June in Review

Tuesday, June 1 I still struggled with allergies. My run in the morning was rough due to all the congestion I had woken up with. Matthew made himself a fancy shrimp boil for dinner. I made myself coconut shrimp.

June 2 I felt pretty terrible. We watched Ted Lasso. 

Thursday, June 3 I didn't go to work because I was up all night coughing. I picked up my laptop and worked at home. I did get to try out L&P Bakery in Sandy. They have boba, so I wanted to give it a go. That evening, we went to dinner at Mod Pizza with Jim and his parents who were in town. 

June 4 We got me an Apple Watch from Walmart. I found used Series 3 Apple Watches on KSL for around $150-160, but Matthew saw that Walmart had it new for $169. Rather than spend $100 on an older model FitBit Charge 4, I figured may as well spend a little more for the Apple Watch. So far I actually miss my FitBit. I don't like my watch alerting me to everything on my phone, and I don't like the way the sleep mode works. We had orange chicken and potstickers for dinner while we watched Cruella. 

Saturday, June 5 I went to Orange Theory and started laundry. Heather's baby shower was at 11. I stayed until about 12:30pm because Matthew picked me up to go to FitCon. FitCon was fun. We got a lot of stuff: PBFit and donut leggings for me, jerky and male supplements for Matthew, and Feast Mode seasonings for both of us. It was so, so hot out at FitCon. We went from FitCon to Walmart to get a game for Rowan's 13th birthday, then dropped it off to him. He was so excited to get his present from Uncle Matthew. We got home and I did more cleaning and laundry, plus client check-ins. We got dinner at Itto and watched Cruella. We both enjoyed it, which surprised me. I wasn't looking forward to that movie in the least. 

June 6 we just had a low-key and quiet day. We went to Smith's for groceries. We also booked flights to go surprise my dad. 

Monday, June 7 was an ordinary day of work. I got waxed, which is always a fun time (not). Matthew went on a bike ride. 

June 8 we were able to watch Iron Cowboy James finish his 100th Iron Man in 100 days. I was emotional as I watched. What an amazing human. 

From my morning walk

June 9 we had a camp fire with Jim up at Church Fork in Millcreek Canyon. Always worth the $5. After we ate, I needed some steps, so I went up the road and saw that Grandeur Peak hiking trail starts there. So I started walking up it just to see what it was like. Wow, it's beautiful! I want to take the full hike soon. 

Friday, June 11 was Matthew's cousin Abby's reception down in Orem. It was at his cousin Jana's house overlooking the valley toward the mountains. It was a beautiful home in a beautiful spot. 

June 12 was my friend Mariah's baby shower; a cute simple luncheon. Around 5:15pm, we drove out to Wendover to stay at the Rainbow Casino so we could go to the Salt Flats on Sunday. We ate a very expensive, very mediocre dinner at the casino. While eating, Matthew saw an old mission companion and his wife, so we chatted with them for a couple of minutes. 

Sunday, June 13 we were up pretty early and had breakfast at the Copper Kettle Cafe. It was super cheap and pretty good. Then we were off to the Salt Flats. We planned this trip for early June to avoid the July and August heat, and we were scared it would be too hot with this crazy June heat wave. On the flats though, it was only 81, thankfully! Matthew was able to navigate us to a small pool of salt water that was super beautiful! It's so salty you're supposed to be able to float. I hadn't put on my bathing suit since we didn't know if the pool would be there. We did put our feet and legs in, and the salt residue left behind was crazy. My car is still a mess with salt. 

June 14 We went to a Bees game with Kevin and Brionna and Jace. It was 102 degrees. They left early because their little one was tired. We left after 7th inning stretch. After that, we went to Spilled Milk ice cream. So good.

Tuesday, June 15 I did a mid-week Orange Theory workout since I'd be gone the following weekend. I mailed my passport to get my name updated so that we won't be pressed for time the next time we want to leave the country. I like to do things stress free, I guess. 

June 16 was Hawaiian day at work, so I dressed up a little. We also had book club at work during lunch. In the evening, I had another painful massage with Ederson. I picked up Swig for us afterward, and we watched Loki. We are loving Loki!!

Thursday, June 17 I got free Cafe Rio for lunch, so that was nice. I love the random free lunch emails I occasionally get. I also did lots of financial work, moving investment accounts around, etc. And I made tooth powder to take to my dad and brothers.

