The Month Of Seattle: April 2025 Recap

2025 is 1/3 over and time is dumb 🙂 . The month absolutely flew by for reasons I’ll explain below, but in general it was nice to be back Stateside after spending the first few months of the year on the other side of the world. It was also lovely to land when spring had sprung in one of my favorite cities in the world. Let’s see what I got up to in April!

I Moved To Seattle, WA

Why is everything a saga with me 🙂 ? So the original plan for this month was that I would visit a friend in Seattle after Japan. However later, that same friend asked if I wanted to house sit for them at around the same time.

So I would visit them, get an Airbnb in Seattle and then go to their place to house sit. I built plans around that and then for reasons my friend couldn’t control, that plan had to be scrapped.

Luckily I knew this a few months before we arrived so I was able to find accommodations in Seattle, but it was a challenge and a bit expensive. That’s on me for not making a backup plan for the high season in a major city.

I was able to see that friend several times, which was the goal for this visit that I was very excited to do. I was also happy to see that when we arrived, the Cherry Blossoms in Seattle were still in bloom!

So that was an easy transition from the gorgeous Cherry Blossoms in Japan 😉 . Separately, it was also great to be back ‘home’ in Seattle. I just still love this beautiful city so much. However, my Seattle visit was way more hectic and schedule-packed than I anticipated because:

I Got My Annual Physical

I had a check up and also was able to get a pap smear from my GP, which I didn’t know was an option until 2020. The more you know! I also got bloodwork done, which was an interesting experience for several reasons, one of which was money.

My doctor told me he didn’t know if my blood work would be covered by insurance and I said “that’s fine – I can pay for it.” Literally who I am right now 😉 . Young Purple would never.

• I Joined The Health Insurance Marketplace

Anyway, the other reason it was interesting was because they put a hot pack on my hand before drawing blood (my preferred draw location). I’ve never experienced that before, but apparently this helps a lot with blood draws. I’m learning all kinds of things!

They also gave me a tip since I’m basically a vampire, that I should try to keep my hands warm in my pockets or by sitting on my hands before the blood draw. I’m also curious if exercise helps because during my last blood draw, I had walked an hour (mostly uphill) to get there and it was an easy time.

I also talked to my doc about my knee/hip pain that started after I overdid it with running in my mid-30s body, and he gave me a referral to a physical therapist. However, I got a message a few hours later saying that my referral had been rejected – lovely 🙂 .

It turns out that I needed to sign into my insurance portal and search for their approved PTs. Once I did that, I messaged my doctor’s office back on their portal and they were able to get me in. I love that all of this can happen through online writing instead of calling people 🙂 . So I headed to PT!

I Went To Physical Therapy

…twice a week! I ended up having 8 PT appointments before I left with an amazing Physical Therapist. Sweet!

And I was once again grateful that I’m retired because I called call the PT office and said “I’m available whenever” to get me in as soon as possible by being on their waitlist and it worked out! Originally I would have only been able to have 1-2 appointments without that waitlist, but with my flexibility I was there twice a week.

This PT also has a web portal with all of the exercises I’ve been learning including videos and instructions. I love it. By reading things in the PT office, I also learned that some PT locations do free evaluations in the community! That never occurred to me for some reason and it’s great to know for when I’m in another state and wouldn’t be able to get into PT or see my doc in person to get that referral.

Something else I was impressed by during this medical saga was that after a few appointments, my PT suggested that I get an x-ray because my body wasn’t responding the way she thought it should. I had no idea how to do that so I messaged my doc in their office’s web portal and he got back to me in an hour with a referral and I was able to go the next morning. Nice!

I Tried To Get Shots

And finally, I tried to get all of my needed shots while in my state of residence to…mixed results 🙂 . I tried to get: (1) a COVID Booster, (2) a Flu Shot, and (3) Another shot – don’t worry about it 😉 .

I booked all of the shots at a local Walgreens and walked there only for the pharmacist to say “Oh – we cancelled your appointment. Didn’t you see the email?” I then checked and they had sent me a cancellation email 10 minutes before I was supposed to be there, aka while I was in transit so no, I did not see it.

That’s when I learned that apparently, Walgreens accepts vaccine appointments even for vaccines they don’t have. So in the future, I think I’ll just be a “walk in” to see if they have the shots I need instead of going through their online portal. Work around acquired!

