Tigger Finds A Family

Did you ever get a chance to watch The Tigger Movie? I never had the opportunity until this week and I am not sure why as my daughter would have only been four years old when it came out. Oh well, glad we got the chance to watch it now.


Some parents may have problems with the other characters “tricking” Tigger into believing his family found him, and in real life, that trickery may have caused ramifications beyond the scope covered in this film, but what you must take into account is the fact that their intentions were good. Sometimes, we make mistakes when we try to overcompensate or try to go beyond that which is necessary to make someone we love feel better—and the gang is no exception. When their plan backfired, it showed that lying to make someone feel better isn’t always the best solution. As the film progresses, we discover that the best way to help someone when they are dealing with a personal crisis is to simply be there when they need us—even when it means giving a little more of ourselves than we feel we can give.

To read more about the plot of this film, click here.

Oh and one more thing. This is a 2-disc 10th Anniversary Edition. It comes with 2 segments from The New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh: "King of the Beasties" and "Tigger’s Houseguest". Both of which were a real treat to watch! And you will also enjoy a trivia game, matching game, storybook, a sing-a-long, and a music video starring Kenny Logins.

Order The Tigger Movie Today!

Disclosure: I was given a sample to review. This is "my opinion" of the product. I was not paid to give a positive review.

The Power of Slow

Coming October 2009, I'll have a quote in a book titled, The Power of Slow: 101 Ways to Save Time in Our 24/7 World.

I cannot wait to read it and send you a review.

I Recommend Your purchase supports this site.

I had a friend visit a few years ago who spent most of her visit on her phone text messaging family members back home. Not only did it hurt my feelings to feel so "unimportant" that she'd travel several states to see me but not actually "see me" but it made me realize that if we're not careful, even the most convenient technology can rob us of something very precious--time.

Then I got a bout of Bell's Palsy and realized how even the stresses of life, if not properly handled, can rob us of so much including relationships and good health.

Here's a quick Press Release of the book just in case you want to pre-order a copy for yourself:

Getting to the heart of our hassled and over-scheduled existence, Christine Louise Hohlbaum cheerfully investigates 101 ways to increase our quality of life and
productivity by reevaluating how we perceive and use time. She claims that everyone has their own personal bank account of time. We cannot control time itself, but
we can manage the activities within the time we do have. The Power of Slow gives readers practical, concise directions to change the relationship they have with time and debunks the myths of multitasking, speed, and urgency as the only ways to efficiency.

The Power of Slow will help readers identify areas in need of improvement, show them how to become more efficient and less frazzled at work and at home, and illustrate how to live a better, more balanced life.

June Bug by Chris Fabry

This is a guest post by Tina L. Scott (formerly Miller). Tina is a freelance photographer from Merrill, Wisconsin with a passion for writing. She can be reached at PhotographyByTina.com

Book
June Bug

Author
Chris Fabry

The Review
June Bug drew me in as a reader from the very first page—both as a book and as a character (it is the name of the book’s main character). And it kept me captivated right through to the end.

What do you do when you’re nine years old and you see a photo on the missing persons’ board that looks just like you? Do you assume your dad isn’t your dad and that you’ve been abducted? Or do you just walk away and pretend you never saw it? But how can you do that? Once you’ve seen it, the thought of that picture—and the name of that girl—which isn’t the name anyone calls you—just niggles and nags at you until you have to say something to someone—doesn’t it? But what if you say something and they just freak out?

And what if you suddenly realize your lifestyle is the kind of lifestyle someone might live if they had abducted a child? Traveling from state to state in an RV, never staying too long in one place, being homeschooled, with no talk of other relatives—ever?

At the same time, what if you truly love your daddy more than anything in the world and could never even conceive that he could be a child abductor? This is the sane man who wouldn’t hurt a fly and would give his life to protect yours—you know this without a doubt.

And yet...you wonder about your mother. Do you have one? And if so, where is she? Why doesn’t daddy ever talk about her? Why can’t he answer the questions you ask?

