My Big Rocks for 2019 - Filling up the jar with what matters

The New Year’s rolled in, and it’s the possibilities that a new beginning is filled with that’s got me scrabbling to chalk out what I’d like to fill my jar with. 

Goals and plans for 2019

What will be my Big Rocks, Medium Rocks, and Sand this year? I know that if I don’t jot this down, I’ll fill my jar with far too many things and get overwhelmed in the process.

So, here’s my Big Rocks for 2019. Big Rocks are all the things that are on top priority for me, and I will want to carve out a chunk of time for these:

1.      Homeschooling my son. About 10 months ago, we plunged into a homeschool life. What started with the hunt for a detailed curriculum has now eased into a with-the-flow education. We spend our mornings in our makeshift school on the porch overlooking our garden. And this is an essential part of our week.

2.    Writing more. As a health coach and writer, I spend my days doing both – upgrading my wellness know-how, creating workshops, writing and teaching creative writing. But this year, I want to dedicate a chunk of time daily to writing books, blogs, and stories.

3.    Family time. We are like the 3 Bears and enjoy huddling in at home, pottering around in the kitchen garden, baking something and enjoying a good Netflix movie on television. This is the sugar and spice to our daily life, and just as essential or more to our days.

4.    Learning new skills. As a #militaryspouse entrepreneur, I have to constantly evolve and add to my knowledge pool, to do work that I love from the back-of-beyond places that we are posted in. I’m learning about being a self-published author, which involves everything from how to write more books to designing and editing to marketing them using social media platforms.

5.     Exercise. With the hours that I put in the chair, stretching and walking are imperative to factor in. Spending an hour every day exercising also keeps me happy and energetic.

6.    Meditation and Reiki. For a while last year, I was consistent with my meditation and Reiki practice, and the way it helped ground, center and calm me, is wondrous. So, this year, I want to schedule it in and be more consistent about getting to my mat.

Happy 2019 + My 2018 at a glance

Hello everyone! Happy New Year. May 2019 be joyous, peaceful, prosperous, productive and healthy for all of us.

So, I’ve been away for a while, packing and moving, unpacking again and setting up home in a far-flung part of the country. Amidst all of this, I’ve been figuring out how I can fit in homeschooling, social obligations and my own dreams into the same canvas.

It’s not only been a full two months, but also a full 2018. With so much of traveling and living out of suitcases, not knowing where we would be every month, transitioning to a homeschooling life, and trying to find a place for my goals within the jigsaw puzzle of this, it’s been a rollercoaster of a year.

Here’s looking back at 2018 that’s whizzed and whooshed past like a dervish. At a glance, this is what I was up to:

Began settling into our first big town posting at the beginning of 2018.

Started teaching Creative Writing to children and enjoyed it immensely.

Got into the groove of DIY cleaning and housekeeping (our byebye maid phase), with our trusty spin mop and dishwasher.

Launched www.GorgeousGirlsGoGreen.com, an online resource for women who want to live a healthy life by being gentle to the Earth.

Completed and earned my Women’s Wellness Educator Certification, and taught in-person health workshops.

Continued creating wellness content for my website and workshops.

Launched #TheBrigaethatBuildsBrands series that features #militarywives, who launch #workfromhome careers while moving across the country with their husbands.

Started learning a variety of things – from Reiki Level 2 and Angel Card Reading to nuances of growing one’s small business via social media to learning how to become a #selfpublished author, it’s been about absorbing skills that can help me grow as a professional.

Wrote the first draft of my first full-length #nonfiction book.

Started #homeschooling my son.

Moved to multiple places + got posted yet again to a tiny town.

What has 2018 been like for you?

Leave a comment below + connect with me via Twitter (@ChandanaMilspo / @4GGorgeousGreen) & Instagram (@ChandanaMilSpo / @gorgeousgirlsgogreen)

#2018 #NewYear #yearataglance

The Brigade that Builds Brands: Veteran Air Force wife Doreen Choudhry's successful jewellery brand

Hello everyone! I’m popping back in just to share another interesting interview in the #TheBrigadethatBuildsBrands series. We’ve recently moved to a small town base and between living out of a suitcase, getting ready to move into a house & getting used to new responsibilities, I’m grabbing a moment to hop onto my blog. Today, I’m sharing Doreen Chowfin Choudhry’s story. A veteran Air Force wife & jewellery designer, Mrs. Choudhry tells us about how she started a business at a time when entrepreneurship amongst ladies was almost unheard of in the defence services. I do hope her story spurs many of you to build your own brand & create meaningful work opportunities for yourself that you can cart along with your trunks as you move from one base to another.

 C. Please tell us something about yourself – what do you do, where are you based and how long have you been a fauji wife.

D. As a child of five my father was posted at the JSW (later known as NDA), as the Record Officer, at Clement Town Dehradun. I guess I grew up influenced by the fauj!

Mrs. Choudhry at her wedding

My brothers too joined the Indian Navy and the IAF as pilots, and I got married to an Indian Air Force Pilot at the age of 24. In January we completed 50 years of marriage and that’s how long I’ve been a fauji wife. For the last 35 years or so I have lived in Delhi. 

C. What has been your business or creative journey been like: how & when did you start your venture?

D. It was 1982 an I was attending the annual AFFWA garden party hosted by the Air Chief’s wife, when to my surprise and mild embarrassment, I was handed a tray of pearl strings to show and sell that morning by none other than the hostess herself and of course there was no question of refusing!  Many of the ladies bought strings but wanted matching ear tops etc. This was the beginning of my journey of jewellery designing.

Mrs. Choudhry, 4th from the right, seated & in a check sari

When I was a child I used to have glass beads of different colours and textures and I used to make small necklaces with those. Later on when I got the opportunity at the Ladies Club, my hidden talent got a wake up call. 

The Brigade that Builds Brands: Air Force wife Anamika Sarkar's crafty business

Hello everyone! Welcome back to The Brigade that Builds Brands. Today, I'm chatting with Air Force wife & teacher-turned-crafter Anamika Sarkar. She left her well-established teaching job when her son was small and turned her hobby into her profession. Something that she could pack and take along on all their postings across India, Anamika has found immense joy in her handmade craft business. Here's how she's done it, and how anyone with a wisp of a dream + the gumption to work, can do it. I hope Anamika's story inspires you to take your dream by the horns and turn into work that you can juggle along with the bustling service life.

C. Please tell something about yourself- what do you do, where are you based and how long have you been a Fauji wife?

A. I have been married to a fighter pilot since the last fourteen years. It was an arranged match, and since I came from a pure civilian background, I had no inkling of what I was getting into then. Till that point in my life, I knew very little about Fauj in general and the Air Force in particular. Fourteen years and seven postings later, here I am, a well-travelled Fauji wife presently based in Delhi, and slightly more knowledgeable, in how to set-up and decorate a government allotted accommodation, invite friends over, manage the household, and wind-up and move to another part of the country, and all this in a short span of two to three years. I have attained a Masters degree in Museology, and a Bachelors degree in Education. I love listening to music, reading, and a bit of a movie buff. Painting and Craft are my stress-busters. I have a son aged nine years, and he is in the fourth standard.

C.  What has been your business or creative journey been like; how and when did you start your venture?

A. I have always been into the teaching profession, but realized my actual passion towards the Creative Arts only a few years back. Though I have been interested in painting and creating hand-made objects since I was a child, but it was only a couple of years back when I had to quit my job from a renowned school in Pune, (as my son was very small) that I decided to take up Creative Art as a career. Today I work as a freelance artist and conduct workshops with various art forms.