I think we can all agree that we love the opportunity to support a good cause. Bake sales, raffles, dinners and auctions are all great money-raising activities that folks can utilize to support a charity, person in need, or specific cause. Not many things beat the feeling of knowing you contributed to helping others and helped to make a difference!
The latest money-raising craze is the rockin’ fitness dance party known as the Zumbathon. Whether or not you even know what Zumba is, chances are you’ve heard of or seen the word “Zumbathon.” They are all over the place these days! Practically everywhere you go, you see or hear of another Zumbathon. So what exactly is a Zumbathon?
A Zumbathon charity event is a Zumba Fitness-Party that is open to the public and raises funds and awareness for a selected charity (an organization, individual or community in need). These events can only be hosted by licensed Zumba Instructors who have been granted approval by Zumba Fitness, LLC.
So why are Zumbathons so popular? Well, who doesn’t like the combination of contributing to their health and supporting a good cause? And who doesn’t love a rockin’ dance party?! There’s a reason why Zumba Fitness has become such an international fitness hit… because IT’S FUN! So the idea of having a dance party to raise money is a genius move, if you ask me. Every element of a Zumbathon is doing good for the people involved – raising money, promoting awareness, increasing heart rates for good health, decreasing pounds and inches, and creating smiles by bringing people together. What’s not to love!?
As a licensed Zumba Instructor, it is a great honor to be a part of something so all-around positive. I recently enjoyed hosting my first Zumbathon and it was a truly amazing experience. After getting approval from Zumba Fitness, LLC, I teamed up with our fabulous sponsor, Gold’s Gym, and we raised money and awareness for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. 100% of the proceeds went to the MDA. With support and planning help from Tammy Wallace with the MDA, David Spence with Gold’s Gym and my wonderful aunt, Susan McPherson, with the Greater Columbia Chamber, we were able to host the Midlands’ first Zumbathon to offer both Aqua and Land Zumba! That’s right, not only did we dance in the studio, we danced in the pool! Our Zumba dance party created smiles, worked muscles, and, best of all, raised money for an awesome charity.
So if you love to dance, love a rockin’ party and love to do good for people and your community, a Zumbathon is the way to go!
We all know that kids indeed can say the darnedest things. And us parents and teachers certainly experience our share of interesting situations when we react with either chuckles, body shaking laughter or complete, speechless horror at what we hear come out of kids’ mouths!
Over Spring Break, I had the pleasure of experiencing this sort of thing at its height. My precious children never cease to amaze me with their brilliant minds. Sometimes their 9 and 7 year old ways of thinking truly astound me–in all sorts of ways. I thought I’d share just two occurrences with you fabulous readers–it’s sure to make you giggle, laugh out loud or at least smile!
So one night my 9 year old, angel girl Miss Mina, had climbed into bed with me at some point in the wee hours of the night and she promptly woke up way too early. I opened my eyes to this precious lil’ blonde fairy child staring right into my face, literally about an inch away from my nose. As soon as my eyes opened, that was her cue – Yay! Mommy’s up! Her mouth immediately went into overdrive. As we snuggled, the stories and questions went on and on. (This is one of those times as a parent when you really wish you could get video footage!) One of her topics of discussion was, “If you could have ten wishes for life, what would they be?” I struggled to make my brain operate at 6 a.m., knowing that not only had she awoken me, but she’d also woken up the dog too, who was itching to go out to do his business. So one of my ten wishes was, “I wish pets never had to pee or poop.” This naturally prompted a ‘kids say the darnedest things’ moment…my Mina’s immediate response, with total serious concern, was “But Mommy, their butts would explode!” ☺ Oh let me tell ya, I was awake then! I started laughing so hard, she couldn’t help but laugh with me, though she was still very concerned about these pets whose butts would explode if they never peed nor pooped. This led to a discussion, led by her of course, about how animals would just look too weird without their pee pee parts and as she put it, without butt cracks. I had to explain to her that with my wish, the pets would still have all their body parts and look the same, their insides would just be such that they’d never have to go potty, and therefore we’d never have to clean up their messes! Wouldn’t it have been totally priceless to have had a video or recording of that conversation!
