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There are a number of places to go over the next week, no matter what kind of music you like there is sure to be a show for you! Here are some I found around town you may not want to miss!

March 31st

New Found Glory at The Hawthorne Theatre (Portland OR) 8pm

April 1st

Dance Brazil (music & dance performance) at  The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Portland OR) 7:30pm

Senses Fail at The Roseland Theater (Portland OR) 8pm

April 2nd

Merle Haggard & Kris Kristofferson at The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Portland OR) 8:30pm

Lil’ Wayne at The Rose Garden (Portland OR) 7:30pm

April 3rd

June Rushing at Hotel Oregon (McMinnville OR) 7pm

India.arie at The Crystal Ballroom (Portland OR) 8pm

Jacks Mannequinn at The Roseland Theater (Portland OR) 8pm

April 4th

Oregon Symphony presents Lintu/Gutirrez/Rachmaninoff at The Arlene Schnitzer Hall (Portland OR) 7:30PM (Also playing on the 5th & 6th) 

Candlebox at The Roseland Theater (Portland OR) 8pm

April 5th

Gentle Rain at Montinore Vineyards Limited (Forest Grove OR) 1pm - 4pm

BRAVO! Concert Series “A French Connection” at St. Joseph Catholic Church (Vancouver WA) 3pm

The new 2010 model Insight is here and not a moment too soon, with the fuel prices starting to climb again we could all use a low fuel cost alternative.  The insight first came out in 2000 but was only out for a few years before Honda stopped production. Honda is always striving to provide great quality vehicles and has many years of being named the greenest automaker four years in a row by the Union of Concerned Scientists from 2004 -2007. Now with a new improved version of the Insight it should give other hybrids stiff competition.  

The Insight is a 5-passenger 4 door hatchback model which uses a battery powered electric motor to assist the gasoline engine but doesn’t run on electricity alone, the vehicle is designed to be power assisted from the IMA battery located beneath the cargo floor. The other new design to the 2010 Insight is the driver-focused fuel economy enhancement system. It’s called Eco Assist and it combines a ECON mode that optimizes fuel economy which changes the background color of the speedometer to reflect your driving style. It also displays a “flower” type design which grows as your fuel economy gets better and shows a medal of sorts when you achieve optimum gas economy.

For a vehicle that comes in just under 20,000 it’s the most affordable hybrid on the market and as always Honda doesn’t disappoint delivering the high quality it’s known for and sporting a fuel economy of 40mpg city and 43mpg highway. The base model comes equipped with ABS, 6 air bags, automated climate control, am/fm radio with cd player, auto locks and windows. The upgraded version will include cruise control, steering wheel paddle shifters, alloy wheels and stability control. You can even get the EX version which has a navigation system with Bluetooth and Ipod capability.  It has a roomier design than the earlier model and a surprisingly large trunk area.

If you have been contemplating a hybrid vehicle this one is sure to please and definitely worth a test drive, but be careful you may just fall in love with it and not want to give it up!

Along with spring cleaning, comes cleaning out that closet! I decided to try something different and headed over to Plato’s Closet. I checked out their web site, saw what items they take and gathered up our old clothes (they take many different brand name clothes, they even have a list on their site along with what season they are looking for). It was simple too, I put it all in a bin and while they went through it I looked around the store at the clothes they sell. After they were done, I got money for my old clothes and donated what they didn’t need to Goodwill. In an hour and a half I cleaned out our closets, made a little money and donated the rest! Only downfall for me was they don’t take the toddler sizes I was also trying to clean out, but it was still worth the extra cash in my pocket for the rest. I didn’t know much about Plato’s closet until I found it online, and thought it would be great to share with everyone. So, if your cleaning out that closet this spring, check out Plato’s Closet, you may be able to get some extra money for your efforts, and that’s always a plus!

Spring Cleaning…..that time of year we all look forward to right? Okay, so maybe not all of us look forward to it, but we still manage to do it. This year I decided to use a checklist for motivation and to cross items off at my own pace. I found a generic list to work off of and it is great because it has extra space for me to add things missed specificaly for my house.  Now all I have to do is take 15 minutes to walk through the house jotting down places I notice are missed with daily/weekly cleaning, then I am ready to go. I can choose a few chores a day or make a weekend out of it!

Click here to also print the list from creativehomemaking.com and start personalizing yours too!