Disappear for a while and come back with a blast

– Unknown

 

Hello, hola everyone!

How are you and how’s your summer going?  Great I hope.

It’s been almost a year since my last update but I am back in full force after a much-needed long and deserved break.

Actually I believe it is the longest I’ve ever been away in the 7 years that I have been blogging!

Without any further do, here is the August 2018 Update

Would you like to know the reasons behind my absence?

Well, first of all I would like to offer you an apology for the long silence but the reason is quite strong, please read on.

I was away for nearly half the year is due to the fact that a member of my family was hospitalized since the end of 2017. My family and I had to be at their side during their medical procedures and recovery.

Can I be completely honest with you? This came out of nowhere and we were absolutely shocked and surprised.

I won’t lie and tell you that we’ve had some rather difficult days and we were clearly shaken to the core. They say those things either happen all at once or none at all.

Well, life threw us all the lemons there could possibly be in a basket or truck and guess what? We made all sort of things with it: fresh lemonade, granité, ice pops, mojitos and margaritas (with an extra dose of Jose Cuervo I admit with absolutely zero shame). We did need to drink up you know? It numbs the pain but the headaches wow.

One has to find some humor or make some sense of the situation right? This certainly helped our family to become even stronger and more united than ever! Our faith was put to the test but we’re built tough! Anything anyone to throw at us, bring it ON 🙂

Oh did I mention that along the way I’ve become a caretaker/nurse/cook/driver/personal shopper/negotiator with doctors, nurses, pharmacists, transportation companies and best of all? I did not receive a salary for it nor was I expecting one.

Helping someone to get up, sit in a wheelchair, get ready to learn to walk again does require a lot of guts, determination and yes, infinite doses of patience.

In the past months I’ve learned that waking up at 5 a.m. from Monday to Sunday is seriously hard at the beginning but it gets better as time goes by. Actually I can now see the point of using the early hours to get a lot done without being interrupted and by the time 9 a.m. rolls around half the day is complete.

You can take a coffee break and why not some pastry to go along with it too. I finally get it and my respect to those who’ve been doing it for years. Put more life into your years and make the most of your time!

Now, I must say that many people didn’t understand nor asked if there was something I needed or if there was anything they could help with, that is why I had to take some distance.

Frankly, it’s in the trying times that you realize who your true friends are and who will stick by your side in the not so good times. By the way, has that ever happened to you?

Ok, now that you know a bit more the reasons why I took such a long break but worry not, I have so much more to tell. So grab a cup of java, tea (yes you can raise your pinky) or a cold drink because you’ll enjoy every sip with that follows!

Let’s continue shall we?

 

Watching   

I have a confession to make. Believe it or not, and in spite of everything that has been going on, I’ve maintained high spirits and have been very motivated to keep on keeping on thanks to a very special channel that I discovered on YouTube and it is called Infinite Waters.

I always found a few minutes during the day, particularly in the early hours to watch Ralph Smart a very cool, articulate, educating and motivational speaker who uploads videos full of value and great insights every. single. day.

I won’t hide the fact that it’s the very first thing I watch every day which makes me laugh out loud and my energy levels go sky-high after watching him. Go and check him out!

One of the other shows I watched religiously was Parts Unknown with the one and only, Anthony Bourdain.

This exceptional and natural story-teller, prolific writer, world traveler, friendly and adventurous traveler soul left this earth in a tragic way.

Raise your hand if you were also shocked and deeply saddened when you heard the news of his passing away?

Again can I be honest? I cried so hard and felt as if I had lost another member of my family. That hit me deep and I curled up for a moment.

How and why? Why did he have to leave us so soon? Was there something that could have been done to answer his cry for help?

I have lived such an experience with a friend from the university many years ago and it was like reliving the whole experience all over again. Let’s just say that it was like reopening the wound that took several years to heal.

Mental health, depression and suicide are really some serious issues and we should never judge anyone for wanting or needing help as well as treatment.

I would write about it but it still pains me and I don’t want to expose his life as he went through so much and in honor of his memory, I will not…or shall I? Tell me.

Since the time of Tony’s death, a lot of his wonderful and educational shows were aired again on TV, as well as 8 seasons available on Netflix 

and we even got to see his final show filmed in Bhutan where he spoke about the end of life and crossing over. It sent chills right to the bones!

I sure pray that he is now in a better and happy place and hope that he found the peace he was looking for.

He helped us see the world through his eyes, introduced us to different cultures, spoke unapologetically about hot topics and food, glorious food that brought people together.

Every single episode was not only a journey into a new destination, it was an educational hour that changed the way we saw life and remembering how incredibly fortunate we are.

His legacy will certainly live on forever.

 

Reading

I’ve had very long days of running around doing so many things during the day, I have not read as many books as I would love to.

However there are some excellent books that I’m so glad I found the time to read as they taught me quite a lot and here you can see which ones I added to 50 Book Pledge for 2018  

 

Since I took a break from blogging, I read a LOT of blog posts from other people and most of them were found thanks to my current favorite site and that’s PINTEREST.

