June Goals

 Thanks for the sleep advice! I am going to do B6 in the AM (I do not take this every night, so I don't think it will be the magic bullet, but maybe) and move everything else a little earlier. I also need to be better at reading or journaling for a bit when I start to get stressed in the middle of the night. Like the other night, I fell asleep perfectly in my own bed but then woke up (probably from my own snoring) and got super anxious. That would have been a GREAT time to read a few pages of a book or use a journal or do a Calm app meditation. Instead I just laid there and got freaked out.

1. Visit 2 restaurants to catch up-- this should be NO PROBLEM since we have a couple little kid sports travel things in new cities. I might even get ahead and settle back into my eating rut for July.

2. Bake! Even though I am not eating sweets (can I just say I feel GREAT not eating sweets?!!? It's wild)

3. Make peace with my sleep. 

4. Do a strength workout 5 days a week and do cardio all 7 days-- including when we travel

5. BE A FUN SUMMER MOM. This does not come naturally to me, but I will only have ONE PARTIAL WEEK of our summer schedule to slog though in June (school gets out the 10th and we spend the whole next week in Charleston and then go to Cleveland at the end of the next week), so I KNOW I CAN DO THIS.

6. Write every day. I got sidetracked with my job dramz in February and then the world falling apart in January and gave up. NO MORE!

How about some pictures of my current mundanity, yes?

Got a mammogram and got the (all clear) results back within hours. Sometimes my HMO knocks it out of the park.

I figured out that I can wear my weighted vest no problem as long as I walk outside with the world's best posture.

For some reason this year, dance pictures were very stressful for Dorothy (honestly I have no idea why) which meant they were stressful for me, too. But Minnie's! WERE SO CUTE! (Also, we had them spread out over 3 days, and they kind of ate up the whole week).

Posting all of these pictures reminds me of another June goal: I want to stop consuming social media but I also want to post a cute snap every day to IG-- a 30 day project. Hopefully I can do that without losing track and getting behind, which is what always happens to me when I try to do 100 days.

May: What I Read

May was a great reading month for me!

I was really happy to read more with my eyes than my ears, and I am glad a Kindle book made it in. I might try reading more of these at the pool...

I read 21 books this month, and here they are from worst to best:

OK reads

Fractured Fairy Tales by A.J. Jacobs: I read this to help Jack cut a storytelling piece for nationals, and it was super cute. 

The New Menopause by Mary Claire Haver: Women of a certain age should read this. I am turned off by the author's supplement business, which felt kind of MLM-y to me, but otherwise this was great. 

The Galveston Diet by Mary Claire Haver: LOVED THIS and am trying to follow it. It has been hard for me to eat enough fat (old habits die hard) to get the macros right, but I am working on it.

People of Means by Nancy Johnson: This was just OK for me-- a story about a mom's college activist years and then her daughter's. **2025

Good reads

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult: LOVED IT.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware: Another backlist gem. **audio

Society of Lies  by Lauren Ling Brown: A good but not great thriller.

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner: An enjoyable summer book. **2025

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach: This is wild, and you should read it.

A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings: About a blogger's escape from Christian patriarchy and her abusive marriage-- riveting. **audio

Saltwater by Katy Hays: I expected to love this thriller but I only just sort of liked it. **2025

Liquid: A Love Story by Mariam Rahmani: This is funny and sad and quirky and sweet. I love any book that tears down academia. **2025

Great reads

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano: This was ADORABLE. This series has had some ups and downs, but book 5 might be my favorite. **2025 **Audio

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune: A May 2025 book! This is a sort of sequel to her Every Summer After but features Charlie's story (although you do catch up with Sam and Percy). Loved it. **2025 **Audio

Andromeda by Therese Bohman: So sad and spare. **2025

Early Thirties by Josh Duboff: I loved this breezy, chatty book about friends in the surprisingly small NYC media scene. It reminded me of being young and the sense of possibility that entailed. **2025 **Audio

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop: She reads this herself-- you gotta listen! **Audio

BOTY contenders 

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins: SO GOOD YOU GUYS I LOVED IT. **2025 **Audio

The Favorites by Layne Fargo: OH YESSSSSS-- this is about Olympic ice dancers, and it has been optioned by Netflix... **2025 **Audio

Every Tom, Dick &Harry by Elinor Lipman: I adore this author, and this book was as delightful as I hoped it would be. **2025 **Kindle!!

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff: A May 2025 book! And maybe the best book I have read this year. It's a story of a couple through their marriage told form their perspectives as well as their daughter's. I cried at the end even though I was poolside. **2025 

STATS

BTM 21

Book books: 12

Kindle books 1

Audio books 8

2025 books: 12

BTY 87

Book books: 49

Kindle books: 3

Audio books: 35

2025 books: 44