Betty White in The Lorax

After previewing The Lorax movie in Los Angeles, I along with an entire group of parent bloggers had an opportunity to interview several of the cast members of the movie. The highlight of the interviews was sitting down and talking with Betty White. Her 90th birthday was celebrated on National television recently and President Obama even sent her a special greeting! I was beside myself with happiness to speak with this iconic actress. 

In the film, Betty White plays a cheeky grandmother, who knows the secret of the Once-Ler and is helpful in saving the last tree. Of course, as characteristic of the majority of her roles, Betty White's portrayal of the Grandma is hilarious! And honestly, Ms. White is funny in real life too! 


I asked her if when she began acting she ever imagined having such longevity in her career and she said "I was a late starter. I didn't get my first job until I was 21.....once you get your first job, its as if will I do another and its of course I will." I remember Betty White from when I was a kid and watched The Golden Girls and I love that my son at four will enjoy her performance as well. 


Ms. White also feels very strongly about the environmental message in the movie and said that the work she is most proud of is with the Morris Animal Foundation, an organization that she has supported for over 50 years and funded the first animal pain research study for the foundation.


Today is Dr. Suess's 106th birthday and like Ms. Betty White's birthday the entire nation will be celebrating with Read Across America and of course the release of Universal's The Lorax. The film is rated PG (and honestly none of us could figure that one out) but I will be bringing my four year old to see it. He loves the story, I love the movie, the colors and the music. 


Today is a birthday celebration that will do Dr. Suess proud!  

CrossFit - Switching Things Up!

This Sunday I'm running my 9th half-marathon. No, that is not a typo, it will be my third of this year (I've run one every Sunday for the past couple of weeks) and I am not sure how many I'll run by the end of the year. I enjoy running, it is time for me to reflect, relax and enjoy alone time. 


However, when we met with Andrea Riggs at the McDonald's breakfast for wholesome choices she stressed the importance of strength training. This is something I know I need to do, something I've done in the past and honestly have plans to do.....in the future.  And since I am partnering with McDonald’s on their Wholesome Choices Blogger Program and sharing my own tips and ideas for making more wholesome choices in your every day life this week I changed things up.  I decided this week to step out of my comfort zone and try a gym class that included intense strength training. 

                 Not me, never will be me, but a CrossFit expert!

(photo credit: Reebok)

My choice? CrossFit. Yup, I took the plunge and took a CrossFit class. These classes are generally 20 minutes, 30 max and involve strength and aerobic training utilizing both body weight and the more advanced use weights. Yesterday I did the "Mildly Dirty 50" 

50 pull ups

50 sit-ups

50 push-ups

50 box jumps

This workout was ten minutes. TEN MINUTES! It was a serious challenge and I was sweating bullets. And my body? Well, my body is sore. Yup. A ten minute workout has my calfs burning. I hope I'm okay for my race Sunday.....in any event, this taught me a very important lesson.  I NEED STRENGTH TRAINING!

So, my wholesome choice after this weekend is to truly incorporate strength training into my regiment. Gotta be strong! 

Follow McDonald’s Atlanta on Twitter @McDonaldsATLand check out their website for real-time promos, meal ideas and how to make the most of your McDonald’s experience:http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/food_quality/nutrition_choices.html

Disclosure: McDonald’s partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “Wholesome Choices” Blogger Program.  As part of that program, I received compensation.  They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used, and believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. McDonald’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Dr. Suess's The Lorax

My son as The Lorax! 

Tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Suess, beloved author of over 60 children's books. We are all familiar with Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Green Eggs and Ham, the list goes on and on. Dr. Suess's rhyming and sometimes tongue twisting writing is great read out loud fun for children both young and old. This week my son's teacher is celebrating by reading a Dr. Suess book daily for his class. My son is at the perfect age to enjoy these timeless classics and I recently introduced The Lorax to him. 

Honestly, I don't remember reading The Lorax as a kid but I am a big fan of early childhood literacy and Dr. Suess so when I received an invitation to preview the animated movie The Lorax by the makers of Despicable Me! and HOP! I immediately said yes! 

I quickly caught up with my Dr. Suess reading and found that The Lorax is a book after my own heart. It is the tale of how we must all be responsible and take care of the Earth! A message of environmentalism for young readers! Sold! The movie brings to life this story in vivid color and stars Betty White, Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Rob Riggle and Taylor Swift. An outstanding cast that I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing during my preview trip. 

One of the things was most interesting to me was how closely tied all of the actors were not only to Dr. Suess (aren't we all) but also expressed an interest in environmentalism. Danny DeVito (the voice of The Lorax) said "I was one of the first people to own a zero emissions car and currently owns a Leaf (another zero emissions and electric car." Mr. DeVito also mentioned not using bottled water and only utilizing cloth napkins. All of this ties in nicely with the message of The Lorax. Another thing that I was extremely impressed with was the fact that Mr. DeVito is the voice of The Lorax not only in English but in Spanish, Italian, German and Russian!  When asked why he decided to take on this task he said "I like to do different things, I like to challenge myself."

