Sweet Home Happy Valley » Pennsylvania Q&A

Pennsylvania Theater Attractions

John — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:26:49 +0000

Struggling for ideas on things that you can do on a Friday night? If so, why not attend a performance at your local theater? If you groaned at the idea of going to the theater because, you thought that the theater was boring, think again. Shows like The Book of Mormon Musical and American Idiot are winning new and old theater fans alike because, of their great music, fun story lines and non-traditional dialogue that won’t put the average theatergoer to sleep in their seat.

Storybook Musical Theatre – N 56th Street & Overbrook Avenue

This non-profit theater company produces family friendly shows that parents can easily take their children to without fear of exposing them to off colored material. Besides being a great place to view shows, this theater also holds classes for aspiring theater students and so much more.

The Colonial Playhouse – 522 W. Magnolia Avenue

For over fifty years The Colonial Playhouse has been the theater of choice for people in search of fine community theater performances. Unlike other modern theaters in this day and age, The Colonial continues to stick to its roots and produces the best shows that people of all ages will love and best of all, for affordable prices.

Packing For Your Perfect Ski Vacation

John — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:27:57 +0000

It’s winter time and if you’re a skier you know what that means: plenty of fresh snow. For the next few weeks skiers will be packing for top ski destinations all over the world to spend their time skiing and snowboarding.

One thing that many skiers have in common is smoking but sadly, almost every ski destination across the country has outlawed smoking outdoors. This has made it harder for the average skier to pack their cigarettes with the anticipation that they will be able to get their nicotine fix when they are outside. Thankfully, help exists in the form of Electronic Cigarettes.

What Are E-Cigs?

An Electronic Cigarette contains e-liquid. This mixture of liquid nicotine and water is filled into an ecigarette’s cartridge and a smoker can get a good strong dose of nicotine in a water mist every time they inhale from the ecig. The great thing about eCigarettes is that they can be used anywhere because:

No lighting up is required.
They are odorless.
Electronic Cigarettes don’t pollute the environment.

What Else Should a Skier Pack?

Besides making sure that they don’t leave home without their ecigs, skiers should also pack their cell phones, tooth brush and digital camera. Although these items are very common, they are also the most overlooked by skiers or travelers and are usually left at home.

What to Do When You Face DWI Charges

John — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:45:10 +0000

First thing to do is not panic. You need to get the situation under control and accept that you got a DWI. Once you have gotten yourself under control, it is time to find yourself a great DWI lawyer.

DWI Lawyer Selection

Small towns will have a limited selection of DWI lawyers, therefore you will have to go with whoever is in your town. Most of the time, the small town lawyers are really good, and know their stuff, so never be worried. If you are in a major city, then you will have several to choose from. Don't worry, you will have to take time to screen each of the lawyers you are thinking of using.

Lawyers do Have References

If a lawyer has been through a very difficult case, and has won the case, often times the lawyer's client is thrilled with the results. The former client also might be listed as a reference. Speaking to the references is a great way to get to know more about your lawyer.

The lawyer selection process can be a tricky one, but if you take your time and do the research about the particular lawyer, you will end up in luck.

Make Sure Your Insurance Is Up To Date Before You Hit The Slopes

John — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:29:30 +0000

Maybe ‘hit’ the slopes was a bad way to put that. Before you go on any kind of vacation however you do want to make sure that all your insurance policies are current and up to date. God forbid you become seriously injured or even die as a result of what was supposed to be of fun and entertaining tromp through the woods or sunbathing at the beach.

Did You Know That There was Such a Thing as Vacation Insurance?

Does that mean that if we don’t have a good time on my vacation I get my money reimbursed? Sadly no that is not the case. Travel insurance does however, help protect you against illness or accidents; cancellations; airline delays; weather related issues and lost baggage. Make sure that your Health Insurance is up to date and that it covers emergency rooms in other countries other than your own; if you’re leaving the country.

Because You Didn’t Have Enough to Think About…

Making sure that everything will be taken care of in case something happens to you is one thing; making sure that your house is insured and safe while you’re away is something entirely different. Hopefully most of us have renters or homeowners insurance to begin with; but what if you don’t? If you are going to be gone for any length of time the unthinkable is always possible. Seriously you could be away for a day and be burglarized or have a serious fire. And who needs that? Technically, having a Home Security System is going to lower your homeowner’s insurance rates any ways; so you might as well invest in one. It is always a great idea to check out sites like insurancerate.com for great ways to lower your premiums.

No one wants to talk about this but keep your Life Insurance policies updated as well. Be sure that should something happen to you overseas arrangements can be made for your body to be transferred back to your home to make less worry and stress for your surviving family. Oh and happy vacation.

Plan A Family Fun Night

John — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:52:25 +0000

So what’s the family doing this weekend? Please tell me you’re not going to a fast food restaurant or sitting around the house with video games and movies. Why on earth would you do that when you could go family bowling?

Here’s Five Reasons To Go

Bowling is laid back, hassle free, and fun. What is there not to love? Seriously what is there to it? You step up to the line, you roll the ball, the ball hits the pins, the pins fall down… Next. Yet somehow families manage to laugh, play and enjoy themselves. Chances are there’s a bowling alley right in your area, so you can’t say you’re going to waste a lot of gas. The weather is a no brainer—nobody cares. Rain, and sleet, snow, sweltering heat… As long as you can get there your playground is climate controlled. Even if you don’t have a lot of time, you simply don’t play a lot of games. And there are actual educational lessons to be taught through bowling and scorekeeping… Counting, adding, subtracting… Even writing your name.

Just A Few More Reasons

Not all places you go these days are kid friendly, yet bowling alleys remain as kid friendly as can be. They go out of their way to cater to children with a bumper bowling and arcades. Experience doesn’t matter—you’re there to have fun. Equipment is cheap to rent as is the game to play. A family of four, let’s say, can go bowling and eat pizza and soda for less than they can do just about anything else. And finally, grandpa, dad, mom, teenagers, adolescents and even toddlers can go bowling.Whether you’ve never been bowling or haven’t been bowling in a longtime; or even if you’re a seasoned pro; take the family bowling this weekend and enjoy each other for change.

You can always check the BowlingProShop, for anything else you might need.

Using Discount Vouchers to Save Money

John — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 03:14:03 +0000

Well now that's what discount vouchers are for… To save money. And ideally it should not cost money to save money… But it happens.

Groupon and Other ‘Clubs’

Groupon and other social networking savings clubs, rather than offering out right discount vouchers and coupons, offer certain services or items at a discounted price if you buy into the savings opportunity or promotion. Just as an example; $10.00 buys you a $100 visit to a popular spa. You're saving lots of money but you're spending at the same time. This is not to say that these opportunities aren't good ones; most of the time they are. But discount vouchers don't always have to cost you money. You can receive them through emails or sign on to coupon sites.

Coupon Sites and Emails

There are literally hundreds, maybe more, of coupon sites that you can sign on to that will offer coupons on groceries, personal hygiene products, laundry products, pet foods and supplies, hardware needs… You name it. They can be as simple as everyday coupons or discount vouchers on your entire bill. The Sunday Paper is a great place to pick these up in most communities but manufacturers' coupons on a bigger scale will be found on line more often than not. Joining certain store’s memberships can get you hooked up two monthly/weekly all arts to discount vouchers, coupons and sales at that particular store. Depending on size of the store, it could be nationwide or local. If you don't subscribe to the Sunday Paper possibly you can get some of your neighbors to send their unused coupons your way; but the Sunday Paper is relatively insignificant expense when you look at how much you can save you. Plus you'll be tuned in to current events. The opportunities to receive or locate discount vouchers are virtually unlimited. Google coupons on your laptop and you're bound to be deluged with pages and pages of them. In fact once you do this, you may be on someone's last to receive them without even knowing it.

Be sure to check out pizza hut vouchers.

Choosing the Right Mobile Phone

John — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:22:16 +0000

When was the last time you actually met someone who didn’t own a mobile phone? Everybody has them… Even the kids. Especially the kids! When I was a kid, we had a party line at our house.

Buy what you need; need what you use

Too many people start out on the right track thinking that they will buy a mobile phone that does only what they needed it to do, thereby saving money. By the time the salesman is done waving all his fancy high tech mobile phones in front of your bugged out eyes, you end up walking away with a phone that you paid far too much money for and does more things than you will ever be able to humanly comprehend. So much for saving money. The more frugal choice would be to do your homework ahead of time and walk in with definite requirements; nothing more, nothing less. Be sure that the salesperson knows that if he cannot show you exactly what you need, without all the fancy bells and whistles, that there are many, many mobile phone stores out there just dying for your business. Of course you have to hold up your end of the bargain and stick to the list.

Your mobile phone does what?

Here are some of the things that you must determine ahead of time whether or not you need your mobile phone for: videos; pictures; document management; Internet; e-mail; texting; instant messaging; music; speaker phone capability and other multimedia features. Once you’ve narrowed down exactly what it is that you need you will need to decide what level of quality you need for them. Does the speaker quality make a difference? Does picture clarity make a difference? All of these things go into the decision-making process on your mobile phone.

But that’s not all. Now you need to decide on a usage package. But that’s for another day.

Shocktoberfest and Frightland Haunted Halloween Attractions in Pennsylvania and Delaware?

happyvalley — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:07:32 +0000

Shocktoberfest and Frightland Haunted Halloween Attractions in Pennsylvania and Delaware?

Has anyone been to Shocktoberfest or Frightland? What did you think of them? If you've been to both and could compare the two, that would be even more helpful! Thanks!

What are the best haunted attractions/houses in eastern and western Pennsylvania?

happyvalley — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:07:32 +0000

What are the best haunted attractions/houses in eastern and western Pennsylvania?

I haven't been to a really scary haunted attraction in a while. I am looking for the best/scariest haunted attraction in PA. I heard Rich's Fright Farm and Scarehouse are pretty good on the western side. On the eastern side I was looking at Field of Screams, Jason's Woods and the Bates Motel. I heard that Scareworld Screampark is closed now around the Philly area and that it's not truly 13 floors anyways. I've already been to George A. Romero's attraction in Pittsburgh and was dissapointed because it wasn't scary. Hundred Acres Manor is good near Pittsburgh but not too scary. Please let me know details if any of you have been to any of those previously mentioned.

Do you have to pay pennsylvania state income tax if you are on Medicaid ?

happyvalley — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:06:15 +0000

Do you have to pay pennsylvania state income tax if you are on Medicaid ?

My Mother is in a nursing home and was approved for Medicaid in November.

Prior to November, she sold off all her mutual funds to pay for her long term care.

Now, it looks like she needs to pay Pennsylvania state taxes from the mutual fund sales. She has virtually no assets; that is why she is on Medicaid. Doesn't make sense that PA would approve her for Medicaid but now expect her to pay income tax.