Gone, the month of June, July is here; Stop to dance under the moon. The seeds are planted, we wait for it to continue bloom, Sunkissed skies and chasing joy, no worries about the gloom. |
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June went by relatively quickly. Maycember was just winding down, and now we're in the thick of summer. It absolutely feels like it outside. The heat envelopes you as you walk out the door and it feels like a sauna. It might feel nice for about five seconds but when you have sweat dripping down your back just walking to the door or your car. Fun times! There were celebrations, like Father's Day, my mom's birthday, a retirement party on campus. There were quiet moments of solitude and filling the time with documentaries and a series or two on Netflix. Hundreds of pages read in books, iced tea and lemonades in the afternoon and warmer evenings, watching the sunsets while taking my dog out, taking time to write, chat with people for The Artfully Made Journal and feeling optimistic about what's ahead. And with that, came a lot of good content: |
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- Ginny & Georgia
- 1% Club
- Power Moves with Shaquille O'Neal
- Sirens
- The Life List
- Scamanda
- American Nightmare
- A Deadly American Marriage
- Shifting Gears
- Priscilla Block's TikToks
- (rewatching some episodes) Hannah Montana
- ABC 20/20 - Karen Read trial
- America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
- Call Her Alex documentary
- My Mom Jayne: A Documentary (Mariska Hargitay)
- Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare
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- Hardly Strangers by A.C. Robinson
- Savor It by Tarah DeWitt
- Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt
- The Love Haters by Katherine Center
- The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan
- Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
- Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
- A Month of Sundays by Courtney Peppernell
- Redemption by Lila Dawes
- Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein
- Husbands by Holly Gramazio
- Closer Than Your Next Breath by Susie Larson
- You, Me and Forever by Laura Pavlov
- Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten
- Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher
- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
- The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff
- Flying Solo by Linda Holmes
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- Quiet mornings with coffee while checking my emails, either in the office or working from home;
- A good book on a summer evening;
- Getting into a new show;
- Long lunches with best friends;
- New restaurants;
- Dinners with friends, just because;
- Naps;
- Coloring books for adults - why shouldn't we have fun with it too?
- The color of sunsets on summer evenings;
- Flowers from Trader Joe's;
- Playlists;
- Being able to continue to grow and learn in my role at work
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- New Country | Noah Cyrus (feat. Blake Shelton)
- Boy Meets Girl | Kelsea Ballerini (unreleased demo)
- Heard It In a Country Song | Russell Dickerson
- Hope That I'm Enough | Parker McCollum
- Be Your Man | Jackson Dean
- We Can Always Move On | Cole Swindell
- Unbecoming | Tenille Arts
- Til the Last One Dies | Chris Young
- Stay Country Or Die Trying [EP] | Blake Shelton
- Hard Fought Hallelujah | Brandon Lake with Jelly Roll
- Easy to Love | Dustin Lynch
- mean girl | Ashley Cooke, Colbie Caillat
- Hair Salon | Megan Moroney
- Never Met Anyone Like You (feat. HARDY) | Ella Langley
- My Apple Music All Time Replay Playlist
- Summer Throwbacks
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- If you have to tell someone you are the boss, you are not the boss. || Wise words from one of my favorite people/administrators on campus. I was curious what Chat GPT might say about this…I just love it. The timing of it could just not have been better for where I am in my life and learning about leadership. “The phrase if you have to tell someone you're the boss, then you're not the boss speaks to the idea that true leadership or authority is demonstrated through presence, actions and respect. Not through declarations. – Leadership is about HOW you lead, not the LABEL you wear."
- When I get terrible migraines, it reminds me to slow down. || Every time I get knocked down with migraines (which have gotten better over the years), it reminds me that maybe I'm trying to do too much. I'm too focused on trying to finish too many projects or do too many things. I need to focus on what's really important and what is within my control.
- I've really missed church community - it is still important to me. || It's been awhile since I've faithfully gone to church. I stepped back in 2022. I've tried a few churches with friends, but am in a place where I'm truly ready to get serious about finding that community again.
- Watching the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders documentary show reminds me that we are all in the same boat in the workforce, no matter what we do - fighting for wages, wondering if we're doing enough and finding their worth in a role or job. Ultimately, we just have to continue to keep our head down, do the work, serve others and hope for the best with it all.
- Adding to that, I can't control how other people perceive my work or how they treat others compared to me. I can speak up when I need to, but otherwise, just let it go.
- You're never too old to start over. People say there is no timeline when it comes to life, and the older I get, I see how true it is. People switch careers in their 40s, they have kids and get married later in their 30s, try a new endeavor in their late 50s and 60s. Age truly is a number and we can make it what we want.
- True friendships just aren't that complicated. Yes, there are hard conversations and challenges that come up through the years. But the best friendships, in my life, have always been the ones that don't have crazy expectations, but challenge me, we would be there for each other at a moment's notice no matter how long it's been since we talked, sit with you in the uncomfortable moments and it just easily finds its way into the next year of your life. It isn't something you have to grip onto for fear that it might fall through your fingers.
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Some moments captured from the month: |
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Now we're almost one full week into July – a month of fireworks, vacations days and sweating it out by the pool. At least, that's the idea anyway. It's the quintessential month of summer - the bbq's, nights with friends, all of it. There's a lot to look forward to this month. And we made it through the 4th of July (barely)! Hope you all had a safe and wonderful day. |
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I'm heading to Portland, Maine this month! I'm so excited. I wanted a Coastal Grandmother summer, and it looks like I'll get a mini version of it later this month. I'm going for a conference in Portland, Maine. It's on digital communications/social media in higher education. I'm really looking forward to a change of scenery and hopefully feeling more inspired where creating content is concerned. I'm ready for that salt air, maybe a teaser for sweater weather, yummy seafood, beautiful views and seeing a true East Coast beach lighthouse. Plus, a little extra time with my mom. |
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Have you been to Maine? I want to hear all the things! I won't really have a lot of extra time, but I want to make the most of being there in the evenings. Honestly, just being able to soak up the beach air, watch the sunsets from a sea cruise of sorts, eat sea food, walk along the street with ice cream dripping down my hand will be enough for me. |
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Stars Hollow Ct.
Bakersfield , CA 93311, USA |
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