Living in Florida has many benefits that we all enjoy and living here in North Florida has an extra benefit – during our annual hurricane seasons. Being part of the most western coastline on the Eastern Seaboard, our area has historically proved to be naturally sheltered from most storm activity. We reside in a sort of cove – nestled to the west of the Gulfstream’s steering currents. Those warm currents, tracking south to north, well offshore of us – tend to help steer the paths of passing storms away from us. For over 100 years, direct hits from major storms have been rare in the North Florida / South Georgia coastal zone.

Still, I have always advocated that each of us should know enough about the subject to be educated, stay vigilant and remain calm – each time the weather-entertainers start beating their drums. Over the decades, it seems that any storm-source from the television is overblown and hyped to the limit. Weatherpersons want to entertain more than educate – even though all of their reports are framed in the purpose of generating a sense of readiness.

Take for example the early tracking of Hurricane Irene. In the first 48 hours or so of reporting, the projected landfall moved from the Georgia / Florida state line, to Brunswick, to Savannah, to Charleston and then on to Myrtle Beach. The next morning, when landfall was moved up towards the Outer Banks, the national radio weather reporter closed out his segment with the following: “Residents in Florida are making preparations and getting ready”. Then they threw the microphone to a fellow in Miami (yes, Miami) who was interviewed at his local hardware store as he bought shutters and plywood. Now mind you – as the landfall continued to move north and east, the track continued to move east – so that the folks in Miami could spend their weekend at the beach drinking pina-coladas.

School started, finally!  After a wonderfully hectic summer, my girls are back in middle school.  I was looking forward to a regular schedule, when I learned about their Community Service requirements.

I have to admit that I was not comfortable dropping them off at the homeless shelter, animal shelter or any kind of shelter for that matter. I wondered – Would their community service become MY community service?  Blimey, I thought!  If I have to organize and cheer- lead, it’s going to be something interesting.  I sought out the advice of my colleagues…

Amanda French, Realtor at Davidson Realty, Inc. came up with some great ideas for me to consider; reading to younger children at school, writing letters to soldiers who are serving in the military or to children who are hospitalized, and trash pick up at the beach to name a few.  I also received some other great ideas from various Davidson Company Realtors and Staff; Nursing home volunteering, community gardening, church projects, helping at the library and washing dogs at the animal shelter – hmm I’d probably end up bringing one or two dogs home!  Matt Davidson told me that volunteering at the elementary school was something he did as a Middle School student and he quite enjoyed it.

BINGO – a fantastic idea!  I contacted the school and now both daughters are having a great time helping out in the Media Center and grading papers at their previous elementary school, Otis A. Mason.  In fact, they are enjoying it so much that they have decided to do two hours a week instead of one.

Rick Hollabaugh started Trusted Tranzitions about four years ago when a personal experience left him thinking there was a need for personalized senior moving and downsizing services.  “My wife and I were living in California and my Mother-in-Law who was in Florida passed away suddenly. In addition to dealing with her grief, my wife had to stay in South Florida several months dealing with her Mother’s estate, a long tedious process.”  Hollabaugh added, “Very soon after, we relocated to Ponte Vedra from California and moving cross country even as healthy pre-retirees was a daunting task.”  Both experiences spurred Hollabaugh, an experienced entrepreneur, to start Trusted Tranzitions.

Rick and his wife Bobbie started Trusted Tranzitions with a focus on senior moving . Whether  across town or across country, Trusted Tranzitions helps retirees relocating to Florida, seniors moving into independent living and assisted living facilities and seniors downsizing from larger homes.  “We make the process stress-free,” says Hollabaugh. As their business grew, so did their menu of services. Today, in addition to senior move management, Trusted Tranzitions also provides reliable more expansive estate administrative services and reliable referrals for reputable trust, estate and wealth management professionals.  Says Hollabaugh, “We can provide a nearly A to Z approach for clients – from helping them manage the move into an assisted care facility like Glenmoor at World Golf Village, to helping them sort through and downsize their belongings at a bigger home, to providing trusted referrals for estate sales, handymen or other help getting their home on the market, and then handling all the hassle of packing and moving so they can smoothly make the transition into their new home.”

For the second part of our Energy Star video blog, we asked Frank Cirillo and Robert Goettlicher at Providence Homes to help us explain the importance of window efficiency. To be honest, I had no idea how important window quality is to your home, but I quickly learned that Frank hit the nail on the head when he said, “Not all windows are created equally!”

Frank describes how vinyl frame windows have three main components that make them more efficient in your home than the aluminum windows that were used in the past. First, less heat is transferred through vinyl frames, which also means less condensation. Vinyl has a higher tolerance than aluminum windows. They are smoother operating windows, so less air flow gets through it. And, lastly and most importantly, the glass is the highest quality of low e glass on the market. It doesn’t allow harmful UV rays into your home, so you don’t have to worry about fading carpets and furniture. Not to mention, with aluminum windows, your couch is holding all that heat that seeps in and then transferring it into your home.

