Fellowship of Christian Homeschoolers (FCH) will be having a used curriculum sale Friday April 27th. The Sale time is from 11am-1pm. The Sale will be at Pillipe Park in Safety Harbor. There will also be raffle.
For more information you can visit FCH’s web site.
All across the Tampa Bay are there are fun Mother’s day activities for mothers and the rest of the family. Some of these events provide free admission on Mother’s Day for mothers. Of course, there may be certain restrictions that may apply. Places like the Lowry Park Zoo are offering free admissions for moms with the purchase of a child’s ticket on Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day is less than 3 weeks away and Tampa Bay Parent wants all mothers to have a happy Mothers Day. The first thing to having a great Mother’s Day, for the mothers in your life, is to remember them. Each mother is a woman first. Make the day special by thinking about what makes this woman feel happy and what makes this woman smile.
Being around other mothers I have heard some say that they would love a day of pampering at the spa or even a trip to the salon. You can take care of the kids for a day while mom goes out and has someone take care of her.
If your budget does not allow for a salon gift, then you can provide a relaxing day for mom. Make sure the house is clean and the meals are prepared without her having to lift a finger. You can also fix her a warm and relaxing bubble bath.
If all else fails, you can always get her flowers and a card. If you are personally picking up flowers, then please make sure you do not get wilted flowers from the store.
Mother’s Day is about acknowledging the mothers in your life and letting them know you appreciate everything they do, and have done. Mothers, on Mother’s Day, and everyday want to feel appreciated.
There has been a memorial fund established by the Virginia Tech University called the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. For those that feel the pull to want to contribute to the fund you can donate online on the Virginia Tech web site and get more information about the fund. Please be patient because the web site may have a heavy amount of traffic when you are trying to access it.
United Way of Montgomery, Radford & Floyd (UWMRF) established the United in Caring Fund for Victims of the VA Tech Tragedy. This is a branch of United Way has set up to fund to help pay for funeral expenses. NFL star, and former Virginia Tech football player, has already donated $10,000 through the Vick Foundation.
King high located in Tampa, Florida is tired of being criticized and labeled as a bad school. According to a tbo.com report some parent in Temple Terrace would prefer to send their child to private school rather than go to King High School. ” Still, some city leaders believe the district should change King’s attendance boundary to make the school smaller and contain mostly Temple Terrace students.”
The school sits near neighborhoods with high crime rates and known gang activity. But students say those problems don’t carry onto campus.
They said their student body boasts many accomplishments, including award-winning band and drama programs, piloting conflict resolution programs and breaking records for charity drives.
Source: TBO.com
Give yourself a self breast exam. Gynecologists do recommend the women perform a Breast Self-Exam every month. You can make a note to perform it every month on a certain date. The American Cancer Society has online guide on how to perform a self breast exam.
“The American Cancer Society recommends beginning in their 20s, women should be told about the benefits and limitations of BSE. Women should be aware of how their breasts normally look and feel and should report any breast changes to a health professional as soon as they are found. Finding a breast change does not mean there is a cancer.”
Source: American Cancer Society
According to a report in New England’s Journal of Medicine researchers in Both England and the United States have seen a correlation between the use of hormonal treatment, traditionally used for menopause, and the chances of getting breast cancer.
“New U.S. government numbers showed that breast cancer rates leveled off in 2004 after plunging in 2003 — the year after millions of women stopped taking hormones because a big study tied them to higher heart, stroke and breast cancer risks.”
“At the same time, a study of nearly 1 million women in the United Kingdom showed that those who took hormones after menopause were 20 percent more likely to develop ovarian cancer or die from it than women who never took the pills.”
The American Cancer Society recommends that all women over the age of 40 get an annual mammogram. All women should give themselves a Breast self exam and have a breast exam with their annual well woman visit.
“Women at high risk (greater than 20% lifetime risk) should get an MRI and a mammogram every year.” You can talk to your doctor about your medical history, and family medical history to determine your risk factors. An informed patient is always the best patient.
Source: Associated Press, Yahoo News
Today is the tax deadline for most people living in the US. The IRS has issued a two day extension to those living in the Northeastern states.
“Victims of the major storm affecting several Northeastern states on Monday, April 16 will have two additional days to file their tax returns beyond the April 17 tax deadline, the Internal Revenue Service announced today.
Taxpayers directly impacted by the storm have until midnight April 19 to meet their tax filing obligations without incurring late filing and payment penalties.”
According to irs.gov taxpayers can get an extension on filing their taxes.
If a taxpayer can’t meet the filing deadline to file their tax return, they can get an automatic six month extension of time to file from the IRS, but they must submit the request by April 17. The extension gives taxpayers until October 15 to file the tax return. However, an extension of time to file does not give the taxpayer an extension of time to pay, which must be separately requested. Those who owe taxes can make a payment when they file the extension either by mailing a check made out to the U.S. Department of the Treasury or by several electronic payment methods, such as electronic funds withdrawals from bank accounts and credit card payments. Taxpayers can get an automatic six-month extension of time to file their tax returns by filing Form 4868, Automatic Extension of Time to File. Taxpayers can e-file the extension request from a home computer or through a tax professional who uses e-file. Taxpayers can e-file their extensions at no cost. Several companies offer free e-filing of extensions through the Free File Alliance; these companies are listed on this Web site.
Source: IRS.gov
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Natural Balance has issued a recall of some of their pet food.
