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Entertainment

Entertainment is enjoyable from babies to adults. Whether you’re single, married, have kids or not movies, arts, sports and events bring people together.

Inside Out, Halloween, trick-or-treating

My Family went Inside Out for Halloween

by Deborah Cruz 2015/11/02

written by Deborah Cruz

Our entire lives have been upside down and inside out since I broke my leg but we are learning to deal with it. Honestly, this broken leg has not just changed my life it’s upset the entire ecosystem of my family. It’s been a crazy couple of months so this Halloween, we fittingly went as characters from Inside Out.

I haven’t been out a lot lately so I was really excited to take the girls Trick or Treating. The Big Guy was Anger, which made us all laugh since Anger is small and my husband is 6’5”. My oldest was Joy and my youngest was Disgust. The obvious choice for me was Sadness, to round out the crew, but I figured there’s been enough sadness so I chose to go another route. I decided to be Bing Bong.

Why Bing Bong from Inside Out, you ask?

Well, I felt like I needed a little whimsy in my life. Though I must say, it’s a challenge trying to bring a child’s imaginary friend to life on Halloween or any other day of the week. I spent the night being confused for Katy Perry and Niki Minaj as the Big Guy wheeled me around the neighborhood.

It was exhausting to be out and around in the chilly, autumn night air but at the same time it was invigorating. I felt like a human again. Hearing my girls giggle as they ran door-to-door trick or treating made my heart happy.

It’s funny how sometimes the simple things like being outside of your own four walls, participating in life can make all the difference. For one night, I felt like I got to escape my injury and do the things I’ve always done with my family. I felt normal and it was amazing, even if it was while I was dressed as an imaginary friend.

In the end, maybe I looked like Katy Perry in a wheelchair with a broken leg and a crazy pair of Olivia Newton John sparkly hot pants and not Bing Bong. Maybe no one quite got what I was supposed to be but I needed it.

We all needed a little Inside Out to get right side up.

2015/11/02 1 comment

Rita, Netflix, back-to-school, Danish, TV, Mille Dinesen

Entertainment

Rita, my Newest Netflix Obsession

by Deborah Cruz 2015/09/23

written by Deborah Cruz

A few weeks ago a fellow ballet mom and I were discussing our Netflix guilty pleasures. Sitting there outside the ballet studio that Tuesday, I never would have guessed how important that conversation would become to me and how relevant that recommendation in my life. When you are have nowhere to go, the only escape from the minutia is through your mind and boy, have I ever needed an escape.

Since recently becoming bedridden due to my fall heard round the Internet, I have become very well acquainted with my Netflix account. It seems that as I spent last year shuttling my daughters around town for various extracurricular activities, I missed a lot of great shows last year and with new shows starting this week, it’s time to catch up.

So far, I have caught up on Once Upon a Time, Gray’s Anatomy and the Walking Dead and I am ready for the new seasons to start. I also binge watched Game of Thrones (available on DVD). Just an FYI, if you haven’t watched Game of Thrones, you are missing out. It is amazing. It’s super intense and filled with all kinds of sex and violence ( so definitely not anything to watch with the kids around) but I love it.

I also found a new Netflix addiction, Rita. The show is based out of Copenhagen and is about a no-nonsense teacher with a wild side. Following the life of a very outspoken and rebellious single mother, Rita Madsen is a schoolteacher who is competent in the classroom, but seems to need a teacher of her own, when it comes to her personal life.

I loved this show because it felt like the characters were really relatable and the sort of people you might see at your own place of work. The bottom line is that the show is about a teacher who is a hot mess in her own personal life but she will stop at nothing to help her students. She is there biggest advocate.

Even though she may not have her own stuff together, she always tried to do what was best for the kids; her biological children and the many students that she loved and wanted to give a chance in the world. Most of the show was her sticking her neck out to rescue a student. I’d like to think that there are teachers that care as much as Rita at my children’s school, especially at a time in my parenting tenure when I feel that I really have to depend on my children’s teachers to be their advocate.

I just finished season 3 of Rita so I guess I’d better find another series. What’s your favorite Netflix series to binge watch?

Disclosure: I am a member of the Netflix Stream team but all opinions are my own.

