The John Tesh Blog

Your guide to a last minute "Let's have a 4th of July party this weekend!"

The anniversary of our nation's birth, when you think about it, is reason enough to celebrate!  Add in that this year, July 4th falls on a Saturday, and you've got a party just waiting to take shape.  Except that if you were really, seriously, going to consider throwing a party, you should have started planning weeks ago!  And then there's the cost to think of as well, since many folks are feeling a financial crunch these days.  How about a step by step plan to cover last minute plans, and a frugal budget, all while leaving you,  and your family and friends, with a fantastic Independence Day celebration?   Jump start your plans with this "light on your wallet", step by step guide, from Ft. Wayne's special July 4th party page:

• Barbecue foods are some of the most cost-conscious , and popular, Summer party choices. Hot dogs and hamburgers will taste great to everyone on your guest list and are reasonably inexpensive, especially when you buy in bulk. For even more savings per burger, purchase flash-frozen hamburger patties instead of fresh from the meat counter. (Have some ready to grill frozen veggie burgers on hand, too, so that even your vegetarian guests can have a "burger.")  Supermarkets generally discount buns and condiments close to the July 4th weekend, so browse through sales circulars for the best deals. Ask everyone to bring a side dish, or drinks.  Guess what?  Unless your guests are made of money, no one will mind being asked- you're offering your home for everyone to gather, right?

• Send out e-vites to guests and save on postage and paper invitations. They're fast, environmentally friendly, and best of all: inexpensive to send.

• Entertainment can be simple. If kids will be coming to the party, they usually can be entertained by a day in the backyard swimming pool or by setting up a sprinkler to keep cool. Adults will make due with conversation and some music playing in the background. If budget allows, you can purchase some outdoor games, such as water balloons, a limbo stick and a pinata, or ask guests if they have these items they could lend for the party.  (For the possibility of unfortunate weather, make a stop SOON to your local library to check out some patriotic music and a few good movies to have on hand.)  To really get in the Independence Day mood, how about quizzing your guests with some Declaration of Independence trivia?  Or, have a challenge for the guest who knows the most states and their corresponding capitals?  Older elementary kids, especially, will be quite good at this.  When you stop by your local library to find some "just in case" movies, take a few minutes extra to do some research.

• Visit a 99 cents store. For those with this type of store in their neighborhood, shopping for party supplies can be inexpensive. These stores stock everything from colored plates and napkins, balloons, decorations, and more for around one dollar each item. If you don't have a 99 cents store, wholesale-type stores may also stock inexpensive items.

• Reign in the booze budget- entirely. Alcoholic beverages can take a huge bite out of a budget.  With kids around, and the need for many designated drivers, they're also unnecessary.

• Do dessert. On a hot day, and after spending hours in the yard, a cool dessert will be appreciated. A cost-effective treat is prepackaged ice cream cups. Or find out if you can arrange to have an ice cream truck pass by your home the day of the party and make dessert the guests' responsibility.

• Watch someone else's fireworks display. Fireworks are expensive and illegal in some areas. So leave the display to someone else. Public parks, boardwalks and municipal areas tend to put on fireworks shows every year. The key is to track down a display nearby on the day of your party. Remember to leave early to find a good seat, unless you know somewhere close to the venue where you can watch from your tailgate or vehicle.  If the display is in a park, take chairs or blankets to sit on and some drinks and snacks to enjoy during the viewing. 

We live in a remarkable country! Your party, and your sanity, should reflect that!  This is about friendship, fun and celebration!  Saturday marks a perfect opportunity to share with kids and friends alike how lucky you feel live here.  That's worth celebrating, I think.  Tomorrow:  we'll tackle some of the fastest, most efficient steps to take when it actually comes right down to cleaning up around the house, before your guests arrive on Saturday!

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

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Friends' Night Out that won't break the bank!

Making time for friends and adult conversations adds balance to life- friendship and community are some of the best spice in life. But add in a challenging economical situation for lots of folks, and getting together for a nice expensive dinner out is something that can easily go by the wayside.  Quality time with friends doesn't have to be expensive, as long as you can bring some imagination to the table!  So, call you friends, set a date and try P&G Everyday Solutions' budget-friendly ideas.

