Yuppie Life Guide for Travel, Food, Wealth & Health

Cool off with an Antartica Cruise

2007-07-19T16:44:00.000-05:00

I have always dreamed of cruising Antartica and with global warming, no time is better than the present. It is even more inticing with a deal like this one from Norwegian Coastal Voyage. My friends at Dreams Alive Travel told me about this great vacation. Here is the excerpt from the cruise line's website:

Chile & Antarctica- A 13-day expedition program featuring expert guides, lectures, and PolarCirkel boat landings, starting at $4,999.

Antarctica Season 2007-2008 13-day program on board the MS Fram: Book any departure before July 31, 2007 and receive free airfare with a savings of $750 per person. Offer is good for new bookings only. Offer is not valid on the following select sailing dates: Dec 25, Jan 2, Jan 10 & Jan 18, 2007. Not combinable with other special offers.
Upon your arrival in Santiago (Chile) our local guides will immediately make you feel welcome and well taken care of. You'll have some time to appreciate this cosmopolitan city while staying at a luxury hotel, before embarking on your exploration voyage. There is only one way to fully experience the frozen landscape and history of "The White Continent," and that’s by expedition vessel. Convenient charter flights will take you to your embarkation port. With the aid of our expert guides, who provide lectures onboard and off the cuff during landings, you'll have an enthralling, educationally enriching adventure.

DEPARTURE DATES 2007-2008: NOV 21, 29; DEC 7, 15, 23, 31; JAN 8, 16, 24; FEB 1, 9, 17
Day 1: Depart the U.S.
Depart from the U.S. on your overnight flight to Santiago.
Day 2: Santiago
Morning arrival at the Santiago airport in Chile. During the transfer to your hotel, a sightseeing tour of the city will be given. You have the rest of the day at leisure, or you can join the optional excursions.
Day 3: Santiago-Ushuaia/Embarkation
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city. You will enjoy an orientation tour of this popular and attractive resort town, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, rivers, and waterfalls, before boarding MS Fram. In the evening an informative welcome meeting will be held. [B/D]
Day 4-5: The Drake Passage
Less than two days will be spent crossing the Drake Passage. During the crossing numerous lectures will be held on fascinating Antarctica, considered one of the most breathtaking and beautiful continents. You will arrive in Antarctica on day 5. [B/L/D]
Days 5-9: Antarctica
Antarctica, "The White Continent," is more than half the size of North America. On the Antarctic Peninsula you'll experience the narrow, glacier-lined Lemaire Channel, considered one of most beautiful passages in Antarctica-where humpback and killer whales, various penguins, and elephant seals are a common sight-and the breathtaking Neumayer Channel, with its majestic cliffs. Visits by PolarCirkel boats will be attempted in various locations (weather permitting), including:
Half Moon Island, with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, famous for its large chinstrap penguin rookery, kelp gulls, and Antarctic terns. Whale spotting is also common here.
Whaler's Bay on Deception Island, with its warm springs and black volcanic sand.
Ukrainian Vernadsky Base, with its abundant bird life.
Almirante Brown in Paradise Harbor, named for its beauty, with ice cliffs and floating icebergs, home to gentoo and chinstrap penguins.
Port Lockroy, surrounded by mountains, glaciers and ice shelves, and known for its gentoo penguins and blue-eyed cormorants.
Neko Harbor off Errera Channel, home to hundreds of gentoo penguins, Weddell and elephant seals, is believed to be part of main land Antarctica.
Polish Arctowski Base in Admiralty Bay, where Adelie and gentoo penguins and elephant seals can be found.
Petermann Island, home of the southernmost gentoo penguin colony, blue-eyed shags and Adelie penguins nest here too.
Day 9-10: The Drake Passage
While you cross this stretch of water from Antarctica, a series of lectures will be held on board summing-up topics related to Antarctica. [B/L/D]
Day 11: Ushuaia/Disembarkation–Santiago
In the morning you will reach the Argentinean city of Ushuaia. Ushuaia is reckoned to be the most southerly city in the world and is situated on Tierra del Fuego Island south of the Magellan Strait. After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Santiago. Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is at your disposal. [B]
Day 12: Santiago/Return to the U.S.
Transfer to the airport for your return flight to the U.S. [B]
Day 13: Arrive in the U.S.
Morning arrival in the U.S.
Meal codes: [B] Breakfast [L] Lunch [D] Dinner

MS FRAM Deck Plan & Ship Information

AARP members enjoy a discount of $150 per cabin.

ALSO INCLUDED:

Roundtrip economy class transatlantic airfare from New York
Airfare from Santiago to Ushuaia
Airfare between Ushuaia to Santiago
Transfers as indicated in itinerary
Services of expedition guides
Accommodations in five-star hotels as indicated in itinerary, including breakfast
Accommodations in select cabin category
Meals as indicated in itinerary
Port charges

NOT INCLUDED:
- Add-on airfares from Miami and Los Angeles- Local entry/departure fees, when applicable- Optional Excursions- Gratuities- Air taxes

Let me know if anybody is interested and we will try to coordinate dates for a "Yuppie Life Cruise to Antartica". Until then, safe travels.

Maximizing Your Investment Returns is a Balancing Act

2007-07-12T17:06:00.000-05:00

Today the stock market had the largest single day gain in four years. Meanwhile, the real estate market continues to languish. It is funny how things have flip flopped in just two short years. I know I have talked about this in the past, but I thought it would be fitting to revisit the importance of balancing your investments through asset allocation.

Here are the major investment asset categories (listed from less risky to riskiest):

Cash/Money Market- This is the least risky because deposits up to $200k are insured by the Federal government. It also provides the lowest return on your investment (supposedly). Pundits tell us you should have at least 3 months of expenses in cash/money market accounts. In today's environment, I recommend a different strategy. You should have 6 months of expenses in cash. The best place to park your money is either in CDs (certificate of deposits) or in a high interest savings/checking account. Check out these aforementioned links on my past posts.
Bonds- Unless you are on the verge of retiring, I cannot really recommend bonds. Some people have been successful in bond investment in the past, but the slightly greater rate of return on bonds these days is not worth the extra risk. If you still want some exposure to bonds (I recommend no more than 10% of your total portfolio if you have to have them), check out high yield bonds or municipal bonds (for strategic tax planning purposes).
Stocks- This asset class offers so many vehicles for investing and includes everything from mutual funds to index funds to individual stocks to international stocks. Since this is almost one of the most popular investments, I think it is best to talk about the different kids of stock investments separately.
Mutual Funds- I don't know why people invest in mutual funds anymore. Granted there are some really great fund companies (Dodge & Cox is my favorite), but the high fees, inability to manage tax consequences and the emergence of index & electronically traded funds have made mutual funds almost obsolete. Less than 10% of the stocks I own are in mutual funds.
Index Funds/Electronically Traded Funds- These are my favorite. Basically, these are baskets of individual stocks that trade collectively as an individual stock. Better yet, whereas in the beginning the index funds were limited to the SPDRs (tracks the S&P 500) and the QQQ (tracking the Nasdaq 100), today there are hundreds of funds that follow everything from oil industry companies to ecologically friendly companies. Here is a list of the top performing index funds. Since these funds trade just like a share of stock, you can control when you sell it to manage your taxes better. Plus, many of the funds are no or low fee. At least 50% of the stocks I own are index funds.
Individual Stocks- These are stocks of your favorite companies. I am a firm believer in buying stocks in companies that you like or purchase from. This methodology is used by Warren Buffett (and he is a pretty savvy investor). When buying an individual stock, I usually look for one "on sale". In other words, I buy a stock on a dip (as long as the drop in price isn't related to a fundamental business problem). This may be a terrible example, but I love the organic food store Whole Foods Market (ticker: WFMI). Today, it was released that the company's CEO made unfavorable comments about a rival store (Wild Oats) on a chat room trying to drive down the price of Wild Oats stock just months before Whole Foods made a bid to buy the company. Today, the stock was down 2% because the CEO was stupid. I decided to buy more of the stock because his comments shouldn't affect the fact that America's desire for organic food is growing. Try to limit 20% of your stock portfolio to individual stocks since they are inherently more risky than a basket of stocks (like mutual and index funds offer). Finally, look for individual stocks that pay great dividends. Companies like Altria, Bank of America and others pay over 4% dividends recently. This is better than most money market accounts and offer a pretty good rate of return by itself (the stock's appreciation at this point is just gravy). Better yet, there is an index fund with the ticker DVY that holds the stocks of companies paying the highest dividends.
International Stocks- I wanted to give this class of stocks its own section because it is one of my favorites and I have dedicated 20% of my stock portfolio to these stocks. I buy mostly index funds for international stocks (EEM for emerging markets, EEB for Brazil, Russia, China & India, but there are a load of others). The returns on international stocks have been nothing short of spectacular the past few years. I sincerely believe as we continue to expand the global marketplace that many of the best companies (and investments) will come from overseas. Even Warren Buffett has gone overseas to invest in an Israeli company. There will always be turmoil and unstable governments that make this a very risky investment, but it is this inherent risk that makes the return that much better.
Real Estate- Everybody who owns real estate has a portion of their wealth invested in the asset class of real estate. You can also invest in REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) which allow you to own a stock like investment whose value is tied to a portfolio of real estate investments (apartment complexes, skyscrapers, hotels, etc.). Recently the value of REITS has declined with the overall market. However, I still recommend having some money in REITs (although only a paltry 10%). Buying the stocks of home builders is another way to "play" the real estate market as there is a direct correlation between the two. You can also invest in real estate by owning a rental home, duplex, vacation home, timeshare/fractional ownership or even owning a small strip center. This is my preferred way of investing in real estate because you need very little money to get started. Banks love to loan money for real estate purchases, but you would be hard pressed to find a bank to loan you money to buy stocks. Plus, with 1031 exchanges, you can defer the tax implications of selling real estate. I will write posts on this later, but you can get a good idea by reading my post, how to become a landlord.
Alternative Investments- This includes so many different things: investing in a hedge fund, starting your own business, investing in a partnership or private company, investing in art, wine futures, foreign currencies, vintage automobiles or anything that you can buy at one price today and sell for a higher price in the future. Again, these tend to be the riskiest of investments so only invest up to 10% in these various ventures.

To recap, I think the best balance of investments is the following:

Cash (6 months of expenses) - approximately 10%

Bonds- 0-10%

Mutual Funds- 0-10%

Index Funds/Electronically Traded Funds- 50%

Individual Stocks- 10%

International Stocks- 20% (you can invest in individual stocks through ADRs, but I prefer index funds for international stocks)

Real Estate- 10%

Alternative Investments- 10%

The numbers don't exactly add up if you have bonds or mutual funds, but if you do just subtract the total from Index Funds. I will dedicate a post for Index Funds because they deserve the attention. Until then, take care and happy investing.

How to Throw a Party, Part 3

2007-07-05T18:17:00.000-05:00

I promise this is my last post regarding throwing a party. If you haven't had a chance to read Part 1 & Part 2, here are the links:

How to Throw a Party, Part 1
How to Throw a Party, Part 2

This post, I want to focus on the food and drink of my wife's surprise birthday party, including some recipes.

Appetizers
On one table, I laid out all of the appetizers and a drink station near the front door. Since this was a fairly large party (over 60 people), I wanted a large variety of little bits to please any palate. Keeping with my Italian theme, I offered the following:

Sliced Deli meats- Prosciutto di Parma, Salami, Mortadella (kids love this stuff because it tastes like bologna), Capicolla (hot) and Sopressata (sweet). I bought basically a pound of each which was plenty.
Cheese- Fresh sliced mozzarella with a sprinkling of salt and black pepper, Fontal (sheep milk cheese), aged Provolone, Parmigiano Reggiano, Asiago and Gorgonzola. The idea here is to arrange the cheeses from mildest to strongest (which I did in the order above). This way your guests can progress on the cheeses until they reach their comfort zone. I also like to mix up goat, cow and sheep milk cheeses to make it interesting. With the cheese, I offered an array of fresh and dried fruits. These are natural pairings. I offered green and red grapes, fresh cherries, dried pear slices, dried cherries, figs (both mission and Smyrna) and dates (madjool). I also put together a nice mix of nuts including cashews, pistachios and almonds (blanched). Put the nuts on a baking sheet in an oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes until golden. These make boring nuts taste fantastic. I should have also put out some honey, but in all of the confusion I forgot.
In the past, I always made a mini caprese salad on a toothpick, but this time I decided to deconstruct it. I took super sweet grape tomatoes and marinated them in balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, pepper and olive oil. Just before the party I added a bunch of fresh basil (torn up into pieces) with small balls of fresh mozzarella and plenty of salt. If you want to use toothpicks, simply put the mozzarella on first, then a basil leaf and then the grape (or cherry) tomatoes to cap it off. Salad on a stick!
Olives, galore. I am not a big fan of olives, but my wife loves them. Here are some great ways to jazz up the olives: stuff them with crazy things. I love taking different varieties of pitted olives and stuffing them with: almonds, pistachios, any nuts, prosciutto, roasted garlic, fresh garlic slivers, gorgonzola, provolone, any cheese, roasted red peppers or really any flavor item you can fit in the little hole. Once I have stuffed the olives (or leave them plain), I use my microplane and zest lemons and oranges all over the top and then drizzle really good quality olive oil all over the place with a dash of white balsamic vinegar (add dried chili flakes if you want some heat to the dish). This is the best way to jazz up canned or jarred olives.
I love bread. I decided to offer a big variety that included a semolina loaf, some ciabatta rolls, thinly sliced non-seeded Italian and a seasame seeded Italian round. Next the bread, I put some roasted garlic, butter whipped with gorgonzola cheese and a sformato (see recipe below).
Sformato (ricotta cheese spread). Ingredients: 3 cups of ricotta, 1 cup of parmesean, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon zest, 1 tablespoon each of salt & pepper Directions: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Mix together the ricotta (room temperature), parmesean, egg, olive oil, lemon zest , salt & pepper and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Place the mixture into a non-stick baking pan about 9 inches in diameter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Main Course
You are probably freaking out already that there is this much food, but there isn't a lot more food left. I like for people to fill up on appetizers and then wow them with just two or three entrée items. The appetizer stuff takes no time to prepare and can be done in advance. I didn't even start cooking my main course dishes until my guests arrived (with the exception of the veggies and the orzo in the egg bake). Since I was going to cook and entertain at the same time, my main courses have to be quick. I also like to prepare a meat, fish/seafood and a vegetarian option to satisfy all guests. Here you go:

Pancetta wrapped jumbo shrimp with sage and a honey, orange glaze. This sounds like a restaurant dish, but is super easy. Use raw, deveined, cleaned shrimp (with the tail on). I buy big bags of this stuff frozen at Sam's and defrost the shrimp slowly in the fridge throughout the day. 30 minutes before you are ready to cook, mix together 1/2 cup of orange marmalade, 1/2 cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons of orange zest, 1/4 cup of finely chopped sage, 2 tablespoons of honey. Mix together well and drop all of your shrimp in, coating them well. Let them marinade for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grab your round slices of pancetta (thinly sliced) and unravel the rounds, slicing them every three inches or so. Get a nonstick pan over medium high heat ready. Grab your shrimp out one by one (no need to pat dry) and wrap the meaty party of the shrimp in pancetta in a spiral motion so there is only one layer of pancetta. Place in the hot skillet until the pancetta is crispy and browned on one side (about five minutes). Flip shrimp over and cook other side for five minutes more. Do not disturb the shrimp while they are cooking or the pancetta will not crisp up. . . HINT: You can also do this under the broiler, but the pancetta doesn't get quite as crispy and the shrimp tend to overcook. Serve immediately.
Grilled Flank steak with Gorgonzola Cream. This is a cheap and easy way to feed a lot of people. Take a 5-7 pound Flank steak and stab it all over with a fork. Rub in a generous amount of salt, pepper and olive oil and marinade for 4 hours (or overnight). Let the meat come to room temperature before placing it directly on the grill over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes on one side before flipping and cooking for another 10 minutes. Close the grill, turn off the heat and let the meat roast for another 10 minutes for medium rare. Remove from heat and let rest for 15 minutes. Finally, thinly slice the meat against the grain at a 45 degree bias. To make the gorgonzola cream sauce, simmer a cup of heavy cream for 30 minutes until thick (should cover and stick to the back of a wooden spoon). Remove from heat. Add some white pepper and a 1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese crumbles. Stir until combined and cheese sauce is smooth. Drizzle a bit of sauce over the meat and put any remaining sauce in a side dish so people can add more if they want. I served the steak on top of a bed of baby spinach that was seasoned with lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Egg bake with Orzo and herbs. Cook the orzo (a small pasta that looks like rice) according the box's directions. Drain pasta water well and pour some olive oil in to prevent the orzo from sticking. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat a dozen eggs with 2 cups of ricotta cheese, 2 tablespoons of milk, a pinch of salt, a pinch of black pepper and herbs finely chopped (fresh basil, fresh oregano and fresh parsley. Add in orzo and stir until all ingredients are combined. In a 9x12 baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Pour in egg mixture and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes until eggs bake is firm and a toothpick inserted in center is clean when removed. If the top is still soupy, put under the broiler for a couple of minutes. You can also sprinkle some grated parmesean on top for an additional flavor.
Grilled Veggies with Roasted Garlic. I thickly sliced eggplant, zucchini, summer squash and red onion. I tossed the veggies in olive oil, lemon zest, juice of a lemon and a couple of splashes of balsamic vinegar. I placed the vegetables on the grill over medium high heat until they were softened a little bit. Meanwhile, I took 4 heads of garlic and sliced off the top half. I sprinkled with olive oil, salt and pepper and wrapped tightly in aluminum foil before sticking in a 420 degree oven for 40 minutes. After the veggies came off the grill, I sprinkled with salt and pepper with tons of chopped herbs (fresh basil, fresh oregano, fresh parsley and suck it in the 420 degree oven with the garlic for the final 20 minutes to finish cooking and to meld the flavors of the vegetables. I took some of the roasted garlic and mashed it up really well and mixed it into the veggies when they were done cooking. The remaining roasted garlic I also mashed with salt and olive oil and put it near the bread for a roasted garlic spread.

Dessert
I am not a baker by any means, but love inventing different types of cakes. My sister-in-law is an incredible baker and cake decorator so she was in charge of the birthday cake. My Aunt Marie also makes the best biscotti in the world (both an almond and toffee variety). I don't have the recipes, but here is the gist of the birthday cake (you can buy cake mix and replicate the filling that follows:

Pistachio Cream Cake. To make the filling, finely grind 2 cups of pistachios in a food processor with 4 cups of powdered sugar. Mix in a stick of cream cheese (room temperature), a stick of butter and a cup of heavy whipping cream until a smooth consistency is achieved. You can also mix in store bought butter cream icing to smooth out the pistachio mixture. This is the filling for between the layers of cake. The icing on top was whipped cream. Take a quart of heavy whipping cream, 1 cup of powdered sugar and a tablespoon of almond extract and beat until soft peaks are formed. Decorate the cake with ground pistachios around the side of the cake with maraschino cherries on top.

Wines
With the huge selection of food, finding the right wines to pair with the food wasn't easy. Of course, all of the wines had to be from Italy to keep with the theme. Here are some of the wines I purchased from Wine.com:

Prosecco- I bought two brands, Brio by Folonari and Zardetto. The Proseccos (sparkling wine similar to champagne, but a bit drier and sweeter with less carbonation) paired nicely with most of the cheeses, the caprese salad, as well as the dessert.
White Wines- Again, I bought two brands: 2005 Lugana Zenato & 2005 Danzante Pinot Grigio. The Zenato is a fuller bodied white that paired nicely with the egg bake, roasted vegetables, olives. The Pinot Grigio is a little lighter with flavors of honey and lemon. This paired perfectly with the pancetta wrapped shrimp, the dried fruit.
Red Wines- Two more reds. The lighter style 2004 Vitiano Falesco. This red is so smooth it doesn't need food, but went nicely with the cured meats (salami, sopressata, prosciutto, etc.), egg bake, sformato and practically everything else on the menu. For a fuller body, super jammy drink to go with the flank steak with gorgonzola cream sauce, I decided on the 2005 Di Maio Norante Sangiovese. This wine was the crowd favorite and is extremely quaffable for a big wine.
Limoncello- The ultimate digestif. This homemade limoncello (also made by my Aunt Marie), takes the peels of lemons soaking in a liter of vodka in a dark closet for 2-3 weeks. Afterward, you strain out the lemon peels, you add 2 cups of simple syrup (equal parts of sugar and water that are brought almost to a boil or until the sugar is completely dissolved) and stir well. Stick the whole bottle in the freezer before serving in small glasses. This is some potent stuff, but so delicious and easy to make.

Okay, that's it. I hope this will inspire some of you who are hesitant about throwing parties to take the leap and entertain. It is so much fun to throw a surprise party and share an evening of great friends, food and drink. Just remember to keep it simple to spare yourself the headaches. Relax and enjoy the party and your friends.

I would love to hear about some of the parties you have thrown or attended in the past. Include any neat ideas for gift bags, food, decorations or any other comments.suggestions.

Throwing a Party, Part 2

2007-06-29T08:04:00.000-05:00

If you didn't read Part 1, which contains a lot of general tips on throwing a party, I have included it here: Throwing a Party, Part 1

Throwing a Party, Part 2

I wanted to give the particulars of my wife's surprise party. Hopefully going through the actual party will give you some ideas for hosting your own party.

Advance Prep- I ordered the invitations (from VistaPrint.com) a month before the party and mailed them 2 weeks before the party. A great way to personalize the invitation is to get find a great picture (especially of the birthday person) and put it on the stamp. This is done so easily through Photo Stamps.

