Life Lately – July 2021

Happy July, friends! I hope everyone had a safe and fun Fourth of July weekend. I spent the whole weekend writing a paper, so it was a low key day for us. While I enjoyed having Monday off, I spent the day cleaning and doing laundry.

1. June was a crazy hot month. We had three weeks over 100+ degree weather. We topped out at 109 a few days. Thankfully, that passed, and we’ve had plenty of rain and cooler weather. The garden has loved all of the rain, and I am loving a milder summer.
2. I zipped up to Kansas last week for a work retreat. The retreat went well, and I eventually made it home. Bonus points: I grabbed Panera and Joe’s KC while I was in town (we don’t have Panera in El Paso). Thanks to the general ineptitude of American Airlines, I got to spend an extra day in Dallas and wound up flying home on a Southwest flight.
3. It took us three tries, but we made it to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico over the long weekend. The caves were fascinating, and they were different than the East Coast caves Mac and I have explored. They’re worth the stop if you find yourself in the area (or plan to drive through the area).
4. My doctoral program is progressing. It has been a bit of an adjustment to balance work and school. I honestly feel behind most days because we have so much reading to do. But I’m keeping up as best I can, and I’m trying to make the most of what we’re learning.
5. And to our new flavor updates. First up was the Chocolate Sheet Cake Blue Bell ice cream. If you love chocolate ice cream, you’ll love this flavor. It’s basically the ice cream version of a classic Texas sheet cake with fudge swirls and pecans. I also grabbed these Red Hot Goldfish on a recent trip. They’re a bit spicy, though they really do taste like Red Hot. And I had to try the seasonal lemonade dozen at Krispy Kreme. We don’t buy donuts too often because we both completely lack self-control around donuts. These did not disappoint. The lemonade flavors were great, and I especially loved the pink lemonade cruller.

Any big plans for July?