The Christmas my daughter turned five I bought a brand new game system that came with two controllers and Super Mario World. That year my stepson, his wife and step-daughter came to visit and we all sat around the dining room table taking turns playing the game.

We got to one of the ghost houses and couldn’t find our way out. In the game you had to hit something that caused a timed task to start. We thought we knew what the task was, but suddenly my daughter said, “I saw it. I saw a blue door.”

No one really believed her but me. I knew that her child’s brain viewed things differently than ours and that it was possible she had, in fact, seen something where the rest of us weren’t looking. Of course we had to make our way back to that point, which took some doing, but when we got there, sure enough, a blue door appeared where none of us had been looking except for a smart little five-year-old girl.

Today you’ll sometimes see ads that say “free PSP” or “video game system. Best offer.” Interestingly, there is still a market for the classic systems. I wonder what the original Pong is going for these days? I wouldn’t go back to such primitive games as that now, but it does make me wax nostalgic. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. Hmm.

I have a really funny story to tell. It is all about how I became known as the best horse racing tipster amongst all of my college friends. It was a long time ago, but we all still get such a laugh when we get together for beers and the subject comes up.

One night, when we were all bored, we decided to head down to the tracks, just for something to do. None of us had ever bet on a race before and we decided that we would all place a bet. I started spouting off racing tips, just to be funny, as I really knew nothing about it. I decided to place my bets on the jokes I was making, even though the odds were greatly stacked against me winning a single race.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, I won every single race I bet on. I made a lot of money that night and the next time we went all of my friends wanted me to share my best horse racing tips with them. We never won anything that night and we all had a good laugh that I had just had beginners luck that first time. It is still pretty funny to talk about.

Have you seen the clothing worn by MMA fighters? I just love the designs on their shirts and shorts!
MMA clothing is often designed with a particular fighter in mind and even with a whole crew or club.
Tapout and a Throwdown are just two brands that come to mind when I think of seeing fighters in the ring.

Both of those brands and many others make clothing for the whole family of MMA fans. From babies to moms, there is a style and design that is up to date, fun, and well made. You can get shirts that support your favorite fighter or just the brand itself.

There are even backpacks and belts that sport the MMA labels. While these clothes will set you back a little bit, they are well made and meant to last a while. Hopefully your favorite fighter will last as long as your shirt does.

I have been in love with musical theatre since I was 14 years old, especially after I was cast in my first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. Since then I have been not only an active participant in theatrical productions. These include musicals, dramas, and comedies. And I participated in various roles, from artistic director, assistant director, music director and actor.

But I also never miss an opportunity to see theatre whenever I can afford it. A friend and I have been to more shows than I can count over the past six and a half years, from community theatre to semi-professional theatre, to collegiate-level theatre. Up until recently we hadn’t seen any professional productions. But that’s going to change.

I was looking at the local event news, and there are shows coming to our area that I don’t want to miss. Thanks to some inside information I learned about recently, I even know how to get discounted tickets. There’s just nothing quite like a top-notch performance to set me to singing all the way home.

I found some very cheap event tickets online to a show that is coming to our city this spring. It is a concert that my son really wants to attend and I was thankful to find them, as I certainly could not afford to take him at full price. He is going to be so thrilled when he finds out, as I already told him it couldn’t happen.

He is a really good boy, but I am a single mother and I find it hard to get him the things he wants. Thankfully we have everything that we need, but wants have to be put on hold for now. I figure that there will be time to get him some of the things he wants when I am finished college.

This is one of the reasons I really wanted to get these tickets for him. He does not ask for much, but this is something that he wanted more than almost everything. He deserves to go and I can’t wait to take him. I hope that I will be able to one day fulfill every wish and desire that his little heart has.

My boyfriend is in a band, and though I think they are very good, not too many people know who they really are.  They decided this year that they would change that and were thinking of ways to get their name and their music out there.

They decided to hire a manager, at least until their money ran out.  They figured if they had a good enough manager that they would get better gigs, which in turn meant that more people would hear them and more people would eventually know who they are.

It ended up being a very good decision as the manager they hired worked very hard for them and they got to play in places that they had only dreamed of playing in before.  We are really impressed with how many call backs that they’ve had and I predict that they will have a hit album out within the next year.

Going out to a movie always causes big drama for my husband and me. The reason is that we can never agree on what to see. We have totally opposite tastes when it comes to television and movies and it is usually more stressful than it is worth, so we don’t go together very often.

For him, the bloodiest, goriest movie is at the top of his list and I can’t stand them. I don’t see the point of paying such a large price for a movie that I am going to miss half of because my face is buried in his shoulder. On the other hand, he cannot stand musicals and I just love them.

The last time, as we were standing in front of the theatre, arguing about what to see, we came to the conclusion that we should just each go to our own show and meet up afterward for dessert. This worked really well so this is now how we go on dates to the movies. I get to see a chick flick every time and I also get dessert out of the deal. Who could ask for more?

It is getting close to my mother’s birthday and I dare not forget to buy her a gift.  You see, I made that mistake once and she has never let me forget it - even though it was many years ago.

Since that incident, I have tried to plan ahead a bit and have a game plan in place.  That way, I don’t end up getting her something stupid for her birthday, but rather something thoughtful.

So, during the year, I make a point of paying attention to what she talks about - usually in her conversations, she lets slip what she wants for her birthday.  This year, I think the message is pretty clear: Paul McCartney Tickets.

I don’t know if she has a crush on him, or just loves his music, but each time I go to visit her lately, she is listening to his music, or talking about him.  It turns out that he is coming to town after her birthday, so it will be perfect.

I wonder who she will think is the best son after she opens her gift?  I guess I will have to see.