Brand new books will be donated to Project Night Night, which helps provide bedtime necessities for children in homeless shelters.  Each child is given a brand new book, a security blanket, and a brand new stuffed animal in a tote bag of their own.  Gently used books will be donated to two schools in Camden, NJ - one of the poorest cities in the United States. Bean donated quite a bit to Sacred Heart School in Camden in terms of toys and books, and I know she would be happy to see that there were books going to the children at the school there.

If you need help to cover the cost of shipping books to me, just let me know. EMAIL ME at anna@skamarakas.com for information on how to get the books to me!

Below is the eulogy I wrote when my sister Bean died.  She passed away on Friday, March 7th, 2003, having battled most of her life with the affects of a tumor on her pituitary gland when she was young. 

But before you get to the words I wrote to be spoken about my sister nearly 7 years ago, I want to talk about something that’s important to me now where Bean is concerned.  There is some stuff that in the midst of the agony and grief I didn’t mention in detail.

Bean loved children.  I have to admit that while Brighid was growing up, Bean was as much a mother to her as I was a lot of times.  She played the games, colored in the coloring books, watched the cartoons - all the stuff I passed on to do things like go to work, make dinner, clean a bathroom.  Bean was the kind of mom every kid wishes they had - the kind who would give you chocolate cake and soda for breakfast; take you to see the movies your real mom thought might be too scary; and buy you the toys your own mother told you were crappy.

But she wasn’t just good with Brighid.  Bean was always doing something for someone’s child.  She moved from NJ to FL to help her friend raise her two boys when they moved away due to a job relocation, and she was forever making smiley faces at babies to make them laugh or helping someone else’s kid on the playground.  Kids were attracted to Bean, because Bean never lost the excitement about life that most kids have.  Bean’s heart never grew up or grew old, and I think kids just naturally related to her because of that.  As a frequent volunteer at Brighid’s school, when she died, of the over 400 people who came to say their last goodbyes, many were kids that Bean took into her heart, the teachers and faculty of the school where she volunteered, even the priest from the parish came to pray with us and offer his condolences, as he recognized that losing Bean caused a void that went way beyond our family.

So here are the words I wrote that were read in Church on our final day with Bean.  She is today loved as much as she was on the day we lost her, missed more than I could ever put into words, and her kindness and generosity appreciated even now.

March, 2003

If you met Bean once, you would never have forgotten her.  It wasn’t the fact that due to her medical problems, she had an unusual appearance.  Bean managed to touch your heart in the first few seconds you knew her.  No matter how brief your encounter with her, by the time you finished your first conversation with her, you probably knew everything you ever wanted to know about the Bilbrough and Holak families - and more.  But whatever else you took away from your first meeting with Bean, somehow you knew that no matter what, Bean would be your friend for life.

When someone dies, you are supposed to say only good things about them - like they would give you their last dime, or the shirt off of their back.  Well, Bean was that person.  Whenever she volunteered for lunch duty at Brighid’s school, she would turn her purse inside out looking for spare change in case one of the kids forgot their lunch money.  If Brighid was selling something to support Girl Scouts or the Church, Bean was in line with the biggest order.  Just before she died, she won $50 in the Church calendar raffle, then turned around and spent $90 on Easter candy to support Annunciation School.  If she was invited out for a holiday meal, she made sure to go with a flower for all the ladies or a toy or candy for all the children.  Her heart held more goodness than her purse held change, but if she had one dime to her name, she was looking to spend it on someone else.

Despite the numerous aches and pains she often had, whenever you asked Bean how she was, she would say she was “Great!”  If she went to see a movie or a play, no matter how bad, when you asked Bean how it was, she would say, “Fantastic!”  And if you took her out for a bite to eat - whether it was a cheese steak or a prime rib dinner, when you asked Bean how the meal was, she would say it was, “Fabulous!”  She lived her life loving everything she did and everyone around her.  She was never disappointed in anything or anyone.  She loved it all.

So whether you knew Bean for a short time, or if you knew her all of her life, we know you are here today because she touched your heart.  She had a way of doing that so that the mark she made on you would be permanent.  Somehow, she must have known that her time with us would be much too short.  She managed to leave behind something in all of us so that she will never be forgotten.

Oh come on, who does a food review on Hot Pockets?  Well, damn it, I’m someone’s mom, and it’s my obligation to warn other moms who will spend their hard earned money on these things.  Other moms want to know before they let their husbands throw them into the cart, echoing Jim Gaffigan, what they are getting themselves into.

But this will not be your typical food review.  Because in a typical food review, you can find SOMETHING to say that isn’t all bad.  Not so with the Hot Pockets.

To begin with, to microwave them so you can eat even faster than boiling water, you have to put them in these sleeves meant to keep them from getting soggy or chewy or something.  I think the purpose is to have them come out of the microwave in a minute with a crispy exterior.  Umm hmm.  Once you have finished the 60 seconds or so it takes to prepare this gourmet delight, you have to shove the steaming hot Hot Pocket half way up into the sleeve so you can close the bottom of the sleeve, thus turning the sleeve into a handy dandy Hot Pocket serving tray.  Oh yes.  A set of these much sought after bad boys will set ya back a chewed piece of gum and some pocket lint, I’m sure.

