Happy New Year 2016 to all from SCW in southern California to the amazing Time Square New Year’s Eve Celebration. In this coming year may you Live more, Laugh often and Love much. We are staying in this year with good food and lots of love. So we will have a front row seat from our house of the Times Square Party counting down with the rest of the world to 2016. How will you spend your New Years Eve night this year? Tell us all about your night, we’d love to know.
Archive | December 2015
Celebrating New Years Eve as a Couple
The Big Night has arrived! There’s no need to spend a fortune on New Years Eve. Plan a fun creative romantic evening without breaking the bank.
Spend a quiet romantic night in. Complete with a nice dinner, appetizers, and champagne, with relaxing music. We’ve been one busy family lately. There’s been a string of social activities over the past month. It will be a pleasure to spend the night in. I’ve planned a nice dinner, we have champagne and appetizers. I’m looking forward to a wonderful evening with my sweetheart.
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Go to see a great band play locally
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Enjoy a romantic dinner out together
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Get together with friends, discuss and write out your resolutions for the coming year and have a champagne toast at midnight.
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Whether or not you’re in New York for new years eve, you too can go ice skating locally where you live.
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Attend a small intimate gathering at a friend’s home.
7. There’s always “Dick Clark”‘s New Years Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest. Get a bottle of champagne and toast the New Year
To all of our readers and followers here in the U.S. and around the world we wish you a Blessed and Prosperous New Year!
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Your Holidate Night Dress
New Years Eve parties are in general a dressy occasion. Expectations are kicked up a notch from the normal date night cocktail dress you would wear at dinner. New Years eve year-end celebration is full of glam. A woman gets to display her glam look in all of its glory. Formal events, black tie, and masquerade parties abound. If you’ve received a formal invitation or black tie invitation in the mail and not sure what to wear, don’t worry SCW has you covered. Being a busy mom and or career woman doesn’t leave much time to dress up. However, this is the one holiday a year where you can shed your usual wear for an unbelievably formal dress that your date won’t be able to take his eyes off of. You should feel beautiful and own the room.
Since formal dresses are only worn for special occasions some women opt to rent a formal dress rather than own. This is fine. However, it’s good to have at least a couple of Couture dresses for special events, (shopping trip). Formal dresses for black tie events are generally full length dresses. If your invitation says black tie only, (which means formal dress), you don’t want to show up in a cocktail dress. All the other women will be wearing appropriate formal wear. You also risk insulting your host not to mention your date. It’s like saying, “I know what the invitation said, but I don’t care”, I’m going to wear what I want. In which case if you don’t choose to participate then don’t go. Grow up or stay home, (This party is for Grown ups). If it’s a formal professional event there will be someone checking dress code at the door and you’ll be sent away if not properly attired. So to avoid an embarrassing moment, dress properly for the event. It’s a little thing called proper etiquette. We will explore a few formal dress ideas to get you started.
Black tie Dress to Impress Invitation
Acceptable black tie wear for him
Acceptable wear for her
Strappy heels and minimalistic jewelry
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Tips for a Safe New Years Eve Night
Happy Holidays from Rockefeller Center in New York City the biggest and best New Years Eve Celebration in America. New years eve means parties and the consumption of alcohol. The goal is to return home safe. Unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world and the streets become more dangerous at this time. More of everything, more drunk driving accidents on the road, more crime. You certainly want to enjoy your night but you have to be smart about planning it. Below are some safety tips for new years eve to ensure your night is fun and above all safe.
8 Tips for a Safe New Years Eve Celebration
- Safety in numbers. This is especially true for single women. Everything’s better with friends anyway, so make sure you don’t find yourself alone on new years eve. The majority portion of the population will be drinking and streets will be more dangerous. Traveling in a group will ensure your safety as well as those you care about. Party Limos have become very popular. Don’t be afraid to ask to crash on their couch. A lumpy couch is better than a DUI or a night in jail.
- Arrange transportation ahead of time. Do not Drink and Drive. Unless you’re hosting a party at home, you will be traveling out to various parties with family and friends. Get a designated driver. Or perhaps the DD is you. Maybe you’re someone who doesn’t drink and can step in and be the designated driver for someone else. Be Safe. Most major cities are offering free cab rides home for intoxicated people. Check your local cab companies for this service or look them up online. Triple A, (AAA), is also offering tipsy tow. They will take you and your car home for free. You do not have to be a triple A member.
- Drinking in excess. It’s probably not a good idea to drink in excess. You will make yourself sick, ruin your clothes, and the night will go by in a blur. In between drinks have water or soda to absorb the alcohol. Waking up with a hangover remember is not fun. 21 and over adults can make their own decisions, though there are consequences to each choice we make. Choose wisely.
