Bein' Friendly Is My Fravrite!

If ya project friendliness, ya get it back a dozen times over!

Hiya, Big People! 

Well, ya know,  I'm a kid who likes to be friendly and make friends wherever I go.

I make friends of other kids I meet.  I make friends with cashiers at the stores I visit.  I make friends with the people who bring me my food in restaurants. 

In all my years, Big People, one of the most important things I've learned is that the world is like a big mirror, and it reflects what ya put out into it!

Pay attention the next time you're Out In Public, Friends.  Smile at someone who isn't smilin' and see what happens. I'd betchya dollars to donuts that ya get a smile back, and all the ice starts breakin'. And you know how seriously I take my donuts!

It works the other way, too, Friends.  I've seen it.  I've seen what happens when someone who's smilin' and laughin' gets frowned at or sneered at or fussed at.  It puts out their smile, just like if ya blow out a candle.  It's so sad.  Don't go out in the world and try that.  Don't go out into the world and yell and wave your arms and be blustery.  You'll put out the lights of other people's smiles, and everybody will be left in the dark.

That's why bein' friendly is my fravrite, Friends. 

I love ya lots, Friends!  Help light other people up, so everything can be warm and friendly and happy, insteadda blustery and angry, mmmkay?

Be good.  I'll ketchup with ya tomorrow!  Muah!

I Saw Airplanes!

I could see the planes' bellies, and it was glorious!

Well, hello, Friendalinoes!  Happy Monday to you!

Well, ya know, my Daddy was in Mexico for a week, and on Saturday night, I had the opportunity to meet his plane at the airport.  So I took it!

Daddy's plane got delayed in Detroit, on accounta ice.  So I had to wait in the cellular telephone parking lot.

At first, I thought the cellular telephone parking lot was where we were meant to sit in great big cellular telephones, maybe enjoy some snacks and musics and a movie while we were waiting for the airplane to come in, so I suppose you can imagine my deep disappointment when I found out it's just a parking lot where you sit in your car and wait for your airplane passenger to call you up on your cellular telephone.

And then, I heard a rumble coming from overhead and looked through the skylight in the Jeep, and I saw an AIRPLANE directly overhead!  I could see its BELLY!  And it was fabulous!  It was a little airplane with a tail that looks like a "T", and a propeller on each wing!

Upon further investigation, I learned that the airplane was a Dash-8!  I ended up seeing two Dash-8s and three little jets land, and I was right under 'em!  It was really exciting!  But the most exciting thing of all is that Daddy was on the second of the little jets I saw land! 

Boyo boy, I missed Daddy!  He's home with me today, so I'm gonna go spend some time with him!  I love ya lots, Friends, but I missed my Daddy for a whole quarter of a month!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Zoe and Rozzie's Ill-Fated Human-Canine Singalong Band!

We're never gonna agree on a song, are we, Rozz?

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you!

Well, ya know, I love to sing, and I love my pal Rozzie, so I thought it would be a brilliant idea to combine my love of singing with my love of my pal and create the Human-Canine Singalong Band!

In addition to our memorable and snappy name, I figured my singalong band with Rozzie would just knock it out of the park, singing today's greatest hits as well as oldies and standards.  A little something for everybody!

Except, the project was ill-fated from the start.  You see, Rozzie and I both have very strong personalities and very strong opinions on what constitutes great music.Whenever one of us would start a singalong song, the other of us would start singin' another, different song.  Every time.  When I'd cut toward Contemporary, Rozzie would go retro.  When I was in the mood for an oldie, Rozzie would start barkin' out "Hall of Fame," a mutually favorite song of ours, just not when the other of us is singing it.

So the Human-Canine Singalong Band was ill-fated from the beginning, but Rozzie and I are still best pals. 

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

Winter SurTHRIVEal!

Why settle for survival when you can surTHRIVE?

Hiya, Friends!  Happy, HAPPY SATURDAY! to you!

Well, ya know, I know how Wintertime can be a little hard to take for you Big People.  That's why I'm bringing you what I like to call my Winter SurTHRIVEal tips! 

One of the keys to stayin' happy in the dark days of winter is to get enough sunlight.  Sometimes, that's easier said than done, when the skies are gray.  There are some really nice LED lamps you can get, and they aren't even very expensive.  Sometimes, ya just need to turn on the light and let it shine!

Next, ya gotta warm yourself from the inside out.  In my opinion, nothing does this better than hot cocoa with marshmallows or whipped cream outta the spray-can.  That's high living right there!  Enjoy hot cocoa early and often!

Another strategy I use is warm-n-fuzzy blankets.  Wrap up in a warm-n-fuzzy blanket.  Throw another one over your lap when you're sittin' down.  Snuggle up and snuggle in!  And ketchup on all your favorite shows!  My favorite right now is Miles from Tomorrowland, but you feel free to substitute your favorite for mine.  No hard feelings!

