June 24th Swim A Lap Day

It’s hot, one of the best ways to cool down is to jump into a pool of nice refreshing water. It’s also good for you too, in many ways it’s better exercise than jogging and with less wear and tear on your body!

There are seven tips to becoming a better swimmer. 1.) Start slow. (For those of you who like to cannon-ball your way into swimming. 2.) Exhale while your head is underwater. 3.) Inhale when it is above water. (Ah, hello!) 4.) Each out as far as you can with one arm while rolling your head to the opposite side for breathing. 5.)Kick with your legs slightly bent at the knee but as straight as  possible. 6.) Point your toes. (Because you never know when a dance instructor may come by.) 7.) Push your chest down while stroking (That sounds perverted).

I have decided there are seven more to pay close attention to as well. 1.) Do not swim while holding a cannon ball. 2.) Never choose a shark as your swimming buddy. 3.) Drinking straws should never replace a real snorkel. 4.) Do not try swimming the breaststroke in a bathtub. 5.) Always swim in the company of others. This does not include me, myself and I as your three friends. 6.) Make sure there is water in the pool before diving in. 7.) Do not swim in a business suit.

Seriously though, swimming is good for you and a great way to cool down.  Just be safe and do not tempt our limits too far.

How to celebrate – Enjoy the water but when you start to prune it’s time to get out. If you don’t have a pool, make a friend with someone who does. Get a shovel and start digging your own pool.

June 23rd National Take Your Dog To Work Day

Take Your Dog To Work Day June 23^rd, 2017

Who wouldn’t want to take their best friend to work with them, not just today but everyday! Of course they might keep you from getting a lot of work done but isn’t that sort of what their job is!?!

To have a friendly face staring at you all day is so much better than looking at a computer screen, or writing up accounts, or whatever it is you do. Yes they will want to play, but a little play at work can lighten up the mood and actually help you to accomplish more!

Today was created by Pet Sitters International in 1999, always the Friday following Father’s Day. For more information you can contact the Association at takeyourdog@petsit.com.

How to celebrate – Take your dog to work! Remember to pack them a lunch and you may want to take along some of their favorite toys. By a suit for your dog to make them look “Official”.

June 22nd National Chocolate Eclair Day

Why are so many of our National Holidays related in some form or way to food? For all those on a diet I apologize. Today is Chocolate Eclair Day, perhaps the most fattening and tempting treat on the planet.

Chocolate covered dough with a creme or custard filling. Once again, thank Christopher Columbus because if it weren’t for him we would probably all have to just settle for an Eclair without the chocolate.

 

 

How to celebrate – Have a Chocolate covered eclair today! Be thankful you can have a chocolate covered eclair today. Try making your own version of a chocolate eclair adding something that makes yours even more delicious.

June 21st Summer Solstice

Today is the first day of summer according to the Meteorological Organizations. For those of us who live in the south and feel the heat…they are just a little behind. However, it is recognized as the longest day of the year, I guess we have to go along with that.

In fact, the daylight will never go away today at the North Pole so if your thinking of napping and live there, you’ll need some sort of blinders. We call it summer solstice but it is also known as “Midsummer” (which makes no sense to me at all) or “Litha” (which I guess is Latin).

Whatever you call it, sit back with a glass of iced tea and maybe some fruit and enjoy it. You’ll have a little longer to relax in the sun today than normal, so even though it’s the middle of the week, find a spot and relax.

Even the ancient Brits studied today. It sort of makes me wonder why? We can’t change it, we can’t argue it, but I guess we can study it.  It is not the favorite day of the year for Polar Bears or Owls (owls like to hunt in the dark so they’ll have to wait a little longer for supper tonight).

I’m not really sure how to celebrate today. Maybe by tanning for an extra hour (watch out for the burn!), or maybe just enjoy a little extra daylight for whatever it is you like to do in the daylight. Sorry for those of you who are vampires.

How to celebrate – Go to the beach today and soak in the rays. Study why the summer solstice is important to us. (then let me know). Have a summer solstice party!

