January 11 - Clean Off Your Desk Day

Well, it's as clean as it's going to get.

January 10 - Stephen Foster Day

"Oh, hard times come again no more."

January 9 - Letter Writing Week

Letter Writing Week - This falls in perfectly with project #2 for 2010. I plan on taking some time on the 10th of each month to write actual letters to friends and family. Most of our family and friends are not nearby, and some are (gasp!) not even on Facebook. I know. Shocking...anyway, I thought they might enjoy getting some actual snail mail, and perhaps I may get some letters back from them as well.

January 8 - Bubble Bath Day and English Toffee Day

Two great holidays collide on the same day - today is Bubble Bath Day and National English Toffee Day! All I had to do was light a candle, pour a glass of wine, and sit back with a trashy romance novel. Now that is how I like to spend a cold Friday night!

January 7 - I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore Day

I decided I was fed up with my crappy old clothes and bought some new (to me) ones at a thrift store.

Have you decided you aren't going to take it anymore either? If not, maybe the famous speech from Network will get you riled up!

January 6 - Epiphany

Also known as Twelfth Night or Three Kings Day. The white candle symbolizes purity. For more information on how to celebrate at home, click here.

January 5 - Bean Day

Today is Bean Day. This is not a picture of beans.

Thank you.

January 4 - Trivia Day

What performer was the second to die in Psycho?

January 3 - Financial Wellness Month

I couldn't find any official proclaimation naming January as Financial Wellness Month. Just like the first week of January is Resolutions Week simply because everyone is talking about and trying to keep their resolutions, I suppose this month is Financial Wellness Month simply because most people are using the clean slate of a new year trying to achieve that goal.

For many reasons, we, like a large number of other Americans, are having trouble in the financial department. Some of the reasons were unavoidable, others were not. We have been blessed to be surrounded by people who care about and look out for us - family, friends, bosses, and total strangers. With their help, we managed to make it through last year and even feel optimistic about the new one.

Our complete financial wellness will not occur by the end of January. It will likely not happen by the end of the year. But maybe we can change a few habits this month that might make even a small difference in improving our situation.

January 2 - Resolutions Week

The first week or so of January is unofficially known as Resolutions Week.  Usually, I refuse to make resolutions, knowing I am not likely to actually keep them. Above is a list of things I would like to work on this year. Putting this out into the world for others to see might help keep me accountable to working on these areas of my life.  Speaking of which...

I recently came across a site called 6 Changes. The premise is that you come up with six changes you want to make in your life and spend 2 months on making each change. At the end of one year you will have (hopefully) met your goals. The site focuses on helping you work on those changes.  One of the steps in the 6 Changes method is public accountability. I know that I am more likely to follow through on something if I've told several people about it, rather than keep it to myself.

43things is a site that is less of a how-to in changing your life, and more of a place to put your list of (43) things you want to do. Somewhat related is Listology, which is a place to keep lists of all kinds.

I started this post talking about resolutions and somehow rabbit-trailed into list-making and keeping. Hope you found something useful and/or entertaining here!

January 1 - New Years Day

I started the new year off right - with mimosas!

December 23 - Festivus

So did anyone celebrate Festivus today? If so, how did you celebrate? I was going to take part in Festivus this year, but I'm afraid I'd get carried away with the Airing of Grievances. I have so many.

Please share your Festivus traditions!

(For those who don't know what I'm talking about, or would like more info, try the Wikipedia page on Festivus. Very informative.)

December 18 - Bake Cookies Day

I think made-up holidays are my favorite.

OK, not really (it's a toss-up between Thanksgiving and Christmas). But the silly, made-up holidays are what really inspire me. They set a theme for my day and put a unique spin on an otherwise fairly dull routine.

According to this source, today's made-up holiday is Bake Cookies Day. No big surprise behind the timing of this one; many people are already getting in the holiday spirit by baking sweets. In fact, I was already planning on baking some cookies this weekend...I decided today would be a great time to start!

Please don't ask me what my favorite Christmas cookie is. I have too many favorites to pick just one! Today I made Peanut Butter Blossoms (the ones with Hershey's Kisses) and prepared the dough to make gingerbread cut-outs for tomorrow.

What are your must-haves when it comes to Christmas cookies?

June 23 - Pink Day

Pink Day is an unofficial holiday, yet it is still one of my favorites! Pink is my very favorite color and if something comes in pink, I have to have it! Housewares, office supplies...you name it and I probably have it. One of my most beloved belongings is my pink KitchenAid mixer. I even have a matching cover for it so it stays clean.

Wear pink today! Eat pink foods! (OK, there aren't too many pink foods that I can think of, but you can always make it pink by adding food coloring.) Take pictures of pink things or make some art or crafts with pink as the focal or accent color!

