The good news is that I do not have to depend on mom if I want to get my hands on another sock monkey. You can buy a vibrant, updated sock monkey at www.genuinemonkeez.com. They sent me a Colonial Candle Sock Monkey night light to try out and the entire family has fallen in love with the cute little guy. It’s a little bit of nostalgia in the face of the modern world. And, it’s been a great way to introduce my six-year-old daughter to the classic Sock Monkey of my youth. The updated versions come in red, blue, green and orange and really appeal more to kids my daughter’s age than the classic brown monkey dolls. Plus, this version has magnets in the hands and feet that can cling to one another or any metal surface. The options for fun are endless. The site offers clothing for the dolls and related accessories. That’s where you can find the link to buy one of the night lights like the one I have pictured in this review.

Vibrant, stained-glass style colors.

The warm glow of the light when it is switched on in a dark room.

I think there have only been two episodes on so far. I taped it last night, but a minute in I realized it was a rerun and deleted it from the DVR. Even so, those two episodes were an awful lot of fun.

As you may be able to tell from the title of the show, it is a dating experiment where couples get to know each other in a completely dark room. At the end, the each pick who they want to see in the light and after having a few seconds to see the face and body of the person they have developed a relationship of sorts with, thy decide whether or not to meet back up and discuss going on future dates.

The first episode had a semi-attractive female contestant that thought a lot more of herself than I assume most people thin of her, and she decided not to meet back up with her intended. This, despite the fact that the guy was perfectly cute, a great kisser, and charming. She just felt that looks-wise he was below her. I can only hope this hinders her dating out in the real world. She showed her true colors and they were muddled and grey.

The second episode did have one guy decide not to meet up with his very hot partner after he saw her, but not because she wasn’t smokin’ hot (because he agreed that she was), but because she was too religious for him. At least he showed some internal character via his actions. There was also a guy who packed a Kettlebell in his luggage and had to prove to his date that he was more than just a muscle head, but that worked out in the end and was a delightlful show that not all stereotypes are justly founded.

It’s a flimsy summer show, for sure, but good for a chuckle and shines some light on the ongoing debate about whether or not looks really matter when it comes to love.

But, our local government is seeing some of the same financial woes that the school bard is seeing and they have cut library hours drastically. Most branches are only open in the evenings a couple of days a week all branches shut down two days out of the week. You should see how CROWDED the libraries are now when they are open. The irony is that more people than ever are using their servers and they have to fit all those people into less hours. Yikes. Don’t expect a quiet place to study at any of the libraries around here. They are mini madhouses filled with people eating in line for computer access, crowding into the video aisles, and jockeying for the best books in the children’s section. Oddly, the people who WORK at the library are the loudest ones of the bunch, but that’s more appropriate for a letter to the editor than a blog article.

Anyway, you can see how much I rely on the library for our household book consumption. Even with my complaints, I would rather see my daughter spend time reading than doubling up her time on the XBox or spending too much time in the hot, Florida mid-day sun. The library is the one local tax-funded amenity I really use and I try to do my part to help. I donate books, help with fundraisers and gladly overpay on fines. It’s just so flipping stressful to go there now and fight the hoards. I have had a stack of books to return sitting on my foyer table for a week. In the meantime, I have actually made two trips to the Barnes & Noble around the corner and purchased some of the books I have been eager to read. It just seems easier. I find that I am avoiding the library for the same reason I avoid the Mall – too many people rudely jostling for position, too many out-of-control kids, and not enough incentive to stay.

On the other hand, my daughter and I are both re-discovering some of the books we already have on our bookshelves. Re-reading is a luxury I rarely make time for and now is the time to remedy that.

To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music that words make.
–Truman Capote

They are all shaved from chin to toe, bulked up muscles, frat-boy clothing, and lots of dim-witted bathroom humor. Even if a few of them are indeed intelligent, the producers sure are not going out of their way to highlight those particular characteristics.

My question is: do the producers have all the say in choosing the pool of men ore are the guys picked based on some sort of questionnaire Jillian filled out? I hope it’s not the latter, because then it just means the poor girl is simply getting a reality dose of her own yearnings. Yikes.

Last week Jillian and one of her men (who she ultimately ended up sending home – despite the fact that he seemed a lot more down to earth than most of the other guys) got to choose between a vintage car and a slick Ferrari. Jillians’s date chose the Ferrari and I had a flash image of Ferrari parts flying all over the highway as the two dolts took off at warp speed. Thankfully, all was safe.

I really want to stop watching the show, but then last week Jillian also kept psychopathic David around for another week of train wreck entertainment. I feel oddly compelled to tune and watch him drunkenly bandy around the house with his eyes popping out of his head as he makes violent threats about other contestants. I almost WANT to see the stronger bachelors tell him he is a nut job while the obviously wimpy bachelors buddy up to him and tell David they agree with his conspiracy-theory-esque rantings.

