Travel Destination: Clearwater Florida USA

Nov21

If you are looking for a cheap beach vacation in the US, don’t forget about Clearwater beach in Florida. I read an article in a tourist magazine that said that Clearwater Beach was named one of the best beaches in the US. I have to agree. I have been to a lot of different beaches and everything in the experience receives a rating. I look at the beach access, cleanliness of the beach, beach traffic/parking, beach hotel costs, and the quality of area restaurants. On a trip to visit some friends that live near Tampa, I took my Nana for a short vacation last December to Clearwater.

There are hotels within the $70 – 100 range that are not beachfront hotels but the beach is walking distance. To save some money, we picked an ocean view hotel. The hotel did not have beach access, but we could sit on their patio which overlooked the ocean. We were a less than 5 minute walk from the beach. So I was able to head out to the beach and put my feet in the water. Another plus was that the hotel parking was free. So many times, parking is $20 – 30 range at the nice hotels. And there are plenty of affordable restaurants in the area that are walking distance from the hotels that are along the beach.

The beach itself, the main attraction, was so pretty. I went out several times just to lay on the beach with my eyes closed listening to the waves. I went at dusk to watch the sun set. The sense of tranquility that I felt was from the best type of stress reliever.

Clearwater beach is accessible by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater small regional airport (abbreviation PIE) or Tampa international airport. We used a low cost air carrier Allegiant Air that flew from Greenville, SC into PIE. Using a flight special, the ticket price was $150. I do not know if you have the option of using a carrier like Allegiant Air, but if possible fly into PIE because smaller airports mean less hassle getting in and out. Just to give you an idea of how small the airport was- walking outside to the rental car parking lot was like walking outside of Wal-Mart to your car. There are no parking garages here.

Overall, the beach, surrounding area, hotel accommodations, and total trip cost made this an enjoyable, relaxing beach vacation.

Great products for aromatherapy projects

Nov15

One of my many hobbies is aromatherapy. I was studying fragrances and scents before it became the cool thing to do. Now days, there are so many different companies out there that are offering essential oils and blends to consumers. Unless you are fortunate enough to live in a place where there are brick and mortar stores selling these products, you probably will have to go online to find what you need.

For the best prices on the best quality products, I go to Amazon

I use a few different brands depending on what I need.

For pure essential oils, I use Edens Gardens and Aura Cacia.

They both have therapeutic grade pure essential oils. This means that I can feel safe using in recipes where I will potentially ingest the oil. I do not eat the oils, but if I am putting a blend on my skin, I want to ensure that the essential oil will not cause an adverse reaction. Some of my favorites are Ylang Ylang 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil, Aura Cacia Pure Essential Oil Lavender — 2 fl oz, and Aura Cacia Essential Oils Peppermint.

For essential oil blends and carrier oils, I like the Now brand. I have tried and tested others, but Now seems to have best selection and the highest blend concentration ratio of essential oil to carrier oils. A good example of that is Eucalyptus Lemon blend. I love the NOW Foods Lemon Eucalyptus Oil, 1 ounce. Ounce for ounce, I think that Now’s Now Foods Grape Seed Oil, 16 Ounce and NOW Foods Jojoba Oil, 16 ounce are the best quality at reasonable prices.


When it comes to aromatherapy, your blends are only as good as your ingredients. Using low quality ingredients reduce or negate efficacy. In other cases, they could cause negative or allergic reactions. For me, Now, Edens Gardens and Aura Cacia are the best brands of what is on the market currently.

Indian Moon

Nov10

Indian Moon ♥♥

Quinton is a Native American man working for an environmental company that writes reports about the environmental effects of logging companies. The irony is that he accepts bribes from logging companies to ensure that he approves whatever they are doing. He gives creative spin of their actions to the EPA with little regard to the local flora and fauna. Regina is a wife of the logging company owner that Quinton is there to survey. Granted it is a very abusive relationship, but she is still married!

The only thing I hate worse than love triangles is a “romance” where one or both parties are married, especially when the person is cheating on their spouse. When I realized that Regina was going to be the love interest, I was curious how the book was going to end. I did not like the premise of the book, but I was still giving the author a chance to weave an interesting story.

Even though Regina was married, her husband was so abusive that she yearned for love and tenderness. I am not saying that I condone her method of obtaining it, but I can see how that situation could happen. Quinton was a man that has lost his way, his morals, and his character. Through his love for Regina, he was able to redeem himself. I do not like the way he chose to do that, but considering he probably felt he had to pay penance for all those hidden sins/bribes, he saw it as justice.

I cannot say that I recommend this book, but others might find it interesting. If you focus on Quinton’s road to redemption and less on a married woman having an affair, parts of the story have some merit. As a romance, I found the story depressing.

