Crayola Big Colorful Birthday Adventure--Enter Now!

Disclosure:  Crayola provided me with this information, and I am sharing it in the hopes of receiving a free product.

To celebrate their 110th birthday, the 8 original crayons are throwing a birthday bash at the new fun-omenal Crayola Experience, the world's only interactive Crayola family attraction. Right now, they're out on a colorful adventure to spread the news, and you're invited to join the fun!

How can you join in on the fun? You can FOLLOW the crayons on their adventure, LEARN more about each color and enter to WIN a trip for 4 to celebrate their birthday and the Grand Opening of the all new Crayola Experience this coming May, 2013!

Visit the Crayola Facebook page and click "enter now" for your chance to be first in line when the Crayola Experience reopens.

The new Crayola Experience features four floors of new interactive exhibits and one-of-a-kind attractions that will bring the magic of color and your child's creativity to life! The winner will be among the first to experience the fun, along with a three- night, all-expenses paid stay. It's an experience your kids will never forget - and neither will you!

I don't know about you, but when I think crayons, Crayola is the name that comes to mind.  I had no idea they were that old!  Be sure to join in the fun!

This Day in History March 4, 1924

Today's feature really uncovered some interesting facts.  On this date in 1924, Robert H. Coleman actually published the song Happy Birthday to You for the first time.  No, he did not write the song, but he published it.  And I found it interesting that AOL Time Warner actually holds the copyright for this song.  and every time it is sung on television, movies, and even in restaurants, royalties are technically supposed to be paid to them.  This means that they are raking in two million dollars a year!  Wow!

For more information:
http://famousdaily.com/history/happy-birthday-to-you-published.html
http://blogcritics.org/music/article/the-absurdity-of-copyright-happy-birthday/
http://www.saywhydoi.com/birthday-song-history-why-do-we-sing-the-happy-birthday-to-you-song-on-birthdays/
http://thebirthdaycd.com/LearnHistory.htm

Birthday Express Party Pack Review

My daughter always has a themed birthday party, and I never know what she is going to choose.  Each year she surprises me, and this year is no different.  I asked her to look at Birthday Express and pick out the party theme she would like, and you can see above what she chose.

She chose the Sonic the Hedgehog Basic Party Pack for 8.  Be sure to look at everything that is included!

• 8 Dinner & Dessert Plates
• 8 Cups, Forks & Spoons
• 16 Lunch Napkins
• 1 Solid Tablecover
• 12 Solid Color Balloons (2 colors)
• 2 Curling Ribbon Rolls (2 colors)
• 16 Cake Candles
• 8 Thank You Notes

What I really like about the decorations and accessories is how well-made these are.  You see, we tend to buy the really cheap, dollar-store quality decorations, and they never seem all that nice.  Not so with these.  While my daughter's birthday party has not happened yet, I was impressed with the quality of these.  They don't look cheap.  And the price is phenomenal.  You get all of this for $20 (which I think is a pretty good deal).  I also love the fact that thank-you notes are included.  I am really bad about reminding my daughter to send thank-you notes, and this will be a great encouragement for her.  

As I was talking with my daughter, I discovered that she may now be changing the theme of her party, but no worries.  I plan to be shopping on Birthday Express again very soon!  I was pleased to discover that they have free shipping on most things with no minimum order!  I think I have found my new party decor shop!

As you visit their store, be sure to follow them via social media for the latest news and deals.

https://www.facebook.com/CelebrateExpress

https://twitter.com/BirthdayExpress

http://www.youtube.com/celebrateexpress

https://plus.google.com/+birthdayexpress/posts

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

This Day in History June 13, 1974

The event I am featuring today hits home for me.  It was on this date at around 6:30 P.M. back in 1974 (38 years ago) that the author of this blog was born.

 Yes, indeed.  I was told as I was growing up that I was born on Friday, June 13.  My mom stressed this to me because she said my dad was superstitious.  I discovered just a few years ago (as I was taking a survey) that is was actually Thursday, June 13.  But I have had birthdays on Friday, June 13.

This special day is shared with my daughter who was born on this date in 2003.  So she is nine today.  So far, she had no problem with celebrating her birthday along with mine.  I dread the day when she turns to me and says that she is embarrassed or upset to share my birthday.  And just so you will know, I did not plan for her to be born on my birthday.  She was due on the 18th of June, if I remember correctly.

