My Very Own 30-Day Challenge: The One Where I Start Again

Has it really been four whole months?

My last post in this space I was happily celebrating my half-birthday. Quick update, I’ve celebrated two of my friends’ half-birthdays since and I believe that this is something that will catch on. But I digress. Let’s talk about starting again and this being the first day of my very own 30-Day “blogging” challenge.

Back in 2011 Max Cutts gave a brilliant TED Talk on the benefits of trying something for 30 days. It’s well worth the 3-minute watch.

 

GETTING STARTED

While blogging every day for a whole month is really not “trying something new” for me. I feel like I’ve been away for so long that it might as well qualify as an experiment in stick-to-it-tiveness. Which is a much needed habit to cultivate and 30 days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit” to my life. 

So I’m starting again today. I haven’t created any daily prompts and this might come back to bite me on the ass during this 30-day journey. But the great thing is for the most part I have a clear idea of how the blog space will be filled, and I have written down the general content I want to publish over the course of the next four weeks.

I have have also decided that this experiment will extend to Instagram and as you can see from today’s post, June is off to a fantastic start!

french press coffee fresh brew blk n white

Follow Me On Instagram!

What isn’t in this photo however, is that this was my second attempt. My first try exploded all over my kitchen counter, my belly and thighs. It was a painful reminder that you shouldn’t attempt to make you morning coffee before you’ve actually had your morning coffee.

So here’s to starting again. Here’s to taking small steps, doing something I love – writing – and at the end of this experiment, let’s hope that these changes stick!

Have you ever tried a 30-Day Challenge? What was the outcome? Or will you be trying a 30-day challenge this month as well?Please feel free to share below!

 

#WeekendCoffeeShare: Celebrating My Half Birthday

Latte Art Weekend Coffee Share Celebrating My Half Birthday

I’m celebrating my half birthday today! Whoo hoo. #morelife

If we were having coffee, are you ready to party like it’s my half birthday? Because I am! And just in case you were wondering…YES half birthdays are a thing! Do a quick Google search and the interwebs will tell you that a half birthday is the day approximately six months (give or take a leap year or two) before or after the anniversary of the day you were born.

Why a half birthday?

When I happened upon the concept earlier this year, I had a light bulb moment! You see, my birthday is always bittersweet.  I am always in mental count down mode to mum’s death, as she died eight days after my birthday. And I stopped feeling as joyous about my birthday as I used to prior to the events of 2010.

So, taking all of that into consideration, I thought, why not make it a thing, make it my thing? My half birthday would be the celebration where I could do something a little extra special for myself without the sadness that usually engulfs me on July 30th. I also have all the energy of firsts – first month of a new year to give the day some extra magic. Bonus: It will always fall around the end of January, right around payday. HELLO!!! 

No half-baked celebration

Imagine just one birthday every year ah, but there are three hundred and sixty four unbirthdays! – Mad Hatter

The Mad Hatter was certainly on to something there. Life is too short not to take time to celebrate the journey. And that includes all the days that happen to be unbirthdays and in my case, a half birthday. Do you want know when is your half birthday? Find out here.

No birthday (half or otherwise) would be complete without a birthday wish. Thus, my 2017 Half Birthday Wish is that you choose a close friend or family member and go aaalll out – bake them a half cake or sing half of the happy birthday song – one of my close friends sang the birthday song for me today, croaky voice and all.

Or, sing the Unbirthday Song from Alice in Wonderland and add a bit more fun and give them only half of a present. Trust me, it will be the best half birthday ever!

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

If we were having coffee, it’s time for a birthday cake martini baby! Because this is no half-baked celebration. I promise to swap the amaretto for coffee liqueur. Because, this is #weekendcoffeeshare after all.

Needless to say, I super excited for this celebration and I’m looking forward to surprising some special people in my life on their half birthdays this year. I’m already thinking about what next year’s celebration could include – perhaps a mini vacation? Who knows and that’s the absolute fun part.

Now it’s your turn, how would you celebrate your half birthday? Please feel free to share in the comments below.

*****#WeekendCoffeeShare is an awesome link-up where coffee (or birthday cake martinis) is being shared over great conversations.

#WeekendCoffeeShare originated at Part Time Monster:

I started the Weekend Coffee Share last year after lots of feedback and several months of writing posts that imagined a conversation with my blog readers that started with the “if we were having coffee” line. The coffee share runs on the weekends, and there aren’t a lot of rules—-posts just need to be formatted like a conversation over beverages (we’ve had tea-drinkers and cocktail-hours as well as coffee) AND be written within the past week (so you don’t need to publish on the weekend to join the link-up). The hashtag #weekendcoffeeshare is in use all weekend on Twitter and Facebook, and it is sometimes used a bit during the week as well. ~Part Time Monster

Quote of the Day

 

Read, enjoy, share.

{This graphic is my gift to you.}

#WeekendCoffeeShare: Happy New Year

 

If we were having coffee, the first thing I would do is wish you very Happy New Year. It’s been a while since we’ve shared some coffee in this space. This first cuppa will be a special little catch up. It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon here in Trinidad, so settle in while I brew some locally roasted beans, this coffee break is much needed.

