Extra Blog Post: Getting a Tattoo

What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

If I were to get a tattoo it would definitely be the serotonin molecule and a semicolon which is the symbol of suicide awareness. I’m not sure about placement, though. Maybe my wrist or my ankle?

My sister and I have also been meaning to get a tattoo together: “Sisters by chance, friends by choice” but again, I’m not sure where I’d want it.

If I ever manage to transition from teaching to healthcare, I’d love to tattoo a tiny stethoscope somewhere too.

Finally, some book inspired tattoo would be cool too.

Here some examples of what I’d like.

All images via Google Images

Happy Monday + Plans For The Week + To-Do List + Meal Plan

Good morning, everyone.

It’s 6.48 am and I’m in bed, giving Olívia her bottle. She’ll go back to sleep until 10ish and I want to sleep too but I should probably get up and start my day. I have a few things that I need to do as we ended up not getting home until 8 pm yesterday. The house is not as tidy as I’d like it to be, there’s laundry to fold and a to-do list waiting for me.

It’s an atypical week here. It’s Carnival tomorrow and my husband has the day off work. Our city takes Carnival very seriously and there’s a huge parade and all kinds of festivities. Partygoers come from all over the country (or from all over the world) to attend the event, everyone dresses up in costumes and there’s dancing and singing and drinking and general fun. I personally don’t care for Carnival but my husband loves it. We’re obviously not partaking in the crowded events but we are still dressing the girls up in costumes and going out to look at the city, so that’s part of our plans for this week.

It’s also Valentine’s Day on Thursday but we are not really celebrating this year. We try to always do something (we don’t really care for the day, it’s just another excuse to go on a date) and we might still, but we’re definitely having to include the girls. Maybe a post bedtime at home date? We’ll see.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at my To-Do list for the week.

Health:

1. Take Olívia to her 2-month vaccinations. (A priority) Schedule her 3-month immunization.

2. Rescheduled my ultrasound.

3. Go for my postpartum blood tests.

4. Schedule my dental appointment. (Urgent and overdue)

5. Check if I can get a dermatologist’s appointment for the next couple of months.

6. Schedule optometrist’s appointment for myself.

Home:

1. Fold and put away three loads of laundry (overdue, must get done today)

2. Clean shower.

3. Wash couch covers and cushions.

4. Wash some of Dalila’s toys.

5. Deep clean dishwasher.

6. Wipe down fridge, throw away damaged fridge magnets.

7. Vacuum and mop the whole house.

8. Dust living room.

9. Water plants. Transfer the ones that need a bigger pot.

10. Finally try that bread recipe.

11. Clean and organize my desk and office space so I have a dedicated place to write, plan, work, journal, etc.

Errands:

1. Pick up clothes from the seamstress (we take our clothes to be ironed) and drop off more. Take a couple of pieces that needed to be mended (little rip, missing button).

2. Go to the bank.

3. Wrap up, print labels and drop off items I’ve sold on Vinted. Maybe list a few other items.

My Things:

1. Schedule driving lessons.

2. Dye and cut hair (yes, I can cut my own hair and did it for the longest time) or schedule a hair appointment if I can’t find the time.

3. Reply to everyone on Peanut (mom’s app)

4. Create a Master To-Do List (more like combining and updating existing lists)

5. Write book reviews on a couple of books I’ve finished.

Blogging:

1. Finish updating About Page.

2. Go through older posts, delete some, better categorize and tag others, choose some to repost.

3. Organize and rename blog categories.

4. Decide on a blog schedule.

5. Work on new series.

6. Make sure I’ve approved/replied to everyone’s comments.

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I’m sure there’s more, but I don’t have my planner right now, and I’m pretty useless without it.

As for food, this is what I’m planning on making:

Monday – Pork roast with sweet potatoes.

Tuesday – Tuna lasagne.

Wednesday – Chicken soup.

Thursday – “Alho Francês à Brás” (Portuguese dish, I think. Vegetarian. Sort of a leek stir fry.

Friday – Not planning for this day. Homemade pizza again? Leftovers? Who knows.

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That’s today’s post. I’ll be back tomorrow for the Top Ten Tuesday linkup.

I’m off to drink some coffee and properly start my day.

I hope your Monday is a good one.

Love,

Cheila

Photo by javier Gonzalez on Pexels

Self-Improvement: Random Things I Need To Work On

I am constantly thinking about how I can make my life easier and my days more productive and enjoyable. I’ve come up with a list of things I need to work on or improve.

