Getting through “May-cember”

And…we’re halfway through 2019. May felt especially busy this year, and I’ve heard that it’s like that for lots of families with all kinds of activities kicking up. So much so that it’s been dubbed “May-cember.” It’s like December without the Christmas trees and Santa.

I used to think that September through December was my busiest time of year, but I think I need to just go ahead and extend that to May through December, especially with all of the summer travel we do. Really, the only time there aren’t a million things going on are the sleepier months of January through April.

But anyway…as of May 2019, my baby is a Pre-K graduate (all the tears) and we’ve already been on two summer vacations (second one was the first week of June if we’re being entirely accurate) with two more to go plus one weekend trip for me to for a girls’ weekend in Fort Lauderdale for my birthday. Lots of travel this summer!

So here are a few things that went down in May…

I celebrated 7 years of running.

While I didn’t get in as many miles in May as I did in April (mostly because I took the entire time we were in Disney off from running), I still got in some decent running. After all, it was my “runiversary” month.

In some ways it seems like just yesterday, but in others it seems like so long ago, given all that’s happened in the past 7 years. I’m not nearly as focused on racing at the moment as I am on enjoying the run. But I do hope to get my racing mojo back soon.

Read my blog post about my 7th runiversary.

The Charleston Half marathon is the race I’ve run the most times over the past 7 years (4 times). Maybe I’ll add the 5th in 2020.

I’ve been working on my One Thing.

After reading The One Thing, I identified my UX life as the to priority to get in order. And so, I’ve been trying to get my online presence for user experience strategy, research and coaching together (the day job stuffs). It’s a process, and in hindsight, I probably should have actually pursued some freelance work during the first few months of the year instead of consciously deciding not to. Picking it up in this back half the year will make things a little crazy, but I’d still like at least one new client on my roster by the end of 2019.

As for updating my online presence, I may need to give it a stopping point that’s “good enough” for now, especially since I have other things waiting in the wings. Like….

I worked on some Small art and jewelry projects.

I didn’t go as in-depth as I’d like to be right now since my One Thing is getting my UX house in order, but once that’s done, I’ll move half-steam into more art and jewelry. I’ve also been designing prototypes, creating moodboards and making pricing sheets for an actual collection. This is the farthest I’ve gotten in any jewelry design project in years. Hopefully, I find time to continue the momentum because this is what energizes me and gives me life.

We went to our first beerfest since before B was born.

Before B we used to regularly attend beerfests, but post-B that became a little less of a priority for us. Partially because of time and partially because of sheer exhaustion. Nearly 5 years later, I feel like the cloud of complete exhaustion is starting to lift and I’m ready to rejoin the land of the living.

And of course, Disney!

We’ve become a Disney family, which is something I swore would never happen. But B just loves it and while we do travel other places, Disney is so close for us that it’s an easy trip to make. And B is finally into rides! He went from being scared of all of them to being a rollercoaster lover, which makes me so happy and it makes the parks even more fun for the adults since we can ride rides instead of go to endless character meetings. We’re surprising him for his birthday with a quick weekend trip back to Disney in July so he can ride the rides he missed out on. Check out my full recap of our May trip.

So those were some highlights from May. June is shaping up to be just as crazy with a vacation, a visit from my mom a few days after we return from vacation, B’s birthday (and party), and all kinds of work stuff, but it’s going to be a good month!