5 Things I am grateful for in 2023

Posted on 30 December 202330 December 2023 by DushiLifestyle

5 Things that I am grateful for

I know, I know, this will sound like such a cliche, but how are we already at the end of December? Just one more day and then we are going into a whole new year! I wanted to write today because I was thinking of the 5 things that I am grateful for. A lot has happened this year.

Roller coaster

It has been a rollercoaster of a year. It started with me having a job till July 2023. I quit that job because I wanted to do some new things. I took almost 3 months off and just enjoyed life. I was hoping for my lightbulb moment within these 3 months but spoiler alert…It never came! Life became a bit stressful cause I had to dip into my savings at one point. I went into my bubble because of stress and neglected a lot of things that I love. Including my little blog. But here we are again and here are the 5 things that I am grateful for.

1. NEW JOB!!!!

If you have been reading this blog, you know how I wanted to quit teaching and leave it forever. I just didn’t know where to begin. It was so difficult to think of a new career after standing in front of a classroom for nearly 20 years. I wrote about applying for this job at the theatre and how scared I was to do so. I had zero experience and thought there was no way that they were going to hire me. You can imagine my surprise when they said that I was hired. I have the kindest colleagues and I am working in a creative environment. I can be myself and it’s the best thing!

2. Travel with family and friends

I went on a trip to Curacao with my mom, sister, and nephew. We had so much fun! I felt like my sis and I were kids again. We all stayed in the same room and hung out all day together. I also went on our annual girls’ trip to London. This always feels like a sleepover. We wake up together, have all of our meals together, get dressed, and party together. This whole trip isn’t even about Carnival. It is a fun bonus though. It is more about the time that we get to spend together. We get to have these long talks about life and our goals till late. I love it!

3. Consistency

I wrote this one down because this was the first year that I was posting more consistently on my blog. I have missed a few weeks here and there but not months. I bought a digital planner where I can write ideas and plan my posts. I hope to not miss any weeks next year by using this. I will talk more about this Notion planner in next week’s post. This post will be about my favorite things I bought in December 2023.

4. Family and Friends

So grateful for my family and friends. These people supported me every step of the way. I know for sure they might have thought who gives up a steady income to figure things out? They were there for me when I thought I wouldn’t get my shit together. I was running around in circles thinking of my next steps. They were always a phone call away. I will never take them for granted.

5. Sleeping better

I have been sleeping so much better these past few months. I have never experienced this. I guess changing jobs made a huge difference. I hope this stays this way. I love waking up and not feeling extremely tired.

Let’s go 2024

So hopefully 2024 will be even better and I get to reach my next goals at the end of it. Let me know what you are grateful for. Let’s be friends on Instagram where I’ll post more about my daily life.

I wish u all a very beautiful and healthy 2024. See you in January!🫶🏾

Not me starting over again?

Posted on 30 October 202321 December 2023 by DushiLifestyle

Not me starting over again? Is my blog Groundhog Day? My only excuse for ghosting the blog is that I wasn’t quite sure how to update you about the work part of my life. I was ashamed because I had to make some decisions that felt like going backward.

I regret my decision

I started this post 2 weeks ago but couldn’t elaborate on everything. As of today, everything is out in the open so I can explain. I had such a relaxing and fun summer. I slept so well which is a rarity for me. Summer came to an end and I still didn’t know what to do with work. The savings were side-eyeing me and I had to make some decisions. I thought well I haven’t been a teacher for more than a year now and there were some fun moments at school. So I went back to work at a school at the beginning of October.

Choosing ME!

My team, the school, and the kids were so nice but my body and mind were protesting big time. I came home sad every day. So I did something that I had never done before. I always finish a school year no matter what, but this wasn’t a possibility this time. I had to tell them that I was leaving. I haven’t slept well in weeks because this is so out of character for me. I don’t like letting people down. I talked so much with my family and friends and there was only one conclusion. I had to choose ME! Was this the best decision financially? I can let you know right now! The answer is NO! but happiness had to come first. A few people who inspired me to start over again were Tiffanie Davis and Paige Mariah.

Another Job

I have been working at this school for 3 days and applied for the job (at the theatre). I mentioned this in a previous post. The job I was too scared to apply for. I was waiting for the: ” Thank you for applying but we went for another candidate letter.” I don’t know how but I GOT THE JOB. This is something so different than teaching. I am so excited and scared at the same time. I am starting this Thursday. I already know that sleeping won’t be a thing this Wednesday night LOL..but that’s okay. I am so ready for something different. It will only be for 3 days because I still want to finish my contract. I will have to stay at school for one more month.

Side Hustle

I am going to look for something else as soon as my school contract is over. I am going to combine the theatre job with something else. If you know of a good side hustle let your girl know.

Update 75 Soft Challenge

The stress of quitting, looking for something new, and feeling a bit anxious got the best of me for 7 whole days so I guess I have to start again. I was doing well. I am supposed to be on day 42 but I missed those 7 days. I can’t lie, I enjoyed being active every day, and seeing my body transform little by little is fun. I don’t mind starting over. So bring on the 75 Soft Challenge again.

End of Update

From now on, I will be writing weekly again. I will let you know how the new job is going. Have any of you quit a job so soon after starting? If you did how did it make you feel? Feel free to let me know in the comments. I can tell you that I feel guilty because this is not me. I have to remind myself to live up to the name of this blog (DushiLifestyle translation Sweet Lifestyle)

My life was feeling everything but sweet these last few weeks. I hope that one day the guilt will go away. As always thank you so much for reading. Give it a like or share if you want to of course. We will talk next week. 🫶🏾💛

Challenging myself- 75 Soft Challenge

Posted on 18 September 202321 December 2023 by DushiLifestyle

Challenging myself

Challenging myself for 75 days. As the new season is about to start, I have decided to start this challenge that I have been seeing going around. It is called the 75 Soft Challenge. More about that next. I won’t be me if there isn’t a brief ramble before I get to my topic.

Everything hurts

I am turning 46 in about 2.5 months. I have been on and off my fitness journey for years but I haven’t moved this body for months now. My body is reminding me that I am 45! Everything hurts! 😅 In my mind I will forever be 28 but my body is telling me the hell you ain’t! So it’s time to make some drastic changes and get these muscles back to work. The way I have to take a minute and think before getting up isn’t cute anymore and let’s be honest it never was cute. This laziness needs to stop immediately!

Back to this week’s topic

– 75 Hard Challenge

Back to this challenge. I have seen this challenge go around called the 75 Hard Challenge. I got curious read the rules and thought: “Who am I kidding? There is no way I am going to keep this up for 75 days. These are the rules for this challenge. The link brings you to Andy Frisella who started the challenge. The results of the clients are amazing but I also know myself and there is no way that I am going to keep this up for 75 days. I admire those people a lot!

-75 Soft Challenge

So here is the one I am going to do. I am going to do the 75 Soft Challenge. The rules are a bit more doable. I have read that a Fitness influencer named Stephen Gallagher came up with the soft version and posted it on TikTok.

These are the rules for 75 days.

Eat well and only drink on social occasions
Train for 45 minutes per day and include one day of active recovery per week.
Drink 3 liters of water per day. (This is going to be a difficult one because I already drink 2 liters a day and it is a LOT)
Read 10 pages of any book each day. (This will be easy because I will probably read more than that because I love to read. The difficult part will be which book to choose)

Documenting results

I am going to document it so more people can hold me accountable. I will write about it here and I will post some pics on my Instagram. I want to tone my body and lose some weight but in a way that I won’t quit because finding an excuse to not exercise is very easy for me. I am the person who will be like oh it’s 7.14 of course I have to start at 7.30. If 7.30 goes by and I haven’t done it, I will say well it’s better I do it first thing in the morning. Anyway, you get my point. I am writing this on a Sunday because of course I have to start this challenge on a Monday. I am such a walking cliché sometimes.

10000 steps a day

I am also going to keep walking 10000 steps a day. I use the Pacer app on my watch and phone. I started using this when I did the Lydia Dinga Step Challenge in July. She is such an inspiration because she even goes on her walks when it’s raining. Then there is me who goes: “Oh no it’s raining I better go tomorrow.” Box braids are in so I have no excuse to not walk in the rain. Black women and their hair 🙋🏾‍♀️

Nervous

I am a bit nervous about starting this 75 soft challenge because I don’t want my “I quit mind” taking over. I can’t wait to see the changes in not only my body but also my mind. If I get this done I am going to be so proud. But let me scratch that and change it to I AM GOING TO GET THIS DONE!

Let’s do this!

Let’s go and if you are also going to do this, let me know and we can hold each other accountable. As always thanxx so much for taking the time to read. Feel free to like and share (if you want to of course) ☺️

Let this journey begin! Talk to you next week. 🫶🏾💛

Back to Reality

Posted on 6 September 202321 December 2023 by DushiLifestyle

Back to reality now that summer is over. It’s been a few months since I quit my job and I have been enjoying my life thoroughly. No alarms in the morning, eat my breakfast in peace, not see stressed-out people in the morning. Life has been wonderful. I also loved meeting my friends anytime I wanted. I saved money for this period of my life. But all good things unfortunately have to come to an end. So here we are and it’s back to reality.

Recap Summer

Summer in the Netherlands wasn’t really summering this year. It basically rained all of July and a big part of August but we still tried to have as much fun as we could. We went out for drinks and a few parties here and there. Our crew also got a new prince. One of our sisters had a beautiful healthy baby boy. Now we have 3 new princes in our group. We ended our summer with us going to Nottinghill Carnival. This is our annual girl’s trip. We get to spend so much uninterrupted time together. From having breakfast to our late-night chats in our hotel room. Of course, partying in the streets of London is a big bonus part.

Time to look for jobs again

I am so happy that I have some clarity about the things that I want. I love working for a few months and then taking a few months off. I can even stand in front of a class again but only as a substitute because I know that there will be an end date. I also applied for a job that I was scared to apply to. It is something creative and working with creative people has been a dream of mine. I didn’t want to apply because I don’t have the experience they are asking for. A friend of mine pushed me to just write because he said you can do more than you think and I have to believe in myself. I don’t know if I will get it but I am proud that I finally applied for something out of my comfort zone.

Job Interviews

I have a few job interviews these upcoming weeks with a few of them being a substitute teaching job. It is almost time to start saving money again so I can go on my summer adventures of 2024. I have been living life like I am a ” rich” b*#$h these last few months but my bank account is side-eyeing me now…LOL. Time to get back to work. I will do it all over again until I know what I want.

Never knowing what I want

Maybe I will never know what I want and that is ok too. I used to get all stressed out with I wanted a job that made me happy all the time. Of course, this would be FANTASTIC but I am done with putting pressure on myself. I don’t have kids (and I don’t want kids.. I am the cool and fun aunt.) or anything so I just have to take care of myself so as long as every bill is paid and I can do fun stuff here and there…LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Keep you updated

I will keep you updated about the new job. Let me know how your summer went. Did you enjoy it? Did you also quit and are about to start a new job adventure? If you like this post feel free to share it and click the like button if you liked it of course. Talk to you next week. 🫶🏾💛

P.S. Just a little FYI.. one of our favorite parties is Stir It Up. Vibes are always fun and the music is even better. So if ever in Rotterdam check out their IG to see if they have a party going on.

Cute Dates with Friends

Posted on 17 August 202321 December 2023 by DushiLifestyle

This week’s post is about cute dates with your friends. Life is not just all about dating for romance. Nurturing friendships is very important to me. So besides talking about dating romantically I also want to talk about cute date ideas with friends. Last week’s post was about Cute Date Ideas To Go On with someone you like romantically. This week it’s all about the most important part of my life. The most important parts of my life (besides my fam of course) are my friends.

Cherished Friendships

Some of my friends I have known for a lot of years. One I have known for about 20 years or more. My little sister is also one of my best friends. It is so special to have these people in my life for so many years and we still have so much fun together. I see my girl group as my sisters. They are my family! My life would be so BORING without them. These are the people I can call anytime and I know they would come running to help. Of course, I will do the same for them.

Our type of Friendship

We have the type of friendship that still does sleepovers every once in a while and hang out at least once a week. We call and text each other multiple times a day to catch up or repeat the same fun things and laugh. I cherish our friendship so so much. I was telling them last week about my post about cute date ideas and my best friend said how about cute date ideas with friends. I thought yes that’s a good and fun topic.

Plans that never leave the group chat

I guess we all know about the plans that never leave the group chat. But we are trying more and more to get the plans out of the chat and into real life. One of the things we always do is go to Carnival in London. This is our girl’s trip. We get to hang out for 4 days and stay in the same room, have breakfast together, and party in the streets of Notting Hill. I know this is not for everybody because not everybody loves to be in loud and crowded areas.

Ideas to do with Friends

I have written a small list below with cute dates with friends. Let’s make it our mission to get the plans out of the group chat.

– Friendship Adventure Challenge

https://www.theadventurechallenge.com/collections/friends-edition/products/friends-set

I always say growing up is a trap. Of course, we are responsible people, etc but never let being a grown-up stand in the way of having fun. I saw this the other day and thought this seems like fun and I want to order it. It’s a scratch book with fun activities you can choose from and take pictures with the instant camera it comes with.

– Book a weekend away

Check into a hotel with your friends in a city that you have never been. This doesn’t have to be abroad. Before you go check out what activities you can do in this city. We did this a few times and I loved it! We didn’t do any activities except some shopping but that’s how we roll…LOL. We are a bit of a lazy group. We usually enjoy some shopping and lots of eating.

– Plan a sleepover

Who says that you can’t do sleepovers anymore just because you are older?

Make a list of who brings what to eat and drink. It will make the whole event budget-friendly.
Buy some masks (for some pampering) and cute matching pajamas. Think of how cute the pics will look.
Fun card games with questions are card games that you can play to have even more fun during this sleepover. These questions are a great way to get to know each other even better.
Make sure you have some movie titles ready for when everybody gets tired and you just want to relax.
Make a nice breakfast together the next day before everybody goes home and reminisce about the night before.
Please don’t forget to take some pics during the evening so you can always look back at them. They don’t even have to make it on social media but just for the archives. One of my best friends always says that and she is right. I enjoy looking at the pics that never made it online.

I hope you enjoyed these ideas and maybe you will do one or two of them. If you have fun ideas that you do with your friends feel free to let me know in the comments. Thank you for reading as always and talk to you soon 🫶🏾

p.s If you liked this week’s post you can click like or share the post to spread the love. Thanx 💛☺️

Cute Dates To Go On

Posted on 7 August 202321 December 2023 by DushiLifestyle

Another lighthearted post this week. This week I am going to talk about three dates that seem cute to me. If you are on social media you must have come across discussions between people about how much a date should cost. They also discuss what a good date is. I think a date is fun if you like the company you are with. Because being at an expensive restaurant and you are not into the company you are with, the date will suck. If you like your date, even going to get some ice cream and getting to know each other while having a walk will be fun.

Here comes “Miss I am not even dating” with fun dating ideas.

Anyway, as someone who has invented being single and actually doesn’t date… LOL. I do have a few ideas for some cute dates in my future. I mean I am slowly, emphasis on the slowly part, but surely being more open to the idea of actually getting dressed to meet someone on a date. Not this month though hahaha I need to mentally prepare. (Haven’t we heard this before…side-eyeing myself 😒) I told you that I was going to be more open to dating but tada (surprise) I haven’t been on a single date hahaha…but no worries it will happen THIS YEAR!! Saying this here so you can hold me accountable.

Cute Date Ideas

Let me go ahead and tell you what I have in mind for cute date ideas. I mean you are not here to hear me talking about how I haven’t been on a date. You know that and you have probably given up like my brother-in-law. He is also waiting to have a new ‘bro” at the Christmas dinner table. I told him it’s hard in these streets. At this point, my Mr.Right has to be a delivery man or rob my house cause these streets ain’t it. (Please don’t rob my house. I was being sarcastic) I have also asked my friends what they would consider cute date ideas. Here are a few of mine and them.

1. Sip and Paint

I can’t draw or paint for the life of me but I can sip. Hey everybody has their talents. I think this date would be fun because it’s something different to do and you get to know the other person while you are doing an activity. I think the conversation will flow better because it isn’t an interview-style date. You know the ones where the questions are always the same. What is your favorite color…bla bla bla. I saw a funny TikTok about this. As I am writing this I am thinking maybe it will be better for a second date because what if you don’t like the person? But as I was writing that last sentence I thought well at least you had fun with the drinks and a fun painting. (Welcome to how my brain works. I am sure that my picture is in the dictionary next to Overthinker.)

2. R&B brunch

I saw this on my For You page on TikTok and thought this would be fun too. I saw a bunch of friends do this but I think I would most definitely enjoy this as a date too. Food, drinks, and my favorite genre of music. I love music and anything that has to do with music, especially R&B I would enjoy! This one can also be tricky as a first date because what if the music is too loud? Hear me out. Again if you don’t like your date 😱..bonus is that at least you enjoyed the music and the food. If you do like your date it gives you a chance to sit closer to your date and hear what they are saying 😉

3. A workshop

I asked my friends what they thought would be a good date and my friend said workshop. She came up with the idea of a workshop. For example, a cocktail workshop, and of course you can make this cocktail without alcohol too. Not all dates need alcohol of course.

Recommendations

The links recommended below are all in the Netherlands and as you know I haven’t been on these dates myself. I have read reviews and seen posts so if you go on a date before me, let me know if the location was fun. I have seen that people from different countries read my blog🫶🏾. Please let me know of fun places to go on a date in your country.

Thank you again for taking the time to read my blog and I will talk to you soon. Please feel free to click the like button or share the post on your own social media platforms. 💛

LINKS

Sip and Paint: I saw that the www.naturalhairclub.nl is going to have one on 9 September 2023 in Rotterdam

R&B Brunch: Villa Thalia has an event on 23 September 2023

Cocktail Workshop

My favorites of July 2023

Posted on 28 July 202321 December 2023 by DushiLifestyle

In this post, I want to talk about 3 of my favorite things of July 2023. I thought it was about time to talk about something other than the thing that shall not be named. I want to be positive and tell you about things I enjoyed this past month. By the way, how are we almost in the month of August and where was the sun??? Why does summer not stick to its script? We just want sun and good vibes. We can’t be going from snow, rain, skip the sun, and back to fall with rain! But I am rambling and this was going to be a fun and positive post. So here we go. My favorites of July 2023.

Storytel

I have spoken about this Storytel app before in a previous post and I am loving it. I have made it a mission to start reading books again in 2023. I am doing well but I don’t always have the time to sit and read. As you know adult life is busy and with lots of responsibilities. Once done with things like cleaning my house or doing the laundry, I am too tired to sit and read. The Storytel app is great because I just listen to my books instead of listening to all the songs I have listened to a million times. I did a trial and I am hooked. I signed up.

Storytel- Books

I have finished the book The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest (which I LOVED!!). I am currently listening to The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris. As I am listening to this I realize that I am on the right path.

Hello Fresh

This seems like it’s a sponsored post but really I am not on that level…LOL!! These are truly things that I have loved this month and the past month. I DON’T like cooking one bit! I can cook but I don’t like it. I don’t want to think about recipes and at one point I think I became friends with all the take-out delivery people. This wasn’t good for my wallet or my weight. I wanted to try Hello Fresh for a while now but thought it was too expensive. But I was spending way more on ordering or going to my local grocery store every day of the week.

