Homeowner Holiday Dinner and Party
When: Sunday, December 6, 2009, from 2-4pm
Where: Marietta First United Methodist Church, 56 Whitlock Ave., Marietta, 30064, 770-429-7800
What: Food, fun, and games! Santa will pay a special visit, and each child will leave with a picture and a special gift. There will be door prizes for the adults as well!
Who: For all Habitat homeowners and their children.

 RSVP by November 13 to Joyia Hull

Can you sing, dance, juggle, do magic, tell jokes, play an instrument etc.?

We’re looking to have some fun at the Family Holiday Party on December 6th by showcasing Habitat’s most gifted performers!

 All ages are welcome!

• Each performer will have up to three minutes.
• A grand prize will be awarded.

You must sign up before November 30th. Call or email Family Resources  at 770-432-7954 or  jhull@nwmetroatlantahabitat.org

Looking for some free family fun this weekend?

Cobb County will host its annual Fall Festival of Fun 4-7 pm, Saturday, October 31 at Jim Miller Park in Marietta.

The festival will feature free admission, carnival games, crafts, trick-or-treating, costume contests and hay rides.

Cobb Fire and Emergency Services is encouraging residents to change their smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries when they change their clocks back for daylight savings time this Sunday, Nov. 1.

The Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery campaign aims to remind people of the importance of changing batteries in these life-saving devices. Prevention is key and working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire nearly in half. Two-thirds of deaths result from fires in homes without working smoke alarms. Residents are also reminded that smoke alarms should be replaced at least every 10 years and tested once a month to ensure they are working. For more information, including simple home safety tips, visit cobbfire.org

The holidays are right around the corner and there are lots of fun things happening that you won’t want to miss! Please, take a minute and read through the information below.

Homeowner Holiday Dinner and Party
When: Sunday, December 6, 2009, from 2-4pm
Where: Marietta First United Methodist Church, 56 Whitlock Ave., Marietta, 30064, 770-429-7800
What: Food, fun, and games! Santa will pay a special visit, and each child will leave with a picture and a special gift. There will be door prizes for the adults as well!
Who: For all Habitat homeowners and their children.

 RSVP by November 13 to Joyia Hull

Toys for Habitat Kids!
As in years past, we will have a new toy for all of our Habitat kids ages 1-18.

Please call or email Joyia to add your name, and your children’s names and ages, to our list. Toys will be given out by Santa at the Holiday Party. If for some reason you are unable to attend the party, let us know and toys can be picked up at the Habitat office.

For the Holiday Party and toys, please RSVP by November 13 to: Joyia Hull in Family Resources at 770-432-7954 or email her at http://jhull@nwmetroatlantahabitat.org. Please let her know how many adults and children will be attending and the age/sex of the children for toys.

Annual Drawing Contest
Is there a budding artist in your family? We’re looking for Holiday related art submissions and have prizes for the winners. Habitat kids up to age 18 submit a drawing related to the theme, “Home for the Holidays.”

Contest Rules: • All artwork must address the theme, “Home for the Holidays.”• Entries must be free-hand drawings, using pen, pencil, crayon, paint or any combination of these media. • A straight edge may be used to aid in drawing a straight line. • Gluing stars or other materials to the surface is not permitted. • Use of stencils or tracing is not permitted. • Entries must be on plain white paper or poster board no larger than 9 x12. • All entries must be received in the Habitat office on or before November 27 • Name, address, and age must be included on the back of each submission.

Criteria for judging: Artistic ability and adherence to the theme. Artwork will be featured on the Habitat family website, our main Habitat website, and will be showcased throughout the holidays on a variety of Habitat related materials.

General Habitat News!
Please, please, please…if we do not have your email address, send it to us as soon as possible. It is the fastest, easiest way for us to let you know about all the good things happening at Habitat and in your community. Send your email address to http://jhull@nwmetroatlantahabitat.org. Also, be sure to check this website often for the latest on what’s happening in the Family Resources Department at Habitat.

Christian Aid Mission Partnership (C.A.M.P.) will distribute free food to the first 1,000-qualifying families, beginning at 9:00 am on Saturday, October 24^th. Low-income households that qualify will receive approximately 60-plus pounds of meat, cheese and a variety of canned and dry foods. Distribution will be for residents of both Cobb and Douglas counties. There will be a strict limit of one allotment per household. Distribution will be drive-thru, so families are encouraged to have plenty of gas. The food is being provided through the Atlanta Community Food Bank and the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. (770) 819-0662.

