by Bethe

Hitting the Paleo wall

My husband assures me that Day 3 and Day 7 are the hardest days for the Paleo diet. Today is Day 3 and I’m already sick of eggs and salad and grilled chicken. My ears perked up when Mr. Right mentioned that barbecue is an acceptable food. I may go smother myself in brisket tonight before our dinner party that will be filled with all sorts of splendid goodies that I’m not allowed to touch.
But I’ve been assured that if I’ll plug through that I’m going to feel AWESOME very soon. Very, very soon… (said between clenched teeth). And, I’m happy to report I’ve lost two pounds in the past two days. You may think it’s just water weight, but I’m going to celebrate and use that as incentive to go another two days. And then two more… and you get the picture.
My low point was when I was standing in the cafeteria, amidst the chaos of the noon lunch hour, googling to see if I’m allowed to eat cottage cheese. Please, Lord, let me have cottage cheese.
Not Paleo. So none for me. It’s so silly the things I’ve crave when I’m told I can’t have something. I become a strong-willed teenager when I’m denied bread. Bread smothered in melted cheese, dipped in marina sauce and washed down with a cold Diet Coke.
In the meantime, if you need me, I’ll be googling new Paleo recipes because I heard a rumor there’s a Paleo-friendly banana bread somewhere out there in the universe. And banana bread may be just what I need to make it another day.

 

by Bethe

Waiting and in the meantime

My nephew Luke, my middle sister’s miracle baby, is due on Tuesday. I can’t wait to meet him, to hold him, to smell that little baby smell and kiss his sweet head. But alas, he seems to be pretty cozy in his current surroundings, and so we continue to wait for his big debut. In the meantime, you can bet that I’m carrying around my cell phone, ready for the call, anxious to take myself and my yo-yo sewing kit to sit and wait some more in the hospital’s waiting room.

And stalk the floors looking for marketing collateral so I can gather ideas. 
Oh wait, I would never do that.

While we’ve been so busy waiting, we’ve kept ourselves occupied with many other worthwhile endeavors.

Like not eating bread or sweets. That takes up a lot of time and mental energy. But I’m proud to report that I’ve made it six meals without any mishaps, and I haven’t killed anybody yet. Or thrown anything. But I will probably dream about cinnamon rolls tonight when I go to bed. Cinnamon rolls and french toast drizzled in syrup and powdered sugar.

Oh my, there I go again.

Last weekend we went to a graduation party for the son of one of our favorite ESL students from West Africa – Togo to be exact. We’ve known my student’s son for a year now and he’s an absolute delight – he wants to be a doctor and I am confident that if that’s what he chooses to do, he’ll be a darn good one.
The highlight of the party, besides seeing his mama all dolled up, was two of his African cousins, ages 4 and 8, dressed in their biggest party dresses, who went up to me all wide-eyed and cute and said, “We love your hair!” in a way only a 4-year-old can do. My heart melted and I’ve since decided that when we adopt, we may need a little girl from Togo. Heck, I’ll take a little girl from just about anywhere, actually. The more people I meet from far off places, the more I just love people.
We also hit up an engagement party for one of our other friends, spent the day at the pool, took our Nigerian friend to a family dinner at Grease Monkey (best burgers in town, I assure you), took an incredibly long Sunday nap, and hosted another family dinner at our house.
Speaking of days at the pool – I broke down and bought a new swimsuit. At the first store I went to, I tried on exactly one suit, loved it, paid for it, and was gone within 10 minutes. I hate shopping for swimsuits (and jeans) so this “rip off the bandaid” approach was the least painful way to do it. I found one that’s pink and ruffled and covers up a few of my least favorite places.
I hope I don’t have to do that again for another four years, which is how long it’s been since I purchased my last one. Or by that time I’ll find a body double who can shop for me and save me the mental anguish.
In the meantime, we’re all killing time until we can hold that sweet Luke. Say a little prayer for my sister as she lets him cook a little longer. She’s going to make a great mama, and I can’t wait to train him to call me Aunt B.
by Bethe

