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Summer Reading Plants Seeds, Reaps Benefits

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I suppose if I had to make a list of 10 things I most hoped to pass on to my child, the love and enjoyment of reading would be on it. Don’t ask me about the rest of that list because it would take me some time to decide on my answer – and I’m not here talk about that today, I’m here to provide a quick and easy list of link love to some of my favorite summer reading programs for kids (as well as a few new programs Miss A and I have yet to try).

As I mentioned in my recent FFF, last summer Miss A really got into reading for pleasure. Don’t get me wrong, the girl has always loved books, and we had to slowly wean her from 5 bedtime books a night to 3 to the current 1 or 2 chapters. What I mean was last summer was the first time she could (and would) pick up a chapter book, find a comfortable spot,  and while away an hour or two just reading.  The girl zipped through many books, and made many new friends like Judy Moody, Ivy & Bean, Jack and Annie, and Violet in what turned out to be her favorite of the summer, a series of books called Pixie Tricks by Tracey West (who I learned also pens many of the Pokeman chapter books – who knew?!).  Miss A even put up a post (yes, she has had her own website since birth, we’re just ahead of the curve on that one)  about the series, and its main character, Sprite. While her love of  Pixie Tricks saw her through all eight books in the series, her reading momentum may have slowed down if it wasn’t for the many summer reading programs we were involved in throughout the months off from school. Many of these programs let kids chart their progress and offer incentives and rewards: from gift certificates to books to coupons to entries in big prize package sweepstakes. It’s not a bad deal when you can score free stuff for doing something you pretty much already enjoy anyway. And if your kid is not quite the happy little bookworm that Miss A is – the prizes and activities may just be the kind of boost your child needs to pick up a book.

Aside from the incredible delight that is scoring some Mommy reading time when your kid is reading too, encouraging summer reading can not only prevent the “vacation brain suck” teachers live in fear of, but it may also send them back to school ahead of the game. I know that was the case for Miss A.

So…free stuff, a kid who is happy, quiet and occupied with her nose buried in a book, and improved literacy skills – what’s not to love?

Below you’ll find a quick compilation of five summer reading programs, including links and a few thoughts on each.

1. Half Price Books Feed Your Brain This program is probably our favorite, though I must say I liked the set up better last year. The way it worked in 2010, every two weeks a child could turn in their reading log for a $3 gift card. At HPB, that three bucks can go a long way (one of the reasons we like them so much!). This year, you can only turn in one log for a $5 gift card. They are also awarding a “Top Reader” prize of a $20 HPB gift card to one reader in each age group.

2. Barnes & Noble Summer Reading With the B&N program, print a reading journal from their website and record your summer reading time. Read 8 or more books and you can exchange your completed journal for a free book – the proviso being the book is from a list of select titles. The issue I had last year is that they break these lists down by age, and the free books on Miss A’s list were ones she was not interested in. Looking over the list of free books for this year, nothing is popping out at me, but free is free and hopefully she’ll find a title on the list she likes. At the very least, parents can enter to win a Nook Color when the completed journal is turned in.

3. Borders Kids Reading Challenge Wow, has this bookstore had some drama since last summer. Their reading program isn’t awesome – but it might be worth the time if you still happen to have a Borders within a 50 mile radius of your home. Like the B&N program, read 8 books and record them on the reading worksheet (available on their website), but where the B&N program nets you a free book, Borders rewards readers with a coupon for 50% off – which would be really great if it was for 50% off a book of Miss A’s choice or something…but no…the discount can only be used towards the purchase of a few specific items (some of them kind of lame and most of them not even books) – what gives? I do still have at least two Borders within a reasonable driving distance…but we may not even bother this year. 50% off a How To Draw SpongeBob Squarepants Kit? We’ll pass.

4. BOOK IT! One of the dinosaurs of reading incentive programs, Pizza Hut’s Book It! program is  holding a Summer Break Reading Challenge Sweepstakes! (they really like their exclamation points). Read five books, then fill out the entry form available on their website for a chance to win a “slammin’ summer prize package!”