June 18, we didn't want to make a mess of our kitchen before leaving town so we went out to dinner. Chili's was an insane wait, so we ended up at Mulan for some quick Chinese food. That night, we packed to go to CA for Father's Day. 

Saturday, June 19 we flew to CA to surprise my dad for Father's Day. Jason picked us up at the airport and drove us around to pas the time. He took us to meet up with dad, Jake, and Jared at Peppertree, a breakfast place we like to go to. We successfully surprised my dad. We got smoothies as a midday snack. That evening, Matthew went with his brothers to the cemetery and to dinner. Dad and I went to Casa del Rey. 

June 20 I went on a long walk. We got Starbucks and Donut Queen. Dad made ribs. Matthew baked potatoes. Jason, Jared, and Amoreena came over. We looked through old photos, hung out, and chatted and watched Pirates. That night, Matthew and I tried The Ice Cream shop in Glendora. Weirdly, they had banana splits. My dad had mentioned he hadn't had a banana split in years. So we got him one!

Monday, June 21 I went on a run. Dad and I got breakfast at Butter Cafe in San Dimas while Matthew worked at home. Before leaving, Matthew got Chipotle, I got Wingstop, and we got ice cream from House of Scoops that just opened up by my dad's house. We watched We Bought a Zoo, talked with dad. Dad took us to the airport. Jim picked us up. We got home fairly late. 

Breakfast with dad

June 22 I got groceries after work, including stuffing and a rotisserie chicken so we could have dinner. I lifted weights after work too.

Wednesday, June 23 we watched Loki and ate theater popcorn. I took my car in that morning to Richins auto near my work to get a general inspection. They came back suggesting coolant exchange, brake fluid exchange, spark plugs, and new motor mounts. They were very low pressure about everything, so I scheduled to bring my car back for motor mounts. Also my boss and I went to Mr. Charlie's chicken fingers for lunch, so that was good. 

June 24 we made tortilla pizzas for dinner and watched Luca on Disney Plus. 

Friday, June 25 I dropped Max off at the vet. There's been blood drops around his litter box for a while. Turns out he has a bladder stone, and severe constipation. That was a spendy vet visit (sedation, enema, etc.). I guess bladdeer stones are common in overweight cats. Max is taking a stool softener once a day and antibiotics twice a day. It's really fun to force feed a cat, let me tell ya. I also got him a water fountain. Hopefully we can get him ship shape. He's only 6! 

June 26 we did our normal Saturday things (Orange theory, laundry, cleaning, groceries). But I got a massage! And picked up our ice cream taste off kit for the evening. We got Itto Sushi and then went up to Mariah and Cameron's for our Taste Off. We all had different favorites. I liked the Centennial ice cream from Rowley's. Cameron liked BYU's cookie dough. Mariah liked the Cookies & Cream from Bow Tie. Matthew liked the Huckleberry from Nils Swedish Creamery. We played Code Breakers afterward. It was a lot of fun!

Sunday, June 27 I went on a walk. Afterward, we tried to go to Sunday Best for brunch. Unfortunately, we couldn't get in without a reservation, so that stinks. We tried Original Pancake House, crazy wait. We went to Sweet Lake Biscuits - looked super busy, we didn't even ask. We finally ended up at Gourmandise. I didn't love it, honestly. I got the French toast which just looked way better than it actually was. Matthew got the egg croissant that I got last time, but it wasn't the same as when I had it. Disappointing. In the midst of all this, my phone lost the front page of my icons. I couldn't get them back! So I had to erase my phone and restore from a backup. 

At 12:50 we left to head up to Lava Hot Springs. We picked up Matthew's friend Jason off the freeway in Logan and he rode with us the rest of the way. Before we arrived, I started having really bad back spasms in the car. They got progressively worse through the day. We met up with Marisa and TJ who Matthew hadn't seen in years; they live in Georgia currently. We went to the hot springs. I barely put my feet in. It was way too hot. When we got back up to the parking lot, a good Samaritan told us that the Uhaul parked to our right had hit my car and not left a note. So we got to start a claims process with UHaul for that. We left a note for the driver; they still haven't texted or called. I can't believe people's lack of integrity and accountability. 

