Top 10 Mother's Day Gifts Under $20

Motherhood is indeed priceless and in order to give back the love that they have showered to all of us, we could do things for them where they could feel that they are loved and appreciated. Much more than the best present what we could still give to them, even though we run out of budget, here are the top 10 mother’s day gifts under $20 that they would really appreciate and cherish. This would help you decide and plan for the best kind of gift that would suit your needs that would reciprocate the significant day for your mother, and for all mothers in the world.

Mother’s Day Gits Under $20

10. Tea Cup Set

Mother is known as an organizer at home, especially in the kitchen. They would love to have cute pieces of tea cups in a set. In fact, there are online stores that actually sell a tea cup set for $11 to $18. You just have to know your mother’s favorite color and you could get the best one.

9. Purse Recorder Frame

This is a modern tape recorder that mothers could bring anywhere they go. Mothers are known financial experts at home. They are the ones that plan everything and they are comfortable bringing purses with them and not the big or bulky type of wallets whenever they shop around. It cost $9 to $11.

8. Espadrilles

This is one of the most comfortable outdoor shoes being worn today by both teenagers and adults alike. As mothers grow older, they become weary of wearing heels but they opt to wear more comfortable footwear so they could walk around and stroll in the mall if they need to. It’s cheap because you could have a pair of it for only $13 to $14.

7. Assorted Chocolates

Revive the feeling that they were in the courtship period when they were younger. Receiving chocolates would make them feel youthful again, along with the thoughtfulness goes with it by wrapping it in a personalized wrapper made by you. Make it colorful so that it would look costly and presentable.

6. Magazine Subscription

This is one of the best Top 10 Mother’s day gifts, which have been suggested for the past mother’s day. Mothers are known for their love for reading and it’s one of the qualities of any woman in general. You could have a combo subscription of any magazine and believe me, it only costs $19.99.

5. Gift Card

If you cannot think of anything for your mother, then give her a gift card and accompany her in buying something that she would surely love. Make sure that you would bring to a store that is worth the card.

4. Instant Cellphone Charger

Mothers hate inconveniences when it comes to modern gadgets and equipments, although there are lots of mothers these days that seem adaptable to the changes. In fact, they know how to use and operate their mobile phone’s simple applications and browse online through mobile phones. Give her an instant cellphone charger which is around $19.99 only.

3. Elegant Scarf

You could find a presentable yet elegant scarf in stores by taking time to grab sales or discounted scarves. Pick or choose ones which are hand knotted, handmade, and hand-dyed. Mothers still love items which are conservative, high quality, and most importantly, something that won’t feel that it has a tagged price of $19. Who would ever think that scarves can be included on the top10 mother’s day gifts under $20?

2. Scented Candle

You could buy a set of 5 scented candles since most of it is being sold $3.95 per piece. Check for more shapes, color blending, and make sure that wicks are made of 100% lead. It would serve as the light of your love to them.

1. Flowers

Nothing in this world could really make any mother cry but with flowers. It might sound old and too traditional but flowers are one of the top 10 mother’s day gifts under $20 that would really touch the hearts of all the mothers in the world. In fact, the number one suggestion for a specific flower is Sunflower since it costs only $12 to $15 not per piece, but a set of three pieces.

Top 10 Baby Formula Food Brands

When it comes to baby’s health and nutrition, mothers know what kind of milk to serve and feed for them. In a traditional and conservative setting, mothers follow the natural breastfeeding process which is actually highly recommended by the health experts since it has necessary nutrients and vitamins that will boost up immune system, and strengthens the development of primary organs of the baby. Nonetheless, since majority of the mothers today are already working moms, they have practically grown to the process of serving specific infant formula brand that would suit to baby’s needs. In fact, there are lots of baby formula brands in the market that offer better alternatives, and would suit the budget. However, it’s their goal not to make an abrupt replacement to healthy breastfeeding. In fact, they are encouraging all mothers to purchase these infant formula brands if their babies are less than 12 months of age up to 2 years old. This is the ideal age bracket to do bottle or cup feeding which actually depends on the mothers preferences. Hence, if you have not yet decided which or what type of brands you would consider, here are the top 10 baby formula for 2012.

