Category: Hobby

Stop Dabbling and Start Winning at Life

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I feel like now is a good time to share my Medium article with you, as I am no stranger to the art of dabbling. In fact, I recently started dabbling in a new side hustle (all the details are on #Twitter), so I am not immune to trying out different things. However, I realize that in order to achieve my long-term goals or any lasting success, I need to first learn how to master my focus.

This article was originally posted on Medium on April 19, 2023. I don’t have new blog posts because I have been so invested in my side hustle. Don’t be surprised if I cross-post Medium articles for the time being. It is worth mentioning that if you use the following link to read this article and you are already a Medium subscriber, I will earn a small commission. It might be only a few pennies but it’s better than earning nothing at all. This article is behind a paywall on Medium but I want to make it available for everyone to read.

♡ Medium Article: Stop Dabbling and Start Winning at Life

Photo by Karolina Grabowska: https://www.pexels.com/

Mastering Your Focus to Achieve Lasting Success

(っ◔V◔)っ Serious Questions: Are you a dabbler? Do you find yourself constantly jumping from one thing to the next, without ever really committing to anything?

If you found yourself nodding in agreement to these questions, then this blog post is definitely for you. It’s time to stop dabbling and start focusing on what really matters.

Dabbling may seem harmless, even fun, at first. You get to try out new hobbies, explore new interests, and network with like-minded people. But here’s the thing — it is actually a trap. The more you dabble, the less focused you become on your life mission. You waste time doing things that don’t really matter and forget about what’s most important to you. After a while, you may start to realize that you’re not really getting anywhere. You’re not making progress, you’re not achieving your goals, and you’re not truly mastering anything.

“Jack of all trades is a master of none.” — English Proverb

The Dangers of Dabbling

Whether you’re a blogger, a Medium writer, or a social media influencer, it’s important to avoid the trap of dabbling and focus on creating quality content that resonates with your audience. Despite my best efforts, I often find myself trying new things and dabbling in various projects, such as running this blog, writing articles for Medium, and recently starting a side hustle on Redbubble. I am all too aware of how easy it is to get distracted by the seemingly more exciting activities life has to offer.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska: https://www.pexels.com/

(っ◔V◔)っ You might be dabbling without even realizing it if you’re struggling with any of the following problems:

  1. Lack of expertise: Dabbling in multiple topics or platforms can prevent content creators from developing expertise in any particular area, limiting their ability to create content that is both impactful and tailored to their specific target audience.
  2. Lack of focus: Without a clear direction or strategy, content creators may struggle to stay focused and make progress towards their goals, leading to reduced output and a lack of motivation to reach the desired objectives.
  3. Inconsistent content: Dabbling can lead to missed deadlines, inconsistent content schedules, and a lack of engagement due to an inability to create useful and engaging content that resonates with their target audience.
  4. Burnout: Constantly switching between topics or platforms can be a major source of stress and frustration, leading to burnout.
  5. Missed opportunities: When content creators don’t commit to a specific niche or stick to one platform, they may miss out on opportunities to build a loyal following or establish themselves as experts in their field.

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ FINAL THOUGHTS ♥

I want to bring awareness to the fact that dabbling in too many different areas as a content creator can be detrimental to your success. You don’t need to spread yourself thin across multiple platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Medium, YouTube, TikTok, starting a Podcast, writing a book, and God knows what else. You have a finite amount of time and energy — remember that.

Experimenting with different things and exploring new interests is an important part of personal growth. However, if you want to make a big impact in your life and reach your goals, it is important to stay focused on the tasks at hand rather than dabbling in a variety of activities. Finally, if you found this blog post interesting, or even if it just changed your perspective on things, please let me know in the comments below ↓ Your feedback really matters to me.

Thanks for stopping by! ❤️

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May Recap | Spring 2023

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Can you believe that the month of May has already come and gone? It’s simply astonishing how quickly time passes us by, it really feels like it was just yesterday! Seriously, how is it already the end of May? It seems like time flew by in a blink of an eye and I didn’t even have a chance to take it all in.

This month has been incredibly busy – I worked on my anniversary day and Mother’s Day, so I decided to take the day off on my son’s birthday as a special treat. Yes, it was important for me to take that day off so that I could spend quality time with my family and enjoy the special occasion.

Feeling Burnout with Medium

As of late, I have been feeling increasingly frustrated with the Medium platform. My traffic and stats are at an all-time low and my follower count has stalled. Not only that, but I made a measly $0.78 USD this month which is maybe enough to buy a chocolate bar from Dollarama. Personally, I just don’t see how Medium makes any practical sense unless I want to devote 3-4 hours/day engaging with other writers, leaving comments, networking, etc. I don’t have time for these things when I could be doing something that takes me closer to my goals.

If you’re not already following me on Medium, I highly recommend it. I’m not planning on abandoning that platform, however at this time I will no longer be publishing original articles there. That being said, I’m considering transferring the previously written articles to this platform so that my followers here can have access to them as well.

