Roseanne Season 3 DVD GIVEAWAY

The Conners - Roseanne (Roseanne Barr), Dan (John Goodman), Becky (Lecy Goranson), Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and DJ (Michael Fishman), are back for another hilarious season. Relive the life and times of this working class family as Roseanne gets a job as a waitress, Dan opens a motorcycle shop, Becky starts dating Mark Healy (Glenn Quinn), Crystal (Natalie West) is pregnant with Dan's father's (Ned Beatty) baby and Nana Mary (Shelley Winters) makes her first appearance.

Contains all 25 episodes from the third season! Find out why Roseanne was ranked #35 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time -- at some of the best DVD prices for classic TV sitcoms you'll ever see!

Special Guest Stars: Tom Arnold, Ned Beatty, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Garrett, Judy Gold, Alyson Hannigan, Tobey Maguire, Martin Mull, Estelle Parsons and Shelley Winters.

Bonus features: The Sister that Never Leaves, I Was a Teenaged Becky, The Best of Season Three

Contents:
DISC 1
The Test
Friends and Relatives
Like a Virgin
Like, A New Job
Good-bye, Mr Right
Becky, Beds and Boys
Trick or Treat
PMS, I Love You
Bird Is the Word

DISC 2
Dream Lover
Do You Know Where Your Parents Are?
Confessions
The Courtship of Eddie, Dan’s Father
The Wedding
Becky Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Home-Ec
Valentine’s Day
Communicable Theater

DISC 3
Vegas Interrupts
Her Boyfriend’s Back
Trouble with the Rubbles
Second Time Around
Dances with Darlene
Scenes From a Barbecue
The Pied Piper of Lanford

Bonus Features:
“The Sister that Never Leaves”
“I Was a Teenaged Becky”
The Best of Season Three

The 411 by Maria:
I LOVE Roseanne it is absolutely one of my favorite shows. Even now all these years later I still laugh at the Connors. My favorite characters were Jackie and Darlene. Whenever they were on, I knew it was going to be funny! You know Darlene is going to have a zinger about absolutely everything!

In Season 3, the kids are getting older and going through growing pains. Becky is dating a guy named Mark which has the Connors worried since he is a "rebel".

Roseanne is working as a waitress at Rodbell's much to the disdain of her girls.

There is always the Halloween episode which the Connors do so well.

During this season Roseanne dresses as a man and when her car breaks down has to hang out in a bar with Jackie. She of course plays the role of a dude and even using the men's room Eventually Dan comes to her rescue at the bar before a fight breaks out and kisses a bearded Roseanne. Love Dan dressed as all three Stooges.

What I loved about Roseanne is how real the show was. Maybe all families aren't as funny as the Connors but they all make fun of each other, they all hang out together and most parents do go out of their way to get through to their kids while having fun doing it. In the end, all families have a good time while driving each other crazy. At the bottom of it all there is a whole lot of love!

Another of my favorite characters was Roseanne's Grandmother Shelley Winters. LOVE HER! Great writing and characters you come to either love or hate. Good TV!

SAVE 25% AT TVFLASHBACKS.COM ON SOME OF THE GREATEST TV COMEDIES EVER!

Visit this page and use discount code PRIMETV25 to save an additional 25% off our incredibly affordable DVD prices! NOTE: 25% discount good through May 15, 2012 only
a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclaimer: I received a copy of this movie to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own and I received no monetary compensation of this review. Sponsor is also providing the Giveaway copy. 

Beautiful Planet (Spain & Portugal) Blu-ray Giveaway

Embark on an unforgettable journey all over the globe through in this spectacular guided tour to the world's most marvelous sights and places. Capturing the nature and culture of these exotic destinations, this lusciously filmed documentary series offers a vivid and entertaining portrait of the history and significance of distance cities and countries. Shot in dazzling high definition, prepare to be whisked away to one thrilling attraction after another across our most Beautiful Planet.

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain and the city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James. Seville, capital of Andalusia is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain which is also home to the Alc'zar royal palace which is one of the best remaining examples of Mud'jar architecture. Oporto, the second largest city of Portugal, situated on the bank of the Douro Oporto harbor provides insight into the diversity of its cultural and scientific sites in addition to the city's most popular export, port wine. The first Portugal capital city, Guimar'es, nicknamed the "Cradle of the Nation" is historically associated with the foundation and identity of the Portuguese nationality.

The 411 by Maria: 

I was very interested in viewing this as my husband's family if from Vigo Spain and go there 6 months of the year. Not a bad life huh? Well, I have yet to be there even though there would be a beautiful place to stay with people who know exactly where to go and what to do. We are not in a position to plan a vacation any time soon. I LOVED this video. Hearing how beautiful it is from my family isn't the same as seeing a well produced movie of the area. 

Gorgeous! I can completely see why they long to go back every 6 months. They come here for the grand-kids but Spain is there home. Truly a beautiful place to live and after seeing this I want to visit and see the history I have heard them speak of for the past 20 years of my life. Portugal is the second destination featured. With stunning landscapes and amazing food! If you love visually stunning journeys which you can take right from your living room. This is the DVD for you.

Add it to your collection today by visiting MillCreek Entertainment it is only $9.99.  

Plus if you order through TVFLASHBACKS.COMhttp://www.tvflashbacks.com and use discount code TVPLANET25 you will receive an additional 25% off until May 15th! 

Jackie After O by Tina Cassidy

Book description:
Jackie After O is an exciting and original portrayal of the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis through the lens of one remarkable year, a time of reinvention both personal and public, as she shook the world's expectations and pursued her dreams in middle age.

The 411 by Maria:
It only took about 3 days to get through this book and that says a lot in my very busy 3 full time jobs if you count mommy a job!

Jackie has always been interesting to me but more so as I get older.  Most of the books I have read about her were about her life as the presidents wife but this one focus more on her later years. I remember when she passed away and how crushed I was that "the a former first lady had passed" but what sat with me more and made me sit up straighter in my seat was what her son John said on her passing. I can still  picture hm saying it; "Last night, at around 10:15, my mother passed on," John said. "She was surrounded by her friends and family and her books and the people and the things that she loved. And she did it in her own way, and we all feel lucky for that, and now she's in God's hands."  I remember loving it. It seemed like this woman who was a widow two times in her life was finally able to rest with great dignity. She had been in the public eyes for years and she was free to rest!

The book didn't have many surprises but I was reminded that it is because of Jackie that the White House is held in such high esteem these days. She made it her mission to reinvent and redesign the home that would house the leader of the country for years to come.  Instead of a mish mash of stuff this would be a museum to the eras of the presidency.

Great book about an amazing woman who managed to hold her head up high even while leading a very public life.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary book to facilitate this review. My opinions are my own and no monetary compensation was received.

Shopping Find - BECOME.Com

Become, Inc. was founded in 2004 and aspires to be your shopping informant. Whether you are looking for baby items, gifts, cameras, clothing, jewelry toys,this shopping search engine extraordinaire can help.

Paying the bills while still being able to afford to shop for the things we need is a priory in this house as in many homes so we do a lot of comparison shopping and reading reviews before purchasing anything.

With Become.com we simply put in what we are looking for and let the website do the rest.

Recently, my goal was to find an affordable Mother's Day gift for my Grandma. I entered Mother's Day and than the amount I was hoping to spend. You can even put in a brand, store, color or category to narrow your search. It is all good. After a few seconds, I found the perfect gift for my grams. She is getting a Mrs Field's Mother's Day Bites Basket and she asked for yellow striped sheets but I get her beautiful yellow and white stripped sheets. So nice and sunny for summer.

What I love the most is the ease. In the past I would Google for at least 45 minutes and see what came up. This makes everything so much easier. Took me right to the site where I was able to order it.


For myself, I grabbed a pair of much needed summer shoes from Yellow Box Flip Flops Wholesale. Mine are over 9 years old and showing every bit of those 9 years.

