You’ve gotta love it when a neighborhood feud ends up being blogged. These signs were taken this week in a Tampa neighborhood. It seems that neighbor #1 decided to make it known that neighbor #2 was a former convict. Neighbor #2 responded with a sign that read, “This is true. I was a drug addict, but have been saved by Jesus Christ, my Savior”.

After a few days, that sign was replaced by one that reads, “Our neighbor is impotent and can’t have children”.

I love how they tossed aside Christian morals to insult the neighbor. Turn the other cheek, much?

I read on a friend’s poker blog this morning that the Seminole Indians have made an agreement with the state of Florida that will allow blackjack & baccarat to be played in Florida. Currently, the Seminole Indians operate two such casinos, in Broward and Tampa, and both are booming with business. Craps and roulette won’t be allowed just yet, and that’s got me bummed. I’ve watched Jim play roulette for years and finally bet on my own this weekend in Las Vegas. I played electronic roulette on Friday night and walked away $40 richer, and then lost $80 at a roulette table on Saturday night.

In the past month, anytime I’ve had to take the Veteran’s Expressway into Tampa, towards the airport, I’ve had to divert off course. Typically, the expressway begins to back up just before the Waters Avenue exit, and that makes sense, because 2 lanes branch out to 5 or 6 lanes to go through the toll booths, and then some lanes exit, and the rest of us merge into 2 lanes again. It’s a stupid design, but we’re all used to it by now.

Lately though, traffic has been backing up a lot sooner. I’ve been stopped way back at the Van Dyke exit, or Hutchinson road, and the cars just creep along for miles. That forces me to get off at Gunn Highway, and go through the city streets in order to make up some time.

Am I the only one who has noticed this mess? It’s enough to make a girl want to tele-commute every single day!

This Sundar, comic book and anime fans will descend on Tampa for the Tampa Comic Book and Toy Convention. Cartoonists and writers will be on hand, including writer Gary Friedrich, and authors Glenda Finkelstein and Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc. There will be 10,000 square feet of comics, anime, and even Star Wars items at the convention.

Hey, if the guys who are behind the Archie comics are there, I’m in!

On Friday afternoon I was in Ybor City for a work function, and had to head through Malfunction Junction to head north on I-275. I don’t care what they’ve done to improve that junction - it’s still horrible! Luckily, the traffic heading north on I-275 wasn’t bad at all, and I made it up to 75 in a matter of minutes. That may change this week once the new I-275 improvements from Himes Avenue to the Hillsborough River start construction. Another lane is being added to alleviate traffic around the downtown area, but for now, cars will be merging into lanes to give the workers room to work. The project won’t be done until 2010.

Does anyone else feel like they should just add 3 or 4 lanes while they’re at it and be done with it? Forget this one lane at a time nonsense.

I’ve been navigating that mess by Tampa International Airport almost every day for the past two weeks. What the heck are they doing there? The main overpass, under construction, seems extremely high - so high that a plane could whack it, and the rest of it is just confusing. Between that and the mess where the Veteran’s Expressway and 60 converge, I’m tempted to cut down Dale Mabry to head to work.

Last night the kids and I went to the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa to see Gwen Stefani on her Sweet Escape tour. Akon was one of the opening acts. The show was amazing, the weather was perfect (I can’t believe we needed sweatshirts at night. In May. In Florida!) and our seats on the lawn were cheap ($10!) It was my 2nd concert at the Ford Amphitheater, and it’s turned into one of my favorite venues, especially when you can get cheap seats on the lawn.

Several years ago, my husband and I got the chance to see The Who, in concert, for free. Friends of ours had been offered tickets at work, and apparently couldn’t GIVE them away. Our seats were in the nosebleed section of the St. Pete Times Forum, but it was great seeing legends in concert. The fans who bought tickets for this week’s show at the Ford Amphitheater weren’t so lucky - minutes after The Who came on stage, Roger Daltry walked off, and the show was cancelled due to his illness. Pete Townshend announced that the show would be rescheduled for 2 weeks from now.

Extreme Makeover visited a home in South Tampa back in January. You may remember hearing about the Tate Family in the news - back in June of 2006, a small plane crashed into their home, killing the pilot and destroying the house. Thanks to Extreme Makeover, the Tates have a brand new home. The episode featuring the tates aired March 4th.

My husband and I were over at Citrus Park Mall earlier this week, with the family in tow, and decided to head across the street to Smokey Bones for dinner. We tried to go to the one in Clearwater when it first opened a few years ago, but the wait was 2 hours, so we skipped it. After hearing rave reviews from friends, I was anxious to try it, but I was so disappointed.

