Your Monday Pep Talk!

You can do this, Big People!  You're in charge!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday!

Well, ya know, I get it that you don't really like Mondays, Friends.  Mondays can jolt ya from the pleasantude of a wonderful weekend.  But let's put a different frame on this thing. 

Mondays are the gateway to a brand new week.  It's an opportunity for excellence, if you think about it, Friends! 

You know, another word for "Big" is "Large," and "large" rhymes with "in-charge."  So that means that you're Large and In-Charge, Big People! 

You are Large and In-Charge, Friends!  And today is Just Monday!

You've got this, Big People!  Go out this week and take this opportunity to be excellent!  Muah!

The Fung Shui of Play!

The chi flows much more freely through my swingset now!

Hiya, Big People!  How are you this super-Sunday?  I'm doin' GREAT! 

Well, ya know, yesterday, I got to lookin' at my dang ol' swingset, and decided it could use a change of positioning.  It's been in the same spot in the yard since I was three years old. 

Not that there's anything wrong with that or anything.  I mean, I enjoyed lookin' out over the Township Building when I'd swing.  Nothin' wrong with that!

But I felt as though the energy of the universe could flow better through my swingset, and by extension, through me as I play on my swingset, so when Daddy moved the swingset yesterday so it could be mowed around, I seized the opportunity to change things the heck right up!

I liked the way the swingset was aligned with the house, as it sat out of the way of the lawn-mower.  Before, it was situated so I could face either west or east as I was on the swing, harnessing the power of the sunrise and sunset.  However, now I can swing with the power of the north or south winds.  Just that little change makes me feel even more powerful as I play. 

I'm not sayin' I won't ever move my swingset back to facing east and west, but for right now, I'm enjoyin' a different Fung Shui of Play!

So if you're ever feelin' like you're stuck in a rut, just change things up a little bit!  You'll be glad ya did!

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

I Am A Kindergartener-in-Waiting!

Kindergartener-in-Waiting, right here!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, ya know, Thursday morning, I watched as the big yella school-bus made its stop at the bus-stop in town, and then I watched as it pulled away, and I realized that the next morning that big yella school-bus rolls up into the Bing, that'll be MY school-bus!

I'm excited, Friends.  I really am.  There's gonna be classrooms fulla kids for me to make friends with.  There are miles of book-shelves.  Tubs of clay.  A whole ROOM dedicated to art, and another to musics.

I know I'm gonna have my share of ups and downs, but so long as my overall trend is up, it's all gonna be good.  I am READY for school!

This year has been a whole big year of changes, Big People.  There've been a lot of things that I was used to seein' and bein' and doin' and knowin', my whole entire life, and it's all different.  The first halfa Twenty-Seventeen hasn't all been fun and games for me, you know, Friends.  There's been a lotta fun, don't get me wrong, but I've had my moments where I've thought I'd never not cry again.

That's how I know I'm really, really ready to make the transition from Preschooler to Kindergartener-in-Waiting, Friends.  Since 2017 started, I've done a lot of things I thought I'd never be able to do.  I'm older, wiser, maybe not as completely happy as I usedta be, but I'm resilient.  This summer's gonna be an adventure.  Kindergarten's gonna be an adventure.

And I'm ready!

Happy National Donut Day!

It's the most wonderful day of the first week of June!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday, and HAPPY DANG OL' DONUT DAY!!!

As you know, donuts are a big part of my life.  Donuts and I go WAY BACK, and I am so happy that there's a whole day that honors the donut and Donutkind!

I won't keep ya long on a wondrous day such as this, Friends.  You need to get to a donut place, get yourself a boxa donuts, a big cuppa beverage, and celebrate dang ol' National Donut Day!  Get enough to share with your friends! 

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

Flip That Calendar!

It's New Month!  How about that?! 

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, it's the first of June today, and that means that if ya didn't get to flippin' your calendar over to New Month as part of your New Month's Eve festivities last night, you better get crackalackin' on changin' your calendars from May to June today.

Why?  Because June is a busy month, if you're anything like me.  It's fulla parties, trips, appointments, and other special things.  You need to keep on toppa all that, and there's no better way than by consulting your calendar.

