Category Archives: Holidays

Holidays

Hello Beautiful!

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Clouds don’t always have a silver lining, but today is the day to look for the beauty in everything.  Whether it’s your looks, spirit, or mindset, it’s Beautiful Day Day!  If your toes look like you could claw your way through anything, the beauty is it’s too cold outside for sandals and you can keep that secret to yourself.  If you’re too broke to buy groceries this month, the beauty is Thanksgiving is a couple days away and you can stock up on freezer-friendly items from the dinner table.  If you’re still trying to lose that baby weight you gained when your 15 year old was born, the beauty is it’s sweater season, again. If you were too busy to post on your blog earlier today, the beauty is, it’s your John Brown blog and you can post whenever you feel like it.  So, celebrate by enjoying your evening any beautiful way you feel like it and…

HOLIDAY ON MY FRIENDS!!!

 

Holidays

Don’t S$@! in Public

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Most of us don’t think of indoor plumbing as a luxury.  Most of us think choosing between a bidet and toilet wipes is a high-end decision. If you’re most of us, you’d probably be as surprised I was to find out there are about 1 billion people in the world who still practice open defecation and not because they’re homeless.  Happy World Toilet Day!  If you’ve gone to the bathroom, today, in a room with a toilet and plumbing, you are amongst the privileged.  The World Toilet Organization is working to solve public defecation and provide safe sanitation practices for those whose only alternative is to cop a squat. I’m going to assume I don’t have to explain why safe sanitation is important, but let’s just say it goes beyond offending your nostrils. This is one of those holidays where you either contribute to the cause or you don’t add to the problem.  So, if you want to celebrate you can either visit the WTO website and send a couple duckets their way or don’t s$@! in public.  Have fun and…

HOLIDAY ON MY FRIENDS!!!

 

Holidays

Trim the Fat

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article-2094267-11886c64000005dc-63_233x304319741444.jpgWhile you’re trimming the fat from that bird, trim your friends. It’s National Unfriend Day! Today’s holiday was initiated in 2010 by Jimmy Kimmel who felt Facebook had cheapened the meaning of friendship.  HE may be right, but if you didn’t have friends before Facebook, you’re probably excited about your sudden increase of 1,500 friends. If you spend most of your time in the real world, you’re probably not impressed by the number of online “friends” you have, you’re more concerned with the ones who know where you live, but don’t know your address.  You understand Facebook friends are people you know of, not necessarily people you really know or in rare cases know at all. If no one is causing you stress, you’re fine and probably don’t need to celebrate today.  But, if you have been in any of the following situations, you need start slicing, dicing, and celebrating all over your Facebook friends list.

  1. Your ex is stalking you through a fake account or a mutual friend.
  2. Your boss found out about your late night streaking because a loud mouth co-worker, who is your Facebook friend, outed you.
  3. Jesus told you to pull the weeds.
  4.  You just feel like being petty.
  5. You’ve become a Facebook stalker and you’re one click away from a court record.

Unfriend with a callous vengeance, save yourself, and…

HOLIDAY ON MY FRIENDS!!!

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Holidays

Buttheads

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Thanks to a no-nonsense older sister, this is how I feel when I see someone smoking.  It’s Great American Smokeout Day and I’m not talking about dinner.   In 1977, the American Cancer Society introduced today’s holiday in an effort to urge smokers to quit smoking.  I’m not a smoker, so I can only imagine how hard quitting can be.  I realize it’s more than a habit.  Anything that makes you stand in the blazing heat sucking fire, must be.  An urge that makes it seem cool to stand, shaking, in weather below zero degrees, is more than a notion. The desire to huddle in a pack trying to avoid precipitation and hail force winds, for a drag, is a bully that is dictating your life and jeopardizing your health.

Three smoking habits I hate, from a non-smoker’s perspective.

  1. When I’m sitting in my car on a nice summer day with the windows down, jamming to my favorite song on the radio and a cool breeze lunges at me carrying the smoke of the person, two cars ahead, who is smoking with the windows down.  Roll your windows up and keep your smoke to yourself.
  2. When I’m trying to zig-zag and hold my breath in order to ditch the polluted air from the smokers who insist on ignoring establishment rules and lights up near an entrance, exit or the front of the parking lot.
  3. When I have to watch my loved ones suffer, battling cancer, dialysis, tumors, and various surgeries because they chose not to quit smoking.

If you’re a smoker, today’s the perfect day to try quitting or to try quitting again.

 HOLIDAY ON MY FRIENDS!!!

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Holidays

When in doubt

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It’s time to venture to the back and celebrate Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day!  What’s lurking in the back of your fridge?  What is that brown gook that spilled down the back wall six months ago?  What is the sauce in that Pyrex dish you swore you would use again? Whatever it is, today is moving day.  Tonight, don’t cook. Eat leftovers and purge.  You have to make room for the holiday feasts.

As a child, I had severe disdain for this chore every time it was assigned to me. The fridge was packed with different plastic tubs of something other than what was on the label, there was always spillage that was hard to scrub out because the temperature of the fridge kept it cool, hard and sticky. There was always at least 3 to 4 condiment bottles of something that had just enough left, so I couldn’t just toss them in the trash.  I hated pulling out the cumbersome shelves and drawers, dueling with them in a sink that was too small for them to fit, and mopping up the spilled dishwater from the floor.  And, as I’d put the food back, wiping the bottom of every jar and reorganizing the arrangement for efficiency and neatness, I knew in my heart a self-cleaning fridge would be invented by the time I had my own house.

But, alas, it seems the self-cleaning fridge of my dreams is still in the works, so today I’ll be celebrating with everyone else. Turn up the music, venture to the back, investigate every jar (when in doubt, throw it out), and…

HOLIDAY ON MY FRIENDS!!! 

P.S. – Yes, the freezer too.

Holidays

LuLu

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This is your invitation to chill.  It’s Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day!  Thanksgiving is right around the corner, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah are down the street and New Year’s is around the block.  Panic Season is upon us.  How many people are coming for Thanksgiving? Who is cooking? What are we cooking? One turkey or two? Are you Black Friday shopping? If so, where? What do you want? What is the game plan? Have you finished holiday shopping? When are the lights going up, etc…? And, then you have to go to work and meet those deadlines too. Tis the season to remember yourself. Celebrate LULU by relaxing, relating, and, releasing.  Prioritize the really important things in life and let the manageable small fires burn until they put themselves out or you have the time.  Everything isn’t urgent.  Don’t let the unimportant rob you of a moment you can’t get back. Chill and…

HOLIDAY ON MY FRIENDS!!!

Holidays

save yourself, save the world

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I’ve taken care of the old, the young, the sick, and the crazy. It’s National Caretaker Appreciation Day.  GOOD caretakers deserve their own day. They deserve their own month (which they have, it’s November). 

I can tell you from experience that being a caretaker is physically and emotionally demanding. Most of us will play the role of caretaker at some point in our lives, whether it’s a child, a parent, another relative, a neighbor, a patient, or friend.  Here’s some advice.

  1. Take care of yourself too. Exercise, mediate, and eat well. If you’re weak,  sick or crazy, you’re no good to the person you’re helping.
  2. Make time for yourself. Take an hour off. Go to the movies, read a book, get a massage, or make origami.  You have needs too, fulfill them.
  3. There are other people in the world. Don’t neglect your other relationships.  Friends, family, those who love and support you will understand if you’re not as available as you once were, but if you forget them all together, they’ll forget you too.  Then 10 years later you’ll have to do that awkward, teary reunion conversation where you agree it was both your faults.
  4. If you aren’t being respected and appreciated, buy a plane ticket and fly your arse home.  Being a caretaker is a heavy load and even though most caretakers are there because their heart is connected to the patient, when it feels like abuse, you should hire a trained professional.  It takes patience and when yours is worn out, you’re not helpful to your patient. Give hugs, kisses, and a peace sign.

Celebrate today by thanking those who have taken care of you. If you’re a caretaker, celebrate yourself.  If it’s necessary, have that awkward teary reunion conversation. Remember save yourself, save the world and…

HOLIDAY ON MY FRIENDS!!!

Holidays

Then, Now, Forever

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It’s Veterans Day! Originally, called Armistice Day, Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the day to honor fallen soldiers of World War I. In 1945, Congress renamed and amended the holiday to include all men and woman of service.  Celebrate today by thanking a soldier, sailor, or airmen who have bravely dedicated a portion of their life to serving on behalf of the citizens of the United States.  Even those who don’t see combat are obligated to spend hours, days, and months away from family, and are on standby 100% of the time.  Buy a meal, give a hug, extend a hand and…

HOLIDAY ON MY FRIENDS!!!

Holidays

CPA, IRS, Money oh my

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Remember when you were frustrated in math class and you thought to yourself, “I’m never going to use this stuff.” Well, if we’re celebrating you today, you’re definitely using this stuff. It’s International Accounting Day! Yes, accounting is an international event. It may not be obvious by the National Debt ceiling, that keeps getting raised, but accurate accounting is important.  It may be more obvious during tax season.  As we round out the year and corporations start releasing charitable tax write offs and fiscal years close, this may be the perfect time to get on your accountants good side. Celebrate them by 937665_m393018612.jpgsending a card, bouquet, fruit basket, or theatre tickets. I say celebrate them according to how late you are in filing your taxes. For example, if you are still gathering receipts for 2013, you probably owe them your first born, but since that kid is a tax right off, spring for tickets to the game instead. The truth is we all should be celebrating,  because until money starts growing on trees, we all need to be accountable. Unless you prefer an alternate lifestyle, celebrate an accountant or become one and…

HOLIDAY ON MY FRIENDS!!!

 

Holidays

Parliament Funkadelic

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If you’re the kind of person who b-lines for a “HOT NOW” sign, gets excited by Las Vegas lights, or has done recon in the midnight sky for an OPEN sign, you better get ready to celebrate the French Chemist George Claude. It’s Neon Sign Day! Yes, chemistry is responsible for these fun colored, brightly glowing, signs.  Invented in 1911, the first neon sign was used in a Paris Barbershop.  Today, no establishment is visible without a neon light.  A mixture of gasses like neon, argon, helium, xenon, and krypton give the glass signs color. The average life span of a neon sign is 8- 15 years. This makes them a solid investment for most businesses.

You can celebrate by buying a neon sign or you can channel Parliament and get Funkadelic.

HOLIDAY ON MY FRIENDS!!!