Tuesday, Tuesday

Kids being home means less time to blog, lol! I will update this post later in the day, but for now, I wanted to let everyone know that The Apron Goddesses blog is giving away another groovy apron! Go visit to see the rules!

Hope you are all having a beautiful summer morning!

Monday Mutterings

Well, summer vacation is finally upon us!  The sun is out, the kids are home...now I have to figure out what to do with them, lol!

Sad news on the camp front: Harry Potter camp was canceled due to lack of interest.  Miss M. is crushed.  She will still go spend the week with her aunt, uncle and new cousin, which will still be fun for her.  She loves the baby to death, and they live on what can only be called a nature girl's wildest dream come true - a huge log cabin, surrounded by land, woods, and with a lake big enough to fish in.  She can be all Huckleberry Finn up there for a week!  And, of course, the Harry Potter movie will be out a couple of days after she comes home!

In other exciting news, I won not one, but two prizes at The Play of LIght and Shadow tea party!  Holy Moly!  I'm am so excited!  And though the giveaways are over now, there are a ton of cool, free blog layouts that you can adopt!

I have also started a "button exchange" over on the right hand side-bar, so if you have a blog button that you'd like me to add, just let me know!

I am off to get my housework done so we can have some play!  Have a great Monday!

Tea Party

As much as I thought about keeping this one to myself, lol, there are some wicked awesome giveaways going on at The Play of Light and Shadow blog that end tonight!  Hurry over and try to win!  But not too hard, you know, cuz I really wanna win....

Been Skipping the Internet....

I've actually been sorta hiding out from the computer the last day or so.  Quite frankly, I've not wanted to deal with all the Michael Jackson hoopla.  I have gotten on to read and comment on the blogs that I follow - I follow so many that if I skip too many days, I get waaaay too far behind, lol! 

Included in several of those blogs have been comments on the death/hoopla/anger at the comments about Jackson.  

I will start this little rant in saying, I feel for his family and children.  It's a terrible loss for them, and there is a  chance that there will be a long battle over who will get custody of his children - not good for anyone.  Those kids have led what must have been a very unusual life so far, and to loose their father and get fought over is something no child should have to endure.

I was a fan, in the 80's of Michael Jackson.  Was there anyone at that time that wasn't?  But.... I don't understand what all the big deal is at this point.  

There are those who have said that it is improper to speak ill of the dead.  And while I usually agree with this, I deeply believe that at best, this man was very confused about the role of adults and children.  At worst, he was a pedophile that used his wealth to get out of being held accountable.  He is also someone who has not contributed to the musical scene for years and years.  So...what is all the hoopla over his death?  Yes, it's sad that someone died, but people die every day.  There are no huge headlines for the soldiers coming back from the war.  Where are the headlines for policemen and firemen killed in the line of duty?  Children are snatched every day, and the articles are relegated to the inside pages of the paper.

But a man with questionable personal habits dies, and the whole world shuts down.

There are things happening in Iran, atrocities that are unfathomable - people being pulled off buses and hacked to death with axes for questioning the government - and all anyone can talk about is the death of this man.

More than speaking ill of the dead, I tend to think I am speaking ill of the media in this country.  Speaking ill of the people who live here who are so celebrity hungry that they don't question whether the person they worship is really a good man - heck, he had a ton of hits in the 80's!He wrote We Are the World!  He must be a great guy!  I am saddened at the way so many people are reacting to this.  And so, I will avoid Twitter, where MJ posts outnumber the Iran posts.  I will avoid blog posts that honor a man of questionable honor.  I will avoid the "news" that has turned into  a celebrity tabloid, going on and on about what killed this one man, and where his children might end up (what about all the other kids who are left without families every day?  Where is their news special? What about all the kids in foster care? Why aren't they on the front page?). 

Hopefully this will all blow over soon and we can be done with it.

Aprons, Aprons, Everywhere!

If you are looking for an apron for 4th of July, visit Apron Frenzy! She's got some awesome red, white and blue aprons going on there right now!  

The owner of Apron Frenzy, my friend Vixen, has been unemployed since January.  She'd probably just hate that I am sharing that info with you, but, dang it, it's for a good cause!  She's trying to raise the money to take her little grandkids to see their great-grandma, who is 86. Great-grandma has survived cancer twice, and cannot travel, and hasn't seen the kiddos for 3 years.

