Fun Makers, Inc.

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We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from Fun Makers, Inc.. Let us know what you think!

Read It Now Here

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from Fun Makers, Inc.. Let us know what you think!

Read It Now Here

OK, life is a bit stressful for everyone right now with the slow economy, higher prices on everything, etc.
So for a bit a relief I will dwell on someone other than myself for a minute or two.

But honestly, when I saw in the newspaper months ago that Jeff Garcia had missed out on a million dollar incentive because Coach Gruden decided to rest him at the end of last season and therefore he did not play the specified number of games to receive the additional monies, I thought well heck I would be upset if someone dangled an incentive in front of me, and then made it impossible to reach it. I may be wrong but I don't remember Jeff being hurt to the point that he could not play.

Then we read in the paper that the BUCS are chasing Farve for 14 million, I thought hmmm I wonder what Jeff thinks. I mean I even felt insulted for him.  I admire Farve and have always enjoyed watching him play. But didn't Jeff get the BUCS into the playoffs his 1st year with the team, why were they so ready to throw him to the wolves?

Gruden seems genuinly surprized that Jeff's head is not in the game as it was last year. Well hello, Gruden isn't it partially your fault. Now you bench him again to get his head right, are you causing him to miss his million dollar incentive this year right off the bat. How do you expect him to have his head right and into the game when you are jerking him around more than a yoyo.

Jeff stated that he had the upmost respect for Gruden, and would indeed work to get his head into the game. Sorry Jeff, we lost 20-24 in overtime. I think your head was in the game. You are one player on a team and it takes the entire team to win or lose a game. Many players missed plays that they should of made.

If you expect your quarterback to think of nothing else than football then quit creating all these side issues to take his mind and put him in self preservation mode.

I am tired of seeing Gruden's "Chucky Face" during the game, he always looks annoyed and should be more supportive of his players. When you constantly throw obstacles, or seem visably displeased with your players, you drain their spirit and thus hurt their play.

Own up to your part in this Gruden, and leave the guy alone. Let him play his game.

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from Fun Makers, Inc.. Let us know what you think!

Read It Now Here

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from Fun Makers, Inc.. Let us know what you think!

Read It Now Here

    June is a great opportunity to take summer vacations. This year I and two of my girlfiends turn 50 so we decided we needed to get away a few days and just celebrate.

    We chose to go to New Orleans. What a great choice that was. I have been to New Orleans twice previously and have always had a great time. Debbie has a time share in New Orleans so we were able to stay right by the French Market. We searched for cheap air fairs on-line and actually found Southwest to be cheaper than all of the cheap fares advertised by googling cheap air-fairs! We flew round trip for $286.00. Once you get into New Orleans most everything is within walking distance so gas is not an issue.

                                                                                       

    We started our visit by spending quality girl time at the Ritz Carlton Spa. I had scheduled a manicure and pedicure, while my girlfriends opted for a massage. Since we had services provided at the spa, this allowed us to spend the entire day utilizing all of the features including sauna, steamroom, whirlpool, pool, etc. at no additional charge. We were provided unlimited champagne since we ate while at the spa. This bill only came to $150.00 for 5-hours of luxurous fun! I had a wonderful tech and I enjoyed talking with her while she provide my pedicure and manicure services.

    She told me her story of what she and her family experienced during the hurricane. They had been evacuated prior to the storm and was watching the TV when she saw the floods devestating New Orleans. She stated that they had been evacuated to Texas, and that Texans provided everything that was needed to setup a household. She was very gracious for their hospitality, but stated that Texas grew tired and was ready to have all the evacuees leave prior to the water receeding.

    While she was watching the events unfold on TV, she called a friend that had decided to stay as nothing had ever happened during storms in that area before (living in Florida I can relate to this fact). He was sitting on his roof for two days waiting to be rescued. He litterally had to bust through his ceiling with whatever he could find to get to the roof. As he waited, he saw people he knew  that had not survived floating by. When her family returned home they found that their house had only received 1 1/2' of water, however since it was quite sometime before anyone was allowed back into the area, all of their belongings had mold damage and was ruined. They razed their home and was able to sell the property and relocated, but still within the area.

    As I live in Tampa, Florida I can attest to boarding up my home and staying during storms as we have not taken a direct hit in my lifetime. I am more aware now that it only takes once and hope that I take things more cautious in the future.

    That evening we went to Tony Angelo's and had their "Feed Me" option. This is where the chef provides small portions of fabulous foods (I think 14) selections. The service was great. We had made a reservation, but after waiting 45 minutes beyond our reservation time, realized the Mayor had popped in and was given our table. This was not a big deal as we were waiting in the bar and had a great time with the bartender.

