April 2023 // A List

Oh, April. You were such a dream.

A much better month than March.

April felt like the first sip of my morning coffee.

Comforting like a hug.

April was a month full of good things.

A welcome surprise.

April was the month of flowers and growth and life.

April was a month well spent with family.

A month of celebrations.

A month of thinking about the future.

April was a month full of good books and good music.

April was the perfect month to explore my city.

April was the month when I really embraced the little things.

Like rainbows, sunrises, and flowers throughout my neighborhood and city.

Little delights like making banana chocolate chip waffles on a Saturday, indulging in seasonal treats, and consuming our usual favorite foods were truly a comfort.

Oh, April, I am so sad to see you go.

You were truly a month full of better days.

Hello May.

I'm really looking forward to a fun-filled month. 

Here's to hoping that May is just as good as April.

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Saturday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly grateful and happy list link-up.

1. Afternoon naps. There's just something about taking a nap during the weekend. I felt so refreshed and well-rested.

2. I don't usually drink wine, but I bought a new-to-me wine, Stella Rosa Stella Berry Rosé Wine, on Friday night, and I am now a big fan. It was so good. The flavor is fantastic. I love that the berry flavor wasn't overpowering.

3. I went to the library to pick up two books I had on hold. I've been on a Maggie Smith kick, so I borrowed Good Bones. I was so excited to pick up Above Ground by Clint Smith.

4. Nothing Bundt Cakes has its summer flavor, blueberry bliss, available! I'm a sucker for their trying their seasonal flavors, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this flavor.

5. I participated in Exhale's monthly blog hop post! You can check it out here.

6. I've completed a lot of my monthly goals this month. I'm really excited about this because it's been a few months where I've felt like I have little time to work on my goals. There's been a few months where I was lucky to accomplish at least two of my monthly goals.

7. I made banana chocolate chip waffles, which turned out amazing! I definitely plan to make a larger batch next time. 

8. New-to-me iPhone tips. I am absolutely terrible with technology, and I learn something new every other day about my iPhone. I just discovered this new tip on taking photos of stars with my phone. I can't wait to try it out.

9. Notes by Austin Kleon. Seeing this journal page came at the right time.

10. We're getting closer to summer break, and I am so excited! Although summer isn't my favorite season, I look forward to it. I have so many plans and things I would like to do with my family. I look forward to crossing things off my summer bucket list and doing our usual summer activities. 

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Little Whispers

It's 10 PM and way past my boys' bedtime. As usual, I walk by their room every night before bed. Almost always, I have to remind them that they need to stop talking to each other and go to sleep. And almost always, I get struck by memories of mami telling my older sister and me that we need to go to sleep instead of staying up late talking to each other or else we'll be too tired in the morning.

As I prepared to go to bed, I heard them quietly laughing and talking about how their day went at school and how much fun they had when they got home. Although they really did have to go to bed, I found myself smiling at their whispered conversation. After a few minutes, I reminded them again that they needed to go to sleep and gave them one last hug and beso. I said a silent prayer that my boys never lose their bond and that they always remember that they have each other to confide in. I hope that one day they look back at their childhood with a smile and remember and treasure those conversations they had with each other. 

This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale - an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Overheard at Home."

Photo by Alen Rojnic on Unsplash

If You and I Had Coffee

If you and I had coffee...

We'd meet at a local bookstore that also sells coffee and pastries. First, we'll order our food and drinks and then browse the store. I definitely shouldn't be going to a bookstore because I don't need any books, but that's ok. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I am really excited about summer. I have so many things I want to do and have been adding things to my summer bucket list. The boys are also excited about summer break. They have started their last day of school countdown. It's going to be really nice to sleep in and relax. One thing I'm looking forward to is exploring new places. I'll also have more time to work on my creative projects.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I've been watching Beef and it's such a good show. I've also been watching The Mandalorian, and I'm still catching up on Roswell, New Mexico. 

I'm also catching up on books I need to read and review. I'm currently reading The Trees Grew Because I Bled There by Eric LaRocca, and oh my goodness, this book is very dark. It's a collection of short stories, and almost every story made me speechless. In fact, I'm still processing the stories that I finished reading. I'm also reading Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby. I'm taking my time reading this book, but I really like it. I recently finished reading Woman Without Shame by Sandra Cisneros, which was amazing. There were so many amazing poems in this collection.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I have been trying to keep up with my monthly goals. So far, it's going good, and I'm on my way to accomplishing a couple of my goals for this month. I'm kind of surprised that I have remembered my goals because the past few weeks have been really busy, and it won't slow down. It's a good thing that I still use my planner; I might just write my goals down in my planner, so I'll have a better chance of remembering them.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm glad we were able to catch up this month. Having this coffee date is always a highlight of my month. I hope you enjoy the rest of your month and hope to catch up with you soon. 

What would you tell me?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Sunday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly grateful and happy list link-up.

1. Receiving good news from my job

2. Working in my traveler's notebook and my Project Life album

3. Finding lots of great short stories to read

4. Watching Beef

5. Drinking an ice cream float on a quiet afternoon

6. Getting stuff done ahead of time

7. Trips to the library

8. Love Me Hard by Elley Duhé

9. Maggie Smith's newsletter, For Dear Life

10. An impromptu day date with John

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Atlanta Mom

Happy Wednesday! I'm over at Atlanta Mom with a new post. I'm sharing a list of upcoming family-friendly movies. Feel free to check out my post and tell me what you think. You can check my previous posts here.

