10 Small Things That Help Keep Me Sane (Blog Post #19 of 365)

1. Making my bed.

Such a simple thing that immediately makes me feel better and more organized. It takes two minutes and it changes my whole mood.

2. Drinking my coffee.

It’s more of a latte and I have 2-3 a day, usually decaf after that first morning coffee, but it gives me an energy boost and a calm/cozy feeling. There’s nothing quite like a hot coffee in the Winter and an iced one in the Summer.

3. Reading

I cannot go a day without reading. Even if it’s just a couple of pages, I need it or I feel incomplete. That’s it.

4. Taking a shower before bed.

In this busy season of life, it’s not always possible to shower at night (some days not even possible to shower at all) so I’ll take whatever time of day I can get but my favorite is taking a warm shower right before bed and getting into fresh cozy pajamas.

5. Doing my nightly skin care routine.

I used to be super diligent about this before Olívia was born but now I admit I sometimes skip this step before falling into bed.

6. Watching massage videos on YouTube.

For some reason, watching other people get massages can get me equal times jealous and relaxed so I like to watch them before going to sleep.

7. Listening to True Crime podcasts.

Between 2017 (when I discovered my love for podcasts) and 2021 when Dalila was born, I used to fall asleep to a True Crime podcast every single night. This might sound like the opposite of relaxing to most people but for me, there’s nothing quite like listening to someone talk about an interesting and mysterious/scary topic to put me right to sleep.

8. Cleaning and organizing.

I was never a dirty slob but I’ve become quite obsessed with a clean and organized environment since becoming a mom. If the house is a mess, I feel extremely anxious and unbalanced. I used to be able to just leave things for tomorrow but now I can’t look the other way when something needs to be cleaned. Going to bed with the toys sorted, the living room tidied and the kitchen clean (usually my husband’s task) makes me very happy.

9. Leaving the house.

I could just go to the grocery store or to the pharmacy to pick something up. I’m definitely a homebody but if many days go by and I don’t go somewhere, I start getting cabin fever and becoming irritable and depressed.

10. Keeping a paper planner.

I feel my best self when I’m organized and so my daily to do lists are essential. I write EVERYTHING down. My tasks, my appointments, my goals. I always have a few lists going on (for example, things we need to buy for the house, things I need to buy for the girls, monthly family goals, things I need to ask my husband to do because I can’t do them myself, blog posts I want to write, Christmas presents, movies I want to watch, etc.) and they really help keeping the noise down in my mom brain.

What about you?

What keeps you sane and grounded?

What are some things you do just for you?

I’ll come back tomorrow.

Love,

Cheila

A Day in the Life: Monday 31.01.22 (Pregnant and on Medical Leave)

Good evening, everyone!

Day in the Life posts are my absolute favorite to read, so I thought I might attempt posting my own.

Expect nothing exciting, just a pregnant lady wobbling through her day while trying to get stuff done.

Here’s my day, Monday the 31st.

11.20 AM- Woke up. Late. Because I’m pregnant and tired and need all the sleep I can get.

11.22 AM – Breakfast. Toasted bagel with butter and some coffee with milk in my unicorn mug. Ate at my desk while checking on blog notifications, emails and news.

12.19 PM – Got my Covid booster shot. Signed up for it as soon as it opened for my age group. Covid is no joke and I want all the protection I can get.

12.46 PM – Stopped by Aldi to get orange juice and coffee filters. One of my pregnancy symptoms is being thirsty all the time, for something other than water.

1.39 PM – Very unhealthy lunch because I’m pregnant and that’s what I was craving. Ate at my desk (husband was in his man cave/office working) while watching Call the Midwife, season 11.

2.06 PM – Decaf and chocolate.

1.58 pm – Laundry, two loads. I feel like I do (or should be doing) laundry every single day. My husband either runs or goes to the gym 5-6 times a week, which adds up. I’m sure I’ll be forever buried in laundry once the baby is here.

3.30 PM – Laundry is hanging to dry. Most of our days are sunny, even in Winter, so we don’t own a dryer.

3.44 pm – Studied for this training course I’m taking. My husband keeps making fun of my glasses chain but I love it and will keep wearing it.

5.08 PM Also studying for my driving theory exam.

5.32 PM – Whipped up a quick dessert because our friends have just invited us for dinner at their new house and I wanted to take something. Took me about 10 minutes to make this.

6.09 PM – Showered and put on this beautiful dress which was a birthday present from my friend. She has yet to see me wearing so it’s the perfect outfit for tonight.

8.16 PM – Spent some time with our friends’ cat. Her name is Margarida and she’s the fluffiest.

12.57 AM – Back home after a wonderful dinner with out friends. Putting on my pajamas and starting my night routine.

12.58 AM – Getting in bed and finishing my day with some reading.

Good night!

Love, Cheila

My 14-Step Mindful and Relaxing Night Routine

If you’ve been a reader for a while, you know how much I love a good routine. It makes me feel organized, safe and in control. I’ve been working on all kinds of schedules for the past few years, which means I often have to adapt and change my routines. Today I’m sharing my current night routine. I’m 25 weeks pregnant and on medical leave so I don’t have to get to bed at a very specific time. I aim to start my routine between 11pm and midnight.

Step One

Tidy my desk/work space. Write to-do list for the next day. I’m not working right now but I’m doing plenty of studying and blogging which means my desk gets really messy by the end of the day. Cleaning it gives me the change of a fresh start the next day.

Step Two

Make bed. Turn on space heater. Place pajamas and cozy socks on space heater. Our bedroom is super cold, especially because I like to keep the windows open during the day. I love getting into warm clothes, after a shower so my space heater is my bff. If I haven’t made the bed during the day, which is the case most days, this is when I’ll make it as I CANNOT go to bed unless it’s been freshly made.

Step Three

Shower. Wash face. Maybe wash hair. I don’t currently feel the need to wash my hair more than once a week though, since I’m mostly staying home. I exfoliate my face every single day using This Wonderful Soap. Seriously, if you have oily or combination skin, this soap is a game changer.

Step Four

Brush teeth. Floss. Clean aligners. Put on aligners. I don’t currently floss every day, otherwise my teeth and gums get too sensitive and make the aligners painful. I am, however, brushing my teeth every time I eat or drink something other than water, which adds up to about 4-5 times a day.

Step Five

Dry myself up after showering. Moisturize. I’ve been applying this Awesome Body Lotion which comes in a huge bottle, is very affordable and so good on super dry skin. I also apply this Burt’s Bees Mama Belly Butter on my growing belly.

Step Six

Put on PJs and cozy socks. Yes, I do wear socks to sleep. How can you not? My feet are always cold, even with socks on.

Step Seven

Take my nightly pills and pregnancy vitamins. Get some water. Not too much water though, otherwise I’ll spend the whole night getting up to use the bathroom.

Step Eight

Write on my 6-Minute Diary and on my Happiness Journal. I love to journal. It feels good to reflect on my day and to focus on being grateful and positive, something that does not come naturally to me.

Step Nine

Apply face cream, hand cream, lip balm. I’m 30 now which means I can no longer slack on my beauty routine. I apply the Simple Water Hydrating Booster, the Uriage Roseliane Anti-Redness Face Cream (because rosacea) and the Burt’s Bees Vanilla Lip Balm. I think I should add some sort of anti-age moisturizer to my routine soon because my laugh lines are indeed starting to show.

Step Ten

Use the bathroom. For the 10th time. Unfortunately, not the last either.

Step Eleven

Get in bed. Put phone on charger.

Step twelve

Read. Watch massage videos on Youtube. Listen to a true crime podcast. Reading before I go to sleep is one of my absolute favorite things. However, if I’m feeling stressed or distracted, I like to watch massage/chiropractor videos because they help me relax. Most nights I fall asleep to a true crime podcast which sounds like the opposite of relaxing, I know.

