Cutty

During one of my virtual travels, I chanced upon this YouTube video about the northern lights.  I liked the aesthetic and calmness of the video that I was drawn to check out the other ones in the channel.  It helped that the videos are narrated in English so it was easy to understand. Jonna Jinton is what I consider a real-life Elsa.  She is an artist, photographer, jewelry-maker, and musician thriving in the beautiful region of North Sweden. She has long blond hair and she likes taking a swim in icy cool waters in frozen bodies of water.  She records ice sounds and makes music out of them.  Her rock formations are wonderful photography subjects.  Her small business operation creates jobs for her small community in the North.   She loves nature and she lives in a cabin in the middle of the woods.  She uses torches and candlesticks at night so she may be living off the grid too. I could be wrong.  Her vlogs have this ethereal feel, so different from what we have here in the tropics.   

 When we are feeling de-motivated, helpless and lazy,  here is a quick reminder.

 I've been watching self-help videos on YT and have been noting down inspiring words.  This one by Warren Buffett resonated strongly.  May this guide you too, in whatever you venture into.

I've been home-schooling my youngest for two years now.  It is both convenient and economical.  However, during times of isolation, he is also isolated from his home educator.  Yes, we stopped our sessions in the meantime.  Now, he has a lot of free time to fill up.  He has his devices but I guess he's had his fill of the Internet. Yesterday afternoon, he asked to speak to his kindergarten classmates.  He is bored daw .  Nobody wants to play with him.  His siblings are all older than him.  Nakakaawa .  While I have my ways to keep myself occupied, I've forgotten how my youngest will fill up his day. Since my middle children are capable and independent, I've asked them to help "entertain" our bunso .  Bettina will bake, do art, teach Joaquin how to play the guitar.  Bettina is very patient with him.  She is the perfect big sister.  Javi, on the other hand, is Joaquin's "best friend."  Javi will teach him how to play basketball and other sport-rela

 How do I keep myself sane while in isolation?  Since I am currently asymptomatic, I am mobile and able to be productive, here's what I have been doing: 1.  Bingeing on Netflix and Viu 2.  Re-arranging my living space to make it more functional.   3.  De-cluttering my space 4.  Engaging in work-related activities 5. Read. 6. Plan for the day we get released from isolation. 7. Online shopping 8.  Order grocery and meds 9. Make arrangements for disinfection 10.  Plan for less contact in waste disposal. Distracting myself with all these does wonders for my mental health.  There is no time to feel overwhelmed.   

Omicron hit home.  We got exposed to a family member.  Vic showed symptoms 2 days after exposure.  My eldest exhibited symptoms  the following day, without fever.  5 days after exposure, I am waiting for my symptoms to make themselves known.  Still, I am assuming that I am also positive. I admit, I couldn't grasp the thought of having it in our home.  My primary concern was my unvaccinated children.  Though what we got was mild, there still is no certainty how my unvaccinated children will react to this strain.   I tried to prepare for it as soon as we heard that our primary exposure tested positive.  I put all our meds in place, I tried to gather information from those with unvaccinated patients, planned our meals, briefed the whole household on what to expect.  This way, we can limit the impact of these adjustments.  Personally, having all these in place made it easier for me to have a sense of control.  Managing the situation gave me a little piece of sanity.  I do not want to b

I am anticipating a business trip that might happen sooner rather than later.  I think, as soon as quarantine upon arrival at the destination is lifted, we'd be able to visit. Out of boredom, I opened my closet and scouted for business-worthy wardrobe.  I cleaned out my closet several times this year and I got worried that I may have given away clothes that I will need.  I didn't want to have a new suit made.  I also checked out the possibility of layering just in case our visit falls during cold-weather season. So far, I have 5 sets of clothing appropriate for business meetings.  Footwear is a different matter altogether. It's funny because I even bought a pair of cold-weather gloves from Muji because it was heavily discounted.  Hahaha.  That's what you call manifesting. I hope the date gets settled soon.  

I am really not into resolutions at the beginning of the year.  I find them corny.  However, recently, I learned the importance of setting goals.  I listed down goals I wanted to achieve for 2021 and I am so relieved that I achieved most of them.  So, yeah, I am more into goal-setting. This afternoon, my husband and I had a one-on-one to set our family goals.  We haven't done so in the past.  I realized that we are so aligned that we have the same priorities and goals for our family.  I am so grateful to have a partner in life who has the same priorities as me.  I was worried that I had to convince him about some plans I had in mind.  I am also relieved that he hasn't forgotten to dream and yearn for better things for himself and for our family.  We've planned our major expenses for the year.  We've figured out how to fund our business ventures too.  If everything pans out, hopefully, we'll be able to move on to our long term projects.  I am excited that we are work