The Fur-Styles of the Not-so-rich and Barky

Enjoy our boys' furstyles on this Hairstyle Appreciation Day! Cass wears it long like his momma and Artie wears it short like daddy!

Honesty Hair

Honesty Statement: I'm going bald.

Zippy the Zipper

Hope you gave some respect to your zippy little zipper which may be keeping your pants up or your purse closed. We did!

Wishing Eeyore the Happiest of Birthdays, Rebelling against Cubicles, and Kissing Your Mates

Happy Birthday to Eeyore (hope you've still got your tail)! Also be sure to kiss your best guy or gal and avoid your cubicle (hopefully easy on a Saturday)!

Send a Morse Code Message to Babe about Trees

Happy Arbor Day! Yep, it's that time again to celebrate the great outdoors, especially trees, in your own special way. Here in Albuquerque, we have been attempting to deal with the Moth-pocalypse which incorporates trees (it's where the little fuckers take roost when they're not infiltrating our home or swarming our porch light), so in a way, I'm not entirely happy with trees right now. However, we have been taking in the sites and sounds of the trees, rustling of leaves, and growth of the grass between the sidewalk pieces.  To celebrate, I decided to take a lovely walk home from school this afternoon to enjoy the warm weather, the fresh O2 created through a wonderful process known as photosynthesis (which takes place in the chloroplasts of the cells of plants; I know, dork alert), and check out the spring growth of our tree population on Central Avenue. On Arbor Day, I do sort of miss Ohio since parks around here (the ones with trees and not sand) are a bit scarce, but it certainly makes me appreciate the greenery we do have!

Second on the celebration list today is Babe Ruth Day.  If you don't know who he is, you're probably a hipster who couldn't identify the game of baseball if a Louisville Slugger hit you square in the back of the head! For the rest of us, we can celebrate one of the greatest baseball players of all time. On this day in 1947, Georg Herman "Babe" Ruth came to Yankee Stadium for the penultimate time to be honored for his many achievements in baseball. He had throat cancer, and without the modern advances in medicine we have, there was not much hope for "The Bambino." In his career, he led the Boston Red Sox to 2 World Series wins, and after being traded to the Yankees, led New York (who had previously never won the penent) to becoming the perennial American League and World Series Champions. Love him or hate him, you've got to give the man his kudos!

Finally, we celebrate the birthday of Samuel Morse, the inventor of Morse Code. Morse Code is composed of a series of lights, tones, or clicks tat correspond to a set pattern of dots and dashes representing the basic English alphabet, numbers, and a few outside Latin characters. The shortest code is for the letter "E" because it is the most frequently used letter in the English language (it is composed of a single dot). So, take a minute to send a message to a friend, relative, stranger, arch nemesis, or anyone else to know or don't know in Morse Code!

.... .- .--. .--. -.-- / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . / -.. .- -.-- / ..-. .-. --- -- / - .... . / -.-. . .-.. . -... .-. .- - .. --- -. / ... . -. ... .- - .. --- -. !
("Happy Morse Code Day from the Celebration Sensation!")

Cheers,

Celebration Sensation

Lovers Picnicing with Shakespeare at the Movies

Today we bring you the celebrations of several wondrous holidays! Enjoy!

For tis the time once again to discuss today's celebrations! On the agenda we have Movie Theater Day, National Picnic Day, Lover's Day, Talk like Shakespeare Day, and Take a Chance Day, and they have been quite interesting.

Movie Theater Day is simply a day to celebrate the glory that is the movie industry...um...ok, I can't even keep that one up! We all know that the movie industry has become ridiculous with reboots, remakes, continually rising ticket prices, and overpaid actors, but there are certainly astounding accomplishments that can and should be honored. The Holiday Hero and I have decided to keep the movie-viewing at our own movie theater--our house (I also celebrated in the classroom today by watching 2 movies with the rest of my History 500 crew)! So kick back, relax, and enjoy your favorite movie either on the big screen or on your own personal screen.

Second on the list is National Picnic Day! I'm pretty sure everyone has been to or seen others enjoying a delightful picnic with friends and family in the park or a wide meadow discussing plans to kill Judge Turpin. Picnics originated from Medieval hunting feasts and Victorian garden parties. While our version of the picnic is quite simplistic, the 19th century version is rather elaborate including multiple courses, crystal goblets, and live string quartets! Well, we celebrated in our own way...pictures to come!  

