Christmas in Springtime FUNDRAISER

Dear Friends:

Each Christmas, in cooperation with Mechanicsburg’s Operation Wildcat and Project Legacy,  the Upper Allen Fire Department adopts a family in need.  

The process and outcome is so rewarding. We get to see the kindness of our members and their friends and neighbors. More importantly, we get to see a family who would otherwise not have gifts under their tree, a warm winter coat, and food in their bellies, be blessed by it all.

In 2013, we want to give MORE! Each year, we see an unmet need that the families have throughout the year. Last year, we supported a family of nine: 8 children, 2 to 18, and a single mother.

This year, with early planning, many activities, and your help, we can do SO MUCH MORE!

JOIN ME

CHRISTMAS IN SPRINGTIME

FUNdraising EVENT

with Tastefully Simple and Silpada

Thursday, April 24^th at the Upper Allen Fire Department

104 Gettysburg Pike

Mechanicsburg PA 17055 (Across from Hoss’s and Stauffers)

Doors open at 6:30 pm.       

Come early take part in the Raffles, Door Prizes, Bingo and other Games and AMAZING Specials!!!

Sample and buy great food provided by Tastefully Simple.

Spring fashion forward with beautiful Silpada Sterling silver jewelry and accessories.

Proceeds from your purchases from either company will benefit the 2013 UAFD Christmas Family in BIG WAYS!

Give the 2013 family a SOUPER CHRISTMAS

Purchase one of the following Tastefully Simple Items for ½ price (we will pay the tax and delivery too) to provide to our Christmas Family (Not for personal purchase)

Perfectly Potato Cheddar Soup Mix: Christmas Family Price $4.00

Bountiful Beer Bread: Christmas Family Price: $3.00

Nanas Apple Cake: Christmas Family Price: $3.50

Or buy all 3 and provide a full meal to our family for just $10.00

For every $20 in Tastefully Simple or Silpada, you spend; you earn a raffle ticket good toward amazing donated prizes!!

ANYONE that books a party to be held within 90 days with Tammy spends OR $100 or more, $20 will be donated to the 2013 UAFD Christmas Family Fund.

Bring an uninvited Friend! Extra ticket for those who do!

Can’t make it?  Take advantage of specials anyway!

Outside orders received prior to the party will be assigned a raffle ticket # as well.  

Orders can be placed at mysilpada.com/tammy.tosti or tastefullysimple.com/web/ttosti

Or by contacting Stacy at 385-2118 or Tammy at 691-6304.

RSVP  to Stacy Salter 717-385-2118 by April 19^th.

Spring is just around the corner

....unless you count this giant snowstorm we are supposed to be getting this week.
Otherwise, Audrey and I are ready for Spring.

ZooAmerica is having $5 Fridays. This past Friday, we headed the 30 minutes to Hershey to enjoy the zoo on a cold, but manageable day. we had a wonderful time, despite the amorous Mountain Lions that I had to say were "playing", maybe in 20 years I will tell her about that. LOL
Then, we headed to Wendys for lunch. I gazed across to the Outlets at Hershey and decided to head to the Disney Store to see if they had any deals.  They did.
Our Disney Cruise takes place over Halloween, so we need costumes.  I got em.  3 of them to: Pocohontas, Mulan and Belle.  I cant wait for the trip...which is a little over 9 months away.
Other than that, we are spending alot of time indoors, and watching too many Care Bear Episodes.
Last week, we went  to Family Fun Night at Audreys school, which included great pot luck, a wonderful glow in the dark puppet show, and face painting and crafts. It was so much fun!
But alas, I am looking ahead to camping and nights on the boat in the middle of the Susquehanna, spending spring with my gal and her dad.

Just Being

Dear Audrey:

The last few weeks, away from the camera, and "just being" with you have been incredible.  I have managed to slow down and just enjoy the slow paced days with you...no running here and there, sometimes never getting out of our pjs.  These have been the best days for me.
I love working, but there is nothing more that I love than "just being" your mom.
We have painted and colored and baked and had movie marathons, and read books and played games. We have played dress up and dressed the house up for Valentines. I have managed to "feed" my soul and "feed" your dads belly. It has been simple AND JOYOUS!  It is everything that I always say I am going to do, and I have!
My promise to read you a new story every night has turned into 2 and 3 stories a night, and it has been ALL GOOD!
I must say, being able to curl up on a recliner with you and also read a good book for myself has also been a plus.
So, as the new month comes into the horizon, I realize that my plans to slow down need to be even more concrete. I really CAN still enjoy some independence and do my job and STILL keep myself centered around you and home.  I really CAN say NO and the world doesnt end. Saying no to everything else and saying YES to you is so much more rewarding.
The calendar for my business was such a good first step, and I am surely sticking to it, for you my SQWEETHEART( your silly way of saying it) and for me.
Thanks for being my most precious constant companion.

