Just Checking In

Hi everyone!

For the sake of my Happiness Project, I ended up changing the date of my publication date on my previous blog posts. That way all of March Happiness Project’s resolutions and goals can be found in March, and not scattered through March, April and May. Thank you again for your patience and understanding.

I apologize for being so busy these past two months. I’m not sure if you have heard, but my Grandpa passed away two months ago. It has been the most challenging, and heartbreaking past few weeks. I feel like I’ve been going through a lot. He was the closest person I have ever lost. He was my best friend.

I have been trying to get all caught up with everything on here. But at the same time it feels like everyone wants my attention, and needs my help. I know I should put myself first, and my desires first. But at the same time, I always struggle to say no. But I do all of these things for my niece’s sake, and her benefit.

There are days where my sister and her boyfriend need me to watch my niece. And some days, I feel like drained by my other obligations, but I say yes, so I can see my niece, and spend time with her.

I am slowly starting to work towards things I want to do for myself, and things that would make me happy. I guess I just feel drained because there is so many things I want to do, and work towards, but I have falling a bit behind. I am now finding down time to get things done.

I made a list of some of the things that I need and want to get done. This has been so helpful, because I don’t have to get a mental note out of everything that I would like to get done. And now that I have a better visual of what needs to get done. I can see how to spend my time more wisely. This will help me stay motivated and on track of achieving everything I set out for myself.

I can’t wait to get all caught up again. I appreciate the love and support from everyone. Please continue to send me positive messages, and support. My goal is get caught up with things by June, if I can. I am determined to work through a lot on my To-Do List. I can’t wait to hear from all of you again. ❤

Advertisement

Minimalist Game Day 16

The rules are simple, you get rid of things from your life, either by selling them, throwing them away, or donating them. On the first day, you remove one item, and then on the second day, you remove two items, you keep on playing until it’s the end of the month, or whenever you run out of things to remove from your life. It is okay if you can’t make it until the end of the month. Personally, I would rather see items get donated, or sold to someone else. If you must throw something away, I hope it’s because it isn’t fixable. Even if you have removed three items from your life, you should still be proud of that, because it is three more things you removed before the challenge. But if you are able to complete this challenge, you would have gotten rid of almost 500 items! That’s a lot of stuff.

If you are participating, I would love to know what you are parting with, feel free to let me know in the comments. This is such a fun way to welcome Spring cleaning.

This is from Tuesday March 16th, 2021.

• A box that had a bunch of tea samples in it
• Five hair ties
• Five bags
• Three old lip sticks
• A photo album
• A photo album box

My mom likes to have gift bags, I, on the other hand, prefer not to have gift bags. I just feel like they are a waste space. So I gave her the gift bags.

I plan on giving my cousin the photo album. And I plan on returning the photo album box to Grandma.

The lip products are expired, so I threw them away.

The hair ties I plan on giving them to my sister.

Minimalist Game Day 13

The rules are simple, you get rid of things from your life, either by selling them, throwing them away, or donating them. On the first day, you remove one item, and then on the second day, you remove two items, you keep on playing until it’s the end of the month, or whenever you run out of things to remove from your life. It is okay if you can’t make it until the end of the month. Personally, I would rather see items get donated, or sold to someone else. If you must throw something away, I hope it’s because it isn’t fixable. Even if you have removed three items from your life, you should still be proud of that, because it is three more things you removed before the challenge. But if you are able to complete this challenge, you would have gotten rid of almost 500 items! That’s a lot of stuff.

If you are participating, I would love to know what you are parting with, feel free to let me know in the comments. This is such a fun way to welcome Spring cleaning.

This is from Saturday March 13th.

In the first photo, I am giving away…

• Eight tins of tea, two of them I gave to my sister, so she can fill them up for part of her daughter, and step son’s surprise for Easter.
• A dancing flower, it dances when it has sun shining on it. I think my niece will get a kick out of that.
• A pumpkin for my cousin, she loves Halloween. I don’t have any purpose for it anymore.
• A candle that got recycled
• This light up butterfly that I will ask my cousin if she wants to have this, too. I kind of grow out of it.
• A pair of socks that I don’t wear.

