Considering that sometimes it rains but sometimes it pours, the last week has certainly been more of the latter. However, I refuse to let stress or negativity bring me down (even if I did respond to it in yesterday’s post…ugh), so it’s on to bigger & better things with this update!

Marathon Training: The Boston Marathon is 5. days. away. Oy! I’m still struggling with a bit of lower back pain and an ailing IT band, but I’m determined to finish the race and wear that medal around my neck with pride. While it certainly won’t be my fastest time, it should be a great experience considering it’s in my back yard, my friends will be out there cheering me on, and they’re calling for beautiful weather. Wish me luck!

Travel: I’m moving along with the Ireland planning, although I’m still quite nervous about driving on the other side of the road. Have any of you experienced this before? Do you have any tips? Other than that, I’m looking into an option to add a small weekend trip to Colorado in September. Read on to find out where I think I’ll be headed. 

Home Improvements: I’ve stalled a bit with the projects for my BF’s apartment, but I am moving along with my awesome to-do list for this month. I’ve already completed the bathroom exhaust fan projects, the jacuzzi tub servicing, and the range hood cleaning. Next up is the back splash and grouting. I think this will make a great project for this weekend in between heading to the marathon expo and resting up for the big run.

Budget: A week and half into the month, and I haven’t gone out to eat yet! This is a huge accomplishment because I do tend to have a weakness when it comes to dining out. I had thought I’d already used one of my five for my mini challenge this month, but then I realized the last time I went out to eat was March 31st, which is in a different month! My bigger budget goal for this month is to keep the miscellaneous spending minimized because now that the nice spring weather is upon us, I’m really feeling the need to get my gardening on which means spending the moolah. I hope to hold out until May when I can easily fit those expenses into the monthly budget.

Blogging: It’s been a bit of a wild week this week in terms of blogging. As you all saw yesterday, I finally broke down and responded to an email bully I’ve been dealing with for the past few weeks. While I typically blow this sort of stuff off because I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with people who don’t agree with me/my writing, I couldn’t stand the stress of carrying the frustration around with me anymore. Before I ramble on unnecessarily, I just have to say THANK YOU for your supportive words & comments. I can’t express how much your kind words have meant to me! On an unrelated note, I think I’m finally going to pull the trigger and book my trip to FinCon ’12 in September (how’s that for a complete 180 in the same paragraph?!)!!! I’ve been considering this for a while, and I’ve decided that I’d really like to see where I can take this blog in terms of extending my reach/audience. Having the opportunity to network with some pretty incredible bloggers at FinCon will be just what the doctor ordered in terms of pulling me out of this slump and kick-starting a renewed effort to show this little blog of mine some love.