This is the statement issued by the FDA
“The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) was informed today, April 16, 2007, that Natural Balance Pet Foods has received consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. The company does not know the cause of the problems, but has received reports of animals vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Although the company is stating that the problems seem to be focused on one particular lot, as a precautionary measure, the company is pulling all dates of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food from the shelves. ”
The company is advising consumers to discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food.
The FDA is working closely with Natural Balance and is actively investigating this problem. There is no indication at this time whether this is related to the ongoing pet food recalls. For more information, please see:
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com
In the Stanley cup battle the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2. At the game, there were tons of fans cheering the Lightning on to their victory. It is amazing to see how far this team has gone in recent history. This is an area that does not bread hockey players, but hockey has caught on with many fans across Tampa Bay. Yes there were the famous “ThunderStix” that fans banged together in mass hysteria as the Lightning skated across the ice. The fact is that
Go Bolts!!!
More: Tampa Bay Lightning News
There was a shooting spree at the Virginia Tech Campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. According to the school’s web site 22 people have be confirmed dead, including the shooter. Classes have been canceled for tomorrow and today. The university has asked that all students contact their parents to let them know that they are okay. “Families wishing to reunite with the students are suggested to meet at the Inn at Virginia Tech.” The identity of the shooter and the motivation for the shooting has not yet been discovered or released. Whatever the reason, it will be of little consolation to the victims’ families and friends.
The fact that these are young people that have just entered adulthood and beginning to live their lives makes this horrible event even more tragic. Parents now have to live without the babies that they sent off to discover the world, learn new things. This is not the only time that tragedy has hit a college campus, but it has caused the most lost of life.
Source: Virginia Tech web site
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Ice Cream lovers take notice. There this Tuesday April 17th is Free Cone Day at Ben Jerry’s ice cream shops.
“On Tuesday April 17th from 12pm until 8pm participating Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops around the world will be hosting Ben & Jerry’s Annual Free Cone Day.”
You can search for your local Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream shop online at the benjerry.com. I personally will be going to the shop with my kids. We love free and ice cream, so that Free Cone Day is calling our names. With so many flavors there is going to be something everyone likes.
Source: http://www.benjerry.com/
On April 14, 2007 there will be the 2n annual Jessica Lunsford Run- Run for Innocence will take place. The event will start at the St. Pete Times Forum in Downtown Tampa.
Runners can compete in 8K, 5K, and 1 mile fun runs. The Cost to Register is $25 on the day of the event and $20 for those that pre-register. “There will be child identity card finger printing, safety demonstrations, face painting, music, door prizes and much more! All proceeds will go to the Jessica Marie Lunsford and K.I.D.S foundations.”
For more information visit the K.I.D.S. foundation web site.
Forecasters have said that they expect a very active 2007 hurricane season. Hurricane season begins June 1st and ends November 30th. We were very fortunate during the 2006 hurricane season when no hurricanes made landfall in the United States. The hurricane season of 2006 did seem to begin like the 2005 season with a storm forming in June, but it did not produce the same amount of storms as the previous seasons. Forecasters do not expect the hurricane season of 2007 to be an inactive as last year’s hurricane season, but would it be a wonderful surprise for everyone if it were. No matter what the year it is important that everyone be prepared and having a disaster plan available.
The product of the week is from the We Both Read series book called About the Rain Forest. The book is a beginning reader book for those from grade 1 to 2. What makes this book and the series great it is intended to be read by both a child and a parent. One one page there is text for the parent and on the opposite page there is text for the child to read.
What is also great is that the animals described in this book also appear on the PBS Kids series It’s a Big Big World and rhe Nick Jr. series Go Diego! Go! It is fun as the child points out animals that she already knows and learns more about their habitat and how they live.
Easter Sunday is Tommorrow. Most churches across the country see an influx of church visitors during the Easter Sunday. Easter and Christmas are the two days where churches reciever the most visitors.
List of Church web sites:
Bethel Assembly of God
1510 W. Hillsborough Ave
Tampa, Fl 33604
For more information call Bethel at 813.238.2348
Services start at 10:30 with Pastor Mike Tedder
Tampa Bay’s 10 has a page of Easter Services across the Tampa Bay area
The question of MySpace can be a heated one. Some view it as the devils playground where teens fall victim to lures of depraved adults. Others seeing just as a meeting place where the good the, the bad, and the ugly can occur.
I was speaking to an associate recently about promoting his book. I suggested that maybe he might create a MySpace account where his readers can easily contact him. He looked at me in horror, and immediately rejected the idea. His view was that MySpace was corrupting society.
I really do not know what role MySpace plays in the corruption of society, but I do know that the number one source of protection for children should be their parents. Experts all agree that computers should be left in a public place and that all Internet activity done by minors should be fully accessible by their parent or guardian.
Many would be surprised at the fact that there are church pastors with MySpace accounts. Yes, that is true. Church pastors have ventured into MySpace and are now using it to communicate with people all around the world. Pastors, like many others have taken the stand that MySpace is one avenue of communication that can be used. What you use it for is up to you.
According to one research the average age of MySpace users has increased to young adults in their 30s. Does that mean that teens have left the domain they are have helped to propel into Internet notoriety? No.
This just means that adults are using MySpace and other social networking sites to help make friends and also business contacts. There is one individual that I know that has used myspace as a way to help market her graphic design business. MySpace does state that their site is solely for personal use, but there are businesses that have gotten around that loophole and used their MySpace page to advertise.
Music artists are also frequenting MySpace with realization that MySpace is an inexpensive way to mass market themselves and their products.
More about Social Networking