100 things to do this summer...

Summer is half over - when did that happen????

Last summer we made a list of 100 things we wanted to do.  It was a big hit!  It gave us things to look forward to and gave us ideas on days we were bored.  We pretty much checked off all of our list, with a few alterations along the way.  This is our list for this summer:

1		Make ice cream
2		Bike to playground under Cambie Bridge
3		Bike to firetruck playground
4		Bike around Stanley Park
5		Outdoor pool - Second Beach
6		Outdoor pool - Kits
7		Outdoor pool - Maple Grove
8		Outdoor pool - New Brighton
9		Thrift store
10		Thrift store
11		Tie Dye
12		Casa Gelato
13		Geo Caching
14		Geo Caching
15		Geo Caching
16		Geo Caching
17		Geo Caching
18		Geo Caching
19		Geo Caching
20		Geo Caching
21		Geo Caching
22		Geo Caching
23		Catch crabs for dinner
24		Pick huckleberries
25		Pick blackberries
26		Pick raspberries
27		Pick strawberries
28		Pick blueberries
29		Pick tayberries
30		Waterpark
31		Stop an icecream truck
32		Make a pinata for courtyard kids
33		Find a photobooth
34		Penny toss adventure/walk
35		Girls/boys night out
36		Folk Fest!
37		Get slurpees
38		Dog Park/Beach
39		Dog Park/Beach
40		Dog Park/Beach
41		Dog Park/Beach
42		Dog Park/Beach
43		Dog Park/Beach
44		Dog Park/Beach
45		Dog Park/Beach
46		Dog Park/Beach
47		Dog Park/Beach
48		Dim Sum!
49		Fish & Chips
50		Fly kites
51		Make slime
52		Play soccer
53		Farmer's Market
54		Farmer's Market
55		Farmer's Market
56		Farmer's Market
57		Farmer's Market
58		Make marshmallows
59		Go camping
60		Go camping
61		Go camping
62		Bellingham
63		Trader Joe's
64		Lego Store!
65		Dance in the rain
66		Make seed bombs
67		Build a beach fort
68		Make lego crayons
69		Make cupcakes
70		Fireworks
71		Chinese Garden
72		Make candy
73		Candy store
74		Japanese candy store
75		Daiso shopping
76		Swim in a lake
77		Swim in the ocean
78		Swim in a river
79		Watergun fight
80		Waterballoon fight
81		Make spongeballs for waterfight
82		Pajama day - movies and popcorn
83		Make a sand castle
84		Blow bubbles
85		Explore tidepools
86		Hike up a mountain
87		Screenprint/stamp session
88		Chalk drawings
89		Decorate snails
90		Bunny park
91		Minigolf
92		Feed ducks/swans
93		Sprinklers!
94		Drive-in movie or outside movie
95		Indoor movie
96		Go to camp - Miss B
97		Go to camp - Mr. Mister
98		Tag in the dark
99		Eat outside on the deck
100		HAVE FUN!!!!!!

We have the list printed out and we put stickers on each of the items we have completed.  We are at about 50% right now.  Only 26 days until school starts - but technically summer goes until September 21, right?  We still have time to finish our list.

How is your summer going?

Musings

I seem to have been absent for a bit, again.  I kind of lost my motivation with the month of craftiness.  I feel bad when I can't keep up; when life takes over and I can't finish the things I hoped to complete.  When I'm not perfect, I freeze.

Around the same time of this guilt/panic attack, I attended a night of motivational speakers with a dear friend of mine.  The series is called Sparkfly. The evenings entail two creative Vancouver women telling their inspirational stories to an intimate group of gals.  It was held at the now closed Little Nest.  We settled into listening to the first lady but I found her catch phrases really hard to relate to - I wasn't inspired.  Yummy pastries and tea were served in-between speakers and we each decorated a stone with words/drawings to share with another attendee.  The second speaker came up and sat down with us.  She really touched my heart.  Her personal stories made sense to me and I took away this from her musings: you have something unique and special to share with the world and no one can tell you how to do that.  Did you hear that? NO ONE can tell you how to be you.  Hallelujah!  Why was I stressing about the list of homemade things I needed to do just because someone made up a list?  The list is meant to be inspirational, but why do I have to do them when they tell me to?  I've never really been a follow-the-rules kind of person anyway, so why should I do it now?

This realization made me think about my blog.  Despite the fact that I love blogs that post regularly, I have decided that on this blog you may never see a regular feature - no Throw back Thursday, no Wordless Wednesdays.  I'll post here and there when I document something that I did that I think is pretty cool.  It won't be everyday.  Hopefully it will be at least once a week.  When I am inspired, you will hear from me.  And this is okay!

Am I doing this blog to become famous?  Certainly not.  I want to document and share the things we do at home and share them with friends.  I do hope to make a few new friends who have similar interests, and it is already happening!

Oh, and the inspirational stone we were to choose from the bowl on our way out the door?  This is the one that landed in my hand:

Fail gloriously.

Yes indeed.  I failed gloriously and I am picking myself up off the floor and I will start again. And again.  And again.

I'm currently healing from a nasty fall about eight weeks ago that left me with a dislocated shoulder, but I am getting back to my regular activities.  I can still knit.  Sewing isn't easy, but I am drawn to it again as the piles of clutter in my house are being put back in order.  Summer is half over and school will be starting again.  This fall I will have two kids in school full time.  This will leave me with six hours everyday that I can devote to the things I love to do that I haven't had time to do.  I might even look for work that can be done during school hours.  Lots of change is on the horizon.