Anyone know if there’s a place to play paintball in Tampa? It’s something I’ve always wanted to try, especially after we played laser tag with friends. I just get so into the game - I think paintball is something I’d really be able to sink my teeth into…provided those little paint pellets don’t hurt too much! I found a site selling cheap paintball guns (brands like Tippmann, Spyder, Smart Parts, Dye) and supplies online, and they offer free shipping on everything they sell. Quite the bargain, especially when you consider that those paintball guns aren’t exactly lightweight! And being a big wimp, I was happy to see that the store carries a bunch of safety gear (in addition to a huge selection of paintball supplies and paintball gear) to wear when you play. Safety first, because it’s all fun and games til someone (usually me) gets hurt!

If you watched American Idol a few years ago, you probably remember seeing contestant Jessica Sierra on the show. The Tampa resident was one of the big hits on the show’s 2005 season, and it was nice to see a local girl making it. She’s had some success with her music since then - recording new songs, appearing in People, and entertaining the troops in Iraq.

Now Jessica is making news of a different kind, as she was arrested this weekend in Tampa and charged with assault. Jessica reported hit a man over the head with a glass at the Hyde Park Cafe, and then the police found cocaine on her when she was booked. Oops!

Definitely not the kind of publicity the people of Tampa were counting on from this 21 year old.

Here’s a new twist on an old concept. Typically, when you bid in an auction, you want to be the highest bidder to get the item, right? bid4prizes is changing things up, and in their auctions, the lowest unique bidder on each item walks away with the prize. The prizes are fantastic too - how about winning yourself a brand new Scion? A 50 inch TV? An Apple iPhone? You enter your bids by sending a text message to a number provided on the Bid4Prizes site, and you get a text message letting you know if your bid is no longer unique. If you’re the winner, you get a text message to let you know! (How cool is it that they tell you if your bid is no longer unique - it gives you more chances to win!) I’d have to bid on the Scion of course…and use my lucky number (13) in my bid. $13.13? $.13? Who knows!

Livestock may be no more, but there’s a new version of the music fest being held this weekend in Tampa. Note the move from Zephyrhills and the fields of cows to the big city - this event is being held in the parking lot of Raymond James Stadium. Instead of a 3 day event, it’s down to one, so no camping. Two stages means less of a wait between sets. You’ll be able to catch acts like Hinder, Chevelle, and Daughtry, as well as Puddle of Mudd and Papa Roach.

I know of quite a few Floridians, especially retired Floridians, who said “the heck with it!” and moved back north. What could prompt such a mass exodus of the Sunshine State? How about hurricanes, heat, and rising home prices? In particular, a lot of people have decided to make their new home in the mountains of North Carolina, or the foothills of Tennessee. With prices that cost much less than what we have here in Tampa, it’s easy to see why Asheville homes are so popular with people.

Now, before you discount North Carolina as a place that is lacking in diversity and culture, take a look at what the state has to offer. Asheville, located in western North Carolina has entertainment, arts, culture, fine dining, skiing, and other outdoor sports. Frommer’s named Asheville as one of 12 must see travel destinations this year! Downtown is hip and happening, and the outdoor activities are awesome, from hiking to boating to skiing to farmers markets. Oh, and did I mention the views? Gentle rolling hills, sloping mountains, fall colors, quaint small towns…I’d move just to be able to enjoy that view on a daily basis!

The Rays handed out spankings this week to the Yankees, twice in a row! Now, I’m not a baseball fan by any means, but I like to have a winning team in town. And I really like it when my team can beat a team like the Yankees!

If you’ve never been to a game, as a non fan, Tropicana Field is a nice place to spend an evening. It’s indoors, so you won’t sweat, and there’s a variety of dining choices (mm…Outback!), as well as entertainment on the field between innings.

Massachusetts is on my list of states to visit still, in my quest to visit every state in the nation. My husband went to Boston for a wedding once, but that was “B.C” - Before Colleen. I came across this site selling Boston Condos. They illustrate the variety of availability across the city, from brownstones in Cambridge to new units in Back Bay. There’s a huge selection to be had in Boston, and the Boston Condo Group hopes to help you narrow down your search by dividing the available offerings into neighborhood and type of condo, i.e. new construction, a historic brownstone, or a renovated condo. The site even offers an MLS search, so that you can compare the listings on your own, and see where you’d like to live.

If you’ve stepped outside lately, you’ve felt it. Summer is coming. We’ve had our a/c off and our windows open for weeks now, enjoying the spring breezes. Laughing to ourselves when we needed a sweater to be outside in the evening! I’m not laughing now. It’s officially getting hot and humid! My little Weather.com desktop tool says 72 right now, but I’m not buying that at all.

If you’ve ever driven on I-4 between Tampa and Orlando, you’ve probably seen the offices for Palm Harbor Homes, and their on site display of manufactured homes. Forget everything you think you know about mobile homes - these are not your Grandma’s doublewide! Even from the quick peek I get from the interstate, I’m impressed. These modular homes have garages, 2nd stories, front porches, and lots more. One is even built up on stilts for those of you who live close to the water. The gallery of homes might surprise you too - take a look at those floorplans! These factory built homes are air tight, and built to last. Because they’re built in a factory, and put together on site, your costs remain low. Have you seen the rising prices here in Tampa? These homes represent an affordable option for many people priced out of town. Buy your own land, and live in privacy on your acreage, in your brand new modular home!

A few years ago, I had the chance to visit the Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, FL. I’m not sure why, but I’ve always been strangely fascinated by the Holocaust, the Nazi regime, and everything else that went on during World War II. I spent about 2 hours by myself at the museum, reading everything there, and just sitting in quiet thought for a while. If you ever get the chance to go, the museum is excellent, and really makes you think.

The next thing I’d like to do is visit Amsterdam and see the house where Anne Frank hid in the attic. I’ve read several books about her throughout the years, and she just captures me. I have three children, and the thought of hiding in a small annex with them for the time period that Anne’s family hid away - well, I can only imagine how hard it was. Jim went to Amsterdam a few years ago, and I’m not sure if he went to see where they lived or not. I think he was too busy being the other sites of Amsterdam! Since it was a guys trip, they just wanted a cheap hotel in Amsterdam, so that they’d have more money for indulging in some good beer…LOL! Aside from the Anne Frank house, there are a lot of other things to see in Amsterdam. The canals are beautiful, there are many parks and clubs, great shopping, and a very laid back atmosphere for such a cosmopolitan city. If we go, I want to stay in a much nicer hotel than my husband and his buddies chose - maybe one of the Amsterdam hotels bordering the canals!

Morton Plant Mease has an excellent support group for parents of toddlers ages 12-24 months. It’s not just a support group, it’s a playgroup run by a certified parent coach. The kids play, you bond and get help from the other moms. There is a class fee of $8. The next class is being held on 4/23 at 10am, but new sessions start all of the time. For more information, contact Morton Plant at 727-462-7500 or visit the class schedule area of their website.

I sure could have used something like that when I was a new mom!

Tampa is home to the University of South Florida, a sprawling campus located just north of Busch Gardens in Tampa, with satellite centers around the bay. My husband went there, until he got promoted at work. We know all too well exactly how expensive a 4 year college education can be, and college loans are often necessary for students. Sallie Mae is the largest student loan company in the nation, providing Connecticut student loans, Florida student loans, and every state in between! What you may not know about Sallie Mae is that they are now private, and in 2004 their federal charter was terminated. Sallie May manages student loans for nearly 10 million customers now!

If you’re considering a return to school, or heading off for the first time, don’t let the cost keep you away. Student loans can pay for your education and let you pay back the loan once you get the job of your dreams.

We travel to Oldsmar once a week for my son to take ice hockey lessons. We’ve heard rumors that the guy who owns the pro shop at the rink is interested in building an ice hockey center in Land O’ Lakes. I certainly hope he does - I know of a lot of parents who can’t get to Oldsmar because it’s kind of far for them, and having a rink in Land O’ Lakes would open up figure skating and ice hockey to a lot of kids in North Tampa and Wesley Chapel.

How did people make hotel reservations before the internet was around? I remember going on road trips with my parents as a kid, and my mom had a little book from the Hampton Inn chain, showing all of their locations. We had to pull over and use a PAY PHONE to call the 800# - and whatever price they wanted to charge, we paid. Or we’d pull over at a place that looked nice and inquire about rates. One time we were outside of colonial Williamburg, VA during a holiday weekend, and every hotel, motel, inn, campground and bed & breakfast we stopped at was full. We slept in the CAR!! Three people, crammed into a Datsun - good times, good times! (At least as the only child, I got the entire back seat to myself!)

