Have a Very Scary Christmas :)

My first grader had a class project last week where he had to prepare a presentation about how our family celebrates the holiday season. Some of the kids celebrate Christmas and some celebrate Hanukkah. The first part of the assignment required the kids to draw a picture that showed how their family decorates for the holidays. My little boy colored a picture that was very dark and a little scary looking. In one corner it looked like there was a knife with blood. I asked him how his picture symbolized Christmas. He said, "Weeellll, our family also celebrates Halloween!!

Why Don't You "Stay A Spell"?

While on a recent trip to the East Coast, I paid a visit to the Bewitched Bed & Breakfast in Rehoboth Beach. The lovely owners, Inez and Shirley, graciously offered me a tour when I called them completely out of the blue. They have three beautiful B & B's in a row and one of them is completely Bewitched theme. Such a fun place to stay!!

http://www.seawitchmanor.com/

Hell's Kitchen!

I love a good haunted house! Our neighborhood has a fun Halloween event and this year we've decided to add a Haunted Kitchen. I'm in charge, so I'm calling on all my creative friends to send me your great ideas! I've come up with some scary "menu" items: Mice-A-Roni, Hot Apple Spider, Spaghetti and Eyeballs & for dessert a nice slice of Frosted Chocolate Snake! We also got lucky because one of our neighbors produced the Halloween movies, so we have access to some cool props and costumes. I'm thinking that we stick with the kitchen theme and have people dressed like scary chefs, waitresses, etc.
We'll have a less scary version early in the night for the younger kids and a teenage version later on. Any suggestions on how to totally transform a banquet room catering kitchen?

Fight On!

I love college football! The USC-Ohio State game tonight was absolute perfection. Have you ever ridden a roller coaster and found yourself laughing hysterically and totally exhilarated? That's how I felt after tonight's game. Led by our true freshman quarterback, Matt Barkley, we're going to have quite a season.
Great job kid!

Fried Pickles?

When I was in Junior High and High School, our family did weekly theme dinners, like "taco night" (which we still occasionally do) and "fry"day, which ironically we had on Thursday. Keep in mind this was quite awhile ago and folks weren't as health conscious. Our family had a deep fat fryer (just sounds unhealthy, doesn't it?) and my mom would cook up a tasty assortment of sizzling treats: fish sticks, tater tots, vegetables. As an adult, I'm not a huge fan of fried foods, but I do enjoy hearing about the latest crunchy offerings that they come up with each year at the county fairs. We took the family to a fair this summer and one of my sons was delighted with the deep fried pickles, which were actually better than they sound. I recently heard about one of the most disgusting sounding treats ever: Deep fried BUTTER! I wish I were kidding.

Firestorm!

I'm a big supporter of lifelong learning. I try to take a college course every semester on a topic of interest. I'm also not afraid to admit that I don't know something. If I can't answer a question, I turn to the internet (much as I turned to encyclopedias when I was young.). This week I was confronted by something that I'd never seen or heard of before (see photo above). I learned about clouds when I was a kid: stratus, cumulus, nimbus; but somehow, I'd missed out on learning about pyrocumulus clouds. They're formed when a rapidly moving fire sucks all the moisture out of the atmosphere and burning brush. The most amazing example of nature taking care of itself is that the clouds can turn to rain and extinguish the fire! In an ironic twist on the workings of Mother Nature, the clouds can also produce lightening which can start another fire.

In Living Color!

I was reading to my youngest son about the history of Sesame Street, which happens to be celebrating it's 40th season. The story featured lots of photographs, including a black and white shot with Bill Cosby. He asked me what year the photo was from & I guessed somewhere around 1970. My dear little boy asked "When did color start Mommy?". I explained about color television and photographs. I told him that when I was young, lots of people only had black and white television sets and NBC had an animated peacock that would open it's tail with a voiceover that said "The following program is brought to you in color". My sister Diane & I called it the "following peacock". After I'd finished explaining, he said "I mean when did color come to the earth,like the sky and the trees?". My sweet little son thought that the entire world was black and white in 1970.

The Joys of Summer

Do you remember Otter Pops? Of course you do, they're still around. I'm a fan of Strawberry Short Kook. There are so many things that I love about summer, but today while watching my kids invent new dives (Look I'm a pencil! I'm a question mark!), I realized that not many people have diving boards anymore. I wonder if they were deemed too unsafe, like those merry-go-rounds that used to be on every school playground and now you only see in deserted parks. When I was little, we had a diving board and our parents also got one of those big fiberglass pool slides. Boy, did we have fun with that! These days, it seems like people only have rockslides that look like something you'd find at a 5 star resort. Since my childhood home is only a couple miles from our current home, I drove by and took a peek in the backyard. The pool's still there, but no diving board or slide! Oh, well.
Another thing that I'm enjoying this summer are popsicle stick jokes. Example: Where do actors go camping? The Holly Woods! Is that funny, Mommy? Yes, it is.
Summer is all about the simple pleasures. Put on some sunscreen and Enjoy!

Reading is FUNdamental!

Summer is here. Hooray!! Even though summer is associated with outdoor activities, I thought I'd write about one of my favorite indoor locations: the library. We visit our local library at least once a week all year long. Where else can you get all the current magazines, bestsellers, the latest dvd releases and internet access...FOR FREE!? Our library has fireplaces, comfortable chairs and year round activities for kids. We read nightly bedtime stories on school nights and the current favorites for 5-9 year olds are the Roscoe Riley Rules series by Katherine Applegate and the My Weird School series by Dan Gutman. If you haven't been to the library lately, check it out (pun intended!).

You're Still The One!

I thought you might enjoy my birthday photo (Thanks John!) and also footage from the Celebrity Brides show I did:
http://www.joost.com/201rs8y/t/Celebrity-Brides-Unveiled-S2-ep-4

Play Ball!

It's T-Ball season in Southern California! If you've never been to a T-Ball game, let me explain it for you. It's played by 5-6 year olds who have very limited knowledge of the sport. The ball is hit off a "tee", so no one strikes out. After the ball is hit, the coach "reminds" the hitter to run. Every player on the opposite team leaves their respective positions on the field & runs for the ball. The result is a large pile of little children. The sport, at least in the league where my kids play, is completely noncompetitive. The score is always a tie & the parents shout encouragement instead of orders. Definitely a fun way for a family to spend an afternoon. Play ball!

Magic Castle & They Liked My Dress!

Alright, I'll admit it. I do now & have always loved magic! I don't think it has anything to do with being on Bewitched, but who knows. One of the coolest places in the entire world is the Magic Castle in Hollywood. I guess you could describe it as a really hip private club where magicians gather & perform. Last night Darren & I went to the Academy of Magical Arts 41st Annual Awards at the Avalon. Neil Patrick Harris was the host of the event. NPH is not only talented & funny, but he's also a lifelong fan of magic. He's on the board at the Magic Castle & was part of their junior program when he was a kid. The show was amazing & to top it off the press liked my dress!
http://jezebel.com/5166626/the-stylish-had-tricks-up-their-sleeves-at-the-magic-arts-awards#c

Potentially Great News!

I don'​t know if they'​re jokin​g with me, but I got a call that as of today​ I'm in first​ place​ for the Wrest​ling Radio​ Award​s Femal​e Inter​view Of The Year!​!​ I was just hopin​g not to come in last.​ I just talked to one of the DJ's who interviewed me. I told him how surprised I was that I was getting votes. I believe his exact words were "You can't be more surprised than I am!"
If you have the time,​ you can keep votin​g for me once a day & maybe​,​ possi​bly I might​ even win!​!​
You guys are the greatest.
http://wrestlingradioawards.com/ballot.html