There are a million reasons to love December, most of which are somehow related to the excitement of the Holiday Season and the anticipation of taking time away from school or work. Most of you are taking your last tests and quizzes, finishing the last of your homework, and filling your upcoming time off with family and friends. For me, this time of the year will be spent having little reunions with my camp friends, some of whom I haven’t seen since we left camp! Dani Corradetti joined me for a day of shopping last Friday, and we were FINALLY reunited with  Rebecca Waxman! Although I got to see her in Syracuse not too long ago, it was so good to finally be back to our usual routine. The camp friend fun continued into the next day with the arrivial of  Alex Feigin at my house Saturday night!

Alex spends some time with Leo and Bella!

We had family dinner and Alex ate her first Sweet Potato! After dinner I had to prepare LOTS of dough for our holiday cookie baking bonanza, and my mom was working on a puzzle for one of her last holiday airings on QVC. Between the cookies and the puzzles we had a lot of laughs, and then Alex and I spent the rest of the night talking about camp and our new ideas for summer 2011. For those of you who may not know, Alex and I go way back to my first summer at camp, in 2006, when we dominated the field and courts (and rec hall!) on Blue Greased Lightnin’… if you weren’t at camp that year, I bet you’ve at least heard our Alma Mater! Here’s a picture from the 2006 CW break, early in the morning, featuring some familiar faces…

Skurman, Toll, Feigin, Sharir, and Me - SO Young!

Well, now I’ve got to go get ready to interview a staff member for a position at camp! Tis the season for college students to start deciding what they’re going to do over the summer, and that means lots of interviews and college visits for Pam and I. We’ll be heading to Michigan in early February to meet lots of interested students who want to work at Canadensis! To really get the word out, we’ve started a Facebook Ad campaign, so don’t be surprised if you see this show up on your screen:

We're on Facebook!

So very exciting! Speaking of things that are exciting, or get easily excited, I had a long conversation with Lauren Berry as we continue to think of ways for her to move to the US and live here forever. Since we both LOVE sushi, today’s idea was for us to open our own sushi restaurant. I even drew Lauren a pie chart to express my love for sushi, and said I would post a picture of a pie on the blog for her. So I went to Google, typed in “Sushi Pie”, and my life was forever changed:

NOM NOM CUTE!

SO CUTE!!! Whoever came up with this brilliant idea is my new hero! I can’t even imagine eating something so lovable! New idea for summer 2011 – iCan Make Sushi Art? I’ll be working on my skills for the rest of the winter…

Anyways, that’s my rambling blog for the week. I can’t believe the New Year is just around the corner. Summer 2011, here we come!

The final product of a night of sisterly baking!

Hello Canadensis!

As I sit in my home office, the heat is turned up to 70 degrees and Robin is sitting across from me doing some work on her laptop as well. Why does it have to be SO cold? I went up to camp this past Tuesday with Matt Unger and it was FREEZING. Stepping out of the car in front of the office was cold, but when I went down to the lake and stood on the amphitheatre, with the wind howling across FROZEN LAKE LENAPE, that was the definition of COLD! I even braved the elements (for just a few minutes) so that I could film a Canadensis Today for all of you to see a small glimpse of camp in the wintertime.

Camp looks so different this time of year. Of course we are missing the campers and staff. There was a light dusting of snow in most places and ice patches in other. Lake Lenape looks more like an ice skating rink than a place to waterski! The trees are officially bare and there are leaves and branches all over the place. A windy fall means branches falling everywhere. It’s a big cleanup job in the spring for our precamp staff.

Back in the winter office, Matt and I attended an auction at a local school that is shutting down. We were able to buy a few things for our kitchen that are in awesome shape (a stainless steel prep table to name one) which will look great in our kitchen. We are also buying a new ice machine and other “goodies” for our dining hall over the next several weeks.

Last night, I enjoyed dinner at the Garfinkle’s house. Jake and Ryan Garfinkle will be enjoying their first summer at Canadensis in 2011 and are really excited for all that camp has to offer. Their mom made a delicious traditional Chanukah dinner (complete with latkes of course) because I was originally supposed to visit them over Chanukah, but had to delay the visit. It was an AWESOME dinner. To top it off, the boys made their favorite dessert, which is chocolate fondue. They also made smores in the microwave using the fondue chocolate. Amazing idea. Finally, they showed me their new Kinect, which is cool. They did a track and field event and the score was so close after 6 events…looked awfully tiring from the chair I was SITTING in! Thanks guys for a great evening and I look forward to seeing you both at the new camper bowling.

For all of our campers and staff from Summer 2010, don’t forget about our upcoming REUNION! All of the details will be posted on the blog soon, but it’s on Sunday, Jan 9th from 11AM – 12:30PM at Jeepers in Elizabeth, NJ. Hope to see you there.