You have a choice this winter, Big People!  You can let winter beat you, you can merely survive, or you can surTHRIVE!  I think that with some quality self-care, you can definitely surTHRIVE!  You bet!  I love ya lots, Friends, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

No Pulp!

This is a PSA telling you that pulp doesn't belong in orange juice, because it tastes like lint!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Dang Ol' Friday to ya!

Well, ya know, Friends, I am something of a bon vivant, a lover of life, and an admirer of the Finer Things in Life.

Now, one of the finer things in life is definitely NOT pulp in orange juice.  I go around and around like a merry-go-round (one of the definite finer things in life!) with Mommy about this matter.

When I was a younger Little Kid, I called the pulp that would errantly wind up in my orange juice "lint," on accounta it feels like lint in my mouth. 

Yuckaroni!

I don't care if you like lint in your orange juice, Big People, but if I'm enjoyin' orange juice with ya, ya better make sure there's a strainer nearby.  Also, you just shouldn't drink orange juice with lint.  You shouldn't hafta chew your drink in the morning!

This has been a Public Service Announcement from your pal Zoe.  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Zoe's Kindness Initiative!

Smiles are like boomerangs!  The more ya throw, the more ya get back!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, yesterday I talked a little about my Kindness Initiative, where I'm makin' sure I do my part to brighten the day of everyone I meet, and today, I wanna talk a little more about that!

You see, I'm learnin' that every time I interact with another person, it can either be positive and enrich and enhappy us both, or it can be miserable and negative.  I can't be perfect every time I'm talkin' to someone else, and neither can you, but I do know that I can certainly do my best.

So in my Kindness Initiative, I strive to be courteous, cooperative, and kind.  If I'm in a grouchy mood and I wanna let someone have it, I am trying to really think about if that person has anything to do with me bein' in a grouchy mood.  If not, then I will still try to be courteous, cooperative, and kind, even though I might not be cheerful. 

You can be courteous without bein' cheerful, so havin' a bad day isn't an excuse to be a jerk, you know? 

And if it turns out that they DO have something to do with your bad day, there's a way to address that without bein' a jerk, too.  There's a trick to it that I'm gonna work on masterin' in 2017. 

We all need a little kindness, Friends.  I wanna see more kindness.  I will be the change I wanna see in the world, Friends.  I hope you'll join me!

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

Guess What Day It Will Be In Eleven Months!

I told ya I'd be talkin' about this today, Big People!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Wednesday to you!  If I were my pal Joe the Camel, that would be the end of my question, because his favorite day of the week is Wednesday! 

But MY question is Guess What Day It Will Be Eleven Months From Today!  Do ya know?

Of course you know.  CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!

Last night, I spoke on the telephone with my pal Santa Claus, who's wrappin' up his annual post-Christmas vacation in Hawaii, and he said he's all rested and rejuvenated from Christmas 2016 and is ready to get started gearing up for this year's Big Holiday.

He wanted me to tell ya to make sure you're on the "nice" list.  He said he let a lotta things slide in '16, on accounta it bein' a year where emotions ran high, but he says in 2017, he wants everybody to focus on bein' the kindest versions of themselves, and to make bein' considerate fashionable again.  I think it's solid advice from my pal Santa. 

For my part, I have been making sure that I smile and wave and carry on a brief but friendly conversation with every waiter, waitress, hostess, server, busperson, cashier, clerk, and attendant I meet.  People can get pretty quick with these folks, and I wanna do my best to brighten their days, you know?  I will also be expanding my kindness initiative to include everybody I meet!

Except maybe Pidgie McDougall, my sworn nemesis.  I'm not sayin' I'll be unkind to Pidgie, it's just that as much as I get a kick outta bein' kind, Pidgie likes to get people all stirred up, and it makes me feel all uneasy when I'm around people like that.  So I'll just mind my own never-mind when it comes to Pidgie McDougall. 

Everybody else, though, you're gonna have kindness dropped on ya, if I run into ya, so pass it on!  I love ya lots, Friends!  I'll see ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

Just a Friendly Reminder

I've already started Christmas Wishlist 2017.

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Well, ya know, it is Tuesday, the Twenty-Fourth, and as ya also know, if you've been followin' along with me for any amount of time, on the Twenty-Fourth of each month, I give ya a reminder of our proximity to Christmas Eve.

I know you Big People get a little skinny around the nose about this, especially on this January Twenty-Fourth.  I know it.  This isn't my first parade lap around the sun, writin' this web log for your entertainment and educational enrichment.  But because you're Big People, you understand that sometimes, you just hafta hear things you really would rather not think about. 

So here is the Status Report for Tuesday, January Twenty-Fourth, Two-Thousand Seventeen.  We are currently eleven months away from Christmas Eve, so it's a good time to start makin' any homemade Christmas presents you might be inclined to make with your own two hands, especially if those Christmas presents are something like sweaters or anything that takes a little bit of time.  We all know that you'll start out full-force, and then by May or June, you'll put it down for a little bit, and then remember in September or October that you've gotta get crackalackin' on finishin' that present.

