Doubling Up - 365 Day Challenge Day 7 & 8

I stayed off the computer most of yesterday and wrote my posts on Friday. Usually taking the weekend off has become a priority or I spend the whole day on here.

Now that I am participating in a 365 Challenge my photos are getting more activity on Flickr. I love getting comments there. I have over 11,000 photos and usually keep it pretty low key so being found by others and getting comments never happens. Love talking to other photo mavens and hearing what they like about a particular photo. It is really helping my skills and while I don't believe taking pictures is something I will ever make a career out of, I do love it!

Here is Day 7 - Monster High Lava Lamp

It is crazy and may be because I was a child of the 70s but I have always wanted a lava lamp. Now that Goddess has one, I spend a lot of time looking at it. It is really cool and I am thrilled she likes it too.

Day 8 - Festive Pooch

Maybe it is his silly little face, lazy eye or holiday clothes, but I love this guy. He is too cute!

365 Day Challenge Day 6 - The Fountain

I took this photo of a fountain and used a Lomo effect to darken the background. I love how solid it looks.

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook

My eldest niece is a HUGE Potter fan and was so excited to see this book when she visited for the holiday.

Here is her review:
This is an awesome book. I love the whole look of it.

The recipes seem very easy to follow and easy to make.

It looks exactly how you would expect a Harry Potter Cookbook to look.

I cannot wait to make Harry's First Birthday Cake and I am looking forward to hosting a Potter theme party for my friends over the summer.

The only thing missing is a recipe I have been meaning to try since reading it. Butter Beer. Why wasn't this in there?

I seriously wish there were pictures in here because I would have loved to see the recipes brought to life.

Going to try Sweet Orange Marmalade (Orange, Sugar and Water) . Sounds easy.

I love cooking and can't wait to try these recipes.

Great gift for Potter fans or anyone who enjoys cooking.

If my lovely Aunt doesn't hand this book over to me, she had better be getting it for my birthday this month.

My New Favorite Cereal

My new favorite cereal. We bought this yesterday and just had to let you know how good it is. We love it alone and with milk. Almost the whole box gone in less than 15 hours.

The outside is crunchy oat, wheat and rice and the inside is real chocolate.  What's not to like. We were eating these last night as a finger food. YUMMY.

365 Day Challenge Day 4 - Candy Cane Accent

Day 4 is my little sweetie enjoying a candy cane. Why be normal when it is so much fun to be crazy. She is completely nuts and we love it.

Better Late Than Never!

My Artist Inspired

Goddess was dressed up over the weekend in her lovely hand-me-down Pocahontes costume. We are lucky enough that her Godmother's daughter is 7 years old than her and we received a lot of her fun hand-me-downs. I love seeing her do her little fashion shows. It is one of my favorite things about having a daughter.

When tassles came off her dress she pouted for a moment than got to work completely inspired.

I love the one of her checking the colors on her sleeve and that first one and how much she is concentrating. When she is in the zone we just leave her to it.

Here is the finished product! Yup, looks just like her.

365 Day Challenge Day 3 - Light Reflection

Moving along with my 365 I mean 366 Day Photo Challenge since it is a Leap Year.

Day 3 brings some beautiful light reflections from one of my Christmas decorations. We were going to take the tree down on Sunday, but I needed one more day. I seriously love having it in the room this year. Usually I am ready to get it out and get my living room back but this year I really want it to stay. The lights this year just bring me peace. Even during the day, it is beautiful with the light reflections that dance on the wall as the sun shines through the garland.

I took about 5 photos of this reflection and this is my favorite.

Since there is so much red in there, I decided to use it as my Ruby Tuesday too!

Fat Boy Chronicles Released on DVD Today

Once again I am reviewing a Dove.org Family Approved movie. They have never let me down either, Dove movies are family friendly and appropriate for all ages.

The 411:
Obesity is something I am extremely sensitive about. Growing up with overweight parents my mother was extremely overweight and my dad yoyo'd all the time. My sister grew up hearing all the horrible names and sayings kids say to kids who are different than them.  She is now a very comfortable, confident, overweight woman but as children, it hurt me to hear the kids say such terrible things to her.  I completely empathize with Jimmy.

Jimmy is a sweet faced boy starting a new school who is teased by not only the kids in school but by his own sister.  My heart hurt watching him teased in the locker room by the other boys. School is hard enough but so many children are never taught how to be accepting of others.

Even the adults in the movies, like the teachers and parents of friends are just plain rude and mean. Which is just disgraceful but very real. My sister no longer speaks with my grandmother because so many never realize that their words effect people.

One of Jimmy's teachers gives an assignment about keeping a journal which becomes the narrative basis of the movie. We get to hear Jimmy's thoughts throughout the movie about his real feelings.

It broke my heart watching Jimmy struggle with his feelings and his emotions. If nothing else, I would hope a movie like this would show kids how NOT to treat others.

After his doctor tells him he is only 14 and 188 pounds that he is a little overweight. Jimmy tells the doctor about the students and teachers making fun of him and the he doctor explains to him that if he doesn't lose weight teasing will be the least of his problems.

Jimmy starts a weight loss plan on his own with a goal. He starts running and eating better. 

My favorite parts of the movie are how supportive and encouraging his parents are. His father running with him and his mother meeting him at the end of his runs. Very cute! Everyone needs support.
 

While the message of this movie is about bullying and the affect it has on others, there was so much more to it. All of the young characters have flaws. One girl is a cutter, the popular kid has trouble in school, Jimmy's best friend Paul has an alcoholic father who ignores him. Underneath we all have problems that make us weak, that hurt our hearts, that make us different, but if we learn to accept others differences and not see them as faults we will all be better off. 

Jimmy has a lot to deal with but thanks to the love of his parents, friends and even an ex bully he comes out on top in the long run.

Positives of the movie:

• Parents who are there for their kids
• Families who go to church together
• Friendship
• Perseverance
• Will power
• Commitment
• Journaling
• Learning acceptance

The young actors in this movie do an incredible job especially by Christopher Rivera!

My Christmas Blues

My Decorations that is! I rarely get the blues and I thank my children for that because after I became a mom, my whole attitude changed. As someone who used to stress constantly and feel nervous, lonely, upset, afraid, blah, blah, I realized I was spending too much time on things I had no time for. Life is short and every day is a blessed day. Why stress over things I have no control over? The only blues I ever get now are the ones that I pay for like these Christmas ornaments.

As you can see, we are a Giant house. My husband has been a Giant fan since he was about Handsome's age. Handsome has no choice right now...the kids cheer for the Giants with Teach every game. We shall see what happens when they get older because Teach's dad is a diehard Jet fan.

We are also very patriotic here. This is a popular ornament with my kids.

365 Day Challenge Day 2 - Goddess' Ornament

When I was a kid my parents allowed us to pick out an ornament every year. We would head to Adams and pick an ornament that spoke to us. Whatever that would be for a young child. Sometimes it was an elf or a cat. I haven't done this with my kids yet mostly because I haven't found a place that sells ornaments other than Hallmark and also because ornaments are extremely expensive these days.

I love the idea of an eclectic tree and find trees with the same ball pattern over and over beautiful but boring so I have occasionally purchased ornaments for the kids. This is one of my favorites that I bought for Goddess. It is just so cute with its little angel wings and the red hat! Love it. The wings say, Always Believe.

I believe! DO you?

365 Day Challenge Day 1 - Doll Face

Goddess asked for Monster High Dolls this year. It was what she mentioned anytime anyone asked her. I love them too and was happy to pick up a few for her this year from her Aunt Marta. Marta sends the money and I pick up goods.

Tomorrow the tree comes down so I took some photos of it today. I will really miss it. I love the feeling of the house when the lights are on and the bokeh effect of the lights in the background.

So on day 1 of my 365 day challenge, I am sharing a photo of Spectra Vondergeist . Isn't she pretty?

Happy New Year

Wow 2012 can you believe it!?

So, if we believe those who have interpreted the Mayan Calendar, December 21, 2012 will be Doomsday. Doomsday, the end of the world. The end of humanity. Scary thought right?!

Is this something that you worry about? If it was true how would you live your last months?  I would want to not change a thing. I wouldn't run up my credit cards, I wouldn't use all my savings (as if there is one), I wouldn't say goodbye or make peace with the inevitable. I would love to take my kids to Disney if possible. But on the 21st, I would sit with my family as I do everyday and just be. No reason to stress over what I have no control over. I would want it to be swift and fast. Painless and than nothing!

Since I am choosing to believe that the historians are wrong and that on December 22nd, the hoopla dies down and everyone rejoices as they wake to a new sun. A day like any other but more special because it was to be the end. Hopefully upon waking more people will rejoice in the gift that is life and not waste it by being jealous, hateful, closed off, close minded, resentful or just plain old mean. Hopefully like the Grinch their hearts will grow three sizes that day.

Fear not my friends. The Mayans do not believe the end is near....in fact, on April 8, 2011 they addressed the world with a Mayan message.

Not lost on me is the fact that my mother was gone 33 years that day.

33 is significant in many ways

• The divine name Elohim appears 33 times in the story of creation in the opening chapters of Genesis.
• Lag Ba'omer is a minor Jewish holiday which falls on the 33rd day of the Omer
• Jesus's age when he was crucified in 33 A.D., according to many Christian traditions, though not verified historically.
• According to Al-Ghazali the dwellers of Heaven will exist eternally in a state of being age 33.^[3]
• Jesus performed 33 recorded miracles
• 33 is not only a numerical representation of “the Star of David,” but also the numerical equivalent of AMEN: 1+13+5+14=33.

INTERESTING and ...Amen to that.

• Pope John Paul I, the 33-day pope. One of the shortest reigns in papal history, and it resulted in the most recent 3-pope year.
• the highest degree in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.

Whether or not you believe Doomsday will be December 21, 2012, you cannot deny that this world needs change. It is completely out of balance and gets scarier every day.

My hope for 2012 on a personal note is that I will fear less, do more, love more, learn more, make more, see more, live more!

My hope for the world is that more people will do the same.


Live in peace everyone for tomorrow is a gift. Breathe, love, live, and find peace in your heart.