A daily reason to celebrate + the cocktail to do it with!

Years ago I remember seeing a calendar that had some random “holiday” or other reason to celebrate for every day, and it even suggested a drink to go with each celebration.  Or at least I thought I remembered it.  Google tells me I’m delusional and no such calendar exists.

However I did find a lot of really fun/random “Holidays” on my Google Pilgrimage to find this Holy Grail of Boozy Calendars, and I finally just decided to make my own.  Unfortunately it’s done with Powerpoint and MS Paint (because I’m actually a sales analyst and those are the only tools I have access to).

It also turned out to be WAY more work than I thought it would.  There are some days where very little worth even mentioning has happened.  Nonetheless, I present to you:  January 2012.  All of the holidays I mention are “real” (according to the internet anyway, and the internet NEVER lies).  Believe it or not, I left out some of the weirder ones, such as “Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day”, which is January 22.  My cats have never really asked me questions, and they don’t care for booze…. so I wasn’t sure where I would go with that one.  Possibly a White Russian, but I’m really hoping there’s a Big Lebowski Day later in the year.

If there is any interest at all, I’ll push forward and do the rest of the months.  If no one but me is in to this sort of thing, I’ll just keep celebrating “Tuesday” with a glass of Merlot, the way I’ve been doing for years.

I’m also totally open to suggestions, it anyone wants to change a day I have already listed with something better, or if you have a great idea for your favorite “holiday” later in the year.  Feel free to let me know in the comments!

Sims, Spaniels and Scotch

Things are settling down nicely at Casa de Nevershagagreek.

Pool Boy’s started his new job yesterday and he’s LOVING it.  He gets to wear jeans all-day-every-day.  It’s a “come and go as you please” type schedule.  He’s already been invited out to dinner with coworkers.  The work/life balance seems to be much better.  Less travelling.  And:  FREE GAMES!

He bought “me” an Xbox a few weeks ago in anticipation of all the new games.  Then last night he brought home Sims because I was briefly addicted to the game when I first got my iPhone a few years ago.  Bless him he was SO proud.  “Go upstairs!  Play your new game!  I’ll take Donovan to the park.  I’ll give him a bath!  Go enjoy your new game!”  So, I spent the next couple of hours cursing at the complicated controller all the while feeling really OLD.

HOLY SHIT - ALL THE BUTTONS.

I finally managed to create 3 Sims that vaguely resembled my family.  That was about as far as I got.  It took me literally 30 minutes to realize I kept accidentally pausing the game.  Eventually I got my Sim go pee and wash her hands…  Then I turned off the TV and went downstairs.  They may have all starved to death by now.  Does that happen??  Anyway, I think PB was sad to see me come down after having only spent a few hours with the new game, but I really did feel bad with him taking sole care of Dono all night.  Plus I’m 30.  I think my days of staying up all night playing video games are behind me.  (OK, and I was a little miffed at not being able to figure the damn thing out.  What am I, 80?)

The adoration may be *slightly* one-sided.

Bonny is also doing well.  Sweet puppy* follows me everywhere I go.  Silly though it may be, that really means a lot to me.  I just can’t hug her enough.  Dono is also still thrilled about her.  He’ll point to her and say “puppy?” (which is his generic term for “dog I don’t know”).  The look on his face says “Um… did you know there’s a random dog in the house?  Are you cool with that?  Because I’m kinda diggin’ it.”  I’ll say “Yes, that’s Bonny.”  At which point he’ll squat down to pet her and say “niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice puppy.”  He’s pretty much the president of her fan club.

*She is not actually a puppy.  She’s actually fairly old.  But all dogs are puppies to me and mine.

In other news, Weight Watchers is still going well.  I’m continuing to lose weight!  I think I’ve lost 7.5 lbs so far.  I still have a long way to go, but at least things are moving in the right direction.

Still, I have a wedding coming up soon and I’m not sure what I’m going to wear.  This isn’t a wedding I’m necessarily looking forward to.  For a lot of reasons.  OK, 2 reasons.  First off, I’m NOT a fan of 1/2 of the couple.  Secondly, I think it’s a huge mistake for the other half.  I’m trying really hard not to judge other people’s relationships (Some women LIKE a jealous man.  Some women want to be submissive.  Some women like a man who’s trying to change them because they feel like they need to be changed.  Whatever – not all women are me is what I’m trying to say).  Still, there are times where I see little red flags that no one else sees.  Growing up with abuse gives you that special 6th sense.  It’s not much of a consolation prize, but damn if it’s not come in handy more than once.

With that said, there have been a few times recently where I found myself thinking “Yeah… I’m going to need a little liquid courage to get through this particular event.”  With that said, I found this fun little item today!  It’s from North Africa, circa 1940.  I believe (hope) that to be bone.

It's antique, which means I can feel classy while drinking my way through awkward situations!

If I can just get through the wedding with my mouth shut, smile firmly painted on my face, I’ll be fine.