Is it a sporty car that works like a family car or a family car that looks like a sporty car?

I’d rather shop for anything other than a car.  Just looking at CarsDirect.com makes my head hurt. But, it was time to give up my 2003 Ford Taurus and I was not looking forward to wandering the dealer lots on Sunday afternoons, comparing the buying vs. leasing options in the newspaper ads or trying to fit a car payment into a budget that has enjoyed no auto expense for quite some time.

My requirements for a new car were very simple:

• Electric locks and windows
• Radio
• Backseat wide enough for two child car seats
• Full size trunk to fit a stroller, my grocery shopping cart and other ‘stuff’
• No need for a second job to pay a car payment
• Made in the USA

Chevy Cruize 2013 Great Features

My Chevy Cruze 2013 meets all my needs and I won’t need a second job or a second mortgage to pay for it.  I’ve never named a car before but this one is deserving of hers, Blue Topaz.

She’s a beauty!

But there is more to her than her shiny, sleek good looks.  The Chevy Cruse is one of the few cars I looked at that had a full size trunk.  Too many small model cars offer only a hatch that just barely holds a family size grocery order let alone a stroller and shopping cart too.

The back seats fold forward creating even more room for moving that occasional large item that might otherwise need special shipping in your brother-in-law’s pickup truck.

In addition to the spacious back seat and trunk space, seating also offers hidden cup holders in the back, a middle seat belt that could accommodate an adult or a third child car seat.

Chevy Cruze Driver Control Panel

If you’re like me, the controls of a car can be quite a mystery, not one that is easy to figure out in the pouring rain or an ice covered highway.  The control panel of the Chevy Cruze has a very intuitive face and a comfortable level of access.  All the controls are easily accessible and identifiable after even a brief review of the manual.

Even the steering wheel was a pleasant surprise!  Rather than a giant wheel suitable for steering a luxury cruise liner, the Chevy Cruze steering wheel gives you plenty of rubber to grab without being in your face.  It’s a compact wheel that doesn’t dominate the driver side.

My most treasured car was a 1979 Chevy Impala that my grandfather bought from Lafferty Chevrolet in Warminster, PA. We have come to trust the people at Lafferty and we make it our last stop when we’re serious about buying a car. They have always taken great care of our service needs and it’s just natural to us to buy our Chevy at Lafferty Chevrolet!

So, is it a sporty car that works like a family car or a family car that looks like a sporty car?

Yes, yes it is!

Related articles from around the Internet

• Is the Chevy Cruze an Enthusiasts’ Car?
• By the Numbers: Chevy Cruze vs. Ford Focus
• Big Compact: New Chevy Cruze to be one of the largest cars in its class
• GM OnStar Glitch Affects 60,000 Vehicles Including 2013 Chevy Cruze, Equinox
• Green Car Sales Are Humming at GM

This site is for entertainment purposes only. No information provided is from a professional and should not be considered as such. You are advised to consult a professional for all matters. Please read the full Notice and Disclosure.

Music Festival event supplies and concession machines might not be the first things that come to mind when you start planning your trip but they could be the difference between a good time and a great time!

If you’re a fan of sleeping under the stars then you won’t need a tent, but if you’d like to have some of the comforts of home, a cloth roof over your head and a cot of some sort might be just the thing to make your trip to the Music Festival a happy memory instead of a nightmare.

Tickets aren’t the only thing you need to buy for a Music Festival.  You’re going to need your transportation, food, water and a place to rest during and after the festivities.  Event planners try to provide much of what you need but take a look at some suggestions and see how easy it is to take only what you need to make it a fantastic festival.

This site is for entertainment purposes only. No information provided is from a professional and should not be considered as such. You are advised to consult a professional for all matters. Please read the full Notice and Disclosure.

Comfort shoes for men and women history shows that we’ve always placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of a comfortable shoe especially when it comes to sports. But finding a well fitting shoe is important for more than just the active adult.

If you have health conditions such as Diabetes or Varicose Veins, the right shoe can make a significant difference in your life. It’s important to discuss these conditions with your doctor and find out if selecting the right footwear can help.

Find out more about foot conditions and how the right shoe can make the difference in your day at Schuler Shoes where finding the right shoe is what they specialize in.

This site is for entertainment purposes only. No information provided is from a professional and should not be considered as such. You are advised to consult a professional for all matters. Please read the full Notice and Disclosure.

This site is for entertainment purposes only. No information provided is from a professional and should not be considered as such. You are advised to consult a professional for all matters. Please read the full Notice and Disclosure.

This site is for entertainment purposes only. No information provided is from a professional and should not be considered as such. You are advised to consult a professional for all matters. Please read the full Notice and Disclosure.

Beginning of a tide pool, Rainbow Beach, St. Croix

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• Tide pool at sunset
• Creating a Tide Pool at the Beach- Read.Explore.Learn.
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• Travel Theme: Animals – Tidepooling in Bandon, Oregon
• Evolution of an Image: Previsualition to Print

This site is for entertainment purposes only. No information provided is from a professional and should not be considered as such. You are advised to consult a professional for all matters. Please read the full Notice and Disclosure.

Beach Treasures in Rainbow Rock, Rainbow Beach, St. Croix

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• Honoring Veterans

This site is for entertainment purposes only. No information provided is from a professional and should not be considered as such. You are advised to consult a professional for all matters. Please read the full Notice and Disclosure.

Weddings have been a part of human history since the first caveman selected his bride and headed off to the hills with her.  The evolution of the wedding process has changed as much as human beings have changed over the past thousands of years.

Wedding planning has become a multimillion dollar industry in the United States.  How did we get along without them before?

Wedding traditions date back as far as recorded time and could have involved the offering of a dowry by the bride’s parents which might have included some livestock.  A dowry is still a consideration for marriage in some parts of the world.

Another tradition that has its roots in history is the engagement ring.  Nothing says “I love you” like a light catching stone wrapped in gold or silver.  Young women across the world dream of the day her night in shining armor will get on bended knee as he slips an engagement ring onto her finger.

Next to “the dress”, the engagement ring is what every girl dreams about the most!

The engagement ring, designed to reflect the beauty of the bride and to last as long as the love between a man and a woman, is one of the most important selections of jewelry a man might make.

The Forever Brilliant stones available at Moissanite.com are as beautiful and unique as each bride who wears them.

If you’re considering taking the plunge, you should read about the source of the moissanite stone to fully appreciate the beauty of each one!

This site is for entertainment purposes only. No information provided is from a professional and should not be considered as such. You are advised to consult a professional for all matters. Please read the full Notice and Disclosure.

When is the best time to sell your home?

Not everyone has the option of waiting for the real estate market to get better in order to sell their home.  There are as many reasons for selling a home as there are people.

If you have decided to sell your property while the market is slow, then you are going to want to be the best house for sale on the block in order to get the right buyer for your home.

Improve Chances of Selling Sooner

Landscaping around any property plays a big part in determining the value of a home when it comes time to sell.  After all, that is where ‘curb appeal’ starts – before the potential buyer even walks into your home.  You have to be able to get them interested as they drive up to the house.

If your sidewalks or driveway are cracked and ugly, not only is it an eyesore but a buyer may not want to take on the chore of making those repairs if they buy from you.  If you are considering selling you home soon or even in the Spring, take a look around the exterior and think about upgrading your driveway to paving stone rather than that tired old asphalt.

Don’t neglect your flower beds either.  Take advantage of Fall’s mild weekends to clean out your flower beds, remove dead plants, weeds and leaves.

This is the time to put flower bulbs in the garden for an abundance of bouncing colors in the Spring.  Mix the types of bulbs for a constant growth of color from March until August using Crocus, Daffodils, Tulips and Day Lilly.

Fall is time for planting!  Whether you have a turn of the century row home in Philadelphia or a 3,000 square foot single in suburbia, Fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubbery.  The mild nights, warm days and abundant rainfall increase the chances of plants surviving with plenty of time for them to take root and thrive before the coldest days of Winter arrive.

Look around your yard for other ways to make every buyer want to come in and feel right at home.  If you have a patio or porch, consider upgrading with patio pavers and exterior lighting.  Landscape lighting installation can really add appeal to a home’s outdoor living space.

Use a potted plant or two on the porch but don’t make it too crowded; and keep all your pathways broom swept and free from cob webs.

If you make landscaping improvements in the Fall when the weather is mild, your home will be a buyer’s first choice when the first crocus pops up through the last snowfall in March.

This site is for entertainment purposes only. No information provided is from a professional and should not be considered as such. You are advised to consult a professional for all matters. Please read the full Notice and Disclosure.

Can I Lose Weight Fast

Yes, I woke up this morning horrified to find that I am a pear-shaped, middle aged woman.  Sticks for arms and legs and a middle that just seems to have become one with my butt.

I miss my waistline.  It’s now just a straight line, unless of course I put on a pair of jeans and then it’s a muffin top gone wild.

I Need to Lose Weight Fast

I started my new gym membership today which means I’m getting up a half an hour earlier to go to the gym before work.  I seriously thought it was going to kill me this morning and yet, here I am.  I survived.  Today is, as the expression goes, the first day of the rest of my life.

  My top reasons for going back to the gym:

• Find my waistline (it’s in there somewhere)
• Reduce joint pain by strengthening surrounding muscles
• Reduce cholesterol with exercise
• Reduce my mental stress

I’ve been putting it off for years using all kinds of excuses in my mind:  too busy, too tired, too stressed and so on.  The fact is, if I would have stuck it out at the gym instead of caving in to busy, tired and stressed, I would not be as busy, tired and stressed as I am now.

At the top of my list of ways to stay healthy is getting back to a regular exercise routine, one that is modified from my youth to strengthen my body without hurting it.  As a young adult after my children were born, I spent an hour a day, every day doing calisthenics on my living room floor to the invigorating sounds of  “Rocky” and other motivational tunes.  I was a stay at home mom so I had the time and a great audience – my three sons.

After returning to the work force, I no longer had the luxury of working out for an hour a day and my sons didn’t think it was much fun to watch mom work out anymore either.  I joined a gym and spent the next ten years running, swimming, weight training and other good stuff.

I was in the best shape of my life.  I had energy, an escape for my stressed mind and an enviable cholesterol blood count.

But the more I pounded away on my joints, the more damage I actually did.  My knees began to ache going up and down stairs.  My neck and shoulders began to send lightening bolts of pain down my arms.  Eventually, I could no longer wrap my fingers around the computer mouse, raise my right arm over my head or hold my granddaughter.

I stopped going to the gym, got lots of x-rays, pain pills and began to let pain, fear and worry take over my mind.  Over the next five years I found excuses everywhere I wanted to find them.  And my cholesterol crept up, and up.

Today I started the journey to turn my body around, to find my shape, vitality and peace of mind.  Today I started my new exercise program.

Tonight I will definitely need a deep tissue massage.  Definitely.

Yes, after a fun and food-filled weekend, its back to the gym for some Monday morning blues.

My cruise of a life time is just two weeks away.  Not looking good for being that svelte babe on the beach this time!

Related articles from around the Internet:

• What Tune-ups Do Men Over 50 Need?
• Cheap and Easy Ways to Improve Cholesterol Levels and Prevent Heart Disease
• Check your cholesterol levels for the New Year ahead
• Cholesterol: Foods to Lower Your Numbers.
• If you smoke and eat too much – stop

This site is for entertainment purposes only. No information provided is from a professional and should not be considered as such. You are advised to consult a professional for all matters. Please read the full Notice and Disclosure.