Andy Samberg & Adam Levine "I'm So Humble"

I'm a fan of The Voice on NBC because they seem to really go the extra mile to teach and help prepare their contestants for the stage. The show gets extra kudos for their ability to bring on a variety of music and entertainment stars. Sometimes it results in show-stopping performances, and sometimes it's great for laughs. I think this covers a bit of both. 

Enjoy "I'm So Humble" performed by Andy Samberg as Conner4Real and the Real Adam Levine. 

Winter TV: New and returning shows

When I'm not writing, raising a family, cooking, cleaning, doing a million loads of laundry, or dreaming of a vacation, I am probably reading or watching TV. 

So, I get excited when news breaks about books and television shows. It gives me a reason to contemplate ways to get out of cooking and cleaning, so I can enjoy someone else's drama, Nashville anyone?

TV viewers rejoice! There are some interesting new shows coming in 2016, and a few favorites returning. Check our the Yahoo! 2016 Winter TV Preview and plan your schedules accordingly. 

Enjoy!
Kristen


https://www.yahoo.com/tv/2016-winter-tv-preview-returning-140137589/photo-shades-of-blue-nbc-jan-1451918587975.html

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Your daily funny…because we all suck at something

What Every State in the U.S. is Worst at (from Yahoo!/Thrillist)

Michigan: Worst roads
8 Mile helped put Detroit back on the Hollywood map. Too bad every other mile in the state is as terrible as the Tigers in this year’s playoffs, since Michigan spends the least per capita on its roads and bridges, at $174 per person annually.

Harsh, but true. Find more tough love for the states here. 

Starbucks (Blank Space) for Moms

Some talented folks at Scary Mommy made this totally relatable video using Taylor Swift's Blank Space. 

http://www.scarymommy.com/taylor-swifts-blank-space/

100 Assorted Summer Resolutions

School’s out for the summer! We love this time of year, especially since it comes after a seriously long, cold, snowfall-record-breaking winter. 

It’s a great time to relax, and soak up the sun in our shorts and flip-flops, but I know myself. If I don’t write at least a few goals down, the entire summer will pass by and all I’ll have to show for it will be a farmer’s tan and regrets for all the things we didn’t do. So, why let the opportunity for nature hikes and museum strolls slip away when I can make a list and refer to it whenever the phrase ‘I’m bored’ is uttered?

I’ve seen some stuff circulating online about summer lists, so I consulted my 2013 resolutions, as well as my 2014 work-life balance notes to compile my own list of activities. Just as ice cream comes in a variety of flavors, this list contains an assortment of resolutions.

And it’s not just about the kids, either—parents get bored too! I’ve included ideas for family fun, lazy summer days, and date nights too. Go ahead and take a peek, you might find something to do when your family gets bored this summer. Repeats are okay because it's summer. If you like, share your ideas in the comments section. There are a couple months of activities for us to fill, after all. Fun ideas are appreciated.

