Day 26- Such a mess

What is it about summertime that makes people not care about a messy dinner? I'm serious! We will eat with our hands and get stuff all over our faces and go through an entire roll of paper towels in one sitting. GLADLY. We'll eat at picnic tables covered in newspapers. During the winter, we wouldn't dream of doing this. What is it about summertime???

Now, growing up in Florida, our messy meal of choice was usually something like peel and eat shrimp. I always preferred them cold. Still do. It was always glorious fun to dig in, make a mess, and come away with your stomach stuffed to then stretch out in the grass somewhere. (Of course, when we were kids, we also didn't do the clean up afterwards.)

Now, there were no shrimp to be found at my house today. However, there were these:

A neighbor with family from New Orleans decided to share the wealth! He brought over quite the haul of mudbugs. (I managed to not fling my arms around his neck when he did.) There may have been some dirty rice and French bread added to the meal. You know, just for authenticity. All I needed was a roll of paper towels.

There really is nothing like digging in to a meal and using your hands for most of it. What is that about? There's something to great and childlike and fun about it. Before I knew it, my hands were covered in shell bits and juices and spices. I lost count of how many paper towels I went through. I licked my fingers. I generally displayed very poor table manners. It was fantastic.

Have you had your messy meal yet this summer? If not, DO IT. Don't worry about protocol or looking cool or being proper. Just dig in. Just like you did when you were a kid.

Oh, and if you're silly while eating at any point, it will actually make it taste better. That's a scientific fact.

Day 25- Today's entry is a simple one.

Several people suggested homemade ice cream when I initially suggested this whole crazy idea. But, Ashley M. hit the nail on the head when she came up with the idea for peach ice cream. Now, I don't own an ice cream maker. (Must get one, by the way.) But, I do know somewhere I can get something that is frozen, involves peaches, and is handmade.

Thank you, Chick-Fil-A. The end.

Day 24- Our parents did it to us at some point

Ok, so some parts of summer were just unavoidable. For both males and females. At some point during the summer, our moms looked at us and announced, "YOU NEED A HAIRCUT!" For boys, you pretty much went to the barber shop with your dad and just got a buzz cut. Perhaps a one or two guard. For girls, anything that was hanging below your shoulders tended to get whacked off. And let's be honest, it was cooler. And it stayed out of your way.

The funny thing is that we're still kind of programmed to do this. Men, inevitably, cut their hair shorter when the temps go up. And all of a sudden, every other woman on earth has a bob. We want it off our necks and out of our way. It's utilitarian. Pure and simple.

So, needless to say, I fell victim to the pre-programming. It was time for a visit to the salon and I had visions of a cut. A FOR SERIOUS cut.

My hair guru gave me the thumbs up on my choice. And he went to work. Scissors and razor in hand, I was soon freed of the weight of my fall/winter/spring hair. All I needed a lollipop to feel like I was back in the 1st grade getting this done. (Note to self, recommend lollipops next time I'm at the salon.)

Now, for those who haven't seen me in a while or who have never met me, my hair was pretty darn long. It was down to the middle of my back. It had been quite a growing out process. When it was all said and done, this was what was on the floor at the salon:

Oh. My. Goodness. As another stylist said "You could knit a hat out of that!" It was a little stunning. But, since I ended up with this:

...it was OK! Shorter, cooler, yet still able to be pulled back into a ponytail. And that, my friends, it what it was and still is all about.

Day 23- Happy 4th of July!!!

Ok, ok. So, today's event was hardly original. It was July 4th. And honestly, we all still kind of do the same things on July 4th that we did as kids. Let's just jump into it, shall we?

First up- morning at the pool. Now, the pool was having a neighborhood "open house", so there were no less than 459 people in the pool at any given time. Oddly enough, everyone was pretty cool. Kids played together. Parents didn't freak out. People dove for rings and torpedoes thrown in the deep end. It was really cool.

Skip ahead to the late afternoon. What else says 4th of July like a neighborhood block party? Everyone showed up bearing ridiculous amounts of food and wearing any and all combinations of red, white, and blue. (I've always loved that. Even as a kid.) Strangers immediately became friends. Kids who'd never met instantly began playing with each other. Everyone made themselves at home.

The best part was, when the kids were shooed outside to play, all the adults went out as well. Even when it started raining, we all stayed out in the rain! No one cared. No one complained. The kids were having a great time, and so were we.

When it was time to eat, everyone jammed back into the house and found a seat wherever they could. There was food galore and everyone ate until they just about busted. (What is it about a holiday that will make anyone, no matter how young they are, eat like it's their last meal??) Once we'd all eaten our fill, you know what time it was:

Now, Georgia has the same strict laws about fireworks as Florida had. So, you can't really get anything good here. Most people run on over to South Carolina and buy "illegal fireworks" if they want really good ones. But, this year, we had Georgia ones. There were a ridiculous amount of sparklers for anyone who wanted one. Spinners, tanks, little bottle rockets, and the stand up ones that shot sparks and made loud noises. The great thing was, the kids loved all of them. Not one of them was sad that we weren't at some big fireworks display. And, to tell the truth, the adults loved it, too. We all watched and laughed and enjoyed the explosions and coughed our heads off when the smoke got overwhelming.

