Classic Videos-ok not really...

I was a hair-band fan in high school. My friends and I collected the magazines they were featured in, stayed up to watch Headbangers Ball, and covered our walls in pictures (from the magazines). Here are a couple of my favorite videos, but not necessarily my favorite bands.
Scared by Dangerous Toys

Don't Close Your Eyes by Kix

Round and Round by Ratt

And my favorite - Bang! by Gorky Park


What do you miss from the days of MTV?

Movie Review - Just Wright

I just finished watching Just Wright, the latest Queen Latifah romance. Now I have to admit I do love her, she seems genuinely happy and plays each role as a real person. She stars alongside Common, who is a famous NBA basketball star engaged to her god-sister. He gets injured and Queen Latifah - a physical therapist - is called in to handle his rehabilitation. Her god-sister dumps him and Queen Latifah is left to get him back in the game.

Well of course romance blooms, but so does a deep friendship and mutual respect. Until her god-sister comes back after he wins the championship. Oh he's all better? Ok she's ready to marry him now. I hate those spins in a romantic movie, it's very cliche.

All in all, I did enjoy the movie. Queen Latifah was as good as ever, however Common left something to be desired. He's a decent actor, but sometimes he came off stilted or stiff.

So thank you to Redbox for the free movie code. Rent it to see for yourself.

Here comes Halloween...

Thinking about costumes, talking about costumes, dreaming about costumes...my boy CW was full of ideas. He wanted to be batman, spiderman, a Ninja, a knight, even Little Red Riding Hood. For his first 2 halloweens I made his costumes with a pattern. First year he was a alien puppy. God that fur was horrible!

The next year I tried a dinosaur costume, I chose maroon and gold, since we live with Central Michigan University and those are the school colors. Hey I thought he might get extra chocolate.

But then I had Ivan and my workload increaked 10-fold. How does a 2nd child bring that much extra work? lol Well, his 3rd halloween he was a pirate and then a batman. Ivan reused the costumes I made, so it was good they went thru 2 children.


Well, after having Ivan I thought my costume making days were over. But I found the dinosaur costume at the Salvation Army for $1.49, and I mean literally the one that I made - I donated it. It made me long to do it again. So here is the Lilac Wolf orignal for 2010.

CW is a vampire, and Ivan is a wizard. CW picked out the big package of vampire teeth and we have some candy blood from Octoberfarm that he plans to carry with him. He came up to me saying "going to take your blood!" He is excited, and I think Ivan will as well this year. We are practicing saying "trick or treat."

Now I need to go finish crocheting my witch hat.

A New Goddess Joins the Family

Yesterday I finally got something I've been waitin for in the mail. I squealed and danced all the way to the car.

This baby Demeteer was made for me by Nydia of Bringing Up Salamanders blog-fame. Or you can visit her Etsy shop, Carioca Witch. She is truly an artist with her embroidery and felt. She will do special orders for any God/Goddess you want. She also makes these great little felted runes. The ones I want are blue with lavendar in them. I need to start a savings account for this stuff. I want to collect the greek pantheon.

I've already got Hera (left) and Artemis (right), and of course now I have added Demeter (middle). I was always fascinated by the Greek myths as a tweener. I read everything I could get my hands on.

I never bought the Roman ones, they were just stolen, like they stole everything else. Goodness they are like the Borg in Star Trek. "Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated." lol

Restaurant Review - Oh My Burgers &Fries!

When Chris finally woke up on Sunday afternoon (he works late running sound at a local bar)...he said he wanted to take all of us to Oh My Burgers & Fries. Our Hot & Now closed down for renovations, then mysteriously turned into this restaurant.

I wasn't too excited until Chris told me he had a turkey burger. Hot & Now is a drive-thru only place, so obviously this is too. We got there and had to wait on Mission before getting in. There was a worker outside handing out menus. They have beef burgers, turkey burgers and veggie burgers. The turkey is served on a Whole Wheat bun with this cilantro mayo that was to die for! The fries are made from fresh potatoes, not frozen. They actually have workers cutting potatoes (I'm sure they go thru a slicer, but still!). And they are fried in 100% Canola Oil.

