October 31 – Increase Your Psychic Powers Day

According to my research there are many different exercises you can do to help you sharpen your psychic powers. Here are a few that you can try:

• Know your psychic channels of communication. We naturally possess a primary channel of receiving psychic guidance, and one lesser or secondary channel of psychic communication.

• Create an atmosphere that amplifies your psychic abilities. Your room environment can contribute or detract from your psychic abilities. Scientific studies conducted at leading universities find that people give more accurate psychic readings in distraction-free rooms that are dimly lit and have soft background music.

• Whenever the telephone rings, close your eyes and visualize the person who is calling. Then pick up the phone and discover if you’re right. Your accuracy will improve dramatically as you practice this exercise, and this exercise may help you develop your clairvoyant abilities in addition to intuition and precognition.

• Work with a friend and a standard deck of playing cards. Begin by predicting black or red, and then have your friend turn over the top card of the deck. Your accuracy will improve with practice. When your accuracy is 80% or greater, expand to predict the suit, and later, the number or face of the card as well. This exercise boosts your intuition, precognition, and clairvoyance (specifically colors and shapes).

o I tried this one out…the first time I got 27 cards right, the next 25…I would say I am on my way to predicting all sorts of things though I have a ways to go before I hit the 80%! Jared truly is gifted, as I was doing this he said ‘the next one is an Ace” and it was! Real psychic powers at work. Sadly that was the end of his psychic reading career and he declared he was retiring after that amazing prediction. My next prediction is that if you are reading this something wonderful is about to happen to you, and you are a very smart person.

• When you’re riding an elevator and another passenger joins you, tell yourself which button they’ll press. This exercises helps you develop your intuition, precognition, clairvoyance (number recognition), telepathy, and your ability to connect with others psychically.

If you would like to take courses to learn to be more psychic you can check this out

http://www.be-psychic-course.com/

October 30 – National Candy Corn Day

I was so proud of myself when the day started and it ended it pure disappointment! Last night with the help of my sister, Erin, we prepared goodie bags filled with candy corn with a little note in them that said, “Happy Candy Corn Day!” My plan was to disperse them to people I met today and enrich everyone’s life with a little extra knowledge and a sugar buzz.

Erin did her part to promote the day, she was flying back to Maryland so she took a few bags of candy and extra little notes and placed them strategically around the airports in Seattle, Detroit, and Baltimore so that people from all over could appreciate the day.

My part of the day didn’t go so well. Jared and I headed down to Portland to go to a concert and visit with our friends from college, Hillary and Cory, who are now proud Portland residence. We got to their house and I forgot the treats in our car, then we headed downtown to a fabulous dinner and then to the concert…however, I forgot my little goodies bags back in our car at their house and was unable to hand them out to anyone!

Finally, after the concert we arrived back at our friend’s house and it was raining. Jared ran out to the car and grabbed a few bags and I proudly presented them to our hosts for the night. I did all that work for practically nothing, I am glad that Hill and Cory enjoyed them at least. If anyone would like a small goodie bag of candy corn I have about 20 in my car!

So disappointed!

Oh just so you know, no one really knows who invented candy corn. Traditional candy corn always has white on top (tip), orange in the middle, and a yellow bottom.

October 29 – National Frankenstein Day

Frankenstein – always depicted as a green giant with bolts out the side of his head. Today I was on a mission to learn more about the TRUE Frankenstein.

My sister, Erin, is here visiting and in honor of the day she began reading the real Frankenstein book by Mary Shelly written in 1816. Mary wrote Frankenstein when she was only 19 years old!

Did you know: Frankenstein is actually the last name of the doctor (Victor) who built the monster who really is never given a formal name, and that Frankenstein built the monster from human parts.

I was wondering how Frankenstein – who really isn’t even Frankenstein – came to be known as green and have bolts out of his head. I found out that really that just comes from the makeup guys in Hollywood along with the flat head, but in chapter 5 of the book the monster is described as having yellow skin, black hair, really white teeth, watery eyes, and a shriveled complexion with straight black lips.

Other Interesting facts about the Frankenstein Story:

• As a houseguest of Lord Byron, Mary Shelley was invited to participate in a challenge. Byron, Shelley, and the other guests set about writing the most frightening story they could. Shelley won; she claimed that her inspiration came from a vision she'd had, wherein a pale student of science knelt over a body which he had just imbued with artificial life.

• Victor Frankenstein was based on a real person: Johann Konrad Dippel, who was a physician and mad scientist obsessed with creating life through scientific means. His birthplace? Castle Frankenstein, near Darmstadt, Germany.

This was a very educational day for me. To think I would have gone my whole life thinking that that big green monster was Frankenstein himself! These holidays are so educational; I feel I should receive some sort of advanced degree for all of this!

Enjoy National Frankenstein Day!

October 28 – Plush Animal Lover’s Day

I am a true Plush Animal Lover. When I was a wee child I had bags and bags full of these little guys. Now if you will remember from earlier posts, I honestly think that everything is alive and it is no different with my “plush” animal friends. I have a long list of my “friends”… we have:

Monk Monk The Monkey

Sparkie the Elephant

Bud the Polar Bear

Teddy the Grey Bear

Tim the Turtle

Fred the Bear

Brownie the Brown Bear

Buddy the Tiger

Softy the Dog

Muzz the Fuzzy Bear

And of course Chubba the Hippo

Believe me they all have their own personalities, you can ask anyone in my family about them and I am sure they have had many conversations with each and every one of them over the years.

