Its Easy as ABC, 123, Come and See Baby, You and Me

Why is it that when I hear the phrase (?) ABC, I immediately think of the Jackson 5.

I remember how cute Michael Jackson was when we were all young and little. Michael was already in the family business, finally succeeding.

The Award!

However, I am not going on a history lesson or a walk through an old memory. Lorna’s Voice has graciously given me the ABC Award. She thinks my blog content is aWWWesommme! Well, me and a bunch of other folks.

So now I am obligated to come up with words from A to Z that describe me in some way I have not done before as well as nominate a few other worthy souls while honoring the one who gave me this honor.

Absolutely terrified is how I feel about winning this award. I am afraid of Backsliding and coming up with new but terrible Content. Will I let fear stop me. Don’t count on it. The small part of my soul that is Effervescent will not allow that to happen. I will Focus and Gear up for those days that Hover in the gray zones. Idiots be dammed, Jocularity will find its way back into the well of writing Knowledge. I may not be able to Levitate but I can Meditate into the Nirvana of writing. Ozone levels may thin out, other blogs may be more Popular but with the regal behavior of a Queen, I will find the Readiness to use every word within my reach. Sentences will unfold as does the beautiful Tendrils of Victorian era hairstyles. Perhaps the Undergarments of this blog do not mimic others in their Viciously tight order, perhaps this blog is not as Wonderously plain as an X-Ray. Yet, what you get at this blog is a mad Zoo of ideas from Absolute genius to Zero gravity.

And now on to the worthy nominees for this award. Some may have been nominated for other awards, I have nominated so many I can’t remember who I have not honored. Just take the honor and pass it on to those you find worthy.

Image by Jeltovski

Uprooted Magnolia

Todd Pack’s Messy Desk

If I Were Brave

Stopping The Wind

The Waffler

All I have to do now is notify these bloggers of their award. That is the fun part!

Something Blue

Family Movie Night

 

By Karyn Bowman

 

I am on a quest to lose weight.

 

With a family history of diabetes, I am working to build better habits now to ensure that I will have them later.

 

One tool I used to record my workouts is the Noom app I found on my smart phone.

 

Gratuitous picture of Hugh Jackman from IMDb.com

For the workout portion of the program, I can see how many steps I took, my distance, time and rate of speed. It will also map my route using the gps device. During the walk, it even talks to me in an English accent.

 

I call this voice ‘Hugh” because it reminds me of Hugh Laurie from the TV show “House” and Hugh Jackman. I set the volume for Hugh at the loudest rate possible so that I can hear it, especially if Storm decides to chase a squirrel or bird or another dog.

 

So when it came to this week’s column, I thought ‘wouldn’t it be great if we watched the latest Hugh Jackman movie, Real Steal, and tie this all together. But luck or fate was not with us. While I kept the dog outside (there is no way Larry wants my dog running around his store and I am not paying the outrageous food bill that dog will amass), my daughter went in to get the movie.

 

Poster Image from IMDb.com

“The bad news is Real Steal was out,” she said upon coming out of the store. “But I got The Smurfs instead.” There was excitement in her face and I was feeling so disappointed. I did not want to watch tiny blue people on my relaxing Friday night, I wanted Hugh Jackman.

 

The thing is, once the movie came into the house and the other members heard that the movie of the night was The Smurfs, they were pretty happy. Then friends showed up to watch the movie. I made four pizzas and the husband was lucky to get one piece. I was lucky to get two pieces and I was in the house from the beginning.

 

The movie is about how Gargamel (Hank Azaria) brings the Smurfs to New York City in order to steal their power. It is a long drawn out plan that involves leaf blowers and a castle in Central Park .

 

Somehow, the smurfs connect with Patrick and Grace Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays). Well, sooner or later, everyone figures out what needs to happen to get the smurfs back to their own world and take care of business in New York . Papa Smurf, as voiced by Jonathon Winters, gives sage advice to the expectant father and Smurfette (Katy Perry) bonds with Grace, the only other girl she has ever met.

 

The kids loved it. They had a good time watching this movie while I wondered how many times Neil Patrick Harris called his agent and screamed. OK, the sequence in which he went off on the continual use of the word ‘smurf’ was good but the hugs at the end were unnecessary.

 

All I can say is that it is a safe movie for kids to watch alone and they will enjoy it. It is not something I am planning to ever watch again.

 

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

Reading Challenge – The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

Remember when I said I was participating in a reading Challenge from ChickLit Plus?  The rules are that I have to read a book of Chick Lit once a month and review it on the blog.

