May in Review

Well, Utah has not delivered the great weather of past springs. In fact, I think this was the rainiest, darkest, coldest, cloudiest spring I’ve seen in almost 14 years of living here, following up the craziest, snowiest, most dangerous winter in 14 years of living here. I look forward to spring every year, and usually I’m not disappointed. This year, though, it went beyond April showers and into May floods. Thankfully, the forecast is looking much brighter, and I am excited.

On May 1, Matthew took me to the new Korean BBQ place on State Street by Shane Co. It was good. I went way over on protein and was kind of sad not to have more rice or noodles or some kind of carbs. But it was a new experience, and I liked it. The beef was actually my favorite, which is surprising. It had the best flavor and texture out of all the things we ate.

I had a little bit of a scare the next day when I got a text from my upstairs neighbor (with five children) saying that her condo had flooded (due to a child-induced toilet clog), and she was worried about mine. No one was home at the time, so I gave her my key code for my door to let her go check. The hallway bathroom had some water, and later my roommate could hear dripping behind the wall between the bathroom and laundry room. I don’t think any real damage was done, but it was a nice scare.

But even that couldn’t take away from receiving a dozen roses at work that day from my love. They were so beautiful, and they made me smile every time I looked at them.

The weekend of May 4-5 was super exciting because I got to sit in online class for six hours each day: 9am-12pm and 1-4pm. I started to learn the basics of online trading strategies. This will be a long learning process, and I still need to sign up for practice labs. I also spent the entire week of May 6-9 doing class from 6:30-8:00pm. I missed the morning sessions and had to make those up. It took me another couple of weeks. This stuff is really intimidating—it’s no joke, but I like to think it’s a wise investment for my future.

I also did a lot of spring cleaning during class breaks and during lulling moments. I cleaned every single blind in my bedroom, dusted everything, and organized my desk. I even got a second monitor to help me with trading and practice labs later. It’s nice to have a clutter-free desk.

May 6, Matthew and I celebrated three months of dating. We went to Village Baker, and he was so understanding when I had to leave quickly to get home in time for class that evening.

On May 7, I had dinner with my friend Amber at Core Life. It was a super quick chat, since again I had to get home for class. But it was fun to see her and talk with her. Sadly, we got no selfies.

May 11 was a great day. I did all my normal fun adult stuff (workout, cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping). But I drove up to Ogden to have dinner at Slackwater with Joyce. Then I went to my first ever demolition derby with my friend Brittney and her boyfriend. It was fun! Plus, Matthew was able to meet me at Crumbl in Bountiful after, so that was a great way to end the day.

Mother’s Day was a good day. I took flowers to my mom. She loved them, and also is excited for her tickets to see Heart in August. I helped prepare dinner and ate way too much at grandma’s house that night. Matthew and I watched Game of Thrones, naturally.

May 13 was awesome, too! Matthew and I ate dinner at Nauvoo Café, which was inexpensive but really good. We tried to get Crumbl at City Creek, but apparently it closes at 6pm on Mondays. Wow. So I got some treats from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and we went to the Star Wars symphony across the street. It was really fun, and I think he enjoyed it.

Since is it apparently mental health awareness month, I feel I should mention my struggle with anxiety for a couple of days this month, but especially on May 16. I felt sick, stressed, wanted to be home, and struggled all day. I was able to go home, watch my show, watch Brene Brown’s Netflix special, and take a bath and read. Thankfully I don’t have very serious anxiety, usually soothed by breathing or CBD oil, but when it hits, it’s no fun. I was supposed to go rock climbing that night with my coworker, but due to scheduling conflicts plus my anxiety, it didn’t happen. It wasn’t the only day like that, but it was by far the worst. Anxiety has been a struggle my whole life, since before I had a name to put to it. I’m grateful for the resources out there and for the people who share their stories.

On May 17, my sweet guy came over to make me dinner for the first time. And he brought me another dozen roses “just because”! He made an amazing dinner: grilled chicken and shrimp, alfredo from scratch, and cheese bread from scratch. It was so delicious, and so fun to watch him cook.

