Summertime, and the living's easy

With the weather the way it is in Minnesota, one can never be sure when the seasons are really going to change, but this past weekend has convinced me that summer is here to stay. Yes, I made my first pilgrimage to Shady Oak Beach and had a wonderful time. While I was there though, I came to a realization. This summer is going to be much different than those in recent history. For one, many of my good friends are not returning from their respective colleges. I will not be living at home for the summer - no more free room and board. The biggest change will be working the good old nine to five, real world job. No more living in the lap of luxury that was lifeguarding in the sunshine all day. Going to work used to mean making sure I had enough sunscreen to keep from turning into a tomato; now it seems my pale white ass will need to take in rays every chance it get in order to not blind those who see me in my speedo.

With all these realizations, I have decided that I needed a list. A list of things that must happen this summer - to keep me from falling into a monotonous schedule and make things a little exciting. Many of these items will fall under the category of Manly and therefore I wanted to share my list with you. I am open to suggestions and will certainly be updating as the summer wears on.

1) Work out. Yes my body has fallen into disarray; my muscles have atrophied to the point that lifting a gallon of milk seems like exercise. So, I look forward to finding a free weight set off of Craigslist and going to town on that thing until I'm ready to "pump you up" - Hans and Frans style.

2) Camp. A lot. As a man, I enjoy the great outdoors a great deal. I hope to take a few weekend trips around the state visiting some of the States amazing state parks. I also suggest the apostle island to anyone looking for a nice getaway.

3) Build things. The Man Palace has decided that we are in need of one of those beanbag toss things that we see everyone playing while tailgating Gopher Football games. Apparently its called "cornholing" - insert obscene comment here - but we found some decent plans here. I feel we are possibly in need of a new beer pong table, perhaps something with legs to replace the dining room table we will be parting ways with; and this time we will definitely add the clear coat.

4) Blow stuff up. Along with building fires watching things go boom has been a passion of mine for quite a while. My new fuel of choice, Methylated Spirits(like isopropyl alcohol except cheaper), can be found at the Home Depot. I'm sure there will be future posts with pics and video of our various exploits.

5) Hit the beach. Just because I no longer work there, doesn't mean I won't be frequenting the beach on the weekends. Now I can wreak havoc without worrying about being told I have no soul(a story for another day).

6) Mow the lawn. Not excited about this one, but now that we've got a house and the grass has reached knee-height, it's time to do something.

7) Grill. Very Manly. There is nothing like a beer and a burger or pork chops on a nice summer evening. We are currently looking into a new grill to replace the failing weber that is on it's last leg(quite literally). I look forward to expanding my gilling skills beyond the brat and burger realm; perhaps corn on the cob and lamb chops? Mmm, I can almost taste it now.