Good morning!

I can’t believe it’s July already!  June was really busy for me- I started school, and it’s weird to be back in school but also really nice.  My goal is to have a nice and shiny registered health information technology certification, so I’ll probably be talking about school for the next couple of years while I go through all of the classes I need to get my A.A. in the program.  Even though it’s a lot of work now, there is a goal I’m working towards.

I really need to make more bread!  I made the English Muffin bread from Midwest Made, which you can see above.  It was so good, and I can’t wait to make it again!  I’m on a baking spree so I’ll have to find my next project.

Inspired By:

• The Calm app.  I’ve been using it a lot this month, and it’s been helpful!  I do feel more calm, and I feel like I’m sleeping a lot better.  Maybe using it right before bed is a good idea.
• Intentions For The Week.  I love this printable from The Handwriting Club.  A lot.  It’s nice to have a weekly idea of what I need to get done, and I love the different sections.
• My pantry.  I don’t know why, but I’ve decided to need to clear out my pantry by using the things in it.  Reorganizing helped a lot, but I definitely need to use what I have.

Watching:

• Fuller House.  This was a nostalgia watch for me, and I got around to watching the last season of it.  I loved the show as a kid, and I actually enjoyed the reboot.
• Virgin River.  I really liked Virgin River!  It’s on Netflix but I feel like it’s something you’d see on Hallmark or Lifetime.  That didn’t stop me from watching it.  It’s about this nurse practitioner who moves to a small town searching for a fresh start.  It’s cute.
• Yoga With Adriene.  I feel like I’ve talked about this youtube channel before, but I’ve been doing a lot of her videos before going to bed.  It helps me stretch a little, and her videos are really soothing and relaxing.  I also like that she gives you options for some of the poses depending on your skill level.
• jessicasmithtv.  I don’t do these before bed, but I like that there’s a variety of workouts.  They are really doable, which is great, because I am completely and utterly out of shape.
• Jumanji.  This is the newer one, and even though I wanted to see it, it took me a long time to actually watch.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun and entertaining, but I will always love the original with Robin Williams more.
• The Good Witch: I’m not caught up yet, but this show about a witch in a small town is really cute!

Reading:

• Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet.  This book was required reading (yay school!), but I actually really enjoyed it.
• Speaking of school…textbooks.  Trigonometry and medical terminology, specifically.  At least I’m getting math out of the way, but the roller coaster ride of math could honestly be a blog post all on it’s own.  I haven’t been in a huge reading mood lately anyway, as far as fiction goes, but at least I’m reading textbooks?

Thinking About:

• Homework: This is what I get for taking 3 summer classes while working full-time.  If I’m not working, I’m probably doing math or some other assignment.
• How I’m going to do in math.  Math has never been my strong suit, and I’ve never particularly liked it.  With classes being online, I’m a little nervous about how it’s going to go, but hopefully, it won’t be completely horrible.

Listening To:

• The Calm App.  The meditations are nice, but I’ve been listening to one of their sleep stories or nature sounds as I drift off to sleep.
• The Shifter Series by Rachel Vincent.  I haven’t been reading a lot, and I’m struggling with getting through print books but audio books seem to work pretty well right now.  This is my currently audio book listen, and it’s a pretty enjoyable series.

Dreamlife:

Weird.  The two dreams I remember having were really weird:

• I dreamed I almost got to talk to my father, but I missed my chance.  In real life, I grew up not knowing my dad, so it’s so weird that I would about dream it.
• The other weird dream was trying to go to a community pool but couldn’t.  There was this woman who got a text every time someone showed up, and in order to get into the pool, we had to meet someone new.  There was this group of people and we all had to put temporary tattoos on each other.  The ones I remember were all really big and went on our backs, and of course, everyone was fully dressed with no bathing suits in sight.

I don’t know what was going on with the weird dreams, but honestly?  They could have been weirder.

Researching:

• Planners/Calendars.  I need to keep track of when assignments are due.  And have some sort of way of figuring out what I’m going to study and when would be a great idea.  Time management is going to be the only way I get through the next couple of months.

Eating + Drinking:

• Smoothies.  I’m still on my smoothie kick, and I’ve made my way through quite a few smoothies.  It makes me feel so healthy!
• Water. I’ve been determined to drink water every day.  I don’t drink anywhere near the amount I should, but at least I’m drinking some water.
• Bread.  I made my first loaf of bread last month!  Of course, I spend the next week eating it, and it made me so happy eating it.
• Cup Of Noodles. This is the complete opposite of healthy but I really wanted some for some bizarre reason.

Grateful For:

• Keeping up with homework.  It took me a couple of weeks, but I finally got into a good routine.  Writing down what’s due for the week helped a lot, and made it easier to do a couple of things everyday.  It also made it easier to get ahead with a couple of my classes.

Good Things:

• I’ve talked about most of these already: starting school, baking a loaf of bread, teaching myself math, drinking water, and keeping up with homework
• But I have tried some new vegetables!  Joining a CSA has been really great, and I’ve actually tried some new fruits and vegetables.  I’ve never heard of kohlrabi or gooseberries before but they are both really good!  And fava beans are pretty good too.  Everything just tastes so good…and better than the produce in the store.  I’m glad I did it.  Anything not included, I still get at the store, of course, but it’s hard to get non-CSA vegetables now.  It’s definitely more seasonal.
• I’m trying to get into a better bedtime routine instead of falling asleep with the t.v. on in the background.  I’ve been doing yoga and then a meditation on the Calm app right before bed.  It’s a pretty good routine so far, and I feel like I am sleeping a lot better.

That’s all for today!  I’ll be back soon.

Have a great week,