phl17 PHILLY HOTLIST: Why YOU Should Be Voting For Raymond's Catering as Best Wedding Caterer!!!

VOTE HERE!!!!!

Here's what "Aretha Freak" had to say about Raymond's Catering:

"Raymond's Catering has two secret weapons that make them the BEST. First, they've got a CHEF that can cook anything and make it taste wonderful. Second, the OWNER is easy to work with and he'll make it so all you have to do is tell him what you want and he will make that happen for you. All you have to do is let them in on the day of your event!"

VOTE HERE!!!!!

"Musings Of An Aretha Freak" wanted to hear from Raymond's Catering themselves to find out what makes them THE BEST! So we sat down with owner Raymond Bibbo and told him not to hold back a thing. "Aretha Freak" found out the scoop and we're bringing it straight to you:

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MOAAF: In October 2012, Raymond’s Catering did the catering for the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts Alumni Association’s “Reunion of the 80’s Decade.”   One of the draws for me, in addition my friendship with Chef John Licata, was the promise of “no stress, no fuss, let us handle it all-so that you can relax in the confidence that your event will run flawlessly.” All I needed to do was tell you what we wanted and then let you in the door the night of the reunion. What’s your secret?  How do consistently manage to deliver a seamless, flawless and stress-free event over and over?

Raymond Bibbo: It's really simple. I am an owner operator. I would never go absentee! I stake my reputation on every job we do to fully satisfy the client! I hire good people and they know I accept only one thing: excellence in everything we do!

VOTE HERE!!!!!

MOAAF: Raymond’s Catering has a vast and diverse menu. And, you will move Heaven and Earth to get items that are off menu if the client wants it.  What are some of your favorite items on the menu to cook and which items are the most popular among your clients?

Raymond Bibbo: Of course ,we love to cook old school Italian dishes since we are all Italian. However, due to client needs we have learned many different ethnic dishes to satisfy everyone. We encourage variety among our clients, however, Raymond’s Italian Feast has always been and remains quite the popular buffet choice. Also, all our desserts are homemade by my mother, who has been baking for over 60 years!

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MOAAF: Chef John Licata has been with you since 1997. In September, he’ll be with you 17 years. Thinking about the age he started, he would have been considered by most in the catering business as an “inexperienced kid.” There must have been something extremely special you spotted when you decided to bring him into the business. What was special or different about Chef Licata at such a young age that you knew he was going to be different than anyone else?

Raymond Bibbo: Well, it was all by accident that I met John. I met him through his uncle at a job we did back in the day and he showed an interest in cooking. He was raw. But, he wanted to learn so I brought him on board and we started slow, part-time and before we knew it, he was here full-time and continued his eagerness to learn. Now he’s a vital part in the machine.

VOTE HERE!!!!!

VOTE HERE!!!!!

MOOAF: Why should we vote for Raymond’s Catering as Best Caterer in phl17’s Philly Hot List?

Raymond Bibbo: You should vote for us because we care about our clients. We always strive to do anything and everything we can to make our clients happy! Quality is our focus in everything we do. We won’t make something unless we know it’s the best! 

VOTE HERE!!!!!

For all of your catering needs, contact:

Raymond's Catering

PO Box 325

Eagleville, PA 19403

610-960-2074

RaymondsCatering@aol.com

http://www.RaymondsCatering.com

YES, YOU ARE STILL A JUNKIE EVEN IF THE DRUGS ARE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS!…..Book Review: "All Fall Down" by Jennifer Weiner

Allison Weiss is a mom, she's married, and living in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She has a great job that she seems to love, and she also seems to enjoy taking care of what seems to be a child that isn't a special needs child but, has some unusual type of sensitivities. Her father was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, her mother is trying to adapt to the situation. Allison is suspicious of the female "friend" her husband has been emailing and subsequently, socializing.

But, in addition to managing as much as she does, she's a drug addict. Now according to Allison, she can't be an addict because she's taking prescription drugs that were first prescribed by a doctor after a back injury. And she's not a REAL drug addict even if she's buying the drugs illegally online, and sneaking money from her job and her family into a secret bank account so she can buy those drugs illegally online.

So, Allison's husband, who has suspected for a while, finally calls her on it and sends her to rehab.