Summer Bucket List – Month One Completed

Before we get into my summer bucket list, I need to share with you what’s going on in my world right now. Today, May 29, I begin my 30-Day Paleo Challenge. I’m doing it with Mr. Right and my sweet mother-in-law. 
30 Days of no sugar. No chocolate. No bread. No potatoes. No cheese. No cereal. NO SUGAR!
Have I mentioned that I’ve never in my life gone more than a day without bread or sugar? That is, if you don’t count the days I’ve spent lying on my bathroom floor with the stomach flu. Otherwise, I’m a sugar-loving, bread-eating girl.
So say a little prayer for me. And maybe keep your distance as my body adjusts. It might not be pretty with two people in the same house going through sugar withdrawals together. For better or for worse, right?
Ahh, life as a grown-up. But I haven’t felt awesome lately – maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’ve been on antibiotics non-stop for the past 17 months (my new normal after last year’s health issues). Or maybe it’s because I’ve been eating more indulgently since marrying my chef husband. But folks have promised that once you ween yourself off of the bread and sugar (and cheese… oh how I adore cheese), you start to feel really good. 
We’ll see. 
Besides, the real reason is because I popped the button off of my biggest pair of work pants. If I don’t do something I’m going to have to go shopping again. And that’s just silly.
But back to the bucket list – here’s an update on where I stand after my first month. Remember – I chose to begin summer on May 1 because soon it will be too hot to do most of my favorite outdoor activities. I’m pretty proud of the progress – and I have had a blast crossing things off. This is so much better than New Year’s Resolutions – maybe I need to start a new movement toward lists of fun things instead of lists like “Make my bed every day.” That’s so overrated. (Just kidding mom.)
First… my completed items:
Take a moonlit walk with Mr. Right on the beach
Wear shorts and heels 
I’ve done this several times but haven’t snagged a picture of it yet – I promise I’ll take one soon, for documentation purposes. Just be proud of me – every time I do this I feel kind of silly. And loud. But I’m starting to get used to the silliness and have been assured that the look is still age appropriate for this 30-ahem-something girl.
Learn to sew something new
I finally got around to making the ruffle pillow (there’s a great tutorial here) I’ve been swooning over for about a year. It took less than an hour and is now proudly displayed on our bed. I am obsessed with ruffles right now – at the rate I’m going, poor Mr. Right may end up living in a house that looks like a giant ruffle threw up. It’s a good thing he’s a patient man. And at least they’re not pink.
Host a dinner party

I was too busy enjoying my guests to get pictures of the folks who came to our dinner party – but here’s a picture of our table before they arrived. You can see my ruffle obsession has also attacked my table runner. We served Mr. Right’s famous Argentine soup (he spent a summer there in 2009), a big salad, and his famous pear and almond cream tarts.
I can’t think about those tarts right now… they’re not paleo-compatible. But oh man, are they good.

Dip my toes in the ocean

Do something spontaneous

We found a sign for an estate sale on the side of the road and decided to take a detour. We found all sorts of wonderful treasures – you can read about it here.
But we weren’t just spontaneous once. No, Mr. Right and I have been delightfully spontaneous for weeks now. Just Sunday night we decided at the very last minute to go see a late movie. I felt like I was 16 again. And just like when I was 16, I still made it home before curfew.

I love this picture because I kind of feel like a secret agent. And I was having a really good hair day. Can’t you tell in the super-dark photo we took right before the 3D movie began? Yeah, I thought so.
Imagine how good my hair will look after 30 days of no sugar. 

Get a mentor

Cook with vegetables from our garden
I should point out that only the tomatoes were grown in our garden – the rest were grown at the garden down the street called Target. That garden seems to flourish a lot more than my own. And since this pictures was taken, one of my tomato plants has been completely eaten by a caterpillar and another has been eaten by some bug that I’ve yet to catch in the act. I’m heartbroken over the untimely demise of my beloved vegetable garden. When I went to work this morning I still had several tomato plants left – along with some peppers, squash, and herbs that have yet to yield anything worth talking about – but who knows what I will find when I get home. 
Stupid, stupid, very hungry caterpillar indeed.
Get a pedicure 
I don’t have a picture of this, but know that it was absolute bliss. I went after a particularly crummy day and it was just what I needed. At least, it was the low-calorie version of what I REALLY needed – ice cream. But the pedicure was better for my waistline.
Oh my word – 12 hours without sugar and it’s all I can think about. Can you tell?

Eat a sno-cone
Gasp. More talk about sugar. We went last night with my in-laws as part of our “last supper” before Paleo. Confession – the sno cone run was AFTER we carb-loaded at dinner. Think twice-baked potatoes and giant rolls. We decided to go out big.


Finish writing Chapter 1 of my book 
I talked about that here. And I’ve been diligently adding it to it. Such a fun adventure.

Visit a state park

 Still left on my list:

Eat dinner on a patio
Have a picnic on Trinity Trail
Learn to bake a pie (this obviously won’t be happening in the next 30 days… maybe July)
Take a photography class
Ride my bike
Plan a secret date for Mr. Right (happening this Saturday)
Go to a museum
Hold my new nephew (he’s due in one week)
Go to a Rangers Game
Kiss Mr. Right while watching fireworks
Finish my husband’s quilt (almost done – I worked on it this weekend)
Pre-plan all my meals for one week
Marry off my dear friend Katie
Go to a festival
Dance with Mr. Right in the kitchen
Take a road trip
Make one of the recipes from my Pinterest board
Eat a candlelit dinner at home
Get a new dog
Have a fish fry (with chicken strips for me, since I don’t eat fish)
And there you have it – my summer continues.
by Bethe

ESL & Answered Prayers

We wrapped up our second semester of teaching Languages for the Nations, an English as a Second Language (ESL) program hosted by our church, First Baptist Euless. Anyone who reads my blog knows that teaching in this program has become my absolute favorite thing to do.
But before I get started, I wanted you to see my class to get an understanding of our international flair. Pictured below is my beginner’s class, filled with students from Togo (West Africa), Ivory Coast (West Africa), El Salvador, Mexico, and Guinea (West Africa), and my fabulous co-teacher Haley (I bet you can pick her out). Not pictured are my students from Nepal, Egypt, Pakistan, and Venezuela.
These are some of the kindest, big-hearted people you’ll ever meet. And brave – you have to be brave to leave your country, your extended family, and everything you know to make a life in a new country. Many of our students are political or religious refugees who came here because it was the only safe option for their family, and now they must learn English so they can find jobs and make friends and make a new life here.
But we don’t just teach them English so they can find work, although it’s the number one predictor of whether or not they will make it in the U.S. No, we teach them English so we can build relationships with them and share Jesus with folks who literally have no idea who Jesus is.
And guess what. God has done a huge work in our little ministry this year. I just found out yesterday that three of our former students are going to be baptized at our church in a few weeks. Another from this semester has accepted Christ. Two more have started attending our church services regularly, making new friends and becoming part of our church community.
And all because they stumbled across our little English program, made a few friends, learned that they are loved, and saw that our church wanted to invest in them.
And, because Mr. Right and I, along with the other teachers, got on our faces regularly and prayed for these students, asking God to work miracles in their lives. We’ve not only prayed that our students would accept Christ, but we’ve asked God to win the hearts of their families, both here and back home. And guess what – one of our students’ daughters, who never came to a class, accepted Christ on Easter Sunday.
If you’re keeping track, that makes five. Five people who have discovered Jesus, all because they decided to try out a free English class.
To our friends and family who have prayed along with us – THANK YOU. Please don’t stop. Please pray for our students as they’re on their own this summer, and pray that they’ll come back to us in the fall, with hearts wide open to hear the gospel.
And since you’ve walked along with me through this journey, I thought I’d share pictures of our beloved students from our end-of-the-semester party. It turns out that people from every nation and culture love a good party.
 Some of our students friends from Egypt.
From Mexico
From Poland (and Michelle, on the right, one of our intermediate teachers)
From Mexico, El Salvador, Ivory Coast, and Togo
Our pastor, John Meador, sharing the gospel with our students. It was so kind of him to come meet our students and share the story of how he had to learn to communicate after losing his hearing, much like they are learning to communicate now.
The best part… the food.
Our beginner class
My beginner class wanted a picture with my dad, who came to the party to meet everybody. I think he fit right in, don’t you?
Amy (in the black jacket) and her advanced class.
And finally, here’s our teachers, who sacrificed one night a week for the past semester to teach – for free – and who also prayed for and loved on our students, drove them to church when needed, and were just all-around all stars. (Not pictured is our dear friend Andrea who was out of town but definitely a huge part of our team.)

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself between now and September when we start back. Rest is good, I have to remind myself.

And, a special thank you to our church’s Spanish ministry, which has been a fantastic partner with us and has been the place we could send our Spanish-speaking students who wanted to take the next step and try out church. They’re the ones who have taken our students, ripe for Jesus, and given them a community to grow and thrive and learn more about the gospel. It’s no coincidence that all five of our students who have accepted the gospel and are going to be baptized are in that Spanish ministry. God is doing some really cool things over there, and I’m happy that I can be a small part of it, even though I can’t speak a word of Spanish.

