There are hundreds of good reasons to have your own hot tub, from health-related benefits, to entertaining possibilities, to the ability to have a way of relaxing any time you like.  But with 2 person hot tubs, it’s much more of a romantic commitment, if buying as a couple.  It costs about as much as a vacation, and in the long-term, it will give back much more than you put into it.  There are many different styles and variations to choose from, so there is certainly something that will meet your needs and your tastes, with entertainment systems, to variants in the number of jets, to shapes.

But the joy of having it in your home, or in your backyard, is immeasurable.  The experience of enjoying a relaxing time in your own spa is incredible, and sharing it with another person is really splendid.  It’s almost as if you’re taking a mini-vacation every time you both step into it, and the stress of the day washes away.  It can be quite wonderful, and those moments add up. It’s impossible to quantify relaxation and splendor, but looking at the amount of joy you get from time away, to the amount of joy you can have in your own home, it seems worth it.

It is an investment, and one that does pay off very well over time, but one of the more fantastic things about these is that they also reward you immediately.  The sensational feeling of tired feet in hot massaging water never gets old, and neither do those late evenings when it’s just the two of you, talking about your dreams.  These rewards are more ethereal, but create memories that last a lifetime.  You have this new doorway at your beck and call, and it can be opened again and again.

Our travelling begins! After a flight, very long flight to Cape Town, and a long sleep, we decided that our first day will be an easy day. So, that only means heading to the beach. We visited Blouberg beach. The sand is white, the water is crystal blue and it was a nice hot sunny day. We noticed that there was no one in the water. Hmmm…so in Cape Town no one goes in the water? We thought maybe it’s due to sharks. But, we tested the water and it’s cold! Felt almost like fresh water straight from the Antarctic. Not that we came to swim ourselves, but still, no one in the water? We opted to walk along the shoreline and only doing the running away from rogue waves.

The rest of the week, we spent doing the touristy thing. Seeing all the hot spots, the highlights, like a visit to Table Mountain, which we renamed as the Top of the World mountain. We previously had our boutique hotel Cape Town pack a picnic dinner for us, and the hotel threw in a nice bottle of champagne! We don’t drink, but the gesture was really very touching. After a very nice romantic dinner and some cuddling, we headed back down the mountain.

The next day, we drove down to Cape Point, but before we reach there, we stopped off at Boulders Beach to see the famous penguins. Our return trip was through Chapman’s Peak. That road is a white-knuckler! The road hug the mountainside, there’s barely enough room for two cars, and the entire stretch of the road has a sheer drop-off to the ocean below. Pretty scary really.

It was my birthday the next day and we started it off by offering the champagne to our room maid. She was really happy about that! Then it was time to complete my birthday wish. We headed to the nearest orphanage and volunteered our services. That’s how I like to spend my birthdays, volunteering. It’s the only way I know how to give back every year that I’m alive to enjoy this blessed life.

For some people, driving in snow and navigating on icy roads is second nature, they grew up this kind of environment, and it is one in which they are familiar.  I however grew up in the Southwestern desert city of Phoenix, Arizona.  So as my first winter approached after I had moved to Chicago, I was a bit nervous.  My Chevy Tracker, not a Chevrolet Cavalier, repair manual offered tips on the engine and the battery, but some of the other aspects of cold weather driving I had to live and learn, not without advice however, from those who knew what to expect.

My first experience with driving in snow, was not bad…as the snow had just started falling.  I was on the Dan Ryan Freeway heading home one night and there were light flurries.  The most that this did was to affect my sight, as the snow and the wind caused the flurries to swirl and I struggled to just not become hypnotized.  However, when the snow really began to fall I consulted the Chevrolet pickup repair manual for items that I was in need of.

When driving in cold weather it is good to have a backup of supplies, such as extra hats and gloves.  As well as traction mats, bags of sand or kitty litter, for extra weight as well as for use getting out of snowed in situations, and of course, the ever necessary window scraper.  A GMC pickup repair manual I had read, also suggested that once you are finished driving through snow and slush, it is good to wash out the wheels of your vehicle with a high pressured hose.  The accumulation of snow, slush and debris may cause your vehicle to ‘vibrate’ as you drive, adding to the potentially hazardous road situations.  All of these tips helped me out on that first, and very scary winter driving on the streets of the city of Chicago.

Traveling in South Australia is enormous fun, and Adelaide is one of the most vibrant cities in the world, offering some splendid delights for even the most worldly guest.  It is a fantastic metropolis, with a local culture that is quite international, and very much plugged into the world scenes for music, art, and the performing arts.  It has a vibrant heartbeat that is hard to define, and impossible to avoid when you’re here.  There is a wonderful sense of relaxation and expansiveness here, due, in part, to its history as one of the most progressive places in the region.  Travelers coming here should ask for nothing but the best.  Adelaide hotel accommodations are plentiful, and ours are selected to give you the finest in hospitality and style.

You’ll enjoy the local spirit, which is very strong and refreshingly charming.  It might come from the rhythms of the city, constantly shifting with the art that people create here.  There are also a host of splendid restaurants and pubs, as well as an enormous variety of attractions that will appeal to visitors of all ages.  There is always something interesting and exciting to do here, day or night.  This is not only evidenced by the Fringe Festival, the second largest in the world, that takes over the city every spring, but in other organizations that reveal a tremendous creative community here.

One of the most advanced and cutting-edge organizations is ANAT, the Austalian Network for Art and Technology.  This organization has helped make connections between artists working in new technologies and digital media, and potential projects and audiences.  It is a fabulous resource for artists, and a great place to get information about upcoming events and workshops.  Another organization, APAM, the Australian Performing Arts Market, is a special service organization that brings artists and presenters together, connecting them with producing organizations and opening the doors to other opportunities.  The presence of these two organizations means that there are a lot of artists and companies based here, and this is a very healthy sign of life in a city.

Office Space is my favorite flick of all time.  Everyone has had bad job before.  I had more than my share until I stumbled across my latest one.  I literally did stumbled too.  Popping out of a cab, I tripped over the New York Times, which was open to its classifieds.  My Jimmy Choo shoes speared the listing that I applied for later that day, unhappy as I was at the job I was at then.

My job now is nothing like Office Space, fortunately.  Though My boss does drag out his “yeahs,” his business skills have obviously been honed by years of great sales management training, he knows how to deal with people because he knows how to deal with customers.  With him, I no longer feel the need to take sick days for more important things, like sleep.  In my old job, despite working numerous hours of overtime, I never received the same kind of pay that others in the office did because of politicking.

Our performance reviews are great because we get evaluated by our peers and by our bosses too.  It also isn’t that uncomfortable, three on one meeting I had at my old job.  It reminds me more of the creative writing courses I took in college where we work shopped stories, except at my office, we work shop performances and ways of improving them.  It is a very professional environment, but there is also a strong sense of support among everyone in office, probably because we are on the smaller side of things.   We do have corporate team building, a process that has helped strengthen the company.  Though I always enjoyed my field, the jobs I had did not always suit me for one reason or another.  But with the vibe of the place and the consistent opportunities for growth, I think I have found my favorite office space.

With a long commitment to providing and maintaining quality housing in Canada’s neighborhoods, TransGlobe Property Management is here to work with you every step of the way.  Our record of excellent customer service means that our job doesn’t end after you’ve moved in and begun living and working here, our job has just begun.  We respond to any issues in a fast and efficient manner, and you’ll find that we consider ourselves to be participants in the life of the communities that we serve.  We’ve been here for over fifteen years, so we have a great fondness for these neighborhoods, and like to do our part to make lives better here.

We understand that a community isn’t something that just happens spontaneously, but something that occurs when the citizens there take action to make life better.  We admire the generations that have come before us to make Canada one of the world’s most livable places, and we strive to have the same civic sense that our predecessors had.  We’re also committed to leaving a better world for our children.  These are some of the reasons why we recently switched over to a fleet of Smart cars for our employees.  Their excellent gas mileage and ultra low emissions mean that we’ll leave less of a footprint on the geography here, so that they will have to remember us for our actions.  The cars are also very stylish, we think, and very eye catching for their unusual shape and compact size, and it makes for a nice visual statement on the roads and at the public events we participate in.

People in the neighborhoods could pick out TransGlobe Property Management at the London Santa Claus Parade in 2008, when some of our cars were decorated for the festive time of year.  We were grateful to be able to participate in an event where we were visible, and also giving something back to the community.  We’ve also been participating in a number of other charitable events, such as the Ride to Conquer Cancer, and the Heart and Stroke Big Bike Fundraiser.  These are magnificent opportunities for us to participate in the life of the neighborhoods, and it also is a wonderful thing for our team, bringing us closer together, and learning more about the neighborhoods where we work and live.  It’s a lifetime commitment for us.

The idea of an outdoor kitchen immediately conjures up images of picnics, those carefree times in the summer when friends and family gather around to laugh, enjoy each other’s company, and make new memories.  You’ll have the equipment to do just that, any day of the week.  It’s not just for summer either.  Our built in bbq grills have spectacular engineering, so that food can be cooked with extreme precision.  This means that you can enjoy the warmer months hanging out by the grill and making a regular evening into a fantastic social event.  It also means that in the cold months, you can use your grill to prepare a fast and perfectly-cooked meal that has an outdoor zing that’s heavenly when it’s frosty out.

You’ll soon discover all the benefits of having an outdoor kitchen, and the social part of cooking is among the finest.  Our set-ups are designed for people to entertain, so that you can prepare food for large groups, and either be discretely in a corner, or in the middle of the action.  It’s a wonderful feeling to feed people that you care about, and it’s awfully handy, too, for throwing a last minute party for no good reason whatsoever.  It’s always nice to have the ability to serve steaks perfectly marinated with your special recipe, soaking overnight to let the flavor permeate every millimeter of the meat, but when it’s a quick decision, there are fantastic bbq sauces that can be prepared in just a few minutes.

Here, you’ll want to keep a supply of ketchup, mustard, vinegar, worcestshire sauce, and molasses and brown sugar.  With these staples, you can always pull off something magical with a large group and a few steaks.  There are plenty of other optional ingredients, but these essentials are all you really need for a fast bbq sauce.  Of course, there are plenty of offerings at the grocery store, and some really stunning ones on the market these days, especially from some of the mom and pop restaurants around the country, and it might be hard to tell the difference between the store bought and your own.  Thankfully, with your own grill you’ll have plenty of time to do some serious experimentation and find out what’s the best for you.

San Antonio, Texas is close–just a couple hours from the city of Austin.  One reason that this is significant is that Austin is known for live music and legendary musicians, those that tour through the city, and those who live and work in the city.  San Antonio greatly benefits from this.  Any acts, be they regional acts or national, of course book a gig in Austin on any tour through Texas, and most of the time they fill out their tour dates and play in San Antonio as well, either before or after the gigs in Austin.

As such, there are many venues, close to some of the best San Antonio hotels, and any night of the week one can walk downtown and choose from those venues, and any number of great shows that are booked.  This is a great city to see live acts as many of the venues are small, and intimate and many times you will find yourself just a few feet from one of your favorite musical legends.  Two great places to go downtown if you are a fan dueling piano shows are Howl at the Moon and Pat O’Briens.

And just around the corner is another smaller more lounge style, Drink Cocktail Bar…also features dueling pianos in more of a charming and funky atmosphere.  Waxy O’Connors and Casbeers are two well known venues, that serve great food and great acts, many of them quite well known.  There are many dance halls as well, of course featuring live music.  The city is surrounded by music, just as is Austin.

Through specialty shops, music stores and restaurants that are all based around the live music element.  Radio stations are varied and eclectic, many times opening up the opportunities for music lovers to discover new bands and new tunes.  Some of the famous music festivals that occur annually include the International Accordion Festival The music is eclectic and extensive in this city of San Antonio, and although they were helped out by the close proximity to Austin, they are making their own name in the world.

When we were in New York City the last time we had the best time ever. having gone several times and always enjoying it we know we would have fun but this time everything went better than right. When we arrived we found out the hotel we had book our rooms in were given away. It was an accident by the desk clerk he apparently didn’t notice out reservation was confirmed for late arrival. Well at first we were kind of upset and was asking the guy what we were supposed to do now with no place to say and it getting late. He saw the looks on our faces and said he would get us some accommodations. We sat down in the lobby while the front desk clerk made some phone calls. We listened as he called one hotel and then another with apparently no luck.

About a half hour latter he called out for us to come to the desk. He said he had found us rooms in a hotel around the corner and that the room was available for the two nights we had requested for the hotel we were in. We gathered up our luggage and headed out and around the corner. We were pleasantly surprise we were now going to be staying in a four star New York hotels for the next two nights. We thought score! Because the other hotel that made the error was picking up the tab and was not as nice as the hotel we are staying in now.

From an upsetting and scary beginning with our rooms being given away and now we were staying in four star accommodations for the price of a lesser hotel. The days we were there were spent in our usual way. Shopping in lower Manhattan, exploring Soho, the Village and Tribeca. Eating some New York pizza and hanging out in some local bar.
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One of my college roommates was from Atlanta, Georgia.  And I must say that I had an idea, a stereotypical idea that I am not proud of, but I had always considered that those from the South, may be a bit..closed minded in their ideas of race, religion, ethnicity.  She proved me wrong, as the city will do should you decide to visit at some point.  I went to see Jackie a few years ago, and we treated ourselves to a stay in one of her favorite luxury Atlanta hotels downtown.

Walking through the streets that night, I realized that the city is populated by a diverse group of people.  One man we met was originally from Bangalore.  Our waiter was from Manhattan, and the woman we bought ice cream from later on that night was from Czechoslovakia.  I don’t think we came across anyone who was actually born in Atlanta, except for Jackie herself.  The people and city streets remain very welcoming to newcomers, they were very welcoming to me.

We stopped in to the High Museum of Art.  A major renovation and expansion was just completed, with designs from the famous architect, Renzo Piano.  One of the best elements of this museum for me, was the fact that the High is partnered with Paris museum, the Louvre.  Pieces of work that I may never be able to see, unless one day I decide to travel to France, were hanging on the walls in Atlanta.

The Louvre ships exhibits from their permanent collection, as well as sending the traveling shows on through to the High.  This month the museum is also presenting lectures, on topics ranging from the works of legendaryarchitect John Portman, to the world renown Renee Cox and her exhibit “Undercover: Black Female Identities”, and a night with Tierney Gearson.  Gearson has spent a lifetime working as a photographer and will be exhibiting her new works titled “Explosure” at the end of October.  This is a city that I will return to one day, that is for certain.