Maybe you have your calendar on your mobile telephone, and that's great!  That means the phone flipped your calendar for you! 

In any case, it's now a brand new month, like a piece of blank paper, just waitin' to be drawn all over!  Make your picture for June 2017 pretty and full! 

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

Happy New Month's Eve!

Just think of me as the Make Your Holiday Girl!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

Well, ya know, we've come to the end of another month, haven't we?  And as we're sittin' here on this Wednesday with Memorial Day in our rear-view mirror and utterly surrounded by no holiday to celebrate today, I've got one for ya!

It's New Month's Eve!  How about that?!

The ways we should celebrate New Month's Eve are by eatin' delicious foods, maybe havin' a balloon-drop with confetti, and definitely a ceremonial Flippin' of the Calendar to Next Month, mmmkay?!

Since I'm a Little Kid, I'm all about celebratin' the little holidays, even if I've gotta make 'em up myself! 

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

I Like My Marshmellas Rare!

I like my roasted marshmellas without any pesky golden-brownness!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Well, ya know, it was a wonderful, long weekend.  I loved every minute of it! 

One of the most notable things about this weekend is that for the first time ever in my life is that I got to roast marshmellas all by myself, with no grown-up intervention.  I had my own stick, and my own spot at the fire, and I learned something about myself.

I learned that I really like my roasted marshmellas rare.  I stick 'em in the fire just long enough to heat 'em up, but not to impart any of that pesky golden-brownness or bubbles or caramelization the Grownups like. I wouldn't have known this, if the Big People in my life were still cookin' my marshmellas for me!

So even though I'm talkin' about marshmellas today, I feel like a Really Big Cheese, now that I know I like my roasted marshmellas rare!

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

Have A Good Memorial Day

Land of the Free, Because of the Brave!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you! 

More importantly, it's Memorial Day.  It's a day when we remember the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for our country and our way of life. 

I'm not gonna tell ya how to spend today, Big People.  I'm gonna think of and remember the people who have sacrificed so we can live in a place where we can expect to be safe, and free.  I'm also gonna celebrate with my family and friends. 

But when I feel the breeze blow, and when I feel the warm sunshine on my face, I'll remember those brave people, because they're in the breeze, and they're in those warm rays of the sun.  They're in every flag, in the red and white stripes and the blue field and the white stars.

America is the Land of the Free, Because of the Brave.  Remember that, Friends.  Especially today.

Have a Good Memorial Day!

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

Ensign Zoe, Reporting for Duty!

I'm ready to boldy go where no kid has gone before, except maybe Miles and Loretta!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you!

Well, ya know, I have recently gotten all hooked into a show called Star Trek: Voyager.  It's a Star Trek show from way back in the Nineties. Because you know, I'm a big fan of the Nineties.

Anyway, what really got me all hooked in to Star Trek: Voyager is how the crew members on the Voyager get into deep-space jams, and then they work together as a team to get themselves out of the deep-space jams!

In a way, it reminds me a lot of Miles from Tomorrowland, except insteadda animated kids bein' the stars, it's actual grown-ups.  What a crazy twist, Friends!

Anyways, I think it's all fascinating, the thought of space travel!  Meeting new civilizations and makin' friends with 'em! 

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

Zozie Runs on PB&J!

PB&J makes me so happy I could sing!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, ya know, I'm a kid who loves a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I'm not shy about bein' particular about what I like best in a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

First of all, I choose my favorite bread, which happens to be rye.  I know this is something odd for a Little Kid to like, but I do.  I really, really do.  If I can be spoiled, I request Al Cohen rye, either seeded or seedless.  I like 'em both equally. 

For my peanut butter, I like crunchy Peter Pan best.  It comes only in small jars at my grocery store of choice, and everybody knows, the smaller the jar something comes in, the better it is!  However, in the absence of crunchy Peter Pan, I will eat creamy Jif. 

Now, jelly, I like a variety of different things.  Any strawberry jam, of course.  Or grape.  It's really hard to go wrong with strawberry or grape.  Every once in a while, I'll tolerate raspberry or marmalade.  But strawberry and grape are my favorites. 

So there ya are, Friends.  Peanut butter and jelly on rye is the road-snack on the journey to happiness for me!  I love ya lots, Friends!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Summertime, Summertime, Some-Some-Summertime!

One word for ya this summer, Friends: Sunscreen!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday to you! 

Well, ya know, we're comin' up on Memorial Day Weekend, which is the unofficial kickoff of Summertime!  How about that?!

Are you ready for Summer?  You know, people get all crazy for gettin' ready for the Start of School, but ya never hear about a frenzy to get ready for Summer. 

I guess maybe that's because we're all set to "mosey" speed in the summer, and it isn't as important to get all your summer supplies at once, like it is to get all your pencils, paper, and erasers and such ready for School.

But you know what?  My summers, for my whole entire life, have been anything but "mosey."  We go on the go, a-go-go!  So I have compiled a list of things I need to make sure I get together, here before this Summer gets going!

• I need sunscreen.  So do you, Big People!  And a sun-hat and sunglasses!
• Road snacks, because I'm on the road a lot in the summer, and it's helpful to have snacks to eat on my way to where I'm going!
• Sketch-pads, crayons, markers, and other art supplies, because Summertime is the ideal time to do art!
• Back-up road snacks, to replace the snacks I bought with the intention to have ready for road-trips, but I got hungry during a Sesame Street marathon and ate every last crumb of.  
• Sparklers, because the Fourth of July.
• Glo-Sticks. 

See, Friends.  With a little preparedness at the toppa the summer, you can enjoy a lotta more leisurely times!  Write it down!

Come back and see me tomorrow!  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Countin' Down!

I think you know what day it is!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Thursday to you! 

Well, ya know, it is the Twenty-Fifth of the month.  That means it's time for me to remind you how much time you have to get ready for Christmas, Friends. 

I know, I know.  You don't wanna hafta hear it.  I know that you don't wanna think about Christmas, because now the weather's finally gotten nicey warm, and Summer's only just now beginning. 

Thing of it is, if ya start preparatin' now, you'll chip away at all the Christmassy stuff ya gotta do at the end of the year, and ya might get to experience the magic and wonder of the Season, the way I get to, and then you'll have a great time, and you'll remember that great time, and finally, you'll look forward to Christmas as much as I do! 

I believe they call that 'professional reinforcement!'  How about that, Big People?!

So anyway, consider yourself told, Friends!  You know what the end-goal is!  You know how much time you've got to accomplish it all.  You know what you've gotta do.  So it's all up to you!

I love ya lots, Big People, and I'll be cheerin' ya on along the way.  But for now, I have some serious playin' to do, so I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Summer's On The Way!

It's gonna be a great summer, Big People!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

Well, ya know, in a coupla weeks, my final Summer of Not Bein' a School-Kid will begin.  Up until now, my whole entire life has been summer vacation.  September would come, I'd see the big yella bus go by my house, I wouldn't be on it, and I'd go on with my life.

At the end of this summer, that big yella bus is gonna stop at my house, and I'm gonna get on it and go the heck to school.  So in a way, this summer that's startin' up is like the last chapter in the first part of my life. 

But before I get ahead of myself, with all the things I've gotta do, once I get to school, and how things are gonna change, I wanna go over the things that I know are gonna happen over the summer!

For instance, I know I'm gonna visit Pittsburgh for a coupla days.  Then I'm gonna go to a place called Gettysburg.  I'm gonna see a lotta neat cars there!  And then I'm gonna go to a place called Kenosha, all the way in Wisconsin, and I'll see some more neat cars!  And then there'll probably be some surprises.  I love surprises!

So this is the part of the year that I get all excited about summer.  This year, summer's gonna be particularly sweet, you know?

Hey.  I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!

The Small Things!

There's endless wonder around every corner!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Tuesday to you!

Well, ya know, today is a special day, because it's the day after a spectacular sunset.

