What I’m Into: July 2018

Main Events:

The 4th of July week brought our semiannual family gathering (minus my BIL Lance). This visit was extra special because Kevin and Stefanie moved out west soon after, and we don’t know when we’ll see them again. We went to the Bartlett fireworks per tradition – best display yet! On the evening of the actual 4th, Taylor and I watched the downtown fireworks from the top of a parking garage, which I guess is our tradition now. They were good, but the sunset was a better show.

We also had a fun double date to Railgarten with Kevin and Stef. :)

Taylor finally moved into his new house near me last weekend! The renovations took double the expected time, but now the worst is past and the house looks beautiful. Although I’m still living in my own place right now, I got to be very involved in this process and he’s encouraged me to feel some ownership too. Secondhand downtown living was fun, but I’m happy and excited for this new chapter!

Goodbye, downtown view

 

Reading:

My best and worst reads for July both surprised me. Claudia Gray’s Leia: Princess of Alderaan was relevant and a joy to read, bringing new nuance to young Leia and other Star Wars characters. Meanwhile, I was so sure I’d love the epistolary Hey Ladies!, I bought it at full price. Most of the characters turned out to be so unbearable, I only finished it out of perverse curiosity. I rarely dislike a book enough to say so. Maybe I’m just old.

I also finally read The Geography of Genius (sequel to one of my faves, The Geography of Bliss); Lois Lowry’s short memoir, Looking Back; and Friendkeeping, which I thoroughly enjoyed because I’m a little obsessed with Jancee Dunn’s and Julie Klam’s bromance. (Why is there still no female equivalent to bromance?)

 

Listening:

Speaking of feeling old… my non-radio music source in my car is a trusty 8GB iPod nano from the mid-aughts. Since I maxed it out long ago, loading new music onto it is an arduous task, but results in a lot of excitement when I do get new songs. My recent update included “I’d Rather Be Me” from the new Mean Girls musical, which I initially listened to several times in a row. I also loaded up on Courtney Barnett songs. Although their styles are very different, the unflinching, yet somehow optimistic, undertone of her lyrics reminds me of Sia. I think I need recommendations for more Australian artists!

As always, you can find my 2018 playlist in process on Spotify.

 

Watching:

The Bold Type is my new favorite show to watch on the elliptical. I’m only a couple of episodes in because the wifi at my gym has gotten spotty, but so far it lives up to the hype! It is racy, but if you were okay with Sex and the City, you’ll be okay with this. Another much-hyped July watch was Hannah Gadsby’s standup special Nanette. Gadsby said in Elle, “I don’t think of Nanette as being a comedy show – I see it as a sledgehammer.” I can’t think of a better description than that. It is powerful.

 

Around Town:

This month’s Supper Club was in a fancy suite at the Redbirds on a fireworks night. The fireworks there are impressive, but at the finale there were so many at once I actually got scared – and I wasn’t the only one!! The following week Wes, Kelsey, and I met up for Christmas in July at the Flying Saucer. I love that we all had tacky Christmas sweaters readily available in the middle of summer.

 

At Home:

Thanks to Stefanie’s eagle eye, I found a fiddle-leaf fig tree on deep clearance at Kroger, and got a basket to put it in. So far so good. Other than that, my domestic energy was totally focused on Taylor’s new house this month. We spent most of the weekends working on landscaping and picking up materials for the contractors. The front and back yards still have a long way to go, but we reached a good baseline! My weed- and vine-pulling artistry has grown by leaps and bounds. I’ve been parading around the yard with my conquests every time I get a big taproot out of the ground intact.

 

Eating:

This corn, walnut, and feta salad is one of my favorite summer dinners – if you’re in a hurry, you can use a bag of frozen corn and throw it together in five minutes. I also continue to consume endless faux Moscow mules in my copper mugs. Does anyone have an inside track on budget ginger beer? I tried substituting good ginger ale, and it was NOT THE SAME.

