Change + Adapt

Best excuse for my first chocolate in 3 weeks!!

New month, new goals but some old Sunday routine with a spot of gardening x

Sometimes it’s important to understand the why.

When you are still living with adaptors for everything and your husband steals your hairdryer adaptor for his xbox!!

Completely agree - great full article in last months Good Health magazine. Time to get planning the next adventure

✈️🏝🏔🏯🏰🗼🗿🏟⛩🌆🕌🏜🎢🗺

with a twist - got to have brunch and spend the day with this little fella. Good for the soul # # #

Every Sunday doesn’t need to be the same but take time to do what is good for you. Special one for me this week 😊

I know its been a while but its the first of the month so time for some new goals!! This month I have decided on a new approach to goals because the last few months just weren't working for me!!

So going forward each month I plan to;
* Read something
* Learn something
* Attend something new
* Go somewhere new

So how have I been over the last few months? OK.

June was s**t. The worst month since I have been home and that is why I have not been so focussed on "Changing and Adapting" and just sulking and feeling sorry for myself. There were several reasons why June was so s**t, firstly, it got cold! I spent all of last year bragging about the fact I was moving to Dubai and not have winter for two years and then I wasn't and it got cold. I was unprepared and s**tty about it. And the Waikato has fog like I have never experience before. I'm getting used to the weather now and have brought some winter clothes and its not that bigger deal!!. Secondly, I didn't achieve any of my goals in June and I was on the back foot from day one and just didn't catch up, hence the new approach to goals now. And thirdly, our stuff arrived from Dubai. It was great to get everything back but then it dawned on me that everything was back and everything was staying back. That was it, we were officially home and staying home. It took some time to sink it - is this it now, is this what the next ... years are going to be like. Each day I feel better about this but it hit me like a sack of spuds in June. Highlight of June - Girls Weekend in Queenstown, now that is definitely good for the soul.

July involved two weeks in Thailand so I can not complain!

Onwards and upwards.

In my happy place - all our stuff arrived from Dubai 😊

Last month (when not achieving my podcast goal) I listened a lot to Rachel Hollis on her RISE podcast. A little ra ra in places for me but still very interesting and always seem to be really relevant too. One of my favourites was Episode 78: The Most Important Thing I do Every Year. She talks about doing an intense and very detailed audit of her calendar and looks at how she spent her time in the previous year and puts together 3 lists:

Things that were awesome, worth my time, positively effected my life and that you want to do more of in the next year

Things that you definitely don’t want to do more of, things that wasted time and energy

Things you make you feel really good that aren’t always in your day to day life but they make you feel like you are leaving a good life

And then she asks what are the 5 things that you want to see more of this year?

For me it’s;
1. Baths – I love a good bath; it always makes me feel so good regardless of how I’m feeling. Hence is now based around having a bath
2. Sunday Lunch – I wouldn’t say the best thing about the UK culture Sunday lunch but boy do I miss going to the pub on a Sunday for a few drinks and a good roast. I will be seeking out the best Sunday roasts in Hamilton
3. New places. I have so much to see in NZ now we are back, I intend to get to a new place at least 4 times a year!
4. Flowers make me smile and for 3 years straight when my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday & Christmas it was a vase (I thought it was an easy option for him). I eventually got one from a friend and vowed to keep it full at all times – this didn’t happen. I will be bringing flowers back into my life again.
5. Getting my nails done – I know it sounds superficial but it always makes me feel so happy so back on the list for monthly visits!

https://soundcloud.com/risepodcast/the-most-important-things-i-do-every-year

78: The Most Important Things I Do Every Year We often talk about being successful, but rarely do we get into the details of what that looks like to you personally. Similar people can have a wildly different definition of success, so it’s importa

very confusing this week - I don’t have to go to bed straight after my bath! ☺️☺️

New month, new goals.

Learn something new - knitting
I went to an event the other day (Girls Night Out - Safety) and they asked that while we were sitting listening to the presentation that if we could knit we could sit there and do some knitting on a scarf for the homeless. It became very apparent that not many people in my generation and younger were able to help out. Sorry in order to be able to help next time I’m going to give learning knitting a go!!