10. O Organics for Baby

Mothers who have bought O Organics for Baby were fulfilled of the response that their babies were getting when they first tried the organic formula. Majority of the ingredients for this formula are all organics such as organic lactose, vegetable oils, coconut, soy, organic whey protein, and other important ingredients that you could check on their site or on the label once you buy it. It has been approved by USDA as 95% organic which suggests that its safe for baby since there are no genetic modification done, and with USDA logo on it, you are assure of its highest quality.

9. Mom to Mon Soy Infant Formula

The Safeway, Incorporated presents and sells 5 kinds of Mom to Mom Infant Formula. The primary product is the Mom to Mom Soy Infant Formula that also follows by the milk-based formula with iron, sensitivity powder infant formula with iron, the milk-based powder infant formula with iron, 25.75OZ and the milk-based powder infant formula with Iron, 8OZ. It is included under the EPA Green Power Top 50 and it has received an 8 mark rating which is the 3^rd to the highest rating since 10 is the standard for healthy recommendation for babies.

8. Nature’s One: Baby’s Only Organic

This infant formula has been in the market for over a decade ago now. It is also the original organic formula that was introduced in the market. Its formulation was created to meet the baby’s demands for nutritional value. In fact, the healthcare professionals recommend this milk since it has a dairy-based formula which is almost similar to what human breast milk can give to babies. In fact, it is actually labeled as toddler formula since the best alternative for breast milk that mothers can give should be the one that has an almost equal value of nutrition that can be provided to infants. It passed the standards sets under the 1980 Infant Formula Act. There are also other varieties of Nature’s One Baby’s Formula aside from the Baby’s Only Organic.

7. Parent’s Choice

It may not be the top leading brand, but it provides the same nutritional value that your baby needs in a lesser, yet quality cost. For about 14 years, the Parent’s Choice is still credited and recognized one of the largest and leading manufacturers of store-brand infant formulas. In fact, majority of the mothers who tries this Parent’s choice were very happy seeing the results and effect of this infant formula to their babies. The other good side of it, they can set aside the money that they have saved from buying this option.

6. Earth’s Best Organic

It has varieties of options aside from the fact it’s really organic, healthy, and it’s placed in glass jars. It’s indeed fresh, delicious for babies, and it has lesser ingredients that most of the brands have, and it does not taste that it’s underwent processing. It has a natural taste which is the same reason why babies would love it the first time that you feed them with this. It’s worth the price, and it does not smell bad just like other brand of infant formula.

5. Target: Up & Up

It is another brand manufactured by Wyeth Nutrition. It has same ingredients just like other expensive infant formula brands. In fact, you could also forego other known brands since you would also get the same quality that your baby needs. It’s not just about the money, but you have to make sure that your baby will also get the same nutrition or nourishment, and the Target: Up & Up precisely offers the same formula which is up to what the health professionals have approved for infant feeding. In fact, you could even save from higher costs if you are going to buy it in bulk.

4. Nutricia: Neocate

This is a good choice for hypersensitive babies or infants especially those who have allergies, protein intolerance level, and other concerns. It actually received an excellent feedback and review from those mothers who have tried it the first time, and they have decided to stick to this product permanently for their babies. It has an elemental formula which is the reason why it’s name Neocate for all extra-sensitive babies or infants. It’s also affordable, and it works best for medication purposes and it helps baby’s digestion process. The ingredients are indeed hypoallergenic and it contains high amount of amino acids which is the reason why it’s one of the most prescribed milk by doctors to infants.

3. Gerber: Nestle Good Start

This is good recommendation for babies who are experiencing and feeling gassy, and mothers have also made an affirmation that their stools are soft. Its formulation is based on their product features contain an easy-to-digest ingredients. It has DHA and ARA which are good for the development and stability of eye tissue and healthier brain. In fact, it is the only infant formulation product that indicates a total support to the immune system because of the probiotic cultures. It also has comfort proteins and antioxidants & nucleotides which you can read on its label upon purchase. It’s indeed one of the closest formulas to breast milk that all working mothers would love to grab because of the convenience that it can gives both for the mommies and babies.

