Memorial Day is a special time for me and my family. Both of my grandfathers and my step-grandfather fought in WW2. My dad’s father died in Italy and is buried in Enzio. I have never seen his grave, but a couple of years ago my father visited and saw his own father’s grave for the first time in his life. My dad was two when his father died, so the moment was particularly poignant.

My maternal grandfather and my paternal step-grandfather both came back from WW2 and went on to fight in Korea. My dad did not fight in Viet Nam, because he was the only child of a father who was killed in action.

My family has always been sensitive to the importance of honoring those who fight for our nation. This extends to the men and women who are fighting for our nation as I write this. I do not have any relatives overseas right now, but I have lots of friends who have been there over and over.

As I mentioned, my one grandfather is buried in Italy. The other two are in WV. So, it is not possible for me to physically visit their graves this weekend. However, my maternal step-father was also a vet and he is buried in the Florida National Cemetery, so we make it a habit to visit him.

Solar lights are popular everywhere, but I can hardly imagine a place where they as effective and naturally useful as the subtropical regions of Florida, where I happen to live. I get a lot of sun. A LOT of sun. And, I know the difference. I lived for a while south of Pittsburgh, where the entire winter was overcast and wet. Even when I lived in North Florida, there just were not as many sunny days as I have here. Plus, I pretty much lived in the woods then. I had solar lights, but they did not charge that well.

Now, though, the solar lights I use in the flowerbeds and up the walk are flat out amazing. Not only are they completely self sufficient, they just feel right. Do you know what I mean? I am taking some of the sunshine that my yard enjoys during the day and allowing my yard to enjoy it at night, effectively.

And, it’s not just about lights that actually illuminate the paths in my yard or the driveway; I also found this very cool color-changing solar globe. It has a hidden solar panel and you can set it to rotate through 10 colors. You can even float it in your pool or a garden pond. It beats tiki torches hands down for ambiance.

I have tears in my eyes. I have had tears in my eyes several times since the earthquakes in China hit. The world has been watching this tragedy and mourned along with the people of China.

The tears I am shedding now are from happiness, pride, and soft-heartedness, though. The story of policewoman Jiang Xiaojuan is just amazing.

She is the mother of a 6-month-old son, who she breastfeeds. After the quake, she took it upon herself to breastfeed some of the orphaned infants. At one point she was feeding nine babies.

She modestly chalks it up to a mother’s instinct and her duty as a police officer. She is actually embarrassed by all of the worldwide attention she is getting and says, “This was a small thing, not worth mentioning.”

I love this woman. I nursed my own daughter for an extended amount of time and I understand the emotional side of the process. I can see how it felt very natural for her to step and in and help the motherless babies. Her body also probably stepped up to the task, naturally producing enough supply. Still, she does deserve recognition. She is selfless and loving and it our modern world this is rare.

Raise your hand if you have not tried your hand at forex trading using an online platform? I bet most of you kept your hands down. I know I did. Now there is such amazingly easy access to the tools and platforms you need in order to trade, it almost seems silly to not give online foreign exchange trading a try.

The tools available online are only getting more advanced. And with the value of the dollar here in the United States so uncertain right now, a lot of people are turning to Forex. eToro has introduced an entirely new version of its financial trading platform, all so they can ad more of the features their members were asking for and so they could launch the community features that everyone on the net seems to want right now.

Multiple traders, managing stop loss, the ability to better apply the trends in the market are all easier to access than ever before. Also, eToro has brought a whole new range of community features on board. You can create a personal profile, interact with other traders, and subsequently increase your opportunities for tips and education.

One of the coolest aspects of the eToro system is that you don’t have to dive right in until you’re fully ready. Instead, you can use virtual money to sharpen your skills and get a feel for the ins and outs of the world market and the system at hand. And when you are ready to use real money, your trades are instant.

We all know that the basic grocery bill for an American family is rising steadily. We have seen it when we go to the market simply to pick up eggs, milk, and bread. It is astonishing when you shop for a week’s worth of food and the overall rise in food costs hits you in a more concrete way.

Additionally, news headlines have talked about how restaurants are facing the rise of food costs just like the rest of us, which is resulting is higher prices for dining out.

How much thought have you given, though, to the food served in schools?

