NO INTERNET

Hey everyone!  I am moving and currently have no internet service - I have the posts ready but I just can't post them yet!  I didn't want you not to be able to celebrate so here are the next week or so worth of Holidays!

April 26 - Hug An Australian Day

April 27 - National Mantanzas Mule Day

April 28 - National Kiss Your Mate Day

April 29 - Dance Day

April 30 - Honesty Day

May 1 - Save The Rhinos Day

May 2 - Fire Day

May 3 - National Lumpy Rug Day

May 4 - Candied Orange Peel Day

May 5 - National Hoagie Day

May 6 - Beverage Day

May 7 - International Tuba Day

May 8 - No Socks Day

May 9 - Lost Sock Memorial

Ok I DEFINITELY should have internet by this time!  Sorry - but I am sure you understand!  Our move has been going great except that we started with only 5 pieces of furniture and lost our biggest one - our couch to MICE...GROSS.  So we really have nothing in our house and it needs a lot of stuff done to it...so I will be busy, but I WILL squeeze in time to celebrate in some way each day...You should too!

April 20 – Volunteer Recognition Day

Volunteers – where would the world be without them…many houses and water wells never built, many mouths not fed, and in my mom and step-dad’s case - many people not knowing where to go.

My mom and step-dad volunteer for the Conventions Bureau for Grand Rapids, they tell people where to go for meetings, where to eat in town, give directions…that sort of thing. Today they got up bright and early and went downtown to volunteer!

I am thinking that the conventions Bureau may want to work on their uniforms, but hey it’s a start I guess.

Thank you to all of you who are out there volunteering! You are making a difference and probably helping yourself live longer.

April 19 – High-Five Day

My favorite t-shirt is the one I am wearing in this picture and it says, “MICHIGAN America’s High Five”. I could not be prouder to live in the high-five of our country! High fives are fun, always given as encouragement or celebration, sometimes while running or jumping = basically they are always a good time…Just like Michigan!

I especially enjoy giving high-fives to my two little buddies Colter and Tillman (cutest babies ever!).

So go out today and high-five away. Try silently raising your hand as you pass someone and wait for that magical perfect SMACK!

(There is controversy on this day – many say it is the 19th while others say it is the third Thursday in April – either way I think the high-five is just glad it has a day!)

April 19 - 25

April 19 - High-Five Day

April 20 - Volunteer Recognition Day

April 21 - Kindergarten Day

April 22 - Jelly Bean Day

April 23 - Zuccini Bread Day

April 24 - Hairball Awareness Day

April 25 - World Penguin Day

April 18 – National Newspaper Columnist Day

I would have to say that Darby Conley is my favorite Newspaper Columnist. Not sure if the Comics count as a column, Get Fuzzy with Bucky and Satchel = awesome!

I am glad this day fell on a Sunday, must be the columnist’s day to shine. Of course more people get the Sunday paper than any other day. Can you imagine people getting just the Monday paper or just Thursday…that would be weird - there aren’t coupons in those papers!

You would think every paper would have the leading story be this holiday today, the columnists could brag about themselves, promoting their writing abilities, having their pictures outlining every page of the press.

Good work News Paper Columnist…we appreciate you!

April 17 – Cheeseball Day

I LOVE CHEESEBALLS!!! Right now they are selling HUGE containers of them at Wal-Mart and Rite Aid for $4.99! Also, at Rite Aid you can get a small container for $1! It’s amazing!

Cheeseballs are one of those foods that you eat and then you forget about for a long time and then re-discover them. The cheeseballs that we got today are much fluffier then I remember, but I am loving them.

I did not find any information about the origin of this day, but I am sure glad it is a holiday! I did discover that there is another kind of Cheeseball - often decorated with nuts and sits on a party tray until spread on a cracker.

Whatever kind of cheeseball you like, dig in today!

April 16 – Stress Awareness Day

Probably good that you become aware of your stress before you die…as Stanley puts it.

Take some deep cleansing breaths today, figure out what stresses you out and what you can do to De-stress…it is very important. To distress I like to go for walks with Duke, take a nap, or write. I write about everything that I am stressed about, or make an action plan…I just need to get it all out! ...my poor husband knows this all too well…Love you hubby!

April 15 – Rubber Eraser Day

In 1770 on this very day Joseph Priestly discovered that scratching paper with rubber would remove pencil marks!

Oh eraser how many times have you saved me from writing the wrong thing! Wring the wrong name like Tim instead of Tom, Brain instead of Brian, too instead of to. So many times I had to add the extra little stick on eraser to my pencils because I would burn through the one that came attached to it. Erasers come in all shapes and sizes today. A very useful invention and I am so glad that good ol’ Joe made that discovery so very many years ago.

