Moving Forward with April | Spring 2023

This post is something special, neither a goals blog post nor a monthly recap. It’s kind of a combination of the two. I wanted to update you guys on where I’ve been and why I haven’t posted these last two weeks. I have only been checking #Twitter on a regular basis and even then, I wasn’t very active on there either. If you’d like to follow me on #Twitter, please feel free to click on the following link:

♡ Quick Link: https://mobile.twitter.com/serene_hilz

While I was away, I also received a notification from WordPress that I have been blogging for 7 years, even though I didn’t do much with my blog until Spring 2019. It took something major to stir up transformation within me and it worked lol Ever since then, I’ve been writing consistently and haven’t looked back.

But first, some housekeeping.

As you may have missed my monthly goal recap for March 2023, I thought it would be beneficial to inform you about it in this post. To give you some context, I was travelling to Singapore for a couple of weeks, hence the reason why my sleep schedule is all over the place and jet lag is a real issue. If you were paying attention up until now, then you would already know that I was in Singapore 🏝️☀️

Unfortunately, I cannot upload the majority of the photos I took since they are still on the camera and I don’t have a SD card reader. It appears that most desktop computers and laptops don’t come with an SD slot these days, making it more difficult to transfer photos from my camera. The primary reason why I was unable to blog wasn’t because of my lack of time, but rather due to a) the inability to charge my laptop and b) find a SD card reader for the laptop in order to access the photos I wanted.

All the photos I posted on #Twitter were taken using nothing but my iPhone. I mostly shared pictures of delicious food, because let’s be honest, is something that we can all relate to! Admit it, if you had the chance to do the same, you would have done it too! Note that I am not re-sharing the threads on this blog, which also included food pics of durian. You can check out the durian pics here.

Missing the Creature Comforts of Easter 🐇

Now that I am back home (and back to reality), I need to focus my energy on what’s left of April. Unfortunately, due to my trip to Singapore and the fact that my husband’s family hardly celebrates Easter, I was unable to partake in the traditional festivities for this holiday season. However, we still made sure to attend a local church together as a family which served as a nice way for us to commemorate Easter in our own special way. I sadly had no chocolate to enjoy during my vacation and, for the first time in years, we did not decorate Easter eggs like I have been accustomed to doing every single year.

𝒜𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓁 𝓈𝒽💮𝓌𝑒𝓇𝓈, 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑀𝒶𝓎 𝒻𝓁💮𝓌𝑒𝓇𝓈.

As a kid, I was always confused by the phrase ‘April showers bring May flowers’. Instead, I wanted to think that it meant ‘bring ME flowers’ as what kid doesn’t like getting a surprise bouquet! But while I am on the topic of flowers spontaneously showing up in my garden, are dandelions flowers or weeds? Although I personally view them as beautiful and vibrant flowers, most garden enthusiasts would say they are categorized as pesky weeds.

You might be wondering what the point of this blog post was, and honestly I’m not sure. It’s more of a collection of ideas and thoughts rather than an organized and well-structured post. I am writing this as I go along in an attempt to give you something, but this is not my best work and I am aware of that. Here are my goals for the remainder of April 2023:

APRIL GOALS 2023

Career Goals:

  • Prepare to go back to work next weekend
  • Catch up on work emails
  • Reorganize backpack + print notes

Personal Goals:

  • Publish 1-2 blog posts + monthly recap
  • Publish 1-2 articles on Medium + share articles on blog
  • Write an article about Medium 1-month trial experience
  • Keep tabs on doctor’s appointments/pending appointments
  • Daily Duolingo practice 🇩🇪 + weekly friend quests → reactivated

Health Goals:

  • Continue to track steps + upload progress on Twitter
  • Track steps on Pikmin Bloom app → continue to plant flowers 🌸
  • Go back to HCLF diet + 80% plant based 🌿
There were lots of people in Singapore using the app, which was nice to see! 🥰

And there you have it! If you don’t know what a specific acronym stands for, please don’t ask me and look it up on Google. It only takes a couple of seconds to do so, plus the search engine is your best bet for a quick answer.

Thanks for stopping by! ♥

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Published by Hilary Tan

I am currently in the process of finding my inner goddess as I search for inner peace, find mental clarity, develop mental toughness, and crush goals. Come join me on this journey so we can live our best lives!