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Three Things - April 2023

Happy Monday! Spring Break is over, and although I'm a little sad about that and trying to get back into my usual schedule, I wanted to share my responses to one of Steph's Q & A prompts. You know I love a good questionnaire, and it's been a while since I've shared one, so I figured now is a good time to fill one out.

Three things that make a lot of sense to me

1. Reading every day

2. Practicing self-care

3. Making lists

Three things that do not make sense to me

1. Getting up early but still managing to arrive late to my destination

2. Why are light bulbs so expensive?

3. The Tennessee House of Representatives Expulsions (How insane that those two representatives were expelled over a mass shooting protest and for calling for more gun control.)

Three things I'd like to explore

1. Writing and submitting work to a few online publications 

2. Watercolor and mixed media art classes

3. Making a Bookstagram

Three things I have no interest in

1. Trump (I'm just so sick of him, and every day something terrible related to him always pops up.)

2. Whatsapp (Serious question...why not just text? What is the purpose? I'll try to remember to look this up.)

3. Basketball, but I love how excited many people have been.

Three things I have more than enough of but always want to buy

1. Coffee mugs

2. Books

3. Headwraps

Three things I am always in search of

1. My keys

2. My favorite pen

3. The perfect graphic t-shirt

Three things I've recently checked off of my To Do List

1. Schedule my doctor's appointment

2. Buy graduation, housewarming, and birthday gifts (I have way too many upcoming events to celebrate, but thankful that I have a family to celebrate with)

3. Work on a few blog posts

Three things I have had on my to-do list forever

1. Clean out the boys' closets

2. Toss out or donate old toys

3. Share more personal posts on the blog

Three things I'm loving right now

1. Starbucks Mocha Frappuccinos in the mornings

2. My black biker shorts (Omg, they are so comfortable!)

3. Target

Three things I'm hating right now

1. Indecision

2. Long waitlists for appointments 

3. Getting up early but still arriving late to my destination (I'm sorry I had to mention it twice.)

Now it's your turn. Feel free to share your response or a link to your blog in the comments.

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Zoe Schaeffer on Unsplash

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly grateful and happy list link-up.

1. Strayed by A.M. Wilson (I read this book in two days! Review coming soon.)

2. Renegade by Aaryan Shah

3. Hearing promising news 

4. Warm weather

5. Spring Break (It's been nice having the week off.)

6. Watching the Mandalorian

7. Afternoon naps

8. Really good deals and offers from Target

9. New curtains

10. I finally got my photos from Persnickety Prints (I can't wait to use them in my Project Life album and my traveler's notebook)

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

April Goals

Happy Wednesday! It's finally April and I am so incredibly grateful that it's a new month. Like January, March felt like the longest month ever, but it also felt like a very short month. March was a strange month. I was dreading March's arrival because it's the anniversary of my baby brother's death, but this year, I found that for most of the month the waves of grief wasn't as strong as usual. I think grieving during March wasn't as strong (at least this year) because I was very busy. Work definitely kept me busy which I am grateful for. The actual anniversary of Mike's death was a hard day. I cried after talking to Mami and found more information about what happened on that day. It seems like I always learn something new every year and it just further proves that Mami wanted to protect us when we were children about death and loss. 

Work kept me busy during March and I found myself planning for the next couple of months. The next few weeks or rather months are going to be so busy with lots of events, both work related and personal. Right now, it's Spring Break and it's been so nice staying home and relaxing. Raphael's birthday is in a few days and we're trying to figure out what we should do to celebrate. 

With it being Spring Break, I'm hoping to knock out a few of my monthly goals. Now that I mentioned my monthly goals, let's have a quick recap on how I did with my goals for March and check out my new goals for April.

Recap of March Goals

• Read and review 2 books I received from Netgalley: I read and reviewed Promises of Gold by José Olivarez and Emily's Essence by Lila Fox. I still have so many books to read that I received from Netgalley, but at least the list is getting smaller.

• Read 2 books I received from the library: I only read one book that I borrowed from the library which was The Real Dada Mother Goose by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Julia Rothman. I mainly read this book because I love Julia's drawings and I wanted to read a different genre. It was nice to read a children's book. I may have to add a few children's and middle grade books on my TBR list.

• Publish 2 personal pieces on the blog: I'm not even sure whether to consider this goal accomplished or not. I did share my post for the Exhale blog hop and my monthly reflections list. I also shared my monthly coffee date post. You know what...I'm going to consider this goal accomplished.

• Participate in Exhale's March blog hop: I was able to participate in the blog hop and I am so excited that I was actually able to come up with something. You can check out my piece here.

• Try 1 new recipe: Ugh...once again, I did not try a new recipe. I don't even have a good excuse either. I literally had all the ingredients that I needed to make this individual berry crumble and I just didn't make it.

• Work on my One Little Word lessons (January-March): I haven't worked on my One Little Word lessons and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I am noticing my word more and more everyday, but I just haven't sat down to document/journal about it. I think I'm processing everything a lot slower this year.

• Work on my 2023 Project Life/memory keeping album: I didn't get to work on my Project Life album unless you count picking out which photos I am going to use and ordering the photos. Thankfully, my photos will be arriving in the next few days so I'm excited to make a bunch of layouts.

April Goals

• Read and review 2 books I received from Netgalley

• Read and review 3 books I borrowed from the library

• Publish 1 personal piece on the blog

• Participate in Exhale's April blog hop

• Try 2 new recipes

• Work on my One Little Word lessons (January-March)

• Work on my 2023 Project Life/memory keeping album

What are your goals for April? How did you do in March?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash