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August 2:

August 2: Simplify Your Life Week

“Simplicity is the peak of civilization.” – Jessie Sampter

Modern life is fast paced, hectic, and demanding. But what burdens are you placing on yourself as a result of high expectations, standards and commitments? What if you could take a deep breath, step back, and make things a little less challenging?

Simplify Your Life Week promotes this attitude, and encourages you to turn things down a notch for your own benefit – stretch yourself, but make sure that you remember to relax and enjoy life in equal measures!

Need some help getting started?

Read 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life at http://zenhabits.net/simple-living-manifesto-72-ideas-to-simplify-your-life/

Additional self-help options can be found at: http://www.simplifylife.com/

“High-Five” to Simplifying…

Everyone asks me, “How can I simply my life?” Well… it’s easier than you think. Using my experience as a professional organizer of six years, a mom for ten years, and a woman for forty-(something) years, here are my top five answers…AND yes, they really work!

1. Stop buying so much stuff. Yes, it is that simple. Do not bring it into your home. Live your life with less.

2. The Top Three. Ask yourself these 3 questions:

a. “Do I NEED it?”

b. “Do I WANT it?”

c. Can I live without it?

3. One In, One-Out Rule. If you bring one thing in, something else must go out of the house.

4. Donate. Donate. Donate. Someone else NEEDS or WANTS the things that you are not using.

5. Plan—the night before. Have everything lined up and ready to go. Mornings will go so much more smoothly.

Julie Mills, consultant, author, and speaker is founder and owner of All Squared Away, a professional organizing company, based in Morgantown, WV. All Squared Away specializes in business and residential clients’ organizational dilemmas. Her unique services and presentations are highly sought after throughout the Mountain State. For more information, visit www.allsquaredaway.com, call # 304-698-2929, or send an email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

August 1:

August 1: National Golf Month

Golf can be traced back to early Rome during the reign of Caesar. The Romans used a club-shaped branch to strike a feather-stuffed ball into a hole. It wasn't until the 16th century that golf was established in Scotland. According to one legend, the first games of golf were played by shepherds tending to their sheep near St. Andrews. The shepherds would hit round rocks into rabbit holes with wooden crooks. Great Britain adopted golf into its culture in the 17th century, and in 1860 the first British Open was played. It wasn't unit the late 1800s that golf was established in the United States.

Golf gained popularity in the United States in 1888 when John Reid of Scotland formed the St. Andrews Club of Yonkers in New York. The success of the Yonkers Club helped establish golf as a national pastime in the United States. Other notable golf clubs established during the late 1800s were Shinnecock Hills of Long Island and the Chicago Golf Club, which was the first 18-hole course in the United States.

Locally, golfing opportunities include Apple Valley Country Club, Fairmont Field Club, Green Hills Country Club and Whitehall Driving Range.

If you are looking for something that is a little more low-key, try your luck at Coal Country Miniature Golf Course.

July 31:

July 31: National Cotton Candy Day

In 1897, William Morrison and John C. Warton, candy makers from Nashville, Tennessee, invented a device that heated sugar in a spinning bowl that had tiny holes in it. As the bowl spun around, the caramelized sugar was forced through the tiny holes, making a treat that they originally called "Fairy Floss."

Two years later this invention was patented. Fairy Floss made its claim to fame, when it was introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Guest paid a whopping 25 cents a bag. It wasn't until 1920 that this treat renamed cotton candy.

Do you know when the phrase "under God" was inserted into the pledge of allegiance?

Originally composed by Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942. The Pledge has been modified four times since its composition, with the most recent change adding the words "under God" in 1954.

July 30:

July 30: “In God We Trust”

On this day in 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a law officially declaring "In God We Trust" to be the nation's official motto.

The first paper money with the phrase "In God We Trust" was not printed until 1957.

Do you know when the phrase "under God" was inserted into the pledge of allegiance?

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-eisenhower-signs-in-god-we-trust-into-law

July 29:

July 29: National Lasagna Day

Several origin stories surround lasagna, and a couple point to Ancient Greece as the birthplace of this cheesy comfort food - including one that the name stems from the type of serving dish, lasonon, used to bake lasagna. Now characteristic of central Italy, lasagna has many flavorful variations, depending on the region.

What better place to celebrate this special day than Muriale’s Restaurant! At Muriale’s, “their sauce is their signature.” They have been serving southern Italian cuisine since 1969.

Muriale’s Restaurant is featured in the 101 Unique Places to Dine in WV brochure produced by the West Virginia Division of Tourism. Stop by the visitor center to pick up your FREE copy to see their other 100 recommendations.

July 28:

July 28: National Dance Day

National Dance Day was created by Nigel Lythgoe, executive producer and judge for the So You Think You Can Dance television series. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, a long-time proponent of healthy lifestyles, introduced a National Dance Day resolution to promote dance education and physical fitness across the U.S.

National Dance Day is an annual event and "grassroots initiative to encourage the nation, young and old, to move!" in the United States.

The Dizzy Feet Foundation has commissioned two routines for this year, including a Hip-Hop Master Class and, for the first time, a Zumba routine.

July 27:

July 27: Bugs Bunny made his cartoon debut

Bugs Bunny was “born” in 1940 in Brooklyn, NY. His accent is a cross between a Brooklyn accent and a Bronx accent.

The character Bugs Bunny was influenced by an early Disney character, Max Hare. Bugs Bunny appeared in his first short cartoon in 1938, entitled Porky's Hare Hunt. The cartoon short was directed by Ben “Bugs” Hardaway and Cal Dalton. Porky Pig was a hunter against a prey (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck) which was more interested in driving Porky crazy rather than run away from him.

Bugs Bunny made his second cartoon appearance 1939, in a cartoon entitled Prest-O-Change-O, in which he plays the rabbit of a magician who is never seen on camera.

Bugs Bunny's fourth and probably most memorable appearance was in the 1940 short cartoon entitled Elmer's Candid Camera, in which both characters would meet and start a long war that is still very much alive today. The personality in which Bugs Bunny is famous for emerged in 1940 on Tex Avery's Wild Hare.

It was in this episode that for the first time, Bugs Bunny would come up out of his rabbit hole and utter the now famous quote "what's up, Doc?" to Elmer Fudd. On Bugs Bunny's seventh television appearance, he finally got the name Bugs Bunny.

In 1942 Bugs Bunny would undergo a few redesigns to his front teeth to make them stand out more; his head was also redesigned to look more round.

Bugs Bunny was also very popular during World War II, appearing in a two minute U.S war bonds commercial called Any Bonds Today. In 1944 Bugs Bunny was at odds with a group of Japanese soldiers, Bugs was praised for this during World War II, but the cartoon has since been pulled from distribution due to its stereotypes.

Check out this War Bond commercial: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg14p_u-s-war-bonds-commercial-bugs-bunny_news

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-history-bugs-bunny-complete-history-of-65160.html

July 26:

July 26: First U.S. Post Office opens

Stamp use in the United States started in 1847

On this day in 1775, the U.S. postal system is established with Benjamin Franklin as its first postmaster general. Prior to that, mail was typically left at inns and taverns.

Among other improvements, Franklin also debuted the first rate chart, which standardized delivery costs based on distance and weight.