Love,
Mom

Another New year, another bunch of unfulfilled resolutions, right?

I am 37 years old.
I have made resolutions each new year for just about 25 of those years.
One year, I think it was like 1997, I actually made a checklist and I actually STUCK to and CHECKED off every one of those resolutions.
Alas, that was before I was a Wife and Mother and business owner, and everything else I am in between.
Lets face it, sticking to your goals is hard.
One year, a coworker, Jason and I wrote down 100 things we would accomplish in 1 year and we shared our lists...and ya know what...I accomplished MOST of it.
So basically, 2 out of 25 years, I have stuck to the proverbial resolution list and won.
But this year, I thought, what the heck, why not go for 3. It is a charm, right?

So, here it is January 13th, 2 weeks into the new year, and I am ready to share my "resolutions" with whoever reads this...maybe just my mom, or aunt, or cousin Amanda, and Val ( she stalks me...lol!)
But, here it is, none the less.

It isnt really a list per say, as much as it is a new year realizations compilation.

I waste $ on crap, er crafts really. Yep, me, the girl who gives so many others money saving advice and sticks to a budget.  NOPE, turns out, I dont!  I went to Michaels twice so far this year, and I have spent approximately $65 on well....nothing ....crafts that I have good intentions on doing, and well, I dont.
It gets worse. I wrote down my spending on an index card. I spent nearly $45 on bagels and burritos and fruit and nut salads. So, I wrote an eye opening, truth be told list to myself, based on these "realizations". And I made notes as to how I was going to change it. It goes a lil something like this: A: I LOVE lottery tickets. I walk out the door with $5 extra change at the grocery store and I spend it on scratch offs.  If I do that 5 times a month, I waste $25 on the lottery, which has yet to make me a big winner!  B: I am an uneccessary clearance buyer. Last week, I bought 20 Reindeer pez dispensers, because they dont go bad and I will give them to Audreys classmates next year. You're laughing right?! C:  If I have a coupon for Gymboree, I HAVE to use it. I have $25 Gymbucks waiting to buy $50 worth of stuff this week. My kid could go 4 months without wearing the same outfit, so what am I buying it for? Because, its Gymboree, and I cant afford their stuff when I dont have a coupon! BUT, Audrey cant wear two outfits a day. D:  I need yardsalers anonymous.  I guesstimate that I spent $500 on yardsale stuff last year. I love it, its exciting to me...many of those things were in my yardsale in October.  E:  I LOVE catalog parties because I love friends. So I host one to see my friends and get free stuff...and then I spend another $100 on the other stuff I didnt get for free. F:  My guesstimate on K Cups @ $6.99 on sale for 4 weeks a month. I bet I spend $35 a month on K Cups.  I need to drink coffee out of the pot more often! G: I have GAS ASS( pardon my bad word) I need to group my errand running and I ALWAYS have to be on the go...what's that spell???  A full tank of gas in a Silverado with the gas point discount $75! Whew! So I am planning better with errands and visits and client runs, etc... a schedule.  H: Applesauce costs $1.49 for 6. It costs $2.49 for 4 for the drinkable kind! What am I saying, easy and cheap is more expensive. I:  I use my freezer alot....the problem, the food I buy gets pushed to the back behind the food that I use, and I waste great meals because the ingredients get freezer burn...what does this mean??? This week, I went thru what I HAD before I went to the grocery store. I spent $37. Most weeks, I spend $125, and if I hadn't have stopped and built meals around my current ingredients, I would have spent the $125 again! I also waste by not freezing the leftovers for a following week or two. I forget them in the fridge and then viola....yuck! AND last on this list, but goodness knows there is so much more J:  BIG IDEAS: Lets see, the garden, the pool, the bike stroller...yeah, they are just a few of my BIG IDEAS...guess what? The pool doesnt work on a slanted yard, splash and spill, right down the back hill, the garden managed to yield 6 zucchinis and 2 tomatoes....and I dont even want to think of what I spent on setting up the 20 some plants. ALTHOUGH, I did like the garden. The Bike Stroller, $50 , for the beach. 1 trip and screaming later and the kid weighs 45 lbs....have you ever tried to pedal a bike with a 45 lb kid and 10 lb stroller attached. Well, good for you Lance Armstrong. These chubby thighs cannot do it!
So what do I plan to do to fix this?
I already had a FAMILY budget in place...but if the bills were paid and we could still do everything we like, I dont follow it.  HOW TO FIX THIS IS EASY. I make the budget a DAILY chore for myself. AND GUESS WHAT? The BUDGET IS the FIX to all of this...well that AND a simple INDEX CARD.
I carry it around like a cell phone, always at my reach.  Both of those things and a whole lot of HONESTY with myself.  If I buy it, I have to write it down....yes, even the $200 Disney on Ice Tickets! If I write it down, I have to type it into the budget. EYE OPENING...IT IS!

