Here are days 8 through 14!
Day 8: School's Out for the Summer! I can't help but sing that song, especially on the last day of the NY Public School year. Lots of happy kids getting out of school by 11am and all these yellow school buses are retired for a few months. I always remember the last day of school being a day that was so useless - what was the point of getting ready and going to school for just a couple of hours? But it was still fun in a way because the classrooms were already nearly cleaned out, no more bulletins, nothing on the blackboard - just empty classrooms and everyone laughing/enjoying themselves. Even the kids in class you didn't get along with liked you on the last day, giving a glimmer of hope that maybe come September, everyone would be friends again and forget the teasing that was done all school year.
Day 9: Whistle Warning: There's construction going on for the extension of the 7 line to go to 11th Avenue. I'm excited about this extension since it'll bring me closer to my office building located on 11th Avenue. I hardly ever walk past the work site, but after work this night, I ran an errand to 34th Street and passed this warning sign. I've never heard them blow, thankfully, even being just a few blocks away from it in my office. It'll still be a good year and half until the project is complete.
Day 10: Because Even if it's 90 degrees outside, I still want to burn a candle!: It was hot, but my AC was on, and I wanted to burn a candle. I realized I have so many candles in my apartment. I'm not sure why I'm hoarding them! This one happens to be my favorite though. It's from Fresh. It costs an arm and a leg by candle prices, but burns nicely and will smell up a room even without it burning.
Day 11: Bliss Spa. I met my friend Melissa to celebrate our Gemini birthdays by getting a 105 minutes "blissage" - which is probably the best thing ever. It's worth every penny and is so relaxing. We got it late in the afternoon and I'm glad - I slept so well that night (12 hours!) and felt completely rested.
Day 12: Brownies on Speed. I made these brownies as a "thank you" to my friend Tom who got me sparklers for the annual Buckley 4th of July Festivities. These brownies I saw on pinterest and just had to try them. They were so easy and SO good ... chocolate chip cookie dough, a reese's peanut butter cup, and brownie mix layered on top of each other. I'd like to make everything from scratch, rather than in a box, but this was such an easy and quick dessert!
Day 13: Sparklers! And in exchange for those brownies, I got these boxes of sparklers! We had sparklers every year for the 4th of July when I was growing up. I remember them well into my early teens. My dad would give us all a few after we watched the Macy's Fireworks and we'd stand in front of the house sparkling away. Those are days that have passed now, with neighbors moving away and the neighborhood not being so neighborly anymore. But with my nephews at the age when I remember those sparklers for the first time, I figured it was as good as time as any for these sparklers to come back into our lives!
Day 14: Peter's Birthday. My brother was born in 1976, the bicentennial year. I remember my mom telling the story of how she was in the hospital in labor and the nurses looking out the window watching a couple having sex on the American flag! I find that too funny and think it's awesome to have a story associated with the birth of a child. I don't think there's anything that trumps that for my birth or my other brother's birth, so I guess Peter takes the prize for the most eventful story.
