Mighty B - Enough for Me

Mighty B - Is a show about a young girl named Bessie Higgenbottom. Bessie lives by the Honeybee Handbook!. This spoof of the Girl Scouts, has Bessie in uniform at all times. She leads her fellow scouters as if she were a drill Sergeant. Speaking with a lisp, she takes her duties seriously, and has made earning every Honeybee badge, her life's goal.
As with most cartoons - present and past - there is lots of cartoon violence, and adult humor. My two year old grandson wandered in and out of the room through out the 1/2 hour show. He didn't seem to be particularly interested in the show.

I would rather see my young grandchildren watching shows like The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, or Corey in the House, than watching most cartoons. -- I will say that the cartoons from my childhood had just as much "violence" in them, as today's have. They were just more simple minded. Shows, that air now seem to be much more sophisticated, for lack of a better word. Their plots run like a sitcom, with sitcom humor.

On the positive - some of these new shows are so funny for adults, more parents are sitting down and watching TV WITH their children, which is a good thing. Even though I don't feel that cartoon watching in my childhood caused me any lasting emotional problems, I worry about the lasting effects on kids today. In my time, cartoons came on for a few hours on Saturday morning. Now days, there are channels that show cartoons 24/7. This can't be good.

Parent's must weigh the pros and cons, and choose what, and how much, their children watch on TV. Most of my grandchildren have or have had a pretty full diet of TV watching, but they seem to be stable, well-rounded kids. They have good manners, the school aged kids are making good grades, and they all have friends. But, they also have parent's who read to them, play games with them, AND watch TV with them!. I think that's the secret - Yep - spending TIME with your kids.

Tomorrow - I've Had Enough! I'll give you some resources to help you make up your own mind, and a list of my favorite shows for kids. Then on Friday, I'll tell you about my favorite shows for adults. (If my eyes can hold out, and my ears don't fall off.)

Voting and Cartoons

I voted over a week ago. Needed to vote early, as I am out west visiting family. I fear for our Nation, and pray that Heavenly Father will guide those who vote today! My thoughts about this election, would take days to write - So let me just say, that I'm begining to think that voters should be able to pass a competency test before being able to cast their ballot. - Enough said.


Ruby andMax - A sweet, simple little cartoon about a brother and sister rabbit. Ruby, the older sister runs the roost, and Max the little brother, "does his own thing". Here are some things that I wonder about:


1. Why do these two young rabbits live alone?

2. Where are their parents?

3. If Grandmother Rabbit lives down the street, why don't Ruby and Max live with her?

4. How do Ruby and Max support themselves?

5. AND -why does Max only say one word in each episode?


I waste my time thinking about things like this. When my kids were young, I used to be so upset with Sesame Street. The kids could all see Snuffy, but the adults couldn't. Now Snuffy wasn't a figment of the watchers imagination. He was a real character on the show. Didn't this bring about mistrust in the innocent eyes of the kiddies who watched every day?


Am I heading for a nervous breakdown? Have I stepped into the next realm of consciousness? Do I need a cookie. YEAH - that's it. I need sugar.


Tomorrow- The Mighty Bee

30 in 30

I've heard that November is National Blogging Month. Soooooooo, I'm jumping on the 30 posts in 30 days bandwagon. 2 down, 28 to go.

I'm spending time out west with 5 of our grand children, from the ages of 8 months to eight years. To say the least, I've watched enough cartoons to last me for the rest of my life.

Cartoons were strange enough when my kids were little - BUT NOW - whooooooo, they go way beyond weird.

For the next 5 days I'm going to give you my thoughts on some of the cartoons that I have enjoyed (and not so enjoyed) over the last few days.

Yo Gabba Gabba- Low budget animation. Songs like; I Like Bugs, and I Tried It and Now I Like It. By-the-way the lyrics for these two songs are; I like Bugs, and I Tried It and Now I Like It. Yep, same words sung over and over again. Thrown in randomly, throughout the half hour show, are tidbits of wisdom. This mornings episode talked about germs (don't eat dirty food) and how to draw a cat. A chubby lady, in gold spandex, danced around. I don't have a clue what the song she was singing was about, cause I was so totally mesmerized by her jiggling belly fat. The host of this show is a young black man reminescent of Steve Urkel, dressed in a neon "fro", big glasses, and spandex body suit. - Folks, I'm not making this stuff up.

