Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Birthday Story Bash: Day 2

Welcome to the second day of the Toy Story party here on my blog! I know I'm getting this day started a little early (it's still technically the first day of my party!), but I thought I would post this when I knew I could find time. We'll just keep this party rolling!

Just as a reminder, each day of the party will include a guest interview; movie, book, and song-of-the-day selections; and a giveaway! And each day will have its own theme based off of one or more of the Toy Story characters.

Today's character is . . . Buzz Lightyear! Thus, today's theme will be space/flying (because Buzz can fly, at least when he has a rocket strapped to his back!).

To get us started, I invited Renee from Black 'n Gold Girl's Book Spot to get us started! Renee is a dear blogging friend of mine. When I have blogging questions, Renee has blogging answers! She is patient, kind, and she has a wonderful blog! If you don't already follow her blog, head on over there as soon as you're done reading this post!

Amber: Who is your favorite Toy Story character?

Renee: I would definitely have to say that Buzz Lightyear is my favorite character. He is super funny and way cool, I mean he can fly (kind of) plus he has little green men for groupies! I also liked Buzz in the TV cartoon series that was released, I believe, right after Toy Story 2! I loved XR the witty robot, and Buzz's sidekicks Mira and Booster. Is it okay if I admit that I also like Evil Emperor Zurg? Really, what is a movie without a villain or two to issue a good challenge?

Amber: What is one of you favorite stories? (This could be books, movies, family stories...anything goes!)

Renee: Oh goodness this is a toughie! I will go with a book, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Ever since I first read it in high school I've been enthralled with everything Austen (I've read most of her books plus a lot of the modern "retellings").

Elizabeth is the perfect heroine and Darcy...*sigh* there are no words for him. It's easy to see why these stories have remained popular for over 200 years. There are lessons that today's readers can take away regarding first impresions and the like. Plus it's also fun to see how society has changed and how it has remained the same.

Amber: If you could be any character/toy from Toy Story, which one would you be?

Renee: Hmmmm I would have to say I would love to be Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl! She is so independent and not to be crossed LOL! She's also a tomboy like me. However the girly girl in me also likes Bo Peep with her pretty pink dress. ;-) I'm anxious to see what they do with these characters in Toy Story 3!

Amber: Do you have any other Toy Story/Pixar info you would like to share?

Renee: Besides Toy Story I really love the Disney/Pixar movie Cars! Being a bit of a car fanatic I was pleased when they decided to release this movie. I love McQueen, Mater, Sally, Doc, Luigi and Guido. I usually like the secondary characters and Luigi and Guido are definitely my favorites, especially when they meet the Ferrari towards the end of the film...soooo cute!!! I thought it was really cool, too, that Dale Jr, Darrel Waltrip and other NASCAR folks lent their voices in cameo apprearances throughout the movie. It made it seem very authentic.

Amber: Thanks so much for joining us today, Renee! It was fun to read your responses! =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for the selections of the day! Going with the space theme, I have some fun recommendations for you:
  • Movie of the day: WALL-E (Another great Pixar movie! It's a bit different from the others, but I suppose all of their movies are rather unique! The robots in this one are just too cute!)

  • Book of the day: Once in a Blue Moon by Leanna Ellis (To read my review of this book, click HERE. And to read my interview with Leanna Ellis, click HERE.)

  • Song of the day: When You Come Back Down by Nickel Creek

Here's a video of the song that I found on YouTube. It's a beautiful song, and I think it fits with the flying part of our theme!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's book giveaway is from another dear blogging friend, Angie over at Never A Dull Moment. Thank you so much, Angie, for your generosity!

Here's the description of the book from Zondervan: "In this intense, emotionally charged supernatural thriller for young adults by author Dawn Miller, the angelic forces of heaven and hell wage battle over mankind, placing five gifted teenagers in the middle of a war only they can end. Each of the five has struggled since a terrifying night in their childhood, and as memories of that evening’s events come rushing back, and the dark angels make themselves known, they discover that what was meant to destroy them has instead opened their eyes to a world otherwise hidden from humankind."

I think the cover fits well with today's theme, don't you? =) To enter this drawing, just leave a comment saying you would like to be entered. You must have a U.S. mailing address, and you must leave your e-mail address in your comment to qualify. (Just as a reminder, all the winners this week will be announced on Saturday, June 5.)

Good luck to all of you! And I wish you a fabulous day, full of fun "to infinity and beyond!"

(Toy Story picture from the Pixar website.)

26 comments:

Project Journal said...

Hey Amber!
I read the first day of your party, but saw that you posted the second, so I'm gonna be the first commentor *Sing-song voice*

This is SO cool! I'm liking it more and more with each post *wink*

RENEE! No fair! You got to be a guest on Amber's blog : P That would be cool, I've never been interviewed before. Ah well, it was cool to see you got interviewed! Lol....

