National Months - October

 Looks like we have a lot to celebrate this month.  

Let's get started!

National Pet CBD Month

CBD products are becoming quite popular to use with pets.  Some of the products include: tinctures, treats, peanut butter and topicals.  THC free options are the way to go for our furry friends.  I have a feeling my weird dog will be participating this month.

National World Menopause Month

A whole month dedicated to hot flashes, night sweats and trouble sleeping.  You can share your sweating on social media with #MenopauseMonth.  Sounds like a good time.

Wishbones for Pets Month

This is a time where animal lovers raise money for pet charities.  It's set around the holidays to remind us to keep the animals in mind during this season.  How to help?  Donate to your local animal shelters.  Often times the shelters have wish lists online to make giving easier.

Squirrel Awareness Month

I really think this one was set up for RT for his favorite squirrel, Nutty (Nutty is the screen saver on RT's phone).  If you want to learn more about squirrels Nutty, give RT a call.

National Sarcastic Awareness Month

Best to participate around people with a sense of humor.  #SarcasticAwarenessMonth 

National Pretzel Month

I love pretzels.  Great time of year to make my Pretzel Bites.  Serve them with your favorite mustard, makes it the perfect snack for watching a football game.

National Popcorn Poppin' Month

I love popcorn more than pretzels, though.  The perfect snack for any occasion.  Watching movies or sports or just for a healthy snack.  I think I'll go make some popcorn now.

National Pizza Month

This works out perfectly if you ask your brother over to make pizza for you.  Maybe have him make several pizzas and you can invite the entire family over for a pizza party!

National Pickled Peppers Month

Probably sponsored by Peter Piper.

National Cookie Month

A great time to get your body ready for the cookies over the holiday season.  If you are making cookies and need some inspiration, check out the "Recipes" link on the side of the blog.  There are some fun cookie ideas under "Desserts."

Vegetarian Month

Even if you are a meat eater, this is a great time to give vegetarianism a try.  Even for just a day or two.  There are so many great recipes out there.  And, before you chime in with, "Meat is essential in your diet" response, read on first.  A vegetarian diet is high in antioxidants and vitamins.  Eating meat supports heart health.  Cutting out meat helps reduce your risk of diabetes.  If done correctly, you can still get plenty of protein on a vegetarian diet.  Why not plan a meatless meal this week?

Have a great month!

Stickers

 There are stickers on fruit that easily peal off.  There are those beastly stickers they put on items like glasses or dishes that are difficult to pull off.  And there are fun stickers of animals, sayings or pictures that you can decorate yourself, a water bottle, your locker or a notebook.  I'm going to talk about the fun stickers.

We have a small box of fun stickers at every register at work.  If the customer has a child(ren) you can offer them a sticker.  I have to say, sticker distribution is the highlight of my job.  If you see how happy these kids are to get a sticker you would understand.  I'm even excited about giving out the sticker!  I hand over a sticker and the child's life is immediately changed forever.  They are so happy and excited.  Makes you wonder how something so small and insignificant can bring so much joy.

What small item brings you joy?

National One Hit Wonder Day

 For all of those awesome songs that we know all of the words from bands that we never heard from again.

Let's rattle off a few here:

867-5309  -  Tommy Tutone (1981)

Tainted Love - Soft Cell (1981)

I Melt with You - Modern English (1982)

I just died in your arms - Cutting Crew (1987)

I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred (1991)

Walking in Memphis - Marc Cohn (1991)

Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something (1995)

Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne (2003)

Some oldies that I didn't realize were one hit wonders:

Monster Mash - Bobby "Borris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers (1962)

Wipe Out - The Surfaris  (1963) 

The Boys are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy (1976)

Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles (1979)

Did I miss any of your favorites?  Add them in the comments below!

The Proust Phenomenon

 The Proust Phenomenon is the idea that certain smells can trigger childhood memories.  Marcel Proust wrote about this in "Swann's Way" referencing how the taste of a cookie soaked in tea revived a long-buried childhood memory.  How does it work?  Our brain stores all sorts of details on odors that we come across.  Location, people, emotions, animals and the like are stored along with this memory.  Smelling this odor again brings up all of the memories (good and bad).  These memories can be from the ages of 1-10.

We visit a local halal market.  I love going up and down the aisles and seeing items that either my dad or grandparents would buy.  Brings up some happy memories for me.  My dad had a store, filled with cases of various fruits and vegetables.  To this day, the smell of golden delicious apples takes me back to being in his store as a little girl.  I have been known to sneak "smells" when I'm in the product department while grocery shopping.

Do you have any smells that bring you back to childhood?

Are they from good times or bad times?

National Chai Day

Chai tea, one of the most popular tea drinks!

In Asian countries, "chai" means tea.  The meaning of this word changed when India adopted the British way drinking tea and added milk and a sweetener.  More spices were added and a little more milk and masala chai was born.

Masala chai, or mixed spice tea, is what we know as chai tea.  Some of the spices used in chai: green cardamom, ginger, cloves and peppercorn. Hot or iced, there's no wrong way to enjoy this drink.

How to celebrate:  

Pour yourself a glass of chai tea. 

Have a little tea party with a friend or two.  Don't forget tea biscuits!

Post on social media using #NationalChaiDay

Chai tea is my favorite.  I know I will be celebrating today, how about you?

Airport

 If there is one thing I hate doing, it's driving to the airport.  

There's the traffic. 

Lane closures.  

More traffic.  

Police officers letting you know, "YOU CAN'T PARK THERE!"  

Traffic.  

Circling the terminals (while waiting for the travelers)

Police officers yelling, "KEEP MOVING!"

Crazy taxi drivers.

Flight delays.

Even more traffic.

Recently, I had to drive to the airport to drop a car off.  Instead of bringing the person all the way back to our house, it made sense to just bring their car to save them 45 minutes to 2 hours of driving time (Chicago traffic).  I enlisted my brother to drive one of the cars (I needed a car to get back home) and we set out for this long journey.  

I would like to say that everything went smoothly.  That we got there at a perfect time, not a lot of traffic and circled a few times.  Well, that did happen.  The only thing that didn't happen was the travelers' arrival.  

I should probably state that the "traveler" is my son.  I should also mention that the "traveler" gave me the wrong arrival day.  So, as much as I hate driving to the airport, I now had to make this journey two days in a row.

The "traveler" made it safely to his car and has apologized for his mistake.   

My brother is a saint for being a trooper and helping out.

And I'm just hoping I don't have to drive to the airport for awhile. 

Retail Problems

 Time for another installment of retail problems.  This is where you get to read about the weirdos people who step out into the world and try to interact normally with other humans.

I have been working Customer Service lately, handling returns for both our store and Amazon.  There is a noticeable difference between the customers returning merchandise to our store and those just returning to Amazon.  Our store customers are (usually) a lot nicer to us employees.  Of course, there are always the scary strange odd situations that occur on a daily basis.  

We have a guy who makes store returns.  He likes to return old produce purchased from another store.  I'm not sure why he doesn't return to where he purchased the food.  I'm afraid to ask.  He has receipts for his purchases.  The receipts can be up to 3 months old.  I don't think produce can last three months long.  His produce is hot, old, squishy and smelly (that's the only way I can describe it...nicely).  I guess I could give you my honest reaction and say I'm trying to keep myself from getting sick while doing the return.  His reason for his returns?  "My wife didn't like it."  I wouldn't like three-month-old lettuce, either.  Nor would I like mushy, moldy cucumbers.  I'm sick just writing about it.

Moving on...

We have another woman who is a frequent "returner."  She likes to bring in items that have been opened.  For example, a half-eaten steak, a half-eaten bag of chips, half bag of pistachios, part of a chocolate bar.  She has receipts for these items.  They are, of course, purchased at another location.  Apparently, that location has flagged her and will not let her return anything to that store.  Her reason for returning these items?  "My husband didn't like it."  I have yet to meet this "husband."  Does he like anything she buys?  Does she even have a husband?  Is this just her entertainment or social interaction?  If she does have a husband, maybe he should do the grocery shopping!  There will probably be a lot less returns.  

And one more before I go....

I had a woman who wanted a refund on two beers that she did not drink.  She purchased them a couple weeks ago from a different store.  Who returns beer?  Does everyone go through their pantry and return items they haven't consumed?  Is this normal behavior?

All I know is, you can't make this stuff up.