I think I picked a good one this month.

Book Cover Image from barnesandnoble.com

I went for a historical fiction romance novel called The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig that I found in Paperback Reader in Kankakee. This is one of those stories that is a book within a book, a story within a story. The overlying story is about a history graduate student going to England to research a historical figure known as the Pink Carnation. This takes Eloise to London and the home of a grande dame as well as in the way of a handsome lord.

The second story is set in the Regency period during the semi-peaceful era between France and England, this book sets to tell the tale of the Purple Gentian and the Pink Carnation.

These are fictional spies in the manner of the Scarlet Pimpernel who foiled the French as they try to kill off their aristocracy. In this book, the Purple Gentian takes over for the Scarlet Pimpernel, rescuing English aristocracy accused of being spies.

That means we get cold-war type action, gothic Parisian houses and maidens looking for action. Not sexual but as spies. Our heroine, Amy, gets both but not before she before she brings in an entire family when a rescue is needed.

The hero of our story, Richard, is a complex character who is trying to remember all of his duties to God and country while his mother is trying to find him a wife. His work is as a scholar with the French government, placing him in Paris most of the time.

Amy is the daughter of an English woman and a French Duke who lost his life to Madame Guillotine. But now her brother is grown up and needs a ‘lady of the house.’ So Amy plans to find the Purple Gentian and join his group to save her beloved France from Napoleon.

While Amy can grow tiresome – I swear the girl has ADD or at least too much energy and enthusiasm – other characters spring into action to bring reason and a plan into action. That is what keeps the book interesting. The story with Eloise could be interesting but it is really a wrapper for the Purple Gentian. By not giving it enough depth, I found I was not really interested in Eloise and her battles with the lord who did not want her looking at family papers and solving the mystery.

I think I would read this book again and I am currently thinking about getting the sequel, The Masque of the Black Tulip, which I also saw at the Paperback Reader.

Do you have any Chick Lit suggestions for my challenge?

Dirt Cups

There are days that dessert does not have to be one of those gazillion step creations. Granted, they look and taste great. But can they be made by a first grader?

Today, Sam and I will demonstrate how to make Dirt Cups. As you can imagine, I forced Sam volunteered to make the dessert for his meal later that night.

Most of the ingredients

First thing we did was gather all of the ingredients. We only needed four things to make this tasty dessert. The milk was in the fridge in an effort to remain icy cold.

The dessert cups

Next, we gathered all of the dessert cups. These pretty things came from a family member as a wedding present.

Still with us? I know. There are a lot of steps here.

Making the Crumbs

So the next part is crushing the chocolate cookies for the topping. Sam and I sacrificed ourselves in the removal of the cream centers. The rest of the bag of cookies disappeared  when the oldest took them into a room of hungry Yu-Gi-Oh players.

Whisking the Pudding

With that done, we got out a big bowl and started work on the instant chocolate pudding. Sam used a whisk to get the air worked in the pudding.

The steps to set up: worms, pudding, topping.

Now it is time for set up. First, each cup gets two gummy worms. Then we put in some pudding. Finally, the chocolate crumbs are sprinkled on top to give the cup that ‘dirt’ look.

Chilling in the fridge.

We chilled them and served at dinner time. I forgot to take that picture. However, the cups were emptied so fast there was no time to take a picture.

Do you have a super easy dessert that even a first-grader can make?

Thinking of the Two Sides of Whitney

Family Movie Night

 

by Karyn Bowman

 

Over the weekend Whitney Huston passed away. 

 

She had a glorious voice along with a talent for acting. And a taste for drugs that would ruin her voice and destroy her life. 

 

I admit that I am torn about Whitney. Many of us who are her age remember coming up with her songs in the background. We sang along with those songs, hoping to hit all of the notes without our voices cracking. Singers across this country listened to her and imitated her style. This past Sunday, as I sang in the praise choir, I hoped that my voice soared as hers did.

 

Similar to Adele, Whitney’s talent shined bright by the time she was 20.

 

When she turned to acting, was it any surprised that the woman who put so much emotion in her songs was able to find those notes in her acting?

 

Most people remember The Bodyguard as her break-out film, perhaps more for the song ‘I Will Always Love You.’ Here she plays a singer who gets a new bodyguard in Kevin Costner. Of course, he protects her well and they fall in love. 

 

Image from IMDb.com

For many women, it is in Waiting To Exhale that Whitney shows depth as a successful TV producer who is having an affair with a married man. Her character must deal with  pressure from her mother to find a ‘good’ man while trying to find one that loves only her. It was well balanced performance.