1. Getting up before the girls.

I go to bed very late and only get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep, so I tend to stay in bed until the very last minute or until Dalila wakes up (usually after 10 am). Waking up has always been the worst part of my day because I’ve never been a good sleeper. I love being up early and never regret getting out of bed, but those first few minutes after waking up are always very hard. Still, I should make an effort because I would definitely benefit from a couple of hours head start. Ideally, I’d get up at about 6-7 am.

2. Going to bed earlier.

I spend a good portion of my day wishing I could go to bed, but when the time comes, I procrastinate. There’s always something else that needs to be done, I want to stay on the couch and do nothing, or my book is too good to put down. I need to eliminate distractions and focus on going to bed early.

3. Moving my body.

Besides walking around the house doing chores and taking care of the girls, I don’t really move much.

4. Meal planning and cooking.

Definitely the most disorganized area of my life. Both my husband and I are good cooks, but we often end up eating out or getting takeout because we don’t plan our meals in advance. With two young kids and a very busy life, planning ahead is essential.

5. Writing book reviews.

I’m a very lazy writer. I love writing but it takes work and I can’t always be bothered, to be honest. I read 78 books last year and I have so many opinions but didn’t write a single review.

6. Eating.

I need to start eating sit-down meals (impossible if I’m alone with both babies but otherwise), eat better, homemade food, and definitely cut back on the sugar. I tried to quit sugar a couple of weeks ago but then got sick, and things didn’t really work out (I really needed that hot milk with honey). I might have to go cold turkey on it as I think I might be a little addicted to it. I crave sweet things constantly and have a very hard time controlling myself, so I end up eating all kinds of sugary stuff that is not good for me. Am I compensating for something emotionally? Probably. Am I just used to eating like crap? Could be. All I know is that after two back-to-back pregnancies with gestational diabetes, I need to either quit sugar altogether or cut way back.

7. Drinking more water.

I actually like drinking water; I just like coffee more. Maybe I need to cut back on my caffeine intake too. Is 2-3 lattes a day too much? Probably too much milk, I guess. I wish green tea hit the same as a cup of coffee.

8. Taking time for myself.

I have a really hard time taking time for myself, even when my husband is available to take care of the girls. I’m a bit of a type A control freak, so I tend to think I need to do everything myself and never ask for help, which is not healthy at all. Also, I don’t know where it comes from, but there’s always some mom guilt that makes me think that I should be the one taking care of the girls. I don’t rationally think that, obviously. The responsibility of childcare belongs to both of us equally, and the girls are as much mine as they are his. Still, I don’t know if it’s the way I was raised or the patriarchy or whatever, but the truth is deep down I feel like I’m failing if I’m not taking care of the kids myself. Any other moms out there who might feel like this?

9. Scheduling therapy sessions.

I’ve been to a few therapists over the years, and I feel like I haven’t found the one. A therapist is like a partner; there needs to be chemistry, trust, and mutual respect. I’ve had really good therapists, but I have yet to find someone who I feel can really help me move forward and work on the right things.

10. Not using the dryer so much.

We live in a country where it’s sunny most days of the year, so we take advantage of that, and most people dry their clothes outside. I’d say the majority of the population doesn’t even own a dryer. We didn’t have one until just before Dalila was born, and now that we do, I feel like I use it too much. Sure, in this season of life, it’s easier to throw a load of laundry in the dryer instead of hanging everything out individually, but it’s not environmentally conscious nor budget-friendly. I’ll keep using the dryer for the girls’ laundry and when it’s raining, but I should really make an effort to use our clothesline for everything else.

11. Grocery budget.

We have a budget, but I haven’t been paying attention to it for the last couple of months. I need to pay more attention because groceries are getting so expensive, and I need to make sure we’re spending our grocery budget wisely.

12. Getting dressed and ready first thing

Lastly, I need to make an effort to get dressed (in sweatpants or leggings and a sweater, not actual going out clothes) as soon as I wake up.

What about you? Is there something you should be working on?

Are there any habits that bother you and that you’d like to change? I’d love to know if we share any.

I’ll be back tomorrow.

Love,

Cheila

Extra Blog Post: February WordPress Prompts – The Most Important Invention in My Lifetime

The most important invention in your lifetime is…

I was born in 1991, so the obvious answers such as the internet (1983), the cellphone (1973) and the computer (1822) had already been invented by then.

Wondering what was actually invented in my lifetime, I reached out to my friend Wikipedia, where I found some worthwhile inventions.

1997: The first weblog, a discussion or informational website, is created by Jorn Barger, later shortened to “blog” in 1999 by Peter Merholz.

I mean, this one is pretty important to all of us here, right? My ignorant ass had no idea that “blog” came from weblog.

2001: The Xbox Launches and is the first game console with internal storage.

