Summer Bucket List

Are you listening to the Joy the Baker Podcast? If not, you should be. It's not about baking and it's totes bonk. That means really good. This week, Joy and Tracy challenged us to make a summer bucket list. Here goes...

1. Write at least 5 chapters of my novel. 
2. Catch the Milton UFO. More on this coming soon...
3. Finish home office makeover. I've only painted one wall so far. That was months ago.
4. Reach 40-lb mark on low-carb diet. I'm half way there! (Must admit that being a low-carb follower of Joy and Tracy is sometimes torturous.) 
5. Actually sell something in my Etsy store.
6. Go to bed on time [on work nights].
7. Start faux feud with Deej.
8. Keep some plants alive longer than a week.
9. Go to the beach more often.
10. Apply to grad school [and stay in for more than one semester this time].

What's on your list?

Summer Reading List Part 2: Learn Something

Simmer down, kids. Take a seat. It's time for Professor Whitfield to reveal part 2 of your summer reading list. I'll be revealing one category at a time throughout April. Today: Learn Something! (Did you miss Part 1: Humor? Find it here.)

1. A Whole New Mind (Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future) by Daniel H. Pink – I’m taking over.
2. Quiet (The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking) by Susan Cain – a book about the benefits of being an introvert. A book that introduces successful introverts. A book that isn’t written like an academic paper. I like it. (Again, I’m taking over.)
3. How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb – I’m a sucker for a workbook and this workbookish book is full of exercises and lessons for opening your mind. And if that’s not workbookish enough for you, there is an actual workbook that you may purchase separately.
4. A Private Disgrace: Lizzie Borden by Daylight by Victoria Lincoln – This is on the list just in case you needed more evidence that I’m a wackadoo. Seriously, though. It’s a very interesting read. And the author knew Lizzie! Oh snap.
5. Imagine by Jonah Lehrer – This is the only book on the list that I haven’t read. I read one of Lehrer's other books, How We Decide (interesting but a few too many football metaphors), and like the sound of this one. It’s a study on creativity with chapter titles like “Bob Dylan’s Brain”. Yes please.

Summer Reading List Part 1: Humor

Simmer down, kids. Take a seat. It's time for Professor Whitfield to reveal part 1 of your summer reading list. I'll be revealing one category at a time throughout April. Today: Humor!

1. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams – Because that Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy guy wrote more than that series. And he wrote it good.
2. Bossypants by Tina Fey – Tina Fey can do no wrong, including writing a memoir. Though I must admit I found the dust jacket funnier than the book as a whole.
3. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (An Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling – Yep, another funny lady memoir. I can’t get enough of them. Mindy's life seems a bit more attainable than Tina's. 
4. Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander – The title is pretty self explanatory. This is a very quick read. Go for it if you have a sense of humor. If you like to get real mad about silly things, skip this one. 
5. Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O’Malley – Slackers, Ramonas and evil ex-boyfriends, oh my! (In case you don’t pay attention to anything, ever and do not already know – these are graphic novels.)

Foto Friday: Summer, Summer, Summer!

I am so, so ready for summer. Bring on the heat. Bring on the beach days. Bring on the Blues (Blue Angels that is).

For this edition of Foto Friday, I give you some of my favorite moments of summer 2011:

Bonus Photo! Sometimes the summertime makes me forget how chairs work.