Step Thirteen

Turn everything off. I never fall asleep while reading or watching videos. I need to turn off the lights, get comfortable and decide it’s time to sleep.

Step fourteen

Sleep. It can take me anywhere between 15 minutes to 2 hours. People who fall asleep in seconds are definitely God’s favorites.

What about you? Do you have a night routine you always follow.

What is something you always do before bed?

Love,

Cheila

Question of the day #28

What time do you wake up?

What are some of the things you do before heading out to work/school?

What’s the most important thing you absolutely must do in the morning in order to have a good day?

Do you have breakfast? What do you eat?

A Week + In The Life: 02.03.18 – 13.03.18 Journal and Updates

Happy Tuesday, everyone!!

I haven’t been blogging much since last week, have I? I thought I’d share a general update.

Friday: 02.03.18

I got off work at 8, as I do every Friday. I thought we could go and see The Post because I really wanted to watch all of the nominees for Best Picture before the Oscars, and it was the only movie that wasn’t available to illegally download. We checked a few places and decided where to go and to grab dinner first. There weren’t many options so Burger King it was. Just before eating, we realized we had gotten it wrong and that the movie session was at 10 p.m instead of 9.25 p.m and in a different place, ten minutes away. Oh, Well. No rush to eat. So we had our dinner and eventually decided we were too tired and lazy to go anywhere else. No movie. We headed home and went to bed.

Saturday: 03.03.18

I woke up late. I had plans to clean and such but it was raining and I didn’t feel like doing it. Rui had gone for a run and I asked him to bring snacks. I fell asleep again and had a long nap. When I woke up we decided to watch The Shape of Water, which I wasn’t so sure about to begin with, and ended up not liking that much. Rui really wanted to see it and actually liked it, though. We had popcorn, orange juice and strawberries. We watched Lady Bird and it was meh. It’s the perfect coming of age movie and I have nothing bad to say about it but it was just, I don’t know? Plain? Boring? I can see how it is a good, well-made film but the story is nothing special. We went to bed soon after because I was still very sleepy.

Sunday: 04.03.18

I woke up late again. We felt like going for coffee and a drive. I had the most delicious cake. We then went for a drive around this area we don’t know so well, just about ten to fifteen minutes from where we live. It’s this beautiful place where countryside meets the beach and it’s just breathtaking, really. We watched Call Me By Your Name and I loved it. Only thing to bother me was the title and the whole “call me by your name” thing. Why? Why would you ask someone to call you by their name? I get it, it was their thing. But why? I doesn’t make much sense to me. I did love the movie. I patiently waited for the Oscars ceremony to start (it begins at 1 a.m for me), while cuddling on the couch with Rosa. I knew I was pulling an all-nighter to watch the Oscars as I do every year. I’m not the most patient person so it is kind of boring to go through all of the breaks. I don’t know how you American friends do it with all the commercial breaks, really. There’s just so many. I went to bed once it was over but didn’t sleep at all because I had to be up at 7.30. As you probably know from my post, I am NOT happy about the winners.

Monday: 05.03.18

I was up at 7.30, no sleep and kind of mad about the Oscars. I’m not going to repeat myself and bore you to death because I’ve written a whole post about it. I’ll just tell you I was not very happy that The Shape of Water won Best Picture. I was expecting it to be between Call Me By Your Name and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri so I about died when the said “and the Oscar goes to… The Sha….” Rui, Rosa and his brother were sleeping but I yelled “What the fuck??!!” in the living room. I was that upset and surprised. It’s pretty funny now. I was too tired to write so I spent my time watching The Good doctor before I had to work. It was a calm day, though. I left work at 8 and slept early, like a baby.

Tuesday: 06.03.18

I honestly don’t remember much about Tuesday. I pretty much only worked and had a very calm day. I was alone because there were few kids and my colleague was needed to help with French in a different room so it was just me and a few 9th graders, studying science, which I love.

