National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day

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By Diane Forrest

Goobers, Raisinets

Chocolate Covered Treats

Raisinets and Goobers

Mighty fun to eat!

I remember going to the picture show when I was young, as soon as you walk in the door you see this long candy counter with all kinds of delicious candy.  I would be mesmerized by it all, but alas, I was never able to buy it.  It was expensive even back then.  Then I began to see the huge boxes of Movie candy at the drug store!  The price was right too.  1 huge box for only a dollar!  Well, I had to get some chocolate covered raisins and microwave popcorn, and a good comedy to watch at home.  Can there be any better way to spend a night at home?

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When I am watching a movie, I like to mix the salty and sweet.  I like a hand full of buttery salted popcorn and then a few chocolate covered raisins behind it.  Chocolate covered raisins, or Raisinets as the brand from Nestlé’s is called is my idea of one of my daily requirements of fruit.  They have been around since 1927 when they were introduced by the Blumenthal Chocolate Company.  In 1984 they were purchased by Nestles, and the rest, is history.  Raisinets are produced by other companies, and all around the world.  In fact, they are the third largest selling candy in the United States.

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Today is National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day.  If you can't get to the movies today, stop by the store and pick up some, and pop in a movie.

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Sing with your Children

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By Diane Forrest

I have grown up singing.  I love music, all kinds, from opera to rap, well some rap anyway. When I was in kindergarten I sang my first solo at our end of the year program.  The song was "A tisket a tasket a green and yellow basket, I wrote a letter to my love, and on the way I dropped it."

For as long as I can remember I have always been in a choir.  I started in church choirs, then school choirs, and then back to the adult choir at church.  It probably won't come as a shock when I tell you when my son was born I would always sing to him too.  As he got older, he learned the words to the songs and sing with me.  It is a wonderful thing to spend time with your children and sing and have fun.  I guess that is why March is Sing with your Child Month.

Some people may not think they can sing, or don't like to sing, but starting your child off with music is not only a great bonding experience, you could be planting the seeds for the next American Idol. To quote the song by the Carpenters, "Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear just sing, sing a song."

Below are a few songs to get you started:

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The Wheels on the Bus

The wheels on the bus go round and round

Round and round, round and round

The wheels on the bus go round and round

All through the town.

The wipers on the bus go "Swish, swish, swish,

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish"

The wipers on the bus go "Swish, swish, swish"

All through the town.

The door on the bus goes open and shut

Open and shut, open and shut

The door on the bus goes open and shut

All through the town.

The horn on the bus goes "Beep, beep, beep

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep"

The horn on the bus goes "Beep, beep, beep"

All through the town.

The gas on the bus goes "Glug, glug, glug

Glug, glug, glug, glug, glug, glug"

The gas on the bus goes "Glug, glug, glug"

All through the town.

The money on the bus goes "Clink, clink, clink,

Clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink"

The money on the bus goes "Clink, clink, clink"

All through the town.

The baby on the bus says, "Wah, wah, wah!

Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah!"

The baby on the bus says, "Wah, wah, wah!"

All through the town.

The people on the bus say, "Shh, shh, shh,

Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh"

The people on the bus say, "Shh, shh, shh"

All through the town.

The mommy on the bus says, "I love you,

I love you, I love you"

The daddy on the bus says, "I love you, too"

All through the town.

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Mary Had a Little Lamb

Mary had a little lamb,

Little lamb, little lamb,

Mary had a little lamb,

Its fleece was white as snow

Everywhere that Mary went,

Mary went, Mary went,

Everywhere that Mary went

The lamb was sure to go

It followed her to school one day

School one day, school one day

It followed her to school one day

Which was against the rules.

It made the children laugh and play,

Laugh and play, laugh and play,

It made the children laugh and play

To see a lamb at school

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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!

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This Old Man

This old man, he played one,

He played knick-knack on my thumb;

Knick-knack paddy whack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played two,

He played knick-knack on my shoe;

Knick-knack paddy whack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played three,

He played knick-knack on my knee;

Knick-knack paddy whack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played four,

He played knick-knack on my door;

Knick-knack paddy whack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played five,

He played knick-knack on my hive;

Knick-knack paddy whack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played six,

He played knick-knack on my sticks;

Knick-knack paddy whack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played seven,

He played knick-knack up in Heaven;

Knick-knack paddy whack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played eight,

He played knick-knack on my gate;

Knick-knack paddy whack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played nine,

He played knick-knack on my spine;

Knick-knack paddy whack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played ten,

He played knick-knack once again;

Knick-knack paddy whack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

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Old MacDonald had a farm

Old MacDonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

And on that farm he had some chickens,

Ee i ee i oh!

With a cluck-cluck here,

And a cluck-cluck there

Here a cluck, there a cluck,

Everywhere a cluck-cluck

Old MacDonald had a farm

Ee i ee i oh!

Old MacDonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

And on that farm he had some dogs,

Ee i ee i oh!

With a woof-woof here,

And a woof-woof-woof there

Here a woof, there a woof,

Everywhere a woof-woof

Old MacDonald had a farm

Ee i ee i oh!

Old MacDonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

And on that farm he had some turkeys,

Ee i ee i oh!

With a gobble-gobble gobble-gobble here,

And a gobble-gobble gobble-gobble there

Here a gobble-gobble, there a gobble-gobble,

Everywhere a gobble-gobble-gobble

Old MacDonald had a farm

Ee i ee i oh!

Old MacDonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

And on that farm he had some cows,

Ee i ee i oh!

With a moo-moo here,

And a moo-moo there

Here a moo, there a moo,

Everywhere a moo-ooo

Old MacDonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

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The itsy bitsy spider

The itsy bitsy spider

Climbed up the waterspout

Down came the rain

And washed the spider out.

Out came the sun

And dried up all the rain

So the itsy-bitsy spider

Climbed up the spout again!

World Water Day

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By Akindman

International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

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An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.



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The UN and its member nations devote this day to implementing UN recommendations and promoting concrete activities within their countries regarding the world's water resources. Each year, one of various UN agencies involved in water issues takes the lead in promoting and coordinating international activities for World Water Day.  Please look at the Wikipedia link for more background information on the UN efforts.

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Trivia:

Lake Baikal is located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast; it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water.

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Links:

http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Water_Day

Celebrate Common Courtesy Day Every Day

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By Diane Forrest

Years ago I remember when men would open the doors for women, would help them out of the car, would lay down their coat in a puddle so she wouldn't get her feet wet.  Ok...well that last one I saw in a movie, I have never really seen it.  As the years pass, I never see that anymore.  I occasionally see it at church, with the older members, but not that often.  I was very fortunate when I married my husband.  He was always courteous, and would open car doors for me.  It took me a while to get used to this, but I have to admit it was really nice being treated like a lady.

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Some men, like my father, think that because women want to be treated equally, and are liberated, that they lost the right to be treated with common courtesy.  To his defense, there are some women who don't appreciate having a door open for them, for what reason I cannot imagine.  Here in the south, where I was born and reared, a Southern mother always teaches her son to be courteous to the elderly and to women.

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Today is National Common Courtesy Day.  This should not just be today, but every day.  It is not hard to show courtesy to someone, and it doesn't cost a dime.  Not only will it make you feel good, but others will respect you for your actions.  Here are some examples of ways you can be courteous:

• Hold open doors, car doors, office doors, elevator doors.  Especially if someone has their hands full.
• Offer to push the elevator button for someone with full hands, or even offer to help carry their load.
• Smile, say hello to people you pass.  Make sure you look them in the eye.
• Don't interrupt someone who is speaking.
• Turn your cell phone off if you are in a public place such as a meeting, church, movie or restaurant.
• Refrain from texting if in someone's company.
• Clean up your own messes.
• If you are sharing a meal with someone, remain seated until everyone is finished eating.  I know a girl who will sit at the dinner table, gobble up her food in case someone wants to take it from her, and then jump up from the table.  Thank your host, asked to be excused and offer to help with the dishes.
• Cover your mouth if you cough or sneeze, then make sure to wash your hands.
• If driving, let other passengers in your lane if there is construction going on.
• Don't fight over parking spots. 

