Reflections on March and intentions for April

Happy April my dears!  I hope you don't get fooled too many times today.  I'm greeting April with open arms this year.  Longer days, warmer weather, the whole world in bloom...what more could I ask for?  After the rough winter we had this year, spring is feeling downright therapeutic.  

The beginning of this month also brings us one month closer to SUMMER, which, in addition to the usual grilling/hiking/happy hour goodness, is a very special summer because I'll be marrying a man that I love and adore.  It's all starting to feel so real and so exciting. 

Of course, the first day of April means it's time to reflect on my March intentions.  Here are the intentions I set and the progress (or lack thereof) I made: 

• Increase the frequency of my yoga practice - strive for every other day (currently practicing 1-2x/week, but I miss how amazing I feel when I'm practicing 4-5x/week).  I sort of did this.  A few weeks, I managed to squeeze in 1 or 2 long practices mixed with a couple mini-practices.  It's an ongoing effort.

• Continue to nurture my body with fresh, healthy foods and lots of exercise.  This has been a major area of growth for me in recent months and I'm really proud of the progress I've made.  This past month in particular, I have reached a place where I feel really good about the way I'm treating my body.  In addition to yoga, I've been doing some form of intense cardio 4-5x/week, including runs of 5 or 6 miles once a week. (A year ago, I was wiped out after 2 miles, tops).  Food-wise, you can read more about my change in eating habits here and here. 

• Take more pictures! One of my goals for this blog is to incorporate more photos from my own life, but I always forget to take pictures. Starting this month, I intend to take more!  Meh...didn't really do this very much.  I took some pictures in Dallas that I have yet to post, and I hope to take some pictures of the cherry blossoms this weekend.

• Take steps toward fulfilling another aspect of Tulips & Tea that I have been toying with for awhile (I don't mean to be mysterious about this, but I need to get a couple things in place before I can share...). This is still in the works.  I wish I'd had more time to devote to the blog this past month, but it was a pretty intense month (lots of wedding planning, out of town for two weekends, etc.).  I still hope to integrate this aspect at some point in the near future.

• Sign up for a just-for-fun type of class at the local community college (we got the catalog in the mail the other day, and I couldn't believe how many fabulous classes they offer - everything from wine tasting to floral arranging to women & entrepreneurship! It'll be tough to pick just one.)  I decided to postpone this until after the wedding/honeymoon.  However, in the area of personal growth, I did reach one of my Mondo Beyondo goals to volunteer with animals by applying to volunteer at the local SPCA.  I had my volunteer orientation and training this week and am free to begin volunteering as soon as this weekend! 

• Finalize wedding ceremony details, draft our program, and decide on wine/beer for the reception.  Done, almost done, and almost done.  Jason is in the process of conducting some local beer tastings...a task he very enthusiastically volunteered for!

I'm keeping my April intentions simple:

• Be selfish with my time and energy.  I know this sounds sort of weird because the word "selfish" has negative connotations, but what I mean is that I want to put my own needs first.  I am constantly trying to find a balance between all of the "shoulds" (especially events or social functions that I don't really want to attend) and my true wants and needs (time for creativity, exercise/yoga, and all the other ways I re-charge my battery).  In April, I vow to honor my soul's true wishes and to not feel guilty about doing so!

• Continue along the healthy path I'm carving for myself, which includes continuing to eat in a way that is aligned with my values and to nurture my body with lots of physical movement.

• Laugh.  With the dramatic changes I've made to my lifestyle recently, plus wedding planning, working, and tackling a seemingly never-ending to-do list, life has felt a little bit serious lately.  In April, I intend to laugh more and to bring levity (where appropriate) to the parts of my life that feel serious.  If we aren't laughing, then what's all the rest of it for anyways?   

If you'd like, please share your own intentions in the comments or leave me a link if you post them in your blog.  It's so inspiring to me to hear about what others are doing.  

Wishing you a fabulous month,   

Image via Air Spaces.