Tampa Mom

You can add us to the no-TV crowd. We moved our remaining television to the garage where it sits unplugged. We’ve moved a computer monitor into its place that we use for iTunes through the stereo and a digital photo album. This is really cool during parties. For example, we showed pictures from all of Elizabeth’s birthday parties at her party.

We still watch a lot of movies and subscribe to Netflix. Everyone in the house has a laptop that plays DVDs, so that’s not a problem. My husband still watches a lot of TV, but it’s out of sight from the kids on his computer (he has rabbit ears on it and also many networks put their shows on their websites now.)

Overall, though, this has seriously cut down on the amount of advertising coming into the house and unwanted television. Although I miss cooking shows, Discovery Channel and some other stuff, I can pretty much still find what I actually need and want, rather than passively absorb unnecessary, unwanted information.

I don’t think the kids miss it at all, and I certainly don’t.

If you need further convincing, visit http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/. This is an excellent resource packed with intelligent discourse about television.

A side benefit to all of this is that we don’t have a cable bill. It’s quite nice.

It’s cold outside and I’m so happy about it! While out shopping for a pair of jeans yesterday at Catherine’s (one of the few clothes outlets for the full-figured gal,) I spied the rack of leather coats with a 60% off sign on it. How could I walk past that? So, I found a coat I liked, put it on, and bought it. The price tag said $249, but I paid only $90 for it with the sale and my Catherine’s Perks discount on top of it! Cha-ching! I plan on wearing it this winter, then ebaying that baby in April. I’m so happy with my coat! My scarves all look beautiful with it. Well, there’s my one shopping tidbit for the year.

Next year, I’ll be shopping for a new leather coat about 10 sizes smaller! Join me on my journey at www.rediscoveringfood.com.

Tonight, my husband and I had a chance to check out Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries in Carrollwood. On our way there, I researched them on my handy Treo  700w and read a few reviews and I also discovered that they serve bulk peanuts. The kids are staying at Grandma’s, so we were uncharacteristically excited about the peanuts. Upon
arrival, we noticed the very obvious peanut allergy warnings. I’ve seen other postings at Dairy Queen, the Great American Cookie Company, and others places, but this was the kind of sign that must have some history behind it.

The food was decent for the meager price of $15 for the two of us. We had 1 small bacon cheeseburger (1 patty), 1 regular cheeseburger (2 patties), 1 small fries, 1 small drink, and 1 large drink. This was more than enough food for the two of us. The burgers were good, but messy. The mushrooms on my burger were like canned mushrooms. I will skip them next time. Burger toppings were plentiful, which was a bit messy, and I would’ve liked a more substantial bun to reign in some of that mess. The fries were pretty good, and  plentiful! I was thrilled that they had malt vinegar in addition to ketchup. I won’t go so far as to say that it rocked my socks off or anything, but it was adequate and reasonable. A better choice over any other fast food burger joint.

I would NOT recommend this restaurant for children because of the loose peanut situation there. Children under 3 should not have any peanut or nut products simply because they may be unable to communicate if they are having a problem like itchy mouth/throat, tingling lips, swelling, obstructed breathing from a nut being lodged in the airway, etc. Peanut allergic children may have a severe reaction from skin contact alone, as well. My husband and I may eat there again, but only if we will not be in close contact with our daughter afterwards. The fries are cooked in 100% peanut oil, but this is typically not a problem for many peanut allergic children, because any residual peanut protein in the oil is chemically altered through the high temperature used in frying. I am NOT a doctor and what you eat is entirely up to you. We would definitely eat here again if they eliminated the loose peanuts. Why do they need them or offer them? I don’t think anyone is going to starve while they are waiting for their food, and goodness knows that there were enough fries in the bag to satisfy a hungry teenage boy! The peanuts are completely unnecessary to a satisfying experience at Five Guys.

Today, I enjoyed a Mommy’s Day Out (by myself!) and saw the Metropolitan Opera’s Live HD Broadcast of Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette. I am a huge opera fan and am absolutely thrilled that the Met has this series so people around the world can enjoy 8 of their operas this year. I host a group on Facebook for this series and posted the following commentary there. Enjoy!

“I thought I’d share a few observations about today’s opera experience.
The actual opera was fantastic! Staging and costumes were superb,
camera work was very well done, and well planned for the opera, and the
singing was amazing. The sound was mostly very good, but there were a
couple of spots where it could’ve been better. It is my opinion that
this is due to the incredible live acoustics in the hall, the
particular planes of sound reflection, and ultimately microphone
placement. Due to the dynamic nature of opera and the integration of
movement with singing (dueling, lovemaking, dancing, etc.), the singers
are not always face forward in a static position. The orchestra sounded
consistently brilliant, but the singers sometimes were unbalanced, and
I found this to be most noticeable during some duet moments. Even then,
it did not bother me at all. It gave me an opportunity to think about
how difficult it must be to get great sound on a live broadcast! The
audio engineers are most impressive!

There are a couple of bonus
features I should talk about that I really enjoyed. As soon as the
curtains close, there are live cameras following people around
backstage, eavesdropping, catching glimpses of the complexity of the
backstage “goings on.” You could see the set changes (and this was a
totally cool set!), singers warming up, slugging down bottled water,
stretching, rehearsing fight scene choreography… I could go on and
on! And Renee Fleming interviewed the leads and Placido Domingo during
intermission! Fantastique!

The movie theater atmosphere was a
little odd. I was thrilled that I could eat popcorn at the opera,
however, during the Prologue, which is quite serious, I felt odd with
my popcorn and put it off until Act I and the Masked Ball. There were
other moments that it just seemed so inappropriate for me to be eating
popcorn! I was a little saddened that I was one of the youngest people
there, and I’m 40!!! I know so many people who would’ve really enjoyed
this experience and I want to encourage everyone to go to the next one,
Hansel and Gretel, on Jan. 1, 1pm. This opera is suitable for “children
8 and up, and some 7 year olds who aren’t afraid of the dark!”

One more note… buy your tickets early!!! Do not wait until the day of the show.”

The only theater in the Tampa Bay area to show this is the Regal 20 Cinema at Citrus Park Westfield mall. It is located on Gunn Hwy, just off the Veteran’s Expressway in NW Tampa. Tickets are $22 for adults on Fandango, with a $2 convenience fee. We could argue all day about whether or not it’s reasonable, but with Christmas shoppers taking a break at the movies today, I thought it was a bargain! Also, this event was sold out on line 2 days before, and they opened up an overflow theater. Do NOT wait to get your tickets.

This was a first-rate event. You will want to bring interested and well-behaved children, ages 8 and up, to see Hansel and Gretel on New Year’s Day! It’s going to be a great start to a wonderful year!

I’ve had enough! It’s mid-December and 80 degrees every day! Maybe I’m biased, being a knitter and all, but can it at the very least get a little chilly out there for Christmas? I’d like to wear one of my fabulous hand-knit scarves at least once this year. Can you give me that?

My family, especially the kids, would love to sip hot chocolate out on the lanai in the cool December air, but it’s just too warm. It sort of snowed yesterday, but since it was 80 degrees outside, the snow melted before it hit, resulting in a big rainstorm.

I’m really hoping for a bit of a chill real soon. I’m finding it difficult to get motivated in the Christmas festivities department simply due to the outside temperature.

It’s that time of year again to purchase Fun Cards at Busch Gardens. For Florida residents, that means we buy a one day admission and can come back all year through Dec. 31, 2008! Sounds like quite a deal, doesn’t it?

Let’s take a closer look. If we just want annual BG (Busch Gardens) passes, for our family of four (2 adults, 2 kids – ages 4 and 8), the Fun Card total is $239.80. This does NOT include parking ($9 general), discounts on food, beverage and merchandise, or anything else.

Here’s my suggestion: For $35 more, buy one adult 1-year Passport and Fun Cards for everyone else. 4 trips to the park will pay for this difference in parking alone, because you get free general parking with the Passport. Another area of savings is 10% off all food, beverage and merchandise. Get this Passport for the parent who will be taking the family all the time. If you are planning to get Fun Cards again next year for the family, pay $50 more and make mom’s Passport good for 2 years. If you can’t swing the money up-front, BG offers EZ-pay for Passport holders! For the 2 year passport, it’s $6.24/month for 2 years. Add on the Fun Cards for 2008, and it’s only $174.85 up front plus the $6.24 for mom, the first month.

We’ve found that the benefits of the Passports are worth it. You will use your pass more since you won’t have to pay $9 to park every time you go. Exhausting your preschoolers in Dragon Land for a few hours in the morning or afternoon won’t cost you anything but gas to get there and back, goldfish crackers, raisins and water bottles (all in Mom’s backpack!)

Read more about all of the ticketing options at Busch Gardens here.

This is a great gift for your family members, retired parents/grandparents, home schoolers, stay-at-home parents with small children, your nanny, and even your teenage babysitter!

Stay tuned for more Busch Gardens tips soon!

Welcome to my new blog! I am so excited that you’ve stopped by. My name is Ann and I am the mom of 2 great kids in Tampa, Florida. My husband and I have each lived in Tampa since 1979, met in 1992, married in 1993, and had kids in 1999 and 2003. We are thrilled to share our family’s tips about doing life in Tampa. There will be all sorts of lists and reviews that will include topics of Disney, homeschooling, food allergies, events, theme parks, nature, beaches, classes, shopping and much, much more! Enjoy!