July Wrap-Up

July has always been one of my favorite months of the year, not because it's my birthday month, but because it's Independence Day, cookouts, bonfires, usually a beach vacation, and now Robby and I's wedding anniversary. This year, it was no different (as you can tell by how many pictures I posted on Instagram). We got a puppy, went on vacation, celebrated one year of marriage, went to a baseball game, and watched fireworks. Our garden has also given us zucchini, cucumbers, cabbage, peppers, and tomatoes. My dahlias are starting to bloom - and they're huge! I can't believe it! I might have another favorite flower :) So, unlike most of the other months this year, I feel like I've been able to properly savor July, and I've really loved it.

Physical Lessons

I have a college friend who has recently taken up hiking and jogging religiously, and (right now, anyway) outside of the gym. In her Instagram post discussing the change into daily exercise, she cited her love and appreciation of her body through her love and relationship with Christ. I know on the religious front, my relationship isn't as strong has it, at times, has been. My husband and I go to church a couple times a month, but how often do we hear that it's more than just going through the motions? Maybe a huge key to my struggle with my body image lies in my struggle to maintain a solid relationship with my Creator. I'm sure most of it is also due to a lack of self-discipline, but I've noticed that most athletes or avid exercisers have come to love themselves through another source - whether it be God or finding acceptance another way. So maybe, just maybe, I need to try a little harder to evaluate my self-worth and go from there.

Relationship Growth

I had a rough time this month with friendships. Robby and I had planned a day specifically with another couple and they bailed, for the second or third time this year. It sucked because we don't hang out with them very often as is, but also because for the second or third time, Robby and I had planned our time around them. We had had other offers that day to do other things, but turned them down only to get let down. It just made me reevaluate a little bit. I try to be respectful of someone's time, because it certainly is valuable. It sucks getting let down, but if I'm holding up my end of the deal, the disappointment will pass. I spoke to my friend about it, and she understood. And I think has, since then, made more of an effort to hold to her commitments.

On the other hand, last night, I hung out with a good friend I haven't seen in years. We live in the same town, but the past year for the both of us has been insane. I was a little sad that our conversation didn't flow as smoothly as it had in the past, but also encouraged that the same person with a fantastic sense of humor and contagious laugh was still under the reserved front I got last night. And I know that the reservedness goes away after more time together. I'm hoping that we can see each other more often, and I'd like to commit to focusing more of my energy on making that happen.

Twitter Highlight

Professional Skills

Work life post-June breakdown has been alright. I had a heart-to-heart with another co-worker who started around the same time I did and also commutes, and we both admitted to each other that the drive was starting to wear on us. I definitely needed a vacation by the time mine rolled around. But I find myself at every one-year anniversary mark with a new job getting antsy. Is this where I'm supposed to be . . . forever? I start to reevaluate everything, and usually have a mini-freak out in the process. Commitment has always seemed far away and unattainable for me. Ask Robby - he had to break through a lot of barriers before I was convinced he'd be sticking around permanently. So now that I'm in a career I enjoy, and should just let it be at that, I find myself nit-picking at the one-year mark. Why? Why do we have a tendency to try to ruin a good thing? ("We" because I know I'm not the only one.) I'm sure there's a self-help book out there somewhere about acceptance and finding contentment where you're at in life. And maybe I should read it. But for right now, if you've found yourself doing the same thing, could we maybe just chat about it?? And maybe figure it out together?

Books I've Read

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert

I really enjoyed this book. Lou, one of the main characters, was so upbeat and positive despite all the crappy things that happened to her. Yet, she was still relatable for me. Al, the other main character, had me getting angry as the book progressed because he maintains two identities - one as an unforgiving restaurant reviewer and another as just a writer - that makes you question whether or not he'll be honest and truthful in the end.

But other than enjoying the characters and the simple writing style (it has a love story involved), the description of Milwaukee and its food scene was thoroughly enjoyable. The description of cheese curds and the smells of tailgating before a baseball game had my mouth constantly watering. You also get the recipe for the delicious coconut cake that the book is named after. I breezed through this book in a couple of days while on vacation, and didn't want to put it down.

I'm currently in the middle of Invincible Summer by Alice Adams. It's an easy read, but I'm not too sure I'm hooked on the characters yet. They're lacking depth and I'm finding them hard to connect with, but I'll let you know my final thoughts once I finish it.

Monthly Mantra

Again, another steady reminder that I am blessed and I should take the time every day to be thankful for what I do have. I prayed yesterday on the way to work that God would work on my heart with a few issues I'm struggling with, and to ultimately keep me in check when I look at other people who have more than I do. Yes, they might, but that doesn't give any less value to the things I have or the friends I've made or the love I give and receive. How many more people are out there wanting just a hint of what I have? It's humbling. Self-improvement is important, but not at the cost of thinking that self-improvement equals more material things.

July Reflections

Can we just take a couple minutes to discuss History? This month a lot of it was either on TV or in theaters, and I tried to soak up as much of it as possible. A) The Amelia Earhart Special on the History Channel. I was hella skeptical while watching it, and I voiced it all on Twitter (what happened to a positive July on social media?? haha). Come to find out, FOUR DAYS LATER, the picture theorists were basing their arguments on for this whole televised special was printed in a Japanese publication years before Amelia Earhart had even started her circumnavigation of the globe. *Cue major eye roll* Don't get me wrong, I could follow a few of the presented arguments for her landing in the Mariana Islands, but most of it didn't check out for me. And come to find out, the picture was 100% discredited, and every story connected along with it.

B) Dunkirk, the newly released Christopher Nolan movie about the 1940 evacuation of British and French soldiers during WWII. My husband described it as slow, and to be fair, Nolan relied heavily on building suspense through action rather than dialogue. There isn't a lot of talking, but I think that is entirely the point. How much talking could you do if you're in a constant state of fear? Waiting, unknowingly, for the inevitable? The film follows three timelines: the soldiers on the ground (one week), those on the water (one day), and pilots in the air (one hour). For each group, the suspense comes in the wait, in not knowing when the Germans will attack. To someone who goes into the film not trying to empathize with the fear and the exhaustion that comes with that, the film can seem a little dull. Granted, I know I will never understand what those people on the beaches of Dunkirk felt, and I never want to. But it was a very traumatic experience for the British and French that I feel like American history books don't touch on, seemingly, because nothing happened there. SPOILER: When actually it was a huge, surprising success to have evacuated over 345,000 stranded soldiers that newly appointed Prime Minister Churchill and most of Britain thought were doomed. Also, I just feel the need to say that the New York Times wrote a review about it that said Tom Hardy was a pair of worried eyes in the film, and it made me giggle because it was kind of true.

C) The Diana Special on HBO with William and Harry. My heart. I enjoyed that it wasn't about any of the drama surrounding her, or about any scandal between her and Charles when they split. It was literally an interview with those that were closest to her discussing her personality, fond memories, and what her passions were accompanied by photographs. I have always been fascinated by photographs and their power to shed light on social chapters in history, but I also just really enjoyed learning more about Diana that I hadn't known beforehand.

Moving on from history now . . . for the month of August, I'd like to maintain at least one descriptive sentence on my writing page a day. That shouldn't be too hard, right? Ugh. I hesitate with anything that requires commitment though. So give me a hard time if I'm slacking! :) Also, points if you can guess the city that inspired today's sentence (8/1).

Also, I thought it would be fun to incorporate any music/songs that I've been liking. This month, I've been hardcore enjoying Chocolate by The 1975 (thank you Caitlin Foster), Malibu by Miley Cyrus (the sound is perfect), Castle on a Hill by Ed Sheeran, and Ghosts (Hermitude Trapped in Heaven Remix) by the Presets.

Top Five Things I'm Thankful For

1. Vacation!

2. Having an adventurous hubby who likes trying new food

3. Reconnecting with old friends

4. Tan lines :)

5. Fireworks (or, as I say every year to quote my cousin Alissa, "God bless the Chinese.")

In the next week, I've planned a Rehoboth Beach Eats post based on the new restaurants we visited while we were there. I'm also going to be making zucchini bread from a GIANT zucchini we got from our garden, so I'd like to post about that. We've also started getting ripe tomatoes from our NINE plants, so I have a feeling I should plan some tomato recipe posts as it looks like we're never going to run out of them...

As always, thanks for reading! xoxo