Picturesque Helen, GA

Okay, so summer does officially end this month, but that doesn’t mean that your adventures and road trips have to end along with it. Actually, the fall season is one of the best times to take a vacation. There’s a nice, crisp feel to the air; it’s not stifling hot, and it’s not to cool to walk around outside without a jacket. Soon, the leaves will start turning, and the foliage makes for a perfect backdrop for vacation photo shoots. But what if you’ve done the beach thing all summer and you’re looking for something different to do that’s not really that far from home. Well, Helen, GA, about a 2 hour drive from Amber Chase Apartments, is definitely a change of pace.

Helen, Georgia is a fun and funky German town about 1.5 hours north of Atlanta. Here you can get pretty authentic German food (and chocolate!), go tubing on the Chattahoochee in the summer months, and see AMAZING foliage in the Chattahoochee  National Forest in the fall. Normally the leaves will start to turn mid-September, early October, but now is as good a time as any to go. Even an early winter excursion would be nice; you may even see some snow near the mountains in North Georgia, because  you know we won’t see much living in this part of GA.

For a more homestyle stay in the center of everything, the Best Western Alpine is a great choice. It’s clean and comfortable, and won’t put a supreme dent in your wallet. (You’ll need that extra gas money for the two hour drive. ) Another great place to stay would be The Helendorf River Inn and Conference Center. This hotel offers a heated pool and the Chattahoochee is directly behind the hotel. There are also quaint little cabins and bed and breakfasts to stay in.

So if you’re looking for a quaint, yet picturesque and mildly inexpensive getaway, Helen, GA is a place to consider.

What are you doing with your last days of summer?

photo credit: Wikipedia

6 Flags Over GA premiering new ride next summer!

It’s always an exciting time when Six Flags gets a new coaster, especially for roller coaster extremists like myself. When the Goliath premiered in 2006, I just had to ride it! Now, I wasn’t among the first because I wanted to wait  until any kinks that were going to arise were knocked out before I got there, but when I did get to ride the coaster, it was amazing. Hopefully the new ride premiering next year, the Dare Devil Dive, will be just as amazing.

The Dare Devil Dive; just the name sounds exciting! Dare Devil Dive will feature a 10-story vertical lift and a first drop that dives beyond vertical as it plunges. It will be located in the USA section, and no other rides will be eliminated. Now, this is what perplexes me. For those of you who are familiar with Six Flags Over Georgia, you know that the Goliath has overtaken much of the USA section; I honestly don’t know where this new coaster will go unless they take out the game section and some of the restaurants. It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with.

Dare Devil Dive, was custom-designed and engineered by Germany-based Gerstlauer Rides. It is scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend in 2011. Here’s a description of the coaster made by the company in a press release:

“It begins with guests being pulled straight up to the sky on a special vertical chain lift, then slowly rolling to the top of the tower nearly 100 feet in the air. After an agonizing pause at the crest of the summit, the coaster car plummets downward at an angle that is beyond straight down — it actually angles inward at a blistering 52 miles per hour.

“The ride then careens through a thrilling combination of diving loops while executing three inversions before riders catch air on a zero gravity hill and swoop across the dreaded Immelmann vertical U turn stretched high above the ground. the crescendo builds as the car drives toward the ground and up in to a Heartline roll before being slowed by the magnetic brakes.”

At launch, the ride sounds similar to the Free Fall ride that the park had years ago, and it also sounds similar to the Acrophobia. I guess we’ll have to see next summer.

photo credit: Wikipedia

GO DAWGS! Show your school pride with College Colors Day!

Hey everyone! It’s that time of year again; it’s time for college football! I’m so excited! I’ve been waiting on college football since the beginning of summer. What better way to lead into the college game nights, than with a holiday to support your favorite team? College Colors Day is on September 3rd, and it’s encouraging you to wear your school colors with pride!

Now, I don’t really need a reason or a holiday to show my school pride (this blogger is a DAWG fan!), but I think it’s great that there’s a holiday that’s uniting all college fans and alums, especially in the workforce, and ensuring that your school pride doesn’t end at graduation.

College Colors Day began in 2005, and is officially an annual celebration dedicated to promoting the traditions and spirit that make the college experience great by encouraging people across America to wear apparel of

IU Football Fans

their favorite college or university throughout the day.

The College Colors Day website suggests ways that your workplace can get into the spirit of the holiday by posting a notice about the holiday in the company newsletter or blog, or having a potluck of sorts, with everyone wearing their team paraphernalia.  Be sure to check out the website for more ideas and to register your company!

So, be sure to rock your teams colors this Friday! I know I’ll be sporting my red and black!

photo credit: wikipedia, wikipedia, hoyasmeg

Add depth to any room!

