I just woke up from a deep sleep this morning. I was dreaming that my alarm clock didn't go off because I forget to set it (or it was broke or something). When I awoke, it was 3 minutes different that the time that it was in my dream (and my alarm clock WAS going to go off).
That was a weird Twilight Zone kinda feeling. Anyways, the picture at left reminds me of how comfy and sleepy I was.
xoxo A.Joy

One of my favorite people in the world (Laura) runs Playaway in Royal Oak. I wanted to invite everyone (on her behalf) of a new happening in Royal Oak for families:

We will host four Friday night, whole family gatherings in the playroom starting Friday February 2. We're calling them "Pizza Playtimes" and are gearing up to host families with kids of all ages (I'll be bringing my four along too). We'll make homemade pizza, a giant salad, play games, listen to music. (We're even planning to have live musical guests - TBA - at one or two of the Fridays)...Here are the details:Dates: Fridays, February 2 & 16 and March 16 & 30Time: 5pm - 8pmAges: 0-99 (bring, or send, grandpa and grandma!)Cost: $10/family of four + BYOB (non alcoholic, of course)Please let us know if you will attend 48 hours ahead of the Friday so we may shop accordingly...In other news, many of you may know that Belinda and her family moved back to England this past August. We miss them and how! What you may not know is that Playaway is about to officially turn 5 years old. We are going to throw a birthday party for ourselves (and everyone who helped grow us here) on Tuesday, June 12, 2007, time TBA. Please save the date if you would like to join us! Hope to see you soon!Laura Bodary and the Playaway Players 1545 E. Lincoln Royal Oak, MI 48067(248) 635-6756www.play-away.com

Last night I played Scrabble with Mary Lynn. I have never beaten her in Scrabble (she's really good!!). Well, I had the best word ever on triple word score (with my Q being on a double letter score). I spelled the word queues and scored a whopping 78 points. Wanna go for another challenge Kit Kat????

xoxo A.Joy

Ok - so you think you're smart - well so do I!! Until I took this test, I thought I had it all together. I only scored 4 correct answers - see how good you do!!! xoxo A.Joy
http://www.mikescomputerinfo.com/inteltest.htm

My sister-in-law just mailed me this (and more) photo of a road in Bolivia nicknamed "road of death". How dangerous is this? I will be posting more of these in the future because they just blew me away. Imagine Candy Band having a gig in a village in Bolivia and this was the only road to get there - we just might lose our gear (and our lives!!).
xoxo A.Joy

Today I helped out with a program we had at our school called Living Science and the topic was Forgotten Africa. The interpreters brought a python, parrot, giant turtle, hissing cockroaches, frog, monitor and a very super cute porcupine named Spike. Everyone loved the porcupine - it would just be hard to cuddle with one - I guess you could trim his quills??
xoxo A.Joy

Just ran across this weird picture and thought I should post it. What happened to her head?? I should write a new song called "Gymnist Lost Her Head and Almond Joy didn't find it".
xoxo A.Joy

Can you believe it?? I have seen the jeep of my dreams. This is the real deal and I drove it!! Look out if you see me on the road!

xoxo A.Joy www.greatlakes4x4.com

REVIEW NUMBER 2
The lovely Mrs. Davis has a blog type web page devoted to kids music and she has kindly reviewed Calling All Kids. Please check out her awesome site (and our awesome review) at
http://lovelydavis.blogspot.com/

Here is our first review from SnowCaps Superfan #1 and #2:

"The Alphabet Song" - Rock out! We love how you put it all together and you get cool stuff!
"It's Your Birthday" - very catchy! Finally a song for your special day.
"Octopus on my Head" - We really like the jokes in the middle! You're so funny, Almond Joy :)
"Simon Says" - Love it! Loved it from the first time I heard it live. It's so much fun...and sneaky.
"Jack and Jill" - We like the fast pace and all the different nursery rhymes it incorporates.
"Eenie Meenie Song" - fun! I can just picture Noah and Julian not reaching a decison and then Edwina suggests Eenie Meenie and it all works out!
"Down by the Bay" - has been going through my head for days! I love it! I want to go where the watermelons grow!
"My Bike" - brings back memories of my childhood and all the times I spent with my bike.
"Monsters" - a classic! Love the strings.
The Cover Art - is fantastic! Smash that guitar, candygirl!
xoxoxo, SnoCapsSuperfan & SnoCaps Jr.