Actor Ed Helms is The Once-ler and The Lorax is his all time favorite Dr. Suess book. In fact, when he heard about the movie "I hunted down Chris Melandandri (the producer) and said 'I really want to be in this movie, I'll take any part.  I'll just be a Barbaloot or whatever, I just want to be a part of it' and I am thrilled with how it turned out."

To my surprise, The Lorax is a musical and Ed Helms sings all of his songs. The music added to the visual stimulation provided by the 3D animation and when I asked the producers about the music Chris Melandandri responded, 

"when music works, it's such an engaging, uplifting aspect of a film with that chemistry between imagery and song, there's nothing like it in terms of just immersing you in the emotion of a scene in a movie.

Sometimes, people will ask us to describe how music's used in the film.  It's its own thing.  I mean, it's woven in a way that its song scores times and a character who actually sings within the narrative structure.  But, it's something that I think makes this film just really distinctive and special."

The music, the animation and the talent of the actors truly bring The Lorax to life. I'll be bringing you part two of my experience previewing the film tomorrow..just know, this is one film you don't want to miss!

Disclosure: I was invited to preview the Lorax by Universal, all of my transportation and accommodations were provided by Universal. As usual all opinions are my own. 

Healthy Habits for a Lifetime Oral Care Challenge

My son actively brushing his teeth.

My mother is probably going to kill me for telling you this but she is frightened of the dentist. She goes but let's just say it is a stress inducing situation for her.  She is the first to admit that her dental phobia comes from not being taken to the dentist regularly as a child and thus having dental problems. Because of her experience, she made sure that I was at the dentist early. Not only do I not fear the dentist but despite having had to have a couple of fillings, I have never had a shot of novocain. Yes, I have a high tolerance for pain but because of my regular dental visits I've never had a deep cavity they have always been on the surface and needed a couple of seconds of drilling.

You can imagine with my history, I started my son at the dentist as soon as possible! He starting going to a Pediatric dentist at 18 months. I won't say that it was easy for him but the older he gets, the less fearful he is of the dentist. Admittedly, like 50% of children between the ages of 5 - 9 my son does have a cavity. Early on I made the mistake of allowing him to brush on his own and learned that I should help out in the process.  We are learning about great oral care together and so when asked to participate in the Reach and Listerine Healthy Habits for a Lifetime Oral Care Challenge I immediately said yes!

Despite all I know about good oral health, I am not the best about it. Yes, I brush my teeth twice a day but that clearly is not enough. At my last dental visit I was told I have BEAUTIFUL teeth but mild gingavatis. Easily preventable with flossing. I HATE flossing but during this challenge I am not only going to brush - which by the way misses 75% of your mouth - I am going to rinse with Listerine and floss for the next three weeks.

My son's rinse Batman, matches his toothbrush!

And since it takes 3 weeks to develop a habit, I am setting the foundation for a lifetime of healthy oral care. My son is getting in on the fun too. We've already started by using a timer for brushing his teeth and he is rinsing too! Flossing is a little more challenging but we are working on that. You can find

I'll update you in a few weeks and let you know how we do!


Disclosure: I received products and compensation from Johnson & Johnson and The Motherhood

as part of my participation in the Oral Care Challenge. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Wholesome Choices

I am all about healthy living but I am also realistic. I truly believe in everything in moderation and admittedly sometimes I am NOT very moderate. However, for the most part I to try to make healthy choices. So, I am partnering with McDonald’s on their Wholesome Choices Blogger Program! Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing my own tips and ideas for making more wholesome choices in your every day life. 


I'm sure your first response to this is MCDONALDS???!!!! Nothing healthy there! However, you might be surprised. After attending the kick-off last week I learned that there are a number of things on the menu under 300 calories. I actually had a yogurt parfait with fruit and granola which is 160 calories. I skipped the granola and left some of the fruit in the cup. I topped it off with a cup of water. For a quick snack this works for me, especially if I am busy running around and don't have time for breakfast. 

At the kickoff we also met Andrea Riggs author of Get Body Beautiful. 

She provided us with a few strength training exercises that are total body workouts, only take a few minutes and will be a wonderful addition to my running regiment. 

Over the next few weeks I will also be hitting LA Fitness to mix things up a bit. I can't wait to see how making small changes will effect my overall outcomes physically! 

You can follow McDonald’s on Twitter @McDonaldsATLand check out their website for real-time promos, meal ideas and how to make the most of your McDonald’s experience:http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/food_quality/nutrition_choices.html

McDonald’s partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “Wholesome Choices” Blogger Program.  As part of that program, I received compensation.  They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used, and believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. McDonald’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.