to accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than its mother’s milk; cause to lose the need tosuckle or turn to the mother for food.
2.
to withdraw (a person, the affections, one’s dependency, etc.) from some object, habit, form ofenjoyment, or the like: The need to reduce had weaned us from rich desserts.
It seems like I am weaning off my online habits. I hardly am online on a computer – I usually just check my mail and Facebook on my phone. I haven’t blog hopped in a while, and my last blog post was from the Pacquiao victory over Bradley.
There is no conscious decision on my part NOT to go online. In fact, while I was on vacation at the boyfriend’s family home in Bicol over the Holy Week, I was thinking specifically about what to blog about it. Here I am, weeks later and there is no single post about the trip.
The truth is, I could live without watching any of Manny Pacquiao’s matches. I would rather enjoy the traffic free streets of the city (although today was the exception, or so I hear), but when your entire family stays home for the Live show via Pay-Per-View, you stay put.
Oh yes you stay put lest you miss out on this:
Three generations – Grandpa (my Daddy), Amir (aka Beloved Prince), and Vlad (aka brother bear, or Amir’s Daddy). This was before the match started and we were patiently watching the undercard. Or just hanging out. Or singing and dancing to whatever Amir was singing or dancing to.
And then when Pacquiao was finally being introduced to the crowd, Amir had quickly changed into his Manny P shirt, but refused to pose for pictures:
Oh he was playing with us. His dad placed him in front of the TV and he just kept laughing! He then posed with his hand raised showing Number 1, but he was right next to me and I couldn’t get his arm in with the photo.
Though Amir wasn’t watching so much as looking at the TV from time to time, he sure knew how to cheer on with the rest of us – he echoed most every “Oi!,” “Sige pa!” “Go, go, go, Manny!” At the end of the match – he celebrated too. “He’s a winner!”
It was so cute. Haha.
So what I’m trying to say is that, boxing fan or not, I’d still stay home to see the match if it meant bonding time with the family. And I still couldn’t get through a match without thinking of my grandfather who was the certified boxing fan.
We live in times when super-busy schedules have become something to boast about. While the speed of life increases, there is less and less time to enjoy the moment that you are in. The ability to appreciate the moment, the environment and yourself in it, is the base for the bridge towards long term happiness of any human being.
71% of people tried to complete this challenge, but failed quoting lack of time as the main reason.These people simply did not have time to be happy. Do you?
every day submit a picture of what made you happy!
It can be anything from a meet-up with a friend to a very tasty cake in the nearby coffee place, from a feeling of being at home after a hard day to a favor you didto a stranger.
#100happyday challenge is for you – not for anyone else.
It is not a happiness competition or a showing off contest. If you try to please / make others jealous via your pictures – you lose without even starting. Same goes for cheating.
So I took up the challenge and began on February 11th. I think it’s important to note that for some people, happiness doesn’t come naturally. Which is why we must intend to be happy. It is my intention to be happy for a hundred days. That’s more than enough days to make happy a habit.
I’ve always said that I already am a generally happy person. It takes a lot to get me down. But it may also mean that being so leaves me highly prone to taking for granted those that make me happy. Hence the challenge to document and share the 100 little or big things that make me happy.
Please do join us! I share my photos via Instagram (@verabear) with the hashtag #100happydays. It can be shared in any way you choose – via Facebook, or your blog, Twitter, or if you choose to go private, you can just send them a daily email. If you’re already doing this, or are already done, please do link me up because I definitely would like to know what makes your days happy
Thinking back over the month of January, and looking ahead to February, I am…
proud of: consistently delivering on my commitment to drinking green smoothies daily. And prouder still of having influenced colleagues to do the same. I now make 2 to 3 batches of green smoothies and lug them to work for others to enjoy.
grateful for: the opportunity to teach and develop people. There are things to hate about my job, about any job really, but teaching and mentoring is one thing I am so grateful for. The results aren’t automatic, and a lot of times you’ll have to wait to see your investment bear fruit, but it’s all worth it.
letting go of: hmm. This is a tough one. Ahhh. Before December ended, the boyfriend brought out bags of stuff from our room so that I could sort through them and throw out anything that were no longer needed. I only did that last week and kept maybe less than 5% of that stuff. I let go of notebooks and readings from college. I kept a few of my papers that I’d like to publish on the blog someday, but I also let go of outdated textbooks and exam blue books (even the ones with 1 and 1.5 in them). It’s been a decade since I last went to school.
obsessed with: lists. I haven’t always been a list maker but I enjoy listing to-do stuff and ticking them off. Haha.
excited about: taking this healthy kick up a notch. I’m looking forward to even better smoothies, maybe a cleanse, and moving more!
committing to: documenting my life better. Blogging still hasn’t improved in the past month, even with an all-improved Internet connection. In the past, even when my scrapbooking goals never materialized, I’d always be able to look back at what happened through my blog. So let’s make it happen this February!
Action Steps & Thought-Provoking Questions
1. Review upcoming social plans for February – Hmm. I actually don’t have anything planned this month but I probably should consider hooking up with my BFF before she migrates to Australia next weekend.
2. Write and send one gratitude note by email or snail mail
3. Create my budget for February – Almost done. I already created a monthly budget and I just need to reproduce my monthly tracker on Google docs. I hope to share more about my own system soon. I admit though that I have overspent for January, but I don’t think this will set me back too much on my financial goals.
4. Plan something sweet that I will do for a loved one in February – I just gave my boyfriend a handwritten note. Can that count already? Haha.
5. Review the big goals I mapped out at the beginning of the year – I actually didn’t really map out big goals at the beginning of 2014. But getting healthier, and saving up for a big event later this year are definitely still a good fit for me.
6. Reflect honestly on whether or not my current habits support my goals – sleeping on the couch is definitely helping, so I gotta cut that habit. I’m sooo lazy to go up and down the steps to the bedroom, that’s why!
I didn’t really write down a proper wishlist this year, but I know I got whatever I would have wished for anyway. Even before I thought it, whatever it is, it’s already been given. That’s what I learned this year. I am blessed beyond measure and that is all I could have really ever wished for this Christmas.
So, from our home to yours – A very Merry Christmas!
I didn’t even know we still had a Christmas tree. We used to have one filled with so many ornaments. But we had to get rid of them. After the holidays, when decors and ornaments go on sale, I’d get some for our tree next year. Hehe. Amir really liked our simple tree and it would be nice to have a bit more next time.
This reminds me of Lisa Leonard’s Christmas ornaments. If you haven’t seen her work yet, then you should check her out! I follow her on Instagram and see so much that I’d love to have. Sigh. Maybe next time. Here’s an example, a letter Holly ornament, photo lifted from her website:
On IG she posted an owl ornament, as well as a mitten. Not sure if those are still available until now. These are real keepsakes and the type that become family heirloom.
Anyhoo, those ornaments are nice to have, but they don’t make Christmas. You know what I mean? I may not have them (yet), we had a great and wonderful Christmas anyway.
What makes Christmas is the love we have for each other.
