The Big Clip ~ Box Tops For Education

Box Tops for Education is giving away one million Box Tops to America's schools. You can enter your school here. In addtion head on over to Ann Crabs and enter to win a free day pass to Sam's Club and a $25.00 gift card.

Support your local schools!

Summer Concert Series~Weekend Events

The Summer Concert Series concludes tomorrow night at Riverside Park. Reload with Randy Ferguson will perform country music from 6-8pm. Should it rain they will move over to Brannon Center.

The Back to School Jam is tonight at the Babe James Center, there will be a DJ and drinks and glow sticks will be sold. It begins at 5pm.

Several venues on Flagler have entertainment tonight. Om Bar, Traders and Peanuts to name a few.

The surf is up at the inlet, if you hit the beach, swim in front of a lifeguard and be safe!

Next weekend is Labor Day and there will be many things to do.

Daytona Summer Slam

Calvary Christian Center will be hosting Daytona Summer Slam at Daytona Lagoon Friday night. Festivities begin at 7pm and will run until 10:30pm. Guest performers will be entertaining while you enjoy the million gallons of water in the Daytona Lagoon Water Park. Admission is only $10.00, tickets can be purchased in advance at Calvary Christian in Ormond Beach. Call 386 672 5571 for more information.

Greyhound Pets of America

I guess this has become pet week here on the blog. Greyhound Pets of America is a national non-profit organization founded in 1987 for the purpose of finding loving homes for ex-racing greyhounds. Since its inception it has found homes for over 65,000 former racers.

Daytona Beach has a chapter also dedicated to finding great homes for these wonderful dogs in our area. We had a greyhound rescued from the East Tennessee Chapter (that is him above with my daughter) several years ago. He was a wonderful pet, loved my kids and my cats. He was part of the family. Sadly he passed away a few years ago. I highly recommend them as family pets and companions.

If you are not in the market for a new pet there are other ways to help. One of their big fundraisers happens in October, it is their bi-annual yard sale. This is held October 24-26th and donations are being accepted now. 100% of proceeds go to the retired greyhounds. All donations are tax deductible and they will come and pick them up. They accept household goods, furniture, clean clothing, electronics and sports equipment in working condition. For more information call Sheila at 386-238-6907.

No Pet Left Behind~Golf Tournament

This Saturday, August 29th the No Pet Left Behind Charity Golf Tournament will be held at Turnbull Bay Golf Club. Registration begins at 7am. The format is a 4 person scramble. $50.00 fee includes greens fees, cart, breakfast, lunch, prizes and gift bags.

No Pet Left Behind Sponsors the Feral Cat spay and neuter program in our community as well as providing assistance to low income families in neutering and spaying their pets. This money stays here in New Smyrna Beach and helps local pets.

Contact Erica Rigsby for more information on this event. 864-933-6508.

Back To School~Sunday Stumble

Woohooo. It is back to school for those of us in Volusia County tomorrow. Not a moment too soon. I work at home so back to school is very exciting for me...

Last week we made the open house rounds...my son attends a private Christian School, this is his first year mixed in with the older kids. They have 7-12th grade in one building and I think he is a little nervous. We met the teachers, got his schedule, happily one of his 6th grade teachers is now teaching 7th grade, he is also a good friend and attends our church. I feel pretty certain he will keep one eye and his thumb on him.

My daughter is in 5th grade, not sure how that happened, yesterday she was in Kindergarten. She was thrilled to learn she got the teacher she wanted, who also was her teacher in 3rd grade. This is excellent on two levels. This teacher knows me....I don't do field trips, class parties or anything related to more than 5 children in any confined space at a time. I would rather pull out my fingernails with needle nose pliers. I know my limitations.....and so does she. She handed me her wish list of things to do and get "outside" the classroom. I love this woman!

Here are some interesting "back to school" Mom Blogs for your first day of school eve enjoyment!

White Trash Mom - scroll down to the back to school posts, she is hysterical!

Simple Mom Blog

Show Me The Mom

Enjoy the week...and the peace!