Okay, but literally, I had dinner on the table for the family in under 7 minutes.  Damn.  That’s fast.

Have you ever heard that fast is not necessarily good?  I am reminded of the phrase “There’s never time to do it right, but there’s always time to do it over.”  And over is what I will probably have to do with dinner in just a while. 

So, they come out of the microwave, and you shove them into the sleeves, and you fold in the bottom flap to make the handy dandy serving tray.  Be careful how you now lay them, because I laid at least one of them so that it hung off the edge of the plate, and it suffered a debilitating deformity as a result. 

I have to say, they didn’t smell too bad.  I expected a plasticy type of smell, but I actually smelled something pizza-like.  We had the sausage and meatball varieties, and after just a few minutes in the microwave, there was a familiar sort of pizza odor in the kitchen.  Not good pizza, mind you, but the kind of pizza I remember growing up in the 70s that my mom would buy frozen in rectangular slices, and heat up for Bean and I if the grown ups were eating something like liver or bean soup.

So, once I waited the required two minutes before serving, I served them to the girls.  They honestly didn’t seem to mind them, so I figured they couldn’t be all bad, and helped myself to the last remaining Hot Pocket.

I may go to my grave with only this one regret.  I should never have touched the Hot Pocket.

It did firm up on the outside, although crispy is still a far cry away.  I gingerly took my first bite, expecting it to be steaming hot inside.  It wasn’t.  It was hot, but not so hot you couldn’t bite it.

It’s doughy.  Like you can taste flour and it should have cooked longer.  Or something.  And the tomato sauce is barely there, just a little tease of something that may have at one point stood next to a tomato.  Then you get the cheese, which is, for lack of a better and more eloquent term, YUCKY.  It’s not normal cheese tasting cheese, it’s sort of plasticy, artificial tasting. 

But wait, there’s more.  Every now and again, I get a bite of sausage.  Or something who may have an ancestor in the sausage family. 

This is way too much time to dedicate to this dinner, but I felt an obligation to warn the corner cutting, short cut taking, get out of cooking real dinner moms in the world. 

Call Dominos.  Yes, even Dominos beats a Hot Pocket.

Oh - and the inspiration behind our feast can be seen here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xlN_ltZ3Ug&NR=1

There is nothing more convenient on Valentine’s Day than one stop shopping - and if it’s one stop shopping that causes your Valentine to swoon, even better (honey, are you paying attention?).  Your wife is over the uncomfortable lingerie you have purchased every year since the dawn of time, and your husband does not know what to do with one more pair of satin boxer shorts covered in hearts. 

The incredible McCormick & Schmick Restaurant has a phenomenal Valentine’s Weekend offer that will put all other Valentine offers to shame.  How beautiful would it be to walk in with your sweetie, sit down at your table, and have a beautiful bouquet of roses delivered right to the table?  Or even better - when your Valentine takes their first glance at the menu, they see your personalized message right on the menu!

The best part of the whole Valentine’s offer is that it’s available the entire weekend, so for those of you who don’t want to do the whole Valentine’s crunch on Sunday night, you have the whole rest of the weekend to show your best Valentine just how much you love them!

McCormick & Schmick has an amazing regular menu, but check out their special Valentine menu.  You might find something like this on the special menu at your local McCormick & Schmick -

Set the Mood

Pan Fried Oysters Rockefeller-Style

 On a bed of anise-flavored creamy spinach, glazed with hollandaise

 8.95

Create The Perfect Pair

Soup or Mixed Green Salad

~

Choose Filet Mignon or Lobster Tail

and

Choose a Crab Cake, Grilled Filet of Salmon or Skewer of Shrimp

~

Seasonal Vegetables

29.95

Delectable Desserts

Sweetheart’s Crème Brulée

Chocolate Silk Pie

6.95 each

If this is a deal you’d like to take advantage of - and who wouldn’t want to? - call your local McCormick & Schmick restaurant to make your reservations.  Let them know when you call that you’d like the roses delivered to your table, and the restaurant can be sure to have a dozen, half dozen, or single rose presented to your Valentine (PLEASE check with your McCormick & Schmick about the availability of the flowers - the local one for me in Cherry Hill, NJ has seen such a wonderful response that as of Friday evening, they have only half dozen and single rose presentations available). 

This is a really wonderful way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Delicious food, romantic setting, and stress free - sounds like a perfect celebration anytime!

Find your New Jersey area McCormick & Schmick location here http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/locationmap.aspx?state=NJ

But here it is, Valentine’s Day is upon us, the economy sucks, but you still want to do something for your Sweetie.  Here are some great ideas that won’t break the bank - some are even free - and they are really the kind of gifts your honey will appreciate.

1 - Coupon Books - Homemade coupon books can be GREAT gifts.  Make them at home on your printer, or even handwrite them.  You can include romantic coupons for a bubble bath for two, a candlelit dinner you make your tired wife, or a nice massage.  You might want to go with practical gifts like you’ll go with your husband to the boat show or play World of Warcraft with him (you know he’d love spending the time with you); or offer to bathe the little ones and put them to bed for your wife while she watches Project Runway.  That might even get you something extra!