 

The last movie that she is known for is The Preacher’s Wife.  Whitney is a pastor’s wife and choir director. Her husband is seldom home because he is constantly ministering in their poor neighborhood. He is also dealing with a developer who wants to buy the church grounds. He asks God for help and gets it in the form of Denzel Washington who promptly falls in love with the wife.

 

There is one movie to be released, Sparkle, that will always be known as Whitney’s last movie.  There was also a rumor going around that Simon Cowell was thinking of asking Whitney to be a judge on his X-Factor talent judging show.

 

As great as her talent was, here is my problem with Whitney. I never felt her sincerity. I never felt as if she was just being herself. To me every interview was a chance to spin the story her way. You could see her thoughts process as she answered questions. She wasn’t being contemplative; she was trying to pick the answer we would most likely believe.

 

The other issue for me is the wasting of her talent. Whitney stopped being current in the late 90s when she disappeared into heavy drug use. Those years were tough and when she made her come back, it was clear to me her voice was gone. How many of us envied that voice? How many of us wondered why she could not take care of a magnificent instrument?

 

Whitney’s death is sad but it needs to be a reminder, just like Amy Winehouse or any other artist who has died too young. There is only one person in charge of your talent, your instrument, your life. You make the decisions to use it, to waste it, to find ways to destroy it or to let it go on for decades.

It is you who must take the time to listen to people who actually care about you when they are concerned about your drug use. It is you who must learn to say no to the drugs, the joy of the drama and the insecurities that drive you. Remember how you propelled yourself onto that stage/film set/studio? Use that drive to keep your life on track and not dead before the age of 50.

 

 

  Until next year, see you in the rental aisle.

One Step Closer to Completion

I said that this would be the year of completion for me. This would be the year that I would get long-worked-on or long-planned projects completed.

It is an auspicious goal, it is ambitious and over-reaching. And I have completed the first project.

The Needlecraft Project is Done!

 

Why does something like this take so long? I have only been working on it since my oldest son was a baby. I would do a little here and there, bring it out when he was sleeping and then put it away for a year or five.

 

I found it last year and decided to get it finished. Fill in that pitcher, complete the outline stitching and revel in a project completed.

 

Where I Started From This January.

 

I am so glad this project is done. Now on to the antique quilt!

 

Grammy Inspiration

Everyone has their own take on Whitney Houston who died this past weekend. My own take will come later this week.

Image by popplepop

However, today I want to ask people who is the artist/singer/band who speaks to your soul.

For me at this time it is Adele. I love her voice, her demeanor, the passion with which she sings. While I like Katy Perry, Madonna and Lady Gaga (They have wonderful voices when you listen to their recordings), their performance becomes style over substance. Although, I have to had it to Katy. Setting fire to an ice sculpture of a man after the divorce is final is a great send off to the ex.

But when you consider the money and awards that Adele has earned since her break-up songs on her “21″ album, perhaps there are other ways of celebrating that break-up. Then again, her ex tried to demand royalties because of the inspiration he gave her. Yeah, that is not happening.

I am also becoming a big fan of Foo Fighters and David Grohl. Her is his acceptance speech from last night.

“This is a great honour, because this record was a special record for our band. Rather than go to the best studio in the world down the street in Hollywood and rather than use all of the fanciest computers that money can buy, we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine…

“To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of music is what’s important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that’s the most important thing for people to do.

“It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about sounding absolutely correct, it’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on in here [your head].”

After his acceptance speech, the husband and I looked at our aspiring drummer, saying  “what he just said that is what you need to do.” 

So who is inspiring you?

Valentine’s Day At Home

Family Movie Night

by Karyn Bowman

By this time next week, there will be Valentine cards strewn about. I know that my house will have little cards all over after a great rush to get them written out by one child.

Some might take advantage of the weekend to carve out quality time with their sweetie, a stay-at-home couples night if you will.

Image from IMDb.com

My first choice of movies in the romantic genre is Return To Me starring Minnie Driver and David Duchoveny. I love the Chicago locations, the musical selections, and the performances by the cast. It is one of the few movies that I find to be near perfection.

I asked my husband for his opinion, what did he think was a good movie for couples.  Perhaps this shows our age but his immediate response was When Harry Met Sally, the holy grail of romantic comedy perfection. It is one of the wordiest movies but for English majors it is extraordinary how it shows love moving through the hearts of two people destined for each other.

Image from IMDb.com

I would say the same about Sleepless In Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. Note that all three of these star Meg Ryan who knows how to put together cute and quirky in one package.

