Happy New Year! Welcome 2024! Please don't disappoint us

I have been feeling out of words to write recently. Thinking about closing the blog sometimes but, I have been blogging for so long that, I cannot bring myself to do it.

Anyway, here is what has been happening in my neck of the woods.

My SIS and BIL were supposed to come to Istanbul for celebrating the New Year but, SIS got COVID and they could not come. My uncle is visiting so, we had a nice dinner and did our own thing the rest of the night.

My bestie in the US is a bit overwhelmed these days with so much going on in her life, her husband, her daughter and other things, she asked me if I could go help her a bit. So, I am going to the US next week and will return late February. I am still planning to go in late Spring again because, my SIS wants to go too. We will see how it all plays out.

SIS is ready to pull the trigger on her retirement but, she just doesn't know when to do it. She is determined to not be working at the bank by her birthday this year, which is in April. Not a long time to go.

I have been concentrating on my health, fitness and weight loss for the last 4 months and for the first time in my life, I have been consistent. I found my inspiration in K-Pop believe it or not. Who knew?

It is a long story so, I will leave that out but, I am doing rather well. Just had a recent check-up and found out that my insulin resistance is getting better and the doc told me, it may be possible to get off the med if I continue this path. Also, my cholesterol is at a normal level due to tons of exercise. Fatty liver is getting better too. I have been pleasantly surprised to see so many positive gains in my medical report. Now, I know I can do this. 

I am at a point in my life that I only want to be happy and content so, I will keep on doing things that keep me happy. 

No new year resolutions because, I have set goals before the year end and doing well so, all is good. 

Closed the books on last year and financially, I have done well. Budgeting carefully always helps and some unexpected expenses did not really hurt because I made some money through my part-time consulting although, I am not going to be taking more projects this year due to planned travel. I still need to tweak 2024 budget a bit though.

With my travel date approaching fast, I looked through my clothes and purged some items which no longer fit well. This way, I also know what to get from the US. I need mostly tops and some exercise gear. When I come back, I am going to work with a Personal Trainer at a Gym close by. Cardio is easy on my own but, I want to strengthen my back and arms. As we get older, we need a stronger upper body. It is easy to hurt oneself without proper instruction.

I hope 2024 brings much joy, contentment, health and happiness to you all. 

I am leaving you with a wonderful romantic song of my favorite band. It is a bit softer than their normal vibe but, they are experimenting with a lot of genres. There are English captions for Korean parts.