My Summer X!

First day of summer vacation: Cool, cloudy, and rainy. Weather forecast for the first week of summer vacation: Cool, cloudy, and rainy. I don't mind getting cozy in the den today, but I will not stand for a week of cool, cloudy, and rainy - not when I could be poolside with an extra large Diet Coke and a good book.

My summer internship starts Wednesday; I am going to be working with a hotel and convention center doing several fun events. The only downside(s) of the internship are: the hotel/convention center is across from a huge shopping center, a spa, and my favorite bagel sandwich restaurant in the world. (Those are also some major pros to the job, as well.) Since the internship is unpaid, I will be getting a second job - probably as a banquet server at a catering company - to make money to go to said shopping center and spa. I am thrilled to begin my internship and even more thrilled to secretly borrow all of mom's pumps to match my business suits.

Along with my internship this summer, there are a few other things I'd like to do. I plan on: riding my bike at least 30 miles a week (I would bike to my internship but it's a 45 minute commute), taking cooking classes, visiting one of my best friends in Houston, taking guitar lessons, going to the drive-in movie theatre with boyfriend M, setting up a Netflix account and watching every episode of Glee, drinking lots of iced coffee at my favorite coffee shop, planting and growing a garden in my parent's backyard, going on a road-trip with my little sister (who graduates high school in 10 days!), antique shopping, going fishing with my step-dad, and celebrating my 21st birthday with all of my best friends. And then, there are three other "projects" I am wanting to do:

1. Attempt to learn sign language (this will probably take more than a summer)
2. Fitness competition with roommate J; we have set up rules and goals for our competition and whoever hasn't completed the goal by August 10 has to treat the winner to a deep tissue massage. (Sidenote: the loser is not giving the winner the massage; a massage gift certificate will be purchased for the winner by the loser to be redeemed by the winner). And we have decided that the massage will be redeemed after we both run a half marathon in November. C'mon, me!
3. A project where I am going to read 30 books I have never read, watch 30 movies I have never seen, and eat at 15 local restaurants that I have never tried before. And if that isn't nerdy enough, I am going to critique a few of the restaurants just for fun.

Do you all have any books/movies suggestions? I have a few of each on my lists, but I'd love to hear what you like so that perhaps I can like it, too!

I am going to go cozy up with a fluffy book (which will not be part of the 30 books I want to read) and have a large Diet Coke*. Because if I can't have one by the pool, I'm going to have one on the couch!

*Diet Cokes are awful for you and I recommend never trying one. They are highly addictive and do not work in your favor when you are in a fitness competition with your roommate.