Hello Fresh -Easy Recipes

I love how simple the recipes are. I choose the easy ones because I DON’T like standing in the kitchen for too long. I chose the 3 days a week option and honestly, I eat for 5 days because I live alone. The app guides you through it and you also receive the menus in your box. I now send pics of my food every time to my sis and best friend because I feel like a CHEF 😌

Natural Hair/ Braided Ponytail

I have been loving my natural hair this last month. I always have braids, crochet curls, locs, etc. I do this because not only does it protect my natural hair but I also just love experimenting with new looks. Unfortunately, the weather doesn’t let me rock my fro but I am enjoying that I am letting my hair breathe. My go-to now is a braided ponytail (see pic) and I LOVE IT! I always rock these big hairs to hide my face but as I am growing older, I am loving myself, including my face more and more. I never liked it but that’s a story for another day. I also have the loveliest/ best friends/ sisters who always hype me up to love myself more and I guess it’s working so a shout-out to them❤️

Talk to you soon

I am going to end the post here because I feel like I can write for hours today. I don’t know what got into me. Thanx as always for taking the time to read. Let me know your favorites in the comments or you can also let me know on Instagram.

I hope you enjoyed this lighthearted post. Feel free to click on the share or like button on this post. 💛

Where do I go from here?

Posted on 23 July 202321 December 2023 by DushiLifestyle

Oh hello, hey, hi!! I hope that there are still some people on this page…LOL. As you know I quit my job and this has been my second week at home. I had this whole plan on how I would take two weeks off to start and then plan the rest of my life. The first week felt good. No alarms, no thinking about what to wear, or having to put on the “I am so happy to be here face.”

Still no clue

I can’t lie but week 2 has been rough because I still don’t have a clue on where to start. It’s been a 50/50 struggle. I LOVE BEING AT HOME but the reality is that at one point I am going to need money to pay bills. These savings unfortunately won’t last forever.

Embarrassed

To be honest with you I don’t even want to link this post on my social media because wow my life is repetitive. It’s embarrassing. I almost feel like it’s Groundhog Day. I wake up, I complain about not knowing what to do. I get a job for a year or so and start thinking no this ain’t it, I quit. I go back to not knowing what to do. Get depressed cause answers are not coming. Go get another job to pay bills and the whole thing starts again. I can totally imagine if you are also tired of reading this. I am now seeing this blog as an online diary to clear my mind. It does help a lot and I am sure I am not the only one that is struggling with this.

Applying for jobs

I did apply for a job that I thought might be something for me but I haven’t heard from them yet. Writing job application letters is a whole sport on its own. This brings me to today. I have decided that my “vacation” is over and I took myself and my laptop out on a date. As we speak I am enjoying an Iced latte and a piece of carrot cake and I feel alive again.

Ghosted this Blog

I haven’t written anything for about almost 5 weeks now but I had zero inspiration. My last post was on 20 June. I just wanted to stay in bed or on my couch and watch every show on the planet. I think I am done now and it was time to get back out here and be amongst people and most important FIND A JOB!! Cause let’s be real who do I think I am with my let me just stay at home mentality?

Panic

The mild panic attacks at night aren’t helping either. I have told you how my brain starts working extra hard as soon as I reach my pillow and let’s just say WOW! My brain is working overtime and according to my Apple Watch, my breathing is a mess when I am sleeping.

Hope

Will this question ever get answered? Of course, it will because one thing we are not going to do is lose hope. It is just taking a bit longer than expected. I am going to try and enjoy this extra free time somehow and summer of course. I have been listening to The Mountain is You on Storytel. This book made me realize that The Mountain is really me. I love listening to it because it is very confronting and I need that.

Where do I go from here?

I think I am going to end this post here because it’s been much of the same. I just wanted to let the people who read this blog know that I am still alive and still dealing with the same question. Where do I go from here?

Thank You

Talk to you next week and thank you so much if you are still here checking the page from time to time.💛

p.s Don’t forget to like the post if you did of course☺️

Change career in 2023 at 45 and having no ideas

Posted on 14 June 202321 December 2023 by DushiLifestyle

Change careers in 2023 at 45 and I have no idea, how to move forward.

I wish it was a script in a movie and we know how everything will turn out in the end. But here we are at my current job and just 17 days to go. I am sitting in this classroom and wrecking my brain with questions about my career goals. Was it wise to quit without having a new job lined up? There must be a way to start doing something else entirely with the skills I have developed throughout my career. What is the best way to go about these things?

Leap of Faith

Should you stay and just be dead inside and do everything on auto-pilot, or should you, just take a leap of faith and see where things will end? I guess I chose the latter one. There was no way I could have been at this job during the summer and just be on auto-pilot.