Food- I did all of the shopping the day before the party to ensure the freshness of all ingredients. I started at Sam's Club, the perfect place for all of those bulk items needed for a large party. I found incredible deals on fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, huge frozen shrimp, flank steak, decorative dinner plates, pistachios and a bunch of other items. Since I was doing an antipasto platter, I needed some Italian deli meats so I headed to Publix. Publix has Boar's Head meat, which are incredible. I also bought some arugula, espresso and a couple of other items I didn't need in bulk. I then headed over to Fresh Market, a gourmet grocery store similar to Whole Foods, but not completely organic. This is where I bought the Prosciutto di Parma (probably the finest piece of deli meat in the world and certainly one of the most expensive at $20 per pound). I also found a nice selection of cheese here, including Fontal (a great Italian Sheep's milk cheese).

Drink- Keeping with my all Italian theme, all of my drinks were made from Italy. This included some Prosecco (Italy's version of sparkling wine, albeit more restrained), white & red wine, Panna water, San Pellegrino sparkling sodas (I love the Aranciata and Limonata flavors), Italian beer (Peroni & Moretti) some homemade limoncello and some espresso. I found most of these items (including the water and Italian sodas) from Total Wine & More. This is like Toys 'R Us for alcoholics. They have some great prices and an expansive selection.

Decorations- This definitely isn't my strong point so I went with fresh flowers. Here is a great hint, instead of searching for florists in your area look for floral supply. These are wholesalers to florists and offer a huge discount over your local retailer. My wife loves the color pink, so I decorated the house with peonies (her favorite, they look like huge roses) and roses. I also love to use candles everywhere, but since there were going to be tons of kids running around, I opted out of this. Finally, I decided to go with paper plates and utensils that I found from Sam's Club (believe it or not they had paper plates that matched the invitation-circles in pastels with a pink background). For background music, I simply put on a digital music station (instrumental) that can be found on most cable and satellite providers). Although the plates and utensils were disposable, I used porcelain platters. Most of them were from Deruta in Italy. These are beautiful hand painted pieces. I love using different shapes and heights to make the appearance interesting. I also purchased stemless wine glasses from Linens 'N Things. These were only $19 for a set of 12 and were a great buy and great quality.

I know this seems to be the never ending post, but next time I am going to talk specifics about the food and drinks that were served. I have some great recipes that were quick and easy to make, a key point so you can enjoy the party instead of slaving over the stove.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Throwing a Party

2007-06-26T16:39:00.000-05:00

First, let me apologize for not posting sooner. This is a crazy time of year for me. I've been super busy with real estate, my day job and planning a surprise birthday party for my wife. Which brings me a post about what to do (and not to do) when throwing a surprise party.

Like everything else, I love to plan every detail. I am a firm believer in "you never plan to fail, only fail to plan". Here are some quick general steps to planning a party on the sly:

Don't tell ANYBODY about the surprise party until you send the invitations out (preferably 2 weeks before the party date). Some people have a hard time keeping secrets, while others may accidentally slip up.
I prefer sending out old school paper invitations, just make sure you do not include a return address if the surprise party is for a person in your house. This way they do not see any invitations that were returned in the mail. Check out Vista Print. They have some of the best prices on invitations, business cards, postcards, etc. on the web. Just make sure people RSVP to your private email address or work phone number (if appropriate) so don't have to dodge calls on your cell phone. If you want to send invitations electronically, check out Evite. This lets you organize RSVPs very easily and it is a fun and efficient way to send invitations.
Invite long lost friends. No surprise party is complete without surprise guests. Go ahead and find a childhood friend or somebody the party person hasn't seen in awhile and invite them.
Pick a theme. No matter what type of surprise party you are throwing (birthday, anniversary, promotion, etc.), pick a theme and carry that theme through ad nauseum. My wife is 100% Italian, so the theme was a night in Italy. All of the food, wine, decorations and even the bottled water (Acqua Panna) and soda (San Pellegrino) were Italian or made in Italy. I will post more on the food and drink later.
Keep it simple. In order to maintain the element of surprise, a lot of shopping, decorating and preparation must be done at the last minute. Nothing is worse than spending the entire party cooking and cleaning. To avoid this, keep the food and decorations very simple. Don't be afraid to buy prepared or frozen food. Otherwise choose food that cooks very quickly. For decorating, flowers and balloons are quick and easy and add a special touch.
To be the ultimate host, read the morning paper's headlines. When hosting or attending the party, pick 4 or 5 current events that you can discuss with your guests. It makes the conversation go easily. Also, refresh your memory on what is going on in your guest's lives. They may have new jobs, moved recently or had a loved one pass. By asking your guests about things that are important to them, you are guaranteed to have satisfied guests.
Introductions. In a mixed crowd, make it a point to introduce at least 5 people to other guests they may not know. If you are having a sit down dinner party, I like mixing up the seating arrangement to seat people who may not know each other by each other.
Play some games. Even though you aren't 10 years old anymore, try playing some games or competitions with your guests. One great idea is to get a bag of corks and paint one of them red (or any other color). Guests reach in and draw a cork. If they pull out the painted cork, they get a bottle of wine. Another great game is get a plastic trashcan with a lid. Cut a hole in the lid large enough to fit an arm through. Line the trashcan with a trash bag and fill it up with ice and a large variety of different drinks. When somebody gets thirsty, they reach in to get their drink and are "stuck" with whatever they pull out. It is really fun if you put all kinds of beverages that people don't drink on a regular basis(Yoohoo, 40 ounces of malt liquor, Capri Suns, etc.).
Don't be over zealous about cleaning your house before the party. Let's face it, your house is going to be trashed during the party. Save your energy for cleaning after the party. Just make sure valuables are stowed away, your house is straightened and the bathrooms have plenty of toilet paper. Forget about vacuuming and mopping the floors beforehand because nobody will ever notice.

Here are some other quick tips: Turn on all of your lights or light a bunch of candles. Blast your air conditioner. Secure any pets. Put a plunger and air freshner in the bathroom. Re-arrange any furniture to improve seating and the flow of people. Place food in different areas around the house to prevent traffic jams at the table. Pre-wrap the napkins and utensils for guests if serving buffet style. Place trashcans everywhere with extra bags nearby. Get more ice than you think you will need. Don't be shy about asking your guests to leave when you are ready for the party to end (just tell them you have to be up early and have a night of clean up ahead of you).

In the coming days, I am going to go through in detail the surprise birthday party I planned for my wife, including menu items. In the meantime, please post some comments on things you liked/disliked about parties you have attended or hosted in the past. Take care.

I'm Sick of Spending Money

2007-06-13T19:45:00.000-05:00

WARNING: I want to apologize from the start about this post. It is going to be filled with rants and raves in a stream of consciousness that would make Faulkner himself blush. Call it buyer's remorse or just plain bad luck, but I am literally sick of spending money after shelling out $170 for raw duck last night for dinner.

You will have to wait for my restaurant review for the complete details of the fiasco of a dinner at one of the "top" restaurants in the country, but on the ride home I started thinking about the value of a dollar. My fleeting thoughts turned into an obsession this morning when I read that retail sales were up almost 2%. Why is everybody spending so much money?

Obviously there is no correct answer for this rhetorical question. However, I began to ponder the reasons why I spend money. It didnt' take long to realize I spend money to create a feeling or emotion. Shortly after, I came to the conclusion that everybody spends money to create a feeling or emotion. I'm not going to get anymore philosophical on this point, but think about it. Even when we buy things considered necessities (food, shelter, clothing, etc.), we buy them to create a feeling. We spend a wide range of money of clothes to feel comfortable or pretty. We buy certain foods that give us a feeling of satisfaction or to make us "feel" full. People buy homes made of different materials to feel safe or in different locations to be convenient.

The problem with spending money is we often fail to identify the feeling we desire and how much we are willing to sacrifice for that feeling. I went to dinner last night with my wife for a "date" night. We both wanted the feeling of connecting with one another. The choice we made was to go to a fancy restaurant we wanted to try as part of this connection. However, was the few hours we got to spend alone eating raw duck with terrible service and leaving the restaurant sick worth $170? Would it have been worth $170 if the dinner was fantastic? The answer to both of these questions is an emphatic, "No". The reason why is connecting with your spouse costs absolutely nothing. If our objective for last night was to experience a night of fine dining than the money I spent would be linked to the "feeling" we were chasing.

The next time you make take your wallet out or are planning on making a purchase, spend a moment to think about the emotion or feeling you are trying to get by spending the money. Often times you will see a disconnect between the two or at the very least think of a more affordable alternative.

Sorry for the diatribe, tomorrow I will get back on track of giving more practical advice. However, I am going to be testing this theory in the days and weeks to come. I hope you do too. Let me know some of the things you do to stop spending money. Post a comment below.

Restaurant Review: Pei Wei

2007-06-11T19:30:00.001-05:00

I love Chinese food. The way it is cooked (quickly in a wok), the spices (chilis, ginger, garlic) and the variations of veggies and noodles (rice noodles, bok choy, snow peas). Unfortunately, the land I live in is filled with down right awful fast food Chinese.

When a P.F. Chang's finally opened a couple of years ago, I was excited at the prospect of quality food. Unfortunately, this particular outlet served the same slop as the mom & pop establishments at twice (or three times) the price.

I wasn't even going to give P.F. Chang's little sister concept, Pei Wei, a chance when one opened around the corner a couple of weeks ago. However, my insatiable appetite for Chinese food overtook me (especially since my wife has banned our standby Chinese restaurant after a bug, no a beetle, was found in the vegetable lo mein).

In preparation for our feast, I went online and checked out the menu. I was extremely disappointed to find out the menu is exactly the same as P.F. Changs, but scaled way down. You see, Pei Wei is designed as a quick meal establishment with more than half their business as take out. It has plenty of seating and an open kitchen for those wanting to eat on-site, but no waitress service. You approach the counter, order, given a number and wait 15 minutes for your food.

All my biases were set aside when I actually tasted the food. It was fantastic (a feat difficult for most new restaurants). We started off with the appetizer that has made the mothership famous, minced chicken lettuce wraps. Absolutely perfect. Crisp leaves of iceberg lettuce that you stuff with chopped chicken that has been simmered in a variety of spices, mushrooms, water chestnuts and scallions. The balance of textures is amazing with the crisp lettuce and chestnuts contrasting with the soft chicken and mushrooms. The other appetizer was their version of crab rangoon called crab wontons. This was the first time ever that there was more crab than cream cheese. Better yet, these fried treats tasted great even after sitting for quite some time.

For main courses, we shared the following:

Shrimp & Scallops in Asian Coconut Curry. I am a huge fan of curry and this hit the spot with a silkiness of the coconut milk against the gentle spice of curry.
Beef & Ginger Broccoli. The beef was thinly sliced, almost shaved and incredibly tender. I am not a huge fan of ginger, but the flavor was incredible. The broccoli was crisp and well seasoned.
Spicy Korean Beef. If you like pepper sauces, this is the entree for you. A great level of heat (even the kids will enjoy this one). The long beans were perfectly cooked, still crunchy with a nice selection of other vegetables.
Pei Wei Spicy Pork. This was the only let down. The pork was breaded a little too much and there was nothing spicy about it. Instead, the vinegar sauce overpowered the dish. Oh well, 3 out of 4 isn't bad.

The great think about this place is you can get any of the entrees or noodles with your choice of shrimp, scallops, pork, chicken, beef, vegetables and tofu. You can also choose between white and brown rice. We went with the brown rice (it still contains the important fiber husk).

In short, I was so excited about our dinner that I cannot wait to try other menu items. The menu is so affordable (most dishes cost around $7) it may become a weekly outing. Shoot, I may even give P.F. Chang's another shot. They are opening locations all over the country so check this place out. Let me know some of your favorite Chinese restaurants or recipes. Post a comment below.

How to Become a Landlord

2007-06-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

Despite the downturn in the real estate market in most of the U.S., people are still interested in investing in real estate. And they should be. Every balanced portfolio needs to include real estate investments (REITs, home builder stocks, mortgage backed securities, rental properties, etc.). The hard part is deciding which real estate investment suits your risk and reward tolerance.

One of the more challenging, but rewarding real estate investments is owning a rental property. As a landlord myself, there are certain rules to live by. One of the best articles on this topic is available from the Fool.com (one of my favorite websites-I will blog on this another time).

If you have ever wanted to become a landlord, this is the time to do it. Here's why:

Historically low interest rates allow for lower monthly payments. The lower your monthly payments, the lower rent you can charged and still make money.
The booming real estate market over the past few years has made home buying impossible for many.
The influx of immigrants has created a large demand for rental homes since most mortgage companies only give loans to U.S. citizens.
Over the past few years, many apartment complexes have been converted into condos leaving a shortage of rental properties.
The recent sub-prime lending crisis have forced lenders to make it harder for everybody to get a mortgage.
Many recent home buyers have adjustable interest rate mortgages that have risen quickly, making their mortgage payments too much for them to afford. In response, these home owners are unloading their homes for bargain basement prices to avoid foreclosures.

In addition to the great tips in the Fool.com article from above, here are some of my insider tips to becoming a landlord:

Buy a rental house that you, yourself would live in. This not only helps you market the home, but may help you avoid some taxes if you actually move into it for a couple of years before selling it (check with your accountant for more info on this).
Simply your life by buying a home warranty through a company like American Home Shield or Old Republic. The cost is less than $400 a year and will save you (and your tenant) time and heartache. If there is ever a maintenance issue, the tenant calls the home warranty company (not you) and pays the $40 service fee. This way you aren't fixing toilets at midnight.
Give your good tenants a reason to stay. It is a lot easier to keep a good tenant than to find a new one. When it is time to renew, tell your good tenant you will get a new refrigerator, blinds, carpet, landscape or something for the house in exchange for them signing on for another year. The cost of this little gesture will not only improve YOUR rental property, but it will save you money you would lose through advertising and vacancy costs while you find a new tenant.
The easiest way to determine if a house for sale will make a profitable rental is to make sure the monthly rental amount is equal to or greater than 1% of the purchase price. For example, if the house for sale costs $180,000 than you should get $1,800 a month in rent to make some money. This isn't an exact science, but it is a good rule of thumb.

Make sure to do your homework before you become a landlord. If you have any questions or stories, post a comment below. I will be happy to help any way I can.

Singer Island/Palm Beach Trip Report

2007-06-01T12:25:00.000-05:00

After searching and searching for a relaxing, yet luxurious Memorial Day weekend jaunt, I discovered the Resort at Singer Island. This Starwood Hotels resort is located just a couple of miles north of Palm Beach.

Upon arriving, we were pleasantly surprised at the beautiful lobby and efficient check-in. The lobby is decorated in beautiful marble and travertine stone with colorful, plush leather furniture. The decadent accouterments continued as we arrived at our room, or better described as a sprawling 2 bedroom corner suite. Our eyes expanded as we entered and delighted in the modern furnishings, replete with a kitchenette featuring stainless steel appliances (including a full size refrigerator, dishwasher, washer, dryer, futuristic microwave, tea kettle, coffee maker with complimentary Starbucks and a two burner stove top).

The high end appliances carried over into the family room and bedrooms with super sized 42 inch LG plasma flat screen televisions, Bose stereo system and Dream Machine alarm clocks featuring a sound machine.

The furnishings were equally sumptuous with fine linen bed coverings and sheets and a wrap around balcony featuring cushy chairs and expansive views of the ocean, Peanut Island (more on this later) and Lake Worth.

The bathrooms complimented the rest of the accommodations with a separate walk in shower and soaking tub. The bathroom was well stocked with plush terry cloth towels and Gilchrest & Soames products. Needless to say, I would put this hotel up against any Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton or Mandarin hotel any day. The best part is this hotel was only $369 per night for a 2 bedroom suite. Grab another couple or a large family and you would be hard pressed to match these accommodations ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

The only complaints about the hotel would be:

Valet parking is mandatory at a cost of $2o per day.
Housekeeping didn't show up on the 2nd day and when called, just did a quick clean. In their defense, they did wash the dishes everyday. They did forget hand towels on one day though.
Beach chairs, lounges and umbrellas are for rent only. $10 for each lounge chair and $25 for the fold over umbrella. Bring your own chairs.
Like most resorts, food was unbelievably expensive. $18 for a cheeseburger with fries. Drinks, poolside also ran about $12 per drink. Since you have a kitchen, bring food with you. There is an amazing Italian grocery store just a mile or so away called Carmine's and some great restaurants, but more on those later.

After settling in and finding out the exorbitant beach chair rental fee, we decided to sit poolside. There are 2 pools at the resort. One pool with a nice rock waterfall and waterslide, perfect for the kids. The other pool is more subdued with a couple of cabanas flanking a large expanse of loungers. These aren't your ordinary lounge chairs, but feature thick padded chenille covers that felt like you were laying on a cloud. The pool was well attended by waiters/waitresses and getting drinks and food was never a problem. This pool overlooked the ocean.

Speaking of the ocean and the beach, the recent hurricanes have reduced the beach to a mere 30 yards wide and there were many rocks just offshore in the water. In fact, we spent most of our time poolside. Who could leave those loungers anyways? After getting our full of sun and Stoli Doleys (Fresh pineapple chunks soaked in Stoli vodka for 2 weeks), we headed upstairs to clean up for dinner.

Dinner was a local joint called Max & Eddie's Cucina in a non-descript shopping center on Singer Island. This is my kind of place. Quick and efficient service by Sean was only topped by the private wine tasting session he provided us. Forget the normal 2 oz. pours you normally receive, these were twice the amount. We tried some amazing, but affordable wines. These included:

An Arneis by Ceretto from Langhe in southern Italy. The perfect crisp, dry white.
A fruity Pinot Grigio from outside Venice, Italy. Nice bouquet with a smooth finish.
The reds were big and bold. The Tuscan Sangiovese held up perfectly to the rich Veal Osso Bucco I enjoyed. The Escudo Rojo, from Chile, is the brainchild of none other than the Baron Rothschild. Try this one immediately, it is liquid gold.

Unfortunately, we didn't order any appetizers. The foccacia they provided was overcooked, but the dipping sauce of freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, spices and olive oil softened it up some. The salad was hearty and the dressing was amazing. Finally, for dinner my friends had the grouper, one had it Mediterranean style and the other was similar to a salsa verde. My wife had the veal romano and I had one of the house specialties, the Osso Bucco. Cooked for 9 hours and buttery soft. The only complaint was all of the food was overdone. Not overcooked, but overdone in the sense of too much stuff on the plate. Maybe if they chopped the ingredients smaller, it would work better. We were too stuffed for dessert, but the options looked pretty basic. Although I didn't get to sample them, the beer menu was amazing (Chimay, Hoegaarden, La Fin du Monde) and the pizzas and calzones looked scrumptious. I will definitely return here some day.

Day 2-Singer Island

We woke up early and headed over to Sailfish Marina on Singer Island for some breakfast. This is where most of the charter fishing boats, water taxis and shuttles to Peanut Island leave. They have a breakfast buffet on the weekends, great seafood selections for lunch and dinner with a nice view of the intercoastal and a sunset celebration that rivals Key West's Mallory Square on Thursday nights. The breakfast buffet (and a la carte menu) feature some great items: fresh fruit, crab omelet, grits, biscuit, made to order omelet, french toast, pancakes, etc. The food was really good, as was the coffee.

After breakfast we left on the "Now & Then Boat Tour" of the area. We had the large boat to ourselves (besides one other couple) and enjoyed the narration of our knowledgeable guide. You pass by the incredible mansions of Palm Beach and learn the history of Peanut Island. Peanut Island was a man made island that houses a bomb shelter originally built for President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Today it is a popular destination for boats, sun bathers and day trippers with its shallow sand bar and sandy beaches surrounded by calm waters. We went past numerous yacht clubs, marinas and country clubs and enjoyed the 90 minutes on the water for only $24 per person (adult prices).

After the boat tour, we returned back to the Resort at Singer Island to soak up more sun and cocktails. We rested up for awhile and thought about the unlimited options for nightlife in the area. There is Clematis Street in West Palm Beach with numerous bars, nightclubs and restaurants. However, we wanted something different. The men on the trip opted for a night aboard the Palm Beach Princess, a former cruise ship turned gambling boat. The boat has both day and night trips (about 6 hours each time) and features and all you can eat buffet that is often themed (Friday Night Seafood, BBQ, Chinese, etc.). The casino portion is a little smokey, but there are tons of options for the non-gambler, including live bands, relaxing on the deck, entertainments, promotions & give-aways. The night of our cruise was the Ultimate Fighting Championships Pay-Per-View event. It was great to watch and wager on the fights. Cocktails are free while you are gambling and are reasonably priced if you are not. This is a great option for a rainy day or night. It was quite windy, but the ride was relatively smooth. If you are prone to sea sickness, you may want to consider medicine (check with your doctor first).

The girls went to Fort Lauderdale to the outlet malls at Sawgrass Mills, about an hour from Palm Beach. This is a shopper's paradise with all sorts of high and mid end stores, restaurants, movie theaters, big box retailers, etc. They ended up eating at Legal Seafood, a national chain with a good reputation for solid seafood. It is a little pricey, but consistent.

