Christmas Forever AZ

    Last year I stumbled across this post on Facebook about a light show called Christmas Forever AZ.  It was Disney themed and so of course I wanted to go! My aunt, cousins and I went to check it out. We found it to be so amazing! The Disney theme made us feel like we were there. We had not been able to go that winter, this show made us feel the Disney magic.

     This year I saw that it was the 5th anniversary for the light show. Well I had to go. This time I took my mom, my aunt and another aunt. We all loved the show. It was different than last year, better (which I thought was impossible). Amazing! You feel the show, the smells take you into the magic. These guys go all out!

     I am a huge Disney fan so this show adds magic to  the season. Disney magic! I think Walt would love this show.

     If you have a chance check it out. The video does not do it justice!  Bravo Pratt Brothers!

     Enjoy my video of the show Christmas Forever AZ video

     Check them out on Facebook for more details. Christmas Forever AZ Facebook

    The last show is December 31, 2019 and there will be no show December 24.

Scripted Classrooms Suck Fun Out of Education for Young Kids

    This morning as I was scrolling through Facebook I saw a post that read "Asking teachers to follow scripted curriculum is like asking artists to paint by number" by John Spencer. This, a conversation with my young grandson and my own observations got me to thinking about education today for the young child.

     The other night while talking to my grandson I asked him how he liked school. He told me it was boring. I said "but learning is fun."  He said they don't have fun. Granted school is not all about fun but in 2nd grade learning should still be fun!  He used to love school.

     My grandson is in 2nd grade and as I was listening to him tell me how he didn't really like school anymore I thought back on the times I had observed classrooms recently. During my observations I noticed that many of the kids were tuning out and appeared bored.

    I got to thinking about my poor grandson having to sit in a classroom where they never get to do the fun stuff anymore, teachers have to follow specific scripts so they are on the same page with all other teachers teaching the same grade so not much is spontaneous and there isn't much time for creativity or any type of fun activity. 2nd grade is no longer fun.  I know, life isn't all about fun but childhood should be fun. We have plenty of time as adults to be stressed out and bored.

    As  I listened to my grandson and thought of what I have observed. It made me sad because I would hate to have to sit in a classroom every day where I was being spoon fed and expected to regurgitate what I was being fed word for word instead of being able to explore and learn which is what I always thought school is supposed to be about.

    Many poor little kids, 7 year old kids, do not enjoy school anymore!  I loved 2nd grade, it was fun! I loved to learn, through many different means.  Even back when my kids were in 2nd grade it was fun.Teachers could implement their own creative flair in the classroom making it interesting and well, fun!  Over the years the focus on testing,  high test scores and requirements placed on teachers to follow script has sucked the fun out of education for everyone at a very young age. Teachers are no longer able to use their own flair and creativity to teach due the script, creating bored teachers along with bored kids.

     Something needs to change for kids, school needs to become fun again for these young individuals. Teachers should be able to add their own creative flair to the classroom, keeping guidelines but dropping scripts. If things don't change by the time these little elementary  kids are in the 5th grade they will be done with school.

   

The Black Cat Cafe

The Black Cat Cafe

Kim E. Miller

            I’m going to tell you a story about a little cafe that stands in the middle of nowhere. This little cafe has about the best food in the world. It also gives anyone who eats there the worst luck in the world. However, people come from miles around to eat there—compelled by its delicious dishes. They leave fine, but two days later…. they die. Every victim of the cafe leaves with a smile on his or her face and a death wish in his heart. It makes me wonder who will be the next victim of the Black Cat Cafe.

            Once a man enters the Black Cat Cafe, he is cursed. He won’t know why, he might not even be hungry but he will be compelled to eat the meal, that unbeknownst to him deadly meal, that will lead to his doom. If he could only refrain from eating the meal, he would be fine, for the curse lies within the food. The power of the spell that is in the cafe prevents a person from refraining to eat his fateful meal.  Of course, it would not matter anyhow, he has no idea that the meal is cursed, so would eat it anyway. The spell is not prejudice, it applies to women, and children too, no one is exempt.

