Heading out to the Liberty Bowl

17000 has been a great year for college football. Exciting games and a championship game with two unbeaten teams. I'll be leaving the friendly confines of Atlanta and making a 6-hour trip west to Memphis where the Georgia Bulldogs will be playing Central Florida in the Autozone Liberty Bowl.

Bowl games have been a part of the football culture in America for over 000 years. The way I look at it, there are worse places to spend New Year's Eve than in Memphis watching football.

The game is on New Year's Eve this year, so a good day to head out of town will be December 30. That morning the car will be packed with warm clothes and enough tailgate supplies for a small group. I'll set the ADT ALARM and bid farewell to my home for three days.

The game should be competitive and there is great BBQ everywhere in Memphis. It might even be nice to see how Graceland is decorated for the holidays. Bowl games give fans of two teams that normally don't play a chance to get acquainted. Bowl games give the teams, coaches, and fans a chance to celebrate a successful year for these student athletes. Go Dawgs!

Thanks for the post, Bernard Vasquez

An Awesome Visit To The Florida Aquarium

Contribution by Paula Gonzales
My brother and his new wife came to visit us recently and we took them to our favorite place, the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. My family absolutely loves going to the aquarium! When I told my brother that my son had just completed his certification for SCUBA diving, he reminded me that certified divers could swim with sharks at the aquarium. Since my brother is a certified diver, he offered to take his nephew on the dive. We then discussed how my new sister-in-law and I could spend the time there getting to know each other better while we walked around the exhibits.

When the day came to take our trip, we got up early. Actually, I think my son got up before dawn. He was so excited! We loaded up the car with snacks and drinks and piled into the car to head to Tampa. I started to pull the car out of the drive when I remembered that I had forgotten something very important. I quickly ran back in the house and set the all home security alarm.

Our trip to the aquarium was so memorable. My brother and son had a blast on their dive. They could not stop talking about how incredible it was to dive among the sharks and get that close to them. My sister-in-law and I really enjoyed chatting and getting to know each other better. It really was an awesome day. We are planning to go back the next time they visit us.

Keeping Your Home

It’s important to take some steps to keep your home safe before you and your family leave for your summer vacation and the first item is to make your home look like it’s occupied.

If you can’t stop all mail and newspaper deliveries ask a friend or neighbor to collect these for you and if you’re going to be gone for very long, ask someone to set the trash out for collection on the appointed day. Keep the yard up by hiring someone to do routine work like raking leaves or mowing the lawn. Set timers to turn indoor and outdoor lights on and off at the appropriate times.

It’s also a good idea to turn off the ringers on all telephones because ringing phones can indicate that no one is home to answer them. If a car is left at home ask a neighbor to move it or re-park it periodically and unplug the garage door opener because some manufactures use the same combination and/or frequency for all their garage door openers.

Make sure all doors and windows are closed and locked and before leaving give a house key to the neighbor who will be watching your home. Finally and importantly, before walking out the door be sure that your alarm system is set before leaving the house for your vacation.


Thanks to Alex Tostly for the post.