5 Goals for March 2022

Hello Everyone!

I hope you’re all as excited for March as I am.

February a bit tough and I was so ready for it to be over. I love a fresh start and I feel like I get one on the first of every month. I’m also looking forward to Spring.

These are the things I’d like to accomplish in March.

One

Finish a 5K walk on 20/03.

I’m confident I can do this, even though I haven’t been walking that much lately. The other day I ended up walking 5 km without planning it and it wasn’t so bad. My pelvic pain and heavy belly make it harder but not impossible.

Two

Get everything ready for the baby.

We’re pretty much done with the things we need to buy and the changes around the house but I still need to get a few things and wash all her clothes.

Three

Finish and pass my Training Course.

This training course I’m taking is ending next week and I need to prepare my final presentation. Fingers crossed it will go well and I’ll get my diploma by the end of the month.

Four

Go on a weekend getaway to celebrate our 9th anniversary.

I’m not sure where we’ll go yet but it will double as our babymoon.

Five

Deep clean the whole house.

I’m excited for Spring cleaning. My nesting instincts are kicking in and I feel like getting rid of all the clutter and cleaning every nook and cranny until the whole house is sparkling.

So, yeah. If you need me, I’ll be working on these goals.

What about you? Any goals for March?

Love,

Cheila

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5 Goals for February 2022: An Update

Hello everyone.

February is over (finally!) and so I wanted to check on my goals for the month.

We’ve been thrown a few curveballs this month, so I don’t think I worked hard enough on some of my goals. Let’s check them one by one.

One

Follow our weekly meal plan.

Well, this definitely didn’t happen. Between my husband getting covid, us being quarantined for a week and me getting recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes (I’ll update on that later), our meals have been all over the place. Hopefully, we’ll do better in March.

Two

Follow our budget.

Not sure. Still need to check with my husband and do our monthly budget meeting but I’m pretty sure we overspent on a few categories.

Three

Walk every single day.

Definitely not. We were stuck at home for 7 whole days and then I didn’t really manage to do much walking the rest of the month because I simply wasn’t in the mood.

Four

Visit both our families.

We were able to see Rui’s family twice and some of his extended family (unfortunately, while attending a funeral) which was quite lovely as we don’t see them often. I saw my sister a couple of times too. Didn’t see my mom but I’m meeting her later this week for lunch.

Five

Keep up with my journaling.

Not at all. I’ve been on a journaling block for the last couple of weeks. I’ll do my best to get back to it this month.

After reviewing my monthly goals and the month of February in general, I have to say it was pretty meh. I’m hoping March will be better.

Love,

Cheila

5 Goals for February 2022

One

Follow our weekly meal plan.

We eat better, save money and don’t waste food when I follow the meal plan I have set. I’ve been enjoying cooking and trying new recipes too, so it’s something fun to look forward to. Mostly, I like how in control I feel when things are planned and organized.

Two

Follow our budget.

Even though we budget for every euro we spend, it’s still very easy to go off track and overspend if we’re not careful. It helps if we keep a close eye on our spending so I plan on doing just that.

Three

Walk every single day.

I have to “train” for this 5 km walk I’m doing in March (shame on me, my husband is running a half marathon and I actually have to practice to walk 5K), meaning I should be walking every single day for the month of February. My plan is to walk 3 km a day for the first two weeks and then 4 km a day for the next two.

Four

Visit both our families.

We haven’t seen them since Christmas and they’re missing out on my pregnancy with their first grandchild so we’ll try to make it happen.

Five

Keep up with my journaling.

I got The 6-Minute Diary from Amazon and absolutely love it.

What about you? Any goals for February?

Love,

Cheila

Days of March: March 2018 in Review + Plans and Goals for April

In March I:

– Got officially engaged.

– Bought a cute dress, a cardigan and two pairs of basic leggings.

– Had my sister over for a couple of days.

– Had a baking competition at work and was probably the biggest loser because I took two different things and they both looked like shit.

– Decided I wanted a second job.

– Began looking for a second job. Sent many applications, got many calls and went to a couple of interviews but it was hard to find something I could do while keeping my current job, which I love.

– Had our 5th anniversary. We’ve been together for 5 years and a few days.

– Had 2 extra days off.

– Worked a few mornings because the kids were off on Easter break and we had them from 10 a.m to 1 p.m.

– Didn’t go to the pool at all.

