Incredible Kid Day – March 15

There are a lot of incredible kids out there and this is the day(Incredible Kid Day) to celebrate them!!  Often, kids are treated, well, like kids rather than the wonderful people they are.  Kids are capable of doing some rather amazing things and are often overlooked for their incredible abilities.  Kids are usually more in tune with their creativity and aren’t inhibited by what others will think about what they say or do.  That’s the perfect reason to set aside a special holiday to celebrate them–Incredible Kid Day–so that they don’t get forgotten or just think that they’ve been forgotten or overlooked.

Incredible Kid Day – Famous Incredible Kids

1. King Josiah – at the age of 8, he became the king of Judah.  His father was assassinated and immediately he was thrown into the role of the king of a nation.  He did not shrink back from his responsibilities, and in many ways, did a much better job than many of the kings ahead of him.  He’s a real 600 BC  kid worth celebrating Incredible Kid Day for.
2. King Tut – at the age of 9 or 10, he became the king of Egypt.  Although he suffered many illnesses and injuries during his short life(died at age 18), he left a long and lasting impression on many throughout history.
3. Joan of Arc – at the age of 16, she noticed the injustices of the government around her and began to do something about it.  The English were trying to take control of France and she helped the French army.  She died at the age of 19 when she was burned at the stake for her beliefs.
4. Akiane Kramarik – at the age of 4 she started drawing, at age 6 painting and at age 7 writing poetry.  Her paintings and poetry have inspired thousands of people.  If you’re looking for a modern day kid to prove this Incredible Kid Day is worth celebrating, then she’s your gal.

Incredible Kid Day Akiane's painting

Incredible Kid Day – Characteristics to Look for in an Incredible Kid

Incredible Kid Day is a great day to be reminded of the many qualities and characteristics that may be found in incredible kids.  It’s amazing how different kids can be and how many different ways they can display their “incredibleness.”    Some may have incredible intellect that can be used to solve some of the world’s problems, some may have incredible talents that astonish and amaze the world or some may have incredible love for people that helps change the world forever.  The awesome thing is that every single child has the ability to become one of those incredible kids.  We just need to be reminded to look for their uniqueness and then encourage them to believe in themselves and shoot for their dreams.  I’m sure you can find some kids to celebrate this Incredible Kid Day that don’t fit any of the molds that have been previously described.

Incredible Kid Day – How to Celebrate

It’s not hard to celebrate Incredible Kid Day when you are celebrating with some pretty amazing kids.  Kids love to celebrate and it doesn’t really matter how you choose to celebrate–they will make it a party and make it memorable!  However, here are a few suggestions to help get your creative juices flowing for this year’s Incredible Kid Day extravaganza:

1. Have a talent show highlighting all the amazing talents of kids in your community.
2. Host an art gallery and invite kids in your neighborhood to display their artwork and sell it to other’s in your neighborhood.
3. Donate money to a local youth group or youth center.   For example, www.pioneeryouthcenter.com
4. Have an ice cream social and invite over all the incredible kids you know.
5. Take a group of kids to the local nursing home or care facility and allow the kids to share their talents with the residents.
6. Organize a group of kids to clean up a local park.
7. Sign up to be the leader of a Boy/Girl Scout Club.
8. Encourage as many young people as you can to develop their talents and skills.
9. Hug a kid and let them know how much you appreciate them.
10. Create a scrapbook of your child’s talents to display.

January 26 is Dukes of Hazzard Day!

The amazing television shown known to everyone world wide has it’s birthday today. In 1979 on January 26 the series premiered. Dukes of Hazzard starring Catharine Bach as Daisy and Denver Pyle as Uncle Jesse are just important as ‘those good old boys’ Bo & Luke Duke played by John Schneider and Tom Wopat.

Make every January 26 a special day to celebrate your love for Dukes of Hazzard.

Which of the Dukes boys is the best?

Which of the many characters is your favorite?

Of course there are some other unforgettable characters in Dukes of Hazzard.

You can’t forget Boss Hogg 

Sheriff Roscoe P Coltrane and his loyal dog Flash

and even the goofy sidekick deputy Enos

And really, the General Lee is one of everyone’s favorites!

How are your going to celebrate January 26 and make it the best Dukes of Hazzard celebration yet? You could

• Find some episodes on Hulu.com to watch
• Invite your friends over to watch with you
• Dress as one of your favorite characters (and if you can find a white suit, you gotta post a picture for us)
• Have a “Dukes of Hazzard” marathon
• Search Amazon.com for some great deals on a Dukes of Hazzard piece of memorable

On August 28, 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave is famous “I Have a Dream”  speech and this is the day that we remember and honor him for that.  We can all celebrate his desire to see all of humanity to be given the same equality not only in their rights but in respect as well.

