Pages

Monday, July 30, 2012

A TOE CURLING, HAIR RAISING DISCOVERY

Good Morning World!   Last night I discovered some news that made my toes curl and my hair stand on end.  It was a little scary, I'll tell you that.  WONDERING ABOUT THE BIG NEWS?!?!?  Maybe you should sit down before I tell you this...

Krumbs and I are living the "late, great life" for our very last month....(SIGH!!!!!!!)  In only 35 days, school will start and the "late" and the "great" will become the "very early" and "very busy".  (SIGH...)

Look, it's not that I don't like school.  School has a lot of benefits:
  1. I can see my friends every, single day
  2. I can never say that I'm bored with nothing to do
  3. Back to school shopping is fun
  4. Having a new teacher and new classmates is cool
But school has its down sides too:
  1. I can see my friends every, single day but that doesn't mean I can talk to them whenever I feel like talking
  2. I can never say I'm bored with nothing to do because my time is filled with studying, homework and projects
  3. Back to school shopping is over way too quickly
  4. Having a new teacher and new classmates quickly turns into "my teacher" and "my class"
And, of course, there's the biggest down side of all: Krumbs can't go to school with me!  My best friend stays home alone (no doubt whimpering and pouting) while I toil with the mindbreaking weight of schoolwork (SIGH!!!). 

I guess I have mixed feelings, really.  I can't help but feel a little excited to get my brain moving again, start some fun group projects, do some science experiments and go on some field trips.  I'm looking forward (just a wee tiny bit) to having a schedule...but not to waking up in the morning.  I feel like half of me wants to go back and the other half wants to stay right here "living the late, great life". 

How do you feel about school?  Are you excited to go back?  Are you looking forward to a little more "brain activity" and a little less "lazy"?  Visit the Cafe and join "Klub Krumbs" so you can go to the "Open Mike" and join in on some great conversations and discussions.

Check back soon!

Friday, July 27, 2012

REAL LIFE SEA MONSTERS

After our successful play, we needed to RELAX!!!  Nothing says "relax" like a day at the beach, so that's where we headed yesterday...yep!  Salt water, waves, hot sand between our toes, and slick, silky suntan oil were the words of the day.  We played beach volleyball, body surfed the waves and buried ourselves to the neck in sand.  We also searched for sea monsters, but we came up empty~not a sea monster anywhere!  All in all, it was an awesome, amazing day and by the time we drove home, we were ready for some serious downtime.

We had sea monsters on our minds so we visited the Cafe to search around for some real life sea monsters.  Guess what?  We found some great articles in the "Doggy Bag" section of the Cafe.  First we read, "The Octopus: What an Original" by Amanda Green.  (Did you know scientists believe octopi are probably the most intelligent invertebrates alive?????  How about that~an intelligent, real life sea monster!

If the octopus wasn't enough...we found an article by Clara Batton Smith that was about mermaids!  Well, okay it wasn't about mermaids, it was about narwahls (but narwahls are known as "unicorns of the sea")  Do you know a narwahl has made some of the deepest recorded dives of any mammal living in the ocean?  They can dive up to 4500 feet...and their single eight foot horns are pretty impressive too!

One more weird animal fact...do you know a blue whale's tongue weighs as much as an entire elephant?  We couldn't believe it but we read all about it in "You Can't Be Serious: A Wierd Animal Trivia Quiz".  If you're looking to test your IQ for crazy facts, try that quiz~WOW!

Check out some of these amazing articles next time you need downtime...and check back with us on Monday for a new adventure!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

I CAN DO ANYTHING!!!!!!

Well, we did it!  The show was a complete success~we became PIRATES for the night. 

I did get over my stage fright (with some deep breathing exercises and some love from Krumbs).  I went out on stage and the words just came tumbling out.  By the end of the first scene, I didn't even think about remembering the lines...I just WAS Peggy the Pirate.  It was AWESOME!!!! (Krumbs was awesome too.  He was my trust sidekick, ready to go into action, fight the sea monsters and promote "pirate pride".  Way to back me up, Krumbs!)

We had fifteen people at the play...and that was just our family!!  They brought me flowers~a huge bouquet of lilies, tulips, roses and a bunch of other flowers and boy, did they clap.  They brought Krumbs homemade dog biscuits, which was just about the best gift they could possibly give to my pint sized pirate pup.  (If you'd like the recipe, click here...your dog will thank you for it)

Well...I celebrated my new found pirate pizazz on Friday night and I learned that

I can do anything I really want to do

..as long as I'm willing to work for it.  I know, I know, everyone says that's true but now I really believe it.  I was on a  stage, in front of a real audience and I ROCKED
I really did something I didn't think I could do and I feel great!

Friday, July 20, 2012

BIG NIGHT...STAGE FRIGHT... HOPE WE CAN GET IT RIGHT!


Today's the day...I'm ready to go
The play is on and I've got a solo!


