Mission Accomplished

Well, it's back to the land of the land of the living tomorrow.  Tragic.  I did this on purpose though - I doubt many others will be silly enough to work the day after the 4th and since I only have to work 2 days - it shouldn't hurt too much.  I hope.

Today was a better day - but still a lazy day.  It ended on a great note though - with fireworks!  YAY!  I finally saw my first fireworks in Charlotte.  They were pretty fantastic.  It was a really great night to sit outside which was surprising.  It's been over 100 degrees here for a week or so and today was in the mid 90s.  I was expecting to sit outside and sweat all night, but lo and behold, it was actually pretty nice.  There was a nice breeze blowing, we had our frozen yogurt (and chocolate chip cookies) and were ready to roll!

I put some thought into a good location to go see fireworks this year.  There were a few criteria that had to be met to make the location acceptable:

1.  Small crowds - no shoulder to shoulder proximity - I'm a crowd o-phobic.
2.  Near a yogurt/ice cream place. (or a Good Humor man!)
3.  Must be near green space for proper blanket placement.
4.  Close to home without having to go into Uptown  (That's what they call downtown here in CLT.)
5.  Most importantly, great view, but down wind of the smoke etc... from the fireworks.

View of the city from the Greenway
- Fireworks were in the other direction.

We found the perfect location that met most of the criteria - it just had a bit of an obstructed view.  I was ok with that actually.   It was a new park in the Dilworth area, called The Greenway I believe, about 6-7 blocks from where they shot off the fireworks.  It actually worked out really well, some of the lower fireworks were a bit cut off though.  No worries - lots of folks moved to get a better view and it just meant fewer people and more breezes for us.  I'd say we found the perfect spot!  Mission accomplished!

Like I said, it was a really great way to end my lazy week!  I hope everyone here in the US had a wonderful 4th and I hope all of my non-US readers are having a great week too!

I can't believe I have to wait another year for my fireworks!  I think I'll spend the time doing some scouting for alternate locations in case the Greenway gets too crowded next year.  It's never too early to plan  you know.  :o)

Have a great Thursday Ya'll!

I'm Going Nuts

This week has been a very introspective time for me...in case you hadn't noticed.  For a while now, I couldn't wait to have some time off to just chill and relax for a change.  Now that I've been off for a week - I realize that the old adage - be careful what you wish for,  it might come true, really does still apply.    I'm going nuts.

Seriously.  I've always secretly envied women who could be stay-at-home moms - what a gift.  But honestly, I haven't had any people contact besides my parents (yesterday), in about 3 days.  I'm about ready to pull my hair out!  I don't want to manufacture things to do - that would defeat the purpose of relaxing right?  But I do miss my people contact.

I finally finished my book.  It was good, but obviously my attention isn't what it should be right now.  Remind me to tell you why some time...just not today.   Today, I'm all about no heavy or introspective thinking.  I'm watching brainless movies and shows like Cake Boss and am just watching the clock move. 

I just need to get through this week and then all will change - either for the good or the bad.  (Mentally I say good and bad in a Scottish accent - that's another story that really requires sound to be effective, so I'll just leave it at that.) 

For now, I will be Unproductive Jennifer - one of the many facets of my personality that I didn't know existed until this week.  I don't really like her much.  She's so lazy and actually slept until noon today.  I know!  Well, I'll give her a bit of break - she did wake up at 6AM and then 7 AM and then 8 AM...she did eat breakfast and talk with her husband - it wasn't her fault that she fell back asleep for 2 hours.  

Unproductive Jennifer is such a slouch that she actually made her husband go out and pick up their dinner - that he called in.  Nope, she didn't even place the order.  What a lazy bum huh?

I'm hoping that UJ (Unproductive Jennifer) goes on hiatus tomorrow.  I mean it's even a big deal to get her to blow dry her hair!  That's not much fun to hang out with day in and day out.  Organized Jennifer is ready to take over tomorrow thank goodness.  I hope there isn't a coup in the early morning time frame - UJ is usually so cranky in the morning and OJ is such a pain --jumping up and getting on the recumbent bike first thing in the morning.  This isn't going to be pretty folks. 

So, if you hear some loud rumblings tomorrow morning - please cover your ears - the girls can be ugly when they don't get their way.  My money is on OJ - she's been around longer and has a few more tricks up her sleeve.  Wish me luck.  If OJ doesn't win, going to work on Thursday could be really tricky!

All kidding aside ya'll, let's remember what today is all about for all Americans - freedom.

On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation.

So while you're enjoying your cookouts, your days off from work and your fireworks, remember the people who helped put us there.  The history that makes us who we are....

Happy Fourth of July Ya'll!!