For those wanting an action packed romance, there is always Mr. and Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a married couple who are both spies and must take each other out. There are many sequences that seem far-fetched but I found the movie to be very enjoyable.

For those who are movie buffs, I have an oldie but goodie to suggest. The Enchanted Cottage stars Robert Young and  Dorothy McGuire. He is a war hero left scarred from his military career while she is a homely girl.

They meet at the honeymoon cottage where she works and fall in love. But something strange happens to them. They see something that others do not and somehow this only strengthens their love for each other. Finding this movie might be difficult as I have not seen it released on DVD as of yet.

Image from IMDb.com.

Finally, I know that there are some people out there who are suffering broken hearts. Perhaps the person left or you left them. I think the lead character in Bridemaids as portrayed by Kristen Wiig can certainly relate. While this is not a movie for kids or to watch with someone who would make you wince inside, it is a funny movie.

The story is about a woman who was dumped by her boyfriend and lost her bakery business but must make the best of things when her best friend announces her engagement. Further more, Wiig is asked to be the maid of honor. Complicate that with another woman who wants to take charge of everything and get all of the credit.

 How does one fight against another woman who is taking away your best friend and besting you at every turn when you are broke and she is super rich?

To me the best scene is when Melissa McCarthy lets Wiig know she is always there for her with a physical fight. Some may call this the ‘female’ Hangover movie but I call it something much better than that.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Until next year, see you in the rental aisle.

Things I Wonder About

Why is it that when the tank is full to the brim, the gauge arrow is loath to move. You can go 50 miles without the line moving.

Running on empty...

But once you get into the no-man’s land of a quarter tank of gas it appears that every mile is taking more fuel than it should. Suddenly, a ten-mile distance leaves you near the line of emptiness, wondering just why the gas station is not in sight yet.

As much as I love my mini-van, this is the one thing I hate about it.

What do you wonder ?

I Say a Little Prayer For You…

Image by Kakisky

Now that the Biggee Game is over, we get to pick over the remains of the best ads, the worst plays and just what the hell Gisele Bundchen is thinking.

If you ask me, she looks like a wife who is concerned about her husband.

Last week one of the stories the press covered was the contents of an email in which she request that family members and close friends pray for Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots. She wants him to win and she wants prayers to make that happen.

First thing I want to know is who leaked the email. One story has her wondering the same thing as she states the email was only sent to  a small group of people.  I would not rest till I found out who was the leaker.

Secondly, I am wondering why she is getting crap for a private e-mail about praying that her husband does well at his job. How many of us wives do that at crunch time. Does the wife of a surgeon pray for him to be crappy at his job? Or a banker or accountant? I don’t think so. And how many of us pray for our husband’s safety at his job? Every time my husband says he is going ice fishing, I make sure to find out if he is going with someone.

While there have been too many athletes who make a big deal that God helped them win, too many who have thanked God giving their team the win, I think a wife asking for prays is a different thing. The former glorifies that person but the latter is a prayer for wellbeing.  When your husband comes home with a big ‘win’ at work, chances are it is better being with that person. And if he does not get hurt with a serious injury, that is even better.

The marriage vows say ‘for better or worse’ and if we can make it more better than worse, well then more power to that couple. I think Gisele was asking for the prayers in order to see her husband have continued success. For crying out loud, Brady is being compared to Joe Montana. What spouse would not want their husband to have another win under his belt to prove his greatness to the world?

Here is another thing to consider. The average lifespan of a football player ranges from 52 – 59 years of age. Perhaps her prayers were a desire for her husband to avoid a concussion. The NFL has been under fire for the amount of head injuries in the past year, and a number of players have pledged to have their brains studied upon their death in regards to the effects of concussions. Because I listen to more sports radio than a wife of a sports nut should, I routinely hear stories about former players who are suffering from brain injuries.  I routinely hear stories about how the NFL is changing rules to safeguard players.

So Gisele asked for prayers and support for her husband. She asked for positive vibes to come her husband’s way as he and his team prepared for the biggest game of the season, one that would determine contractual bonuses and endorsement deals. Maybe she just wanted that free trip to Disneyland for their family. Maybe she wanted a game to go well and his safety insured.

What I love is that she asked for prayers for her husband. In a portion of society that appears to push away faith as being ridiculous (look at how people make fun of Tim Tebow), it interests me that Gisele admits to praying and believing in a higher power. Maybe, just maybe, this will encourage others at her level to pray, to believe, to find a space in their heart for God.

And that should not be laughed at or dismissed.

Do you ask friends and family to pray for you or people in your life?