Thankfulness Challenge – Favorite Childhood Books

As a kid, I loved being read to, I loved reading on my own, I loved everything about reading. From the smell of a freshly opened book, going to the book store or library and browsing the shelves looking for that perfect book, and finishing one just to start another. My favorite day of the year was the Scholastic Book Fair I would get so excited when they’d pass out the order forms and when my mom and I would sit down to fill it out. I would save my money all year long for that one order form. No matter what I did or how much I saved it was never enough but mom would always come through. 

My nephew came out of the womb wanting to read. He’d sit on the couch book in his lap flipping the pages and making up the best stories that never existed. I only wish I had pulled out a camera and recorded them. A lot of times I couldn’t understand what he was saying but he was so enthusiastic about it I loved every second of it. One year he was determined to read the most books in his class and get as many AR reader points (or some jazz like that) in a single year. That was a fun year. See they had to read a book, tell their teacher they read it and then take a test on what he read. His score would result in points. I loved suggesting books, helping him find others, reading them with him so he’d have someone to talk to about it before taking the tests.

So just like with the video games post I thought I’d share some of the books that he and I bonded over when he was a child incase you are looking for some Christmas ideas prior to Black Friday shopping. 

 

http://www.littlegoldenbooks.com/

Little Golden Books. I love the Little Golden Books series, I have a ton of Little Golden Books on my shelves. I like the original books like Tootle, The Little Red Caboose, The Shy Little Kitten, The Fire Engine Book and also love the Sesame Street, Disney versions that came out. Like the Monster and the End of this Book featuring Grover, and a few years ago they released “Everything I need to know I learned from a Little Golden Book” which I got for Christmas from several family members. For the record don't bring me some weak ass Little Golden Book without the gold foil spine all that will do is piss me off. 

My all time favorite Little Golden Book was and will always be The Poky Little Puppy, which by the way was the on billionth LGB printed in 1986. It’s my all time favorite book from my childhood. As a matter of fact whenever a friend has a baby I give them this book as part of my baby gift. That book is all kinds of brilliant. It’s five little puppies who dig a whole under the fence and explore the world around them only to get in trouble when they get home. They do this several times throughout the book and the way they see the world and things around them was brilliantly done. A great way to talk to kids about consequences of actions that kind of thing.

https://www.berenstainbears.com/
The Berenstain Bears. There is a Berenstain Bear Book for literally every occasion. God Bless Stan and Jan Berenstain. The hours of enjoyment that the books have given me are too high to count. From having a Messy Room, to Bad Habits, to telling the Truth, to having a new Baby, table manners, trouble at school, going to a doctor for the first time, dealing with bullys,  learning how to deal with strangers, and mom getting a new job, and moving and going to the dentist, going to school for the first time. Literally every single thing has a Berenstain Book to give to a kid to make their situation a little easier to deal with.

Literally anything by Dr. Seuss. I loved the play on words, the fact that he could make up this world in his head and it all worked at the end of the day. I love that there is a book that people have started giving for graduation gifts, Oh The Places You go. So many fantastic stories, and of course I love me some How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Horton Hears a Who, There’s a Wocket in my Pocket, Oh The Thinks you can Think, and I wish That I had Duck Feet. So many great options you can’t go wrong with any of this books. 

Pierre – or as we called it, “I don’t care, my names Pierre” My mom gave me this book cause I had gotten into a habit of saying I don’t care. The book is all about a little boy who answers everything by saying I don’t Care and the consequences of it from it. At one point he is asked if a Lion could eat his mom (or something like that) and he says I don’t care and the Lion eats his mom. It was quite traumatic at the time. I love that book.

You can’t go wrong with any book on this list much less any other book on the planet. Reading is important no matter the book just the aspect of giving an actual book and even better reading the actual book with the recipient.

Marcy

@beaslma

Thankfulness Challenge – Video Game Consoles

So yesterday I posted I had nothing for you and today I had several ideas while I was at work. Isn’t that always the way ? PS – Hi H!  hope you have a great day tomorrow! -- So maybe I’m getting my mojo back. I promise nothing.

Today’s post is brought to you by a friend of mine who sent me a message to say “I’m thinking about getting a Playstation4. I’m really leaning towards doing it!” Which led to a long conversation about yes he should totally get a game station. 

I’ve mentioned several times on this blog my love for video games. The way they suck me into another world, the way they relieve stress and the overall enjoyment I have when playing. It’s not uncommon for me to get obsessed with a game and play it for days, hours, weeks. I wouldn’t take breaks if life didn’t make me. I like finishing a game. I am also annoying to play a game with cause I want all the things. All the coins, all the side quests I want to do it all. I used to drive my nephews crazy cause they just wanted to finish the level and move to the next one.

