Cow Appreciation Day

Oh, the things my family and I will do for free food...

"I'm not too chicken to dress like a cow."

Heather got off work at 7pm, which was a nice surprise since she hadn't expected to be able to go at all. Even before she got home, Andrea and Kayley were already helping her by putting her costume together. By the time we left for Chick-fil-A, it was after 8, and we were good and hungry. We drove with the windows down and Air1 blaring (If anyone noticed the minivan full of rambunctious cows, they didn't let on.) Once we got out of the car in the Chick-fil-A parking lot, we elicited some laughter and toots on the car horns. To be fair, it was all my dad. Being with him made the rest of us just look good. The Chick-fil-A employees rang the cow bell when we came in and gave us stickers, and they were really interested in how my dad made his costume (I'd like to blab it all here, but he doesn't want to share his secrets =). The restaurant was still packed, and we like eating at home anyway, so we took it to go and sat around chatting and enjoying each other's company. And Mama made three different vegetables, as usual. We must be the only family in America who eats three vegetables along with their Chick-fil-A!

Awkward and Awesome Wednesday

I started this blog partly so I could do A+A Wednesday, but it was harder than I thought to come up with admit stuff.

Awkward:

• Standing outside a store in the Texas heat, offering to sell your gift card to the people going in at a discount, while trying to look nice and honest and normal and not do anything to arouse the suspicions of them, the employees inside the store, or the security guards down the street.
• Not getting anyone to buy the gift card but in the meantime spending $4 on a strawberry-banana smoothie so you don't die of dehydration.
• Taking pictures of the bricks in the sidewalk on your phone just for the sake of looking like you're busy when people walk by.
• Cutting through a subdivision to save time and going down every single unmarked cul de sac before turning around and going out the way you came.
• Finding yourself whispering in the morning even though everyone in the house is awake.

Awesome:

• Not spending any money on your lunch break at work. Food from the fridge and paid for by your parents + an exciting library book (that's the important ingredient) = A break to look forward to without missing the mall food court.
• Watching an old Blimey Cow video on how to write a worship song in 5 minutes (or less)- and laughing so hard you hurt.
• Sitting around with your family and making your own cow costumes for Cow Appreciation Day (coming up Friday!), and everyone's costume is completely different.
• Eating cherry Jell-o without fruit or cheese balls or any of that stuff in it.
• Being able to say no to opportunities that you might have liked but aren't the best for you right now, and not having any regret at your answer.
• Listening to the sounds of humming insect wings and cooing doves out your window. It can't feel like home in the summer without it.

Independence Day

It was a day of simple, quiet, but satisfying activity... and food... from the pictures I got it looks mostly like food.

But first my dad, two of my sisters, and I began our morning with a leisurely bike ride through the neighborhood and along the bayou.

Daddy grilled hamburgers and corn on the cob for lunch. We don't eat that much bread in my family. This is hamburgers our way! It was good, let me tell you!

One of my sisters and I had to work later on in the day. (Who knew that such a large portion of the population thinks shopping at the outlet mall is the perfect way to celebrate Independence Day? I don't want to start complaining, so let's look at the bright side: time-and-a-half holiday pay!)

In the evening we sat around and ate homemade ice cream cake while our neighbors blew up fireworks all around us. Andrea baked a gluten-free pound cake and made banana-berry ice cream too (her own recipe). It's covered with whipped heavy cream, blueberries, and strawberries.

Earlier this week, I copied the entire Declaration of Independence by hand, just to familiarize myself with it. (I invited my family to join me, but even they just gave me blank looks. "That sounds like school." ) Next year I might copy sections on parchment in calligraphy. The Bill of Rights too. Totally serious. When you write something, you force yourself to focus on what the words mean and you give yourself time to ponder it. Not that I worship the Declaration or the Constitution. They're not absolute truth; I'm sure there are some flaws somewhere in them still. But those flaws are minor, and overall, I think these documents have worked really well over the last couple hundred years, and given a chance, I think they still work for the USA today. It took me a couple of hours to copy the Declaration, but I was watching/ listening to YouTube videos at the same time (patriotic bluegrass, patriotic hymns, military songs, you know, stuff to put me in the mood).

Now on to more frivolous things:

My sisters always do holiday themed manis and pedis. I hadn't painted my nails in years because polish damages my nails, but I really wanted to do some glitter-tipped nails and colored French manicures (I've got Pinterest to blame for that. I've had a Nails pinboard for several months, so I was setting myself up to fall for the temptation at one time or another).

It wasn't an excitement-driven day; I didn't go to any fire works or parades or patriotic concerts or battle reenactments or anything like that. My celebrations had little to do with the Revolutionary War or the Founding Fathers. What I did was enjoy the benefits of living in a country that has provided its citizens freedom and security, the sort that allows them to live a quiet, happy, prosperous life. I love the USA, and thank You, God, for letting this country exist and me be one of the ones who get to live in it!