Hey everyone! When it comes to apartment living, who doesn’t need a little extra space sometimes? Did you know that with a little moving around and redecorating,  you can make the already spacious 800-900 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment at the Amber Chase Apartments look even bigger? These tips, courtesy of ehow.com will tell you how:

• Try not to fill your apartment with small furniture. Though they may seem appropriate when trying to fill a smaller space, they can make an apartment seem a bit cluttered.  Instead, choose a few nice medium sized pieces that accent the apartment.
• Use mirrors to reflect light into dark spaces and create the illusion that there are more rooms. You can add an entire wall of mirrors to give a room more depth. A mirror made to look like a window placed across from an actual window will give you an outdoor view on more than one apartment wall.
• Avoid positioning all of the furniture around the perimeter of the apartment. Instead, place some pieces at angles.
• Use space saving measures such as under the bed storage or wall hooks to keep clutter off of the floor and furniture.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment!

You can find these tips and more at ehow.com.

Do you have any decorating tips to share?

It's Time for the Emory Healthcare 500!

Hey racing fans! Get ready for the return of night races at the Atlanta Motor Speedway! Come Labor Day Weekend, there’s so much going on at the AMS that you won’t know where to start first! That weekend, you’ll be privy to two GREAT races: The Great Clips 300 and the Emory Healthcare 500.

There will be different race related events from September 3-6. The Emory Healthcare 500 is on Sunday, September 5th, and the Great Clips 300 is on Saturday, September 4th at 7 pm. For these two events, there are special ticket packages.

If you don’t know, the Atlanta Motor Speedway is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary, and they’re giving you a great Labor Day Weekend celebration to boot. It all kicks of Friday, September 3rd with the Friday Fan Fest. The Fan Fest will include a driver Q&A with NASCAR drivers, a concert by Drivin’ N Cryin‘ followed by the Georgia Best Chevy Dealers 150, a 150-lap race on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 1/4-mile “Thunder Ring” featuring the Southern Superstars Short Track Series! Admission is free with tickets to either the Great Clips 300 or the NASCAR

NASCAR at the Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sprint Cup Series night race. Otherwise, admission is $10 and tickets will only be sold on the day of the event at the Gate 13 ticket window.

The races are also a great time to bring out the kiddies, because kids 12 and under are FREE on Saturday. There a good number of other ticket specials on the website. Be sure to check them out.

So come out and see the best drivers in all of NASCAR battle it out for 500 miles under the lights,  as well as the stars of tomorrow as they clash with a handful of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers under the lights for 300 miles of racing. This is sure to be an epic event!

Before you leave, check out the schedule of events for that weekend.

Directions from Amber Chase Apartments:

Head southwest on GA-155 S/McDonough Rd. Turn right at Farris Rd. Continue onto Westridge Park. Turn left at GA-20 E/Hampton Rd/McDonough Hampton Rd. Continue to follow GA-20 E. Slight right at Richard Petty Blvd. Take the 1st right onto Woolsey Dr. Take the 1st right onto Richard Petty Blvd/Woolsey Dr. Continue to follow Richard Petty Blvd. Take the 2nd left onto Turnipseed Rd. Turn left at Pleasant Rd. Destination will be on the right.

photo credit: Wikipedia, Ford Racing

Have you ever heard of the term, ‘better safe than sorry’? Well, renter’s insurance is the epitome of that. There is nothing worse than to be headed home, only to see that a puff of smoke is coming from the direction of your apartment. You get home to discover that your belongings have gone up in a puff of smoke. What do you do next?

If you have wisely invested in renter’s insurance, you don’t have much to worry about. Many people don’t take advantage of renter’s insurance because of a common myth: the cost. Renter’s insurance is surprisingly inexpensive. For a small fee a month, normally between $10 and $20, you can save thousands of dollars in case you have to replace your belongings. In all honesty, I’d much rather pay about $10 a month than to pay over $200 to replace a lost television or over $500 for a new laptop.

Renter’s insurance also covers liability for anything you’re found negligent to have caused an accident or a fire. Basic renters insurance, at most, will run you about $100 a year. In my opinion, that’s a small price to pay for piece of mind and the reassurance of securing your precious belongings. This video shows what happens when people choose not to invest.

How do you get renter’s insurance? National insurance sites like State Farm, GEICO, and All State all carry policies. You can also visit the Amber Chase Apartments leasing office, and they’ll be happy to get you on your way to a higher piece of mind in no time.

