Today is the first day of Fall, which for most of you means you’re elbow-deep in scarves and blazers and pumpkin spice. For me it means that the long stretches of triple-digit temperatures are FINALLY behind us, but it’s still sweltering on the regular (yesterday it was still 103, btw). Back in May, when it was also sweltering, I posted a fairly ambitious list of things to accomplish over the summer, and despite a LOT of unanticipated changes and craziness over the last few months, I am so proud of myself for really sticking to my plans, which were pretty great to start with.

Summer Bucket List: 2016

• No sunburns, no tan lines, and religious sunscreen application!
  Yes, ma’am!

• Finish up the landscaping in the backyard.
  Yep! Also done! And it looks SOOO GOOOD!
• Schedule a personal day off from work: go to a spa, get a massage, a pedicure, take myself out to a nice lunch, and maybe a movie, just because I can.
  This….did not happen. I need to revisit this idea, stat.
• Go camping!
  Yep! National Park camping, FTW!

• Keep my backyard garden boxes alive!
  Yes!! Well, mostly alive. I’ll take it as a win!

• Eat at least one full meal harvested entirely from the backyard garden.
  Mostly yes. It wasn’t a full meal in one sitting, harvest times being staggered and all, but we ate as much produce as our backyard garden would churn out: tomatoes, peppers, butternut squash, herbs, and my fridge is still full of eggplant.

• Make homemade ice cream happen.
  Yep. Batches of strawberry, black raspberry, and peach. Delicious!

• Visit four new National Parks.
  Three/four. I only made it to 3 new parks (Joshua Tree, Sequoia, and King’s Canyon), but also visited a few National Monuments, so, I’m counting it done.

• Go to a rodeo!
  Absolutely. Strawberry Days Rodeo is one of my favorite traditions.
• Tackle and manage a joint budget with Mr. Blue Eyes.
  Ish? I don’t know if this is complete, meaning finished, but it has been tackled, and tackled again. It’s a work in progress, basically. Merging lives is hard, ya’ll.
• Continue my current health and exercise regimen.
  Yes! I haven’t lost as much weight as I did in the spring, but I have been steadily improving my speed and distance. I still feel fluffy, but a lot less fluffy than I have for years. This goal will continue for the foreseeable future.

• Read a LOT of books. Inside. With the AC blowing directly on me.
  Yep, yep, yep. Fifty-nine since summer started (ok, since I posted this as an item on my summer to-do list).
• Finish the last bit of painting inside our house: 2 rooms and a closet.
  Well…the closet is done… Ahem.

Ok, so overall, a pretty decent summer, with a lot of food-based highlights…which I didn’t quite realize until I started looking for images for this post, ahem. Additional wins included presenting at a non-work-related conference with a non-profit I’ve contributed to the last couple of years, and starting a new job here in Arizona.

My previous lists and successes, here.