Roaring Laughter

by Carol5 Comments
Today's Daily Post asks, "What was the last thing that gave you a real, authentic, tearful, hearty belly laugh? Why was it so funny?" My first thought was the other night at dinner when Amber got carried away by her water, but I didn't want to embarrass her too much, so instead it's picture time. We were laughing so hard as Amber took these the other night. We had gotten to the stadium early to get a seat, which is my idea and they usually complain. so, to waster time, Amber took pictures with my phone. After about a million photos of grass and pop cans, she started goofing around with the "cartoon" setting. It really was funny. Here are the best of the three of us cartoonized....
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Thursday’s Tale: Talia, Sun, and Moon

by Carol3 Comments
I mentioned "Talia, Sun, and Moon" last week when talking about Sleeping Beauty. It was a written by Giambattista Basile, an Italian, in his 1634 work  Il Pentamerone. Il Pentamerone is a collection of 50 stories, told within a frame story of a deceitful queen who has demanded that her husband tell her stories, and he in turn hired a group of ten female storytellers who each tell five stories over five days. Two other stories I've looked at from this collection are "Penta with Maimed Hands" and "Verde Prato." After the birth of a great lord's daughter, Talia, wise men and astrologers cast the child's horoscope and told the lord that Talia would be later endangered by a splinter of flax. To protect his daughter, the father commands that no flax would ever be brought into his house. Years later, Talia sees an old woman spinning flax on a spindle. She asks the woman if she can stretch the flax herself, but...
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Review: Forever Fat Loss by Ari Whitten

by Carol7 Comments
Title: Forever Fat Loss Author: Ari Whitten Category: Weight Loss Published: May 9, 2014 by Archangel Ink Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon Escape the Dieting Trap and Transform Your Life Have you been spinning your wheels, trying diet after diet, only to lose and regain the same 10, 20, or 30 pounds over and over again? Author Ari Whitten’s here to tell you that it’s not your fault! The common weight loss strategy of “burn more calories than you take in” will fail 95% of you in the long term, simply because this goes against your body’s natural wisdom. So it’s time to stop fighting against your biology and start working with your biology. Forever Fat Loss will show you how. Eat What You Crave and Get Leaner By the Day Sick of suffering through diets where you need to restrict fat, carbs, or calories? There is a better way. Satisfy your cravings for sweet, salty, and fatty foods, and still reach your fat loss goals effortlessly....
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Thursday’s Tale: Maleficent (2014)

by Carol7 Comments
Title: Maleficent Director: Robert Stromberg Writer: Linda Woolverton In theaters: May 30, 2014 from Walt Disney Pictures Genre: Fantasy Rating: PG Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Maleficent explores the untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the classic Sleeping Beauty and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king's newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever. I'm a fairy tale lover and while Maleficent is a re-make of Disney's own re-make of Sleeping Beauty, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a gorgeous movie, from...
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Top Ten Things I Like / Don’t Like on Book Covers

by Carol8 Comments
Today's Top Ten Tuesday is about book covers - what we like, what we don't. Honestly, since I've moved to mostly e-books and audios, I don't tend to notice covers as much. I think, too, I usually know what books I want to read, I don't browse coves in a bookstore/library like I used to.  But. here are some things I like in book covers and some I don't. I don't like seeing half of people's heads. I don't like it when a cover looks summery, or wintery, and the book just isn't. Like the book that has the main character in a floaty summer dress when most of the story takes place in a snow storm. I don't like when the cover just has the title and author in an interesting typeface. I want pictures of some kind. I don't like those almost cartoony cozy mystery covers. I know they match the cutesy titles, but I'm not a fan. I don't...
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Saturday Snapshot

by Carol3 Comments
Yes, I know it's Monday, but I took these photos on Saturday, so that counts, right? Saturday evening we went to the DCI (Drum Corps International) show in Akron and had a blast. David was in the Bluecoats when he was younger, but we haven't been to a show for ages. Now that Amber's starting marching band this year, we thought it would be a good time to take her and one of her friends. The bands are just amazing, both musically and their marching. Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads....
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