Sacramento, CA

As I was sitting and enjoying a cup of Ginger Snappish tea this morning, it occurred to me that I never told anyone about the Gingerbread Houses that are currently on display at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum. Every December, people are invited to design their own glorious gingerbread creations to be displayed and judged at the Schoolhouse. Anyway, judging for this year is long past–it was on December 8th. However, the delectable creations are still on display through Sunday, December 23rd.

In any case, it’s the perfect opportunity to escape reality for a few moments when you start to get too stressed out. With only a scant few days left before Christmas, God knows we’re ALL feeling at least a little bit stressed out. There are presents still to be bought and wrapped, cleaning to be done, cookies to be baked, groceries to be bought, anxiety that Uncle Joe and Aunt Mary will get drunk and fight AGAIN…and well, you get the picture I’m sure! As for me, I’m STILL not done making my sister’s Christmas gift and she’s coming tonight so I’m not quite sure that I’ll be able to finish it without her knowing what it is. *ARGGGG!!!!!!*

The point is that we could all use a little bit of a break and I can’t think of anything better than to escape to a land where houses are made of candy and children’s innocence lives on unchecked. If you can’t manage to escape for even a couple minutes, then I reccommend you check out Mary MacIntyre’s page. She has a couple of other really brilliant ideas for how to relax amidst all of the stress this season inevitably brings with it.

And if that doesn’t work, you can always try getting a tad bit drunk

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It just isn’t Christmas until you’ve seen at least one performance of The Nutcracker Ballet. I don’t know if it’s the appeal of a dream world where fantasy can become reality or the irresistable pull of Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, but there is just something so devestatingly sweet about this ballet that renders it both heartbreaking for the innocence that we have lost yet soothing for the innocence that it awakens in us anew. Whatever the reason, it is one of those stories from my youth that I just can’t leave behind this time of year.

Lucky for all of us fanatics of nostalgia here in Sacramento, we don’t have to leave it behind. We get to embrace it annually without fear that it wno’t be around next year. We are forever safe in the knowledge that Ron Cunningham’s version of The Nutcracker has been playing at the Sacrmaneot Ballet for two decades and that it shall likely continue for at least two more. (After all, if ain’t broke don’t fix it!!!) Yet somehow I still almost forgot about it this year which would have REALLY broken my heart. Thankfully, there are still seven shows remaining. Two of them are today–the 12:00PM matinee performance and the evening performance which will start at 4:00PM. The next will be on Friday, December 21st at 7:00PM. Two more will follow on December 22nd–one at 2:00PM and one at 7:00PM. Then, the final two performances will be on December 23rd at 12:00PM and 4:00PM respectively. To my knowledge, there are still tickets reamining for all of these times. Seats range in price from $25.00 to $65.00 per person. All performances will be held at the Sacramento Community Center Theater which is located at 1301 L Street. Have fun and let the dancers carry you away with them to the Kingdom of the Sweets!

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For me, the Christmas season is the perfect excuse to become a child again. It’s even EASY because there are always all kinds of activities to help you relive those lost days when everything was viewed with innocent wonder. In fact, it’s as easy as a trip to Old Sacramento today.

The fun will begin at Stage Nine Entertainment Store, Inc from 12:00PM to 4:00PM. Stage Nine will be celebrating the 55th Anniversary of Disney’s Peter Pan with a couple of special guests of honor. Kathryn Beaumont–the voice of both Wendy and Alice–and Margaret Kerry–the original model for Tinkerbell–will both be present ot help celebrate. Tim Rogerson will also be unveiling his newest Sacramento-themed Disney piece, Flying Over Sacramento. In the painting, the characters are depicted flying over Sacramento’s Tower Bridge instead of London’s classic bridge. Canvas editions of the painting will be available for $395.00 and lithographs will also be sold for $119.00. They may sound expensive, but I can guarantee that their value–both monetary and sentimental–will explode as everything else Disney is wont to do. In addition, they will be collecting gifts for needy children so that you can help to make it just as special for someoen else as it is for you.

If you’re not comfortable with the blatantly childish, there is also something a bit more subtle to attract your attention in Old Sacramento today–the Capital City Yacht Club’s Annual Holiday Lighted Boat Parade. All decorated boats are welcome to join in the parade regardless of whether you are a member of the Yacht Club. If you’re like me and you’d rather just watch, then you can do so from one of two points. The boats will meet up at Miller Park at 6:00PM and will then travel down the river to Old Sacramento at around 7:00PM. The best viewing areas are of course on the waterfront and on board the Delta King so you will want to find a spot early on. Anyway, I’m sure it will be just as good as Disney’s Fantasmic so you can be a kid again without admitting to it!

