New Jersey Baby Boomer

It’s black Friday…or grey Friday if you look out my windows. No, I didn’t run out the door to hit the midnight sales last night, or the 3 am sales at Kohls, or the early sales at other stores. Those days are done for me, for some they may be a tradition, for me, they were something I did when my children were young….and there was no such thing as “online shopping”.

I’m an online shopper but this year, with a challenged economy and how it has challenged us financially, I’m going to try to rediscover my creative side, and see how we can save.

Thanksgiving holidays…yes, we have lots to be thankful for, there is no doubt about that, but it’s a deeper more meaningful kind of thanksgiving, not the kind that is thankful because we own this or that, but the kind that is thankful that someone in the family who is aging is still with you, the kind that remembers those that are no longer with you with thanksgiving for the part they have played in your life. There’s missing, the missing of those loved ones, missing children that may be overseas in the military, missing children that have married and moved out of the area. Everyone’s circumstances are different, so their approach to the season varies.

This was maybe not the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had, not feeling well and various circumstances, but still, there are so many things to be thankful for, always…it’s a good exercise to take time to count your blessings, to count my blessings, especially if my mood isn’t lining up with the season as it should.

I’m thankful for you, my readers.

This coming weekend is the annual Quick Chek Festival of Balloons in Readington, New Jersey, and a couple weekends later in very early August is the Warren County Farmer’s Fair Balloon Festival.

I have been to the Quick Chek event, but have yet to go to the Warren County, New Jersey event.

For more information about both of these events, plus videos and a slide-show that I put together, please visit New Jersey Hot Air Balloon Festivals.

The “Jersey Shore beach Vacation” season will be starting at the end of this month, a favorite time of year for those of us that love the beach.  There’s hardly a place in NJ that isn’t within a reasonable distance from one of our beautiful beaches.  We are in the very northernmost part of New Jersey, but have made trips down to Wildwood, NJ which is at the bottom of the state, and is always worth the trip!

If you are planning a vacation or trip to the Jersey Shore this year, and will be near Wildwood, New Jersey, please do plan to attend one or more of the FREE concerts offered at Morey’s Piers taking place from June through August. Many of the top Radio Disney artists will be performing. Morey’s Piers is a fun place for the whole family, if you are in need of a place to stay, this link will provide you with some Wildwood New Jersey motels in the area.

You’ll find more information at any of the fun links in this post.

I have to admit that I haven’t quite grasped the Tax Day Tea Party movement, it’s my own fault, haven’t really taken the time to explore it. Not because I don’t care, just distracted by other seemingly more important things lately. To learn more, I’ll be watching some of the special coverage on television.  Since this seems to be a conservative movement, FOX News, will probably be the station to watch…the station that claims to be “Fair and Balanced” but is definitely a bit more right-leaning.  They are going to have some great coverage today.

I decided to do a search this morning to see what Tea Parties will be taking place in NJ, there may be more than you’ll see on the following list of parties taking place only on the 15th, found at taxdayteaparty.com, so feel free to comment if you know of other NJ Tea Parties taking place….if you live in another State, visit the link above, and find the link to your State:

City: Belmar
When: April 15, Noon – 3:00pm
Where: 16th Avenue boardwalk
Contact: EMAIL

City: Cape May
When: April 15, 6:00 pm  – 8:30pm
Where: Harbor View Park, Texas Avenue at the harbor
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info: Participate by land or sea, bring your boat, flags and patriotic American Spirit!!

City: Flemington
When: April 15, Noon – 2:00pm
Where: The northwest corner of Main Street and Court Street
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info: http://flemingtonteaparty.blogspot.com/

City: Hackensack
When: April 15, 4:00 pm – 6:00pm
Where: Bergen County Court House, Hackensack, NJ (Court Street Side)
Contact: EMAIL

City: Jersey City
When: April 15, 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Liberty State Park
Contact: EMAIL

City: Morristown
When: April 15, Noon
Where: On The Green at the center of Morristown
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info: Yahoo Group
Facebook Group: CLICK HERE

City: Newark
When: April 15, 12:00 pm
Where: Gateway Center One – 782 McCarter Highway, Newark Offices of Senator Lautenberg and Menendez conveniently located in the same building.
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info: Parking: 66 Edison Place, Newark
Google Map: Click Here
Facebook Group: CLICK HERE

City: Piscataway
When: April 15, 5:00pm
Where: Johnson Park (River Road, Piscataway Township)
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info: http://www.americansforprosperity.org/032409-new-jersey-tax-day-tea-party

City: Trenton
When: April 15, 11:30am – 4:00pm
Where: New Jersey State House, 125 W State St
Contact: EMAIL
Facebook Group: CLICK HERE

City: Vineland
When: April 15th, 1-4PM
Where: 722 E Landis Avenue, Vineland, NJ 08360
E-mail: t@thomassnow.com
Phone: 973-406-4688
Web Site: http://tomsnow.serveblog.net
Face Book: CLICK HERE

Please add your tea party info in a comment, if you like, and let me know what you think about all of this. I’ll probably do more on this at Married to Politics later today.

