Come along with the Care Bears for a very magical countdown to Christmas in The Care Bears Advent calendar app from American Greetings. Packed with all of the fun sights and sounds of the holiday season children can start the countdown by ‘unlocking’ 25 activities like holiday-themed puzzles, videos, coloring pages and more, returning each day to unlock another activity. Children can design hundreds of snowflakes and create their own white Christmas with the Care-a-Lot Snowflake maker, decorate the Care Bears Christmas tree with special ornaments, and enjoy other wintry fun activities. On Christmas Day, a full-length Care Bears video episode is unlocked.

Available now for iPads for $2.99 on the App Store. A PC and MAC desktop app can be downloaded at https://www.americangreetings.com/care-bears-advent-calendar

Since the unbelievable success of Disney’s “Frozen” last year people have been in craze for any thing from this film. With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s that time to decorate the house and I was thinking to myself, “Hey, I want a giant inflatable Olaf in the front of my house!”. Well, leave it Gemmy to deliver us exactly that. Gemmy is the company who makes most of these amazing inflatable figures that end up on many of our front lawns. They have everything from “Star Wars” to ” Disney” and everything in between.

The Olaf inflatable figure figure stands at 3.5 feet tall and looks amazing when all blown up and standing tall. It inflates very quickly and with no issue at all. It uses energy efficient LED lights to conserve energy. I know it maybe been too late for this year but Gemmy should get on the wagon with Anna and Elsa inflatables as well. I would love to have a Frozen collection to celebrate the holidays. If you are a big fan of the Disney animated film, I would highly recommend this product and if you are a smart shopper you should be able to find it for below $40 bucks, which is a real steal for sure!

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Title: Festival of Trees: “Tis the Season!”
Date: November 15 – November 23, 2014
Time: 10am-5pm
Location: Orlando Museum of Art
Address: 2416 North Mills Avenue Orlando, FL 32803
Phone: (407) 896-4231 x 254
URL: http://www.omart.org/programs/festival-trees
Price: General Admission: Adult $10/Child (3-11) $6 – Special events priced separately

In its 28th year, the Council of 101’s Festival of Trees will kick off Central Florida’s holiday season with a touch of tradition. The Orlando Museum of Art will become a vibrant wonderland of holiday elegance with designer decorated trees, wreaths and gingerbread creations, stunning holiday vignettes and drawings for dazzling tabletop displays. The Festival will feature many classic & themed trees, decorated in different styles, ranging from 6.5 to 9 feet that will be on sale throughout the entire event. Other holiday decorations and gifts are also available for purchase. Proceeds benefit the Museum, including the children’s art education programs.

Festival attendees will enjoy strolling through the Museum’s galleries filled with elaborately decorated and themed trees and vignettes created by local artists, businesses and designers. The Toyland Town activity area abounds with creative crafts, fun games and jolly ole’ Santa arriving from the North Pole to greet children of all ages. Deck the Halls filled with uniquely custom designed centerpieces, wreaths, small trees and garlands for sale to brighten any home or office. Entertaining by Design where you can win an elegant table setting that could become a beautiful addition to your holiday entertaining, jewelry, gift certificates to some of your favorite restaurants and other exciting items for a lucky drawing winner at the Festival Finale. Relax and enjoy a light lunch with your friends and family in the Festival Café. After lunch you can visit the Gingerbread Village where local professional bakers have designed magical gingerbread houses for display and sale. The Festival Boutique showcases local merchant’s one-of-a-kind items and furnishings that make it the perfect place to begin and end this season’s shoppin.

Plan on attending the Festival’s elegant Opening Night Festival Gala on Friday, November 14, to enjoy culinary creations, beverages, entertainment and complimentary valet parking. Tuesday, November 18, Festival Salutes Seniors, who are invited to enjoy a day designed just for them with special prizes and entertainment. Bring the whole family for a fun-filled evening of holiday excitement, Santa, children’s entertainment and activities at Reindeer Romp on November 19.

The Festival of Trees is a major fundraiser for the Orlando Museum of Art and supports its mission to advance the positive impact of art and culture in the State of Florida and in the region by providing excellence in the visual arts. The Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting notable works of art; to presenting exhibitions of local, regional, national and international significance; to developing first-rate educational programs; and to presenting creative and inclusive programs that reach diverse communities.

