May is National Bar-B-Que Month.  Kick off the summer by having a family barbecue this month.  Head on down to the store and pick up a some great steaks and/or hamburgers and fry them up in the backyard.  Add a nice garden salad with some local veggies and finish off the meal with some bread pudding or strawberry cheesecake.  Oh my, what a great meal for family and friends!

May is also National Transportation Month.  This is a wonderful reminder to take care of some of that car maintenance that you have been putting off all winter.  No need to take your vehicle to a car repair shop and pay those ridiculous repair fees when you can do the work yourself.  Most repairs for things like brakes and replacing radiators or distributors can be done by you and the necessary replacement auto parts can be picked up at a local salvage yard for huge savings.  Get that car ready for your summer vacation and save money by doing the work yourself.

May 19^th is National Armed Forces Day!  This is a great opportunity to say thank you to the military personnel in your family or the friends you have who serve in the Armed Forces.  You could take them to your favorite family restaurant for a nice dinner of salmon or duck, or buy them some gift certificates to your favorite fine dining restaurant.  Or how about some gift cards to a local you pull it as a way of showing your appreciation?  Chances are that no matter what you do it will be remembered for a very long time by those who sacrifice a great deal for our American freedom and way of life.

We hope you all made it through the latest round of tornadoes with minimal damage.  Hail and windblown debris can do some serious damage to your vehicle so be careful out there and if you should need to take care of some damage remember to support your local salvage yards and in the process help the environment by buying recycled auto parts.  Every little bit helps this world we live in!

That will do it for now.  Have a wonderful remainder of May and we’ll see you next week!

As if that were not enough May is also National Salad Day!  What’s your favorite salad? Are you partial to a Chef Salad or a Garden Mix Salad?  Maybe you favor a nice pasta salad or a great seafood salad.  Whatever you like you can bet that a nice salad will make any meal that much tastier.

But we aren’t done with May!  Tomorrow is also National Eat What You Want day!  How cool is that?  Whoever decided to designate a day just for our own personal culinary favorites was a pure genius!  Summertime means barbecue to most of us and what is better than a barbecued steak or some barbecued seafood or chicken?  Gather some friends around and have a great barbecue complete with all of your favorites and come ice cold beer or your favorite wine.  Now that my friends is what summer is all about.

A word of reminder for all of you out there with mothers: the 13^th is Mother’s Day and you would be well-advised to remember your special mom by taking her to your favorite family restaurant for a nice Mother’s Day brunch or dinner.  This is the woman who carried you in her arms, cleaned up after you and kept you safe and sound for all these years; don’t you think she might deserve a special meal in celebration for what a great mom she has been?

What a great month May is and it has only just begun!  A whole month dedicated to eating! For the guys this is like manna from heaven.  What’s next, a National Football Month or a National Drink Beer Month?  Maybe we could combine all three into one hug national holiday: National Eat Food, Drink Beer and Watch Football Month!  Now that would truly be a cause for celebration.

Don’t forget your moms on the 13^th and whatever else you need to do this month make sure you take time out to eat with gusto on this special month dedicated to chewing and swallowing. Bon Appetite!

Yes, it is May and that means two things will be happening in practically every household in America: someone we know will be graduating from high school or college and we need to remember to celebrate Mother’s Day!

As always we have a couple suggestions to help you navigate your way through the month of May.

Graduation: is it a child graduating from college?  How about taking them and their friends out for a great meal at some family restaurant?  You could reserve a banquet room and have a special meal catered for the special event.  After the meal you can present your graduation present to that son or daughter of yours, and this present needs to be very special indeed….how about a reliable used car?  There is no reason to go overboard but you can get a pretty decent used car with a great engine and transmission and it will be the gift that keeps on giving year after year.

As for Mother’s Day, if you aren’t planning on taking Mom out to eat a special dinner then what in the world is the matter with you?  Buy her some flowers and head on over to your favorite restaurant and buy her a steak or pasta or seafood and rack up the brownie points.

After the meal, if you want to establish you ranking as the best husband on Earth, give her tickets to a resort in Florida or sunny California, then tell her you are going to drive there for a special vacation just because she is the greatest mom and wife in the world.

