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My sister is two years older than me, and has always struggled with addiction.  She recently entered a Florida drug rehab center and I am so relieved!  She has lived with me in the past, has lived with my parents at one point, and even spent a few nights in a shelter. She has been a mess ever since moving to Florida, and although she always promised to get help, she swore that she could not find any Florida drug treatment centers near her house, which we all knew was a lie, but what can you do, right? 

Well, I guess she finally got to the point where she realized she needed help and actually entered one of the best drug and alcohol treatment centers Florida had to offer.  We are all so relieved!  She understands she had a long road ahead, but I think she is well on her way, thank God!  I really think she is going to come through this just fine, and hope that everyone will keep her in their thoughts as she goes through this.  We are all really proud of her.  I think her life is finally turning around for the better, and just in time.

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Years ago, when I didn’t have very good taste in guys (ahem), I dated a guy who was always getting arrested.  It was over petty stuff — unpaid speeding tickets, usually — but that didn’t make it any easier when he went to jail.

I remember trying to get him out of jail once.  I didn’t have the money, so I was trying to find a bondsman to put up a bail bond.  Unfortunately, this was before the Internet, so I couldn’t just search online for “bail bonds Boise” or “bail bonds Twin Falls.”  I checked the phone book and called a few of the numbers.

I quickly found out that without some type of property to use as collateral, bondsmen won’t do anything for you.  They need a guarantee that the person they are bailing out won’t skip town before the court date — because if that happens, the bondsman loses his money.  That’s what the collateral is for — the bondsman gets it if you don’t show up for court!

Fortunately, I eventually learned my lesson and stopped dating guys who wound up in jail.  And believe me, I am a lot happier now that I don’t have to scramble to try to find ways to bail my boyfriend out of jail!

Technorati Tags: bail bond, bail bonds Boise, bail bonds Twin Falls, phone book

Want to buy a hot tub but worried about the operating costs?  With utility costs on the rise, hot tub purchasers raise a legitimate concern.  The good news is that newer spas and hot tubs are made to work much more efficiently than older models, and really have a very small impact on residential power usage.  Hot tub dealers carry many different models that will vary in energy efficiency.  A little bit of research will reveal which models use low density foam, making them less energy efficient than models that use layers of high density polyurethane foam.  This high-density foam is the same material used as insulation for commercial freezers.  While the insulation helps, the heater and pump are going to be the determining factors in the amount of power a hot tub requires.  An article in the January 11, 2002 issue of Pool and Spa News cites a study done by Arthur D. Little, and independent research firm, regarding the energy efficiency of hot tubs and spas. The study concluded that “nationally, portable electric spas account for less than 1 percent of residential energy consumption in the United States.”  The study also found that “portable hot tubs contribute less than 0.3 percent to peak electric demand in any given service utility area including California and New York.”  When consumers understand the energy efficiency that is being incorporated into new spa designs, the concerns about high energy costs can be aleviated.

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If you are visiting the northwestern United States, you will definitely want to stay at a New England B&B (bed and breakfast), rather than a hotel.  You just can’t beat the experience of staying at a B&B, so if you want a comfortable, memorable visit, it’s the way to go!

Here are examples of the things you’ll get at a Connecticut bed and breakfast that you won’t get at a hotel or (God forbid) a motel):

1. A real home-cooked breakfast.  Start your day off right — not with one of those cold continental breakfasts that some hotels offer, but with a delicious home-cooked meal — that is included in the nightly rate!
2. A small, quiet facility.  Most bed and breakfasts are smaller facilities, typically having between four and six rooms at the most.  I suppose this is because it’s difficult to cook for too many people at a time, but realistically, it’s nice for the guests too!
3. A cozy, quaint atmosphere.  It’s not unusual for a Vermont bed and breakfast to furnish their rooms with beautiful vintage or antique furniture.  The furnishings and decorations are usually planned to create a unique, cozy atmosphere that you just won’t find anywhere else.

 There’s just no getting around it — B&Bs do it better!

Nothing beats the home-cooked goodness and beautiful presentation of a B&B breakfast!

Technorati Tags: New England B&B, Connecticut bed and breakfast, Vermont bed and breakfast, antique furniture

I am terrible at coming up with good Halloween costume ideas.  As a kid I always dressed up in store-bought costumes, and the only times I tried to make up my own, they were complete flops.  So when I see a website that has some good ideas for adult Halloween costumes, I am always grateful.

One thing I really like for adult Halloween costumes is the idea of dressing up in Renaissance clothing.  The clothing back then was so neat and there are always great Renaissance costumes to choose from.  For example, Romeo and Juliet make great couples Halloween costumes – not that I could ever get my husband to dress up as Romeo!

I’ve seen some other pretty good adult Halloween costumes, many of them typical, some of them pretty unique.  For example, I’ve seen guys dress up as the grim reaper, Agent Smith and other Matrix characters, Star Wars characters, Lord of the Rings characters, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.  Women seem to usually want to dress up as someone sexy: a schoolgirl, barmaid, sexy maid, sexy nurse, Marilyn Monroe, and so on.  (Though you do see the occasional witch in there too.)

In a few years, I’ll have kids of my own and I’ll need to start dressing them up for Halloween.  I wonder if I’ll get any better of thinking up costumes when I have kids to dress — or if I’ll do like my mom did, and stick with the easy, store-bought costumes?

Technorati Tags: Halloween costumes, Renaissance clothing, couples Halloween costumes, Matrix