Sandy-gram

Like gazillions of others on the planet, I can't wait for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to open. I stopped by Universal Orlando on Friday to get a sneak peak. You can already see the snow-capped castle and the tippy-tops of some of the other cool buildings in this magical village based on J.K. Rowling's compelling and hugely-popular Harry Potter books and movies.

While details are as closely guarded as Kirstie Allie's actual weight, I was let in on a few surprises...which I'll (shhhhh...no telling!) share with you. By the way, that's me, shamelessly holding up a Going Places cover to win a free t-shirt. Learn how  you can win one too.

I've always been fascinated by the various puddings that are found in England and around Europe. Growing up, Jello was my pudding friend...the creamier the better...oh, and it better be chocolate.  But English pudding is a very different thing. It's more like a hearty cake and can be either sweet or savory.  

And so as the finale season takes hold, I'm once again glued to my TV for two hours each week. Sure, I know it's stupid, but we always re-watch last week's episode...you gotta see those little clues and bits of info they provide. Of course, us die-hard LOST fans already know about Jack's alcoholic father and Sayid's tortuous ways. But the real question around the water-cooler these days is, "What IS up with the parallel universe and the water scene of the island?" 

And of course, there's the evil smoke monster. My theory is that all of the dead people we've seen come back ARE the smoke monster...including Locke, Jack's dad, Mr. Echo and now possibly Sayid. Hmmm...

As long believed by us devoted chocoholics, new research now supports the theory that chocolate is good for you. While Mayans and medicine men have trumped the benefits of chocolate since the 18^th century, only now has the medical community jumped onboard. Hey...just in time for Valentine's Day.

The end of an era is approaching as NASA plans its five final shuttle launch missions before shutting down the program this year. The three aging space shuttles will each be transferred to museums or science centers.

I remember driving to the east coast of Florida to watch my first launch years ago. It was amazing the power one felt as it shook itself free from the earth's surface-its heavy weight tugging against gravity. Even standing several miles away, the launch is easily seen, the entire sky lit by the rocket engines as they create a huge blazing cone.

The NBC announcement last year was supposed to shake up prime time and late night television. Jay was moving his show to 10:00 p.m. and Conan would become the new Tonight Show host. Great idea, right?

Ooops...Not quite. I don't know about you, but I really didn't want to watch a late show format during the best prime time hour on TV...and according to the ratings, most of you agreed. Frustrated affiliates soon saw ratings tumble and ad revenue begin to dry up.

Over the long holiday, I spent an unnecessarily long time discussing, arguing and contemplating what this past decade should be called. After doing a bit of research, it appears that there hasn't been an approved name given. Who would approve the name anyway? The decade police? To be fair, the 20s through the 90s had it easy. Just go with the flow...slap a number on the front and throw in the appropriate "ixty" or "eventy" and you're done. Somehow the 2000s just doesn't have the same easy ring to it...

That said, here are a few options I came across. What's your favorite?

This week is all about last minute shopping and wrapping up our holiday plans. But there's that little voice in my head thinking ahead to 2010. Like many, New Year's is a time for both reflection and looking forward. I tend to be a New Year's resolution person, although I have to admit that each year they lean toward similar themes: Getting healthy (including losing weight and much more exercise), staying on top of finances and savings, and of course, trying to make the most out of every day.

For the get healthy part, I decided to get started a little early and began hitting the gym just before Thanksgiving. I was always one of the masses that showed up the first Tuesday after New Year's to join swarms of other newbie's...all of us squeezing into classes that have now become swollen with New Year's resolutioner's.

With the holiday's fast approaching, many of us are scrambling to find the perfect gift. And if that gift happens to be the one that millions of other parents are looking for-watch out! My first experience was the "Barney" doll...followed a few years later by "Tickle me Elmo". Now that was truly a nightmare. I remember driving out of Toys "R" Us empty handed. Handmade signs lined the road proclaiming "New Elmo Doll - $200" I seriously considered purchasing one of these over-priced, black-market Elmo's.

Many overstuffed and overworked shoppers feel they need to rise at the crack of dawn to find great deals at retail stores on Black Friday. Here's a tip...shop online. Many online stores have similar deals that can be ordered in your jammies and fuzzy slippers at home.

I'm a big online shopper around the holidays. Brand name sites are secure and easy to use. Plus, many offer free shipping with certain purchase amounts or as a promotion.