Pride and Prejudice, great choice!!

Yeah! There's Jesse, my main squeeze! She'd be AWESOME to be as a character!! Seriously....

Well, I'm definitely going to try and fly in any spare time I have! Can't wait to see the rest of your week!!!
Talk to you soon,
Hannah

P.S. Did you check out the reading challenge that I posted about?? I'm thinking of starting my own sometime, but I'm nervous that I won't have enough people.....you're getting SO many new followers, girl! Pretty soon you're gonna have to send some of them to my blog *wink* I just reached 30!! YAY!

Amber Holcomb said...

Hi Hannah!

Great to have you join the party! And congrats on being the first one to comment on today's post! ;)

Thanks so much for your kind words! I'm so happy this week is as fun for you guys as it is for me!

You know, I would love to interiew you sometime! ;) I'll have to keep that in mind that you would be willing to answer some questions... :D

And I did see that you had a reading challenge posted! Very fun! I don't know if I'll join in this time, but that would be so great if you started your own! I'm sure you would have a lot of people who would be interested, including me! (Just don't make it too hard!) ;)

If I interview you sometime (I think I see another themed week in the making!), I'll bet I can advertise more for your blog! Maybe soon I'll catch up to you--you with your 30 followers! ;)

Oh, and did you want to be entered in today's giveaway (or the previous giveaway)? If so, could you leave another comment saying you would like to be entered (with your e-mail address)? Thanks!

~Amber

Bluerose said...

I'm so glad that you featured this book!! I'm ashamed to say, I had never heard of it. If I don't win this one, I'll be getting it soon. :) bluerose_shelnut(at)yahoo(dot)com

Renee (BlacknGoldGirlsBookSpot) said...

This was soooo fun Amber! I'm honored to be your guest as well as your blogger friend, you're such a sweetie pie! I would love to be a guest on your blog anytime! Hopefully in the future I will try to think up a theme week and maybe it will turn out to be half as cool as your Toy Story theme!

Hannah! This was my first interview and I've been blogging for a while so hopefully you don't have to wait as long to be interviewed! Congrats on 30 followers, that's awesome!

Thank you again Amber for having me!

XOXO~ Renee

Renee (BlacknGoldGirlsBookSpot) said...

Oh yeah, thank you for posting my giveaway too! ;-)

XOXO~ Renee

Rel said...

Fun interview, girls :) Don't enter me, I live across the Pacific!

Judylynn said...

Please enter me in this giveaway - Thanks!

seizethebookblog(at)gmail(dot)com

Ariel Wilson said...

I looooooooooooooove Wall-E :D

The book sounds interesting, but I think I'll pass and let others have a shot. :)

Amber Holcomb said...

Wow! So nice to have all of you visit! It makes me want to post more so I can read more of your lovely comments! ;) Thursday should be tons of fun, so be sure to stop in again soon!

Bluerose: It is fun to be featuring a YA book! It was so nice of Angie to be willing to give away her copy to one of my readers! :) Thanks for your entry!

Renee: It was super fun having you here on my blog! Thank you so much for doing the interview, and I would love to do it again sometime! ;) Thank you for being such a great blogger friend! And thank you for being so encouraging and supportive! I'm so glad ya'll like the themed weeks, because they make my organization-loving self happy. ;) And I'm more than happy to post about your giveaways--anytime!

Rel: Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'm so glad you enjoyed the interview! Isn't Renee great? So fun!

Judy: Thanks for your entry! Have a great day!

Ariel: WALL-E is a sweet movie, isn't it? I have to say I enjoyed it more for the love story than the message about keeping our world clean, but what can I say? ;) Thanks for stopping by!

~Amber

Unknown said...

aww great answers! I actually met buzz lightyear! haha well some guy in a buzz lightyear costume at disneyworld it was awesome!!!


I would very much love to enter your giveaway! The book sounds quite interesting even though I hadn't even heard of it before.

lcintocable[a]gmail[d]com

PS--whoa! Liking this song. I hadn't heard it either :D

Unknown said...

Amber,

Loved your interview with Renee...that girl is just the sweetest! ;o)

Would love to sign up for your giveaway, and if I haven't thanked you yet for posting about mine on your blog...well, thank you! :o)

Christy
orca0024 at yahoo dot com

Casey said...

Please don't enter me, but I loved the interview with Renee. She is a great blogger and hers is one of my favorites!! :)

Anonymous said...

This was SO COOL to see an interview with Renee! I love that you had her as a guest, Amber, and I loved reading her answers! GREAT song of the day, btw. I love Nickel Creek (as well as Owl City!) This is a terrific party. :)

Cerella
www.cerelladsechrist.com

Renee (BlacknGoldGirlsBookSpot) said...