Day 3

Our last full day on Singer Island was spend relaxing in the sun, taking naps, reading magazines and just unwinding from our hangovers from the night before (both drinking and shopping). For dinner, I had read about this incredible local seafood place in Juno Beach (about 3 miles up the road from Singer Island), called Captain Charlie's Reef Grill. It is located in a small, non-descript shopping center. When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to hear there was only a 20 minute wait. We went down "3 doors" to their overfill place to have a glass of wine and some beer. They have some local brews on tap, but I would avoid them (the lighthouse and "11" were barely quaffable). They do have a pretty nice, albeit basic wine list. Some Fume Blancs, Sauvignon Blancs and other light, fruity whites that pair well with seafood. We had a chance to glance at the menu over our drinks and I began to salivate immediately. The menu was huge with all kinds of choices: curry fish, thai style fish, grilled, panko crusted, etc. The list went on and on (especially the appetizers). Best of all, the prices were really reasonable. We were seated within the 20 minutes as promised in a dining room with basic wood furnishings. It was packed and loud and the servers were hustling (my kind of place). We order appetizers: a salad with blackened scallops (pretty good-scallops cooked perfectly) and panko crusted wahoo medallions (too dry). They brought coleslaw for everybody and it was excellent. Then the main course comes. This is where it goes down hill fast. I ordered the hog snapper. The waitress recommends it sauteed so that is how I get it. The plate arrives with a huge pile of weird veggies cooked into oblivion and not seasoned at all. The other half of the plate is rice and beans, also recommended by the waitress and also not seasoned. Both the veggies and rice and beans are disgusting piles of mush and quickly discarded. I didn't come here for tasteless veggies and rice and beans so I could care less. I want fresh fish. Unfortunately, I get a good portion of fish that is covered so heavily in dill, that I can no longer smell it without getting sick. Nothing else on the plate was seasoned so why in the world would they take a fresh catch of fish and smother it in one of the world's most pungent spices? It had no flavor besides dill. My wife had the seafood curry. It smelled and tasted like a NYC taxi. My friends had blackened grouper and some other type of grouper that they liked okay. I don't know if I ordered the wrong thing or what, but I'm not going back. Sorry.

That night we were going to go to the Breakers in Palm Beach for a nightcap, but my wife was too sick to go. We decided to go the next morning. This place is a destination hotel. The grounds and lobby are beautiful and luxurious. It is the only 5 star, 5 diamond hotel in the U.S. I would love to go back and stay one day, but at no time would I trade the Resort at Singer Island for the Breakers. We didn't eat or drink at the Breakers, but supposedly valet parking is $30 (we self parked for free). You get the $30 fee waived if you spend $30 or more inside. There are some stores (Burberry, Ralph Lauren) and a sundry market on the property. Go check it out, it is practically a landmark.

Since it was Memorial Day, most of the shops on Worth Avenue were closed. We drove around and were going to eat lunch at Daniel Bolud's restaurant in the Brazilian Court Hotel, but it wasn't open at 11:30 so we decided for a less serious restaurant at E.R. Bradley's Saloon in West Palm Beach. This is a huge watering hole hangout overlooking the intercostal and serves a variety of food. I started with a watered down version of lobster bisque and had fish tacos as the main course. Everybody else went with blacked grouper, grilled chicken or salad. Pretty basic stuff. They do give you piping hot soft pretzels to start off which was a nice touch. Service was friendly and efficient. This is more of a drinking place than fine cuisine. It is at the end of Clematis Street so next time we will go eat at Cabana and then experience the nightlife and shops of this area.

I hope you enjoyed the trip report. I would love to hear about your recent travels. Go ahead and submit a comment below.

Learn How to Apply Sunblock

2007-05-30T19:58:00.000-05:00

I have a bad habit of not reading directions. Most of the time it isn't a big deal, but when it comes to protecting yourself against the sun, reading directions is necessary. This weekend, we celebrated Memorial Day like many other families with a day at the beach. For the first time in my life, I actually read the directions on how to apply sunscreen lotion. I was surprised to learn I have been doing it wrong my whole life. What makes it worse, recent studies from the University of North Carolina have told us that applying sunscreen incorrectly can be more harmful than not using any sunscreen at all.

Here are some interesting insights into the world of sunscreen:

SPF (sun protection factor) indicates the time a person can be exposed to sunlight before getting sunburn with a sunscreen applied (compared to the time they can be exposed without sunscreen). For example, if you burn after 12 minutes in the sun, you would expect to burn after 4 hours if protected by a sunscreen with SPF 20.
Conventional sunscreen does not block UVA as effectively as it does UVB, and an SPF rating of 30+ may translate to significantly lower levels of UVA protection according to a 2003 study. The best UVA protection is provided by products that contain zinc oxide or mexoryl.
You can still get sunburned no matter what your ethnic background, whether or not you have a "base" tan and even on a cloudy (or in the shade).

Read the directions on your particular sunscreen lotion, but here are some recommendations:

Apply sunscreen at least 30 minutes prior to exposure, about one ounce should cover an average human being.
Make sure your skin is clean and dry (no sweat) before applying.
Re-apply sunscreen 30 minutes after being in the sun regardless of physical activity or circumstance.
Re-apply every two hours after that (more often if you are swimming or sweating).
Sunscreen should be applied anyday you are going to be exposed for more than 20 minutes.
Apply sunscreen underneath make-up. Don't forget about lip balm with SPF of at least 15.
Sunscreen should last 3 years under ideal conditions.

In case you forget to cover up and apply sunscreen, the resulting sunburn can be painful as well as dangerous. It may take up to 24 hours before the full damage of overexposure is visible.
The two most common sunburns are first-degree burns and second degree burns.
First-degree sunburns cause redness and will heal, possibly with some peeling, within a few days. These can be painful and are best treated with cool baths, aloes, moisturizers and hydrocortisone creams. Avoid the use of “-caine” products (such as benzocaine), which may cause sensitivity to a broad range of important chemicals. Aspirin taken orally may lessen early development of sunburn.
Second degree sunburns blister and can be considered a medical emergency if a large area is affected. When a burn is severe, accompanied by a headache, chills or a fever, seek medical help right away. Be sure to protect your skin from the sun while it heals and thereafter. Most studies have found an association between sunburn and enhanced risk for melanoma, particularly if you suffered severe childhood or adolescent sunburn since there is more time for melanoma to develop over your lifetime.

Here are some great websites to that offer amazing skincare products:

Have a great summer, just remember to slather it on before you step on out.

Swimming Pool Workout

2007-05-29T20:21:00.000-05:00

With temperatures soaring into the 80's this weekend, I decided to take the plunge (literally). When it gets this hot, the exercises we normally enjoy (running, biking, tennis) become more labor and less love. Swimming, and aquatic workouts, are a great way to beat the heat and to add a variety to your workout routine.

Here are some benefits of water workouts:

Training in an aquatic environment improves your blood flow, fluctuates your body temperature and enhances muscle conditioning.
The unique properties of water allow for creative and aggressive fitness programming. The viscosity of water allows you to push, pull, run, jump, jack and jog much harder. Plus the constant resistance water provides trains more muscle groups simultaneously.
The buoyancy of water allows for vigorous physical activity with minimal joint impact. For example, if you are in water that is at chest level you will be bearing only about 25-35% of your body weight. If you simply flex at your hips and knees and lower into the water at shoulder level you will virtually eliminate impact during fitness activity.

Instead of just swimming laps, try mixing up your workout routine in the pool. Here are some great exercises:

Float on your back and do crunches.
Grab a flotation device (like a funoodle) and head to the deep end and run in place. This exercise works your core to the max because you are forced to keep vertical alignment.
Jog in place with knees wide (both forward and backwards).
Jumping Jacks & Lunges.
Cross Country Skiing by jumping one leg forward & one back, switch legs jumping the other one forward and the other one back
Jump squats with feet shoulder width apart perform a small bounce.
Work your quads by lifting one leg off the pool bottom and hold your foot in your hand. Point the knee down to the bottom of the pool keeping the knees close together. Repeat on opposite leg.
Strengthen your glutes by standing on one supporting leg. Lift your other leg straight out in front with hands under your leg to support it. Repeat on opposite leg.
Work your chest by opening your arms out to the sides clasping hands behind the back. Keep your abdominal muscles strong while you stretch the chest (pectorals).

You can pretty much mimic any exercise you do in the gym in the pool, using the water as resistance. You can increase the resistance with water gloves, weights and funoodles. Make sure you stay hydrated during your water workouts and have fun. Below are some great websites for all sorts of aquatic exercise tools, including workout DVDs:

http://www.waterworkout.com/?OVRAW=pool%20swimming%20workout&OVKEY=pool%20swimming%20exercise&OVMTC=advanced&OVADID=1218730512&OVKWID=8973070512

http://www.aquatic-exercise-equipment.com/

http://sprintaquatics.com/default.asp

Last Minute Getaways-Best Website

2007-05-24T16:45:00.000-05:00

I was swamped at work this week and found myself daydreaming of far away places. Being the penny pincher I am, I wanted a travel service that offered great deals on last minute vacations. After hours searching the web, I found some great website:

Last Minute Travel - nicely organized by travel preference, but the destinations page is very limited in information. Besides, I don't want to navigate a bunch of other websites to figure out what I'm going to do in Montreal for 3 days.
Travelocity's Last Minute Deals - I didn't find that many great deals, but the interface is easy to use. I also don't like the long list of destinations. When looking for a last minute trip, I want a limited selection of really great value vacations. This is more of a watered down list of tons of vacations of dubious value.
Cheap Tickets Last Minute - Absolutely pathetic. You have to pick the destination and then it tells you how much it costs.
Expedia Last Minute - This is the best of the "major" travel sites. You choose your departure city (like Travelocity's) and it gives you a list of good travel packages (albeit limited). You also can choose flights, hotels, cruises and other options. It even gives you tips on booking last minute travel (e.g., cheap weekend flights are released on Tuesday).

The best website ever for last minute trips is also the site that specializes in last minute vacation packages, I am referring to Site 59. If you have never been, you must check it out. Before long, you will be chasing your Monday blues away with thoughts of a long weekend in Paris or a quick retreat to the Bahamas. Here are some great features of Site 59:

You can book up to 3 hours before take off. This is perfect for the spontaneous vacation (my favorite).
Email alerts on great deals.
The ability to book Flight + Hotel in one place. You can even add a car rental to your reservation.
Flexibility to choose departures by dates or range of dates of the next week or two.
Allows you to choose two different departure cities for those exciting "meet me in..." rendezvous.
They even offer gift certificates!
They even have a great little feature that categorizes the vacations (e.g., beach, romantic, luxury, international, food & wine, etc.)

Here are some great tips offered by Site 59 on last minute travel:

"Site59.com, the recognized leader in last-minute online travel, is sharing its top 10 tips, so everyone can be "in the know" on how to book the most convenient weekend escape. Getting away on a whim doesn't have to tax your wallet or your time, so keep these top 10 tips handy before you lock-in that last-minute trip.

1. TRUST THE EXPERTS: Find a website that caters to last-minute travelers.
Site59 is all about last-minute weekend travel. While some websites say they "do" last-minute travel, Site59 pioneered it. Focusing solely on travel at the 59th minute allows us to develop partnerships and technology to serve the last-minute leisure customer better than anyone else.

2. FLEXIBILITY IS KEY: The more flexible you are with your travel dates and destinations, the sweeter the deals! Site59 not only offers customers a wide array of date pairs at various price points, but also prides itself in serving up flexible price comparisons based on similar destinations and interests to help travelers get the best possible deal.

3. FIND THE MOST LAST-MINUTE: Booking windows vary between sites, so it is important to understand just how spontaneous you can be with your travel plans.
Site59 has the shortest booking window of all the packaging options on the Internet. Deals are available from over 150 North America cities to over 170 destinations–spanning the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America, South America, and Europe–starting 14 days in advance, up to three hours before departure for domestic getaways, and up to five hours for international escapes. Should you decide this morning that you would rather be on a beach in Mexico, with Site59 you could be there tonight with plenty of pesos left over for margaritas!

4. THE DEAL IS IN THE PACKAGE: Travel providers offer the best deals when their inventory is sold in a package. Everyone's a winner–you get a great deal on a hassle-free weekend experience and suppliers don't have to let the seat, room, or car go empty or unused.
Site59 sells a variety of travel packages up to 70% off when compared with published rates for air and hotel reservations booked within 7 days of departure. Get everything you need for a great weekend in a single transaction by choosing from Flight + Hotel (add a car if you like), Flight + Car, and Hotel + Car packages.

5. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Make sure you can choose from trusted travel brands and are not kept in the dark about your trip details (airport details, flight times, hotel property information, and rental car options, just to name a few). Site59 gives you all your trip details upfront–no surprises. We work closely with some of the top travel providers in the industry, negotiating the best prices available on unsold inventory. You'll select from brand-name airline, hotel, and rental car suppliers and be provided with details about your trip so you'll always know when you're leaving, where you're staying, the cost of your trip, (including Taxes & Fees) and all the other important details before you commit!

6. HAVE YOUR DEAL AND EARN MILES TOO: Make sure you get frequent flyer miles with your last-minute travel booking–you've earned them! With Site59, you get a great travel deal AND you earn miles on most flights.

7. SEEK OFF-SEASON SAVINGS: Off-season destinations can be where the best deals are found, so head to the beach in August or go skiing in March. Site59 offers counter-seasonal deals to amazing destinations at a fraction of what it would cost in high season. Our luxury packages are a particularly strong value during this time, resulting in a four- or five-star experience on a two-star budget!

8. FLIP YOUR PERSPECTIVE: Similarly, leisure destinations are often wide open during the week and business destinations are empty on weekends, so great deals can be had. Site59 offers international travel from Wednesday to Wednesday so you can lounge around on less-crowded days. And weekends are the perfect time to visit a big city with popular museum exhibits and exclusive restaurants that empty out when business travelers head back home.

9. SPEND YOUR TIME TRAVELING, NOT SEARCHING: Don't waste what little free time you have surfing websites to put together an unforgettable travel experience. Find a website that conveniently does it for you. Site59 has already sweated the small stuff for you by planning exciting weekend getaway packages. Our travel team researches every destination offered on Site59 and writes up whimsical, spontaneous trip ideas so you can see the possibilities by trying someplace new–even cities you may never have thought about before. And with our free Top Picks e-mail newsletter, Site59 travel guru Patty Griffin uncovers hidden getaway gems and weekly site specials.

10. SEE A DEAL YOU LIKE? GRAB IT AND GO: Inventory moves fast at the last-minute, with pricing and availability that can change in an instant. Remember to act quickly when you find that incredible deal! Site59's premier packaging technology constantly searches for unsold airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel extras and bundles them together into dynamic, real-time packages. These deals are fun, affordable, and best of all, only available at the spur of the moment. Remember–he who hesitates stays home!"

Week Long Alaskan Cruise for $500

2007-05-21T07:53:00.000-05:00

TRAVEL ALERT: I just received a call from my friends at Dreams Alive Travel (813-240-0946) on an incredible travel deal that I wanted to tell you about.

7 Day Alaskan Cruise aboard Holland America's Award Winning Ship, Volendam.

Celebrate 4th of July in style as you depart Seward, Alaska on June 29th and finish the cruise in Vancouver, Canada on July, 6th.

Inside cabins start at only $499, with outside cabins just a little more at $549 per person (based on double occupancy, prices do not include taxes, port charges or additional fees).

Ports of call include: Hubbard's Glacier, Icy Strait Point, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan.

Price includes Shipboard Accommodations, Meals, Some Beverages, Onboard Entertainment and Daily Activities, Port Charges, 24-Hour Room Service.

Check out Cruise Critic's Review of the Volendam.

For more information on this cruise, including a list of onshore excursions, visit Holland America's website.

My New Best Friend is a Foam Roll

2007-05-17T14:59:00.000-05:00

Foam rolls, once the tool of physical therapists, can become your own personal masseuse, physical training tool and stretch coach. Foam rolls or foam rollers are important for functional stabilization programs and rehabilitation. They can be used by themselves or with resistance bands or loops. Stand or lay on the foam rolls to build balance and coordination. Lay with the foam roll positioned length wise down the spine to stretch shoulders, or across and under the lower back to stretch the back, shoulder and legs. While lying on the foam, roll back and forth to massage muscles and improve balance. Foam rolls are a great tool for improving flexibility, balance and strength. They are fun, easy to use, and inexpensive (check out PTMart for a nice selection).

To use as a massager, simply press down on the foam roll on sore muscles as if you were rolling out dough. To target back and neck muscles, lay on the ground with your legs bent at a ninety degree angle (like you were about to do a sit up) with the foam roll under your butt. Using your feet, walk forward causing the foam roll to start at your tailbone and work up your spine to your neck. Guaranteed to send amazing sensations up and down your body. It also works great on feet too. Simply sit in a chair and put the foam roll underneath your feet and roll them in and out (these things are so affordable you can get a separate one just for your feet if you don't like the idea of using it on the rest of your body).

To improve muscle elasticity and flexibility, try these targeted exercises using the foam roll:

For plantar warts, stand in a doorway for balance and place one foot on the foam roll with your knee slightly bent. Roll your foot forward (essentially putting your weight on the one leg with the foot on the roll). After a lot of practice, you can put both feet on the foam roll and roll forwards and backwards.
For calf strains, sit up on the floor with both of your feet straight out in front of you. Place the foam roll under your ankles. Pressing up with your hands (which are next to your hips as if you were doing a dip), move your body weight forward and backwards to move the roll over your calves. This is an awesome exercise for balance and strength (plus shredding your triceps in the interim).
To alleviate runner's knee, assume the same position as above, but put the foam roll under your upper thigh/hip area. rotate your legs and torso onto the knee in pain and place both hands in front of your (like George Costanza posing in his boxers in that hilarious episode of Seinfeld) and bring your back leg over the front of your bad knee. This is a very common stretching position, the only difference is the foam roll is underneath you. Using your hands, "walk" yourself back and forth so the foam rolls between your hip to just above your knee and back again.
For shin splints, assume the push up position with the foam roll right below the knee. Keeping weight on the roll at all times, walk forward and backwards to move the roll between the knee and your ankle. Add some push ups while you do this and some planks (resting on your forearms with your hips engaged) and you not only alleviate your shin splints, but you have a great workout.

There are a million other uses for the foam roll. Try balancing on the roll (like log rolling) for a great core workout and to improve balance. Do air squats, lunges, mountain climbers, supermans and a load of other pliometric exercises. I have even seen yoga classes employ this useful tool. In a world of overpriced equipment, crowded gyms and our busy lives, these under $10 tools allow you to have a create workout at home and then you can use them for a great massage.

Post some comments on what you do with your foam roll. I look forward to hearing from you.

High Interest Checking & Savngs Accounts

2007-05-15T18:56:00.000-05:00

The stock market has been smoking hot the last couple of months (and hit a new high yet again today). I am not one to declare the sky is falling, but at these lofty highs it does make me a little bit nervous. Right now I am not committing any new money to the stock market. Instead, I am looking for investment alternatives that still offer great returns for my money.

Back in March I told you about investing in foreign denominated certificates of deposits. These are FDIC insured CDs that provide not only high interest rates, but you can make even more money as the value of the U.S. dollar declines against foreign currencies (which it has). For example, if you invested in a 3 month CD denominated in Icelandic Krona back in March, upon maturity your effective interest earned would be over 14%! Not too shabby. The effective interest rate on the CD was 12.75%, but the dollar as tanked against the Krona in the past 3 months and additional gains were made through the currency transaction.

Does this sound too complicated? Not to fear, you can earn a great return on your money these days by simply opening up a checking account. That's right, there are many banks (both online and brick & mortar) who are offering over 5% on their checking and/or savings accounts. Many of these banks don't charge fees and no minimum deposit is required. Here is a look at some of the best:

Washington Mutual (WaMu) - 5.0% savings rate, free checking, waived fees, Free ATM withdrawls and more.
E-Loan - 5.25% savings account rate, no fees, easy online application.
Emigrant Direct - 5.05% annual percentage yield on savings account, great online banking site and even better they have a Platinum Mastercard that offers cash rebates of 1.4% on all purchases with no limits.
FNBO - 6% savings account interest rate (for a limited time) with no fees or minimums.

Here's your strategy. Keep only enough cash in your checking account for 2 months of expenses. Anything else, including any money sitting around in a savings account yielding a paltry 1.8%-the nationwide average, needs to be moved to one of the banks above IMMEDIATELY. Almost all of them offer free checking and some sort of ATM program so you can use your savings account just like a checking account. All of this money is FDIC insured so you can rest at night knowing you are maximizing the return on your cash and are protected from the inevitable stock market correction.

Prenup: Don't Get Married Without One

2007-05-14T08:13:00.001-05:00

Some people flip immediately to the obituaries in the morning paper, my wife, on the other hand, goes right to the wedding announcements. This time of the year, the paper is loaded with announcements of couples exchanging vows at the First Church of Holy Matrimony.

Instead of describing the wedding dress, the rubbery chicken served at the reception and what all inclusive island honeymoon they went on, I wish the wedding announcement would proudly declare that Timmy & Susie entered into their marriage with not only a marriage certificate from the state, but a signed prenuptial agreement. After all (no matter how unromantic this may sound), a marriage is a contract between two people. Any contract should be written down and signed so there isn't any confusion. This is exactly what a prenuptial (or postnuptial) agreement does.

Prenuptial (or prenup, antenuptial, premarital) agreements aren't only for rich people, they are for everybody. If you have children already and are entering a second marriage, a prenup can define what premarital assets should be left to your children when you die. Otherwise, the surviving spouse can end up with most of the estate and leave your kids out in the cold.

No kids? Doesn't matter. How well do you know your future spouse's financial background and debt (credit card, student loans, etc.)? Did you recently inherit some money from a relative? Do you own your own business? Prenups will prevent you from "absorbing" the debt of your partner, spell out how the assets should be divided in the event of a divorce and can even decide in advance on whether alimony will be paid. If you don't have a prenup than the courts of your state get to decide who owns what during the court proceedings.

Under the law (in the absence of a prenup stating otherwise), a spouse usually has the right to:

share ownership of property acquired during marriage, with the expectation that the property will be divided between the spouses in the event of a divorce or at death.
incur debts during marriage that the other spouse may have to pay for
share in the management and control of any marital or community property, sometimes including the right to sell it or give it away.

