Our upcoming camping trip or rather "glamping"

I do not come from a long line of campers.  If anything, my family (myself included) can sometimes be a hotel snob.  We like to save money and get the best deal, but I remember more than one time switching hotels if it wasn't up to par.  So what has my 6 year old son been clambering to do for the past two years?  Go camping, of course.  Luckily, my brother does enjoy camping, like real camping, in a tent in the woods and everything.  So our plan was to have my son first go camping in the backyard so that he could work his way up to going camping with my brother.

But a couple of months ago, I was browsing online when I found Lake in Wood Campground.  This campground had everything that I could hope for with our family of two kids: two playgrounds, outdoor swimming pool, kiddie pool, covered swimming pool, mini golf, hay rides, fire engine rides, hiking trails, bingo, arcade, restaurant and of course a lake for fishing! 
 
Plus it is located in Pennsylvania Dutch Country and I love the Amish :) 

Yes, I know they don't like having their pictures taken, I didn't take the pic! :b

You can go to Lake In Wood Campground to go camping in a tent, use your RV or rent one of their Unique Rentals.

Unique is definitely the word, you can choose from a Caboose, a Treehouse, a Yurt, a Ship, a Covered wagon and more.  We decided to go a little less unique and chose a cabin.  This is where the "glamping" part of the camping comes in.  We're staying at the Lake View Cabin. 

The Lake View Cabin was actually our second choice, but our first choice was already booked.  Therefore it's actually a little bigger than we actually need. It sleeps 2 adults and 4 children (we only have two).  But the sleeping arrangements for 2 kids includes two bunk beds, so now I won't have the hassle of dealing with my kids arguing who sleeps where.  If they both want to sleep on the top they can (not really, because my three year old would fall right off, I'm hoping they both choose to sleep on the bottom).  The cabin also includes a bathroom, refrigerator, coffeemaker, toaster, gas grill, microwave, TV and Air Conditioner.  Now that's my kind of roughing it :b Truthfully the cost is not that cheap, we could have easily gotten a hotel in the area for less, but it's a great way to introduce my family (and me!) to camping and there is so much to do that I think we're going to have a wonderful trip!

I'm a Thirty-One Consultant!

That's right, a couple of weeks ago I signed up to become a Thirty-One Consultant. I already sell Tastefully Simple, which is so yummy, but I really love the bags and totes and storage solutions from Thirty-One that I couldn't resist the 25% discount that I'll get. Plus, I think it will be a great way for me to earn some extra cash over the summer and hopefully meet some wonderful ladies.

As a social worker, I love helping my community, so my first party will be a fundraiser for Exceptional Care for Children in Newark, Delaware.  Exceptional Care for Children or ECC is Delaware's only 24-hour skilled pediatric nursing facility for transitional or long-term care.  ECC provides top-quality pediatric care in a home-like setting, so the children don't feel like they are in a hospital.  If you would like to learn more about Exceptional Care for Children, please visit www.exceptionalcare.org From this party, I will be donating my 25% profit. If you're interesting in purchasing something while making a difference, please visit: ECC's Thirty-One Fundraiser.

I will also be sharing with you some of the awesome items that I have and hopefully give you some suggestions to help organize and simplify your life. One of my most recent items is the Large Utility Tote in the Minty Chip print which I had personalized with "To Grow Into". This is to help me store the clothes that my 6 year old son has grown out of, but my 3 year old son is not yet big enough for. I was also able to purchase the new Top-a-Tote in grey for only $10 for the Month of June only. The brown Top-a-Tote would look great with the Minty Chip print as well. This is great for me because I have two cats and this will help keep the cat hairs off the clothes while my 3 year old is growing :)  I also have Thirty-One boards on Pinterest, so feel free to follow me there also :)

 

Monday's Grants: The Mockingbird Foundation- Deadline 8/1/2012

Monday's Grants

As we all know, women play so many roles, we're mothers, we're daughters, we're friends, we're wives, we're amazing!  One of my roles is that of a social worker.  I've been a stay at home mom for the past 5 years and I have loved it!  But during that time, I also continued my education and received my Master's in Social Work.  I really believe that I was put on this earth to make a difference in people's lives and be a change agent.  In order to provide change as a social worker, you often need funding!  I keep updated on grants and funding that is available and I thought since I'm doing the research anyway, I might as well share my found information with individuals or groups who could also use it. So I've decided to start Monday's Grants. I will post grants weekly that may be useful to nonprofits, groups, teachers, individuals and more.  Many grants will be RFP's (Request for Proposals), but I will try to include a selection of different grants. Enjoy!

The Mockingbird Foundation

Deadline: Initial Inquiries are due August 1st
Full proposals must be submitted by October 1st; only those invited will be reviewedAmount:$100 to $5,000

The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc. (“Mockingbird”) offers competitive grants to schools and nonprofit organizations that effect improvements in areas of importance to the Phish fan community. Our programmatic focus is music education for children, defined as follows:

• Music: Mockingbird is particularly interested in projects that encourage and foster creative expression in any musical form (including composition, instrumentation, vocalization, or improvisation), but also recognizes broader and more basic needs within conventional instruction. Mockingbird encourages applications associated with diverse or unusual musical styles, genres, forms, and philosophies.
• Education: Education may include the provision of instruments, texts, and office materials, and the support of learning space, practice space, performance space, and instructors/instruction. Mockingbird is particularly interested in projects that foster self-esteem and free expression, but does not fund music therapy which is not education nor music appreciation which does not include participation.
• Children: Mockingbird is interested in targeting children eighteen years or younger, but will consider projects which benefit college students, teachers, instructors, or adult students. Mockingbird is particularly (though not exclusively) interested in programs which benefit disenfranchised groups, including those with low skill levels, income, or education; with disabilities or terminal illnesses; and in foster homes, shelters, hospitals, prisons, or other remote or isolated situations.

Limitations

• Funding Amount: Grants range in size from $100 to $5,000 and are made on a one-time basis, non-renewable, and non-transferable.
• Geographic Focus: U.S., with an interest in geographic diversity throughout the U.S. (We cannot fund organizations outside the U.S., and we have funded within 43 U.S. States – so far!)
• Recipient Restrictions: Grants are typically made only to nonprofit organizations with tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service code, or who have a sponsoring agency with this status. Organizations selected to submit a full proposal will be required to submit documentation of their status as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt institution or as a public school. Public schools are tax-exempt and so eligible for funding, although school-based grantees cannot be independent of the school, must take place at the school, and must be supervised by the applicable municipality. Mockingbird does not normally consider grants to individuals or to fund research, fundraising organizations or events, programs that promote or engage in religious or political doctrine, or organizations outside the United States. It is hoped that nonprofit organizations who apply for support are operated and organized without discrimination in hiring staff or providing services on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin or disability.
• Special Interests: Mockingbird is particularly interested in organizations with low overhead, innovative approaches, and/or collaborative elements to their work, but these are not restrictive.

Application Process

Full proposals are by invitation only, and will not be considered if unsolicited.

• Initial Inquiry: Those interested in submitting a proposal should first complete the online Initial Inquiry Form via our website. That form requests organizational details and allows for approximately two pages of narrative description. We prefer that a responsible officer from the applying organization fill out the form. Initial inquiries submitted via any other channel will not be considered. Submissions by postal mail will not be reviewed and cannot be returned.
• Supplemental Materials: We are unable to review any supplemental materials accompanying either your Initial Inquiry or Full Proposal submission, such as books, videos, cassettes, etc. Please do not send any materials beyond those specifically requested by the Mockingbird Foundation.
• Acknowledgment: After submitting your letter of inquiry through our online form, you should receive an automated response acknowledging receipt. Due to the large volume of inquiries we receive, however, we are unable to provide you with any additional updates on the status of your inquiry. You will be contacted via email ONLY if your project is selected for further consideration, at which point you will be invited to submit a full and formal proposal. Please do not contact the Foundation asking for an update on our review process.

Deadlines: Initial Inquiries may be submitted at any time, though are considered in cycles. The current cycle is as follows, and details (including deadlines) for future funding rounds will be appended here at the completion of this round:

• Submission of initial inquiries occurs via an online form; inquiries are due August 1st.
• The Funding Committee will review inquiries in August, inviting full proposals by early September.
• Full proposals must be submitted by October 1st; only those invited will be reviewed
• Full proposals will be reviewed by the Board throughout October.
• We expect to make funding announcements between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Further Information

Please remember that we are an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff, so we would appreciate if you would keep additional correspondence to a minimum. If you have a crucial question regarding the grants process, however, you should email Kristen Godard at grants@mbird.org. Questions regarding the likelihood of funding cannot (and will not) be answered by an individual, as the Foundation’s decision-making process is collaborative. To learn more about this grant, please go to Mockingbird Foundation

Curb Alert! 2 Pink Ethan Allen chairs- some damage- North Wilmington Area

CURB ALERT!  2 Pink Ethan Allen chairs for free. Damage from cat scratches.  My cats and kids ruin all of our furniture :b   Can probably be reupholstered if you know what you're doing.  I tried reupholstering them myself- I did not know what I was doing!  They are kind of heavy.  Located in the Ramblewood Development off of Naaman's Road.  Turn at your 1st left onto Timberwyck Road, will be on your right hand side.