2015/09/23 1 comment

The Little Mermaid, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago, travel, family

Entertainment

The Little Mermaid Message We All Missed

by Deborah Cruz 2015/07/27

written by Deborah Cruz

One of my favorite Disney Cartoons is The Little Mermaid. Even before I had children, I loved it. I thought it was all about the music but this past weekend, I took my daughters to see Disney’s The Little Mermaid the live production at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, a Broadway musical adaptation of the beloved film, staged by award winning director and choreographer, Rachel Rockwell. I fell in love all over again with this charming tale but this time for completely different reasons.

Every summer we make a trip to the city and spend the day at Navy Pier. It always starts with a family series production at The Chicago Shakespeare Theater. If you’ve never been, you really must go. Each year, the productions seems to get better and better. Last year, the girls saw Seussical and the year before, Shrek the Musical but we all agreed, the 75-minute production of The Little Mermaid is our new favorite.

There is just something so charming about bringing your child (or your own) childhood favorite cartoon to life. It truly is magical and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater never disappoints. The theater is intimate and interactive, with characters flowing in and out of the aisles. The stage is so close that you not only feel like you can reach out and touch the story but you feel a part of it. If you want to teach your children to love the theater, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater is a great place to start. I took my children to their first production when they were 5 and 3-years-old.

This summer’s Chicago Shakespeare theater production surprised me because I saw the story through new eyes, maybe it’s because I am a parent of daughters now, myself. The musical follows Ariel, (Rachel Eskenazi-Gold) a young mermaid that longs for a life beyond the sea. In her adventure to independence, she defies her father, King Triton (Matthew Jones), makes a deal with the sea witch, Ursula (Rebecca Finnegan) and find her happiness with Prince Eric (Brandon Springman) all while accompanied by her loyal friends, Sebastian (joseph Anthony Byrd) and Flounder (Matthew Uzarraga).

This time, I not only saw the story of a young girl trying to assert her independence and the arc of falling in love for the first time, I saw the story of a parent letting go and I found myself crying in the audience. It was unexpected and beautiful. This time, it wasn’t just about first love it was about the ultimate love, that of a parent and a child. I don’t know how I never saw it before.

My daughters are only 8 and 10-years-old but the letting go has already begun. The asserting of independence started almost immediately and now, well, tweens seem a lot more independent then when I was their age.

The stage design was vibrant and beautiful and I felt like I was under the sea with Ariel and all of the others. The Chicago Shakespeare Theater really made The Little Mermaid come to life and it was beyond memorable.

If you have small children or as the lady sitting next to me, have grown children who grew up on The Little Mermaid, bring them. They will love it and you will all leave the Pier feeling absolutely nostalgic and wanting to hug one another, just a couple minutes longer. That is the magic of the marriage of Disney and the stage.

The 75-inute production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid is best enjoyed by ages 5 and up and runs from now until August 16 in CST’s Courtyard Theater. Tickets are $22-$24 with special discounts available for groups of 10 or more. All patrons receive a 40% parking discount at Navy Pier Garages. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s box office at 312-595-5600 or visit the website at www.chicagoshakes.com

While you’re there make a day of it. Navy Pier is growing like crazy. We had lunch at Harry Caray’s and dessert via Garrett’s Popcorn (Chicago Mix, baby!) but there are so many options and you can’t beat the view of the city! Just walk outside and wander after a show and the possibilities are endless.

If The Little Mermaid is not your favorite Disney production, which one is?

Disclosure: I was provided tickets for review purposes of The Little Mermaid but all opinions are my own.

2015/07/27 1 comment

Netflix, Telenovelas, La Reina Del sur, Stream Team

Entertainment

Latinas Rejoice Netflix has Telenovelas! #Streamteam

by Deborah Cruz 2015/07/08

written by Deborah Cruz

Latinas and lovers of telenovelas of all races it’s time to rejoice because Netflix has got what you need. As a stream team member, I am thrilled to announce that Netflix now streams TELENOVELAS!

Now, I’m pretty sure that whether you’re a Latina or not, you know and have probably watched a telenovela in your life. They are awesome. They are short-term soap operas that are way more intense and dramatic than any soap opera daytime or prime time that you’ve ever seen on American television and bonus, they have subtitles so you don’t have to speak fluent Spanish to watch.

