tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46957747647243763292024-03-13T09:07:42.177-04:00Freedom Works At HomeFind your freedom: to be your own boss, to work your own hours, to work from wherever you want! I'll share helpful tips and hints to guide you to success. It's not too late to find your freedom!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-90794554311231083932014-08-04T13:29:00.001-04:002014-08-04T13:29:22.525-04:007 Deadly Sins of Working Your Home Business<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last September "Forbes" published a list of 16 Suprising Statistics Abount Small Businesses. One statistic was that at that time, <b>52% of all small businesses were home-based businesses.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That statistic shows how many dreamers there are; they are the people who dream of time, financial, creative or spiritual freedom. As we all know, however, with freedom (and especially in the quest for freedom) comes great responsibility. It is always helpful to make yourself aware of pitfalls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is my personal list and my observations about 7 Deadly Sins of Working Your Home Business:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. There is no dedicated workspace. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you want to be productive, you not only need a productive mindset, you also need a productive space where you can use that mind! Your workspace can be any designated area, really. Some people have the luxury of a separate room dedicated for their business. Others share their workspace with the guest room, the family room, kitchen, basement or utility room. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some people work wherever they are able to use their laptop! The idea is to have a specific area where you conduct your daily business activities. How you design it or outfit it is totally your decision, just have a workspace. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. The dedicated workspace is located in your bedroom.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This should be a no-brainer, but I know there are those who say there is no where else for them to work. Unless you live in one room, finding an alternative location is key to your personal peace of mind. You need a private space where you can wind down and relax at the end of the day. At the very least, screen off your workspace with a screen, or even a curtain. Your bedroom is for sleep and, well, you know...personal recreation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. You treat your business like a hobby.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You made the decision and invested the start-up money to take your first steps toward the freedom you desire. You may spend anywhere from 2 to 40 hours working on your business, but unless you treat it with respect you won't earn the money or the freedom you want.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No matter how many hours you have to spend on your business, block out the time on whatever method you find comfortable, and then use that time to focus <i>only</i> on your business. The time does not have to be consecutive. For example, you may have a free hour in the morning and additional breaks of time throughout the day. Block out those times for your business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know a very successful woman who started her business while working a 40-hour j.o.b. She carved out little blocks of time to work: her 15 minute work breaks, her lunch breaks, time in the evening after her children were in bed. She treated her business like a business and today, 8 years later, she is the youngest National Vice President in her company! If you don't believe me, Google "Kristie Wooten-DeGraw". The woman is a true inspiration.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Decide if you want to earn business money or hobby money. The choice is up to you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. You want a "free" business.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sorry to break your bubble, but there is <i>no free business </i>on this earth. Sooner or later, in one form or another, no matter <i>what</i> you are promised, you will be required to pony up the money. This request will come in all guises from sample product, to seminars, to online courses and books, to websites, to purchasing leads.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every business, trust me, <i>every business, </i>has inherent expenses. It does not matter if it's brick and mortar or online. Do not ever believe that you can start your own business without cost. If that is the case, then you do not own your business, you are merely trading time for money. If you own your business you have tax expenses you can deduct, you earn profits on your products and you can also earn residual income. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are many,many legitimate home-based businesses with a wide range of start-up costs. Before you commit, conduct your due diligence and find a business you can believe it with a minimal cost. They are out there!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. You neglect to keep track of your business expenses, and do not deduct them at tax time.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Really? You can afford to throw money away? Good for you!! Or are you one of those rare forms of human life that love to give the government money? Well, <b>STOP THAT! </b> In the entire world, there is no business that refuses tax deductions. Take the deductions; there are lists available you can download.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. You don't have a schedule. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No matter your personal feelings about schedules, accept the fact that the world turns on a schedule. (Literally, it does!) Bite the bullet and even if you just schedule your television programs, do it and follow it. Having a routine will insure you don't forget the appointments you have to keep and will really help with your overall production. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know, it's so wonderful to be able to work at home, not punch a time clock or be at your desk at some prescribed time each day. You can still have time freedom as long as you schedule time to perform those activities that will ultimately bring you that freedom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Freedom is not free. There is always, always, always a cost. In your business, the cost is time so use it wisely if you want to reach your freedom while you are still breathing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. You don't ask for cooperation from your family.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, you are now a Stay At Home Mom...or Wife. Your family needs to be aware of the 6 previous sins to realize that you are at home, but you WORK.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You are no longer available whenever the mood strikes them. OF COURSE you are available for their needs, that's why you work from home. Children are very clever, they will either find constructive, safe ways to amuse themselves (under supervision if needed) or they will manipulate you by guilting you into taking time away from the business that is providing them essentials and treats.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You know the needs of your family, who needs to be where at what time, etc. That is why you make a schedule! Do not neglect your family, but ask for their cooperation. Tell them, when they are old enough to understand, that you need to make phone calls at your scheduled time. If they are babies, make calls when they nap or sleep. (Be flexible with your schedule, it's perfectly fine to be flexible!