2015 - Finding those Moments and Moving Forward

Back in March, I did a check in on 2015 - to assess how I had been doing to date with my goals. It was a slow start but it was not tragic. However, somewhere between then and now, it went downhill and 2015 was a dud of a year. Too much work and work-related stress and concerns definitely, which led to exhaustion and indifference and bad moods. Still, there were many brilliant moments.

Aperol spritz - The drink was amazing as was the vacation on which it was consumed daily. Venice, Florence, Paris - brand new adventures in the first, making fresh memories in the next two. It was a really great vacation.

Being the best aunty ever - There were sleepovers, game days, sous-chef training. This aunty gig kicked into overdrive this year and as I type, I have a sleeping 5 yr old next to me. We watched Paw Patrol, played with his new crane and had chocolate. Last night I had to dig deep into the grey matter to remember bedtime stories, but in the end the 3 little pigs survived the wolf but they were all then eaten by a dinosaur.

Best Big Sister - Mentoring has been a joy.  I loved being a Big to my Little this year. She is so creative and smart. Volunteering is a gift that really does keep on giving. I am looking forward to another such project in 2016. If we can lend support to those who need it, let's do it!!!

More time with friends - There were some epic breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and such this year. I spent less time on social media and more time in the present.Sadly the blog was included in this - will do better! Friends will be visiting in 2016 and I am excited and so too, I hope, I can return the visits, amidst all the belt tightening ahead.

Birthday - This was a low-keyed birthday by usual standards but it was spent in Miami, where the weather was good, the fruit and veggie smoothies were popping, the shopping was constant and catching up was mandatory.

The food - Probably explains why I am no slimmer at the end of the year but this was a foodie year for sure. Whether I was cooking it myself in the hills of Tuscany, or in my South Trinidad kitchen, or breaking bread with friends at various foodie haunts at home and abroad, my palate definitely had its fair share of fun this year.

Health and fitness - While I am no slimmer on December 30, it was a year of fitness firsts. The Fitness Challenge pushed me to focus on healthier eating and at year end, I am part of a training group which has tried to kill me but somehow I have managed to survive and more focused on not sabotaging all this hard work with drinks and snacking.

Health issues - personal and otherwise - were probably the main Debbie Downers this year, aside from professional stress - from my nephew being in hospital for a week, to his mum being in hospital for 2 weeks, to my mum being worried about her health, to me having to get tests and now minor surgery - meh meh meh. So it is a good reminder to all to not take your health for granted. Emotionally, it was also a bit of a rollercoaster for me and I had my fair share of things on my mind and on my heart that kept me from being my true self all the time. Each day is a journey - glad for each day so now to work on the 'stuff' day by day.

I am taking 2016 in hand and owning it. It HAS to be better than 2015. Going into this with fresh eyes, a clean slate and an open mind.

Wishing you all a brilliant 2016!!!

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Me vs 2015. What's the score after the first quarter?

Cheers to a commendable first quarter!

So the first quarter of the year is almost over and I am reviewing my KPIs.I will admit, it has been a slow start to the year. I looked at my list and while I have not tackled all of them, I have made some inroads into others.

1. Spend more time with the family.
I have been doing a really good job with this. Soon, they will be begging me to go away. I have been getting my mum to try new things/experiences, and just this morning I was greeted by chubby cheeks as the niece and nephew came over. I have been seeing them much more - doing aunty things like taking them to participate in Kiddies' Carnival, taking them for pizza and ice cream, playing 'sling shot' (I enjoyed this more than they did!) and just sitting and watching silly shows that are not on MY Netflix profile but on theirs. I have also been trying to make more time for my friends too. It has been a good start!!

I have more yogurt and fruit, and less ice cream

2. Health and fitness
Well, I have actually put on weight and I don't need to stand on a scale to confirm that. I just know. I know how I have been eating and I know how I have been slacking off at the gym. I know. However, I have taken a bold and almost traumatic step - I have registered for a health and fitness competition at work. It is a Biggest Loser type initiative and while I will confess, the actual prize (though I do not know what it is) is what drew me to it primarily, I know I need something to motivate me. I have found it hard to stay motivated on this for some reason this year. The traumatic part of this is that I am going to have to publicly declare how fat and unfit I am - well, at least to 2 people - the nurse and the dietitian. I neverrrrrr stand on a scale and now I am going to be haunted by that figure and by the fact that others will also know. lol. But over the next 8 weeks I am going to give it a good go, especially as it is a team event and I cannot let my teammates down.

3. Travel
I have not gone anywhere yet but I generally do not travel at this time of the year. But I do have a fair idea where I am going mid-year. This is probably the easiest of all my KPIs and the one that would most likely make anyone who knows me say "duh".

4. Paying it forward
This is an important one. Too often we work, make money, enjoy the fruits of our labour without reflecting on how we got there. On my path to awesomeness, I had an incredible circle of friends and family and people I met along the way, and who have since become gems in my circle. They have all in one way or another been support and comfort through personal and professional milestones. I am nothing without my circle. I also know that even though I may gripe about little things like being tired all the time or being a bit too fat for life, I have been blessed and I do not have any real earth shattering issues. But some young girls start their lives under more challenging economic and social circumstances, and may need someone to be in their circle. So this is why I am on my way to being a Big Sister to a Little Sister in the Big Sister Programme. I am most excited about this. I have always always wanted an opportunity like this and when it presented itself to me at last, I ran with it. I am so happy to be able to write a positive progress report on this KPI and so early in the year!

