The first full week of September is National Payroll Week. It always begins on Labor Day and lasts through Friday. It exists to celebrate and recognize the professional performance and achievements of payroll specialists and employees. They are the ones who make sure you receive your pay on time, with the correct amount of money, and the proper amount of deductibles every pay cycle.

Most of us are paid on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. We all tend to take the arrival of our paycheck for granted. Surprisingly, getting you correctly paid is not always as simple and straightforward as it would seem. Generally, the payroll process runs smoothly the vast majority of times. And that’s a good thing, as many of us live paycheck to paycheck. However, disaster strikes the one time when there is a glitch in the system, or a change in a deductible. It results in an error in your paycheck, or no check at all. So, error-free performance in the payroll department is a must. Hence, during this week, let payroll employees know how much you appreciate their error-free performance.

Payroll Logo: “An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay”. – Margaret Thatcher

Holy cow! Today is National Chocolate Milk Day. What a fun day it’s going to be. It will be a healthy and nutritious day, too. This September 27 holiday is one that almost everyone can enjoy. Even if you’re lactose intolerant, this day is for you, too. Use a non-dairy milk, like soy or almond milk. First, pour the milk into a tall tumbler. Then, add a generous amount of chocolate syrup. Lastly, add a straw and slowly sip this frosty and chocolatey drink.

While this holiday has been around for just a short while, chocolate milk has been enjoyed around the world for hundreds of years. And, a chocolate drink using water has been around for thousands of years. 

Chocolate milk is good for you. Milk is the healthiest drink you can consume. It is loaded with calcium, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Chocolate comes from the Cacao plant which is a vegetable. And, vegetables are good for your health. So, every time you slip a straw into a glass of chocolate milk and blow bubbles into it, you can feel good about drinking it.  

Did You Know? This drink is sometimes called “Chocolate Chill”. Of course, the word “Chocolate” in the name is obvious. The word “Chill” likely comes from the fact that the milk is icy cold.

What you write, and how you write it, is a reflection of you. Today is a day to celebrate perfectly composed correspondence. It’s National Punctuation Day. Punctuation often alters the meaning of what you write. It guides the reader on how to read a sentence, and the implication of the words. And, it may change a sentence for the worse. On this September 24 holiday, take pride in your written words. Strive to be grammatically correct and properly use punctuation characters in all of your writing. 

Nowadays there are few excuses for spelling and grammatical errors in our electronic writings. Spell Checkers and more recent Grammar Checkers eliminate most errors as long as we take advantage of these apps. However, we must keep in mind that they are excellent tools, but they are not perfect. Therefore, don’t use them blindly. Rather, use your brain in addition to these apps.

Tens of millions of people around the world are deaf, or hearing-impaired. This is a significant impediment when communicating with others. To compensate, a number of sign languages evolved as a vital communication tool for deaf people. These languages have been around for hundreds of years. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution creating the International Day of Sign Languages. This September 23 holiday seeks to raise awareness of the importance of sign languages used all over the world. And, this holiday promotes the special communication needs of deaf people wherever they are. 

Deaf and hearing-impaired individuals don’t want you to pity them. And, they definitely do not want to be looked down upon or discriminated against because they can’t hear you. Rather, they simply want to communicate with you. They can’t hear you with their ears. But, they can communicate effectively with you via sign language.

Worldwide, there are over 300 sign languages. Practically all of the 70 million deaf people in the world are fluent in one or more sign languages. In the United States, American Sign Language (ASL) is the accepted language for deaf people. Not only deaf people use it, but also many elderly and other hard-of-hearing people learn and use it, too. In the United States, just 10,000 people know it and act as interpreters. But, that leaves several billion of us who cannot speak a word in sign language. It makes communications with the deaf community severely impaired. And, you never know when you might need it. So, we challenge you to use this holiday as a catalyst to enroll in a sign language course today! We guarantee you will not be sorry.

People all over the world eat rice in many, many ways. So, that means millions of us all over the world are going to just love this great food holiday. Today is National Fried Rice Day. On this September 20 holiday, we celebrate and consume the world’s most popular food staple. Of all the ways we use it, fried rice is the most popular. We eat it as a side dish, or as the main course. And, amazingly this flavorful dish was originally just a way to use up leftovers from last night’s dinner. 

