Saturday, July 20, 2013

Sum-Sum-Summertime

It was 100 degrees at 5 p.m. yesterday evening. That's hot. But that is not a complaint. I really, really HATE cold weather. You know, the kind where you shiver so much it hurts? Hate it. Therefore, my 10 Things of Thankful this week shall be dedicated to sum- sum- summertime.

I'm thankful that summer weather extremes don't cause roads to be impassable and sidewalks to be slicker than snot. (Don't even start with weather extremes like tornadoes. Been there already.)
The sacrifices one has
to make to get an
illustration. It was
yummy, by the way.

I'm thankful that there is an excuse to eat ice cream any time.

I'm thankful I can still wear shorts without looking too hideous.

I'm thankful to have summers off, so I can waste spend quality time embracing social media and chatting with my bloggy friends. Lizzi and I MAY have had a little too much fun yesterday. 

I'm thankful that I don't have to remember to grab a jacket when I leave the house, because it ain't a-gonna get cooler come evening.

I'm thankful for central air conditioning, because while I don't like winter, I'm still no pioneer when it comes to summer heat.

I'm thankful for ice cold Diet Coke. Well, that's not limited to just summertime. I'm thankful for it ALL YEAR LONG.

I'm thankful to have a membership at a private swimming pool (let's hear it for the 'Dale!). It's never crowded, we can bring our own food and drinks there (and can even use a charcoal grill to make dinner, if we are so inclined), and it's less than a ten minute drive from our house (that's driving 35 mph and hitting every stop light in between, which equals 6, if you're curious. IT'S A SMALL TOWN, PEOPLE).  It's oh, so relaxing and cooling to go to the pool in the early evening (say, 5 p.m. when it's a sultry 100 degrees outside), hang out in the pool like cows in a pond, and come home cool and refreshed.

A glimpse of the pool and cute lifeguard.

I'm thankful for maxi skirts and dresses. They hide a world of imperfections and allow air to whoosh up under the skirt and cool you off in places you'd just rather not sweat.

I'm thankful for lots of blue sky, bright sunshine, sunglasses, flip flops, popsicles, and the smell of sunscreen. 

And now a summer song by Mungo Jerry:



I hope this is stuck in your head forever, as it seems to be in mine lately. Fun Fact: I used to have to BEG the owner of the master recording of this song to renew licensing contracts for this for compilation albums that were produced by the division of Warner Music Group where I worked.





36 comments:

  1. Cool that you worked for Warner music. I'm not sure what you did with the song, but hopefully spread it far and wide because it's one of my faves for summer.

    We definitely had too much fun last night! I'm still awaiting any kind of backlash though...!

    The pool sounds awesome. What a wonderful facility you are able to access. Truly a thing to be very thankful for.

    And on behalf of all the Ten Things co-hosts, I'd like to thank you for your courage, bravery and valiance in throwing yourself into the line of fire and undertaking that arduous task to get an illustration for today. It is an honour to know someone so willing to put themselves in harm's way for the sake of the entertainment of others, and I'd like to publicly commend your spirit - Ma'am, I salute you.

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    1. I extended the licensing agreements for compilation cds (think Time Life series that you may see on an infomercial). Which meant I had to beg the owners of the master recordings to extend the agreements they made with us to use their songs. If they didn't agree, the song had to be pulled, which would be expensive, so I had to beg and plead sometimes to get the licenses extended. Good times.

      And getting that picture was tough, but I do what I have to do in the name of blogging!

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    2. Ahhh I get it. Still cool though. But I don't know the ad you mean - we probably don't get it here in the UK. Or if we do then my lack of TV would mean I still wouldn't know ;)

      And thank you - you are gracious about your trials in the name of bloggery ;)

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  2. Thanks so much for taking one for the team, just for accuracy in your blog...otherwise HOW on earth would we know how a person enjoying ice cream looks? Nicely done.

    I'm with you on the AC. And the maxi Dresses (even though I am short and would have to hack off half the dress in order to keep from dragging it all over the ground)...I appreciate it when OTHER people wear them who, perhaps, need to keep certain things under cover. I also have things which need to be kept under cover but I have to use avenues other than the aforementioned maxi dress. And BTW why is it called a "maxi" dress...I may be showing my age but it ALWAYS makes me think of "maxi" pads...but that could just be me.

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    1. If there's no picture, it didn't happen.

      I am tall, so my challenge is finding a dress long enough. And I hate the word "maxi" dress, too, because I think maxi pad. But I also hate "ipad" for the same reason.

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    2. The pic rule applies to swimsuits at the pool and skirts in the summertime >.>

      Just saying...

      Okay, I feel like I'm "trolling"...

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    3. If you think I'm going to post a picture of me in a swimsuit, you are cray cray.

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  3. Oh, why didn't I think to be thankful for ice cream? Maybe I'll have to put that on next week's list!

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    1. Probably should put it on there EVERY week. And take a picture.

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  4. Ice cold Diet Coke...yessss! My secret love. OK, more like an outright addiction. I have recently discovered the joys of the maxi skirt and its breezy benefits. Hallelujah! And when that's not enough, thank heaven for AC. :) Great post - I like these ten things.

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    1. Thank you! Some might say I'm a wee bit of a Diet Coke addict myself. But I don't do coffee or alcohol, so I've gotta have SOME kind of vice!

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  5. lol the tortured, lonely life of the (blog) writer!

    I am in total agreement with you on the superiority of 'hot enough for you?' weather, over the 'cold as a (culturally-marginalized female here)'s (said female's body part here) type of non-warm, winter-based weather.
    ...and good point about the respective danger(s) of winter and summer driving. no scraping of windshields and standing in snowstorms trying to decide to brush all the snow off the roof, or drive with it on the roof figuring the wind will blow it off.

    I enjoy this kind of weather so much that I usually start laughing when, upon getting into the car after it has sat in direct sunlight for an afternoon, the temperature in the interior is so high that my glasses instantly fog up. Hah! fun in the sun!

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    1. It's even MORE fun when the hot seatbelt hits your bare leg.

      We had an ice/snow mixture last winter. When it was finally clear enough to get out on the road, I chose NOT to clear the roof of the car, because it was too hard to chip off. However, a couple of hours of the car sitting in the sun loosened the ice, then when I stopped a little quickly at a light, the whole thing slid down onto the windshield, completely blocking it. My daughter was with me, and we just looked at each other and started laughing. There was a tiny hole I could see out, so I drove it to the nearest parking lot and we got out and scraped.

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    2. ACK! One of those people! Where the snow and ice goes flying off the roof of the car at the people behind them on the road! lol

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    3. So, in other words, it served me right that it fell down my own windshield and blinded me?

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  6. And to top it all off, I'm thankful that we've summer all year round here and that everything's verdant! Thanks for sharing, Dyanne!

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    1. Ahh, it must be beautiful! Had a taste of that when I lived in LA. Of course, everything was green there because it was watered heavily.

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  7. I freeze my tush off all winter, so as much as I love ice cream, I can't eat it and make myself even colder from the inside. I eat ice cream all summer long to make up for it. Love summer. Love ice cream.

    Thank you for lodging that song firmly into my brain. You're lucky I really like it.

    I have not embraced the maxi dress. I don't understand why anyone would want that much material on when it is 100 degrees. And it is an awful name. I agree completely with Mrs. Random.

    Clever move to not number your list. No one will ever know if you misnumber them like other listmakers have a tendency to do. :)

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  8. Ha ha ha, I literally laughed out loud when I read the thing about maxi dresses, I never though of all the advantages of wearing them ;-)

    Today is national ice cream day, did you get yours??

    Lovely list, thanks for sharing :-)

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    1. See, blogging can be very educational!

      I did NOT have ice cream today, since I had a rather large portion of it yesterday. I don't want "maxi" to mean the size of my middle instead of the length of the skirt!

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  9. I love summer too, though I can't really claim we have extremes of weather here in Scotland. Can't say I'm so keen on Coke, diet or otherwise. I went off all fizzy drinks when I was pregnant with my first daughter and have rarely had them since. And, coincidentally or not, she hates fizzy drinks!

    Another advantage of maxi dresses is that when the air whooshes up the skirt you don't have to grab onto their hems to stop those places where you'd rather not sweat from showing. This cannot be said for the floaty mini-dresses my teenage daughter wears!

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    1. I think the fizziness is my favorite part of Diet Coke. It's what wakes me up in the morning.

      Um, yeah, I have a short-ish skirt that I really love, but always manage to wear it on windy days and usually end up showing my underpants to someone unsuspecting. (I have a 14 year old daughter, so I know EXACTLY what you mean by a floaty mini-dress!)

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  10. Summertime IS wonderful and made better with ice cream, a private pool (jealous - there is a 3-year wait-list for the one that I want to join) and a cute lifeguard! Great list.