Fitness goal this month is 200 sit-ups a day - just cos I really need too.

Clean out,sell & donate - although we have only moved in 5 months ago I feel like we have a lot of stuff that I’m just holding onto and don’t really need. And we have 17 boxes arriving on Wednesday from Dubai!! Do not ask me what is in the boxes, I moved there with 7 boxes and somehow that turned into 17!! I do feel the movers might not have packed everything in like I did but we will see. Decluttering on!!

When life gives you apples (or you buy way too many at the market) make applesauce
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The end of another month and time to look back on my May goals. This month I struggled a lot more than I thought I would – reading, listening and taking pride in my appearance I really didn’t think was going to be that hard!

Reading a Chapter daily
• Definitely didn’t get a chapter a day in and once I missed a day, I really started getting annoyed at myself and then announce just got the better of me. I finished off The Happiness Project, read Lone Child and started on How to own the Room. I did join the library this month because one thing I will tell you is books seem expensive in NZ! Also, I will now be a regular at Reading between the Wines. Will definitely keep up the book a one but not focus on the daily amount I read.

Listen to a podcast daily
• Again definitely didn’t get this in daily and that’s because I thought that I would use the drive to work to really achieve this goal but firstly, my commute isn’t long enough (nice I know) and secondly, a couple of times I didn’t remember my drive because I was so engrossed with what I was listening too that I really didn’t think it was a good idea. Got some great recommendations and have to say it is probably the best personal development you can do. Rachel Hollis – look her up!

Taking more pride in my appearance
• No jeans during the week now and no wearing that jersey that you should wear in public to work either! This one I really felt I did achieve and even got my hair done to go to a wedding a couple of weeks ago which I would never do 😊
Now to come up with June goals………

Well that made me all warm and fuzzy on this dark and wet Waikato day 😊

And with the cold weather comes SHOES!!!

made easier today by coming home after a 2 hour meeting to dinner cooked 💃💕😊

Yes there has been some challenges and things I’m still continuing to adapt to coming home but one thing I forgot to be grateful for is I can come home. We have meet people while travelling and living away where home is not an option for a variety of reasons so time to take a step back and be grateful.

#152 thing to adapt to at home - seasonal food!!

Totally forgot you can’t get all different Vegas & fruit all year round 😜

Self care Sunday!!

Actually this whole weekend has been a little about self care - sometimes it’s just what you need.

Mini Mindfulness Retreat, watching rugby, farmers market, a little gardening and went to the movies with my husband this afternoon topped off with a bath and my starting my second book of the weekend.

One bonus of a more limited social life 😜

https://www.pinkshirtday.org.nz

Self Care Sunday!!

Maybe we have moved to the city of the future!!

Indonesia is moving its capital, so should we – to Hamilton The oceans are rising and the ground's getting shaky – time to move the capital to Hamilton. As hellworld boils and our cities descend into the sea, writhing throngs of climate refugees will soon be forced to head for higher ground, scrambling over one another like a scene from the Old Testament

I’m very grateful for having a job and how quickly I was able to secure it coming back but I’m experiencing a feeling I didn’t know could be so strong and so overwhelming.

I’m lonely.

Coming from working in a large organisation with 100’s of people to a company of 40 and sitting 90% of my day by myself has had more of an affected on my mental health than I ever thought it could. I consider myself a social person but after weeks of sitting by myself I stopped wanting to be involved in things and started to isolate myself more - this is definitely not healthy.

After a few more tears on Thursday I decided to do something about it so today and I had the courage to talk to my boss about the affect my isolation was having on my mental health. Can’t say I have ever really spoken about mental health out loud but I did today.

Small steps but putting me first today 😊

Chapter ✅
5km ✅
Podcast ✅

Now time to party!!! (Husbands 40th)

One of my goals this month is to take more pride in my appearance. I knew it would be a little more casual coming to Hamilton but I work in an office where shoes to meetings is optional. This has led me to get a little slack with my appearance and casual with my clothing!! Time to start taking a little more effort in.

New month new goals;

1. Take more pride in my appearance
2. Listen to a podcast everyday
3. Read a chapter of a book everyday