Every year, if one of the NFL teams closest to us, the Jets or the Giants, don’t make it to the Super Bowl…or for my Colorado-raised husband the Denver Broncos, we have to decide who we are going to cheer on when we watch the big game.  We like watching games, but aren’t HUGE sports fans, so the way we decide who we’re going to root for is based on what team is closest to us, so maybe it will be the Pittsburgh Steelers this year since PA is only a State away.   Another thing that we might base our decision on if the teams aren’t our local favorites would be who is on the teams.

We still have time to make our final decision.  Looking at sites that provide sports news videos can be fun while we make our decision…if you click the “sports news” link and look along the left, you’ll see a link to NFL, check it out, there are some great videos from playoffs and a lot of other videos for the sports fan. Check out the Superbowl Preview.

Have fun watching the game, only a few weeks to go!

Oh! Your not into football?  There’s videos under the NHL, NBA, and MLB on comcast.net to keep you up on what’s happening with your team/sport, or keep you amused until the season for your sport comes around again.

Here are more Christmas events to enjoy in New Jersey…continuing the theme of the previous post.

Cape May, all the way at the opposite end of NJ from where we live has a lot to offer:

Dec. 12, 19-20 Enjoy the Lamplighter Christmas Tour – Self-guided, tour 5 beautiful B&B’s and Inns. They are beautiful, too! Adults – $15, Children – $7.50 Tickets at the booth at Washington Street Mall.

Dec. 11-12 Cape May Candlelight Hospitality Nights – Merchants offer treats to holiday shoppers throughout Town. For more information, call 609-884-9565

Dec. 13 Cape May Christmas Candlelight House Tour – Another self-guided tour of Victorian Inns, homes, churches and more all decorated in beautiful holiday splendor. $22 for adults, and $11 for children. There is a free shuttle service. Call 609-884-5508 for more information.

Dec. 13 – Ocean City will have it’s Christmas Parade on Asbury Ave, complete with Santa Claus. This will be at 7:30 pm. from 6th to 11th Street.

For a complete list of Cape May events, visit this link.

I’ll be back with more with some places closer to home…if you live in Northern NJ

Hope you’re enjoying the holiday season!

New Jersey has a lot of fun things to do around Christmas time.  I should have started this a week ago, because I’ve already missed the opportunity to tell you about the Cathedral Choir’s annual performance of the Messiah at Hawthorn Gospel Church, and how could I forget to tell you about the Holiday Open House at the New Jersey Botanical Gardens (NJBG), they were this past weekend, with the beautiful Ringwood Manor (pictured) decorated in Victorian Christmas splendor, especially since I was there for their wreath-making event, making a wreath for our home and another to decorate the botanical gardens.

Well never fear, there are a lot more things happening in New Jersey, I’ll try to post them as I stumble on them.  Here’s things that will be happening this week, and this is not a complete list by far:

12/11/08 in Clinton, New Jersey:

Don’t miss CANDLELIGHT NIGHT when luminaries line the streets, there are horse-drawn carriages, and the shops are open later than usual. This takes place from 6 – 9 pm on Main Street. For more information, call the Clinton Guild at 908/735-8614

12/11/08 in Morristown, NJ:

VIENNA BOYS CHOIR will be performing their holiday show at The Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts from 8pm – 10pm. The price ranges from $32-$47. Theatre located at 100 South Street. Call 973/539-8008 for more information.

12/12/08 in Morristown, New Jersey:

THE DRIFTERS AND THE MARVELETTES will be celebrating Christmas from 8pm – 10pm at a price ranging from $27-47 at 100 South Street, the location of The Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts  Call 973-539-8008
I’ll be back with more dates for you later…have to go get some lunch!  Oh, please, if you have an event coming up in NJ, please add it in a comment!

Today I received an email from someone who is sponsoring a race for Breast Cancer in the South Jersey area at Six Flags Great Adventure  I checked out the links, and went to the main site for the organization, and it appears to be a great cause, here’s the information…you may want to contact Robin before donating if you have any questions:

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and I am making a difference. I recently accepted the challenge to participate in the Race for the Cure at Six Flags Great Adventure on Sunday October 5, 2008. I hope you will join me in the in the fight against breast cancer. The more the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Central and South Jersey Affiliate can give back to fund vital breast cancer education and screening programs in our own community and support the national search for a cure.

Please join me in the fight by pledging in support of my participation in the Race or contributing generously to the New Jersey Race for the Cure Your tax-deductible contribution will fund innovative outreach and awareness programs for medically under-served communities in Central and South Jersey and national breast cancer research. It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause – you can make a donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. If you would prefer, you can also send your tax-deductible contribution to the address listed below.

Whatever you can give will help! I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress. Thank you so much for your time and support in the fight against breast cancer! Every step counts!

Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a click-able link, you can visit the web address:

http://events.komencsnj.org/site/TR/Events/General?px=1199875&pg=personal&fr_id=1020&et=0l88HOY1yJIA-LBExRP65w..&s_tafId=4002