July 4, 2024 • 21 mins
Ready to make the most out of summer? Learn how intentional planning and a "summer dream list" can transform your season from mundane to magical. Stephanie dives into her tactical approach to seizing sunny days in Northwest Indiana, a region where winters are notoriously long and dreary. By categorizing summer activities—whether it's home projects, physical fun, or quality time with loved ones—you can ensure every day is filled with joy and purpose. From hiking multiple state parks in one day to pizza and watching the sunset, Stephanie shares practical, often free or low-cost, ideas to inspire your own summer dream list.
Connect with Stephanie:
Get a free resource The 4G Method Journal here.
Shop Stephanie's books here.
Follow me on IG: @Giving_Gal or FB/GivingGal
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey friends, it's Stephanie here with episode
number 116 of Giving your BestLife, and I think I have a fun
episode planned for today andhopefully you will take me up on
this challenge that I'm goingto put out there.
And it's really a fabuloussummer challenge.
(00:22):
I have been doing this for Idon't know how many years, but I
will say that what I'm going totalk about today has really
helped me get the most out ofsummer.
I don't know where you live,but for me I'm in Northwest
Indiana and the winter seems solong, so dark, dreary, cold,
(00:47):
gray skies, that when summercomes, I don't care how hot it
is.
I get up so early.
This morning I was up at likethree o'clock Now.
I didn't intentionally get up,I just couldn't sleep, so I was
like get up.
I didn't intentionally get up,I just couldn't sleep, so I was
like get up.
But some mornings I am up atfour because it's like as much
(01:08):
sunlight as I can get frommorning to when the sun sets,
these long days, which you knowsummer.
Now we're counting down.
Our days are getting shorter,even though it doesn't really
seem like it, but anyways, howdo we get the most out of our
summer?
It.
But anyways, how do we get themost out of our summer and just
like anything in life is one wehave to be intentional.
(01:35):
If you know anything about meand my giving journey giving a
gift every day for 522 days isone of my like top things.
I talk about on that givingjourney and what made me
successful of accomplishing thegoal, which the goal was 365
days and I went beyond.
That was being intentional Meone person looking to make a
(01:58):
difference in one other person'slife each and every day and
intentionally looking for thoseopportunities.
If we are not intentional withour day and how we spend our
time, life just seems to pass usby and then you look up and
you're like what the heckhappened?
Or where did the past X numberof days, months, years go by?
(02:22):
So I'm going to talk about howto have a summer dream list.
Some people call bucket list.
I don't like bucket list Ifyou've listened to me, I've
probably mentioned that beforebut a summer dream list that
helps you be more intentional.
(02:48):
That helps you be moreintentional planning your summer
, really thinking about how am Iusing this time?
Am I doing things that I wantto do?
Am I doing things that arebuilding relationships, building
community.
So I want to go over likethings on my list just to give
you ideas, um, and then I'lltell you a little bit of how I
(03:10):
come up with this, just so youcan be thinking about this.
Also, as I was preparing forthe podcast, I got to thinking
is I?
I kind of looked at my list andwhat I realized is I had seven
categories.
Um, so you might want to thinkabout as you put together your
summer dream list is thesecategories and be thinking about
(03:33):
what could go in thesecategories.
If you're married, this issomething you could do with your
spouse.
You guys could work on thistogether.
It'd be a great way to grow inyour marriage and do something
fun together to accomplish itand check some of these things
off.
And it's not this isn't, Ialways say is my dream list, is
(03:57):
not about doing something andchecking it off.
It's about experiencing life,living life to the fullest.
And it's about again, like Isaid, is not just looking back
and going, oh my gosh, what haveI done for the last season or
whatever time period in life.
This is an activity you coulddo with your kiddos.
(04:21):
And the things on the list too,I want to say is they don't
have to be these big things likego to Disney, if you're
thinking about with your kidsNow, for me, I do have one big
vacation on here, but you don'thave to.
There are so many things inyour backyard that you could do
(04:43):
that you've probably never done,and a lot of it is free or low
cost.
On one of the previous episodes,zach was talking about when his
kids were younger, is they justfocused on the parks that were
in the area, and there's so manyparks that they hadn't went to.
