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February 9
Read in the
Tub Day

Never trust anyone
who has not brought
a book with them.

~ Lemony Snicket

Since it’s Flirting Week, I’ll venture to guess. I’m not the only one for whom, a person with a book  gets the flirting motor running. Love a well read companion!

Besides Flirting Week, this week is also Love Makes the World Go Round, but Laughter Keeps Us from Getting Dizzy Week. Got dizzy just typing all that out.

Bagel Smiley

Over on this month’s Month of Smiley Silliness it’s Bagel Day. That center hole of a bagel often looks like a SMILE! Here’s just one of many Bagel Smileys I’ve found. There’s a different one on the monthly calendar.

It is also Pizza Day.  Anyone else ever make a  mini pizza using a toasted bagel and some spaghetti sauce? Fast. Fun. But watch out about burning your fingers…why do bagels get so inordinately hot, on the smooth outside surface, when you toast them?

Today we say happy birthday to Carole King (1942), Alice Walker (1944), Carmen Miranda (1909), Charlie Day (1976), Judith Light (1949), and Michael B. Jordan (1987).

February 8
Wave at Your
Neighbor Day

A man is called selfish,
not for pursuing his own good,
but for neglecting
his neighbor‘s.

~ Richard Whately

Yep, it was Wave at Your Neighbor Day yesterday, too.  Thanks for paying attention! Just gotta figure it’s such a worthy reason to celebrate, that it gets two days. Neighborliness is a good policy 365 days a year–this year 366! BTW, today’s House Smiley permanently adorns the wall of the Kentucky Science Center–a children’s museum in Louisville.

House Smiley

In today’s Smiley-a-Day emailer, you get a different House Smiley (there are so many, it’s hard to choose just one!). Here’s one more.

It’s also Laugh and Get Rich Day over on this month’s Month of Smiley Silliness.  Oh, is that how one gets rich?  Yes, rich in happiness and joy.

Birthday Cake Smiley

Lots of birthdays today. Today we say happy birthday to Jack Lemmon (1925), Nick Nolte (1941), James Dean (1931), and Gary Coleman (1968).  Typing all those names and thinking of all of their performances, I have a moment of gratitude for the makers of film, TV and stage. The art of acting is a wonderful thing! Sadly only Nick Nolte survives to eat cake tonight.

February 7
Tractor Day

You reap what you sow.
~ proverb

We love to wonder, 
and that is the seed of science.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I just could not find a tractor quote. So, since tractors are often used by farmers and farmers plant seeds, you get a couple of quotes about seeds.

Tractor Smiley

However, Tractor Smileys I find all the time. Tractors are covered in Smileys!!  I have always loved tractors!   Tractors and big construction sites are incredibly fun to watch.  BTW, John Deer Tractors began their reign as king of tractors back on this day in 1804, and so we get Tractor Day.!!

Today we say happy birthday to Ashton Kutcher (1978), Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867), Charles Dickens (1812), and to a country star who just seems like he’s a good guy all around (my friend works for him and says he’s as fun loving off stage as he is when he’s on stage). That’d be Garth Brooks (1962).

Hand Smiley waves, “Howdy, neighbor.”

Additionally it is Wave to Your Neighbor Day and Send a Card Day. You pick. Whichever. Just reach out! In case you miss it today, it’s also Wave at Your Neighbor Day again tomorrow.

February 6
Snack Foods Day

Useless Fact
It takes 1,000 pounds
of potatoes to make
350 pounds
of potato chips.

And a hearty belly laugh
will burn 10 of those calories.

Today we say happy birthday to Babe Ruth (1895, and BTW yesterday it was Hank Aaron’s). Over on our calendar of a Month of Smiley Silliness read a quote of his which I really love. BTW again, I’ve been called Baby Ruth my whole life, but not because of the ball player (even though I grew up to be a baseball fan). It was to differentiate me from my wonderful grandma, Grandma Ruth.

Bob Marley is our other birthday boy (1945).  He said, “Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?”  Wise man.  And please remember, if the answer is NO, you still have time to do the work to change the answer to YES.

Raisin Bread Smiley

Additionally it is Raisin Day, in honor of the start of the company Sunmaid raisins back in 1917.  Raisins, now there’s a healthy snack food. I just had a slice of raisin toast to celebrate.

It is also Chopsticks Day (not so great with potato chips or raisins).  Anyone know the Chinese word for chopsticks?  The literal translation is “quick little bamboo fellows.”

February 5
Hank Aaron Day

My motto was
always to keep swinging.
Whether I was in a slump
or feeling badly
or having trouble off the field,
the only thing to do
was keep swinging.

~ Hank Aaron

It’s Hank Aaron Day because it is his birthday (1934). I’d list all of his amazing record breaking feats, but it’d take way too long!  He was one amazing ball player!

Here’s one more Hank Aaron, quote just because I like it too much not to share it!:  “Failure is part of success.”

If you can’t figure out today’s photo, cock your head to the right as the photo is presented sideways to show off the Smiley. It’s a kid wearing a tie dyed shirt. The baseballs are the eyes.

Did you know there’s always a different Smiley and associated silliness on the Month of Smiley Silliness Calendar. On the calendar today it’s the start of Flirting Week. A little flirting, whether you’re the flirter or the flirtee, is always fun. But be safe, just first with people you know.

