Month: December 2008

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New Year’s Party

Heading out to the New Year’s party in a few minutes. We are going to the Lodge as guests of my brother and his wife. I know lots of the guys there although I’ve not joined the lodge. These are good people and the lodge is the perfect place for a private, adult party. They have booked a local band and a DJ so that when the band takes a break there will still be music playing. That’s a good idea, as the DJ can play some of the different types of music that the band might not be into.

It’s a BYOB party, which save some bucks. You buy the mixers there and the ticket price included a big buffet dinner with a prime rib carving station. It includes party hats, noise makers, and a glass of champagne for a group toast at midnight.

Sound like a really great deal for the price and the fact that you are among friends and family makes it even better. So let me get out of here and wish everyone a very happy and safe New Year.

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Beaches on My Mind

I get a weekly email from a travel destinations site with features of different places and vacation packages. This week the email features beaches, called “Seven affordable, under the radar, beach destinations.” Well, I was most interested in the “affordable” part but the “under the radar” part intrigued me, as well. So I gave it a look.

The first beach they featured is in Venezuela, called Los Roques. This is not really just one beach. Los Roques is an archipelago of 42 sandy islands and over 300 mangrove islets, located about 80 miles north of the Caracas coast. Most Los Roques islands are uninhabited, and the few that have hotels have very small, primitive accommodations.

They recommended the tiny, six-room hotel called “Posada Movida.” Their bed and breakfast rates start at $75 per person per night. Now that is a bargain. You can barely get a Red Roof Inn in Atlanta for $75 a night! After some investigation I found it’s a better deal to get the all inclusive rate of $120 per person, which covers all meals with wine at dinner, and an all day island boat tour.

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Thank you Santa

Hey Santa – you rock!

I got a new iPhone in my Christmas stocking. How cool is that?

It’s not activated yet – I have to take care of that on Monday so they will switch my number from my old Razr phone and assign it to my new iPhone. But I can read the instructions that come with it and be ready for Monday. Awesome present – wasn’t expecting this at all.

Also got a new video game for the Playstation 3 and tickets to a show downtown in a couple weeks. All in all, Santa was VERY good to me!

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Merry Christmas Everyone

This week has been record setting for bad weather and I know it has ruined a lot of people’s travel plans. I hope that if you going to be in the air or on the road for the holidays that you arrived safe and sound and can enjoy the time with your loved ones.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

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Ending the Catalog Madness

Was your mailbox crammed full of mail order catalogs this Christmas season like mine was? It was unbelievable how many off the wall subjects and whacky products are covered in mail order catalogs. I received dozens of catalogs pimping everything from massage stones to bird feeders to health food supplements to plus sized lingerie.

After a little digging, I found out that when you do buy something from a catalog, the transaction is reported to a company called “Abacus,” which is owned by DoubleClick Digital Advertising – and if you surf the internet you KNOW who these guys are! They sell, rent, and pretty much whore your personal information to other catalog companies and junk mail publishers based on what you just ordered from any of their other catalog companies.Your name and address and the fact that you’ve bought from a catalog is worth money to these guys and you get put on their sucker list for a very long time.

We can all stop getting these junk mail catalogs by sending an email to the “Abacus Catalog Alliance” at this address: optout@abacus-direct.com. Tell these guys, in no uncertain terms, that you want off their lists and never want to hear from them again. Make sure the email includes your first, middle, and last name and the same for anyone else in your household who receives mail in names other than yours, include your current address, and if you’ve moved in the past year, include your previous address, too.This will stop the catalog madness and save a lot of trees, too.

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Ready for Christmas

Finished my shopping today. I really didn’t want to be out in the stores on the Saturday before Christmas. It was horribly crowded, but then again there were bargains everywhere and it was hard to stop spedning money! I bought a gift for every one on the list plus a couple things for myself. Santa is going to be very generous this year.

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Blueberry Muffins

Does anybody NOT like blueberry muffins? I think this is one food that is universally loved by everyone.

I used to pick blueberries from the bushes in the backyard of my first grade teacher. She had about a dozen blueberry bushes and would invite the kids to come pick as many as they wanted for free on the weekend of the fourth of July every year. The rest of the summer you could still come pick them, but she would charge $2 per pail.

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Layoffs Announced

Every day this week we have been hearing reports that big companies are having layoffs. There are retail stores going bankrupt, manufacturing companies shutting down, and even the government is laying off people. The state is expecting a huge shortfall in revenue, so even the schools are being told to cut back 15% somehow. That would be a terrible blow to our county schools, who have been struggling to overcome the NCLB regulations.

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Is it the Flu?

There seems to be a lot of people getting sick this week. Several people are coughing, sneexing and moaning through their day at work. This drives me nuts. If you are sick, sty home and don’t spread your germs to everyone else. I’m glad I’m you and strong and stay healthy most of the year. I sure don’t want to end up with the flu right before Christmas if people are sick with the flu and not staying home to take care of themselves.

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Revenge on the Sabres

The Preds were in the armpit of America to play the Sabres tonight. I caught the game on Fox Sports TN. We played a good game, and won, thanks to Arnot’s and Dumont’s two goals.

Tonight’s game was nothing like the spankings we got the last two times we faced the Sabres. Just goes to show that every game is a clean slate with a chance to win. Interesting that Ellis was punished for his loss to Mason and they used Renne to defend our goal tonight instead of the starter that took Mason’s place.