The Hillsborough County School Board (which includes the schools in Tampa, Florida) voted yesterday for a 50 cent increase in the price of school lunches. Elementary school lunches will go from $1.75 to $2.25. Middle and high school lunches will go from $2.25 to $2.75.

District administrators said their schools spent $1.6 million more on milk and this year, which is a 33 percent increase from last year. Bread cost the district $100,000 more this year than last and most sources say that bread prices are actually going to quadruple in the near future.

Despite moving from serving fresh fruit five days a week to only two days a week (canned and frozen fruits and vegetables fill in one the other days), government subsidies have not kept up with the actual price of food these days. Hillsborough County says it costs about $3 to produce a hot lunch and the federal government only kicks in around 23 cents for each student paying full price for lunch.

I maintain a mailing list of over 1600 work at home moms who own small businesses selling crafts and handmade accessories. As you might guess, I get a lot of e-mail on a daily basis from women who want advice about setting up an online presence for their businesses. Generally, it begins with the dilemma of how to choose web hosting, how to get their site designed, and the first steps of getting their site online and indexed in the search engines.

I am always more than happy to help. I wish I’d had someone to ask these same questions years ago, but I had to puzzle things out on my own. So, it makes me happy to help others now. I spend at least 4 months doing research before I chose my own web host. I looked at every possible parameter. And, I have to say that more than a year later; I am still thrilled on a daily basis with my host.

I don’t always have all the answers, nor is my point of view the only correct way to look at things. I like it when I can find a depository of applicable articles to show people who have questions. That way, they are getting a more varied view of how to go about choosing a web host and similar topics. More often than not, people are looking for information on windows web hosting. The WebHostingRating.com website has a pretty varied selection of article that all address the choosing of a web host. A lot of the articles center around figuring out if a web host is reliable and worth the cost.

I suggest taking your time to do research, read articles like the ones on the site I linked, and ask people you know who they use for hosting and if they have been satisfied. More often than not, a solid personal referral is your best bet.

In honor of the apples that are finally getting ripe in the back yard, I want to give you my mother’s apple pie recipe. I know it seems like a funny time of year to have ripe apples, but here in the sub-tropical region of Florida, the only apples that grow are a couple of varieties of Israeli apples and they are finally coming into their own this month.

We have five trees planted in massive pots out back and each tree is positively loaded with apples. So, what better than a decadent apple pie?

My mom prefers to use Ida Reds or Winesaps, at least three pounds. There need to be enough apples to slice and make a heaping 9-inch pie plate full.

1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cup sugar
3 – 4 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of salt
2-3 tablespoons butter, in small pieces

Combine all ingredients, except butter, well with sliced apples. Put apples onto bottom crust in a 9-inch pie plate and top with the butter pieces. Place top crust, crimp edges, cut air vents and bake at 375º for 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the juices are beginning to peek out of the slits. Juice should begin to look thick.

If you have a microwave, you can put the pie in and cook on high for 2 1/2 minutes. Rotate a quarter-turn and cook 2 1/2 minutes, etc. until you have turned the pie three times and cooked about 10 minutes.

Then, put the pie into a preheated 375º oven and bake 20-25 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the juices are thick. I really like this method, as the apples are tender and the crust is crisp without overbaking.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I grew up just outside of Washington, DC and my family fully took advantage of the Smithsonian museums. All my life I wandered the National art galleries in particular. I was taught at a very early age how to appreciate works of art for their own unique attributes, inspirations, and messages.

When I moved away from the DC area, I began to really see that there was indeed the presence of amazing art outside of the National galleries. As soon as I went away for college, I began to seek out and explore any and all art galleries I could find. I continued that practice as I moved from state to state.

One thing that particularly struck me is that more often than not, galleries and art museums reflect the regional art styles of their own surroundings. Take, for example, the Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas. True to its regional roots, their exhibitions tend to feature the inspiration of the American West, including Native American art.

I’m particularly taken by the museum’s interest in rare books and manuscripts (a passion of mine). They have an upcoming exhibit called “Pictured Prayers: Medieval Books of Hours”, which will feature illuminated manuscripts. They have other exhibits in the past that showcased other illuminated manuscripts as well. And, they own some of the folios that belonged to John James Audubon.