I was lucky my first console was the Atari 2600 and I loved everything about it. From the variety of games available, the game play, the graphics, and the ease of game play. Then again back then games were not as elaborate as they are now. We had Frogger, Pac Man, Mrs. Pac Man, Space Invaders, Pitfall, The Smurfs, ET, and so many other games. Then my Atari met an untimely death when it battled my mom’s vacuum cleaner which sucked up the cords and ruined the machine. It was a dark day in our household.

 

It was however rectified when Santa brought us a Nintendo which gave me Mario Brothers and RBI Baseball and so many other games that defined my childhood.  We had the glove, I had the magazine, I mean I was all in from the first day. As much as I loved my Atari this console is the console that I think of when I think of Video games. I am not proud of the fact that I spent a good 45 minutes at work when they came out with the mini NES … but wasn’t successful. From there I graduated to a Sega, then Microsoft took over with the X-box, X-box 360, X-box 1 and that’s where my video game story ends. Once my latest X-box ate it I just haven’t replaced the system. I really want a Nintendo Switch. I like the idea of being able to play at home and on the go, but I can’t justify the price tag cause I’m an adult. Granted I also had a few versions of the Game Boy and other hand held games but when I think video game systems I think of the ones plugged into the TV, those with cartridges that you could borrow from friends and swap back and forth like currency. Going to the store to rent games that’s what I think of. So this post is not about games I play on my phone, maybe that's for another day, cause lord knows I have plenty. 

However, the question remains the same which console?! PS4, X-box, or are you a PC gamer. Since it’s nearly Christmas I thought I’d help Santa out and give the number one thing someone needs to think about when they are considering a new console.  

What do you want to play? Are you a gamer that likes to connect to other gamers online? Do you like the shoot up up, role playing games like Fortnight, or Resident Evil, or quest games... fantasy play, what about sport games, NFL, NBA, Soccer, MLB? Do you like games based on movies or TV? Take a look a the console you are interested and see what type of games they sell. That’s the first step. It all comes down to the games you want play and if you can find enough games that will interest you to keep you wanting to play the console.

Also do some research and make sure that you aren’t buying a console that is about to release a new system. There is NOTHING WORSE than buying a console only to have a new one come out a year later and suddenly you can’t find any games for your console cause they are shifting their focus to the new one. Trust me on that one. Been there wasted my money on that.

No matter what system you pick enjoy it. If you are going to spend the money buy a few games and really dive into the system and use it or you have wasted the money you spent.

Have fun!


Marcy
@beaslma

Thankfulness Challenge – I got nothing

This challenge has been hard, mostly cause I haven’t felt like I had anything real to talk about. So they have all felt a little forced. My plan was to spend this weekend writing up several posts so that I would have things I could post on days like this but then life happened. That’s not to say I could haven’t done it I just didn’t. However I want to keep this thing going and make this challenge happen so you guys have had to deal with my ramblings about nothing and for that I would apologize if anyone were reading these things but let’s face it they aren’t. 

You would think that would make it easier, I mean I could write anything I wanted and it wouldn’t matter. I could go into a political rant, but so is everyone else these days, I could spend days researching something and come up with a very eloquent way for someone to think about something and possibly change their mind about an issue, like say Gun control, but I likely won’t. 

This was not a good time to do this challenge. I feel like I already have 3 jobs between the one that pays the bills, my mom’s health, my fathers needs, and now this just feels like another thing on my to do list. I should use this space for enjoyment, happiness, or fun but I often use it as an excuse to be on my computer. I’m sure I could use this computer for more important things or even for anything in general other than surfing the web but that’s all I do. So I promise that I’ll get better and maybe one day I’ll jump over this hump but for now all you need to know is that I posted today and kept this thing moving forward.

Marcy

Thankfulness Challenge - Birthdays

Today my oldest nephew turned 20. For 20 years I have watched him grow to the young man he is today. He's a super smart kid, who is stupid tall and has the temper of my father, something his father and I also inherited. 

He was not an easy child and often we were sure his dad would end up in prison and McNeil would end up in the ground before the child turned 10. He wasn't so much a bad kid just didnt know when to shut his mouth ha! Even when we were standing behind him telling him to. 

He is currently a Sophmore at Auburn with a big decision on his shoulders about his future. I have no doubt in my mind that whatever direction he decides to go he is gonna make an impact. See he also inherited my dads work ethic, something I was also cursed with, which is going to drive him to make this world better. 

We need more kids like McNeil and i hope those kids are out there just in the background quietly making their way into the real world. It's been a blessing watching him grow up, and I'm very proud to be his aunt. So today and everyday I am thankful to the young man who made me an Aunt. 

Happy Birthday McNeil! I love you! 

Marcy

Thankfulness Challenge – The Week is over!

