D’awwwwww LOVE!!! Isn’t it…lovely? And here we are smack in the middle of the loveliest week of the year. Saint Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Can you feel the energy? The warm, soft fuzzies? The excitement of a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, maybe a box of nummy bon bons, and the anticipation of an ahhhh-maZING dinner and maybe some “dessert” (know what we mean wink nudge???). Isn’t this beautiful day the perfect way to show your special love just how important they are to you and you cannot wait to snuggle up on them with all the giddiness that comes with those butterflies you still feel for him/her like you’re a danged teenager all over again?
OR maybe you’d rather tromp through a dank meadow of mildewed crabgrass with a handful of dead, black daisies and hurl them at the first person who offers you even a stick of gum let alone a Godiva nut-chew. Maybe you want to break that heart-shaped box into a million pieces like yours has been SO many times!!) Maybe you’re just waiting for 11:59 p.m. on February 14th to turn…the…hell…over! MAYBE – yeah JUST MAYBE!! – you think SAD old Single Awareness Day can go eff itself and Valentine’s Day – aka VD muahahahahahaha! – should be banned!
Yes!
YES!
YESDOIT!
Ok Kris. Settle down.
Regardless of how you feel about it all, today’s episode will offer up some fun facts about this day of feels. Did you know, for instance, its bloody and somewhat violent origins? (And extra points for a correct guess on which civilized empire started it all.) Who the very first Valentine was? Do you know in which plays Shakespeare mentions St. Valentine’s Day? Any idea why your favorite conversation heart candies are scarce in 2019?
And there are BIG numbers surrounding this one day of the year (it isn’t even a season for crying out loud!). We’re talking Billions (with a capital B) of dollars spent on sweets, flowers (mostly roses), dinners, jewelry, and lingerie. Millions of pounds of chocolate are produced, as are billions of those cute itty bitty heart chalk candies (let us remind you: except for this year – GAH!) which we adore almost as much as candy corn (and by we, we mean us).
Kym and Kris have some ideas about what you can do to save some bucks if you choose to celebrate, and encourage those who are not in a relationship right now to be completely and 100% a-okay with that.
(((((It’s just ONE measly single day a year! We can get through this!)))))
The episode wraps up with some pretty sweet stories about love. Because even though Kris sounds like a jaded cynic, she really does have a big lumpy heart full of hope. *sigh*
For more information on the podcast called Sweaty and Pissed (10/10!!), find them on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts, and visit their website here. For the NPR and BBC articles about the origins of Valentines, please go here and here. And for the Groovy Candies stats, go here. And finally, for the Good Housekeeping article about über-romantic stories across the world, go here and be sure to take a tissue.
Check out our Saint Valentine’s Day episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
This week’s episode talks about all the feastable events you can celebrate every single day in December PLUS we announce our gift giveaway CONTEST. How amazing is all of this stuff? Totally. Photo by Kimberly Sickel, @riverdeer at 500px
Happy Tuesday! Today is JAM PACKED with TONS of information, our new contest rules (see below), “stolen” internet pics (WITH credit, c’mon now.) and most importantly 31 DAYS OF WAYS TO EAT IN DECEMBER! Today’s episode covers all the things besides Christmas that you can celebrate during the last month of the year. You like socks? There’s a day for that. Have a penchant for rhubarb vodka? They put aside a day for your drunk ass my friend. Want a Pal? Pick a Pathologist! (You do you honey.)
Weary Willie as portrayed Emmett Kelly.
Even Weary Willie has his own day and it turns out to be NOTHING like what Kris and Kym thought it was. Our sincere apologies for any disrespect towards the venerable actor Emmett Kelly and his lovely sad-faced hobo character. We hang our heads (slightly) in shame. BUT! We do not regret having our minds in the gutter, because what fun would our podcast be if we didn’t slither in to the dirty side once in awhile. Ew, actually.
We pull out of that nosedive and continue to cover all sorts of fun from the 1st to the 31st, so YOU can go forth and make merry (sans-Christmas) over the little things in life. There’s National Dewey Decimal System Day (used in the LI-BRAR-Y, remember?), Pie Day (um, will the real pie day please stand up? We’re looking at you March 14.), Pearl Harbor Day, Rosa Parks Day, Wright Brothers day…you get Red Apple day, Cookie Day, Cotton Candy Day, Bathtub Party Day (they did not combine that with the Rhubarb Vodka Day, but you might be able to stretch that party out), Pawnbrokers Day….wait, hold up. Listen to the podcast man! We go over every inch of the dailies for you!
Plus we expound a bit on some events that piqued our interest. It’s a mashup of obscure and popular as we discuss celebrations including The Greater Feast of Aliester Crowley (see photo below, here is the link to the “Unexplained” podcast), Krampus (photo below), Our Lady of Guadalupe (photo of Juan Diego’s tilma below), Chanukah, St. Lucia’s Day (see photo of Paul Hollywood’s buns below), Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, Saturnalia, and so on. The real point is that every single day seems to involve feasting in some way. We are totally good with that agenda. Food totally rocks! So why not come up with Fritter Day or Cupcake Day to indulge some more? Oh wait. Yep, already a day.
And yes, we promise the contest rules are still below. Keep scrolling non-readers!
