may.

april was fantastic, but fast. and i kind of feel that despite a trip to florida, it kicked my butt. we were exhausted before we arrived. and we spent the best part of our time there lounging in front of the pool, reading. it was bliss. and so so needed. but once we got back, i never felt like i got april back in control. so it is, i suppose. i tried to wrest control in a last ditch effort on monday night. i thought, i'll roast a chicken, on a weeknight, and my husband will called me blessed. he did. it was fantastic, and yes, you can roast a chicken (a small one) on a weeknight and still eat at a reasonable hour. on tuesday, i woke up with searing pain down my neck, don't know what caused the neck strain, but i got a sick day for it.

i'm not feeling that may is off to the greatest start. what with the neck, and the weather here in london is beyond terrible, we're talking 8 degrees terrible, and rainy and grey - i can see my breath outside, it's just sad. and i'm praying that my tomato plants make it, if not, eh, i'll buy some more i guess.

but there were some highlights for april:

spiritual:

• memorised deuteronomy 14:2 & zephaniah 3:17 - i've been using redstamp to create prayer cards that act as my background for my phone. i LOVE them! 
• attended the hillsong women's conference - colour - such a fantastic time of teaching and worship and prayer. 

mental: 

• read a lot - a lot of books, and for this single reason, april was redeemed
• one day - david nicholls, i know, old and probably the last person on the planet to read it, it was absorbing and a great holiday read
• the grief of others - leah cohen, poignant and well written from a variety of characters points of view, absorbing and arresting, it's well worth the read 
• escape - carolyn jessop, this was on the bookshelves of our condo, it is a fascinating look inside the cult of the FLDS, and while being a quick read, you do desperately want to know the story. 
• a homemade life - molly wizenberg, fabulous. a memoir, about food, with recipes. hands down fantastic. i felt like i was eating on each page, and there are so many things i want to make from this!
• the tiger's wife - tea obreht, in a list of great reads it's hard to pick one that was greatest, but this might just eek through, if it weren't for what follows...
• crossing to safety - wallace stegner, i'm placing this alongside one of my other favourite novels on marriage - two-part invention by madeline l'engle. it might have been the most beautiful read of this year so far. i couldn't put it down, couldn't stop underlining, couldn't wait to pick it back up. it gave words to sentiments i have about my marriage, and gave me hope for what our marriage could become. it's an honest and achingly beautiful look at the inner workings of a long marriage, and all that entails. go read it now. 

creative: 

baby items have been made, and upon delivery to waiting parents will be produced for the blog, i've picked back up my cardigan, i keep meaning to buy blackout lining for curtains, i keep forgetting. 

physical: 

• not the greatest month from a physical fitness standpoint buti had a great appointment with the lead physio for my knee op though and all is progressing well - so that's good. 
• i turned 28 - and i guess given that i've seen how our bodies are not indestructible, i'm just happy that it's working, that it keeps working and that god-willing it will be that way for a long, long time. 

::intentions for may::

spiritual: keep memorising scripture, i'm finding it such a blessing to my walk. keep digging into the word. 

mental: for my birthday i got a kindle, hence the huge amount of reading last month - i'd like to keep this up, i'm a far happier person when i have my nose in a book. 

physical: my trainer has set me some goals for this month and given me a diet plan. i'm putting my foot down and getting serious about getting my pre-op body back. i know it's possible, it's a matter of discipline and will-power. 

creative: finish my cardigan, bake more (yes i realise this contradicts the previous goal) 

florida.

we had a fabulous trip home over easter, it was made all the sweeter by a quick and fun shopping trip with marvellous!

we were intending to go to new york city for a shopping trip, but when the thermometer was to top out at 12 C, we reconsidered. gotta love airline family life! a quick itinerary change, a great deal on a hotel, and 12 hours later we were in the warmth of fort myers, florida.

my extended family seems to have some kind of irrisistable pull toward fort myers. my grandparents on both sides were snowbirds, but my mom's parents wintered every year at fort myers beach. apparently it's still the locale of choice for florida-bound ladies, all these years later. we stayed at the hyatt at coconut point - literally a hotel in the middle of an outdoor mall - i tell you it was pure genius!

our main reason for the trip was to improve my wardrobe going into marriage - basically i needed honeymoon clothes and since was down to (literally) one pair of work-appropriate trousers, something for work...so what did we do in florida? we shopped. and shopped. and shopped some more. the deals were fantastic, the clothes were lovely. when we weren't shopping we ate. panera and five guys and california pizza kitchen. it was heaven. and drastically improved by the HOT weather - we're talking 30 C!!!

our two days simply weren't enough. not enough time for shopping and definitely not enough time for talking. we talked and talked and talked! marvellous and i can go for hours without any interruption - really, it's a gift! we saved our last afternoon for a little pool time. and while the shopping was awesome, really what was greatest about it, was this very special 48 hours i got to spend with my mom. it was a bit of an homage to the quick trips we used to take when i was in university, and while i'm sure we'll travel together again, who knows if it will ever just be the two of us? so in some ways, it was also a really wonderful way to close out this chapter of my life - of our lives - we're heading toward a wedding people, and we all know that's going to shake things up a bit!