Sunday, July 12, 2009

Time Off


July 12, 2009- It has been a year now since I started this blog. Now I'm going to take a sabbath and get recharged. I need to spend more time with God and in His word, so I'm taking a break from blogging. I don't know how long. I probably will only take a couple of week off to really spend some time and hear from God. Now it's time to enjoy the summer...

Friday, July 3, 2009

Fun Facts for Friday


July 3, 2009- Thought you might want to know some fun facts about tomorrow...

* On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, starting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks and backyard barbecues across the country.
  • Eleven places have "independence" in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Missouri, with 113,288 residents.

  • Five places adopted the name "freedom." Freedom, California, with 6,000 residents, has the largest population among these.

  • There is one place named "patriot" — Patriot, Indiana, with a population of 202.

  • And what could be more fitting than spending the day in a place called "America"? There are five such places in the country, with the most populous being American Fork, Utah, with 21,941 residents.
As with many holidays, the 4th of July celebration includes food, drink and the realization of how fortunate we are as a nation.

More than 66 million

Barbecue grillNumber of Americans who said they have taken part in a barbecue during the previous year. It's probably safe to assume a large number of these events took place on the Fourth.

Although we do not have a fixed menu for the celebration of the Fourth, you can almost count on traditional favorites such as hamburgers and hot dogs, chicken, ribs, garden salads, potato salad, chips and watermelon. Following is a summary of where these foods come from:

  • There's a 1-in-6 chance the beef on your backyard grill came from Texas. The Lone Star State is the leader in the production of cattle and calves.
  • The chicken on your barbecue grill probably came from one of the top broiler-producing states: Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina and Mississippi.
  • The lettuce in your salad or on your hamburger probably was grown in California, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of USA lettuce production.
  • Fresh tomatoes in your salad most likely came from Florida or California, which, combined, produced more than two-thirds of U.S. tomatoes. The ketchup on your hamburger or hot dog probably came from California, which accounted for 95 percent of processed tomato production last year.
  • As to potato salad or potato chips or fries, Idaho and Washington produces about one-half of the nation's spuds.
  • For dessert, six states — California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Arizona and Indiana — combined to produce about 80 percent of watermelons last year.
Fourth of July Fireworks Fireworks$128.8 million
The value of fireworks imported from China, representing the bulk of all U.S. fireworks imports ($135.6 million) in 2002. U.S. exports of fireworks, by comparison, amounted to $13.5 million, with Germany purchasing more than any other single country ($5.0 million).

State Park
Lakes & Beaches

66 million
Number of visits in a recent year to our national parks — a particularly scenic locale for a July 4th picnic. There were 766 million visits in a recent year to another popular picnic venue — state parks or recreation areas. Those in California (80 million), Ohio (59 million), New York (56 million), Washington (48 million) and Illinois (44 million) recorded the highest number of visits.

You may or may not be able to picnic there, but a visit to a national historical site is a particularly fitting way to celebrate our nation's heritage. In a recent year, about 72 million people flocked to national historical sites and 24 million to national monuments.
Now that should really improve your intellect for the holidays. Have a great Independence Day!!!