December 2016 – Creative Meanderings

New Year’s Eve 2016

Dec 312016

At last the year is coming to a close. It has been an interesting one to say the least. I have been enjoying some of the Facebook videos about how 2016 has really been a dark year for the world and many people. It is nice to know that it was not just us who struggled even though it started out seemingly positive.

As I flip back over this blog for the past year, I noticed that I skipped from the end of last year (2015) and did not write again until March which was still quite spotty. My regular posting did not return until about June. So, that means that the first half of 2016 was definitely busy with a steady (or rapid) decline toward the end of the year…. 🙁

On the positive side:

*We had a fabulous wedding ceremony in March where we got to see our closest family and friends here in the desert. It was a culling of those who truly matter in our lives, which was both painful and relieving at the same time.

*I quit my job, which really was a wonderful decision despite all of the struggle and challenges we faced afterwards and are still facing now. Knowing that once we are through it we will have done it together and everything we build from then on is ours together is what motivates us to keep on going.

*We really developed an appreciation of our friends and each other. People’s generosity and our learning to support each other has given us perspective on life, what/who matters most, and the like.

So, these were our important lessons in my mind. I have definitely grown in my spirituality from learning how to meditate toward a positive response in how I react to others, focusing on within and rediscovering my desire to know God more again. While I may not go to church regularly ever again, I am determined to pick up my Bible every day and allow the wisdoms, philosophy and words of the written Word to be a part of my life again. I am curious to see how the year then progresses. 😀

Although there are a number of negatives that could be shared or discussed here, I think that it is best to let it all go on this last day of the year. There is no need to dwell on these points, but rather give them up to prayer and hope that 2017 will bring much prosperity, many blessings, great joy, good health and love to us as individuals and the world.

Happy New Year’s Eve – take the day to dwell on the positives and hope for a better start tomorrow!!!

~T 😀

Domestication

Going Mental No Responses »

Dec 302016

In general it is no secret that I am not a fan of cooking. When I was about 12 I determined that I would find a man who would cook for me.

Post college I found friends who cooked for me and managed to convince most that I could not cook at all.

When I was in Japan and decided for sanity-sake to quit working full-time (sound familiar?!) I figured I should probably give my ex a break and do the cooking since I was home all day.

It was then that the truth came out that I can cook – just I don’t like it.

So when I met M, he was a gem in that he likes cooking, does it fast and pretty well. Although I no longer claim I cannot cook, I do quickly admit it is not my favorite past time nor a role anyone should assign to me as default.

Still, I do occasionally enjoy being domestic and spend some time making treats or nice meals. It is usually during the holidays or vacation periods that I get in touch with my domestic goddess. 🤣😇

This was a turkey pie I made with leftover turkey bits🦃 after having boiled down the carcass from our Boxing Day dinner. We now have some great broth as well as loads of turkey that wouldn’t have gotten eaten otherwise.

I do enjoy baking. So I made pumpkin pie with pastry from scratch as was the pastry in the turkey pie above.

With the cookies 🍪and other kitchen activities I have now spent more time cooking in the past few days than I did all year.

Although I might ponder🤔 the idea of a food blog especially with healthy diets, I know that when I hear the successful bloggers spend every day in the kitchen, this is not going to be me.🙅🏽

So, for now M is enjoying a bit of a break from his chef duties👨🏾‍🍳 and I shall ride the domestication wave 👩🏽‍🍳while it lasts – which I imagine is just a few more days (optimistically) to go…. 😜

~T 😀

Podcasts

Going Mental No Responses »

Dec 292016

One of the aspects of being self-employed and customer-oriented is that I spend more time in the car than before – or so it seems.

A while ago I decided to stop listening to the radio or much music in the car because it was agitating me even more than the usual driving stress that is inevitable on the roads here.

However, sometimes I do need to get out of my own head and for the long straight drives between Abu Dhabi, and just about anywhere else in this country, one needs a distraction.

So, here are some podcasts that I have gotten into lately. I might do a podcast posting series like I do with the books I read so I won’t go into detail on them. For now, it’s just a list and maybe you’ll want to check them out.