Yes, this had to happen!

Do you have a lover? Look deep into his/her eyes, stare adoringly, and tell your special someone how much you love that person! Clearly, this holiday celebration works well with Picnic Day since these are occasions to spend with a person you love! It also works well with our next holiday: Talk Like Shakespeare Day.

 

April 23 is widely accepted to be William Shakespeare's birthday, so on this day we celebrate his life and works. Whether you love or hate him, I'm pretty sure that everyone has read at least one of his plays or sonnets at some point in high school. Do you understand the subtle nuances of life expressed in The Merchant of Venice? Cry over the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because of the hatred between their families? Go read, recite (in your best Elizabethan dialect) and enjoy!

 

 

Finally, it is Take a Chance Day. Have a dream you've always wanted to test out? Today is the day to do it! Go, venture, try, risk! It's a day full of opportunity and fulfillment.What chances are you taking today? Hmm?

Well, today has certainly been an epic day of holiday celebrations! Hope you've had as much fun as we have! Cheers.

Celebration Sensation, out.

Salve omnes!That's "hello all" in Latin. Today is Earth Day, and it should be a day to celebrate, well, you guessed it: the Earth. Our fair planet has been around for millions of years, and hopefully continues to keep spinning around on its little axis for quite a while longer. Even when the zombies show up, our efforts on Earth Day will probably keep things moving, right? Well, we'll just keep thinking that it will.

So, Earth Day. There are tons of companies out there participating in the Earth Day effort with campaigns and picnics and all kinds of other...stuff. On earthday.org, they earth-friendly folk have gathered a variety of ways to keep the earth happy and clean like environmental education projects, spreading the word about issues concerning the health and welfare of the planet, planting trees as part of the Canopy Project. Those are all well and good, but what can we do on the local, individual level?

Well, the Holiday Hero and I did nothing! That's right! Absolutely nothing. And I think it was a great success for the health of our planet. We didn't use the car which eliminated toxic fumes from escaping our car; we didn't eat any fast food which helped to quell the growing pollution issue; and we decided to simply spend time together and that's always a win for the happiness of the earth and its inhabitants. No, we didn't fund a new initiative or walk a 5K for anything, but our passivity didn't spread the pain either. I'm even going paperless when it comes to my Bio classes as well, so every email I send is one less tree that needs to get cut down, right?

Anyway, tell your mother (Earth) how much you love and appreciate her by keeping it on the "down low" today. That's right, I went there!

Cheers,

Celebration Sensation, out.

Show Some Love for Lima Beans, Your Husband, and Yourself!

What do lima beans, husbands, DNA, and look alikes have in common?  Why, April 20th, of course! Today we are able to honor this seemingly uncommon foursome.  We begin first with Lima Bean Respect Day.

Now, I'm unsure of your particular affinity for or hatred of this green, mushy vegetable, but I personally cannot stand these beans. The majority of people I know absolutely can't stand them, but I have met a few individuals who actually have claimed to enjoy them...apparently with butter. Lima beans have been cultivated since 6000 B.C. and put in a variety of dishes from main courses like casseroles to desserts like Japan's bean paste. They have a variety of vitamins and minerals which are supposedly good for you: potassium, fiber, iron, copper, and manganese. Wait, what? Manganese? No wonder they taste awful! Well, whether you like them or not, today is the day to show some love and respect for lima beans!

Next on the list is Husband Appreciation Day.  If you are married and love your husband (like I do), today you can show some extra appreciation and love to your special man! Today, Adrian and I were able to spend almost the whole day together, and it was wonderful! We had lunch, watched movies, took a nap, and went out to a friend's house for dinner and drinks. What could be more fun? He also hung out with the pups, ate a Popsicle, and did other guy stuff. I sincerely hope that your man's day was as fun-filled as mine!

Adrian enjoying a tasty blue raspberry Popsicle in our house on Husband Appreciation Day!

 

Third on our list is a subject that has recently become a part of my academic career: DNA. No, I haven't switched my scholastic interests, but I have been teaching Intro to Biology for the past 12 weeks or so at UNM. Some of the chapters have been about DNA, replication, and RNA. Basically, DNA is what makes your function on a cellular level. Your DNA contains all of your genes and is composed of antiparallel chains of repeating nucleotides.  Rather than sound like a complete dork, I'll stop there, but here's an awesome picture of basic DNA to help you celebrate National DNA Day:

Don't forget to thank these lovely double helixes for providing you with your genes.

