Category: The Daily

During the summer months of 2020, I was MIA and didn’t get to publish any blog posts. We were pretty bummed out about not being able to travel abroad during the summer months. After cancelling our trip to Guatemala and not hopping on the plane for so long, along with many cancelled events and more people getting sick, this summer was not what we expected it to be. However, we were very fortunate for still having our jobs and good health during these difficult times. So when the Corona limitations gave us this extended stay-cation, we decided to make good use of it!

Several summer weekends were spent working on our garden, remodeling our home and upgrading and minimalizing! A few were spent with my parents, back home in Houston and in their spacious backyard. And then again a few more were spent picking up extra work since we had no where to go! I’ve posted about all the extra things we got to do this year on my Instagram stories…but if you missed it, here ya go!

• 

• 

1 My parent’s backyard and our very own backyard are two of my happy places! Luckily, hubby loves gardening as much as I do! We grew many vegetables, fruits and herbs such as okra, papaya, carrots, beans, curry leaves, baby banana, aloe vera, yucca, mint, rosemary, all kinds of peppers and so many lemons! We also worked on growing a few inside plants and flowers!

2 We extended my dad’s trellis (called “panthal” in my native language), as well as increased the area we use for gardening in our own backyard. We learned how to make more use of the space we have in terms of growing plants. We also did this with our indoor house plants!

3 Hubby and I installed a rain water catcher! We connected our gutter to a 50 gallon container and attached a pipe at the bottom of it. So whenever we need to water our garden now, we just open up the pipe and use rain water.
Plus points: Rain water is better for the soil and vegetables. It saves us a good amount on our water bill each month during the summer months.

Indoors

4 Something we were able to do in our house during the very hot summer days was upgrading our kitchen and bathroom. We took off all our cabinet doors, painted them and added handles to it. We also painted our bathroom cabinets and added fancy handles, which really gave the bathroom an upgraded look.

5 While we were painting our cabinets, we thought why not paint some walls to. So we ended up painting our game room a dark red to match our pool table, giving it a more put together look. While I was on this painting spree, I also used some left over paint and painted a closet that really needed it.

Check out my sister in law’s video below to get a sneak peek of my parent’s backyard, the huge lemon tree, the okra vines and more! When life gave us lemons, we made lemonade, literally.

Check out my Travel Perspective posts here!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

One of my most favorite things to do along with traveling is dancing! Dancing was one way I was able to keep my sanity during this corona season.. and well, all seasons really. With stage shows and events going virtual this year, instead of performing on stage, we presented a dance video. Performing this way really had it’s own set of challenges and problems and it was definitely a learning process. We learned a lot about shooting, choreography, placement, presentation and editing- and I got to say; kudos to those who do this kind of work all the time! Along with it being a learning process, it was also a way to loosen up and have a little fun during this stressful time. All of us had a great time putting this dance together and watching the idea come to life virtually.

I have to say, I’m so grateful for finding a group of women, who don’t let other’s limiting beliefs limit themselves or their passion. I hope more women will step out of the kitchen more often and do other things they are passionate about.

Check out my blog post about limiting beliefs here. For all the daily posts, check out the Daily Category.

Outfit details : Find similar ones here!
Saree – Peach Saree
Blouse- Black plain blouse
Hair- Braided extension & Hair flowers
Shoes- Slip On Closed Toed Shoes from JCPenney
Jewelry- Bangles, Necklace, Forehead piece (nettichutti)

Dance Participants: Teena, Linu, Suja, Mini and myself
Song Details:
1. Gundu Manga, Movie: Sachien
2. Gaanda Kannazhagi, Movie: Namma Veettu Pillai
3. Adchithooku Movie; Viswasam

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

It’s not really day 19. Many days and months have passed since my last daily post. Somewhere in between the pandemic, keeping up with work, trying to stay sane, work on self care and the other gazillion things that happened these few months, I let my blogging slide a bit. But now I’m at a place where I believe it’s okay to take breaks and to let things slide sometimes. It’s perfectly okay to have a completely lazy, non-productive day! (Didn’t think I would ever say that, but hey, life has changed in 2020 for all of us.)

This whole pandemic situation has taught me many things in such a short period of time. It has taught me how very little material things I need, who is essential in my life and what really matters at the end of the day. During the pandemic, we (hubby and I) have ditched a few habits and started a few better ones. I’ll be going into details about several of these things in the upcoming daily posts, so stay tuned!