It's best just to give yourself a good head start by startin' out today, Friends.  You'll thank me in eleven months for this advice.

Also, as a Little Kid, one of my Christmastide duties includes crafting a thoughtful, diverse, interesting Wish List comprised of presents from a large cross-section of genres and price-points.  Thanks to the advertisements on Disney, Junior, I have taken my own advice and started on my Christmas Wishlist 2017.  I will thank me later.  You BET I will!

So, Friends, there's always something to do, so we all better just get grackalackin' on doin' those things.  Whatever they happen to be for you.  I love ya lots, and I'll be back tomorrow with another Status Report, mmmkay?  Muah!

One, Two, Three, It's Monday As Can Be!

Today, I am one step closer to the Weekend!

Hiya, Big People!  Well, it's Monday all over again, isn't it?

It's also another one of those Math Days you know I just love.  Today is the Twenty-Third, so it's one-two-three!  How about that?!

I guess I'm not so upset about it bein' Monday as I usually am, on accounta my Daddy's away at a big continuing education for the whole entire week.  Mommy and I took him to the airport on Saturday morning, and we get to pick him up next Saturday night! 

So my weekend didn't really feel like a weekend as much as it felt like one really long day where Daddy's at work.

That's no fun.

It's all gonna be okay, though.  Even if we're supposed to get a lotta snow later on today.  So long as the weather on Saturday doesn't get all boogered up, I shall not complain, even though sometimes, complainin' is my favorite.

Friends, it is DEFINITELY as Monday as can be today, but we'll all make the most of it, won't we?  I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Oopsies.

Sometimes I gotta just take a step back and put on my cutest smile, Friends.

Hiya, Friends!  It's me, your pal Zoe on this Sunday!

Well, ya know, I am a kid who feels all the feels, and when I do, I put all the strength and volume and noise of the feels behind the feels I feel.  Sometimes, I'm shoutin' about how I feel, before I really even have sorted out how I feel!

As you can imagine, this can create some situations rife with awkwardness, especially when I've demonstrated I'm MAD!!! and realized there was no reason to be so MAD!!! just as it's being pointed out to me by one of my resident Grown-Ups that there was no reason to be so MAD!!!  And by "awkwardness," I mean that such things land me in big trouble, you know?

Do you know what I do after sucha situation?  Well, I'm gonna tell ya!

What I do is I get very meek and most importantly, cute.  I pull out all my adorable stops and remind Mommy and Daddy just how adorable I am, and I hope that it helps 'em forget I just yelled at 'em over nothing at all.  It works for me about fifty percent of the time. 

Friends, we all have our moments of bein' Human, and I'm no exception. 

I love ya lots, and I'll be back to see ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

TigerBaby Returns!

I guess I've grown a little bit since I wore this costume last.

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, ya know, back when I was younger, I was known as a TigerBaby.  It was such a part of my personal identity that I even dressed up as a tiger for Halloween when I was two!

The costume I'm wearing in today's picture is that costume.

The funny thing about growing is that I don't realize I'm even doing it until I try putting on a pair of shoes I wore when I was younger, or I use the BabyLegs I used to get away with wearing as a stand-in for pants with a Onesie as 1980s-style legwarmers or even sleeve-extenders on my arms.  Those things usedta be BIG on me!

But the thing that really drove home how far I've come since the year 2013 is puttin' on that TigerBaby costume.  That usedta fit me big, too.  They legs were too long for me on it.  Now, the paws just cover my knees.  Wowzers!

I'm still the TigerBaby, Friends.  I'm just a lot bigger now.  I love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

I LOVE the '80s!

I'm a New Century Kid in love with the 1980s!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday to you!

Well, ya know, I am fascinated by all things from a long time ago, like the 1980s.  I have loved 1980s dance music ever since I was a baby. 

And 1980s Hair?!  Oh my goodness, Friends, it was AMAZING!  The spiral perms!  The mile-high bangs!  The asymmetrical hair cuttings!  Friends, for the life of me, I cannot get over the bigness of it!

Now, if you've been followin' along with my budding career as a makeup artist, you know that I am highly inspired by 1980s makeup.  I cannot think of one decade that was friendlier to blue eyeshadow and glittery lipgloss than the 1980s.  Can you, Friends?  I bet you can't!  Not, at least with blue eyeshadow and glittery lipgloss on the same face on the same day!

As you can guess from the makeup alone, the 1980s are my kind of decade!

But there was so much else going on in the 1980s.  The clothes fascinate me, with all that neon and black together.  It POPPED!  Accessories and shoulder pads better have gone big, or gone home! 