I already mentioned that I’m a good student right? Well, let me tell you that Pinterest is a GOLD MINE.

You’ll everything under the sun and if you want to learn lots for free, head over there and don’t forget to add me

 

Feeling

Super grateful for everything as it has taught me all the necessary things I needed to learn.

If I can look back to see how far we’ve come, I certainly wouldn’t change a thing.  Things happened because they had to and life is unpredictable. Now I fully understand the meaning of another saying that goes like this: ”Life doesn’t happen to you, life happens through you.” It’s how you respond to circumstances or events that make you stronger and wiser.

If some people can’t and won’t understand why it has transformed me and if they’re so quick to judge me, well we’re moving right along.

Good and positive vibes only!

 

Working on

Did I even mention at any point above that besides my duties (that are preparing me for the next stage in my life) I actually WORKED full-time? Oh heck yes! I did say I’m a tough cookie right? Well I thank the heavens for the other work that keeps me sane, in my case translating, proofreading and writing. I do what I love and love what I do.

One of the great things about working on my own allows me to have more freedom and flexibility but I have a lot of responsibilities with the people who put they trust in me and believe in what I do.

I worked on a great project, which was to proofread a large website and it honestly has been one of the best things to happen to me in a long time for which I was truly grateful.

It was in my favorite language combination, English to French, and what I loved about that project is to learn a lot from it.

Then after that was done, I was fortunate enough to translate something for an airline. Yes, you read that right, an Asian airline. Felt like I hit the jackpot (well, not exactly a million real dollars but that came close)

God must truly have probably said: ‘’Ok, so Karla has been through quite a lot lately, let’s send her some projects that will help her keep stay active” 🙂

Then some other requests came, as usual last-minute and due yesterday but guess what? That’s my specialty and so far I’ve done really well, especially meeting deadlines – YAS!

Oh and I forgot to say that I finally faced my fear and kicked it in the face. It was about time but I started doing some English to Spanish translations, nothing big but it’s better to start somewhere right?

I had been putting it off for a long time since I did not exactly felt confident but we all live and learn, so I must keep going and improving!

I’m currently working on getting my two blogs up to date and add more languages, so stay tuned!

Ah I’m also available to work on more projects as my plate has cleared and I’m ready to roll. Pass on my info to anyone who might need me, okay? Thanks in advance!

 

Planning

A real, relaxing holiday in a warm place with the ocean nearby or city with lots of water therapy options 🙂

I only had the chance to get away for a quick break to my former home, Toronto on a couple of occasions that was when I got some extra help and took a breather!

As usual it went by way too fast but being there was like the energy boost that I needed. There are just some places where your heart skips a beat and you know you’re in the right place.

Yes, I know some of you might be thinking about the sad incident that happened there and are worried but newsflash, we are not getting out of this life alive and you know it right?

It can happen here or anywhere, there’s no magic pill or protection so that you can live until you’re 120 years old. Oh wait, yes, there’s this area in Japan where people do outlive us but anyway.

Life doesn’t have a pause button, so go and just do it! Thanks Nike.

I also wanted to let you I’ve also been focusing on paying some important things first before going anywhere else (another post on this matter will be published).

Learning the hard way is not fun but necessary but at least I’ve learned and am more diligent these days, good thing EH?

 

Loving

How life is at the moment AND this wonderful summer we’ve had! It’s the complete opposite from last year.

Of course it’s been scorching hot, sunny, cloudy and had some down pouring rainstorms but what would summer be otherwise?

The most beautiful season of all is meant to be enjoyed to the max and create unforgettable memories right?

There’s a few weeks left, so we better make the most of it.

 

My Favorite Photo (s)

Picking a favorite image is like picking a favorite child, so not fair.

Now you already know this by now, or maybe you don’t but there isn’t a day that goes by without me taking out my phone and capturing whatever catches my attention (and expertly drain my battery in the process).

So far I’ve taken too much space, have thousands of images taken as well as stored and that makes it a healthy OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) or not? I need to store them elsewhere ASAP!

Many of them make it to my feed on Instagram feed (find & add me there) others are simply to be reviewed later and kept as precious memories.

But here are some of my favorites this summer so far

I hope you enjoyed them.

Ok, this blog post and update has officially gone over 2300 words! So it’s basically a mini book which you sure weren’t expecting eh?

So I’ll wrap things up and wanted to thank you for making in it until the end and hope you’re still awake reading this 🙂

If you have any questions, you know where to reach me. I read each and every message but my sincere apologies if it takes some time for a reply, it comes late but it comes!

Thank you in advance for your time, patience and mostly your constant support.

Ok, now it’s time to turn things over to you!

Tell us…

 

What are you up to?

Anything exciting happening on your side of the globe?

Have a post you’d like us to read or comment on?

Please do share with us!

 

Until next time, hasta la próxima, à +

Tashi Delek, all the best, todo lo mejor

K 🙂