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ask them to perform age appropriate chores to help you. Children need to be taught how to care for themselves. If you work at home you have the perfect venue for teaching them the little chores that will eventually prepare them for total independence. Plus, being there for them should they falter or have problems gives you all that extra important sense of security.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't forget to praise your family for their help! You are asking them to relinquish some of your time with them so that you can build a better life for all of you. Praise them! Thank them! They deserve it! And for goodness' sake, do not expect perfection. Everyone knows you are the only one who can perfectly do all the chores and all the housework and that no one on this earth is better at than you are. Really??? OK, time to get over yourself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your children are capable of performing all sorts of wonderful jobs and tasks to help the family. After all, you are the parent and taught them well. Oh, and spouses are also often very willing to help out when asked. A note about asking: most people are willing to help when asked. When nagged at, not so much.</span></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So there you have 7 deadly sins of working from home. There are more, but who needs to read more than 7, right?</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-75511142280787110262014-07-31T18:25:00.001-04:002014-07-31T18:25:47.521-04:00What Is Your Scale for "Enough"?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the nice things about living is a small town is the small town press newspaper that is published once a week. I enjoy all the photos and the stories that don't really make the national news; I like reading about all the local news. Newspapers like this make one feel really connected to the town you call home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There was a very interesting article in my local press this week (<a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/local/eastpenn/"> http://www.mcall.com/news/local/eastpenn/</a>) </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">written by a woman who wondered "How Much Is Enough?" "Enough" means different things to different people, and her article featured several people she knows who went through their closets, cupboards and garage storage areas with the express purpose of eliminating useful items, in good condition, that were donated to help those in need.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I heartily applaud their efforts. Each time we moved house we got rid of more of our "stuff". All was donated except for the washer, dryer and refrigerator. Those items were sold on Ebay, so they went to people who could not afford brand new appliances. It made us feel good to be able to help others with useful items we no longer needed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While thinking about this subject I began to wonder just what "enough" is based upon. It seems to me that the concept of having enough is determined by what is perceived as "poverty".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my research I found seven types of poverty that affect people:</span><br />
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<ol style="line-height: 15pt;">
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Economic poverty</b>: lack of food, clothing
and shelter</span></i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Bodily poverty</b>: lack of health and
hygiene, malnutrition</span></i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Mental poverty</b>: lack of thinking and
education</span></i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Cultural poverty</b>: lack of cultural
activities and practices</span></i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Spiritual poverty</b>: lack of mental peace
and feeling of brotherhood</span></i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 15pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Political poverty</b>: not casting one’s
vote, lack of development</span></i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> <b>Societal poverty</b>: lack of unity and neighborliness</i></span></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">In his book, Eric Jensen gives us other poverty points of view:</span></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 12.75pt; margin: 6pt 0in 3pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">"<b>What Is Poverty?</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Teaching with Poverty in
Mind<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">by
Eric Jensen<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
word</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">poverty</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">provokes strong emotions
and many questions. In the United States, the official poverty thresholds are
set by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Persons with income less than
that deemed sufficient to purchase basic needs—food, shelter, clothing, and
other essentials—are designated as poor. In reality, the cost of living varies
dramatically based on geography; for example, people classified as poor in San
Francisco might not feel as poor if they lived in Clay County, Kentucky. I
define poverty as</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">a chronic and debilitating condition that
results from multiple adverse synergistic risk factors and affects the mind,
body, and soul</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.
However you define it, poverty is complex; it does not mean the same thing for
all people. For the purposes of this book, we can identify six types of
poverty: situational, generational, absolute, relative, urban, and rural.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Situational poverty</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">is generally caused by a
sudden crisis or loss and is often temporary. Events causing situational
poverty include environmental disasters, divorce, or severe health problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Generational poverty</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">occurs in families where
at least two generations have been born into poverty. Families living in this
type of poverty are not equipped with the tools to move out of their
situations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Absolute poverty,</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">which is rare in the
United States, involves a scarcity of such necessities as shelter, running
water, and food. Families who live in absolute poverty tend to focus on
day-to-day survival.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Relative poverty</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">refers to the economic
status of a family whose income is insufficient to meet its society's average
standard of living.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Urban poverty</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">occurs in metropolitan
areas with populations of at least 50,000 people. The urban poor deal with a
complex aggregate of chronic and acute stressors (including crowding, violence,
and noise) and are dependent on often-inadequate large-city services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 22.5pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Rural poverty</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">occurs in
nonmetropolitan areas with populations below 50,000. In rural areas, there are
more single-guardian households, and families often have less access to
services, support for disabilities, and quality education opportunities.
