Every month, Nicole sends out this questionnaire to review the month and set some intentions for the next one. I’ve always enjoyed reading her recaps and I thought it might be a fun way to wrap up my own month. As you may have noticed, I like experimenting with my monthly recaps and never keep the same format for very long. We’ll see how long I use this format, but enjoy it for now and feel free to snag it for yourself (just credit Nicole, please)! And if you aren’t subscribed to her Notes of Grit and Grace, I highly recommend signing up for it – they are the highlight of my week! (I’m a Nicole fangirl, what can I say?)

Two things I’m most proud of in May are…

• Completing my no-spend month and saving enough money to pay off my cruise deposit. Hooray! I’m thinking of setting aside one month per quarter of no spending because it was such an enjoyable experience for me.
• Allowing myself the gift of rest. April was a very busy month for me, so I wanted to commit to more days of rest and slowness in May. I had more than a few weekend days where I had zero plans and did nothing more than read, write, watch TV, and nap. It was glorious.

Two things I’m most grateful for in May are…

• A really fun night with my mom. We drove up to Lakeland (about an hour from Tampa) to participate in a 5k race, which turned out to be such a lame race. It was billed as the “ColorBuzz” but it only had about three stations of “color” (when the emcee promised 8-10 stations…) If that wasn’t annoying enough, the course was unlit and since it took place right around dusk, there were spots where I could barely see in front of me. In short, the race was a disaster and we were not happy campers! After the race, we decided to get ice cream so I found a Baskin-Robbins, but our GPS kept taking us down these dark two-lane roads and finally, I had to say, “NOPE. LET’S GO HOME! I DON’T WANT TO BE MURDERED TONIGHT!” We ended up getting McFlurries and eating them at my apartment. It’s one of those nights I know we’re going to laugh about for years to come. 🙂
• Meeting up with three friends to celebrate a friend’s birthday. It was an impromptu gathering at this low-key Italian restaurant, and being with them made me so happy. It has taken me a long time to find my “tribe” and I’ll always be so grateful that I finally did.

The lesson I learned and am carrying forward is…

• That I use eating out as a comfort crutch. This is the biggest lesson I learned during my no-spending challenge – that I engage in “restaurant therapy” to soothe me when I’m feeling down. So, the next time I want to go out to eat “just because,” I want to take the time to examine why I want to do so and get to the bottom of my feelings.

My intention for June is…

• To commit to my novel and start making progress on it. I’ve been getting buried in character profiling and plot outlines and making changes to both. (It’s driving my writing partner crazy!) I want to commit to one plot and just start writing again. I’m never going to finish my novel at this rate!

One thing I aim to do every day in June is…

• Work out! This was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but I have decided I want to commit to working out every day this summer. I’m not talking about doing high-intensity workouts every day, but just moving my body daily. Sometimes, that may involve six miles on the spin bike, a HIIT workout I found on Pinterest, or just a slow walk with my dog.

Because I am brave, here is one new/scary thing I will do in June…

• I will explore a part of Tampa by myself. I haven’t explored much of where I live because my social anxiety tells me that doing things by myself is terrifying. But I want to stop trusting in the lies my anxiety gives me and just do something I wouldn’t normally do.

The one book I definitely plan on reading in June is… 

• Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay. This book has been on my TBR list for a long time and it just came available to me on Overdrive. Excited to dive in!

Something I want to experiment with in June is…

• Yoga. Since I want to work out every day this month, I want to incorporate yoga into my routine once a week. I’ve never been particularly interested in yoga and I’ve always felt that I don’t have the “body” to practice it, but I know that’s just a lie I’ve been feeding myself. So, I’m going to experiment with yoga! We’ll see how it goes.

Just for fun, I will…

• Have my first Escape Room experience. If you haven’t heard about these rooms, it’s basically an adventure game where you’re locked in a room with a group of people and have to try to escape from it by solving a series of puzzles using elements in the room. You only have a set amount of time to do so. I’ve been wanting to try an Escape Room for the longest time and I cannot wait!

