Below are the 3 most recent journal entries recorded in smithgentry345's InsaneJournal:

Friday, January 27th, 2012
2:43 am	beautiful-huge-home-on-the-water-for-rent Its possible to cruise for free and its not as hard as you might think. Gather up a group of your friends and family and you can earn free passage and group benefits. Just reserve eight or more staterooms on one sailing and youve got a group! Most cruise lines define a group cruise as a minimum of 16 people occupying eight cabins. The 16th person (which could be you, the tour conductor) cruises free. Tour conductors work with a travel agency to make all the travel and onboard arrangements. Cruise Lines only award the value of the cruise fare only. Port charges, taxes and government fees are not free and must be paid by everyone in the group, including the Tour conductor. All you really need is a group willing to travel together and an excuse to go such as a family reunion, birthday, anniversary, wedding, college reunion, church groups, friends or just to have fun and you are on your way to cruising for free. Getting a free fare is one thing. Getting a free cabin is something else altogether. For that you need to book twice as many people and cabins. Sixteen people means the 16th person cruises free; 16 cabins means the 16th cabin is free. Some cruise lines also offer special perks available only to group cruisers. Amenities can include such things as private hosted cocktail parties, cabin upgrades and shipboard credits. Each cruise line has its own group leader policy and they may vary depending upon the cruise lines guidelines. Forster Tuncurry Holiday Rental (Comment on this)
2:19 am	beautiful-huge-home-on-the-water-for-rent Food drives are generally associated with winter and holiday season, but let's face it, people need to eat all year long. If you want to do more than just donating a case of canned vegetables, but can't afford to do as much as you would like, why not organize a food drive at work? Get everyone in on the action. This will enable you to collect a better and bigger variety of food, and will foster the collaborative attitude that all places of employment should have. Difficulty: Moderately Easy Instructions Things You'll Need Large collection bin or cardboard boxes 1)Find a local organization or charity to help. Whether it's your local food kitchen or a homeless shelter, choose your charity and let them know what you want to do. Ask for a list of what they accept and what they need. Some charities may even have some of their own collection boxes or bins they can lend to you. 2)Decide if you will open up the drive to the public. If your place of employment often involves the public coming in, you may want to get your customers and clients involved. If you do, put up flyers where the customers can see them, and be sure at least one collection bin or box is in a public area. You may also consider putting an ad in the newspapers or advertising on the local radio stations. 3)Send out a mass email to everyone at your place of employment letting them know what you will be doing. Be sure to let them know the dates of the food drive, as well as the most wanted and needed items. It may be a good idea to also indicate what is not accepted, such as refrigerated or frozen foods. 4)Hang up posters in the lunchroom, time clock room, or any other area that employees frequent. If you have an elevator, hang a sign up in there. If there is a certain place smokers go to smoke, put a flyer out there as well. 5)Check the donation boxes often. If they are filling up fast, you might want to take some food to the shelter early, or take it home and store it. This leaves more room for donations. If employees see that it is full, they may decline to bring something in. If you do empty it out, leave some items behind. This will also show employees that others are giving. Especially if those employees didn't see the collection bins full. 6)Deliver the cans to the charity. If possible, let your colleagues know how much everyone collected together. Tips & Warnings Talk to everyone about it to keep the motivation rolling. Offer an incentive for those who donate, maybe a pizza party one day. Be sure you have your supervisor's permission before planning a food drive. Forster Tuncurry Holiday Rental (Comment on this)
2:04 am	beautiful-huge-home-on-the-water-for-rent Honor a loved one serving with the Army by presenting an Army themed Christmas gift. Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images People who have ties to the U.S. Army often love showing their pride. If you are shopping for someone with Army ties, consider an Army-related Christmas gift. You'll discover lots of options to choose from, whether you are shopping for a soldier, Army parent, Army spouse or the children of a soldier. Soldier Choose a special gift for the soldier or Army officer in your life. Choose a pair of cuff links or a watch with the Army emblem engraved on them. That way, when the soldier is out of uniform, he can still show his pride. Sometimes soldiers have to spend the holidays overseas and can't be with their families. If you are shopping for a deployed soldier, consider gifts that are likely difficult for him to get overseas. For instance, purchase his favorite snacks and drinks. Soldiers also often have downtime while deployed and can become bored; send her a portable DVD player and a few of her favorite DVDs or several good books. Gather issues of his favorite magazine that he has missed out on and send them. Deployed soldiers don't have much choice when it comes to toiletry items, so send his or her favorite brand of shampoo, deodorant, razors, shaving cream or lotion. Army Parent If someone on your Christmas list has an Army son or daughter, select an Army gift so that they can show their pride. Go with a T-shirt or bumper sticker with the Army symbol and "Army Mom" or "Army Dad" written on it. That way, everyone will know that the parent's child is serving his country. You could also choose a framed sentiment to hang on the wall. You can find many of these online or in stores, that have slogans such as "A Piece of My Heart is in Iraq." Army Spouse Army spouses, girlfriends and boyfriends enjoy letting the world know that their significant other is a member of the armed forces. Choose camouflage clothing with the Army logo on it or with a slogan such as "Army Wife" on it. You could also purchase a set of dog tags that she could wear that replicate the ones her husband regularly wears. Have her initials engraved on one of the dog tags and her husband's engraved on the other. Books about how to survive a life with an Army spouse, or how to deal with the spouse being deployed overseas, are also good ideas. Army Kids Choose an Army-related Christmas gift for the son or daughter of a soldier. Go with plastic Army men so that he can pretend to be his father, fighting for his country. A set of Army fatigues will allow her to dress up just like Dad or Mom. Go with a book about the Army that is written in a way that children can understand. Such a book can help a child understand why her mom is gone for long periods of time, or why her family has to move every few years. Forster Tuncurry Holiday Rental (Comment on this)