I was on vacation on the last day of July and first couple days of August, and thought I might be able to wrap up the month a few days early, but that didn't go as planned. Much like the entire month of July, I suppose. I thought I'd be able to fit more in or get things done sooner, or have more motivation that I actually did. It was a month of busy full days and a lot of very mundane work days. Looking back in the past few weeks, I'm surprised and a bit disappointed in how disorganized I've been. And rather unmotivated, though I guess the muggy heat has contributed to that and it's not entirely that I've been lazy. Not entirely. It's summer and for us that's always meant we can change our plans at any moment.
My general plan of Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays as the housework days didn't work consistently during the month, so I sure did get behind sometimes. We ate out more often overall, but had more evenings at home overall as well. The problem was often that I lacked the motivation to catch up when I had the opportunities, even if I'd had a valid reason to get behind.
We opened and closed the month with long weekend vacations, and the chorus was on summer break from rehearsals, so the regular weekly rhythm was certainly different in July!
Here's a brief recap of the month so far, along with some photos.
July 1 - Happy Canada Day! Not much that we did anything really special to celebrate since it was just a regular workday for us. We did have HP sauce for our steak sandwiches, so maybe that counts.
July 2 - Another regular workday, but after a quick bite to eat, we went to Granville for fireworks.
July 3 - We both left work just a little bit early so we could pack up and head to Maryland.
July 4 - Happy Independence Day! Had a relaxed morning with the kids, went out for lunch to celebrate Kennady's birthday, picked up some groceries, and walked around at the duck pond and playground a bit. Instead of going into town, we watched the neighbors' fireworks from the driveway.
July 5 - Another relaxed day of hanging out with the family, but we also did a little shopping and I finally found a new swimsuit top! Something to check off my to-do list. In the evening we went to a small party hosted by Kennady's boyfriend's family, though we didn't stay late. When we got back to the kids' place, we all watched King of Kings together.
July 6 - We were up early this Sunday because we were on the worship team at the kids' church. Afterwards we went to a favourite restaurant, O'Lourdan's, with the whole family, then packed up and drove home.
So as you can see, the first week of the month had very little of the usual rhythm of our lives, and practicing all the things was a bit of a challenge! But on Monday we were back to work and tried to get back to "normal".
July 9 - Scooted out of work a little bit early again, this time so we could get to the Clippers game on time.
July 12 - in the late afternoon, hubby and I went to serve dinner at Lower Lights, and then were able to fit in a walk in the evening too.
July 13 - After church we had a quick lunch and relax because hockey was early. After hubby got home, we went for a drive to scout one of the areas we're considering moving to when we buy a house. Ended with dinner at a cute little pub in town.
July 14 - hubby went out for dinner with people from work, so I got takeout and had quiet evening at home. It was a nice break.
July 15 - we had a light dinner at home then went into town to watch the free family film at the amphitheater. The Little Mermaid was a favorite of mine, even if I was a grown and married woman when it came out!
July 16 - just an ordinary work day, but in the evening we went for a walk and got to see this spectacular sunset.
July 18 - we met our son and his family at the Franklin County Fair and took in the demolition derby together!
July 19 - I shopped and prepped food for Sunday. We'd planned to go to an air show but it was cancelled.
July 20 - After church we had a very light lunch and then later on we went to our friends' place for dinner. Afterwards, hubby went to hockey while I stayed home and got in some solid chorus rehearsal for a change.
July 21 - Went straight to chorus from work . . . well, to the Rusty Bucket where we were meeting for dinner before rehearsal.
July 24 - It was Restaurant Week in Columbus, so we met at Milano's with friends.
July 26 - Got my hair cut in the morning, and we met Harrison and family to hike at Char Mar Ridge but it was so hot!! Hiking was not very pleasant, to be honest. We got in on another Restaurant Week deal by eating at Local Cantina. Later on there was a big thunderstorm in the evening!
July 27 - Today was Youth Takeover Sunday so I wasn't on worship team. We had a picnic lunch and hiking planned with the 55+ group, except it stormed so the hike was cut very short and we couldn't go on the canopy walk. I wouldn't have been able to go on the canopy walk anyway, as it turned out, because after lunch I managed to roll my ankle very hard and though I thought I could walk it off, it did swell up and was very painful, so I was back to using a cane.
July 28 - I sat at work, and at chorus I had to sit too, and it was not fun.
July 29 - A regular workday for me, but my husband had to fit in a pre-op physical before he went to work. We started planning for the surgery he has coming up. He suggested we get dinner from Buffalo Wild Wings since it was National Wing Day, which was a great idea, except I'm not sure the staff at BWW was ready. I waited 45 minutes past the time my order was supposed to be ready to pick up! It was good though, and I didn't have to cook, so there was that.
July 30 - Made the final plans for our weekend trip to Deep Creek.
July 31 - Vacation begins! We slept in, probably later than I should have, packed up and shopped for the trip. We hit the road shortly after lunchtime and arrived at the vacation house at Deep Creek about 5:30. Harrison, Spencer, Landon and their families were already there. We didn't really have dinner, just snacked, enjoyed the hot tub, and had a bonfire. Kennady and her boyfriend arrived around nine, while we were at the fire. And so the month ended and our vacation weekend began!
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Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;
I will put them into practice with all my heart.
~Psalm 119:34~
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My Word of the Year for 2025 is Practice. Put the things I've learned and that I know into practice. Practice doing what I know I should do and want to do. Practice how I want to perform. Practice―and get better at―the things that are important to me. Make a practice of healthy and beneficial habits and routines. In 2024, my WOTY was Rhythm, and one way I tried to establish a rhythm was by keeping a very brief daily diary, to watch for daily and weekly patterns to develop and to be intentional about keeping the good ones going. In 2025, I'll continue keeping the daily diary, but with a focus on how well I'm meeting my goals in the disciplines I'm practicing. See my WOTY post for 2025 for how I chose this word: Word of the Year 2025 - Practice.
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