I wondered why I write these gratitude journals every week! Though it is only the second week of January and my second entry, the drab mood for 2 days made me think so much. That was enough to pull me into this melancholic mood. When I decided to maintain a bullet journal this year, I wasn’t sure of many plans for the year, still I wanted to work on one. A place where I plan the month, the weeks and my days in it. My journal became my blessing in disguise that I live in it nowadays. I am tracking some of my habits too.

January 2019

My journal is one of the reasons I am writing this post here and will do it for the next 50 weeks too!  I dedicated a page on the journal for my blog posts and had these entries written on the ideas page. A book in any form is a best friend to a warrior, a lonely heart, a busy parent and serves as a motivation to me when I really want to spend my time well.

My little creative outlet where I scribble any little designs I can on my pages. My second week started with a bit of cleaning too. Though I couldn’t clean the entire house this Pongal, I did my share of cleaning whenever the baby girl was asleep. I enjoyed the cleaning process because there is something very lovely about having less things around. Truly, Less is More.

I planned Ilakkiya’s meals this week, I managed to give her varieties. I prepared a couple of new snack recipes – Bread Pakora and Besan Cutlets. She tasted both and ate whatever I gave her. I think that’s a sign she loved it!

I finished my first book this year, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. I wrote my review for the same on Good Reads. You can follow my reading journey there.

Image Courtesy: Google

Ilakkiya and I had a lot of fruits this week. So thankful for getting fresh fruits near home. When my basket was almost over, my parents refilled it as a Pongal gift. Thankful for abundance. Though we don’t look so lovely together, but children look adorable even in a mess.

I don’t know what to update about Ilakkiya this week. This week I learnt to let things be. I learnt that she is going to be okay and she will call out to me when she really needs me. Still, I need to keep my eyes on her without scaring her.

Image courtesy: Google

I woke up before 7AM on 4 days this week. I did Yoga on all 4 days. My first menstrual cycle after Ilakkiya’s birth arrived only when she was 1. Right from then, I suffer from a severe headache or stomach pain a day or two before periods. I am glad regular Yoga helped me deal with this problem. I am sticking to my yoga routine for three main reasons:

1. To calm my nerves

2. To calm my thoughts

3. To tone my body

See, more than actually toning my body, I need to CALM myself. Yoga helps a lot now! I slept much better than my previous week. When Ilakkiya follows my poses, I am a proud mother!

I wish to do all of this consistently. I hoped to keep my word of the year as “Consistent” because I lack it. However, something more important than that was calmness. So I chose Calm. I have a small black board in my room in which I have decorated the word and I look into it everyday. It is more of a reminder of what I must focus on even if I couldn’t finish the tasks in hand. 

My yelling and cursing has reduced from 5 to 4 times. Maybe, from 50 to 49 times. Still, I see it is important. I track the days where I yell, get angry at the drop of a hat. I also want to track why I get angry. There are smallest triggers that pushes me to the edge. I really want to work on them. For now, I am glad I am down by 1. 

For almost three to four months now, I am disappointed with many things around me. This week, I felt the need to detach myself from everything. There is slight improvement on my mood and “Let it Go” keeps repeating itself on my mind. I am happy that I have a song to sing all day!

I am glad this week ended on a bright note! I am enjoying the haiku challenge on Instagram. Follow me there. 

Hello 2019!

*Morning* The cool air felt so good on my face. Reminds me of a fresh start again.
We all live with so many wishes and dreams. This year let’s have the constant aim and effort and achieve them with a strong will power. Let us all stay blessed this year. Happy New Year folks!

Coming to the blog, it was silent for the most part of December. Though I planned 2 more posts for it, I didn’t work on it.

This is the first post that is published this year. And, yes, I am so much delighted to post this. For almost a year and a half, I was posting monthly gratitude journals. I loved the journey and the time spent composing the post. It reminded me of the moments well-spent and the journey made me feel so much better throughout. In 2019, I am making another change. I am going to post my weekly gratitude this year.

For one, this will be the only year I can spend with my daughter fully before she joins school next year. So, I have made peace with the fact that I can only write short posts. I understood this last month. Though I planned the year in review like I had done in 2017, I really wanted to do it for 2018. However, the last month brought so much troubles than the whole year that I couldn’t sit down and write. I am glad I had my little one, she needed audience and I needed entertainment. It worked well.

I found the idea of a weekly gratitude journal so comfortable. I saw it at Sanch’s. I enjoyed reading her posts and felt there is always something to be thankful for. 

How about a sneak peak into the first week of the New Year.

I managed to wind up by 11, but I wasn’t able to sleep for a long time. I contemplated on a lot of things when the New Year unwrapped itself. I did not attend calls or see social media. I was busy watching the ceiling when they started bursting crackers and the little one wondered if it’s Diwali again and then smiled at me saying Pattas. Well, that’s how we started our New Year.

The husband enjoyed the show at London Bridge and sent me the videos and photos which baby girl and I saw on New Year Morning. We were lucky to wish him before he slept again.

I have chosen Calm as my Word of the Year for 2019. It could be calm down, keep calm, Calm it bud, anything, because I am boiling so quick that I am in shock. I really need CALM. That’s my bullet journal entry for this year. You guys know I am no artist, but I love to scribble stuffs like this. Oh, sure, it calms me.

I took my time with the phone and responded slowly to friends and family.

My New Year started with a bit of cleaning and I was happy that I managed it and felt better.

I am participating in the Write Tribe Reading Challenge 2019 and have planned a post for revealing my choices.

My #365HappyDays project of writing a Haiku a day is going good. I am enjoying it thoroughly. Follow my journey on Instagram.

Ilakkiya’s new obsession is watching Vaayadi petha pulla song from Kanaa. She loves watching it and tries to sing along. We do it together.

Baby girl is growing up fast and I see her with so much admiration when she sleeps. Well, at other times I am amazed, yet the anger part is a work in progress.

I am slowly writing about my goals for this year and I am working on my Vision board. I hope to put up a post for my word and the vision board along with it.

Heard about the demise of a family friend and I am in shock. Death in 40 is becoming common and scary. May his soul rest in peace. After all, health is the only thing that we must focus on irrespective of our situation.