It's That Time of The Season, Thunder and Rain in The Sunshine State!

Yeap, it was raining cats and dogs in South Florida yesterday... Those low clouds with noisy thunder are great for our lawns, but TERRIFYING for our dogs!

I had just come in from the rain and thunder, yesterday morning in South Florida. My plan was to walk my dog Maya. We were out for about 10 minutes when out of the blue, a LOUD thunder made my poor pup Maya, jump up with fear! The lighting that came out of nowhere, scared her so much, that she ran toward our house, like a bat out of hell and finished her walk, for sure!

She was pitiful, so I didn't want her to experience another thunder, and I took her inside. I will admit, that particular lightning strike froze me too... We definitely were not ready for that flashlight, so early in the morning!

You Know It's Cold When Floridians Take Out Their Coats!

I was born in Cuba and came to the States when I was only two years old. They say that there is Global Warming, but right now in Florida, it doesn't feel like it!

Normally if it's a little chilly, I put on some socks with my flip flops, but this morning I had to actually wear normal shoes... It is so cold that my dog didn't play in the backyard, but instead did her business and jumped right in the back door like a bat out of hell!

Of course, there might be some tourist's at our beaches right now, since they probably came from Canada and our beaches seem warm to them!

They say there is Global Warming, but by what we are being exposed to down here in Florida, it doesn't seem like it. Stay warm northerners... I feel for you! Where's the Global Warming?

Seems Like the Sun Will Finally Show Up, After A Month Of Overcast Days

This Summer in Florida, has really been a powerful threat to us Floridians! Many trees were broken, dirt everywhere and of course, no electricity!

I'm hoping that the hurricane season is close to finishing and there will not be anymore strong wind and rain, for at least until next year... The only good thing that came out of this whole windy ordeal, is that neighbors helped each other.

Of course, the cleanup was a bear and it seemed like we would never finish picking up the mess, which is still around in some neighbor's yards. Plus, we didn't have any electricity for four days! That's Florida for ya... even though we do love our Sunshine State!

Are You Feeling The Pollen Yet? Allergy Season is from March till September!

Did you know that pollen season starts with tree pollen in March, grass pollen in mid May and finally stops with weed pollen in June through September?

Yeap, I'm feeling it now... Along with many others that are allergic to pollen. Basically it's here all the time, except for the winter season. If you are allergic to pollen in general, you are better off maybe living in Canada or Antartica!

My mother suffered from pollen, especially the Mango tree pollen during the summer in Florida. We loved the Mango trees, but literally cried tears when the trees were flowering. I quickly learned that it wasn't only in Florida when I decided to move from Florida to Georgia... That was a HUGE mistake, because I wasn't accustomed to the pollen there... Eventually, I had to visit an allergy doctor, once a month for allergy pills! The pollen in Georgia was worse than in Florida! During the mornings, you could literally see pollen along the roof of parked cars and rivers of flowing yellow pollen next to the curbs of the streets.

I later learned that in order NOT to have pollen allergies, was to grow up in a State where you were born and used to breathing the pollen as a child. OR, live in Canada or Antartica and have the Mangos shipped to you!

How Do You Feel About Gay Adoption

There's a Bill in Florida now, that would allow gay Floridians to adopt. Of course it will take time to sort  the Bill amendment, but the process has started.

Copyright Associated Press

There are many Florida government officials that don't like change, but strangely enough, the Republican dominated Florida House Of Representatives, supported the Bill amendment. If the Bill is passed, it will allow gay and lesbians to adopt in the southern State.

Will this be an event that will encourage other States to do the same? Will gay and lesbian adoptions, spread throughout our nation? Will the Supreme Court intervene? Only time will tell...

Click HERE for the complete article.

Miami Police In Pursue Of A Rapist

If you live in Miami Florida, you should be aware that there is a rapist in the North East section of the city that attacked and raped a woman. 

North East Miami, Florida rapist.

Police have gotten information from several eye witnesses that have seen a suspicious individual which matches a photo of this rapist. Police also say that by the way witnesses have described him, he seems to be the type that has repeated his crime and is very arrogant and dangerous. This individual raped a woman in broad daylight, according to Miami, Florida police. He jumped into the passenger seat of a women's parked car and forced her to go into the back seat of her car. He later raped her, after driving a few blocks. Witnesses also say that he has a peculiar arrogant walk. Click here to view video!

If you are a woman that lives in the NE area of Miami, Florida, please be cautious and inform police immediately if you see a suspicious character roaming around. He might be the rapist!

Body found of 7 year old, Somer Thompson of Florida

Missing child's body was found in a Georgia landfill, near her home in Florida. Somer Thompson, the little girl who lived in Orange Park, FL, disappeared on Monday, while walking home from school with her sister and a friend. Somer was misbehaving and her sister asked her to stop. Somer got angry and ran ahead of the group and was never seen again.

