34th Birthday Pictures Resurfaced!

image was taken by my old  Nokia mobile

Hurra!!!

While sorting through 5 years worth of images, I stumbled upon what I thought were lost forever - pictures from my 34th birthday!

I am very sentimental, and this set of pictures is not only important to me because it was my birthday but it was the last "grand celebration" (in my humble grand way!) I had in Germany.  I did not wait for my 35th birthday to celebrate it in a big fashion but wanted to use the 34th birthday as an occasionto give thanks to all the girlfriends, lovely ladies, who have helped me through a difficult period.

Now, in hindsight, I am very grateful I did organize that birthday celebration (although I spent my wages from a new job, I started only a month before!)  because it was the last time I gathered them before we moved here in the Netherlands.

I am hoping for my 40th, I could do something special and gather girlfriends again! I wonder if with enough preparation, and "begging" ☺ I could make them come to the Netherlands for it?! Or maybe, I could celebrate it in Germany because I never did have a formal goodbye party.

What do you think is better?

Positive Essence of the Self

Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes).

Walt Whitman (1819-1892) American poet.

It seems contradictory, that I write about wanting to take a break from blogging and here I am maintaining not one but several blogs.

I seek balance and peace.  Sometimes, I find it in the midst of frenetic creative activity.  Contradictory?

Tonight, in the process of editing a 365 self-portrait, two different version came out.

Ultimately, I chose the sepia version as the 365 self-portrait of the day, and shaed it as Being Beautifully 40's post of the day, my page counting the days to my 40th birthday.  I feel it was more self-empowering image, compared to te orangy version, asking for more juice.

I acknowledge both, and feel I am learning more and more to internalize the more positive side of me.

How do you highlight your positive side in daily life?

The Comforts of PMS

One of the many reasons for the 365 is my struggle with PMS. It has affected the quality of life in many ways that I can't describe in only one blog; it's only this year that things have improved since I begun having my cycles at the tender age of 10 y.o.

I have been planning for a long while to change my gynecologist for very personal reason but everything else took priority over it.  I know, I know, nothing should be more important than health but again, that is the reason for the 365,  to aid my family and I adjust our priority carefully and focus on them.

Yesterday was the first time, I simply did not think of being on time with posting the blog, I gave up being anal, and went to bed to rest my mind, my body.  So, you would notice that this once again is a backdated blog (meant for yesterday - Friday but posted  today, Saturday).

 I will be posting more backdated blogs from the time we went to Germany and the first two weeks of the girls going back to school. It's a lot of work but I have to do it to keep me motivated with the 365 of blogging.

This decision is partly influenced after watching Julie & Julia with the family on our Friday Movie night.

This blog, the blogs I created are personal projects to aid me with the transitions of living a new life here in the Netherlands, and although I care very much for my family and friends, who are supporting me, and are grateful to them and all the readers I have thus far connected since I created this blog, I was reminded by the film, that this journey is ultimately my journey, and I can take any path, or do anything to continue that path I chose, as I began the blog.

It's always a challenge to think straight before and during PMS but it's a relief once the cycle is finish and one can think clearly again. With 365, I realise with much clarity, that I am not crazy all the time, but only most of the time. ☺In between, I am rational, and I contribute positively to the lives of my family, my community and the world at large. I am not only the one, who is comforted but I comfort a lot of important people in my life, too.

On those crazy days, meanwhile, I take solace where I can, usually with the simple comforts of  pizza, cola, and brownies.


What are your  comforts for PMS (or you partner's) ?

Being Beautifully 40

Last month, I created a blog to celebrate counting down my 40th birthday, which I called Being Beautifully 40, I blogged about it here.

While writing the post, and fighting an onset of migraine, I came across this quote:

Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful.
Sophia Loren 

 I felt myself relax, and was able to finish putting my thoughts in words and pushing the publish button confidently.

Writing, blogging, biking has helped me find my center, and rediscover that beauty in me - believing in myself.


What keeps you centered?  The secret of your beauty? :)

Life is Sweet

Eldest treated me today to a FULL BLAST of "sweetness".

I've been having terrible back-pains the last days, and have been taking it easy. The girls tried hard to do some chores that are not too heavy but also very important and needs to be done, so that it does not pile up when I am finally alot better to resume my daily duties.

Wednesday is always a half-day at school; as the older girls got home, and have eaten lunch, they took out Littlest for a walk to give me some quiet time.

As they came back Middle daughter took nap while Eldest further took care of the kitchen. I smelled something delicious, and that is when she told me she baked brownies for all of us!

As you can see from the upper right corner of the collage, Littlest took the first bite and loved it! It's not for nothing that we call her ChocolaBaby(this is actually a substitute nickname because the actual one will reveal Littlest name)!

Thanks, darling Eldest child, for the wonderfully prepared tea-time snack and for always being the sweetest and most thoughtful daughter and sister.

Sleeping Blogger

Welcome, friends, readers, ICLWers! It's been at almost three weeks since my last post here due to a lot of personal matters.

Last night, I was debating with myself whether to post all the drafts meant for the daily blogging (3 weeks worth) to attempt to catch up or go simply on a Summer blog break, and decide what to do later on about all those drafted posts.  I still have not completely made up my mind yet but I am leaning towards a 3-month blogging break so far.

I was thinking if there was a way to delete my name on the list of ICLW the past couple of weeks but I was experiencing a fatigue that everything was such an effort, that I procrastinated about dealing with anything regarding blogging until the ICLW week finally arrived!

The comment on my last posted blog re-awakened this slumbering blogger, in all sense of the word!

I'll see what the ICLW week will bring, and take it one day at a time, just like the idea of this page...

Barefoot in Naarden (Vesting)

As part of 30 Day Bike Challenge in my other blog The Lightness of Being on the Bike, the family cycled together to Naarden Vesting today.

Littlest needed a lot of convincing to say goodbye to the playground we discovered right across De Grote Kerk (Dutch for big church) in Naarden Vesting.

The Summer Feeling

 

Yay! June is here! With it came the sunshine back in Holland!

Today,  my personal challenge of riding the bike for 30 consecutive days commenced.  I will be documenting this experience in The Lightness of Being on the Bike; it is a project to jump start the blog, which I created last April.

I will be blogging on that page daily this month while developing the idea : 30 Days of Bike Challenge, afterwards I would be setting selected days of blogging all about biking, by July.

This project would not have come to life, had I not blogged consistently for the last 5 months.  I am very grateful for the blog events I have participated in April  & May (A to Z Challenge and WordCount Blogathon) and the monthly one week long ICLW.  They, all in their own way, gave me the courage, inspiration, and most of all they brought back the magical delight in blogging!

What plans do you have for June? for Summer?