Now that we know why we should get a prenup, below are some tips on how to get started:

Start early. The best thing to do is to discuss prenups before you even need one. If you are getting serious about someone, talk it over one night during dinner. Relationships are about communication. I hope anybody would share their thoughts (and know their partners financial history and habits) before entering into the sacred bond of marriage.
If you haven't talked about it already, blame your accountant, lawyer or a news story. Just make sure you do it early in the engagement (or before).
Include only items related to assets and liabilities. Everything else is nonsense and unenforceable by the courts. This includes cliff and sunset provisions. Cliff provisions state if the marriage only lasts a short time that the one spouse will get far less than if the marriage lasts a long time. On the flip side, the sunset provision nullifies the prenup (or postnup) if the marriage lasts a long time. Don't include either of these or any other stupid clauses not related to material property.
Contact an attorney. Lawyers are going to cost a lot less to draw up a prenuptial than both of you getting a divorce attorney and battling it out at the end. Just make sure you are both present and are satisfied with the lawyer and the agreement. Definitely discuss what your thoughts are before going to the office so neither person feels "blind sided" in front of the attorney. Also, make sure the attorney isn't your college roommate or best fried. Your spouse may feel like they are being bamboozled. Instead, use a neutral party.

Still don't feel like you need a pre or postnup? If you are absolutely against it, here are some things you can do:

Put pre-marital assets in a trust. This may provide some protection against divorce or probate proceedings. Just make sure to tell your future spouse that you have a trust.
Keep a separate savings account and DO NOT TOUCH IT. If you inherited money, sold a business or what not, create a separate savings account before you get married and don't do anything to it. If a divorce is inevitable, you should be able to prove to the courts that this account was a premarital asset.

Nobody likes talking about prenups and divorces (especially when you aren't even married yet), but they are a reality in today's world. You and your spouse shouldn't feel threatened by discussing these topics and it may even help your relationship in the long run. One of the best things my wife and I did before our marriage was go to a class sponsored by our local church that may each one of us answer questions on all kinds of topics. We then sat together and went over our individual answers together and discussed those topics where we had differences. I learned so much about my wife in those 2 hours. Hopefully by getting a prenuptial, you too will open up dialogue about the sensitive issue of money.

Additional Resources on Prenups:

Forbes Article

CNN Money Article

Suze Orman's Article

I'm Buying a Grill

2007-05-11T07:06:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, I've never bought a grill before. The one I use now was given to me as a college graduation gift (I think). It works great and I've never really given thought to replacing it. The sad part is I am not replacing my grill, but buying a grill for my mom for Mother's Day. Forget the flowers, sappy cards and gift certificates to the spa. My mom wants fire and heat to sear pieces of meat. Now that is a gift for mom.

Since I research even the tiniest of purchases, I started my due diligence a couple of weeks ago to determine the perfect grill. It is amazing the wide variety of choices and options in today's market. Here is my plan of attack and hopefully it will help others in the market for a new grill.

Location- First you need to decide where you are going to set up your outdoor grill station. Ideally it should be at least 15 feet away from your home, shed or shrubbery (to avoid flare ups from burning down your house). If you have only a small space, you don't want some gargantuan grill unit. If you are going to grill in one area, yet store the grill in another area, make sure you get one on wheels. Grills are heavy and you don't want to lift hot, heavy metal around.

Usage- This is probably the biggest guideline for getting a grill. Do you grill for large groups of people and need a multi burner unit? Do you BBQ (which is different than grilling) for smokey flavor and want a smoker, charcoal or wood burning grill? Do you infrequently grill and just need something inexpensive and easy like an electric or gas grill? Than there are the options that go with the grills: side burners, smoke boxes, rotisseries, warming racks, storage areas, etc.

Fuel- This is where the debate begins. Some people are die hard about charcoal, but for me gas/propane is the way to go. Gas grills are a little more pricey, but it is really no fuss, no muss. You go outside, push the electric starter and voila, fire. In order to impart wood flavor, I soak a log in water and place it right ontop of the gas flame or take the wood chips you can find in the grocery store and put them in a disposable aluminum pan with holes cut in the bottom.

Material- Obviously 300 grade all stainless steel construction is the best (bring a magnet to the store to test it out), but this is very expensive. I actually don't get hung up on the overall material of the grill itself. Instead, I'm concerned with the grill grates themselves. I want cast iron or porcelain grates that are nice and thick. They should have some distance from the flame source to prevent too many flare ups, but close enough to get super hot. There are many excellent gas grills on the market for $300-$500. These are made of high quality material other than stainless steel and will last for nearly a decade (like my own grill). Just make sure you keep it clean and covered.

Cost- The range is costs for grills is ridiculous. You can get electric grills for under $100 bucks and stainless steel grill "kitchens" for over $10,000. The good news is once you answer the questions above, you will fall automatically into a price category.

I am not even going to talk about BTUs, but it is pointless. BTU's measure the amount of gas used, not temperature. Just make sure your grill has a thermometer or you buy a grill thermometer. This add on is crucial for both barbecuing (slow, low temperature cooking) and grilling (fast, high heat cooking).

Reviews of Grills

This summer I will feature a lot of different stories of BBQ and grilling (recipes, pizza on the grill, cleaning your grill, Big Green Egg review, dessert on the grills, add-ons, etc.).

This is the grill I bought for my mom.

Please let us know what your favor grill is, whether you like charcoal or gas, what add-ons do you have, etc.

Resting Your Way to Bigger Gains in the Gym

2007-05-10T07:12:00.000-05:00

Do you know what is just as important as the amount of reps, sets and weight you lift at the gym? The answer is the amount of time you rest in between those sets and exercises. Timing is everything. If you rest too long, you lose the aerobic benefits and intensity of your workout. If your rest period is too short, your muscles fatigue and your gains will be cut short.

The old standard rule of rest periods in between sets is 60-90 seconds. Experts say this time is ideal for muscle gain since growth hormone and testosterone are best produced when your rest period is of a moderate length. However, if your goal isn't muscle gain, this time frame may not be best for you. New studies show that for weight loss (less than 60 seconds), shorter rest periods are better and for strength gains, longer rest periods (3-5 minutes) are optimal.

Let's take a look at three of the most common areas of why people lift weights:

Muscle Growth
Your body is really made up of two types of muscle fibers, Type I (slow twitch) that are used for long duration activities such as running, biking, etc. Type II (fast twitch) muscles are used for short, explosive activities like weight lifting, sprinting and jumping. Since the two types of muscle respond differently, I would recommend alternating your rest period each week. Try both shorter (<> 3 minutes) rest periods, which will keep your muscles guessing and lead you to bigger gains in the gym.

Muscle Strength
If you prefer strength and are not concerned about large muscles, you should be prepared to gain some degree of muscle growth. Getting strong and growing muscle go hand-in-hand. Bigger muscles usually mean stronger muscles. When participants wish to increase their strength, they usually mean their one-repetition maximum, or the heaviest weight they can lift one time with proper form and no assistance. This usually requires longer rest periods (three to five minutes) between sets to replenish the proper anaerobic energy sources (adenosine-triphosphate and creatine phosphate).

Weight Loss
The ability to repeat or maintain high intensity activity (sprint running, sprint cycling, football plays, weight-lifting, etc.) is probably the best way to shed fat and the pounds. It has been generally accepted that shorter rest periods are more beneficial for optimal weight loss. One great way to shorten your rest period is to circuit train. Circuit training involves immediately moving from one exercise to another after a single set or a group of 2-3 sets (with only 30 seconds rest in between sets). Another variation on circuit training is to work different body parts after each set (or group of sets) to allow for greater recovery time of a muscle group. For example, you can bust out a set of bench presses and then run to the lat pulldown machine and then run to do a set of deadlifts. Or you can do three sets of bench presses (resting 30 seconds in between each set) and instead of doing another chest exercise, go to the lat pulldown and do three sets (again, resting 30 seconds between each set). I love to do all kinds of variations on this. I will even jump on the treadmill or bike and sprint for 5 minutes. The end result is keeping your heart rate up by staying active the entire time in the gym. The only issue is in a crowded gym, it is hard to run to each machine. You just have to be flexible and have a large arsenal of exercises for the body parts you are working on.

How long do you rest in between sets? Do you have any favorite gym exercises you would like to share? Post a comment and let us know.

Trip Report: Kentucky Derby

2007-05-08T12:20:00.000-05:00

On my first day of Anthropology class in college, the professor asked us to write down 20 things we wanted to do before we died. I came up with about 60 in half an hour. One of the top things on my list was to attend the Kentucky Derby. This year I was finally able to scratch it off my list.
Worried about the weather forecast and my ability to attend such a raucous event with a broken leg couldn't dampen our spirits. We boarded the Delta flight to Cincinnati (about 1.5 hour drive from Louisville) without incidence or event. The only thing I must say is I requested wheelchair assistance from Delta weeks prior to my flight and called to remind them 3 days before my flight. Basically, they give you a wheelchair, but never offered anybody to assist us through security and such. My wife was a trooper and pushed me around.

We arrived at CVG (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport) and proceeded to board a shuttle to Avis rental car. I booked my rental car through Hotwire. Typically, I can get really good rates on Hotwire for rental cars (not much else though) and this was no difference with a full size car being only $18 per day. When I arrived there was a long line and only 2 attendants working. It took forever. When I approached a desk, the clerk offered to upgrade me to a Chrysler 300M for $10 more per day. After saying "no way", we proceeded to wait 30 more minutes for our full size car. I think it is ridiculous that it takes over 1.5 hours to rent a car (even with a prior reservation). I guess I need to join the preferred service for each rental car company so all I need to do is sign and drive.

The drive down to Louisville was beautiful. We stopped at the Newcastle/Sligo exit along Interstate 71 to meet up with Laraine Stanley of Family Farm Project. I found this farm through Eat Wild (check out my Eat Local & Organic post). We picked up some burgers and short ribs from grass fed Kentucky beef (more on this later) and we were on our way.

Upon arriving in Louisville, we drove through the beautiful Rolling Fields/Indian Hills area to meet up with our hosts for the weekend, Pete & Catherine (and their adorable son, Louis). We "checked" into their beautiful home and quickly ordered some excellent nouveau Chinese food from August Moon Chinese Bistro. We feasted on orange peel beef with Grand Marnier reduction, spicy shrimp with vegetables and sauteed chicken with Chinese vegetables. The menu is a lot more adventurous than what we ordered. The food was much better than most, but too similar to the ubiquitous PF Chang's for me to declare the food excellent. After dinner, Pete treated us to his grandfather's secret recipe for Mint Juleps. I am not at liberty to give away the recipe, but will give you one hint: do not muddle the mint. Instead, place a big stalk of mint in your Bourbon, sugar and crushed ice concoction and enjoy the olfactory effervesence of the the mint tickle your brain as the mint hits your nose with every sip.

The next morning the sky was dark, but our spirits were bright as we prepared for the Kentucky Oaks. This is a precursor, or should I say dry run, for what was to come on Saturday for the Derby. The crowds are just slightly less than the Derby, but the action and pomp is all the same. The quality of horse races make it easily in the top 10 of all races in the world. We pulled up to Churchill Downs with its twin spires even more imposing in the darkened sky. It rained briefly upon arrival, but we enjoyed a comfortable overcast day for the remaindeer. The nice thing about Churchill Downs is it allows you to bring food in clear containers to the event. For both days we feasted on a trio of sandwiches (tenderloin, turkey, country ham), pasta salad (penne with toasted pine nuts, kalamata olives, feta cheese and grape tomatoes), fruit salad and the best brownies in the world (Barefoot Contessa's recipe). Better yet, we could smother the sandwiches with Henry Baines sauce. This is like A-1 on steroids and a Louisville specialty.

As the day ended the skies opened up. Luckily we were safely in the Buick Roadmaster as we made our way to Pat's Steak House. This is another Louisville landmark. You gotta love a place that only takes cash in this day and age. The cocktails were weak, the wine list pathetic and the appetizer list unappealing. Despite these shortcomings, this is a must visit restaurant, if only once. The walls are adorned with vintage photos of Louisville, the waiters adorned with green jackets as if they were all winners of the Masters and the fluffy yeast rolls melted in your mouth. The steaks were okay, the Lima beans were buttery and I loved the family style servings of the rest of the veggies (if you can call canned green beans studded with bacon and cauliflower swimming in creamy cheese vegetables). After stuffing our faces with 24 ounce Porterhouses, there was no room for dessert.

Derby Day. Saturday morning was glorious. The weather was a little brighter than Friday and we actually made it through the whole day with only a brief drizzle. The crowds flooded into the Derby to see hats, celebrities and horses (in that order). Our luck on picking winners was much better. Maybe it was the lucky parking space reserved for us by Lorenzo and his wife, Bonnie. Two free spirits who have the best view of the twin spires of Churchill Downs from their front porch. Inside Churchill Downs was $1,000 mint juleps served in a gold cup, fancy cigar shops in a make shift tent and all the libations and food you could stuff your gullet with. There are so many ticket options for the Derby. Although we basked in the privacy of a 3rd level box on the rail about 50 yards from the finish line, a perfectly acceptable "walk around" ticket that provides you with no seat goes for a health $400. This option allows you to see the stars (we saw Bobby Flay and Kirk Herbstreit) and the races from the comfort of your own two feet. The other option is to brave the infield. This is closer to a rock concert atmosphere than the gentrified surroundings you find in the main gallery. Same race with two totally different experiences. Make sure you reserve time to check out the stables, the paddocks and all of the various vendors poised to sell you goods commemorating your witness of one of the world's greatest sporting events. Even with the 3rd largest crowd in Derby history, the place didn't seem too crowded. The lines for tickets and drinks move quickly and there are plenty of walk around vendors selling $9 mint juleps in commemorative glasses (beware though these are premixed juleps that hardly pack a punch).

Exhausted after a long two days of drinking, gambling and gawking we decided to grill out the grass fed beef treats from the Stanley's farm. We through the burgers on the grill and since they are super lean they took no time to cook. For the short ribs, we boiled them for 40 minutes in salted water with bay leaves, garlic cloves and peppercorns. We glazed them with a mixture of equal parts Cattleman's BBQ sauce, Dijon mustard and maple syrup and threw them on the grill for 10 minutes to finish cooking. The ribs were still loaded with fat and a little dried out from the extreme heat of the grill. Next time, I would simply sear the short ribs with chopped onion and garlic over high heat and then braise them in the BBQ mixture above (making sure the meat was covered with the sauce). The searing would burn off a lot of fat while the braising would make them very tender. Oh well. Live and learn. Since it was Cinco de Mayo, my other buddy, Boz, made the margaritas. They were terrible. For dessert, I had a spoonful of Graeter's Ice Cream.

Sunday morning was recovery time. I quickly jumped in the car and headed to Heine Bros. Coffee for some much needed triple espresso with a splash of hot skim milk. What a perfect pour. For those people who love Starbucks, I cannot urge you enough to try local coffee roasters. You will never drinks that Starsucks stuff again (misspelling was intentional). The only thing that would complement the coffee and my hangover would be Bourbon ball French toast from Lynn's Paradise Cafe, a Louisville destination in and of itself. Unfortunately, the 153,000 people from the Derby had the same idea and my stomach would not wait 2 hours for sustenance. Instead, we feasted on club sandwiches from Louisville Country Club. Of course I smothered it in Henry Baines sauce and finished it off with a slice of homemade Derby Pie, an amazing concoction of Bourbon, nuts and chocolate. We packed up the Chevy Impala rental car and headed back to Cincy for our flight, but not before we stopped from some French Pot ice cream from Graeter's. My wife didn't have her full of Bourbon, so she had Bourbon ice cream and I went with their world famous Chocolate Chip. This is really super creamy vanilla ice cream with soft chunks of milk chocolate. It was a perfect pre-flight snack (the only thing missing was some White Castle "slyder", but I was maxed out on calories for the month already).

Here are some more resources for your trip to the Kentucky Derby or just Louisville in general (which is an incredible city to visit and includes such attractions as Louisville Zoo, Muhammed Ali's gym and museum, the riverfront attractions, Bourbon distilleries, etc.).

Trip Advisor's Louisville (great for hotels)
Go to Louisville
Louisville
Yahoo's Travel Guide to Louisville

Run for Your Life

2007-05-07T10:37:00.000-05:00

Although I was a pretty active child, I never liked to run. I loved riding my bike, playing basketball, baseball, even swimming. It wasn't until a year ago, I realized I actually liked to run. My first exposure to running was on a treadmill in my local gym. The treadmill is a great place to start for beginners because the electronic interface helps you develop a pace (or cadence) along with speed, time and distance. Like most workout routines, you should always start with a warm up and end with a cool down.

Warm Up-Typically your workout should be 40% of your top speed for 10% of your total running time.
Cool Down- This portion of your run should be 20% of your top speed for 20% of your total running time.

A lot of people avoid running because it is "boring". Here are some great ways to avoid boredom or to freshen up your running routine:

Get off the treadmill. With the weather getting warmer, hit the pavement. You will burn more calories, traverse entertaining terrain and hopefully meet some neighbors. You can a whole new perspective when you run different routes. Try to find a safe location that is well lit if you are running at night. Avoid areas of broken pavement or sidewalks to prevent injury.
Change your intervals. This can really make running a workout. I love running at different intervals. After your warm up, try sprinting for a 100 yards and then slow down to 50% of your normal running speed for five minutes. Sprint again and repeat the "jog" cycle. There is no exact science to interval running. Just make sure you mix up your run with bursts of speed for a couple of minutes, followed by a slower pace for a period of time.
Get off road. Check out http://www.trailrunner.com/. This site is a treasure trove of trail running routes conveniently organized by state. Running on trails is a little tricky at first and you may want to consider investing in a pair of trail shoes that provide extra grips. If you live near the coast, get out to the beach. There is no treadmill in the world that provides such an incredible experience as running during a sunrise or sunset. Mix it up by running on the hard packed sand close to the water and then workout it out in the softer sand further up the beach.

There are some other excellent resources on the web to help beginners (and pros alike). Anybody who loves fitness should make running a part of their overall program. It is a great cardiovascular exercise, costs little to no money, can be done at almost any time (wear reflective clothing at night) and requires little to no experience. Let me know how you got started running or any ideas you have to keep your running routine fresh.

Resources:

Cruise through History on a Princess Cruise

2007-05-02T12:05:00.000-05:00

As a prolific traveller, I read and experienced some incredible trips. However, this current offering by Princess Cruises may take the cake. This September, you can embark on a 14 day vacation that includes 7 days exploring colonial America, including Washington, D.C., historic Williamsburg, quaint Charlottesville and Lancaster, PA. During the land tour portion, you will be led by knowledgeable guides through the Gettysburg battlefield, the Liberty Bell of Philadelphia and many more attractions. Once you arrive in New York, you will board the exquisite Crown Princess. The awards and features of this ship are too long to list, but here are some highlights:

Reader's Choice Awards have voted Princess #1 in for "Best Spa Facilities", "Best Onboard Educational Programs" and "Best Itineraries".
Enjoy movies, sporting events and concerts on Princess' Movies Under the Stars on their outdoor theater.
Incredible cuisine in a variety of styles & settings. Including the popular adults only restaurants. Even dine on your own balcony. Speaking of balconies...
Princess Cruises have some of the largest and most affordable balconies on the open seas. Nothing will beat watching the sunset or experiencing the majestic coastline of New England from your private balcony.

Enjoy all of this and more for about $2,400 per person. That is about $200 per day for incredible cuisine, luxurious rooms, expert guided tours and amazing onboard activities. Our friends at Dreams Alive Travel (phone number 813-240-0946) have a special offer for readers of this weblog and can assist you with this cruise or any other vacation needs. Safe travels.

Save Money at the Gas Pumps

2007-05-01T18:48:00.000-05:00

I filled up my tank today and it cost $67.53. Talk about sticker shock. I was furious. What happened to the good ole days when I could fill up for $40? The second I got home I started doing some research on how to save some money instead of watching it go up in smoke (literally). Here is what I found:

Stop speeding, rapid acceleration and unnecessary braking. According to www.fueleconomy.gov, every 5 mph over 60 mph you drive costs the equivalent of 10 cents per gallon. Use cruise control to maintain a steady speed during highway driving.
Don't leave your car idling. Believe it or not, restarting your car uses less gas than keeping it running for more than a minute or two.
Lighten your load. The heavier your car is the more gas your car uses.
Roll down your windows. Running your air-conditioner forces your engine to use 10-15% more fuel.
Keep your car in tip top shape. If your air filter is clogged or your tires aren't properly inflated, you are getting less miles per gallon (some experts think as much as 15%).
Do some research. www.gasbuddy.com will help you find those stations with the cheapest gas in your area. Word to the wise: don't drive 20 miles to save a penny a gallon on gas, the math doesn't work out. Also, AAA has some great tools to plan your summer road trip. These include www.fuelcostcalculator.com. It is like MapQuest for gas costs. Simply put in your departure city, arrival city and make/model of your car and voila--it will tell you how many greenbacks for petrol you will need.

These are just some of the minor things you can do to improve the amount of money you spend on fueling your car. Other simple ideas include consolidating your trips out. Instead of making a bunch of trips during rush hour, get up early on Saturday and run your errands. Consider car pooling or flex scheduling work (if possible). Finally, consider going green on your next car purchase. Whether it is a hybrid or biofuel car, every bit makes a difference. Safe driving.

