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I’m not entirely sure how it happened, but this week we accumulated three additional WebKinz. My daughter already had the Lil Unicorn, which she named Rose Petal. Then, Tuesday she got the Pink Poodle and named her Princess Sparkle. (Her cousin got a new WebKinz that day as well, because we got one free with the store promo.)
So, this evening I took her up to a local store to enter a drawing to spin the Wheel of Wow (her name was not drawn) and they were still having the promo, so we walked out with a lil Pink Poodle (which I named Lily) for me and a White Yorkie (which we think looks more like a Maltese) that Gigi named Echo, after our late Maltese.
So, now Gigi has three pets on her account and I opened my own account so I can send her mail and gifts. I have a WebKinz account. That still sounds odd to my ear. I suppose I will just do my best to accumulate as many things as I can and send most of them to my daughter as gifts. Plus, she likes getting mail and right now she is only getting it from her cousin, so I will have to add to the post.
Riding on the coattails of the High School Musical phenomenon is the upcoming “High School Musical: Summer Sessions” reality TV show. The show is to be hosted by Nick Lachey and will air on ABC at 8 p.m. Sundays and Mondays for three weeks beginning July 20 and then at 8 p.m. Mondays through mid-September.
And, if you are an aspiring actor between the ages of 16 to 22, you can audition in Orlando, Florida on May 7 at Champion Stadium in Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.
Although the prize involved in the competition has not been completely clear to the public yet, I am assuming it could very well involve a role in the next High School Musical film. I base that on the quote, “one talented newcomer will receive the opportunity of a lifetime, becoming a part of ‘High School Musical’ history.”
Download your application for the High School Musical Audition.
Generally, I’m a bath person. That is to say that out of the two different types of bathers in this world (those who prefer showers and those who prefer baths), I am one of those who prefers the bath.
But, who has time? As much as I would love to have a calming soak every night; that is a luxury that went out the window with motherhood. I just don’t have enough time to myself, especially as a single mother; to be sitting is a bathtub while my daughter has the run of the house. And, I don’t feel comfortable doing it after she goes to bed, because her “kid sense” perks up and she usually awakes and comes to crash my party.
So, now I am a shower girl. I can get clean a lot faster that way. I had no idea, though, that I would spend my showers in mortal combat with the shower curtain. If my daughter is not sneaking n the bathroom to push the curtain around to stare at me, then there is that creepy bathroom craft that keeps the curtain whipping around my legs as I try to shave or wash my hair.
What’s up with that? Is there some sort of lay of physics I never learned in high school that dictates that a shower curtain has the law of nature on its side and the given ability to shrink your shower space?
Of course, I could buy a curved shower rod to increase the space, but I’m really just not up to drilling holes in the tile to install the fool thing. I did, however, find a product called the ShowerBow. It attaches easily to your existing shower rod and works to create a little more space in the knee and shoulder regions of the shower stall. Plus, it keeps your curtain from blowing in on you. Rather ingenious, but then then I always have believed that some of the best things in life are simple.
Economically, there is at least one advantage to living in Florida. We do not have a state income tax. We do, however, have outrageous property taxes in most counties, as well as a system that is not adequately protesting homeowners from the criminal homeowner’s insurances prices.
Our state sales tax is currently 6%, but nearly every county in the state tacks on at least another penny to cover things like roads and bloated county government salaries. I pay 7% where I live.
You don’t get anything for free. That is a universal truth. With so many people complaining about the cost of property taxes, the state government is offering to make some changes that would cut 25 – 40 percent (or more) off a typical tax bill.
But, at a price!
On November 4, when elections occur, we will have to vote on whether or not to add another cent to the base state sales tax. That would mean 7 cents on most purchases, excluding food, drugs and some other products. Only then would the Legislature eliminate a portion of local property tax.
Since all of the counties in the Tampa Bay area already tack on that extra penny, that means sales tax around here would move to 8 cents on the dollar.
Even with what would look like an extra burden on residents, the proposed change would actually cut a lot of money from schools in the state. The bill would take $7.9 billion from local school budgets statewide, but the extra penny would only give back $3.9 billion.
As distasteful as this increase initially sounds to me, I do see it as a valid way to make some of the illegal individuals working and living in Florida pay a little more tax. It’s a small ray of sunshine.
My daughter is only five, but she already tries to emulate everything I do – the good and the bad. It keeps me honest! I want to be the very best role model for my precious little girl.
Gigi is enamored of my clothes, my shoes, and my make-up. She can spend an hour sitting quietly on her bed with my jewelry box, going through all of the jewelry I have collected over the years. Her eyes sparkle when she asks if one day all of that jewelry will one day belong to her.
Choosing an heirloom to pass down for generations can be as simple as a perfect string of pearls. I got my princess length, white freshwater pearls from Pearl Paradise. I was stunned by the quality and the luminous, simple elegance of the strands. Plus, their prices are surprisingly low.
It was big news in Florida today, as news agencies waited to see what the sentencing phase in the Wesley Snipes case would bring. In the end, a federal judge in Ocala, Florida sentenced Snipes this afternoon to three years in federal prison. That is the maximum sentence he could have received and many people believe he is being used to show an example.
Snipes must also serve one year of probation and he is still expected pay for back taxes after a civil trial.
Eddie Ray Kahn, Snipes’ tax consultant, was convicted of conspiracy and filing a false tax return and received a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Douglas Rosile, the accountant who prepared a fraudulent tax return for Snipes, received 54 months.
Here in Florida, we have a selection of over 100 specialty license plates. Nearly every cause seems to be represented and for just a small additional fee, drivers can show the world what they stand behind ideologically.
The University plates are popular, as are the ones for education and “Choose Life”. Now, Florida Legislature is considering a specialty plate that includes a Christian cross, a stained-glass window and the words “I Believe.”
If it gets approved, Florida will be the first state to have a license plate featuring a religious symbol (that is not part of a college logo).
There are other new license plate designs under consideration as well. One is an “In God We Trust” (also the official motto of both the United States and the state of Florida) plate that would benefit the children of soldiers and law enforcement officers whose parents have died.
It’s hilarious to watch some of the locals duke it out in discussion forums on this issue. So many people cry “separation of church and state,” but they fail to understand that that said separation is only generally implied in our Constitution. The actual phrase was “building a wall of separation between church and state” and was only was written by Thomas Jefferson in a January 1, 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. It is a concept and an idea, but not law exactly.
Yes, I think outlet malls rock and that is saying a lot, since I don’t generally like malls.
When I lived in Martinsburg, WV after college (a long, long time ago), there were two huge outlet malls in town. My favorite was called the Blue Ridge Outlets and they had been put together by a local developer (who also bought the old City Hall downtown and renovated it into his personal home!!!) and were housed in these old textile factory buildings that were about the coolest thing I had ever seen. They had all kinds of original exposed brick and ductwork, but also lots of new and lush hardwood and glass. They were amazing. Sadly, they are no longer open. I have heard the buildings now house the Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. I would love to see that.
I am still a fan out outlet stores, though. I just don’t always know where to find them. I’ve found a very cool guide: the eFactoryOutlets website. It’s an online guide to premium outlet stores, outlet malls, and factory stores in America. I just clicked on Florida on their locator map and got a full page of results. I had all but forgotten that the Prime Outlets at Ellenton aren’t too far from here. I just e-mailed my sister about setting up a trip for this weekend.
By now, most of you have heard about the group of teens who filmed themselves beating 16-year-old Victoria Lindsay back on March 30. They had intended to put the video on sites like YouTube and MySpace in order to create a viral video frenzy of the incident.
Also by now, most of you have heard that the brainiacs got caught and are facing serious charges that could lead to life in jail.
So, now news is emerging about what, other than the mysterious “trash talking” that has been referenced already, may have sparked the beating. It turns out that earlier that same day; Lindsay and Mercades Nichols had bickered over a hairbrush and razor that Lindsay borrowed from Nichols without permission. Nichols supposedly followed the argument up by sending Lindsay threaten text messages.
A hairbrush and a razor? Seriously? There is petty and then there is small-minded and selfish.
I definitely went through a comic book stage in high school and college. I have not bought more than a dozen new comic books in the last ten years, but I used to buy them all the time. I recently found a box of some of my old favorites: Bob Burden’s The Flaming Carrot, some old Elf Quest (I loved Cutter), and even a signed Elric. There are a lot of little gems in there, like Wolverine vs. someone (I would have to look to remember), some very old Shadow commix, and various comics from the Dave Sim Cerebus storyline (R.I.P).
Ut! I think I even still have some mind Flaming Carrot trading cards.
