Days of April – A monthly wrap-up

It’s the last day of the month, which means it’s time to look back and see what happened in April and to think about the month ahead.

In April I:

• I have been home, trying to take care of myself, spending a lot of time resting and just doing light, non-stressful tasks, like taking care of the house;
• I have blogged every single day and I’m still loving it;
• I spent a lot of time with my love, while on Easter break and his week off work.
• We redecorated our house, did some Spring cleaning and rearranged most of our rooms and bought some exciting new stuff for our home, such as a new printer!
• I got rid of my office, since I don’t plan on working for the next few months and there was no point in paying for the space. It was bittersweet but I feel better now, like I have closed a chapter and I’m ready for these new phase of my life;
• I spent Easter with my in-laws, being there for a long, amazing, sunny weekend. I saw many people from Rui’s side of the family that I hadn’t seen in a long time. While I was there, my side of the family was spending Easter together, something that hadn’t happened in many years.
• I celebrated two of my best friends’ birthdays, although I was not here for one of the parties (sorry, Rita!! I love you)
• I started sleeping better, my nightmares went away (mostly) and I’ve been waking up earlier, with no problems.
• A had a psychiatrist’s appointment, my doctor was very pleased with the way I was reacting to my medication and changes;
• My medication was significantly reduced, which made me very happy!
• My mom and I realized we could do video calls and we have been doing it almost every day, which is so much fun.
• I watched Thirteen Reasons Why;
• I started watching Poldark;
• I watched the first season of Victoria;
• I finished the first Harry Potter book and started the second;
• We finally took Rosa to get the reinforcement of her shots. She needed to get sedated and was really high at some point, which was quite funny!
• I was sick more than once and found out I have chronic sinusitis, just like Rui;
• I found great bargains;
• I cooked new recipes, more than once, trying new, healthier ingredients;
• Got my first Postcards from pen pals!!
• Won two giveaways!
• Celebrated my third month of blogging;

 

In April, I’m grateful for:

• My family, which includes Rui’s side of the family and Rosa;
• My love, always so sweet and loving and making me happy;
• Spending so much time with Rui and Rosa;
• Finding amazing shows to watch;
• Finishing Harry Potter;
• Get inspired cooking;
• Being able to buy some things to redecorate our house;
• My new printer;
• Spring cleaning;
• Amazing and beautiful weather;
• Being correctly diagnosed with sinusitis;
• The reduction of my medication;
• A healthy, happy dog;
• Getting things in the mail;
• New followers and friends;
• My blog, that I love so much;
• A lovely WordPress community which, always willing to love and support me;
• Coconut milk, soy cream, black beans, whole wheat bread and pasta and brown rice;

 

In April, I would like to: (update)

• Get out more, be in the sun, close to nature or in the city, explore new places, and take pictures; – Didn’t happen as much as I would like to, but I spent less time at home;
• Drink more water. I have been trying but I’m not quite there yet. I need 1,5 l a day and I never get that, always a little less; – I tried, even downloaded plant nanny. Some days I have drunk more, some not so much. I must try to focus on doing it every day in May;

• Drink less milk. It’s fat-free and lactose-free but I’m having too much! – Tried, without much success; Have been drinking less coffee, though;

• Watch more movies; Nope, but watched more series;

• Read more and a little faster. I used to be a very fast reader. I mean, I still am, but I only read for about ten minutes a day, so the progress is slow; I would like to read for at least 30 minutes a day; – No. I wasn’t even close to read all of the books I meant to;

• Go back to swimming. I love it so, so much!! – I haven’t. Will try this month;

• Take Rosa out on walks; – Not once;

• See my family and friends more often (guys, please remind me) – Unfortunately it didn’t happen, unless you count Easter. Really need to work on this;

• Spend quality time with Rui, pay more attention to him. Life gets in the way but I miss him; – Totally nailed this. The fact that he was home for a week helped!!

