~Save Money Momma~

I don’t normally comment on personal things, but I thought I would with the recent, tragic death of Michael Jackson.

My kids know who Michael Jackson was. They’ve heard his music, told and heard the jokes and  today MTV is playing a lot of his videos.  Listening to this music and watching these videos, the controversy is astonishing to me.  It must be extremely difficult to be as feeling as he was and as excentric all at the same time. A chimp, Neverland, and then charities, aids efforts, etc. 

The kids keep commenting that the inttoductions for his earlier videos are very long. I laughed and explained becaus he told stories in his videos, they were like mini movies, unlike now in videos where most just stand around in groups throwing down gang signs and holding up 40’s.  But if you have the time to watch, you’ll see what I mean. There’s the free willy video, black or white and a few others that were just all about the environment and acceptance of each other.  Was that his message overall?

I realized that for all the scandall surrounding this man, he did do many good things earlier in his career. Remember Ryan White? The boy who has AIDS and nobody wanted him in school, nobody wanted to be his friend out of fear? He was on talk shows, celebrities rallied around him and attended his funeral and Michael wrote a song, “Gone Too Soon” and video for him.  Aids awareness was an issue for him.  Especially back in the 80s when nobody knew for sure how you could get it.

Then there’s We Are The World.  I know you all remember that!  What a collaboration of artists! I remember the awards show that night. everytone was waiting for him to show up then they made the announcement that he was working on an extremely important project and then the making of We Are the World surfaced and it showed him working in the studio, then all the other artists staying up all night for the effort.

Remember the 1993 Half Time show at the Super Bowl? Michael’s, not Janet’s. LOL!

Remember Hands Across America? I grew up in New Jersey and I wanted so badly to go to New York where everyone was meeting for the NY/NJ hook up but my mother wouldn’t take me.  I had to watch it on TV. But I remember them playing the we are the world song…Was he there? probably.

For A basically full biography, suprisingly you can go to Myspace/KingOfPop. There’s a photo gallery and more.

I know that for all the scandall and allegations surrounding Michael Jackson, watching the videos and remembering how I felt growing up and the impact he had on my generation, I can say that he was an amazing Artist. 

My condolences to his family.

Just a quick freebie today. Hurry and click for yours because it is limit one per household while supplies last!

I am signing up for this myself, I’d like to try it. I mean, look at this…it is a berry flavored tea with green tea, acai, b vitamins…it has to be good!  I just hope it tastes as good as it sounds!

Steaz Organic Energy Shot

One thing that always makes me happy on Father’s Day, is having the kids make a home cooked meal for Dad. 

Sure we eat in all the time, but on a holiday such as Father’s Day or Mother’s Day, the meals are supposed to be special…so I was thrilled when Prevention emailed me the recipe of the day and it was:

Four Veggie Pizza!

How YUMMY does that look?

1 thin whole wheat pizza crust (12″ diameter)
* 1/4 c sun-dried tomato pesto (MUFA)
* 1 sm zucchini, sliced (1 c)
* 1 med orange or yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips (about 1 c)
* 1 c sliced cremini or button mushrooms
* 1/2 med red onion, thinly sliced (1/2 c)
* 2 tsp olive oil
* 2 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
* 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
* 3/4 c quartered grape or cherry tomatoes
* 1/2 c thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put crust on baking sheet or pizza pan. Spread crust with pesto. Toss zucchini, pepper, mushrooms, and onion with oil. Place in medium skillet over medium-high heat and saute until veggies are soft and excess liquid has evaporated, about 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Top crust evenly with cheeses. Arrange sauteed vegetables over cheese and top with tomatoes. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until crust is baked through and slightly crisp. Sprinkle with basil. Let stand a few minutes before cutting into quarters.

This is one of the cutest Father’s Day recipes I have seen in a long time! Easy to make with the kids and I think if you get creative, it wouldn’t have to be a lawn mower. If dad is a golfer, use gumballs as golfballs, the same can go for bowling! Marzapan is easy to use and you can pretty much shape it into anything such as bowling pins, golf clubs…anything daddy enjoys!

1. For each cupcake, mix a handful of flaked coconut with a few drops of green food coloring. Press a chocolate-frosted cupcake into the coconut to cover.
2. The mower is made with a dark chocolate Hershey’s Nuggets body, brown M&M’s wheels, and a red M&M’s engine, held in place with dabs of frosting.
3. Shape the handle from a piece of black licorice lace, then insert the ends into the cupcake.

Ingreedients:

Any flavor cupcake you would like

flaked coconut

green food coloring

Hershey’s nuggets

m&m’s

frosting

black licorice laces

I found this recipe on Family Fun.com!  CLICK HERE for an entire list of printable cards, more recipes, activities and more…all for dad!