Several years ago while shopping for a greeting card I stumbled over one that read something like this, “once in a while you meet someone who leaves a footprint on your heart and you are never ever the same.” I have had the privilege of this happening twice in my life; my husband 10 years ago and, in 2013, a little girl name Grace Anna. The one difference is, up until this weekend, I had never actually met Grace Anna but had only knew her through Facebook. Scrolling through Facebook one night I saw a video a friend had posted of this sweet little girl singing the National Anthem, I was captured.

How did this little girl who could only be about 2 years old, certainly no more than 3, know the words to the national anthem so well?

Grace Anna is the daughter of Angie and Jeff Rodgers and they reside in Kentucky. Grace Anna has a rare form of dwarfism called Conradi Hunermann Syndrome and has dealt with such health issues as being born blind due to cataracts, severe kyphosis and scoliosis of the spine. Doctors tried to persuade her parents to abort on five different occasions, but this was not something they would consider. Grace Anna has overcome many obstacles in her now 4 year old life.

Grace Anna began singing at only 16 months, and she loves to sing.

The “Grace Anna Sings” Facebook page, at the time of this writing, has over 600,000 followers. She has changed lives; she has lifted her followers out of their worst days and thousands have posted how much they love this child. It is hard to explain how you can love someone you have never met but Grace Anna has such spirit and personality that I don’t know that it needs to be explained. I often watch her video of “Amazing Grace” before going to bed each night, and recently my hope of meeting this wonder came to fruition.

Grace Anna and her family were traveling to Topeka, Kansas to attend the Military Veteran Project’s 2^nd Annual Salute Our Heroes Gala, where she would be singing the National Anthem.  Grace Anna’s family are strong supporters of our military and have family members who have served.

The mission of the Military Veterans Project is “to advocate, educate, and honor our military veterans and families through program support.” The program has assisted veterans and service members with medical advocacy, PTSD treatments, suicide prevention and other services. The Military Veteran Project was created by Melissa Jarboe in honor of her late husband, Sgt. Jamie Jarboe. For more information on the project please go to www.militaryveteranproject.org

The guest speaker for the evening was Bobby Henline, a veteran of Desert Storm who re-enlisted after Sept 11th, 2001. While serving in Iraq the Humvee he was in was hit by a roadside bomb; he was the only survivor out of 5 men. Bobby suffered severe burns over 38% of his body, lost his left hand and had over 40 surgeries while being hospitalized for 6 months. Bobby now does motivational speaking and stand-up comedy. The gala included a cocktail hour, dinner, and a silent auction of a wide variety of donated items, which raised approximately $3000 for the project.

Grace Anna, dressed in a beautiful red dress, black jacket, and matching red bow in her hair sang the National Anthem with as much heart and soul as a child can muster. After dinner was served at the gala Grace Anna’s older brother, Isaiah, carried her out into the lobby area.  As they walked by I said to Grace Anna, “Hi, Grace Anna, my name is Juanita, can I shake your hand?” She responded, in the sweetest, softest voice, “Hi Juanita.” I thought she would shake my hand but what she did next left me in tears. She did not shake my hand but leaned over, kissed me on the cheek, then took my face in her hands and said “now, you give me a kiss” I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

If you have not had the privilege of watching her videos, reading her web page or seeing her pictures that are posted on Facebook, you must treat yourself. Your heart will be captured.

www.graceannasings.com

 www.facebook.com/GraceAnnaSings

KIDZ BOP are on fire these days! Especially having a child of my own, you don’t realize how much a kid really loves and enjoys the product for KIDZ BOP. The holiday season is here and there are tons of great new items from KIDZ BOP! Check out below the 2014 Holiday Gift Guides:

My two year old daughter saw this “Animated Singing Light Up Snowman” at the Cracker Barrel store and she couldn’t take her eyes and hands off it. She loved the way that it felt, that it lighted up and that it played music and danced, which also caused her to dance. There is nothing cuter than a little girl dancing next to an animate snowman, let me tell you 😉 It plays the song, “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas”, which is a great choice. I would have loved a few songs if possible but my daughter doesn’t seem to care at all.

The voice for the song is not annoying and sounds great. The volume is nice and loud but not too loud. The inside of the snowman lights up as well. The design in nice and I love the material that snowman is made of. It is very sort and squishy. My daughter called it him “warming up”, which is too darn cute. I am sure that this item is going to be a big seller this year. It is priced right and definitely gets a smile on your face.

