April 2024 // A List

1. April was such a busy but exciting month. Sure, there were some lows, but there were mostly highs, and I'm so grateful for that.

2. We celebrated Raphael's sixth birthday. I still can't believe that my baby is six years old. It's been amazing watching Raphael grow. Raphael has grown so much this past year, and watching him pass milestones has been amazing and somewhat bittersweet. Time really is flying by, and it's been making me feel so emotional...in fact, I still am.

3. Speaking of birthdays. I'm currently staring at the dinosaur decorative banner that is still hanging from Raphael's birthday celebration. For some reason, I can't bear to take it down yet. Maybe I'm still holding onto my youngest son's birthday, but perhaps it's because I'm currently loving dinosaurs as much as Raphael does. Is it odd that I'm an adult that is very much loving all things dinosaurs? I've even looked up dinosaur graphic t-shirts and skirts. I've also looked up fun dinosaur art drawings.

4. The solar eclipse was really exciting. We didn't buy any of the solar eclipse glasses, but I really enjoyed noticing the differences in my environment and taking photos of shadows (as pictured above). 

5. My current favorite drink is Starbucks' Strawberry Açaí Refresher with 3 scoops of lavender powder. I'm also loving Chick-fil-A's Cherry Berry Sunjoy. I'm not a fan of iced tea, but this drink is so good.

6. I went on a school field trip to the zoo and loved it. It had been a long time since I had been, so it was a treat to be able to go. 

7. John and I visited my in-laws. It had been a really long time since we saw John's dad, brothers, sisters-in-law, nephews, and niece. We met the newest member of the family. It was a pleasant visit, and the boys loved spending time with their cousins and grandpa. 

8. We went to the Smyrna Jonquil Festival and had a blast. We bought some granola and little treats. The kids enjoyed the bounce houses. John and I tried coffee from a new-to-us coffee truck, Travelin Tom's Coffee Truck.

9. I've been enjoying flowers this spring. I even received free flowers twice this month; each time, they came at the perfect time. I also got a free mountain mint plant that is growing, which has been exciting.

10. I passed an important career-related assessment and am so excited. I have a couple more that I need to take, so I've been trying to study for those.

11. Meera Lee Patel's latest newsletter post, Dear Somebody: A Birthday Wish, really hit home, especially her words for Monday. Her words on baking and it being an act of care reminded me of Mami and her love of cooking. Cooking is definitely one of Mami's ways of showing care and love. As for me, it reminded me of my love of making banana chocolate chip waffles for my boys on the weekends.

12. April was truly a dream. I'm so grateful that this month was full of celebrations, family visits, trying new things, and going to fun events. I'm thankful I'm starting to get out of this little creative block, and I hope to continue working on some creative projects. I'm looking forward to May and hope it's a good month.

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

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

1. Lemon Blueberry Bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes

2. Free flower bouquet

3. Skip Tracer by Jive Poetic

4. New scrapbooking and memory-keeping ideas

5. An empty laundry basket 

6. Mind maps

7. Getting important answers to important questions (I felt really anxious about the unknown and unanswered questions, but now that I have answers, the anxiety has moved to what comes next. Such is life...I guess.)

8. The first sip of coffee in the morning

9. Summer Break is so close! As of today, only 18 more days!

10. It's finally Friday!

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

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

1. I passed an assessment that I took this week!

2. Using my planner again

3. Making lists

4. These words on @writers Instagram page

5. Getting new arcs from NetGalley

6. Iced coffee

7. Peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches

8. Seeing an empty laundry basket

9. Field trip at the zoo

10. It's finally the weekend.

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

If You And I Had Coffee

If you and I had coffee...

