National Honesty Day

April kicks off with a day of lies and it ends with a day of honesty.

National Honesty Day encourages us to be honest today, and everyday. It may not be as popular as April Fool's day, but its intentions are good.

Honesty is a great virtue. If we want people to believe us when its important, then we need to be open and honest all of the time. We all know about the boy who cried wolf. When a wolf actually appeared, no one believed him.

Celebrate National Honesty Day in a completely open and honest way. There are few rules for this special day...actually just one...just be honest. Today gives you an opportunity and a reason to be totally honest and speak your mind.

M. Hirsh Goldberg, former press secretary to a governor of Maryland and author of five books, created National Honesty Day in the early 1990s after spending four years researching and writing The Book of Lies. He created this day because he felt that the month of April, which begins with a  day of lying (April Fools Day), should end on a higher moral note.

Image via One Moms Battle

Here is a list of 10 little white lies we tell on a daily basis provided by Ireland’s number one directory enquiry service

1. "I’m fine"
2. "I’ll be there is two seconds" 
3. "I’ll do it tomorrow"
4."That was delicious"
5. "Sorry I’m late. Traffic was brutal"
6. "I’m only staying for one"
7. "Sorry I missed your call" 
8. "Oh this old thing.. I’ve had it for ages"
9."I’ll be ready in five minutes"
10. "I’ll be home in five minutes

It's Arbor Day - Plant Trees!

Happy Arbor Day everyone!

Arbor day is a holiday in which everyone is encouraged to plant new trees in yards, parks, neighborhood, and communities and to care for them. It was founded in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton In Nebraska. Arbor day is a holiday to celebrate trees, and to plant and care for trees and educate others about the importance of trees. On the first Arbor Day, April 10, 1872, an estimated 1 million trees were planted. It is celebrated in the US on the final Friday of April and on various other dates around the world.

Arbor Day is also celebrated in other countries including Jordan where it is celebrated on January 15th. Variations of this holiday are also celebrated around the world such as: "Greening Week" of Japan, "The New Year's Day of Trees" in Israel, "The Tree-loving Week" of Korea, "The Students' Afforestation Day" of Iceland, and "The National Festival of Tree Planting" in India.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.
~ Chinese ProverbImage via atlantaintownpaper

No matter where or when you celebrate this holiday, Arbor day is the time to appreciate trees both for their beauty and usefulness. Whether it is educating children about trees and what their provide (papers, furniture, oxygen...) or planting a tree in your backyard it is important to preserve and conserve our environment and world.

Here is a cool application "National Tree Benefits Calculator" that is available at arborday.org/calculator that allows you to see how your trees are impacting the environment and your wallet.

And here are two crafts for children to do on Arbor Day or any day:

Create this tree using paint and corks (you can also use q-tips or just your fingers)image via The Picky Apple

Here is also a neat way to teach kids about parts of a treeimage via A Little Learning For Two

Earth Day

The name and concept of Earth Day was done by John McConnell. He proposed March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. A month later a separate Earth Day was founded which is today!

April 22nd Earth Day began in the spring of 1970 by US Senator Gaylord Nelson. While this Earth Day was focused on the United States, in 1990 Denis Hayes took it international and organized events in 141 different nations.

Earth Day reminds us we all share the same planet. Sharing Earth means taking responsibility for what we use and how we use it. It is a day to think of the environmental challenges we face and how to solve them.

There are several ways to contribute to the Earth not only on Earth Day but everyday. You can recycle, plant trees, make a birdhouse or bird feeder, learn about the environment, have a garage sale or have a swap party, or even as simple as riding your bike instead of using your car.

No matter what you do on Earth Day always "Rethink,Reuse,Reduce,Recycle" everyday.

International Guitar Month

April is known for its many holidays including International Guitar Month which started in 1987. This month especially is the time to recognize this magical instrument and all the famous artists who are known for their musical guitar talents. Whether you play the guitar or just love to listen, you can take part in recognizing this month in many ways. You can take a guitar lesson, a workshop to learn how to build a guitar, attend a guitar festival, by a book and learn more about them, treat yourself with a new guitar or as a gift for someone else, and definitely listen to your favorite guitarist(s).

My favorite guitarist by far is Jimi Hendrix but I also love Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) , Frank Zappa, John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Brian May (Queen), and many more talented artists. 

Happy Guitar Month everyone!!

Photo by Emetals

Photo by Harmony Central

Jimi Hendrix Photo Provided by Beatles Number 9

Jimmy Page Photo Provided by Popdose

April Showers

"April showers bring May flowers"

Springtime brings many different changes, flowers bloom, birds come out, clocks go forward, and the weather is constantly changing. One day it is warm out and the next day it is cold, one minute it is raining and then all of a sudden there is a beautiful sunshine. The term April showers is used lightly, these "showers" are not usually your normal showers rather they are normally very heavy downpours of rain. In fact, we experienced one this morning. Israel is known for its warm weather and by this time of year it is sunny bright and warm outside, but not this time. This month has gone through quick weather changes, for example yesterday was a nice blue sky kind of day and this morning has been non-stop pouring rain, it was even hailing! It will probably clear up in a couple of hours and be nice and sunny again, and then who knows how tomorrow will be.

We love Spring! :)

Photo by Free Wallpapers

Photo by Careful Cents

101st Titanic Anniversary

Today marks the 101st anniversary of the world’s most famous maritime disaster– the sinking of the HMS Titanic on April 15, 1912. It sunk in the North Atlantic Ocean after colliding with an iceberg. Out of 2,224 people who were on the ship, 1,514 were killed.

It was a shock to hundreds of people as another name for the Titanic was 'the unsinkable ship'. It had hit and iceberg at 11:40pm on the 14th of April. Four hours later on the 15th of April 1912 the Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic ocean.

Here are some interesting facts about the ship:

• It was designed to hold 32 lifeboats, even though only 20 were on board; White Star management was concerned that too many boats would ruin the aesthetic beauty of the ship.
• Survivors were rescued by the Carpathia, which was 58 miles southeast of Titanic when it received the distress call.
• Titanic boasted electric elevators, a swimming pool, a squash court, a Turkish Bath, and a gymnasium with a mechanical horse and mechanical camel.
• The wreckage of Titanic was located in 1985, 12,500 feet down, about 350 miles (531 km) southeast of Newfoundland, Canada
  
• A first class (parlor suite) ticket on Titanic cost $4,350, which would be $100,034 in 2012 USD.
• Lillian Gertrud Asplund, the last American survivor of the Titanic tragedy, died in Massachusetts on May 6, 2006, at age 99. Her mother and a brother also survived, but her father and three other brothers perished. The last survivor, Millvina Dean, died on May 31, 2009, at age 97.
• Eleanor Shuman, who was the inspiration for Kate Winslet's Rose, died on March 7, 1998, at age 87.

So why has the Titanic still discussed even after 101 years? The movie that we probably all have watched more than once was a huge factor and it helped in keeping the Titanic maintain its fascination after so many years.  The movie has become a cultural phenomenon- nearly as monumental as the event itself. I mean who does not remember or even know the scene that is shown in the picture below?!

However, the ship itself, and all of the humanity, heroism and it being one of the largest, most Luxurious ships of it's time also maintained that fascination. Here are some of the pictures of the original Titanic ship.

Titanic Wreckage

Gym

Bathroom Sink

Gym

Barber Shop