I may or may not have eaten burned pop tarts for dinner last night… with wine.

I’m a cheap drunk so after two glasses I was really hilarious. The only problem was that I was by myself so I was the only one enjoying just how witty I am. Oh I laughed and laughed…

It sounds rather sad now that I’ve typed that out. To be fair I was watching TV so I wasn’t entirely alone.

I couldn’t go to the local fireworks display because it was way past Penelope’s bed time and she was already acting as if she might have needed an exorcism so I opted to stay home. I didn’t think this was fair to Bridget so I made arrangements for her to go with one of her best friends. I was kind of hoping that she would be a little disappointed about me not going with her but she wasn’t. She was stoked beyond belief. I was glad, and then sad, and then glad again. I wanted her to have fun didn’t I?

As I was sitting in the house laughing all by myself I could hear the fireworks go off and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I ran straight into Bridget’s room where I navigated through the dark messy confines to find the window. This was how I was going to get on the roof to see if I could watch from afar. But I couldn’t open the damn thing because we just got new windows and they are apparently idiot proof. Once I finally got it open I lunged forward to find my nose squished up against the screen. (It didn’t have a screen before we replaced the windows.) I was really bummed out.

I just imagined the sad Charlie Brown music playing in my head as I shut the window and headed back downstairs listening to the fireworks go off in the background. (Fun fact, they used to call me Charlie Brown when I was little because my blonde head was too massive to fit through the head opening of my shirts.) In my head I descended the stairs looking something like this…

I love fireworks! They rank right up there with Christmas lights and glitter and all of those fun things that make you giddy. I felt like that kid who didn’t get invited to the birthday party.

Defeated, I went to bed but not before I threw away the rest of the pop tarts. What the hell were they doing in my house anyway? I need to get my shit together… again.

When I woke up this morning I was ready tackle the day. It didn’t hurt that I’ve  recently mastered the art of making iced coffee at home. The Pioneer Woman makes a huge batch of it here. But I scaled it down so that I could fit it in my refrigerator. I don’t have a million cowboys at my house drinking iced coffee like she does… although that would be fun 😉

When I had stumbled upon the recipe I headed out to the store to buy a 2 quart glass pitcher with a lid on it. I needed to conquer the art of iced coffee. My Starbucks habit was getting out of hand again! To my great delight it was as simple as could be and super tasty too.

Start off by filling your 2 quart pitcher with water and setting it on the food scale to measure out 4 ounces of coffee grounds directly to the water.

Let it sit for 8 hours at room temperature… or forget about it and rediscover it again in 16 hours like I did. Either way it will still be good.

Pour the muddy looking concoction through a mesh strainer lined with paper towels into another pitcher or bowl.

That’s it!  Tadahhh… you’ve made yourself some yummy iced coffee. I was so excited that I couldn’t wait for it to be refrigerated so I poured myself a glass right away!

It was divine! Plus, I’m pretty sure my wallet will thank me later.

I recently read that you should turn some of that coffee into ice cubes to keep your iced coffee cool. That keeps it from getting watered down. I, however, think I secretly enjoy the fact that it gets watered down. For some reason when I drink iced coffee I am able to use far less milk and sugar than I would if I were drinking hot coffee. I don’t know why, I’m just weird like that.

On the Pioneer Woman’s blog she also shows you how to make a Vietnamese Iced Coffee Variation, that looks right up my alley as far as sweet creamy coffee is concerned. But since I need to head out the door to run off my pop tarts from last night I’m going to have to pass.

I can’t wait for my husband to come back home so that I can get back on track with crossfit! (He’s my personal trainer.) I miss the feeling of sore muscles!

(My fella is in the middle. Isn’t he handsome?)

Okay, okay I’ve gotta go burn off those pop tarts and try to get some sore muscles. Have a great Fourth of July everyone!!!

Edit: I had someone ask how to measure the coffee without a food scale. When I measured it out it was a little over a cup. So I would say 1 1/4 cups give or take depending on how strong you like it. Thanks for asking Kendra!