For Halloween this year Vera has requested to be Cinderella. This didn’t surprise us since we had been watching it practically 4 out of 7 days of the week (if not multiple times per day!). As soon as we got home she wanted to put on the dress, and play around in it; proudly announcing that SHE was Cinderella.
This is partially my fault….see Vera actually thinks that she is a real princess. My husband warned me several times about this. Since he grew up with “Princess Olivia” that we shouldn’t encourage the whole “princess thing”. I guess he got bossed around by the princess one to many times. BUT I disregarded his warning, and since the day she was born told her that she was a princess. Once she turned two we allowed her to watch the movies, and from that point on she was hooked.
This year Princess Vera has had it tough, and I believe she somewhat relates to Cinderella or at least sympathizes with her. Her majesty has had to share the spotlight this year with her new baby sister that showed up on the scene, and suddenly she wasn’t the only princess in town. This means she had to take her turn for meals, baths, bedtime, and even Mom and Dad’s attention…..granted she wasn’t sweeping floors or doing dishes, but this was tough for Princess Vera. Despite all that she has learned a lot of good things from having to share her throne. She’s learned to be kind and caring. We’re working on the patience, and she’s even learned that part of ruling over your kingdom is about being fair and letting your sister play with your toys too.
However this year has left me, Mom, feeling a little like the evil Stepmother. Here I’ve told her that she was a princess and could go to the ball if she got all her chores done(i.e. go to Disney World is she’s good), and now Mom and Dad have extra responsibilities (i.e. another princess/living off one income) and it looks as if we’ll never make it to the ball(at least not for a long time!)
“Oh, well. What’s a royal ball? After all, I suppose it would be frightfully dull, and-and-and boring, and-and completely… Completely wonderful.” -Cinderella
Couldn’t have said it better myself….Please make this princess’s dream a wish come true, and vote for Vera as “the fairest of them all” even though all the princesses who’ve entered are fair and deserving.
I had the privilege to review Joshua Bell’s new album At Home With Friends provided by One2One Network. To give you an idea of what’s been playing over and over on my computer & phone here’s the album’s track list:
I Loves You Porgy featuring Chris Botti
Come Again featuring Sting
Oblivion featuring Carel Kraayenhof
Cinema Paradiso featuring Josh Groban
Para Tí featuring Tiempo Libre
My Funny Valentine featuring Kristin Chenoweth
Maybe So featuring Edgar Meyer Sam Bush and Mike Marshall
My taste in music is very eclectic, but as a general rule of thumb whatever just sounds good to me gets added to my playlist. I enjoyed a couple of Joshua Bell’s previous albums, but I must say this one takes the cake! I thoroughly enjoyed this CD .#’s 1,4,14, and 15 go’n on the playlist. I like ‘em all, but those are my favorites.I don’t think this album was like any of his compositions I’ve ever heard. I don’t think it had anything to do with his playing though. I mean he’s a great violinist, and that wasn’t what was different. I think it had a lot to with the mission behind the album. You could feel the warth and friendship oozing from their music. It embodies the title At Home With Friends;you truly feel that you’re at his home listening to him jam out with friends (and man does dude have some awesome friends!**cough**Sting**cough**). I’m a nerd, but I always read the lil book/jackets whatever you call them when I get CD’s. Being as that I am an artist (or at least I’d like to think so….yes I’m delusional at times) I respect and find it interesting what other artists have to say about their work. Joshua Bell’s introduction to this album was no exception. He talked about how as a young child his family would have friends and family over and host musicals. Then as an adult he enjoyed having his friends over and doing the same thing. Well his parents should be estatic because something they did just inspired the best music I think their son has ever made haha. Don’t take my word for it though. I’d check it out on his website. I am kinda envious of my family and friends back in my home state of Illinois because next month he’s going to be in Chicao performing -_- lol.
****UPDATE: on 11|23|2009 I won a $25 gift card for participating in this One2One event
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