July has been pretty uneventful so I have had to think really hard about what made me smile this month. I had to take numerous walks, many saunas, and decide what I could shove on the list even if it only turned the corners of my mouth up a teensy bit.
I don’t want you to think that July was awful but it I also don’t want you to think it was anything special. So, without further ado, here are the 6 Reasons I Think I Smiled in July 2017:
1.) The 4th of July cul-de-sac party. So many more new people joined in on the corn hole fun. Sure, I was jet lagged and it was difficult to stay awake but I managed to see the mini fireworks display the neighbors provide. On a side note, this party was on July 3rd so that we could recover before having to go back to work (our group tends to overdo it in the beer/wine/alcohol area). On July 4th, I saw the most amazing fireworks I’ve ever seen. There are no pictures because I viewed them from the master toilet room in my house. I accidentally discovered this prime viewing area a few years ago and I haven’t gone to see the professional fireworks since then. This year was the first year that I regretted my decision because this one particular style of firework was like that of a budding dandelion. Freaking amazing and beautiful.
2.) I’ve grown so much as a person that I ‘allowed’ two of my children to go to other parts of the world for 3 weeks without an adult I know and trust with them (mainly me). They loved their trips and I loved it when they came back to me safe and sound!
3.) My oldest daughter traveled to Greece and left her sweet dog, Brody, with me. He’s such a needy love-bug and he did not leave my side for two weeks. He made me smile because he always kind of knew when I needed him. NOTE: I took at least 20 pictures of him but unfortunately my iPhone update lost them all. Grateful that the only things lost are pictures of Brody. Sigh. Technology sometimes…Let me see if I have a spare picture or two of the little guy.
4. ) I (finally) went into Quest Diagnostics for my long overdue blood test. I was supposed to go in April but I was so afraid that my doctor would change my medication that I delayed and delayed. I thought he was going to say, “Shoot, your numbers are sky-high; we have to reduce your meds and go from there.” I was so worried about this because he switched my medication in December and by January, I knew I was finally on the right thyroid dosage. I went from falling over being so tired all the time to back to being myself. I didn’t want to go back to December! The good news (GREAT) is that he called a few days ago and my levels are perfect so no changes are needed at this time. We’ll revisit my levels next January or so. And in my doctor’s words, “WOOHOO!!” Definitely a huge reason to smile.
5.) I know this isn’t happening until August but I’m also smiling because of our upcoming trip to the Salmon River Retreat in Oregon. It’s truly my happy place so there will be lots of smiling there.
6. I planted a little 6″ organic tomato plant into my raised garden bed. It grew steadily and then while I was in Europe, the little bugger took off. I’ve never seen such a huge tomato plant before. I had to hack off several of its arms because it was covering its neighbors and suffocating them (a lemon tree and a rosemary bush). It’s now somewhat contained but the funny thing is that I won’t eat a single tomato from it so the plant is purely decorative. Why won’t I eat any of the tomatoes that come from it, you ask?? My cat discovered the raised bed right after I planted basil, cilantro, and the single tomato plant and has been using it as his second litter box. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I cannot harvest and eat any tomatoes that were given life from cat poop–although now that I think of it, maybe that was the secret sauce that went into making it GigantoTomato!! No matter, I’m still not eating any fruit from the vine–and next year, I will put a wire fence around the planter so that Billy doesn’t get in.
Those are my 6 reasons to smile in July, 2017. What are some reasons you smiled this past month?
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Those are such good reasons, especially that the test came out so good! Very happy for you *hugs*
Thank you, Estrella. Yes, the test was the best. So relieved I can wait until January for the next test. Knowing me, I won’t go until May…
I can start pestering you about it 1st of January, if you thinkk it’d help 😉