Oops, I forgot to send this out last Friday while I was on vacation! So much for keeping my shit together with autism and ADHD, huh?
Anyway, please enjoy another installment of this monthly series: the top things I ended up reading, eating, playing, obsessing over, recommending, and treating myself to in the last month.
Reading: REALITY TV ROMANCES
More specifically, queer reality TV romances, which is all I’m ever (very vocally and probably annoyingly) rooting for when my partner and I watch these kinds of shows and never actually happens IRL—but does happen in the pages of two delicious beach reads I enjoyed in July!
HOT SUMMER by Elle Everhart was inspired by Love Island, while HERE FOR THE WRONG REASONS by Annabel Paulsen and Lydia Wang pulled from The Bachelor universe. Both were packed with all the juicy drama you'd expect *and* surprisingly tender moments between emotionally intelligent characters struggling with compensatory heterosexuality (which, like… relatable).
I tore through both of these stories at lightning speed. Highly recommend picking them up for your next pool day if you’re a sucker for queer love stories like I am!
Eating: MORNING MEAL PREP
I know that my AuDHD brain needs protein in the morning to function well. I know this. And yet I also know I will never, ever, ever be the kind of person who can actually wake up and cook herself a real breakfast in the mornings.
The solution? I pop on my headphones, press play on a podcast, and do about 30 minutes of meal prep on Sunday nights to make this protein-packed egg casserole, so I can simply microwave a serving for myself each weekday morning.
The recipe is easy, the clean-up is simple, and once I’ve pulled it out of the oven, I can relax in the knowledge that I’m all set for my AM nutrition goals for the week. I managed to do this successfully every week in July. So worth the work, tbh.
Playing: ALL STARS S9 [SPOILERS, KIND OF]
I spent July gooped and gagging over the incredible performances from the queens of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season nine—a season wherein contestants didn’t compete to win money for themselves, but for charities of their choosing.
For those keeping score at home, here’s an outline from Wikipedia citing which queens won how much for which charities (warning: if you haven’t watched yet, this may spoil some things for you!):
Angeria Paris VanMicheals won $231,500 for the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC)
Roxxxy Andrews won $64,000 for Miracle of Love
Vanessa Vanjie won $31,500 for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
Gottmik won $29,000 for Trans Lifeline
Jorgeous won $14,000 for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Nina West won $11,500 for The Trevor Project
Plastique Tiara won $6,500 for The Asian American Foundation (TAAF)
Shannel won $11,500 for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA)
The idea that anyone thinks that drag queens could be a negative influence on society when this gaggle of girlie pops just earned nearly half a million dollars for non-profit organizations is so frustratingly misguided—it might be laughable if it weren’t so enraging!
Obsessing over: MY BOOK!!!
Copy edits are complete! Interior designs are in review! The cover is almost finished! Things are happening and I am so excited!!! I cannot wait to share more as I’m able, but for now, just know that we are thisfreakingclose to the finish line and I am very emotional about it!
Recommending: OWALA
I’m not sure I can appropriately explain what it is about the Owala Free-Sip water bottle I bought in June that has taken my daily water intake in July from abysmal to exceptional… but I started consistently drinking 3-4 liters of water each day since I got it and haven’t looked back since.
Maybe it’s the little handle grip that makes it so easy to carry along with me every time I leave the room?
Maybe it’s the specific shape of the “Free Sip” lip of the bottle, reminiscent of the lips of those twist-top Gatorade bottles we all drank as kids—or the fact that despite that comfortably-shaped lip, you’re actually drinking through a straw when you sip through it, not sucking like you’d have to on those squeezy Gatorade bottles?
Maybe it’s that there’s also the second drinking option akin to a wide-mouth water bottle you can throw back your head and really guzzle from if you’re parched and need to glug-glug-glug immediately?
Maybe it’s the triple-layer insulation, which keeps my lemon water with ice perfectly frigid all day long?
Maybe it’s the fact that I can sit it in front of me while I’m working at my computer and simply lean forward to sip through the front lip/straw like I’m a weird little gerbil in a cage?
Maybe it’s the cute colors?
Maybe it’s the fact that I kind of look like a koala bear when the lid is open as I drink from it, which could be why it’s called Owala?
I DON’T KNOW OKAY but whatever it is, I love this thing so much it’s weird! This literally isn’t even sponsored content and I did not get this thing for free, I paid full price for it at Target like a chump! I’m sorry I’m being so intense about a water bottle but I cannot recommend it enough!!!
Treating myself to: TIME OFF
As I alluded to in the intro above, I took a vacation! A real one, just for fun, not even to attend a function or fulfill an obligation! And it was glorious! Highly recommend using your PTO! I am clearly still happy days after returning from it given all of these exclamation points! And no, I won’t edit them to seem more sane! Deal with them! Take a vacation yourself so you enjoy them more, too!!!
What’s in your July report?
Even if you’re not someone who enjoys “journaling” per se, this kind of guided reflection is a fun way to think about how you’ve been spending your time and energy lately. So, what have you been reading, eating, playing, obsessing over, recommending, and treating yourself to in the past month? I’d love to know!