The restaurant wasn’t crowded (it was a Monday night) so we were seated immediately. Our waitress was extremely slow. After taking our drink orders, she came by our table 2 or 3 more times on her way to other places, without our drinks. Our dinner order (ribs, a BBQ sandwich, and 3 kids meals) took almost 25 minutes. We saw tables that came in after us get served before us. Finally, our food came out - Jim’s ribs were dry, my sandwich was dry, and the kids meals were ok. For the price, I’ve had better BBQ at much smaller local chains, like Pit Boss. Our meal was $50 for the meals, drinks (one beer) and the cornbread appetizer, which was good, but nothing special.

The fair starts this week. For a full write up of headliners, dates, fees and such, visit The Florida Blog. I recommend that everyone go to the fair at least once in their lifetime. Where else can you enjoy rides put together earlier that day, or a fried twinkie? I love the animal exhibits and this year, Davy Jones of The Monkees is a headliner.

Technorati Tags: fair, fairgrounds, state fair, Florida State Fair, Davy Jones, Tampa, Florida

I probably shouldn’t tell you about my favorite place for lunch on a workday. Lord knows, Moxie’s Too is crowded enough as it is! Oops! I guess I did just tell you, huh? Well, since I already opened my big mouth, here’s the scoop.

Moxie’s Too! is located at the Benjamin Center, 5925 Benjamin Center Drive, Suite 115, Tampa, Florida 33634. If you work near the airport, or close to the Waters/Anderson interchange, you’re close enough to each lunch on your break at Moxie’s. You’ll find great food at good prices, and even better service to go along with it. Just don’t stand in line if you don’t know what you want, because they only want you up there if you’re ready!

I highly recommend the Wild Turkey

On Sunday January 21, 2007, you’ll be able to visit Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa for just $3 a person. Get up close with more than 1,800 animals, learn about endanged wildlife, or relax with the manatees all day long, for a heck of a price. The zoo will be open from 9:30am til 5pm. Be advised, it does get very crowded on $3 day, so go early!

It’s that time of year again - pirates will be invading Tampa Bay soon for Gasparilla!

The Gasparilla Children’s Parade will be held this Saturday, January 20, 2007, from 3:30pm til 6:30pm. It takes place along Bayshore Boulevard, following the same route as the Gasparilla Parade of the Pirates. It will begin at Bay to Bay Blvd. & Bayshore Blvd., proceed north along Bayshore, and end at Watrous/Orleans Aves. & Bayshore (approx. 1.4 miles). You can purchased reserved general admission seating in an assisgned bleacher section for $12 per person. The seating is first come first serve on the daye of the event, but you must have a ticket.

The history of Gasparilla:

The name and foundation of Tampa’s traditional Gasparilla Carnival come from legendary pirate Jose Gaspar, “last of the Buccaneers,” who terrorized the coastal waters of West Florida during the late 18th and early 19th century. Gaspar, given to calling himself “Gasparilla,” served as a lieutenant in the Royal Spanish Navy for five years until 1783 when, upon seizing command of a Spanish sloop-of-war, he with his fellow mutineers set sail for the Florida straits. And so the young Spanish aristocrat-turned-pirate began an adventurous life as outlaw of the sea.

If you’ve never been, the children’s parade is quite a bit tamer than the adult event, and it is alcohol free.

This weekend at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, train enthusiasts of all ages will be able to visit the Great Train Expo - America’s coast to coast train show. You’ll find model railroads, toy trains, dealers and collectors at this huge show of exhibits and demonstrations.

The show will be going on this weekend (Saturday 12/30 and Sunday 12/31) from 10am til 4pm daily. Admission is $7 for adults and kids under 12 are free. Kids of all ages will love the model railroads on display (and operating!) and the hundreds of tables of trains and toys. If you’re looking to dispose of an old toy train, this is the perfect place. You can get appraisals and get offers from multiple dealers under one roof!

A recent article in the St. Pete Times pointed out the recent sale of Centro Ybor in Ybor City, FL. The article stated that Centro Ybor is debt-ridden and that some of the Centro Ybor movie theater may be turned into condos or office space.

I can’t even tell you how disappointed I am to hear that. I love going to Ybor City, from when I started at age 18 by hitting Traxx (or was it Trax? Or Tracks? I never paid attention!) on Thursday nights, to my days with my husband at Bar Tampa, to dinners at The Columbia with co-workers, and a night at The Cherokee with my sister. I love the varied options of clubs and shops and restaurants, and even though Centro Ybor was pretty commercialized and mainstream, it was getting a crowd that normally wouldn’t have considered coming to Ybor City. Seeing condos and offices in it’s place just won’t be the same. Aren’t there enough condos and offices already in Tampa?