Summer goals

In about two and a half weeks I have a SUPER AWESOME feature series coming to Sometimes Sweet that I am oh-so excited about...and in the spirit of that feature I thought I would share some of my summer goals. I make summer goals every year, and I think that these goals are always my favorite. In the past I've always had summers free of any responsibility. I was either a student or a teacher, so three months of my life were strictly all about me, and all about fun. In our younger years Hank didn't have much responsibility either, so we would travel all over the place between his summer touring, stay up until all hours of the night (and sometimes morning), I'd read a million books, and do a whole lot of beautiful nothing.

Now though, things are a bit different. Little Henry is my boss, but although I have a lot more responsibility, I am lucky enough to be able to stay home with him, which allows me the freedom to still do a lot of fun things. Now, it may only be April 11th, and it may have snowed on Saturday...but I do consider May the first official start of summer, and that's next month..so, I thought I would share my summer goals with all of you today. Maybe this is jumping the gun a little but I need a little summertime sunshine motivation in my life!

Also: feel free to grab either image and use it on your blog to announce your summer goals too. I took the above photo last summer while on the Jersey Shore. Yes, that (beautiful, lovely) Jersey shore. But like I said, if you'd like to share your goals, please do! And link me in the comments so I can check yours out as well.

1. Compile a summer reading list and complete it by the end of August. I will be sharing this list in an upcoming post.

2. Workout more outside than I do inside. This means: hikes, biking, swimming, long walks at dusk with my boys and Madeline.

3. Bring my D-SLR everywhere. I really need to get back into the habit of using our camera, and what better excuse than capturing all of summer's beautiful moments? I'm envisioning snapping photographs of ice cream, snow cones, beach days, and the lazy afternoons on the square.

4. Start working on our backyard. Our new home has a huge backyard...but unfortunately it's completely unlandscaped. I already have a plan for what I'd like to do, but now it's just putting that plan into motion. By Summer 2012 I am hoping to have it close to completed- extended patio, comfortable and relaxing lounging/seating, green green grass, trees, flowers, and vegetable gardens. So, getting started is a huge goal. And seeing that I have NO experience in gardening or landscaping, I will definitely need my parents' help.

5. Start a family summertime tradition. This will probably happen naturally, but I'm hoping it's a weekly trip to the ice cream parlor followed by a stroll around the square.

6.  Make a movie of our East Coast trip this summer. What this means is that I'll have to be sure to keep my Flip Cam out for the entire trip, but it will be totally worth it in the end.

7. Do not get one sunburn or get remotely tan. Sounds weird maybe, but to me this is IDEAL. I like being pale but I tan very easily, and I don't want to damage my skin whatsoever. Big floppy hats and sunscreen are (and will be) my best friend this summer.

8. Get my other thigh tattooed. I'm definitely looking forward to tattooing the front of my left thigh and maybe the backs as well. We'll see.

9. Try a new summer-fresh recipe every week. Grilled veggies, light salads, glazed tofu, berry tarts, anything with pineapple. I'd like to branch out and treat Hank to some delicious meals and desserts.

10. Visit the farmer's market once a week.

So, that's it! Those are my 10 summer goals. I have a few more along the lines of furniture re-finishing projects and around the house to-dos, but those are ongoing and not so much summer-oriented. I am REALLY excited about the above goals though and just writing them out has got me really pumped that summer is so close.

And now, what are yours?

xoxo