Damn. Summer is over y’all! Please don’t take it personally when you see me with a RBF between now and Victoria Day Weekend. It’s not you, it’s Winter.

Although I thrive in Summer, I am not going to be a downer – there are great things to look forward to in the months ahead!  Plus, it is an excuse to start a new to-do list… which is in the making of course.

But first, without further ado, it is time to recap the 100 Days Of Summer (Volume 2) list:

1. swim in a lake* – Yes! I even tried wake-surfing (but failed).
2. swim in the ocean – Yes! However the tide was out so it was more like skimming than swimming.
3. swim in the Wallace River – Yes! During a high-humidity summer rainfall with my mom, David and Henry.
4. go in a sail boat*
5. hike Cape Split* – Yes! David, Mike, Henry and I went this weekend. Note: Next time we will be smart and bring water and food – It was 8km one way. Opps. 
6. go strawberry picking* – Yes! My sister and I took the kids. We were in a field on the Amherst Shore with a view of the ocean. Beautiful.
7. make strawberry jam – Yes! 48 jars.
8. watch an outdoor movie*
9. play corn hole*
10. play croquette – Yes! With my family it is extreme croquette
11. play washer toss – Yes! Win: No!
12. night swim* – Yes! By myself in the Wallace River at 9:30 pm. I felt like little Reece Witherspoon in the movie Man on the Moon...
13. make smores and eat them* – Yes! Aimee has set the smore bar high y’all.
14. have a campfire and sing a campfire song – Yes! I sang to baby Evelyn and she didn’t cry. We also experience a campfire drum session at Keji which was fun.
15. roast veggie dogs over a campfire – Yes! And sometimes if I pretend really hard, it’s like I’m eating real campfire hotdogs.
16. leave the province* – Yes! We travelled to Belle Isle Bay, New Brunswick for some awesome cottage time with our neighbours.
17. accidentally get a sunburn* – Yes! A few unprotected runs but not as bad as the heat burn I endured.
18. buy a rash guard – Yes! From J.Crew.
19. train for a marathon – Yes! Less than two-weeks to go!
20. sleep in a tent* – Yes! Note: We need a bigger tent.
21. go to Cyclone 5 times in one week* – Yes! 3 classes in one morning + 2 evenings.
22. see Shakespeare by the Sea*
23. ride a horse* – Yes! I am counting this as a yes – I joined David’s class trip to Hatfield Farms and we rode in a wagon pulled by two horses.
24. mini golf* – Yes! And I won.
25. take David to Citadel Hill* – Yes! It was the first time in a long time I actually toured the Citadel as a visitor and really enjoy it.
26. fly a kite*
27. bike over the MacDonald bridge with David* – Yes! On the last Sunday before it closed.
28. picnic at the ocean – Yes! At Taylor Head Provincial Park (see #37) and the beautiful beaches around Pugwash.
29. picnic at Public Gardens – Yes! We dined on ice cream.
30. do a kart-wheel – Yes! I am no Ellie Black but I did one.
31. go the the Bicycle Thief – Yes! I had fresh halibut, cast iron seared, cherry tomato & hot pepper sugo, fresh cilantro, crispy lemon risotto cake.
32. clean my black car (mike told me to put this in) – Yes! Mike did most of the work but I have maintained her beauty.
33. make iced coffee – Yes! Delicious.
34. run laps (speed work) at least three times – Yes! I ran to the oval and did laps.
35. hill train once a week – Yes! Once-a-week at the Pit in the North End.
36. run in 5 races – Yes! The Bluenose (half) Marathon / Cabot Trail Relay / Brigadoon’s Wine & Dash / Not Since Moses / Rum Runners Relay
37. visit Taylor Head Provincial Park – Yes! A beautiful beach but too long of a drive.
38. jump on a trampoline – Yes! We bought one for the backyard – come over for a bounce any time.
39. redecorate our bedroom – Yes! See here.
40. plant a vegetable garden and enjoy its bounty – Yes! Lamest garden ever… but I ate a bean or two.
41. plant basil and make pesto – Yes! My basil was one of the only things that did well.
42. run the golf shore loop (again) – Yes! And I did #64 right after.
43. make rhubarb pie – Yes! Some of the rhubarb was from our yard and some was from a market. It’s my favourite pie.
44. host a women and whiskey night – Yes! Kind of. For book club I made the girls a whiskey drink. I was the co-host so this counts.
45. eat a banana split – Yes! I did not like it.
46. kayak down the river – Yes! Another dreamy day on the Wallace River.
47. tube down the river – Yes! Same day as #3
48. play sandbar soccer
49. eat on an outdoor patio – Yes! A lunch date with Sarah and Libby, a back to school dinner date with David and some other times in between.
50. drink on an outdoor patio – Yes! Stillwell’s beer tent on the Waterfront is a great new addition to the city – I went twice.
51. hang out on the Halifax waterfront – Yes! See #50
52. go to Shubie Park – Yes! I did a long run through the whole park and walked it a few times too.
53. go to Point Pleasant Park – Yes! Many runs and a few dates with David and Henry.
54. drive in a convertible