Awww man I <3 all of you!!!!

XOXO~ Renee

Suko said...

Terrific interview--excellent questions and answers. I enjoyed learning more about Renee. I didn't realize she was such an Austen fan! This is a very lovely blog. :)

Amber Holcomb said...

Wow! I'm loving all these guests at the party! Thanks so much to all of you for stopping by! :)

T.V. and Book Addict: I think I met him at Disneyland, too! But the character my sister really wanted to meet when we went over 9 years ago was Jessie. :) Thanks for your entry! And isn't Nickel Creek a wonderful band? :) I love bluegrass music!

Christy: You're welcome, and thank YOU for visiting! :D Renee is great, isn't she? It was so fun to interview her! Thanks for your entry!

Casey: You're so sweet to stop by and leave a comment! Renee is a great friend, and her blog is one of my favorites, too! :)

Cerella: Renee's answers were so fun, just like yours! Thanks for visiting, and how great that we have similar taste in music! I love Nickel Creek and Owl City, too!!! (As you can tell!)

Renee: We <3 you, too, Renee!!!

Suko: So glad you enjoyed the interview! :) And thanks for the compliment! Having all of you leave such nice comments really makes my day!

~Amber

lindsayw said...

I WANT THIS BOOK! For all the reasons I love Erin Healy. Spiritual warfare, thriller. Yay, hope I get it! So, please enter me in the contest. :)
Good song, funny how I know all your songs. Might have something to do with the fact that we lived together. :D
Love you, keep enjoying your birthday celebration!

Amber Holcomb said...

Lindsay,

I see someone's excited... ;) Thanks for your entry!

And isn't that funny? I guess having been roomies does take away some of the surprise, but hope you're enjoying the songs anyway! The next two days might not be as predictable, but we'll see. ;)

Love you, too, and thanks for visiting!

~Amber

Project Journal said...

Girl, you can interview me anytime ; ) Then I'll have to interview you too....hmmmmm....*hear creaky gears turning in Hannah's head*

I'm so glad you're able to have all these people following you now! I know I said that before, but what can I say! You've got 18 comments! That's crazy! ; )

Renee, let's hope not, LOL!

I've never seen Wall-E, it looks really interesting.

I met Buzz too! He signed my autograph book : P

Later gater,
Hannah

P.S. New post going up tonight!

Esther Miriam Lopez said...

Hi all...

Its so great so see you'll and I enjoy reading your comments :p

Please enter me for the drawing and hop over to my blog where I am having 2 giveaways as well :))
www.estherisblogging.blogspot.com

estherym[at]yahoo[dot]com

:)))

Ashley (Ibreath2read) said...

I agree with Hannah, these fun posts are just getting better and better!
And OMW Renee!! Though your choice in books maybe a bit "iffy" (just kidding), it was a fanatastic interview. I guess Amber got to you before me.LOL
I Love it when bloggers interview bloggers. You never know what you'll learn.;)

Buzz is truly the coolest, and I'm not just talking about the fact he gets to ware thaat awesome purple and green space suit......what I wouldn't give.LOL:D

See you tomorrow,Amber:)
Love Ya,
Ashley

Amber Holcomb said...

Good evening everyone!

Hannah: It would be fun to interview each other! I have to remember to focus when I'm working, though, because it's so easy to let my mind wander to all the great theme ideas I could use... ;) Anyway, I'm excited for some more interviewing fun this summer! And thank you so much for your support! It makes me smile to think that you're so happy for me! :D Blogging is a blast!

Esther: Aren't these comments so fun? It's so great to see the party growing! ;) Thanks for your entry, and I'll have to go check out your blog soon!

Ashley: Awww...thanks! I'm having lots of fun with this theme! And Buzz is awesome--I agree! (I love that Tim Allen does the voice for Buzz!) See you soon! ;)

~Amber

P.S. Ashley and Hannah: I love your comments, but I was just wondering...were you wanting to enter the giveaway? Just let me know! (If not, then just keep those comments coming anyways!) :)

karenk said...

this book sounds like a interesting read...

happy birthday amber :)

karenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com

Amber Holcomb said...

Karen,

Thanks for your entry! I confess I haven't read this book, but it does sound intense and interesting, doesn't it?

Thank you, too, for the birthday wishes! :)

~Amber

lindsayw said...

Yes, your picks are less predictable now. Not that I didn't enjoy seeing all our favorite tunes on your picks. ;)

Amber Holcomb said...

Hi again, Lindsay! :)

Well I'm happy that I'm not too predictable--at least not all the time! ;) Just kidding! I agree that it was fun having songs that we both loved as songs of the day!

~Amber