Today I’m thankful that the week is over. It’s not that it has been an overly HARD week but it hasn’t been an easy week either. It has just been a hectic week, between the Basketball game early in the week to having several submittals to get done and help with I felt like I was always running behind. Now it’s Friday and I just want to take a nap. I want to sleep all freaking weekend and I know I can’t but that’s honestly all I want to do.  That’s become my norm for the weekends. I know that’s not ok but that’s what it is. At some point laundry will be a thing, and of course Auburn has a huge football game this weekend. Not to mention that my oldest nephew turns 20 tomrorow. 

So I’m going to bed, yall have a great weekend.

Marcy
@beaslma 

Thankfulness Challenge – DJ Nash

Tonight is another short post. It’s 7:30 my time and at 8 A Million Little Things will be on my TV on ABC. I can’t express how much I truly love this show. You know how some shows have an ensemble cast but like often the ensemble seems to just be there sometimes or completely non existent in some episodes ? Yeah A Million Little Things is not at all like that. Everyone brings something to the table in every single episode.

I will admit I started watching this show because of the amazing James Roday of Psych being cast as one of the lead characters. I have yet to watch anything connected with Mr. Roday that wasn’t great. So I was in from that moment. While Mr. Roday got me to the table the fantastic story telling by DJ Nash and his writers room have kept me there. Not to mention that amazing cast …. how they found this many talented people is beyond me. Incase you don’t know the show is about a group of friends who rally together to pick up the pieces after the glue of the group commits suicide. You’d think that would make for a super sad show but it’s actually a really lovely, heart warming, and funny show. Don’t get me wrong there are tears and challenges the group have to overcome but it’s a great representation of life in general.

The best part of the show is the online presence of it’s creator DJ Nash. He’s not one of those guys who created a thing and only tweets when he’s promoting the show. The conversations that he has with fans is almost as entertaining as the show itself. That’s actually the coolest part of this fanbase is the conversations that the show generates. Last year there was a lot of really productive conversations about suicide and cancer and this year the conversation’s that have resulted from the speculation of what’s happening on the show. Right before the start of Season #2 I saw a conversation where a lady had to miss the premier episode cause her daughter was hurt playing Volleyball. I too hurt my knee playing Volleyball in high School too so I reached out to her and have checked in on her daughter several times since. She’s recovering nicely incase you are wondering. My point is that this show has become way more than just a show. 

Today I am thankful for the brain that is DJ Nash and the creative team behind A Million Little Things ! 

Anyway it’s nearly 8 ….. I have a show to watch and you should be watching too!

Thanks,
Marcy  

Thankfulness Challenge – College Days

So as I said yesterday my family and I put on all our Auburn gear and headed to the local arena to watch the Tigers play basketball. It was a super fun night that ended with my nephew asking “What is it about Auburn Sports? It’s not a game unless you are about to have a heart attack.” He’s 100% right. Being an Auburn fan is not always fun, it’s not always easy but it really is GREAT to be an Auburn Tiger.

I’ve talked on this blog before about what Auburn means to me it’s more than a university, it is home. That feeling of belonging that feeling of calm that comes over me when I go back to that campus fascinates me. Just getting off at that exit and driving towards campus makes me feel like I have class the next day.

I started at Auburn in the college of Liberal Arts with the plan of going into communications with an eventual degree in journalism. That was the plan. However as most college students need to understand often the plan changes at least once or twice in those 4…4+ years.

My older nephew is currently at Auburn and he’s at that cross road where he stays on the path he’s on or he shifts the plan and go in another direction. I’ve told him every student on that campus has gotten to that road, the question he has to ask himself is what do you want to do. It’s not an easy decision and it’s not easy to trust yourself and go with your gut. For me, the decision was really made for me. The weed out class for a Journalism degree definitely weeded me out. At the time I was devastated. My guidance counselor told me you can do what you want to do with a degree in English. That…was….a …. Lie. Well not a lie, I mean she wasn’t being malicious about it or anything she was just largely mistaken. See I loved my guidance counselor. When I graduated my mother gave HER a graduation gift. She is the reason I have that piece of paper on my wall in a nice fancy frame … collecting dust. Her advice however was misguided. The people I tried to get a Journalism type job from were done with me after they realized I only had an English degree.

I can’t imagine trying to be in the journalism profession today. It drives me crazy how lazy some journalist are now especially in the light of everything going on in the world. It drives me insane that a social media account has become a source. They are no longer concerned with getting the story it is more about repeating whatever one else is talking about. If you watch two or three channels or read a few articles the same text or talking points are used over and over.

Not to mention that now a days it’s harder than ever to break into and I wasn’t someone who wanted to be on the screen. I was more interested in the research side of the table or the writing of copy. I am however grateful for where I have ended up. It’s not at all what I thought I’d be doing with my life as a 20 something year old but I’m good at it and feel very secure in saying that someone knew that that’s where I needed to end up and for that I am grateful. I now it’s not easy but trust the plan, even when it changes, it might be exactly what you needed.

Marcy