Hello September!

September is here! And, it could not arrive soon enough... I love this month. Why? It's the whole notion of starting fresh as it is usually back-to-school time.  As someone who was not particularly fond of going to school; once I arrived and settled into my seat, everything was good.  Grade school was mostly a good experiences, but there were some types who made some days, well... stink!

That occasional  unpleasantness was certainly made up for by wonderful friends, teachers and after school activities.  I even liked attending Summer school sessions.  My favorite subject was reading and it was the only subject in which I made good grades.

So, in celebration of back-to-school time, a love of reading, and September being Roald Dahl-apalooza, I'd like to dedicate this month's blog posts to one of my favorite book authors.  Notice I did not specify 'children's' book author.  Why?  Because I didn't discover Dahl's books until I became a mom.  I recall those evenings when one of my children and I would be rolling on the floor with laughter... literally.  The Charlie books were hysterical, James and the Giant Peach, a treasure. But the two books that really captured a sense of whimsy and adventure - sprinkled with mischief and danger -  were Roald Dahl's autobiographical stories collected in BOY and GOING SOLO... I recommend them to everyone; young and old.

Happy Birthday, Roald Dahl, and Happy 50th Anniversary Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  It's a month long celebration... join me, won't you.

In addition to re-reading and sharing some of Dahl's books here, I will also be reviewing movies adapted from books, like Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, Fantastic Mr. Fox, of course,  Charlie and the Chocolate Factor and  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory 

Roald Dahl Month: September

Celebrate Roald Dahl Month this September or any month of the year! Explore and enjoy Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach or any of the other Dahl masterpieces. Plan a splendiferous event in honor of Roald Dahl's birthday on September 13th, or on any other simply marvelous day! Downloadscrumdiddlyumptious activities and a gloriumptious bookmark. See below for these wonderful ideas and more.

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VLOG OF THE DAY:  Testing. Testing...

Link source:  

• www.roalddahl.com
• www.puffin.co.uk
• www.teachervision.com

What's the Plan, Sam? Let's Review...

Hey, hope you had a very nice, safe & sound weekend. Here's my week in review:

So, "What's the plan, Sam?"  First of all, there is no Sam; and today's plan was my son's... a family outing to see Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy movie.  We were all looking forward to this movie being released in theaters. I was, so much, that I fell asleep a quarter into the movie! Nobody even tried to wake me up either. What's that all about. Do they just expect Mom to nod off anywhere, at any time? What a bummer.  I sorta want to go again tomorrow.

FAVORITE

~ Photo of the Week

Kid #2's Guardians of the Galaxy movie inspired nail art

***

Now, Let's review my week, mnemonically speaking:

This planning and memory business might be a real challenge for me. Not that I avoid the concept of organization altogether... I do own a planner. See...

I actually whipped this
baby out last month
in preparation for
July 2014 NaBloPoMo

AUGUST 2014 24 HOUR BLOG ACTIVITY:

~ Most viewed post: August 2, Winging It
~ Least viewed post: August 1, Where's the Dictionary?






MOVIES!

~ Carilo Family Movies*: Summer 2014 flicks that we watched this week, as selected from @EW's "...essential movies kids must see before they turn 13." were...

#34  Princess Bride
         ~ I LOVE THIS MOVIE!
#35  Goonies
          ~ I don't trust anyone after watching this film. Why had no one I know tell
             me how awesome it is?!?
#36  A Christmas Story
         ~ I will not admit to the number of times this movie has been viewed at
             our house.
#37  West Side Story
          ~ My son: "How much more can happen with an hour left?
             Daughter: *snaps fingers*
#38  It's A Wonderful Life
          ~ A Catholic, atheist, & cynic watched this movie together. Thumbs up
             all 'round.
#39  Duck Soup
          ~ Old timey, yet still funny.

WELCOME READERS!

~ This week's A How-To Guide visits from around the globe:

United States
Germany
Poland
United Kingdom
Russia
Australia
France
Hungary
Japan
New Zealand
Canada
Italy
Ukraine

Yay, world!

HAPPINESS...

You know that headache you get when you've napped too long... yeah well, that is so not happiness.

TONIGHT:

Sunday ends with me hoping that I'm able to wake up at the crack of morning in order to drive my husband to work early so that I am then able to get to auto dealership service center to have my vehicle diagnosed ASAP... engine light's on. Ugh.

I guess now is as good a time as any to put that planner back into use.

Until tomorrow ~ Lil

***

This post is written for Day 3 ~ Creating Memories with August 2014 NaBloPoMo

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Lil's Week In Review ~ July 6, 2014

July 2014 NaBloPoMo Theme is DECADE, and since weekends are left open to blogger's choice I'm going to borrow Thurs, July 3, 2014's prompt: "What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now?",  and share this post from my 2nd blog - A Home Not Our Own

This Week In Review:

~ Past ten years were not conducive to any concert going (financially speaking). But this decade has given us the opportunity to splurge on little luxuries like seeing favorite performers playing at nearby-ish venues. I'm hopeful more concerts will be enjoyed over the next 10 years. Micheal Buble, Josh Groban, and Ed Sheeran top my list.

Last Monday was Pomona. Woot woot? Wow! So much fun! If someone ever told me, "You will have one of your 'Best times ever in Pomona.'," I would have slapped them in the face for saying something so ridiculous... that's just crazy talk... but yep, it's true, I had a blast last night

So, rather than "Woot, woot, question mark," it was more like, Hank Green, Driftless Pony Club & Harry and the Potters! Woo! Hoo!!  In case anyone was wondering, here are some Hank Green You Tube vids.

~ Carilo Family Movies: Summer 2014 that were watch this week, as selected from @EW's "...essential movies kids must see before they turn 13." were... 

#13 Wall-E

#14 The Sound of Music
#15 The Lion King
#16 The Wizard of Oz
#17 Singing in the Rain
#18 Miracle on 34th Street... I LOVE THIS MOVIE!
#19: The Iron Giant. #GreatMovie LOVED IT!
#20 E.T. #StayElliott

~ And, lastly (because I am very sleepy), a list of this week's A How-To Guide visits from around the globe:

United States
Germany
Russia
Ukraine
India
United Kingdom

Yay, world!

Until tomorrow. ~ Lil

***

This post is written for Day 6 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge for July 2014 and NaBloPoMo.

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