Summer To-Dos

No Sunday Menu Planning post this week. As some of you know, Tuesday is my BIRTHDAY!!! Which has led to lots of dinners. It's also Memorial Day weekend and, as I live in the city, my goal is to get the heck out of it! I'm heading home Thursday night to have a joint birthday/anniversary (it's my parents 32nd!) and then we'll be going to my aunt's house down the shore.


::side note, you know I grew up in the dirty jerz since I say "down the shore" rather than "to the beach"::


Instead, I've been thinking of to-dos for the summer as Memorial Day is the official beginning of the season! I'm a BIG to-do list person (and resolutions person, but that's another story). A lot of it comes from work--PR people live for a good to-do list, and make timelines for everything (seriously, everything). I even have a color-coded calendar...and by "a", I mean "multiple"; I have a print out one on my desk for personal stuff, one for important work stuff, my Outlook calendar for work meetings, and a Google calendar that literally has my life in it. I don't know what I would do without my calendars and to-dos. Probably lie in bed crying that I don't know what to do with my life. That or go down the shore and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist. One or the other...


So I've created a summer to-do list. Hopefully I'll get to do everything on it, but if I only get to do a few I'll still be happy. Wish me luck! Hold me to them! And, if we're friends outside of the virtual world, let me know if you want in!

1. Visit a pick-your-own berry farm. Seriously, I grew up in New Jersey and have driven by countless berry farms and never once have I actually stopped! Well that is going to change this summer. I'm on a quest!


2. Start running outside rather than on the treadmill. I'm the worst gym rat ever. I actually LIKE being in the gym (well, you would too if you belonged to mine). But I also HATE the treadmill--it's so boring. But I'm training for a half marathon and running is, you know, kind of imperative, so hating the treadmill can't stop me from doing it! Instead, I'm going to take my treks to Central Park and Riverside Park. I'll be the one leaning over with a cramp, trying to remember how to breathe.


3. Take a cooking class for a new cuisine. I love cooking classes. Like LOVE. But I always take ones of a cuisine I know and like. My favorite cooking class? Fresh pasta making. Second fave? Sushi rolling. Ask anyone what my two favorite cuisines are, and they will tell you Italian and Japanese. Well it is time to expand my horizons! I'm thinking maybe Thai or a lesser known cuisine from Asia. If anyone has any suggestions of good classes in New York, email me at seasaltnpepa@gmail.com!


4. Take a spontaneous day/weekend trip. Has anyone heard of the miracle that is ZipCar? I've had a membership for over a year and have only rented a car once. ONCE! So this summer, I want to rent a car and take a trip somewhere in New York, Connecticut, who knows? Maybe a weekend trip into New England? The world is FULL of possibilities for a New Yorker who has a car for a weekend. 


5. Host a cocktail party. If any of my to-dos are daunting, this is it. Not because I worry about the party itself--that's the easy part. I love making appetizers, love having people over, love hosting parties. In fact, in college, I used to have monthly dinner parties with about 20 people, most of whom were guys who could eat alot. Instead, this is daunting because...where in the world would I do it? My apartment barely fits me, much less friends. My parents moved away from my hometown, so it's pretty far for others. Sadly, I must say, this is the to-do that is least likely to happen.


6. Go to a flea market. And by flea market, I mean Brooklyn Flea...and, even more importantly, I mean Smorgasburg. If you're not from New York, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, so visit this website, and get jealous. The problem with this to-do will be getting my rotund body on the subway afterwards. Or maybe I could just roll home...


7. Be a tourist in my own city. My family aren't big tourists. At least not in a city that's only a couple of hours away. Which is why, my darling readers, I have never been to the Statue of Liberty. Or Ellis Island. I've never ridden the Staten Island Ferry. I HAVE successfully visited the Empire State Building which, for all of you who've done so, is the most useless touristy thing to do ever. And you sure as hell won't be finding me in Times Square anytime soon. But maybe an on-off bus? The possibilities are truly endless...


8. Summer clean! Ok, I'm a little late on spring cleaning. Just, you know, a few months. But it's hard to do in NYC! I don't have storage to put things in and the storage I do have (hi Mom and Dad's basement!) is a two hour drive away. Have I mentioned I don't have a car? And no, genius people who would like to suggest I rent a ZipCar for THIS purpose, I will not be doing that. Instead I will be begging my parents to come visit and then I will beg them to take home a car full of my crap. The likelihood of that happening before it's time to bring back up my fall/winter clothes? Slim to none, methinks, slim to none.


9. Reconnect with old friends. This is the most important item on my to-do list. Two years ago I moved to New York, started working 60+ hour weeks, and forgot about my friends. Well it's time to reconnect--I'm looking at you high school friends! College friends who've moved? Expect Skype date requests. It's time to turn off my work computer and become a better friend.