It’s hard to keep up with travel blog when travel is limited from work to home and vice versa. As this year comes to an end with the distribution of the vaccines, my travel hopes are high for the upcoming year. Hence, I also hope this will be a comeback for me into my blogging life. I will be sharing with you all the wonderful things we have done in the past few months through these daily blog posts! (which by the way will be raw, unedited bits and pieces of my every day thoughts.)

Check out all the other daily posts here!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

Do you have any limiting beliefs?

At first, you might brush that thought away, thinking you don’t. However, we all have beliefs, both big and small that limit us. They limit our potential, what we choose to do and what we produce as a result. These beliefs come from a variety of things, including our parent’s beliefs and values, our upbringing, our nationality, culture, education and so much more. It’s often difficult to pinpoint a limiting belief, to acknowledge it and to restrain it. Once you realize your thought was just a limiting one and not a reality, then the way you do things and the way you see things will change.

<Story time>

Let me give you a small, yet significant example of a how a limiting belief held me back.
I used to take pictures professionally for family photo shoots and events. Most of these events took place at a church or party halls. Initially, I used to have the thought that I did not belong up in the front of the event taking pictures because I was a female. It wasn’t common for a female photographer to be up in front of the church taking pictures and well, it still isn’t. Because of this, I engraved in myself that I don’t deserve to be up there and that I won’t be as good as the male photographers. This specific belief came from my cultural and religious background and the idea and opinions of other people, which in return became instilled in me.

For my first main shoot, I was limiting myself with these thoughts and it showed in the work. After I was done with the shoot, I realized that it actually DIDN’T matter what other people thought. It didn’t matter that none of the other photographers were female. It didn’t matter if I felt people were constantly looking at me. After my first shoot, I realized that I didn’t even see anything beyond my clients and their event. The audience (or congregation) I took pictures of were just subjects in my frame and nothing else. Once I shifted that limiting belief mindset, it changed how I approached my events. I didn’t hide in the back or try to shoot from afar. I got up to the place I needed to be to get that perfect shot and I did my work like any man would have.

<More>

This is just one small example of a minor, yet powerful limiting belief. These beliefs are not only applicable to women only; men have their own set of limiting beliefs as well. Others limiting beliefs may include things like “I’m too old, I’m not strong enough, I’m not pretty/good looking enough, I’m not educated, I am married, I am a mother” and so on. Yes, these are ALL limiting beliefs that we give ourselves that prevent us from doing something that we really want to. It doesn’t stop there. Limiting beliefs also affect what we wear, eat, say and even think! Some beliefs I hear often are that women MUST know how to cook well (and daily), men should not be in the kitchen.. and so on.

Call to Action:

Write down 2 limiting beliefs that you have. If you can’t think of it, what “reasons” are holding you back from doing what you want? Write those things down. Now think through these thoughts.
What is causing those limiting beliefs?
And realize that those beliefs are exactly what they are meant to be; limiting.

Check out my post on Making Believe here!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

Time is a relative thing. You have time for what matters and you don’t have it for what doesn’t matter. You have time for the things you want to do and you have excuses for the things you don’t want to do. When someone says they don’t have time for something, it’s not that they don’t actually have an hour to spare. It’s that what is to be done is of less importance to that person. After all, we have the same number of hours in the day as Mother Teresa and Michael Jordan.

Are we putting those hours to good use or are we frivolously wasting it on things that don’t make a difference in the future? We all like to think that we have all the time in the world, especially when we are young. It’s something that we think we will have forever. But the reality is that we don’t. Time is also limited, we just don’t know how much yet. If I told you that you had one year left on this Earth, will that change what you spend your time on? How about if I told you that you only have one week left?

I wonder if this is one of the things that God will ask us when we meet him one day. (Whatever higher power you believe in) What if He asks us what we did with all the time He gave us? Imagine if God has an excel sheet and he tells you that you watched television for what equals 2 years and spent 5 years on Instagram. Haha

Call to action:

Track how much time you spend on each task\event daily.
If you notice you are spending more hours than you had willingly planned, change it. Use a planner or block out hours for certain activities that are more or less important to you.

