Christmas Parade of Lights at the Ventura Harbors

Hi There!

Did you ever see the Christmas season's parade of boats in any of the local harbors?  

It's beautiful, fun, and best of all, free. I always took my kids when they were growing up. It was a night the family always loved.

In the upcoming weeks we have two such events occurring in Ventura County.

December 14th, this Saturday, the Channel Islands Harbor will be holding their Parade of Lights.

48th Annual Parade of Lights

Saturday, December 14, 2013
12:00 PM - 8:00 PM 2013 Theme: Jingle Bell Rock



Parade starts at 7:00 PM

This time-honored tradition kicks off the holidays with Snow Play at 12:00 PM and Santa and Mrs. Claus from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM. There will be arts & crafts and food vendors as well as live entertainment starting at 3:00 PM. At 7:00 PM you can enjoy the thousands of sparkling lights dancing on the water and the magical moment when Santa flies across the sky marking the beginning of the parade.

Many harbor businesses have views overlooking the parade route, including:

The Lookout Bar & Grill
Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine
Sea Fresh Channel IslandsToppers Pizza PlaceThe Waterside Restaurant and Wine BarWhale's Tail

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Ventura Harbor Holiday Parade of Lights & Fireworks 2013

Friday & Saturday, December 20 - 21, 2013 

Theme: "Seaside Tinsel Town" ~ 

Parade 7 pm Fireworks 8:30 pm
Commemorating 50 Years Ventura Harbor open for public enjoyment & recreation.
The 37th Annual two-day celebration features visits by Santa & Mrs. Claus for last minutes gift requests at the Carousel Stage and delicious harbor-front dining with a fireworks display each night following the Parade of Lights. Santa and his sleigh cross the sky on Saturday evening courtesy of Aspen Helicopters. Stop by the Ventura Harbor Village booth near Coastal Cone Ice Cream to get a pair of 3D glasses to watch the fireworks display.
Saturday, December 21, 1-5 pm come early for the Winter Wonderland festivities, live reindeer, crafts, holiday shopping, Santa & faux snowfall.
FREE admission all year & for all events. Parking is FREE in Ventura Harbor Village and along Spinnaker Drive. Arrive early for best parking and shopping throughout the Harbor Village. View Dining Specials for restaurant reservations.

Hope your season holidays are great.  Don't forget to call My Mobile Notary @ 805.444.7064 for mobile notary or apostille service within Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley.  Call Aardvark Mobile Notary "Devon" for mobile notary and apostille service throughout the West Valley and within the cities of Chatsworth, Woodland Hills, West Hills, Tarzana, Northridge, Encino, Van Nuys and beyond.

Aardvark Mobile Notary and Apostille Service Has a New Website!

Good Afternoon!

Some of my clients may know that my son, Devon Gailey, is also a mobile notary. He has been a Aardvark Mobile Notary and Apostille Service. Please check out his new website.  His old website was hijacked, so we scraped trying to get that back and created a new Mobile Notary site for him.
notary since 2007 and works around his college class schedule.  His mobile notary business is

Aardvark Mobile Notary and Apostille Service
805.906.0894

He is studying in college to become an archeologist.  This coming spring he will graduate with his Bachelors degree.  He will likely take a year off college before entering graduate school.  He is also considering doing a term in the Peace Corps, which is a great opportunity to see the world and other cultures.

In the meantime, Devon's Aardvark Mobile Notary business provides service to Chatsworth and surrounding cities of Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Northridge, West Hills, Porter Ranch, Encino, Studio City and beyond.  He also helps clients with Apostille authentication.  He has six years of experience with mobile notary public and apostille service.  He is a sweety and his clients always love him and the efficient service he provides.

Give Aardvark Mobile Notary and Apostille Service a call if you are needing mobile notary or apostille authentication within the San Fernando Valley.  His number is 805.906.0894.  His rates are great and his notarizations are perfect - no rejected documents will happen with Devon.

Thanks for your comments. If you leave an email address and need a response, I will be glad to reply. Enjoy!

Well.....it's been some time since I've added to this blog and I'm going to try to do some catching up with useful information for the folks of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

One important thing that I'd like to briefly discuss is the need for families caring for elder relatives to be sure that they have a current California Identification Card if that relative is no longer driving.  This will be needed when the senior relative signs documents that must be notarized.

The reason why this is important is that when it comes time for grandma or grandpa to sign a power of attorney or advanced health care directive, they will need appropriate identification to demonstrate their identity before a notary public.  Without that, the document will not be notarized.

While it is possible to substitute two "credible witnesses"(2 unrelated people), unrelated to the transaction,  who can swear upon an oath as far as your senior's identity, frequently I am seeing that this is not very convenient.

For instance, if your senior relative is in a skilled nursing facility, hospital, or nursing home, more and more these employees are being directed to not involve themselves when patients are having documents notarized.  Although the employees would only be swearing to the factual identity of your senior, most administrators are concerned their employees will become involved in a law suit.  Of course this is quite unlikely as they are only swearing to the senior's identity and nothing more.  However this lack of cooperation appears to be occurring more and more and I am seeing families stuck when their senior doesn't have appropriate identification.

