10/25: West Glen's Annual Halloween Celebration

This event is taking place on October 25th from 3:30-6 pm at West Glen. It includes hay rack rides, trick or treating, hot air balloon rides, games, and more. At 6:30, the movie It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is showing at the Fountain Plaza. Also from 2-4 pm, 3 Dog Bakery is having Dogtoberfest (not sure what this is but I'm guessing it's a sale). So this sounds like a fun time for the whole family.

9/19: Notes and Outdoor Movie Night at West Glen

Friday's Outdoor movie night at West Glen was postponed for this Friday (September 19) due to rain. With the cold, rainy weather, we didn't even think about going - so I don't know if the "Notes" was postponed also but it looks like this week Don Brown Sax and Flute will be at Fuel juice bar.

They'll still be showing Shrek and popcorn sales will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

9/16: Notes at West Glen

Caribou Coffee in West Glen is hosting Maximilian Eubank on guitar. $1 from each drink sale benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

You can listen to some of Maximilian's music on his website - and also check out some of his other upcoming events.

I have not personally seen Maximilian, but on his website his bio says:

I like to describe my music as similar to Bradley Nowell, Jason Mraz, Newton Faulkner and Donovan Frankenreiter. My lyrics and voice are what I have been cultivating for many years, and they are complimented well with my guitar skills. I have been writing songs since I first picked up a guitar when I was 14, and was published in two poetry collections before that. I have written around 60 original songs. The character of my lyrics ranges over the wide spectrum of human emotion. They can be dark, funny, satirical, elated, drunk etc.

My sound has been described as folk rock, anti-folk, acoustic rock, acoustic alternative and singer/songwriter. Personally I think it has a bit of each. My influences range from Led Zeppelin to Mos Def. From Black Sabbath to Al Green. From The Gypsy Kings to The Roots, Martin Sexton, and Newton Faulkner. While my sound is consistent within itself, it is influenced by so many genres of music it is always progressing. I also enjoy putting a bit of a shock factor into my songs. It turns heads. I like the dichotomy of raw rock and roll lyrics set to an acoustic background. I have a song about cigarettes and porn (Concrete) and a song about lesbians (Lady Cops). Throw in some Tenacious D and people start listening.

I have been performing for eight years now my largest crowd being 300, but I would be confident and cool playing in front of any amount of people. I occasionally play with other musicians but when I perform in my hometown of Des Moines, Iowa I mostly perform solo. My set can run as long as 3 hours and consists of original and cover songs. I look forward to any show, large or small, because once I’m on the stage it’s all the same to me.

Free Redbox Rental

We have been doing some Redbox rentals lately to make up for getting rid of DirecTV (again, we loved DirecTV, but at the moment have better uses for that money). For those of you who don't know what RedBox is, think vening machine for movie rentals.

Redbox rentals are a flat $1 per night and you can rent/return from any location without a membership. A credit/debit card is required.

A downside to renting at the machine itself is that you have to decide on what movie you want to watch while standing there. If you had ever seen my wife and I in the video store, we typically make about 3 rounds in the store before either deciding on a movie. Also, the movie you have your heart set on may be sold out from that particular machine, so you have to find another location that has it.

Something that I found out is that you can rent from RedBox online and leisurely select a movie and then reserve it for whatever location DOES have it in stock. Once you reserve it from a location, you just show up, hit the "pick up" button, swipe your card (so they know who you are) and take off with your DVD.

The only other downside I have run into with Redbox is that occassionally the machine you are trying to return the movie to is full and will not accept returns. In that case, you need to find another location that is not full... I have only had that happen once to me, so I don't know of a way around that yet.

So... the FREE part - Click the link below (or maybe just enter the code DVDONME at the machine) to receive a free night's rental.

9/20: What's For Dinner?, Ankeny

We've tried "What's For Dinner" a couple of times and have really enjoyed what they offer. For those of you who don't know about "What's for Dinner", it is a business that helps you create your own ready-to-cook frozen meals.

The primary benefit of WHAT'S for DINNER is the time we can save you preparing 12 meals in just about two hours. We do the shopping and the heavy preparation work. The time saved from menu-planning, shopping, cooking, chopping, and cleaning is yours to enjoy. Fewer last minute trips to the grocery store and no messy kitchen clean up will brighten your day. Families will be able to sit down to a meal together around the table which is so important because “a family that eats together stays together.”

Most meals require little cooking time, so you end up spending less time in the kitchen. In the end, they estimate $3.06 per serving. This isn't like microwave dinner type of food - this is fresh-tasting, home-made (ish) cooking.

For us, "What's For Dinner" helped us get more comfortable in the kitchen and transition from eating out regularly to cooking at home regularly. I think even if you are proficient in the kitchen, it is a good service because you can have meals almost ready to go for those days you don't feel like cooking from scratch.

So... the free part:

We will be hosting our 1st Annual Open House on Saturday, September 20th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Some of the highlights will include: - Sampling of some new recipes for the fall & our appetizer items for the holidays. - Great Give-a-ways! A Freezer, Half Session, items from local businesses and more! - Gift bags that include a discount ranging from 5% to 50% off your entire purchase. We hope you will join us in our celebration – we have been open for 1 year and would like to say Thank You to all of our wonderful customers, family and friends.

What's For Dinner Ankeny
802 S.E. Oralabor Road, Suite 108
Ankeny, IA 50021
(515) 963-3688
wfdankeny@gmail.com

Visit the website

9/12: Notes at West Glen and Movie Night @ West Glen

Notes at West Glen
6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.: Listen to the steel drums of Stan Dahl while sipping a tropical smoothie from West Glen's newest drink shop Fuel. This is a free event and $1.00 from every drink sold at Fuel benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Fountain Plaza at West Glen Town Center
5525 Mills Civic Parkway
West Des Moines, IA 50266
(515) 223-7885

Outdoor Movie Night
8:00pm - 10:00pm:
See the movie Shrek under the stars. All popcorn sales benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.


Visit the West Glen website

Make a Wish Come True with Cold Stone

Cold Stone Creamery is having a "Make a Wish" promotion September 25th from 5-8pm. They will be offering free 3oz servings of "Make a Wish" enspired creations: Jack and Emily.

The whole month of September, they will be selling Make-A-Wish wall stars to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. So, if you have the urge for ice cream this month (and c'mon - who won't), stop in for Cold Stone and help out a worthy organization, too.

Also, while you're at it - you can sign up for free ice cream on your birthday. Unfortunately, I signed up for my actual birth date -- after my birthday. So I have to wait another 9 months to get mine.

Art Stop

We stumbled onto this somewhat by accident. Last week we heard of an art gallery in Valley Junction having an open night. So, we showed up in Valley Junction and found out that it wasn't just one gallery, but a bunch of them - part of Art Stop. I don't know how we missed hearing about this, but I'm glad we found it.

What is Art Stop?

Art Stop is "a two-day visual and performing arts event" - a cooperative effort connecting six areas around Des Moines: Court Avenue, Gateway West, Historic East Village, Valley Junction, Ingersoll, and Roosevelt. Basically, wander freely through the different galleries and check out the local art scene. There is a shuttle bus going between the different locations (we didn't have a problem finding parking in Valley Junction last night, but I suspect that today may be a different story).

One of the best parts: many of the galleries have free food - wine, cheese, etc.

Since I didn't know about this much in advance, I'm going to make this post brief and get myself down there before I miss the rest!