Day 42/365 gratitude project

We would all do well to remember this :)

day 39/365 gratitude project

Hello to my dear readers,

breakfast in paris

Alas, I would love to say that the reason I’ve not been updating my blog is that I’ve been abroad and having breakfast on beautiful patios overlooking the Paris skyline, soaking in the museums and divinely living it up with gala balls every night.

But no, I’ve just been busy with work and surfing (pinning) and sleeping and meeting friends and working.

I really admire people who diligently never miss their 365 day projects – be in photograph or write or draw something.  I know they don’t get 365 days, but they only miss one or two. I miss whole swaths!

I’m tired out from work and lack of sleep, and can’t think of anything terribly witty to write.

But at least I wrote :)

hey girl, i’d love to help you clear your clutter together

remember I wrote about my February goals for my Happiness Project?

So it’s 8 days into Feb, and I can happily say I’ve done very well in the Clear Clutter category.  I organised my closets and out came two huge bags of clothes for donation. I also sadly realised how much nice dresses I have which I can’t fit into now.  Somehow, this doesn’t motivate me at all to exercise.

What DID motivate me was a movie I watched yesterday.  More specifically, the Actor in the movie I watched yesterday.   The movie was Drive, and the Actor was Ryan Gosling.

Now, I have never even devoted any amount of minutes to Ryan Gosling.  Sure, I’ve seen him in Crazy Stupid Love. I’ve come across his Hey Girl memes, I’ve chuckled at a few.  I vaguely remember him in the Notebook.

But yesterday.  Yesterday I saw Drive, and it was like, that was the first moment that I was really seeing him.  I’m not sure if it was the direction or the style of the movie or some cosmic alignment that suddenly zoned in my attention on him.  It’s like no other actor exists.  Out were the George Clooneys, Brad Pitts, Leonardo di Caprios.

OMG, give him an Oscar now.

I want to see more of him, in action, in dramas, in romantic comedies, anything. I want to see more of him walking, driving, talking. I want to see him smirking and laughing, fighting and loving.  Shucks, I’ll take him just sitting down and sleeping.

He’s so low-key, low-hyped, under the radar. Unlike the other celebrities who are in your face, constantly.  But when he hits you, oh my, he hits you hard.

I’m in celebrity love! Time to catch up on my Ryan Gosling on the internets

xoxo

M

day 29/365 my favourite things – salad {gratitude project}

Tags

food

My fav salad – Sounds of Havana – delish!

day 27/365

roasted bananas, a photo by m for marvellous on Flickr.

Beautifully roasted banana, topped with slivers of almonds, sprinkled with raisins and drizzled with honey – simple is sometimes the best

dinner with my fam :)

australian open 2012

oh my god.

It was better than any movie thriller – I could barely bring myself to watch it and I swear, there were several heart-attack moments and the overall argh and OMG and knuckle-biting and pillow-squeezing – I was exhausted at the end of 5 hours and 53 minutes (almost SIX HOURS!), imagine how they must feel (the players).  Must be bloody excruciatingly exhausted that’s what, and they couldn’t even rest as the speeches came on and you could see them aching to rest their weary bodies somewhere.  Luckily, someone heard me as I screamed at the tv, “For the love of god, give them some chairs!”

Oh Rafa, you’re always a winner in my eyes, and the Most Gracious sportsman ever. EVER.  I truly admire him for his graciousness.  Have a good rest, analyse the games, and then come out and BRING IT next year!

xoxo,

M for Marvellous

Starting the Happiness Project – in February

via pinterest

So, I’m going to go through The Happiness Project’s January resolutions in February, which is in 2 more days.

I read somewhere that we shouldn’t make resolutions, because –  and this was written way more eloquently than what I’m paraphrasing here – resolution means goals, and when we reach that goal, we will stop what we are doing and revert back to our old behaviours, thus – we should make them habits – as habits are for life, like, forever.  Example – “My resolution is to lose 10 pounds”, but once I’ve achieved that, I’d go “yay” and then proceed right back to my old eating habits of doritos and coke.

For whatever cosmic reason, that made incredibly deep, and utterly brilliant sense to me.

My four February focuses – are -

1. Tackling a nagging task – To call my current gym and cancel my gym membership because I just never go.  It’s a super fancy gym with every equipment and facility you could think of, but I just don’t go.