All I can say is, thank goodness times have changed. When I need to book a hotel, I get online and take care of it. There are simply too many hotel discounts to be found online to NOT do it that way. At HotelReservations.com, you’ll find hotels, motels, vacation resorts, adult getaways, vacation rentals, vacation packages, deals on airfare, rental cars, and more. The search engine makes it easy to find what you need when you plug in your dates and destination, but you can also use the advance search (they spelled it “advence” on their site - I guess they’re too focused on passing on the deals to worry about spell check!) to search by address, zip code, or the amenities that the hotels feature.

Putting together a vacation that includes a lot of friends or family? You can get special group rates on your hotel reservations if you need more than 9 rooms a day. Give it a whirl and see what kind of deals you can find in their worldwide destinations!

If you’re a Tampa Bay Bucs fan, head on over to The Smoothie King this Saturday, 4/14/07 from 12pm til 6pm to meet players in person and get free autographs! The Smoothie King is located at 2541 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, and is owned by Melissa Pittman, Michael Pittman’s (#32) wife.

When you buy a 32 ounce smoothie, you get a free autograph on one item that you bring with you. There is no limit to the # of players that can sign your item. Some of the players that will be throughout the day are: Michael Pittman #32, Michael Clayton #80, Chris Hovan #95, Chris Simms #2, Ellis Wyms #96, Maurice Stovall #85, Ryan Nece #56, Shelton Quarles #53, Matt Bryant #3, Greg Spires #94, Juran Bolden #21, Jon Bradley #98, Earnest Graham #34, Carnell “Cadillac” Williams #24, John Wade #76, Anthony Davis #69, Donte Nicholson #30, and former Bucs player Dexter Jackson #28.

I grew up in the small town of Tarpon Springs, FL, and ended up spending a lot of time there until the past year, when my mom sold her home in Tarpon and moved a bit farther north. One of the things that makes Tarpon Springs unique is the large Greek population. The town has a local shopping area full of Greek stores and Greek dining and Greek bakeries, and there’s a large Greek church in town, and each year, there’s a huge Epiphany celebration in Spring Bayou. There’s even a restaurant in town that has the slogan, “Once A Week, Go Greek!”

Having gone to college, I know that when you say “Greek”, most people don’t think of the ethic Greeks, but rather, the culture of fraternities and sororities found on a college campus. I never belonged to one, but they were huge on campus, and extremely active in our local community. Our school store sold some fraternity gear, but did you know you can also buy custom greek merchandise online? And you’ll find a much larger selection than what your local college or fraternity can offer you as well….from clothing for your brothers (or sorority sisters!), cookies decorated for your fraternity, or ornaments for your Christmas tree.

Best of all, this greek clothing site can give you a custom quote if you’ve got something particular in mind for your group. Greek For Me is a family owned and operated business, and everything they sell is LICENSED, so you can be sure that the gear you’re buying lives up to the standards of your fraternal organization.

I was talking to a few of our neighbors this week, and they heard from the mail lady that several homes in our neighborhood are in foreclosure. I guess investors bought the homes, couldn’t sell them because of the market taking a dive, and now they’re willing to walk away from the home. Eek! I’m sure that doesn’t do much for your debt management situation! I hope those investors are very happy in the homes they already own, because I’m sure that loans are hard to get once you’ve walked away from a house and you let the bank take it.

The builder wasn’t supposed to sell to investors - but the first salesperson in here was a bit shady, and she did whatever it took to sell the homes. Unfotunately, this is the end result. 10-15 homes sitting vacant - never even lived in. Plus the builder has their own inventory homes they’re trying to unload. They’re so desperate to sell, even people with bad credit remortgages could get a brand new home right now. Builders are doing all sorts of things to entice people. They’re giving away cars, paying your mortgage for a year, giving you free homeowners insurance cover, paying off credit cards - I’ve never seen the market like this in my life.

Well people, summer is coming. It’s April and we’re already running the a/c in my house. How about you? It’s days like this when I wish I lived somewhere other than Florida - not that I’m moving any time soon, but still, it’s nice to dream. But where would I go?

I’ve always said that I’d love to live in the mountains. Someplace with all 4 seasons. And somewhere that doesn’t get as hot and humid as Florida does. Marysville WA Real Estate be be just the place for Floridians looking to beat the heat. This small town is located in Washington state, bordered by mountains, close to Puget Sound. Some Marysville homes even offer views of Puget Sound. Now, I wonder if you’re able to see whales and such there? That would be amazing, to sit on your deck outside your house and do a bit of whale watching. Even if you can’t see whales, the wildlife is amazing - you’d probably see nesting eagles and a few deer and bears. Does it get humid in Washington state? I’m not sure it matters - because I don’t think ANY place could possible be as hot and humid as Florida is in the summer!