We Moved!

Brian's School of Cinema!

There have been many blessings that happened with my homecoming. To me the biggest blessing is being able to have dinner with my family. The one thing I missed the most when I was away at school was sitting around the dinner table and sharing a meal with my family. With these meals come discussions, stories, laughter, and so much more... Apparently, my cinematic experiences have been lacking and my brother Brian has had me enroll in Brian's School of Cinema to help my become a more enlightened moviegoer. Mostly, it is his mission to have me watch a lot of Tom Cruise films and other movies that I know of but have never watched. This all started when over dinner it came out that I have never seen The Firm, and everyone's jaws dropped in complete shock and dismay. Since my enrollment I have watch the following films.

1. The Firm

Tom Cruise plays a hot shot new lawyer right out of Harvard Law that agrees to move to Memphis and work for prestigious law firm. A law firm that has a dark side that could end his career or worse, his life.  

With my family's praise for this film, I think I set the bar too high when I was watching. I agree with them that Tom Cruise was excellent and the storyline was very clever. However, I found fault in a few things but the biggest being Tom Cruise's wife's character. I didn't enjoy her performance and it actually has nothing to do with the actress Jeanne Tripplehorn, but had everything to do with the character's attitude and the choices she made when times got hard. Maybe its just the feminist in me that thinks a woman shouldn't back down from a fight to have a man handle it.  Overall, I found The Firm to be a good film!

2. Minority Report

This movie is set in the future where the special crimes division can arrest murderers before they commit their crimes. An officer from that unit is accused of a future murder and tries to change his fate.

This action, mystery, sci-fi, film is out-of-the-box from something I would pick for myself to watch. Mostly due to the sci-fi, but I went into the living room with an open mind and I am glad I did! It was a really cool film, and the whole concept was really intriguing. I was glued to the screen, and couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next!

3. Jerry Maguire

Tom Cruise plays a sports agent that has an epiphany and gets fired for voicing it. He goes off on his own as an independent with the only client that stayed with him. This film had 5 Academy Award Nominations and Won for Best Supporting Actor- Cuba Gooding Jr. 

Brian thought for sure that this would be my favorite of the Tom Cruise films he had me watch because it is a Romantic Comedy and he knows I can't resist a RomCom. I really did enjoy this film and I found it to be a good sports comedy. I didn't think the romance aspect was developed enough to be considered a RomCom. I found the chemistry to be lacking between Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger. Overall, I enjoyed this film and loved Regina King's and Bonnie Hunt's supporting performances.

What do you think of these films!?

Queen + Adam Lambert

Wednesday, July 25th Queen + Adam Lambert performed at the Izod Center. My mom won a pair of tickets for my brother and me. She also scored an employee floor ticket at the box office right before the show! Needless to say, the night was already off to a great start! Christopher and I have been a fan of Adam Lambert's for a while now and were very excited to see him step in for the legendary Freddie Mercury. This show exceeded all of my expectations and is easily one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Adam Lambert seamless fit right in and gave a performance that Queen fans could love. The show incorporated video clips of Freddie Mercury performing. It was a great way to remember him and for me it was the first time seeing him on stage (even if it was just a video clip). One of my other favorite parts of the show was the drumming dual between Roger Taylor and his son Rufus Taylor. Some of the songs that were performed during the concert were: Radio Ga Ga, Another One Bites The Dust, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Love Of My Life, Fat Bottomed Girls, 

Under Pressure

Bohemian Rhapsody

We Will Rock You

We Are The Champions!

They announced that they are working on a new album to be released later this year!

NJ Balloon Festival

Up, Up, and Away!

This past weekend the QuickChek NJ Festival of Ballooning took launch! My  family and I got up early and drove up to the Solberg Airport, Readington, NJ. It was a ten dollar fee parking fee and then we made our way to the entrance of the festival. The general admission adult tickets are $30 each the day of but when bought early it can be as low as $17 each.

I would just like to note that you are not permitted to bring coolers. bottles, or food into the festival. I understand this, however, I wish I would have been able to bring my water into the festival. Once we entered the festival we made our way through the path lined with tents and their vendors setting up. We found a spot on the grass, laid out the blanket, and got our cameras and iPhones ready.