1. Scour your books, CD’s and DVD’s for those items you just no longer need and have an evening swap.  Make it a potluck, and think of the fun you'll all have "road-testing" everything before each person commits to their swap!  Or...

2. Hold a clothing swap.

Guys, too- this one's not just for the girls.  At the start of a new season, ask your friends in advance to bring any of their unwanted clothes, shoes and accessories to your party. Let everyone sort through and pick out items they want. Donate any unwanted clothes to charity. It's a fun, free way to update your wardrobe.

3. Take a cooking class. 

Sign up for a cooking class with your friends. Learn something new and then take turns hosting to give everyone in the group a chance to show off their new recipes.  Jennifer Vogel, co-owner of a cooking school in Cincinnati, believes cooking classes make a great night out. "It's fun! Instead of waiting for a table in a loud, crowded restaurant where it can be tough to have a conversation, you can learn great cooking techniques and be able to talk to each other during class," Vogel said. "There is a lot of laughter in our classes." 

4. Go for dessert.

Get a group together to go out to a restaurant just for dessert. You'll avoid paying for an expensive dinner but still have a special night on the town.

5. Play board games.  

No time to plan? Have a game night! Play cards or another favorite game that adults love. Who said poker is "just for the guys"?  Couples can have an awesome poker night, too.

It takes creativity, but you'll find it absolutely worth some effort!  Money troubles not weighing too heavily on your group?  Pick one of these same ideas, have everyone chip in the money you might have spent going out, and donate that amount to a local food bank instead.

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Check out the new John Tesh Social Network. You can connect with new friends, post your own blog, visit various forums, upload your favorite John Tesh music and share your photos.  To learn more about how to join, click here.

The fun of gaming has come to a whole new group of people!

Wow!  Do you find yourself amazed from time to time with new developments in technology?  I definitely do, and I loved this:  Science Daily reports a new computer game developed by MIT and Singaporean students that makes it possible for visually impaired people to play the game on a level field with their sighted friends- joining in the fun of gaming! 

The game, called AudiOdyssey, simulates a deejay trying to build up a catchy tune and get people dancing. By swinging the remote-control device used by the Nintendo Wii, which senses motion, the player can set the rhythm and lay down one musical track after another, gradually building up a richer musical track.

Eitan Glinert is a graduate student in computer science at the Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab, and says he noticed many newer groups playing Nintendo's Wii, like women, and older players.  It got him wondering what other groups of people are being left out, and it didn't take long to think of people with disabilities.  He started investigating what kinds of computer games were already available for the visually impaired and found about 200 games.  But he also made an interesting discovery:  as a sighted player, he wasn't able to play the games.  Because they were so specifically adapted for sound and touch playing, sighted players played at a distinct disadvantage- kind of taking the fun out of competition between 2 friends who have different sight abilities.  So Glinert set out to create a game that could be played by both, on an equal level, equally well.

At MIT, Glinert developed the prototype for AudiOdyssey in the summer of 2007, and has since been testing it with various groups of players. Since not everyone has access to the Wii controller, the game is also designed to be playable using a regular keyboard.  And though it's in its early stages, people seem to enjoy it, like Alicia Verlager, a recent grad of MIT, who is blind, and helped with the development of the game. 

"The element I probably most envy about gamers is just the way they hang out together and share doing something fun," she says.  It was this social aspect of sharing in the fun of gaming that Verlager wanted most to be a part of, and found that she could be with AudiOdyssey.

Interested in checking it out?  AudiOdyssey is available for free download (Windows only) at http://gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/audiodyssey.php.

I've talked several times on the show about the importance of kids not playing video games for too long  periods of time.  Kids do play video games, and in the right context- not too much time, and the appropriate maturity level of games- they can be a great source of fun.  How cool that kids with visual impairment can share in this, too! 

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Check out the new John Tesh Social Network. You can connect with new friends, post your own blog, visit various forums, upload your favorite John Tesh music and share your photos.  To learn more about how to join, click here.