What books and/or magazines did I read this month? My fabby pal Sharon gave me a pile of magazines that I am working through. I read 'Before I Go To Sleep' which was an AMAZING book - LOVED it!! I also read 'Unsinkable - How to bounce back quickly when life knocks you down' by Sonia Ricotti. And 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Ex' by Heather Belle and Michelle Fiordaliso - which is a book about how to have an easier relationship with your Ex - less baggage etc etc. Now I am in the middle of reading 'These Things Hidden' by Heather Gudenkauf.
What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month? Susannah and I went to the theatre to watch 'The Lucky One' - omg sooooo GOOD - with the oh so gorgeous Zac Efron. Yum yum yum! At home we watched Back to the Future as the kids had never seen it before. Sam was sick last week so I watched some movies with him on Netflix - including the most BIZARRE episode of Veggietales - where Jonah was sent to preach to a city where people hit each other with fish (????)
What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends? We went to two Roller Derby games which was fun! Homeschool park days started, my regular date night with Sharon!! homeschool club at the library was a big success this month! We've had a lot of fun making crafts - and also my art classes here at The Art House were a lot of fun! Trips to the farmers market. Easter was wonderful - and it was soooo wonderful to be back at The Prairie Gardens again!! Laurence even came too and we had a fabulous afternoon there - we all held baby chicks :) Our poetry tea on the back deck on a gorgeous sunny day was nice. Our afternoon at the Royal Alberta Museum and the walk in the museum grounds!!! And our Easter trip to the Science Centre was great fun too!. I remember a really fun car ride with everyone when we went to pick Laurence up from work one night - so much laughter and chatter and doing math sums and things. A nice walk around our yard with Susie one afternoon - tidying up but also taking pictures of signs of Spring!! Watching arm wrestling at the mall, Spring break and the reading challenge Sam and Abby took part in! Painting messages on stones and placing them around town for people to find!!! Our first trip to Katies Crossing for this year!!! Wow - and so much more - looking back, April was a fabulous month - we also had visits to Kidz Quarterz with friends - and alone while Susannah and Shania went to see Titanic 3d.
What special or unusual purchases did I make? I bought Prismacolor Pastel artsticks for my new art journaling class that I'm teaching on Tuesday evenings. They are so expensive but after watching a couple of tutorials online I fell in love, and when they were on for 50% at Michaels, I couldn't resist!!! I haven't stopped using them since! OMG they are amazing!!! Love love LOVE!!!! I also bought a Kate Spade purse/ handbag at Goodwill - turns out it was $300. new and I paid $3.99 for it :) I love it and it matches my new skirt perfectly :)
What illnesses or health concerns did I have? Sam caught a cold and a tummy bug from somewhere....and passed it on to us but thankfully it was VERY mild. Then one night I had flu-like symptoms - aches, chills, feeling lethargic - and so did Susie. We both took garlic capsules but she didn't take as many as me. I felt fine the next day, but she was left with a cold. No one else seems to have it thankfully. She says she will stay home tomorrow if she still feels bad. We had a really quiet and lazy few days/ weekend so that everyone could get healthy again - and I think it really helped. No other illnesses this month thankfully!
What were my accomplishments this month? I've made some major steps forward with a few things - and some big decisions. I've started working on SR1 / therapy again which is really helping me as I felt as though I had hit a plateau on my progress. My kids art journaling class ended - a 4 week long class, and the parents were really happy with it - and the kids all loved it - they said they would LOVE me to run more classes, but I'm not sure if I will or not. We shall see....Oh and Laurence started a new job this month and despite a few ups and downs to begin with, he has stuck with it - and for that I am very proud of him - because it has meant a fair bit of walking at times - in fact he has had so much exercise that he has lost two sizes in pants and his pants are now way too big!!!
What were my disappointments this month? I was betrayed by someone I trusted and thought of as a friend. I felt extremely let down and hurt to begin with. However, I've thought it over - and - thanks to something Effy Wild said in one of her classes, I feel able to let it go.
Anything else noteworthy to include? This has been a good post to write - it has given me a chance to reflect back on a month that I thought was hard - that I thought I struggled through and that didn't seem like much fun - but when I actually write it down like this and think about it, I see that really, although there were some difficult moments here and there, it was actually a pretty wonderful month - we crammed a LOT in - and even have fun plans for the very last day of April!! I am happy April is ending...and looking forward to May and all that it will bring...new adventures...hopefully some sunshine!! Yet I am also happy that we made the most of April too!!
