Summer Wishlist 2018

I've seen a few other bloggers create summer wishlists or bucket lists and it seems like a fun idea. Some of the items here are ones I pulled from my 2018 To Do List, but some are new. They may not all be possible, as money is EXTREMELY tight. But that's why it's called a wishlist, right...

• go berry picking
• go to the beach
• climb a mountain with a fire tower with my son
• go camping (in a tent)
• get ice cream from the ice cream truck
• go to the farmer's market
• go swimming
• hike to a waterfall

(That's all I can think of right now, but I may add more later if inspiration strikes.)

What's on your summer wishlist?

Mother's Day on the Bog

What better way is there to spend Mother's Day (or any day) than with a hike at Second Home Nature Center? That's what we did, returning to the favored Bog Trail. The weather was perfect, starting cool and warming more than 20 degrees while we were out. We saw tadpoles, a giant snapping turtle, several painted turtles, fish, and frogs. We threw LOTS of rocks and sticks and watched people paddling in canoes.

Throwing rocks.

2018 To Do List: April

1. Rearrange/clean the family room to make it a more usable space
2. Read at least 28 books - two books finished in April (12/28)
3. Hang snow shoes
4. Hang rabbit art (x2) in my son's room
5. Acquire a hammer ✅
6. Get rid of clothes my son has outgrown
7. Get rid of clothes I don't wear/like
8. Go swimming, preferably in a natural body of water
9. Go to the Adirondacks
10. Take my son camping in a tent in the woods for at least one night
11. Frame 2017 school pictures ✅
12. Spend less money on weekly groceries - efforts underway
13. Try shopping at Aldi ✅
14. Eat more veggies
15. Eat more fruits
16. Journal more
17. Complete 365 Mile Challenge - 34.3 miles for April (101/365) Best month so far!! 
18. Refinance my mortgage
19. Make my own kombucha
20. Get my son to use the potty
21. Get new glasses
22. Decorate the house in some way for smaller holidays (Valentine's Day ✅, St. Patrick's Day ✅, Easter ✅)
23. Grow some sort of veggie this summer (zucchini? tomatoes?)
24. Have the driveway sealed
25. Take down the baby gate at the top of the stairs to the family room ✅

I continue to plug away at my reading and mileage goals, but otherwise April was pretty slow for the to do list. My reading time during lunch has been much interrupted of late, which is frustrating but goes with the territory job-wise.

I've fully incorporated Aldi into my weekly shopping routine. I go there first, purchasing as many items as possible, then I race across the road to Wegmans to get the rest of what I need (items not available at Aldi). The only line in my monthly budget that is at all flexible is food. So I am focusing my efforts on spending less money on food since it's the only item I can control. I already switched to store brands whenever possible and stopped buying organic. But it's not like we can live on rice (my son won't eat rice). This past week I spent a total of $59 between the two stores and $11 of that was diapers (dude really, really needs to start using the potty). I am taking advantage of some food items already in the freezer and pantry, so I won't always be able to get the bill down that low. And of course now that I'm into an Aldi/Wegmans rhythm my Aldi is closing for renovations until the end of June. Sigh.

I may share more about my finances and budget in another post.