👉 Follow me on Medium: @sereneluna

MAY GOALS 2023

Career Goals:

  • Don’t call in sick this month I didn’t miss any days of work during the month of May! I didn’t get sick nor did I need to take a mental health day. Yay, me?
  • Catch up on work emails + check MLL modules No need to catch up on the MLL modules; most work emails have been taken care of, but not all.
  • Reorganize backpack + print notes I organize my backpack every week. I’ll remove it from next month’s list of goals.

Personal Goals:

  • Publish 1-2 blog posts + monthly recap Yes, I am doing this right now. I have no plans to abandon my blog.
  • Publish 1-2 articles on Medium + share articles on blog I am unsure if I should continue to pursue this goal. The outcome these past 2-3 months was not as expected and I don’t want to give up, but I am uncertain about whether to invest more energy into this hobby.
  • Announce the winner of the giveaway in a blog post You can read that blog post here! ✨💫
  • Keep tabs on doctor’s appointments/pending appointments Managing my family’s busy schedule is exhausting. Text message reminders are helping me stay on track with all of my appointments
  • Daily Duolingo practice 🇩🇪 + finish diamond tournament 💎 I completed the diamond tournament and felt slightly disappointed afterwards, so I am no longer as enthusiastic about competing. Nevertheless, I still plan on learning German but will take my own time to do so. If by chance I drop out of that league, then it won’t be a problem for me anymore.

Health Goals:

  • Continue to track steps + upload progress on Twitter After returning from Singapore, I failed to maintain a daily goal of 10,000 steps and became complacent. Feeling frustrated with the lack of progress, I gave up on reaching that goal. I want to get back into fitness next month.
  • Track steps on Pikmin Bloom app → advance to Level 45 🌸 Unfortunately, no progress has been made on Level 44 even after numerous tries. I’m still stuck there!
  • Track water intake on Water Llama app → 1 Gallon of water per day My experiment of drinking a gallon of water each day using a large jug lasted ONE DAY! My husband complained about my water jug taking up too much space, prompting me to ditch it and stop tracking my water intake. Next time, I will keep my 32-oz water bottles chilled in the fridge. I really want to do better next month.
  • Simplify my diet and reduce my intake of processed food This month, I was unable to stick to any particular diet and I ended up feeling really terrible and bloated. Does anyone have any suggestions or tips on how to reduce bloating? Trying to find a healthier way of eating for the long-term would be greatly appreciated.

And there you have it! Despite the fact that I worked hard and there were many distractions this month of May, I still feel like my discipline wasn’t up to par. My health goals were completely neglected and this is something I regret and fully intend to correct in the future. With that being said, I know that I can always strive for more and do better in order to reach my goals. I know I won’t be ready for bikini season but it doesn’t mean I can’t wear sundresses! I just want to wear sundresses without feeling bloated and uncomfortable.

(っ◔◡◔)っ FYI: If you’re not already following me on Twitter (@serene_hilz), you can get real-time updates about my day-to-day life there. Exciting changes are coming soon, and I’ve been hinting about it on Twitter.

Thanks for stopping by! ♥

Last Chance to Enter the Giveaway!

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Hey everyone! This is your final and last-minute reminder that the giveaway is closing tomorrow at midnight ET, so don’t forget to enter for a chance to win! I’ll be randomly drawing the name of the lucky winner later this week, so be sure to watch this space. If you need a reminder of the rules, they are listed in detail below ↓ Just click on the link to enter the giveaway and you’re all set!

•✧ GIVEAWAY RULES!! ✧•

1️⃣ This contest is limited to WordPress bloggers only. To qualify, you must have a blog on WordPress and be following this blog. Following me on Twitter (@serene_hilz) is optional.

2️⃣ This contest is limited to Canadians only. If I don’t get enough entries, I’ll include the United States too.

3️⃣ No purchase is necessary to enter or win. I will pay the shipping fee.

4️⃣ You’ll have to be comfortable sharing your email and address with me if you win.

5️⃣ Entries close at midnight ET on May 22. I will announce the winner during the week unless the winner chooses to remain antonymous.

6️⃣ The winner must provide their address via email or text message to claim their prize by June 1. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

➤ Click here to enter the giveaway

✰ MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOUR ✰

13 Reasons Why I Unfollowed Your Blog

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The blog title is somewhat of an exaggeration and should not be taken literally. I wanted to create a similar blog post as the one I wrote some time ago, titled The 6 Most Annoying Types of Blogs. If you’re having trouble finding the blog post or just want a link, then I’ll make it easier for you and provide the link below ↓ I am experimenting with new formatting in the WordPress editor:

The 6 Most Annoying Types of Blogs

To Unfollow or not to Unfollow, That IS the Question.

Before anyone gets too worked up over my title, there’s a good chance that I didn’t unfollow you. Even if I happened to unfollow your blog, it could very well be attributed to WordPress’s quirky behavior. Okay, let’s say I did unfollow your blog. If that’s the case, then I would really appreciate if you kept reading in order to gain a better understanding of my thought process prior to unfollowing someone on WordPress.