My favorite, la Reina del Sur, is packed full of sex, drama, fights, excitement and sexy men and women. There is never a dull moment and each episode leaves you wanting more and the theme song, I can’t get it out of my head. In fact, I could probably sing it to you right now. All I needs an accordion and I could have you hooked too.

I have recently become enthralled in La Reina del Sur. It is about a smart, street savvy, badass, strong-willed woman who learns how to cope and thrive no matter what life throws her way and believe me, life throws some bad juju her way. Sounds like a lot of women I know.

The main character Teresa Mendoza, played by Kate del Castillo, a Latina from Mexico, affectionately known as La Mexicana, and she starts outs as this kept woman of a strong, macho man who loves her like crazy but has tendencies towards trouble. Soon, things take a turn for the worst and La Mexicana finds herself across the world in Spain and muddling through.

No joke, this show gets better with each episode. I am only half way through and I can’t stop watching. Even on vacation, I’ve been sneaking in episodes after everyone else goes to bed. I think I might have a problem, after all. Remember, I did the same thing last month in Nashville.

Anyways, if you are into telenovelas or you’ve ever wanted to give them a try, Netflix has them (lots of them) with English subtitles! What are you waiting for?

What’s your favorite telenovela or soap opera?

2015/07/08 0 comment

orange is the new black, netflix, streamteam, OITNB, #Streamteam, Netflix Original Series

Entertainment

Orange is the New Black Season 3 is the Best Yet of OITNB #StreamTeam

by Deborah Cruz 2015/06/23

written by Deborah Cruz

It felt like I was waiting forever for June 12th and season three of the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black to begin. It felt like an eternity because it always does when you are an addict waiting to get your next fix and I, my friends, am a HUGE OITNB addict. Seriously, as a #StreamTeam ambassador for Netflix, I watch a lot of Netflix and I love a lot of the Netflix original programming but Orange is the New Black is the one I find to be the most entertaining and this season did not disappoint.

Of course, OITNB debuted on Friday the 12^th, while I was traveling visiting friends, obviously I couldn’t watch Netflix (though I will admit, I did sneak and watch it on my iPad late at night after everyone else had gone to bed.)I told you I have a problem. But it’s not my fault there are so many amazing funny, uplifting and dramatic well-written Netflix Originals to choose from.

I watched when I could but there was no binge watching. I know sometimes you just need to unplug and be present in your life but the timing couldn’t have been worse. Luckily, I was mostly unplugged and missed any spoilers that might have been floating around. The great thing about Netflix is that I knew that OITNB would be there waiting for me when I returned home and I binge watched the entire thing in 3 days. There’s nothing quite like a couple of good binge watching days to help cure the vacation reentry blues;)

I don’t want to spoil the season for anyone who hasn’t gotten to watch the newest season of Orange is the New Black but I will tell you this, you really get to know the characters on a deeper level this year. It’s less about Piper and more about all the supporting characters. You might even change your opinion of a few, including Piper. I would definitely say this was one of the most well written seasons to date. Now, I’m going to be biting my nails waiting for season 4!

If Orange is the New Black is not your thing, Netflix has plenty of great shows for everyone.

Speaking of which if you are like me and celebrating a good old-fashioned throw back summer with your kids, why not round out the experience with some throwback shows? I love watching shows that I watched as a child with my own children. Shows like Scooby Doo, the Smurfs, Jem, Garfield, Power Rangers, Care Bears, My Little Pony and Inspector Gadget, just to name a few. What about Knight Rider, Magnum P.I. and The A Team?

Or if you want to start watching a new show together, Netflix Original Some Assembly Required season 1 premiered on June 19^th. It’s a kid’s show about a 14-year-old who takes ownership of a toy store and hires a group of his friends to help him create amazing new toys! Rated TV-G, so the entire family can enjoy it together.

If you are looking for a great drama to binge watch that will keep you on the edge of your seat, I recommend Hostages! It is addictive. I couldn’t stop watching it and I bet you won’t be able to either.

Have you watched Season 3 of Orange is the New Black on Netflix yet?

