AmyBZ's Profile

I shall second the motion on some of these: Singin' in the Rain, Adventures of Robin Hood, Bringing Up Baby, Meet Me in St. Louis, and the Marx Brothers. My now 11-year old was always very sensitive and couldn't take much in the way of suspense and other very intense emotions. On TV we mostly watched things on PBS like Nature and Nova. It was interesting to see that many films that people assume are kid-friendly films just did not work for her. When the neighbors were watching ALL of the Star Wars movies at 5 and 6 years old, she couldn't even handle things like "Finding Nemo" (which is actually quite a stressful film for a sensitive kid as every few minutes they are averting certain death!). I found that most Disney films were actually way over the top for her in those early years. Watching the Little Mermaid at 6 or 7 with an older cousin had her screaming and crying during the intense climax. When it finally came to the happy ending, she stopped crying, but that ending only lasted about 2 or 3 minutes, and once the credits started rolling she cried some more just getting the remaining stress out! Interestingly, at the same time we were reading lots of the "Redwall" books (by Brian Jacques) which have lots of intense parts, but also lots of happy and celebratory parts to them. Over the years, as she entered this world of Redwall over and over, she began to be ready for more intensity in movies. Something I noticed was that, unlike what happened with the Little Mermaid, in the Redwall books, once the battles are over and the bad guys are beat, there is quite a lot of time spent feasting in celebration and finding out how all the characters you had grown to love went on to live a happy life. It really allows you to come to some emotional equilibrium at the end and doesn't just dump you emotionally out on the ground at the end as so many Disney (and other) films seem to do. My two cents.

And you left this hot springs resort. . . why?!

This is an awesome list -- thanks! I've got my own version of a few of these, but almost all of them are worthy of trying as something a bit new. Am I the only one not being able to connect to chinesegrandma.com to get the balsamic vinaigrette recipe? I've tried via the link as well as directly entering the www address and it just won't connect (and I really want this recipe!!!).

Also, for donating old soaps, shampoos, etc. to a worthy cause: http://www.cleantheworld.org/default.asp

Yes, I have always just cut and let the juice fly! But this is brilliant! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing this! I am eager to give them a try!!!