Sarchix Finds

Last night I went to the annual Junior Woman’s Club Christmas Dinner.  This is one of my favorite events the club does and this year did not disappoint.

Getting out the door was a challenge, since it was also the night of my daughter’s musical debut at her school’s holiday concert.  Its her first year playing recorder and next year she’ll have the opportunity to move up to another instrument (probably the flute – good thing since she can use my old one).  It wasn’t bad and only had a few painful moments.  My youngest loved when the choir sang “Christmas Song (Christmas Don’t be Late)” by the Chipmunks.

So after the concert, we walked home the whole block and a half, in the rain and I had to scoot right out the door (something I hate doing).  It was worth the drive through the rain and dealing with the rushing out the door.

When I got to the restaurant, all the ladies were already there but it was no big deal.  We’re almost all moms, so they all understood.  Besides, I was only about 30 minutes late and the food had not even been put out yet.

There were ten of us there last night.  Unfortunately, its that time of the year where there are all kinds of parties so some of our members couldn’t make it.

The conversations were great as one member told us about her recent trip to visit family in the Philippines and the Treasurer told us how much money we made at the Brunch with Santa to name a few.  The food was great (a baked ziti thing and a chicken with ziti dish) and was very nice to have on such a cold and rainy night.

We had our 2008-2010 board selected and we finally got someone to agree to be treasurer (yay Jen!).  But the best part of the evening was the Pollyanna.  The limit was $25 and its so much fun to see what everyone brought and how they wrapped it.  Some years, it gets really cut throat with the stealing of gifts but this year it was pretty sedate.  I ended up with some lovely creams.  I love the peppermint foot scrub and anxious to try out the Shea butter cuticle cream.

Sure getting and giving gifts is fun but getting the chance to laugh and have fun with my friends is even better.  I wish all holiday parties could be like that.

Next adventure with the girls: Gay Bingo in January!

Food is good.  Foreign food can be scary, even when you are speaking the same language.

Three years ago, Hubby and I went to England on a vacation (with out the kiddies) and had a great time.  The food we had ranged from excellent all the way down to “hockey puck”.  There were times I had no idea what was being offered on the menu.  I was either really lucky or just really hungry if I tried something new.  It did help that I grew up watching “Brit Coms” to keep me from making too much of a mistake.

Serious Eats has a great article with MANY pictures about what some of these English dishes really contain.  I have finally figured out what the what a British jelly is!

Ever hear a song and you just can’t remember the title or artist? Well, if so, Shazam was made for you…and me!

All you have to do is hold you iPhone near the music…it has to be loud enough. It takes a few seconds, but your phone buzzes when it is done, and shazam…up comes the title and the artist. This is fun!

Being a skeptic, thinking it would work only for popular music, I used a CD that was a compilation of generic classical music. Shazam was accurate in naming the piece. Pretty good.

This is another free app…well worth the price!!!

Have you ever wanted directions on how to make the USS Enterprise out of office supplies or edible eyeballs?  If so, then I have a site for you.  Instructables has a huge selection of how to’s and DIY things ranging from how to make a pie to making fake (but real looking) scars and much much more.

Personally, I love the creativity that is highlighted at Instructables.  I have found directions on how to make a “kid wash” out of PVC pipe and some nozzles and to make my own bound books.  There are tons of costumes that have rather detailed directions on making your own.

Not all instuctables are the greatest but if you read over the steps and make sure that they make sense to you, I’m sure you’ll have an awesome rock climbing wall for your garage or figure out how to ship a tiger to Canada.

Sci Fi Channel is finishing up the run of Battlestar Galatica and we have to wait until January 16th to get the beginning of the last season.  To fill that void, they are offering 10 webisodes to view at SciFi.com.

The first two are out and they are just as good at the last few seasons of the show.  Several OMG moments on both of them so far.  They bring in some new characters but they star Grace Park (Sharron & ) and Alessandro Juliani (Felix Gaeta) with some of the other regulars showing up too.

The BSG webisodes are about 4 minutes long each but they are jam packed with action.  Each episode comes out on Mondays and Wednesdays at noon.  The TV series returns to the air with new episodes on January 16th at 10pm.  I for one can not wait to see these “fracking” last episodes.

Our possessions are an interesting part of our life. We buy things to serve a purpose or just to feel good. Over time, this STUFF accumulates and takes over your space. Nothing new here. We’ve all seen the home makeover shows. Just get a whole crew of folks in to clean your house and all your problems will be solved, right?

So, you bite the bullet and start to do some cleaning and sorting. “I can’t throw this stuff out! It’s still good!” Sound familiar? Some might go the yard-sale route – that’s OK if that’s your taste. But what do you do with just a few items, or things you just want to get rid of NOW!

Freecycle is a network of people dedicated to reusing and keeping things out of landfills. You just type in your location to find a group near you. Once you’re on the local list you can post items you want to give and watch for things you could use. This is an absolutely free service. No money. No trading, bartering or haggling. You just list what you have to give, connect with someone who wants it, then arrange a pickup. Leaving it on your porch seems to be the easiest.

Check it out! You’ll feel good that your stuff is going ot a good home…and you might find something that you need…for free!

This week’s featured charity is the Toys for Tots program.

It’s the time of year that Toys for Tots need the attention.

From their site:

MISSION:
The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

GOAL:
The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.

OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help needy children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable natural resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future.

In addition to a dropped off toy, you can also make a monetary donation online at their site.  Please check out this site and help make the holidays a bit merrier.

I love a good deal and this is another way to get your “craft on” for very little (if you chose).  Lion Brand Yarn provides both free and sells patterns using their products for knitting, crocheting and other craft projects.

In trying some of the knitting projects out, they are well written and true to the advertised skill level.  I really enjoy that they tell you how much yarn is needed which is helpful even if you don’t use their yarns.  There is a page that tells you what other Lion Brand Yarns are about the same weight so you can expand the yarn pallet for a chosen project.

Registration is required but is totally free and I personally enjoy the email newsletters they send out about every week.  They even have a newsletter that is for kid crafters. (Hook them in early!)

Yes, its that time of the year where cookies are a plenty.  It seems like everyone is baking (or buying) them and it is impossible to avoid them.  We have several “cookie monsters” in the family so we can never have too many cookies around.

In the quest to not make the same cookies all the time I came across Gourmet Magazine’s site that has cookie recipes that go back as far as the 1940′s.  (I’m partial to 1944′s Cinnamon Sugar Crisps and the Irish Coffee Crunchies from 1977.)

I’m not sure which I’ll be making up this weekend and this coming week but I know they will be tasty!

Tis’ the season for finding the perfect gift.  Jubili Beads and Yarn in Collingswood, NJ is having a special “Customer Brag Sale” this weekend.  On December 13th and 14th Jubili Beads and Yarn will showcase (and sell) original designs by local crofters.

In addition to the sale and extra merchandise, they will be offering wine and cheese and Dichroic Glass Music! The duo of Maureen Rush-Bogutz  and Kristin King will preform from 1-4pm on Saturday only.  And their CD’s will be available for sale. (Much of the proceeds from engagements and CD sales are donated to cancer research.)

This weekend’s hours are:

Saturday, December 13th from 10 am to 9 pm with Dichroic Glass Music from 1-4pm

Sunday, December 14th from noon to 5 pm

Jubili Beads and Yarns are located at 713 Haddon Ave.    Collingswood, NJ 08108    Phone: (856) 858-7844