2015/06/23 0 comment

Entertainment Parenting

Caitlyn Jenner through the Eyes of a Child

by Deborah Cruz 2015/06/04

written by Deborah Cruz

The photo above is my favorite of Caitlyn Jenner because I can see a smile. As a mom, I am not perfect. Far from it. I’ve done a lot of things wrong. I’ve yelled.Hell, I’ve roared so loudly that I scared my kids. My kids have been known to blurt out the occasional profanity.Patience is not one of my virtues, not even a little bit. I get grouchy when I get overwhelmed and sometimes I say things that I wish I hadn’t but I love my kids and I’m trying my best to raise good solid, caring, citizens of the world.

I let my kids see me make mistakes and apologize. I let them see me fall and get back up. I let them see that to succeed at anything, it takes a lot of hard work but at the same time, anything is possible if you are willing to do the work. I teach my kids that actions have consequences, lying is a terrible flaw that breaks trust and somethings can’t be undone. I teach them to forgive but remind them that it is impossible to forget so think carefully before you say or do something terrible to someone.

I teach my girls that parental love is unconditional but that life is not fair. Life is cruel and hard at times. People can be mean and small minded. They know this is not how we choose to live. I try to open their minds and hearts to everything because there is so much wonderful to see in the world and by narrowing their capacity for caring, I am minimizing their chance for happiness.

When I saw Caitlyn Jenner on the Cover of Vanity Fair on Monday, my first thought was, “She did it. She can finally be herself.” That is huge for anyone but especially for someone who has been living life in the wrong body for 65 years.

It takes balls (no pun intended) to transform. But to do it when your life is lived so publicly takes a special kind of bravery and courage because you know, for a fact, that the entire world is judging you. The entire world is watching and, in most cases, waiting for you to fail.

Most people would have just given up on the dream of living the way they wanted because 65-years-old is pretty late in life to start over. It’s retirement age. I guess in that way it is the perfect time to start living for yourself. She earned it.

I found it sickening how this momentous occasion was reduced to, “Wow! She looks amazing!” Caitlyn Jenner does look amazing but even if she was the ugliest woman alive, she was finally a woman. She was finally living in the skin that she felt comfortable in. This whole thing was not about vanity. It was about living the life you are meant to live because without doing so; you are not living at all. Why society feels that it is okay to reduce everything about women down to what lies between our legs, the size of our asses and what we look like rather than our earned accomplishments is beyond me.

I am very open with my girls about everything because I don’t think hiding reality from them is doing them any favors. They are Latina and female and one day they will be Latina women, which means no matter how you slice it, they will always be a minority.

They are 8 and 10-years-old and they already understand what many adults are unwilling to accept; that people are male and female and sometimes the outsides don’t match the insides, all people love differently, people look differently, people worship differently, people come from different countries, speak different languages but they know that we all share one very important trait…we are all humans and deserve to be treated with respect and human kindness.

I am trying my best to raise good people. Children who are tolerant, understanding and accepting of differences. I want my children to recognize differences and embrace them. I don’t believe in a blind world but I do believe in a world where we can love one another for who we are as human beings and what race we are, who we worship, who we love or where we come from should not factor into that equation. I want my children to see deeper than just what people “appear” to be because I want them to see each person they meet as an individual. This is how I am raising my daughters.

They’ve been following the Caitlyn Jenner story with me and I explained that Bruce was born in a man’s body but has always felt like a woman on the inside. I explained it by asking them if they were born into a boy’s body how would they feel and what would they do. They said they would be unhappy and feel uncomfortable. I explained that was exactly how Caitlyn has felt for 65 years and they said, “Then he should change his outsides to match his insides.” Children see everything so simply because they have not formed all of the prejudices of the world. They hear that someone is unhappy and they immediately think, “Go find your bliss!” I love that about them.

When I showed them the photos of Caitlyn’s transformation, because they had already seen the photos of him pre-transformation, they both said she looked pretty and they smiled. My oldest said, “ I bet she’s happy now because she looks like what she feels like.” There was no scoffing or snickering or confusion. My girls got it. Caitlyn is who Bruce always was on the inside. They were not baffled or amazed or surprised. They thought it was great and then they went on about their business. As a mom, I feel like I’m doing something right.