Today I helped out in my daughters class (1st and 2nd grade). I had to give 4 kids at a time, a spelling test. There were words like "said" and "your". One of the words was "but". Of couse you can imagine the laughter every time I said that word. I did, however, use it in a sentence to avoid any confusion. "I wanted to go outside, but it was too cold out".

xoxo A.Joy

Yesterday I awoke to a scene like the photo at left in my backyard. The trees looked like diamonds when the sun was shining on them. I think most Michiganders actually want snow - but instead we go from Spring like temps directly to ice. Where is the snow???? At least they will have good weather for the Plymouth Ice Show.
xoxo A.Joy

I watched 4 great hours of my fave show over the last 2 days. 24 is the best. The last 5 minutes were unbelievable last night. I am counting down to next Monday night. I really should tape them all and have a fest!!

xoxo A.Joy

I ALWAYS SAID GLITTER WAS DANGEROUS - READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE TO FIND OUT WHY:
The Occupational Safety And Health Administration released figures Monday indicating that record numbers of elementary-school art teachers are falling victim to pneumosparklyosis, commonly known as glitter lung.

Dr. Linda Norr scans a sufferer who spent more than two decades in the classrooms.
Nearly 8,000 cases were reported in 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available. This is the highest number since the arts-and-crafts industry was deregulated in 1988.
Characterized by a lack of creative energy and shortness of breath, and accompanied by sneezing or coughing up flakes of twinkly, reflective matter, glitter lung typically strikes teachers between the ages of 29 to 60 who spend 20 hours per week in an art-class setting during the school year.
"When art teachers spend so much time in confined quarters with inadequate ventilation amid swirling clouds of glitter, it's only a matter of time before their lungs start to suffer negative effects," said Dr. Linda Norr, a specialist in elementary-school-related respiratory diseases. "Those sufferers who are not put on a rigorous program of treatment often spend their last days on respirators, hacking up a thick, dazzling mucus."
As incidences of glitter lung continue to rise, critics are accusing public schools of not doing enough to protect art teachers.
Former art teacher Miles Winfield, who recently testified before a House subcommittee on unsafe working conditions, said that, as his symptoms worsened, his principal looked the other way, fearing defamation lawsuits from the powerful glitter industry.
"Most art teachers are afraid to come forward, for fear of losing their jobs," Winfield said. "At an absolute minimum, an art teacher should be equipped with a respirator, thick goggles, and a reflective-field smock. But schools don't want to stand up to Big Glitter, which continues to insist that this stuff is safe. Schools end up falsifying the safety reports and hoping they get away with it. And they usually do."
Until heavier, less toxic forms of glitter are developed, physicians recommend using alternative media to enhance children's artwork.

Wow - I just came home from our 2nd day of shows at the zoo and my neighbor calls and says "I want to bring you something". He brought us a homemade apple pie. We just ate most of it and it totally rocked!! Thanks Doug - that was very thoughtful of you!!

xoxo A.Joy

Had a great show at the zoo today - thanks to all that came out. We are back again tomorrow at noon and 2pm!! Came home and the gingerbread house that is in the middle of my yard has completely collapsed and now the grackles are chowing on it. I've really fed alot of backyard critters with our used-to-be beautiful holiday house. If you would like to learn more about grackles - check it out at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/COMGRA/

xoxo A.Joy

I usually don't blog this much in 2 days - but I couldn't believe the following story. I am a huge Picasso fan - and some super rich dude in Vegas accidentally poked a hole in a Picasso original - and now he is going to sue Lloyds of London - bla bla bla.
This is super sick stupid stuff. http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/01/11/picasso.suit.ap/index.html