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I don’t know about the rest of you, but one of my all time favorite parts of Christmas is getting to share all of the classic stories with the next generation. The Polar Express has always been one of my favorites–the BOOK mind you and NOT the movie. Anyway, I’m pretty excited because the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento is hosting the very first West Coast appearance of the Polar Express Train Ride. On this special train ride, the classic tale will be told and brought to life anew as you travel to the North Pole to see Santa Claus. Santa will even be giving special gifts to all of the children on board the train. To completely surround you in the wonders of a child’s innocence, they will even be serving hot chocolate!

If you can’t get tickets–because they are rather hard to find right now–don’t fret too much. After all, they have recently announced that they will be continuing this new tradition next year as well. Tickets for 2008 will go on sale on October 1st, 2008 and are expected to sell just as quickly as these ones have. In any case, it is one of those things that you just shouldn’t miss out on during the holiday season…like driving around to look at Christmas lights or ice skating under a star filled sky so that even “though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe.”

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The Westfield Downtown Plaza Ice Rink has been open sicne November 1st and I didn’t even know it. This makes me sad to think of how many times I could have been out there already. It’s the only outdoor ice skating rink in Sacramento and it’s pretty much the single most awesome thing that you can do in these parts during the winter. Granted, the rink isn’t the greatest I’ve ever skated at and the employees can be a bit horrible, but there’s just something magical about skating under the open night sky that is just unimaginably incredible to those who’ve never done it before. It’s even one of those things that just gets better and better every time you do it.

The rink is conveniently located next to the K Street Mall so you can even stop by on a break from your holiday shopping at a mall that isn’t as overly crowded as Arden Fair is every year! During holiday hours, they are open everyday from 10AM to 10PM with the hours varying a little bit before December 10th and after December 30th. It is also incredibly cheap at only $6.00 per person for two hours of skating, plus a $2.00 rental fee if you don’t have your own skates. I have heard a lot of people complain about the availability of skates before so be advised taht you might want to bring your own if you have them. Also be advised that they only accept cash–weird I know given that we live in the age of credit. Anyway, go out and have a lot of fun. just don’t end up like this poor lady…

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Lately, the city has been exerting extensive effort towards rennovating these historic areas of Downtown with mixed results. I have noticed that when they fail it is usually because of lack of community involvement and awareness. They try to keep the people in the dark and then everything ends up being one giant f**k up. Thankfully, they seem to have taken a much different approach to rennovating one of the most historic areas of Downtown Sacramento.

One of the things that Sacramento is most known for is its history as a railroad town. In particular, it is the birthplace of the Central Pacific Railroad’s contributions to the Transcontinental Railroad. For years, the area surrounding the downtown railyards has fallen into disuse and succumbed to the same sort of degeneration that sadly so often happens in big cities. However, it was recently decided to extend the city’s efforts to clean up the downtown area to include the railyard. Furthermore, plans for reviatlization include the addition of a main thoroughfare for shops and boutiques which will bring business to the area and hopefully keep it clean for years to come.

The best part though is that the developer, Thomas Enterprises, is letting the community become a part of the project in a way that is creative and fun. They are holding a contest to name the streets that will run through the area. They will be looking for names that “represent the character of the Sacramento region and reflect our historic past” while also creating “a fresh, contemporary feel” to fully embody what Sacramento has become–a place of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Of course, some people will be upset because there is no monetary prize for “winning.” However, I think that you get something much better from entering the contest–a chance to be a part of living history. You get to truly be a part of Sacramento itself and I don’t think anyone could argue for a better gift than that!

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After a rather dry October, there are *gasp* actually a few concerts scheduled for November. Sadly, due to the weather, none of them are at Sleeptrain and concert-goers will be forced to endure the crowds at Arco Arena instead. The first one scheduled is for the live tour of So You Think You Can Dance. The top ten finalists including the winner–Sabra–will perform on Saturday Novemeber 24th at 8:00PM. Doors will open at 7:00PM with the parking lot available starting at 6:00PM. Tickets range in price from $35.00 for the upper levels to $54.50 for seating on the lower levels or the main floor, so it’s really not going to be all that expensive.