Travel destinations: New York City

Nov4

Whenever people tell me that they have not been to New York City, I begin to tell them why they HAVE to visit at least one time in their life. Manhattan is 100 cities vacuum packed into an island. Over the years, I have visited many of the places that I recommend for people.

Here my top ten recommended places to go in New York City

Grand Central Terminal needs no explanation. Just go. Stand in the middle of the floor and absorb the energy. People will walk around you as they rush to their trains or out the door.


Rockefeller center is another gathering place for people. In the wintertime, you can see people ice skating in front of the building.
Times Square – Day or night, Times Square is alive and ready to party. As you can imagine, the craziest time to go is New Year’s Eve since the ball is dropping to bring in the New Year. If you want to people watch, just find a spot and check out the thousands of people going by. Take a picture with one of the many costumed characters (see picture of me with Chewbacca), but do not forget to give them a tip. They are not standing out there for their health.
Central Park is a patch of grass and trees in a concrete jungle. In the summertime, you can check out a play in the park.
Empire State Building – 350th 5th Ave (near 33rd Str) Admission $17.61 (during my last visit). Go on a clear day and you can see for miles. It is breathtakingly, ultra-cool.


Ground Zero – 352 7th Ave. There is a museum located that gives a 2 hour tour. Last time I went, the recommend admission is $25. While most of the NYC trip might be fun and games, visiting Ground Zero allows for somber reflection on the senseless lives lost because of terrorism.
Little Italy – It is fun to walk through and visit one of the many Italian restaurants. The food is delicious.
Chinatown – Go to Canal Str and see how good your bargaining skills really are. Never EVER pay the first quoted price for anything off of the street. Even if you think it is a good deal, you can probably get it cheaper. Once you are finished shopping on the main strip, go down the side streets to check out the Chinese herbal stores. I have found the best prices for jasmine tea in one of these little shops. The only caveat is not to wander too far by yourself or too late at night. You do not want to be a target for backstreet crime.
American Museum of Natural History & Metropolitan Museum of Art – I love museums and these are two of my favorites. I can spend the whole day in each. There are many other museums, but if you only have for two, these are the ones to go to.

Broadway or off Broadway for a show. Ask the concierge at your hotel (or google) about the best way to get affordable priced show tickets.

Optional jaunt: Style is the name of the game in the Fashion District off of 34th Street. For any fashionista, this is the place to go to check out what trendy goodies are available. Clothes, shoes, scarves, jewelry. You name it, they have it. When you get your treasures home, you will get so many compliments.

Travel tip: The subway is the most efficient way to travel. Don’t let it intimidate you. Get a map of the subway lines (now available as an app for the iPhone) and you will be good to go. Taking taxis with NY traffic is like giving away money to me. I will say that the subway is not always the cleanest place, but it is not like I go there to eat.

Keep your wallet safe and have fun!

A Sci-fi story that needs to be read

Oct30

Scale of 1 – 5: ♥ ♥ ♥♥

As the book opens, we meet Netty, a country girl growing up in the early 1900s. She had an uneventful life until she married Robert Doyle. He was a smooth talking, well-to-do man who surprised everyone by showing Netty attention. Her life was shattered around the time he broke her nose on their wedding night. A few years of brutal rape and abuse, Netty was finally able to escape to her parents’ home. Unfortunately, they were both dead.

While she makes her way in the remote country surroundings, she finds a woodland creature unlike any she has ever seen and it appears to be hurt. She names it Baby.

In reality, Baby is an alien. His contact with Netty heals her. Her scars disappear, hair grows, and skin glows. Life is good. So good, in fact, Netty chooses not to be concerned with the subtle changes to her body (changes that would freak out a person under normal circumstances).

After a time, she finds a drifter name Wil on her property. He was in poor health from being robbed and left for dead. Netty helps him to get well. He has no place to go and decides to stay with Netty and baby (he is not freaked out by the alien either). They make a nice, unconventional family.

The only thing still weighing over all of their heads is the monster of a person Robert Doyle, Netty’s husband. He is very influential in the community having much of law enforcement in his pocket.

I loved this book because it was a very different type of story. At times, I could not put into words my feelings for this story. Unexpected is probably the best way to describe this book. Some parts were extremely sad. Netty was an innocent victim of a malicious, greedy, powerful individual. Baby, the alien has the power to heal, but it is kind of difficult for me to understand its history.

This is the beginning book of a series which follows Netty’s story. This book does not end exactly with a happy ever after, but it is somewhat satisfying considering all that happens. I say that to mean, there was sufficient closure for me. But, I guess, by the end of the series, there will be a happily ever after ending. I am planning to read the rest of the books in the series. I do not usually like series, but this on was so unique that it has peaked my curiosity. The four heart rating has a lot to do with the fact that this book is like nothing I have read before. Bravo to the author J.K Accinni for her imagination.

You can buy Baby, Species Intervention #6609 on Amazon by clicking any of the links in this post