Yes, today's the day for the play.  Only five more hours of rehearsal and it's SHOWTIME!  I'm nervous...really, really nervous, but I'm excited and definitely ready to go. 
 What do you do when nerves take over and you've got STAGEFRIGHT


Krumbs and I fought off the fright last night by making last minute adjustments to our costumes and practicing our lines.  (Okay, I practiced lines and Krumbs practiced not tripping on his sword.)  You can see our costumes in my drawing:

We look totally and completely awesome, don't we?  Check out all the pirate accessories!!!!  Even Krumbs has pirate swag!!!


You would think the pirate swag would calm us down a little, right?  NOT SO MUCH...Krumbs was running around in circles (when he wasn't tripping on his pants and falling on his sword) for hours and I just kept staring at myself in the mirror, praying for the big moment to arrive...AND BE OVER!


What to do?  What to do?  What to DO?  Well, we visited the Cafe and read Caroline Pignat's article called "The Power of Goals".  We have a goal and that is to "Break a Leg" in our show this afternoon.  ("Break a leg" means to do really well.)  The author's advice was really good, especially the part about "PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE"!  Well we have been practicing, we are prepared and we will achieve our goal.  We will be the best pirates we can be!!!


Wish Us Luck and Check Back With Us On Monday For Our Pirate Play Update!


AHOY MATEYS!!!!!



Wednesday, July 18, 2012

I'M GONNA BE A PIRATE!!!!!!


AHOY MATEY

I know, I know, I know.  I already told you all about the youngest known pirate and the New England Pirate Museum...but I'm going there again.  WhyWhy? Why, you ask?  We're talking pirates because the production at this week's theater camp is a musical about...wait for it.... PIRATES!!!!

I was super comfortable reading for auditions because Krumbs and I just finished visiting the museum and reading about pirates!!!!!  So, I read for the lead role....she's a tiny girl who wants to be a pirate but the pirate's don't think she'll ever be big enough, strong enough or brave enough to be a pirate.  I bet you can guess what happens in the end, right?

Have you ever auditioned for a play?  It was scary, but not really scary because we all knew each person would have a part (but which part?!)  Deep down inside, I'm sure everyone wanted a lead role and there were only two.  What's a girl to do?

I sucked up my courage, swallowed hard, channeled my inner pirate and slammed through those lines!  I was dramatic and outgoing, wild and crazy, funny and emotional and I GOT THE PART!!! 

I am "Peggy the Pirate"!  And "Peggy" comes with 18 pages of lines, five songs and two solos to memorize by Friday-YIKES!   I'm not sure I'll be living the Late Great Life this week because I'll be too busy memorizing lines, practicing songs and making my costume!  BEST SHARE:I'll have a picture of the costume next time I write!!!!

WOW!  I'm really nervous already.  I guess I focused so hard on getting the part that I forgot about what would happen if I got the part!!!  Oops! 

What do you do when you're nervous?

Well, stop by later this week for more from "Peggy the Pirate"  (aka...Cookie)!

Monday, July 16, 2012

WE'RE READY FOR OUR CLOSE-UP!

It's a Good Morning Monday so wake up and let's get going!

Krumbs and I had a fabulous weekend but we're aiming for an even better week!  We went to Yankee Stadium in New York over the weekend to watch the Yankees (woo-hoo) take on the Angels.  Unfortunately, the Yankees lost that game but they won the series 5-4 (nice job eeking out that series win).  It was cool to see the ballpark, eat the hotdogs, slurp the giant sodas and "chillax".  Why?  Because we're living the Late Great Life!!!


So it's a new week and we have new things planned.  We are spending the week in THEATRE CAMP!  How cool is that?!?  We're going to be with a group of kids (and Krumbs!), a musical director, a band and a drama coach...and we're going to put on a musical!! To learn more, Krumbs and I visited "Job-a-palooza" at the Cafe.  We read an article on Actors/Actresses by Laura Freeman and we learned all about what you have to do to become an actress or actor.  We are PUMPED!!!   Krumbs and I can't wait to write songs, learn lines and perform on a real stageWhoopie-stay tuned for more!

This is definitely going to be great, I know I'm not supposed to think this way, but I wonder if I'll get a lead role?  I wonder if I'll be able to memorize the lines ( I don't even mind that memorizing lines involves something close to school work!).  I'm excited just to have a chance to be on a stage and in front of an audience!   What about you?  Would you want to act in a play or movie?   



Check back with us for more adventures in theatre as Krumbs and I live the very dramatic Late Great Life!!!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

IT'S A BASEBALL BONANZA!!


Krumbs and I continue to enjoy living the “Late Great Life” and for the rest of this week we’re focusing on one of our favorite summertime pastimes—BASEBALL!   We love baseball and summertime is the perfect time for baseball.   Our “Late Great Life” for the rest of this week is going to be all about “America’s favorite pastime” and we can’t wait. 

 HOW are we celebrating?  Well, the first thing we’ve been doing is following a friend’s baseball team.  The team is competing for the state championship this week- SO COOL!   If they win the states, they can go on and play for the United States Regional title and then, the whole team can travel to Peurto Rico for the National Title.  (Boy, we love competition and you can’t get more competitive than that!!!!) We’ll let you know how they do….GO TEAM!!!

