Showing posts with label Friday Fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday Fun. Show all posts

Friday, November 29, 2013

5 Ways to Protect Yourself on Black Friday and Cyber-Monday

If you haven’t already started your holiday shopping, it’s that time of year. Hopefully, you’ve got your lists ready and can just check of gifts quickly. Here are 5 ways to protect yourself when making purchases online.


  1. LOOK FOR YOUR SECURITY BAR (BROWSER BAR) TO LIGHT UP GREEN. This is an indication that the site you are visiting has been verified and not a fake site created by a malicious cyber attacker. 
  2. LOOK FOR THE HTTPS:// OR PADLOCK IN THE ADDRESS BAR. This lets you know that any information you input on this page is secure. 
  3. IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY IS. These are often lures to gather information about you. 
  4. USE STRONG PASSWORDS. Do not use the same password for each account. The strongest passwords include a capital letter, number, and symbol.
  5. STICK WITH YOUR FAVORITE ONLINE SITES. If you’ve made purchases at an online site before and been happy with the results, shop there again. Usually, you can be sure you will get the same service that you previously received! 


You can find some great deals and plan your trip AFewShortCuts.com. Happy shopping!


Friday, November 15, 2013

Happy Friday! Here's What's Happening....

Thank goodness it’s Friday! Another busy week; I can’t believe how quickly the month of November has flown by – we’re already midway to the end of the month. Along with the middle of November and heading into December, there are tons of things to do in the area. To all of our hunting friends, have a great hunt and stay safe!

If you’ll be in town this weekend, here are a few things happening. Bundle up and have some fun!

East Lansing Area
Mamma Mia! The Musical (Wharton Center)
MSU Men’s Basketball vs. Columbia – Coaches vs. Cancer Classic (Breslin Center)
All-of-Us Express Children’s Theatre: Treasure Island (Hannah Community Center)
The East Lansing Film Festival 

Kalamazoo Area 
Kalamazoo Russian Festival 
Explore Glass Art Day (West Michigan Glass Art Center) 
Small Wonders: Amazing Owls (Kalamazoo Nature Center) 

Detroit Area
The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream (Fox Theater) 
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (Palace of Auburn Hills) 
Novi Pet Expo (Suburban Collection Showplace) 

West Michigan Area
West Side Story (DeVos Performance Hall) 
Festival of Trees (Muskegon Museum of Art) 
Grand Haven Night Light (Grand Haven) 
Shop ‘Til You Drop Late Night (Holland) 

Here and There
Christmas Walk (Grayling)
The Beer Hunt Tour (Traverse City)


Don’t forget to cheer on the Spartans this weekend as they play the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Go State!




Friday, November 8, 2013

Friday Fun in November

It’s finally the weekend! Here are some things we’re headed to do this weekend. Join us if you can!!

Mmmmm….Dellicious! 
Sip, Savor, Stomp: A Holiday Wine Tasting – Royal Oak Farmers Market
Lansing Fall Fest – 902 E. Saginaw Highway, Grand Ledge
Michigan Food, Beer, and Wine Fest – Perani Arena, Flint

Animal Activities 
West Michigan Harvest Cluster AKC Dog Show – Kalamazoo County Expo Center & Fairgrounds
Novi Equestrian Expo – Suburban Collection Showplace, Novi

For the Family
Grand River Valley Railroad Club Fall Train Show – Home School Building, 5625 Burlingame Ave, Wyoming
Kalamazoo 51st Annual Holiday Parade – Downtown Kalamazoo
Run-A-Munk – Woldumar Nature Center, Lansing

Ladies Only 
Women’s Only Weekend – hit the shops and do some dining in South Haven this weekend!


Friday, November 1, 2013

Halloween... The After-Party!

Yep, we’re stuck on the Halloween theme… at least until next week!

So, Halloween is over; last night your kids probably counted, weighed, and sorted their candy; deciding quickly what they would keep for themselves and what they would give to moms, dads, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and sisters. If they haven't already, have your kids sort it – it really is a great learning activity. Their teachers would be proud!!

Seriously though, you’ve probably got tons of it. Our boys always did and we didn’t know what to do with it, until the next holiday when we threw it away. I always felt so wasteful. Here are some great tips that you can do with the extra candy:

Use it in the Kitchen 

  • Freeze it. You can add it to recipes throughout the year – cookies, brownies and the occasional milkshake.
  • Bake it into cakes, cookies, or brownies.
  • Use it in a healthy mix. Crush it up, and sprinkle it on celery or in yogurt, or add it to trail mix.



For the Home

  • Use it to decorate your home. Make a craft.
  • Make a candy cake. These make great gifts!
  • Save it to decorate a gingerbread house in December.
  • Make a candy wreath.



Drink it

  • Share it with other adults. Chocolate is wonderful paired with wine!
  • Use it to infuse vodka.
  • Pop a piece in your morning coffee.




Teaching Tools 

  • Have your kids use it to help them with math – addition, subtraction, counting, multiplying. All sorts of math problems can be done with candy. 
  • Use it to inspire your child to write. Candy has all sorts of names that would be great for settings, characters, or interesting creative writing situations. 
  • Give it to children when the practice their spelling words or do some extra reading. 
  • Use it in a science experiment. 




Share It! 

  • Send it into school with your child.
  • Mail it to troops. Groups like Operation Shoe box love to add candy to care packages.
  • Take it to the office and share it with your coworkers.
  • Donate it to the fire department, a nursing home, many organizations accept candy.


Check out our Celebrate | Halloween Candy Leftovers Pinterest board for all sorts of recipes and ideas and follow us while you're there!

Happy Friday ~ have a great weekend!

Friday, October 25, 2013

Friday Fun

It’s almost the weekend! If you’re like us, you have had a busy week and are ready to spend some time relaxing. Take time to enjoy some time with you family at one of these Michigan events:

Lansing Area
Lansing City Market 6th Annual Harvest Festival 
Shawhaven Haunted Farm
Corn Maze at BestMaze

Grand Rapids Area 
Chrysanthemums and More 
New Salem Corn Maze 

Detroit Area 
5th Annual Detroit Fall Beer Festival 
Scream Machine 
Halloween in Greenfield Village 

Battle Creek / Kalamazoo 
Trick-or-Treat Fun Run/Walk
The Great BooZoo

Elsewhere
Mackinaw Island Halloween Weekend 

Take some time to enjoy the wonderful fall weather and have a great weekend!