June 5, 2013

Today we celebrate:

World Environment Day – The theme for this years celebration is Think.Eat.Save. This is a day that is attempting to get people to reduce their “foodprint”. This, apparently, is the amount of food that is wasted every year. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says that 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted every year. I have no idea how they come up with this unless they have people who go through everyone's garbage and weigh the food that has been tossed. Anyway, all this wasted food could have been used to feed the 1 in 7 people in the world who go to bed hungry and the 20,000 plus children under the age of 5 who die every day from starvation. And this is the reason I try to teach my children, with eyes that are bigger than their stomachs, to put a little of each dinner food item onto their plate, then once they have eaten all of that, if they are still hungry they can have more. My son, in particular, tries to pile his plate high because he's so hungry, then he can't eat it all. For more information see: http://www.unep.org/wed/theme/

Hot Air Balloon Day – On this day in 1783, Joseph & Etienne Montgolifier conducted the first unmanned hot air balloon flight in France. According to this web site, the first passengers on this flight were a pig, duck and rooster. That must have been something to see. http://www.weflyhotair.com/pages/history.html

National Gingerbread Day – Everything you cook today should involve gingerbread in some way. Gingerbread pancakes, gingerbread sandwiches, gingerbread meatloaf, gingerbread ice cream? Be creative, it might actually taste good, then again, it might not.

National Running Day – Always on the first Wednesday in June, this is a day for runners all over the country to celebrate their passion. I am not a runner, I just want to make that clear. However, since it's not something that I do, I have great respect for those who can. Strap on those sneakers and get out there and run.

National Tailors Day – This is also celebrated on the first Wednesday of June. It is a day to be thankful for tailors. Most tailors these days are employed by stores that sell men's suits. You would be hard pressed to find one elsewhere, I think. But they do keep us looking well dressed.

Apple II Day – On this day in 1977, the first Apple II (one of the first personal computers created), went on sale. It was created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and operated on BASIC programming, which I still remember a little of.

To celebrate today, go out for a run to work up an appetite before you have some gingerbread pancakes for breakfast. Then head out to the store to pick up your (or your husband's) tailored suit (women can have a tailored suit too, just saying). Then to the nearest Apple store to see how far computers have come since the Apple II. Next, it's home for salad in a gingerbread shell before you go up for a ride in a hot air balloon. Finally, finish up the day with gingerbread porkchops, of which you should make sure you make only what you will eat because you don't want to waste your food.

June 4, 2013

Today we celebrate:

National Gardening Exercise Day – Today is a day to get some exercise in the garden. Weeding, planting, weeding, watering, weeding, hoeing, weeding, and finally...watching the weeds grow.

Audacity To Hope Day – This is a symbolic day. A salute, if you will, to all Americans who have (or had if they are no longer with us) a dream. All dreams are achievable if you have enough audacity to hope.

Do-Dah Day – This is another Do-Dah Day (same name as the day we celebrated on May 18^th, but different intent for the day). This day is about being silly by singing silly songs such as Yankee Doodle. Have fun with this day.

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression – This is a day that was created by the United Nations and is dedicated to protecting all children, regardless of their nationality. It acknowledges the pain of children all over the world who are victims of physical, mental or emotional abuse whether that abuse is created by wartime activities or not.

To celebrate today, start out in the garden before it gets too hot, getting some exercise by weeding and doing whatever else you need to do in your garden. Keep up your spirits by singing silly songs while you work. Then make some strides on achieving your dream, whatever it is, even if you just spend some time dreaming about it. Then contact the UN and see what you can do to help keep the children of the world safe and sound.

June 3, 2013

Today we celebrate:

National Chocolate Macaroon Day – Light and chocolatey, this is the dessert to try tonight. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/chocolate-macaroons-recipe/index.html

Repeat Day – Today is your opportunity to repeat whatever you want to do over again today. Wear the same clothes you wore yesterday, repeat a favorite activity as many times as you want, repeat someone's words back to them. Whatever you desire to do again, do it today.

Chimborazo Day – This is a day to focus on the shape of the earth. It turns out that, surprisingly, the world is not completely round. There are mountains and valleys and such that make it more of a lumpy ball than a round one. One lump in particular is bigger than the others. That would be Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador which has the distinction of poking out into space farther than any other mountain on Earth, including Mount Everest. The reason for this is that the distance from sea level to the center of Earth is 13 miles greater at the Equator than it is at the North Pole which means that Mount Chimborazo has an advantage over Mount Everest which may be a bigger mountain, but is still closer to the center of the Earth.

National Leave the Office Early Day – This is a day to combat workaholism. Today you are going to leave work early and actually enjoy the rest of your day. Do not spend all of your time and energies at work. There is life outside the office and you need to explore it today.

To celebrate today, pick your favorite spot on the Earth and research where it falls in terms of the shape of the earth. Is it below sea level or above it? On a mountain or in a valley, closer to the center of the Earth than other places or farther away? Then you need to leave work early and repeat something that you did over the weekend that you enjoyed. Eat some chocolate macaroons while you do it.

June 2, 2013

Today we celebrate:

National Rocky Road Day – Chocolate, marshmallows and nuts all mixed up in a bar or a cookie or ice cream. I'm not a fan because I have never liked nuts in my desserts, but I can see the appeal to other dessert fans.

National Bubba Day – I couldn't find a really reliable source for this day. What I did find tells me that this is a day to salute all those who are known by the name (or nickname) “Bubba”. For example, Forrest Gump's friend, Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue.

National Cancer Survivors Day – This is a day to show everyone that cancer is survivable. For those who have been diagnosed with cancer, it seems all consuming and it is difficult to look forward to a time when cancer is no longer the center of everything. But there is life after cancer for more and more people every year.

Yell “Fudge” at the Cobras in North America Day – If you live north of the Panama Canal and you want to keep cobras out of North America, go outside at noon today and yell, “Fudge!” According to the wellcat.com people, Thomas & Ruth Roy, cobras can't stand fudge and simply saying the word scares them back south where they belong.

To celebrate today, call up a friend with cancer and encourage them to make a 5 year and a 10 year plan for their lives so they have something positive to look forward to that does not involve cancer in any way. Then go out to get some Rocky Road ice cream for dessert tonight and while you are out call everyone you see, “Bubba”. At noon time, go outside and yell “Fudge” at the top of your lungs because I'm not sure how well cobras can hear.