Revisiting the Word of the Year #MondayMusings

My Word of the year for 2020 is Self-care. We are already in the 9th month of the year and I want to revisit that post to see where I am with my Goals.

Personal goals set in Jan:

• Yoga at least thrice a week - I couldn't follow this more than 2 months I believe, so I am going to give it a second try in the coming months.

• Having nutritious breakfast at the right time every day - I could follow it most of the months. So, on track with this. 

• Sleeping before 10 am - Could achieve most of the days - On track

• Making time for hobbies- especially blogging and painting - I decided to step back on a few things due to health reasons and blogging is one of them. No regrets! :-) Could paint a bit though to my satisfaction.

• Keeping Saturday for myself to relax - The best goal this year! I enjoyed my time mostly every Saturday either by sleeping more or eating out or traveling. Sundays are dedicated to my dance classes in the mornings.

The first few months were busy with office work and health problems which made me realize that I need to spend more time on Self-care then ever.

Nowadays, I am spending more time on just relaxing, taking naps in the afternoons on weekends, watching Netflix on the evenings on weekdays, taking local hikes on weekends, sleeping early every day, preparing simple meals, including more vegetables in my diet etc.,

Reducing my office work is not in my hands but I can better organize my days now. I have cancelled all my morning office calls before 7 Am however important they are. I am hoping I can continue this in future. I am trying to strictly close office work by 4 Pm, though not possible every day. 

I have reduced my time on blogging, book reading, and painting as it seems like I need more rest or reduce my office stress to some extent. 

Do you set goals for the year? or a Word of the Year? If so, do you track them?

Do let me know in the comments.

Until the next time,

Linking this to #MondayMusings hosted by Corinne @everydaygyaan.com

Gratitude List for May 2020 #GratitudeCircle

May continued to be 'New' Normal. Work from home, loads of office work, struggling with helping kids in e-learning, no option to travel and relax due to Covid etc., But, we are learning a few things due to Covid as family, and focusing on a few important things of our life. So, All is not bad.

There are many things to be grateful for :

•  Kids had their summer holidays started and thus, rest for us as we need not support their e-learning 
• Could improve my health and focus on home-cooked healthy meals
• Could reduce office stress by implementing a few methods
• Could, at last, make online dance classes work well 
• Could sleep for more time and relax a bit

Here is my Gratitude List for May 2020:

1. Improvement in health

I did a lot of changes in my lifestyle and diet to focus on my health. The good news is that I could see some improvement. I am sleeping more nowadays, reduced morning office calls, increased the intake of grains, vegetables, and fruits in my diet, and took things slow.

I haven't put any targets to complete any tasks for my blog/dance school/office work. I just went with the flow and did whatever I can without working hard.

I am usually more ambitious and tend to jump into multiple tasks at a time. I am trying to change this which will reduce my stress. So far, it's great.

2. One outing after a long break

Due to COVID, we couldn't travel at all for a few months. But, in the last month, we went hiking in our town itself. Colorado Springs is a nice place as we have many beautiful options to hike around our area.

We practiced social distancing, wore masks, carried sanitizer, didn't use public restrooms etc.,
Redrock canyon open space is a good place to hike on a warm day. There is a lake with geese swimming in groups. 2 hrs of our time were spent leisurely after a long time.

We also could go for evening walks in the last month as Summer just started and the weather is great here for walking. We walked only inside our apartment and kids enjoyed their bikes.

3. Researching and trying new healthy recipes

I am grateful to my Yoga teacher and of course the Google search that I am able to learn many new healthy recipes that can easily be made. I hate cooking, so whatever it is that I try, it has to be simple and quick. I don't like to spend much time in my kitchen.

Fortunately, I learned to make millet soup, minestrone soup, lemon rice with foxtail millets, tasty veg salads, healthy smoothies, and a lot. So, the last month had seen a big spike in my learning curve of healthy cooking. I am excited to continue my learning.

