Monica Kochelee

Many people who live in bedroom communities don’t even know what stores there are locally for them to patronize.  That is why the website local.com is a great resource.  It has partnered with four major shopping search sites, Citysearch.com, Yelp.com, Yellowpages.com, Superages.com to compile all of the information available to help the consumer locate local businesses. 

I went onto the local.com website a few minutes ago just to see how it would work if I wanted to find a local restaurant.  There were two boxes for me to fill in, the first one being the type of business (I typed in Restaurant) and then the second one was to fill in the area (I typed in the city and state) and then clicked on search.  Within seconds I had a large listing of restaurants that are local to where I live.

One of the things I enjoy doing for “cheap entertainment” is going to whatever trade show happens to be taking place in a nearby town or city.  It really doesn’t matter what the subject is for the most part because I enjoy getting out of the house and learning about different products that are available out in the market.  One the most enjoyable parts of going to a trade show is looking at all of the beautiful trade show and store displays that are set up throughout the buildings that the show is in.

I like to walk around from one booth to another, admiring the many different beautiful display setups that are there.  Since my own parents are involved in going to trade shows to promote their business, I like to strike up conversations with the vendors and ask them questions about their displays.  It seems that the ones that I always think are outstanding in terms of beauty and quality were bought by the vendors from a company called Gilbert displays, so I am going to have to let my parents know to check them out the next time they are considering revamping their own trade show display booth!

Well my hubby informed me a few minutes ago that we are going to an Elks club picnic that starts at 4pm, and it is over an hour’s drive away, so I guess I need to change my clothes, brush my teeth and get ready to go!  Nothing like short notice to go somewhere!  I don’t even know WHAT to wear!  I guess blue jeans, but a decent shirt should be all right.  I wish I’d had more notice, I don’t even know if I can make my hair look decent!

********Later********

Well, After a few minutes of getting ready to go,  I asked my hubby if he is ready to go and now he tells me we’re not going; he’s tired and wants to take a nap!  So, I guess we’re not going!

Many years ago my father and stepmother went on a vacation in Mexico.  I was still very young then, just a teenager.  I remember when they came back from their vacation how much fun they said that they had, and the great souvenirs that they brought back with them. I have a lot of other friends that I’ve met in my adult life who have vacationed in Mexico and come back with stories of how wonderful the vacation was.

I’d love to take a Mexican vacation and go to Playa de Carmen .  I love vacations on the beach, I find them so very relaxing.  From what I understand, Play de Carmen is on the beach, yet is within reasonable driving distance of the Mayan ruins, (which is something that I’ve always wanted to go see.)

I am going to talk to my hubby about planning to go there on our next vacation if we can work it out.  I’m going to see what kind of Playa de Carmen vacation rental I can find on the beach, but hopefully near enough the nightlife so that we can go out for a little bit of evening fun if we feel like it.  When we go on vacation, I really prefer renting a condo, so I will be searching for Playa de Carmen condo rentals on the http://www.cometoplaya.com/ website to see what they have available to fit our needs.

My hubby told me that he was going to spend the weekend helping me get the house ready for expected company that is coming next weekend.  He was going to dust the ceiling fans, dust the top of the refrigerator, do a few minor repairs here and there, install some timer switches on the bathroom exhaust fans, and help pick up the clutter.

Well, he ended up getting a phone call from my brother yesterday morning saying “I’m riding to Richmond on my Harley, want to come join me on your Harley?”  Well, hubby was out of here like a shot and didn’t come back until about 9pm.  They got caught in a severe thunderstorm on the way home and had to wait it out under a bridge for about an hour, but they seemed to have a good time overall.

I thought it was funny because my hubby swears he will never ride in the rain, and will never ride if rain is forecast, but the forecast yesterday said only a 10% chance of rain, so he went.  Now he says he won’t ride if it is even a 10% chance of rain.  I told him that there is ALWAYS a chance of rain, so he ought to just buy himself a rain suit and some motorcycle bags and be prepared!