Check out my other Daily blog posts here!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

Trust is one of those things that takes a long time to earn and a second to loose. It is the foundation of every relationship whether it is a marriage, a friendship or even a business partnership. It’s built up not only through consistent words of promise but through action and deeds. It can be broken in an instant from big actions of betrayal or from petty, little lies. Once broken, it’s hard to regain someone’s trust.

How can you simplify the word trust for a child to understand? You could maybe say that it is the belief that mom will be there to pick you up at the bus stop every single day. The consistent action of mom being there is what strengthens that trust. What if mom doesn’t show up one day? What if mom says she will be there but doesn’t show up every so often? The idea that mom will be there without doubt is not as strong as it was before. That trust has been slightly tarnished or sometimes completely lost.

But trust is often like this; it’s the small things. It’s staying true to your word consistently and showing up without fail. Trust is gained when you purposefully and consistently delivering what you said you would. It’s based more on daily actions, not mere words.

Call to ACTION: Or use this as a reminder!

• Be consistent in what you promise
• Only promise what you can deliver
• Be truthful and don’t lie, no matter the person or the topic at hand

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

Click here for the full page of Daily Thoughts! Enjoy!

In the first part, I mentioned that a podcast host, Cathy Heller said that the opposite of depression is purpose. This idea really stuck to my mind because I completely agree with it and understand it. It’s not the people with the biggest problems or in the hardest situations that go into depression. It’s the people without a purpose in life, those who don’t have something to look forward to. More of my thoughts on it below!

If I ask you what is your purpose in life, what would you answer be? What are your goals, your ambitions?

Some people want to live the American dream and raise their children in the best possible way. Others want to travel the world and explore all that’s in it. Some want to build up a business and grow their own brand. And a handful who want to hold a steady job for 30 years and look towards retirement. It doesn’t matter which category you fall into here or if you have a category that’s not on here. What matters is that you have a purpose; you have a goal that you want to work towards.

Having a purpose or goal in life will encourage you to wake up every day and show up. Although some days might be bad, there will still be hope about the future. People who go into depression don’t see that light at the end of the tunnel. They don’t see a reason to keep going or have hope things will get better. No matter how bad the situation you are in now, you have to build up the courage to know that better days will come. Having something to look forward to and work for is one of the best things to keep you going. It gives you that will and desire to live and to see it become fruitful.

Call to Action:

If you don’t have any specific goals in life, I want you to do this exercise with me! Write down the answers to these questions honestly and review them. Once you are done, write down 3 goals that you will like to achieve in the next year and in the next 5 years.

1. What makes you happy?
2. What is important to you?
3. Where do you see yourself in the future?
4. What makes your day worth?
5. What are you good at/what skills do you have?
6. Is there a skill you would like to learn or master?
7. Talk to your spouse/family and see if all these values and ideas align.
8. Review everything you wrote down and plan small goals around it!

If you have not read the first part of this, check it out here!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

Mental health is one of the most important things to focus on in our society. Why? Because suicide is becoming more and more prevalent these days and it’s downright frightening. Children as young as ten and eleven years are taking their own life, at an age where they should be playing outside and not having a care in the world. The number of young adults who have poor mental health is on the rise. Adults are constantly fighting depression and often loosing to it. In days where positive mental health is being encouraged more than ever, actions are still not being taken at the right time and by the right people.

Depression and poor mental health has no age, gender, race or class, but the positive thing about it is that it doesn’t have to end in suicide. I feel that there are two major factors that play an important role in a child’s life while growing up that affects their mental health and their chances of falling into depression. Here are some thoughts on this topic.

Parenting

I believe parents play the most important role during the time of a child’s upbringing that affects their mental health. Parents always want the best for their children, but unintentionally harm their future and mental health. A parent who always gives a child what he or she wants is setting the child up for failure later in life. If a child grows up thinking he/she will get everything they want and when they don’t get something, the child will be devastated. Teach children that they can’t get everything they want or even everything they need in life. Sometimes, they have to work for it and even then, they may not get it. That is life. Giving children ridiculous amounts of toys, gadgets and material things is also not a good thing. They will learn at a young age to find happiness in material goods. Instead, spend time with your children, teach them about responsibility, give them a purpose and prepare them for the real world.