Is anyone decluttering their belongings right now for Spring cleaning? I would love to know about your journey, and if you need any help.

Day 71

This lesson is from Friday March 12th.

At this time, my Grandpa was in the hospital. He had a heart condition. Unfortunately because of the covid protocols, my sister and I weren’t allowed to see him in the hospital, but with the help from my uncle, we were able to FaceTime. Throughout the week, he was becoming less and less responsive, since his doctors put on sedatives. My Dad was planning on visiting him on the weekend, but because his health was declining, I had suggested that my Dad to say his goodbyes today, rather than waiting until the weekend. My sister and I were able to FaceTime him, and we were able to chat together, reflecting on all of the good memories.

The key thing is our family is everything. I know that they are people who have strained relationships with either their parents, or siblings, or aunts, or uncles, or whoever else. Try your best to make amends with them, if that’s what you want. I know that might be hard to do, depending on the reason why you aren’t speaking, or have grudges against them. But if something were to happen to you, or this person, would you want to be forgiven? Or would you want to forgive them? Ask yourself those questions. And if you are okay, without seeking forgiveness, than you don’t need to make amends with them.

But if you would rather work on things, and forgive each other, than I suggest that you find a way to forgive one another. I know that things may be difficult to make amends. There are still options, you can mail them a letter, an email, FaceTime them, etc.

Family can leave us when we least expect them to. So we should acknowledge our family members whenever we can. Sometimes family is all we have.

Today, I will try my best to reach to someone in my family. Family may be all that I have, so I should embrace everyone while they are still here. I wouldn’t want to regret and miss out on any visits with them. Or in this case because of the pandemic, we can FaceTime them, or just call them. Or even just mail them a letter if I can.

Thankful Thursdays #37 – March 11th, 2021

This was an emotional week for me. It basically broke me. But I was able to see the silver lining in it. I hope that everyone is doing well, and that whatever everyone may be going through that they can see the silver lining, too.

Feel free to write what you are thankful for in a journal, or some electronic document. Or you can talk about it among your trusted circle, or just spend some time reflecting it upon yourself.

Here is my list…

1. I am very thankful that I got to “see” (I use quotation marks, because it wasn’t in person, like we normally do) him in the hospital.
2. I am happy that my sister invited me over so I was able to see him.
3. As much as it hurts, my Grandpa being in the hospital brought our family closer together.
4. I am grateful that I have a supportive boyfriend to help me go through this difficult time.
5. I appreciate my followers for being so patient and supportive during these days.

Thank you for all of your kind words. It means the world to me.

Thankful Thursdays #36 – March 4th, 2021

This is one of my favourite posts, because I get to talk about what I am thankful for the past week. It is always a good and fun way to end the day, or week with a grateful heart. I would love to hear about yours in the comments.

There are so many benefits of practicing gratitude, so you have never to lose by practicing it. Some of the benefits of gratitude, is you sleep better, and easier, you help lower your stress levels, so it might even be harder for you to feel stress. You also increase your immune system, which helps you decrease your chances of getting sick.

Here is my list from last week…

1. I am thankful that we got to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday. He loved his present, and that I made him brunch, and dinner for us.
2. I am grateful for being able to go through all of belongings from my old room.
3. I am thankful that I am starting to declutter again, it really helps me reorganize, and make more room for the things I enjoy.
4. I am happy that I was able to spend some time with my sister while I was babysitting my niece. Normally she works all day, and then by the time she is done work, it’s dinner, and then my niece goes to bed, and then my sister gets ready for bed, shortly afterwards. But on Tuesday we were able to hang out, and take my niece out to the park, and for a walk. It was a lot of fun.
5. I am grateful for being able to allocate our finances to pay down our debts. I am really happy that we are on the right path to be debt free. It’s going to take us a little while, but we have spent some time working on what to pay off next. Which is really exciting.

Day 54

This lesson is from Tuesday.

