I know I said that I wasn't going to make any New Years Resolutions ... but I did. And no, I didn't keep them.
It was exactly on the 13th February that I realised that I hadn't made any effort as yet (sad note, this was the day my gran passed away). And then I realised that I should celebrate life more. Celebrate the little things in life. It was a couple of days later that I got this crazy calendar from my friend Verenique. I call it a crazy calendar because it marked 13 February 2014 as “Get a Different Name Day”. It also had a bunch of other different "important dates" marked. But this particular one stood out for me.
I'm sure that you can see where I am going with this, but I am going to carry on spelling it out anyway...
I found a calendar online which mentioned each and every important commemorative event. And I decided to celebrate them all. And by all, I mean some. And by celebrate, I mean think about how to celebrate because towards the end .... well, you'll see.
1 March: Peanut Butter lovers day
The month started off slow with Peanut Butter Lovers Day. Well, slow for me because I don’t like Peanut Butter. Unless its covered in chocolate. I honoured the day by eating a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. I also found out that you can feed peanut butter to an African Grey. I found a great recipe to try which is basically peanut butter on a celery stick with some sunflower seeds. I finally made it for him yesterday. He didn't seem very impressed, but I made it for him again today and left it in his foodbowl. It seems like he devoured it. So, better late than never, I did finally celebrate it.
3 March: If Pets Had Thumbs Day
Apparently you are supposed to spend this day thinking about what your pet would do if they had thumbs. I have a parrot. Between his beak and his feet, he can accomplish a lot actually. Not sure that he needs thumbs. One thing leads to another however and I start wondering what he would look like with eyebrows. I get a bit carried away though ...
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| Jack with eyebrows |
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| Jack with eyebrows and a fancy mustache |
7 March: Employee Appreciation day
I honoured this day by appreciating myself. Well done Jennifer, you are a great employee.
12 March: Plant a flower day
I didn't plant any flowers. It's the wrong time of year. I did buy a packet of flower seeds and I will plant them when the time is right. Anton and I did plant some sweet potatoes last month and we harvested our first batch. On the 22nd March. So why am I mentioning this on the "plant a flower day" entry? Because I'm super proud and there wasn't a "plant a potato" day.
13 March: Popcorn lovers day
I love popcorn. I intended to make popcorn after dinner. But my boyfriend cooked an awesome meal for dinner and afterward I was kind of full.
14 March: National Potato Chip day
Ate a packet of popcorn to make up for yesterday and a packet of chips.
15 March: Everything you think is wrong day
“You should recognize during this day that we are all vulnerable and are not always right: it is a special day to recognize that everyone has a bad day once in a while and it can even happen to you.”
I do recognise that everyone has a bad day. But I decided not to spend too much time thinking about this because, well ... I'm pretty awesome most of the time.
16 March: Everything You Do is Right Day
This day is to make up for March 15th... But since I didn't spend that much time worrying about being wrong, I decided to balance it out by not spending that much time thinking that I am always right. Because lets face it ... I am a woman ... I always think I am right anyway. Now that I am thinking about it, I probably could have benefited from celebrating "Everything you think is wrong day". Ah well, there is always next year.
17 March: Submarine day
Commonly celebrated as St Patricks day and used as an excuse to wear green and drink, it is also the day of the submarine. My dad and granddad were both submariners. So I honoured the day by wearing the colour of submarines. Grey. But I was just about to leave for work and I realised that I looked quite, well, grey. So I threw on a green jersey for the whole St Patricks day thing.
19 March: Poultry Day
I learned that chicken has more polyunsaturated fat than red meat. Was shocked. Made chicken for supper anyway. It was delicious.
20th March: There is a lot going on today:
Absolutely Incredible Kids Day – for those parents who think that all kids are okay but their kids are absolutely incredible.
Extraterrestrial Abductions Day – pretty self explanatory.
Astrology Day – this is the beginning of the astrological year, the first day of Aries. Coincides with the equinox.
Day of Happiness
Francophonie Day – I had to look this up. Francophonie is an organisation that represents countries / regions where French is the mother language.
Nowruz – Persian New Year.
Proposal Day – the day of marriage proposals.
UN French Language Day – See above for Francophonie Day.
Vernal Equinox Day – This is a public holiday in Japan celebrating the equinox. It used to be a religious holiday, but now because of separation of church and state and all that, its been repackaged as a non-religious holiday.
World Sparrow Day – bring awareness to the threats that common birds face
World Storytelling Day – to honour the tradition of oral storytelling.
First day of Autumn – equinox.
So ... quite a busy day. I got a friend to help me write a message in French for my dad, who speaks French. It was about how awesome I am. I do like birds, clearly I like parrots more than I like sparrows though. Parrots are common birds in countries which are close to the equator - and do face threats in those countries. I start thinking about the threats that all animals face... which leads me to thinking about canned lions (yes, I know ... my brain works weird). I tell Jack the story of ET. Not quite a story about alien abduction, but its about aliens so I figure I am killing 2 birds with 1 stone. On a side note, Jack has started making a weird noise that Anton and I imagine he could only have picked up from aliens which visit him at night. Well ... that pretty much sums up by celebrating for the day. I didn't get proposed to and I didn't celebrate the equinox.
21 March: Fragrance Day
Since all I have to do today is lie around smelling nice, it’s a great start to my long weekend.
22 March: National Goof Off Day
I don't exactly spend the day goofing off. First it was off to the grocery store to get supplies for the braai we were going to have later that day, then to the airport to see my mom off, then home in time to clean up and make our flat presentable for company. So ... no goofing off at all. Anton and I did have a lazy day on the 23rd though, so we did get around to celebrating it a day late.
23 March: Near-miss day
"Near Miss Day commemorates March 23rd, 1989, when a large asteroid missed the Earth by a mere 500,000 miles"
If an asteroid was about to hit earth, how would you want to spend your last hours? I suppose I should have spent the day thinking about how I would want to spend my last day on earth and do those things. I spent the day goofing off: eating junk food, watching movies and playing xbox. But I spent the day with someone I love and my precious Jack, and it was the awesome end to a long weekend. It wasn't a bad way to spend a last day on earth. Just not an overly productive on.
24 March: National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day
I hate raisins. A lot. Even covered in chocolate. I do nothing to celebrate it.
25 March: Waffle day, Tolkein reading day
I don't do anything to celebrate the day either. I did intend to make waffles and watch Lord of the Rings. But I didn't do either.
26 March: Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
This was a hard one. What means so much to me that I would make up my own holiday. I thought about perhaps a favourite food, but that seems a bit shallow (although since there is a peanut butter day and a chocolate raisin day, I guess I shouldn't be so picky). I couldn't really decide what I would want to honour. So in the end, I don't make up my own holiday.
28 March: Something on a Stick Day
By now, I guess you can tell that I am not doing too good at celebrating things anymore.
30 March: I am in Control Day
Well, I am not really sure how you are supposed to celebrate this day either. But I am feeling a lot more in control of myself and my life since I started my new and happy job in January. This feeling was short lived, because well ... April started off with a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions. But for today, I was feeling happy and in control.
31 March:Bunsen Burner day
I don't have a bunsen burner. So yeah, I don't really celebrate this one either.
And, well, that was my March. Although I kind of gave up halfway through the month, it did give me a sense of purpose. Here is another noteworthy day: 7 April 2014: no housework day. I accidentally came home today and did the dishes, but other than that, I did manage to have a day off from housework (thank you Anton).
I have a new goal for the month of April ... but I don't want to say what it is in case I fail miserably. So watch this space, and if nothing pops up then, well, you know that I did not succeed.
