Hello everyone! It’s been months since I last wrote, did you forget about me? No hard feelings of course! It’s hard to find interesting things to talk about when you work from home and keep the same schedule. My Dutch summer days have almost blended into each other and it’s been hard to keep track of the date! But I do come with some updates and a return to this space. I’ve missed it a lot.
Safe and not sorry
Sander and I have finished our vaccinations. We’re still playing it safe by keeping away from crowded spaces. But it feels nice to know that our chances of meeting Ms. Rona have diminished. My mom and brother have been good for a while, they got their vaccines back in the spring. But we had to wait a lot longer for the roll out. The Netherlands was a bit slow in the rollout but it wasn’t too hard for us to wait for it. The Dutch summer has brought out tons of people… As they say, the Dutch are like sunflowers. When the sun is out, so are they!
Found a sleep cure
I’ve never been a good sleeper. As a night owl, I can stay awake for hours before I get tired. I thought that the Dutch summer would keep me up with warm temperatures but this year has been mild. The down side to that is that I’m always up at 9:30am. And then even if I was able to sleep at a decent time, I couldn’t get a restful sleep. It got to the point where I was tired all day, even after a full 8 or 9 hours.
So I decided to hop back on melatonin for the time being. I used it often when I lived in America because I suffered from the same thing. The first morning, I felt like I had died and come back. Everything was so heavy and it took me half an hour to get out of bed. Now my sleep schedule is better, I sleep restfully, and I wake ready to go.
Fixed a reading drought
Have you ever had a point where you sat down to read and couldn’t do it. I’d stare at my pages for hours and not read a single sentence. Earlier this year I decided I wanted to throw myself right back in. So I started with a series that I’ve been waiting years to read. It’s a Japanese series about supernatural forces, demons and spirits, girls galore and moral integrity. I had wanted to learn Japanese to read it and that’s how I met Sander! Now all these years later, the 20 books from the original series are available in English. I’ve already powered though 5 of them! I try to read at least 100 pages a night before bed. So far so good!
Invested in myself
I’ve fallen off the Ring Fit wagon, but that was because of a medical scare I had months ago. I’m fine, but I didn’t want to make my condition worse by working out… I keep talking about how working out is amazing but I can’t even hold myself accountable! I’ve been taking longer walks as a result though. This Dutch summer has been beautiful for long walks with the dogs. I’m going to do my best to start up next week… I promise! Otherwise I’ve cut back a lot on junk foods and replaced my favorite things with healthier eats. No more ice cream, I enjoy yogurt. No more chips, let’s bring on fruits! I’ve mentioned before that our meals are vegetarian and we’ve stuck with that. I’ve lost a few more inches off of my waist line so I’m not complaining at all.
Something else that I’m working on, is my mental health. I’m bad with journaling and talking out my issues. Instead I’ve been taking more time to meditate and focus on what fuels negativity in my life. I’ve been tackling some childhood trauma and coming to terms with my issues. I’m doing a lot better for sure!
Reconnected with friends
Something else that actually took me by surprise… Was the resurfacing of my online friends. I lost contact with a lot of them back in late 2019 so I spent most of 2020 playing games alone. Don’t worry! I have Sander’s family and my own to talk to. My brother actually took the time to play video games with me and those days were the best. But a friend from my favorite online game, Guild Wars 2, got in contact with me and from there the ball went rolling. Now I have a group of online friends again and it’s been amazing to reconnect with them all. It’s brightened up my weekends.
Not much more has happened in the last few months but I had a good break from writing. I’ve filled my schedule with a lot of things so I’ve been juggling my tasks. Blogging didn’t seem to fit in, but I miss it so much that I’m forcing it in. I’ll do my best to not burn out. I do need to practice better time management.
Either way it feels good to write again!
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