            The meal is amazing. It doesn’t matter if it is steak and lobster, or potato soup; it is delicious, delightful, and delectable.  All who eat the food absolutely love it. They live long enough to tell others to eat at the cafe, and then ̶ they die. The customer doesn’t know why he is drawn to the cafe, why he feels the need to remain and eat there but, once the meal is finished, the customer is free to leave the cafe. The spell is released and then the desire to be in the cafe is gone.

            The victim...hmm I mean the customer, will then go back to his daily life. Happy, healthy and unaware of his future demise. He will of course tell everyone about the amazing meal he had at the Black Cat Cafe. His friends will then be compelled to go to the cafe for the words Black Cat Cafe have the spell on them too, which makes a person wish to go there.

            Then it will happen like clockwork. On the second day, a black cat will cross the victim’s path. The next instant he will be dead by whatever means is available, a car wreck, poison, gunshot, piano falling out of a window... it matters not to the Black Cat Cafe curse.

            You must wonder about those who work at the cafe. I will tell you as long as they work there they are safe, if they ever leave though they will die.

            I imagine you are wondering why I am able to tell you this story, why I know about the food, the curse, the death. I have never eaten at the Black Cat Cafe…. it would not matter if I did.  I am alive to tell this story because I am the Black Cat that created the spell at the cafe. I do not like humans!  Humans are mean to black cats. They say that black cats are evil. We get such a bad rap…. we do not deserve it. If we cross a human’s path, they believe they will have bad luck. I got tired of hearing how evil we are, so I opened the cafe. Yes, I know, I am a cat. I did not open it on my own. I had my owner do it by compelling him to do so.  I do have a heart though; I at least give humans a good meal before they die, and two days to share the experience with other humans.

            The cafe was opened, I cast the spell, and the rest is well, as you know…history. Remember the next time you see a black cat and think he is evil and brings bad luck…..you are right! He is!  You need to hope that you never dine at the Black Cat Cafe.

Picture courtesy of Free Google Images

Copyright © 2011 Kim E. Miller

All rights reserved.

Social Media Has Given People a False Sense of Being in Touch

          After losing one my closest friends recently I have realized that sometimes we think that we are in touch with our friends through social media, we become confident in that fact however are we really communicating with loved ones? I say no. We post what is happening in our lives and check out our friends walls from time to time, when  we remember, but we really aren't in touch. We only see the lives that they are putting out there for the "public" to view. We aren't in touch with what is really happening, not really.

     I used to talk to my friend on a regular basis, or we corresponded through snail mail. We talked about what was happening in our lives, our true thoughts and our feelings, not just what we wanted other people to know. We laughed about life, we reminisced about the past, we were in touch with each other.

     Since social media I lost touch with her. We communicated through social media and were somewhat informed on each others lives but we really were not communicating, we were not really in touch. I looked back at our last real communication and it was much longer back than I feel comfortable with. We had the feeling that we were communicating but we really were not in touch.

    This fact caused me to reflect on many of my relationships and how superficial they have become since social media. I know what my friends make for dinner, sometimes their favorite animals or maybe even vacation pictures. But I really don't know what is happening in their lives. I don't hear their voices so in essence am not really in touch.

   Don't get me wrong, I love social media because it has connected me with many people from the past however, how connected are we really? Do we talk?  No, we check out each others walls and that is about all. We don't get together, we don't call each other. We aren't really in touch. This makes me sad.

     I love seeing what people post, I love to see what is going on in their lives and I thoroughly enjoy pictures of their lives but I feel more connected when I hear a voice at the other end of a phone or see a face and talk in person. Social media has given us this false sense that we are in touch but we are just keeping up...sort of...

     My son does not live with me and I miss him terribly. I can't imagine my relationship with him becoming posts on Facebook, pictures and messages. That would be so lonesome and I would miss him so much more than I already do. We do keep in touch through those means but we also talk on the phone and get together...not as much as I would like but as much as we can for now and as much as he probably likes haha.

     I have realized through my friends passing that I have let social media distance me from those I care about and it is time to get back in touch. I plan to call more often and get together with friends when I can. I miss the long talks with my dear friend and I can' never get that back. It makes my heart hurt. I can't change that though but I can move in a different direction by getting back in touch with my friends and family.  Life is way too short to just be friends on a computer screen.  There is nothing better than hearing a voice or getting a hug!

Rocketman: Not an Epic Tribute to Elton John

     I have been looking forward to seeing the movie Rocketman since I saw the first preview. I grew up listening to Elton John and absolutely love his music. I listened to his music and followed his career since the early 70's. So I was extremely excited for a movie that would hopefully give him the  epic tribute he deserves since he is in my mind one of the best entertainers ever!

     When I saw there was an early access showing of the movie I immediately purchased my tickets. When the day of the movie arrived,  I couldn't wait until show time. I sat down ready to be blown away by this movie.

     As I watched Rocketman  I kept hoping that it would do justice to Elton John. As I watched I tried to tell myself I was loving the movie, it was great. I mean it is about Elton John for goodness sake! It has to be great, right? As I watched the movie however I found myself thinking that it was not what I expected. It wa
s ok, but not great.

     I tried hard not to compare Rocketman to Bohemian Rhapsody because even though both Elton and Queen are amazing, they are different and so the movies should be too.

     As I watched though I did find myself comparing the two movies in many ways. I think this was because Rocktman was not meeting my expectations for so many reasons. Bohemian paid tribute to Freddy and Queen showing them go full circle from their troubled times to healing times. That was what I wanted to see in Rocketman. Rocketman did not do that.

     Over the years Elton John has done so many great things. He has been involved in charity work, he because close friends with Princess Diana and they worked together on many different things. He is so much more than what the movie showed. I wanted to see that, I wanted to watch him go from his addiction to recovery, to finally find love, to be successful and happy. Rocketman however only seemed to focus on the negatives and I think that is what disappointed me. It did not do justice to Elton John.

     When I left the theater I told my friend that the movie was ok. Not great, but ok I was disappointed it was rated R and full of the F word and I was not happy they added sex to the movie, I do not like to watch people have sex on the screen. It makes me uncomfortable hence the reason I avoid R rated movies. I was also disappointed that they really did not showcase the music much. It seemed to me like a bunch of songs were played but nothing really in completion. So it was ok.

     There was really nothing in the movie about Elton's charity work or his relationship with Princess Diana which was an important part of his life. Nothing about him coming full circle from drugs and alcohol and the only way we as an audience knew things worked out for him were the pictures and captions during credits.

     I feel like there was no character or real story development during the story. It just went from him being young, to him being famous to drugs and such. I find that there are really no memorable moments in the movie.

     The more I think about the movie that I had expected to be epic,  the more I find myself disappointed in just about every aspect of the show. I am disappointed that something that could have been such a tribute to the music and person Elton John is never really had a developing story line and only focused on the negatives.

   I do have to say that the acting was great. Everyone did an awesome job. I just was not impressed with the story line. I wonder if I am the only person who feels this way? I see reviews and many people loved it so I wonder if it was just me??  I might watch it again sometime to see if I missed something but the language and sex might serve as a deterrent.

    Regardless I still love Elton John and his music!!

+Rocketman
+Elton John
   

White Castle Slider Review

     Rarely do I buy freezer hamburgers anymore. I try to just make my own but not too long ago I was walking by the freezer section and saw these White Castle Sliders. They looked good and like something I might enjoy once in a while. So, I purchased them.  Now I hate onions with a passion. They are disgusting and honestly make me gag. I don't mind them if they are cooked to death and like onion powder...go figure that one...

     Today I decided to give my sliders a try. I wasn't real hungry but a little burger sounded good. I put  them in the microwave, put ketchup on them when they were done and took a great big bite of one. I thought they smelled a bit like onions but figured that was onion powder. However as I chewed I noticed small crunchy things. I spit them out and threw the burgers away.

     No where on the box does it say they added onions. I have never eaten at White Castle so don't know what their products are like. I did notice after looking closer that the pictures shows onions on the burger.

     White Castle should say "with onions" on the box for those who are disgusted by them.  I had to look closely to see them in the picture.  I would not have purchased them had I know there were little nasty onions on them.