Before I knew it the outstretched green space in front of me had hot air balloons taking form. The incredible balloons took flight and flew right over head. When we were finished capturing the balloons, and playing under the colorful hot air balloon sky we walked through the festival indulging in every free sample that came our way (there was A LOT).  There were amusement park rides for the kids and later in the day there were concerts. If you go all day or just for part of it, like we did, you are sure to have a great time! Check out www.balloonfestival.com for more information and to try to attend next summer!

Random Act of Kindness #3

My 3rd Act of Kindness were these quirky bookmarks! One of my favorite parts of reading when I was a kid was the awesome bookmark that I carried with me to mark my page. I thought that if my kids had fun bookmarks they would be more inspired to read. All you need is some left over scrapbooking paper, scissors or a page trimmer, tape, a circle punch (if you have it) and pipe cleaners. First, you cut the papers into rectangles, I chose to have them all the same width, but thats just me. Then cut a long "U" shape in the middle. This is where the page would slide into the bookmark. As you can see a slipped a card into that slot to show the slit. Next you will need to pick out matching eyes and cut out 2 large circles, and 2 small circles for each bookmark. If you want to add pipe cleaners to the top of the bookmark, simple poke a hold in the top and pull the pipe cleaner through and fasten. 

After you make these super fun bookmarks you can drop them off at a local school, a day camp, give them to friends with kids, or bring them to your local library!

"The more you read the more things you know. The more that you learn the more places you'll go."

- Dr. Seuss 

Inquiring Minds

If you were stranded on an desert island, what 3 things would you bring?

Christopher,17, NJ 

a satellite phone, a water bottle with a purifying filter, and a solar powered charger for the phone. 

Kristen, 19, NJ

A fishing pole, a hat, and a flare gun

Sarah, 21, NJ

Sunscreen, Water Bottle w/ a purifying filter, and Jennifer Lawrence. 

Kaitlyn, 21, RI

Bananas, Toliet paper, and bubble wrap ( it's entertainment for hours)

Ryan, 21, MI

Machette, a pot, and matches

Kelly, 21, NJ

My Dad, my brother's dog, and a supply of penne ala vodka

Lynley, 22, NY

My 'Life is Good' Water Bottle, Knife Kit, and Wine

Katie, 22, NJ

A water jog, a big floppy hat, and an axe

Darren, 23, NJ

Food, Water, Shelter

Brian, 25, NJ

Boat, Knife, Guitar

Thanks For Reading This Weeks Inquiring Minds!

Comment Below With Your Answer!

I Pledge Allegiance to Travel!

One of my favorite things to do is travel! It doesn't matter if its exploring a local town or traveling to another state. I love to see what our world has to offer, especially when I'm experiencing it with good company. I've decided that in my lifetime I want to go to all 50 states. I brought this up around the dinner table and we started to compile a list of states that we have gone to (for the record we only count states that we got out of the car and got something to eat in). I wanted to make a more definite list online some how of each of our travels because I knew the scrap paper we wrote it on was going to get lost or tossed eventually. I did a little searching and came across VisitedStatesMap.com where I was able to check the boxes for the states I've visited, and an image of the US with colored in states representing my travels came up on the screen. I saved the image and did the same process for Brian, Darren, Haley, and Christopher. If states are highlighted in yellow that means that person has lived in that particular state. 

Sarah's States Traveled: #11

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida.  

Brian's States Traveled: #12

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, and Florida.  

Christopher's States Traveled: #10

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,  Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida. 

 Darren's States Traveled: #13

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire,New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Missouri and Florida.  

Haley's States Traveled: #13

Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, California, New Mexico, and Nevada.

A year from now, I hopefully will be posting this again but with even more color! I hope to have a post comparing the countries we have traveled. I hope this post inspires you to to chart your travels!

"We Travel Not To Escape Life, But For Life To Not Escape Us!"

DIY Workout Top

Are you like me and have a ton of tee-shirts just laying around? Whether they are from races, tournaments, schools, teams, or freebies, they are multiplying! They most likely don't fit you or just wish they were different. You want to wear them because they have special meaning to you but you just can't get yourself to wear it other than to sleep or around the house. I took a free college tee that I have but is to big for me and turned it into a workout top that fits me just right! Its very simple and doesn't require any sewing (just a few hand stitches). Follow the steps below! HAPPY DIYing!

Step 1:

Gather Your Supplies! I chose my gray Centenary College t-shirt (I didn't attend but I love college tees), Fabric Scissors, Fabric Cutter (optional), gray thread (to match the shirt), a needle, and pins. 

