Community Blog

Prepare for Hurricane Season

With Hull in the midst of a tropical storm warning, prepare yourself for Hurricane Earl with this guide to keeping your properties as safe as possible.  Remember it is cheaper to prepare than repair after the fact.

Evaluate the Outside

If you have anything outside of your apartment home (i.e. patio furniture, door mats, plants, etc), make sure you bring them inside into a secure location.

Inside the Home.

Move furniture and breakables to interior rooms, preferably those without windows if possible.  Also, make sure you bring all important documents with you when you leave to take cover.  These include passports, birth certificates, family heirlooms and any other valuables.

Stock up.

Make sure you have batteries and a flashlight on hand, as well as non-perishable food items and a first aid kit.

Car preparation.

Before the hurricane hits, ensure that your vehicles are filled up with gas and are running properly.  Also investing in some Rain-X and new windshield wipers may be wise. Be sure to bring all of your insurance information with you as well.

Use common sense.

Follow the news and prepare for the worst.  If the storm isn’t as bad as predicted, at least you were prepared. Stay updated on the hurricane news and act accordingly.

Hurricane forecasters are still unsure exactly how strong Earl will be when it hits Hull, likely in the next 12 hours.  Reports range from devastating to very light, but either way you should prepare for the worst.  After all, this is hurricane season and most likely Earl isn’t the last storm we’ll see.

(Image via NASA)

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Breakfast is the most important meal of the deal, yet most of us skip it as we hurry out the door for our morning commute.  Tomorrow morning, before you head out of your Estates apartment, plan ahead and make sure your body gets the nutrition it needs to burn all day with these simple breakfast recipe ideas.

We all have our reasons for skipping out on breakfast.  Most of us are too busy, and some people just don’t like eating in the morning.  But be aware that even the smallest of meals can have a positive impact on your body and health.  There are so many health benefits to eating a daily healthy breakfast!  It helps people of all ages by inducing energy and helping us stay fit by managing our weight.  Not only does it do our bodies good, it helps build concentration power and problem solving capabilities.

So, the next time you decide skip out on breakfast think of all the negative impacts it has on your daily life.  Set aside 10 extra minutes in the morning and prepare one of these delicious quick meals:

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The Estates apartments residents: If you’re looking for things to do around your local community, I’ve got some top picks for you this week!  Today through Wednesday looks to have an underlying theme of stress-release. So if you’re looking to burn off some steam, these next three days are for you!  Step out of your apartment and into one of these local events around Hull.

Monday, August 30

Fusion Power Hour. An hour of continuous exercises and stretches taken from various dance techniques and technical dance training begins at Queen Bee Fitness at 6:30 p.m. Please call 781-925-5600 or visit www.queenbeefitness.com for more information.

Tuesday, August 31

Take Care. The Samaritans will offer tips on taking care of yourself and others at 10:45 a.m. at the Anne Scully Senior Center, 197A Samoset Ave. This free forum will offer guidance on managing stress, coping skills, and healthy lifestyle changes as we age. No reservations necessary. For details, 781-925-1239.

Sunset Yoga. Sunset Yoga is a vinyasa-based class focusing on alignment, posture, breathing, and relaxation that’s offered at Queen Bee Fitness at 6:30 p.m. tonight and Thursday. Please call 781 925-5600 or visit www.queenbeefitness.com for more information.

Wednesday, September 1

New Treats for Chocoholics. Experience the delights of chocolate-dipped pretzels, graham crackers, caramels and other goodies at a class at 10:30 a.m. at the Scully Senior Center, 197A Samoset Ave. This hands-on fun event will be taught by Terry Tucker and the fee is $10. You can bring home anything goodies you don’t eat, but we wouldn’t bet there’ll be a lot to tote home or to give as a gift! Warning, some treats are made with nuts, so those who are allergic won’t want to attend. For details, 781-925-1239.

Zumba. Laughing and sweating to great salsa and Latino music at 6 p.m. at Queen Bee Fitness.  Please call 781-925-5600 or visit www.queenbeefitness.com for more information.

If you have any other events you’d like to add to the list, please do some with a comment below or with a comment on our Facebook page.

Tweet Tweet!

The world’s fastest growing social media website has invaded the media world and is now growing at an alarming 38,000%.  What you’d be surprised to find out is that the fastest growing segment is adults over 50 years old!

Here at The Estates apartments, we’ve adopted the social media outlets that are necessary to communicating with you…our residents!  We have a Facebook page, this blog, a website, and even a Twitter page. 

As you’ve noticed, social media has taken the world by storm; allowing millions of people to share their thoughts, pictures, videos, and lives with the rest of the world.  Facebook, who just recently passed 500 million users, has a movie coming out based roughly around the story of how it all came about.

Like I mentioned earlier, Twitter has taken over mainstream media and continues to exponentially grow.  If you’re not on Twitter, or just plain don’t understand it, I want to point out a few ways Twitter can be a good thing in your life.  Here are a few reasons why Twitter could enhance your daily world:

Keep Track of Breaking News One of my favorite things about Twitter is it keeps me up to date with all the news that’s important to me. I’m not just talking about world news that you can find on CNN or anywhere else. I mean industry news that often flies under the radar. By following the right people, I always have the latest niche news I can’t find anywhere else.

Make New Friends Like any other social network, Twitter has a built-in function for you to befriend and track the messages of other users. This is an easy way for you connect with people outside of your usual circle. Make an effort to add active users you find interesting. A Twitter acquaintance can be developed into a long lasting friendship.

Network Twitter can be used as a socializing platform for you to interact with other like-minded people, especially those in the same industry. It can be used to establish consistent and deeper relationships for future benefits such as testimonials or peer recommendations.

And last but not least, It’s Free!

