Another year has gone by so fast. In the past few months, I started another regular job at the local Japanese radio station which means I pretty much work full time....however my son still only goes to preschool 2x/week, and Yasushi is still the head chef of a popular restaurant, and it's not like we have the grandparents around to help out, so there are a lot of things that always need to be done!
I work hard but I also make sure to care for myself and make lots of fun memories with my rapidly growing children. As I enjoy spending time with my family, and celebrating various holidays and festivals , I can't help but be reminded of the lack of such memories I have from my own childhood, and the memories I do have instead. Being a parent after the kind of upbringing I had is a constant journey of healing and learning like that.
~~~
Ever since I was little, I have always had an interest in learning about all kinds of culture and especially music. However, going out with my parents rarely did much to fuel my creative fire. I have very few memories of us enjoying and sharing quality time and learning together, and more memories of my parents merely dragging me along to work related events, loud, dark , crowded concerts of music I didn't like, or boring dinners at some strangers house. Sometimes I would end up feeling sick from the loud noise or the beginning of CPTSD related anxiety. As I got older, other family members and friends would take me out to sports events, science museums, church, carnivals, farm festivals and other things that normal kids and families did. Even if I wasn't super interested in everything, I was never forced to do anything and I was usually able to find something interesting about the event and appreciate the kindness of those friends and family. They would also listen to me when I talked about my own hobbies and interests. It was something I really needed as my home environment became less and less supportive and encouraging of my individuality.
Being the child of musicians, its not surprising that I have a bit of musical ability and a strong affinity for all things music. I always loved to sing, but my parents idea of enjoying music at home was playing recordings of their favorite music very loudly while I was trying to concentrate on something else. If I sang to myself or listened to some music I liked, I was usually belittled and criticized. After a while of this, I started to feel intense shame when trying to enjoy music at home. However, due to that thing called passion, I never stopped trying to enjoy music and sing. I always joined the school chorus and musicals, even though I had no confidence in my singing, I always felt good when I sang.
So when I moved out on my own, I finally had freedom to enjoy the things I loved without judgement and criticism. I joined campus clubs, music ensembles, and volunteered and participated in many kinds of cultural events. My parents called me untalented and my hobbies stupid and childish, and told me that I would never make it out there in the real world if I didn't change myself into something that they saw as acceptable. However, now that I was living on my own, in the real world, I only formed a wide circle of all kinds of supportive friends of all ages who shared the same interests.
~~~~~
And now here I am, a mom of 2 bilingual, bicultural kids who are 7 and 3, and learning how it feels to enjoy things as a family and cultivate a healthy, supportive home for my children. I'm so grateful for all the time we can enjoy together doing various educational family-oriented activities. Even though we don't have a lot of money to spend on leisure activities, there are always plenty of things to enjoy for the whole family that are cheap or free. I take my kids to outdoor concerts by all kinds of local and international musicians of all genres, zoo/aquarium/museum free admission days, library movie showings and story times, volunteer opportunities like park clean ups and nursing home visits, and cultural festivals and parades.
During the summer, Avengers Endgame came out in theaters and became the #1 highest grossing film of all time. I had never seen an Avengers£ film so I decided we would try watching the first Avengers movie. We enjoyed it so much that I decided once or twice every week we would watch a movie together and move through the MCU timeline until we watched Endgame.
Soon after that, we prepared for Halloween. Naturally, our costumes were little Iron Man, Captain Marvel and mommy Captain America holding the team together. We wore our costumes proudly going out to various movie showings and festivals during October, and on the night of Halloween we joined our hanai extended family for trick or treating in Kahala.
