5 on a Friday: Hi, JULY!

New Month Energy! (NME made me lol though because I want this new month to be my friend. BESTIES maybe even)

I have some things I want to do in July, even though this is the ultimate summer month-- all of the activities just slammed right on top of each other and days where Dorothy and Cooper put in part time job hours at their club sports. Plus sweltering temps and a major 90s tan despite wearing a UPF shirt and tons of sunscreen. Woof!

1. Ugh you guys. I think I am going to color my hair. Not all over (I think the flat dark color looks worse than gray, even on women who get it done professionally. I think I am going to do high and lowlights all over to blend. Do I want to spend $500 and several hours in my hair every 8 weeks? No. Do I want gray hair? Also no. And I did box and home for awhile, but it's tricky with dark hair and not the solution I personally was looking for. Bah. 

But first! I gotta get rid of these bangs. Ugh again.

One more ugh to note before I move on to the next first world problem on my list: I really like to wash my hair every day, and that's not the best idea with color. Also! This is probably NOT a July thing and more like a late August thing (right before Welcome Week would be ideal). I need to book it now, though.

AND I stopped seeing my colorist after I got too blong in 2023, and I switched to a cheaper person at the salon just for cuts. BUT. She is ging on maternity leave, so I would only be able to see her once before she goes, and she has 

2.  I have SO MANY things I want to buy this month, despite having just bought a new air conditioner.

    A. New dog walking shoes at the $100-ish price point that look sort of cute if I need to also run errands. I am thinking about these or these or even these. But! Maybe I should take advantage of having children's sized feet and get these.

    B. A new mattress (and possibly box spring) for Cooper's bed. Jack decided to go tall on his bed, and now Coop's looks weird. I think I will get this while he is gone at nationals and surprise him with a comfy bed when he gets home.

    C. A new Chromebook. I teach adjunct online classes and do not use my work computer for them and my Chromebook is old and slow and makes me stabby. I think Prime Days might be my friend on this one even though Amazon sucks.

    D. Wrist and ankle weights. The time to transition to FULL OLD LADY is here, my friends.

    E. A cute pool hat. I wear an Eau Claire baseball cap that's cute enough, but I need more shade.

3. Despite this wish list, I have bought a lot of creature comforts lately from new pool towels (they all match now!) to a cute snack bag for Dorothy's dance bag to a bunch of fun stuff for me, Dorothy, and Minnie at the Altheta semi annual sale. SO. In July, I want to ENJOY WHAT I HAVE in all of the ways. Material things, sure, but also the intangibles and the people I love, etc etc.

Summer is FLYING BY. The first session of swim lessons is over, even. (Minnie passed to the big kid stroke development levels, but she would prefer to stay in the shallow end, so we shall see how the next sesh goes--- she might do level 2 again.)

4. I am LOVING my healthy new me habits and rituals, and I am adding a daily check-in with my Calm app to my July to-dos. I accidentally bought a year of Calm when I was using guided meditations and sleep stories to help with insomnia, so I might as well make the most of the app. I really like the Daily Calm and also the Daily Move. Despite chronic anxiety, I am rarely having a bad time in the actual moment-- most of my angst comes from worry-- and mostly worry about things out of my control. So this app is a good place to start since I already paid for it? ENJOY WHAT I HAVE in at least 2 senses.

Snacks ready to go

Fave smoothie

Healthy snacks and smoothie ingredients in a dollar store basket-- dollar store baskets made several areas of my life better last month.

5. My long dormant gratitude journal is getting a workout this month, too. I think it's the Calm app Kool Aid I am drinking, but I am finding it very centering. A few things I am grateful for right now:

MYO pizza with bread machine crust-- an activity and a meal

Summer dive league and nights by the pool

Starbs at the grocery store

6 am swim team practices (I am grateful, not them)

Clearance floaties for Family Float on Sunday (ever Sunday, but Minnie thinks it just happens once a year

Hand-me-down bathing suits (I unpacked a TON of Dorothy's old stuff for Minnie and cleaned out Dorothy's closet- and donated giant bags of Minnie's outgrown clothes- it was so fun.

My best friend