Any aprons that are purchased right now will go toward gas money to visit her!  If your order between now and Monday, Vixen guarantees that the apron will make it to you on or before July 3rd, just in time for your 4th of July celebrations!

And, dang it, these are just some freaking cute aprons!

    

There are also some adorable Mother/Daughter aprons listed!  Check those out, too!

Aaaaaand, if you order an apron this week, let me know, and I will give you 5 extra entries in every giveaway that I do for the NEXT THREE MONTHS!  And, I tell you, there are some really awesome ones coming up.  Not even kidding.  Books about zombies, tarot decks, bags....  So that is 5 extra entries to ALL my giveaways for the next three months if you order an apron from Apron Frenzy this week.  Yes, that is a straight up bribe, lol!

If you reblog this post on your own blog, I will give you 2 extra entries in every giveaway for the next 3 months (and yes, you can do both and get 7 extra entries!)

Pagan Parenting of Special Needs Kids

I've been keeping a running list of parents who are both pagan and have kids with special needs.  I thought it would be nice, over the summer, to take that to a new level.

What I'd like to do is try out a regular feature on the blog, maybe once a month or so, where we can all kind of get together and discuss the issues we come across.  My plan is to start a discussion here, and have those who want to participate either reply in comments, or post to their own blogs their take on the discussion, and comment here with a link to their post - whatever works best for the individual.

I thought about starting a separate blog for this, but I really don't think that I'm at the place where I can "do" another blog.  I recently deleted all of my other blogs that I have been playing with - a non-pagan version of this blog and a smaller book review blog that I'd been playing with -- because I just don't have the time, nor really the inclination to mess with them any more.  I know many people just abandon their blogs when they get bored of them, but I'm a deleter, lol!  So, at least for now, the pagan parenting of special needs kids stuff will live here, among all the other bits and pieces.

And I'd like to invite everyone who would like to participate in the talks - non-pagan  parents of special needs kids,  teachers, etc.  to join in as well.    The more we all converse, the more we can learn from each other.  Just please remember that this is an open forum.  If you have issues that you do not want to be public, this might not be the place for them to be posted.  

If, during any of the conversations, you'd like to ask a question or make a comment, but don't want it attached to your "name" or blog, please feel free to use my contact form to get ahold of me with the info, and I will post the comment or question anonymously.

The first discussion will be started here.

What I've been making in my art room...

I've been working on all sorts of little projects since we created my little girl cave.  I thought I'd share some of the art journal pages today (If you want to see what I've done before you can find them here and here.)

I started working on these pages a while back, and finally got them to a place that I liked, though there are still a couple of things I want to do with them.

This is a set of pages that I started in a new journal, which is going to have a certain theme.  It's kind of a secret for right now, but I'll share more of where that journal is going later.  These are way brighter and happier that what I usually do, lol!  I really like the colors and the texturey feel of them.

I just started with this set.  Not exactly sure where it will go to be finished.  I found this little girl in a magazine, and added a piece of twine to the page for her jump rope.

This page started with a door.  What could be behind it?

This:

I love the creepy factor to those!  Obviously these pages have a ways to go before I'm done with them, but they make me giggle.  

I'm just sick that way I guess.

More artiness to come later!  I've been having a lot of fun in my cave!

For Buffy and Twilight fans!! LOL!

 

Monday, Monday....

Well, it was quite a weekend, lol!

First up, my washing machine finally took the big dirt nap.  We knew it was coming, the thing has been on it's last legs for quite some time.  We were hoping it would hold out for a bit longer.  Of course, with our vacation coming up, we should have known a major appliance (or two, considering we just had to have the air conditioner fixed!) would break down.

It never fails.... right before Christmas, something will break.  The car, the water heater, the dishwasher.... something.  Vacation?  Oh, yeah.  The roof will blow off, the van will magically acquire 4 flat tires, a cat will decide she needs breast augmentation.  It's always something.

So anyhoo.  I had made the decision that we would spend Father's Day as Father's Day, and put off a big Summer Solstice celebration for another day.  Seeing that it has been raining for almost 40 days and 40 nights, I wasn't feeling very Summer Solsticey, and I wanted Mr. B. to be able to have his own day.  I did put out some gorgeous sunflowers and have a simple ritual, but for the good stuff, that will wait for this weekend, when the sun is supposed to be shining.

I got up and made Mr. B. a breakfast that we don't have that often - Spanish skillets.  Our favorite restaurant (that I worked at for years) made these: layers of hash brown potatoes, sausage, scrambled eggs,  and cheese, topped with homemade pico de gallo and sour cream.  Oh, yum!  They are a lot of work, so we only make them now and then, so it was a real treat.

After breakfast, I ran down to discover that my washer was still full of water from the last load the day before.  And no matter what we tried, the thing would not start up and finish spinning. Ugh!  Of course, everyone needed clothes for today and tomorrow, the last 2 days of school.  Mr. B. kindly volunteered to take a few loads to the laundry mat, while I finished cleaning the kitchen.  We decided we would have to go purchase a new washer on the credit card.  You know, the one that we just paid off the last of our debt on!  Ugh, again.  Mr. B. got home with the clothes, we jumped in the car and drove all the way to Sears.  Only to discover that we had not actually brought the credit card with us.  Got back in the car and drove all the way home, got the card and drove back.  Yes, Happy Father's Day, Mr. B.!  Ha!  

In the end, we did end up getting a nice little washer, with an Energy Star rating that uses less water than our old one - and can wash 20 towels at a time!  And we had a freaking awesome dinner with grilled clams, a crazy good tri tip steak, baby white potatoes with butter and parsley, fresh tomato slices with oil, vinegar, basil and parmesan, and some killer Blue Moon beer in Mr. B's new monogrammed monster sized beer mug.

It was  a nice day, despite the never ending rain in NJ, the broken washer, the extra trip to the store, the put off sabbat celebration.  Good food, good family time, huge beer mug.... doesn't get too much better than that, right?

TAG is at it again!

Another week, another The Apron Goddess giveaway!  This week, the sponsor is giving you a choice of aprons from her collection, and they are way too cute!  Visit the TAG site for details!

Another Quickie, lol!

For my co-fans of True Blood, there is a contest going on here giving away the first 7 books from the Charlaine Harris books!  And there are tons of chances for extra entries!

Just a Quickie

Update to add: Messed up the link.  To find directions on how to do this, and other cool lacings, visit here: http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/pentagramlacing.htm

Just a quick post to share this with you:

Isn't that cute?  I found it on this website, that shows you all sorts of ways to lace your sneakers.  I might have to do this one, myself!

Mrs. B. Cooks.... World Famous Potato Salad

I've posted this recipe in the past, but it did not have the pictures, so I thought it was time to update.  Summer is almost upon us, and this is the perfect summer side dish for cook outs and pot lucks.  Everyone has their go-to recipe for potato salad, but I urge you to give this one a shot.

We start off with about 2 pounds of small red potatoes.  Give 'em a good scrub, but leave them whole, with the skins on.

Add them and about 1 Tbsp of salt to a large pot of boiling water (this is the time to season the potatoes well with salt!).  Let them boil for about 20 minutes, until a fork (Fork, people! Not a paring knife! Trust me on this one.) can enter the potato and come back out smoothly.  Drain. Let the potatoes cool enough so you can handle them.  When they are, cut them into 1 inch cubes.

While the potatoes are cooling, slice 3 stalks of celery 

and mince 3 shallots (if you don't have shallots, you can use about 1/4 cup or so of finely chopped red onion). 

 Throw them all (and the cubed potatoes when you get those done) into a large (non-metallic) bowl, and mix them gently.  You don't want to mash up your potatoes!

To a medium size bowl add: 

 3/4 cup yogurt (I like to use a nice greek style yogurt. Stonyfield Farm makes an excellent organic.)

 1/4 cup mayo (Mr. B. likes Hellman's)

 1/4 cup finely chopped chives:

 1/4 cup rough chopped fresh parsley (if you don' t have fresh, just skip it):

 1 tsp prepared grainy or dijon mustard (Excuse me.... but do you have any Grey Poupon?):

(Why yes!  Yes, I do!)

 and  salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk it all together.

Pour the dressing over the potato mix gently fold together.  

Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.

If you'd like a little more color to your salad (it really doesn't need it for flavor, in my opinion :O), add in a little red bell pepper.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe!

Random Monday Mutterings take seven hundred eleventy four

Offsite giveaway notice: The Apron Goddess is at it again!  Go check out her new giveaway here!  The apron she's giving away is really sweet!

Annie over at  Writers & Witches & Words, Oh My  had this meme, that I had to do! 

fifteen books

Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you.... first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. 

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

3. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

4. Harvest for Hope by Jane Goodall

5. On the Road by Jack Kerouac

6. Watership Down by Richard Adams

7. Prince Ombra by Roderick MacLeish

8. I'm Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown

9.  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

10. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

11. Night Shift by Stephen King

12. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

13. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Patterson

14. Walden by  Thoreau

15. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

What are your's?

A few Quick Notes

A few things I wanted to share:

Had to have the air guy come out, because our air conditioner went out.  There went our vacation spending money!  Ah, well! It's all inclusive, so we're still good to go!  The repair guy was a cutie pie.

Went to Miss M's class to help celebrate heritage day.  So much amazing food! Everything from curry chicken to pierogies to baked ziti to empanadas!  The kids were having a blast!  Got to see the heritage book that Miss M's been working so hard on.  Also got to see The Lunch Lady's and Mrs. Coffee's daughter's books and look at all their pictures.  They are like my other kids :O)

Got a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!  Can't wait to get reading!  The cover just freaks me out, lol!  Anyone read it yet?

Hope everyone is having a great Friday!  

What is a Domestic Witch?

(originally posted on The Modern Pagan, June 2009)

So what is a domestic witch? How does being a domestic witch different from being a kitchen witch? These are questions that I’ve been asked several times. The answers are both simple and complex.
First off, what is a domestic witch? My definition would be any person, be they male, female, married, with or without children, young or old, who wants to honor the domestic part of their life while enhancing it with magic.


What’s the difference between a domestic witch and a kitchen witch? Not a whole lot, honestly! But while a kitchen witch might concentrate their efforts on the central part of the house, the hearth or kitchen, the domestic witch brings magic into every corner of the home and the activities that it takes to run it.


A domestic witch brings magic into every room of the house, into all  household matters, into the most mundane and usually boring household chores and knows, all the while, that she honors her family and deity by doing the work with joy and love.


And before you ask, no, that doesn’t mean working like a slave to carry out every whim of the family! A big part of being a domestic witch is teaching your children (or if necessary, you significant other!) to be independent and feel the same joy in doing for others. It’s not about being a stereotypical 1950’s housewife that does everything herself, with a smile plastered on her face (and a flask tucked in her apron!). Many domestic divas do set their sites on being more similar to that 50’s mom – being more available to their children, taking pride in their home, cooking family meals and bringing the family together. Things that in this busy world sometimes get pushed to the back burner.


 Being a domestic witch is also about being a modern witch, who works as an equal to their partner and with their chosen deity to make a warm, welcoming environment and to raise (if they choose to be parents) healthy, happy children who are self sufficient, self assured, and able to make (hopefully) good choices for themselves.


Can a man be a domestic witch? Sure! Any man who wants to create a home that is a haven can work with magic to create the place he craves. Whether single or in a partnership, there is no reason why today’s modern male can’t take on the role of creating a magical household. Male domestic witches take pride in their homes, their land, their families. Domestic witchery is not about being a housewife, it’s about a love of the domestic arts and the deities who over see them.

This is post (and photos) copyright to the author. It may not be reposted, reprinted or distributed in its entirety without express written permission of the author. Links to the article can be freely shared and are very appreciated!

Is the universe trying to tell me something?

Yesterday, Mr. B. got offered a new job.  The job was one that would take him away from home for 4 months, and then let him be home for 2.  Now as much as it would be nice to have all Mr. B., all day, for 2 months, gone 4 at a time?  No freaking way.

I know that women (and men) do this all the time for various jobs (thank you for your service, military families!), but that's one of the reasons that the hubs got out of the military!  Not only do we almost always enjoy each other's company, we have three kids.  I can't imagine how the kids would react to not seeing their father for 4 months at a time.   And, quite frankly, if I were to spend 4 months at a time with my kids, without a break - without another adult to speak with on a regular basis!- I would loose my freaking mind.  I love my kids, but parenting is not always a walk in the park.  I don't want to be a single parent while I'm married.

So once again, in a matter of days, my family was offered something that would change out lives,  and once again, we had to make a choice on what to do.  And once again, we said no.

It got me to thinking, though.  What's going on there?  Is the universe trying to tell us something?  Do we need a change in our lives?  Are we missing out on opportunities by turning them down?  Or are we being shown a reminder of how important our family is to us?

Things usually come in threes, don't they?  I wonder what's up next?

Meanwhile, I got something that I purchased in the mail yesterday.  I don't mean to be mysterious, but I love it so much, I sought out the distributor and wrote a letter asking if they might like to work with my blog in a little publicity giveaway.  I thought, what the hey!  Worth asking.  I was thrilled spitless when they wrote back and said, sure!  Not going to give away what it was yet, but it's a little something that I think you'll really like!  Details coming in the next week or so.   It really doesn't ever hurt to ask.  Rule to live by!

And here's a little something I had to share.  I found it on another blog, while I was blog hopping around.  Sorry to say, I cannot, for the life of me, remember which blog I saw it on, sorry!  If you go to my profile and look at the number of blogs I follow, you'll see why, lol!  It was too great not to share, though!

UPDATED TO ADD THIS:

Rarely do I really toot the horn of another blogger, but today I must toot.  You have to watch this video, and then visit the blog about the subject of the video here.  Please to enjoy!

Video Funny of the Day :O)

*Update to note: Stop over at The Modern Pagan to read my new article What is a Domestic Witch? All comments and questions are welcome and appreciated! -Mrs.B*

I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the supportive and completely sweet comments to my last post.  To have people think that I would be a good representative of the pagan community is truly humbling.  Thanks to everyone for your comments :O)

Today I thought we'd lighten it up a bit with this:

Inspired by tarabu's Hammer Pants video (you really have to go watch this!!),  I dug up a few  of my very favorite Improv Everywhere videos.  If you haven't seen these, they are just amazing!

First up, we have IA turning a Little League game into a Major League ball game, complete with jumbo tron, NBC announcers, and the Good Year blimp!

Spontaneous musical in the food court:

There is this classic, where 207 people freeze in the middle of Grand Central:

Check out the youtube site for more videos!

Wife Swap? I thought about it....

So, if you follow me on Twitter, you may have heard that I got contacted yesterday about applying for the TV show Wife Swap. Apparently they are looking for a pagan/Wiccan mom and/or family to participate in next season. The kicker? If the show airs, you get $20,000.

$20,000 for what is about a week's work! Holy Moly, could I use that money! Couldn't we all?

And I thought about it. First I thought of this:

Now, granted that was from Trading Spouses, not Wife Swap. So I mosied on over to another video, that showed an episode of Wife Swap, which I've never actually seen before (this video is the first of 5 that show the whole episode if you want to see it all).

Granted, this wasn't near as bad as that crazy Trading Spouses episode, lol! And it was nice that, in the end, that the two moms really did seem to influence each other's children in positive ways, and accept those changes in their children.

As a pagan, it would be nice to show the world the real face of paganism and bust the misconceptions - that we aren't evil, we don't worship satan, etc. As a "domestic witch", it would also be nice to show the other side of paganism - that we aren't all young adults with dyed black hair and big pentagrams, etc (or that we at least grew up from that and became the grown up version, lol!).

I admit, between the money and the chance to try to be a good example for my religious beliefs, I thought about doing this. A lot. But. There is always a but, isn't there?

But is it worth it to put my kids through this? My son who doesn't deal well with transitions, who have huge issues with food, who doesn't like strangers or loud noises? My daughter who is such a mama's girl to hear some strange woman possibly make disparaging comments about me and the beliefs that she is really just staring to follow?

Now my oldest, though not really a fan of people in general right now, lol, was against it at first. And then heard about the money. For a couple of thousand, he was ready to put on a show! He'd be great at it, too!

And Mr. B.? Well, he'd probably just hide at work for the most part, lol! But I believe the first bad word out of someone's mouth about me, and he's loose his shit. If you've watched any Wife Swap, you know that the couples meet up at the end. Let my husband hear that some man called me a pig (as one husband does in the above episode). It wouldn't end well.

As for me, I'm not sure I could keep calm if someone really started criticizing how I raise my kids. I'd probably have a screaming hissy fit (which would make great TV, but not exactly what I want to be known for!).

So, after all is said and done.... I don't think we'll be having out TV debut any time soon. I think it could be a great opportunity for some family - one with less issues and more patience.

And, hey, I have the email address for the casting people if anyone is interested in trying it out!

Monday This and That's

First off, The Apron Goddess has an awesome 4th of July inspired apron giveaway going on right now!  Visit TAG to get the details!!

Not much going on my way right now.  Trying to struggle through the last few weeks of school, dealing with the same BS from Mr. J's school, and dealing with kids with gigantic cases of "spring fever".  It doesn't help that everyone on earth beside NJ seems to already be out of school and enjoying the summer vacation!  And school for us starts up Sept. 1 for the next school year!  Seems like a super short vacation this year.  What's up with that?

Anyhoo.  Had a great weekend for the most part.  Nice weather, cooking out, sangria.  We had a little misunderstanding with a relative that left Mr. J a little down in the dumps, but the hubster found a way to fix it (he's pretty good that way, that Mr. B.!).  I was a bit ticked off at the relative, but it wasn't done maliciously, so how can you stay too mad?  (Okay, okay, I'm working on not being mad.  Sheesh!  Do you have to call me out on everything?)

My oldest is going away for the weekend with friends.  This is his first trip with friends.  Now, Oldest is an old man in a 17 year old's body.  I have no fear that he will do the right things, will not succumb to peer pressure, etc.  And he hangs around with good kids.   If he thought anyone was going to be doing anything stupid, he just wouldn't go.  He's the one kid that I know I don't have to worry about.  So how come I'm so worried about him going for 2 nights?  

Mrs. B. Reads.....My Sister's Keeper

Yesterday, I finished reading the book, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.  You may have seen ads for the movie coming out based on this book, which will be starring Cameron Diaz.

When I picked up this book, I did so just to read the back, to see what the movie would be about.  I was hooked before I even finished the blurb on the back.  I read it in a day and a half, and have to say, despite the thought that it would be just another "chick lit" book, it was one of the best, most touching, heartbreaking books I have ever read.  It just totally floored me.

The background of the story, without giving too much away, is of a family that has two young children who find out that there toddler daughter has cancer, and that there son is not a match to help her.  So they genetically engineer a baby to be a match, who can donate stem cells, blood, platelets, and bone marrow when her sister needs it.  The book is Anna's story.  How she sues her parents, at 13, to be medically emancipated, so that she does not have to give her sister, who will surely die soon anyway, a kidney.  The story is told from several different perspectives: Anna, her mother, her father, her lawyer, her brother, and the lawyer who is assigned by the court to help make the best choice for Anna.  Usually I hate when  a book changes perspectives, but in My Sister's Keeper, it's done beautifully - even the font changes character to character.

So the story travels back and forth in time, through the family's history, through the issues they are facing in the present, through the ongoing litigation.    The ending of the book made me sob.  Not cry a tear or two, but actually sob out loud.  (Yeah, yeah, we all know I'm a big cry baby, but I dare you to read it without crying!  I dare you, I say!).

I read an interview with Jodi Picoult, the author, and she stated that this was the first of her books that her 12 year old son has ever read.  That at the end of the  book, he broke into tears, ran to his room, locked the door, and wouldn't speak to her for some time.  It really is that powerful.

And, as I mentioned, the book has been turned into a movie, starring Cameron Diaz (who I think is okay) with Abigail Breslin as Anna (who I adore!), Jason Patrick as the father (yum) and Alec Baldwin as Anna's lawyer (who, I think, was the best casting possible).

I am usually not all fired up to see a movie when I've already read the book it's based on (Harry Potter being the biggest exception), but this time, I can't wait to see it.  Even though Jodi Picoult has given away that the ending is different from the book.   Even if I have to go alone with a big box of tissues.

Read this book.  No matter your favorite genre.  No matter that you don't dig "chick lit".  Read it.  I'll be busy finding all of her other books to read.

I'd also like to mention that Jodi Picoult has a book coming out, I think in 2010 about a young man with Aspergers.  You can read an excerpt on her website here.  Look for "House Rules".

Here is the trailer for the movie:

If they remake this one, I'm protesting!

If you know me, you know that I love me some 80's!   Maybe not the fashions and hair, but definitely the music and the movies!  

I read today that they are remaking "Valley Girl".  Not the movie of the decade by any means, so I'm okay with that.  But, if I ever hear they are remaking The Breakfast Club, I am, quite frankly, going to be pissed.  

I cannot tell you how much I love this movie. It's like the anthem to my youth.  I still listen to the soundtrack. I literally watch it EVERY time I see it on tv.  I've easily watched over 50 times over the last 20 years.  Just a few weeks ago, I watched it with my 12 year old son, and he was hooked!  Mr.B. and I can do 90% of the dialogue perfectly - and throw around quotes from this movie with abandon.

For example:

(While cleaning off a bookcase)

Mr. B.:  Why do you have so much shit?

Me: You never know when you might have to jam.

(Gleeful giggles ensue.) 

(I laughed as well.)