God can use anybody, even a girl who almost flunked her foreign language classes in college.

by Bethe

Postcard from Marco Island

I just got back from a glorious four-day trip to the beach where I felt like a newlywed all over again. 
Mr. Right had a conference in Marco Island, Florida, and I happily hitched a ride with him and turned it into a mini vacation. Emphasis on the vacation – I did almost nothing but lie on the beach, lie by the pool, sip diet coke and soak up some new books. 
And write. Every morning I took my laptop down to the pool and hashed out pages of my new novel. Did I mention that I finally got the nerve to start the novel I’ve been day dreaming about for years? It’s absolutely terrifying and I’m not yet ready to divulge much about it, but it’s also exhilarating and a bit dangerous – in a good way – to finally sit down and pour out my thoughts onto paper and see where it all ends up. Who knows where that will be.
In the afternoons Mr. Right would join me (laptop-free this time) on the beach or by the pool for more sitting and doing absolutely nothing. I never just sit and do nothing at my house, so this made me over the moon happy. Besides, Mr. Right looks even dreamier while hanging out at the beach.

Two of our evenings were filled with conference obligations (which we enjoyed, the people there were a lot of fun), but one night we had all to ourselves, and Mr. Right cooked up a little plan to wow me right there in Florida. We got takeout Chinese food for dinner (he called it the “best bad chinese food” on the island), and we had a picnic on the dock of a yacht club, watching the sun set into the ocean as we dangled our feet in the water.
It was quite romantic.
And then we topped everything off with ice cream. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Our trip also allowed me to cross TWO items off my summer bucket list. 
1. Dip my toes in the ocean. This photo shows my toes in the sand, right next to the ocean. The picture of my toes in the ocean makes my toes look funny. And I’m a girl and I don’t want you to see my toes looking funny (I think it’s something about water reflecting light and making things look distorted? I should have listened in junior high science class.). So here are my toes in the sand. But trust me when I tell you that I not only dipped these toes in the Gulf, but I swam all the way to my shoulders. You see, I don’t like to get my hair wet. Even for special occasions like bucket lists.
2. Take a moonlit walk on the beach. We put this off to the last night there (because the other two nights we were in food comas from so much dessert), and on that night it rained. But I couldn’t let a little rain (and mild lightening… mama, I promise it was very mild) stop me, and so we took a moonlit walk on the beach, in the rain. It was like something straight out of the Notebook. It was also my favorite part of the whole trip – standing in the dark, barefoot on the beach, listening to the waves and kissing in the rain.
I wish I had gotten a photo of it, but it would have looked like this:
So instead I’ll leave you with this – an almost equally bad picture of us enjoying dessert, just the two of us, right before our rainy moonlit walk. The quality of the photo may be poor, but it’s a good reminder of a special date filled with big conversations and lot’s of chocolate cake.
by Bethe

Summer Bucket List – Visit a state park

We crossed off another item from the bucket list on Saturday… actually two. 
  1. Visit a state park
  2. Be spontaneous
Mr. Right planned another surprise date for me on Saturday – he said it would help me cross off one of the items on my bucket list, and refused to let me in on his secret until the night before (because a girl has to have time to plan her outfit). We spent the day hiking at Mineral Wells State Park.
He was so cute – he even got up extra early to pack a picnic lunch for us. After I woke up and made french toast, we hit the road for our mini adventure. I must say that I love simply being in the car with my man – he’s just so fun to be around. 
As we drove through Cool, Texas (ahh… the cool puns… there’s so many tempting ones) we saw a sign for an estate sale and decided to be spontaneous and check it out. Oh boy am I glad we did – it was like visiting a warehouse for Restoration Hardware or Anthropologie. There was a barn full of so many goodies I could barely stand it! 
We came home with a car full of loot, including yet another vintage cruiser bike (Mr. Right was lusting over those tall handlebars and they’ve already made it onto another one of his bikes), some old rusted buckets, various gears (which we’ll use for decoration purposes) and the most adorable little child’s outdoor chair I’ve ever seen. We plan to refinish that like we did my bathroom stool (which was originally my father-in-law’s high chair) and hopefully at some point we’ll have some kiddos to sit in it. Luckily we have plenty of time to get to that project…

After paying for our loot, we hit up Mineral Wells State Park for some hiking, rock climbing, kissing, picnic-ing, cliff jumping and basking in the sun. 
For the record, I think we were the only two hikers on Saturday who ate pork tender sandwiches and carried an entire bottle of chipotle sauce in our backpack. You know Mr. Right doesn’t do peanut butter picnics.

I’m quite proud of my cliff jumping action shots. I worked on my (farmers) tan while Mr. Right did the swimming. I don’t do cold water lake swimming, but I do have a fancy v-neck tanline that I’ll be taking with me on our beach vacation soon.

