Hi everyone, I have been away to SF and the Catskills and have much to discuss… #1:  I “Heart” Radio Disney.  I am a Disney fan in general having fallen in love with the theme park when I was 18 and decided my life’s ambition was to live in Cinderella’s castle.  Over the years, I have been fortunate to have worked with different  facets of the company including interviewing the creative folks at Disney FamilyFun, developing activity books for Disney Publishing and working with DJ Shal on her Public Affairs show, “Let’s Chat” for Radio Disney (in San Francisco / Bay Area).  So when I was in the Bay area last month, I visited the show along with my dear friends Liz & Cindy and their adorable boys who joined us on the show.  It was the highlight of my trip (besides having a chance to spend a ton of time with Jackson).  Thanks DJ Shal for making the day so special.

#2 My fire alarm works!  Today I did my regular segment on You & Me this Morning on WCIU TV in Chicago.  We made T-shirt totes and s’more truffles among other things.  Here’s a link to the segment:  Click Here to Watch the Segment! Eventually I mastered the art of making caramels but trust me, there was a lot of practice before that happened.  As you can see from the above picture, it took a few tries, a few pounds of burnt sugar, a room full of smoke and a melted plastic spoon.  RIP dear spoon.

#3 Park A Day Challenge:  A neighbor who reads the Pioneer Press recently sent me an email about her Park a Day Challenge.  The challenge is sponsored by the non-profit group, KaBOOM!  Which is dedicated to “creating great playspaces through the participation and leadership of communities.”  How can you not love that mission?

Here’s a link to Liza’s post which details her park adventures!   Click here to read!

#4 I am now a double blogger!  That’s right, a year ago I had no idea what “Twitter” was, thought “Facebook” was a video game and thought blogging was something that happened in the mountains of Minnesota!  (Of course there are NO mountains in Minnesota, so it only seems fitting that they would “blog” there!)  Anyway, I am thrilled and honored to share my new blog with all of you.  Its home is the You & Me this Morning on WCIU website.  You & Me this Morning is a morning TV  show that is near and dear to my heart since it is super fun, informative and a certain “shoestring mommy” appears on it every other week.    Here’s a link to the website and my TV page ~ Check it out and if you can, share it with your friends.  Click Here to Read and Watch!

Thanks for Reading!  Shoestrings and Peace, Beth

Today I was working on my show notes for tomorrow’s radio show.  Jenna is in China and our regular guest co-host Cynthia is in Myrtle Beach, so I am flying solo!  While getting everything together I found 2 clips I absolutely love and wanted to share…

The first clip is from my kitchen inspiration and friend of the show,  Mandy Heaston, author of  the blog www.gourmetmomonthego.com.    She was in Savannah last week as a finalist for the REAL WOMEN of PHILADELPHIA bake-off hosted by Paula Deen.  How did she do?  Check out her video here .

The second is from tomorrow’s guest Karen Walrond whose blog, www.Chookooloonks.com is a must read for folks who love to sit back and reflect on the joys and wonders of life!  She is also a gifted photographer and has a new book coming out this fall called, “The Beauty of Different.” LOVE the title, right?  Here’s the trailer for the book, its one of those feel good, I will celebrate my own uniqueness trailers that, well, you’ll see if you click here.

Shoestrings and Peace, bEtH

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems every song I listen to these days has a familiar theme;  Don’t Blink! ~ These crazy days with little ones running around will soon be over and you will miss them.  I try to think about it on days like today when we are rushing out the door only to discover my car keys were “hidden” and Jrb forgot where he hid them or when he wants to play Go Fish for the 14,000th time or when he tells me he no longer likes apples and almonds and foods that start with “A,” preferring to be a “P” kid instead which means I am to give him pizza, pretzels and popcorn!  (Nice try!).  So I am trying to bottle up these days by planning lots of family fun nights and adventures and making sure we have plenty of time together.

Sound familiar?  I figure if we can’t stop time, we might as well have fun in the process.  The link below will bring you to an article I recently wrote for  Edmontons Child Magazine (page 28).  It is all about fun summertime activities to do with your kids. If you have other ideas please share them below.  I am always on the lookout for fun ideas.   www.edmontonschild.com.  Now I’m off to buy some Pasta, Potatoes and Pineapple.

Shoestrings and Peace, Beth

Today, I was driving to WCIU at 5:00 AM.  We were filming two live segments for You & Me this Morning.  My car was packed with wiggling watermelon, lemon cupcakes just waiting to be turned into mini suns  and beach toys made from recycled products.  It occurred to me as I flew down I-94 (no traffic at 5 AM!) that I am living my dream.  I am doing absolutely what I love to do (making things out of ordinary stuff much of which you might otherwise throw away) and I am so fortunate to have a forum in which to show it!

So thank you to all of you who read the blog and the column, listen to the radio show or catch me on You & Me this Morning.  You friendship and support means so much to me.  Now, if only I could get my hair to behave on humid days….

Here are some clips from my segments.  Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the team over there?  Jeanne Sparrow is so much fun, and I love how she is just so comfortable in her own skin.  It makes everyone around her feel so comfortable too. even on bad hair days!

Recycled Crafts

Summer Snacks

Speaking of living the dream, one of my absolute favorite bloggers (who inspired my suns and watermelon ideas) will be on our radio show tomorrow.  She was also just on her local news channel talking about her upcoming Bake Off competition…Go Mandy!!! Check out her clip below

http://www.king5.com/Watch Gourmet Mom on the Go!

What’s you dream?  What can I do to help you figure out how to live it?

If you’re in the Chicago area, add this to your calendar: Indie Jubilee on July 10, 2010 from 10 AM to 3:30 PM.  what is Indie Jubilee?  It’s a brand new indie market that will feature handmade food, fashion, dance, music and more.

Admission is free, with the option to donate to Prevent Child Abuse of Illinois.  For complete information, check out Indie Jubilee’s blog.

Location: Morton Grove American Legion | 6140 Dempster Street | Morton Grove, IL 60053

The Pioneer Press MOAS team has won 1st prize from the Suburban Newspapers of America for BEST Niche Website!!  Congrats to Adam Music, Carol Goodard, Dan Leudert, Mandy Giovetti, and the rest of the MOAS team!!!!

Update!!! We have a winner ~ Congrats to Ellie.

Ellie, please email beth (at) engelmanriggs (dot) com with your mailing address and we will have the CD sent out ASAP

Last Thursday, we had the great pleasure of speaking with Uncle Rock.  He has been described as…Buddy Holly meets Shel Silverstein.  Now that’s a great description!   In our interview, we found out Uncle Rock played Buddy Holly in the stage production of “The Buddy Holly Story”  in London.  You can hear Uncle Rock do his best “Buddy Holly” in the song “Buddy Holly has the Hiccups!”   Jenna and I also both love “There is No Away.”  If you can catch Uncle Rock in concert this summer ~ go!  He is magical.

In honor of Uncle Rock, we are having a contest!  Enter to win Uncle Rock’s new CD, “The Big Picture.”  Tell us a song you are loving right now!  Contest ends at 11:59 PM June  17.  Good Luck.