5. Stretch myself in the kitchen
I love to cook and I cook often, mostly my lunches for work. But I also wanted to try things I have always been less confident about or have never tried before. I tried making croissants once as a teenager and they were like lethal boomerangs. I saw a recipe for pain au chocolat this morning and decided I would try my hand again this weekend. But I have also done some fun things like new flatbreads, stuff involving the dreaded pie crust and been learning how best to cook different kinds and cuts of meats.

Blind baked my pie crust for a lovely spinach and mushroom quiche

6. Blog at least once a week
So far, a resounding success. I have a blog entry for every week of 2015 so far. It is a miracle! It has not been easy, but I have done it! (cue super hero music)

So I know I have to get off Netflix and get a jump on some of the other items on the performance contract and get to work. But so far, hey...doing okay. I will not let 2015 kick my ass.

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Working Towards Life's Bonus in 2015!

KPIs - getting things done!

Happy 2015, folks. Wishing my 2.5 readers a wonderful and productive year!

So I have decided that in goal-setting this year, I am taking another approach. A lot of my time is spent with work – other people’s work and other people’s objectives. While each employee has a personal/individual performance contract outlining how he/she aims to support the company’s objectives, they are not really “personal” in the true sense of the word. We rush around all year working long hours, losing sleep, gaining weight, getting sick from it all, in an effort to meet these KPIs, so we can get a good rating and/or bonus at the end of the year. We rush around, exhaust ourselves, make ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually worn out.

This is all well and good (maybe it is not that good), but what about life’s KPIs? What about the bonus we get out of life itself? What about the bigger ME picture? I figured if we put so much effort in outlining specific targets for work, and some of us face those tough performance conversations with our bosses each year, why can’t we do the same for ourselves, our health, our families?

Working on my 2015 Life KPIs
over a cup of coffee

I have therefore formally written down my 2015 life goals, with base, target and stretch outcomes, and with sections so I can do monthly progress check-ins and self-assessments at the mid-year point, and year-end point, just as is done at work. The monthly check-ins are important. At work, budgets may change, or strategies may change and such changes impact one’s ability to deliver on specific objectives, and so you request an amendment where necessary. Life happens and checking in monthly allows you to re-assess the practicality of the goal(s) set and allow you to tweak said goals or eliminate the goal(s) altogether.

I have not set any grandiose objectives – nothing like “bring about world peace” or “lose 100 pounds”. My objectives are quite simple, so don’t think this is some huge scientific undertaking, with massive, complex sounding aims. But there are things I am working towards and know I want to achieve and so the investment of time and effort has to outweigh the time and effort invested in other activities.

Spending more time with the kiddies - on my KPI sheet!

Some are bigger than others. Some are things that are so simple but I keep putting them off and making excuses and still have not been able to tick them off my bucket list. What about you? Maybe you want to spend more time with your children. I know I certainly am adding “spend more quality time with my niece and nephew” to my list. Aunty cannot be tired every weekend! Or make more time for yourself. I am a huge advocate for “ME” time – and feel not many people subscribe to the belief that “ME” time is essential. Maybe you want to save a bit more this year. How will you do it? 

So typing up my Life Performance Contract, jotting down my KPIs, and will print and place on my dresser – a place I see every morning, every evening and as often as my hair needs fixing or my nose needs powdering. I am also going to give a third party a copy – to keep me honest.

So... onward as we work towards life's precious bonus!

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2014 - Year of the Golden Booty!

The year of the Golden Booty.

This was my response to a Facebook comment for what was one of the most iconic photos from my year - me, booty boasting in gold hot pants. Clearly I am not going to share this image here but it was a memorable shot in time.

The year 2014 was not quite as golden but it was still precious - precious in the sense that there were more ups than downs, and somehow I made it to the end (knock wood).

It was a year of fun, revelations, trials - like any other year. Life is unpredictable and life is fragile. Today you can be on top of the mountain and tomorrow you are slipping down the slope, caught up in an avalanche. Or you can be gone forever. Not trying to be morbid but this is a reality. Too many persons lost loved ones this year - whether it was expected or unexpected. At the top of my year, I lost the second most important woman in my life after my mother - my grandmother. Even though she was in her 90s, the loss was still a hard one for the entire family as she was the anchor that kept us all grounded - the glue that kept us all together. Our lives are beautiful because she was beautiful. She was the best grandmother in the world.

The year was hectic at work and often I felt overwhelmed. Maintaining a blog is a job in itself and each year I look at my total number of blog posts for the year. Gone are the days of 2011 when I had a total of 171 posts for that year, to just 40 for all of 2014. That is not even a blog post a week!

As demanding as my job is, my mantra is to play as hard (and as well) as I work. So my vacation this year - my annual treat to myself - took me and my pink suitcase to Amsterdam, Netherlands; Bruges, Belgium; Lausanne, Switzerland; London, England; and Cardiff, Wales - complete with a side trip to Stratford-on-Avon and a silly ghost walk.

And what a lot of fun was had over the course of that trip. My very first cheese fondue in Lausanne. Chocolate penises in Bruges (yes...you can make anything with chocolate). Friendly reunions in the UK. And a lovely rendez-vous in Amsterdam. Life is unpredictable and fragile - so enjoy it. That is my motto in life.

There were other memorable moments, like seeing John Legend again for the umpteenth time (still yet to see Alicia Keys and Muse in concert - scribbling it down for 2015), staycations, friends, birthdays, Carnival, the World Cup, time with the munchkins of my life - my niece and nephew and so on. Never any regrets - just pushing forward.

I have decided to write down 5 big goals for 2015 - document them somewhere - either here or offline, and try my best to achieve them.

Cheers to 2014 and hello to 2015. I am so looking forward to it already.

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