Writing

Me - Writing, wow! I love to write. Writing is fun. The only thing that could make writing more fun is if you could just talk and the computer would type the story out for you, and you didn't have to type anything youself. I try to write a story every day.  I am now writing a story called Meet Daisy Dewdrop. It is a chapter book about a fairy and her five friends. If I finish this book and I think it is good, I may write a few more or at least write a sequel. I like to write fiction better than nonfiction. I don't like to write nonfiction. I only write nonfiction sometimes, for instance, for this blog. For another instance, I like to write things about animals and people. However, I don't write history nonfiction like about the Holocaust or  the Titanic because I don't like things where people die. It is really fun to write. Although, I don't want to make a living off writing, I hope to continue doing it even when I am older and  I hope to pass on my love for it to my children and enjoy writing with them like I do with my Mom.

Mom - For as long as I can remember, I have loved to write. I love putting words together and making them say exactly what you want them to say. When I was younger, back in the days before everybody had a personal computer, I actually got a typewriter for one of my birthdays. I was so excited because I couldn't wait to write stories on it. However, I never really did that because much as I love to write, I hate to type. When I was older I did write stories, both short stories and longer chapter ones. However, even the long ones were not too long. I never wrote anything that I couldn't read back myself in a day. I would write out stories in longhand, revise them in longhand  and only type them on the computer to print out. Unfortunately, even with computers you still have to type, but I had to do a lot of typing anyway when I worked as a paralegal and it is easier to edit and revise things on computer than it was on a typewriter so I got used to it. I am still not crazy about typing, but I don't mind it as much. After college, I did a lot of writing, but than I got married and had kids and I pretty much stopped. Two things happened that made me start to write again, first of all, a friend of mine started a blog. I had always been fascinated by blogging especially after seeing the movie Julie and Julia. I thought it was something I could and would want to do. When my friend started her blog, it gave me the confidence that I could do it too. I was also inspired by my daughter who loves to write. For a while, she was writing a story every day. Seeing how happy writing made her made me remember how much I loved it as well and made me want to go back to it. So now, I blog. I have this blog which is nonfiction and another blog, Stories for Dora, with stories hich is a blog of fiction stories for my younger daughter. I haven't been keeping up the latter as much but I am hoping to change that and get back to writing a new story for my daughter once a week. In any case, blogging has renewed my love for writing, and my motivation to do it, and I hope to keep motivated and keep writing for a long time to come.

And that's all for now. Tune in Friday for another topic.

The Sound of Music

Me - The Sound of Music, wow! The Sound of Music is my favorite movie. Gretyl is my favorite character because she is very very cute. I know very many facts about the movie because my Mom was reading a book by Charmian Carr who plays Liesel. She kept telling me everything in the book even though I eventually am going to read it myself. I would love to read all the other books that my Mom has read about The Sound of Music too. Also, since every five years they put out a new edition on DVD, there is a big long list of bonus features and even though my Mom says it would take a long time to go through them all, I would stilll like too. I love all the songs in the movie but if I had to pick favorites my first would be So Long Farewell. Mom has always told me that was always her favorite song when she was younger too. My second would be Doe Re Mi. Mom, Dad, Aurellla and I always enjoy singing Doe Re Mi out loud in the car. My third favorite song would be The Lonely Goatherd which I find a very very fun song to sing. The movie came out in movie theaters when my Mom was born. It played until my mother was five when she saw it for the first time. I have learned new interesting facts from my mother talking about it as we wrote this blog post so I really can't wait to watch the movie again.

Mom - As I believe, I have previously mentioned, The Sound of Music is my favorite movie of all time. It was also the first movie I ever saw. My grandmother took me when I was five years old. Of course, at that age, I didn't understand everything about the movie. I thought the Nazis were people who didn't like children. However, I loved the characters in the movie especially the children especially Gretyl because she was the same age as me. I loved the music and still do, and I loved the beautiful scenery. The older I get and the more movies I have seen, the more I continue to love The Sound Of Music and it continues to be my favorite movie. The extras on the DVD of The Sound of Music, I believe I have the 35th anniversary one or something every five years they seem to come out with another special anniversary edition, are the most interesting of any DVD I have owned. It took me literally hours and hours to go through them but it was all so fascinating. Because of my love for The Sound of Music, I have also read a lot of books related to it. I read both books about The Trapp Family Singers, the actual family the story was based on. Their story was really very different than the story portrayed in the movie in so many ways. I read the autobiography of the real eldest daughter of the Trapp Family whose name was Agathe not Liesel. I read the autobiography of the actress who played Liesel on film, Charmian Carr. That book was filled with so many interesting facts about the making of the movie that I can't wait to watch it again. I still would like to read Maria Von Trapp's autobiography from later in her life and another book or two regarding the making of the movie. When I love something I really love it, and I want to know everything about it and that's the way it is for me with The Sound of Music.

And that's our view. Tune in Monday for another topic.

Thanksgiving

Me - Thanksgiving, wow! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Every year on thanksgiving, my mom, dad, sister and I go to my grandparents house for Thanksgiving. It's always fun because I get to play with my cousins. In honor of Thanksgiving here is a list of some of the things I am grateful for: I am grateful for the inventor of Full House. I am grateful for babies. I am grateful for toys. I am grateful for computers. I am grateful for TVs. I am grateful for books. I am grateful for libraries. Last and best and certainly not least my wonderful family.

Mom - Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday. I don't mind the family gathering although the larger the family has gotten the noiser and crazier it can be. However, I hate all the traditional holiday foods. I don't like Turkey, or stuffing, or cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie. Thankfully, we spend our holidays at my Mom's where  there are also alternatives to the traditional food available and where ice cream cake is more a part of the holiday than pumpkin pie. Other things I am grateful for this holiday, the love support and companionship of my family, my husband and kids as well as the extended family. I am grateful to be in relatively good health and that my husband, kids and extended family members are as well. I am thankful to have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in. I am thankful that I don't have to drive my kids to school anymore especially heading into the winter. I am thankful that we will soon be getting rid of our crappy DVR. I am thankful for the Amazon Kindle Fire or at least I hope to be soon.

And that's our view. Happy Thanksgiving! Tune in Friday for another topic.

Fiction vs. Nonfiction

Me- Nonfiction, Wow! Do I hate it! Fiction, wow! Do  I love it! I'm really not that fond of nonfiction. I am superduper fond of fiction. Nonfiction is not that interesting to me. Fiction is very interesting to me. They are complete opposites to me. I do like some nonfiction. I like nonfiction about animals. Also, I like books about the Mets and Yankees. I don't like books about Presidents and other famous people. I don't read autobigraphies or biographies. However, I like fiction books about sports , fictional famous people, animals, fictional kids, fictional families, etc.

Mom - I like both fiction and nonfiction. I like all kinds of fiction as I may have previously mentioned. I like mysteries, bestsellers, short stories, and chick lit among others. However, I also like nonfiction. I like books about subjects that interest me such as baseball especially books about the Mets or Yankees and most especially books about David Cone. I look in the index, and if there is anything about David Cone in the book I usually get it. I like books about Broadway and books about figureskating and figure skaters. I like books about people who interest me like Princess Grace and Anne Frank. I like books that countdown a particular subject I am interested in like The 50 Greatest Moments in New York Sports ot 101 Greatest Musicals of All Time.I don't like all nonfiction books. I don't like how-to books or religious books or philosophy books. I don't like books about art or history unless they are talking about baseball history or something specific that does interest me. I don't like all fiction books either. I don't like western books, I don't like most science fiction although I do like some, for instance, I like the Harry Potter books. I don't like fantasy. For the most part, I don't like horror in books or in movies. I generally don't like Harlequin type romance books. So over all, for me it is not important whether a book is fiction or nonfiction, it just depends on the specific book.

And that's our view. Tune in Monday for another topic.

The Big Bang Theory

Me -  The Big Bang Theory, wow! Do you like The Big Bang Theory? Let me answer that for you, yes you do if you don't your missing a good show. My parents friend, Melissa Rauch plays Bernadette on the  show. She plays Howard's fiancee although at first she was only supposed to be on one episode. She was on more and more and now she's a regular. She is so funny. In one episode, she had gotten mad at Raj and been screaming at him, and he asked if she thought he had a chance with Penny. She yelled, "Of course, you do! Anyone would be lucky to have you, you're a cutie pie! There have been pictures of Melissa and articles in the TV Guide. I have an autographed note to me from her on the bulletin board in my room. I would like to go California for a few reasons. I would like to meet family I have there. However, most of all I would like to meet Melissa in person. Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon, is so hliarious. The other characters are funny too, but I have to say he isone of my favorites. I love the way he goes to Penny's door and keeps knocking and saying "Penny. Penny. Penny." All in all, it's a really funny show.

Mom - When The Big Bang Theory first went on, it sounded kind of stupid to me, and I didn't really watch it. I started watching when a friend of ours, Melissa Rauch, was cast in one episode as Bernadette, Howard's girlfriend. Well, she was in another episode and than another episode and before you know it she became a regular (and believe me it couldn't happen to a nicer girl). So I kept watching and watching, and I realized it was not stupid at all. It is actually a very smart show, and it is hilarious. Jim Parsons is very deserving of those Emmy's he won for his portrayl of Sheldon. His character is so totally unlike any other character on television and totally hilarious. The whole cast is really funny. I have never seen an episode that wasn't enjoyable. It was one of the few shows I actually look forward to seeing every week and don't just watch it out of habit.

And that's our view.  Tune in Friday for anothor topic.

Animals We Like and Animals We Don't

Me - Animals, wow! One of my very favorite animals in the world is a cat. I also like birds, bunnies, hamsters, guinea pigs, dogs, and horses. I went horseback riding in camp. I found it very boring. I still like horses just not as much riding. Bunnies are very cute. I love their little round fluffy tails. Birds I don't always like, but my bird is the sweetest thing. She has a great personality. When my friend came to my house, she barely wanted to leave my bird's cage. I hate ferrets and rats. They really creep me out. Fish to me are boring. All they do is swim around, eat and die very soon. You can't play with them or cuddle. If you take them out of the water, they'll die. Other, little animals can be cuddled. I don't like bats because they scare me. I hate reptiles except for frogs and salamanders which I find very cute. As you can see I love a lot of different kinds of animals, and if I had to pick a favorite, I couldn't.

Mom -  I like most of kinds of little furry animals: cats,  rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils etc. and I have had most of them at one time or another.I like dogs, big and small as long as they are friendly. I used to like horses and rode them when I was young, but when I got a little older, I fell off a couple of times and since than I haven't like them as much. I don't mind mice, as long as they are not crawling around in my house. I don't like rats. I don't know why they just freak me out. I don't like reptiles especially snakes. I don't like fish. Sometimes, they are pretty to look at, but they are boring. All they do is swim, eat and die. I like some birds like the bird my daughter has now. I do not like others like the ones my daughter and my stepson used to have which were noisy and messy. I don't like bats which also freak me out. I don't like sharks but I like dolphins and porpoises. I like most of the animals in the zoo. Over all, I like more animals than I dislike but there are just some that just creep me out.

And that's our view. Tune in Monday for another topic.

Reality TV

Me - Reality TV, wow! I don't like watching reality TV. However, I watch Dancing With the Stars and The Glee Project. I don't like other competition shows like America's Got Talent because I feel bad for the losers. However, on Dancing With the Stars, they are already dancers, or famous for like singing or something so I don't feel bad because if they don't win they can just go back to their normal jobs and still be famous. I watch The Glee Project because even though I feel bad for the losers, they don't really make a big deal about it. They just show them losing and then that's the end of the show. Since, I watch Glee, I like to know who the people on it are. If I did not watch The Glee Project, I would not know where these new people were coming from. I don't watch shows like The Real Housewives because it annoys me they way they make shows about rich people.Why do people want to watch shows about rich people's boring stupid lives when other people have worse problems? Anyway, those shows are boring.

Mom - I am not a big fan of reality TV. I don't like to watch shows about rich people's lives when so many of us are struggling just to get by even if it is comforting to know that, at least acccording to TV, most of those people's lives are actually train wrecks. The fact that in all these seasons, there has been like one bachelor/bachlorette relationship that has actually led to a long successful relationship that includes marriage and children tells you something about how easy it is to find love on a TV show. Therefore, I don't care to waste my time watching shows like that. I don't like shows where they are trying to put one over on people or make fun of people. I don't like talent competition shows like American Idol and America's Got Talent because no matter how awful and untalented people may be and no matter that they made the decision to put themselves out there themselves, I always feel sorry for the losers. The only two reality shows I really like and watch are The Glee Project and Dancing With the Stars. I like The Glee Project because since I watch the show, and I will have to watch the winners appear on the show, it matters to me who wins. I also like it because people do not vote on the outcome, it is decided by the producers and writers and people who actually are the creators and producers of Glee. I like Dancing With the Stars because every person who appears on the show is either a professional dancer or is famous or infamous for something else besides being on Dancing With the Stars. So, I feel like they can always go back to doing whatever it was they were doing before if they don't win so I don't feel bad for them. If they don't have anything to go back to then they already had their 15 minutes of fame extended anyway so that is good enough. Besides, I don't think winning or not winning Dancing With the Stars is a life changing experience for somebody who was already famous to begin with like winning something like Americal Idol is for somebody that wasn't. My daughters and I also love Dancing With the Stars because we love to critique it. We give a thumbs up or thumbs down to every outfit, dance and musical selection. That is our favorite part of watching the show. I wouldn't feel as good doing these things about people who weren't famous already because even when people readily put themselves out on the line to be made fun of, I  would still feel bad about doing it.

And, that's our view. Tune in Friday for another topic.