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Ruts

Do you ever find yourself in a rut?  I would imagine a lot of mommies would answer a resounding "YES!" to this question.  The day in and day out constant-ness of being a cook, maid, nurse, disciplinarian, entertainer, and all-around do-it-all person is draining and exhausting (I would imagine...of course, I don't actually know this from experience...just from hanging around all the mommies that I know and love so dearly).  But even if you're not a mommy, does the routine of this life make you feel like you're missing out on something?  Do you ever think about trying new things to take the "routine" out of summer?  Are you short on cash and long on hot summer days filled with boredom or just a lack of creativity? 

In case you haven't guessed by now, I very often feel like I'm stuck in a rut.  I have absolutely no reason to feel this way.  I don't have kids and I can pretty much do whatever I want, whenever I want to.  I've been off work for over a month now due to an illness and was able to spend a few weeks at the beach resting, do some work in the yard, spend time with my family, go on bike rides, walks & jogs, and watch movies til I've fallen asleep.  But for some reason, I still have this feeling that summer is going to pass me by and I'm not going to enjoy every single day to it's fullest.  I feel like I always have "too much to do" to stop and consider doing something new and exciting while I can.

So, this summer I made a list of fun and exciting things to do throughout the warm months and will check them off as I get the opportunities to do them.  I feel like this is a great way to ensure that my summer isn't rushing past me without squeezing all the joy and pleasure out of each day.  And as a bonus, when the summer is over and the temperatures start dropping again, I can pull out my list and remember how much fun I had the summer of 2013!  My list might not look super exciting to some of you, but it's a list of things that will make ME happy and will help me to feel like I'm enjoying summer to it's fullest.  So here's my list...

1)  Take a bike ride once a week.
2)  Attend the free local concerts in the park as often as I can.
3)  Go swimming.
4)  Walk five 5K's.
5)  Have a campfire with smore's at least every other week.
6)  Sit on the front porch until it's dark and watch the lightening bugs.
7)  Host an outdoor party in my backyard.
8)  Eat dinner on the patio at a restaurant with friends.
9)  Go to the city and do some shopping at an outdoor shopping center.
10) Wash the car once a week in the driveway.
11) Take my nieces and nephews to the park
12) Visit my friends that live far away.
13) Play a game of volleyball at my parent's house with my friends/family.
14) Make a new, refreshing, cold drink to share with friends.
15) Go to a drive-in movie.
16)  Eat hamburgers and hot dogs at a cookout.
17)  Read a novel just for fun.
18) Hang out at a coffee shop with a friend, just catchin' up on life.
19) Re-decorate a room in my house.
20) Walk to the local ice cream shop and savor a special treat on a hot and humid summer evening.

And, of course, I will take pictures of ALL of it as I go and post them right here for all to enjoy!  :)  The first picture is from my second 5K of the summer!  I love these girls and had a blast walking with them last Saturday!  :)  I can't wait for our next race together!  :)

Photo 
If you had to make a list of things that define "summer" for you, what would be on it?  What do YOU want to do this summer?  Get out of that rut and do something just for the FUN of it!!  Don't let summer pass you by before you do something special to commemorate the warm days and long summer evenings!!!

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