Thursday, March 31, 2011

The End of March

My momma used to say that March "comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Did you ever hear this expression? What does it really mean? I always thought it meant that the weather in the beginning of the month was harsh, but at the end of the month the weather is soft and warm. Well it's the end of March, and we're waiting to see what the weather will bring. Could it be SNOW? I don't think so, but it isn't unheard of to have snow this late in the year. Yuck. The only way that it's going out like a lamb is that I'm still wearing my fleece!
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Banding Together's Comedy Night

Who could use a good laugh???
Don't forget - The Banding Together Foundation has scheduled a Comedy Night, which will be held on March 31st beginning at 6:00 PM. It will take place in Ariana's Grand, 800 Rahway Avenue, Woodbridge, NJ.....6pm-10pm

Featuring Comedians: Greg Stone, Eric Bergstrom, Doug Smith, James Harris & Anthony Devito

$35.00 per ticket, Includes Dinner & Show!!!!
Contact us today for Tickets

Transitions Salon: 732-326-0333

Kimberly 732-331-7958 or Joelle 732-841-1381

There will be a lot of good stuff going on that night... food, cash bar, Vendors selling items like Tastefully Simple, Partylite, Lia Sophia, and Comedians (of course). Adults only please =)

Tickets can only be sold in advance not at the door this time, $35 a ticket.
Please grab a friend or two or three and come out for a night of fun for a GREAT CAUSE.

Joelle Slossberg, one of the founders of Banding Together, said "All proceeds will go to the foundation. We are trying to widen our scope of helping people. We can use everyone's help!"

Make check payable to: Banding Together Foundation

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YOUR MARCH TO-DO LIST

By Lucie Voss
Social Security Administration’s District Manager in Woodbridge


It’s spring cleaning season! There’s no better time than now to start organizing, and getting important tasks cleared off your list of important things to do. Social Security would like to share a suggested “March To-Do List” with you.

Tax deadline is Monday, April 18. The due date for 2010 Federal tax returns is Monday, April 18, 2011. If you plan to claim your children or any other dependents on your tax return, you’ll need to have a Social Security number for each individual. If you don’t already have a Social Security number for a dependent, applications and filing requirements are available online at www.socialsecurity.gov/ssnumber.

Request your SSA-1099 online. If you receive Social Security benefits, you may need to pay taxes on a portion of your Social Security benefits. If so, you’ll need your SSA-1099, which shows the total amount of benefits received in the previous year. An SSA-1099 was mailed to you in January showing the total amount of benefits you received in 2010. If you receive Social Security and have not yet received a 1099 for 2010, or you lost the one we sent you, you can request a replacement online at www.socialsecurity.gov/1099.

Medicare Open Season ends on March 31. If you are eligible for Medicare Part B medical insurance, but you didn’t sign up for it when you first became eligible for Medicare, you have another opportunity to apply. Open season for Medicare Part B runs from January 1 until March 31, 2011. If you miss the deadline, you will have to wait until 2012. You can learn more about Medicare by reading our electronic booklet, Medicare at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10043.html. Or, visit the Medicare website at www.medicare.gov. You also can call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048).

March may be a busy time, but if you keep this to-do list handy, staying on top of things should be a spring breeze. For more information about Social Security programs, visit www.socialsecurity.gov.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Metropark

I don't have much to say today.
I took these photos along the tracks, not today but pretty recently. Since I haven't got anything else to say, I thought I'd just post a few photos.


Iselin is home to the Metropark train station along the Northeast Corrider. That's pretty helpful for anyone commuting. It goes into NYC, and it doesn't take long.

If you'd like to plan a NJ Transit Train trip, a good place to start is HERE.

If you'd rather see a pdf of the North East Corrider, you can find a train schedule HERE.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

What are you doing for Breakfast tomorrow?

There are a lot of options, and no good reason to sit home by yourself!
Not only can you go to the Boy Scout Breakfast, but also...
Residents of Iselin can go to "Breakfast With The Mayor." It is a chance to talk to Mayor McCormac, Councilman James Major, and Councilman Kyle Anderson.
This is our democracy in action - do you have a concern, or a suggestion, or an idea? Here is your chance to bring it up!
It sill be held at our fire houses tomorrow, Sunday, March 27th, 2011:
9:00 - 10:30 AM - Iselin Fire Company #1, 1222 Green Street
10:30 - 12:00 Noon - Iselin Chem. Hook & Ladder Co., 20 Auth Avenue

Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser



Boy Scout Troop 523 would like to invite you to attend their Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser this weekend! It will be held tomorrow, which is Sunday, March 27 · 8:00am - 12:00pm, at the Saint John Vianney School Cafeteria, 420 Inman Avenue,
Colonia, NJ.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Iselin Yard Sale Weekend


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How do you feel about Yard Sales?
I always liked them. It's fun to poke through other people's junk and see what they think someone would be willing to buy. Did you ever see that TV show called "American Pickers"? It's about two guys driving around the country buying other people's junk for their antique store. Ya never know what you might find.
This is the weekend for yard sales in a lot of Iselin. I hope you find a real treasure!