Bomb Pops and Fireworks

I enjoyed a somewhat lazy day - after a crazy morning.  This week coming up is going to be a real humdinger.  It's going to be loaded with lots of activity, both at work and at home and then I'm looking forward to a whole week off from work.  Now that doesn't happen often.  I'm really looking forward to an old fashioned Fourth of July.  I hope you have fun plans too!  I'm going to make homemade ice cream, we'll go see fireworks and maybe (if the weather allows) we'll go see a silly parade! 

I love the idea of homemade ice cream and fireworks - not sure why - but it really reminds me of being a kid.  Not that we had homemade ice cream a lot growing up - but we sure did go to fireworks.  I remember going to Bel Air High School early in the evening and putting out our blanket and chairs and camping out until dark.  We'd wait for the Good Humor man to show up and then line up for a Strawberry Shortcake, a Fudgecicle or a Bomb Pop.  (Bomb Pops always lasted the longest!)  Then we'd wait with the fireflies and mosquitoes and hundreds of other people and then lie back and ooh and ahh through the show.  They never disappointed.  Afterwards, you had to fight your way back through the crowds and the traffic to get home again, but it sure was fun while it lasted! 

I don't know why, but for the last ten years, I haven't seen fireworks on the Fourth of July!  So weird.  I don't think I really knew where to go see them in CLT.  Hopefully we'll find a great spot this year!  I want to go watch them in the humid air, laying on my blanket and do some people watching on the side. 

I think I might try strawberry ice cream in the old 'maker' this year.  What traditions do you have for the 4th?  Do you like fireworks or do you hate the noise?  Our Bubbies don't care about them all that much...noise doesn't really bother them like that luckily.  We wouldn't take them with us though...Paxton's Prozac doesn't really cover fireworks or crowds very well.

Now I just need to get more corn on the cob, make potato salad and bake something silly - maybe something with a flag on it...

In the meantime, I hope you have a great week!  Happy Sunday Ya'll!

Binging on Slurpees

What does summer mean to you?  To me, summer is a time to head to the Cape, eat ice cream and enjoy fresh produce.  I love fresh strawberries and blueberries - our fridge has a quart and pint respectively of each right now.  One of the local farmer's markets in town sees me every Friday at a minimum - sometimes I'm there more than once a week.  We've gone through at least 20 ears of corn, 8 quarts of strawberries and 6 pints of blueberries since May and there's only 2 of us.  Impressive and yet indulgent isn't it?

Needless to say, the foods of summer make me happy!  I love a good cookout - burgers, hotdogs, potato salad, sliced tomatoes, corn on the cob and strawberry shortcake - one of my favorite menus.  If I have room in the freezer and that's a big IF (that's another story), I'll make homemade ice cream; it's one of my favorite things.  In fact,  were having a cookout this weekend at my parents' home for Father's Day - see menu above!  Culinary school be damned.  The comfort foods of summer rule. 

Remember back when you were a kid and the Good Humor man drove through the neighborhood?  I still love that man.  We have a version of that here in town that rolls through the 'hood once in a while.  B and I are usually standing out there with whatever kids are around.  We'll never grow up. 

I love summer things like going to baseball games, getting an ice cream on a hot day and going for a walk with the bubbies at 8:30 at night and feeling like it's only 6.   Mind you, the heat down here in NC is brutal.  I'm an air conditioning girl once June hits, pretty much around the clock.  I layer up like it's fall because I freeze at work and then shed layers when I hit the car at the end of the day.   It's just a way of life here.  That's exactly why we head north for our summer vacations.  It's much cooler on the Cape and therefore more fun to play outside.

Traditionally when we're at the Cape we go for ice cream every night at the Sundae School - just awesome homemade ice cream.  When we're home we go out for ice cream every once in while, but not often.  There just aren't many ice cream places nearby.  There's something to be said about going to an ice cream parlor, picking out your flavor and then eating it before it melts.  It's not quite the same when you're home is it?

Not sure what we're doing for the 4th, but I have high hopes that we will have our own 7-11 by then!  We don't have them in Charlotte right now, but all of our Shell station convenience stores are converting to 7-11s!! WOOHOO!  (Sorry Chevron)  I'm really excited about the option of a Slurpee now and again.  I haven't had one for years - I know it's not ice cream, but they sure do taste good on a really hot day!

Maybe that's what we'll do over the 4th weekend - binge on Slurpees!  I'd love to go see some fireworks, drink my Slurpee and get a brain freeze, and just pretend I'm a kid again.   I need to go see some stars and be outside for a while too - my country girl roots are screaming at me right now. 

Here's to Slurpees, the Good Humor man, stars and fireworks.  We all need to focus on the simple things a bit more and just enjoy being.  In the meantime, I'll watch for progress on our 7-11 and keep an ear out for the Good Humor man.

Happy Friday Ya'll!