Who can think of favorite things without thinking of the Rodgers & Hammerstein song that made the phrase? And, yes, the movie is one of my favorite things.
I was 18 or 19 before I ever saw The Sound of Music. It seems to be on television at least once a year now, but it wasn't regular programming when I was growing up. We have the DVD and the three older children have watched it with me. Marie saw a pamphlet for a local theater that will be hosting two showings of it later this year; we are hoping to go.
Movies like this are few and far between any more. There is no gratuitous sex, violence, or language. Instead The Sound of Music is a love story -- love of God, love of country, love of family, and, yes, the love that develops between a man and a woman. The Sound of Music is also a wonderful example of good versus evil with good winning out.
Today's popular movies -- including ones aimed at children -- are often rife with questionable language, gratuitous violence, and if not sex, then sexual innuendo. Now you can see why a classic movie with a great storyline that entertains and lifts your spirits is one of my favorite things.
27 April 2007
23 April 2007
Who doesn't want this?
5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a Digital Photo Frame. It looks great. Reading Janice's description started me thinking about who in my life (besides me) could use/might enjoy one of these. In case my husband is reading this post, this DOES NOT mean you need to rush out and buy one for me from the kids for Mother's Day.
More information on the 9 inch photo frame can be found on the Philips website.
More information on the 9 inch photo frame can be found on the Philips website.
20 April 2007
Lest we forget
Like everyone else in the Commonwealth, I know someone who is a Tech student or alumnus. Like everyone else, I am horrified by Monday's events. Like others, my thoughts and prayers are with the students, faculty, staff and their families.
Ross Abdallah Alameddine
Christopher James Bishop
Brian Roy Bluhm
Ryan Christopher Clark
Austin Michelle Cloyd
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
Kevin P. Granata
Matthew Gregory Gwaltney
Caitlin Millar Hammaren
Jeremy Michael Herbstritt
Emily Jane Hilscher
Jarrett Lee Lane
Matthew Joseph La Porte
Henry J. Lee
Liviu Librescu
Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan
Lauren Ashley McCain
Daniel Patrick O'Neil
J. Ortiz-Ortiz
Minal Hiralal Panchal
Daniel Alejandro Perez
Erin Nicole Peterson
Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.
Julia Kathleen Pryde
Mary Karen Read
Reema Joseph Samaha
Waleed Mohamed Shaalan
Leslie Geraldine Sherman
Maxine Shelly Turner
Nicole White
17 April 2007
He says it so much better than I could
Matthew at Creative Minority Report recently posted on the reactions his family draws from others. It is definitely worth the read.
I've been on the receiving end of a few comments, too. It isn't always easy to smile and be polite, but it is worth the effort when it turns out the person asking "Are they all yours?" wants advice and helpful words about their desire to have more children than is considered acceptable or normal.
I've been on the receiving end of a few comments, too. It isn't always easy to smile and be polite, but it is worth the effort when it turns out the person asking "Are they all yours?" wants advice and helpful words about their desire to have more children than is considered acceptable or normal.
Book meme
Angela Messenger posted this meme recently and I thought I would join in.
1. Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Whatever I can get my hands on -- although if I start a series with one type, I try to stick with that and not mix them.
2. Amazon or brick and mortar? Brick and mortar -- I like the look, feel, and smell of a book as I browse.
3. Barnes & Noble or Borders? Wherever I can go, including used book stores.
4. Bookmark or dogear? Bookmark or remember where I am. Dogearing drives me CRAZY!
5. Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? With my first bookcase, I sorted alphabetically. Now that I have six bookcases -- and four children who like getting to my books -- I sort them by theme.
6. Keep, throw away, or sell? I try not to throw away books. When I was younger we lived out in the middle of nowhere and my books were my friends. I still have books from when I was in third grade. When we first moved back to Virginia, we had to store all my boxes of books in a small shed in the backyard. Unfortunately the shed roof was bad and rainwater destroyed three big boxes of books. I had to get rid of them and still miss the ones I lost. I have even sold some books when times were desperate -- of course, I didn't get as much as I had spent on them and it will cost an arm and a leg to replace them since they were original Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Dana Girls.
7. Keep dust jacket or toss it? Keep.
8. Read with dust jacket or remove it? Start with it and use the inside piece as a bookmark, but then remove it if necessary.
9. Short story or novel? Novels, but every now and then an anthology sneaks in.
10. Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Anthology.
11. Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter.
12. Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? When I get tired I try to make it to the end of the chapter.
13. “It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Once upon a time.
14. Buy or Borrow? Buy. I worry about what my youngest child will cause to happen to a borrowed book.
15. New or used? Used is just as good as new. Sometimes it's better. There is character in a used book.
16.Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? All.
17. Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Tidy is good. Cliffhanger will work if I know it won't be long to get the next book in the series. I can hardly wait for the end of July to see what is happening with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
18. Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? Any time is a good time to read!