All hands on deck for the big finale!

What a great way to end the 4th. All ages watching went "OOOOH!!!" and "YAAAAAAY!" when it was all done. We loved it. And it was great to just enjoy the spectacle of the sparks and explosions.

I think, in a way, on the 4th we're all kids. We all love the fun food and the time with big groups of friends. We love the fireworks. And, I think secretly if we had our way, we'd fall asleep in the back of a car while someone drove us home just like when we were 6. Happy 4th, everyone.

Day 22- Splash and splash

Today's suggestion was sort of a happy accident. I was going to go swimming and figure out my summer activity when I looked up and saw the clouds rolling in.

Now, my lovely friend Jaime D. suggested ages ago that I should go swimming in the rain. This is kind of a Florida thing as we get afternoon showers every single day. Most of the time, they are thunderstorms. But, on the rare occasion that it ends up just being rain, there is NO way we let that stop us from enjoying whatever outdoor activity we're doing.

I was doing laps and floating lazily when I got hit in the face with the first drop. WTH? It may have been the biggest, fattest raindrop ever. And just like that, the bottom fell out. Everyone in the pool sort of hesitated. We were waiting on the lifeguard to tell us to get out. But, there was no thunder. No lightning. So it was on like Donkey Kong.

Of course, there were the few people who jumped out of the pool and ran for shelter saying "I'm getting wet!!!" Um...

The rest of us, however, relished in the sudden downpour. I gotta tell you, it was absolutely FREEZING! I'm serious! That was the coldest rain ever to fall during the summertime, EVER!! It was warmer to just sort of sink into the pool up to your neck than to have any body parts exposed! And the bounce back from the surface of the pool was tremendous!

It was fantastic to just swim in it and let the drops bounce off your face and arms and float on your back and open your mouth to catch raindrops. Our joy was short lived. Unfortunately, the thunder and lightning did roll in. But, for about 10 minutes, there was gleeful splashing and laughing and everyone generally feeling like they were kids again.

Day 21- Dee-lish-us

Yum. E.

That's how I want to describe this post. If there is one thing I always loved and NEVER fought with my mother about during the summer, it was eating fruit. I could have gone a LONG time without touching a vegetable. But fresh fruit? You'd better get out of the way. I'm serious.

And there's something about fruit that either you picked yourself or someone else picked and brought to you as opposed to something you grabbed at your local grocery store. (No offense, Publix. You know I will always love you and your produce section.)

Now, I do love anyone who comes to my house bearing gifts. And when Cuz arrived at my house for the sleepover with a bag in hand and uttered the magic words, "These are from a tree near my house," I was gleeful. Literally gleeful, I tell you. And what gifts did he bear?

Hello mango. Holy smokes. And that is but a small representation of the many, MANY mangoes he brought us. I'm not kidding. It was a grocery bag full. Want a quick mental image of how big these things are?

And I'd say that was one of the MEDIUM sized ones. No joke.

I made myself only cut into one. That skin slid off so smooth and easy. And the fruit underneath was the absolute most perfect orange shade I've ever seen. I filled up an entire bowl with the meat and then took a second...

...and then dug in. Sweet nectar of the gods. It was sweet and mellow and tropical and was like a full flavor punch in the mouth. So much better than anything I could have grabbed at Kroger, let me tell you. When I'd stuffed myself to embarrassing levels, I leaned back, took a big breath, and tried to figure out when I was going to have enough room to have another one.

Day 20- SLEEPOVER!!

One of the best parts about summer was when someone came to spend the night at your house. It was always exciting and it was all you could do not to BUST waiting for them to get there!!

Well, this was the case at my house. Someone super cool and special was coming to spend the night. Now, he calls himself our "cuz." He's considered family, you know, just CAUSE. (Get it?) We hadn't seen him in months, so it was all we could do to not throw a ticker tape parade for his arrival.

Remember all the prep that went into someone coming to stay? Even if it was just for the night? Your mom would change the sheets or set up a cot or roll out a sleeping bag or (if you were super cool and/or lucky) a tent might be involved. WOO HOO!! Everyone helped straighten things up and you made sure that there was special food and stuff in the house. It all meant that it was going to be an exciting visit!

Cuz arrived around dinnertime and you knew it was special because we went out to eat ON A WEEKNIGHT!!! ;) Dinner was inhaled and stories were told. Lots of joking and general goofing off. Now THAT'S what a visit should be.

With dinner deliciously tucked away, it was time to go back home and do what? Yep- more goofing off!!!! Needless to say, I don't think any of us had lost that art. We talked, we joked, we told ridiculous stories, we laughed too loud, we stayed up WAY too late. Needless to say, it was the perfect sleepover. We were falling asleep standing up, but no one wanted to drag themselves to bed. (Probably afraid their underwear would get frozen or something.)

And just like when we were kids, we all went to bed smiling. And just like when we were kids, the visit wasn't nearly long enough.

We'll miss you while you're gone, Cousin Dave. Bon voyage!