Orange County Blog

 

Looking for an easy way to make a difference?  Take a look at Cell Phones for Soldiers

Cell Phones for Soldiers hopes to turn old cell phones into more than 12 million minutes of prepaid calling cards for U.S. troops stationed overseas in 2008. To do so, Cell Phones for Soldiers expects to collect 50,000 cell phones each month through a network of more than 3,000 collection sites across the country.

The phones are sent to ReCellular, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone – enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad.

“Americans will replace an estimated 130 million cell phones this year,” says Mike Newman, vice president of ReCellular, “with the majority of phones either discarded or stuffed in a drawer.  Most people don’t realize that the small sacrifice of donating their unwanted phones can have a tremendous benefit for a worthy cause like Cell Phones for Soldiers.”

Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money. Since then, the registered 501c3 non-profit organization has raised almost $2 million in donations and distributed more than 500,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas.

“Cell Phones for Soldiers started as a small way to show our family’s appreciation for the men and women who have sacrificed the day-to-day contact with their own families to serve in the U.S. armed forces,” says the teens’ father, Bob Bergquist. “Over the past few years, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of others. But, we have also seen the need to support our troops continue to grow as more troops are sent overseas for longer assignments.”

Through increased fundraising efforts, the Bergquist family hopes to raise more than $9 million in the next five years to fund new programs, such as providing video phones with prepaid service to allow soldiers abroad to see their families on a regular basis.

For more information on this worthy program and learn how you can help, visit http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/index.html

Advertising, pricing items & having strangers in your home is not the way you want to spend your valuable time. So what do you do with the beautiful sofa that just doesn’t fit your décor anymore?

Consider Furnishing Hope.

Furnishing Hope was founded to provide a home-like environment for kids and families in stressful situations. Recipients include: graduates of the foster care system,qualifying new homeowners,homeless veterans, the developmentally disabled and families who have lost their home to fire.

With your donations, a network of designers & volunteers use their skills to transform the environment of each home; giving those in need the opportunity to experience life with the comfort of living in pleasant & cheerful surroundings.

Orange County Assoc. of Realtors (OCAR) & Furnishing Hope are looking for donations to outfit remaining homes in Habitat for Humanity’s “Habitat for Heroes and Foundation for Families” neighborhood.

For more information:
(949) 644-9106
www.FurnishingHope.org

Thinking About Having a Garage Sale This Weekend? THINK AGAIN!

Looking for something unique to do this summer?  Try San Clemente’s Art Walk on the last Thursday of the month from 6 – 9 pm.  Stroll through the downtown of “The Spanish Village by the Sea” enjoying the work of San Clemente’s talented artisans.  Discover local artists’ paintings, art for sale, as well as live entertainment.  The San Clemente Art Gallery will be open with demonstrations.  The art walk is sponsored by San Clemente Art Association and San Clemente Downtown Business Association.  For more information, visit: http://www.orangecountyresourceguide.com/san-clemente-useful-links.html

Orange County, with its 42 miles of coastline, is a spectacular place to live. A day at the beach washes away cares and concerns while watching the sun set over the vast ocean offers a new perspective to life.  All in all, there is no such thing as a bad day at the beach.  And Orange County has a multitude of beaches from which to choose to spend a day.

But before heading out to enjoy sea and sand, take a look at these important reminders from the American Academy of Dermatology at www.WelcomeToOC.com

Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead.  ~Mac McCleary

Yes, patience is a necessity to drive in Orange County.  Also a necessity is the new 511 Motorist Aid and Travelers’ Information System.  Have you heard about this yet? 

511 is a free traveler information service that provides information about traffic, transit and commuter service information in Southern California via a toll-free phone number and website. By calling 511 or visiting Go511.com, all the information you need to make smart traveling decisions is readily available.

Take a look at www.WelcomeToOC.com to get the scoop on the new 511 system!