What is one thing you are proud of from May?

Ah, April. What a month! I remember looking at my planner for this month and seeing that every single weekend was jam-packed. I am not someone who thrives well on a busy schedule, so it’s no surprise that I ended April feeling overwhelmed and ready for a reset. May is looking to be a little less crazy and I am very grateful for it.

Here’s what I got up to in April:

• A writing sleepover – My writing partner Mikaela came up with the idea to have a writing sleepover so we could make serious progress on our novels. She came to my apartment, and we ordered pizzas and even broke out the espresso machine I won at my work’s Christmas party to have some late-night cappuccinos. It was a great time and we got a lot done!
• Being open about my social anxiety – This month, I talked with two good friends about my social anxiety and how it affects my life. It’s really hard to open up about this part of my life because it makes me feel like such a weirdo… but it’s a huge part of who I am. And, of course, my friends were gracious and loving in their responses, asking me if there was anything they can do to help me. That’s all anyone really wants.
• Painting a house for a family in need – A good friend organized a group of people to participate in Paint Your Heart Out Tampa, and it was such an enjoyable day. It felt good to get outside and do something physical, but also to help out a family. I’d really like to seek out more volunteering opportunities because it’s such a fantastic way to give back.
• Celebrating my Pops’ birthday – I was so happy to spend a few hours with my Pops on his birthday. It was also special that my brother and his family came, so it was a full family affair.
• A visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – I love visiting this place so, so much. I mean, I love all of Universal and Islands of Adventure, but WWoHP holds a special place in my heart. My friends and I got to the park right when it opened and we were able to walk onto so many rides! I think we rode around 7 or 8 rides within the first three hours at the park… which included the Gringotts ride and the Dragon Challenge roller coaster (which we rode twice!). It was truly a wonderful, wonderful time and I can’t wait to go back!
• Feeling overstimulated from too much people time – As I mentioned earlier, this month was jam-packed, but there was one weekend in particular that ended up being way too much for me. It involved being around people from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon, most of that time being with people I didn’t know all that well. That’s way too much people time for me! I felt so overstimulated by the end of that weekend… and then the following week was not any better since I had plans three nights that week. I felt very irritable and on edge the entire week, crying over the silliest things. I know I just cannot have weekends like that. It’s way too much for my overly sensitive nervous system. Weekends with one to two social plans are plenty for me!
• Watching some great movies – I saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 with my mom, which we both loved though it did give me some feels (Toula’s parents reminded me a lot of my grandma and grandpa!) I also saw Zootopia and The Good Dinosaur, two animated movies that I probably would have never seen if it wasn’t for Roomie. I really, really loved Zootopia and had tears from laughter at some parts. The Good Dinosaur was alright, but not as funny as I had hoped! Lastly, I watched Bridget Jones’s Diary to fulfill my goal to watch 12 movies I’ve never seen before. Loved it, but mostly loved Colin Firth. Heh.

So, what’s up for May? Here’s what I’d like to accomplish:

• Successfully complete “No Buy May“ – What will be most challenging is not spending money on eating out, since I love to eat out and do not love to cook. So that will take careful planning and finding delicious recipes that taste just as good – if not better – than a $15 meal at a restaurant. (And, bonus, I can usually make multiple meals out of $15 worth of ingredients!)
• Write 3,000 words per week – My original goal was to write 500 words daily, but writing daily has been such a struggle for me. Sometimes, there’s just not any time, especially if I have plans after work. So, instead, I’m setting a weekly writing goal, with the thought that I can get most of it complete on the weekends, throwing in one extra writing evening during the week.
• Exercise four times per week – This is a recurring monthly goal and I like keeping it on my list to motivate me to work out.
• Spend time at the pool every weekend – Because what’s more fun than a goal to go sit by the pool?

What were the highlights of April for you? Are you someone who thrives on a relaxed or busy schedule – or something in between?