What I Learned, Looking Forward, Looking Back: April 2026

I know that April is not quite over yet, but I will soon be on a plane, on a ship and with family, and so I thought I would post early this month, as I will be otherwise occupied once the month is actually over.  

Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix! 

Where was I? Thailand

What country related books or documentaries did I watch? 

Read: The Glass Kingdom by Lawrence Osborne. A book set in Bangkok about an American woman who steals from her boss and escapes to an expat apartment in Bangkok. She makes some friends and meets some locals but also finds some trouble along the way. I just thought it was okay. 

Watched: Mysteries of the Mekong (shown on Apple TV, YouTube TV or Paramount) -- A nature documentary about the Mekong Delta. I personally like nature shows so I enjoyed it! 

Did I complete any other items on this year's looking forward list? 

✅New food <-- Malatang soup at Xiong Lao Han Malatang

✅ Book about country

✅ Documentary about country

✅ Fun times with the girls! 

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1. What is the name of last month's chapter? 

January: Devouring the Sweet Potato

February: Back in the Groove

March: Serenity Before the Storm

April: Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

2. What did I learn last month? 

I learned that elephants eat for about 16 hours per day. Then also only digest about 40% of what they eat, which means they poop roughly every 1.5 hours, which ends up being a total of about 200 pounds of dung per day. 

3. What was the weather like? 

It was hot. I would estimate that the lows in the evening were around 29 C / 84 F and the highs were around 39 C / 100 F, with humidity of about 50% plus. The silver lining is that it only rained a couple of times. The downside is that I only went out for real exercise a couple of times per week (I did walk to places still, but did not do dedicated runs very often). 

4. What event last month was my favorite?

Having the girls visit! We had a lot of fun wandering around, eating, going to the beach, feeding elephants and more. It was really fun to see things through their eyes, and we gave them some cash so they could interact with the vendors and locals when and where they wanted, and seeing what they decided to do and how they handled new situations was interesting! 

5. What was the best thing read, listened to or watched last month? My reading has been absolute crap. Between having the girls here, feeling lethargic due to the weather and spending a lot of time planning the next several months, I have not done much reading. 

Book: The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion: Vol 1. It was short and sweet and about as much as I can concentrate on at the moment. 

Movie/Show: The new season of Top Chef, which is set in the Carolinas. 

Podcast: This episode of Acquired about Costco. (If you enjoy this, you may also like this one about TJs)

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

When the girls were here, we set up some tours for their enjoyment. Tour #1 was to an elephant sanctuary, where it was hot and there were flies. L was so bothered by the bugs, and kept asking if we brought bug spray (we didn't) and spent most of the time there scratching (PS they were not biting!) and trying to brush flies off. Tour #2 was a old train ride, a train market and a floating market. L slept through the train ride, and ate something that looked like a nut in the train market (she is deathly allergic). I am pretty sure that instead of remembering the tour events, she will remember bugs, heat and nearly dying. Kids! Side note: we had a great time staying cool by playing cards in the AC cooled apartment, so I am sure there are other memories to be had! 

7. What am I looking forward to this month?

Alaska cruise, seeing family, and starting a new cycling adventure! 

Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.

APRIL:

1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?

2. What did you learn last month?

3. What was the weather like where you are?

4. What event last month was your favorite?

5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

MAY: 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

Bonus question! If you have littles in your life, what thing have you done that they have totally missed the point of (in your mind) or didn't seem to care about?