April Update

 I came into this month seeking a better balance. In January I moved out of my home I shared with my husband, entering a new chapter of starting my own life and entering a phase of separation. In February I went home and spent time with family, and booked activities to try to not spend so much time in my own end. In March I booked too many activities and while they all could have been fun individually, when I had too many of them back to back, I burnt myself out and actually ended up fainting, hitting my head and being forced to take time to do nothing. I am struggling with organization in my house- too many things not enough space sort of issues, but I'm working on them. I have a bag ready for charity and am filling another. 

I spent April break in Rochester NY with family. It was good but also when you have different meals with different people each night, I had to re-share things several times and that's it's own level of draining. Definitely had 2 full days of rest before returning to work. 

When I first told people I was ending my marriage, they wanted to be around to support, but that was short lived for most. Now I have a smaller number of people who check in weekly and a much smaller group who make up my daily support team. People that are up for weekly activities and listening when I need to vent. I am learning I need to increase the number of people I call on to be social with, as my social needs are changing.

Here are some of the things I did in April:

1. Went to the Moisture Festival - Link will take you to a movie that was about the festival. It's a variety show that's been going on in Seattle for 20 years and it was certainly weird, which makes sense because it was started in the center of the universe (Fremont). 

2. Visited Family in New York for spring break and did a lot: 

•     Watched the Solar Eclipse- It mostly was just light to really dark and eerie and back again.  
• 
  
  
  
  Visited record shops- Both Record Archive and my fave House of Guitars and picked up 2 new to me records. 
•     Visited a Botanical Garden - Because they had almost no winter they are experiencing an early spring so the whole of Highland Park smelled like Magnolias and it was beautiful. Also minivan the tortoise is worth the visit to the conservatory. 
•    Got wonderful Kombucha at Katboocha 
• Highly recommend the Jasmine Pearl & the Root beer 
•    Got the required white hot and beer at Genesee Brew House

•    Visited The Chai Guy for a tasty cup of Masala Chai. 

3. We sold our home. The home I thought I would never move out of. A place I had made dreams of how I would make it my own is no longer mine. I love where I live now, it is very much me, but it is also very lonely. 

4. I enjoyed Seattle Restaurant Week both by myself and with others.    

• From Mioposto I enjoyed a glass of wine, burrata, beet salad, zucca balsamica pizza (with caramelized onions and butternut squash), and tiramisu for dessert. Edit- Over a week later and I cannot stop thinking about this burrata.

•    From Republic of Cider went out with a friend and colleague after a 13 hour day the day before- we always run into teachers when we go drinking. Good flight and pairing with cheese and chocolate. I enjoyed their more experimental stuff and would definitely go back for a flight in the future. But for today I got 6 tasters, a cheese board and a 4 pack of tallboys to go for $35. In Seattle that's not a bad price. 

• 
  
  
  
  
•    From Haymaker is a West Seattle restaurant focused on local ingredients high quality seafood and fresh pasta. Today I focused on really wonderful pasta. The restaurant week menu started with 4 apps, if I was sharing with others I'm sure a set for the table would be great, but for just me it was honestly too much food to start out with.  The "salad" aka a quarter of a small bunch of lettuce with onions on it was a waste of space, the arancini was wonderful and if it were happy hour I would have been content with a few of these and a beer. The burrata was also a treat, but not as good as the one from Mioposto- though the bread served here was outstanding. Finally the asparagus was nice, but too much for one person.  My pasta was wonderful and I will by trying the pasta shop where they make all the pastas for their other restaurants. I got the cavatelli which was melt your mouth delicious and fragrant with homemade ricotta and lemon in addition to peas for a pop. And finally my favorite course an apple tart with my most luscious caramel sauce.  I also left with enough pasta for another meal. 
  
  

5. I took a cooking class from Whisk in Bellevue WA.

  

 It wasn't cheap, but you get what you pay for. I got a wonderful dinner and the fear taken out of the kitchen for a set of dishes I never would have thought I was capable of cooking. I made a Cheese Soufflé, Saffron Risotto and a butter basted Halibut and used a blow torch to burn some sugar on a creme brûlée. I want to have people over for a brunch to have an excuse to make the Soufflé again. I think the Halibut will become a normal part of my weekly routine and the risotto something I can pull out for special occasions. But I tried something that was very scary to me that has intimidated me for years and I didn't fail.  I've already sign up for another class in May. 

And I've already cooked the Risotto again at home and it turned out lovely. 

6. Record Release Party- When your pastor puts out an album you have to show up and celebrate

It was great to be with church friends supporting other church friends. I felt grounded and connected and like I'm working on building more friendships rather than just acquaintances. 

7. Paint afternoon at one of my favorite cider makers Locust Cider

I did create a pot of succulents, but beyond that I did not follow directions and I had a great time doing it. 

8. I'm putting attention back on my health and taking care of my teeth. I have dentophobia and extreme anxiety about the dentist- so it's been a while and we've got some work to do, but I'm doing. 

9. I put in to be a registered member at my church.  This place has been so important to me over the last few months. I am connecting with people and feel seen for who I am and what I have to give to a community in the best ways possible. 

10. Started to clean out my photos and google drive, but it's painful to look at what I thought was good within the timeline of what he says wasn't love anymore. 

I have completed 40 things on my bucket list since the start of the year.