Official Product Description: Dressed in a black top hat and bright red scarf, the Animated Singing Light Up Snowman will cheerfully decorate your home or office this holiday season. He holds a bell and poses in a friendly wave as he smiles with rosy cheeks. The singing Snowman also plays a favorite holiday tune as he lights up and spreads the Christmas spirit. Place this snowman figurine on your office desk, breakfast table or any nook in your home to spread holiday joy.

I think it is official that Cracker Barrel is my official favorite store for Christmas decorations. I walked into the store while going for breakfast recently and came out with a list of outstanding products that became must-owns for our house. The LED Village with Animated Tree is easily the most impressive of the bunch. I love any Christmas decoration that is animated and plays music. This one does both and is just amazing to watch. Let’s just say I have a lot of jealous family members ever since we added this to our collection.

Official Product Description: Bring wonder and joy to your home with our 12.75″ LED Christmas Village with Animated Tree. Santa greets a youngster on the streets below a magnificent, animated Christmas tree, while smatterings of snow create the perfect touches to this beautiful Christmas scene. This tabletop Christmas decoration is an excellent addition to any Christmas village collection, and makes a great gift for anyone who loves the Christmas season.

This decoration is quite large and definitely stands as a solid centerpiece for your collection. The lights are beautiful and very bright. The tree in the middle is lit and also spins. There is a lot going on here when this bad boy is plugged in and I found myself just staring at how beautiful it is. The music is my favorite and it extremely clear and nice and loud (but not too loud). This also comes with an AC adapter in order to power it up. I love this village and this will get a great spot on our shelf this Christmas season and many more to come after that.

I am a very big fan of Christmas and the wife and I go all out with decorations etc. It is rare but when you see a decoration in a store and just know that you need it. Well we were in The Cracker Barrel store a few weeks ago and they are all decked out for the holiday season already. We came across the LED Christmas Tree with Music and stopped dead in our tracks. This became our must own decoration for the year.

Official Product Description: When you decorate for Christmas this year, make sure to include our 18.5″ LED Christmas Tree with Music. Santa has never looked cozier, seated in his favorite chair and telling stories in front of a warm fire. This cute and festive tabletop accent is the perfect addition to your holiday decorations.

The tree itself is a nice size and looks absolutely amazing. The detail is fantastic. The colors are so vibrant and the music sounds amazing. I love that fact that it comes with an AC adapter as well to plug in also with the option of batteries as well. This is going to have a nice prominent place in our house this year. If you are looking for a very sharp addition to your collection, I recommend this.

I remember going to the diner with my family and fighting over who gets to pick the songs on the jukebox. I used to discover tons of great music that way growing up. Today’s kids probably have no idea what a jukebox even is, so I am excited that Cracker Barrel is bringing the jukebox back for my favorite holiday of the year. “Rock O Rama Jukebox” brings the nostalgic back as it delivers the classic holiday records and lights up with LED lights. This jukebox is decorated with green and red and really brings the holiday spirit. This is definitely going to be a favorite decoration for many holidays to come. There are 18 hits by some of music’s greatest artists included here with some of my all-time favorite holiday songs.

Here is the complete tracklist: Brenda Lee “Frost the Snowman”, Smokey Robinson “Deck the Halls”, Harry Simeone Choir “Carol of the Bells”, The Supremes “Little Drummer Boy”, Bing Crosby & The Andrew Sisters “Jingle Bells”, Brenda Lee “This Time of the Year”, Eartha Kitt “Santa Baby”, The Jackson 5 “Up on the Rooftop”, The Supremes “Joy to the World”, Judy Garland “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, Bobby Helms “Jingle Bell Rock”, The Temptations “Silent Night”, The Ronettes “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”, Louis Armstrong “Winter Wonderland”, Gene Autry “Here Comes Santa Claus”, Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters “It’s Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas”, Bing Crobsy & The Andrew Sisters “12 Days of Christmas”, Bing Crosby & Carol Richards “Silver Bells”.

The audio quality of the songs are very impressive. These tracks literally transported me back to my childhood and right into the holiday mood. There are audio controls right on the front as well, so it is easy to change a song and change the volume. My only issue was that there are three C batteries required for this and obviously aren’t included. I would have loved them to include the option for an AC adapter as well. Still though, this is a wonderful product and is going to set front and center on your mantle this season. This would also make a great gift but ask quick because I do not see this being on the shelves very long.

I am sure you are thinking that how much can I saw about a wooden sleigh, right? Well, what I can do is tell a story. When my wife set eyes on this sleigh, she literally said “Wow, I love it”. When you get a response like that you know that you certainly have something special. The craftsmanship of this product is high quality. I love the detail and the design. The colors are so vibrant. There is even nice touches like fake snow and glitter throughout. This is going to have a prominent place on my wall this Holiday season.

Official Product Description: Hang our charming Snowman Wood Sleigh Wall decor anywhere in your home for an instant splash of holiday spirit and Christmas cheer! This 17 x 6 Cracker Barrel exclusive features fun, collage-style painted snowman art, bright red color and a dusting of artificial snow for the perfect winter touch. This indoor wall decoration is sure to create a jolly look all season long!

We recently reviewing the Dyson DC59 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner and it was quite the vacuum cleaner but after a few months of using it, I have noticed that it isn’t the best with carpets. I wanted to test out another Dyson product that would would have a little more power to it on carpeted floor. The DC65 Animal Complete is named to be include the strongest suction of any vacuum. So I wanted to try the best. Wow, it was not lying either, this is literally the best vacuum that I have ever used.

This vacuum cleaner has a self-adjusting cleaner head and re-engineered brushbar that dig deeper into carpets to remove more dust and dirt than the average vacuum, while still kicking ass on hard floors. The DC65 uses remodeled Radial Root Cyclone technology and uses the latest Ball technology and comes with a Tangle-free turbine tool to remove hair from carpets and has extra tools engineered for pet hair and ground-in dirt.

Why is this Radial Root Cyclone technology important in a vacuum? Well, it is pretty cool if you look into it since it uses the airflows to help remove more dirt, dust and allergens from the home. Both myself and I have pretty nasty allergies and most of our house is carpeted, so it is important for us to have a good way to clean. This vacuum also comes with a reconfigured brush bar that includes 25% more power and drives bristles deeper into carpets removing more dirt.

I have never used a upright vacuum before with Ball technology and it definitely makes things a lot easier. When it says ball, it actually means a ball. This sits on a ball that pivots on a dime allowing you to steer with a turn of the wrist. Like all Dyson’s they are hygienic and quick and easy to empty as well. The two brushes included here are a multi-angle and a stiff bristle brush.

The Dyson DC65 Animal Complete also comes with Zorb carpet maintenance powder and a Dyson tool bag to hold all accessories. Never before has cleaning been so easy. I swear if you aren’t using a Dyson product you are not cleaning as efficiently as you could be. I can’t wait to see what they have planned with the upcoming Dyson 360 Eye! Stay tuned to Media Mikes as we will be covering it first hand!

All I have to say is 41 megapixels! That’s right the Nokia Lumia 1020 has a camera that is 41 megapixels. This phone delivers some amazing detail with it’s photos and one hell of a zoom. The display is a little small though to display these amazing photos running only 4.5″. When you compare to the Samsung Note or the Apple iPhone 6S, this seems a little weak. To top it off it comes with Windows Phone 8.1, which to my taste is a major thumbs down. I hate the interface. If you are using this primarily to take photos, I can see myself recommending this since this device really steals the show in photography.

Now getting to some of the other cool features, the smartphone itself uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon™ S4 with a Dual-core 1.5 GHz. Forget Siri, meet Cortana, she is your truly personal smartphone assistant with this model. My only issue is that it is powered by Bing, which I am not a big fan of at all. Being a big fan of AT&T, This phone comes with the use of AT&T Locker, which is like the iCloud for all you iPhone users. It includes a whopping 50GB of FREE cloud storage for AT&T Mobile Share® Value Customers to store your photos, videos, music and documents.

With the camera, you are able to sue the 41-megapixel PureView sensor, which allows you to zoom into any photo or video without losing the amazing details. You are able to shoot HD video. Even though the screen is kinda small, the display is a AMOLED PureMotion HD+touch screen that has super sensitive touch capabilities that let you type using your fingernails or while wearing gloves. Plus, Nokia Glance Mode shows time and phone settings even when the phone is locked and asleep.

Personally, this phone was the first that I look at when I wanted to break my 7 year relationship with iPhone but it just didn’t have all the features that I was looking for. I wish they had this exact phone with an Android system instead of Windows and this would a perfect smartphone. I sure do love the pictures though. That is one thing that my Samsung Galaxy S4 lacks for sure. Ok one more time  41 megapixels! Maybe Nokia will release a new phone with an even more powerful camera and a better OS in the future. l’ll be first in line.

