When my husband bought me a remote car starter for Christmas a month ago, I said to him, "I don't need this, it's 40 degrees outside". Well, this morning the practicality and likability of that precious little gizmo immediately shot to #1 on my list! As I drove to Vermont in my warm and cozy heated leather seats, I watched the digital thermometer in my car go from 2 degrees in CT to -6 degrees by the time I got to Killington. I thought to myself, "adios El Nino, winter has arrived"! And certainly, things have begun to look and feel more like winter this past week or so. The tiny mountain (Ski Sundown) near my house was abuz with night skiing as I drove by yesterday, most of the golf courses have finally closed, and I even think I saw someone in my neighborhood trying to use a snow blower for that dusting of snow that fell earlier this week.

My husband and I love our dog, Shea. Without shame, we admit that she is spoiled rotten. We buy the expensive dog food and only treats made with all natural ingredients. She sleeps at the foot of our bed. She's the star of our Christmas card each year. We constantly adorn her with kisses and hugs and toys and treats. She has regular play dates with her "friends" (see Vida, pictured below), and we don't blink an eye at the $26 for Doggie Daycare when I go to VT to work. (yes, that is for the day, my husband drops her off in the morning and he picks her up promptly at 6pm). And trust me, we are not alone. The pet industry is a $34 billion dollar market and growing. According to a recent survey, 74% of dog owners consider their pet as a child or family member. Do you think we would go away for the weekend without our furry little friend?

It's back to the rat race. The dust of the holidays has finally settled. All the presents are unwrapped (my favorite this year was the Nike + ipod to go with my ipod Nano), all the food has been eaten (did I really eat all that?), all the relatives have returned safely to their own homes (thank god), all the champagne that helped ring in the new year has been drunk (is that what my headache is from?), and hopefully by now all the "I can't believe he/she/they did that at the office holiday party" gossip has been forgotten. But this year's holiday festivities and escapades passed with something blatantly missing... cold weather and snow! Not that I'm sappy and wished for a white Christmas, but I at least hoped there would be remnants of a previous snow fall on the ground outside my Connecticut home (in case you missed my first post, that's where I live). Or at the very least, I wished it was cold enough to feel like Christmas in New England. Instead, the weather report you see in the title is what is was like from my perch here in the northwest corner of CT on New Year's day.

What is “Rental Ready”? Well, for me it’s making sure the fridge has Pellegrino and bottled “still” water (with a lime, thank you), the pantry has herbal tea and Starbucks, and my kitchen has the correct combination of organic items. See, for me, I’m talking about “Pa- Rental Ready”. Yes folks, the holidays are upon us, and god bless me, my parents will be at my house for four days over Thanksgiving. I ordered my fresh, all natural never-been-frozen turkeys weeks ago from Wild Oats. My husband will deep fry one outside, and I’ll do my “Martha Stewart” best to prepare the other one in some more traditional fashion (this year I’ve selected the Maple-Glazed Turkey from her 2006 holiday menu). The guest bedrooms have fresh sheets, the guest bathroom is stocked with plenty of clean towels. I’ve dusted, touched up, and in some cases scrubbed. The carpets have been professionally cleaned, and not a stitch of anything is out of place (well at least the parts of the house that our dog hasn’t gotten to yet). No, it’s not as bad as it sounds, but I do want everything to be just right for their arrival.

I think I've babbled on about myself enough in this blog, I think I should introduce the people who really make it all happen at Wise. Of course, you're probably familiar with all of them if you've been with Wise for awhile, but whether you're new or old, it doesn't hurt to become more familiar with our great staff members:

Welcome to the Wise Vacations Blog! This is a new feature debuting to homeowners for the first time, as we head into the 2006-2007 winter season. It will contain periodic postings by me (more on "me" in a moment), the Director of Sales & Marketing at Wise Vacations. These postings will be about anything and everything to do with Vacation Rentals. I will provide tips, insight, industry trends and facts, updates on how your property is being marketed, etc. I will welcome feedback on any aspect of your experience with Wise, and if I can't help you, I will put you in contact with the Wise employee who can best assist you. So I invite you to visit this blog as often or as infrequently as you like! If there is a particular topic you would like me to discuss, by all means, let me know: kara@wisevacations.com.