Berenstain Bears Co-creator Jan Berenstain Dies

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Jan Berenstain, who with her husband, Stan, wrote and illustrated the Berenstain Bears books that have charmed preschoolers and their parents for 50 years, has died. She was 88.

Berenstain suffered a severe stroke on Thursday and died Friday without regaining consciousness, her son Mike Berenstain said.

The gentle tales of Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear and Sister Bear were inspired by the Berenstain children, and later their grandchildren. The stories address children's common concerns and aim to offer guidance on subjects like dentist visits, peer pressure, a new sibling or summer camp.

The first Berenstain Bears book, "The Big Honey Hunt," was published in 1962. Over the years, more than 300 titles have been released in 23 languages - most recently in Arabic and Icelandic - and have become a rite of passage for generations of young readers.

"They say jokes don't travel well, but family humor does," said Jan Berenstain told The Associated Press in 2011. "Family values is what we're all about."

Stan and Jan Berenstain, both Philadelphia natives, were 18 when they met on their first day at art school in 1941.

They married in 1946, after Stan Berenstain returned home from serving as a medical illustrator at a stateside Army hospital during World War II. During that time, Jan Berenstain worked as a draftsman for the Army Corps of Engineers and as a riveter building Navy seaplanes.

Before their family of bear books was born, the young couple had already built a successful career in periodicals. A cartoon series they produced called "All in the Family" ran in McCall's and Good Housekeeping magazines for 35 years, and their art appeared in magazines including Collier's and The Saturday Evening Post.

Stan and Jan Berenstain created hundreds of books until Stan Berenstain's death in 2005 at the age of 82.

Mike Berenstain is an illustrator who collaborated on the books with his mother in recent years. His elder brother, writer Leo Berenstain, is involved with the business end of the family franchise.

The books in recent years have tackled modern subjects such as online safety and childhood obesity, and the bears (or their human helpers) answer children's emails and letters, but the goal is to tell enduring, universal stories. Perennial favorites cover challenges of getting kids to doing chores, defuse fears of the first day of school and teach values of kindness and generosity.

"It's wonderful to do something you love for so many years," Jan Berenstain told the AP in 2011. "Not everyone has that."

About 260 million copies of Berenstain Bears books have been held in the hands of children and their parents since the earliest books were published with the help of Theodor Geisel, a children's books editor at Random House better known as Dr. Seuss.

Mike Berenstain said his mother worked daily at her home studio in an idyllic part of Bucks County, north of Philadelphia, which served as inspiration for the books' setting. He said he will continue writing and illustrating future Berenstain books.

"Every day she was very productive," he said. "She was working on two books and had been doing illustrations until the day before she passed away."

Jan Berenstain is survived by her two sons and four grandchildren.

Source: shine.yahoo.com

Britney Spears Wants To Judge X Factor?

While the second season of the X Factor will see only Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid returning, there's been a lot of talk regarding who will potentially replace Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, but as far as we're concerned, she blows all the other competition out of the water!

According to sources close to the pop singer, MIZ BRITNEY SPEARS has reached out to the show to express her interest in being part of the judging panel, alongside other potentials like Janet Jackson and Fergie!

Source: PerezHilton

Jessica Simpson Is Bringing High Fashion to the Biggest Loser

Jessica Simpson has a special treat for one lucky Biggest Loser contestant who’s been working hard at weight loss: a shopping spree with her!

The expectant mom will drop by the NBC show on March 13 to reward a Biggest Loser challenge winner with a visit to her personal showroom. According to NBC, the winner will also be allowed to bring a fellow contestant to pick out anything from Simpson’s clothing, handbag and skincare lines.

“I was so happy when I was asked to help style two contestants from The Biggest Loser,” Simpson tells PEOPLE. “I am truly inspired by how hard these contestants worked to accomplish their goals for a healthy lifestyle.”

Continues Simpson: “It was so much fun seeing the [contestants] try on clothes they would have never fit into before and feeling sexy. We had an amazing day together!”

And that’s not it for Simpson.

Her new competition show, Fashion Star, in which she will judge aspiring clothing designers alongside Nicole Richie and John Varvatos, will premiere immediately after her stint that night on The Biggest Loser.

Source: People.com
Credit: sweetkisses.net

Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

News of Houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night — the Grammy Awards. It's a showcase where she once reigned, and her death was sure to case a heavy pall on Sunday's ceremony. Houston's longtime mentor Clive Davis was to hold his annual concert and dinner Saturday; it was unclear if it was going to go forward.

"I am absolutely heartbroken at the news of Whitney's passing," music producer Quincy Jones said in a written statement. "I always regretted not having had the opportunity to work with her. She was a true original and a talent beyond compare. I will miss her terribly."

Source: Yahoo News

Wholly Guacamole It's A Giveaway Hop!

Blogger Sign Ups are open for the Wholly Guacamole it’s a Giveaway Hop! Here are the details:

Tammilee Tips, Money Saving Michele and Klippin’ Krazy are hosting this new event.

Eat Wholly will be sponsoring a GRAND PRIZE Giveaway valued at $200 plus!

The event begins April 1 at 12:01 AM EST and ends April 10 at Midnight EST. Sign Ups open now, don’t miss it!

Blogger prizes, too!

Minimum Prize: $50, if you have over $100, your prize will be in your linky title.