Programs to encourage transition from welfare to work are problematic in remote
rural areas, where job opportunities are few (Whitener, Gibbs, & Kusmin,
2003). The rural poverty rate is growing and has exceeded the urban rate every
year since data collection began in the 1960s. The difference between the two
poverty rates has averaged about 5 percent for the last 30 years, with urban
rates near 10–15 percent and rural rates near 15–20 percent (Jolliffe, 2004)."<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When you combine these two lists, you have a pretty comprehensive view of poverty today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">How do <i>you</i> define poverty? How do you define<i> "enough"? </i>Where do you stand?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-78952332566982200202014-07-30T19:21:00.001-04:002014-07-30T19:33:23.989-04:00Miscellaneous<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today's post is just a report of the day. Today is July 30, 2014 and it happens to be my husband's birthday. He scheduled today as a vacation day and his employer scheduled him off yesterday and tomorrow so he has a nice 3-day "weekend" in the middle of the week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our "weekend" is any two consecutive days he is scheduled off from his retail job. Anyone who works retail has to live with a constantly changing schedule. If you are paid every 2 weeks, and your "week" is Sunday through Saturday, your scheduled "off days" can sometimes not arrive until you've worked 8, 9 or even 10 straight shifts. It can happen, fortunately it does not happen often. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vL2zUj-xbdE/U9l8u6l81lI/AAAAAAAAAc4/9B2517UjOyw/s1600/shady+maple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vL2zUj-xbdE/U9l8u6l81lI/AAAAAAAAAc4/9B2517UjOyw/s1600/shady+maple.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We started the morning by driving about an hour and a quarter to a regionally famous Pennsylvania Dutch Smorgasbord restaurant in Lancaster County, Shady Maple. Years ago Shady Maple was nothing more than a little roadside farm stand owned by a young Mennonite cou</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ple, where they sold the produce they grew on their farm. It was situated under a maple tree, hence the name.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In 2000 their little stand had grown into an entire complex containing the Smorgasbord, a large gift shoppe on the lower level of the restaurant, a Fast Food Dutchette, a cafe and a furniture store. The complex is a testament to the faith and work ethic found in this family and very prevalent in this area of the state. The family still owns and operates this huge concern and to the delight of their customers, you can get a free meal on the day of your birthday! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you can still walk after eating all that food (breakfast is a great time to go because you have the remainder of the day to work off the calories), there are so many things to see and do that the rest of your day won't be boring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We chose to come home after a brief stop at September Farm Cheese in </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2PUodzdvorM/U9l9EJnmrfI/AAAAAAAAAdI/2uLLe0nktsE/s1600/outside+sept+farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2PUodzdvorM/U9l9EJnmrfI/AAAAAAAAAdI/2uLLe0nktsE/s1600/outside+sept+farm.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Honeybrook. Another Mennonite establishment, their store consists of a cheese factory, a bakery, country store and Sandwich Shop. The next time we go to the area, we'll make September Farm our first stop. They have lots of free samples to try, and the last thing I wanted to do after breakfast was sample. The family has won prestigious awards since they began producing cheese in 2007, and the variety is impressive. It's a lovely site to visit. (And they sell cheese curds as well. You have to try cheese curds...a real treat!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our dog Mollie was happy we hadn't spent the entire day away from home, and later in the afternoon she got to ride along with us when we did a few errands. Fred was happy because he got his free birthday water ice from Rita's. In our area, water ice is a major summertime draw! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZD1ha5EapR4/U9l9gU02iNI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/_GoUxePtfe0/s1600/Italian_Ice_300x200.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZD1ha5EapR4/U9l9gU02iNI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/_GoUxePtfe0/s1600/Italian_Ice_300x200.png" height="133" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I promised to bake Fred a molasses crumb cake tomorrow, along with a pot of home made corn chowder, and on his way to Rita's he also picked up the movie "Noah" from the Redbox at the supermarket. Definitely not an exciting day, but a day he could orchestrate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today was the perfect weather day for Fred's celebration, one of those days you wish you could order up on demand: sunny, blue skies, white puffy clouds, moderate temperature (no need for A/C in the car), mild breeze and very low humidity. Couldn't ask for a better day to just relax and do whatever you wish. That's exactly how a birthday should be: a day you plan to your specifications and the perfect weather in which to enjoy it. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wonder if I start now, if I could manifest the same type of weather for my September birthday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">Happy Birthday, Frederick Achatz! I love you.</span></b></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-8949147759594206802014-07-29T15:47:00.000-04:002014-07-29T15:47:20.700-04:00The Lies We Tell: Who Really Knows You?