November, 2013 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives November 2013

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Chanukah Wishes for 2013

Posted on November 27, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tonight, my family will gather around our dining room table to light our menorah and celebrate the Festival of Lights. Yes, it is Chanukah and on Thursday we will also light our candles on Thanksgiving. While we get ready to share the holidays together, I wanted to take a moment to wish all of those that celebrate a wonderful Chanukah.

This year, my boys are extra excited to share their traditions with classmates. NHL and JSL keep talking about Thanksgivukkah and it seems to be getting the attention of a lot of people. While it is a fun experience, we will also be focusing on the meaning of Chanukah and why we celebrate and keep our traditions alive. So while I get ready to bring our our menorahs, get ingredients to make latkes (or buy already prepared ones), I leave you with the new video from the Maccabeats that seems extra fitting heading into the holiday season.

I would love to know how you will be celebrating Chanukah and/or Thanksgiving during this very special week.

BTW – If you are wondering where I made my LEGO family, you can make one here.

Categories:
holidays

Thanksgiving with Pete the Cat

Posted on November 25, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

My youngest son, JSL, is in first grade and has fallen in love with a cat that does not make me sneeze. Last year, while searching for a book at the Book Fair, he asked to purchase a Pete the Cat book by Eric Litwin. He recognized it from his kindergarten classroom. From that day on, we all became big fans of Pete. We would sing along with the songs and smile while reading thanks to the illustrations by James Dean. Over the summer, we added some new I Can Read! books about Pete that are written and illustrated by James Dean. JSL adores those, but I was looking forward to some new holiday books that were coming out.

Pete the Cat – The First Thanksgiving is by Kimberly and James Dean. We begin the book while Pete is getting ready to perform in his class’s Thanksgiving play. He is nervous about his role as a Pilgrim and his friend Callie tells him to do his best. The rest of the book shares scenes from the play that Pete and his classmates are in. Pete the Cat and his Pilgrim friends head to the New World in 1620. We see their voyage, learn about the landing at Plymouth Rock, and watch them plant crops with the help of Squanto.

The familiar illustrations by James Dean take us into the world of Pete the Cat. We see Pete’s familiar face throughout the book. While the story is cute and does tell the tale of the first Thanksgiving and Pete’s experience in a play, there is something missing. When I asked JSL what he thought of the book (he read it with Nana), he said it was alright. He love, love, loves the original Pete the Cat books, so I was a little shocked. As I read the book, I started to understand why my little guy lost some of his enthusiasm. Sure Pete was there, but his fun loving, groovy style was missing. While the Dean story is nice, it was not the literary style that we had grown to love thanks to Eric Litwin. If you are a Pete the Cat fan, I am sure you will like seeing your friend in this book and will enjoy it in your book collection, but know that groovy, hip, and happening Pete is taking on a new more mature role.

Have you read Pete the Cat books? Which is your favorite and why? I would love to know what you think and if you have other Thanksgiving stories that you read during the holidays.

Categories:
books

Isis Mobile Wallet #VZWBuzz

Posted on November 22, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

The other day while the boys were in school, I locked myself out of the house. Thank goodness, I had my smartphone with me. I was able to get in touch with TechyDad to come and let me back into the house while I shivered outside. Shortly after that, I participated in a webinar as part of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers program. We were invited to test out their roll out of the new and improved ISIS Mobile Wallet. For our time, we would be given some shopping compensation to set up and shop with ISIS. During that webinar, they said something that struck me. My phone is always with me. If I forget or misplace my phone I know almost immediately. This is not the case with a lost credit card or wallet. By the time you realize some of those other items are missing, the damage may already be done. As an identity theft victim, I am very sensitive to these issues.

What is Isis Mobile Wallet?

Isis is a collaborative project between Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile. It is a free app that you can use on a growing number of smartphones with a SE SIM card. Using NFC capabilities, Isis allows you to pay with a tap of your phone at many retailers nationwide. Here is a quick video that shares the basics

Isis will allow you to have different payment options with credit cards or American Express Serve. In addition to this, you will be able to link up loyalty cards from certain retailers as well as special promotions. The list of places participating keeps on growing and I am excited at the concept of having offers and rewards all linked together. I know I am often guilty at forgetting my card and it takes forever for the stores to look them up.

Setting it All Up

The first step in setting up an Isis account is to make sure you have a smartphone that can be used, and to have a SE SIM card. My new Droid Mini came with this right from Verizon. At this time, Isis is only available for Android phones. Once you download the app from Google Play, you will be taken through the process of setting everything up. While waiting for it to complete the process, it reminds you about using Isis.

Once my Isis account was set up, I was able to link up my American Express Serve card. It gave me the option and took me to the Serve page where I was able to join the two accounts together. Within a few moments, it showed the balance on my Serve card that I was able to use. Now I just need to explore what local deals are available to get ready for a shopping trip.

Additional information about Isis is also available from Verizon Wireless. There you can read up more on the technology associated with NFC and other details about the app and utilizing it. There is also a link to a FAQ page that has all of the phones that can currently accommodate this new shopping style. I know I am going to be reading up before I head out with my Isis and Serve card to get some Chanukah shopping done. I will report back on that soon.

Have you used Isis yet? I would love to hear about your experience.

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I received a complimentary Serve starter kit with some money loaded onto the card to share my experience using it with the newly revamped ISIS app. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

Categories:
shopping Technology

Disney Letter Q

Posted on November 20, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Coming up with Disney Letter Q items left me in quite a quandary. Why you may ask? I knew I wanted Quasimodo from Hunchback and the Queen of Hearts, but thanks to some meetings I was unable to find these photos. So, I thought outside of the box while looking through some magical moments from recent trip to Walt Disney World. What Disney Letter “Q” inspired moments come to your mind?

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

Categories:
Disney travel vacation

Making Pom-Pom Hats

Posted on November 18, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up, I remember wearing fun winter hats with giant pom-poms on top. I am not sure why I remember that, but I do. For years, I have avoided hats in the winter time. I have never found any that I like, that fit right, or are fun. A short time ago I started to crochet my own hats for everyone in the family. Guess who is hooked (no pun intended) on wearing hats again? I have been making a lot of hats, but I was not in love with my pom-pom. I tried to make it on my own and did not have a lot of yarn left in the skein. The one for my mother’s hat was a little better, but did not make me happy.

Thanks to Instagram, I saw photos of the new Clover Pom-Pom maker and wanted to check it out at the craft store. When I went to pick up some yarn for projects the other day, I stopped by to look at the different pom-pom making options. Since I am a Clover fan, I decided to get the large pom-pom maker to test out. I had some more of the yarn for my first hat to redo that sad looking guy on top.

While the directions on the back of the box were easy to follow, I decided to check out Clover’s YouTube video to make sure I was setting everything up for the first time. Here are some photos from my process.

I still need to help the shape out a bit and cut from yarn to fix it up a bit, but it looks so much better. Check out the sad old pom-pom next to the brand new one. Then, through a small procedure (scissors), the old pom-pom was removed and I sewed the new one in.

And, just like that, I fell in love with the Clover Pom-Pom maker that I bought at my local craft store. Are you a fan pom-pom hat fan, or do you prefer to have a plain hat to keep your noggin warm?

Categories:
arts and crafts crocheting