One Good Deed Deserves Another

When I covered a story recently on Harvest Time International, I was amazed to learn about all the services offered by this hunger and disaster relief organization.

The non-profit is known for helping people near and far and now dental clinic has been added to the list.

From food and household goods to medical supplies, Harvest Time International assists 500-750 families everyday.

The new dental clinic at its Sanford headquarters is the first free dental clinic in Seminole County.

Harvest Time International already offers medical clinic services with volunteer doctors and nurses, but with the addition of dental services, volunteer dentists and hygienists are needed.

“Right now, we have about 10 dentists willing to give their time and go on the schedule,” André Smolinsky of Harvest Time International said.

 If you’re a medical or dental professional interested in volunteering or need help, click here for details on Harvest Time International.

 

See you in the morning,

Bridgett

 

WaWa do you want?

Now that WaWa convenience stores are starting to open up around Orlando, this is the most excited I’ve been about going to a gas station since I discovered QT while I lived in Atlanta! Sad, but true. I happen to love ICEEs, Slurpees and smoothies which are plentiful and cheap at places like these.

What sets WaWa stores apart are amenities and variety. It’s like a 5-star convenience store if there was one. And who would think of dining at a gas station? But you can do that underneath umbrellas at the picnic tables outside WaWa. Who would’ve thought?  Apparently my friends from up north have been enjoying WaWa chain stores for years and that explains some of the squealing heard throughout the newsroom last year when the Central Florida stores were announced last year.

Now that the store just down the street from the TV station is open, I’m afraid of what might happen. LOL! Have you seen their menu? Look at the nutritional information. Help!

See you in the morning,

Bridgett

Eatonville: Celebrating 125 Years!

August marks historic Eatonville’s 125th anniversary! Established in 1887, Eatonville is the oldest incorporated African-American municipality in the United States.

A new town archway and streetscape was just unveiled to mark the anniversary.

Eatonville was home to famous writer Zora Neale Hurston.

 

Tomorrow (Saturday) the 125th anniversary celebration continues with an old school basketball game and high school and family reunion events!

Everything kicks off at 1 p.m. and goes until 6 p.m. at the Robert Hungerford Memorial High School Grounds.

For a closer look the events, click here.

If you’d like to read up a little more about the town, click here.

 

See you Monday morning!

Bridgett

Crazy Side-Effects From Extreme Heat?

Have you ever wondered if the weather can bring out the worst in people? We talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression, in cold weather climates during the winter. But with heat indexes well into the 100’s these past few weeks, I began to wonder about something more sinister: crime. It turns out irritability and road rage are just the tip of the iceberg for effects from extreme heat.  In this article from the ChicagoMag.com, crime and mercury appear to spike together. Just look at the graphic:

Scientists have proven there’s clearly a difference in human behaviors in cold winter months versus hot summer ones.  But there’s more to this than a bad mood brought on by weather. Scientists say increased mobility, more time outside and higher amounts of social interactions during hot weather mean a higher probability for trouble. The opposite would be true when you’re bundled up at home because it’s cold.

You can read what a criminal science professor has to say about crime and heat here.  

I don’t know about you, but until cooler temps get here, I definitely don’t plan to let the heat get the best of me. Whether it’s cold, hot or raining, there’s no excuse for bad attitudes because of the weather any day. 

Enjoy your summer and find a comfy spot to relax!

See you in the morning,

Bridgett

Here Lizard, Lizard…

I caught this one and set him free (this time…)

Let me just say I have completely lost all love for lizards. At first they startled me, then I thought they were cute, but now they’re just gross and all over the place. In my opinion, they ARE the “palmetto bug” of Florida. I fully intend to treat them as such if I find one more stuck in my window or trying to run into the house when I open and close my patio door. Screened in porches, patios and pools are a must around here and I don’t have one! As soon as my husband and son left for a weekend trip, I found a baby lizard near the floorboard of my backdoor. With no one in sight to help, I grabbed the nearest broom and shooed him back outside! Yuck! The next lizard might not be so lucky!