Happy Shopping!

Are You Into What They Are Calling Mommy Porn?

While I must admit I don't see these books as porn or erotica I know that they are outside of a lot of folks normal reading zones and may be considered as such. As someone who reads and enjoys porn to a certain degree, I find that these books are definitely titillating and love that the covers aren't so embarrassing that you have to hide them from your children.

Recently author C.J. Ellisson and Sylvia Day were featured on Fox5 San Diego News talking about the "new trend" of female erotica. They were seated with a fertility specialist and sex therapist and asked questions like why do you think there is a trend and do you think this is unhealthy for woman to live in this fantasy world? Ugh..

I love how Sylvia and CJ answered their questions. Like hello people, this surge has been going for quite some time. We are having successful careers and it has nothing to do with 50 Shades of Grey which by the way, is on my Need to Read List!

While I cannot talk about Sylvia's books as I have yet to read one, I can say that CJ's books are fantastic. There is grown up talk and the female character is strong. To read CJ's take on the interview go visit CJ Ellisson and BTW I couldn't agree with you more CJ. "I didn’t want to read about the heiress in a forced marriage where he semi-rapes her on their wedding night, then she falls in love with him later. Or the Viking who captures his enemy’s daughter and falls for her strong, proud bearing—making up for his harsh first encounter with her throughout the whole book to win her heart." That scenario is just plain creepy and doesn't say much about woman. I love that your the VV Inn Series features a trouble female who stays strong throughout the book.

If you haven't had a chance to pick up CJ's VV Inn Series about a 508 year old vampire who runs a vacation spot for vamps and their entourage in Alaska. Very hot! While I am normally a vamp lover, in this book, I was hot for the sexy werewolf! Grrrrowl! 

Get Book 1 and start this fun series or add it to your summer reading list:

Winner Announcements, Did you win? April 30, 2012

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The Winner of Gossip by Beth Gutcheon is:

Nickelodeon Gak & Floam Are So Fun!

For children growing up in the 1990’s, Nickelodeon’s Floam and Gak were two of the coolest playtime staples, beloved for their uncanny ability to entertain kids for hours on end.  Now, Nickelodeon’s Floam and Gak are back…  and they’re better than ever!

Completely reformulated to make playtime and clean-up a cinch for a new generation of families, new Nickelodeon Floam and Gak are two unique reusable compounds, each designed to encourage creative thinking and open-ended play:

•    New Nickelodeon Floam is an incredible, reusable molding compound.  Mold, fold and roll new Nickelodeon Floam into any creation imaginable – the possibilities are endless!

•    New Nickelodeon Gak is a stretchy, squishy collectible compound.  Gak can be squeezed, stretched, bubbled and more – once kids pick up Gak, they won’t want to put it down!

My Children are big fans of Nickelodeon TV Shows as are the Teach and I. This channel creates cartoons and children's shows that we actually don't mind watching with them which is why when a review came up for Floam & Gak and we heard it was being branded with Nickelodeon's name, we were in.

We spend at least an hour a day playing with both. We aren't creative geniuses creating spectacular models like dinosaurs, planes, clocks or whatever else you can see in the videos on You Tube for these products we mostly use them to blow bubbles, create funky sounds, squish them for stress relief or play hand in seek by hiding something inside the Floam. We were doing this when the kids were 3 years old as a way to do sensory play.

The kids enjoy playing with them and oddly enough mixing the colors or getting another color on them is completely against the rules. None of us like it so we don't do it. It is strange I never said don't but they refuse to do it. So it is a win win.

The 411 by Maria and the Kids:

PROS:

The kids and I like the Goo factor. We enjoy slime and all that stuff so this is fun for us. 

The price is really good.You can get a 4 pack of Floam for under $20.00. 

We love that if you drop it on the floor and kids will do this unfortunately more than once, you can simply rinse it and it is fine. 

We love that it never leaves residue on our hands. Well except our red Floam, for some reason, it leaves some red on our hands. None of the others do that.