Therefore, please consider that if your elder relative doesn't have ID, you will need to bring with you two witnesses that personally know your relative and can swear to their identity and produce their own driver's license.  The two witnesses can not be anyway involved in the transaction being notarized.

Better yet, plan ahead and get the California Senior Citizen Identification Card for your senior as soon as they stop driving or any time after they have turned 62 years of age and do not drive.  This will save you a giant headache when legal documents need to be signed and notarized.

To apply for the California Senior Citizen Identification Card, here is the information from the California DMV website:

How to apply for or renew an identification (ID) card

DMV issues two types of ID cards. A regular ID card valid for six years, and a senior citizen ID card valid for 10 years. To qualify for a senior citizen ID card, you must be age 62 or older.

To apply for an ID card you will need to do the following:

• Visit a DMV office (make an Appointment(s) for faster service)
• Complete application form DL 44 (An original DL 44 form must be submitted. Copies will not be accepted.)
• Give a thumb print
• Have your picture taken
• Provide your social security number. It will be verified with the Social Security Administration while you are in the office.
• Verify your birth date and legal presence (you may use your California driver license)
• Pay the application fee. (No fee for a senior citizen ID card.)

Check your address before you leave DMV and tell the DMV representative if your address is incorrect. Your new ID will be mailed to you within 60 days. If you have not received your ID after 60 days, call 1–800–777–0133 to check the status. Have your receipt and/or old ID card with you to provide information when requested.

DMV will exchange a valid license for a no–fee ID card to drivers who are no longer able to drive safely because of a physical or mental condition. Please call your local DMV for additional information.

To renew your ID card, you will need to:

• Visit a DMV office (make an Appointment(s) for faster service)
• Complete application form DL 44. (An original DL 44 form must be submitted. Copies will not be accepted.)
• Give a thumb print
• Have your picture taken
• Pay the application fee. (No fee for a senior citizen ID card.)

Double check your address before you leave DMV and tell the DMV representative if your address is incorrect. Your new ID will be mailed to you within 60 days. If you have not received your ID after 60 days, call 1–800–777–0133 and they can check on the status for you. Have your receipt and/or old ID card with you to provide information when requested.

You can see if you are eligibile to renew your identification card by mail by completing and submitting the California Identification Card Renewal by Mail Eligibility Form (DL 410 ID).

More Tips to End Junk Mail

More on junk mail. These helpful tips are from the Washington Post

Junk mail is a triple threat: It tries your patience, jeopardizes your identity and spoils the environment. But without too much effort, you can give yourself peace of mind and an uncluttered mailbox.

Register with the Direct Marketing Association to remove your name from its national mailing list. The service is free if you register online, or $1 by mail.

Reject preapproved offers from credit card companies by visiting http://https://www.optoutprescreen.com or calling 888-567-8688.

Sign up free at http://www.catalogchoice.org, and the site will do the grunt work to get you off mailing lists for catalogues you don't want.

Pay a $20 annual fee, and GreenDimes will remove your name from catalogue and other direct-mail lists, plus plant up to 10 trees.

For $41, 41pounds.org -- named for the weight in junk mail the average adult receives each year -- will contact several dozen direct-mail companies on your behalf. In addition, $15 of your fee goes to your choice among the group's nonprofit affiliates.

Tired of Junk Mail? You can stop some of it.

We receive so much junk mail that frequently important mail is lost among the advertising circulars. We have discovered that there is something a frustrated mail box owner can do.

While not clearly disclosed to folks, advertisers must include the means to contact them on the circulars they send out. This information is usually found in the very small print along the edge of the mailing. When you call that number, there is usually an option to opt out of any future mailings.

Two big local advertisers that have taken up the bulk of our mailbox have been Valpak and the Pennysaver.

If you want to increase the functional availability of your mailbox, you can contact Valpak and Pennysaver and tell them to stop all mailings to your address. Their contact information is:

Pennysaver - CALIFORNIA:
Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernadino, Ventura and Tulare Counties Private Party: (800) 995-3333 Commercial: (714) 996-8900 Email: PrivateSCA@PennySaverUSA.com San Diego County Private Party: (888) 736-6972 Commercial: (760) 599-1400 Bay Area & San Jose Private Party: (800) 947-3669 Commercial: (800) 947-3669 Email: ads@pennysaverusa.com Sacramento Private Party: (800) 947-3669 Commercial: (916) 636-2200 Stockton & San Joaquin County Private Party: (800) 947-3669 Commercial: (800) 947-3669

When calling the numbers above, listen to the voicemail options and follow them to consumer services and distribution. There will be a voicemail that will ask you for your address. In addition and for your records, you may want to email them so you have a date and time of request in writing.

For Valpak, including the "blue envelope" advertising, send an email to:

valerie@Valpak.com and request all mail advertising to stop immediately.

Unfortunately Valpak is stating that it typically takes a couple of months to stop because they send to so many homes. This does seem quite unreasonable. It would seem that multiple requests may be necessary to help them get the message.

Best wishes