That’s April 2015 done and dusted. My key highlight for this month has been a couple of bouts of Gastroenteritis, so all in all, it’s been an unhappy and generally unpleasant month…
| Virtue | March | April | Notes |
| beauty: body weigh ≤61kg by 15 June |
😐 64.8kg |
😐 64.7kg |
Such a tiny weight loss it’s not worth mentioning. But I have two key learnings to share. After a couple of weeks loafing about I now know that moving is really important for weight loss. And having tried to wear my heavy work clothes for the gardening, I can also share that wearing stretchy clothes all the time is bad for weight loss. Bonus insight – you shouldn’t eat two dinners a day if you want to lose weight…
Got my eyes tested, and the good news is that there is no anti-rejection drug related eye damage, but I will probably need to have a cataract removal in 2 – 5 years. And I had a small filling, or more correctly sealant, but I think I’ve lost it already. I was doing really well with the Clinical Pilates, so it is a shame I have missed a couple of sessions. I must reschedule. |
| beauty: presence stick to the guidelines and continue to build a practical and workable wardrobe that reflects who I am |
🙂 |
🙂 |
Following on from the not weight loss, I have now prioritised jeans purchase and intend to make them my work at home clothes so there is always a little pressure around the waist to remind me not to eat too much.
I’m growing my pixie cut out, and I dyed it orange (orangey/carotty orange), but it didn’t take well turning out a dirty blondey kind of colour. Thank goodness it’s only temporary. I haven’t yet been back to the milliner because I haven’t been in town in the daylight. |
| beauty: home sparse yet comfortable happy home that reflects our authentic selves |
🙂 |
🙂 |
The house remains more or less presentable. I’ve been setting a timer for an hour and seeing what I can get done. I’ve been trying to remember what my routine was for the first apartment I lived in when I left home. I know there was tidying, vacuuming and straightening, and then a ham, cheese and tomato sandwich for lunch. Of course, that was a tiny apartment and this is a reasonable sized house, but thank goodness it isn’t any bigger! |
| beauty: garden lush and abundant garden providing habitats, weather protection and a mystical threshold |
🙂 |
🙂 |
Last month’s tidying led to the identification of some garden needs, and we have a sort of plan for fulfilling them. Next month we’ll be really busy with repotting, transplanting and planting. I’m worn out just thinking about it. |
| friendship: creatures get the dogs well and healthydevelop habitats to support native species |
😐 |
🙂 |
The dogs are well, but could do with a good run in the country (as could I).
The above garden plan has some new planting for winter bird food, but I am not entirely sure where to place my lizard rock pile. |
| friendship: friends maintain and improve relationships with international and e- friendsmake new friends, especially local |
😐 |
🙂 |
I held my own dinner party this month, which was great fun, and went smoothly except for an unexpected breakage early in the evening. And that I forgot to put out plates for the canapés…
And I had the great joy of catching up with Katy I used to work with ages ago (thanks Facebook). We used to run amok through the city, drinking and carousing and generally having a great time. She’s married with children now, it’s hysterical. And at the tail end of the month, I had a lovely dinner with a new (and local) Katy and Toseland. |
| friendship: family manage and constrain relationships with family |
🙂 |
🙂 |
I wrote letters and cards, and made phone calls. No one wrote or rang me. That’s a bit sad, but at least I wasn’t upset or offended. |
| friendship: contribution give something back to the community and the planet |
😐 |
🙂 |
It turns out that last month’s worn out shoe replacements were counterfeits, and it is illegal here to own counterfeit things. I’m planning a post to give a little guidance on shopping on-line wisely.
I also offered some advice on managing relationships and meeting protocols. (I could never abide late attendees and overlong meetings). |
| pleasure: adventure taking risks and international vacations |
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🙂 |
Last month DB and I had a few cancelled events and missed opportunities, so we agreed that from now on we will look for reasons to attend events rather than reasons not to. So we went out to dinner and ate things we haven’t eaten before, including beef in betel leaf (yum!) and in my case a coconut smoothie which I strongly recommend. I might try the avocado smoothie next time. |
| pleasure: recharge rest, relax, recharge |
😐 |
😐 |
Too much resting and not enough pleasure! |
| pleasure: just because |
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🙂 |
I had a little logo made up – you should see it filtering through soon. |
| wisdom: choice having the capacity to make choices |
😐 |
🙂 |
Choosing to be a writer also means not having the financial wherewithal to make other kinds of choices. But I have come to the conclusion that I don’t really mind that.
Many of my thoughts and expectations are still based on my previous life and not really relevant for this. For example, I am rather fond of the Pandora Skirt, but it doesn’t really have a place in my life right now. So at the moment, my choice is to acknowledge that, and to develop the discipline that choices “not to” require. |
| wisdom: growth become a more complex person by challenging beliefsunderstand and develop my mind: critical thinking, self-reflection, subject expertisehave the courage of my convictions, choosing me for me |
🙂 |
🙂 |
April illness has provided a decent amount of time to sleep, but also plenty of time for reflection. Among other things, that I need to start keeping my journal again so I can remember all this stuff for you! With my enforced idleness, or perhaps stuckness, I was thinking about how we can all get stuck in our ways of thinking about and doing things.
Socrates is credited with saying that an unexamined life is not worth living, and I think I may be coming to understand what this means. As I hinted above, I have been making decisions and assumptions based on my previous life as a fairly well-paid program manager. These assumptions range from what things should cost, to where’s a good place to eat, and what I should wear. I thought I had made a fairly good adjustment, but I haven’t really – I don’t have a garret but I am technically a starving writer and I have not really adjusted my expectations at all. Something to work on for May. |
| wealth: income $29,163 income |
😐 |
😐 |
Did someone a favour and received a jar of cumquat jam in return. Jam wasn’t bad though. |
| wealth: expenditure reduce expenditure |
🙂 |
😐 |
$62 on makeup – good example of above mentioned lack of adjustment. |
What happened next: May, June, July, August, September, October November
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