The toys were really something to behold, too.  This is my specialty, I think.  Knowin' all about 1980s toys.  I get to play with Mommy and Aunt Colleen's toys from the 1980s.  Toys from today are great, but toys from the 1980s were RAD.  For instance, I've seen Teddy Ruxpin in action, with my own two eyes.  In a time before Furby, Teddy Ruxpin was a brilliant animatronic bear whose mouth and eyes moved as he sang wonderful, relaxing songs.  80s kids had Popples that were weird little creatures with no antecedent in nature, and then they'd fold into themselves and turn into wonderfully weird little plush balls.  And I'm not even getting into the Cabbage Patch or Pound Puppies or My Child dolls.  Baby Kickie could SWIM, and also, her hair could be long, but you could crank her arm and make her hair short again, and then make her raise her hand and her hair would grow.

Wouldn't THAT be a handy talent to have, Friends?

Anyways, I guess you could surmise that I LOVE the '80s.

And I love you too, Friends!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

My Partner in Shine!

Eleven months from now, me and the Christmas Tree will once again be Partners in Shine!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, about a month back, the Christmas Tree and I had a power struggle over who was the shimmeriest and shiniest.  The Christmas Tree was certainly a sight to behold.  It had big, bright lights that changed every color of the rainbow and put on lots of different light shows for us.  It also was fulla beautiful ornaments!

But.  The Christmas Tree was only up for a month and a half.  I've gotta be up and sparkly and shiny for the whole entire year.  I'm in it for the long haul.  My shimmer is a marathon, whereas the Christmas Tree's is just a sprint.  A dash, maybe.

With that bein' said, I do miss the Christmas tree bein' up and lendin' its bright, beautiful light to us.  I don't mind sharin' the sparkle spotlight with such a worthy partner in shine!

Friends, I'll see ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Tune In, Tune Out!

I'm a kid these days, and MY music isn't awful, so there!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Wednesday to you!

Well, ya know, I am a musical appreciator.  I love music.  I've loved music ever since I can remember. 

And sometimes, whenever I'm havin't a dang ol' Day, the only thing I can do is tune in to my music and tune out of the rest of the world. 

You know how it is, Friends.  Some days, you have a lotta noise going on inside your head, and you could deal with that, except there's a lotta noise goin' on outside your head, too.  Folks yellin' atchya.  Dog barkin'.  Just awful stuff bein' reported on the news.

That's when I clap my earphones over my ears and start listening to my music.  It silences all the noises outside my head and keeps the noises in my head contained, so I can deal with 'em.  Sometimes, I like to think of the music as a force-field between my thoughts and the world.  It protects both of those things from each other.

So I'm havin' that kinda day today, Friends.  I'm gonna go and listen to my music.  I'll ketchup with ya tomorrow. I love ya lots, Friends!  Muah!

I Don't Want That!

Stop askin' me what I want for supper!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Well, I'll tell ya something.  It makes me very, very angry when Mommy asks me what we oughtta have for supper.  It just makes me so mad!

She asks me if I want spaghetti, and I say "NO!"

She asks if I want hamburgers, and I say "Definitely not!"

Maybe we oughtta have fish or soup or chili?

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!"

One time, Mommy asked me if I wanted ice cream for supper, so I said "Yes!"  Who wouldn't want ice cream for supper?  Why would she even hafta ask me that?

Well, as it turns out, she was just seein' if I knew how to say anything besides "NO!"  And that was rude.

So now I rebel.  No matter what Mommy makes for dinner, I don't like it.  If it was ice cream, maybe I'd change my tune.  But it's the principal of the thing, you know?

When you're five, the struggle is real. Don't you forget that, Friends.  I know you understand.  I'll see ya tomorrow.

It's Monday All Over Again!

I don't even know where the weekend went!

Hiya, Friends!

Well, I don't know how it happened, but it's Monday again already.

Seems like just yesterday morning, I woke the heck up and it was Friday.  Fridays are great, because the Weekend hasn't happened yet.  So it was like gettin' slapped in the face with a thick slabba salami when I woke up and realized that it's Monday today. 

I figured maybe it was Sunday today.  Nope.

Oh, well, Friends.  I'll make the best of this Monday.  I hope you do, too.  After all, even though we're startin' a new week, the upside to this downside is that at the end of it, there'll be another whole weekend to enjoy.

I love ya lots, Friends, and I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Make the most of this Monday, mmmkay?  Muah!

Standin' In the Hall of Fame

There's power in music, Friends!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you!

Well, ya know, there's a song that makes me feel fierce and brave every time I hear it.  It's about bein' the greatest, bein' the best, and bein' King Kong bangin' on my chest!

It's called "Hall of Fame." 

I first heard "Hall of Fame" on a commercial on the Disney Channel during one of my Star Wars shows.  The commercial encourages princesses like me to dream big while playin' the song in the background.