Also, It’s important to keep in mind that the strategies outlined in this list aren’t limited to WordPress blogs, but they can be applied to other popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to name a few. I believe that this subject is closely related to the problem of annoying blogs, as it’s typically one of the main reasons why people choose to unfollow someone. Below ↓ I want to show you 13 Things that bloggers do which may prompt someone to unfollow them. Please note that the following list is in no particular order. Let’s get started, shall we?

13 Reasons Why I Unfollowed You on WordPress

1. You complain too much. I get the sense that your life sucks: there is too much bitching, whining, or complaining. If you see me constantly trying to give you advice, that means I want to help you. But seeing the same shit over an over and over again tells me that you don’t listen or you aren’t willing to take advice from anyone. I’m likely to unfollow your blog if the content is predominantly negative, so it’s best to keep things uplifting.

2. You teach me stuff that I already know. I am sure you put in a lot of effort and research into writing your blog posts. Though, if you seem to be replicating other people’s work and not contributing any originality in your blog posts, then it’s evident that your writing style does not fit my preferences. It is nothing against you, but this is simply my view.

3. You did the research but the execution sucks. Your blog posts have a lot of merit and you have raised some excellent points that I hadn’t considered before. Your blog posts look professional and well-crafted, and it is clear that a great deal of effort has gone into creating them. However, the execution of the content could be improved; you seem to be missing some very important and obvious points which could be key takeaways for readers.

4. You’re always trying to sell me something. It’s obvious that you’re putting in a lot of effort to persuade me into buying something and your marketing strategy is quite apparent. Unfortunately, not many bloggers have the expertise to incorporate ads tastefully without it looking too spammy. I will be sure to unfollow/unsubscribe if I see posts from bloggers that are trying too hard to make a sale.

5. You didn’t proofread first. Grammar and spelling errors are unfortunately all too common, which can a pet peeve for those who take pride in their work and expect the same of others. The lack of interesting visuals and creative writing style can also make the content appear visually dull, leaving a less-than-favorable impression on the reader. This is why it’s so important to be diligent in proofreading your work and use images where appropriate to add another layer to your writing.

6. TMI seems to be your niche. I’m already at my limit when it comes to the number of personal diaries and oversharing posts about sexual encounters, erotica, and other topics that fill up my feed. I have already chosen a few blogs that provide me with interesting content, but adding any more would just be too much for me to handle.

7. You’re obnoxious. That can range anywhere from inappropriate content like sexually explicit (see point #6) to questionable lifestyle choices. Controversial content is OK but keep it classy, please. I am not even bringing politics into this. If your moral compass is completely different than mine, then we’re not on the same vibe! ✨

8. You’re not being authentic. The inauthentic nature of content is painfully obvious, and it can be very tempting to try to fit in with the crowd. It’s always best to make sure you are staying true to your own unique voice and perspective. In the blogosphere, being yourself is much more valuable than blending in with everyone else.

9. You write like your age. I want to make this perfectly clear. I’m not saying that I don’t follow tweens and teens on WordPress, because I do. There’s a 14-year old entrepreneur who I follow on #Twitter, for example. I prefer to follow blogs and social media accounts with professional writing styles, regardless of someone’s age.

10. You post ++++ times a day. In my opinion, posting several times a day is too much for me. There are already quite a few bloggers who share multiple posts per day that I follow and have developed strong relationships with. My reader is already oversaturated with this type of content, and I feel that it would be best to avoid saturating it even more.

11. Your blog posts look like FB statuses. If I come across yet another blog post that is void of words and/or only contains pictures, I will unfollow you and move on. Keep the status updates for Facebook where they belong, and please don’t expect us to make the effort to click on a title that eventually reveals nothing but a post with no words. Nothing frustrates me more than when people post without any real purpose or value.

12. You’re too indecisive with your blog. What do I mean by this? You jump from one domain to another, constantly changing your blog’s name in a way that makes it confusing for readers to keep track of – either by making it unrecognizable or changing it too frequently. This can make it very difficult for your readers to keep up with who they are following, and can be a huge detriment to building an audience. Make up your mind and stop being so wishy-washy.

13. Your blog isn’t user-friendly. It seems like your blog’s link may be broken, or it is not properly optimized to be user-friendly. This makes it difficult for readers to leave comments, and as a result, many visitors may have stopped commenting on your blog posts. If you don’t use WordPress hosting services, your blog may not meet the standards needed to keep current readers engaged, potentially leading them to become frustrated and unfollow your blog.

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ FINAL THOUGHTS ♥

If you are a blogger, regardless of your level of experience, it is essential to understand how to engage with your readers in a meaningful manner. Even though you are the owner of the blog or website, this does not give you full freedom to post whatever content you want, that is, if you wish for people to remain loyal followers. Rather than posting any kind of content, it is wise to curate useful and relevant content that resonates with your followers while maintaining a level of professionalism and friendliness.

I’d like to make it clear that the reasons I’ve listed are not necessarily representative of everyone else’s reasons. It’s likely that my list looks very different than yours does. If this blog post taught you something or made you think about the way you go about blogging differently, feel free to join the conversation by leaving a comment below ↓ I will try to reply to your comments on my days off.

