Skating

Me- Skating, wow! I like watching skating. I had always wanted to ice skate. My Dad promised me that one day he would take me. He finally did, and it was a lot of fun. I skated with my sister and my Mom's friend. My Dad doesn't really like to skate that much, and my Mom had a bad back. She wants to skate with me next time though. One of my favorite figure skaters is Sasha Cohen. I also love Kristi Yamaguchi. I liked watching her on Dancing With the Stars too. I knew from the first episode she was going to win. That was the only season I was so sure of the winner. I also like Ekaterina Gordeeva. I have always loved her daughters Daria and Elizaveta. I always love every year when Kristi Yamaguchi has the special where the skaters skate with their kids. That is where I always see Daria and Elizaveta. I also like roller blading. I can't wait to go ice skating or roller blading again!

Mom - I love to watch figure skating. I like to go ice skating too. I have only been a few times in my life, but it was one of the few sports I actually enjoyed participating in. My favorite skaters to watch ever have been Michelle Kwan, Brian Boitano, and Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov. There is something so special about these skaters that they really seem to be a level above any other skaters I have ever seen even other champion skaters. Ekaterina Gordeva and Sergei were so beautiful together. I am glad she became a singles skater after he died, and she didn't skate with another partner. It wouldn't be the same. Other skaters I really like include Kristi Yamaguchi and Scott Hamilton. The season when Kristi won on Dancing With the Stars is my favorite ever. She so deserved to win. Scott has the greatest personality. I cannot imagine the skating world without him in it. Current skaters I really like are Meryl Davis and Charlie White. They along with Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto are the greatest ice dancers the U.S. has ever had. I still love figure skating, but I don't watch as much as much as I used to. These days it seems like it has been harder and harder to find skating on network television.

And that's our view. Who is your favorite skater?

Tune in tomorrow for Funny Friday.

Where-To-Go Wednesday - Young Chefs Academy

What - Young Chefs Academy

Where - Various Locations

Who - 3 - 14


Our view: Whether your child is interested in weekly, short term, or even one day cooking classes, this is the place. Colorful kitchens provide a bright setting for kids to learn the basic of cooking. Small classes enhance safety and ensure that everyone has a chance to participate. Mommy and me classes for younger kids are available. Constantly changing recipes ensures that if your child does not like the recipes one week they may like what is being made the next. However, the downside is that if you miss a week, you miss it, and they do not go back to that recipe. You can get a copy of the recipe, however, and try making it at home yourself. Birthday parties packages are also  available. The downside of the birthday party packages is that whether you are having a party with just cupcakes or a sushi party or a Mexican fiesta or whatever all party packages cost the same. Also, you cannot bring your own food in so the only food that you can serve at your party is the food that is made at the party and most party packages do not include a meal and a dessert but only one or the other. For more information or to sign up for classes and/or birthday parties go to youngchefsacademy.com.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for another Talking Topic.

Tips for Tuesday - Apps and Web-Sites: Cookie Dozer and Buzz Back

Me -Today I am recommending Cookie Dozer.  This is a really fun app. You earn treats and sell them to make cookies. There is not very much too it, but it is a lot of fun. I would highly recommend it.

Mom - Today I am recommending Buzz Back where you can earn a wide variety of rewards for your opinion. Rewards range from magazine subscriptions to gift cards to Amazon gift codes to Paypal. Paypal can be redeemed for as little as $15.00. If you prefer, you can have your rewards donated to charity. Participating charities include Special Olympics, Animal Rescue Foundation, Doctors Without Borders and many others. For more information or to sign up go to buzzback.com.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

Things We Love

Me -Things I love, wow ! I love shoes. I love dresses. I love The Wizard of Oz. I love books. I love reading. I love babies. I love frosted sugar cookies. I love amusement  parks. I love roller coasters. I love chocolate. I love Halloween. I love Zoey 101. I love The Amanda Show. I love kittens. I love my mom. I love my dad. I love my sister. I love my grandparents. I love most of my cousins. I love my cat. I love my teddy bear. I love money. I love my birthday. I love cake. I love ice cream. I love purple. I love fashion. I love earrings. I love accents. I love macaroni and cheese. I love omelets. I love pickles. I love sleeping. I love heels. I love school. I love TV. I love my I-pod. I love pink. I love blue. I love my friends. I love my first grade buddy. I love snow. I love spring. I love going on trips. I love staying at hotels. I love sleeping at my grandparents house. I love singing. I love dancing. I love gymnastics. I love eating. I love taking pictures. I love posing. I love basset hounds.  I love blond hair. I love red hair. I love chick flicks. I love chick lit. I love romance. I love music. I love roses. I love tulips. I love most other kinds of flowers. I love the Cosby Show. I love Good Luck Charlie. I love Jessie. I love ANT Farm. I love Austin and Ally. I love See Dad Run. I love Dog With a Blog. I love Dancing With the Stars. I love Four Weddings. I love Victorious. I love I-Carly. I love Balloons. I love this post. I love the computer. I love sparkles. I love writing. I love glitter. I love being happy. I love skirts. I love my typewriter. I love Lab Rats. I love hamsters. I love guinea pigs. I love bunnies. I love lambs. I love long hair. I love short hair. I love my bed. I love hearts. I love Peace signs. I love spelling. I love Idina Menzel. I love Melissa Rauch. I love Arianna Grande. I love Victoria Justice. I love presents, but only if they're for me.

Mom - I love shoes. I love earrings. I love dresses. I love jean jackets. I love ice cream. I love chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies. I love Lindt White Chocolate. I love hot chocolate and white hot chocolate. I love Curly Wurly bars. I love Cinnabon cinnamon buns.  I love tuna fish on a bagel. I love egg salad on a bagel I love lasagna. I love spaghetti and meat sauce. I love macaroni beef and cheese.  I love staying home and taking care of my kids. I love the color purple not the book, movie and/or show but the actual color. I love reading. I love writing. I love traveling. I love going to baseball games. I love going to hockey games. I love watching Figure Skating. I love watching gymnastics. I love watching the Olympics. I love The Big Bang Theory. I love Raising Hope. I love Four Weddings. I used to love Glee, but I don't any more. I love Jeopardy. I love Trivial Pursuit. I love the theater. I love going to shows, and I love being in them. I love going to the movies. I love musical movies. I love romantic movies. I love The Sound of Music. I love Dirty Dancing (the movie I mean).  I love daylight savings when it is light out longer. I love that small amount of time in the fall and the spring when it is not too hot and it is not too cold. I love my computer. I love my mp3. I love my Kindle Fire. I love singing. I love music. I love lazy pajama days. I love vacations. I love museums, but not Art museums. I love getting money, Amazon gift codes and other rewards just for doing surveys and searches and things on the computer. I love winning things. I love organizing things. I love People Magazine. I love TV guide. I love crossword puzzles, cryptoquotes and jumbles. I love blogging. I love animals. I love so many things. However, most of all I love my family especially my husband, my kids, and my cat.

And that's our view. What do you love?

Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.

Funny Friday - Whose Toys Are They Anyway?

Me -

When I was little my favorite doll was Boo from Monsters, Inc. I had one at home and one at my grandmother's house. One day, my Mom told me to clean up my toys. I said "Why is Grandma coming?"

My Mom said "No."

I said "Where is Grandma?"

Mom said "At her house."

"What is she doing?" I asked.

"I don't know." replied my Mom.

"Is she playing with her Boo?" I asked.


Mom-

Aurella was bad and got some of her toys taken away so every time she saw the toys that got taken away she said, "Mommy, I like your toys."


We welcome you to share your funny stories with us.

Tune in Monday for another Talking Topic.

Annie

Me - Annie, wow! When I was in kindergarten,  my Mom took me to see the Broadway show Annie. It was my third Broadway show, but my first Broadway show with  just my Mom. Before that, my Dad had taken me to see Beauty and the Beast. Also, my Mom and Dad and my cousin and I had seen Mary Poppins. We went on Wednesday afternoon so I got to miss school. I was excited about that too. We took the train. It was my first train ride. I sat on my Mom's lap at the show. I liked the show. I liked the music. I used to have the CD, but I don't anymore. When my Mom was young although older than in kindergarten, Annie was one of her favorite shows. I liked it but not as much as she used to. I  have liked all the Broadway shows I have seen equally. I especially love going to see Broadway shows with my Mom. I can't wait to be able to take my own daughters to see Broadway shows.

Mom - When I was young I went through a phase where I was obsessed with the Broadway show, Annie. I loved the story and the music, and I especially loved that it had a lot of girls that were about my age in it. I saw the original show a couple times. Once I even saw Sarah Jessica Parker starring in it. I also saw her as one of the other orphans the first time I saw the show. Of course, all that was when she was a lot younger before she became famous and made a  lot of movies and was on Sex and the City and all. When Melia was in kindergarten I took her to see a revival of the show starring Kathie Lee Gifford as Miss Hannigan. It was the third Broadway show Melia ever saw. Prior to that my husband had taken her to see Beauty and the Beast and we took her and my niece to see Mary Poppins. Since then she has seen lots of Broadway shows some with me, some with my husband and I, and some with my parents. Melia and I try to go to at least one Broadway show or concert every year just the two of us. Now, there is a new revival of Annie on Broadway. I can't wait to take Aurella to it. She and I have never been to a Broadway show alone together. In fact, the only Broadway show she has seen ever seen so far is Godspell. I love sharing Broadway shows with my daughters but I especially love sharing Annie with them because there was a time in my life when it was so special to me.

And that's our view. What special things do you like to do with your family?

Tune in

Tips for Tuesday - Movies: Spy Kids 4 All The Time in the World and Parental Guidance

Me - Today I am recommending Spy Kids 4 All The Time in the World. It was one of my favorite movies. The baby was so cute. I like how they just called her spy baby the whole movie instead of giving her a name. I like that they found a way to put Alexa Vega in the movie even though she is now too old to be a spy kid. The movie was really action packed and exciting and had a great ending. The ending was cute and funny. I suggest you see this movie.

Mom - Today I am recommending Parental Guidance. It is a very funny movie. Even though, I have seen many movies about families and the differences between different generations, this movie definitely puts its unique spin on that scenario. Although there were parts of the movie that were predictable, I enjoyed the fact that it was not totally predictable. Billy Crystal and Bette Midler were definitely both their usual hilarious selves, but the rest of the cast did an admirable job of keeping up with them. Anyway, there is definitely something to be said for any movie that my 19 year old stepson and I both enjoy since we have completely different taste in movies.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

Golden Globes 2013

Me - Golden Globes, wow!  I am so excited. Yesterday was our Blogoversary. We have been doing this blog for two years. We really love it and we love and are grateful for our readers. We decided to celebrate and as a part of that celebration we are doing a post on the Golden Globes. We did our very  first post on the Golden Globes two years ago. This year the Golden Globes were hosted by Amy Pohler and Tina Fey. They were sort of funny, but they could have been funnier. I like when they pretended to be nominees. I think it would have been funnier if they actually pretended they won, but I knew they wouldn't do that. The other presenters were not memorable. None of the outfits people were wearing were every exciting. None of them were really bad though either. I hate it when the hosts always keep changing their outfits. On the whole, it wasn't very exciting, and I hadn't seen most of the shows and movies nominated for awards anyway.