If my husband was the one writing this post, he’d tell you this one is pretty important too so I thought I’d mention it.

2005: YouTube, the first popular video-streaming site, was founded.

The place where we all go to learn how ho do something, get our ASMR fix or entertain our kids with dancing fruit videos. VERY important to my toddler.

2007: First Kindle introduced by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, who instructed the company’s employees to build the world’s best e-reader before Amazon’s competitors could. Amazon originally used the codename Fiona for the device. This hardware evolved from the original Kindle introduced in 2007 and the Kindle DX (with its larger 9.7″ screen) introduced in 2009.

I hate that Jeff Bezos is the one we should thank for this one but where would I be without my kindle?

Now, onto actual important inventions:

2011: HIV treatment as prevention

2013: Cancer Immunotherapy

2020: The first RNA vaccine  to be approved by public health medicines regulators is co-developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for COVID-19

2022: Pfizer develops the world’s first pill for COVID-19

There’s nothing more important than saving lives, so I’m choosing the above options as the most important inventions of my lifetime. Hopefully, we’ll all live to see even more groundbreaking inventions.

Our Week With Covid – A Recap, Some Thoughts and a Catching Up To Do List

Hello Everyone!

I really wanted to keep posting every single day but I didn’t feel like writing for the past three days so I took a little break. Today I’m back with a recap and “Catching Up To Do List” as a few things were inevitably left behind since we couldn’t leave the house for seven whole days.

Here’s a couple of thoughts on our isolation week.

• My immune system is apparently very strong. How I managed not to get infected with Covid while my husband had it, I’ll never know.

• This is nothing new but I don’t do very well with sudden and unexpected changes in routine. Now, is this a personality trait or is it related to my Bipolar II? I’d say both. What I know is that I found myself quite depressed and weepy over my husband having Covid and the change of plans and routine it meant for us.

• Again, if my plans are thrown off and I’m not feeling super organized, I will stop taking good care of myself. We ate like shit the whole week and I didn’t drink as much water or took good care of my skin.

• I can’t sleep well unless I sleep in my own bed, next to my husband.

• It was very hard not being able to touch my husband at all. Apparently, I’m needier and touchier than I thought. Or is it maybe because I’m pregnant? No idea.

Now, I DO KNOW that these are all very much first world problems and that I should be feeling very lucky that I was not sick at all and that my husband got through it with nothing but one whole day of having a cough. I know how lucky we are that things were not serious and that we’re both healthy but I must be honest and comment on how much the whole thing has affected my mental health.

Thankfully, it is over and we’re now allowed to leave the house again.

I have been left with lots of catching up to do, though. Being a list lover, I’ve made a “Post Covid Catching Up To Do List”:

• Water my plants. I got this wonderful Moisture Meter that tells you if your plants need watering. I’m very hopeful I’ll never murder another plant.
• Reschedule all my cancelled driving and driving theory lessons, so I can hopefully be done with my driving theory exam by the end of March.
• Review my course materials from last week, which I definitely half assed.
• Do some grocery shopping. We desperately need toilet paper and a few other essentials.
• Come up with a healthy meal plan for the next two weeks.
• Catch up on laundry.
• Mail out a dress I sold online.
• Order a new maternity support belt as the one I ordered was too small.
• Get my husband’s Valentine’s gift from the post office, where it’s being held since I couldn’t leave the house to pick it up.
• Reschedule our second prenatal class we had to miss last week.
• Catch up on reading my favorite blogs.
• Schedule a dental appointment.
• Get a hair cut and color. My roots are getting scary. (Scheduled for Friday the 18th!)
• See my doctor about my glucose test results, which seem to be a bit off. (Scheduled for Friday the 18th.)
• Buy all the furniture we need for the baby, plus some items we are getting in order to change the way we store things around the house. (Trip to Ikea this weekend.)
• Go and check baby strollers. (Probably on the weekend too.)
• Clean the bathroom.
• Get my eyebrows done.
• Check our budget and write down all our expenses from last week.
• Schedule an appointment with my psychiatrist for (roughly) two weeks after my delivery (I had a videocall appointment on Thursday and my doctor said I’m doing extremely well so I don’t need to see her until after the baby is born).
• Organize my email box and computer folders. I absolutely hate a messy computer.
• Take a few 3-4 Km walks.
• Clean the house.

This is pretty much all I’m going to be doing for the rest of the week. I’ll also be watching an unhealthy amount of Love is Blind, Marriage At First Sight AU and 90 Day Fiancé because I’m on a trashy reality TV kick, triggered by the boredom of last week.

I shall now excuse myself and go do another load of laundry.

I hope you’re all having a nice week.

Love,

Cheila