And just a short month later was Thanksgiving. Of course I planned out our dinner at home with family, but in the afternoon we were fortunate enough to be able to enjoy a delicious homemade lunch at the Japanese church, and Chinami and I were the honorary entertainment, Chinami played and sang ukulele and I sang a couple Enka songs and we sang Speechless as a duet as well. Since we regularly have ukulele/piano/karaoke singing jam and practice sessions in our living room, it's great that we have these little performances to work toward. I always feel so proud and impressed when I watch Chinami sing and play music. The lunch was an amazing mix of traditional turkey and stuffing with makizushi, tsukemono, nimono and all kinds of traditional and Japanese dishes. And our dinner menu was the one I customize and fine tune every year for our family. This year we received gifts of Japanese sauces from a restaurant distributor and we had new crop rice from Japan, so I decided I would try marinating the turkey in a half gallon of teriyaki sauce and a bit of usukuchi shoyu for a day and stuff it with whole ginger while I roasted it. It was amazingly juicy and flavorful and the skin was sweet and salty! I made butter shoyu kale and cabbage, roasted some cauliflower tots and topped with kewpie mayonnaise, furikake and minced takuan, and we had salad and fresh local sashimi as well as the good rice. For dessert I made pumpkin butter mochi and purple sweet potato pie. In previous years I made wild rice and quinoa takikomi flavored like stuffing, and two layer green and orange sweet potato kabocha pie....our traditions are evolving to fit with our family's tastes. We also had plenty of drinks, snacks, movies and games to enjoy with friends and our roommate.
The day after Thanksgiving, we enjoyed a day of joining an ukulele jam group up in a beautiful home in the hills overlooking Koko Head and the ocean, and at night we joined a tree trimming party at a condo building in Waikiki, and even watched a little bit of the Waikiki holiday parade before going home for the night.
And now at our own home, our own decorations are up and our schedule is quickly becoming packed with the various parades, concerts, parties, and such for the Holiday season. We already spent this past week at two parades, a Christmas party for children at the Makiki district park, and donated to a charity event while watching performances at Ala Moana shopping center. This week promises more of the same, and during the school holidays we can enjoy at home activities like candy house crafts, Christmas movies, and such. After Christmas, we close out this year with our traditional Kohaku viewing party and start the next year with mochi pounding at Japanese church, and Gagaku and sechi-ryori lunch, and a blessing at the shrine.
I'm so grateful to be able to enjoy another full year with my family. I was so happy with 2018 already, but 2019 kept the positive trends going, mostly thanks to starting intermittent fasting and my new second job. My wish for everyone is the drive to do better for themselves, so they too can experience how amazing it feels to be healthy and happy, surrounded by a warm environment and supportive tribe.
2019年12月13日金曜日
2019年9月16日月曜日
Feeling so grateful. #SundaySalutation
So, the last few months and weeks in general have just been amazing. School started up smoothly with no problems, Chinami loves school and excels in pretty much anything she tries. Kairu loves his part-time preschool as well and the Japanese church group, the sports/motor skills clinic, and library storytimes I take him to.
Weekdays are usually pretty nonstop especially since Chinami has Japanese school until 5pm, but weekends are our time to go out to friends houses, community events, or if nothing is going on we just walk around the neighborhood, swim in our pool, or have an ukulele/piano/accordion/etc jam session at home.
We finally got to watch Avengers Endgame on Labor Day, an impromptu potluck with friends which was amazing, and then a few days later I turned 33 and we invited a dear friend for a homemade tomahawk steak and sashimi spread made by my "presidential" chef hubby, and watched Battle Angel Alita, and was gifted a nintendo switch by my family. On Friday, the kids and I went to a local kid friendly karaoke bar for dinner just for some fun and lots of singing. A week later, this past Friday night I hooked up a projector to my laptop and we watched Phantom of the Opera for the Friday 13th/Full Moon.
And now today, my husband and kids went to Ala Moana beach to play while I worked at the local Japanese radio station, at the Japanese cultural center building. My job is recording, editing and broadcasting a radio program from Japan with a 30 minute delay here, then DJ 15 minutes or so of music until I make the mixers switch to our other studio.
On my walk home I stopped by the Japanese supermarket that's also less than a block from our home, and picked up some things for our dinner tonight.