I love that they don’t think that Caitlyn Jenner is something to break the Internet or even blow their minds but instead a beautiful metamorphosis of a person into whom she was always meant to be. I love that they think this was no big deal because everyone should be able to go get their happy. I know what a big deal it was but wouldn’t it be beautiful if we could all live in a world where we could be ourselves, get our happy, and no one scoffed or judged?

How would you explain the Caitlyn Jenner transformation to your children?

Photos of Caitlyn Jenner via Vanity Fair

2015/06/04 2 comments

Entertainment

Netflix Hit the Mark with Grace and Frankie

by Deborah Cruz 2015/05/30

written by Deborah Cruz

I am a proud member of the Netflix #StreamTeam but all opinions and binge watching of Grace and Frankie were all my own.

As many of you might have read, this month has been quite a bit of crazy. It was non-stop go-go-go until life intervened and brought it all to a screeching halt when life hit me right in the eye with a nasty infection and no, that’s not a sexy euphemism for anything. At first, I was freaking out because I had so much to do and found myself completely out of commission. Add to that the antibiotics that had the side effect of not only destroying my digestive system but had the added effect of spontaneous narcolepsy. I guess it wasn’t too bad, especially since the vision in my left eye was blurry and I couldn’t work anyways because…you need sight to work on the Internet to see all the sees. I found myself partially blind and almost completely unplugged. It was like it was 1987.

Anyways, I spent my week and a half laying on my couch contemplating my imminent demise, adapting to the new unimproved elephant man face that I was sure to be sporting for eternity and feeling sorry for myself so I did what anyone in my position would do, I binge watched Netflix with my one good eye, in between trips to the bathroom, crying and naps. I finished season one of Bloodline so I had to find something else to distract me.

I kept thinking about my poor kids being known at school as the kids of the lady with the weird face. I felt like Gilbert Grape’s Mom. Then I started trying to rationalize the situation. Hey, there are kids with two mommies, two daddies, or a mommy, daddy and a step mommy and/or daddy. Some kids live with their grandparents and some live with aunts and uncles. My kids would just be the kids from the family with the super tall dad and the mom with the weird face who does that crazy thing “blogging” for a living. I needed to get out of my head so I searched for something to make me feel better. I needed something to put my “weird face” mom status in perspective. I need something to make me laugh, cry and get out of my own head.

I found Grace and Frankie.

Netflix’s new funny and fearless original comedy featuring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston, is a perfect example of how today’s families can shift, rearrange and blend in unexpected ways. When Grace and Frankie’s husbands, who are in their 70’s, leave them after 40+ years of marriage—to be with each other—the women find themselves facing a change that they never expected, especially at this point in their lives. But they shift their perspective to get through it together with the support of their new blended family and, of course, a wicked sense of humor.

Grace and Frankie is a testament to women supporting women, sisterhood overcoming all the unexpected hardships, shifts and changes that life throws our way. Friends are what sustain us throughout life. It starts on the playground and goes on throughout our lifetimes. Shared experiences and memories only strengthen that bond.

It is also a beautiful reminder that families come in all shapes, sizes, sexual preferences, colors and beliefs. Family are the people who stand beside you, love you and support you and that is all that matters. It’s more than blood and genetics, it’s love and friendship.

Grace and Frankie had me laughing so hard and then crying the next. Life is beautiful and wonderful and unexpected. Life is messy and complicated and not usually what we planned for. In the end, we need to be happy and loved, the heart wants what the heart wants and the heart doesn’t adhere to social norms or expectations. Grace and Frankie is by far one of my favorite new shows on Netflix.

I also found another brand new show that I’m hooked on, Between, which is Sci-Fi series starring Jennette McCurdy. A mysterious disease strikes a small town’s adult population in this tense-sci-fi drama. Pretty Lake’s teenagers think they have their futures in sight with college, the military and even motherhood. But suddenly the town’s grownups start dropping like flies from some unknown plague and the government quarantines the town. Survivors quickly realize that they are trapped, no one is allowed in or out and they are going to have to figure out how to survive on their own, with no adult supervision or guidance. I’ve only seen one episode because unlike most Netflix series, this series is weekly but from what I’ve seen totally worth it. And don’t forget, Orange is the New Black is back on June 12, 2015. I will definitely be watching, will you?

