April was another wet month. So much rain at the end of the term and then to begin the new term. We were so fortunate though for the sun and beautiful weather over the Easter weekend and the ANZAC Day long weekend. My boyfriend and I completed jobs around the house and we are not too far away from the big jobs like painting and flooring. I was so proud of everything my boyfriend did. He was very motivated but also feeling ‘over’ the constant jobs for the renovation so smashed through them, working long hours each day. I read a lot this month and started baking again. We had a quiet Easter at home and my boyfriend’s boys came over for Easter Friday lunch with was really nice.

Listened to - 

* my April 2022 playlist on Spotify

* Real Raw Relatable Podcast with Kat John

* The Terri Cole Show

* The Wine With Teacher Show

* The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes

* The Trojan Horse Affair

* Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast

Read - 

* War Flower by Mary-Anne O-Connor

* Whom Not To Marry by Father Pat Connor

* The Last Thirteen #1 By James Phelan

* The Strangers We Know by Pip Drysdale

* The Recovery Of Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

* The Tiger Catcher by Paullina Simons

* The Beach House by Jane Green

* Fifty Fifty by James Patterson and Candice Fox

* Body Surfing by Anita Shreve

Splurged on - 

* new plush mattress to replace my boyfriends twenty year old crappy one

Watching - 

* Three Birds Online Tutorial - 6 Styling Mistakes You Can Fix This Weekend

* Bravely You by Koya Webb

Went to - 

* dinner at Wallacia Hotel with my boyfriend and his boys

* coffee with a good friend at Richmond

* lunch at Chimi Churi at Chatswood and then a bushwalk in Mowbray Park with my best friend

* coffee catch up with a good friend at Bella Vista

* Time Zone with my niece

* Thai with a friend at The Ponds

* double date with friends at Billy’s Bistro

Booked - 

* ice bath for May

* tickets for the Blacktown Country Music Festival in May

* whopping cough shot as I have had two cousins have babies and my brother’s baby is soon to arrive

* to work on the Election Day in May. I don’t need to but thought it would be something different to try

Cooked - 

* Carrot Cake, Apple Pies, Rocky Road, Mars Bar Slice, Cinnamon Muffins,

* Malaysian Curry, Pork Kebabs, Enchallidas, Pasta Bake, Tuna Cases, Sweet Potato Frittata. Prawn Pasta

What's new - 

* Home improvements - My boyfriend had 12 days off over the school holidays. We did not end up going away but spent each day doing home renovations or at Bunnings. We got done with a tonne of fiddly jobs and the house is almost ready for the painters and flooring. We decided on flooring (a dark walnut floating floor) and carpet for the bedrooms. Every hole in the walls was patched. The bathroom is all sealed and ready for tiling. All TVs have been hung and powerpoints and aerial points are hidden behind the TV. My boyfriend moved the TV Aerial which was on the chimney at the front of the house to around the back. We now have no more interruptions and many more channels. A job my boyfriend has put off for over a year. We chose a new front feature light and my boyfriend installed it and two downlights out on the front verandah. He also swapped every light switch in the house to a vertical position and all the powerpoints are horizontal. My boyfriend cut the pantry in half so now we have more bench space in the kitchen. We will get a new benchtop later down the track. We also bought a few different styles of door handles to try out to replace the old ones in the kitchen. My boyfriend started preparations on the inside door under the staircase he has to make as well as the door on the cupboard at the front entry. It has made a huge difference. I bought two large lampshades to hang after the house has been painted. One for the hallway, and the other for the staircase. I weeded the gardens, pulled out my passionfruit vine and prepared it ready to plant some jasmine. The garage gutter had partly fallen down with all the heavy rain so that was rehung and water was coming into our front room and front verandah so my boyfriend fixed that. We are waiting for an assessor to come out to see if we can claim it through his home insurance

* Got my flu shot

* Was meant to go away with my sister and friends to the Hunter Valley for the Wildflower Concert but it was cancelled due to the wet weather

* Received my National Emergency medals at our Bush Fire AGM

* Found a $30 gift voucher in my emails and a $5 gift voucher on my phone that I had completely forgotten about

* My sister came over for dinner. Our first guest we have had over for dinner

* Was gifted some indoor plants from a friend’s daughter, my brother and my boyfriend’s mum. I know have 32 indoor plants and they are all managing to stay alive. Which is a big achievement as I really have no idea what I am doing. My fern wasn’t looking too good so I moved her outside on the front verandah and she is much happier. My boyfriend’s mum also gave us a hanging basket which I hung out on the back verandah and it really gives it a ‘homely’ touch

* Did a maternity shoot for my brother and his family at their place. Their second baby is due next week. That will make me an Aunty six times around

* We went to an Easter Service on Easter Sunday at Hillsong Church and then we went the following weekend as well. It is something my boyfriend has been interested in for a while and is now part of his healing journey which is very exciting

* My brother and sisters and I bought my parents a new 62” Smart TV for Christmas, so while they were away at Stone The Crowes and The Elvis Festival my brother installed it at their house. It meant moving their lounge room around so we had to unpack and repack all the glasses and memorabilia they had in these huge wall units. It then lead to a culling of their possessions (ie. junk) which my mother hates me doing while she is away but I very much enjoy

Looking for - 

* new salt and pepper shakers - not impressed at all by our Wiltshire battery operated ones I bought in December

Sold -

* navy blue dress, four tyres and rims

 
Started - 

* getting meal boxes again each week. I went off them for awhile as we had plenty to use up in the pantry, however, meal kits are so much easier to prepare and cook during a busy term

How was your April and the Easter break? Have you made any big developments in your life lately? We would love to hear your thoughts. Please feel welcome to join the conversation and leave a comment below.

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