It was one of my favorite Saturdays ever with my husband – we just had a blast. And I’m thankful we didn’t see the very large water moccasin snake slither into the water right by where we were swimming until we were finished. That might have put a damper on the day.

We almost crossed off eat a sno cone from the list on our way home, but my sweet mother-in-law had freshly made cookies and sweet tea waiting for us at her house, which was on our way home, so we happily postponed that bucket list item to another day.

We finished the night by watching a movie and going to bed early – it was absolutely delightful.

by Bethe

Summer bucket list – finish a chapter in my book

I can cross the first item off my summer bucket list: I have finished a chapter of my book. Actually, several.
Here’s the story:
When we were first dating, Mr. Right asked me what my biggest dream was, and I told him one of my life’s goals is to write a book. Which I do want to do, but it has always seemed like something I should do later, when I have more life experiences. 
But in true Mr. Right fashion (which is one of the many reasons why I adore him so) he told me he would do whatever he could to support me and encourage me to write that book. And boy has he taken that seriously. The next year, after were married, he told me that for Christmas he wanted me to write him a chapter for my book.
Ugh. Now I was really going to have to do it.
I came up with excuse after excuse of why this wasn’t a good time, how I was too busy to write a book, I wasn’t ready to write a book, that I needed more practice before writing a book. But he insisted.
Poor thing got a Patagonia vest for Christmas instead. 
I really did sit down and try to write something, but the well was dry. No book. I hammered out a few pages on two different occasions, with two different stories going, and yet nothing seemed to go anywhere. So I put it away and bought the vest and Mr. Right kindly loved me right through my stubbornness.
So now I’m getting back on the bike and giving it another try. Mr. Right got a belated Christmas present this week in the form of the first few pages of my story. I’m not ready to tell you what it’s about just yet, but if it were a movie, it would be a chick flick (would you expect anything else from me?), and I’m determined to make sure the main character sets her hair on fire at some point. And there will be a marathon.
I must admit that sending my husband my writing was a bit like standing naked before a firing squad waiting to be shot. It’s scary. Of course it shouldn’t be, since he loves me dearly and was so encouraging after reading it, but it was still scary.
And yet I’m determined to keep writing. Who knows, maybe I’ll get brave and post a few paragraphs on here. Maybe.
by Bethe

Fashion – the battle between tailored and stretchy pants

I will not wear mom jeans! I will not wear mom jeans! I WILL NOT WEAR MOM JEANS!

This is my daily mantra as I pick out my clothes. I will not give up the fight and settle for a life of mom jeans and stretchy pants.

Although, between you and me, some days it’s really tempting.

Because you see, friends, I’m tired. I work at a big hospital that requires a LOT of walking on hard tile floors, lot’s of moving boxes, taking things on a dollie out to my car, delivering collateral to departments on the other side of the hospital, hoisting things to a top shelf, and doing that in heels just stinks.

Which is why God invented flats. But flats are like my gateway drug to other comfort clothes – suddenly I find myself living in flowy shirts and cardigans, paired with the same two pairs of black slacks I seem to wear every day. Not very exciting, and probably the reason why I get asked over and over if I’m pregnant. It’s my own fault.

Don’t get me wrong – I can still do sassy. And when I have a big community event, I try to go all out. But whereas eight years ago when I first started this job I might have worn my stilettos all day, now I carry an extra pair of flats in my purse and the minute the event ends, the comfy shoes go back on, the belt and big bracelets come off, and I try to get comfortable again.

And so I battle the urge to let the comfort turn to frumpiness. I fight back by wearing heels on dates with my husband, by getting out of my comfort zone and buying (gasp) skinny jeans, by wearing sundresses whenever possible at home and avoiding t-shirts unless I’m heading to the gym. I have no desire to be known as fashion-forward, but I don’t want to give up. I want to be one of those 80-year-old women who dresses “young” for her age, which means I can’t give up now.

What about you? How do you balance the desire for comfort (and let’s face it – being just plain tired) with the desire to still look cute?

PS–I just discovered this fashion blog on Pinterest yesterday, and it’s already one of my new favorites! You should check it out.

by Bethe

What is God’s will anyway?

Mr. Right and I have been praying about God’s will a lot lately. We will be faced with so many big decisions over the next few years, and we want to prove faithful. So how do we know what God’s will really is?

I love looking at Romans 12 through that lens. First of all – what is God’s will?

