shannellee

As soon as the first day of September came,  I found myself humming to the tune of Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and I thought, bhoy must be a sad sad September for someone to wait that long to get out of bed. Of course, we all deserve that occasional stay in bed-kind of a lazy day from time to time. But wanting to stay in bed because we feel like the world seemed to weight us down and we have lose appetite for life is a hard battle to fight. And yes, I've been there and still do from time to time.

You see when I was diagnosed with cancer, people thought that I always wake up on the right side of my bed. But that wasn't always the case. To be honest, my days are not always good and oohhh so full of sunshine. There were days when I felt very tired and exhausted, I wanted to give up and just bring down the curtains.

Yes depression sucks. And  I know how it feels to go round of what it seems to be a never ending cycle of struggle. And yes, it is never going to be easy, it is never easy to snap out it. But during those times when the world had its weight on me, I realized I had a choice. I always have a choice. So I would pick myself up, drag myself out of bed and face a new dawn. And it doesn't mean that you always have to be happy either. You just want to feel human, to be connected, to know that there is a reason to exist and find that courage to live through another day.

So, here are my favorite quotes.... or I'd say mantra that keeps me going even on my worst kind of day.

If there is one thing I noticed about myself is that over the past years I have become the best disciple of an excessive and obsessive lifestyle. Well I did become a collector and a conformist to materialism at some point in my life and who isn't. right? But every day as I learn the process of becoming less and less attached to things and how society sells  the notion of spending more is equal to success and happiness, I realized that I do have a choice. I can live with less and here is why...




Henry David Thoreau once said, "Our life is frittered away by details. Simplify! simplify! Well, I may not be able to "perfect" a simplified life, but that's about it. There is no form or rules to living simple because it is just a matter of waking up every morning with gratitude and contentment. So live, laugh, love, create!

Hey beautiful people! today I am going to challenge myself on a shopping ban since the month of September just started, and so far I have only bought myself a Mildliner Marker which is totally non-essential and obviously bought on an impulse. The thing is, I have a weakness for school supplies and although I have already gotten rid of an impulse to shop for makeup, clothes, bags and shoes school supplies always gets through me. To rationalize, its not that expensive really, but you still spend your money for it regardless.

So, what else can a minimalist aspirant do but to embark on a shopping ban challenge and see how far I can go without buying things that are not essential. I was reading Cait Flanders blog about how she successfully did two years of shopping ban and paid her debts and so I was inspired and challenged to do the same.

Okay, I know for some of us we become better spenders ;) I know I am, but I learned a secret and that is to live within what we can afford and spend only for essentials to save for a greater need. Yes, I have heard that frugal is the new trend so yes, yes, yes, I conform. LOL! Also, for me it is very important to live low key since for now I decided to work part time and rather spend most of my time doing research and volunteer work which is obviously no pay ;) but very rewarding in a greater sense (at least for me) ;)

Well anyways, for the next couple of months I will be documenting every inch of my spending and see if I can accomplish a few months of shopping ban. The rule is to make a list of items and categorize them into essential buy list, non-essential buy list and approved shopping list (see more details @ The Ultimate Shopping Ban Guide by Cait Flanders ) my approved shopping list would include purchases that we as a family have already been planning for a long time and is not anything that I would like to have for myself. there. ;)

So wish me luck. And if you are interested to join me in this challenge please feel free to hop in and share your experience by leaving a comment or sending me a message. Have Wonderful September Everyone!

I have finally come to the moment when I finally decided to come out with my cancer story. I have been casually blogging and vlogging about it but I didn't really come to the terms of finally putting it together in one single post. It's been a year now since I was diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer stage II. I was preliminary diagnosed with stage III. So, I had to do 6 cycles of chemotherapy and 3 rounds of brachytherapy. But they have to take out my uterus and my ovaries eventually. Well, to be honest when we went to see my doctor we were expecting a pregnant diagnosis. I was very positive I was pregnant since all the symptoms were there. But it turns out differently. So, my journey begins. Here, I have put together what was going through my head as I deal with the diagnosis..... ( and excuse the "brain farts" I was typing and posting through my phone in real time, so I didn't bother to edit any of it 

I have finally come to the moment when I finally decided to come out with my cancer story. I have been casually blogging and vlogging about it but I didn't really come to the terms of finally putting it together in one single post. It's been a year now since I was diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer stage II. I was preliminary diagnosed with stage III. So, I had to do 6 cycles of chemotherapy and 3 rounds of brachytherapy. But they have to take out my uterus and my ovaries eventually. Well, to be honest when we went to see my doctor we were expecting a pregnant diagnosis. I was very positive I was pregnant since all the symptoms were there. But it turns out differently. So, my journey begins. Here, I have put together what was going through my head as I deal with the diagnosis..... ( and excuse the "brain farts" I was typing and posting through my phone in real time, so I didn't bother to edit any of it