My Inner Shakti

finding strength in everyday things

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5 Minute Journal Prompts

written by Parita Leave a Comment

Ok so this isn’t an original idea AT ALL, but I want to share because this is the one thing that’s kept me journaling almost daily for over 1.5 months now.

Essentially what I do is take one page in my journal per day and write out these prompts borrowed from the 5-minute journal…

[The first three are for the AM]

Grateful for:
1.
2.
3.

Amazing things today:
1.
2.
3.

I am:
1.
2.
3.

[These are for the PM that same day]

Awesome things that happened:
1.
2.
3.

Could’ve been better:
1.
2.

And then on the other side of that page, I write general thoughts and notes about things that are coming up for me.

I really like this because it keeps me focus AND allows me to be free flowing if I need that as well.

Anyways, I wanted to quickly share this because it’s changed the journaling game for me. I now look forward to pulling out my notebook every morning and getting started!

Do you journal? Do you have a method or are you a free flowing person all the way?

Written on October 20, 2020 Related:Life

Weekly Dose of Gratitude and Joy [3]

written by Parita Leave a Comment

If you don’t already write down or take time out of your day to think about the things that bring you gratitude and joy, no matter how big or small, I highly recommend you do. It really does start to shift your perspective. And honestly, I now go through my day thinking about the different moments/people/things that sparked something positive in me.

POWERFUL STUFF!

Ok, now for this week’s slices of G+J…

FRIDAY

Kaiden was in the best mood when I picked him up from school. He didn’t fuss, he didn’t scream when I put him in the stroller, etc. He was genuinely in a good mood, and his happiness made me happy.

SATURDAY

We took Kaiden to his first (trial) soccer class. The experience didn’t go quite as expected, but it was still fun to watch Kaiden get excited over ALL the soccer balls!

Later in the day, we headed to dinner with my sister and BIL. Kaiden was in the BEST mood, even though we were still eating and talking at 7:30 pm (his bedtime). He went to bed a little later than usual, but I think to think these experiences are worth it. AND he ‘slept in’ until almost 7 am the next morning!

SUNDAY

Our friend Rohit and his fiance Lalitha came over for dinner. We haven’t seen Rohit in quite some time, and this was our first time meeting Lalitha. Kaiden immediately took to Ro and pretty much claimed him as his new bestie. After Kaiden went to sleep, we sat and talked for a little over an hour…so fun!

MONDAY

Vishnu came home earlier than expected (yay!). Because of that, we had an hour or so of playtime together as a family. At one point, Vishnu put his head in my lap. Kaiden came right over, pushed on his head until he lifted it up, and then proceeded to put his head in my lap. We couldn’t stop laughing! It’s truly the little things. 🙂

TUESDAY

‘This is Us’ Tuesday! WOO HOO! Even though the show sometimes makes me cry, I find so much joy in watching it. I’m deeply invested, if you can’t already tell! And this week’s episode didn’t disappoint.

WEDNESDAY

Vishnu flew home from Miami today (he was interviewing). Even though we don’t spend every waking minute together (far from it in fact), it’s comforting to know the person you love is close by. Welcome back, boo!

THURSDAY

I went to the office today (finally!). That in and of itself brought some joy. My coworkers and I also had our very belated Secret Santa gift exchange. Good times were had by all!

With that having a wonderful and joyful weekend!

Written on January 18, 2019 Related:Gratitude, Inspirational, Uncategorized

Santa Baby Bar Chicago

Weekly Dose of Gratitude [1]

written by Parita 1 Comment

As I was reading old MIS posts last week, it dawned on me that I miss sharing more of the every day life stuff.  But I don’t think I’ll go back to those types of posts any time soon for a number of reasons.  Mainly because our every day is so routine.  If there’s something exciting/interesting happening, I’ll definitely share.  Otherwise, you can find some of the ‘normal’ stuff on IG and IG stories.

With that being said, I think there’s a hybrid solution to this ‘challenge.’  Instead of posting weekend recaps (even though those are my favorite to reread now!), I’m going to share a ‘Weekly Dose of Gratitude’ post every Friday.  This post will highlight all of the simple things I was thankful for the previous week.  I’m hoping that looking back on these posts will bring me the same amount of joy (or more!).

Let’s do this!

FRIDAY

  • We didn’t have our Thanksgiving meal on Thursday.  Instead, we celebrated on Friday with a full spread – jalapeño pineapple mac n’ cheese, cornbread, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted broccoli, cranberry sauce, and a rotisserie chicken.  I loved pulling this meal together with my sister!

Vegetarian thanksgiving meals

  • I took a two hour nap earlier in the day.  My parents watched K while I snoozed.  So very thankful for that!

SATURDAY

  • The whole gang walked to the Loop to the Christkindlmarket.  And while it was super cold out, I think we all had a great time.

Family outing to Chicago Christkindle market

  • Later in the evening, Vishnu and I went out with my sister and BIL to the Santa Baby Bar.  I was pretty hesitant to leave the house but am so glad I did.  The decor and my boozy hot chocolate were reason enough to go.  Oh and getting to spend time with Vishnu, Aek, and Adarsh too!

Santa Baby Bar Chicago

SUNDAY

  • After my parents left, Vishnu and I cleaned up and headed to a playdate with a family from Kaiden’s class.  We’d been trying to get together for a while now, and I’m so glad we made it happen because everyone had fun!  It’s so nice to connect and spend time with other parents, especially when your kiddos are around the same age.

MONDAY

  • I completed a 30 minute Barre3 Online workout during my lunch hour.  It was hard, I was shaking, and there were certainly a few times when I wanted to quit.  But I didn’t!  So thankful for the opportunity to recharge in the middle of the day.

TUESDAY

  • My sister and BIL came over for ‘This is Us’ Tuesday, a tradition we started at the start of this season.  I made dinner (nachos!), we ate, and then we watched our favorite show.

WEDNESDAY

  • I worked from home, and Vishnu ended up being home most of the day too.  It was nice to have a little company and goofiness throughout the day!

THURSDAY

  • I had lunch with my good friend and former work wife Erin today.  I hadn’t seen her in forever, so it was so nice to catch up over some delicious food!

Lunch with co-worker

  • I got to see my other old coworker Thea as well.  She moved over to a different team a month or so ago, and while I’m still super bummed about that, I’m thankful I still get to see her and catch up when we’re both in the office.
  • Kaiden was in a GREAT mood when I picked him up from daycare today.  Like instead of crying and running towards me, he laughed and ran away from me.  Ha!  Love my goofy guy!
  • Vishnu finally made sambhar rice in the Instant Pot.  He’s been talking about it ever since he came back from DC.  Our friend Kartik, who Vishnu stayed with, makes this regularly.  Vishnu saw how easy it was to make and decided to give it a go.  Glad he did because – 1. I didn’t have to cook dinner and 2. it was delicious!
  • And last but certainly not least, my Kaiden turned 17 months old!!!

And that’s my week of gratitude in a nutshell!  I hope you found lots of things to be thankful for and continue to do so in the coming week as well.

No portion of this post is sponsored.  However, affiliate links are included. There is no extra cost to you, but I do receive a small commission on anything you buy through my links.  Thank you for reading and supporting My Inner Shakti!

Written on November 30, 2018 Related:Life

pre-thanksgiving meal

Thanksgiving Thoughts

written by Parita 3 Comments

We all need a break sometimes, and I took mine the week leading up to Thanksgiving.  Honestly, it was much needed because my creativity, organizational efficiency, and ability to get my s*** together felt like it was at an all time low (hence the lack of posts and pictures in this post).  All good now though!

Our Thanksgiving weekend was pretty awesome.  It actually started on Wednesday for both me and Vishnu because we took the day off.  I talked to my sister that morning, and we decided to get together for dinner.  After going back on forth on what we should eat, we unanimously voted to go all out with a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving meal.  We kept it simple…kind of.  Vishnu and I ended up making mac n’ cheese, cranberry sauce, gravy, and mashed potatoes.  All from scratch!  My sister, her husband, and a few our friends came over, and despite the last minuteness in the kitchen, it was so fun.

pre-thanksgiving meal

We woke up bright and early the next morning, packed our bags, and headed to St. Louis for the a couple of days.  We stayed at Adarsh’s (my BIL) parents’ house and had a great time hanging out with Aekta, Adarsh, his parents and his sister.  We ate delicious South Indian food, played games, and shopped (Black Friday outlet shopping for the win!).

Vishnu and I drove back to Chicago on Saturday afternoon and were home by 8 pm.  We ate dinner, watched a few episodes of Parenthood, and called it a night.

Sunday was filled with unpacking, errands, and a little bit of baking (I made these delicious muffins).

This wouldn’t be a true Thanksgiving post without me sharing what I’m thankful for, so here are a few things (of many) that come to mind right now:

  • Vishnu – I’m one very lucky lady!
  • Family – both immediate and extended
  • Friends – new and old
  • Health – emotional, mental, spiritual
  • Our home (both our actual apartment and Chicago) – a place we’ll be for the next 3.5 years at least!
  • An abundance of daily laughter – without it, my world would be a sad place

With my pre-Thanksgiving ‘funk’ behind me, I’m looking forward to the next few weeks – holiday parties, cookie baking, Secret Santa with my coworkers, Hawaii, Christmas, New Years, etc.  I’m also looking forward to being more efficient with my time and tackling/starting a few projects. Hooray for end of the year productivity!

I hope your Thanksgiving 2016 was filled with lots of delicious food, laughter, and loved ones.

Here’s to Monday and few more weeks until Christmas!

Your turn – what Thanksgiving food do you look forward to the most?  For me, it’s all about the mac n’ cheese and cranberry sauce.  YUM!

Written on November 28, 2016 Related:Family, Food, Holiday

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