Serial
My Favorite Murder
Where There’s Smoke (I’m on the latest one!!)
PaleOMG Uncensored
Optimize Paleo by Paleovalley

These are the ones I listen to regularly. I’ve got some new ones lined up to check out soon so will add them to the list if I decide to follow them. 😁

Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the Day After….

Going Mental No Responses »

Dec 282016

For the first time in a while I have started to feel a bit relaxed. Although our troubles have not faded away, we are focusing on enjoying and looking forward to the upcoming new year.

Here’s a slideshow video I made on FB of our Christmas Day brunch:

We had a lovely time with old and new friends along with their visitors. It was nice that a group of us staying in the desert could get together for good food, good laughs and good times. 🙂

Boxing Day is not a thing for us Americans, other than recovery, but it is for the British influencers. Therefore, we made plans to have a nice quiet cook up at home. I finally got my home-made turkey and fixings in. It was a small consolation to having missed Thanksgiving.

We had Z and her mum over to share in our meal – everything was delicious with more fun and good times.

The 27th was a day of relaxing for the most part. We started out at the pool to enjoy the sun and while I had plans to try to do some writing, posting, etc. I ended up just reading my book. 😀

In the evening, we forced ourselves out of the house to go out to the Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival just less than an hour’s drive from us. I had gone to its earlier version about four years ago when it was further out and not nearly as organized.

Some have said it is a little bit like a mini-version of Dubai’s Global Village, but as I have never been there, I cannot concur. However, there were areas for different countries around the world. Most were Arab countries or those with connections to the Arab world and trade; therefore, no need for the U.S. or U.K. presence. 😛

Each area had performances going on showing local dance and culture.

There were even fireworks around 8pm, which was a nice touch.

We tried to watch an Arabian Horse Show, but in usual desert-time fashion they either never showed it or delayed it by over an hour (which is how long we waited according to the published time…). It was fun and we were both glad that we got out to enjoy one of the few local cultural activities that happen here. It has been on for a month nearly and happens every year, so we can now say that we have done it.

So, this has been our little staycation activities over the Christmas holiday. We are slowly working our way into normal life again as the new year is not such a big deal to either of us. Still, no doubt that we will do something fun if we can, but in the meantime, we are working our way into routine and preparations for all the amazing things promising to come in 2017!

~T 😀

12 days of Christmas

Going Mental No Responses »

Dec 252016

On the 14th of this month I posted about our/my new traditions for beginning our Christmas celebrations due to M’s birthday being on the 12th.

So, I determined that it is basically 12 days to Christmas from his birthday to Christmas Eve, which means that we can have some fun putting the song into reality.

Here is our 12 days to Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we put up the Christ~mas tree.

On the second day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we welcomed the supermoon and (see first day)

On the third day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we had a vegan dinner and (see first and second day)

On the fourth day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we saw the canal lighting, (see first, second and third day – you get the idea…)

On the fifth day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we drank ourselves sil-ly!!

On the sixth day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we saw another Christmas tree…

On the seventh day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we went to Ras Al Khaimah…

On the eighth day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we watched a Christmas movie…

On the ninth day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we streamed yet another movie…

On the tenth day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we drank mulled wine…

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we went to Christmas Carols service and did some baking (stealing some extra lyrics here…😜)

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my hubby and me, we met friends for Christmas Eve….

And tomorrow is Christmas Day!!!! 🎄👏🏽🎉🎁

~T 😀

Purities

Going Mental No Responses »

Dec 242016

We went to Christmas Carols service yesterday morning at the church where we got married and where we went to evening carol service last year (or was it the year before?).

Anyway, it was a nice service, though they sing some of the songs differently – apparently it is the British 🇬🇧 way….

It was also communion, which I had not done for a long time. In fact, it reminded me of my regular church-going days in Japan. I am far removed from that way of life these days, but I have recently picked up my Bible again with a decision to read it again more regularly. I feel as if I need to return to my faith in God again for some reason. So, taking communion felt a bit like a new step in that direction.

Although, I am not sure that I feel purified, I did not miss a later parallel when baking with M in the afternoon.

We did a project each. M made chocolate balls

and I made gingerbread cookies. We only had heart cookie cutters, but it was good enough. I did try to cut my own on a couple but it took too long and wasn’t great….😬😥😜

Afterwards, I was on a roll, so we decided to make up some eggnog for later as it is meant to be refrigerated for at least a day.

Now, I know very little about baking outside of the basics. I mean I can make a decent cake, taste brownies or piles of cookies. However, I never do much more difficult than that. Eggnog requires whipping egg whites…. The first whites I used had a tiny bit of yolk in it and then I added others to it along with sugar. Using my electric mixer, M mentioned that it wasn’t going to whip up to “thick ribbons” but didn’t really say why as he didn’t think it would matter.

After whipping for nearly 10 minutes, I checked on YouTube what it should look like. Well, within a few minutes it was not what I had. Finally, M explained that it was because there was yolk in the white and it prevents it from getting fluffy… 😩😡 He could have said this clearly sooner….😞😓

I decided to start over since it was just whites of eggs and some sugar. We washed everything clean, made sure the whites were pure and sure enough it was whipped in no time!

Just goes to show how even the smallest of impurities can prevent the desired result completely until the error is realized and we begin again. How often is life this way? We get so many chances to repeat and do things the right way but sometimes we are slow to figure it out….😳

Thankfully we are capable of learning and starting over to reach success. So these impurities allow for the purities to be reached – even if we take time to get there. 🐌😅

~T 😀

Staying On Target

Going Mental No Responses »

Dec 232016

Every time I see or hear the phrase in this post’s title, I think of Star Wars “Return of the Jedi”. Yes, I am a Star Wars geek, I admit it!!! 🙋🏽🤓

Anyway, following up on my post yesterday, I thought I would write a bit more about how I am going to work on keeping myself structured for reals. 😏

I know I have written a number of posts on my need for scheduling or routines or having structure. I know I have mentioned how this is a reoccuring theme in my life and you may even be thinking to yourself, “Seriously, how many posts can this girl get out of the same topic?! Get organized already!!!”😅

If you are thinking that way, I apologize. I am a bit slow these days with sorting my sh*t out. Or rather, I have not determined that I am ready to put action into my words falling into the preference for complaining rather than actually doing. Yes, even I fall into this trap! I say, even, because I know that I tend to give this advice to others with the seemingly outward appearance of also following through myself. While the majority of the time I try very hard to do so, I admit (again) that I am very fallible in this area and am extremely weak when it comes to pleasing others or trying to guess what pleases others especially my husband.

Now, I am by no means blaming him for my lack of discipline and effort. I am the only one responsible for my activities at the end of the day. However, I also acknowledge the influence of others upon me especially the one I love and spend most of my time with each day.😍

Still, it goes back to that saying “If I am not happy, then how can I work to make others happy?”. Is that a saying or am I making it up? 🤔 Anyway, you get the gist.

When M is on a regular work schedule, I can usually maintain my own and shuffle him out of the house by 8am so that I can start my day. However, even that usually results in me not doing my workout, yoga or meditation before he leaves even though it is the best time for me to do it. It also leaves me feeling as if I have wasted a couple of hours as part of my prime productivity period of the morning, which then results in antsy-ness (is this a word?!) for him to go out the door. 😫

Sooooo….I am proposing to work on my own routine and schedule regardless of whether or not he works or when he wants to get up. I shall also share this with him so that he does not try to make me feel guilty about needing to get up right away or wanting to start my day, which he is wont to do at times. 😆 Also, perhaps then he will become my cheerleader or better yet also get his own routine to match mine even on his ‘off’ days as we know he needs to try to control his own chaos. 😝

In doing this and following through, I believe that some of my new goals that I am processing will be much easier to achieve. I also believe that I will be back on the path of fighting off the dark-side of the force using my Jedi tricks. 😄 So, consider this plan of action as moving into play immediately! 👍🏽👏🏽

~T 😀

Dark to Light

Going Mental No Responses »

Dec 222016

Getting myself out of the house and remembering where I live is my first step to getting myself away from the threat of the dark state that wants to settle back in to my psyche disturbing my way of life.

