The History of Labor Day

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Founder of Labor Day
More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

Well, no matter who founded the holiday....to those who actually have the day off (yeah, I'm working the college during the big move in weekend) enjoy your long weekend!

My New Toy

I finally broke into the box of my new toy I bought last weekend. Jeff bought new tools to build our shed last weekend, but while he was looking, I noticed something that would help me around the house. It would also use the same battery as Jeff's power tools that he just bought too.

Its my very own wet/dry portable Ryobi vacuum. Its called the Tuff Sucker (nice!). I know, it may not seem like much, but its a back saver! I used it this morning on our basement stairs and oh, what a huge difference. It worked well and so light weight! I usually lug the upright, Dirt Devil up each stair as I vacuum and at the same time trying to balance it while I clean. What a frustrating thing to do!

Also, it'll help when we have to vacuum out the cars! What we usually do is bring out the same Dirt Devil or dig out the our huge Wet/Dry vac out of the shed, bring out the extension cord, get the cord caught on the wheels as you go around the car and stretch real hard to get to that last corner before the extension cord unplugs. Well, we no longer will have to deal with that! We just have to connect a charged battery to the new Ryoni and off we go.

Yeah for small discoveries!

Has this ever happened to you?

I have a question for you! Do you ever get in a mood, where you just can't shake it? I don't mean a happy feeling either, since those are pretty nice and who would want to get rid of something like that! What I mean is a real rut, you just can't shake and nothing you seem to do can help?

What would you do if you were stuck in an emotional funk, and just couldn't get out of it? I don't want to depend on any medication fixers (well, at the moment) so any natural remedy's?

Thankful Thursday

1. Rekindling old friendships.
2. The last few glorious days we've had in August.
3. My dental clean bill of health. It wasn't always the case, but I took care of that over a year ago and its been smooth sailing since then (even at today's appointment)
4. Spell Check. Oh, how I love thee!
5. Having some alone time. I absolutely adore my family, but quite time with myself is also fabulous.

Wordless Wednesday - I Tried

Well, I tried to post a youtube video of a classic Staples commercial today. I tried at lunch time and then I tried a few minutes ago, but I just couldn't figure out how to do it. I know, its probably easy, but I couldn't figure it out. Oh well.


So, let me tell you which one I wanted to post and why! I wanted to share the one-of-a-kind commercial that all the parents know about this time of year.....its the dad in the shopping cart in Staples with the "Best Time of the Year" Christmas song while he drags his kids along to do back to school shopping. Yup that one!


I wanted to post it since all over, kids are either back to school or getting the last of the supplies they need for their first day of school. Well if you want to check it out anyway, I've posted a link just in case you are too young to even know what I'm talking about or maybe you never saw it.

Staples Classic Back To School Commercial

Zack starts school on Tuesday 9/2. I hope we are able to check in with him that night to see how his first day of 5th grade went, but we will have to wait and see.

Also, happy back to school to EVERYONE!

43 Odd Things About Me

This started off as an email forward I received from a friend and I thought right away this would be an interesting post. So, I guess I'm going to turn it into a tag of sorts! Enjoy!

1. Do you like blue cheese? no
2. Have you ever smoked cigarettes? no (I'm not just saying that because my parents are reading this either)
3. Do you own a gun? no
4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? grape
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? sometimes, it depends on what its about
6. What do you think of hot dogs? they are a quick meal, but not my favorite
7. Favorite Christmas movie? The Christmas Story
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Tea
9. Can you do push ups? yes
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My engagement ring/wedding band
11. Favorite hobby? reading
12. Do you have A.D.D.? no
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I always have to be busy
14. Middle name? Nicole
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I'm a bachelorette tonight, its trash day tomorrow and my vanilla milk shake from McDonald's us yummy!

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly have. Hot tea, Iced Tea and water
17. so is there a number 1 person in life? yes
18. Current hate right now? no chocolate around
19. Favorite place to be? anywhere with Jeff
20. How did you bring in the new year? working
21. Where would you like to go? Ireland
22. Name three people who will complete this? anyone who comments are repeats the tag
23. Do you own slippers? yes
24. What shirt are you wearing? black polo (yes I had to look down and check first)
25. Do you like sleeping on satin? no, flannel or jersey knit
26 Can you whistle? no
27 . Would you be a pirate? Only if Captain Jack Sparrow was there
28 . What songs do you sing in the shower? what ever is in my head
29. Favorite girl's name? Abigail
30 . Favorite boy's name? Nicholas
31 . What's in your pocket right now? left over lunch money
32 . Last thing that made you laugh? co-worker
33 Best bed sheets as a child? i don't remember
34 . Worst injury you've ever had? back injury
35 . Do you love where you live? for now
36 . How many TVs do you have in your house? 4
37. Who is your loudest friend? they are all about the same
38. How many dogs do you have? none (sniff, sniff)
39. Does someone have a crush on you? nope
40. What is your favorite book(s)? its too hard to make a list

41. What is your favorite candy? milk chocolate
42 . Favorite Sports Team? Washington Redskins
43 . What song do you want played at your funeral? no music, just family & friends chatting about the good times

Websites are Everywhere

The other day, I was sitting in a restaurant and noticed they were advertising themselves with a website in there name. That got me thinking! Do you remember the days where there was no such thing as a website? Or they were only on certain products as the Internet started to become popular? Nowadays, they are everywhere!

Don't get me wrong, I like that information being so easy assessable and at our finger-tips. It was just while I was sitting there, I tried to remember back when there was no http://www.friendlys.com/, or http://www.nbcolympics.com/ as part of their commercials to check out further information on the athletes. Its just astonishing where and whom has a website for you to check out along with what information IS out there.

Its just amazing to see such a simple tool being advertised everywhere. Just think, the younger generations will always know about websites and how they are listed on everything as part of the advertisement. Its just like how most of them don't know what a record is (is that a big CD?)!