Once Upon a 4th of July

More than any holiday, the 4th of July, conjures memories of my childhood. On Independence Day where I grew up, everyone gathered at the town Commons, ate from food stands, visited silly booths, rode in the fire truck and spent the entire day, together, just waiting for the sun to set so the world's smallest, most anti-climatic fireworks show could mark the holiday. It was (and still is) called Norris Day, and I loved it.

It was the first time in my childhood when I felt my own independence. My grandparents lived just steps from all the action so I would run back and forth all day - without constant supervision- between family and friends, checking to see if the homemade ice cream was frozen, and if Grandma's famous cherry pie was cooled. While I'm sure my parents were watching from afar - as were all the other parents of friends in town - the freedom I perceived on this day was fabulous to me. At 10 years old, I felt like a grown-up; the Commons was my Times Square.

I haven't been to Norris Day in a zillion years, and sadly, I know I wouldn't be as amused...not because it has lost its charm, but because I've just out grown my perspective of it all. I want to take my kids back there one day, though. When I do, I hope my grandma will still be around to make her pie. I hope the sense of community is still as vivid, and the fireworks show still as humble.

Today I'm celebrating 4th of July at the beach. I'll make homemade ice cream, my dad will grill all sorts of things. Mr. W will steam crabs. My friend Jocelyn, vactioning nearby, will join us for dinner.  From my dad's house, you can see a fireworks show, and we've made a tradition of jumping in the pool for a night swim to watch. It will be relaxing, and it will be fun.

But it won't be the same as Norris Day.

One Crabby Fathers' Day

It's a tradition in Mr. W's family....on Fathers' Day, we take Pops some Maryland Blue Crabs. (Although I'm pretty sure the natives 'round here just say "crabs"; I'm still learning the vernacular.)

Only this year, Mr. Dubs switched it up a bit....by steaming the crabs himself. It's become quite the habit since buying a steamer/fryer pot thingy {note: if it doesnt earn a place on the kitchen countertop, I make no effort to learn the name of cooking toys}. So while most men across the country were grilling, the W men were steaming things up....very carefully.

My contribution: riding in the car for a half-hour with the air-conditioning blowing full-force.  It's all about keeping the crabs comfortable...until it's not.

After the crabbies took a little sauna.....voila - a perfect pot!

We spent all day Sunday picking crabs (a Mid-Atlantic art I've yet to master) with Mr. W's family.  It was a real sweet day! 

Mr. W, Mr W and Mr. W

Tunes for Travel

I'm letting you in on a nerdy little secret.

When Mr. W and I go on vacation, we always make a mix cd to play in our rental car.....I know - how 1999 of us, right?  I actually can't take all the shame credit for this little tradition. It's something the Dubs did all on his own, years before we even met, for an annual trip he takes with friends.

No matter the degree of cheesiness, I embrace traditions, and am currently executive producing the album we'll take to sing us through a week in Hawaii, driving around - top down - the cliffs and canyons of Kaua'i.

I really do love music, but I don't get all intellectual about it. I'm more emotional about it (imagine that!) and like songs that speak to me from places of nostalgia, that resonate vivid feelings, or tell stories.

I have a clear vision for how I want this yet-to-be named cd to feel. I want fun, happy and romantic (fun-loving, not mushy-gushy). I want the perfect soundtrack to this:

and this

and this

I want to play it five, ten years for now and be reminded of how we felt while on this trip!

Here's a sneak peak my working track list:

Best Days -  Matt White
Come on Get High - Matt Nathanson
Swept Away - Christopher Cross
Does anyone remember the 80's tv show Growing Pains? When the        Seavers went to Hawaii and Mike (my 80's boyfriend, Kirk         Cameron) met the Hawaiian girl and was head over heals? Every time they were together this song would play. It took me YEARS to find the cd with this song on it, but this song has to be on any Hawaii cd of mine!

I'd Have to Be Crazy - Willie Nelson
Feeling Good Again - Robert Earl Keen
Wave on Wave - Pat Green
Son of a Sailor - Jimmy Buffett
Come Monday - Kenny Chesney's version 
Back Where I Come From (instrumental) - Mac Macanally
Everyone from Tennessee knows and loves BWICF by Kenny Chesney, but Macanally, the writer of the song, has an instrumental version on an album - it's just beautiful, perfect for playing during a sunset, even one that isn't over the Smoky Mountains.

Any songs you recommend?? Do you have cheesey travel traditions?

All photos credit HawaiiPictures.com

Birthday Week!

In my family, you don't just have a birthday...you have a Birthday Week. It sounds like a very spoiled experience and it sort of is, just not in a rotten way!  I'm not talking Super Sweet 16 type gifts here, just fun little happies leading up to the grand finale!

My Birthday Week began Sunday!

After a weekend in Atlantic City, gambling away our nest egg in the spirit of Bachelor Party, Mr W greeted me with the first Birthday Week gift - a fun gossip magazine and a lotto scratch card. A bag of cheetos and you'd think I was Brintey Spears, no?

Let me explain the signficance of the scratcher.

Dressed for dinner in my jammie pants - that's how I roll

After watching some TLC shows about lottery winners, I've been a tad preoccupied with winning $1000 a week for life. I think a nice little bonus like an extra $52,000 a year would be far better than hitting some mega-millions jackpot. You'd think this, too, if you saw what lottery windfalls do to most winners (at least as told by TLC)! So, I'll be getting a Set For Life scratch card every day during Birthday Week. Here's hoping it cures my itch for winning. 

So far...no luck.

When you reach the 30s, you no longet fear sharing unflattering photos of yourself

My Birthday Week treat for Monday was not cooking....Mr. Dubs brought home sushi from my fave place. How do you say "yum" in Japenese?

Do you have special birthday traditions in your family?