5. Scholastic Summer Challenge This program is a little more complicated with less up front tactile rewards. We didn’t participate last year, mainly because the sign-up process takes longer than a second or two, and I just didn’t have it in me to follow through. Check it out though if your kid is someone who enjoys setting goals and blasting through them. There is also a section for teachers and schools to create reading goals for a chance to be featured in the 2012 Scholastic Book of World Records.

Beyond the five listed above – which should be available nationally, if you have some independent bookstores in your home town, stop in and see if they are offering any kind of summer reading programs. Also, don’t forget to check in with your library: ours has programs not only for Miss A, but for Lil’ G and myself as well. I even got to pick out a free ARC of my choice when I signed up for the adult summer reading challenge – pretty cool!

So get a good book, find a nice place to relax, and escape for awhile. It’s a guaranteed happy ending.

 

 

Fast Friday: Playing Catch Up (or The MIA MAY)

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So, May flew by in a crazy whirl wind in which I didn’t post on this here blog once. I apologize if you stopped by for a visit only to see the same April header perched at the top of my site all May long. (Note to self: perhaps it’s best not to indicate a specific month when designing a header).

I hope to get into the posting swing of things again this week, but to catch you up, here are 5 things to re-cap May and pre-cap June:

1. Despite the dearth of blogging time, on the up side this month I kicked my writing back into high gear and have been busting out the pages! I also edited the heck out of my first chapter and entered my first writing contest (I won’t know anything for months, so cross your fingers!) I’ve been inspired and motivated by all the great news many of my fellow Chicago North members shared the past month concerning everything from contest wins to book deals.

2. Every spring we attack one major project around the house.  In 2009 we ripped out the sinking concrete patio and replaced it with brick pavers and a fire pit, in 2010 it was a much less glamorous but very much needed new window well for our basement. 2011’s project was  more fun and rewarding: a master bath remodel. Look for pics and details coming soon – including an explanation of what I like to call the “Hill Billy Fix-It.” Another reason I didn’t find the time to post in May – at one point during the month, my master bathroom looked like this:

Yep, my bath tub was once in that corner...I have no freakin' idea what's with all the foam spray around the facuet handle, but it's gone now!

 

3.  Today was Miss A’s last day of second grade. Her reading improved by leaps and bounds, and I feel her success is due in part to all the summer reading time we put in last year. She started the school year last fall with a head start and just kept on going. Check back soon for my list of summer reading programs and  incentives that you won’t want to miss.

Readin' on the beach at the start of last summer.

4. I fell behind once again on the whole Monday Muse thing, which bums me out because it’s one of my favorite things to do on the blog. I hope to make it up to you this month with an amazing Monday Muse for June.

5. We are in the trenches of potty warfare and trying our darndest to get Lil’ G (who passed the 3 year mark in May, yet another reason I was a trifle busy) out of diapers. Panty parties, a potty cake, a trip to Disney World and signing up for Irish dance classes have all been used as incentives to no avail. I plan to let her loose buck naked in our back yard this summer and keep the kiddie potty close by. Hopefully I’ll be able to give successful status updates soon, til then – I welcome your potty training advice, horror stories, or simple commiseration.

Lil' G decided she was going to pee in the potty...after over an hour of entertaining her with no results I was ready to give up but she refused to take her butt off the seat - so this was our compromise. Yes, she is sitting on the potty and watching t.v.

 

 

 

Miss A earned her Benjamin

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A while back I posted about how Miss A was on track to earn enough money to buy the 2011  American Girl of the Year: Kanani. Well, the girl did it. She dried enough dishes, shoveled enough snow (did I mention this is the MidWest? We got some of that white stuff TODAY for peanut butter and jelly’s sake.), put away enough laundry and aced enough Spanish tests to score $100 smackers.

It all worked out pretty swimmingly, Miss A recently celebrated the passing of another year, and we had to head to Chi-town anyways, as she was Irish Dancing at a rather famous location…so a trip to American Girl place was not out of the question. (Note to self: never again try to arrange a trip to Chicago, a dance performance at Navy Pier, a visit to American Girl Place, a birthday party AND a slumber party all in one day – ok?)

