Summer Days are here again

Right now it is looking kind of dreary outside, but for the last few weeks, there has been no denying the fact that summer days are here again (at least if you live in Texas). This is the first time I will be working all summer. Last summer, I graduated from UT on May 19th, got married on May 26th, went on our honeymoon cruise for a week, then got back home on June 3rd and started looking for a job. I got hired mid-June and started my job on July 9th. So I had a good (and very busy) month and a half of summer before I had to start my current job. So I was thinking last week about how depressing it is to hear about all the people getting out of school and their plans for summer while I am still sitting here doing the same thing. I realize how lucky I am that I have never had to work through the summer before. And it's not that I don't like my job, it's just an adjustment to not be one of those people celebrating the start of summer. So I have decided to celebrate summer this year in my own ways.1) I am going to the beach with my best friend Meredith. We almost always go to Crystal Beach, but last year I didn't get to go because I was on my honeymoon (it was worth it). We go to Meredith's grandparents Mimi & Papa's beach house. We usually go the three of us--me, Meredith and Rachel, but this year we are pretty sure Rachel is not going to be able to come, which really stinks. But we are going for a four day weekend and plan to have fun anyway. On these trips we usually hang out on the grungy beach, read silly books and buy those puzzle magazines at the one grocery store on the Bolivar Peninsula. We also play the original version of Trivial Pursuit and read Mimi's old magazines from the 80's that she still has on the coffee table. It is always fun to spend time with my best friends. 2) I plan to stop for a cold refreshing treat every time I feel like it. I am not the kind of person who stops for a snack that often. I don't usually stop at the Texaco to get some gum and a drink or stop at Wendy's for a frostie. But this is going to change. I'm going to make an effort to stop and smell the roses by getting such wonderful things as a Coke Icee, an Orange Cream Slush from Sonic,

or a dipped cone from Dairy Queen.

It is just way too hot not to.

3) Hula Hooping. It makes me happy and (if I do say so myself) I'm awesome at it. It is impossible to hula hoop without a smile on my face and I am almost always brought back to a time when my sister and I would hula hoop for hours on our back porch.

(And for those of you wondering, no this is not a picture of me, but it does look a lot like I did as a child, and I think I even had a similar dress. It is amazing what you can find on google.)
So as I embark on working through the summer for the first time I plan to prove that summer vacation is a state of mind and does not necessarily mean 2 months of not getting up until 11 AM.