     Needless to say I will never purchase White Castle Sliders again and will look closer when purchasing freezer food.

+White Castle Sliders

Reflections on 2018

     I usually send out Christmas cards every year. I send a picture of my kids and my grandson along with a Christmas letter. This year I did not get to it. Not sure why except I just did not take the time.

     So 2018 has come to an end and my letter will be this blog. I thought about sending out New Years cards but not really sure anyone would appreciate them. I really want to get back to more postal communication and might send out Easter cards...just see what life brings and if the mood strikes me! I know I love to get cards in the mail and to get you have to send them...

     Now on to 2018, it has been a rough year, in some ways harder than others but in other ways not as hard as some...

     I will start off with the one of the best times in 2018 which happened right after we rang in the new year. We went to Disneyland on Jan 3 which is the first time any of us have been during the holiday season and the first time Noah had ever been. It was also the first time in years that my mom, my kids and I had been there together in several years. It was like old times adding new people to the joy! Noah loved it but is a chicken, he was scared of the drops on Pirates and the race on Radiator Springs Racers however he loved Dumbo and was scared of Soarin. He is a bit young so hopefully next time he goes he will love them all. He did love Small World and many other attractions!

     My aunt Ellen was supposed to go on the trip with us but she almost died before the year ended and was still recovering when we rang in the new year. We were thankful to still have her with us after almost losing her due to the horrible doctor she had.

     I survived the last semester of the job from hell...I plan to blog about that sometime but for now have tried to put that experience out of my mind. I want to blog about it someday just because be it good or be it bad it is an experience and a memory. It is something I survived and something that made me stronger...The last part of the semester was actually worst than the first if that is at all possible. I spent many of my lunch breaks in my classroom, in tears, I cried all the way home from work and I fought tears in the morning...it was one of the worst work experiences of my life. I did have a few at work who were supportive and that is what helped me make it through each day. The positive was that I only worked 3 minutes from home...It is sad because there were some great people there but the bad memories are so bad that I just turned my back and walked away form that place with nothing but bad memories.

     I began the summer wondering where I would work, I hoped to find a new teaching position before school ended but didn't. So I spent my summer going to job interviews and I must say some of those were quite an experience of their own. At one job interview the principal, vice principal and head teacher found that their texts were much more important than the interview. It was very rude. Another interview was spent looking at the back of the interviewers computer screens as they seemed uninterested in what I had to say. There was another interview in which the principal did not even show up at all...I did have a few great interviews but did not get the job...so as summer came to an end I was still without work.

     My contract pay ended and I had no new pay...I did get a job offer or so I thought before my old contract ended but as I was preparing for my new classroom and waiting for all of my paper work so I could go in to my new job, I was told they gave the job to someone else. Rather an annoying blow. Then I had an interview for a gifted position and I got it! It was actually just what I was looking for.  The only down to the job is that it was a 2 to 2.5 hour drive to work and longer home each day. I commuted for a month and then found a home closer to my job.

     Another huge change for me is that I moved into an apartment all by myself. The drive to work was rough so I needed to move. I rented an apartment and moved out of the big beautiful home I had been living in since coming to Arizona. My new place is in Gilbert and it is nice. But the move was rough on me emotionally because it is the first time I have ever really lived alone. It also came at a hard time....

     In September my ex husband, Jerry, passed away from illness related to his alcoholism. He left this world not really much aware of what was happening around him. His last few years of life had not been good quality. His death bothered me much more than I thought it would. That is another story...but his story did not end like it should have. He died in a nursing home and had spent the last few years in and out of nursing homes. He should have had a good life but he chose the alcohol.

     Noah spent the summer with us which was great! I still rented a home with Blake and his friend. We had a great summer going to the library, the mall to play, the park and just playing! Noah is such a fun little guy to be with. It was a wonderful summer!

    Disneyland was fun summer 2018 as usual. Noah stayed in Waddell with his dad but hopefully summer 2019 he will go with us.

     My new job has been good. There are things I do not like about it as with any job but for the most part it is great!  I work in a pull out program with gifted kids. Most of my students are amazing!