What I Learned in June

Well, my friends, June's a wrap! Can you believe it?!? Memorial Day feels like a thousand years ago, and I'm sure in a month, I'll be saying the same thing about the fourth of July! It's been a busy month of learning for my little brain. Some tidbits you may or may not need to know include...

1. You can have a new key made for a lawn mower.

In the great key misplacing of 2016 {featured on a podcast story earlier this month} I had a mild major panic attack, because one of the misplaced keys was to our lawn mower. We just bought it {used} off a friend, and he didn't give us a spare. And I don't even know that he had a spare to give us, because it was used when he got it as well. So in my mind, here we were with a "new" mower that had only been ours for about a month, and we were going to have to buy and maintain a goat, because we lost the mower key. About two hours into the panic attack, Ryan casually mentioned mowers can be re-keyed. WHAT?! I did not know this!


2. Mangoes? Not my favorite.

I have learned throughout the course of this health-finding journey that I enjoy a great many foods I did not know I liked. Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes top that list. So when mangoes were on sale at the store earlier this month, Ryan suggested we get a couple and try them. I was eager to try, because I was on a new-food-loving roll! But it turns out I really don't care for them. I feel like a bit of a fruit failure, but I like most of the rest of the fruit family, so I will try not to mourn the dismissal of the mango. {Or maybe it wasn't the best mango and I should try again?}

3. You should water your flowers in the morning or evening, not in the heat of the day.

You all probably knew this already. But I'm so NOT a green thumb and it's a wonder anything plantish has ever survived under my care. I can't remember what I was reading this month that told me this little tidbit, but it was news to me. I figure the flowers that live here are lucky IF I remember to water them. And IF I remember at two in the afternoon, I better get up right then and do it or I might not remember again come evening! But I've been doing my best to water at the appropriate time of day. {Why it's appropriate? No idea. I can only absorb so much information at once.}

4. Moms are even more amazing than I knew.

I'm not a mom and have always acknowledged that being a mom is hard work. But earlier this month, I watched our two nephews and one niece for a whole day, and by 5:00, I had developed a brand new sort of appreciation for the work moms do. These three kiddos are great kids. They are well-mannered and fun and in no way make me crazy. But when Ryan got home from work and I gleefully reported that I had managed to UNLOAD THE DISHWASHER that day - and realized that was actually all I accomplished - I realized just what a huge job parenting is. The kids were dressed, the babies were in clean diapers, everyone had eaten something at some point and some had napped twice. No one was crying {including me!} and an impressive gaggle of photos represented the day. But the house was a disaster and the only work I accomplished was unloading the dishwasher. Moms? You rock.

5. Smoke alarms can expire.

Ryan and I were painting in our garage last week when the smoke alarm went off. Actually, to be fair, EVERY smoke alarm in our entire house went off. There are six. Do you know how shrill six smoke alarms sound in unison? For the record, there was absolutely no fire {thank you, Jesus!} and we called Ryan's cousin, who is a firefighter, to get insight on why this might be happening and HOW TO MAKE IT STOP! He suspected one of the six had gone bad and if we could find the one, we could eliminate the deafening screams. Ryan did just that and upon removing the offending alarm, he said, "Oh! This needed to be replaced five years ago." I had no idea those things could expire! So keep an eye on milk AND smoke alarms! 

 6. My first year off work was 100% not what I expected...and I had no expectations!

June 26 marked one full year since I left the full time work force to become a stay at home wife and writer/speaker. I had no idea what to expect with this career change. I was simply following what I felt God urging me to do and leaving the rest up to Him. What unfolded was not at all what I expected, but it has been one beautiful year. I recapped it here last week, in case you missed that post, but I walk away from June grateful for a good first full year off work and amazed at the beauty of the wildly unexpected.  

7. I am a fan of parchment paper.

I bought my first roll of parchment paper years ago, because a recipe I made said I needed it. I owned that roll for years, wondering why I wasted money on one little recipe. But I have noticed a number of clean-eating recipes recommend using parchment paper when you bake, so I started using it more, and then I started using it for EVERYTHING I bake on a cookie sheet, because cleanup goes so much faster. I hate, hate, hate scrubbing dishes. {Truth? Ryan does 95% of the dishes that have to be washed by hand. He doesn't mind it and knows I hate it with all my being.} Parchment speeds that process up so much. It's my new cooking best friend.  

So that is what I've learned in June! Emily Freeman is hosting a link-up with many other very wise bloggers, so if you want to learn even more, check it out!