If this is your first time reading these monthly life updates, welcome!
I am happy that you are here. These life update posts are a way to share things I am working on, enjoying, and struggling with both in life and at work. They are honest conversations about my life in a particular month.
Dwight Is Doing Better
The last life update post I wrote was in a hospital room after Dwight had a seizure. It was a very dark time for us, but he has been doing much better since leaving the hospital. It has been over two months, and we are grateful that he has not had another episode.
We have received hundreds of messages and well wishes, and I did my best to write back to everyone. But if I missed you, please know that I read every single message and took comfort in knowing that someone out there feels my pain.
Thank you for all the well wishes. Thankfully, we are in a much better place now and are still hoping that it was a one-off thing and, hopefully, will never happen again.
Fresh Cut Flowers – A Dream Come True
Ever since I started following Floret Flower on Instagram and reading her first book, I have wanted to grow my own cut flowers. This year, it is finally happening. Last month, we hired a landscape designer who spent two days digging, planting, and organizing everything.
We removed the bushes on both sides of the entrance of our house and planted hydrangeas, peonies, and ranunculus. He said that I wouldn’t have much to harvest this year, but by the spring of 2024, I would have more cut flowers than I know what to do with.
To say that I am excited would be an understatement. Sadly, looking at it now, it is hard to believe that, but thanks to the ample sunlight our house gets, I know they will bloom before we know it.
Winter Blues – Time for Books & Good Shows
I don’t know about you, but I find this time of the year, right after the holidays and before the spring, to be the hardest. Between the cold and the rain, I feel no desire to go outside. So, I have been doing a lot of cooking, reading, and watching TV shows.
I thought it would be fun to share some of the notables books and shows I’ve been enjoying just in case you need some suggestions:
Books
- Wild At Home – How To Style and Care for Beautiful Plants by Hilton Carter: If you are following Hilton Carter on Instagram and drooling over his gorgeous plants and home, you will enjoy this book. Because this is where he shows us how to decorate with plants in such a way that an artist composes a painting. He shares the thought behind technical details like light, humidity, and space while helping you understand how to design a home filled with life and warmth.
- The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain – Dr. Tara Swart: I decided to read this book after watching Dr. Swart on Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal. A neuroscientist and former psychiatric doctor, she teaches us how to change negative thought patterns based on neuroscience’s latest findings and her life experiences as an executive coach and a professor at MIT. It is packed with actionable steps for improving emotionally and intellectually by living an intentional life.
- The Perfect Marriage – Jeneva Rose: If you need a pleasing page-turner that is hard to put down, give this a read. It is about a successful defense attorney defending her loser husband, who is the prime suspect in the death of his pregnant mistress. With so many twists and turns, the short chapters make it easy to follow the story until the end.
Shows:
- The Club – Netflix: This was my favorite show last year. The story starts in 1950s Istanbul with Matilda, a mother who has just got released from prison after serving a long sentence for killing the father of her baby. She tries to connect with her now-teenage daughter, who spent all that time in an orphanage. Between the rebellious daughter and the tumultuous times in history, life has a lot in store for her. This show is a heartwarming story of loss, love, and elegance.
- The Bear – Hulu: After the unexpected suicide of his brother, the main character, Bear, who has worked in the best restaurants in New York City, comes back home to Chicago to take over the family restaurant. Though this restaurant has a much different vibe than what he is used to, there is much to change. Sadly, the team that has been around for a long time is not ready for change. It is such a great story that shows the behind-the-scenes of the cutthroat restaurant business and the personal life of a chef going through some very tough mental issues.
- Poker Face – Peacock: We just started watching this show. The story revolves around a woman whose superpower is her ability to tell if someone is lying. Using her talent, she solves one crime after another while trying to stay alive from the demons of her past. While each episode is pretty predictable, the stories are engaging and fun to watch.
What Is Working In Life & Work?
- Bullet Journaling: I started keeping track of the important things using the bullet journaling method. If you are unfamiliar, it is a notebook where you keep track of things that are important to you daily. I decided to do this because, towards the end of last year, I found myself feeling like I didn’t have enough hours in a day. This nagging feeling of a combination of not doing enough and not being enough was becoming a daily downer. But after a month of logging everything important to me helped me see how much I accomplished in a given day. If you feel the same way, I highly recommend investing in a notebook and a pen to start. It is surely a great way to ground yourself, put away all the devices, and take a moment to review the day you left behind.
- Website Design: Foolproof Living is about to get a facelift. After years of “making things work” with a minimal budget, I finally decided to bite the bullet and work with some of the best people in the industry. We are in the beginning stages of the design process, and it won’t be live until late March, but I am excited to provide a better experience to my readers.
Challenges:
- Wrinkles: I recently got a photoshoot done in my kitchen. I wanted some fresh photos for the new site thinking that it would be fun to get some recent photos. Sadly, when the photographer delivered the photos, all I could see was this weird wrinkle on my forehead. It just came out of nowhere. So, I asked my hairdresser to cut me some bangs to cover it up, but some friends say it is time for Botox. I don’t know what I will do, but I know for sure that I do not like this aspect of aging.
- AI – The so-called next big thing: For the first time in my blogging career, I am jumping on the wagon for the next big thing, Artificial Intelligence. While I am happy to do so, there is so much unknown with AI. Like many, I have been dabbling with it since ChatGPT entered into our lives in November 2022. And I have to say I am blown away by what it can do. However, while it is pretty incredible, I am worried about how much of it I should use in my business. While it can do so much, I feel like the rules have not been established yet, and if you use it incorrectly, one can drastically hurt his/her business. Luckily, I signed up for a mastermind group where we explore all the new and shiny AI tools and brainstorm ways to use them. Still, there is so much unknown, and I feel so much resistance to change.
I Leave You With This:
I have never been someone who enjoys working out. I really wish I could change that, but I don’t think that it is in the cards for me. With that being said, I recently started doing the daily classes of Misty Tripoli using the program she created, Body Groove.
For one thing, the classes are so-much-fun. You are pretty much dancing the whole time. There is no right or wrong move. Rather, you are following her prompts and letting it all go while you are sweating your a$$ off. I have been doing these classes for 2 weeks now, and for the first time in my life, I look forward to “working out” after a long day at work.
If you are struggling with the same thing, give it a try. Who knows, you might like it too!
Until next month… Cheers.
Aysegul
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