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! 💋

Goals, Gastritis & That Blog I Was Telling You About

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Hello my beautiful, awesome friends! It’s been a while. How ya’ll doin’? 😀

I’m here to share with you that I’ve done and am doing something I find truly exciting.

But before that, a backstory in the briefest way I can do it:

The last time we “talked” I was going on about these goals I had, right? And that I was working on them, but it was all feeling like an uphill climb. I knew something was amiss since I was really struggling with them.

So I had to stop and take stock. I dove into motivational material, listened to Jim Rohn, Jack Canfield, Lisa Nichols and a bunch of life coaches on Podcasts and I realized the problem was that my goals just weren’t exciting.  There was no thunder and lightning at all. And they didn’t pull me out of my comfort zone in ways that energized me.

At about the same time I realized this I experienced gastritis along with the worst period pains E-VERR. It was absolute torture! But all the doctor said was …and you’re not gonna believe this, he said “just be happy”. Literally. I’m serious.

Now I totally believe in the mind-body connection, so I didn’t need to be told twice. I immediately improved the quality of the food I was eating, shifted to the kind of exercise my body truly enjoyed, tackled a couple of small but annoying things in my life, continued to feed my brain with motivational material, and allowed myself to just forget “those effing goals” for a while.

Just a few days into this routine I noticed that I could see better.  I’m like “why is the TV so much clearer all of a sudden?!”.  I also felt physically lighter. I can’t quite explain it but I was moving with more ease and fluidity and as though I had lost a ton of weight.  I was also in a more positive mindset.  My brain chatter was just … better…?  It’s like I gained some maturity, resilience, confidence & purposefulness all in one. So yes, improving your diet, exercising better and filling your brain with positive stuff makes all the difference in the world.

But the biggest take-away for me is really this: I created new goals and I made them genuinely relevant and scary-exciting.  I will be sharing more about them with you in upcoming posts but for now I would L❤️VE for you to head on over to fifiandriri.com and tell me what you think 🙂

Thanks and, I’ll talk to you soon 💋

The Awesome Month of April & The Marvelous Month of May

April. Gurrrl how fast you go! But you gave me some awesome victories that I am definitely grateful for:

👉🏼  I sorted out my feelings about blogging and this blog. As a result, not only does this blog now enjoy a fresh “coat of paint”, but more importantly, I’m staying true to sharing about me and my life as it unfolds.

👉🏼  I started on a path to beauty because I hit rock bottom on this matter. There was a time when I was younger when I didn’t care about my appearance, and I could get away with it. But now I need to swallow my pride and get help because, as a stay-at-home-mom and as I grow older, I’d rather be an inspiration than a warning 🤭

👉🏼  I discovered a new & interesting author, understand Indonesia better, and no longer feel guilty for a few not-so-nice observations I’ve had about this country and its people (in general) because the author has actually observed the same! As they are fond of saying here “begitulah” (that’s just the way it is)!

👉🏼 I had my first FO of the year 🤩

👉🏼 This month my husband went on his second overseas trip and I’m no longer panicky about it 😀 As a matter of fact, I kinda enjoy the change of atmosphere 😀 It’s not that I no longer worry about what to do & who to contact in the event something unforeseen happens. But I think it’s because I’ve been learning a bit more Indonesian lately and I’m exposed to more people as a result of my new hobby.

👉🏼 And lastly, I think it could be the start of the rainy season. Yay! It’s been raining the past few days and right about time too because the heat was sweltering. (When is it ever not sweltering hot over here, eh? 😜).

And Now for Making May Marvelous

A lot of people have a monthly bucket list and I enjoy reading them. I do agree that it’s a wise & deliberate way to ensure time is well spent. I’m also an enthusiastic goal setter myself (ok, way too enthusiastic most times) although the implementation part is often a bit problematic 🤭

But anyways, in that spirit, here’s what’s on my May bucket list:

👉 👉 Stay away from anything crochet (or knitting) 😁

I just thought it’d be cool to give something I’m obsessed with a break and see what rushes in to fill the void. I’m considering the following in its place:

💄  read a book, maybe 2

💄  learn a new recipe, maybe 2

💄  craft something out of paper, maybe 2

💄  have coffee with a friend, maybe 2

💄  celebrate Mother’s Day in a positive way

💄  buy a doll

 

Now on to YOU:

What are some of your April highlights? Looking forward to something special in May? Do share! 😊

What Could You Buy That Could Help You Make the Most of Where You Live?

Author Melody Warnick asks a very smart question that immediately resonated with me:

~ What could you buy (or borrow or rent) that would help you make the most of where you live? ~

For me the answer is the 2 outdoor chairs that you see in the above photo 😊

I make no secret about the fact that I LOOOOVE to spend time under the wide open sky in the evenings. I used to just stand or walk in circles looking up at the wide, astoundingly beautiful night sky, say my prayers and feel grateful & content. Evenings are usually cool and breezy making the personal time even more pleasant.

A few weeks ago I had the brilliant idea to buy those chairs and, now my evening musings are even that much more delicious 💖 At times my husband joins me, at times my eldest, but mostly I’m alone.  And sometimes, in the late afternoons, I also do my crochet outside thanks to these inexpensive chairs.

How about you? What’s your answer to the question? 🙂

 

Everytime I Think of Quitting This Blog I Get A Like Or A New Follower

I’m going to be honest with you guys, since the start of this year I have felt disconnected from this blog and have thought many serious times about stopping and starting a new one. The new one would be more in step with what my current interests are and who I feel I have become.

3 years ago I was busy climbing the corporate ladder. I was independent, assertive, driven. Now, I am a full-time housewife on foreign soil. This blog talks about those 3 years of struggling to find my balance.

I now understand why they say that in order to be successful in blogging you have to have a niche, or a specific subject matter. If you blog about yourself/your life, the blog must evolve with you. And, well … I’m having trouble with this because it just seems so cluttered and messy, direction-less. I drool over blogs that are able to identify their topic of interest and blog about nothing but.

But every time I think of quitting I get a like. Or a follow. And my heart does a happy dance. Because no matter how hard I try to not let it matter, every like and new subscriber makes me proud and happy.

So I don’t know. I’ve read other bloggers who’ve come to this juncture in their blogging journey as well. I don’t know what they do. I don’t know what to do.

What would you do?