As Much Fun As A Kid In A Candy Store!

Each day is a new discovery! Remember the days of being a kid in a candy store? Well if you desire that same sensation once more hop on over to the new Peeps & Company store at The Shoppes as Sands in Bethlehem PA!  This store is full on fun with big bright beautiful colors and lit displays from the giant color changing Peep Chick to the Hot Tamale wall and the Mike and Ike bar! You will surely want to try all the flavors of the Mike and Ike’s so get a bag and get scoopin’!  Sure to become a new fav with  chocolate lovers, do not miss the Peepsters, in milk and dark chocolate with marshmallow centers. Ummmm Yummy Delicious Peepsters!  If you want to try, head to the chocolate wall!

T-shirts, hoodies, drinking cups, fun stuff for kids, socks, plush toys,  are plentiful and so clever! A personal fav is the t-shirt with Peeps in a circle of the earth which states, Imagine World Peeps!  The store is chock full of fun items, candy, of course the original Peeps, and just plenty to get excited about! Yes fun indeed to be had inside of  the Peeps & Company store!  Close by, easy parking and open the following hours:

Sun – Thu 10 am to 9 pm

Fri – Sat 10 am to 11 pm

77 Sands Blvd.

Bethlehem, PA 18015

Phone: (610) 625-5353

Of course you can learn more by visiting Peeps & Company or Peeps on Facebook!

Hands on Fun and Learning with Historic Flair is being offered at The Burnside Plantation on the third Saturday of each month through October and is free to children with a paid adult admission. Check the website for complete details and themes of each Saturday event.

1-800-360-TOUR

Third Saturdays between 10am and 1pm

1461 Schoenersville Rd.

Bethlehem, PA 18018

HistoricBethlehem.org

Image from SOTA Website

Three Chimneys Farm

1770 Pleasant View Road

Coopersburg, PA 18036

April 28-May 20, 2012

SOTA Showhouse 2012

LehighValleyChamber.org

Heroes Campaign Raises over $60,000

American Red Cross Heroes Campaign Chairwoman June Webre had one goal in mind: beat last year’s campaign results by at least one cent. She pocketed a lucky penny throughout March.  That lucky penny – and an incredible Heroes team – resulted in a whopping $61,842.91 raised for the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley.

Heroes pledge to raise $1,000 each for the Red Cross during this grassroots fundraising and awareness campaign which is held each March. Heroes can raise the money personally, as an organization, or by hosting a fundraising event. People of all ages can serve as Heroes.

Heroes help to spread the word about the services the Greater Lehigh Valley Red Cross provides, and they also raise the money that supports local needs for disaster relief, preparedness and training and other critical services.

This year’s campaign, now in its fifth year, attracted 57 heroes, the highest number of heroes the organization ever had. The campaign brought forth a tremendous surge of creativity and visibility in the greaterLehighValley.

At an April 5 celebratory lunch at Cosmopolitan inAllentown, Heroes shared their stories of their individual successful campaigns:  (See Highlights Photo Show Below)

• Captain David Yanoshik and his Heroes Team conducted a variety of activities:

• Stephanie Altieri of 99.9 The Hawk raised $3,046 through a number of avenues including the auction of a limo ride, dinner and four tickets to see Ringo Starr at the State Theatre and donated air time.

• Michael Palermo held a cocktail party and charged $50 per person …20 guests attended.

• Theresa Calantoni asked 20 friends for $50 each.

• Mike Peters held a raffle for restaurant gift certificates.

• AtClevelandElementary Schoolin center cityAllentown, $1,215 was raised by students and faculty through Red Cross squares and dress down days for faculty.

• Team Capital Bank held a breakfast and radiothon with WAEB’s Morning Talk Show Host Bobby Gunther Walsh.

• LehightonHigh Schooland Middle School students conducted a change war and sold pizza coupons to raise more than $1,600.

This year’s Super Heroes are:

• Team Capital Bank – $3,700

• Concannon, Miller & Co., PC. – $3,200

• MuhlenbergCollege- $3,144 (Muhlenberg has participated in the campaign every year.)

