Ugh – don’t you just hate doing taxes? I haven’t started them yet, but it’s getting down to the wire. I don’t usually wait this long, but now that I have desk space to spread out receipts, as soon as lunch is over, I need to get in there and start working on them. Today will be a start, but this weekend will be the real push to finish them. There’s always so much organization to do first. Every year I say next year will be more organized. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to that point, but I certainly hope that I do. In the meantime, I am waiting for the phone to ring while I putter around the house. We are having a delivery come today from Home Depot and I have NO idea when it will be coming. Most places give you a window for delivery but all I got was the day. Well, alrighty then! I’m glad I get to stay home all day!
Verse of the Day
In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
Forgiveness! What a sweet and precious gift. What we were powerless to fix, make up or pay for, God did for us in Jesus. With him, each day is a fresh start and rebirth of Springtime. But my, such a terrible cost he paid to give it to us!
National Humor Month / Holy Humor Month
Tragic Death
A man comes home from work one day to find his dog with the neighbor’s pet rabbit in his mouth. The rabbit is dead.
The guy panics. Thinking his neighbor is going to hate him forever, he takes the dirty, chewed up rabbit into the house and gives it a bath, blow dries its fur> He then puts the rabbit back into the cage on the neighbor’s patio in hopes they will think it died of natural causes.
A few days later, the neighbor is outside. He asks the guy, “Did you hear that Fluffy died?”
The guy stiffens and says, “Um.. er.. no.. what happened?”
The neighbor replies, “We just found him dead in his cage one day. But the weird thing is that the day after we buried him, we went outside and someone had dug him up, given him a bath and put him back into the cage. There are some real sick people out there!”
Childhelp National Day of Hope – This month is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the first Wednesday of the month, is Childhelp National Day of Hope. The fact that there is a need for this awareness program just breaks my heart. It is a day to remember all of the children in America who have died and are dying at a rate of five per day (let that sink in – FIVE per day!) as a result of abuse and neglect. The statistics for child abuse and neglect are horrifying. About 80% of the children who die from neglect and abuse are under the age of 4. About 30% of children who are neglected or abused will grow up to abuse their own children. In 2008, the estimated cost to the U.S. resulting from child abuse and neglect was $124 billion. Being aware of these horrifying numbers, donating to organizations that help children escape this cycle of abuse, and get them the help they need mentally and emotionally, and helping to place them in loving, safe home, should be the goal for everyone. My heart just aches and I cannot fathom harming any child, anywhere, ever. These numbers just stagger me. Please keep these children in your prayers daily. It’s the very least we can do.
Hug a Newsman Day – I have absolutely zero respect for journalists or news people these days. None at all. As for hugging one, since I don’t KNOW any, that won’t be a problem to skip. It used to be that journalists were known for working to get the story – the REAL story – no matter what it was and letting people know the truth. Sometimes that took them to places where nasty little skeletons were released from their closets for big name politicians, stars, world events and the like. Today they gloss over the truth, work hard at hiding it, and make crap up to fit whatever agenda that goes along with the liberal bias that has infiltrated the media today. If you know a news person who actually tells the truth, no matter what flack they may get for revealing it, please feel free to fill me in about who they are, because quite honestly, the talking heads at all the news sites seem to just push their own slant. As much as I enjoy watching a few of the folks on Fox News, even they have their own agenda – not as much it seems as the other news channels, but still there is a bias. At least it slightly balances out what the left puts forth as the supposed truth. Over the last year I’ve learned about a new news channel – One America News or OAN. Now THEY are pretty awesome. Not polished and fancy like some of the big alphabet stations, but they seem to be straight shooters when it comes to the news. I really do like them. If I happened upon one of them I may consider giving them a hug. Since that’s not likely, I won’t be celebrating this one, except to watch OAN as I’m getting ready for work.
International Day for Mine Awareness & Assistance in Mine Action – As you all know, I don’t typically post any celebrations that have anything to do with the United Nations, but I have to admit that this one is worthy. It is observed every April 4th and is aimed at raising awareness about land mines and towards making progress towards getting rid of them once and for all. Programs and activities will take place in many countries around the world – such as photo exhibits, press conferences, film screenings, educational displays and community chats. Public events may include speeches and statements by land mine survivors, educational demonstrators and other such presentations. The term “Mine Action” refers to a range of efforts to clear land mines and explosive remnants of war, and to mark and fence off dangerous areas. It also includes helping victims, teaching people how to stay safe in an environment affected by mines, and to destroying land mines stockpiled by governments and non-state armed groups. A report that was made in the Land Mine Monitor Report in 2005 that 84 countries were affected by landmines and unexploded devices, which together kill or maim between 15,000 and 20,000 adults and children each year. The UN works with countries to find and destroy these devices and helps provide a variety of mine-action services in many countries. It is a very sad situation in so many countries, and definitely something I pray for success in eradicating.
