April 9, 2014

Today we celebrate:

National Chinese Almond Cookie Day – Called “Almond Cakes” in Mandarin, these delectable treats originated in southern and southeastern China. http://chinesefood.about.com/od/dessertcookies/r/almondcookies.htm

Winston Churchill Day – On this day in 1963, Winston Churchill became an Honorary Citizen of the United States. Although he was the second person to be awarded this honor, he was the first foreign national to be bestowed this honor by the President of the United States.

National Cherish An Antique Day – If you have some antiques, make sure you take good care of them, they are from an era when things were made by hand and not by machine. Nothing made these days lasts as long as an antique does anymore. Properly taken care of, an antique can last for many decades, maybe even centuries, and be worth quite a lot of money.

National Former Prisoner Of War Recognition Day – This is a day to pay tribute to our soldiers who became prisoners of war. Many times they suffered torture, starvation and mental anguish that we cannot even imagine, let alone attempt to endure. Sometimes they were rescued, but more often than not, they died as a result and their families never knew what became of them.

Appomattox Day – On this day in 1865, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant accepted the surrender of General Robert E. Lee at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

Jenkins Ear Day – On this day in 1731, Spanish guardacosta boarded an English ship and cut off the ear of Master Mariner Robert Jenkins, among many other atrocities. Seven years later, Jenkins displayed his detached ear and told his tale of woe to a committee of the House of Commons and this was all the excuse England needed to declare war against Spain that lasted from 1739-1743 and was known as the War of Jenkin's Ear.  Mr. Jenkins’ ear was not the only reason for the war, of course.  It was simply the straw that broke the camels back.

To celebrate today, polish your antiques from the Civil War era while you watch a documentary on POWs.  Then read Winston Churchill’s biography to your children while you eat Chinese almond cookies.  Finally, clean your ears and appreciate the fact that you still have them.

April 8, 2014

Today we celebrate:

National Empanada Day – You can turn almost anything into an empanada by wrapping it in bread. That makes them a pretty portable, easily eaten lunch option.

All Is Ours Day – Look around you today and notice all of the beautiful and wonderful things that the world provides for us. Then realize that much of what you see belongs to everyone, not just you. So don't be greedy.  We need to share nature’s wonders with each other and we each need to take care that we don’t destroy those same wonders with our selfish, entitled attitude.  Just because we live on the earth, doesn’t give us the right to throw our garbage wherever we want.

Draw A Picture Of A Bird Day – Begun in the 1940's in the United Kingdom by a little 7 year old girl named Dorie Cooper, who was trying to cheer up her uncle but ended up lifting the spirits of an entire hospital ward before she died when she was 10 years old, this is a day to draw pictures of birds. Originally, you could only use pencils, then some years ago, crayons were added as an acceptable drawing implements. Just recently, computer drawing packages were allowed as well. Enjoy.  http://www.dabday.com/

Equal Pay Day – This date represents how far into 2014 women must work in order to earn the same amount men earned in 2013. Because of the fact that salary information for last year isn’t available until somewhere around August of this year, the creators of this day (the National Committee on Pay Equity) decided to pick a Tuesday in April to illustrate their point. They chose a Tuesday to illustrate how far into this week women must work in addition to last weeks work in order to earn as much as men earned last week.  http://www.pay-equity.org/day.html

Buddha Day – Known as Vesakha, or Buddha's birthday, the date of celebration varies depending on which culture's calendar you follow. The Chinese lunar calendar places the day on the 8th day of the 4th month, which would be May 6th this year. The Japanese adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873 and so they celebrate this day on April 8th every year.  On this day Buddhists are expected to gather at their temples for a day full of symbolism and reflection upon Buddha's words.

Name Yourself Day – If you have a name that is impossible to spell or say and you’re tired of it, or if your name just doesn’t fit you for some reason, or if you simply want a change for a day.  This is a day to pick your own name and use it today.  No legal documents are needed unless you plan to keep the name forever.

National Be Kind To Lawyers Day – Celebrated on the second Tuesday in April, this is a day to stop poking fun at lawyers.  After all, if your back is to the wall and you are in legal trouble of any kind, you’re going to need a lawyer on your side.  We depend on our lawyers for everything from getting out of jail to writing up a contract to making a will, so let’s remember that today and try thanking them instead of ridiculing them.

To celebrate today, change your name to one you love before you draw pictures of birds and deliver them, along with a statue of Buddha, to your lawyer’s office in a gesture of goodwill.  Ask your lawyer if they pay their male and female paralegals on the same pay scale.  On the way home, pay attention to the beauty all around you that you share with everyone else.  Finally, empanada’s for dinner!

April 7, 2014

Today we celebrate:

National Coffee Cake Day – This is a day to have some coffee cake with your friends.  If you have time, homemade coffee cake is best, if not, don’t worry because store bought coffee cake is pretty good too.

No Housework Day – This is my kind of day. Today you do not have to do any housework whatsoever. No vacuuming, dusting, washing dishes, washing clothes, anything! Yeah!  I was not able to learn how these things will get done if you don’t do them.  I suppose if you have children, you can have them do the household chores.  Clearly not vacuuming or dusting for the day won’t cause you house to descend into filth, but in my house the dishes pile up very quickly and I’m not willing to live with that.  Fortunately for me, I have children.

