January 23, 2017

Today we celebrate:

National Pie Day – Also celebrated on December 1st, this is a day to have pie, pie and more pie. It doesn’t even matter what kind of pie you have. I prefer dessert pies, but my kids are big fans of chicken pot pie and hamburger pie both of which are pretty darn good.

National Rhubarb Pie Day – Well, if you're going to have to have pie today, you might as well have rhubarb pie and celebrate two days in one. Rhubarb is delicious in a pie especially if you mix it into a custard pie or with strawberries. I never really think of buying it in January, it's more of a June food here in the northeast.

National Handwriting Day – Celebrated on John Hancock's 277th birthday, this is a day to focus on your writing skills and how readable they are. Do you write sloppily so that no one can read it or do you write so tiny that people need a magnifying glass? Maybe you write with big loopy letters? What does your handwriting say about you? Today is the day to find out.

Measure Your Feet Day – Do any of us really know how big our feet are? I know that mine are larger than they were before I had children. I've heard that our feet continue to grow after the rest of us has stopped so I'd always assumed that old people have really big feet. They don’t, of course, but maybe their feet are bigger than they were when they were young.

Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day – This is a day for snowplow drivers to have some fun. Plowing roads is a lot of hard work with long hours during snowstorms and we depend upon them to keep our roads clear so that we can use them whenever we need to get to go out. We certainly complain if they don’t plow our roads fast enough. So for all the snowplow drivers out there, today is a day for you to see how many mailboxes you can whack today.

Better Business Communication Day – Celebrated on the 4th Monday in January, this is a day to work on improving your business communication skills. Communication is vital to businesses so good decisions can be made and I bet all of us could use some work on improving our communication skills.

Community Manager Appreciation Day - Also celebrated on the 4th Monday in January, this is a day to appreciate the hard work of community managers in their work of trying to improve customer experiences with social media like Twitter and Facebook.

January 22, 2017

Today we celebrate:

Child Labor Day - Child labor is a staggering problem in the world. Some families are forced to send their children out to work because they just can’t make enough money to feed their families otherwise. These kids then don’t get to have an education so they are denied the tools they need to improve their lot in life and it perpetuates a cycle of poverty. The United Nations wants to focus your attention on this problem today in the hopes that someday it can be solved.

National Hot Sauce Day - Those of you who enjoy a little spice to your food...ok, maybe a LOT of spice to your food...this is a day for you. Get out the hot sauce and add it to whatever you want. Maybe there are a couple of you who even like your hot sauce straight up. I think you are blessed with a superpower….the ability to withstand temperatures that would kill a normal human.

Dance of the Seven Veils Day - This is a dance that came from the Middle East. It is a belly dancing tradition where the dancer wears seven veils attached to her costume. During the course of the dance, the veils are pulled off and tossed aside. Traditionally the dance is performed by women for the enjoyment of men but in this modern age, there is no reason why that cannot be adjusted.

Come in from the Cold Day - This is a day that was probably created by the greeting card industry, but we don’t know for sure. But it’s a very inviting day as we usually tell people to come in from the cold when they are coming to visit us.

National Answer Your Cat's Question Day – For all those cat lovers out there, your job today is to pay extra attention to what your cat is doing so that you can ascertain when your cat has a question and what it might be. Do they rub your leg or twitch their whiskers just so, when they want to know something? Every cat is different so pay close attention. Then, do your best to answer the question. For example, your cat might want to ask you, “Why do I have to go to the vet?” or “Why do you freak out when I present you with a dead mouse present?”

Celebration Of Life Day – We have all been given the wondrous gift of life. Some of us have had life altering experiences which cause us to realize just what an incredible gift that is, but today all of us must live life to the fullest, like it is our last chance to do so. The sad but real truth is that for many of us on this planet, it is our last day. Hopefully that is not the case for you or anyone you know, but you can’t have this many people billions of people living on the Earth without some of them dying every day. Don’t take the gift that has been given to you for granted.

National Blonde Brownie Day – If you're not a fan of chocolate, these are the perfect solution for you.

Roe vs. Wade Day – On this day in 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the right of women to have an abortion. Their vote was 7 – 2 in favor of Roe. It was a very controversial topic back then and nothing really has happened to change that. I work in a building that is located near a Planned Parenthood facility and there are frequently Anti-Abortion picketers hanging out with their signs outside the building. There are many others who are equally vocal on the other side of the issue.

National Polka Dot Day - I’m sure you have something somewhere that is polka dotted. An outfit, a pillow, a room in your house...something. If not, well...you know what you have to do.

January 21, 2017

Today we celebrate:

International Sweatpants Day - I like to wear comfortable clothes when I’m hanging out at home and there is really nothing that is more comfortable than sweatpants, particularly in the winter. So dig out your comfy old sweatpants and wear them proudly today because the whole world is going to join you. I have no idea who created this day, but I did find a Facebook page devoted to it. https://www.facebook.com/Sweatpantsday/

National Granola Bar Day – Granola bars were developed in the 1970's when an inventor, possibly Stanley Mason, figured out that by compressing granola with something sticky, like honey, and baking it so it stays together, one can create a portable breakfast.