National Walking Day – When I think of all the hours I have spent sitting at a desk over the years, it becomes very clear to me why my backside is as wide as my office chair! We, as a nation are more sedentary than ever before. This isn’t just a weight issue. This level of inactivity doubles the risk of heart disease. Hope is not lost though. This is a problem that can be helped by getting off our duffs and getting moving. Today is the American Heart Association’s National Walking Day. Americans are encouraged to lace up their walking shoes and take at least a 30-minute walk today. It’s a great way to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity and give your families, friends and co-workers a friendly push towards a healthier life.
School Librarian Day – How many of you remember your librarian from your school days? I remember the lady who was our librarian in elementary school. I can’t remember her name, but I can close my eyes and see her in my mind’s eye. She had short, reddish brown hair, and I have to laugh because as I think about it, her wardrobe was quintessential movie librarian costume – slacks or long boxy skirt, cardigan over a flowery blouse, and very sensible shoes. I couldn’t venture to guess her age because when I was that young EVERYONE was old, even people in high school, but I’d say mid-50’s sounds about right. She was wonderful – sweet, soft spoken, yet firm with the kids when she needed to be. Librarians deserve to be honored – they serve children in school each day, instilling in them a love of books and reading, and hopefully respect for literature along the way. Young minds need to be nurtured and fed, and Librarians are excellent in this capacity as they are able to give them challenging reading and reference materials to enhance their educational process. You can show your appreciation of your school Librarian in several ways. Sometimes just a big smile and a Thank You is enough. Telling them they are doing a wonderful job is good too. You could send them a card, or what they probably would like the best, buy an age appropriate book and donate it to the library. With budgets being what they are lately every little bit helps. Since this day landed on spring break in many areas, set it aside and celebrate when school is back in session. Your librarian will be so surprised that you remembered!
Tell a Lie Day – I cannot endorse lying – it always seems to come back and bite you in the backside at some point. If you feel that you NEED to tell a lie, I suppose this would be the day to do it, but I’m fairly certain that the person/people you lied to wouldn’t think that this holiday was a good enough excuse for it. Since I believe that honesty is the best policy – even when it hurts – I suggest that we all just chuckle about the silliness of someone even setting this one up and skip it altogether. The truth is that the results of a lie are ALWAYS more disastrous than telling the truth would have been in the first place, and sometimes what we lose from the lies hurts so badly that we don’t know if we’ll get over it. If you are living the results of such a disaster, I am truly sorry. All you can do now, if the situation cannot be repaired, is pick up the pieces, make up your mind NOT to repeat history, and move forward with your scars and make life better from here on out.
Vitamin C Day – Load up on citrus fruit, berries and green vegetable for Vitamin C Day; boost your immune system, fight off that cold and feel great! So, with that said, how much Vitamin C does it really do for us, and how much of it do we really need? Well, Vitamin C – also known as ascorbic acid – is a water-soluble nutrient that is found in some foods. It helps our bodies by acting as an antioxidant, which helps to protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals. What is a free radical? A free radical is a compound formed when our bodies convert the food we eat into energy. People are also exposed to free radicals in the environment from cigarette smoke, air pollution and ultraviolet light from the sun. The body also needs Vitamin C to make collagen, which is a protein required to help wounds heal. On top of those things, Vitamin C improves how we absorb iron from plant-based foods and helps our immune system work properly to protect us from disease. The amount we need depends on our ages, but there are tables out there to find out, or a call to your physician or nutritionist would help you get that information. A good thing to know is what foods provide us with Vitamin C? Fruits and vegetables are the best sources and you can easily get the recommended amounts by eating a variety of foods such as citrus fruits and their juices, as well as red and green peppers and kiwi fruit. Other fruits and vegetables like broccoli, strawberries, cantaloupe, baked potatoes and tomatoes also have vitamin C. You can find foods and beverages which have been fortified with extra vitamin C as well. I actually found pages and pages of information on this necessary vitamin, but seriously, did you want to come here today for a long dissertation on this particular subject? Nah, I didn’t think so.
Walk Around Things Day – Since today is National Walking Day, this is in keeping with the whole walking theme, we have Walk Around Things Day. This is an important way to avoid risks and problems – you just walk around them! It could also be used figuratively, to walk around or avoid topics that could be sticky issues. This could help to stop arguments or discomfort. I’m sure we don’t have to look very far to find something we have to walk around.
