Today is going to be a busy day and I am determined to do my very best to get as much checked off of my list as possible! It’s a very long list, so wish me luck. I have a feeling I’m going to need it.  Honestly, I’m going to be on my feet a LOT today, so I may put on my hiking shoes for the best support I can get.  I hate getting to the end of a day feeling good about what I’ve done, but miserable from being in pain.  We all do what we need to, right?

 

Verse of the Day

January 25, 2018

If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

—Galatians 6:1

 

Thoughts on the Verse of the Day

In a day when intervening in someone’s life is no longer politically and socially correct, these verses ring out like a gunshot on a still night. Sin is still real and is just as deadly as ever. Yet because we fear being branded judgmental and self-righteous, we let many who are trapped by sin go to their spiritual death. The call is for nonjudgmental intervention — we recognize the gravity of the sin and the need of the sinner, without feeling arrogant in our righteousness. “There but for the grace of God go I.”

www.verseoftheday.com

  

Food for Thought

Do you have unrealistic expectations for yourself or the people in your life? If you don’t meet those expectations, do you feel down on yourself as a result? How about if the people in your life don’t meet your expectations? It’s something to ponder, as we are all imperfect people and at the very least we need to give ourselves a break I we don’t end up doing everything perfectly and to our own expectations.  I am talking mostly to myself here because I set myself up every single week to do far more than the time in a day would allow, and every week I find myself being angry at myself for it.  I’m pretty sure that self induced stress isn’t healthy.

 

 

Beer Can Day – Now here’s a day that I am sure a lot of people can really get into!   It’s likely that most of the Beer Can fans can get more into the contents of the cans, than the cans themselves.  Beer Can Appreciation Day celebrates the day in 1935 when beer was first sold in cans. I laughed a little the first time I saw this celebration, but I was truly surprised that this day is very important to a lot of people! Apparently there are quite a number of beer can collectors out there.  The collectors carefully open a beer can from the bottom, empty it (and probably drink the beer of course), then wash and dry it.  There seems to be no shortage of types of beer – cans AND bottles, and different sizes.  A beer can collector may have hundreds of cans and bottles.  Because of all of the collectors, there is a market for beer cans. If you come across an old can, do not throw it out. Check out the prices in a collector’s catalog, or on E-bay.

 

 

Belly Laugh Day – Celebrate the gift of laughter today!  At 1:24 p.m. local time throw your arms up in the air and laugh out loud.  Yes, people around you will likely laugh at you, or at least look at you like you’re a loon, but laughter FEELS awesome and can turn a bad day right around.  If you can’t just laugh spontaneously, listen to a funny joke, think of something funny . . . allow your tickle bone to be free.  There is nothing quite as wonderful as that feeling of laughing so hard that you have tears flowing down your face, you can’t catch your breath, your sides ache, you can’t speak because you are out of breath, and you have by now forgotten why you were laughing in the first place.  This type of deep belly laughter is cleansing in every way and a gift – so find the funny today and just let it flow.

 

 

 

National Compliment Day – How nice of you to visit the blog today. I can see by your decision to click the link, that you are an intelligent person. You are a kind and intuitive person. I appreciate the way you……Yes, its Compliment Day. Take the time and opportunity today to say something nice to the people you see today. Everyone has SOMETHING good about them – you may have to look a little longer with some people than others, but eventually you’ll find something.

• It is easy to find compliments for family and friends, even for your Mother-in-Law. She’s probably a good cook – maybe?
• Friends are easy to compliment – after all, you can CHOOSE your friends!
• It is much more difficult to compliment people you don’t care for, but I’m sure if you look hard enough you can find something nice to say to them.

Remember the old saying: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”  In some cases silence really is golden. (something I do struggle with from time to time) Compliments need to be sincere because people will see right through insincerity, and you will do more harm than good. How many compliments should you give out today? The common suggestion is five compliments . . . to five different people.

 

 

Talk Like a Grizzled Prospector Day – “Dagnabbit if it isn’t almost time again for some authentic frontier gibberish.” (Blazing Saddles?)  Nope, it’s Talk Like a Grizzled Prospector Day – and you’ve never heard of it?  “Well don’t sit there bein’ a sidewindin’, hornswaggling, bush-whacker.”  This day celebrates the start of the California Gold Rush on January 24, 1848 when a man named James Marshall, foreman of a lumber mill being built for John Sutter, found some shiny metal near the intersection of the American and Sacramento Rivers in Northern California.  He took it to his boss, who tested it and found out that it was gold! Though they tried to keep their find quiet, the rumors began to spread, and it opened up a flood of people all coming to the area with the hopes of striking it rich.  The Gold Rush brought men from all around the world to the small town, including places as far away as Australia, China and Peru.  They say that at first the gold nuggets could just about be picked up straight from the ground. Excavation became more difficult as more miners came to the area and, even then, luck was what was needed most in the quest for gold. The competition was fierce, the rules were few.  This led to what was a rough and somewhat brutal society.  The forty-niners, as they came to be called, had a great effect on the development of California. The city of San Francisco grew from 200 residents to nearly 36,000 within three years. By 1854 more than 300,000 people had made their way to California, one of about every 90 people then living in the U.S. This great influx led to the construction of roads, schools, churches and railroads, as well as increased international shipping in the area. As a result, the Gold Rush helped California develop its reputation as a place where fortunes are made and anything can happen. It remains known as the Golden State to this day.

