My sweet stay-at-homebodies, it’s time for the reveal of my summer 2020 bucket list and the final update for my spring list. While in some ways it feels like our country, our world is waking up from a long Covid hibernation, Texas is seeing a spike in corona virus cases. Did we begin opening up too soon? Is this still the same first wave of Covid or have we moved into a second phase? We are averaging over 60 new cases a week in El Paso, which is an increase. We’ve gone from loosening restrictions 2 weeks ago, to amending the restrictions by reinstating mask wearing requirements in public. Among other things. You have to wonder when will this ever end?
All of this uncertainty makes it hard to plan what to do tomorrow much less what to do all summer. But a gal can dream…and that’s what I’m going to do! Before we get to summer’s list, though, we have some unfinished business with my bucket list for spring. Let’s see how I wound up with this season’s activities.
Just a reminder: Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After occasionally uses affiliate links. This means that if you click or make a purchase from a link provided I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.
2020 SPRING BUCKET LIST Final Update
At the time of my update in May, I had completed 10 activities, had 4 underway to some degree, leaving 6 activities pending. Did I earn that coveted green check mark for all 20 spring endeavors?
Good for the Heart
- Host Easter dinner – ✔️ not Easter-type dinner but BBQ.
- Give each other couples massage – ✔️ wine, candles and all.
- Listen to and finish our book together in the hot tub – ❌ we started listening to When Christ and His Saints Slept: Plantagenets, Book 1 by Sharon K. Penman but haven’t gotten very far at all.
- Dress up for Easter – ❌ not able to go anywhere for Easter and it seemed silly to dress up and stay home.
Good for the Soul
- Tiptoe through the poppies – ✔️ twice or more.
- Pay it forward – ✔️ several times.
- Repot and revive mom’s Phalaenopsis orchid – ✔️ it has new roots and a new leaf!
- Spruce up the yard and plants – ✔️ check out the new look in this Where Bloggers Live post.
Good for the Body
- Take the first dip of the year in the pool – ✔️ swimming regularly.
- Hike and picnic at a park or Hueco Tanks – ❌ the parks open one week and close again the next. As a result, this is a fail.
- Utilize exercise videos and/or compete in Wicked Wine Run – ✔️ the Wicked Wine Run has been postponed until 09.2020 but we have been running several times a week in the meantime.
- Take Cia on a nature scavenger hunt – ✔️created my scavenger hunt and shared with Brennyn & Cady, Lauren & Lucia, Dani from Family.Love.Inspiration & her children Zaeya, Logan and Nash.
Good for the Mind
- Paint spring rocks – ✔️ painted and deposited in several areas.
- Take a class or course – ✔️ started The Genius Blogger’s Tool Kit course yesterday. the mosaic classes are beginning again so I will be taking my class this summer.
- Work online jigsaw puzzles – ✔️ got jigsaw puzzle out and have worked on it a couple of times. Will try to finish it while watching TV this next week.
- Organize crafts and craft supplies – ✔️ part of spring cleaning. Enjoying the organization of my space.
Just Plain Good
- Decorate for spring and Easter – ✔️ took these decorations down last week.
- Find a copycat recipe for a favorite restaurant dish and make it at home – ✔️ BJ’s Parmesan crusted chicken.
- Make a coconut cream pie or German chocolate cake just because I like them – ✔️ both. Check out the pie, here.
- Host a game night or investigate Pictionary Air – ❌ did look into Pictionary Air but it wasn’t what I thought it was. No game night because of Covid stay at home restrictions. Hoping when the kids come in July we can all play.
By my calculations, that’s 16 activities completed and 4 that just weren’t to be.
Now let’s see what I am hoping to do this summer.
My Summer 2020 Bucket List
Tried to keep my summer 2020 bucket list Covid-friendly in case things get worse and more limitations are put into place. Always the pessimist. Or, I like to think, the realist.
Good for the Body
- Concentrate on improving arms and abs to earn midriff top and workout pants – PC wants me to buy a midriff top/active wear pants outfit but I want to tone up more before I do
- Return to working out at the gym – the gym is open but we are currently letting the germs settle
- Ride scooters or trolley to explore downtown – something different we’ve never done before
- Run 5 times a week – work on consistency rather than distance
Good for the Heart
- Dress up date night once a month – now that restaurants are reopening I want to get dolled up for date nights
- Kiss goodnight after gratitude journal – we are good about completing the gratitude journal every night but the kissing goodnight, not so much
- Patio chats over smoothies – want this new activity to become a routine
- Start A Year of Us – bought this book to inspire meaningful conversations, then promptly put it on the shelf
Good for the Mind
- Complete courses – those on blogging and morning and evening routines, want to investigate becoming a notary
- Follow Dave Ramsey’s podcasts – want to leave some inheritance to my daughters and help build us a stronger retirement
- Mosaic class – registered in the spring, then Covid – want to learn what to do to finish my mosaic table
- Summer crafts – banner for the patio, patriotic projects, scrapping, water color and mosaic, of course
Good for the Soul
- Begin new Bible study – maybe Mary Clewley’s “Cultivate” series or Grace Changes Everything by Bonnie Hunter
- Find a new gratitude journal – open to suggestions, looking at Choose Gratitude: Blessings Journal by Crystal Paine who also wrote the morning and evening routine courses above
- Help with food bank or other philanthropy – dropped off Walmart bags at the food bank and realized what a great service they are providing, want to help my neighbors with this program or something similar
- Incorporate Calm.com back into quiet time – have been listening to this app on my way over the mountain but want to use it the way it is intended
Just Plain Good
- Birthday celebrations – we have 4 summer birthdays to celebrate when Brennyn, Mustafa and Cady come
- Make a new dessert – have a decadent one in mind
- Try new grilling recipes – want to try shish kabobs
- Wear maxis at least twice a month – need to get over feeling like all maxis are formals!
That’s what I am hoping for. We’ll see what’s in the stars for this summer.
Your Turn
If you are new to the idea of bucket lists or activity lists, and have never made one for yourself, this article explains the benefits of doing so. Perhaps on a slightly grander scale – the author talks about walking the 500-mile El Camino de Santiago – PC and I are hiking the Franklin Mountains. But the benefits are the same!
So, let me invite you, encourage you to make a bucket list for the summer. To keep you growing, moving forward during this difficult time when it is easy to become stagnant. When human nature has us just wanting to crawl under the covers until this virus passes.
If you have a bucket or activities list already, please share it in a comment below. Bloggers, please link up your bucket list post. And then get started making those dreams come true!
Thank you for joining me, my friends. Would like to know if restrictions are tightening in your community or it life feels more normal every new day. In either case, stay well!
Hugs and kisses,
Nancy
Lots of achieved goals! I surely hope you don t get new restrictions. Here in the Netherlands people just don t care anymore. They don t keep distance. It s only waiting for the second wave comes along. Enjoy your Sunday!
Deb
I bet if it wasn’t for the whole covid situation you would have ticked all those things off!
You’ve chosen some good ideas for the summer – like you I’m hoping to incorporate a couple of maxis into everyday wear rather than ‘going out’ (if I wait to go out for the evening again, they’ll never get worn!) other people manage to make them look ‘daytime’ so I’m going to try!
I wonder if your state did relax their rules too soon? It must be hard to go backwards in restrictions when you’ve just got used to things being more normal. I’m trying so hard to stay patient … hopefully if we come out of lockdown gradually we won’t have to have the hard restrictions imposed again. Also weird that you have to wear masks and yet your numbers are still going up, and we don’t have to wear them unless on public transport and our numbers are still reducing daily.
Debbie Harris
A great achievement Leslie, even with all the covid restrictions going on! I admire your dedication to ticking things off your list and you have a great variety of things to do. Take care x
Joanne
My bucket list will be on the blog tomorrow so I’ll come back then and link up. You did really great with your spring bucket list! Best of luck on your summer one.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, sweets!! Glad you updated your spring list and created a summer list, too.
Linda
Living in AZ where our numbers are going up after reopening, face masks are now mandated in many cities/counties. I felt like too many people went back to life pre-Covid when given the opportunity, so this return to caring for the safety of our community first is welcome.
And BTW, I really enjoy your blog. 🤗
Leslie Roberts Clingan
My sweet new friend, Linda, welcome!! Thank you for leaving me a comment. So glad you some how discovered me. Poor Arizona is in the same boat as we are in Texas. I live in west Texas, El Paso, and we are a little behind most of the country by about a month, and were slower to open up than the rest of our state. But we are a culture and community that really values family…and these holidays – Mother’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day and Father’s Day – are killing us! We are finally seeing masks on almost everyone here. But it took awhile. And we have wavered so much on opening parks, then closing them, requiring masks then amending that order then putting the order back in place. Yikes!!
Anyway, I am thankful to be healthy. And hoping you remain healthy, too. Thank you again for visiting!!
Natalie
You did really well with your Spring list Leslie. I like the categories of your bucket lists. We’re still under emergency orders where I live so coffee shops and restaurants are for take out or pick up only. No shopping mall, gym or hair/ nail salon re-openings yet. The weather has been very good here so I enjoy the outdoors and continue safe physical distancing.