 Camp is located at: 6289 Veterans Memorial Highway, Building 12-A, in Austell.

Put down the scissors: Coupons are increasingly available by phone, by e-mail, online and in other digital forms. Here are hints on how to stretch your budget with the latest generation of an old standby.

SEEK: Deals are everywhere. Rather than waiting for a coupon for your favorite cereal or toilet cleaner to show up, you can find deals when you want them online.

Dozens of Web sites that are searchable by retailer and product category do some leg work for you. At www.coupons.com, www.retailmenot.com and many others, you just click on the coupon you want and print it out. Yahoo’s recently revamped deals.yahoo.com/ is similar but covers such a broad range it can be daunting to search. You can even search and buy coupons on eBay.

Services like www.cellfire.com deliver the deals you choose to your cell phone or let you upload them to your grocery store loyalty card. Also check the Web sites of companies that make your favorite products for direct offers, and check your favorite retailers’ and grocers’ sites, especially for deals on delivery or shipping.

STUDY: Numerous Web sites and blogs are dedicated to the art of couponing, finding the best deals and learning new ways to employ them. For example, www.Krazycouponlady.blogspot.com, which focuses on low-cost food shopping, outlines the policies of specific stores, highlights the best deals of the week, offers tips to beginners and encourages comments and questions from visitors.

New ways of using coupons can yield new results. For instance, if your neighborhood store is having a promotion on your favorite type of yogurt, don’t stop there. Search online for store or manufacturer coupons (remembering to look by brand and maker as well as retailer) to combine with the promotion, then check your store’s policies to maximize your savings.

SIGN UP: Get your favorite stores’ loyalty cards, which offer exclusive deals. At some retailers, cardholders also get additional coupons at the checkout or in the mail based on their purchases. Sign up for your favorite companies’ Twitter feeds, check their Facebook pages and get on their e-mail lists for deals. Some retailers offer discounts on a second purchase if you answer a survey online about your buying experience.

SHOP: Know the prices of items you typically buy: Just because you have a coupon good for one store doesn’t mean the item won’t be still cheaper elsewhere — sometimes without a coupon!  

Congratulations to our October winners. 

Stephanie Hollins in our Hillcrest Subdivision:

and Theresa Murphy in our Thomas St. Subdivision:

Be on the lookout for the Fall Newsletter that lists some new changes will be implementing with the Yard of the Month Program beginning in March.

Piedmont Hospital has received a grant from Susan G. Komen for the cure.
They are now providing free breast imaging services, mammograms,
ultrasound, MRI, etc. including biopsy to underserved women. Call 404-605-4427 for an appointment. Translation services are provided. Please take advantage of this life saving opportunity.  Services are offered at Piedmont
Hospital in Buckhead.

Please seriously consider passing the word and maybe Save A Life!

“Thieves steal mail from postal trucks, collection boxes, apartment mailbox panels, and neighborhood delivery and collection box units. They want your checks, cash, your credit card applications, and your bank account statements.” The U.S. Postal Inspectors who investigate mail thefts, report arresting over 6,000 theft suspects last year alone.

 “Mail thieves are most often looking for valuables that they can convert or trade for cash.

There are some tips residents should be aware of to minimize exposure to mail thieves.

• Use the letter slots at your post office to mail letters, or give them to a letter carrier.
• Deposit mail in blue collection boxes before the last pick up time that appears on the schedule posted on each box.
• Promptly remove mail from your mailbox after delivery, especially if you’re expecting checks, credit cards, or other negotiable items. If you won’t be home when the items are expected, ask a trusted friend or neighbor to pick up your mail. Don’t leave it in your mailbox overnight.
• Don’t send cash in the mail.
• Ask your bank for “secure” checks that can’t be altered.
• If you will be away from home for more than three days, ask the Post Office to hold your mail until you return. You can initiate a mail hold at the Post Office or online at USPS.com.

If you believe your mail was stolen, report it immediately to your local postmaster or a Postal Inspector. Postal Inspectors may determine whether your problem is isolated or part of a larger mail theft problem in your neighborhood–and it may help them locate and apprehend the thieves.

You can file a mail theft report with the Postal Inspectors by calling toll-free (877) 876-2455 or complete the report online at USPS.com/postalinspectors.

“If you see anything suspicious, take down a description, a license plate number or whatever information you can gather and report it to the Post Office immediately.”