2014 Random Summer Resolutions

1.     Play

2.     Unwind

3.     Be silly—good, clean knock, knock jokes can get the ball rolling

4.     Hit the beach

5.     Go on a picnic

6.     Ride bikes

7.     Visit the zoo

8.     Go on family walks

9.     Paddleboat/canoeing

10.   Have a special date night dinner and concert

11.   Have a special family dinner out to celebrate summer

12.   Play in the rain and splash in the puddles

13.   Hug more

14.   Kiss more

15.   Unplug more

16.   Let the kids stay up later a few nights

17.   Sleep in late a few days

18.   Have breakfast in our jammies a few times

19.   Swim

20.   Golf

21.   Read 10 books—about a book a week until school starts. This is a big task since I’m also publishing a book soon

22.   Finish and publish the book mentioned in item above

23.   Play tag with the kids

24.   Sit outside one sunny day without mowing, weeding or yard work

25.   Run through the sprinklers

26.   Make homemade ice cream with the kids

27.   Grow fruits and veggies—we’ll have to get new tomatoes, the deer ate the ones we planted

28.   Take a real family vacation

29.   Pick colors and paint a couple rooms in serious need of ‘refreshing’

30.   Can something—jam, tomatoes, just to try it

31.   Take a class—maybe a class on how to can things

32.   Make a grown-up appetizer for dinner one night, even if my husband and I are the only ones who eat it

33.   Make a list of people to call, and call them

34.   Send handwritten letters to 5 people I know

35.   Go to a movie

36.   Camping

37.   Bonfire

38.   Try a new food

39.   Try a new drink

40.   Make snow cones

41.   Learn to flip pizza dough

42.   Make something

43.   Have more game nights

44.   Go on a nature hike

45.   See fireworks

46.   Take a drive in the country

47.   Go to a ballgame

48.   Listen to more music

49.   Frisbee

50.   Tennis

51.   Go to an arcade

52.   Drive at a track day event

53.   Plan a dream kitchen

54.   Teach the kids something fun

55.   Learn something fun

56.   Roast marshmallows

57.   Barbecue

58.   Have a party

59.   Light some sparklers (being careful not to burn holes in the tablecloth, like last time)

60.   Watch the fireflies when the sparklers go out

61.   Enjoy a starry night

62.   Find a constellation

63.   Relax and unwind

64.   Try a new slow cooker recipe. Found this post on how to make almost any recipe work in a slow cooker

65.   Water balloon toss

66.   Sing

67.   Dance

68.   Train ride

69.   Write a story for my kids

70.   Play hopscotch

71.   Sleepover

72.   All night movie fest

73.   Binge watch a new TV show

74.   Sleep outside

75.   Practice my Finn McMissile voice (right now it sounds a lot like Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, seriously)

76.   Play euchre

77.   Create a family friendly outdoor obstacle course

78.   Early morning run/jog/walk

79.   Spin around until we get dizzy

80.   Head north

81.   Head south

82.   Head nowhere in particular

83.   Have a relaxing day at home

84.   Spa visit

85.   Be brave enough to find out what’s been growing in our compost bin the past five years

86.   Learn a card trick, maybe share it with the kids

87.   Clear out closets and donate stuff we don’t use

88.   Visit family and friends

89.   Show more love

90.   Practice patience

91.   Be goofy

92.   Watch a movie from our childhood with our kids

93.   Sketch a tree house or a garden

94.   Cider mill late summer

95.   Take photos, print and send some to the grandparents

96.   Watch a sunrise

97.   Watch a sunset

98.   Snuggle

99.   Smile

100. Relax

What’s on your list?

Eight Random Distractions for Tuesday

Because we could all use some fun, silly, thoughtful, humorous stuff sometimes. 

The Night Shift (NBC)—Crazy and good.

Dave Chapelle on Letterman (CBS) tonight—He jokes about quitting his show, claiming to be 7 years late to work.

J Lo and Jimmy Fallon Tight Pants Dance-Off—'Nuff said.

If you have a team in the NBA Finals (ABC), congrats! Otherwise, you can read the signs slamming LeBron's cramps. What is up with that, anyway?

Mustache Baby—This just looks silly. 

People.com: Celebrity News—What they wear, where they shop, etc.

22 Jump Street—Probably more raunchy humor, sure to make you laugh.

Butler business booming because of Downton Abbey—Oh, where to begin.

After St. Patrick's Day funny

This is a day late, but it was too fun to share.

I noticed this sign posted on the door of a local pub yesterday…just after a short, disheveled looking, red-haired guy peeked out and squinted at the midday sun. A leprechaun? Perhaps. Most certainly, he enjoyed a long St. Patrick's celebration.

A sign like this would come in handy around here. Ever wish you could post a sign like this and get away for a day? What would you do?

A Warning to Winter Storm Titan: I’ve got my pickle juice ready

If you live north of the Bahamas, it’s probably been an interesting and long winter. Either you’re under piles of snow, dodging ice storms, or listening to most of us complain about the piles of snow and ice storms. Doesn’t matter, we all dealt pretty well with it until a few weeks ago. Now, the conversation is about when spring is coming and warm weather getaways. 

So, as this week's named winter storm approaches, (when did we start giving these things names?) I’m preparing the family for the next phase in keeping snow and ice at bay—pickle juice.

No, I’m not drinking it, although I have before, and wow, has it got a kick. I actually got the idea from Jersey. New Jersey. And Wisconsin. Sometime around the end of January talk started circling about whether our area would beat the all-time record snowfall for the month. Snow became the focus of our discussions, on the news, at school drop-offs, and as everyone repeatedly rushed the stores to grab supplies before the next system hit.

During all this snow, it appeared our area dealt with it as best as can be expected with state/county/municipal budget reductions (read: fewer crews, fewer snow plows, and less salt). What I learned as the discussion continued, was other areas had run out of road salt too. What did Wisconsin do? Turned to cheese of course. It was too good to be true, but the New York Times reported it! Milwaukee was working on a program to “repurpose cheese brine for use in keeping city roads from freezing, mixing the dairy waste with traditional rock salt as a way to trim costs and ease pollution.” Apparently, it coats the roads better. I love they even specify what kind of cheese works best. It’s worth a read, even if only for a giggle, although if it works, we could all be doing it.

Or, like New Jersey, we could reach for the ‘pickle juice.’ They used a briny salt and water mixture resembling pickle juice to help melt snow. Plus, they’re saying it’s more economical than spreading salt alone.

I like economical and ecologically friendlier—even if it stink up the streets—option. Besides, we’ve been to seven stores this past week, and no one has salt! I don’t even normally spread the stuff, it took us three years to use the last container we had, but work and school won’t wait for a May melt.