The flights are all booked for DISNEY WORLD for the 2011 CIT’s! And speaking of Disney World (I know, what a transition), Robin and I are headed to Florida for the next 2 weeks! Next week we will be in Orlando spending some time at the Disney Parks/Universal Parks and hopefully get a chance to see the new Harry Potter World. We will be going with my niece Emily, my brother/sister-in-law, and my mom. Should be a blast for the newly-expanded Forti to have a chance to be on vacation together, away from the daily stresses and pressures. Following our week in Disney, we will be going to Boynton Beach, FL to spend some time with Robin’s parents.  We are both looking forward to seeing them and spending time in (hopefully) warmer weather. After these relaxing 2 weeks, I begin traveling 2 weeks a month for the next few months and Robin might miss me a little, or so she says:)

Robin and I wish everyone a very enjoyable and relaxing winter break and a very Happy and Health New Year. I am sure Jcal has some exciting things to post on the blog over the next few weeks, so make sure you stay tuned for updates!

Check out our new table display cover for camp fairs:

I’m sorry that I didn’t blog this past Wednesday – and I’ll be missing next Wednesday as well because I will be out of town!  I’m heading west to Arizona, where my parents live.  I’ll  be spending some time with them in Phoenix, and then taking a road trip to Sedona and Las Vegas.  I’m very excited be in the sunshine, and go on hikes through the beautiful mountains – but I’ll also have the opportunity to meet a few staff applicants who are applying to work at camp this summer!

I have spent a lot of time in Arizona, not only because my parents have retired there, but also because I went to University of Arizona – I’m a Wildcat!  While I was in school, I was in a sorority called Alpha Epsilon Phi (AEPhi).  For all of our Canadensis Seniors that went on the college tour this past summer, I’m sure you still remember your Greek alphabet, and I hope you still wear the adorable Canadensis  Greek tees we gave out!

I was in AEPhi for all 4 years I was in college, and the sorority became a big family for me on campus!  It reminded me so much of camp – there was always a big group of people around, we ate all of our meals together, there were always fun events going on and there was a lot of room to be creative!  I made some really great friendships, and I learned a lot about myself as a leader.  I think being in a sorority has made me a better camp counselor, and I know that so many of the staff we hire to work at camp that are in sororities and fraternities feel the same.

(This is a picture of my and some of my sorority sisters dressed up at a theme party…I’m dressed up as a camp counselor of course!!  Yep, I’m the blonde in the middle.)

Hello Canadensis! Sorry I haven’t been able to blog as much as I used to, but things have been so busy here in the winter office and with my “new” life. The question I seem to get most whenever a parent calls this office is “How is married life?” Well to answer that question for everyone, it’s absolutely AWESOME and Robin and I are settled into our new townhouse in Ambler, PA. As great as married life is, it just seems I am always more busy! I used to go home, pickup chinese takeout (or cook something quick and not very gourmet), sit on the couch watching TV, and blog all at the same time. Now that Robin and I live together, I don’t think she would be so fond of eating dinner with me while I am sitting on the computer blogging, watching TV, etc.  So, things are different. On the flipside, we both watch GLEE together and enjoy it (I admit that I am a Gleek), it was nice to light the Chanukah candles with someone else, and the quality of dinners has dramatically increased.

Robin is teaching Kindergarten at a school in Montgomeryville, PA and is enjoying it, although she unfortunately misses out on some of the evening camp fun that I get to do. For example, last night I had dinner with David Brucker (Junior boy last summer). David is doing really well in school and is so excited again for camp. You may remember him as Oliver in our show last summer and we definitely discussed some ideas for a show this year. But, of course he also enjoys a ton of other activities at camp. It was a good opportunity for me to ask him tons of questions about camp, like what was your favorite evening activity, meal in the dining room, etc. We had a great time at Bertucci’s and I look forward to seeing ALL of you at the reunion in a few weeks. (More on that later).

David as Oliver!

Other camp news: Matt Unger was up at camp yesterday and we are both headed up there next week. He actually went up to deliver a bunch of new weight room equipment. Our weight room is used by our older campers and our staff and there will be additional treadmills, recumbent bikes, elliptical machines, benches, and weights. Of course I will be the first one up each morning leading the 5AM workout session, so if anyone is interested in joining me, let me know (haha).

I was up in Boston last week for a meeting with 10 other camp directors and kitchen managers to discuss our dining hall and share ideas from other camps. I once again gained some new menu ideas, things that worked really well at other camps, and some new enhancements for us to try. This is an area that we are definitely going to be putting more thought into in order to keep the menu items new and exciting for all of you. One small hint: how about a pretzel roll to go with perhaps a grilled chicken sandwich or turkey, etc? Trust me, that’s just a small idea- I have alot more for this coming summer!

I have also been really busy finalizing my recruiting trips around the world. This year, I will be going on 3 “world” trips to many of the same destinations, but just to keep it fresh and new there are a few new places as well. (Do airport layovers count as destinations, hehe). Robin will be accompanying me on one of the 3 trips, but she  is bummed out about missing out on the big “Down Under” trip, which has opposite seasons than us, which means while she is freezing here in Philly, it’s summer “Down Under”. Planning the logistics of these trips is a huge undertaking, so I have been busy with a new passport, specific country visas, flight arrangements, etc. Oddly enough, I have a specific department I called at Continental Airlines and am friends with several of the 9 employees who work there. We are on a first-name basis! Shout-out to Judy!

