I love noting the four seasons throughout the year, and perhaps even more so as I get older. And while technically the first day of summer comes to Arizona on the same day it does to the rest of the northern hemisphere it always seems to be very summery by late June. Which all means that May is when I need to start gearing up for the HEAT and SUN of summer. 

Last summer was my most enjoyable Arizona summer yet. I think I'm finally figuring out how to embrace the summer heat. Frose helps. As does remembering that it will cool off again which is weirdly implausible to believe when it's been over 110 degrees for days on end. But let's not get ahead of ourselves! There are still plenty of pleasant days and coolish mornings and evenings to be enjoyed. And I'm percolating a summer surviving and thriving plan that I'll hope to share here when it's ready. 

As we head into May I'm not feeling terribly pressured to do much "extra." Chris is always super busy during the final two weeks of the semester so our normal tasks of going to the grocery store, packing lunches, keeping the house moderately tidy and getting to the gym feel nearly heroic. 

Big things happening in May:

+ End of the semester craziness. Chris has early morning commitments, evening commitments and weekend commitments. All the commitments!

+ Chris will officially start summer break in mid-May. None of the commitments!

+ Mother's Day

In May I choose to:

+ Sort through the boys clothes. The change of seasons is always a good time for this. 

+ Paint my nails weekly. When I'm in the habit of painting my nails I don't pick at my cuticles. Not painting my nails + end of the semester busyness...less than stellar cuticles. 

+ Go on evenings walks once a week-ish. As I've been working to open up some time in my schedule I found that I can make an evening walk happen every week or so. It feels so good to have some time to think, to be active and to spend time outside.

+ Research getting a plaque made for my book club. We got the OK from the owner of the pub where we meet monthly to get a plaque for the booth where we always sit. I'm SUPER excited about this and leading the charge. Any favorite quotes about books and friends that we should put on the plaque?

+ Put together my Summer Surviving and Thriving Plan. Possible alternative title: Summer Hygge. Inspiration from last year's GND episode on Summer Coziness and this book. I even have a phone date with a girl friend in Austin to discuss how we will rock the summer. 

Recurring monthly goals:

+ Spend 15 minutes each day on creative writing. This is any writing that's just for me. It could be blogging, writing in the boys' memory journal or working on an essay.

Update: Essentially doing horrible on this. Hoping to recommit this month.

+ Make Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings for work and leave Thursday and Friday open. 

Update: Lately, perhaps because of the busy season, I have so little energy to do any work post-bedtime! But I do think once our lives settle a bit during the summer it will be easier to find motivation.

+ Check Mint at least once each week. To CHOOSE savings I need to be mindful of every transaction and stick to my monthly personal allowance budget.

Update: Yes! Still a habit I'm keeping up and I absolutely love it. It's keep us more accountable for our spending which makes me feel very in control of our money.

Happy May!