This year, the 4th of July fell on a Thursday. I decided to take Wednesday and Friday off, which gave me five consecutive days of doing as little as possible.
We had some fantastic days off celebrating the 4th of July. We saw a lot of fireworks, ate a lot of meat, drank adult beverages, and listened to cool music. All in all, an excellent weekend.
It is not very American to take PTO. The American way is to work as much as possible but do as much family stuff as possible with limited days off.
Some organizations only offer 10-12 vacation days, in addition to the limited bank holidays, so people have to be extra careful when using these days.
I’ve heard of people whose PTO bank does not increase annually in line with the years they work at the company – they still only have 10 PTO days after 5-10-15 years of service!
Imagine what they might miss when on PTO. Or are they at risk of being let go during a layoff because they took PTO? Those are some of the thoughts people still have.
Thankfully, offering more PTO days is becoming more common, but some workers still believe that taking PTO is terrible.
Historically, I was one of the people who rarely took time off as I thought it would enhance my career opportunities and pay increases. Instead, it drained my energy and made my family question my love for them.
So, now I take days off when needed and enjoy hanging out with my family, even if it is just for an extended weekend, graduation, or some other opportunity.
Outlaw Music Festival
After a fun-filled 3rd and 4th of July celebrating this great nation, my wife and I went to our favorite concert venue, Bethel Woods—the original Woodstock.
We go there 5-7 times yearly and see excellent bands from the lawn area. It is a beautiful and well-serviced venue, although the traffic to/from the place is sometimes terrible, given that only a few roads lead to Bethel Woods.
Our latest concert date night was the Outlaw Music Festival, a perfect event to wrap up the American celebrations. We witnessed some great artists such as Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson.
I will admit that Bob Dylan was a huge disappointment. It made me question why he was ever popular. All his songs sounded similar, and he didn’t even play his more known tracks like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Knockin’ on Heaven Doors.”
But the worst bit was the slurring and monotone speech. It was impossible to understand what he said or sang, negatively impacting the overall performance and quality.
Some people were clapping along to Bob Dylan, but I’m convinced they were high as a kite.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were an excellent duo. They are NOT Led Zepplin, although you could sometimes recognize the old Robert Palmer days in his singing.
The main act was Willie Nelson and Family. Willie is 91, but he still got it. Witnessing many of his classics being played was a treat, and it was unique to experience live.
Yes, he’s as old as Mother Nature, but that does not impact his music. It was beautiful to hear him sing duets with his song, especially their adaption to Pearl Jam’s song “Just Breathe.”
The audience loved every minute of Willie’s set, and he played for almost 90 minutes nonstop.
Week Twenty-eight Meals
Cooking outside on the Blackstone 36″ Griddle was successful, so I will continue to utilize my outdoor kitchen this week.
Using the Traeger or the Blackstone simplifies the dishes and forces us to make healthier sides like salads. Part of me also believes that cooking on the griddle or grill is more nutritious as I use less grease (oils), but then I realized I use more oil and butter.
We use more vegetables, and the meat is freshly prepared each evening. I also get to spend time outside alone while listening to excellent music. Sometimes, I might enjoy a cold Miller Lite, which my doctor does not support.
School Lunches
Our son starts his extended summer school this week, so he’s back to the usual morning routine of waking up early, getting ready for school, and then jumping on the school bus.
It also means that I have to prepare school lunches again.
We start the extended school year with homemade mac and cheese, and I sprinkled in diced-up chicken drumsticks to provide some protein.
Then, I’m making a couple of sandwiches: one using locally sourced bagels served with salami, lettuce, and mozzarella, and the other beef tomatoes with mozzarella.
The remaining days will be leftover creations using the steak fajita and a turkey burger for Friday. I always try to make Friday a more special day.
Dinner Time
I’m continuing the anti-vegan theme for dinner this week by eating meat daily.
We attempt to consume different meat throughout the week. Meat is healthy, primarily locally sourced, and provides the protein our growing bodies need.
However, everything comes with moderation, so we don’t eat red meat every day. We balance our meat consumption with land, water, and air meat.
- We start the week with a traditional steak, peppers, onions, and mushroom fajita served on a tortilla.
- I then prepare a simple mango relish for the turkey burgers.
- Then we cook salmon on the griddle and serve it as seafood tacos.
- Lastly, I will make hotdogs using beans, bacon, cheese, onions, and other exciting toppings.
Because I’m making every meal fresh, I cannot share pictures in advance. However, I’m happy to share photos from or meat celebrations during the 4th of July extended weekend.
Meal Prep Party Pictures
Meal Plan
| Lunch | Dinner | |
| Monday | Mac and Cheese (homemade, of course) | Steak Fajita |
| Tuesday | Bagel with lettuce and salami | Turkey Mango Burgers |
| Wednesday | Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwich | Salmon Tacos |
| Thursday | Turkey Burger | Hotdog Fiesta – beans, bacon, onions, cheese, and other delights |
| Friday | Steak Fajita | Over-the-fire steaks and beers |
One day, I might get so organized that I will link the meals below to my recipes. We can only live in hope!
Have a fantastic week, my friends. I hope you enjoy these meal plans. It is much easier to make food in advance, although you must invest several hours preparing meals during the weekend.
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The Viking Heart Within 