Bicycle Built for Two!

Tops is gonna ride the wheels right off that bicycle built for two commersh!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday to you!

Well, ya know, Friends, I am an avid hockey fan, and I like the Buffalo Sabres when I'm at home and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Gramma's house.  But Rhino Reilly is my favorite hockey player.

That's neither here nor there, though.  My talk today is about the Tops commercial featuring the Buffalo Bills coach and his twin brother.  It's a pretty neat commercial, as far as commercials go.  It shows the brothers eating a buncha foods and riding a bicycle built for two, while a catchy song about a bicycle built for two plays in the background. 

I really, really liked that commercial the first three times they played it during last night's hockey game.  I enthusiastically sang along with the song.  I thought 'Boyo boy, I like this commercial, and it gives me more positive feelings toward Tops Friendly Markets! I might just hafta lobby Mommy and Daddy to shop with me at Tops insteadda Wegmans!"

Well, thing of it is, they played that commercial during every commercial break, it seems like.  By the time the game was over, I was really surprised those brothers and Tops hadn't ridden the wheels right off'n' that bicycle built for two!

Needless to say, my fascination with Tops Friendly Markets has come to an abrupt end.  I'll continue loving my Wegmans!

I love ya lots, Friends!  But we don't need to ride a bicycle built for two or anything, mmmkay?  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

You'll Find What You're Lookin' For!

You'll find just what you're lookin' for, Friends, so be mindful of what you seek!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, Friends, I cannot get over the Magic in this world.  I just cannot.  I don't mean the bunny-out-of-a-hat, saw-a-lady-in-half kinda magic. Those are parlor tricks. 

I mean the Magic that makes the Moon wax and wane, and makes the leaves come out from seemingly dead twigs in the Spring and turn beautiful, vibrant colors in the Fall and makes kazillions of tiny, perfect, different snowflakes in the Winter.  I mean the Magic that brings thunder and rain in the Summer. 

I suppose you could call it Wonder, too.  Science, of course, which is a way to explain the Wonder.  Big People, the great thing about bein' Five is that you understand that even when you can explain the Magic through molecules and isotopes and polar spin, that there are molecules and isotopes and poles upon which to spin is no less wondrous.  Knowing how certain atoms or chemical combinations act do not render those reactions any more mundane for their predictability. 

What I'm saying is this world is a wondrous place.  I stand in awe at my window every morning, appreciating all the Wonder and all the Magic.  I go out looking for Wonder and Magic in everything I do.  And you know what?  I find them.  You bet I do!

Take the Sun, for instance.  Ancient peoples thought the Sun was a magical orb, if not maybe a little fickle.  They made sacrifices to the Sun to keep it happy, so it wouldn't leave them in cold, cold winter for too long.  Now we know that the fire in the sky isn't a temperamental, fickle being that needs cajoling and sacrifices to keep us warm.  It's a star.  It behaves a certain way and our planet reacts to the sun's rays and life behaves accordingly.  We kind of know what to expect from our Sun.  We know why there are Northern Lights and sun-flares and we know those things can make our radios act funny.

Thing of it is, Big People, from where I stand, I think it's just remarkable that we're just the right distance from the Sun so that we're warm enough, but not boiled dry (like Mercury and Venus!)  I think it's magical that spots on our planet wake up as the sun shines on them and go dormant when it's time to rest in the winter.  Everything works so well together, our Sun, Moon, and Stars.

I think it's magical, too, when someone pops into your head, and you feel an overwhelming need to drop 'em a line, and when ya do, it turns out that they needed someone to drop 'em a line.  I think it's magical when I smile at someone and give 'em a little wave, and they smile and give me a little wave right back.  I think it's magical that we can remember each other's names.  And probably most importantly of all, I think it's just magical that there are animals in our lives that are mates to our own souls.

I really don't care if ya think I'm kinda loony for believin' in this kind of magic, Big People.  This is how I choose to see the world.  As a magical, beautiful place.  And I find magic and beauty.  I bet if you're really mindful about it, Friends, you'll see that however you see this world, whatever you're looking for when you open your eyes, you find it!

Hey.  I love ya lots, Friends!  If ya get a chance today, see some Magic and Wonder for yourself, mmmkay?  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Inflatable Falloween Decorations!