What was your favorite show on Netflix this month?

What did you think of Grace and Frankie?

2015/05/30 1 comment

Childbirth, labor games, tlc, labor and delivery, pregnancy

Entertainment

Would You Go on a Game Show During Labor?

by Deborah Cruz 2015/05/05

written by Deborah Cruz

Disclosure: This is a compensated post written by me on behalf of TLC and Labor Games, however, all opinions and birth stories are my own.

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking of my journey into motherhood. It probably has something to do with May 1^st just passing, my youngest just celebrating her first communion and about to turn 8-years-old in a couple of weeks and Mother’s Day. I’ve had babies on the brain and been a little nostalgic for that new baby smell. Quick someone have a baby and let me hold it. I’ll give it back, I promise. I just need a little something to take the edge off and soothe these twitchy ovaries.

Mother’s Day is right around the corner. There are lists everywhere for the perfect gift to get your mother whether she is high tech or high style but what about the brand new mother? I’m talking the mother who is giving birth? Sure push presents are nice but what if you could earn cash, prizes and all things new baby to help you ease into motherhood just by answering a few questions during labor? Would you do it? Well, there is a brand new game show on TLC premiering tomorrow, May 6, at 10 p.m. EST called, Labor Games.

The premise of the game show is that the host and a small crew show up right in the middle of your labor (during the height of it) to ask you questions and if you answer correctly, you can win prizes and cash including a $10,000 college scholarship for your new baby. Sounds intriguing, right?

I won’t lie; I spent most of the day of both my inducements bored silly. In fact, I remember specifically watching Jerry Springer and rolling my eyes in complete boredom right before all the real fun began in my first labor. When I say fun that would be referring to my completely unmedicated transition labor that came on fast and furious and hit me like a freight train.

The same labor caused me to consider jumping out of the window to stop the pain and left me looking akin to Linda Blair in The Exorcist. You know how some people ugly cry? Well, I am supremely ugly when in labor. My face tells the whole story and from the video, it was a scary trip.

For some reason, I kept refusing to use my breathing techniques, as if I was going to develop an immunity to them or use them all up. On my first labor, knowing nothing about what was going to happen, I refused to get an epidural until I was in full transition labor but by the time the anesthesiologist could get out of surgery and to me, I was fully dilated. From centimeters 7-10, you would not have wanted to ask me any questions because all of the answers would have been the same and they wouldn’t have been appropriate for polite society to hear.

But those first 7 hours of my labor, I would have definitely welcomed the opportunity for some entertainment and some cash because babies cost a lot of money. Of course, we’ll never know because I will not be having any more babies but how much fun will it be to watch this game show, right?

I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to see how this all plays out. I’ll be watching. Will you?

Labor Games Sneak Peek Weds 5/6 10p/9c on TLC.

2015/05/05 0 comment

Entertainment

We’re Not Bad People, but We Did a Bad Thing

by Deborah Cruz 2015/04/26

written by Deborah Cruz

I’ve got a new addiction and it’s called Bloodline. I know that I’ve mentioned it before but I’m a proud member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and it’s actually my “job” to watch Netflix. I’m living the dream, people. Who are we kidding? I’d be doing it anyways but this way when the Big Guy gives me a hard time about watching a whole season of House of Cards, Derek, Orange is the New Black, BBC Shameless, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt or my new favorite, Bloodline (to mention a few) I can say, “ Hey, leave me alone, I’m working over here!”

Speaking of my favorite new show, Bloodline, what would you do if your brother killed someone? Would you call the police or help him hide the body? How many times have you been in a position in your life where you thought to yourself, the things we do for family! Well, that’s the premise the new Netflix hit Bloodline is built upon. It is full of great writing, complex characters and it is a thriller in the best kind of way!

I wasn’t sure that I wanted to get invested in the show or the family the show follows, the Rayburns, because I hadn’t heard much about it. I mean it’s about a seemingly middle class family who happen to live in the paradise that is the Florida Keys. What could be that enthralling about middle class perfection, right?

