Colleagues :)

Peeps,

How're you doing?

Me ok, recovering from decrease in body magnesium, hectic week-end and hectic end of June at work.

The layman would feel overwhelmed but the one having adrenal fatigue felt it like double or triple overwhelmed. I'll  come to that in another blog.

Highlight of the day: colleagues helping out to close a file.

One helped much in identifying discrepancies. Her help was very much needed since it was the first time was doing that.

The other helped in encouraging me and even did some admin work for me.

I appreciated their helpfulness very much and it came at the right moment. 

What type of colleague are you? The competitive type or the helpful type?

Being the helpful type 'helps' a lot around colleagues. Colleagues help those who help them are who are very amicable.

Cheers to wonderful colleagues!!!

Charlotte P.

Watch a comedy :)

Dearies,

How's beginning of week?

Mine ok, bit tired from hectic weekend and hectic day (end of June is always crazy at work as we got to lose some files..fortunately, with lock down, the real craziness has moved to August, but still had stuff to complete)

Well, I am off watching a comedy and I would suggest a comedy at night as it helps to relax before going to sleep. Laughing is the best therapy they say and a good comedy is a good medicine..

I'm sure you're thinking about the last comedy you watched which brought laughter tears or belly aching.

My best-est comedies are 'We are the Millers', movies of 'Happy Madison' or whatever comedy that Netflix has just launched with a rating of more than 5 on IMDB lol.

Off to some good laugh with hubby.

Remember to laugh heartily this week :) :)

Cheers

Charlotte P.

Hosting Sunday lunch :)

Lovelies:)

Happy Sunday

How your Sunday went by?

You guessed what me and hubby did today.

We hosted a Sunday get-together with our respective families coming over at ours.

It was hectic, yet enjoyable. We had some help from the 2 lovely nieces, from wiping the plates, cutlery,etc to cooking cakes :)

Family feast was a bring-and-share. Mummy brought spinach quiche. In laws, nice bouquet of flowers and chicken kalia (kind of like potatoes and chicken cooked in spices).

We has a super time, with kids running around and adults chatting..all that in cozy flat. I'm sure our neighbours knew family came over but as we say, it's only once a year that whole family comes over and they can't complain, we are the silent type, except for karaoke at night (I'll come to karaoke in some other blog).

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and next week, gonna be a super week too.

Cheers

Charlotte P.

Pyjama party :)

Lovely people,

How's weekend going on?

Mine started ok, household chores with hubby and preparing our house to throw a family lunch tomorrow.

Why the title? Because nieces coming over for pyjama party tonight.

Do you remember your first pyjama party? How exciting it was to prepare our bag with clothes, foodies, stuff that we might need when going to cousins to relatives!!!

That was the good old times. Sure, pyjama parties and me went a long time. When I was small, went to cousins or they came at time.

During teens, went to my best friend's and she came over also. And we had much fun watching horror movies, snacking or drinking wine, and talking till morning.

During early adulthood, still went over to friends or to hotels with friends..Some times, went dancing and was even still energized after a weekend out.

Now marriage, pyjama party is at parents or in-laws, or some other relatives or hotel. But all is just fun!!!

Cheers to all coming pyjama parties and looking forward to tonight's one :)

C ya

Charlotte P.

TGIF!!!!! And LFC won ;)

Lovvies :)

Yeah, it's Friday !!!!

So what do you do on Friday nights? Happy hour with colleagues or friends? Going to secondary residence with family? Getting in the mood for the week-end?

Well, mine today is about getting homey with hubby :)

We got ourselves some snacks ready and a little hot treat from China Town :)

And we'll be celebrating LFC's winning this football season (for those who do not follow English Premier League football, LFC stands for Liverpool Football Club)

For your information, a fan like me (>30 years of age) has been waiting all my life to see this moment (it's after 30 years that LFC is winning the EPL, Ofc it won other trophies over the years)

Also, hubby is fan of the rival football club (ManU, again for those not fans of football, ManU is Manchester United Football Club). So I'll be celebrating and toasting, etc and he'll just be eating next to me.

Congrats LFC !!! YNWA :)

Toasting with all LFC fans around the world. LFC rocks :)

Happy weekend

Charlotte P.

Working for a purpose :)

Dearies :)

Howdy?

I'm good today :)

Question: Are you waking up energetically on the days that you are working? That may be a sign to know whether you are satisfied with your job.

Are you sluggish or losing your sleep over your job? That's not good huh.

I was thinking of that earlier. What if you won the lottery and now was free to choose whatever profession or career you wished? Will that be the job you are currently in?

For my part, I'd like to say that I enjoy my job 'halfly'. One part of me likes interacting with my colleagues everyday and chit chatting. Another part likes the idea of learning new things or doing a service job.

The other other part of me don't like the stress rush (sure, adrenaline does help getting things done) but it's not doing your body good over the long-term.

So people, do something you really like. Ofc it doesn't mean doing a job that pays nothing but be wary to do something you like, that you enjoy and that brings you self-satisfaction.