One week till Halloween! But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still time for decorations! I recently made a trip to a Cracker Barrel location and came across a fantastic new product, which is the Animated Crazy Eyes Candy Bowl. I was walking around the Old Country Store with my two year old daughter, who ended up starring at this candy bowl and just laughing and I knew I had to have this for her. As much as I love scary Halloween decoration it is always great to have fun options as well.

This Frankenstein-themed candy bowl is not just a regular dish though, it is motion-activated that senses when a sneaky hand is getting ready to raid the candy stash. Honestly, this works great for us as well since we are able to keep an eye on your daughter when she heads over and tries to grab an extras piece.

The product features moving eyes back and forth and a little surprise at the end of each session. There are two modes for this candy dish, there is a “Try Me” mode, which only runs when you push a button on the top of the Frankenstein head. Then of course, there is the full on motion mode, which is the most fun. If you don’t live near a Cracker Barrel location, you can still pick this great item up online for only $14.99, click here.

On Sunday, October 12th, Marcos Siega, Kevin Bacon, and Shawn Ashmore took to the Empire Stage at New York Comic Con to discuss their show The Following. Slim on specifics, the actors and director didn’t give too much of the new season away to fans, instead opting for vague descriptions of possible upcoming plot points. With Lily Gray’s plotline officially wrapped up and Joe Carroll in prison, it’s a new dawn for The Following, allowing a new set of events to start and creating a good entry point for new viewers.

In the teaser that was shown, Bacon’s character Ryan has a new love in his life, an ER doctor, as does his niece Max, but don’t worry Following fans. Shortly after setting this idyllic scene, a cocktail waiter was shown coming towards Ryan with a knife- perhaps setting us up for a new slew of bad guys?

After the teaser and discussion, the floor was opened up to questions from the fans. One woman asked Bacon and Ashmore for tips on working in the FBI; they laughingly replied, “Don’t do anything we do.”

Check out the slideshow below for more pictures of The Following Panel at New York Comic Con. Season 3 begins January 20th.

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Three shows were represented at this year’s Adult Swim Panel Block on Friday, October 10th at New York Comic Con. Starting things off was a panel for the upcoming The Jack and Triumph Show, which features Jack McBrayer and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (voiced by Robert Smigel). The show will be a sitcom with a live studio audience that includes a combination of scripted comedy and improvisation. Audience members were treated to some clips from the show, featuring guest stars Joy Fatone from NSYNC and film critic Leonard Maltin. Also present on the panel was Blackwolf the Dragonmaster, who fans may recognize from a 2002 viral video shown on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. The panel ended on a sadder note with Smigel showing a SNL sketch in remembrance of Jan Hooks, a personal friend of his.

The next panel to take the stage was for the animated show Rick and Morty. Last year delegated to one of the smaller rooms, this year the panel was excited to take the main stage. The group, consisting of Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland, Chris Parnell, and Sarah Chalke, brought an animatic mashup full of Rick’s newest catchphrases from the upcoming Season 2. Panel members promoted the Season 1 DVD, available now, as well as the upcoming comic book spin-off, written by Zac Gorman and published by Oni Press. They then delighted audience members with an improvised family breakfast scene in character.

Finally, Robot Chicken, or the annual meeting of the silly hats club, took to the stage. This panel is always a favorite among fans, and this year did not disappoint. Moderated by Adult Swim Vice President Keith Crofford, the panel included co-creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, actors Clare Grant, Breckin Meyer, and Macaulay Culkin, and producer John Harvatine IV. Things started off with a segment from Season 7’s “Chipotle Miserables.” A few announcements followed including the release date of the Robot Chicken: Christmas Specials DVD on November 18th and the release of “The Lots of Holidays But Don’t Worry Christmas Is Still in there So Get The Stick Out of Your Ass Fox News Special” on December 7th, before the floor was opened up to the fan Q&A. This year’s fan portion of the panel produced the annual sexy pose request, as well as the return of Emmett, the fan with whom Meyer had a rivalry with at last year’s NYCC panel. A trailer for Clare Grant’s new pilot the Team Unicorn Saturday Action Fun Hour! was also shown.

Click through our slideshow below for more moments from The Adult Swim Panels at New York Comic Con 2014!