Five Things In April 2021

To be honest, for the past few days, my sluggishness totally consumed me. We're once again in a restricted lockdown here in Sabah. Most activities are prohibited and we're not allowed to go to places. It's a mess.

I feel tired most of the time, my sleeping pattern has left the chat, I sit around a lot, and basically just unable to be as active as I normally would. It's quite draining but I'm thankful I still have bits of these moments to remember in April.

April was a weird month.

Had the worst gastric pain ever

I had a full-blown gastric pain just before Ramadan and it lasted for almost a week. I've always been that girl with occasional minor gastric pain but this time it's a catastrophe. My stomach was so sore and it felt like I'd been pumped full of air in my upper body. I was so gassy and I let out so much excessive wind I thought I was going to pass out. My s/o kept telling me to go to the doctor's with him but I insisted. 

...and the pain got worse. The joke's on me.

So to the doctors, we went and everything is sorted out. Thank goodness. I was given three packets of medicines (Pantoprazole tablets, Drotaverine tablets, and Paracetamol) and I learned my lesson, guys. Finished the meds and got new ones and still taking them at this point. I am really cautious about my diet now and just overall be really wary of what I will be putting inside my body. Stay healthy, you guys!

Ramadan month

As someone who has occasional gastric pain, fasting is never really a barrier for me. I will have a day where I can feel the pain but it's not major. My trick is to always stay hydrated and never skips on dates, after all, it's a sunnah. Anyway, I have set up a few realistic goals for this Ramadan and they're:

• Never skips dates for iftar and suhoor
• Keep my screen time low (Usually, it's 11h but ever since Ramadan, it's currently at 7h! Yes to single digits!)
• Be moderate in what I eat
• Give away as much stuff as a form of charity (charity doesn't always have to be spending money, especially if you don't have any)
• Put filters on my tongue (almost lost it but quickly recite "astaghfirullah")

What are your realistic Ramadan goals for 2021, ladies and gents?

April after-the-pen bullet journal flip through

I messed up the cover page because I was distracted hence the sloppy outcome. I didn't have that many important dates for April, though. I just went with my puasa sunat tracking and my usual period tracking. It's so handy dandy to me. 

I forgot to sum up my overall spending for April but it was way humble than my March's spending. Nothing over RM100 was spent in one go and that's a record. As far as habits go, didn't manage to workout every day because I was nearly passed out and it's Ramadan. However, I did a great job in reading! I read almost every day last month so *pats my back*

I was doing so good halfway through the month but then something happened and Movement Control Order (MCO/ quarantine) is back and it's even more restricted. It's a whole lotta mess. But I am thankful for my gratitude log. It's so fitting during this rough time. 

Most of my inspiration when it comes to my weeklies is this foreign Telegram group that I joined. They like compiled lots of bullet journal ideas - it's packed but they never credit the original creator. What a bummer.

Got my AdSense approved in one try!

I am not much successful in blogging, and I still call myself an amateur, a newbie after all these years. There's still so much I have to learn. I have totally had great moments upon relaunching this blog back in October 2015!

It was never in my mind to monetize my blog. I was so reluctant about throwing up ads on my blog just because I was so concerned that my audience will not like it. I waited for a few years before finally displaying ads and that speaks volume.

I applied for Google AdSense (for the first time) on April 17th and get it approved on April 18th! It was such a great feeling. I got help and advice from other bloggers as well and that too was an awesome feeling. 

Fearless: Taylor's Version. Godsent!

I was stunned, to say the least. Fearless Taylor's Version brings back countless memories and not only that but she also included a selection of brand new songs by her in the tracklist. I grew up on Taylor's songs by being a fan since her country days. Back to the time when my only problem was waking up early to school. Haha!

It's crazy how years later, the same songs, lyrics and music still carry the same meaning as before and it kinda makes you feel the same feeling as before. I was mostly in my heartbroken phase while jamming to Taylor's songs back then but I can still feel that and I am not even heartbroken right now! It's insane.

To some, "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" might just be another album from that famous singer, but to me, it has more meaning than anything else. This is definitely my soundtrack of the year. It's all over the internet if you want to hear it for yourself. 

How's your April? What are the things you grateful for last month?