• Stephanie Altieri, 99.9 The Hawk – $3,046

June Webre and Red Cross Regional CEO John R. Hughes presented a framed certificate and gift to each captain and hero at the luncheon.

For more information about the Heroes Campaign, contact Sandy Gaspar at 610-865-4400, ext. 258 or sandra.gaspar@redcross.org  or visithttp://www.redcrosslv.org/heroes.

“Be Like a Duck” Women’s Business Forum Founding Member Shares the Secret to Her Success

Healer, speaker and now author Cheyenne Mease announces the release of her book Clarity, Wisdom Harmony, a collection of bite-size essays to help anyone who feels stuck, sad or overwhelmed by life.

In one essay she uses the analogy “Be Like a Duck”, in it, Mease advocates letting hurtful words “roll off your back” like a duck.  In other words, you get to choose how you feel.

In another essay on curing overwhelm, Cheyenne likens your “to do” list to “Sorting the Laundry”.  Make your list and sort it according to like items so it’s organized.

“As Your Tea Steeps”

Unlike many books crowding the non-fiction shelves that hammer on one point for 225 pages, Mease makes many points in her essays.  Averaging two pages,  you can read one literally as “your tea steeps” and come away with something useful.

“My goal in writing the book was to share the tools I’ve been using with clients for over 20 years in an accessible way. “

Helping Those in Transition

Working as an Intuitive Life Advisor and healer, Mease helps people in transition.  From illness to divorce to end of life, she uses her healing gifts to ease emotional and physical pain.

Her clients range from children to the elderly.  She’s worked with patients at the University of Pennsylvania and by phone.  She helped a 16 year old with 6 brain tumors and she’s helped the elderly through end of life issues.

In fact, her healing gifts extend to people suffering from common afflictions as feeling “stuck” or overwhelmed in today’s busy world which many of the essays in the book address.

The title comes from Mease’s beliefs.  “I believe when you have clarity, you have wisdom and when you have wisdom, you have harmony.”

Delighted with its success, she’s into her second printing.

“One person bought 14 copies!”

Mease says it appeals to people of all ages.  One client told Mease her 5^th grade son had taken it to his room to read.

The timeless and empowering messages in these essays touch everyone.

Yet it’s never an easy task to birth a book.

The Women’s Business Forum (WBF) Played a Role

Mease credits the support of The Women’s Business Forum (WBF) of Bucks County with helping it come to fruition.

“Without WBF support, I would have thrown in the towel.”

Now,   “I have people.”

From the cover design and photograph to the editing, WBF members helped Mease craft her book.

With the exception of Dr. Bernie Siegel who wrote the forward, everyone connected with it is someone she knows through the networking group.

The WBF celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year.

Mease says she joined the group 9 years ago when the group was just beginning and Graphic Designer Chanin Milzanik invited Mease to be a founding member.

At the time, Mease had released a Guided Relaxation CD and was looking for a way to market them.  The WBF gave her a way to meet other women and find an audience for her CD.

Mease’s book is sold through the Doylestown Bookstore, The Little Farm Store www.TheLittleFarmStore.com, and other local businesses plus the usual outlets like Amazon.

Mease can be reached through www.CheyenneMease.com and you can learn more about the WBF including monthly meetings at http://www.womensbusinessforum.org.

Mama’s Day! Special time of year! 

by Lisa Drew

Mother’s Day is a special time of year when we are celebrating our moms all across the country! What to do; where to go; what gifts should I get? Sometime’s this holiday can be stressful! Do you have a good relationship with your mom? Maybe you were raised by your grandmother, stepmother or foster parent; celebrate her! If your mom passed away, do something in her honor. Or maybe you are on the outs with your mom; use this Mother’s Day to make amends. Holding a grudge doesn’t do anyone any good. It causes stress which isn’t good for your heart. Celebrate the women in your life in a new and healthy light!

