If I needed proof that I am not destined to be a food blogger, putting this post together was it. This took me way longer than it should have. But, it was my own fault. I should have done some of the prep yesterday instead of taking a nap. I'm happy with the way it turned out and I think it's not bad for a first attempt.

A few days ago, I was thinking about St. Patrick's Day and what I want to put in Tyler's lunch since his class will probably have a little party on Friday. Last St. Patrick's Day, I thought of the few things I did at the last minute. I literally ran to the store the night before. This year, I wanted to be more prepared and give him more variety. Here's what I came up with:

The green blobs on the left are Ranch dressing and mustard with one drop of green food color. The beverages are sparkling water, not soda. I can't vouch for the color of the Funky Monkey snacks and the Soy Joy, but the packaging is fun. We're strict about candy but I think a surprise treat every so often isn't a bad thing, especially for a holiday.

Did I miss anything? What green foods are you going to put in your child's lunch for St. Patrick's Day?

ETA: So, you may have noticed the photo only has 15 items, not 16 like the post title says. I started writing the post and I was snacking on the treats when I realized I left an item off! I had zero desire to re-stage everything and take a new photo (plus, I'd eaten all the gummi bears), so here is what should have been item #16. Please pretend it's in the original photo.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday! No coincidence that it's also opening day for The Lorax. There were so many parts of the interviews that I loved, but meeting Betty White and Danny DeVito was my highlight. I left Zac Efron to Mary and the other cougars. (Kidding!)

DeVito could not be more perfect as the voice of The Lorax. I've tried to think of who else would have fit the role but I can't. He has just the right amount of gruff to make it work. Ken Duario, one of the writers said of DeVito that, "once that name came up as a thought and then, that was it.  That's all we ever had in our head because he's The Lorax."

DeVito has done voice work in animation before. He's done characters in My Little Pony, Matilda, Space Jam, Hercules and a cat in Last Action Hero. But, he didn't think about doing The Lorax until he was approached by the film makers. "I didn't identify with the character as much as I dug him," he said. "I thought he was really cute and cool. And it wasn't until two years ago or so when Chris Melandandri [Producer] called me and asked me if I would be interested."

When the interview was over, I told Mr. DeVito that he is the Boris Karloff of our time. Whenever I think of iconic Seuss, specifically The Grinch, I hear Karloff in my head. Now, when I think of The Lorax I'll hear Danny DeVito and I'll bet many others will too.

As for Betty White, could she be any cuter? I want to be just like her when I'm her age. She was so warm and funny in the interviews. She voices Grammy Norma. We all loved that her character was strong, sassy and cunning rather than doddering. Grammy Norma is actually instrumental in saving the day. 

I loved the Golden Girls and being in the same room with Betty White and listening to her tell her stories was so awesome. Between her television career, books and her work with the Morris Animal foundation, she's incredibly busy for a 90 year-old!

I promise this is the last time I'll say it, but I loved this movie. Dr. Seuss' words resonate just as much today as they did when he wrote The Lorax in the early 1970's. I love it that a whole new generation is getting to know Dr. Seuss and the lessons he shared.

Celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday by visiting www.theloraxmovie.com to see all the sites participating in The Lorax blog hop. The Lorax opens in theaters today.

Thank you to universal Pictures for providing access during the press junket.

Life Hack: Salting a Margarita Glass | Works For Me Wednesday

Last Wednesday was National Margarita Day. At the last minute, I decided we needed to do our civic duty and celebrate the occasion properly. I took orders from the neighbors and broke out the frozen strawberries. Everyone wanted their glass salted and I forgot I don't own anything to properly salt a margarita glass. I thought about it for a minute and came up with the perfect solution.

Viola! If you have a citrus juicer, check to see if your margarita glasses fit inside. I poured a little Triple Sec into the bottom of the juicer, used a small plate for the salt and it worked perfectly! No need to go out and buy a separate gadget. This one does double duty.

What's working for you today? 

Toe Tappin with The Lorax Soundtrack

This past weekend I took my family to see an advanced screening of The Lorax and I've been humming some of the songs ever since. Tyler has politely asked me to stop several times but I can't help it!  

The music in The Lorax is fantastic. The songs are catchy and help tell the story and fill the holes from taking a 45 page book and turning it into a feature length movie. When we interviewed the directors and actors, Renee and Chelsea both brought up how good the music was. Chris Melandandri (one of the producers) said that, "when music works, it's such an engaging, uplifting aspect of a film with that chemistry between imagery and song, there's nothing like it in terms of just immersing you in the emotion of a scene in a movie." The music definitely works in this movie.

In the middle of The Lorax, when one of the turning points happens, Ed Helms moves the story along by having the character he voices, The Once-ler sing about his morals and ethics. Helms had an interesting dilemma in voicing The Once-ler. For consistency, the directors wanted him to do both old and young Once-ler.

So in addition to speaking in two different tones, Helms had to sing as the young Once-ler. Despite the challenge, he had fun. He said it was  "fun and silly and ridiculous and campy." He echoed my sentiments that the music is "amazing," and that John Powell (the composer) "just knocked it out of the park with the opening."

I should have known I'd still be singing the songs days later because Helms has been singing too. "I got (composer) John to give me an advance of the soundtrack," he said. "You see me at a stop light and I'm singing, 'Everybody needs a thneed!'"

Me too, Ed. Me too.

I asked the writers (Cinco Paul and Ken Duario) how they determined what parts of a movie to use songs over dialogue.

"The definition," Cinco said, "is generally, does it sing? And so, you want to sort of find the moments when it's almost demanding that the characters burst into song. But, also we used the songs really narratively to sort of tell a lot of story in a little time. And so, the first song was just a way of how can we introduce everybody to the world as quickly as possible and have them tapping their feet while they're introduced to the world, and those two moments were ways to sort of compress time and to cover a lot of ground."

During the opening sequence of The Lorax, when the townspeople of Thneedville were singing and dancing, I thought, "you know, I bet this would be great on Broadway." Then later in the movie, when the three Hummingfish harmonized for the first time, I was sold. I think the fish are my favorite inhabitants of Truffula Valley. Between the bold, colorful scenery and the songs, I think The Lorax should be a musical and I said as much to the writers.

Me: "It was the fish that made me think that this would make a very good stage production. I can see these amazing sets and more musical numbers. If somebody came to you and said we want to do The Lorax on Broadway, would you guys write it?"

Mr. Ken Duario:  "Yes ma'am."

Mr. Cinco Paul:  "Yes, please.  Yes, I am a huge fan of musicals.  So, I would love that."

If The Lorax becomes a stage production, you heard it here first. I think The Lorax would have been a very different movie without the music. It would have been easy to get lost in the environmental message and it may even have been a little sad, but the songs interspersed with the humor keep it so entertaining and fun. The Lorax opens this weekend on May 2nd.

Follow The Lorax on Twitter and Pinterest and play games on the official Lorax movie site. The Lorax soundtrack is available on Amazon for $9.49. (as of 3/5/12)

Thank you to Universal Pictures for providing travel and accommodations to a press viewing of The Lorax. Affiliate link used.