World Health Organization Day – On this day in 1948, the World Heath Organization was founded. Every year, a different health related theme is focused on. This year the theme is vector-borne diseases. http://www.who.int/world-health-day/en/

International Beaver Day – Today is a day to learn all about beavers. Maybe even take a field trip to see a beaver dam.  We have long underestimated the importance of beavers to the preservation of our water systems and the prevention of pollution and erosion.  We need to encourage the beaver populations to increase in numbers before it’s too late. http://www.beaversww.org/about-us/international-beaver-day/

International Snailpapers Day – Created by Dan Bloom, this day celebrates newspapers. Actual newspapers that are delivered to the bottom of your driveway every day or weekend or however often you get them. IF you get them, that is, because not that many people do anymore.  More and more people get their news from other sources like the internet these days.  It probably won’t be too long before you won’t be able to get newspapers any more so get them while you can.

Metric System Day – On this day in 1795, the metric system was legalized in France. France was the first country that legally recognized the validity of this method of measurement. A meter was defined as one ten millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the Equator going through Paris.

National Beer Day – Well, Prohibition didn’t work for anyone except for organized crime which made a fortune selling illegal alcohol.  So on this day in 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (which invalidated the 18th Amendment that created Prohibition) kicked in and made alcohol legal again.  People all over the country celebrated by drinking responsibly and never, ever drove vehicles while intoxicated.  At least that’s how I heard the story from my grandparents.  They wouldn’t lie to me, would they?

To celebrate today, read your morning newspaper article about vector-borne diseases because we need to know what exactly that is.  Then don’t you dare do any housework, instead eat coffee cake, drink beer and look at pictures of beavers on the internet while you attempt to explain the metric system to your children.  That will become harder, the more beers you have so be careful that you don’t totally confuse your children

April 6, 2014

Today we celebrate:

New Beer's Eve – This was the night before prohibition was to end in 1933. There were huge lines of people waiting for that midnight moment when beer was legally allowed to be sold once again.  I wonder if the police arrested anyone who tried to sell alcoholic beverages at 11:59pm.

Sorry Charlie Day – Charlie the Tuna, from the StarKist commercials begun back in the 1960’s, keeps getting rejected no matter what he does. But he survives and rebounds and comes back and tries again. Take that message and use it in your life.

National Student-Athlete Day – This is the 27th anniversary of this day of saluting the student athletes around the country. With two team sport playing children, I know that it's not easy combining sports and keeping up schoolwork, to say nothing for all the driving that parents end up doing, but exercise and playing with a team is great for kids in many ways so it's worth the balancing act.

National Caramel Popcorn Day –  You know those enormous tins of popcorn that everyone gets as a gift from someone for Christmas?  The ones with three kinds of popcorn separated by dividers?  Yeah, that’s the one.  Break it open because they always have caramel popcorn in them and that is pretty much the only place you can find it unless you make your own.

Plan Your Epitaph Day – Well, you don't want to leave this important task to someone who might not do it the way you would want, do you?  Go ahead and write it all down for your loved ones.  And allow me to give you a piece of advice.  The next time your spouse gets the flu, has a fever or just thinks he/she is going to die at any moment, and dictates to you what they want on their tombstone (or pyramid, whichever the case may be) write it down.  Just trust me on this, my husband is still complaining twenty years later because I didn’t write all his brainstorms down.

Army Day – Begun in 1942 by proclamation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to honor the Army that works so hard to keep us safe during every war.

National Tartan Day – This is a holiday for all Scottish-Americans. On this day in 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was signed.   I’m sure you will recall that this was a declaration of Scottish independence which generally stated that they didn’t have to do what England told them to do and would fight back if attacked by anyone.

The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints Day – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was officially created by Joseph Smith on this day in 1830 with a membership of 6 elders and about 70 members. They have grown to a membership today of more than 14 million.

Drowsy Driver Awareness Day – Drunk driving is not the only driving hazard out there. Anyone can become drowsy while driving and cause serious harm to themselves and others. This day was started by a California Highway Patrol Officer whose wife died because she fell asleep behind the wheel. I've fought drowsiness while driving myself. Fortunately I've never actually fallen asleep and no harm has been done, but it's a danger that is always present. If you find yourself feeling drowsy while you are driving, please pull over to a safe area, take a nap if you can or get out and walk around, get some coffee or caffeinated soda, something to help you stay awake.  http://americanindian.net/resolution/index.html

Teflon Day – On this day in 1938, Roy Plunkett accidentally discovered polytetrafluoroethylene (don't ask me to say that out loud) when a gas he was testing failed to emerge from its’ container. Risking an explosion and sure death, he cut open the container to find the gas had solidified into a smooth, slippery powder. He tested it and figured out how to reproduce it and just like that we have non-stick pans. OK, it might have been a little more complicated than that.  I skipped ahead a few years and probably a few thousand scientific experiments.

To celebrate today, make some eggs in a teflon coated pan for breakfast before you go watch a high school lacrosse game with some Mormon friends.  Then do whatever you need to do to get over the rejection you are sure to face when you ask the lacrosse people if you can join in the game...just keep trying until it’s time to go eat caramel popcorn and drink beer with some tartan wearing Army veterans who could help you plan your epitaph.  Make sure you are awake enough to drive home.