So, get creative, get creative.
(05:04):
Think about things that maybeyou've passed by, or just all.
Every year you're like, oh, I'dreally like to do fill in the
blank.
So I'm going to go over my list.
Um, I get a pen and paper.
This is hey, you're going to beactive, right?
These um, like, um, what do Iwant to say?
(05:25):
Like groupings down, which isprobably a better word for that.
I probably used it earlier.
Um, but then you know, fill inyour own things, and maybe
there's some of the stuff thatI'm going to mention that you
want to do.
Put it on your list, um, andthen I would love to hear from
you about what is on your summerdream list.
(05:45):
So for me, the seven categoriesare home, physical fun, friends,
spouse, family and travel.
So I'll give you some ideas ineach of these and I kind of
collect these over the year andsome maybe from last year that I
(06:09):
love doing.
It's like that's staying on thelist.
I do that every year, but Iwant to be intentional of not
forgetting about it and when I'mlooking at my calendar and when
I have an open weekend or anevening, it's like, oh, I can go
do that.
An evening, it's like, ooh, Ican go do that, um.
The other thing too is like youcould start this list on your
phone.
Um, I love the iPhone becausein the notes you know you got
(06:31):
the little bubbles and you cancheck it off, um, and you can
also start thinking about otherseasons.
So we're just talking aboutsummer, but you could start on
your phone, you know a um or a.
Maybe you got a journal orwherever.
You kind of document life stuffor things that you want to
remember is you could put theother seasons down and, you know
(06:52):
, start creating for the futurealso.
But we're going to focus onsummer.
So I'll give you some ideas ofwhat I have is in home.
I have a hammock.
It was up at our lake house andthen, when we remodeled the
house, it's been in the garageand my husband put it up for me
a couple of months ago, and so Itry to go out on the hammock at
(07:16):
least three days a week.
I just love it.
It's so relaxing.
I also this isn't on the list,but one thing that I've been
doing a lot of research aroundis getting morning sun and just
having your face in the sun inthe morning and what it does for
your circadian rhythm and yoursleep.
There's a lot of good benefits.
(07:37):
Obviously, vitamin D is so goodfor our body, and so a lot of
times I'll go out and get in thehammock when the sun's like
shining on the hammock, killingtwo birds with one stone.
Also, I've already started acontainer garden.
That's something.
I've had big gardens at homes.
We just haven't done that.
(07:58):
We've got so many crittersaround here that it just seems
almost impossible.
It's not, I know it's not.
I honestly just don't want toput in the effort, and so that's
what you have to think about.
Also is like what effort do youwant to put in?
How much time do you havelooking at budgets and your
finances?
So when we think about thisdream list, is it's not
(08:21):
something you're going to do, soyou go in debt or you go broke.
You know some things on thelist.
I've been planning for a while,I've been budgeting, I've paid
for it and you might have agreat idea and you're like you
know what that's going to haveto go on next year or two years
from now, and so you can set abudget, you can start planning
(08:41):
for it and you can pay for itwithout going in debt.
I read an article the other dayabout how families are going in
debt just to take their kids toDisney, and I don't talk about
it a lot, but one thing I meanmy husband and I, before Dave
Ramsey came out, I feel like Iwas living the Dave Ramsey plan
(09:03):
and we don't have any debt.
You know we pay cash foreverything.
We don't make purchases if wecan't pay for it, and so maybe
sometime in the future if that'ssomething you'd like to hear
I'll talk a little bit about isyou know money and how do you
manage money and budget?
(09:23):
Because then it allows you todo the things that you want to
do, pay for the things that youneed to pay for, and then
sometimes you just have to bepatient and, you know, put a
little money away here and there.
I had dinner with a friend theother night and it was
interesting because she and herhusband are going to do a trip.
It was overseas, maybe Englandor something like that and she
(09:48):
talked about how her husband gota second job I think bartending
or being a waiter just so thathe could save for this trip.
And she said one thing that wasinteresting about it was they
thought he was going to have to,like, have this extra job for
(10:09):
two summers and really he wasable to save what they needed in
one summer.
And she and I were having thisconversation about isn't it
interesting when you get focusedon, you know, something that
you want to do and you put yourmind to it and you put a little
extra effort into it is you canquickly one cut out expenses
(10:30):
that maybe you need to cut out,maybe it's no longer serving you
, no longer important.
You can make decisionsdifferently, like do I really
need this?
Why am I buying this?
Why am I spending this money?
But then also like if you'reworking extra, maybe you work a
little harder but you workshorter.
So, anyways, that's just alittle sidetrack, but I was
(10:52):
talking about the garden.
And then one of the things I'venever done this and I haven't
been consistent yet, so I'mgoing to be very transparent is
I've only done this one week,but I want to pick this up,
especially as we start to seemore food available from
farmer's markets is I want tomeal plan around food that I can
(11:20):
get at the farmer's market, soit's local.
I'm supporting small businesses, I'm supporting small farmers
in our community.
I meal plan on Sundays, so whatI'll do is go to the market on
Saturdays, see what they haveavailable, buy what I think you
(11:40):
know my husband and I would likecould be meals, and then do
meal planning on Sunday and thenhave our food for the week.
Obviously, I'll probably stillhave to go to the grocery store
and get some things, but I lovethis idea of just shopping and
supporting our local farmers.
The other thing, too, is theweek that I did this is, you
(12:04):
know, our grocery bill went down, because sometimes I'll do
Instacart and I love purchasingthat way because I don't get
distracted when I go to thestore, end up buying, but also
in Instacart, though, I can seewhat I've previously bought.
So it's like ooh, yeah, thatwas good, and sometimes I might
fill my cart with a little bitmore things that I don't really
(12:25):
need.
Same if I go to the grocerystore.
I don't go to the grocery storethat much just because
Instacart saves me so much time.
But you know, going to thefarmer's market you're really
limited on the food and so eventhough I might pay a little bit
more for like my meats or myfruits and vegetables, is
(12:47):
probably not going to spend asmuch as if I went to the store,
to Instacart.
So you might want to thinkabout that, and if you have a
local farmer's market of, maybeyou could put that one on your
list.
The next one on my list isphysical.
So I always want to make sureZach and I talk a lot about this
is, you know, part of givingyour best life is you have to be
(13:10):
healthy, you have to be takingcare of yourself.
You guys know I've had a majorbattle health over the last two
to three years, and if you don'thave your health, you don't
really have anything.
You can't do anything.
You couldn't do a lot of thethings that are.
I couldn't do a lot of thethings that was on my summer
dream list, and so one way tokeep me working out and to keep
(13:31):
me moving is to have physicalgoals, and so I have three.
One I actually wrote a socialmedia post on this was to hike
five state parks in one day.
That was my mom's goal.
Another one of my friend's goalis she wants to go to all 24
state parks in 2024.
And so we knocked that out.
(13:52):
We did 10.5 miles, but havingthat goal got me moving because
I was like, oh my gosh, we'regoing to be walking, hiking.
A lot I want to do.
I've slowly got back intorunning and I'm so slow, so slow
.
It's very humbling as somebodywho ran competitively, but I
would love to do a 5k, a charity5k.
(14:15):
So if you know of a charitythat's local to Northwest
Indiana and they're doing a 5kthis summer, I'd love to know
about it.
And then I want to go kayaking.
So I used to kayak all the timewhen we had a lake house and
just haven't done it that much.
I have a kayak and would loveto get it in the water somewhere
.
So physical.
(14:35):
Number three is fun.
I like to think of things thatare fun that doesn't cost a lot
and I can do locally.
So one of my things is going tothe drive-in.
I haven't done this in a coupleof years but I love it.
It always seems so nostalgic.
It reminds me of my childhood.
(14:55):
We had a big drive-in theaterwhere I grew up, but it was
funny.
I was talking to my cleaninglady the other day and she took
I think it was her daughter andsome of the friends is.
I'm like I might not have torethink this goal.
I don't know about you, but themovie starts so late and she
said like the second moviewasn't going to be over till
(15:16):
like one, I think it was Friends.
Some nights I go to bed at nineo'clock, especially if I'm
getting up at four in themorning.
Five in the morning is I'mgoing to bed early.
So, um, I might have to take anap so I can go to the drive-in
and then a picnic.
I love going on picnics.
Um, I don't know if they stilldo this, but if you're in
(15:38):
Northwest Indiana, anderson'swinery, um had where you could
do picnics there and I think,get the food.
If I remember get some wine.
My girlfriend and I did thislast year or the year before.
We had a fabulous time.
I mean, it was hot Probablyshould have went on a cloudy day
(15:58):
, but it was just fun.
We had fun having a picnic, youknow, putting a blanket out,
sitting out there and justhaving a good chat.
So that's something, and thatcould go into other categories.
So that's the other thing, issome of this.
You could swap around incategories because besides fun
that could, that's something youcould do with your spouse, your
boyfriend or your girlfriend.
You could do with family andyou could do with friends, like
(16:21):
I talked about.
I did it with one of mygirlfriends.
Speaking of friends, that'sanother category and I have
started a book club, which thatstarted before summer but it's
continuing summer.
We just had another one and ifyou're Northwest Indiana and
you're interested, you shouldjoin us for the book club had
(16:43):
somebody show up that hadn'teven read the book.
That's okay.
We're all about like fellowship, growing our faith and having
some good food.
So that's something that willcontinue through this summer.
But for me, one of mygirlfriends has a lake house and
she's invited me there, and soI have to be very intentional,
though.
She and I talked about this,but we just haven't, like,
(17:05):
looked at our calendars, put iton the calendar, um, and then
you know me, go over there andspend a weekend.
So I want to do that, so that'sfriends.
And then, um, actually underfriends, I don't have this on my
official list, but some of mygirlfriends we are they're going
to come up here.
They don't live around here,and so they want to come up here
(17:27):
and just do a girls weekend.
That will be great.
We're trying to get itscheduled.
There's always so much going onin life.
Again, you have to beintentional and just you know,
keep at it.
We've been texting the datesand with this work and with this
work, so think about how you'respending time with your friends
.
Number five for me I am marriedand so I have a spouse, my hubby
(17:51):
, and one thing we love to do isgo up to New Buffalo and have
dinner on the rooftop at StrayDog, and then we love just to
walk around New Buffalo.
I love to get ice cream atOinks, and so think about your
spouse.
Like I said, plan that withthem.
And then the other thing myhusband and I love to do is get
(18:14):
pizza and go up to Lake Michiganand watch the sunset.
So get pizza, go up there andwatch the sunset.
Again, it's a cheap date, costyou the pizza and we have a park
pass, so it doesn't even costus anything to get in the park.
And then next one is family.
(18:35):
So this would be like my mom,my dad, you know this could be
with your sisters, your niece,nephews, whatever.
Fill in the blank, whoever yourfamily is, it doesn't have to
be blood.
You know, a lot of peopleconsider people family that are
friends.
They're kind of more thanfriends.
(18:57):
But I've always loved going ona four-wheeler ride with my dad
and going on a run with my mom.
And then we did that big familyweekend where we did the five
hikes or five state parks in oneday, and that was with my mom
and my dad and my sister and myniece.
So that was a really fun day.
And then the final one is numberseven, and this is travel.
(19:23):
So on my list we are doing atrip to Montana and visiting
Glacier National Park and doingsome things in Montana, and this
has been on my list for years.
So if you look at my big dreamlist, I have a goal of spending
(19:43):
the night in all 50 states andI'm down to three left, so
Montana, south Dakota and NewMexico, and so this is the
summer.
I am checking off Montana Now.
I've been to Montana becausewhen we went to Yellowstone, but
for me I don't count it unlessI spend the night.
So I would love to hear I knoweverybody has different rules of
(20:06):
how they count their state,like some people are, like I
just have to drive through itand that counts, um other people
are, they have to have like ameal, um, or have some type of
experience there that is likerelevant to that state.
So I would love to hear fromyou of what is considered a
(20:27):
state when you can check it offyour list.
So, friends, I hope you foundthis fun, informative.
This is how I'm going to bespending my summer, being
intentional, and this is justanother way because you think
about it.
This is a way that you can giveto yourself, you can give to
(20:47):
others, be grateful for the warm, the long days, the sunshine,
the things that we don't get inthe winter, and just really take
in all the beauty andeverything that God has given us
.
And, friends, this is justanother way that you can get to
(21:08):
giving your best life.
Hey friends, it's Stephanie here with episode
number 116 of Giving your BestLife, and I think I have a fun
episode planned for today andhopefully you will take me up on
this challenge that I'm goingto put out there.
And it's really a fabuloussummer challenge.
(00:22):
I have been doing this for Idon't know how many years, but I
will say that what I'm going totalk about today has really
helped me get the most out ofsummer.
I don't know where you live,but for me I'm in Northwest
Indiana and the winter seems solong, so dark, dreary, cold,
(00:47):
gray skies, that when summercomes, I don't care how hot it
is.
I get up so early.
This morning I was up at likethree o'clock Now.
I didn't intentionally get up,I just couldn't sleep, so I was
like get up.
I didn't intentionally get up,I just couldn't sleep, so I was
like get up.
But some mornings I am up atfour because it's like as much
(01:08):
sunlight as I can get frommorning to when the sun sets,
these long days, which you knowsummer.
Now we're counting down.
Our days are getting shorter,even though it doesn't really
seem like it, but anyways, howdo we get the most out of our
summer?
It.
But anyways, how do we get themost out of our summer and just
like anything in life is one wehave to be intentional.
(01:35):
If you know anything about meand my giving journey giving a
gift every day for 522 days isone of my like top things.
I talk about on that givingjourney and what made me
successful of accomplishing thegoal, which the goal was 365
days and I went beyond.
That was being intentional Meone person looking to make a
(01:58):
difference in one other person'slife each and every day and
intentionally looking for thoseopportunities.
If we are not intentional withour day and how we spend our
time, life just seems to pass usby and then you look up and
you're like what the heckhappened?
Or where did the past X numberof days, months, years go by?
(02:22):
So I'm going to talk about howto have a summer dream list.
Some people call bucket list.
I don't like bucket list Ifyou've listened to me, I've
probably mentioned that beforebut a summer dream list that
helps you be more intentional.
(02:48):
That helps you be moreintentional planning your summer
, really thinking about how am Iusing this time?
Am I doing things that I wantto do?
Am I doing things that arebuilding relationships, building
community.
So I want to go over likethings on my list just to give
you ideas, um, and then I'lltell you a little bit of how I
(03:10):
come up with this, just so youcan be thinking about this.
Also, as I was preparing forthe podcast, I got to thinking
is I?
I kind of looked at my list andwhat I realized is I had seven
categories.
Um, so you might want to thinkabout as you put together your
summer dream list is thesecategories and be thinking about
(03:33):
what could go in thesecategories.
If you're married, this issomething you could do with your
spouse.
You guys could work on thistogether.
It'd be a great way to grow inyour marriage and do something
fun together to accomplish itand check some of these things
off.
And it's not this isn't, Ialways say is my dream list, is
(03:57):
not about doing something andchecking it off.
It's about experiencing life,living life to the fullest.
And it's about again, like Isaid, is not just looking back
and going, oh my gosh, what haveI done for the last season or
whatever time period in life.
This is an activity you coulddo with your kiddos.
(04:21):
And the things on the list too,I want to say is they don't
have to be these big things likego to Disney, if you're
thinking about with your kidsNow, for me, I do have one big
vacation on here, but you don'thave to.
There are so many things inyour backyard that you could do
(04:43):
that you've probably never done,and a lot of it is free or low
cost.
On one of the previous episodes,zach was talking about when his
kids were younger, is they justfocused on the parks that were
in the area, and there's so manyparks that they hadn't went to.
So, get creative, get creative.
(05:04):
Think about things that maybeyou've passed by, or just all.
Every year you're like, oh, I'dreally like to do fill in the
blank.
So I'm going to go over my list.
Um, I get a pen and paper.
This is hey, you're going to beactive, right?
These um, like, um, what do Iwant to say?