55. buy a summer dress – Yes! From J.Crew.
56. wear summer dresses everyday for a week – Yes! All dressed up and nowhere to go.
57. wear heels – Yes! I am a flip flop girl. I go from boots to flip flops with an occasional Converse-day thrown in the mix but I wore heels around the house one day. True story.
58. hear bag pipes – Yes! If you live in Nova Scotia and did not hear bagpipes this summer I’d be shocked. See #59
59. watch a parade– Yes! Canada Day in Pugwash, Natal Day in Halifax.
60. dance – Yes! Amanda and I went on a retro party boat cruise. It was amazing.
61. visit the new North End farmer’s market – Yes! I bought a few vegetable plants.
62. have a taco party – KIND OF… No, I did not have a taco party BUT yes, I started planning for a taco party in November. Who’s coming?
63. sell 5 things – Yes! A baby carrier, a kids tunnel, a stroller, clothes, books, a bike seat and a car seat. See #99
64. go for a run and jump in the water right after – Yes! See # 42
65. bike to the skate park and watch David in the skate park (this was David’s request) – Yes! We spent the morning hanging out. It was great. See #100.
66. watch fireworks – Yes! At the cottage in New Brunswick.
67. watch 500 Days of Summer – Yes! The namesake to my list.
68. watch Dirty Dancing – Yes! “Me? I’m scared of everything. I’m scared of what I saw, I’m scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.” –Baby
69. make a spiralized dinner (this) – Yes! I even bought a spiralizer.
70. start and finish Jill’s bathroom makeover – KIND OF… No, I did not finish BUT yes, I started.
71. attend a party – Yes! Jill and Alex had a housewarming party.
72. go to 2 movies – Yes! At least. Pitch Perfect 2, Spy, Inside Out…
73. make ice cream sandwiches – Yes! Homemade chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream.
74. finish my rug hooking pillow – KIND OF… No, I did not finish BUT yes, all of the hooking is finished. I just need to form it into a pillow.
75. cheer on David’s first triathlon – Yes! At Bedford Days. Proud mom moment.
76. play hooky – Yes! A few times. I did a lot of my long runs on Fridays, visited my family in Pugwash, beach days and play days. Perks of being freelance.
77. read a magazine outside – Yes! Anthology and Style at Home.
78. read a non-fiction – Yes! The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
79. read a fiction – Yes! The Carnival at Bray and Everyday.
80. eat from a food truck – Yes! I ate a grilled cheese at Halifax Press
81. only use the clothesline – Yes! An indoor rack when the weather was not co-operating.
82. try rock climbing
83. buy new running sneakers – Yes! I love my Saucony Kinvara 6.
84. visit a cottage – Yes! See #16
85. drink beer from a cooler – Yes! See #16
86. drink a road rocket. “kidding”
87. run across the bridge before they close it to pedestrians (June 29) – Yes! Sniff sniff.
88. ride the ferry – Yes! We rode the Halifax-Dartmouth ferry and a drive-on ferry across Belle Isle Bay.
89. get muddy – Yes! Not since Moses.
90. get sandy – Yes! Many beach days.
91. ride a slip & slide
92. ride a water slide – Yes! At the Canada Games Centre.
93. visit magic mountain
94. hike Cape Breton Highlands National Park – Yes! I ran down French mountain.
95. get highlights – Yes! Thank you Cindy at Hair Garden.
96. go to a yard sale – Yes! I didn’t buy anything. See #99
97. watch a sunset – Yes! Simply the best in Pugwash.
98. watch a sunrise – Yes! Many early morning runs.
99. declutter – Yes! I am getting much better at this. See #63
100. have David plan a prefect pre-first-day-of-big-school / end-of-summer-day – Yes! See #65 and #45
     * 2014 not completed 

Final score: 86 completed, 11 incompletes and 3 kindofs (#62/70/74).

What I missed and how I feel about it (note: 5 of these were also fails from 2014)

1. go in a sail boat* When Mike buys a sailboat this will happen all.the.time.
2. watch an outdoor movie* The plan was to do this in the backyard. The plan failed.
3. play corn hole* Mike needs to make one; poor Ava.
4. see Shakespeare by the Sea* Maybe it is Shakespeare, maybe it’s just me.
5. fly a kite* Mental note: Must buy a kite so I can make this happen in 2016
6. play sandbar soccer: I blame this on the tide schedule this summer. Or my poor packing skills. No ball. No soccer.
7. drive in a convertible: I blame this on my boring friends – none of whom own a convertible.
8. try rock climbing: I got paranoid I’d break my leg.
9. drink a road-rocket: I blame this on Mike, he says even a ride-on lawnmower is illegal.
10. ride a slip & slide: True story, I broke my middle-finger on a slip & slide when I was a kid. Haven’t been on one since.
11. visit magic mountain: Sometimes the thought alone of visiting a family amusement park makes me queasy.

I think did good… I am happy, mostly because looking back, it was an great summer. Until next year.

Click here for the 2014 recap

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