One of the first books I read on my Nook Color was The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Have you read it yet? It is amazing, so you really should. It's a story set in Jackson, Mississippi during the civil rights era and follows the journey of a privileged white woman and the black "hired help" who risk everything to cross boundaries to tell a story that must be told. Now this amazing book is coming to the big screen will be out everywhere August 10th. Here's the movie trailer, just to give you a glimpse into the world of these amazing characters.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to do more fun stuff with my kids. In fact, I just took them to a fabulously fun mini-vacation to a nearby indoor waterpark, and we had a blast. But we don't have to drive hours and spend the night in a hotel to have fun. There are so many cultural events and attractions to see in Pittsburgh, only 45 minutes north of our town.

One of these fun upcoming events is the production of Madagascar Live at the Benedum this weekend. If you live in or near Pittsburgh, you'll want to consider taking your family to see this show - especially since you get can buy one ticket, get one free!

Here's a description of the show:

All of your favorite crack-a-lackin’ friends from MADAGASCAR are out of the zoo and onto the stage in MADAGASCAR LIVE - a WILD New Musical Adventure based on the blockbuster DreamWorks film. Join Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the hip hip Hippo and of course, those hilarious, plotting penguin as they escape from their home at New York’s Central Park Zoo and find themselves on an unexpected journey to the madcap world of King Julian’s Madgascar. This celebration of friendship is brought vividly to life by imaginative sets and costumes, action-packed adventure and spectacular new songs that will inspire you to MOVE IT MOVE IT in the aisles. Get ready to GO WILD at MADAGASCAR LIVE, coming to the Benedum Center this Thursday, February 3 through Sunday, February 6!

Just enter the promo code LIVE when ordering tickets!

This looks like such an incredible show. I know my family and I will enjoy it. Hope to see you there!

* Tickets provided

My family and I are currently reviewing one of the coolest things. It's the Roku Digital Video Player, and it's changing the way we watch TV. With the Roku, we get instant access to all kinds of television and video, streamed right to our television. Let me tell you - we are loving it!

The Roku lets you stream video live from several free channels that come installed on the player or lets you choose subscription or paid services such as Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Video. We chose to subscribe to Netflix. For less than $10 a month, we're able to watch all kinds of programming instantly, such as movies, television shows or specials. Also, we get unlimited DVD selection through the mail, one at a time. We're considering switching back to basic cable. The Roku could save us lots of money.

And we're having so much fun experimenting with the channels. You can get Pandora music through the Roku straight to your TV. Right now, I'm enjoying listening to various Christmas music stations as I work or play with Brady throughout the day. You can also access popular web services like Flickr and Vimeo from your TV, but I have to admit that I haven't played with those features yet.

I'm not extremely techie, but I'm starting to really enjoy exploring different gadgets, tools and toys. The Roku really seems to offer so much for a rather small price. There are three different models, each with various features. They range in price from $59.99 to $99.99. A reasonable cost for something that offers so much versatility in entertainment.

I have to say that I really have only positive things to say about the Roku. The only negative I can think of is that you do have to weigh the pros and cons of each paid service to determine which makes sense financially for you and your family. It could be really easy to get a little carried away with adding paid subscriptions because there are so many choices. For now, I'm choosing to stick with Netflix only. I do think we'll get rid of some of our pricier cable features because we can get so much more through Roku in combination with Netflix. I may choose to add another subscription service or two in the future, but I plan to play around with one thing at a time.

And from now until tomorrow, 12/12 at 11:59 PST, you'll get free shipping on the Roku XD and XD/S. If you're looking for alternatives to cable or satellite dish, you should check out Roku.