Kennedy Space Center~Buy One Get One

From now until September 7th, Kennedy Space Center is offering a free child's admission with the purchase of an adult ticket. This is valid for children from 3-11 years old and will save you $28.00. Only catch is you must be a Florida resident and bring a valid Florida Driver's License or a utility bill to prove you live here. Enjoy!!

Shrimp & Seafood Festival

Tonight from 5pm-9pm is the 2nd Annual Shrimp and Seafood Festival on Flagler Avenue. Over 30 restaurants will be competing for the 2009 "Best on the Beach Awards." They will offer taste sized portions of their specialties for $3.00 - $5.00. There will be beer gardens, live entertainment and a kids zone.

Drawbridge Closure

Beginning August 24th the North Causeway Drawbridge will be closed from 9pm-6am for four nights to complete Phase II of the Maintenance Program. This involves maintenance, hydraulics and electrical repairs and upgrades. All traffic will be rerouted over the South Causeway.

Art Festival On Flagler

This Saturday, August 22nd from 10am-5pm come on out to the Surf's Up Art Walk on Flagler. There will be a surf board auction, entertainment, food and local vendors with great local art and products. Local Vendors are always needed or if you will be in town and want to join one of the monthly art walks as a vendor you can get more information from the Gallery Group.

NSB Politics

I try to stay out of local politics as I do not think I am well enough informed. The Angler's Club drama over their lease or lack thereof is interesting to watch. Here is some information on the whole messy topic:

Daytona Beach News Journal

Concerned Citizens of NSB - first time I had seen this site.

NSB News.net

It is good to keep up on all the local issues, the election for Mayor and City Commissioners is coming up. Enjoy the week!

Sunday Stumble~Earth

Today with school about to start we Stumbled around for educational items....all things Earth.

Breathing Earth this is pretty scary, gives births, deaths and other information around the world.

Flash Earth explore satellite imagery of the earth from multiple sources.

Earthcam - love this one, check out webcams from around the world.

The World check out this ship you can live on. WOW.

The World Factbook published by the CIA so it must be true!

Around Town~Things To Do~Part 2

The Garlic has Jazz & Blues seven nights a week

Norwood's has free wine tasting on Friday and Saturday from 5-7pm. They also feature live entertainment on Saturday nights.

OM Bar on Flagler holds wine tastings every Sunday from 4pm-8pm.

Have you been to Merk's lately? Located on the North Causeway, they have been doing some remodeling and the place looks great, it is Customer Appreciation Days and they are offering a 2nd Happy Hour daily from 10pm-2am. Their food is great, lunch specials daily are $5.99.

Next week is the Shrimp and Seafood Fest on Flagler more on that later this week!

Enjoy the weekend!

Around Town~Weekend Events

The 4th Annual Florida Harmonica Championships are this Sunday at 2pm at the Beachside Tavern. I am not sure what all that entails but I bet it will be interesting.


Farmer's Market on Canal Street Saturday morning from 7:30am-12:30pm.


The American Legion at 619 W. Canal Street is having wings and munchie baskets on Friday nights from 6-9pm. They also serve breakfast every Sunday morning from 8am-11am. The public is welcome.

Odd Fellows Spaghetti Fundraiser is being held on August 15th from noon to 6pm at the Odd Fellows Hall in Pelican Plaza, 2317 South Ridgewood in Edgewater, Fl. Dinner is 5.00 with all proceeds goign to the high school scholarship fund. Take Out is available.

More later!!

Back To School

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy


School starts in just under two weeks. Here is some information that may be helpful.


Volusia County School Calendar (2009-2010)

VC Back to School Guide

Volusia County Schools no longer send home community information flyers such as Parks and Rec events, PAL sports sign ups etc. You can get those flyers here, it will be updated shortly after school begins.

Volusia County has implemented Pay to Play for athletics in the county. So if your child plays a sport it will be $75.00, $25.00 for more than one sport, for a total of $100.00 no matter how many sports your child plays.


Coronado Elementary Open House is Friday, August 21, 2009 from 9am-12pm. Meet the teachers get bus stop assignments and school supply lists.