The struggle is REAL!!

If you have been reading my blog for these past few months you would have noticed that the thing I struggle most with is changing careers and leaving my current career behind. But somehow I always get sucked back in and I don’t even know how. Changing your career is a struggle and a half. Changing it in 2023 at 45 and having no ideas is something else.

Ready to learn new things

My current role as a study coach differs from standing in front of a class but is still in education. I want to leave it behind, get some new work experience, and be challenged again. I am ready to learn some new skills. I can do this education thing with my eyes closed and it’s getting old. As you know, I would like to do so many things, but this is also overwhelming. I don’t know what my first step needs to be and my brain is running around in circles.

Books

I am reading so many books to find some answers on how to make this major career change. What I need is for someone to tell me how to start. Of course, some of these books are helpful and I am enjoying them. It is still difficult to find my answers. Even when you Google these topics, it is difficult to find a simple answer. Maybe it is supposed to be difficult for you to enjoy the ending more. I don’t know but what I do know is that it is getting a bit stressful.

Regrets?

I don’t regret this midlife career change one bit but the struggle is real. One of the books that I have just finished today is You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero. I bought the book because of the title, who doesn’t want to become a Badass at Making Money? It was a fun read! If you have been reading books about manifesting and going after your goals it won’t be something new. It did however remind me of how I need to stop letting the “I can’t do it” voice take over. I liked the book because of her sense of humor and how she explained how she went after her goals. I thought it was inspirational.

How do they do it?

I always see people say things like: “Oh, I was a beautician before but now I work in marketing.” or something totally different and I think HOW?? How did you know you were good at this and how did you get your foot in the door to make this change? I know I am a person that is willing to learn and I do learn new things quickly. I just need the opportunity to get started.

Where I am looking for jobs

I am living on Indeed.com these days to see what is out there and some of these jobs look so good. As I mentioned in a previous post as soon as I see something that I haven’t done before I just move on. I have also changed my LinkedIn profile and am looking for a new career path there. LinkedIn is daunting, don’t you think so too? Or am I the only one? There are so many career options on there but I feel like I don’t fit in because I feel like I don’t have specific skills that they are asking for.

Still a work in progress

My biggest challenge is to work on my confidence; it is still not where it should be. Some days I wake up and say: ” You are a BOSS and you can achieve anything you want!” The next day I wake up and say: ” Who are you kidding you are going to stay in this current position forever.” It’s a good thing that the first one is taking over more and more but I want it to be my everyday mantra.

Family and Friends

One of the good things is that I am surrounded by people who are encouraging me to find my dream job. They know how unhappy I was. I think deep down they might think this woman is wild…LOL…Here she is quitting jobs here and there without a solid plan. So happy that they love me and support me and I love them for that. To be honest, if a friend came to me years ago and told me this plan I would also look at them as if they must have lost their mind.

Contradicting myself

Being in the position I am now, I support everyone who wants to be happy with their careers. No matter how wild their plan is. Take risks and if you fail you can always say that you tried. You see how I contradict myself because I always have good advice for everybody but I don’t follow my advice. Anyway, I will always have my teacher’s degree to fall back on if push comes to shove and I need money for my financial obligations.

Not Enough Time?

I know I don’t have much time to figure things out because there is still such a thing as age discrimination (unfortunately). People see your age and think well we can’t hire this person because they are “old”. It is a shame because we do have a lot of life experience which can be useful to a job. I don’t mind working at all even though I always make jokes on my social media about wanting a ‘”soft life”. What I do have is a strong work ethic and always go for 100% even if I don’t like my job. I don’t think my employer should suffer because I am an indecisive person.

If I could turn back time

I wish I could go back to high school and start all over again with the life experiences I have now. I would have done things so differently and would probably be doing something creative like singing, acting, or DJing. But choices were made back then and the only thing I can do now is make a career switch. There must be a good idea somewhere in my brain to make this change a bit easier. These years of experience must be good for something. A fresh start is needed. I will now be very happy with a job that lets me do remote work and has flexible hours. I just want to enjoy my working life and have a better work-life balance.