Today I learned that until about 160 years ago the eraser was not attached to the pencil – teachers thought that it would just encourage students to make mistakes. European pencils don’t have erasers attached even today, maybe they are more confident…or maybe they are behind the times…not sure, but if it works for them then that is good enough for me!

April 14 – National Moment Of Laughter Day

Today is the day to send people those HILARIOUS JOKES you know of…if they are indeed hilarious, not those ones you think are funny and when people read them they just say something like “that’s it” or “I don’t get it…why is that so funny”. I mean the ones that are really funny.

This day reminds me of the LAUGHING CLUB that I participated in on my adventures on Semester At Sea. Once a week people would get up at about ¬6-7am go out on the back deck while the sun was rising and attend Laughing Club. It is great for your health and happiness, and truly does make you laugh and feel better.



To find out more about Laughter Yoga or Laughing Clubs in your area check out this website:
http://www.laughteryoga.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=16&Itemid=266

April 13 – National Scrabble Day

My family is actually very good at this game…however, I am not. I do not have the biggest vocabulary in the world, and without spell checker…well, I am only slightly above average which doesn’t bode well in a game dependent on spelling and vocabulary knowledge. My goal was to break 100 knowing that I would be well below everyone else. I did my very best and I got…99! So close…but yet, so far. I was able to get rid of all my pieces at the end, which was a bonus to my ego.

I tend to put down words that I think sound like words, that maybe should be words and then I look around anxiously to see if anyone will challenge me…they did.

It was a great family bonding game though the winner was Herm, my step-dad, and then loser…well of course that would be me.

Important background information on Scrabble: Scrabble was created in 1938 by Alfred Mosher Butts. It is sold by Hasbro, Inc.

Picture coming soon!

April 12 – Look Up At The Sky Day

This is actually one of my favorite things to do. There are a few things that I can sit and watch for a long time…water, fire, the sky, and Denzel Washington.

I love going out on a nice day or a clear night; laying on a blanket staring towards the heavens! So peaceful! I still do the thing where you find animals and wild creatures in the clouds.

Today the sky in Michigan was overcast…the nice thing about Michigan overcast is that on some overcast days it is still very bright and light, unlike those overcast days that are dark and dreary. So today was pretty light out, but there weren’t any clouds to try and decipher - what animal or person they most looked like.

Then I was thinking, where does the sky actually start…the sky is just “up there”, but when does up there become here. When I fly I think I am in the sky, but at what point in the ascent am I in the sky? When I jump up am I in the sky?

I also LOVE taking pictures of the sky! Some of my favorites were taken while I was out on the ocean and another one in Tanzania…AWESOME! They aren’t on my computer…only in print so these pictures will have to do.

Take time out of your busy day to look up at the sky today!

April 12 - 18 Holidays

April 12 - Look Up At The Sky Day

April 13 - Scrabble Day

April 14 - International Moment of Laughter Day

April 15 - Rubber Eraser Day

April 16 - Stress Awareness Day

April 17 -Cheeseball Day

April 18 -National Newspaper Columnist Day

As stated in the previous post - my internet has NOT been working...sorry about the late posts!  I am doing my best!!!!

April 11 – Barbershop Quartet Day

This day celebrates the founding of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 11, 1938. Barbershop Quartets date back to the early 1900's in America.

I had planned to get some friends together and go stand outside a barbershop today and try it out…however, I was out of town and I realized that no one would probably want to sing with me in public. If Jared and I could be a quartet though, we would be AWESOME. We pretended to be doing the “Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello”. (You know where you start lower and do each hello a little higher – like you were in a quartet). We were surprisingly very good!

*** As a disclaimer - my internet has NOT been cooperating lately...hence the late postings...right now I am on my mom's.  I can't put on a lot of the videos etc that I would like to so sorry!  I am doing the best I can!***

April 10 – Golfer’s Day

I couldn't find that much official about this day, there are E-cards for it though.  One place said that on April 10, 1916 ,the first professional golf tournament was held, and that this is likely why we celebrate Golfer's Day today...I guess we'll never really know for sure, but this sounds good to me.

I woke up today, Saturday, and instead of my usual CMT morning I actually watched the Golf Channel….and surprisingly it was entertaining! There was a “marathon” of They Hank Haney project - Tiger Woods golf coach who was trying to get Ray Romano to shoot better then an 80.

I also live on a golf course and saw many people playing golf. Jared and I have vowed to get better at the sport – because right now we are awful!

