August in Review

Image: Goodbye August, Hello September

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Summer is unofficially over, and I am okay with that. It was a wonderful summer, filled with life-changing events, vacation, friends, and family. After all of that, I am ready to move on to fall with its cooler temperatures, football, and a more regular schedule. Besides, as difficult as it is to still fathom the idea that Connor is at college, it has been a lot of fun having only Holly at home. She is a treasure.

Good memories:

Florida vacation
My grandmother’s 90th birthday
My dad’s birthday
Holly making the elite competition team at her new studio
Holly’s 13th birthday
Our friend’s wedding
Dropping Connor off at Iowa State
Connor making the ISU marching band
Holly’s school pictures
Holly’s dance photo shoot
The Dance Team pig roast
Adjusting to life with one less child at home

Bookish stuff:

Total number of books read: 13
Total number of pages: 3,664 plus 11 hours and 10 minutes on audio
Favorite book(s) read: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera – I remain blown away by his premise, his characters, and his life lessons.

Favorites:

Recipes: I feel like I didn’t cook this month. If I did cook, it was very unmemorable. I think I am out of practice.
Song:
- Since finding out Holly had a solo for the competition season this year, we have been trying to find a song for her to use. I stumbled on this one a few weekends ago and haven’t gotten it out of mind. Can’t you see this making a great tap solo?
Makeup:
- Image: Makeup Monsters Highlighter in Divinity
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- I stumbled upon the Makeup Monsters brand in my quest to find new long-lasting lipsticks. They just released their line of highlighters, and I am in love. Cruelty-free and vegan, they provide the right amount of shimmer and shine without going overboard. Their lipsticks are even better.

How did I persevere?

Meditation/Healthy Habits/Political Activism: Grade IC – There are no excuses here. I got lazy, stopped meditating, stopped making phone calls. I did stop exercising only because I have Achilles tendinitis and can’t really do much these days other than the stretches and strengthening exercises my physical therapist has me doing. I have not been eating as much and have made a conscious effort to make better choices, but I started doing that only within the past few weeks. So, I give myself an incomplete and will start fresh in September.

Again, this was such a great summer. I feel like we didn’t do much, but then I look at the calendar and realize just how many things we did. The school year is busy as well, but it is a different type of busy. This summer was fun with cookouts and parties and weddings and vacation. For the first time in years, I am entering the school year fairly relaxed and ready to go. Bring it on!

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