Thanks for stopping by! ♥

great-vibes.regular (1)

April Recap | Spring 2023

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I finally have a chance to sit down and write this month’s blog post as it has been an incredibly busy few weeks for me. Between the demands of my job, my household duties, and taking care of my children, I simply haven’t had the time to write until now that my husband is away on business trips. Despite all that, I can finally sit my butt down and write this blog post. I am working tomorrow so I don’t know when there will be time to draft a blog post for the monthly goals I have for May 2023.

Surprisingly, I managed to stay productive with my writing habits this past month in spite of being away in Singapore for the first two weeks of April 🏝️ It wasn’t until April 17 that I got back into the swing of things and started writing blog posts and Medium articles again. Unfortunately, I have limited time and energy now that Becca is at school and I am back at work every. single. week (Friday – Sunday). I apologize for any delays in responding and I’m doing my best to use my free time to catch up. Thank you for understanding.

More Articles for You to Read 📖

On Medium (@sereneluna), I have the freedom to express my honest and sometimes controversial opinions regarding topics related to freelancing, entrepreneurship, and other fields (eg. what defines a toxic person?) that I may not be able to write about on my blog. I’m not an entrepreneur, but I still find practical advice from successful entrepreneurs helpful for personal development. Listening to podcasts hosted by successful entrepreneurs and life coaches is a great way to gain valuable insights.

Here are the Medium articles that I posted during the month of April, which doesn’t include the articles I already uploaded on this blog. For those of you who are members on Medium, if you click on the links below and read these articles, I will earn a small commission to help fuel my steeped tea addiction. Thank you, in advance! ✌️💕

Medium Article Links:

1️⃣ Related Article: Somebody Cut You Out of Their Life, Now What?

2️⃣ Related Article: Stop Dabbling and Start Winning at Life

APRIL GOALS 2023

Career Goals:

  • Prepare to go back to work next weekend Yes, I went back to work on April 22nd, and I haven’t had to call in sick yet *knock on wood* As stated above, I work Friday – Sunday (evenings).
  • Catch up on work emails I am still catching up on emails. There have been lots of changes at work, so I have been receiving a lot more emails than usual.
  • Reorganize backpack + print notes I do this on a weekly basis and will reorganize my backpack tonight. I have already printed my notes.
👉 I am finally uploading the screenshot from last month!

Personal Goals:

  • Publish 1-2 blog posts + monthly recap I uploaded more blog posts this past month than I usually do. In total, I uploaded 4 blog posts in April! I think that is a new record for me 🙂
  • Publish 1-2 articles on Medium + share articles on blog I have yet to share the Medium articles on this blog. Is anyone interested in these articles?
  • Write an article about Medium 1-month trial experience Since Medium traffic in April was at an all-time low, I didn’t think many people would read my post so I wrote a rough draft of it on my phone. It’s possible that I’ll upload it at some point though.
  • Keep tabs on doctor’s appointments/pending appointments Despite my enthusiasm for tracking habits, I haven’t taken the time to use my fancy planner this year. I’m still using my basic one, and I’m not sure why I haven’t been more diligent when it comes to staying organized.
  • Daily Duolingo practice  + weekly friend quests I made it to Diamond League and am back to grinding for XP on Duolingo! *grumbles* I simply don’t benefit from learning German if I am not grinding for XP and competing in the leagues.

Health Goals:

  • Treadmill on days I am not working + upload progress Nope, this did not happen. I have given up on the treadmill because my clothes are fitting tight again and I feel like crap. I figured that I need to focus on my diet and hydration right now.
  • Limit drinks to water, tea, and coffee I drank whatever I wanted in Singapore, which included a lot of sugar cane juice! When I returned home, I went back to drinking water, tea, and some coffee.
  • Track steps on Pikmin Bloom app By default, this app tracks my steps. I wasn’t too active with the social aspect, so I didn’t really plant virtual flowers. That being said, I still use the app on a daily basis.
  • Healthy/clean eating 80% of the time My diet suffered A LOT during the month of April. I felt so dehydrated and gross by the end of April but I couldn’t go back to eating a high carbohydrate diet. I was feeling the adverse effects of consuming too much sugar from all the fruits and snacks I was eating, so I decided to switch to a more intuitive way of eating. As a result, my body naturally gravitated towards intermittent fasting (IF), which is similar to what I used to do years ago before IF was popular.

(っ◔◡◔)っ FYI: If you’re not already following me on Twitter (@serene_hilz), I’m tracking my health & fitness progress, and you can get real-time updates about my day-to-day life there.

•♡•♥•♡•♥•♡•

P.S. As a special celebration for the 7th anniversary of my blog, I am holding a giveaway exclusively for my Canadian readers! If you live in Canada and already following my blog, you need to act fast – the deadline to enter this giveaway is May 22. I’ll announce the lucky winner on this blog so make sure to watch this space!