The next concert of the month will be the following day (Sunday, Novemeber 25th) when the Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be having two different performances at Arco Arena. The first will be at 3:00PM and the second at 7:30PM. Tickets begin at $35.50 for the upper level and go to $49.50 for the lower level and the main floor. Their Winter Tour is an incredible tribute to the Christmas Season which I would highly reccommend everyone to see at least once in their lifetime. They employ a special combination of rock and roll and classical music that somehow manages to create the most unique and beautiful synthesis that I’ve ever heard. If you can’t afford to go to one of the concerts, at least stop by and pick up a CD or two from your local Wal-Mart. (I would personally reccommend A Mad Russian’s Christmas!!) They’re only around $5.00 and the website has samples of their songs that you can listen too. I promise you won’t be disappointed, instead becoming just as fascinated and as enthralled with them as I am.

Arco Arena will also be hosting Van Halen on Tuesday November 27th. Tickets for the 7:30PM concert range in price from $49.50 for the upper levels to $149.50 for the main floor. I’ll be the first to admit that I would love to see Van Halen. Furthermore, I know I’m not the only corny girl out there who still adores Pretty Woman. However, I just can’t bring myself to advise anyone to pay that much to see them. I’ve been very disillusioned the past couple of years by older rock bands who just don’t sound the same anymore–*cough* The Rolling Stones at the Super Bowl *cough*–and I don’t think it’s fair for them to charge so much only to let our expectations fall flat. Perhaps I’m being too cynical, but I just don’t think it’s worth the risk for that price. Sometimes, I think it’s just better to let bygones be bygones…

The final Arco Arena concert for Novemeber will be on Friday, November 30th. 107.9 The End is putting on their annual Jingle Ball show. This year, the Sacramento lineup will include Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Plain White T’s, and Cute is What We Aim For. Tickets range in price from $29.25 to $34.25. Granted, this is a pretty good deal and Fall Out Boy is inarguably amazing. However, I would reccommend that you save your pennies and go the second Jingle Ball instead. It’s going to be at the Stockton Arena on December 1st. They have a much better lineup (in my opinion anyway) for around the same price. Avril Lavigne, OneRepublic, Sean Kingston, and Natasha Bedingfield will be performing at that concert. The tickets are a couple dollars more and it is certainly a lot farther to drive, but it’ll still be worth the extra effort!

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Okay, so I know this is going to sound totally malicious and evil but I just couldn’t help but laugh at how far the mighty have fallen. I’m talking of course about the Sacramento Kings whose longtime sold-out record was shattered on Tuesday–officially dethroning them from a title they have been building since 1999. Until Tuesday, the Kings had a 354 home game streak of sold-out games. Not only have they fallen, they have fallen HARD. Instead of being sold-out, their opening game has the record for the lowest attended opening game in the NBA this season.

Melody Gutierrez at the Sacramento Bee wrote a really graet article about it today. She listed all kinds of reasons that sellers have been giving for the severe decline in ticket sales. All the usual suspects were there–you know, not being in the playoffs last year for the first time in ages, poor organization in the advertising department, etc, etc. However, I think it’s safe to say that we all know the REAL reason they can’t sell tickets anymore–and it has nothing to do with any of the lies they’ve been spewing.

Frankly, it’s because the fans have become disenchanted as a result of arrogance which the team has displayed over the past year or so. The entire franchise let itself get way too big headed this past year. First there was that whole issue with wanting the city to pay for a new arena when Arco Arena is perfectly fine. Everyone knew they just wanted to have a bigger arena so they could sell-out with an even higher number of tickets. After all, goodness knows 17,317 tickets per game just isn’t enough! They just wanted to make more money and have the tax payers pay to let them do so.

When you add to that the fact that they didn’t make it to the playoffs, it really just adds further insult to injurey. I know this will sound stupid, but a lot of people I know stopped going to the games this year because they took the loss as a personal offense. To them, it was almost as if the Kings had lost on purpose because they hadn’t gotten their way. It was like a way to punish their fans. Now, I know this is illogical–but then when have the masses EVER been known for their superior grasp of logic?

