This Year, Let Charity Begin At Your Holiday Party

As the holiday party season comes into full swing, totalhomesupply.com has initiated a way to help the needy while still enjoying the spirit of the holidays. Hunger knows no season, and current economic conditions have left food pantries in dire need of donations. Total Home Supply is encouraging companies across the country to collect non-perishable goods at their annual holiday get-together and donate them to local food charities.

§ Talk to your party coordinator about setting up a box or a table where partygoers would be able to leave their donations. Ask them to email everyone who will attend the party about the food drive being held at the party. Have volunteers in place beforehand to remove the donations from the party for delivery to the chosen food pantry.

§ Animal shelters and pet pantries are also in desperate need. With the down economy, pet shelters are overwhelmed with family pets that have become too costly to keep. Some local communities have created pet pantries, where families receive donations of pet food and supplies, making it possible for the animals to remain in their homes, not end up in a shelter where their fate is undetermined. If your company is animal friendly, consider accepting donations for a local animal charity.

§ Most communities are also in the process of having coat drives for the homeless. Collecting warm winter coats at your party is another way of incorporating a charitable act into a night of fun and celebration.

§ If the idea of dealing with coats, cans of food or bags of kitty litter is not something your company can handle, there is always the donation jar. For charities, cash is a commodity always in short supply.

So, in the next few days, we invite you to send this blog post to anyone and everyone you know. If we can get even 10% of the people who read this to initiate a food drive at their holiday party, think of all the families that will be helped by this small act of kindness.

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Social Networkers: Use Facebook and MySpace to spread the idea:

Encourage your company to accept food items at your holiday party for donation to local food pantries. Click on the link below for details.

“Feed the hungry, then yourself: Make your holiday party a pay it forward event.”

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There is no greater feeling than helping one another. Begin this holiday season with a charitable act where so little can help so many.

Charlie Rangel: Sit Down & Shut Up

I'm sorry, but I've had enough of Charlie Rangel. He did wrong, he got caught. End of story.

I'm tired of hearing that he is a wounded war hero. Sorry Charlie, that is not the exclusive club you think it is. Everyday for the past 10 years, we have had our servicemen and women wounded. Yet when they come home, after all they have seen in war, they are expected to fit back into society. That means playing by the rules and being good citizens. Charlie, your constant whining about your war history over 50 years ago, is a slap in the face to those who have been in the thick of battle for 2, 3 or 4 tours of duty in a warzone.

It seems to me you've made a pretty good life for yourself. Definitely a lot better than our many veterans dealing with post-tramatic stress syndrome or severe brain injuries.

Granted, you have done many great things for your district. It would never have had the resurgence it has experienced without you. For that, and your military experience, we thank you for your service to our country. But enough already. You are not the wronged party. You made severe errors in judgement, and now feel these mistakes should all be erased because of who you are. Be glad you're not going to jail.

So stop crying and take it like the war hero you say you are. Stop disrespecting our serving military and save what little dignity you have left.

Something About January - Saturday at Webster Hall

I am a rocker. Granted nowadays I am an old rocker, but the spirit still does what the body bitches about. This Saturday, November 20 at Webster Hall in Manhattan, The Next Big Thing Tour will feature an up and coming band from Jersey called Something About January.



Now when I was a young(er) rocker, I did not rock alone. And my rocker-partner in crime for a lot of those nights is the mom of one of the band members. Her son was at a Springsteen show before he was born, so I guess the apple doesn't fall from the tree. Apparently, she is still rocking because she will be at the show.



Anyway, check out their new song "The Cities That Saved Us" on YouTube, and if you are in the area, check out the band.

The Toilet Paper Conspiracy

Have you noticed the size of a roll of toilet paper lately? A regular roll of TP now looks like a large wad of tissues. Not only has the girth shrunk down to half of what it used to be, the width is at least 1 1/4" shorter than before. I remember it would fit on my holder, and it would almost be filled end to end. Now I can move it back and forth with ease.

Buying regular sized rolls is a joke. They've become like vitamins...One A Day! Now you have double and even triple rolls. When they were first introduced, double rolls barely fit on the holder, now it seems, double rolls are what single rolls used to be. How much smaller can they make it? My theory is eventually they will discontinue regular sized rolls, and double rolls will be the "New, Larger Sized Regular Rolls". More for your money... I doubt it.

And, they're not getting any cheaper. And, do we really have a choice whether to buy or not to buy? I've become a crazy person, buying huge quantities when it's on sale, then trying to fit it someplace.

I just refuse to pay regular price for their regular rolls.

The Season Begins...yeah baby

So, I just went on the NY Yankees website. We got tickets to a game and I wanted to check out the seat location. Haven't been to the new stadium yet, so I'm really looking forward to it. Anyway, the countdown clock read 4 days and 8 minutes to first pitch. YES. There's new grass on the field. The world is new again. Happy Day.

Looking for the First Robin of Spring

So the week started with great promise. Spring training has officially started. This year's off season went relatively quickly. As we all know, the Yankees won the World Series (YAY), which took us into November. NY football was still alive well into January, and the Olympics have kept me busy the last couple of weeks. So, while the boys of summer are getting into shape (aah, let me just think on that a moment), there is still another month of dreariness before we start seeing the first signs of Spring.

It has been snowing for over 24 hours now. There is at least a foot of snow and our snowblower died. *$%#@#$!!!!! Today, my life officially sucks. Even my dog is unhappy. My brother had a dog, Truffles the beagle, who was dumb as a doorpost, but if you let him out, he did his business and came back in...no more than 5 minutes. I have never had a dog like that. Every dog I have ever had, needed to be walked. That's really my fault, as I always felt it was good for the dog, and me, to walk a couple of times a day. But snow really throws off their senses.

This morning we started out walking in the street, no sidewalks were shoveled. Well, she doesn't like walking in the street, so she kept pulling my arm out of the socket to try getting back to the sidewalk. Of course, her favorite places were too deep to get to, so we walked, and walked, and walked. I think most dog owners have been there. It is one of the joys of owning a dog. They are on there own time schedule, whether you like it or not.

Afterward, she gets to sleep all day, and I have to try not have my heart explode as I clear the sidewalk...so the princess can go for her afternoon walk.

It's February, Why Don't You Own A Snowshovel By Now?

I'm baaack. Was away for a little while, if you hadn't noticed. And, what do I want to talk about? The weather, again. So last weekend the NYC area was supposed to get hit with a major storm, and a lot of the East Coast did get a lot of snow. But here, nothing, nada, not a freaking flake. We normally go to the Poconos most weekends, but with the forecast of a major storm, we stayed home to take care of the property.

So Friday, I normally go food shopping. I expected it to be a bit crowded with the snow and Super Bowl weekend, but Shop Rite was insane. The first mention of snow and people revert back to Pioneer days mentality. Do you not think you'll be able to get out of your house in 24 hours or so? Apparently not, because everyone and his uncle was in the store buying enough milk, juice and water to survive the entire winter.

And the people lining up at Home Depot. It's February...how do you not have a snow shovel by now? It's the Northeast, there is no way you are getting through the winter without the need for a snow shovel!

Now, tonight they are calling for another major storm. This one looks like it might actually drop a lot of snow. Fun. Nice to look at, a pain in the ass to deal with. Whatever, like everything else you just have to deal with it.

Gotta go now, need to go to the store to stock up.