2 - Parlor Picnic - Not only are the restaurants going to be packed, it’s expensive to go out and eat.  Whether or not you have children, a parlor picnic (or a bedroom picnic) can be a beautiful, romantic, and less expensive way to celebrate Valentine’s day.  To make it easy on yourself, you can pick up some prepared foods at your local grocery store.  Our store also has things like a Mediterranean bar, where you can get freshly made hummus, olives, mozzarella cheese, and toppings for bruschetta.  If your grocery doesn’t have those types of things, a picnic of cheese and crackers with pepperoni; fresh fruit; and other snack type foods works well.  Spread out a blanket on the floor, dim the lights, put on some music or a romantic movie, and enjoy each other’s company, crowd free and stress free.

3 - Hit a Museam - While the maddening crowds are headed out to the restaurants, head to the museum.  Especially because Valentine’s Day is on a weekend, you can take your sweetie to your local art museum, natural history museum, or whatever type of museum you guys might enjoy.  It’s less expensive than heading out to a fancy dinner, and you can stop on the way home at your favorite coffee shop for a sandwich and a hot cocoa.  We all know chocolate has aphrodisiac properties, so this might really be a good thing!

4 - Let’s Do Lunch - Forget competing with the crowds for dinner.  Take your Valentine to lunch!  Because the big day is a Sunday, you’ll find that many restaurants not normally open for lunch just might be.  Lunch is typically a less expensive meal than dinner also, so check your local newspaper or look online to see what restaurants in your area are offering Valentine lunch specials.

5 - Sunday Valentine’s Brunch - This is another great way to celebrate and save a little money.  Instead of waiting to share s romantic dinner with your Honey, check out some of the places in your area that offer a Sunday brunch.  We have one near us that offers an enormous brunch selection for $14.95 per person, and you can start your day early with the one you love.  If you do brunch, you can take a walk together afterwards, holding hands, at a local park or lake, then grab a hot chocolate to warm up together.

6 - Scenes from the Movie Ghost - You remember it - the steamy scene where Demi Moore is making something on the pottery wheel and Patrick Swayze comes up behind her and the two of them play with the melting because it’s so hot in their clay.  Okay, so you don’t have to get that hot and bothered, but there are plenty of ceramics studios around, and this can be a really fun date.  The price varies, depending on the piece you choose to paint, and I know the pottery places around our house allow you to bring in a bottle of wine, something to snack on, even a pizza.  It’s fun to do something crafty together, and how nice will it be to have the memories come flooding back everytime you see the finished pieces you created on display at your home.  You don’t have to have artistic ability, just a desire to have a little Valentine’s Day Fun.  If you are in the South Jersey area, definitely check out http://www.paintatallfiredup.com/ in Collingswood - it’s one of our favorite places!

7 - Make Something Delicious - I don’t know about you, but when Jim helps me in the kitchen, I love it.  I love working together, we have fun, we talk about stuff, and it takes some of the burden off of me to rush and get a meal prepared, watching three pots at a time while I load the dishwasher.  Take the kitchen thing to the next level!  Check and see if your area has someplace like Super Suppers, a kitchen where you go and assemble your meals, then take them home and cook them.  This place has everything for you - all the veggies are sliced and diced, the sauces are prepared, and the meat and fish portioned out.  For about what it would cost one of you to eat at a chain restaurant, you can make a meal that will feed both of you, and add in an appetizer and a decadent dessert to round out the experience.  It’s fun to work together and assemble the meal, and then while it cooks, you can open a bottle of wine and get ready for some Valentine’s Day romance.  Our local Super Suppers is not open on Sunday, but check them out for Saturday - http://www.supersuppers.com/index.php .  Our Super Suppers also has Rosie’s Lunch on the Go, so after you’ve worked hard (okay, it’s really easy) at putting your meals together, grab a sandwich.  I’ve personally had the grilled veggie sandwich and the turkey and asparagus - DELISH!

8 - Ice Skating - It may be something you did as kids, and have long since forgotten about, but this can be fun, romantic, and when you’re finished and cold, it guarantees some snuggling to warm yourselves up!  You can find ice skating rinks in your area, which are much safer than taking a chance on a lake or pond, and the fees are very reasonable.  Bundle up, hit the ice, and hold hands as you skate around the rink.  You can impress her with your wicked mad skills that you learned playing ice hockey as a tween, and you can laugh at him when he lands on his behind after realizing those wicked mad skills stop working once you hit 40something.  When you’re finished, grab some hot cocoa and cuddle up against each other to get warm.

9 - Play Wii - Sounds like it’s got your guy written all over it, doesn’t it?  But honestly, it’s FUN!  Grab a controller and choose a game that you would enjoy - like Wii Bowling.  It never fails that my husband and I end up in fits of laughter when we play Wii together, and that always leads to more romantic things - more cuddling, more kissing, more hugging.  Throw out some chips and dips and you’ve got a great way to spend Valentine’s Day!

10 - The Mix Tape - Of course, it’s not a mix tape anymore, but you can download some of his or her’s favorite songs and make a CD or load up her iPod.  Everytime he or she listens, they’ll think of you.  And when you give the mix to your Valentine, front load it with a romantic number or two, and dance together in the privacy of your living room.  I still have a mix tape my husband made for me after we had been dating about 5 months.  I love it.

Well, as many of you know, Jim has been struggling with his eyesight for a number of years.  It started back in 2002, and has alternated between some good days, some bad days, some awful days.  We have finally hit a point where we are seeing more awful days, and Jim has filed for disability.

We’ve spent the better part of the last two weeks going over forms he’s had to fill out for disability, and with each form, I’ve gotten more and more sad for him, realizing that while there are things I’ve MADE him do over the years, there are a lot of things he CAN’T do, no matter how hard I try to make him feel like he’s normal. 

So over the past two weeks, I’ve cried a lot.  I’ve cried over the fact that things are up in the air and I can’t control them.  I like to have a plan.  I’m a list maker by nature - I like to have a list of things that have to be done, things I want to do, things I should do.  If situation A changes, I like to know there’s a plan for situation B to occur.  We don’t have that now, and it’s been very difficult for me. 

But more difficult has been going over these forms to list all the things Jim can’t do.  Can he drive?  Well, he has a drivers’ license, so the answer is yes, right?  No.  Because he can’t drive if it’s dark.  he can’t drive if it’s raining.  He can’t drive if it’s foggy, or snowing, or maybe Tuesday.  There’s little rhyme or reason, but some days, he just can’t drive.  Can he walk around the block?  Well, of course he can, can’t he?  Well, no.  Somedays he can’t.  We have a lot of uneven sidewalk where we live, and he trips because he can’t tell it’s uneven sidewalk. 

So filling the forms out has been sad for me.  It’s sad after 7 years of pushing him to do things and go places to see that I failed to recognize the limitations of his condition.

And then, right in the face of his condition, I laughed today.  Because we went out for coffee, and Jim wore his gloves.  Only, he wore different gloves.  Not only did the left glove not match the right glove, it wasn’t even the same color.  And Jim didn’t recognize this. 

It was damn funny.  The undertone was still sad.  We answered a question on one of the forms that asked “Do you need help getting dressed?”, and my initial reaction to that was, “Well of course you don’t, you’re a fine, strapping man!”  Truth is he does sometimes.  Evidently, except on opposite day.

I love me some vacation time - as I’m sure you can guess, if you’ve been reading.  Fortunately, I have a husband who thinks nothing of driving cross country at the drop of a hat, and if an opportunity to visit someplace new presents itself, he jumps on the idea.  This has allowed us to see some of the country’s most incredible locations, as well as visiting some famous sites in Europe.

We try to stay budget conscious when we travel, which helps us get more places and go more often, but I encounter people all the time who ask why we go so often, and how.  I thought I’d put down some of our best travel tips to help you get where you’d like to go.

1 - GO - that’s right, you actually have to get out of your bathrobe, stop watching the Travel Channel and thinking you’re in Hawaii because you’re eating macadamia nuts, and GO somewhere.  For many people, especially in this economy, it seems that any type of travel is not an option.  You immediately begin thinking of expensive hotels, meals out, attraction tickets, and it seems like a much better idea to put SpongeBob on the TV and feel yourself transported to Bikini Bottom.  Don’t let the economy slow you down.  You may not be able to pack up the clan for a Trans-Atlantic voyage, but check out the area where you live.  There has to be day trips you can take your family to - whether it’s a park, the beach, the world’s largest ball of twine.  Check out your local chamber of commerce, hit a rest area on 95 where you’ll find brochures and maps suggesting highlights of your area, or pull out the old laptop and do some browsing.  Day trips allow you to pack a picnic lunch, so food won’t break the budget, and you are likely to find a bunch of free or low cost stuff near you to see!  We saw this on our last trip for absolutely free - and the kids LOVED it!

2 - JOIN - As they say, Membership has it’s Privileges.  Wherever we go, Jim likes to look into joining.  It makes him feel special to be part of a club.  Seriously, though, if we go to a museum, he’ll join for the year.  In many cases, the museum will have a reciprocal agreement with other museums, and when you travel to other areas, you can get into museums there for free!  We visited Chicago last spring, and we joined the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.  Not only does that allow us to visit that museum for free for the rest of the year (when we’re in town picking up some Garrett Popcorn), it also allowed us to visit other museums throughout the country - including ones right here near us at home.  This is an awesome way to see some fantastic local sights when you go traveling, without it costing any more out of your pocket!  We generally find for our family of five, the annual museum pass pays for itself in just about two visits to a museum.

3 - Visit Our National Parks - Go ahead, check out the list of National Parks online.  You will find someplace to go and something to see just about anywhere you might be in the USA.  If you visit the National Parks website and click on a state, you will see what National Parks are in that state. http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm

Some of the best features of the National Parks are you will typically find picnic areas, most have a junior ranger program for your kids to participate in for free, there is an educational aspect to the parks, and you can find clean restrooms, various types of recreation (biking, boating, fishing), and some type of snack bar or small restaurant.  You will also usually find a collection of books and souvenirs at each park, and the books are great resources for future school projects.

This is another instance where membership has it’s privileges.  Join the National Park Service when you enter your first national park, and you will get free admission when you visit other national parks.  This gives you more bang for your buck than if you had spent the same money on a one day trip or one weekend trip.  You can take as many trips as you’d like the whole year!  Be aware, some National Parks that offer overnight accommodations - like the Grand Canyon - sell out very quickly for summer months.  Book your overnight reservations well in advance if you’d like to spend more than just a day trip at our national parks.

4 - Be Faithful - Whenver you travel overnight, try and stay with the same hotel chain.  If you join the rewards program for most of the big name hotel chains, you are rewarded with free stays at that chain!  Some offer free stays after so many nights, others work on a point system, where you accumulate points based on how much you spend.  If you choose a big chain - like Marriott - there are very few places you’ll be able to go and not find one of the many hotels in their chain (Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn, Courtyard, Springhill Suites, Renaissance, and full service Marriot hotels).  Also, keep an eye for promotions at the hotels.  When you are booking through the Marriott website, it allows you to check for special promotions.  You will sometimes find free breakfast buffets, free movie tickets, free tickets to local attractions, or gift cards for meals at the hotel restaurants.  Other chains offer similar rewards, but my family chooses Marriott because we can almost always find one, no matter where we are.  By participating in their rewards program and staying on top of special hotel promotions, we’ve stayed free in London and Rome; gotten free admission to the aquarium in Vancouver, and had complimentary room service breakfast on many occasions.

Marriott County Hall in London

 5 - Look for Deals At Popular Locations - This past year, given the economy, even places like Walt Disney World offered incredible deals to entice vacationers to spend their vacation dollars with them.  Yeah, okay, you knew I’d work the Mouse in here somehow.  Disney World not only offered the very popular free dining promotion - where if you booked hotel and theme park tickets, your family could eat for free; but they also offered an incredible buy 4 nights, get 3 for free!  If you bought tickets and hotel for 4 nights, Disney added 3, to give your family a full week’s vacation for the cost of only a long weekend!  Right now, Disney is offering a free gift card up to $750 if you book a Walt Disney World vacation, and the gift card can be used towards any number of things - dining, special tours, souvenirs - pretty much anything you can think of!  Especially if your travel plans were to include Walt Disney World anyway, the offers are great ways to make the vacation even more affordable.

6 - Drive instead of fly - if you are going anywhere that you can get to within a day, consider driving.  My gang doesn’t even always like each other for as long as some of our road trips last, but it just makes sense for us to drive.  For us, being a family of five, there are very few places we could go where it would be cheaper to fly than to drive.  From here to Orlando is easily $1000 for the five of us, unless we get an awesome airfare sale - but then you have to factor in the price of transportation back and forth to the airport (or long term parking at the airport), the baggage fees the airline is going to heap on you, and then ground transportation when we arrive at our destination airport.  We can usually drive back and forth for about $300 in gas, and we do what we can where we can to minimize other expenses.  We pack snacks and drinks in the car, and some of the snacks are things that can substitute as breakfast (granola bars, miniature doughnuts or muffins, juice boxes).  Even if we have to stay overnight somewhere, we try to either use Marriott reward points, so it doesn’t cost anything; or we go for the best overnight rate, using a AAA discount or a web special.  It just makes more sense to save the money to use AT our destination rather than in GETTING there.

7 - Bounce Back Offers - Oh yeah!  You gotta love a good bounce back deal!  For those that don’t know, a bounce back offer is a deal that you will find while you are on vacation.  You will already be at your resort, having a grand time, and then they innocently leave an offer for you on your counter for when you come in one night, having spent a fun filled day in the area.  The deals can be amazing - as much as 50 - 60% off a night at a hotel.  Some bounce back offers are for hotel room only, and others include area attraction tickets.  If you’re on vacation, and having a great time, chances are, you’ll have an even better time if you book a bounce back offer and save some cash! 

Our best bounce back offer?  This past February, on a sailing of the Disney Magic, we had a code for a bounce back offer for $99 per person for a three night cruise.  Best part of the deal?  You could stay in the same type of accommodation you were in - and for us, that was a verandah cabin!  We were able to take the family on a 3 night vacation in October for only $99 - and on a cruise ship, that included all the meals, entertainment, and kids club!  AWESOME!

The catch?  In most cases, you will have to book your bounce back deal before you leave.

8 - Cruising - Remember that Trans-Atlantic cruise I mentioned a few tips ago?  Well, while that might not be in your budget in this economy, cruising somewhere just might be.  We find cruising to be one of the most affordable ways to vacation.  When you usually travel to a vacation destination, you pay for a hotel room (lucky to find one at a vacation hot spot for less than $100 a night); you pay for your meals; you pay for whatever entertainment you wish to participate in. 

With a cruise, it’s virtually an all inclusive deal.  You will sail from port to port, seeing various destinations while only having to unpack once.  They will feed you breakfast, lunch, and dinner - plus various snacks and in between meals.  You can see stage shows, lounge acts, take classes, attend art auctions - all of which is included in the price of your cruise.  A quick check online finds a Carnival 7 day cruise that takes you to Cozumel, Mexico; Grand Cayman; and Ocho Rios, Jamaica for less than $450 per person.  That’s less than $65 per day per person - and they FEED you!  Incidentals you will have to pay for include alcoholic beverages or specialty drinks; spa treatments; and gratuities - but where else can you go for a week, be fed, and see some of the most gorgeous beaches - for less than the cost of a hotel room somewhere?

  We have cruised Thanksgiving week for $199 per person, and I gotta tell you, that was worth it just not to have to clean up Thanksgiving dinner!

You might wonder about the expensive excursions you’ve heard about - and they do exist.  But you are under no obligation to take them.  We have actually found that sometimes, on days the ship is in port, we have the pool very nearly to ourselves, and plenty of space in the dining room.  We have also gotten off the ship on our own, as many times you can see plenty of local culture with just a few minutes walk from the ship.  There is no cost to you to explore on your own.  No expensive excursion necessary!

And don’t forget - when you see a cruise that is $459 per person - that usually only applies to the first and second person in the cabin.  Wanna add kids?  Expect to pay about half of that - sometimes less - for each child.

9 - Rental Cars - Okay, this already doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a money saving tip, right?  Well, that’s not necessarily true.  To begin with - let’s go back to that being faithful thing.  Rental car companies, like hotels, reward customer loyalty with free rentals.  Some companies have you accumulate points that can be used at any time for a rental, while others will send you coupons for free weekend rentals after you’ve rented so many days.  If you are taking a long trip, you can stop and return your rental car during your travels, which helps you to accumulate points or free rentals more quickly.  Another bonus of renting a car for a road trip is that you save wear and tear on your personal vehicle, plus, if you have a gas guzzler, this allows you to downsize and save money on fuel.  If you are traveling, say, 1000 miles to Walt Disney World (see how that Mouse works his way in??), you’ll need an oil change on your vehicle - so factor that into your savings.  In the grand scheme of things, rental cars are not that expensive.  There are plenty of coupons and promotional codes out there online that will help you reduce the cost of the car; and if you count the wear and tear savings and the gas savings if you are trading down (or newer, which is also more fuel efficient), this can save you money in the long run.  If nothing else, you might get a newer, sweeter ride, with satellite radio, which will make a road trip more comfortable for the whole family.

10 - Piggy Back Business Trips - This is not an option for everyone, but for many of us, at least some time during the year, either ourselves or our spouses need to travel for business.  While you certainly can’t ask your employer to spring for your whole family to take a trip, in most cases, the room is paid for and the traveling employee’s airfare is paid for - and maybe some meals!  Unless the employee is required to share accommodations, there is no harm - and no additional cost - to bring family along to use the room.  While the employee will obviously have to attend to the work for which they are traveling, the rest of the family can visit some local attractions, enjoy seeing the sights, or even just have the hotel swimming pool and continental breakfast to enjoy.  If the employee has some flexibility in choosing hotels, consider something like a Marriott Residence Inn.  I know I seem like I’m on the Marriott payroll, but Residence Inn hotels really do give you all the comforts of home, including a full kitchen.  We have been offered a free breakfast at every one we’ve stayed at, and Monday through Thursday nights at many of the Residence Inn locations, you will find the “Manager’s Reception”.  This reception ranges from snacks like nachos and cheese up to a full barbecue - with burgers, hot dogs, and all the fixings.  Not only are you enjoying a bit of leisure time activity with your family, but you are curtailing your grocery budget for the week as well!

In this economic climate, family vacation time is often pushed to the back burner.  But in truth, you NEED time to regroup, reconnect, and refresh so that you can continue to tackle the stresses of the working world.  A change of scenery, even just for a day, is healthy for your family.  Whether you find time to transport your family to another time by taking a day trip to a Renaissance Faire; or whether you’ve saved your pennies and reward points for a trip to some exotic locale, I hope these tips help you find time in 2010 to get away and enjoy life with your family.

Then Jim enters with what he likes to call the JDF. The JDF, for those not in the know, is the Jim Discretionary Fund.  Jim spends 11 months and 20 days telling me I spend way too much money on everything trivial, I am driving us into bankruptcy with my daily trips to Starbucks, and if there were poor houses still in existence, I surely would be the Queen of Poor House Row, having driven our family there faster and with more enthusiasm than any other family headed in that direction.  And then, after all those months of making me regret ever getting the kids hooked on things like food and clothing, Jim turns up with miracle money that is to be spent on bonus Christmas presents for the family.  This is both good and bad.  It’s good because it’s always nice to be able to run out and pick up a few last minute things for the kids.  Even if it looks like the mountain of presents I have will become the 8th greatest wonder of the world, there is almost always something I wish I’d had the budget to add.  It’s bad because I know whatever I purchase today is going to have to be wrapped.  By me.  And then, when we head home, packed in the already full suit cases.  By me.

So, Jim asks Brighid if she’ll take the girls to the park while we hit the mall and see if there is anything we could sneak under the tree, and Brighid says she’ll do it - yay, Brighid.  She is going to meet up with Dori anyway, so the kids will all have a really good time playing and hitting their favorite attractions together.  I’m sorry not to get to spend the day with Dori, but we still have days ahead to get together, and the JDF is offered for a limited time only!

Much of the day is a blur.  It was spent with me talking Jim out of buying our eight year old child an iPhone - seriously, is the man delusional, or what? - and then debating what last minute things we really needed.  I also had Christmas money my mother had given me to pick up some things for Eilis, so I had fun at Justice for Girls and Best Buy, picking up an awesome suitcase that Eilis is going to love, and some DJ turntable Wii game that I know for sure I am not coordinated enough to get out of the box, let alone play the darn thing.

After a long day shopping, we just make it back in time for our Kouzzina reservation.  I find out through Brighid that Dori also has a reservation, so I ask when we check in if we can add the reservations together, only to be told it’s going to add 45 minutes to our wait time.  With Jim having to be out the door by 2:30 AM for his flight to DC, the 45 minutes is a deal breaker, so we have to dine separately

Kouzzina - review to come - is fabulous!  We love it, and I can’t wait to eat here again.  We head back to the car through the lobby of the Boardwalk Inn, just in time to see Minnie and Mickey at the tree - what a nice surprise!

Best news ever?  The massive snow storm that we barely escaped yesterday has closed government offices in DC.  Jim doesn’t have to fly out!  YAY for an extra vacation day with the hubby!

Then of course Jim comes behind me.  He wants nothing to do with packing at all, except to carry the filled suitcases down to the car.  Until everything is all packed and on its way out to the car.  Then he starts asking, “Did you pack….?” “Don’t we need……?” And it becomes a chore to have to shove into whatever space we have left all of the things he thinks are urgent to bring.  Plus some.

So our cab is due to pick us up at 5 AM on Saturday morning, 12/19.  As with most Skamarakas family trips, it just wouldn’t be the same unless something went wrong or something exciting happened.  In this case, we are about to be hit with a record breaking snow storm.  The timing as it currently sits has the snow arriving in our area around 3 AM - but the heavy stuff not coming until during the day Saturday.  We are due to fly out at 7:55, so we begin hoping and praying that we will make it out before the baddest of the snow comes.

Jim and I get up at 4, peek outside, and it looks calm.  By 5, when the cab arrives, it is snowing steadily.  We still feel confident we’ll beat the storm.  Three hours later, as we pull through the de-icing bay, we are grateful to be one of the last planes out before the airport closes.  Whew.

Our arrival into Orlando is safe and smooth, and we are so glad to be here and not digging out from what will end up being 26 inches of snow in our area.  The original plan is to take Magical Express to the Polynesian Resort, but since we are now packing all of our winter coats and the extra essentials Jim decided we needed, he has called ahead and asked Brighid to meet us at the airport to get all of our stuff to the hotel.  She arrives with Russell, and as Jim takes out the coats and carry on bags, I wait at baggage claim.  We ended up packing the two Christmas present filled suitcases into Russell’s van, along with the coats and a few other things, so Jim and I head to Magical Express with just a few things - plus the bags they are picking up on our behalf.

I have wanted to stay at the Polynesian since I was a little girl.  My first trip to Walt Disney World was with my dad, and we stayed at the Contemporary.  It was lovely, but we went to the luau at the Polynesian one night, and the sights and smells were just amazing.  There was the sweet smell of gardenias everywhere, and the brilliant colors of the hibiscus flowers.  The memories are as vivid to me as if I was there yesterday, but everyone with me that first time through the resort is gone.  That first vacation we took was with my dad, my sister Bean, and my Grandmom Bilbrough, and none of them are here now to share the excitement of coming to the Poly.  I actually do get a bit teary eyed when the cast member at the front desk hands me the leis for the family.

Then we check into our room.  I think it can’t get any better than actually being here, until we walk in and see our view from the balcony.

We really have an awesome - much more than these photos show - view of the castle, Space Mountain, and the Contemporary Resort.  We can’t wait until it’s time for Wishes!

Because we are running so late, I miss the meeting I was supposed to have with Diane L and Jo Y from the Disney Moms Panel!  OH NO!!  I text Diane to update her about how late we are, and fortunately, they are able to meet me at the Grand Floridian before we head in for tea.  I love my Moms!

So, as I mentioned, things often don’t go according to plan during our family vacations.  We are supposed to meet for tea at the Grand Floridian at 2:20.  This is our birthday gift to Jim’s mother, and I’m excited, as we’ve never done tea here before!  We phone Brighid and find out that at 1:30, they have not yet arrived at Jim’s mother’s house to pick her up to bring her to the restaurant.  By 2, they haven’t gotten out of the gate at their community.  By 3, they are still at least 45 minutes away.  And By 3:15, they are giving our table away to another large party.  They can, however, squeeze Jim and I in for tea, and since we haven’t eaten and I’m starving, we head in.

The tea is just wonderful, and the holiday decorations are so pretty - very Victorian.  Visiting the resorts during the holidays is really a must do.  Each wreath and tree is themed to the theme of the resort, and you get a different flavor of the holidays each place you go.  We love it.

The remainder of the evening is spent at the Polynesian Resort.  I love this resort, and we are so fortunate to have a room that has a magnificent view of anything important - the castle, the Electric Water Pageant, Space Mountain, and best of wall, Wishes!

We were so exhausted, that by the time Jim’s mom and stepdad left, it was all we could do to get into pajamas and hop into bed.  A long vacation looms before us, and I think we’re going to need a full eight hours to get a running start!

This is my youngest daughter, Granuaile, during her very first visit to Walt Disney World.  She was four months old at the time, and of course the memories of this vacation are not her memories.  She will look at the pictures with me, and she admires herself, recognizes the people, places, and things, but the memories of the vacation are absolutely mine.

Does that mean she was too young?  In my opinion, no.  The memories I have of this vacation are magical.  I wouldn’t trade them for anything. 

The reactions of children to Walt Disney World are always different, depending on their age.  Granuaile didn’t know who Mickey Mouse was (no, contrary to popular belief, my children are not born wearing mouse ears and singing “It’s a Small World”), and certainly didn’t grasp the whole theme park concept.  To her, it was just another day of amazing things to discover on this magnificent planet.  But what better place to have a baby discover new things?  She loved the music, the lights, the colors - her head was spinning around so fast to try and take it all in, we wondered if we should call in an exorcist. 

Eilis learned to walk at Walt Disney World, and honed her skills at EPCOT’s World Showcase.  She loved the characters from early on, and my favorite Eilis memory at Walt Disney World involved Winnie the Pooh, who she loved from the first moment she laid eyes on him.

 At this age, the very tender four months old, Granuaile put her hand out to grab Mickey Mouse.  Just a few short months later, she was afraid of the characters.  These precious first moments with the characters would have had to wait until just recently, when she became brave enough to go near them again.

When considering taking a young child to Walt Disney World, consider the fact that they are FREE!  That’s right - all this fun for absolutely no additional cost.  Don’t put off your annual vacation to the World just because you have a new baby!  If you love Walt Disney World, they will love Walt Disney World.  And it won’t cost you a dime extra for two whole years to build a scrapbook of fabulous memories of wonderful times. 

Beyond the theme parks, you have other things you can introduce your new baby to.  Imagine the impression a bathtub the size of a swimming pool at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge will make - and the photos you can take!  Picture your little one, for the first time, enjoying the Florida sunshine and the warm water.  That alone is worth the price of taking them.  Oh wait - it’s still FREE!

I always got the best facial expressions from my girls’ babyhoods at Walt Disney World.  There were priceless early smiles and amazed expressions.  I actually had one parent tell me it was a terrible waste, as babies that young could barely see to begin with, and there I was over stimulating my little ones.  Resisting the urge to say “Bite me”, I sent her this photo in an email - showing my over stimulated four month old having the time of her life.

 Even at four months old, she had an appreciation for Playhouse Disney.

My favorite infant memory of Walt Disney World, however, is also Granuaile’s.  She is, as I’ve mentioned, only four months old, but as we walked down Main Street, approaching Cinderella Castle, I snapped this photo.  I realize that at four months old, she’s not looking up at the castle, saying in her little baby brain, “Damn, did I draw the short straw in the parent lottery - look at the digs the kids who live HERE have!” But she did have a priceless expression the first time she laid eyes on the Castle.  I cherish this picture as much as I would a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes - maybe even more.  Because as I’ve mentioned, the memory I cherish of THIS moment was FREE.

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I have to tell you, I’m late to the table when it comes to Aunt Charlotte’s Candies.  My dad used to live in Clementon, NJ, and he was a diehard fan of Giambri’s Candies - a Clementon favorite.  Every year for Easter and Christmas, he’d bundle us up and take us to Giambri’s, where he would choose some delicious confections to be given as gifts or eaten at home.  It was as much a part of holiday tradition as buying a Christmas tree or decorating Easter Eggs.

At some point, my mother began touting the deliciousness that is Aunt Charlotte’s.  I, however, was a Daddy’s girl, and while I didn’t doubt that Aunt Charlotte’s chocolates were every bit as delicious as Giambri’s, the tradition was in Clementon.

And then I went.  I’m not sure why, except I attended a funeral Mass on Christmas Eve at the Church right down the street from Aunt Charlotte’s.  A funeral on Christmas eve seemed to warrant an unscheduled stop for a box of chocolates, so in I went.  And it was WONDERFUL! The smell is what you get first - chocolately goodness! But even as you are breathing in all of the delicious chocolate scents, your eyes are darting from one thing to the next.  There are dolls and toys; seasonal decorations; candy in every shape and flavor; and every corner of this store is packed with old fashioned fabulous. 

You can go upstairs, where a 1984 addition serves as the kitchen, and see the chocolates being made.  On our most recent visit, which was this past weekend, the ladies that work there were escorting shoppers up the steps to show them the art of candy cane making.  My girls not only loved getting to see how this was done, but they loved making their own candy canes!  I browsed downstairs while Jim and the kids made their canes, and I am amazed every time I go in there at what I find.  The selection is great, the freshness undeniable, and the flavors incredible.

The very best part of Aunt Charlotte’s?  Without a doubt, it is the shop patriarch, Brooks Oakford, Jr.  At close to 90 years old, this dapper dresser wanders his shop with a stack of fresh, crisp $1 bills.  He plays games with young and old alike, challenging you to guess heads or tails to win a bill; or having you try to catch the dollar in mid-air.  It’s a pretty safe giveaway for Mr. Oakford.  Both of my girls were the gracious recipients of a dollar, which they promptly parlayed into $1.75 chocolate purchase.  Not a bad return on his dollar!

We generally only visit Aunt Charlotte’s twice a year - at Christmas and Easter, but it has become a family tradition.  Even Jim, who balked at having to go with me, enjoyed the candy cane making with the kids, and got a kick out of the wonderful woman who helped us in checking out (she gave us a delicious sample of the cherry cordials we were buying for someone else - you have to love that in a salesperson!). 

Aunt Charlotte’s is not to be missed.  In a day and age when fast is better and machines can crank out thousands of candy delights, you will fall in love with old fashioned and handmade.