You're Still the One That I Love

GUESS WHAT there are no spoilers in this post. :)

It's a reflection, not a reaction. Because a reaction post for UP would basically just be as follows:

BHAUG;FGDUAMAZINGAAAAAHHHHA;ASHNO; etc etc

I thought I'd spare you of that. For now.

There are many, many reasons Pixar is one of The World's Undisputed Greatest Movie Studios. Their animation is always rich, detailed, heavily-laboured, and clearly loved by the creators. They pair it with music that takes you to whatever world you need to go to. They have characters that are so rich, you feel like you know them. They make these ridiculous, imaginative stories in fabulous, imaginative worlds that work ~so well~. And, of course, they have practically an entire city population working on each film.

But I believe the reason that Pixar is one of The World's Undisputed Greatest Movie Studios has to do with the heart of each film they put out. Their stories teach us friendship, love, loyalty, passion, and individual worth. The hearts and souls of their characters are so rich, deep, and real that we really feel like we can understand and learn from these people. Not just characters- people. (To me, Wall-E is more of a person than any robot ever was, even Andrew from Bicentennial Man. But that's another conversation completely.)

Just like people can come out of Wall-E thinking it was a science-fiction flick with a environmentalist agenda, some poor souls might think Up is primarily an action/adventure film with an old guy for comic relief. But just like Wall-E, Up is much, much more appreciated when you realize what it really is- a love story.

In Up, Carl Frederickson falls in love with Ellie the very first time he meets her. Ellie is enthusiastic, eager, and everything Carl isn't. They have the same passions, just different ways, and one of those passions is each other. The first few minutes of the movie show us snippets of their life together, their love together, and their losses together. And when Ellie dies, even after just watching those few minutes, it moved me to tears. Carl literally lost half of himself when he lost his wife.

Every choice Carl makes, he makes for his wife. He's fulfilling their dreams every step of the way, lasting the adventure of a lifetime to do what he thinks she wants. He meets a hilarious young boy, an adorable dog, and an amazing giant bird. Also, he meets his fears, his dreams, and his childhood hero. But unless what he meets is what he thinks Ellie would want, Carl doesn't care for it one bit. He has his focus, and his focus is to please Ellie. Because after 70 years of loving her, Carl doesn't intend to give up on their dreams.

And that is what makes the movie. Because of Ellie, he is the man he is. For better and for worse. He loves her so much, it kills him to do anything half-way. And until you actually see the movie for yourself, you can't understand quite how import Ellie is, how she saves them all. The second time I was moved to tears was again because of Ellie and Carl's love, because of how she can still inspire him to be the very best man he can be, no matter how far away she is.

I want to be somebody's Ellie someday. I want to share that kind of love with someone; a love so deep, it transcends 70 years and far beyond. A love that keeps our mementos special, that makes every mailbox, painted wall, and saved penny worth something more than it ever could.

Up is an amazing adventure in an exotic land with a lush cast of characters. But those first 10 minutes, that life within one painted-up clubhouse, those forever remembered yesterdays...without those minutes, it's just an adventure.

With those minutes, it's a beautiful love story, and it's another Pixar miracle.

"You're Still the One" can be found by Shania Twain

Got my 45 On so I Can Rock Out (MHU)

Today is one of the most special Mondays all year. There are a few Mondays that are better than all others, seemingly set apart by those Higher-Ups who understand both the mundane nature of the Monday and the magic of turning a normal day into a holiday.

Today is Memorial Day, one of our beautiful nation's many holidays that is not only nationally supported, but the date constantly sticks to "Monday". Martin Luther King Jr. Day...President's Day...Columbus Day...all days that have no relation to Monday at all, but always end up being celebrated on a Monday. If any of you were doubting my logic for having Monday Holiday Updates, this is proof that I'm not alone in the belief that any day can be improved by becoming a holiday. Especially Mondays.

So, in case you haven't figured it out, this is indeed a MONDAY HOLIDAY UPDATE on our final full week of May!

Today, on Memorial Day, you should really try and put special remembrance towards our servicemen. They give their lives for our country, whether in their death or in their service. Fly your flags, attend parades, go to a cemetery or a local army museum...and remember with pride.


Tomorrow is a different kind of memorial day...it's Sally Ride Day! Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, was born 58 years ago tomorrow, and she's definitely worth remembering. Without her and the women like her, all those space movies would have no love-interests, and we wouldn't have a Zenon. OR a Zequel. But seriously, Sally Ride is pretty dang cool and quite gutsy. So I'm glad she has her own day.