– Just came to Rui’s hometown for Easter. We got here Thursday, 30th at 9 p.m and are going home on Sunday afternoon.

– Got to 2500 followers on WordPress.

– Read 3 books. Not nearly enough but more than I usually do.

– Watched the Oscars.

– Watched a few movies, finished the second season of This is Us, the second season of Divorce, the first season of The Good Doctor, and we’re almost done with The Alienist.

– Spent a little time with friends and family.

– Announced our engagement, told our family and the wedding party.

– Decided on a date (yet to be announced) and began brainstorming wedding plans. The countdown is on!


Review of my March Plans and Goals:

• Celebrate our 5th anniversary. We’re planning on maybe taking a little trip to a city I’ve never been to, here in Portugal. We have friends there too so we’re probably going to visit them.

– Boy, did we celebrate. We got engaged.

• Plan a little getaway trip.

– Didn’t happen.

• Paint our house. We really wanted to have done this last Summer but ended up not doing it. I think we’ll do it this month instead of waiting for the Summer. We really need to paint all of our inside walls and our patio walls too.

– Didn’t happen.

• Spend Easter with Rui’s family. Although they’re catholic my family don’t celebrate Easter so we always spend this holiday with Rui’s side of the family, traveling to his hometown and spending the long weekend.

– We’re here now.

• Get little Easter treats for everyone, on a budget. I hate this time of year because we always spend so much on chocolate. I hate giving presents that people are just going to eat and be done with.

– We bought eggs for the kids and nothing else.

• Have my sister over for a few days.

– Done.

• Watch the Oscars.

– Done.

• Make sure the kids finish this term with good grades. Please, God! Put some sense into their little heads. They can be so lazy and careless. I try to do my part but I cannot study for them or force them to work.

– Done.

• Finish my freelance work project until the 15th.

– Nope.

• Blog every day. There are a few things I really want to post this month:

1 Guest Post Sunday

2 Freelance Work and how I make money online

3 How we save money part II

4 Question of the day

5 The loveliest quotes

– Nope.

• Get our garden ready for Spring.

– It rained a lot so no! But we changed a few plants.

• Lose 10 pounds.

– Hahahaha

• Go to the pool at least 3x a week.

– Hahahahahahahaha

• Keep on decluttering.

– Tried but we had rain and guests and we’re busy.


Plans and Goals for April:

  • Find a second job.
  • Work on our garden.
  • Read 5 books.
  • Decide on a wedding budget.
  • Finish the first draft of our wedding guest list.
  • Finally finish that freelance project.
  • Blog every day.
  • Go to the pool three times a week.
  • Declutter and Spring clean our house.
  • Caught up with laundry.
  • Try some baking recipes. I’m trying to learn and become good at it.
  • Probably paint our house.
  • Look into buying a new bed and mattress.
  • Try intermittent fasting.
  • Watch a few movies.

❤️❤️❤️

  • Watch La Casa de Papel.

Weekly + weekend + February update

Good afternoon 😃

Happy hump day!

(I just hate this expression. It sounds like something naughty. It’s like Spanish. It’s a beautiful, sexy language, so when I hear someone speak Spanish I immediately think about adult activities. It’s me, right? I’m troubled. I know.)

Enough of my dirty, crazy mind.

I haven’t posted since Friday and I totally owe you an update on my weekend, my to-do list, this half week and February in general. Here we go. I’ll start by telling you what I was up to last weekend.

Saturday – 24.02

I went to bed pretty late on Friday. We had dinner with friends and it was really nice. We had a lot of fun as usual and spent a long time throwing boy name suggestions at my pregnant friend. They have a name picked out for a girl but no name for a boy so we had fun sharing and hating each other’s ideas. By the way, they have just announced publicly so I can disclose more. One of my besties Patrícia is 13 weeks pregnant. She’s the first one to get pregnant in our group of friends and we’re just so excited. We keep referring to the baby as she but they have no idea if it’s boy or girl, which is really funny. Here’s the little cutie:

We’ve been friends for a very long time and are very, very close so our kids will be calling us auntie. I’m so happy and excited. You know how much I love a pregnant lady and how obsessed I am with babies. Congratulations mama! I love you and I love your baby already. ❤️

Anyway, I’m talking about Saturday, not Friday. But I do have a point. Because of dinner I went to bed late which means I took my pills pretty late and that plus being very tired resulted in me waking up at almost 3 p.m the next day. Oh yeah. We wanted to go out but I wasn’t feeling well (side effects from no longer taking some of my medication, which I don’t mind at all) so we decided we would only go out to buy dinner. We went to Aldi but there was nothing we wanted and it was almost closing so the security guard was giving us dirty looks. Feeling pressured, we decided to try a different store. I was about to pass out because of said side effects and hunger so I just picked my usual carbonara pizza. Rui picked something else. We tried a new drink and a new dessert (a new weekend challenge) and we weren’t impressed by either. Remember, when I say “drink” I mean “non-alcoholic beverage”. I don’t drink AND I take medication. We wanted to watch a movie but I was too sleepy, so we just went to bed.

Sunday: 25.02

We woke up earlier on Sunday and decided we definitely had to go out and get a few things. Rui needed new running gear (my man runs 12 km, 3 times a week, I’m so proud of him!), I needed some new underwear and socks and we definitely needed some groceries. My mom happened to call while we were having a very late breakfast. We bugged her so much to come with us that she eventually accepted her defeat and said she would come, after endlessly complains about “why am I going shopping with you? It’s boring enough to do my own grocery shopping.” I think it might have been the promise of ice cream. We picked her up an hour later and off we went. We do have lots of fun together, the three of us. I was too lazy to wash my hair so I wore a hat.

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It was not cold at all and my mother said I looked very silly with mah beanie. She said I had tricked her because I mentioned I was going to take a shower when I hung up the phone earlier. I told her I hadn’t lied at all. I did, in fact, take a shower. I never said anything about washing my hair.

First, we went to this huge sports store where Rui got new running shoes, socks, shorts and a t-shirt. I got a new swimsuit and mom got bored. We stopped by H&M to see if they had the panties I like but they didn’t so I had to buy this jeans:

I mean, they’re pink and 9,99€. I had to have them. Does anyone like colored jeans? Not even this really nice pastel pink? Okay. Well, they do match about 50% of my closet, so.

Mom was way too bored at this point so we finally took her to McDonald’s. We chatted for a while and then we took poor Isabel home. My favorite grocery store is near my moms house and so I convinced Rui we HAD to shop there instead of going to a supermarket close to home. I found a few nice, cheap packs of panties (yes, I do buy my everyday panties in boring packs) and got about 10 pairs for 10€. I got a few pairs of socks too. We got 2 cute mugs but I forgot to take a picture of Rui’s. This is mine:

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It says free but I totally had to pay for it. I promised I didn’t tell that stupid joke to the cashier. But only because I forgot. We got many things for a cheap price. That’s why I love this store so much – great variety and awesome prices. I thought I would take a picture of my shopping cart. Not that you can actually see much.

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And then I got home and decided to take pictures of my kitchen shelves:

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Two of them, anyway. I promise I have more food. Here’s our breakfast/coffee station:

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And really bad picture of a lovely sign:

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We made a big pot of rice and veggies for dinner, with some fish fingers. Easy and I could eat it every single day. Then, bed.

Monday: 26.02

I didn’t sleep well so I woke up late on Monday and didn’t do anything of what I intended to do. I worked from 5-7, got home and deep cleaned/de-cluttered the bathroom, while I made dinner. We had leftover rice with sautéed black beans, onions, peppers, green beans, sweet corn, mushrooms, olives and cherry tomatoes. It was yummy and healthy and no-meat which is always a win in my house.

Tuesday: 27.02

Again, I slept nothing.

I woke up way too late and had to take a taxi to work. It was raining so the kids were literally wet and wild. There were so many of them and they were crazy. It was a madhouse and there was nowhere to sit for 3 hours. I forgot we had this dinner with friends and to tell Rui I was off at 8 and not 7. But we made it to dinner on time. We met with his friends at this nice little restaurant and had a great time and a lovely meal. We got home late and I decided “Fuck no, I’m not going to wake up late again” so I didn’t take my sleeping pills. I didn’t sleep at all, obviously, so I spent all night listening to podcasts.

Wednesday – Today: 28.02

I got up at 7 a.m for coffee and breakfast and got ready to go to the pool for some hydro gymnastics class. While having coffee, I realized my pink and white pajamas kind of matched my pink and white mug:

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Such is life. I might have issues. Either that or I own too much pink. So yeah, that’s it. I’m currently writing this post before work. It will be pretty crazy again. So excited.


