( I love a library full of real books)

This week, the Word Press weekly writing challenge asked that I vote for my preference: e-books or paperbacks. Then I could  write a blog post about why I voted as I did.

I found it hard to vote because the poll wouldn’t let me choose both options. I imagine I am not unlike many readers of today – I love the convenience of my Kindle but I wouldn’t give up books I can hold in my hands without a fight. In the end I chose the paperback option because if I were forced to give up one or the other, I know which one it would be.

I have found that some situations lend themselves to the convenience of my Kindle. I grab it whenever I leave the house. It’s great for those inevitable waiting times because it allows access to a wide variety of reading options. A forty-five-minute wait at the doctor’s office is different from a five-minute wait at the bus stop – or say an overnight wait to get your soon-to-be five-year old signed up for Kindergarten in your catchment area (I kid you not – my daughter and son-in-law just went through this – it’s a crazy world).

I have read books on my Kindle that were every bit as engaging and gripping as books I held in my hands to read. I have forgotten I was using an e-reader and have actually reached forward with one hand to try to turn a page rather than just click the page turn button.

My Kindle has expanded my book reading choices. In the past I wouldn’t have put out the cash to take a chance on certain books. For 99 cents to maybe $2.99 and the instant gratification of whisper-net technology, I’m quite willing to try out something new. And that’s a good thing, especially for a writer. I’m all for broadening horizons.

Why do I still believe that when I settle into the recliner with a fresh cup of coffee or a glass of wine, I need to hold a real book in my hands? Or that cuddling into bed at night to read would not work with my Kindle?

It may be an old fashion idea related to value. Many traditionally published novels are expensive when purchased for an e-reader ( expensive compared to so much that is available in e-format, but still not as expensive as buying a hardcover.) Why would I go out and spend $20.00 to $35.00 for a hardcover and feel that has more value than spending $18.00 for the Kindle version? It’s a good question and the only answer I can come up with is that with a hardcover, I hold something tangible in my hands. It has weight and it takes up space, ultimately gathering dust on a shelf somewhere in my home. I could pass it on to my husband to read or lend it to a friend. The former would not touch the Kindle to save his soul, but in the case of lending a book to a friend, I would so rarely do this voluntarily that it makes a thin argument.

It might have to do with being a book hoarder. (Which, by the way, might explain my reluctance to lend.) Seeing all the books on the shelf is a visible sign of successful hoarding and gives me a guilty ping of pleasure.

Maybe it is the inherent distrust that a fifty-plus-year old has about electronic gadgetry. What if the Kindle breaks down? I do know that all my purchases are safe with Amazon. It’s just too bad that knowing with the rational brain and believing are two radically different things.

And then there is the issue of upgrading. I’ve never felt the urge to upgrade a book. I am now on my fifth laptop in less than ten years and I have to admit, all the old ones still work. I didn’t upgrade due to system failure – I wanted the new and improved model. I purchased my Kindle two years ago. There are much nicer ones on the market now. Thus is the nature of electronic wizardry.

I suppose I should acknowledge all the trees that could be saved if everyone read e-books instead of the paper and ink kind. It’s a valid issue, but what about the amount of energy that is needed to supply the mainframes and servers of the worldwide web so that e-books can exist and fly through cyberspace to our readers? Surely we should consider that as well. But, like many issues, nothing is black or white. With online purchasing there is no need to build and maintain large stores that consume energy resources, while of course employing real people. I’m starting to make my own head spin by going back and forth so many times.

When all is said and done – here I sit – spanning two worlds of the written word – one foot firmly planted in the old world of print media and the other tip-toeing through the new world of electronic books. And the truth is this – I don’t want to move either foot.

-People who are dying of poverty, sickness, war, torture, etc…around the whole.
-People who are struggling with trying to find a job to make money for their families.
-Those people who don’t have clothes, or those who have to share a two bedroom apartment with another family, illegally.
-People or children who don’t have the blessing of having parents or a family.
-That one kid who doesn’t know if he should be a male or a female. JK #21stCenturyProblems

This my new wallpaper on my phone. IDK

So, as you can see, you should not have pity for people like me LOL. I do have everything, except for the capability to cope with my emotions at times, and I proved to myself that I lack the willpower to not post about the bit of frustration everyone goes through. Alas, I have learned my lesson. Oh, btw if you emailed me, thanks so much! Ill get back to you soon. I love getting emails. They are bloody brilliant.

-eva626

1. 22 weeks! I'm sure all the pregnancy updates are tiresome for most people, but it's a big deal for me and thus currently occupies a great deal of my mental RAM.

I had an OB appointment yesterday and heard the heartbeat for the first time! The ultrasound technician at this doctor doesn't approve of using the u/s machine to play the heartbeat, especially not early in a pregnancy, so I hadn't heard it before. Tindömiel was her (increasingly usual) contrary self, and kicked the doppler probe. Twice.

But she's very active, and to all appearances perfectly healthy, so OB and I are quite pleased.

One new development was that I may discontinue the injections – not because my progesterone levels are at an approved level, but because the cumulative irritation of the injections has resulted in hard little lumps at the injection site. So my other progesterone supplement has been doubled instead. Bleh. I strongly suspect I don't need the supplements past the 14 week point – all of my miscarriages occur around 9 weeks, whether I find out about it then or not – but I've promised Himself to be (reasonably) good and not scar my OB for the remainder of her professional life.

2. Tindomiel, at not yet 22 weeks, can kick my iPad off my stomach while I'm lying in bed!

3. GeekBaby has taken to a new form of emotional manipulation, and it's actually taken me a week or two to catch on to him! Whenever he's in a particularly punkish and uncooperative mood and gets called out for it, he responds very sadly “I'm just worried about Tindömiel dying.”

Now, he's certainly old enough to be aware of, and has always been very sad about my last two miscarriages. This is why I took him seriously… until earlier this week, when I caught a surreptitious “did they buy it?” look on his face.

I'm on to him now. But between the two of them, I think I'm gonna be in some serious trouble.

4. I gained a bunch of weight in the last month. I'm trying not to be overly glum about it, but at week 18 I'd only gained about 7 pounds. And that included all my Christmas indulgence… which honestly wasn't that much since I have developed a general aversion to sweets this time 'round. But I gained another 7-8 this month, and I was hoping to get through this pregnancy without the excessive weight gain. I gained 50 pounds with GeekBaby, and I only lost 30. Granted, the remaining 20 got shifted around a bit – one does not lug around a 9 pound, rapidly growing newborn without some muscle development – but I never did fit back into my prepregnancy pants. And while I'm not terribly concerned with the weight/number/pants size aspect of things, I do feel that if the trend continues, I'm going to be rapidly approaching /unhealthy/ territory.

Okay, let's be rational. She's going to be a 9ish pound baby. Add another 6 pounds for increased uterine size, amniotic fluid, and placenta (on the high end, but probably reasonable given her size). Another 10 pounds for increased breast tissue, maternal blood supply, and edema. That's already 25 pounds. Self, just quit worrying and this time don't self medicate the heartburn with ice cream.

5. This is not why I jogged to catch the bus yesterday after my OB appointment. I jogged because I didn't want to hang around in downtown Houston for 30 more minutes waiting for the next bus. The bus driver wisely saw me as I am – an irritable, pregnant juggernaut of doom… and waited. Possibly she feared I would only continue chasing her, down the HOV lane if necessary, and that, eventually, I would catch her.

6. I am starting to get the “are you sure it's not twins?” remarks. These make me really sad. But not because I'm upset about how my belly has just exploded in size over the last four weeks. Early on, once I'd started my injections and the pregnancy seemed to be going smoothly, I really hoped it was twins. You know, to make up, just a little, for the childbearing years the locust has eaten. We've been married for nine years… I had rather anticipated having half a dozen kids by now.

Twin girls were my preference (not Himself's*) because I had two excellent girls names lined up, begging to be bestowed. But she's not twins… and so the question makes me a little sad in unexpected ways.

Relatedly, I cannot wait for someone to stick a foot past their uvula and say how nice it must be to be 'done' now that we have a boy and a girl. I have a truly excellent (yet gentle and charitable!) mental realignment procedure waiting for them.

7. Oh, this is funny. OB was flipping bemusedly through my chart, then asked if I ever had that early glucose screen done. And I said, yes, I had it done with my last progesterone draw, and showed her where the result was in my chart. I knew where it was because I hadn't heard the results at my last ultrasound, so the tech and I flipped through the chart until we found it. (I was dying of thwarted curiosity.) Turns out it got printed out as one insignificant looking line underneath the progesterone results – it wasn't at all obvious.

…Despite my brilliantly healthy glucose screen, she's going to make me do it again at 28 weeks. Possibly out of revenge for my chart shenanigans.

Bonus Take! GeekBaby just invited Curious George to go shoot with him. When that parent/teacher conference comes up, I'm blaming Jane Austen.

* Himself maintains he cannot possibly acquire enough guns in time to prepare for twin daughters.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

That’s right today is my wonderful, amazing, beautiful, king, caring, mother’s birthday! What do I give the most important woman in my life? I publish a book about her dog, written and illustrated by me! That’s right I can draw…or so my mom apparently thinks. This started out as a private gift to her. I knitted her a dragon and wrote and illustrated a children’s book for her. Then she loved it so much I did the same thing for this Christmas–except this time it was a frog.  Since the first book was created she has been bugging me non-stop to publish it. So for her birthday I did it and now I am here to share it with you. I’ve never written a children’s book but when I read it to my six year old sister-in-law she went bonkers for it. She pounced around the house singing “Skippy Von Flippy, Skippy Von Flippy”. I figured that was a sign that I should actually do it. After much sweat and cursing I figured out how to get it into paperback and after more cursing onto e-book.

The paperback is only available from Amazon for $7.99, but the e-book is available on Kindle, Nook and Kobo for only $.99.

Paperback ~~ Kindle ~~ Nook ~~ Kobo

Join the rough, tough, Skippy pup as he goes adventures and meets new friends. First, Skippy will learn that not everything appears as it seems when you meet new people and will make a new friend in the process. Then Skippy continues his rambunctious journey as a wonder dog and learns to share his toys with others and not place blame so quickly.

Like Skippy? Show him some love on his Facebook page HERE!

Speaking of Facebook, you see that over there on the right hand side of the page? Yes! It says I have an author page on Facebook! Is it worth while? Will it increase sales? We shall see, in the mean time I’d be thrilled if you liked it!

Related articles

• REVIEW: Buttons: The Sneaky Little Kitten (forthosewholovebooks.wordpress.com)
• Inspire the Kids in Your Life! (4writersandreaders.com)

Courtesy: PBS Kids

PBS Kids debuts a brand new episode of Curious George next Monday, February, 4^th.  The new episode includes two brand new shorts that teach some very valuable lessons about different kinds of safety.  The first of the two new shorts in Monday’s new episode teaches about pet care and pet safety in “Where’s The Firedog?”  The second of the new shorts couldn’t come at a better time as we enter the homestretch of Winter and the annual flu season.  “Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye” re-introduces the blues-singing germ, Toots.  It teaches young viewers about health safety and ways to keep from spreading germs and especially germs that can cause colds and the flu.

The first half of Monday’s new episodes introduces two brand new friends to George.  He meets Blaze the firehouse dog and his fellow probationary, Sam.  One of Sam’s tests to pass is to keep Blaze from running away, as that’s the biggest problem that Blaze has; he likes to run off, causing Sam to have to chase him.  Eventually it leads Blaze to be caught by the dogcatcher and sent to the local animal shelter.  This is where kids and parents can learn a valuable lesson together.  Sam and George pick up Blaze and in order to keep him from being caught again, they take him to the local pet shop to get a leash and his very own collar and dog tag.  The tag has Blaze’s name, Sam’s name and all the information to the firehouse including phone number.  This is a very important lesson to teach young viewers; especially young viewers who might be first time pet owners.  An equally valuable lesson taught is that some dogs do better with others.  In the end, it turns out that it was Blaze wanting to connect with another dog that was leading him to run out.  So instead of one dog, the firehouse welcomed two dogs.  And thanks to that, not only did Blaze stay at the firehouse, but Sam also become a full fledged firefighter.

In short, the first half of this episode teaches younger viewers the importance of being a responsible pet owner.  Pet owners have to keep track of their pets to keep their pets safe and keep them from being taken to a shelter.  The weather across the country will be turning warmer in the next couple of months.  So what better time than before the weather gets warm to teach potential new pet owners about being responsible and keeping their pets safe and keeping track of them?

The second half of Monday’s new episode is equally well timed, as the nation is coming down the home stretch of Winter and its associated flu season.  When the man in the yellow hate comes down with the flu, George tries to help him get better.  When George nearly eats from the same spoon that the man had just used, George learns about how germs spread and how to keep them from spreading.  Along the way, there’s a dream sequence that leads George to chase down an old foe named Toots.  Toots is a germ whose only goal is to make everyone sick.  George has to stop Toots from infecting everybody around the man.  Kids learn two very important ways to prevent the spread of germs in this short.  One is obvious.  The other one is more subtle.  The more obvious way in which George learns to keep germs from spreading is through washing his hands.  The other way is more subtle.  As the doctor comes to visit the man in the yellow hat, he sneezes.  Rather than sneezing into his hands, the man sneezes into his sleeve.  This is the more commonly used manner to keep germs from spreading if one doesn’t have a tissue immediately at hand.  As subtle as it is, this is in itself just as important for young viewers to learn, so that they can help prevent the spread of germs both at home and at school.

The lessons taught in both halves of Monday’s new episode teach some very important lessons to viewers.  They’re lessons that offer excellent opportunities for both parents and teachers to use as discussion points with children.  Given they cover different topics.  But there is one theme that runs through both episodes.  That central theme is responsibility.  Responsible pet ownership keeps pets safe.  And responsible personal hygiene care keeps a person and everyone around said person safe and healthy.  It makes for one more wonderful reason for kids and their parents and even teachers to sit down and check out Monday’s new episode of Curious George.  Viewers should check their local listings for exact air times for Monday’s new episode.  And to keep up with all the latest from Curious George and other PBS Kids shows, parents and kids can “Like” the PBS Kids Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/PBSKIDS.

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Why doesn’t George have a tail? Did he lose in a traumatic jungle event involving zebras and those plastic soda can things? Or did Hans just run out of ink?

As I reader, I often stop and  wonder about plot twists and character traits, and yes, what it or isn’t on the end of the monkey, and analyze whether it all fits together as nicely and neatly as it should. The fact is, it doesn’t always. And yet, I still keep reading the story so I guess things don’t always have to be perfect. After all, despite Curious George’s very obvious, and yet totally unexplained missing body part, he is without a doubt the most popular monkey on the planet.

I was on a phone call yesterday and once I busted at the seams about how good I am about not drinking DC anymore, my friend told me she read/heard somewhere that there’s little validity to the 21 day habit breaking thing.

For me, deliberately not doing something for that length of time worked.  And it worked well.

Time to file that bit of whatever into the ether.  lalalalalalalalala

E3 is home today, she grabs her spoon and heads upstairs. I follow after her with a box of Crunchy Nut cereal, and a bowl of milk. She waits impatiently while I fire up my laptop, and then we get down to the business of her breakfast. She gets through quickly, her mind on the game she wants to play.

There are two choices, Big City Adventure London, or Big City Adventure Paris. She opts for London, and away we go. She is the one who wants to play the hidden object game, but she needs some help, especially as she can’t read, and doesn’t know which items to look for. We end up playing it together, she’s learning new words as we go along, and having fun too.

I think she’s spent long enough staring at the laptop screen, so it’s telly time. On the menu today, Timmy Time, Curious George and Dora the Explorer. We go downstairs, I tuck her in under a comforter on the sofa, put on the first of the trio, then come back upstairs.

I go get some peach and passion fruit yoghurt, and top it up with Simply Nutty Muesli. Breakfast sorted.

I call Eddie, he’s been suggested to me as a possible future supplier of raw shea butter. I use shea butter for my heels and for our hair, and have almost run out. Eddie doesn’t know how much the shea butter weighs but will call Ghana to find out. He offers to send me a sample so I can assess the quality. I text him my address.

I do some research on a joint project Nkem and I are considering, and send her my findings.

In between I go up and down the stairs to attend to E3’s viewing requirements. I tell her to turn off the telly after Dora and come upstairs.

I stop by Twitter. There is a storm raging. Someone tweeted an offensive joke, someone else retweeted it, and everyone is clamouring for the head of the retweeter. I like Twitter when it’s fun. This is not fun, and I have no opinion one way or the other so I exit quickly.

I haven’t spoken to Maryam in a while, so I call her, and we catch up. I hear E3 singing ‘Chuck my money….I don’t care’ as she comes up the stairs. She interrupts our conversation constantly and Maryam threatens to come round with a koboko. The word thrills her and she grins excitedly as she says she wants aunty to visit her with kokobo in tow. Maryam and I laugh over our koboko-filled childhoods. We are thankful our children will never have to go through that.

Conversation over, E3 and I talk about everything and nothing, whilst I play Facebook Scrabble. My name is Joxy, I am a Scrabble addict.

‘I’ve finished!’ rings out E3′s voice from the bathroom. ‘What did you do?’ I call out. ‘One poopoo and three wee wees’ she replies. I head there to help clean up.

Something is niggling me about Tok’s status update, so I whatsapp her. The conversation goes on for a while and I am struggling to keep my eyes open. ‘E3, do you want to take a nap with mama?’ I ask . ‘Yes, let’s nap’ she replies.

I call T at work to say hello, and to tell him I am about to sleep. He’s busy so doesn’t stay talking for long, which suits me. I am that sleepy.

It’s about 1.30pm, I set my alarm for 30 minutes, cuddle up with E3, and go to sleep. I sleep with the phone ringer on, my girls are at school, I need to be reachable.

My phone rings at 1.32. It’s PJ, who asks if I was sleeping. I reply in the affirmative, and she carries on with her purpose for calling, regardless. We conclude, I go back to sleep.

My phone rings at 1.56. It’s Hina, my friendly neighbour, who apologises for waking me, and wants to know if we have electricity. I turn over, squint at the clock and see its red digital display. I reply that we do, reset my alarm, and go back to sleep.

My phone rings at 2.14. It’s PJ again. She’s sorry for waking me up, but she needs a decision  about the ATP tickets right away. I give her my decision, and go back to sleep.

My phone rings at 2.21. It is PJ. She has decided not to buy the tickets, and she explains why. I am awake by the time she says goodbye. 

I call Hina to find out how far with NEPA PCHN her power company, and she says she’ll be round to borrow matches. I throw on clothes and go downstairs to the kitchen. T made a salad yesterday. He makes great salads. I am having that for lunch, there is a dress I want to fit into. I haven’t bought it yet, but I want to be able to fit into it when I do.

I put noodles on for E3, and hear Hina at the door. She’s brought me some crushed garlic, and crushed ginger too. I ask her to come stay with us if she needs to, and she leaves.

I eat my salad with loads of extra olives. I love olives. Green olives.

I hear E3 calling me just as the noodles are ready. I carry her downstairs, and begin to prep for picking up the girls.

As the noodles cool, I throw in packets of Quavers and Wotsits into the girls’ snack bag. I also put in packs of Caprisonne and E3’s milk beaker. I feed E3 whilst watching The Glades. I’m two episodes into the first season, and the jury is still out. It’s not doing me gis gis like my adrenaline-filled Nikita and Burn Notice. It is not cracking me up like Castle. I’m not sure at all.

I’m cutting it really finely. I need to be at the girls’ school at 3.40, and I’m still at home at 3.25. It’s a 10 minute drive normally, but there are roadworks…..and yep, I’m still driving when Bunmi’s number flashes up on my phone. I answer and hear Elizabeth’s voice asking if she should collect E1 as her class is out. I say yes, she passes the phone to E1’s teacher, transaction concluded.

Baba is my nickname for our local PCSO. He stands guard outside the girls’ school to ensure parents don’t park on the double yellow lines. He is not there today. I park on the double yellow lines and dash across the road to go get my girls.

Thanks for stopping by .

Taking a shower has meant Myles as an audience, checking in every so often to see what I was doing or check to make sure I was still in the shower.  Often there was some screaming, crying or general unhappiness that made my hot shower not as enjoyable as I like.  You see, I love my morning shower.  I don’t soak like I use to, but I still enjoy a few minutes to think over the start of the day, wake up a bit more and just enjoy the warm water washing over me.  I love a good, warm shower especially during these past few weeks that have been crazy cold.

I am not a proponent of using the TV as babysitter, but giving the kids 1 hour a day to watch a show without commercials is a good reward and allows me to get a few things done without interruption.   Grace knows that if she is efficient in the morning eating breakfast, getting dressed, hair combed and socks on she will be rewarded with a show or two.  If she runs out of time because she took too long eating breakfast or couldn’t decide what to dress in, that she can watch a show after nap time if she had a good  first half of the day.  There have been several times that she lost the privilege and she was very unhappy about it.  Books and cartoons are two of her favorite things, so they are the first two things she loses when she isn’t being her best.

Myles isn’t at that point, we are just happy he will sit still for 30 minutes.  I like knowing where he is, especially during a shower.  He is so mobile and can climb everything  and knowing where he is during my shower is a reassurance.  I don’t have to worry about him getting hurt or into something he shouldn’t.  Not that our house isn’t safe, but kids get into the darndest things…like the dog’s food!

Curious George, thank you!  You have given me 30 minutes to write this post, upload the picture and complete a important task for the day.

Riding my truck and watching some George!

Do you let your kids watch TV?  Shows you like or dislike?

-Alice Munchkin Kidling

December 13, 2012

]]> http://validitymeets.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/george-jack-in-the-box-curious/ Mon, 28 Jan 2013 02:01:23 +0000 moloccafe816 http://validitymeets.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/george-jack-in-the-box-curious/ Classic Jack in the Box And Plays Pop Goes the Weasel And Everyone s favorite Curious George And Perfect for little ones And Plush Curious George inside

See Price

Delight youngsters with a classic Jack in the Box that features everyone s favorite spunky monkey Curious George It plays Pop Goes the Weasel and bursts open to reveal a plush Curious George at the end

• Gund 16 Curious George Plush Figure
• Curious George Good Night Book CGTV Tabbed Board Book
• Schylling Curious George Wooden Car
• Curious George Tin Keepsake Box with Latch by Schylling
• Curious George at the Zoo CGTV Touch and Feel Board Book
]]> http://lindsaymuller.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/life-lately-5/ Sun, 27 Jan 2013 04:35:34 +0000 Lindsay http://lindsaymuller.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/life-lately-5/ http://moimemoi.com/2013/01/25/day-31-start-them-young-37th-year-photomoi-challenge/ Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:11:27 +0000 MoiMeMoi ~ Kat http://moimemoi.com/2013/01/25/day-31-start-them-young-37th-year-photomoi-challenge/ I love to read. I don’t have as much time to it seems these days but I’ve found if I’m early somewhere it’s nice to sit in my car and read.

I read to my daughter while pregnant with her and the same with my son. To this day my daughter loves to read and could waste the day away reading. We try to read daily. I think it’s super important to read to my kids until they can read on their own and then for them to still read. You can escape and learn so much from a good book.

My son is full of energy and always on the go making it harder to read to him BUT I still do, even if just a few pages at a time.

A couple of weeks ago I took him to Central Library in Los Angeles and this image is from one of the books he got on his first trip to that library. He’s been to many libraries in his 2 1/2 years of life and its fun to see what’s all around. The reason I took this photo is because this is a series of stories he enjoys and will slow down for.