Saturday, May 18, we went to see John Wick 3, had dinner at Proper Burger, and went to the Bees game. We left a little early; it was freezing.

The weekend of May 18 and 19 I had to do some work at home. We have a quarterly report every three months (obviously), and it takes a lot of work and time. I’m the one with InDesign, so I’m responsible for any and all changes to the report. We finally finished that report on May 23, a couple of weeks late due to a lot of back work and auditing.

But the best part of May 19 was the Game of Thrones finale. I mean I guess that’s debatable. It’s all over, and a lot of folks weren’t happy with the rushed feeling of the season as a whole. But I only have been invested since November, so I maybe didn’t have as much on the line as everyone else.

May 20 was another Bees game with Matthew, Britt, and Tyler. It was fun—the Bees won!

May 21 brought the quest for a cookie. Guys, when I save calories all day for a treat, and it doesn’t come to fruition, it’s a big deal. My treats are serious business. The Crumbl cookie by my work didn’t have the Snickerdoodle; actually they had everything EXCEPT that one (why do the cookie gods hate me?). I had sent Matthew cookies that day because it was a rough day, but they were for him. He generously offered to bring me the snickerdoodle when we met for dinner, but he forgot it. So then we sojourned all the way from Corner Bakery at Fashion Place Mall up to Cottonwood Heights to get me a snickerdoodle. They were OUT OF SNICKERDOODLE DOUGH! What is my life!? Not ready to give up on this treat I saved for, I drove to Team Cookie in Sandy to get one of theirs. It just isn’t even half as good, you guys. (Also, I have to give honorable mention to Matthew for following me from Fashion Place up to Cottonwood then back down to Sandy for this cookie issue. He didn’t make me feel dumb about it, even though I knew I was acting crazy. That’s the kind of man you hold onto; he humors your sugar insanity.)

May 22 was glorious. I left work and went to Trader Joe’s, which is always a good time. After that, I got a massage, which was amazing, obviously. And the day’s greatness didn’t end there; I went to Crumbl and got myself TWO Snickerdoodle cookies to eat halves over the next few days. The saga was ended. Sadly, I didn’t end up getting to see Matthew this day since he had to get ready to leave for Arizona the next morning.

May 23. Oh, May 23. In the morning, there was a man screaming outside of my building at work for several minutes out on Main Street by the Trax rails. Sadly, every time I got up to the window to go see what my coworker was talking about, he had taken a break from his screaming fits. When we went downstairs to walk to Starbucks, the homeless screaming man (who actually didn’t look homeless or crazy) was talking to a police officer. When we came out of Starbucks, the screamer was there, looked at me, stopped, and said, “Helllooooo.” I went wide-eyed, turned, and didn’t acknowledge it. Even my coworker said, “Looks like you have a friend.” I reached out on Instagram to see how other women deal with this kind of unwanted attention. I appreciated Kellie’s response, to just tell the men, “That makes me uncomfortable.” She said a majority of the time, they’ll apologize unless they’re crazy. I’m usually just so taken aback in the moment that I have no idea what to say; I imagine most women feel the same.

I just feel that we need to reach a place as women where we don’t let that kind of behavior slide. Whether it’s cat calling, inappropriate hand gestures, or whatever else. I feel like if we start to call attention to it, maybe we can start the process of change, and men will be better. Call me an idealist.

My cousin pointed out that his attraction to me validated the new jumpsuit I was questioning 

I have to spend a lot of time talking about May 24-27 because I needed it so badly. I took Friday off of work to offset some of my weekend hours, and just because I needed to step away from work. This was one of the most low-key, relaxing weekends of my whole life. On Friday, I went to Orange Theory, got myself a donut from my favorite place in Draper, and went to the running store, where I got myself a bunch of goodies (visor, Nuun, caffeine free Gu). After I showered, I headed to Tea Zaanti. It was an ordeal because of the rain and flooded streets, but it was worth it. I’ve been wanting to visit that cute place for a long time. I got a spicy coconut chai tea latte, read my book, and bought a package of the tea to take home. When I got home, I took a nap! A NAP, you guys! I got myself dinner at one of my favorite places: Mo Bettah’s. I watched Kill Bill Vol. 2, went on a walk, and took a bath. Just overall a leisurely, indulgent day for me.