This lovely lad is Aleister Crowley, founder of the spiritual philosophy called Thelema. To hear more details, we highly recommend the podcast “Unexplained” by Richard Maclean Smith, Season 1, Episodes 10 and 10 Extra, in which Mr. Smith delves into the background of Mr. Crowley’s life, and how extremely bizarre (and scary) this cat really was. He has quite the reputation in Britain, and his home is Scotland was once purchased by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.That’s Krampus carrying off an unhappy juvenile delinquent. So, timeouts are no longer a thing? Just asking for a friend. Photo courtesy of theatlantic.comSt. Lucia Buns. Kris’ favorite silver fox baker Paul Hollywood featured his buns on The Great British Baking Show. They were…ahem…lovely. Thank you Paul. Photo courtesy of The Great British Baking Show.This is the actual 500 year old tilma (cloak) of Saint Juan Diego with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe embedded into the fabric. It is a science anomaly no one can explain. Photo courtesy beliefnet.comNostalgia time!! This is how we used to find things in libraries. We had to use our thinky stuff to get a book. Fun times. Yay Dewey Decimal System! Photo courtesy of SD Times and Tamr.
Truth be told, this is just one list out of SO MANY on the internet. If you want a more somber and international flavor, check the United Nation’s list of international days of observance, or if you want inspiration to make up your own damned day to celebrate, check out this Mike Kerr’s fun workplace list. Of course, you can check out the list we used here.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! (CONTEST! CONTEST! WHOOOOOOOOP! )
Today’s episode ends the show talking about our contest Mugly Truth Christmas 2018 Gift Giveaway! YES! Our contest details are finally HERE and they are outlined below! So now you have even more to celebrate! Did we not just make December the most amazing, wonderful, gorgeous, fun-filled time of the year or what? NOW you have another reason to jump for joy! Go ahead, find out all the ways you can enter the contest (soooooo many danged ways! It’s crazy) and then go to town!
But before you dive in, can we just say we so very much want your worst gift stories. If you do nothing else at all, at least share your stories with us because we want to hear from you and read your stories on the podcast!Ok, now…ready…set…GO!
CONTEST DETAILS
The contest begins December 11, 2018 and ends December 21, 2018. It is a random drawing with no restrictions on who can participate. Completing a qualifying action equals one entry. There are multiple ways to enter the contest as described in “How To Enter” below. The winner’s name will be announced on our December 25th podcast episode and a video of the drawing will be posted on our Instagram account.
Once the winner is announced, the winner will have until January 1, 2019 (7 days), to contact us by email at sipsters@themuglytruth.com. The winner will need to provide their name, mailing address, email and phone number. This contact information is only for the purposes of the contest in delivering the prize to the winner. The information will remain private, will not be shared, and will not be retained for any purpose other than delivering the contest prize. Please note delivery may not be possible to a PO Box address.
If the winner fails to contact us by the end of January 1, 2019, a new winner will be drawn from the same pool of names, and announced on the next episode of the podcast. The new winner will have 7 days to contact us, in the same manner as described above.
HOW TO ENTER
We have given you SO MANY WAYS to enter! Check it out! Do one, some or all of these things to boost your chances of winning.
If you have already followed/liked/subscribed/ or reviewed our podcast prior to the contest, you are already entered!
So here is what you can do to enter:
Follow Us!
Follow us on our website at https://themuglytruth.com by clicking on the blue follow button on the right sidebar of any blog post
Subscribe and download our podcast episodes via the Apple Podcast app or through the iTunes store at The Mugly Truth Podcast. Take a screenshot or photo showing you’re subscribed and email it to sipsters@themuglytruth.com (that’s the only way we’ll know you’ve subscribed since iTunes doesn’t tell us who our subscribers are).
Rate and Review our podcast (we can only track reviews, so if you only rate us, we can’t count it).
Post a Worst Gift Story Using #MuglyTruthChristmas2018
PLEASE PLEASE post an original story about your worst gift ever (doesn’t have to be a Christmas gift). Use the hashtag #MuglyTruthChristmas2018 and tag us!
Post a story on Instagram, use the hashtag, tag us @themuglytruth
Tweet on Twitter, use the hashtag, tag us @MuglyThe
Post a story on your Facebook page, use the hashtag, tag us @themuglytruth
Go to our website, post your story in the comments section of our blog announcement.
We will try to read as many stories as possible in a future episode, so if, for some reason, you don’t want us to read your story, or use your name, please indicate that in your story. And, while pictures are not a requirement for entry, they will make the post a lot more fun! We’d love to see photos of your “worst gift” if you still have it. If not, a lovely picture of you sipping coffee from your favorite mug will be just as wonderful!
Repost/Retweet/Share Each New Contest Post (don’t forget to use #MuglyTruthChristmas2018)
Repost each new contest update we make on Instagram
Retweet each new contest update we Tweet on Twitter
Share each new contest update we post on Facebook
Like and Tag Each New Contest Post
For Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, each time we post a new update, LIKE the post AND tag friends in the comments section. Please note tagging your friends does not enter them into the contest, they will need to enter as outlined in HOW TO ENTER
That’s it…that’s ALLL the ways you can enter. How can you NOT participate? We will be posting short shot episodes, blogs or updates as needed to bring more information about the gift itself and to address questions that might come up.
DISCLAIMER: This is all for fun and for free and we are having a great time with this. The contest prize giveaway is paid for by Kym and Kris. There are no strings attached for participants, no list to be used for marketing purposes, entrants’ usernames will not be shared or given out to any marketing companies. This is a simple random drawing with a gift lovingly created by Kris and Kym. There is no third party company running the contest or in charge of tracking entries or computing results and there are no sponsors providing any portion of the gift as a promotion. It’s just you and us, kid.
We reserve the right to refuse entry of any comments posted on our social media sites that contain derogatory, hateful, degrading, or threatening language. Basically, trolls need not apply.
Check out our 31 Days of Feastember episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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