Tuesday, May 1, 2018

April 2018 Reflections


April is my least favorite month of the year.  Every year it is dominated by work requirements.  I have to do my best to not allow any kind of social or other obligation to get in the way, because I am guaranteed to work late most days and at least 2 of the weekends.  Even when I am not at work, I am usually so drained I do not want to do anything.  So April is all work and no fun, and usually a high stress period for me.  Here are my reflections for the month.

The Good

Hiking – I lucked out this year and we had a nice weekend day when I was not required to work.  My husband and I went on a hike together.  We started at Bull Run on the Bluebell Trail.  We diverted onto the Bull Run Occoquan Trail.  When we hit the 2.5 mile mark, we turned around.  We finished the Bluebell Trail, picking it up where we left off and continuing the loop back to the car.  It ended up being just over 5 miles, and my hips hurt horribly by the end.  However, the bluebells and other early spring flowers were in full bloom, so it was a gorgeous walk.  This makes hike number 3 in my goal of 12 for year.

Diet – Diet is something I struggle with during year-end.  We tend to have lots of candy floating around the office during fiscal close.  I also am prone to stress eating, and this is the most stressful time of year for me.  I am happy to report, that while I definitely indulged, I restrained myself much more than normal.  I maintained less soda intake (1-3 per week).  I kept low calorie Tuesday and Saturday intact, keeping under 1200 calories every single time.  My weight fluctuation during the month stayed within a 1-2 pound range, and I am ending the month basically where I started.

Entertainment – I had a pretty good entertainment month this month.  I discovered Podcasts as a way to make the commute home more enjoyable.  I have listed to Podcasts on long trips before, but this is the first month I have tried them during my afternoon commute.  I have been listening to Someone Knows Something and Serial Killers.  For TV, I have been rewatching Friends (up to season 3 now) and watching Season 2 of The Expanse (which is even better than Season 1).  I saw Ready Player One in the theater which was great, not as good as the book, but it definitely captured the spirit of the story and was so much fun to watch.  I also enjoyed Jumanji:  Welcome to the Jungle, which was just an easy, funny way to unwind after work one weekend.

The Challenges

Work – As I indicated above, this month was pretty much dominated by work.  It still is not over, although the massive amount of work part is pretty much done.  Now, I have three excruciating weeks of reviews and audits, praying they do not find anything horrible that needs to be adjusted in the ledger.  This year was probably not the worst, but it definitely was not the best.  There were some high volume issues that put us off to a rocky start.  I made myself stay 1-2 hours late almost every night right from the beginning, to stay on top of it all.  This actually did pay off because Business Day 11 (journal entry close) was not as bad it has been in the past.  Now I am exhausted though, and only starting to recover from all the extra hours worked.  I am very anxious about this close, because I already know of one issue under review with management and the auditors that is directly a result of work done by my team.  There is not much I can do at this point either, except wait to see what the verdict is.

Exercise – Because of all extra work hours, exercise pretty much went out the door.  I managed Ballet Burn the first week and the last week of the month.  Pilates I only did the last week of the month.  The few weeks off was enough to make going back extra hard.  This past week I have been so sore between hiking, Pilates, and Ballet Burn.  It is so hard to get back into exercise when you get out of the habit even for a short amount of time.

Allergies –Pollen season in VA is crazy.  The pollen down here is so thick that my blue car looks green every morning.  Growing up, I never had much problem with seasonal allergies.  Now I have them in spring and fall.  I have itchy eyes, itchy nose, sneezing, and nose bleeds.  The itch is finally starting to die down, although I think this is due to Flonase and not less pollen yet.  Additionally, the pollen irritates my skin.  I have minor rosacea which flares up in the early spring/summer months. 

The Future

CPA Studying – Now that year-end has died down, it is time to start studying for the next section of the CPA exam.  I went through all the introductory materials for FAR tonight.  Wednesday I start the study schedule I planned out.  I need to work hard to reign in the social events for the next few months, which always seem to increase as the weather gets warmer.  Although I have not registered for it yet, my plan is to take FAR in September.

Hiking – Last month, I indicated I was hoping to do Harper’s Ferry National Park next.  This did not happen obviously, but that is still on my list of ones I want to do this year.  I also want to go back to Manassas National Battlefield Park to do the First Manassas Trail again, this time keeping in the Stone Bridge Loop section I cut the first time.  I am hoping to do a hike on my birthday, although I have to wait to see if anything comes up between now and then at work.  My boss is fine with the day off during this part of close, as long as nothing critical has come up.  May might be a good month to get in two hikes and catch myself up on the 12 hike per year plan.

Celebration Month – May is always a big month for my husband and I to celebrate.  My birthday is the 3rd.  His birthday is the 30th.  Our anniversary is the 18th.  We have plenty of opportunities to eat good food and be nice to each other for the evening.  I have been pushing to go to my favorite Italian restaurant, Cantina D’Italia, for dinner for my birthday.  For our anniversary, we usually try to do something a little fancier than our normal meals out, although I am not sure what we are doing yet.  His plan for his birthday is a boys only poker night, which is fine with me.  I assume my stepson and I will get him cake sometime during the end of the month anyway.

There you have it, my month in review.  See you next month!