Limoncello

2007-04-30T06:39:00.000-05:00

What do you do when the world (or a farm in California) delivers you 10 pounds of rotten lemons? If you answered, "make lemonade", you are incorrect. Nobody likes rotten lemonade. The correct answer is make limoncello. Limoncello, a staple of the Italian diet, is a wonderfully refreshing apertif and digestif. It is starting to gain popularity here in the U.S., but often times the domestic version tastes more like jet fuel than the perfect lemon. Besides, this stuff is so easy to make at home, you will never even think about buying the mass produced store stuff. Here's how you make it:

Start off with some really good vodka. Some recommendations include Stoli, Iceberg, Hangar One or even a local producer from Texas called Tito's Vodka. If you like your limoncello strong, you can use grain alcohol instead of vodka for a really potent concoction.
I like to make my limoncello in mason jars, but any air tight, wide mouth bottle will do. If you chop the peel small enough, you can always use the bottle the vodka came in.
You need about 6 lemons per fifth of vodka. I like Meyer lemons the best (they have a little sweetness to them). If you cannot find Meyers, no problem, pick up one or two tangerines or oranges to round out the flavor of the lemons.
Wash and dry your lemons (and oranges if needed) really well. Peel them, keep the skin in tact as much as possible. Take a sharp knife and cut or scrape all of the white pith away from the back of the skin (it helps if you peeled big pieces of skin). Now you can cut the skin with the pith removed into very tiny strips.
Place the skins of the six lemons into the bottle, add 1/3 cup of sugar, screw on the cap and shake vigorously. In fact, for the next three weeks, you should should shake the bottle each day. Keep the bottle in a cool, dark place for the next three weeks until the peels lose their color and the liquid looks like lemonade. Some people strain the liquid to remove the peels, but I leave them in the bottle.
Store in the freezer after the three weeks. This creates a syrupy limoncello that is excellent on the tongue before or after dinner. Keep in the freezer in between servings. If the bite is too much, you can always add more sugar at any time.
If you want to up the lemon flavor, you can always add candy lemon drops (Jolly Ranchers) work the best. Just don't tell my Italian grandparent or they will disown me.

Enjoy responsibly.

Pureed Cauliflower

2007-04-27T16:33:00.000-05:00

I first came across this dish over five years ago. The day after our wedding, we went to brunch and came across the velvety smooth side dish that none of us have ever heard about. Surprisingly, on our honeymoon to Australia, we saw pureed cauliflower everywhere. Although it still hasn't gained the much deserve exposure here in the States, it is a staple of our dinner. It is easy to make, healthy and can take on a ton of different flavors.

Here are the basics:

Bring a large sauce pot of salted water to a boil. Take a large head of fresh cauliflower and remove the stem and greens (my wife includes the greens, but I don't). Cut the head into florets (the smaller the better). Place the florets in the water until very tender, about 15 minutes. You can also use frozen cauliflower or steam the cauliflower florets.
Once tender, drain the water and place the tender cauliflower into your food processor. Turn food processor on high, spoon mixing every so often until the texture is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This is where it gets interesting because now you have a perfect side dish by itself or a base to include a ton more flavors. Some of my favorite include adding:

Roasted garlic, roasted red peppers and olive oil for an Italian fare.
Feta cheese, oregano and olive oil for Greek style.
Green onions (scallions), a splash of soy sauce and some sesame oil for Chinese style.
Basil, pine nuts, parmigiano-reggiano cheese for a pesto style.
Hot sauce, paprika and red pepper chili flakes for spicy version.
Lemongrass, ginger and lemon for Thai style.
Butter, sour cream and chives for mock, loaded baked potato version.
Cheddar cheese, milk and bread crumbs for an au gratin taste.

The options are endless. Basically, you can infuse any flavor you like into this cauliflower base. Believe it or not, pureed cauliflower tastes like the best mashed potatoes you have ever tasted. Best of all, it is a healthy veggie that even the kids will love. What are you going to put into your pureed cauliflower? Let me know!

Fly to Honduras for 8 cents

2007-04-26T17:36:00.000-05:00

This is no gimmick. For a limited time, you can fly non-stop from Ft. Lauderdale to Honduras on Spirit Air for $0.08 (taxes and airport fees not included). You must book soon because the promotion starts today and seats are limited.

You may be asking yourself, what am I going to do in Honduras? The good news is this diverse and friendly country has something for everybody. Would you enjoy sitting on the beaches of Roatan, reef diving, exploring Mayan ruins, deep sea fishing near the Bay Islands or soaking up the richly diverse Honduran culture?

Here is an amazing site, loaded with information on travelling to Honduras. For finding the perfect hotel, complete with traveler's reviews, and other useful knowledge, check out Tripadvisor. Lonely Planet also offers some practical tips and suggested travel itineraries.

Although I have never travelled to Honduras myself, I contacted my friends at Dreams Alive Travel (they can help you plan your trip, call 813-240-0946 to speak with one of their Central American travel experts) for some insights:

Bay Islands - this area includes the popular island of Roatan. Perfect for sun worshippers who love sugary soft sand beaches and terrific nearby dive sights.
Gracias - colonial mountain town with nearby Parque Celaque (the highest mountain in Honduras), featuring a wonderful cloud forest.
La Ceiba - the finest beaches of Honduras on Caribbean Sea. Daily ferries to Roatan leave from this coastal paradise.
Copan - located in Western Honduras, these beautiful ruins contain tons of pre-Columbian art and was home to a Mayan civilization over a thousand years ago.
Honduras is amazingly affordable, with many of the finest hotels costing around $100 a night. Some local treats include the "Plato tipico", a meal consisting of rice, beef, fried beans (frijolitos), and fried bananas (tajaditas). Other culinary delights include tacos, baleadas, and enchiladas. Don't forget to indulge in "licuados" -fruit juices and milk shakes, made with countries bounty of mango, pineapples, watermelon and banana.
While relaxing on the beach, sip on one of their national beers: Salvavida, Port Royal, Imperial or Barena. Perhaps even a cocktail made from the Nicaraguan rum called Flor de Cana.

Hope this helps. Let me know how your trip goes. Safe travels.

Stock to Gamble On: Element 21 Golf

2007-04-25T16:41:00.000-05:00

Rarely do I recommend individual stocks, let alone a penny stock company that isn't profitable. However, there are exceptions to every rule. With the Dow climbing over 13,000 it is becoming harder and harder to find "good deals". There are so many elements (no pun intended) to this company that excite me:

Element 21 golf clubs (e21) are produced using a proprietary metal alloy called scandium (originally developed for fighter jets and advanced aeronautics). It is almost perfectly balanced and provides less shock to golfers. Essentially, this company has created a better mousetrap and is probably the most innovative product to hit the golf market since titanium was introduced.
The management assembled to run this company is top notch. They recently added board members, CFOs and other top management positions with experts in their fields.
The publicity of this stock has been amazing. It has won numerous awards from golfing magazines, trade shows and even holds the Guinness Book of World Record for the longest drive. This was accomplished when a cosmonaut hit a golf ball with an e21 club from the International Space Station over Thanksgiving. I think the ball is still in orbit.
The PGA has approved this club for use in tournament play.
Just today, an independent lab proved the superior accuracy of e21 clubs over the three current top selling drivers.

These are all great things for the company, but what excites me the most is this company is selling for a price way below its 52 week high. I love buying things on sale. Element 21 recently shipped its clubs (in March) to retail stores nationwide. It is only a matter of time before the public and the pros start turning to these superior clubs. Hopefully, the stock price will rise as these clubs become the standard. Check out the financial information and recent news at Yahoo! Financial Site.

Disclaimer: This stock is extremely risky and may not suit your current investment strategy. Please perform your own due diligence before investing in any stock.

Eat Local & Organic

2007-04-24T20:38:00.000-05:00

I'm getting sick and tired of grocery shopping. The fruits and veggies aren't fresh and they have no flavor. Even worse, the food we buy isn't safe. One week we cannot buy spinach because of e. coli, the next week it is peanut butter and recently even the pets aren't safe. What are we polluting our bodies with?

I've been dismissing research and sensationalist journalism for years arguing the pesticides, fertilizers and hormones our foods are pumped full of are the cause behind illnesses ranging from autism, neurological disorder, allergies and even cancer. For me, "organic" was just a buzz word that allowed food companies to charge double the price of its chemical laden counterpart.

Fortunately, the great chefs of the world have changed my mind. You see, every great meal starts with great ingredients. Turn on the Food Network and you will hear chefs clamoring that they buy only fresh, local ingredients in season. You know what? I am going to do the same.

There are a lot of benefits to eating local & organic:

Organic farmers are good for our Earth. They practice sustainable agriculture, don't pollute our precious waterways and reduce our dependency on petroleum (used to make the chemicals and fertilizers used by traditional methods).
Support hard working families. I love supporting family businesses, as opposed to large, faceless corporations. What can be more satisfying than procuring your groceries from generations of farmers who feed their own families the same products you are feeding yours? It is amazing to meet and develop relationships with people who nourish your family with their own hands and hard work.
Meat, eggs and dairy from pastured animals is lower in calories and fat. It is higher in antioxidants (2-3x more Omega3s than grain fed animals) and "good" fats.

There are more options than ever for buying local, organic food. Many of the larger, chain grocery stores even have organic sections (although many of these stores are staffed with experts to help you find the best products). There are even grocery stores, like Whole Foods, Wild Oats and your local health food store that carry a huge variety and knowledge of natural and organic products.

There are also two great websites to help put you in touch directly with the farmers themselves. Most of the time, you visit the farm yourself. I highly recommend bringing the entire family and making a day out of it. You (and your kids) will learn so much and the farmers are often excited to tell you about the history of their family, their land and their bounty. The free samples don't hurt either. You will be amazed at how flavorful the fruits and veggies are. I almost forgot what strawberries really tasted like.

Eat Wild - This site is dedicated to grass fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, pork and dairy products. You can search by state for local farmers. Don't have room for a side of beef in your freezer? Get together a group of friends and family and split the bounty. Surprisingly, buying direct from the farm is MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE than grocery store prices.
Local Harvest - This is my favorite. Heirloom seeds, listing of farmer's markets, local farms, wools, honey, soaps, coffee, chocolate, etc. A ton of useful information. Check it out today. Again, you can search by location for those farms closest to you (many even deliver or ship their goods).

Earth Day or not, you should at least consider adding local and organic products to your grocery list. Not only are they healthier for you and your family, but they taste a lot better.

Reduce Your Debt Now

2007-04-23T15:36:00.000-05:00

All of us strive for financial freedom. I know new clothes, a fast car and luxurious vacations make us all feel good (albeit temporarily), but you know what feels even better? Not having to worry about living paycheck to paycheck and owing other people money. If you are carrying debt other than your mortgage or low interest student loans, please read below and act immediately.

Get organized. Get out a sheet of paper right now. Write down all of your credit cards, gas cards, department store charge cards, auto loans and any other debt you pay on a monthly basis. Record the interest rate for each one, the total amount owed and your monthly payment.
Pay off your highest interest rate debt first, even if this means paying the minimum amount on your other cards. You may even consider consolidating all of your credit card debt onto one low interest card. Check out creditcards.com. This is an awesome website that allows you to compare various offerings no matter what your credit situation is. By having all of your debt on one or two cards, you can better manage your debt (and your progress).
Freeze your spending, literally. If you have credit card debt, stop charging. The easiest way to do this is to grab a tupperware, place your credit cards in it, fill the tupperware with water and stick it in the freezer. If an emergency arises, you can always defrost it. If you think not using your credit card is impractical, think about impractical it is to keep racking up debt and getting further and further from your financial goals. Instead of credit card, use cash or your debit card and make sure to keep a spending journal. This entails writing down EVERYTHING you spend money on.
If your debt is really out of control, you may want to consider refinancing your home. I do not recommend taking on a second mortgage, but you may want to use existing equity in your home to pay off the higher interest rates you find on most credit cards. Plus, the interest on your mortgage may be tax deductible (consult your accountant).

Finally, the easiest way to get out of debt is to stop spending money. Forget about new clothes, vacations, expensive gifts, dining at restaurants, bar hopping and everything else. Instead, use the money you would've spend to reduce your debt. I guarantee you will feel much better about living debt free than any material possession.

A Dieter's Guide to Eating Out

2007-04-22T12:15:00.000-05:00

The Saturday nights I used to love, I now dread. You see, my family and I have a ritual of going to Church and dinner on Saturday nights. It sounds like a lot of fun, but eating out at restaurants while on a diet is like an alcoholic going to a wine tasting party. Here are some tips I have learned to reduce the temptation of overeating while eating out.

Sit far from the kitchen. The fad in restaurants these days is an open kitchen layout. Experts say the smell and sight of food can actually make you overeat.
Skip the bread. The first thing I tell the waiter/waitress when we sit down is to NOT bring the bread basket. Bread is a weakness of mine and I don't want the extra temptation of piping hot sourdough and butter a few inches from my face. My family doesn't need it either so we just do without.
Choose your drinks wisely. Skip the empty calories and the inflated cost of booze while eating out. I am a die hard foodie and love cocktails and pairing food with wine, but restaurants jack the price up so much the cost outweighs the benefit. Instead, drink water. In fact, the first thing I do is chug a glass of water with some fiber pills or Supreme Greens supplement. This is a great way to "fill" up naturally and with little to no calories. By the time your food comes, your stomach feels full and you will decrease your tendency to overeat.
Beware of Salads. A lot of dieters gravitate towards salads when eating out. Little do they know many times these choices are calorie laden (tomatoes, croutons, cheese, dressings are all loaded with calories). To combat this, skip the salad entrees. If you want a salad, get something with romaine, hearts of palm, celery, cucumbers, some carrots and get the a vinaigrette dressing on the side. Dip your fork in the dressing and then get a forkful of salad. This will limit the amount of dressing you use.
The restaurant & your waiter are there to please you. Don't be afraid to ask your server questions on how the food is prepared. Tell them you want your fish, chicken or steak grilled dry with no oil or butter. Ask them to steam your veggies. Instead of oil or butter, ask for additional herb seasoning or olive oil on the side. Olive oil is very healthy, but it has almost 100 calories per tablespoon. Get it on the side and dip your fork in it like it was dressing for your salad.
Doggie bags save you calories and money. The average restaurant meal has 60% more calories than its home cooked counterpart. The portions at restaurants, along with the prices, have exploded in the past five years. The easy way to combat the calories and the cost is to get a doggie bag. I ask the server up front for a box. When my food arrives, I cut everything in half and immediately put it in the box and give it to my wife. This way I get two meals for the price of one and haven't overeaten. Eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.
Instead of dessert, go for tea or coffee. Coffee and tea have no calories. Add all of the artificial sweetener and skim milk you want and you have a sweet, low calorie substitute for dessert. If you are still hungry when you get home, make some sugar free Jell-O or some ricotta mousse.

Remember, eating out is to enjoy the company of your partner, family and/or friends without the hassle of cooking or cleaning up. It isn't the time to stuff your face to try to get your money's worth. Don't be intimidated by eating out while on a diet. There is something for everybody. Enjoy yourself sensibly.

Tax Refunds are BAD for your Financial Health

2007-04-19T11:18:00.000-05:00

The sun is out, the sky is bright blue, the birds are chirping and everybody is feeling good. I assumed this overwhelming sense of joy in the faces of my co-workers was due to the beautiful spring weather, but on a second take I noticed many co-workers in new clothes talking about upcoming vacations, new furniture and even grand plans for a European vacation. Suddenly I realized it wasn't spring in the air, these suckers just got their TAX REFUND. I am perplexed by all of the people who are bragging and "high-fiving" over how big their tax refund is this year.

Hello, dummies. If you are getting a refund, you just gave Uncle Sam an interest free loan for an entire year! I don't even give my favorite brother a loan (with or without interest) and you are going to give some uncle you have never met a loan for over $2,000 without any interest? That's right, the average refund is about $2,400 this year. If you did get a refund this year, please run (do not walk) to your HR office and get a W-4 and change your witholding amount or get the form from IRS.org.

Since this is the last year you will be getting a big refund check, use the money wisely. The best thing to do is to save the money in a Roth IRA. You can contribute up to $4,000 per year and the money grows TAX FREE. You can always withdraw the contribution amount without penalty. Not everybody qualifies, so check with your accountant.

If you have credit card debt or car loan over 10%, please put your refund towards paying down this debt. It just doesn't make sense to continue paying high interest rates.

The absolute worst thing you can do with any refund money is to blow it on something frivolous or on things that will not make you money in the future. This means big screen T.V.s, cars, furniture, vacations, etc., etc., etc. are all out of the question. For many people, tax refunds are like a big bonus. You should use it wisely to get ahead in life. Good luck and make sure you change your witholdings today so next year you won't have to read this blog entry again.

Secret Rendezvous to Jamaica

2007-04-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

With the recent Nor'easter pounding much of the country with rain, wind and sometimes snow, it may be time to escape the cold and head south for some rest and relaxation. I came across an excellent deal from Couples Resort called Secret Rendezvous. It is especially good for those with a gambling spirit since you don't know which of the four different resorts in Jamaica you will be staying in until a week before your arrival. Not to worry though, because all of the resorts are top notch.

First, here are some details on this spectacular travel deal:

$162.50 per person per night from May 1-May 31.
$175 per person per night from April 1-April 30.
3 night minimum stay with run of the house accommodations.
Repeat guest benefits and other promotions may not be combined.

In case you don't know much about Couples resorts, here are some insights:

Luxury, all inclusive resorts for couples only (no screaming kids!).
Boutique style of hotel with high design, great food and premium offerings.
Gourmet meals, premium brand drinks, live entertainment, watersports, gratuities and taxes are all included in your low price.

Let's take a closer look at the four Couples resorts on Jamaica:

Couples Ocho Rios- 206 rooms over 19 acres, this resort combines Jamaican hospitality with the glamour of Hollywood in the 1950's. 5 restaurants, 4 bars, au naturel private island, horseback riding, excursions to Dunn's River Falls, glass bottom boat tours, unlimited golf, shuttle to Island Village & Margaritaville. The list goes on and on.
Couples Sans Souci- 148 rooms & suites over 35 acres near Ocho Rios, with four restaurants, in room dining and six bars. Like the other properties, everything is taken care of in your overall package, including all meals, snacks (including the mini-bar), premium brand cocktails and beverages, unlimited use of sports facilities, including equipment rental and instruction, waterskiing, recreational activities, hotel taxes and airport transfers from Montego Bay with no tipping.
Couples Swept Away- Located on Negril's famous 7 mile beach this peaceful resort offers everything, including a 10 acre sports and fitness center. Whether you enjoy relaxing on the stunning beach or in a yoga class, this resort has something for everybody. Feathers, the resorts fine dining restaurant, is consistently rated as Jamaica's best. Too bad for outsiders it is only available to guests of the resort.
Couples Negril- Carved into the landscape of Negril with chic swim up bars and in suite jacuzzis, you will vacation in the lap of luxury. If you want more than lounging by the pool, this resort offers a shuttle to Pirates Cove and shopping excursions to downtown Negril.

No matter which resort you end up in with this incredible deal, you will have the time of your life. As an added bonus, if you book your Couples vacation through Jonathan at Dreams Alive Travel (phone number 813-240-0946), you will receive a special gift for being a reader of the Yuppie Life Guide for Travel, Food, Wine & Health. Happy Vacation.

Leftover Chicken

2007-04-15T17:43:00.000-05:00

I love rotisserie chicken. Boston Market's original rotisserie chicken is good, Publix Supermarket's is even better. For about $7 (or $5 if your lucky enough to live around the corner from a great little Colombian restaurant), you get an entire chicken that has been marinated and rotated over open flames for hours. Peel off the skin and you have a protein packed super food with less 200 calories per 6 ounces. Although it is tempting to scarf down the entire bird, I have some great ideas and recipes on what to do with your chicken leftovers.

Before embarking on the recipes below, get your fingers dirty and pull off the skin and chicken off the bone. This is easy since it practically falls off.

Chicken Quesadillas- In a large, non-stick skillet over medium low heat, place a whole wheat tortilla in the dry pan. Layer on some shredded chicken, followed by low fat monterey jack cheese. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Place a second tortilla on top and press down with your hand (be careful not to burn yourself). Place a large plate (or heavy duty aluminum foil) over top of pan and flip it over. Return skillet to burner and slide the quesadilla back into the pan to cook other side for 2-3 minutes. Serve with guacamole and salsa. You can make an Italian version by using ricotta cheese instead of monterey jack and spaghetti sauce instead of salsa.
BBQ Chicken Pizza- Grab a whole wheat Boboli crust and place a thin layer of BBQ sauce (my favorite is Cattlemen's), shredded provolone cheese (Alpine Lace is a great low fat cheese) , chicken chunks, chopped green onions and flat leaf parsley. Place in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. You can also do this "no clean up style" on the grill by placing a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil and cooking for 12 minutes.
Chicken & White Bean Chili- This is super easy. Dice up a small white onion and a clove of garlic and saute in a tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat (you can add a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like some heat). Drop in your chicken, a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup and a can of white beans. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until hot.
Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps- This is an easy one. Finely chop your chicken until you have about 2 cups of chicken. Add 2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, olive oil, rice wine vinegar, chopped ginger, chopped garlic and chopped green onions. Mix well. Peel off entire leaves of iceberg or bibb (Boston) lettuce. Wash and pat dry with a paper towel. Spoon your chicken mixture onto the lettuce, roll it up and enjoy.
Chicken Florentine Frittata- This is just a fancy name for a chicken and spinach omelet. Omelets make great dinners when you don't have a lot of time or energy left after a hard day at work. Whisk four eggs, a pinch of salt and a dash of milk then drop in your chunks of chicken, set aside. Microwave a box of frozen spinach. In a non-stick skillet over medium heat spray some Pam, pour in the eggs, chicken and spinach. With a spatula, move the ingredients around until the eggs start to set. Cover the pan (if you don't have a cover, place aluminum foil tightly over the top (do not burn yourself) for 10 minutes to cook the frittata through. Flip frittata over on a plate (the bottom should be slightly browned), sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve. This dish also tastes great the next day cold.

There are so many things you can do with left over rotisserie chicken. It is great because it stays moist (unlike boneless chicken breasts you cook yourself) and pulls apart easily into tasty chunks to use in all sorts of recipes. Tomorrow on your way home from work, swing by and pick up a rotisserie chicken or two. Enjoy it straight up with a salad and a sweet potato. The rest of the week you can use your leftovers to make a quick meal and still not be tired of chicken by the end of the week.