(05:25):
Like groupings down, which isprobably a better word for that.
I probably used it earlier.
Um, but then you know, fill inyour own things, and maybe
there's some of the stuff thatI'm going to mention that you
want to do.
Put it on your list, um, andthen I would love to hear from
you about what is on your summerdream list.
(05:45):
So for me, the seven categoriesare home, physical fun, friends,
spouse, family and travel.
So I'll give you some ideas ineach of these and I kind of
collect these over the year andsome maybe from last year that I
(06:09):
love doing.
It's like that's staying on thelist.
I do that every year, but Iwant to be intentional of not
forgetting about it and when I'mlooking at my calendar and when
I have an open weekend or anevening, it's like, oh, I can go
do that.
An evening, it's like, ooh, Ican go do that, um.
The other thing too is like youcould start this list on your
phone.
Um, I love the iPhone becausein the notes you know you got
(06:31):
the little bubbles and you cancheck it off, um, and you can
also start thinking about otherseasons.
So we're just talking aboutsummer, but you could start on
your phone, you know a um or a.
Maybe you got a journal orwherever.
You kind of document life stuffor things that you want to
remember is you could put theother seasons down and, you know
(06:52):
, start creating for the futurealso.
But we're going to focus onsummer.
So I'll give you some ideas ofwhat I have is in home.
I have a hammock.
It was up at our lake house andthen, when we remodeled the
house, it's been in the garageand my husband put it up for me
a couple of months ago, and so Itry to go out on the hammock at
(07:16):
least three days a week.
I just love it.
It's so relaxing.
I also this isn't on the list,but one thing that I've been
doing a lot of research aroundis getting morning sun and just
having your face in the sun inthe morning and what it does for
your circadian rhythm and yoursleep.
There's a lot of good benefits.
(07:37):
Obviously, vitamin D is so goodfor our body, and so a lot of
times I'll go out and get in thehammock when the sun's like
shining on the hammock, killingtwo birds with one stone.
Also, I've already started acontainer garden.
That's something.
I've had big gardens at homes.
We just haven't done that.
(07:58):
We've got so many crittersaround here that it just seems
almost impossible.
It's not, I know it's not.
I honestly just don't want toput in the effort, and so that's
what you have to think about.
Also is like what effort do youwant to put in?
How much time do you havelooking at budgets and your
finances?
So when we think about thisdream list, is it's not
(08:21):
something you're going to do, soyou go in debt or you go broke.
You know some things on thelist.
I've been planning for a while,I've been budgeting, I've paid
for it and you might have agreat idea and you're like you
know what that's going to haveto go on next year or two years
from now, and so you can set abudget, you can start planning
(08:41):
for it and you can pay for itwithout going in debt.
I read an article the other dayabout how families are going in
debt just to take their kids toDisney, and I don't talk about
it a lot, but one thing I meanmy husband and I, before Dave
Ramsey came out, I feel like Iwas living the Dave Ramsey plan
(09:03):
and we don't have any debt.
You know we pay cash foreverything.
We don't make purchases if wecan't pay for it, and so maybe
sometime in the future if that'ssomething you'd like to hear
I'll talk a little bit about isyou know money and how do you
manage money and budget?
(09:23):
Because then it allows you todo the things that you want to
do, pay for the things that youneed to pay for, and then
sometimes you just have to bepatient and, you know, put a
little money away here and there.
I had dinner with a friend theother night and it was
interesting because she and herhusband are going to do a trip.
It was overseas, maybe Englandor something like that and she
(09:48):
talked about how her husband gota second job I think bartending
or being a waiter just so thathe could save for this trip.
And she said one thing that wasinteresting about it was they
thought he was going to have to,like, have this extra job for
(10:09):
two summers and really he wasable to save what they needed in
one summer.
And she and I were having thisconversation about isn't it
interesting when you get focusedon, you know, something that
you want to do and you put yourmind to it and you put a little
extra effort into it is you canquickly one cut out expenses
(10:30):
that maybe you need to cut out,maybe it's no longer serving you
, no longer important.
You can make decisionsdifferently, like do I really
need this?
Why am I buying this?
Why am I spending this money?
But then also like if you'reworking extra, maybe you work a
little harder but you workshorter.
So, anyways, that's just alittle sidetrack, but I was
(10:52):
talking about the garden.
And then one of the things I'venever done this and I haven't
been consistent yet, so I'mgoing to be very transparent is
I've only done this one week,but I want to pick this up,
especially as we start to seemore food available from
farmer's markets is I want tomeal plan around food that I can
(11:20):
get at the farmer's market, soit's local.
I'm supporting small businesses, I'm supporting small farmers
in our community.
I meal plan on Sundays, so whatI'll do is go to the market on
Saturdays, see what they haveavailable, buy what I think you
(11:40):
know my husband and I would likecould be meals, and then do
meal planning on Sunday and thenhave our food for the week.
Obviously, I'll probably stillhave to go to the grocery store
and get some things, but I lovethis idea of just shopping and
supporting our local farmers.
The other thing, too, is theweek that I did this is, you
(12:04):
know, our grocery bill went down, because sometimes I'll do
Instacart and I love purchasingthat way because I don't get
distracted when I go to thestore, end up buying, but also
in Instacart, though, I can seewhat I've previously bought.
So it's like ooh, yeah, thatwas good, and sometimes I might
fill my cart with a little bitmore things that I don't really
(12:25):
need.
Same if I go to the grocerystore.
I don't go to the grocery storethat much just because
Instacart saves me so much time.
But you know, going to thefarmer's market you're really
limited on the food and so eventhough I might pay a little bit
more for like my meats or myfruits and vegetables, is
(12:47):
probably not going to spend asmuch as if I went to the store,
to Instacart.
So you might want to thinkabout that, and if you have a
local farmer's market of, maybeyou could put that one on your
list.
The next one on my list isphysical.
So I always want to make sureZach and I talk a lot about this
is, you know, part of givingyour best life is you have to be
(13:10):
healthy, you have to be takingcare of yourself.
You guys know I've had a majorbattle health over the last two
to three years, and if you don'thave your health, you don't
really have anything.
You can't do anything.
You couldn't do a lot of thethings that are.
I couldn't do a lot of thethings that was on my summer
dream list, and so one way tokeep me working out and to keep
(13:31):
me moving is to have physicalgoals, and so I have three.
One I actually wrote a socialmedia post on this was to hike
five state parks in one day.
That was my mom's goal.
Another one of my friend's goalis she wants to go to all 24
state parks in 2024.
And so we knocked that out.
(13:52):
We did 10.5 miles, but havingthat goal got me moving because
I was like, oh my gosh, we'regoing to be walking, hiking.
A lot I want to do.
I've slowly got back intorunning and I'm so slow, so slow
.
It's very humbling as somebodywho ran competitively, but I
would love to do a 5k, a charity5k.
(14:15):
So if you know of a charitythat's local to Northwest
Indiana and they're doing a 5kthis summer, I'd love to know
about it.
And then I want to go kayaking.
So I used to kayak all the timewhen we had a lake house and
just haven't done it that much.
I have a kayak and would loveto get it in the water somewhere
.
So physical.
(14:35):
Number three is fun.
I like to think of things thatare fun that doesn't cost a lot
and I can do locally.
So one of my things is going tothe drive-in.
I haven't done this in a coupleof years but I love it.
It always seems so nostalgic.
It reminds me of my childhood.
(14:55):
We had a big drive-in theaterwhere I grew up, but it was
funny.
I was talking to my cleaninglady the other day and she took
I think it was her daughter andsome of the friends is.
I'm like I might not have torethink this goal.
I don't know about you, but themovie starts so late and she
said like the second moviewasn't going to be over till
(15:16):
like one, I think it was Friends.
Some nights I go to bed at nineo'clock, especially if I'm
getting up at four in themorning.
Five in the morning is I'mgoing to bed early.
So, um, I might have to take anap so I can go to the drive-in
and then a picnic.
I love going on picnics.
Um, I don't know if they stilldo this, but if you're in
(15:38):
Northwest Indiana, anderson'swinery, um had where you could
do picnics there and I think,get the food.
