thursday's ten or so: the summer bucket list

my friend angie posted on facebook the other day that she had created a summer bucket list. so being the amazing friend that i am, i decided to steal the idea :-)
(it's not REALLY stealing if i give you credit, right angie?!)


so here, in no particular order, are {some of} the things that i'd like to do at least once before summer is over!


go whitewater rafting
take a camping trip (i cannot believe this one is on here...i have NEVER been camping. but anthony loves it so i want to give it a try!)
visit holiday world (most likely with angie!)
see the ocean at least once...hopefully for a long weekend!
host a summer bash at our house just because
do at least one 5k even in the ridiculous tennessee summer heat
jump on a trampoline 
run through a sprinkler
harvest from the garden (hopefully this is ongoing...ha!)
set up the hammock and spend quality time there
hike radnor at least once a month
implement some fun summer pinterest ideas :-)


i'm sure the list will get longer as summer progresses.  but that's a good {fun} start :-)


what do you want to do this summer? anything i should add?

3 in 30: the october edition

that's right, i'm starting back up again :-)  on this first day of october with not *that* much goin gon in my life...ha!

http://3in30.ashleypichea.com/

so here are my 3 goals for the next 30 days

1.  get the house i used to live in (anthony's grandpa's) completely cleared of all my junk.
(there's a fantastic hammock, a few random boxes, some trash...we're working on it an hour at a time, basically)
2.  (gulp) file my taxes since they're due right at the end of the honeymoon...
3.  find a home for every wedding present in a cabinet, display, etc...and give away all items they "replace"

that should definitely keep me busy for the next 30 days, considering there's a wedding and honeymoon in there too!

what i'm loving wednesday (6.15.11)

click the pic to go to the host site!

i'm loving this new job, with children who are precious, precocious and who continually keep me on my toes.

i'm loving times spent with this wonderful guy

i'm loving spiritual community and family.  my cell group girls, pastors, and the amazing people God has surrounded me with!

i'm loving odwalla protein drinks.  nom, nom.

i'm loving the slightly cooler temperatures and rainfall this week.  i love the heat, but this is a nice little break. (and by 'break' i mean in the low 90s...)

i'm loving getting back into jewelry making lately! planning to devote some serious time to it in the next month or so :-)

i'm loving my sunroof and hammock! both allow me access to the outdoors...

i'm loving that my garden is growing, slowly but surely! (this picture is from about a week ago, and that itty bitty tomato is nearly twice as big now!)

what i'm loving wednesday .2

i'm loving that the people i nanny and babysit for often watch the same shows that i do...yay for cleaning out my dvr without even being at my house!
i'm loving snuggles with sweet children, and the fact that so many people trust me with their most prized possessions.  so.blessed.
i'm loving the WEATHER these days. (ok, except for all the crazy tornado things.)
i'm loving a couple of new (to-me) wedding websites that friends have recommended to me: greenweddingshoes.com and offbeatbride.com
i'm loving chances to get active by pushing a stoller, jumping around with a kinect, doing wiifit, or just hiking up a small mountain.
i'm loving cozy blankets and couches.
i'm loving naps in the hammock on a sunny spring afternoon.  just because i've only done it once so far doesn't mean i won't be doing it a whole lot more!
i'm loving that my fiancé made plans for us to go dancing this friday.  not necessarily his favorite thing to do, but he wants to dance with me and that makes me smile.  a lot. (of course, i'm loving him a lot too!)

thursday's ten: about spring

the skies are blue today and sunshine abundant
flip flops and sunglasses weren't even a question
and i drove to work with the sunroof open and music blaring

seems a perfect day to write about my favorite season

spring!

i'm a transplant to tennessee, even though i've been here over 1/3 of my life now.  craaaaazy.  but there are definitely differences between here and where i grew up when it comes to season changes.

here's 10 things about spring...in my experiences





1.  bradford pear trees line every secondary road in my (new) neighborhood.  they are stunningly beautiful.  unfortunately about 60% of people who live in mid-tn suffer allergies because of them.  sneezing abounds.
2.  faux spring happens here sometime during mid - late february through mid-march.  then it drops to freezing again (maybe even snow!) and everyone gets sick.  then the real spring comes, right about now.
3.  springing forward may mean that we "lose" an hour of sleep one night, and that we have a spring forward hangover for a week or so afterward.  but it also means that there's no more driving home in the dark at 4 pm!
4.  lots of events (festivals, craft fairs) begin popping up as natives crave walking around centennial park and the like for hours.  it's awesome!
5.  flowers in abundance.  my birthday flower (jonquils) are the first to peep out, but so many others follow quickly.
6.  tv is still good.  :)  which means i do a lot of evening tv watching with a breeze coming in the screen door and the soft sounds of wind chimes in the background
7.  at home, the farmers start moving.  around here i'm sure they do too but since i live in the city i miss those tractors and smell of plowed earth.  of course, i DON'T miss being stuck behind them for 3 miles on a 2 lane road with no passing possible.
8.  i do a lot of tanning while walking this time of year :)  finn's parents have moved to a house that's approximately 2 blocks from one of the several entrances to the greenway, so it's perfect for that!  plus, i live 10 minutes away from a couple of gorgeous spots to hike. (one i just discovered last week -- so excited!)
9.   signs of new life are everywhere, which is such a great reminder of spiritual things.  making all things new isn't such an abstract concept when you see it repeated at every season change!  but seriously, the baby bunnies, budding trees, and peeping plants are fun :-)
10.  as much as i want to be active and OUT this time of year, rest beckons too.  and i love that.  i try to log a few hours in the hammock each week, i enjoy my God time all the more when i'm surrounded by such beauty, and on a practical note my allergies force me to rest a little more this time of year than others.  and i don't think that's an accident ;-)

so what do you notice or love at this time of year?