Do you mind if I add some rum to my coffee…? Make it an Iris…a Caribbean Coffee instead. Shall I add some to yours?

Joyful Hope In A Cup

If we were having coffee, I would share with you just how hopeful I am for this new year. 2016 was a good year and one that I had many things to be thankful for. I am looking forward to cultivating meaningful relationships. To continue building on the things I started last year business-wise and generally living well. I am acutely aware of the fact that life is short and all that truly matters is that you loved. That you allowed yourself to be loved and added value to this world, so that you when you do leave…you leave it a better place, because you were here. What are you looking forward to for 2017?

One Word 2017

If we were having coffee, I suppose you might find this talk to be the effects of the rum I added earlier. But it’s not I assure you. December was a sobering month of grief and endings. Hence, the hope for this new beginning. I have been working on my goals for the next 12 -18 months and getting clear on my intentions. I have also been pondering my one word for this year. I have narrowed it down to three contenders and I’m hoping that by the end of my goal-setting this weekend, the right one will emerge. Do you have a word or theme for 2017?

Sip Sip Pass

If we were having coffee, I would pour you another cup, add some more rum to my own and and sink a little deeper into the sofa of truth while you share your news. I hope your first week of 2017 was just what you needed to start this New Year. Please feel free to share in the comments below.

*****#WeekendCoffeeShare is an awesome link-up where coffee (or some other awesome beverage) is being shared over great conversations.

#WeekendCoffeeShare originated at Part Time Monster:

I started the Weekend Coffee Share last year after lots of feedback and several months of writing posts that imagined a conversation with my blog readers that started with the “if we were having coffee” line. The coffee share runs on the weekends, and there aren’t a lot of rules—-posts just need to be formatted like a conversation over beverages (we’ve had tea-drinkers and cocktail-hours as well as coffee) AND be written within the past week (so you don’t need to publish on the weekend to join the link-up). The hashtag #weekendcoffeeshare is in use all weekend on Twitter and Facebook, and it is sometimes used a bit during the week as well. ~Part Time Monster

#WeekendCoffeeShare 08/27/16

 

If we were having coffee, I would tell you, “Thank God for Weekend Coffees, because this was the week from hell!” Settle in while I brew, and recount this week’s saga.

It started with a bouncident over the weekend. It was my first one and I felt awful. I had a stress headache for three whole days afterward. The best advice I got, was that every time we get on the road we take a risk. These things happen every day and you move on.

So now I have a bill I totally didn’t cater for. Only to check my credit card statement to see charges to a hotel in Chile. I.have.never.been.to.Chile. So now the hassle of getting that sorted out. It takes so much time to dispute charges and get the whole thing resolved. Back and forth with my bank resulted in a favourable outcome, but it will still be some weeks before this whole thing is closed.

Do you mind if I add some rum to my coffee…? Make it an Iris…a Caribbean Coffee instead. *whoosah* Want any in yours?

It didn’t end there. On Thursday morning, I woke up to a kicked in fence. I actually thought nothing of it more than – I need to snap this and send it to the landlady. I really thought it might have been an over-zealous truck driver reversing too fast. There is some construction going on opposite me after all. So, no biggie.

As it turns out though, someone was in our yard. And I slept through the whole thing. SOMEONE WAS IN MY YARD…And I slept through the whole thing!!! All the fear and anxiety of living alone showed itself. I immediately imagined various scenarios all of them ending with me hurt or dead.

A friend of mine described it aptly, “Oh, someone broke into the fortress?” Because that’s what I thought it was too. An impenetrable fortress that only a natural disaster and probably zombies could break through.

I know better now. We got the wall fixed. Peace of mind not so much. No explanation as to the reason for the break-in…just destroyed property at this point.

Anyways, there was of course two bright spots this week. Baby S is now six months old – six months of joy! And I received some Happy Mail from New Zealand. Only I refuse to open it until she gets my mail to her, because, for a stupid reason, my package was returned and now I have to send it all over again.

Ugh!

If we were having coffee, I would pour you another cup, add some more rum to my own and and sink a little deeper into the sofa of truth while you share your news. I hope your week was waaaay better than mine. Share in the comments below. I need a pick-me up.

*****#WeekendCoffeeShare is an awesome link-up where coffee (or some other awesome beverage) is being shared over great conversations.

#WeekendCoffeeShare originated at Part Time Monster:

I started the Weekend Coffee Share last year after lots of feedback and several months of writing posts that imagined a conversation with my blog readers that started with the “if we were having coffee” line. The coffee share runs on the weekends, and there aren’t a lot of rules—-posts just need to be formatted like a conversation over beverages (we’ve had tea-drinkers and cocktail-hours as well as coffee) AND be written within the past week (so you don’t need to publish on the weekend to join the link-up). The hashtag #weekendcoffeeshare is in use all weekend on Twitter and Facebook, and it is sometimes used a bit during the week as well. .~Part Time Monster