Fun National Days in October

Thought I would try to get this post out early so everyone can celebrate all of the fun national days in October.

Here we go!

October 1 National Hair Day

A day to celebrate all of the tools and products that make our hair healthy so we all can have a good hair day!   This can include hair care products, stylists and hair tools (i.e., curling irons, straighteners, etc.).  Of course, if you don't have hair, well, there's always 

National Homemade Cookie Day

A great way to celebrate is to make some homemade cookies and share with your friends and neighbors.  Or, just eat them all by yourself.

October 2  National Name Your Car Day

This day encourages you to make a commitment to your car by giving it a name.  Some famous cars with names:   Herbie the Love Bug, General Lee from "The Dukes of Hazard," and Bandit from "Smokey and the Bandit."   What will you name your car?  With all of the car dealer trips I make, I think my car should be named, Lemon.

October 5  National Get Funky Day

Originally founded by Funkytown Fitness, National Get Funky Day encourages you to step out of your shell and let loose.  Break free from your comfort zone and wear bright colors, dance to happy music, smile, hug people, laugh, be positive and most importantly, have fun.  "When people get funky, they get happy and the world becomes a positive place."  

October 6 National Mad Hatter Day

Based on the character the Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland," this day brings out your silly side.  How to celebrate?  Host a Mad Hatter tea party, read from Alice in Wonderland or tell absurd riddles.

October 10  National Handbag Day

Whatever you call it...purse, handbag, pocketbook, clutch, evening bag, pouch or case, come in various shapes, sizes and colors.  The earliest bags were used to carry tools or gear.  Sometimes the user decorated them with beads or dyed the material.  How to celebrate the day?  Wear your favorite handbag.  Or, better yet, buy a new bag.  I will be celebrating because of all the mental stress that I put into finding myself a new purse (click HERE, HERE and HERE for a little back story on my purse issues).

October 11  National Sausage Pizza Day

Give Uncle Steve a call and make your reservations now for National Sausage Pizza Day.  He will make a nice, tasty homemade pizza for you.

October 13  National No Bra Day

When I first saw this day I thought, if I try to celebrate this day, I might be forced to put mine back on.  Then I read a little further and it is actually part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is celebrated in October.  Today serves as a reminder to get screened or breast cancer.

October 15  National Grouch Day

Originally set aside to celebrate Oscar the Grouch, from Sesame Street.   We are also able to celebrate the grouches in our lives.  You can participate by complaining and being miserable all day.  

October 22  National Make a Dog's Day

A day to visit your local shelters and adopt (or rescue) a dog.  Today you will find me spoiling Pippen.

October 29  National Cat Day

A day we will not be celebrating in our house.

October 31  National Doorbell Day

The day that the doorbell gets a good work out, Halloween, a.k.a. National Doorbell Day.  If we don't get Trick or Treaters this year, just go out front and ring your doorbell a few hundred times.  Pippen's vocal chords get a great work out on this day.

It looks like it's going to be another fun month!

My Job

 My favorite part of my job?

Seeing (and petting) all of the cute dogs that come into our store.

Let's just keep that bit of information between us.  I don't want Pippen to find out that I'm cheating on him.  

Walmart Greeter

 Like most people, I have big plans when I get older.  

Some people make long bucket lists of things that they want to do or experience before they die.  Bungee jumping, jumping out of an airplane, travel to some remote part of the world, go whale watching, climb a mountain, etc.  They all sound fun, right?  

I joke with my kids that my goal in life is to be a Walmart greeter.  Think about how fun it would be to welcome people into a store?  You get to talk to them, make a few jokes and move on to the next customer.  And they have lots of people coming into their store all day!

My big opportunity to test the waters on my dream job  being greeter came one day at work.  We needed a greeter and, seeing this as an opportunity of a lifetime, I volunteered for this position.

I think the biggest mistake is how excited I was to be greeter.  My coworkers gave me odd looks.  They have all experienced the greeter life and they all had a strange look on their faces when they saw how happy I was to be the greeter for the day.  I think I even frightened my manager with all of my excitement.  

My excitement slowly wore off when I saw how few people entered our store in one day.  It is also difficult to greet while wearing a mask because a lot of people can not hear you (it also doesn't help that the blower is on really high right where they walk into the store).  I also noticed that many people ignore the greeter.  So, I had to switch it up a little.  I started giving out compliments.  It was fun....for me.  Most customers still ignored me, and some thanked me.  I would be a little more excited about the greeting position if more people came into our store.  

Since I found out how challenging   boring  it can be to be greeter, I have taken to pacing.  My all time high is 2500 steps in one hour.  I'm not sure how accurate that number is because I'm using the step counter on my phone.  My next time occupier is writing blog posts.  If I keep getting scheduled as a greeter, there might be an abundance of blog posts.  Lucky you.

Even though there is a low turn out of people at work, I'm happy to say that I'm not dropping Walmart Greeter from my bucket list just yet.  

A Scary Journey Inside My Life

 It all started HERE.  

Today marks 9 long  frightening  scary  years for A Scary Journey Inside My Life.  Honestly, I didn't think it would last a year.  I told you early on that this journey was going to be scary.  