So really my resolutions are all tied to one BIG CHANGE( no pun intended) that I have just noted.
What does this change provide to me:
1.  Better Health( Eating out or eating at home...you do the math) Eating healthy, less eating fast food
2.  Family Dinner/More Quality Time. Make a point to make a menu and sit down with my husband and kid.
3.  More $ into Savings and Jims 401 K, BIG THINGS: I want to pay for my kid to go to college before college starts and I dont want to have to work everyday til I die.
4.  Simplify Everday, less running and more reading, more time on the playground and less time in the car. This is perhaps my biggest struggle.  I like to Go Go GO.  But ya know what I realized as of late. My kid likes me to play puzzles and practice letters with her and we dont have to go anywhere other than the living room hassock to do that.
5. BUDGET my own time more, I love everyone, but I dont need to know what they are doing 24/7.  So, I am going to try to limit my FB time to 30 minutes each day, 10 min morning, noon and night. AND, I have created a schedule for my business. I have to say NO and refer when its not on my schedule.

I am looking forward to this being 3 times a charm.
Realizations and Resolutions.

2012 Christmas Letter

The fastest year of my life…..um…I feel like I started last years letter the same way.
We have had a crazy busy packed full year, bursting at the seams. It has taken me 37 years to realize that is just who I am, someone who packs more than is humanly possible into one day. Ya know what, I am ok with that. I think once you reach 37 years old, you stop making excuses for yourself and start embracing things.
I continue to stay at home with Audrey. I am so blessed to be able to do it.  It is true, they do grow up in a blink and I realize I have just 18 months until she heads off to Kindergarten.  I never in my whole fast paced career life thought I would even want to be a Stay at Home Mom. Turns out that the job fits me just right.
In addition to being a fulltime mom, I had a crazy busy wonderful business year as my photography business continued to grow at a very rapid pace. Sometimes I have to slow myself down, but I do love it!  I have met many wonderful customers that have turned into very dear friends. I have captured some incredible moments that I can look back over and say, wow, I am so glad I was a part of that. I have photographed a friend who lost all of her hair while fighting breast cancer, and re-photographed her after her battle was won. I have seen the sweet smiles of new babies, the first kisses as man and wife, the empty chair in front of a family that waits to fill it with an adopted child, a father with his grown daughters just months before he passed away. Life as a photographer is filled with lessons and blessings.
Jim continues to tackle two jobs. First he celebrated his 8th year at Equipment Depot. Work has kept him super busy this year, and busy is good.  He traveled to the Ryder cup with his coworkers this year as a treat,  and he loved it!  His work has been so flexible and good to him. Being the Fire Chief is still his other full time job and still his biggest passion. As always I have to remind myself on a daily basis that there is a good reason Audrey and I don’t see much of Jim when his regular work hours are over. Today, we travel via fire engine to take Christmas gifts, lots of them, that the UAFD collected , to a family of 9. And this evening we drive around our neighborhood , with Jim dressed as Santa , and hand out treats to our neighborhood kids. These two events make the rest of the year worth the craziness, seeing other people blessed. It does any heart good, mine doubly good!
Audrey isn’t a baby anymore. She is a big tall, silly, crazy kid. Too big now at 3 ½ for a FREE ice cream at Brusters…already! She started preschool in August. We have seen her take flight since she began going to preschool.  It started out rocky, whew, but oh my has she flourished.  We are so grateful for her amazing teachers and the staff at Country and Town.  Potty training was a big obstacle that we tackled and after months finally surmounted. Once that happened, our baby girl became little miss independent.  She loves dancing and twirling and horses, and coloring and playdough. And, after a trip to Disney on Ice and Mary Poppins and each subsequent obsession afterward with each, I can say she loves show tunes and we may see her on Broadway someday.
We enjoyed camping this year, trips to the Lake and the beach( Both OBX and Dewey) . In August, we added a new member to our family, our pontoon boat. Jims dream came true and even though I fussed and refused it at first, I ended up loving it as much as he did. We have it docked on the Susquehanna in Wormleysburg. I must admit we now have the best seat to Fireworks in Harrisburg. We look forward to enjoying lazy days on the river in 2013.
We enjoyed a lot of local places this year: Lake Tobias, Land of Little Horses, Hershey Park Christmas Candylane, The State Museum, and so many wonderful places. We bought a membership to Catoctin Zoo in Thurmont , MD. It is about 45 minutes from our home.  We have made this our second home and LOVE the animals that we visited often this summer and fall.
In September, we hopped aboard an Alaskan Cruise Ship along with my parents, our friend Mike and Lori and Paul and Bonnie.  WOW, the trip of a lifetime with wonderful friends. We started out saying we should make the most of a place we will only see once in our life, but we quickly changed our tune and know for certain we will go back.  We got to visit Seattle, WA during our trip and loved it as well.  We went for my mom and dads 40th anniversary and they renewed their wedding vows on board.
I am sure I have forgotten 3 dozen things we did and 3 dozen important things to share. In the end, that doesn’t matter so much I guess.
In the wake of the last few weeks tragedies, we have grasped on to the one true blessing that we always know for certain: that a baby born in a manger continues to hold us together and bless our family.
May HIS love be a blessing to your lives throughout the new year!