Step 2:

Cut off both sleeves on an angle. Cut close to the collar of the shirt and down to wear the bottom of the sleeve was.  To make sure both sides are cut evenly fold the shirt in half and use the one cut side as a template for the other. I used the fabric cutter to do so but fabric scissors would work just as well.

Step 3:

Take the fabric scissors and cut along the bottom of the back collar to detach it from the back of the shirt.
Step 4:

Make two cuts on the back of the shirt, creating three vertical columns. These cuts start at the top of the shirt and go to about a half an inch above the bottom of the sleeve. 

Step 5:

Now take each of the three columns and turn them into three strips each. Pictured is the right column turned into three of its on columns.

Step 6:

Take the first three strips of fabric and braid them. Take a bin through the end of the braid to keep it from unraveling and pin it to the back collar. Repeat two more times. Hand sew each braid into the back collar. (final product pictured below)

Random Act of Kindness #2

The 2nd Random Act of Kindness that I did on my birthday this year was "For You" envelopes. My family has a big coupon book, that I'm assuming we bought at school fundraiser. I flipped through the pages and found the coupons for establishments that are close proximity to my house but are also places that my family doesn't frequent very often or at all. I cut out coupons for Baskin Robbins, Dunkin Donuts, and Quick Check. I put each establishments coupons in their own envelope, sealed it, and wrote "For You" on the front. I also, included a card that I made up explaining that this is a Random Act of Kindness, I hope it put a smile on their face, and that I encourage them to do their own act of kindness. When I drove to each establishment I put the envelope under a windshield wiper of a car in that parking lot. I figured, if I drove to that particular business, that the likelihood of the recipient appreciating the act and utilizing the coupons would be extremely high! When I went to Dunkin Donuts, there was a lady parked but had her car running and her window down. I decided to go up to her and hand her the envelope. She was shocked that someone came up to her but she was very grateful and told me that I made her day, oh! and she wished me a Happy Birthday! 

This is a very simple and inexpensive way to give back. Not everyone receives coupons or at least not to the places they frequent. I like to think that the recipients were able to treat themselves because of my act of kindness and hopefully they to will turn around and do the same for someone else one day. 

Life is too short not to help one another!

Take a break at Breakwater Beach!

Monday, two of my brothers and I traveled a little ways south to Seaside, NJ for some much needed family fun. The weekend crowd was gone, the sun was shining, and we wanted to make a Splash! According to my little brother there was a good report card promotion ending on the last day of June, so we made it just in time! By showing your grades you would get in free with one paying adult. Its weird to think that Darren and I are the "adults" in this scenario when we are all siblings. Anyway, it only cost us $63 for all of us to have a fun filled day in the water park. 

We went in the kid area (above) and had a blast squirting everyone with water and dumping buckets of waters of those passing by... and they loved doing it to us! We went on tube rides that were singles and doubles, the lazy river called our name, more than once! We raced down a pumping slide on mats (I never won). We soaked up the sun and felt like we were away on vacation. I plan on going back again this summer and I hope you want to go too! I found a great deal on Groupon for Breakwater Beach, but unfortunately the time has run out on the offer. The Local section of Groupon has a deal for Jenkinson's right now, and may have a breakwater beach one again! Keep your eyes peeled, I know I will!

Random Act of Kindness #1

Back in April, for my 21st birthday I decided that I wanted to spend my day doing 21 Acts of Kindness. Since I planned them before hand they weren't that random but none-the-less they were acts of kindness and they were a lot of fun! A lot of people think that these acts of kindness are expensive and thats not the case! acts of Kindness can be as simple as dedicating your time to help someone out. I will periodically be posting the acts of Kindness that I performed on my birthday and the ones I plan to do soon! But for now, here is RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS #1:

Cards for Hospitalized Kids is an organization that lets you send uplifting general cards to kids that need a pick-me-up! Its an easy and great way to put a smile on someone's face that is going through a difficult time and needs to know that someone is thinking about them! All the cards that are received are evenly distributed to children's hospitals across the nation!

It's Your Turn! Here is 7 Easy Steps!

1. Get Your Supplies!

Get creative with crayons or go crazy with scrapbooking paper! We used some cards that are pre-printed on the outside but we jazzed up the inside! 

Cards for Hospitalized Kids asks that if you use glitter, stamp ink, or stickers to rub your finger across it to ensure it doesn't fall off. If it does, please don't send that card because it can be a health concern for some of the kids.

