The storm caused horrible flooding, and my house was affected dramatically. I guess that’s what I get for living on a street that floods so easily.  The good news is that I haven’t heard about any upcoming storms, so we should be safe for a while. Just as a precautionary, I will be making some changes to my house. A contractor is coming over today to see what he can do, such as making the house higher so flooding in the house can be prevented.

My favorite parts of the day on the trip was playing some golf and then cooling off in the pool. I tried to be part of the group exercising classes on most days as well, so I could stay in shape. I usually ended the night by eating at the one of the three restaurants that the club has. All three had such delicious food, so it was sometimes hard to just choose which one to go to. I’m already looking forward to the winter, just so I can go to the Beach Club.

I’m currently in the market for a new home. I’ve been living in the same place for almost my whole life, and it’s finally time for a change. I decided that I’m actually going to be moving pretty far away because I’m going to Chicago. It’s just such as nice place to live, and will be a great place to raise a family once the time is right. The only  problem is that my family is going to be so far away from me. I’ve been living with my parents for the last thirty years, so it’s going to be an adjustment period. I’m sure it will be worth it though,and I will  be saving money as well. The Chicago home prices have been dropping, which is one of the other main reasons why I’m so excited about going to Chicago. It’s really only about five hours from my parents, so I’m sure I will get to see them more than just holidays.

Now that I know what area I’m interested in, I need to decide whether I want an apartment or house. I guess a house would be nice, but an apartment will be much easier to clean and maintain. I guess I will see what catches my eye!

My very romantic husband is taking me on dream trip to Bora Bora, Tahiti, a French Polynesian Island in the most beautiful part of the Pacific Ocean. We have talked about this trip for years and I have watched shows about the resorts there, the beautiful emerald water, and carefree lifestyle of the native residents. When I learned that we were going, I went to www.TVByDirect.com to see if there were other travel channels that I was not yet receiving. I wanted to get as much information as possible about this beautiful. I have seen the island on The Bachelor television show and Matt Lauer visited there one year on this Where In The World series. It looks to be a true paradise and possibly the most romantic place on Earth! My husband is truly one of the last great romantics alive! He showers me with flowers and hand-written notes, and is the most thoughtful human I believe I have ever known. My friends are envious of the great relationship we have and I love him more every day. Spending a week on a romantic island with him will be the ultimate in romance and I can not wait!

Since there were so many hotels that were available, I needed to  narrow down by search so I could get the best hotel for me. I narrowed down the two different parts of Chicago that I wanted to be in. I was then even able to narrow the search down even more, by selecting my even more specific preferences I had for my hotel. I  knew that the kids were going to want to swim, so staying at a hotel without a pool was out of the question. I also knew that the hotel needed to have free breakfast, because finding a breakfast place with decent prices and food was always hard to do. I wanted to be able to go downstairs, eat breakfast and then start my day. Internet access was also a necessity, as I was going to need to be able to check my work e-mail while  I was away. Even with all of these specifics, I was still able to find an affordable price for my family and I. I was even able to save more money by using a CheapOstay coupon code when booking.

Chicago is only one of the many vacation spots where you can find a great hotel deal, by using CheapOstay.

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Hotels.com is a discount travel website offering coupon codes on hotels, airfare and vacation packages. Booking through them allows you to afford some seriously awesome vacations, and there are no strings attached if you need to change your plans.

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If you do choose to take advantage of all that Chicago has to offer, be sure to get a pie of Chicago deep dish pizza. I’m letting you know in advance that you won’t be able to just have one slice. It really is that good! I can honestly I’ve never had a bad slice of pizza in Chicago. There are however places that have been ranked as the best pizza places in Chicago.

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Before you book, check out some of the deals with a Hotels.com coupon code. They offer a ton of options, allow you to book as much or as little through them, and they aren’t like other online travel discount sites. What does that mean? It means that they still negotiate with hotels, airlines and resorts to get you the best possible deal on your vacation, but they aren’t spending big bucks on advertising – driving up your vacation cost to compensate. Hotels.com prefers to pass the savings on to their customers immediately, and they don’t punish you with hidden fees or contracts.

The honest truth is that Hotels.com earns a great review for their superior customer service, the amazing discounts they offer, and their flexibility. The next time you book, make sure it’s through them.

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Trust me, you won’t regret this trip!

I have come to the realization lately that life is expensive. We have had several expenses lately. First our power went out during a thunderstorm and I am pretty sure that lightning struck our stove. It has not worked since then and we were forced to buy a new one. Then our television began to get white dots all over it. It started with one, and eventually about a thousand dots took over the screen until you could not see anything but white. We found a decent deal on a new TV so we bought a replacement. Our cars both had to get new brakes the next week. Then our refrigerator died. I told my husband that if one more thing broke in our house, I was going to lose it. His response was, “Well at least we have looked into different TEXAS Electricity providers so we are saving money each month on our power.” He is always the positive one in situations like this. He is right and I have come to the realization that I guess life is just expensive sometimes.