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Category: Fitness, Health, Happiness

Karma, and a Hotel Hershey Spa Giveaway

“Well, some like to call it luck.
I like to call it…..well, luck, I guess. So what?!”

-Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmour

A few weeks back Jake’s school held an 8th graders vs. teachers basketball game fundraiser. And he really wanted to go.

I really sort of didn’t; it was on a Thursday night and my work week was already feeling ten days long. But I remember all too well begging my dad to go with me to watch the 8th graders soundly trounce the teachers, so I figured some sort of karmic rebalancing was in order. Jake said it started at 5:45, so I mentally aimed to get there around 6.

As it turned out, doors opened at 5:45, and the game didn’t start until 7, but karma was on my mind so I kept the grousing to a minimum. We bought our tickets, had a dinner of pizza and hot dogs and the most chemically-tasting, wretched lemonade ever. But everything was raising money for the school athletics programs, so again I (sort of) held my piece.

Each class in the school had put together a themed basket of goodies, purchased from parental monetary donations or generously donated by local merchants. To burn time, I bought a pile of raffle tickets and the kids filled them out, then dropped them into the boxes in front of the baskets they wanted to win.

There was a basket of beachy bounty: a weekend stay at a hotel, restaurant gift cards, vouchers for the waterpark and bowling. An Apple basket with an iPod and iTunes gift cards. A “Backyard BBQ” with a (really nice) outdoor grill, grilling tools, a box full of specialized seasonings and rubs and a gift card good at a local butcher. A “Mom’s Night Out” basket with spa vouchers, dinner gift cards, movie tickets, a bottle of wine. A “Money Tree” that was simply a box with a mystery amount of cash, and a gift certificate good for one fruiting tree from a local nursery. There were about 2 dozen in all, but those are the ones I remember wanting to win.

Thing is, I often win at these things, but never anything good. I’m always the one who wins the bottle of wine given as the first prize (I don’t drink wine). So then I know I’m not gonna win whatever the grand prize is, but I can’t complain, because I’m one of the relative few that did win something. It’s twisted.

True to form, I won the Chocolate Basket: about two tons of chocolate in various forms (did I mention I don’t eat chocolate, either?) and a chocolate fountain.

As I posted immediately to Facebook, “Is there anything in the world I need less?”

The kids, naturally, were thrilled with the bounty that Lady Luck had bestowed upon them as their Mean Mommy Who Pays the Dentist Bills never would. The various chocolates were devoured in about a week’s time, but the chocolate fountain was held in reserve. The inaugural run of such a delight couldn’t be witnessed by our eyes alone.

A family gathering for a birthday was soon scheduled, and Jeff & I made a pound cake and cut up bananas and strawberries for dipping. There was a lot of secrecy & grandstanding & drama and then Jeff assembled the fountain in all 21 inches of its glory. The chocolate was added, the fountain began to burble and cascade… and then it broke.

The children then used the skewers to scratch their names into the frozen chocolate.

This is pretty much the way my luck always works. Just once… I’d like to win the money tree, you know?

ANYWAY, when I picked up my basket they also gave me an envelope, and I didn’t really give it my full attention until long after the fact. In that envelope?

A $100 gift card for The Spa at the Hotel Hershey.

I just went to Hersheypark last year, folks. It’s close enough that I can’t really justify the cost of staying over, but far enough of a drive that I’d want to pack every moment with rides, rather than leave my family to cash in my spa treatment.

That being said, I LOVE HERSHEY. If you haven’t ever been, I would totally say it’s worth it to stay over, so you have time to not only do the rides, but also the Chocolate Factory, or the Hershey Gardens, or the Hershey Theater, or a concert (coming up this season: Imagination Movers, The Monkees, NKOTB with the Backstreet Boys… also, the Ringling Bros & Bailey circus). The day we were there last summer I think Ke$ha was playing… and lookee here, it looks like they’re running some sort of Kids Stay, Eat & Play Free special in May & June.

So I’d love for you to help me generate some better karma! No sense letting this card sit around until we’re ready to go back to Hershey, when it would make a great Easter or Mother’s Day gift (or just a nice surprise to keep!) for someone this year.

Leave me a comment below about karma, or luck, or your favorite chocolate to be entered to win the $100 gift card. “Like” my site’s fan page on Facebook for a second chance to win; just make sure to leave a second comment so you’re counted twice.

I’ll pull a random winner Sunday morning, April 10th.

UPDATE: I just looked in the envelope again and there’s another card included that reads: “Present this gift card for purchases at any of the following Hershey Entertainment & Resorts® locations and operations: Hersheypark®, Hersheypark® Arena/Stadium/Star Pavilion, The Hotel Hershey®, Hershey® Lodge, Hershey® Highmeadow Campground, The Shops At The Hotel Hershey®, The Spa At The Hotel Hershey®, Cocoa Beanery®, ZooAmerica® North America Wildlife Park, Hershey Bears®, Giant Center, Hershey® Links, Spring Creek Golf Course, Hershey® Country Club, Hershey Theatre, Hershey Gardens, The Hershey Story, Hershey® Cleaners, Houlihan’s Restaurant + Bar, Devon Seafood Grill, and all Hershey® Resorts Restaurants.” This tempted me to hit “delete” rather than “publish,” but that wouldn’t be very nice of me, would it?

Helpful links:

Classic spa treatments at The Spa at the Hotel Hershey. See what you could enjoy with the gift card should you win.