I help my sister out by babysitting my niece because my sister, and boyfriend work on throughout the week. My niece is almost two years old. Even though it’s winter where we live, I try to take her outside for some fresh air. I just make sure she is all bundled up to go outside. She has a good time. We usually go sledding, or I just take her to the park, and watch her play. I push her in the swings. She seems to have a lot of fun outside.

I like to take her outside right before her nap. Well I let her have to something to eat before her nap. But I like to think that her being out before her nap, helps her feel tired for her nap, which gives her a deeper sleep.

It is also important for us, even as adults to go outside, and get some fresh air. Even if we only have five minutes to spare. Bonus if you go out while the sun is out. Going outside helps relaxes us, too. I’ve been getting outside by taking a walk in my neighbourhood, or by walking to the library.

Today, I will make an effort that ensures I get some form of fresh air every day. Whether it to take a walk, or to just have a cup of coffee or tea on the patio, or balcony or front porch. Don’t let the cold weather stop you from enjoying the benefits of being outside. Always bundle up, and watch out for any ice, if there is any.

Thankful Thursdays #33 – February 11th, 2021

I love talking about I am thankful for every week. I hope you are able to take some time and begin reflecting on what you are grateful for, and are able to have gratitude towards.

Here is my list… Feel free to share yours.

1. I got to babysit my niece twice in a week, we had a lot of fun. I got to take her out sledding, which she always enjoys. I love seeing her smile.
2. I am thankful that I got to make a craft with her to give to her parents for Valentine’s Day. My sister loved it!
3. I am grateful that my boyfriend and I got to spend an extra day together, we spent it watching a movie, and watching our shows.
4. I was reading to my niece Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. I was so grateful and happy when my niece wanted to hear another poem. She loves it when I read to her. She loves looking at all of the illustrations, and helping me turn the pages.
5. Lastly, I am grateful that I got to spend some time with my sister when she came back from work.

I know there are probably other things I am thankful for, but this is my top five.

Day 42

I got to babysit my niece for an extra day last week. She normally sees her grandparents but they were busy that day, so I got to watch her. The day before I babysat, I was thinking of making this cute art and craft for my sister and her boyfriend as a Valentine’s Day present. My niece is almost 2 years old, so I had a few craft ideas that she could do.

I decided that I can try to trace her hands to make a heart, and then I traced her feet to make another heart. I put her show on, and I put her in her chair. It turned out nice, despite that I didn’t get it into heart shapes. I let her give it to my sister. My sister thought that was super cute, she loved it!

Something that Gretchen Rubin reminded me to do was, “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good” in her book, The Happiness Project. It means that you can’t let yourselves get so caught up with perfection, that everything around you loses its beauty. You just got to remind yourself that you did your best.

I like to think that her craft was beautifully done. But there are other times where I have to remind myself that it’s okay for things to be messy, like how she loves to keep her toys all sprawled throughout the living room. Or how I sometimes get bothered that her pants are crocked. It’s small things like this. I am trying hard to look pass this. I’m not a mom, so it may or may not take me longer to get over this. I know there might be some people saying that I will miss the mess when she is older.

Today, I am reminded that I must look pass the imperfections, and see that the world can be a beautiful place. I will accept the fact that the world doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. Don’t let yourself to miss out on things because you would rather see the imperfections, rather than the beauty of the imperfections.

Day 41

I got to watch my niece twice this week, which was really exciting! I like to follow the superstitions for the Lunar New Year, which is to not clean, especially not to sweep, as they believe you are “sweeping” away your luck. I knew that I was going to be watching her on the Thursday, and I knew I was going to stay at my sister’s late. So I made sure on the Wednesday that my house was relatively clean. I cleaned my bathroom, and kitchen, and then tidied my room. I was all ready for the Lunar New Year!

I spent the whole day on Wednesday freshening up my place. What helped was that I have a chore/cleaning schedule already in placed. Having a cleaning schedule is really useful, and helpful. I find it so much easier to set aside 15-20 minutes a day, then it is setting aside four hours in one day. I feel like it’s less stressful, as well.

Today, I will try to eliminate stress by organizing and planning my chores every day, instead of finding one day throughout the week to do all of my chores. I can now use the day that I would spend my time cleaning, as a day of rest instead.