Fried rice is one of the most popular ways we use rice. Pork fried rice is the most popular recipe. The recipe includes rice, pork, peas, onion, eggs, and soy sauce. It is cooked in a wok with a little peanut oil at high temperature. The result is a slightly sticky consistency. And that’s a good thing, as fried rice is best consumed using chopsticks.

Remember when you looked at someone and got butterflies in your stomach? And, you couldn’t catch your breath? That first love, often at a young and tender age, is unforgettable. Today is National First Love Day. On this September 18 holiday, we pause to remember him or her, and the giddy feeling it gave us to see or be with them. Unless you married your first love, this is a bittersweet day. In addition to the joy of that first relationship, there is the sadness of a breakup. It’s okay to spend a few moments remembering it. Your mate had a first love, too.

Whether it was puppy love in grade school, or a romantic relationship at an older age, it’s an impactful and remarkable experience. It’s one you’ll never forget. Nor, should you. Often, it begins the process of identifying what you want and don’t want in a soul mate.

Let’s take a trip down Memory Lane. But how do you define first love?  First, the relationship simply makes you feel good all over. Obviously, there is chemistry in the connection. However, at a young and tender ages, it might not result in a first kiss or a hug. And, it may be over as quickly as it began. But, the memory of those fond and tender days and moments last a lifetime.

Our Favorite Movie Line: In the 1946 Christmas movie classic “It’s a Wonderful Life“, young Mary whispers into her young, first love’s ear: “George Bailey, I’m going to love you until the day I die!”

Mint lovers, here is a holiday you definitely want to include in your September holiday calendar. Let’s all raise our glasses in a toast to a great peppermint-flavored liqueur. Today is National Creme de Menthe Day. There are both alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties. So, everyone can enjoy this September 15 holiday. You can enjoy it straight up in a shot glass. Or, use it as a mixer in a variety of minty cocktails. And, don’t stop there. Rather, you can use it to bake a wide variety of delicious desserts.

In 1885, French pharmacist Emile Giffard discovered it somewhat by accident as he researched the health and digestive properties of mint. With a minty-fresh flavor, it indeed aids in the digestive process. Mint freshens your breath, too. Like other alcoholic beverages, it was originally used medicinally as a tonic. But, it didn’t take long before Creme de Menthe found its way into people’s liqueur cabinets.

Please remember to drink responsibly.

What’s for dinner tonight? Your dinner menu was decided for you before you even woke up this morning. Today is National Eat a Hoagie Day. On this September 14 holiday, there’s only one thing to have for dinner. Enjoy your favorite hoagie sandwich! And, don’t wait for dinner. Rather, eat a hoagie for lunch, too. Wow, two hoagies in one day. This is your lucky day!

We’ve enjoyed this sandwich since the early 1900s. It is popular around the world. Italian American immigrants who migrated to Hog Island, PA created it. That’s where “Hoagies” got their name. The original hoagie was a long roll with Italian deli meats and cheeses. Then, you add Italian dressing. From this humble original recipe, emerged an endless variety of hoagies. Along the way, we have called it by other names, with “Submarines”, or simply “Subs” being the most popular name.

Without a doubt, this is a day to savor and enjoy. As for me, it’s lunchtime. So, I’m off to my favorite sub shop!

It’s been a long, stressful day. You’re hungry and want something to eat that’s quick and easy. So, don’t cook tonight. Rather, celebrate National TV Dinner Day. On this September 10 holiday, pop a pre-made frozen entree into the microwave. Nuke it for just a few minutes, and you have a ready-made meal to enjoy in front of the television. There is no shortage of varieties of dinners. You can even select vegetarian, low-calorie, or low-carb frozen meals, too.

TV dinners save time and don’t cost a lot of money. It’s a luxury everyone can afford. Americans lead busy lifestyles. So, these quick-to-make dinners are perfect when time is short or you’re simply too tired to cook. And, clean-up is a breeze. There are no pots and pans to scour. When dinner is over, you rinse the tray and place it in the recycle bin.

This is a special holiday that can literally wake you up. And, it can give you the jitters, too. Today is National Coffee Ice Cream Day. On this September 6 holiday, you can have your fill of an ice cream that’s loaded with caffeine. For coffee lovers like you and me, it’s a real treat. So, you’re going to love this holiday.

If you’ve reached your quota of coffee for the day, yet you’re still not fully awake, have a couple of scoops of coffee ice cream. It combines two flavors that people around the world love.