Personally I think this is the funniest thing ever. I think that athletes NEED reality checks and that they don’t get them nearly often enough. Frankly, I think it’s hillarious when they have their plans and pathways shattered because they seem so shocked about it. Their gigantic egos won’t allow them to accept–or even really understand–what has happened to them. Then they try to explain it away as someone else’s fault. In the end, the spectacle is just the most entertaining part of professional sports.

For me, this was almost like the proverbial icing on the cake. After all, at the end of last year, the Sacramento Monarchs just had a spectacular dethroning at the end of this past season too!!! I know that sounds mean, but it’s just nice to know they’re still human too you know? Besides, reality checks are motivational. I mean look at the Kings–they WON on Tuesday…

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All of a sudden, it seems like I’ve hit the Halloween jackpot! With the discovery of Scream Extreme in Citrus Heights, I also stumbled across an amazing site that has links to haunted attractions all around the country! In doing so I discovered several more in the Sacramento area–which I will be posting information about over the next couple of days. Thankfully, they should all be open for business due to extended hours of operation just before Halloween.

One of them in particular caught my eye because it’s “rated R.” Most of the others were at least child friendly for brave children. However, this one specifically warns against bringing them in at all. In fact, GYRO’s 3D Fear Factory has warnings for many people, declaring that it “is an authentic simulation of many grotesque and shocking events. It is not recommended for people with heart problems, recent surgery, pregnancy,or frequent nausea. Chidlren and senior citizens are not encouraged to attend.”

In honor of Halloween, the Fear Factory has taken over 100,000 square feet of the Westfiled Downtown Plaza mall at 547 L Street. There are two separate haunted houses–Rob Zombie’s “The Devil’s Playground” and “Toxic Terror.” Both of them look suitably terrifying to make even the biggest horror fanatics tremble in terror. (Not that this should really come as a surprise to anyone since Rob Zombie is pretty much the Lord of Gruesomeness!)

The Fear Factory will be open today and tomorrow from 7:00PM to midnight, making it the perfect Halloween activity for those of us who are without children to take trick-or-treating. I think it’s wonderful that Sacramento has so many opportunities for single adults to go and have a good time–in a lot of smaller cities, people aren’t that lucky. On the same note though, admission is a little bit expensive. Tickets are $17.95 per person. However, if you purchase them from Rob Zombie’s Monster Shop at the mall, then they will give you a free T-Shirt. Remember to be safe and have fun…and don’t let the monsters get you!!!

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Throughout the entire month, I’ve been scouring the internet looking for something truly scary to do in honor of Halloween. Up until now, I haven’t been able to find anything other than the corn maze in Dixon–and let’s face it, that’s only scary if you’re bad at reading maps and have seen Children of the Corn one too many times! I was beginning to despair that haunted houses and other such things that go bump in the night were a thing of the past. Then, almost as if by magic, I stumbled across one in our own backyard, The Scream Extreme “Stitches” Haunted Attraction in Citrus Heights.

The Scream Extreme features three different scare zones. They seem to be pretty secretive about the scenes themselves–neither of their websites even hints at what their themes are. However, they do have some pretty wicked pictures up on their myspace page of some of the grisly characters you are likely to encounter. Of them all, my personal favorite is the adult interpretation of Linda Blair in The Exorcist. They’re all pretty realistic looking and some of them could be downright terrifying given the right environment.

On that note, I would advise that you not bring young and impressionable minds to Scream Extreme. They do not allow children under 13 to go without an adult, so that may be an indicator of whether or not younger children should go at all. However, remember that your judgement is still probably the best there is since you know your kids best. If you think they can handle it, then by all means take them along. I always got to go to our local haunted house back home when I was a kid and it was the best fun I had all year!

This year, they have a new location at the former Room Source building at 5961 Birdcage Centre Lane. It is open everyday through Halloween from 7:00PM to 10:00PM. Tickets are $13.00, but they do have a discounted price of $10.00 each if you purchase at least eight tickets. The best part is that if you purchase your tickets online, you don’t have to wait in the same line as everyone else. This is completely wonderful since it is a pretty popular attraction given that it’s really the only one of its kind here in the Sacramento area.