  

This Day in History –

 1935 – Beer was first sold in cans.

1945 – WWII Yalta agreement was signed by the U.S., England, and Russia. The agreement defined how Germany would be divided and administered after the war’s end.

 

 

Food Celebration of the Day

National Peanut Butter Day – Oh my goodness what a wonderful, phenomenal food is Peanut Butter!  It can be savory, sweet, simple or complex.  It can be crunchy or smooth.  It’s delicious with honey or jam, in celery or on apples!  Candy, pie, cake, sauce or just right out of the jar with a spoon. Peanut butter is nearly perfect.  The best way to eat peanut butter?  With chocolate of course!  I tried to find a picture of the biggest peanut butter sandwich ever made (see below for details) but couldn’t find one. You’d think they’d have all sorts of pictures of it, wouldn’t you?

Fun Facts about Peanuts and Peanut Butter from the National Peanut Board –

• It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
• There are enough peanuts in one acre to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
• By law, any product labeled “peanut butter” in the United States must be at least 90 percent peanuts.
• Peanut butter was first introduced to the USA in 1904 at the Universal Exposition in Louis by C.H. Sumner, who sold $705.11 of the “new treat” at his concession stand.
• In 1884, Marcellus Gilmore Edson of Montreal, Quebec was the first person to patent peanut butter.
• John Harvey Kellogg, a physician wanting to help patients eat more plant-based protein, patented his procedure for making peanut butter in 1895.
• Two peanut farmers have been elected president of the USA – Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
• Grand Saline, TX holds the title for the world’s largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich weighing in at 1,342 pounds. Grand Saline outweighed Oklahoma City’s 900 pounds peanut butter and jelly sandwich in November 2010. Oklahoma City, OK had been the reigning champ since September 7, 2002.
• Astronaut Allen B. Sheppard brought a peanut with him to the moon.
• Tom Miller pushed a peanut to the top of Pike’s Peak (14,100 feet) using his nose in 4 days, 23 hours, 47 minutes and 3 seconds.
• Adrian Finch of Australia holds the Guinness World Record for peanut throwing, launching the lovable legume 111 feet and 10 inches in 1999 to claim the record.
• As early as 1500 B.C., the Incans of Peru used peanuts as sacrificial offerings and entombed them with their mummies to aid in the spirit life.
• Americans were first introduced to the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in 1928.
• Peanut butter was the secret behind “Mr. Ed,” TV’s talking horse.
• Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth.
• The oldest operating manufacturer and seller of peanut butter has been selling peanut butter since 1908.
• The world’s largest peanut butter factory churns out 250,000 jars of the tasty treat every day.
• Ever wonder where the term “Peanut Gallery” comes from? The term became popular in the late 19th century and referred to the rear or uppermost seats in a theater, which were also the cheapest seats. People seated in such a gallery were able to throw peanuts, a common food at theaters, at those seated below them. It also applied to the first row of seats in a movie theater, for the occupants of those seats could throw peanuts at the stage, stating their displeasure with the performance.

How Much Peanut Butter American’s Eat –

• The average American consumes more than six pounds of peanuts and peanut butter products each year.
• The average child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before he/she graduates high school.
• Americans consume on average over 1.5 billion pounds of peanut butter and peanut products each year.
• Peanut butter is consumed in 90 percent of USA
• Americans eat enough peanut butter in a year to make more than 10 billion peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
• The amount of peanut butter eaten in a year could wrap the earth in a ribbon of 18-ounce peanut butter jars one and one-third times.
• Women and children prefer creamy, while most men opt for chunky.
• People living on the East Coast prefer creamy peanut butter, while those on the West Coast prefer the crunchy style.
• Sixty percent of consumers prefer creamy peanut butter over crunchy.
• Four of the top 10 candy bars manufactured in the USA contain peanuts or peanut butter.
• Peanuts account for two-thirds of all snack nuts consumed in the USA.
• Peanut butter is the leading use of peanuts in the USA.
• Peanuts contribute more than $4 billion to the USA economy each year.
• Americans spend almost $800 million a year on peanut butter.

Moose loves peanut butter, though I think most dogs do. He will take a bite when it is offered to him and it will immediately get stuck to his teeth and the roof of his mouth. He will lick and lick . . . and lick . . . until he finally gets it down.   It’s pretty funny and can often assist us in celebrating Belly Laugh Day!

Today I chose to make a lovely peanut butter and raspberry treat from Carolyn Ketchum’s blog All Day I Dream About Food. Here is the link and her picture. Mine are still in the refrigerator setting up, but I know they are going to be delicious! I’m pretty excited.

I have already done a few things that were on my list this morning, and now it’s time to do more! Have a lovely, productive, energetic day! God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow.