Category: Life

Bucket List Year-End Review

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I still can’t believe that 2017 has already exited the scene to make way for 2018. This past year was full of the usual adventures and a few new ones too. We celebrated birthdays, enjoyed two full years of living in our new home, explored NYC with the girls,  took a family cruise to Mexico, enrolled Addie in Pre-K 3 and dance, visited Disney again, and again, and again, and took a weekend escape to check Niagara Falls and Cedar Point off of the bucket list. Oh yeah…and we decided to invite a new member into our family….Baby Harvey #2 is coming in June 2018.

Here is the progress made from this year: (not too shabby if I must say!)

  1. Write my own manifesto (from Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project)—-CHECK! Maybe I will share this with you guys one day… I love Gretchen Rubin and recommend any of her books if you are looking to be more intentional in your life.
  2. Write a letter to my future self—-CHECK! April @ age 30.
  3. Celebrate my last day of my 20’s—-CHECK!
  4. Plan (and have) a spa day—Hubby helped with this task! The facial and massage from Milan Esthetics was wonderful!
  5. Do Adult Disney—CHECK! We got to see visit the Inaugural International Festival of the Arts at EPCOT!
  6. See the Rocky Mountains— CHECK! Rocky Mountain National Park was just as amazing as I thought it would be. Colorado is a MUST SEE state in my book!
  7. Fly fish— YES! We look lessons in Estes, Park Colorado. See photo evidence below!
  8. Sand surf–-YES! We made life-long memories here in Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado. BTW…the sand gets up to 150 degrees so make sure you wear SHOES!!! (Thanks for NOTHING Trip Advisor, hahah!).
  9. Stay in a Deluxe Disney Resort– NOPE I can’t part with the cash to pay for the price tag of this particular adventure.
  10. Hang Glide— NOT YET
  11. Sleep in a tree house—NOT YET
  12. Learn about floral arts— DOES PINTEREST COUNT?
  13. Take a cooking class-–YES, thanks Justin and Meredith!
  14. Master the art of the sugar cookie—-HM…maybe next year!
  15. Plant bougainvillea–-YES, thanks Hubby for the birthday gift. I hope the cold hasn’t killed them this week. 😦
  16. Reach goal weight (finally)—Well, I am currently expanding due to this new baby.
  17. Pay off student loans— YES! CHECK!
  18. Develop a “big girl” skin care routine—Well, sort-of…but I could use more work on this one so I am going to keep it for next year too.
  19. Visit a new state-— CHECK and CHECK!!! Michigan and Colorado. Currently on 38
  20. Visit a new country—Nope, although we did go back to Canada and Mexico this year.
  21. Explore Universal’s Harry Potter World—NOPE!
  22. Complete a Reading Challenge—-HAHAHAH. Do Addie’s  books count?
  23. Learn Spanish (again…)—-NOPE
  24. Prepare for an emergency (so we won’t get totally caught off guard by something like Hurricane Matthew again.)—-This is about half way complete, but we could still use some more work.
  25. Attend Dragon Con-–CHECK!!!
  26. Plan and implement seasonal bucket lists/monthly challenges-–CHECK! I got a little slack after morning sickness set in, but other than that we were pretty consistent.

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Fall Bucket List 2017

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Can you believe it is already Fall? No matter how much fun the Summer has been, I am always ready for all things Fall to arrive. I love the traditions, the festivals, the food, and of course….comfty clothing options! Our Fall Bucket List doesn’t change too much from year to year (with a few exceptions), but that is what I love about it! Check out our list below as well as some of our recent accomplishments.

 

Fall 2017 Bucket List:

  1. Paint Fall Pottery—-CHECK!!!
  2. Celebrate Addie’s 4th Birthday
  3. Paint Pumpkins—- CHECK!!!!
  4. Attend Disney’s Food and Wine Festival—CHECK!!! Guys, Chef Mickey out did himself this year. We had shrimp scampi, belgium waffles, filet mignon, paella, steak tacos. YUM!
  5. Attend a Cooking Class—CHECK!!!! (Pictures in a previous post)
  6. Make Homemade Pizza
  7. Visit Niagara Falls—-CHECK!!! This was an epic long weekend adventure (see previous post).
  8. Go Trick or Treating
  9. Decorate for Fall—-CHECK!!! I buy one new decoration each year. This year’s choice was a super-cute tin banner that says “Harvest” to be hung on the mantle.
  10. Create a Thanksgiving Tree
  11. Finish the Thanksgiving Tablecloth—Ugh, so much work to be done on this one…
  12. Go to a Drive-in Movie
  13. Go to A Harvest Festival—-CHECK!!! Lewiston, NY
  14. Take Family Pictures—-CHECK!!! (except the photographer’s laptop was ruined and the pictures were lost. No worries, we are retaking them in two weeks.
  15. Go to the Fair—CHECK!!!

