Friday Links: Fourth of July Edition

*Where, oh, where was this advice when I started blogging four years ago? (obviously not Fourth of July-related, but good stuff anyway)

*Celebrating the Fourth of July, CakeWrecks Style

*Earlier this week, the children and I made seasonal coloring books to pass by some of these hot summer days. I simply downloaded the material and secured the pages together using a hole punch and cute ribbon. The kids kept referring to the firecracker as a "candle". Sigh. I guess this is what growing up in the suburbs does to a child. By the time I was five, I was likely part of the neighborhood crew canvassing the neighborhood for abandoned bottles to serve as bottle rocket launchers (although I never actually launched a bottle rocket due to a severe fear of the noise).

*Want to put those Christmas cookie cutters to good use during July but fear the results actual cookies might have on your hips? Try a fun craft using star cookie cutters!

*Mmm... red, white and blue food.

*The children's cousins are in town this holiday and I am thinking patriotic skewers just might serve as a good form of entertainment tomorrow when the thermometer hits 103 degrees.

*Who doesn't love a good corn dog? Could this corn dog actually be considered healthy?

*Tobe and I have been watching the John Adams mini-series lately. It is excellent and has really caused me to appreciate this 4th of July a little bit more than I have in years past. I would like to say to television networks that I greatly enjoy a good mini-series. Please, please, Major Television Network, contemplate doing more mini-series and less reality TV. Thanks.

Happy Fourth of July!