The next time I heard the song, it was during a hockey game.  I think the commercial was either encouragin' hockey fans to dream big, or encouragin' hockey players to play like they wanna be in the Hall of Fame someday.  I don't know.  I really only tuned into that commercial to listen to the song.

But now I own a digital copy of the song, all of my own, and I can play it whenever I want, whenever I need to feel brave and fierce.

Friends, I don't know if you know this or not, but there is some serious power in music.  I've hooked into that power, and I hope you can, too!

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

Be The Rainbow!

My mood improved 80% when I put on these rainbow pants!

Hiya, Friends!

Well, ya know, there's this candy that has a tagline that says "Taste the Rainbow!"  It's a good candy.  I like it.  But that's not what I'm gonna talk about today.

Nope!

I'm here to talk about what to do when you're feelin' kinda drab and gray and rainy.  When ya need a rainbow, and there isn't one around, sometimes, you've gotta BE the rainbow!

Sometimes, this is easier said than done, and I get it, Big People.  I appreciate that.  So in those times, you've gotta be extra-kind to yourself.  Maybe treat yourself to a little something nice, or tasty, or maybe you gotta wear something that just makes ya smile.

That's where my rainbow pants I'm wearing in today's picture come in!  Friends, I've found that I just cannot be sad when my eyes are dancin', and these rainbow pants definitely make my eyes dance.  After a while of my eyes dancin', my feet start to dancin'. 

And here's the kicker.  When ya see a pair of legs all decked out in rainbow stripes, and they're DANCIN', and your eyes are dancin' and you see these crazy legs dancin'... well, long story short, you're pretty much gonna hafta wanna laugh, and I highly recommend goin' for it!

You'll start to feel better already.  I know I did!

Hey.  I love ya lots, Big People!  I really do!  I'm gonna letchya get on with your Saturday, and I'll come ketchup with ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

It's Friday the Thirteenth!

You know what is definitely bad luck?  Ridin' your bike off the couch!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday the Thirteenth to you!

Well, ya know, some people believe that Friday the Thirteenth is Bad Luck.  I just cannot subscribe to that.

Wanna know why?  It's because everything else people say is bad luck has turned out to not be bad luck. 

Black cats?  Well, my pal Buddy Cat is a black cat, and he has some of the best luck of anyone I know, and also, he shares his good luck!

Standin' underneath a ladder?  Please!  It isn't something smart to do, probably, especially if someone is paintin' up on toppa the ladder.  But it isn't bad luck.

Breakin' a mirror?  I'd say that happens because of bad luck, but that the breakin' of the mirror does not cause bad luck.  It's just an unfortunate thing that happens.

I can tell ya something that I experienced myself that IS truly, truly bad luck, but it was of my own doing.  That is ridin' a bike off the couch.  You do that, and you're gonna run yourself into some back luck.

So there ya go, Friends!  Just don't do stupid stuff, and Friday the Thirteenth won't bug ya!

I love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

Keep Your Head Warm!

Your head is the chimney to your body!  Keep that heat in with a HAT!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Thursday to you!

Given that this is the warmest day we've had in a little while, you might find my subject matter a little odd, but bear with me, please!

You see, while it's warm and rainy today, tomorrow, we're s'posedta be right back into the icy cold wintry temperatures Winter is famous for, so I wanna hafta talk to ya today about a great way you can stay warmer this winter.

Put a lid on it!  Cap it off!  Wear a hat!

Did you even know that your head is the chimney for your body?  Well, maybe that isn't exactly true.  But think of your head like this.  You know how, in the winter, ya close up all the windows in your house, and make sure ya close up the doors when you leave or come into your house?  Ya might even put up draperies over windows and close up rooms ya don't use?  You know you you do all those things, Friends? 

Of course ya do!  Well, it's because it doesn't take much exposure to cold air to turn the warm air in your house to cold air, ya know?

So even though ya might not necessarily lose more heat through your head in the winter than ya do through other parts of your body, thing of it is, if you're all nice and covered up in boots, pants, mittens, coat, and scarf, and yet your head is uncovered, that's kinda like leavin' your bedroom window gaping open!  Your head's exposed to that cold air, and you bet it's gonna wick away your body heat out your head, whether you want it to or not!

So that's why I'm tellin' you to put a hat on!  It'll keep ya warmer.  It'll keep your hair from blowin' all over the place.  A hat is like a nicey warm hug for your head! 

Friends, even though it's warm and rainy today, tomorrow it will not be, so get crackalackin' on findin' a head-covering you like and will wear!  Zoe loves ya healthy!

I love ya lots, Friends!  I'll see ya tomorrow, when we're back to Winter!  Muah!

Dang Ol' Triple-Ones!

I think that Eleventy-One is one of my fravrite numbers!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

Well, ya know, today is January Eleventh, or 01-11 if ya write your date in numbers insteadda words!