After a summer of cooking, sweating, and partying, try these natural odor-removing remedies to put the freshness back into your apartment home.

Everyone knows, and if you don’t then listen up, the only way to begin to remove a smell is to get rid of the source.  So whether the funky culprit is garbage, greasy food residue, or ’something’ under the fridge, start by removing ever trace of it’s existence.  Now that you’ve removed the source, its time to fight the lingering odor.  I want to show you ways to actually eliminate the odor, not just cover it up like an air freshener like Febreeze accomplishes.  These are Do-It-Yourself tricks that involve a little bit of creativity and elbow grease.

Attack the air:

When you live in an apartment, you often don’t get the air flow that you get in a larger home.  With a lack of air flow, smells and  odors tend to linger around well after the cooking is done.  Whether it’s last week’s dinner or the constant humidity, you can take to the air to knock these stenches out.  Here are two recipes for natural air-freshness:

1. Fill a pan full of equal parts water and vinegar.  Add a few pieces of citrus peel or lemon juice to the mixture.  Now allow it to simmer and release the vapors into the air.  Replace the ingredients as necessary.  Feel free to do this for a few hours.
2. Check your cupboard for clove oil, lemon extract, peppermint or vanilla extract. Soak a cotton ball in one of the previous items and place it in a plastic bag or container with holes.  Now place it in the rooms you want to de-funk.

Like to Cook?

If you spent the past few months slaving away at the stove on delicious summer concoctions, then chances are your kitchen and surrounding areas need a good cleaning.  Start by cleaning your entire oven surface and burner pans, then take to your oven exhaust fan.  Once you’ve scrubbed those down, wash any nearby windows and window treatments.  Smells tend to stick to fabrics and glass nearby.  Don’t forget everyone’s favorite chore, mopping the floor!

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Come out and Make a Difference

Come out to celebrate and support the environmental love fest this weekend in Boston.

The environment is one of the hottest topics in today’s world.  We all agree that we can do a better job of taking care of our planet.  Come on out tonight and tomorrow to celebrate with like-minded individuals and learn how we can address the changes needed to our world.  The kick-off concert was last night, commencing this year’s festival.

Greater Boston is teaming up to work on solutions needed to make our city a healthy and sustainable place.  This event is perfect for people of all ages!  You’ll be treated to interactive exhibits, presentations, workshops, continuous live entertainment on three stages, GreenFilmfest for kids, Eco-runway, and eco-games.

The event everyone is talking about is the One Gallon Challenge: a car race that started at 11am on Thursday from Greenfield to Greenfest.  The catch is that the cars can drive 110 miles on 1 gallon of gas.  Confused?  Come out and see the results!

Visit the Boston GreenFest official website to view the event schedule, sponsors, and how you can help our planet!

This is your chance to prove that you can be a triathlete in the Nantasket Beach Triathlon September 26^th.

What’s better than pushing your body to its limits while enjoying all the beauty that Hull has to offer? The event is a sprint triathlon that consists of a ¼ mile swim in the Massachusetts Bay, a 10-mile bike ride along the panoramic views of Boston Harbor and Boston Light, and ends with a 3-mile run on “hard-packed sand at low tide.”

Picturesque, isn’t it?  Too bad there’s all of the physical activity involved.  But, if you’re looking for a challenge then this is your event.  With over a month and a week, trust me when I say that there is still time to train for the event.

Last summer, I competed in a triathlon that I registered for exactly one month before.  It was also a Sprint-style, but included mountain biking and trail running instead.  Now I wasn’t out there to win the event, or even finish in the top 10.  I was there as a personal challenge to myself to see what I was made of.  The feeling of finishing the event was one of the greatest feelings I’d ever felt.  You can do it too, if you choose to commit yourself.  And if it helps, there’s an awesome post-race lunch!

Here are the details:

6^th Annual Nantasket Beach Triathlon

September 26^th, 2010 6:30am Check-in

Register Online or by Mail

Visit the official site for details.

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I can tell you what it wouldn’t be.  It sure as heck wouldn’t be to run home, grab an underwater camera, and head back out the next day hoping the catch the monster on film!  That is exactly what Chuck Patterson did.  The California native was out catching a few waves with some friends when he suddenly found himself being circled with great white sharks.  Most of us would paddle like the dickens towards shore and Hasslehoff-it on to shark-free land.  Not Patterson though.  His surfer mentality told him to go home that night and grab an underwater camera.  His dreams came true the next day when the group of sharks showed up again to say hello.  He caught the entire thing on tape, and now this footage is one of the hottest videos on the Internet today.  Too bad ‘Shark Week‘ was last week.

Now I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but summer is winding down and soon we’ll be waking up with frost on our windows.  Before that happens, it’s always a good idea to start preparing your apartment space to make the switch from warm weather to cold weather clothes.  When you go to make the switch, be prepared with these two awesome free-standing storage methods.

1. Storage Cubes- Head on down to your local container store, Ikea, or home goods store to pick up some inexpensive cubes to pack your winter clothes in this season.
2. Slim free-standing closet or dresser-  If you’ve maxed out your current closet space with your belongings then it’s time to look for some additional space.  My favorite piece that I have is the Malm slim dresser from Ikea.  It has a surprising amount of storage and fits snuggly into corners.

It’s always good to go through your current and seasonal wardrobes to see if there are some pieces you can weed out.  Create a pile of clothes you don’t want anymore and devise a plan to get rid of them.  You can sell them on ebay or craigslist, or donate them to various charities in your community that will put them to good use.

(Image via Flickr user poetas)

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What are some of your favorite spots for a date close to The Estates apartments in Hull, Massachusetts?  One of the benefits of living here is that there are so many great summer activities and beautiful spots to share with a significant other.  Share your thoughts, or suggest one of your favorites not listed.

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