April is almost in the history books. A full month of spring. Plenty of birthday celebrations. All around, just a great month. April has been good. Spring has been good. And, so I thought a look back, by the numbers, would be a good exercise today. The last “by the numbers” I did was in January and we were buried in snow. Lots of snow. Only fitting to remember all the spring things, too:) Here are just a few highlights. By the numbers:)
FOUR – the number of times we have cut the grass already. At least four, maybe five? And when I say “we,” I definitely mean the men in this family! I’m the lawn care supervisor. I do a fairly decent job in that capacity but it is an unpaid position…and I do not get nearly the appreciation that I should:)
EIGHTEEN – the number of bags of mulch needed to finish off our flower beds. We are typically the last ones to get new mulch on the beds but my hubby likes to wait until all the azalea blooms have fallen as well as all the cherry petals from the neighbor’s tree. We used to mulch early in the season only to have everything blanketed in pink. I, personally, did not have a huge problem with that but the garden laborers (same ones that cut the grass) see it as a waste of hard work. They like to see the pretty, dark mulched beds. Well, okay. It is the last “planting” or flower bed chore for the season and I am ready for it.
THREE – the number of times we have had to bring our deck plants inside. And then take them back outside. Spring weather is so wishy-washy! We don’t bring them all in but, still. My boston fern is in a very heavy pot and I did not lug it inside. I’m not sure it appreciated staying out in the cold. It is looking a bit ragged. Again, this week, the temperatures are a bit cool for a boston fern but I am hoping it will hang in there.
TWO – the number of ice cream runs we have already made this season! And we are not the only ones. Each time we go, our local ice cream spot is busy. Full and busy. Apparently we are not the only ones whose thoughts turn to ice cream as soon as we the temperatures get above 80. Or even 70!:)
FOUR – the number of birthday meals I was treated to this week! In one week. That is a lot of eating out! I have to say I was spoiled and enjoyed a lot of good food. Mexican one night. Italian another and, yesterday, I had my favorite salmon salad. Today….I am back on track. The food has been yummy (and the meals with friends and family have been wonderful) but all the extra eating comes at a cost. Just sayin.
EIGHT – the number of sweet birthday treats that I have seen this week. Yes, eight! Four were enjoyed at the aforementioned meals. Yes, I ordered (and enjoyed!) dessert four times. I never order dessert. Oh but they were decadent and delicious. There were also cupcakes in Junior Church yesterday and, by the end of the day, I had been gifted three more yummy treats. Those are still in the refrig. I just could not eat another bite. I’m not complaining, mind you. I feel spoiled. And blessed. I also feel full. And pudgy – lol!
TWO – the number of weeks completed in this current Bible study. I have to admit, this one will probably not go down in the history books as one of my favorites. More towards the bottom of the list, if I am honest. Sadly, I do not look forward to attending tomorrow. But, I really enjoy the friendships and the fellowship and, certainly, if I am diligent, there will be something to learn. Right? Just disappointing.
ONE – the number of birthday rewards (coupons) that I actually benefited from and/or enjoyed. Just one. I’ve heard several people talking about enjoying their rewards at XYZ stores or restaurants and I thought (for whatever reason) that I would join the party this year. I signed up. I waited. And on Saturday, I visited several places hoping to fill my swag bag. Um, no. For whatever reason, I did not qualify or my info was not recognized. Etc, etc. My only success was at Nothing Bundt Cakes! Yum. As if I needed another sweet birthday treat!! Nevertheless, thank you NBC!!
THREE – the number of days enjoyed with my friends in Asheville a few weeks ago…at the beginning of the season. We had a great time! It was one of the first (super) pretty weekends of spring. Beautiful weather. My friend had planned everything so well and everything went off without a hitch. You have to love it when that happens. I hope we can plan another girls’ weekend – maybe at the end of the summer. Fingers crossed.
TWO – the number of cups of coffee I am enjoying these days. How did that happen? There was a time when I was not a coffee drinker. Then, I would occassionally enjoy coffee when out with friends or some such. The last few years, I got into the habit of starting my day with a cup of coffee. My husband makes the coffee every morning, and who am I to ruin his routine?:) But now, I find myself making a second cup about mid morning. And I don’t even love coffee. I like it well enough but could easily do without. It is 100 percent habit. Habits are sneaky.