We need a pickaxe to get through most of the snow turned ice left behind from January. And since Winter Storm Titan is about to bring more snow, followed shortly by Winter Storm whatever-its-name is, I figure it’s time to try the pickle juice. I’m talking about actual pickle juice from a jar that still contains edible pickles. 

So, we’ll see what the week brings. Perhaps, we’ll never have to buy salt again, or maybe we’ll attract the local animals for “Pickle-fest” and be forced to move. You know, on second thought, maybe we’ll just skid our way in and out of the driveway and wait for the spring thaw!

Happy Snow Days! #springwillcomeagain

More snow!

Is it just me, or do the penguins look like they're trying to fly south?

More snow?

We do more before 9am than…

If you recognize this slogan, then the ad folks did their job. Actually, you might recognize it more as: In the Army, we do more before 9am than most people do all day, or Be All That You Can Be. It’s kind of motivational if you ask me. I want to get up and kick some butt before 9am, most days. (Here’s a YouTube video of it if you’re interested.) 

As a way of implementing some New Year’s self-home-work-flow improvement, I decided to get up earlier than usual on the weekdays. It was not a big stretch considering our kids don’t let us sleep much past dawn anyway. Perfectly doable, or so I thought.

See, just about anything can look good in theory or on paper. When it comes time to actually do it, is when you’ve got push through. It wouldn’t be so bad except we shoveled snow five times in the past three days, last night I somehow got sucked into a montage of funnies on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (here’s a preview) and set aside my book edits and stayed up past my bedtime—the one designed to help me have the energy to get up earlier and Be All That I Could Be.

Since then we got even more snow and school is closed. While my amazing husband did not wake me for the morning shovel, I did get up at my “early” time. We enjoyed breakfast before he headed off to see if he could get through the snow to work in under an hour. 

After a brief feeling of accomplishment at getting up early, I have cleaned up milk messes, dyed six fingers and my new favorite sweatshirt several shades of purple, placed three of the world’s tiniest balloons filled with water and food coloring (how I dyed my hands) on wax paper and set them on our front porch in hopes they freeze before a delivery guy squashes them. Water balloons and dye may seem like a bad idea in winter, but it looked cool on Pinterest. The water inside the balloons is supposed to freeze and make some kind of pretty colored ice balls, although as small as ours are they will be ice marbles.

I had good intentions, but sometimes things just go their own way. I’m perfectly content to keep writing/editing with purple fingers, complete more fun experiments with the kids, and Be All I Can Be. We’ll just have to see what else the day holds.

What are you doing to 'Be All You Can Be' today?

‘Twas the Day After Christmas

‘Twas the day after Christmas, when all through the house

Paper, toys and boxes were strewn all about;

The stockings, once hung, lay in a pile on the floor,

Remnants of Saint Nicholas and gift-giving galore;

The children bounced ‘round, and launched cars to and fro;

While they dreamed of chocolate cake and sledding in snow;

And mamma in her slippers, and I with my energy zapped;

Just wish we could settle down for a long winter’s nap,

When out in the family room there arose such a clatter,

We grumbled up from our chairs to see what was the matter,

Away to the ruckus we struggled to go,

Walked through the hallway, and the mess down below,

When what to our tired old eyes did appear,

But a miniature Porsche launched high in the air,

Missing a driver it flew lively and quick,

We knew in a moment it must be the kids,

More rapid than jets, the objects they flew,

We swerved and we ducked then shouted out to the crew:

“Be careful! Aim that way! Watch out for the tree!

Move your arm! Stop launching before something hits me!

Watch out for the window! Watch out for the wall!

Stop crashing and bashing cars both big and small!

As rejected old pumpkins from past holidays fly,

When they meet with a trebuchet, mount to the sky;

So up to the ceiling, the autos they flew,

Vehicles, spinning wheels, and parts flying too,

And then in an instant, we saw on the spot the giggling and high-fiving of each little tot.

Our scowls melted to smiles,

And we beamed bright with glee,

A right joyous moment, it all seemed to be.

Until the kids scattered and grabbed more toys from the stack,

Their hands were again busy drawing this and building that.

They sprang up the stairs,

with cars, dolls and Legos too,

playing freely, without care,

like all kids should do.

But we heard them exclaim,

As they ran out of sight,

“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!”

Photo of the day

Happy summer! When does school start? :)

Summer Reads—Wild Wednesday

Here are some wild titles I came across while researching summer reads.

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher.

Vader’s Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown. From tea parties to teaching Leia how to fly a TIE fighter, regulating the time she spends talking with friends via R2-D2's hologram, and making sure Leia doesn't leave the house wearing only the a skirted metal bikini, Vader's parenting skills are put hilariously to the test.

F in Exams: The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers by Richard Benson. 

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris. A collection of essays traces his offbeat travel experiences, which involve surreal encounters with everything from French dentistry and Australian kookaburras to Beijing squat toilets and a wilderness Costco in North Carolina.

SYOAS!