About my weekend to-do list:

  • Deep clean/organized the bathroom; – Done on Monday!
  • Deep clean one of our bedroom walls that is getting moldy (there’s this perfect detergent that cleans any trace of mold or humidity marks without any damage to the surface); – Done on Sunday.
  • Deep clean/purge our kitchen;
  • Laundry, always; – Some, obviously.
  • Make a dental appointment; – I did, but then I had to miss it for work.
  • Schedule a vet appointment;
  • Force Rui to schedule an eye doctor appointment;
  • Meal plan and prep for next week; – I have the plan on my head. It counts for something.
  • Charge my power bank;
  • Work on my freelance project;
  • Clean living room;
  • Clean bedroom; – Hoping to do this today. I hate cleaning during the week but it really needs to be cleaned and organized.
  • Change bed sheets;
  • Get two gym bags ready in advance;
  • Get my clothes ready for the week;
  • Do a little grocery shopping; – Done.
  • Do some gardening;
  • Watch a movie or two;
  • Try making homemade granola/cereal bars;
  • Get my eyebrows done;
  • Write a few letters;
  • Sell a few things online;
  • Get something for my dry ends; – Done on Sunday.

About February:

  • Finish my big freelance work project and get maybe one more. Extra income is always welcome.
  • Go to the pool 5 times a week. I’m really enjoying it. – No. I’ve been going twice or 3 times, which is weird for someone who has never actually done any regular exercise. I would really love to go every weekday. I love it, I sleep better, my back doesn’t hurt, my day runs smoothly, I’m in a better mood, etc. So many benefits.
  • Keep on leaving my nails alone (not biting them) – Done!!!
  • Keep on drinking 1.5 l of water every day. – Yes!!
  • Blog every single day. – I don’t think so. But I’ve definitely got my groove on. I had lost in somewhere in August and am now getting back to my normal rhythm. 
  • Read 3 books. – No, but I’ve been listening to so many podcasts. That counts for something? No?
  • Read as many blog posts as I can every day. – Yes. I’ve been better at this.
  • See/talk to family and friends as much as possible. – Yes, yes, yes!!
  • Keep my de-cluttering/rearranging/reorganizing process. – Going!
  • Remember my year 26 challenges. – Yes!

Well, I must confess I did/am doing better than I thought. Not such a bad month after all.


Random photo dump:

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See you, guys!!

Desenho sem título (4)

Plans and Goals for March

Good afternoon and happy Thursday! I’m sure you’re all happy it’s almost Friday, aren’t you? So am I. I’m kind of tired.

Although I love to make plans and to set goals, I’m not as keen on it as I have been before. Why? Well, only because I don’t want or feel the need to push myself to do too much at this time of my life. I do push myself a little every day, of course. I make sure I drink water, I try to read more, to be organized, to blog and so on, but only because life is so busy and fast-paced these days and we’d never get anything done if we didn’t make sure to make it happen. However, I think I’ve lost the my lifelong tendency to be mean to myself, so I make sure not to push too hard or expect too much, which is huge for the girl who once asked her doctor what’s the absolute minimum you need to sleep to function, so I could fit more into my day.

All of this to say I do make plans and have goals, I just don’t care too much if I don’t accomplish them. I try and like to be productive and crazy busy is my favorite mode, I mean, I’m still the same person, but I understand that’s not always the best for me.

If you are one of those people who like to keep adding to their plate and pushing themselves too hard, I strongly advise you to take a step back and take it slow a little. I’m speaking from experience here, trust me. You could be seriously damaging both your physical and mental health. Be kind to yourself.

Plans and Goals for March:

  • Celebrate our 5th anniversary. We’re planning on maybe taking a little trip to a city I’ve never been to, here in Portugal. We have friends there too so we’re probably going to visit them.
  • Plan a little getaway trip.
  • Paint our house. We really wanted to have done this last Summer but ended up not doing it. I think we’ll do it this month instead of waiting for the Summer. We really need to paint all of our inside walls and our patio walls too.
  • Spend Easter with Rui’s family. Although they’re catholic my family don’t celebrate Easter so we always spend this holiday with Rui’s side of the family, traveling to his hometown and spending the long weekend.
  • Get little Easter treats for everyone, on a budget. I hate this time of year because we always spend so much on chocolate. I hate giving presents that people are just going to eat and be done with 😂
  • Have my sister over for a few days.
  • Watch the Oscars.
  • Make sure the kids finish this term with good grades. Please, God! Put some sense into their little heads. They can be so lazy and careless. I try to do my part but I cannot study for them or force them to work.
  • Finish my freelance work project until the 15th.
  • Blog every day. There are a few things I really want to post this month:
  1. Guest Post Sunday
  2. Freelance Work and how I make money online
  3. How we save money part II
  4. Question of the day
  5. The loveliest quotes
  • Get our garden ready for Spring.
  • Lose 10 pounds.
  • Go to the pool at least 3x a week.
  • Keep on decluttering.