4. Art and Dance

I couldn't draw much in May as I said, I am not forcing myself on any task these days. I do only when it's possible and don't stress if I couldn't do it at all. I could draw my first Mandala.

I could make some dance videos for students and I could take online dance classes to my satisfaction now. Researched some tips on taking online zoom dance classes and seems like it is working. But, it cannot compare with direct Dance classes where it was easy for me to correct student's mistakes.

5. Blogging and Books

I could participate in a blog link up for creative writing prompt - Red Roses. 

I could read 2 parts of my favorite historical fiction 'Ponni's beloved' - An English translation of famous Tamil novel (Ponniyan Selvan) and here are the reviews of Part 2 and Part 3. Try to read these books if you love historical fiction.





After 2 months, I could write our travelogue of the New Mexico trip - Roswell and Bandelier National Monument. I got an opportunity to write a sponsored post as well in May.

So, overall it's a great month for me. Since summer is here, the weather will be great and we can have more outdoor time in June. Hoping for a good month with some travel if possible.

How was your May? Did you get used to the new Normal?

Let me know in the comments.

Until next time,

Linking this to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury.

Pin it for later!

My Gratitude List for June 2018 #GratitudeCircle

June is my birthday month. So, usually, it will be all fun and happy every year. Moreover, I met my parents and sister after a long time, which calls for more happiness and celebration.

I have imbibed a new philosophy in my life. Here it is..

While forgiving is not easy for me, Forgetting is a bliss. I forget many things from the past and so, it is easy to forget something which hurt in the past. But, I cannot forgive anyone easily. I can only isolate myself from those people and try not to hurt them from my words. But, it is not easy for me to forgive them wholeheartedly. Maybe someday, I will be there. 

Appreciating the little things in our life and being thankful are the initial steps that we can take to make our life happy. Won't you agree?

I am grateful to :

1. Mangoes

You might laugh at this one but I never loved mangoes so much in my life until I missed them for 2 years in the USA. We used to get some mangoes in the USA but not as good as the ones that we get in India. Myself and my kids literally indulged in the sweetness of this seasonal fruit :-)

2. Shirdi Trip

From childhood, this is the only trip that we used to take every year with the family and enjoy the family time together. We didn't visit any other place nearby other than Shirdi since it was tough to travel with kids.  Anyways, we visited all the nearby places like Ajanta, Ellora, Nasik, Trayambakeshwar etc., in our earlier visits. 

3. A visit to our dance school

I have met our dance and music teacher after many years. I also danced Kuchipudi trying to remember the dance steps that I learned 15 years ago. It made me really happy that I could remember 70% of it. We have also visited one of our old family friends.

4. Meeting my old friends

Fortunately, I could meet my school and college mates as they were on town at the same time. Meeting their children and knowing about their families and jobs was just an awesome experience.

5. Aksharabyasam Pooja

We did Aksharabhyasam pooja to our younger one at our in-laws' house. I am happy that the kid didn't irritate much during pooja and cooperated well to write his first words on the slate. This is the first step to learning and gaining knowledge as per our tradition. 

How did you find last month? What are you thankful for? Do let me know in comments.

Until next time,

Linking this to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury. 

A dead river revived to life in Kerala, India #WATWB

We humans are advancing in every field and inventing new technologies to make our lives easier and comfortable. But, we are polluting our mother nature to a great extent in the process which might impact us very badly in future. When I read this news about reviving a 'dead river', I felt, hopeful about the world we are living in.

In kerala, at Budhanoor panchayat, Kuttemperoor river almost vanished due to illegal sand mining and severe pollution. But, 700 people worked for 70 days to clean the river and fortunately, water level increased slowly bringing life to the river. Now, people in the village are using the river water for bathing and washing. Read more details from the article here.

Sharing this news for We are the World blogfest. We are the world blogfest seeks to promote positive news or any news to promote love, brotherhood and positive spirit.

Until next time,