While we were waiting they had a large sign that had messages going thru, like where the potatoes came from that day...literally the state and field #. The turkey is from meat that has no growth hormones or antibiotics (I think). The milk shakes are made with real ice cream, the lemonaide is from fresh squeezed lemons. I had the iced tea and it tasted like Iced Tea!!! Trust me, iced tea made in a coffee maker really isn't that great.

So in parting the burgers are delicious, the fries taste like REAL fries, and the iced tea is nice. As far as I can tell the only one is in Mt. Pleasant, MI. So come for a visit. lol Ok, start hitting them up that you want one in your area too. That might work better.

The only thing that really disappointed me was no eat-in space. Although if they had that, I might eat there way more often. As it stands, I'm going to go back for the veggie burger and I want to try a milk shake. I can't nail down what flavor I want though, so it will have to wait.

What I really like is it is fast food that is fresh food. I hope they grow like crazy and give McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's all a run for the money.

My Go-To Comfort Flicks...

Everyone has some movies they go to when they just want to relax and veg. Today I am going to present my top 5 comfort flicks. I encourage all my readers to leave a comment of at least one movie that you watch over and over as well.

1. The 10th Kingdom

I bought this movie ages ago from Wal-Mart for about $13 and I have probably watched it a dozen times since then. It was a mini-series on NBC at one time. It has so many fairy tales interwoven and a new story, that it really creates a new fairy tale. We have Virginia, a waitress in New York living with her father. The prince who was magically turned into a dog. And a Big, Bad (HOTTTT) Wolf. I pop this one in when I'm sick and just sink in and relax.

2. Waitress

This is a new favorite of mine. This one centers around a waitress at a pie joint, and she's a genius with pies. And she's married to an abusive man...and she's just found out she's pregnant. She is miserable...find romance in a very unlikely place...and most importantly she finally finds herself.

3. Mrs. Winterbourne

Well I'm a sucker for anything Brendan Fraser. And I also love Ricki Lake. She lost a lot of weight before staring in this role, but she is still a pretty full figured woman in comparison to most leading ladies. Another baby is key to this movie, there is romance, some cheesy drama and lots of laughs. The co-stars in the family include Paco (Miguel Sandoval) and Grace Winterbourne (Shirley McLaine). Key plot device here, mistaken identity.

4. Overboard

How can you not love Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russel (hey isn't that is daughter staring in Waitress???)? Real life lovers bring an unmistakable chemistry. Plus they are both really funny. Goldie plays a rich woman who has never worked for anything in her life. My favorite line in life comes from this movie, delivered by Kurt, "You're so goddamned bored, you have to invent stuff to bitch about!" Which was his response when she refused to accept the pine closet he built for her on her boat (she wanted cedar, but as he points out, Moths aren't a real problem off the pacific coast). When she falls overboard and loses her memory, he sees an opprotunity to get his money back. He makes her believe she is his wife so she has to cook, clean and care for the children while he works. Unplanned for, she loves being a mother and falls in love with Kurt.

5. Look Who's Talking

Kirsty Alley is one of my favorite actresses. I love her look, her voice and how she carries herself. Did you know she is a clean freak? She cleans her own home by hand because no one could live up to her standards. Before she made it, she was a cleaning lady. Also this is my favorite roll for John Travolta. Kirsty has a baby with a married client (she is a CPA). Back in the day when I dreamed of being a CPA I really looked up to this character - all except the sleeping with a married client. When she finally realizes this guy is no good, she goes all out to find the perfect father for Mikey. Who knew he was right under her nose. The cab driver who got her to the hospital when she went in labor and found her after to deliver her purse (which oddly enough still held her diaphram). He needs her address to find care for his grandfather so they work out a babysitting schedule. Yes, romance does ensue. And Mikey (Bruce Willis) has his own funny dialogue throughout the film.

