The Week Ahead

Here is what I've been trying to post on the Examiner.com website for the past hour with no luck:

Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Dec. 16-22
　

What's happening this week for families in South Jersey:
(all are free unless otherwise noted)

　

Monday

• Lego League at the Moorestown Library at 4 p.m.
• Night Owls story time at the Cherry Hill Library at 7 p.m.

Tuesday

• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Deptford at 10 a.m.
• Espresso Yourself at The Treehouse Coffee Shop in Audubon at 10 a.m. A $5 donation to support local creative arts is suggested.
• Story time at Pottery Barn Kids in Marlton at 11 a.m.
• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Cherry Hill at 11 a.m.
• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Moorestown at 11 a.m.

Wednesday

• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Deptford at 10 a.m.
• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Marlton at 11 a.m.
• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Moorestown at 11 a.m.
• Free Family Films: This is Us at the Cherry Hill Library at 4 p.m.

Thursday

• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Deptford at 10 a.m.
• Kids Club at Deptford Mall at 10 a.m.
• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Cherry Hill at 11 a.m.

Friday

• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Moorestown at 11 a.m.

Saturday

• Legos and Games at the Moorestown Library all day.
• Calendar Craft at the Moorestown Library all day.
• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Marlton at 11 a.m.
• Songs of the Season Saturdays on the Boulevard at Voorhees Town Center from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Sunday

• Storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Cherry Hill at 3 p.m.

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Best Penguin Day Ever

My little one loves penguins. One of his goals is to work with them someday. So, of course, we had to visit Adventure Aquarium this weekend for African Penguin Awareness Weekend.

He brought along Puff Puff, his only stuffed African penguin (most of his penguins are Emperors), for the visit. As soon as we arrived, he almost ran to Penguin Island to see his friends, noticing Cassie, the 10-month-old, right away. He pulled out his notepad and started drawing a picture of the dark grey penguin, who stayed still in a pose the entire time.

He soon led us around the rest of the aquarium, meeting the new crocodiles, saying hi to Tortuga, and watching as a fish took a ride on a ray's back. On our way to see the sharks from the Kids Zone upstairs, we found penguin activities in the hall outside the theater.

He first made a little sign for Puff Puff to carry. Then, he made a penguin rubbing, giving the penguin "robot legs." I'm not sure if Mark, the senior biologist observing the project, understood my child was mixing his other marine love, dolphins, with penguins. See, he fell in love with dolphins after visiting and learning about Winter (a dolphin who, to a six-year-old at least, has a "robot" tail) at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Between the penguin art session and the penguin meet-and-greet, we had time to visit the sharks. At the meet-and-greet, we met Chickpea. My son mostly observed how Chickpea played, asking every once in a while, "Isn't he so cute?" He came up with real questions to ask the biologists, I think purely to attempt a conversation.

Before leaving, he got an I Love Penguins wristband for Puff Puff. It reminded him of the identifying tags the penguins at the aquarium wear, and thought Puff Puff would want to wear one just like his buddies. He was beaming the rest of day, and said before falling asleep that it was the best day ever.

Warrior Watch

Today, I climbed a Warped Wall. Granted, I climbed it from the opposite end the competitors on "American Ninja Warrior" climb it, but considering there were steps only half-way up, it was still a challenge.

Why did I do this? I was taking video to accompany my latest article on the local guys in the finals. Notice how I said "guys." The Movement Lab had an amazing eight guys make the finals. Only 15 from each of the four regions make it to the finals, and this gym trained eight of them.

To learn more, read my article (and watch the two videos) for The Trentonian: BurlCo’s Wilczewski reaches finals of ‘Ninja Warrior’

You can also check out my article from the start of this season: New Jersey ninjas show off athletic skills on TV

WrestleMania Day

In case you haven't heard, tonight is WrestleMania! To help The Trentonian celebrate, I got the opportunity to interview WWE personality Paul Heyman, a promoter/manager/genius. Here is that article:

New York native Heyman brings his ‘guys’ to WrestleMania

Heyman is not the first WWE personality I've interviewed... in fact, quite a few have a role in the biggest show of the year. Here's who I've talked with and the articles for a quick refresher:

A.J. Lee (will escort the challengers to the Tag Team Championship to the ring)
Dolph Ziggler (one of the challengers to the Tag Team Championship)
The Bella Twins (in a mixed tag team match)



My work attire for the night

While it is in New Jersey, I don't have tickets, but will be part of The Trentonian's WrestleMania Chat during the event. You can join the chat on the The Trentonian's website or Facebook page.

The Month Ahead: April

There are free (and nearly free) things to do every month in South Jersey. Check this calendar (and the weekly articles listed below) for events near you.

Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: April 1-7
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: April 8-14
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: April 15-21


To add an event, email me at sjfrugalfamily@yahoo.com.

To Oz? To Oz!

In case it was not abundantly clear already, I am a huge fan of "The Wizard of Oz." So, of course, I had to see "Oz The Great And Powerful" on opening day.

I was concerned the movie wouldn't live up to its name. I was concerned going on opening day- which happens to also be an important day in my life- would be a mistake.

Although the theater I was in had rows of empty seats, "Oz" topped the box office this weekend, making $80 million.

See what I thought of the movie in my review on HubPages.


What else have I been doing?

• CBS: Top Ways To Celebrate Women’s History Month 2013 In Philadelphia
• Examiner: Easy hat crafts honor Dr. Seuss

It's obvious I've been neglecting this site lately. On the positive side, it means I've been busy.

I'm happy say that since mid-November, I've been getting more assignments than usual for CBS Local Media. One, in fact, published today (Top Spots For Men's Haircuts in Philadelphia) and a couple more are set to be published later this month.


Examiner.com has seen my byline on resolution and money-saving articles for the new year. I look forward to writing about ways to make money out of the new year clean-up.

I've also found time to write on Hubpages about an issue very important to me. Too many people in New Jersey neglect to see pedestrians, and even scarier, the crossing guards trying to stop traffic so children can safely cross. Here is my first Hub in what I hope to develop into a series to help educate fellow drivers, as well as pedestrians: Pedestrian in the crosswalk? NJ drivers could care less about them and the law.

This is also hockey season, and this year both of my boys are playing. That means a good amount of my weekends are spent at an outdoor hockey rink, or getting ready to go to one. It also means a lot of post-game hot chocolate!

Hopefully, I won't be a stranger in 2013...

As always, thanks for reading!

The Month Ahead: January

There are free (and nearly free) things to do every month in South Jersey. Check this calendar (and the weekly articles listed below) for events near you.

Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Dec. 31-Jan. 6
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Jan. 7-13

To add an event, email me at sjfrugalfamily@yahoo.com.