I’ve always chuckled at the tidbits I’ve caught of Hannah Montana.

True, if you didn’t have a child interested in her, you might be intimidated by the constant display of Miley Cyrus on your trips down the cereal aisle, but since I first heard the echos of Hannah on the Disney Channel on a regular basis, I have become a fan.

It wasn’t until the recent release of the Hannah Montana movie, however, that I really gained respect for the Hannah persona.

As often as I can, I try to take a one-on-one girl’s day with Drue. The release of the movie was a perfect catalyst for such a day. The story line of the movie was just what I’d hoped for: Country girl-gone-Hollywood develops an attitude. Daddy brings her back to reality.

As far as values go, I appreciated the fact that they covered such touchy subjects as loyalty to friends and family, treating others with respect, a single parent moving on and “keeping it real,” in spite of unreal circumstances.

Overall, I approve Hannah as a role model to my kids for these reasons:

• She’s cute, but real.
• She has her moments – she screws up, regularly.
• She is a real physical comedian. She falls, whacks her head, falls face-down in flour, etc.
• At the end of the day, she recognizes right from wrong.
• She has a deep voice, that is uncharacteristic of most other teen idols!
• I like her tunes – especially “Butterfly Fly Away.”

What’s your feeling about Hannah?

One of our favorite things to do as a family is visit Steak ‘n Shake for their delicious cheese fries.

This morning, when I got my kiddos back from their vacation with their dad, I decided to treat them to Steak ‘n Shake as a celebratory “welcome home.”

When we walked in, there was a HUGE sign on the building that stated “Kids Eat Free all Weekend.” The finest print on the sign said “One kid’s meal for each $8 spent,” and “Dine-in only.”

We ordered two large orders of cheese fries, a kids cheeseburger meal, two drinks and a shake. The total was $16. (The price of the kids meal was $2.89.)

When I questioned why the kids meal wasn’t deducted from my check, the store’s general manager informed me that “Each adult purchase has to equal $8.” I don’t know what the heck he meant by that, but still, I had $13ish in purchases other than the kids meal itself.

Not only was he nonsensical in his explanation, but he was also rude about it. I know it was only $2.89, but it was the principle that has had me thinking about it all day!

First of all, to support (I think) his theory, it would have required me to order a meal off the menu of $8 or more… I don’t have a menu in front of me, but I’m racking my brain and can’t think of *anything* that would be more than $8. This is one of the reasons I LIKE Steak ‘n Shake! It’s reasonable!

Second, if you have hidden, complex documentation of the many rules and regulations surrounding your “deal,” then put an asterisk on the sign and say “see server for details.”

If his gripe was that there was only one adult at the table, and that children actually consumed a portion of the food I ordered from the adult menu, then that is discrimination against single parents. If I don’t qualify for the promotion without bringing another adult with me or force feeding myself two quadruple Steakburger platters, I can’t see it any other way.

So, insert that Debbie Downer sad trombone sound here. I am thoroughly disappointed in my experience at Steak ‘n Shake today. I hope this was just a case of a crabby employee and not a corporate philosophy.

Luckily, as we drove away, I noticed a new Sonic. We’ll be going there next time.

I keep hearing about the controversy surrounding Mommy Bloggers.

Here is my position: I’m a mommy blogger. I review products. I have never been asked to do so. If asked to do so, I will do so under one condition – I tell the truth about my experience with a product, end of story.

Furthermore, I will identify any requested product review in LARGE, BOLD letters… Right in the beginning of the post, and RIGHT before I tell the truth about the product.

As a matter of integrity, I can’t FATHOM speaking highly of a product I think is terrible, just because I got it for free.

I just won’t do it.

So, there you have it. Stay tuned – I just bought a bevy of new Maybelline products (in a pinch, and as the result of a great sale at Walgreens!) and will be talking about them – for better or for worse – very soon.

One of my goals for this trip to Boston was to find a local knitting/yarn boutique and get some “Boston Yarn” to create a souvenir with.

Just like a candy shop!

My brother Buzz suggested we stop in at Woolcott and Company, a cute garden-level shop near Harvard. I was immediately impressed by their wide selection and hypnotized by the vast array of colors possibilities for my next project.

His friend John was with us, and didn’t necessarily seem thrilled at the prospect of tagging along, but complied out of courtesy.

The two engineers in the group noticed a machine right away and asked about it. It was a tool they use to roll yarn into the perfect ball. The clerk gave them a demo, and it was pretty cool. I think John was pretty happy he came along when it was all said and done!

Getting a demo.

I picked out a pretty, celery green cotton yarn, (after being given a detailed tour of the cottons they had in stock) and have started knitting a thin scarf. I’m going to try to find a bead store to find some cool glass beads to finish the ends.

The beginning of my Boston Scarf, accompanied with some wine and cheese...

Boston Yarn store visit mission accomplished!

Woolcott and Company
61 JFK St
Cambridge, MA 02138-4931
(617) 547-2837