I like dates with catchy numbers such as today... the day of the dang ol' Triple-Ones! 

I think that if a person was to start up a ranch, they could call it the Triple-One Ranch and brand all their carrots they'd ranch with three vertical lines.  That way, if any of the carrots wandered away, they'd be easily identifiable from amongst all the other ranches' carrots, such as the Lazy River Ranch or the Sidewinder Ranch. 

Another way to say One-Eleven is by callin' it Eleventy-One, like the hobbits do.  This is my favorite way to talk about One-Eleven.  I think those hobbits have a pretty great outlook and philosophy for life, over-all, but that's a talk for another day.

Finally, what I find fascinating about the number 111 is that even though it looks as though the only way to multiply whole numbers and arrive at 111 is to use all ones (111x1), you actually can get to 111 by takin' three groups of 37 and makin' 'em all into one big group.  Isn't that fascinating?  Take a buncha bendy numbers like 3s and 7s, and ya come up with an elegant number like 111.

This is a marvelous day to be alive and a marvelous day to contemplate the wonders and mysterious mysteries of mathematics, Friends!  I love ya lots, and I'll ketchup with ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

If Ya Don't Have a Brown Swiss Cow...

When you're talkin' about chocolate in milk, more is better!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to ya!

Well, ya know, since I've been rantin' about beverages and the cups they come in, today I wanna talk to ya about how to make the best chocolate milk.

This, of course, is assuming that you don't have access to a herd of Brown Swiss Cows, which everybody knows is the gold-standard source of chocolate milk.  Brown Swiss Cows just naturally produce the BEST chocolate milk, without any human intervention.  It's just the right amount of creamy, with the proper amount of chocolate whipped in.  And, as everyone also knows about Brown Swiss Cows, you can separate the heaviest cream offa the toppa the milk, churn it, and have yourself a block of cocoa-butter.

Anyways, not everybody has access to a herd of Brown Swiss Cows.  You might only have access to cows that give plain ol' white milk, and that's okay, because it's easy to make chocolate milk at home, with plain ol' white milk and some chocolate syrup.  The only time you should use powdered chocolate to make chocolate milk is if you're campin' or something, or are otherwise hard-up for chocolate syrup.  Because the worst thing ever is chuggin' along on your chocolate milk and comin' across a powdery pocket of NesQuik that didn't get mixed in good enough!

So whatchya do is pour some two-percent or full-octane milk, how ever much ya want, and then squirt in a whole big globba chocolate syrup.  More is better.  Use a blender or a shaker-bottle and blend it until there's a whole buncha little bubbles on top.  Then you can drink it out of the shaker-bottle or put it in a glass.

Here's where I wanna address a chocolate milk memory I treasure.  When I went to the dang ol' Red Lobster recently, I ordered chocolate milk, and I'm sure they followed the above-referenced instructions for makin' the chocolate milk.  But then they went a coupla miles farther on the Milky Way and lined my glass with chocolate syrup swizzles before they poured in my perfectly-blended chocolate milk!

I was in Milk Chocolate Heaven, Friends!

When you're talkin' about chocolate in chocolate milk, more is always better!  Write it down!  Live it!

I'll see ya tomorrow, Friends!  I sure love ya lots!  Muah!

No Lint in My Juice!

Orange juice that's smooth and juicy is my favorite!

And while we're on the topic of beverages, Big People, lemme wanna hafta use this Monday to talk to you about the controversial topic of lint in orange juice!

You know what lint is!  It's that stuff that floats around in your orange juice.  It's just the worst stuff.  It's like pieces of orange-flavored rice floating around in your beverage.  And no amount of filtering it through your teeth is gonna help it, because it doesn't change the fact that there's LINT IN THE ORANGE JUICE!!!

Needless to say, I hate lint in my orange juice. 

Thing of it is, when I order orange juice in restaurants, it's a tossup, whether or not there'll be lint in the orange juice they trot out.  Sometimes, it's nice and smooth and juicy, which is the way I like it!  And other times, the juice is thick with lint!  BLAHHH! 

Sometimes, this variation occurs from visit to visit at the same restaurant!

Friends, there's no place for lint in orange juice!  It's my belief that all lint should be strained out before it's served!  And the proof is that if they bring ya the orange juice in a sippy cup with those little tiny holes in the top for drinking through, the lint will plug up those little tiny sippin' holes in the sippy cup.  And then there's no drinkin' the juice!

Stand with me, Friends, and just say NO WAY to lint in your orange juice!

I Am Not A Sippy Cup Kinda Gal

Gettin' a sippy cup in the restaurant made me feel like less of a grownup.

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday, Sunday, Sunday to you!

Well, ya know, I pride myself on my grown-upness, and it makes me feel like a Big Cheese when grownups notice how grown-up I am.

On a recent trip to a dining establishment with my Big People, I was given chocolate milk... in a sippy cup.  A sippy cup with a lion on the side and a sippy lid and everything.

