March 2017 – Everyday Magic – 5

You can read about the start of this project here.

This one says: start somewhere.

karenika.com


Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Weekly Reflection 2017 – 09

Three ways I shone this week:

  • One: Jake and I had a 1-1 breakfast during the week this week.
  • Two: I ran into a friend and sat down to help her unexpectedly.
  • Three: I worked really hard this week and took a bold personal step. 

I celebrate: my bold step above
I am grateful for: not having to do jury duty.
I nourished myself by: having some delicious lettuce, getting my hair done, reading a lot.
Reflecting on my worries: i worried about jury duty which didn’t manifest. i made my perf deadline1. i took D to the doctor, tuesday was tough but went totally ok. i caught up at work but i am struggling with sleep. it turned out to be ok. things i didn’t worry about happened. 

I let go of: iterating more and more. now it’s not in my hands.

Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love):

  1. I was bold at work. 
  2. I’m mindful that i am feeling a strong need to step back and revisit work and home a bit but I don’t seem to want to make the time to do it. I have been very much in the “postponing” frame of mind lately. Don’t want to do anything but the bare minimum. and then i just want to read. i know this avoidance is not a good thing and I need to think of ways I can encourage myself to sit and assess things and make plans.
  3. Nourishment was better this week. Still not where I’d like to be.
  4. I’ve given love this week but I’ve also noticed that, this too, is something I need to reevaluate. What love means to me and how I show it. And what it means to the ones I love and how can I show it in their own love language.

What made me laugh this week: lots of lovely moments at work.
What I tolerated this week: really long days at the beginning of the week and Jake was out of town so even harder.
My mood this week was: tired.
I forgive myself for: being tired. worn out. how can i help reboot things?
What I love right now: moving forward. doing it anyway.

Here’s to a wonderful week ten! We are already on the tenth week of the fifty-two week year!!

March 2017 – Everyday Magic – 4

You can read about the start of this project here.

This one says: a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

karenika.com


Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 09

After all the books last week, I started My Not So Perfect Life because I wanted something light and it was on my overdrive queue. As is typical of Kinsella, it was fun and sweet and quirky. 

On the way to LA, I listened to Six Wakes which was on my list since I’d read about it. I really liked it. If Science Fiction is your cup of tea, this is a mind-bending one. I love finding sci fi like this.

And finally, on the way back, I listened to The Futures which had been on my audible list for a while, now. I didn’t really know what this story was about and as it turns out, it’s about Wall St. and NYC and a lot of other things that rang familiar to me. It was a quick read but I am not sure it was amazing. I’m not sorry I read it but I also don’t know that I’d recommend it.

That’s it for this week. I’m in the process of reading three other books at the moment but none are finished yet.


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017?here.

March 2017 – Everyday Magic – 3

You can read about the start of this project here.

This one says: you have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved.

karenika.com


Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Nourish Me – 09

And here we are, still wildly off the path.

Mind:

  • I read: read a bit this week. more than usual considering I was out of town for most of it.
  • I learned: nothing this week. i have had to work super hard to be able to leave town so I’ve been mostly focused on that.
  • I watched: I watched Big Little Liars and the Billions this week. Oh and Moana.

Body:

  • Exercise: I exercised none this week. But I did walk a lot. a lot. so much that I am hurting all over.
  • Food: I’ve had a lot more cappuccinos and just ate all around badly.
  • Skin: i did moisturize.
  • Floss: i didn’t floss 🙁
  • And More: nothing more. i am still doing the bare minimum.

Soul:

  • I rested: I have been sleeping badly. i am going to bed early but then i wake up in the middle of the night. i can’t go back to sleep easily and i just feel terribly unrested.
  • I connected: with my family this week. and my YA book club, too!
  • I journaled: i have done an abysmal job of journaling. it’s almost as if choosing it for my Feb OLW jinxed it.
  • I made art: i finished my march art and loved it.
It’s really hard to get back on track still. I am trying to figure out how to think about all this differently so I don’t judge myself and so that I can get back on track seamlessly and with compassion.

Nourish Me Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017?here.

March 2017 – Everyday Magic – 2

You can read about the start of this project here.

This one says: what if you simply devoted this year to loving yourself more?

karenika.com


Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

March 2017 – Everyday Magic – 1

For One Little Word in February, our assignment was to pick one thing to do each day. I decided to pick two of course. One was to journal (which I did abysmally at) and two was to take a photo everyday.  I did better with that one. These photos were nothing amazing. Just pieces of my ordinary life, which is, of course, magical all on its own so I decided they would make lovely pieces of art for March. I printed them in thick cardstock (not photo paper) and added a phrase to each.

This one says: there is no darkness so dense, so menacing, or so difficult that it cannot be overcome by light.

karenika.com


Everyday Magic is a Monthly Project for March 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

2017 Stories – 09 – Nathaniel’s Valentine

Nathaniel’s class only did one valentine per kid this year. (woohooo!) which gave each kid time to personalize his valentines. Nathaniel got Paige. The night before, it was clear that he lost the one he’d been working on so we sat together and did an impromptu one! Here’s the cute little card he did. And I love what he wrote in the back.