 

Making:

The idea for this 4th of July shirt came to me suddenly, after I decided I probably couldn’t show up at suburban fireworks in a red, white, and blue RESIST t-shirt. I printed a stencil and painted it in about ten minutes (got the plain red tee at Kohl’s), and am very happy with it!

 

Wearing:

While shopping remains frustrating, I did have my most successful Goodwill haul in years, and found some desperately needed cropped cardigans at, of all places, Stein Mart. My mom was there with me, and we held up the exact same cardigan to each other at the exact same time, then laughed hysterically. It was our most TGIF Sitcom Theme Song moment ever.

I had a defining moment this month when I went to Macy’s in search of black pants for work, tried on eight pairs, and hated them all. Instead I bought a girly gray and yellow dress that made me happy as soon as I put it on. I’ve been semi-consciously trying to fit the aesthetic at my new job, even though they knew who I was when they hired me. This experience renewed my commitment to being authentically myself. Even if most of the other ladies in my building live in black pants, I can wear my dresses and fun, colorful, feminine things and still look professional. And if I can’t succeed as myself, I guess I don’t need success that much.

 

Random Happiness:

The Hallmark Christmas movie Christmas at Graceland, starring Kellie Pickler, filmed here all July! One of the sets was in my neighborhood. I’m not a Hallmark Christmas fan, but I’ll watch this one, if only out of respect for the actors who filmed in parkas and knit hats when it was over 90 degrees.

My nieces are visiting this week. My mom and I took them to Overton Square, where they loved the bird mural.

In May I sent in my application to become a notary. This month it was approved and I went to the county clerk’s office to get sworn in! While I realize no actual skill is involved in becoming a notary, I am now officially sworn to protect and defend the Constitution, which makes me feel pretty badass.

My church invited me to be on the rotation to serve Communion, which is my favorite church task, at least the way we do it. It’s very moving for me to reassure a bunch of distinct individuals that Christ gave himself for them, and in the process, be reminded myself. I love being a part of that. Crazy that at any church I’ve attended before this, I wouldn’t have been allowed.

 

Wellness:

As a summer person, this is hard for me to accept, but I think I have a touch of summer SAD. This is a charmed moment in my life and I’m very happy… but I keep getting hit by waves of overwhelm and frustration with myself. I know, that’s a constant for me, but it’s been worse than usual. I feel sluggish, unmotivated, and like everything is harder than it ought to be. Hopefully things will improve in August with Taylor being settled in, birthday month, a vacation, and being more on track with eating and exercising.

 

Your Monthly Rufus:

I put out birdseed for the first time in a while, and sure enough, a squirrel has been eating all the seed and boldly hanging around my patio, often right in Rufus’s face. I’d let him out to get it, but I’m afraid he’d fly right off the balcony in the heat of the chase.

Rufus got microchipped this month. I’d always felt weird about the practice – Alanna correctly observed that it felt “mark-of-the-beasty” – but decided I needed it done for my peace of mind. Taylor and I want Rufus to spend time at the house and on the big front porch with us. His street is quieter than mine and safer for cats to roam around a little. We’ll see how it goes. There are multiple indoor/outdoor cats just on that block, so I’ll be getting the popcorn ready!

 

LOL of the Month (source unknown):

 

Your Moment of Zen:

Good Reads:

♥ Kris Gage: Good Love is “Boring” **multiple praise hands**

♥ Laura Tremaine: We don’t talk enough about anxiety after happiness.

♥ Margaret Felice: Teach us to number our days aright

♥ Mara Wilson in Elle: Allison Mack and Me (I was a huge Smallville fan and am continually transfixed by this story)

♥ Megan Garber in The Atlantic: Two Strangers Met on a Plane—and the Internet Ruined It

♥ Modern Mrs. Darcy: The Enneagram types of your favorite books, characters, and authors

♥ Jamie at To Love and Be Seen: Celebrate the two steps.

♥ Heather Caliri at The Mudroom: Prayer Requests Make Me Anxious

♥ Jody Casella: I didn’t notice her foot was raised