Early this morning the coastline of Peru suffered a major earthquake. There are very few reports coming in about casualties and damage, but there is a warning of a related tsunami that may affect all the pacific rim islands. This worries me quite a bit, as I have a brother in Hawaii right now. I understand they are evacuating people on the islands and taking the warning very seriously. I’m very concerned for the safety of my brother and all the citizens of Hawaii. I hope the tsunami turns out to be a small thing and no one else gets hurt.

I told the kids that I have Cabin Fever and they had no idea what I was talking about. So I explained that I was sick of being stuck in the house and really needed a break. So we decided to get in the car and drive to Murfreesboro, just to get out of the house and look at some different scenery besides the interstate. We took the back road from Lebanon and saw a lot of farms and farm animals.

After we got to Murfreesboro, we found a Zaxby’s Chicken and got some really tasty chicken nuggets and crinkle cut fries. That was a nice change. I wish there was a Zaxby’s close to the house – driving 30 miles for chicken nuggets doesn’t make a lot of sense when there are 2 dozen other places between here and there.

The weather is yucky and we are barely halfway through the winter. Around here, December, January and February are the coldest months. But sometimes is stays cold all through March and into April. they say that we have had snow here in April, although that has not happened since I’ve lived here.

When it’s cold and dreary outside, my thoughts turn to palm trees and white sand beaches and I start checking the internet for good prices on airline tickets to Florida for either Spring Break or a fast break as soon as school lets out in May.

My first choice would be a week in Key West and I found a few cheap flights so I could start on budget for the trip. But then I realized that the kids are old enough to enjoy the attractions in Orlando, so if we go to Florida as a family I need to check out the cost of a few days in Disneyworld.

Comparing the two destinations, I read Fodors for tips on both areas. The big question will be on the timing of this trip. Do we go to Disney first and then go to Key West for the rest of the week? Or do we go to Key West first and finish it up in Orlando?

So my friend, Gary Allan, is playing at the Houston Rodeo next month and we decided to go to his show. I have to be in Houston that week on business, so I am looking for tickets to a couple nights at the rodeo and Gary’s concert. The Houston rodeo is always held in the Reliant Stadium and goes for 10 days in the middle of March. I used www.aCheapSeat.com to find Reliant Stadium Tickets to see Gary Allan on March 18 and then two nights later I can get tickets to see Taylor Swift, too.

Later on during Spring Break, I’m planning on taking the kids to New York to see their grandparents. I’m thinking about getting Mohegan Sun Arena Tickets for Disney on Ice and taking the whole family for a night out.

My favorite jazz artist, Boney James, is going to do a few shows this year at select venues. I think it would be totally awesome to hear him at the Hollywood Bowl. That is the one place I’ve not yet been for a concert. I checked the web and Boney James will be there in July, so while I am buying tickets I might as well buy Hollywood Bowl Tickets and plan a quick trip to L. A. this summer.

Breakfast in bed – I made it. Shared it with my dogs. We loved it.

In pjs until noon. The kids are watching cartoons in the living room. We’ll all get dressed when someone gets hungry enough for lunch.

A second pot of coffee for me. Good coffee – my own blend. No cheap chocolates – don’t want them, tyvm.

Looking forward to the Daytona 500 and more snow today, something good for dinner, no school tomorrow, and working my way through a mountain of laundry and paperwork this week. I’m starting to feel like a true domestic goddess.

Next month we are going to host a new fund raiser for the non profit that I work with as a volunteer board member. We got the idea from another non profit in a different city, so we are hoping that hosting this even here in Nashville will be well received.

The main idea is to get people in business suits to break out of their offices for a couple of hours during a work day and come to our event in a fun competition. I have been helping the other volunteers by arranging for crowd control, which is a new project for me.

I’ve had the chance to learn all about stanchions and how to guide the public as well as the competitors in the event.

Until this project, all I really knew about crowd control was the velvet rope strung between metal poles at the bank. Now I know how to find the right material, the right lenghts, the number of posts and even signage that will be needed for our event.

barricades

Did you know that there is a day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans that is dedicated to dogs? They even have a parade of dogs, all dressed up in colorful costumes like capes and hats, called Barkus. It is soooo cute!

Thankfully my job lets me have some leeway to leave in the middle of the work day and deal with school or doctor appointments and things like that for the kids. I know there are a lot of women who work for companies that watch every minute that you are on the clock. But my employer recognizes that I often go the extra mile for them, and they also are very committed to being supportive of families.

Today I had to sit through two parent teacher conferences at the elementary school. I am not going to talk about those in detail other than to say that I appreciate having the one on one time with the two women who are working very hard to teach my two children what they need as the very foundation of their learning processes for the rest of their lives. They are very important jobs and it takes a special kind of person to go to work every day and teach a couple dozen of ther people’s kids.

My brother just bought a house in Connecticut, to take advantage of the declining real estate market and the big tax credit for first time home buyers. I know that he has bought a house before, but the term “first time” is a little misleading. Turns out he and his new wife are qualified, and that $8,000 tax credit is going to be a huge help with their finances.

He had asked me to help him find quotes on Homeowners Insurance Somers, CT, which was easy for me to do on my lunch break and it took some of the pressure off of him with everything else that is going on. I know a lot about insurance and don’t mind helping out my little brother with those type of phone calls.

If you combine your homeowners with Life Insurance Somers, CT you get a discount with some insurance companies. It makes sense to give an insurance client a discount for bringing additional business to your company. So he can be rewarded with a multi lines discount.

Insurance companies are tightly regulated and they are not allowed to offer sale prices or coupons or other buyer incentives like retail stores or other businesses. I learned a lot about how the insurance industry works when I started making calls for my other brother when he needed Life Insurance Tolland, CT.