Happy Easter!

Thanksgiving Point's Tulip Festival

my favorite flower is tulips and i had heard about the "thanksgiving point tulip festival" a few years ago. last year i made it just at the end of the festival so was too late to enjoy it and chose instead to take the kids and grandkids to the animal farm where we did have a great time. it was at that time that all of my family decided we loved thanksgiving point so much that we all bought year memberships and i told the kids back then that, "next year we are going to find out more and we are going to be sure to make it to the tuplip festival."

well "next year" has almost come and my next trip i'm planning is definatly going to be in a few weeks to the tulip festival!!!!

"Thanksgiving Point's Tulip Festival
Website
April 17 - May 2, 2009

Thanksgiving Point Gardens

3003 North Thanksgiving Way, Lehi, UT 84043

801-768-2300

Hours of Operation: 10:00am-6:00pm

Price: $10 Adults, $6 Children

Come see over 250 thousand bulbs bloom in our 55-acre garden paradise. There are
over 3.5 miles of winding paths that will rejuvenate and inspire you. In addition to the spectacular display of tulips, the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival includes music, demonstrations, vendors, tours, food, and even
storytelling for children."

Safest and Most Dangerous U.S. Cities, 2008

Now that we have found the happiest places to live, how about the Safest and Most Dangerous Cities in the United States...and it doesn't seem that the happiest poeple necessarily live in the safest places, nor do the unhappiest people live in the most dangerous places.
I found some of the places interesting where they were ranked, some I've never heard of, pleasantly suprised at how well California rated and glad a city in Utah did find it's way at #20 of safest.
The information provided below was found at;
Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/us/cities/safest-dangerous-cities.html

Safest and Most Dangerous U.S. Cities, 2008
The following ranks the safest and most dangerous cities in the United States as of 2008. The cities all have populations of more than 75,000. The rankings are based on a city's rate for six crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft.

Safest Cities (by rank)

1. Ramapo, N.Y.
2. Mission Viejo, Calif.
3. O'Fallon, Mo.
4. Newton, Mass.
5. Brick Twnshp, N.J.
6. Clarkstown, N.Y.
7. Amherst, N.Y.
8. Greece, N.Y.
9. Allen, Tex.
10. Colonie, N.Y.
11. Irvine, Calif.
12. Lake Forest, Calif.
13. Chino Hills, Calif.
14. Toms River Twnshp, N.J.
15. Cary, N.C.
16. Frisco, Tex.
17. Sugar Land, Tex.
18. Thousand Oaks, Calif.
19. Round Rock, Tex.
20. Orem, Utah
21. Troy, Mich.
22. Missouri City, Tex.
23. Gilbert, Ariz.
24. Canton Twnshp, Mich.
25. Cranston, R.I.

Most dangerous Cities (by rank)

1. New Orleans, La.
2. Camden, N.J.
3. Detroit, Mich.
4. St. Louis, Mo.
5. Oakland, Calif.
6. Flint, Mich.
7. Gary, Ind.
8. Birmingham, Ala.
9. Richmond, Calif.
10. North Charleston, S.C.
11. Cleveland, Ohio
12. Baltimore, Md.
13. Miami Gardens, Fla.
14. Memphis, Tenn.
15. Youngstown, Ohio
16. Atlanta, Ga.
17. Compton, Calif.
18. Orlando, Fla.
19. Little Rock, Ark.
20. Minneapolis, Minn.
21. Washington, D.C.
22. Philadelphia, Pa.
23. Jackson, Miss.
24. Newark, N.J.
25. Milwaukee, Wis.
Source: www.cqpress.com.

How happy is your state?

the gallup poll is in! this time it covered how happy each state is. interesting. i wonder who thinks up what to poll?

anyway, it seems utah has come in #1 as the happiest state.

i wonder if the people here know it yet?

and west virginia has come in as the least happy state.

i wonder if happy people in west virginia will have to move.

anyway, how did your state rank?

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/the-happiest-states-of-america/

Daylight Savings, Spring Forward

Tonight is the night to set our clocks ahead 1 hour (unless you are up at 2am tomorrow morning and want to do it then).
I never have quite figured out what daylight savings is all about as I think they do it backwards (i'd rather have daylight later in the day in the winter when the sun sets at 4:30/5 pm than in the summer when we have daylight until 10pm).
If this is a sign that spring is coming maybe someone should tell mother nature as I woke up to 5-6 inches of snow this morning. Luckily it is warm and melting off fast, but they say another storm is headed this way on monday.
So tomorrow morning the sun will rise an hour later, but also set an hour later...interesting how humans can even control the rise and set of the sun LOL!

