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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
Seven for Saturday: News You Can Use 4/2

I think you enjoy the game more if you don’t know the rules.
— Jonathan Davies

So today officially marks my crossing the line to Soccer Mom. Usually my kids just sign up for winter sports; I always figured that we get out enough in warmer weather to get them suitably exercised. However, it was brought to my attention that Organized Sports Build Character and You Are Depriving Your Children of a Proper Childhood, so I forked over some $150 in fees, $45 in jerseys, $175 in cleats and mouthguards and shinguards, for the privilege of giving up 5 hours during the week for practices, plus pretty much my whole Saturday (9:15am, 11:15am, 2pm, and the field is 20 minutes away). With that investment, however, I will be giving up my free time long into the future, because you better believe they will wear those cleats until they fall all to pieces. (The cleats, not the children.)

I’m a little terrified because Maverick opted to sign up for football, a sport that I only know enough about to enjoy watching on the TV, and the coach emailed a playbook of some 20+ plays for him to learn before his first game today. I sort of hate the way our sport culture is set up so you can’t just dive into new sports as you please; at 10 he is very likely behind the skill level of the other kids. So any good thoughts you can send my way would be much appreciated.

And now for the links:

1. The Creativity Crisis: Why American Schools Need Design

“NASA and Boeing are finding that recent graduates can technically render in two dimensions but can no longer think in three. Ideal job candidates at these companies must now show they can “think with their hands” by having expertise or a second major in a musical instrument, auto repair, or sculpture. At Stanford, the rediscovery of hands-on learning arose partly from the frustration of engineering, architecture, and design professors who realized that their best students had never taken apart a bicycle or built a model airplane.” Great, great article. Share it with everyone you know.

2. Kindergarten Shop Class

“Children are inherently exploratory,” Mr. Tulley said. Years ago, he added: “they were only limited by their imaginations. Now, they seem to be limited by parents.” So true. Even in our house, my husband, Mr. Tinkerer himself, won’t allow our son to use his tools without the most intrusive supervision. One year our oldest went to a Boy Scout birdhouse-making clinic… where the adults operated all the saws and hammers. (Maybe people will loosen up once they realize they’re jeopardizing their child’s chances of working for NASA or Boeing?)

3. U.S. Obesity Epidemic Now Requiring Fatter Crash Test Dummies

OK, so this is a little complicated. Current safety ratings are based on assumptions that kids of a certain age are a certain size, on average. The problem is that kids are now hitting higher weights at younger (shorter) ages, so those ratings aren’t accurate.

Now, crash test dummies simulate actual bodies, meaning that we guesstimate the damage an accident will wreak on the human body based on what damage the dummy accrues. To make the dummy a representation of a human requires a series of crashes DONE on humans, cadavers, so that researchers know precisely how much a body can take.

Which means to make an accurate test dummy for a heavier, smaller child, we first need a number of child cadavers to develop the test dummies. Want to hazard a guess as to how many grieving parents offer up their child’s bodies for these test crashes? My guess would be not a lot.

It’s just one more way child obesity is putting kids at risk, but it’s something I wanted people to think about, too.

4. Hands-Free Faucets Can Harbor Nasty Germs

“…half of more than 100 water samples taken from the electronic faucets grew Legionella, the type of bacteria that cause Legionnaire’s disease… Only 15 percent of 75 water samples collected from manual faucets did the same.” Um, that’s a real bummer, as I have always championed our automatic faucet as not only keeping people’s germs to themselves, but also helping to conserve water. On the other hand, is Legionnaire’s something you need to worry about in a single-family household vs. a large community building? I’ll have to do more research before I make any changes.

5. Scientists find physical clutter negatively affects your ability to focus, process information

The research of neuroscientists confirms what we knew in our hearts to be true anyway: “This research shows that you will be less irritable, more productive, distracted less often, and able to process information better with an uncluttered and organized home and office.” My zeal for achieving zen house has been renewed.

6. Introducing Starbucks Mobile Pour

“In seven of the largest cities around the country, we’re sending out two scooter baristas per every square mile to ensure speedy service. We’ve even made ordering easy with our Mobile Pour app for your smartphone. Simply download it, allow it to pinpoint your location, select your coffee order and keep walking. Your fresh, hot Starbucks brew will be in your hands before you can say abra-arabica.” I am frankly speechless in the face of such genius. How many times have you said, “I wish someone would bring me coffee?” Snaps to Starbucks for making it happen.

7. Mr. Popper’s Penguins: Another Childhood Classic RUINED

This week’s shameless self-promotion. I don’t know when we decided that Jim Carrey is stellar entertainment for kids, but he’s like the Grinch who stole children’s literature. How many childhood favorites are we gonna let him mess up before someone puts a stop to it?

Bonus Video (RSS readers may need to click through):

I’ve put this on this blog & other blogs before, and my brother just posted it on Facebook earlier this week. I recommend listening with your eyes shut, but that’s up to you. One of the best lists of advice out there… and it makes me cry every time.

What stories did you take note of this week?
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April 2, 2011
Fashion Friday: Uniform Project Update

I’ve had some people ask for more Uniform Project updates. I’ve been terrible about remembering to take the photos! And I wasn’t sure if people really wanted to see my outfits all the time.

I’ve only left the house a handful of times the last two weeks, so my main aims have been warmth & comfort. This weekend I’ll get out to Goodwill for a bit of refashion hauling 🙂 so that my next update will be more interesting, I swear!

I just realized I forgot to number the photos. Oh well. Ya’ll are smart, you can follow along.

1 was a baking day so I spent the day in my Flirty Apron. Little black dress over jeggings and brown boots.

2 is the LBD over a tiered Urban Outfitters skirt that is one of my favorite items of clothing, ever. Also sneakers that lace up like ballet slippers and have cherries on them, that I call my dress-up sneakers.

3 worn as a vest; I think this must have been my St. Patrick’s Day wearin’ o’ the green.

This is the same day as the middle photo above but I really like these photos with the dog 🙂

4 is over an argyle sweater with jeans and sneaks;

5 was the day it occurred to me to turn the top under to make the dress a V-neck (incidentally, I was stopped on this day by an elderly gentleman who enthusiastically told me how cute my argyle tights were);

6 is a comfy day, worn with velour pants from Boden and my MBT shaping sneakers, or my “heavyfeet.” I bought those when they first came out and the only styles available were butt-ugly white and butt-ugly grey. I wear ’em on days that I have a lot of housework to do.

That’s all I’ve got this round, folks.

What’s the Uniform Project? Rather than buy a whole bunch of new cheapie items, I selected one classic dress made sustainably of organic cotton and pledged to continually work it into my wardrobe in different ways, in an effort to inject “fashion” into my days without being wasteful— of money or materials. I gave myself an “out” by saying I was allowed to buy new items if they were secondhand (since my existing wardrobe is boring). And as a result I’m no longer living the WAHM life perpetually in my sweatpants!

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April 1, 2011