Sharon
Great job BFF! Our Covid numbers are worse than ever. I feel like we opened back up too soon and now people don’t want to be restricted again. I think we had over 2000 new cases this week!😩
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for leaving me a message, BFF. Isn’t this just the craziest year ever? And now a dust storm coming from the Saharan desert??? Thank you for sending me the masks. I was thinking maybe I wouldn’t need them right now but I think I am going to keep wearing a mask indefinitely.
Cindy Anderson
Honestly I’ve never had a desire to make a bucket list. But reading your post has me thinking about it. I received a promotion two years ago that completely changed my life. I now take my work home with me and am ‘on call’ almost 90 hours a week. My mind has been mush ever since and I’m wondering if having a Bucket List will help bring clarity. I am a baby-steps kind of person so I will think about this for a while, but thank you! I really will consider making one.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, come make one, Cindy!! And link up with me! We will do an update in July and August and will share our final progress update on September 21 when we reveal our fall lists. Having a bucket or activities list has helped me so much. Instead of sitting around wondering what we could do each weekend, we had ideas to consider on our bucket list. It encourages me to look into what is available around my city or area and partake in experiences I might have otherwise overlooked. Please consider making a baby bucket list. Thank you for finding me and leaving a comment!!
Retirement Reflections
Great job, Leslie — especially during pandemic restrictions.
Very inspiring!
Christie Hawkes
Impressive work on your spring list, Leslie. I’m especially happy to see that you completed everything on your Good for the Soul list. Your summer list sounds lovely. I didn’t create a summer list yet. I was feeling a little overwhelmed getting the house together and with work–we’re in a very busy season–and I just couldn’t wrap my head around setting any goals. Maybe I should build a summer bucket list made completely of small activities that bring me joy. I’m going to think on that one. Hopefully I’ll be back with a summer bucket list before the link-up expires. Happy summer!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Christie. Yes to a simple bucket list of activities that bring you joy and things that will help make this new house feel like home.
Dara
Sounds like some great goals for the summer!
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
LOVE your summer bucket list! I’ll be sharing one soon, too! A Year of Us sounds good, I need to buy that and soon! 🙂 We have dined out about 7 times and so far it has gone good… Patio chats over smoothies sounds good, too. I just signed up for my first half marathon in several years… I have no idea if they’ll make it virtual, but the training and getting my body used to long distance again is the goal!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Jill
You did great with your spring bucket list despite being quarantined! I haven’t done a craft in ages and am looking for some summer crafts to do too! We’re having friends over this weekend and I should try to find a new dessert recipe! I need to check out A Year Of Us! It sounds great!
Jill – Doused in Pink
ShootingStarsMag
What a fun list! I have some ideas for mine, but I’m still working on it – hope to share soon. Things have opened up around me, though certain places are better at restrictions and all that than others. I still don’t really go anywhere or do anything though because Covid didn’t just go away. Cases are rising all over, it seems, so I’m afraid a second BIG wave is going to come. I try not to think about it too much though – anxiety inducing!!!
I hope you accomplish most – if not all – of the items on your list! Love that you have summer crafting on there.
-Lauren
April
Somehow it never occurred to me to make any plans for this summer beyond a visit to our family. I have zero written down summer plans/goals, which is no fun at all. Thank you for this reminder!
Danielle
Great job on your spring list. That’s pretty decent considering the times. I found it hard to make this list, I think because I feel limited by not being able to go places or do things. I am hopeful that we will be able to do these things soon, but I suspect it will be a year here before we feel like we are back to some sort of new normal. I love how you have split up your bucket lists into the 4 different areas. Maybe I will try that for the fall. Thanks for always inviting me to join and cheering me on. I do hope one day we will get to meet in person, when our world isn’t closed down.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Awww, just seeing this comment. I just think the world of you. I hope you know. Sometimes I see messages from you on my phone and forget where I saw them in order to respond. Sucks getting old. But I love you and your family and have so enjoyed getting to know you.
I had trouble with my bucket list for summer. Feeling pretty weary of all of this Covid stuff. Everything is such a question mark. And we are going backward with more cases and having to start back with tougher restrictions.
I am always happy to have you join me with the silly blogging stuff I think of you. I appreciate your friendship and support so much. We WILL get to meet someday!!
Laura Bambrick
You have some fantastic fitness goals! I always admire how much you focus on it. I am always trying to squeeze things in since the gym isn’t open and still no childcare! But I’m so thankful we have a nice weight machine and spin bike downstairs. They have been my saving grace! You’ve managed to get a lot checked off for spring! Great ideas for summer!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Laura. We have hit a slump this week when PC’s hip started hurting. But as I type, he is getting his shoes on so we
can at least go for a walk. That’s something!!
Dee | Grammy's Grid
Yay, you did good for the spring, good luck with the summer!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, friend!! Hope we can stay healthy and active, both of us.