So check out my favorites if you wish and leave a comment telling me yours.

Have a great weekend all!

Book Review - Second Time Around

Today I am reviewing Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick.

The story revovles around 5 women who are all graduated English majors from the same college. They had been roommates, and after college while only one of them worked in their field, they all remained friends. And none of them has the life they wanted. One friend dies and leaves an inheritence to the remaining 4 that allows them to follow their bliss.

One of the women is married, but the rest have never had a serious relationship. They come back to their old house where they rented rooms in college, to help one of them who bought the house to turn into a Bed and Breakfast. One is writing a novel, one is becoming an event planner and one is working on baking/catering while figuring out what to do with her marriage.

They all discover parts of themselves they never knew existed. They find new talents, reawaken other parts and find exactly what was missing.

My favorite part was one of the women hooking up with the HOT english professor they all had the hots for in college (turns out he is only a few years older than them) - and you'll also discover his shameful secret.

I just found this book in the library and wasn't sure I would like it but the story pulled me right in. This author can tell a story! So go check it out, you won't regret it.

On the 19th Day of Halloween...

Oh my what a great day for giveaways! First up there are 3 giveaways at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom. I'm only listing 2 of them here. A set of carnelian Runes from Kadiera's Cauldron. And next is an adorable crocheted Cutie Corn and Witches Cauldron Plush from Manifested Dreams.

Click here to enter giveaway 1.
Click here to enter giveaway 3.
(I skipped giveaway 2)

Finally my good friend Nydia is giving away one of her magnetic wheel of the year calendars. She says it's to teach the kids, but lord knows I could use it too. And as an added bonus, she is including a baby god/goddess of your choice. So head over to Bringing Up Salamaders and enter for yourself.

Creative Writing Mondays

I did a google search on writing prompts and found "Using Pictures as Writing Prompt". Enjoy below...or not. I really don't claim to be a great author. lol

As John worked to change the flat tire, Teresa waited quietly. John was worried about her, she hadn't said a word since her mother's funeral. John missed his wife, and didn't know how to deal with his own saddness, let alone his daughters. Teresa was very bright, but as she grew older his wife was the one who connected with her more. He was always busy with work and wasn't sure how to handle a growing girl.

Now his wife was gone and they only had each other. John had never felt more desserted, not even when his own parents died when he was a teenager. Now he had to figure out how to fix himself and his daughter.

In a move out of pure desperation, John was moving them across the country. As far away from the home they had all shared as a family. He couldn't be in any room without being flooded with memories of his late wife. And as his time off work ended he found he couldn't go anywhere in town without those memories hitting him. So, off they are going to find a new place to make new memories.

But still Teresa sat in silence and John was at a loss of what to do with her, or with his own life. He stood up from the job at hand and sighed while running his hand through his hair. Frustration was all he was feeling at the moment. He couldn't even figure out where they were going to sleep for the night.

(to be continued...maybe...)

I also wanted to mention, that AllCoffeeTables.com is one of the many CSN webstores out there. You can follow the link and check out all they have to offer! Sorry I forgot to mention that earlier. Thanks everyone!

And the Winner is...

So in an effort to even the playing field - I'm not so trusting of the random number generator anymore - I wrote everyone's name down on a piece of paper, put them all in a mixing bowl and drew out of the bowl as I held it over my head.

And now for the big news - the winner is Elaine!

Elaine, I will e-mail you the code from AllCoffeeTables.com as soon as I get it.

Enjoy and please let me know how it works out for you.

And thank you everyone for stopping by and participating!

Welcome to the New and Improved Lilac Wolf and Stuff

I did a few things this week. The first thing was contacting Tara at Princess in Pigtails Designs to redo my blog. I bought her #1 blog makeover package for $30. I have looked around before and that strikes me as a real value. Especially how much work she put in - mostly reading my e-mails. LOL Thank you Tara, it's lovely!

