A Reason to … Celebrate, Remember, Have Fun! (Oct 28 – Nov 3)

Friday, October 28^th: They’re soft, cuddly, and plush … and sometimes a mite bedraggled and raggedy, held together with patches and love. Who hasn’t felt better after a hug and snuggle with a stuffed teddy bear? It’s Plush Animal Lovers Day!

My favorite was ‘Sleepy Puppy’ with jingle bells in his ears. Did you have a beloved stuffed animal? What happy memories do you have? Invite one to dinner tonight. Make it a ‘Stuffie’ kind of night. Celebrate life today with an armload of stuffed joy!

Saturday, October 29^th: “Live so that when the final summons comes you will leave something more behind you than an epitaph on a tombstone or an obituary in a newspaper.” — Billy Sunday

October 29^th is the first annual “Visit a Cemetery Day”, sponsored by www.mysendoff.com. It isn’t just a day to commemorate the dead, but rather to embrace the celebration of life. Visit a local cemetery today. Take some flowers to honor a deceased loved one. Or, just wander and pay tribute to those gone before us. It’s a visit that puts everything in perspective. Celebrate life and the important things in it – your family, loved ones and friends.  (Photo from Chinn’sChapel Cemetery,Texas)

Sunday, October 30^th: What’s orange and yellow and white and eaten all over? Candy corn! It’s National Candy Corn Day! One of the most popular Halloween candies, this sugary kernel has been around since the 1880’s. Brach’s, a top producer of this yummy treat, annually sells enough to circle the earth 4.25 times. Celebrate Candy Corn Day with some of the delightful concoctions featured at: http://www.kaitlinandkylies.com/2011/10/national-candy-corn-day.html

Monday, October 31^st: Knock, Knock. Who’s there? Olive. Olive who? Olive Halloween! It’s not only Halloween today; it’s Knock-Knock Jokes Day! What a perfect nonsensical holiday to pair up with Halloween. Put on your costume and spread some Halloween laughter (and groans) by sharing your favorite knock-knock jokes.  To close with … Knock, knock. Who’s there? Juan. Juan who?  … Juan, two three….BOO!

Tuesday, November 1^st:  A word here, a word there; celebrate them all. It’s National Author’s Day! First observed in 1929 by the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, now thousands of writers celebrate all month long by participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). We’ve come a long way. From handwritten tomes, to Mark Twain submitting the first typewritten manuscript, computers now process our written jewels. Celebrate the day – celebrate the month, by writing.  Or, surprise your favorite author with a special note, letting them know how they’ve brightened your life.

Wednesday, November 2^nd: Some days, it seems all I do is run around in circles. Today, that’s a good thing, because it’s “Look for Circles Day”. How many circles can you “spot” today? Make a game of it. See who can find the most circles today. Who can find the most unusual circle? Betcha’ by the end of the day you’ll be seeing more circles and spots than you ever imagined possible.

Thursday, November 3^rd: Don’t get your knickers in a twist. A little bird told me that today is ‘Cliché Day’. Yes, it let the cat out of the bag. Cliches as far as the eye can see, with no rhyme or reason. Don’t rain on my parade, celebrate Cliché Day with me. Leave no stone unturned.

Drawing a blank? No need to reinvent the wheel. Check out www.clichesite.com for a list of over 2,100 common clichés and euphemisms. Don’t thank me; it’s all in a day’s work. Let’s get to it. After all, we shouldn’t put off until tomorrow what we can do today. What’s your favorite cliché?

A Reason to … Celebrate, Remember, Have Fun! (Oct 21-27)

Friday, October 21^st:  Button, button, who’s got the button? And how many do you have? It’s Count your Buttons Day! Although I haven’t been able to trace the origin of this celebration, I’m celebrating this whacky and obscure day. Why? Because today is also the one year anniversary of the day my heart stopped beating. Sudden Cardiac Arrest was certainly unplanned – and unexpected – on October 21^st last year. Luckily, being on an airplane, I was next to my spouse and had three doctors in the vicinity, one immediately behind me. Their CPR efforts got my heart going again. So, I have a “new birthday” to celebrate every year. I celebrate my new birthday, and every day by celebrating life, in the important things, like telling loved ones how much I love them, and in whimsical way, like ‘counting my buttons’.