Tanger Outlets

Hey everyone! Have you ever been to the Tanger Outlets in Locust Grove? It’s a great place to shop; it has all the latest styles and trends at remarkable prices! You won’t see these unbelievable prices on name brand items in any mall, I’ll tell you that. The biggest ‘yes’ factor is that the outlet is only about 10 minutes from the Amber Chase Apartment Community! How amazing is that; all of this shopping right in your backyard!

Along with great shopping, Tanger Oulets encourages families to get fit! In October, they will be hosting their 2nd Annual Fit For Families 5K Run/Walk in Locust Grove. Their aim is to bring people together this fall to promote and encourage a happy, healthy lifestyle, and to fight breast cancer. Proceeds from the race will benefit the American Cancer Society.

The race is a timed 5K (3.1 mile) run, which begins at Tanger and ends at Tanger, after going off site, on October 9, 2010. Everyone who finishes the race will receive a medal, and those who pre-register will receive a race pack which includes a commemorative race t-shirt, Tanger shopping discounts and other goodies. Prizes will be awarded to division winners as well as the top 3 male and top 3 female winners.

Marathon Runners

I know that the race is over a month away, but I think this is prime time for you to seriously consider it. That way, you can start training for it much sooner. The registration fee is only $25, and online registration ends October 7th. This is sure to be great fun (for those who like marathons), and a chance to help a worthy cause.

Do you like to participate in marathon runs?

photo credit: wikipedia, Chris-Gonzales90

Hey Amber Chase! It just seems like these hot days will never end, right? Most days, all I want to do is laze away in the beautitful Amber Chase swimming pool, but that won’t pay the bills. The one good thing that I can say about the summer is that it gives me the opportunity to go swimming at the apartments just about everyday. It also gives me the exercise that I need without having to be in the gym for 20 to 30 minutes.

Swimming can be great exercise, and it’s so much fun! I just love the feel of the rush of waves as they flow past my body. It’s also very theraputic and relaxing after a stressful week or long day at work. Did you know that swimming is so much easier on your body than ‘regular’ exercises? Water cushions stiff joints or fragile bones that might be injured by the impact of land exercises. When immersed to the waist, your body bears just 50% of its weight; immersed to the chest, it’s 25%-35%; and to the neck, 10%.

Swimming is also great for people with exercise induced asthma. The warm air surrounding the pool causes less stress to the airways. So if you’re looking for a more fun way to exercise than running on the treadmill, swim a couple of laps. You’ll be able to see the change in no time.

Do you swim often?

Image by tibchris via Flickr

Okay, Amber Chase. I had a chance to catch Step Up 3-D in theaters this past weekend, and I must say I was impressed…with the dancing. As a dancer, I always find myself seeing the latest dance movie just to see what moves I want to add to my repitoire. This being said, I almost never pay attention to the plot because they’re so overdone. My favorite dance movies are Save the Last Dance and the original Step Up. Sure the plots were cliche’, but they worked.

The plot in Step Up 3-D was so cliche that you could practically recite the character’s lines along with them. But that’s the only hindrance. The dancers were phenomenal. Lines were crisp, marks were hit, and the 3-D aspect was fantastic. Some of the more recent 3-D movies (The Last Airbender, Clash of the Titans), lacked something when it came to the post-production 3-D additions, but Step Up definitely delivered. There weren’t any fuzzy dimensional shadows; the dancers stood out against the screen and the editors threw in way cool stereocopic effects like the spray of an Icee from a straw aimed at the audience.  You’ll have to see it.

If you’re a fan of the cliched plots:, (believe in  yourself, follow your dream, how could you do this to us?), then you’ll love the movie. If not, you’d better be a dance fan. Well actually, even if you aren’t a dance fan,  you’ll enjoy the moves in this dance flick.

If you’re interested in seeing it, you can catch it at Great Escape.

Have you seen the movie? Do you want to see it?

Hey Amber Chase! It’s hot out there and only getting hotter! While I’m sure you now how to keep cool in this summer heat, but what about your more furry family members? That’s right, your pets can get just as tired, dehydrated, and overheated as you can. The main disadvantage for them is that they can’t sweat.

Since you love your pet pals so much, you have to make sure that they are as cool as possible when out in the sun. Just like you, your pets need shade and plenty of water. Here are a few guidelines that may help your pets beat the summer heat:

• When out with pet’s at parks or visiting friends, make sure that you find a shady area for you and your pet to rest in.
• Animals get very dehydrated very quickly, so keeping a bottle of water for you and a separate one for you pet when traveling to and fro is a great idea. Putting ice cubes in their water dish is also a good idea.
• With small dogs, consider buying a small wading pool (small enough for your balcony) for your dog to take a quick dip in to cool off.

I hope this helps! Stay safe, and be cool!

photo credit: AMagill