Sweet Summer.

As the years pass I find myself becoming increasingly obsessed with time. Anyone close to me knows how much I love lists and calendars. They both have the power to either help me sleep at night or put me into hysterics. I often lay awake in bed at night obsessing over every little detail of the next day. I have no idea when this obsession started. With summer just beginning I’ve obviously started planning out every weekend until September when I start classes again (I can't imagine how annoying I might sound to the people I'll be spending my time with). But I somehow still manage to worry that the summer will fly by and I won’t have done anything significantly exciting. I already have several weekends planned and marked on my calendar; a music festival and family road trip. But today I decided that I’d try something different to help ease my anxiety.

I was inspired to come up with a “Summer To-Do List” by an amazing blogger I follow religiously. Rather than setting long term and almost absurd goals similar to the ones you would see on my bucket list (hug a sloth, see a tornado in real life, learn to play an instrument), I chose to keep my summer goals achievable, fun and realistic! I obviously haven’t been very kind to my blog (see two previous posts). But I thought this would be the perfect way to keep my blog updated and to finally start using my amazing camera; a gift I received for my birthday. I had quite the list but thought it’d be wise to narrow it down to ten things.

1. Read 6 books by September.

2. Ride a tandem bicycle.

3. Bottle my own wine.

4. Spend an entire week without television.

5. Stand up on water skis.

6. Make my own jewellery.

7. Sing karaoke.

8. Sleep outdoors and watch the sunrise.

9. Skinny dip.

10. Sew my own dress.

There are a few on my list that I am very confident I will have completed by September. I absolutely love to read and have a bookshelf full of amazing books, I just have to make the time. I could easily accomplish #8 and #9 in one night! Perhaps after drinking one of my bottles of wine? There are also a few on the list that I’m a little uncertain about. Water skis? My upper body strength is questionable. Sewing my own dress just might require a little more than a needle and thread. When reading over my list to decide whether or not I should make any eliminations or changes before I press the "PUBLISH POST" button and there's no turning back, I realize #4 is a little laughable, especially with all of the upcoming summer television. But I’m pretty certain I can live without the Kardashians and MTV for one week (not without difficulty)!

My main goal for the summer is to feel like I accomplished something. I want to take advantage of the next three months and I want to use a big fat marker to cross off the things on my list as I go. It will essentially be my summer journal and I can’t wait to share it!