The newest thing in travel these days is staying at Condo Hotels. Often called condotels or apartotels, these are often high-rise, luxury properties in various locations. They can be near beaches, casinos, theme parks or golf courses and are operated by the big hotel chains such as Hilton, Starwood, Trump, Hyatt and Ritz-Carlton.
Most of the condo hotels have great amenities including spas, pools, fine restaurants, etc. You can buy a condo hotel and then rent it out for the time that you are not using it, thus it may be able to guarantee you some additional income.
If you want to do an Orlando vacation rental, you can now check out satellite photos almost anywhere! I found an interesting one of Joey Fatone’s home (you know one of the guy’s from ‘N Sync) near Orlando, Florida. If you are longing to meet a celebrity, I guess you could always see what rental properties are available near by and then stake out their homes. That is just too much trouble if you ask me!
I guess there is a new book on the market called “Skinny Bitch“. According to the book jacket it is “A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous!”
Victoria Beckham (aka Posh Spice) loves the diet – but does she really need diet advice? Basically the diet is a Vegan diet with attitude. No hydroxycut, or other pills are advocated to help you lose weight. Of course, if you are not willing to give up meat, eggs and dairy and live on beans for the rest of your life, the diet is not for you!
The other day, my husband, who works in the computer field, went to a big meeting with Hitachi. Who should be there but Mr. T! Yes, he still looks the same, only older, and still looks like he is drinking his daily muscle milk. He is now the spokesman for Hitachi. Here is the “commercial” he made for Hitachi:
Leona Helmsley passed away on August 20, 2007 at the age of 87. For those that lived near the New York City area, she was known as “The Queen of Mean.” A nickname she earned due to how poorly she treated employees. She owned a hotel and was a real estate investor.
She was born Leona Mindy Rosenthal in New York on July 4, 1920. She changed her last name to Roberts and appeared as a model for Chesterfield cigarettes. Leona was married three times, the last to millionaire Harry Helmsley who divorced his wife of 33 years to marry Leona. By this time, Leona was a millionaire herself and under her guidance the Helmsleys started converting apartments into condominiums in the 70s and 80s.
Leona had one son, Jay, who died in 1982. Leona sued the estate and left her daughter-in-law and four grandchildren virtually broke.
In 1989, Leona was convicted of tax evasion and served 21 months of a 16 year sentence. Presidential hopeful, Rudy Giuliani was one of the prosecutors in the case. She was once reported as saying “We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.”
Her later years were lived in isolation estranged from family. Her husband, Harry, preceded her in death in 1997. She is entombed with her husband in a $1.4 million mausoleum in Westchester County, New York.
My son just bought the movie Gremlins. Remember the furry little creature who spawned mean monsters who tore up the furniture and the cabinet hardware like it was nothing?
I started wondering whatever happened to the star of that show – Zach Galligan?
Galligan was born February 14, 1964 in New York. His biggest acting job was in Gremlins. After that he starred in a lot of B movies and TV shows. He also starred in Gremlins 2, which was not a very big hit. He received a degree from Columbia University and is currently a screen writer and acting teacher. He married Ling-Ling Hu Ingerick in 2005 and currently resides in New York.
He has said “There are a lot of tough things to do with the business, I’m completely numb now to rejection. I get rejected for 98 out of 100 things I try for.”
Nursing homes are becoming a big expense for seniors and their care givers. Besides having to pay for the services and room, extras such as medicines, bed clothes, tranquility diapers and food are often not included.
Some seniors have figured out that the living is much better in Mexico. A nursing home in Mexico will run about $1,300 per month and includes three meals a day, laundry and cleaning service and 24-hour care from the staff. This is about one quarter of the cost of an American nursing home. Plus, the weather in Mexico is ideal. There is no worry about snow and freezing rain in the winter.
Between 40,000 and 80,000 retirees already live in Mexico. About 20 years ago, I was in Mexico and there was a huge population of retired Americans living the good life.
Nursing homes are not regulated in Mexico, so be careful before you decide that this is the route for you.
The opening scene in Magnum PI, where the helicopter comes across the screen has always fascinated me. Ever since that show came out, I thought it would be cool to take a helicopter tour in Hawaii. I’ve noticed that there are still some hobbyists that love the Magnum PI Helicopter which was a Hughes 500D. I have seen a few examples of people that have purchased model RC helicopters and painted them the same orange, brown, red and yellow colors of the helicopter piloted by TC on the show.
I never could find out what happened to the original helicopter.
My daughter was preparing a skit for the camp she is attending and one of the songs they were going to use is “Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer. She had NO idea who MC Hammer was, so I made her watch the video. I told her she would have to do the MC Hammer dances, but she thought that would be too embarrassing.
On YouTube I found a great parody of the song – it is too funny! Aren’t you glad that parachute pants are no longer popular?
Do you want to live like a star? How about investing in some celebrity style real estate? It seems that rapper 50 cent’s home is for sale. The home boasts 17.6 acres, 19 bedrooms, 35 bathrooms, fireplaces, entertainment space, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, multi-car garage, a sauna and even an outdoor kitchen area.
You can get all this for just $18,500,000! It is located in Farmington, CT, not too far from New York City. Oh, and by the way, your estimated monthly payment will only be $91,000!
