What I’m Into: June 2018

Main Events:

June may be the most perfect month of the year. It’s summer, and you still have summer ahead of you – as soon as I hit July, it feels like it’s slipping through my hands (no thanks to stores who put out back-to-school on July 5). So June is my month of promise.

This June was an eventful one. Right as it was dawning, my longtime boss from my old job, Janell, passed away. I’ve never seen anyone fight cancer with so much tenacity and determination. After years in and out of treatment, she had been hanging on and even going to work, but went downhill quickly and suddenly. The department had a visitation of sorts for her at my old company, and I was thankful to be invited. She managed me in one way or another for 16 years. Even though I didn’t see her every day anymore, it still feels weird to be in a world without Janell in it.

On a much happier note, a small lifelong dream came true this month. My church, which has met in a school for years, moved into a historic church in my own neighborhood. I’ve spent much of my life living a 30-minute drive from church. Now I can walk there, and intend to keep doing so at every opportunity. I didn’t think being in a real church building mattered that much to me – there were many things I liked about us not being encumbered with one – but it does. People have been worshiping there for 90 years, and I can seriously feel it in the walls. This move feels like an outward reflection of our continuing evolution and growth as a church. Personally, it’s been like a sinus cocktail shot for my faith. I feel more energized and engaged and less cynical than I have in years… like God is doing a brand new thing. I’m even reading the Bible on my own again, and it’s actually making me feel surer of where I stand right now.

I am constantly exhausted by what’s going on in our country. I plan to participate in the Families Belong Together march tomorrow, and am looking for manageable volunteer opportunities to help immigrants, register people to vote, etc. I’m also living in the tension of one of the personally happiest periods of my life occurring simultaneously with the most ominous period of history my generation has seen. On the micro level, for the first time, I have everything I need – a stable relationship with a wonderful man, a good job, financial security, security with myself, health and strength, friends and family, true community both geographical and relational. I feel so lucky and have moments of overwhelming thankfulness. Then I turn on any electronic device and remember the suffering happening on the macro level, and the real threat most of us face of losing our freedom and safety. What a time to be alive.

 

Reading:

If you share my perspective on current events, Timothy Snyder’s short book On Tyranny will help you. Snyder, a historian and Holocaust expert, provides 20 concrete things you can do to combat and cope with encroaching fascism. He sugarcoats nothing, yet is somehow encouraging.

On a lighter note, I loved Patience Bloom’s long and winding love story in Romance is My Day Job, appreciated Mara Wilson’s memoir, and underlined much of Hannah Brencher’s latest, Come Matter Here. More about the Enneagram book below.

 

Listening:

I’ve had satellite radio for years, but even with hundreds of channels, I feel like I’m hearing the same ten songs over and over. I decided to discover my birth decade and added the 70s channel and Yacht Rock to my presets. It’s refreshing!

 

Watching:

We went to a late showing of the new Jurassic World. I really liked it – I’m not super particular about my dinosaur movies. For Father’s Day, my family saw Ocean’s 8. At the very end, a guy behind us asked, “Who’s Danny Ocean?” Um… are you in the wrong theater, sir? There are so many good movies out right now. I’m hoping to see more in the next few weeks!

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt keeps getting better and racking up quotable lines. I’m now caught up and am glad we still have one more half-season to come!

 

Around Town:

Operation Broken Silence did a speakeasy theme for their annual Good People Good Beer gala. I had a flapper outfit ready to go, since we had a 20’s party last summer at my old job. Per tradition, my friend Ashley was my date.

Despite swearing off group runs, I went to a St. Jude-sponsored one for Global Running Day. It started and ended at Loflin Yard, where I tried canned wine for the first time. Heads up, the can is the equivalent of 2-3 glasses (the rosé is light though!).

Taylor and I went to the Grizzlies NBA Draft party. I don’t know much about our pick, Jaren Jackson Jr., but he seems all right and like he’ll fit in well here.

We have new stations to rent bikes and scooters all over the city, and it’s been fun to see so many people zipping around! Overton Square is a hub. They also have hula hoops, cornhole, and other things out for everyone to enjoy.

 

At Home:

My Sputnik-y new light fixture from my dining room is much brighter than my old pendant fixture, and the closeness to the ceiling makes the room feel more open! It felt wasteful to get rid of something that worked and was fine, but I needed the change. (I tried to sell the old one on Facebook Marketplace, only for it to break in the trunk of my car.)

My patio hadn’t been pressure washed in three years. I hired a friend to clean it and it looks fantastic! My HOA had our peeling wrought iron gates repainted the same week.

Taylor closed on his new old house, which is currently being renovated. It needed a lot of cosmetic updates, and after my eight-year experience DIYing a house an inch at a time, I’m thankful for his willingness to hire professionals. I insisted on being in charge of gardening, and his yard is full of plants I’ve never seen before/can’t identify (I need Shazam for plants!!). However, I did identify poison ivy climbing aggressively onto the porch. Not something you expect to find in the middle of the city. I hit it with a strong poison and I think (hope) the contractor is handling the removal!