What I wouldn't give for a two-story inflatable black cat!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

So!  How's it goin'?

Well, ya know, I'm a kid who loves all the holidays, especially those that run through the Fall.  I call the whole entire season Falloween.  I'm sure I'm not the first person to call this season Falloween.  At least I'm not saying everything is Spooktacular.  If you're wondering why that annoys me so, it obviously hasn't started in earnest for this Spooktacular Falloween Season yet, but just you wait.  I'm gonna check in with ya in a month, and we'll talk again about Spooktacular. 

Anyways.

I've been to the dang ol' Lowes a lot lately, and they're just perfectly decked out with all kindsa decorations.  There's a life-size Creepy Countess that talks and her eyes light up red, and I kinda want one, but Mommy says probably not, on accounta the Creepy Countess is so very life-size and nearly life-like, and we might forget she's there and come downstairs in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning, or come home from an expedition to be greeted by the Creepy Countess, and as we might not be thinking that she's even there at first, her presence might make us lose control of our bladder and bowel functions, if you know what I mean. 

I do understand.  I'm not a kid who gets creeped out very easily, but I do know that there's a difference in the way things look in the broad daylight and in the dusky light of night.  So I'm okay with no Creepy Countesses or Grim Reapers that ya hang up outside, or any of those window-peeper decorations. Nothing to make it look like there's somebody in our yard.  I get it.

However, there are these wonderful inflatable decorations that are just the right amount of spooky- cartoonishly spooky, or maybe even downright cute.  I just love 'em!  They're big, they light up, some of 'em move, some of 'em even make noise.  I've had my eye on this big Black Widow Spider they have at Lowes.  I also liked Dracula's Castle, the big Frankenstein's Monster, the blow-up bat, and all the inflatable, giant jack-o-lanterns.  I even saw a two-story inflatable black cat decoration that I really, really want, because it reminds me of my pal Buddy the Cat!

Mommy says she really likes those inflatable decorations, too.  She says they're just the right mix of macabre and marvelous.  She says she loves the visual impact each one would impart upon a Falloween scene.

But we can't have any.

You see, our town where we live is extremely windy.  Wind-swept heights.  Wuthering heights, if you will.  (Yes, I've read Wuthering Heights- it's in board-book form!)  Unfortunately for us and any inflatable holiday decorations we would adopt, the wind is strong enough that it would come along and rip the inflatables from their moorings.  If we were to tie them down even more, even tighter, as I suggested, they'd probably rip beyond repair. 

So I'll just hafta admire the inflatable Falloween decorations from a distance, or from the car as I ride past and spy them in other people's yards.  It's okay.  I can make peace with that. 

If YOU have inflatable Falloween decorations, Friends, let me know, and I'll ride past and look at 'em!

I love ya lots!  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

I Wanna Meet Scoop'n'Cookie!

For ice cream that could be a meal, ya can't beat the Frog!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Well, ya know, I LOVE goin' to the dang ol' Sweet Frog!  If I had to make a hard choice between the two, I'd say that the dang ol' Sweet Frog has replaced my love of the dang ol' Cracker Barrel, honestly.  I mean, I wouldn't be MAD if I wound up at the dang ol' Cracker Barrel, but thing of it is, Sweet Frog pairs nicely with other restaurants in the area such as Red Robin (Yummmm!), Texas RoadHouse, Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, and... yes, even Cracker Barrel.  Sweet Frog also stands on its own very nicely.

I think what I love most about Sweet Frog is that I can fill up a cup fulla frozen yogurt and toppings and make anything I want, insteadda settling for the Monster Sundae at another ice cream-based business.  Also, Sweet Frog has spoons that change colors in the frozen yogurt.  That's pretty rad!  Also, I really enjoy the bright pink and green decor in the Sweet Frog frozen yogurtery. 

The thing I really, really love about Sweet Frog is that they have two mascots- Scoop--n-Cookie, and I really want to meet 'em sometime! 

If I didn't know better, which I don't, I'd think that they designed Sweet Frog to appeal just to people like me!  I really gotta respect that kind of specialized marketing!