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Two Bucket List-Bucket Events in One Week: Cooking Class and Dragon Con

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Making a bucket list is pretty much an annual thing. Some adventures are added on a whim and fulfilled quickly, while other items seem to linger on the list for quite a while.

Adventure #1: Chef Darin’s Kitchen Table Cooking Class in Savannah, Ga

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My friends Meri has seen this bucket list item go unfulfilled year after year and gave me one of my favorite birthday gifts ever—-the gift of adventure! I am not much of a cook, but I love to pretend and I love anything novel and new. The class was called, “Flavor Dynamics.” We learned about how different flavors hit our tastebuds and how to create balanced flavor profiles. At the end of our lesson we got to try out our new skills with an Indian or Mexican-inspired dish. The the best part of the night was taste testing.

Thank you Mer and Justin for an awesome experience!

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Adventure #2: DragonCon in Atlanta, Ga

Mariah and I both had a milestone birthday this year (gulp…). She is into (almost) all things nerdy, and I wanted to do something memorable to celebrate her….so nine long months after we birthday we were able to celebrate by attending our first ever DragonCon. We only went for Saturday to get our feet wet and get a taste of the experience. I am so glad we went! Mariah, AJ, and took a whirl wind trip to Atlanta and back in 24 hours. We saw amazing Cosplay, got confused WAAAAY more than once about the intricacies of D-con, and were just generally in awe at the massiveness of it all. It was awesome to see so much nerdy-ness and inclusiveness in one place!

Pictures of this coming soon….

How to Insure Your Weekends are Epic….

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Recipes for EPIC weekend adventures include:

-Friends

-Family

-Any new/novel

-Progress towards goals

-Naps

The last few weekends have been just what the doctor ordered for any end-of-Summer-blues we may be facing. We may not have traveled out of town, but luckily for us there is plenty of fun to be had right next door in Savannah, Georgia. We have played on play grounds, visited cute downtown coffee/art spots, had sweet friends visit from out of town, snuggled during Sunday afternoon naps, ate buttery popcorn during movie night, read books by flashlight in our pillow fort, and make some big strides for a new bucket list adventures coming up this fall.

Check out some of the fun!

 

2017 Bucket List: Completion Report

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While the temperature outside may still denote Summer, my school calendar does not. A new Happy Planner has been purchased and pre-pre-planning is underway. I have to go back to work a little bit earlier these days…however it is easy to get back into the school year swing when you absolutely love your job AND when the one who helps with Addie during the day is the same woman who raised you (thanks MOM)!

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We had another epic Summer in the Harvey household complete with trips to Disney World, a cruise to Mexico, time spent at the Lake and Beach. It’s a wonder that we were able to complete anything on our Summer Bucket List with all that extra fun…but Addie and I are pros at this bucket list thing. Check out of progress this Summer!

Here is the list for this year:

  1. Make a stepping stone- Bought the supplies, but not yet completed. I will post picks with the finished product!
  2. Collect and paint rocks- CHECK!
  3. Visit the Trampoline Park- CHECK!
  4. Paint Pottery- CHECK! Addie did such a great job. The lady who works there noted how much patience she had painting all of her pieces.
  5. Create a spa night at home- CHECK! Aunt Mer took us to a neat place that allows you to customize and create your own bath scrubs and oils. We used these and some samples of spa lotions and nail polish that we got for free the same day.
  6. Go to a summer matinee- CHECK! We saw Cars III….not my favorite Disney movie, but a Disney movie is better than almost anything else out so I call it a win.
  7. Have a Random Acts of Kindness Day- I really like doing this, but it is so much more fun as a group. I will add it to the Fall Bucket List to redeem ourselves!
  8. Tie dye- CHECK!
  9. Have a picnic/tea party- CHECK! This was Addie’s first-official-non-pretend Tea Party. She LOVED it!
  10. Go sea shelling in St. Augustine- CHECK (sort of). We went to Fernandina instead and there were VERY FEW shells.
  11. Make homemade pizza- NOPE.
  12. Make jewelry- CHECK! Addie made a necklace and bracelet with her name on it and all.
  13. Go to the beach with friends- CHECK!
  14. Have a lazy day around the house- CHECK! We actually had several of these….until I decide I can’t stand being cooped up and we go head to town or anywhere.
  15. Go to a U-pick farm- CHECK! This year we actually picked tomatoes. YUM!
  16. Go to the open studio hours at a local kids art studio (Henny Penny or Scribble Art Studio)- NOPE. Maybe sometime soon?