Today we also tip our hats to Bubble Gum, Pancakes, Nutella, the folks who report the Weather.  My buddy Paolo Presta and the oh so funny Kristina Kuzmic are crazy for Nutella! Paolo has THE best online talk show!  BTW, it’s going to be Pancake Day again on 2/12.

What I always say is:  Every day is a great big experiment. Collect data from all sources. Recognize that the screw ups, we all make, provide valuable data for our next attempt!  If failures are just data, you can congratulate yourself for learning what not to do instead of beating yourself up. And speaking of data, didn’t you just love Data on Star Trek.

February 4
Thank Your
Mail Carrier Day

Neither snow nor rain
nor heat nor gloom of night
stays these couriers
from the swift completion
of their appointed rounds.

~ the unofficial motto of the
United States Postal Service

Today we say happy birthday to Alice Cooper (1948). Hey, Mr. Cooper, care to celebrate with a stuffed mushroom, while wearing galoshes and listening to Liberace? Do it and you’ll be celebrating a bunch of today’s holidays. Or of course it could be Liberace (1919) in rain boots eating appetizers in honor of Alice.

Over on our calendar of a Month of Smiley Silliness it’s also Create a Vacuum Day. OK, it’s really called Vacuum Cleaner Day, but I do hate vacuums and vacuuming, so I modified the name. The very sound of a vacuum cleaner makes me carsick (hoover sick?). The neighbors know I’m not at home if they hear a vacuum running. But, I do have a Vacuum Smiley, actually several smiling vacuum cleaners!

February 3
Coffee Cake Day

I wake up some mornings
and sit and have my coffee
and look out
at my beautiful garden, and I go,
“Remember how good this is.
Because you can lose it.”

~Jim Carrey

Today we say happy birthday to Nathan Lane. This dude cracks me up.  If you’re not familiar with him, hop over to You Tube. Birthday wishes also to Norman Rockwell (1894) and Morgan Fairchild (1950).

It is also Children’s Authors Week. Since I am one, I’ll say thanks now for all the kind thoughts. If you haven’t bought my child’s book of optimism, I’d love to sign and send you a copy!

The TV show Dragnet premiered on this day in 1952. Dragnet is also worth a trip over to You Tube.

Over on our calendar of a Month of Smiley Silliness it Victorian Houses Day. Researching this one I’d hoped to find a connection to the beautiful house on Alamo Square in S.F., but instead found that it was created by the real estate biz.

And just because I can, here’s a second Coffee Cake Smiley. And for a tad more fun, I used yet a different Coffee Cake Smiley in today’s Smiley-a-Day emailer. Bakeries are full of Smileys. Even if you go and don’t find one, you can still pick up something yummy!

February 2
Ukulele Day

It is the nature of the strong heart,
that like the palm tree,
it strives ever upwards
when it is most burdened.

~ Philip Sidney

I was going to say: sit under a palm tree and strum your ukulele. But with this Smiley being composed of upside down palm trees, I’m not sure if I should say sit under or above. BTW, shot this Smiley at LAX, the airport in Los Angeles.

Another holiday, over on a month full of Smiley Silliness, that we celebrate today is Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast. Love that!  I wonder if there might also be a holiday called Eat Breakfast for Dinner.

Today we say happy birthday to good old Tommy Smothers (1937). The Smothers Brothers Show was so great. I watch as a kid and loved it!

And, oh yeah, it’s Groundhog Day! What a goofball holiday and didn’t you love Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day. Maybe we’ll watch that tonight!

February 1
Cyclops Day

Q: Why did the Cyclops give up teaching?
A: Because he only had one pupil.

January 31
Heart Health
Day

True enjoyment comes
from activity of the mind
and exercise of the body;
the two are ever united.

~ Wilhelm von Humboldt

Over on a month of Smiley Silliness it’s Inspire Your Heart With Art. My heart is often inspired by beauty. I am grateful for art, be it in nature or by the hand of an artist. I love this quote about seeing beauty with one’s heart: Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye (From my favorite book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry).

It’s also Eat Brussels Sprouts Day. As a person who has always loved brussels sprouts I am so happy they have come into vogue recently.  You can find brussels sprouts on menus everywhere! Well, not at fast food joints, but as long as we’re Inspiring Our Hearts with Art, how about keeping your heart healthy. How about exercising like my pal Ann the Jazzercise instructor in today’s Smiley picture (the eyes are the cutouts at the top of her shirt).

Today we say happy birthday to Jackie Robinson (1919). I recently read a novel about a young boy who proudly wore his “I’m with Jackie” pin to show Jackie support during his first season as the first African American to play in Major League baseball. How lovely. Jackie surely inspired hearts!

Birthday wishes go out to Justin Timberlake (1981).  He’s certainly surprised us.  His post ‘Nsync career has been filled with delightful, clever performances.  This is not often the case for teen band members.

And a Smiley birthday to Ellen DeGenres‘ wife Portia de Rossi (1973). Just FYI, I was in high school when she was born. Way to make a gal feel old! Did you ever notice they both have last names starting with DE? Kind of freaky. Kind of cool.

Over on our calendar of a Month of Smiley Silliness there are lots of additional Smileys and wacky holidays. I hope you’ll take a look.