I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

When Ya Dream the Potty Turns Into a Crocodile!

You know a dream's awkward when the potty turns into a crocodile!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you!

Well, ya know, I had a dang ol' bad dream the other night, and I couldn't sleep well at all because of it.  I dreamed that the lights went out and wouldn't come back on, which was bad enough in itself.  I mean, I am my mother's daughter, after all, and am therefore an electricity enthusiast.  Oh my goodness, electricity- I just love the stuff!

But what made it a hundred-million-billion times worse was that in my fitfulness, I woke up from the dream where the lights were permanently OUT, and fell back asleep into a dream where I was tryin' to find a potty, and when I finally did, it turned into a crocodile.

That's right.  The potty turned into a crocodile.  You know the type- big reptile, sharp teeth, dead eyes that still manage to be piercing, just the same.  Not the kind of thing ya want your hiney-butt around, a crocodile.  It's awkward, Big People!

Do you ever have nightmares where you're searching frantically for a potty to use, and there's something weird about every single one ya find?  Mommy says that when ya dream about weird potties, you hafta go to the potty in real life, and the weirdness of the potties in your dreams are your Dream Theatre crew tryin' to wake ya up so you'll go use the real potty and not the strange dream-potties.  I don't know about that.  I woke up from that dream and didn't hafta go to the potty after all, and I did NOT use the potty in my bed.  But I still had dreams about awkward potties that had turned into crocodiles, just the same.

Dreams are weird.

It has me wonderin' now if somewhere in a swamp in Florida or Australia or wherever crocodiles live, if there isn't a crocodile wakin' up right now and tellin' its crocodile family and friends about this dream they had the other night where they were just goin' along, mindin' their own business when they turned into a potty, and there were all these hiney-butts in their face.  I suppose I have a lot more sympathy for those crocodile potties in MY bad dream, now that I think about what it musta been like for the crocodile-potty.  I mean, maybe the dream was a bridge between me and the crocodile, and every time the potty I was trying to use in my dream would turn into a crocodile and scare and frustrate me, it was the poor crocodile on the other end of the dream, just trying to reclaim its identity after dreaming it had turned into a potty.

Either way, now that I think of it that way, I definitely did not end up on the worse side of that dream!
Be careful in Dreamland, Friends!  It's a wild and crazy place!

I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Gettin' Closer Every Day!

I'll give ya a hint- it's red and green and tinsel-draped and ya get PRESENTS!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you!

Well, ya know, today's the Twenty-Fifth.  There's something I really get a big kick out of reminding you is on its way.  But the thing of it is, I also know you don't like it when I say the word to you before Halloween. 

So I won't tell ya what's comin' up in three months.  But I WILL give ya some hints about what I'm talkin' about...

Ya bring a tree inside your house and put ornaments on it.  Ya string twinkle lights all over the place.  Ya give and get presents!  Ya sing cheerful songs featuring jingle-bells!  Ya leave treats out for a jolly fella in a red and white fur suit who also happens to be a great friend of mine!

Hey, don't be mad at me for reminding you that the Most Wonderful Time of the Year is coming soon!  I'm just tryin' to help ya out, Big People! 

I love ya lots!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Fancy Nancy!

Fancy Nancy is a Kindred Spirit, as Anne of Green Gables would say!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, I'll tell ya what.   I am a reader, Friends!  I love havin' books read to me, and I've even started recognizing some of the words.  One of my favorite series of books is the Fancy Nancy books. 

I think that if I were to meet Fancy Nancy Clancy and her sister JoJo and her dog Frenchie, we'd all be great friends.  Why, I'd even be friends with Fancy Nancy's friend Bree and all the other kids in her class!

I like that Fancy Nancy can use big words and doll herself all up and be... well, fancy, but then she can play ball and run around and just be a regular kid. 

I really admire that in a literary character, because I, myself, love to doll up and be fancy, but I also like to be a regular little kid.

Friends, I'm really happy to live in a world where there are books.  I really learn a lot from them, and they inspire me.  I'm only just starting to understand how great Fancy Nancy is, and am only just starting to learn how much she can teach me, but I'm hooked!  Hey- I've gotta go read.  I love ya, Friends!  And I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Muah!