 

Cooking/Eating:

Summer home cooking for me means lots of salads and ice cream. I’ve been standing by my old faithfuls, Smitten Kitchen and Jennifer Chandler’s Simply Salads cookbook. I also grill food whenever possible – grilling halved peaches is another favorite summer thing. And now that it’s really hot, I’m downing a lot of faux Moscow Mules (basically diet ginger beer in a mule mug with some lime juice and fresh mint).

In a halfhearted cutback on dairy to see if it helps my skin, I’m alternating regular and almond milk creamer for my coffee, sometimes buy the dairy-free Halo Top, and am being more mindful about cheese. The dairy-free options are actually delicious, but expensive.

 

Wearing:

Fashion is a big part of my self-care these days. I kept two dresses and a top from my StitchFix this month – one was this gorgeously patterned maxi dress, which I had to have even though it’s too long (I’d have exchanged for petite if that was an option). I fake-hemmed it and another new maxi dress with fusible tape, but both hems are already falling out, so I guess I have to learn how to sew stretch knits! TIPS WELCOME.

On the rare occasion I find something in a store that really excites me, it usually doesn’t work on my body type. The last few years especially haven’t been kind to hourglass figures (or warm skin tones). At the end of another fruitless shopping trip this month, I discovered a dress at J. Crew that seemed custom-made for me, in multiple colors and prints that made me swoon. Sadly, it was too short and girlish for the office, and I won’t spend that much on dresses I can’t wear to work. I’ll probably get the pale blue one on sale, though.

I found two great pairs of sandals at Macy’s that I hadn’t seen anywhere else. The brown flats are Santana (similar to sandals my niece has that I wish came in adult sizes). The silver wedges are super comfortable and work with everything. Steal of the month!

 

Beauty:

My K-beauty consultant Esther told me I need a toner with BHAs, so when my Effaclar toner ran out, I replaced it with Benton Aloe BHA Toner. So far I haven’t noticed much difference either way. I also ordered a moisturizer she recommended from Korea and am LOVING it. Finally, after much consideration, I got an Elera. It’s a spatula thing that exfoliates your face with hypersonic sound waves. The infomercial racket potential seemed high, but it’s cleared up my forehead, which nothing else has been able to do! I use it with my cleanser in the shower.

I investigated the world of dry shampoo and ended up getting OGX Tea Tree Refreshing Scalp Treatment instead. It comes in a little green bottle. I can stretch an extra day between washings if I rub it in before styling. Same effect as dry shampoo without the gunkiness!

 

Random Happiness:

International Yoga Day coincided with McAlister’s Free Tea Day and the summer solstice. So many things I love on the same day!

Taylor’s brother has a really nice new pool, where we plan to spend many weekend afternoons. Ashley also has one at her new place near me. One night we ran and then swam laps in the pool. I felt like Michael Phelps.

Kevin and Stefanie surprised us with a Father’s Day weekend visit and brought their new dog! We didn’t have dogs (or cats) growing up, but I love Grizzly. He’s so sweet and well behaved. He also doesn’t realize how big he is and will lay down in your lap.

Taylor and I went to my friend Jessie’s wedding. She and Matt have been together many years, and I was heartened to witness this special moment in their story.

 

Wellness:

My church hosted an all-day Enneacamp with Sacred Enneagram author Chris Heuertz. It was fascinating, and a lot of fun to nerd out about it unabashedly with friends. Most of what he covered is in the book, which I bought immediately. I’ve read the Richard Rohr book, but Chris talked about things I’ve never heard before. I’ve always been into personality stuff mainly because it gives me tools to understand, relate with, and love people better. More than any other system, the Enneagram is helping me truly see and accept people for what they are. (Realizing my dad and sister are both Eights has been pretty revelatory.)

I’m a Six, if I’ve never mentioned that here before, and it’s pretty definitive. I can look back and see how I was a Six from my earliest memories. Lately I’ve wondered about Four (which is the most common type for INFJs), but the mistyping guide in the back of Chris’s book cleared that right up for me. And in fact, second-guessing is just more proof of my Sixness.

 

Your Monthly Rufus:

Cats shed sooo much in hot weather. At the pet store getting Rufus a new feather toy, thinking of all the fur I’d found around the house that morning, I impulse-bought a Furminator. This thing is LIFE-CHANGING. It pulls out all the loose undercoat – I couldn’t believe how much fur came off Rufus in the first session. We’ve started a daily brushing routine, and if I forget, he stands at the door and meows at me till I figure it out. He looks very sleek and seems happier. Worth every penny.

 

Quote of the Month:

 

On The Blog:

After seeing a lot of book recommendation requests from friends preparing for vacations, I put together a list of good summer reads. There should be something for everyone.

 

Good Reads:

♥ Alison Gary: Do You Have a Toxic Friendship with Your Closet?

♥ Lore Wilbert: I Feel Called to Write. Now What?

♥ Lydia Kiesling at The Cut: The Evolution of a Mormon Mommy Blogger

♥ Sarabeth Caplin: This Is How It Starts

♥ Samantha Field: Disappointment Is the Guide to Happiness

♥ Abby Norman: I’m a Pastor on Prozac

♥ Rhonda Garelick at The Cut: The Jacket Heard Round the World

♥ Kelly Youngblood: Do You Know Your Worth?