July 2020
Hi Friends,
May flew by and then June flew by and I can’t believe we’re basically in the middle of summer! I intended to post more throughout June but when the BLM movement came to light after the death of George Floyd and riots and looting broke out in LA, I knew it was inappropriate to post my usual content, and I wanted to take a step back to listen, learn, and figure out what my next steps should be. Another reason I wasn’t really posting in June was that my boyfriend and I went on a trip to his family farm in Oregon for about 10 days, and spent another 10 days on the road driving up and around the Olympic Peninsula and all the way back down to LA via PCH. It was an incredible experience and I can’t wait to share more about that in a later post!
Now that I’m back, it seems like businesses are starting to open up again, and I know it’s something we’ve all been looking forward to. While I definitely want to take advantage of summer this year, I also still want to be careful, especially since there’s a suspected “second wave” of COVID-19. So if you’re like me and want this summer to still feel like summer, but also want to stay safe, read on and I’ll include a list of ideas on how to still have a fun summer during COVID-19!
May Recap:
I plan to do a whole post of our big road trip which took up most of June, so if you want to see a “June Recap”, stay tuned for that post which should be coming soon! In the meantime, I’m switching my highlights and goal recap over to bullets so we can get to the good stuff quicker.
MAY HIGHLIGHTS:
PROGRESS WITH MUSUBI. He hasn’t been the most trusting of me (or any stranger) so taking him on lots of walks and taking him to the beach really improved our relationship!
KIMCHI MAKING WEBINAR from from Picklé with my mom for Mother’s Day
GETTING BACK IN THE FITNESS GAME. Successfully completed all 8 weeks in Sarah’s Day’s Sweat it to Shred it E-book with my cousin, and started her 2nd E-book Sweat it: Reload
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION with my family and boyfriend! We grilled some kushiyaki from a local restaurant on my mom’s Japanese konro grill.
PROGRESS IN THERAPY. I’ve had some great moments of insight this month that will set the groundwork for making some major improvements
HOW THE GOALS I SET IN MAY WENT:
Productivity:
Goal #1: Start a new paining or drawing that will end up on the walls of my apartment
Reality: While I didn’t start a new painting/drawing, I tried my hand at painting a woven basket, and I started a new book!
Goal #2: Work on reducing sugar intake + focus on eating whole foods even when snacking
Reality: While I’m still enjoying my sweet treats, I’m also doing better to enjoy whole food snacks like veggies and hummus, fruit, and organic chicken salad.
Connectivity:
Goal #3: Set up FaceTime calls with 2-3 friends and have meaningful chats with them
Reality: I one-upped this goal and I’m really excited about it! Since I tested negative for COVID-19 before I visited my mom for Mother’s Day/my birthday, I was actually able to plan a few socially distant walks with a couple of my girlfriends!
Goal #4: Plan a fun Mother’s Day for my mom with my brother
Reality: It was a little more stressful than we would have liked since Musubi did not do well with my grandparents’ surprise visit to the house, but we still had a good morning walk to the beach, a backyard sushi lunch with the grandparents, and my mom and I had a ton of fun doing the Kimchi Making Webinar together.
Positivity:
Goal #5: Focus on positive thoughts. Go for a mindful + happy walk when I find myself ruminating, having negative thoughts, or when I’m in a negative mood.
Reality: I’m not going to lie, I let this one go and not necessarily on purpose. I just didn’t really keep it at the front of my mind, so I need to practice mindfulness when it comes to goals like this one. I still did an okay job at being positive, but I had a hard time avoiding ruminating in my thoughts, and I’ll definitely be setting some goals in June to continue working on positivity and letting things go.
Goal #6: It’s my birthday month so I’m going to TREAT MYSELF!
Reality: Even after I bought myself a bikini (I’m still waiting for it to come in the mail) and a floor seat to the My Chemical Romance concert that’s supposed to happen in October, I still treated myself to some beach walks, hikes, getting take out with my boyfriend, and another belated birthday gift to myself when I found an indoor spin bike on sale during Memorial Day weekend!