The very best part though is that 100% of the proceeds will go to aiding children with autism in our public schools. If you don’t know what autism is, I suggest you check out Marcie’s page, Discussing Autism. My high school best friend’s little brother is autistic and it is heartwrenching to see all of the aspects of his life that are made complicated by this. Even Halloween can be a challenge for his mother. However, Marcie has some great tips on how to make it manageable and still let the kids be kids. In addition, her page is riddled with a million and one reasons to make you want to help–even if it is only in something as small as the admission price to a haunted house…

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There is nothing more befitting the Halloween spirit than a horror movie. Usually, during this time of year, there are tons of them to choose from. Sadly, this year my beloved horror movies are–for the most part–strangely absent from the theater. I was beginning to fall into a deep well of despair when I saw an ad on tv last night for the latest installment in the Saw franchise.

I was so excited for three reasons. The first is that it means there is actually going to be a horror movie in theaters in time for Halloween which I really didn’t think would happen. The second is that it is a part of a franchise that has become very dear to me. I know it’ll be good because the others have been as well. Finally, the thing I’m most looking forward to is the sheer level of innovation that these films continually deliver. I consider myself to be something of a horror movie expert. I almost always know the endings long before the half way point happens because they’re so formulaic after you’ve seen as many of them as I have. The first Saw film was the first movie in a VERY LONG TIME that I didn’t anticipate the ending to. In fact, I was so shocked that I’m still kind of reeling from it after all of this time. Furthermore, it’s one of those franchises that has somehow managed to retain its sparkle and creativity through all three movies so far. And Saw IV looks to be no different…

…I’m not going to lie, that is seriously fabulous. I’ve been craving something magnificently grotesque this Halloween season, but until now not even something as seriously twisted as a ballet about the Donner Party could sate my morbid appetitie. The best part though is that it will be playing at the good theater, Century Stadium 14 on Ethan Way. There are a ton of different showings, but they’re all probably going to be very busy as well since it is so close to Halloween now so you might want to buy your tickets online.

If dealing with the crowds isn’t really your type of thing–and believe me there will be TONS of people out and about–then there is an alternative option for you too this Halloween. You can always run down to Blockbuster and pick up and oldy but goodie. Liz at Cinema Hype wrote a wonderful review that reminded me of one of my favorites–The Ninth Gate. It’s another one of those creative masterpieces that keep you guessing until the end. Plus, it has Johnny Depp in it, so really, how could you go wrong?

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This won’t be my normal type of Music on Mondays post because, sadly, there aren’t any scheduled concerts for October. However, the Sacramento Ballet is putting on A Woman’s Journey: The Tamsen Donner Story which I think is quite fitting for the Halloween season.

The show is a special brain child of the Sacramento Ballet’s Art Director for the past twenty years–Ron Cunningham. The ballet has been a work in progress for the past thirty years and Sacramento is to be treated with it’s world premiere on Thursday October 25th at 7:30PM. It tells the story of the infamous Donner family as told through the journal entries of Tamsen Donner.Their infamy stems from centuries of accusations suggesting that the family resorted to cannibalism while they were trapped in the mountains on their way to California. The sheer gruesomeness of such a deed makes it ample “entertainment” of the Halloween sort–especially when considering that the characters involved are real.

In the same token, scientists have reently begun debating the validity of these accusations. Thus, it will be extremely interesting to see which direction Cunningham takes with his ballet. My personal opinion is that the cannibalism will have to be dealt with since his inspiration was from the diary of Tamsen Donner. The allegations of cannibalism stem from letters and diaries from the party so to base a ballet and completely omit it would be absurd at best. In any case, it is efinitely worth checking out just on the chance that cannibalism will be an issue. There is little else in the world that can so readily remind us that human beings are also animals and can be just as barbaric and inhuman as any other creature. In short, it is a perfect Halloween activity for those of us who want something a little bit more frightening than pumpkin patches and corn mazes…

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According to Guinness World Records, the world’s largest corn maze is now located at Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon, CA!!! The farm is run by the Cooley brothers who started their pumpkin patch in 2000. The corn maze itself has grown progessively every year, now spanning across more than 40 acres. The brothers refer to it as “a kind of test…[where] you have to have enough patience and problem-solving skills to make it through…enough resolve to solve the puzzle and get out.”

The Sacramento Bee eloquently referred to the maze as ” an emerald green world of 7-foot cornstalks and damp clay walkways, where visitors can see only to the next turn, and disembodied voices float through the air.” The owner himself admits to reluctance to enter the center of the maze where the twisting pathways are the darkest and most confusing! As if this weren’t enough to make you suitably terrified, they even allow people to enter the maze at night for an extra bit of eeriness. The combination makes it the perfect activity to get the whole family into the Halloween spirit.

There are also a plethora of other family activities aside from the gargantuan corn maze. To begin with, there is a small one acre corn maze for the little kids to enjoy. They have a $3.00 hay ride as well as Big Tricycles and Pedal Karts to ride around the pumpkin farm. They are also hosting a Scarecrow Contest. There are already some pretty terrifying–and amazing–pictures up of some of the entrants on their website. And, of course, the highlight of the day is picking out the perfect speciman from the pumpkin patch to trasform into your Halloween Jack-O-Lantern. You might want to pick up an extra pumpkin to do a little baking. Jackie at Kids Dish has an amazing recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies up that I am already addicted to. They are relatively healthy and still manage to be absolutely delicious!

When you set out to obtain your perfect baking pumpkin, make sure that you enter the pumpkin patch at either 8550 Currey Road or 8700 Sievers Road both of which can be accessed from I-80, about 30 minutes west of Sacramento. The farm is open every day until October 31st from 9:00AM to 9:00PM. Be sure to bring your own falshlight if you will be entering the maze in the evening and plan on spending anywhere from one hour to three hours inside the maze depending on how good your navigational skills are. Also, you may want to keep in mind that the weather here is still likely to be wet during the early part of the week. However, the weather is set (fingers-crossed anyway!) to warm up a bit when the sun comes out this weekend so I’d recommend that you plan to embark on your adventure Saturday-ish. Have a wonderful time and be on the lookout for other fabulously frightening things to do this Halloween season!

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There aren’t really very many concerts scheduled for the remainder of October. The biggest one is probably going to be the Sacramento stop of the Revolve Tour at Arco Arena. The Revolve Tour is a weekend long event for teenaged girls who are in 6th-12th grade. It is a Christian conference sponsored by Women of Faith. The conference features music, drama, and life-stories geared towards helping girls to establish or further develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Some of the big names who will be there include Natalie Grant, Ayiesha Woods, and Laura Wilkinson. The conference begins on Friday October 19th at 7:00PM and will continue through Saturday October 20th at 9:00AM. Individual tickets cost $69.00 though they do offer a $10.00 discount for groups of ten or more. You can register by calling 877-9-REVOLVE or by visiting their website. Group registration needs to be made at 800-778-5856 x214 or by email at rraju@revolvetour.com. If you mention the code ARCO, they will give you $10.00 off per person.

You might also want to check in at your local church to see if they have any spare tickets from people who have cancelled. I know that my parents’ church usually offers these at a last minute discounted rate. I’m fairly sure that other churches do the same as tickets are non-refundable. In any case, I would definitely recommend sending your daughters if you can afford it. My mom and I always go to Women of Faith together and it is just such a wonderful experience that I know you won’t regret it!

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Weather.com is forecasting another wet week for us here in Sacramento, with a high chance of showers through Wednesday. I’m admittedly the last person in the world who would complain about this–I adore the rain and wish it would rain every day. However, I know that the weather will produce all kinds of mischief in children who are bored and have nothing better to do. (It’ll do the same for some adults out there too for that matter!) Thus, I’ve put together a few ideas for fun things that you can do with your children to keep you from driving each other absolutely insane.

The first is simply to get them out of the house so they can’t destroy it Cat in the Hat style. My personal reccommendation would be to cart them off to Fairfield to tour the Jellybelly Factory. It would make an excellent selection for three reasons. The first is that it is a walking tour through a factory–what better way could there be to tire out your kids and let them vent all of their pent up energy? The second is that admission is free so that everyone can have fun without straining the bank accounts too much. The best part though is that it is in Fairfield and not too close to the city itself. It’s about 45 minutes away which makes it close enough to drive and yet far enough away that it probably won’t be too busy or crowded–especially during the weekdays!

If you don’t want to leave the house, then you could always find something creative and time consuming to keep their little minds busy. My personal choice would be scrapbooking. Kids of all ages love arts and crafts projects–especially ones that involve pictures of themselves. They may not get tired out from it, but since it is so time-consuming this is not likely to matter very much. Plus, Teresa McClary has some really wonderful ideas up here at (Scr)apropos so you won’t have to go searching too far for page layout ideas. Her site also has a variety of digital how-to videos that–as I know from personal experience–will help prevent a ton of stress and guarantee that everyone has more fun in the long run…

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