I’m sort of shocked by how fast the past week has flown right by me! I think that my impending trip next month is coming a a perfect time as I’m feeling the need to re-charge my batteries…

Marathon Training: I kicked off my birthday celebration with a long run with a friend, and I don’t think the day could have started any better. I absolutely love the amazing friends that running has brought into my life! It’s always an adventure setting off for a (double-digit mileage) run and spending that time with a friend makes it  much sweeter. The good thing is that my legs are feeling great, so I’m feeling more confident about running Boston in a few weeks despite my epic lack of training.

Travel: I’m finally making some progress with planning the details of next month’s trip to Ireland, and I shared pictures of the castles we’ll be staying in as part of my post earlier this week. Up next is to develop some sort of game plan for all of the driving I’ll be doing as well as the various sites we want to see along the way. For the Kilimanjaro trip, I’ve purchased trip insurance that will provide coverage for any freak medical emergencies and I’ve set up appointments with my doctor’s office’s Travel Clinic. I’m definitely NOT looking forward to all those shots…haha!

Home Improvements: This week’s been a bust for home improvements for my house, but I have made some serious progress in my boyfriend’s apartment (more on that below). I hope to finish my bathroom tiling within the next 7-10 days, and I’ll also be starting a back porch planting project soon so I can get my gardening on. 

Budget: Speaking of busted, my miscellaneous budget will in fact be slaughtered this month despite last week’s stellar no-spending streak. Most of this is due to random medical expenses that just cropped up yesterday, which is why they aren’t reflected in the spending re-cap because it only went through the 24th. Basically, my crazy kitties went haywire and the boy bit me last night, sending my arse to the ER. The $40 co-pay and subsequent tank of gas in my car because I can’t bike right now (he split my thumb open…ouch!) will be credited to the miscellaneous expenses for April’s budget, but they officially busted March (I’ll carry the deficit from March’s category over to April’s instead of taking savings away because thankfully it’s the end of the month).

Blogging: I was surprised to see how many of you were interested in my other blogs! Unfortunately, I feel like that update last week was a bit of a tease because I won’t be able to share those links here in the name of staying as anonymous as possible on this blog. However, I can tell you that one is based on an incredible hobby/passion of mine: DIY Interior Design. It’s actually what I’m building as part of my mission to open a side business and I’ve been re-doing my BF’s entire apartment in an effort to add to my portfolio. Think of it as Young House Love meets Boston meets me, The Discount Diva (not my blog name…haha!). I’m sure some of that content (as far as saving $$) will trickle over here at some point, so stay tuned for more info.