World Rat Day – I’m going to start out by saying I absolutely love domesticated (i.e. fancy) rats and mice. This particular holiday is all about the rats though, so that’s what we will talk about. Many people do not know that the fancy rat is a wonderful pet and a great companion animal for people of all ages. Rats are truly sweet, very intelligent, very clean and incredibly smart. The misconception about rats being dirty and icky comes from all of the bad years with the Bubonic Plague, the Black Death and other such issues. Those weren’t domesticated rats though, and it’s true, wild ones can be diseased and therefore dangerous to mess around with. If you get the chance to spend some time with a fancy rat you may fall in love with them, just like I did years ago! I started out with mice when I was a kid, and by the time my son wanted caged pets we ended up picking out three rats – sisters. They all had their own unique and distinct personalities. They recognized my son and would get visibly excited when he came home from school. It was so sweet to see them happily crawl out of their cage and snuggle up on his chest and shoulders and fall asleep while he watched TV at night. They truly were the perfect pets in every way. Sadly, rats don’t have a very long life expectancy. Ours lived for just over four years, which was actually quite long for a rat. Shows how well he took care of them! Please don’t discount rats as “icky” or “gross” without taking an opportunity to get to know one. You may just find out you like them.
This Day in History –
1887 – Susanna Medora Salter is the first woman to be elected mayor in the nation in Argonia, Kansas.
1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated.
1949 – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is signed.
Food Celebration of the Day –
International Carrot Day – It’s funny, every year I come across another one that I hadn’t heard of before, and this is a fun one! The International Carrot day, or The Carrot Day, has been celebrated on this date since 2003. It’s observed by many carrot lovers all over the world through carrot parties and other carrot related festivities. I’m betting Bugs Bunny would have LOVED this one! It was actually started to spread knowledge about carrots and its healthful attributes. Apparently, carrot celebrations have been reported as happening in France, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Australia, the UK and Japan in years past. I’m sure everyone knows that carrots are root vegetables and the most common ones are orange, but we can find them in other colors, such as purple, black, red, white and yellow. I’ve tried purple and yellow ones but haven’t seen the others in our stores. The carrots we are familiar with are a domesticated form of the wild carrot that is native to SW Asia and Europe. While looking this one up I saw that it is thought that the wild carrot plant probably started out in Persia and was cultivated for its leaves and seeds, though today the part eaten most commonly is the root itself. I do have to give a bit of a laugh at the thought of hosting a party for carrots, but wouldn’t the food be fun? There could be carrot sticks with dip, a carrot cake, some carrot juice . . . use your imagination! It could be fun. Too late to plan this now, but it still sounds like fun.
Chicken Cordon Bleu – Fun fact: The “bleu” in Chicken Cordon Bleu is not referring to blue cheese. “Bleu” is just a fancy French way of saying that this dish is blue-ribbon worthy. So, what IS it? Well, it’s a dish that is French-inspired that is poultry based. There is evidence that suggests that it was created in the United States by chefs who were imitating other stuffed meat dishes from Europe, though the name is clearly of French origin. The basic parts of chicken cordon bleu are chicken, ham or prosciutto, and either Swiss or Gruyere cheese. Many recipes also have a bread crumb coating as a crust. There are many ways to make this dish, from a simple layered casserole to the chicken, ham and cheese being rolled up together and baked. I did find a recipe in Carolyn Ketchum’s Book, Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen, for Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll-Ups, so that is the plan for dinner tonight. Instead of crumbs I’ll be using crushed up almonds. It sounds so yummy, doesn’t it?
National Ramen Noodle Day – How many of us spent many happy meals slurping up Ramen Noodles? They are really cheap and honestly, pretty tasty. The pre-packaged ones probably aren’t all that good for us, but they do fill a need for starving singles, artists, college students and after school snacks for kids all over the place. Ramen noodles aren’t just those Styrofoam like noodles we see in the packages at the store though. You can go into most Japanese or Teriyaki shops and order a bowl of ramen and it’s not going to resemble the noodles we ate after school. They truly are quite delicious, from what I’ve heard, though I’ve never had authentic ramen. I heard recently that one of our local restaurants has them, so when I have a splurge day I think it’s something I would really love to try.
I’ve decided that I am hungry for quiche, so I think I’ll go whip one up for lunch. I have all of the ingredients and I do love quiche so much! I don’t get it very often because Hubby isn’t a fan but this can be fore me for lunches for the rest of the week. Sounds yummy? Yes, it does! I’d better get to it because it’s almost lunch time. God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow!