"America, God Shed His Grace on Thee..."

Independence Day is this week! I sure love an All-American holiday. Fourth of July is probably one of my most favorite days of the whole year!

Do you have any festive plans? Whether it's a cook-out in the backyard or a big shindig at the local park, Independence Day is opportunity to reflect on the founding of our country and think about what makes it so great. 

This national holiday is a fabulous excuse to throw a party and relish time with friends and family! Stay tuned for recipe reports later this week! The excitement is building... I can barely contain myself! A local farmer sold us "pet milk" - unpasterized, straight out of the cow and oh so creamy. It's my business if I want to drink the dog's milk, right? Enough said. Well... clearing off throat - let's just say I think that stuff would make some really good homemade ice cream :-) 

Saturday, I went blueberry picking and then I went again this morning. The weather was perfect! Cool and shady, plus the rain yesterday made the berries sweet and plump. We're aiming to put up at least 100 lbs to enjoy during the cold months. These will make great gifts for friends, as well as delicious additions to smoothies, salads and desserts. 

At .96 cents a pound it doesn't get any cheaper than this. And, these blueberries are fresh, local and picked by us - the people who are going to eat them! 

I love this picture and can't wait to pull this delightful bag of blueberries from the freezer in November for Thanksgiving! 

Saturday was filled with planning for the coming week, organizing pictures, shopping with my momma and finally rounding off the evening with a going away party for a good friend who is headed out to the Philippines this week! So fun.

Sunday evening I was in for a special treat with family & friends. The North Carolina Symphony came to town! About 10,000 people turned out making it a huge event. It was so special with musical numbers by Richard Rodgers, Offenbach & a smashing rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. One of my favorite parts of the program was the Service Branch Medley and seeing all of our veterans and active-duty stand and be honored - seeing this never fails to swell my heart with pride!

I snapped a few pictures, but my camera battery started to die during the firework show which almost made me die. Ha! No, seriously. It would have been cool to get some time sensitive shots of the fireworks. Hopefully, next year!

This sandwich was from last week... it was so gooood! I split it with my Mom as was a lot of food! If I had been really hungry, I could have eaten the whole thing :)

Tomorrow night I'm going with my family to some friend's house to celebrate July 4th a bit early. Both of our families enjoy games and laugh about a lot of the same things which makes for a great combo! I'm thinking about this recipe to take along, minus the reduced fat :) What do you think? If anyone has any great, healthy recipes that you know are solid or that you're planning to try for July 4th - leave me the link so I can check it out! I'm still debating on what I want to fix, meal wise, for the 4th. We'll probably make it super simple... Gonna be fun!

So... running? Yes, I know it seems like I've fallen off the side of the earth with this. I haven't run in over a week! {gasp} Wow, I really miss it! I've had good reason not be logging any miles, though. Remember that running injury I was laughing about {shame on you, Kat!} a few days ago. Yeah... well, it's not something I'm laughing about anymore.

As much as I want to, I know better than to go for a really good run before my leg is completely healed, but I'm hoping that I can get back to it in a few days. Free weights & stretching sessions have been my friends this past week. Getting that blood pumping is essential, running or no running.

Summer is prime time for sandwiches. Eat 'em up! This one was real mayo on whole wheat bread, almond cheese, tomato slices, avocado, and spinach leaves. You can serve it solo or with your favorite chips and fruit!

These chips came from Aldi's (brand: Clancy). I recently discovered a fun little secret - want to hear? Shh!! Did you know that Aldi's and Trader Joe's are both owned by the same company?!!! Don't get ripped off anymore. If you can overlook a bare bones store with no fancy presentations . .  then go for Aldi's - you can save yourself lots of $$$!!!! Just last week they had pineapples for $0.99!

Cost is a consideration for all of us when it comes to healthy eating, but making good choices is an economical option when food like this is available! Snatch it up :-)