What I Learned in August

Ryan glanced out the window during the Colts game last night and told me that it was dark...at 8:30. Sadness indeed. August has come and gone - or at least as of tomorrow it will have come and gone - and believe it or not, I did learn a few things while it was here! Take a look!

1. I did not miss my calling when I decided not to become an actress.

As I blogged about earlier this month, I had a very small (smaller than miniscule, really) part in a skit at church, and it completely stressed me out. I was terrified of forgetting all my lines. All four of them, you know. It wasn't being in front of people that scared me. I do that all the time when I speak. It was the actual acting and the attempts to be seamless with the others in the skit that terrified me. So skipping out on acting was, it turns out, one of my better life decisions.

2. If you're going to ride a bike for the first time in five years, don't try to do twenty miles in one day.

I am really proud of myself FOR doing just that, but WHEW! (Trivia: when I did the laundry after our bike ride, I discovered Ryan owns biking shorts with a padded behind. WHAT?! No wonder he wasn't hurting on that trip!) Also, as a subpoint to this item, if you haven't jumped rope in a while, maybe start back up with something less ambitious than six hundred jumps.

3. There is such a thing as a leap second app.

Have you heard of it? I learned about it because one of my Facebook friends has used it every single day for the last year. She has recorded exactly one second of video to represent her days over the last year and it made a 6 minute and 6 second video that was pretty fun to watch. (If I am the last person on earth to learn about this app, just move along and say "Bless her heart.")


4. The initials M and M (like of the candy?) represented people's names.

Ryan watched a documentary (that was way more interesting than the name "documentary" would lead you to believe) on how food shaped America. Part of the documentary focused on the chocolate industry, which obviously covered Hershey and Mars...but that's where we learned that both of the Ms stood for a last name of the candy creators. WHO KNEW!?

5. Concrete stamping is FASCINATING to watch.

We had some work done on our front and back patios this month, and I had never seen concrete stamping before. It was so cool to watch them place the texture and color designs in the fresh slab of concrete. I was kind of like a toddler watching through the window! I'm sure the guys were eager to finish the job at our house and return to working at places where scrapbookers-in-residence do not hover.

6. I found out what dill looks like...outside of the spice jar.

Since I don't have an herb garden of my own, I typically use a lot of dried spices in my cooking. When I was on our family vacation this month, I saw dill for the first time in plant form. It's like a tiny green (not hot) firework!

7. Andrew Luck retired.

And so marks the thing we all learned this month, right? As you know, I'm not really what one might call a die-hard sports fan. (One might just as easily call me a complete sports idiot and be absolutely correct.) I'm not really a credible sports commentator. But that doesn't stop me from having a comment! :) I am actually more of a Jacoby Brissett fan than I am an Andrew Luck fan, but I have incredible respect for what Andrew did. In all likelihood, we only heard a fraction of the reasons that factored into his decision, but if a man of his talent and caliber can see beyond the game and the paycheck to consider the full scope of life, health, and family, I applaud that. It's rare and impressive.


So what about you? What did you learn?