We'd meet up at our favorite small coffee shop since it's been a while since our last visit. We'd stay indoors and check out the books and mugs. I'd probably order a mocha frappuccino and some pastries. Maybe even a grilled cheese sandwich since I've been really into grilled cheese sandwiches lately.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that we had a blast celebrating Raphael's birthday. It was very low-key since his birthday was on a weekday, but it was perfect. He loved his dinosaur-themed decorations and his gifts. I found some of his gifts at my favorite little gift shop. We got Raphael a stuffed dinosaur toy and dinosaur bath bombs, which he absolutely loved. I also got Raphael a HEXBUG nanotopia set, and he loves it. We also visited Mami, and she made dinner to celebrate Raphael's birthday. We still have a few weeks left in the month and plan to continue celebrating Raphael's birthday.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that we just bought a new dining room table set, and I absolutely love it. It's simple, sturdy, and the perfect size for our family. We had our old dining room set for over 10 years, and it was definitely time to upgrade... especially the chairs. I don't think I've ever been as excited about furniture...well, actually, yes, I have. The last time I got excited about furniture was when we bought our new living room set a few months ago. We replaced our living room set after having our old one for well over 10 years. Is this what being an adult is supposed to be like? Getting excited about new furniture and appliances? If so, this is great.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm dreaming of summer break. I have already started counting down the weeks until it arrives. There are only 28 (school) days to go! I'm not sure what we will do for summer break, but I'm hoping we can have a staycation and go somewhere a few hours away from home. I'd love to go to Helen, Georgia, again. I really want to go to the Anna Ruby Falls again. Or maybe we'll go to the beach.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you I'm glad we were able to meet up. I hope the rest of the month goes well for you. May you have good days, get all green lights on your way to work, and have some strong and delicious coffee to start the day. I can't wait to meet up again.

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

1. Celebrating Raphael's birthday

2. Kit Kat donuts at Krispy Kreme

3. Target Circle Week

4. My Happy Marriage 

5. My Get Messy Art Bundle finally arrived!

6. Free Starbucks drinks...two days in one week! Shout out to the sweet baristas! I highly recommend trying a Strawberry Açaí Refresher with three scoops of Lavender Powder.

7. New art ideas

8. Finally seeing the sun (I still love the rainy weather, but it got old after almost an entire week of dreary, rainy weather.)

9. Picking up new books to read from the library

10. Favorite Day S'mores Cookies 

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Target Finds

Happy Monday! It's time for another Target Finds! I've found some great things at Target in the past couple of weeks. Before I get to the good stuff, I wanted to mention that this week is Target's Circle Week! So many things are on sale like beauty items, bedding, bath, grocery, apparel, books, toys, etc. There's something for everyone. I took advantage of so many sales, and most of the things I bought were actually what my family needed. Before I continue to ramble about Circle Week, check out my current favorite Target finds.

Oreo Churro Cookies

This was an impulse buy, but Oreo definitely had me at churros. These were okay, but I'm disappointed because I expected them to taste like churros. They weren't gross, but they weren't the best flavor of Oreos that I've tried. Would I buy these again? Maybe. 

Favorite Day Sweet Cream Cold Foam

I have yet to try this cold foam, but I was so excited to buy this. I'm a big fan of the Favorite Day whipped cream, so I expect this sweet cream cold foam to taste just as good.

National Geographic Glow-in-the-Dark Marble Run

I bought this for Raphael as a reward. He absolutely loves it, and it's kept his attention for a long time. I think it's pretty cool. The instructions are easy to follow and assemble, and the quality is good.

Goody x Morgan Harper Nichols Soft Headwraps

Oh my goodness! I was so excited when I learned that Morgan Harper Nichols had a new hair accessories collection at Target. I had to get a few things. In addition to the headwraps, I purchased the satin headband, pick hair comb, and thin satin hair scrunchies.

