July 2024 Favorites

Hello!

Is it just me, or did July just FLY by? Suddenly, one Friday I found out it was time for Summer Stroll (think of Summer Stroll as a giant block party); My favorite vendor on the commercial avenue told me. The shock set in. Summer Stroll means summer is almost over, and my lease renews (I went to my very first Stroll the day I moved into my apartment– think of a tall Israeli realtor with a deep convincing voice being like, “Go. Meet your neighbors. It is nice.” As the social butterfly that I am, I went obediently).

Anyway– now, here we are in August. I am nearing the end of my Summer Fridays (sad!). How did I spend this one? Mostly debating whether a cheap airport blanket would catch fire if I popped it in the dryer. (I decided against it, and let it air dry). I cleaned, drafted some stuff for work, because even on a day off, I must. I listened to a coaching call. I wondered where the summer went. My mom, who is a teacher, starts school next week. My own job related to higher ed is prepping for the return of the students. My life will forever be marked by school years.

Today, I used the word “fab”. It reminded me of an old boss I had who would say that. She was the President and would stroll into board meetings with her freshly cleaned fur coat and talk about what a “fab” day it was. Ahh… fur coats. This heat wave that has us all sweating our life out on the train platforms has us all dreaming of coats.

This month, I ate amazing tacos. I went to the beach and actually liked it. It felt weirdly relaxing. Maybe also because I didn’t bring my phone. I completed the Fit as F*ck biohacking workout challenge modules. I am in week 6 of the Busy Girl Femme Nativa challenge. I am avoiding the easy workouts like weightless pilates and doing the hard reps with weights. It has felt good. Despite the fitness aspect feeling good, I haven’t felt my best this month in that I feel the detox from matcha has been brutal despite not having it every day. I tried mulberry leaf tea to replace matcha. It has a similar flavor and consistency and apparently has the added bonus of keeping blood sugar low. (I am a mulberry leaf girl now; I am declaring it). I ate something that gave me the worst food poisoning I have felt in recent time (I literally cried). I am feeling much better now.

As I was folding laundry, I was thinking about several things– how much better 2024 was than 2023. Last year was so brutal. I feel like I am still solidifying my footing from that year and healing from the stress wreck in my body. I was also wondering why I was so ragey in a conversation about presidential campaigns yesterday. I was expressing my concern. Why am I always concerned? I am so sick of politics, but I am concerned about people. Can this election just be done? I am terrified as to how smart or stupid Americans will prove themselves to be in this election cycle. Praying it is the former.

I thought about Fourth of July, and the amazing apple cider slushie I had. We saw Teddy Roosevelt’s newly returned watch at his estate. We saw a bunch of tiny crabs.

I need to read this book I got about him:

I read more “summer” books that I had on Kindle (I rarely read fiction). They haven’t been great. I gave them all one star. I was disappointed and reminded as to why I don’t read fiction.

I worked on my intermittent fasting this last month. I did terribly as far as going to bed early. I dreamed of autumn. I laughed with too many Theo Von videos.

I found Paul Maurice at the NHL store.

Collective was the post of the month.

My favorite book I read this month was The Anxious Generation.

Below, you will find the best quotes and stuff from the month. I hope your July went by a bit slower. It’s a new month. It’s time to roll.

Quotes

“Against criticism we can neither protect nor defend ourselves; we must act in despite of it, and gradually, it resigns itself to this.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“If you fail to say what you know to be true, you corrupt the world. You corrupt being. If you lie, you corrupt being. Corrupted being is hell, and if we all lie enough, then we have hell.” Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

“There is no loss too small to grieve. If you feel the loss, acknowledge it by grieving. Grief recognizes the void and invites God to fill it up with Himself.” Debra Fileta

“Most of the people you’re afraid of offending don’t give two f**** about offending you.” Andy Frisella

“The extraordinary hides within how we handle the ordinary.” Lisa Bevere

“Hope is a decision.” Dave Ramsey

“Everything may seem broken, but that was just as true when I was growing up in the 1970s and when my parents were growing up in the 1930s. It is the story of humanity.” Jonathan Haidt

“Do we really want to know who we are and break our reality?” Erwin McManus

“In Exodus, God tells Moses that the Israelites need to be free. There must be an association between Israel, the people who wrestle with God, and the idea of being called out of slavery. Interestingly enough, “Israel” does not mean those who “believe in God”; it means those who “wrestle with God.” That is what we do. We all wrestle with meaning, purpose, and significance. We wonder about the reality of ethical endeavor, and we are tormented by our consciences for not living up to our moral obligations. We shirk our responsibility — or do not. We wrestle with good and evil.” Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

“Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on victories you never dreamed of.” C.S. Lewis

“There are but two parties now: traitors and patriots. And I want hereafter to be ranked with the latter, and I trust, the stronger party.” Ulysses S. Grant

“Sometimes it’s not the people who change, it’s the mask that falls off.” Haruki Murakami

“The future isn’t about data, it’s about courage. The courageous will always prevail over the intelligent.” Erwin McManus

“I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth– and truth rewarded me.” Simone de Beauvoir

“People doing nothing have plenty to say about people doing something.” Andy Frisella

“You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you.” Warren Buffet

“Your courage becomes offensive when other people realize that you are less afraid of the world than they think you should be.” Unknown

“The moment was all; the moment was enough.” Virginia Woolf

Stuff

We discovered Sandra Lee videos… (God help us)

Get your onion powder!

Y2K Summer Fashion

I heard this song, and it took me back:

People Who Intrigue Me

Theo Von

Michael Easter (I am currently readying his book The Comfort Crisis)

Daisy Edgar-Jones

One month closer to autumn. Here we go! *Cue Gilmore Girls theme song*