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It's Have Fun at Work Day! Or maybe it's tomorrow. The "Interwebs" can't seem to agree. Since we don't work tomorrow, we choose to celebrate today. Everyone is in on it, including management.
It's not a formal holiday, but we'll get a free lunch (pizza!), we'll goof off (some), play silly tricks on each other, and swap funny little desk gifts.
Have Fun at Work Day is a smart idea, no matter what day you celebrate. After the chaos of the holidays, school vacations, etc., rushing right back into the work routine can leave a person exhausted. A day of silliness lets employees relax a little, which makes us happy, which makes us more productive. Everyone wins.
As long as we don't turn it into Margarita Day as one coworker who shall remain nameless suggested, we should have a blast - without anyone getting fired!
When you're married with children, Valentine's Day can end up being less than romantic. One year both my dear husband and I forgot all about it. We were both on business trips and caught up in the mania of trains, planes, and automobiles while trying to manage things at home for the kids. We didn't even call each other that day! Lucky for us, we both married forgiving people.
With family, work, and all the little etceteras that compete for our time and energy, romance sometimes has to take a number. But not this year. I'm already laying plans to surprise Dear Hubby with an evening he'll love.
First, my husband really hates getting "all fancied up" to go out, so I'll whip up his favorite dishes at home and serve dinner by candlelight.
Second, he doesn't really like traditional Valentines, so I've decided to go a bit "naughty" this year.
Finally, I've arranged for the grandparents to take the kids overnight. Nothing spoils the mood like kids making retching sounds while you're trying to get your romance on.
When you've been married as long as we have, missing the occasional Valentine's Day is no big deal. But when you can make the occasional Valentine's Day perfect in every way...well, that's a very big deal.
A winter cold snap really puts me in the mood for baking. It fills the air with delicious smells and heating up the oven also warms the house, which means we get double the bang for our energy buck. Plus...the best of all...sweets!
Cakes are my favorite. From basic to simple to elaborate, I love sweet, airy cakes.
The kids like cookies - probably because it's easy to swipe a couple when my back is turned. My dear husband prefers brownies or pies.
It will have to be brownies, because I've never mastered the fine art of pie. I'm great with the fillings, but I can't seem to roll out a decent crust. They're always too sticky (which makes a wet mess) or not sticky enough (which makes the pie fall apart completely). But who knows? If this cold snap holds, I might take on the elusive perfect pie crust again. If nothing else, it'll keep the house warm!
Like a lot of 11-year-old girls, all Hannah Simpson wanted was a pony to love, train, and ride. Like a lot of parents, Hannah's folks said ponies were just too expensive to buy, feed, and care for.
But Hannah wanted to ride and would not be deterred. On a dare from her brother, she climbed onto the back of their cow Lilac and rode the heifer. Not only that, she trained Lilac just like you'd train a pony. (Hannah doesn't encourage others to duplicate her efforts - Lilac has thrown her rider many, many times.)
Lilac can jump up to 5 feet - when she feels like it. Hannah says the cow prefers leisure to jumping. Apparently Lilac is very fond of long walks and lazy swims.
For seven years, Hannah rode Lilac through the meadows of Invercargill, New Zealand, turning heads and evoking smiles. Now Hannah has a horse named Sammy and Lilac spends most of her time enjoying the leisurely activities she loves. So did Hannah forget her first faithful 'steed'? Never. She still takes Lilac for a ride at least once a week.