I was also contacted by a representative from CSN stores. She offered to give me a $65 gift certificate to review a product or to host a giveaway to give the $65 to one of my readers. I chose to do another giveaway! So this weekend only, leave a comment and you will be in the running to win $65 to spend at AllCoffeeTables.com. At AllCoffeeTables.com they have coffee tables, end tables, nesting tables (who knew they still made those!) and serving trays. I'm surprised at the selection, just in the end tables, there are over 2500 different tables to chose from!

I will tell you it was hard to make that decision. I found a lap table for only $40. I think I'll have Chris get me that for Christmas/Yule. I can't seem to get a picture of it, but it's called Winsome Alden Lap Desk with Flip Top Drawer and Foldable Legs in Antique Walnut – 94623. It even has a drawer, and a flip top, it looks like it would make a great workstation when I am in bed with the boys.

It looks like an upscale website, but I can't say as I've purchased from them before. So if you are the winner, you have to let me know how your experience was.

So onto the rules:

Go to AllCoffeeTables.com and come back here leaving a comment about an item you are interested in.

**Extra Entries**

• Share this blog entry using Twitter
  
• Be or become a follower of this blog
  
• Blog about this entry
  

***Alas they can only ship to the US and Canada***

****This blog ends Sunday at 9:00 pm EST****

I will draw the winner and post soon after the end time. Please e-mail me if you are the winner, the prize will be a code that I can e-mail to you to use when you check out.

If the winner has not responded in 48 hours of the post, a new winner will be selected…and so on. J

 

Review - Witch Craft

Today I am reviewing Witch Craft a book of Halloween crafts compiled by Margaret McGuire and Alicia Kachmar and published by Quirk.

I was so excited by all the cute crafts in this book. I have a growing list of the ones I want to do. Some are inspired by my kids. Today I made a bat for CW. I used glow-in-the-dark thread on the wings, and I know he's going to love it.

During Ivan's homevisit, I bought all the stuff to let them make potions. They loved it, and oddly enough the glitter bonded with the oil I used and CW made a wicked looking green and black. Ivan had the pretty purple and white sparkles. They loved that craft, and I did too. However, kids with glass jars is a REALLY bad idea. :D Oddly enough the older one is the one who broke the bottle on the carpet.

I really wanted to make the crocheted bone, and this is where I first noticed what is missing. There aren't very clear directions and it is really lacking in assembly photos. The crochet bone is really hard, and I had to restart it 4 times. I'm by no means an expert, but I know my way around a hook. But I'm not giving up, I'll keep at it.

There is a crocheted witch on my list too. Ok, I could go over them all, but I must end it somewhere. There are over 25 crafts, some are sewing, some are cooking and some are knit and crochet. In fact my next projects are some cross-stitch patterns that you can use to make earrings or buttons...I think I may frame them. It's really loaded with a great variety of projects for halloween.

The layout is very nice, there is a title page with a picture of the finished project. Next there is an easy to read list of supplies and then step-by-step directions. At the end of the book they list the creators of every craft along with contact info (such as an Etsy store) and a little blurb written by said creator.

It does have a minor let down in how fast it moves, because personally I would like them to slow down on the directions and show more pictures to see how it goes. But all in all, I say if you are crafty at all, or even ready to be crafty, get this book right away. Halloween is almost here!

Mrs. B's Giveaways Day 11

Up for grabs today at the Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom blog are the Weiser Field Guide to Ghosts, the Sacred Oak Gift Bath Set and a whimsical bookmark also known as "RAvEn EnChAnTeD - CUrioS ALTeReD ArT bOOkMaRk!"

Go check them out, they are really great giveaways today.

And the Winner is...

And the winner of Masterpuppet Theater is Lynda B. I used a random number generator and it drew #12. :) So comment #12 was you, Lynda. Send me an e-mail with your contact information and I will forward that to Quirk. :)

Thanks everyone for playing in my first giveaway!