I am just learning that plush does not include all stuffed animals, so I guess technically some of those guys may not have been “plush”.

I just love ‘em! I can always let my imagination run wild with the things they do during the day when I am not around, what and how they think and talk, it is a whole other world that I could always escape to.

Now, truth be told Chubba is still a very active part of my life; he sleeps with me every night. I know you may be thinking, “Michelle you are 26 get rid of the hippo!” But let me ask you - Don’t you love taking a nap and hugging a pillow or wadding up the covers to grab onto while you lay on your side? What about poofing up your pillow on one side just a little bit to lean your head against? Well for me I just use Chubba instead of another pillow or the blankets. My “pillow” is just way cooler then yours basically is what I am trying to say, and he has a little personality.

I say keep your plush and otherwise stuffed animals, no one says you have to grow out of it. Truth is people use other things in the place of these little creatures anyways, just because it doesn’t have eyes on it makes it ok to use?

Duke loves his plush animals too! Here he is with all his friends!

October 27 – Cranky Co-Worker Day

I was a little confused by this day, was I supposed to celebrate the cranky co-workers letting them be cranky, maybe even egging on their crankiness to really bring it out in them? Was I supposed to give them a card and let them know they are cranky? How about making a normally very nice co-worker cranky? All of these could be possible answers. I, however, decided that I would do my best to make no one in the office be a cranky co-worker.

The trick here is knowing how to get on everyone’s good side. In my office that is easy…Chocolate! I made everyone a goodie bag of Snickers, 3 Musketeer, and Reese PB Cups with a little note on them that said “Happy Cranky Co-Worker Day! Here is a little something to help you not be the cranky co-worker” or something to that effect. When they arrived at work they were welcomed to the office by this little bag of tantalizing treats! It worked wonderfully! I was queen of the office, even if I would have been cranky today I don’t think anyone would have cared. Everyone’s hearts were full of gratitude and bellies full of chocolate!

It did make me realize how simple it is to brighten someone’s day. It took all of $9 and 10 minutes to make the little goodie bags and put them on people’s desks, and it brought a little smile to everyone’s face. How often do we wish that people would do something for us, but we don’t do anything for anyone else? My mom always told me growing up “when you are in a bad mood or just feeling icky do something nice for somebody else”. That is probably the best advice I have ever gotten in my whole life. I try to do little things here and there to brighten people’s days. Today reconfirmed that if you do simple things for people it can make them feel appreciated and like they matter.

Go do something for your cranky co-workers today and tomorrow you may not have any cranky co-workers!

October 26 – Worldwide Howl At The Moon Night

I picked up Jared from class tonight and headed to the park by our house, also the known as Marymoor Park where the dog park is. There were a few soccer games being played and a good number of people there. While we were driving into the park the moon was out (which was rare for the night since it has been rainy and cloudy) I figured I couldn’t risk this opportunity to howl while the moon was actually out…. I rolled down my window, stuck my head out and let out a howl! When I pulled my head back in and looked over at Jared he had the look on his face like, “What are you doing you crazy psycho?” Then he remembered who he was married to and started laughing at me.
We pulled into the park and found a nice quiet field across from some soccer games. I was picturing the nice silhouette shot of me howling like a true howler into the moon “rooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww”… Well the first attempt there was no moon, we were about to pack up and the moon made a sudden appearance! I let out a loud howl again…Perfect the moon was in it. Then Jared, my wonderful photographer, remembered that we had the “night” option on our camera so I howled again with all my might…by now I am sure that people at the soccer games were wondering what was going on. They were perhaps wondering if someone was being attacked by a small gopher.

I let out a few more howls just for good measure.  It was actually quite liberating howling away, I even got in a few with the triple “OWWWW OWWW OWWWWWWWWW!”

On a side note I just spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out how to type the sound of a howl. I was sitting here sounding it out and trying to put it into letters. I asked Jared how you spell it he was a fan of “Owwwwww”, I was thinking more “Roowwwwwwwwwww” cause I like to put an “r” sound at the beginning, then I asked Duke – he seemed to respond to either way. (Neither one pass the spellchecker.)

Anyway you spell it go howl at the moon!

October 26 - November 1

Here are the holidays for this week!

October 26 - Worldwide Howl At The Moon Night

October 27 - Cranky Co-Workers Day

October 28 - Plush Animal Lovers Day

October 29 - National Frankenstein Day

October 30 - National Candy Corn Day  (YUM!)

October 31 - Increase Your Psychic Powers Day

November 1 - National Author's Day

October 25 – World Pasta Day

Here are the goals of World Pasta Day as stated by their website:

• On 25th October of each year, the world over, World Pasta Day is celebrated in the form of events and promotional initiatives in different countries of the world.

• The objective of World Pasta Day is to draw the attention of the media and consumers to pasta. Communication should underline the fact that pasta is a global food, consumed in all five continents, having unquestionable merits, appropriate for a dynamic and healthy life style capable of meeting both primary food requirements and those of high-level gastronomy

• The key messages, recurring in the various communication initiatives, emphasise the economic feasibility, gastronomic versatility and nutritional value of pasta.

(Source: http://www.pasta-unafpa.org/pasta-day.htm)

Here are a few fun Pasta Facts:

• The Chinese are on record as having eaten pasta as early as 5,000 B.C.

• Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing macaroni to the United States. It seems that he fell in love with a certain dish he sampled in Naples, while serving as the U.S. Ambassador to France. In fact, he promptly ordered crates of "macaroni," along with a pasta-making machine, sent back to the States.

• The Spanish explorer Cortez brought tomatoes back to Europe from Mexico in 1519. Even then, almost 200 years passed before spaghetti with tomato sauce made its way into Italian kitchens.

• The first American pasta factory was opened in Brooklyn, New York, in 1848, by a Frenchman named Antoine Zerega. Mr. Zerega managed the entire operation with just one horse in his basement to power the machinery. To dry his spaghetti, he placed strands of the pasta on the roof to dry in the sunshine.

• Pasta is a good source of carbohydrates. It also contains protein. Carbohydrates help fuel your body by providing energy that is released slowly over time.

• One cup of cooked spaghetti provides about 200 calories, 40 grams of carbohydrates, less than one gram of total fat, no cholesterol and only one gram of sodium when cooked without salt.

Pasta is one of the food groups I very much enjoy. I really love eating plain noodles with nothing on them and I think that noodles are ruined when they have butter all over them. When I was in China in 2003 I witnessed them making noodles and it looked to be very fun! Tiring on the arms after a bit I would think, but really they were just stretching out and throwing around all the dough, I am a fan of anything involving throwing things wildly around and seeing what happens! (This was not the actual picture I took, but exactly what I saw.)

If you would like more information on pasta you can check out the National Pasta Association at http://www.ilovepasta.org/funfacts.html

At this time please enjoy one of my favorite songs...it really combines my love of hippos, pop, singing, the outdoors, friends, and of course PASTA all into one! Enjoy!

October 24 – Make A Difference Day

I am writing in a moment of complete sadness….Michigan State just lost a really good game with Iowa. BUT the show must go on…

At first I was overwhelmed with today’s day...Make A Difference, I kept thinking I had to do something great, big, enormous, change the world! Then I realized: if I can make a few small differences it will help and I won’t be overwhelmed with this assignment.

Today was Pumpkin Bash day at one of the zoo’s in Seattle, all the animals were being given pumpkins to play with or eat. Obviously, I had to be there at 10:30am when they were feeding the hippos pumpkins. Jared and I got there about 10:15 only to find that almost all the viewing area was already taken up…surprisingly mostly by adults. We stood there holding our ground, but as it was getting closer to feeding time I noticed a bunch of small kids who couldn’t see at all. I decided this was a perfect opportunity to make a difference to some kids so I helped a few of them squeeze between the fence and a sign in front of me so that they could see. When the zookeepers threw in the pumpkins everyone was going crazy and fighting their way to the front even more. (Now you will remember from my previous post “Face You Fears” that I can’t stand being in pushy crowds, I get all hot and irritated – therefore I was standing on the edge and sent Jared into the pack with the camera to get some good shots!) After standing there and watching the hippos start to eat, I again looked behind me to kids and parents with absolutely no view…my view was not that great, but at least I could see something. I grabbed Jared and we gave our space to some thankful parents!

As we walked around the zoo we talked to all the animals, said hello and that they were looking good (I’d like to think that may have made a difference in their day). Next the bear area there was a place to donate to help maintain habitat for the bears, so I donated the change I had in my wallet…small difference, but everything helps.

I also bought crafting supplies to make a gift for someone, and I am pretty sure it will make a difference to them!

HOORAY! Remember you can do small things to make a difference, every little bit helps!

October 23 – Mole Day

What is Mole Day you ask?

Celebrated annually on October 23 from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m., Mole Day commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 10^23), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry. Mole Day was created as a way to foster interest in chemistry. Schools throughout the United States and around the world celebrate Mole Day with various activities related to chemistry and/or moles.

For a given molecule, one mole is a mass (in grams) whose number is equal to the atomic mass of the molecule. For example, the water molecule has an atomic mass of 18, therefore one mole of water weighs 18 grams. An atom of neon has an atomic mass of 20, therefore one mole of neon weighs 20 grams. In general, one mole of any substance contains Avogadro's Number of molecules or atoms of that substance. This relationship was first discovered by Amadeo Avogadro (1776-1858) and he received credit for this after his death.   (http://www.moleday.com/)

I don’t know about you, but this brings back the 1 happy memory I have of Chem Com…that’s right, I took Chem Com not Chemistry. I am definitely not a science person, don’t like it, never will, don’t really care how things work, just glad they do.

Yes, I have fond memories of my Chem Com teacher who is the typical nerdy science teacher - a big dork but still hilarious in his own way - singing with all of his might the Mole Day Song! Also, in my high school we had cake on Mole Day; it was always quite the celebration. Oh the memories. Other then that day I hated Chem Com every minute of it, I am so glad I never have to take another science class in my life.

Now before you science people get all defensive, if there weren’t people like me then your love of science would be useless because we would all know “sciency” stuff (yes, I just made up that word). Doctors…we wouldn’t need you (Erin I know you would miss all of my medical emergency phone calls!) Physicists…1 out of 2 people would be going after your jobs. So science people enjoy your day, and be thankful that there are many many people like me who could really care less about the mole or anything else in the science field.