Of course, a trip like that means doing a quick car maintenance so your car will make it to Florida or California.  Heck, with summer coming it’s a good idea to do this even if you aren’t taking mom to the resort.  You can find the best replacement auto parts like brakes and fuel pumps and all other used parts at your local salvage yard.

So there you have our hot tips for this week.  Graduation parties/dinners and Mother’s Day dinner/special trip.  A winning combination that will make the loved ones in your family happy and make you appear to be the best guy on the planet.  That, my friend, is a win-win combination.

Have a wonderful month of May and don’t forget to head over to the florist shop soon.

Are you confused yet?  If you live in the United States you are well aware that Labor Day is celebrated in September, but in Mexico and Cuba it is held on May Day, the first day of May, and it is a huge celebration of workers.  In fact, in Cuba it is one of the largest celebrations in the world and is a national day of celebration with festivities galore.

For all of our Mexican-American friends we thought we would toss out a few suggestions to help you celebrate Labor Day.  How about a great picnic at the lake or a park of your choosing?  Pack up some fried chicken or maybe some salmon or steak sandwiches, toss in some bread pudding for dessert, and have some fun in the sunshine with family and friends.  Heck, you could even pick up a couple bottles of wine for the celebration.

Before you leave, however, you might want to do a quick vehicle inspection to make sure you celebration isn’t ruined by a flat tire or faulty transmission or engine.  Wouldn’t that be a wet blanket on the party if your radiator overheated on the way to the lake?

Another thought we had was to take the family a favorite restaurant for a great meal of fish tacos or pasta.  If you live in the Fort Worth area then there are some great family restaurants to try on this special day.

With Earth Day just completed this would be a good time to remind everyone to step up the efforts to recycle whenever possible.  Mother Earth is counting on you to do your part to keep her clean and running smoothly so please, make sure you recycle after your picnic and don’t leave any litter around.

For the U.S. citizens never fear; Memorial Day is coming soon and that is most definitely the official start to our summer and loads of fun after a long, tough winter.  Start making plans for some outdoor events and make sure you have that car running smoothly in advance.

To Mexico and Cuba we want to say “Happy Labor Day” and may all your days be a celebration!

179 nations around the world have pledged to take part in this event and millions of Earth Day pledges have been made by aware citizens of the world to do their part in helping the environment.

Feast your eyes on just some of the Earth Day events scheduled in the United States:

• St. Louis Earth Day Festival
• Los Angeles Earth Day Latino
• Portland Earth and Spirit Council
• Malibu Earth Day Convention

Without a doubt if you live in a sizeable community there will be an Earth Day event for you to attend and if you can’t attend then at least make a pledge to help in some small way.  How you ask?  Planting a tree is always a classic! Others are making community gardens, sprucing up neighborhood parks, adding to the flora and fauna of their areas.  All acts help to restore the Earth and replenish its resources.

We have a couple suggestions for you to consider.  How about having a neighborhood barbeque and clean-up celebration.  You and your friends could barbeque up some hamburgers and steaks and pitch in together to add to the beauty of your living area.  You could plant some trees to add to help the atmosphere or put in natural walkways on vacant lots, all the while sharing in a community spirit.  This needs not be an effort that costs very much money; the whole point is to get as many people as possible involved as every little bit helps.

Another way everyone can get involved is to increase your recycling efforts.  Go around the neighborhood and collect old used oil or have a clean up effort to pick up discarded car parts like batteries and radiators.  Maybe you could round up all the old newspapers in the neighborhood and take them to your local recycling plant.  Every ounce of recycling done is one small step towards cleaning up the Earth and protecting it from the harmful effects of pollution.

Check with your local Chamber of Commerce to find out more about your local Earth Day efforts or go to http://www.earthday.org/2012 and make your own individual pledge to make things better in this world that we all share.  Mark April 22^nd on your calendar and get involved in a very worthy cause.

We just finished watching The Masters and an exciting tournament it was, so let’s move our sights to the next biggie, the most exciting two minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby.  This year the Derby will be held on May 5^th and of course it will be run at historic Churchill Downs.  If you have never been at the Derby then I can tell you without a doubt that there is nothing quite like it.  Go early and grab a bite to eat at one of the great restaurants.  A nice lunch of pasta or steak before you head down to the ticket windows to place your bets; there is no sense going if you aren’t going to partake in the total experience.

