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Savoring life in the Berkshires

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Investing in March and April

Published on May 1, 2014 By Emily. Updated on December 3, 2017

“Invest” is my word for 2014.  I’m dedicating a post every 2 months to reporting about how it’s going.  Want to catch up? Here’s my introductory post and January and February.

Self

This is probably the area where I feel like I’ve been most successful over the past couple months.  Switching my focus from being “intentional” in 2013 to “investing” means I don’t feel guilty about taking care of my brain.  I continue to participate in the She Reads Truth community and really enjoyed their Lent study.  I also gave up sweets for Lent which was incredibly difficult, but overall a good thing, in the way that sacrificing for Lent is supposed to be.  Over the past couple months I also joined a women’s inductive bible study at my church which has been a really good experience in reading the word and getting to know other women.

Another highlight of the past couple months was getting to see Gloria Steinem speak at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.  Despite the fact that thinking about the way the evening was logistically handled still makes me mad (we waited outside in freezing weather for an hour with tons of other people before being let in…after the time the event was actually supposed to start…and were lucky to get in because many people were turned away at the door), the evening was awesome.  I feel so lucky to have been able to hear such an iconic woman speak and it’s rekindled my interest in women’s issues.

Blog

Blog related progress has been stop and go over the past couple months.  I finally scheduled a Helpout* with Katy Widrick, something I’ve been intending to do since she announced the option.  Katy and I have emailed several times on blog issues (media kits, advertising, etc) and it seemed only fair that I actually pay for her services in a more serious way.  Our hour long session was awesome and I’m so looking forward to implementing her advice.  Unfortunately, immediately after our meeting my life got super busy with the end of the semester, the approach of the end of the school year and my trip to Montreal, so I haven’t been able to do as much with her suggestions as I’d like.  One thing I have started to explore is some new advertising – you may have noticed the NatureBox, Amazon and BlueHost affiliate ads* appearing in the sidebar and footer areas of the site.  I’m looking to at least break even on the cost of Relishments and affiliate ads work by providing me with a portion of any sales made through clicks on my unique links.  Please let me know if you have thoughts on the ads on my site.  I’m being very selective about the businesses I’m choosing to advertise, but I’d love reader opinions as well.  Hopefully the coming days (summer!) will provide me with some time to do the behind the scenes site work I’m dreaming of.

Home

The list of things I want to accomplish in the house remains the same as it was in the first two months of the year.  We didn’t make any major home purchases since February.  In fact, we got rid of our microwave (it’s a long-ish story involving insects).  It’s only been a few days, but I’ll be sure to post an update about how that’s going and if we choose to purchase a new one.   At any rate, we continue to discuss our goals for the house in this and coming years.  And I intend to hit a lot of yard sales this summer.

Relationships

I got to see my family twice over the past 2 months, which was really nice.  We all met up at my sister’s newly purchased home in early March to help with painting and other home improvement tasks before they moved in.  My sister’s motivation to paint and decorate her brand new (to her) place has sparked my desire to make some progress in our house.  Then, last week, I met up with my parents and sister in Portsmouth for lunch before heading to Montreal without my dad for a long weekend.  It’s been a long time since my sister, mom and I all spent that much time together and I’m really glad we were able to make it happen.

My theoretical desire to host gatherings and socialize continues to be outweighed by my interest in spending my weekends with my computer, but I did get in a craft night, a game night and Easter dinner with friends over the past couple months.   Again, I’m hoping summer allows for more opportunities.

Work

Even though I just earned a teaching license at the end of January, I signed up to take another licensure test last month, in the name of job security.  The test is in June, hopefully I pass on the first go-round.  Otherwise I’m just plugging along…it’s always amazing how quickly the end of the year approaches after April break and I’m bracing myself for the chaos to come.

Fitness

In March, I started attending yoga classes again.  My commitment has been on and off, largely because the classes I prefer are on weekends and life interferes on a fairly regular basis.  Yoga class is one of those things that I love once I get there, but working up the motivation to leave the house isn’t easy.

I also signed up for my first race since 2011.  Even though I “fell in love” with running that year, I just haven’t been running much since then.  The race, which is this weekend, is a fun run without timers and such.  Thank goodness, because I’m really unprepared.  Still, I’m really looking forward to it and hope it will be the first of many organized events to come.

*This post contains affiliate links

Related Posts

Things I Learned While Creating My 101 in 1001
Goals in Progress: March (+ April Food Day!)
Being Intentional
Investing in January and February
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Filed Under: life Tagged With: goals, invest 2014

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New year, new word! This year, I'm focusing on bei New year, new word!
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My top 9 of 2020. In typical 2020 fashion, I had a My top 9 of 2020.
In typical 2020 fashion, I had all kinds of issues getting my Top 9 created this year and this image still has problems. 
But the images are accurate and nicely summarize the year - take out from local establishments (@aokberkshirebbq, @thebreakroomgw, @northadamsfarmersmarket), #RelishmentsBakes projects, the natural beauty of the Berkshires and our successful container garden.
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New on the blog: my 8 favorite recipes I made in 2 New on the blog: my 8 favorite recipes I made in 2020. This post has ideas for every meal and features recipes from @bonappetitmag, @kingarthurbaking, @budgetbytes, @markbittman, @smittenkitchen and @wholefully.
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Apparently, in the weirdness that is 2020, posting Apparently, in the weirdness that is 2020, posting to my Instagram feed was one of the things that didn't make the cut. There are more items than I'd prefer in that category, but recently I've felt like I'm beginning to get my feet firmly planted beneath me again. This fall was so busy with learning how to teach remotely and parent 2 children well. I don't anticipate that life will ever feel not busy, but I've been able to carve out some time lately for activities I've been missing. Making bread is one of those activities. Hopefully, more posts in the feed will be more frequent going forward. 
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Peasant bread recipe from @breadin5
For last month's #RelishmentBakes challenge I made For last month's #RelishmentBakes challenge I made apple turnovers with puff pastry from scratch. I am so pleased with how well they turned out and proud of myself for tackling puff pastry.  Get all the details at the link in my profile. Next month's challenge is coming soon!
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#sponsored All the time we've spent at home lately #sponsored All the time we've spent at home lately has definitely had me looking to expand the snack options in my pantry.  I jumped at the chance to try these @sunmaid Sour Raisins  and they immediately became one of my daughter's favorite snacks. She likes them because they're reminiscent of candy, I like them because they're technically fruit and they come prepackaged for easy snacking and taking on the go. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty they are!
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This weekend's weather was amazing and my family e This weekend's weather was amazing and my family embarked on the only way to kick off fall: we went apple picking at Jaeschke Orchards in Adams.  The parking lot was full, but out in the orchard we hardly came across any other groups.  The trees were heavy with apples and we quickly filled our bag. Looking forward to apples for snacks, pie, crisp and turnovers in the coming weeks.
This month's #RelishmentBakes challenge may sound This month's #RelishmentBakes challenge may sound familiar because it's a repeat. Sort of. Get all the details and join me in some turnover baking this month at the link in my profile.
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