Sesame Street Party Ideas on a Budget

My friend, Shirlene Reeves, and her lovely daughter, Corby, a first grade teacher, re-created the Sesame Street themed balloon wreath, hanging characters and inviting veggie trays they discovered on Pinterest.  I am not sure who originated these darling party ideas, but I will credit that person if I find out.  Until then, thank you to Shirlene and Corby for letting me share with you. The girls made all these delights for a birthday party for one-year-old Amelia. By the way, most non-edible supplies came from either a dollar store or a discount store in the craft department. 


Corby's balloon wreath, is made from colorful balloons pinned to a straw wreath.  She printed and laminated the sign.

Corby's Big Bird wall hanging is made from a dollar store plastic table cloth.  Face is printed and laminated so it's sturdy.  This can be hung inside or outside from a tree when the weather is nice.

Corby also made Cookie Monster from a dollar store plastic table cloth.

Shirlene found a red plastic plate, arranged cherry tomatoes for the face, black olives for the mouth, carrots for the nose and ranch dressing in single serving cups for the eyes. Two black olives were used for the pupils of the eyes. (A yellow gourd would work for the nose, too, I'm thinking. -jm)

 

 

Cookie Monster has a face of blueberries, blackberries for the mouth, vanilla yogurt and more blueberries for the eyes per Shirlene's magic touch. Make sure to place the blueberry eyes cattywampus like Cookie's.

Shirlene's Oscar, the Grouch, has a face full of broccoli, black olives for the mouth, cherry tomatoes for his tongue, carrots for his eyebrows and ranch dressing with black olives for his eyes. 

Shirlene couldn't forget Big Bird made from pineapple chunks with two longer pieces for his beak.  Add vanilla yogurt with blueberries and two small pieces of red tomato for the eyes and you have Big Bird on a platter!

Advice to Aspiring Authors-Author's Digest Interview cont.

Posted May 18, 2015 by M Burns
This time, Jane Marie tells us about the inspiration for her book, as well as her advice for other aspiring writers.



Jane Marie, what inspired you to write your book? How long did it take you to finish it? 

My husband lost his job due to company downsizing, and we were forced to move from our small town of Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida. How might I remember this place we had come to love and would miss so very much? I’ll just write a book, I thought. You should write what you like to read, right? I love historical fiction. Since I had taken docent training at our wonderful Amelia Island Museum of History, I had those basics down. The rest came from my imagination. My intention was to write one book and put it in my daughter’s hope chest for posterity.

We moved back to Amelia Island after two years. Little by little, family, friends, acquaintances and strangers read The Goodbye Lie and provided encouragement; the result was a confidence which filled me. When a woman I very much respected emailed me with: “GBL (Goodbye Lie) is a real world to me,” I felt validated. It was a sort of permission to continue to find out what happened to the other grown children in the fictional Dunnigan family. As a result, I ended up with a completed trilogy, each book taking about two years to finish… with a wonderful life, weddings, a grandchild, and politics slowing the process between novels.

What’s the one message you’d like to convey to readers about your book?

It’s simple. The key to happiness and love is forgiveness.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Someone told me once to make a wall hanging or pillow before I tackled the sewing of an entire quilt. It’s the same with writing a book. Complete a short story first, then another, then move onto longer pieces. If you don’t mind the hours falling away as you write, or the sun yielding to the moon without you realizing it, or not talking aloud to anyone for extended periods while you silently converse only with the characters in your head, then writing is for you. Let go and enjoy!

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For more information about Jane Marie and her books, check out her blog [here] at www.GraciousJaneMarie.blogspot.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.

Amelia Island’s Goodbye Lie Trilogy is available at Jane Marie’s blog or at the following links:

The Goodbye Lie

Amelia Island’s Velvet Undertow

Amelia Island’s Mark of a Man

Mighty Eighth Air Force Tribute

At top, it reads: Might in Flight, Scroll reads: In memory of our Glorious Dead, 303 Bomb Group, Molesworth, England, 1942-1945. Note: Gunner in the nose of the plane and written on the side is: knock-out dropper with the same image.

On this Memorial Day, I felt it proper to share some of the beautiful photos I was privileged to take in the Chapel of the Fallen Eagles at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, located in Pooler, Georgia, just minutes from Savannah. Activated in 1942 and described on the pamphlet as the "greatest air armada of all time," I understand why, after having toured this massive house of World War II history.  


The stone chapel holding these works of art is designed to look like an English chapel. As the outdoors illuminates these extraordinary windows, the details of each tells a story.  Please take a moment to examine the photos and, as you do, may gratitude for the sacrifice made by these brave souls remind you of the gift of freedom they have given us.

Save all who dare the Eagle's flight, note: angel lifting airplane to Heaven

Fallen but not Forgotten, note, near top of left panel: Dove/Holy Spirit with life preserver on its wing, lower right panel, Star of David amongst the crosses, also lower right panel- the Purple Heart medal

At very top: E Sempre L'Ora means It is always the hour...motto of the 96th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force

100th Bomb Group - REMEMBERING, note: bombs in eagles claws

the Grand Slam - 1 Group, note: Chaplain on left panel giving blessing, rosary beads in his hand, on right panel: airmen receiving that blessing

 

 

 

 

 

For more info on the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, please go to: www.mightyeighth.org.

Author's Digest Interview-Fave Authors

Suspicion and Betrayal – Jane Marie Malcolm’s Amelia Island

Posted May 15, 2015 M Burns

Welcome ... to Author’s Digest and the ... interview with Jane Marie Malcolm, ... author of the Amelia Island’s Goodbye Lie Trilogy : The Goodbye Lie, Amelia Island’s Velvet Undertow, and Amelia Island’s Mark of a Man.

Jane Marie talked about her (rather colorful) life and background. Today, she discusses her literary influences… and introduces us to her trilogy.

Jane Marie, were there any books or authors that influenced your style?

Little did I realize how watching the movie Gone With The Wind at age nine, and then reading Margaret Mitchell’s novel of the same name as a teen, would influence my future writing of historical romance. The strong hero, Rhett Butler, set the standard (in my mind and millions of others) of what tasteful-yet-thrilling romance should be. As I wrote my historical trilogy, my thoughts stayed within the limits of that kind of good taste. Having dedicated my first novel, The Goodbye Lie, to my father, I often tell readers, “I didn’t want to be embarrassed when Daddy read it,” and they understand what I mean.

Jan Karon (author of the Mitford series), Jane Austen, and Laura Ingalls Wilder are at the top of my list of favorite writers, too.

Tell us about your Amelia Island’s Goodbye Lie Trilogy.

While some call Florida’s Amelia Island a romantic Victorian paradise, suspicion and betrayal are part of the seductive setting of the Amelia Island’s Goodbye Lie Trilogy as well. Exploring the captivating mysteries deep within the Dunnigan family, the novels focus on the lives of each of their grown children. Discover where Little House on the Prairie meets Gone With The Wind on Amelia Island.

The Goodbye Lie – It is 1882. Men will die for Breelan Dunnigan. Her foolish vault into folly alters the lives of many… too many. Honor is relentlessly tempted by jealousy. Will it hold against the attack? The lure, the love, the legend …

Amelia Island’s Velvet Undertow – It is 1889. Carolena Dunnigan is judgmental and dismissive. Lured by a world-famous conductor to Charleston, South Carolina, she finds deceit creeping all around, which drives her into the horrific Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood.  His want, his will, his way …

Amelia Island’s Mark of a Man – It is 1898. Amidst the Spanish American War and a great hurricane hitting their enchanting island, Pat Dunnigan (hero or heel) lives hard and loves wild. His sister Marie is an innocent magnet for trouble. Their days and nights are laden with jarring conflicts and assaulted by haunting mysteries. The rains, the rage, the romance …

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For more information about Jane Marie and her books, check out her blog at www.GraciousJaneMarie.blogspot.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Amelia Island’s Goodbye Lie Trilogy is available at Jane Marie’s blog (above) or at the following links:

The Goodbye Lie

Amelia Island’s Velvet Undertow

Amelia Island’s Mark of a Man

Look What I Saw!

I was so excited to spy what I thought was a red-headed woodpecker.  I was lucky to snap a picture of it, too.  See him on the right?  Well, I Goggled red-headed woodpecker, as anybody would.  I wanted to find out more about it and discovered that is not what it was.  It was, instead, a pileated woodpecker.  A red-headed woodpecker has a round head with no red crest, that pointy feather part that makes it look like Woody Woodpecker. This pileated bird likes to dine on carpenter ants, lives at all levels of the trees, has a very shrill call, leaves rectangular holes in dead trees and is as big as a crow!

Enjoy video from YouTube.  

Thank you, YouTube!

A Tasteful Treat for Mother

This month, we honor all mothers and women who are like mothers to us.  With that honor comes respect and with respect comes good taste.  In that vein, I proudly declare that my historical Goodbye Lie mystery/romance trilogy has been compared to Little House on the Prairie and Gone With The Wind.  I deduced my fictional Dunnigan clan is similar in family devotion to the Ingalls family.  The beautifully passionate romance from the thoughts of Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With The Wind , is similar in style to that of my heroes and heroines, or so I've been told.

I humbly invite you to read a more gracious style of story-telling from the past, a classic style that, for many of us, is lacking in the present time.  Get to know each of the grown Dunnigan children in the series and witness their deeds and misdeeds in the late 1800s in Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida. May they, and so many of the other characters, become your lifelong friends, the same as they are mine.    

THE GOODBYE LIE - It is 1882. Men will die for Breelan Dunnigan. Her foolish vault into folly alters the lives of many, too many. Honor is relentlessly tempted by jealousy. Will it hold against the attack? The lure, the love, the legend …

Amelia Island's VELVET UNDERTOW - It is 1889.  Carolena Dunnigan is judgmental and dismissive. Lured by a world famous conductor to Charleston, South Carolina, she finds deceit creeping all around, which drives her into the horrific Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood.  His want, his will, his way … 

Amelia Island's MARK OF A MAN - It is 1898.  Amidst the Spanish American War and a great hurricane hitting their enchanting island, hero or heel, Pat Dunnigan lives hard and loves wild.  His sister, Marie, is an innocent magnet for trouble.  Their days and nights are laden with jarring conflicts and assaulted by haunting mysteries. The rains, the rage, the romance …

 

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely A Must Read Book ! 

 [The Goodbye Lie] from Blue Sparrow

Format:Paperback

WOW! I didn't see ANY of that coming! The characters have depth. No one is ALL good or ALL bad. They are likable, lovable, and detestable.
I thought only real life could have so many unexpected twists and turns.
Jane Marie is a master with words. She really brought me into the story and made me feel a part of the action.

Available in paperback and eBook at book sources everywhere.