    The next morning we decided to take advantage of all the wonderful shops available to us including antique shops, hat shops, chocolate shops, the French Market, Cafe Du Monde, and Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo . The one thing I wanted to do most was to find a really great psychic on this trip as I have some heavy personal stuff going on in my life right now. My reader was Phillip. He did not ask me any questions at first, he just started talking. My girlfriend was taking notes for me while I listened. Let me tell you this guy is GREAT. He hit on absolutely everything, direct and to the point. He did not mince words, he did not make you try to make it fit, it was dead-on. He said things that I had just recently found out to be true myself. It was more confirmation of what I had just come to terms with, and confirmed some items I had not been able to come to terms with. $30.00 for 20-minutes of therapy. When I was walking out the door, he said something to me that blew my mind that he would hit on, but then he said you knew everything I just told you because your aura did not change. And you know parts I knew, parts I had heard recently, and some was in my heart. But he brought it all home. Well one of my girlfriends was waiting across the street at the bar. She had adamently stated several times she did not believe in this sort of thing, but once she heard my reading, she went, I waited at the bar, and Kim took notes again! Deb said her reading was 80% correct. I said well since you do not believe you had a wall up and he still got you 80%. Then it was Kim's turn, and he had left for the day. I guess we should not have met back at the bar to discuss our readings in between turns (LOL). Kim returned the next day and Phillip was off. She did get a reading and said the lady was good but she was not blown away as Deb and I were with Phillip.

    That evening we went to Drago's for dinner. We had the lobster and Deb had the Charbroiled Oysters that they are known for. The lobster was hugh, taken out of the shell for us for an extra $5, delicious and only $40.00! This was a great place to have dinner.
  



    We went dancing at the clubs along Burbon Street and had a great time. We even stumbled upon a Wedding March New Orleans style!

   









    The final day we drove through the 9th Ward and saw the devestation that remains. It was eerie seeing the houses with the symbols on it of who searched, what the found,etc. There were complete neighborhoods missing with only the street lights remaining.  We saw a plot of land that Habitat for Humanity (Jimmy Carter) has built a neighborhood with many houses that look ready to move in, and next to it Brad Pit is buidling. I did not see any development on his side. Get with it Brad! I know you are busy with your family and I wish you the best, but .......My girlfriend, as well as my nail tech, said that they appreciate the awareness that Brad Pit has brought to the issue....but I had heard much more about what Brad was doing than I had what Habitat for Humanity has done and the later has provided so much more by what I could see.

    But I will say New Orleans is still a vibrant place to vacation. The people are gracious, the food and shopping are excellent. Do not hesitate to visit.

    Upon returning from New Orleans, I went on a family vacation with my 16 year old son, my 32 year old neice and her 12 year old son.

    We drove to Franklin, North Carolina. We left around 4:15PM and arrived around 1:00AM. The lst night we stayed in a motel as her dad's Cabin was not available till the next day. This was July 4th and we decided to walk around Franklin while we waited. We happened upon their 4th of July Parade complete with dogs, antique cars, a Color Guard, and children pulling carts, etc. This was actually nice, but a far cry from parades in Tampa where we have floats, floats, more floats, fireworks, marching bands, etc.

                                                                                        
   
    The Cabin is beautiful with Red Wood and a large wrap around porch on the back that overlooked a creek that runs the entire mountain.



















   












Driving along the mountain are places you can pull over and get out of your vehicle. These are gorgious locations that you can dive off the mountain into the water (If you are braver than us), you can slide down rocks with rushing water (watch our for the hornets), and swim in the very cold water. But it all is BEAUTIFUL.



    We took a trainride through the mountains departing from Dillsboro and arriving at Bryson City, then the return trip back to Dillsboro. What a scenic trip this was. There was a couple waiting at the train stop waiving American Flags, we thought how friendly. Then further along the trip we saw a couple picnicing along the train crossing, then we saw them again, and again, and again. Everytime in a different costume and different themed setting. When we arrived at Bryson City, they were there as well. Come to find out they did this originally as a practical joke between friends, and enjoyed it so much they do it a couple of times a month. They just follow the train and set up entertaining scenes for those of us on the train! They are known as the wavers!

    We visited Cherokee and I found it to be much more commercial than years ago when I  visited. The entire town has been rebuilt with very nice buildings, and the old lift that use to take you up the mountain is closed. There was a sign that said some to the effect of, after 30 years we have retired and will not reopen. Too bad nobody purchased this as it was a great sightseeing opportunity in the past.