And sometimes June Bug (that’s what daddy calls her) just wonders what it would be like to live in a real house where she can ride a bike and have sleepovers and get a dog...

John Johnson (a/k/a daddy) is clearly on the run—from something or someone. But what are the demons that chase him and keep him from putting down roots even though it’s what the daughter he loves so much wants the most? Why can’t he find a good woman and settle down and give her the life she wants? Is the life he’s created for June Bug really so bad? Hasn’t he given her opportunities most kids would fight for—the chance to see national landmarks up close and personal, a living history and geography lesson every day? His unconditional love and assurance? His full attention 100 percent of the time?

June Bug and John are both struggling to figure some things out, but neither of them will get very far if they don’t get the parts to fix their broken down RV so they can get out of the Wal Mart parking lot. And the manager there, well let’s just say he’s not being too understanding about the whole thing anymore. After two weeks of their parking lot residency, now he’s threatening to call a tow truck.

Not all the Wal Mart employees are such sticklers for regulations, though, and Sheila Lempis has a soft spot for the cute little red-headed girl and her well built, attractive, presumably single father. But if she offers to help them, will she be welcomed or rebuffed as an intruder?

Just as in real life, this novel starts out with a lot more questions than answers, and each character in Chris Fabry’s novel has a storyline of their own—sometimes running along as it were on a path all its own and at other times crossing paths with the other characters in the story. Each character has a past they must deal with if they are ever to focus on their future. Because if they don’t . . . well let’s just say the past has a way of catching up with you sooner or later.

That’s all I’m going to say about the plot of the book, because I hate reviews that give away too much. But I will say I was very impressed with Fabry’s writing style and quite surprised to learn this was only his second novel for adults. Fabry has an impressive insight into the minds of each of his characters, both young and old, male and female.

Fabry also has some great descriptions and analogies that I, as a writer myself, particularly enjoyed. One of my favorite passages in the book is Sheila’s description of her life:

“Who was she to think that anyone would ever choose her? She was damaged goods, something for the Goodwill pile of life, and with the stains, rips, and tears of her life, there was a question whether she would even make it into that truck.”

I just love that, because isn’t that how we all feel some days? It totally captured the feeling. And yet, God just keeps on loving us anyway.

I also like the way Fabry subtly introduces faith and Jesus into his storyline. It is natural, completely uncontrived, and satisfying.

June Bug is a great read! I really enjoyed reading this novel—and by the end, I was overjoyed with the takeaway message: That God really does have everything under control, and that He definitely does have a plan for us. And that “all things DO work for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose” (emphasis mine) Romans 8:28

Order June Bug Today!

Disclosure: The reviewer received a complimentary copy of the book to review.

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This post was sponsored by The Dabbling Mum.

For more articles like this, check out The Dabbling Mum eMagazine.

New in my Etsy Shop

I tried etsy once, never sold anything, but then again, I never promoted the shop. I'm hoping that this year, I'll get a little more focused and actually start promoting my art, and not just this magazine.

Thought you'd enjoy a peek into some of the items for sale. Visit me at AlyiceEdrich.net/etsy.htm.

Enjoy!

Love Finds You in Sisters Oregon by Melody Carlson

This is a guest post by Tina L. Scott (formerly Miller). Tina is a freelance photographer from Merrill, Wisconsin with a passion for writing. She can be reached at PhotographyByTina.com


Book
Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon

Author
Melody Carlson

The Review
I devoured another Love Finds You book in less than a day. Here’s an idea of what you’ll find when you crack the covers of this one, titled Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon.

When 32-year-old Hope Bartolli, a successful corporate lawyer living in Portland, Oregon, comes home to Sisters, Oregon, to attend her grandmother’s funeral after a ten-year absence, she’s absolutely dreading it. Estranged from her sisters through time and distance—and the fact that her baby sister started dating and then married her former high school sweetheart almost immediately after they broke up—she just knew it was going to be a difficult trip. So she wanted it to be short and sweet.