Now, there was a day when gettin' a sippy cup woulda been a huge compliment to me, but as it turns out this time, it was not a huge compliment.

You see, it made me feel like less of a grownup, receiving that sippy cup.  I thought maybe if they'd brought me one with an elephant on the side, I woulda been okay, but if I'm bein' honest with myself and you, it's not the picture on the side of the sippy cup.  It's the sippy cup itself.  Just the whole thing.  It's hard to take someone seriously when they're drinkin' out of a sippy lid.

I guess what really hurt me most is that I ordered my chocolate milk myself, and looked the waitress right in the eye when I did, and I said please and thank-you.  Does a Little Kid who drinks from a sippy cup do that?!

Okay, maybe I did do just that, when I was in the sippy cup stage.  But I'll tell ya what.  When I got to the Texas Hot in Downtown Wellsville, they've brought me a real big person glass of chocolate milk for a while now.  With a straw and glass glass.  They know how to make a Little Kid feel like a grown-up Big Cheese there!

Oh well, Friends.  What choice do I have but to rise above this sippy cup slight?  I think therein lies the proof that I have left the Sippy Cup Set far, far behind me in my rearview mirror.

I love ya lots, Friends, and I'll see ya tomorrow. You're the best.  Muah!

Superhero Sundae

I don't care if it DOES look like Play-Doh; eatin' Superhero Sundae makes me feel like a hero!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, ya know, I am a connoisseur of ice creams, and when I find one I really like for whatever reason, I am an enthusiastic ambassador for that ice cream!

Now, it's easy to love Black Cherry and Butter Pecan.  Chocolate, of course.  Rocky Road...

It is NOT, however, so easy to convince the Big People in my life that the brightly-colored Superhero Sundae is the height of delicious.  Daddy says that it looks like somebody mixed up a buncha different Play-Doh colors, and it doesn't sound like he means that like a compliment.  And he won't even hear about the deliciousness of the bubblegum flavoring.

I tell Daddy that perhaps he isn't the intended audience for such deliciousness.  He contends that nobody should be the intended audience for bubblegum-flavored, brightly-colored ice cream, because such things are an abomination.

I just think that people forget how to be fun, once they grow up, and that's reflected in their less-than-interesting tastes in ice cream.  I'm not tryin' to pick a fight with any of ya, Friends.  I'm just making an observation.

Anyways, I'm gonna go enjoy some Superhero Sundae.  I don't care if I'm the only one who likes it.  That means there's more for me!  You go eat your Plain Milk flavored ice cream, or whatever it is you like.  I love ya just the same, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Karaoke Party!

All I need is a microphone and a great instrumental track, and I'll be a STAR!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday to you!

Well, ya know, at St. Laffalotatus- Mercy-Mercy Hospital, where I am a Doctor of Humorous Healing, we like to celebrate the small things and the big things, and today's no exception!

Today, we're celebrating the First Friday of the New Year, and to do so, we're havin' a hospital-wide karaoke party!

Back when I was a Little Kid and didn't know any better, like a month ago or so, I thought Karaoke was a new hospital employee named Carrie Oakey.  So the last time we had a Karaoke Party, I had banners made, and ordered balloons and confetti and cake to welcome Carrie Oakey.

Imagine how embarrassed I was to find out that there's no person named Carrie Oakey, and even if there were, she doesn't work at St. Laffalotatus- Mercy-Mercy Hospital.

Oopsies.

Now I know what Karaoke is all about, and I am AMAZING at it!  All I need is a microphone and a great instrumental track, and I am off to the races! 

I better go warm up my voice, Friends!  Do some scales and some tongue-twisters and such, so I can really shine when it's my turn to sing at the karaoke party!  It really lifts the spirits!

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

Mini-Makeup Artist, Maximum Makeup Artistry!

Maybe I'm born with it... maybe it's my marvelous makeup kit!

Hiya, Big People!

Well, ya know, a few weeks back, I was given the gift of a makeup kit.  It's a beautiful rainbow train-case with a rainbow of makeup colors inside!

Of course, there are peachy-pinks and subdued siennas, but what really draws my eyes and my makeup brushes to it is the bright blue eyeshadow.  The bright pink blush.  The glittery red mascara.  The shiny pink lip gloss.

Friends, if you're gonna go to all the trouble to put on a face of makeup, my belief is that you oughtta go all the way and apply the brightest, most vibrant colors you can, so people know you did your makeup!

Blending and blending your hard work away so you look "natural" is the olden days way of doing things.  If I have anything to say about the Future of Makeup, it'll be make it as obvious as possible!  Let that color announce itself and speak for ya!

I have some practicin' to do, Friends!  But I'll see ya tomorrow!  I love ya lots!  Muah!

The Christmas Tree-n-Me!

The tree is so pretty and shiny, and I'm having trouble letting go of it!

