January 5, 2015

Today we celebrate:

National Whipped Cream Day – Born on this day in 1914, Aaron Soffer “Bunny” Lapin (do not ask me who gave him that nickname) became the founder of Reddi-Wip. He was the first one to think of putting whipped cream into an aerosol can, and I'm sure we are all grateful to him. Although some consider this holiday to be insensitive and in bad taste given the state of hunger and malnutrition in the world, however you could make that complaint about lots of other food days on any given day of the year.

National Bird Day - Nearly one-third of the world's parrot species face extinction along with 12 percent of the world's nearly 10,000 bird species. Find a lot of other fascinating information on their website where they are celebrating this day for the 13th year. One thing they hope to accomplish is to spread awareness of the problems of the captive bird trade.  We have laws to protect our native birds from captivity, but nothing prevents anyone from owning and selling captive birds from other countries.

National Weigh-In Day – Celebrated the first Monday after New Years Day, this is a day to weigh yourself to see how bad the Holidays were. Then make your weight goals for the year. Do you need to lose weight, stay the same or gain weight?  And, yes, needing to gain weight can be a thing.  My father, for example, forgets to eat so he needs to gain a few pounds in order to get to a healthy weight.  I know, I’m jealous, too.  

“Thank God It's Monday” Day – This is a day to change our whole thought process regarding Monday. If we start to welcome Mondays every week instead of dreading them, our entire week will be much more positive. Try it and you'll see that I'm right.

To celebrate today, Thank God that it’s Monday, and then weigh yourself before you eat whipped cream right from the Reddi-Wip can while you watch the birds.

January 4, 2015

Today we celebrate:

Earth at Perihelion – This day celebrates the point at which the earth is closer to the sun than at any other point in the year. Because of the different time zones in the world, depending on where you live, this may have happened yesterday. Here on the East Coast it happened at midnight which technically is today but if you're looking at this today you missed it anyway because it already happened. I was sleeping through it just like you, and it doesn't even matter because it is darn cold outside and if we are that close to the sun it shouldn't be that cold outside! Don't talk to me about axis tilting and the angle of the suns rays, I don't want to hear it. - http://earthsky.org/tonight/earth-comes-closest-to-sun-every-year-in-early-january

National Spaghetti Day – A very easy and delicious dinner plan for tonight especially if you’re having a crowd.

Trivia Day - Did you know that the state symbol of Utah is the Beehive.  It symbolizes thrift and industry. Today is the day to entertain and/or annoy everyone around you with little known facts we like to call trivia. Make sure you cap your day off with an episode of Jeopardy and a round or two of Trivial Pursuit!

Dimpled Chad Day - I didn't know what this was either, but I found out. A chad is a small piece of paper that is supposed to be removed when a hole is punched in paper or a card with a hole puncher. A dimpled chad is a chad that has been punched but is still attached. This is a problem in some voting areas like Florida that use machines that punch chads for votes, if they do not work perfectly, dimpled chads can be contested. I guess it's kind of perfect that this day is on the same day as Trivia Day.

Pop Music Chart Day – This is a day to check to pop music charts and see what is the most popular songs to listen too. It's a good way to keep up on what your children might be listening to. Here is one place you can go to find that information: http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100

Tom Thumb Day - Here is another piece of trivia...General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton, a dwarf born today in 1838, who became famous due to his work at P.T. Barnum's circus.  He was born a somewhat large sized baby, weighing 9 lbs 8 oz, and hit all the normal growth milestones until he was six months old and was 15 pounds and 25 inches tall.  Then he stopped growing until he was 9 years old when he started up again slowly growing to a final height of 3’4” when he died of a stroke in 1883.

World Braille Day – Louis Braille, the father of Braille writing, was born on this day in 1809 in Coupvray, France. He became blind when he was 3 years old. He desperately wanted to read but the only books for blind people were ones with large, raised alphabetical letters. The books were very bulky and very expensive and it took a long time to read one because one had to feel each letter. Being a very creative and talented person, he decided to come up with a way for a blind person to read as quickly and easily as a sighted person. A code used by the French army consisting of dots and dashes raised up off the paper was his inspiration and the rest is history.