But then Hope meets her Nona’s handsome young attorney, Lewis Garson, and he convinces her that she needs to stay for the reading of her grandmother’s will. And Nona’s last wishes throw everyone for a loop—especially Hope. Her grandmother’s last wishes were that Hope would return to Sisters to live—and apparently to try to reconcile the three sisters who seem as different and separate as the three sisters mountains the little town was named after.

The three sisters—Faith, Hope, and Charity—though Faith goes by Faye and Charity answers to Cherry—are indeed different and seemingly at odds with one another. And sparks do begin to fly as the three siblings are forced to deal with each other and the issues they’ve been avoiding for years in close proximity to one another. Some days it seems like the small town isn’t big enough for all three of them, and Hope just wants to escape back to Portland to avoid all the drama. But in even her short stay, Hope did make a connection with her niece and nephews, Avery, Harrison, and Monroe—and Avery and Monroe in particular seem to need her in their lives—because the picture perfect lives she thought her sisters were living have turned out to be an illusion, and when parents are going through difficulties, their kids really need their Aunt Hope to give them hope.

Hope also needs hope—and for some unexpected reason she starts to feel a sense of hope almost as soon as she gets to Sisters, contrary to her initial feelings about coming back. She even senses a message from her Nona the evening prior to the funeral when she thinks she hears Nona’s voice just prior to falling asleep. Is it really her voice? Or her message? What does Nona mean when she tells Hope to “Just let go”?

In an interesting and heartwarming novel, Melody Carlson does what she does best. She weaves a story of family, relationships, love, and faith—and hope—in a way that will keep you reading from page one all the way through the happy ending. I love stories with happy endings, and I also appreciated that this story seemed realistic because it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Carlson accurately depicted some of the sparks that can fly when real siblings—especially sisters—are at odds with one another and harboring feelings related to long-unresolved issues. That realism is important to making the story believable. I also liked that the author successfully resolved many of those issues as the novel progressed—but didn’t tie everything up in a completely happy little ending with a bow so as to make it too happily ever after and unrealistic.

Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon, is a great read. Two things I particularly enjoyed: Monroe’s observation that the three sisters weren’t really living up to their Biblical names or the meaning of their names—Faith, Hope, and Charity—and how that played out with the development of the story. And the whole “Let go, Let God” thread woven into the entire story. Because ultimately, that is the novel’s take-away. While Nona may have had plans and suspicions and hopes for Hope and her sisters, none of that would have mattered one iota if Hope had not been able to finally “Let go and Let God” lead her life and her future.

Order Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon Today!

Disclosure: The reviewer received a complimentary copy of the book to review.

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This post was sponsored by The Dabbling Mum.

For more articles like this, check out The Dabbling Mum eMagazine.

Leverage, Season 1

Leverage is a refreshing take on the old “Robin Hood” storyline. In modern-day America, four thieves (the merry men) team up with
an ex-insurance investigator (Robin Hood) to correct the wrongs that were done to men, women, and families the law failed to protect.
Read the full review...Click here.



Disclosure: I was given a sample to review. This is "my opinion" of the product. I was not paid to give a positive review.

A few of my Zazzle products...

buy unique gifts at Zazzle

Inkheart

When we heard that the author of Inkheart had Brendan Fraser, in mind for the film, my daughter and I could not wait to see the film! We're big Brendan Fraser fans. He has this innocent, boyish charm--though he's quite a man. He's a strong actor, good at both humor and action, and could do the right film a great bit of justice. And that's what we were expecting from Inkheart.

Read the full review of Inkheart starring Brendan Fraser....click here.





Disclosure: I was given a sample to review. This is "my opinion" of the product. I was not paid to give a positive review.

Wii Pirates vs. Ninja Dodgeball

My daughter is a huge dodgeball fan. They played it every week in middle school and she could never get enough. She loves everything about the sport, the ability to hit the opposition, the fun of running away from a ball that’s been thrown your way, and of course, the whole competition thing. So when Wii came out with a dodgeball game, I just knew we had to give it a try.

At first, I—as well as my daughter—found the game, Wii Pirates vs. Ninja Dodgeball, confusing. There were several days I got so frustrated with the game that I had to walk way from it before I threw it through a window. But after playing the game for awhile things began to make sense and the game became easier to play.

After giving it a fair run—playing for about two weeks—I asked my daughter her honest opinion of the game, and she said, “I love dodgeball, you know that. I was really frustrated with the game at first because it seemed too complicated, but now that I’ve got the hang of it, I like it.”

So there you have it, Wii Pirates vs. Ninja Dodgeball is a fun game—but it can be a bit challenging for those non-gamers like myself.




What’s neat about the game is that you get to choose your team—and there are seven to choose from: aliens, monsters, mushroom men, ninjas, pirates, robots, and zombies. Then you have eight arenas to choose from, and two variants: dodge brawl or dodgeball.

What is good about the game, for non-gamers like myself, is that once you’re hit with the ball, you are not automatically kicked off the team. You get to stay in until your health bar is depleted.

In dodgeball, the arena is divided in half—it’s not a circle like my daughter’s used to playing. It reminds me of a volleyball court in which the ball must cross a line in order to score points. The idea is to stay on your side of the court and hit someone on the other side of the court with the ball.

In dodge brawl, the arena is not divided in half. The players can move around the entire arena and attack from all directions.

While you can play the game on single player status, the real fun comes with multiple players—up to four people can play as a team or as opponents.

Do I recommend Wii Pirates vs. Ninja Dodgeball? Yes! If you have the patience to learn how the game functions and you have someone to play it with it is a fun game.

Disclosure: I was given a sample to review. This is "my opinion" of the product. I was not paid to give a positive review.


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This post was sponsored by The Dabbling Mum.

For more articles geared towards busy parents, check out The Dabbling Mum eMagazine.

Christian Fiction Books

Our book reviewer, Tina L. Scott, is at it again! She's just reviewed a bunch of fabulous Christian non-fiction books you won't want to miss!

Squiggle
Squiggle is the story of a nine-year-old girl who finds herself inhabiting the body of a stuffed monkey after getting her wish for magic. Of course, she soon finds she would much rather be a little girl, but on her quest to return to her former self, she has all kinds of hillarious adventures!

Surrender The Wind
Seth Braxton is a patriot who fought in the Revolutionary War in America. His grandfather is a loyalist in England, caring for Seth's sister, Caroline. But now the war is over and his grandfather dies, leaving him Ten Width, the family's estate and he must return to see his sister and settle affairs there. But when he arrives in England, Seth also discovers Juleah--the woman he is destined to love--and an evil plot that threatens to destroy what is left of his family.

The Great Christmas Bowl
Ever met a walking, talking trout before? Meet Marianne Wallace, football fanatic, proud mother, and soon-to-become team trout—err, mascot—for the Big Lake Trouts high school football team! If you could use a little comedic stress relief yourself, carve out a short time to read The Great Christmas Bowl and have a few heartfelt laughs. You'll be glad you did!

The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow
Agnes and Griselda Sparrow, two sisters who still live at home in the family's old funeral home—are what you would call "characters" in a word. Famous for being both fat and a near miracle-worker with her prayers, Agnes is about to get a lot more attention than she ever wanted in her life—and things are about to get very complicated in Bright's Pond.

One Imperfect Christmas
When Natalie Pearce’s mother has a massive stroke, her world is torn apart. Will she ever find a way to put all the pieces back together?

June Bug
What do you get when you combine a man running from his past, the nine-year-old daughter he loves, and an old run-down RV traveling all over America? And what happens when the RV breaks down in the Wal Mart parking lot, the little girl sees a missing person's poster with a face on it that looks just like her, and a well-meaning Wal Mart employee who wants to help the attractive man and his daughter? Read June Bug and find out!

