Tonight’s call from my wonderful grandmother was a nice treat. She is spending some time in Naples with a friend. Usually she only goes to Florida in the winter and early spring, but her friend is having some health issues so Nana decided to got back and help for a couple of weeks.

Nana invited the kids and me to come visit. She reminded me that we have the use of her lovely two bedroom condo any time we want to go the Gulf Coast. I think she forgot that school starts early here, so we can’t go away for a whole week any more. We do have a nice break in October for 10 days, so we might go then. Then again, maybe I’ll get away for a weekend while the kids visit their dad.

Reading over some of the fun activities on the Florida outdoor fun web site called iOutdoor.com, I’m beginning to think that an adult getaway should be in my plans. I could use a couple of days of water activities, like swimming with dolphins or snorkling.

If I go to Naples and stay at Nana’s condo, an air boat ride would be great fun. Naples is just north of the Everglades and there is a lot of fun in the Dollar Bay and Bartell Bay. It’s been years since I took a cruise through the western edge of the Everglades to look at wildlife. Maybe I’ll take my new camera and get some shots of the birds and alligators this time.

The Titans are playing their first home game in a preseason contest against the Arizona Cardinals.

They did not fare so well last week in their first preseason game against Seattle. The coach let Vince young be the quarterback for the entire game and left Kerry Collins sitting on the bench. I strongly believe that if he had let Collins play that we had a chance to win that game.

So this week rumor has it that Collins will be the quarterback against the Cardinals. I hope we kick their butts. Not because I hate the Cardinals, which I don’t, but because I believe Collins is ten times the quarterback that VY is and I want VY to have to sweat and earn his spot on the first string.

I guess like most people, I never gave much thought to Multiple Sclerosis because I didn’t think anyone I know is affected by this particular disease. But now I have met someone who has this awful disease and I find myself wanting to learn all that I can about Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms and how it is diagnosed and what are the effective treatments for it.

I was at a neighbors house last night just visiting for a few minutes and her daughter came into the living room to ask for help with something. I didn’t realize that my neighbors daughter was in a wheelchair until I saw her come into the room last night. I was surprised, because her daughter is only in her late twenties and I don’t remember hearing anything about her being in an accident or disabled.

Turns out that her daughter was recently diagnosed as having MS, and that she sometimes has to be in a wheelchair for several days at a time. I feel just terrible that I didn’t know about the daughter but also that I know so little about MS.

So I’m trying to find information on Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms, Diet & Exercise. Maybe I can’t help my neighbor and her daughter – and not that they even asked for any help. But I feel a responsibility to my friends and community to at least get educated and be ready to offer assistance in any small way that I can.

The Smarter Travel website listed some more of my favorite beach spots, including:

• Provincetown, Massachusetts as the Best Beach Town For Shopping
• Wildwood, New Jersey as the Best Beach Town For A Classic Experience
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as the Best Beach Town For Golf, and
• Chincoteague Island, Virginia as the Best Beach Town For Wildlife

One of the things my brother has done to help fight the heat is put ceiling fans in more of the rooms of his house. Ceiling fans cost a lot less to operate than window air conditioners and can be left running on a low speed throughout the day and night for just pennies every day on your electric bill.

I love the ceiling fan in my living room and I’m thinking about my brother’s suggestion about putting in more fans. I could easily put one in each of the bedrooms and then cut the air conditioning back several degrees at night.

Dylan says that the Hansen Wholesale Ceiling Fans website has a great selection of all the top quality fans. A cheap fan will annoy you with vibrations and noise, so make sure you get a good quality fan. This is an investment in your home and in your family’s comfort, so shop wisely for the right brand and model.

Talking to my brother this morning about the awful heat here and he says it has been just as hot all the way up in New York, too. Their heat wave makes national news and, unfortunately, people die from heat in the City. A lot of the buildings do not have windows that open, so if you lose your electricity or the air conditioning goes out, the indoor temperatures can rise to deadly levels.

Lots of things can help give a little relief. Seek out the shade if you have to wait outside for the bus or your ride, even if you have to carry an umbrella to make your own shade. Keep your drapes drawn and your shades closed during the day to keep out the sun and the heat that comes in through your windows. Use your ceiling fans to keep the air circulating.

I mostly feel bad for the guys who have to work outdoors, such as policemen, firemen, road crews, tow truck drivers, dock workers, roofers and anyone else who has to be out in the sun and the heat. Be careful out there, guys. Drink lots of water, take frequent breaks, and know the warning signs of heat stroke so you can get help if you need it.

Have you ever noticed that people get very passionate about various health charities when someone in their family gets a diagnosis with that particular disease? Isn’t it a shame that we don’t seem to care about something that affects thousands of other people until it affects someone in our own circle? I was just talking with someone who is looking for a Mesothelioma Attorney, and it made me start to think about all the people suffering from the lesser known and less supported illnesses and disabilities.

When someone gets their first diagnosis, our thoughts turn to the quality of the medical care available. We want the best we can afford and the fortunate ones have good health insurance to help pay for that care.

And then, a lot of people start thinking about who they can blame. That’s how a Mesothelioma Lawyer helps people. Because this is a disease that may have been preventable and now thousands of people have the disease and are suffering.

This is a disease that is rare but everyone has probably at least heard of, Mesothelioma Disease. I’m sure you have seen a late night commercial or read something in a news oriented magazine to be familiar with the word. But have you heard of any celebrities organizing a telethon or big concert to fund research or a cure? No.

Making plans for the rest of our summer with the kids and family. Between my parents and my brothers and sisters and their families, we have a lot of fun things to look forward to in July and August.

I found PNC Bank Center Tickets on the internet and picked an event for me and the girls in our family. I love Jack Johnson and so do my sisters. It’s going to be a girls weekend out in New York!

Then I found New Meadowlands Stadium Tickets for a boys day out in August. Everyone loves a soccer game in the summer and its even more fun when a bunch of us can get together and go to a game with good seats together. This one is world class, too. The USA team plays Brazil. If you’ve been watching the World cup games this month, you know how good these players are. No matter who wins the World Cup in July, this game in August will be top notch.

I want to find one other like minded person to go with me to Chicago in October to see Cheech and Chong. I’m buying two Chicago Theatre Tickets for their show and I want to have some grown up fun laughing my butt off. These two guys are the embodiment of “Let’s get stupid!”

The best thing I can do locally for a beach is to go to the Lake. So, we spent the afternoon at the Lake. It was pretty crowded – at first I though the parking lot attendant was going to turn us away as the lot appeared full. But I did find a spot toward the very end. It just meant we had to walk a ways to get down to the sand, and although it was incredibly hot, I enjoyed the exercise.

The kids had a blast and thank goodness I brought sun screen. I wish we had brought food – after a while we all got hungry from the running and splashing, plus the aroma from dozens of picnic sites using the grills made us very hungry. So we left to get cleaned up and then got something to eat.

Tennessee is great for quality of life and a lot of great things for outdoor recreation. The one thing that it doesn’t have that I miss so very much is an ocean beach. So when we just HAVE to get to a beach, we head east for  the resorts in Myrtle Beach.

We have plans to spend the Fourth of July weekend with my New York family at a beach house. But after that, I will want to make sure we go to Myrtle Beach for a week at the end of the month. I might even arrange for my sister and her kids to get an adjoining room and share the vacation. Tonight I’ll jump online and check http://avistaresort.com so I can start making plans for our last beach trip before school starts in August.

It’s easy to find a Myrtle Beach hotel online and make the reservations for our vacation. Plus, I’ll want to get in a round of golf while my sister takes all the kids to one of the lazy rivers.