AM~Erica Celebrates Belatedly

So anyway...

I keep trying to get the holiday going, but things keep getting in our way by way of scheduling & things.

Last year, on October 9th, I tried to celebrate Leif Erickson Day (reminder HERE), and it went OK. Needed to do much better. So I tried again this year...

It was Teen Boy's last first tournament of his high school career. So he wouldn't be with us for dinner, for sure.

Teen Girl is trying to start her job, so she had her first training/orientation - but their computers were down, so she was there for about 5 minutes...again.

Lil Guy had a school thing where it was like a writer's workshop. They were to showcase a story they had been working on, along with some goodies.

As you can see, chunks of our day were taken up already.

Originally I was picturing having crepes with lingonberry sauce...but...but...pumpkin pancakes happened! Because, well, pumpkin pancakes.
When I walked into our IHOP with my hubby, one of the servers saw us coming, was waiting for us, then said, "Hi, guys! Pumpkin pancakes? Do you even need menus?"
HAHAHAHA!!
They know us there.
So, coffee & pumpkin pancakes it became. Because...pumpkin pancakes.
We love them.

Also, since it was a Friday, and Teen Boy was at a tournament, we usually have orange chicken. (recipe HERE) It was hard to waiver from our first orange chicken dinner in quite some time.

Plus, the Royals were playing that night, too.

The closest viking-anything I did during the day was wear a fur vest...to accessorize my Royals shirt, of course.

*le sigh*

Another holiday that didn't go nearly as planned...figures.

So, I decided to piece it together in the time coming.

Saturday, I decided to do a viking-inspired meal. Even though the kiddos were grumpy about it (minus Teen Boy, who was back at his tournament), I baked up some salmon fillets on cedar planks, then served it with cranberry sauce (YAY! It's cranberry season!! Find the recipe HERE) and some sweet potato crinkles.

I added almonds to top my salmon, walnuts topped the salmon for hubby.

Then, since it's is October, I have dressed up for the promo table for Trunk-or-Treat at church for the past few years. This year is no different.
Week 1 had Laetitia, the Roman goddess of joy, celebration & festivities cover the table.

Laetitia, Roman goddess of joy, celebration & festivities

So, when week 2 was approaching, a few things came into play for that week:
1. it needed to be used as close to Leif Erickson Day as possible
B. the Chiefs could NOT be playing the Vikings

Once both of these were confirmed, I prepared Hinga Dingadoergan, a viking warrior, to take the stage.

Hinga Dingadoergan taking the mic on the stage at Christ UMC for Trunk-or-Treat promo
** photo taken by Teen Girl **

Of course, with a ruana & fur, it would be an 80 degree day in October...
*le sigh*

So I got to show a bit of wild, viking spirit...so I extended it out a little bit more...

When I got home, I decided to try some of my open-faced sandwiches, just to keep up the Leif Erickson Day(s) a little longer...

Even though I'd hoped to do a little more of my open-faced sandwich (recipe HERE), I did a super simple smoked salmon on rye bread with honey mustard, chives & dill. I added the sides of strawberries & baby carrots. And it was still delicious!

I didn't get a chance to do my takeout Danish pastries (like these, HERE) or my Scandinavian-inspired almond & cardamom cakes (recipe HERE). Bummer.

So, still working on getting the Leif Erickson Day up & running, really. Slowly, but surely. Amm-i-rite? (I am right, and don't call me "Shirley.")

However, this leads to today. It's supposed to be Columbus Day...but...ugh.
My only celebrating of this day, per the usual, is not getting mail and not going to the bank. Other than that, can we please get rid of this faux celebration? I mean, my kiddos are in school today. That should tell you that this stupid "holiday" is on it's way out.

I'm all for the push for Indigenous Peoples Day. Let's get on that! And lift up Leif Erickson Day, too! (Umm...it is an actual federal holiday, folks.)

In the meantime, Hinga Dinga Durgan from Hinga Dingadoergan! And work on better celebrating next year.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Tried to Celebrate

So anyway...

Last year, I got taught a lesson from MY DAUGHTER & SPONGEBOB, and I didn't want to make the same mistake again. Especially when I learned that SpongeBob was right about today's holiday!

And, after I did some research thru the year, I wanted to find a way to begin celebrating. And, usually the first year of celebrating ANY CELEBRATABLE HOLIDAY can be a bit rough at first. So stick with me...

Oh wait! I almost forgot!

It's Leif Ericksson Day! It really is a federal holiday, people! It celebrates the settlement of the Viking & Norse culture in the, now, United States. I'm still in the midst of researching (because holiday celebrations should always include ongoing research & learning), so I'm still a bit rough on the history & such. But I originally wanted to work in some traditional meals/foods. I wanted to dress appropriately...

...and then life happens...

When we aren't used to celebrating a holiday (yet), you still have to work with outside scheduling & such until we can imbed the celebration. It usually takes at least a couple of years before it gets going, but you gotta start somewhere!

Breakfast didn't happen like I'd hoped. But next year, October 9th with fall on a Friday! It's my hubby's day off & we like to work in breakfast out, if we can, before we start our day. I am making the decision right now to go to IHOP for coffee & Swedish crepes. They are served with lingonberry sauce, which is perfect, with our coffee! Did I mention the coffee??