There is a Mole Day website: http://www.moleday.org/
Interesting Fact:  The 2009 Mole Of The Year is Sarah Toman of Muskegon Michigan!

I know you all want to hear this MOLE SONG I speak of so here you go!

October 22 – National Nut Day

Fun Nut Facts:

• An Australian has even invented a car that runs on these tasty nuts.
• A peanut is actually a legume and not a nut.
• California produces 70% of the worlds' walnuts
• Cashews are very popular, but did you know their shells are poisonous!
• Touching the shell of the cashew can give you a nasty skin rash as well

• The Macadamia nut originated in Australia but 90% of all macadamia nuts are now grown in Hawaii.

Well everyone at my work is obsessed with chocolate lately, so it seems we have been taking turns bringing in bags of candy. The entire bag is gone by the end of the day too. Today it was Snickers...fitting .I thought, a candy with nuts it in…YUMM! I had 4 just to be sure that I covered the nut thing today. (Don’t worry they were the bite size ones.)

On the way home from work today I stopped to get some of my FAVORITE type of nuts…Cashews! The grocery store must have been celebrating National Nut day as well because all the nuts were on sale for more then 50% off! I accidentally got the ones with salt on them, I prefer the ones with no salt, however, they were still pretty good.

I drove to pick up Jared from work and on one of the small little side roads in his work complex area there was a policeman and he had pulled someone over. I thought to myself – “that sucks, what could that guy have been doing to get pulled over. He probably just got out of work and all his co-workers are driving by him and laughing…embarrassing!”

I picked Jared up, gave him the cashews and he started munching away. Suddenly I looked behind me to see police lights flashing!

UNBELIEVABLE! I had just seen this guy, and now I was the person with all the co-workers driving by. Sure enough we got a call from one of Jared’s friends at work laughing at me. Apparently I did not come to a complete stop. The officer was actually very nice, when he came back to the car with my ticket he told me that he was really sorry because I had an immaculate driving record! I said “It’s ok, I didn’t stop, rolling stops don’t count huh?” He chuckled and said “No.” Then I said “Hey did you know that it is National Nut Day today!” He didn’t know, I offered him some cashews but he declined as he kept laughing at me. I’d like to think I brightened his day a little. Poor guy just trying to do his job and people probably aren’t very nice to him. I smiled and said, “Thanks! Have a great day!” and drove off. (Not sure why I said Thanks, but oh well!)

Overall, I think that National Nut Day was a success, and I brightened the day of that Police officer I think. Most expensive holiday I have celebrated so far, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to brighten someone’s day and educate them on the daily holiday!

HAPPY NATIONAL NUT DAY!

October 21 – Count Your Buttons Day!

That’s right people, put your counting caps on! Here are the calculations I came up with today:

• My Desk at Work = 200 exactly! (keyboard = 114, Computer itself = 7, Calculator = 29, Phone = 48, Mouse = 2)
• I am wearing 1 button….2 if you count my Belly Button!
• My Car (Stanley) = 60 exactly!
• My headset = 3 (it is illegal to talk on your phone without it while driving in the state of Washington)
• My phone = 32
• Our Microwave = 14
• Main Remote = 55
• Remote #2 = 31 (I only know what 3 of them do)
• Remote # 3 = 59 (I only use 4 of these)
• TV = 6
• Cable Box/DVR = 12
• DVD Player = 15
• Wii = 4
• Wii Balance Board = 1
• Computer at Home = 115 (keyboard = 104, Monitor = 5, Mouse = 3, Base part = 3)
• Ipod = 6

Also my friend’s Baby – Lacey Kay was wearing 6 buttons, and my friend Adriane sent in her calculations: her clothes = 12, work badge = 1, and 45 on her cell! Thanks friend!

I am discovering that there are a lot of buttons around me that I have no idea what they are for. Maybe I need to start exploring them all! Like these holidays, I never knew I was missing so much excitement…what if I am missing out on this whole button world! Hmm…I tried a few, and I think I broke our TV…maybe I should wait until Jared is home…or just pretend I have no idea what happens when he gets home and tries to turn on the TV to watch his shows! Haha. Just kidding I wouldn’t do that. (Who wha ha ha ha – that is my evil laugh…not quite as effective written out.)

October 20 – Brandied Fruit Day

Well, this day has taught me at least 2 things:

1. You cannot buy liquor in a normal store in WA – only in a liquor store

2. According to the brandied fruit recipes I saw I was supposed to be letting my fruit sit in brandy for the past few weeks and I am supposed to pour it over something else, like meat or something – not just eat it plain! Oops.

Thanks to the nice man at Walgreen’s I found a liquor store…actually not too far from my house so that was great! I bought 50ML of brandy and my apple slices are currently soaking in it. I am not sure if I am supposed to slice the apple before I put it in, or do I put the whole apple in…this day is opening up a whole new world to me! I guess we will see when Jared and I eat our slices that have been soaking in brandy for 3.5 hours.

I am planning on this not being a pleasant experience. I don’t really like alcohol in the first place, apples are ok but nothing to get excited about, and just thinking about the combination makes me feel like I am going to hate it more then drinking cough medicine as a child. (Which I refuse to do now, I would just rather be sick then drink that stuff!) Next, year I will have to plan well in advance for this day and begin soaking my fruit. So here we go….celebrating National Brandied Fruit Day! Cheers!

