I am so stinkin’ proud of her that I am shouting from the roof tops….

She is a high school freshman and they got their first class ranks today…. you know, where in the list of kids do you rank academically….

There are 588 kids in her class and exactly ONE finished in front of her. That’s right! Ranked number 2 out of 588! Now, it’s a lot to keep up- a very high bar- but what a great place to start!

I can’t wait to take her out to celebrate!

Rule #112- Be sure that your kids know that, as long as they are doing their best, you are super crazy proud of them!

The Queen is not a huge sports fan. There are some games I will watch on tv, but not much. I enjoy going to live sporting events, but mostly for the fun- not the game itself. I have been to professional baseball and basketball, college and high school football, AAA hockey and professional rodeo.  They are all especially fun in person.

Now- when it comes to picking favorites I am sentimental and loyal. I started liking the San Francisco 49ers back in the 80′s (because Joe Montana was handsome) and they are still my favorite team. Being from Upstate NY you would think I liked the Buffalo Bills- no luck!

I have a funny story about basketball. When we were newly married we lived in southeastern Virginia (the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area). One time we were flying home from somewhere and the whole back of the plane was aflutter over someone in first class. When we asked a flight attendant what was going on, she told us Grant Hill was in first class. He grew up in the area and was going home to visit his Grandma. We had to ask her who Grant Hill was! You know, he actually allowed any kids on the plane that wanted pictures and/or autographs to come up and see him in first class. At the time I was really impressed by that. When we disembarked, we had no trouble picking him out of the crowd

 Baseball is one of my least favorite games to watch, but I have a favorite. The local AAA team where we grew up was  the Rochester Red Wings. They were the farm team for the Baltimore Orioles. A class mate of mine was the son of one of the Oriole coaches. When I was in junior high, Jim Palmer was on the Orioles. Enough said….

Before we moved to Virginia- NASCAR was not really on our radar. Once we got there and got settled, we dipped our toes in the Redneck soup that is racing. At the time the Hometown Hero was Ricky Rudd…. so we cheered for him.

 So- I don’t know a lot about sports but I know what I like! I am stubborn and loyal and once I decide I like you, you are in my good graces just about forever. Be warned however, the opposite also applies!

Rule #111- Don’t be a fairweather fan!

I love the rain. Last night Redbeard drove us home from the San Antonio Rodeo (7 years in a row it has won top Rodeo award!) in the rain. I felt so safe and cozy and thankful. Mostly thankful that I wasn’t driving. I don’t like to drive in the dark. Redbeard is not afraid of anything.

We dropped Buttercup’s friend at her house and headed for home. It was 12:43 am. Our goal, to be home and in bed when the clock struck 1:00. We made it. Another big storm- thunder, lightning, wind, pouring rain hit right after that.

I lay there and thanked God for all I had. The safe house, the strong walls and roof, the warm, dry bed. I thanked Him that Buttercup, Redbeard, Severus the Destroyer and Perry the Stealthy were safe and secure and sound asleep. It was a very content moment. I try to pay attention to them.

On a side note, Redbeard’s parents arrive this afternoon for a week-long visit- so if I am more absent than usual that’s why.

Rule #110- Take time to count your blessings.

This idea coincides nicely with the fact that today is LeVar Burton’s birthday. Who is LeVar Burton? I’m glad you asked.

I first “met” LeVar Burton as a young wife trying to find common tv ground with her hubby. We watched Star Trek Next Generation. I fell in love with it… I admit it. LeVar played Jordi- the guy with the cool glasses.

About two weeks after we married, I started my first grown up job. I taught third and then second grades in a very impoverished school in Portsmouth, Virginia. I had kids in my class who had never eaten in a restaurant or been to a movie- ever. I had kids with no televisions in their homes- so (not to judge, just a guess) no books either.

I found a show on PBS called Reading Rainbow. I got permission to let my kids watch it every day for the required “rest time” after recess. It was about 20 minutes of screen time. Yes, I read to them at every opportunity and tried my hardest to get them to read…. but Reading Rainbow was an awesome tool. And, to my surprise, the host was LeVar Burton. We loved to watch that show and sing the songs and search for the featured books in the library.

 But you don’t have to take my word for it! (If you have ever seen the show, you will get the reference…. if not, sorry!)

I do know that he also starred in Roots. But I must admit that I have never seen it-

So- between watching Star Trek with Redbeard and watching Reading Rainbow with my kids…. I have happy memories of LeVar Burton. He is someone who I think has made a difference.

Happy Birthday, LeVar!

Rule #109- Take a look, it’s in a book, a Reading Rainbow!

Now, we don’t have a tradition. Some years, Pirate Redbeard and I get all dressed up and go out super fancy style- grown ups only. Some years we get take out and watch tv together. There are always cards and some small token (flowers or balloons).

This year it is a family affair…. Buttercup and I will make dinner while Redbeard is in charge of dessert.

She chose meatloaf- sounds unromantic, but she had her reasons. One- it’s something she wanted to learn how to make. Two- you can shape it like a heart. So there will be a heart-shaped meatloaf, heart-shaped mashed potatoes with a green pea decoration and pink applesauce.

I hope Redbeard can come up with an equally thoughtful dessert! As long as he comes home as early as he promised- I don’t care if he brings a candy bar!

Here are some cute Valentine’s I found…. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Queen’s World to Yours….

That’s a tough one. There are different kinds of sad. And who wants to think about sad things?

There are sad pictures on commercials of animals and kids- trying to get you to give money.

There are sad movies where the guy doesn’t get the girl or the girl dies or the dog dies.

There is sad, as in pathetic….. like “How sad is that outfit she is wearing?!”

I would have to say what makes me saddest is when teenage girls don’t feel they are “worthy” because they don’t look a certain way. No matter how many times their moms and dads tell them they are beautiful- all it takes is one mean comment from another teen to tear them down. It makes me sad.

Rule #108- Tell the females in your life, over and over and over, how beautiful they are.

A photo of something that makes me happy.

So very many things make me happy.

I am a generally happy person.

I am happy when I have chocolate.

I am happy when I have wine.

I am happy when I am with my friends.

I am happy when I am alone.

I am happy when I am with my family.

I am happy when Harrison Ford is on tv or a movie.

I am happy when other people are happy.

I am happy when I find a new book to read.

I am happy when I re-read an old book that I loved.

I am happy when the cats are playing and being cute or sleeping and being cute.

I am happy when Redbeard comes home from work.

I am happy when I pick Buttercup up from school at the end of the day.

And so on and so forth.

That which makes me the happiest however is Buttercup herself.

I couldn’t figure out how to post a picture while maintaining her anonymity but the perfect situation arose!

She and a girlfriend dressed up for a Black and White Masquerade Party….

This should be titled: The Queen’s Love Dressed in Sparkles!

Rule #107- Be happy! (and try some sparkles!)

I think the Disney has a magic way with villains. They are snarky and sarcastic and make jokes that the kids don’t get!

One of my favorite videos from when Buttercup was little was House of Mouse-House of Villains.

I guess I have 4 favorite villains:

4. Jafar from Aladdin:

 3. Gaston from Beauty and the Beast

2. Hades from Hercules

And my Number One Favorite Disney Villain:

1. Scar from Lion King

So…. who are your favorite villains?

Rule #106- Embrace your “snark” once in a while!

For today’s challenge I chose a relatively easy one- my favorite Disney character.

I watched The Wide World of Disney every Sunday at my Gramma and Gramper’s house. Some of my best memories are of holding plastic bowls filled with ice cream and cool whip up where their aptly named cat, Bandit, could not pilfer! We would eat ice cream, have a fire and watch Disney. I don’t remember a lot of specifics- I liked the “home of the future” and Goofy doing sporting events.

Once I grew too old for that, I guess I didn’t pay much attention to Disney until Little Mermaid came out. Wow- celebrity voices and fun music, what a change for animation. After that I saw all the new ones as they came out, even as an adult!

I have to say that my favorite character is Mulan.

Bear with me here.  I am not trying to be politically correct or sarcastic here. Mulan came along at a time when I was trying to decide how to raise my baby girl. What kind of girl did I want her to be? Mulan was a girl in a society with no respect for girls- but her family’s love taught her to respect herself. She went to war to protect her family. She risked death by pretending to be a boy. The ”leading man” (who, coincidentally was the first Disney character to be drawn with nipples!) learned to like her for herself. He fell in love with the person she truly was.  It wasn’t about her looks.

Now, I love a good princess story BUT I didn’t want Buttercup to grow up thinking that in order to be happy she had to worry about being the most beautiful. I didn’t want her to think that she could only get the man of her dreams if she looked like a princess.  I didn’t want her to do things just to get a man. As much as I love my life and my man- that isn’t the goal for a woman’s life anymore.

I love Mulan because it teaches girls that bravery and integrity and intelligence and a willingness to put others before yourself are what make you attractive. If he only likes you because you’re pretty- he is SO not worth it.

Caveat- of course, Buttercup is more beautiful to me than all those princesses put together, but she doesn’t depend on it to get her through life.

Rule #105- Teach your girls that who they are is much more important that what they look like.