Denial, Vietnamese Coffee, and Fireworks

I want to begin my post with the sadness of having to let go of my old CD player. It's the only thing I have that plays tapes (hey, what if I find my old childhood recordings??), and it still has the sticker I put on it when I was little. It was my first CD player--got it when I was in elementary school while living in my first house. It was a HUGE deal. I think I got Amy Grant and Backstreet Boys CDs that year. Don't judge me. The volume button takes a huge amount of effort to control, but it just makes me work for my pleasure (music), and that's okay I guess. Anyway, I've decided that I can't get rid of it completely, so it's going to live in the 'rents house for a bit. Here it is, in all its precious glory:

In other news, my friend gave me the tools to create Vietnamese Coffee, which I have decided is the best thing since the French Press, and the closest thing to expresso I can get in the comfort of my home. It's really easy to do, and it gives you that smooth goodness. Here are some pictures from my first attempt: 

Did I mention how great it smells?

Mmmmmmmmmmm.

Last night was July 4th, and I hope everyone had a great time. I had a very interesting, entertaining, and loud evening--filled with board games, beer, bbq food, music, and fireworks. I was pretty much set on seeing fireworks, as I am every year, but it doesn't always happen. This year it was perfect. We started hearing them from the apartment we were in, and since this town is pretty close together, we literally walked a few feet and watched the sparkly explosions from the road! Good times. We then decided to climb trees and sing the National Anthem, but that isn't important. Here are some pictures of the night: