I have a lot to do this summer.

It’s time to tie my hair up in a ponytail and get to work.

As long as I have been alive (a whopping 22.5 years), summer has meant three things to me:

1)  Summer School

2)  Projects/mega-chores

3)  Family Vacations

I have carried over two out of three into my adult life, and guess which one I dropped like a hot potato?  I’ll give you one guess and one hint, and the hint is…it rhymes with bummer wool.

Other than that, summer has always been a joyful time for me, despite growing up in Mesa, Arizona (also known as the hottest dadgum city this side of Hell).  (It’s a dry heat.  {A lot of people say that being a dry heat has nothing to do with anything, and to those people, I say, “Bah.”  I would willingly endure a dry 115°F over a humid 85° any day.})

My sister and me on summer vacation.  Circa 2003.

My parents always saw to it that we had at least one good family vacation to look forward to during the summer.  We weren’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but they always made sacrifices so we could have as many experiences as the next kid.

We also had to work.  Hard.  But that’s another story for another day.

At any rate, we enjoyed our summer breaks to their fullest extent.  And that is exactly how I feel about the season to this day.  Already we’ve been on a tropical holiday (lovely), and I got to spend an extra three weeks with family in Mesa (wonderful).  We don’t have any other trips planned, but I have an inkling Poor Kyle and I will make some time for a few weekend getaways and day trips.  I can feel it in my bones.

Amidst all the fun, I also have a lengthy list of projects to complete before it’s back to the drudgery of higher education.

To Do: A List of Summer Projects 2009

-finish painting bedroom furniture black (Dear Mother-in-Law: May I please have permission to paint black the dresser and bookshelf/desk you gave Poor Kyle when he first bought this house?  Please and thank you, Camille.)

-decorate bedroom

-paint kitchen and decorate

-buy bike and ride it

-sell cans in garage.  $ from sale = $ for garden

-plant garden

-organise garage

-organise back entry

-buy a lawnmower

-borrow a lawnmower

–demolish ugly fence

-paint ugly fence

-come to terms with ugly fence

-tear out atrocious front bushes

-trim atrocious front bushes

-come to terms with atrocious front bushes

-plant flowers from starters

-plant flowers from seeds

-draw pictures of flowers and tape them to popsicle sticks and drive them into the flower beds with a hammer or possibly a rubber mallet, whichever’s cheapest

-solve garbage problem

-promote UBO

-get more than 14 follower on Twitter™

-start Google™ Adsense

-make poster advertising piano lessons

…As you can see, some items on my list have been modified and adjusted because guess what I learned?  Money doesn’t grow on trees.

Oh, how I wish it did, because then instead of tracking nasty poplar sap onto my kitchen floor, I’d have to scrape quarters, nickels, and dimes off my feet at the welcome mat.

And that is a problem I could seriously live with.

What are your summer plans or favourite memories?  Are you spending or saving money this summer?  For answers to these and who-knows-what-other-thrilling-summertime-questions, swing by Sprite’s Keeper for this week’s Spin Cycle.

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