Family Time
The weather has finally cleared up and we're really starting to explore San Diego. All 4 of our hikes this month were new to us. I'm really loving how this habit is getting us to explore new places and I have a growing list of hikes to check out. This month, we also did our first harder difficulty hike. We were going to do another but ended up taking it easy and just going on a walk around a lake we found nearby. I like that we're keeping family time flexible and we have a lot of fun together on our hikes.
I think April will be a little different in terms of Family time. I'm going to need to use my free time for studying the next few weeks which will cut into family time - however, we then go on our big trip! Even though Harley won't be with us, Dan and I will get to spend A LOT of time adventuring together. We had SUCH a good time on our honeymoon and I'm so excited that we basically get two whole weeks of "family time" even if we may have to lose some of our weekly hikes.
Stick to a Regular Fitness Schedule
My fitness schedule has been rocking. I love that this habit has led me to really stick to my classes and my muscle definition has been looking great because of it. I still have to miss sometimes for work travel and things but aside from interruptions out of my control, the gym is the priority.
I also signed up for online fitness classes by the same people who make Body Pump so that when I am traveling, I can still get my exercise on. Speaking of Body Pump - release #100 is coming to an end and I'm excited for 101. However, I am going to miss this awesome triceps track. It's my least favorite muscle group but the song is so awesome it makes me excited to do my skull crushers and tricep pullovers (I still die on the tri push ups though).
Meal Planning
This is always the one I struggle with but it's getting better. I might not be writing menus on Sundays but I'm trying to think of meals a few days out. Sometimes that thinking still takes place in the store but one thing at a time.
At the end of the month, we decided to tighten up on our eating again. Even though we don't feel like we have to eat paleo all the time, it's nice to have it in our back pocket. We've been enjoying lots of treats lately and want to make sure we don't let the treats take over our life so it's good to cleanse every now and then.
That's how this happened. It's not meals planned out into tupperware but I did take the time to pre-portion out my Costco haul so that early in the week I can thaw some fish or pork chops or sausage or whatever I plan on cooking that week.
Take an Annual Trip with My Husband
So much progress here!!!! We booked excursions and got our travel documents ready and started getting recommendations for what to do in each city! It's been great to chip away at this but now that our trip is next month I'm starting to think we should have been taking bigger chunks out earlier. 😆
As I've mentioned (and will continue to - sorry, I write these posts out of order) and planning the trip has been good procrastination for that and vice versa. I think I work better when I have two things to bounce between.
Read a Book a Week
This month, I decided to re-visit the read harder challenge. It's an annual challenge by the book site, Book Riot, that encourages people to branch out of their usual genres. I looked at it in December and didn't love how super specific some of the items were. Well, by March, I realized that on my own I'd already check off about 1/3 of the tasks (about 6 without duplicating any, 8 if I did... which IS permitted in the challenge rules).
So what have I marked off?
Read a Debut Novel - Behind Closed Doors
Read a Book by an Immigrant or With Central Immigration Narrative - The Sun is Also a Star (hits both)
Read a Book You've Read Before - The Handmaid's Tale
Read a Book Set Within 100 Miles - The Mothers
Read a Fantasy Novel - All the Birds in the Sky
Read a Book About War - The Art of War
Read a Book Frequently Challenged or Banned - The Handmaid's Tale*
Read a Book Where all Point-of-View Characters are people of Color - The Mothers*
*book used twice
Well, that made me feel really good about the challenge and I think I'll take a stab at the rest. I'm not looking forward to the non-fiction technology book, the poems, or the short stories because I really don't like those genres but I'm willing to take a stab at it. I'd also like to beat it without repeating a book so I might try some of the categories again.I also finished my course with a resounding super A and am excited to keep on doing some work on my own. Never stop learning! However, I once again did the bare minimum here in terms of books overall. I am part way through 3 books though. I think that along with going on vacation next month will mean a lot of books read in April.
Me Time
Usually every year, I have a resolution I know will fall by the wayside early on. This is that one. The goal of this was to really carve out pieces of time where I was making time for things I enjoy outside of any other commitments or goals I make for myself.
That's really hard.
If you're wondering how I can work and exercise and read and and cook and go on hikes with my family and take online classes and dream of a future business empire... while finding a corner of the world for me to have to myself... I can't.... but I don't feel too bad about it. I had a lot of years of having that time and I was bored or lonely and I can honestly say that I don't feel either of those things in any sort of all-encompassing way.
I still do things I like... but I multi-task. I write blog posts in my head while I exercise and I listen to books while I drive and I'm always constantly moving and doing. It may sound tiring but it's the way I've always been and if doing means not having enough extra quiet time... that's ok for now.
Mo' Money March
This one took some really unexpected turns this month. I meant it more as a way to really encourage me to drive more business to my Etsy shop and to also study for the class I was taking – to me doing these things would have been an accomplishment. Well, the Etsy shop is chugging along and I got an A in my class… but that was nothing compared to the big picture of mo’ money March.
For those who don’t know, I’ve always wanted to start my own business. Last year, I came up with two ideas (one in collaboration with Dan). I won’t say what they are but I think they’re really good. The plan was that I’d pursue one and when that did well, we could use the money to invest in the second. I’m happy that the first has made some big strides this month and it’s making me really excited that a goal I’ve worked towards for almost a year is beginning to take shape.
We also made progress on the second business idea even though it’s further out of the way. We started brainstorming and making lists. I looked up properties that would be our dream spaces just to get an idea of what would work for what we want to do. I saved links. I recommended things for Dan to read so he could start making plans. I don’t know when we’ll be able to do this awesome thing we’ve been dreaming of but I want to have a plan in place so we can jump on it at any point. During my research, it sounded like similar businesses were doing really well and it made me confident that if we’re smart and organized, we could have a real winner.
So – no, I didn’t spend a lot of time making more patterns to sell on Etsy but I think that was reaching to touch the ceiling and instead we got out a ladder, stood on the roof, and looked at the stars. They look really good.
For next month, my goal is really clear: Unplugged April. My phone is about as attached to me as a tumor to its host and it’s probably just as bad for me. I’ve been trying to disconnect a little more – leaving my phone in another room, putting it on silent, trying not to reach for it when I’m with friends, and lastly, just being so in the moment I don’t think about it. However, I get the best refresh soon – a trip abroad where data is expensive!! Yes, next month is our Europe trip and I am really excited to not have cell service. I think I’ll get a tiny data plan just to be able to check in on my mom and try to catch a Mr. Mime but other than that I want to just really enjoy Europe. Up until then, I will also be studying for an exam and I might lose my phone for several hours at a time while I do that.
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