What are your plans for March?

❤️

February Goals: 11 days late

Before I was a blogger, I was a blog reader.

I absolutely loved reading about goals, to-do lists and routines.

When I started this blog, that was one of my main focus. With time, things changed.

I’m still very much a goal maker and definitely a list lover. I just haven’t been sharing them, for some reason. But I do have goals and things I would like to do this month.

February goals: 11.02 – 28.02

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  • Finish my big freelance work project and get maybe one more. Extra income is always welcome.
  • Go to the pool 5 times a week. I’m really enjoying it.
  • Keep on leaving my nails alone (not biting them)
  • Keep on drinking 1.5 l of water every day.
  • Blog every single day.
  • Read 3 books.
  • Read as many blog posts as I can every day.
  • See/talk to family and friends as much as possible.
  • Keep my de-cluttering/rearranging/reorganizing process.
  • Remember my year 26 challenges.

 

 

My after vacation to-do list – August 16th to August 31st (Part I)

Hey there,

Happy Saturday everyone!!

I hope you’re having a fun weekend.

I’m very happy because I’ve been able to get Rui hooked up on Outlander and to watch the first episode of The Handmaids Tale. He is really hooked up on the show and has watched about 8 episodes without me, the bastard. Now he’s annoying because he remembers all the little details that I have forgotten because I’ve watched the first season in 2015 or something like that. The stupid thing is, I’ve been telling him he would love the show for years. So he’s been missing out.

The Mister is making dinner while I blog.

We’ll technically be on vacation until the 16th (I say technically because we’re not doing anything special. We want to go to the beach but the wind has been absolutely crazy. Only today we’ve had about four seasons in one day. It rained, there was a little cold a fog, and now it’s sunny but still so damn windy. I love where we live, but we have this sort of micro-climate, always different from the rest of the country and unexpected. I don’t really mind if it’s humid or raining or suddenly super hot, but the wind (the strong wind) really gets on my nerves. My poor plants have to shake it off all day long and they don’t even know Taylor Swift.

We have a few things to get done before our vacation is over. They’re mostly things that Rui can do and I probably can’t. Our outside (patio) walls need some work and a few coats of paint. Our fences need to be changed and our gate needs to be fixed. We’re also probably power washing the outside walls, windows and shutters with the pressure washer we have just bought. Some trees need trimming as well and I need to move some plants. We have washed our living room rug but the one we have in our bedroom (which is bigger and heavier) is yet to be cleaned. These are things we usually take care of together, every Summer.

After he goes back to work, I have my own big to-do list to tackle before my the school year begins at September 1st. Actually, school doesn’t officially start between the 8th and the 13th of September, but I go back to work on the 1st.

Yesterday, I’ve bought the books I’ll need for my 8th and 9th grade tutoring. I might occasionally need to deal with older students (10th-12th) but I’ve got tonnes of material for those grades, as I’ve worked with them more often.

I’ve got my work schedule, which is great because I like to be prepared in advance. My hours will be:

  • Monday, Thursday and Friday – 5 p.m to 7 p.m;
  • Tuesday – 5 p.m – 8 p.m;
  • Wednesday – 2.30 p.m – 7 p.m;
  • When the kids are on school break: Monday – Friday from  10 a.m to 1 p.m;

I’m really lucky because this schedule really works for me.

I also have two birthdays coming up. Two of my best friends have their birthdays in August. Alison on the 15th and Catarina on the 20th.