That will make you more smiling, less stressed and like some author said: 'Why study that much to then wearing yourself out over a job?' A job is important but not as much as having a work-life balance.

The company you are working in won't hesitate to replace you at the very second you leave but no one would replace you in your family.

On that note, I say good bye for today.

Cheers everyone,

Charlotte P.

Sleep habits

Lovies :)

Glad to be here again today :)

So what send you in Morpheus' arms? A nice bedtime story? Some cudling with significant other?

For me, it's singing before going to bed, then prayers and one nice heart-warming story.

Previously I was sleeping right after doing some work or some movie but then noticed my dreams. Either it was a 'no-dream sleep' or action-type dreaming and when I woke up, I still felt tired.

Needless to say, I adopted some habits to benefit from a full night's sleep with well-deserved rest (ofc not ideal sleep each night but I am getting there!!!)

First, drink less water in the evening, will get you out of bed rarely during the night.

Turn off that phone 2 hours before going to bed. your eyes will not be affected by the blue light emitted from phone.

Watch comedies which will have you relaxed before going to bed.

Read paperback, again not to strain the eyes.

Have a cool room, wear loose clothes and try mindfulness or belly breathing on mattress.

And that;s it, you're ready for a night of deep sleep !!!

Cheers to a 'sleepful' night :)

Charlotte P.

Neighbours :)

Hello people :)

Hope all's fine at yours. At mine, all's fine. Bit groggy from sleeping late but ok.

So, what type of a neighbour are you?

The shy type who doesn't know who's living next door? 

The 'know-it-all' neighbour who knows EVERYTHING on their neighbours (might even more on the neighbour than the neighbour himself lol) 

or the normal one, knows when to talk and when to be discreet .

Why the post on neighbours today? Simply because when my hubby and I moved to a flat, we were agreeably surprised by the friendship we made with some of our neighbours. Ofc, some took time to talk to us but since hubby and I are the 'Good-morning-and-smiling' type, we won their friendship.

Some of them are dear to our hearts:

The 'chinese grandmother' who pounds at our door often to give food or phones us for technology issues.

The 'postal grandfather' who forget who we are if he sees us individually but remember us outright when he sees us together. And who's got a great sense of humour. We owe him some coffee time soon.

The 'sympathetic couple' on the block whose husband cooks homemade and treats us often.

The 'car maniac' who can be seen at very minute of his spare time...cleaning his dad's car :)

And many others who smile at us, greet us and make small talk.

Life's definitely more exciting with such neighbours.

May God bless you to be a good neighbour and to have super ones.

I'm off,

Charlotte P.

Financial literacy Part III

Peeps :)

How's beginning of week?

Mine good for today :) working and enjoying some homey time :)

So, here I am for lesson 3 financials:

Try to see how to increase your income. You may take up a side job, buy some property and rent, invest in shares or in small businesses (too glad there's crowdfunding now in Mauritius and I can invest in some small business). Get into a hobby that might bring some cash. Ofc, have another one for just self-satisfaction :). The list is up for you to add.

Also, invest in yourself. Sure money is not everything. Even if you think you could have better managed financially years back, now is no time for regrets. You can still rethink you whole life. and get things moving.

I'm off and hopefully been throwing some good tips for you.

You'll rock.

Cheers,

Charlotte P.

Sundays :)

People,

How was your Sunday?

Was it lazy day? Busy day?

Or was it like mine? House hunting, quality time with hubby, reading, movies, etc :)

What's nice about Sunday is the name, unless ofc it is raining lol.

When you come to Sundays, it's like 'I got one more day off before Monday, so I got to spend the day and maximise it fully'.

That was me or us (with hubby) before lock down. We would go about finding activities, family to go see, plans, etc except staying home.

All this changed during lock down. We had our Sundays for us. We cooked, lazy around, attended online mass, face-timed with family, etc.

OK, now we're at post-Covid but the resolution is to keep some Sundays to ourselves and that will feel so good :)

Tip of the day: Free that Sunday and enjoy it being homey from time to time !!!

Goodnight,

Charlotte P.

Financial literacy Part II

Dearies :)

How's the weekend?

Mine good, homey with the hubby and chilling !!!!

So, let's get to a second explanation of finances.

So, here I was at 20, just out from university and going to a first job. And with no notion of how to draw a budget.

I went into spending nearly all (you know the feeling, youngster with money!!)

Fortunately, my mother coaxed me in a savings plan and along, I took a pension ,and there I was, saving around 15% of my salary.

But I had colleagues who went dancing, eat out nearly every day and I followed them, unaware of the money being spent on things I didn't need or could easily have gone without.

That was me and my first job experience and with money

Morale of the story: I made it to the second job with no additional money in the bank but with savings plans

I'll be off for now and tomorrow you'll get to hear what happens to my financial literacy in job 2.

