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Seems that is not the case with the Ukraine version of  “______ Got Talent”. Last season’s winner was a sand animator. What? A sand animator? What’s  sand animator? Her name is Kseniya Simonova and she creates her art in sand scattered on an illuminated table. As she is creating her sand art to music, it  is  projected onto a screen for the audience to see. Sounds weird, I know, and I was skeptical before I watched the video. How interesting could sand animation be, right?

Simonova seemlessly moves from scene to scene sculpting and drizzling sand over a light table. This emotional performance is about World War II and the Germany invasion of the Soviet Union. I am not a native Ukrainian (although one of my great-grandmothers was) and cannot understand all of the symbolism or understand the lyrics to the accompanying music, but this performance moved me, just as it did the folks in the audience.

~Examiner.com

Several weeks ago I ran a story letting our readers make their own Oscar predictions. Take a peek at how we did.

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Best Picture –

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The Hurt Locker

Coffee Break prediction – Avatar (oops)

Best Director -

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Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart

Coffee Break prediction – Jeff Bridges (We’re on a roll)

Actor in a supporting role –

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Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds

Coffee Break prediction – Christoph Waltz (Still rolling)

Actress in a leading role -

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Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side

Coffee Break prediction -Sandra Bullock (Do we know our movies, or what?)

Actress in a supporting role –

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Mo’Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Coffee Break prediction -Mo Nique (Right again!)

So readers, it seems we do indeed know our movies. Five out of the tip six categories right! I am impressed!

My pick for the best acceptance speech goes to Sandra Bullock.

Want to watch all the Oscar acceptance speechs?

Did you love the Oscars as much as I did? Leave me a comment and tell me what you thought of the show. (Also leaving a comment will automatically enter you in this week’s giveaway, so what have you got to loose?)

~Kate

Enjoy your Coffee Break!

I suppose it’s one thing to exercise for your health (I should probably walk more), but something quite different indeed to exercise for tone and a svelte, fat-free body – especially when you’re closer to 50 than 40-years-old. Especially when you’ve never really needed to worry about it before, but one day you look in the mirror and think: “EEK! What happened here?!?!”

As I looked for ways to fix the flaws, a nightmarish exercise regime filled my mind: Pain, a five-hour-a-day work-out plan, and muscles so sore I can’t get out of bed, all the while existing on a carrot stick and grain of rice. I wonder if maybe I’d luck out on Sundays, and get to add a grape to the menu. Nah. That would be too easy. My bet is I’d be given half a blueberry.

At which point, it sounded much easier, and at least on the surface more appealing, to just give it up, turn into the frumpy middle-aged woman and call it a day with a box of bonbons nearby.

Surely, I thought, it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposal. So I turned off the movie reel in my mind and did some thinking (which tends to get me into trouble at times).

As a big believer in the power of positive thinking, et al, I reminded myself that we can’t necessarily get from A to T immediately. But by reaching for a better thought, we make baby steps to the end result. I know most of you know what I’m talking about. When we feel bad about ourselves, the last thing we want to do is commit to a change that seems overwhelming at best. What we need is a kick-start. Something to help us feel just a little bit better. That little bit then becomes another little bit, and before we know it, we’re feeling much better (and, with a little luck, much more svelte).

So I thought I’d take a look into some ways to improve our appearance quickly – or at least painlessly, without having to go under the knife. Truth is, I may talk about face-lifts and tummy tucks, but I’m a big chicken. Here are a few things I found that seemed worthy to share. Let’s start with this little trick for diminishing broken capillaries and spider veins from ehow.com:

Apply homemade remedies to the affected areas. For broken capillaries apply a homemade mask onto the face. Mix 1/4 cup of rose oil or crush chamomile tea in with the facial moisturizer of your choice. Allow the facial masks to set for the night.

Diminish both with apple cider vinegar (apply it to the skin twice daily) or combine rose, palmarosa or parsley oil into a mix with virgin coconut oil. Apply it to affected areas for three to four weeks twice daily.

Sounds easy enough, I suppose. This looks to work on rosacea, too – a fairly common problem for women in the 30-60-year-old age group.

Maybe you’re more worried about a sagging neck or chin. While this one is a little tougher, with researchers claiming products containing collagen don’t work (the molecules are too big to penetrate the skin), apparently products containing cynergy TK with functional keratin work quite well. But you are gonna have to pay for it.

If you’d rather not dish out the dough, Dermaxime has some exercises to try that target various areas on the face and neck. Of course, that takes us right back to exercise, which defeats our purpose.

Next up, and you know you’ve been waiting for this one, is a home remedy for cellulite: coffee grounds. Clearly a two-for-one deal, this one may just be worth a try (no guarantees).

This topical treatment, courtesy of homeremedyweb could prove to be a cellulite buster, too:

Mix 3 parts apple cider vinegar with one part of your favorite massage oil.

Gently knead this solution onto affected skin areas twice daily.

This massage treatment will help to reduce the appearance of cellulite.

Let’s move on to a little make-up trick. While you may be tempted to cake on the foundation to cover up flaws or even out skin tone, keep in mind that less is more – at least in this situation. Heavy foundations tend to make the skin look older (in total contradiction to what we’re looking for). So go for sheer to medium-weight coverage.

