ELEVATING Happiness in May 2025

I did a lot of living in May with all the holidays and short weeks. And at the same time I feel like I got rarely anything done – mainly when it comes to work. Or at least the invoices are a bit lower for May. Anyhow let’s have a look how elevating happiness in May has looked like and what is on the horizon for June – my birthday month. And the husband’s birthday month. One of the top three months if you are wondering.

How I incorporated my word ELEVATE in May

I elevated my soul by

• sitting on the terrace, enjoying the first warm (almost hot) days and getting some taint.
• listening to the wind in the trees, the coo of the crows and the distant boats on the river.
• watching the clouds go by while sipping my coffee.
• exploring the woods with my bike and finding some nice meadows.
• by working hard on getting a few more things done on my bucket list.
• meditating and breathing exercises 11 times.

I elevated my creativity by

• nothing. How did this happen? Bummer.

I elevated my hobbies by

• reading books – what else. Including one with Elevation in the title. And one for the Read around the World challenge.
• Going to the library flea market and getting myself five books and two for my mom.
• keep blogging.

I elevated my physical appearance and fitness by

• doing yoga 10 times.
• lifting weights 1 times and functional weight training 8 times.
• closing my apple rings 4 times – the lowest this year.
• walking over 10.000 steps/day on 4 days, total of 143.7km and an average of 6.687 daily steps (95.5% of goal).
• rode my bike for 19 km but one trainings session with 14km and intervals.
• seeing my body change even when the scale is not as quick to tell me.

I elevated my health by

• taking care of my torn thigh muscle and slowing down.
• starting Zumba.
• resting when feeling sick (Covid ?!) and getting better quick for a weekend trip.
• being more consistent with my vitamins.
• slightly reducing sugar but only I have switched to protein bars. Is that really the healthier choice? Right now I want to believe it.
• working hard on integrating more protein into my diet and seeing some results.
• getting some feedback on my sleep study (not too satisfying) and scheduling a therapy sleep over at the sleep clinic with a CPAP machine.

I elevated my relationships by

• family reunion which was a bliss. I shared a bit previously.
• attending my sisters ordination.
• spending a morning with my sister – alone, no kids, just talks.
• spending time with my other sister.
• laughing with the husband.
• calling an old friend in Idaho for his retirement party.
• FaceTiming with another Idaho friend twice.
• meeting an online business friend for a coffee aside a conference he attended in Berlin.
• bi-weekly co-working sessions with a business friend. I really appreciate this time together.
• receiving two letters from lovely bloggers. Thanks Michelle and Engie.
• leaving 96 blog comments.

I elevated my home by

• ordering a sun umbrella. Need to rethink the stand as it’s not working as planned.
• fertilizing my rose bush hoping to coax it into more life and bloom.
• washing the outdoor pouf covers.
• Pruning my one flower so it can get a second blooming wind.
• borrowing the window cleaning robot – but haven’t tested it yet.

I elevated my style by

• sipping an non alcoholic drink – bright yellow something. Tasty.
• Investing in a pricy bra but it’s the first one in a very long time that fits and I didn’t even realize I was wearing one. Is that the norm for some people?
• rediscovering an old suit pants in my wardrobe AND realizing I can fit in again. Elevated styles coming up.
• Ordered myself a new perfume for my collection. Have never smelled it. Fingers crossed I like it.

I elevated my behavior by

• being patient and kind when sitting in the emergency room for 4+hours.
• doing some major adulting.

Discovered this butterfly (or is it a moth) during my walk – a Light Emerald apparently. Never seen one before.

ELEVATING June

• I will elevate my soul by
  …enjoying the terrace.
  …napping outdoors.
  …enjoying a week off from work with the husband. No travels, staying at home. But including some adventure (boating?, dinners? movie?) while also pottering around the house.
  …first dip of the season in the river.
• I will elevate my creativity by
  …sewing a white maxi skirt. Vacation goal.
  …doing a sun print.
  …make 5 quote cards.
  …by watching a course on creative life.
• I will elevate my hobbies by
  …reading outdoors including 2 novels for my RatW challenge.
  …blogging.
• I will elevate my physical appearance and fitness by
  …sticking with the training plan Chat GPT is providing and hoping I can push myself a bit more this month after all the sick days and injuries.
  …starting to include jump roping.
• I will elevate my health by
  …attending zumba.
  …continue to strive for no sugar on weekdays. For now protein bars are ok.
  …making low sugar/sugar free ice cream.
  …going to the sleep clinic for the therapy sleep study and to the consult afterwards.
  …working hard on loosing three kilos this months. It’s doable but will be a stretch.
• I will elevate my relationships by
  …celebrating my birthday with my best friend for brunch.
  …celebrating my birthday with a family dinner.
  …celebrating the husbands birthday (a little later since he has a busy work schedule).
  …planning our white party and sending out reminders for people who haven’t yet RSVPed.
  …sending at least two letters – to make up for missing May.
• I will elevate my home by
  …order plant pots.
  …use the window cleaning robot and if its not satisfying book a professional window cleaner.
  …borrow a pressure washer to clean the outdoor carpets.
  …tidying up my home office / craft lab – seriously… its a disaster.
  …put away the last Christmas decor. And the Easter stuff.
• I will elevate my style by
  …getting myself some birthday nails.
  …creating a fun birthday outfit.
  …testing at least one white drink as contender for our white summer party.
  …fixing some garments when I have the sewing machine set up.
• I will elevate my behavior by
  …picking up some trash on one of my walks.
• I will be elevating others by
  …leaving three podcast reviews in the Apple Store.

How elevated did your May feel? How have you elevated your home lately? How can you elevate your hobby in June? Is there book/podcast/movie with elevation in the title you can recommend?