Saturday, October 22^nd: Paint a wall. Clean up trash. Copy records or answer phones. Get certified for Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Celebrate life; volunteer, to improve the lives of others. It’s Make a Difference Day, the largest national day of community service. Search for current projects by zip code or start your own project. What can you do to help a neighbor?

(http://daytabank.handsonnetwork.org/about-make-difference-day)

Sunday, October 23^rd: There’s only twelve hours to celebrate today. From 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m., it’s National Mole Day. This day isn’t for the furtive creature destroying my garden. Oh no, it’s a unit of measurement used in chemistry. But now my head is spinning from trying to figure out a mole. It’s been far too long since I’ve had any chemistry classes. A mole is 6.02 times 10 to the 23^rd power, used to count very small things like atoms and molecules. To learn more, check out www.moleday.org, where you’ll find more information (than you probably ever wanted to know about moles), of the scientific kind. In the meantime, I’ll be in the garden protecting my zinnias. Happy Mole Day!

Monday, October 24^th:  Happy Birthday Anna Edison Taylor! Who on earth is Anna Taylor, you ask? Anna is the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel. She accomplished this feat in 1901, on the day of her 63^rd birthday to boot! A woman with an adventurous spirit, Anna encourages us to “go for it” and live life with gusto. You’ve been gone ninety years Anna (10/23/1838 – 4/29.1921), yet we raise our glasses to you … Happy Birthday feisty Anna!

Tuesday, October 25^th. ¯¯¯ On top of spaghetti … all covered with cheese … ¯¯¯ Today is World Pasta Day, the 17^th one since its inception. I don’t think this childhood song is what International Pasta Organization had in mind. They intended to commemorate the delicious, nutritious and versatile role pasta plays in a healthy lifestyle. Today is also my sister’s birthday, a milestone birthday to boot. Seeing it is World Pasta Day, it brought back childhood memories of singing this song with my brother and sister (and I’m sure driving our parents totally batty).

Celebrate the day by cooking up a batch of pasta, one of the 600 varieties available and sing this whimsical song as the pasta boils. After dinner, use dried pasta shapes to create … necklaces, jewelry, pictures or more.

Wednesday, October 26^th: Happy National Mule Day! Mule Day celebrates the date in 1785 when farmer George Washington received “Royal Gift”, an Andalusian jack from King Charles III ofSpain. Mules are the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey.

My Uncle Scott Radabaugh (4/8/1895-6/6/1971) farmed with mules in Blue Mount Twp., Missouri his entire life. He loved his mules and used Welsh commands to direct them. Mule farming isn’t too popular anymore, but last week inDenton,Texas, our drive home almost came to an abrupt halt, seeing a man ride his mule down the road. For all the mule lovers out there, Happy Mule Day!

Thursday, October 27^th:  It’s Navy Day! Let’s hear it for those serving our country in the United States Navy. The Navy League of theUnited States organized the first Navy Day in 1922. They chose this date because it was the birthday of the navy-obsessed President Theodore Roosevelt. 

In 1949, the newly created Department of Defense, directed that the U.S. Navy’s participation occur on Armed Forces Day in May. (1949 was also the last observed Air Force Day, formerly observed on August 1^st. My Air Force son may not be as happy that the Air Force doesn’t have its own day anymore.) The Navy League of theUnited States, though, is a civilian organization and not affected by the 1949 directive. Navy Day is still largely recognized on October 27th.

Let’s celebrate Navy Day (and our other military branches) by sending some cards or letters to our servicemen. Here’s a link for information: http://amillionthanks.org/send-letter-guidelines-get-started.php