Longboat Key Florida Accommodations

Taking a trip or vacation to the Sarasota area of Florida? How about staying on Longboat Key? This is a gorgeous Florida beach vacation destination. You can not go wrong staying on Longboat Key, FL. There are some beautiful accommodations, vacation rentals, condos, cottages, villas, timeshares and beach homes for rent. Enjoy yourself the way you want to and get a great place to stay during your trip to a Florida paradise in Longboat Key, FL. Resting against the Gulf of Mexico, enjoy beautiful beaches and water. Enjoy a great vacation.

Here is a list of Longboat Key Florida Accommodations.

www.CharityNavigator.org - Charity Evaluator

Giving to charity is a noble gesture that helps people, animals and a lot of organizations. But how do you know which charity you can trust to do what they save and which charities are the best for your charitable giving goals? America's largest charity evaluator is www.CharityNavigator.org. They actually evaluate each charity and non-profit organization on a number of different measurement criteria to determine their quality and reliability. Their charitable organization rating system takes into consideration key areas of their financial health and how well and how responsible they handle their daily affairs and activities. They evaluate over 5400 of America's largest charities. If you have questions about a particular charity or donation, they may have information.

More information on CharityNavigator.org.

www.BeachHouse.com Beach House Vacation Rentals

This is a nice resource for those folks who would like to find a vacation rental, beach house, villa rentals or a beach front rental instead of just a little hotel room on their next vacation. These types of lodging and accommodation rentals can really brighten up your vacation and make it that much more enjoyable. We suggest that you check out www.BeachHouse.com, this is the official website for Beach House vacation rentals. They have thousands of great vacation rentals available just for you on your next weekend getaway or extended travel trip. Lodgings, villas, beachfront homes, townhomes and other excellent accommodations are listed at their site. Learn more about how you can find top vacation rentals, oceanfront townhomes and lodging, to stay at during your next trip.

• www.beachhouse.com       

www.CheapCruises.com Find Cheap Cruise Deals, Discounts

If you like to cruise then you might want to see www.CheapCruises.com a website who has a lot of discounts, packages and deals on cheap cruises to all of the major cruising destinations in the world. Sail on your favorite cruise lines as well. They provide three ways that you can book your cruises:

1. book cruise online
2. submit a request
3. or by phone ... at ... 800-327-8967

This online travel and booking company has over 40 years experience providing vacation packages and booking discounted cruises. Their cruise specialists work to find you the cheapest prices on cruises so you can take a wonderful vacation without breaking your budget. Also, they will list the Top 10 cruise deals each week on the website.

Find Out How to Check Your Gift Card Balance

So you received a gift card or two as gifts from friends or relatives. How do you know how much value is on the card? If you have used it a couple of times, how do find out what balance is remaining on your giftcard? This is a common problem and area of confusion. If you do not know your balance, many people may be afraid to use their card for fear of going over their amount. If this sounds like you there is an excellent resource where you can learn how to check your gift card balance for almost any type of card.

The best thing to do is to contact the card issuer or company and inquire how to find out the amount of the card balance. The other thing to check is the official website for that particular issuer, as many will have a section on gift cards with the option to determine the value of your card.

www.GiftCardMall.com Gift Cards at Gift Card Mall

Do you sometimes have trouble finding the perfect gift or have a hard time coming up with any gift at all for those you love during holidays and special occasions? The Gift Card Mall can help you out. See www.GiftCardMall.com and see their selection of gift cards from your favorite brands. They are the self-proclaimed largest third-party provider of giftcards in the U.S. At the website you can search and shop for gift cards by occasion, recipient, category or brand. If you are in a hurry and it is last minute, you can send an E-Card gift instantly to be delivered to the email address of the recipient.

Once of the nice benefits from this website is convenience. You can shop from your computer and have it shipped directly to the gift receiver. You can also see here for the Gift Card Mall and more information on their offering of holiday, special occasion and birthday gift cards.

Where is the International Space Station?

Are you space buff? Do you have an interest in our exploits in space? Would you like to know where the International Space Station is located? This resource will allow you to track the ISS Space Station. You will be able to get current longitude, latitude, altitude, speed and a position map for the ISS. While there you can explore all about human space flight. The space station tracking in real time is pretty neat.

www.USAJobs.gov for Federal Government Jobs

During these difficult times there are many, many people that have been cut back to part time or worse, lost their job altogether. USAJobs.gov is the federal goverment's jobs website. They are the largest employer in the U.S. and this is the way to approach getting government jobs. If you are currently searching for a new job or career you might want to consider applying for a new position with the government. There are always thousands of job openings and opportunities available across hundreds of career specialties. Visit online to find out what gov job opportunities are available. You can search by job title or by specialty. At the site there are also tutorials to help you prepare for the application, and applying for the job.

You can learn more at www.usajobs.gov.

www.DicksSportingGoods.com - Dicks Sporting Goods Online

We have all heard the tagline ' Every Season Starts at Dick's'. Which is true for a lot of folks. Dick's Sporting Goods can be found online at their official website at www.DicksSportingGoods.com. Since they have thousands of products, accessories and supplies for just any sport you can imagine, there is a season starting there just about everyday. After starting with $300 and humble beginnings, this national sporting goods retail store chain now has more than 300 stores across the country. You can also enjoy shopping for sporting goods from anywhere and reach them at their online retail store. Another resource for a lot of information on www.DicksSportingGoods.com equipment. So get out and start enjoying your favorite sport.

National New England Clam Chowder Day

You may not have known this but Clam Chowder has its own national holiday. Yes January 21 of every year is the holiday date. In fact, every day of the year there is a food that has a designated holiday. That is interesting, because some people may still wonder what is chowder? Many people love clam chowder and I am one of that does love this delicious soup. When people start talking about this favorite soup many will have debates about which is better white or red. If you like the red, that is actually called Manhattan clam chowder. The white is from New England.

I found an excellent resource for this holiday, you can read more here National New England Clam Chowder Day. One fascinating thought is that no matter how many times you make it, the final chowder will probably taste just a little different each time. This makes for never getting tired of eating such delicious food.

www.KeyWestCondos.com - Key West Condos Real Estate

An interesting website I came across is a realtor's site on Key West condos. Their main website is at www.KeyWestCondos.com for condos and real estate. Upon entering the site, it gives a brief history of Key West and how it got its name. From there you can explore the different vacation condo rental properties and real estate that they represent from the KeyWestCondos.com site. There are several Keywest condo rentals and developments that they represent, a few include Bay Villas, Cheeca Lodge, Key Cove, Key West Golf Club, La Brisa, Oceanside Residential, Saltponds, Sunrise Key West, Sunset Marina and more. You can find the right Key West vacation rental to have a truly memorable Florida vacation.

Finding the right condo in the Fl Keys can make a good vacation, a great trip.

Additional resource:
Here you can also get more Key West Florida vacation information to learn about the accommodations, lodging, rentals, restaurants, attractions and things to do during your stay at this world class travel destination.

• Florida Places

www.LongboatKeyClub.com Sarasota Florida Beach Resort

For those that live in Florida, life just kind of strolls by and many take the great weather and lifestyle for granted. And, those that would love to just visit the beautiful state of Florida, they will take it as it comes. However, if you are planning a trip to the Sarasota, FL area and would like to stay out on the beach at Longboat Key then this resort is for you. See www.LongboatKeyClub.com the official website for the Longboat Key Club & Resort. This gorgeous club and resort is what dreams are made of for many. Staying there you get your own private white sand beach, a 9000 sq ft Island House Spa, six restaurants and so much more. Learn more about the LongboatKeyClub.com & Resort and other Longboat Key and other island information.