What are some of your favorite Target finds?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

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

1. After Everything

2. I'll Just Be Five More Minutes by Emily Farris

3. Temptations by Daniel Di Angelo

4. Spring cleaning

5. Spending spring break at home (staycations for the win!)

6. Preparing for Target Circle Week

7. Preparing for Raphael's birthday

8. Classical music

9. Homemade Chicken Alfredo

10. Malaka's Newsletter

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

April Goals

Happy Tuesday! Can you believe it's April? March really flew by which is a little surprising. March tends to last forever...kind of like January. Just as I expected, March was an emotional month. I had good days and bad days. 

In March, John, the boys, and I went to a new-to-us ice cream shop, Jeremiah's Italian Ice. We had a good time and the treats were delicious. We went to the Smyrna St. Patrick's Day Festival. Raphael and I went to our newly renovated library and checked out some books. Raphael even got his own library card! My coworkers and I had a babyshower for our friend at work. John, the boys, and I celebrated Easter. We visited Mami. Mami and I had a much needed talk in March and all is well now. I baked a lot in March and am now obsessed with making 4 inch cakes. Side note: I blame Instagram for my cake obsession.

The only real "bad" thing that happened in March was that my wedding ring got damage at work. Fortunately, it was not a costly fix and I was able to get my ring back from the jeweler in less than a week. 

Of course, the anniversary of my baby brother's death was on my mind throughout the entire month. I was hit with wave after wave of emotions. I don't think I will ever get over his death. There's a quote by Jamie Anderson that I came across recently that has stuck with me: "Grief, I've learned, is really just love. It's all the love you want to give, but cannot. All of that unspent love gathers in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in the hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go."

Those words are one hundred percent true. I'm really thankful that I came across those words. I'm sure I'll continue to think of those words for a long time.

It's a new month and I'm feeling ok. I'm looking forward to a few things this month. I'm really excited to have started April off with spring break. We're staying home this year and I'm so excited for that. Raphael's birthday is coming up soon and I can't wait to celebrate his day. In fact, I plan to celebrate his birthday all month long. I'm also looking forward to the solar eclipse. I don't think our state will experience the full solar eclipse, but we'll still get to experience a parital solar eclipse. I'm also looking forward to the Spring Jonquil Festival. 

Before I continue to ramble about all the things I want to do and see in April, let's get to the main reason for this post which are my new goals for the month and my quick recap on my March goals.

Recap of March Goals

• Read 5 books: It was a slow reading month for me. I read 13 books which really surprised me. Normally, I read way more than that, but I'm ok with how much I read. My favorite read for the month was A Little Drop of Courage by Hayley Kaye. I also listened to a short audio book, May You Love and Be Loved: Wishes for Your Life by Cleo Wade. This was my second audiobook that I have listened to and I actually liked it. Audiobooks are not my preferred method of reading, but this short audiobook was the perfect little pick-me-up. I actually listened to it while running some errands.

• Make 1 layout a week: So, I didn't work on a layout a week, but I am content with how many layouts I worked on throughout the month. I worked on some layouts for the Awesome Ladies Project. I also worked on some layouts in my Project Life album, but didn't finish several of them. 

• Go for a walk on the Silver Comet Trail at least once a week: Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to the Silver Comet Trail once a week. The weather has been a little unpredictable and now pollen has arrived. 

• Participate in Exhale's March blog hop: I'm kind of sad that I didn't participate in the blog hop. However, I was just stumped on the prompt and I was also going through a little creative slump during March. Honestly, I'm not surprised given the fact that March is always a difficult and emotional month for me.

• Work on a project from 2023: Yikes! So I didn't do this. I completely forgot about this goal.

• Try 1 new recipe: I made pancake muffins. I used various toppings like pumpkin spice baking chips, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and cinnamon sugar. These were so easy to make, and the boys loved them. I also made a two-tiered four inch carrot cake on Easter and I also made some cupcakes using leftover batter from the cake.

April Goals

• Read 5 books

• Participate in Exhale's April blog hop

• Complete one month's worth of Project Life layouts

• Work in my traveler's notebook

• Try 1 new recipe

• Watch a new (or new-to-me) movie or series

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

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Corina Rainer on Unsplash