Summer is upon us at last! Now, I’m one of those atypical people who actually prefer winter to summer. I love snow, sweaters, outdoor winter sports, soups, fires, winter storms, getting snowed in, and even shoveling. However, as we transition into summer, and 7:00pm brings light instead of dark, I remember that summer is indeed a glorious thing; well worth celebrating and exploiting for everything it beholds.
I frequent a gym. It’s no substitute for outdoor recreation, but it has its place. As soon as February hits, gym instructors begin urging us flabby patrons, to run faster, lift more, and jump higher for the sake of perfecting our butts for swimsuit season. It’s annoying. But it does motivate because if there are two things I fear most, it’s the words swimsuit and season combined in the same sentence.
As we all continue to get our bodies swimsuit-season ready, it’s important to realize this process includes much more than just focusing on physical appearance. Much more. It involves being balanced in all areas of life. If you are trying to achieve a more svelt physical appearance, it’s much easier to do so if you’re balanced in all areas of your life, like sleep, relationships, nutrition, and spirituality. This will result in making us look good from the inside out; being happy with ourselves so that we can enjoy ourselves without holding back.
So, for the next several posts, I am going to focus on ways to help us feel better all the way through. I anticipate focusing on: diet, exercise, rest/relaxation, and fun healthy summer meals. But guaranteed there will be a few wild cards, which are always the best entries anyway.
Speaking of wild cards (and this one is a stretch alright): for this blog entry, I shall focus on one of the MOST crucial parts of my preparation for summers: MUSIC. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a music whore. I love music, all types…. mostly. It is my number one passion. Music elevates the excitement of a new relationship, creates audio memories of experiences you can’t seem to hold to tight enough and has a way of moving me unlike anything else. Therefore, ways to prepare for this summer: dust off the ole records, create sounds of summer that will make you happy, that will urge you to get outside and enjoy some fresh air. Create a playlist you’ll want to cook to, run to, drive to, cry to, and most importantly, make memories to. It’ll elevate everything.
Here is my playlist comprising of songs that have aided in successful past summers, and songs sure to aide in forthcoming successful summers. I tried to keep it under 50 songs. Tried. But there is a sound here for everyone, check it out. May it inspire you to beef up your own summer playlists, and change them often. This is one of the beauties of music. It’s flexible, to facilitate whatever you’re feeling, whatever you desire, and whatever you need. Happy listening.
Playlist Includes:
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Kings of Leon
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Marcy Playground
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Spoon
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Slightly Stoopid
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GoldFrapp
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Donovan Frankenreiter
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Telekenesis
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Doobie Brothers
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Simon & Garfunkel
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Darwin Deez
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Arcade Fire
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Biz Markie
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Heartless Bastards
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Xavier Rudd
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Dropkick Murphys
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Built to Spill
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Soul Coughing
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Feist
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Camera Obscura
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The Velvet Underground
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The Kooks
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Andrew Bird
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Rebelution
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Phantom Planet
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Beck
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Yellow Ostrich
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Semisonic
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Eels
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Mumford & Sons
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Sondre Lerche
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Radiohead
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Keane
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Foster the People
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The Format
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Iron & Wine
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The Republic Tigers
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Cat Stevens
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The Dodos
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Dave Mathews Band
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kaleandcocoa 