I enjoy watching football but this sedentary activity was pushed to its limits this year by a seemingly endless stream of college football bowl games such as the Potato Bowl, Beef ‘O’ Brady Bowl, GoDaddy Bowl, Helicopter Bowl and Kraft Hunger Bowl to name a few.

While the holidays and bowl season may be behind us, we have enough daily, weekly and monthly ‘National’ celebrations to keep everyone totally distracted.

One of the monthly celebrations is National Eye Care Month where The National Eye Institute wants to remind you to get an eye exam. They also have a sub-celebration called National Glaucoma Awareness Month sponsored by Prevent Blindness America. In our consumerist society, it should be no surprise that holidays are sponsored just like bowl games.

Along those lines, the Tea Council of the USA wants to remind us that January is Hot Tea Month. They want you to know that you lose weight by drinking tea with green tea being the preferred weight reduction tea. Just think, you can be totally sedentary and lose weight! They state that the body spends more energy due to the “thermogenic properties that promote fat oxidation.” They also want you to know that black tea helps fight viral infections like the cold and flu due to the germ-fighting cells created. I’m not sure how tea creates cells in your body but it sounds good.

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Other month long celebrations include Hobby, Soup, Blood Donor, Staying Healthy, Slow Cooking, Baking, Fat-free Living and Oatmeal Month.

Week long celebrations include Women’s Self Empowerment Week from the 3rd through the 7th; Letter Writing Week from the 8th through the 11th (which by the way is only 4 days…someone write them a letter about this); Fresh Squeezed Juice Week from the 17th to the 23rd, Meat Week beginning on the 27th and International Hoof Care Week from the 29th.

As for daily celebrations, Saturday the 5th is not only the black tie gala for the Palm Springs International Film Festival but Whipped Cream, Bean and Bird Day. I wonder if you can celebrate Bird Day by eating one.

Tuesday the 8th is Women’s Day, Bubble Bath, English Toffee, Show and Tell at Work Day. Going to local toffee maker, Brandini’s for gift baskets might be a good way to celebrate.

The 9th is the 220th celebration Balloon Ascension Day. It is also Static Electricity Day.

Monday the 14th is not only the first day of the Humana Challenge here in the Coachella Valley but it is also Caesarean Section, Clean off your Desk, Organize your Home, Dress your Pet up Day and Hot Pastrami Day.

The 16th is the 40th anniversary of Nothing Day, an un-event first proposed by reporter, Harold Pullman Coffin. Coffin wanted this day to be a day when Americans “can just sit without celebrating, observing or honoring anything.” Unfortunately for Coffin, it is also Fig Newton, Robert E. Lee and Religious Freedom Day. Sorry, Harold.

Friday the 18th is an odd one for celebrations. Not only is it Thesaurus Day but it is International Fetish and Pooh Day…as in Winnie the Pooh.

While the 20th is Inauguration where President Obama starts his second term, it is also Buttercrunch, Cheese Lover’s, Disc Jockey and World Religion Day.

Sharing Martin Luther King Day this year is Hugging, Granola Bar, Fancy Rat & Mouse and Squirrel Appreciation Day.

Other days to remember are Pie (23rd), Compliment (24th), Fun at Work (25th), Seed Swap (26th), Thomas Crapper (27th) and Kazoo, Bubble Wrap and Blueberry Pancake (28th) Days.

I personally plan on making Harold Pullman Coffin’s Nothing Day a month-long celebration.

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