Wednesday 2 May 2018

April in a sentence a day

Greetings! About three weeks into the month of April, I decided to write my April in a sentence a day, using the A to Z Challenge 2018 schedule, with the first letter of the day goes from A to Z, except the last four Sundays of April. It was a fun exercise that made the writing process more interesting for me. 

April in a sentence a day:

1. Attended my extended family's April gathering and ate a delicious meal after running my usual 5K on Sunday, and publishing my 3 days in dynamic Santiago post.

2. Broadened my mind with French and Spanish online lessons and built more body fitness with a 5K walk and a one-hour workout in the gym.

3. Continued my fitness routine with a 5K walk, completed a yoga session at home, and cooked chicken with vegetables for dinner.

Signs of spring!

4. Decided to publish my March in a sentence a day post this morning, before dashing outside for a 5K walk, and a one-hour workout in the gym.

5. Examined my surroundings while walking 5K, exercised my mind and body with yoga at home, and enjoyed watching The Darkest Hour movie in the evening.

6. Filled this Friday with a fun 5K walk, an hour in the gym, and an hour of fantastic four hands piano recital by Emily Chiang and Elizabeth Bang.

7. Glad to discover the Sur Gallery and its Life in Flight art exhibition during my 5K walk, and to complete my grocery runs for the week without long queues.


8. Sunday morning started with a 5K run, published my post on Wine tasting, Vina del Mar, and Valparaiso and relaxed the rest of the day.

9. Had high hopes to meet my friend from Helsinki next month in Tallinn, Estonia.

10. Inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly while doing my 5K walk, then yoga at home, and found my travel guide reading quite interesting.


11. Joined one of my friends for a workout at the gym, and jumped in on the fun with my blogging friends for the April Wellness Wednesday link up.

12. Kick started this Thursday with a 5K walk, kept the day going with yoga, and was keen to watch Coco tonight.

13. Learned new words in French and Spanish, logged my 5K walk and gym exercises in my sheet, and listened to a lovely piano recital by Jean-Luc Therrien.

14. Modified my weekend routine due to the unusual ice storm by maximizing time indoors with 5K walk on an elliptical, cleaning up, and minimizing time outdoors with just one grocery run.

Snow and ice in mid-April

15. The ice storm continued this Sunday so I ran 5K on a treadmill indoor, and wrote about meeting my Finnish friend.

16. Navigated around big puddles while walking outdoors on this rainy Monday, and noted my progress during my workout in the gym.

17. Observed birds on the trees and ducks in the lake during my 5K walk, as well as my thoughts during yoga, and organized my European itinerary in May.

18. Photographed a few precious items on display at the amazing Kingston Prize art exhibition, published my Valparaiso street art post, walked 5K, and went to the gym for a workout.

Kingston Prize art exhibition

19. Quickened my pace during my 5K walk to get a good cardio, then quieted my mind with a yoga session, and enjoyed a Quaker snack while watching Daddy's Home 2 movie.

20. Revised my April sentence a day using the A to Z Challenge 2018 calendar after walking 5K, exercising one hour in the gym, attending Mary Kenedi's piano recital, and meeting a friend for coffee.

21. Savoured the glorious weather this weekend with my family, socialized with our friends, and posted my Spring fun list update #1.

22. Enjoyed this beautiful sunny Sunday, a nice 5K run, and time with my family.


23. Treated myself to a tasty lunch with two of my girlfriends after a 5K walk, took an hour to exercise in the gym, and ended the day thinking about the people who have been directly affected by the van attack #TorontoStrong.

24. Updated my calendar with spring and summer events, used the time during my 5K walk to take stock of the first four months of 2018, and found my yoga session today uplifting.

25. Visited Toronto Music Garden during my 5K walk, found a perfectly-woven bird's nest, went to the gym for a one-hour workout, and valued my time with a friend over coffee in the afternoon.


26. Walked 5K this morning, wondered about the weekend weather, wrote a few messages, and watched The Post movie in the evening.

27. XOXO was how I ended my email to my cousins and friends, before heading out for my 5K walk, followed by an hour in the gym, a shower, and an extra-special music recital performed by Ariana Chris (mezzo soprano), Allison Angelo (soprano), and Dan Bickle (organ).


28. Yes to 5K walk despite the rain, yes to yoga, and yes to travel planning for the summer.

29. Ran 5K on this glorious Sunday morning, felt great after a shower, posted A new whirl: 2018.04 edition, and went to see the beautiful Spring Flower show.


30. Zest for life was on my mind this Monday during a 5K walk, and Zen after a one-hour workout in the gym.

That's my April wrap up, an amazing month in my book. I'm looking forward to enjoying May.

48 comments:

  1. We didn't make it to Tallin so please post lots of pics. It looks so pretty. (I loved Helsinki though!). Nice work on the art side trip...what a great way to jazz up a grocery trip! #Lovinglifelinky

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    1. Will post lots of pics as usual :) Thanks, Lydia, for stopping by.

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  2. So clever Natalie! I adore that birds nest! They have always fascinated me since I as a little girl. Love your sentence for X. As I read through I wondered what you'd write for X. I will keep XO in mind should I ever need to do something similar, because I do XO at the end of each blog post and when messaging close friends and family. #TeamLovinLife

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    1. Thank you, Min, for your kind words. I was hoping the empty nest meant the baby birds have grown and flown away XOXO :)

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  3. What a beautiful collection of moments for the month. Excellent consistency with the 5K walks.

    SSG xxx

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    1. Thanks, SSG, for your kind words. I was pretty excited to see the bird's nest during my walk :)

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  4. You are amazing with how much exercise you fit in (and how much you enjoy it) and I loved those photos - particularly the flower show one at the end.

