The Bright Side

I finally got my mojo back. It took a huge dose of Pinoy food, a trip to Spotlight and Art Friend and an SOS to Sweetie to come home earlier than usual from work. Whenever I get back to back bad days, a dark cloud settles on my head and it's hard to shake off. I'm glad it's gone now and I can focus again on getting better. 

Being forced to rest wasn't easy for me. It was an incredulous situation for me. When I accepted my new reality, I realized there were other things I could explore. That is the brighter side of the situation. Here's what I've been able to do on good days -

• Work on my quilt projects - I'm finally making progress in acquiring more sewing skills. I always make sure I learn something whenever I start a project. I hope I can master using my sewing machine by end of the year. 
• Start writing a book - I enrolled in an online writing retreat. It ran for five Saturdays. I honestly didn't think I'd finish it, but I did! I've so far written only one chapter and got stalled on chapter two. I think I'll be able to start writing again soon. 
• Work on my long-term photo project - gosh, this project has been running for about four years now. Part one was getting all my digital photos in one place (it used to be in a gazillion CDs). Part two is putting them on the cloud. I'm still in part two, year 2010. Part three is to create photobooks out of the photos. This project will probably take another decade to finish haha. 
• Watch films - well I do this on good and bad days. I have missed a lot of shows in the past decade, so Netflix has become my bestie. 
• Exercise - yup, it's part of my vocabulary now! 
• Make future plans - being forced to drop everything gave me time to think about what I want and what I could do. I always felt that I put my life on hold 10 years ago when I moved to Singapore. I felt incomplete. I think it's the right time to circle back and close the missing gap. 
• Dream - yes, dream. Part of my healing process includes envisioning who and what I want to be in the future. The good thing about it is you end up creating new dreams. I was in my early 20s the last time I felt this hopeful.  

I'm just really glad I'm back to being my cheerful self again. I'm tired from doing errands this morning, but that's okay. I'm going to take a nap after posting this so I can work on the templates for a Christmas project (I know it's only July, but I sew super slow). I pray things will get better everyday. Have a blessed day my friend. 

Day 9 Gratitude Challenge, Something you like about where you live. I currently live in Singapore and for the past year we've lived on a higher floor. This is the first time we've lived on a higher floor (not counting hotel stays) and it's been a different experience. What I like about where we live now is the beautiful view. There's a park just across and I love watching birds fly by everyday. It's a peaceful view and it's so far the best I've had in all the places I've lived in. 

CB///*Yr2/96 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/123 #NewG350 #Home108 #StayHome #BeKind 

My Dream Space

I was already in high school when I had my own room. Growing up I slept on the floor in my parents' room. We had available rooms in our home. I just never had the urge to move. My realm was my mattress and the space around it. My toys would lay beside the bed, eventually an Olympia typewritter, books and then I went through a period with my walkman. I soon moved to my Ate's room after. 

When my Mom taught me crafts she would put projects in a basket. This allowed us to move around the house. We'd usually start in the bedroom and by afternoon in her garden. This is how I learned to work anywhere. With little space though in our apartment here in SG, I commandeered the couch and sala table as my craft space. It's not a pretty sight. My materials are also lined up across the kitchen. 

I've always dreamt of having a proper space to do my crafts. Right now I use the dining table to measure and cut fabric. Fabric and scraps are scattered across the living room table. The couch holds my rulers, biscuit can of thread and sometimes the pincushion. I once had a walk-in closet which I turned into a craft room. The room housed all of my beads and I had a table I could work on. Too bad though I barely had time to craft then!

I've been looking at craft room vlogs and designs on Pinterest. Wow! It would be wonderful to have proper storage for my sewing materials. Then a center island where I can cut fabric (okay, Sweetie can also use it for his projects). I also want to have a sewing machine table I could push around where I want to work. I get so excited thinking about it haha. I've been trying to draw my ideal craft room, but my drawing skills does not exist. 

I can go on and on about the features I want for the tables, but I won't bore you with that. What about you? Would you want to have a special space for yourself? 

Day 4 Gratitude Challenge, An Accomplishment of Yours: surviving motherhood until this day! Whew! I was looking at licensed cartoon fabric early this week because I'm planning to make Miggy a quilt blanket. I realized though that he is already an adult! I ended up not getting any fabric because I realized I need to reframe my mind and accept that he's no longer a tiny 4-year old. I am grateful to everyone who has accompanied us in our journey. 

CB///*Yr2/90 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/117 #NewG356 #Home130 #StayHome #BeKind 

My Dream Life

Day 1 Gratefulness Challenge: One of my goals for this second half of the year is to be more grateful. I found a 30-day gratefulness challenge and will integrate it here in my blog. Day 1 challenge is to be grateful about your body. I am truly grateful that my body has been able to withstand so many issues. Even my doctors are amazed and they keep telling me I am blessed. Thank you Papa God <3

To be honest, I never dreamt of moving to another country. It was never in my plan. It happened at the insistence of my former managers. I was able to enjoy it only when my family moved to Singapore. My dream life is just to be with my family. Ideally I want everyone to be within physical reach. I say that because my family is scattered across the globe. 

I grew up with extended family living in our home. My Mama Lola and several Titas lived with us. There was a time my Tito and his family stayed with us when their house burned down. I was a happy child because I had additional mommies and daddies. Our Christmas reunions were always big and rowdy. I long for those days. 

So my dream life is to be back home, have a home with enough space to have get-togethers with family and friends, have time and energy to create more memories and be able to help where I can. My prayer every night is to be safe, secure, healthy and blessed. 

"It's never too late to focus on your dreams."

CB///*Yr2/84 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/111 #NewG362 #Home136 #StayHome #BeKind