My July is looking like – 4th of July fun with friends, lots of Rover sits, and home improvements. Follow along to see how it goes.

July 3rd 2024

Well.. we are leaving for our vacation today and I’m busy!

July 10th 2024

I was tired from our trip and hopped right into work, working on the bathroom, and everything else. No update for this week. Just know that I am BUSY!

July 17th 2024

Work:

One of my projects at work has me a bit stumped and I need to start getting serious about prepping the Spring only and 25-26 apps. I need to do better in the next couple of weeks.

I just found out yesterday that I’ll be going to the StarRez Global Conference in place of my supervisors which is AWESOME. I’ve been to this conference 4 times now and I love it every single time. Sadly, I’m going in his place because he’s been really sick for a long time, so that’s nothing to celebrate. None the less, I’ll be scrambling today to find flights for NEXT WEEKEND and planning that trip.

Personal:

My schedule has been completely booked lately. I’m trying to gather as many Rover sits/check-ins as I can to try to pay off the bathroom repairs. I think it’ll take me about 3 months to get back to zero balances on my cards and be able to save again, which is stressful, but it’s okay. I’m thankful I have been able to afford the repairs and that I am not drowning.

With all the driving I’ve been doing lately to go do my Rover check-ins, I’ve had quite a bit of time to listen to audiobooks lately and I’ve really enjoyed it. You can see my recent books on Goodreads.com.

I’ve now taken three Spanish classes on Preply and so far I’m liking it. It’s a little difficult to get over myself but I’m doing okay at fighting the embarrassment. I just want to learn and I’m paying this person for one-on-one lessons and I genuinely think it’ll help to have a dedicated hour each week where I’m actually speaking and listening to Spanish so it becomes more regular in my life. I’d love to do 3 lessons a week, but with everything going on financially right now, I can’t afford it. Maybe in the future!

Jay and I sat down and talked about our home options and after we started getting into what needs to actually be done paperwork-wise and putting our home on the market he just got cold feet and asked that we stop looking. I was sad about that because we’ve looked at some beautiful homes and communities that have pools, dog parks, and other amenities and it was exciting. However, I also know I couldn’t afford a 2nd house on my own so I will respect his decision. It’s a big one and I don’t want him to jump into it if he’s not 100% sure.

As for home improvements, I’m still working on finishing the bathroom, but I’m actually pretty impressed at my ability to do what I’ve done simply by some Google searches and YouTube videos. The bathroom looks so much better now with the new white wall, grey vanity, and solid white floorboards. I’m terrible at getting before photos so I’m going to have to find one from when I bought the house so I can show a side by side comparison of how it looks now. It’s way better.

I haven’t started on the laundry room part of the repairs yet, but hopefully this weekend I’ll get in there and paint the wall so I can put the floorboards on there too. I put my Rover account to AWAY so I can focus solely on the house. Jay will be out of town so it’ll be the perfect time.

Unfortunately, Jay and I finished all three seasons of Sweet Magnolias and are now looking for a new show we can watch together. We both really loved Sweet Magnolias and are looking forward to the release of Season 4.

🐕🐕 The Dogs 🐕🐕

This past weekend we took Boone to the mobile clinic to get his annual shots, which are two months past due. I’ve been so nervous about taking him that I just haven’t done it, but it’s been weighing heavy on me. I’ve been nervous simply because I don’t have control of him when we go for walks so I was worried about taking him to a place that had lots of other dogs and then not being able to control him. I wasn’t worried about aggression or anything like that, but simply being embarrassed at my lack of training and control for him.
That being said, he was amazing. He did a great job in the car (no vomit thankfully). We were very blessed that there weren’t any other dogs there when we arrived, which completely blew my mind because I’ve been taking Bentley for years and there is always along wait and a lot of other dogs. Jay went with me and kept Boone off alone while I filled out paperwork and then we got it done. I feel like that was a huge weight off my shoulders.

Jay bought the boys this new ball that’s supposed to challenge them because it’s so big and they have to grip it a certain way and it’s been entertaining them all week. Bentley isn’t into it too much, but it distracts Boone enough that we can throw a different, smaller, ball with Bentley and he’s happy with that.

I’ve had 2 Rover checks in a day this past week, but mostly for cats! I love getting cat requests because cats are soooo easy. They don’t have to go outside if the weather is gross. They don’t typically jump on me or scratch, and they don’t require much attention when I’m there. However, things I’ve realized I don’t like about cats… they shed a lot more than the dogs I’ve watched and my own. Gross. Also, more than half of the houses I’ve visited that have cats have a terrible smell. Dogs smell sometimes too, but there is a specific cat smell that is just awful.
Nonetheless, I’m super happy the requests keep pouring in. I did turn off house-sitting for the rest of the month because I have been wearing myself thin and I can feel it. I’m tired. Plus, Jay is going to be gone two weekends for a family trip and softball so I need to be home with our boys anyway.