I know they can’t hurt me, but they just give me heebie-jeebies. Maybe I need to reposition my perspective because they’re not going anywhere and neither am I. Can’t we all just get along? I hope so. And here’s a thought, I do have to give my lizards credit where it’s due. My patio is nearly free of insects! They will eat almost bug, including spiders who hang out too long. Yay!

How do you cope with lizards? Brooms, sprays, poisons? Or just let them be? Let me know your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter.

See you in the morning!

Bridgett

A Backyard Adventure Awaits You

There’s a hidden gem in Volusia County. One of the Making a Difference stories this week highlighted how Lyonia Environmental Center is helping educate the community about our fragile local ecosystems.

Check out the story here: Making a Difference: Lyonia Environmental Center

It was surprising to find out this center has been in Deland at the library complex for three years, but workers at the center say one of the first things they always hear from visitors is, “We didn’t know this was here!”

At Lyonia, there are lots of hands on displays and creatures that kids can get into and some really incredible facts that will even amaze the adults. It’s definitely a place where you don’t have to keep saying, “No, no, don’t touch that” quite as much.

If you want to check it out, here’s Lyonia’s website and Facebook.

Have fun with these last few days of summer break!

See you in the morning!

Bridgett

National Watermelon Day? Really?!

As I was looking through my vacation days and holiday time left this year, I realized how fast this year is flying by. Before you know it, it will be Christmas! In the meantime, there are plenty of other celebratory holidays left on the calendar. For instance, today, August 3rd, is National Watermelon Day! I know, I’m not kidding. Thankfully, I did stock up the last time I went to the grocery store. We put ours in the fridge and cut it up later. With a 92% water content, watermelon is a perfect treat on these hot days we’ve been having!

According to www.watermelon.org there are about 300 different kinds of watermelon and the heaviest ever weighed 262 pounds!

I did some additional research on wild and wacky holidays just to see what else is out there for August. I learned there are plenty left in this calendar year.  This Sunday, don’t forget International Beer Day and National Underwear Day. Hmmm, this doesn’t sound like a good combination…LOL!

The following are more interesting dates that I will refrain from trying to comment extensively on as I’d like you to use your own imagination on how to celebrate!

August 6: Wiggle Your Toes

August 10: National Lazy Day

August 13: Left Handers Day

August 15: National Relaxation Day

August 26: Toilet Paper Day

Happy “Holidays?”

See you in the morning!

Bridgett

Attention Shoppers: the stores you love/hate

Attention bargain shoppers!  It’s taken me months to gather my material for this blog, but the names of the stores are being withheld to protect the innocent. By reading carefully, you should be able to connect the dots. You see, I’m a proud bargain shopper, but recently I came to grips with the true limits I’ll go to for a deal. For instance, I won’t do Black Friday shopping because the crowds are horrible. I also have newfound respect for others’ bargain boundaries.

Shopanistas in training

 

I’ve loved pushing a grocery cart since I was a little girl, but now that I’m married, I get to shop even more! There are so many extra items to buy and double the amounts of groceries. When you see that total on the screen, sometimes it really gets you thinking, ‘hey, maybe those coupon fanatics have a good thing going.’ I have not jumped into “couponing” just yet, but I’m considering it. Do you have a favorite source for coupons? If I could find the simplest way to manage it, I would try it out on some grocery runs. Who doesn’t love seeing double and triple digits savings on the bottom of the receipt?

When it comes to stores though, I’ve developed a love/hate relationship with certain chains. The best bargains seem to be in the big box variety or membership places. My complaint there would be the massive parking lots, the high chance of running into unhelpful or unavailable staff and the fear your meat or frozen items may have thawed two days ago on the toy aisle only to be placed back on the shelf. At smaller stores, you typically find more staff members per capita around tight aisles and higher sticker prices. But as you make your way in and out more quickly, it somehow seems worth it considering some of the junk you avoided at the big box. Again, when the total pops up, you still wonder, ‘did I make a costly mistake?’ Then there are the bare bones, no frills stores. You have to do a lot of stuff yourself, but the savings really add up. Works out great if you feel like putting a little more elbow grease into it. Is it worth it to you?

