I am sitting at a small little café and have an hour before I meet my family for my birthday dinner. As it is my tradition I take a bit of time to myself and do a snapshot of what is happening in my life, what things are dear to my heart, things I am emotional about and maybe need t change. It is a very good check-in to see what I am currently feeling and how I start into a new year. Feel free to read along or skip. At the moment:
.I feel:
…exhausted, overwhelmed and yet also content (at this moment), thankful and loved.
.I apologize:
…too much and other times not nearly enough.
.I like:
…sleeping better in the past weeks and months and hope I can keep it up.
.I hate:
…the time I recently spent on tech stuff. Such a waste of time, so unproductive and frustrating.
.I commit:
…to learning golf and improving.
.I explore:
…ways to make money in a side hustle.
.I watch:
…my niece sleep. And have been for most of the day, at times trying to keep her calm so my sister can take a nap, other times admiring her cute little face, hands and feet. And sucking noises.
.I listen:
…currently to French chansons in the cafe I am at. Other times I don’t listen much to music. Mostly podcasts and here its “Girl Next Door”, “Happy Healthy Wealthy” or “nushu female business”. I am missing creative podcasts and I feel like I have listened to all of them.
.I crave:
…cheese and mozzarella in particular lately. And always blueberries of course.
.I need:
…creative space. More time to ponder, think and let the thoughts meander. I need less pressure and deadlines and self-imposed stress.
.I’m annoyed by:
…people asking things that are obvious.
.I pray:
…for family and friends who go through medical emergencies and losses.
.I want:
…my husband to struggle less and get a breather.
.I hear:
…cars rushing by, the palm leaves scratching on the windowpane, distant birds, my own breathing, rain on the asphalt and dishes clinking.
.I’m making:
…progress in my Spanish. Of course I could do more but it is amazing how much I can already understand with often only one Duolingo lesson a day.
.I eat:
…too much ice cream, cake and chocolate.
.I drink:
…too much coffee, not enough water. And right now a cold matcha-coconut latte with a splash of strawberry sirup.
.I gather:
…paper scraps and packaging for my 100 days project.
.I smell:
…flowers and blossoms and earlier today a whole field of chamomile that was in the gardens of the Ministry of Economy and Energy I passed.
.I miss:
…carefree days, lighthearted summer nights.
.I don’t miss:
…people smoking in public. I just had a waft and it is so unpleasant. How did we sit in restaurants with people smoking left and right.
.I regret:
…loosing my habits so quickly. I fell of the bandwagon with my exercise and my body is (unfortunately) very quick to gain wait.
.I research:
…projects from the past 50 years from my client. It is fun to dig deep and have the older generation tell stories and find hidden gems of company history.
.I dance:
…not enough. But if I like Latin pop and hip hop these days.
.I enjoy:
…being self-employed.
.I appreciate:
…my husband.
.I trust.
…things will be good, everything will be as it is supposed to be.
.I dream:
…of a long vacation.
.I ponder:
…what to do and how to help the husband and his business.
.I hope:
…the world will snap out of it’s weird state it is in, let the politicians get some grounding and recalibrating input.
.I must:
…make more money or raise prices.
.I read:
…The invisible life of Addie LaRue – finished this morning.
.I write:
…social media posts, blogposts, texts.
.I am proud:
…of my arctic trip. I recently looked a bit more closely and what had happened and had a little therapy session with ChatGPT and I acknowledged that it was tough and not well organized at certain points,
.I emoji:
…🥰😜😬😳🫣
.I plan:
…a vacation at home and lots of golfing.
.I celebrate:
…my 44th birthday. In Germany it’s called a „Schnapszahlen-Geburtstag“ meaning schnaps number birthday because of the double identical numbers. And I got some shot glasses from the husband.
.I elevate
…my AI skills.
.I give:
…myself some grace and try to work in a slower pace even though it means working weekends.
.I send:
…sympathy cards, not enough postcards and letters.
.I take:
…only photos for work and rarely myself or my personal photography projects.
.I see:
…my friends not often enough these days.
.I try:
…to get back to a better workout routine.
.I wear:
…my party pants (a faux leather jeans style), a self-made white black patterned see-through sweater (fabric from my late grandma) with black hems, black metal graphic earrings, leather jacket and black wedges.
.I dislike:
…my mood swings and the way my loved ones have to cope with them.
.I wish:
…we all be more happy and spread more joy and love. I think it would make the world a better place.
.I‘m curious
…what this new year has in store for me and hope for many happy moments.
And just like that another year in the books. If you enjoyed this post you may also like a look in my previous birthday wrap ups 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. I am going to read last year’s now.
Now let me know one thing you wish for, that you are enjoying or that you recently celebrated. Is any of my answer the same as yours? Do you sometimes sit down to take a snapshot of your moment in life?