• Wear Spring clothes; – Yes, I have worn some light blouses and t-shirts and light pants;

• Keep losing weight; – I think I’ve gained weight with Easter and Rui being on vacation;

• Working out more consistently. I have been doing it a few times a week, I would like to do it every day. 15 minutes of cardio, followed by 20 minutes of yoga. When I don’t do that, 45 minutes of swimming. I don’t want to force myself into doing too much, and I think this is light enough for me. But I need it. I’ve been sitting for long hours for many years and my back and knees and circulation suffered a lot. The warm weather is coming and I have really bad fluid retention issues. My feet and ankles and legs get extremely swollen and painful. I would love to be able to avoid that this year! – Didn’t work out that often. I hate the fact that I didn’t. REALLY need to work on this!!

• Spend Easter with my in-laws and do a second Easter with my side of the family! – Spent a lovely Easter with my in-laws but the second Easter never happened;

• Celebrate two of my best friend’s birthdays! – We did, although I was not present for one of the parties;

• Go to my therapist. I haven’t been there this month! – I haven’t. Should definitely schedule some appointments;

• Go to my psychiatrist’s appointment on the 20th; – I went on the 19th, actually. It was great as she reduced my meds;

• Do some Spring cleaning (Mr.R’s t-shirts, I’m coming for you); – I’m not done with Spring cleaning but I have done some and purged Mr. R’s t-shirts;

• Just keep being in a good mood and feeling better! – This was easy, I have been feeling better and in a great mood!

 

In April, for my blog, I would like to: (update)

• Meet more of my readers! I know some people are shy, but I would love to talk to you guys, get to know you better, become friends; – done;

• Find new amazing blogs and make more friends!! – done;

• Keep writing every day. My health for days journey will continue! – yes!
• Offer new content such as: More fun and interactive posts; Tips or informative posts, I know a few things I could share; House tour; Maybe some recipes; What I eat in a day; (I would love some new ideas. Would you like to suggest something? My comment section is always open for you!) – Did some of this 🙂

 

April in numbers – 1st to 29th

Posts (so far) – 185; 67 in April;

Blog views – 11,209; A little less than March, which makes me a little sad;

Visitors – 2,921;

Likes – 5,358;

Comments – 2,711;

Followers (currently) – 882;

Blogloving – 42 followers;

Facebook (last 28 days) – 22 page view, 15 likes;

Instagram – 176 followers;

Twitter – 135 followers;

Pinterest – 131 followers;

 

In May, I would like to:

• Really focus on my health for days journey, not leaving weekends out of it. Having only one cheat day and enjoy only one treat on that day; I’ve been slacking a lot;
• Exercise every day. Leave Sundays as a rest day. I know I’m being too ambitious but I REALLY need this. Plus, my doctor told me to walk 4 km every day. If she thinks I can and should do it, I should follow her advice, right?
• Read the books there are on my current list. I really want to get back on the habit of reading every day and more books. It used to be such a big part of my life (I’m a literature student) and I miss it so much;
• Watch more movies. I have a huge list of films I have been meaning to watch and I’ll never have as much free time as I do now;
• Spend Mother’s day with my mom (next Sunday) and give her a nice present!!
• Go to my brother-in-law’s graduation and buying something nice for him. My parents-in-law are coming to stay with us and I’m excited about that;
• Rui has a wedding that I’m not going to, but I need to get his clothes in order for that;
• Finish my Spring cleaning and organization;
• Come up with a nice schedule. I have a draft already, just need to make it into a real thing;
• Do a habit tracker;
• Spend time with people I love;
• Get outside more, maybe work on the garden and go to the beach;
• Start studying and exam preparation. I think I need, at least 3 hours a day;
• Keep blogging and reading blogs, discovering new ones and making good friends!
• Keep making and eating healthy meals;

So, these are my plans for next month. I hope to have a happy, productive and calm month and enjoy Spring!!

How did you do in April? Did you have a good month? Did you manage to do everything you had planed on doing?

What are your plans for May? I would love to know.

xx