July Recap
Finally writing a book
July began the second half of the year and I feel like, already, the whole year is planned and full of things happening. Weddings, birthdays, and birthday parties, holidays, trips planned.
July was the first month all year that I feel like I wasn’t sick. Even with the flu gone, I’m a life-long, all-year-round allergy sufferer. Being on phones for my day job definitely activates my sinuses and I am loading up on allergy medicine more than ever before. The moment cedar shows up on the allergy count, I’m a goner. But it was the first month that I felt like I was just dealing with that - the normal allergies.
This was also the month I finally dove back into a book and started writing. By mid-June, after months of not writing because I was just focusing on searching for jobs, I knew I had to get back to writing. In July, I wrote 36,000+ words. It’s not my best month ever, but it is by far my best month of 2026.
It feels good to be creative again, to tap into that part of my brain that I don’t get in my day job. Especially over the first half of the year, when so much was just trying to survive - trying to survive the day-to-day of my job, the illnesses, the grief that stll catches me off guard, it got dark in my brain.
Creativity - the writing, the planning, the plotting - all of it, is important for my brain and important for my health.
The month started off not at my house, but dog-sitting again. This was a stressful moment as these dogs were much more vocal, while I was on the phones, than my parents’ dogs were in May.
However, the response from customers, which was usually empathetic is understanding that dogs just need to express themselves, finally gave me the boost of confidence to get back on my walking pad during work. I’m now doing 3-4 walks a week during work and that, too, is helping my mental health.
We celebrated a few friends’ birthdays, including an event at putt-putt where we caught a rainbow. That was actually the second rainbow we saw that night. We watched a World Cup match with friends the night after, and being out to watch sports with others reminded me while I love sports so much, even if I no longer play them.
Fourth of July weekend, we also went and visited with my great-uncle, who is the last surviving sibling of my grandfather. It’s bittersweet, to spend time with family members now, but know that the end is near for them. It’s the same way with my maternal grandparents, too.
The other big thing I did in July was finally decide (I think) on a new productivity app. I’ll write about the whole process eventually, but after years of working in Notion, it’s time to say goodbye. I spent a lot of time thinking about the apps that I had the option to use and then dove back into one.
There is still a small possibility I just move to Apple Notes and call it a day, but I’m not ready to make that call just yet.
And of course, there were all the things I watched and read. Whatever August may bring, I hope it’s nice like July.
What I Watched
Supernatural
World Cup
What I Read
Chase Me if You Can by Heather Frances
Everyone in Lying to You by Jo Piazzia
The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives by Elizabeth Arnott
The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren
Molka by Monica Kim
The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl