Showing posts with label fabulous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fabulous. Show all posts

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)


I'm linking up to these wonderful Ladies:

Monday


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Friday, May 30, 2014

A Simple Gal's Journal: Notes From My Sick Bed...

Happy Friday, Friends!

How have you all been doing this week? I hope you and your family have been having a swell time! Last week was supposed to be a great week with tons of activities planned for me and my family, but things got in the way and it went by not according to plan! Well, what can I say? That's life.

My parents came to visit for a week and I was so happy! I was supposed to have a double birthday celebration with my auntie, whose birthday is also in May, and we planned to invite our cousins and relatives to my house for a big lunch. Unfortunately, I caught the flu bug from my coworkers (seems like about half a dozen people were down with influenza in my office last week), so bye-bye birthday lunch! I rarely get sick since I started having fruit and veggie smoothies for breakfast every morning, but I guess one has to experience sickness to really appreciate the extraordinary-ordinary blessing of health.

Also, a coworker held a farewell party last Friday. It was her last day at work, and I couldn't come because I was ill. I was so disappointed because I really wanted to say a "proper" goodbye to her, but I was touched to get invited. She even miscalled me, but I was asleep. *tears* I wish you good luck on your new job, Nana! Congratulations on your new (promoted) job! And, please, don't be a stranger! We'll miss you!

Anyhow, I have recovered from the sickness. Well, I still feel queasy and dizzy but I'm getting better. I even went to my in laws for my mother in law's birthday with my husband and son. We brought her noodles, which is a must-menu for one's birthday here in Asia, and some other dishes for her.

We also visited Hubby's friend and his wife who just had a baby about a month ago as I wrote on this post. The baby is so tiny!!! I forgot how small they were when babies were a month old. I didn't touch the baby though, since I was afraid I might infect her. I knew I was no longer sick, just still weak from pasca-illness, nevertheless, I didn't want to take any chances!

Because of the illness, I didn't get a chance to do much, so it's not a productive week. But of course, none of us lives a perfect life, so I'll just suck it up, laugh it off, and plan for the upcoming week. Afterall, sickness gives me time to stay in bed, rest, and read a good book, and I'm lucky that my Mom is in town to take care of my son. So, yes, I am truly blessed, despite everything.

It seems my birthday celebration is still going on afterall. People are still sending me gifts. This was one of the late birthday presents from a coworker. She gave me a lovely beaded necklace that I wore right away and took a selfie with. Thank you!


 
And another one that just arrived this morning on my desk. I also received some purses and wallet and make up case and shawl and clothes, but I didn't take picture of everything. Awwwww.. so many presents! I feel so loved and blessed and humbled and grateful, that so many people care enough for me to send me wishes and gifts for my birthday. I didn't expect presents or anything like that, but let's be honest, what girl doesn't like presents?


This is my birthday present from me to myself: this goooooorgeous crystal candy colored statement necklace that I ordered online and has finally arrived. I saw it on @sarasab instagram, and totally fell in love. It cost more than what I usually would spend on a necklace, but I still have some money left in my Paypal account from this blog (yep, this blog makes money, not enough even to pay for my lunch, but it can occasionally buy me cute things from ebay!), so I though why not. So glad I decided to splurge on this, because it's very lovely and worth every dollar spent. Expect upcoming posts of me wearing this pretty thing!


Before the illness, I reorganized my closet and got rid of many pieces of clothing that I no longer care to wear. These are just some of them. That's an awful lot, and there are still many more not captured in the picture, AND even after "throwing out" so many, it seems like I STILL have a lot of clothes! It's an eye opener that a girl CAN have too many clothes. Actually now I'm inspired to do a more thorough cleaning of my closet.


Thankfully my son didn't catch my illness. Here he is having his first taste of the delicious Nutella, and he loves it!



To do list from two weeks ago:
  • Reread, learn and contemplate on The Book of James, James 3, again!
  • Read one chapter of Karen Stolz' "World of Pies". I finished the book from my sick bed.
  • Read Chapter 4 of Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle".
  • Research for a vineyard tour for our upcoming vacation.
  • Fill out visa application for our upcoming holiday.
  • Submit migration form for my cell phone migration plan.
  • Start on MEP and budget plan for renovation project with architect.
  • Reorganize clothes in my new wardrobe.
  • Top up our family investment plan.
Next week's to do list:
  • Fill out visa application for our upcoming holiday.
  • Preparing bank forms for visa application.
  • Purchase travel insurance for me and Hubby.
  • Send emails to two wine tour providers that I found last week.
  • Schedule two blog posts for while I'm on vacation.
  • Submit migration form for my cell phone migration plan.
  • Reread, learn and contemplate on The Book of James, James 5 Part 1: Warning to the Rich.
  • Read Chapter 5 of Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle".
  • Make appointment with hairdresser to have my hair cut and trimmed.
I'm linking up to these wonderful Ladies:

Monday



Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday


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