I'm back, after a long few weeks. I've mentioned it on here a couple of times before, but I got knee surgery on June 29th. It's been a rough month to say the least. I've been feeling very unmotivated, uninspired and unhealthy. Prior to my operation, I was trying to get blog posts queued up so that I wouldn't miss posts, but I ended up being so out of it for such a long time, that it just didn't happen. Getting a surgery done right as your summer is starting? Not fun! It has been difficult to be cooped up inside my house for basically a month, while the rest of the world is moving on. I had so many things I wanted to do this summer, but all of that was put to a screeching halt. The surgeon had told me beforehand that the major recovery would only be around a week and a half, but it ended up taking me three weeks before I could even take a step. I feel like the only thing I leave my house for is physical therapy (three times a week) and more doctor appointments! I love to spend every day at the beach in the summer, but I've only gotten to the beach two times since my surgery. I wanted nothing more than to be outside for the past month, but I was simply in too much pain to do very much. Because of this, I was in a mental rut for a while. Feeling like my knee was never going to improve, and getting major FOMO from all of the summer events/activities. Not to mention, I'm in the worst shape of my life because I haven't been able to properly exercise for a couple of months (even before my surgery, I was in too much pain to even do something like a simple bike ride).
However, I can now say that I feel ten times better! The past week and a half I've really been able to go out for real: lunch dates with friends, spending a day at the beach, going shopping, meeting family for dinner, and even... riding a bike (I've been working on this in physical therapy and can officially stay on for 15 minutes!!). I think I'm in a much better state mentally, and physically. After meeting with my surgeon on Monday, he told me everything is healing exactly the way it should be. As long as I continue exercising and working my knee, I'm on the right track. Now, it's going to be at least six weeks before I'm 100% back to normal, but I can walk fine now and that's all that matters to me.
Phew. Sorry for the rant, but I just wanted to let you guys know what was going on. Anyways, I'm excited about this month because I'm going to try and get to the beach as much as possible... and finish up my summer reading list! I made really good progress on that, but more to come later. Here are a couple of pictures I did snap throughout the month so you can get an idea of what I was up to:
I finally decorated my graduation cap! And, I guess this would be the right time to announce where I'm going... George Washington University!!! I was hesitant to say where because of obvious safety reasons, but I'm too excited NOT to share this huge part of my life with you guys. Washington DC is my favorite city (maybe you could tell from this trip, this one AND this one all documented on the blog). Who knew last year when I was writing a post about my first college visit, that I would actually be attending that school! I already went for orientation and registered for all of my classes, so now all I have to do is pack! I'm going to be publishing a college packing list soon so that I can look back at it next year and see what I truly did and did not need. Anyways, I'm so excited to share all of my DC adventures and recommendations on here!
A new acai bowl place opened up on my street... it's amazing. I'm not much of a smoothie person, so acai bowls are perfect for me. Only a little of the "smoothie" part, with a bunch of my favorite fruits & granola on top! This particular bowl had acai, pineapple and a splash of apple juice blended together, with blueberries, strawberries, granola and honey on top.
My graduation party was on July 17th and I had such a fun time! We set up a bouncy house, a cotton candy machine and a popcorn machine. I loved this little table we put out with a spot for gifts. I decorated with balloons, a picture of me in my cap and gown, my decorated cap and a little jar with slips of paper for my friends to write notes (like a shorter yearbook note: favorite memories, quotes, advice...).
I basically didn't go outside for the entire month of July... but when I did, I sat by the pool and dove into some pretty great books.
A casual outfit I've been wearing a bunch this summer:
This little soup and sandwich place by my house has the BEST turkey clubs!
Our front yard is beautiful in the summer, with all of the white and periwinkle hydrangeas!
I could spend all day eating boardwalk food... and I often do! Funnel cake, fried oreos, popcorn, cotton candy, frozen custard, water ice, hot pretzels, fresh lemonade, caramel apples, e.t.c. I think I gain weight in the summer just because I'm so close to the boardwalk, ha.
The greatest way to end my month: picking up the new Harry Potter book at midnight! I have always been a huge fan of Harry Potter, so to be able to go back to the magic I used to feel as a kid was amazing. I have mixed thoughts on this book though. Maybe I'll do another post on it soon!
These were only a few snapshots of the month, but I hope to post a lot more in August now that I'm back to walking!
Thanks for reading!
-Ashley Ann
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