19 in 19 - March update

If you landed here looking for the A post of the A-Z Challenge it's here.

April is here so time for a review of how March went for my 19 in 19.

1. Be more organised, plan ahead and waste less time
I think I'm doing better.  We're enjoying having Hello Fresh meals 3 times a week so that helps with meal planning.  We're also co-ordinating our diaries more often.  It's hard establishing habits though when you get extra requests for Grandsitting.  March was a hectic month.

2. Work on the garden
I haven't done much but it's looking good.  (I cut the grass again today but doesn't count because it's April.)  I bought some new solar lights and my bulbs have producted some lovely daffodils and tulips and with the profusion of Helibores I have it's a nice display of colour.

3. Plan a lunch date/date night with Nick once a month (theatre/cinema/meal/outing)
I'm not sure we managed anything with just the 2 of us this month but we did have a weekend away with all his siblings which was lovely.

4. Eat at 6 new-to-me restaurants
Does eating at a different couple of pubs on the weekend away count?  No I didn't think so either as we're not likely to revisit anytime soon.

5. Complete the A – Z blogging challenge
Well my first post is up and I have just over half of them scheduled to post.  Not as well prepared as I'd like but other years have been worse!

6. Family weekend away for my birthday - in June
Accommodation is booked but I need to start thinking about the details.

7. Look after my health – eat well, sleep well, play well
I think I'm sleeping better.  We're eating better with the Hello Fresh meals but I need to work on the play well bit.  The weekend away was good and I have been trying to up my step levels.  I don't aim for 10,000 a day - my goal is at least 7500 and no less than 5000 per day.  March statistics were better than February's so going in the right direction.

8. Visit my brother
At some point!

9. Visit the beach
When it's warmer!

10. Complete my reading challenge (52 books for the year)
Still on schedule for this although I'm plodding through "A Widow for one Year" by John Irving at the moment.  It's long!

In March I read:

Because we are bad - OCD and a girl lost in thought by Lily Bailey
Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella
Origin by Dan Brown &
Day of the Accident by Nuala Ellwood

As always, details and reviews can be found on my Goodreads site.

11. Keep a journal
I need to establish a time for this.  It's not happening at the moment.  Before bed is probably a good time but I've been falling into bed and going to sleep most nights lately.

12. Blog at least once per week (plus regular memes)
March was not a great blogging month.  I didn't even do all the memes but hopefully April, with the A-Z Challenge will be better.

13. Organise/Take more photos
I took photos while we were away and I remembered the camera on Nathan's birthday!

14. Update my clothes/accessories/make up etc regularly
No change here. (I'm planning on sorting out some of my summer clothes in the next month or so - I have several pairs of trousers that need shortening.)

15. Do more crafting – move the sewing machine!
And no change here! (We've moved the sewing machine! It's a start. Although the room it's in is a bit of a dumping ground for the stuff I've earmarked to donate/dump. Two steps forward one back for now.)

16. Try out a new recipe or do a bake each week
Apart from the Hello Fresh meals I think I managed one new meal in February.  Weekdays seem to fly by with Grandsitting and we've had a few busy weekends as well.

17. Visit/see Grandson Noah every month
We saw him twice in March!  We went up to Nottingham and stayed overnight earlier in the month and then Noah was here this weekend for Nathan's birthday.

18. Make progress on the house plan
Hopefully the roof works will start next week so moving forward.

19. Lose 19 pounds 
I think this aim will definitely fall by the wayside or at least be made more attainable.  I know I'm not great at resisting sweet treats but even when I've had what I think has been a good week - no real binges and more exercise - the weight doesn't seem to be shifting.  Maybe I should just opt for not putting on any more weight!

I'm beginning to feel I might have been over optimistic with this list.  March was a good month in lots of ways.  We got to see Grandson Noah twice, we had a weekend away and we celebrated Grandson Nathan's 2nd birthday.  It was also a hectic month - I had lots of days of Grandsitting for at least part of the day and one week I did 4 full days back to back.  That's not something I will be doing again if I can help it.  But actually I love being able to help the kids out when they need it.  As I approach a big birthday this year I'm reminded that I'm not getting any younger, we never know what's around the corner and I don't want to miss the milestones the Grandchildren are hitting.  I want them to have good memories of us as Grandparents.  Family is more important than ticking things off a list. (But I'm still going to keep trying!) 

I might also celebrate that this is my 900th post here on blogger but instead I'll show you some pics.

These were from Nathan's party yesterday.  We struggled to get a good one of all three of the Grandsons together!