My to-do list –  From August 16th to August 31st:

School and work

  • Study for the 3 exams I need to take in September to finish my degree in Languages, Literature and Cultures with a Major in North American Studies and a Minor in English. Sadly, I’m not able to take the 4 exams I need to take my second minor in History. The exams will be between September 5th and 7th and they are: Business English (I can do this one with my eyes closed, two broken arms and in a coma), Italian A 2 (I might be able to do this one with just one good eye and two broken arms, while juggling glasses) and North American Cinema (for this one I need to study my ass of because I have about 200, 475, 973 pages to read). I need to remember the sign up date which is from August 28th to August 31st.
  • Do some revisions and prepare material for my 8th and 9th grade kids. I haven’t taught Portuguese grammar since last year and I always need some revision. Sadly (or proudly) I know every single English grammar rule by heart but I can’t say the same about my own language.
  • Get the works of fiction and poetry they kids will be studying (Hello, Camões) because I don’t have all of them. I may need to borrow some from my sister and find others online.
  • Make a list on all the books I have lent to old students and ask them to return them to me. There’s a bunch of people out there with my books.
  • Return all of the ficking books I have from about 4 ficking libraries. I’m late and the old librarians will kick my butt.
  • Buy a pencil-case!! (exciting)
  • Maybe wash my work bag? Maybe.
  • Get Rui to format my PC and then organize it.
  • Take care of some social security/tax documents.
  • I should probably get a school year planner instead of my yearly one.

So, this is part one. I might have forgotten something but I’ll remember it at some point.

What else is new?

  • I’m almost finished with Upstairs, Downstairs.
  • I stopped taking my birth control pill (not trying to get pregnant) because I realized it was responsible for some weight gain and liquid retention.
  • I’ve been doing some extra online work.
  • I’ve been working on our magazine “Bumblebee Magazine”.

That’s it for now, dearest friends.

We’ll talk tomorrow, pinky promise.

What do you really must get done before September?

Love, Chey.

My after vacation to-do list – August 16th to August 31st (Part II)

Hey there dear friends,

Is it me or a bunch of people are taking a break from blogging?

Maybe because it’s Summer? Or because everyone is a little tired?

I told you I would come back today with part II of my list of things I need to take care of before September. Yesterday was School and Work (Academics in general too) and today I’ll talk about personal and health related tasks. Some of them I’ve been putting off for a long time, you’ll be surprised to know I haven’t done some things I’ve been talking about for the last six months yet. Welcome to my procrastination side.

My to-do list –  From August 16th to August 31st:

Personal and health

  • I need to get on a sleep schedule. Right now my sleep is all over the place. I might sleep for 12 hours, if no one is there to wake me up. What are alarms for? Well, they’re useless if I can’t hear them at all and sleep through them. I need my sleep, I’m not one of those people who is happy and satisfied with 6-7 hours. I’ve done that and I can’t function properly. I need to be in bed with enough time to sleep 8-9 hours. I know that is too much for an adult, but it’s what I need. I might not sleep the 8 or 9 hours, but I need to be in bed for that long. I need to talk to my doctor and find a way to fall asleep faster, when I get to bed. I takes me 3 hours, sometimes. Other times, I need to get up and take an extra pill (prescribed by her, of course) or I can’t sleep at all. Problem is, the emergency pill is powerful. I take it at about 4 a.m if I’m not asleep by then, and then I sleep till 2 p.m, which is very bad. My doctor and I need to find a good balance and cocktail of pills so I can get in a good, healthy sleep routine. 
  • Schedule a dental appointment. I haven’t been to the dentist for about 3 years? Shame on me, I know.
  • You know that gynaecology appointment I’ve been talking about since I’ve started the blog? It hasn’t happen yet. I REALLY need to take care of that as soon as possible.
  • I need to go and do my blood tests and then schedule and appointment to show the results to my doctor. 
  • Schedule an appointment to check on my back.
  • Find a meal plan that works for me. I need to eat every meal at the same time.
  • Make sure my clothes and shoes are ready and in good condition for work. Also, make sure they’re in the right place and organized. Look at my fall wardrobe (Although it only starts on September 21st) and see what’s good and what I need to buy. Go to a thrift store for whatever I need. They’re great for sweaters and cardigans. 
  • Let my nails look half-decent. Which means stop biting them. Very hard.
  • Create a beauty routine schedule, example: Monday – hair mask; Saturday – shave legs;
  • Finish the two books I’m reading now and create and TBR list for the next few months.
  • Go and spend one afternoon with my grandmother.
  • Take my sister to the beach.
  • Maybe get my eyes checked.
  • Choose a back pain yoga video to alternate with my yoga for relaxation video.