Satoshi winning the Alolan League is making worldwide headlines and trending on almost all social media. My kids are conversing with each other in Japanese as they play Pokemon on the Nintendo Switch. Tonight I work in a call center where I'm expected to have a near native level of Japanese.
And I just feel so grateful that I'm here, living this life.
20 years ago, when I was 13, I became interested in Japanese anime and wanted to learn the language. Some people supported me, others just falsely claimed they did while simultaneously calling it a "phase"....or referring to my hobbies with racist slurs.
But just like Satoshi never gave up on his dream, I am here living mine...in Hawaii, with my happy, hardworking healthy little family.
Which makes me think of another aspect I really liked about the Sun+Moon arc of the Pokemon anime....Musashi and Kojiro both came from absent/abusive families and for the first time, in the Alola region, they were able to find a place resembling a home, a caretaker, and run a legitimate successful business. It really hit home for me since for me Hawaii was the place I found my dreams and my home as well. Yes, I have to work nights and a second day job and rent our guest room out, but it's worth it for this amazing life!
Weekdays are usually pretty nonstop especially since Chinami has Japanese school until 5pm, but weekends are our time to go out to friends houses, community events, or if nothing is going on we just walk around the neighborhood, swim in our pool, or have an ukulele/piano/accordion/etc jam session at home.
We finally got to watch Avengers Endgame on Labor Day, an impromptu potluck with friends which was amazing, and then a few days later I turned 33 and we invited a dear friend for a homemade tomahawk steak and sashimi spread made by my "presidential" chef hubby, and watched Battle Angel Alita, and was gifted a nintendo switch by my family. On Friday, the kids and I went to a local kid friendly karaoke bar for dinner just for some fun and lots of singing. A week later, this past Friday night I hooked up a projector to my laptop and we watched Phantom of the Opera for the Friday 13th/Full Moon.
And now today, my husband and kids went to Ala Moana beach to play while I worked at the local Japanese radio station, at the Japanese cultural center building. My job is recording, editing and broadcasting a radio program from Japan with a 30 minute delay here, then DJ 15 minutes or so of music until I make the mixers switch to our other studio.
On my walk home I stopped by the Japanese supermarket that's also less than a block from our home, and picked up some things for our dinner tonight.
Satoshi winning the Alolan League is making worldwide headlines and trending on almost all social media. My kids are conversing with each other in Japanese as they play Pokemon on the Nintendo Switch. Tonight I work in a call center where I'm expected to have a near native level of Japanese.
And I just feel so grateful that I'm here, living this life.
20 years ago, when I was 13, I became interested in Japanese anime and wanted to learn the language. Some people supported me, others just falsely claimed they did while simultaneously calling it a "phase"....or referring to my hobbies with racist slurs.
But just like Satoshi never gave up on his dream, I am here living mine...in Hawaii, with my happy, hardworking healthy little family.
Which makes me think of another aspect I really liked about the Sun+Moon arc of the Pokemon anime....Musashi and Kojiro both came from absent/abusive families and for the first time, in the Alola region, they were able to find a place resembling a home, a caretaker, and run a legitimate successful business. It really hit home for me since for me Hawaii was the place I found my dreams and my home as well. Yes, I have to work nights and a second day job and rent our guest room out, but it's worth it for this amazing life!
2019年6月5日水曜日
Intermittent Fasting Update - 2 months and 10lbs down!
I've been doing Intermittent Fasting for two months, and I'm happy to say my weight is down to 118, which means I've lost 10lbs or over 5% of my body weight in just two months! It was pretty effortless since I mostly slept during my fasting days.
I've also been trying to incorporate more exercise into my days. Sundays and Mondays I focus on family and resting, Tuesdays are tummy days so I try to fit in a few sets of crunches and V sits. Thursdays are thigh days so I do squats and wall sits. Wednesday and Friday I do 20-40 minutes of yoga, and Saturday I do 7 minute workouts.