Some Random Pictures of my daughter and/or me:

Some random thoughts about me:

1.  I had no sense of rhythm in high school, and I took dance lessons so I could make it into our school show choir.  I later became the sole choreographer at the Christian school where I worked in Texas and choreographed musicals such as My Fair Lady and  Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.


2.  I married the first man I ever dates, and almost 10 years later, I divorced him due to mental illness on his part.

3.  I was briefly engaged to someone I met online after my divorce, and I quickly broke it off when I realized I was on the rebound (not due to my husband but my best friend who had almost proposed to me over the phone but then decided he didn't want to marry me).

4.  I taught music for 11 years, and now I have been a substitute teacher in 10 Washington state districts for three years.

5.  I am told on a regular basis by the students I sub for that I have a Texas accent, but no one else (myself included) hear this accent in my voice.

6.  I wrote my first book as a teenager, and it was over 300 pages long.  I never published it.

7.  My first Hollywood crush was Danny Kaye.  (Look him up online if you don't know who he was.)

8.  I grew up listening to oldies from the 1940's through 1960's.  I have only been discovering 1980's music and later in the past few years.

9.  I gave birth to my daughter at my home in Texas.  It was a planned home birth with a midwife.  My husband at the time was skateboarding in the garage as I was going into labor.

10. I have been a Christian for most of my life, and I have honestly never turned my back on Him.

I could say  lot more, but I think I will leave it at that.  I am glad that I made it to 38 although I feel like I am 25 years old, and I look better than I did back then.  Mainly because I am much healthier now both physically and mentally.

Birthday Chronicle Giveaway--2 winners (Ends 3/15) WW

Remember my review of the birthday chronicle?  The sponsor has been generous enough to allow me to give away 2 birthday chronicles to my blog readers!   And since these are digital, the giveaway is open worldwide!  So all you need to do is enter in the rafflecopter form below by 9 P.M. Pacific Time on March 15.  Best of wishes to you!
Sponsored by Tomoson.com

The Birthday Chronicle Product Review--Great Gift/Card Idea

A personalized (8 1/2 x 11) mini-newspaper front page, going back as far as January 1, 1900  up to December 31, 2010.  Your Birthday Chronicle includes a greeting, by name, from the then-President of the United States, plus newspaper headlines and stories from the year of your birth.

You will enjoy reading your Birthday Chronicle over and over again.  Always a conversational piece with groups young and old ... you will be able to read and reminisce about the academy award winners and the top music hits and songs from the year of your birth.

Great gift idea for a birthday, a party or just to hang in any room.

This item will be sent via email in a PDF format. Leave your printer settings to normal and it will print on your standard sized paper. These make a great gift framed. Many of our other products come on stationary as well as via email.

I had the privilege to review this outstanding product, and I can tell you that these are indeed great personalized gifts for anyone,  anytime.  And they are very quick.  According to their site, it will be shipped to your e-mail address in 48 hours, and I can say that it was actually more like 24 hours or less.  They offered me some choices as to how I wanted the headline to read, and I was so pleased when the birthday chronicle arrived!

I got it for my mom (whose birthday is not until September), and I was enthralled to read about the events that occurred and the personalized way they incorporated her name into them!  It was not just one of those birthday cards that says what happened on thus and such date.  The company truly makes it personal and humorous!

This company truly puts the customer first, and they even offer one free product per month!  To learn about this promotion, you will want to check out these links and follow them.

Join their newsletter http://eepurl.com/iWdkT

Twitter https://twitter.com/BecauseITriedIt
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003355719056&ref=tn_tnmn

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

This Day in History December 3, 1857

I will admit that I have heard of the person I will write about today, but I am not (or was not) too familiar with him.  On this date in 1857, novelist Joseph Conrad was born.  I have never read anything by him, I do not believe.  I will only briefly detail his biography here.  For more information, you can always check out the links below the post.