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    1. Come swim with me anytime, Kristi! We can sit by the side of the pool, eat ice cream and harass the lifeguard (who gets a little surly when mom is there when he's working - making it more fun!).

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  11. I love your list!!! I am from a small town, too, but neither of them (both the town and the nearest town) didn't have a private pool!!Nice!! I LOVE not having to grab a jacket!! I love ice cream, too! I love summer, too..am taking a day or so off this wk, so I can just bake, uh, I mean enjoy the sun!! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such lovely comments!

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    1. Thank you! I'm going to lightly saute myself this afternoon at the pool!

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  12. Just as soon as I comment, I'll be googling Maxi skirt. I love your list. We haven't reached 100 yet - not really - the index has been there. But I know what you mean. Winter is not all the serious here but I had getting in a cold car at night and having to drive it bit before it gets warm. That does hurt doesn't it? Checking out that song then off to Google.

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    1. Although my friend Christine wondered why anyone would want all that material on your legs when it's 100 degrees, something about the sweeping lines at least gives the ILLUSION that you feel cooler in one. And getting in a cold car is much worse than getting in a hot car (unless you have on shorts with leather seats - that smarts!). Hope you've got a little Mungo Jerry stuck in your head by now....

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  13. Nice list, but we are probably the opposite. I can't stand the heat. The hotter it is the worse! I have to have the AC blasting and fans going most of the day and night during a hot summer, and I can't stand when it doesn't get cool in the back bedroom. I end up sleeping out in the living room with the AC.

    I have a jacket now (as of 2 1/2 years ago) that I wear in Winter, but before that I just wore the hoodie I've shown in some pics on my blog. THAT was my Winter jacket for years and my job involves shoveling the walkways around my buildings! I'm hardcore like that ;-) haha

    Most thought I was nuts.

    If they only knew I wore that same hoodie in AZ when I worked warehousing (with black glass for some fucken reason OMG it was hot). That was done to send a message to the predominantly Hispanic co-workers that I was loco... don't mess... It's tough being the newbie on the block.

    That or I'm just fucken weird. Hard to say really.

    Holy crap, did I just spend that whole time talking about myself? I apologize. This is about you... not me... Maybe I have a condition...

    I'm all about weather extremes, I love thunderstorms and crazy shenanigans, but not so much when people end up hurt by them, which is usually the case :-( I'd still love to be a storm-chaser some day. I think it would be a lot of fun. I must say, though, snow and ice gets pretty damned annoying REAL fast.

    Enjoy all the icecream you want, while you can! Winter is Coming! Muahahahaha!

    That private pool sounds nice. How much is it? Sounds like it would be a great place to host little parties if they'd allow it.

    As for the lifeguard... weeeeeeeell... looksies but no touchsies.

    Touchsies Is What There Is Not.

    HA! Who am I kidding?! We are all consenting adults here!

    Except... that lifeguard appears as though he may not yet be an adult >.>

    Jak at The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink

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    1. Let me get this straight: you wore a hoodie as a winter coat and froze, and also wore the same hoodie when it was really hot to gain street cred? You just ain't right!

      I do love rumbly thunderstorms, but not severe ones or tornadoes. You don't need to be a storm chaser. Come to tornado alley some May and sit and wait; one will come to you eventually.

      The pool is great! We pay about $200 to swim all summer, and yes, WE CAN HAVE PARTIES.

      I perhaps was not clear that the lifeguard is my son :)

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    2. And there was me thinking you were getting your cougar on and all of a sudden GROSS!

      Ick, ick, ICK!

      That was weird.

      I have *GOT* to start getting Jak to let me know when he's rocked up late and left somekinda doozie around the place, cos I feel like I missed out on this. XD

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  14. I hate hot weather probably as much as you hate cold weather. Houses where I live don't have AC. We don't need it 99% of the year. But those 7 days a year when it gets into the 90s? Oh dear how I miss it so.

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    1. When we lived at the beach in Ventura, we didn't have a/c and didn't need it except for about 7 days a year, either, during the Santa Ana winds.

      I'd really like to live where it's fall year-round. Warm during the day, cool at night.

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  15. I am a winter girl through and through. This summer I have made myself spend 20 to 30 min. outside each day to gather in some vitamin D, and I have to admit that I feel better. Still, it was the love of a/c in your list that I most related to!

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    1. I like summer, but I'm not stupid. I like my summer with a large dose of a/c. Bottom line is I like to CHOOSE to be cold, not FORCED.

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