Today I’m linking up with Emily P. Freeman at Chatting at the Sky to share what we learned in June. Here’s what Emily has to say about the practice:

“At the end of every month, we have a regular practice here of looking back before moving forward. While some of the deeper, more in-process things I may keep private for a while, other things are fun to share here. And when you share things you’ve been learning, I always discover lots of fun tips, great new shows, and encouraging thoughts to begin the month.

We’re all at different spots on the journey, and these end of the month posts are a way to reflect, share, and celebrate on purpose.” {Emily P. Freeman}

In no particular order, here is what I have learned. Some fun, some serious, some practical, some pointless.

1. June is a busy month.

We have had date nights, baseball tournaments, swim meets, lots of overnight guests, book releases, garden fun, pool playdates, closet clean-outs, swim practice, Father’s Day, two quick trips to Aiken, summer reading fun, and orthodontist, dentist and pediatrician appointments, part-time job offers. Whew! June is our pack-in-a-summer’s-worth-of-fun here in town and around the house month and July is our travel-out-of-town month.

2. Our Kroger has a going-going-going-gone produce section where most of the produce is nearly ripe and sold for pennies.

I love finding good deals here. I recently bought six packs of strawberries for $0.99 each and cleaned them, cut off the stems, and flash froze them. It made a huge, gallon bag full of frozen strawberries for our smoothies. Score. (I’ve also found great blueberries and bananas for flash freezing, peaches, squash, zucchini, and tomatoes earlier this month.)

3. There’s an entire website dedicated to other people who share their morning routines. 

This is both inspiring and genius. Mymorningroutine.com classifies their routine-sharers by their livelihoods and it is just fascinating. It’s worth digging around here if you like reading about the successes and habits of others.

4. I have forever had a thing for emptying out tubes of toothpaste, empty shampoo, lotion and beauty product containers. It’s an obsession really. What I learned is that even more satisfying than emptying those bottles is emptying a lotion canister. You can literally get every last drop.

5. Michael Hyatt’s Productivity Hacks have had me thinking, plotting, planning and considering.

I’ve been listening to his podcast all year and am in the process of going back to some archived posts. I listen when I walk, while I cook, when I’m in the car alone. In my little weird world, I’m building my ideal virtual extended family. (For example I would like to think of dear Michael Hyatt as a wise uncle, just as I think of Anne Lamott and Madeline L’Engle as trustworthy aunts. Jon Acuff would be my cousin. And so would Jimmy Fallon. Amy Pohler would be my cool older sister.)

6. I enjoy the process of writing a guest post for other blogs occasionally.

My friends Dave and Ashely run the Marriage page on Facebook. And Dave was kind enough to allow me to write a guest post for his own blog. It was another way I was able to get the word out about Mission Ready Marriage. You can read my post here.

*****

And finally the coolest thing I learned in June is also the most lovely, intriguing, and serendipitous thing of all.

7. I have a name twin in Britain. And we’re becoming Instagram besties.

Earlier this month, I was accidentally tagged in an Instagram post with someone else who is named Claire Wood. My IG handle is @clairewood and hers is very similar. This happy accident led me to her IG profile where I quickly scanned her feed because at a cursory glance, we alarmingly shared a lot in common.

I typically keep a VERY TIGHT lid on my IG friends but on a whim, I sent Claire Wood a IG follow request. She granted it and followed me back. Since then, as we have scrolled one another’s IG feeds I have learned a lot about her.

Same age-ish, same name, similar hair and eye color, daughters the same ages, husbands who dress alike, similar love for gardens and houseplants, a love for organizing our homes, somewhat similar fashion tastes, a love of exercise, reading, coffee/tea and many other quirks.

I live in Georgia and Claire Wood lives in the UK; somewhere in Britain I think. What began as an accidental tag, has turned into a social media friend who I have loved following. Somedays I just have to laugh at all of the similarities.

*****

That wraps up June. What a great month. What did you learn? Anything worth sharing?