3 hours later:

So Jared got home from school and said, “Usually people put this over ice cream or meat or something.” - Would have been nice to know BEFORE tonight! I really just thought that people ate fruit in brandy…obviously I have no idea what I am doing! I was picturing people scooping out fruit from a bowl of brandy at a party; sticking them with little toothpicks…this is not the case.

This is not something I would recommend…

That was disgusting! I must admit I had a glass of milk ready and I spit most of it out in the sink after chewing it for a few moments. You can tell by the pictures it was a…interesting experience!

October 19-25 OOPS!

Sorry, I forgot to do this yesterday...

Here are the days for the next week!

October 19 - Evaluate Your Life Day
October 20 - National Brandied Fruit Day
October 21 - Count Your Buttons Day
October 22 - National Nut Day
October 23 - National Mole Day
October 24 - Make A Difference Day
October 25 - World Pasta Day

Enjoy celebrating!

October 19 – Evaluate Your Life Day

As I was walking through the 40+ acre dog park today with Duke and watching him jump wildly through the grass I began to evaluate my life. I had just gotten off the phone with one of my very good friends for over 10 years. I thought about it…my life…and the things that really matter to me. I have been so blessed in my life!

I have a family who sticks by me through thick and thin allowing me to be myself, make mistakes, and try new things – even though they often think I am crazy – they are always there encouraging me.  They taught me to laugh at myself and at life in general – it takes way too much unnecessary energy to take life seriously.

I have a phone filled with phone numbers of people I could call at any moment that would help me with anything without asking questions, and I would do the same for them without taking a breath. My best friend has been my best friend since 1st grade, we grew up together – we are more like sisters then friends I would say. I have great friends from high school and college who I keep in close touch with - all who are supportive and uplifting, but who will tell me when I am really screwing up too. I am married to a wonderful man who cares about me, my goals, and my feelings.

I attend an amazing church where the music is so loud I can pretend I am the great singer I always wanted to be and no one around me has to suffer! It encourages me to be a better person & makes me realize how awesome God is!

That’s it. Those are the important things in my life. However since we are evaluating my WHOLE life here the other areas I discovered on the internet I was supposed to evaluate:

1. Career/Business – Still have no idea where I am going with this, but I am sure in time it will come to me. Right now I am focused on gaining new experiences and enjoying getting up in the morning and having a job to go to.

2. Personal Development – My blog has taken on this role and I am loving it! I am learning so much, this is such a fun thing for me to do!

3. Financial/Material – I have everything I need and then some, sometimes I catch myself being too focused on this and then I just have to remember what is really important to me, and this begins to seem very insignificant.

4. Family – previously discussed

5. Intimate Relationships – previously discussed

6. Health & Fitness – I recently joined a gym and I am surprisingly enjoying my workouts!

7. Spiritual Development – Our series in church right now is awesome, and I recently started a new devotional that is really great!

I definitely have high points and low points, but right now I am on a high and I am planning to ride it out for as long as I can! I love this song…I tell Jared that it is my life theme song…however I am compiling a whole list of “Life Theme Songs”…so I guess it is just one of them. I will let you all know when the release of my CD is. Haha! I hope you enjoy it….If you want the see the music video click this link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etr7UtnUflM otherwise you can just look at the picture and enjoy! (PS: I am happy to say, I don't have room to put pics of everyone!)

October 18 – No Beard Day

Well I have definitely participated in this day…No beard here! I am not a big beard person, on people who I meet who already have them, I usually like them though.

Jared was kind enough to grow a beard for just over a week. He was dying to get rid of it, he said it was so itchy…he was counting down the hours until today, No Beard Day! Now he is shaven and clean! He said he feels much better. So Men and perhaps Women of the world…SHAVE YOUR BEARDS!!!! It’s No beard day! It will always grow back!

October 17 – Mulligan Day

Well, it was a bit rainy here in Seattle today…imagine that and it foiled my plans for this day, because I had been planning on going mini golfing and playing until I had a final score of 18! Haha. Then I began getting all worried… what was I going to re-do for mulligan day? After contemplating it for some time I decided that I was just going to relax and have a nice lazy Saturday, re-do all the WAY TOO BUSY weekends I have had. I spent the day watching football, taking a nap, eating cookies, and topped off the day by lounging around my friend’s house eating cinnamon rolls and watching TV. Overall it was a fabulous day! A very good re-do day to the many busy days I have been having lately.

There are many different stories about how the term mulligan came to be most of them I read involved a David Mulligan and one a Mal Egan. Here s one story:

In one, a fellow by the name of David Mulligan frequented St. Lambert Country Club in Montreal, Quebec, during the 1920s. Mulligan let it rip off the tee one day, wasn't happy with the results, re-teed, and hit again. According to the story, he called it a "correction shot," but his partners thought a better name was needed and dubbed it a "mulligan." (Golf.about.com)

In the true sense of mulligan here are some people who could use a mulligan:
Enjoy!!!!

October 16 – World Food Day

I started out today thinking that I was going to attempt to make international food, different treats, and ways of eating from around the world. Now usually I do research on these days a week or so in advance, but I am running a little behind. So, when I got home from work I found out what World Food Day really was…

“World Food Day (WFD) is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger. It is observed each October 16th in recognition of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. The first World Food Day was in 1981. In the United States the endeavor is sponsored by 450 national, private voluntary organizations.” (source: worldfooddayusa.org)

I began thinking about how awesome it was that I even had the choice of what I wanted to eat today. In my travels I have seen many people who could not afford food. It seems like a problem so far away, even though I have been there and seen it. We are so removed from it. Even though people right down the street could be going without food, to me it is not something that I think about often. Food is taken for granted.