Wednesday isn't a memorial day, but it is one with a brave cause. Sunscreen Protection Day, always May 27th, is meant to educate the public about the importance of UV protection. Sunlight is awesome...it can give you Vitamin C, good weather, a nice tan, and a good attitude. But it can also give you cancer. And sunburn. And peeling skin. So the best way to avoid those fates would definitely be to slather some SPF on your skin before taking Sheryl Crow's advice and soaking up the sun. Not just on holidays- everyday. Just today, you're allowed to be snotty about it and nag everyone else into being just as safe as you.

Thursday is Amnesty International Day. Amnesty International is a group of great people who like to alert everyone about peace problems, both domestic and distant. You can thank them for sending you all those donation requests to Darfur over facebook and whatnot. And you SHOULD thank them (mass-forwarding takes time!) today, preferably by taking the time to read through pamphlets, making donations to honorable causes, and becoming active in a human rights case yourself!

In case you didn't get pepped enough about International issues Thursday, or maybe got over-pepped and now want to continue celebrating, Friday is a great holiday for you. It's International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, the job every proper Amnesty International kid wants to have when they grow up! The Peacekeepers are a little bit like superheroes; they have to work together for the good of the human race, sometimes even giving their lives in the cause of fighting real evil. In fact I kind of picture the Justice League when I think about them. However, I've been to the UN building and the people who work there do not dress in tight-fitting, brightly-colored costumes as they fight for international truth, justice, and the international way. They really should, though.

Saturday's holiday is really awesome, and definitely the least preachy of all of this week's holidays. It happens to be Water a Flower Day. And Holiday Insight's information for Saturday's holiday is just too amusing for me to not share: " Water a Flower Day is a reminder to water your flowers...all of them. Sure, we know that this day reads Water "a" Flower (singular) Day. It clearly indicates that a flower should be watered. But, in today's world of equal rights and non-discrimination regulations, how can you single out one particular flower to water? Even if you can decide upon a certain flower, wouldn't the rest of your flowers get upset and file a class action lawsuit? So please, for your own sake, water all of your flowers today. " Pure, comedic gold, ladies and gentlemen! And I fully agree, by the way.

Keeping with this week's apparent theme of being preachy about people, being preachy about people's issues, and memorializing other preachy people, this Sunday is World No Tobacco Day. And this is also my favorite holiday this week...because I don't like tobacco one bit. It smells, it ruins your teeth/lungs/life, and it can break your spirit. I am awfully proud to say that this Sunday is an international holiday towards the cause of breaking people from this horrible habit, and extra pleased it's on a Sunday. If you happen to have a lesson on the Word of Wisdom this Sunday, make sure you bring it up!

So perhaps you like the sillier, easier-to-celebrate holidays. I do, too. But it's good to have a week of legitimate holidays for legitimate purposes of memorial and celebration! Besides, next week is ridiculous in holidays. :)

"Soak up the Sun" can be found by Sheryl Crow, and even she intends to put on her SPF 45 to celebrate Wednesday.

Don't Hide the Light

SO I got my pieces back in Drawing that were displayed in the Fine Arts Fair. Which makes me very pleased, because I can share them with you! These are actually just lame camera phone pictures, because Mom has the good ones on her camera, and the scanner is on mental summer vacation already. I don't have my very first projects (a blind contour of my face and a lovely picture of my favorite shoes) because they're still in the room. You won't see them for awhile because the face is ugly, and she's putting the shoes in the summer atrium display.

Anyway, this was our first large picture. And EWWW THIS IS A DISGUSTING COMPRESSION. Remind me to never ever settle for camera phone pictures again.

If you can tell from the horrible fog that the magic of technology has given the picture, free of charge, this is a lighthouse, done in #2 pencil. I actually quite like it...It was very, very hard to do because water is insanely difficult to mimic in pencil. But it was fun, and a great challenge. I'm reasonabl pleased, and there are some bits I really, really love.


This next one, which has also been brutally murdered through the glory of my adorable phone, is probably my favorite accomplishment all year. I've already told you about this one, and besides the fact that it does indeed look realistic and saturated and cool, (from a distance, Mom thought it was oils and not mine) the reason I love it so much is because I really, truly had no idea I could DO that with colored pencils.