Yesterday morning or maybe during the day I read this article on Facebook about the 6 Secret Signs of Hidden Depression. As I read it I said to myself, this is me every day and describes me on a regular basis even on my good days! 😳😬 I think that it kind of worried M a bit when I shared this reality because it is true that I have been a bit on the downward spiral with some days better than others, but in general lately I have felt especially tired and less motivated each morning to get up. 😔

Even this morning, I wondered to myself, what will motivate me to get out of the bed let alone out of the house? 🤔

First, the promise of getting to the pool for a swim (if the water was warm enough) was one step as our short trip the other day reminded both of us of the benefits of getting out in the sun and enjoy what this region has to offer with the wonderful weather this time of year. ☀️

Second, the cleaner was there and we both hate to be in the house when she is there. So, after getting her started, it was a good reason for me to not be in the house.

Ultimately, I also knew that I needed to make use of my time since M is away until afternoon for work and I have not been keeping up with my writing and planning time to get things done online. I do have quite a few things to do on the computer with some project ideas for ways to boost income online. This requires wifi, which is why I can sometimes justify staying inside all day; however, I am writing this now offline and know that I can later go in to paste into a post. Usually, I do save my online work for when M is not at home so that I can spend my time with him, but the truth is that I need to alter this thinking a bit since our time ‘together’ tends to revolve around watching TV, which is not really the best use of my time nor really quality time for us. Therefore, I am going to be re-working this since he is going to be around more the next week or so due to the holidays and people being away keeping his schedule light.

In any case, I am being a bit slow and lazy in adjusting my way of thinking about life these days. It is probably due to depression which has also affected my diet which I do know affects every other aspect of my life. Therefore, I am taking the first step needed to take action against letting it win over my life as it has done in the past. It is good to know that I am learning from the past even if I am not yet good at preventing it from happening.

One massive realization this week is that I need to constantly stay on top of this depression issue. There is absolutely no room for complacency. Any letting of the guard down in keeping up routines, working out, etc allows room for me to stumble into the dark state. Before I had work as a way of distraction or more constant contact with friends which kept me busy, which helps to fend off the penetration of the darkness; however, I no longer have external or passive ways of distraction. Therefore, I need to actively structure my life around a healthy way no matter what our circumstances are to ensure that I keep on going towards the light!

~T 😀

Work?!

Going Mental No Responses »

Dec 212016

The past two days have been full with Apple Training.

Yesterday was in Ras Al Khaimah. Actually, thanks to the training, we were able to celebrate our anniversary with a hotel stay and congratulatory cake. 😀

The training went well and despite the venue being in RAK, which is not as developed or well known as AD or Dubai, it was very smooth and organized. The participants were also good learners, which made me feel relaxed about getting back into the ‘classroom’ after a bit of a break.

Today, the training was back in Abu Dhabi, though a bit out of the city. However, it was a very different experience. The venue was disorganized and not ready for us to set up when we arrived. The participants were more concerned about their attendance status over whether or not they learned anything. It brought me back to the reason why I stopped teaching full-time. The two Western participants were lovely, but I am slowly and sadly becoming a tad bit racist here….

In both sessions the non-Western participants were the most challenging and least interested in being there…, which is just the simple explanation as to why this part of the world is in the state that it is in.

Anyway, after two days of working I am ready to be on holiday! It is a bit pathetic, I know, but it is the sad truth. I have a couple of lessons here and there over the next week, but otherwise I am going to be laying low at home with a bit of focus on meditating on the upcoming year. I need to spend some time on goals for the year, business ventures, etc. So, if I am a little quiet on the writing front here, you know why! 😉

~T 😀

Happy 1 Year Anniversary

Going Mental No Responses »

Dec 202016

It has been a year already since we went to sign the papers and say “I do”! ❤️ Time has flown by and even though it has been a year full of change and challenges, I can say that we are as much in love as we ever have been. 😍😍

This was my little surprise for my hubby as I was also preparing to do some Apple Training for iMovie and thought it was a good way to practice what I needed to teach.😜

Here is to many many more years to come 🍾🍾- hopefully with a lot less stress than our first year of marriage together. 😬

~T 😀

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