I decided to do what I could today, we have a great organization out here called Northwest Harvest. It is a big food bank out here. Jared and I had to go grocery shopping tonight, so we picked up a few extra bags of groceries and dropped them off.

Facts:

• In 2005, almost 1.4 billion people lived below the international poverty line, earning less than $1.25 per day. 7

• Today our world is home to 6.7 billion people.

• 1.02 billion people across the world are hungry.

• Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds.

Look for local food banks to help those in your area, or think globally - there are a number of different organizations to help around the world!

October 15 – White Cane Safety Day

Today is a day to celebrate and acknowledge the freedom given to people who are blind or severely visually impaired by using a white cane. I was a little confused at first because a lot of things that I was reading were saying that Oct 13 was White Cane Day, there is even a website www.whitecaneday.org. However, I am thinking maybe Oct 13 is White Cane Day and today is White Cane Safety Day?

I know that today is White Cane Safety Day because in 1964 Lyndon Johnson declared it to be on Oct 15th, and today it was proclaimed by President Obama. This is the 45th year of this celebration. This is actually an internationally recognized day; there are celebrations and awareness events happening all over the world today.

Schools for the blind offer classes on learning Braille, using your cane safely to walk down the street, find the bus stop, and get around easily. They have great support groups and are available to help with all aspects of being or becoming blind. Many also offer classes and support groups for family members of blind or severely visually impaired people.

Facts:
• More than 20 million Americans report experiencing significant vision loss.

• For centuries, the "cane" was used merely as a tool for travel and it was not until the twentieth century that the cane, as we know it today, was promoted for use by the blind as a symbol to alert others to the fact that an individual was blind.

• The first special White Cane Ordinance was passed in December 1930 in Peoria, Illinois. It granted blind pedestrians protections and the right-of-way while carrying a white cane.

• In 1935, Michigan began promoting the white cane as a visible symbol for the blind. On February 25, 1936, ordinance was passed for the City of Detroit recognizing the white cane. To promote the new ordinance, a demonstration was held at City Hall where the blind and visually impaired were presented with white canes.

Happy White Cane Safety Day!

Oct 14 – National Dessert Day

Now THIS is a holiday I can get in to! Desserts….ooooo how I love you! Chocolate, caramel, breaded things, more chocolate, ice cream, TCBY, special desserts only made on certain holidays by certain people…they are all so wonderful!

First thing I did when I got home today was to finish off the Hippo Cake with Jared from Saturday…delicious! While Jared was at class tonight I was planning on making a new dessert that I had never made before…Blonde Brownies (I think they are also called Blondies). New for me so I was very excited. However, we still have not really gone grocery shopping since coming back from Europe…I know we are a little slow. Anyways, yesterday I had a list with me and went to the store to get chopped walnuts and chocolate chips things I wouldn’t just have around the house. Well turns out I need BUTTER, which we don’t have in the house and baking powder. Let me have a moment to be brutally honest…I have no idea what the difference between baking powder and baking soda is…and apparently I need both of them to make these so called Blondies.

Fortunately, I was also planning on including Duke in this day.  I, of course, have a cook book for doggie treats and they have special holiday treats you can make. (This pic is duke waiting for his treats in the oven…you can see he was licking his lips!)  So I had also bought the ingredients for Duke’s dessert. So the blondies are on hold until tomorrow….sad I know.

I distinctly remember learning this in school so I will pass along my wisdom to you all… you can remember how to spell desert and dessert because you WANT more dessert and you don’t want more desert. (Sadly, this is really how I remember how to spell this.)

My friend Sarah W. from Grand Rapids sent me a pic of her pie she made in honor of today! HOORAY!!!! Looks delicious!

Enjoy desserts today! Oh and don’t worry…October is actually National Dessert Month, so you can enjoy them all month long…I mean you have to, you are just doing your part!

OH NO! I am waiting for Duke’s treats to get out of the oven while I am writing this…I just checked on them and they are exploding all over the place! Maybe I should just stick to the basics, cakes and brownies from the box, and cookies – I am pretty good at those…well, most of the time.

Duke LOVED them!

Oct 13 – Face Your Fears Day

When I began thinking about today I thought, Fears…HA I don’t have any real fears…I laugh in the face of danger! Then slowly I discovered that I have fears and some are totally random. First though here are the top 9 fears according to Forbes Magazine:

1. Bugs/Mice/Bats/Snakes – this fear has rates a 0 on my fear scale. In college the house I lived in with 3 other girls was invaded by mice and one of my roommates and I spent one late night catching all the babies that were running around outside the door of my room with a plastic bucket! (They were about the size of a half dollar…don’t worry we got them all (9) and the mama!)

2. Heights – I think I am slightly afraid of heights, I more like to freak myself out with heights…scary, but I like it.

3. Water – LOVE THE WATER...sometimes I can freak myself out that something is going to attack me and grab my toes…Thanks KATIE…but again it’s kinda fun to freak myself out.