I have no idea if I will just continue to hold onto the comics or give them away, or maybe even try and sell them. I have no idea how much they are worth, so a good Comic Price Guide is in order. In the past, I have found the guides you buy in bookstores to be rather disappointing, because they are outdated almost before they come off the press. So, comics.iTaggit.com site is particular encouraging. It is free to sign up and you can use their dynamic tools or even get other members to help you with pricing.
Hmmm, maybe I will actually sell some of these comics.
A good number of Americans are beginning to horde food, cut out drives to anywhere except school and work, and cut out non-essential expenses like using the air conditioner before it hits 90 degrees outside.
In the meantime, clowns like Tom Cruise and his zombie wife Katie Homles are spending $100,000 for 24 guests to attend the 2nd birthday party for their daughter, Suri.
Let’s take a look at some of the expenses, shall we?
Individual hat-shaped cakes for each guest, complete with the guest’s name in icing
$230 worth of cupcakes in flavors like lemon coconut and chai latte
Suri’s four-tiered, polka-dotted cake, with yellow and white sugar butterflies, from Sweet Lady Jane Bakery in West Hollywood
$45,000 in catered food from Wolfgang Puck
$17,000 worth of fresh flowers
I’m no communist, but I can still see how a society with such unbalanced financial tiers is just beyond insane. When I think about the money that Cruise is being paid for simply mucking around in a movie, I get sick to my stomach. He is not, by any stretch, the best actor of our generation. He is not even a celebrity that appeals to very may people anymore. And yet, he continues to make a mockery of American life by tossing around this kind of money when people who live in the same town as him are cutting their prescription pills in half.
I have some family members who are difficult to buy for on special holiday and occasions. It’s not that they are critical or even picky. It’s just that they pretty much have everything they really want and need. One year I finally hit on the idea of making personal photo gifts for them.
For example, a couple of years ago I made my step-mother a moue pad with a photo of her new grand-daughter on it. I have made t-shirts for my dad. I’ve done some stunning photo calendars for various relatives (and made one for myself in the process!). Before I was divorced, I used to have a mug made for my daughter’s father each Christmas with pictures of Gigi from that year, so he could have a handy little record of how she changed over the years.
In a society where most of us have too many decorative frames, coffee table books, and impersonal tchotchkes, the things I have had made with sentimental photos have always been a huge hit. You can find a stores online, like Sae Cheez, that actually specialize in varies lines of customizable gifts.
I was in college when I first became aware of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). I never became involved, but I flitted on the outskirts of the world so many of many friends created for themselves in the fantasy of Renaissance life. Along the years I have attended my fair share of Renaissance festivals in many states. I have enjoyed the benefit of having friends who have closets full of enchanting costumes and practiced mannerisms that nearly sweep one back in time.
It’s not like you can just walk into your local Galleria and find the bodices, bloomers, and surcotes you need to fully realize a believable character. A lot of my friends sewed their own costumes, or had other friends make them. Most of them, though, would locate the proverbial needle in a haystack and track down a retailer that sold the right costuming elements.
I went to college before the internet was a full-fledged phenomenon, so finding the costume retailers was a feat. Now, you can just logon and find sites like The Renaissance Store. It’s like a dream come true if you are planning a costume for a RenFest or the like. And, I finally found a believable pirate costume for my nephew that we can use for next year’s Pirate and Princess Party at Disney.
When you are a mom, it is somehow a great comfort to read about the everyday lives of other moms. It makes you feel more in tune, more normal, and a lot less alone. I’m not sure I would have said I liked to read about the day-to-day musings of a mom before I had my own daughter, but I can sure say it now.
I love to read blogs written by Mommy Bloggers.
Looking at the demographics of this blog’s traffic, there is a reasonable chance that if you are reading this right now, you are also a mom. So, with that in mind I will pass along to you from time to time the blogs of other moms. In fact, here’s one for you now: My Take, the blog of a New York mom with a background in education. Give it a read.
I wrote on April 18 about how Florida was probably going to ban ”truck nutz“.
Thank goodness for a glimmer of good taste in our state. Today, the bill that makes hanging “truck nutz” from your vehicle a moving violation passed the Senate by 37-2. The odd-balls who voted against it were Republican Sen. Bill Posey and Democrat Sen. Frederica Wilson.
Here in Florida, we have a selection of over 100 specialty license plates. Nearly every cause seems to be represented and for just a small additional fee, drivers can show the world what they stand behind ideologically.
