July 2026

July 2026

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

11.08.2024

11.08.2024

33 and 8 days old.

Why is it around birthdays we reflect and our minds go to what we don’t have, what we haven’t accomplished, etc. If negative self-talk, limiting beliefs, not so nice opinions from yourself and others were each a basketball, they would be making nothing but net shots from half court.

It has taken some WORK to not get defensive when people make comments or ask certain questions. I am normally really good at letting things just slide off my back like water on a duck’s back. I understand these questions are coming from a place of love because people want you to have those things. Just sometimes they get through and damn do they stick.

Why aren’t you married? When are you getting married? Yall have been dating for how long? When are yall going to live together? You better hurry if you want kids. Do you even want kids? You are throwing your money away renting. When are you going to buy a house? If you want those things, what are you going to do to make them happen?

Those questions get under my skin sometimes.

So let’s spell it out… this is where I am at.

I am 33. I am not married. I have been dating someone for a while. We don’t live together and there aren’t many talks of an engagement ring or moving in together anytime soon. I am a dog mom. I don’t have kids. I am Aunt Junie to my niece and nephew and other little people in my life. I don’t own a home. I rent a cute little cottage that is extremely convenient to everything in my life. I paid all my debt off this year and that is an accomplishment I am really proud of. I have great friends and family. My lifestyle is supported by me. I don’t have financial help from a significant other. I am healthy. I am active. I have a great job. I travel. I am living my life as a 33 year old with two dogs and a boyfriend.

There are times when I do get sad thinking about my future and where I am at in life. In those moments, I do feel like I am behind. I question if I will just be single [meaning not married] for the rest of my life or if the desires of my heart will be met. Sometimes it is really hard to hold your faith in those moments. Especially when you hit another birthday and those desires aren’t met and it doesn’t look like they will be anytime soon.

The funny thing is deep down to my core… I am not sad… at all actually. I don’t feel like I am behind. I am content where I am at in life. I actually enjoy and embrace it. I am good. I am happy. I feel accomplished. I am confident in who I am. I am proud of my faith, resilience and strength. I am proud that I can go through tough moments with grace, strength and perseverance. I am someone that is kind and good to people even when they aren’t so kind to me. I give grace when I probably shouldn’t. I do and always have. I am genuine and authentic. I have a sweet soul. At times, the world has tried to steal that from me and I refuse to let it. I completely trust in my future and God’s hand in my life. If he wants me to be a mom, I will be a mom. If he wants me to be a wife, I will be a wife. Whatever he wants me to be, I will be. He will absolutely direct my path for his purpose and plan.

I have fought so hard for the person I am today. I feel like I am finally on solid ground again and quite frankly I am enjoying the ease of things. I just want to be here for a little bit. I want to catch my breath and just enjoy where I am at in life. I do feel accomplished and successful. At the same time, I know I was made for big big things! I will have so many accomplishments over my lifetime. I am just learning to bloom where I am planted. I am enjoying this season because Lord knows it can change in a second. He has your book and he is turning the pages. Only he knows when the next chapter begins. If you skip around the book, it just isn’t as good as when you read a book how it was intended to be read. So line by line, page by page, chapter by chapter, go through your book of life that was written by the most amazing author the way it was written. Enjoy the story he has for you. It is yours!

I have a sneaky suspicion he may just blow your mind a little with twists and turns, hard times and great times, and everything in between… if you just trust him.

So I challenge you to do just that… trust him. Stand firm in your faith that he has an amazing life for you. Bloom where you are planted and enjoy the view. Even if it is raining in your life right now, there is still beauty in the storm AND you can’t have flowers without the rain… just sayin’ [insert wink and a big ol’ grin].

Thank you Lord for 33 years and eight days Earthside. Thank you for this day and everything that has happened to get me to this exact moment. I love you. I honor you. I am just so incredibly grateful.

Last thing… I just want to remind you again that God is good and he will.

Until next time,

Amanda