www.PangaMarine.com Panga Style Fishing Boats

Are you looking for a new fishing boat but want something that is just a little bit different? You may want to see www.PangaMarine.com the official website for the Panga Marine Fishing Boats in Sarasota, Florida. They were one of the first boat companies to manufacture panga style fishing boats in the U.S. Their headquarters is located in Sarasota, Florida where they manufacture all of there fishing boats. These hulls are totally U.S. made and come with a 10 year warranty. The panga style fishing boats are extremely popular in other countries around the world because they are economical and seaworthy fishing vessels. PangaMarine.com has a reputation for building some of the best of these types of fishing vessels. One strength of these panga boats is that they will float in 8 to 10 inches of water so you can fish the shallow flats and can then run offshore for some deep sea fishing. Learn more about Panga Marine fishing boats.

www.SweepsAdvantage.com Free Sweepstakes Directory - Sweepstakes Advantage

Like to try your luck in all kinds of sweepstakes? You may want to try out a website at www.SweepsAdvantage.com. They are the self-proclaimed largest free online sweepstakes contest directory online. Don't know, but at the Sweeps Advantage site they do list thousands of current sweepstakes on their website that are available for you to play and hopefully win something. These are all free sweepstakes online that do not cost you anything to play. Looking at their sweeps website you can browse available sweepstakes opportunities by sweepstake category, by destination or by prize being offered. www.SweepsAdvantage.com

PCH.com Publishers Clearing House Free Online Sweepstakes

Do you like to sign up for free sweepstakes offers? You might want to check out the Publishers Clearing  House for their free online sweepstakes contest offer. See www.pch.com for all of the information. The prize is for $10 million! Everyone can get excited about that. As most people know Publishers Clearing House has been providing sweepstakes winners with winnings for a long time. Your entry is free, there is no charge to enter the pch.com $10 million sweepstakes. The end date for the $10 million sweeps is 2/29/2012 although they may pick a winner earlier.

Thinking About Making a Big Pot of Gumbo

I have been thinking about making a big pot of gumbo for a couple of weeks now with all of the cold weather we've been having. Gumbo is one of those dishes that has soul. So when I am planning my pot of gumbo goodness I think about what kind of flavors do I want to pull from the stockpot this time. Cooking gumbo is not about just following a recipe. In fact, show me 100 hundred cooks making gumbo and I will show you 100 recipes. That is OK. So for this next stockpot full, I believe it calls for a combination of smoky flavors as well as some seafood. Images in my mind of succulent sausages, seafood, shrimp, scallops, oysters, fish, crawfish, crab meat and chicken as possible meat choices really gets my juices flowing. It does not have to be, but most all of my creations could be considered seafood gumbo, because it seems some kind of seafood always makes it into the recipe.

The secret to cooking a great pot of gumbo all begins with the roux. Take out your stockpot, a six to eight quart pot should do. Begin with a little oil. You can use vegetable oil, butter or cook up some bacon for the drippings. It is a personal choice, but I let my planned end product guide my tastes. For example if making a pot of simple and delicate shrimp creole or crawfish gumbo, maybe stick butter will do, since you will want a blonde roux. If you are looking for a rich dark roux maybe go with the bacon or vegetable oil. Most important is to stir the roux with love and never let it burn. A great roux can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours of stirring and stirring. After that you will want to stir in your onions, bell pepper and celery and sweat it down until the onion turns translucent. Then start adding in your other items. The order of what you add in could be debated but let your soul shine through and feel the tasty goodness along with the wonderful aroma coming from the gumbo pot.

Key Steps:

1. Roux
2. Spices
3. Vegetables
4. Gumbo stock and broth
5. Meats
6. Simmer and then let it breath
7. Prepare your rice and bread
8. Enjoy!

www.PinkShell.com - Fort Myers Beach Resort Pink Shell

If you are planning a trip or vacation to Southwest Florida and would like to stay out at the beach then keep reading. One of the more popular beach resorts in the Fort Myers Beach, Florida area is the Pink Shell Beach Hotel Resort & Spa. A truly beautiful set of accommodations. You can view their website at www.pinkshell.com for room availability, amenities and prices.