Fast Food Restaurant's Healthy Options

2007-04-12T15:33:00.000-05:00

Eating healthy is hard enough, but given our fast paced lives, it is almost impossible. The key to eating well is planning and preparation. However, there are some days when we simply cannot avoid the quick fix of a fast food restaurant.
I recently stumbled upon a great blog on Yahoo! called Hungry Girl, including this great article on Top Ten Guilt Free Fast Food Finds. Print out this blog entry and keep it in your car, purse or even laminate a copy to keep in your wallet.
The good news is many fast food establishments have made recent changes to offer more and more healthy food options. In addition to eliminating trans fat (Wendy's was the first), the drink and side dishes have also gotten healthier (baked potatoes, fruit, bottled water, fat free milk, green tea, etc.). Some additional tips to keep your calorie count down while eating out include:

Be aware of the condiments, sauces and salad dressings. This is the easiest way to avoid extra calories. Skip the dressing (ask for lemons or lemon juice), sour cream and cheeses. Stick with mustard, vinegar and low calorie dressings.
Skip the bread, buns or rolls, especially those made with white flour. Instead, eat your burger without the bun (or stick between two pieces of lettuce), go with a whole wheat bread or even a wrap.
This may sound like common sense, but avoid super sizing meals, ordering double cheeseburgers, forget the fries and don't order soda.
A great substitute for those delicious fries is a baked potato. It isn't the healthiest option, but a baked potato with mustard will save you about 500 calories over a large french fry.
Skip the yogurt parfait with fruit and granola. These can have almost as many calories as a cheeseburger. Granola is loaded with calories and fat and the fruit is more of a fruit syrup. Instead, get fat free milk with the fruit cup (this is really fruit).

There are also fast food restaurants dedicated to healthy eating and more and more opening each day. Chipotle, a McDonald's franchise, offers healthy TexMex cuisine with many organic ingredients. YaYa's is a charbroiled chicken franchise that is excellent. Finally, Au Bon Pain has tons of healthy menu items (just make sure you can resist all of their great baked good). The great thing is most of the fast food chains have the nutritional information online so you know what you are getting into before you order. What are some of your favorite fast food menu items? Do you have any tips on how to eat healthy when eating out? I would love to hear your comments!

Burn Calories Without Exercise

2007-04-11T15:41:00.000-05:00

Want to know the secret formula for losing weight? The answer is to burn more calories than you consume. It is really that easy. Unfortunately for me (and many others), I love food. I love to cook, try new dishes and have no will power against tasty eats and drinks. Since diets do not really work me, I know the only other side to the weight loss equation is to burn more calories.

Here are some really great tips on how to burn more calories throughout the day without hitting the gym, running or exercising:

Forget the elevator, take the stairs. I work on the 6th floor of a mid-rise building and gave up elevators altogether. If you don't have to tackle any stairs throughout the day, eat part of your lunch, go for a brisk walk and then come back and finish your lunch.
Park your car far away. Whether you are going to work, the shopping mall or the grocery store, park your car in the furthest available spot. You will decrease your waistline and the number of dings on your car door.
Rearrange your furniture. This is a lot cheaper than hiring a decorator and a lot more fun. Aren't you curious to see how your chair, bed or armoire will look in another location? Maybe you want to make your home more feng shui. Moving your furniture around is a great workout and keeps things in your home fresh and exciting. Just remember to lift with your legs, not your back.
Get active while watching the Television. Are you a fan of "Dancing with the Stars"? Get up and try to replicate their dances (even if you don't have a partner, you can shadow dance). For those who are less adventurous, try doing push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, squats or running in place during the commercial breaks. Better yet, check out Sit and Be Fit. These exercises aren't just for seniors, so get a workout while sitting on your rump.
Start a garden. With the recent e coli scare in spinach, wouldn't you rather serve your family fruits and veggies that you grew yourself and know where they come from. Growing lettuces, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, squash and eggplants are easy and take up very little space. Many of these can even grow in containers.
Clean your kitchen and refrigerator. When was the last time you cleaned out your cupboards and fridge. Experts say your fridge should be scrubbed down every 60 days. What a great workout to lift all of those pans, kitchen appliances, canned goods and food and scrub your kitchen clean. You and your family will feel better. Besides, you can take unused kitchen appliances and sell them at a garage sale or donate them and canned goods to a local charity (local children's homes are always looking for kitchen items and canned goods).

There are tons of ways to burn more calories throughout the day: standing instead of sitting, chewing gum, making love, playing tag with your kids, walking up the escalator, drink ice cold water, eat spicy foods, tap your feet and fingers while driving, wash and wax your own car, etc., etc. Stay active and enjoy good food sensibly.

Best Time to Buy a Car

2007-04-10T07:52:00.000-05:00

My wife wants a new car so I finally convinced my brother, who works for a car dealership, to spill the beans on the secrets of car buying. In this first installment, we are exposing the best time to buy a car.

I hope by reading previous posts that you are in the market for a used car and not a new car. Please remember that buying a new car is one of the worst financial decisions you can make. New cars lose about 20% of their value the moment you drive it off the lot. Even if you are dead set on buying a new car, the tips below will help you pay less:

Time of the Year - Winter is the best time of year to buy a car. It is cold out and customers are either busy spending money on the holidays or still paying off their credit cards from the holidays. December may be the best month because many dealerships are eager to hit their annual goal by the end of the year (assuming their year end is December and not June).
Time of the Month - The last three days of the month are the best days to buy a car. Most dealerships are charged a monthly overhead fee for each car on the lot to cover car cleaning, insurance, etc. Sales managers and salesman are also eager to deal because they want to meet and exceed their monthly sales quota.
Time of the Week - Weekdays are the best days for car shopping. Friday night, Saturday and Sunday are the worst days because they are the busiest days. Go shopping on Monday or Tuesday, when dealers are the slowest. The salesperson will spend more time with you and be more anxious to sell a car (especially if they didn't have a good weekend).
Time of the Day - Go shopping at night. It is a lot easier in the negotiation battle when the salesperson and finance manager are tired from a long day of work and want to go home. They will be quicker to come to terms when their significant other is calling every fifteen minutes to find out when they will be home. Sounds bad, but you will get to best price a lot sooner.

In short, I guess the best day to buy a car in 2007 would be Monday, December 31st at 7pm. Happy car shopping.

Investing in Gold

2007-04-09T07:28:00.000-05:00

Is it too late to invest in gold? Many pundits think the SIX year rally in gold has come to end, while other think the recent stall in gold price is just a brief hiatus as gold continues to move on up. Let's take a look at some pros and cons of investing in gold.
PROS

Gold is a scarce commodity whose production is limited.
Demand for gold is increasing. Investment managers, central banks of the world and the rising middle class of India & China are all buying gold. The monsoon wedding season in India is a popular buying time for gold since it is used in marriages for dowry and adornments.
Gold is considered a safe haven and typically performs well during a time of turmoil. With continued unrest in the middle east, rising oil prices causing inflationary pressures and the declining value of the dollar, things aren't so rosy.

CONS

The price of gold is too expensive and most of the money has already been made.
Gold is too volatile for the average investor and doesn't provide the returns for the risk involved.
Buying gold out of fear of inflation is a bad bet since gold barely keeps pace with inflation.

No matter what the financial "experts" say, in my own opinion I believe having some investment in gold is important. As a benchmark, you should have between 5-10% of your savings in gold related stocks. Currently, I have 5% of my non-retirement savings in gold related stocks and another 5% of my retirement savings in gold related stocks. If you are interested, here are the different options for investing in gold:

Buy gold coins or bullion. This is easy to do. We have been buying gold coins (South African Krugerrand, Canadian Maple Leaf, Australian Kangaroo, etc.) for the birthdays of our God children in recent years. They are beautiful, interesting, portable and easy to save. We recommend Austin Coins.
Gold ETFs or Mutual Funds. There are two primary gold ETF (electronically traded funds) that imitate the rise and fall of a group of stocks, or in this case the value of the commodity of gold. The two ETF's ticker symbols are GLD and IAU. There is also a closed end fund called the Central Fund of Canada, ticker symbol CEF.
Gold mining stocks. These stocks may be more volatile than the commodity itself, but this also means the value of these stocks will increase faster if the value of gold rises. One of the most popular gold mining companies is Newmont Mining (NEM). Other mining companies include Goldcorp (GG), Nortern Orion (NTO) and Royal Gold (RGLD).

There are some great resources on the web where you can get more information to decide if investing in gold is right for you. I have included some sites below. Happy Investing.

Gold Stock Bull

USA Gold

Big Mike Blog

First Class to Europe for Coach Prices

2007-04-07T17:58:00.000-05:00

Most of the time, I try to write about helpful hints related to travel, food, wealth and health. However, sometimes I come across some travel deals that are just too attractive to keep a secret. This travel deal is a deal of a lifetime.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES IS OFFERING FIRST CLASS SERVICE TO EUROPE THIS SUMMER, STARTING AT $799 ONE WAY.

It is tough enough to find coach tickets to Europe for this price, let alone a first class ticket. This is such a value because first class tickets to Europe in the summertime can be as much as $7,000. Better yet, Continental's first class, entitled BusinessFirst has been the #1 rated international first class amongst all U.S. carriers by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine since 1998.

Here are some great features of Continental's BusinessFirst:

Access to Continental's concierges before and during your travel dates. These specially trained professionals assist with pre-boarding, greet connecting BusinessFirst customers at the gate and assist them through Customs.
Continental employs a Congress of Chefs & Sommeliers who provide some of the finest dining experiences above 30,000 feet.
BusinessFirst passengers get access to Continental's exclusive President's Club lounge or qualified affiliate lounges. At the lounge you can enjoy complimentary beverages, bar service, light snacks, agent assistance, hi-speed wireless internet access, local phone calls, newspapers and periodicals. All while relaxing in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.
The seats are amazing. One the Boeing 777, you 22 inch seat reclines to 170 degrees.
Continental's new audio/video on demand service is also available on many BusinessFirst international flights. This includes over 250 movies, 350 T.V. shows, 1,500 songs and 25 interactive games.

I have had the good fortune of flying in BusinessFirst on a couple of occasions and it is worth every penny. Remember the joy of travelling isn't just the destination, but the journey as well. Nothing starts your vacation off better than spending the first 7 hours in luxury (it sure beats being crammed in like cattle in the back). Below are some sample flights and prices for this exciting deal. Check the link above for restrictions (one of which is 60 days advance notice is required):

For travel beginning July 1, 2007 (July 10, 2007 for France):

One-way, round-trip purchase required:

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Belfast International, Northern Ireland (BFS)
$799

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Birmingham, England (BHX)
$799

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Bristol, England (BRS)
$799

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Brussels, Belgium (BRU)
$799

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Manchester, England (MAN)
$799

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Cologne, Germany (CGN)
$899

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)
$899

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Berlin, Germany (TXL)
$899

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Hamburg, Germany (HAM)
$899

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS)
$999

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Stockholm, Sweden, (ARN)
$999

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Paris, France (CDG)
$999

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Glasgow, Scotland (GLA)
$999

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
London, England (LGW)
$999

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Madrid, Spain (MAD)
$999

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Oslo, Norway (OSL)
$999

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Copenhagen, Denmark (CPH)
$1099

New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)
Milan, Italy (MXP)
$1099

Cleveland, OH (CLE)
London, England (LGW)
$1049

Houston, TX (IAH – Intercontinental)
London, England (LGW)
$1099

Houston, TX (IAH – Intercontinental)
Paris, France (CDG)
$1099

To get these sale fares:
Purchase your round trip ticket at least 60 days in advance.
Depart July 1 - September 4, 2007. Outbound travel to France is valid July 10 - August 25, 2007.
Include a Saturday-night stay. If departure date is a Saturday, stay at least seven days.
Complete all travel by September 6, 2007. Travel to Belgium and France must be completed by September 1, 2007.
Fare Rules:
Restrictions:
Fares are valid for travel from the contiguous 48 U.S. states to select Europe destinations.
Tickets must be purchased 60 days prior to departure. Other discount rates are available up until 30 days prior to departure.
Travel must originate in the U.S.
Round-trip travel is required.
Outbound travel is valid July 1 - Aug. 31, 2007, outbound travel to France is valid July 10 - Aug. 25, 2007.
A Saturday-night stay is required unless, if outbound departure date is on a Saturday, minimum stay is seven days.
No maximum stay applies.
All travel must be completed by Sept. 6, 2007. Travel to Belgium and France must be completed by Sept. 1, 2007
No restricted travel dates apply.
Stopovers are not permitted.
Fares are valid for travel on Continental and Continental Express only.
Codeshare flights are not permitted.
Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights or in all markets.
Tickets are nonrefundable and nontransferable.
Changes are permitted for $300 plus applicable fare difference for return flights only, provided fare restrictions are met.
All changes must be made prior to departure or the ticket has no value.
Fare basis code RR2SIE.
Taxes/Fees:Quoted fares include all base fare and surcharges and 7.5% U.S. Excise Tax, if applicable.
Quoted fare does not include the following taxes, fees and charges that may apply to your travel itinerary:
U.S. Excise Tax of $14.50 for each international arrival and departure in the U.S.
Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) of up to $18 per round trip.
Sept. 11 Security Fees of up to $5 each way and $10 per roundtrip.
Each arrival in the U.S. is subject to U.S. inspection fees of up to $17.
Non-U.S. government ticket taxes, fees and airport charges may add up to $160 per ticket.
A $50 fee will be charged for paper tickets issued by Continental.
Fares are subject to change without notice. Continental Express flights are operated by ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. or Chautauqua Airlines.

Organize your Kitchen to Lose Weight

2007-04-05T12:26:00.000-05:00

To be successful at achieving your goals, you need to be organized, create a plan and execute the plan. If losing weight or just staying healthy is one of your goals, you need to follow the same recipe. Today we are going to attack your kitchen and organize it to help you avoid the ever present food temptations that lurk in your cabinets, refrigerator and pantry.

Organization

Always keep your healthy food options towards the front of the pantry and refrigerator at EYE LEVEL. You will naturally gravitate towards these foods since it is the first item you will see.
On the flip side, place your poor food choice items in hard to reach places in the pantry and refrigerator. This includes the top and bottom shelves and in the very rear of the pantry and fridge/freezer.
Keep your healthiest choices directly on the coutertop. This includes a big bowl of fruit on the counter. Also, forget those drawers in your fridge. Instead, keep the veggies in plain view by putting them in Ziploc bags on a shelf at eye level in the fridge.

Plan

Make a grocery list and fill it with healthy foods. This will put an end to walking each aisle and buying the wrong foods. Fill your list with healthy fats (olive oil), whole wheat products (pasta, bread, grains, oatmeal), lean meats (chicken, turkey, fish and some pork), veggies and fruits. Once you make your grocery list, scan the newspaper to see if any coupons match your list (not vice versa, because you will buy things you don't need).
Always keep healthy food options available, especially "healthy" desserts like sugar free Jello, sugar free pudding, ricotta cheese, fruit (even light canned fruits in their own juices) and single serving frozen treats (I love the Weight Watchers Giant Fudge Bars). NOTE: Every successful diet should allow some dessert or treat to prevent binge eating. Just remember to keep track of your calories and reduce your intake accordingly to accommodate a treat.
Designate your dining room table as your ONLY eating area. This prevents you from grazing in the kitchen, sitting in front of the T.V. munching mindlessly and taking a bowl of ice cream to bed with you.

Execute

The first step in eating right is portion control. Grab the dreaded food scale & measuring cups. The second you get home from the store, break down your groceries into the appropriate serving sizes. It take a little effort at first, but in just a week or two you will begin to really know what the CORRECT serving size should be. As a rule of thumb, one serving of lean meat is equal in size to a deck of playing cards.
Make cooking healthy food easy. Always marinade your lean meats for maximum flavor instead of pan frying in butter or vegetable oil to make them taste good. Make double portions of your meals so you have lunch for tomorrow (after cooking immediately put the leftovers in fiber keeps you full.

What are some things you have done to your kitchen to help you meet your weight loss goals?

Easter Dinner, Greek Style

2007-04-03T12:03:00.000-05:00

This year a rare occurrence happens. Both the Christian Easter and the Greek Orthodox Easter coincide. In celebration of this monumental event let's take a look at some traditional Greek Easter delights:

Greek Lamb
Ingredients: 2 heads of garlic, 6 tablespoons of fresh oregano, 6 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, 3 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, 1 cup of olive oil and a 6-8 pound leg of lamb. Hint: if you don't care for lamb, you can substitute a pork tenderloin, whole chicken or whole red snapper.

Take all of the ingredients (except for the olive oil & lamb) and place in Cuisinart. Pulse the food processor while slowly adding the olive oil until a loose paste is formed.
Score the leg of lamb with a small pairing knife and smear HALF of the paste all over the lamb, make sure to push it into all of the crevices and scores. NOTE: take the other half of your paste and cover airtight and place in refrigerator. You will use this to make the Greek style potatoes below.
Cover lamb and place in refrigerator to marinade overnight.
Remove lamb from refrigerator and preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a shallow roasting pan, cook the lamb for 1.5 hours on your oven's lower rack at 325 degrees or until a meat thermometer reads 145 degrees when inserted into thickest portion of lamb.
Once cooked, remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes under foil until ready to slice and serve.

Greek Potatoes

Ingredients: 8 large Yukon gold potatoes and remaining half of the unused paste you made for the lamb marinade.

Peel and quarter the potatoes.
Toss the potatoes in the remaining half of the marinade (add additional olive oil if necessary). The potatoes should be well coated.
Spread potatoes out on a large cookie sheet and cook with the lamb on your oven's upper racks at 325 degrees for 1 and a half hours.

Spinach with Feta

Ingredients: 4 pounds of stemmed spinach (preferably fresh, but frozen can be used), whole onion diced, 6 garlic cloves diced, 1 pound of feta crumble and 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

In a large saute pan, cook the onions and garlic over medium heat until onions are translucent.
Add the spinach and saute until tender. Remove from heat and put on serving plate.
Crumble feta over the top of the spinach and serve.

Some other great Greek side dishes for Easter include:

Orzo with golden raisins and pine nuts (cook according to directions on package, adding the raisins and nuts right before you cover the orzo to simmer).
Roasted zucchini and summer squash that have been tossed with oregano, olive oil and lemon. Cook at 400 degrees for 25 minutes until veggies are tender.

Don't forget to pair you wonderful with Easter meal with a great wine like the Turkey Flat Shiraz. Happy Easter.

Hidden Gem: Canouan Island in the Grenadines

2007-04-02T10:17:00.000-05:00

Looking for that perfect escape away from the world, but don't want to sacrifice luxury for solitude? The beautifully small island of Canouan, only three square miles in size and located 110 miles from Barbados, may be your best bet.

Getting to Canouan

American Airlines offers daily flights from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
From U.S. & Canada-Several airlines also offer direct service through Barbados. This includes Air Canada, Air Jamaica, American, Continental, Delta, US Airways & BWIA.
From Europe- Air France, Corsair & Air Caraibes offers service from Paris, France to Forte de France where Take Airlines or private charter will take you to Canouan.
Air limousine service is also available from the hotels, who offer short flights (about 30 minutes) from Barbados, St. Lucia, Martinique and Grenada.
By boat- Canouan and the Grenadines are a haven for boaters. The Grand Bay, close to the Tamarind Beach Hotel, offers anchors and buoys. Private charters are also available from The Moorings.

Accommodations

Raffles Resort- This five star luxury resort is located on over 200 acres and features many hidden coves and beaches. Better yet, it is home to the world famous Amrita Spa. Here is a link to personal reviews from Trip Advisor.
Tamarind Beach Hotel & Yacht Club- This little piece of paradise has only 40 rooms and eight suites. It is an Italian managed hotel situated right on the water's edge with incredible balconies overlooking the turquoise sea. Here is a link to personal reviews from Trip Advisor.
Trump Island Villas- Need a little more room? Perhaps you want to extend your vacation into a relocation. Trump Island Villas feature 1 to 4 bedroom homes (many for sale), climbing up the hillside to offer fantastic views for all. Some even feature private swimming pools. It also has a casino and a Jim Fazio designed golf course.

Restaurants

For seafood, head to The Hilltop Restaurant
On Tuesdays & Thursdays, Casa del Mar features an amazing oceanfront BBQ feast.
For fine dining, check out La Piazza for European fare and La Varrene, which is located next to the Trump Casino.

Activities

Water sports abound with options for sailing, kayaking, snorkeling and scuba diving.
Best beach can be found at Mahault Beach. Another great beach for views is South Glossy Beach.
Golf, Tennis, Volleyball and a variety of other sports are all close by.
For great views, head up to Cherry Hill.

Should you need any help booking your next vacation to Canouan or any other tropical paradise, contact Jonathan, Dreams Alive Travel's Caribbean Expert, at 813-240-0946. Happy Travels.

Travel First Aid Kit

2007-04-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

With the airlines having more restrictions than Sanjaya has hairstyles, it is becoming harder and harder to pack for your travels. Yesterday I wrote about first aid kits for your home. Today, I am going to help you pack the right first aid kit for your trips. Since accidents and emergencies can happen anywhere and at anytime, being prepared can be all the difference.

Here are some of the things you should take with you on every trip:

Personal Medication (make sure you have enough for the length of your trip PLUS 50%). IMPORTANT: Remember to keep the pills in your prescription bottles!
Cold & Allergy Remedies (antiseptic throat lozenges, nasal decongestant spray, cold & flu medication)
Heartburn/Stomach (anti-diarrheal, antacid tablets, Pepto-Bismol, etc.)
General Pain Relievers (Ibuprofen, aspirin, etc.)
Ointment/Creams (hydrocortisone cream, aloe vera, hand sanitizer, sunblock, burn gel, petroleum jelly)
Sleep medication or Melatonin drops
Eyeshade, face mask and earplugs
Motion sickness tablets
Allergy Medicine (Benadryl, EpiPen, Claritin, etc.)
Insects (repellent with 50% deet, insecticide, insect bite treatment)
Band-Aids, nonstick and spray on bandages
Antiseptic wipes
Thermometer

When travelling with kids and infants here are some further recommendations:

Children doses for pain, allergies, antihistamine, malarial (if needed).
Sterilizing tablets for bottles and pacifiers.
Plastic sheeting (for changing, playing, etc.)
Eardrops

Remember to put all of these items in clear plastic ziploc bags. All liquids must be 3 ounces or less to comply with current airline regulations. You should pack these medicines in your carry-on bag (you will have to remove the clear plastic bag to go through security so pack it on top).

