It's the beginning of March and the smell of Shamrock Shakes is in the air. All us proud Irish men and women get to sport our green, orange and white in preparation for our biggest day of the year! This is the month when everyone wants to be Irish, and I can't say I blame them.

The days leading up to Saint Patrick's Day are just as important as the holiday itself. These are days of preparation and conditioning. Make sure you have enough ingredients for Irish soda bread and corned beef in the house. But, before you make yourself a ruben sandwich and kick back with a cold Guinness, you have to get ready!

I come from a very Irish town, and I sadly am going to miss the big Saint Patrick's Day Parade there, but I found out very quickly that you can find a big parade in almost any major city! It's important to first know where your local parade is because you obviously need to go collect all the candy they throw your way!

After you find out when and where the parade is, you need to get yourself some Irish gear. Just when you think you've binge bought way too many pairs of striped knee socks, shamrock tattoos and "Kiss me, I'm Irish" shirts, buy more. This Saint Patrick's Day falls on a Thursday, which means that you need to have at least four days of apparel prepared for the holiday weekend. And just remember, there is no such thing as too much.

Once you feel decked out enough, and you have your final destinations in mind, it's time to dust off the old cook books. Find those family recipes for corned beef, cabbage, hash, soda bread and lamb and potatoes. Dig through cabinets of old crumpled up pieces of paper to get to the "secret family recipe" that you've already shared with all your friends because it's too good to keep to yourself. Make everything in portions way too big because that's all us Irish people do: eat way too much food and enjoy the company of each other.

This is the biggest time of the year for us Irish kin out there! If you're not Irish, don't think this is not for you, because anyone and everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick's Day, just as long as you come with a good attitude, Irish colors, and of course, a case of beer!