For the first time, during and after reading a Jennifer Weiner book, I had to ask myself, "where the HELL did she get her information?" Do addicts lie and steal to get drugs? Yes, she got that right. Do addicts shop around for different doctors to get their drugs? Yes they do. Do addicts buy drugs illegally online not caring if they're paying for poison that might kill them instantly? Yes, they do. She got ALL of that right.

What I don't understand is, what rehab facilities did she research? There is a scene where Allison plans and succeeds in "escaping" from the rehab to attend her daughter's birthday party. The rehab doesn't even call her husband when they discover she's gone. How she gets through the doors is ridiculous. Is Allison a voluntary patient or is she involuntary because her husband took her there? This is never really spelled out so we are made to assume that she went because her husband insisted in which case, she'd be there voluntarily. But even with the rules we read about, she probably still would not be allowed to leave most real rehabs.

There is a point in the book where Allison's mother shows up alone without Allison's husband for a therapy session. In this session, Allison's mother then tells her that she's been a functioning alcoholic since Allison was a child, revealing to Allison something else that explains why she doesn't drive a car. And then…..that's it. Oooookay. So what then? Nothing gets done with that after it's mentioned in the therapy session.

While I have so many issues with this book, I will only add one more. Allison starts out at first not even willing to admit she's an addict. Okay, that's normal. When she gets to rehab, she refuses to believe she's nothing like everyone else in rehab. Okay, also normal. One thing Allison never really gets past, I thought, was that she thought herself as better than everyone in that rehab. You may think differently when you get to the end but I still wasn't buying it.

Most of the characters that SHOULD have a LOT of weight in this book, don't. Allison's husband is too minor a character. The people she meets and befriends in rehab are still too minor. There is emphasis on her daughter but since Jennifer Weiner is so ambiguous about what her daughter's issue is, she gets far too much ink in this book.

Overall, it wasn't a bad book. I actually couldn't put it down. Maybe because I was hoping for some surprising changes. If you like Jennifer Weiner's books as I do, you will read this book and determine for yourself how you feel about it. If you have never read a Jennifer Weiner book, I'd recommend that you become familiar with some of her other books before you embark on reading this one. Try "Good In Bed," her first novel. It's fantastic. Try "The Guy Not Taken: Stories." her collection of short stories. THEN, read this one.

I was given an Advanced Reading Copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Book Review of "My Memories Dance" by D.M. Hulme

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“My Memories Dance” is the debut novel of D.M. Hulme and she hit it out of the park at her first step up to the plate! In the interest of full-disclosure, I was asked to read an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of the book, which is a work of Creative Non-Fiction, and I was asked to give an honest review of it. About halfway through the book, I purchased it outright because I knew that I would want to read it again. Also in the interest of full disclosure, the author is also the mother of one of my BFF’s. My fellow NetGalley readers and reviewers think I’m “NUTS!” and “INSANE!” for agreeing to read and review anything written by a friend, a family member, the family of a friend, etc. but if there were any BFF I was going to say “yes” to when asked, this BFF is one I couldn’t say “no” to.

My first point of order is to say “Congratulations!” to D.M. Hulme on her debut book. I’ve written plenty of blogs about myself over the years but could I write a book about myself using the honesty I encountered in “My Memories Dance?” I don’t know if I could. I also have HOARDS of respect for anyone who successfully writes and publishes a book. SO, let’s get to it…..

“My Memories Dance” is about Sarah Walker. Sarah is a young woman who was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, from this point on “Northeast Philly” or just “Philly.” Sarah’s journey through over four decades will take you through the highs and the lows of her life but in addition to her story, you get to read it through the eyes of a Philly girl who loved to go to the dances, loved watching American Bandstand, spent summers “down the shore,” and so much more. As a South Philly “girl” myself, the references to Jerry “The Geater With The Heater” Blavat (who wrote the foreword for this book), Wildwood, Woolworth’s, “The El,” and, so much more brought back memories of my own upbringing in Philly. It’s quite the wild ride down memory lane for Sarah and myself.

You will meet Tom MacPherson, the man who eventually becomes Sarah’s husband. You will HATE Tom. And you will NEED to hate Tom. Because you will feel so much conflict about the decisions, and the mistakes Sarah makes over and over again in regard to Tom. I think your first question will be “why the HELL did she ever marry him?” It was certainly mine and I don’t have any doubt that it will be yours. You will find that Sarah does have her reasons. One of the reasons being the actual decade in which they marry and how things were back then. Sarah writes:

"Tom and I would fight a lot. The fights were mostly about his drinking, the staying out all night,    about money and about his parents."