- Full stomach. Make sure to have dinner before you head out or begin drinking. An empty stomach will make you sick and a full stomach will absorb the alcohol.
- Do not leave your drink unattended at parties. (Keep it with you) Especially for single women this is the time of year that law enforcement sees an increase in drink spiking and date rape.
- Make sure you have a full cell phone battery before you leave the house. Map out your destination with the GPS on your phone before you head out.
- Leave a note with a trusted family member or neighbor with your itinerary for the evening as well as the phone numbers and directions to these places. Make sure someone knows where to find you.
- Some prefer to attend church on New years Eve night. If you’re attending church, awesome. It’s the safest and best place to be other than at home with your family.
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Scripture
Affirmation
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Merry Christmas
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Remembering our Loved ones in Heaven at Christmas
This Christmas prayer is for anyone and everyone who has a loved one in Heaven. May God bless all of our Angels in Heaven. Merry Christmas to all of our angels and yours from SCW.
Merry Christmas from SCW from our house to yours.
Stress Free Christmas Holiday Tips
Counting down the last days until Christmas? Things getting a little crazy? And you’re wondering how it will all come together? Well, it should all come together just fine, if you just stop right where you are right now. Pause. Take a deep breath. Let it out, along with all the stress and anxious feelings. The key to your stress free holiday success is in one word. Organize. From last-minute shopping, to entertaining cooking, and traveling we’ve got you covered.
- Might be too late for this tip this year. That’s okay keep in mind for next year.
- Don’t tell me your one of those people who just go to the mall without a plan. You go through the isles and just throw whatever looks good in your cart and by the time you’re finished you are 300 dollars over budget and become stressed out. No. No. No. You must plan your Christmas gift list. Make a separate list for the last-minute food items you’ll want to pick up while you’re out. Estimate how much money you will need for each list. Take a little extra cash just in case. If you don’t need it great, but its better to have it.
- Mail out your Christmas cards and gifts ideally two weeks before since the snail mail system will be even slower at this time. If you haven’t done that yet, call, make your apologies, tell people Christmas cards will be a little late and should arrive by New Year’s Eve. It’s a super busy time. People understand.
- Shopping for each other, you’ll want to do that alone. Team up with your partner to buy for the kids. You will get more done with the two of you.
- Handmade gifts are fun to make, thoughtful, and sentimental. Someone actually took the time to make you a gift.
- A well-appointed table will be the center piece of a beautifully decorated holiday home. Time to break out the holiday dishes and beautiful wine and champagne glasses. You don’t have to spend a fortune. Shop dollar tree, Target, Walmart, for elegant candles, linen napkins, table decor pieces.
Floating candles
Don’t worry if you can’t bake or cook. You can find any recipe you want online.
Ginger bread cookies
Honey Baked Ham
Get your Mom to help out.
Just the way you make a list for shopping, you also need to organize the timing of your meals. This is especially if you are planning a large meal with 5 or more people. Also depending on your main dishes such as hams and turkeys. You can always plan to cook your large meats the night before and just warm them before you serve. The side dishes can be made the day of the meal. For myself and my family I like everything cooked the day of the meal and everything fresh from the oven or store. For example if guests are due to arrive at 3 pm, prepare 1 hour before. However if you’re cooking a turkey which takes 5 hours the day of, put the turkey in the oven as soon as you wake up. By afternoon you should be good to go. For ham it can go in the oven 1 hour before guests arrive. Bake some fresh cookies for your guests to snack on before you serve.
- Make a list
Do keep yourselves entertained, tablet, laptop, kindle, headphones.
To avoid being the last to board and having to take whatever seats are left, check in early online. Print out your boarding pass. You can even have this scanned from your smart phone.
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Winter Weather Safety Tips
- Healthy tip of the day/ Drink Hot tea it wards off colds and warms you up inside.
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Holiday Gifts for Everyone on your List
Last minute shopping have you in a panic? No problem. You’ll get all the best deals this week! 30% 50, 75%, buy 1 get 1 free, and free shipping. Always compare prices, explore your options, make an informed decision. You can get a great gift for everyone on your list and yes even those who have everything and or are hard to buy for.
New Phone
iPad Mini
Laptop
head phones
Thumb drive
cosmetic bag
Silver bracelet
Men’s robe
Personal Trimmer/ groomers
Men’s leather travel case
Hover board
PS4 Games
XBox Games
- For that hard to buy for person and the person who has everything. Buy a gift card. Problem solved. They can buy what they want from a place that they like.
- Gift Baskets are beautifully prepared and a great gift idea to bring to someone’s house as a hostess gift. I love to give them.
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Scripture
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Affirmation
Dressing for Professional Success
There is a professional code of dress in the business world that reflects, our professionalism, self-image and credibility. This code of professionalism also extends to your hair and makeup they should not be overdone. You can’t just show up with multi-color hair and think “I’m being myself”. You may think you’re “keeping it real”. What you’re actually doing is keeping it broke. However a smart and informed woman knows how to present herself. She knows how to dress for the career she wants. We’re going to talk about some do’s and don’ts concerning the workplace, and give you several appropriate dress options for the workplace including how to present yourself at the interview process.
Appropriate Tip of the day
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Holiday Giving, Reason for the Season
In the busyness and pleasures of the season sometimes we forget that Jesus is the real reason for the season. It’s not about gifts or food, or shopping. It’s the celebration and acknowledgement of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To stand before the Lord with a humble and grateful heart for ALL he has done in us and through us. If you’ve had a difficult year, you’re still here. God has preserved you, amen. You know there are some people who didn’t wake up this morning, but you did that means no matter how difficult its been there are blessings ahead.
I can’t tell you how many things I have to be thankful for this year. God’s love has overwhelmed me. He’s hung in there with me when I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. He’s kept me in the midst of difficult situations. He’s fed me and kept me a float in lean times. He raised up a standard against my enemies, and blessed me in front of them. He told me to keep my eyes on Him. Because nobody can curse what God has blessed!!!!! You may say to yourself I don’t have any enemies. There is always an enemy to the harvest, (It started with Eve). He encouraged me that I can do all things through Him. God is my source, my love, and friend that sticks closer than a brother.
In this season I give all honor and glory and praise to God!!! Tears stream down my face as I type this. Thinking of the goodness of Jesus and ALL he’s done for me. My soul cries out Hallelujah!!!! As we prepare for a blessed holiday, don’t forget those less fortunate. God is a giver! God was the first giver. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” As Christians so must we also be givers! And follow in the footsteps of God. There are many worthy causes, choose the ones that are closes to your heart.
Below are SCW Top 5 Christmas Charities.
The Salvation Army was founded on July 1865. It is a Christian, international charitable organization with a world-wide membership of over 1.5 millions. Also present in 127 countries. It’s mission is to meet the “physical and spiritual needs” of the poor, destitute, and hungry. They also operate shelters for the homeless, disaster relief, and humanitarian aid. During the Christmas season you will find them accepting donations at your local grocery store.
Salvation Army accepts can goods and non-perishable foods
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Toys for Tots founded in 1947 is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy gifts for them.
Donate a toy or two for children who might not otherwise have anything for Christmas.
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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was established in 1962. It is a pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children’s catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis Tennessee but it’s mission has touched hearts around the world including mine. It’s one thing to be a disadvantaged child as far as finances but quite another to be a sick and hurting child during Christmas. Outside of Memphis Tennessee consider a monetary donation via check. Inside Tennessee consider the gift of time and volunteer, and or donate a toy. You can’t buy the joy on their little faces. Below Micheal Strayhand with St. Jude patients.
4. Secret Santa is a western Christmas tradition in which members of a group or community are randomly assigned a person to whom they anonymously give a gift. www.secretsanta.com
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Right here at Home, The Fred Jordan Mission, Established in 1944 by Fred Jordan. Fred Jordan Missions have worked on the streets of inner city Los Angeles and throughout the world to help share God’s love by providing nourishing food, warm clothing, blankets, shelters and other vital services to people in need. These are some great folks. Upon Fred Jordan’s death in 1988 his beloved wife, Willie Jordan has continued his vision through today.
We took the kids to volunteer with us Thanksgiving Holiday last year. It was an amazing experience. We helped serve over 4,000 meals that day. You cannot help but to be touched. There are literally families and kids living on the sidewalk. Fred Jordan provides a massive Thanksgiving and Christmas meal. They also serve the homeless throughout the year everyday as well as shelters, though there are more homeless than shelters. Representing God’s love and caring. Inside Los Angeles consider volunteering, outside Los Angeles consider a financial gift to keep this worthy organization going.
Look them up at www.fjm.org , this link goes straight to the Christmas event info.
Fred Jordan mission Skid Row, Los Angeles
They receive help from many local businesses, volunteers, and private citizens.
Foot Locker donating shoes, please support these businesses with a heart.
Bikers gang donating tricycles for kids (Bikers have a heart too)
Hot delicious meals served with the help of volunteers.