pink one has a broken stem that produces weak and sickly looking leaves. But it keeps producing new leaves so I take that to mean it hasn’t given up yet. 😘

I don’t think I need to repot the aloe vera but it’s borne children so maybe they should be transferred to a separate pot.

The 3rd one is giving me some blooms – so maybe it’s happy where it is? But I do feel that the pot is too small and I might have to divide the plant because it seems there are 2 of them in the same pot.

The last one (partially hidden) has an ugly pot and I might as well move it to a bigger one to anticipate future growth (here’s hoping 😆).

Brawns Vs. Brains

OF COURSE, I don’t have a clue about the proper repotting of plants, I just mimicked what I saw the lady selling the plants did. As usual, I read up about it after the fact 😁  And now I have to go back up and water them. Duh! 🤣

Oh and before I go, did you know that plants can make your brain work better? Here are 14 more reasons to add plants to your life. Me, I just wanted a new active hobby that would beautify my home at the same time ❤️

~~ oOo ~~

The Photographers Probably Knew It All Along

found on

 

It’s Never Too Early 🌞

Hello all! Happy Monday! 🌞🌞

What one good thing will you do/start today?

For me the answer is: delving into a topic of interest!

One of the perks of being a SAHM is the wonderful opportunity to indulge in the pursuit of knowledge 💖 And if you have internet connection, you have absolutely NO excuse to remain intellectually stagnant! 🙃

One of my areas of interest is ageing well and, although I’m still a long way off from being physically old, I believe it’s never too early to start establishing some solid habits that will help one age sexily 😉

So the other week I received information about a free online course on Strategies For Successful Ageing.  It is a 5-week course given by the Trinity College Dublin and is but one of the many free online courses facilitated by Futurelearn.

Here’s an overview of the 5-week course:

• Week 1: Being Older In this first week, we look at how perceptions of ageing can influence ageing, and explore our own understanding of what ‘old’ is.
• Week 2: Being Well In the second week, we investigate strategies for improving mental health, including depression, anxiety and brain ageing. We also discuss what ‘quality of life’ means, and delve into other key areas for successful ageing including intimacy, how to talk to your doctor, and family solidarity.
• Week 3: Being Healthy In the third week of our course, we will give strategies for better nutrition, increasing physical fitness through exercise, and improving your brain health.
• Week 4: Being Engaged The fourth week of the course looks at another important area for successful ageing: social engagement and participation. You will have a chance to perform a life audit and learn strategies for how to plan for the future.
• Week 5: Being Creative In the final week of the course, we will explore creative ageing, what this means, and why it is important. We will showcase individual creativity and provide you with tips to explore your own creativity.

Fascinating isn’t it? 😀 And you can be sure I immediately signed up!

I just finished week one (which is mostly introductory) and am excited to move into week 2. The course is self-paced so you can breeze through it as fast as you want or take all the time you need, the 5 week time frame is just a recommendation.

Aside from expanding my horizons, I’m definitely looking forward to learning a few practical tips on ageing well after taking this course.

I’ll keep you posted and, you keep me accountable, ok? 😉

Lessons From A Breather

Howdy y’all! 😉

I’m fresh back from a well-appreciated, 1 1/2 week holiday – which effectively gave me a break from everything 😀 I love it when this happens because I always come back with a handful of mini resolutions or mini challenges for better living 👍🏻 Like …

… increasing fiber intake:

Most often while on a holiday I allow myself to completely slack off on any fitness & nutrition guidelines I have set for myself. I’m not active & I eat everything I want.

I then get bloated and constipated and then become hyper-critical about my “self-consciously gigantic” midsection each time I catch a glimpse of it on any type of reflective surface. 😶 😶 (Come now, don’t tell me you haven’t done this yourself! 😊 😊)

Instead of countering this with mad eye-make up skills to bring everyone’s (imagined) focus up instead of on my midsection, of course all that’s really required (once I stop the exaggerated reaction) is to be mindful of my fiber and water intake.