Tips for youngsters now starting jobs: 

1. Join a savings plan, 

2. Draw a budget of money ins and outs to see where your money is going, 

3. DO NOT indulge in similar spending as colleagues (some of them are getting pocket money from parents even if they working)

4. Try saving at least 25% of your salary if you can; and 

5. More importantly, list down financial goals and look at them everyday.

Cheers

Charlotte

Financial Literacy Part 1

Hello people

TGIF!!!! Week-end is here and hopefully some hotter weather here.

Well, why financial literacy today? Simply because I lost my sleep yesterday upon understanding why some people get into debt and unfortunately, have to borrow some money to make ends meet.

I refer back to my previous conversation with a friend. He's a broker and was telling me about the idea of him taking a loan then renting it to pay the loan and some additional money for him.

I was 'damn, that's a good idea' and the thing is we're about the same age, coming from middle-income families and yet, here he was, seeming to be better off financially than me.

And do you what was his secret of well managing his money and professionally, managing others' money?

When he was in primary school, his dad gave him pocket money for a week and he had to manage it.

When he got to secondary, he got pocket money for a month. So, he knew how to deal with money since he was little...and he made mistakes, sure, but well before getting a salary unlike us others.

Tips to parents: teach your child about money as soon as he knows the difference between a rupee and 5 rupees (read somewhere) and teach him/her how to manage money you are giving to him/her. That will definitely change his life into the better. Proof being my friend.

C ya tomorrow for yet another insight on financial literacy, if we may call this such.

Art the African way !!!!

Hello people :)

Glad to talk with you today.

Still very windy in Mauritius but home is warm <3

Highlight of today: went to see an art exposition with my cousin Julius who is an expert in art.

The painter is of African origin, a woman and it was nice the way she depicted womanhood, ranging from love, marriage, pregnancy, delivery.

She paints with oil, very colorful (guess that's typical from African) and it's only today that I realised that fabric matters in oil.

She painted both on canvas and paper. It is to be said that paints on canvas were warmer.

Nonetheless, it was a good experience. I'm into figures but I like going to expositions because it amazes me how artists are inspired and get to throw their ideas on paper, canvas, board or on whatever stuff they want to paint on, or they want to sculpt or design something out of anything.

My toast goes to artists today. Continue to keep our imagination going, amaze the world around you and express yourselves freely.

Now remembering that the African artist told that she started painting to remove negativity in her dreams and it even drew her to paint in colours that she normally wouldn't have chosen. This could be therapeutic also !!

Cheers

Charlotte P.

Engagement :)

Hello dearies

Howdy today?

At mine's, it's cold with an anticyclone outside. But all is well !!!

Today was our 2-year engagement anniversary (To be noted, we are now married :))

Coming to the engagement, it was a lovely day with family around and I even got a ring (purpose of the day, you'd say lol)

Well, since then, my life changed. It was about choosing a date for the wedding and preparations.

But what changed most, was that I was now referring to 'him' as 'my fiance', no more boyfriend and there I was, thinking for two instead of one. And on the other side, I also knew he was also thinking of two. And it meant commitment and preparing for a major life event and change.

By God's grace, engagement time went fine (fiance was there for good moments as well as supporting in bad times) and we got to know each other better.

Advice to fiances: Use that engagement time well, ask yourselves why you're into this relationship, do marriage preparation counselling if there is one in your neighborhood, pray to ask for guidance in this new step and always hope for the good.

I'm off for now.

C ya tomorrow.

Charlotte P.

Seeing work in a new perspective :)

Hello lovies :)

I'm about living a life of purpose.

My choice of career didn't always prove to be 'purposeful' but I've always compensated by volunteering with the youth for church activities. That brought me self-satisfaction.

Some while back, I got married and moved out of my locality and with the new environment and life routine, I thought it best to wait for some time before indulging in 'social work' again.

In the meantime, work got bit stressful and I no longer saw me 'living on purpose' :(

I asked to be transferred to another department at work where the job was more manageable.

And today, I got to actually enjoy my job. I was like 'wow, I'm learning new things at my pace and it does have meaning'.

Tips of the day: 

1. If you don't like your current job, ask to be where you'd rather be.
2. See things in a newer perspective
3. Believe that you are exactly where you ought to be.

Cheers

Charlotte P.

Hello :)

Hello :)

I'm new to blogging but always wanted to create a blog (that's on thing off m bucket list !!!! )

How did I come to writing a blog, you may ask.

I have a fatigue condition (I'll come to that in another blog) and one step towards my recovery was to create a 5-minute habit which will bring joy and which I can sustain. Here I am :)

I'll be mostly writing on positive stuff (tips, stories, faith,etc).

I don't know how it works around here but I would like to hear from you, to hear some nice story of yours, how someone made your day by helping you, or if you did something nice for someone (ofc, it's not about boasting but just sharing some lovely stuff amidst the cacophony going around us :)), etc..as long as it's good news.

I'm off for now.

See you tomorrow!!!!

Charlotte

Smile at the universe and the universe will smile back to you.