It’s not even September yet, but my husband is already thinking about our Christmas lights! I have to admire his dedication to the cause. We had some issues with our lights last year, in part due to the way that the electricity runs through our breaker box. We tripped a breaker every single night, because ALL of the exterior outlets are run through the same breaker, and we were using a LOT of lights. On top of that, our electric bill was about double for the month of December because of all the lights.

I recently learned about LED Christmas lights, and I’m intrigued! LED holiday lights are safer than traditional Christmas lights for several reasons:

• LED lights use 90% less energy
• LED lights are safer because they operate at room temperature
• LED lights have an operating life of more than 50,000 hours
• LED lights have no filament
• LED lights have a bulb encased in hard plastic

So what does that mean for you? How about a lower electric bill when you string up Christmas lights, and saving yourself a trip to the store to buy new lights every year? And for those of us who are outlet challenged, this site sells a special LED light that is approved for end to end connections of up to a 1/2 mile of lights! If these LED holiday lights are good enough for the capital in Washington D.C. and the Rockefeller Center in New York, they’re good enough for my house!

I think every student in Florida is back to school by now. My own kids have been in school for 2 weeks now, and we’re back into the groove of things. It sounds so strange to me when I heard about schools up north starting so late! The concept of returning to school after Labor Day has never been a Florida thing. Even when I was in school, we always went back in the later half of August, and we usually got out the 1st week of June. Any other schedule just sounds odd to me!

I’ve often thought about becoming a real estate agent. I even mentioned to Jim the other day that I’d consider taking the classes required to get a Florida real estate license now, and be ready to sell homes once we come out of the rotten real estate market we’re in. (Rotten for sellers, great for buyers!) However, the thought of sitting in a class for a few weeks, listening to an instructor drone on and on for hours - well, it’s not really my thing. I’d much rather be able to prepare online for my real estate exam, wouldn’t you? Thanks to CompuCram.com, you can get software for state specific real estate licensing tests, broker exams, and other certifications, and study online, at home. Prepare as much or as little as you need to, without sitting in a classroom setting, and then take the test when you’re ready! I checked out the Florida exam version, and the software provides you with over 750 practice questions, as well as practice exams. As only $59, it’s a great alternative for people like me!

Florida is a big vacation destination, right? And Las Vegas is ALSO a big vacation destination, right? So why is it that I’m having such a hard time finding a reasonably priced direct flight between Tampa and Las Vegas? The cheapest direct flight I’ve found was on Southwest, and it was $360. I found another flight for $200, but it required a layover each way, and it also required leaving Las Vegas at 6:40am. What’s the deal? Why aren’t there more direct flights from Tampa to Las Vegas? Don’t Floridians fly to Vegas to gamble?

I’m a product of the Florida educational system. Educated in private schools until the 6th grade, and then public middle school and high school, and then a local community college. While I was in college, I worked part time in order to cover my tuition and books. I was afraid to look into financial aid, like a Federal Stafford student loan, because no one at the college seemed to have a good grasp of what I would be getting into. I certainly wasn’t signing up for a loan that I couldn’t get information on, and this was before the internet, so I was kind of stuck.

I totally could have used a financial aid service like FinancialAid.com to help me navigate unfamiliar territory. They’ve got loan counselors who can help students and parents figure out what financial aid is best, how to get it, and even how to consolidate those loans down the road. I may not have gotten my Stafford college loan, but there’s no reason that other students shouldn’t be more in the know than I was!

We’re off to Orlando for the weekend in a matter of hours, and according to Weather.com, we should have plenty of high temps, and rain. Wow, isn’t that a recipe for success? Just enough rain that you need to wear a poncho while walking around the theme parks, and just enough heat so that you get all sticky, stinky, and sweaty underneath the poncho you have to wear! That’s win / win!

The weather report actually says “scattered showers”, so hopefully it’ll stay dry enough for us to hit our favorite rides, the pool, and shopping.

Currently at Disney, the temp is 91, but it “feels like” 100. (If it feels like 100, why don’t we just call it 100 degrees and be done with it?)

Florida is known for it’s fresh seafood, and in my area, shrimp is the seafood of choice. I’ve known several people over the years who have made a living plucking shrimp out of the gulf, and my stomach thanks them! I love shrimp, and so do my kids. A great dinner for us is a ton of shrimp boiled in spices and seasoning, or we like it cold, too! There’s nothing like a fresh shrimp ring from the grocery store with plenty of cold cocktail sauce. Grilled, chilled, or fried - we never turn down shrimp in THIS house. In fact, one of my favorite treats when I was a little girl was to get a shrimp cocktail at my parent’s favorite restaurant. Do YOU like shrimp? Find new ways to spice up an old favorite with the recipes at EatShrimp.com!

And did you know that there’s a shrimp dance? Wanna learn it?

Space shuttle Endeavour made its return back to Kennedy Space Center yesterday. I’m sure that the return of the space shuttle down a runway, looking like an airplane, isn’t nearly as exciting as seeing the shuttle launch off, but I’m still happy to see the Endeavour crew safely back on terra firma. Considering we’ve had a hurricane swirling around in the Caribbean, and the shuttle had damage, it’s great to see everyone back home without incident.

Speaking of the shuttle launch, I’ve seen one clearly in my lifetime, and that was the Challenger shuttle, which was you know, ended in disaster. I haven’t had the chance to see the shuttle take off since!

When we shopped for furniture last year, we went from St. Petersburg to Tampa to Brandon - all in search of great furniture. We visited 7 or 8 major chains, including one marathon afternoon in Brandon when we hit 4 in one afternoon. It was making me all a bit dizzy - who had the best prices? Who could deliver soonest? Who charged for deliver, and who didn’t? Which stores carried what brands?

If the local furniture stores are making YOU a bit dizzy, check out the latest trend in furniture shopping from GoWFB.com - wholesale furniture brokers. There’s no longer any need to order furniture from a catalog, or deal with a high pressure salesman. You can shop online and then pick up your pieces in person at this
Orlando furniture warehouse, or this Tampa furniture store location. The site makes it easy to buy online, offering measurements of every single angle on every single piece, and close up pictures of fabrics and detail work. You’ll save money because they’re not paying for overpriced retail space, and they’re not paying fat commissions to a salesman either!

Got trouble? There’s a new directory at GotTrouble.com giving free advice on how to solve your problems. Say you’ve been pulled over one too many times by Florida’s uniformed finest. You can find out how to beat your ticket or how to sign up for traffic school at Got Trouble! To build buzz about this new site, offering free advice on everything from dealing with the IRS to workers comp issues, you can sing away your troubles in GotTrouble.com’s Video Promotion. Just record a music video about life’s troubles. (So…country music? HA!) Upload your video you YouTube, and then enter the contest - whining about your problems in song can give you a big fat $5000 payday. Wouldn’t THAT solve some of your troubles?

My song would go a little something like this:

Beating a dead horse
Until I am hoarse!
Arguing with you
Is like eating pooh!

I’ve got a chance, right?

I don’t remember the first time I visited the Disney-MGM Studios theme park in Orlando, but I’m sure it was shortly after the park opened on May 1, 1989. It’s not my favorite of the Disney theme parks (although it does have one of my favorite rides - Rockin’ Roller Coaster), probably because it’s more “show” orientated than “ride” orientated. I do love visiting during Star War Weekends, though!

The park announced recently that effiect January 2008, the park will now be know as Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (Is that the sound of 100,000 items of Disney-MGM merchandising going on eBay?)

Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney World® Resort, said:

“The new name reflects how the park has grown from representing the golden age of movies to a celebration of the new entertainment that today’s Hollywood has to offer – in music, television, movies and theater.”

New attractions will be opening this fall and next spring as well, including Toy Story Mania!, Block Party Bash, Playhouse Disney-Live on Stage!, Disney High School Musical 2: School’s Out!, and Meet and Greet Adds Handy Manny.

I’m not sure what any of those attractions will be like, but I’d sure love to see more entertainment themed rides!

With the summer almost over, and school just about to go back into session, most of us are trying to desperately cram as much fun as possible into the last few weeks of summer. We’re heading off to Disney for a few days at the end of the month. I’ve got reservations at one of the Disney properties, and we’re having dinner at Ohana - hopefully no secured loans will be needed to have a good time

In all seriousness, I’m wondering if this is a good time to get a deal on a pool, or other home improvements? Is there such a thing as a season for contractors? Cheap loans are in abundance, according to my home mailbox, and if the contractors are having a slow season, I can think of a few things around the house that loans would be useful for….perhaps installing that hardwood we want in the upstairs hallway, or doing a bit of professional landscaping and tree installation in our back yard…

I know not to text and drive, but now I can’t talk and drive?

Lots of Florida drivers are getting emails about new traffic fines, and they’re not happy. Turns out, it’s all a big scam / email hoax. Phew! But in the meantime, hundreds of angry drivers have called the Department of Motor Vehicles to complain. The email warns of a $285 fine for using a non hands free cell phone while driving, or over $1000 for using a car pool lane without a car pool. (Do we even have car pool lanes in Florida? There aren’t any here in Tampa, that I’m aware of.)

If you get such an email, just delete it!

I’ll be walking 60 miles through Tampa in October as part of the Breast Cancer 3-Day, but I’m also committed to a shorter walk 2 weeks before the 3-Day, for another important cause. The memory walk is a 2-3 mile walk to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association. Since this group was put together in 1980, they’ve put $185 million towards Alzheimer’s research. Local chapters of the group provide help to families who have a loved one suffering from this disease. Support groups, education, safety services - all of those things are funded through your donations. My grandfather had Alzheimer’s and the support services my grandmother had access to through groups like this were a god send for her. Knowing she could send my grandfather off to a senior day care for a few hours where he would be supervised and cared for made a huge difference in HER quality of life. It’s so important that we work to find a cure for this disease, but that we not forget that the caregivers and families suffer just as much as the Alzheimer’s patient in this process.

Should you wish to donate to the Memory Walk, I am accepting donations - every bit helps. My goal is to raise $500 for the walk. Please leave me a comment on this entry and I’ll get back to you with donation instructions.

This post was graciously sponsored by Navtej Kohli:
http://navtej-kohli.livejournal.com
http://www.bumpzee.com/users/view/Navtej_Kohli/
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/11/prweb471351.htm

Looking for a million dollar home to buy in St. Augustine, Florida? Look no further! Sure do wish I had that kind of cash - the home is spectacular inside and out. I absolutely love the facade and the porch, and that you’re in the heart of the St. Augustine historic district. Maybe I can buy it, and rent out the house, and live in the garage apartment. That’s the only way I can afford it, LOL!