Thriving in March

California Poppy

I am continuing with my new way of seeing how I thrived in my life for March, too.

Spiritual:

As usual, I started off March with milkrice for breakfast on the first of the month and making an offering at the altar.  I am reading a book on spiritual wisdom gathered from five world religions and I have just finished a chapter where the author discusses the differences between religion and spirituality.  I found that to be very interesting.  I'm including my reading of this book as part of my spiritual enrichment.  In addition, I spoke with the monks at the temple and, throughout the month, I kept my spiritual side thriving with daily prayers, meditation, and doing my best to live my life according to the teachings of my religion.  

Daughter:

My daughter was home with me all of March, too.  We celebrated her birthday at the beginning of the month with a lovely meal and some very delicious desserts; I feel blessed that I have been able to watch her grow to be the young woman she has become.  Her foot is improving and now, she is able to walk for several minutes at a time, wearing an ankle brace instead of her walking boot.  We have been going for short walks up and down the driveway, together.  I am happy to say that our relationship is thriving.  

Health & Well Being:

As always, there is much room for improvement in this area of my life.  I had some problems with getting authorization for the referral to a specialist that I am still waiting to be resolved and there was another issue with billing for my mammogram from last year, but, I am hoping that the issues with insurance will be resolved in the next few weeks.  In the meantime, I am focusing on the positives and doing what I can to thrive, including taking my medications, keeping hydrated, getting enough sleep, some exercise, better diet, etc.  I did lose a little weight in March, so, I am pleased about that. 

Family, Friends, & Community:

I kept in touch with family and friends by phone (mostly), emails, texts, etc.  The month started off with a visit from K (late neighbor T's daughter) who brought me a copy of the order of service from T's Celebration of Life, along with flowers and some candy.  Before she left, she asked me to keep in touch, so, I made it a point to call her later in the month and we had a long chat.  There were several family birthdays, besides daughter's, this month, so there were several phone calls with family members as well as with friends and neighbors.  And I participated in the blogging community.  I'm pleased with the amount of interaction with my family, friends, and community, in March.  I am aware that this area of my life could do with more in person social interaction, but, for now,  feel that this area of my life is thriving.

Finances:

Financial management in March included filing my taxes and doing some transactions with my credit union.  Bills were paid as usual and I allowed myself to splurge a bit when it came to celebrating daughter's birthday and buying some craft supplies and fabric.  I was able to stay within my grocery budget in March, which was very nice.  On reviewing my March grocery spending, however, I realized that I was able to keep to the budget I had set only because I went over budget in January and February when I stocked up on meat.  I will definitely have to rethink my grocery budget in the future.  For the most part, however, I feel that I have done well managing my finances in March.  

Time Management:

Yet another area in my life with room for improvement!  I do tend to procrastinate doing various things!  But, important things such as filing taxes, paying bills, keeping appointments, etc., were done on time.

Leisure/Hobbies/Crafting:

This month's leisure/hobbies/crafting activities included reading (I've borrowed two books from the library), knitting a pair of socks for myself (and mending several others), sewing (including the skirt I sewed for my daughter), gardening, water color painting and making a birthday card, watching numeral videos online, and fabric shopping.  I feel that I thrived in this area of my life. 

House:

I am committed to making my home a place where my daughter and I can thrive.  I meant to focus on spring cleaning in March, but, I am afraid I might have procrastinated doing that!  However, I am thankful to have a home that is comfortable and pleasant.  Deep cleaning will be something to look forward to in April!  

Garden:

The garden has done well in March and is definitely showing signs that spring has arrived.  The first rose and the first California poppy have flowered, the fruit trees are flowering, too, and I've planted the first tomato plant.  I bought a few packets of seeds, too, for the garden, but, we are waiting until it warms up a little more to plant them.  

All in all, the month of March has been good and conducive to thriving.  Everything is not quite how I would like it to be, but, I am focused on the positives, making the best of things, and thriving to the extent that I can.

There's another day left in this month, but, I am going to go ahead and post this today as I want to do the back garden post, tomorrow. 

How was your March?   Were you able to attain some of the goals you had made for the month?