It’s here! The moment most teachers wait for all school year..sweet summertime. Driving home from work today I felt overwhelmed knowing that I do not have anywhere to be from 7am-3:15pm until August 19th. I love summer, but for me free time can honestly freak me out sometimes and I am usually ready to get back to work in August. So I decided to make a list of all of the things I wanted to do more of now that I have the time! I am also super lucky that I will have 3 weeks carved out of the summer to spend at my favorite place in the world…the beach. (SIC, RI ,Bethany, OBX)

So here is my Summer 2014 Top TenBucket List (I copied this idea from Jules over at Julia Sea who does a bucket list each season!)

1. Blog More! I really love blogging but other things usually come between my time and a blog post so summer is the perfect time to get in the blogging groove again.

2. Learn to live on a budget. I have worked on this a lot this past year. Andrew is a huge help and is pretty awesome at staying within a budget. It is something I have to consciously work on monthly. Using mint.com has really helped a lot too. I am also going to read this book (from the library of course:) and see if I can learn that “being frugal is cool”.

3. Run a little, walk a lot. (this guy likes this one the best). I also joined the Frederick Running Club and started a 5K women’s training group that meets Monday/Wednesday/Saturday and does 20-40 minute run/walks. We had our first night last night and it was great running with other women who have similar goals! Walking is now more of my favorite then running…I love my fitbit as I posted about a few weeks ago. You have got to move every day, and through out the day!

4. Cook more. Another passion of mine that gets put on the back burner when sometimes it is easier to just make something quick and simple on school nights. I really want to cook more for Andrew and I am excited to live together so I can impress him with my culinary skills! LOL 😉

5. Take more pictures with my actual camera. Thank goodness for iPhone’s but sometimes pictures from an actual digital camera can be so nice! Pictures mean a lot to me, and I would love to make another scrapbook sometime within the year. The last one I made was for my sister’s wedding! (I would also like to purge some of the pictures on my computer because I have soooo many that could be deleted).

6. Read a lot. Reading is by far my favorite summer activity. I find myself glued to a book in my beach chair, or snuggled in bed with the windows open (or AC on) with no care about an alarm going off the next morning and truly getting involved in the book. Plus, I find so much pleasure strolling the aisles of the local library. (It feels like shopping to me, but it is free!)

7. Finish my counseling internship. After this summer I will have my masters in school counseling and will complete my counseling internship and will be on my way to getting my license as a professional counselor next Spring 2015!

8. Simplify. I need to go through closets, under the bed boxes, drawers, cabinets etc and simplify my world.

9. Celebrate Birthdays in little ways. Facebook messages for birthdays, texts, and even early morning calls go a long way. Sometimes we forget the little things that make a big difference.

10. Relax. I struggle with this one sometimes but I am learning and getting better at this. Yoga helps me A LOT to slow down. So does wine;)

Make it a great day.