To celebrate this holiday, we honor the desire for all men to live together in peace by wearing black and white together.  You can make a concerted effort to celebrate our togetherness by doing something special for those of a different ethnicity than you; learn something from them or do something with them that is culturally different for you.   Embrace your cultural differences while acknowledging your unique equality with each other.

August 28 is the 3rd of the 3 major annual holidays called the Emancipation Holidays of Respect honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and all of what he stood for by promoting unity, respect for others, and remembrance of those who have come before us and have stood up for others’ rights especially in the area of segregation and slavery.  The other 2 days of Emancipation Holidays of Respect are “Humanitarian Day” (January 15- Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday) and “Victims of Violence Holy Day” (April 4-the day MLK,Jr. was killed).

We all have had our moments where we hurt the ones we love.  Hopefully you were not waiting for August 25 to make up for all those mistakes, but this is a great day to remind yourself and those you love that they are important to you and you want your relationships to be unbroken.  Kiss and Make Up Day is an opportunity for us to focus on the relationships in life and remember that they are the priority, not our careers, or 401K’s, or cars, houses, etc.  So take this day to do something extra special for those people in your life that you know you can’t do without.

Are you stuck with no ideas?  Try some of these:  call, text, email, send a card, take out to coffee or dinner, bake something they love, help them out with a task they need done, play a game, write them a poem, get them that gift off of their Amazon wish list, twitter something great about them….

August 25, Kiss and Make Up Day, is an opportunity to mend relationships and focus on what is really important in our lives: the people we love.

Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection (Big Brown Eyes / Kiss and Make Up / Thirty Day Princess / Wedding Present / Wings in the Dark)

Kiss and Make-Up Poster Movie 11×14 Cary Grant Helen Mack Genevieve Tobin Edward Everett Horton

Kiss & Make Up Italian Charm Bracelet

Kiss And Make Up

Peach Blossom

March 3

If you live anywhere but the South East United States you may be unaware of the beauty of the peach blossoms in early to mid March.  The weather may cause some variations on the best time to see peach blossoms but March 3rd is a great day to enjoy the beauty.  These beautiful peach trees across much of South Carolina (produces more peaches than any other state) and Georgia rival the renowned Cherry Blossoms of Washington DC.

Celebrating Peach Blossom Day on March 3 may take some creativity on your part.  I recommend making peach blossoms (a delightful desert) or peach blossom martini  See the recipes below.

Peach Blossoms 12ct

PEACH BLOSSOMS DESERT

Peach Blossom Martini

January 6 National Bean Day

Beans, Beans, Glorious Beans!  Beans are so important that they get a special holiday of their own.  It’s Bean Day!!  Kidney beans, Chili Beans, Lima Beans, Green Beans, Jelly Beans, Black Beans, Pinto Beans, Garbanzo Beans, and so many more.  What a great time of year to put together a big simmering pot of chili or calico beans.

Beans often get a bad rap.  You know, beans, beans the musical fruit.  However, beans are packed with protein and other important vitamins for your body.  There are ways to minimize the gas output that beans can cause in your body.  You need to make sure that beans are soaked well(from a dry stage) and then cooked properly.  Then, it helps to add beans to other foods so that they aren’t served alone.  Finally, you can also mash beans to help reduce the gas they will produce by making things like hummus.

There are lots of great recipes you can find to make delicious bean meals.

Easy Beans: Fast and Delicious Bean, Pea, and Lentil Recipes, Second Edition

Heirloom Beans: Great Recipes for Dips and Spreads, Soups and Stews, Salads and Salsas, and Much More from Rancho Gordo

366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains

Of course, you can also go the route of enjoying sweet beans today rather than those high in protein.  There’s nothing that says you can’t fill up a jar of jelly beans and munch on those today.  You can go the traditional route on jelly beans or go the upscale route with gourmet jelly beans.  Whichever you choose to enjoy it will have “bean” a great day!!

Celebrate January 6 Bean Day

It’s National Bird Day!!  This is a great day for enthusiastic bird watchers to get out and see what unusual varieties of birds they can discover.  This day is set aside to remind people about the many varieties of birds that are on the endangered species list.  It’s a day to inform people about the proper care of birds and why it’s so important to care for the birds in our world.

Many people find bird watching to be very recreational and informational.  In nearly every part of the world, you can find unusual and geographical varieties of birds.  Some places have such a good variety of birds to locate that there are bird watching clubs you can join.  You don’t need a lot of equipment to go bird watching, so it is a very reasonable hobby to pursue.  Most people only need a pair of binoculars and a good book on birds.  Some are so adept on locating types of birds that they only need to hear them to know what kind of bird it is.