4. Public Transportation – not a fan of being crammed into the trains and subways in foreign countries, but fear…I think not. Check out this video! (they honestly do this…I have witnessed)


5. Storms – I am in love with storms, definitely no fear!

6. Closed Spaces – my very best friend from 1st grade has a little problem with elevators and things…in 4th grade I volunteered to walk up like 30-40 flights of stairs with her on a field trip because she wouldn’t go in the elevator…our teacher went with us and we both thought he was going to have a heart attack! Love you Amy & I would do again for you anytime!

7. Tunnels/Bridges – I have developed this fear of having a bridge collapse and being trapped in my car while it is sinking. I desperately want to get one of those things that cut your seatbelt and smashes your window to keep in my car! I seriously start to get sick to my tummy when Duke is in the car with me and I let myself think about it because I get so worried that I wouldn’t be able to save Duke! Sometimes I ride with my hand on the “window down” button so that I can push it as soon as we start going in…then the water can come in and I would be able to open the door. Facing this fear…I must do it every day because I go across the 520 floating bridge everyday to work. (Floating…even scarier cause there is not much time before you are in the water.)

8. Crowds – I have this fear...I get really hot, anxious, and irritated when I am in a swarm of people and can’t get out. I have to be on the edge of groups, and I usually hang towards the back so I don’t get sucked in. Just ask Jared…it’s not pretty. WARNING to other people who are like this when visiting the Vatican….nightmare! I think this is part of the reason I am NOT a fan of tours.

9. Speaking in public – I am not good at this, so I don’t like it, but fear…I don’t think so.

So here are my fears summed up:

1. Being stuck in my car underwater…fear is multiplied by 10 if Duke is in the car!
2. Being stuck in crowds
3. Feet – I HATE THEM! – I won’t let Jared touch me with his feet; I just think all feet are gross.
4. Long finger/toe nails…not fake ones, but when people forget to clip them…gross it freaks me out.
5. Nakedness…I have been called a naked-phobe basically my whole life…it’s true

So, today I of course had to drive across the bridge…and I made myself do it on the way home from work too (usually I take the back way). I haven’t clipped a few of my finger nails in a little and I am totally disgusted by it. I made myself think about my car falling in the water with Duke in it while I drove across the bridge…and tonight when Jared gets home from his MBA classes I am going to attempt to rub his feet…I seriously am not sure if I can do that…I am shuttering just thinking about it!

So I just did it! Jared thought to get the full effect I should have to kiss his big toe! I feel disgusting! Pic 1 is of my foot rub...pic two is me going in for the kiss!

October 12 – International Moment of Frustration Scream Day

Well, I would have been terribly disappointed if this day had provided no frustration for me to scream about. Luckily, the frustration was piled on.

My day started as it usually does waking up at 5:14 to bring Jared to work. After driving him to work and coming back home to finish getting ready, eat cereal, and take duke out to “do his thing”. I realized that Jared had forgotten his lunch. So, I left a few minutes before 6am to bring it to him. I called him at least 10 times, to let him know I was bringing his lunch and have him come get it. One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is that Jared NEVER hears his cell phone. I must say he is getting much better, but supposed I was in an accident, stranded on the side of the road, had a really great story to tell him, rushing duke to the hospital…how am I supposed to contact him! Well, he never answered so I went into his work and found some random guy that knew him and handed off the lunch.

Traffic in Seattle is always frustrating to me…Jared was in Michigan last week and he called me to say he was going 80mph on the highway with only a couple other cars in sight….grrrrrrrr…I do not like all the people EVERYWHERE in Seattle, and sometimes it just really gets to me going 5-10mph with a gazillion other people. Even at 6am in the morning the highways are full…Come On People!

Next, work…oh work, a few frustrating projects, then the phones went out which was a catastrophe…quickly averted with some fast acting by my boss and yours truly! A man who was supposed to get back to me at work for the past MONTH still hasn’t and every time I talk to him, he has “No Idea” what is happening and why I am still calling him and tells me to email the info to him again!

At the gym all my machines were taken and I was forced to ride a really uncomfortable bike and the little TV screen that is hooked up to is was BLARRING in my headphones and no matter how much I pushed “VOLUME DOWN” everyone was still at yelling volume!

Luckily, Jared had a great day at work! So we went out to McDonalds to celebrate and try to win the MILLION dollars in McDonalds Monopoly…The frustration starts again…I clearly said MED COKE and the man put in LARGE 2 times! Finally we got that cleared up…then we got home and saw that they gave us the wrong fries…the ones WITHOUT the monopoly pieces! AHHHHH.

So, I had a Moment of Frustration Scream and I am feeling much better. I am thinking that instead of 1 day a year this should be like a weekly, if not daily occurrence!

After my scream I am feeling much more relaxed, I ate a piece of my Hippo Cake and cuddled under a blanket with Duke because our apartment is FREEZING! – I have not taken off my coat all day…well I did to work out, but that is obvious…I hope it is anyway.

So let it all out today! You’ll feel better.

P.S. Another comic relief = try taking pictures of yourself with your frustrated face on!  Proved to be very entertaining for me!

