Spring Showers…

Tags

digging in the dirt, flowers, SPRING!

 

Dahlia’s on the Sill (Photo credit: So Sylvie)

 

Hello again, everyone! I have been so busy lately that I have neglected my blog (insert slap on wrist here), so I have decided to profess my apology and write a post on my second favorite time of the year- SPRING! This weekend was beautiful and one of the things I love most about living in The South is the mild weather. Tiny Dancer and I played in the dirt, planting some new bulbs (dahlia’s if you are wondering) in the pot that she asked the Easter Bunny for. My daughter really is a girl after my own heart- instead of asking for candy, she asked for flowers to plant! *deep sigh* Anyway, we planted and talked and sun-worshipped, then re-filled all my bird feeders.

 

Flower (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

Summer is my favorite, even with the wet blanket feel of the humidity, but Spring has it’s own special place in my heart. It is a time of regrowth; the rain washing away all the brittleness and death of Winter. Flowers fighting the earth- pushing their leafy arms and colorful heads to the sun. Birds building their homes and tending their babies in the nest. So take a walk, observe nature and maybe feel a little poetic. Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses…

English: rose bunch, Rosa sp. cultivars, flower market, Place Monge, Paris Français : bouquet de roses, Rosa sp. horticoles, marché aux fleurs, Place Monge, Paris (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

Tags

bump in the night, haunted house, my evil daughter, scary

When I was growing up my friends and I loved to be scared.    We were adrenaline junkies, getting our fix one scream at a time.  We would have weekly sleepovers- gather around our popcorn bowls, sit with our backs to the couch (just in case someone got it in their mind to sneak up on us!), grab our blankets and pop the newest scary movie into the VCR (youngin’s ask your parents).  Fall was our favorite season; when Halloween rolled around we would head to the local haunted house- located at the volunteer fire department- and anxiously wait in line to have the beejezus scared out of us.  We would watch people run out of the exit screaming and absolutely could not wait until we were standing in front of “The Devil” having the rules explained to us.  We knew the teenagers that were acting as the “monsters”, so of course that gave them liberty to break the most important rule- “Don’t touch the monsters because they can’t touch you.” It is a lie.

I think I viewed every Horror movie that came out between 1980 to 2000.  From Jason to Freddy, from Ghostface to the creepy kids in Children of the Corn or Village of the Damned- I knew them all.   I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was setting myself up for BIG trouble.  I didn’t think about the fact that one day, I would be living in a house without my mommy!  I would have to go outside, who am I kidding? look outside to investigate a strange noise.  There would be times that I would be alone…at night…by myself…in the dark (you get the idea).  The end result of all that scary movie loving is a grown-A woman that is scared of the dark, doesn’t sleep with my feet dangling off the side of the bed (the monster under there will bite them off), and has to do the mad dash around the house to turn off lights at night.  Does anyone else do this absurd dance:  1-turn on the hall light, 2-walk to the room at the end of the hall, 3-turn on the light in the room, 4-go back down the hall to switch off the hall light, 5-walk/run back down the hallway to the room, etc. just to keep from having to walk in the dark??  It’s pitiful and weird, I know!  Such a waste of time…. anyway, as I was saying, I am now a big scaredy cat! I know that all the gore and scariness from my youth has permanently damaged my brain and now I jump at my shadow.  I have too active of an imagination and sometimes can’t separate the fiction from reality.   Reading this I’ve realized I probably would benefit from seeking the advice of a therapist……

You’re probably wondering why I tell you all this information.  The answer is this:  My daughter is a maniacal monster who loves to scare me at every opportunity.  Her favorite thing in the world to do is to hide around corners and jump out at me.  Of course, I inadvertently give her the reaction she craves: clutching my hand to my heart, I holler (you read that right, I live in the South), jump at least a foot off the ground, and scream “Don’t ever do that to me again!  What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?!”  She proceeds to stand there, laughing her villainous laugh, practically rubbing her hands together.  I guess this is what I deserve after torturing myself my whole adolescent life with terror; a daughter that thinks scaring me is the funniest thing on the face of the planet.  Lord save me from dark corners and my daughter!

Books, Books and Books

Tags

Cassandra Clare, City of Bones, Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Princess, Infernal Devices, List of The Mortal Instruments characters, Mortal Instrument, New York City

 

Ok, so it is no secret that I love books.  I love everything about them- the smell of the paper, the soft rustle of a page turning (no dog-ears!), the artwork that decorates the cover.  I have to admit, I was hesitant at the beginning of the “electronic book reader” craze;  I thought, “There’s no way I will be able to stand using one of those things!”  “People that use those don’t appreciate all the great little details of an actual bound book!”  I eventually came to see the error of my ways, and love, love, love my e-reader (a Nook).  It satisfies my instant gratification; I don’t have to get in my car and eww- drive– somewhere to find the newest release of the series I am reading.  Now don’t get me wrong- I still pick up a bound book every now and again.  I am a re-reader, a lover of stories already read; and since I read so often, by the time I pick up a previously read book, I have usually forgotten all the details that I fell in love with the first time around. 

Now to the good stuff:  I just finished the last book in a series that has absorbed my life the past couple of years.  To be more specific, this was the last in the trilogy pre-quell.  I do love a good pre-quell.  The original series was 5 books entitled The Mortal Instruments and the Pre-quell is listed as The Infernal Devices.  Now I am going to get on my soapbox for a minute, bear with me.  You may have seen the movie trailer for City of Bones, which is the first book in the Mortal Instruments series.  I am not a lover of movie adaptations of books.  I have continually been disappointed by what Hollywood has done to my beloved books; but if you decide to see the movie when it is released (as I will- holding out hope they will stick to what is between the covers) please do not let that stop you from reading these books!  Cassandra Clare pulls you into a world of fallen angels, werewolves, vampires, warlocks and creatures never heard of; but do not make the mistake of thinking this is like other Young Adult books of a supernatural nature that are currently on the bestseller shelves.  These vampires do not sparkle.  Her characters are beautifully developed and the heroine- Clary Fray– is a strong, witty and courageous young girl.  I found myself on a journey with these Shadowhunters, from present-day New York City to foreign, un-heard of lands.  The pre-quell, The Infernal Devices, take place in London in the 1870’s.   Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and Clockwork Princess round out the Mortal Instrument series with the return of previously read characters (if you go in order, which I recommend you do) and a heart tripping love triangle.  I thoroughly enjoyed finding treasures, Easter Eggs if you will, that referenced the original series.  I love when a series comes to an end and everything is wrapped up in a lovely bow.  There is nothing worse to me than a plot hole or a hanging question.  So please read these two series so that we can talk about how much you enjoyed them (because I guarantee you will!).  I will list them below in order to help you out.

The Mortal Instruments

1. City of Bones
2. City of Ashes
3. City of Glass
4. City of Fallen Angels
5. City of Lost Souls

Infernal Devices

1. Clockwork Angel
2. Clockwork Prince
3. Clockwork Princess

Hope you love them as much as I do!  Happy Reading!

Step by Step (NKOTB)

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Day-Glow, New Kids on the Block, Reebok, Stirrup-Pants