Today I had to get a cavity filled. The dentist numbed the area with a "shot". I had my appointment at noon and wasn't hungry - so I didn't eat before I went. If this ever happens to you - have lunch BEFORE you get a tooth filled. The entire side of my face was numb all day and I was starving, but afraid to eat, because I would have probably chewed the side of my face off due to the extreme numbness. About 4pm - I felt a major tingling and then all of a sudden - I wasn't numb anymore. Very weird - I thought about what it would be like to numb other parts of the body (what would you numb if you could??) xoxo A.Joy

We made a really huge and cool gingerbread house at Christmas. After the holidays, I let the kids pick at it, but finally decided it was getting pretty stale. So I put it outside for the "animals". Well, the squirrels took the trees off and were lugging them around the yard. Every time I let the dog out, she doesn't come in for a long time - well guess what? She is licking and biting at the roof of the house. I went out to move it and something else has been clawing at it. I wonder how long it will take to just go away? xoxo A.Joy

It's that time of the year again. My daughter is a Brownie and the only fundraiser Brownies do is "sell Girl Scout Cookies". Why does this always come up at the time of the year when everyone is starting a diet? They should do this before Christmas and then people wouldn't have to make cookies. The good news? The cookies won't be in for a month, by then, most people will have given up on their diets!!
xoxo A.Joy

The talented Mike Kelly has a new painting and it's on the way to a show in NYC!! It is titled Candy Band Girls. Doesn't it rock??? Thank you Mike - we love your art!!

xoxo A.Joy

Today is the day!! I will be watching for my local fed ex truck to stop at my house and deliver 1000 of our new CD "Calling all Kids". Can't wait - I wanna play it loud!!!
xoxo A.Joy

The newest pets to enter our household are hermit crabs. I have never had any experience with these little creatures before. According to the "owners manual" they are lovable and become quite attached to their owners. We are supposed to bathe them once a week and let them excercise around the kitchen table. Somehow, I can't see me getting kissy with one of these, but then again, I said the same thing about rats and now I love them. More on this later!!
xoxo A.Joy

I guess this will be the review year for postings from A.Joy. Todays review? Little Miss Sunshine. What a stupid, funny, wonderful and bizarre movie. I loved it - couldn't believe what would happen next - expect the unexpected. My favorite part?? The horn!!! Get this movie - not good for kids though.

xoxo A.Joy

I was helping my daughter get a library book at school the other day and I steered her towards a biography on Helen Keller. We've read the book a few times and we are both so fascinated with her. What a story her life was. Try and imagine what your life would be like if you couldn't see or hear (you wouldn't be able to hear Candy Band).
She was truly an amazing and strong lady.
xoxo A.Joy

We took our kids to see the School of Rock... Allstars at the Royal Oak Music Theater last Friday night. The same "school of rock" kids played the Kidzapalooza stage in Chicago. They really are great. My children had mixed reviews... "it was too loud", said the 6 year old. My 10 year old boy has been jamming on the piano and drums everyday since, so I think he dug it. They are hosting a "school of rock camp" in our town next summer, I may have a future drummer on his way to the camp! http://www.schoolofrock.com/

My cousin in New Mexico is always sending me cool emails - I especially like cool art/photo things. This is one I rec'd today - along with alot of other examples of what cool things you can do with paper.
xoxo A.Joy

I watched the weirdest show on the Food Network channel last night. It was called Pastry Daredevil. These pastry chefs had to create huge sugar sculptures that were like 6 feet high and walk them on the "obstacle course" which was actually a stage. But the key was they had to climb up some stairs and walk across the stage and then down some stairs without breaking their masterpiece. 3 out of 5 had hunks falling off them because they were shaking - 2 actually made it across. It was the strangest show. What will they think of next? Hot dog art??

xoxo A.Joy

Paying the price for staying up late to watch Johnny Depp in "Blow". I love that movie - but I don't love being so tired right now. Hopefully there isn't another Johnny Depp movie on TV tonight.

xoxo A.Joy

I just spent New Years day at our cousins house and they have Guitar Heros 2 for playstation. It is the most awesome game - instead of a joystick, you get a guitar and have to play leads. Being a guitar player - I was pretty decent at the game - now I want one too!!
xoxo A.Joy