An Orange Park detective suggested they search a close-by landfill where the little girl's neighborhood garbage trucks take their trash. On Tuesday all the trucks were inspected as they came to the landfill. This was a smart decision by the police. The body may have been buried under tons of garbage, if they had not acted so quickly. Police went through 100 tons of garbage before they found Somer Thompson's missing body. Somer's clothing and a birth mark, helped police identify her body.

The Orange Park police, so far, have been interviewing 70 registered sex offenders from that area. There are officially 161 offenders within a 5 mile radius of the little girl's home. Also a $25,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can lead police to the arrest of the person responsible for her murder.

For more complete information regarding this little girl, read entire article HERE.

Pepper Spray Donation to Rape Treatment Center in Miami, FL

PRESS RELASE:
WomenOnGuard.com donated pepper spray to The Roxcy Bolton Rape Treatment Center. The Center is part of the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County, Florida, which also operates Jackson Health System, including Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Pompano Beach, FL, June 23, 2009. WomenOnGuard.com recently moved it’s corporate office to Pompano Beach, FL. The website sells non-lethal, self defense products such as Mace, pepper spray, stun guns, Tasers and personal alarms. It donates on a regular basis to women’s crisis centers or a similar cause around the nation.

The Roxcy Bolton Rape Treatment Center (RTC) was chosen for the websites donation after statistics provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement showed that Miami and surrounding areas had the highest numbers in rape by force. State investigators say that 10,823 forcible sex offenses were reported in the State of Florida last year alone. Of the total Florida offenses, 1,294 of them were in Miami, Dade County area and 640 assaults were rapes by force. RTC provides a comprehensive approach to the care and treatment of victims of sexual assault or abuse. They have a Crisis Unit, Counseling Unit and other departments to improve and enhance the quality of life of these victims. Cynthia Sinclair, Director of Operations for RTC, mentioned that the timing for the pepper spray donation was great because a woman recently had come into the center asking for pepper spray. She was glad that they would now be able to give pepper spray to any woman requesting some sort of extra protection item.

Regarding the number of rapes in South Florida, Susan Eaton, co-owner of WomenOnGuard.com mentioned: “These statistics are very alarming. Miami is suppose to be a fun, easy, warm place to live, work or vacation. Rape statistics such as these will deter people from coming or living in Miami. Dade County is not the only place with high rape statistics; Broward and Palm Beach County statistics are pretty high too. Men, but mostly women, are the victims and the figures provided by investigators include only the cases reported. There are countless assaults that go unreported because of shame or fear.”

WomenOnGuard.com’s other owner, Martha Z. Martinez, informed that it is a well-known fact that sexual assaults are more prominent during vacation times. Summer and the winter Holidays, such as New Years, have the highest incidents of rapes. People are more vulnerable because they let their guard down, socialize more and sometimes are drinking alcohol, which impairs their judgment. Rapists know this and they take advantage of the situation. She wants to urge women to take extra precautions against assaults this summer and to be more aware of their surroundings, not just during social events, but while exercising and enjoying the outdoors too.

Hurricane Childhood Experience

Hurricane Fay set the stage for this season, jumping all over Florida and crossing over it 2 or 3 times. Gustav still is influencing Louisiana after landing there over a week ago. Now Hanna is coming up the east coast and headed our way towards North Carolina. Ike is targeting Florida and will be a force to reckon with if it makes landfall there as it is being compared to Andrew... Somehow mother nature makes sure that there never is a dull moment. Be it fires, snow storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, the list goes on and on.

While growing up in Florida, snow storms or earthquakes weren't an issue, hurricanes were a different story though. As a kid, I found the whole experience of a hurricane coming, to be a fun one. Grant it that while during one, and listening to the strong winds outside, did get me scared, the time before and after the hurricane got me excited and made them very memorable to me. The preparations prior to them, such as boarding up or taping all the windows was a time when the family got together and shared a common goal. Going to the grocery store with my mom and getting all the goodies for the event was my chance to eat junk food! During the hurricanes, our house was always dark because of the boarded up windows. Most of the hurricanes that I lived through hit during the evenings and we all would gather together on the floor with our candles and flashlights and talk and eat our candy, sodas, pastries, chips, etc., while the wind was blowing all around our house. Most of the time there were cousins, aunts and uncles that would join us for the event. The next morning, after the storm was over, all of us kids would go out and see how many trees were blown down. This was one of the most exciting things I loved about hurricanes. All the trees that had fallen down gave us kids a lot more things in our back yard to play on. The fallen trees were like a whole new playground for us! We loved to climb on the now reachable branches. The new playground lasted several weeks, until the trees were hauled away by cleanup crews.

I guess, I was one of the lucky kids, who never experienced any REAL harm done to my family or our home by a hurricane. I realize now, as an adult, that many families aren't as fortunate. Hurricanes are not all fun and games. Families can become emotionally, physically and economically devastated. My hope now is that we all help each other as much as possible, so that more children experience hurricanes in awe, as I did when I was a child.