It's true!  If ya happened to look outside last night, you woulda seen that there were clouds in the sky at sunset-time and the sun was makin' 'em look like salmon-colored streaks in a dark periwinkle blue sky.

And when ya see a sunset that spectacular, you just hafta figure that the following day is gonna be special.

You know why else today's a special day?  We are completely surrounded by all kindsa small things that are really wondrous, if ya take the time to look at 'em.  The flowers on the trees, the green grass, the dandelions growing on the ground... it's all wondrous.

If ya take the time to notice all these small things, you'll be amazed at what a wonderful place this is, we get to live on.

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

Greet Monday Like an Old Friend!

Greet Monday like an old friend you don't see very often!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Monday to you!

Well, ya know, I always say "happy" whatever day it is, and I really do mean it.  Even in the case of Mondays.  Even when I get a case of the Mondays.  And even though I'm only Five, I do get a case of the Mondays, every so often.

The thing I really strive to do, though, is make friends out of my enemies, even.  I've always thought that allies are more powerful than enemies.  And I'm pretty sure there's a sciency thing to back me up, or maybe a strategery manual that would do the same.

Anyways, ya gotta change your mindset about Mondays.  Insteadda lettin' 'em get all up in your head with their Mondayness, think of Monday as an old friend ya don't get to see every day.  When ya wake up on Monday morning, insteadda grumblin' and sneerin' "Oh, it's YOU, Monday," instead, smile, and say "Why, hello, Monday, my old friend!" 

You might be surprised at the way this slight little change in your perception and your reaction could change the course of your day!  You might really end up genuinely likin' Monday after all!

Or.  Circumstances could conspire to make ya grateful that ya don't see your old Friend Monday every day.  Life is a lot like buyin' fruit- it's a gamble.

One thing you can be sure of, though, Big People, is that I love ya lots!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Happiness Is A Choice!

Happy people are strong people, Big People! Stay positive!

Friends, didja know that it takes less muscles to smile than it does to frown?  But the thing of it is, the frowny muscles have gravity on their side, so people just let their faces fall in what looks like a frown most of the time.  It's just comfortable!

So when ya smile, ya make a choice to smile, and those smilin' muscles get a workout.  And do ya know what happens when a muscle gets a workout?

It gets stronger!

So if ya think of bein' happy and positive like they're muscles, and every time you make the choice to be happy and positive, you're givin' 'em a workout, what you're really doin' is makin' yourself stronger, Friends.

Happiness is a choice.  Bein' positive is a choice.  Smilin' is a choice.  It might take less muscles to do and be these things, but those less muscles hafta work harder to do their job.  Ya have to decide to use 'em.  And every time you do, you get stronger, Friends! 

How the heck right about that?!

Hey.  I love ya, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Be Yourself...

...It's all that you can do!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, ya know, Friends, we all have choices on how we're gonna act, how we're gonna be, and WHO we're gonna be.  Every day.

And the thing I've learned is that even though people look similar (as compared to how a person looks in comparison to a giraffe or a humpback whale, for instance), we all see the world and react to it in a different way.  But I think we get a little confused, sometimes, because we figure that since we're all humans, and you look similar to me, and I look similar to you, that we're all gonna react to things the same way, or think the same thoughts about the same situation.

And it just isn't the way it is.  You and I, for instance, Friends, could look up at the sky and see a big, gray cloud.  It's the same big, gray cloud we're seein'.  And I could say "Wouldja look at that cloud up in the sky?!  I see a big castle in that cloud!  Wouldn't it be neat to live in a castle made outta clouds?"  And you could say "Dang it, Zoe!  There's a storm a-comin'!  We better get inside!"

We're both right.  We both agree that there's a cloud.  I experience that cloud in a whimsical fashion, while you experience the cloud from a practical standpoint.  We can discuss this at length over a hot cocoa, while we sit in the window and watch it rain, because you were right.  There was a storm a'comin' in that cloud.