Mom - The Golden Globes are kind of special to us. We started this blog exactly two years ago yesterday on January 20, 2010 with a blog about the Golden Globes. This year's Golden Globes were okay. Amy Pohler and Tina Fey were funny, certainly a lot funnier than Ricky Gervaise. I thought the banter between the presenters was pretty stupid for the most part. It was nice that the awards were kind of spread around and one show or movie didn't win all or most of the awards as happens at many of these awards shows particularly the Emmys. I was glad that Ben Affleck and Argo won awards` because I thought Argo was a really good movie. I haven't actually seen most of the other nominated movies yet. I did see Les Miserables, and I was disappointed. I did not think either Hugh Jackman or Russell Crowe was much of singer. I did not think Hugh Jackman deserved to win an award for his performance. Anne Hathaway was wonderful, however, and very deserving of her award. I actually saw a clip of Hugh Jackman singing in a different show and he sounded much better so maybe it was the fact that they did not pre-record the music for Les Miserables that made it sound as bad as it did. That didn't seem to be a problem for anyone else though because all the other voices (except Russell Crowe's) sounded fine. Of course, aside from who and what actually wins the awards it is fun to see what everyone is wearing. The fashions weren't particularly exciting this year. Nobody wore anything that outrageously bad but nobody really wore anything that really stood out in a good way either. Of course, one of the most interesting parts of the whole show was Jody Foster's speech when she pretty much admitted  what most people have known for a long time the fact that she is a lesbian without actually coming out and saying it. On the while though, the Golden Globes this year was entertaining, but not very memorable.


And that's our view. What do you think were the best movies and TV shows of 2012?

Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.

Saturday Special - Review and Giveaway Reverse Charades

Me - Reverse charades, wow! Reverse charades is an incredibly fun game. To begin with, I love charades. It is fun for different ages. Me, my big brother, my little sister, my mom and  all love it. It is rare to find something that my brother and I both like because we are so different. It is easy to play because you don't have to know anything but how to read. Actually, even if you don't know how to read you can still play. My sister plays, and she is just learning to read. One time when we were playing our team had to be unicorns. We held our forefingers up to our foreheads and just pranced around back and forth around the room. It was so much fun! It is great to play with a team, but we like it so much that sometimes my mom and my sister and I just take turns acting out and guessing words. I would highly recommend this game.

Mom - Reverse charades is a really funny game. It is played by splitting into teams. However, instead of each team guessing the words the other team is acting out, each team guesses the words their own team members act out. Each team member takes a turn being the guesser. The guesser has one minute to guess as many words as they can correctly. Whichever teams guesses the most words is the winner. We were given the Junior edition for review. I like this game because it is simple. You don't need a lot of pieces just a deck of cards with the words to be acted out and a timer. It is a fun game for many ages and both genders. Melia's older brother and younger sister enjoyed it just as much as Melia did. It is fun for kids and adults. I enjoyed it as much as my children did. It is easily adaptable. A child who cannot read can at least help guess the words. You can play for a certain amount of time or you can play a certain number of rounds or you can play until one team reaches a certain number of  points. Also, even if you only have two people you can take turns acting out and guessing words.

There are two main editions the original Reverse Charades and  Reverse Charades Junior. Each is available for $23.99. There are also expansion packs available for $9.99. The game is available for purchase at Barnes and Noble and Learning Express among other places. You can also purchase it directly from the web-site reversecharades.com. To win a copy fill out the rafflecopter below.

Funny Friday - Undressing

Me -

When I was little we were having lunch at Wegmans, my friend took off his shirt. Another friend took off his pants. I started trying to take off my shirt too.

Mom -

After playing downstairs, Aurella came upstairs with a pull-up but no pants on. "Where are your pants? I asked.

"I'm having a no pants day."  she replied.



We welcome you to share your funny stories with us.

Tune in  tomorrow for a Saturday Special with a giveaway.

Hot vs. Cold

Me - When it's hot I like to swim. I like that it's easier to get up because you don't have to worry about being freezing the minute you get out of the blanket.  It's also easy to play because you aren't so cold that you want to stay in bed all day. And you don't have to wear jackets or socks. When it's cold you can keep bundling up to stay warm. You can also eat soup or drink hot chocolate. You can ice skate, or sled. At night you can use a bunch of blankets. So there are good and bad things about cold and hot weather. But I think it's better when the weather is so-so.

Mom - When it's hot, you can go swimming. When it is cold you can ice skate, sled or ski. When it's hot you can sit in the air conditioning or next to or under a fan. When it's cold, you can sit by the heat. When it's hot, it's easier to get up because it's not cold as soon as your feet hit the floor. When it's cold, it's easier to go to sleep. When it's hot, you don't have to worry about jackets and sometimes even shoes. When it's cold  you can keep on piling on more clothes or blankets, but there is only so much you can take off when it is hot.  When it is hot, you can drink ice cold water to cool down. When it is cold you can drink coffee, tea or hot chocolate to warm up. When it is hot you can eat ice cream or ices to cool down. When it is cold, there are so many choices of different things you can eat to warm up. Hot and cold weather do have one thing in common though. It is not good when there is too much of either.

And that is our view. What is your favorite kind of weather?

Tune in tomorrow for Funny Friday.

Where-To-Go Wednesday - American Museum of Natural History

What: American Museum of Natural History

Where: Central Park West at 79th Street
              New York, New York

Who: All ages

Our view: The American Museum of Natural History has something for everyone. It may be best to plan your visit in advance. The museum takes up 4 floors and 45 permanent halls  as well as temporary exhibits and the Rose Center for Earth and Space. Thus, the museum can be quite overwhelming. It is probably not possible to see the entire museum in one visit unless you start very early and stay very long. Some exhibits may be scary for young children even though there are no living creatures in the museum. There are several different tours available including a Night at the Museum Tour. The museum is open every day from 10:00 AM to 5:45 PM except on Christmas and Thanksgiving. General admission tickets are $19.00 for adults, $10.50 for children 2-12, $14.50 for seniors or students with ID. This includes admission to all 45 permanent halls and the Rose Center for Earth  and Space. General admission tickets do not include special exhibitions, space shows and IMAX. General admission plus one includes all 45 permanent halls, the Rose Center for Earth and Space plus one special exhibition, IMAX film or Hayden Planterium show. These tickets cost $25.00 for adults, $14.50 for children 2-12, and $19.00 for seniors and students with ID. Supersavers admission includes access to all exhibits permanent and temporary, the Rose Center for Earth and Space, IMAX films and  the Hayden Planetarium show. These tickets cost $33.00 for adults, $20.50 for children, $16.50 for seniors and students with ID. Admission fees support the museum in both its scientific and educational missions. The General Admission fees are just suggested fees. If you wish to pay less, you can pay at an admission desk at the museum. However,if you want to pay less than the suggested fee for general admission and you want to visit any special exhibitions or see an IMAX movie or the Hayden Planetarium show it will cost you $22 for adults, $12 for children, and $18.00 for senior or student over whatever you choose to pay for general admission. If you buy tickets on-line you will pay the full suggested admissions along with a service charge per ticket.

For more information or to plan your visit go to anmh.org.

Tune in tomorrow for another Talking Topic.

Tips for Tuesday - Books: This Is So Not Happening and Deceptions and A Tangled Web

Me - Today I am recommending, This is So Not Happening by Kieran Scott. It was a great book. It is about a girl, Ally whose boyfriend, Jake allegedly got another girl , Chloe, pregnant. However, Chloe also had a thing for another guy over the summer. Is the baby really Jake's or the other guys? Then, Ally gets a crush on another guy in her drama class. Will she break up with Jake for him? Find out the answers when you read this is So Not Happening.

Mom - Today I am recommending Deceptions and A Tangled Web two books by Judith Michael about twins who decide to temporarily switch lives. These books put a unique spin on the twin switching lives plot by involving adult twins switching lives instead of children, such as in The Parent Trap. One of the twins here has a high powered career and one of them is married and has two kids. The ending is also unique because you always assume that at the end of these books each twin will go back to her own live. However, what if one of them doesn't want to go back to her own life or what if one can't?  What if things just aren't what they seem at all? If you want to find out what really happens, read these books.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

Parades

Me - Parades, wow! I like Parades. This year I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Tournament of Roses Parade.  My favorite part of parades are the floats. I don't really care for the marching bands that much. Frankly, I think they are just kind of loud. Some of them are good though. I liked the Macy's Parade a little better. I like how they have somebody singing on every float. I like that it is usually a famous person singing and not just some nobody. I love the floats in the Tournament of Roses. It is amazing that they make everything out of flowers. It is so beautiful. When I was younger, I was in a Parade. I marched with my Brownie Troop in our local Memorial Day parade. I don't really remember that much about it though because it was a long time ago. I really like parades. I wish could I go to one of the famous ones live that would be really cool!

Mom - I like watching parades. I especially like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Tournament of Roses Parade. My favorite part of parades is the floats. I don't like that in the Thanksgiving parade now every float has to have somebody singing on it. You only hear them singing if you watch the parade on NBC though. NBC has the best coverage. The other channels spend too much time interviewing people and not enough time actually showing the parade. I love that everything on the Tournament of Roses Parade floats is made out of flowers.  They are incredibly creative and really beautiful. I was once in a parade myself. It was for the 200th anniversary of the town where my father had his business. It wasn't a very exciting parade. There were no floats or anything. We walked around with a banner promoting my Dad's business and threw candy to the crowd. It was kind of fun being in a parade though. Melia was also in a parade once. She was in our town's Memorial Day Parade with her Brownie Troop.

And that's our view. What is your favorite parade?

Tune in

Funny Friday - To Fear Or Not to Fear

Me -

When I was little, I said "I'm not afraid of Chicken Elmo because he loves me."

Mom -

When Melia was little, we were in the doctor's office. A person we didn't know sat down next to Melia. "Mommy, I'm afraid of that." she said pointing to the stranger.


We welcome you to share your funny stories with us. T

Tune in Monday for another Talking Topic.

New Year's 2013

Me - New Year's, Wow!  Usually on New Year's, me, my Mom, my Dad, and my sister sleep in the living room. We usually take videos of me and my sister. We watch the ball drop in Times Square on  TV. This year, my Dad's friends and their daughter, Jessica came over. Their daughter is my age. On and off we are friends. Also, another friends of theirs and my Dad's came. They all had dinner over. They all slept over. My brother and his friend were there too. We still watched the ball drop, but we did not take videos of my sister and I. Me, Aurella, and Jessica all put shimmer all over ourselves. It looked really cool, but I didn't like it because it was very hard to get off. We also played Monster High. Later, everyone except my brother and his friend slept in the living room by the fire. They slept in the basement. New Year's was good, but I like our usual New Year's better.

Mom - Most New Year's for us are pretty low key. We stay home and take videos of the kids and watch the New Year's specials on TV. After the ball drops in Times Square, we all sleep by the fireplace in our living room. Last year, we actually went to a New Year's party. This year we had a bunch of people over our house. We all ate dinner and dessert together. After, we played  The Big Bang Theory game. It was kind of hard. I like The Big Bang Theory, and I watch it, but I don't pay enough attention to remember everything about it to be good at the game. The game pieces in The Big Bang Theory game represent characters in the show. I was Bernadette. It felt a little strange to me though since I actually know the actress who plays her on TV. Later, we turned on the TV to watch the New Year's Ball in Times Square make it's descent to signify the start of the New Year here on the East Coast. It is strange to think that for three hours the East Coast and the West Coast are actually in different years. Later, we slept around the fireplace as usual, but our friends slept there as well so instead of four of us around the fire, there was eight we also had my stepson and his friend sleeping in our basement. So now, we are in 2013. There were some good things about 2012, but all in all I am not sorry to see it go.

And that's our view. What are you looking forward to in 2013?

Tune in

Where-To-Go Wednesday

Where-To-Go Wednesday is closed this week..

Tips for Tuesday - Apps and Web-Sites: Temple Run and My Coke Rewards

Me - Today I am recommending Temple Run  which is a free app. It is a really fun game. You are a guy named Guy running away from evil monkeys. You have to jump and duck and collect coins. With the coins you collect, you can go to the store and buy power ups and new characters. Temple Run is a great app, I would highly recommend it.

Mom - Today I am recommending mycokerewards.com where you can earn points by entering the codes on any coke products you buy. It is not as easy to earn things with Coke Rewards as it was to earn music with the Pepsi points program a few years ago. However, they do have some good rewards, such as, gift cards if you accumulate enough points. Also, every once in a while, they will offer a good reward for less points for a small amount of time, such as, $5.00 gift card for less than 500 points. If you are not interested in earning rewards, you can use your points to enter sweepstakes instead. For more information and to sign up for Coke Rewards go to mycokerewards.com.

And that's our view. 

Winter Break

Me - Winter Break, wow! Winter break we did not get nearly as much done as we thought we would. We did have a lot of fun even though my brother was visiting. My brother  and I played Wii together a lot. We also took walks to our local Quik Chek. My Mom and sister and I watched videos and movies and caught up on the stuff on our DVR. We watched the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Years. My sister and I played together a lot over winter break. We also spent a few days at my Grandmother's. We went to Grandparents Day with my grandma. My grandfather didn't come because he had to work. At Grandparents Day, we had lunch. It was good. I had chicken fingers and mozarella sticks. We saw the movie Monsters, Inc. which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I saw the movie a lot of times before but never in the movie theater. Wow, time really does go by fast! I can't believe winter break is over, and I am already back in school.

Mom - So another school break is over. My stepson was visiting. The kids spent a couple days at my Mom's. We had friends over for Christmas and for New Year's Eve and for New Year's Day. My husband and I went to see the movie Les Miserables. We had both seen the Broadway show and loved it. We were not crazy about the movie. For a big musical movie, they ought to get people who can sing better in the leads. The rest of the cast was really good though including Anne Hathaway who will probably win an Oscar for her role of Fantine.   Of course, even when we weren't busy I didn't get nearly as much done as I thought I would or I wanted to. It always seems to be that way. Now, my kids don't have another day off until Spring Break. They usually get Martin Luther King Day in January and President's Day in February. However, this year they have to go to school on both of those days to make up for extra days they had to take off because of Super Storm Sandy. The only days off my kids have for the rest of the year are Spring Break and Memorial Day. I hope we don't have a lot of snow because they don't have any snow days left after the storm. Since it is only the begininning of the winter, it is going to be a very long winter watching and waiting and hoping we don't get any bad snow storms.

And that's our view. How was your Holiday season?

Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.

Saturday Special - Review of Bohemia by Veronika Carnaby

  Bohemia is the story of Valerie Freed. She is very much a free spirit traveling around from place to place with her constantly changing group of friends. She starts out as a dancer in Manchester. She and her best friend Emm move to the U.S. with a couple of their guy friends. Valerie ends up traveling around to various parts of the U.S. trying to find find out what she really wants out of life. It is also very much a story about the world of aspiring artists as Valerie's life is populated by aspiring musicians, dancers and other performers.

Me -Bohemia is not the type of book I would normally read. My favorite character was Valerie's best friend, Emm. I love her name. I like the way all the characters in the book were so go-with-the-flow. No matter what happened they just dealt with it and kept going. I wish I could be more like that in my life. It was hard to follow what was going onin the book at timesthough  because one sentence ran into another. I also didn't like the ending. Even though it wasn't  really a sad ending, it was sad to me that everything was changing for Valerie and her friends. It wouldn't be the same old gang anymore.

Mom - Bohemia reminded me very much of On The Road in that throughout much of the book Valerie really seemed to be wandering around kind of aimlessly with her group of friends. She is an admirable heroine in the way that she is so spontaneous and adaptable to every situation she finds herself in. She is very optimistic and never lets anything that happens in life get her down. I admire her optimism. I  also identify with her in in that she discovers that all she wants to do is write. Ms. Carnaby's writing is very descriptive. However, I think sometimes it is a little too descriptive. Her sentences are a little two long and it is hard to get through them without taking a breath in the middle. Also, I think in some cases a simpler word would work just as well as a big fancy one and  it would be easier for the reader to identify with. I like the development of the character of Valerie throughout the story and the way she goes from more or less drifting through life at the whim of others to knowing exactly what she wants to do with her life if not exactly how she is going to achieve her goals. If you have ever aspired to have the freedom to just take off whenever you wanted and go wherever the spirit moves you or if you like heroines who take everything that life hands them and never let anything get them down, this is the book for you

Bohemia is available in paperback from Barnes and Noble and from Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.


Disclosure: We did not receive any financial compensation for this post. We were provided with a copy of the book by the author for review purposes. The opinions are our own based on our experience reading the book.



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

Funny Friday - Because

Me -

When I was little, I would say that such and such was my favorite whatever and then I would ask if my Mom and Dad knew why it was my favorite whatever. When they asked why I would say "Because it is!"

Mom -

When Melia was little, she liked the movie Elmo in Grouchland. At the end of the movie, Elmo gets his blanket back. "Do you know why Elmo got his blanket back?" she asked Daddy. "Because he wanted it back!"



We welcome you to share your funny stories with us.

Tune in tomorrow for the Saturday Special.

Fish

Me - I have two pet fish. Their names are Wetty and Whitey. I picked them out myself. They are goldfish. I had to get goldfish. My Dad said that tropical fish are too much trouble.  I feed them every night. I once accidentally spilled a lot of their food on the floor. My Mom got mad because she said I was wasting it. My fish are always swimming around together. They swim really fast. My sister had two fish also, but they died. Then, she got two new fish and one of them died so she got one more new fish. Then, they both died. She got two more fish and they died. Now,  she has no fish. My sister's fish swam around slowly. My fish keep my company at night because I don't like to be alone. My Mom is rude. She says that fish can't love people, but my fish love me.*

*The above is guest post by little sister, Aurella as dictated to Mom.


Mom -  When I was growing up, we had both goldfish and tropical fish not in the same tank, of course. Ours never lived that long, and we were always having to replace them. My stepson had a bunch of goldfish that lived for a really long time. He was always changing their names because he could never remember their names from one day to the next. They lived until he and his friend put all these fish his friend brought home from school in the same tank as my stepson's fish. The fish from the school had the fish disease ick and they infected my stepson's fish so they all died. Right now, both my daughters have fish tanks in their rooms. We had a guinea pig that lived in Aurella's room. She was about the sixth guinea pig we had had although most of them we had before the girls were born. When she died, my husband said we would not be getting another guinea pig. Aurella was used to having company in her room, and could not sleep without any so we got her fish. Melia had a bird at the time. However, she decided she would rather have fish too so we got her a fish tank also.  As for myself, even though we had fish when I was young,  I have never been crazy about them. They are pretty to look at, but they are kind of boring. All they do is swim and eat. They are not soft like furry animals. They do not love you like dogs or cats. I mean even a lizard or a snake or a gerbil or guinea pig or any other reptile and/or furry animal, you can at least hold, but not a fish. Therefore, fish do not really interest me at all, neither fish you can own nor fish you can eat.

And that's our view.What is your favorite kind of fish?

Tune in tomorrow for Funny Friday.

Where-To-Go Wednesday

Where-To-Go Wednesday is closed this week.

Tips for Tuesday -Misc.: The Tournament of Roses Parade

Me - Today I am recommending the Tournament of Roses Parade. It is a cute parade where all the floats are made from roses. It is really cool. Some of the floats don't even look like they were made from roses but they all are. It is on every year on New Years's Day. So, next year, you should watch it.

Mom - Today I am also recommending the Tournament of Roses Parade. I watched it this time for the first time in a bunch of years and really enjoyed it. I especially love the floats. They are so beautiful with everything all made out of roses. It is so much fun to see how creative people can be with flowers. Since the parade is only on once a year on New Year's Day, it is too late to catch it this year unless you can find it some place on-line, but I would definitely recommend it for next year.

And that's our view.