However, summer has started which means I'm with the kids a lot more, which makes it difficult to do a 24 hour fast. So from June, I've decided to adjust a bit and just aim for doing 18 hour fasts 3-4x/week instead of 20-24 hour fasts twice a week.
It's so exciting watching my weight steadily go down and I feel so strong and healthy on the days I exercise. Now I just need to remember to be patient. I gained 18lbs gradually over 1-2 years, and it may take me as long to get it down to my goal, and as always, health is a life long commitment, not a temporary fad!
I've also been trying to incorporate more exercise into my days. Sundays and Mondays I focus on family and resting, Tuesdays are tummy days so I try to fit in a few sets of crunches and V sits. Thursdays are thigh days so I do squats and wall sits. Wednesday and Friday I do 20-40 minutes of yoga, and Saturday I do 7 minute workouts.
However, summer has started which means I'm with the kids a lot more, which makes it difficult to do a 24 hour fast. So from June, I've decided to adjust a bit and just aim for doing 18 hour fasts 3-4x/week instead of 20-24 hour fasts twice a week.
It's so exciting watching my weight steadily go down and I feel so strong and healthy on the days I exercise. Now I just need to remember to be patient. I gained 18lbs gradually over 1-2 years, and it may take me as long to get it down to my goal, and as always, health is a life long commitment, not a temporary fad!
2019年5月1日水曜日
One month of Intermittent Fasting - Why, How, and results!
I often hear "gaining weight is easy, but losing weight is difficult." I've never actively tried to do either, but I grew up watching my mother struggle with yo-yo dieting, trying all the "fad" diets (Remember Atkins? and its still trendy successor Keto? and now gluten-free/paleo/etc) and getting down to around my size, then ballooning back up to "plus size" in no time. To me, it seemed like the problem was less about gaining or losing weight, and more about imposing unsustainable, unnatural restrictions on yourself only to go back to the exact same habits later, and be surprised when you return to the exact same state as before.
A little over a year ago, I started working for the call center and commuting 4 miles each way by bicycle. At first, it was kind of hard. My legs and core would especially be pretty sore the day after I worked. And then after a while, it became routine. And now, I have no problem riding 4 miles in 30 minutes, 6 times per week. And I generally enjoy making healthy meals with half the plate being colorful fresh vegetables most of the time.
However, sometime over the past few months, my weight crept up. Maybe it was the holidays, maybe it was the office snacks (always having a sweet treat with my coffee in the morning!) maybe my weekend glass of wine, whatever it was I needed to make a change. My weight which had hovered around 110-115 for the past 6 years or so except for pregnancy and immediate postpartum, had crept up to almost 130. For reference, when I lived in Japan I was at 125, and when I was in high school guzzling 2-3 sodas per day and thinking cheese/french fries or cheese/white bread was a legit meal I was 135. My pants were getting tight, my belly had a distinct soft layer, and I knew that it was time to do something.
So where could I make a change? Doing something like giving up all sweets, alcohol, etc. was unsustainable. I enjoy socializing and enjoying all kinds of foods and special occasions with my kids. Enjoying some cookies or cakes or a glass of wine on Saturdays wasn't the sole factor.
When I was at work, I usually snacked, ate something sweet with coffee for breakfast, and when I came home, I would eat something again before my nap. I realized that even though I was riding a bicycle I was still sitting for 10 hours, and then taking a nap at home. Was it really necessary to be eating at such regular intervals? Why did I just keep getting hungry again after a few hours?
Then I read about Intermittent Fasting. I read about the science behind fasting, the way it can regulate and reset digestion and blood sugar, and burn fat. Everything I heard so far about eating 6 meals per day, "keeping metabolism going" and "starvation mode" seemed a little far-fetched by comparison.
If I did a 24 hour fast. I could simply stop eating from after dinner before I went to work on Monday, and keep fasting until dinner on Tuesday night. On a fast, you were allowed to drink green tea and black coffee. On Tuesdays, I usually slept and recovered from Sunday and Monday nights work. If I fasted, my body would have a chance to recover as well.
