2018 To Do List: May, etc.

1. Rearrange/clean the family room to make it a more usable space
2. Read at least 28 books - three books finished in May (14/28)
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 - 58.4 miles for May (161.7/365) Best month so far!! 
18. Refinance my mortgage - process initiated
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 ✅

My May mileage really kicked into high gear with all the biking I've been able to do. All the bike miles are "commute" miles back and forth from the parking lot at work. After having put all these miles on my folding bike, I do wish I'd opted for a bike rack instead. The folding bike is great in a lot of ways. It's super easy just to toss in the car and drive off at the end of the day. However, it has no shocks and doesn't shift well (or at all?), so it's not the most comfortable on bumpy, hilly roads.

I started the refinance process at the end of May, and have a tentative closing date in mid-July. As anyone who's ever bought a house or refinanced a mortgage knows all too well, this process requires a lot of time and attention. So I'm anxious to put it all behind me.

We've managed to get peepee in the potty a few times, but we're not making much headway. The boy is a bit too attached to his diapers. Argh.

We planted a few zucchini seeds and a billion marigolds seeds, all of which were destroyed by rabid squirrels. OK, maybe not rabid, but they show little regard for our desire to grow things.

In other news, I took an undergraduate course on Child Development in May. I just finished the last piece of coursework last night, so phew. One less source of stress. It was A LOT of reading.

I also took the advice of a colleague who'd had success using it and downloaded a dating app to my phone. I can't (won't) date in the traditional sense (dinner and a movie), so this may lead to nowhere, but it's a few minutes of entertaining swiping every now and again. I can tell you one thing: dudes need to learn how to take more pictures besides the "here I am holding a big fish" pose and the "bare-chested in bed" pose. No thanks.