Reading: it was not a good reading month as mentally I was not focused and didn’t read any weekend afternoons. I tried to read before bed, either interrupted often by the girls or fell asleep too early. I abandoned Commonwealth 2/3 of the way mainly because my mind could not focus (might try again later). I did finish and enjoyed Untangled, my preparation for Sofia becoming teenager soon. The book has so many parts that I found surprising and was glad to learn about the natural progression of independence teenagers go through so I can prepare and not take it personally. I also finished emotional agility, a 2/5 read as many points are known and it served more of a reminder than learning new ideas.
Favorite podcast episodes:
- Tim Ferriss’ with the author of Bittersweet. I will definitely read the book. I really enjoyed her previous book Quiet.
- Peter Attia’s AMA 34 on heart disease. After learning all about cholesterol, this episode explains exactly how heart disease happens, the causation, what we should look for to prevent/delay it. I think most of us knows something about heart attack, but I never undertook it fully, all the elements involved, until listening to this podcast (and all the previous episodes on cholesterol so I could understand it). Highly recommended for anybody because unless cancer (not every body gets it), EVERYBODY gets atherosclerosis.
Favorite watch: the Kingmaker documentary about the Marcos’ family. and the Anatomy of a scandal. I appreciate that it was a short series so I could finish it in one afternoon and done with it. That’s all I watched in April.
Favorite play: surprise party for Lizzy’s birthday, and spontaneous after dinner dance with the girls.
Other favorites:
- This face!!! Every day in the morning and before bed, she asks for a lip kiss!!! Can’t get enough.
2. Interior design feeds/blogs. They are soothing and good inspirations for my future home decor.
3. Meal planning. I know that many people do that but I haven’t really done it like ever. Now I do it on Sundays, pull out the planner, select from hundreds of recipes that I saved and want to try, fill it with spaces to have our usual favorites. For kids packed lunch, I rotate among pasta/fried rice/sandwich/leftover, and maybe one new item a week. This meal planning exercise has been soooo fun. We get to try new food/recipes, helpers know what to prepare instead of asking/waiting my instruction in the afternoon, sometimes in the middle of an important meeting and I have no brain space to think. Usually I pick one main dish for dinner, and ask her to cook 2-3 vegetables as side dish.
4. Starbucks re-usage cup. I got it by accident (Lizzy needed to use toilet one day and I felt obliged to buy something). It elevates the experience of home soy capuchino to the next level.
5. Marriage advise article. So much wisdom.
Progress on April goals
- Practice more kindness: I was intentional maybe half of the month and then forgot about it. When I was mindful about it, it really elevated my mood.
- Notice more kindness: same.
- Early dinner: 10 out of 30. Sometimes it’s just hard to get home before 6pm.
- Take one pic a day: not so good. 7 out of 30. When I am busy I forget to pause and see/feel the moment.
- Morning reading: total failure. 1 out 30. When I have a to-do list, it’s hard for not starting to tackle them. Well… I tried, morning reading doesn’t work for me.
May theme SELF CARE:
- Practice a calming after work routine. I feel rushed when I get home from the office to catch up with the girls, have dinner, check their homework. It raises my stress level. So the plan is to catch my breath before doing all these. Spend 5-10 min in the bathroom with door close to take off my makeup, shower, put on comfy cloth, to let my mind to switch to home state.
- Eat without devise
- Early dinner unless work related
- Minimize snacking. No AM snack. I know sometimes I snack because I’m anxious not because I am hungry, which is bad habit and ruins my appetite for the main meals.
- Back to reading. I want to have “scheduled” reading sessions that are more than 30 min. I know I enjoy those the most, when I’m not half asleep.
Our New Journey 
What a great summary post!
I am also so, so excited about Bittersweet. I watched Susan Cain’s TedTalk on the topic. I have it on hold through my library system! I should give that podcast episode a listen, too.
I also had to laugh about your morning reading and how you label it a “total failure” – sometimes I find things like this so relieving. To get to a point where I’m like: “Hmmm. I thought this would work for me. But it clearly doesn’t” and then it’s very obvious that I need to move on. When I do something 50% of the time I wonder if i should make the extra effort to get it to the point of habit. But, usually, if it’s only 1/30 days…it’s just not for me.
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Love this recap also. I also have struggled with morning reading. I love the idea of it- I picture myself sitting with my tea, in the dark, quiet morning, reading. But in reality, I like to use that first block of time to either check my calendar, write my journal entry or, usually, write my blog post. I get “itching” to get going on something right away, and sometimes I feel like if I read first, I’ll lose my train of thought on what I want to blog/write about! So I haven’t been successful there either. I tend to do better reading after I’ve checked some of the “to do” list items off, later. Otherwise I feel like I’m kind of distracted, or just not in the reading zone.
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I loved the Tim Ferriss episode. I will check out Peter Attia – he looks legit!
I do read first thing in the morning, for about 20 minutes. I always drink my coffee while I read 🙂 Then meditation, then blog post, then workout. It’s super ingrained now and I love my AM routine!
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Peter is really legit. what I like the most about him is that he doesn’t stay in one idea as it’s part of his identify, he’s happy to change his mind on anything if evidence shows up. And he’s deep into the science and research. I have signed up to his membership just to get full episodes on AMA and the show notes. I know many physicians who want to stay informed by latest research (which is always changing) follow him.
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