Hi friends! As promised, a recap of each month… July is just a little late. If you know me though, are you really surprised?! Punctuality is not my strong suit. I am consistent though.

Anyway, here we go!

This month was filled with surprises and things that were definitely not on my bingo card for the year. This time they were good things. Praise. The. Lord!

First, ya girl is making her dreams a reality and we are moving in less than 60 days. I am so proud of myself and excited for this next chapter! EEEEE!!!!

I paddle boarded with a freaking shark!!! The shark was truly one of a kind… he was a toasted golden with four legs, a long tail, a big smile, and he wore a blue vest that had a fin on it. Oh and his name is Duke! HAHA! Yes, Duke got on the paddle board and did SO good!!! It wore him out – praise Jesus. We will have many more paddle board adventures and that just makes my mama heart soo excited!

I also paddle boarded with friends too. I absolutely love being on the water with my people. I am a quality time girl, so it just totally fills my love bucket right up.

I spent a day by the pool day with one of my good friends! Snacks [including pickled okra – yum], sunshine, conversation and music. I think I say this every month, but I am blessed with the best dang people around. I am convinced of it. Convinced!!!

It is the best feeling in the world to be loved and to love. Love is a very powerful thing and I am a lover girl.

It is hotter than hot here in Texas, so we didn’t play as much tennis this month. We will pick it up more as things cool down. I am still boxing and love it. Oh and I joined a gym again!

I want to be a morning workout person so bad… I just am not. Lunch workouts are more my jam. It has been nice being back in the gym and lifting weights again.

Two things can exist at the same time. You can be happy and sad. You can be excited about something and feel grief at the same time.

It’s easier to move forward in clarity when it is very clear what your options are, right? Well a majority of things in life are not black and white… they are grey and every freaking shade of grey there is. I am learning or I guess you could say accepting the fact that things naturally figure themselves out if you just give them room to breathe.

Being transparent here: my nervous system is a little wonky sometimes when it is trying to find safety. It has been known to fill holes with stories, keep things on a loop and just get off balance sometimes. I have experienced certain situations that make this more amplified at times. I am working really hard to be able to move through those situations with better communication and grace for myself. Anyway, my mom sent me a video that suggested a way to calm your emotions is by naming the emotion. For example, if you are someone that deals with grief, you can name it Ginny. So when you feel yourself grieving something, you can tell your brain, “Ginny, you can’t stay for long.” or “Ginny, you can be here, but you aren’t in the driver seat.”

I have been using it because why not try something that has worked for other people? My nervous system is named Nori. So a few things Nori has heard this month is:

“Nori, we don’t have to have all the answers right now.”
“Nori, turn down the volume. We are okay.”
“Nori, that is some real good story tellin! We are focusing on facts right now.”
“Nori, stop. We are safe.”

It has weirdly been helpful! Maybe give it a try?

Bless people that write reviews and bless Chinese take out.

Also, thank you God for my new friendships and for opening the door for conversations to happen with old friends too.

We are halfway through August and it has been filled with good food, friends, family, blessings, breakthroughs, manifestation and tough workouts. No spoiler alerts over here, so you will have to wait for the August recap to get the details.

Before you go, I want to remind you of something:

You are amazing!
You are so brave!
You are doing the best you can!
You are so incredibly strong!
You are someone people admire!
You are fun to be around!
You are easy to love!
You are someone that people are proud of!
You are worthy and important and seen!
Thank God for YOU!!!
Whatever you are facing, you’ve got this and will get through it! I just know it!

Be where your feet are and enjoy everything each day has to offer. Because each day really is a gift.

Until next time,

Amanda