It's nice to get it back because my current project is coming out kind of not-so-awesome, so this is a nice reminder of "hey! you do have some awesome in you, I promise!".

And maybe once I figure out how to get the scanner to get off of its ego trip and work properly, I'll show you how much better they are in person. Even though scans aren't exactly in person....shhh.

Lyrics from "The Light" can be found by April Meservy

I'm Going to Strawberry Fields (MHU)

I'm going to test my skills at one-handed typing today I am holding an almost-asleep baby in my left arm. And it seem to be easier to do silly blogging one-handed than homework. Besides, Baby Katie likes to crinkle my assignments.

So today ushers in another day of MONDAY HOLIDAY UPDATES although posted later in the day than usual, which I apologize for, especially since today is a pretty sweet-awesome holiday in itself. This week also happens to be Emergency Medical Services Week, which must make all those EMTs pretty happy. I didn't know we had a week for celebrating our lovely friends and heroes at 911, but I'm glad we do! Even if the ones on Smallville end up going crazy and try to kill the main character, steal your second-favorite character away from her husband, kill her husband (who happens to be in the Superman canon, so they shouldn't even be allowed to kill him), and then try and kill her, even after her husband is finally being cool again. But no, I'm not bitter!

As I promised, today is an awesome holiday. It's International Museum Day, which is yet another completely legit holiday! Unfortunately, the day is almost over, but today is still a great day to see your local museum and enrich yourself intellectually. Especially since all over the globe museums celebrate today with discounts, special exhibits, and even gifts for attendees. Museums are awesome enough as it is; give me free stuff with my knowledge any day of the week!

Tuesday actually plays host to a Turkish holiday that I'm quite fond of- Ataturk Commemoration Day, which is better known (and easier understood) as Youth and Sports Day. It's actually the day the Turks celebrate their independence, and what better way to celebrate independence than through Youth and Sports! May is lovely weather all over the globe, so I suggest all youth and non-youths go out and play some sports.

I really like Wednesday's holiday, because it brings me back to my happiest memories of my old house in Brookdale. Okay, I have a lot of memories of Brookdale, but the most special and cliche one of all was when Mom would be working in the garden out front and I'd get to pick strawberries from the bush growing under the house. I'd grab a few, run into the kitchen to rinse them off, and eat them fresh as possible. We don't have a strawberry bush nowadays, but Strawberry Picking Day still brings back memories that I never want to forget. And sure, it'd be a better story and a cooler memory if I just ate them off the vine, but we were sanitary with our childhood memories, doggonit!

Now, I'm sure you take notes and memos often enough that you don't need an entire holiday for it, but you ought to widen your view on memo-writing. Because Thursday is National Memo Day, and we've got to make the best of it! I suggest carrying a Post-it note pad around with you. Make memos of what your friends say so you can correct them in the future. Write inspiring notes to stick in less-than-inspiring places. Make to-do lists that go beyond "bread, milk, eggs" and instead include "conquer Asia, find a rift in the time/space continuum, watch the entire series of Friends". Or, maybe for those less ambitious, "order chinese, set clock ahead two minutes, watch a hilarious television show". Both memos are far superior to "bread, milk, eggs" any day.

Friday is another one of those holidays that is most awesome because of the holiday the day after. And I actually suggest following through with both, because both are bound to make you happy through the power of....dunduhduhdaaa....music! Friday is Buy a Musical Instrument Day, which I think is a splendid holiday. If you're in need of a new piano, saxophone, viola, lute, or one-man-band set, today would be THE DAY to buy it! However, I don't condone expensive impulse purchases like that, even if it is the holiday. So if you're not in need of a new piano, saxophone, viola, lute, or one-man-band set, today would be THE DAY to buy a kazoo. Or maybe a tambourine...I think I'll get a tambourine.

Whatever you chose on Friday, I hope it's great for Jazz, because Saturday is the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, and as such, International Jazz Day! This holiday is awwwwesome, not only because it's conveniently scheduled the day after Buy a Musical Instrument Day, not only because it was created just a matter of months after I was, and not only because it has roots in New Orleans which makes me think of the Princess and the Frog (why yes, the image is that Louie, instead of that Louis. Sorry for my blasphemy). This holiday is awwwesome because...hello? JAZZ IS AWESOME. And I finally have a holiday I can listen to my Rat Pack, Ella Fitzgerald, and every other brilliant and dead artist I love with holiday-approved fervor.

