Reading 50 Books a Year -- March update....

I can't believe it's already the end of March, as the month just flew by. I haven't had nearly enough time to read this month, but here's what I've read since Jan 1st.
1. Skate Crime                                  by Alina Adams
2. Surrender the Heart                     by M. L. Tyndall
3. Killer Weekend                             by Ridley Pearson
4. Decorated to Death                      by Pam Marberg
5. The Christmas Secret                   by Donna VanLiere
6. Gone                                            by Michael Grant
7. Hunger                                         by Michael Grant
8. Evermore                                     by Alyson Noel
9. Blue Moon                                    by Alyson Noel
10. Lies                                            by Michael Grant
11. Like Dandelion Dust                   by Karen Kingsbury
12. Night Star                                  by Alyson Noel
13. Dark Flame                                by Alyson Noel
14. This Side of Heaven                   by Karen Kingsbury
15. The Tapestry                             by Maryann Minatra
16. Surrender the Night                  by M. L. Tyndall
17. Septimus Heap: Magyk             by Angie Sage
18. Septimus Heap: Flyte               by Angie Sage 
19. Best Little Stories from the Civil War: More than 100 true stories  by C. Brian Kelly
20. A Time to Embrace                   by Karen Kingsbury
21. Cape Refuge                            by Terry Blackstock

The Stories from the Civil War was pretty good, and I did learn a lot. It also took quite a long time to read (for me)....but hey, it was free on Angela's Kindle. Chris posts free Kindle books almost every day, so that's how I found it.
Cape Refuge is the first in a series of 4 books by Terry Blackstock, and I did enjoy it. The whole series is set in southern Georgia (Tybee island/Savannah area) and are basically murder mysteries. I'm going to be starting the second book tonight (hopefully).
 Well....I hope to have more time to read next week....

Review: Maybelline Superstay 24 Color

I am a Bzz agent and the new campaign I have right now is the Maybelline Superstay 24 Color. It comes in 30 different shades, so there is something for everyone. Bzz agent sent me 4 different shades, and I know I posted a photo of Angela wearing one of them. Since none of the colors sent to me would work for dance, I went out to Rite Aid and bought one in All Day Cherry.

This past weekend was dance competition and the perfect time for me to try out the Maybelline Superstay 24 color on Angela to see how long it would last. It does last for hours. A lot of our dance moms have bought the Maybelline Superstay 24 Color for their kids, because it is so easy to apply, lasts a long time, and comes in the colors we need.

According to the Maybelline Website
• Micro-Flex formula glides on and looks gorgeous all day                             
• No crumbling, no caking, no fading, no feathering, no transferring
• 2-step lipcolor in one pack
• 30 long-lasting shades

 


The funny thing is, we all picked up the same shade of the Maybelline....and no, I don't have one of me putting on Angela's. I am the photographer..... Both our older kids and our little kids use the Maybelline Superstay 24 Color and will continue to use it throughout our dance competition season. We love it!

I would love to see a bright red color made especially for dancers....called something like Dancer Red or Competition Red. This would make it easier for all of us to remember and to make sure we all got the same shade.

Do You Know What Holidays We Are Celebrating Today -- 3/20/2011?

Yes, I'm very late in posting this today. Sorry. After getting home from dance at around 1 am, I didn't get to sleep until after 2. I started posting this afternoon, but I fell asleep waiting for some photos to load on my computer. Oops. So, I'll get on with it...
1.) Extraterrestrial Abductions Day: Keep one eye on the sky, and be ready to duck, dodge, and to hide. UFO's may be everywhere, looking to abduct humans.....yeah, right. Maybe plan a trip to Roswell, New Mexico if you are looking to be abducted....or go tour area 51. I guess celebrate this one by watching some sci-fi movies...perhaps with aluminum foil on your head, to keep martians from channeling your thoughts.

2.) International Earth Day: International Earth Day was initiated to make earth inhabitants aware of their responsibility to care for the planet. This care includes environmental and natural resources. International Earth Day was founded by John McConnell, of Davis City, Iowa. In September, 1969, he proposed  the establishment of Earth Day to the San Francisco, California Board of Supervisors. After approval, he gained support from many others, including then UN General Secretary, U Thant. In 1970, McConnell wrote an Earth Day Proclamation which was ultimately signed by UN Secretary General U Thant on March 21, 1971. This is a TRUE holiday....so celebrate by recycling, planting a tree or flowers, or take a hike (couldn't resist saying that).
3.) Proposal Day: Yes, it does mean THAT kind of proposal. Single adults who are ready to marry are encouraged to propose marriage to their true love on the days of the vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox. For those in love, this could very well be the big day that will change your lives.....for good or bad (LOL). I guess since I'm married, I won't be celebrating this one.
4). Snowman Burning Day: Oh the horror! I can't participate in this holiday....and I don't like it. This holiday began in 1971 on the campus of Lake Superior State University to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring. I put a picture up of the snowman burning....so very sad. Don't believe this is an isolated holiday either, because after some research, I found the Swiss and the Germans celebrate this day too. The snowman burning takes its inspiration from the Rose Sunday Festival in Weinheim-an-der-Bergstrasse, Germany. In the festival, a parade passes through town to a central location, where the mayor makes a proposal to the town's children. If the children are good, study, obey their parents and work hard, he will order the (straw) snowman to be burned, and spring will officially arrive. After the children yell their approval and make their promise, the snowman is burned .People hold that the smoke rising from the fire is supposed to ward off blizzards and usher in spring-like weather.















5.) National Jump Out! Day: This is the day to grab a jump rope and hop to it...or is it over it? Anyway, it's a jump rope kind of day. If you have kids, this is a great on to participate in. I even found a contest running through May 15th.  http://www.fundexgames.com/jumprope.php  You submit the amount of jumps and can win prizes. Now I would have participated in this one as a kid....
6.). Atheist Pride Day: This holiday is for atheists to let the world know that they exist. I am skipping this one too. I have a comment about the date of this holiday, but I don't want to offend anyone, so I'll skip it.

Well, I am not making comments on these.....it's just too darn easy today.

Do You Know What Holiday it is Today????

With dance competition all day today, I have to keep this one brief....sorry.
1). National Quilting Day: This holiday celebrates fabulous quilts and those who make them. My mother is a quilter.... The National Quilting Association started National Quilting Day in 1991. Their members passed a resolution at the 22and Annual Show in Lincoln, Nebraska, on June 1991.
2). Poultry Day: Guess this holiday is for the birds! Sorry, I just had to say it. LOL. This holiday celebrates chicken, turkey and other birds we commonly consume. Chicken and turkey are lower in fats, and cholesterol than other meats, making it better for your health, and they also give you your breakfast eggs. So, have some turkey or chicken for lunch or dinner.
3). National Corndog Day: http://www.corndogday.com  Yes, this holiday actually has its own website. You can enjoy your corndog and watch basketball all day. For those of you that don't know what a is, you're missing out. It's a hot dog coated in cornmeal batter and deep fried in oil, although some are baked, and almost all corn dogs are served on wooden sticks. My kids loved having them as a special dinner treat.
4). National Chocolate Carmel Day: Yum! Now this is my kind of holiday. It's a day to celebrate everything great about chocolate and caramel. So have yourself a Mily Way today.
5). Operation Iraqi Freedom Day: Back on this date in 2003, President Bush came on live TV to anounce that Operation Iraqi Freedom had begun. Please just remember all our brave men and women that are serving in the military.
Have a great Saturday!

Copacobanna

As most of you know, my daughter Angela is a dancer. THis past weekend was the first competition of the season for SOPAC (Steppin' Out Performing Arts Center), and it was in beautiful Macon, Georgia.
Angela and I drove the few hours down to Macon on Saturday morning, as she didn't have to dance until the afternoon. Everything is done by average ages and age categories, with the youngest kids going first. It's taken me a while to learn how things work, and I'll try to explain as I go along.
The first dance of the day for Angela was Copacabanna, which is a small group tap number in the junior age category. Small group means more than 3 but less than 10 kids....and the junior means an average age of 12 or under (decimal points are dropped). Since age is determined on Jan 1st, Angela counts as 13 for the year.
You can't take photos during the competition or film it, as the competition usually sells them. These photos were taken at a dress rehersal in Feb....and this will give you an idea about the dance. Hopefully, when the video comes in, I'll be able to post the whole thing.

Angela and a few of the girls practising back stage.
Yes, we do have boys in our company.



So, I bet you wonder how they did??? Well, they took 1st in the tap category....yeah!!!! We expected that they would, as we are known as a tap studio.
Besides categories of dance (tap, jazz, lyrical, etc...), overall awards are given in each division. This means all the dances compete against each other and not just tap against tap. Copa was competing in overalls with a LOT of other dances (around 40 or so I think), including Angela's musical theater and our level 4 jazz Lady Gaga.
Only the top 5 overalls are announced....so Lady Gaga takes 3rd overall. Then they call Copa for 2nd overall and not one of our girls move to get the trophy. One of the girls that is NOT on stage, leans over to me and askes when another Copa was performed. I said that I thought it was our Copacabanna....and nope, the girls said that it couldn't be them. The MC had to call Copa again before anyone moved. IT was sooo funny. Not one of our kids actually believed Copacabanna was good enough to take 2nd place OVERALL and BEAT Lady Gaga. It didn't even sink in until dinner that they BEAT the level 4's.
Congrats Copa kids!!! They did awesome!!