Hurray for HP - and I don't mean Hewlett Packard
Yes Harry Potter has returned once again in The Order of the Phoenix. Now that the crowds have died down a tad my guys decided last night to go see the show. Their report...not what they were expecting. They read the book and were disappointed in the movie and felt that a lot of details were left out. They felt the same way with the last movie and I have to agree with them as I saw The Goblet of Fire and I didn't think it was all that great. My favorite HP flick is still the very first one when the Hogwart's kids were little tikes. Anyway, my guys are waiting for the next HP book to show up as they enjoy the books more than the flicks.
So I am getting my fill of mommyhood again this coming week and carpooling to yet another basketball camp, yahoo! This camp is an all day camp so that will be nice :) Then today I realized that the school season starts here in 45 days. 45 DAYS! Then I realized that we all need a vacation - a real PACK UP THE CAR AND WAVE BYE BYE TO HOME vacation.
Guess I'd better get busy planning. But that's just half the fun anyway :)
Stay cool this week!
~ Paula
Happy Happy, Joy Joy
That is how I feel right about now.
It is late afternoon-I have finished working for the day, I've walked on the treadmill for my exercise today while reading Jodi Picoult's novel My Sister's Keeper (great read), and I am in the mood for a good movie tonight with a good friend. Has anybody seen Freedom Writers? I'm looking forward to it - with some popcorn and a sprite, of course. So ready to relax and unwind......Yes!
As for basketball season - well, for my one son in high school the season is winding down. He has one more regular season home game and then his tournaments begin. This mom is sad to see basketball end :( I LOVE the game. As for my youngest son, the season goes through February so that is cool - GO Hilltoppers and Red Devils!!
So, we head to Boston - again - this Sunday (Logan airport) to pick up our oldest Rugrat who is returning from his trip to Florida - then we return him to his home at UMASS Amherst. I'm sure he is looking forward to hanging with his college friends again - and getting back to the books...NOT!
OK, I'm outta here. Time to feed the family, grab the car keys and disappear - Freedom Writers here we come!!!
Ewww, one more thing...Here is an adorable pic of my son Phillip and his sweet friend Becky :)
Good Friends….
are priceless. And SO important in a woman’s life. I am truly blessed with friends who are moms as well, and, well, we just click, you know. We can be silly together, cry together and talk about just about anything you can think of together – which we do – and it feels wonderful. Sure there may be times that we get on each others nerves a bit, but that passes in about oh, a nano second, and then all is just swell once more.
One night this past week my girlfriend, Deb, and I took off in the afternoon for dinner and a movie in which we returned home five hours later. That is the best “stress relief therapy” that any mom or woman could ask for (other than a nice, relaxing body massage but let’s not go there…). One of my favorite things about going to the movies is…the POPCORN, of course. LOTS of salt and NO Butter please.
So, we saw this movie called Flicka, I’m sure you’ve heard of it. You know, country singer Tim McGraw’s first time on the big screen. He did OK. Personally, I like his voice and think he should stick to singing. I wonder how his wife, Faith Hill felt about him getting cozy with actress Maria Bello, who plays his wife, Nell, in the movie.
Does anyone know what the word FLICKA means? "Flicka" is a Swedish word that means "girl". Well, there ya go. Also another bit of trivia for those of you who love the song, “My Little Girl”. Tim McGraw helped co-write the song "My Little Girl" for the movie and it is the first song that he has written and recorded. Congrats to you Tim on a job well done!
Oh My God! Before I forget – I saw such an AWESOME musical the other night. It was performed at my high school son’s school and it was SO worth the $6 ticket! I love this play – Les Miserables. The kids performing had so much talent – acting, singing, dancing – just amazing. And one terrific story. Then I recently saw my youngest son’s play that he was in at his school, the one and only, Cinderella. So cute! Then in December, the hubby and I have tickets to see The Nutcracker (for about the 100th time in my life!). One of my all time favs :)
Anyway…
Any women ever hear of the Avon Foundation? http://www.avoncompany.com/women. This is such a fabulous organization and there are so many ways you can help – check it out.
The Avon Foundation, an accredited 501(c) (3) public charity, was founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women and their families. As it passes the half century milestone, the Avon Foundation brings this mission to life through two key areas of focus: breast cancer and domestic violence.
Breast Cancer
The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade launched in 1992, and now includes breast cancer programs in more than 40 countries. While advances have been made, breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide, and in the US there is a new diagnosis every three minutes. Through 2005 the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade raised and awarded more than $400,000,000 worldwide for advancing access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer, with a focus on the medically underserved. Funding supports five areas: awareness and education; screening and diagnosis; access to treatment; support services; and scientific research. Beneficiaries range from leading cancer centers to community-based non-profit breast health programs, creating a powerful international network of research, medical, social service and community-based organizations focused on defeating breast cancer and ensuring access to care.
Domestic Violence
To accelerate its commitment to ending domestic violence, in 2004 the Avon Foundation launched the new Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program, which expands a long history of Avon grassroots support of the domestic violence cause. The new Speak Out program supports awareness, education, direct services and prevention programs while developing new community outreach and support for victims. Global expansion has been initiated with the launch of Speak Out in Mexico. Since launching the new Speak Out program, more than $1.6 million has been awarded to domestic violence organizations across the US. The Foundation is partnering with Oscar-nominated actress and producer/director Salma Hayek on the Speak Out program, which includes free educational materials, training programs, fundraising activities and public service announcements.
Special Projects
The Avon Foundation and Avon Products Inc. also respond quickly to national and international emergencies. Special pins sold by Avon Sales Representatives raised $7,000,000 for the Avon Heart of America Fund to support families, especially children, of those lost in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Since 2003, the Avon Yellow Ribbon Pin has raised $3,000,000 to assist families of servicemen and women lost or wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom and other armed conflict. In response to the December 2004 tsunami disaster in Asia, the Avon Foundation immediately awarded $550,000 to the relief efforts, and Avon launched the Heart of Asia pin in the US and many other countries, bringing total donations to almost $1 million. In response to the hurricane disasters in fall 2005, Avon and the Avon Foundation made donations of cash and products, and launched the Heart of America Key Chain, which is sold by Avon Sales Representatives to raise funds for relief and rebuilding efforts.
And there are so many ways we can help and be a part of this group. For more information please write info@avonfoundation.org or call 866-505-AVON.
Just a note – Turkey Day is catching up on us! I love Thanksgiving and can not wait to eat all the YUMMY food and desserts! Tell me, what’s your favorite Thanksgiving dessert? Is it the Pumpkin Pie or maybe Pecan or Apple – or Chocolate?! God, I’m getting hungry…
OK, need to run. This mama will be around blogging for the next two weeks, however, my podcast will resume the week of December 4th – YIKES! December already?! HOLY %@&#!
Until next time….Gobble Gobble!
Click here to download the show! (mp3)
A Night Out with Dinner and Meryl Streep
The other night I left my husband and children home alone while I went out and relaxed...One of my girlfriends picked me up and I waved bye-bye to the family for the night - Ahh, yes. A few hours of girl talk over dinner and a movie, with Meryl Streep no less. Heaven....
It was great to catch up on gossip with my friend and dinner was Italian, so I was all good with that. No dishes to clean up and I actually got to have a one on one conversation with another adult and a great friend.
Have you seen the movie The Devil Wears Prada with actress Meryl Streep? Cute chick flick and Meryl plays an awesome bitch. Over the years I have enjoyed watching her cry and sob in all of her roles, but now, she is one wicked bitch and very good at it indeed. So over the past couple weeks I have seen Pirates and Devils so what's next...possibly The Omen. :)
By the end of the night as my girlfriend was dropping me off at home we got in another half hour of gabbing in the drive and then I waved goodbye. It felt so good to get away and go out for a few hours with a friend, and then I was back home again. I felt refreshed and recharged and ready to be wife and mom again -- until my next night out :)
Reincarnation and Pirates
This afternoon while adding some dirty breakfast dishes in the dishwasher I had the pleasure of chatting with my two younger sons, Phillip and Joseph, on the subject of reincarnation. I'm not really quite sure how the subject came up but they had both just returned from their morning at basketball camp and they were hungry and chatty so they ended up in the kitchen, with me, discussing a subject I don't know much about.
Here is a brief run down of our chat:
Joseph - Well, I think after I am gone I will come back as something else, ya know?
Me - Like what, maybe a drum, or better yet, a drum stick?!
Joseph - Funny mom. I mean like some kind of an animal, like a bird or something.
Phillip - I think people come back as trees. You know dude, the weak people are the smaller trees and the strong people are the bigger trees. That's what I'm going to come back as.
Me - Oh, that should be a good time Phillip. Dogs will be your best friends :)
I just get the look - you know the look. Then I notice I am in the kitchen ALONE. Guess that's it for that conversation....
Tomorrow (which is a Friday) I promised my guys that I would take them to see the HOT new film Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest with the even HOTTER star Johnny Depp. There has been so much talk about this movie that we just have to go. Rumor has it that it is better than the first release which we saw a couple summers back when my two younger guys were younger themselves and the scene where the skeletons are walking underwater scared the doo doo out of them. Of course, they do not remember any nonsense about them being "scared by skeletons"!!
OF COURSE NOT.
I'm sure they are looking forward to watching Kiera Knightley in her lovely push up, low-cut peasant gowns - and they will surely remember that....of course.
I'm hoping for more skeletons. :)