Now moving on to my 7 year old son, Sawyer. Now there’s a kid whose personality and “ways” will keep you on your toes! He can be shy, overly sensitive and nearly impossible in one moment and a total ham the next. Over Spring Break my Mina was sick and required a visit to the doctor. We had about an hour and a half before the doctor could see us, so I decided to utilize that time to take Sawyer to get a much needed hair cut. We went to Snip Its, which my child usually LOVES. On this particular day, he decided a haircut was the last thing in the world that he wanted to do and he proceeded to torture me during the entire experience. Pouting, moaning, groaning, tears, the whole bit, and all while my precious Mina was feeling absolutely terrible with fever and an awful stopped up head. So I did the ‘Mommy tap dance’ to try to keep everyone happy and tried to convince the stylist that my boy really isn’t a total pisspot all the time.
We survived the haircut experience and Sawyer looked incredibly handsome. Well, he must’ve picked up on the fact that he really did like his haircut because some way, somehow, by the time we got back to the doctor’s office and were sitting in the examine room, Sawyer had turned into a confident, wild comedian. And I’m not kidding, this kid WAS ON! I’m talking, constant fart noises, bouncing around, jokes and all. Fortunately the doctor was a friend of mine that I cheered with in high school, who has young children of her own, so she kept reassuring me that it was ok every time she saw the look of embarrassment on my face. I seriously thought I was going to have to duct tape Sawyer to a chair in order to get him to chill – that is how “ON” he was. So here’s one of my kids having to endure her throat being swabbed and a long q-tip stuck into her nose up to what seemed like was too close to her brain to test for flu – and we all know that is NOT fun! And my angel girl was the most amazing patient ever. The child did not even cry! I think I would have cried had it been me! I was utterly amazed at my child.
Well after experiencing that, feeling terrible, and then adding Sawyer’s wild antics to the picture, let’s just say, Mina was about ready to kill her brother…literally. Mina declared, “I wish I was an only child! Mommy, I’m mad at your tummy for making Sawyer!” I proceeded to look up at my doc friend and under my breath say, “Well, it wasn’t my tummy that’s responsible for making the kid.” Of course supersonic, wild man Sawyer didn’t miss a beat, and he declares, “Yea, it’s your pee pee’s fault! I came out of your pee pee!” followed by a mischievous, evil laugh…… my oh my, yep, the body shaking laughter followed after that one. The doctor literally about fell out of her chair! Even Mina was laughing. It was the pinnacle of it all, after all his poot noises and other silly antics, and proved to be one of those moments in which the only thing you could do was laugh! Oh and let me tell ya, Sawyer knew he’d pulled a good one; I thought the kid might even bow or something! He followed suit with inappropriate declarations of where he thought babies came from. Yea, it got bad – I had to stifle the laughter something fierce and kick into threatening Mommy mode to get the kid to hush. I felt awful for the people outside waiting – all these sick people who feel terrible and they’re having to hear us all cutting up and laughing in the examining room, not cool! And it doesn’t end there!
We get Mina’s diagnosis – which was NOT good – she tested positive for the flu! ☹ The doctor walks us out of the room, everyone is watching us of course, probably wondering what in the heck was going on or ready to pummel us for seeming to be having way too good of a time with all the wildness and laughter. I have my Mina tell the doctor thank you and she does so with total, polite sweetness. Then I look over at Sawyer, who’s standing there looking down, already playing a game on his Kindle, and I tell him to apologize to the doctor for being such a wild child. He immediately looks up, all wide eyed with a crazy face and simply yells “Weiner!” and then goes right back to his game. Yep, my son, in front of EVERYONE. In response to my request that he say he was sorry, he looks right up at the doctor and yells the word “weiner.” No kidding. Even the sick people waiting laughed at this one. It was unbelievable. I will never, ever forget that moment. As a mother, it’s one of those unforgettable experiences with your children that you will remind them of for years and years to come! If only I had had a video of the whole thing, it would’ve been YouTube gold! I could’ve won tons on America’s Funniest Home Videos!