Stacy, Jimmy, Audrey, Molli, Jagger, the fish, the hermit crab Salter

Getting ready for FALL in a BIG WAY

I am ready to put up my Christmas tree and it is only November 8th,
My kiddo knows about Santa and she "gets it" this year, so I am ready to start holiday celebrations NOW!
Alas, I will restrain myself for 2 more weeks, or at least try to.
I have started a new blog for the holidays to focus on all that we do, so please check out www.noplacelikehappyfortheholidays.blogspot.com over the course of the next few weeks, as I blog about crafts, and activities, etc...

My kiddo is growing up.
We took her to Disney on Ice last week.
Second row seats right on the ice with nobody in front of us. She was mesmerized. It was so magical watching her clap and cheer.  Jim and I enjoyed the show as much as she did.

Although now she wants me to play Disney on Ice on my "puter"  LOL!
PReschool is going great for her.
What a big girl she is becoming.
Everyday she grows, <3 p="p">

2012 Alaska Cruise Vacation...Gday!

THe 3rd load of laundry is spinnning and I am drinking a cup of coffee, so I figured NOW was the best time to post about our INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, BEST EVER VACATION!!!

We started our vacation(after the flights from Harrisburg, Chicago and to Seattle) on Monday morning. Mom, dad, Mike, Lori, Jim, Audrey and I, made our way UPHILL to the Space Needle. We traveled on the elevator up to the top and walked around. Beautiful view.
From there we hitched the monorail, where the driver let Audrey blow the whistle, and headed downtown to Pikes Place Market.

WOW. The beautiful CHEAP flowers alone were worth walk. All of the artists are local.
This is the place of FISH training that I bought and did 12 years ago with my staff at Campus Door.

We had a ball just looking around and listening to the local musicians.

Jim and Audrey caught their eyes on a GIANT Ferris Wheel, so she cried until we made our way there. It overlooks Seattles main waterways. We had a great ride.

 

Then, we headed over to the Seattle Aquarium. What a beautiful place. we got a great intro by one of the divers, met some pretty cool seals and enjoyed the unusual fish!

After a long day, we headed back to our room at the Homewood Suites in Seattle.  This place is a 10 out of 10 when it comes to a hotel stay, wonderful breakfast and dinner included.  Was excellent!

We woke up bright an early and hopped on the shuttle to get to our Cruise Ship, Carnival Spirit.
The entry and embarkation process was a breeze. We were in our rooms and ready to set sail by 1:30 pm.
This was Carnival Spirit's last Alaskan Cruise. It will now be docked in Australia as the first cruise ship of Carnivals to set sail there.

We were ready to go. We got Audrey all registered at Camp carnival for the week to enjoy the various activities included for her on the trip. The weather was clear and we were all very excited! We met up with our friends Bonnie and Paul on the safety briefing deck and we set SAIL!!!

On our second day of sailing out at sea, my parents renewed their wedding vows to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. Jim and I gave them the renewal package as a gift for their anniversary last year.  what a top notch running of the wedding department.  They met with Ekataryna and she set them all up.  we met at the Chapel at 4:30 pm and My mom made her way down the aisle as my dad waited at the end. Captain Volpi performed their wedding vow exchange.  He has sailed with Carnival for 38 years and will be retiring, so it was a little extra special.

A beautiful service, even despite my mom losing her words half way through, which was very sweet.  We celebrated with very yummy white cake with strawberry filling and champagne afterward and headed down to the lobby for dancing before dinner.

On Day 3, we arrived in Juneau Alaska, where it was cold and rainy and foggy. BUT, it DID NOT Deter us from making our way to The Dog Mushers Camp and riding a wheeled sled pulled by 16 professional sled dogs...who TRULY WANTED to pull our big behinds.

 WHAT A FEELING! They whisked us at speeds like a roller coaster through the tall cedar woods, enjoying the ride along with us! After the ride, we got to smooch the puppies! WHAT A TREAT for all of us, but especially the littlest of the travelers. Audrey was in HEAVEN! and so were we

 

 

 The excursion was amazing despite the weather. We did a wee bit of shopping and set sail for Glacier Bay.

 

 

 OMG!  This was totally indescribable! The glaciers that soared above and in front of us were massive and amazing. We saw Whale, Seals, mountain goat. Dad saw a bear. The pictures and words cannot do this majestic place justice! GO, save, RUN to see it! We watched glaciers calving ( breaking off). The water inside them was a crystal blue.  It wasnt too terribly cold, and the whole ship of people stood out on the decks to take in the view.

 

 

The next day, we made our way to Skagway Alaska. We enjoyed gold panning with Paul and Bonnie and my parents.  Audrey even got in on the action. They taught us how to sift through the "pay dirt" and look for gold flakes. We all found some.  Then we took it in and weighed it and we had ours added to a necklace charm to wear.  I got a petrified walrus tusk and gold bead for my charm bracelet.

 

 

 

 
AND, we added the TO the Summit excursion which can only be described as foggy...thats it...foggy...and perhaps a bit funny lil waste of 2 hours.....but we laughed it off....er, everyone laughed at me for choosing to spend the extra time on a small bus filled with some questionable other cruise goers and our small little group.  Lori and Mike can be sure that they didnt miss anything.  LOL!  The gold panning was super fun so it made up for our foggy bus ride...did I mentioned cramped!  LOL!

 
We did manage to make our way into Canada...although we couldnt see anything. And I did manage to get some pictures, foggy pictures.

From there it was off to Ketchikan..with a 95% chance of rain. we awoke to....not a cloud in the sky!
I LOVE this place! The port is beautiful. The city was filled with great shops and lots to do.
we walked around a bit and enjoyed the DUCK BOAT TOUR...always a good choice. They wheeled us around town looking at sights and then into the harbor to enjoy some more sights there.

 

We visited the fire house for Jim to say Hello! Nobody was there but we snapped a pic!

THEN, I alone, was off to a second excursion to the rainforest. Why was I by myself, you may ask???

Because my selection of the To the Summit Fog tour wasnt well received, so everybody decided to NOT follow my excursion additions.

AND that was OK!

My parents took Audrey shopping.

I loaded onto a bus and headed to the Ketchikan rainforest, where I was SURE I was going to see BEAR!!!

And everyone laughed at me.....but I was....RIGHT 9TIMES OVER, I WAS RIGHT!!!

We hiked our way through the rainforest, with our Guide John H, a very knowledgeable young man. I learned ALOT on this excursion, about plants and wildlife.

And he made sure to tell us what to do if we see a bear.

I SPOTTED ONE FIRST!

Up in a tree about 50 yards away.

In all, I saw 9 bear, lots of spawning salmon, an otter, an eagle, and goodness knows what else.

We fed reindeer and saw a rehabbed eagle and owl.

Then, they took us to see John Hexson a local Totaem Pole Artist . VERY Interesting!

This excursion was THE BEST! Very well planned, very educational, and great sights!!!  I was so happy I left the rest behind to shop and go with my gut! It made up for the fog tour.

The last day at sea, we enjoyed whale spotting and all the activities the ship had to offer.

In between, we enjoyed SOOOO Many great activities and entertainment.

Audrey thoroughly enjoyed Camp Carnival, the ships' kids club. We would take her there 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night to play with the other kiddos and just enjoy some time to ourselves. That is a wonderful feature to the cruise ships that is included. So we could go and see a comedian and she could enjoy playing penguins and getting her face painted, making puppets, tshirts, and getting her face painted some more.

We enjoyed sunsets and time on the deck looking for wildlife. Fun meals, and dancin with Saneen our waitress.  We met some incredible people along the way and made some great memories!

Cheers to Alaska, to family to friends, to adventure on the high seas!!! To the Carnival Spirit and its staff!

What a journey of a lifetime!