Chicago traffic not-withstanding (due to packed parking garages Miss A got the pleasure of not 1 but 2 cab rides that day) it was an incredible moment for Miss A – the culmination of all her efforts. And a lesson as well….she discovered sales tax. I told her Kanani cost $100, and that was what she needed to earn, but when I forked over additional dough at the counter I explained that Kanani actually cost a bit more than her hard earned $100 due to this lovely thing called sales tax (don’t let me get started on all the wacky ways IL is looking to tax its citizens further) – anyway, I told her that I would cover the sales tax this time, but from here on out, any item she set her sights on to save for, she would have to take sales tax into account. “I  hate taxes!” was her response…I think, today of all days,  we can all sympathize.

For now, I’ll let Miss A enjoy the fruits of her labor…and try not to think about how much I’ll be paying in sales tax when we finally manage her big dream: a trip to Kanani’s home…Hawaii.

Query Quagmire

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Before I continue, let me just say that I am completely aware that I have putteth my cart before the horse. I have two novels in progress…both about 2/3 complete.  (Yes, I’ve made an executive decision on which I will finish first: goal – done by first day of summer – but as of yet, it’s still not done.) So why, you may ask, am I even contemplating query letters? I know it is a big ol’ NO-NO to query an editor/publisher/agent without having finished the book first (you don’t want that magic request for a full to slip through your fingers cuz you don’t have your sh*t together). So again, why did I waste time better spent on actually finishing my novel writing a query?

Well,  I recently joined RWA and more specifically, the Chicago North chapter. I joined nearly a year to the day I was first given the wonderful advice to seek out and join the group by someone I really admire. I really, really wish I had done this sooner – but that is neither here nor there. I’m now a member, and am so excited by the huge dose of motivation, inspiration, advice, and encouragement this group provides.

Like the Query Letter Critique Night they recently hosted. As I said, my book – it ain’t finished yet – but there was no way I was going to pass up an opportunity to get help on a very important part of the road to publishing process. So I spent a bit of time reviewing query advice on the interwebs, and kicked out a query letter.

Like the advice garnered from websites, the comments concerning my query were varied and sometimes contradictory. For example, some felt I shouldn’t note the fact I graduated magna cum laude, some thought I should definitely leave that in.  There were varying opinions on where all the contact info should be located on the page – but that is trivial and will probably be decided on a per query basis (as I try to follow various submission guidelines). Similar polite dissension occurred as other members’ query letters were discussed, and I realized that, like most things in life, you can become paralyzed by indecision if you hesitate to act while trying to make everyone happy. If you try to follow all the rules and adhere to all the do’s and dont’s of a successful query letter – you’ll never get one done. So again, like most things in life, go with your gut and put together a query letter that feels right to you.

That being said, there was some advice I received about my letter that I will certainly follow, despite the fact it contradicts what popular literary blogger Nathan Bransford has highlighted as elements of awesome query letters. 1: Don’t mention this is my first novel and 2: Don’t offer excerpts or a first chapter as available to read on a website. I also was encouraged to further highlight my script writing experience.

Some things I think I nailed in my query letter include conveying my unique  “voice” and infusing my query with a sense of energy. I also was able to keep the book “blurb” concise while hinting at the humor inherent in my story. The humor element came up in discussion, commenters were curious to know if, despite being a Paranormal, was my book funny? The answer is oh yeah! Though while explaining that fact to the group, I am embarrassed to say I made a malapropism boo-boo and used “brevity” instead of “levity.” I blame Shakespeare and the quote that has forever linked brevity and wit in my mind.

I also received confirmation that the tense structure of my opening paragraph was awkward – I struggled with it, so that came as no surprise.

All in all, it was a worthwhile endeavor, and when I DO get my book finished, I have an awesome head start on the query letter process.

Anyone want to chime in with personal experience on the query writing process? Lessons learned? Stories of success or dire warnings of what not to do? Inform me!

It’s Not Easter Yet But We Have Bunnyz

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Recently I was contacted by UbiSoft via the Clever Girls Collective and asked if I, and more specifically Miss A, would like to review a new game for the Nintendo DS. Well, Miss A takes after her father, and the girl was sold at DS. The fact that the game turned out to be about taking care of cute little bunnies was just icing on Miss A’s proverbial cake. Have I mentioned the girl wants to be a veterinarian? Yes, I understand that most girls her age have similar career aspirations – but Miss A is taking it pretty seriously. Yesterday at the ReptileFest they had an “Ask A Vet” station set up and Miss A proceeded to grill them about her prospective career. Their best advice? When she gets older, to volunteer at a local animal hospital and see if she still wants to do it for a living.