2. Exercise consistently – Gretchen’s (the author of The Happiness Project) goal was slightly different – hers was to exercise “better” but that implied she was already exercising, she just needed to step it up.  I, on the other hand, exercise in fits and spurts.  So, for me, it’s more important to exercise regularly, and develop a rhythm, and dare I hope, a habit. :)

My exercise aims are to

• Exercise 10 minutes minimum for the first 2 weeks
• Exercise 20 minutes minimum for the second 2 weeks
• Exercise 30 minutes minimum for the third 2 weeks

3. Clear Clutter – Clutter is an emotional and physical energy drainer.  Seriously, yes.  My guidelines here are to clear out my OWN clutter, and to leave The Hubby’s alone.  I found in my previous attempts to clean up, I always find my own clutter to be too demoralising to tackle, and it was so much easier to clear other people’s clutter.

Gretchen’s categories of clutter are the best I ever found – they are so spot ON.

So, tackling clutter -

a) Visible clutter – this is simple the stuff that is visible to the eyes.  My aim is to remove the “scum” of clutter – the surface clutter that always seem so necessary and permanent on all the furniture…

b) Nostalgic clutter – Some nostalgic items are allowed, of course, but boxes of boxes of old college notes and projects and textbooks? Out the door!

c) Conservation Clutter – “I think I might need this someday….”  i.e. someday = NEVER. Throw out the piles of rubber bands, printed paper that I didn’t want to throw out because it felt like such a waste and I could re-use the blank other side as notepaper…

d) Aspirational Clutter – Things I keep because I “aspire” to use them one day (again, one day = NEVER) like that big box of scrapbooking supplies I got because I wanted to try it but never touched it once I stuffed it in the closet…

e) Buyer’s Remorse Clutter – Stuff I can’t bear to throw away because I never wore it enough, or not even once, and I feel like I should keep it just in case I get invited to an 80′s revival party….

4. Sleep More/Enough – Lastly, the fourth focus, shall be to Sleep Enough/Sleep More.  Gretchen’s goal was to Sleep Early.  I tried that. I tried it for 2 weeks, and I couldn’t.  Each time I tried, I ended up sleeping later and later.  So, instead of burning myself, I will work with myself on getting MORE sleep and/or ENOUGH sleep :)

***

So those are the four focuses/goals/resolutions/aims – and there’s a daily chart which I have to fill up – a check for every day I complete these 4 items.

Then at the end of the month, we’ll evaluate and see how well I do, and what’s the difference in my happiness, and my life in general.  I know myself well enough to know that I am setting myself up for major disappointment if I aim for a perfect score, but I don’t want to be a total slacker either.  So I wish myself luck, and it should be fun to see how it all turns out :)

Day 14/365 – Reunion dinner

Day 14/365 – Reunion dinner, a photo by m for marvellous on Flickr.

Today’s gratitude is easy – Am grateful for having such an abudant reunion dinner with family – in this case, The Hubby’s family (i.e. my in-laws).

This dish is called Poon Choi

Day 12/365

Day 12/365, a photo by m for marvellous on Flickr.

day 11/365 gratitude project

***I’ve created The Gratitude Project group on Flickr where everyone can share their gratitude photos! You can share as little or as much as you want, no matter you just have 1 photo to share or you are embarking on a 365-day gratitude project like me, all are welcome!***

It’s almost Friday, and after that a looooong 4-day weekend as it is Chinese New Year holidays on Monday & Tuesday for me!

I’m kinda wistful that the Year of the Rabbit is ending – I love bunnies – but I’m also looking forward to an awesome Year of the Dragon.

Also, Bucky’s one-year anniversary of his passing is coming up soon…and I miss him.  I really do.  Everytime I think of him for any length of time, I feel a deep, gutted sadness in my body.  It’s bittersweet too – as it also marks the first day I started work in my new job, which I love.

My list of 5 things to be grateful of today

• Having the experience of having Bucky, from 6 months till 5 years old, he really changed my life in subtle, amazing ways, and for the better.  I learnt so much and I developed so many connections and formed such an amazing online bunny resource – full of helpful, giving humans and wonderful, amazing, cute, funny, brilliant photos of bunnies.
• An excellent home-made cup of coffee by my dear Hubby
• A Hubby who listens and accepts me for who I am, even at my most vengeful self.  I’m not proud of it – what are some ways to get my mind off it, and be less frustrated and so vengeful?  Truly, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Seriously – truth!
• Grateful that I have so many things to look forward to!
  • My sis coming home for CNY with baby!
  • Baking a cake together with my sis!
  • Celebrating my mom’s 60th birthday!
  • Drinks tomorrow (Friday)!
  • Long weekend!  ( I think all these count as 5!)

xoxo,

M – be marvellous! :)