Unfortunately, packing this little survival kit isn't enough. You should also consider visiting a travel clinic before any extended trips abroad (or if you are travelling to a remote or "third world" location). The doctors at these clinics are experts and will provide information on health risks, preventative advice and treatment options related to your travel destination. They should also inform you of any vaccines you will need and referrals for local doctors or medical support. You can begin your search for a travel clinic near you by visiting the websites of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH). You can also see if your primary care physician has a recommendation.

Certain destinations, like Africa, require even more attention for your trip to be a safe and health one. Check out this link for more information on Africa: Africa for Visitors.

I hope your travels are healthy and safe. Happy Travels.

First Aid Kit for Your Home

2007-03-31T12:15:00.000-05:00

After breaking my leg on a recent ski trip, I came home to realize that our medicine cabinet consisted of some Tylenol, oddly shaped band aids and an expired tube of Neosporin. Not exactly the items you want should sickness (or tragedy) strike in your home.
I searched online for some all-in-one kits, but found them really expensive and not all inclusive. However, the best site I found was First Aid Supply, so if you don't have the time to assemble one yourself, check out their huge selection.
Before listing all of the things your home first aid kit should have, let's talk some basics:

Container- The first aid kit should be lightweight, portable and organized. Some suggestions for suitable containers include fishing tackle box, ice cooler, travel dopp kit/make-up bag. You can also use Ziploc bags to further organize the contents.
Location- Make sure your first aid kit is in a convenient location, but out of children's reach. Some suggestions would be the top of your refrigerator, linen closet, kitchen cabinet or laundry room.
More than Just Medicine- Your first aid kit should be more than just band-aids and aloe. Include such things as emergency contact numbers, poison control number, allergies for all family members, dates of last immunization shots, number and directions to closest emergency room and any other life saving information (CPR instructions, Heimlich maneuver, etc.).

Now that you have something and somewhere to place your home's first aid kit, below are some items that should be in it:

Cold & Allergy Remedies (antiseptic throat lozenges, nasal decongestant spray, cold & flu medication)
Heartburn/Stomach (anti-diarrheal, antacid tablets, Pepto-Bismol, etc.)
General Pain Relievers (Ibuprofen, aspirin, etc.)
Ointment/Creams (hydrocortisone cream, aloe vera, hand sanitizer, sunblock, burn gel)
Antibiotics (amoxicillin)
Allergy Medicine (Benadryl, EpiPen, Claritin, etc.)
Eyes & Ears (antibiotic ear & eye drops, eye bandages, sterile eyewash, gel eyedrops, cotton swabs, earplugs)
Insects (repellent with 50% deet, insecticide, insect bite treatment)
Bandages (Band-aids, nonstick dressings, blister dressings, antiseptic wipes, ace bandage, steri-strips, sutures, needles and needle holders, syringes, surgical blades, triangular bandage and anesthetic)
Tools (thermometers, scissors, flashlight, emergency/"space" blanket, instant acting cold packs and non-latex surgical gloves).

This may sound like you need a suitcase instead of a tackle box to keep all of these items, but the truth is most of these items aren't bulky and you only need limited quantities. I suggest buying travel size or small quantity for most of these items (especially the medicines because they expire). Besides, all of these items will ensure you are well prepared in case of an emergency.

Here is a link to some great books on how to administer first aid in your home:

FIRST AID BOOKS ON AMAZON

Understanding Sake

2007-03-30T08:01:00.000-05:00

During the Lenten season, our family doesn't eat meat on Friday. This is a great excuse to indulge in one of our favorite foods: sushi. As I dreamed of little bites of unagi and toro, my mouth watered and mind wondered to that amazing nectar that is commonly associated with sushi. That nectar is sake. However, for most people, navigating the delicious world of sake can be a daunting task. By definition, "sake" means alcoholic beverage and there are so many different varieties and styles that shopping for the perfect bottle can be overwhelming. Although most people refer to sake as rice wine, it is actually brewed like beer and the process for making this nectar is often more complicated and complex than wine.

Here are some helpful hints regarding sake:

Forget the hot stuff. Sake that is served hot is often boiled to hide impurities. Premium sakes are served chilled.
It's all about the rice. The quality of rice is crucial for good sake. As more and more of the outer rice shell is milled away, the better quality of the sake. Honjozo is the bottom of the premium market with 30% of the outer shell of the rice removed. Ginjo sake removes 40% and Daiginjo removes the most with at least 50-65% of the outer shell removed.
Smell the sake. Just like wine, you should appreciate the aromatics of sake. The scents tend to be more earthy than wine and vary from lemon zest, cedar, pepper to spring flowers.
Pairing sake with food. This may be a little tough to navigate as a novice, but as you drink more and more sake, it will become second nature. Pair your light, clean and citrus sakes with sushi, shellfish and seafood. Earthier sakes go great with noodle bowls, vegetable, mushroom and beef dishes. The sweeter sakes pair nicely with poultry dishes, especially duck.
Drink the bottle the day it is opened. Some people say you can store the sake for a week in the refrigerator, but it loses its qualities pretty fast. Drink it the same day for maximum flavor.

Sake has a slightly more "alcohol" taste on the tongue than wine with a fabulous sweet-sour aftertaste. It is typically served in small wooden or ceramic cups, but serving sake in white wine glasses is perfectly acceptable. Japanese tradition suggests that you pour sake for others and the gesture will be returned to you. Want to know more about sake? I have listed some great resources on the web for you below. Happy Drinking!

Websites:

www.esake.com

www.sake-world.com

www.00sake.com

Diversification May Be Hazardous to Your Financial Health

2007-03-29T19:43:00.000-05:00

For the longest time financial pundits have espoused the benefits of diversification. They even have financial calculators that tell you what your mix of stocks, bonds and cash should be depending on your age. Recently though I came across and interesting statistic from Morningstar:

17% of all stocks tripled in value during the last five years, but just 1% of all mutual funds matched that performance.

Now I am not suggesting you take a dart and blindly throw it at the business section's stock listings, but I am urging you to take the time to re-balance (or completely overhaul) your stock portfolio. Here are some tips to maximize your stock returns:

Find the best public companies that you are personally interested in or understand.
Make sure they have a top notch management team that has a significant stake in the company and are buying (not selling) the company's stock.
The company should be growing and be in a growth industry with lots of market potential.

These tips may seem vastly generalized, but they are for a reason and not every public company will fit these criteria. The purpose of the list above is to provide you with a guideline for screening a dozen or so stocks for the best of the best. This isn't a new strategy by any means. As a matter of fact the world's second richest man, Warren Buffett, avoids diversification by owning a few companies that he knows and understands.

Here is a list of companies that I am currently looking at:

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Target (TGT), 3M (MMM), Garmin (GRMN), FedEx (FDX), Citigroup (C), Centex (CTX), MetLife (MET)

Why buy a bunch of average stocks when the only outcome is going to be average returns? I still believe in having your money in different investment classes (a mixture of stocks, bonds, cash, real estate, gold, etc.). It just doesn't make sense to own 20 individual stocks that you know nothing about and cannot keep up with on a regular basis. Happy Investing!

Everything You Need to Know About Restaurants

2007-03-27T16:50:00.000-05:00

There are over 200,000 table side restaurants in the U.S. With our fast paced lifestyles, these restaurants are becoming a larger part of our daily routine. The good news is restaurants have made big strides in recent years to provide us with healthier menu options. The bad news is I am about to take you on a journey behind the scenes of your favorite restaurants.

Never eat out on Mondays. I know the last thing you want to do on Monday, after starting another grueling work week, is to cook at home. Would it make you feel any better that most restaurants on Monday are using food left over from Saturday (or even earlier)? You see restaurants always use the oldest ingredients first, not the stuff delivered fresh on Monday morning.
Eating out can be hazardous to your health. Many restaurant workers are often hourly employees who make near minimum wages. Missing a shift can mean financial disaster for many of them, so they all work sick. Check inspection results and health department info for your favorite restaurants. Otherwise, the quick and easy way is to look at the bathroom. If it is clean, the rest of the place is probably clean too.
Selling food makes the place money, but booze makes it rich. Food costs only average 40% of the menu price, but wine and liquor typically sells for 2-3 times the retail price. Restaurants often list their biggest money makers first and bury the good "value" options in the middle of the menu. To avoid the inflated prices on bottles of wine, ask the receptionist when making your reservation if you can BYOB. Many places allow this for a small corkage fee. If they refuse at first, tell them you have a special bottle you would like to bring that you believe will pair perfectly with one of their menu items (make sure you know their menu first and don't bring a bottle the restaurant already has in their cellar).
Menu items that sound healthy, may not be so healthy. Restaurant meals average almost 1,500 calories. The reason for all of the calories.....BUTTER. Just because you order fish and veggies doesn't mean both weren't swimming in butter before they were plated. Don't be afraid to speak up and tell your waiter your dining preferences. If something is fried, ask for it to be grilled. Ask for the veggies to be steamed and get some olive oil on the side. You will not offend the chef, since their goal is to make sure you are satisfied and return to the restaurant.

This is just a primer for surviving the eating out game. In future posts, I will give you some more helpful hints on eating healthier at restaurants. In the meantime, have a cocktail before you go out and enjoy the bottle of wine when you come home. For me, I cannot justify paying $80 for a bottle of DeLoach Pinot Noir that I can buy next door for $25. Happy Dining.

Your Workout Deserves a Personal Trainer

2007-03-26T16:13:00.000-05:00

I don't care how long you have been working out, you (and your workout) deserves a personal trainer. They aren't as expensive as you think (on average they cost $50 per hour, but can range from $15 to over $100 per hour). No matter what the price tag though, you cannot afford NOT to have a personal trainer on your side. Here are a couple of reasons why you should be working out with a personal trainer:

A personal trainer forces you to answer to somebody other than yourself. Plus, it makes it easier to get to the gym when you actually have an appointment.
You will finally learn the correct way to use the machines and weights around the gym. Believe it or not, over 70% use gym equipment incorrectly. This translates into not maximizing your reps or, even worse, injury to your precious joints and tendons.
Even if you are a seasoned gym rat, personal trainers can take your workout and your body to a different level. They have the knowledge and experience to help you create new, exciting and challenging routines. Heck, they can even make working out fun.

Enough about all of the benefits of having a personal trainer, here are some tips on finding the RIGHT personal trainer for you:

Check their credentials. It seems like there are dozens of organizations that "certify" trainers. However, the two most established and reputable may be the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Strength Conditioning Association.
Interview Potential Trainers. Ask them what their career goals are. Many of them are part timers on their way to another career. Ask about their educational background. Are they trained in CPR? Find out if they have any specialities (sports injuries, geriatrics, obesity, depression) or additional licensing/certification (dietitian, nutritionist). Finally, what do they look like physically? They do not have to be muscle bound, but should be fit and should dress professionally. Don't be afraid to ask for a complimentary initial consultation or session. After all, you wouldn't buy a car without test driving one first.
Get References and Referrals. Ask your friends, co-workers or neighbors for recommendations. Once you have interviewed a few trainers, ask them for the names and phone numbers of current and PAST clients that you can call. Ask the current and former clients about the trainer's style, if goals were set and why they didn't continue working out with this trainer (if they are former clients).

No matter what your goals or motivations are for working out, adding a personal trainer is a key step to living a healthier life. The price to pay for a personal trainer is small in comparison to the gains you will soon see.

Selling Your House in a Slow Market

2007-03-25T16:22:00.000-05:00

In today's slow real estate market, sellers need to take extra steps to get the most money for their homes. The average number of days a home is on the market is 40% higher today than last year. Ouch. Not to fear. Listed below are some insider tips and tricks to sell your home today at the highest possible price.

If your home has already been sitting on the market for over 100 days, try removing it from MLS (Multiple Listing Service) for a week or two and then re-list it. It will "appear" new to buyers and other real estate agents since the "Days on Market" number will be restarted.
Another trick if your home is already up for sale is to lower the price, even just by $10. Everytime your agent updates your listing, a blast email is sent to all agents who have buyers with criteria that fit your home's description.
With more and more potential buyers performing due diligence on the internet, make sure your home's electronic flyers and listings are PERFECT. This means lots and lots of great photos. The photos should be of clean, well lit rooms. Photos are the first impression many buyers have this day, so make sure the buyers have a great first impression.
Have a virtual tour of your home done. It is cheap and easy and gives buyers a better feel for your home than just pictures.
Make sure your home is easy to show. Despite the slowdown, real estate agent and buyers are busy. Avoid restrictions like 24 hour notice, listing agent must accompany or appointment only.
Offer buyer incentives. This may include prepaid homeowner's association dues for a year, a home warranty or even assistance with closing costs. Anything to set apart your home from the rest.
Expand your marketing beyond MLS. Try craiglist, your local Sunday paper's classified section, specialty home magazines and any other print material (especially neighborhood newsletters).

Even if you are not actively selling your house right now, the home valuation website phenomenon know as Zillow has a great new feature called, "Make Me Move." Basically, you put in the price you would sell your home for. Of course it is non-binding, but allows interested parties to make you an offer.

Best Website for Airline Tickets

2007-03-23T14:56:00.000-05:00

I rarely use the word "best" or "greatest". Superlatives just aren't my thing. However, I recently came across this website for domestic airfares that has earned a place in my favorites list (dethroning my previous site Kayak). Drum roll please......

The website is Farecast. This site offers a service for only $9.95 that guarantees the fare of the airfare ticket for one week (or they will pay the difference). If the ticket price drops, you can still get it at the lower price. They even send you an email everyday with a price update. The only catch is not every flight is eligible for the price guarantee. This is the only site I know of that will put an end to those frustrating travel planning days when you find a great fare only to go back later that day to book it and the price has gone up by $100.

Wait a second. This site gets even better. Farecast also allows you to choose your departure city and see the cheapest flights to anywhere in the U.S. Another option is to choose a destination and see the cheapest fares over the next 30 days. Absolutely incredible. You have to check the site out yourself to fully appreciate all of the features it offers. Happy Travels.

Lose Weight by Listening to Your IPod/MP3 Player

2007-03-22T14:38:00.000-05:00

Whether you are doing cardio, lifting weights or aerobic exercise, listening to music can actually improve your workouts. Despite contradictory studies of the past, most researchers now agree the tempo of music you listen to will correlate directly with the tempo of your workout.

There are so many websites and discussions on the web for the best workout music, but here are a few of my favorite websites to buy music to pump up your workout:

Power Music- No matter what your music preference is, this is THE place for those great mixed CDs you hear in every aerobics class or gym. Everything from Power Pilates CD, to Rap-n-Step, to the high tempo Desperate Hot Wives (my favorite)
Cardio Coach- This is more than just music. These are guided workouts for any MP3 player and any exercise machine. It features incredible music, personal coaching and motivation.

If you are a runner, not to fear. We have a growing number of resources on the web to maximize our runs. There is a growing trend in the running world to match your stride with the beat and tempo of the music you are listening to. However, I have struggled to create the best playlist, filled with songs with the right beats per minute, for my cadence. Fortunately, there is a great site called JogTunes. Better yet, the creators of Jog Tunes also have a blog called Music Paced Running. Check it out today and you will see more productive and more enjoyable runs immediately.

There are even a couple of companies profiting off the mix of running and music. Nike and Apple have paired up to create a sport kit. You can even create a virtual locker room where you can track your progress. This is a great tool that tracks your pace, distance, time and calories burned. You can even access your POWER SONG at any time to give you that needed boost.

Don't like wires or carrying an MP3 player while you run? Check out DaDa. These shoes have the MP3 player built into the heel and tongue of the shoes, hold 100 songs, has a 6 hour battery life and best of all, wireless headphone that work up to 30 feet away. The shoes have a USB port on the side of the shoe that allows you to "operate" the shoes. And they look really cool too.

Here are some of my favorite workout/running songs:

Sabotage by Beastie Boys
Mr. Brightside by The Killers (150 bpm)
Enter Sandman by Metallica
Temperature by Sean Paul
Gold Digger by Kanye West

What are your favorite songs?

Tax Time Tips

2007-03-21T14:17:00.000-05:00

Only 27 days until your taxes must be filed. Surprisingly, over a third of all taxpayers wait until April to submit their tax returns. If you are one of these late bloomers, here are some helpful hints:

Get some help- consider hiring a professional this year to prepare your taxes. Whether its your local H&R Block branch, certified tax professional or the plethora of software help (TurboTax, TaxBrain, Tax Cut). If you do hire a local tax preparer, get references from family and friends and double check those references with the Better Business Bureau. HELPFUL HINT: If possible, file an extension on your tax return and go see your tax professional in May, after the rush. You may get better service and a reduced fee.
Phone error in your favor- thanks to the phone companies screwing up the collection of taxes last year, EVERYBODY (even if you don't have a phone) is entitled to a $30 refund (if you claim one exemption) and $10 for each additional exemption (up to $60).
Reduce your taxes by reducing your waistline- If your doctor prescribed that you join a weight loss program (Weight Watchers,Jenny Craig, etc.) you can deduct the cost of membership in that program and/or your gym membership. But note that is only if your doctor says that you must do it because you need to control your weight in order to treat heart disease, hypertension or another ailment (including obesity). You'll need to have a statement from your doctor to show to the IRS in case of an audit.
Don't spend your refund, SAVE IT- Did you know the average refund is over $2,500. Instead of wasting this money, save it---automatically. Starting this year, the IRS will allow you to deposit your refund in up to three different accounts, including your IRA account! All you need is your account and routing number (call your broker or mutual fund if you don't have this info).

With these tips, I hope you will stop procrastinating and get your taxes filed. Stay tuned because in the next couple of weeks, I am going to show you how to organize your information so next year's taxes will be a breeze. Until then, take care.

The $1 Million Bottle of Tequila

2007-03-20T11:58:00.000-05:00

As competition stiffens amongst producers of super premium liquors and spirits, the packages they come in have become more and more outrageous. Recently, the Guinness Book of World Records declared the most expensive bottle of liquor ever sold when a bottle of Tequila Ley .925 was sold in Mexico City for $225,000. It wasn't the nectar inside, Passion Azteca tequila, that warranted the astronomic price, but the 4.5 pounds of gold and platinum that the bottle was encased in. Tequila Ley is hoping to break the $1 million dollar mark by selling the same tequila in a diamond encrusted bottle. Here are some more amazing spirits with equally impressive bottles:

$6,000 for Louis XIII Diamant "Edition Precieuse" with a large diamond in the center of the decanter.
$5,500 for Hennessy Ellipse in handmade Baccarat decanters (only 2,000 were made).
$4,000 for Martell L'Art de Martell in a decanter designed by French glassmaker Daum.
Wyborowa Vodka's single estate bottle is designed by Frank Gehry and includes a shot glass in the shape of an ice cube that fits over the top.

I have included some really great websites below about liquors and spirits. There are so many great super-premium spirits out there, give them all a try. Happy Drinking.

LINKS:

Wine & Spirits Daily

Drink of the Week

Slash Food's Liquor Cabinet

Luxist's Spirits

Ireland on Sale

2007-03-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, it appears Ireland is on sale. This Emerald Isle has gone through quite a renaissance in the past decade as its economy has grown leaps and bounds thanks to a burgeoning technology sector. Here are some great reasons to visit Ireland:

Ireland is so close to NYC and Boston (the hub for many international departures to Europe), that flying time can be half that of many mainland European destinations.
There is no language barrier in Ireland since everybody speaks English.
The Irish culture is rich in song, dance, myths and legends.
There are activities for everybody, including castle tours, golfing, culinary pursuits, scenic drives and culturally rich cities & towns.

Even better, you can spend 8 days the Spring in a customized journey around Ireland for about $2,000 per person, based on double occupancy. This luxury vacation includes:

Roundtrip airfare on Aer Lingus from NYC, Boston, Chicago or L.A. (other gateways may incur a surcharge).
6 nights accommodation in first class country houses or hotels (these are Ireland's finest properties, many are 5 star rated). Some of the choices may include: Adare Manor, Glin Castle, Dunbrody Country House or Ballymaloe House.
Full Irish breakfast daily.
3 gourmet dinners.
Car rental with automatic transmission.
Detailed driving directions.
Option for chauffeur driven car.

Call Jonathan at Dreams Alive Travel today at 813-240-0946 today for more information. Special pricing is available for readers of yuppielifeguide.com, so make sure to mention this post when booking. Make sure to post a comment when you return so I can share your experiences with others. Happy Travels.

Putting "Family" back into Dinner

2007-03-18T18:51:00.000-05:00

Remember the good 'ole days of the family dinner when mom, dad, brother and sister gathered around the table and enjoyed a home cooked meal altogether? In today's high paced life of work, extracurricular activities and fast food, who has time to share a meal with loved ones at a preset time and date? The answer is YOU do and I am going to give you some help in bringing back the family dinner.

First, here are some ways to get the whole family interested and excited in participating in a family dinner:

Start off slow. Pick one night a week at a preset time. If there is a scheduling conflict, like tryouts for little league, make the night a family event. Everybody will go to the tryouts and then have dinner together afterwards.
Take turns letting different family members choose the menu. If they have no ideas, give them options or ask them what their favorite meal was at a restaurant and try to recreate it.
Assign different roles for each family member in the preparation (and cleaning up) of the meal. If you have a "trouble eater" who refuses to eat veggies, have them snap the beans or puree the cauliflower. More than likely, if they helped prepare the veggie, they will want to eat it.
Take turns allowing your children to invite a friend or relative to the family dinner. It will make them excited for future meals.

