Well, this is a nifty find: buck bowling. It's $1.00 per person, per game and shoes are $2.50 per person. So my two children and I can get in a ten-frame game for about $11.00. Hoo ya! It's on Sundays, from 8:30am until 11:00am. Cheaper than the movies, and my children love it. By the way, if you can squeeze in on a Saturday, and find an open lane, you get an added treat of experiencing the noontime blacklight / lazer thingy of a show, which is technically for the birthday parties but... Read Full Story
Way. Disneyland is offering a free admission ticket for your birthday in 2009. Register online and they will email you the ticket with a reminder two weeks before your birthday. If you already own a Multi Day Pass or Season Ticket, you will receive an alternate gift. This deal is hard to beat. Go ahead and register your family, even if you think you can't afford taking the family right now... because, who knows? In 2009, everyone might be fine AND you will get an email reminder... it's... Read Full Story
The Shack William P. Young 2007, Windblown Media, $14.00 USA, Soft Cover, 248 pages This is an absorbing piece of writing about faith, personal accountability, and humanity's relationship with God. It was a bit melodramatic for me, but when I ignored some of the temptingly obvious tearjerking moments, when I allowed myself to imagine all of this was real and possible, it truly permeated my heart, my soul and gave me a new perspective on my personal relationship with God, heaven and the... Read Full Story
Blu's Hanging Lois-Ann Yamanaka 1997, Avon Books, $12.00 USA, Soft Cover, 260 pages I've been so lucky to encounter another good book on the tale-end of another. Recommended by a friend, this book introduces me to Lois-Ann Yamanaka, an incredible writer whose frank, unflinching description of growing up in Hawaii is validated by my own experiences. This novel is a breath taking rendering of Hawaiian life which completely captivates the reader from beginning to end. I've been disappointed in... Read Full Story
The End of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Life Robert Goolrick 2007, Alonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $22.95 USA, Hardcover, 213 pages A haunting, beautifully written tale of love in all of its facets: cherished, memorable, ethereal, painful, mysterious, cruel, redeeming. I read the book jacket over and over. Was this tale real? Was his story fiction or not? Because I could not believe it. I was both aghast and hypnotized. I was intrigued by the beginning, and awake, in painful awe... Read Full Story
The Lost Mother Mary McGarry Morris 2005, Penguin Books, $14.00 USA, Softcover, 274 pages This novel of a family abandoned by their mother during the 1940s speaks to everyone about suffering, betrayal, forgiveness and atonement. Told from the viewpoint of the son, the author does not spread out his feelings on a buffet table for emotional vultures. She turns him this way and that, like a prism in a strain of sunlight, where the right angle will suddenly sparkle out its singular beauty. Her... Read Full Story
School is coming, and I will be returning to work in the Fall. I need ideas on how to prepare breakfast for my family without too much trouble or expense! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16301678 is a newstory on what appears to be delicious and quick breakfast bars made with oats and condensed milk. Pre-done quiches, which you can make in a muffin pan, pre-cooked pancakes and waffles (frozen for the week) are easy heat-ups which are a nice, warm change from cold cereal... Read Full Story
I think I've learned that the best camp food is burnt food. If it can be burnt and STILL taste good, put that on your camping grocery list. Examples: hot dogs and marshmallows. Camp classics. Not together of course, unless it's your last day and you're itching to be rid of your food. I won't judge you. I want to share with you one other terrific food which survives being burnt without lessening edibility: Costco brand frozen meatballs. These things were mightily handy: even... Read Full Story
If you are blessed to be off during the summer, or at least, can safely play hookey from work on July 31st, you and your dollar are going to get a nice treat: entrance to the Ventura County Fair. It's Dollar Day, because it's the opening day. Awesome! If you did that reading trick, you have free ride tickets AND a low cost entry fee. Have fun! Read Full Story
I learned last year that 1:00pm on Fridays is when Target, that nationally known chain, donates off-season or clearance merchandise at our local Goodwill store. Hey, it's not broken or bits and pieces! I'm talking about nice, thick fluffy towels or that last coffeemaker on the shelf which needs to make room for the incoming winter boots. To give you a real-life example, I purchased leather covered lamps for my mother-in-law (at least I think they're leather...), very nice if not excellent... Read Full Story