See?  We just experience the world differently, Big People!  And the world needs both our experiences!  I think it's important that we each at least get to understand and respect one another's way of experiencing things, but I also think we should try not to expect everybody to conform to the same way of experiencing.  When somebody's brain is more actual-factual, they can appreciate whimsy, or at least acknowledge it, but they probably won't see the castle.  They'll just see the cloud.  And when somebody's brain is more whimsical, sometimes, they can get caught up in the whimsy and find themselves gettin' rained on.  If either one of those people tries to force themselves to be the other person, life will feel forced and hard. 

So, Friends, be yourself.  It's all you can do.  And let your friends be themselves.  It's all they can do. 

I love ya, Big People!  And you can visit my castle in the clouds, or in the trees, or under the gazebo ANY dang ol' time!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Spicy in Attitude Only

I have a spicy reputation, but it's my attitude that's spicy.

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday to you!

Well, ya know, I enjoy a good meal, but there's one thing I do NOT like to see on my plate, and that's food with spice in it.

Oh, sure, a little cinnamon here and there is fine.  That doesn't bother me.  A minty Tic-Tac once in a while?  Well, I like fruit-flavored ones better, but I don't mind a minty Tic-Tac once in a while.  They aren't really spicy.

It's extremely discouraging for me to find something like medium salsa in a bowl of chips, though.  And last night for supper, we had butter chicken.  Despite its benign name, it is NOT chicken slathered in delicious, delicious butter.  It's chicken bathed in spicy, tomato sauce, served over rice.  The sauce makes even the rice spicy. 

Spicy-ricey.  I don't likey. 

Friends, I know I have a reputation for bein' all spicy.  Spicy-n-sweet, I hope.  But I'm spicy in attitude only.  I can dish out the spicy, but I cannot eat the spicy.  No way.  And this is not a shortcoming in personality.  This is me recognizin' my own limits. 

How the heck right about that?!

Hey.  Stay cool, Friends!  I love ya lots, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Victory Is Mine!

I am the KiteMaster!  I have harnessed the power of the wind!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, I was discouraged about my kites not flyin' on Tuesday, and I figured I was a kite-flyin' failure, but then you know what happened?!

Yesterday, there was a good breeze a-blowin', so I grabbed my dang ol' kite and went runnin' outside, and do you know what happened?

My kite caught the wind and had some serious air-time!  It was GREAT!  It didn't swoop and soar above the tree-tops, but it flew above my head and waggled its ribbony kite-tail for me!

It just goes to show, I can accomplish things and stuff if I don't give up before I get started!  How about that?!

Also, I guess I don't wanna be Two anymore.  I'll stick with Five and a Half.  It's a good age.  It's the age where I get to fly kites. 

Keep your chins up, Big People!  It gets better!  I'm here to tell ya! 

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

To Be Two Again!

Bein' Five is really hard, Friends.  I wanna go back to bein' Two.

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

Well, ya know yesterday, I built a kite outta vellum and straws and tape, with some yarn for the kite-string.  I used some markers to make the kite colorful and festive, and added a plastic-tape tail to it, because kites need tails.  I was lookin' forward to watchin' my kite soar high above the tree-tops!

In reality, there wasn't enough breeze.  And I thought you just decide you wanna fly a kite, and there you go, flyin' a kite.  No.  Ya hafta learn how tight to keep your kite string- here's a hint: pretty darn tight.  And the Kiwi Crate book said if there's no breeze, there's no worries.  You can just run and have the kite trail behind ya. 

No.  That isn't cool.  That isn't how they show it on television.  They show kids flyin' kites, blissfully standin' on the ground, watchin' their kites swoop and soar high above.  Maybe they hafta run at the very beginnin' of the flight, but not for the whole flight.

I am disenchanted, Friends, and if Mommy tells me one more time that anything worth doing is worth bein' lousy at, at first, and practicin' my way to bein' great at it, I'm pretty much gonna scream in her face.  I'm so tired of not bein' good at things.  I'm so tired of havin' to practice. 

Is this what it's like to be five and a half, Friends?!  Is it my lot in my life to be frusterated?  If it is, I wanna go back to when life was easy.  Like back when I was... maybe two.  Those were the dang ol' days, Big People.  Nobody expected me to be able to fly kites.  I just had to be cute.  Two year-olds don't know how great they have it!

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