After that, we tried to get a bite to eat, but the corn dog truck was closed. We ended up at Lava Waffle, which was terrible, frankly. But it made a good memory and was fun to sit and chat with the group. We didn't leave until about 7:20pm. My back was fully spasming, and Jason had some CBD rub with him. Sadly, it didn't help, but I appreciated the gesture. We took Jason back to his car and got back into town at 9:40pm. Our eating that day was so weird and sporadic that we were really hungry. Lines everywhere were crazy, on a Sunday night at 10pm! We landed on Taco Bellyache (as my coworker called it). It was a late bedtime for us on Sunday. Long, long day! And we hit over 200,000 miles in my car! 

June 28 my back spasms were out of control all day at work, and of course work was insane the one day I needed it to be calm. Late in my work day, I was mansplained by our cleaning crew's account manager, and left work incredibly angry. I was tired from a weekend that had felt nonstop, and we still had a Bees game to go to with Brittney and Tyler. I cried on Matthew when he got home from work; feeling angry makes me cry. He insisted we skip the game, but I didn't want to. We still made it on time and had a good time. The game went really quick--not even three hours, and the Bees won! We got a McDonald's cone afterward and came home.

Tuesday, June 29 was another crazy day at work. The back spasms remained with me another day. And I found out that from my Sunday phone wipe out, my Health data wasn't part of the backup. I lost all my previous periods I had tracked, along with our records of intimacy I'm trying to keep in case they're needed for the doctor. I was filled with frustration and anger that morning (lots of feelings of anger lately which is super rare for me. It doesn't feel good). To take the time and energy to meticulously track everything and then have it all erased just wasn't how I wanted to start my day. Matthew also called me mid-morning to tell me there was a bomb threat in the parking lot at his work. Thankfully everything was fine, but holy cow!  After all this, three days of back spasms, and a crazy work day, I decided I deserved some cake. So I went to Village Baker after work and also picked up a goody bag from a car mechanic for a Yelp event. Lots of snacks in it. I love snacks. I made us dinner, but Matthew wasn't feeling well. Man, it's just been a rough few days!

June 30 was yet ANOTHER crazy work day. Holy cow my work is mountains and valleys. But I took my car in in the morning to get those engine mounts. When my boss took me to pick it up later in the day, I wanted to cry from happiness! My car has needed that for about 6-7 years, and I had no idea. I've been with the same mechanic since 2010, and they never recommended replacing my engine and transmission mounts. You guys, it is like a whole new car. I am amazed. It turns on quietly, drives quietly, and the transmission is so smooth now. It has been noisy and struggling for years, and I thought it was just because my car was old. But I've taken good, consistent care of my car, so I was frustrated it was so rattly and struggling. Turns out, my mechanic has just basically failed me this whole time. I LOVE this mechanic by my work and will sing their praises forever. That night, Matthew packed and left to his friends' house to dog sit for them for a couple days. I ran to Smith's and Crumbl. And I embarked on the project of hemming my pants. If my sewing machine were always set up, it probably wouldn't be a huge deal. Alas, my sewing machine is never set up. So I have to re-learn it every time I need to use it. And picking the existing hems out of my pants took a long time. I got one pair of pants done and am going to do the other pair tonight.

Post-hemming project. 

Let's recap:

- Sinus infection/allergies/night coughing for over a week
- Antibiotic nasal irrigation 2x/day for three weeks
- Crazy vet bill for Max > antibiotics for Max 2x/day 
- Bomb threat by Matthew's work 
- Crazy work week (including plunging a toilet full of poop, getting mansplained, sprinklers running non stop, no toner for the copier, travel plan changes, and a company car having low oil after I just got an oil change, etc.)
- UHaul hitting my car in Lava Hot Springs
- Back spasms
- I woke up this morning to a text that our car rental for Nauvoo had been canceled, so I had to book a new car for more than 2x the price. 
- Phone freak out/erase/restore > Health data gone

It has been a ROUGH freaking week, and month actually. 

Since I woke up today with just tightness (not spasms) in my back, I was able to go on a run, and I'm hopeful that July will bring us better tidings. And I still know we are blessed in so many ways. So grateful we could go visit my dad, and grateful my cat is OK, even if he's a pain in the ass. So grateful my car now feels and sounds better than ever, and is running like a champ at over 200,000 miles!

Books I read in June
- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (text first half, audiobook second half)
- Compound Effect by Darren Hardy (audiobook)