Remember when...

Do you remember when you got all dressed up in your fanciest clothes and highest heels and went out to a fancy party on New Year's Eve?  Dressed to the nines you danced the night away, ringing in the new year sharing a bottle or maybe two of expensive champagne?

Wow, those days are long gone.  What happened you ask?  One word.  KIDS!  Somehow after the kids arrived our New Year's Eve celebrations changed drastically.  Not only was it too expensive to hire a babysitter for the amount of time we'd want to be out, face it, you have kids, your priorities shift.  And depending how many children you have, your exhaustion level changes.

Suddenly it's wondering if a restaurant has chicken fingers that your son MUST have if he's going to eat instead of hoping for those gourmet specialties you used to crave. It's no longer those expensive bottles of champage (though those haven't totally disappeared) but rather are there lids on the kids cups so you and your kids don't end up covered in lemonade, apple juice or the child's tipple, a Shirley Temple. 

Dave & Busters are making New Year's Eve a family event at their Plymouth Meeting and Franklin Mills locations.  Both are having a New Year's Celebration that is family friendly.  Perfect for you AND the kids.  So call your friends, make reservations and bring a crowd!

Prices and start times vary by location. Both locations require pre-paid reservations.  But you'll find that both celebrations end at the kid-friendly time of 8 PM. 

What's included?

• D&B's famous games, great for kids and adults alike.
• Famous buffet by one of D&B's chefs
• A magician to wow all guests
• A live DJ
• And a giant balloon drop to celebrate the coming New Year

Early Intervention and Head Start Work--Even The Squirrels Know It

Anyone involved in education knows the value of Early Intervention Programs for children--the sooner kids who have intellectual disabilities or physical disabilities get help, the better the outcome.  Well it seems the squirrels in Tokyo need their own 'early intervention, squirrel style.' 

Yes, it seems there are squirrels in Tokyo who cannot crack open walnuts.  What? A squirrel who can't crack open a nut?  Yep!  Wildlife researcher, Noriko Tamura, with the Tama Forest Science Garden, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute observed that some Japanese squirrels can't eat walnuts because they failed 'Nut Cracking 101.'  Actually he says they just never learned how to crack the tough outer shells of the hard nuts so they don't eat them.  Instead they subsist on the seeds.

It seems that a squirrel who has never learned how to crack one of these 'tough nuts' using trial and error can't figure out how to do it on his own.  Tamura noted that some squirrels in the main island forests of Honshu and Shikoku eat the seeds of the nuts and will carry the seeds for very long distances just to store them in their nests but not the nuts.  They don't collect the nuts because they can't figure out how to crack them open. 

Tamura decided to compare squirrel behavior around Tokyo's Mount Takao where there are a lot of nuts ... (walnuts that is) to the squirrels who lived near Mount Fuji where there are few nuts. 

The Mount Takao squirrels cut the walnuts open in under ten minutes by biting along the line on the surface.  But only 2 of the 25 squirrels from Mount Fuji could open the nuts.  The two who could open the nuts were both adult males. 

So Tamura experimented with squirrels that had never seen nuts.  Initially the poor squirrels couldn't break into the tough nuts, but when he put them with other adults who could open the nuts, the squirrels who were under 18 months old learned how to crack open the nuts.  The squirrels over the age of two could not learn the skill. 

Sound familiar?  Early learning, whether in squirrels or humans is critical.  Skills need to be learned and reinforced at a young age.  Modeling by others helps reinforce skills. 

“Squirrels seem to learn how to cut walnuts through watching adult squirrels and trying and failing repeatedly," Tamura said. "But that’s something they can do only while they are still young.”

So the next time you hear about funding for Early Intervention Programs being cut, or Project Head Start, or a vote against full day Kindergarten classes REMEMBER THE SQUIRRELS!

So You Want To Be In Pictures?

Looking for a job when you're over 50 is not an easy task! So many ads say 'looking for youthful assistant' or 'must be peppy and energetic'...come on, these are catch phrases to screen out my less than youthful and older self.  Will I be reduced to applying for jobs that are at best bizarre or working for a boss who is such a tyrant no one else will work for him unless they are desperate? So as I was searching a variety of web sites for a new job and lamenting the lack of employment opportunities that fit my qualifications, I came across this ad:

Have you undergone extreme body modification to dramatically alter your appearance?
• Do you want to look like an elf, a mythical creature or a science fiction character?
• Do you have pointed ears? Forehead ridges? Eyeball tattoos?
• Are you more comfortable looking like a non-human?

A non-fiction program is currently casting individuals who've created alternate worlds/identities for themselves. We are interested in featuring people who are going to extremes to change their appearance, including looking more like science fiction or mythical characters.

This series will allow individuals that engage in body modification to educate viewers on their motivation and dedication to this form of self-expression. We'd like to know the challenges and rewards of looking different, and how this transformation has changed your life. We also hope the program will become a non-exploitive outlet to showcase lifestyles and sub cultures that people would otherwise never know about.

OK, I've seen the women who are addicted to plastic surgery, the teens who think they need surgery at 13, but people who WANT TO GET SURGERY TO LOOK LIKE AN ELF? Please say it isn't so!  And the idea that they're going to do a television show about people who have created alternate world identities? I thought Jersey Shore was over the top!

Photo courtesy of Instructables

OK, maybe I'm just getting old.  Maybe this is an 'in' thing with the younger set.  (shuddering!) But somehow, the idea of getting surgery so I look like an elf, E.T. or Mr. Spock... not my cup of tea.  So while I have to send in the names of places I've applied for work in order to collect my unemployment, this one won't be on the list.  A woman (even one over 50 and desperate for work) has to have SOME standards! 

How desperate are people getting in this economy where the available jobs have hundreds, if not thousands of applicants for each opportunity?  How low would you go? Would you get plastic surgery to look like an ELF just to score a job on a television show?  Oh you might get...famous, no infamous maybe, maybe you'd get your 15 minutes of fame...but....please no! So while Congress is debating cutting unemployment, stop and think...is this what a lot of Americans have been reduced to? ELFDOM?


(BTW, this ad appeared on Craigslist, I have no idea how credible the poster is, so if you apply and get hacked up by an ax murderer, ...well you can't say you weren't warned it was a bizarre post! I take no responsibility for anyone who chooses to take part in it! You are on your own!)

Danger, Men and Hardware Stores (A Cautionary Christmas Tale)

We all have places or things we love to spend money.  For some it's the mall, for others CVS is a magnet, some love QVC or The Shopping Network, yet others live on Amazon.com.  But for most men one of their addictions is anything you can buy in a hardware store.  At Christmas this can result in a whole new set of holiday traditions.  EXPENSIVE holiday traditions. 

Every family has their own set of Christmas traditions.  For some it's a special set of ornaments, others putting out a collection of nutcrackers, yet others bake an insane amount of Christmas cookies or put up a train set, others their nativity set.  But our house is different.  At our house Christmas is all about real estate.

Four years ago my husband went to the hardware store for some nails.  Nails, a small and insignificant enough purchase, so I gave him my debit card... my mistake!  He left for nails and came home with real estate.  Christmas real estate that is. 

Yes, a visit that should have cost less than three dollars has ended up costing me hundreds! I'm sure the owners of Ace Hardware in Drexel Hill are pleased! (Who knows how much it will cost me before the Vecchione 'Christmas village' is complete.) 

Holiday traditions at the Vecchione house now include Bill's Christmas village and the yearly additions of new homes, stores, churches and more.  Some purchased from Ace Hardware on State Road in Drexel Hill, some from Boscov's Department Store and yet others from Kohl's in Springfield or from EBay vendors.  All lovingly displayed along our mantelpiece, bookshelves and tabletops.

And it's not enough to just have houses.  No, we have pet stores, schools, a hardware store, cafes, a flower shop, and even a train station with it's own train.  Some move, some light up, some play music, and some even have people dancing inside! What we don't have yet is the tax assessors office and real estate taxes, but I'm sure that's only a matter of time!  We have street lights, cars, even villagers, snowmen and dogs. 

Yes Christmas real estate is here and on display, now all we have to do is buy a few new pieces this year.  I'm hoping with the tight real estate market Lemax houses will also have gone down in price--but I doubt I'll be that lucky! 


The moral of the story? Don't let go of that debit card (or credit card) over the holidays and NEVER EVER send a man to a hardware store ALONE.