A word of warning though: it is usually quite warm in Kentucky in May so make sure your car is running in tip top shape,  Do a vehicle maintenance inspection and make sure the battery, radiator, brakes and transmission are all functioning properly as well as the air conditioner.  If need be pick up some replacement parts before you start your trip.

One month after that great sporting event you will want to be in San Francisco for the U.S. Open golf tournament, won last year by super star Rory McElroy.  Can the kid from Ireland pull of a repeat?  Again, get there early and have a nice little tailgate party before walking the course.  There is nothing quite like a salmon barbeque to make the whole experience extra special.

Now are you ready for the icing on the cake? The week of June 25-July 8 just happens to feature Wimbledon in England, arguably the most coveted prize in tennis.  Fly over The Pond, get yourself a nice hotel room, then head out to taste some of the local food prepared as only the British can prepare food.  We strongly suggest you get yourself some waffles and strawberries at a good family restaurant for a nice little afternoon snack; then head over to the stadium and catch some evening matches.  No need to walk as you can find some great rental deals on some great cars with lovely V8 engines so after the tennis head out to the country and visit the real England.

There you go! Two months of some great sports and food and fun!  Have a blast and as always stay safe!

The Masters

How many of you are going to hop in your car or catch a flight to Augusta, Georgia for The Masters this week? It starts today so if you haven’t already left you might think about turning on the boob tube and at least watching it.  How about this for a great afternoon: fix yourself a great snack of fried chicken and maybe a nice Caesar’s salad and watch Tiger Woods and Rory McElroy and the other greats go at it on the famed course.

Easter is Coming

Yes, it is that time of year, a time of eating Peeps and chocolate bunnies and watching kids hunt for eggs.  Is there an Easter celebration in your town?  Make sure your car is running right; take the time to do a vehicle inspection and pick up whatever replacement parts you need so you won’t be left stranded on the road.  That would simply be unacceptable.

And while we are talking about Easter, how about taking that special someone in your life out for Easter brunch or dinner? Maybe a nice Prime Rib of Lobster dinner?  Sounds like a great way to spend a day with a loved one.

Baseball…Baseball…Baseball

Spring training is over and baseball has begun, always a great reason for celebration.  It’s time to start taking the kids to Little League practice and thinking about heading to the ball park to watch your favorite team play.  Or maybe you are an armchair ballplayer who would prefer to fix up a nice snack of What Nots and have a nice glass of wine while you watch the pros play?  Whatever your thing is it is just exciting to have baseball season start up again.

And That Means Summer is Coming Soon

Seriously, summer is going to be here quicker than you think and that means family outings and vacations and you had better make sure that car of yours is running properly.  Do a quick check of the battery and tires, brakes and transmission.  Make sure all the fluid levels are correct and if you need new plugs let’s do it now so that your summer fun is not ruined by breaking down.

That’s it for now! Have a great week and we’ll check in with you next week, same time, same place!

As most of you know, tornadoes can actually happen anytime during the year but the majority of them happen during the Spring and Summer months.  They can also happen in every state in the United States but the vast majority of them happen in the area known as Tornado Alley, those states east of the Rocky Mountains and west of the Appalachian Mountains.  Cities like Savannah and Memphis, Minneapolis and Oklahoma City, all are in the bullseye of Tornado Alley.

I hear the word tornado and I immediately think about my family’s home being destroyed on May 15, 1968 in Charles City, Iowa, as an F5 tornado leveled that small farming community.  All members of my immediate family were born in that home except for yours truly, so it was a rather emotional time for my family and many phone calls were made in the ensuing days to make sure that family members still living there were safe.

Last year, 2011, was a particularly busy year for tornadoes and there was none more deadly or destructive than the F5 that hit Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011, leaving 161 dead and 990 injured.  The physical damage to the area was estimated to be in the billions of dollars.