Did you notice my new Pollen widget?

Over on the side bar, under the weather >>>
Scroll down a little if you don't see it...
Yup, it's a pollen widget!  So now that spring is here, if you are miserable, you can check and see how bad the pollen is.  (Maybe you'd rather not know? Or maybe, you can just see how green your car is... that's another good way to judge.)
If you go to the pollen website, it will even tell you which kinds of pollen are bad.  So you'll know. 
Although I guess really all you NEED to know is what kind of allergy medicine you should take.  You're on your own for that.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

What's with the Weather?

I thought we were done with snow already!  And so did my Forsythia bush... it picked today to start flowering! 

Monday, March 21, 2011

Bank Robbery in Iselin!


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Did you hear that the Garden State Community Bank, at the corner of Benjamin and Green, got robbed today? No kidding! I read it on the Woodbridge In Jersey web site.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

First Day of Spring!


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FREE ITALIAN ICE TODAY

 From the Rita's Italian Ice web site:
Celebrate the arrival of spring with Rita's--and a FREE cup of regular Italian Ice!

As the largest Italian Ice concept in the nation, Rita's will hold our 19th Annual First Day of Spring FREE Italian Ice Giveaway on Sunday, March 20, at over 550 stores in 18 states. More than one million Guests are expected to attend the Free Italian Ice Giveaway.

From noon to 9 p.m., each Rita's Guest will receive one free, regular-size Italian Ice in the available flavor of their choice to commemorate the arrival of spring! So celebrate spring with Rita's--and don't forget to take pictures and videos of your First Day of Spring celebration to share with us!

Click HERE for the web site for Rita's web site!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Moon over Iselin

“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.” 9
 Eskimo Proverb quote  from thinkexist.com

What are you doing for lunch tomorrow?

Can you take the heat?

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Because JJ Bittings of Woodbridge is hosting the Fourth Annual Charity Chili Cook-off tomorrow, March 20, from 12pm-2pm.
The Chili Tasters get to decide People’s Choice award. There is an $8 entry fee to taste the best chili Woodbridge Township has to offer, so c'mon to Bittings!

Spring Cleaning, Garage Sales,
& Special Pick Ups

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I know it's beautiful out, but it's Saturday Morning and it's time for some SPRING CLEANING around here! My Momma was much better than I am with getting the spring cleaning done. After a long winter with the windows shut and everyone stuck in the house, it's time to clear up some of this clutter! So that made me wonder... when is the annual Garage Sale/Bulk Waste pick up day for my house? I don't want to miss it!

I checked the Woodbridge Township recycling calendar so I could find out when our "special pick up" days are. They have the whole town divided into separate districts, and each district has a few different zones. If you aren't sure which district/zone you are in, you should go check the website HERE. It's a 32 page PDF document, everything you need to know about recycling and garbage pick-up in Woodbridge.

I found my own district/zone number. It looks to me like Iselin is all district 4, and it's mostly zones 4,8, and 10, and little pieces of zones 3, 7, 9, and 13. (But I could be wrong, so you really need to go look through that pdf file to see where you are. Don't take my word for it, because you don't want to miss your chance!)


It seems like most - but not all - of Iselin will have their garage sale dates for March 26 and 27th, with special pick ups of bulk waste being the following week. I have to be ready to put all my junk on the curb March 29th, because the trucks will be in District 4 Zone 8 on March 30th.

My momma was great with garage sales when I was a kid. She used to do pretty well selling the junk that she didn't need to people passing by. I never did as well, and it seems to me that it isn't as easy to make money from a garage sale as it was back then. I doubt I have a garage sale - but if you are having a garage sale in Iselin, email me and I'll mention it on here.

But for BULK PICK UP, I have TONS of stuff to go on the curb! Stuff that I haven't gotten around to throwing away for quite a while! I might even clean out the attic.

And then, of course, the day of bulk pick up, you get to watch everyone driving around picking through everyone else's garbage - always entertaining, and actually not a bad thing at all; sorta another way to recycle. If I put anything on the curb that you want, feel free to take it!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Love the Full Moon!

The very first blogs were really a way of sharing articles and things that people read on the internet and wanted to keep track of and show their friends. Nowadays, though, if I don't create brand new content, I feel a little like I'm copying. But sometimes, the stuff I want to tell people is stuff that I've read somewhere else... and why should I pretend that I found this out? I didn't contact the US Naval Observatory for this story. I read it on CNN. You can read it there if you go HERE.
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But I really took this photo myself. Not today, a while ago. But it is mine.

WEEKEND FULL MOON BIGGEST IN ABOUT 20 YEARS! -
(CNN) -- If the moon looks a little bit bigger and brighter this weekend, there's a reason for that. It is.

Saturday's full moon will be a super "perigee moon" -- the biggest in almost 20 years. This celestial event is far rarer than the famed blue moon, which happens once about every two-and-a-half years.

"The last full moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993," said Geoff Chester with the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington. "I'd say it's worth a look."

Full moons look different because of the elliptical shape of the moon's orbit. When it's at perigee, the moon is about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to Earth than when it's at the farthest point of its orbit, also known as apogee.

"Nearby perigee moons are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the moon's orbit," the NASA website says.

This full moon will rise in the east at sunset and should look especially big at that time because of what's known as the "moon illusion."

"For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects," according to NASA.

Even though it may look close enough to touch, Saturday's full moon will still be at a healthy distance -- some 211,600 miles (356,577 km) away.

As rare as it is, it may be worth a look. Miss it and you'll have to wait until 2029 to see it again.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


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St. Patrick's Day in Iselin is a day for everyone to celebrate their Irish heritage - even if you aren't Irish! It's a great day to wear green, have a pint of Guiness along with a nice dinner of corned beef and cabbage and Irish Soda Bread, and listen to a few Irish tunes, old or new... take a look at these, some of my favorites!





Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Monday, March 14, 2011

Springy

This is a photo of the buds on my neighbor's Maple tree. Yup, a sure sign that the allergies are about to start. And sure enough, looking at the internet, it seems that the pollen is starting to pick up. I guess it's time to invest in allergy medicine so it's ready when I need it.

On the positive side, flowers, leaves, and warm weather will be here before you know it!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Woodbridge St. Patrick's Day Parade

If you are looking for photos from yesterday's parade, you've gotta go HERE. I didn't take any, but Woodbridge InJersey has plenty!

Main Street in Woodbridge is green today on Sunday the 13th for the annual St. Patrick's Day parade.
Marchers will step off from Woodbridge High School at 1:30 PM and end up at Town Hall.

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And I hear there's gonna be a good party over at Rugs and Riffy's, if you are interested... and I'm sure that the Shannon Rose will be busy as well!

Do you know what time it is?

If you didn't set your clock back last night, it's an hour later than you think!

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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Monday, March 7, 2011

Banding Together Foundation Continues Good Work

Listen up! :) Did you hear that in support of the Banding Together Foundation, NJ 101.5 did a story on their radio station, with an interview by Joelle Slossberg! You can hear the interview if you go to their web site, by clicking HERE.

And don't forget to get your tickets for the Comedy Night, which will be held on March 31st beginning at 6:00 PM. It should be a lot of fun! It will take place in Ariana's Grand in Avenel. There will be a lot of good stuff going on that night... food, cash bar, Vendors selling items like Tastefully Simple, Partylite, Lia Sophia, and Comedians (of course). Adults only please =)

Tickets can only be sold in advance not at the door this time, $35 a ticket.
Please grab a friend or two or three and come out for a night of fun for a GREAT CAUSE.

Joelle Slossberg, one of the founders of Banding Together, said "All proceeds will go to the foundation. We are trying to widen our scope of helping people. We can use everyone's help!" She added, "We are currently working on a website. Stay tuned for that!"

If you need a ticket mailed to you, send a self addressed envelope with a stamp to:

Banding Together Foundation
56 Dewitt Ter.
Colonia NJ 07067

Make check payable to: Banding Together Foundation

Sunday, March 6, 2011

The High School Play is coming soon!


The Kennedy Players Proudly Present
Kiss Me Kate!
The play will be held
at JFK High School in Iselin
on
Thursday, March 10th
Friday, March 11th
Saturday, March 12th

All shows start at 7 P.M

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through any Senior or at the door.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Iselin Pneubotic Mustangs Race Results!

This just in!  A reporter in the field (LOL - one of the parents!)  just texted me to say that the Robotics team placed 44 out of 60. PLUS... we won an award for being the  "All Star Rookie Team"! 

I'm impressed!  This was our team's first year competing, and a LOT of these teams have been in this competition for years and years - I talked to one lady who said her team has been involved since late 1990-something!  I know that they are going to do even better next year, with this experience under their belts.

If your child is going to be attending JFK next year, and they want to be a part of a winning team, have them tell Mr. York that they want to be on the team too.  There are obvious needs for people interested in engineering or robotics, but they could use strategic help, and artistic and journalism/pr help too, among other things. ( I'm pretty sure that parent support is welcome as well.) 

The Pneubotic Mustangs are still in the race!

JFK's first robotics team, the Pneubotic Mustangs, competed in Trenton yesterday and are back at the competition again today.  Attending the competition yesterday and today are team members Willy Jones, Allison Jones, Varun Vemuganti, Patrick Daniels, Sanket Chauhan,and Dhvanit Patel.

The Robotics Competition, which is held in Trenton, is heated, yet still very civil.  "Gracious Professionalism" is a pillar of the event and the organization.  So this means that although (of course) you want your team to win, you are also willing to assist other teams if they need anything.

The robot is driven remotely to pick up an inner tube, drive across the playing field, and place the inner tube on a peg.  It is not as easy as it sounds, especially when you realize that the robot is built and programmed by high school students!

Good Luck JFK!



Friday, March 4, 2011

Banding Together Foundation Comedy Night

The Banding Together Foundation has scheduled a Comedy Night, which will be held on March 31st beginning at 6:00 PM. It will take place in Ariana's Grand in Avenel. There will be a lot of good stuff going on that night... food, cash bar, Vendors selling items like Tastefully Simple, Partylite, Lia Sophia, and Comedians (of course). Adults only please =)

Tickets can only be sold in advance not at the door this time, $35 a ticket.
Please grab a friend or two or three and come out for a night of fun for a GREAT CAUSE.

Joelle Slossberg, one of the founders of Banding Together, said "All proceeds will go to the foundation. We are trying to widen our scope of helping people. We can use everyone's help!" She added, "We are currently working on a website. Stay tuned for that!"

If you need a ticket mailed to you, send a self addressed envelope with a stamp to:

Banding Together Foundation
56 Dewitt Ter.
Colonia NJ 07067

Make check payable to: Banding Together Foundation

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Pneubotic Mustangs
are ready to compete!

Today, seniors from JFK High School's first Robotics Building team attended the opening day of competition in Trenton.  Because of the testing schedule it was impossible for any of the underclassmen to join the seniors today, but that's OK.  Today is for qualifying and practice, and the real competition starts tomorrow.  Parent and team advisor Will Jones led today's group, which included Sanket Chauhan, Patrick Daniels, Willy Jones, Nick Kemper, and Dhvanit Patel.  

Team spirit throughout the arena was amazing, and the spirit of cooperation, which is stressed as one of the most important parts of the competition, was heart warming.  All morning, we heard announcements over the loud speaker like "Team 145 needs to borrow a battery charger," and someone who had an extra would gladly bring them one.

The robot was built according to strict specifications, and it is quite a complicated machine.  It will be given a task to be done on the course above.  In the simplest terms possible, the robot will pick up different shaped inner tubes and then place them on the pegs for points, and when it is complete, a mini robot has to climb up a pole.  But it's much easier said than done. 

In the picture below, you can see the joystick controller which will be used to drive the robot to it's targets.





A lot of detail work was done today, making sure that the machine wasn't damaged in transport, that it worked the way it was supposed to, and that it passed inspection.

It's important to note that this activity was made possible thanks to generous donors including JC Penney's and BAE Systems.

Good luck to the Pneubotic Mustangs!

Time to get cooking!

Have you perfected your chili recipe yet? Because JJ Bittings of Woodbridge will host the Fourth Annual Charity Chili Cook-off on March 20, 12pm-2pm.


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To register the Chili cook-off, Contact Jennifer Burns at 732-634-4500 x6058 or email Jennifer.Burns@twp.woodbridge.nj.us
Prizes for First Place $300, Second Place $200 and Third Place $100. Tasters decide People’s Choice award.

There is an $8 entry fee to taste the best chili Woodbridge Township has to offer, so put it on your calendar, even if you aren't going to enter!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Where Flips used to be...

... is now a vacant lot, which has been bulldozed.  I wonder what's going in there?  If you know, send me an email and I'll write it on here.  (Hey - like I said - I'm not a reporter.  I just like to write, and talk, and take pictures.)

UPDATE!!! I just heard some of the details of the plan... I'm very excited!
In addition to fixing up the firehouse parking, there will be a little park area, including playground and a monument section. I'm sure everyone is going to have their own opinion, because no change happens without someone complaining. But to me, it's going to be great to see another section of Iselin made nicer! It's going to be a little area that will be open space and NOT the houses or even worse the mini mall that people originally thought that area would become, when Flips first closed. Thank goodness! It could become the centerpiece of Iselin! :)

Considering that Flips was a vacant building for a really long time, pretty much anything is an improvement at this point.


I took this picture standing in the Knights of Columbus parking lot, looking across the lot to where Flips used to be. If you haven't been in Iselin for a while, you might not recognize this corner. Remember the Iselin Fairgrounds? Yup, that's those houses. Costello's is just barely in the photo on the left.