Joseph Conrad (Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) was born into a noble Polish family.  His father was a playwright and translator of plays who encouraged his son to read widely in Polish and French.  In 1861, his father was arrested by the Imperial Russian authorities and exiled to Vologda (300 miles north of Moscow).  He and his mother followed him into exile.  Due to poor health, the family was allowed to move, but both of his parents died of illnesses nonetheless by the time young Joseph was eleven.  He was placed in the care of his mother's uncle, and he began his life as a seaman at the age of 16.


In 1886, he became a British subject and officially changed his name to Joseph Conrad.  He continued his career of seaman until 1894 (he was 36). He was in poor health, which played a part in this decision, but he also had done some writing here and there.  He was so fascinated that he wanted to devote more time to it.


He basically spent the rest of his life in England writing novels and stories.  He only received critical acclaim right towards the end of his life.  In 1924, he turned down a knighthood offered to him by the English Prime Minister.  He died of a heart attack August 3, 1924.


His greatest works include Lord Jim (that is the one I used to own, but never read) and Nostromo.


For more information, check out these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad
http://www.josephconradsociety.org/
http://www.engl.unt.edu/~jgpeters/Conrad/jct.html

By the way, I loved the fact that someone shared another event in history that happened yesterday.  I welcome all your comments.  If my information is correct, incorrect, boring, exciting, stirring, or if you would like to share another history event you know about, please do.  I was amazed to learn that two dictators came to power on the same exact day!

This Day in History November 26, 1933

I suppose I am in a minority in this, but this singer whose birthday would have been today was one I really enjoyed--even though his time in the spotlight was already past by the time I heard of him.  Anyone recognize him?  It is none other than Robert Goulet, and on this date in 1933, he was born Lawrence, Massachusetts.  While he was initially interested in singing, stage fright paralyzed him when he was very young.  It was his father's words as his father lay dying that inspired Robert Goulet to resume singing.

He was originally known (in this country) for creating the role on Broadway of Sir Lancelot in the musical Camelot alongside Richard Burton and Julie Andrews (1961).  It was this recording that introduced his magnificent voice to me.  In fact, I struggle to watch the movie version because no one can sing If Ever I Would Leave You like he could.  I had not realized that he won and Tony, Emmy, and Grammy award--that is pretty impressive.

While he died on October 30, 2007, his recordings and memories will not be forgotten.  He is still remembered as one of the greatest baritones of recent times.  His voice does indeed evoke feelings of romance and a time long-forgotten.  He was a trained singer unlike the majority of the singers we have now.  I'm not trying to put down our pop singers of today, but it is true that the vast majority of them are not nearly as versatile in this day and age.

If you would like to read a biography of him and get more information on his career, check out these links:
http://www.robertgoulet.com
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0332587/
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/arts/music/30cnd-goulet.html



I think this is great!  I am a Judy Garland fan as well!

This Day in History October 7, 1959

Who would have guessed that I would be doing a post about someone who is currently all over the news?  Well, I am.  And I have to admit that I am a fan of his.  And it just so happens that Simon Cowell was born on this day in 1959.  I actually did not realize he was that old--shows what I know!

Simon was born in Brighton, England, and he is Scottish and English Jew descent.  His father was a music industry executive, and his mother is a former ballet dancer.  Simon was lucky enough to have a father who was an executive at EMI Music Publishing, and it was his dad's influence that got him an entry level job there.  Simon worked his way up, and finally left to form E &S Music (with his boss from EMI).  Though very successful, Simon left a few years later.

In the next 8 years, Simon worked for Fanfare Records which finally was taken over by BMG.  It was during this time that Simon was able to help many musicians make their mark in the world of pop records.  He also worked with novelty recordings such as Teletubbies and others.

In 2001, he became a judge on the UK show Pop Idol.  And then his lucky break came the following year--becoming a judge on the American show American Idol and launched Syco records.  He helped to launch the careers of Leona Lewis, Il Divo, contestants from America's Got Talent and X Factor.   It truly gets confusing after this!  He has done so much, and he is currently one of the four judges of the U.S. version of the show X Factor.

I will tell you right now that I didn't watch the first four seasons of American Idol.  Shocking, I know.  I remembered hearing about the show, and the title did not set well with me.  I knew virtually nothing about the show.  I remember being shocked when I learned that Paula Abdul was one of the judges--I remember her from the 80's even though I was never a fan.