Recently, I had a shopper’s worst nightmare come true at a big box store. On the way to the register with my items, I realized I needed one more thing and stepped away from my nearly complete cart for less than a minute. Upon returning, the cart was gone! An hour’s worth of work, poof! When I inquired with nearby staff, I was met with scowls and shrugging shoulders. One assistant manager offered to help, but said it was probably taken by one of their classless customers. What!? It was weird no one suggested to check with customer service because that’s where I spotted the abducted cart full of cold items as I was leaving without my groceries.  Yuck!

After that day, I started taking better inventory of where I’m shopping and why.  I think I have a better understanding of why some people are very particular about the places they will and will not spend their hard-earned money. Do you have favorite stores or locations? What about brand names versus generic? What’s your go-to source for your favorite foods, coupons or deals? Which places do you absolutely loathe and why?  I’d love to hear from you. Facebook or Twitter!

See you in the morning,

Bridgett

You’d never pay $10,000 for a sandwich

Lately, I’ve been looking for ways to be kinder to the environment. I’m not planning to buy a hybrid car just yet, but I try to do little things. My mother taught us how to recycle as kids. I can remember collecting cans at home and being amazed at just how many bags of them it took to amount to $1 in cash back from the recycling center. At home these days, we don’t have room for composting, but we make sure every little thing that qualifies for the recycle bin makes it in there. Sometimes it means we have more stuff in the bins than our gigantic trash can.

Right now, my thoughts have turned to the growing case against bottled water, here you can watch a pretty convincing video about the reasons to avoid it. More recently, articles were published questioning its effects on young teeth. Does bottled water boost tooth decay for kids? How about a $10,000 sandwich?  Apparently, that’s a similar ratio to what we pay for bottled water.

Does your water taste funny? When I moved to Florida in 2010, I couldn’t help but notice the funny taste in the water.  Yikes! Ironically, there are lots of water brands bottled in Florida. I’ve tried pitchers, refrigerator filtered water, but the pre-packaged stuff always seems most convenient. When I eat out, however, I order “Florida’s finest” which IS tap water. Sometimes it tastes funny and sometimes it doesn’t. Usually, I plop in a lemon hoping for the best.  I later discovered several Florida cities and the state rank poorly for drinking water. Pensacola was number one! Yikes!

Anyway, once I started investing in bottled water, I realized I was occasionally buying water bottled somewhere else in Florida!  Just crazy! You know what I mean? At that time, my apartment complex did not offer recycling which added to my guilt. After some research on where some plastic items end up, I made a decision to cut back on plastic when possible. It seems the only thing better than recycling a bottle is not buying it in the first place.

To add some balance to my thoughts, I looked at the International Bottled Water Association’s just released stats on consumption. The release paints a brighter picture about why bottled water is safe for us and the environment. In the end, I think it’s up to all of us to make informed decisions based on all the facts. I know I have so much more to think about now every time I reach for plastic bottles of anything including water.

Let me know your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter.

See you in the morning!

Bridgett

Alex’s Lemonade Stand

The search for a cure to end childhood cancer is being funded by everyday people.

One cup at a time, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is fighting childhood cancer with lemonade stands hosted by volunteers and businesses all over the country.

The children’s cancer research charity was founded by the late Alexandra Scott.

Participating Toys ‘R’ Us stores are running in-store and online fundraising through the end of the month.

Since 2005, Toys ‘R’ Us has raised more than $1.5 million for ALSF.

“Her (Alex’s) idea was when she got out of hospital to have a lemonade stand. I just think, to be part of that, I started to cry. It’s just so touching she wanted to give for other kids,” Jacquelyn D’ercole, a volunteer for ALSF, said.

Over the years, ALSF has raised over $55 million with help from donors and volunteers like you. And now you can host your own lemonade stand to help cure pediatric cancer just click here.