Saturday, I did my usual adult stuff (running, laundry, cleaning, groceries), but got to do a salt water float in the afternoon. It wasn’t what I expected. I was dumb and forgot to put in ear plugs, and my ears are only just today (May 30) starting to feel better. It wasn’t sensory deprivation, so that was disappointing. It smelled a little mildewy, and my skin felt super slimy, probably just because of the amount of salt in the water. Honestly, it wasn’t very relaxing for me due to the water in my ears, the smell, and the sliminess. The soft skin after was nice, but I don’t think I’d go back.

BUT the day got better because I showered, got myself some pizza, and got to spend time with Ashleigh. We had some great conversation, wandered around Target (where I bought myself like four bathing suits—whoops!), and got Dough Co for dessert. Again, an indulgent day where I didn’t deny myself.

Sunday was another really low-key day. I went on a walk, went to an hour of church, went to Harmon’s to look for Thai basil (they had none), went on another walk, listened to an audiobook, chopped food for the week, and finished reading Night Circus (finally). I watched Iron Man (the original!) while I made Thai Green Curry using the sauce I got at Trader Joe’s. It turned out pretty well. I had a scare with a leak in my sink, but a Face Time with dad fixed that super quickly. So grateful it wasn’t a big deal! It was a quiet day, verging on lonely even.

Memorial Day Monday was the last of my relaxing days. I basically took my sweet time. I ran 5K since it was day 1 of half marathon training. I got a donut, went to Barnes & Noble and bought several books, one of which I am LOVING (see below). I tried out a local coffee shop I’ve never been to; I wanted to read there, but it was way too busy and loud. I came home and read some more. I went to the Bees game with Kristen, Julie, and Tina. The Bees won, and the fireworks were fun. I was home shortly after 10. I love a short game!

I just had a really nice, selfish four days where I didn’t deny myself of much of anything.

Tuesday was back to work, but I went ROCK CLIMBING for the first time with my coworker Deedee. She was so helpful and patient. I tried bouldering first, which is unharnessed. I’d definitely like to try bouldering and climbing again. I had to get certified in belaying and tying knots and such. It took a while because they had a free promotional night, so they were crazy busy. But honestly, it was so fun. I made it all the way to the top on one of my climbs. My forearms are still killing me. Things like washing my hands or turning up the volume on my phone are hard and painful! It’s crazy. Afterward, we got free tacos. I gave mine to Deedee, and we sat and chatted a bit. I was starving so I couldn’t stay long, and I didn’t have the strength for another climb.

On Wednesday, Matthew finally came home! He was in Arizona for six days. It was a lovely reunion, and I’m happy to have him back.

Thursday, May 30, bless his heart, Matthew fixed my headlight on my car, and he did it faster than anyone who's ever fixed my headlight. I started to get things ready for an overnight trip to Hurricane for my niece's baptism. It’ll be Matthew and my first road trip together, so I’ll report on it next month if we still like each other.

Today I'm just working a short day, getting home to finish up packing, and driving down to Hurricane. 

Overall, I think May was a good month, the rain notwithstanding. Lots of learning new skills, trying new things, and watching lots of baseball! Plus lots of audiobooks!

Books I read this month:

Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle (audiobook)

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton (audiobook)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts… by Susan Cain (audiobook)

#Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso (audiobook)

Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs (audiobook)

Naked by David Sedaris (audiobook)

Make Your Bed… by William H. McRaven (audiobook)

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (started in March)

Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (started in December)

On Memorial Day, I started reading The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. I am loving it so far. I’m finding pretty good success with books that were on a recommendation list for those who loved Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I loved A Man Called Ove, and I liked The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper. I will probably read the rest of the Rosie books (two more in the series) and try some more Phaedra Patrick books. It’s been so nice to be reading so much more this year.

Onto June, and more books!