The Cons:

We don't love the smell but it isn't terrible. Goddess wishes that the yellow smelled like banana. In fact when she smelled it she said that she only did it because 'it looks like it will smell like bananas.

 * Thank you to Nickelodeon and Child's Play Communications for their product for review! Disclosure - This product was given for review for my honest opinion. No other compensation was given.*

 

Color Carnival - Ribbon Candy

A new store opened up in town this weekend and for their grand opening which I was covering for my community web page, I saw these ribbon candies and just had to grab a picture for Color Carnival

Color Carnival - Show Your Colors #5

Hope you are warm and loved wherever you are. Can't wait to see what you post.

Just Call Me Garbage Picker

At the end of last month I was driving by a house and noticed a red and black punching bag. It wasn't hard to spot. That red stood out like a ...well red punching bag amidst all the browns and greys of the area during this season.

The next day, I noticed it again. By day three, I thought...if that bag is still there tomorrow I am going to pick it up. It is obviously garbage sitting curbside for so many days.

I was driving back from somewhere with the kids and Handsome was pouting in the backseat about something, probably having to leave the house. He is a homebody because he wants to play his precious Xbox 360 and Wii. "Oh well, get over and let's go, there will be plenty of time to play later" I am always telling him and noticed it again as I passed it. Damn, there it is... looking behind me and seeing no one I put on the breaks. Threw the car into reverse and backed up. Got out and inspected said piece of garbage. It was in mint condition. Not a mark, stain, tear on it. The base was still filled with water but I managed to hall it into my little car and drove it home. 

They play with it every time we go on the deck and when the time comes to get rid of it. I will have no guilt putting it curbside for another family.  Until then the kids can enjoy some fun outside where they need to get fresh air and sunshine.

Arbor Day Celebration

Happy Arbor Day Everyone!

Today Handsome & Goddess along with their respective grades walked to a local park for an Arbor Day Celebration. It is a Village Tradition at this time and the Mayor usually speaks, the kids recite a poem or two and a tree is planted in their name.

Today the tree was planted near a park which we heard will have more picnic tables soon. The mayor informed the children that the tree is dedicated to the 1st and 2nd grade classes of 2012. She than asked that anyone who had a birthday in April come forward. Goddess' birthday is April 14th so she followed the other children to the tree where she helped put dirt into the hole to cover the newly moved in tree.

I am so excited to think that one day she can look at that tree and know that she helped plant it.

What a very sweet and a wonderful experience for her. She now tells me that the shovel was very heavy but you would never know it. She just kept going. Child Labor starts early in my neck of the woods.

New Year's Eve DVD Giveaway

Warner Bros. Pictures is proud to announce the release of the hit romantic comedy New Year’s Eve on DVD and Blu Ray May 1st! This all star comedy stars Ashton Kutcher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katherine Heigl, Sofia Vergara, Hilary Swank, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zac Efron, Jon Bon Jovi, and Josh Duhamel

The Many Faces of Goddess

You all know I love and adore my baby girl who is now a very crazy "I'm 7 don't call me 6" year old. Which I found out yesterday in the middle of an argument with her.  What were we arguing about you ask? Why, let me tell you! Homework. We argue about it at least 5 times a week. It is never done without a problem.

Goddess can't be bothered with it. It is "soooo boring" and "soooo hard"! I am surprised that I still have a voice considering all the yelling I do on a daily basis.

Never in my life have I loved someone so much and been so angry with them at the same time. Most sessions end up with me losing my patience after an hour of begging and pleading with her to please, just do her homework. After the first hour, I am done. She is rude, disrespectful and whiny and I don't do whiny. Usually after being yelled at she is sent to her room, cries, I get upset and eventually we are hugging and sitting to once more try to finish the homework. Sometimes it is 1 hour, sometimes 2, sometimes 3. It all depends on her. Oh don't get me wrong, it is not like her teacher has given her too much. She is only in the first grade and the homework, if she did it without complaining, whining and getting up numerous times would take 15 minutes at the most.  But...no. She can't do it! Impossible.

The other day after her first escort to her bedroom for a time out, she came back with a little note that said, "I love you Mommy", with her name! Which of course, made me cry. Which of course lead to a long discussion about how my yelling isn't about not loving her. That I gave her more than enough time to turn this around but she chose to take it up a notch causing me to be angry. Also, she got an ear full of, "homework is only going to get harder honey.This is something YOU have to do. It will not help you if I give you the answers. You have to do it yourself."

In Goddess' defense, she is not interested. It is too structured, life is too full of well...life to be straddled with books, sight words, and math. I get it. I understand it! BUT...it still has to be done!

She is lucky I adore her. She is lucky I love her soooo much because if I didn't...I wouldn't be able to control myself during the ridiculous moments like yesterday when she threw a pencil which is something she does all the time but this time...it hit me in the face! Oh God! My blood pressure was up. I felt myself losing it. Told her that she better run. Handsome is still laughing about it; "Girl! You better run." I find it funny now but at the time all I wanted to do was smack her.

Being that I am not a hitter she got off with a time out. Me slamming a bunch of cabinets as I made dinner and than another talking to.

What would you do with this? How would you handle homework with a kid like this?

Calling All Movie Fans

AFTER DARK ACTION which represents the next generation of action films featuring high concepts, high-octane, and the re-invention of classic action genres. Building upon the success of Horrorfest® and After Dark Originals, After Dark Films has partnered with Silver Pictures to showcase 5 adrenaline-pumping films loaded the hottest martial arts, the most action packed car chases, gun fights and hand to hand weapon combat.

The lineup of international stars will not disappoint! Featuring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jim Caviezel, Cung Le, Dolph Lundgren, Christian Slater & Peter Weller, and more Action Dark Action is Exploding in your city!

In theaters for one week only in select cities May 11th – 17th

How To Catch Sunshine In Your Hair!

Three Steps on How To Catch Sunshine In Your Hair:

1 - Dance around the deck like a crazy person
2 - Jump off a plastic chair creating all kinds of electricity
3 - Put on a crazy face while standing in sunshine.

Wah-la you too can achieve the crazy Goddess look anytime you want.

The Spring Vacation Volcano

Over the Spring Break the kids and I spent a lot of time at the library getting movies, reading and taking out books. One of the books we borrowed was about experiments for kids. Unfortunately I don't remember the name and wish I would have written it down because there were some fun things to do with kids.

Anyway, there was a picture of a volcano which made me suddenly remember that if you put baking powder in vinegar, you will get a volcano. I grabbed my 25+ year old Baseball Hall of Fame beer glass, a tray, vinegar and baking soda  and headed to the deck. The kids were very excited when they saw me return with some green food coloring. Why bother doing a plain old volcano when you can make it colorful. OMG I sound like Cake!

There are way too many pictures of the volcano to bother you with but here are a few of our green volcano.

As you can see by Handsome's smile they were having a blast!

The First Husband by Laura Dave - A GIVEAWAY

I loved this book so much, I had to ask the publisher to allow a giveaway for my readers (my review of The First Husband can be found here) and they said YES!

The First Husband
A Novel
By: Laura Dave
Publisher: Penquin Group
Paperback: 256 pages


Description
Los Angeles- based travel writer Annie Adams thinks she has it all: Nick, her longtime film director boyfriend, has finally hit the big time, her column is nationally syndicated, and they've got a great dog. Life is good -- until Nick announces that he's reconnected with a woman from his past and he's moving out.

Reeling from his exit, Annie meets Griffin, a down-to-earth chef who's everything she didn't know she wanted. Three months later, they're married and living in the Berkshires. But Annie wonders if she's picked a life on the rebound. When Nick asks for a second chance, Annie's stuck -- torn between her husband and the man she thought she'd marry.

365 Day Challenge - Playing Catch Up - Day 99 - 105

April 8, 2012 - Easter and my mom and grandma's death anniversary are the perfect combination. It is such a hectic day that I don't have time to rethink how sad I get on this date. Handsome was up at 5:00 A.M. and patiently waited for Goddess so they could look at their baskets. He even said, he stayed away from them because it wouldn't be fair to her. Not sure if he is telling the truth considering I woke at 6:30 A.M.

April 9, 2012 - We headed to the park and met up with some friends. I love that my two always look for each other even though there are tons of other kids to play with. They are so much nicer to each other when we are out of the house. Look at my WHITE boy. He can't help it. He has allergies. Goddess is dressed as a Secret Agent complete with handwritten and typed on shield that reads "Tough" as in T.U.F.F. Puppy. I didn't know she meant T.U.F.F when she first asked me to write this.

April 10, 2012 - Goddess loves dressing up and especially in her old Halloween costumes. Halloween is one of her favorite holidays.

April 11, 2012 - This little gummy cracks me up. Too cute I just had to take a picture before the kids ate them all.

April 12, 2012 - During Spring Break the kids and I headed to the park with some friends. Once again, my two spend a lot of time together while out. I love how Handsome helped her. There was even a point he rescued her, but more on that later.

April 13, 2012 - We received a Cuddle Cover to review. More on that later. The kids love it although Goddess' face tells a totally different story. I think the lion was squeezing too hard.

April 14, 2012 - My baby turned 7. Oh my gosh, more on that later! Here is Goddess singing along at the top of her lungs to our Happy Birthday Song! She is something else.

365 Day Challenge - Playing Catch Up - Day 92-98

April 1, 2012 - We don't have many Spring decorations but every year we take out the llittle wooden bunny and chick!

April 2, 2012 - We have started a garden this year. Unfortunately, these are the only ones that have survived. I believe we started too early. Oddly enough these are the ones that were actually taken from squash we had eaten and dried. The others were seeds we purchased. Go figure
.

April 3, 2012 - Goddess hates homework. We start every day enthusiastic but it never goes well. She was in the process of complaining when I threatened to take the picture. She moved and this was all I got. Oh well, one day we will have a talk about why she hates it sooo much but until than all I have is this blurry picture.

April 4, 2012 -Handsome with his big, blue bunny from his Aunt Marta! It is still fluffy and clean as can be. We put it away every May but Handsome does love it and wants his picture taken every year.

April 5, 2012 - Oh this little cute yellow flower lasted at least 3 weeks in a shot glass. A precious gift from my daughter.

April 6, 2012 - The kids and I created a small volcano over their Spring Break. They loved it. More on that later.

April 7, 2012 - The kids and I were invited to a Easter Egg Hunt at a friend's house. There was a trampoline and while I was dying to get in, I managed to control myself and let the kids have fun. Handsome and a bunch of girls jumping with Goddess in the middle in a yoga pose is so cool. Handsome is the one with his back to us and the blue shirt in case you couldn't distinguish the boy from the girls.

Running of the Bride: Enter to win a Free Wedding Cake

Click here to enter the FREE wedding cake contest

About Running of the Bride:

When Rachel’s handsome studio exec boyfriend proposes on the Sex and the City movie set, she can’t fathom the dizzying adventure ahead. Accepting a once-in-a-lifetime venue deal helps their budget but puts them on a crash course to get married in just four months—and time isn’t their only challenge. They battle a wacky host of vendors, including a hair stylist who fakes a car accident and a makeup artist channeling Marilyn Manson, all while testing their love amid tastings and tulle.

Using her nervous energy productively, Rachel enters every contest she can find, winning diamond earrings, a honeymoon, a photographer, and two wedding gowns. Her pop culture obsession lands the wedding party on two hit reality TV shows. There’s just one problem as the clock ticks down: Her staunch perfectionism and fear of dancing threaten to derail everything. She has to redefine perfect and embrace the mistakes—or risk losing it all.

Please take your seats. The wedding is about to begin.

Running of the Bride: My Frenzied Quest to Tie the Knot, Tear Up the Dance Floor, and Figure Out Why My 15 Minutes of Fame Included Commercial Breaks by Rachel Eddey

My Heart Aches for This Family

My heart aches for this boy and I hope the teachers, aides, faculty involved in this are taken care of in whatever way is practical. This is completely unprofessional and to treat another human being like this, never mind the handicap is just disturbing. May I never have to go through this because I am not sure that a simple, candid, video on You Tube would be enough. Kudos to this dad for keeping his cool. I am not sure how I would have reacted to this. God bless the person who ever tries to treat my kid like this! 

Flicka: Country Pride - DVD GIVEAWAY - 2 WINNERS

Best Human/Animal Pairings in Film

Arriving on Blu-ray and DVD May 1

Exclusively at Walmart, Sam’s Club® and Walmart.com

Many films focus on the unlikely bond that forms between man and beast. From Jesse and Willy from Free Willy to Hiccup and Toothless in How to Train Your Dragon, we’ll examine five of our favorite animal and human friendships in the films of yesterday and today.

When Toby (Clint Black) takes on a job at a stable with Flicka in tow, the owner’s teenage daughter Kelly (Kacey Rohl), quickly bonds with the wild horse. A budding equestrian rider, she hopes to break Flicka for an upcoming competition, despite her mother’s (Lisa Hartman Black) disapproval. With the competition approaching, a rival trainer stealing business, and a growing fear they may be forced to sell the stable, Toby steps in to turn things around for Kelly and her mother.

Enter at the bottom of this feature to win a copy of Flicka: Country Pride on DVD!

Free Willy

In 1993’s Free Willy, 12 year-old Jesse is forced to work at a theme park as restitution for vandalizing it. There, he meets and befriends Willy, a captive orca whale. Because Willy responds to Jesse’s commands, he earns a job at the park working with the orca. Jesse eventually learns that the park’s management has plans to kill Willy in order to collect the $1 million insurance policy on him. In one of film’s most iconic moments, Jesse guides Willy up and over a rock wall to freedom, where he returns to his family in the wild.

Andre

The 1994 film Andre tells the story of a young girl named Toni Whitney (Tina Majorino) who adopts an orphaned baby seal in 1962 coastal Maine. Toni and Andre form an inseparable bond, but as Andre grows, he becomes harder to manage and care for in the Whitney’s home. Andre’s mischievous attitude and his antics also make the local fisherman dislike him, and Toni goes to great lengths to keep Andre out of harm’s way, even putting herself in dangerous situations to protect him.

Dr. Doolittle

Eddie Murphy stars as the title character in 1998’s Dr. Doolittle, a film about a doctor who realizes he has the unique ability to understand and talk to animals. Dr. Doolittle befriends a dog called Lucky who helps him realize his true calling as someone who was meant to help animals in need. Dr. Doolittle and Lucky are able to work together to save a tiger, which helps Dr. Doolittle realize that he should be both a human doctor and a veterinarian. 

How to Train Your Dragon

2010’s computer-animated film, How to Train Your Dragon, tells the story of Hiccup, a young Viking teenager, who aspires to be a dragon slayer like his father. After capturing his first dragon, he realizes he doesn’t want to kill it and instead befriends it. Hiccup names the dragon Toothless, and they form an unlikely friendship. Hiccup tries to show his village the true nature of the dragons – that they are actually not cruel – and, eventually, is able to convince the Vikings and dragons to work together.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins

In 2011’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins, the uptight businessman, Mr. Popper (Jim Carrey), is given six penguins after his father’s death. He plans to give them away, until he discovers that his children love them. Popper soon grows to love the penguins as well, and a friendship develops between them. After the penguins lay three eggs and only two of them hatch, Mr. Popper becomes obsessed with the un-hatched egg. When he can’t save it, he gives all of the penguins to the zoo, but soon realizes that was a mistake. He then steals the penguins back and is reunited with his feathered friends.

Note: Contest open to US and Canada.