📖 Book Club/Reading 📖

I just finished listening to Akilah Hughes’s “Obviously” and that was a fun one! I put it on my best audiobooks list (:

I started another audiobook today, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to finish it. I’m about 10% of the way through and just don’t like it so far. It may be a physical copy kind of read.

My employer’s book club is not meeting over the summer months. We’ll reconvene in the Fall.

I officially scheduled my Business Analysts exam and I’m so stressed. It’s at the end of the month and I still have about 350 pages of the textbook to get through. That’s just general reading, no studying, so Yeah… I’m super nervous.

✈️ Travel ✈️

As mentioned at the beginning, my employer notified me yesterday that they’re sending me to California next weekend and I’m so excited! I’ve never been to Anaheim and I am excited just to get up out of here for a little bit.

I’m also planning my trip to Albuquerque next month (also for work) so that’s super fun! I love travel planning and I just get so excited thinking about all the opportunities.

July 24th 2024

Work:

This past week I spent a lot of time getting my trip to Cali all lined up for the StarRez conference. I got my flight, hotel, and registration, and was approved for extended personal travel off the end so I got my baseball tickets, my Disneyland tickets, and hotel for that part of the stay.

I am close to wrapping up the first part of the Academic year application and spring-only applications that go live in September, so that feels good. I’m just waiting on some assistance with writing the last piece of code to make a change in our app from last year.

On a positive note, I was approved to start working from home 3 days a week come Sept. 1st! DANCE PARTY!

Personal:

I’ve had a lot on my plate lately, so I’ve turned my rover off for a few days. I only had one dog sit this week and despite needing the money, I feel much better. I’ve just been pushing a bit too hard lately.

The home repairs are on pause until I get back from my trip. The bathroom is pretty much done for now. I do need to apply another layer of paint around the edges, but I’m not going to do that until I’m ready to paint the laundry room so I can just do it all in one swoop. I also need to add in a backsplash and caulk the sink area, but I haven’t found a backsplash I like yet. I also have to find someone who can cut a backsplash when I decide to buy it.

The bathroom looks really good though and I’m happy with how it’s turned out.

I’ve continued with my weekly Spanish lessons virtually with my tutor William. I always get super nervous and sweaty before class which makes me laugh for some reason, but once we’re in the lesson, I really enjoy it. I do find that it’s challenging and sometimes the lessons are a bit too hard, but I’m definitely learning new vocabulary, and having him correct my punctuation is very helpful too. We’ve played some games, role-played scenarios, and had vocabulary lessons in almost every class.

🐕🐕 The Dogs 🐕🐕

Boone and Bentley are now both fully vaccinated and Boone is registered for the next year so I’m feeling pretty good about Dog-momming lately. I need to register Bentley but I can’t find his vaccination records so I need to start digging to do that soon.

Tomorrow I’ll be taking Boone to the groomer for the first time ever to get his nails clipped, which he DESPERATELY needs, but I’m also super nervous because he’s been notoriously not great in the car and he’s never been to the groomer before, which is loud and has lots of other dogs. Soooo pray for me I guess. haha.

I also noticed that Boone has something like a cyst on his left back leg. If it doesn’t go away in the next week or so (while I’m on my trip), I’ll schedule an appointment to get it checked out when I return.

📖 Book Club/Reading 📖

Last week my Silent Book Club met up at Mas fajitas and talked books. I didn’t get much reading done because it was pretty loud in that venue, but I still really enjoyed it.

I’m still panicking over my ECBA exam. It’s NEXT WEEK. Unfortunately, I’ll have to take it from my hotel room in Cali, which is no bueno, but I guess at least it’ll be done. I did not finish the textbook, despite reading every night lately. I have, however, been watching a bunch of YouTube videos and reading through notes on Quizlet and whatnot to try to prepare for the exam. Let’s just say, it’s not looking too good for me. Also, you have to score 90% in order to “pass”.

✈️ Travel ✈️

I’m extremely excited to be flying out to California this weekend, but I am NOT looking forward to doing so on a red-eye flight at 4:00 am… but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

While I’m in Anaheim, I’m planning on attending an LA Angels baseball game, and visiting the Downtown Disney district as well as Disneyland main park. I’ll be heading to Knott’s Berry Farm with the conference as well as spending a night at the House of Blues. On my extra day, I’m undecided if I’ll just be hanging out at the pool or exploring more, but we’ll see how it goes! I’ve decided not to rent a car so I’ll be slow traveling on public transport for me days that I’m on my own.

Last post until August!