Let's take a little look at that first blog post:

So, this is my first time blogging.  I thought I would blog about all the inner workings of my brain and all that goes on in my life.  (Hope you have lots of time, this is going to be a long one)  

I really am not sure how or where to start.  I guess I should just keep on typing.

Let me give you a brief background.  I am married  to RT, and we have 3 children, Nick 14, Alex 11 and Bella 5.5,  and a dog named Newton.  We live in Illinois, but, my brain would like to live somewhere like Zihuatanejo, Mexico.  (Excuse me while I sip my margarita)  

Ok, life can get kind of crazy around here (thus the reason why my brain is vacationing in Mexico).  We (RT and I) work out of the house together (we sell Security Cameras).  When we are not selling security cameras we are shuffling kids and trying to lead a somewhat normal life.  Well, we aren't totally sure if its normal.    

Well, you made it this far.  You might want to stick around.  This should be an interesting ride.

Well, a few things have changed since that original post.  

My children are 9 years older

Newton is no longer with us

We don't sell security cameras 

We now have a weird dog named Pippen

Some things have stayed the same:

Still married to RT (poor guy)

Still live in Illinois (hopefully my days in this state are numbered..)

My brain is still living in Zihuatanejo

There are lots of inner workings in my brain and a lot going on in my life

And, My Life is still scary

If you have been here since the beginning, you are a saint thank you for putting up with me and my craziness all of these years.  If you have just joined the journey, hang on tight.  This crazy  scary ride is not over yet!

Fun National Days in September

 Sorry I'm late with this post!  I think we missed a couple of good holidays.  We will have to keep them in mind for next year.

Here we go!

September 1 National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day

A day to celebrate words that do not rhyme with any other words in the English language.  Words that don't rhyme with other words are called refractory rhymes.  Poets try to avoid using these words.  Some unrhymable words:  orange, month, silver, spirit, chimney, purple, woman and ninth.  Can you think of any other words to add to that list?

September 4  National Lazy Mom's Day

A day for Mom to delegate her everyday jobs to someone else.  The laundry and dishes will be there later.  Today is a perfect day for Mom to take a much needed break.

September 5  National Be Late for Something Day

Today we are allowed to not abide by our schedules.  Go ahead and sleep in a little bit today.  This day allows you to stop and smell the roses.  Slow down for a little bit.  Visit a friend, play with your kids.  Be late for something because of it!

It's also

National Cheese Pizza Day

A day for my family to celebrate doing what they love to do...eat pizza.  Call up Uncle Steve and maybe he will make the pizza.

September 7 National Grandma Moses Day

The birthday of Anna Mary Robertson Moses is celebrated today.  She was a talented artist that started a career late in life.  She began a career in the arts (painting) at the age of 78.  She serves as an inspiration.  It's never to late to try something new.

September 8 National Ampersand Day

Did you know that the ampersand used to be the last letter of the alphabet?  Did you know that the plus sign is also an ampersand?  You can celebrate today by using ampersands in your writing.  & & & 

It's also

National Ants on a log Day

This is a day that celebrates a healthy food that is enjoyed by many.  Ants on a log is made by spreading peanut butter on celery and topping it with raisins.  The snack name was first used in the 1950's and was recommended as healthy by the McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois.  How is this healthy?  Well, the raisins provide Vitamin C, selenium and zinc.  They are also low in sodium and a great source of potassium (which is good for blood pressure).  Raisins also provide iron, copper and magnesium.  Peanut butter brings the protein and a boost of healthy fat.  And, the celery provides fiber, folate, potassium and Vitamin K.  I know what I'm having for a snack today.

September 13   National Hug Your Hound Day

Need I say more?  Pippen, where are you??

September 15   National Online Learning Day

Didn't know we needed a holiday for online learning.  Maybe we can celebrate by not participating in online learning today and do something crazy, like, in-person learning?  

OK.  It was just a thought...

September 16   National Guacamole Day

Holy Guacamole!  You don't have to tell me twice.  Pass the chips, please!

September 20  National Pepperoni Pizza Day

Another pizza party with the family.  Uncle Steve is going to be busy this month making all of those pizzas.

It's also

National Wife Appreciation Day

Um.  Wait a minute.  Shouldn't that be everyday?  I'm just sayin' 

September 21  National Chai Day

A day for us tea lovers to enjoy a nice cup of chai tea.  

September 24  National Punctuation Day

Are you a question mark kind of person?  Or maybe you like a comma or semi colon?  A period, a comma, a semicolon, a question mark and an exclamation point are examples of some of the punctuation used in writing. They separate sentences and their elements to clarify meaning.  Without them, meaning would be lost or up for interpretation.   How to observe the day?  Spend the day critiquing others' mistakes.  Or, carefully correct your own.  Write an email with a single error and send it to everyone you know and see if anyone finds the mistake.  

September 25  National One Hit Wonder Day

A one hit wonder is a musical group that has one hit song and, well, that's it.  The group or singer is never heard from again.

Here are some one hit wonders you can listen to today:

867-5309  - Tommy Tutone

Tainted Love - Soft Cell

I Melt with You - Modern English

Come on Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners

Safety Dance - Men without Hats

I'm too Sexy - Right Said Fred

Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin

Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne

Can you think of any to add to the list?

September 29   National Coffee Day

A day for those crazy  people who do not like tea.