I used to play more when I was small…however, when I would get sick of it…after about 3-4 holes maybe sometimes I would last until hole 7…I start “Power Putting”. I invented it, but I am pretty sure it should become a real sport. You can probably guess by the name – you only use your putter. You drive with it, get out of the sand with it…everything! I strongly recommend you try it sometime!

My brilliant friend also pointed out to me that you could celebrate Golfer’s Day by Putt Putting or by playing Frisbee Golf.

Oh, I did actually watch some of the Master’s today too!

To check out Hank Haney's Tips go to: http://www.hankhaney.com/

April 9 – Name Yourself Day

Today I decided to fulfill my mom’s lifelong dreams and named myself Edith…you can call me Edie for short. My mom wanted to name me that and has always loved the name. We actually named our dog that…very cute for her.

Edie seemed like a horrible name to have while I was growing up, but now it is starting to seem not so bad. Kinda like bell-bottoms or tight jeans or big hair – you know those things that you swear you are NEVER going to wear and then one day you do it…kinda like that.

My mom was Patricia – when she was a young girl she decided she was going to change her name…she wrote Patricia on a lunch card and got in big trouble…apparently you need to do more then just write it on your lunch card for your name to change…who would have thought!

Go live a different life today as someone else…enjoy!

April 8 – National Draw A Picture Of A Bird Day

I gave him some spiky hair for attitude!

April 7 – No Housework Day

I must admit I am getting a little frazzled by some of these holidays. There really is not much to this day…Don’t do housework..OK.

Consider it done…not much of a blog entry…but really what should I write about – the fight with myself to stay away from cleaning supplies…there was no fight…I try to rarely look at them!

April 6 – Sorry Charlie Day

I think that this is conveniently placed after Fun at Work Day….because this is the story of my life lately.

Today is the day to celebrate or maybe to commiserate with others about being rejected. Everyday I submit on average 5-6 job applications…everyday I get no response – REJECTED! Some of them I am so qualified for it is ridiculous! Now I am stuck in no man’s land = I can’t get a good job and no one will hire me for jobs I am over qualified for…I don’t care what I do people…I just need to make some money! All in all very frustrating.

Needless to say I think I celebrated this day to the fullest! Jared wanted to add a nice little topper on my day and asked me, “Michelle, do you want to go get ice cream?” I said, “Yes” and Jared shot back with “SORRY CHARLIE!”

So sad!

April 5 – Fun at Work Day

I would have LOVED to celebrate this holiday to the fullest…because that would mean that I had a place of work to go to…however, I do not. I reminded Jared and my mom to have fun at work today and both claimed they would. This picture Jared sent me of himself having fun at work didn’t look like that much fun to me. Bent over in the corner of a small cubicle by himself….well if he says he was having fun then who am I to say different!  Although I will say he looks a bit crazy in this picture...maybe they put something in the water there.

For those of you who have a place of work, please – I’m begging you for those of us who don’t have work…Have FUN AT WORK TODAY!!!

April 5 - 11 Holidays

April 5 - Fun At Work Day

April 6 - Sorry Charlie Day

April 7 - No Housework Day

April 8 - National Draw A Picture Of A Bird Day

April 9 - Name Yourself Day

April 10 - Golfers Day

April 11 - Barbershop Quartet Day

April 4 – Walk Around Things Day

I am thinking that this day was either made up by a lazy older sibling or parents that were just too tired.

Lazy older siblings – I can see them lounging on a chair or laying directly in the path of where the younger sibling was playing, perhaps racing a car or running. When asked to move the older sibling takes advantage of the fact that the younger sibling thinks they are the coolest and says that today is Walk Around Things Day – therefore by moving the older sibling would not be helping the younger one to celebrate the day.

Parents – After hearing the kids walk around the house chanting “I’m Bored!” one of the parents come up with the ingenious idea that today is Walk Around Things Day and says the children should go walk around the OUTSIDE of the house, around the neighborhood, the car, the mailbox, the yard, etc. Hours later everyone is happy – kids are exhausted and parents had some peace and quiet.

Today I walked around our table, Jared, Duke, the bed, the house, the car, another table…it was all very exciting…I guess it gives you a 360 view that otherwise you may never had. Try it today…Walk Around Things!