➤ Click here to enter the giveaway

Thanks for stopping by! ♥

Virtual Diva: Powered by AI

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Disclaimer: I decided to take a leap of faith and try out AI-technology to help me write a poem. To my surprise, I was amazed at the capabilities of the AI technology and how it could craft words together so effortlessly. I am truly impressed by its potential for creating unique pieces of content, even with challenging prompts. If you like this poem, feel free to check out my other poetry musings here. ✨

↓ 𝕊𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕖𝕞 ↓

P.S. You can also connect with me on Twitter (@hellokitty8404), and I encourage you to subscribe to my blog so that you can receive the latest updates from me. Additionally, I am hosting a giveaway for my Canadian readers to celebrate my 7th blogiversary!

➤ Click here to enter the giveaway

Thanks for reading! ♥︎

A Giveaway, Maybe?

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Lucky Number 7️⃣

For me, the number 7 has always held a special significance and has been linked to luck in my life. On May 7th, I married my SO and this year marks our seventh anniversary together. Additionally, this is also the year of my 7th blogiversary and coincidentally, it is also the same year that my daughter turns 7 years old – making it an even more remarkable milestone to celebrate.

Celebrating my 7th #blogiversary with a #givesway! 🎉🥳

⑦ ⑦ ⑦ ⑦ ⑦ ⑦ ⑦

I knew that I had to do something special for my readers and decided to try a giveaway for the first time. This is a great opportunity for me to give back to you guys who have supported me all of these years. The prize is a Meditative Adult Coloring Kit from Costco, which might be useful to anyone who enjoys this activity. You may be wondering why I chose this particular item as the giveaway – and let’s just say it’s a long story that I rather not get into.

If you want to see what the adult coloring kit looks like, I took a some pictures with my phone. You might have noticed that the price tag is still on it. I am not going to bother removing the price tag because it will make a sticky mess.

•✧ GIVEAWAY RULES!! ✧•

1️⃣ This contest is limited to WordPress bloggers only. To qualify, you must have a blog on WordPress and be following this blog. Following me on Twitter (@serene_hilz) is optional.

2️⃣ This contest is limited to Canadians only. If I don’t get enough entries, I’ll include the United States too.

3️⃣ No purchase is necessary to enter or win. I will pay the shipping fee.

4️⃣ You’ll have to be comfortable sharing your email and address with me if you win.

5️⃣ Entries close at midnight ET on May 22. I will announce the winner during the week unless the winner chooses to remain antonymous.

6️⃣ The winner must provide their address via email or text message to claim their prize by June 1. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

➤ Click here to enter the giveaway

✰ May the odds be ever in your favour ✰

Moving Forward with April | Spring 2023

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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! ♥

March Recap | Spring 2023

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Spring is here and it’s time to spring forward. That being said, it doesn’t feel like Spring here and there’s still lots of snow on the ground. Oh, the joys of living in Canada! 🍁

This month has taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of learning to let go and move on with your life. Although I have made some progress, I still have a long journey ahead of me. I have the itch to physically and emotionally declutter my space, so that is what I have been doing. I am currently in the process of decluttering my old laptop, phone, and #Twitter feed. It’s a work in progress but I am starting to feel a bit lighter.

Fill Your Own Cup First

This month, I only shared one post on this blog other than my Monthly Goals and Recaps. Although I had anticipated sharing more articles from Medium, I hadn’t found the time to do it yet. Nevertheless, I still have the intention of publishing my most recent article from Medium on here as it is an inspiring self-help article! If you want to read it now, I will share the Medium link here:

♡ Related Article: Nobody is Coming to Save You

Trial and Error

I also started a 1-month Medium subscription trial earlier this month and have already made plans to write an article regarding my experience with that. Although this content won’t be published on my blog due to its highly niche-specific nature and the fact that not all readers of my blog may be as interested in this subject matter, I do plan on writing th follow-up article eventually. For now, you can check out my article about my initial thoughts on getting a Medium subscription:

♡  Related Article: That’s it. I’m Buying a Medium Subscription!

MARCH GOALS 2023

Career Goals:

  • Stay up-to-date on my work schedule I wasn’t too pleased with myself during the month of March as I had two days off. One of them was spontaneous as I didn’t feel well and the other one had been planned for a while in order to do some shopping before our trip.
  • Attend in-class sessions on March 14ᵗʰ & 15ᵗʰ I attended this class and got 100% on the exam. I was surprised because I didn’t feel ready to write it.
  • Request March 26ᵗʰ off as it no longer fits my schedule As stated above, I planned this at the beginning of the month.
  • Complete the Connect Care modules on MLL I made sure to review every detail twice prior to the upcoming exam in order to ensure that I had everything covered.