Finally, we round out our list with the fourth holiday today: Look Alike Day. There are, I believe, a couple of ways to celebrate this holiday. You can either: 1) become a copycat (for the day) of someone you respect, admire, or simply want to look like or 2) find someone you actually look like. Today, we spent some of the evening with a friend who I aptly figured out looks much like the Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson. Our friend Nate has the exact same hair, body type, and facial expressions of Mr. Clarkson but is not British and does not own any variety of extremely expensive foreign cars. However, Nate is quite lovely (as I'm sure Jeremy is as well) and definitely deserves the Look Alike Day photograph! 

Now imagine this guy (Jeremy Clarkson) about 15-20 years younger, and you've got Nate!

Whew! We've certainly had an awesome day of celebratory goodness! Hope yours has been as well! Enjoy! Cheers.

Celebration Sensation, out.

Long Distance High Fives With The Rents And Scholars

I'm not lying when I said I high fived scholars.

Long distance high five from the rents.

Volunteering to Make the World a Better Blah, Blah, Blah!

In honor of National Volunteer Week and National Haiku Day, may we present the following pictures. We Aldo celebrated National Blah, Blah, Blah Day with a hearty round of blahs and some wonderful haikus! Enjoy!

Lectures and Beer

We kicked off the Spring Lecture Series week 2012 with an awesome presentation and a lovely reception afterwards. Here's the Holiday Hero basking in the intellectual light and ushering his stress away with a hometown brew. Enjoy!

I Fill My Garden with Stress,Tomatoes, and Patriots?

Alright dearies,

You should all be feeling quite relieved now that the typical Tax Day stress has been lifted...hopefully. Actually, taxes are due this year on the 17th of April, but the 15th is generally regarded as the day taxes are due. As such, April 16th was designated as National Stress Awareness Day in 1992 as a way to realize that you should feel a bit of relief now that the IRS has finished their control over you for another year. However, there are plenty of other things for people to be stressed out about: school, work, bills, kids, dogs, husbands, etc. Even though Tax Day is over, and that's certainly something to celebrate, these are all definitely things that bug most, if not all, of us! You should kick back a bit today, crack open a beer or other refreshing beverage, and chill out with your favorite past time: doing absolutely nothing!

One way that many people relieve their stress is through the planting, weeding, watering, and pruning of plants and vegetables in their garden. I personally do not see the aspect of fun in this activity--probably because I kill every member of the plantae family that I lay my hands on--but for many it is relaxing. So, today is for you folks! We are observing National Gardening Month today. The National Gardening Association even goes so far as to say that gardening improves people's attitudes toward nutrition, helps students perform better in school, and grows community spirit. I don't know about all that, but I guess if you like getting your hands dirty, playing with worms, and caring for even more living organisms, go for it! Today is your day so go shine on your plants! They even have 101 ways to celebrate (http://www.nationalgardenmonth.org/)! Enjoy!

For those who live in the New England states, you may have had the day off today (unless you're a retail slave or food slave or have anything to do with other people...sorry, rant complete) for the celebration of Patriot's Day, celebrated the third Monday of every April. It is the celebration of the start of the Battle of Lexington and Concord which began the American Revolution. It also commemorates the "Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," so if you're into that whole American History thing (I prefer British history, being a medievalist and all :P), party hardy!


Well, the Holiday Hero took a lovely stroll down Central Avenue today to meet me at school, and I'll be returning with him down the same road--definitely stress-relieving unless you get approached by the various odd people on said road or nearly get run down by a bus! Aside from that, it's really rather comforting. He was also busy trimming up our yard and cleaning up the garden area, so two holidays celebrated! Boom!

Cheers!

Celebration Sensation, out!

Hope the Erasures on Your Taxes Didn't Sink You!

We are certainly hoping that your tax day has gone swimmingly well rather than crashing into the giant iceberg we call the IRS. Also Happy Rubber Eraser Day and 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking! Enjoy.

Pecans and Goals...Uh-huh!

One of our favorite sayings combined with one of the best things to do in your life! Happy Uh-Huh Day, Reach as High as You Can Day, and Pecan Day!

Sisters-in-Arms and a Safety Pin

Here we present to you sisters, Megan and Bethany, displaying the love-hate relationship that every sibling group understands! Also, the safety pin I was given by Fred (not pictured).