Reflections from October 🧨

Now, where did October go?

October has been a month of celebration. We had a few Hindu celebrations, the biggest being Diwali. Happy Diwali to all of you. It is the festival of light and I hope that light illuminates your lives. 🪔

If you know the Indian culture, we love our food. And when it comes to celebrations, our options are endless. Nowadays we don’t even have to make sweets ourselves. But I love cooking and ended up making many sweet and savoury snacks – a couple of which are featured in the image above. 👩🏽‍🍳

We also lit some sparklers as a customary thing. Kids love it. When I was in India, fireworks always woke us up at 4am on Diwali. The neighbourhood got so noisy and eventually, we were forced to get out of bed. I don’t miss those days! I am grateful for being able to embrace our culture even though I am in a foreign land.

One thing I have been paying attention to, in the last few days, is how my body feels. With a lot of sweet treats, my body hasn’t been in the best condition it could be. Even though temporary justification of eating all the sugar and fat was made (only to myself, in my mind), my body is now copping the effect of it and I am making a conscious effort to be mindful. Often, we get busy with life (and celebrations) but it is good to pay attention to your body and check in every now and then to see how it really feels and if any changes need to be made.

As a mum, it was a proud moment for me when my son bought us bubble tea with the income he earned from his part-time job. He started working in June and initially he was not sure if he could manage his studies and work. I come from a generation in India where we focused on studies and work came later when we finished graduating. Life is different here. I am glad that I have been able to instil values around money. His friends and my son are now talking about investing a part of their income. A very wise generation indeed. 📈🤑

A story of human connection

One day, after a broker event in the city, I went to get my car. But before I drove back home, I wanted to get a hot chocolate as I needed some fuel for the potentially long drive at peak time traffic.

I approached a cafe. As the guy was making my hot chocolate, we got talking and I said ‘Long day, can’t wait to go back home’. To which he replied ‘to lots of love at home’. We then chatted about how it was good during covid times and he said not one person he has spoken to, looked at it that way. He said, ‘how can you not like being at home?’ and I agreed.

Anyway, as the hot chocolate was ready and I was getting ready to pay, he asked are you allergic to peanuts. I didn’t understand why he was asking and thought maybe because of the almond milk I asked for. Without giving it much thought, I said I’m ok with peanuts.

Then this lovely man gave me a packet of peanut cookies. He said not many actually stop and talk to him and only look at him like an ATM.

I was glad I stopped and had a chat – human connectedness is something we’ve lost touch with! 🤼

GIFTS for Xmas 📗

Christmas is almost here. If you are already thinking about Christmas gifts and have no idea what to buy as the perfect gift for your female customers, friends, family and staff – then look no further.

My book ‘Smart Women, Smart Habits’ is targeted at women who want to take the time to think about their life and how they would like to re-write it next year. It has activities that you can do (including goal setting, money management and more) and could be the perfect gift for the holiday season.

If you would like to order ‘Smart Women, Smart Habits’ as a Christmas gift for yourself, friends, clients, mum or wife, the time to order is now – apparently Australia Post is freaking out about getting orders delivered on time. You can purchase a copy here https://www.smartwomensmarthabits.com. Alternatively, contact me for bulk orders.

That’s a wrap from me folks. Hope you had a wonderful month too. Thank you for reading my news and I am always happy to hear from you 😊