I decided to try it, starting on April 2nd. Surprisingly, I only drank lots of water, a few cups of green tea, and a cup or two of black coffee, and I did get hungry for 10 minutes or so a few times, but I was able to fast for a whole day with very little difficulty.
I was surprised, because I always thought of snacks and chocolate as "fuel" or "quick energy". However, I found out that while I was fasting, I actually felt LESS hungry, and I felt like I had MORE energy, than while I was eating a cookie or a chocolate every couple hours!
I enjoyed the fast so much that I decided to do a shorter 18 hour fast from Wednesday night to Thursday. And on Wednesdays and Fridays, instead of eating the minute I woke up, I decided to wait until I did the 25 minute walk taking Chinami to school and coming back.
And then I did the same routine the next week as well. 24 hour fast, normal day, 18 hour fast, delaying breakfast until after a bit of light exercise.
After 2 weeks, I had lost 3 lbs, and I felt much better and more energetic.
And now, after one month, I am down 7lbs and have a lot more energy.
If I continue like this, I can see myself being able to cut down to 110lbs or so within another 2-3 months. And coupled with the addition of light exercise in addition to my regular 30-60 minutes of cycling and or walking every day, (planking at the park, yoga in the morning) this could mean an amazing transformation for my body. It's all very exciting, and above everything, it's sustainable. It's not some impossible harsh diet that I'm going to quit as soon as I've reached my "goal". I can keep fasting in my routine for life, tapering to a shorter fast or just once per week to reset and rejuvenate myself once a week.
I hope to update this blog next month with more progress!
Links about Fasting+Science:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/fasting-benefits#section9
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156
https://www.johnshopkinshealthreview.com/issues/spring-summer-2016/articles/are-there-any-proven-benefits-to-fasting
A little over a year ago, I started working for the call center and commuting 4 miles each way by bicycle. At first, it was kind of hard. My legs and core would especially be pretty sore the day after I worked. And then after a while, it became routine. And now, I have no problem riding 4 miles in 30 minutes, 6 times per week. And I generally enjoy making healthy meals with half the plate being colorful fresh vegetables most of the time.
However, sometime over the past few months, my weight crept up. Maybe it was the holidays, maybe it was the office snacks (always having a sweet treat with my coffee in the morning!) maybe my weekend glass of wine, whatever it was I needed to make a change. My weight which had hovered around 110-115 for the past 6 years or so except for pregnancy and immediate postpartum, had crept up to almost 130. For reference, when I lived in Japan I was at 125, and when I was in high school guzzling 2-3 sodas per day and thinking cheese/french fries or cheese/white bread was a legit meal I was 135. My pants were getting tight, my belly had a distinct soft layer, and I knew that it was time to do something.
So where could I make a change? Doing something like giving up all sweets, alcohol, etc. was unsustainable. I enjoy socializing and enjoying all kinds of foods and special occasions with my kids. Enjoying some cookies or cakes or a glass of wine on Saturdays wasn't the sole factor.
When I was at work, I usually snacked, ate something sweet with coffee for breakfast, and when I came home, I would eat something again before my nap. I realized that even though I was riding a bicycle I was still sitting for 10 hours, and then taking a nap at home. Was it really necessary to be eating at such regular intervals? Why did I just keep getting hungry again after a few hours?
Then I read about Intermittent Fasting. I read about the science behind fasting, the way it can regulate and reset digestion and blood sugar, and burn fat. Everything I heard so far about eating 6 meals per day, "keeping metabolism going" and "starvation mode" seemed a little far-fetched by comparison.
If I did a 24 hour fast. I could simply stop eating from after dinner before I went to work on Monday, and keep fasting until dinner on Tuesday night. On a fast, you were allowed to drink green tea and black coffee. On Tuesdays, I usually slept and recovered from Sunday and Monday nights work. If I fasted, my body would have a chance to recover as well.
