How to Stay Sane!

I decided to write up a list of all the stuff that I do to keep my life balanced and sane. Most are painfully obvious, but a list is a list, and I do actually stick to every single one of them!

1. Get a hobby. Something to dabble with for one hour a day. Blogging. Reading. Stitching. Gardening. Something easy to pick up and put down. Do some night classes. Don’t let your brain turn into mush!

2. Keep like-minded friends. I believe you need to regularly hang out with people with the same values on life interests.

3. Create a routine. I keep to a weekly routine which I try to balance with varied activities, for myself.

4. Break the routine! Don’t be afraid to drop the routine everyone once and a while. When things get tough, don’t be so hard on yourself. Don’t be so rigid all the time. Relax!

5. Keep a full schedule. I know it sounds weird, but I even need to schedule in playtime. My worst days come about when I’m feeling unmotivated to organise a playdate or activity. I end up dictate what to do and… it ALWAYS goes bad.

6. Find some alone time, weekly. This is an absolute must. Go shopping. Sit in a cafe. Get your hair done. Meet up with girlfriends.

7. Find alone time with your partner, weekly! This is another absolute must. Take a walk. Sit in a cafe. Go out to dinner. Watch a movie. Look into their eyes, and remember why you decided to be with this person in the first place.

8. Be active. Get out of the house at least once a day. Kick a ball around. Ride bikes. Water the garden.

9. Look for things to do in your community. Find cool parks, cafes, restaurants, new places to hang out..

10. Look after yourself! Exercise, keep up your dental and hair appointments, buy new clothes. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of dressing sloppy when you go out. But it’s so surprising what something so simple – like new underwear – can make you feel!!


What do you do to keep things sane? Let me know, and I might add it to the list!

Hon Hiew

My white little pup passed away on Friday night.

I was very upset.
I was surprised at how much i cried.

I just bought him a new blue necklace on last Monday, thought of giving him a little prezzie for being new and part of our family.

Although he's just a month with us, but it's been lotsa sweet memories, laughters, mishevious him, cute, funny, loving, and his warmest way to welcome us home..

Now, a few days later, I still feel numb.
My soul seems to lack feeling. Nothing, just heaviness.
A weight of sadness.
It doesn’t seem real.
I can’t believe he’s gone.
I miss him heaps.

Golden Linguistic Moments

My 3yo student has a rather interesting way of interpreting the English language.

He calls spaghetti – Mister Getty.

Important is Port Tenant.

Comfortable is actually a Comfy Table.

Dessert is Berserk.

And Pistachios are Moustachios.

And sometimes, just for fun, I like to make him say them all in one sentence.

Personal Goals - August 2009

Hey, we’re up to month number 8 already!

So once again, here are what I'm doing and what I'm trying to achieve for this month.

1) Look After My Skin

i) Wear sun cream. Use a good quality moisturiser with at least SPF 15+. Apply in the morning and re-apply in the afternoon. I’ve switched my day moisturiser, tinted-moisturiser and foundation to products with SPF.

ii) Cut down on chocolate. Too much sugar is really bad for skin. I have to be honest with myself, there are only 3 days in the month that I actually NEED CHOCOLATE. So there is a complete ban on chocolate for the other 28 or so days! Wish me luck!

iii) Give up coffee! Too much caffeine is absolutely evil for your skin and body! So I don’t touch the stuff any more.

iv) Drink more water. I’m always reluctant to drink more when it’s too busy and cold.

v) Get more sleep. Most of the day I’ve been getting to bed only after late night. Trying to get to bed earlier, say like 11pm/12am and get up by 6am for morning runs.

2) Improve my fitness
I haven't been sweating much for weeks, arghh I need to do some swimming and runs!

3) Get Organised!!
I’m all over the place! I have so much happening these next two months!!!

4) Find 5 things to be thankful for.
Some days I am skipping with happiness or energy. Other days I’m miserable with despair and frustration. I’ve found a nice habit to do – whether it is a good day or a bad day – to find 5 things to be thankful for.

5) Re-energise myself daily.
I try to get some rest during the day. I can’t nap. So instead, I find some quiet time to lie down for at least 30 minutes each day.

6) Save money!
I’m being much more mindful about the money I spend. Eep!

Packing

We're moving to our new house one week ago - so I spent the weekend packing. There’s so much to do!

Many people have suggested professional removalist - who come in, pack EVERYSINGLETHING into boxes, haul it all to the new place, unpack, then leave with a couple of hundred bucks. Sigh. It sounds like a hassle-free solution. But I have a real problem with strangers touching my stuff. In fact, I don’t feel comfortable with the idea of my friends and family looking and sorting through my things.

So yes, we’re doing it the old fashion way. Pack everything into boxes. Label them. And those who want to help can move them to and from the truck.

Anyway. I used to make junk furniture art when I was a teenager. And I still have boxes and boxes and boxes of string, nails, bits of cardboard, wire, straw, gauze, sticks, feathers, ribbons, beads, rocks, different coloured sand, material scraps, empty film canisters, old batteries, broken bits of plastic mechanical things (clocks, radios, computer parts, heaters, toys, kitchen appliances), etc. And I keep them because I don’t ever want to be in a situation where I desperately need 16 yellow ping pong balls…

I also wrote letters before I went cyber. So I have many shoe boxes full of letters, Christmas and birthday cards.

I also can’t bear to throw away my old clothes! I swear my late 90s tencel jeans will come back in fashion.

But what I love doing most is collecting objects which remind me of certain places and moments in life. I have rocks from Islands. Pebbles from Australia. A chopstick holder in shape of a naked lady I stole from a Chinese restaurant where I was the photographer at my friend’s wedding reception. The neatly folded gift wrapping of a present given to me by my first boyfriend.

Someone once told me , aside from ‘death of a loved one’ and ‘divorce’, ‘moving houses’ is one of the most stressful things one can experience in life. And in true Jessica form, I’m secretly striving to prove them otherwise.