March Updates

Another month has passed along. Was it just me or did March fly by? The days sometimes seemed to drag into eternity (especially during some classes) but the weeks sped by at lightspeed. Now it's April and March is such a blur that I can't really remember what happened a few weeks ago. If I remember correctly, I had a pretty good month, all in all.

School. School was crazy this month. Both of my in-class professors (Jim and Sandy) are retiring at the end of this semester and Jim is trunky to the extreme. It didn't help that Sandy (Jim's wife) is having health conditions that seem to be impairing her mental abilities and ended up being replaced for my class. They've both missed so many classes that we're behind terribly and schedules for both classes have been so messed up that it's been hard to know what needs to be done and by when. For me, this is the ultimate frustration, and I was feeling pretty stressed. Fortunately, last Thursday, both Jim and Sandy's replacement spelled out the last two weeks of classes, so I can plan my school work and get things done in a timely manner. My online class is all but over, thankfully. I'm weeks ahead of schedule and just need to turn in the assignments and take the final test. To top everything off, I spent the month studying for the GMAT, the entrance test for the Masters of Accounting program, and took it at the end of the month. I did okay and am relieved to have it behind me. This month, I'll focus on finishing the last two weeks of the semester and applying for the Master's program.

Summer Trip. We got a healthy tax return this year and have decided to apply it to our Alaskan cruise. So, we have it all paid off and now just need to prepare for the trip. This week, if I can remember, Steve and I are going to get passports. Mine doesn't expire until next year but I need to get it renewed now because of my  name change. Steve doesn't have one. I'm not really sure we'll need passports but we are docking in Canada at least once, so it wouldn't hurt to have them. Plus, they're good for 10 years and we hope to travel quite a bit, especially once I finish school. We also want to look at the port activities and choose one of two for each port and hopefully pre-purchase them (I didn't know we could do this but Steve says he saw it online). I'm really excited for the trip, it's our unofficial honeymoon.

Journaling. Took a big nose dive this month. I still wrote in my journal but nowhere near daily - more like once every few days. The problem has been reading vs. journaling. Reading won more times than not. It's not like they're mutually exclusive events; I could journal the day quickly then read for a little bit. Nope, when I reach for something to do before turning off my bedside lamp, lately it's been my Kindle. I plan on making a more concerted effort to journal daily again in April. Fingers crossed.

Exercise. The highlight of the month, for sure! March blessed me with several days warm enough for bike riding and I took full advantage of each opportunity. I've concluded that I'm not a runner. I don't mind jogging for a bit, but I'll never be a distance runner. By distance, I mean anything over a mile. Bike riding gives me all the pleasures I get from running (bodily exertion, wind in my fair, faster travel) and is more enjoyable to me. Between walking the dog and riding my bike whenever possible, I managed to accomplish my 100+ miles of exercise for the month and shed the pounds I gained from the holidays and having my band too loose. Yay! Once I'm finished with school, I plan on walking Sadie a little longer in the mornings and still going on a bike ride (or even two) every day. The afternoon walks will actually be shortened a bit because the dog doesn't do well in warm weather. She drags like Julie being taken away from the chocolate store.

March exercise totals: 1656 minutes (27.6 hours), 117.6 miles of walking and biking (both indoors and out)

Other. I spent some good times with family and friends this month. We took a nice trip to Cedar at the beginning of my Spring Break and I managed to have lunch with a few friends I hadn't seen in awhile. And then, last weekend I got to see another good friend and her boyfriend.  Plus, we have friends who host dinner at their house every Monday for all their friends and we were able to attend a couple times. We're blessed with good people in our lives.

I chose to end the month, and get a jump on April Fool's Day, by spending too much time sitting in the sun sans sunblock Saturday, the 31st, and ended up getting a nasty sunburn on my arms, knees, and neck. I loved feeling the warmth of the sun's ray's on my almost-always-cold body so much that I totally forgot about the ill-effects of doing so unprotected. Turns out, we don't own any sunblock, so it's going on the top of my shopping list! Despite the sunburn, I had a marvelous last day of March; lots of time with Steve, baseball, shopping, and good food. If only every month could end so nicely.

Here's hoping for a wonderful April!

P.S. Did anyone do anything for April Fools Day? I didn't, sadly. I think I'm hanging up my hat on this one for awhile. Ran out of ideas. Maybe next year.