Well, I think that is mostly it. Meaning, I need to organize my things before I go back to work, so I won’t struggle with stress and over doing.

What’s something personal or health related you should have been taken care by now but are procrastinating? 

See you tomorrow for part III.

xx

Chey

And I’m back! – July reflection + Updates (Sorry for the long post, but I know you miss my rants)

Hello everyone,

How are you? I hope you’re all doing very well.

I’ve been MIA, haven’t I? I know. I have been lazy and doing other lazy things instead.

My monthly update is long due, since I always do one. I’m going to do a simple one and just tell you what I’ve accomplished and where I didn’t do as I had plan. I’m fine with everything, though. Whatever got done, very well. Whatever I didn’t get to, I will, when I feel like it.

  • I have obviously completely ignored my cleaning challenge, for the second month in a row. I still mean to do it during the second half of this month, because I want to deep clean the house before I go back to work. I do it every Summer and sometimes Spring so I need to get to it.
  • I’m still doing my movie challenge. Not watching one every day, but picking movies from the list to watch, instead of going for others. I mean to finish this list by the end of the month and creating another one from September to the end of the year.

My movie list:

Day 1: The Godfather

Day 2: The Godfather: Part II

Day 3: Casablanca

Day 4: Memento

Day 5: Sunset Boulevard

Day 6: Requiem for a Dream (I’ve started this one but gave up. It was late and it was confusing. I’ll obviously get back to it)

Day 7: Before Sunrise (Already waiting on my computer so it will probably be the next one to watch)

Day 8: Lion

Day 9: Les Miserables

Day 10: Babel

Day 11: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Day 12: Munich

Day 13: The Aviator

Day 14: Pulp Fiction

Day 15: Suicide Squad

Day 16: Inception

Day 17: It

Day 18: It’s a Wonderful Life

Day 19: Selma

Day 20: Apocalypse Now

Day 21: Cinema Paradiso

Day 22: To Kill a Mockingbird

Day 23: Rebecca

Day 24: Winter’s Bone

Day 25: Hotel Rwanda

Day 26: Mystic River

Day 27: Chicago

Day 28: Beauty and the Beast (Waiting on my computer)

Day 29: The Zookeeper’s Wife

Day 30: The Shack

I still have many to get through but I don’t mind at all.

I’ve been watching series, which is probably the reason why I haven’t been watching that many films.

Currently watching:

  • Poldark (season 3)
  • Married at First Sight (don’t ask)
  • Upstairs, Downstairs (already in season 2)
  • Game of thrones (Season 7)

I’m waiting for, in the fall:

  • The Crown
  • Outlander
  • Victoria
  • The Walking Dead
  • American Horror Story
  • Stranger Things
  • Call the Midwife

I’ve been also watching documentaries and a bunch of YouTube videos, both from my favorite YouTubers and fact and educational videos, which I love.


As for my blog, I have been neglecting it for a long time, not following any schedule, not posting regularly and ignoring most of my series.

I still mean to record and post the bipolar/depression/anxiety videos I was supposed to have done in July.

Here’s the list:

  1. “When did it all start”
  2. “The moment I realized I needed help”
  3. “First diagnosis and treatment”
  4. “From doctor to doctor”
  5. “Medication”
  6. “What do depression and anxiety feel like”
  7. “Relapses and acceptance”
  8. “Bipolar Type 2 – misconceptions”

I think I might leave these for September. I might record them during this month, so I have enough time to have everything ready and in order. I’ll probably publish them every Saturday and Sunday in September. I’ll let you know.

  • I have completely been ignoring my meal plan and grocery haul posts, which everyone seems to really like. I’ll get back to them as soon as things as back to normal, when it comes to blogging.
  • I’m not sure when I’ll go back to my daily journey and to-do list posts because I’m technically on vacation until August 16th, which means Rui is home and I don’t go about my normal routine, obviously.
  • I’ll do a What’s Up Wednesday post on the 9th and on the 23rd, only twice this month.
  • I’m still deciding what I’ll do about the huge list of tags and awards I’m nominated for.