They don't need to remake this movie.  If you haven't watched it lately, watch it (and if you haven't ever seen it, do so immediately, or I'm cutting you right out of the will!).  These characters, these kids, are still relevant today.  You could still see them in a high school.  Maybe their clothes and hair are somewhat dated, but the characters themselves?  Timeless.  

Here's proof:  I found this video on YouTube.  The Breakfast Club done to Fall Out Boy.  All the movie needs is a modern soundtrack, and you could release that sucker today!

So remake Valley Girl.  Remake Drop Dead Fred (with Russell Brand starring, this is one I'll probably see), do a new Transformers,  update Terminator.  I have chosen to politely ignore that they are redoing Footloose, and that Miley Cyrus might end up starring in it.  But don't, pretty please, don't anyone touch The Breakfast Club.

(You'll never, ever, ever find anyone else who can play John Bender.  Ever.)

Go visit Domestic Witch!

Besides the fact that the Domestic Witch blog is just plain awesome, Domestic Witch herself interviewed me for her blog!  How cool do I feel right now?  Pretty darn cool!  

Click here to visit.

Eight Meme

I'm just a posting fool today, lol!

Funsize from Just a Diamond in the Rough tagged me

THE RULES: Mention who tagged you. Complete the list of 8’s. Tag 8 other people.

8 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO:

1. Summer vacation!
2. Going to St. Thomas with Mr. B.!!!!
3. Getting all the work on the house finished
4. Did I mention St. Thomas?
5.  Summer TV: TruBlood, Dexter, Weeds
6. Lazy days, no homework, the pool, the beach, no school!
7. Seeing Mr. B. get through his first college classes
8. July 6th, when we go to St. Thomas!

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:

1. Dropped off my son's lunch money that he forgot.
2. Cleaned house, did several loads of laundry.
3. Picked up tickets to go see Up.
4. Worked on homework with the kids.
5. Made a floppity jillion phone calls for various appointments and such.
6. Drank a half dozen cups of coffee.
7. Played on line.
8. Had a great time at the movies with my family.

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:

1. Make my son's school district do the right thing, just because it's right.
2. Make life easier for my son.
3.  Make my boobs perky again, damn it!
4. Eat all the chocolate I wanted with no negative effects.
5. See far away friends more often.
6. Have more patience.
7. Own a Kindle.
8. Live on a huge plot of land.

8 SHOWS I WATCH:

1. Harper's Island (Oh yes I do!)
2. The Soup
3. Criminal Minds
4. Bones
5. How I Met Your Mother
6. Big Bang Theory
7. TruBlood
8. Dexter

8 FAVORITE FOODS:

1. Anything Tex-Mex or Mexican
2. Homemade Bread
3. Blackened Salmon with Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce
4. Pedro's Special
5. Chilimac
6. Chocolate ice cream
7. banana splits
8. hamburgers

8 PLACES I’D LIKE TO TRAVEL:

1. St. Thomas ;o)
2. Africa
3. Hawaii
4. Iceland
5. Burmuda
6. Antigua
7. Ireland
8. England

8 PEOPLE I’VE TAGGED:

Please feel free to do or not do this as you wish :O)  I know not everyone likes to do memes.  However, I will choose:

1. Dawn from Into the Dawn
2. I'm So Pretty from I'm So Pretty I Fart Fairy Dust
3.  Natalie from A Little of This, A Little of That
4. Ty-Anna from Let's See If This Works
5. Hibiscus Moon 
6. Tavin Orion from Becoming a Witch
7. Judi from Mindmists
8.  Anyone who thinks this looks like fun!

Go see Up! Seriously.

So we went to see Up last night.  We usually wouldn't do the movie thing on a school night, but because we have the cable vision "optimum triple play", we have cards that get us two free tickets on Tuesdays.  Plus, we signed up my in-laws (they never go out to the movies) and use their card - 4 free movie tickets.  With the purchase of one kid's ticket, we payed $5 to get all 5 of us in!  Thankfully, I went early and bought the tickets, because by show time, everything was sold out.  Lots of people taking advantage of free tickets!

The thing that made me craziest?  We went to a later movie, thinking that there would not be so many really young kids there.  We didn't get home until almost 9:30, which is late for my two youngest kids to be out on a school night, and yet there was a couple of women with about 7 kindergarten and younger kids sitting right behind us.  Who never stopped talking/yelling/screaming.  Ugh.  You think maybe they were grumpy because they should have been in bed already??  Come on, people!  It reminded me of when I worked the graveyard shift at a restaurant, and people would bring in kids at 11:30 pm.  Really?  Why would you do that to your kids.  Or to yourself?