Source: justmarriedwithcoupons.com

Has Kendra Been Axed???

We just got an EXCLUSIVE tip from a devoted readers, who swears that the E! Network has plans to cut Kendra from their schedule. The news was surprising to us as we haven't heard anything about it getting low ratings or Kendra and Hank making outlandish demands for more money or anything like that.

So why can it? Why let go of a good thing? Makes no sense to us!

Hear our plea, E! Let Kendra live on! The public still likes her. It's a good thing!

Source: perezhilton.com

Kourtney Kardashian Is Having A Girl

Mason is getting a little sister!

It's being reported that Kourtney Kardashian is expecting a little baby girl this time around, which is exactly what she was hoping for.

A friend says:

"Kourtney was hoping for a girl. She loves having a boy but thinks having a girl would be perfect so she can dress her up and show her the ropes in life."

Scott Disick is also excited about having a daughter. He recently said:

"A girl would be a fantastic addition to our family."

Source: perezitos.com

Review of the book Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

This book was a really good book. I enjoyed the plot of the story, I couldn't figure out what would happen next and I enjoyed that. I also felt the emotions and feelings of the characters and really got into the story.

This book was about a christian woman and her brothers and sisters who were struggling to make ends meet so this man comes along and offers up his son to this woman to get married and to have the life she always wanted. She takes up the man on his offer and gets married to his son. And at the end of the story they have fallen in love and she becomes pregnant. It is a true love story.

My only complaint about the story is that there were alot of characters in the book and I got confused a bit about who everyone was and had to re-read alot of pages but all in all a great book to read. I read the book in 2 days and read it in 4 hours. I would recommend this book to anyone.I think we can relate to this because we all can be struggling and making ends meet. After my husbands surgery, money was tight and we still have bills to pay. For a while people were helping me out by making meals for us which was very nice and tasty and helped the stress we were going through. It helps to have great friends who truly love for us and care for us.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Pregnant Kourtney Kardashian Breaks Out Her Bikini For a Tropical Getaway With Scott and Mason

Bikini-clad Kourtney Kardashian, boyfriend Scott Disick, and son Mason escaped their hectic schedules in LA for a few days and headed south of the border to Mexico last month for a family vacation. Kourtney sunned her baby bump in colorful two-piece suits while Scott and Mason wore bright swim trunks. Scott and Kourtney turned up the PDA on a romantic stroll and spent a fun afternoon on the beach with Mason playing on the sand.

This year is just kicking off and so far it's already been a busy couple of weeks for the Kardashian family. Kourtney, Kim and Khloe went topless for their latest Sears campaign, and if that wasn't enough the series finale of Kourtney and Kim Take New York finally aired on E! Close to 4.5 million viewers tuned in to see Kim tell Kris she wanted a divorce, which ranks as the third most-watched show in the network's history.

Source: PopSugar

Amber Portwood sentenced to five years in jail

Amber Portwood, who stars in MTV’s ‘Teen Mom’ was sentenced to five years in prison today. The 21-year-old mom will avoid doing a lot of the prison time by accepting to enter a drug program.

Portwood was shackled at the ankles and wrists today as she appeared in Madison County Court in Anderson, Indiana.

Under a plea deal, the reality TV star plead guilty to one count of Class D felony possession of a controlled substance, and one count of parole probation violation. If she succeeds in completing the terms of the drug court program, the case against her will be dismissed. If she fails, the judge told Portwood she would be send to prison to serve the five years he ordered.

‘I know it is going to be hard but I have a lot to lose – I have a daughter,’ Portwood quietly told Judge Happe.

‘All I can do is try, I have a lot of people behind me.’

Asked what she hoped to get out of the plea deal, Portwood said: ‘I want to possibly get my family back.

‘I have been doing pills for eight years, since I was 13, and since then I have never been drug free until I detoxed.

‘I think about my daughter all the time and I did not really do that before, I always thought about when I was going to get more pills.

‘I am just a better person when I am off them. I remember when I was sober after rehab I was happier then too.

‘All I can do is try, I have a lot of people behind me.’

Asked what she hoped to get out of the plea deal, Portwood said: ‘I want to possibly get my family back.

‘I have been doing pills for eight years, since I was 13, and since then I have never been drug free until I detoxed.

‘I think about my daughter all the time and I did not really do that before, I always thought about when I was going to get more pills.

‘I am just a better person when I am off them. I remember when I was sober after rehab I was happier then too.

Amber was arrested on December 19th at the courthouse during a meeting with probation officers for violating her probation. On December 22 she was charged with Class D felony possession of a controlled substance – hydrocodone pills.

Source: dailymail.co.uk
Credit: icydk.com

Snooki I'm NOT Pregnant And Stop Calling Me Fat

Snooki is calling radishes on a report that she's pregnant -- claiming not only is she NOT pregnant, she's insulted by the insinuation she's fat.

The "Jersey Shore" star left Sirius XM studios in New York moments ago -- where she appeared on the Opie & Anthony radio show -- and a photog flat-out asked if the pregnancy rumor was true ... Snooki firmly replied, "NO!"

Worse, Snooki's livid at rumors she's gained weight, claiming, "Why are people calling me fat? That's so rude!" Snooki said she does wanna get pregnant one day though ... when she gets married.

Source: TMZ.com