July:
One of the main things I’m focusing on this month is ENJOYING SUMMER. The sun is out, the sky is blue, and I couldn’t come up with a good rhyme for: things are starting to open up again, but you get the point! Summer is here. However, like I said before, I still think it’s important to proceed with caution and if you don’t feel comfortable going out or with any of the suggestions I include below, it is A-OK. We all have different thresholds of comfortability during COVID-19 so do what works for you and also try to not judge others for what their threshold looks like. So with that said, here are my suggestions!
WAYS TO ENJOY SUMMER QUARANTINE STYLE:
Read a Book/Start a book club
Outdoor/Backyard Movie Night! OR have one indoors and treat it like a luxe movie theater with drinks, snacks, and coziness galore. If you’re in the LA, area Tribeca and Street Food Cinema are hosting Drive-Ins and you can also check out some Drive-In Theater’s here.
A Good Old-Fashioned Beach Day
Sunset Walks/Hikes
Group Hike (Try to go early to avoid crowds)
Picnic - backyard, park, beach, or even your car if you can open the windows and find a good place to park with a view!
Find Fun Ways to Cool Off!
Have an old school “pool party”. If you don’t have a pool, get a mini inflatable one or a slip’n’slide!
Find a safe space to play capture the flag with super soakers or water balloons
Wash your Cars yourself!
Game or Trivia Night! You can even find a way to do this virtually.
Enjoy Dinner Outside
BBQ!
Try a new recipe whether it be a cocktail, meal, or dessert!
Take A Day Trip - find a farm to visit and pick up local produce, find a hike that’s outside of your area, or even find a cool restaurant that’s out of the way you can pick up from or maybe even eat at now!
Start an edible garden!
Pick a quarantine buddy and go for a game of tennis, volleyball, basketball, or even toss a frisbee around
DIY Photoshoot!
Get Creative but do it outdoors - paint, draw, or learn a new craft/skill like knitting or playing the guitar.
Go Camping
Go Paddleboarding or Kayaking
Do Yoga or Pilates outside!
Take a virtual class. There’s tons out there, but here’s a cool list if you need a place to start.
Alright, now it’s time to start talking about this month’s goals. I’m very excited for July, and to be able to enjoy summer like I haven’t been able to the last couple of years. I’ve been so busy working that I didn’t really allow myself the time to breathe and enjoy the outdoors. Sure, I had one or two beach days and lots of hikes, but I never really gave myself the opportunity to be present. In my May recap and reflection, I talked about some of my struggles that are not only affecting me, but also the people around me, so I definitely want to use this month to take the opportunity to work on a few of these things.
MY JULY GOALS:
Do Work
It’s important to me to keep educating myself on the BLM movement and I want to continue to do my part in learning how to best support the black community
Enjoy Summer
I want to get outdoors every day and get some sun! I think it can also be a great opportunity to safely socialize with friends!
Be Present
Enjoy more, worry less.
Manage My Anxiety Better + Practice Mindfulness
I’ve been having some really productive therapy sessions that are giving me some major insight on how to better deal with my anxiety and insecurities. Maybe I’ll do a separate blog post on it later, but for now I’m really passionate about working on this throughout the month of July and beyond, because I really feel it will help improve my relationships and overall well-being.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
AKA Let things go
Keep Connecting
Keep up with the relationships I truly value, even I’m not able to connect in person, and have confidence in knowing that when we’re able to start socializing again, I will be able to move forward in finding “my people” out here in LA.
Things I’m Looking Forward To this Month:
Sharing more recipes! I LOVE stone fruit and berry season!
4th of July! Although I have no idea what I’m doing yet!
Starting MUD! Assuming nothing changes due to COVID, I’ll be starting their Multi-Media Make Up Program at the end of the month, so I can start a career as a make up artist in Film/TV
Safely socializing, working on myself, and enjoying my last month of endless free time!
Seasonal Produce:
FRUIT : VEGETABLES:
Apples Asparagus
Avocados Garlic
Apricots Carrot
Banana Celery
Cherries Cucumber
Mangoes Chard
Rhubarb Onions
Berries Green Beans
Melon Eggplant + Summer Squash
Nectarines Radishes
Peaches and other Stone fruits
What goals or intentions are you setting this month? How will you be present and enjoy the summer? So I hope one of the goals you set for yourself this month, is to enjoy this beautiful summer weather, and please share with me all the wonderful ways you’re planning to enjoy the month of July. I hope you’re all able to enjoy the world as normalcy begins to creep in again, and please remember to stay safe!