Today's Holiday: Ice Cream Cone Day

Since July is National Ice Cream Month, there are plenty of days to celebrate by eating ice cream. There are almost as many ways to eat ice cream as there are days! There are milkshakes, malts, sundaes, and floats. At restaurants you can get frosties, blizzards, and flurries. Or you can eat your ice cream a la mode with pie, cake, apple dumplings, cobbler, funnel cakes, or brownies. But today is all about eating ice cream in cone. American legend claims the ice cream cone made it's debut at the St. Louis World's Fair a little over a century ago, but some would say that's debatable. Today you can get your ice cream in a variety of cones. There are cake cones, sugar cones, and waffle cones. In some places you can order chocolate dipped cones.

Personally, I'd say the ice cream cone is one of the world's greatest inventions, and I wouldn't miss celebrating this holiday if someone paid me!

While I'm Waiting

I heard this song on the radio the other day and really liked it. It's a good reminder for me, since I've been a little impatient to get to the next phase of life lately.

Today's Holiday: Macaroni Day

July is officially the Anti-Boredom Month. There are many amazing holidays you've probably never heard of coming up. And you won't want to miss today's carb-filled holiday: Macaroni Day!

Always celebrated on July 7th, Macaroni Day is the perfect time to celebrate your favorite pasta. Today's holiday is the perfect excuse to cook an Italian dinner. Unless, of course, your favorite pasta dish is lasagna and you deem the temperature too warm to turn on the oven. Then you may have to settle for spaghetti or a refrigerated pasta salad. Or you could forego eating macaroni today and simply make a craft out of uncooked macaroni. A piece of jewelry or a macaroni picture could be just the project to fight off boredom today!

What's your favorite macaroni?

Today's Holiday: Independence Day

On this day 233 years ago, the Continental Congress formally approved the Declaration of Independence, effectively creating the United States of America. These revolutionaries had been fighting a war against the British for more than a year, but on July 4th, 1776 issued a document outlining their grievances with the King and declaring they were independent of the British Empire. While it took seven years for the British to give up their claim on the this particular piece of the Western Hemisphere, the United States of America still celebrates her Independence on the Fourth of July.

American's celebrate their freedom in a variety of ways, but the most common traditions include spending time with family, cooking out, and setting off fireworks. Some communities organize parades or ceremonies to honor military service men and woman. Personally, my favorite part of this holiday is that nearly every city, and sometimes multiple organizations within the same city, plan firework displays for the general public. How will you celebrate the Fourth of July this year?

U-G-L-Y

Several weeks ago a friend came to me with an idea. He had this opportunity I could possibly get on board with. Even though he was excited about it, I was a little unsure. This wasn't the type of opportunity I really pictured myself participating in. I wasn't closed off to the idea, I just wasn't convinced it could work in the long run. As I was considering all the possibilities, there were days I thought it was an amazing opportunity and days I thought I should tell him there's no way it would work. Eventually I came to the decision that I probably liked the idea of joining in an opportunity like this one more than this particular opportunity. Shortly after I came to that conclusion, it became clear that the opportunity had passed me by. It was out of my reach, and I was devestated.

Okay. I wasn't actually devestated, but I did mope around the house for a day morning the lost possibility. It was ridiculous really. Why did I get so upset at losing something I decided I didn't actually want? I'll tell you why. It's the same reason a toddler absolutely has to have a toy she hasn't touched in months when another kid shows interest in it. Pure selfishness. And if it's not cute with a toddler, it certainly ain't pretty with a grown woman!

Unexpected Surprises

I found these two items today, and they both made me laugh. This first picture (which is in two parts because it was too big to fit on the scanner) is from high school. The music department, which consisted of a very small marching band and a choir, went to a Fiesta-Val in Williamsburg, Virginia, for some sort of contest. What I remember most is staying up all night and trying to scare our director. We may have also sang in a really old church with amazing acoustics. 

 

I temporarily misplaced a CD from an audio book I borrowed from the library. While I was searching all the nooks and crannies of my car today, I found this little gem. I thought about using it until I checked the expiration date!

Singled Out

I recently attended the wedding of some dear friends. The ceremony beautifully reflected the couple, and the reception was just the right mix of tradition and fresh ideas. One of the unique aspects of the reception was the food. The wedding was a morning event, and so the foods they chose to serve at the reception were breakfast items. (It was delicious!) On the other hand,  the traditional features of the reception included the bouquet toss. It was at that point I excused myself to the ladies' room.

I hate the bouquet toss.

I avoid it at all costs.

Even Especially when someone is calling my name, trying to get me to join in the "fun".

When I returned from hiding in using the  ladies' room, my friend Jake felt the need to explore my reasons for avoiding this very traditional part of weddings. I tried to excuse his question by saying I just don't care for the tradition. Unfortunately, he's known me for a long time and didn't buy my bogus answer. He wanted to know why I don't like to participate. Since I value transparency in others, I bit the bullet and told him my reason: it makes me feel singled out. When I was 20 being single was the rule, not the exception. It was a fun tradition back then. Now that I'm 27, it's not fun to stand among a (sometimes very small) group of teenagers and spinsters in front of friends and strangers alike just to hope I catch the bride's bouquet. And I also told him, I just don't like it. Even though he wasn't satisfied with my answer, he let the conversation go.

What I wish I could have verbalized to Jake is that my problem with the bouquet toss is more complicated than that. Ultimately I don't like the bouquet toss because it singles me. But I might be able to handle just being different. What really bothers me is that the bouquet toss singles me out for something I want desperately to change. I want to get married. I want to fall in love. I want to spend the rest of my life with my soul mate. And when I stand in front of a crowd of people for this particular societal tradition, I feel I'm advertising that at 27 I'm still single. But on top of that, I have to admit to myself that I'm still waiting for God to grant the greatest desire of my heart.