Good Stuff
Top moment of the month: A Pride-themed photoshoot. This was such a perfect evening! We dressed up in a rainbow dress/rainbow skirt, with rainbow flower crowns, and the bisexual flag. Bri sweetly took photos of us at our favorite local indie bookstore and then we posted them on Instagram the following day. I was so scared to publish the post, but the response was overwhelmingly positive.
Other good moments:
- Attending the St. Pete Pride Parade – It was hot and humid, but we had such a good time.
- Axe throwing with book club – This was so much fun! June was my month to suggest an activity and this is what I chose. I’ve been axe throwing one other time and remember finding it really fun. Some of my friends were very apprehensive, and I appreciate them facing their fears for me!
- Recording season 5 of the podcast – We dug into the nitty-gritty of traveling in this season and we had a blast reminiscing about our memories.
- Pool days with my mom and the dogs – It’s definitely pool weather, and I am very grateful that my mom has a pool. My mom has a slew of floats, too, and Chip especially loves jumping on a float from the edge of the pool deck.
- Making art with Mom – This was my mom’s belated Mother’s Day gift from me, and we were so pleased with our creations! It was a really fun night.
- Celebrating 9 years of friendship with Bri – I can’t believe she’s been part of my life for so long! We had a Friday night date to a museum where we participated in a scavenger hunt. The museum was amazing and the scavenger hunt made our time there even more fun.
- Coming out to my brother – My brother was the last person I had to come out to (well, the last person whose opinion really matters to me). I was so, so scared because I wasn’t sure how he would react/if this would cause a rift between us. But, thankfully, nothing of the sort happened! He was very happy for me and told me repeatedly that something like this would never cause a rift.
Hard Stuff
- Dad grief – June is always a tough month for me. My dad turned 60 on June 5th and then two weeks later, it was Father’s Day. I felt very sad on June 5th and the days afterward. I don’t know if it’s because my dad celebrated a milestone birthday or I was just really in my feelings this year, but it was hard. I miss him immensely.
- Laziness – I was very, very lazy in June (you’ll see in the goal recap section, oof). The weather is making daily walks very difficult. If I do them early in the morning, I’m dealing with lower temps but very high humidity (90% some mornings!). If I do them later in the day, the humidity is a smidge lower but the heat index is 95º+. I just need to get over myself because high heat and humidity are better than the dangerous air quality other people are dealing with, right?!
Bookish Stuff
- # of books/pages read: 10 books (2,960 pages)
- Favorite book of the month: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
- Favorite romance of the month: Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
- Least favorite book of the month: Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham
- Quickest read: Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham (4 days)
- Longest read: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (13 days)
- Books I abandoned: Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
- Format breakdown: print books (5), audiobooks (4), e-books (1)
- Genre breakdown: Fiction (3), romance (3), nonfiction (3), YA (1)
- Average star rating: 4.1
Stuff I Recommend
- The Little Mermaid (movie) – My mom and I saw this movie together and it was phenomenal! Man, I loved it so much. Halle Bailey was a complete delight and so talented, Flounder and Sebastian were so much fun, and the scenery was out of this world. Highly recommend!
- Clue (movie) – This movie was amazing! I couldn’t get enough of it, especially the ending. Tim Curry is everything in this movie.
- John Mulaney: Baby J (comedy special) – John Mulaney has been through a lot since his last comedy special: the outing of his drug addiction, a two-month stint in rehab, a divorce, a messy relationship, a new baby… his squeaky-clean image is effectively gone. While I am very displeased at the way he handled some of his issues (namely, the divorce), I wanted to watch this special because it was a Jamie Golden “green light” and I listen to her. I’m really glad I watched this special! It was hilarious in parts but also very poignant and real. He didn’t gloss over his addiction and what came after, but he still made it funny.
- LGBTQIA+ in the Church on The Bible Binge (podcast episode) – This podcast episode was so very good, and I’m recommending it to everyone I know. It’s probably less necessary for anyone who didn’t grow up in a church setting and doesn’t need to hear from people why it’s okay to be affirming of LGBTQIA+ people. But as someone who didn’t come out for a long time because I thought being queer was a sin against God, it gave me a lot of hope.
Goal Stuff
- Go for a walk every day (10/31) – Oh, this isn’t pretty at all. I kept being lazy in the morning and not going on a walk, and then it would get blazing hot and I just didn’t want to go outside and get super sweaty. I must do better in July!
- Drink a bottle of water every day (11/31) – Another pitiful month of water drinking.
- Complete 100 Peloton workouts (44/100) – I was just so damn lazy in June. So lazy! I’m now 6 workouts behind in my goal. Oof.
- Watch 6 movies and 6 standup specials – I watched two movies and two standup specials in June, which puts me ahead of my goal. Woohoo!
What was a highlight of June for you?