March 2026 in Review
March felt like a month made up of moments. Not one big defining thing, but a collection of nights out, small wins, kid milestones, and a few unexpected highs that ended up meaning more than I thought they would. It wound up being a fuller month than expected. Here's how it all shook out.
📊 Month by the Numbers
Weight: ⬇️ 6 lbs
Books: 2
Blog Posts: 13
One Minute Memoirs: 5
Savings: ⬆️ $570
Debt: ⬇️ $149.17
Runs: 0
Migraines: 8
Highlights
- Two movie nights, two very different vibes: I saw Scream 7 with my two best friends. It was campy, chaotic, and honestly just really good to be back together again. It had been too long. Later in the month, I took the boys to see Hoppers on a discount Tuesday. They loved it. I thought it was cute. We loaded up on popcorn and made a pre-movie stop at the dollar store for candy and pop, which honestly might have been their favorite part.
- Glow Night & school life: Caleb had his school glow dance and both boys had a great time. I also had a productive and helpful meeting with Holden's school that went pretty well!
- Holden’s social calendar: Holden had his first real playdate! We met up with two of his friends to go bowling (slightly chaotic, fully successful). Later in the month, he went to a roller skating birthday party where the skating was questionable but the laser tag and arcade games were elite.
- Bingo, but make it a win: We go to our community center's Bingo night every month. Sometimes it results in tears. But this month? This month delivered. Caleb won in the first round, the boys inhaled questionable pizza, and Holden ended the night by winning the big Squishmallow raffle. A full victory sweep.
- Food adventures (mixed results): We tried the K Pop Demon Hunters meal at McDonald’s (fun, chaotic, lots of nuggets), hit Dave’s Hot Chicken for the first time (too hot, immediate regret), and went to the Chinese buffet with my parents, where Holden confidently explored things no one asked him to try, including crawfish (he loves) and octopus (not a fan).
- Broadway night: My aunt and I saw Kimberly Akimbo and were completely blown away. Funny, weird, and unexpectedly heartfelt.
- Quiet financial follow-through: Now that my credit cards are paid off, I shifted my focus to what’s next. I set up a repayment plan for my retirement loan and re-enrolled in my NYS deferred comp (457) contributions. Nothing flashy, but the kind of steady, behind-the-scenes moves that actually change things long term.
- A moment I wasn’t expecting: I wrote an essay about Cindy — the baboon in Namibia I had followed and loved for years — and shared it, hoping it might somehow reach Ruben and his family (Ruben was her human "brother" who shared her life with people all over the world). I didn’t really think it would, but I tried anyway. I left comments. Tagged them in stories. Messaged his page. And after two days of attempts and with bated breath, I opened my inbox to a message back from him. He had read it. He loved it. He thanked me. Then he shared the link (with his MILLIONS of followers) on Instagram and Facebook with a really meaningful caption. His mom shared it as well. It was one of those surreal, emotional, “did that really just happen?” moments. I lived off that high for the rest of the week. As a writer, this was a really big moment for me with a lot of exposure. But as a human, it was even bigger. I wanted the family to know what she meant to me and how grateful I was to them for sharing her. To know I reached them still delights me to no end.
📚 What I Read
Only two books this month, but both solid reads.
- The Last Party by A.R. Torre ★★★★☆
- The Family Next Door by John Glatt ★★★★☆
Favorite: The Last Party
Yearly Progress: 9 / 100
🎬 What I Watched
Movies
- Scream 7 ★★★★☆ — campy, self-aware, and exactly what you want from this franchise at this point. Saw it with my two best friends, which made it even better. A masked killer returns (again), but the fun is in how over-the-top it leans into itself. I now need to watch the rest of the series (I've only seen the first three or so).
- Hoppers ★★★☆☆ — cute, easy, and completely kid-approved. We made a full night of it with popcorn and dollar store candy. A light, family-friendly story that doesn’t try too hard and doesn’t need to.
TV
- Grey’s Anatomy — rewatch era continues (rewatch ◦ s:2 e:1–3)
Documentaries & Docuseries
- Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg? (Hulu, 2025) ★★★☆☆ — frustrating and thought-provoking. Explores the suspicious death of a woman and the lingering question of suicide vs. homicide. I'd heard of this case before, but the details were shocking. Really well done... and managed to enrage me. (3 episodes)
- Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese (Hulu, 2026) ★★★☆☆ — a brutal case involving teenage girls that’s hard to sit with. A look at the dynamics that led to a shocking and tragic crime. This series was well done and interesting to watch. (3 episodes)
- Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (HBO Max, 2023) ★★★★★ — completely unhinged in the best way. A deep dive into a cult built around a self-proclaimed spiritual leader that somehow gets more unbelievable the longer you watch. I honestly loved it and could not turn away. (3 episodes)
- Escaping Twin Flames (Netflix, 2023) ★★★★☆ — still fully in my cult documentary phase. Follows a group that claims to help people find their “twin flame,” but quickly spirals into manipulation and control. Crazy and compelling! (3 episodes)
- Tell Me Who I Am (Netflix, 2019) ★★☆☆☆ — fascinating topic, slower execution. A man loses his memory after an accident and relies on his twin to reconstruct their shared past — except not everything is told. (film)
Coming Up in April
We have another musical coming up (A Beautiful Noise), plans to see the new Mario movie, and, once again, hopes that the weather finally cooperates enough to get back into running. I’m aiming for a bit more consistency this month: something like a few runs, a handful of books, and continuing to chip away at both my savings and weight. Nothing dramatic... just steady progress.
See you next month.
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