Disclosure: The reviewer was given a sample to review. This is "her opinion" of the product. She was not paid to give a positive review.

iTune Game Freebie

Warner Brothers has been gracious to share a one-time trial of their latest game, via iTunes. Check it out Click Here

Challenge others across the globe for the ultimate glory in "GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS®” GAME FOR THE iPHONE AND iPOD". Email me your name to enter. One winner will be selected on Friday.

Mr. Troop Mom

When I first heard of about Mr. Troop Mom I thought, “Boy, George Lopez is going downhill fast!” But then the video arrived and I found myself thinking, “It’s not one of the better movies George has made, I but it’s not all that bad, either.”

I Recommend Your purchase supports this site.

The problem with the film, as I see it, is that it is too cut and dry. You pretty much know what is going to happen before it happens. And Jane Lynch’s character as the head mistress of the camp gets old really fast—probably because she plays the same character—only with a different job title—in all her films.

George plays, Eddie Serrano, a widowed father, trying to raise is tween daughter alone. During the day, he’s a fast-talking, successful attorney. At night, he plays catch up by trying to become an involved parent. The problem is that his refusal to talk about his deceased wife has put a wedge between Eddie and his daughter.

Then the unthinkable happens, a troop mom has to back down from her duties and Eddie must take her place as leader. At first, Eddie is reluctant to go along with the camp’s rules as he’s not accustomed to living in the woods or working as a team. But as the film progresses, he begins to understand the importance of adapting to his circumstances and in the end, bonds with his daughter.

If you have children under the age of twelve, they’ll find this film innocently entertaining—which is quite refreshing considering many of the films being produced these days try to balance the delicate line between child and adult and often miss the mark when it comes to films for the tween sector.

The DVD comes with special features like: additional scenes, Daniela Bobadilla’s views on playing George’s daughter, music by the Naked Brother’s Band, and a gag reel.

Disclosure: I was given a sample to review. This is "my opinion" of the product. I was not paid to give a positive review.

A Plumm Summer

I had absolutely no intentions of reviewing, let alone watching, “A Plumm Summer” staring Henry Winkler, Lisa Guerrero, Chris Massogolia, and William Baldwin, but then it arrived on my doorstep. At first, I couldn’t bring myself to watch it—mostly because I was burnt out with writing and reviewing and just needed a break and I knew once I watched it, I’d have to review it. Then my daughter saw the cover and said, “Hey, isn’t that the guy from that old show you had me watch a while back? What’s it called, ‘Happy Days’? Let’s watch it!” So in went the DVD.

I Recommend Your purchase supports this site.

Before the film even began I thought to myself, “This is going to be another one of those films where I say good-bye to my brain cells but I’ll try to keep an open-mind.” Perhaps it was because the lack of publicity, or perhaps it was because I didn’t want to see Henry Winkler playing another dumbed down character—as seems to be his motto in his older years, but I stereo-typed the film without really knowing anything about it.

Boy was I embarrassed and surprised when the film was over and I found myself saying, “That wasn’t half bad! It kept me entertained. I laughed. And it had a good, strong storyline.”

The film is about two boys named Elliott and Rocky Plumm who, during the summer of 68, help the FBI solve the case of the missing frog, Froggy Doo. The boys live with an alcoholic father who resents having to give up his life as a fighter to care for a family and a mother who is at her wits-end and ready to move on with her life. Tired of dealing with the family drama, the eldest boy decides to make his little brother feel better by finding his favorite television character, Froggy Doo—who just happened to go missing in their hometown!

Some critics argue that the side-story dealing with the boys’ family life has no place in the film and that might be so, but it in no way distracts from the overall plot of the boys playing private detectives (or sleuths). Since it is, after all, the key ingredient in waking up the father who decides his kids are more important that a bottle of booze and lost dreams.

The film is based on a true story and the DVD comes with special features like, an audio commentary, a gag real, deleted scenes, and behind-the-scenes footage.

Disclosure: I was given a sample to review. This is "my opinion" of the product. I was not paid to give a positive review.