Summer Bucket List

I can finally cross "blurry picture w/ Tessie" off my bucket list

June came in with a bang in a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad way. There has been major heartbreak, and I'm still shattered by my friend and the latest one, Anthony Bourdain. There's nothing new I can add to the discussion about mental health in this country, but seriously, WTF are we doing about this? This can't be like gun violence, where you hear about the latest mass shooting on the news, are upset and resolve to be a part of the change, and then kind of forget about it until the next one happens. How a country so focused on being the best is kind of the worst regarding these issues is really disconcerting.

These recent losses have made me realize even more how short and treasured life is. If I died today I'd have a bunch of regrets; all the time I wasted in front of the television instead of experimenting in the kitchen, all the times I lamented that I didn't have enough money instead of traveling Europe, all the time I spent daydreaming about what I wanted to do instead of actually doing it. 

In the interest of being fun and summery instead of the severe limitations words like "goals" and "resolutions" usually dredge up, I decided to come up with a summer bucket list. A summer bucket list sounds better than summer goals, no? Summer bucket lists are filled with things like, build a sand castle with my niece and bake a blueberry pie from scratch, while summer goals read more like lose ten pounds to fit into my bikini and avoid the neighborhood ice cream stand. You know, things no sane person attempts. 

Summer Bucket List

-Bike at least 3 New Trails

Back in April I bought a bike, inspired after my Nashville trip when my sisters and I rented bikes for an hour or so around a park. It was insanely fun and made me feel like a kid again and once Brent saw how much I was enjoying himself, he dusted off the old bike that's been in our garage for a million years and started coming with me. We've found trails near us we never knew about and it's so much fun exploring new areas. 

-Learn How to Grill

Brent's the current grillmaster, but I'm dying to learn. He gave me a lesson last summer, which I immediately forgot, but I know the cardinal rule: don't grill after drinking all afternoon on an empty stomach. If I follow that, I'm golden. I'm dreaming of grilled asparagus, pineapple, kebabs and corn on the cob. This summer I'm making it happen. 

-Play More Tennis

I'm embarrassingly out of shape on the tennis court. I've never been a power hitter, but I could at least volley near the baseline. Now every time we play I'm stuck hitting to no-mans land and Brent beats me. I don't like to lose, especially not to someone I'm better than, especially not to Brent. This summer I'm vowing to work on my annoying competitive streak and just play. 

-Bake Out of My Comfort Zone

The Chef's Table:Pastry series on Netflix hit me like lightening. These people are so inspired and impassioned for what they're doing and I'm over here like, hmm, frozen pizza or chicken nuggets, what should we have for dinner? I don't have an ice cream maker, but granita and semifreddo haven been on my radar and I'm resolving to try summery flavor combos, either at home or at work. 

-Visit Martha's Vineyard

I've lived in the Boston area for almost nine years and I've never been to Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket. Every summer Brent and I talk about going and then we're screwed because we've waited until the last minute and unless we want to sell our firstborn we can't afford more than the ferry ride over. This year will be the summer we go; life's too short for all the "next year" promises I make to myself.