Sunday is another one-choice-only holiday, and another one I find ironic. This lovely day is National Escargot day, which perhaps makes it a little less lovely. I've never had escargot and don't intend on trying anytime soon, but if someone brings some over on Sunday, by golly I might as well try it. I'm all for french stuff. Even if that french stuff includes eating a snail. Or, y'know, I could be like the majority of our population and ignore this holiday exists. Works for them!

Oh, lovely. The baby's completely asleep...which means I can return to my homework. I'll colorize this entry and add lovely pictures if/when I finish up, and if the children stay asleep. They were supposed to stay up all four hours...I like this much better!

Title's Lyrics can be found in Strawberry Fields Forever by the Beatles. And should be sung on Wednesday!

The Music, the Spotlight, the People,

First of all, this entry isn't fine-tuned or combed through enough. The title doesn't quite match, the pictures aren't in, I haven't spell-checked, and for heavens sake it's not in ~*~technicolor~*~. It's quite embarrassing!

But I promised myself I'd never let two Monday Holiday Updates bookcase each other, even if I have a week full of APs, stress, and whatever other excuses I have between them. So, perhaps you can come back in a few days and see a presentable entry for the Fine Arts Festival.

District 204 and likewise Waubonsie put together a festival every year to celebrate the artistic endeavors of their students. It's absolutely thrilling to go through Waubonsie on that one Saturday in May...the walls are lined with the best art from the elementary schools; those normal off-green bricks completely covered with mosaics of bright colors from the imaginations of children absolutely unparalleled otherwise. There are teenagers in the atrium, painting the faces of children so that even more child-approved color is running around the school.

There are beautiful gowns, the finest of furniture, and other stunning "this-kid-is-in-high-school" kind of pieces dotted between make-shift performance halls and would-be art galleries. In the field house, where normally kids are getting smacked with dodgeballs or trying to avoid playing basketball, the rushing sounds of orchestras fill the air, giving an ambiance unparalleled for those who are looking at the high school or middle school art. There are even some "preforming artists"...luckily nothing Beuys would appreciate- just talented kids at their easels.

And that music that I just barely mentioned...that's something that nobody could speak a word of Fine Arts Festival without thinking about. In every place that the school has a lot of convenient chairs; the auditorium for choirs, the field house for orchestras, the wood gym for bands, and the cafeteria for small ensembles (and snacks); there's music. All day long...without break...just rehearsals and performances and rehearsals and performances. And the very best part about these performances? You won't see them anywhere else all year. Coming to a Fine Arts Festival performance is a little bit like seeing David Archuleta sing on stage with Donny Osmond- they might have a little in common, enough that such a combination isn't completely ridiculous, but you'll never see that age group or style difference preforming together under normal circumstances.

The musical groups get together with the parallel music group from a different age or different school, and the different directors help lead them together. For weeks, these students prepare the music the way their director likes it in their own school, and then on this one Saturday, they get together and meld perfectly into the rest of the group. I LOVE this Saturday, guys, and I LOVE how this music works. It's inspired work of genius, really.

The elementary schools all combine in a choir for their feeder middle school, realizing what power they'll have once they get just a few years older. The middle school choirs join with varying Waubonsie choirs , and they realize what talent they're going to blossom into.

I remember being on the younger side of the equation, and those emotions are exactly what I felt. It was exciting. May is the time when kids start to look to next year, and for those about to move up schools, Fine Arts Festival is honestly one of those times that they're most likely to feel prepared to join their fellow students in what they love.

I know that the main complaint about Fine Arts Festival is the crowds, the impossible (and I do mean impossible) parking, and the noise...but it's kind of unrealistic to expect anything else. Almost every child in half of the district has a performance, a piece of artwork, or a friend in something on this day, and when we all come together to celebrate each other, that's a LOT of people. But those strangers you're rubbing shoulders with, that kid from the elementary school across the city or that little girl from a middle school you only see as sports competition, they could be in your high school class. You're building kinship with complete strangers over the most powerful medium for kinship that exists on a secular level- art.

So perhaps I should have better spent this entry explaining all the pieces I got into the festival, both that I've previously talked about, and haven't mentioned at all. Or maybe I should have been detailing my choral experience singing songs that I haven't sung since 8th grade, and how I still think we did better three years ago.