National Hugging Day – There are lots of different kinds of hugs: the Bear Hug, The Side to Side Hug, the Cheek Hug, the Back to Front Hug and the Heart Centered Hug. Pick the hug that suits the situation and the person and have at it today. Just don't get arrested for hugging the wrong person.

Squirrel Appreciation Day – Today is a day to appreciate those creatures that many of us consider to be pests. Instead of shooing them off your bird feeders, throw a few nuts out for them. Hey! I said throw the nuts out FOR them, not AT them! Come on, if you look at them the right way, they are kind of cute. Yes, they are! If you don't see it, try squinting. The black ones are the cutest. You don't see those too often unless you live in my portion of the neighborhood. We have a tribe of them in the woods out back.

National New England Clam Chowder Day – What a great lunch this would be. Isn't it great when I solve your dilemma about what to eat for lunch today! Now don’t be going for the Manhattan Clam Chowder. That is a whole different day, I’m sure and you're just going to have to wait for it.

Own Your Own Home Day - This day was created in 1920 by a group of businesses and civic groups. At the time, owning your own home was considered to be the best thing you could do. People wanted to reduce the number of drifters that didn’t stay in a community long enough to help to improve it and they wanted to encourage the growth of a community spirit. Things are different these days and owning your own home is not always the best thing for everyone financially. For example, if you own a home and lose your job, you could lose the home plus it is harder to accept a job in another location because selling a house can take a very long time. So you should look at your finances and goals and talk to a financial planner before you decide if owning a home would be beneficial for you.

One-Liners Day - This is a day to celebrate the greatest one-liners in movie history such as…”You had me at hello.” Who can tell me what movie that is from? I haven’t even seen it and I could answer that one because that line is so famous. Or what about…”You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Anyone? I know you know this one…”I’ll be back.” Feel free to comment with your favorite lines.

January 20, 2017

Today we celebrate:

Inauguration Day - Well, today is the day. This day only comes around every 4 years because that’s when we swear in a new President or re-up the same one again. Some of you are happy about this one, some of you are not, and some of you are ambivalent. But one thing is sure, this is not going to be a boring four or eight years coming up.

International Day of Acceptance - Annie Hopkins was a person with disabilities who died on this day in 2009. She had a dream that all people would be accepted by society regardless of their physical abilities or limitations. She created a new symbol, the person in a wheelchair with a heart for a wheel, as an effort to unite people of all abilities. Let’s take some time today to work on making her dream a reality.

Take A Walk Outdoors Day - I know it’s cold, but that doesn’t matter. It’s time to take a walk outdoors with your family. It’s important to stay in shape and get plenty of exercise. Walking is a great low impact exercise that almost everyone can do. I know the kids won’t want to do it with you but if you set a good example, they’ll come around. Particularly if you confiscate the games and phones until after the walk...you might be amazed at how eager they are to get going.

National Bill Cosby Sweater Day – This is a day to celebrate the amazing collection of sweaters that Bill Cosby wore when he was in “The Cosby Show” years ago. If you are old enough to remember that show, you will remember those sweaters. So dig around in your drawers or in your attic and find your best Cosby type sweater to wear today.

National Penguin Awareness Day – Several species of these non-flying birds are endangered due to oil spills, climate changes and eroding habitat. A sad plight for this adorable little animal. Did you know that the Magellanic Penguin is named after Ferdinand Magellan? Mr. Magellan was the first to see them way back in 1520. Sadly, they live off the coast of Argentina, a place that apparently experiences a lot of oil spills and thousands of these adorable creatures are killed every year as a result.

National Coffee Break Day – This is a day with dubious origins but the basic idea is pretty obvious. Enjoy your coffee break today.

National Buttercrunch Day – I love chocolate but I'm not a big fan of stuff mixed into it so I'll take a pass on this day. But for all those buttercrunch lovers, here's a day for you.

National Cheese Lover's Day – Finally! A day that my husband can get excited about. Cheese predates written history so we're not sure who first started the cheese making process. But there is some speculation that it was begun by Nomadic tribes who carried their milk in animal skins and organs. If milk is carried in an animal stomach, it will turn to curds and whey which doesn't sound appealing, but it's the beginning of the “turn into cheese” process, so the nomads probably enjoyed it.

Camcorder Day – Does anyone still have one of these? They were the latest, most exciting gadget when I was young. These days we usually use digital cameras to take videos.

National Disc Jockey Day – I think that most everyone listens to the radio at some point in their day. Today is the day to call up your favorite disc jockey and tell them how much you appreciate what they do. Where would we be without invisible people speaking to us and playing music for us through little boxes in our cars and houses?

National Kick A Ginger Day - This day was created by fans of “South Park”. They aired an episode that paralleled the holocaust using Red-Haired people instead of Jewish people as the recipients of the unreasonable discrimination and hatred. I didn't see it but I understand that it was supposed to be a warning against such behavior, so as a joke, fans created this day. I would recommend that you do not actually kick any Gingers today.