And then there's Cyber Monday, where online retailers offer even greater discounts-but you may not have to wait. The good news is that many online retailers are actually beginning sales now. Here are a couple of handy sites of help you navigate the savings maze.

In the movie "Michael," John Travolta badgered two reporters into taking a detour to see the World's Largest Ball of Twine. I relate. For me, there's nothing better than driving through back roads to visit bizarre and unusual destinations.

In Florida, we definitely have plenty to choose from. Here's a list of my favorite quirky destinations.

Your teen is ready to drive. As parents, perhaps no other event will make your heart quicken quite like the idea of your "baby" behind the wheel of a car. When my daughter Sarah started driving, we tried to do everything we could to get her ready. Videos, training and of course, we lived through the year of the permit-when they drive as you try not to hold on to the door with white knuckles and your feet get sore from hitting the imaginary breaks on the passenger's side.

She didn't take to driving immediately...especially when it came to speed. I'd look over to find her driving 20 in a 40 mph area, gently coaxing her to "pick it up a bit". And then-we hit the highway.

My husband Frank, and his parents came to America in the fifties. His father is Polish, his mother Irish. My husband was born in England where his parents moved after World War II. America was a foreign experience for them. While his parents tried to acclimate to the language and cultural change, Frank was just trying to fit in.

But perhaps no other memory is as strong as that first Halloween...American style.

My daughter Sarah and I have flown to the Masai (Maasai) Mara National Reserve in Kenya, where rolling grasslands and thickets of scrub bump against the banks of the Mara River. We are here to visit a Maasai village, the proud and indigenous people of the region. Famous as herders and warriors, the Maasai once dominated the plains of East Africa. Today, they continue to follow the traditional ways of life. Maasai men, often standing more than six feet tall, have a regal elegance with the traditional red checkered blankets (shukas) slung across their shoulders.

But, it is the women of the village who intrigue us.

My uncle John leaned his elbows on the worn wooden table, dipping the last of his butter wafer in his tea. We looked out the back window of his small stone cottage, located in the heartland of County Mayo, Ireland.

"I hate for you to leave, but before you go, you've got to climb Mt. Nathan," he said in his thick Irish brogue. My husband, daughter and I gazed up at the looming mountain that butted up to our uncle's land. Though known for rolling hills and rocky terrain, there are a few "mountains" in Ireland. And our uncle wanted to make sure we climbed his.

I was chatting with my buddy Mike when a nicely dressed man walked by with a small leather bag over his shoulder. "Now, that's a great idea," he said.

"That's a murse" I replied. We both agreed that men's purses should be much more popular. When did it become a rule that only women should have the convenience of purses? Do men have less to carry? And why call it a murse when it's really a purse? Perhaps it's like the Seinfeld episode when they came up with the invention the "bro" or "manssiere" for men who are a little more endowed. And is the word "murse" more masculine that "purse"? It's puzzling.

I have to admit  that being underwater was, at first, a little off putting. I really, really like breathing. Sitting at the bottom of a pool, I look at my fellow classmates. There are a couple of "kids" around 16, a 30ish fellow and me, a middle-aged mom, wondering when the heck we're going to be heading back to the surface for some "real" air.

Okay...I admit it. I love roller coasters-and the bigger the better. Orlando's launched a couple of new ones that'll make even the most hard core thrill junkies scream. Universal's new Rip Ride Rockit is high-tech, letting you choose the soundtrack to go along with the ride. And then, just went you're getting all cozy, bam! You drop 167 feet-or seven stories-in 16 seconds. Yep, that first drops a doozy.

Papa bear loved the glaciers, mama bear loved the quaint towns and baby bear loved it all.

I was recently asked about traveling to Alaska with kids. I had the same question when we went last year with my then 16-year-old daughter Sarah. Before I went, a few folks told me she'd be bored to tears.  "Alaska's only for seniors!"  I was warned.

The dreaded teen years, they can sometimes drive parents crazy. But I think teens get a bum rap. There’s a lot going on in their life—fickle friends, first boy/girlfriends, the stress of high school and first jobs—let’s face it, it’s a tough time for them.

No other column that I’ve written for Going Places magazine has generated as much debate as the one about water spinning in different directions near the Equator. This phenomenon is called the Coriolis Effect, and water is said to rotate right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere. When I was in Ecuador with my daughter Sarah, we witnessed a local vendor demonstrating this effect. And so, along with some lovely key chains and necklaces, we walked away with a true belief that this was true.