Challenge #1: add more fiber to my life (interpret in more ways than one 😉)

~

As usual, I buy a couple of books from an airport bookstore because, although I have a Kindle, nothing beats the high of burying my nose amongst the pages of an actual, physical book. (Yes, I don’t read it I just smell it!😆 😆). One of these books had this reminder/challenge #2 for me:

Increase movement throughout the day.

Also to be read as: beware sitting on your bum for long, uninterrupted stretches of time. (Calling out all fellow yarnies! 😆)

Because apparently, doing so significantly decreases our lifetime. In fact, uninterrupted bum time is more lethal than an addiction to smoking. Think about that!

~

Coconut Oil-Will-Save-the-World

My mom is 69 years old. The last time I saw her was during the Christmas holidays, on this visit however, I was amazed. Her face was brighter, even toned with a hint of pinkish glow, and somehow less wrinkly (if that is at all possible) 💁

She truthfully looked younger than last I saw her, we all noticed! When I complimented her on it, she said she started using extra virgin coconut oil (EVCO) on her face upon advise from her sister.

I also had coffee with a good friend who, as it happens, carries a vial of EVCO in her bag wherever she goes. She poured a tablespoon of the liquid into her coffee without batting an eyelash and, at my surprise, rattled off the billion and one uses for EVCO, and credits it for her beautiful & abundant mane and flawless complexion.

Conclusion: the coconut universe is conspiring for me! 😄 😄 I’m reading up on the billion and one usages for EVCO right now and …

Challenge #3: … will use it to replace my 4-step nightly face cleansing ritual.

I want to see if it will work for me too 😀 I’ll let you know how it goes after a month or so.

~

And that is all for now. (Yay!)

How about you, any healthy resolutions you’ve taken up recently? Let me know! 😀 😀

Exercising Differently As A Pathway to Happiness

 

We all know by now that exercising boosts the happy chemical endorphin. But because our brain quickly adapts to routine, doing the same thing over and over can lead to exercise boredom.

The solution is simple and fun: exercise differently for the next 45 days 😀

I am currently reading Habits of A Happy Brain by Dr. Loretta Graziano Breuning, and in it Dr. Breuning says that we can end up overdoing a happy habit to the point of unhappiness. Varying our exercise routine is a good way to trigger endorphin.

To quote the book: “It takes strain to trigger endorphin, and if you keep straining the same place, you risk injury.  If you work new places with new exercise, moderate exertion can stimulate endorphin.”

When I read this I immediately thought to replace my usual HIIT/strength combo exercises with early morning jogs followed by Pilates.  I exercise indoors so early morning jogs would take me out of the house and – is there really anything more uplifting than to be under a wide open sky at the start of one’s day? 💖 💖

However, I will have to do this new exercise consistently for 45 days.  I can’t see myself jogging on a rainy day.  And since I can only jog in the mornings, this new exercise would prove quite tricky to navigate once my daughter goes back to school again and mornings become busy 😨 😥

As for Pilates, this was an easy choice since I’ve always enjoyed working on my flexibility and balance. In addition, who doesn’t want a tight core and butt? 💖 💖 XD

But going back to what Dr. Breuning further says on the topic: “Your body has three layers of muscles. When you vary your exercise, you give the neglected, constricted layers more attention.  Since they’re weak, they have to work harder, so you stimulate development where it’s needed instead of going overboard on the parts you overuse.  Chasing an endorphin high is not worth the risk of wearing out a part and needing a parts replacement. Variety is a great alternative.”

I didn’t need any more convincing after reading that! 😀 👏

So the next 6 weeks are going to be dedicated to Pilates and some type of cardio that’s different from what I normally do.  I’ll be putting my free weights on standby for now 😭 😭  😭 and hopefully my appetite won’t be as high as when I do HIITs to compensate for the decrease in intensity.

 

How about you? When was the last time you varied your exercise routine? Any fun cardio suggestions? 😀