World Hypnotism Day - you are getting sleepy...very sleepy...zzzz Hmmm, be careful with this, I don't think it's good form for the hypnotist to hypnotize him/herself. http://www.worldhypnotismday.com/

To celebrate today, go outside and play a braille version of trivial pursuit with your friends in the warmth (?) of the perihelion sun while eating spaghetti. Make sure you peruse the pop music chart to find the right music to listen to and regal them with your knowledge of things like dimpled chads and Tom Thumb before you hypnotize them into letting you win the game.

January 3, 2015

Today we celebrate:

Fruitcake Toss Day – Back in December you made a fruitcake on National Fruitcake Day, remember? Well, today it has aged sufficiently (let's face it, no one ever actually eats it) and it has served it's purpose of providing holiday cheer so go ahead and toss it today. Toss it as far as you can and see if you can throw it farther than your neighbors can throw theirs.

Humiliation Day – I know what you're thinking, so before you rush off to humiliate your loved ones or co-workers, stop and take a breath because this is a day that is focused on YOUR humility, not theirs. Be meek and not prideful today. C.S. Lewis said,” Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” Make that your motto for the day.

Momento Mori “Remember You Will Die” Day - Live it up people, because you never know when your last day will be upon you. Rejoice that today is not that day and don't put anything off until tomorrow because someday tomorrow won't be coming.

National Drinking Straw Day - On this day in 1888, the first paper drinking straw was invented. Before this, the only straws available were made out of dry, hollow, rye grass which oddly made all drinks taste faintly like grass. So this new invention was a big hit.

J.R.R. Tolkien Day - On this day in 1892 J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The Tolkien Society invites Tolkien Fans around the world to join in a toast to Mr. Tolkien. So at 9pm California time (midnight for you East Coast fans) lift a glass of some type of drink and say “The Professor”, then take a sip of your beverage and get to bed. At least it's not a work/school night for most people.

National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day - Chocolate and Cherry fans around the world, rejoice!  You can buy some already made or be ambitious and make your own.

Festival Of Sleep Day – This is a day to catch up on all the sleep you lost over the holidays. Holidays are super busy times in our household and probably in many other households around the country and sleep is definitely not a priority. But it sure is now so take as much time as you can today to catch a few zzzz's to make up for all you lost over the holidays.

To celebrate today, sleep late this morning then rejoice that you woke up at all. Next, toss your fruitcake as far as you can but be humble and don't brag about it to your neighbors. Then put a chocolate covered cherry in your drink and toast J.R.R. Tolkien at the appropriate hour through a straw.

January 2, 2015

Today we celebrate:

National Science Fiction Day – Born on this day in 1920, Isaac Asimov was the king of science fiction. This would be the reason that this day was chosen to promote science fiction writing all around the country.

National Run Up The Flagpole And See If Anyone Salutes It Day – This is a cliche from the 1950's and 60's meaning to present an idea and see who likes it. Find a way to sneak it into a conversation today and see if anyone notices.  I guarantee that the younger generation would have no idea what you were talking about.

55-MPH Speed Limit Day – In an effort to save oil because of the oil crisis back in 1973, on this day in 1974, President Richard Nixon signed a law making it illegal to go more than 55 mph on any road. Well, it saved a little bit, but mostly people ignored the law so it didn't work too well.  There are a few roads now where you can go 65 mph but people ignore that too.

National Buffet Day – Buffets are dangerous, so remember that just because it says all you can eat, that doesn't mean you NEED to eat all you can eat.  None of us need all of those calories so remember that as you are filling your plate.  It’s not just about getting your money’s worth.  It’s about being healthy.

National Cream Puff Day – Yum, cream puffs are an airy pastry filled with cream. My children love them.

National Motivation And Inspiration Day – This is a day to focus on anything that will motivate and/or inspire you to keep your New Year's resolutions. You did make resolutions yesterday, right?  And it's only day 2 of the new year. Far too soon to ditch those resolutions.

National Personal Trainer Awareness Day – This is a day to be aware of the existence of personal trainers and the fact that they are just itching to help you with your fitness goals. They are very good at motivating you to work hard at the exercises that will help you the most.

To celebrate today, drive 55 mph to the nearest Buffet for a cream puff before you go see your personal trainer for some motivation. Then run your your idea for a science fiction novel up the flagpole for your family to see if they like it.