I Paid Quarterly Estimated Taxes

This is the first time my accidental income pushed me into the “possibly owing $1K in taxes” bracket that requires me to pay estimated quarterly taxes. I’m a victim of my own success 😉 .

• How I Made $5,344 While Retired In 2024

I was able to pay these online on the IRS website. However, like everything involving me it was a bit of a saga 😉 .

I tried to pay online one night and I got a pop up that the website was down for maintenance, but then it let me keep going through the payment steps. Weird.

However, when pressed “Pay” I got a white screen. So I wasn’t sure if the payment went through and I tried again and got the same white screen. So then I was wondering if I just paid twice. Lovely 🙂 .

However, I didn’t get a confirmation email or anything which I thought I was supposed to. So I tried to be patient 😉 and waited a day and then tried to pay for a third time and it went through! I even got a confirmation page and a confirmation email. Phew!

So I paid my estimated quarterly taxes. And all this should mean I don’t owe anything at the end of the year so that’s cool!

I Celebrated 4.5 Years Of Retirement!

On a less, ‘adulting’ note, basically this:

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I Tried TripIt Pro

I’m debating writing an entire post about this so let me know if that’s of interest. I tried the 30 day free trial of TripIt Pro to determine if it’s worth $49/year to me. I tested it during my busy travel days after coming back to the US from Japan and I don’t think it’s worth the money personally.

• TripIt: The Best Travel App (To Replace TripCase)

I Played Video Games

I’m back at it again! Sims: Businesses and Hobbies continues to entrance me. I started my own candy shop and worked in a tattoo parlor and I think next up is a bookstore. Ah – living the entrepreneur dreams that I have no interest in trying in real life 😉 .

Meanwhile, my Partner has been doing a “Video Game Book Club” with the couple we went to Japan with, and they’re playing Blue Prince (which I thought was called Blueprints for the longest time). They are all currently obsessed. Unfortunately I don’t like puzzles and that seems to be the whole game so I’ve had to watch from the sidelines 🙂 , but it looks pretty cool . 

I Hung Out With People

This month involved some of my usual virtual meetups, such as that weekly call with my Mom and Weekly Movie Nights where we watched the below. If you’re curious about my ratings of movies, I have a Letterboxd account here.

1. Twister (1996)
2. Twisters (2024)
3. Sonic The Hedgehog 3
4. Mother’s Instinct
5. G20
6. Nordsjøen (The Burning Sea)
7. Pacific Rim

I also got my old Seattle crew back together! It was awesome seeing everyone again. We went to a restaurant where we used to meet monthly 5 years ago when we lived in Seattle, and I was shocked to hear during this visit that the chef remembered us from our time as regulars. That’s so sweet!

I got to see another friend who lives in Seattle that I originally hung out with in NYC and we went to Seattle Restaurant Week, a Trivia Night at a local bar and had a Bad Movie Night.

I was also invited to a Bachelorette Party for a Seattle friend who already had her wedding, but this party was postponed due to illness unfortunately. However, the delay meant I was now able to attend so that was nice for them to include me.

However, listing out all of the things I’ve been doing socially in addition to all of my appointments is making me realize that I did a lot this week and my need to hibernate is completely acceptable 🙂 .

I Read 20 Books

Here were my favorite reads this month:

1. Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
2. Royal Crush by E.M. Lindsey
3. I’m Your Guy by Sarina Bowen

I had a lovely time reading this month and was excited to finally be able to relax a little and at times read a book a day. It’s very relaxing 🙂 . To see the other books I read this month and my ratings of them, I have a Goodreads account here.

I Wrote 5 Posts

In case you missed it, this month I published the below posts:

1. The Month Of Sakura: March 2025 Recap
2. Lessons Learned After 4 Years Of Living In Airbnbs
3. “Is It Worth It?” Green Class Tickets On The Shinkansen Bullet Train
4. Review: Singapore Air Economy Class – Tokyo, Japan to Singapore for $37
5. Review: Singapore Air Economy Class – Singapore to Auckland, New Zealand for $37

In addition to all of that writing, a media outlet contacted me about an interview, but once I explained I’m anon, they ghosted me like most media interviews and it didn’t happen. Typical anon life stuff 🙂 .

