The Me Monthly - Volume 21

ME THIS MONTH
March was quite the month! For half of it I was flying solo, with Jonathan in Japan for two weeks. While it was hard, we tried to make the most of it. We had the car, so Daisy and I got to get out of the house! We went to the Bean Museum and the library a few times, and did shopping on Fridays instead of busy Saturdays. In the evenings I tried to relax, which usually lead to some late nights. But I watched a lot of anime and even started reading a book! I'm not gonna lie - it was nice to have some time all to myself, but we were VERY glad to have Jonathan come home. While he was gone, Daisy would say "Where's my dad? I lost my dad." and I would say "he's in Japan sweetie, he'll come home in [insert days til return]" and then she would say "oh! I miss my dad. But he'll be back." It was so cute but so sad. We like him. Up until this point, I had seen Jonathan every. single. day. since we started dating. So from August 12, 2014 until March 6, 2019, I saw my love every day. Our streak is broken, but now we can just try to break our record!

Other things of note for the month - I finally brought in some money for my business, working and stressing to do so. (HUGE shout-out to Sara for letting me call her and talk through a particularly stressful moment while Jonathan was gone.) I need to learn how to navigate QuickBooks, I still don't have a finalized logo yet, and I want to figure out some logistical things, but money is coming in, so at least I have the most important thing going for me :) I also did try reintroducing eggs this month. I think I had a negative reaction though :/ So I'm taking a break, doing a few more gut-healing things, and trying again in a month or so. And finally, I was able to complete one of my goals for the month and get mostly caught up with blog posts. As of this weekend, I only have a year left in this list!! I really want to get more passed off this time around (hoping to get 40 or 50), so it's full steam ahead!

Listening: to The Arcadian Wild! Current favorite band, thanks to Sara :)
Eating: ALL the treats. Last month I mentioned that I was sugaring myself up too much...well while Jonathan was gone I made SO MANY desserts that I think my body has started giving me subliminal mind-messages about sweet potatoes to get me to stop. ("They're sweet, but ALSO good for you!" and I'm just like, "Yeah, but AIP cookies!")
Missing: Jonathan! Two weeks was much too long for him to be away from me and Daisy. But I'm glad he got to go to Japan and luckily he brought back some good presents to make up for it ;)


THE FOCUS GROUP
18. Hang a gallery wall with pictures and decor
Still working on stuff, but I designed one of the quotes I want hanging up!! It turned out super cute and I can't wait to print it. I'm planning to sell it on my Etsy shop too!

25. Travel to a new state
If nothing big happens to derail this one, I will be going to Washington at the end of the month! Jonathan and I are going to road trip it up there for a wedding with one of his mission companions. I'm super excited!!

94. First aid kit in home and car
Technically we've always had a form of a first aid kit in our home, but never something all put together. I just keep it all in a bin. It works fine because we don't usually need it, but I want something a little more organized. As I organize it, I think that will be a perfect time to compile a smaller version for the car :)

12 PROJECTS - 30 DAYS

Project 8 - Food/Mood Journal (March - Finished)
Did it!!! Woo!! There were times where I was going to bed and I had missed half the day, but instead of just leaving it until the morning I would finish it! And sometimes I was away from home and couldn't write it down on my actual journal, so I recorded it in my phone and wrote it down later. I think it helped me to understand my body better than I have in a while. Good stuff!

Project 9 - Undivided Attention (April - Started)
Lately I've been thinking a lot about how I'm not often in the moment. I multi-task a lot, and while I think it's a good skill to have and use at certain times, I try to do it everywhere and I think it's hurting more than it's helping. This project has two parts, one or both can be done every day: First, I want to pick a daily task/action that I do just by itself. Second, I want to spend 15-30 minutes with Daisy and/or Jonathan giving them my undivided attention, no cleaning/phone/work/etc. going on at the same time, just playing, talking, or enjoying the time together! I feel weird/sad/guilty about feeling the need to do the second part, but I'm working on improving myself and that means being honest about my current state, no matter how I feel about it.

NUMBERED NEWS
28. Read 35 new books
5. Spinning Silver (3/31/19) - Loved this one! It has been way too long since I read a book with so much going on, so I had to reread lots of parts. It also didn't help that there was lots of details and the point of view changed  a lot. But, putting aside my own faults, this book was fantastic! Fantasy, awesome themes and ideas, strong characters and development - just lots to love! My mind is still trying to wrap around everything that happened (I kind of want to reread it already), so I don't have an in-depth review or very descriptive thoughts, but I know I enjoyed it! It was a wonderful escape and it made me want to read more. I would highly recommend it!

70. Attend 5 new museums
1. BYU Art Museum (12/2/17) - Went with Jonathan, Daisy, and Mike to see the M.C. Escher exhibit. Super cool and so fun to go with my artist brother! (Almost forgot about this one! Thankfully the internet records everything.)
2. Bean Museum (3/12/19) - Took Daisy to look at animals, but she just thought most of them were scary and wanted to play on the slide.

85. Watch 101 new movies (at least 20 award-winning)
45. (BBC) Sense and Sensibility - (3/17/19)


DAISY'S BOOK OF THE MONTH
We went to the library this month and Daisy picked out this book from the "for sale" shelves: The Cat in the Hat!

I'm slightly embarrassed we didn't own it or read it to Daisy sooner, but I have mended my ways! Also, it is way longer than I remembered! Surprisingly though, Daisy paid attention through the whole thing and will now sit and look through it on her own. Gotta love the classics!