I had gotten into making Scandinavian-inspired open-faced sandwiches earlier this year. Yeah...didn't get a chance to do that today, either. But if you want to try in the future what I've done in the past (did you keep up with that?), then click HERE for the recipe & pics.

Teen Boy is prepping for his first debate tournament of the year this weekend, so he stayed after school until 4:45...but then we needed to try to grab some grub so we could get him to a college fair soon after. Then, we picked him up & realized we had to pick up the dry cleaning so he could have his suit for tomorrow! So...we headed back across town to get the dry cleaning & then decided to eat after the college fair. We went to the fair, and Teen Boy only spoke to very few colleges due to the fact that the field he wants to go into isn't offered at too many colleges along with the extra circular activity he's looking for. So, the visit didn't last too long...so we could get to dinner!!

I know, that was a whole lot to tell you in order to say that I couldn't even get a salmon dinner put together, as originally planned until all of this came up. So...what to do? IHOP was vetoed, but we went to Cracker Barrel instead. It's a cold & rainy night, perfect for some serious down-home comfort food! But I still worked in a Viking-like meal! Lemon-pepper rainbow trout with fruit & steamed veggies.

Still a no-go for pastries & such, either. And I didn't get to bake my Scandinavian-inspired baby bundtings, either. (recipe HERE)

But I did answer the phone with, "HINGA-DINGA-DURGAN!" when my daughter called today. And I did my best to do a Viking-inspired outfit for the day...

Yes. I really went in public like this. With Viking-inspired makeup, twigs to resemble antlers, a faux leather vest with a fuzzy boa to resemble fur, and Fairisle print socks. The faux leather purse with faux wool was a nifty touch, too. Don-cha think?

We did hit a couple other errands this evening, too. One place was to Kohl's. You know, coupons, sales, Kohl's cash possibilities, my hubby needed gear to wear for the Tough Mudder, Lil Guy needed shoes...
...when we were checking out, our cashier said they were giving away free blue nail polish at the jewelry counter for support of our Boys in Blue as the play in Baltimore tomorrow! FREE, people! And since I'm the only girl in the house right now...I left the scene to head to the jewelry counter! They were actually painting nails blue! For the Royals! For FREE!!

So, my Leif Ericksson Day didn't go as expected. But Thor sure did show up to help celebrate...on...uh...Thorsday...go figure.

The plan is to be more on-task next year, too. We should be celebrating it instead of Columbus Day...so let's get on it!

Oh...and LET'S GO ROYALS! (Clap, Clap, Clap-Clap-Clap) #TakeTheCrown

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

The Holiday SpongeBob Reminds AM~Erica to Actually Celebrate

So anyway...

Even though today is a so-called federal holiday, the only way I will be celebrating Columbus Day is to not get mail & not go to the bank. Yep...that's pretty much it.

We have been celebrating a holiday of a guy who took things over & pushed actual natives out of the way. As actual events come to light, we shouldn't be surprised that the federal government would celebrate such a day. But that's a whole POLITICAL SOAPBOX I won't get on right now...

Instead, I will be disappointed in myself. Why? Because I missed a holiday that should have been celebrated instead. And it's a day that was declared a holiday in the United States...but it gets passed right over! Yet, SpongeBob had it right!

On October 9th, Teen Girl looked at me & proclaimed,

"Happy Leif Erikson Day! What are we doing for it?" 

Since she is more than well aware of my passion of CELEBRATING WEIRD & ALL HOLIDAYS, she was waiting to hear my plan. But there was this deal that I was totally oblivious & didn't have a plan. She was shocked at me!

"Ummm...don't you remember watching SpongeBob? He wakes up to celebrate Leif Erikson Day on October 9th!"

I only vaguely remembered the episode, but did remember him in a viking hat & a beard.

So, on Columbus Day, I had a good history lesson! I learned that October 9th is officially, for really-really-realz, Leif Erikson Day. SpongeBob just brought it back to light! (Yes, I said back to "light"!)

Well then...Hinga Dinga Durgan!!!

And, because it's how I do & how I roll, I am doing some serious research! I must plan for Leif Erikson Day on October 9th of 2014! *face palm*

Here's the deal with celebrating weird holidays...
Like I've said before, HERE, if you find out you missed a day, you can get about a year, a few months, or a few days to learn about what you missed or what's coming up. It really allows you to learn more about history, people & events. Knowledge is power, people! Embrace continual learning beyond school. Learn stuff everyday! And weird holidays are a fun springboard & trampoline in doing so! Jump in on that!

It's going to be interesting learning about the Norse culture & more about how Leif Erikson (Ericson...either way) settled in part of Canada & northern U.S. 500 years before Christopher Columbus got lost.

So let's mark our calendars together: October 9th! And I will continue to look into the why behind the date (like it being recognized in Wisconsin in 1930 to commemorate the Norwegian arrival of the Restauration ship on Oct. 9, 1825...and then nationally recognized in 1964) & learn about some Norwegian cuisine to have throughout the day! How about you? It's literally a learning process...

And maybe we could push this instead of Columbus Day. Amm-i-rite?

So...in the wise words of the free-spirited philosopher, SpongeBob SquarePants: "Hinga Dinga Durgan!"

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica