Happy Valentine’s Day!

This one is going out to all the LOVERS in the world…. an oldie but a goodie from Jazz royalty, Nat King Cole, “LOVE”!

L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can

Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don’t break it
Love was made for me and you

At our wedding, our DJ had anyone who wanted the bride and groom to kiss come up front and sing a song with the word LOVE in the lyrics- of course this one was performed (by my husband’s cousin I believe).  It was really a cute thing to do and that portion of our video is one of the best!

Happy Valentine’s Day, Celebrate Holiday readers!

XOXO, Michelle

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Opens Tonight!

Tonight, “With Glowing Hearts”, we will witness the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games! I am thrilled to have had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful city last summer and cannot wait to see the Opening Ceremony on television tonight (NBC, 7:30 PM PST for me).

Watching the Olympic Games has always been emotional for me. I am always affected by the cultural inspiration & spectacle of the host city.

2010 Vancouver Olympics logo from Business Week "Hot Property" post by Dan Foust

I love the torch relay and the final lighting of the cauldron usually brings me to tears!  Seeing representative athletes from each country also can move me, especially since they each have their compelling stories to tell.  Of course, my national pride comes out completely when the USA enters the stadium!

It is an inspirational moment in time, when the most dedicated athletes from every nation have an opportunity to come together, compete, and make new friends. It is a time of great national pride for virtually every citizen on the planet. We are amazed by the achievements of these athletes, by the graciousness of the host city, and by the spirit of friendship and tolerance that inspires the games.

It is going to be an exciting few weeks! GO TEAM USA!

Isn’t it grand? Irish Coffee Day!

Well, yesterday was beer cans and today is Irish coffee. It’s feeling wee bit Irish ’round Celebrate Holiday of late!  I am giggling

Irish Coffee is an exotic libation that is built to confuse the central nervous system: Drink a glass and let the coffee give you the jitters whilst the whiskey relaxes your nerves. At any rate, today on Irish Coffee Day you’d have perfect timing to enjoy a taste.

Tullamore Dew Irish Coffee by Thomas Hawk via Flickr

Irish coffee is made by adding a jigger of good Irish Whiskey such as Jameson or Bushmill’s or Tullamore Dew to a cup of hot coffee and topping it off with a bit of  soft whipped cream. Many folks like to substitute “cream” for the whiskey- meaning an Irish cream liquor such as Carolan’s or Baileys.

Now, Irish Coffee is nice and I’m not saying the Irish don’t like it, but it’s often on the pub menu for “blow-ins” (tourists) like myself and probably you.

So, it’s lucky for you I’ve been to have had the chance to visit  beautiful, green Eire for a month or four.  If you’re wantin’ to quench your thirst in the local brogue, let me expand your vocabulary by few Irish beverage-related terms:

cuppa = hot tea, usually sweet, can also called cuppa tea or sweet tea: “come in for a cuppa”

whiskey = what you’d call Scotch, also referred to as the “Irish”: “give us a drop of the Irish, now”

coffee, white = coffee with cream and sugar, I’d say the most popular way to order coffee at all the posh Irish coffee  shops. “I’ll take a coffee, white, please”

pint = a beer, most often a Guinness or the most popular local brew (for example Murphy’s in Cork) , although you could say ‘a pint, plain’ to specify a Guinness also.  Irish folks love their beer though, and have a huge selection of local beers, imports, and ciders  (I like Bulmers/Magners) on draft or in bottles. “I’ll have a pint of plain, thanks”

glass = half-pint of the above.

mineral = sometimes used to refer to soft drinks. “What ya got for minerals?”

And the most important vocabulary word of all: Slainte! = “slan-cha”, the most common toast, literally meaning “health!”

Got any more? Think my list is “bang-on” or a pile of “shite”? Let me know!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year, friends! Welcome 2010!

Here’s a a Tiny Prints New Year’s card that is featuring some sweet photos of one of our staffers & their spouse! It’s so cute, huh?

Cute "Party Supplies" New Year's Card by Tallu-lah for www.tinyprints.com

The Crawfords celebrated New Year’s in the traditional Filippino way this year- eating, playing cards/mah jong, eating, banging pots and pans, wearing red, eating, and … oh yeah, there was food!

Here’s a toast to health and happiness to all.

I have resolved to get started on my Marketing education at UCSD’s extension and lose weight by eating 1200 calories a day. What are your resolutions this year?

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, Celebrate Holiday readers. Here we have a bona-fide holiday, one of the most popular in the year.

How popular, you ask? Very! Americans will spend almost 3 billion dollars on Halloween costumes, decorations, and party supplies. However, I’ll leave it to you to compare that to the $210 that are spent on the winter holidays.

I am in a holiday-oriented retail business, so I know first hand of what I speak. However, big money or no money, I hope that your Halloween and holiday’s are a wonderful as they should be.

Here’s a joke from my kids- you have to remember Charlie Brown’s It’s the Great Pumpkin cartoon, though.

(kids comparing trick-or-treats = kids comparing geography assignments)

Lucy: “I got Italy!”

Schroeder: “I got Japan!”

Charlie Brown: “I got Iraq.”

Trick or treating never was so pitiful... (image via harryramble@wordpress.com)

Okay, okay- these are the kind of jokes you get when your kids are ridiculous and gifted, what can I say?

At any rate:

Have a SpOoKy HaLloWeeN!

International Stuttering Awareness Day

What do James Earl Jones, Marilyn Monroe, Winston Churchill, and Carly Simon have in common? Or Even Tiger Woods, Emily Blunt, and Bruce Willis?

Well, fame, and something much less obvious- stuttering. Today is International Stuttering Awareness Day, always celebrated on October 22nd.

from manpreetstammers.blogspot.com

Even my new favorite Charger Darren Sproles is someone who has had a stutter. He,  along with many other famous and talented people have had a stutter and are featured on the Celebrity Corner of The Stuttering Foundation’s website.

Stuttering, also referred to as stammering, is a communication disorder that affects the speech of over 3 million Americans, probably more than 1% of all people worldwide.

Apparently nine times out of ten, addressing this disorder in childhood can help a child to grow up to speak fluently as an adult. The cause of stammering needs more research so that more effective therapies can be developed. Which is why International Stuttering Awareness Day supporters want to raise both awareness and funds.

Listen to the eloquent speech on what it is like to stammer by Leys Geddes, chair of the www.stammering.org on The Stuttering Student’s Blog. He notes that over 10 million pounds a year are raised to help abused donkeys, while only 1 million pounds  are donated to help research & develop therapies for people who stammer.

I have a friend at work who has a stutter.  She’s pretty awesome and funny, with the greatest funky style, and an amazing work ethic.  When I am talking with her,  I have to be patient sometimes and there is occasionally this urge to finish her sentence.  Of course, that is the totally wrong thing to do because she usually says clever things that I wouldn’t think of.  Plus, it’s rude.

To the Left, to the Left…

Happy National Left Hander’s Day! Today all the left handers in the world are encouraged to take their space and make it theirs. Right handers watch out:

watch out righties!

This post is going out to my brother in law, a leftie in his own right (haha!) who always is forced to sit at the same far end of the table at Sunday dinners. Much love to you, bro!

Here is a quiz from the Left Handers Club website:

We all, of course, know in which hand we hold a pen, but how far does this bias extend throughout your body? Are you left-eared? Left eyed? Here is a simple test you can apply to yourself.

1. Imagine the centre of your back is itching. Which hand do you scratch it with?
2. Interlock your fingers. Which thumb is uppermost?
3. Imagine you are applauding. Start clapping your hands. Which hand is uppermost?
4. Wink at an imaginary friend straight in front of you. Which eye does the winking?
5. Put your hands behind your back, one holding the other. Which hand is doing the holding?
6. Someone in front of you is shouting but you cannot hear the words. Cup your ear to hear better. Which ear do you cup?
7. Count to three on your fingers, using the forefinger of the other hand. Which forefinger do you use?
8. Tilt your head over on to one shoulder. Which shoulder does it touch?
9. Fixate a small distant object with your eyes and point directly at it with your forefinger. Now close one eye. Now change eyes. Which eye was open when the fingertip remained in line with the small object? (When the other eye, the non-dominant one, is open and the dominant eye is closed, the finger will appear to move to one side of the object.)
10. Fold your arms. Which forearm is uppermost?

If you have always considered yourself to be right or left-handed you will probably now have discovered that your body is less than total in its devotion to its favoured side. If you are right-handed the chances are that you were not able to be ‘right’ 10 times.

Rice, Rice Baby!

Today at CelebrateHoliday we give homage to a comfort food for the ages: Rice Pudding!

Eat some, it's National Rice Pudding Day!

Rice pudding is a dessert served around the world, with many countries putting their own special spin on this starchy and creamy concoction. In my Filipino family, I grew up eating a chocolate rice pudding called Champorado as a warm breakfast cereal and a type of baked ground-rice pudding as a snack called Bibingka.

The Spanish eat Arroz Con Leche which is also a baked and creamy pudding featuring lots of cinnamon.  Roz Bil Halib is a traditional North African recipe for a slow-boiled rice pudding flavored with rose water or orange flower water. Kheer is a rich and flavorful Indian pudding that features coconut milk, cardamom, and pistachios.

And that is really just the start. But for me it is the end, because I am starving for…you guessed it. Happy Rice Pudding Day, friends!

Bonza Bottler Day

An Australian original holiday, Bonza Bottler day was founded by Elaine Fremont as a reason to throw a party even in months with no major holidays! A Bonza Bottler Day occurs whenever the month and date are the same number, for example, today August 8th.

Would you believe that when the month, day, and year coincide, we are able to throw an even bigger party in celebration of the phenomenon known as a Bodacious Bonza Bottler Day! according to the offiical Bonza Bottler Day website, “When Australians like something, they might exclaim, “Bonza !” which means “super,” “great,” or “fantastic.” “Bottler” is slang for “something excellent.” And Bodacious, as everyone knows, means extraordinary, impressively great in size, or enormous. When a baby is born on a Bonza Bottler Day, that baby is a Bonza Bottler Baby- a very auspicious designation, indeed.

The official mascot of Banza Bottler Day is the dancing groundhog!

Next month I definitely plan to throw a party for the Bodacious Banza Bottler Day that will occur on September 9th, 2009.  Let me know if you will, too!