5 After 5, Spring Bucket List Edition

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It's time for another round of 5 After 5!  In case you missed it, last week's list was 5 movies by your favorite director and if you're new to this series, you can read more about it here.

Today I've got my list of 5 to share, as well as next week's topic for you to stew about over the upcoming days.

And this series is now a link party, so be sure to scroll down and join in all the fun with us this week!

List 5 things on your spring bucket list

I am always working on a list of some sort, so this week's topic was pretty simple for me.  G and I spent a good part of his spring break working on all sorts of projects around the house, so my bucket list pretty much revolves around finishing up those:

1.  Get rid of junk

Believe it or not, this is only about half of the stuff that's sitting out there!

I've had bags full of things to get rid of sitting in our office for months now, but so much of it was good stuff, so I've been waffling between trying to sell it or hunting down a decent place to give it away to.

I finally hunkered down and did some research.  Since my idea of a clothing label is Arizona at J.C. Penney, I quickly realized that nobody wants to buy my clothes, despite their near-perfect condition.

And it seemed practically every charity I checked into was only interested in things that were less than five years old - even the local homeless shelter only wanted my blankets if they were in new condition!

After spending far too many hours on this project, I spied a card from the Vietnam Vets topping my stack of neglected mail.  Not only would they drive to my house and pick up all my stuff, they were perfectly happy to have whatever I could offer.

So I dragged everything to my front porch, where I will finally be rid of it all, for good.

2. Put the stand mixer back together

 

Ever wonder what's inside your KitchenAid?  Well, wonder no more!

It's been a year - A YEAR - since my beloved KitchenAid failed, leaving me with pounds of wheat berries still to grind and bags of flour to have to buy.

The plus side is, my forearm strength has increased over the past few months.

Not that I care about flexing those particular muscles - I've definitely cut way back on my baking projects during this time.

Taking the silly contraption apart to see what was wrong was quite daunting, but G finally got a chance to tackle it while he was home - and, if things go the way we're hoping, all we have to do is insert the little $4.38 gear into its spot, then somehow put the whole thing back together again and I'll turn back into a cookie-baking fool.

Wish us luck.

3.  Plant things

 

Once upon a time, we had quite the garden.

But then the yard rats (aka squirrels) devoured every last squash we had (and if you've ever planted zucchini, you know that this is no small thing) and we were so disheartened, we have been boycotting the whole process ever since.

But it's spring - that time of year when soil just begs for seeds to be poked into it - and so we're thinking of venturing back into our backyard to get something growing again.

Maybe just some basil, to start off with, because that stuff grows like gangbusters even if you just think about planting it!

And since G has lofted plenty of Italian directives in the yard rats' direction - which they've completely ignored - I feel safe to say that we're not dealing with the mafioso wing of this rodent pack, so hopefully they won't even bat an eye at our basil.

4.  Fix the mower

I once owned a boat - and claimed it was nothing more than a hole in the water to pour money into.  I'm beginning to think this lawnmower is a similar hole...

We have spent the past year riding our own personal roller-coaster, better known as living with a lawn mower.

Oh, I should write a post sometime on our ordeal - although it's just so incredibly crazy that I doubt you'd believe it.

Even Gv has become beyond frustrated with the situation and gotten into the act to help, by setting out to cut the grass herself a few weeks ago.

But G feels he made some progress - real progress - over his time off, and a shorn lawn might just be in our future again soon.

5.  Finish the taxes

 

Well, this is one that has to get done - and in just a few days, too.

I'm the type who gets annoyed that companies have until the end of January to get those darn W-2s out in the mail, because ideally, I'd like to spend New Year's Day getting this dreadful task out of the way.

But there's always something that holds things up, and this year is no different.

The good news is, I pretty much have everything ready to go, so hopefully once that one last document arrives, I can hit "enter" and send it all away!

For next week:

List 5 desserts you love to eat

What treats does your sweet tooth long for?  Pie?  Cake?  Ice Cream?  Or are you like my husband, whose idea of a delicious dessert is simply some fruit?  I can tell this list will be tough for me to narrow down - and I can't wait to see what yours is!


And now, here's this week's link party!  Two other fabulous bloggers have teamed up with me to create lists of five each week and we hope that you'll join us, too!

That's right, every post will be read, pinned and tweeted!  

Every Saturday, just stop by one of our three blogs to add your own list of five, then pop over and read as many other posts as you're able to each week - treat it like a true party and really mix it up and mingle with our fun little community!

The rules are simple:  just write your own list following the prompt each week (feel free to interpret it loosely - or in a unique way!), follow each of the three hosts on the social media channel of your choice, and then get into the spirit of the party by grabbing your favorite beverage or snack and reading the lists of the other party-goers.

Your Hosts:

Lisa, at Syncopated Mama: Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin'

Samantha, at Motivated Days: Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ 

Heather Marie at Life, Love, and Lasagna: Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Instagram // Bloglovin'

What's your list?  I'd love to hear!  Either leave a comment below or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.

Also, if you don't want to miss a single minute of great tips like this and all the fun around here, be sure to sign up for free updates and then look forward to having each post delivered right to your inbox.

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