Stories from 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Living Intentionally 2017 – 09

Weekly Intention: Guess what I am going to say? this is an unusual week! haven’t i had only unusual weeks lately?! Well, this week has the potential to go both ways. It comes with two tough long days in the beginning of the week. 3 clients on Wednesday. And then possibly Jury duty on Thursday. If no duty then two trips to David’s school. Just a lot of chaos. And a stressful week at work to top it off. It’s all going to be ok.

This month’s intention is: February was Shine from the Outside In and I did finally buy some makeup!! 🙂 March is Rain or Shine: March is a tough month. You often feel like giving up in March. It feels too long. But it’s not. Keep going, You’re doing great. Remember that the trick is to just show up. Keep showing up. So there you go. Keep showing up is what I am going to do!

Ways to Shine this week:

  • One: Bold: Tuesday is going to be a bold day. Work is bold lately all the time!
  • Two: Open: Still need to be open to feedback. Open to a crazy week schedule.
  • Three: Heal/Nourish: I’d like to rest this week. not sure if it’s possible but I’d really like to.

I am looking forward to: is it terrible if i say I am looking forward to Friday?

This week’s challenges: tuesday. it’s a long day. full of a lot of stress. i also have a tight deadline at work for one thing and i’ll feel better when i am 100% ready.

Top Goals:

  • Work: clear email. get some of the dragging todos done. 
  • Personal: get back to nourishment, exercise, journaling.
  • Family: stop yelling. be patient.

I will focus on my core desires (bold, mindful, nourish, love) by: being in each moment while it’s here. doing my best. working harder.

This week, I will say yes to: having faith.

This week, I will say no to: stressing needlessly. so much is not in my control.

I am worried that: i will get jury duty and it will mean i miss perf deadlines. i will get jury duty and it will mean i can’t take D to the doctor. tuesday will go badly and both David and Nathaniel will be upset. I will mess everything up. I will get jury duty. I will never catch up at work. I will never stop being in pain. I will never get enough rest.

This week, I want to remember: that things always work out. it’s going to be okay.

Weekly Reflection 2017 – 08

Three ways I shone this week:

  • One: I took my family on a lovely vacation.
  • Two: I drove most of the way home so Jake could rest. 
  • Three: I worked super hard on Tuesday so I could take the rest of the week off.

I celebrate: our little vacation to southern cali.
I am grateful for: my work, my family, all that makes my life possible.
I nourished myself by: lots of family time this week but that’s it.
Reflecting on my worries: I worried that things would go wrong, my kids wouldn’t be happy, i would be grumpy or stingy. nothing went wrong. hotels were fine. tickets were fine. kids were happy most of the time. i was grumpy a bit of the time. i wasn’t stingy. my kids were reasonable. all was ok. all is ok.

I let go of: my site was broken this week, i had to let it go until i was back.

Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love):

  1. I was really bold with my kids this week when i wanted to enjoy the vacation, too.
  2. I’m mindful that i seem to not be able to have a routine anymore. i need to figure how to work with this.
  3. Nourishment isn’t going well. I need to reboot.
  4. Love abound this week.

What made me laugh this week: universal and disney!
What I tolerated this week: a lot of walking, waiting, so little sleep, and so much driving.
My mood this week was: joyous.
I forgive myself for: not getting more done. i seem to have to forgive myself for this each week.
What I love right now: learning to juggle it all. messing up but getting back up.

Here’s to a wonderful week nine!

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 08

A lot of books this week.

I knew I wanted to read All Our Wrong Todays as soon as I heard about it. Time travel. Multiple worlds. Fun and scifi are definitely my cup of tea. And it was not a disappointment. I enjoyed this story and all the convoluted plot twists along the way.

Last week, I watched all the Bravel Girl Symposium talks and I fell in love with Erin Faith Allen. I then bought and swallowed The Underneath in one night. Painful and beautiful and thought provoking all at once.

I then shifted gears into A Truck Full of Money which was about to expire so if I planned to read it, it was now or never. I knew very little about Paul English but had of course heard of kayak. My husband interned at Interleaf when he was in highschool. It’s always a small world. I loved reading this story.

I wanted to read?This Close to Happy?and I got about halfway through before I decided it was too depressing and finally made the choice to put it down. I’ve read other books on depression but this one wasn’t my cup of tea.

I then listened to A Separation in one sitting. I can’t decide if I liked this book or not. It was a tough read. It didn’t have a lot of likeable characters and I am not sure what I took away from the whole thing but I still don’t regret reading it.

I heard of The Lonely Hearts Hotel from my library. When I looked up the book, it claimed to be similar to The Night Circus. I knew I wanted to read it as soon as I saw that. As it turned out, it wasn’t similar to the Night Circus at all. At all. However, I loved it anyway. I really loved the characters even though they seemed to go from one tragedy into another. I loved the atmosphere and the language. This book doesn’t sound like a book I’d like but I somehow loved it.

I then moved to Lincoln in the Bardo. It was my first Saunders and a weird one at that. I am still thinking about this one. The style was so weird. The plot comical and tragedy all at once. Weird, weird novel.

And finally I ended my week with The Three-Body Problem. When I was in Sydney, this book was recommended by my workmates. I checked it out from the library and decided it was finally time to tackle it. It was long and complicated and I didn’t understand most of the physics in it. But I did like it. I am glad I read it. I am not reading the sequel anytime soon.

That’s it for this week. Quite a few books this week in all sorts of genres.


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017?here.