August 6 - Fresh Breath Day

I used to not be too worried about how my breath smelled. After researching fresh breath tips for today's holiday, I am now very paranoid that I have halitosis and am offending those around me. I will now take to carrying various herbs, toothpastes, mouthwash and tongue scrapers with me wherever I go.

Remedies for bad breath fall into three categories:
-Avoiding certain foods/substances
-Basic routine dental care
-Dealing with bad breath when it happens

If you wish to avoid bad breath, avoid consuming:
Garlic (and garlic powder)
Onions (and onion powder)
Fish
Milk
Cheese
Liquor
Coffee
Sugary foods
Processed foods
Stimulants
Cigarettes

To avoid bad breath, follow these regular dental care tips:
Brush and floss regularly.
Scrape or brush your tongue also.
See a dentist regularly.
Use mouthwashes containing chlorine dioxide.
Check for signs of gingivitis and other dental problems.
Store toothbrush head down in a lidded plastic tumbler of hydrogen peroxide. Rinse very well before use.
Gargle with 1 tsp honey and cinnamon mixed in hot water in the morning.
Drink water throughout the day.
Eat "active culture" yogurt every day. This will help eliminate any traces of internally generated bad breath.
Drink tea.
The acids and fiber in fruits and vegetables can help kill much of the bacteria in your mouth. Another reason to eat more fruits and veggies every day!
Some medications may cause halitosis as a side effect - see if you can switch if it is a major issue.

Bad breath is bound to happen, even with careful dental hygiene. When it happens, try these tips:
Chew parsley, mint, fennel, ginger, basil, or cloves.
Drink water with lemon.
Eat an apple.
Gargle with salt water.
Gargle with mouthwash or have sugar-free mint or gum. Sugary gums or mints feed oral bacteria (bad for teeth and breath).
Whiskey will help kill the germs causing bad breath, but don't overdo it, it can worsen the problem.
Rinse mouth with water, then use a dry paper towel to rub your teeth. Rinse again. If towel is rough enough, use it to rub tongue clean.
Eat various mixed vegetables mixed into a mashed potato-like mush; vegetables like mushrooms, carrots and others work well.
Drink vodka after consuming onion/garlic.

Happy Fresh Breath Day!
Tips from the following pages:
Wikihow.com
Wikihow.com
Wikihow.com
Save Your Smile
GetRidofThings.com
Bad Breath Research

August 5 - Work Like a Dog Day

Work Like a Dog Day

How does one work like a dog? The definition I came up with is "to work very energetically and hard." Seeing-eye dogs, and drug or cadaver dogs notwithstanding, most dogs don't really do any work. I wouldn't consider them to be very industrious. "Work like a beaver" would be far more appropriate, although I wouldn't be able to say that without giggling.

While pondering this colorful phrase, I remembered another canine-related idiom: "dogged," meaning "stubbornly persevering; tenacious." In this light, "work like a dog" makes more sense to me. Dogs can be "dogged" when tracking a scent, or digging a hole.

So, to celebrate Work Like a Dog Day, you should work very energetically and hard while stubbornly persevering and being tenacious.

Wow. I'm tired just thinking about it. That sounds like too much for a Tuesday. I never could get the hang of Tuesdays.

(Before you send any nasty e-mails, I know that Arthur Dent couldn't get the hang of Thursdays. I personally have always had trouble with Tuesdays. If you don't know what I'm talking about, never mind.)

Definitions were obtained from Answers.com.

August 4 - National Chocolate Chip Day

Wait just a minute.

Didn't I already celebrate Chocolate Chip Day earlier this year? Why, yes! Yes, I did - and here's the post to prove it.

If you view the National Confectioners Association's calendar, you will see that they really do have two National Chocolate Chip Days. (They also have five different days listed as Chocolate Day, two of which are in December. I call shenanigans!)

But when I think about it, chocolate chips are pretty amazing. I guess it wouldn't hurt to celebrate them twice a year. If you don't know by now how chocolate chips (and chocolate chip cookies) were invented, I will tell you. In 1933, a woman named Ruth Wakefield wanted to make chocolate cookies. She made her usual butter cookie batter, and chopped up a semi-sweet chocolate bar (that's how it was sold before chips were invented) thinking that the little bits would melt and blend with the cookie dough. When baked, the bits softened but basically kept their shape. Somewhere along the line, Nestlé heard about this and printed her recipe on their chocolate bar wrapper. At first, they made a special chopper to break up the chocolate, but in 1939, the chocolate began to be sold in chip (Nestlé calls them morsels) form. Oh, and Mrs Wakefield ran (with her husband) the Toll House Inn, hence the name, Toll House Cookies!

Now, since it is so warm this time of year, it is not likely anyone would want to bake chocolate chip cookies, so you can buy them (lame!) or make some chocolate chip ice cream. If I wasn't on a low-carb diet, I would sooo make mint chocolate chip ice cream. I have made this recipe in the past, and I highly recommend it. Use the teeny tiny chocolate chips if you can find them. Alternatively, you could shave a chocolate bar, but this isn't Chocolate Shavings Day, so you should probably just stick with the chips. Plus shaving chocolate can get really messy.

Today is also:
Coast Guard Day