But to me, Fine Arts Festival is only a little about what I contributed. If it was just The Alaina and Her Friends Show, I really don't think I'd like it that much. Certainly not as much as I love this crazy, ridiculous, hectic, messed-up Saturday in May. Besides, as I experienced with Prism, I seem incapable of describing an annual experience just straight-up as what I personally did. This, I think, is much more fun.

Title can be found in "There's No Business Like Showbusiness" in Annie, Get Your Gun!

I Want to Ride my Bicycle (MHU)

Today is Monday, which, as always, means it's time for Monday Holiday Updates!

This week is the third week in May, and has two fantastic week celebrations. It's both National Bike Week, and National Police Week! This is fantastic, because I love Police and bikes. But really, I guess I love the idea of and Police and bikes more...I never really bike at all. At all. And I don't have the guts to ever be a police officer... and they scare me when I'm driving and I see a police car on the road. However! I love to see other people on bikes, and I am a bit of a follow-the-law nerd, so cops never graduated from the elementary school hero status. That counts...right?

Anyway. To kick off a week of really wonderful holidays, Monday is Twilight Zone Day. Which is quite funny, because May 11th has nothing to do with the release of any of the Twilight Zone television series, remakes, movies, opening of any related theme-park attractions, or birth of any actors, creators, or my father who is older than the series. Know what I say to that? I say [cue Twilight Zone Theme-song].

Today, I suggest you go out and enlighten the public about the Twilight Zone. I once sang the theme to a friend at an apt situation, and she just thought I was making crazy dissonant "neener" notes. It nearly broke my heart. Needless to say, she knows better now. Once you've finished enlightening the public, reward yourself with some classic episodes, a movie or two, or maybe take a trip into the 5th dimension yourself.* And heck, if that doesn't work, you could have your own personal little "Twilight Zone" and spend some quality time with Stephanie Meyer books.**

*I do not suggest this.
**I do not suggest this, either.

If you love Limereks, Tuesday you're in luck,
and this holiday won't be a muck.
But if you're a fool,
and think poetry's uncool,
than "Limerek Day" just might suck.

In third grade, limereks were my passion,
and my teacher thought them always in fashion.
So I wrote up a book,
on which she could look,
and get her daily poetry ration.

Now maybe you're a bit distraught;
a fan of rhyming maybe you're not.
But I'm sorry to say,
that Tuesday is the day,
where limericists are all really hot!

Wednesday is where the rhyming ends. It's a bittersweet day for me...the day I take my dreaded AP tests for both AP English and AP Art History. Neither of which are going to be easy and by the time I'm tired of writing, neither of which will be fun.

However, the holiday is "Frog Jumping Day", which can be celebrated a number of ways. While the day is actually meant to celebrate Mark Twain's The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and read it, talk about it, or idolize it, the day makes a lot more sense for the average American to take their small child out for a healthy jaunt and a bought of Leapfrog. Or perhaps it would be more "average American" to take their small child, suggest a healthy jaunt and a bought of Leapfrog, and end up playing Frogger.

While those are both fantastic ways to celebrate a day like today, I would like to give a ~SPECIAL SUGGESTION~ to instead focus on anticipating Disney's fantastic upcoming movie, The Princess and the Frog! And while I've already pointed you towards the teaser, the real, legit, two-minutes-and-twenty-three-second trailer is here! And aaaah! What a film trailer it is. :) (just seven months left!)



Thursday only gives you one holiday to choose from, which, much like "Clean Your Room Day" yesterday, I find to be quite ironic. Thursday is, indeed, Dance Like a Chicken Day. This is pretty fantastic...just like at weddings, if the song comes on today, you just gotta dance. What, you think it's humiliating? Embarrasing? Ridiculous? TOO BAD. It's Dance Like a Chicken time!

Friday has a holiday that I REALLY get behind. And if I liked biking, did so well, or had a job, I would surely celebrate it. Friday is the highly acclaimed and Alaina-Approved National Bike to Work Day. Like I already said, this whole week is actually "Bike to Work Week", but this Friday is the designated day to show your pride and keep your body, earth, and mind healthy. Plus, I just checked the weather for Aurora and Logan and Salt Lake City. I got too bored to check elsewhere. But in ALL THREE BEAUTIFUL LOCATIONS, it's supposed to be in the 70's, with partly cloudy skies! How perfect for riding your bike can it get?!