On September 17, our World Golf Village neighbor Francoise Marquis will celebrate her 100th birthday.   The day might end with Mrs. Marquis playing cards with her family – a favorite pastime – which she  usually wins. Mrs. Marquis lives with her daughter and son-in-law Michelle and Louis Petrarca in Turnberry. “She joins us just about everywhere we go during the day. Her energy level is amazing,” said her daughter Michelle.  Turnberry neighbors may spot Mrs. Marquis puttering around the yard or taking a stroll when the weather gets a bit cooler.

Petrarca explains her Mom spends her mornings watching Mass on TV, followed by breakfast and a routine of simple chores. She does crossword puzzles daily to keep her mind sharp as a tack. She’s healthy and takes no medications, just a few vitamins.  Says Petrarca, “Mom will tell you that she is not ready for the rocking chair yet.”  She still washes dishes by hand and does her own laundry.  “Her bedroom and bathroom look like a model home with everything in its proper place,” says Petrarca.

Living in the King and Bear has many perks. As a home owner, I always take a deep breath as I drive through the gates. I never forget to take a moment to appreciate the pristine beauty of my St. Augustine golf course community. The curvy streets are lined with Oaks. The landscape is always lush and perfectly maintained. But enough about how beautiful the King and Bear is. Let me tell you what I really love. I love Spa Laterra!

Spa Laterra is the perfect place to cure any ailments, whether you need an hour to relax or an entire day! In these busy and stressful times, there is no greater gift to give than some time to your self to relax and regain sanity. One of my favorite ways to spend a day is with my girlfriends at the spa. After I put on my robe and slippers, I head to the meditation room for some tea and to begin unwinding with a magazine. I also really love relaxing in the private rooms outside.

After I get my chill on, I love to start with a facial to help ease me into a deeper relaxation. There are several to choose from. I would recommend the Journey from Bliss facial if you really need to just focus on relaxing. A few of my girlfriends love getting the Age-Defying Fountain of Youth Facial.  Then it is always nice to meet the ladies out by the Laterra Resort pool for lunch.

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, 8/30/11, researchers say, “Taking in the sights and sounds of nature appears to be especially beneficial for our minds”. At the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, researchers are studying whether interacting with nature can be therapeutic for relieving anxiety. University of Michigan research shows that performance on memory and attention tests improved by 20% after study subjects paused for a walk through an arboretum. The researchers found that cognitive performance improved after a “nature break” – and they weren’t talking about a trip to the restroom.

The research also found that for those folks not living in or near a nature-filled environment, that a quieter city street with interesting natural elements to look at, such as containers of plants and street trees, could do the trick.

Although I am no scientist – I do know that our St. Augustine golf course community is the exact kind of place that will let you unwind, relax and even boost your mental performance.

When we planned the 6,300 acres of World Golf Village, we set aside over 2,775 acres (44%) of naturally forested mixed-hardwood lowlands and uplands. These forested lands have been recorded in Conservation Easements, to be protected in their natural state, in perpetuity.

There is something about beginning the work week knowing that a three day weekend is ahead. Communications and party plans increase when there is an extra day added to Sunday Funday. Although every Floridian is sick of the heat by Labor Day, many of us know there is no reason to try and fight it. The only option for us is to be by, on, or in the water. That especially holds true after being in the heat all day Saturday for the Village Panthers cheer and football. With that being said, my crew will be leaving our St. Augustine golf course community and heading east on Sunday.

 Serenata Beach Club is the place to be! It is absolutely perfect there for the whole family. They will be hosting a cookout on Sunday and Monday from 11:30 am – 4 pm with live music ($16.95 for adults and $8.95 for children)! I can think of a few of my girlfriends that are willing to play “Let’s Make a Deal” with their husbands to get some adult time at the pool with live music and a frozen concoction or two. Then it will be the husbands turn. By the time the kids are done boogie boarding and the tide has come in, we will have packed our things up and headed to the kid’s pool. I can’t think of a better way to spend my Sunday.

When I kept hearing the term Energy Star, I called my friends Frank Cirillo and Robert Goettlicher at Providence Homes to understand what all the fuss was about. I was amazed at what I found out! There’s a lot more to an Energy Star home than you may think. What I found most interesting is along with many energy saving features in each home, the homes must be independently tested to verify that it qualifies to hold the title of an Energy Star home.

It all starts with the home being designed properly – including window placement, heating and cooling duct design, planning for the air handler to be placed in conditioned space, and even truss design to allow for proper insulation all contribute to energy efficiency.

Check out the video above where Frank demonstrates the truss design. I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about until he went and got a normal truss and compared it to the truss that goes in a more energy efficient home. A picture is worth a thousand words!

Of course, high performance low- E windows, insulated doors, programmable thermostats, energy efficient appliances, and water heaters all add to the energy savings.

Providence Homes guarantees that all Energy Star homes will score 77 or lower on the E scale which measures energy performance; however, they have recently been averaging 69. This matters to you because a home achieving 69 will use only 69 percent as much energy as a typical new home which is 100 on the scale.