I have a friend in his 70's who is handicap, and has a handicap parking sticker.  During the Christmas holidays, where parking is scarce, he sat patiently waiting as a place opened up.  As the vehicle pulled out, he began to pull in, but there was a younger man pulling in the same spot from another direction.  Instead of giving up the spot to the older handicap man, the young man got out of his car and threatened bodily harm.  My friend gave up the space and was visibly shaken over the incident.

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Some of my favorite words are Please and Thank you.  These are two words that are often forgotten, and should be used more frequently.

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Other favorite words are Yes Ma'am/Sir and No Ma'am/Sir.  These are probably used more in the South, but it doesn’t hurt to use them everywhere.

Today, keep in mind ways to be courteous, and once you get in practice, you can celebrate Common Courtesy Day every day.

National Ethics Awareness Month

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By Akindman

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.

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Public service ethics is a set of principles that guide public officials in their service to their constituents, including their decision-making on behalf of their constituents. Fundamental to the concept of public service ethics is the notion that decisions and actions are based on what best serves the public's interests, as opposed to the official's personal interests (including financial interests) or self-serving political interests.

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The United States Congress has a web sites dedicated to Ethics – but this is sort of like the fox is already in the hen house.

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The practice of public relations can present unique and challenging ethical issues. At the same time, protecting integrity and the public trust are fundamental to the profession’s role and reputation. Bottom line, successful public relations hinges on the ethics of its practitioners. (From Public Relations Society of America)

I was once told, “I’m being as honest as I can…” – makes one wonder!

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Links:

http://www.ethics.org/

http://ethics.house.gov/

http://ethics.senate.gov/public/

http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics

http://www.oge.gov/home.aspx

I have attempted to follow Granny’s example – “If you are honest and tell the truth, you never have to worry about what version you told them.”

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Spring is HERE!!!

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By Diane Forrest

After consulting the famed Puxatawny Phil, springing forward, doing some spring cleaning, getting a little spring fever, and even taking a spring break, the day has finally arrived.  Today is officially the first day of spring.

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I am sure you have noticed budding flowers, growing grass, leaves appearing on the trees, and if your town is anything like mine, everything is covered with a yellow dusting of pollen.  There is new life all around.  Birds are chirping. .bees are buzzing, the sun stays out longer, and the temperature is just right.

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While Spring is my favorite time of year, there are a few drawbacks.  This is also the time for thunderstorms, flash floods and tornados, at least in my area.

In technical terms, today is the beginning of the vernal equinox.  On the vernal equinox, day and night are nearly identical in length -- 12 hours each -- at the equatorial plane.

An equinox occurs twice a year, in March and September, when the center of the Sun crosses directly over the Earth's equator, as the Earth is tilted neither away nor toward the Sun. Many cultures around the world celebrate the equinoxes as special occasions.

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Spring is a very important time in my town.  We have a Spring Pilgrimage.  This is the time when people travel here from all over the world to tour our antebellum homes.  Ladies dress up in hoop skirts, horse drawn buggies are available to take visitors on tours, the town's people spend weeks sprucing up everything, putting fresh paint where it is needed, and planting beautiful gardens.  At night the residents put on a pageant for the visitors that depict life on the Mississippi.  For more information about the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage, click here:  http://www.natchezpilgrimage.com/

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So today, the first day of spring, go outside...shake off the winter blues if you are able, and enjoy the new fresh day.