The clock is TICKING!

Three more Mondays and a whole lot of stress to find out what is up next in this little life of mine. I have been rambling again for quite some time now on this post. It is LONG but if you got this far, I do want to thank you for reading. If you have been in this position by going for a different career can you please let me know how you did it? And if it worked out for you? I need answers…LOL. I don’t know many people who are close to me who have taken a plunge into the unknown as I have. Is it even possible for an average person to start working in a new field without connections? I will stay hopeful and believe that the best things are yet to come.

End of Ramble

Thank you for taking the time to read, I can’t wait to write about some good news on the job department. It will happen!!! My next post won’t be so long but I had some free time and I wanted to write a post about my job search. I guess I had a lot to say and now you know half of my personal life…LOL. Now let me go speak my job in a new industry into existence so I can enjoy the next step in my life! Talk to you soon! 💛

p.s I love how people DM me to tell me that they think it’s nice to see how I just voice what is on my mind. Also, feel free to share by clicking on the share button or clicking the like button. Thanxxxx ☺️

Dating Part 2

Posted on 31 May 202321 December 2023 by DushiLifestyle

Dating these days

Here is dating part 2. I said in my part 1 of dating these days that I would only date someone if it felt right. My post was from December 2022 and did I date people these last few months??…NOPE! Lol. We do have some progress because I am open to dating somewhere this year. My brother-in-law gave up hope hahaha. Because I always tell him that by next Christmas, he won’t be the only man at the table. I have 7 months to keep my promise so who knows by Christmas 2023 I will be sitting next to someone’s son😂. I got this! Just keep in mind that I have been saying this for the last 4 or even 5 years.

Dating Apps

Did I ever go on one of these apps? I sure did out of curiosity and sometimes still do when bored. I download these apps to just delete them within 24 hours. Downloading apps was such a big taboo when they first came out. I now don’t care what people think. Everybody was making up stories about where and how they met. Now it is a great story because it is so rare to find a gem in the app world.

Sucker for a beautiful story

I fall for these apps after watching a few cute stories on TikTok and think well maybe today is my day and I will also meet my Mr.Right. I go on there and within 10 min I think nope. I keep it for 24 hours or less and delete it because it is very tiring to keep up conversations with people. In real life, I am so much better. I never know what to say and I lose interest or they lose interest and we go back to square 1 and I delete, delete, delete.

Success Love Stories

I have friends and acquaintances that have had so much success on these apps. Some even got married and some are still dating. I have friends who don’t mind going on a few dates with different people and maybe finding their person.

Level Up

I have to get to their level. My thing is what if I get there and I know in 5 seconds that I don’t like the person, how long am I supposed to stay there? I also think what if they don’t like me and they tell me… OMG!! I mean it’s better to know but who wants to hear that someone doesn’t like them or doesn’t find them attractive? I will feel awful telling someone on a date that I am not into them and that there won’t be another date. So I just don’t date and voila problem is solved.

Love Languages

We have all heard about these love languages and I know that some people think it’s a lot of bullshit but I like it. So of course when I heard of this back in the day I had to do the test to see what my love language is. The first time I took the test years ago, I got Words of Affirmation. I just did it again today and things have changed a little bit. I now have Quality Time as my first Love Language. Did you ever take a Love Language Test and is your result accurate? I can understand why this has changed because I hope to someday find someone who would like to travel and see the world with me.

Keep you posted

As soon as I go on my first date in 2023 I will update you and let you know how I felt. This is also part of my get out of my comfort zone journey in 2023. How do you feel about dating? If you are already with someone did you meet organically or through a dating app? How do you feel about dating apps? Let me know in the comments under this post or maybe prefer to let me know on my IG or FB.

To be continued

Of course, there will be part three where I’ll tell you about my dating adventures.☺️ As always thank you so much for reading and talk to you next week. Click the like button on top or the bottom of the post if you liked it of course. 💛

p.s Click the like button on top or at the bottom if you like my post and feel free to click the share button if you think someone else will like it too. Thanxxx for reading.