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Fiendishly fun Halloween dinner
Crisp, vibrant leaves dance on the breeze, swirling and drifting past lit pumpkin faces. There’s a chill in the air, like phantom fingers slowing sliding down your spine. The ghouls and goblins are preparing their path, and the witches are ready to take flight. It’s All Hallows Eve in the neighborhood, and the kiddos are ready to run the sidewalks in search of sugar bounty. When my boys were young, Halloween was always a challenge for me as a working mom. When it’s already dusk when you’re pulling in the driveway, and you need to somehow manage to put some food in your families bellies before they rot their teeth…
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Just treats, no tricks
Fifteen miles east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the streets are lined with silver “KISS” lamp posts and the smell of chocolate permeates the air. The small fourteen and a half mile town bears the name of it’s founder, humanitarian and philanthropist, Milton S. Hershey. Welcome to Hershey, Pennsylvania, the “sweetest place on earth.” Mr. Hershey originally opened his Hershey Park in 1907 as a place for workers and residents of the factory town to enjoy with their families. A large expanse of landscaped ground allowed for picnicking, as well as boating and canoeing on Spring Creek. In 1908 rides and attractions started to be added, beginning with a merry-go-round with a…
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Philadelphia’s Secret Garden (District)
As this is my first post, I should mention that I’m not typically good with sharing my travel secrets. I feel that the adventures I’ve discovered were appreciated more because of the fact I uncover them in the heat of the adventure and not just given to me by someone else’s discovery. But here’s the rub… In the past couple years with Dawn, I have seen how inspired people are through her blogging. Her appreciation for life allows me to live vicariously through her joy. Traveling with Dawn and seeing things through her enlightened soul only enhances the experience for me. This is not limited to just travel, but it’s…
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Get your Halloween on lockdown
The tall stone walls loomed over us and as we crossed inside, I think I gripped Tony’s hand just a little bit tighter. It may be “Always Sunny in Philadelphia” but there was heaviness that took over once inside those walls. Darkness? Despair? Paranoia? It’s hard to say. But the sun was shining when we went in…wasn’t it? My admittedly vivid imagination may have been in overdrive, but there was a definite “shift” in something when we crossed the threshold of this centuries old prison…I’m sorry, penitentiary, called so because it was designed to inspire penitence in the very hearts of it’s inmates. Not simply repentance, but an “action of…
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Fall is here, so grin and “BEAR” it
Fall has always been my favorite time of year! Being smack dab in the mid-atlantic states means I get to enjoy everything that each Season has to offer. (If you live in this area, you know that sometimes that could be all in one day LOL) The crisp air seems to increase the vibrancy of changing leaves, the cycle of nature blazing into dormancy. A deep, cleansing breath fills your lungs with smells of apple, pumpkin, cinnamon, and campfire. Children seem to buzz with excitement of hayrides and Halloween, and a time of festivals and revelry begins. Weekends bring frolic and fun with apple festivals, corn mazes, Oktoberfests, and OktoBEARfest!…
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No Roles, baby, just biscuits!
He said… …It took me a while to date after ending a marriage of 20 years. I had gotten so comfortable in my roles and it all changed so quickly…my career, my address, my relationship with my family…all over the course of a year. It was difficult! Let’s face it, roles are nothing but habits that become responsibilities that need to be maintained. Roles give you a routine, a familiarity. Now, I found myself with no direction. I wanted to take time to get to know me. I had an opportunity to reflect on and have time for me, and I knew there was stuff I needed to work on.…