Oct 12-18

Here are the holidays coming up:

12 - International Moment Of Frustration Scream Day

13 - National Face Your Fears Day

14 - National Dessert Day

15 - White Cane Safety Day

16 - World Food Day

17 - Mulligan Day

18 - No Beard Day

October 11 – General Pulaski Memorial Day

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Sunday, October 11, 2009, as General Pulaski Memorial Day. I encourage all Americans to commemorate this occasion with appropriate programs and activities paying tribute to Casimir Pulaski and honoring all those who defend the freedom of our great Nation.”
(Source: Whitehouse.gov)

That’s right people it is a day to remember General Pulaski. First of all you need to know who he is. Here is a brief overview:

Born in Poland in 1745, Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski witnessed the occupation of Poland by foreign troops during his youth. He joined the struggle for Polish independence in 1768. Despite the tremendous courage of Pulaski, the foreign forces prevailed and Poland was divided among three of its neighbors. The Pulaski was exiled, and, while in Paris, met America's envoy to France, Benjamin Franklin, and learned of our nascent quest for independence.

Arriving in America during the summer of 1777, General Pulaski quickly earned a commission and led his troops with admirable skill in a number of important campaigns. He would eventually become known as the "Father of the American Cavalry." In 1779, Pulaski was mortally wounded during the siege of Savannah while trying to rally his troops under heavy enemy fire. Before laying down his life for the United States, this Polish and American hero had earned a reputation for his idealism and his courageous spirit.        (Source: Enews park Forest)

He also saved the life George Washington!

While doing my research I discovered that in Grand Rapids, Michigan – where I am from – there is a celebration called Pulaski Days to honor General Pulaski. There are also statues of him in Detroit and Washington DC, and a number of schools named after him.

I had never heard of him before this day! See the things you learn from this blog…it’s amazing!

October 10- Decorate A Cake Day

Through this blog I am hoping that it helps me to discover my life’s purpose…ambitious, I know, but I have to try something. Today I discovered…I am not supposed to be a baker or any sort of food decorator person!

 I have a new found respect for cakes that are decorated nicely, even ones with frosting evenly spread upon them. Usually, when I make a cake it is purely so that I can eat it as soon as it cools enough to put some frosting on it, and sometimes I can’t even wait that long and take a piece with no frosting. Yes, I love cake, brownies, cookies…all that stuff.
So I decided that for today I would attempt two firsts.
1. I was going to make a 2 layer cake…never before been attempted
2. I was actually going to try to make it look like something.

I thought about going the easy way, making my typical cake, then frosting it, throwing on some sprinkles and writing something with the frosting pen things, but since this blog is for exploration and doing new things, I thought I should do a little more.

There you have it, it is a hippo. It is actually supposed to by my stuffed Hippo that I take almost everywhere with me. His name is Chubba. Here is a picture of Chubba next to the cake.

The sides of the cake aren’t covered in frosting because it was just falling apart while I tried. Jared and I are about to see if it is edible, so if this is my last entry…it wasn’t!

I solute you cake decorators; you truly have an amazing gift! My cousin Kathy, who lives in California, is an AMAZING cake decorator. I always knew that she was extremely talented, but after today I am even more blown away by her gift! Check out the cakes that she has made!  Click on the link and then at the top of the page click "Kathy's Hobbies".  (she also is a Christian Singer and has an awesome CD!  ...info also on the website!)

http://www.easysite.com/kathyjoy

Late addition: My sister Katie took part in the day and she didn't even know it...we are mentally connected!  Here is her beautiful cake!

PS - if you ever participate in a day and want to send me  your pic to post on here please do!  michelle14v@hotmail.com

October 9 – Curious Events Day

There are many things I am curious about: Why do people have rooms in their houses that no one can go into? What are people thinking when they go 10 mph under the speed limit? Why is there a person running across the highway? Why did the man climb the fence of the tiger cage? (he fell in and surprisingly was mauled by the tiger…he did live though!) Why do some people choose to be so unhappy in life? Why would a huge bus try to turn around in a tiny parking lot? (This happened at work today) Did that person really get up this morning and think…”I look good in this!”? What is Duke thinking about when he is hopping through the tall grass like a rabbit on steroids?

I supposed I have a few things that I do that people would be curious about: I never set any clocks or alarms, or time on the microwave/oven to numbers that are multiples of 5 = I just don’t like them. When eating pizza I take all the toppings off – including the cheese, and then I put the sausage or pepperoni back on = I just don’t like cheese on pizza. I honestly feel like everything is alive and I apologize when I am going to buy something in a store and then I decide to put it back, I tell the item it’s not their fault and someone better will come along and buy them = sad, but true.

I decided today though as I was thinking about curious events that the most curious thing I have ever witnessed…people in general. I don’t understand why people define themselves by how much money they make, why they don’t share struggles – and feel that everyone needs to see them as having it all together…let me let you in on a secret…. NO ONE HAS IT ALL TOGETHER, AND IF THEY SAY THEY DO…THEY ARE LYING TO YOU.

Everyone is struggling with things, wouldn’t it just be easier if we all shared and supported each other, and stopped living in a fake world. If you know me and I told you I made 100,000 a year would I suddenly turn into a different person? If I made 10,000 a year am I suddenly different…NO I am the same person, so why does it define us? If I am having problems at home, is that somehow changing the essence of who I am? No. I just don’t get it. I am one of the most open people I think you will ever meet. You can ask me anything and I will tell you my answer. If you think less of me…that’s your problem, not mine. I have been talking about this since college, I don’t understand. I am sure it must make sense to be secretive, because most people are, but I don’t think I will ever get it. Therefore this is my most curious event ever, if I ever figure it out I’ll share it.

Oh I also am very curious to know what these people were thinking! (The last one is the best!)