Share Four Somethings- March

March isn't quite finished yet but it's time for Share Four Somethings since it's the fourth Saturday of the month.  I am ready for this month to be over! It wasn't terrible but it's in third place this year behind January and February, put it that way. (Not that I think of the months in a competitive way normally- the designation that I just made was for reference sake.)

Something Loved:

My two spring breaks! When you set your own schedule, spring break can be as many weeks as the heart desires. I took off for Alyssa's spring break- we went to Miami, Florida. Her spring break didn't align with the school district's spring break where I sub. So I had my district's spring break off, this past week, as well. I love being home as much as I love gallivanting so my at home spring break and my travel spring break were both good ones! I do plan to write about my spring break staycation next week.

Miami:

My sister and Alyssa's roommate came with us so we had double the fun!

Sun, surf and all red Starburst- yes, please! Alyssa was given a pack of all red Starburst and she gave them to me 😋. One can love the MAHA movement and also love red food dye, right, in the spirit of two things can be true at once? I mean, as long as the Starburst taste as good as they do, now I think(?) I'd be ok with them not being this vivacious vermilion hue. 

Happy smiles but a sad good-by for my sister and me who live in different countries (plenty of people in the same country could live as far away or further geographically from siblings as my sister and I are from each other.  As long as odd/horrible things that can close international borders exist (ie a pandemic) (for those who adhere to the legal way to cross), living in different countries is truly a less than ideal situation) and don't get to see each other often.

I also loved trying new recipes that are winners. I've written about two of them so I won't go into any detail here except to identify them. I finally found a wonderful homemade caramel sauce recipe, a new and easy bread recipe and a recipe for fish tacos that will be on repeat.

Lastly, besides Florida, it was a slow month excitement wise. So yes, $.25 Big Gulps from March 1-25 at a local gas station make the cut :).

Something I have learned:

This is a tough one- I mean, I feel like I learn things with each book that I read and with each podcast that I listen to. I've read a number of books this month and listened to a number of podcasts so I have learned a lot. I guess specifically...

I learned a lot about the politics of the American Library Association. I could have guessed the way the political winds blow at the association but until I read up about it, I was blissfully unaware of the specifics. And when I say blissfully unaware, I mean I did not realize that the ALA president in 2022 bragged about being a Marxist. Oh, dear. That's just the tip of the iceberg, one small example in a sea of troublesome statements by leaders in the ALA, not to mention endorsing troublesome activities at public libraries.  In many ways, I wish that I didn't learn what I've learned. But the genie can't go back into the bottle... The reason it impacts me is that our town's library board is going to be voting on adopting a statement from the ALA. As a trustee on the board, I am doing my due diligence prior to the vote. Hence, I am learning a lot about it. 

At church, I learned how applicable the lessons that the Israelites learned when they fled Egypt, crossed the dessert including the Jordan River and then conquered areas in the Promised Land are to us today. The pastor of our church is doing a series slowly (read thorough!) on the book of Joshua in the Bible. I have never heard it discussed in such detail with so many practical applications to the walk of those who strive to serve the Lord today.  

Something I have (re)learned- how much I like the town we live in- Springboro. I was reminded of that earlier in the month when answering a Hodgepodge question about why we live where we do. A couple of days ago in the mail, we received our Springboro newsletter/magazine that mentions salient information about the city, recent new businesses beginning, road projects, some school updates, etc. that is published by the city. Some of the information is somewhat to toot Springboro's horn and I don't blame city leaders for it. While I think that individuals should conduct themselves with humility at all times, all bets are off for locations. If your city's got it, flaunt it! Here are screen shots from the newsletter. 

Low taxes, low crime, good schools, close to a big city, close to a medium sized city and very close to the country- what's not to love??

Bub and I even got our picture in this quarter's newsletter.

Some things that went well:

Before the spring break where Alyssa and I went to Florida, I subbed four days in a row which is quite a bit for me. The days were all good ones at school despite sleeping horribly almost every night of the week. I don't take the good days for granted!

I organized our bedroom closet which included getting rid of many clothing and miscellaneous items that we were storing in the closet.

Some things I let go of: Some excuses that I had come up with to avoid doing some things that I didn't want to do.  

Linking up with Jennifer.