Well, Miss A won’t be volunteering at an animal hospital anytime soon, but thanks to Petz BunnyzBunch, she does get to care of her own bevy of bunnies. When the game first arrived in the mail she was so excited to play it that she actually turned down the chance to go out with her dad for a dinner at Steak N’ Shake. Translation: she was really into the game.

Here’s Miss A trying to explain to me a bit about how the game works and what she likes about it:

And now, I’ll let Miss A take over from here with a bit more in-depth review of the game:

This game taught me that taking care of bunnies is more work than I first thought, I need to feed them and bathe them and play with them alot, and make sure they take lots of naps!

I earn money by playing mini games which lets me buy food, toys, furniture and more bunnies! My favorite mini game is the obstacle course where I lead my bunny around the room by shaking bells. My least favorite mini game is the box game where I have to get my bunny to throw toys into their matching boxes. If I could make up my own mini game for my bunny to play it would be a combination of the four mini games where the bunny has to find an egg and to get there he has to go through an obstacle course, and on his way through the course to find the egg he will have stop and play instruments according to a pattern and sort toys into boxes. I would really like it if there was a way to have all my bunnies play a game together, maybe hide and seek.

There are  lots of different types of bunnies to choose from – 10 different breeds –  and if they are in a pink box they are a girl, and if the are in a blue box, they are a boy. I like that I get to name each of my bunnies myself. Some of the names I have chosen are Bun-Bun, Chippy, Patch, Snow and Moon. Right now I have eleven bunnies.  you are allowed to have up to 20 bunnies (a boy and a girl of each breed). don’t like that you can give your bunnies up for adoption – that is sad to me, I love them too much to give them away. If I could change something, I would make it so you can have as many bunnies as you wanted.

I really like it that they purr when you pet them, and I like that they show you how different types of bunnies have different favorite foods and toys. Even if two bunnies are the same kind of bunny, a boy bunny may have different favorites than the girl bunny – and I thought that was very interesting.

As you earn stars and hearts by playing the mini games and taking care of your bunnies you can move up in rank, right now I am a Keeper. which I think is pretty good. I would have liked some chart that shows me all the different ranks I can be and what it takes to move up a rank. It would also be nice to know what the different ranks mean – I really didn’t know what the difference between an apprentice and an attendant was. Explaining that somewhere in the game would be helpful. (NOTE FROM MISS A’s MOM: I totally agree! I would really liked to know what the different levels were, and how many points, etc it took to move up a level. This information, if available, did not appear easily accessible.)

I spend most of my time playing the mini games, so I would really like it if there were more than just four mini games. I like buying toys for my bunnies the best, and really don’t like buying the furniture because I really don’t like the way the furniture in the shop looks  – I like what the game starts with and really didn’t want to change it.

My friend has real bunnies and I thought the bunnies in the game did a pretty good job making the bunnies look like real bunnies, and in fact are more fun than real bunnies because they are more playful!

If you’re looking for something to put in your child’s Easter basket that will last longer than the cheap toys in the holiday aisles at your local SuperMart, and is sugar-free, you could do worse than picking up a copy of BunnyzBunch.

Petz BunnyzBunch is available on Amazon.com, and is currently part of the 2 for $40 promotion at Toys R Us.

While Ubisoft provided me with this game to review, the opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Ubisoft, Clever Girls Collective

and I promote Blog With Integrity.

10 Movie Scenes I’d Like to Reenact

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Earlier this week the husband and I played Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with Miss A. At one point in the game, she answered a question by reenacting the scene where Princess Leia chokes out Jabba. The girl really got into it and we started talking about what scenes from Star Wars we’d want to reenact (for my choice – see #1 below). This led us to think about what other movie scenes we’d like to reenact; so last night the husband and I shared a bottle of wine and came up with our lists. Some picks from his list include the Blues Brothers driving through the mall scene, the laser blowing up the giant tin foil ball of popcorn in Real Genius (alternately, he also really likes the water slide party in that movie), and we both agreed that the time travel montage from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure would be fun (though he pointed out the fact that a telephone booth as time travel device was not very original…I had never made that connection before, but then again, I’ve never been a Dr. Who fan).

