Thirteen Things I Didn't Know About March

1. March is National Crochet Month. Seriously! I had no idea, and I love to crochet. The Crochet Guild of America (yes, it's real) is sponsoring Crochet-Along in March. Check out CGOA Now! for more details.

2. March 18th is the birthday of Sparky the Fire Dog, who is the official mascot of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). I am not making this up!

3. Each year the President of the United States designates March as Red Cross Month. Something tells me I should know this. Something else whispers that maybe I did once, a long, long time ago. But maybe I'm making that up. I really don't know. Go donate blood or something. It's the right thing to do.

Clip art courtesy of DailyClipArt.net

4. March is National Frozen Food Month. You probably already know that. I didn't. I'm going to buy some ice cream to celebrate. Again -- the right thing to do.

5. March is National Noodle Month. I kid you not. Not to be confused with National Pasta Month, which is celebrated in October of each year. What's a noodle, you ask? It's made from unleavened dough shaped either into thin, flat strips or round cylinders and cooked in boiling liquid. Derived from the German nudel.

6. March is National Irish-American Heritage Month, which should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody.

7. March is Music in our Schools Month. My heart aches every time legislators anywhere cut funding for the arts in our schools. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. The website linked to here offers a few suggestions for what we can do to help, including following the organization on Twitter and "liking" it on Facebook.

8. March is National Craft Month. Use your spare time this month to learn a new craft. Make a collage. Learn how to make jewelry. Knit or celebrate National Crochet Month. Get off Facebook and Twitter and do something crafty!

9.  March is also National Nutrition Month -- a time for all of us to focus on eating right and making healthy choices. I guess that means I should buy frozen broccoli instead of ice cream for National Frozen Food Month. I'm not going to lie -- I'm disappointed.

10. March is Women's History Month. The theme for 2011 is: Our History is Our Strength.

11. March is Youth Art Month. I hope the Youth Art Month and Music in Our Schools Month folks are working together. I'd hate to think they're competing for the limited funding out there.

12. I did my research just in time. This week is National Bubble Gum Week! I can't believe I almost missed it. Thank goodness I have a couple of Blow-Pops on top of my fridge that I was saving for my granddaughters. If you're really ambitious, you can even make your own bubble gum. The recipe is here! Or, if you're not in the mood to chew your way to bubble-gum nirvana, check out this Bubblegum Martini recipe.

Photo of vintage Barbie dolls from Wikipedia

13. It's also Barbie's Birthday! My first Barbie looked like the one on the bottom row, far right. She was beautiful. I still have her, as a matter of fact. She's old. She's fragile. Her hair now looks more like the Barbie on the top row. So does mine. She and I have weathered some storms together. When my little brother was younger, he wrapped poor Barbie in Scotch tape, tied a rope around her waist, and lowered her into a mud puddle in the empty lot next to our house. I'm not sure why. I was too traumatized to ask, I guess. Anyway, she's safe now, so you can all breathe a sigh of relief. But please join me in saying Happy Birthday! to my dear, old friend.