 The second thing we’ve planned to celebrate “all things baseball” is a visit to the Café.  We found articles that are perfect for our baseball theme.   The first article is about the custom of “SPITTING ON THE FIELD”…gross, right?  Yep, we agree—except we learned a lot of history and great facts about baseball by reading “Spitting on the Field” by Susie Yakowicz.  (You’ve probably heard of a “fast ball”, “a knuckle ball” and maybe even a “change-up”, but have you heard of a “mud ball”, “shine ball” or “scuff ball”?  All of them played a role in early baseball!!!)  Of course, life isn’t complete unless we’ve looked at food, so we found an article on the perfect field food—hot dogs!  The article is called “Hot Dog” by K. J. Bain and it has everything you’ll ever need to know about the history of this awesome dog!

The third and last thing we’ve planned to complete our baseball bonanza is a trip to a professional baseball game.  Every two years, Mom and Dad plan a trip to a different professional baseball stadium.  This year is a “trip year” so we’ll be visiting Yankee Stadium to see the New York Yankees play ball against the California Angels-WOO! HOO!  We love Baseball Bonanza Week!!


What cool things are you doing this summer?  Let us know!  Check back with us again to read more about “Cookie and Krumbs living the Late Great Life”.

Monday, July 9, 2012

SUDDENLY, WE'VE GOT JELLIES IN OUR BELLIES!


NO, we don’t have upset stomachs!  Our bellies feel like they’re full of jelly because we’ve visited California’s “Jelly Bellyjelly bean factory!!   Unfortunately, my parents were not willing to pay for plane tickets (and I didn’t really expect them to do that, either) so Krumbs and I took a virtual tour of the factory by visiting the company’s website.  I’m sure you can guess where we found that idea!

Krumbs and I were visiting the Café this weekend and right there on our computer screen was an article by Alicia Klepeis called, “See the World in a Jelly Bean”.  It was so cool!  I had no idea there are jelly bean flavors like Chili Mango and Barbecue Banana-I’m not sure which of those I’d try!  The article was full of really neat facts about one of our favorite candies…JELLY BEANS!  Krumbs couldn’t believe all the exotic flavors served around the world!

The BIG BONUS???  The author of the article actually added a link from her article right to the Jelly Belly site…so anyone can take a factory tour and find out all about how Jelly Belly Jelly Beans are made—yum!  Want to live the Late, Great Life with us?   Visit the Café, read the article and follow the link  on the article to take the tour…we think you’ll love it as much as we did!!!

Check back with us soon for more adventure "Living the Late Great Life"!

Friday, July 6, 2012

UMMM…SUMMER PACKETS? REALLY!?!?!?!


It’s Friday and so hard to believe we’ve been living the “Late Life” for a couple of weeks now.  Mom decided the “Late Life” needed some “Real Life” so she made us start our school SUMMER PACKETS    yesterday-REALLY!?!?!  I can’t believe we’re doing schoolwork during the summer.  Do you have summer packets?  We have math packets which aren’t really hard, but they take time to do and that makes me crazy when outside adventure is calling me.  We also have reading packets, but I enjoy that part of it!


I guess it is a small price to pay for all the cool things we’ve done so far this summer.   Mom has really let us embrace the “Late Life” this summer…and she’s given us lots of chances to explore so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much.   Have you visited the Café?    We were there looking for book recommendations and we found some pretty interesting stuff.  Krumbs and I have always loved Roald Dahl.  As a matter of fact, we just finished reading his book, Matilda and we loved, loved, loved it.  We found out that Rose loves Roald Dahl too!    She wrote a “Book-tastic” review of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.  I love that Roald Dahl’s characters say and do things that most real people could and would NEVER do (and maybe even do things real people would never WANT to do), but it always works out in the end.  His books give kids POWER -cool!  Want to find out more?  Check out the “Book-tastic” section of the Café by clicking here.


Okay…I’m going to go work on my hideously horrible summer packet now.  Check back on Monday to find out about our newest adventure…I think it’ll be a good one!!!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Sleepy Town Wakes Up for July 4th!!!


Happy 4th of July!  Krumbs and I are marching in the parade later today to celebrate.  Our sleepy, little town completely wakes up for this holiday!  There is a HUGE parade, with lots of old and new army trucks, tanks and soldiers, marching bands (so many!), floats, dancers, baseball teams, softball teams, and football teams.  It seems as if the whole town marches, but then you look around and realize thousands of people watching too.

Krumbs and I love meeting old and new friends, visiting with everyone and of course throwing candy to all the little kids who come to watch the parade.  Throwing candy is the best part for me!  The little kids get so excited to try and catch the candy—awesome!

After the parade, my family and I visit with friends for a terrific barbecue.  Everyone brings something different and my dad cooks tons of food on the grill and we all eat and play volleyball and baseball and just have fun together!  This year, Krumbs and I made an awesome dessert to share with everyone.  It’s called RED, WHITE and BLUE cake and it’s going to be the best cake ever!  It has strawberries, white frosting and blueberries. The whole cake looks like an American Flag!!!

 Do you celebrate the Fourth of July?  What do you do?  Tell us about it!  Join ”Klub Krumbs at the Café and take part in some of the Café Talk, contests and quizzes!!!