Once we finally escaped to the car, even Mina, with her 101.9 fever and aches, declared that she felt better from all the laughing! I tell ya, you can’t write this stuff. It was really just one of those days in which I felt like I was living out a comedy sitcom or had to have been on a hidden camera show or something. It was one for the memory books, for sure! So to conclude, YES indeed, kids say the darnedest things! ☺
In an ode to this subject, I thought I’d share some videos that you are sure to enjoy. Most of you will probably remember the television show hosted by Bill Cosby back in the late 90s, Kids Say the Darnedest Things. He drew inspiration and showed clips from the classic Art Linkletter show, Art Linkletter’s House Party. These clips are fantastic! Enjoy! And please do share with me any of your own experiences in which you’ve been around a kid that said the darnedest things!
As one of our fun Easter activities together this year, my li’l angels and I had some sugary fun in the kitchen! We brought out a cookbook that I had bought years ago, which inspired us to want to get creative with some sweets. If you ever get the chance to check out this particular recipe book by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson, you will see why it’s called “Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh, My!” This book of super cool baking creations is from the creators of the New York Times bestseller “Hello, Cupcake!” I think the pictures alone in this book are enough to spark anyone’s interest and capture your imagination! Leading up to our special baking “date,” the kids and I scoured over the cookbook choosing our favorite recipes that we wanted to try out. My daughter made a list of each of our favorites and we voted in order to decide what we wanted to create on our day of baking and making artistic desserts.
I also came across a really cute creation on http://www.JustaPinch.com and had saved a picture of this Kit Kat dessert creation called Redneck Piggy Pool. My 7 yr old son, Sawyer, absolutely loves Kit Kats! So, I saved the picture on my desktop for a couple of months knowing I eventually wanted to attempt this one. A recipe with Kit Kats was the main enticement that helped me to get my son to actually participate and join us in the kitchen! When it was time for the Kit Kat dessert making, my son was in the kitchen in a flash ready to play and, of course, sample along the way! And now, because I couldn’t get my hands on any fondant (much less had a clue at first what it was!), instead of making little piggies to go in our mud bath, we put pink Peeps in our chocolate puddin’, Kit Kat fenced in, mud bath! We all thought our little ‘Peep show’ creation was very appropriate here at Easter time!
Naturally, my creative 9-year-old girl, Mina, loved every bit of the baking and creating. In fact, the child is quite the artist in her own right, and I must admit, her creations were WAY better than mine! She’s got quite the knack, so we will certainly make sure to do more of this kitchen fun in the future so she can really tap into her artistic baking talents.
A big thanks goes to my mother, my babies’ grandmother, a.k.a. “MamaMe,” who opened up her kitchen and aided us in our fun quest to produce some of these neat treats. We destroyed her newly remodeled, lovely kitchen! Cupcake and brownie crumbs, chocolate, loads of different colored sprinkles, M & M’s, and several different flavors and colors of icing were not only all over the counter tops, but were spilled and splattered on the floor and cabinets! Fortunately, my precious Mama was so excited to have us there playing with her for the day that she didn’t mind the mess one bit! Thankfully, we escaped with only one kitchen injury (I burned my finger from accidentally touching an incredibly hot cupcake pan), and we made out pretty darn well, had a blast, and ended up very proud of our artistic baked creations.
I of course, was overly ambitious in my plans to make lots of cool, culinary creations and discovered that baking – especially baking with children – takes more time than you ever plan for. So we ended up accomplishing only two of the many recipes we’d chosen, but that’s ok! As you’ll see, our edible art did not come out quite as professional and fancy as the pictures in the book, but we learned several lessons and discovered the importance of specific ingredients and baking tools! And for a first go at it, I’d say our artistic sweet treats turned out pretty darn cool lookin’!
I think of how I spent my early twenties watching the ultra famous and popular HBO show, Sex and the City. As much fun as it was, I wish more of it had actually sunk in! Truth is, I couldn’t relate to those women then. Heck, I was still a naïve baby. I watch the show now and can totally relate, appreciate, fantasize… the list goes on. My best girlfriends and I re-watch our Sex and the City dvds and wish we could escape and dive into worlds of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda.
“As we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost. And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the coulda, shoulda, woulda, buckle up and just keep going.”
– Carrie Bradshaw
Why is it that with a majority of us women, it’s not until we get older that we find ourselves? In a sense, we “wake-up” and figure out what we really want in life, decide we don’t want to settle, and attempt to learn that we need to live for ourselves? The older we get, the more we realize that life is just too short!
“It’s infuriating! Women sit around obsessing about what went wrong over and over again and men just say, alrighty.”
- Charlotte
These four fabulous characters were all fierce and independent, yet totally human, unique and imperfect women. They wanted acceptance and success. The show followed each of these women through their journeys of seeking love, finding their very own Prince Charmings, and achieving happiness. In the end, I think they and we, as viewers, were all pleasantly surprised to see who they ultimately chose as a partner. These ladies had a great time, worked hard, took care of themselves and embraced each other, faults, quirks and all. When I watch the show now, as a strong, independent woman in my late 30s, one of the best things I take from the characters of this show is the fact that it’s ok to love your body, celebrate life and embrace your age. Whether you’re in your 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s – no matter what age – I say, as Goddess women, we owe it to ourselves to embrace life! Take it by the horns and ride that bull with ferocious determination!
“I’m gonna say the one thing you aren’t supposed to say. I love you… but I love me more. I’ve been in a relationship with myself for 49 years and that’s the one I need to work on.” – Samantha
“No, he’s not sick. He’s not hungry, he’s not teething, he just wants to scream. I’m doing everything I can but I can’t please him. If he was 35 this is when we would break up.”
- Miranda
Now let me be clear, I’m not dissing the teens and 20 something’s of the world by any means! I say, live it up girls, go experience life to the fullest so you can find your true selves and not be forced into what others in your life expect you to be. I only wish I had explored more and jumped right into all of the opportunities I could’ve taken advantage of as a wild and carefree young lady. But let’s face it women, it seems unanimous that we tend to look back to our early years and consistently say, “if I only knew how good I had it then, the whole world ahead of me!” Like we’ve all heard declared all too often, “You just don’t get how good you really got it when you’re young, until maturity and the real world smack ya in the face!”
“So many roads. So many detours. So many choices. So many mistakes.” – Carrie Bradshaw
“As we speed along this endless road to the destination called who we hope to be, I can’t help but whine, ‘Are we there yet?’
– Carrie
So why am I touching on this subject? Because as I sit and write this blog entry, it is my 38th birthday. Yep, there ya have it, I just confessed my age. I am increasingly aware of the fact that I am gaining on 40. But I figure I can’t encourage all of you incredible women to embrace your age if I don’t, right!? Lately, I have noticed so many outstanding older women of all shapes, sizes, strengths, talents, and I am constantly encouraged that just because we get older does not mean that our lives are over. We do not have to have our teen and twenty year old bodies to appreciate life and all its glories. We do not have to live vicariously through others who are younger than us. Life is good in these later years of ours – we’ve learned from so many mistakes, we’ve experienced triumph and tragedy, we’ve lived through just enough discoveries to journey into the rest of our precious lives with enough knowledge to (hopefully!) not completely blow it, and to instead recognize our strengths, our talents, our desires and our needs in this short life.
“When real people fall down in life, they get right back up and keep walking.”
