That is my question for tomorrow in celebration of Independence Day. We’re already into July with the summer quickly passing and I haven’t been to the beach once. Actually, I haven’t been in literally years. It’s been so long since I’ve been, in fact, that my brain is fantasizing that the whole day will look something like this:
Looks nice, doesn’t it?
And that getting there will be as simple as everybody jumping in the car, turning the music up and letting wind blow through our hair.
Then it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to the water’s edge.
The perfect day. But one small detail is always overlooked and this year, I’m keeping it in mind and sharing the beach wisdom with you: I’m not the only one to think it’s a perfect day to hit the beach.
Try getting on the road on the 4th of July. Actually, don’t. It’s not safe–there are too many cars out. And that’s exactly the issue. By the time we’d be done fighting traffic, inching our way to the parking lots over the span of an hour, inevitably the price for parking will have skyrocketed for yet another year. And you better have cash on you or else you’re ousted from the line (Who carries cash these days? I forget every year).
Getting down to the sand and enjoying a day by the ocean is not nearly as simply as it seems. But once you’re there, all you need to do is find that perfect spot. You know, the one that’s always waiting for you right there by the lifeguard tower, looking like it’s just been manicured by a zen garden raker. Right? Wrong. Nobody saves your spot at the beach.
It’s every man, woman child for themselves.
And for crying out loud, don’t forget your SPF 30+!
I’ve just completely talked myself out of a beach day tomorrow by writing this post. I think the GIFs helped. So if you’re bummed you won’t be making it to the ocean or even by a pool tomorrow, worry not for you won’t be missing out on much more than one huge headache and a shoulder sunburn. Stay inside with the AC, kids, and enjoy grandma’s famous tofurkey dog. Or your mom’s ice cold fruit punch–whatever your relatives are known for that can be consumed in celebration of the United States’ independence.
On a different note, I have a few things Lisi just emailed me about to share with you all. First off, she held a mini contest on her Facebook yesterday. Don’t worry if you missed it; it was only up since the afternoon. If you didn’t see the post because you haven’t “liked” Lisi on Facebook yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! There’s a Like button on the righthand side of this page. Go! Go! Go! And get updates from Lisi herself. BUT, if you DID see the post, you noticed the fill-in-the-blank message stating: “I change the world by ____.” You were asked to fill in that spot with whatever your heart had to say and the best response would win a special shout out from Lisi today. You can check Lisi’s Blah-g to see who won, but I can tell you right now that the winner had a fantastic answer!
Second big news you might want to know about is a Gracelet name change. I know, I know–I loved the name Gracelet, too. Book one was just about to go to print and someone said Gracelets already exist. Lisi thought she made it up, but turns out it’s a trademarked name which would be like one of Lisi’s characters making up a soda name called Coke. Lisi said this to me earlier: “I would have been hunted down and dragged to court. With minutes to spare I came up with S.W.A.P. — Sealed With A Promise. You whisper a wish inside the envelope and seal it shut. Open it, set it free and make another wish. The design will stay the same. So will the color choices you voted on two weeks ago.”
So there you have it. Seal with a promise and then S.W.A.P. with friends. Personally, I can’t wait to get my own after seeing the final color options. Lisi will be blah-gging again soon and will definitely keep you all updated on anything S.W.A.P. related and when you can get yours to start SWAPing.
For everybody in the U.S., have a safe and merry 4th of July! And for everybody else, have a safe and merry Thursday! Lisi will be back next week.
xx
Alisha
The Office Elf 