I remember hearing from friends who live in Fort Worth, Texas, who survived an F3 tornado on March 28, 2000.  There were only two deaths from that storm and eighty were injured, figures that could have been much worse considering that the tornado hit a populated city.

In case you didn’t know, tornadoes are rated according to wind speed.  Using what is known as the Fujita Scale, storms begin at the low range of F0 which means winds between 73-112 mph and can go as high as an F5 with winds between 261-318 mph.  The low end means a tree might be knocked over; the high range means a restaurant might be picked up and moved.  Yes, they are that powerful!

Bottom line for all of you who live in Tornado Alley: stay safe this season.  Do what you can do now to prepare for the possibility of a tornado.  Store up on emergency food and supplies, have your car running properly and if you don’t have a storm cellar make sure you know the quickest route to the nearest shelter.  Stay safe and let’s have a death-free season!

So much to do this time of year with the extra sunlight in the evenings.  Does your to-do list keep growing this time of year?  Does it include some of the following things?

• Spring cleaning: yuck, yuck and more yuck!  But it is necessary so let’s get those gloves on and get to cleaning.  The sooner we start the sooner we will finish.
• Do you have a swimming pool?  If so it is time to check the filter and individual pump/engine and make sure it is all working properly.
• Oh what happened to the yard and flowerbeds?  Time to clean those up and get the soil ready for new plantings.
• Have you checked your irrigation system lately? So many things that need maintenance and that irrigation engine needs to be ready for the hot summer ahead.  Make sure you check all of the hubs and bearings and fittings.
• How about your car? Is it ready for your summer vacation roadtrip?  Is the AC working properly? How about the tires? Brakes? Any leaks in the radiator or fuel lines?  Make sure before you head out and enjoy yourself this summer.
• Have you thought about having a veggie garden this year? If so it is definitely time to get that garden ready so you can plant soon.  Have you seen the new online tutorials where you can simulate a virtual garden? Great little tool to prepare and visualize what you want your garden to look like.
• Have you taken care of your own needs? After you finish this rather sizeable list you might consider taking yourself out for a lovely meal on the town.  Give yourself permission to have a great Rib Eye steak or fresh salad….or both!

Another things we want you to do is make sure you take some breaks; breaks are good for the mind and keep you refreshed so the chores don’t seem so much like chores.  Don’t forget that March Madness is still going on as sixty-eight teams fight it out in the NCAA tournament which climaxes on April 2^nd.  Games are going on this weekend, March 22-25, so take a few minutes and watch the action.

That’s about it for now. We hope you had a great St. Patrick’s Day and you are well-rested for that list of chores that is facing you.  April is right around the corner so we will talk to you next week and see what else is going on in the world around us.

Before we do that, though, we want to give a shout out to Dublin, Ireland, where close to ¾ of a million people will witness the parade held there each year. You haven’t lived unless you have participated in the Dublin festivities.

And now on to the United States:

• Boston Massachusetts: a city that is composed of 16% Irish should know how to celebrate the Irish holiday and they do indeed with close to a million people enjoying the day.
• New York City will have over two million lining the parade route to witness a parade that first began back in 1762.
• Savannah, Georgia has the second largest parade in the United States and has been in existence since 1825.  If you like green grits for breakfast then this is the place to be.
• Chicago, Illinois, does Savannah one better; instead of dying their fountain green Chicago dyes the entire Chicago River green for this day. Now that is civic pride!
• San Francisco: it wouldn’t be fair to name all of these great parades and leave out the West Coast. There are, after all, Irish on the west coast of this nation.  Over a million people watch the parade in person along the trolley route and the city comes alive in celebration.

What else is happening this week?  Well, in many school districts across the country this is Spring Break.  Hundreds of thousands of college kids are heading for Florida or California or the Gulf Coast states to cut loose and have some fun in the sun.  Many local restaurants and businesses will be having special celebrations in honor of Spring break from school, so keep an eye out so you can party down with the recently released college kids.

If you are a basketball fan this is March Madness when 68 college basketball teams try to reach the number one spot in the country.  Across the country elimination games are being played as we march towards the Final Four in New Orleans and a new college basketball champion.

It may only be March but things are heating up this month; get off the couch and go find something exciting to do.