August was a wonderful month. It was a slow month, but also a month of big decisions, new experiences, and tons and tons of time spent lounging lazily reading.
Disconnecting from my blog and the Internet as a whole was exactly what I needed. I needed to get away from blogging and social media, to let it all go for just a little while. I will admit, at a certain point, I began to feel weird, so cut off from what was going on in people’s lives. As I added my social media apps back onto my phone yesterday, I felt as if I was entering this unknown world. I felt awkward as I scrolled through Twitter and Instagram once again. In due time, it’ll become second nature for me. It always does.
We’re two days into September already. We’re a mere eight days away from the kick-off to the NFL season and I’m sure Halloween costumes and candy will be littering the aisles of Target soon enough. Before we know it, we’ll be eating Thanksgiving dinner, decorating for Christmas, and singing holiday songs. This year is passing by in a blink of an eye, but that’s just how it goes. I’m just trying to be present and open to what each day has for me.
Early into August, my roommate and I signed a lease! After losing out on some privately owned condos in South Tampa, we decided to rent from an apartment community. We move next weekend, so August has been a flurry of decluttering, packing, shopping for the new place, and saving up for move-in costs. I have many emotions surrounding this move, which I’ll be talking more about next week.
I celebrated two years at my job last month. I can’t believe it’s been two whole years, and that I still love what I do just as much as I did when I started. Like any job, it has its low points, but generally, I love it. It helps that the work environment is healthy and motivating and that I work with wonderful people who are fun to be around. I had an informal annual review, which was more of a discussion where I could ask questions and give feedback on their processes. It’s truly a joy working at this company and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead in year three!
After more than two months of having a UTI, Dutch is back to his normal self. It was really in August when he seemed to be back to his usual perkiness. He’s not having accidents in the house anymore, though we have been careful to take him out more often. (And, sometimes, that entails waking up at 4 a.m. on a Saturday, which is totes fun.) Last week, he went to the vet for a dental cleaning and his biannual comprehensive exam. He passed his comprehensive with flying colors, and it makes me so happy to know that he is healthy again and not dealing with the pain of a bad UTI. That was such a low point of my year!
Other happenings in August: Dutch and I walked in a race, which was fun even if the race was a little unorganized. I met up with my friend Amber to participate in a Home Depot workshop, where we got to make a decorative shelf (and it was completely free! Score!). And my writing partner and I started meeting weekly to work on our novels. We hadn’t made the time for it in a very long time, so it’s been fun to get together for a few hours on the weekend and have dedicated time to work on my novel.
All in all, August was good to me. I loved my time away from the Internet, but I was also counting down the days when I could return to it. I missed it so much more than I thought I would, especially blogging. While I needed the time away to reconnect with myself and make some big plans for my life and this blog, letting it go for a little while made me realize how much I love it and what a big part of my everyday life it is. I’m so very happy to be back.
Tell me something good that happened for you in August!
I was at Target yesterday and the Halloween candy is totally out already! TOO SOON!!
I am glad that your month away from social media was good for you. I have never done that but I can see how it is appealing and refreshing to take a complete break. I would definitely miss blogging and reading others blogs the most. I’ve been keeping up with that but I still feel a little disconnected from others’ lives as I feel like I’ve been so busy between work, marathon training and all of the other responsibilities of life!
Something good that happened in August was spending my mom’s birthday with her and getting to see my Chicago brother and his family, and celebrating Phil’s birthday!
My August: I started blogging again (sort of, it’s a slow start but I’m getting there), I got a cat who is already the center of the universe, H started Kinder, S started baseball and I became a very exhausted team mom (post on that probably today).
Glad you’re back and glad your August was great!
Good things in August: hosting Iowa Amber for a weekend, visiting DC to see Becky/Ben/Parker and other friends and focusing more on myself and my fitness!
Glad to have you back 🙂 Excited to see how your September goes!
Welcome back!! Definitely missed your posts and updates. August wasn’t my favourite month. I felt blegh and not myself for most of it and the weather kind of sucked and ya, it just wasn’t great. I have high hopes for September and it’s already been off to a great start with me being on vacation this week and Lisa arriving tomorrow for her visit!
So glad to see you back! I was just thinking the other day about how I don’t think I’d last a month without social media, and how awesome it is that you have that kind of willpower!
Congrats on finding an apartment! I’m looking forward to reading all about it!
My August consisted of routine appointments for Norah, looking at a few houses because Kyle and I need a more functional living space, a day trip to the lake, and a few afternoons by the pool Nothing too crazy!
Welcome back! I disconnected from my blog a little bit this summer (still posting occasional, photo-related content) and it felt so good. I’m happy to be back and ready to dive head first into September!
Sounds like a great month! I turned 31 in August with a very low-key birthday celebration, just my boyfriend & me at a nice restaurant here in Cleveland. He gave me the boxed set of the Harry Potter books! And then, toward the end of the month, we spent a week in California, first for my best friend’s wedding & then for a lazy little beach vacation. It was prettttty perfect – now if only I’d had air conditioning…
I am so glad you enjoyed your social media break. Sometimes it’s necessary, but I definitely understand that you were anxious to come back, too 🙂 It’s a love-hate-relationship sometimes 🙂
I, for one, am looking forward to reading from you again 🙂
Yay! I’m so glad you’re back. I missed seeing your updates on my blog feed. The break must have been nice though… social media can be so distracting.
I love that shelf! I want to make a free one! 🙂 I’m glad Dutch is back to normal too. Phew!
How exciting that you signed a lease! I’m sure you have a lot of mixed emotions about it… I know I did when Jerry and I bought our house and I moved out of my parent’s house. Good luck. I’ll be thinking of you!
Welcome back and congrats on your move! I always admire you for doing these social media breaks. I don’t think I could do one!
Camping was the highlight of my August; it was nice to get away, if only for not even 2 whole days!
Something good that happened to me in August was cooking for my best friend and her husband. I’ve been wanting to do that for them for months and finally made good on that promise! Made them short ribs and mashed potatoes.
So happy to have you back on congrats on the new apartment! I’m keeping my fingers get crossed that I get approved for an apartment with Sugarface, my lease ends end of this month. EEK!
So glad Dutch got a clean bill of health, he is extra cute in that last picture! Best of luck with your move and I hope you and Dutch settle in well to your new place 🙂
Dude. Your shelf is AWESOME, and is going to look fabulous in your new place – yay!!!
Good thing that happened in August: Parks started belly laughing. I had to dig deep for this as most of August was a sh*t storm of stress, but he continues to be such a light in our lives even when we’re crazy sleep deprived!