Fame and Fortune (with a twist!)

NOTE: click on the sound icon to hear the song and to turn it off.

At some point in our childhood we all wanted to be famous, right?

Well, we might not be cast in a big Hollywood box office sell-out, but we certainly star in plenty of our own FAMILY productions.

The lyrics to the song in the slide show perfectly describe our famous roles in those FAMILY productions...

When I grow up, I wanna be famous
I wanna be a star, I wanna be in movies
When I grow up, I wanna see the world
Drive nice cars, I wanna have groupies

When I grow up, be on TV
People know me, be on magazines
When I grow up, fresh and clean
Number one chick when I step out on the scene

Be careful what you wish for
'Cause you just might get it
You just might get it
You just might get it

Be careful what you wish for
'Cause you just might get it
You just might get it
You just might get it

Hope you enjoyed some of the "headshots" of our family.

They have not brought us any fame or fortune, but have provided us with some pretty good laughs!

Great Holiday Reads

At Christmas, I'm always asked for good holiday books for children (might have something to do with my occupation or it could be that I am known to be a bit of a book freak!).

So I've posted some book suggestions that I think are great. If you have time, check out one or two (or three or four!) of these fantastic reads, cozy up on your own (or better yet with someone you love), and enjoy a good book.

Oh yeah, with my list comes a rule: the term "cute" is NOT to be used to describe these books. It's Murphy's Law (and now you know along with all my students). Cute is for puppies, kittens, and babies, not for books! There are way too many other descriptive words to use for such treasures!

Now, enjoy!

Picture Books
A Little Bit of Winter by Paul Stewart
A Shepherd’s Gift by Mary Calhoun
Auntie Claus by Elise Primavera
Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas by Elise Primavera
Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
Christmas Cricket by Eve Bunting
Going Home by Eve Bunting
Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo
Homeless Christmas Tree by Leslie M. Gordon
How Murray Saved Christmas by Mike Reiss
I Spy Christmas by Walter Wick
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
Night Tree by Eve Bunting
Olive, the Other Reindeer by J. Otto Seibold
Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell
Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
The Bear Santa Claus Forgot by Diana Kimpton
The Christmas Candle by Richard Paul Evans
The Christmas Cobwebs by Odds Bodkin
The Donkey’s Christmas Song by Nancy Tafuri
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
The Jolly Christmas Postman by Alan Ahlberg
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell
The Mitten by Jan Brett
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Jan Brett
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
Who Was Born This Special Day? by Eve Bunting
Wombat Divine by Mem Fox
ANYTHING by Robert Sabuda!

Poetry
Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou
Christmas Is Coming by Charles Ghigna
Christmas Presents by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Do Rabbits Have Christmas? by Aileen Fisher
It's Christmas! by Jack Prelutsky
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
The Night Before Christmas, In Texas That Is by Leon Harris
Under the Christmas Tree by Nikki Grimes

Chapter Books
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborn
December Secrets by Patricia Reilly Giff
Horrible Harry and the Holidaze by Suzy Kline
Mr. Putter and Tabby Bake the Cake by Cynthia Rylant
Nate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
Santa Claus Doesn't Mop Floors by Debbie Dadey
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
The Case of the Christmas Snowman by James Preller
The Dog Who Thought He Was Santa by Bill Wallace
The White House Christmas Mystery by Carole Marsh
Who's Stealing the Twelve Days of Christmas by Martha Freeman

Christmas Parties - Blogland Style!

Welcome to our Christmas Open House!

Come in and look around.

After your visit here, check out these great spots for more splendid Christmas ideas:

Kimba's Holiday Open House
Julia's Hooked on Houses
Thrifty Decor Chick's Christmas Tree Par-tay

(Just be careful of B.I.C.S. You know, Butt-in-Chair-Syndrome).

The Living Room

ideas in the living room:
* create your own cloche with a cheese tray dome
* use large vases or jars for jingle bells or ornaments

The Kitchen

ideas in the kitchen:
* use a fun, non-traditional color scheme
* use a tiered serving dish as an ornament tree
* frame gift wrap and ribbon for easy wall art

The Den

ideas in the den:
* use children's literature in a variety of places
* have a central theme (ie: snowmen) throughout the room
* hang stockings on front handle of fireplace door

And finally...

Find ways to emphasize that Jesus Christ is the reason we celebrate this season!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Don't forget to sign "the guest book" before you go
(This means leave a comment my silent friends and family!)

Merry Christmas!

Brian Graduates!

WAHOO!!! This past Saturday Brian graduated with his BA in Criminal Justice from UTA!!!!

After 2 and 1/2 years of juggling work and family with school, he did it... and did it well!!!!

I can't even begin to express how proud I am of all his hard work and diligence, even when life got tough and threw some unexpected curve balls into our playing field.

Congratulations, B! I love you more than I can tell you!
K

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"Butt-in-Chair" Syndrome

Ok, so B is right (I hate it when that happens!)

He is right about the fact that I suffer from "butt-in-chair" syndrome.

Have you heard of it? It's a condition that I hope you can avoid!

Here's what happens:

1. You turn on the computer...
2. You get a coke and a bag of puffy cheetos (or whatever snack you choose)...
3. You sit in front of the computer...
4. You check your email (looking for comment notification)...
5. You check your blog (yep, it looks the same)...
6. You check your blog roll and start visiting...
7. And visiting...
8. And visiting...
9. And visiting...
10. And eating the puffy cheetos (it was a relatively new bag)...
11. Keep visiting (one place leads to another, to another, to another)...
12. Look at the clock...
13. Realize that once again, time has passed quickly...
14. Check the puffy cheeto bag and wonder "did I REALLY eat all those!"
15. Type up a lame-brain post so at least there is something new on the blog...
16. Try to move beyond this recent attack of "butt-in-chair" and actually get something done around the house (which will be the gathering spot for family in just a couple of days to celebrate B's graduation!).
17. Realize that this syndrome (which could be contagious, but I'm no doctor) could strike again the next time you sit at the computer!

So, if anyone knows a good way to cure "butt-in-chair," do tell! I need a remedy!

Canton

Canton + First Monday Trade Days + Family = FUN!

The plan for our adventure:

1. Leave in the early am on Saturday


2. Drive a little more than an hour


3. Park in a field and start walking


4. Look in all the cool booths


5. Spend money


6. Walk


7. Make our way out to where the "treasures" are


8. Look around


9. Find items to be repurposed or used in projects


10. Spend money


11. Run out of money (and arm space!)


12. Trudge back to the car (way out in that field)


13. Load up the car (takes some skill)


14. Exit the field


15. Stop and eat


16. Drive a little more than an hour


17. Drop off familia


18. Drop off purchases into the garage


19. Drop off from exhaustion


20. Avoid explaining my purchases to B
    (he just rolls his eyes anyway!)

The results of our adventure:

A day of fun with my seester and seester-in-laws with some great new "to-do" items.

Of course I'm sure that B was right when he silently wondered, "when are you going to actually get those to-do items done?" But let's not tell him he was right, okay! I am confident (ha! ha!) that someday I'll get them all done!