The Heart of an Orange County Community is in the Library

Libraries connect us with the world of imagination, ideas and information.  As a child, the library was a place to escape into Narnia, get lost in the world of medieval Europe or pretend that Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth were my sisters and I, too, was one of the Little Women.  Later, the library was a place to dissect research papers and locate fact upon fact to support my thesis.  As a parent, the library provided a sometimes necessary distraction from home, introducing my toddlers to the wonderful world of story time and summertime craft programs.  And as an adult, the library still doesn’t disappoint.  Besides the treasure trove of reading, I can also join a book club or learn to knit, yes, knit.  Truly, the library is the heart of every community.

To find the library in your community, click here:  http://www.orangecountyresourceguide.com/libraries.html

To learn about some of the programs orange county libraries offer, go to www.welcometooc.com

According to the Urban Dictionary, glamping is defined as “Shorthand for glamorous camping; luxury camping”.  The roots of glamping can be traced back to Africa decades ago.  Tourists yearning for safaris, but not willing to give up the comforts of home , found an entire industry willing to cater to their needs.  They could enjoy the wild setting while enjoying high tea.  Now glamping has risen to a whole new level with luxury camping resorts, safari camps, eco-resorts and campgrounds complete with 5 star amenities.

Take a look at http://www.welcometooc.com/ and discover whether camping or glamping is in your future.

 

Seriously, it’s time to fill the gas tank again?  Prices are on the rise and there’s not much we can do about it.  Right?  Well, the answer to that is both no and yes.  No, we can’t do much to lower the price of gas, but yes, we can take steps to reduce the number of times we visit the cost consuming gas station.

Here are a few helpful hints to reduce the frequency of the Needle on Empty Syndrome:

1.  Take care of your car!  Besides the issue with gas prices, a car is a huge investment.  Checking the tire pressure and replacing the air filter on a regular basis will do wonders for improving your car’s efficiency and therefore it’s MPG.

2. Remember that when the traffic light turns green, it’s not a green light to jump on the accelerator – settle down Speed Racer.  Accelerate moderately so as not to waste fuel.  A perfect partner to this hint is to take a tip from the truck drivers on crowded freeways.  They keep their speed constant as they know it takes much more fuel to get a vehicle moving than it does to keep it moving.

3. Try roughing it and turn off your air conditioner.  At lower speeds, you will save fuel.  But on the flip side, at higher speeds the A/C will be more efficient than the open windows because of wind resistance.

4. Resist the urge to “pimp your ride”.  If your tires are wider than the stock tires, chances are they'll create more rolling resistance and decrease fuel economy

5. So many of us fall into the category of being cleanliness impaired when it comes to our cars.  It takes little to acquire an extra 40-50 lbs. of stuff in our trunks.  Extra weight equals more fuel to burn to get from point A to point B.

6. One last tip for the carpool parent: Avoid Long Idles - The bottom line is idling burns more gas than restarting an engine. If you wait in line at the kids’ school, you know what a long idle means!

Now that you know how to stretch your tank of gas, stretch your gas dollars by learning where the cheapest gas stations are in your area http://bit.ly/47pekN

California Wine Festival
The Quintessential Wine Experience
April 22 -24, 2010  Dana Point, California

Wine, food, music, sea and sun. These elements create a unique wine tasting experience at every California Wine Festival. A sunny seaside setting with hundreds of California's best red and white wines from 58 wineries along with 5 brewing companies for discriminating beer drinkers make Dana Point the place to be April 22 – 24th.  The dozens of top chefs and specialty food purveyors will be complemented perfected by the live music performed by the band Upstream.  Upstream is known for their energetic eclectic style of Reggae and Soca.   Experience one of California’s most popular wine festivals. http://www.californiawinefestival.com

Creating an incredible dinner is an event that for most us just doesn’t quite happen. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t recognize the importance of cooking beyond that basic need to fill our empty stomachs. We know it can be so much more.  At the dinner table, real conversations can take place and we can get to know each other better.  We can connect or even reconnect with people important to us.  Cooking can be such a creative outlet.   Antoine’s Café in San Clemente helps us to discover our inner chef.  Take a look at a sample menu and get all the information to create your own epicurean delight at www.WelcomeToOC.com