Here are some more ideas on making the evening a success and stress-free:

Keep the food simple. Instead of trying out new recipes, make family favorites that are so easy to prepare you could do it blind folded. Remember that this is an opportunity to reconnect with your family, not to audition for Top Chef.
Use prepared foods to round out your meals. Instead of spending time making a bunch of different side dishes, buy prepared or frozen side dishes.
Vary the way you serve the dinner or set the table to keep it interesting. One week, you can plate the meal. The next week, serve it family style on platters. Another time, you can do self service/buffet style from the kitchen.

The purpose of these family dinners is to bring everybody closer, so keep these things in mind:

Find a topic to discuss and keep the conversation light. This isn't the time to reprimand, punish or argue. Great topics include: "What do you want to be when you grow up?", "Where do you want to go for your next vacation?", "What has been the best day of your life so far?" or any other question or topic that elicits a thoughtful and personal response.
Theme your dinners around a certain cuisine and discuss the culture, geography or history of that culture. Everybody will learn more about another culture and sample new tastes and flavors.
Browse cookbooks or cooking magazines with your family to get ideas and recipes for future family dinners. My favorite cookbook: How to Cook Everything. My favorite online recipe depository: The Food Network. My favorite cooking magazine: Cook's Illustrated.

Hopefully this will inspire you and your family to start eating together again at least one night a week. Let me know how it goes. Happy eating.

How to Get Rich the Easy Way

2007-03-15T19:59:00.000-05:00

There are only two ways to get rich, either make more money or spend less money (or both). Since it isn't easy for everybody to make more money, the guaranteed way is to spend less money. That's right, you too can be rich by simply living below your means.

Obviously this isn't the most glamorous way to live your life, but there is an enormous satisfaction in not ever having to worry about money again. Many people who experience depression, divorce, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, etc. can directly associate these ailments to the stress caused by not having enough money.

Over the course of the next couple of months, I am going to feature different ways you can reduce the amount of money you spend. The money you will not be spending should be saved and invested. Notice I said SAVED and INVESTED. First, everybody should have an emergency stash of cash in the bank equal to at least 6 months of expenses. This is savings. Second, you need investments. These include retirement (401k, IRAs, etc.) and non-retirement (stocks, bonds, rental property, CDs, etc.). Let's take a look at 5 quick and painless ways to stop spending money:

Never Buy a New Car- I don't care about 0% interest financing. Buying a new car is one of the worst financial moves anybody can make. The second you drive it off the lot, the value has declined by 20%. Rich people don't buy new cars and certainly don't spend their money on things that DECLINE in value. Go buy a used Honda or Toyota. These cars are reliable and affordable.
Get Rid of Your Phone- Do you have a home phone? A cell phone? Why do you need both? Get rid of your home phone. Between the line fees, call waiting and caller ID, you are probably wasting $40 a month. If you have long distance too, you are probably spending $80 a month. Just use your cell phone. With competition sky high amongst cell providers, plans are cheap (even unlimited plans).
Get Rid of Your Cable- At least get rid of your premium package. Instead, subscribe to Netflix. For as little as $4.99 a month, you can see all kinds of movies and most T.V. shows (since everything goes on DVD now, even crappy MTV shows like The Hills).
Buy an Entertainment Book- Tired of living like a pauper with a used car, no cable and no phone? Here is a nice splurge. For about $30, this book contains thousands of dollars in coupons and savings. The highlight of the book may be the buy one entree, get one free dining coupons. Depending on where you live, they have some really good restaurants participating. Better yet, they usually have coupons for grocery stores. Even if your favorite isn't listed, most grocers will honor competitor's coupons.
Cancel your Newspaper/Magazine Subscriptions- Are you seriously getting magazines and papers delivered to your door daily? Most of these articles you can get for FREE online. Better yet, you can quickly scan the headlines, read abstracts and get better information online these days than you can in print. Save the trees and save money, what a great idea.

See how easy that was. These easy steps just saved you THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. I will keep you posted on more ideas in the coming weeks and will even suggest some things to do with all this loot. For starters though, if you have high interest credit card debt, get rid of it. Otherwise, if your employer has a 401k that matches your contribution, max that out. It is free money. Live Rich.

Top Secret Weight Loss Tip: FIBER

2007-03-14T18:22:00.000-05:00

Everybody knows they should eat more fiber. Fiber promotes health and reduces the risk of some chronic diseases. Fiber reduces your chance of colon and breast cancer. In addition fiber has been known to lower your bad cholesterol, thereby reducing your risk of heart disease.
There are actually two kinds of fiber, soluble and insoluble, but I am not going into the differences. Both are beneficial to the body. Here are some additional benefits of fiber that specifically aid in weight loss:

Removes toxic waste from your intestines quicker (ever heard of the "colonic" diet?)
Binds with fatty acids
Slows down the release of sugar and insulin and their absorption into the bloodstream

Here are some easy ways to add healthy doses of fiber to your daily eating habits:

Metamucil should be in the pantry of EVERYONE trying to lose weight. Their new Fibersure product doesn't alter taste or texture so you can add it to water and not even know it is there. It is also great sprinkled on cereals, salad dressings and many other foods. For those who are carb conscious, there is no need to worry because Metamucil has zero net carbs!
Organic milled Flax Seed may seem very similar to Metamucil, but there are some important differences. Flax seed is actually a great source of protein, amino acids and Omega 3. It has a great nutty flavor that is good on salads and cereals. On the down side, it does have more calories and fat (80 calories and 9g of fat per 2 tablespoons).
Seeds & Nuts are another good source, plus they contain healthy fats your body needs. Just make sure to use portion control because they do have calories.
Green beans and dark, leafy green vegetables. I love adding vegetables to my salads. Nothing is better than left over asparagus or green beans on a salad. Speaking of salads, skip the iceberg lettuce. It has little to no nutritional value. Romaine lettuce is a little better, but the best option is baby spinach, watercress or arugula (nice black pepper taste).

Try to eat 6 servings of fruits/vegetables and 6 servings of oats/grains/whole wheats to get your 25g of recommended fiber each day. You will stay fuller longer, a huge help as you fight the hunger pains of dieting. Add fiber=Less Hungry=Weight Loss. Have a healthy day.

Skiing in Steamboat Springs, Colorado-Trip Report

2007-03-13T18:30:00.000-05:00

'Tis the season for snow skiing, a passion I "picked" up a couple of years ago. For a Florida boy, it is such a nice change of scenery. Amazing mountain vistas, hot tubs and the laid back ski culture are a welcome change to my life in the swamp. I will get into the details soon, but let's get the logistics out of the way.

Airline- I flew Frontier Airlines directly into Denver. Even though Steamboat is 3.5 hours away by car, I wasn't about to fly into Hayden airport. Here are the reasons why: flights to Denver are infinitely cheaper, flights into Hayden get cancelled a lot because of weather and Hayden airport is still 45 minutes away from Steamboat Springs. The drive is nice. You cross the continental divide twice and drive through the Rocky Mountain National Forest. Word to the wise: watch out for deer and elk during your drive. They are everywhere. Other than that, it is an easy drive and Rabbit Ear Pass isn't bad at all (even for somebody who NEVER drives in the snow). The Frontier flight was uneventful. They have a large selection of satellite TV stations for $5 and movies available for $8. I didn't purchase either. They give you an entire can of soft drink and a huge bag of chips (TGIF brand Bacon Potato Chips), muffin, pretzels, etc. This was a nice alternative to the five peanuts in a bag you usually get.

Rental Car- I rented through Hotwire after trying all of the usual bread and butter travel sites. I have never used them before, but really like the site and got a really good deal from Hertz for a 4 wheel drive SUV. This is where the good news ends. We arrived in Denver took the shuttle to Hertz and waited in line with 20 other people for an hour because only two people were working. We finally got the car, a brand new Ford Edge. This is not an SUV. It is a crossover, but I wasn't about to wait in line so we took off in the pumpkin colored semi station wagon.

Hotel- Is it possible that the highlight of my trip could be a $60 a night hotel called the Bunkhouse Lodge? Definitely. The rooms are very basic and roadside motelish, but spacious. It has all of the basic amenities, free wireless internet, a hot tub and even a continental breakfast (muffins, toast, coffee, juice, cereal). Best of all, it is located next door to a large gas/convenience store and is less than a mile away from the slopes. The town shuttle has a stop in front of the hotel and takes you to all of the main stops on the mountain and town, for FREE. Great for those who do not want to deal with a rental car.

Dining- I have been to Mexico, Southern California, Arizona and Texas more times than Antonella Barba has taken naughty pictures of herself, but Steamboat Springs has THE BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT in the world. That is a pretty bold statement, but Fiesta Jalisco fits the bill. Located in the corner of a non-descript strip center on the way from the slopes to town, this place was recommended by a local in the know. Huge margaritas with fresh squeezed lime juice, enchiladas to die for and a mole sauce that only abuela could make. This is a destination restaurant in and of itself. My buddy Steve and I sat there for hours sampling everything on the menu, including all of the margaritas. Everything was excellent.
Just off the slopes between Lincoln Ave and Werner circle is the coolest coffee concept I have ever seen, Amante Coffee. It isn't just a coffee place, but a futuristic coffee, liquor, imported beer and tasty treat place with wireless internet and flat screen T.V.s. The espresso was amazing and they have some cool coffee with liquor drinks, perfect after a long day on the slopes.
For a fine dining option, there is no better place in Steamboat than Cafe Diva. A small, noisy restaurant near the Torian Plum Condos. The wine list fantastic and contains some choice corks. We drank the DeLoach Pinot Noir, a perfect accompaniment to the Sloppy Joe Duck Confit Sliders with Dorblu cheese and chive cream appetizer as well as the elk tenderloin with veal demi-glace. The food and service was flawless.

Apres Ski/Nightlife- Slopeside Grill is the place for apres ski and is located near Ski Time Square area. A huge ice bar is set up slopeside with plenty of space heaters. The inside features a nice wooden bar with all the libations, including microbrews-$2 a draft during happy hour, you could want. They also have great pizzas from their brick oven. There are other bars in the mountain and in town, but this is the only place I could recommend. The others don't even compare.

Ski Slopes- Steamboat is the 2nd largest mountain in Colorado with over 160 trails and features some of the best tree skiing in the country. It didn't hurt that we had a 60" base and 6" of fresh white powder either. Start early each day and head up to the Christmas Tree Bowl or Morningside Park if you are an advanced skier. For intermediates, check out Sunshine Peak. For beginners, stick with the Christine lifts. For some reason, Steamboats greens should be blues and some of the blues should be black. They do very little grooming so get used to the bumps (even on the greens).

Shopping- Forget it. The town of Steamboat is not very pedestrian friendly. It does include the typical tourist haunts that sell overpriced T-Shirts and other items emblazoned with catchy sayings or the typical "Steamboat, Ski Town USA" slogan. Save your money. You can get some good deals in town on ski gear, but you will still get better prices at home or at the Sports Authority (near Amante Coffee).

All in all, Steamboat is a great mountain, but isn't the complete package. It is too far from Denver, has no nightlife, no shopping, a dismal downtown and too many kids on the slopes. There are just too many other ski destinations for me to go back. Stay tuned for my trip report on Vail. Happy Travels.

Wine Review: Turkey Flat Vineyards in Barossa Valley, Australia

2007-03-12T15:41:00.000-05:00

Have you noticed how large the wine selection at your favorite liquor or grocery store is? It is difficult enough to pick the right type of varietal (Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay), let alone a particular brand. Lucky for you, I will be the guinea pig and subject myself to drinking hundreds of different bottles of wines. In the end, I will give you the straight story on super tasty, but affordable wines.
Today, I would like to feature a wine producer from the Barossa Valley of Australia, Turkey Flat. I actually had the privilege of visiting this vineyard during my honeymoon in 2002, but was disappointed when the bottles we carried across the Pacific were all gone. Fortunately, you can now find Turkey Flat in many fine restaurants, liquor stores and online. Check out American Estates Wines for a local distributor.
Here are some tasting notes on my favorite varietals from Turkey Flat:

Rose- Don't laugh, Rose is back in a big way. This is the perfect light bodied red wine with a slight sweetness and spritz that is so refreshing on warm days. It is a blend of Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Dolcetto. It has tastes of red fruits, including raspberries, cherries and currants. It is great without food, but if you want some pairings, try it with a Waldorf Salad, Shellfish, Chicken or Pork Mojo, Paella, Chinese food or any other mild flavored food. Heck it goes with everything. Serve it straight from the fridge, the colder the better.
Cabernet Sauvignon- A CabSav from Australia? Believe it. Turkey Flat's CabSav is grown on vines over 150 years old. This is a fully body and intense wine, with chalky tannins. The latter is produced by extended maceration with the skins on. Ripe red and black fruits prevail, enhanced by the oak and grape tannins. This big boy is best served with food, including grilled red meats, lamb with mustard crust, mushroom risotto with parmigiano reggiano shavings. You don't need to decant, but pop the bottle an hour before serving to let it breathe.
Shiraz- The granddaddy red wine of Australia, Barossa Valley and Turkey Flat. These vines were planted in 1847. This version isn't super jammy, instead you can enjoy the plum, cedar and chocolate flavors. This wine is even better when served with a veal chop with a three pepper, cognac sauce or wild game (buffalo filet stuffed with gorgonzola or an elk tenderloin with a port reduction).

If you are ever in Barossa Valley, you must stop by this vineyard (and Maggie Beer's place-she is the Martha Stewart of Australia, but likable). Turkey Flat is owned and operated by Peter and Christie Schulz. I just love the idea of supporting working families instead of nameless, faceless corporations. Enjoy a glass of their fantastic wine tonight. Cheers!

Repositioning Cruises

2007-03-11T15:40:00.000-05:00

Every Spring and Fall there is an amazing vacation opportunity most travellers do not know about. These are repositioning cruises. Almost every cruise line offers these itineraries, many at super low prices, to reposition a ship from the Mediterranean (Spring/Summer) to the Caribbean (Fall/Winter) or Alaska (Summer/Fall) to the Caribbean (Fall/Winter) and vice versa. Although Spring and Fall are the most popular times of the year for these type of cruises, they are offered almost all year long on one cruise ship or another. The Alaskan repositioning cruises may even include passage through the Panama Canal. Better yet, with the growing popularity of cruise itineraries in Asia and South America, some repositioning cruises cross vast oceans and offer travellers unique ports of calls (e.g., Hawaii, Barbados, Canary Islands, India, Tahiti, etc.).

Many of the pros and cons of repositioning cruises are the same. These include:
PROS

The per diem price is often substantially less than a typical cruise that embarks and disembarks from the same port.
Cruises are typically longer than a week and have more sea days. This lends to a more relaxing pace instead of arriving at a different port each day.

CONS

Many people like visiting various ports of call and get tired of spending most of their vacation on a ship at sea.
Often times, airfare is more expensive since you embark at one port and disembark at another.

Here is a list of some great upcoming repositioning cruises. Check out www.cruise.com for prices and additional itineraries (they are one of the few websites that has Transatlantic/Repositioning as an option under destinations).

Spring

To Europe from Texas, Florida or New York in April:

Silversea Silver Shadow, Regent Seven Seas Navigator & Voyager, Celebrity Century

Alaska to Caribbean (and vice versa) through the Panama Canal:

Regent Seven Seas Mariner, Coral Princess, Norwegian Pearl

Unique itineraries:

The Crystal Symphony will sail between between Dubai, UAE and the Mediterranean in May.

The MSC Melody will be sailing from South Africa to Europe.

The Regal Princess will sail from Los Angeles on August 31 and reach Sydney, Australia 31 days later.

In the fall, the transatlantic crossing start from Europe and back to the Americas. These ships will be making from 8 to 24-day crossings of the Atlantic in either September, October, November or December of 2007. Some of the highlights include:

Royal Caribbean Legend of the Seas - Barcelona to the Dominican Republic

SeaDream I - Lisbon to San Juan

Oceania Regatta - Barcelona to Miami

Norwegian Gem - Barcelona to Boston

SeaDream II - Canary Islands to Rio

Make sure to check these cruises out. They are truly an affordable option on some amazing ships with incredible itineraries. Feel free to send me an email if you have any questions. I especially like the SeaDream cruise line and will be posting about them in the future. Happy Travels.

Power Foods: Ricotta Cheese

2007-03-10T19:57:00.000-05:00

Many of us know of ricotta cheese as the silky smooth interior of lasagna, but it is a very versatile and HEALTHY power food. First of all, ricotta cheese isn't really cheese. It is made from whey, a byproduct of cheese making. It has a finely grain texture similar to cottage cheese, but is lighter and sweeter.

For those on an Atkins or South Beach Diet, ricotta makes an excellent addition to your diet since it has less than 1g of carbohydrate per ounce. Bodybuilders love this stuff since the fat free variety packs 5g of protein per ounce. It is low in saturated fat and sodium and even the whole milk variety has only 49 calories per ounce. Finally, one-half cup provides 42% of the recommended daily allowance of calcium. Now you know why ricotta cheese is a POWER FOOD.

Some of my favorite recipes for ricotta cheese include:

Ricotta Cheese Mousse- 2 ounces of ricotta cheese beaten with a wire whisk until smooth. Sprinkle chocolate chips, pistachios, drop of vanilla, maple syrup, honey or any other topping you desire. Add a tablespoon of sugar or Splenda for additional sweetness if desired. The flavors are limited only by your imagination.
Roasted Vegetable & Ricotta Frittata- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Rough chop some red peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, asparagus, squash or any other veggies you love (about 1.5 cups worth) and place on heavy duty aluminum foil. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast veggies for 25 minutes. Beat 4 eggs (or egg whites) and 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese together until smooth. Hint: adding a pinch of salt and a splash of milk to eggs will break down the protein and make them smooth. Pour egg/ricotta cheese mixture into a Teflon baking or pie dish. Set aside. Once veggies are soft, pull them from the oven and dump into the baking dish containing the egg/ricotta mixture. Place the baking dish back into the 450 degree oven for 25 minutes or until dish is firm (a knife inserted in the middle of the dish should come out clean). This is an easy dish and tastes great hot, room temperature and even cold the next day.

Links:

Additional Ricotta Recipes- http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blricotta.htm

More Recipes- http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/searchResults?searchType=Recipe&searchString=ricotta&site=food&gosearch=Search

Dr. Gourmet- http://www.drgourmet.com/ingredients/cheese-ricotta.shtml

Diversification-Investing in Foreign Denominated CDs

2007-03-09T10:22:00.000-05:00

We have all heard the financial experts telling us to diversify our investments, but how do we obtain diversification for our CASH or short term holdings? One investment vehicle that is gaining popularity is Foreign Denominated CDs (Certificates of Deposits). These are just like regular CDs, except they are issued in a foreign currency (e.g., Euro, British Pound, South Africa Rands).

With the recent downturn in the stock market, record low interest rates and the declining value of the U.S. dollar, these certificates of deposits may be a perfect addition to your underperforming portfolio or an easy way to further diversify.

Although the Foreign Denominated CDs are FDIC insured, they do not come without risk. The biggest risk lies in the daily fluctuations of the currencies themselves. If the US dollar strengthens against the currency your CD is in, you can actually lose money. Despite this fear, many of these CDs are paying interest rates way above and beyond the rate you will get from your local bank. Here are some examples of World Currency interest rates offered by Everbank:

Icelandic Krona- 12.75% for 3 month CD
South African Rand- 7.5% for 6 month CD
New Zealand Dollar- 6.25% for 12 month CD

Just remember the actual yield may differ based on the currency exchange rate at time of purchase and maturation, as well as how often the interest is compounded.

I think these CDs offer the average individual investor an excellent way to mitigate risk and to easily invest in the currency markets. The CDs are offered in a wide variety of currencies with maturity dates from 3 months to 12 months (or longer). Let me know if you have ever bought one of these CDs and how you ended up.

LINKS:

Everbank- http://www.everbank.com

Bankrate- http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/DrDon/20030324a1.asp

Timing- http://www.timing.net/foreign-denominated-cds.php

How to Drink More Water

2007-03-08T12:19:00.003-05:00

Want to live a healthy life? DRINK MORE WATER.
We all know we should drink water, but here are some reminders why:

Water helps to regulate our body temperature through perspiration, which gets rid of excess heat and cools the body
Water lubricates our joints--an important function if you are arthritic, have chronic muscular or skeletal problems, or are athletically active.
Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat.

Nutritionists say we should drink 10 glasses of water each day (8 oz. each serving). Here are some easy ways to get your fill:

Start your day with a big, tall glass of COLD water. Believe it or not, it will wake you up and may help you decrease the amount of coffee or tea you consume throughout the day.
Drink a glass of water before each meal or snack. You will feel fuller faster and it will help aid in digestion.
End your day how you started it. Before you go to bed, have one last glass of water. This will help your joints and muscles. Even with a hypersensitive bladder, your body will adjust quickly.

Think water is boring? Pour some lime, lemon or orange juice into ice cube trays. These flavored ice cubes are a great addition to water. There is also a growing popularity of vitamin fortified and flavored waters like:

Vitamin Water by Glaceau
Fruit Water by Glaceau
Water Sensations

Just make sure and read the label of some of these "waters" because some of them contain calories and sugar.

We all love the taste of Starbucks' Strawberry Creme Frappucino, Arnold Palmer Iced Tea/Lemonade and Two Brothers Brewing Company's Domaine DuPage Ale, but your drink of choice should be water. Drink some today and everyday.

Links related to this article:
Bottled Water Online-http://bottledwaterstore.com/index.html

VitaminWater-http://www.vitaminwater.com/

Starbucks-http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp

Arnold Palmer Beverage Review-http://www.bevnet.com/reviews/arnoldpalmer/

Two Brothers Brewing Company-http://www.twobrosbrew.com/all%20year%20beers.htm