Here’s what I came up with after a couple hours of conversation and a few glasses of wine (a Cabernet Franc which, while I’m not usually a red girl, I really liked!)

10. Andromeda “dream” walking in Clash of the Titans (1981) So here’s something silly and mildly embarrassing: as a kid I used to pretend I was Princess Andromeda from the 1981 movie Clash of the Titans.

One of my favorite scenes is her dream sequence. I loved everything about it: her hair in that glittery, twisty side pony tail, her fluttery peach pajamas, her awesome canopy bed with the curtains, even the music that played – I loved it! I wanted to get up from my bed and go cavorting around while still “asleep” – granted I would prefer not to ride in a cage carried by a giant vulture to meet a creepy ex-boyfriend turned monster out in a swamp, but the rest of it I’d be happy to reenact. Looking back at that movie, I still love its cheesy over-the-topness. I just may have to go out and find a copy of the soundtrack. I have yet to see the 2010 remake of this movie…my husband can’t stand the ’81 version as it is, so it would be a Netflix night while the husband is out with the guys kind of thing – anybody out there see the new version? What did you think?

9. Pretty Woman Shopping Scene (1990) Aside from the fact that it would be lots of fun to go on a spending spree using a super rich dude’s credit card (and what a great scene where Gere’s character tells the shop he’s going to spend an obscene amount of money and blatantly encourages them to kiss Roberts’ character’s a$$), I love how she goes back to the posh boutique to tell off the presumptuous b*tches.  This clip is her first visit, and this second clip is the sweet revenge.

8. Rhett’s kiss at the burning of Atlanta Gone With the Wind (1939) Wow. I read Gone With the Wind when I was 12 years old. I clearly remember it because in 6th grade this odd thing happened where I was the only student in my class who tested into a gifted reading program. I don’t know why the school decided to do this – but for the first year they simply stuck me with the 7th graders and we had a nice little class that actually was a great deal like a college English Lit course. We read books like Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth and had great discussions. The following year the 8th graders had to follow a specific curriculum so it was decided that I, now a 7th grader who had already completed the curriculum for my grade, would be in a class all by myself. (They had to scrap the program during my 8th grade year so I was put back into the mainstream reading class and subjected to snide comments from the teacher regarding the fact that I was  stuck with the average joes again.) But back to my point: the 1-person class idea was perfect for me since I got to outline my own goals for the year: one of them being to read Gone With the Wind in its entirety. That book is chock-full of powerful and amazing, well…everything. Characters. Setting. Scenes. Tension. And that scene, where Rhett pulls Scarlett to him and tells her that, “In spite of you and me and the whole silly world going to pieces around us, I love you.” When he grips her arms and says, ” Scarlett! Look at me! I’ve loved you more than I’ve ever loved any woman and I’ve waited for you longer than I’ve ever waited for any woman.” My little pre-teen heart was lost.  What woman alive wouldn’t go a little weak in the knees at those words? So, yeah, that’s a scene I’d like to reenact, though instead of slapping the man I’d probably push him against that fence and keep kissing him until Atalnta was a pile of ashes.  Let’s cool off a bit and have a little fun, check out this GWTW montage set to Katy Perry’s Hot N’ Cold.

7. Mary Poppins: Clean Up Game (1964) How many children have wished they could snap their fingers and the room would clean itself up? How many moms have as well? As a child and as a mother, I would love to reenact this scene in my own home on a regular basis.

6. Annie: Taking care of the street thugs (1982) Let me preface this by saying I love the movie Annie. I was an obsessed six year old who lived and breathed that movie. I can’t tell you how many times I performed Hard Knock Life in my bedroom. But if I had to pick my favorite scene of all, it’s when Annie catches a group of  street thugs in the act of bullying a poor dog. A freckled little red headed girl with fists of fury? My tomboy soul had found a kindred spirit.

5. First Knight: Lancelot’s Kiss (1995) Now, that is a great kiss. Passion and intensity and need and desperation.    At least once in our lives, we should all get to experience a kiss like this:


Probably a little too aggressive for everyday though, my nose would get bruised.