Information on assisting those in need with school supplies or receiving help with clothes or supplies can be found here.

Enjoy!!

Sunday Stumble~All Things Food

I was hungry so here we go.....


Top Secret Recipes - ever wonder how to make Kentucky Fried Chicken, Baby Back Ribs from Roadhouse? Find out how here....many restaurants favorites can be found on this site. I have tried a few and they are pretty darn close.


All Recipes - I love this one, you can create your own online cookbook, get shopping lists to print for each recipe, it has it all for cooking.


Culinary.net - great recipes, simple how to's, recipe swaps, another good site, alot of general information.


Now for Florida Food:


Citrus Recipes - all things citrus, find all kinds of recipes using lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit.


Florida Seafood Recipes - pretty self explanatory on this one.


Food Festivals - list of Food Festivals around the state this fall.
Florida Sportman Cooking - this site has some interesting recipes all by Florida Sportsman.

Enjoy the food and have a great week!

Beachside Shell

I have needed an oil change forever, I have never been good about taking care of the vehicles, my brother stays on me to do it until I give in and do it just to shut him up. So this morning I took my truck to Beachside Shell located at 765 E. 3rd Ave. Right next to Red Dog Surf Shop in the front of the Publix Plaza. I made an appointment yesterday for this morning, they are always jamming busy in the service area so I was surprised to get in so quickly.

Frank is the man in the shop and he is very pleasant, quick and thorough. I dropped the thing off at 8am and he called me at 831am to tell me it was done. Prices are the same as anywhere else for service, the gas is a few pennies higher than over the bridge, but for convenience sake you cannot beat it. They also sell produce and specialty spices and nuts etc. in the convenience store. They fill propane tanks for gas grills and have an air pump to pump your tires. Service is friendly in the shop and the store. Check them out!

Support your local business!

SportsRock

New businesses in Venetia Bay continue to pop up and SportsRock of Venetian Bay is one of them. Owned and operated by Jamie Stark, they offer everything from pre-school gymnastics to competitive cheerleading at very reasonable prices. You can contact Jamie for more information at 386-846-7867 and check out their pictures and videos here.

Renovate U

Need some work done on your house? Paint, tile, wall ripped out..... give Renovate U a call. Locally owned and operated they are equipped to do anything from a major restoration to painting a bathroom. They recently did some tile work for my parents and will be returning to tear out and replace two bathrooms. They do high quality work and reasonable prices and get it done when they say it will be done.

Around Town~Upcoming Events

The Summer Concert Series continues this week in the Gazebo at Riverside Park. Bring your lawn chairs and listen to Thomas Jones Jr. and his smooth jazz. Music starts at 7pm.

August 7th thru August 9th The Little Theatre presents Exit The Body.

Upcoming events:

Art Walk on Flagler is August 22nd.

The 2nd annual Shrimp and Seafood Festival on Flagler is August 20th.

Fashion Show hosted by Flip Flops Grill & Chill on Sunday, Aug. 23 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The proceeds of the $25 admission will benefit the ABWA Scholarship Program and Halifax Health Hospice. Admission includes a tasty buffet, 1 complimentary glass of beer or wine and the show. For more information, contact Sue Who? At (386) 428-9002, LoLo’s Boutique at (386) 478-0442, or Nejma’s Boutique at (386) 424-9086

The excellent picture featured today is by Kurt Harris, check out his other work here. It is truly beautiful.

Send us your events and we will post them here....

Sunday Stumble~Things To Make Life Easier

Here are a bunch of sites & articles to make your life easy!

All Natural Cleaning Solutions - From Real Simple Magazine, some great ideas, many I use already but are worth repeating.

Making Life Better - I love this website, they are sponsored by Unilever and they have some good information on all sorts of topics.

Zen Habits - this is all about living more simply, some of it is not realistic for me right now but it provides an interesting perspective and things to think about.

Smart People - information on all sorts of things from a variety of "smart people"

Florida for Boomers - thought this site was very interesting, it is a guide to retirement and communities all across the state.

Organize Your Life - some of these tips are so simple I cannot believe I did not think of them.

Enjoy your Sunday!