2. Time to Address the Card!

The cards will be distributed for you and are not going to a any particular child so please do not address the card. If you want to address it, make it generic. For example: "Hey there!" "Hey you!" or "To: a very specific person!"

3. Writing on/in the Card

The Hospitals request to please AVOID writing "Get Well", "Feel Better" or other illness related comments. 

PLEASE write UPLIFTING messages such as: "Stay Strong", "You are Awesome","You Rock", "Be Brave", "You Inspire Me", "I believe in YOU", "Never forget how amazing YOU are". 

Feel free to write your own positive message!

These uplifting messages focus  on the child as a whole, rather than their illness, which is important, according to Child Life Specialists.

4. Make sure you do not...

Give away any personal information, such as: phone number, address, email address ect. Hospitals will not allow us to distribute cards with this information.

Religious comments such as "God Bless" or "I'm praying for you". The Hospitals will NOT distribute cards with these type of comments. The hospitals treat patients of all religions, as well as patients that do not practice a religion and that is why it isn't allowed. 

6. Sign Your Name!

First names only please!  You can include your state! I wrote "Sarah, NJ"! You can also add your organization such as "Girl Scouts".

7. Most Important Part, Mail Out the Cards!

Cards for Hospitalized Kids

7290 W. Devon Ave.

Chicago, IL 60631

Lets Go To The Boardwalk!

Casino Pier, Seaside Boardwalk!

Sometimes you have to venture outside of your norm and have some fun! Living only minutes away from Jenkinson's Boardwalk, Point Pleasant Beach, it is quite rare that I would venture a longer distance to go the Seaside Boardwalk, but I'm sure glad I did!

       

The Musik Express has by far the most enthusiastic employees and you can't help but have a blast!

The Surf Shack reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in Grease! It is fun and unexpected!

         

 Like most boardwalks the rides can be expensive and crowded. I suggest going on Mondays & Wednesdays because those are Wristband Days! It is also during the week so it is A LOT less crowded!

Movies on the Beach!

School's Out for Summer! Want to do something with friends and family that is fun and FREE!? I do! Jenkinson's is holding movies on the beach every friday night! Come to Jenkinson's Pavilion Beach, starting THIS FRIDAY at nightfall (about 9pm) with a blanket and good company to watch a great movie! The movie schedule goes as follows:

June 27th - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (PG)

July 4th - Independence Day Fireworks (no movie)

July 11th - Frozen (PG)

July 18th - Despicable Me 2 (PG)

July 25th - Iron Man 3 (PG-13)

August 1st - Smurfs 2 (PG)

August 8th - Lego Movie (PG)

August 15th - Pitch Perfect (PG-13)

August 22nd - Planes (PG)

August 29th - Monsters University (G)

Father's Day!

Sunday, June 15th was a day dedicated to awesome dad's everywhere! Many dad's opened cards that most likely had a tie or bow-tie on it and unwrapped gifts that came from their favorite hardware store. My Dad, feel under this category for sure! But, I also wanted to surprise my Dad with something special...

Many of you are probably familiar with the Milton Bradley, two-player game, Guess Who?

This red and blue guessing game has been in the game closet of my house, since I can remember. In recent years, Guess Who? has been collecting dust and frankly we don't find it to be challenging anymore... well that's how we felt before I decided it was time for an upgrade!

 I replaced the cards with picture of my brothers and me! There are Halloween costume pictures, beach pics, and candids! We made it a rule that you can't ask if the card you have is Sarah, Darren, Brian, or Christopher. These cards make the game more advanced by having more in the picture then the original game. There have also been really unique questions like, "Are you squinting to the right like Clint Eastwood?"

This remake of an older board game was fairly simple. For details on how I did it, comment below!

Strawberry Harvest Festival

Family Fun & Fresh Strawberries!

The Strawberry Harvest Festival at Alstede Farms was an amazing experience and you can experience it too! The festival will be happening for one last weekend, June 21st and 22nd.  Pick your own strawberries! Explore their beautiful farm and all that it has to offer! Indulge in their fresh strawberry desserts! I recommend the chocolate cake with fresh strawberries! I got to check strawberry picking off my summer bucket list!

Children will have fun feeding and seeing the animals. My cousin, Callie even got to ride a horse! We saw the ducks, peacock, chickens, pigs and other four legged friends!

Rowan had fun picking the fresh strawberries and playing on the big hay stack!

  

Take a Trip to Alstede Farms!

http://alstedefarms.com/family-fun-nj/strawberry-harvest-festival/

Making a Difference On a Rainy Day

This weather has been utterly unpredictable. I awoke this morning and peered out my window to see a foggy Bay Head before me. I got up and brushed my teeth to only be drawn back to the window due to the loud pounding noise I heard outside. Within an instant the weather went from gloomy to down pouring. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time mother nature has demonstrated her moods this week.

 I don't know about you but when dark clouds roll in I roll back under my covers and a Netflix marathon ensues. I do venture out of bed every once and a while (usually for chocolate). However, this week of weather unpredictability and a source of motivation within me has caused me to clean my room!? I know it is shocking and no one is more shocked about this than my parents. But its true, I have been actively cleaning and organizing which lead to a discovery that has inspired today's post. Yes, all I have done is talked about the weather but I assure you it gets better. I discovered.....broken headphones...A LOT of broken headphones!

This might seem silly, and you may wonder why I didn't just throw them away. But headphones, like many things can be RECYLCED. In the grand scheme of things 5 sets of broken headphones in a landfill might not seem like a big deal to you but I want to leave this earth better than I found it. I want to get in the habit of RECYCLING or DONATING to charities instead of simply tossing something away...and I hope you join me!

Thinksound is a headphone manufacturer that has set up a Recylce Program with Universal Recycling Technologies to help keep more valuable resources out of landfills. How it works is you will fill our a recylcing form, mail it with the broken headphones (any brand) to their offices in New Hampshire. Thinksound will take care of the recycling of the headphones and you will be rewarded for recycling with a coupon to purchase Thinksound headphones! For the form, mailing information and any questions you may have visit http://www.thinksound.com/recycle.php

I am going to recycle my headphones, are you!?

All About Color Me Rad!

 Color Me RAD!!! I have participated in a handful of 5ks but never like this! This is a complete Fun Run from start to finish! This event brought together about 2,000 people with the common goal of giving back, getting colorful, and having some fun! There wasn't one person that wasn't grinning from ear to ear at this event! Teams, were instructed to wear all or mostly white, and pick up your race swag prior to the race. OR if you are me and totally forget to pick up the packet you can wait on line and pick it up at the registration tent! Inside our swag bag is your (1) Race Bib (2) Official Color Me Rad t-shirt (3) Awesome Color Me Rad Sunglasses!

Once you put on your race bib, you make your way to the starting line at the appropriate time. Due to the high number of participants you are assigned a time when you are allowed to Run/Walk/Skip the race. My Mom and I were in the 9:10 am race wave. As you can see all the people in front of us are waiting for their race wave to begin. When its time, there is a count down, and the man standing above everyone blows a cloud of color on the participants! Of course, when I got to the front the leaf blower that the man was using to make the cloud of color got jammed and we began without the epic cloud of pink. Just my luck!

As we ran around the PNC Arts Center complex we ran through these color check points! They were spaced out throughout the course and they had these color check points in so many different colors! It was awesome because you can see them as you went through the course and it was motivation to keep going because you wanted to be color bombed! Inside these checkpoints were Color Me Rad volunteers ready to bomb you with color as you went through! The last leg of the race there are volunteers that hand you color bomb packs that you get to use to bomb other people! I made sure to color bomb my mom as we crossed the finish line!

You might have noticed my RADiculous Jersey Strong cowboy hat! WOW and the Jersey Strong Foundation had a tent setup and were giving away some rad swag. With every registration to Color Me Rad a donation was made to the Jersey Strong Foundation. This public charity has a mission to connect us to people and communities throughout New Jersey. The Jersey Strong Foundation provides funding and resources to people, families, and communities in New Jersey who are healing from hardship, and were hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Here is my Before & After of Color Me Rad! Oh, and my Color Me Rad tip for future RADiculicous Participants is to use the clear zip lock that the Color Me Rad sunglasses come in to cover your iPhone while you race! I was able to take all the photos above with my iPhone 5c while in the zip lock!

And last but not least, Enjoy the after Party!

                                        

Color Me Rad

Saturday, June 7th I was lucky enough to get RADdiculous with my mom at Color Me Rad! This super colorful and awesome 5k fun run was an amazing way to start off my weekend! This event marked the first of many 5ks with my mom! On top of having color bombs flying and upbeat music playing as we went throughout the course we knew that our participation was helping the Jersey Strong Foundation! I love exercising but I love it even more when it helps out a great cause! Check back soon for a full wrap up of Color Me Rad!