Back to camp stuff, a few weeks ago we embarked on our local “tours of the area” via our canteen on the fly events. They were once again a HUGE success, so thanks to all of our families who came out to see us. We saw over 150 campers and tons of parents, as well as new campers who are so excited about Canadensis. How cool that they all came out to see us…or was it because of the free ice cream?? For those keeping track, on Day 1 on Long Island I didn’t have any ice cream, Day 2 in NY I had a giant amazing cone at Ben & Jerry’s and that was all, and Day 3 in Philly…well it went downhill from there- 2 out of 3 places. Does it count if one was frozen yogurt?!

Following our Canteen on the Fly events, we hosted informational sessions for our 2010 CIT’s, some of whom will be returning as JC’s for Summer 2011. It was great to see all of them and we are looking forward to having some of them as counselors for you all. Definitely an exciting program and a time for them to share what they learned as campers and apply that to being an amazing counselor.

Pam, Brian, and I are headed tonight to Westchester, NY to meet with the Kilman Family and some of their neighbors/friends who might be interested in coming to Canadensis over the next few summers. I will be hitting the road while I am not overseas and visiting many more campers over the next few months, so let me know if I should stop by and say hello!

Finally, I am so excited for our upcoming reunion. It seems so far away (a month from today in fact), but with the holidays and everyone taking vacations, it really is just around the corner. Pam has found an awesome spot for us called Jeepers in the Newark Airport area (Jersey Gardens Mall) from 11AM – 12:30PM on Jan. 9th and the best part of all is that Canadensis officially takes over Jeepers as we are the ONLY PEOPLE THERE!! We can make as much noise as we want and have tons of fun going on indoor rides, playing video games, and of course enjoying lunch. So, make sure you save the date and I can’t wait to see you all there.

Have you heard of Mah Jongg?  It’s quite literally the best game ever invented, and although the game gets a bad rap for being the “Grandma Game”, I play weekly with a group of 20-something women, and I’ve taught boys and girls of all ages.  My favorite place to play Mah Jongg is at Camp Canadensis because you need 4 people to play, and it’s never hard to get a group together at camp.  This past summer, I taught some campers and staff how to play, and I expect it will become an even more popular activity in 2011.   The Super Senior Girls were my all-star Mah Jongg students in 2010, and I hope there will be room for a “mahj” table in their CIT bunk this summer!  The standouts from the staff include Cara Corradetti, Ricky Hohn, BeckyJ and Jason “JCal” Calabretta – who had Mah Jongg dreams the night after I taught him how to play!

“Mahj” is a game that combines decision making, strategy and luck – once you learn how to play it’s a skill you have for life, and it’s a great activity to keep you connected with new and old friends.  If you receive the Jewish Exponent newspaper in the Philadelphia area, look out for an article which quotes me and should be running in this weeks edition!  If you live elsewhere, you can check out the article online – and look for the special Camp Canadensis shout out at the end! http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/22419/

Below is a picture of me and the group of ladies I play with.  I’m also an instructor during the year, so if you are a parent who wants to learn the game, get in touch with me (pam@canadensis.com) and if you are a camper who wants to learn, make sure to come to a Mahj class during free play!

Check out this article about Assistant Director Pam Levi in the Jewish Exponent!

I love corn – don’t you?  It’s one of my favorite snacks to eat all year through, and we sure eat a lot of it at Canadensis!  We have popcorn as a snack option in the canteen, every age group goes on a trip to the Casino Movie Theater to see a summer blockbuster and enjoy popcorn (and ice cream!) and we also have drive-in movies at camp.  Drive-in movies are the best!  Last year, the entire camp voted on what movies they wanted to see and three times during the summer we brought our sleeping bags, pillows and camp friends and snuggled onto the soccer field to watch a movie on the giant outdoor screen!

At Canadensis, we also LOVE the Cornman!!  You might be wondering what the Cornman is, and it’s hard to describe – you really have to be at camp.  The Cornman comes several times during the summer during big events, like carnival – and he roasts the most delicious corn, right in the husk!  Our campers line up to get corn, and top it with an array of different spices…every Canadensis kid has their own special recipe.  I like mine with butter, garlic salt and parmesan!  The Cornman comes from a farm called Our Green Acres – it’s an outdated website, but you can get more information here.

I got my carnival corn and got attacked by the painted CITs at the same time!

We often make popcorn here in the winter office and share it with each other.  Today, I decided to bring in a special treat to share with Eric, Cara, Matt and our special guest visitor Groundhog!!!  I brought in popping corn that was still attached to the cob – I picked it off the stalk on a recent trip to a farm with one of my favorite people.  It was an exciting experiment to put this corn in a paper bag and place it in the microwave and see what happens…unfortunately, my corn went from this on the stalk…

To this in the popping bag…

To this burnt mess that I had to extinguish in the sink!

Oh well, I still love popcorn, and I’m going to try to pop it off the cob again in the future!  I wish that all of your Thanksgiving cooking experiment go better than mine – and I wish you a very happy holiday!!