Hiya, Friends!

Well, even though Christmas was a week and a half ago, my Christmas tree is still up.  This does not make me feel like an underachieving loser.  On the contrary, it makes me so happy.

You see, I love my Christmas tree.  There are so many lights on it.  Mommy lets me pick what colors the lights are going to be, and I always pick some kind of rainbow light show.  Seems to me the Christmas lights could just stay up, flashing their colorful and non-holiday-specific lights at the living room, indefinitely.  I think that would just be wonderful!

Alas, though, I understand we'll be taking down the tree and packing the lights away for another year this weekend.  I suppose it's gotta be done, so that the Christmas tree feels special when we get it back out and decorated at the end of November.  I suppose the lights could use an eleven-month rest after working around the clock during the Christmas Season.

But I'm not gonna lie, Friends.  I'm havin' a hard time letting go.  The older I get, the more I understand why you Big People wish you could just stop time every once in a while. 

Anyways, I'm gonna go enjoy the Christmas tree today, while it's still up and shining and glittering all its bright colors.  I'll figure out a way to sparkle up the rest of the month, but for right now, I wanna get my eyes fulla those Christmas lights, so I can keep the Christmas spirit in my heart until the Christmas season rolls around again. 

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

Congratulations, Me!

I posted a post every day last year!  How about that?

Well, hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you!

So!  How's it goin'?  How's Two-Thousand Seventeen treatin' ya?

I'll tell ya what I've been up to, Friends.  I've been lookin' at my sidebar, where it shows how many posts I post each month.  Something I learned that I did in 2016 is that I posted a post here on the dang ol' The Daily Zoe Blog every single day last year, even Leap Day!  So I have 366 posts from last year that I did!

Mystifying!

It seems like quite an accomplishment.  I know that some days, I have more to say than I do on other days, but it really makes every day, when I know I've stopped in to check on you, and when you've stopped in to check on me. 

So I'm gonna try to make sure I finish 2017 in the same fashion.  With a post every day.  I'm going to Kindergarten in the fall.  There's lots of new and unknown things I'll be doing, Friends.  But right now, I'm gonna set out to try to look in on ya every day.  That's my goal.  No sense of me gettin' too far ahead of myself, you know?  That just seems like a good way to make myself all jumpy and nervous and fulla anxiety.  Nobody likes to be like that!

Well, really, none of us knows what the year is gonna bring for any of us!  We can think we know.  We can have a plan.  And then everything can just go all floopedy-doopity on ya and change everything.  One day at a time, one post at a time.  That's how I'm gonna approach this New Year and all the New Unknown Things I'll be experiencin'!

Anyways, Friends, I'll definitely see ya tomorrow!  I love ya right to pieces!  You be good, mmmkay?  Muah!

Stars!

My entertainment's written in the stars!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you!

Well, ya know, I think I pretty much have a thing for stars and programs about them.  Of course, I've been watching Miles from Tomorrowland since it came out in the Disney Channel.  It's about a family of star explorers.  And of course, I like Jet, Set, Go! on PBS.  That's a neat show.

I think where I really decided that I'm a fan of the stars is a galaxy far, far away.  Star Wars.  I've seen ALL the movies.  The original trilogy, the prequels, and Episode Seven.  I've seen Rogue One.  I watch Star Wars Lego Freemakers, and Star Wars Rebels.  I watch the Droid stories.

And.  Yesterday, I watched the Star Trek Voyager marathon!  I love Star Trek, too!  How about that?!

So, Friends, my entertainment is written in the stars.  That's something!

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

Happy New Year, Friends!

Live from the Future, it's your pal Zoe!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you! 

Well, here we are in 2017!  Can ya believe it? 
You might have noticed that I got to you five hours early today, right at the stroke of midnight!  I wanted to be the first to say HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! to ya!

Boyo boy.  2017!  I'd ask ya what your New Years Resolutions are, but that really isn't my style.  I'm a livin' in the moment kinda gal.

But I can tell ya some big things I'm gonna do this year in my life.  First off, I'll probably lose a couple more teeth.  I'm gonna visit Wisconsin in the summer.  I start kindergarten in the fall.  I'll be turnin' six.

It's gonna be a busy year!  Things will change a lot, but I'm not gonna get ahead of myself and get my stomach all tied up in knots about it!

One thing I definitely resolve NOT to do is ride my bike off the couch and break my arm again.  That is something I've done in 2016, and I do NOT want to do it again this year!

Friends, it's New Year!  I hope ya have a happy one.  Usually when I sign off my blog posts, I'm off to do big, excitin' things during the day, but since it's midnight, and I got to stay up to watch the New Year roll in, I've gotta tell ya, I'm headin' to bed.  I'm probably gonna start the New Year off, sleepin' right the heck in a little bit.  That's okay.  You probably oughtta get yourself to bed, too.  Get some rest. 

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