Five Favs: April

Normally, once we make it through April, I feel a sigh of relief; summer is in view. Growing up, April was the last big push with May bringing end of year celebrations, the school musical, a local carnival (the highlight of our pre-teen social calendars), Field Day, and of course Memorial Day, the unofficial-official start of summer. This year, however, feels decidedly different. May has started on a gray, rainy note here in NYC. I can’t even look at the forecast because it is rain, rain, rain. But back to the month that just was and the five things I loved in April…

Sources Clockwise from top left: Prince, Planner, Internet Goodness, Curious Incident, Me (My photography skills slay right?)

Sources Clockwise from top left: Prince, Planner, Internet Goodness, Curious Incident, Me (My photography skills slay right?)

 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

To cap off the theater spree I went on at the end of March, I treated myself at the start of April to a fabulous seat for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Usually I am an advocate for reading the book first but with the show having just announced its closing date and finding such a great seat, I just had to do it. I knew nothing about the story but was told that it was a show you would be sorry to miss seeing so my expectations were pretty high. From the acting to the set, which takes on an almost active role in the play, every idea I had about what Curious Incident would be was shattered, in a good way. If you will be in NYC before they close at the start of September and are able, GO!

 

Prince Ride

The day after Prince died, I got to take an impromptu Prince ride at Flywheel. Holly was teaching and asked a few of us what we thought; she had a regular playlist that had two Prince songs and one that was all Prince. I think secretly we all wanted Prince,  but instead we all said that we would be happy with whatever she chose. She went Prince and it was awesome. Listening to 45 minutes of his music, I was reminded just how many songs he had and how diverse his music is, spanning genres and refusing to be defined by any one label. What a talent, what a loss, and what a wonderful and emotional tribute.

 

Weather

In light of the current forecast, it feels weird to say this now but the weather in April was mostly stunning. The flowers were in full bloom, the sun was shining, temperatures soared into the 70s (I think one day we even hit 80), and the increase in daylight hours (ok minutes) started to become noticeable. It will come back… I hope.

 

Planner

For several weeks I have been using a desktop weekly calendar but it just wasn’t working for me. I need to be able to put things in more than a few days in advance (don’t we all?), and while I do use iCal, I need to write things down. Yes, I was that girl in college and law school using pen and paper to take notes. For whatever reason, if I write something down, it gets cemented in my brain, with typing, it takes much more effort for me to learn/remember, so why fight it? Although we were already a third of the way through 2016 (umm is that not insane?!), I was able to find a planner and I love it. I can see a whole week laid out on the left and on the right I have a page of notes which I use to note “To Dos,” upcoming deadlines or important benchmarks to hit, etc. In sum, I feel like my head is screwed on now.

 

Getting Outside of My Comfort Zone

It’s very easy to settle into a routine and for that routine to turn into a rut. We get comfortable with what we know and with all the other daily stressors, it’s easy to go into autopilot and stick to the same old, same old. This month I shook things up a bit, from trying new fitness classes (LIFTED & The Class) to being more vulnerable in my personal life to, wait for it… meditating consistently (I did miss one day but #LifeHappens). With each experience, I am reminded how strong I am, gain a deeper understanding of myself, and come away feeling empowered.

 

What were your April favorites?