Since my favorite style of painting comes from the Hudson River School, I was beyond enthusiastic to find out they own pieces by one of my all-time favorite artists, Albert Bierstadt. The American West was brought back to the people in the East in all its glory by the Hudson River painters. They shaped the way people saw the frontier and facilitated our nation’s move to fulfill the concept of Manifest Destiny.

I grew up just outside of Washington, DC. I was absolutely spoiled with the free Smithsonian museums, the National Zoo and other amazing attractions in the District. Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo holds its own against the bigger zoos, though. It is worth the price of admission any day.

With the 20th Anniversary of the zoo happening this year, you can get the best deal I have seen so far for admission. On the 20th of select months the admission fee is only $20 for two tickets (ages 3 and older). Plus, there are $2 ride and food specials. If you consider that the full price of an adult admission is $18.95, you will have to admit this is a super deal.

Check the zoo’s website out for more information: lowryparkzoo.com.

I’ve had my fair share of wild vacations. As you might imagine, they all took place before I was a mommy. I’m not saying I won’t have any more wild vacation sin my future, but right now my vacation are more along the lines of family-friendly and mild-mannered.

One of my favorite “wild” vacations was a sort of working vacation. I was in Chicago for a trade show with my co-workers and we had not only a lot of free time at night, but a company that made a habit out of wining and dining both us and some of our clients. It was amazing and decadent and memorable. I’m talking about nights out where we got the best table in the bar in the John Hancock building, ate at pricey French restaurants and had steaks as big as my head at Gene & Georgetti’s. Holy cow. I could absolutely go for a night at Gene & Georgetti’s right about now.

We also each had a day to pair up with another co-worker and get some daytime sight seeing done. I bonded with one of the salesgirls over some hardcore shopping.

Somewhere in among all that we got some work done as well.

I suppose even though that was not strictly a vacation, it was still my own memory as my wildest vacation, because there is just something totally freeing about having someone else foot the bill for a week of fun in Chicago.

Now, if I were going back on my own, I would schedule a few touristy type things, like in the very least a trolley tour. There are just so many things to do in Chicago and since I’ve only been there once, I want to get the full experience. There are discount and package deals you can get on the Trusted Tours & Attractions website for things like sightseeing tours and attraction admissions. Plus, if you go to their website and sign up for their newsletter right now, you get entered in a drawing to win a $150 itunes gift card. The iPod drawing closes on May 31, 2008 so hurry up and enter. I have been using their website to plan some things to do in Atlanta for this summer whem my daughter go up there to visit her godparents.

…I feel so helpless.

My daughter has pretty much always had eczema. We have battled that off and on her whole life. Due to her itchy skin and tendency toward drier skin, she has also had a couple of battles with MRSA. I think what happened is those cases was she scratched a couple of little open sores and picked up the virus at school.

So, now there is something new happening with her skin and I was just without a clue when I first saw it. I think it was about three weeks ago that she developed some little hard bumps all over her arms and legs, mostly around the areas where she would generally get eczema patches. Also, on one of he knees she got a patch of skin that did not feel rough, but looked rather like elephant skin. It was unsightly and looked a little like something her dad gets on his own knees. Additionally, she had two three larger red spots on her lower back that looked like hives, but without the white raised parting the center.

I kept her moisturized and put her Betamethasone on the bad spots, but after a weekend at her dad’s, she came home even worse. I suspected the trip to the beach they made as well as the cat he has at his house. Gigi is allergic to cats and being around a cat would have taxed her immune system and not left any fight in her for her skin issues.

So, I got her in with my dermatologist. The derm changed her antihistamine and her skin creams. We were on an entirely new regiment and each of the medications had a $45 co-pay, so it was quite an investment. Also, we went back to the skin care products we used when Gigi was a baby: Aveeno lotion, sunscreen and bath wash for babies – not the adult version, but the baby variety.

She was with her dad again this weekend and I brought her home early since tonight was her pre-school graduation presentation. Her skin is even worse! It has been 10 days on the new antihistamine and the new creams. I should see SOME improvement, but instead her entire back is just covered with the splotchy, red, raised spots. It’s horrific, really.

So, my next call is to her allergist. He is very difficult to get in with, but I am going to beg, because my next step will be to find a specialist that can see if this is something systemic. I don’t know – maybe an endocrinologist or an immunologist.

