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Good for: Dogs
Price: $15/wash, $11.25/wash with ongoing buy 3 get 1 free promotion
Features: Self-service pet wash

We used to wash our puppy at home, in the bathtub. As she got bigger and more fur was collecting near the drain, we decided to look at other cleaning options including various groomers. We visited a few other places but those were gross or scared our dog to death. Friends of ours brought their dogs to the self-service wash area at the local Pet Food Express so we finally gave it a try.

Typically, you first pay at the register and they give you a token. As this was our first time, the cashier just gave use some towels and a token so we could try it and pay afterwards. This way, if we liked it, we could take advantage of their buy three get one free deal and if not we only paid for one wash. The area was open, clean, and cozy. Several hooks were available to hang any purses or jackets and thick aprons were provided.

Speckles, our dog, was a little apprehensive about getting into the tub at first. After inserting the token, we chose our shampoo. The hose was water and shampoo combined so there was no extra step in wetting then lathering up. Usually Speckles is pretty good with being given a bath and will just give us her “Why are you doing this to me?” look. After that was done we moved the dial to ‘rinse’. I did get a bit wet when Speckles decided to shake but it’s wasn’t that bad. We towel-dried her a bit and then had her sit on the area near the drying hose.

The hose blew cool air and was not overly loud. By this time, Speckles was very relaxed and let us have a bit of fun with her.

This was so much easier than washing her at home. Those raised tubs make a HUGE difference! Plus, with the shampoo covered and all the clean-up taken care of for us, it works out to be pretty reasonable. So if you just need a wash and don’t want to deal with the price of getting them groomed, try this. I know we’ll be back at least once a month!

Good for: Everyone
Price Range: $15/adult, $9/child, $12/senior (discounted rate for San Francisco residents)
Features: Mini train, talking storybooks using zoo key

San Francisco Zoo is a surprisingly nice zoo. It’s clean, set up well, and has a great selection of wildlife. Make sure you purchase a zoo key (it’s only $3 and can be used every visit) to make use of the storybooks and, in addition to being a nice souvenir, the kids love it! You can also take a ride on the Little Puffer Steam Train but, at the time of writing this review, the official web site says it’s closed for annual maintenance.

Lion, tigers, and bears…and bugs. Many forms of beasts can be found here so be prepared for the hibbie-jibbies as you enter the invertebrates exhibit. Yes, those are cockroaches – eiuw!

At the Playfield Cafe there are various types of food. We had the teriyaki and orange chicken meals and they were actually pretty good. We actually had more but, when they warn you about the seagulls ‘attaching your food’, they’re not kidding. All three of us were sitting at the table and turned our heads for one second. We turned back around only to find a seagull had swooped into our chicken bowl. The Cafe was pretty nice about it and gave us a new dish as we hadn’t even taken a bite yet, thought they can’t be expected to do this every time. So, while the food is tasty here, beware of the sea gulls. Period.

I know know why there was THICK plexiglass near the lion exhibit. At one point the lion decided to stand upright and start scratching against it – that was scary!

There are so many animals and exhibits that I am not able to list them all here. It was great to see how they all look pretty content in their habitats. Even the polar bear was mellow and even plopped down for a nap. The peacock was actually roaming free so we all have fun chasing it down to get some great photos!

Every zoo needs a place the kids can actually touch and pet some animals as well, right? For just a few cents you can even get some feed to give the sheep and goats. Watch out for those sheep though, once you start feeding them, they won’t want you to stop. Run, don’t walk!

This is a fantastic zoo and is well worth a visit. San Francisco residents get extra discounts and free days so you have no excuse to not visit if you live in the city. If coming from outside the area, save some time later to check out the beautiful shoreline on the other side of the zoo. All-in-all, spending the day at San Francisco zoo is a great way to enjoy a family outing!

Is Disneyland the happiest place on earth? Well, they certainly try to be! There’s great entertainment, rides for everyone in the family, and the employees (known as cast members) really seem to enjoy working there. If you’ve ever been on the must-do-at-least-once Jungle Cruise, the enthusiasm and cheesy humor of the captains scream “I love my job!” While Disney tries to keep it fresh but updating various attractions and constantly adding new ones, I love that there are some ‘old’ favorites that keep the history and childhood memories alive. I do miss those Country Bears though!

I was never much into Swiss Family Robinson so the switch to making it Tarzan’s Treehouse was a welcome on and so appropriate. For the first time I actually WANTED to climb the tree and thought it was done very well. Much of the charm of Disneyland lies in the intricate, and many times subtle, details. Walking along Main Street and seeing little movements in the upper windows, enjoying the theming of Adventure Land, the artists in New Orleans Square and other bits really make it enjoyable.

There are a few attractions that only Disneyland has including the Matterhorn and Alice in Wonderland. This “It’s a Small World” is extremely special as the ones in Florida and Paris can’t even compare to this one. Just make sure you check the schedule to make sure it’s open as we just always happen to visit when its down for maintenance or such. One of our favorite rides here is the Indiana Jones Adventure ride. Just the decorations and features in the line are fantastic but the ride is even better. This is one my husband and I will try to ride over and over again. By the way, as the closing of the park gets nearer, the lines are almost nonexistent and you can immediately get off and run back through the empty line again!

To say there are several places to get souvenirs would be an understatement. A somewhat inexpensive idea is to buy (or make) an autograph book. Even if your child is a bit scared of the giant characters at first, they will treasure having the autographs with a corresponding picture of them with the characters. The absolute best memory maker is getting a personalized mouse-ears hat with your name on it. There was one shop on Main Street (I can’t remember the name right now) that even allowed you to completely customize your hat with different bases, ears, patches, and more. My daughter still has her hat hanging in her closet and remembers our last trip vividly every time she sees it, as do we. For more shopping goodness, be sure to check out Downtown Disney which is outside the park and has no admission charge!

