karenika

Weekly Reflection – 07

Three Choices I made this week:

One: I chose to go to work twice this week too and it was very much worth it. Apparently I am going twice again next week.
Two: I chose to let go and just be present with my family and inlaws and this vacation.
Three: I chose to help make things move forward at work even though I was on vacation because I knew they were important.

I read/learned: I finished All the Birds in the Sky and The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend and Brave Enough and Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist this week! I am now listening to Be Frank with Me and reading When Breath Becomes Air.
I celebrate: I celebrate a lovely combination of working, resting and lots of little adventures this week. So grateful.
I am grateful for: California. I am so grateful to live here. For incredible nature, beautiful weather. So grateful.
I focused on my health by:

Walked 10K steps every day
No Diet Coke or lattes still!
But I have been sliding on the food and I would like to go back to focusing on it.

I made art: I haven’t been doing art this week but I hope to do some this weekend. I also hope to figure out my April plan.
I let go of: I let go of alone time and personal agenda this week so I could be present.
Core Desire Check-in:

Kind: I was kind to my inlaws and husband this week. And to people at work.
Strong: I was strong with my patience this week, I am proud of myself.
True: I stayed true to my values. I remembered what matters most and not in retrospect but in realtime.
Generous: I’ve been generous with time this week both with work and my kids and my inlaws.
Brave: I went hiking, driving, and just showed up when it was hard to. I’m proud of myself.

Here are some photos from this week:

Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

February 2016 – Choice Cards – 15

Card fifteen says: Choose to notice the ephemeral.

Choice Cards in a Monthly Project for January 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Today I Choose – 07

Here’s week seven in my sketchbook. I drew these on the airplane when I was coming back from Switzerland. Just my pencil/eraser and the cheeseplate they give and my tea.

Here are closer shots of each side:

Today I Choose is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

February 2016 – Choice Cards – 14

Card fourteen says: Choose to celebrate the days when you shine.

Choice Cards in a Monthly Project for January 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

I am not sure why I read Belzhar. One night I just felt like picking it up so I did. I had liked but wasn’t crazy about Meg’s adult book The Interstings but I read this book in one sitting. It really spoke to me and I kept finding myself wanting more of it. I am not a huge Sylvia Plath fan one way or another and maybe because of that my expectations were low.

So, for me, it was enjoyable all the way.

And this book, too, had a bit of twist but in this case it didn’t bother me at all for some reason. It wasn’t as extreme, maybe that’s why.

February 2016 – Choice Cards – 13

Card thirteen says: Choose joy.

Choice Cards in a Monthly Project for January 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

2016 Stories – 07 – Swissair Crew

A few weeks ago, I was flying back from Zurich to San Francisco and as part of the lovely service on Business class, they pass a cheese plate. Last time I flew business, I decided to sketch this cheese plate so when the lovely crew member gave me the new one, I started drawing again and I showed her my drawing from the last time since it happened to be in the same notebook. I was trying to show her how the platter had changed so little from the last time. And how it was fun to compare. She was so kind and delighted to see my drawing that she sent a few other crew members to come look at it. And then she said she wanted to give me a gift.

She asked me if I drink wine and I said thank you so much but I don’t. She said that she’ll just put something together for me. A few minutes later, she came with this lovely bag filled with chocolates, crackers, cookies, truffles, and a lovely beautiful Moleskine notebook designed for Swissair. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This was the first trip to Switzerland where I hadn’t bought any chocolates to bring home and now I had boxes of chocolate. It was one of the kindest gestures anyone’s ever done for me. She even gave me her email and asked if I could email her my photos.

Their kindness and this incredibly wonderful gesture was definitely the highlight of my trip.

Stories from 2016 is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

February 2016 – Choice Cards – 12

Card twelve says: Choose yes, and sometimes also no.

Choice Cards in a Monthly Project for January 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Living Intentionally – 07

Weekly Intention: My intention this week is to do a really good job of balancing my life and catching up to some of the bits I’ve been dropping on the floor. I plan to work half day each day and I want to make sure that I actively take the other half of the day off and spend time with my family or doing things that I find restful. So here’s to balancing work/life.
Choices I want to make:

One: I will choose to be very productive when I am working so I can get a lot done and feel productive so I don’t feel stressed when I am not working
Two: I will choose to be present with nature and my inlaws who are coming to visit and enjoy some quiet time with my husband .
Three: I will choose to rest. I will choose to go back to healthy eating habits. I will choose to find my rhythm again.

I am looking forward to: some down time this week. Some time with Jake. Mini-adventures with my kids.
This week’s challenges: My inlaws will be here this week. The kids have no school. I have a few very important work meetings and I think it will be challenging to balance all of what’s happening in one week. But I can do this.
Top Goals:

Work: My biggest goal this week: catch up to backlog. send newsletter. “feel” organized.
Personal: Get rest and do art and read.
Family: Be patient. Be kind. Be kinder.

I will focus on my core desires (kind, strong, true, generous, brave) by:

I will be kind by being as present and active as i can be for all of the long days in this week.
I will be strong by making it through this long and wonderful week and making sure to take time for self-care as i need it.
I will be generous with my inlaws. With my time. With my patience.
I will be true to myself by speaking up when I need to and still being kind.
I will be brave by doing what needs to be done. By not making myself a victim. By owning my choices.

This week, I want to remember to: Stay present. I know I say this often but I love my family, I love my inlaws, I love my job, I love my husband. I love my life. Sometimes it all comes together and is a bit tougher to juggle. I want to remember that even these hectic days are rare and precious. And I really want to be present in the moments.

Here’s to a wonderful week!

February 2016 – Choice Cards – 11

Card eleven says: Choose to be true to you.

Choice Cards in a Monthly Project for January 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 06

Three Choices I made this week:

One: I chose to go to work twice this week and both times it was very worthwhile.
Two: I chose to forgive when it was hard to do so.
Three: I chose to encourage and be a cheerleader when needed even though it’s not easy for me.

I read/learned: I finished The Past and started listening to All the Birds in the Sky. I am almost done and I love it. I am still reading The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend though not fast enough.
I celebrate: I celebrate a week off school. Even though I have to work next week I still will love not having school.
I am grateful for: a three-day weekend. Woohoo.
I focused on my health by:

Walked 10K steps every day
Ate as well as I could, still no Diet Coke or lattes still! I am quite proud of myself.

I made art: I did a lot of art last weekend. I feel good about that. Still don’t have a daily art routine, though.
I let go of: I let go of so much this week. I am proud of myself.
Core Desire Check-in:

Kind: I was very kind to family this week. And myself. But I still need to work on my yelling. It ruins too much for me.
Strong: I was strong with work this week. It was a very long week and I accomplished much and dropped the ball on much too.
True: I stayed true to myself. I put my foot down when I needed to. Even when it was really hard.
Generous: I’ve been generous with David and his team. Lending my time and efforts to move them forward.
Brave: I went to social events at work. I spoke up when I was scared to multiple times today. Here’s to staying brave.

Here are some photos from this week: