Posted by Jim on December 15, 2009
Anna already has her Christmas present this year - she killed me and abandoned her Windows Mobile phone, an AT&T Tilt, and got an Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB. And then opened the present early. In fact, she had it opened before we left the store.
But today, after weeks of her just loving the end user experience, she announced that she has over 400 followers on Tweeter.
Well, If I wake up on Christmas morning, 12:01 AM Eastern 12/25/2009, and Anna has 1,000 or more Twitter followers, she will get a pair of Ugg Boots.
Why do this? Just to rally her tweeple, followers, Facebook fans and friends. And I like reading what she writes. And encourage of not beg her to write family blog updates, and stuff she gets paid to do. My reach goal is that this encourages her to continue to write more in 2010. Only time will tell.
What does she get if she misses the goal of 1,000 followers? Not the Ugg boots. Seems like a pretty fun challenge for her and her friends.
Posted by Jim on December 13, 2009
On our Sunday trip to Aunt Charlottes Candy Shop Maple Ave Maple Shade, NJ the girls got a few nice suprises.
On arrival they wear briefed on don’t touch anything. Wee what fun!
Eilis waiting to make her candy cane
Our hostess asks of they can go watch the making of candy canes.
Anna sent the three of us along to follow our hostess in the back up stairs and then to another room with long tables. There the girls each got handed a piece of hot taffy right off of the giant roll.
Aunt Charlotte hostess, candy cane, Granuaile, and a hiney 2nd only to her Daddy's
Granuaile's two candy canes cooling waiting to be wrapped
After watching and then making their canes we put them on a cooler table before wrapping them up to take down stairs and show to their Mommy.
Granuaile decided to snag a chocolate lollipop off of the counter and told to put it back.
Tears and a Mommy and her baby moment later and Mommy was buying it for her. Picture of crabby Granuaile telling everyone that Daddy is mean was not available at the time of this blog. But Im sure you can picture it in your mind. Just look at the cute hiney above walking away from you blaming you.
Next came Mr. Aunt Charlotte tossing brand new crisp dollar bills. Both girls won a bill - Eilis by calling heads and Granuaile by snagging it in the air and saying thank you.
Eilis bought a chocolate cell phone and Granuaile a chocolate race car.
I have money
Eilis was on her best behaviour as she knew one slip up would ruin her chances this Christmas for that little red rider cell phone, combination puppy with hamsters in the stock. The girls all waiting patiently while the candies were boxed wrapped and I paid the bill. Um yeah… If he puts the camera away and pays the bill we can eat it on the way to the car
Leading by example Mommy Anna Skamarakas waits till we get to the car to start opening candy boxes
The bill is paid, and out the door we go with candy for 2 grandmothers, work, and some stuff to bring home.
And here we see Anna waiting until we get home to look in the bag for candy for herself. Ignore the Aunt Charlottes parking lit around her.
Posted by Jim on December 7, 2009
Monday and a day that will live in infamay. Today Jim is sporting a dress shirt, in candy cane red pin stripes, and a lovely holiday tie. Compliments from the Orlando, Charlotte and on board USAirways ladies. And in the office. Thank you ladies, all very much for your kind compliments.
Todays tie shows a festive collection of snowmen on a red background, just the tie to compliment the red pin striped dress shirt.
Posted by Jim on December 5, 2009
Its a Saturday and todays Christmas tie is a holiday t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
While not technically a Christmas tie, it is a holiday piece of apparal.
Posted by Jim on December 3, 2009
Jim is wearing a blue button down shirt, khaki pants, brown leather belt and borwn leather dress shoes. And of course no ensamble would be complete without the wonderfully festive holiday silk tie. This holiday fashion must have is shown featuring Santa Clause sitting in a hot tub with the reindeer after a hard nights work delivering presents to all the good boys and girls and sexy lingere to all the naughty sexy irish Woman of the great easern half of the United States of America.
Remember gentleman, ladies want sexy outfits for Christmas, just put them in boxes from her to you and don’t forget to get her something she wants that is for her and only her.
Posted by Jim on December 2, 2009
Today Jim is sporting a shirt with a buttoned down collar and a wonderfully festive holiday silk tie featuring A snow flake theme and Santa and his Elves getting ready for Christmas. Jim is dressed in a casual pair of blue jeans with dressy casual shoes from some guy. Jim is wearing them because he bought them, and only once did anyone ever know the name of them, and that was Nigel Boney.
Nigel, posessed of way more fashion sense them Jim got the name of the shoes correct. Jim thinks he got them at the Cherry Hill Mall at a store called Something & someone, or such name. Walker & Bush?
Posted by Jim on December 1, 2009
Its the first day of December and time once again to reach into the tie rack and pull forth all of those wonderful joyous, tasteful, fun, spirit filled holiday silk ties. And of course button the top button on my shirts and tie that half windsor knot that helps bring out my lines, profiles and wonderful yet humble dimples.
Today we find Jim sporting a black sledding tie showing all of the Disney characters including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto.
Posted by Jim on November 4, 2009
I dont know what Sonic has to do with Halloween. I don’t know what corn dogs have to do with Halloween. But the commercial had a deal going, so i suprised the family with a trip to our new neighborhood Sonic drive in in Audubon, NJ. This is our 4th visit to a Sonic. 1st in Orlando, which is closed. The 2nd was somewhere on I-95 and on an Anna trip report. The 3rd was in New Mexico and would be on an Anna trip report if she did those any more.
We got the corn dogs, stuffed poppers, and a cheeseburger and unsweetened iced tea for Anna. Nothing wrong, nothing special. But we where there for the corn dog special.
Posted by Jim on September 12, 2009
We hit the Acme today for groceries for the week. We spent $17.19 for a family of 4. Now we had an Acme gift card for $51, coupons for $1.50, supercard savings of $11.00 and store coupons and sales for another $6.00.
Oh and we have food in the freezer and the freezer side of the refrigerator to use up including tonights turkey dinner. So yes, we have not really fed a family of 4 for 7 days of 3 meals a day. But as someone who always asks when will we empty out the freezer, I prefer these smaller trips. After all, only by having the smaller trips can we justify the larger trips.
Empty out your freezers people
Posted by Jim on May 21, 2009
This was our 2nd trip to Sapori Trattoria in Collingswood, NJ. The server was friendly and she was prompt through out our meal. At the end of the meal, I put down my credit card and was informed that they do not take American Express. They might as well tell me they only accept rolls of nickles.
I trvel with my job, and get to eat out way more then I want to. One of those is a dinner that is sometimes eaten alone in an airport, after midnight in an empty diner, or right as a restaurant closes if I can get home just a little bit earlier. Those moments when I get to go, I race home and Anna and I go out to eat together.
She had gotten intoa rut of eatting at the local diner and no where else. I grew tird of that in a heart beat. The diner at 2 AM is fine, but nothing I would plan for. And if anything else is open, I would rather go there. True to here Irish cooking style of bland and boiled, she gets into these ruts of not looking for new things. And thats where Anna is bless to have me. I make sure she goes and does things and tries new places that she would have never done without me. And she just loves me for it, feet kicking and screaming, or arguing the entire way there why can’twe do the same thing we’ve done before.
When Anna wants to try new and unique things, its a gem to see and I am glad to be there for the ride 
And back to Sapori. She loved a special meal we had together here one day. Plane landed early, they had a table open, so we went. And never again.
Maybe they will realise the benefit of taking a few more credit cards then the one they accept now, pay the processign fees per transaction, or get a better - less sucky - transction processor - and let us know. Then we would be glad to put them back on our list.
But till then, Sapori Trattoria is off of our list of restaurants to visit.
www.sapori.info
601 Haddon Ave
Collingswood, NJ 08108
(856) 858-2288
I don’t know if I could possibly get 600 more Tweeple in...