However, I was invited to speak to an investing group and about 85 people attended live to hear me speak so that was cool. I was also asked to write a case study for an upcoming book. I’m going to try and make time in my busy schedule 😉 .

In Seattle I was also able to meet up with 3 readers for coffee and hang out with Angela from Women’s Personal Finance, Seonwoo and Felicity from Fetching Financial Freedom. It was nice to get the Seattle blogger gang back together.

Physical

Sleep

I slept pretty well this month! Looking out at the Space Needle and Seattle skyline is always calming and I guess reminds me of the last ‘home’ I had. It’s also just pretty 😉 . On the rare occasion I had trouble getting to sleep, I took a nap the next day after lying in the sun tuckered me out. Life’s good.

Food

The Seattle food scene is as always delicious. I went to lots of restaurants to enjoy old favorites and I also found new ones. I ate keto for 50% of the month and took 15 days off keto. It’ll be time to hunker down and actually cook more next month 😉 .

Exercise

At the request of PT, I put a pause on my running until I get my pain under control to make sure I’m not causing more damage. It seemed to get worse after I walked all over Japan for hours every day for two weeks.

Our last Airbnb bed was also firmer than I’m used to, which seemed to make my lower back also start hurting – how wonderful 🙂 . However, when went to Seattle and had a bed that’s more my preferred softness, I started feeling better immediately, which was nice.

I was still walking all over Seattle (including its wild hills) and doing yoga, but then I added the exercises my PT gave me. This meant I was doing 30-90 minutes of PT a day, which was a lot, but I was all in hoping to improve as much as I could before we left.

I’m also starting to suspect that my travel backpack and tote, the latter of which I usually carry on my right side, might be making this injury worse. I guess it’s time to get a rolly bag given my advanced age 😉 .

Mental

Learning

So it’s time for my favorite segment: Fun Facts Nobody Asked For! Here’s what I learned and explored this month:

Astronomy

I forgot about the relatively low light pollution in Seattle compared to other major cities. I could see the stars twinkling over the Space Needle from our Airbnb at night, which was awesome. I also stayed up to watch the Lyrid Meteor Shower and it looked like we would have great conditions but when I checked, it was completely cloudy. Oh well. I’ll catch the next one.

Birds

Our Airbnb in Seattle had a big backyard that we loved to relax in where I saw a lot of birds and animals (we had a bunny buddy that liked to visit!). Here are the birds I saw:

Stellar’s Jay, California Scrub-Jay, Song Sparrow, American Crow, American Robin, House Finch, Purple Finch, Bewick’s Wren, Black-Capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow, Golden-Crowned Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, White-Throated Sparrow, Yellow-Wrumped Warbler, Killdeer, American Goldfinch, Dark-Eyed Junco, European Drawing, Bald Eagle, Anna’s Hummingbird, Spotted Towhee, Bushtit, Cooper’s Hawk, Redwing Blackbird, Pine Siskin, Downy Woodpecker, Osprey

I also learned that the name for a group of ravens is called a conspiracy, a treachery, a rave or an unkindness. That’s metal 🙂 .

Creativity

I’ve been cranking this month! Blog posts keep accidentally being really long, which obviously take more time to write, but apparently I have a lot to say. I loved sitting outside in the sunshine on our porch looking out at the Space Needle and typing like a wild woman. I’m a little ahead on blog posts now and (as always) way behind on posting my recos on Insta, but I’ll catch up eventually 😉 .

Emotional

My emotions this month were really good overall. I made a point to sit in the sunshine for at least an hour a day. And as always, sunshine does wonders for my mood 🙂 .

The almost perfect weather in Seattle over the month we were there didn’t hurt. All but a few days were 65 and sunny with Seattle’s legendary snow capped mountains, flowers and water in every direction.

Money

Money continues to be a non-issue. I’ve come so far 😉 . It’s nice that when new expenses pop up I can just pay them instead of being worried about how I would pay them or thinking that I’m somehow taking from or delaying my future retirement.

