What I’m Into: June 2014

General Highlights:

We had the second-rainiest June on record, which led to a lot of rainbows! I celebrated 25 years of living in Memphis. My BFF Alanna and I did a fun photo shoot around town. Everything else is covered below!

Read and Reading:

I read mostly fiction this month, including the first Veronica Mars novel. It picks up not long after the movie left off and is a perfect screen-to-page translation. More Logan in the next one, please!

I’m working on N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope, which is excellent, but really dense. So it’s taking a while.

TV/Movies:

The Fault In Our Stars was perfect. If you want to see it and do something afterward, I advise making your plans before the movie. Caroline and I were so emotionally bewildered, we couldn’t decide where to eat and ended up going home. LOL.

Transformers: Age of Extinction was kind of a mess. The dinobots don’t even appear until past the two-hour mark. Cool effects as usual, though!

On TV, So You Think You Can Dance is back. Woo!

Music:

I attended part of the Moon River Music Festival at the Levitt Shell, hosted by Drew and Ellie Holcomb. I went to hear my friend Myla play. It was very hot, so we only hung around for a little while, just long enough to absorb the fest atmosphere! We also went back to the Shell the following week to see Katie Herzig.

Theater:

My company rented out a showing of The Music Man at Theatre Memphis. Despite my love of musicals, I’d never seen it! I was dismayed to learn that the title character was a con artist, not a kindly drum major. But the tunes are still catchy.

Cooking/Eating:

I ordered some Popsicle molds! Despite feeling excited about them and pinning tons of Popsicle recipes, I’ve only made one batch so far. I need some volunteers to help me eat my experiments.

I also made watermelon agua fresca on a bad day when I needed a special treat. It was delicious.

Making:

I had the creative itch this month, so I made a necklace, a flute bag, and a screened tee. I also have materials for a new Kindle case and glasses holder, and I’m going to attempt another skirt.

Home:

I planted my garden on May 31st. The excessive rain killed a few of my plants, but most are hanging in there. Later my dad put in stakes for my tomatoes. We ended up using extra PVC pipe from my shed, which isn’t aesthetically pleasing, but should hold up well!

Around Town:

I volunteered at WKNO (our PBS affiliate) again, this time for TV pledge. The shift manager advised me that it’s very different from radio pledge, and I saw what she meant immediately. Public radio listeners are generally pretty with-it; public TV viewers often don’t understand the gift packages even after several explanations. Still, it was fun and I plan to keep volunteering there.

My friends Hillary and David Butler had an art show last weekend, also at WKNO. They asked me to take photos for the event, so I got to feel all official in addition to enjoying their fantastic work.

Things I Love (Fitness Edition):

My office campus has a fitness room that I use twice a week. They remodeled this month and brought in new high-tech machines (with TVs that actually work)! It’s annoying to log in to each machine, but they track all your stats over time, which is nice. I especially love the new AMT machine, which feels like walking on the moon but burns tons of calories. Also, after many years of exercising on back-to-back days, I’m now spacing out my workouts and feeling so much better. What was I thinking??

I registered for the Elvis Presley 5K, which will be held on my birthday morning (August 16). My goal is to run the whole thing without stopping, something I’ve never done before! So far I’m up to two miles on an indoor treadmill, but outdoor “training” is a struggle.

Also, my yoga teacher started a hula hooping class this month. I thought it might be one of those things that you either can or can’t do, and I never could as a kid. But by the end of the class, I could hoop in both directions and turn in a circle! I’m excited to practice more.

Travel:

I went to Evansville to visit my brother. It was fun, but I’m getting bummed that I haven’t been on a real adventure in a long time. I have a pending home-repair situation that might be resolved next month, and if all goes well, maybe I can start making some trip plans!

Pinterest Quote of the Month:

On The Blog:

I talked about blessings, feeling hopeful, and vulnerability. You know, lighthearted topics!!

Posts I Loved:

Eileen at The Scenic Route: That Time I Felt Like a Stray Puppy

I know I over-link to Shauna Niequist, but this made me love her even more: You Are Significant With or Without a Significant Other

My friend Becca is in the midst of an interesting series on Growing Up Footloose.

Paul Heggie, blogging through an inspiring cross-country road trip: Plan To Break Your Plans

Kelsey Munger: That Chipper, Hurtful Christian “But”

Kari at Through A Glass Darkly: In Defense of Young Adults and Their Literature

LOL of the month: Local Man Ostracized for Ordering Non-Local Beer