June 20th National Ice Cream Soda Day

Seems like there are a lot of things developed for our refreshment during the summer months. In some cases it is really needed. At least Robert McCay Green needed it in 1874 when he ran out of ice to cool down his customers in Philadelphia, Pa.. There was a convention taking place in Philadelphia and Green was getting a lot of customers but he ran out of ice. Now hot soda is hot soda and doesn’t sell all that well so in order to keep the soda cold he added the only thing he had handy to cool them down, and that was ice cream.

Now others have claimed to be the first to add ice cream to their sodas but this sounds the most convincing. The nice thing about the ice cream soda, or ice cream float as it was better known then, is that it can use any flavor soda and any flavor ice cream. For example, in the UK, the most popular ice cream soda is made with Coke!

But there is little doubt that in America A & W Root Beer made the most popular ice cream soda. Root Beer soda and vanilla ice cream, better known as a “Black Cow”.

But if you don’t like root beer, or you don’t like vanilla ice cream it is perfectly acceptable for you to make it out of anything you like. Cherry ice cream and Cream Soda, Chocolate ice cream and coffee soda, Strawberry ice cream and Mountain Dew. It’s your choice, cool down and enjoy yourself on any hot summer day.

How to celebrate – Fix yourself an ice cream float. Throw and ice cream float party. Experiment with different sodas and different ice creams until you find your very favorite. Then find a good name for it!

June 19th World Sauntering Day

So what is sauntering. It’s not running, it’s not strolling, it’s not jogging… it’s walking, but not exactly. It’s putting your life in stride and letting your walk follow. Some people use big steps, some small, some almost skip, but once you have begun sauntering, you’ll never go back.

It’s walking but with style and whether you are headed somewhere or just out for a stroll, it sets your gait to a beat, a beat inside your head that only you can hear. No two people saunter exactly alike and that’s the way it should be.

You can saunter by yourself, or with a crowd. You can saunter at the mall, school or even in church. It’s all in your frame of mind. It was started by W. T. Rabe on Mackinac Island. He was a Public Relations Director for a hotel back in the 1970’s. He created the day and his style of sauntering as a publicity stunt but it stuck.

You must be conscious of your sauntering until it comes as second nature to you. You need to look just as good walking away as you do approaching. And you never know who may be watching so you can’t let up.

And soon you will be sauntering without even knowing it. And you will be cool, whether you really are or not.

How to celebrate – Begin creating your own sauntering style. Try and figure little things you can do to make your saunter even more unique. Pick out your sauntering song and learn it well so it will never leave you.

June 18th Father’s Day

I am not qualified to talk about your father, or any one’s father, other than my own. I literally owe him everything. He made me who I am, both the good and the bad, and though I have not always agreed with him I have always trusted him and loved him without condition, just as he has me.

He taught me things I did not even know he taught me. (Very possibly he didn’t know either!) He has always surprised me with the littlest of items but ones that have meant the most to me. Anyone can give you a gift, anyone can spend money on you and you will appreciate it but only a few people can give you things you cannot buy anywhere.

We take them for granted. They are sort meant to be that way. Dads do not want credit or awards, they just want their children to grow up happy and contribute something to life. That might sound a little odd but as I get older I understand what that means. Living without giving anything, participating in life is not living at all, it is existing. And dads don’t just want their children to exist.

My father spent his younger years as a farmer, growing things and working hard. As a child he made his children work in the fields, not doing anything hard, but doing something to contribute. At the time I hated every second of it, but now they are some of the fondest memories I have. It makes me think he knew that all along.

So here’s to my father, and I hope to all of yours. He is the greatest man I have ever known and I hope he realizes that, though I bet he would disagree. It’s what we hold in our hearts that matters and in mine, my dad will always be my hero, my mentor and… well… my dad.

How to celebrate – Enjoy your father today, or more importantly let him enjoy you. Don’t give your dad a tie, he already has enough! Think of a gift that will mean something to him, more than just spending money make it something worthwhile.