38 thoughts on “Moving Forward with April | Spring 2023”

  2. buddy71 says:
    Reply

    Congrats on 7 years! I guess you don’t have a USB connection on your camera to connect by wire to USB on computer? Or you cannot connect by wifi or Bluetooth? I’m glad you are back safe and sound and it sounds like you had a fairly good time.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Thank you, Kiki! Tbh I didn’t do much with my blog until Spring 2019 but I made the blog in April 2016. The theme has stayed the same since day 1. Even the cover photo is the same! I am not a creature of change lol

      Like

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      I guess that makes me a child then lol Just kidding. I do like dandelions but they do stain clothes. My mom got really mad at me for staining my Winnie the Pooh outfit when I was 5 years old because I was playing with dandelions.

      Thank you very much! I did manage to get some chocolate the next day. Well, my husband got the chocolate. I haven’t left the house since we got home.

      Like

  8. Pooja G says:
    Reply

    Happy blogiversary! Seven years is amazing and I hope you continue blogging for a long time. Glad we met thanks to WordPress.
    Did you enjoy the durian? I know people are very divided over whether they love it or hate it. Like you mentioned, I think the smell puts some people off.
    Anyway, good luck with your April goals!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      I still feel like a newbie when it comes to blogging and want to continue growing my blog. I can picture myself switching to business mode one day, when I run out of storage space or expand the niche. Lots of options. This is one of the reasons why I couldn’t quit blogging – I almost did last year but glad I stuck with it because WP has been the most reliable platform for me. I am grateful that we met through WP as well! 🙂

      Yes, the durian was lovely. I love the taste of durian; I agree that it can be off-putting to a lot of people. Durians are banned on subways and buses in Singapore because of the pungent smell.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Pooja G says:

        Yes, WP has its issues but at the end of the day it’s still a pretty good platform. The Business Plan is great because with the Yoast SEO plugin you can really improve your blog and get lots more Search Engine views. It’s a great idea to upgrade when you’re ready.

        Oh wow, the smell must be very strong.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Hilary Tan says:

        I agree, even though WP is the most expensive option, at least it’s reliable and convenient. I like having the WP reader. I see several blogs that don’t have the reader and these bloggers get little to no engagement. I rather pay a bit more just for the Jetpack (reader). As for SEO, I wish that the premium plan had this feature. I definitely feel like I am missing out!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Pooja G says:

        Yeah, WP is definitely expensive but a good platform. I wish that too because I feel like the Business Plan is super expensive just for more memory and plugins. Like it’s kind of an unfair price lol.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Lotus Laura says:
    Reply

    I’m happy that you are back to public on Duolingo. 🤗 Hopefully it can still remain fun for you and not stress you out! Because of you I made it to the diamond league, and since you went private I fell way back down several leagues. But again as long as it isn’t serving to be a source of stress. And you have also been motivating me to walk more and get my steps in!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Oh no, I’m sorry that you lost motivation to continue with the leagues. I had no idea 😖 Hopefully it can be fun for you again. Private mode was not what I had thought it would be like. I thought it would free me if the stress to keep up but instead it became boring and I lost all motivation to learn German.

      I find myself looking at the leagues again 👀 Idk why but I can’t help it. Haven’t made it to Diamond yet 💎

      I’m happy to help with the motivation and goal setting – Twitter helps keep me accountable for posting updates too 🙂 I haven’t been getting enough steps in this week because the treadmill is in storage and idk how to set it up. Idk why Nick put the treadmill away before he left for a business trip 🤷‍♀️

      Liked by 1 person

      • Lotus Laura says:

        I made it to diamond once but now I’ve fallen right back to amethyst! Yikes!

        Hahaha awww, maybe because he figures you deserve a break ☺️ but it is good to stay motivated, especially with health goals too. I’ve been trying to do more outdoor walks. Sadly I don’t have a treadmill. My boyfriend goes to the gym and has encouraged me to join but it’s not enticing to me at all. I think the thought of driving to a gym feels annoying. When I had a gym at my campus in college or at my old apartment I used to go sometimes.

        Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Reply

      Watermelon soft serve is quite flavorless. I’ve also had watermelon frozen yogurt in the past and it was flavorless too. Idk what I was thinking, hoping that watermelon soft serve would be better lol I bought into the hype.

      Like

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