What's your family Christmas tradition?

I've Heard of Dog and Pony Shows but...

I guess you could call this a cat and pony show. Facebook is a great place for catching a laugh at something totally absurd, but when I saw this posted the other day it made me chuckle.  I took their caption off so you could feel free to add your own.  Tell me, what would you caption this picture? 

Since I'm in the middle of wedding planning and just recently spent a stress filled day with a group of girls (well young women, but you get the idea) trying to choose bridesmaid dresses for my daughter's wedding you can guess where my mind went!)  NO they are not riding in on little ponies, it wasn't quite that bad.

My tag lines?

 

What do you mean you can't all wear the same color bridesmaid dress!

 

Or

 

"Because I SAID SO!"

I mean they all sounded like Goldilocks in the well known fairy tale--this was too big, this was too small, but unfortunately nothing was JUST RIGHT!  And no one was shy about voicing their opinion! Hey I'm only the mother of the bride, but I think my daughter should have SOME say. 

As soon as I saw this photo all I could think of was shades of David's Bridal!  While we didn't have quite that many in the bridal party, their sense of style and favorite colors differed as much as any of The Little Ponies in the photo above.  And a few had hair styles to match (which I can only hope will be gone by the wedding day! I know, I know, I'm an old fuddy duddy!) 

By the fourth bridal salon I had had it! NO MORE! (OK, I exaggerate, it was only three salons but still, I was beat!) So we retreated to the closest restaurant so I could 'REST.'  If I were a drinking woman... but... no just off my feet and a little quiet time was what I needed. 

I mean I though when they grew up it would get easier...am I NUTS?  Did anyone else suffer from this delusion?  Mom you NEVER told me!  Were we this bad?  Are we still? 

Did any other mothers suffer from this same delusion? That the kids would grow up and life would be quieter? easier? simpler? less expensive? (oh yeah, wedding planning sure blows that one out of the water!).  I guess if I'd known I might not have made it this far... so maybe there's a reason not to know.  Now the question is... do I leave my daughters in blissful ignorance? 

If you read this blog long enough you may just find out!  Stay tuned!

Tis The Season

Tis the season for gift giving--and not just fancy computers, televisions, iPods, new clothes or handbags or whatever other luxury your heart desires.  It's also the time to remember that there are others out there who need the basics of food and shelter.  People who are struggling to survive day to day.

When we were growing up we gave at church, school, and filled the Salvation Army coffers, and our local grocery stores, scout troops or schools collected cans and Toys For Tots to be sent to those in need.  But in this age of computers we no longer have to even leave home to donate.  We can run our own cyber-charitable campaign.

Sponsored by Jo-Lynne Shane author of Musings of A Housewife Blog

A web site called You Give Goods lets us each set up our own charitable drive or donate to others like Philadbundance or The Pottstown Cluster (a group of religious communities banding together to nourish families in need.)  Two local bloggers, Jo-Lynne Shane author of Musings of A Housewife blog (supporting The Pottstown Cluster) and Tina Creaney Seitzinger of Life Without Pink (supporting Philabundance) are two bloggers who set up their own food drives using You Give Goods.

Philabundance supported by Tina Creanery Seitzinger Author of Life Without Pink Blog

You Give Goods lets you look at a group of items to purchase (with the price of a case of them next to it) and you just click on your choice of purchases to donate and they are bought by the case without the markup you'd pay if you were buying them yourself at the grocery store.  Not only do they buy in bulk, but you don't have to pay for gas to get to the store, buy the food there, and then put them in your car and head to your local food pantry for distribution. 

It's charitable giving made easy through the use of social media and the web -- modernized giving at it's best!  Goods for purchase start at $5. 

Even if all of us donated $5 for every $100 we spent on the holidays this year it would swell the inventory at food pantries or help provide money for other social programs. The program greatly reduces the costs and time to manage an 'old fashioned' drive and reduces the gas needed to deliver it, freeing up more dollars and time for the organization in need. 

You Give Goods was developed by a group of New Jersey friends who wanted to find a way to increase the efficiency of charitable giving.  The result of their brainstorming is You Give Goods--an innovative way to manage charitable giving for food pantries, shelters (for people and animals), or other organizations across the country in need of assistance.  Since it's launch in September, You Give Goods has launched over 100 drives. 

Who starts a You Give Goods campaign? You do! Your neighbors, scout troops, homerooms, service groups, (bloggers like us), businesses, schools...the list goes on. Is it too late to start giving?  It's never too late to start a campaign.  49.2 million Americans are living in poverty--someone will always be hungry or in need of assistance for housing or clothing.  Yes, YOU can make a difference.  And you can start today.

That's one of the most important lessons I ever learned in life.  It all begins with you.  Even if you won't have a great campaign by the holidays this year, aim for the Easter holidays, or any other date of your choice.  Want to read about others who've made the leap to organizing a drive? Head to this media link and read all about them--they have one thing in common--a desire to give to others.

Kudos to Jo-Lynn and Tina for alerting the local bloggers to this great way to raise money.  It's as easy as You Give Goods, You, and your social media contacts.  So give some good ... someone is always in need.

Mad Mex Willow Grove--A Feast For Cal-Mex Lovers!

Photo courtesy of Facebook

There are some experiences not to be missed, visiting a Mad Mex (now open in Willow Grove) is one of them. 

One thing my mom taught me about food was at least try it once.  She was right, I almost always like what I try and end up going back for more.  I'll be back to Mad Mex, and maybe I'll bring Mom. She'd love Mad Mex.   

Ever visited Mad Mex? If not, head over to this newly opened restaurant at 2862 Moreland Road, Willow Grove PA (near Willow Grove Park Mall) and try some of their unusual entrees as well as some of their more traditional self-described 'funky Cal-Mex food.' 

Maybe you'll run into me and my mom enjoying some fresh Cal-Mex entrees or crisp salads.  Oh, and... possibly a margarita. Just one. (since that's all I need since Mad Mex has Big Azz 22 oz. margaritas and someone has to drive home.)

Yes, Mad Mex Willow Grove has your usual tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and nachos but they also have Pennsyltucky Fried Tofu as an appetizer (the name alone is enticing to anyone of a vegetarian bent) and some burritos only available for a limited time (one at Thanksgiving) known as their Gobblerito (unfortunately you missed it this year, try next November). It must be popular, Gobblerito has it's own Facebook page! And for Christmas? The pot roast based Feast Navidad Burrito -- I know, not your traditional burrito but hey, I'm always open to new ideas, not to mention food! (As long as it doesn't have any Brussels sprouts!) This burrito has Roast Beast (braised short ribs), roasted garlic-chili mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, pearl onions and gravy.  If you're not making it home for the holidays pick one up and nuke it for Christmas dinner!

Taking the kids with you to Mad Mex? Not to worry, Mad Mex has a children's menu.  It offers the perennial favorites like chicken fingers and mac and cheese but also some mini versions of adult Mad Mex choices.

Christmas wouldn't be complete (especially at Mad Mex Willow Grove) without a holiday inspired margarita, the NOG-A-RITA — Eggnog, Herradura Anejo, Grand Mariner and Frangelico served straight up and then dusted with nutmeg and powdered sugar. Or how about trying their Candy Cane and Apple Cider margaritas.  (Sorry, no take out on these!)

Be sure to visit and subscribe to Mad Mex on You Tube for more fun and updates on everything Mad Mex.  And when you go in, ask for our waiter, Rod, (hi Rod! hope you're reading this!) if you want spectacular service.  He was always on top of whatever we needed before we even knew we needed it.  The sure sign of a good waiter.

Photo Big Azz Margarita courtesy of Facebook

When you visit Mad Mex Willow Grove you can stick to the tried and true frozen margaritas, always a good, if safe, choice. But if you want a real treat and you're lucky, they'll be making kiwi margaritas the day you're there.  One of the faves in this restaurant.  But no matter what you choose, Mad Mex offers you over 40 different tequilas! Not bad, in fact probably better than my local liquor store.  Mad Mex Willow Grove also has an impressive array of beers on draft or bottled beers to enjoy if you're not into margaritas. 

Photo from Facebook

What's your favorite thing at Mad Mex Willow Grove? Comments welcome!

**The author was provided with dinner for two at Mad Mex Willow Grove.  Opinions in this post are the writers own and not influenced by Mad Mex Willow Grove or Corporate.