FOUR (maybe five) – the number of butterflies we have spotted while enjoying a cup of coffee (um, that might even be a third cup!?!?) on the porch this spring. I don’t often see butterflies but they have been out and about this year. AND I saw a hummingbird. Never see those, so that was a fun surprise!
TWO – the number of boat trips I made downtown this spring. Well, almost. (I should change that to one. So far.) When my friend was visiting during spring break, we took the boat (ferry?) to the Wharf. That was another beautiful day. We had a great lunch and then took a walk to see the national cherry blossoms. They did not disappoint. I had such a good time that day, that I asked to go (downtown) again for my birthday. We were to go on Saturday. The weather did not cooperate. Plans are to make that happen this coming weekend. So I will leave it at TWO.
THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR – the number of days I have left in this new “trip around the sun”! I am grateful for another year. Another birthday and a full year of possibilities. I am also grateful for everyone that made this past weekend very special for me. I do, indeed, feel very blessed!!
Well friends, I think that is enough number crunching for this month. I could probably go on….to mention Easter, other family birthdays and other every day sweet things this past month. But a blog post only needs to be so long. Thanks for reading this one all the way to the end. And thanks for visiting the blog today. I hope that your week is starting off well. I hope you can look back at this first weeks of spring and “count” much for which you are thankful. Blessings to each of you – eryone!
Happy Birthday!!
I love the 364 … here is to a great year ahead.
18 bags of mulch, you gave me a good reminder that I need to get on that myself. Spring is finally here in Wisconsin. Our daffodils are blooming.
We don’t even put plants out until Memorial day here as we have lots of frost filled mornings still… and while we finally raked all the leaves and sticks in our yard so we can mow we haven’t actually mowed yet. It sounds like you were lovingly spoiled for your birthday and that’s the way it should be! What a delicious month of celebrations.
A belated Happy Birthday to you, dear Jennifer! I’m so glad that people thought of you in such fun (and delicious) ways!
We’ve been seeing a fair number of butterflies for this time of year also. It’s a bit early yet for here. I’m still working on mulching the flower garden. Hopefully this evening after dinner I will finish that up and start on another outdoor project. 🙂
I hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you, Friend!
I like your “maths” numbers post quite a bit. What a fun and creative way to share some interesting information about the month so far. I guess our birthdays are fairly close (if I’ve done my maths correctly!) and we both had numerous celebrations. Lucky us! I had three birthday cakes and lots of sweet treats. I am also the lawn care supervisor and make no money for this role!! Of course the gardeners don’t either :). It sounds like you had a lovely April (and if you had moments that aren’t super positive but you didn’t list them (which is FINE- your blog and you decide what to share and what not to) hopefully all these positive things listed here counterbalanced them).
Happy Birthday, my friend! What a fun post today. I am amazed it is almost May! Have a lovely day doing whatever makes you happy.
Happy Birthday. I wish I didn’t love coffee. I drink decaf but I could drink it all day …just black by the way.
P.S. I meant to tell you how beautiful that Scarlet Tanager is in the picture above. Every time I see one of them, I think of my dad. It was his favorite bird. We seldom see them here where we live currently, but before we moved here, we had a family of them that made a nest in a walnut tree off our back porch.
Hello Jennifer…it’s me again. 🙂 I just realized that I named the bird above a Scarlet Tanager and it’s actually a Baltimore Oriole. And it truly was my dad’s favorite bird…and we did truly have a family who built a nest at our old house in a walnut tree off the back porch. Promise! lol
Happy birthday wishes to you, Jennifer! I’m a bit behind as somehow I missed this post. I totally enjoyed reading your by the numbers. My husband has only mowed twice this year. Everything is so dry here, he has been going longer between mowings. We have 3 hummingbird feeders hung and have 5-6 birds at the moment. We typically have 6-8 between now and early July and then upwards to 2-3 dozen. Happy May Day and enjoy the weekend!