Fresh harvest of summer!๐ Just amazing to bite into something cultivated in our home.๐ก
Summer is intense this year, but it still is a season of bounty. ๐บ A great reminder on Orange Day to tend to our outer and inner gardens: Watch the seeds we plant in our minds and hearts, the water and nutrients we add for nourishment, and the pests we keep at bay.๐งก
Collab, co-create, synergy. What’s behind these buzzwords?
I haven’t been able to pick up a brush to paint in a long time, so when our daughter asks for help to draw, I enjoy these mini collab pieces I get to do with her. What do you think of our Peppa Pig collab?๐ฝ
๐ On Yellow Day, it’s good to remember that creating doesn’t always mean we start from zero. Sometimes we get to ride on the efforts, energies and ideas of others and it doesn’t make our effort any less creative. Adding the “co-” to any initiative can actually be a superpower, because the sharing of resources allows us to stretch and amplify so many things: co-working, co-living, co-creating, co-investing, co-organizing.๐
Do you piggyback?๐ Do you also let others piggyback on your projects? What do you think makes collabs or piggybacking a win-win setup?
It was a random day in the kitchen, and our daughter borrowed the phone to take pictures.๐ธ Her growing photo collection shows what she holds dear: her toys, body, face, the floor, Babam, and a lot of Mommy. Now that she’s five, I’m cherishing this overflowing attention and attachment, knowing fully well that it’s not going to last. I’m careful not to encourage nor discourage it, just let it be, and receive it with thanks. ๐
To be around a child everyday, so curious and daring about the world–it’s really a gift. It’s an act of seeing with energy and innocence, and I thank God all the time for this wonderful little person who calls me Mom.๐ฉโ๐ง
โค๏ธ On Red Day, take some time to look at how the people who love and cherish you, truly see you. Do you see yourself in the same way? ๐๐
I’ve been figuring out Notion for two months. Right when I feel a breakthrough is coming and I start to get it, the dumping just begins again: task dumping, drafts dumping, table dumping. I have too many databases now, too many pages within pages.๐๐
So many people swear by Notion as their ultimate productivity tool. I’m possibly stuck in the swearing. ๐คฃ
๐ On Purple Day, it’s good to do a maintenance check on our life tools, the helpers that (supposedly) make our everydays easier, more organized and breathable.๐ช Now if a tool keeps you up late at night so you can figure it out…๐ค
Aลure, aka Noah’s pudding, is a sweet porridge made on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar.๐ Tradition says it’s the first meal Noah and his family made after the ark touched land again, and is believed to bring about peace and abundance. It’s a labor of love for sure, usually made with at least 10 ingredients (equivalent to the 10th day) comprised of various wheats, nuts and fruits. It takes 6 hours to make and is done in large batches for sharing with neighbors and the needy.๐ซ
This one has bulgur, garbanzos, white beans, baby raisins, apricots, pears, pomegranates, sesame seeds.๐๐๐ ๐ซ It’s the closest I’ve eaten here to the Philippine ginataang halo-halo, a sweet rice dessert made with coconut milk and sweet fruits. I super miss ginataan, so I ended up eating most of this bowl. ๐ฅฃ
It was interesting that Aลure started popping up everywhere in the past week, from our daughter’s school, to gifts from neighbors, and to Sunday breakfast in restaurants. The feeling reminded me of bibingka and puto bumbong, rice desserts and treats which in my youth were only available on simbang gabi masses leading up to Christmas.๐ Because they were seasonal, they were extra special, and it was well worth the effort to wake up at 4am to hear mass and then indulge in these treats afterwards.๐ฎ
๐ค On White Day, let’s look at the seasonal dishes across cultures and the rituals behind them. These traditions are rich in time and intention. Keeping them seasonal is not so much about making them scarce, but more so about deeply aligning the intentions behind them with the movement and rhythm of nature.โ๏ธ๐ธ๐๐
To live in a disconnected city means to be naturally predisposed to feeling disconnected. Your daily commute is unpredictable, your social life is jagged or effortful to maintain, and your inner world is subject to the same disconnect. On the flip side, to live in a connected city gives us a natural feeling of being connected, plugged in, and alive (because we’re connected to ourselves).