    We went to the Smokehouse for dinner in Dillsboro as it was advertised as being the 3rd best BBQ Restaurant in the United States. I think a vegitarian gave them this distinction as we found it to be horrible. Our waitress took our order, we ordered BBQ Chicken, a slab of Ribs, and two orders of the ham dinner. After about 20 minutes another waitress came and told us they were out of the ham dinners. No worries, we ordered two more rib dinners. As we waited, we ran out of tea and finally hailed down the busboy requesting more tea. Again, another waitress brought us more tea. We finally get our meals and they are room temperature at best. We could never get anyone's attention to complain about the food. I was starved so I ate my room temperature ribs, but I did not eat any of the 4 sides that came with my meal. My son, neice and nephew did not eat their dinners at all. Finally our waitress comes and asked if we would like anything else. I said our food was cold, we had nothing to drink, and could not get any service. She said well can I get you a to go box. I said if we did not eat it here, why would be want to take it home to eat it. I informed her that she gave less than poor service as she had given us no service. She gave us our bill. When we payed the bill at the register we asked to speak to the Manager. He was off for the Holiday. We told the girl our situation, she said it was the waitresses lst day but did not offer to discount for the food we could not eat. We were not the only table to be served cold food (several other tables complained and received new meals), we were the only table that our waitress did not return so we could tell her our food was cold. So be warned!

    We did find a  cute lunch cafe called "The Well House" where the restaurant was built around a well from the 1890's (I think). The food was very good.

                                                   




Willy's BBQ was fabulous!! We tried going there on the 4th, but they were closed for the holiday and we then ended up at the Smokehouse. We went back the next night to Willy's and the food was great. My son was like why didn't we go here before, we said we tried remember!!!

    But all in all both trips were great and I recommend them to you and your family!

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As Fun Makers, Inc. turns 24 I realize that this is a huge step in my endeavor to advance my career. My 1st job was at 13 and I was the "Dog" costume character for Dog N Suds a local drive-up food establishment. I quickly moved into a server position, and then moved next door to the new McDonalds. Woohoo I was on my way! My years in High School were spent working in retail sales after school and on weekends, then upon graduating I went enrolled in College but was unable to continue my education due to lack of funds. I went into Banking. Banking was a great job, I began as a Drive Through teller, advancing to a Commercial Teller position inside. Then I was promoted to Executive Secretary handling (typing & calculating before computers) Business and Mortgage Loans. This was fun until the interest rates jumped causing many of the clients to begin losing their homes. Much like now. As I was also "Miss Ellis" representing Ellis Bank in parades, I happened to be on a City of Tampa Float when the City employee taking us to and from the parade in a rental vehicle wrecked the car. I thought to check the job boards and see if that position had come available. Funny enough it had! So I began as the Assistant to the Mall Administrator on the Franklin Street Mall that handled anything that happened on the Pedestrian Mall including vehicle Movement Passes, handling the Food and Arts & Craft vendors that sold during lunchtime, as well as arranging Entertainment, Parades & Festivals. This was a two person office with me being the assistant. During my 3 years there, I was the only one in the office for long stretches at a time while they located a new Mall Administrator. Though I applied for the job, I did not have a college degree so I was not considered for the job. I could run it by myself, but not with an assistant? My greatest achievement there was helping Owen, that had lost his furniture business up north and was now living on the streets in downtown, apply and get approved to be a parade vendor selling novelties. We did not have anyone at that time providing that service and since he followed my directions on the application process he was approved by the Board. His 1st purchase with his new career profits was teeth, he was so proud to be productive again. I left the mall but continued to get reports on Owen's progress and the last I heard he was living in a huge house on the river (actually called a mansion by the person telling me). I left the City and opened Fun Makers, Inc. taking with me all the knowledge I had garnered from Retail Sales, Banking, and Event Planning. I was 24 years old, had no money in the bank, but I had a desire to be my own boss and prove that just because people do not have a college degree (though I wish I did) could be productive at any level in business. All the knowledge I had gained from the above jobs allowed me to be a success. Well it is 24 years later and I am living the dream that I had all those years ago. I will admit that Fun Makers is a small women owned business and does not come close to the scale of any of the aforementioned places I worked (perhaps Dog N Suds). However the freedom it has given me not only in making my own choices, being my own boss, but in the ability to make it a family business allowing myself, my husband and son to have quality time together. My husband now works here, my son helps occasionally on charity events to earn community hours needed for school. The quality time comes not from working but more from being able to schedule time off whenever it is needed whether picking up and taking our son to school, football practice, private quarterback coach sessions, and football camps, doctor appointments, vacations, etc. This does not come easy as being a small business does call for working long hours during peak times, sometimes 7 days a week, or 20 hour days. There is no security net to fall back on in slow economic times, and the responsibility is totally ours if we succeed or fail. With all the above I find it funny how I started as a Character Performer "Dog", and now represent a wide range of talented performers. Coming full circle, and making it 24 years, I have to say is.... Reaching a Milestone!

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from Fun Makers, Inc.. Let us know what you think!

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