Monday, November 10, 2014

Benefit of Journaling N Week In Recap



Mixit Blue Flower Earrings • jcpenney • $12.00
Sterling Silver Yellow Plated (Nickel Free)Children?s Flower Earring with White & Yellow Enamel • Ice.com • $50.00
Nakamol Mixed-Metal Beaded Cuff, Punch • Nakamol • $31.50
Cara Accessories Beaded Cuff • Cara Accessories • $18.00
Bouquet of Flowers Necklace • Ily Couture • $36.00
East Lion Corp./Qupid Strawberry Scones Heel • $44.99
MICHAEL Michael Kors 'Jet Set' East/West Saffiano Leather Tote • MICHAEL Michael Kors • $268.00
Angela & Roi Sunday Tote & Shoulder by Angela & Roi • Angela • $142.00
Jil Sander Skirt • Jil Sander • $50.00
Missoni Vintage Check skirt • Missoni • $107.80
Rancho Estancia Southwest Stripe Shirt - 3/4 Sleeve (For Women) • $15.95
Tahari ASL Tahari by Arthur S. Levine® Cropped Jacket • Tahari by Arthur S. Levine • $94.98


Some time I ago, I listed down my Easter resolutions, and one of them is incorporating our family journal into the Style N Season blog. Over the years of blogging and blogwalking and YouTube surfing, I realized how much I enjoy reading and watching “A Day in The Life” posts/videos. There is something fun and refreshing and inspiring to see how other women and families spend their day – not the “Keeping Up With Whoever” reality show type - , but just regular, ordinary people. It could be something very simple like what they eat, how they decorate a room, what they buy at the grocery store, simple tricks and trips in cleaning and organizing, their girls’ night out, the children birthday party, their morning coffee and devotion time. The everyday things that make daily life and routine so calm and peaceful and ordinary yet extraordinary at the same time.
Then I thought, why not doing the same thing with Style N Season? I don’t have enough patience nor dedication to write too many things – as much as I admire those productive bloggers who posts four or five posts per week - , but I’ve been writing Week in Recap posts eversince, almost every week, and you Friends seem to like it almost as much as I do!
Now, writing Week in Recap is somehow a more personal way of blogging, and I have reaped lots of benefits from doing so. Allow me to share what it has been doing for me since I started in April.
I am documenting family life and memories
Who doesn’t love Laura Ingalls’ Little House series? Or The Diary of Anne Frank? People have been documenting their everyday lives in family records, journal, scrapbook, diary, letter, and many other forms since the dawn of civilization. Anthropologists have found “record” in the form of wall paintings in caves that dated back from thousands of years ago.
I don’t know whether the family journal that I write will be beneficial or interesting for any future generation like my children or grandchildren, but it sure is beneficial for me! I love to be able to look back at my posts and read what I and my family went through in any particular week: a family engagement party, a funeral, a birthday party, new things that I bought for myself or for my family, how I decorated my living room for Fall, date nights, lunch with friends, how my son grew, etc. It’s comforting to know that everything is documented here in this blog. (I need to regularly save my blog, of course, just in case)
Surprisingly I have received numerous positive and encouraging comments from you Friends for my week in recap posts, and I’m so thrilled that other people than myself care enough to read those posts. However, I mainly write the posts for myself, and if my children are curious about how their parents lived. ^__^ I don’t think even my own husband is interested to read my blog!

It’s so much fun to write!
Writing week-in-recap is so fun, at least to me. You get to see at the pictures of the previous week and remembered all the things that was happening in accordance to the pictures, then you put them all down in writing.

I’m not the crafty type who can create beautiful scrapbook. I’m not dedicated enough to make YouTube vlogs daily, weekly, or even monthly. The only thing I know I can commit myself to is writing. I’ve been writing journals and diaries for years since I was a little girl of seven years old. I started by documenting what I did everyday and any particular occasions and happenings for that day. I didn’t decorate my journal like a scrapbook, it’s just purely writing, but I always try to get my hand on the prettiest notebooks I can find to write my diary in, and using my best penmanship. I remember my very first journal: a lovely blue notebook with pastel colored pages and a very pretty picture at the cover of blue and green mountains, a mirror-like lake with beautiful swans swim lazily in the serene waters. Over the years I had numerous lovely agendas to write my diary, but my writing changed. I no longer documented my life, I documented my feelings and thoughts, and the turbulence that usually happened in teen and early twenty years of age. Now that I have Style N Season, I can channel all those things mentioned above, as well as pictures and my joy for fashion, into one incorporated blog/fashion journal/personal diary/family journal. Yayy!!