👉 Screenshot of Work Schedule TBU (To be uploaded…eventually)

Personal Goals:

  • Publish 1-2 blog posts + monthly goals/recap blog posts In March, I published only one blog post which was a cross-post from Medium. I didn’t bring anything original to the table this month – sorry.
  • Publish 1-2 articles on Medium + share articles on blog If you’re interested in reading these articles, you can take a look at my work here and here. I already gave an overview of these articles up above (re: Nobody is coming to save you).
  • Sign up for a 1-month Medium Membership trial ✨ Yes, I signed up for the 1-month trial on March 6ᵗʰ Will continue with it once the trial ends? That’s for me to know and for you to find out in a future Medium article.
  • Keep tabs on doctor’s appointments/pending appointments I have been managing my schedule without any sort of planner and it’s amazing that I haven’t missed an appointment yet. However, it is time for me to update my planner this week as doing so will help me stay more organized.
  • Daily Duolingo practice 🇩🇪 I am determined to learn a new language but I’m choosing to take my time and go at my own pace. From what I can remember, I believe I am currently on Day 111 and have been steadily progressing this far. Since starting Duolingo, I have lost count of where exactly in the learning process that I am and know that this streak will be broken once we go on vacation. To be honest, after 3 months of using Duolingo, it has become quite tiresome and mundane which often leads to me forgetting to even open the app unless it notifies me with a reminder. Not gonna lie, I do miss the social aspect of the leagues and will likely re-join at some point.

Health Goals:

  • Treadmill on days I am not working + upload progress At the start of this month, I really made an effort to get back into using the treadmill. Unfortunately, I slipped back into bad habits and eventually stopped. Bad habits seem to repeat themselves, don’t they?
  • Limit drinks to water, tea, and coffee I mostly stuck to water, tea, and coffee this month. I also drank a lot of pineapple juice because I ate a lot canned pineapples 🍍
  • Track steps on Pikmin Bloom app By default, this app tracks my steps. I wasn’t too active with the social aspect, so I didn’t really plant virtual flowers.
  • Healthy/clean eating 80% of the time I was really diligent about eating plant-based during the month of March up until this point lol Since I am currently on the go, I cannot eat as healthy as I would like to. I prefer eating low-fat, plant-based whenever possible. I am not vegetarian or vegan and do eat meat when plant-based meals aren’t an option.
When fresh fruit isn’t an option 🍍

(っ◔◡◔)っ FYI: If you’re not already following me on Twitter (@serene_hilz), I’m tracking my fitness progress, and you can get real-time updates about my day-to-day life there.

•♡•♥•♡•♥•♡•

And there you have it! Just a quick update that I won’t be posting Monthly Goals for April 2023. Why? Because I will be visiting Nick’s relatives in Singapore. Although travelling stresses me out, at least Singapore is a tropical island! 🏝️ I even named my #ACNH island after Sentosa, which is a beautiful place in Singapore. Before I go, I will share with you some photos of Sentosa, my Animal Crossing island. Do you play Animal Crossing too? Let me know in the comments section below ↓

Thanks for stopping by! ♥

February Recap | Winter 2023

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It is the end of the month, once again! I have thought about whether or not to continue with my monthly goals and recap blog posts. I’m curious to know if they have been a useful resource or tool for readers of this blog. Would you find value in these posts if I decided to keep them going? I haven’t been writing these blog posts for very long, yet my calendar is already full. That does not leave me much time to be creating quality content.

Despite the fact that I do not update this blog as frequently as I would like, I have been busy in other aspects of life and work has taken up a significant portion of my time and energy. On top of that, my family responsibilities take up an even greater portion of my day-to-day life. It often amuses me to see how people without kids feel they have the authority to comment on my parenting style when they are not experiencing the demands of being a parent themselves. Being a parent is one of the toughest jobs out there, so it’s no wonder why I prioritize this over blogging.

Let It Go~!

As I look back on the month of February, I am reminded that sometimes the answers that we receive in life, even though they may not be what we were hoping for, is usually the right answer. It can be excruciatingly difficult to come to terms with the fact that sometimes the answer we need is not necessarily the one that we would like to accept. I have yet to receive the closure that I was seeking, but I am slowly learning how to move on and accept these things for what they are. Letting go of things, whether it be a lingering grudge or feeling wronged by someone else, can certainly be a painful experience. Nevertheless, it is something that we must do in order to keep growing. These days, I have to keep reminding myself to “let it go!”

♡ Related Article: The Gift I Never Gave

FEBRUARY GOALS 2023

Career Goals:

  • Continue to pick up day and evening shifts I was able to secure two evening shifts earlier this month, and the other ones were the same. As I’m not fond of day shifts, I’ll stick with evenings for the foreseeable future.
  • Catch up on emails I am up to date on the important emails. Anything that wasn’t pinned to the top of my email list got neglected. I only check my emails once a day whereas I used to check it multiple times a day.
  • Bid of shifts as they become available Yes, I decided to bid for two consecutive days as previously mentioned.
  • Work on the MLL courses. # of completed modules: ?? I didn’t count the modules because I don’t care enough to count them. But I did complete a handful of them. I still have a handful left, which I want to complete before the in-class course starts in mid-March.

