April 2026 Life Updates
- Ash
- 1 minute ago
- 9 min read
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Welcome back to another monthly life updates post. What have Ashy, Benji, and Luke been up to this month?
I can't believe it's still so warm in Melbourne for the end of April (24+ C days).
Previous 2026 Life Updates:
January 2026 Life Updates (8 min read)
February 2026 Life Updates (8 min read)
March 2026 Life Updates (8 min read)
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April 2026 Life Updates
On the 1st of April, we were meant to have a power outage for the whole day, so Luke organised the day off, and we got Luke's parents to have Benji for the day. As soon as we had left, we got a text saying that the power outage had been cancelled LOL. That's the third time it's been cancelled. Anyway, we had a lovely day at Healesville Sanctuary and saw so many cool birds! I saw Gang Gang Cockatoos for the first time, and they were so cool - the pair we met were married and were called Mr and Mrs Tui (or it could have been Toohey). And on the drive back, I even spotted some in the wild - how cool! So we had a great day, but we don't know what's happening with this power outage. I think they wanted to do some work on our street, but we haven't had any updates (it was supposed to go from 7:30 to 3:30, so we wouldn't have been able to do much work).
It was daylight savings! Autumn here in Melbourne, and yes, the best way I remember which way to turn the clocks is "Spring forward, Fall back".
Pinterest has been really weird lately. When you save a pin from a website that isn't yours, it goes to your created pins, and I reached out to them, and they said that's what they're doing now. It's really annoying because everything isn't in place how I like it LOL.
We had Easter Weekend, Luke did his normal church things, and we had dinner with Luke's family on Easter Saturday. My routine was all messed up because usually we have lunch on Sunday. So on Sunday, we were a bit lost, but we ended up going for brunch/lunch at a place called 28 Mason in Newport - we were going to go to the lakes but realised at the last minute it wasn't dog friendly in all the parts, so Benji went for a swim at Altona Beach instead. Also, while we were at the beach, I had my walking activity on my watch and sat down on the beach, then my watch started beeping and saying "your location is being tracked", so I worried for a few minutes, then realised it thought I had fallen over or drowned, so I quickly turned it off - I did not need an ambulance, haha.
Speaking of odd things, the weirdest thing happened to me. I was going through my phone calendar to plan out a particular week, and I noticed that on the 22nd of April, there was an event called "Train to Lyttleton" at 7 - 8 AM. I was like, huh? There is NO train to Lyttleton, and I don't live in Christchurch anymore. I thought maybe someone had hacked me or that a social media app had put the event in, but nope, I checked, and it was my email. WTF? I have no recollection of adding this weird event, but Occam's Razor suggests I most likely did it in my sleep. However, when I do stuff in my sleep on my phone, it's usually in gibberish, and everything was spelled right - it even had the Māori word for Christchurch spelled right (Ōtautahi). Did an alternate reality version of me do this? It's a good concept for a book; please don't steal it. But that's as far as I've got.
I'm still struggling a lot with my POTS physio. Only 2 more appointments to go. She told me that my slipped disc in my back was caused by my anxiety (which it isn't - I know anxiety can worsen inflammation, but I don't feel anxious about my back). However, I am picking and choosing the advice she is giving me. Some of it is too much like "buy X this week, then Y next week", and it's too expensive to live like that. I also don't think I have an ED because my relationship with food is quite healthy. I don't restrict, I don't binge, but she told me "You're overweight, you must binge-eat" - which is such a strange thing to say to someone. EDs are commorbodities with dysautonomia, but I don't have one! GRR. Anyway. The strength training is definitely making me stronger, and I am walking a lot more. I was even able to pick up Benji off the ground without struggling! I feel a bit guilty that I haven't followed her advice to a T, and I've added a lot of my own exercises into the programme she's given me, but it's working for me. Like the strength training she gave me didn't have any core exercises, so I've added my own because a strong core can act as a second heart. I think feeling guilty and feeling like I need to confess this is part of my OCD. Side note - I've also been doing breathing exercises on my own terms, mindfulness on my own terms, and listening to more soft nervous system reset frequencies - I am determined to get my strength back. The tachycardia and excessive sweating are still the most horrible symptoms, and I have had more adrenaline dumps lately, but my fatigue isn't as bad, and I've got more energy than I used to. I still struggle walking upstairs, but we are making progress, and that's the main thing. So as much as she's so weird, some of it is helping (some of her advice, some of my own research and knowing my own body and some of my psychologist changing the advice to suit my particular needs). Oh, and she also told me to get up every 30 minutes when working, which doesn't help my productivity, so my psychologist suggested 90 instead if I am in a flow state.
Speaking of OCD, my psychologist finally confirmed I have it, so we're working on ERP slowly on top of my CBT and EMDR. ERP stands for exposure and response prevention. Intrusive thoughts are not fun! I am going through it mentally right now. I'm trying my best. I do like the Winston Churchill quote, "When you're going through hell, keep going". It's a good quote, but Churchill was racist AF, and I don't like that. I guess I can separate the art from the artist sometimes.
We actually took Benji to the dog park in Strathmore to see how his leg would go, and so far, so good. Usually, we go to a different one in Glenroy, but I thought a flat one to start would be better. He did well, and it's still just stiffness in his leg, so we're not going every week. When we look after Frankie, we're going to take them for some adventures.
Places we had brunch at this month were Saint Lloyd, 28 Mason, and Francis Winifred, and I finally used my food voucher that Luke's auntie gave me for my 30th last year (yay free food haha). I haven't made many posts over on Eats with Ash, so maybe I could do a food diary of April or something like that. It just depends on how much I get done today because I am a little bit behind.
We did some walks at the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail, Westbreen Creek, and Brimbank Park - and we had lunch at the cafe there. Very nice. Oh, and we also walked around the Royal Botanic Gardens in the city one day (we drove in and took Benji), and we saw a turtle and watched the sunset!
We noticed that there seems to be a new gardener for our block of townhouses, but he doesn't do anyone's lawns as the last guy did and just stares at us. I miss the old one because he would do our lawns, and that was nice! I didn't expect it, it just happened, but no one has told us where he's gone, and I think that would just be common courtesy, especially as our neighbours' lawns are so high and there are lots of spiders around!
Step Counter Updates: As you guys know, one of my goals for 2026 was to walk at least 5 - 10K steps per day, so here's my April progress! We're getting there. The days with fewer steps are the ones where I've most likely done my strength training. The ones with the astriks I will change once the month is over (fingers crossed I remember).
STEPS | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRI-YAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
WEEK 1 | 6897 | 5079 | 6048 | 1117 | 5459 | ||
WEEK 2 | 5862 | 5867 | 5777 | 2571 | 7673 | 2767 | 5868 |
WEEK 3 | 5341 | 5052 | 5077 | 5873 | 7865 | 4134 | 6804 |
WEEK 4 | 6021 | 5858 | 5931 | 5954 | 6510 | 6232 | 5959 |
WEEK 5 | 11,805 | 7520 | 5021*** | ** |
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The YouTube videos I have put out this month are as follows: Healesville Sanctuary Vlog // Mini Weekend Vlog // I am still working on where I want to go with my channel (i.e., vlogs or sociology).
The Freaky Friday Files I have put out are as follows: Paper Towns // Ghost Towns // Australian Lost Media //
TV Shows that Luke and I have been watching are: MasterChef AU 2026, The X-Files (gonna take us so long to get through), SNL (and we're trying to watch the clips on YT for the UK version), Taskmaster UK, The Matter of Facts with Hamish Macdonald, The Cheap Seats, I think you should leave (a great Tim Robinson sketch show that I loved during lockdown), The Horne Section, Bad Company (first ep was so funny), and we finished Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. We also watched a few comedy stand-up specials such as Funny Garden - Aaron Chen, The Looking Glass - Celia Pacquola, and one from Wil Anderson (soz, I forgot the name). Yes, we have been watching a lot lately! I also want to say that my POTS physio thought it was weird that I watched so much comedy (what's wrong with wanting to watch funny stuff?)
TV Shows that I have been enjoying are: still Parks and Rec and the reboot of Scrubs. I also need to go and watch the newest season of Daredevil.
Books I have read this month are as follows: 1. Without Fail by Lee Child (#6 Jack Reacher series) 2. Life Admin Hacks by Mia Northrop & Dinah Rowe-Roberts 3. The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die by John B. Izzo 4. The Top Insults: How to Win Any Argument...While Laughing by Full Sea Books 5. What If No One Is Coming to Save You? By Corey Gladwell You can check out my March and April 2026 Book Reviews "here". I collated the past two months because in March, I was VERY slack with my reading time.
I got some new compression gear, some more socks and shorts + leggings. I think they help, but I can't wear them every day because they're tight, haha.
We went to dinner at Chiba for Luke's brother's birthday. I had a massive IBS attack before we went and struggled. I don't know why. I don't think I ate anything unusual, and I wasn't feeling anxious (haha, fml). I took some GastroStop, and it kicked in about halfway through the dinner.
On Monday, Luke's parents headed off to Europe, and I believe they're currently in Amsterdam. We'll be taking Frankie on Thursdays and Fridays and some weekends to help Luke's brother out. I think they get back just before Luke's 30th in June.
Speaking of birthdays, a few of my friends have April birthdays, so lots of Taurus energy around! One is in NZ, and one is currently travelling in India.
I was browsing AirBnBs in Vancouver and looking at ones with washing machines, and I was very confused because they have odd-looking washing machines, but my pen pal explained to me that they are just old-style washer-dryer combos where they're stacked on each other. I have never seen that before.
Luke had his workshop with Dr Karl! I am very jealous.
I finally did my iron and B12 blood test that I had been putting off, and booked a doctor's appointment, although my usual doctor doesn't have any appointments, so I had to go with someone else. Fingers crossed it goes okay - I've got an appointment on Saturday morning. I don't know if my usual GP has left, gone on maternity leave, or is just on leave. Anxiety about seeing a new GP is always annoying.
We had lunch at BrewDog one day because they had a promotion where if your dog's name is Benji, they get a free dog beer! They change the names each week; you just have to prove your dog's name.
Luke went to a Bad Dreems concert.
Things I am looking forward to in May:
Looking after Frankie and Benji - tomorrow they're having a sleepover.
My dentist check-up being over (ugh, dentists suck, and I don't want any more issues).
One of my kiwi friends is here to see his long-distance partner, who lives in Melbourne, so hopefully we get to catch up with them.
I think I've got a haircut sometime, and that always makes me feel good.
Getting through another physio appointment, and then I only have one left in June, + I see the specialist doctor in December.
Hopefully, continuing to build my strength, I just ordered a new set of 2kg dumbbells to progress to my next exercise plan. I've also learned that you can do some strength training while walking on the walking pad - very good!
Also, Luke and I are doing the container deposit scheme (where you take cans that are worth 5-10cents) to help raise funds for medical bills + our Vancouver trip, so if you're in Melbourne and you have any that you're just going to recycle, we'd love it if you sent them our way!
Thank you for reading!
Much love,
Ash xx
PS: If you like my dog mum cap, I found a couple similar ones on Amazon "here" and "here". The one with the corgi embroidered on it is sooooooo cuuuuuuuute!!!
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