Shocked and Saddened

Everywhere I look, I am reading about the death of Whitney Houston and while that is sad and shocking in and of itself, the death that has left me nearly speechless is the death of author, Jeffrey Zaslow.

photo courtesy of www.JeffreyZaslow.com

From the WALL STREET JOURNAL:

Jeffrey Zaslow, a longtime Wall Street Journal writer and best-selling author with a rare gift for writing about love, loss, and other life passages with humor and empathy, died at age 53 on Friday of injuries suffered in a car crash in northern Michigan.

He died after losing control of his car while driving on a snowy road and colliding with a truck, according to his wife and the Antrim County Sheriff's Office. The condition of the truck driver wasn't available.

Courtesy of www.JeffreyZaslow.com

Jeffrey Zaslow has become one of my favorite non-fiction authors.  I haven't read GABBY or HIGHEST DUTY, but his 3 others were wonderful.  I recently reviewed his newest book THE MAGIC ROOM, here.  In THE MAGIC ROOM he wrote about his great love and dreams for his three daughters while researching the bridal dress business.  It breaks my heart that he will never see his daughters in their wedding dress or walk them down the aisle.  But, his daughters will no doubt know how proud he was of them. 

I can't imagine the amount of lives Zaslow has touched through his column in the WALL STREET JOURNAL or through his books, but mine will forever be grateful for his words and lessons on life, love and happiness.  

My deepest sympathy goes out to his wife and his three daughters.  My hope is that even after his death, his words will continue to inspire others to live each day to its fullest and tell those closest to you how much they are loved.  

Family Time February - Feed the Kitty

During the month of February, I am featuring games that our family has enjoyed over the years.  February is a great time of year to get cozy with your family and play some games.  I guarantee there will be lots of laughs and memories made.  

FEED THE KITTY by Gamewright is not one of the games you will find on every game shelf, but it is certainly worthy of being there.  FEED THE KITTY has won several awards including the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award, Today's Parent Magazine Top Toy of the Year, Parenting Magazine Mom-Tested Toy of the Year, and Family Fun Magazine Toy of the Year Finalist to name a few.  

FEED THE KITTY is super simple to play.  We got this game when our daughter was 4 and it was a hit with our family.  It is also great for our family of 5, because all of us can play together.  It is playable for 2-5 players, ages 4 and up.  It is also a quick game taking around 15 minutes to play and needs no paper or scoring, just a spot to roll the dice.

Everyone starts with mice and you take turns rolling the dice and either passing your mouse to a neighbor, putting a mouse in the kitty bowl or taking a mouse out of the kitty bowl.  Play keeps going around the circle until you run out of mice and have no opportunity to get one from your neighbor.  The winner is the only person left with mice.  

FEED THE KITTY retails for $11.99 HERE.  It is available online at several other places and can be found in your more specialty toy/game stores.  

Family Time February - Cranium Hullabaloo

During the month of February, I am featuring games that our family has enjoyed over the years.  February is a great time of year to get cozy with your family and play some games.  I guarantee there will be lots of laughs and memories made.  

When the kids were little I especially liked games that got the kids up and moving.  CRANIUM HULLABALOO did just that!  HULLABALOO is a game that gets kids moving around on floor pads that are placed around the room.  Based on the item called out by the game console, the children will jump, spin, leap, crawl or even tip toe to the appropriate shape, color, food item, animal, or instrument. It will randomly stop and whomever is standing on the item called (like the elephant) is the winner!  The winner will then be asked to do a funky dance or some other trick.  Then you can start the game all over again!

CRANIUM HULLABALOO is perfect for kids ages 4-10 and can be played with 2 or more people.  This is a great game for daycare, homeschools, preschools, birthday parties, playdates, or rainy days!  Even the grown ups have fun with this one!

This game has also been discontinued by the manufacturer, but can still be found online at places like ebay and AMAZON.  Because it is discontinued, it is retailing for $49.00, but if your kids are little, it will provide years of fun for the money!

Family Time February - Bananagrams

During the month of February, I am featuring games that our family has enjoyed over the years.  February is a great time of year to get cozy with your family and play some games.  I guarantee there will be lots of laughs and memories made.  


Today's featured game is BANANAGRAMS.

You know I LOVE word games and BANANAGRAMS fits the bill.  This is a much more fast paced word game in comparison to Scrabble, but much like it in some ways.  BANANAGRAMS can be played alone or with as many as you can fit around a table.  Really, the more the merrier and more challenging it gets.

Everyone starts with the same amount of tiles.  Using those tiles you build your first word and others from it until you have used up all your starter tiles.  Then as you run out of tiles, you "peel" another from the main pile which causes the other players to also have to "peel" a tile.  Using the tile you draw to add to a word or create a new word on your own personal game area.  As other players run out, they will "peel" and cause you and others to "peel". This goes on until all the tiles are used.  The first person to use all their tiles to create their own scrabble like board wins.  The other important part of the game is that your tiles are movable.  You can move them around to create different words as you need to.  So, it makes the whole game much more exciting.

This game is best for those ages 10 and up.  There is no scoring, you just play and start a new game.  It is a great way for kids to work on word recognition and spelling.  BANANAGRAMS is available at your local toy and discount stores as well as Amazon and Target online HERE.  It retails for $14.99.

Book Review: Little Bee by Chris Cleave

LITTLE BEE


By Chris Cleave


Published February 10, 2009


*****

WE DON'T WANT TO TELL YOU TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS BOOK.It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.  Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this:

This is the story of two women: Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again-- the story starts there...

Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds.

As much as I wanted to know what was going on in the story, it is truly best if you don't know.  This was one of those books that without the "back of the book story" to tell you what to expect, you were a little confused by how it began.  But, by page 100 I DID NOT want to put the book down.  This is a book you will want to discuss and talk about, but don't spoil it for someone who hasn't read it.  

Because of what happens in the story, I did have to, at times, read it in small doses.  It is a bit graphic and the subject matter could be difficult for some.  Even though this is a work of fiction, I have no doubt that the atrocities in the story likely took place....which is difficult for me to wrap my brain around.  

This was our book club choice for this month and I CAN NOT wait to talk about it with the gals.  There are sooooo many topics to discuss and questions to ask.  Topics that will likely be included in the discussion are death, grief, immigration, infidelity, and parenting, among others I can't mention without giving away too much of the story.

If your book club is looking for a book that will make everyone stop and think and create a wonderful discussion.....THIS. IS. IT.

Family Time February - Trouble

During the month of February, I am featuring games that our family has enjoyed over the years.  February is a great time of year to get cozy with your family and play some games.  I guarantee there will be lots of laughs and memories made.  

I think my husband's favorite game as a child was TROUBLE.  In the last 30+ years the game hasn't changed much except for maybe adding Disney or other movie characters to the theme of the game.

The game is a classic and includes the fun pop-o-matic dice roller that any kid will love using.  I remember playing and letting our youngest be the popper while we played with the older kids.  The overall purpose of the game is the get your four pawns into your home base while traveling around the board.  But you have to watch out for other players who can send you back to start as they come around the board.    This game is for 2-4 players and for ages 5 and up.

My husband still enjoys playing this game with the kids and it is a quick and easy game to play.  The kids always think it is funny when they get to send Pat or I back to start!

Trouble is sold by HASBRO and retails for $11.99. It can be found at toy stores and discount stores or online.

Tastefully Simple Winner!

The winner of the Tastefully Simple Souper Douper prize is.................

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Love Tastefully Simple's ready to make dip mixes and monkey bread!

JANUARY 24, 2012 4:02 PM