Personal Goals:

  • Publish 1-2 blog posts per month In February, I published two blog posts that weren’t the monthly goals and recaps. I also rewrote the poem, Friends No More and had fun answering the 20 Valentine’s Day Questions Tag ♥️
  • Publish 1-2 articles on Medium + share articles on blog Last month, to my surprise, I managed to successfully publish two articles on Medium. This took me by surprise since I didn’t think I would end up with any published articles at all. If you’re interested, you can take a look at my work here and here. I have yet to post these articles on the blog but have plans to do so at some point.
  • Keep tabs on doctor’s appointments/pending appointments This seems to be an ongoing cycle that never ends, and even though I initially planned to share the details of my new Posh Planner for 2023, I haven’t been able to get around to using it yet. And despite making use of my basic $4 Dollarama planner, I have been quite forgetful lately.
  • Daily Duolingo practice 🇩🇪 If you are a Duolingo user and haven’t added me yet, then I strongly encourage you to do so. I always accept someone who sends me a friend request as it’s great for doing the challenges with friends. I don’t have enough time to grind for XP, so I have been stuck in the Obsidian League for 3 weeks now.

Health Goals:

  • Treadmill on my days off + Accountability If this is your first time reading my blog, then I strongly suggest that you follow me on #Twitter! Not only do I post updates and photos to keep myself accountable, but it is also an amazing platform to connect with others who are striving for similar goals. I recently started taking virtual tours around the world while working out, and it has been an incredibly fun and unique experience so far. It is a great way to stay motivated while exercising as I am able to explore beautiful places all over the world without leaving my home. The visuals of these virtual tours are awesome, thanks to an amazing YouTube channel called @TreadmillTV (and others).
  • Limit drinks to water, tea, and coffee Overall, I am quite pleased with my success in achieving this goal of limiting my beverage purchases. During the month of February, I mostly drank water, orange pekoe tea, and coffee. I even managed to limit my trips to Tim Hortons; I only had steeped tea a total of three times this month. Also, I did indulge in some bubble tea with my daughter out of our shared love for it – a total of two times this month.
  • Track steps on Pikmin Bloom app The nice thing about this app is that it syncs with the step-counter on my iPhone. Carrying my phone with me all day isn’t ideal, but this app helps me stay on track. I set myself the goal of 10K steps per day, and it’s done wonders for my health and fitness! Not only has it helped me lose weight, but I’ve seen an improvement in my overall wellbeing too.
  • Healthy/clean eating 80% of the time Although I’m quite conscious of my diet, I still indulge in unhealthy snacks. To make sure my lifestyle is balanced, I opted to stop buying fast food, which I did for the majority of February. It is important to note that I have a tendency to engage in disordered eating habits, which I don’t want to do, so I don’t intentionally practice intermittent fasting. Over the years, I have gotten better, but I still slip up occasionally.

(っ◔◡◔)っ Key Takeaway: If you’re not already following me on Twitter (@serene_hilz), I’m tracking my fitness progress, and you can get real-time updates about my day-to-day life there.

•♡•♥•♡•♥•♡•

And there you have it! As you can see, my February Goals mostly stayed the same. I plan to upload a Monthly Goals Blog Post for March if I am able to find the time to do so. I will try to find time to post this week but there is no guarantee that I will be able to keep up with my writing schedule. After all, I also write for Medium (@sereneluna) and I am thinking about sharing those articles here 👀 It’s getting to the point where it’s hard to maintain a blog AND a Medium account. Now is a great time to follow me on Medium so you don’t miss any of my latest posts! I’m really happy to announce that I have now reached 1.3K followers on Medium and 1.4K followers on WordPress!

Thanks for stopping by! ♥

Friends No More

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Disclaimer: Friends No More is based on my personal experience with unhealthy friendships that I have had in the past. This poem isn’t directed towards any one person in particular. It’s a reminder of the pain I went through when someone I cared deeply about betrayed me and lied to my face, ultimately leading to our friendship to come to an ugly end. This poem is 100% original, written by me, and it is bullshit-free. If you like this poem, feel free to check out my other poetry musings here. ✨

Thanks for reading! ♡

great-vibes.regular (1)

January Recap | Winter 2023

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It’s already the end of January 2023 – seriously, where did the time go? When you work on weekends, it can seem like months are passing by three times faster than normal….It can often feel like only a few days have passed since your last weekend. This phenomenon makes it easy to believe that time is indeed an illusion, as this concept supports that belief.

I didn’t work for the first half of January but I worked a decent amount during the second half of January. If you ask any of my friends and family members who I interact with on a regular basis outside of work, they would tell you that I’m rarely ever around from Friday to Sunday. When I’m not sleeping, I’m usually working or studying for some exam thing. During the weekdays, I have typically been more active online and while this has recently become less frequent due to my ever-growing list of tasks, I still strive to spend as much time online as possible. A hectic schedule can make the days seem to fly by, but it’s also easy to feel overwhelmed. To keep up with all my obligations, I’ll be writing monthly recaps – this helps me stay accountable and take a look back at what I’ve achieved.

Seeking Clarity ✨

Looking back on the month of January, I am incredibly proud to have accomplished a handful of my planned goals that I had set out for myself at the start of the new year. I am doing my best to take life one step at a time and not get overwhelmed by the pressures of looking ahead to multiple months at once. Additionally, I have been facing issues with indecision lately, however, I am expecting February to be the month that brings me clarity and the ability to make the right decisions.