Wrong. One episode and I was hooked. This family has skeletons piled upon skeletons in every single closet and each is hiding their closet from the other. Perfect parents? No such things. Good upstanding citizens? Nope, not even the sheriff or the lawyer in the family. Nothing is what it seems. There is something about high suspense and family drama (especially when it’s not my own) that pulls me and keeps me invested.

I got so hooked, I binge watched the entire season in a week. I stayed up way past my bedtime every night because I had to know what was happening to these complicated, “normal” people who had such a crazy past that it had to eventually come to the surface, no matter how hard they all tried to pretend it never happened.

Have you watched it yet? What are you waiting for? I finished the season. Now, I’m patiently waiting for May’s new releases. I’ll tell you more about that soon.

What’s your favorite Netflix show to binge watch?

Have you watched Bloodline?

2015/04/26 2 comments

#KyleJennerChallenge, Kylie Jenner, Trendig Teen Fad, Kardashians, Kim Kardashian

Entertainment Throat Punch Thursday

The Kylie Jenner Challenge is Lip Plumping for Idiots

by Deborah Cruz 2015/04/23

written by Deborah Cruz

Can someone please explain the Kylie Jenner Challenge to me? I had to bring back the Throat Punch Thursday for this! Look I thought teens had lost their minds when they decided that the cinnamon challenge was a good idea. Call me old but choking to death on dry cinnamon is not my idea of a good time. Now, girls all over the Internet are sticking their mouths inside of shot glasses and sucking in some distorted effort to achieve Kylie Jenner cartoonish like lips.

The method works by way of the airlock created in the opening of the glass or jar, which increases blood flow to the lips and causes them to swell. With results lasting for hours and in some cases, even days.

The Kylie Jenner Challenge proves that stupidity might be contagious.

Look, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with the Kardashian/ Jenner kids but it seems they all need to have a signature “weird” look. You’ve got Kim and her all too enormous ass. Yeah, I said it. That thing is not natural looking and it’s way too freaking big. Mind you that I would never talk about someone who had a big backside naturally who wasn’t campaigning to make their ass a purpose for existence and actually trying to break the Internet with their narcissism. A big ass is one thing but a “HEY everybody, look, LOOK at my ass!” is quite another.

Then you have Kylie who is absolutely gorgeous but suddenly has giant fish lips which she says is nothing more than over lining and pouting and maybe it is. I don’t know how she does it or why but her lips look like they are about to eat her entire damn face. What did their mom do to them to make them think they have to do these things to their bodies?

Courtney looks like a doe eyed lollipop and Khloe has the longest legs that I’ve ever seen. Did Kris put that girl on a stretcher when she was a kid so that “legs” could be her “thing”?

Now, even Bruce, after years of being exposed to the crazy, has succumbed to the Kardashian family mantra of “Be the Caricature!” I blame it all on Kris. It’s like being exposed to radiation too long; it’s going to affect you in bad ways. She’s made the lot of them feel like they have to be fame whores in order to get her attention and worse, that they need the approval of the general public to feel valuable. Worst.mom.ever.

Anyways, what the Kardashians do with their own bodies on E! in Kardashian-land is not my business but seriously, now we have normal teenaged girls trying to keep up. Talk about an unattainable body image. The Kardashians are part of the problem, not the solution. How do we stop this?

The thing is what would make a perfectly beautiful 16-year-old girl (because let’s face it, if you are ugly at 16, you almost have to be actively trying to do so) want to plump her lips up to the point that she looks deformed? Is their view so distorted that they actually think this is attractive or that they are so lacking in this way that they need to do this? Is it simply a matter of “my friends are doing it, so I’m going to do it”?

Is this really what our teen girls are finding “beautiful” these days? Are these lips “on Fleek”? I’d say hell no!

Girls, I’m here to tell you not to do this to yourself. Moms have been telling kids forever that making ugly faces could result in being stuck that way. Well, in this case, it is true! The chances that your face is going to look like someone took a bat to it are very real.

Obviously, we live in a messed up world where girls gauge beauty on what is en vogue, what is in the media and try to emulate the looks that their teen role models are currently sporting. What can we do to change this?

How do we convince our teens that the Kylie Jenner Challenge is dangerous and stupid?

2015/04/23 4 comments

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