Are you a CLEAN FREAK?

I admit I'm a bit of a CLEAN FREAK. I'm often PARANOID about picking up COOTIES from JUST ABOUT everywhere--on the train, in restrooms, from public computers, et al.--so I wash my hands often, probably more so than most people. I probably should LIGHTEN UP a bit; I guess I just think it's BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY.

What do you think? Would you call yourself a CLEAN FREAK? Do you know anyone who is? 

#ESL vocabulary

• CLEAN FREAK (overly clean)
• FREAK (a weirdo; a strange person #slang)
• PARANOID (overly worried)
• COOTIES (germs; body louse; disease #slang)
• JUST ABOUT (nearly; almost #informal)
• LIGHTEN UP (take it easy; don't be so serious #phrasal verb)
• BETTER (TO BE) SAFE THAN SORRY (better to be safe than regret it later #idiom)

A bit of trivia for your Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July to all of you celebrating, wherever you are. Here are a few trivia questions that will give you A LEG UP on your knowledge of the history surrounding this holiday. See how many of them you already know without scrolling down for the answers or looking them up.

     A LEG UP (an advantage; a boost)

1. How many stars and stripes does the U.S. flag have? Hint: The photo above does not show the answer. :-) 
2. What do the stars and stripes on the U.S. flag represent?  
3. In which year did the American colonies officially declare independence from Britain?
4. Who became the first U.S. President?
5. At which New York City landmark did this first President take the oath of office?
6. What is the title of the U.S. National Anthem?
7. What are two nicknames for the U.S. flag?

Happy 1st day of summer!

 A sweet, succulent peach for this year's summer solstice. Could it be a sign?

It's a beautiful summer day in New York City. After a few warm and sometimes hot days this past week, the temperatures have dipped slightly, and with almost no clouds in the sky, it's the perfect first day of summer. 

• DIPPED - decrease slightly

The first day of summer, of course, also marks the summer solstice and the day of the year with the most amount of daylight. I'm always fascinated by what happens in the heavens whenever the solstices and the equinoxes come around and love the fact that the amount of daylight increases and decreases throughout the year. I guess I like being reminded of the bigger picture and that larger phenomena are at work beyond what we see here on earth. 

• THE HEAVENS - outer space; stars and planets
• SOLSTICE - beginning of summer and winter; days with the least or the most amount of daylight in the year
• EQUINOX - beginning of spring and fall; days with about equal amounts of daylight and night time
• COME AROUND - arrive
• PHENOMENON - event; fact (phenomena, pl.)