JANUARY GOALS 2022

Career Goals:

  • Do not miss any work days this month I’m proud to say that I didn’t miss any work days this month, despite being ill right at the beginning of January and having to spend New Year’s Day in bed. Nonetheless, I was able to make it back to work mid January and ended up completing a total of 9 shifts! I’m really pleased with myself for managing to do this against all odds and staying productive.
  • Get comfortable with working on new Gen-Med unit Out of the nine shifts I have had so far, six of them were spent on the Gen-Med unit and I am gradually getting more and more comfortable working there. Although I am still not confident with the new admissions and discharges process, I have faith that with a bit of practice and determination, I will eventually master this skill as well.
  • Catch up on emails and work on MLL courses I still have more than 30 modules left to finish by March 14th, 2023. Although I wish I could have been more productive with the MLL modules, I am determined to maintain pace and catch up on them before the deadline approaches. I hate doing things last minute.
  • Start bidding on shifts for February as they become available Yes, I eventually decided to put in a bid for two day shifts. Although I am not overly excited about working days, I will get through it…. but first, steeped tea lol Day shifts can be incredibly hectic and chaotic at times, but they can offer plenty of opportunities to learn and grow.

Personal Goals:

  • Publish 1-2 blog posts per month Writing has taken a backseat this month as I’m busy with exercises and language lessons. It’s not that I’ve lost interest in writing, but rather that I just don’t feel as compelled to create unique content currently. This month, I posted the following blog posts in case you missed them. I guess parodies are fun? You be the judge.
  • Publish 1-2 articles on Medium + share articles on blog So far, I have only shared the What Do you Hope to Accomplish in 2023? article on my blog. However, the other Medium articles that I did publish are not necessarily focused on blogging but rather reflect a more broad range of topics and opinions. Do you really care about what I think about the “Follow 4 Follow” Method on Medium? Probably not, right? Thought so!
  • Keep tabs on doctor’s appointments/pending appointments This seems to be an ongoing cycle that never ends, and even though I initially planned to share the details of my new planners for 2023, I haven’t been able to get around to it yet. For now, I am making do with a basic $4 Dollarama planner which does get the job done; but eventually when time allows it, I will upload a picture of the Posh Habit Tracker Planner that I recently bought.
  • Monthly donation to Amref Health Africa For the past twelve months, I have been regularly donating to Amref and have no intentions of stopping anytime soon. I hope that by supporting their good cause, I can help make a difference. Moreover, anyone who attempts to pester me for donations on #Twitter will be reported and blocked without hesitation.
  • Daily Duolingo practice 🇩🇪 I have managed to form an impressive habit of sticking to my Duolingo practice this month. Additionally, by leveraging the advice from YouTube videos and Reddit forums, I have also figured out an ingenious way to get unlimited hearts without needing to purchase the Super Duolingo subscription. The leagues have been occupying a lot of my time lately; I was able to dedicate 10+ hours to learning German last week! This app is proving to be quite useful for me, so I will continue using it!

Health Goals:

  • Treadmill on my days off + Accountability I was successful in maintaining a consistent routine throughout the month of January. Despite being slightly under the weather at the start of the month, I was back on my feet and on the treadmill in no time. On my days away from work, I made sure to allot at least one hour for exercise on the treadmill, doing a minimum of 300 calories burned and at least 3.2 miles/hr. I realized however, that this strict schedule might not be sustainable for the long-term as I have a tendency to quit.
  • Track water intake on Water Llama app I am terrible at consistently tracking my water intake, no matter how hard I try, unless I am always conscious of it and track it 24/7. Sadly, I could have done a much better job of monitoring my water intake if I was more diligent about it.
  • Track steps on Pikmin Bloom app The nice thing about this app is that it syncs with the step-counter on my iPhone, which also syncs with my Apple Watch. This app only works when I am carrying around my phone though, and I don’t want to be a slave to having my phone in my pocket all day. I upped my step count for the month of February – more on this later.
  • Healthy/clean eating 80% of the time Although I’m quite conscious of my diet, I still indulge in unhealthy snacks. To make sure my lifestyle is balanced, I opted to reduce the amount of fast food intake, particularly from McDonald’s. Additionally, I abstained from purchasing donuts at Tim Hortons.

And there you have it! Do I feel more confident and positive about myself? Absolutely! Did I successfully achieve the goals I had set out to do in the month of January? Yes, indeed! Will I continue this positive trend of setting monthly goals for personal growth and development? Definitely! Will I be posting a Monthly Goal Blog Post for February? Potentially. It is likely that it will be similar to my January list as my goals have not changed.

Finally, if you want to drastically improve your life and have been procrastinating on setting New Year’s Resolutions, goals, etc., then I highly recommend that you take some time to read What Do You Hope to Accomplish in 2023? I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to read this article, as it can be a key factor in jumpstarting your journey towards achieving all the goals you set for yourself and making meaningful progress towards creating a better life for yourself, starting now.

Did you achieve your January goals? Please let me know in the comment section below ↓ Also, if you’re not already following me on #Twitter (@serene_hilz), I’m tracking my progress and you can get real-time updates about my journey there!

Thanks for stopping by! ♥