Summer Summer Summertime - Part of the Summer Lovin' Series

Since we are very close to this blog's second anniversary and in honor of the Summer Lovin' series here at A Day In The Life of a Coffee Addict I asked some very special people to guest blog. First up is my gal pal Gabby! Gabby and I met many moons ago while we were each planning our Vegas wedding - we met on a wedding planning site and totally hit it off it was Gabby's quirky sense of humor and all around geekiness that won me over.Then we both ended up living in Florida so we get to spend time together doing fun things like going to Disney and being silly! Gabby is one of the super cool hosts of PotentialCast - a podcast dedicated to one of my favorite shows of all time Buffy The Vampire Slayer - take a listen here.

When I was a young pup, I used to look forward to summer. Thanks to the loads of free time the break from school would allow, I would be able to enjoy swim lessons at the Colonie Town Park, endless hours of bike riding adventures with friends in the dense woodland area behind the suburban neighborhood where I grew up, vacationing at The Cape, and a house filled with family and friends as my Dad grilled burgers & hot dogs on the Kenmore gas grill that was a permanent fixture in our backyard. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Those were the salad days!

As years went by, summer lost all of the positive meaning behind it and became a six-letter dirty word! Summer was nothing but the season where I was confined to my tiny cubicle in the bowels of an office building ala Fox Mulder. Meanwhile, everyone else on this great BIG blue marble was out in the fresh air, running wild and free, enjoying sunshine, time with friends and family, and (above all else) freedom!

In the past few years, my negative view of summer has changed quite a bit! Although, I remain a fan of cooler months (and cooler weather in general), this season does indeed have some redeeming qualities. You know what? Summer ain’t half bad! As a matter of fact, some of my favorite events take place in the summer and I look forward to them all year ‘round! What are these things I look forward to? Well, since you asked nicely I would love to share my top 5 list (in no particular order) with you!

5. My husband and I were married in the summer! We were also married in Vegas in August on a 110 degree day. It was a glorious day where we were surrounded by a small group of family and friends that we hold dear. The night was filled with drunken post-wedding antics on Fremont Street. Le sigh.

4. The only thing that I love more than hanging out with friends is hanging out with friends in theme parks. The only thing that I love more than hanging out with friends in theme parks is hanging out with friends in theme parks while celebrating STAR WARS WEEKENDS! Every June, our group of three heads to “The Studios” to spend a Saturday of eating naughty food, enjoying frosty beverages, having our photos taken with Star Wars characters and getting away with being silly (in public) and acting like a kid!

C. The house in upstate New York, where I grew up, was missing one important thing that every house here, in northern Florida has. If it wasn’t for this one little thing we would all surely wither and die or drown in a pool of our own sweat. If it wasn’t for the brilliant invention of the central air conditioning unit, summertime happiness would be impossible to achieve. (Odds are that I would also be a resident of Alaska and not a Florida transplant.)

B. One of my new favorite things is not really new at all BUT it surely is new to me. Recently, I have discovered the joys of talking to friends via Skype. It’s AMAZING! Thinking back to the “good old days” if we wanted to contact friends who lived far away we needed to put pen to paper and wait days or even weeks until we received a letter in response. (For the kids out there: Back in the 70’s and 80’s every home had a phone. Today you know it as a “landline”. There were no cell phones with unlimited long distance. HECK! There were no cell phones! Long distance calls were insanely expensive and you could only talk to one person at a time. OH YEAH! Also, every home did not have a computer. This is shocking news. I know.)

Today, we are constantly plugged in. Everyone has a computer (or access to a computer) and a smartphone. Everyone has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. These friends made via online social networking are real people and having the chance to speak with one (or many) via Skype is a total blast! Also, every time I video chat I pretend that I’m Judy Jetson. (For the kids 2.0: I will not explain this reference as it will just make me sad. Google it!)

1. Television is awesome and I love it! Whether I’m sitting on my big ol’ bootie on the orange sofa watching it or experiencing the “joys” of housework the boob tube is on. I love dramas, comedies, travel shows, made for TV movies, documentaries, procedurals and (especially in the summer) reality shows. SWEET SASSY MOLASSY! HOT DIGGITY DOG DIGGITY! Trashy summertime reality shows are the best, especially Big Brother! It’s appointment TV on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. We record Big Brother After Dark on SHO. I’d fork over the “cabbage” for the live feed BUT I have a job that I need to go to in order to make money, keep a roof over our heads and food on the table so I refrain from becoming a member. If I was a member all I would do all day long is watch those fascinating creatures scheme, play humiliating games and fall to pieces while in the confines of their IKEA furniture filled house of two way mirrors.

The list could go on and on expressing my newfound love of summer. I could also go on and on writing about fond memories of summers past, but I think that the great Fresh Prince said it best:

“If ain't broke then don't try to fix it and think of the summers of the past adjust the base and let the alpine blast.”

Now ain’t that the truth?