Society

Schools, cultural communities, religious institutes and other local communities also play a role in mental health for children and youth. Youth often get their inspiration and their lack of it from these places as well as home. These institutions are for the community and should help by recognizing people who need assistance, helping with depression and being a moral support for the youth.
Recently however, all these communities are less interested in it’s members and more in social media. They are more involved in showing off what is happening and gaining new members. Schools are more focused on fundraising, school games and pressure on kids for college. Cultural communities are focused on hosting big events, having high end group trips and more. Religious communities and leaders are focused on having a bigger place of worship, posting more on social media and assisting people in other countries.

It’s time for a change. Focus FIRST on your own children and their mental health needs. Provide them with emotional support more than emphasizing their talents or grades. Teach them to grow with failures, non materialistic happiness and inner strength. Give them attention so that they don’t go searching for it elsewhere. Stop comparing your children to other children or downplaying their accomplishments. After all, good mental health, like charity, starts at home and then extends into the community.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

Check out the rest of the daily posts here! Part TWO of this post coming soon!

Father’s day is a holiday, just as important as mother’s day, but often played down much less. Because well, that’s what father’s do. Dads are the silent, yet continuous set of working hands within your life. If you’ve had a good father figure in your life growing up, you’ve seen your father working hard to make ends meet, keep the bills paid and at the same time, keep you going. But the thing is, even though you see it, you will never hear them. Fathers have a special way of getting things done quietly, but efficiently. They do it without all the ruckus and reminders that they are constantly working for the family’s future.

If you can remember and cherish the times that your dad taught you how to ride a bike or taught you to change a tire, then consider yourself lucky. If you remember dads who have made you meals and have done your hair, even luckier. It takes more than just contributing some chromosomes to be a father. It takes a lot of work, incredible patience, tough love and a whole lotta faith.

Here’s to all the dads out there; the biological ones, the step dads, the fathers-in-laws, the future dads and the men who step in as a dad when one is needed! And here’s to all the children that grew up without a father figure in their life AND still made it.

Happy Father’s Day!

There really is no call to action for this post! But if you have a strained relationship with your father, this is a great time to make amends. If you are a father who is not in good terms with your children, make that phone call and make things right. Going through the pandemic this year, one thing that is certain is life is unpredictable. So don’t wait until it’s too late!

Check out the rest of my Daily posts here!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

In one of my earlier daily posts, I wrote that we should make ourselves believe and manifest it into reality. My post today will tell you exactly the opposite. Many times, it’s good to believe in ourselves and tell ourselves what we want over and over again to make it come true. And most of the time, it does become true. But the key is to know what to believe and what NOT to believe. There are a few instances when you should reconsider doing this. You shouldn’t tell yourself stories and make yourself to believe it’s true in your head, only to realize later that it’s not. This will drop you head first into a reality that you cannot accept or cannot cope with. So, what are these instances I am referring to? Keep reading!

1 It’s unrealistic. Sometimes we tell ourselves things that are unrealistic. Yes, shoot for the stars and set high goals. At the same time, be realistic about it. If I wanted to become president of the United States or a unicorn, I obviously could not. If I keep telling myself I will become the president even though I know the rules, regulations and requirements, I am setting myself up for failure. If I want to turn myself into a mystical creature, I’m setting myself up for failure again. However, if I tell myself I’m going to become a doctor one day, that is an achievable, realistic goal.

2 It’s based on someone else. When your story involves the hard work and commitment of someone else, you are doing yourself (and them!) injustice by setting high beliefs. If you believe and you can achieve on your own, then by all means, go for it! But if includes a second person, who might not be able to meet you half way, then you might run into some trouble. For example, if you make a goal of traveling the world with someone else and that person does not show up over and over, then your goal will not reach the heights you want it to.

3 Feelings are involved. Often when feelings are involved, your brain is not. Avoid making yourself believe stories that have to do with your own or someone else’s feelings. When you are at a heightened state of feeling, whether it is excitement or sadness, you tend to make decisions based on that temporary feeling. But feelings are exactly that; temporary. They will fade away and life will go on, with the effects of the decisions you made at that moment. Don’t try to manifest anything based on feelings!

Call to ACTON:
1. Set realistic goals with steps and time limits;
2. Don’t base your goals and ‘make believes’ on someone else’s life.
3. Never make decisions based on heightened feelings at the moment.