Here are some of my personal pink pics:




Enjoy!

November 15 - Bundt Pan Day

Happy Bundt Pan Day!

It is supposed to be super hot in Los Angeles today, so if you don't feel like cranking up the oven, you should check out Kiss My Bundt. I really really wish I'd thought of that name first; I love it!

Anyhow, have some cake today (hopefully of the bundt variety) and celebrate!

November 14 - Peanut Butter Lovers Month

November is Peanut Butter Lovers' Month

I never did get around to making that peanut butter dessert recipe I posted last November. So while I procrastinate on that, why don't you try my recipe for Triple Threat Peanutty Cookies.

1 box (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c vegetable oil
½ c peanut butter
1 c peanuts, chopped
¾ c peanut butter chips
½ c sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Stir cake mix, eggs, oil, and peanut butter in large bowl until batter forms. Stir in chopped peanuts and peanut butter chips.

Using heaping tablespoon of batter, roll cookie dough into 1 ½ to 2 inch balls. Dip half of each cookie in sugar, then place sugar side up on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, until cracked and lightly browned. Let cool 3 minutes on pan on wire rack. Transfer to rack to cool completely. Serve or store in airtight container up to 1 week. (Not that you'll have any left by then.)

November 13 - Indian Pudding Day

According to one source, today is Indian Pudding Day.

Never heard of Indian Pudding? Me either. So I pulled up my trusty search engine and looked for an answer. It doesn't sound Indian (American or Eastern) but it does sound delicious!

Indian Pudding is a dessert that is baked and it's a warm, brown, gooey, delicious-sounding thing you serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. I cannot wait to try this for Thanksgiving!

Recipe 1
Recipe 2

November 12 - Family Stories Month

November is Family Stories Month

I could not find an official site for this observance, nor could I find who had created it. Regardless, I still think it is a fantastic idea, and one that I can really get geeked about. Additionally, the holidays are the best time to try to collect family stories, as you often see them more this time of year.

I am a huge history buff and I love to hear stories about my family. My grandparents are all gone and most of their siblings as well. While I still have my parents, I want to know as much about my family as possible. Recently, I've been creating my family tree on Ancestry, but I don't really get any stories this way, mostly facts.

There are many ways to collect your family's stories, but you need to focus on the best way to get the stories from your family. Some people will find that story telling comes naturally, but others you will need to prompt. My mother always says that she doesn't have any stories, or that she can't think of any. All I need to do is simply ask her a question or two, then sit back and listen as she talks and talks. I tease her about it and say, "I thought you didn't have any stories!" She has them, she just needs a prompt or two.

Prompts can be as simple as, "What was your childhood like" or more specific, like "How old were you when you got your first job?" This site has some great questions to ask your relatives, or even to answer yourself! (November is also National Life Writing Month.)

One year, my family wrote down memories on little slips of paper. We put them in a jar, and pull them out at holidays, or when we are all at home. They don't have to be holiday specific, just funny or warm little things you don't want to forget!

Enjoy Family Stories Month, and let me know if you have any good ones! I love to hear family stories, even if they aren't about my family!

November 11 - Pursuit of Happiness Week

November 8-14 is Pursuit of Happiness Week

I'm not sure who created this observance, but (at the risk of sounding cheesy) I'm glad they did!

Lately I've been kind of down in the dumps, for several different reasons. When I started researching this observance for my blog, I wasn't originally planning on celebrating this very intensely. But as I started to plan what I wanted to write, I realized that I should definitely take the opportunity to actively pursue happiness. I mean, face it: happiness is not likely to come a-knocking on my door.

According to this site, there are 16 factors to happiness. It will likely take me longer than a week, but I plan on spending at least one day thinking about each factor and how I can pursue happiness in that area of my life.

Even if you are normally a fairly happy person, take some time out this week to pursue some happiness! We can all use a little extra happy stuff in our life.

November 10 - Gingerbread House Day

Hmmm....I know Christmas festivities start earlier and earlier each year, but gingerbread houses in early November? I normally celebrate this in December (see last year's post), but I'm sure there is room in my life for more gingerbread.

Following is the recipe I used for my cut-out gingerbread houses last year. We like to eat our houses, rather than construct elaborate structures to be admired, so I use a softer cookie recipe.

Gingerbread Cut-outs

1/2 c butter or margarine, softened
1/2 to 3/4 c white or brown sugar
1/2 c molasses
1 egg yolk
2 c flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
additional flour as needed

-Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg yolk.
-Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Blend into wet ingredients until smooth. Add more flour as needed. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
-Preheat oven to 350F. On a well-floured surface, roll to 1/4". Cut with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2" apart on ungreased sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks.