I Guess It's My Turn

Fat Girl Slim busted out her fall bucket list yesterday, so I guess it's my turn.

Let me get this out there first - the beginning of fall depresses me. It means the end of warm weather. No more tank tops and shorts, and flip-flops. No more camping by the lake. No more nights where the kids can play outside at 8 because it's still light and warm out. No more clear blue skies.

I want to cry just thinking about it.

Fall isn't completely horrible though - that is, when it's more of an Indian summer, which is totally what I'm praying for!

So, back to the bucket list...

Here's some things I'd like to accomplish this fall:

1. Weigh 160 pounds by Halloween.
2. Dress up in a fun costume for Halloween.
3. Go to the harvest festival
4. Go on the pumpkin train & carve pumpkins with my kids.
5. Rake leaves and jump in the piles.
6. Go for after-dinner walks with the family.
7. Make hot apple cider and carmel apples.
8. Seriously consider and decide whether or not I want to run the Eugene Marathon.
9. Continue to be consistent with my exercise and healthy eating.
10. Weigh 150 pounds by my company Christmas party.

How about you? Any exciting fall plans or things you'd like to do?

The Big Fall Bucket List

It's that time again!!!  A new season is upon us, so I figured it would be a great time to kick off another bucket list.  I really have a thing for lists.  I feel super accomplished when I can check something off!  Also, I really, REALLY have a thing for Fall.  It's my favorite season ever.  Don't you remember that line from You've Got Mail??

“Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”

I would send each and every one of you your own bouquet if I could!  That's how much I love this season.  What's on your Fall bucket list??

• Watch a local high school football game
• Go through a corn maze
• Go on a hay ride
• Take a trip to the local pumpkin patch
• Take Fall pictures of my kids in the leaves (ok, my hubby has to do this one)
• Make carmel apples
• Take a hike in the woods
• Pick apples and make homemade applesauce
• Make my mom's pumpkin cookies
• Spend lots of time at the park
• Make hot apple cider
• See The Rocky Horror Picture Show and make sure I'm well versed on the audience participation parts
• Make a huge pot of beef stew
• Bake a pie
• Buy some new yummy, fall-scented candles
• Find some new flannel sheets for my bed
• Buy a new plaid shirt
• Take one more trip to the coast (Oregon has gorgeous beaches in the fall)
• Learn a new casserole recipe

I'm sure there is actually a lot more that I want to do, but this list is a pretty good start, don't you think?

Time To Re-visit That Bucket List!

If you've been following this blog for any length of time (and if not, WTF??), you'll remember that on June 17th I wrote out my summer bucket list. Well here we are, and it's almost September! How the hell did that happen? I'm really not sure, but I wanted to re-visit the list and talk about what I have (and still have not) done. Time is getting short!

I have to say though, I'm getting ridiculously excited for fall. Something about the cooler weather and school starting again just makes everything seem new. New school shoes, new backpacks, new attitude maybe?? That's my hope. I'm desperately trying to remove the giant stick that's still residing in my ass.

So let's go through the list, shall we?? Time to talk about what I need to do to finish it, and look back on what I actually did.

-Purge and have a huge garage sale:

Garage sale accomplish. Money made. Space made. Total win.

Cash money, baby!!!!

-Make fabulous sangria on hot weekend nights:

Holy crap, I still haven't done this yet! I haven't been big on the alcohol this summer since we've been running so much. I may have to make this as a post-race treat next weekend!

-Grill fruit-kabobs with pineapple, peaches, grapes and mango:

I haven't got to this one either. Must remedy ASAP.

-Learn to make a perfect berry sorbet:

This was delish! I can't believe I don't have a picture!!! I used this recipe. Try it. Fabulous.

-Run a 15k (July 10th, holla!):

We all know I did this. We talked about it at length. It sucked big donkey balls, but hey, I did it.

I still can barely think about the torture that was this run...

-Complete a long, sunrise run:

We did a few of these, actually! And believe it or not, they were all pretty great.

Actual shot out my window before one run... it's DARK.

-Throw a kick ass party:

We actually did have a pretty epic going away party for my husband. It was bittersweet, but still remains one of my favorite memories this summer.
-Drink a root beer float:

Done. Should do it again before summer is over.

-See at least a couple beach sunsets:

I think I saw three? Maybe 4? I feel SO fortunate to live on the west coast, only a mere 1.5 hours from the beach. We need to get over there one more time before summer is out. I freaking heart the beach.

-Have a fabulous date night with Mr. FGS wearing something new and smaller in size:

Fuck yes I did this! Twice! I adore my husband, and we had such a great time. I can't wait until he gets home so we can have more nights with just the two of us.

Not bad.  Not bad at all.

-Find a spot away from the city to star gaze with the family:

I haven't accomplished this one yet. Must figure it out.

-Deep clean my house from top to bottom:

Done, done, and done again. It's actually clean right now!

-Make huge batches of sun tea with lemon bought from the farmer's market:

I've done this more times than I can count. Sun tea with lemon is my BFF.

-Cook yummy food using the veggies from my garden:

We've done LOTS of this! Stuffed zucchini, lots of recipes with bell peppers and tomatoes. We even harvested our potatoes and made yummy stuff with them.

-Take long, peaceful naps with my babies after long runs:

I've done this almost every week! Naps are awesomesauce.

-Make homemade granola:

Not yet. I still haven't found a recipe that sounds good but isn't 50 million calories.

-Figure a way to display more of my husband's photography in our house:

Also a not yet. I figured out which pictures I want and where, but haven't actually ordered. Soon.

The Big Summer Bucket List

Well, summer is officially underway next week, and it always flys by, doesn't it? We have short summers here, so I am particularly interested in making the most of them. This year I decided to make a list. It's "the things I want to do every summer but rarely fit in" list.

This summer, just like everything else right now in my life, it's ON. Before I know it I'll be kissing these beautiful, long days good bye, and I don't want to waste a second of my life right now! So in no particular order, here's the big list. What's on yours?

• Purge and have a huge garage sale
• Make fabulous sangria on hot weekend nights
• Grill fruit-kabobs with pineapple, peaches, grapes and mango
• Learn to make a perfect berry sorbet
• Run a 15k (July 10th, holla!)
• Complete a long, sunrise run
• Throw a kick ass party
•  Drink a root beer float
•  See at least a couple beach sunsets
•  Have a fabulous date night with Mr. FGS wearing something new and smaller in size
•  Find a spot away from the city to star gaze with the family
•  Deep clean my house from top to bottom
•  Make huge batches of sun tea with lemon bought from the farmer's market
• Cook yummy food using the veggies from my garden
•  Take long, peaceful naps with my babies after long runs
• Make homemade granola
• Figure a way to display more of my husband's photography in our house

Stay tuned for my weekend wrap ups.  I'll be trying to check things off this list all summer long!