Dog parks, keeping our friends safe

on my board we have been discussing dog parks and my concern about a bunch of dogs running off leash together and the possibility of fights. i found this site that has a lot of good information and suggestions (rules) for owners that are going to use a dog park.
i still worry that it only takes one owner that has the attitude of " my pet wouldn't do anything wrong" (as some people with kids) that could cause a horrid situation.
luckily i live in the country and my dogs can run my acreage with each other and when i go places i'm a firm beleiver in leashes even for the best trained dog so i don't have to go to dog parks.
yes, i'm an over protective "mom"

Dog parks, keeping our friends safe

Posted using ShareThis

Where Recovery & Reinvestment money is being used

this is interesting. president obama has put up a website that people can go in and see exactly how money is being spent and checked on in the future.
great idea if it works; as i already see people "picking out" portions of how the way the money is planned to be divided and who will spend it how.
i like the idea that president obama is going to this effort in trying to keep the american public informed, as it always seems that the people are the last to know just what is being done with taxpayer dollars.
it's a new idea...it may not be perfect, but at least it's a start to inform the american people and hopefully stop the speculation of the unknown.

i know i'll be interested in keeping track of how the money is being spent that is given out, and the monotoring of how it is being used.
the link is;

http//www.recovery.gov/

so far a very interesting site that breaks down exactly how much will go to infastructure, schools, energy, healthcare and so forth.

(and maybe it will cut down the uninformed scare tactic emails that seem to be going aroung if we can all just go check it out ourselves :-} )

Dog Ramp Comparison

the information given is my opinion only.
i looked into dog ramps as my back is getting too bad to lift my big dogs into the van in the event something happens that they aren't able to jump in themselves and also due to the fact i don't like my big dogs jumping in and out as i have had them slip at times and i just don't feel that it is good for their joints, especially as they are getting older.
1. at first i thought that i would like a "telescoping ramp" but as i looked into it more i didn't like the look of the aluminum which could dent and get sharp edges. in the reviews on them there were complaints that "the sandpaper like walkway" would get holes poked thru it from the dogs toenails and wasn't very rugged. at the price of around $140.00 i decided that it wasn't built to the quality that i expected at that price.
as i may be in places with rain or snow, i wanted a rugged all terrain ramp.
the telescoping ramp only weighs about 13 pounds which is great, but the features and what i had read in the reviews made me worry that it wouldn't last with my big dogs, me tossing it in and out of the van that could cause small dings that i was afraid then it wouldn't telescope right or if i left it set up when at dog shows or camping and it getting weather. review complaints of the legs falling off and the problem that many stated about the "sandpaper like finish" (it looked like rubber matting in the picture, but i guess not). trying this out made me decide that even though this was lighter that it wouldn't be the right one for me
this is rated to hold up to 400 pounds. telescoping ramp;
http//www.discountramps.com/petImages/deluxe-telescoping-ramp-4.jpg
2. so my next choice was just an all plastic one which was $40.00 less thru costco. (most other places that sells ramps carried this ramp also) it weighs around 18 pounds which carries easy with the built in handles on each side. the reviews said that people pinch their fingers closing it and i can't figure out how they do that unless they are picking it straight up in the middle where it hinges. i have had no problem with pinched fingers, if folds down as small as any others i looked at, is easy to handle, set up and take down. i love that it is molded solid so the rampway is firm and steady under the dogs feet. the footing is good and doesn't slip around when in use. it is solid even when up on my side door van step. i love that this is weatherproof and if left outside no harm will come to it from rain or snow (it can even be used in swimming pools and has optional legs for that application).
i'm sold on this one and it's the keeper! this is rated to hold up to 500 pounds; http://www.discountramps.com/petImages/petstep.jpg
3. there is one that looks much like the one i got and is priced around $70.00---but it's not of the same quality. many complaints about it tipping, the surface and enough bad reviews that i didn't even try this one out even though it was cheaper. it weighs 10 pounds and is rated to hold 200 pounds. http//www.discountramps.com/petImages/solvit-folding-dog-ramp-2.jpg
of course this is all my personal opinion on these ramps and it's each individual choice to see what they like best.

Wishing Everyone a....

Massage and Roses for your Valentine

Christy and Jerr are always looking for new innovative and fun ways to celebrate holidays. I thought this was a great idea of offering flowers with a gift certificate for a massage.

http://bpmassage.biz/