Mar. 30: Soooo done with March

March is almost over (good riddance, March weather!) so here’s my review of the month.

Special days I celebrated this month and how:

The kids went to a few birthday parties. We “celebrated” St. Patrick’s Day in that we used it as an excuse to eat corned beef in Reuben sandwich form. We marked a bittersweet day for Sunshine the other night that was way more fun than it should have been (mostly because it involved voodoo and some really, really fun people).

Gifts I gave and/or received this month:

Um… none? Not any memorable ones, anyway. I’m not pouting…

Books I read this month:

• The Shadow of the Wind. Still reading, and loving, this beautiful story.
• I wrote about the other books I’ve been reading here.
• I haven’t read it yet (obvy), but Anne Tyler’s new book comes out next week!

Movies and TV shows worth mentioning:

I so rarely see movies, and I already go on way too much about the TV shows I love. Can I talk instead about seeing the touring production of Wicked in Portland last night? It was Jack’s first time, and he really enjoyed it—I KNEW he would!—he saw one of his best buddies there so the shame factor was lowered considerably. Two shows left in our season: Million Dollar Quartet in May and Jersey Boys in July. We decided not to renew for next season, so Jack’s off the hook for at least a year and then I hope to start dragging him to musicals again.

New recipes or restaurants I tried:

Victor made pulled pork (heehee), which became delicious sandwiches. I tried a new recipe for chicken enchilada soup; Vic loved it but I thought it was “meh.” If I tried any new restaurants, they were unremarkable because I don’t remember them.

Special or unusual purchases I made:

I suppose we “purchased” Lucy’s fixin’… I got some new earrings… Vic got boring clothes… I bought all the good “Smash” songs from iTunes… I bought my first bottle of essential oil—lavender, one of my favorite scents—and now look forward to lots of homemade hair tonics, cleaners, deodorizers, etc. Pinterest has so many ideas that call for essential oil.

Can I be honest for a second? I never really understood what made essential oils “essential.” Like, are they really that necessary? So necessary that I can’t ever find them in regular stores and I really seem to be doing just fine without them all these years? Turns out “essential” in this context means “essence.” Duh.

This month’s disappointments:

Too many meetings… some way-awkward PTO stuff… all that friggin’ snow…

My accomplishments:

I managed to keep a very loose hold on my sanity. The kids were home for WAY too much of their spring break and—get this—they expected to be entertained. And fed! Given the circumstances, I’d say keeping my sanity was a pretty darn big accomplishment.

Something I considered doing: redesigning my web site. Sherilee did hers, and it got my wheels turning… but I finally decided that I just don’t have the energy to attempt such a project right now. I mean, I’ve got a billion work and school things going anyway, and a redesign always seems minor and then you lose all your archives and yell curse words and wish you’d never been born. So you’re gonna have to please just live with the current look for a while longer. Thanks.

Anything else noteworthy:

The kids’ report cards for the second trimester were great. Jack’s showed lots of improvement.

With all the rain and grey skies we’ve had lately, all the color in our yard is a welcome sight. Purple and white crocuses, yellow daffodils, pink hyacinths, periwinkle periwinkle (it is—it’s periwinkle), tulips on their way… and lots of new growth on the greenery. Now, if the sun would come out and dry the yard up a little, I could work in it. Also, some sun would make me way less grouchy.

That’s it, doods.