2. Mead Johnson: Enfamil

For each milestone that your baby is trudging the formulation of the Mead Johnson’s Enfamil is one of the proven infant products that will boosts and strengthens baby’s development as to its brain, physical growth, and eyes. It’s good for babies up to 12 months, and it supports the infant’s immune system because of the dual probiotic blends. It’s indeed a triple combination for a healthier baby. It provides extra nutrients that any baby needs especially those who were born in premature period, and low birth weight. You could check different variants, and selections based on your baby’s needs.

1. Abbott: Similac 

Whether your toddler is growing bigger, and even your baby is just days old, Abbot: Similac has varieties of infant formula lines to offer like their other competitors. In fact, it is not just the number one baby formula provider in the world; it’s also the top choice and favorite of the mothers in the world. It’s typically or commonly served in the hospitals, in nurseries, and especially recommended for newborn babies. It’s not just that they have the name that they have established for years or decades, but they are reputable in keeping to the standards that USDA has set. They are after the proportion of equal distribution of vitamins and other minerals that any baby needs. They also have substantial nutrients which are good for the eyes, brain, immune system, development of brain and bone.

Courtesy: tiptopsten

10 Movie Characters who Should have Died when they had the Chance

We’ve recently looked at a few movie characters who probably shouldn’t have died for the sake of their own narrative integrity , which itself was inspired by the five movie sidekicks who deserved better than sudden death. In the comments to the 10 characters who shouldn’t have died thread, essential Eloquent superasente (he of the Zombie Jumping the Shark art) suggested an evil universe version of that list. Thus, the 10 Movie Characters Who Should Have Died When They Had The Chance was born.

However, there is one key difference between this list than the others. In this one, we’re taking each movies’ own verisimilitude to task. Their relationship to reality, if you will. In even in the most ridiculous cases, if any other character in the movie would have died in these situations, then all of the characters listed below should have perished, too. So it isn’t schadenfreude we’re going for here, or a list full of characters who deserved to die for being giant buttholes.  Instead, what we’ve got here is a list of characters who just could not have survived in the real world, no matter how high up their name is in the cast credits. Okay, fine. One is based on solely principle, but the rest are the real deal…

(Note: If you consider the opposite of outcomes in movies to be spoilers, then beware ofSPOILERS, I guess?)

Jar Jar Binks (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, 1999, 2002, 2005)

Why They Should Have Died: Jar Jar Binks was an awful racist stereotype, a concoction solely for “comic relief” who made C-3P0 look suave in comparison. But also because while it’s one thing to believe that a future Jedi Master/Dark Lord of the Sith could luck into blowing up the bad guys’ starbase, it’s quite another to believe a bumbling fool who was exiled by his own people — for probably nearly causing the genocide of his own people in a “hilarious” accident — could single-handedly foil an entire army of droids that were programmed to do nothing but kill whatever their blasters happened to be aiming at.

It doesn’t matter which of three Star Wars prequels, either, as Jar Jar Binks shouldn’t have survived any of them, much less all of them. Lucas just lost his nerve after slaughtering Ewoks in Return of the Jedi. Also, there were toys and shit to sell.

Alan Grant (Jurassic Park III, 2001)

Why They Should Have Died: Alan Grant was the undisputed hero of the first Jurassic Park (all apologies to the T-Rex), so he rightfully got a chance to catch his breath and missed out on the “adventures” of the The Lost World. Sadly, his cool, calm, and collected nature left an indelible hole that apparently needed to be filled by a third film, much to his and the audience’s chagrin. For his part, everything is going pretty well for Grant in JP3, that is until the movie’s conclusion, when he’s surrounded by a clan of hungry, and apparently vengeful, velociraptor. Dr. Grant’s archenemy!

It’s a situation that not even grizzled game warden Robert Muldoon could survive, so there’s no way a weaponless paleontologist has any chance in dinosaur hell of making it out of that situation alive. Then again, Muldoon didn’t have any raptor eggs with which to trade the wild animals for his life. Which is exactly what would happen in real life, certainly. No, wait. The opposite. As much as I love Sam Neil as Alan Grant, no self-respecting raptor would turn down a free meal, whether they got their egg back or not. And, you know, being alive while they him really would have been a good death for a man who dedicated his life to proving just how badass that species of dinos were.

