At the end of each month, I like to share a few things I learned. The idea started from a post I wrote back in January, Searching For What I Know For Sure. That post morphed into a short series called Artists and Influencers where I featured the people who were (and still are) teaching me about various subjects that are important to me – home, writing, church, and love.

I decided to write a post at the end of each month as a way to continue to pay attention to what I’m learning. But as I wrote them, I  discovered most of the things that came out were lighthearted, frivolous, and always included at least one celebrity fact. This surprised me, but not in a bad way.

Most of my writing is serious and introspective, so once a month I enjoy writing on purpose a few things I’m learning that are, well, not so serious. I hope these posts are fun for you, too.

Here are 10 things I learned in May in no particular order:

1. Lennon and Maisy Stella play sisters on TV – and in May I learned they are sisters in real life, too. Also I’m a little bit obsessed with them. Watch this video below (subscribers may need to click over) and in about two seconds you’ll know why:

2. The up volume on the side of the iPhone can also be used to take a photo. What?! I know all of you already knew this. Why didn’t someone tell me this sooner? Changed my life.

3. After three books and over seven years of blog writing, I decided it was finally time for me to have a desk. The sunroom seemed like a lovely place to put it. Having a desk doesn’t make me a better writer, but it makes me feel like a better writer.

my office4. Since I’ve been spending more time in here, however, I have remembered there is a reason we call it “the sunroom.” There are windows on the ceiling, people. Sitting here much after 1 pm and I am literally a hot mess. So I try to finish my work by 1-ish or there will be sweat prints on my laptop.

5. I do indeed love getting clothes in the mail. I wrote about my first Stitch Fix but not about my second one because I didn’t have a chance to take the photos before I had to send back what I wasn’t keeping. Would you like to hear about what I get in my third box?

6. My 15-year-old nephew says now in Drivers Ed they are teaching them to hold the wheel at 7 and 4, not 10 and 2. I need you to confirm or deny this for me because 7 and 4 makes me very uncomfortable. Is this what our youths are learning?!

7. When you tell people your husband is quitting his job, they are generally supportive and kind and gracious to share with you about their own transition. And then you will learn that there are way more people in transition with you than you initially thought. Sometimes they will even send you leads and job descriptions for positions at their churches. This will make you smile and warm your heart.

8. I learned to always double-check even after I spell check – or I may be saying asses when I mean to say assess. And this might not be a big deal, but when you make those kinds of typos on your highest viewed post of all time, you will hear about it because more eyes equals more editors. And then you will kick yourself. And then you will laugh hysterically because you are 12, apparently.

9. Flower Patch Farmgirl texted me this week:

text from flower patch

So I did, and I had to kind of agree with her. And then I had to prove it by staging my own photo because I have absolutely no work to do at all and my house cleans itself and my book edits are definitely not due Monday and there is no better way to spend my time than to have my 9-year-old take photos of me. (And also, yes, I have Shannan in my phone as “Shannan FlowerPatch Martin.” Obviously.)

melissaSo I guess I learned in May that Melissa Michaels has a daughter who kind of looks like me as long as she is looking down at a laptop and wearing a striped sweater.

10. Or I learned that I am a MASTER at finding creative ways to avoid doing my work.

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Here are the lists of things I learned so far this year. Except for January. Evidently I learned nothing in January.