This show gets a thumbs down from me - but it gives me hope that when the time comes, there will be a job oportunity for my Big J!

Tomorrow - Ruby and Max

Big J's World

He forgot to take his medicine AGAIN today. Drove up to school to give it to him.

In front of all the parents and faculty in the office he says " But mom, I could have sworn that I took my medicine this morning...are you sure you aren't overdosing me"? Heads turned.

Then - he says, "Oh, while you're here, would you sign this"? Seems my boy has been tardy 4 times already. Does he take his head with him when he leaves the house?

A Book Review

I've just finished reading the fourth book, in The Big Stone Gap Series, by Adriana Trigiani.

Big Stone Gap, Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon, and Home to Big Stone Gap, are set, nestled deeply, in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Ave Maria Mulligan MacChesney's (say that 3 times real fast) life is filled with family and friends, joy and sorrow, ups and downs. Trigiani weaves a story so poignant, that sometimes it almost hurts to continue to read. Like life, these books are bittersweet. I am always sorry when I come to the end. I am left wanting more.

The characters are so vivid - so real. Luckily I already have a Jack Mac for a husband, and several Ettas (daughters that are dear to me). But I long for an Iva Lou, or a Fleeta in my life. I have very wonderful friends, but none as colorful as these two. None close by, who can hold me when I cry and shed tears of happiness or of pain.

I can't wait to try out some of the recipes included in Home to Big Stone Gap...Fiona McGuiness's Shortbread, Shorty Johsnon's Biscuits and Gravy, Nancy Kilgore-Hall's Wedding Mints - YUM!

I'm looking forward to reading Lucia, Lucia on the flight out to Denver, but the Big Stone Gap series is so good, I can't imagine how they can be topped.

Adriana Trigiani, I thank you, for touching my heart...bringing tears to my eyes...putting a smile on my face.

Very Bad Poetry

Or Poetry in Very Bad Taste - your choice.

My butt is so sore
As I sit on the seat and rid my poor body of taters and meat
That I ate for my dinner tonight.

Sometimes it is veggies
Like tomatoes and corn that make my tummy rumble and mourn.
Cause I ate food I know it won't like.

Milk, Cabbage, pepper, mustard,
Onions, blueberries, apples, oatmeal, pears, oranges, soy, chocolate (okay, I'm trying to find some rhyming words here, but it's not going so well).
You get my drift.

Oh what joy and rejoicing
If I only had stock, instead of always being in hock
With the company that makes Imodium!

Accepting applause / or hiding under a bush.

An Overwhelming Feeling of Dread

When talking on the phone with my husband today, he mentioned that I sounded depressed. I said "I think I am, but I don't know why". He then replied, "you always get like this before you go on a trip". I realized that he was right.

You see, I love going to see my kids and grand kids. I miss them soooooo much .

BUT

I'm afraid to fly, and airports bring about a panic that I can barely conceal. Still, this is something much more. It's a dark, deep seeded feeling. It washes over me a few days before my planned departure. It's opressive. I feel like I can't breathe. Melancholy? Maybe thats a good word to describe it.

I don't feel this way when Steve is going with me, only when I leave on my own. When he goes off on a trip, I miss him terribly - BUT - I don't have this feeling of gloom and doom. Is it because, when I am at home, I am surrounded with his things? Surrounded by "the familiar"...


...a book left on his bedside table, his shirt hanging on the back of the closet door, his cologne on the bathroom counter?

I don't know.

I'll enjoy being with my daughters. I'll kiss my grandchildren until they push me away. I'll laugh, and eat, and probably shop. Then when it's time to go back home, I'll wonder how I can leave them.

BUT

An invisible bond will pull me. Pull me back to the man that I love, my best friend, my everything. Because, he is home. My home...filled with the familiar.