Tom Cruise’s Son, and by extension all of humanity (War of the Worlds, 2005)

Why They Should Have Died: Dude (Robbie, if you care to know) spends two-thirds of the movie in lock-step with his sister and estranged father, beating odds every which way but loose, and survivng alien ambush after alien ambush because he’s fictionally related to Tom Cruise, and nothing too bad can ever happen to Tom Cruise. But then, in the middle of the biggest fire fight between humans and Martians in the movie, this teenage haircut decides he to be a big man and runs off to join the army right in the heat of battle. And into a giant explosion that kills basically everyone else in the scene not named Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning.

For the remainder of the movie, Cruise and Fanning are on their own, rightly believing Justin Chatwin is probably dead, only to find him safely at his mom’s house when the Martians lose the interplanetary war to the common cold, that wily bastard. Typical Spielberg schmaltz. But not all of that is the director’s fault, because no matter which version of War of the Worldsyou’ve read or seen, humanity should lose every time. Every. Single. Time. The Martians are so technologically advanced that they have beams of light that incinerate human beings on contact, completely turning a former person to a current pile of dust in five seconds flat. Our nuclear devices don’t even hurt them and Jeff Goldblum doesn’t exist in this universe to create a comptuer virus that causes the alien ships to self-destruct. Basically, we’re all doomed. Doomed, I tells ya.

Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, 2008)

Why They Should Have Died: I didn’t say anything when he survived at least a two day underwater trek attached to a Nazi submarine. I didn’t say anything when he jumped out of an airplane with nothing but a plastic life raft, and then slid down a Himalayan mountainside. I didn’t say anything when he went over a cliff, while still half inside a Panzer tank, only to miraculously grab some rock or extended tree branch 20 feet from the spot he initially went over, and then climb back up as if nothing awesome just happened. And because of that silence, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg nuked the fridge.

If our beloved archeologist/adventurer had perished at the beginning of Crystal Skull, not only would we have been excused from the ridiculousness of that phrase (and director Spielberg’s pride in helping coin it), we would have been spared CGI Shia Lebeouf swinging from trees with his monkey pals, interdimensional ancient aliens, and the gradual loss of respect one felt for Cate Blanchett as her accent became more “Rocky & Bullwinkle” the longer the movie went on. It may have been the shortest film in the franchise, but it would have been much less painful to see Indy drop dead as he watched that mushroom cloud rise over his head than the final film we got. Plus, y’know, he’s like 500 feet away from that mushroom cloud and all he needs is a 1950s scrubdown? That wouldn’t even fly in an Ed Wood movie.

Sam Witwicky (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 2009)

Why They Should Have Died: Speaking Shia Lebeouf ruining things… Ah, no, that isn’t fair. The Beef isn’t to be blamed for the travesty of the Transformers movie franchise, that fault mostly lies with Michael Bay’s hard on for jingoism and big ass ‘splosions. It’s also His Baynis’ fault that Sam Witwicky does actually die in Revenge of the Fallen, go up (down? I dunno) to robot heaven, talk with some robot angels (demons? I really didn’t understand that part), and then be resurrected in time to save the world, in spite having no discernible talents or skills, while more talented and better skilled people and robots die around him. Again.

We’re talking a movie filled with highly trained and highly advanced soldiers, some of whom are giant, nearly indestructible robots, and one goofy college kid who gets by solely on his grandfather’s past achievements is the hero? Those soldiers, humans and robot, die left and right in all three movies — some in terribly gruesome ways (there might not be any blood, but ask your toaster how she feels seeing Autobots get ripped in twain). Somehow Sam is immune every time he rushes headlong into a robot smackdown, and the one time they could have used a dose of reality? Robot Heaven. Fuck you in the ear, Michael Bay. (And yes, I know this image is from Dark of the Moon, but it was too hilarious not to use. You’re welcome.)

Chev Chelios (Crank, 2009)

Why They Should Have Died: Chev Chelios is probably Jason Statham’s most iconic “Jason Statham” role to-date, and that means Chelios is basically a super hero in the vein of Bruce Willis from Unbreakable. But 65% less dour. The fact that Chev is alive for most of the movie at all is reason enough to suspend disbelief for a couple hours, while he runs around town at less frames per second than an 8MM camera, looking for the jerk-offs who want him dead. It’s a fantastic one-off action movie that distills the genre’s essence far better than Clive Owen’s Shoot ‘Em Up.

But once he falls out of that plane, and the expression on his face implies his heart finally stopping and he’s at peace, Chev Chelios is dead. But even if he was still alive before he hit the ground, once he does, he’s dead. Not mostly dead, dead dead. That isn’t raspberry jam coming out of his eyes and ears, that’s what is left of his brain after it exploded upon impact after reaching terminal velocity. That’s “terminal” as in “he literally can’t go any faster” without breaking the laws of physics. Hell, Chelios should be unrecognizable as a human being, much less recognizable as Jason Statham, as soon as he splatters the pavement. But then there wouldn’t be a Crank 2: High Voltage, you say? And that’s a bad thing, why?

Sid, Dewey, and Gale (Scre4m, 2011)

Why They Should Have Died: The first three Scream movies do a pretty bang up job of showing throughout the course of their runtimes how the franchise’s three leads (Sidney Prescott, Dewey Riley, and Gale Weathers) continue making the final cut and barely missing the killers’ blade. No matter how many times you may want to root for their deaths, there’s always a pretty good reason why they’re still alive — usually due to each killers’ previously non-noteworthy stupidity in the final act wherein they spend more time telling Sid why they want to kill her than actually killing her. However, Scre4m (not Scream 4, because that would be ridiculous, right?) pretty clearly establishes that Emma Roberts’ serial murderer (confusingly named Jill Roberts) is in a class above those that came before her, even if her motives are even more laughable than those that came before her.

The movie sets up the denoument in such a fashion that it is not only believable that Jill is about to get away with murder, it’s also preferable. Of course, she doesn’t. Director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson walk back their own brilliance, allowing Sid, Dewey, Gale and generic storytelling another chance to live to fight another day in Scre5m. Which is a shame, because if they really wanted a new trilogy, one centering on the same killer, shifting to her perspective, and who is profoundly good at her chosen profession, would be much more interesting than anything Craven and Williamson can come up with next. Guaranteed.

Harry Potter (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, 2011)

Why They Should Have Died: Admittedly, this is the hardest one to write about. I was so very glad that J.K. Rowling found a way not to kill off Harry Potter at the end of the series’ last book, Deathly Hallows, because I’d been dreading it ever since she first introduced the Prophecy. As I’ve mentioned before, killing characters off for lack of a better ending rubs me the wrong way, but in this instance it makes perfect sense. Especially considering these cryptic lines from said Prophecy: “[A]nd either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.” Obviously, Voldermort would never win, but that didn’t mean Harry had to live. In fact, for several books/movies, it almost seemed like Harry would have to die in order to save the world, and those he loved most.

And he should have. Because while it would have made for an incredibly down ending to the books and the movies, Harry’s death would have carried weight with it forever. Harry Potter’s sacrifice would have been felt and celebrated for the selflessly heroic act that it was in both the fictional land of Hogwarts and in our own world for many, many years. Harry would have been like so many heroes before him, and Rowling even forces Harry to make this choice, and he does so, bravely before she undercuts him by putting a big magical bandaid on the whole thing. Unlike Shia’s jaunt to robot heaven, Harry’s trip to the wizarding afterlife is a beautiful scene made all the more powerful that he was finally with the people he really loved and at peace. He would have been, like Buffy before she too was brought back from the dead, warm and happy forever.

Harry’s survival simply doesn’t sit right. He could never have a normal life, not even normal in wizarding world terms. That’s likely why the epilogue bothers so many people — it feels to easy and quaint for everything we’ve just read/seen. It simply doesn’t feel right to have Harry Potter being a happily married middle class man with kids who goes about his day not solving the world’s crises one Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, or He Who Shall Not Be Named, at a time. Harry Potter is a hero, and heroes die for the betterment of all. Or, they should, anyway.

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10 Facts about Queen Elizabeth to Prepare You for the Diamond Jubilee

I am obsessed with the British royal family. Obsessed to the point that they should probably not let me back in the country. February 2nd was the 60th Anniversary of the Queen’s ascension to the throne but since any celebration that happens even partially outdoors in England needs to happen in the summer, the official celebrations are only just starting to rev up. You’ll probably be seeing more about it on the news. Here’s some fun facts to impress your friends.

1. The Royal Family Actually has a Point

The question I always get asked is, “But Kathy, what exactly does the royal family dooooooo?” There are a lot of answers to this. They promote charities (and the numbers show they do it very effectively.) They may increase tourism. But for me, the most important thing is that the Queen acts as Head of State while the Prime Minister is head of government. That sounds boring, but bear with me. Remember when George W. Bush danced to those Africa drums and looked like an idiot? Presidents have to do things like that all the time, because they are both head of state and head of government. But in the UK, when the “dancing around to tribal drums” assignment comes up, the Queen, or more likely Prince Harry in this instance, goes and looks adorable. The Prime Minster, the guy with his finger on the button, continues to look important and taken seriously. Not a bad deal for 62p per subject per year.

2. Prince Philip is the Greatest Thing Ever

If you have a slightly racist grandfather, like I do, you understand what Prince Philip is like. Except when my grandfather makes a comment about Asians having “slity eyes,” it isn’t repeated in all the papers the next day. Here’s some of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funniest quotes (and there are dozens):

To the President of Nigeria, who was in national dress, 2003: “You look like you’re ready for bed!”

On the Duke of York’s house, 1986: “It looks like a tart’s bedroom.”

“We go into the red next year… I shall have to give up polo.”

On the new £18million British Embassy in Berlin in 2000: “It’s a vast waste of space.”

“We didn’t have counsellors rushing around every time somebody let off a gun. You just got on with it!”

To a Scottish driving instructor, 1995: “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?”

At a Bangladeshi youth club in 2002: “So who’s on drugs here?… HE looks as if he’s on drugs.”

3. The Queen is Very Smart

The royal family isn’t know for their brains, and the only empirical evidence we have, exams, were never given to the Queen. But she had the best teachers, including some from Eton, and was taught religion by the Archbishop of Canterbury himself. During WWII she trained as a mechanic. The Queen also speaks fluent French and uses it often when speaking to dignitaries from French speaking countries. The dumbest royal, at least when it comes to book-smarts, appears to be Prince Harry, who only passed two final exams in high school (with a B and a D) and there is strong evidence his teacher helped him cheat on one of them.

4. Her Marriage was Controversial

She got her way in the end, but Elizabeth was fighting an uphill battle to marry the man she had fallen in love with when she was just 13. Prince Philip is ostensibly a member of the Greek royal family, but ethnically he is German. Very German. He fought in the Royal Navy during WWII, but his sisters married high ranking Nazi officers. When Elizabeth announced that she wanted to marry her cousin, it was deemed too soon after the end of the war to be appropriate (being closely related was obviously not a problem.) The couple was forced to wait two years. Philip’s sisters were not invited to the wedding.

5. Speaking of Being German…

Despite the controversy over Philip’s background, the entire royal family is decidedly German. Most of the royal consorts over the past 300 years have come from Germany, and the ones that didn’t had German ancestry themselves. During WWI the family changed it’s name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in order to sound less like the enemy. If naming traditions had continued the Queen would currently be the head of the house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

6. 60 Years is a Long Time

Last year Queen Elizabeth became the second longest reigning British monarch, surpassing George III’s 59 years. The first Queen Elizabeth was only on the throne 44 years. If the Queen lives just over three more years she will have reigned longer than Queen Victoria and…

7. It Could Happen

The Queen is in amazing shape for her age (86). Two decades after most people have retired she still works five days a week, and is often forced to be on her feet for long periods, always in heels.

8. The Queen Gets to Break All the Rules

Her Majesty is the only person in the UK who can legally drive even though she doesn’t have a drivers licence. And it isn’t theoretical, the Queen does drive herself over shorter distances. She also doesn’t have a passport despite having visited dozens of foreign countries. Presumably she is not subjected to a pat down either. Contrary to what Helen Mirren said inThe Queen, she can vote, although she never has. She also has a bank account.

9. She Loves the Ponies

The entire royal family is obsessed with horses, and race days are the one time their normally stoic faces show some animation.

Prince Philip once said of Princess Anne, “If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she isn’t interested.” Anne rode in the Olympics, and her daughter Zara is expected to as well this year. One of the biggest problems with Kate Middleton marrying into the family is that she is allergic to horses. But perhaps no one is more obsessed than the Queen. She has bred her own racehorses for decades and attends the bigger races when her schedule allows. During an official visit to the US in 2008, she made sure to have a day off so she could attend the Kentucky Derby.

10. The Queen is an Institution

So far in her reign she has outlasted nine Prime Minsters (her first was Winston Churchill), six Archbishops of Canterbury, five popes, and eleven US Presidents. The majority of the population of Britain has never known another monarch. Many republicans hope that when the Queen dies the monarchy will be abolished, but this almost certainly won’t happen. There has always been a group calling to end it, and in the 1890s Queen Victoria was sure the monarchy wouldn’t outlive her. Chances are there will be a King Charles III and eventually a King William V.

5 Upcoming Shows You Should be Excited About

As we head into fall and winter and begin the transition from barbecues and long summer evenings outdoors, those who don’t get excited over endless hours of football need something else to look forward to. It’s either sex or television, and for the rest of you married folk, you know what that means. (Those who can’t do…watch?) But never fear, it ain’t all “Are You Smarter Than the Average Moron” or “The Bitchelorette;” there are some bright spots on the boob tube horizon. There are a few good women and men ready to take us beyond the bland, to pretend worlds where so we can escape whatever fate November will have brought.

5. “Masters of Sex” (Showtime). Based on Thomas Maier’s Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How to Love, this show is Welsh actor Michael Sheen’s first “regular series role for television.” The series stars Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as famed sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson.

Co-starring Margo “Mags” Martingdale, Beau Bridges and Teddy Sears, the show will “chronicle the lives and unique relationship between Masters and Johnson;” the two began their investigation into human sexuality together, and ended up in bed. Premieres early 2013.

4. “Low Winter Sun” (AMC). Chris Mundy’s (“Criminal Minds, Cold Case”) remake of the British series, sinks us into the dark world of corrupt cop Frank Agnew—played by the original series star, Mark Strong—who murders a fellow police officer.

Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson (“The Wire, Treme, Dexter, The Walking Dead”) and with a great cast: David Costabile (“Suits, Breaking Bad, Damages, The Wire”), Lennie James (Line of Duty, Hung, Human Target, The Prisoner”), Sprague Grayden (“24, Sons of Anarchy, Jericho, Weeds”), James Ransone (“Treme, Generation Kill, The Wire”), Michael McGrady (“Southland, The Riches”), the show follows Agnew’s descent after his seemingly clean getaway. The murder triggers a chain of events that draw him into the criminal underworld he had fought to take down. Expected to air early to mid 2013.

3. “The Following” (Fox). From Kevin Williamson (“The Vampire Diaries, Dawson’s Creek”); Kevin Bacon stars as an FBI profiler who returns to field duty to track an escaped serial killer (James Purefoy).

Joe Carroll isn’t satisfied with just breaking out of jail though, he recruits and trains more killers and sends them out to do his bidding; Bacon tries to catch up. Comic-Con reviews were all positive. Also stars Annie Parisse, Maggie Grace and Natalie Zea. Premieres Midseason 2013.

2. “The Americans” (FX). Joseph Weisberg (“Damages, Falling Skies”) and Graham Yost (“Justified”) take us into the lives of a pair of undercover Soviet spies—Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell)—posing as an American married couple who just happen to live next door to an FBI agent (Noah Emmerich).

Set during the Reagan era, complications arise when the arranged pair develop feelings for each other, and Phillip starts to actually like his new home country—even as they operate a network of informants who send information back to Mother Russia. The pilot was directed by Gavin O’Connor (Warrior, Pride and Glory), and this thirteen episode series begins sometime in October 2012.

1. “Hannibal” (NBC). Bryan Fuller’s (“Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies, Heroes, Mockingbird Lane”) television adaptation stars Hugh Dancy as Special Agent Will Graham, Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Lawrence Fishburne as Agent Jack Crawford.

The series is set before Lecter was jailed and will focus on the relationship between Graham and the good doctor. Fuller envisions a seven season story arc, with the third season delving into Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon territory. The modern update also has two characters—Dr. Alan Bloom and journalist Freddy Lounds—with their genders changed; they’ll be portrayed by Caroline Dhavernas (“Wonderfalls”) and Lara Jean Chorostecki (“Copper, Camelot”), respectively. NBC has “Hannibal” listed on its schedule as Midseason 2012/2013.