My mother is the one who got me to watch American Idol season 5.  And I was instantly taken with Simon Cowell.  I had heard of him, but to see him in action was really something.  Of the three judges, he was always my favorite.  I generally agreed with him, and I normally loved the bluntness of his comments.  I have wanted to sing for him for years--I would love to hear his thoughts on my voice.  But that's another story.

One thing I always find interesting is that so often Simon is painted as the enemy.  The contestants hate him, fear him, and they will even go so far as to say that his opinion doesn't matter.  I always marvel at the fact that those same people are absolutely floored when Simon tells them how well they did.  These are the contestants who live for the day when Simon gives them a genuine compliment.  And when all the judges say they don't like something, all the anger gets shot at Simon.

For those of you who would like to read more, check out his official site.

Okay, I am posting this video--his farewell to American Idol.  I think it says all  that is needed.

This Day in History September 24, 1936

What feelings does this image evoke?  Hopefully nice ones.  It sure does me.  I grew up on the Muppets, and later on Sesame Street.  (I said I was weird! I didn't start watching Sesame Street until I was in third grade!)
My mom never could stand them, but it didn't keep my from watching them.  And my daughter loves them, too.  I think it is easy to say that the Muppets are timeless.

His full name was James Maury Henson, and he was born on this date in 1936 in Greenville, Mississippi.  Henson remembered having a happy childhood in which he explored his artistic interests and explored the countryside.  His childhood friend, Kermit, was the inspiration behind his most famous puppet.

When he was in fifth grade, the family moved to Maryland which paved the way for his earliest TV appearances in Washington D.C.  In high school, he appeared with puppets on a Saturday morning kids show.  He turned professional while in college when he was hired to do a 5-minute late night show called "Sam and Friends."  He was partnered with Jane Nebel, and it must have been a good partnership for they later married.

Henson coined the term "muppets," a combination of the words puppet  and marionette.  Since wood was not expressive, he chose to use flexible, foam-covered rubber to fashion his muppets. He got much exposure through commercials and various variety shows.  He founded Muppets Inc. in 1961.

In 1963, the Muppets moved to New York.  They continued to make appearances on various TV shows and even some short films.  It was the launch of Sesame Street in 1969 that made the Muppets a household name.  Success continued with the launch of his Muppet Show on TV in 1976, and it was still highly popular when he stopped production in 1981.  1979 saw the first full-length film The Muppet Movie, and many more followed (and still continue today).

I still remember the day that I found out that Jim Henson died.  May 16, 1990, he died of pneumonia, and almost immediately, the muppets released a tribute show on TV.  The hardest thing to get used to was the voice of Kermit.  Jim Henson had always been his voice, and it took me a while to get used to not hearing the familiar voice.  I don't notice it so much now--I guess enough years have passed.

So hard to pick a video to post here.  There are so many!!





If you would like more information, check out these sites:
http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/henson_jim/index.html
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2210

This Day in History September 13, 1903

What a classy lady.  And today is the anniversary of her birthday.  Claudette Colbert was born on this day in 1903.  Never heard of her?  You are sure missing out, in my opinion.  Read on!

Her birth name was Emilie Claudette Chauchoin in Saint-Mande, France. Her father was a banker, and he moved his family to the U.S. when she was three.  Her one ambition in life as she grew was to be a Broadway actress.  Films were virtually nonexistent back then--only some silent films. In 1923, she made her Broadway debut in The Wild Wescotts and took on the stage name of Claudette Colbert.

When the Great Depression came, many Broadway theatres closed, and so she decided to try out movies. Her first film in 1927 (For the Love of Mike) was a disaster.  She longed for the stage, but her only options seemed to be movies.  She starred in several films that did fairly well in the 1930's opposite Frederic March.

Claudette Colbert is best remembered for her performance in It Happened One Night (1934) opposite Clark Gable.  Honestly, if you have not seen this film, I can't recommend it enough.  Even my 8-year-old daughter enjoyed it, and that is saying a lot.  She won an Academy Award for best actress for that film (Gable also won for best actor).

In the 1940's and 1950's, she did not appear in films as much, but she was seen in occasional television shows.  She did return to the stage in 1966.  She divided her time between Barbados and New York.  She died at the age of 92 on July 30, 1996 in Barbados.

For more information, check out this site.