L loves George. There are so many books about George! I’m so glad that these stories slow him down. I’m so glad he likes to hear them over and over and my hope is he will have a love of reading one day where he too can escape into a good book!!



]]> http://bringforth.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/turn-the-whole-thing-upside-down/ Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:27:19 +0000 bringforth http://bringforth.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/turn-the-whole-thing-upside-down/ Jack Johnson: the dude’s voice and his infectiously, bouncy guitar can make a day filled with Ozymandias Melancholia still feel like joy.



Plus, he gives good advice like “who’s to say what’s impossible”, “this world keeps spinning with each new day” and “there’s no stopping curiosity”. Words to live by and sing to!



 

]]> http://dreager1.com/2013/01/24/curious-george-vs-nidoqueen/ Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:47:51 +0000 dreager1 http://dreager1.com/2013/01/24/curious-george-vs-nidoqueen/



Curious George is back and he’s ready to rumble! His agility has served him well in the past and he also knows how to land a solid blow against an opponent! His skills aren’t to be underestimated, but he won’t be able to win this round. Nidoqueen is just far too powerful for him. Nidoqueen wins.
]]> http://photoblurg.com/2013/01/23/day-135-you-keep-your-brain-where/ Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:14:58 +0000 Tennille http://photoblurg.com/2013/01/23/day-135-you-keep-your-brain-where/
365: Day 135


This is a shot of my small prop box. If you’ve seen any of my previous shots, you’ll likely recognize a few items. I suppose I’m feeling a little nostalgic today.

Shot Specs:
1/60 sec @ f/6.3, 50mm, ISO 400, Canon 430 EXII @ 1/64 (camera front right ~ 6in. with tissue diffuser)

I did a little desaturating in post.

]]> http://sprinkleofcoco.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/curious-george-party/ Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:59:05 +0000 cocosutch http://sprinkleofcoco.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/curious-george-party/ Well, my little guy is 2 years old.  He’s a full blown toddler with a mind of his own and *gasp* opinions!

Yesterday we had his birthday party. He has a slight obsession with Curious George and trains (particularly train gates). So I went with a Curious George theme, because let’s face it, Curious George is cuter than a train gate themed birthday party.

The party was simple, family and a few close friends. I didn’t go overboard with the theme, but I was particularly excited about how the birthday cake came out. It combined my son’s two favorites-Curious George and trains!



The banana cake I mentioned in my last post was AWESOME! It was moist and it got great reviews from my guests.  I used regular Duncan Hines vanilla frosting for the icing.  Simple and peanut/tree nut safe for my niece and nephew with allergies.

Curious George Cake Highlights:

• Crushed Oreos on the side so you don’t have to worry about making the frosting look perfect on the sides which is always a pain for me!
• Simple vanilla icing in between the two layers (crowd pleaser)
• Closed Star Decorating Tip (Wilton #35) for the top edge
• Grass Decorating Tip (Wilton #233) to make the grass on top
• More crushed Oreo for the train track gravel
• Wilton Chocolate Icing Tube for the tracks
• Basketweave Decorating Tip (Wilton #47) to make the tracks. And these tips hook right on to the Wilton Icing Tubes with a coupler ring.
• Curious George Train Cake Topper, found on Amazon. And I have to say, it’s pretty well made. Even the wheels turn. So my son is still playing with it! It even went to bed with him last night.

And for a favor, a simple Curious George book. A favor both parents and kids will like, and not too much work for the party thrower!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUDDY!

]]> http://secretdadsociety.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/tattoo-a-banana-a-butterfly-curious-george-and-c3po/ Sun, 20 Jan 2013 02:04:15 +0000 secretdadblog http://secretdadsociety.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/tattoo-a-banana-a-butterfly-curious-george-and-c3po/ I found this Tattoo a Banana video by multimedia artist Phil Hansen, and I couldn’t wait to try it out. All you really need to do this is a banana, a thumb tack, and some imagination. My daughter did some ABC’s and stars on a large banana and also chose to tattoo a butterfly on a cute little baby banana.

I waited until the kids were in bed to start on my C3PO banana tattoo. That way I could work uninterrupted. I made the mistake of trying to work on the backside of the banana, which meant I had to constantly turn it and also hold it steady for an eternity with my left hand. As I should have guessed, my hand started cramping up after a short while. Then my phone (which I was using as my time-lapse camera) began ringing, so I conveniently took this as I sign to bail on C3PO and start fresh.

For my second attempt, I made sure to lay the banana down flat on its side and I picked something  less complicated: Curious George peeling a banana with a tattoo of himself holding a banana, and on that banana….uh, you get the idea.



Here’s the time-lapse video:

This is the first of many projects in Phil Hansen’s book, Tattoo a Banana: And Other Ways to Turn Anything and Everything Into Art. It sounds awesome and you can bet that I’ll be picking up a copy!

]]> http://mamarachael.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/poor-morals-in-childrens-books/ Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:27:38 +0000 Mama Rachael http://mamarachael.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/poor-morals-in-childrens-books/ So, I’ve noticed in a fair number of books that I’ve read with Doctor Destructo that the morals that are taught (as in the moral of the story) are pretty poor. As an example, I shall present “Curious George Rides a Bike”.

First, George is called a monkey, but he doesn’t have a tail. That means he’s an ape. Ah, the misrepresentation of facts.

Now, George gets a bike on the anniversary of when the man with the yellow hat took him from Africa. George can do tricks (yea!), but gets bored and disobeys by leaving the immediate vicinity of the house. Then the newspaper boy pawns off his work of delivering papers to George. (that was very not smart of him). George doesn’t follow directions and doesn’t delivery all the papers, and then folds all the papers in to boats. While watching his boats, he hits a rock with his bike, and messes up the front wheel (some regret occurs here). Then George sees a tractor pulling trailers (the animal show you find out). The most-certainly-not-creepy director gets George to come along to be in the animal show. Bob fixes Georges bike and they head off. The next major event is George disobeying direct orders to not feed the ostrich (he was curious!), and then again disobeying when he leaves his bench to save the baby bear. But because George saves the day, all is forgiven (the lost newspapers, all the disobedience) and he gets to be in the animal show. (I’d just type out the text of the book, but I fear that would violate copy right.)

Now, please don’t tell me that its just a children’s story, so I shouldn’t be so hard on it. That’s Doctor D really isn’t learning anything, its just a story. I don’t buy it. We learn a great deal from the ‘stories’ we hear and see. But that is not my topic here, per say.

First, I’m bugged that irresponsibility is excused in the name of curiosity. It is possible to be both curious and responsible, and George never suffers for his lack of responsibility. But others suffer the consequences of George’s irresponsibility regularly. The man with the yellow hat must spend time looking for George and the folks on the other side of the street never get their newspapers. And that’s just this book.

Next, it bugs me that George’s disobedience is all forgiven and forgotten because he saved the baby bear. Forgiveness IS NOT earned, it can only be given freely. Or at least true forgiveness is like this; God’s forgiveness is like this. We cannot earn His forgiveness, nor His favor. In the same way, Doctor D cannot truly earn my forgiveness when he disobeys. There is a debt, a payment for that disobedience (just as we have a debt to God, “for the wages of sin is death”), and if the pay back is earned, well then that is more like justice.  But when I forgive that debt, it is done with mercy and grace, which are freely given and never earned.

I think these are big issues and big deals that I want Doctor D to understand. And, so, I often edit the story a bit. I will use the words ‘justice’, ‘mercy’ and ‘grace’. When consequences seem reasonable, they are handed out (for example, I will have George pay the folks who didn’t get their newspapers for the newspapers he made into boats or, from a different book, Bambi gets grounded after staying out too long). I will change words so that its not because George rescued the baby bear he gets to be in the animal show, but the director will thank George for rescuing the bear, forgive George for disobeying, and to be gracious and let George be in the show.

Now, I figure the day will come when Doctor D actually recognizes the words on the page and will ask “Mommy, why did you change the words?” I look forward to that conversation. And until then, I will unabashedly change the words or completely remove the book from the reading options if its bad enough. We had one book that was a counting book that had little monkey’s disobeying and being trouble makers all through it; it had other problems as well. That book was removed from the collection. And I’m finding that many of the books I grew up with are like this, and books published now are often the worst. I guess I’ll either need to edit or stick with older books.

]]> http://blog.asseenbyred.com/2013/01/17/curious-gum-ball-maker/ Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:57:33 +0000 ~Red http://blog.asseenbyred.com/2013/01/17/curious-gum-ball-maker/ Playdough rocks.  Plain and simple.  Even better – gum balls made by my Curious little girl.

 

]]> http://sprinkleofcoco.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/homemade-birthday-cake/ Thu, 17 Jan 2013 02:59:36 +0000 cocosutch http://sprinkleofcoco.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/homemade-birthday-cake/ So our Curious George birthday party is in 4 days! So excited.  It’ll just be our family and close friends, but I love a good kid birthday party.

I was going to make cupcakes, but then found a cute cake topper combining two of my son’s favorite things: Trains and Curious George.  And there is no doubt that his most favorite part will be the Rail Road Crossing side. Mark my words!



Source

I won’t be following this cake design exactly. I have something in mind and I hope that my vision transfers well! I will post an update this weekend. And just to keep you on the edge of your seats, I’ll let you know that my design will include crushed oreos! Get excited!
I’ll also be using this “semi-homemade” cake recipe.  It has good reviews, so hopefully it’ll be tasty.

Banana Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 c. mashed bananas (2-3 med. ripe bananas)
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Mix together the yellow cake mix as directed on the package, except, stir 1/8 teaspoon baking soda into dry mix before adding liquid. Also, use 1/4 cup less water than package directions. To cake mix add mashed bananas and nuts if desired. Bake according to package directions.

]]> http://waitingonaword.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/mommy-porn/ Thu, 17 Jan 2013 01:09:37 +0000 Jess http://waitingonaword.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/mommy-porn/ There’s been a lot of talk about so-called “mommy porn” since 50 Shades of Grey (E.L. James). I’m here to tell you, Blogtropolis Moms, that if you are in the minority and haven’t yet read the books, be advised that you don’t need to succumb to the hype. There are lots of fun guys you can obsess over right in your living room, everyday, on your kids’ television shows! (NOTE: A post is brewing in my head about the 50 Shades craze, but I’ll save that for another time.) (NOTE TWO:  I figured out how to post pics from the internet.  Woo hoo!  Blogging is fun.)

I know what you are thinking, especially if you are reading this in the morning and haven’t yet had your coffee. Huh?

Who needs Christian Grey when you can spend your time with the men of daytime television? Come on, Ladies. Haven’t we all played FMK with The Wiggles? Or internally debated while watching Blue’s Clues whether Steve or Joe is the better catch? Anyone else have a crush on Steve Songs?

I present for your G-rated reading pleasure, my list of Top Five Desirable “Men” of Children’s Television:

5) Sir Topham Hatt (Thomas the Tank Engine)



Sir Topham Hatt

This “Fat Controller” (their words not mine) of the Sodor railway is a man of great power and prestige. When he’s not hosting royalty, he’s fixing a problem, or directing trains, or positively reinforcing his brave and useful engines. Topham enjoys music- he’s a big fan of opera singer Alicia Botti and the Sodor Brass Band. He’s got a bit of a belly, but his trademark black top hat helps divert the eyes upward. And, friends, he’s a “Sir.” That means his wife is a “Lady.” Wouldn’t we all want to be addressed as “Ladies”? Lady Jane Hatt is one lucky girl, if you ask me!

4) “Daddy” (Caillou)



“Daddy”

Daddy makes the list despite the oversized green sweater he wears every day because he’s very helpful to the household, deals with the kids without losing his patience (although once he almost lost it while driving the car when Rosie and Caillou were fighting in the backseat– I am sure we could all sympathize), and mostly because he looks like Paul Rudd. Do you see the resemblance, People? I think it’s the hair. Anyone who resembles Paul Rudd makes the list. Period.



Paul Rudd

3) David Read (Arthur)



David Read

Arthur’s dad is a handsome dude . . . or mouse . . . or whatever species the characters on Arthur are, and owns a catering company that he runs out of the garage. He’s a chef, Ladies! Look at that cake!  What more can you want?

2) The Man With the Yellow Hat (Curious George)



The Man with the Yellow Hat

He almost made first place, but recently while watching an episode, my husband called TMWTYH a “dummy” for leaving the car window open on his convertible while going through the car wash, and I had to agree, so TMWTYH lost some points with me.

But despite his car wash gaffe, let’s face it. He’s a great catch. Tall, dark, rich, and handsome, TMWTYH owns an apartment in the city overlooking the park, as well as a country house near farms and lakes where he retreats often via the aforementioned convertible. He goes on vacations. He bowls. He throws parties. He has a monkey to help him pick up his dry cleaning and buy him donuts. Besides the all-yellow wardrobe, which admittedly could use a woman’s touch, I can’t find a flaw.

And, Number One on the list of Desirables (drum roll please . . .)

1) D.J. Lance Rock (Yo Gabba Gabba)



D.J. Lance Rock

Christian Grey has nothing on Lance! D.J. Lance Rock is super cool and fun and retro, and knows his manners as well as the food groups and safety rules. Would Christian Grey wear a tight orange jumpsuit and orange faux fur hat? I think not! Would he dance around like a wonderful maniac and carry around a big box with his toys in it? No way! I can think of nothing more exciting than going on a grown-up playdate with D.J. Lance. Would he wear the orange? Would he wear his black-rimmed glasses? Would we “break it down” at the end of the date? I’d insist on going dancing of course, but wouldn’t it also be fun to bring his big box to the park and play with the Yo Gabbas? Especially if Jack Black or Tobey Maguire made an appearance?

Blogtropolis Moms, who needs X-rated “playrooms” when you can enjoy a nice G-rated fantasy with these five “men” in your kid’s playroom? I’ll gladly add to the list, if there are any suggestions out there. In the meantime, have fun playing Wiggles FMK! (Hey, whatever gets us through the day, right?)

]]> http://wgbhkids.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/join-us-were-hiring/ Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:17:11 +0000 wgbhkids http://wgbhkids.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/join-us-were-hiring/

We’re looking for a Production Coordinator to work on a whole bunch of fun and dynamic Kids projects and to work with our fun and dynamic Kids team.

Official posting is here (P-0996) but drop us a line here if that’s easier.

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