    Leanne | www.crestingthehill.com.au

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    1. Thanks, Leanne, for your kind comment. I'll share more photos from the flower show in another post.

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  5. The A to Z schedule makes your sentences so fun! Great job with the exercise!

    Have a wonderful May!

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    1. Thanks, Andrea, for stopping by. The A to Z was a fun brain teaser. You have a wonderful May, too!

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  6. I absolutely LOVE this Natalie. Daily adventures, completed in the A to Z format, with one sentence per day, that your readers can read all on one page, and all at one time. Why didn't I think of that!

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    1. Oh Donna, your A to Z Challenge posts and photos were wonderful. I took the shortcut and barely finished my post in time. Thank you for stopping by.

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  7. I loved Tallin, Natlie one of my favourite places. Well done on continuing with daily 5kms even when there is an ice storm. I loved all your photos especially the flowers. April was a great month and looking forward to reading about your May.
    Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond

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    1. Hi Sue, My regular 5K helps me sleep well at night so I do them diligently. Plus nature is beautiful and always changing with the seasons, a pleasure to enjoy for free. Thank you for stopping by.

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  8. Great idea to have the added challenge of each sentence starting with next letter of alphabet. Love to read about your exercise and travel plans.

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    1. Thanks, Gail, for dropping by. I like to add a new twist now and then to tease my brain and have a little fun :)

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  9. I'm tired just reading this post. So much running and walking. I am jealous and feel just a bit guilty.

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    1. Do what you enjoy and when you can, Emma. Thank you for dropping by.

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  10. Wow, you are one sportive woman! Lovely to meet you and your blog!

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    1. Hi Nancy and welcome to my blog! Glad you joined us for April SaD. I'll visit your blog shortly.

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  11. What an interesting post! Greetings from Sydney and have a lovely day!

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    1. Hi Shantana and welcome to my blog! Glad you joined us in this linkup. I'll visit your blog shortly.

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  12. Wow, what a great idea to use the A-Z in this post, you're so clever Natalie! I love all the exercising you're doing and that snow storm, how amazing! What a fun month you've had :)

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    1. I surely took a shortcut to the Challenge :) Thank you, Debbie, for your kind comment.

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  13. Well, you know I loved your lake photos in that your lake is big enough to act like an ocean, waves and all. 😊

    And my heart was/is with Toronto in April too, Natalie. I struggle to understand this type of human-generated tragedy, I really do.

    Hugs from your USA blogging friend. 💗

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    1. Thank you, Tamara, for your hugs. I truly appreciate it. We're fortunate to be right by one of the Great Lakes. You're right that it's big enough to act like an ocean. There are huge cargo ships that go right into Toronto harbour but not heavy traffic.

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  14. Looks like that you had a wonderful April. Thanks for sharing. #lovinlifelinky

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    1. Hope your April was also good to you. Thanks, Patrick, for stopping by.

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  15. Now that's an impressive way to record the sentence a day!! I'm so impressed, Natalie!!
    XOXO
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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    1. Thanks, Jodie, for you kind words. I took a shortcut and had fun writing April from A to Z.

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  16. Very clever sentence-a-day format! Lovely pictures... I especially liked the green shoots reaching out of the snow.

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    1. Thank you, Janis, for your comments. I liked the same photo, too. Those daffodils that were mostly buried under the snow have grown much taller and are now blooming.

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  17. So much great exercise! #teamlovinlife

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    1. It helps me sleep well at night :) Thanks, Leanne, for dropping by.

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  18. What a clever approach to take this month, Natalie.
    And, as always, an admirable collection of activities covering every aspect from physical to emotional to mental. I admire your consistent self-care and your strong connections with family and friends.

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    1. Thanks, Karen, for your kind words. I try to stay active and healthy so I can enjoy time with my family and friends and have fun.

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  19. I couldn't believe it snowed mid-april! Crazy!

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    1. It was unusual that weekend then we got good weather the following weeks. Thanks, Jamie, for dropping by.

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  20. Your dedication to your language lessons and exercise always leaves me in a mix of thrall, envy and guilt! It's very impressive and I love that you seem to enjoy it all! #teamlovinlife

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    1. I like to keep my mind and body active, and by doing these activities, my days are interesting to me. Thanks, Deborah, for stopping by.

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  21. A perfect approach to this post, Natalie. I bet it was as fun to write as it was to read! You must be in such fantastic shape with all the walking, running, and yoga you do every day. Wow! Do you always walk the same 5K route, or do you mix it up? All in all, the weather seemed to have been pretty agreeable in April!

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    1. I feel fit from the daily exercises and they really help me sleep well at night. I change my 5K route from time to time to see different parts of the city which is growing. I'm like a kid in a candy store when I go outside with my camera :) Thanks, Liesbet, for stopping by.

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  22. Well this is a creative way to do "A sentence a day" you sure had a busy, active month!

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    1. It was fun to write up my April in a different way. Thanks, Amy, for dropping by.

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  23. Wow! Not only a sentence a day but in alphabetical order too - that is very impressive! What a great month you had and I've loved seeing your photos too.

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    1. It was fun to take the A to Z approach for my April sentence a day. Thanks, Deb, for your comment.

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  24. What a fun way to write up this month's sentences. Your photographs are lovely. The empty nest was one of my favs. And that arch of flowers and vines!!! Beautiful.

    All of that walking makes me wonder if you have several pairs of walking shoes that you alternate between? I am in the market for a new pair of trainers or running shoes. What are your favorite brands?

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    1. Thank you, Leslie, for organizing the SaD link-up. I have one pair for walking and one pair for running. Saucony or Asics shoes work well for my feet.

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