I know it’s good, pleasing and perfect (Romans 12: 2). So that’s a great start, isn’t it?

He says I can test and approve what God’s will is, if I…

  • Offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1).
  • Don’t conform to the pattern of this world (all the stuff that culture/society tells me is important – money/fame/approval/comfort/beauty), but instead am transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2).
How do I renew my mind, leading to a transformed outlook? By filling my mind with scripture – having God’s truth, God’s promises, take the place of all the things TV/magazines/friends/Facebook tell me are important. It’s about quieting the noise around me by reminding myself of God’s promises, through prayer and reading scripture. I’m weak, so I have to do this over and over and over. Otherwise, I get caught up in the whirlwind that is society’s expectations… and broken promises. 
One example – society tells me that in order to be a good woman, I need to be like Martha Stewart – a great homemaker who makes all my meals from scratch and has perfectly organized bathroom cabinets (ha). I need to be like Hilary Clinton – a great working woman with lofty goals. And I need to be like Angelina Jolie and effortlessly raise a brood of children. And throughout it all, I need to stay a size 0, wrinkle-free with a sun-kissed tan, a clean house filled with Pottery Barn furniture and homemade decorations from Pinterest. Throw in a closet full of brand-new clothes in the latest trends – this year nothing but color blocking and neon. And don’t forget the skinny jeans… oh those evil skinny jeans!
Guess what – by those standards, I’m a sub-par woman. Pretty unimpressive. And yet, my God delights in me (Psalm 18:19). That means, I’m DELIGHTFUL. Not because of what society says. Not even because of what my husband says (although he is so dear to me). I’m delightful because the Bible says so. 

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

I have to remind myself of that a lot. Like today, when my pants barely button and my makeup is smeared and I’m wearing a flowy shirt that makes me look pregnant (and is neither color blocked nor neon). I am DELIGHTFUL. 
The more I renew my mind with his truths, the easier it is to know his will. The easier it is to trust that if we make a giant leap, he’ll be there to catch us… because he’s been faithful before. 
And, I can remind myself that God’s will is good, pleasing, and perfect. Not always easy, but good, pleasing, and perfect. 
by Bethe

My summer bucket list

I can barely remember what I had for lunch most days, so my beloved little blog is a particularly helpful way for me to remember God’s grace, his answered prayers, and the many adventures I’ve been blessed to live out over the past seven years (my goodness, how my life has changed since I was 24).

Last summer I introduced my first ever Summer Bucket List, and we had a blast crossing most of the items off the list. Most of the items not crossed off were due to the record heat we enjoyed during the WORLD’S HOTTEST SUMMER IN THE HISTORY OF FOREVER. When living on the surface of the sun, it’s difficult to do things like “Have a leisurely dinner on a restaurant patio,” but we took care of that as soon as fall hit and the temperatures went back to normal.

This year I’m getting a head start on the list so I can cross off some of my outdoor activities before the back of my legs start to melt into the leather seats in my car and my free time starts to revolve around nothing but swimming pools and ice cream.

Eat dinner on a patio
Have a picnic on Trinity Trail
Learn to bake a pie
Take a photography class
Take a moonlit walk with Mr. Right on the beach
Wear shorts and heels
Ride my bike

Plan a secret date for Mr. Right

Go to a museum
Hold my new nephew
Go to a Rangers Game
Kiss Mr. Right while watching fireworks
Learn to sew something new
Finish my husband’s quilt
Pre-plan all my meals for one week
Host a dinner party
Dip my toes in the ocean
Marry off my dear friend Katie
Do something spontaneous
Get a mentor
Go to a festival
Cook with vegetables from our garden
Get a pedicure
Dance with Mr. Right in the kitchen
Eat a sno-cone
Take a road trip
Make one of the recipes from my Pinterest board
Finish making the Christmas wreaths for my mantle
Eat a candlelit dinner at home
Finish writing Chapter 1 of my book

I sent my list to Mr. Right and asked if he wanted to add anything. His additions:
Get a new dog
Visit a state park
Have a fish fry (with chicken strips for me, since I don’t eat fish)

There are a few things on this list that make me a little nervous (like getting a new dog and finishing the half-written first chapter of the book I’ve wanted to write for the last few years). Others excite me, like trying new recipes, dipping my toes in the ocean or holding my nephew. A few are already in the works – I’ve signed up for a photography class, and we’re scheduled to host a dinner party very soon. And some, like planning a secret date for Mr. Right (oh how the tables have turned!) have got my creative juices flowing.

It’s going to be a very good summer, I can just feel it.