In my humble opinion, if you’re looking for an immediate feeling of I-love-me, get a haircut that flatters your face – and don’t forget the color or highlights.

Who knows… It could be catalyst that sends you in search of the nearest treadmill.

-Liz

Oscar nominations were announced this past Tuesday. (It was a triple treat of a day for me, first the Oscar nominations, then old Punxsutawney Phil paid a visit, and then of course the LOST premier. So much excitement packed into one little day!)

Can I just tell you that I LOVE the Oscars?! I have watched the Academy Awards Show (the Oscars) faithfully ever since I was a small child.  As a little girl I would picture myself in a glamorous, shimmery dress  giving an emotional acceptance speech, which would bring tears to an adoring  audience. Never mind the fact that I had never done any acting of any sort…ever. A minor detail to me. I was sure I would grow up and somehow, someday receive an Oscar.

Now I am all grown up, mostly, and have still never done any acting (well except for my stint as a church chorister in a movie called Brigham City. Go ahead. Click my IMDb, I dare you.) But my love affair with the Oscars continues. Every year I make my friends and family fill out Oscar ballots in advance of the show, to see who can make the most correct predictions. I even have a prize basket for the grand prize winner, which just happened to be me last year, but I graciously passed the prize on to the runner-up…after my acceptance speech…heehee…

Imagine my excitement when I realized that this year I could take my Oscar ballot routine to a whole new level. YOU!

YOU are my whole new level.

So pretty please take my Oscar poll. Let’s see how skilled my Coffee Break audience is in making Oscar predictions. (I even figured out how to add a poll into a post just for this occasion. If you truly knew how bad I am at computer stuff, you would indeed be impressed. Trust me.) It doesn’t matter if you haven’t seen all, or even any, of the pictures. Just make your best guess. (One answer per category please.)

And let the predictions begin…

For a complete list of all the Oscar nominations, go to www.oscar.com.

And don’t forget to tune in to the Oscars Live March 7 on ABC to see how many we got right!

Do you LOVE the Oscars too? Leave me a comment?

So what would you say if I told you it was raining fish? No, seriously. What would you say? I suspect the conversation would go a little something like this.

“You lie.”

“No, I don’t. True story. Swear it.”

“Prove it.”

“OK.”

(This is my part, where I prove to you that it did, indeed, rain fish.)

Dateline: the town of Lagamanu in Australia’s northern territory, February 25 and 26.

Local residents reported “hundreds and hundreds” of small white fish – live fish – falling from the sky. What’s more, it’s not the first time residents have reported this bizarre event. Oh, no. That would be too easy.

Fish first fell from the sky in 1974 and again in 2004.

A senior weather forecaster explained that an updraft could feasibly pull fish – and water – more than 60,000 feet into the air, and while conditions in the area were ripe for a tornado last week, none were reported.

All things considered, the situation could have been worse, as one resident so aptly put it:

“Thank God it didn’t rain crocodiles.”

Indeed.

Ah, and only if fish rain ended there. It does not. In fact, the skies have been known to rain frogs, corn, hermit crabs and alligators. Read all about it at about.com’s paranormal phenomena pages, which also includes this little snippet:

“A Korean fisherman, trolling off the coast of the Falkland Islands, was knocked unconscious by a single frozen squid that fell from the sky and konked him on the head.”

May I suggest that, in the future, we think twice before declaring it’s raining cats and dogs…

-Liz

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells

“Kid, you’ll move mountains!  Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!” – Dr. Seuss

Today (March 2) is Dr. Seuss Day…a day celebrated in elementary schools all across this country. My own kids started off the day with Dad’s and Donuts before school. The object of this celebration is to see if  kids can drag their dads to school at the crack of dawn to eat a donut, and read a book, simultaneously, and preferably without getting the donut all over said book.

My contribution to Dr. Seuss day will be, of course, the infamous dinner of green eggs and ham.

But what I really want to talk about today are the lessons I’ve  learned about life from Dr. Seuss. It’s my opinion that practically everything you need to know to survive in this world, can learned from within the pages of the 40 books of Theodor Seuss Geisel.

But first a tidbit I betcha didn’t know…One of the most popular Dr. Seuss books came about because of a bet. The bet was  that he couldn’t write an entire book using only 50 different words. The book is Green Eggs and Ham. The 50 words are, in order of appearance: I am Sam; that; do not like; you green eggs and ham; them; would here or there; anywhere; in a house with mouse; eat box fox; car they; could; may will see tree; let me be; train on; say the dark; rain; goat; boat; so try may; if; good; thank.

So on we go with the words of wisdom from Dr. Seuss. Never has a man said so much with so few words.

If you’d never been born, then you might be an Isn’t! An Isn’t has no fun at all. No, he disn’t.

• Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.
• I’m afraid sometimes you’ll play lonely games too, games you can’t win because you’ll play against you.
• A person’s a person, no matter how small.
• I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.
• From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.
• You are you. Now, isn’t that pleasant?
• If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.
• It is fun to have fun, but you have to know how.
• Christmas doesn’t come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more …
• I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. Because an elephant’s faithful, 100 percent.
• Oh, the things you can find if you don’t stay behind!
• Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
• So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act.
• I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
• There’s no limit to how much you’ll know, depending how far beyond zebra you go.
• Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.
• Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
• And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!
• It’s opener, out there, in the wide, open air.
• Just tell yourself, Duckie, you’re really quite lucky.
• You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!
• Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.
• You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose.
• You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

So dear readers, I challenge you to have a magical Seussical day today. After all in the word of the master…

If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.

Also check this out. It’s really for kids, but I had ridiculous amounts of fun here! 

Suessville

***Leave a comment on this article, or any other article for that matter, and be automatically entered in this week’s giveaway.

~Kate

Enjoy your Coffee Break!

Granted, I’ll never be a figure skater or curling champion. (Did any of you watch that sport? I kind of liked it – and my neighbors and I concluded it should be called the Swiffer sport.). But I think we could all come away with a few pointers. Like not giving up on your dreams, following your heart,etc.

Assuming, of course, that you could watch the Olympics without hearing the constant yapping of the commentators. Yeah, I realize the closing ceremonies were last night, but this is my rant.

I’m telling ya, between the commentators and “special assignment” reports, I’m not sure what drove me the craziest. I wanted to scream at them that I was quite capable of making up my own mind as to the quality of performances. I didn’t need the figure skating commentators telling me what mistake was going to cost a skater a few points, nor did I need them shrieking with joy when someone nailed a triple lutz/triple toe combo.

So commentators, please take note.

I also could have done without the logging segment or the weather segment. Especially the weather segment. When you pick the warmest venue ever for these (keyword) winter games, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t snow. And don’t even try to tell me it has something to do with “global warming.”

I don’t mind you telling me that Team USA 1’s bobsledding victory, led by driver Steve Holcomb, broke a 62-year drought. I do mind you telling me that the win is significant. I think I can figure that out on my own. (What a run that was, too – did you see it?)

My prime example of why we could use a little more competition and a lot less commentating came during Kim Yu-Na’s flawless performance on Thursday. Sometimes you just don’t need any words. If you saw the performance, and have a pulse, you know what I mean.

If you saw Steve Holcomb on the podium when the National Anthem was played, you know what I mean.

Perhaps instead of trying to out-do each other with witty or profound comments, you could have a different type of competition – one called see-who-can-say-the-least.

And in the spirit of the Olympics, dear commentators, go for the gold!

-Liz

Cheater Bacon Focaccia

Ingredients:

1 can (11 oz.) refrigerated breadstick dough (12 breadsticks)
10 slices cooked bacon
1 egg, beaten
2 slices chopped cooked bacon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.  Unroll dough and separate into 12 strips.  Starting at center of ungreased cookie sheet, coil bacon with dough strips into a loose spiral.  As more strips and bacon are added to the coil, pinch dough ends together and continue coiling until all 12 strips are added.

2. Drizzle beaten egg over dough filling in crevices.  Sprinkle chopped bacon on top.

3. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until edges are a deep golden brown.  Cut into 6 pizza shaped wedges.

Other Cheater Recipes!

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Just imagine our excitement when we found out about Disney’s Give a Day/Get a Day volunteer program this year. All you have to do is give a day of service through a participating organization, and you get a free 1 day pass to Disneyland or Disney World. My family signed up to make fleece blankets for kids through a local organization called Project Linus.

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Do you want to participate in the…

Give a Day.

Get a Disney Day. Program?

Disney says to hurry and sign up. They are almost at the 1 million volunteers limit.

Take a look at Coffee Break’s other Disneyland stories…

• How to make Disneyland Carmel Apples
• On the News a Family Dies (funny vacation quotes)
• The Magic of Disneyland

~Kate

Enjoy your coffee break!

Obviously this wouldn’t be a problem in the middle of summer. Even if the A/C had gone out, I’d have been just as content to roll down the windows and let the fresh air in – not a practice I’m willing to implement in 20-degree weather.

You’d think the fact that it was miserably cold – especially when Colton and I headed out the door for school in the mornings – would have been enough. Worse though, was this little teaser game the fan played. It would run for about 20 seconds, slow down, speed up again and quit.

Sometimes going over a bump would jolt it into action, but I figured it probably wasn’t in the best interest of me or the car to play “hit the pot hole.” The best I could do was pray for sunny days and hope that Mr. Sun would provide enough heat in the enclosed space to at least take the chill out of the air.

Thankfully, my brother’s mechanic (Jason) at Vespa Lexington agreed to look at the car last weekend. He unplugged plugs and did whatever it is that mechanically gifted people do. After reconnecting, the fan appeared to be working once more.

For all of about 15 minutes.

Once again, the bloom was off of the rose, if you will. Actually the bloom was likely freezing. I know I was.

Luckily, Jason was a good sport about it all, told me what part to get, and agreed to make the repairs a couple of days ago. About three hours later, all appeared to be in tip-top shape.

But I’ll have to wait for another day to be sure it is fixed. Today was 60 and sunny. At least for today, heater fan working or not, I finally had some semblance of heat.

-Liz