I decided to try it, starting on April 2nd. Surprisingly, I only drank lots of water, a few cups of green tea, and a cup or two of black coffee, and I did get hungry for 10 minutes or so a few times, but I was able to fast for a whole day with very little difficulty.
I was surprised, because I always thought of snacks and chocolate as "fuel" or "quick energy". However, I found out that while I was fasting, I actually felt LESS hungry, and I felt like I had MORE energy, than while I was eating a cookie or a chocolate every couple hours!
I enjoyed the fast so much that I decided to do a shorter 18 hour fast from Wednesday night to Thursday. And on Wednesdays and Fridays, instead of eating the minute I woke up, I decided to wait until I did the 25 minute walk taking Chinami to school and coming back.
And then I did the same routine the next week as well. 24 hour fast, normal day, 18 hour fast, delaying breakfast until after a bit of light exercise.
After 2 weeks, I had lost 3 lbs, and I felt much better and more energetic.
And now, after one month, I am down 7lbs and have a lot more energy.
If I continue like this, I can see myself being able to cut down to 110lbs or so within another 2-3 months. And coupled with the addition of light exercise in addition to my regular 30-60 minutes of cycling and or walking every day, (planking at the park, yoga in the morning) this could mean an amazing transformation for my body. It's all very exciting, and above everything, it's sustainable. It's not some impossible harsh diet that I'm going to quit as soon as I've reached my "goal". I can keep fasting in my routine for life, tapering to a shorter fast or just once per week to reset and rejuvenate myself once a week.
I hope to update this blog next month with more progress!
Links about Fasting+Science:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/fasting-benefits#section9
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156
https://www.johnshopkinshealthreview.com/issues/spring-summer-2016/articles/are-there-any-proven-benefits-to-fasting
2019年3月1日金曜日
#ThrowbackThursday February anniversaries
http://33sammi32.blogspot.com/2016/02/take a little time and reflect on our family's February milestones.
In February 2019....
It has been 14 years since Yasushi and I met, and 11 years since we got married.
7 years since we started our life in Hawaii, and also 7 years since I stopped using shampoo in my hair (no-poo, google it!)
It has been 6 years since I went NC with my parents, after trying to suggest various types of mediation and therapy, only to be met with hostility and psychotic threatening/stalking behavior.
It's been 4 years since Yasushi was promoted to head chef at his workplace. In the revolving door of restaurants in Honolulu, his restaurant has not only managed to stay afloat, but he has curated and prepared multi-course meals for various prominent figures and celebrities such as our mayor, Hakuho, and of course, President Obama and his family.
And even though I started working at my company (one of the biggest names in Japanese travel) in October 2013, the achievement award ceremonies are held in February, so just yesterday I received a lei, a certificate, and a monetary bonus commemorating my 5th year working for the company.
For such a short month, February has a lot of big milestones for us.
And 3 years ago, around this time, I was hugely pregnant and anxiously preparing for the homebirth of our son Kairu...and now, I'm excitedly preparing for his 3rd birthday party. As always, we have a BBQ at home, local style, inviting all the ones in our life who have given us and especially Kairu love and support for the past 3 years, and treating them to delicious food like grilled steak and a sashimi boat cut and served by our very own chef dad. The kids play, eat, and of course there is lots of cake at the end.
I've been gradually getting better at the planning end, and for Chinami's 6th we did a Coco-themed party with a home made banner "papel picado" style, yellow tissue paper flowers, a white guitar shaped pinata, tamales and tequila (for the adults!) and a bluetooth speaker playing the Coco soundtrack on loop. Kairu has been obsessed with "The Greatest Showman" since we saw it last year, so I started to plan a circus themed party....and then just a couple weeks ago, Kairu watched Bohemian Rhapsody with me, and now he's obsessed with Freddie Mercury! So it's going to be an interesting party, dedicated to our own greatest showman and rockstar! I hope everyone likes red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese/white chocolate topping!
In February 2019....
