March 2019 Month in Review

First of all - Yikes! I only blogged TWICE in March? Unacceptable! I need to blog more often!

Now that I've chastised myself, let's move on to the month is review. March was a VERY good month, for several reasons.

First of all, it is my birthday month. And I had a lovely birthday weekend filled with family, friends, food, and pampering. On Friday, March 8th, my sister made my favorite dinner: filet of chicken, with cupcakes from Ooh La La for dessert. Most of my immediate family was there. On Saturday, I had lunch with my mom and friends at a great Italian restaurant.. We sat on the patio and it was very nice, although a little windy. After lunch I was treated to a much-needed manicure and pedicure. On Sunday morning, my actual birthday, I had brunch at a Tex-Mex restaurant with mom and two of my cousins. So I was definitely well-fed the weekend of my birthday - in body and in soul.

On Wednesday, March 20th, I traveled to McAllen, Texas, for the 3rd annual Transportation Works Conference, part of the five year grant from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities through the Texas State Independent Living Council to study transportation options for Texans with Disabilities (SILC). I was extremely fortunate to get a ride from SILC employees so I didn't have to deal with Greyhound. The ride was long, but also fun, and we saw gorgeous wildflowers along the way - fields of bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, buttercups, daises, etc.

The conference was great - interesting sessions, some dynamic speakers, and I had some opportunities to network. I also attended the SILC Town Hall on Friday morning.

The conference was held at the McAllen Convention Center, which is attached to the McAllen Embassy Suites hotel. My suite was amazing! And the staff at the hotel was incredibly helpful and friendly.

I had free time on Friday afternoon, so I went on a little adventure. I took an Uber to the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas. March is not a time for butterflies in south Texas, but I still enjoyed walking the trail. I logged 6600+ steps that day - a record for me! I saw birds, a few butterflies, and some roadrunner type birds. I spent Friday evening in the hotel lounge with a few people from the conference, enjoying free happy hour and live music.

Then on Tuesday, March 26th, I had dinner with a friend at the Austin Public Library's Cookbook Cafe, and then attended a special True Crime Book Club where we got to hear author Skip Hollingsworth discuss his book The Midnight Assassin, about a serial killer that roamed the streets of Austin during the late 1850's. We also got to meet him and take a selfie when he signed copies of the book after the discussion.

The Midnight Assassin is the only book I read in March, but I'm working my way through two others. I watched one Netflix movie, "Inside Out," with Edie Falco, and one documentary: "Out of Many, One."

So it was a fun March that included a trip to a part of Texas I haven't been to in decades. Springtime can be difficult for me because of my inner ear disorder. It tends to flare up during the spring and can wreak havoc on my physical and emotional well-being. So far I've been virtually symptom free. This has allowed me to have a remarkably calm, happy, organized, busy, and productive March, which I am so very grateful for.

librarianintx