Wednesday: 07.03.18

It was just me at work as well. The kids are all studying math so we only had three for Portuguese, which means only one of us was needed. My colleague got the day off and I got those three 9th graders. It was pretty chill. I left work at 7. We had pasta for dinner and watched an episode of This is Us.

Thursday: 08.03.18

My turn to have the day off!! My colleague handled the two kids we had for the day so I didn’t have to go to work. I slept and listened to podcasts for most of the day. Rui came home and wanted to take me out to dinner to celebrate International Women’s Day. I was pretty stupid and picked this greasy food truck where we had hot dogs. They were good, though.

Friday: 09.03.18

I’m at work but don’t have to actually do any work until 3 p.m. I’m about to go and look for some lunch because I didn’t pack any lunch today. I’ve watched an episode of Call The Midwife and I’ve written this post. That’s about it. We’re not doing anything tonight. I’m just cooking some easy pasta and that’s about it.

Saturday: 10.03.18

As usual, I woke up pretty late. I really wanted to clean the house but I don’t like doing it when there’s so many people trapped inside because it’s raining. I decided it wouldn’t happen and simply moved from the bed to the sofa. We watched Veronica, this Spanish horror movie I had read about before. It’s by Netflix and I had read it’s one of the scariest movies ever and that many people can’t even finish it. It’s quite popular right now too, have you watched it? It’s pretty good and scary as a horror movie should be but I didn’t find it that different and didn’t understand why someone would not be able to watch until the end.

Sunday: 11.03.18

I slept late and didn’t do much, to be honest. We felt like watching something and I was more inclined towards a documentary or series but we ended up watching this amazing film Monster (2003) about the infamous American serial killer Aileen Wurnos. Are you familiar with her story? Let me just tell you that the name of the movie is probably ironic, since she was the one surrounded by monsters and abusers her whole life. Yes, she did kill six to eight men but I cannot say how I would treat men later in life had I been sexually abused, assaulted, and prostituted by my grandfather to his friends at the age of eleven. One of her grandfather’s friends actually got her pregnant and she had to give her baby up for adoption. She was 13. Then he kicked her out of the house when she was 14. She had to live in the woods and begin working as a prostitute to support herself. She sold her body her entire life. They say she was raped and badly beaten by a client who was about to kill her, but managed she killed him in self-defense. Then her killing spree began and she ended up in prison, being executed by lethal injection in 2002. There’s no excuse to commit murder. You don’t go around killing people just because you had a difficult childhood. But in her case, I can honestly feel sorry for her. She was never loved, cared for or wanted. She was treated like garbage by men her entire life, since she was so young. There’s only so much your mind can handle before you snap. What do you think about this? Is she a monster or someone who took the most horrific forms of abuse for thirty years and simply had enough? I would love your opinion on this.

Monday: 12.03.18

Pretty uneventful. I woke up early but wasn’t feeling so well so I went back to bed. I woke up very late and met a friend for coffee before I had to go to work at 5. I left work at 7, came home, had dinner and laughed my ass off while watching Impractical Jokers with Rui and Brother. I then went to bed and listened to a few podcast episodes until I fell asleep.

Tuesday: 13.03.18 – Today

I got the day off from work. The kids are studying Chemistry and Physics and so they didn’t need both me and my colleague (we don’t work with Chemistry, Physics and Math). The same is happening on Thursday, the 22nd and she is staying home, while I’m going. I woke up late once again. I think I might need to decrease my sleeping medication, because I’m sleeping way too much and that usually means I need less of it.

I listened to a few podcasts, as I do every day. I’ve grown to love podcasts an audio books so much in the last few months. I took care of some laundry because there is always some laundry in desperate need to be done, especially when it has been raining for the past few weeks. I cleaned a little bit around the kitchen, decluttered our cleaning supplies cabinet and cleaned the bathroom. I’m sitting here having a snack and writing this post, just before I start dinner and close everything up (I opened all the doors and windows to let the house get some air). After dinner I’m having a shower and watching a few episodes of Divorce.

Random Picture Dump:

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What have you been up to?

xx

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