It has been 14 years since Yasushi and I met, and 11 years since we got married.
7 years since we started our life in Hawaii, and also 7 years since I stopped using shampoo in my hair (no-poo, google it!)
It has been 6 years since I went NC with my parents, after trying to suggest various types of mediation and therapy, only to be met with hostility and psychotic threatening/stalking behavior.
It's been 4 years since Yasushi was promoted to head chef at his workplace. In the revolving door of restaurants in Honolulu, his restaurant has not only managed to stay afloat, but he has curated and prepared multi-course meals for various prominent figures and celebrities such as our mayor, Hakuho, and of course, President Obama and his family.
And even though I started working at my company (one of the biggest names in Japanese travel) in October 2013, the achievement award ceremonies are held in February, so just yesterday I received a lei, a certificate, and a monetary bonus commemorating my 5th year working for the company.
For such a short month, February has a lot of big milestones for us.
And 3 years ago, around this time, I was hugely pregnant and anxiously preparing for the homebirth of our son Kairu...and now, I'm excitedly preparing for his 3rd birthday party. As always, we have a BBQ at home, local style, inviting all the ones in our life who have given us and especially Kairu love and support for the past 3 years, and treating them to delicious food like grilled steak and a sashimi boat cut and served by our very own chef dad. The kids play, eat, and of course there is lots of cake at the end.
I've been gradually getting better at the planning end, and for Chinami's 6th we did a Coco-themed party with a home made banner "papel picado" style, yellow tissue paper flowers, a white guitar shaped pinata, tamales and tequila (for the adults!) and a bluetooth speaker playing the Coco soundtrack on loop. Kairu has been obsessed with "The Greatest Showman" since we saw it last year, so I started to plan a circus themed party....and then just a couple weeks ago, Kairu watched Bohemian Rhapsody with me, and now he's obsessed with Freddie Mercury! So it's going to be an interesting party, dedicated to our own greatest showman and rockstar! I hope everyone likes red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese/white chocolate topping!
2019年2月8日金曜日
A New Year!
2019 has started and it's already February.
The end of 2018 was spent with friends and lots of fun. I had my annual Kohaku viewing party on New Year's Eve, and this was the first year in 5 years I didn't have to worry about going to work at 4am the next day, so I ended up staying up way past midnight, and the kids tried their best but fell asleep before the big moment. New Year's day the kids, our dear roommate from Japan, and I went to mochitsuki, Gagaku performances, ate osechi for lunch, and visited the shrine. It was a great local style and Japanese style start to the new year.
This year, for some reason I feel like I got a head start going in. The first month of 2019 my work schedule stabilized and I started earning almost 3x as much as I was earning back in the beginning of 2018 when I still did airport runs, plus for my commute I get to ride my bicycle 4 miles one way, 6 times a week which is amazing exercise. Now that it's February, I have a pretty good handle on my routine and am somehow able to do 3 overnight shifts per week while still taking care of my kids during the day, and keeping Kairu in preschool for just 2 days per week.
I've also been itching to really tidy up our home, and the #konmari wave of January really gave me the extra push. I've decluttered a good amount and still have a ways to go, but I'm happy with the progress I've made.
2019 is really the first year in a while that I haven't really made a clear resolution. We have some goals as a family, mostly financial that we would like to achieve in the next few years such as going to Japan as a family and maybe a new car in the next couple years.
But personally, while there are some big things I would like to start doing, I'm feeling really secure with myself and satisfied to keep taking it one day, one small thing at a time. Physically, I'm in excellent health and my lifestyle is keeping me on track to many more decades of the same. Mentally, I've done a lot of healing personally. Life's definitely too short to worry about people who would willingly harm you and your family repeatedly. With Kairu turning 3 next month, I've also gotten to a point where I don't feel overwhelmed by everything, I can take time for myself and feel okay about it.
All in all, life is definitely a lot more fun when you have less to worry about! #blessed
#sparkjoy
登録:
投稿 (Atom)