by Angela Pohlman, General Merchandise Category Manager
It’s a Leap Year! This February has 29 days this year; the next one is 2024. I was born on the 29th, after 25 hours of labor, sorry Mom... I am one of only 187,000 Leaplings in the U.S., and the only one (as of this writing) working at the Co-op! How many Leaplings do you know? I was often the only one in my classes, but in high school there were a few of us in my graduating class. I forgot how special it was until I moved to Wisconsin.
What the Hank is a leap year?
We say that a year has 365 days, but really it is more like 365.2422 days. So, after some trial and error, Caesar added a leap day to compensate for that extra time, then Pope Gregory XIII replaced it with a calendar that we still use today. I don’t pretend to fully understand how this all works, I just do what the calendar tells me.
I am sometimes the only Leapling folks have met. It can be pretty amusing to see how excited people are when they find out. The biggest question I get is when do I celebrate my birthday? I claim Feb 28th: I like to keep it within February, but legally that doesn’t always work. For example, when I turned 21 earth years, I legally could not make an alcohol purchase until March 1st. This year I get a real birthday and will be 10 years old! That is nearly middle aged for a Leapling.
Here are other questions I get: Do you celebrate every year? Yeah, I still recognize when an Earth year passes. Do I have a big party when my birthday comes around? Not always, but I will surely try this year. My only regret is when I realized I could have had a 9 3/4 themed birthday in 2019! Any issues with your birthday in official paperwork? Sometimes, especially when filling out forms online, I often get the “invalid date” bounceback. Any famous Leaplings? I didn’t know of any before I googled it, but notably Pedro Zamora, Ja Rule, Saul Williams, Dinah Shore, Peter Scanavino, Sugar Sammy, Superman—tons more, these are just folks whose names I recognized.
Even if you cannot celebrate a birthday on the 29th this year, everyone has an extra day! On a Saturday! How will you spend your time?
29 Favorite Things
To celebrate with my favorite Owners, I’ll share a list of my favorite 29 things at the Co-op, in no particular order. This list is not all inclusive and can change at any moment :)
1. Amazing Grass Strawberry
Watermelon Effervescent Greens tabs: Yummy, hydrating, and I get a little greens. Wins!
2. Willow Creek Bacon: Need I say more?
3. Stasher bags: all sizes! We’re nuts about these at our house.
4. Evo Hemp Protein Bars: all flavors! Great pick-me-up in the middle of the day!
5. Nutrigold Triple Strength Fish Oil: No burps, high potency.
6. Pink Lady Apples: yums.
7. Artichokes: mostly an excuse to eat a lot of butter.
8. Kalona Super Natural 4% Cottage Cheese: There’s no comparison, this is the best.
9. Broccoli: Seriously. #1 veggie.
10. Kal Magnesium Glycinate:
No laxative effect!
11. Four Sigmatic Mushroom
Coffee with Lion’s Mane:
Keeps me sharp.
12. Mushrooms: Any really: button,
crimini, portobello.
13. Enzymedica Digest Gold: Eases
the effects of food I shouldn’t be
eating…
14. Functional Remedies CBD
Capsules: CBD butter in a
capsule!
15. Mount Hagen Instant Fair
Trade Coffee: My lifeline on
mornings when I am too weak to
make it properly.
16. Ripple Creamer: Dairy-free
and actually creams!
17. Halo Top Ice Cream: Guilt-
free indulgence
18. Reign Energy drinks: Some
times you need a little more than
coffee…
19. Amy’s Frozen Bowls: Easy
office meal!
20. Nature’s Path Grain-Free
Maple Pecan Granola:
Full of nuts, and nuts are the
best.
21. Tamaleria el Poblano
Tamales: So, so good.
22. DreamFarm Goat Cheese:
Super seasonal, but so worth it!
23. LaClare Family Creamery
Whole Goat Milk: Yummy,
creamy, and not goaty!
24. Hook’s 10-Year Cheddar:
Cheddar is my favorite cheese—
period—and this one is pretty
exceptional.
25. Acure Volumizing Shampoo
& Conditioner: Gives life to the
otherwise dead mass on my
head.
26. Siggi’s Triple Cream Lemon
Yogurt: Love the sugar-to-
protein ratio!
27. NorthStar Bison: Burgers,
tacos, whatever! So good.
28. Simple Soyman Herbed Tofu:
Toast some bread, smear some
mayo, sliced tomatoes, thick
slices of this tofu: you’re
welcome.
29. Oral Essentials Sensitive
Toothpaste: Actually reduces
my sensitive tooth pain!
Are you a Co-op shopper and a Leapling? What are your favorite products?