Summer weekend fever | musings of miss mel bies

Since I graduated, I've been extremely fortunate to have had three wonderful jobs in my field, all of them contracts to cover maternity leaves. While I couldn't be more grateful to have had these opportunities, there is one perk I am definitely missing–vacation!

Yes, mat leave contracts don't include paid vacation time, meaning I haven't been off work for more than a long weekend in a very, very long time. But that just means that one day when I land a position that includes vacation time, I will truly appreciate and make the most of it (trust me, I have a long "to go" list!). And it means I have become an expert at weekending, especially in the summer.

While the first day of spring was only a few weeks ago, I'm in full-gear summer weekend planning mode. Here are the top ten things I'm getting excited for this summer! (Note: this started as a top three list, then a top five, but I am just too excited about too many things!) What are your favourite summer weekend activities?

10. Summer sports
I played summer hockey last year, but this year I'm adding beach volleyball to my weekly organized sports list. While I was never a very strong volleyball player in gym class and haven't played since, I'm hoping practice will make decent. :) If not, at least I get to enjoy sun and sand on a weekly basis. I've also committed to a Dragon Boat race this summer, and will be running my second quarter marathon. Plus plenty of running in the sun to train for the quarter marathon. And I can't forget roller derby!

9. Beaching
Hitting the beach multiple times is definitely on my summer to do list. Clockwise from bottom left: Ashely, Davey, Laura, Mander, Me and James.