adventure. it's a requirement.

I think Bucket Lists are fabulous ways to encourage, inspire, promote, and REQUIRE adventure. Too often, we live our life saying “someday”; but by creating a list, that “someday” turns into something that must happen. It becomes “someday soon” and “ifs” turn into “whens”. I love that. I have a list of dreams {thank you Dream Manager} that I like to think of as my bucket list. Recently, though, as I was perusing the blogs of my friends, I found a “pre-baby bucket list” and a “summer bucket list”. Why not break them down into things of the NOW {not just things for 20 years down the road}.

So here goes … our immediate, near future, Summer 2010 bucket list: (In no particular order)

1. Go camping: one date already set!
2. Go boating on the lake (it’s rained so much recently, it must be full and ready for boating!)
3. Move to Placerville
4. Go to a concert in the park
5. Go on a few Mountain Biking Adventures {hopefully without damaging the face ... like last time}
   
6. Go hiking as much as possible
7. Visit a waterfall {a big one}
8. Spend Saturday mornings picking berries {to be done once moved to Placerville}
9. Spend a day in Tahoe
10. Spend a day in San Francisco {maybe walk to Golden Gate Bridge (??) & definitely eat dessert at the Ghirardelli Square}
11. BBQ’s and summer parties
12. Shooting adventures with friends at the parentals
13. Invest ourselves into IMPACT
14. Meet our niece
15. Build a bed
    
16. Entertain the brother-in-law when he visits {he said he will and I believe him}
17. Make a Mexican feast and eat left-overs for a week
18. Go to a baseball game {major league &/or minor} & eat lots of hot dogs while watching
    
19. Much more to be added later ...

**Italicized Items: Completed or In Progress :)

i'm allergic.

They say, even if you have never had allergies before, once you move to Sacramento, you will. Well, I have lived here my entire life, and I'm still allergic to this place! All those little pollen flowers that dance in the breeze with such ethereal grace, while beautiful at times, are really quite mean. They find it fun to redden my eyes to the point of tears and to make me itch all over.

And oh, the sneezing! If you have ever heard me sneeze (more than likely), you know sneezing for me is not a brief experience. No, rather, sneezing is an exercise. It takes a lot out of me, as each sneezing session includes, on average, 6 sneezes. (Personal record: 13 ... all the way back in junior high) Thanks to my mom and her mom, the hereditary "repetitive sneezing gene" was passed down to me ... and during allergy season, it's rather entertaining (to some) and annoying (to most ... including myself!).

Oh, sun, I beg of you ... please let your heat penetrate through that complicated atmosphere down here to little old Sacramento. Rid us of this rather energetic pollen and let us welcome summer. Now, if you could do that while leaving the beautiful colors and fragrance of the flowers and grass, I would love it. But if not, I'll sacrifice the green fields for crisp golden (dead) grass, if it will mean I can stop sneezing. Thank you.

extra pulp please.

I am not much of a coffee drinker ... unless it is sweet, creamy, and absolutely yummy. Chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and all other sugary additives are welcome. When asked how I like my coffee, I would respond, "white" instead of "black". It's just how I roll {although I occasionally enjoy a small cup of black coffee after a delectably rich dessert}. Erik is my morning-coffee-drinking husband. Since being married, my coffee consumption has increased due to the yummy concoctions he creates for me in the morning, usually including a scoop of ice cream in place of creamer {it's heavenly, unhealthy, but heavenly}.
However, we recently ran out of coffee. OH NO!!! Well, that wasn't my reaction {more of a shoulder shrug}. Much to my surprise, my coffee drinking husband didn't ask if we could refill our coffee supply ... instead he asked for orange juice. I gladly responded with "let's go get some!". It was late at night {maybe even after 10pm} and we made a trip to the store {I love late night spontaneity!}, purchased cereal, milk, toilet paper, and orange juice. Mmmm. We both agreed that we LOVE the pulp as it tastes more like an actual orange that way. {Another reason we were meant for each other? I think, yes} The next morning, we filled our glasses and realized what we have been missing. Why has it been so long since I've purchased orange juice? I am embarrassed to say, I don't know. {My sister would have a heart attack if she knew it had been months since I've purchased her early morning life-line}

Today, I started off my morning right, with a good morning kiss from the cutest man ever, and nice tall glass of extra pulpy-orange juice. MMmmmmm!