A tool of reflection

We cannot turn back time. Life can only be lived forward. Unfortunately, it can only be understood, backward. How many times have we been in a situation when we were thinking “Oh, Lord, why is this happening to me?”; then a month of a year later you looked back and your realized that it was meant to be? That have you not in that particular situation, you wouldn’t have grown so much, or being the person that you are now?

Writing week in recap posts means that I will reflect back to what was going on in the previous week. Just like journaling. Well, perhaps not deep reflection, but I would look back, then I comprehend more of what was really going on, what the implication is, and what I have learned from it, if any. For example, Hubby was jumpy and nervous during his birthday week, and now when I looked back, I was more aware why he acted like that, because all the mournings that were going on with this family that week. It was so easy to overlook things when you were so busy rushing around and right in the middle of it. That week I was planning, helping out, preparing, that I forgot to “feel” my man’s misery. With all the hard work I did of trying to be a good wife, I forgot one essential thing of just being there emotionally.

Appreciate moments of life, big and small

Some people said that bloggers and vloggers could be annoying because they are not there in the moment, they continually snap pictures and record everything, but they do not really present, they’re too busy making materials for posts and vlogs. Well, maybe yes, maybe no. Anything excessive is unhealthy!

On the contrary, to me snapping pictures but not making a big deal out of it, makes me able to appreciate moments and life more. Since starting weekly recap, I have learned to see beauty in every moment and walk of life, no matter how small. Not just the highlights, but also the mundane, everyday, ordinary, daily things. Small indulgements and rituals like my morning chocolate milk, a new pair of ballet flats, lunch with coworkers, rays on afternoon sun on the corner of Michael’s crib, the cheerful colors of orchid arrangement on the reception table. When you take pictures, you notice things that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

Extra boost to live a more meaningful, productive, happy life

It’s pretty obvious. When you know that you are going to write weekly recap on a regular basis, you would want to have something to write about, whether it is big or small. Most likely I want to write positive, interesting, encouraging things, not the other around. So I am more mindful about what I will pour my time and energy to the week. I deliberately want to live a happy life so I can write about happy things. Also, writing a weekly to-do-list at the end of the post for all the world to see motivates me to really doing them so I can check things off by the end of the week. I cannot write weekly recap if I have nothing’s going on and just let the weeks flew by! When you feel like someone is watching, even if no one is interested to read my weekly recap, I tend to…well, behave. Haha!

Mind you, I haven’t turned into a robot. I do let the weeks flew by sometimes, but as I said, I learned to see the beauty in the ordinary. It’s not some reality show, it’s just journaling. ^__^

“Teach us to count our days aright,

that we may gain wisdom of heart.”

(Psalm 90:12)


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9 comments:

Unknown said...

Very nice outfit! I love the color of your bag - adorable!

Instagram|RococoStyle.com|Bloglovin'

November 10, 2014 at 5:03 PM
Kim @ CoziNest said...

What a sweet reminder of how precious our lives and families are! My husband and I attended a film festival this past weekend where the over arching theme seemed to be photography. The life of Vivian Maier was about a nanny who had taken pictures her whole life and no one knew. Now her work is being featured in galleries across the world. So, I say snap away, but try and do it without annoying our families. I love this post!

November 10, 2014 at 10:38 PM
Marie said...

What a bag! Lovely,

Marie @ In Our Happy Place

November 11, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Unknown said...

Thanks for linking up at Good Morning Mondays and yes I agree that our blogs are great information for our children to read later in our lives. What a wonderful history and heritage we are leaving them. Blessings

November 11, 2014 at 6:48 AM
Susan said...

I love learning more about the person behind the blog! Great post! And I love the detail of the watch on the purse! Great!! Thanks for joining the Celebrate Southern Linkup this week! I am pinning this great post to our official board now! Cheers!

November 13, 2014 at 5:43 AM
Happiness at Mid Life said...

I used to journal all the time when I was younger, I guess my blog is sort of journal now. I love this pink bag - so fun!

Alice
www.happinessatmidlife.com

P.S. Hope you will stop by Thursday and join TBT Fashion link up.

November 13, 2014 at 9:20 AM
Jess said...

I love your adorable skirt and your earrings need to be a part of my wardrobe! They are so cute! thanks for joining us for Celebrate Southern this week dear!

November 16, 2014 at 9:43 PM
Kim-Marie from Kimba Likes said...

Pretty in pink this week!

November 18, 2014 at 8:11 AM
Christina Morley said...

I totally agree with "Extra boost to live a more meaningful, productive, happy life." That's what blogging has been for me. And, I enjoy it like scrapbooking. Your fashion is very cute and so are you. Thanks for linking on Amanda's Books and More!

November 18, 2014 at 10:37 PM

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