For food, we really enjoy the barbecue in Adventureland. Nothing else really stands out as being spectacular but it is overall pretty good but expensive. A fairly inexpensive snack can found at the corn dog cart on Main Street and that tasted pretty good too. Oh, make sure you get a churro from one of the carts found throughout the park. They are perfectly crispy on the outside, soft but cooked thoroughly on the inside, and are generously coated with cinnamon sugar – nom nom!

Living in California most of my life, Disneyland has become a kind of staple for me. Every year or two I get this crazy urge to visit and that time is starting to come up now. The nice thing about Disneyland resort is that is is doable in 1-2 days so you don’t get a Disney overdose. On our next trip I will do a more detailed review of each ‘land’ so keep an eye out for that!

Read about Disney California Adventure Park.

The first thing we always make a point to do is taking family photos near the California sign at the entrance. We took pictures of our daughter when she was just a year old in one of the ‘a’ letters and took similar photos of her in the same letter and pose seven years later – so cute! Then my husband gets his time in the spotlight with his signature ‘f’ letter (representing his name, Frans…).

I really enjoy how this park focuses on the Pixar side of Disney. We loved most of the Pixar movies so seeing the characters from them was a lot of fun for all of us. The theming of lands such as ‘A Bug’s Land’ is truly unique as larger than life props make you feel as if you’ve shrunken to the size of your fellow bugs. Though I’ve been a California resident most of my life, riding Soarin’ in the Golden State area never gets tiring – that’s a fantastic ride! It’s also a treat to see the replicas of landmarks I’ve seen since I was young such as the sights of Yosemite. Much of Paradise Pier was under construction during our last visit so I look forward to checking out World of Color and the rest of the Pier next time. What I do remember and am anxious to go on again is California Screamin’. My daughter was not old/tall enough to ride on it on our last visit so, the next time we go, it will be fun to ride together and get a photo snapshot of our whole family.

In Hollywood Pictures Backlot, do not miss the Aladdin musical. I repeat, do NOT miss the Aladdin musical. It’s fantastic! The genie is hilarious, the props are amazing, and the music is even better than in the movie. It’s been showing here for several years but with the quality of this production, I’m not surprised. Young and old will enjoy this over and over again as the genie keeps his jokes fresh each time!

The Pixar Play Parade is just plain fun. Get a good seat right on the curb and your little ones can really feel part of the parade and catch the falling bubbles being blown. For inside entertainment, the Muppet Vision 3D is a great attraction to visit and I really enjoyed it though I’m not generally a Muppets fan.

The last time we went to Disney’s California Adventure was about two years ago and A LOT has been added since then. I can’t wait for this summer when the new Cars Land is completed as well check out what else is new. Don’t forgot to come back for an update of that trip later this year!

Read about Disneyland Resort.

See 2/15 Wordless Wednesday Featured Image.

Fashion Cents Deluxe is a simple dress-up game available to download on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms. You are given 10 dolls/models to clothe in matching shirts, hats, jackets, pants, skirts, shoes, and accessories. I really like the art style used in this game. As you can see, the unclothed girls are still modest and not ‘sexy’ in anyway and, in my opinion, very innocent and basic. To complete an outfit, you need to have one of each main component – some head accessory, a top, a bottom, and shoes. The styles and colors these are presented in vary greatly. Some items are even two-toned, allowing you to coordinate with more color combinations. Each completed outfit is sent to the shopping bag in the left column and counts toward the required ten outfits to progress to the next level.

There are a ton of styles that are covered including cowboy, princess, country, cheerleader, casual, and beachwear. Jewelry, purses, and pets are some of the extras you can add to your doll for extra points. Completing several outfits in a row allows you to accrue multiple bonuses, though this is a bit harder for younger ones to master. The sound bits are reminiscent of a valley-girl fashionista with “Are you ready to go shopping?”, “Eiuw!”, “Oh, yeah!”, and more. The little phrases make my daughter giggle a bit and have her repeating them as she plays. The upbeat background music is also a nice touch. When you get stuck, or as levels continue to get harder, several ‘wild’ pieces can be used such as a credit card for any one item, bleach to change the color, or white/black/denim clothes that can be used with any outfits.

The nice thing about this program is that it is very well maintained. Several clothing add-on packs are available and free to those that purchase the program. The customer service is quick and helpful as your main contact is also the creator of the game. This game has simple drag and drop functions and children as young as three or four can enjoy it. There are easy, normal, and hard settings depending on the player. On the hard setting, I can only get to 5 or 6 at most so you know that the challenge potential is definitely there for older players.

Fashion Cents Deluxe only costs $9.99 and is a huge bargain. I can’t even remember when we bought it but it must have been five or six years ago – and we are still playing it! If you enjoy the idea but have boys, My Game Company recently released a Fashion Cents Gents version which may appeal to you. In any case, if you want an entertaining game with no violence, sex, bad language, etc. you should download Fashion Cents for free and give it a try!

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There are a couple of parts that get a bit intense and  a “V” type scene so I would recommend for you to watch it with your children or for them to be at least eight years old. My daughter rates this as a “PG” episode. I would agree as the theming was a bit more mature than the rest of the series.

Scholastic Media’s Emmy Award®-winning animated series WordGirl® explores the power of words to help and to harm in a timely new one-hour episode, “The Rise of Miss Power,” which stars Emmy Award®-winner Jane Lynch as the voice of Miss Power and premieres February 20th on PBS KIDS GO! (check local listings).

“The Rise of Miss Power” is part of PBS KIDS’ on-going effort to provide anti-bullying programming and resources for parents and teachers.  In addition to this special WordGirl premiere, PBS KIDS will feature additional programming throughout the year on appreciating differences and coping with bullies.