If I remember get some wine.
My girlfriend and I did thislast year or the year before.
We had a fabulous time.
I mean, it was hot Probablyshould have went on a cloudy day
(15:58):
, but it was just fun.
We had fun having a picnic, youknow, putting a blanket out,
sitting out there and justhaving a good chat.
So that's something, and thatcould go into other categories.
So that's the other thing, issome of this.
You could swap around incategories because besides fun
that could, that's something youcould do with your spouse, your
boyfriend or your girlfriend.
You could do with family andyou could do with friends, like
(16:21):
I talked about.
I did it with one of mygirlfriends.
Speaking of friends, that'sanother category and I have
started a book club, which thatstarted before summer but it's
continuing summer.
We just had another one and ifyou're Northwest Indiana and
you're interested, you shouldjoin us for the book club had
(16:43):
somebody show up that hadn'teven read the book.
That's okay.
We're all about like fellowship, growing our faith and having
some good food.
So that's something that willcontinue through this summer.
But for me, one of mygirlfriends has a lake house and
she's invited me there, and soI have to be very intentional,
though.
She and I talked about this,but we just haven't, like,
(17:05):
looked at our calendars, put iton the calendar, um, and then
you know me, go over there andspend a weekend.
So I want to do that, so that'sfriends.
And then, um, actually underfriends, I don't have this on my
official list, but some of mygirlfriends we are they're going
to come up here.
They don't live around here,and so they want to come up here
(17:27):
and just do a girls weekend.
That will be great.
We're trying to get itscheduled.
There's always so much going onin life.
Again, you have to beintentional and just you know,
keep at it.
We've been texting the datesand with this work and with this
work, so think about how you'respending time with your friends
.
Number five for me I am marriedand so I have a spouse, my hubby
(17:51):
, and one thing we love to do isgo up to New Buffalo and have
dinner on the rooftop at StrayDog, and then we love just to
walk around New Buffalo.
I love to get ice cream atOinks, and so think about your
spouse.
Like I said, plan that withthem.
And then the other thing myhusband and I love to do is get
(18:14):
pizza and go up to Lake Michiganand watch the sunset.
So get pizza, go up there andwatch the sunset.
Again, it's a cheap date, costyou the pizza and we have a park
pass, so it doesn't even costus anything to get in the park.
And then next one is family.
(18:35):
So this would be like my mom,my dad, you know this could be
with your sisters, your niece,nephews, whatever.
Fill in the blank, whoever yourfamily is, it doesn't have to
be blood.
You know, a lot of peopleconsider people family that are
friends.
They're kind of more thanfriends.
(18:57):
But I've always loved going ona four-wheeler ride with my dad
and going on a run with my mom.
And then we did that big familyweekend where we did the five
hikes or five state parks in oneday, and that was with my mom
and my dad and my sister and myniece.
So that was a really fun day.
And then the final one is numberseven, and this is travel.
(19:23):
So on my list we are doing atrip to Montana and visiting
Glacier National Park and doingsome things in Montana, and this
has been on my list for years.
So if you look at my big dreamlist, I have a goal of spending
(19:43):
the night in all 50 states andI'm down to three left, so
Montana, south Dakota and NewMexico, and so this is the
summer.
I am checking off Montana Now.
I've been to Montana becausewhen we went to Yellowstone, but
for me I don't count it unlessI spend the night.
So I would love to hear I knoweverybody has different rules of
(20:06):
how they count their state,like some people are, like I
just have to drive through itand that counts, um other people
are, they have to have like ameal, um, or have some type of
experience there that is likerelevant to that state.
So I would love to hear fromyou of what is considered a
(20:27):
state when you can check it offyour list.
So, friends, I hope you foundthis fun, informative.
This is how I'm going to bespending my summer, being
intentional, and this is justanother way because you think
about it.
This is a way that you can giveto yourself, you can give to
(20:47):
others, be grateful for the warm, the long days, the sunshine,
the things that we don't get inthe winter, and just really take
in all the beauty andeverything that God has given us
.
And, friends, this is justanother way that you can get to
(21:08):
giving your best life.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.