So, what should you do for Mother’s Day? Going out to brunch is usually a big hit! However, sometimes the food isn’t so healthy. If you go out to breakfast or brunch, always go for the fruit. If there is a veggie scramble or veggie quiche, go for it. Maybe you can ask for a veggie egg white omelet. Of course that’s the healthier route. This is one of those days where you should enjoy the special moments with your mom. If you don’t eat so healthy that’s okay. As long as you are enjoying the time you are spending together, that is what is most important. If you are eating not so healthy foods and having a horrible time, then there is an issue! If it’s come to the point where your mom is so overbearing, mean, and negative, etc. have a talk with her. If you are all talked out, it’s okay to distance yourself. I hope this isn’t the case. Ultimately, you have to do what is right for you in your heart!

On a happier note, what are some healthy gifts to give or send mom? You can never go wrong with flowers; they are beautiful and calorie free! Dark chocolate covered strawberries are great because they are filled with antioxidants and it’s the perfect sweet treat! A gift certificate for massage is wonderful too! Everyone should incorporate massage into their healthy lifestyle. It’s a great stress reducer and is good for the body. Most importantly, call your mom and tell her you love her. That will put a smile on her face! Smiles are infectious and natural mood lifters! What a great day! Happy Mother’s Day!

DO I REALLY NEED A WILL?

 When someone dies, what they leave behind is called the Estate.  The Estate is the total amount of property, whether personal or real, owned by the decedent at his or her death. Once a person dies, the estate is submitted to the probate court.  If there is a Will, the probate court will determine if the Will is valid and then oversee the administration of the estate by the Executor.  The Executor is the person appointed in the Will by the decedent to oversee the estate.  The Executor owes fiduciary duties to anyone who has an interest in the estate. What this means is that the Executor owes a duty of loyalty and must act in the best interests of the estate.  Included in this duty of loyalty, is a duty to act in good faith to manage estate assets and not to cause the estate to lose value. 

 Here’s where it gets dicey, what if there is no Will or the Will is determined to be invalid? The probate court will appoint an administrator and the decedent’s property will be distributed according to the State’s laws of inheritance.  Many people inaccurately believe that when they die, everything they have will automatically go to their surviving spouse. 

That’s not always the case. 

In Pennsylvania for instance, the surviving spouse gets the entire intestate estate only if there is no surviving issue (child, grandchild or great-grandchild) or parent of the decedent.  Let’s assume that there is surviving issue from the marriage.  In that case, the surviving spouse gets the first $30,000 plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate if there are children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren of the decedent all of whom are also issue of the surviving spouse. (Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a decedent who died as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a surviving spouse will be entitled to 100% of any compensation award paid pursuant to the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act).   

However, the intestate estate share to the surviving issue of the marriage, get distributed to the child(ren) regardless of their age, and without regard to when or how the inheritance gets used or distributed.  Typically, a Will establishes parameters or guidelines for when, what and how an inheritance is distributed to minors, especially.  Imagine what a 17 year old would do upon distribution of a significant inheritance after a parent has died?  A will with trust provisions for issue is capable of establishing guidelines such as the age of when an inheritance is distributed and the amount of to be distributed at each specified age to a child, grandchild or great-grandchild.  Further guidelines may be established for limited use of the money during a time the beneficiary is a minor, such as health, welfare and education of the minor before any distributions are made.

Doesn’t my surviving spouse get everything even if I had children from another marriage?

The simple answer is NO.  This is a common misconception when the decedent has children, for instance, from another marriage.  In that case, pursuant to Pennsylvania law, the surviving spouse gets one-half of the intestate estate if there is surviving issue of the decedent, one or more of whom are not the issue of the surviving spouse.  Under these circumstances, the surviving spouse will have to share the estate equally with the decedent’s children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren, whether from another marriage or adopted.

The right of a Widow to the entire estate of his/her deceased spouse depends on whether the decedent left issue (children, grand-children or great-grandchildren), and not on whether the surviving spouse had children in cases where the decedent did not have a will or the will was deemed to be invalid.

So why leave things for chance, or for a Court to determine who and how much will inherit when you die.  Having a will ensures that those you want to inherit from your estate when you die will do so and that your intentions are followed as opposed to those of a court.  Whether it be a spouse you want to take care of after your death, or a special needs child, or even a spend thrift child who may need some constraints as part of his or her inheritance, a will is the one way to make it happen.

Attorney Gladys Wiles from Snyder & Wiles, PC  focuses on personal injury cases, which almost always involve technical, medical and scientific questions. Gladys Wiles will prepare your case in conjunction with medical professionals, accident investigators, engineers, economists, and life care planners, as well as other experts, as needed.

Keeping the Tunes Spinning!

It’s Party and Event Season! Local Disc Jockey Scott Brandon offers thoughts and tips on hiring the best DJ for the job!

HIRING A PROFESSIONAL DISC JOCKEY       by DJ Scott Brandon

You’re planning a major celebration, and you want a professional DJ to provide the soundtrack.  With so many choices out there, you may wonder which DJ service you should choose. You may also be wondering, with today’s digital technology, if you should even hire a professional DJ in the first place.  Hopefully, this article will help answer your questions.

Let’s start with technology.  Yes, you can simply load a list of songs onto your computer or MP3 player and just let the music play.  So, let me ask you one question:  In the days before digital music, would you have loaded a record, cassette or CD player in lieu of hiring a professional DJ for the celebration you’re planning?  If your answer is no, then you also don’t want to let today’s components do a professional DJ’s job for your upcoming party.

Automated playlists can only do so much.  While most software automatically cross-fades songs, this is typically accomplished by timing the overlap in increments of seconds.  The problem with this is, due to the varying degrees of characteristics in each song, these timed segues either still leave dead air between songs, or will overlap inappropriately, resulting in a horrible combination.

Another area where automation falls inadequate is audio dynamics.  There are widely varying degrees of sound quality amongst the songs in a vast music library.  A professional DJ with a working knowledge of audio dynamics will not only adjust the overall volume appropriately, but will also have professional equipment such as graphic equalizers and/or dynamic range processors to keep the dynamic levels both audible and appropriate.

Professional DJs also pride themselves on skills such as beat matching.  This is the synchronizing of multiple songs’ beats per minute, allowing for uninterrupted dance music.  Only professional DJ software and/or equipment containing professional features like pitch/tempo manipulation, cuing and seamless looping, along with the professional DJ’s trained ear, make this possible.

Professional lighting, party games, props, and professional MC skills when necessary and/or appropriate, as well as programming your event’s itinerary (and relating said itinerary to your other professional vendors), are more skills a professional DJ brings to the table.  Another feature is multiple sound systems to enhance various parts of your celebration in different locations.

Price is a huge factor when deciding which professional DJ you should hire.  Keep in mind that a lot of circumstances, above those mentioned previously, determine a professional DJ’s price:  Is the business a solo-op or multi-op?  Do they have replacement DJs on standby in case of emergencies?  Do they carry liability insurance?  Is their music obtained legally?  How long have they been in the DJ, and/or other related fields (This also relates to the above-mentioned skills/knowledge)?

On some personal notes, after reading this article and comparing the info & customer feedback of various professional DJs, your best determining factor will be to schedule in-person interviews with a few DJs.  This is the only way to ensure your chosen DJ will be the right one for you.  You should avoid hiring a DJ who claims to have never disappointed a customer.  In order to have “achieved” that, they either are being dishonest, they haven’t been in the industry very long, or they don’t perform too frequently.  While nobody likes them, disappointments are a part of life experience.  Such experiences only help us to do better from that point on.

Image from WIGS on You Tube

WIGS is a new YouTube channel for fans craving original, dramatic series and short films. Want a sneak peek? Check out the sizzle reel.  Personally looking forward to the new series  Jan! Subscribe to the the Wigs You Tube Channel!  The future of entertainment is here! Premiering May 14, 2012

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