Watt's Up? July Edition

This July recap is a few days late, but better now than never! I’m always amazed when I write these posts because it makes me stop and realize how well I’m doing and how much I can pack into a month. The end of July marked my 6th month anniversary since starting DNRS, and I remain so grateful that God brought this program into my life. This month I’m…

READING: Dad read some Flannery O'Connor stories to me, and we're now reading Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter together. I've been reading Strong Like Water by Aundi Kolber and various devotional material. I finished The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis and discussed it at reading club.

WATCHING: Sharing My Body with My Sister, a documentary about Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel, Candid Camera Classic: You're Downgraded, Daughter NAILS Dad with Weight Challenge Prank

LEARNING: I'm learning Spanish on Duolingo and earned 1st place in the Diamond League, which was fun! I'm still learning how to drive and taking classes for college credit from Sophia Learning.

MAKING: I made Dad a cheesecake for his 60th birthday. Mom and I bought the ingredients at Aldi, and I hid the graham crackers and canned cherries under my bed. Then, the day before his birthday, I baked the cake before he came home for lunch. I opened the kitchen door to air out the smell, hid the cake in the craft room, and put everything back in order in the kitchen. When Dad came home, he asked me if I had been baking because the oven was hot, and I said yes. Mom then thanked me for baking chicken, and I escaped the room and started laughing. The next day, I gave him his cake, and he confessed that he had seen the ingredients under my bed when he came into my room a few days before when my brother Ben called, and I was resting. LOL.

Mom and I had fun making open and closed terrariums. Unfortunately, some of the plants in some of the closed terrariums died, but we think we put them too close to the hot window and overwatered them. We're learning. The open terrariums are still doing great!

Enjoying: Mom and I went to Morris Organic Farm and enjoyed picking green beans, pickling cucumbers, and yellow squash and bought dill. We also had Carolina wrens build a nest in our spider plant and now have 3 baby birds. It’s been fun to watch them through our dining room window. At the beginning of the month, we went to friends’ home for their 4th of July party. 

Feeling: I had some medication withdrawal and acute illness to deal with this month, but I recovered more easily than in the past. I had a Zoom appointment with my hormonal and Babesia specialist, and I don’t need to talk to him again for a full year!

EXERCISING: I've been exercising a lot this month between bike rides, walks, and runs, and I'm currently training for a 5K run in Pittsburgh on August 26th that my brother Alex invited me to do with him. There’s still time to sign up if you want to join! I’ve been using the free version of Strava app to track my exercise, and I recommend it.

Doing: Besides what is mentioned elsewhere, I volunteered in the church library one night, helped clean at RC WATT, and made a slideshow for our RC WATT open house. A family from church also had Mom, Dad, and me over for dinner one Sunday, and we had a college friend of Mom and Dad’s over another Sunday. We also had our RC WATT ribbon cutting with the Norwin Chamber of Commerce.

EATING: Mom made fermented sauerkraut, and I helped her make fermented pickles. We've been enjoying eating both. They are delicious and are full of probiotics. We're also enjoying bone broth, made in the Instant Pot, and some fresh zucchini from our garden.

BUYING: I went to neighborhood garage/yard sales with Mom, and I bought some picture frames, craft supplies, and a betta fish tank, and I bought a betta fish from the local pet store. I named him Harbin, which means bright little warrior. 

Watt were you up to in July?