Fresh Starts

Can I just say that the month of June sucks? Or do I have to admit that I sucked at the month of June?

First, the natural calendar is devoid of holidays (with the brave exception of Father's Day) or any rational cause for scheduled celebration. There is Red Rose Day on the 12th, and since then I've been idle.

June was a rough month. I've had a difficult time being (or even getting) excited about anything. My home life has been stressful with my son's transition out of school, my professional life has been as hectic as a mosh pit at a country music concert, and I've been suffering from a serious motivational drought.

But enough with the excuses.

It's July first. And while I'm at it, happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends. It's a good day for a fresh start. Time to get back in the saddle. Time to think like Billy Corgan and say that today is the greatest day I've ever known. I can not testify to the veracity of that last statement, but if I say it enough, I might actually believe it.

This is going to be a good month, I can feel it. July's calendar is packed with celebratory goodness. In a few days, we get to celebrate America's independence from those crazy Brits. As the month progresses we'll enjoy days like National Fried Chicken Day, Vanilla Ice Cream Day, and my personal favorite - Embrace Your Geekness Day.

July is also National Hot Dog Month and National Blueberry Month (both are occasions I can wholeheartedly support). However the second week of the month is Nude Recreation Week; don't expect any naked recreating from this blogger.

I'll leave you with one final thought: today is also Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day. Before you crash for the night, indulge yourself in a nice scoop of fried eggplant ice cream. Or Dracula cool garlic mint ice cream. Or perhaps bay leaf ice cream (tastes like eucalyptus).

Olé!

How did I celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Quite literally.

Just kidding. We had a taco salad dinner with corn bread. We made it a family dinner. Bekah chopped the produce and the kids helped me prep the corn bread. (Yes, we used a box mix. I'm not brave enough to make it from scratch.)

Zu and Christian took turns stirring. And Zu really wanted to taste the batter.

The kids love family dinner nights. And surprisingly, this is the first they've ever (to my knowledge) eaten corn bread.

Christian wanted to know what Cinco de Mayo meant. I know the story, but I'm not sure how to explain how France and Mexico got in a fight over money and that that war helped divert French military support away from the southern states during the American Civil war. If you can't explain all that in a way that makes sense to a five year old, the notion of the Mexican army beating the larger, stronger, and better trained French forces would be as foreign a concept as quantum fluctuation.

Maybe next year.