Experience Hershey, PA. One-stop shopping for everything you need to know about a trip to Hershey.

Hershey: More Than Just a Chocolate Bar and a Kiss! Local super-blogger Mindi visited Hershey in December and learned about the Milton Hershey School, a school for orphans started by the Hershey founder and still helping at-risk kids a century later. It was something I’d never known about and I just want to take this opportunity to help spread the word a bit.

They provide free tuition, food, clothing, medical and dental and housing to at-risk children. AND, if a child graduates from the MHS with at least a 2.5 GPA, you know what they get? A $80K scholarship to college! What they are doing for children is nothing short of a miracle.

It’s nice to feel good buying from a local company… even if you’re afraid to eat the stuff because you’re paranoid about cavities forming around your adult braces.

Check it! More giveaways this week from Philly Social Media Moms.

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Disclosure: The good folks at Hershey know nothing about me or this giveaway, and are not affiliated in any way. I won the gift card and just want to pass the love along to keep good chi flowing in my life. Is that a shady motivation? Yeah, perhaps.

I never said I was perfect, just awesome.

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April 4, 2011
KinderCare Spring Camp: The Secret Science of Dirt
Children are born true scientists.
They spontaneously experiment and experience
and reexperience again.

They select, combine, and test,
seeking to find order in their experiences—

“which is the mostest? which is the leastest?”

-R. Buckminster Fuller

It seems impossible that spring break and Easter are only a few weeks off, what with a Nor’easter on its way and the SNOW word being bandied about, but the weatherman assures me that indeed it is coming.

I’ve been in a state of mild panic about what to do with these kids during their break; Jeff works full-time, I work from home full-time. I can’t take them anywhere fun during the day, but I’m not about to let them sit in front of a screen all day (you know, like I do. Cue guilt). And while I’m cool with “just go outside, boredom is good for you” a few days a week, it seems like an unfair way to spend an entire vacation.

Happily, while public schools are on break, local KinderCare Spring Camps are in session! We have lots of KinderCare centers in Northern Delaware. I’d always thought they were just for toddlers and preschoolers, but the camp has full-day programs for both preschool and school-aged children.

And— this was the kicker for me— the theme this year? “The Secret Science of Dirt.”

Did you know…
- that some types of monkeys eat dirt?
- that it can take hundreds or thousands of years to make just one inch of dirt or soil?
- that soil or dirt can be of different shapes?
- that one cup of soil may hold as many bacteria as there are people on Earth?
- that the weight of all the bacteria in one acre of soil can equal the weight of one or two cows?
I know, right? Dirt is fascinating! I can’t wait until I (I mean, the kids and I) get some free time and can stick some dirt samples from our yard under the microscope.

Younger kids get five days of hands-on science lessons, veggie cooking, and craft-making, while the school-agers get five days of planting and tending vegetables, making compost, creating garden-related crafts, and preparing veggie treats. At the end of the week there’s a “Dig it! Science Fair” that parents are invited to attend (so stinkin’ cute).

Looking ahead to summer, they’ve got 12 more themed weeks of educational fun available: Wilderness 101; Dig Ancient Egypt; Wild, Wild West; Scienterrific; Spectacular Sports; Animal Antics; Gross and Gooey Science; Kids’ Kitchen; Sports Smarts; Art Expo; Splish Splash! and Feats of Science.

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When I was in high school, I was part of a traveling chemistry road show and performed some simple experiments for grade-school kids. Like any normal 16yo, I signed up for this because it got me out of school for an hour or two once a month, but I really really enjoyed it, because kids of that age eat that stuff up. At first it seems like magic, but when you break down the processes to whatever their comprehension level is (and folks, it’s higher than you think) you just see the dawn break, you can hear the click in their minds as it all slots into place. And then they’re racing to apply that new knowledge in as many other places as they can think of.

It’s such an amazing and exciting thing to experience, and I’m so excited that Cass will get a chance to do some hands-on science in a fun environment, making new friends in the process. (Yes, I could do all these activities at home, but that’s not as cool, is it? I WISH. I’m hoping the third-party wow factor will make science experiment time with MOM more fun. Not that MOM isn’t willing to do them all by herself, because Mom is a total nerd like that.)

Teaching should be such
that what is offered is perceived as a valuable gift
and not as a hard duty.

-Albert Einstein

Want all the dirt on KinderCare camps? All ya had to do was ask:

KinderCare Spring Camp: The Secret Science of Dirt

KinderCare Summer Camp: 12 week-long camps make kids the experts

and while I’m thinking about it, you should totally check out the documentary Dirt! The Movie, which is available for streaming on Netflix. You’ll learn lots of cool facts about dirt and its importance, and the implications of the way we’ve been treating it. But you’ll also be amazed by the passion people have for the land beneath our feet.

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Disclosure time! KinderCare is sending Cassidy to a week of spring or summer camp (depends on availability). Although a review of that week is not required of me, you know I’ll be sharing all the details with you. Cass is excited!

So, now what to do with the boys? Aged 10 and 13, any ideas?

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March 30, 2011
Wordless(ish) Wednesday: at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt

In the spring,

at the end of the day,

you should smell like dirt.

-Margaret Atwood

Who needs toys? All a kid really wants is a sled to hold her dirt.

(Jeff said, “Look at her. She’s filthy. She’s like a pig in mud.”

“Good,” I said. And I meant it.)

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March 23, 2011