The Pink Shell Resort is located at 275 Estero Boulevard, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931.

Toll free: 888-222-7465

At their official Pink Shell Resort website you can view imagery of the beach area as well as check to see what vacation package specials they have currently. One special they have to, it appears, to run through 2010, is a special where you save $600 on a 7 nights / 8 days package stay. The resort spreads across 12 acres and 1500 feet of white sand beaches. Visit them to learn more, but a very well respected Florida hotel resort and spa on Fort Myers Beach. Visit www.pinkshell.com to learn more about their FL resort accommodations.

Also see:
• Best Florida vacation spots        

www.CarrabbasListens.com Carrabbas Listens Customer Survey

If you love good Italian food then you have probably dined at the Carrabbas Italian Grill for lunch or dinner. This popular Italian themed restaurant, which is owned by OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC, wants to be able to ensure that everytime you eat and dine at one of their restaurants, that you have an excellent experience. Their goal is to serve to you high quality Italian food dishes which you enjoy in a pleasant atmosphere and receive superb service from the wait staff. In order to help to achieve this, they have created a website strictly for Carrabbas customers to come to and give some of their feedback from their dining experience. The site is at www.CarrabbasListens.com. To begin the restaurant food survey you will first need to enter the 15-digit code that is on your meal receipt. From there it will guide you through the survey. Once you have completed the Carrabbas Listens survey you will then be entered into their sweepstakes for a $1000 prize.

If you have eaten at Carrabbas Grill recently and you still have your meal receipt, you may want to head over to the survey website and participate in the Carrabbas Listens customer satisfaction survey and get entered into their sweepstakes drawing. A wonderful and very popular restaurant that has many fans, but that is what the company wants to be able to maintain. So the feedback survey from their dining customers helps them to maintain high food service standards.

Hoopla Buzz

Welcome to the Hoopla Buzz blog. Here you will be able to read about exciting and useful news pieces and website reviews for popular topics like, entertainment, coupons, food, online shopping, online banking, recreation, travel and other interesting websites.

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

We take your privacy seriously. This policy describes the personal information that is collected and how it is used. This privacy policy is applicable to the website at http://hooplabuzz.blogspot.com/.

Routine Information Collection

All web servers track basic information about their visitors. This information includes, but is not limited to, IP addresses, browser details, timestamps and referring pages. None of this information can personally identify specific visitors to this site. The information is tracked for routine administration and maintenance purposes, and lets me know what pages and information are useful and helpful to visitors.

Cookies and Web Beacons

Where necessary, this site uses cookies to store information about a visitor's preferences and history in order to better serve the visitor and/or present the visitor with customized content.

Advertising partners and other third parties may also use cookies, scripts and/or web beacons to track visitors to our site in order to display advertisements and other useful information. Such tracking is done directly by the third parties through their own servers and is subject to their own privacy policies.

Controlling Your Privacy

Note that you can change your browser settings to disable cookies if you have privacy concerns. Disabling cookies for all sites is not recommended as it may interfere with your use of some sites. The best option is to disable or enable cookies on a per-site basis. Consult your browser documentation for instructions on how to block cookies and other tracking mechanisms.

Special Note About Google Advertising

Any advertisements served by Google, Inc., and affiliated companies may be controlled using cookies. These cookies allow Google to display ads based on your visits to this site and other sites that use Google advertising services. Learn how to opt out of Google's cookie usage. As mentioned above, any tracking done by Google through cookies and other mechanisms is subject to Google's own privacy policies.

About Google advertising: What is the DoubleClick DART cookie? The DoubleClick DART cookie is used by Google in the ads served on publisher websites displaying AdSense for content ads. When users visit an AdSense publisher’s website and either view or click on an ad, a cookie may be dropped on that end user’s browser. The data gathered from these cookies will be used to help AdSense publishers better serve and manage the ads on their site(s) and across the web. Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy page at this url, http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html.

Contact Information

Concerns or questions about this privacy policy can be directed to hooplabuzz(AT)yahoo.com for further clarification.