Last week I escorted Tiny Dancer to her weekly competition dance team practice.  While waiting for her class to start, I noticed one of her teammates rocking a white t-shirt with pink, green and yellow day glow paint splatters on the front.  On each of the splatters was a picture of a boy’s face- five faces in all.  I jumped up and said, “Mary!  Is that a New Kids on The Block t-shirt?!”  She cocked her 8 year-old head to the side and said, “Who?”  I sat back down and realized my folly- it was a New Direction t-shirt disguised as a NKOTB seller from the early 90’s.  I was so disappointed!  Here I thought that my all-time favorite boy band was making a come back, fueled by the upcoming NKOTB, Boyz II Men and 98 degrees concert tour, but the face did not belong to my beloved Joey or Jordan.  While waiting for Tiny Dancer’s class to finish, I reminisced about my childhood- listening to my cassette tap of NKOTB, putting on my stirrup pants and bathing myself in my Malibu Musk perfume spray.  My mother could smell me coming down the hallway 5 minutes before I would reach the room.  Those were the days of crimped hair pulled in to a side ponytail; t-shirts that hung down to your knees but knotted at the waist; Day-Glow leggings and scrunched socks.  Before N*Sync, Backstreet Boys, 98 degrees and now New Direction- was New Kids on The Block.  They were definitely not the first boy band and they won’t be the last, but they will always have a special place in my heart because they were MY first.  So break out your Reebok high-tops and do the Running Man while you sing Step By Step, Hang Tough or Cover Girl!  To each their own.

Footloose, Footloose, Kick off your Sunday shoes!

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80's movies, Dancing, Footloose, Kevin Bacon

My all-time favorite “dance” movie is Footloose.  Now, when I say that, I mean the old- school real Footloose.  Not the Juliana Hough version, even though it is OK, nothing beats the original.  It had everything- a superb soundtrack, a good-looking male lead, a rebellious teenage girl, spunky sidekick (a young SJP pre-Sex in the City), and don’t forget the awesome dance moves.  I will admit that I have the whole opening and ending dance sequence memorized.  Don’t make me prove it.  Then again, go ahead.  Anyway, as I was rambling, I have been bombarded by Footloose imagery lately!  Last week’s Glee episode was about favorite movie songs and “Footloose” closed the show.  My daughter- lets call her Tiny Dancer for our purposes- is working on a Tap dance to the song.  And just this evening, The Fam and I enjoyed the local high school’s performance of the show!  For my further listening enjoyment, the two teenagers playing Ren and Ariel were fantastic singers (nothing is worse than sitting through two hours of off-key singing from the mouth of a sweaty, pimply teen- trust me, I’ve lived to tell the tale.  I have been in Kevin Bacon heaven. I want to take my dance- challenged BFF (again, Brenda fits this description) and show her how to move her feet.   I  want to rush out to my local Salvation Army and buy a Pink taffeta prom dress circa 1984 .  I want to confront the town council with my Bible and say, “Dancing is not a crime.”  I want to slide across the dance floor on my knees while shouting, “Let’s dance!”  So come on my friends, turn up the Kenny Loggins and bust a move!

First Things First

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Movies

English: Cropped screenshot of Audrey Hepburn from the trailer for the film en:Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You probably gathered from the title of my brand spankin’ new blog that I love books and babies.  But what is the nod to Breakfast at Tiffany’s about?  Well, since you asked so nicely I will tell you.  I was introduced to this fabulous, iconic movie by my BFF Brenda (more on her later).  We had just reached the age that girls begin to practice their eye-roll, dramatic sighing and are the cause of our mothers’ grey hairs.  Holly Golightly (played by Audrey Hepburn for those of you that grew up without a TV set or VCR) was who I wanted to grow up to be!  I wanted to wear a tiara and black evening gloves in the morning.  I wanted to sleep the day away and throw magnificent parties at night.  I wanted to bat my doe eyes at the Japanese man down the hall, keeping him from yelling at me when I inevitably lost my apartment key…… Ok I’m getting carried away- scrap that last sentence.  As I was saying, I wanted to BE Miss Golightly.  Of course looking back now, I see that she was beautifully flawed and damaged, but she reminds me of being 12 and spending time with my best friend.  She taught me about the “Mean Reds” (much worse than the blues) and when they come looking for me, I don’t have to fly to New York and visit Tiffany’s.  I cope by sitting with my kids (babies) and a big, fat book and tell my self that pajama pants and a pony tail will substitute evening gloves and a tiara any day of the week!    I look forward to  seeing  you again soon my Huckelberry Friends!