I made a list. Of course I did. I am calling it my 3rd Quarter List even though we are already one third of the way through this year’s third quarter. I like the third quarter of every year because it includes July 4th, plenty of perfect days for waterskiing, figs and blueberries from our yard, and five out of six birthdays for our family.
Here is my list:
1-Try the Impossible Whopper. On a recent trip to visit my parents in NC, I listened to the “How I Built This” podcast episode about Pat Brown, the guy who started Impossible Foods. I am so interested in knowing what a meat product made without meat is like. I thought I would never go to Burger King again in my life, but third quarter is going to see it happen.
2-Watch short film called “A Brave Lament” with TJ. On that same road trip, I listened to Episode 32 of the podcast “The Place We Find Ourselves,” in which an acquaintance of mine from college was being interviewed by the host. She talked about the short film she and her husband made about the loss of their son Brave, so now I want to watch it and learn more of their story.
3-Use Amazon gift card (birthday gift) from my mom. I am eyeing some of the Beth McCord Enneagram books, specifically the Gut Triad ones (8’s, 9’s, and 1’s)…..because y’all, I think I mistyped myself as a One when I’m actually an Eight. I also really want to buy a wine bottle label remover.
4-Buy new shirts for me. I am a classic underbuyer, so I won’t do this list item until I get desperate. But I am getting pretty desperate. If you see me wearing the same shirt and same shorts as in the photo below, it’s because I haven’t shopped for new shirts yet, and I care more about not shopping than about whether you see me in the same clothes for the forty-seventh time. I like these, (Instagram Ads, how did you know?!!), but I need to make myself sit down and figure it out…what to buy, which size, how to return, etc.
5-Go to TJ Maxx. My underbuyer-ness, now coupled with the pandemic, keeps me out of stores even more than usual these days. However, I need shampoo, conditioner, mousse or styling product, kids’ 3-in-1 soap, toothpaste, notecards, and kitchen towels.
6-Finish writing birthday thank you notes.
7-Go by Sailor’s preschool/daycare facility to say goodbye to her teachers and pick up the stuff left in her cubby from last year. I texted the director and planned a time for me and Sailor to stop by later this week, so it will be one of the first things I get to mark off this list.
8-Get haircuts for me and the girls. This will be the other “first thing” done as we have appointments this week. The girls haven’t had a trim since January 11 (because of course, I keep a “Haircut List” also). I haven’t had a trim in over two months. I am still letting my hair grow out, but it needs some attention and shaping. We will get to see how the masked haircuts go.
9-Defrost the deep freezer. It’s too full of stuff at the moment so I need to use up some meat and pizzas and then I’ll recruit TJ to help me move stuff to other freezers or to coolers so we can get it cleaned up.
10-Finish reading PMAC books to the girls. I got a list of books from PMAC’s Instagram post a while back and I have slowly, but steadily, been getting these selections from the library and reading them. Some of them the library doesn’t have, and some are chapter books which I didn’t want to read right now, but we will have read 19 of the 29 books suggested when we finish our last stack that is on hold at the library. One of the girls’ favorites was Parker Looks Up.
11-Buy kids’ birthday gifts. We have two August birthdays and two September birthdays. Thank God for Amazon.
12-Do Berkey red food dye test. I try to do this every six months. This is a way to test the filters in our water purification unit to be sure they are still filtering properly. I already bought the red food color, so now I just have to plan a time and do it, and then mark my calendar for another six months from now.
13-Memorize morning collect from The Book of Common Prayer with the kids. I made little notecards for our table so we can read this together in the mornings. I love these words.
14-Finish reading Adventures with Waffles to the girls. A friend recommended this book and I got it from the library. It’s like the Penderwicks but Story says she likes it better. We are trying to read one chapter a day and should be done in August.
15-Make a list of Sandra Bullock movies to watch with TJ. We won’t get the movies watched in third quarter, but I want to get the list made. I don’t love movies, but I do love Sandra Bullock, and recently I had the idea to rewatch some of her old movies for fun and as a way to do something with TJ that I know he enjoys. He is basically up for watching anything with me, just as a way to relax at night and get lost in a story. I know that I’ll put Miss Congeniality, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, 28 Days, and Ocean’s 8 on the list, but I also want to find some of her movies I haven’t watched before and add those. If anybody has a favorite with Sandy in it, let me know in the comments.
15-Finish Photobook 1. I used to make a photobook every year when we lived in Naperville…you know, the nice ones made online with Shutterfly-type sites. I used MyPublisher.com before they got bought by Shutterfly, so now I’ll probably just go with Shutterfly.
Once we moved to Greenville (over 5 years ago), I stopped making the photobooks because I just couldn’t keep up with it anymore. But now I feel caught up enough with the rest of life to go at it again. This time, rather than do a book for each year, I’ve decided to do one book that will include our first three years in Greenville (2015-2017) and a second book that will include the past three years (2018-2020). So far this summer, I have spent 18 hours picking out pictures from 2015-2016. I have one year more to go through, and then I can start the fun part: putting the first book together on the Shutterfly website.
My kids, especially Sailor, LOVE looking through the photobooks we already have, so I can’t wait to have these new ones. Sailor was only three months old when we moved to Greenville, so there are hardly any pictures of HER for her to look at in the books we have. Now there will be LOTS!! My goal is to finish the first book by the end of third quarter, and to finish the second book by the end of the year. These goals will be more likely to be met if the kids get to return to school in the fall and I get more hours alone to work on things like this!
16-Write a letter to TJ’s grandma. I made a goal for 2020 to write to TJ’s Canadian grandmother (and the only living grandparent between us) three times in 2020. So far, I have written her two letters: one in January and one in May. I feel like September will be the perfect time for Letter #3.
17-Go somewhere and order a mojito. I smelled mint in the grocery store the other day when I was looking for fresh dill and I just keep thinking about having a mint drink. I got a mojito once at Rocket Surgery but they are out of business now. Where should I go? Or should I learn to make my own?
18-Update photo on blog homepage. It’s past time.
19-Don’t get the Coronavirus. I will wear my Athleta camo mask, pray to be safe, use wisdom, mostly stay home, yet still live life and not be afraid.
I wanted to put 19 things on this list for Covid-19. And just in case you don’t have 19 of your own things that you want to do, here are five things you might consider adding to your list:
1-Read Mere Christianty by C.S. Lewis. I still don't know how I made it to age 40 without reading this book. I’ll make it up for it with these years I have left, that’s for sure.
2-Watch The Chosen series about Jesus. As I watched, I cried. It made me want to drop everything and follow Jesus. (This is also what reading Mere Christianity makes me want to do.)
3-Try jicama. You can get it at Publix, Whole Foods, or La Unica. Sailor keeps mistaking it in the fruit bowl for a small cantaloupe, but jicama’s crunchy white insides, cut into sticks, are my new favorite veggie after radishes.
4-Write one real letter. On a card. Or a piece of notebook paper. With a pen or a pencil. To anyone. It’s more fun than you remember.
5-Go to Tandem. Order from the bus. Sit outside in the shade or on the porch. I got the Strawberry Nutella Waffle eleven times in a row back in second quarter. (Another list.) Now that it’s summer, they have peach specials. They always have good coffee and genuinely kind workers. Going to Tandem for the pleasure and consistency of one very specific thing that I love is one of the things that has saved me during this pandemic. Long live Tandem!
