Monthly Musings-May

It's the last Thursday of the month which means it's time for the Monthly Musings link up with Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Patty (Good Better Best). Feel free to play along...

1. What am I looking forward to most this summer? 

Lots of things...dining al fresco, lake floats, the 4th of July, sipping iced coffee beside the waterfall, sunset cruises...

...jumping off the dock hand in hand with my grands, homemade peach cobbler, and casual entertaining with friends and family. 

2. Any favorite summer traditions? 

Some of these overlap with my answers to the first question but...

I always jump off the dock holding hands with my oldest grandson to help kick off summer. Hopefully his little brother will join us this year.  I tell him he will never be too old. 

We'll have to see about Nana but so far so good. 

We always watch the fireworks from our dock and shoreline because we have the best view of my across the cove neighbor's spectacular show. 

I make one peach cobbler every summer because summer says you must. Same goes for home made ice cream. 

3. Any summer travel plans? Please dish. 

We typically don't travel in the summer months. We live on a lake so people travel here lol. 

We're a little out of the box this summer as we've rented a beach house for a week for the whole family, and I'm really looking forward to that. The trip won't happen until later in the summer so there will still be plenty of lake time before and after. 

4. How do you red, white, and blue?

First of all, I love the colors...so festive! July 4th is one of my favorite days of the year. We have the flag flying on our dock and on the boat too,  plus a windsock on the dock and flag bunting hanging from the deck of the house. 

I have several t-shirts with patriotic themes/colors so will wear one of those on the holiday. This year I bought cute dresses for the grandgirls and will probably find something coordinating for the boys. 

We typically have a crowd here on the 4th. My girls are usually here with their families and we sometimes have additional houseguests around that time too. Last year hubs brother and his wife came, and we're hoping they come back again this year for the holiday. 

There are a lot of firework shows around the lake, some put on by people who live here, and then the marinas have pretty big displays too, so we'll definitely see fireworks. Not exaggerating when I say the best show on the lake is the one my across the cove neighbor hosts. 

Boaters come from all around the lake and anchor, both in our cove and in the waters around it, and she does an amazing job. When there's an especially beautiful firework all the boaters honk and it's so much fun. It stirs up feelings of pride in America and I love that. 

Hubs will grill something, and I like to make some sort of patriotic dessert, sometimes a trifle since I feel like you need a lot of people to eat one and we'll have a lot of people around. 

Oddly enough we don't usually take the boat out on the 4th. The lake is so busy that day, and since we can boat anytime we opt out of the crazy this day can bring. 

5. Beach, lake, or pool. 

Since I live on a lake it feels wrong not to answer with that one. Plus no salt-no sharks so winning! We swim in our lake and it's crystal clear. 

6. Favorite summer sweet treat? 

Strawberry shortcake, peach cobbler, and homemade blueberry pie. Just give me all the fresh fruity desserts please. 

7. Favorite sunscreens and self-tanners. 

I don't use a self-tanner. I wear sunscreen every day and like a lotion as opposed to a spray.  We go through it here and I'm not particularly loyal to one brand. I've got Neutrogena Ultra Sheer,  Bare Republic Mineral,  Tula Daily, Coppertone Sport, and Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch which might be my favorite. 

8. Best flip flops or sandals? 

I need a little arch in my flip flops, and while they're not inexpensive I do love the Olukai brand. 

I think this is the pair I currently own. As far as sandals go I like mine cute. I also like cute tennis shoes for summer and have several pair. 

9. How are you staying fit this summer? 

Lake life means you stay pretty active. Hubs and I joke we make about fifteen or twenty trips going back and forth to the dock every day, and while it's not steep it's also not flat, so there's that. 

We have kayaks and paddle boards and I love to swim. We have a pool in our neighborhood too, and I like to swim laps there. 

10. Favorite summer themed movies? 

Here's my top five...The Parent Trap (the Lindsay Lohan remake), Jaws, Dirty Dancing, Mamma Mia, and  The Deep (with Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte). 

Come on summer...

We're ready for ya!