MY BLOG POSTS

“So what’s Christmas like in Florida?” you ask?

Some say it doesn’t feel like Christmas. The perfectly blue sky, balmy breezes, mosquito bites. That’s not festive. Some say you need to be in your winter coat, drinking hot chocolate and huddling together by the fire.

Some say it isn’t Christmas unless you can play in the snow and build Frosty in your front yard.

Here’s what I have to say about that…..

I wish I could claim the construction of this Sand-man. I can’t.

But I can tell you that I am packing my van full of family today. We’re headed to the beach to try our hand at one like this.

Because we can.

Moral of the story: Beach trumps hot chocolate.

AAwwww. Aren’t they adorable?

Those are my three kids.

Five years ago.

They are still adorable (see pics on the FAQ page), but they’re not so little. My oldest is about to turn 13. My youngest daughter will be 11 in two weeks. My baby boy is 8.

Those of you teens and tweens reading this are rolling your eyes. (imagine what my kids are doing :)) But you need to know what pictures like this do to your parents and grandparents, your aunts and uncles, the nursery workers who changed your diapers…it makes us a little sad.

Sure, we’re glad you’re growing up. My kids are amazing. I am beyond proud of the young women and young man they are becoming.

But I miss that age. They all speak clearly, now, no cute little mispronunciations. They no longer enjoy sitting on the floor and singing “The Wheel on the Bus.”  They don’t go through an entire box of Dora Band-Aids in one day.

Because of this, when I see little guys – especially my own nieces and nephews – I want to pinch cheeks and tickle bellies and play peek-a-boo. All those things I don’t get to do with my kids, anymore.

And, occasionally, when I just can’t stand it, I grab my kids and pinch their cheeks. I just can’t help it. I spent years doing just that. Now it’s over. I can’t stop cold-turkey.

So this Christmas, when your Aunt Bertha comes over and goes in for a hug, her fingers poised right in front of your face, smile and lean in. Let her pinch away. She misses it. She loves you. She’s remembering those childhood days gone by.

And, if it hurts too badly, you can always go put a Dora Band-Aid on it 🙂

No children were harmed in the filming of this vlog…

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There is nothing on earth like an old musical, complete with random songs and dances that may or may not have anything to do with the plot. Huge crowds of people all moving at the same time, knowing the same song, cameras looking down as they twirl in circles, throwing girls in the air — girls whose hips are hips. None of these so-skinny-she-might-blow-away women in the musicals I love. No way.

Ah, yes. Musicals make me happy.

Reality TV has nothing on classic musicals. In fact, the great American Musical grew from a desire to escape reality. Go back and watch some of great musicals from the 1930’s  – Judy Garland and Micky Rooney made several films during that decade. They were silly and fun and had nothing whatsoever to do with real life. The little guys always won, beat the odds, put on the show. For folks suffering through the Great Depression, that was exactly what they wanted to see. Hope. Joy. Success.

And the 1940’s. Ah, the Golden Years. Judy Garland and Gene Kelly paired up in “For Me and My Gal,” a film that glorified the soldier, showed him fighting hard for his country while pining away for his true love back at home.  Judy was with Fred Astaire in “Easter Parade,” with Van Johnson in “The Good Old Summertime.” I could go on and on.

(This, for those of you who don’t have the pleasure of knowing, is the great, the amazing, the astounding Judy Garland — greatest performer ever)

So watch your X Factors and Survivors, your CSI’s and NCIS’s, but don’t forget the classics. Everyone needs a little “musical” in her TV watching diet.

If you want suggestions, I’ve got plenty.

If you have some I may not know (and just try to stump me — I dare you!), comment away!