I’m thankful to live in ฤฐzmir, really a beautiful coastal city known for its public transportation system. The whole stretch if Izmir from end to end–about 300km–is easily navigable via buses and trains.๐
We rode the ฤฐzmir tram today with our 5yo. She loves trains and it was a joy to see her enjoy this simple part of our everyday life here. Asked if the tram station is beautiful, she replied, “Yes, it has grass.” ๐ฟ
Our environment has such a big role in nurturing our habits, mindset, moods. “No man is an island” doesn’t only apply to our innate need to connect to people, but also to our connection to the outer world: our living space, work space, home, neighborhood, city.๐ค
๐ On Blue Day, take a look at how connected (or not) your city is, and how this affects you and your everyday life.๐ What can you do about your living environment to nurture beauty and inner connection?
If your answer to this is also your answer to where you live right now, then you’re very lucky.
I’m 42 and I’m still seeking my home ๐ก. Not a metaphorical home, but my real world physical home where I can truly be myself–the quiet introvert me who loves solitude and the bold and brave me who goes on adventures, the biggest of them being @leadiagrowth, a home of possibility.๐
๐ On Green Day, imagine your bestest home, where you’re “at home” and truly you. Imagine the physicality of it– what do you see, smell, touch, hear, and taste? Who else is with you?
It’s almost a year since we moved to Turkey. Realized it today when I saw these โบ7 lira tomatoes. These days, they sell for โบ30 lira per kilo ๐คฏ
“Time flies” is something we say a lot, especially when around kids who just “grow so fast”.๐โโ๏ธ I look at my pics and notice the little big things that change everyday. For the most part, they make me smile.๐
๐งก On Orange Day, look at the pics on your phone and try to find the patterns of what you pay attention to. What do they say about you?
Here’s an update on our DIY dollhouse (yes it’s still alive!).
โ ๏ธ Pool – our milk carton got a fresh coat of purple paint and tada! Outdoor pool is ready
[Not in pic]:
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๏ธ Sofa – only a pink one will do for this little pinkie, made from juice carton
โ ๏ธ Sofa pillows – She drew squares on Red felt, asked for help to cut and glue them, and insisted on looking for cotton to stuff them with โก๏ธ this one was a fail, they fell apart, so will probably need to sew them together
โ ๏ธ Bunting banner – She made it all by herself: drew triangles on paper, colored and cut them, and asked mommy to help string them together
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๏ธ Curtains – pipecleaners for the rod and unknown for the curtains–paper towels didn’t pass our 5yo’s quality check
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There are so many wins on this project:
๐ It’s ongoing, so it helps build sustained interest and a longer attention span. We’ve been working on her dollhouse for almost a month, and she’s still coming up with ideas for it.๐
๐ Hours (not minutes) of focused, creative play.
๐ Planning: she’s the architect, mommy is just her assistant
๐ Problem-solving, especially when things don’t work
๐ Resourcefulness: she now sets aside random things because “maybe I can use it to make something for my dollhouse.”
๐ On Yellow Day, check the WIPs in your life: the open projects that excite and challenge you, hold your attention (and time), and keep you imagining what’s possible and what’s next.๐
Happy Wednesday!
There’s a Macedonian lady who cuts my hair here in Turkey.โ๏ธ Koray’s family has been going to her for over 40 years, and I now swear by her magic hands too.
โค๏ธ On Red Day, go look at yourself in the mirror. Are you smiling? Do you like what you see? ๐ช
Here’s how the world’s first coin looked, made in Lydia over 2,600 years ago.๐ช
We named our project @leadiagrowth after Lydia as a homage to this coin, a tool that has enabled growth and innovation through the ages.๐
๐ฐ When you look at money, what do you see? Is your money small or big? What big things are you doing with it?
Did you know that there are Nine Cities of Troy?๐ For 3,000 years from the Bronze Age to the Roman period, settlement over settlement was built on top of each other, and one of them was Homer’s Troy, the legendary city of Priam and home to the mythical Trojan Horse.๐ When you visit the ruins in modern day รanakkale, Turkey, you get to see it from the top. And you get not just a bird’s eye view but one that cuts through the layers underneath.๐
๐ค On White Day, when you step back and look at the big picture of your life, put on Xray goggles and look through the layers of time that brought you to where you are today.โณ๏ธ
