This month has been a month of changes in my "community". My beloved W4L group has partially disbanded. I can't believe how sad that has been for me. Luckily, two members took it over, so its not totally gone like it looked like was going to happen. And my Disney boards have undergone some big changes this month also. Some new light was shed on some of the people I most respected and that's been hard for me. Its been a sad month as I try to figure out my place in all of this and sort out the emotions. I'll try to elaborate on both of these in tomorrow's entry.

Jim and I are good. Right now isn't so good but I've just been in a bad mood today. A couple weeks ago I read an article that said the first four minutes you encounter your spouse at the end of the day can set the tone for your entire evening. THUNK! (That was the sound of a 100-pound weight hitting me on the head.) Amazingly true! So I've really beeen concentrating on that this month. I've always tried to remind him of things (like taking out the trash or whatever) when he (or I) first gets home. Or if he forgot to do something, I'd say it then. Mostly so I wouldn't forget to remind him. But I've started making a list of things I need to remind him to do or such and then I can present that to him later in the evening. Big Difference. There's still some things I'd like to see different between us but how many relationships can't say this (if the partners are being truly honest)?? I really do think there is something about that seven-year itch (which just amazes me to know we've been together for over seven years--time truly flies! And its really starting to seem that there wasn't a time in my life that he wasn't there. I adore him.)

Jim and I took a short trip home. My sister's 30th birthday is this coming week and my dad threw a surprise party for her two weeks ago. It was a short weekend but nice. She's not been thrilled about her upcoming birthday but I think she enjoyed the party.

I've been trying to hit the library more often and am continuing to love my 15-minute silent reading each night. I've also checked out a few cookbooks and combed through them for recipes to add to MasterCook. I love cookbooks but hate to buy them, since so many only have a dozen or two recipes that I really want. So this is a great way for me to get new recipes without going broke buying the cookbooks! LOL

Jim and I set up a better savings plan for house buying next year. We've decided to go ahead and pay off one student loan, just so I can say its gone. I've been paying double on a few of them, so we're seeing them nicely falling. We won't have them gone before we buy a house but we will be fairly close. Of course, if we move, this could change everything. I would love to move someplace that has cheaper houses. Some outskirts of the suburbs aren't badly priced but they are just too far out there for Jim's current job location. But it feels good to have a more focused plan. And I love the thought of paying off one of my loans by the end of the summer!! (gosh, when did paying off student loans become exciting?! LOL)

New client load has been huge this month. Its been tough keeping up and I've slacked in obtaining price quotes for pending clients, so I hope to remedy that this month.

I've done really well with exercise this month and okay with eating better. I've been focusing on portion control this month (I've decided to try and focus on one main aspect each month). I've gone back to eating on smaller plates and out of smaller bowls (coffee cups for ice cream/sherbet). This works great for tricking my mind to think that I'm actually eating a lot. Gotta' love manipulating your own mind. LOL

I exercised 607 minutes (574 running/walking). I ran 15.7 miles in 272 minutes, which is 48% of my total time. The running time is slower than I would have liked but speed will come--endurance and total time is more important now.

The training guide I found for starting in March is going okay. I was fooling myself when I hoped to follow it exactly week-per-week but that's okay. I'm keeping at it and determined.

April Goals: