Community Blog

You just received a BINGO card on your doorstep…now what?

Litchford Park is playing BINGO and we want you to join in on the fun!!

Three prizes will be given away to our residents, so make sure to mark your card and let us know as soon as you have BINGO!

Here’s what to do. We will be drawing a  new space daily and will post the space’s letter and number in three places in our community…the laundry center, the office and the fitness center.

You can also go to our Facebook Fan Page to see the drawing for the day!

Find the letter/number and mark your space. Be one of the first 3 residents to BINGO to win!

Call the office if you have any questions.  Good Luck!!!

The 82nd Annual Academy awards ended a relaxing weekend with tons of highlights and funny moments.

The Iraq War movie Hurt Locker won five awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow. It was the first-time a female has won Best Director in Oscar history.

Sandra Bullock won Best Actress for her role in The Blind Side and Jeff Bridges won Best Actor for Crazy Heart.

Some of my favorite moments were Neil Patrick Harris’s opening, James Taylor’s memorial tribute, and Sandra Bullock’s acceptance speech. As always, the fashions were amazing. Some of the best-lookers were J-Lo, Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz and again, Sandra Bullock. She had an amazing night all around!

Looking for great events to attend in the Triangle area in the Month of March? I found more than 1200 on Triangle.com! There’s a ton to do in our great community.

Here’s a highlight of some of the happenings this month!

Joe Goode Performance Group
3/9/2010 Tuesday 8:00p
NCSU Stewart Theatre, Raleigh NC

Laser Michael Jackson
All month
The Children’s Museum and Science Center at the imperial Centre, Rocky Mount NC

“Go Green” Wine Dinner
3/12/2010 Friday 6:30p
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Raleigh NC

Clay Aiken
3/12/2010 Friday 8:00p
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh NC

Garner Targets the Arts–Storytelling and Workshop
3/13/2010 Saturday 8:15a to 3:30p
North Garner Magnet Middle School Auditorium, Garner NC

Menopause – The Musical
3/13/2010 Saturday 2:00p
Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh NC

Broadway Series South presents Little House on the Prairie The Musical
3/16/2010 Tuesday 8:00p
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh NC

St. Patrick’s Day Mug Night!!!
3/17/2010 Wednesday 5:00p
The Pour House Music Hall, Raleigh NC

Autism Society of NC Night with the Hurricanes
3/18/2010 Thursday 7:00p
RBC Center (Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena), Raleigh NC

Women’s Empowerment 2010
3/20/2010 Saturday 11:30a
RBC Center (Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena), Raleigh NC

Mozart, Bach & Schumann
3/23/2010 Tuesday 8:00p
Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh NC

Spring Carnival
3/26/2010 Friday 6:00p to 9:00p
Victory Fellowship Church, Garner NC

Lisa Lampanelli
3/27/2010 Saturday 8:00p
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh NC

Let us know of any other events you may be attending!

I adore chocolate, and truffles are my favorite kind! I found this easy recipe that combines chocolate, cream cheese and nuts. Delicious! Let me know if you try them. They seem to be super easy to make. The perfect treat for a small indulgence!

Ingredients

* 1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese
* 3 cups powdered sugar
* 12 (1 ounce) squares BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
* Suggested coatings, such as ground PLANTERS Walnuts, unsweetened cocoa, powdered sugar and/or BAKER’S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut

Directions

1. Beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add sugar, mixing until well blended.
2. Add melted chocolate and vanilla; mix well. Refrigerate 1 hour or until chilled.
3. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in walnuts, cocoa, powdered sugar or coconut. Store in refrigerator.

Photo courtesy of Sylvia.

Is your bedroom drab and in desperate need of a face lift?  Check out this video from Design on a Dime.

With some simple changes, you can make your room a masculine or feminine masterpiece!

Once you’ve gotten over the initial guilt of leaving your baby when you return to work after maternity, the next hurtle comes from learning how to balance having a baby and working. Working moms have to deal with doubling their morning routine to incorporate their needs as well as the babies in getting ready for the day; getting dressed, eating, getting ready to leave.

Sometimes returning to work after maternity and learning to balance can be overwhelming, but here are 7 ways to balance the most important thing in your life with the most financially important.

1. A Will to Work -You have to have the will to go back to work to make the balance work. Looking at the return to work after maternity leave as a blessing makes going to work that much more agreeable and easier to balance.

2. Seek Balance – Working mothers seem to be in a constant state of being overwhelmed. Seeking balance helps keep you, your husband, and your children happy. Balance is never fully attained; as your goals change and as your children age finding a balance needs to be tweaked, but it is always healthy to search for it.

3. Set Priorities- Setting priorities makes life easier to balance when returning to work after maternity. Knowing you need to set time aside for family time is crucial, as is learning to take time out and work on things from work if need be. You need to know how to separate

4. Allow for Fusion – Sometimes trying to combine your two world’s works out best! Attending a daytime school play, telecommuting, working flextime, or asking your employer to offer family-friendly environments such as pumping rooms combine family and work in a healthy and obtainable way.

5. Team Approach – Your husband is a huge support system. Make sure he is there to give you the support and love you need to make the transition into the working world. Divvying up the chores between the two of you will make both your lives easier and happier.

6. Me Time – In a survey of 500 working mothers, 31% exercised three times a week and 98% had a hobby. Taking time to re-energize is prudent to having a happy life.

7. Future Working Moms – Remember to phase back into returning to work after maternity leave. Ask for adjustments if needed; you aren’t the same person you were before you were pregnant.

Melissa Rubin is a senior copywriter and Web developer at OTO Networks, a digital marketing company located in Baltimore, Maryland. Her primary responsibilities include SEO, link building and creating content for multiple sites. A preview of a site on which she has worked, http://www.ModernWorkforce.com, is available with this article.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melissa_Rubin

Bummed you can’t be in New Orleans or Mobile today for the famed Mardi Gras festivities? If you’re looking for a good time, authentic Cajun cuisine and fresh seafood stop by Blu Seafood and Bar in Durham this evening from 5:00pm – 10:00pm.

Their special Mardi Gras menu will include…

* Gulf oysters for $4.50 a half-dozen or $8 a dozen
* Shellfish and sausage gumbo for $8
* Crawfish by the pound for $12 or half pound for $6
* Fried oysters and cajun remoulade for $7.50
* Crawfish and shrimp etouffee for $17.50

They will also have drink specials on Hurricanes and other Bayou drinks. Let us know if you attend, Happy Fat Tuesday!

We’d like to wish all the residents at Litchford Park a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Hope you enjoy it with someone special and that you eat all the chocolate you want.

Give me a kisse, and to that kisse a score;
Then to that twenty, adde a hundred more;
A thousand to that hundred; so kisse on,
To make that thousand up a million;
Treble that million, and when that is done,
Let’s kisse afresh, as when we first begun.
~Robert Herrick, “To Anthea (III)”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yoshi42/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

If you’re like me then the thought of getting-up early to go to work tomorrow is not very exciting. Your tummy’s full, maybe your throat is sore from screaming at Peyton Manning through the TV or perhaps you’ve drank a little too much a certain beverage. Either way, I’m sure many of us would love to just sleep and take-in all the excitement of the Saints victory.

I found this website that is dedicated to making Super Bowl Monday a national holiday. I totally agree with the folks who made this site. Some of the the suggested names for this holiday-to-be are Super Monday, American Sports Day and my favorite, Lombardi Day.

If this ever passes, it would be the first holiday dedicated to sports. We can all cross our finger, but I think it’s not too likely.

Do you think the Monday after Super Bowl merits a holiday?

The movie The Blindside highlighted the process of the millions of dollars schools spend to travel and visit potential players.

Prospects are limited to five expense-paid official visits, but players can make an unlimited number of unofficial visits at their own expense. More players than ever are deciding to stay in-state due to the expenses related to travel.

In what ways do you think the economy will affect recruitment for our local colleges? You can read more here.

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