My main goals in terms of blogging and social media were:

  • I would like to get to 16,000 views. – Obviously didn’t.
  • I also like to get to get to 1,600 followers. I’m at 1,402, at the moment. – I’m at 1,820
  • 300 followers on Instagram would be nice. I’m currently at 272. (I would also be nice if people stopped following and then unfollowing, it happens every day and it makes me really pissed) – Currently at 310 but, with Instagram, you never know. 
  • I would like to get to 250 twitter followers. Currently at 189. – I have new people following me every day but, apparently, I have a big number unfollowing too, since I’m still at 200.
  • I’m at 134 followers on Pinterest. I’d be happy to get to 150. I’ve been slacking on Pinterest, which is sad, because I love it so much. Let the pining begin. – I’m at 145.
  • It would be nice to post (each day) twice on Instagram, Twice on Twitter, Once on Facebook. – I haven’t.
  • I want to make more blogger friends and meet new people. – I have!
  • I want to help newer bloggers. – Sorry, haven’t been there for anyone this month.
  • I’m starting to consider and research on self-hosted, but I won’t do it before I reach, at least, 2000 followers. I feel like there’s a right time for everything and this would be the right time for me. I need a solid audience and it doesn’t make sense to me to go self-hosted before a certain number. – I’m not going self-hosted anytime soon. I still don’t see the point, for me.

My Personal Goals: Health

  • 2 l of water every single day. Be very careful not to forget to drink it on weekends. – I drink plenty of water. Not sure about 2 liters though, simply because I haven’t been paying attention.
  • A daily walk of at least 30 minutes. – hahahahahaha
  • My daily 20 minutes of yoga (It feels amazing). – I love it so I have no idea why I’m so lazy about it.
  • My 5 portions of fruits and veggies. – Oh yes!!
  • Eat my seeds every single day. – Yeah!!
  • Take my pills on time: that would be 10 a.m, 8 a.m, 10 p.m. – I’m supposed to take them breakfast and before bed. I’ve been doing well by taking them every single day and always on time at night, but not at the same time in the morning.
  • Have my meals and snacks on time: 10 a.m, 1 p.m, 4 p.m, 7 p.m, 10 p.m. – Not at all.
  • Cut dairy, except a tiny bit of milk for my oatmeal and plain Greek yogurt. – I have. I’ve been eating only cottage cheese, milk sometimes and tonnes of plain Greek Yogurt.
  • Cut carbs. No carbs for dinner. Only for breakfast and lunch. Small amount. – I have cut carbs. I have just a small portion each day, unless I’m cheating and eating a whole box of cereal.
  • Actually lose weight. I’d be happy with 4 kg to keep it healthy. Because I’m way too heavy for my height weight and structure, I might be able to lose more than that. I gain fast but lose fast also. – People keep telling me I look thinner but I haven’t noticed.
  • Sleep no more than 9 hours. – It’s almost impossible. Medication makes me really tired.
  • Take care of my skin, hair and nails. – I’ve cut my hair shorter because it needed and started using natural soap instead of body wash. Not so bad.
  • Spend time outside every day. – Almost.

My Personal Goals: Entertainment and relaxation goals

  • Read at least 30 minutes a day. – No.
  • Listen to music at least 30 minutes a day. – I’ve done more than 30 minutes. I’ve been listening so much relaxation music. Every single day, sometimes for more than one hour. I’m very happy about it.
  • Do some gardening every day. – I pretty much just water. It’s been too windy and I’m scared of getting a bad sinus crisis because of my ears.
  • Crochet for at least 15 minutes a day. – Haven’t touched it.
  • Color for at least 30 minutes a day. – Haven’t touched it.
  • Call and see people more often. – I think I can say yes. I have been talking to my friends often and I think I can say I have a new group of awesome best friends. We’ve talked every day and we’re getting closer and bonding 🙂 Love you, ladies.
  • Read blogs. – Failing miserably.
  • Watch YouTube videos. – Yes, every day. 
  • Play with Rosa outside. – Well, she’s pretty much napping all the time, the little lazy girl so not much play. She wants to play at night, when we’re relaxing on the couch. Crazy bitch.

I guess I can say I’m doing better in general. Maybe because I’ve been resting and relaxing and watching nice movies and series and taking time to do what I really want to do. The house is a mess but I’ll get back to my domestic efforts soon. For now, I’m still on relaxation mode.

I’ll come back tomorrow with my plans for the second half of August. I’m not making many plans for the next two weeks, other than being with mah man and relaxing.

Thank you so much for reading and for always being there.

Love you all and always.

Chey.