Mrs. B's Giveaways Day 6

There is an amazing party over at the Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom's blog. I'm in awe of all the work she does to organize and roll out these daily blogs and giveaways. I am in fact finishing up my first giveaway and am slightly disappointed at the low turnout. Today is the last day and then I draw my winner. For sheer effort alone I hope Nydia gets it, but I will be using a random number generator.

Today there is a rune pendant from Heksebua, and after looking at their shop I am intrigued by the pine smudge. Says KR for money, I think those are Kronors...sweedish. Not sure the coversion rate there. But it's a great shop, they even have custom wands.

Then the thing that I think I will buy if I don't win it, a blog makeover from Princess in Pigtails. I was looking into this last year, but just didn't have the funds. I am pushing forward with my blog and I think it's time to get something that is just me, not some freebie I found online or picked up from Blogger.

So go enter the giveaways if you like:
Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom Giveaway from Heksebua
Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom Giveaway from Princess in Pigtails.

Mrs. B's Halloween Giveaways day 4

Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom Giveaway #6
Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom Giveaway #7

Today Mrs. B has on her plate a $40 gift certificate to Divine Lotus Healing's Etsy shop. They have really great prices over there, and more than just aromatherapy sprays. I am very interested in the Crow Bluejay Feather Wand shown below.

Next is a little woven pentagram from the writer of Following the Path as a Thrifty Pagan. I just became a follower, and I'm looking forward to reading more.

You can follow the giveaway links above, or access the people directly where I mentioned them. Have fun and good luck!

Mrs. B's Giveaway #5

Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom: Giveaway #5

Today is the 5th giveaway and the 3rd day. I did win yesterday but I'm not about to quit yet. :) Nothing wrong with trying and I still wish my friends the best of luck.

Today is your choice of photograph from Swamprat Photography. I also like that for a minor charge it can be matted and framed. Personally I love this one of "Through the Cemetery Gate".

So go to Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom's blog to enter this drawing, or click on the photo to go to Swamp Rat Photography's etsy store.

Mrs. B's Halloween Giveaways...

It's that time of year again, Mrs. B's 31 days of Halloween. I love all the entries everyday, it's the busiest her blog is all year long. I know she works her tail off this time of year, even 2 months or more just in planning. I'm jealous she is so organized.

So today up first is a goddess from Nydia. Gosh I love her work, she does gods and goddesses on her own and by request, she also has a fantastic collection of runes and dragons and even cats. You can go see her store at Carioca Witch. And you can go to Mrs. B's website to enter the giveaway for yourself at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom.

Next up is a book called "The Weiser Field Guide to Witches" by Weiser Books. This contains a seemingly neverending information on witches, types, history and so on. Looks like a great read. You can see this book and others at the Weiser Books website or again click here to go to Confessions of a Soccer Mom to enter for yourself.

Finally today is a basket of goodies from Octoberfarm. They have a great looking blog you can access here and you can also go directly to Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom to enter for yourself.

I do encourage you to look at all these vendors, but most especially Mrs. B's blog. She is a fantastic lady, witch and mom. She has given me valuable advice and examples in building my own blog. I've enjoyed following her for over a year now. :D Yup, it was last year I started following her when I discovered a giveaway a friend had posted.

Tribal Horse Jewelry Designs

My friend Lisa Brawner loves to design her own jewelry. I have a growing collection, the personality and prices of the jewelry make it possitble for me to finally put together a jewelry collection. See here, Ivan and I are sporting my new additions, including the beautiful bracelet that I won on her blog. I'm wearing a bracelet too, and it's my new favorite piece.


