Thursday, March 29, 2018

Don't Judge My Cat's Easter Basket

Seriously! Don't judge us. We had a cat and dog before our kids. We loved them so much but vowed we would wait to get another pet until the kids were older. We are firm believers in the fact that kids need a pet so we got our daughter a guinea pig. It was an OK pet to start with but then we started volunteer at the animal shelter and we fell in love with many cats. SOOOOO on my anniversary last year we brought home Chipolte. Well that was her name when we got her at 7 months old. She quickly become Luna and and we love her. Well, my husband is less in love because her hair is everywhere and he wears dark suits every day. 


With Easter coming up we decided to do a basket for Luna so that the kids could be involved.   What can I say, she is spoiled. 





 
We love how interested Luna is in her Easter basket. We have had to do an early Easter it was torturing all of us to watch her paw at her goodies for these photos.  She loves everything but especially her new toy fish on a string.


What do you get a cat for Easter?


Well we have a cat tree coming in a day or two from Amazon. We are hoping this keeps her off the dining room table. She likes to look out the sliders and the table is up against them. Hopefully if we move the table and put the tree there she will use the tree. HOPEFULLY!



We have also added:
Catnip toys - Hartz Just For Cats
Treats - Temptations
Food - Delectables from Hartz
A New Collar that glows in the dark

She is a bit spoiled but I wouldn't have it any other way. I have also ordered a bag of corn based litter from World's Best which is what the animal shelter that we volunteer at uses. 
 
It was really cute to watch her sniff everything. We have finally given in and she has used, tried, eaten, sampled everything in the basket ahead of schedule but like I said, she is spoiled.

The House With A Clock In It's Walls


TEST

In Theaters: September 21, 2018

In the tradition of Amblin classics where fantastical events occur in the most unexpected places, Jack Black and two-time Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett star in The House with a Clock in Its Walls, from Amblin Entertainment. The magical adventure tells the spine-tingling tale of 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) who goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart. But his new town's sleepy façade jolts to life with a secret world of warlocks and witches when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead.

Based on the beloved children's classic written by John Bellairs and illustrated by Edward Gorey, The House with a Clock in Its Walls is directed by master frightener Eli Roth and written by Eric Kripke (creator of TV's Supernatural). Co-starring Kyle MacLachlan, Colleen Camp, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Vanessa Anne Williams, Lorenza Izzo and Sunny Suljic, it is produced by Mythology Entertainment's Brad Fischer (Shutter Island) and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), as well as Kripke.

Executive produced by William Sherak, Tracey Nyberg, Laeta Kalogridis and Mark McNair, The House with a Clock in Its Walls will be released by Universal Pictures.  

Monday, March 26, 2018

Things We Haven't Said: Sexual Violence Survivors Speak Out



"There are days when I am less stardust than sawdust, less survivor than victim, but that does not mean that the reclamation of my own body is any less eternal." -Jane Cochrane



"How to describe the feeling of not being believed? It is the feeling of disappearing."
-Stephanie Oakes

"I used to want to hurt you, to break you, to give you the sort of nightmares I still have so many years later." -Melissa Marr

"It's so easy to say you'll fight when it's not happening to you. But then it was happening to me. And I locked up. My bones had all linked together and I was still." -Bryson McCrone

Things We Haven't Said is a powerful collection of poems, essays, letters, vignettes and interviews written by a diverse group of impressive adults who survived sexual violence as children and adolescents. Structured to incorporate creative writing to engage the reader and informative interviews to dig for context, this anthology is a valuable resource of hope, grit and honest conversation that will help teens tackle the topic of sexual violence, upend stigma and maintain hope for a better future.


Made up of essays, poems, letters, vignettes, interviews, and concrete information, the book breaks the silence around sexual violence and verbalizes the experiences of these victims and, in doing so, creates a chorus of hope for children and young adults who have experienced similar abuse. Aside from being incredibly timely, the book is getting great buzz. It just got a starred review from Kirkus."This book will save hearts. This book will save minds. This book will save lives," says author A.S. King of the collection. And all of the author's proceeds from the book will go to survivors' organizations.

The 411:

Definitely a difficult read. I was worried about being triggered by some of the stories (it's has been years but it can happen). Fortunately that didn't happen but what did happen was how hearing these stories made me angry. Angry that anyone has to go through this.

The stories included were very candid and sometimes made me uncomfortable. They were more candid than I have ever been when I discuss my own abuse and made me feel that I haven't been honest enough at times. Honest with myself yes but maybe speaking about the details would have helped me heal a lot sooner than I did. I have talked about my own abuse for years but not "really". All the details have been left out of my story. I need to release them. I need to make a point of talking them over with someone.

After each story there is a small interview where the women answer questions about who they told, who heard them, what was most helpful during their recovery and more. What worked here is that each survivor's story has a follow up questionnaire to their writing piece giving you even more information to where they are now and providing other survivors with other resources.

The brave woman in this book who told their stories in their own words and in their own way are heroes. I hope that anyone who reads this who has been silent will find their own voice and use it so make sure that are never hurt, disrespected, or scared again.

To Purchase:


Disclaimer: I received a complimentary product for my honest opinion. No monetary compensation was offered.

Ready Jet Go! Season 2 April 2nd


Season 2 of the hit animated space-themed series Ready Jet Go! blasts off Monday, April 2, on PBS KIDS (check local listings) with a special week of girl-empowering episodes that will get young viewers from coast-to-coast psyched about space and science. A brand-new out-of-this-world episode will launch every weekday.

And to help ring in the new season, Ready Jet Go! creator Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold!, Dinosaur Train) will participate in a can’t-miss Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) on April 2 at 3pm ET. Fans can stop by to ask Craig about the new season, what’s coming next – and anything else Redditors might want to know about. We’d love for you to spread the word about the upcoming AMA, too, and we invite you to join Craig yourself to ask him anything! Just check out the Sub-Reddit IAmA on April 2 and Craig will be there!



The new episodes feature the adventures of Boxwood Terrace’s very own Mindy Melendez – starting with the half-hour special, “Mindy Turns 5”. Now that Mindy’s a big girl, it’s her turn to zoom off to space with Jet and the gang for the first time, at last! And the Season 2 fun continues this summer with a space-infused new episode set to roll out each Wednesday in June and July. For even more stellar STEM-focused learning, each episode features live-action interstitials with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory astrophysicist Dr. Amy Mainzer, science consultant for the series.