There are many things you can do to celebrate National Bird Day:

1. Adopt a bird from your local animal shelter or pet shop.
2. Get a book on bird varieties and take time to get to know the birds in your area.
1. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition
2. Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guides® for Young Naturalists)
3. Birds
3. Put up a bird feeder or nesting box to draw birds to your yard
1. Gardman USA 0280019 Wild Bird Feeding Kit
2. Birdscapes 366 Tall Tulip Garden Lantern Bird Feeder
3. Cherry Valley Feeders Deluxe Gazebo Bird Feeder
4. Learn to identify birds by their songs
1. The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Eastern and Central North America (Backyard Birdsong Guides)
2. Bird Song Ear Training Guide: Who Cooks for Poor Sam Peabody? Learn to Recognize the Songs of Birds from the Midwest and Northeast States
3. Common Birds and Their Songs (Book and Audio CD)
5. Donate to a charity that works to protect birds
6. Visit a local conservatory that houses exotic birds
7. Learn about endangered birds or teach others about endangered birds
8. Learn about the migratory patterns of birds
9. Learn about what birds are in your yard during the different seasons of the year
10. Draw a picture of a bird–BTW, there is another holiday that celebrates this!!

It’s the day to celebrate those useless pieces of information known as trivia.  It’s Trivia Day!!  It’s amazing how many games and game shows have been centered around information we just simply have no reason to remember, but for some reason we do.

Ken Jennings’s Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days

Some of the game shows that have made trivia popular are “Jeopardy”, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader.”  Board games that highlight the knowledge of trivia are “Trivial Pursuit”, “Balderdash”, “Cranium” and “Fact or Crap.”  Ken Jennings is known for having the longest winning streak on Jeopardy.  Just imagine all the useless information he had to have stored in his head to win 74 consecutive Jeopardy games.  Although, after winning more than $3 million dollars, he probably doesn’t consider it useless information!!

Trivial Pursuit: Master Game – Genus Edition

Easy ways to celebrate this day are to pull out an old Trivial Pursuit game.  If you can’t get anyone to play with you, just have fun reading through the cards and filling your head with trivial information.  Otherwise, turn your TV channel to the Game Show Network.  I’m sure you’ll find many shows that will test your knowledge of trivia.  Otherwise, there are many books you can get that are filled with fun trivia.  Take your pick from those below and enjoy celebrating Trivia Day!!

It’s official–you can now toss that fruitcake out without feeling guilty that the person who gave it to you will be disappointed or emotionally scarred for life that you didn’t like their gift.  It’s Fruitcake Toss Day!!

The Ya-Hoo! Baking Co Texas Manor Fruitcake Ring, 28-Ounce Package

So, how can you turn this into a real event rather than just pitching it in the garbage?  Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing on putting together a real celebration.

1. Build a catapult and host a competition to see who can toss their fruitcake the farthest.
2. Invite the neighbors over for a “Neighborhood Watch” to see who can toss it the farthest.
3. Take a sledge hammer and smash it to smithereens before tossing it out.
4. Toss it on your neighbor’s porch and play Ding Dong Ditch.
5. Attach it to a rocket and shoot it off into space.
6. Sling it off into the ocean and let the sharks enjoy it.
7. Have a discus throwing competition with it.
8. Eat it and then “toss your cookies”.
9. Use it as a brick.
10. Okay, if you really can’t think of anything else, then, PLEASE toss that Fruitcake into the garbage!!

Are you still exhausted from all of last year’s activities, events and headaches?  Then take time to celebrate Festival of Sleep Day!!  Feel free to sleep in, take a nap and get to bed earlier than usual.  Then you will be energized to take on all the adventures awaiting you this year.

Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night, but relatively few really get the amount they need.  People don’t make sleep a priority.  Many don’t set enough time to get the good recuperative sleep they need and others simply can’t sleep even though they try.  This year, make it a priority to get the amount of rest you need to remain healthy and happy.

What can you do if you really want to get sleep and just can’t seem to be able to fall asleep or sleep peacefully?

1. Consult your physician
2. Give yourself wind down time before bedtime
3. Take a relaxing bath before bedtime
• Village Naturals Therapy Restless Nights Mineral Bath Soak 20oz
• Abra Sleep Therapy Bath, Mandarin & Neroli 17 oz
• Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Sleep Soothing Milk Soak – 5 Tubes!
4. Make your bedroom a haven, not a work zone or entertainment zone
5. Try natural sleep medicine like Melatonin
• Nature’s Bounty Melatonin, 3 mg, 240 Tablets
• Nature Made Liquid Softgel Sleep Natural Sleep Aid, 30-Count
• Alteril All Natural Sleep Aid– 30 Tablets
6. Don’t eat too close to bedtime
7. Figure out what works for you–light/dark, quiet/light sounds, warm/cool
8. Make sure you have a comfortable mattress–it really is worth the investment
9. Make sure you have a comfortable pillow
10. Ask for a relaxing bedtime massage