• From Frugal To Fuck It: The Evolution Of My Thoughts On Spending Money

Market gyrations also continue to not have me bat an eye. Exposure therapy wins again. And overall, here’s where my money netted out at the end of the month – I’m still way up since retirement 😉 :

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Conclusion

And that’s everything I got up to in April. It was a wild month that quickly became way more busy than I anticipated but as always, I was grateful to be retired and have a completely flexible schedule so I could take advantage of being in the state that my ACA health insurance is based in. I’m feeling a lot better now physically than I was at the beginning of the month after getting help from medical professionals and I’m ready to take on May!

This month I’m heading back to NY State to say hi to my Partner’s family before I head to South America to visit Peru for the first time and climb to Machu Picchu. Until next time!

If you’re interested in the other weekly and monthly retirement updates I’ve written, they’re all here:

Weekly (2020)

1. Early Retirement Week 1: The Freak Out
2. Early Retirement Week 2: The Vacation
3. Early Retirement Week 3: The Whiplash
4. Early Retirement Week 4: The Heartbeat
5. Early Retirement Week 5: The Election
6. Early Retirement Week 6: The Trophy
7. Early Retirement Week 7: The Train
8. Early Retirement Week 8: The Challenge
9. Early Retirement Week 9: The Question
10. Early Retirement Week 10: The Game
11. Early Retirement Week 11: The Recharge
12. Early Retirement Week 12: The Holiday

Monthly (2021)

1. The Month Of Rest: Early Retirement Month 4 (January 2021)
2. The Month Of Birds: Early Retirement Month 5 (February 2021)
3. The Month of Change: Early Retirement Month 6 (March 2021)
4. The Month of Atlanta: Early Retirement Month 7 (April 2021)
5. The Month of Portland, Maine: Early Retirement Month 8 (May 2021)
6. The Month Of New Hampshire: Early Retirement Month 9 (June 2021)
7. The Month Of The Northeast: Early Retirement Month 10 (July 2021)
8. The Month Of New York State: Early Retirement Month 11 (August 2021)
9. The Month Of City Hopping: Early Retirement Month 12 (September 2021)
10. The Month Of The Southwest USA: October 2021 Recap
11. The Month Of Santa Fe: November 2021 Recap
12. The Month Of Family: December 2021 Recap

Monthly (2022)

1. The Month Of Freezing My Balls Off: January 2022 Recap
2. The Month Of Thailand: February 2022 Recap
3. The Month Of Spring(?): March 2022 Recap
4. The Month Of México: April 2022 Recap
5. The Month of Mérida: May 2022 Recap
6. The Month of Seattle: June 2022 Recap
7. The Month of Washington State: July 2022 Recap
8. The Month Of New Hampshire: August 2022 Recap
9. The Month Of Maine: September 2022 Recap
10. The Month Of Acadia: October 2022 Recap
11. The Month Of Argentina: November 2022 Recap
12. The Month Of Holiday Cheer: December 2022 Recap

Monthly (2023)

1. The Month Of Snow: January 2023
2. The Month Of New Hampshire: February 2023
3. The Month Of Sea: March 2023
4. The Month Of California: April 2023
5. The Month Of Seattle: May 2023
6. The Month Of Chicago: June 2023
7. The Month Of Montréal: July 2023
8. The Month Of Troy, NY: August 2023
9. The Month Of Australia: September 2023
10. The Month Of New Zealand: October 2023
11. The Month Of Puerto Vallarta: November 2023
12. The Month Of Warmth: December 2023

Monthly (2024)

1. The Month Of Family: January 2024 Recap
2. The Month Of Costa Rica: February 2024 Recap
3. The Month Of San José: March 2024 Recap
4. The Month Of The Solar Eclipse: April 2024 Recap
5. The Month Of Arizona: May 2024 Recap
6. The Month Of Upstate NY: June 2024 Recap
7. The Month Of Montréal: July 2024 Recap
8. The Month Of Canada: August 2024 Recap
9. The Month Of Iceland: September 2024 Recap
10. The Month Of Switzerland & Italy: October 2024 Recap
11. The Month Of Amsterdam: November 2024 Recap
12. The Month Of Holiday Cheer: December 2024 Recap

Monthly (2025)

1. The Month Of Yuki Matsuri: January 2025 Recap
2. The Month Of Auckland: February 2025 Recap
3. The Month Of Sakura: March 2025 Recap

What’s a fun fact you learned this month?