But I digress. 

Up was amazing.  It was one of the best kid's movies I've seen since Toy Story.  Better than Nemo.  I won't go so far as to say better than Toy Story, but it's probably a close tie.    The movie has everything you could need: a heartfelt love story, a buddy movie, a Disney-esque two hankie tragedy, a hero, a villain or two (or three), comedy, action, adventure, character growth and a freaking talking dog.   I had to wipe away tears several times (I'm a big crier, but even the random grown man  setting next to me in the crowded theater was wiping his eyes a couple of times).  

There were two parts of this movie that really affected me.  One was the love story between the main character, played by Ed Asner, and his wife, who he met as a child and bonded with over their love of adventuring.  It made me want to give Mr. B. a squeeze (which I couldn't right then, because he and the boys had to get seats in front of Miss M. and I the theater was so packed!). 

The second was the big, dumb dog, Dug.  Dug starts off being an annoyance, but turns out to be a loyal hero.  Best character in the movie.  If you took Tucker and animated him, you would have Dug.  Big, overweight, loving, slobbery, hairy, dumb dog.  You may not know this about my pets, but they all have a "voice" (and no I am not insane, lol).  When I talk for the animals to my kids, they all have a particular voice that I use.  Igby, the rabbit, has a sophisticated English accent.  Tater, who was really sick and raspy when we got her, sounds like Marge's chain-smoking sister from The Simpsons.  You get the idea.  Tucker, well, Tucker's voice sounded just like Dug.  I mean just like Dug.  It was sort of weird.  Miss M. immediately picked up on the fact, and it made her a little sad.  We turned it around by pretending that Dug really was based on Tucker and that he was now a movie star (much like my one-eyed cat, Tiger, was the cat in Coraline, lol).  

Okay, maybe we are insane.

Anyway.....  Multiple thumbs up for Up.  If you have the opportunity, definitely take the kids or the spouse, or a date, or just yourself to go see it.   And take a tissue or two.

UPDATED TO ADD:  I forgot to mention the awesome short at the start of the movie.  Don't show up late!  Also, I found a really great review of this movie here.  If you are undecided in going to see this, read through the comments to the post.

I have a new favorite kid

Okay, I should say, I have a new favorite kid besides mine.  I mentioned the other day that my friend, Mrs. Coffee's son was having surgery for his broken arm, right?   

Well, let me start at the beginning.  Mrs. Coffee and The Lunch Lady are two of my friends.  The great thing about this is, we all get along, we get along with each other's husbands, and our husband's all get along.  How cool is that?  We all have daughters that are the same age who are friends and in the same class.  We live in the same neighborhood and all have kids a little older than the girls, but somewhat close to each other, in steps.  Mr. J, then The Lunch Lady's other daughter, then Mrs. Coffee's son, then my oldest.  And they all get along reasonably well - well enough that we spent a week in the same house on vacation a while back and were still friends afterwards, lol!

So the other day, Mrs. Coffee's son had a little run in with the sidewalk while skateboarding, and, sadly, the sidewalk won this round and he was scheduled for surgery.  The night before, we all got together at The Lunch Lady's house for a cookout, where I said something about the demon spawn child who beat up Mr. J on the bus in February.  Mrs. Coffee's son (we'll just call him Flash for now) overheard it and made a small comment about it, the subject was changed, and we all went about our fun time.

Let me just stop here and say that this is a really good kid.  Super, super smart, sporty, outdoorsy, good looking all-American kid.  I've known him since he started getting the bus in front of my house around the time the girls were in preschool or so - now he's taller than I am ;o)

Well, Flash had his surgery yesterday (2 metal plates and 13 screws!  Yikes!) and all went well.  But his mom told me that when they were prepping him for surgery, and he was all doped up, he was talking about how he was going to have to find that kid that beat up my son for a little retribution.  That it just wasn't right.

Now, I'm certainly not going to advocate any kid from beating up (or scary the crap out of) another kid.  I had to keep my oldest from going after the kid, too.  But to have this young man feel the need to do it... man, that really hits you in the heart.   Anyone who's willing to stand up for one of your kids, well, that person automatically gets some pretty freaking high billing, right?

And that is why I have a new favorite kid (besides mine :O)