4. Goonies (1985) – I’d reenact the whole movie as one of the kids in the Goonies Gang if I could, but if I had to pick one scene (as the husband insists), I suppose it would be the scene where they fly down the “water slide,”  land with a splash in the underground cavern, and discover the pirate ship and treasure.

3. Superman: Lois Lane interview (1978) Aside from Luke Skywalker, my other childhood  crush was Christopher Reeve as Superman. I’d love to reenact the scene when Lois interviews him about his x-ray vision with the very professional question, “What color underwear am I wearing?”  Of course, when Superman takes me flying out above the city I wouldn’t be an idiot and try flying by myself (besides, why would I want to let go of his hand?) I recently found out that Henry Cavill will be playing Superman in the new version coming out in 2012. I wouldn’t mind reenacting this scene with him as my Superman…I wouldn’t mind at all.

2. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: Party Crashing Scene (1985). Miss A likes the new Disney t.v. show Shake It Up – which in my opinion is a blatant rip off of this movie from my childhood. A slumber party staple,  my favorite scene is when they crash the rich mean girl’s  party. The whole bit from the montage where the girls invite a bevy of bizarre people to the original flash mob taking over the dance floor would be a whole lotta fun to reenact.

1.  Star Wars IV A New Hope: Luke and Leia swing across the Death Star bridge (1977) And for the scene that sparked this entire conversation, of all the great moments in my all time favorite movie series, the scene I would most want to reenact is that epic swing across the bridge.

Apparently Lucas and crew liked the swing scene as much as  I did.  Here are Luke and Leia ready to fly through the air once more in Return of the Jedi (1983).

Someone else can reenact this one, that bikini top looks painful.

Of course, I have to ask: what movie scenes would be on your list?

 

Waiting for Spring to Sprung

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Spring in the Midwest is often an exercise in frustration. Mother Nature teases us with 1 or 2 days of warmth and sun, then decides to freeze us out (or should I say in – since it forces us back indoors) for a few several more weeks. Spring Break vacation starts tomorrow, (or I suppose today) and looking at my local forecast I need to be reminded of what season it is…since it looks like temps in the 30’s and yes…that s-word.

Here’s a post I wrote during spring break several years ago:

The Biggest Jokester on April 1st is Mother Nature

Then there’s this post from spring break of 2009:

It’s Spring Break! Hope your swimsuit is lined in fur.

While I don’t think the snow will be as bad as that last post…it’s still on the radar and that just ain’t cool. (Pun intended).

Something that helped brighten (again, pun intended) my day was the recent release of Bird’s Party newest E-zine. It’s bursting with bright colors and fun ideas for parties and Easter and, my favorite spread: SPRING! (It’s on pages 18 & 19).

Find a sunny spot in your house, and enjoy digitally flipping through Bird’s Party Magazine – available HERE.

As a bonus, Bird is offering a prize package from her magazine sponsors worth over $100! Visit Bird’s site to find out how to enter HERE.

And, if you live somewhere warm and sunny, wish a bit of it my way please!

 

 

Friday Fast Five: Hangovers, Limericks, What’s in a Creamer, Contests & Comments, and the SUPER MOON!

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1.  If you started your St. Paddy’s day morning extra early with eggs n’ kegs  you might still be feeling a bit green today. Any hangover cures you have found to work? Worst hangover I ever experienced was New Year’s Day. I won’t tell you the year since I think it was my first time drinking on New Year’s Eve. I was still in the experimental phase of things, which means I tried stuff I wouldn’t touch now like a shot of Goldschläger that made me drop to my knees (literally, I recall holding on to my boyfriend’s belt loops) once it hit the back of my throat. A friend was home from Hawaii and brought a bottle of blue stuff that kind of tasted like kool-aid, don’t know what was in it, but I vaguely remember french kissing one of my husband’s (the boyfriend of whose belt loops I had been holding on to for dear life) best buddies. It was kind of a dare, and everyone knows you don’t dare drunk girls (or maybe you do). Anyways,  I was supposed to open the coffee store I worked at the following morning. I managed to get to the store on time…but less than two hours later I was begging to go home. My boyfriend (you can see why I married him) despite feeling like death warmed over himself, came to pick me up, and we crashed on his waterbed and slept the next 8 hours or so away. I really think sleeping it off is one of the best ways to deal with a hangover.