What a mess.

Now, I have to battle my daughter to get her to play with something aside from online computer games and watching television. She loves her dolls and books, but not as much as she loves the fact that at her dad’s house he lets her play with his xbox 360.

How can I compete? I am after her all of the time to be active and run. She thinks my idea of fun is boring. Despite that, I am going to continue to keep on her about being outside and being active, because I want her to have effortless fitness. I want her to be able to see that with the right amount of physical activity she can eat a healthy amount of food and still look great. I want her to LIKE being active, derive joy from movement and activity. Why is that such a battle?

I just want to talk about my experience as a mother of a six-year-old girl. We went to see the Hannah Montana movie early this morning. My daughter really wanted to see it last night, but I reminded her that if we see a movie before noon on a weekend, we can both get in for $5 each. It would have cost me considerably more last night and although the movie was actually very good, I think it was much more worth my money at the $5 price.

The movie is chock full of references to family devotion, honesty, and the search for humility and looking for your dreams in your roots. The superstar side of the character (Hannah Montana) is not the focus of this movie. The story revolves much more around Miley Stewart and her family. She struggles with her desire for the lifestyle her fame as Hannah affords her, but we ultimately watch her discover that her family is a nobler pursuit.

When taking my daughter to a movie, I am much more concerned with the small details, like any use of questionable language, the way the young female characters dress, and how love relationships are portrayed. In true Disney style, we don’t see belly buttons or short skirts in this movie. There is no objectionable language. And, though there are a couple of onscreen kisses, the camera angle is such that actual lip-lock is obscured.

The movie uses many of the same characters and inside jokes as the Hannah Montana television show, but the movie also gives us some of the back story many of us may have misses – the story of Miley’s mother, how Miley got her nickname, and why Miley’s dad keeps such a tight hold on his county roots.

All in all, it is completely appropriate for a young child. Though a bit simplistic for adults, the movie still made me smile.

And tonight, my DVR filled up and it did not record Life on Mars. I have not been keeping up with old episodes of some shows and I just plain ran out of space. But the irony! This is the only show that did not record tonight. Lost ended one minute early and I can live with that. Life on Mars, though, I was really looking forward to watching this final episode.

I know I can go to the ABC website and watch it, but I am not sure when they will put up this last episode. It is not on there now.

I have small pleasures in my life, as it stands. Little things. This was one of them.

And, by the way, why can’t TV watchers be a more savvy bunch? Journeyman and Life on Mars were both *smart* shows. And still, crap like Dancing with the Stars and American Idol run season after season.

My style is to find a game I can play online preferably for free, and then find a group of like-minded players to team up with for a more interactive game experience. I’m not particularly into super aggressive or violent games, and now that my daughter is interested in online games as well, I look more often for games we can enjoy together. May as well make it a family event and work in more quality time with my daughter.

Virtual paper dolls and online games based on cartoons only interested Gigi for so long. She has her eye on the generation ahead of her, just like any young child. I have no desire for her to zip right into teen oriented games, so I’m always on the lookout for age appropriate games for her.

MEGA Brands has some very cool, very kid-friendly online games available. We’ve signed up for several. The latest in our family gaming venture is MagNext Virtual. It’s a MMORPG based on MEGA’s popular MagNext toys. My daughter’s cousin has an impressive collection and they are always the toy of preference when we are there to visit – which is often. So, you can imagine that we were sold on the concept as soon as we found the game portal.

While you are playing, you can hang out in virtual social rooms, chat safely with other players and earn Magz that allow you to “purchase” new skills and cool game gear. Because the system is multi-player, you can challenge other players to contests and learn new game skills.

The best part, aside from the fact that it is action packed and kid friendly, is that you can play free forever. Sign up and join in on the fun. We enjoyed it so much my daughter and I had to make an agreement about a daily time limitation.

Well, it’s not such a far-fetched concept these days. We live in a society where most people have direct access to digital video cameras and sophisticated editing software. Starring in your own film is only a matter of your own motivation.

So, how would you like to win a cool $500 just by writing, directing and starring in your own digital short? Yeah, I know, it rocks. And, it’s as simple as creating your own digital commercial starring yourself (or even family or friends) and submitting it to Scour.com. Not only will the winning commercial win $500, it will also be featured on the Scour website.

Essentially, Scour will be paying the winner AND giving them an amazing amount of free exposure. That alone is worth more than you can imagine. Scour is a great platform for exposure, too, because the site is a sophisticated online search portal that allows users to vote and comment on relevancy, which adds the human touch that so many other search engines are lacking.

So, take a seat in your director’s chair and get going on a winning idea for a new Scour Commercial. You can check out their website for all of the nitty-gritty. Give them 45 seconds and they might just give you $500.