– Carrie
“The universe may not always play fair, but at least it’s got a hell of a sense of humor.”
- Carrie
So, whether you are a fan of Carrie Bradshaw and the ladies, or not, they’ve helped a whole lot of us women cope with and embrace our ever aging lives. Goodness knows, they’ve become a part of my own therapy in holding onto the little bit of sanity I have left in my own complicated life. Sometimes there’s just nothing like watching an episode of Sex in the City, escaping into Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda’s world and being reminded that regardless of the hardships in life, we can (with style, of course) not only survive, but we can darn well take on the tough times, laugh at the absurdities, and encompass the complex whirlwind that is life. Like I said before, embrace the heck out of your amazing, precious, short life, because it’s the only one you get, SO WORK IT!
“The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the you that you love, well, that’s just fabulous.” – Carrie
An incredibly loaded question, I know. The idea of mental health is such a weighty subject. But lately it seems it has been forced into the forefront of my complicated life. Whether in the news or close to home, precious people have been so mentally tortured, they’ve taken their own lives. Some of us cannot fathom ever getting to that level, but for others, it is a harsh reality. It is so unfortunate that a person can consider themselves so helpless and hopeless that they would take their own life, but it happens all too often. Even those of us who would not consider ourselves on a tragic life or death level can endure an amazing amount of mental suffering, whether depression, anxiety, insecurity, self-doubt, OCD or fear issues. It’s a tough, complicated part of human nature that we cannot escape.
How you face your mental demons varies from person to person. What works to help me keep a slight grip on sanity might not work for others. We have to find our own individual sanity savers and accept the fact that it’s ok to say, “Yea, I need some help!” Whether that consists of relying on medication, talking things through with a therapist, going for a run, having a long, tear-filled conversation with your Mom or dear friend, attending a powerful church service, watching one of your favorite movies with a tissue box in your lap, singing along with Adele, going out shopping or dancing, or making a date with a bottle of wine, a big plate of pasta and watching your Sex in the City DVD collection. To each her own, I say. Even if you have to commit yourself to an institution, the important thing is that you seek help, understanding and relief from the mental pain.
In my own extremely complicated life lately, I have to admit, I am thankful for amazing therapists, the ability to work my body as I teach Zumba, priceless hugs and kisses from my babies, the support of family, close friends, the love in my life and (yes, I’m showing my age here) my friendship with Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. Without some of those saving graces in my life, I feel sure that I would’ve gone off the deep end. And who’s to say, I won’t have a couple to a hundred total meltdowns in the near future. But the fortunate thing for me is that when I get so mentally low, I usually have enough sense to seek help. But, in some cases, we don’t have the psychological make-up to know how to ask for help. Or, sometimes we seek help and still feel helpless. So then what? We need to increase awareness about the fact it’s ok to struggle and seek assistance for our mental and emotional issues..
The truth is, we spend a whole lot of time focusing on our physical health, which, don’t get me wrong, is an imperative part of living an all-around healthy life. I’m a huge supporter of physical fitness. However, you could be in top-notch physical shape and if you’re suffering mentally, it won’t matter a hill of beans what you look like, how toned you may be, or how low your cholesterol is. We get our check-ups – our yearly physical, our annual pap, our teeth cleaned every six months, our eyes checked, etc., yet what do we do for a mental check up?
For any of you suffering mentally with a heavy head and heart, please make the effort. Do something, anything, to boost your mental health. Because, here’s the deal – I can guarantee, if you just open yourself up, express your mental anguish and seek guidance and relief, you will very quickly discover that you are not alone. Whatever your mental health challenge and inner life battle may be, it is important to always remember, you are never alone. And it seems cliché, but it’s so true. Though in the moment we may feel like we are the only person who has ever experienced this sort of mental anguish, the inevitable truth is, we are not the only ones. But we have to be willing to open ourselves up and seek help to find that out.
So, in closing my mental health soap box here, I challenge all of you amazing people who might actually be reading this blog entry of mine, to take that positive step to improve your mental health. Add a mental health check up to your to-do list, seriously, do it right now! Consider what you truly need to make sure you never get close to going off the deep end and feeling helpless. Human nature can really kick ya in the pants sometimes, so hit back and show life that you are in control of its craziness and declare to the world, with its imperfectness and complexities, as Gloria Gaynor professes, “I will Survive!”
I am so blessed to have arts integration in my life! Recently, I had the opportunity to teach the history and moves of Jazz era dances to a group of amazing 5th graders. I worked with the Music teacher, who taught the students about the most influential jazz musicians and singers of the era, while I taught them about the popular dances that had folks all around the world movin’ to jazzy beats. What a trip! We had a great time learning dances like the Cakewalk, the Black Bottom, the Charleston, the Swing, the Lindy Hop, the Jitterbug and even the Boogie Woogie.
As most of you well know, we can never stop learning! We can educate ourselves in so many ways until the day we die. With every arts integration residency or teaching gig I do, I always learn something new. I thought I knew a good amount about dance, but I tell you what, in the case of this super cool, recent residency of mine, I not only learned about these groundbreakingly popular dances from the late 1800s to early 1900s, but I now have a profound respect for the ability and talent of the dancers who jived and worked it on the dance floors of that time.
While researching video footage of actual dancers to show the students, I came across some incredible clips. Let’s just say, if some of these Jazz era dancers worked these moves on some of today’s popular dance tv shows, they would knock people’s socks off! My favorite clip is of the Whitney’s Lindy Hoppers, a professional performance group of swing dancers, from the 1941 film “Hellzapoppin.” My students responded something fierce to this video! They absolutely loved it! There was a lot of hooting and hollerin’ as they watched this one. Watch this short clip and you will truly be blown away by the energy and talent of these fabulous dancers!
If you’re at all interested in dance, take some time to check out the dances of the Jazz era. Play some jivin’ jazz music and move that body of yours. You are guaranteed to have a great time! Along with my new deep appreciation for these jazzy dances, I know I certainly plan to engage in some Lindy Hoppin’, Jitterbuggin’ Swing dancin’ any chance I can!
When one of my fellow Zumba instructors told me that Celebrity Cruise Lines was working with Zumba Fitness to book instructors for their cruises, I jumped at the opportunity. After a strenuous audition process, I was thrilled to be offered a gig on the Celebrity Summit! They first offered me a position on a 2-week cruise but I had to turn them down. There was no way I could be away from my kids for that long. Fortunately, they offered me a week-long cruise that I was able to schedule. I have to admit, I was very nervous since I did not know what to expect. Every ship’s Cruise Director and Activities Manager do things a little differently, plus the number of classes you teach usually depends on the number of days the ship is at port and at sea. Needless to say, it was quite the adventure and I just had to be prepared to do my thing!
I am so glad that I took the plunge and accepted the job because it ended up being such an amazing experience. On my first night on the ship, I met with Manuel, the Activities Manager, who filled me in on the schedule and then interviewed me on-camera. The interview played on the main ship channel on all the TVs in each room and around the ship. All of my classes were on the main pool deck’s stage – the stage of the open sea! Some folks would show up in their work out clothes ready to Zumba and other folks would see all the fun we were having and join in from the pool, the bars and the dining areas. Each class was like performing a show! If people weren’t dancing, they were watching from the pool, the balconies, etc., and some were even taking pictures. Of course, it helps that everyone on a cruise ship is on vacation and, therefore, in party mode! The air was always electric with happiness and fun.
The one thing it took some getting used was the ship’s movement; when a ship is at sea, it moves and sways A LOT. Attempting to dance on a moving object took some getting used to. In some of my video footage from my classes, you can see the water in the pool dramatically sloshing back and forth. Dancing on a rockin’ ship certainly presents a challenge for the muscles and your equilibrium. Such a weird feeling! It took me days after returning home to get over the occasional sensation of being on a moving object.