A little more experienced now and a little less stupid (I hope), I don’t have the option of lying in bed all day to sleep it off. So I have found on the rare occasions I do over imbibe the best thing to do is drink lots of water.

And don’t drink the blue stuff.

2. Not Irished out yet? Author Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series is set in Dublin and for her March contest she is awarding one creative mind an audiobook of ShadowFever. To enter, come up with your best limerick based on the Fever series. Contest ends March 31st.

3. For awhile last fall I tried the Atkin’s diet – there were things about it I loved and things I just hated – I am considering giving a modified version of it another go…but one thing that resulted from my 2 week hard core stint was it changed how I drink my coffee. On Atkins, you can’t drink milk – and I was a skim milk junkie. I’d brew a big pot of coffee in the morning, pour the husband a thermos full to take to work, then let the rest of the pot cool off to make a giant glass of iced coffee for yours truly. My version was about 2/3 coffee and 1/3 skim milk…sometimes that ratio went closer to 1/2 and 1/2. With Atkins, I couldn’t have milk, but I could have heavy cream (I know, it sounded weird to me too). So I experimented with drinking hot coffee with a bit of cream in it. Wow, it was awesome! I never drank cream in my coffee before, always milk, and it tasted so decadent. There was a good and bad side to this change – on the good side, the flavor is so strong, a little bit of heavy cream goes along way, and my overall calorie count was probably less than all the milk I put in my coffee. On the bad side, this is heavy cream we are talking about, and not exactly good for you. Hence, my search for something in between the two…which is why when I saw all the promo-bits on BlogHer for La Creme I was interested. La Creme’s angle is that their products are made from real dairy – not the artificial stuff you’d find in “non-dairy” creamers. I bought a bottle of the Cinnamon Vanilla to try and I don’t know if I’m sold – the texture and taste is not as decadent as heavy cream, but the calorie content is comparable, so I don’t think it’s a worthwhile indulgence. Currently, BlogHer and La Creme are hosting a series of Giveaways  to win a $100 Visa gift card. To enter, just visit one of these 10 blogs and leave a comment.

4. On the subject of contests and comments, a few weeks ago I mentioned a giveaway for a really cute 4 Leaf Clover necklace from Cap Creations. I thought the necklace was darling (yes, I just used the word darling) and was sad I didn’t win. (Don’t worry, I got over it). Imagine my surprise when I find out today that Cap Creations has decided to award their favorite 3 comments from the contest a $25 gift certificate to their shop! Looking back at my comment – this year I didn’t get to have corned beef and cabbage at my mom’s since everyone at their house is on a diet and I don’t make it here at home because neither my husband or Miss A would touch it. The husband and I didn’t get our Guinness in a pub yet either, but I’m hoping soon. I have a gift card to an Irish pub we’ve never been to burning a hole in my wallet.

So,  I’m telling you people, it never hurts to take a moment to enter these contests I mention. It must be good karma, since even though it decreases my chances of winning by upping the odds, I like sharing the info with you . Take a look at Cap Creations and help me out by letting me know what you would spend the prize money on. I am considering getting one of the four leaf clover necklaces that  I didn’t win, but there is also this cute Eiffel Tower necklace, which I might put away as a present for Miss A.

Miss A and I have plans to learn French together at our local community college, then celebrate by taking a trip to Paris. Of course, this is a few years away…but it’s fun to dream!

5 . Tomorrow night is a full moon, and not just any full moon. It’s called a Super Moon, and only occurs every 18 years or so (which means I was still in high school when the last one rolled around).

If you are curious to learn more, I’ll let the experts at NASA explain. I plan to get out there and take a whole bunch of pictures, I love pictures of the moon, if you happen to take a few shots of your own, please let me know where I can see them! Last year we looked at the moon a whole bunch, since one of Miss A’s first school assignments as a non-homeschooler was a moon log. She did several video journal entries, you can check them out HERE.

