Goodbye June!

I have spent a lot of time putting together the month wrap up. Why was it so hard? I feel like June didn't even happen. I blinked and it passed. I spent each day simply trying to get through the day. Yes, I painted and cooked, but I definitely just went through the motions each day. Stephen and I just promised each other to not "fail' next month and to enjoy it more! Not that this will be difficult. I did come up with answers for the wrap up, though...eventually.

Person of the month: Steph at Eat Paint Sweat. She is always so sweet, and it is very inspiring to read another blog with awesome artwork. I love her art work and think she is so talented. Thank you Steph for being amazing!

Moment of the month: Coming back home to Texas to my boyfriend, cat, and chinchilla. Oh, and today I had a great hug and tackle from Stephen. That was AWESOME!

Outing of the month: We went to First Friday in Bryan, the town right next to College Station. It was cool to see local artists and walk around the really cute down town area.

Book of the month: Kripalu Yoga: A Guide to ractice On and Off the Mat. This book is awesome. It doesn't read like a text book and has me hooked. It has great exercises, and even teaches you how to put together your own flow of postures. It has been fun playing with it.

Movie of the month: White on Rice, with Lynn from The Actor's Diet. This is a great movie, I actually watched it a few times.

Accomplishment of the month: Crossing something off of my list! I got an easel and have been painting on it. I love my paintings so much, especially my bird painting, and the heart painting from yesterday.

Restaurant meal of the month: We just realized that we went on all boring date nights this month. No new, or really great restaurants at all. Actually, we had awful service pretty much every week. And our last lunch date was very disappointing for both of us. We did enjoy going out for beers at the Fox and Hound, if that counts for anything! We ordered their baked pretzels one night and loved them!! Their beers are pretty excellent, which leads to a new category.

Beer of the month: Fullers ESB

Cooked meal/dessert of the month: This one is actually hard, because if I did anything this month it was bake and cook my little heart out!! For dessert, I loved the chocolate covered cookie dough that I made today, the dark chocolate gelato, and the orange pineapple cupcakes. For an actual meal, I loved the salmon tacos I made, and the bbq dinner with baked beans and sausage. There was a lot to choose from, though!

 Today's dinner was delicious! I made gorditas with apple guacamole, turkey, and black beans.

The guacamole has tomatoes, onions, apple, avocado, and lemon juice. It was really yummy.

Homemade gorditas! These are essentially very thick corn tortillas. They actually came out delicious, and I will be making them again. I will not post the recipe, because they were a little messy and difficult to make.

But it came out nicely. A very very satisfying dinner.

Have a bite? I wish there was better lighting.

Dessert was incredible. I checked out Joy the Baker this morning, and did not hesitate on making these cookie dough balls. They are phenomenal. Seriously, best dessert I have eated in a long, long time. It's a little embarassing, because they are very easy to make.

They are so cute.

And delicious. And dangerous, too! I can't wait to eat more of them. And then make more of them.

I want to address my goals from the beginning of the month. Again, I will say that this month flew by and I am a bit disappointed by how little I took advantage of the time. Honestly, it is summer! I should be enjoying myself. But for some reason, June has been my least favorite month for the past 3 years. That just means that next month I will be mindful and aware and enjoy it!

Goals:

Yoga at least 3 times a week: I started to meet this goal at the end of the month, and I am loving it! So I call this goal a success.
Meditate for 20 minutes at least 2 times a week: I am incorporating more relaxation at the end of my workouts. I do want to add a seated meditation into my routine eventually. I will start this next month. Not quite a success, but not disappointing either.
Create 2 new cupcakes and 2 new cookies: I created one new cupcake recipe, my orange pineapple cupcakes, one new chocolate chip cookie recipe, and one new brownie. Not quite a success again, but not bad, either!
Cook one new thing each week: Definitely a success. I was constantly trying new bread recipes, and being creative in the kitchen!
Try at least one new restaurant: Fail. Complete fail!
Have 2 days a week where I eat something besides oatmeal for breakfast: Success!! I have been having french toast, pancakes, blended oatmeal, as well as my usual oatmeal.
Find a part time job: I still have my little writing gig, but that doesn't really count. So a fail.
Turn in my proposal and write an outline for my thesis: I worked on it. Does that count?
Give more: Another fail, but something I plan to work on next month.

How was your June? Do you feel like it flew by?

A quote to leave you with:

"Don't be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it's just death." ~Lena Horne