Archive for May 2nd, 2011

Synopsis…

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure is an all-new Disney comedy adventure starring the multi-talented Ashley Tisdale, as Sharpay Evans, in a hilarious fish-out-of-water tale about a small town Diva and her dog’s mis-adventures in New York City!

Just how fabulous do you have to be to make it big in the Big Apple? One aspiring diva is about to find out…the hard way! Ashley Tisdale shines in this totally captivating comedy.

After a talent scout spots her performing with her dog Boi at a charity gala, Sharpay Evans (Tisdale) sets off for the bright lights of NYC, convinced instant fame and fortune are in the bag (designer, that is). But the theatre is a dog-eat-dog world, as she and Boi discover when they encounter the devious owner of a pampered Pooch named “Countess” and a scheming Broadway starlet who will do anything to crush the competition. Fortunately, Sharpay also meets Peyton (Austin Butler), a handsome student filmmaker who finds Sharpay nearly as fascinating as she finds herself.

Our Thoughts…

If you are in the know about the ever popular High School Musical movies, chances are you’ll probably want to check out the Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure! I’ll admit after seeing how the Sharpay character behaved in the HSM movies, I wasn’t sure if I’d like a feature dedicated just to her but was surprised how much I ended up liking it! This movie is full of fun, fashion, and heck of a lot of pink! I love the fact that this movie as fun as it is, teaches kids the importance of  friendship, ambition, and hard work. I think this flick would be best suited for girls ages 5 and up. I honestly think boys would be bored out of their minds. I give it a 3/5 rating.

Bonus Features on the DVD:

• BLOOPERS (on Blu-ray & DVD) – Ashley Tisdale and the cast cut up on set.

• AUSTIN CAM (on Blu-ray & DVD) – Actor Austin Butler, who plays student filmmaker Petyon, not only shoots scenes needed for the movie, but takes his camera behind the scenes to see how Ashley Tisdale has fun between takes.

• THE EVOLUTION OF SHARPAY (on Blu-ray only) – Ashley Tisdale traces the development of her bigger-than-life character from the High School Musical movies through her current

3-Disc Superset (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) with Limited Edition Pink Clutch Purse – $49.99 US/$54.99 Canada
2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD) - $39.99 US/$44.99 Canada
1-Disc DVD - $29.99 US/$35.99 Canada

This post was written for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment who provided the complimentary item in exchange for our honest review.

I was a homeschool student so I never had a very formal graduation. It would have been wonderful if my friends and family members would’ve been able to attend and rejoice in my accomplishment. It’s extremely sentimental in celebrating moving on to the next step in life whether it was for career or college. But alas that’s not how things panned out.

Though I know for a fact home school groups do put on graduation ceremonies for their students. My husband who was also homeschooled still has his diploma of completion and hat and gown from his graduation. Graduating is something very deep and touching to my own soul, it’s something to be proud of! I am totally going to be making a big deal out of graduation for my own children.

Years from today since my kids are still a bit young for graduation, I am going to be looking to Tiny Prints for announcements, invitations, and thank you cards that revolve around graduation. Actually when I think about it, if I celebrate my daughter’s completion of kindergarten of which I am sure I’ll do, I’ll have two and a half years to start planning!

I am a fan of Tiny Prints and have used the in purchasing Baby Announcements, Christmas Cards, and Photo Books. The quality is top notch and their site is very easy to navigate and use in personalizing to your every whim! I highly recommend them!

Disclosure: I wrote this post as party of a campaign for Tiny Prints, through Global Influence. I will be receiving a gift certificate as thanks for my time in posting.

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of
Pearl Mother’s Day blog series. The series is week long celebration of moms
and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today’s best writer’s (Tricia
Goyer, Megan Alexander, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Beth Engelman, Holley Gerth,
Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, and more). I hope you’ll join us each day for another unique
perspective on Mother’s Day.

AND … do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl
necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS
LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/1-5/8 and the winner will on
5/11. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info
and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities
that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing
a copy of Pearl Girls:
Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother’s Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there! Happy Mother’s Day!

3 DIY Mother’s Day Gifts
that Celebrate Family By Beth Engelman

This Mother’s Day, celebrate family with this crafty games the whole family can enjoy.

Block Photo Puzzle
Not only does this 6-sided photo puzzle provide hours of family fun, but it’s also a great
way to reuse favorite family photos.

Materials:
•    9 – Wooden Blocks (Use old alphabet blocks)
•    6 – 8 x 10 Photograph Prints or Colored Copies

•    Ruler
•    Scissors
•    Mod Podge and Paintbrush

Directions:
1.  Arrange blocks in a square and measure the length and width of the square.
2. Measure and cut print to the exact same size as the 9-block square.
3. Place blocks in a square on top of print. Position blocks so they’re lined up neatly and
as close together as possible.
4. Trace and cut the outline of each block.
5. Glue print pieces to blocks using Mod Podge. Set aside to dry and then seal with 1-2
top layers of Mod Podge.
6. Repeat process until all 6 sides of the blocks are covered with different photographs.
Thank you to the creative folks at www.photojojo.com for sharing this idea!

“Go Fish with the Family” Card Game
This gift is perfect for Moms who like card games. Another bonus?  There’s
always room to “grow” the deck.

Materials:
•    Camera
•    Double stick tape, or a glue stick
•    Several pieces of cardstock (one color)
•    Scissors

Directions:
1.    Take pictures of each family member and develop the pictures in
duplicates (3×5 or 4×6 is fine, just make sure all the pictures are the same size).
2.    Turn the pictures into playing cards by gluing or taping a piece
of card-stock to the backside of each picture.
3.    Game ideas include “Go Fishing with the Family” which is
similar to “Go Fish” but, instead of matching numbers, the object is to collect matching
pairs of photos. “Memory” is another fun game to play.  Place the cards face down
in a grid and try to find matching pairs of photos.

Family Bingo
In my house, Bingo is always a big hit because regardless of age or skill level, everyone
has the same chance to win.  However this version is extra special because the
playing boards are populated with pictures of family members.

Materials:
•    Color Coordinated Game Boards (download here)
•    Images of Family Members (use photographs, drawings or clip
art)
•    Bingo Markers (pennies, pebbles or buttons)
•    Glue and Scissors

Directions:
1.    Create the game boards:  Download and print desired
number of game-boards. Remember each player gets a different game board.
2.    Color-copy and paste images of family members onto each game
board.  Remember to paste one person per square and make each board slightly
different.
3.    Make “call-out cards” by writing the name of each family
member in yellow, green, blue, purple and pink (which coordinates with the colors on the
board)
4.    To Play: Game play is similar to traditional Bingo except the
caller will randomly select a call-out card and then read the color and person.  For
example, “Blue, Grandma Mary” means there is a picture of Grandma Mary in a blue
square.  Just like Bingo, the first person to get 5 in a row (horizontally, vertically
or diagonally) wins!

Beth Engelman is a columnist for the Sun Times News Group’s Pioneer Press. Her
column “Mommy on a Shoestring,” appears in over 30 local papers around Chicago
area as well as on the Sun-times website where you can also view her Mommy on a
Shoestring video series. She is also a regular on “You and Me this Morning” on WCIU
and is frequent contributor for WGN America’s Midday News at Noon.  Recently,
Beth was chosen by a celebrity panel from NBC Universal and iVillage to become one
of 15 national  “mom” correspondents for NBC’s popular website, www.ivillage.com (over 3 million visitors a day) where
she reports on issues that affect moms, families and communities such as bullying,
divorce and weight loss.  For more information visit Beth at www.mommyonashoestring.com