Enjoy your weekend, try not to drink too much, maybe write a limerick or two, enjoy a great cup of coffee whatever way you like it, and make sure to check out the SUPER MOON!

 

Green Day

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I am a little bummed I ran out of time these last few days and the 17 Days of Irish was cut short…I have had several long days and nights in a row doing quintuple duty and hence, website posts dropped to the bottom of the task list.

I hemmed and hawed about cramming the last 3 or 4 posts I still needed to do in  – but the rest of my week is about as busy as the first half was so I’m going to give myself a free pass on this one and save the posts I  had planned for next St. Paddy’s day. This way, I’m even giving myself a bit of a head start. Look at me, turning negatives into positives.

So while I try not to feel guilty about not having finished what I started with the posts this month, and also try not to berate myself for skipping the gym this morning so I could finish a few things around the house – here are some pics from my St. Paddy’s Day so far…

After starting the morning in a very unlucky way with Lil’ G spilling chocolate milk all over herself, the floor, the cabinets and me  – I was able to whip up a quick batch of Paddy’s Day pancakes.

Green pancakes for Miss A's breakfast

Next, I had a verbal wrestling match with Miss A to sit down and complete the homework we forgot about since she was dancing in a performance last night and we didn’t get home til around 9. While she was working on that, I packed Miss A’s lunch,  hiding a few surprises in there for her.

Yes, there were other items in her lunch besides chocolate gold and a shamrock cookie - but she probably didn't eat any of that.

Lil’ G, Having completely soaked her pajamas in chocolate milk, spent the rest of the morning in her robe  – which she apparently really likes. It took a great deal of wrestling, this time physical, for me to get her dressed. I had a cute St. Paddy’s day outfit for her and really wanted her in some clothes! Then we headed to Miss A’s school to volunteer for lunch time and recess (oh, yeah – I also baked 2 dozen cookies for the class that morning to pass out while Miss A and a school pal who also dances put on a mini show for their class).

Luckily, the last couple of St. Patrick’s Days have been incredible weather wise.  Today was no exception, nearly 70 degrees out, it’s the warmest weather we’ve had in over 4 months, and the kids were fully engaged in the happy-go-lucky spirit. Lil’ G had a blast running around in her new Irish duds.

The tutu is from BitzyBowz - an Etsy shop owned by a friend of mine.
I asked her to make a St. Paddy's day tutu for Lil' G, and it turned out so cute! She made the bow too.
Playing outside lifted Lil' G's spirits - she even humored me and posed for the camera!

The day is not over yet – I never got around to drinking my coffee this morning, and I really feel it now…maybe I’ll treat myself to a certain green logo’d purveyor. I’ve still got classes to teach, and Miss A is in another show tonight. Though I’d love to kick back with some friends in a pub, it will be just as fun to settle in at home for some wine and Irish cheese with the husband after we get our two red heads to bed.

Irish or not,  I hope you all have a fantastic St. Patrick’s Day full of luck!

Yesh, it’s a Feis

Celebrations, Hallmark Moments, Kids, Life, UncategorizedWrite a comment

Day 13 of 17 days of Irish!

Pronounced “fesh” a feis is a festival of Gaelic arts. For an Irish dancer, it’s a dance competition where they get  a chance to perfect specific steps of their dances to be judged  – there’s a lot more to is than that, if you’re interested – here is the WIKI page on it.

Miss A attended her first feis last year, and to help soothe her nerves (not that the girl gets a great deal of stage fright), I let one of her best friends accompany her:

Her American Girl doll, Nellie, put on her Irish Dancing Duds too.
Her American Girl doll, Nellie, put on her Irish Dancing Duds too.

It was interesting to walk around and see all the various competition areas set up  – there was dancing and music going on all over the place!

Miss A didn’t score high enough to place, but she got a ribbon for dancing, and that was fine with her!

I loved the fact that many families brought items to sell – from brand new class costumes and wigs and hair accessories to gently used dresses and SHOES! (I got a great deal on her current pair of Ghillies). It was a great place to look for bargains on all the stuff a dancer needs. All they needed was someone selling stuff for Miss A’s American Girl doll.

Actually, there are quite a few Irish costumes for AG dolls – we’ll cover that as part of day 14, which is full of ideas for the little people in your home!