The funny thing is that before I taught my first class, the crew kept warning me about the Caribbean heat. Shoot! That Caribbean heat was nothing compared to the heat of the indoor pools where I teach Aqua Zumba back home! Yes, the sun on the ship was hot, but the wind of the sea was glorious! I discovered very quickly that I had to wear a hat when I taught to keep my hair from whipping around like crazy, but it felt great and kept me cool enough that I didn’t walk away dripping sweat after each class. When I teach Aqua Zumba, I don’t get the privilege of getting in the water; I have to teach from the side of the pool and those indoor pool rooms are like steam bath saunas! Once I start dancing, I’m usually literally dripping sweat by the 2nd or 3rd song, and I’m not even a big sweater! When I walk away from teaching an Aqua Zumba class, my clothes are wet with sweat and I look like a red-faced, stinky mess. When I first started teaching Aqua Zumba it took me months to condition my body to teaching in that environment. But goodness do I love it – regardless of the heat, I have so much fun teaching it that I get over the sweaty part! So my point here – teaching Zumba on the deck of a ship was the ultimate experience! I could handle those conditions any day!
It would be such a privilege to serve as a Zumba instructor on another cruise! I really hope I get the opportunity to do something like this again. It was such a blessing to meet and dance with so many fabulous people from across the world! And it definitely was an honor to represent Zumba and to work with the incredible Celebrity crew. What an awesome cruise line! They definitely made me feel like a Celebrity!
Ok, so I’ve written a blog entry about yummy apps to eat, now I’m writing to chat about fun apps (this time meaning technical applications for our new age gadgets) to play with. Since getting an iPhone, I seriously feel like I’ve finally joined the tech savvy age. Every week I learn something new and super-cool that I can do on this phone. It really blows my mind!
I don’t get into all the games. My kids love Mindcraft, Bearville and Temple Run, just to name a few. We like to play with the apps Action Movie and Voice Plus. And I love my Pandora and iHeartRadio apps! But, recently one of my middle school students showed me an app called iMovie. I have always wanted to be able to edit videos. Back in the day, I tried to figure out how to use a few different editing programs on my computer and just could never figure it out. If these middle school kids can master it so easily, I thought, “Surely I can swing it!” I cannot believe how easy the program is! I absolutely love it. My kids and I have had a blast creating movies with this super-cool app. Below are two of the recent movie trailers we created using iMovie – one to commemorate the visit with our Elf on the Shelf and one featuring my rascal pup named Monte. If you have an iPhone, play away and take advantage of all these cool apps – especially the ones that help you create video and voice recordings that you can treasure forever.
As we move into 2013, we thought it only appropriate to take a look back at 2012 and share with you some of the data from our year in blogging. (If you click on any of the images below, you will get an enlarged view.) Thanks to all of our readers for helping to make the Every Woman Blog a success! And a special thanks to our amazing bloggers who truly bring this blog to life and share their lives with us!
We hope you enjoy taking a look back at 2012 with us
Those of us who live in South Carolina are incredibly lucky to have a wonderful local children’s museum. Back in the late 90s, before I had moved to California, I worked in public relations for the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce. While there, I was present when EdVenture was proposed to the leaders of the city. To see this great vision become a reality is truly spectacular! EdVenture’s mission is to inspire children, youth and the adults who care about them to experience the joy of learning. Their vision is to create new generations of lifelong learners. For every child who visits EdVenture, seeing will be believing and doing will mean remembering. All exhibits at EdVenture are hands-on and experiential. Being a supporter and teacher of arts integration, I personally love this form of hands-on education and love to see children of all ages interacting with the exhibits.
My Aunt Susan recently treated my kids and me to a fun visit to this impressive place. I thought I’d share some of the fun from our recent visit! If you have not yet checked out the excitement of Edventure, I encourage you to take advantage of this interactive, educational adventure.