I betchu on Friday, as you felt the wind in your hair and the partly cloudy skies peering down on your back, you said to yourself, "Gee, I just love nature!". And as you expertly avoided hitting cars, trees, small animals, and young children, you probably continued to think, "And I just love trees for holding still and being easy to avoid." Well then, Saturday is the perfect holiday for you! Even if you were a bum and didn't bike to work, live too far from work to bike, or perhaps too close to work to bike (I know I wouldn't appreciate it if Dad tried to bike down the stairs to his office), Saturday is still a lovely holiday. Why, it's Love a Tree Day, of course!

Go find a tree that you love, clip some branches, fertilize it, or find some other, better way to love it. Climb a tree (in a completely safe manner), swing from a tree-swing, or maybe sit in that perfect little U-shaped nook and read a book. I highly suggest reading a book about loving trees. Such as this fantastic one that makes me want to cry. I know when I have free time on Saturday, I'm going to climb up my hill to the oak with the U-shaped nook and read me some 1984 underneath the partly cloudy skies...there's nothing quite like sitting in the branches of a tree, with the wind toussling the leaves and your feet danging above the ground.

Sunday is Pack Rat Day, which I misread the first few times on Holiday Insights to be "Rat Pack Day". It made me very excited, and then quickly very disappointed. I would much rather celebrate the Rat Pack than the Pack Rats.

However, it still is a good day to gather your things, and love all those silly things you should be throwing away or selling. If you're gonna keep them anyway, might as well enjoy them for a day. Pull your collections down from their boxes and adore them; maybe mentally plan a garage sale.

And, while you're doing this, you really oughta listen to some Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Judy Garland, or other Rat Pack members. Maybe watch the original "Ocean's Eleven". That sounds like a much better fake holiday to celebrate, anyway.

"Bicycle Race" can be found by Queen. And hopefully it can be found on your personal soundtrack to Friday.

When You've Got Talent, Everything is Free

Today at lunch, I heard ~wonderful news~!



Oprah Winfrey is giving away free lunches to the entire country! This is so seemingly unbelievable, I had to make my friends repeat it several times to actually understand what they were saying.




But it's true! Oprah and KFC have got together to give the entire United States free chicken for two entire weeks of opportunity...now until May 19th!

(What perfect timing for International No Diet Day).


I've printed out two of my maximum four coupons (the system is too busy right now for the rest), and while I'm probably/possibly going to blog about the actual chicken itself, I thought it would be grossly unfair if any of you didn't know about this.


FREE FOOD. FREE, GOOD FOOD.


Now, maybe this is a dirty, rotten marketing ploy with the richest, most self-aware woman in Chicago pairing with an evil corporation of chicken-killers. But y'know what? I like KFC! And I'm going to like trying this newfangled "Kentucky Grilled Chicken" business! And I like Oprah's tendancy to give stuff away! And I especially like when they all come together in something I like the most- Free food!

So, go forth to unthinkfc.com and GET YERSELF SUM CHICKUN.

"Streets of Gold" can be found in Disney's Oliver and Company

You're Not Lost (MHU)

Today is Monday yet again, which means that the week is starting not just any week, but Wildflower Week! That's right...it's time again for MONDAY HOLIDAY UPDATES updatesupdatesupdates..... (I hope that helps you imagine that lovely announcer voice, ja?)

As I said, this second week of May (heavens, doesn't it seem too soon to be the second week?!) is Wildflower Week, which is a wonderful opportunity to look at Wildflowers. The most flowery of wildflowers I see around here are dandelions, but I'll make sure to appreciate them anyway. Besides, they're not ugly yet. Yellow is hard to make ugly!

Guess what. I'm a dirty rotten LIAR. I told you that May 2nd was World Freedom of the Press Day and Lumpy Rug Day and it's NOTTTTT. That was May 3rd! I was a day off. I completely skipped Baby Day. I apologize to babies everywhere.

Which means that Bird Day and Renewal Day were not, in fact, yesterday. They're TODAY. :D So bear with this lovely copy-paste of TODAY'S holidays. :)

"Sunday Today is Renewal Day, which reminds me of Easter. But it has nothing to do with Easter. However, since it is Sunday even though it's not Suday or Easter, I do suggest remembering the Renewal of life that He brought to us. You can also renew your nails, your hairdo, your pantries...whatever suits you for a mentally cleansing and renewing Sunday Monday. And Papaya would eat me alive if I didn't mention it's also Bird Day, which was started by Animal Rights Activists who don't like caged birds. They should talk to my dad- he says the only place for Papi is her cage."

Tomorrow for rizzles is the 5th of May, guys, and you SHOULD know what holiday it is. ~CINCO DE MAYO!!~ Not a very unknown holiday, but heck, I celebrate the normal ones, too! Cinco De Mayo is not Mexican Independance day, for those of you who think it is, but just a day of a very important battle in 1862. Also, a day very important for eating delicious Mexican foods. Even the Americanized versions! Mmmm, Taco Bell. Double-Mmmmmmmm, Chipotle.

Wednesday is yet another International Holiday, and it's a sadly unknown one. Frankly, I don't know why it's so unknown....Internationally recognized holidays are the best excuses I know for things like dieting. Yup, Today is seriously International No Diet Day. So kick back! Turn off your iPhone calorie-counting apps, order that burger instead of the salad, and eat whatever desert you want. Now, being healthy is obviously ridiculously important, so be safe. Wednesday is really more of a chance to stop worrying. And if anyone looks at you funny for your plate full of arteroi-clogging deliciuosness, just tell them to get with the rest of Earth, and that they're so unaware. Duh, it's International.

Thursday is Tourism Day, which is convenient if you live in a touristy place. Invite these friendly strangers over, hand out luau shirts, and make a special effort not to laugh at their antics. And don't be sorry if you live in some unscenic place. Like, I dunno, Aurora, Il. Today is still a great day to act like a tourist. Appreciate the little things about your home! Tell people that it was one of the first cities in the USA to use electric street lights, or that it's the setting of Wayne's World, both of which facts any proper Aurorian should know anyway. Maybe you could don a visor and carry a camera around your neck to celebrate!

Or, y'know, maybe not.

(Also, I would like to express my desire to be part of those 75 million visitors to France.)

Friday's holiday is awesome. But only because of the holiday on Saturday. This Friday, make sure to wear your lovliest sandals, because it's No Socks Day! And please, do wear sandals. Wearing gym shoes without socks is possibly one of the grossest and unhealthiest things people do quite often regarding feet. Plus, the itching and heat and other gross stuff gets annoying. And it bugs me. I suppose you could also wear flats, but isn't it much more in No Socks Day spirit to show off your adorable little toes?

Now, perhaps Friday morning you were pulling on some lovely socks, remembered "oh, heavens! Today is No Socks Day!" and threw them off in a haste. GASP! You may have lost one of those socks! Orrrrr maybe you totally forgot about Friday's holiday, didn't wear socks, and when someone asked if you were celebrating No Socks Day (because obviously it's a very well-known holiday and random people are likely to ask you that), the truth was that you'd really just lost your socks. Orrrrr maybe wearing No Socks on Friday prompted you to do the laundry and you put eight socks into the washer and pulled seven out of the drier. Whatever the case, this Saturday is a good time to celebrate Lost Sock Memorial Day. Why yes, this really is Saturday's holiday. It's real.

I know I've lost many well-loved socks in my lifetime. Sometimes, I lose so many fantastic socks I have to get creative with my pairings. The worst/best pair I have would definately be my cow socks....one is grey with kitschy little cows and is quite soft. The other is yellow with a "cow jumping over the moon" motif and doesn't stretch an inch. But they're both cow socks, so they match...right? On Saturday, I think I will wear this pair in Memorial of those socks who went MIA.

And I don't think Caillou really realizes the heart-wrench of having a missing sock. I've never seen anyone with a missing sock seem so darn happy about it!

Sunday only has one option on Holiday Insights for holidays, which is quite ironic. It happens to be Clean your Room Day, and as it's the only choice of holidays, it seems quite like a nagging parent itself. But small children and groaning adults (as this holiday is for the both of you), do not fear! Today is not a day to be dreaded. It's a holiday!! And who has ever heard of a small child groaning to open Christmas Presents? This is just the same!...Kind of! Everything is better when it's a holiday, especially when it comes to cleaning your room.

Now, I don't think you should only clean it every May 10th. That would be really disgusting. But, if you can only have a positive attitude about cleaning your room once a year, why not spread that smile today on the appropriate holiday of joy?! And besides...maybe you'll find that missing memorialized sock from yesterday!

(But if part of Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy includes no housework (which I totally agree with, by the way), perhaps today is a better day for planning your actions. Clean your room tomorrow. But make sure you put a good foot forward in Holiday Spirit!)

Lost can be found by Michael Buble, and is apt if you happen to find those memorialized socks this Saturday.