I’m all cried out on this one.

One of my best friends and her husband own a construction company up in Gainesville. Since I spent so much time with their family, I ended up learning more than I ever thought possible about the industry and the running of their business. I suppose I had never given much thought to the fact that there is a huge investment In order to have the right sort of equipment on hand. You cannot just buy a big pickup truck and call yourself a construction firm.

Of course, it doesn’t always make sense to actually own all of the equipment. Keith often just leases what he needs for any particular job. If he needs a cable reel trailer, for example, it makes better economic sense for him to rent the thing than it does for him to own and maintain it. There is no shortage of companies that provide construction equipment for lease, as well as for sale. Companies like Hogg-Davis Sales own the inventory so that you don’t have to. Keith does buy the equipment he needs on a more regular basis, but he does such a wide variety of work that it doesn’t always make sense to buy every piece of specialty construction equipment he uses.

My friend and her husband do well, very well indeed. My view of blue collar work was completely changed when I got to know them. Keith has advanced college degrees, but he only found financial success once he settled into his business, which he only did because he wanted to actually be doing something he loved day in and day out. As I get older I see more and more merit in doing what you love. Sometimes you have to sidestep the issue of money and look ahead to the years you are investing in your career. I cannot imagine being miserable in a job for 20 years.

When things get difficult, people often turn even more to God and the security of religion. The local Tampa Bay area all-news TV station Bay News 9 reported that many Bay area churches are seeing an increase in contributions.

First Baptist Church in St. Petersburg says they have seen a 14 percent increase in offerings compared to last year. They attribute it to new members tithing, existing members tithing more and an overall up rise in people actually giving 10% or more of their income.

I think this pattern stands to reason. People do turn to God and church when they are going through rough spots. With the rising price of food, housing, and gas more and more people are seeing their monthly financial budgets having to stretch further than ever before. There is an age old adage that says that the more you give, the more you will receive. When your focus turns away from self and back to God, blessings tend to enter your life on a bigger scale. I’ve seen it in my own life. It takes a tremendous leap of faith to take a tight budget and actually give more in contributions. That faith leads to amazing blessings in the end.

I have allergies. I have very bad allergies, actually. I love flowers and trees and lush, green grass, but those things don’t love me back. I’m miserable during the springtime allergy season. When I lived up north, I was also miserable during the fall allergy season.

Much to my chagrin, I also love the look of flowers and plant in my home. As you can guess, though, having a lot of green things growing inside is not the wisest things I can do in the face of my allergic condition.

So, years ago I began putting silk plants in the house, I’m picky, though, I want t silk plants that fool the eye and look like the real thing. I’ve got an amazing, full bamboo tree in the dining room. Silk. I have some lush hanging ferns in the family room. Silk. I have hydrangeas and orchids and roses in my bedroom. Also silk.

No sneezing for me, thank you very much.

Aside from the allergy issue, I have found that my green thumb does not extend to the inside of my home. Perhaps it is the way the light comes into the house. All I know is that I have never had a lot of luck with getting my indoor plants to grow very well. Outside, I have a garden you would absolutely go all agog if you saw. It’s amazing. But it stays outside, that green thumb tendency of mine.

And then there is the fact that I love how cut flower look, but they don’t last very long. If you can find a good quality silk flower arrangement, you get the posh appearance of fresh cut flowers – without having toe replace them three times a week.

I went to Epcot for the first time ever this past February. Once I got there, I wondered why I had put it off all these years, favoring other Orlando parks over this one. Now, Epcot is my favorite place in Mouseville.

I’m therefore truly excited about their new attraction “StormStruck: The Tale of Two Homes”. 2004’s Hurricane Charley, one of the worst storms to strike the United States, is the start of a new exhibit that opens in August. The exhibit will be in Epcot Innoventions pavilion and will use 3-D technology to put your right in the middle of a Category 4 hurricane.

The overall purpose of the presentation is to show the visitor the difference in outcomes in two different homes – one that survived Charley and one that didn’t. It’s all about how you fortify your home, the roof, the walls, the floors even.

I still remember all the homes in our neighborhood back in Gainesville with the roofs covered in tarps after they had been destroyed by Hurricane Charley. We got though fine, save for the power being out for days.