Inkheart

Have you read this book? I’ve read it myself several times as I’ve read it with groups of students. I’m so excited to know that a movie is now coming out about this book. This is as exciting to me as many were about the Twilight movie.  And I’m even more excited to learn that Brenden Fraser will be the star of Inkheart.  I have loved his performance for many years. I love each of the Mummy movies, but I think I first became a Fraser fan in 1993 when he played in Son In Law. We actually have that movie on DVD and I stil pull it out and watch it from time to time. Cameron loves to watch him as George of the Jungle.

If you do not know anything about the story of Inkheart, it is the first book in the Inkworld trilogy. The story is about a 12 year old girl, Meggie, who flees her home with her father and a family friend. Her father ends up being kidnapped.  Through searching for him, Meggie learns that her father actually read her mother INTO the book Inkheart and that is why she has never been a part of Meggie’s life. I don’t want to ruin the entire plot, but I will conclude by saying that Meggie’s father atempts to read the people who are pursuing them into a book, and this book is the story of that attempt.

This movie will be in theaters January 23rd. Watch the trailer below for a sneak preview.

Screen Shots

Welcome Home Troops

These soldiers (including my brother, Tommie) returned to Fort Polk at 2 a.m. on Tuesday, December 30th.

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Other sites that promote Wordless Wednesday with Mr. Linky  (all clickable so click away and sign each Mr. Linky)
The Blonde Diaries, The Official Site, MomDot, 5 Minutes for Mom, The Not So Blog Blog, Nothing But Purple, What’s That Smell?, Newlyweds, Photo Bug Baby, Mom of 3 Girls, Proud Mommy, Crazy Book Slut, and Punky Monkey’s

Family Retreats

I’m not sure if you noticed, but not too long ago, I wrote about how neat the town of Branson looked for a family vacation, and now I have the chance to share with you the types of vacation packages offered by Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel this holiday. Maybe it’s too late to plan a trip this holiday season, but they run these types of deals for various holidays so it’s still useful knowledge.  I am thinking that I may look into 4th of July packages come summer.

As a point of reference, the New Years Eve Package. This includes deluxe accommodations, party favors, a four course dinner for two, $50 gift card and Bloody Mary breakfast buffet for two. For a couple who wanted to get away, wouldn’t this be a special way to spend New Years Eve.

Maybe you are planning a getaway for an anniversary or birthday?  There’s also a Romance package that includes wine in your room upon checkin, access to hotel health club, pool and whirlpool spa, full American breakfast for two in your room, and if you stay beyond one night, you’ll get a buy one entrée and get a second one of equal or lesser value at no additional cost in the hotel restaurants. And finally, you can get a late checkout upon request.

Currently, they are also offering a Family Package (available through March 2009) that as long as you book at least 14 days in advance, you receive 20% off your stay. That could easily add up to some great savings.

If you are looking for a vacation destination that would be laid back and a place where you could spend quality family time together (or maybe just a getaway for Mom and Dad), check out Branson and the Hilton hotels. You might just find a winner for your  family.

Top 50 Mom Blogs

I was right. Here it is 10:00 and I don’t even feel the slightest tired. I really don’t mind this schedule. I’ve always been a night owl, but it makes going back to work sooo hard, and with less than a week before school is back in session, I will be exhausted that first week.  Since I feel like I’m going to be up for a while, I decided that I’d peruse the MomDot list of the Top 50 Mom Blogs.  Even though I feel like I surf a good number of blogs, I was amazed at how many of the sites on this list, I have never heard of. If you like to read Mom Blogs and want to make some new friends, I highly encourage you to check out this awesome list.  I’m listing the top 50 here, but if you’d like to know more about them before clicking, head over to MomDot where Trisha wrote a great writeup describing each blog.

Note: all blog titles are links…click thru and check some of them out:

#50 MomDot

#49 Faithful Froggers

#48 Womb at the Innsane

#47 Smiles and Trials 

#46 Jiggety Jigg

#45 Jessica Knows

#44 Cutie Bootie Cakes

#43 Dooce

#42 Shamelessy Sassy

#41 Mindless Junque 

#40 A Wise *Young* Mommy

#39 Rocks in my Dryer

#38 Momisodes 

#37 Hope 4 Peyton

#36 Bring the Rain

#35 Cheaper Than Therapy

#34 Chic Shopper Chick

#33 Mommy Goggles

#32 I should be folding Laundry

#31 The Mommy Blog

#30 Is there any Mommy Out There

#29 Mamalogues 

#28 An Island Life

#27 The McMommy Chronicles

#26 Playgroups are No Place for Children

#25 Scary Mommy

#24 Finslippy

#23 From Dates to Diapers

#22 Accidental Mommies

#21 Boobs, Injuries, and Dr. Pepper

#20 Immoral Matriarch

#19 Baby Mac

#18 Sarcastic Mom 

#17 Miss Britt

#16 Where am I going? And why am I in this hand basket?

#15 The Bloggess 

#14 Pioneer Woman 

#13 Adventures in Babywearing 

#12 Moosh in Indy

#11 Happy Meals and Happy Hour

#10 Okay, Fine, Dammit 

#9 Barefoot Foodie 

#8 C Jane Run

#7 Mom Generations 

#6 I am Bossy 

#5 The Secret is in the Sauce

#4 Tip Junkie

#3 Mama Kats Losin It

#2 5 Minutes for Mom

#1 My Charming Kids 

There you have it, the MomDot Top 50 Mom Blogs!  Go check them out.  I assure you from Trisha’s descriptions, these are a set of blogs that we will all enjoy reading.

Ok Contact Lense Wearers….

How often do you wear your glasses?  There was a time in my life when I NEVER went out of the house in my glasses (much to my eye doctor’s dismay).  I wore them at home – MAYBE.  I did not want to be seen in glasses – no way, no how, but I find as I get older that I don’t mind wearing my glasses so much.  I’ve actually started wearing them for no reason other than just sheer laziness of putting my contacts in, but I think I might wear them even more if I started thinking of them as a fashion accessory.  I got this idea from my teenager (Becka) who we had to buy glasses for earlier this year.  We decided to try out Zenni Optical after seeing a newscast on their great prices and have been really satisfied. Since they are so reasonably priced, I’ve acutally bought Becka 3 different pair of glasses, and she does in fact wear them like fashion accessories – depending on the outfit she’s wearing.  I was really surprised when she mentioned that she had thought I’d have bought her a pair of holiday frames for Christmas as she had hinted several times.  I absolutely didn’t catch that hint at all. LOL  So I guess the one present I didn’t get my girls that they wanted was eyeglasses. Isn’t that weird?  She has district debate coming up soon so I’m thinking that I might buy her a new pair or two now and give them to her for good luck that morning. And maybe JUST MAYBE I’ll buy me a couple pair and try out wearing glasses  more often.