I also have to mention that I love her earrings. I don't think I've actually purchased a pair, usually I buy when she has a sale (get earrings with every order) and that has me stockpiled. I have very, VERY, sensitive ears and the plastic hooks she uses seem to be working fine for my ears. That makes me very, VERY happy as I usually only wear gold earrings...which means I only have 1 pair that I wear infrequently. Now I can accessorize! :D

So go see her blog here - http://www.tribalhorsedesigns.com/
And you can visit her Etsy store here - shaddow of the goddess

review - MASTERPUPPET THEATER

Today I am reviewing Masterpuppet Theater, created by Michael Rogalski and published by Quirk Books. Quirk books sent me a copy to review, which I am very grateful. Actually I am also grateful that I really enjoyed this box of fingerpuppets and plays. It includes "60 finger puppets, 12 sets and a folio of classic scenes" as it says right on the box. Inside I was delighted to find all the finger puppets from Shakespeares most memorable scenes, including the fairies and Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antony and Cleopatra, and 2B-R02B (yes a robot!).

The book gives some introduction and background into this kit. He not only gives selected scenes in this folio, but also encourages people to do the complete play, other plays and even make up scenes on their own. The creativity possible here is endless. I soon discovered that while my 2 and 4 yr olds are too young to truly grasp Shakespeare, they do enjoy playing with the fingerpuppets and making up their own plays. As I said to Michael Rogalski, "this is replacing board games on our game night." Here you can see the boys having a special afternoon!

Free photo slideshow personalized with Smilebox

I did get to ask Michael some questions via e-mail and they are included below.

1. What inspired you to create MasterPuppet Theater?

I latched onto William Shakespeare as a worthy collaborator early in the process—he still enjoys prominent placement on the bestseller lists. I liked the idea of a kit that would facilitate performing Shakespeare’s plays, like that's all it would take to make each of us a classical thespian. The notion of fingerpuppets occurred to me, and when I made the first prototype—King Lear— I found it impossible to resist poking my fingers through the holes and strutting around my desk. And laughing. The combination of literature’s greatest characters and puppetry’s humblest form just clicked.

2. How did you chose what scenes to include in the book?

The scenes included in Masterpuppet Theatre represent some of the most iconic moments of the Shakespearean stage. Preference was given to scenes featuring dramatic impact and famous quotes, with a nice mix of dialogues and soliloquies. And a scene from The Winter’s Tale was chosen just for having the most famous stage direction in all of theatre: “Exit, pursued by a bear.”

3. Even my 4 and 2 yr olds think this is fantastic, and it is vying for the spot in Family Game Night. Do you have plans to create other versions using other playwrites?

Family Game Night—that’s what Masterpuppet Theatre likes to hear! Several followup versions have been proposed. The Masterpuppet format lends itself quite readily to other literary genres and authors. Their development as actual products is dependent upon the success of the Shakespeare version, so it's literally in the hands of the fans.

4. Love the robot…what play was that in again? ;)

2B-RØ2B is one of the Wilde Cards included with Masterpuppet Theatre to inspire improvisations, mashups, prequels and sequels to the Bard's works. Maybe Titus Androidicus? ( : { >

You can purchase the kit by going here - http://www.masterpuppettheatre.com/shoppe
Or from Quirk Book's website here - http://irreference.com/masterpuppet-theatre/

Now for something special - a giveaway...my first ever! Quirk Books is sending me another copy of Masterpuppet Theater to give to a loyal reader. Mrs. B has given me permission to copy her format, so following are the rules of entry:

• Comment on this blog.
• Go to Irreference.com and leave a comment here on your favorite book or item found there.
• post about this blog on Twitter (one entry per day).
• become a follower of this blog
• for 2 entries, write a blog about this giveaway.

Start commenting today for entries, winner will be chosen by random drawing on Wednesday, October 6, 2010. Don't forget to leave a comment for each entry, and make sure I can contact you by e-mail or your blog if you are a winner.

Thank you to all the people and companies that helped with this blog.
Eric Smith at Quirk Books or you can access their facebook page here.
Mrs. B from Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom.
Smilebox for the free slideshow. This is my 1st time using them, feedback is appreciated.
Michael Rogalski the creator of Masterpuppet Theater for the creation and the time to answer my questions. Click here for the Masterpuppet Theater facebook page.
And finally my children for playing along with the photo shoot.