How’s it going, guys? I know some of you follow me on Instagram already (click here if you don’t), but I thought I’d add some more to some of the recent photos…
Since our facilities were closed on the 4th, I co-hosted an Independence-themed dance fitness party called “Red, White, and Boom” with my friend Ashley on July 3rd. We decided to do all the songs with “boom” in the title or lyrics, plus any songs with 4th of July references. You may be surprised to learn that we have 6 songs with “Boom” in just the title on our song list: “Boom”, “Boom” (not a typo – we have two “Boom” songs), “Boom Boom”, “Boom Boom Mama”, Boom Boom Pow”, and “Boomerang.” I also added in a Michael Jackson party song since he’s one of my favorite American artists. The party was a hit, and we had a great time. Ashley and I love a themed class!
Our 4th of July was pretty low-key. Work has been crazy, and I’ve been driving myself nuts with post-work research after hours. All I wanted to do on my day off was relax, so we did just that. We hit up JJ’s Red Hots for a hot dog lunch. I got the JJ’s “No. 1” Red Hot (“JJ’s Hot Relish, Diced Onions, Weber’s Mustard, Dill Pickle Spear.”), the Char Heel (“Chili, Slaw, Diced Onions, Mustard”), and fries. The No. 1 is my current fave. I also tried JJ’s homemade giardineria, which was really good – fresh and spicy!
And I finally got to check out King of Pops since they were right outside when we were done with the main eats. It was super hot outside, so an ice-cold popsicle sounded amazing. I got the Arnold Palmer (lemonade and sweet tea) since it sounded perfectly refreshing, and it was. Yum!
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I spent some time on the evening of the 4th doing a little research about the holiday we were celebrating. I wanted to put some thought towards what the true meaning of Independence Day is, rather than thinking of it as just a day off of work or a good reason to grill out.
Here’s a great excerpt from this article on pbs.org:
On July 8, 1776, the first public readings of the Declaration were held in Philadelphia’s Independence Square to the ringing of bells and band music. One year later, on July 4, 1777, Philadelphia marked Independence Day by adjourning Congress and celebrating with bonfires, bells and fireworks.
The custom eventually spread to other towns, both large and small, where the day was marked with processions, oratory, picnics, contests, games, military displays and fireworks.
So, I learned the picnics and fireworks are actually part of the tradition, but it was still interesting to read about.
I also found this gem of a quote from Thomas Jefferson:
For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.
And I learned from the research that Thomas Jefferson was (basically) my age (I’ll be 33 later this year) when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. Damn. I only write blog posts, recipes, and requirement documents. But, thanks to Jefferson and the bravery and hard work of many men and women before me, I now have the freedom to write pretty much whatever I want, which is wonderful and something that seems small but is something many don’t have. I’m very thankful for my freedom and grateful to those who have sacrificed (and still sacrifice) so much so Americans can have that freedom.
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I tried something new at Starbucks – the green tea latte. This may be my new favorite because this thing was gooood. I imagine it to be healthier than the latte or hot chocolate I usually get, but I’m not really sure since they didn’t publish the ingredient list online, and I’m not sure if they use real matcha. It was a little sweet for my taste, so I may try to order it next time with less sweetener. I’m guessing they use simple syrup. If nothing else, it has less caffeine than some of the other drinks I typically order, so it could make for a good afternoon pick-me-up.
I also saw they have an Earl Grey latte, so I may have to check that one out sometime soon, too.
And here’s a photo of Bailey today getting cozy with my Snuggie. Silly corgi! I call this “snug-orgi”.
Thanks for reading!
ooh, girl. i lived off those green tea (soy) lattes for about 6 months until i finally forced myself to look up the nutrition info: something like 40g of sugar WITHOUT any added sweetener. they do use real matcha but it’s been ground into a powder and mixed with sugar. i bought a package of sweet green tea matcha powder at whole foods once.
Daaaang for real? I have matcha powder at home, but I usually use it for baking or smoothies. I wonder if the soy version has that much sugar in it if they use vanilla soy milk or something? I’ve heard the unsweetened version is really good, so I may have to try it that way! 🙂