What I Learned : Arpil 2016

May is here!  This means we only have two more months of school, summer weather is closer than winter, and Mason gets his cast off in just three weeks!  Lots to be happy about on this Monday morning.

Once again I’m linking up with Emily for another monthly round-up of things learned.  This is a fun practice for me and I missed posting in March.  In no particular order, eight things I learned in April.

1.  I am pretty attached to this tree in our backyard.   I love to see it begin budding in the dead of winter, and then the blooms begin to open right along with spring.  At its peak flowering time, it is absolutely stunning.  But, the branches were hanging over into the neighbor’s yard, so Bradley had to cut it all back.  The flowers and leaves are gone.  There’s no longer shade in that part of the yard.  And it just looks pretty sad.  He assures me that it will grow back just as lovely, but the waiting is difficult.

2.  How to make a mobile bank deposit.   There are just some things that I don’t like to do.  I’d rather have Bradley do them.  Like, getting the oil changed, taking out the trash, washing the car.  Mobile banking is one of those things.  But, I did it.  And it’s SO easy.  There are several people in my life who will be very grateful that I’ve learned how to deposit a check this way.

3.  Embracing a new normal is hard.  I wrote about that in a post last week, and I’m still pondering the things God is teaching me while having a child with a broken leg.  As with most hard things we experience, the hardness is is probably not just about my son having a broken leg.

4. I may not be who I thought I was.  This is perhaps this most unsettling and yet insightful thing I learned this month.  For the past 12 years I’ve thought I was an INTJ (Myers Briggs personality identifier, in case you’re not familiar with that).  As I listened to some of the definers in a two-week Sunday School class at church, I began to doubt which category I fell into.  The verdict is still out on this one, but when I took the test online last week it came out ISFJ.  Quite a shift in my core.  I’m going to ponder this one a little more.  But, for right now, I’ll just say that learning about these personality traits has helped me to understand myself and Bradley better, and I’m looking forward to some discussions with him on this.

*If you are interested in personalities you can take a test online here.  Let me know if you take it and/or if you already know your personality type, I’d love to hear about it!

5.Cognac and white wine are not interchangeable in recipes.  I made some Risotto last week–with fresh asparagus and peas which should have been delicious–and after I started it, realized that I was out of white wine.  But, we did have cognac.  Not a good substitute.  It was pretty bitter.  Even the sugar that I added to try and mask the flavor didn’t help.  Lesson learned.

6.Cookies are my weakness.  I’ve tried to stay away from ice cream this year, and it’s going fairly well.  But, cookies!  Sometimes I eat ones that I don’t even like.  This needs to stop.

7. Completing a DIY project that’s been hanging over my head brings a feeling of accomplishment, even if I decide not to use it.  I’ve been wanting to make a book page wreath for almost a year now and have just been putting it off.  A few weeks ago I finally sat down to work on it, and in about 20 minutes I was done.  It looks fine, but it’s not beautiful on the wall and I haven’t decided if it goes with the rest of my decor.  I needed to try it, though.  Sometimes I get an itch to make something, paint an old piece of furniture, or rearrange stuff in my house.  Many times my efforts are fruitful; other times they are a flop.  I never know until I try.  

8. Going to open houses of homes that we would never be able to afford is better than going to the movies.  Bradley and I went out one Saturday afternoon for coffee, and got sidetracked on our way by a sign for an open house.  That led us to another one in a neighborhood we often dream about living in.  The listing price of this home was $1.6M. Clearly out of our price range, but we had so much fun walking through that home, dreaming about a life there and picturing our family utilizing every square inch of the 5,000sf home.  It solidified our desire to live on the water someday, and we left feeling refreshed by dreaming together.  I highly recommend this as a perfect date.

What did you learn in April?  I’d love to hear!