19. Stand-alone or series? Either way.
20. Favorite series? Harry Potter. Trixie Belden. The Chronicles of Narnia. The original Hardy Boys (not the edited and watered down versions you can find now). The Dana Girls. The Anne books. I could go on, but I have other things to do today.
21. Favorite children’s book? Book Trails for Baby Feet.
22. Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? I'm sure most people have heard of my favorites -- Trixie Belden, the Dana Girls, Kay Tracey, Judy Bolton.
23. Favorite books read last year? Harry Potter -- I finally started reading them after a friend recommended them.
24. Favorite books of all time? Diary of Anne Frank, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Misty of Chincoteague and the rest of the books by Marguerite Henry. And, again, I had better stop or I will be here all day.
25. Least favorite book you finished last year? I don't think there were any. If I start to read something and don't like it, I don't finish it.
26. What are you reading right now? The Mommy Manual. And I am rereading Bringing up Boys. Allan and I have started reading Misty of Chincoteague together and may go on to some of the other Marguerite Henry books.
27. What are you reading next? The Little House books and like I said in 26, we may go on to some of the other Marguerite Henry books.
1. Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Whatever I can get my hands on -- although if I start a series with one type, I try to stick with that and not mix them.
2. Amazon or brick and mortar? Brick and mortar -- I like the look, feel, and smell of a book as I browse.
3. Barnes & Noble or Borders? Wherever I can go, including used book stores.
4. Bookmark or dogear? Bookmark or remember where I am. Dogearing drives me CRAZY!
5. Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? With my first bookcase, I sorted alphabetically. Now that I have six bookcases -- and four children who like getting to my books -- I sort them by theme.
6. Keep, throw away, or sell? I try not to throw away books. When I was younger we lived out in the middle of nowhere and my books were my friends. I still have books from when I was in third grade. When we first moved back to Virginia, we had to store all my boxes of books in a small shed in the backyard. Unfortunately the shed roof was bad and rainwater destroyed three big boxes of books. I had to get rid of them and still miss the ones I lost. I have even sold some books when times were desperate -- of course, I didn't get as much as I had spent on them and it will cost an arm and a leg to replace them since they were original Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Dana Girls.
7. Keep dust jacket or toss it? Keep.
8. Read with dust jacket or remove it? Start with it and use the inside piece as a bookmark, but then remove it if necessary.
9. Short story or novel? Novels, but every now and then an anthology sneaks in.
10. Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Anthology.
11. Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter.
12. Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? When I get tired I try to make it to the end of the chapter.
13. “It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Once upon a time.
14. Buy or Borrow? Buy. I worry about what my youngest child will cause to happen to a borrowed book.
15. New or used? Used is just as good as new. Sometimes it's better. There is character in a used book.
16.Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? All.
17. Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Tidy is good. Cliffhanger will work if I know it won't be long to get the next book in the series. I can hardly wait for the end of July to see what is happening with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
18. Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? Any time is a good time to read!
19. Stand-alone or series? Either way.
20. Favorite series? Harry Potter. Trixie Belden. The Chronicles of Narnia. The original Hardy Boys (not the edited and watered down versions you can find now). The Dana Girls. The Anne books. I could go on, but I have other things to do today.
21. Favorite children’s book? Book Trails for Baby Feet.
22. Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? I'm sure most people have heard of my favorites -- Trixie Belden, the Dana Girls, Kay Tracey, Judy Bolton.
23. Favorite books read last year? Harry Potter -- I finally started reading them after a friend recommended them.
24. Favorite books of all time? Diary of Anne Frank, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Misty of Chincoteague and the rest of the books by Marguerite Henry. And, again, I had better stop or I will be here all day.
25. Least favorite book you finished last year? I don't think there were any. If I start to read something and don't like it, I don't finish it.
26. What are you reading right now? The Mommy Manual. And I am rereading Bringing up Boys. Allan and I have started reading Misty of Chincoteague together and may go on to some of the other Marguerite Henry books.
27. What are you reading next? The Little House books and like I said in 26, we may go on to some of the other Marguerite Henry books.
16 April 2007
A little bit about Cath
I am many things -- wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend -- and my posts will reflect that. I’m sure that most of my posts will be about my family because they are an integral part of my life. That being said, my husband, Lawrence, and I have four children: Allan, Marie, Olivia, and William. I, of course, think they are wonderful; this does not mean they are perfect little angels. Trust me, they have their moments. But then again, don’t we all?
I have always enjoyed writing. During my school days I would figure out what kind of writing my teachers liked and/or expected and I would write that way (and that wasn’t always easy). However, this is my blog with my thoughts, memories and stories so now I get to write for me!
I hope you will enjoy visiting me over the back fence.
UPDATED: These are not their real names.
I have always enjoyed writing. During my school days I would figure out what kind of writing my teachers liked and/or expected and I would write that way (and that wasn’t always easy). However, this is my blog with my thoughts, memories and stories so now I get to write for me!
I hope you will enjoy visiting me over the back fence.
UPDATED: These are not their real names.
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