The other reasons I can’t tell you because, well…..spoilers, that’s why!

Alex Bentley. You will LOVE Alex. It won’t be hard. Alex is dreamy. I can tell you that you will know what Alex looks like from his description in the book and he’s definitely DREAMY. Alex’s appearances in the book seem to make him a minor character of sorts. However, Alex is a MAJOR character for the entire book for a myriad of reasons. He’s in Sarah’s mind and heart from the day she meets him until the end of the book. So even when Sarah isn’t interacting directly with Alex, Alex is still present to Sarah.

Sarah’s journey isn’t easy. Sure, life isn’t easy but I have to admire Sarah for her strength, her determination and her perseverance. There isn’t a day in Sarah’s adult life when she isn’t working a job. There is one short time where Sarah doesn’t work but there is a reason for it. Sorry, that’s a spoiler. There isn’t a day where she doesn’t have to take care of a member of her family. Not one. Sarah simply never stops working. And it’s not the work-a-holic type of working, it’s not “career woman” working. When Sarah takes on one of two or three different jobs to make ends meet, she goes to clean house for some women in the neighborhood and Sarah writes:

"These ladies treated me like I was their daughter. They loved me, and all I did for them. It was very rewarding."

This is SURVIVAL working regardless if it’s her job or taking care of a family member or being there for one of her friends.

You will briefly meet Sarah’s daughter Kim as well. Kim? Well, she’s the reason I read the book. Because she asked me to read it. Sarah has this to say after a terribly unpleasant event occurs:

"Kim and I would talk everyday on the phone. I would vent my problems, and she would always talk me down from the ledge."

Gee, I know NOTHING about what this is like at all. LOL!

"She's a wonderful kid, and I would ask myself, how did I get so lucky to have a kid like her!"

And how did I get so lucky to have a friend like her? And I know she’s absolutely going to hate the fact that I included this line in my review. She’s humble that way. At one point, I sent Kim a brief message about the part of the book where her birth occurs. Her reply was, “SPOILER- I'm really not in it that much.” Oh but she is. Because embedded in Sarah’s mind throughout the book after Kim is born, she’s doing everything for her child. She never has to come out and say it; you will simply just know this to be a fact.

Sarah’s life will make you laugh and it will make you cry. D.M. Hulme is exactly the second author of my 45-year-old life to actually make me cry tears while reading a book. I do recommend having some tissue available. If you’re sitting on the beach, get the Jackie O sunglasses out for this one. You will shed tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

I don’t know how much “creative” is embedded in this “Creative Non-Fiction” book so I have to accept it all as real as it is presented. If that’s the case then I can promise that you will ROOT for Sarah like I did. You will HATE Tom like I did. You will LOVE Alex as I did. And you will hear the songs that are the soundtrack of Sarah’s life in your head as you travel on her journey with her through every single page.

Finally, I enjoyed the choice and direction that D.M. Hulme decided to go with the ending of her first book. I think you’ll find that this definitely is one of the “creative” parts of “Creative Non-Fiction.” It’s kind of a surprise ending of a different sort. You’re gonna love what she does with it. I didn’t see it coming but, as I realized what she was doing with the ending, I thought it was soooo perfect.

I’m rating this the same way I’d rate a NetGalley or Goodreads by using the five star system and I’m giving it FIVE STARS. Most debut books don’t get 5 stars from me. But when an author can evoke the emotional responses that I had while reading, whether tears of sorrow, tears of joy, or laughing out loud not caring who hears it, you get 5 stars! It’s really that simple.

Before or after you read the book, visit the website, http://www.mymemoriesdance.com. You’ll find some lovely information there about the book as well as some great links.  Once you've perused the website, watch the fabulous VIDEO as well.



So, while I recommend this book for anyone who likes to read, I call on Philly chicks, those born in the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s, those of you who are the children of those born in these decades, and those of you who know what it means to go “down the shore,” to grab this one right NOW. You will NOT be able to put it down.

READ ABOUT "MY MEMORIES DANCE" IN ROWHOME MAGAZINE!!!!!

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