All in all it was a great Summer. I can’t wait for many more with this little chick!

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Lake and Beach: 2 Weekends with Addie

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With only 940 Saturdays between birth to 18 I want to make sure I savor each and every one in Addie’s life whether we are adventuring around the world or our hometown, I want to hold on to these precious moments. Some weekends we celebrate the mundane….but the last two weekends have been extra-special.

Elijah Clark State Park Weekend Adventure

We camped, we ate Mexican AND Italian (who says Lake Life can’t have some global flare), we tie dyed, and we swam and played!

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Day Trip to Downtown Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach

We came, we played, we ate, we left!

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Summer Bucket List: Addie’s First Tea Party

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We have played “tea party” in the bath tub, playroom, at Mimi’s house, and just about everywhere. Addie has made raspberry, peach, blueberry, chocolate, and even the occasional broccoli and carrot tea. This week Addie, Mimi, and I had a chance to have our very own real tea party. Look at the pictures below. I think it is safe to say that it was a great experience, and I am sure will become at the very least an annual tradition!

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Addie’s First Tea
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Yum, raspberry tea!
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Three lumps is better than two!
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Gotta have the pinky out!

Wanderlust Wednesday: Ireland

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Today went down in the books as another fun summer day with Addie and family! Her cousin Aubrey is in town for the 4th. They swam until they dropped today at the Splash in the Boro.

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While I do like celebrating Independence Day in the USA, I have to admit that I do miss bringing in the 4th in Ireland while Waring and I were on our honeymoon EIGHT years ago. I miss this place… Maybe we will make it back there for our 10th year anniversary. A girl can dream….

5 Reasons Why I Love Ireland (and you should too):

  1. Round-abouts and left-sided driving make everything more interesting
  2. Bed & Breakfasts are WAAAY cooler than hotels. Each host is a treasure trove of knowledge and each place seems to have a sweet dog as their mascot.
  3. Small town vibes are everywhere. You can explore the country by traveling from town to town and not feel overwhelmed.
  4. Absolute 360 degrees of beauty EVERYWHERE you look.
  5. When the heat index is over 100 degrees here in Georgia….the high is a crisp 60 degrees in Galway.

Summer 2017 Bucket List

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Another glorious summer is here! As an educator, Summer is the season of life in which we can stay up late, pretend for a little while that we are stay at home moms, finally get to that overdue spring cleaning, READ, be the fun mom that you wanted to be all year, cook actual meals that aren’t from a box, can, or freezer, and reconnect with family and friends. Yes, summer sabbaticals are amazing. They recharge our batteries and allow us to hit the ground running at 110% come August!

Summer is great, but it doesn’t last! In order to make the most of each summer day with Addie I find it helpful to create a bucket list (of course….). In years to come I think it will be even more fun as she will get to come up with unique and crazy adventures to add to our list each year as well.

Here is the list for this year:

  1. Make a stepping stone (We did this last year, so I would like to make it a yearly tradition).
  2. Collect and paint rocks
  3. Visit the Trampoline Park
  4. Paint Pottery
  5. Create a spa night at home
  6. Go to a summer matinee
  7. Have a Random Acts of Kindness Day
  8. Tie dye
  9. Have a picnic/tea party
  10. Go sea shelling in St. Augustine
  11. Make homemade pizza
  12. Make jewelry
  13. Go to the beach with friends
  14. Have a lazy day around the house
  15. Go to a U-pick farm
  16. Go to the open studio hours at a local kids art studio (Henny Penny or Scribble Art Studio)

We still have a little bit  more time before I go back to school. I will be sure to post our accomplishments then! What’s on your list this summer?

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Who You Are Today

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Who you are today….that’s who you are.

Be brave.

Be amazing.

Be worthy.

And every single time you get the chance, stand up in front of people.

let them see you. Speak. Be heard.

Go ahead and have the dry mouth.

Let  your heart beat so, so fast.

Watch everything in slow motion.

So what. You what?

You pass out, you die, you poop?

NO. 

(And this is really the only lesson you’ll ever need to know.)

You take it in.

You breathe this rare air.

You feel alive.

You are yourself.

You are truly finally always yourself.

-Dartmouth Commencement Speech, Shonda Rimes, 2014