April 3 – Find A Rainbow Day

Today was raining – so I figured that was a great step in the right direction for finding a rainbow. I was unsuccessful, however, in finding an actual rainbow. I did find the Rainbow Grill, I also thought about rainbows and how amazing it is that colors just appear in the sky.  (that picture is someone else's rainbow...sadly)

My favorite story about rainbows is one that my mom tells…when I was born she looked out the hospital window and saw three rainbows (I am the youngest of three girls). I think that is pretty cool, even the sky was telling her.. “now you have the perfect child…here is a miracle for you to remember this day” TADA! So now I think whenever there is a rainbow God is just reminding my mom that I am the best daughter ever!

Go search for your rainbow today!

April 2 – PB & J Day

Peanut Butter and Jelly! A classic combination! I ate one of the delicious sandwiches today. I discussed my love of JIF in the previous holiday Peanut Butter Day – January 24th. My favorite jelly is homemade strawberry…however, I have not had it in a LONG time because we have lived in Seattle…I am forcing my mom to make it with me this year. Usually Jared and I have two jellies in the fridge. He only will eat Strawberry, but grape is usually a lot cheaper, so I eat the grape and he gets the strawberry. Today I had strawberry jelly and Jif peanut butter. Mine looked so good that my nephew wanted one too so I made him one as well and we ate lunch together!

PB & J - Great combination!

Again for your viewing pleasure…a classic:

April 1 – One Cent Day

There are few things left in the world that are one cent. Jared knows a person who throws away their pennies…completely insane if you asked me…obviously he has never heard the saying “A penny saved is a penny earned”.

I know of one thing and one thing only that still costs a penny…the little horse at Meijer. Meijer is a kind of “big box” store in Michigan and other mid-west states. In everyone…at least everyone I have ever been in, there is a brown horse names Sandy that you can ride on for one cent.

We are babysitting my nephew this week and he is about 16months so we decided to take him to Meijer so he could ride the horse! It was a great adventure we were all excited he had a big smile on his face when he sat atop the great beast. I put the penny in…nothing. I hit the box a few times…nothing. I tried another penny, realizing of course that this was not costing one cent anymore, but two! Still nothing.

I guess you can’t get anything anymore for one cent…a very sad day.

P.S. If you are one of those people who throws away pennies…I will give you my address and you can send them to me…I LOVE pennies…anything that I can buy stuff with.

March 31 – Bunsen Burner Day

Today is the day to celebrate the great Robert Wilhelm Eberhard – the inventor of the Bunsen Burner! He was a German chemist born on this day in 1811.

The Bunsen Burner itself is a very simple device, consisting of a long hollow tube. A combination of gas and air help to form the flame that powers the burner, making it very easy to control the amount of flame and heat by adjusting the mixture of the two compounds.

 I can respect that he invented the Bunsen burner, but I must say I am not a big fan. I do not like science – especially chemistry! In high school I opted for the less intimidating Chem Com – Chemistry in the Community…still hated it and didn’t do so hot. I have a real problem learning something if I don’t care about it. Anyways, I hope all you chemists out there are lighting your little Bunsen Burners, running experiments and celebrating today. Maybe you can cook a whole feast over the Bunsen Burner and then sit around and discuss the wonders of it, while looking at the different color flames…

March 30 – The Grass Is Always Browner on the Other Side of the Fence Day

Yes, you read that right...BROWNER! We always seem to think that if ONLY this would happen or look at those people or why not me…today is the day to rejoice in the I’m glad that didn’t happen to me, I have it pretty good, and look at me!

Sometimes I get jealous of other people, the houses they have, the lack of debt that they have, their income, where they are traveling, their family…but today is the day to love what I have. If I honestly look at someone let’s say who goes on amazing vacations…because this is the number one thing I get jealous about…they may go on vacations, but do they have a great family, are they satisfied, are they happy, do they have a little dog who greats them and makes them smile every day? In every situation, there is something I can find in other people’s situation that would make me not want to trade for anything. Maybe that person has a lot of money…are they missing out on the fun in life, are their grandparents still alive, do they have honest friends that they could call at any time for anything? - all great questions. So today be glad and thankful for what you have! You have more then you think you do, and I for one wouldn’t trade my life for anything!

I love my green grass!

March 29 – Mom & Pop Business Owners Day

I enjoy mom & pop businesses. Here in my little town and in Michigan as a whole there are quite a few. My two favorites are: The Byron Family Restaurant and Houseman’s Ice Cream. They Byron Family Restaurant it owned by one of my greatest friend’s brother – used to be owned by her father, but in true family business fashion was passed on. Houseman’s is the ice cream shop in town…DELICIOUS! Took this opportunity to support the business and got some ice cream. Every year I look forward to Houseman’s opening…then I know nice weather is around the corner!

Support your local Mom & Pop Business Owners today!