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LPTL_oYktSg/U9f6B_tMJfI/AAAAAAAAAco/5s66YpXYEz4/s1600/Everybody's+Fine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LPTL_oYktSg/U9f6B_tMJfI/AAAAAAAAAco/5s66YpXYEz4/s1600/Everybody's+Fine.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last night I watched a movie released in 2009 on the FX channel called "Everybody's Fine". Robert De Niro portrays Frank, a man trying desperately to connect with the adult children he loves and feels he has "lost" after the death of his wife. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eight months after his wife's funeral Frank plans a family dinner and invites his family who are scattered across the country. As the event approaches he begins to receive calls from his children, each offering up a vague excuse for bowing out of the dinner. The children all love Frank, but as in many families, the children spoke mainly to their mother about their lives and problems. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was Frank's wife who kept him informed of their childrens' lives; the information she wanted <i>him </i>to know filtered through the information the children wanted <i>her</i> to know. Sound familiar? How many of us fit into one or both of those categories?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Frank sets out to "surprise visit" each of this children, dropping off an envelope with each one as he leaves their homes. It soon becomes painfully apparent that although the siblings are all in fairly close contact with other, they are not anxious to see their father because they all have access to information they are keeping from Frank. They all try to obtain the "whole story" before breaking the news to Frank in order to protect him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Frank finds himself stumbling into his childrens' lives where he senses their constraint throughout their conversations with him. Unbeknownst to them, he sees and recognizes facts about their lives they wish to hide from him. The children all realize they are not perfect, and they were raised to not disappoint him. They are not anxious to be judged by the father they loved, respected and feared.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It occurred to me that we all tell lies in the guise of protecting someone else from feeling disappointed and protecting ourselves from criticism. It begins early on. Parents hide their disagreements and arguments from their children. They hide their financial struggles because they want to spare them from worry. Parents want only the best for their children and tend to operate under the "bubble wrap" theory that what the children don't know cannot cause them pain. Parents always fail to realize that children know more of the truth than they let on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Children lie to their parents. At first, they lie without realizing the lie, because the lie is a manipulation. They lie about how they feel, what they want, and what they are doing all with the intent of getting their own way. Some children never outgrow that behavior. As they become older, children lie out of a desire for independence; they lie about where they go and who they are with. Much of the time the lies are innocuous. The parents know they are being lied to and they hope the lies never move beyond innocuous. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Grown children continue to lie to their parents and parents continue to lie to their grown children. Parents will keep their medical problems from their grown children because (a) they don't wish to worry the children, (b) they do not wish to become a burden, (c) they, like most people, fear death.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Grown children continue to lie to their parents for exactly the same reasons, plus a few more! They will keep deteriorating relationship facts from their parents just in case they can repair the relationship. No one wants to hear a parent complaining about or even mentioning past unbecoming behavior of one's significant other. They will keep unpleasant news about grandchildren to themselves because they know how much grandparents love to brag about their grandchildren. The result is a family that may know each other, but doesn't really <i>know</i> the current emotional state of mind or thought processes taking place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is strange to think that though you would expect your family to know you better than any other person, the truth is that sometimes your family knows the least about your true self. I believe the reason for that is because family members who have grown up with you tend to remember you in your formative years and do not often recognize that you have grown, matured, and changed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maybe it is easier to know the people in your family if you skip a generation. for example, your children might be more forthcoming with information when talking to a grandparent. If you happen to be in that "middle generation", I'm still working to puzzle that out. Lucky for me there are a few people who really do thoroughly know my true self; and the person I am closest to (my husband) knows me the best and continues to love me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Watch "Everybody's Fine" if you have the opportunity. The film is well acted and well written and there is a lot of depth to discover. I especially enjoyed the ending!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-80507995494655264962014-07-28T20:22:00.002-04:002014-07-28T20:22:38.639-04:00J.K. Rowling Has Left Harry Behind Book Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I believe I would be hard pressed to find a person who has never heard of the young wizard Harry Potter. I know of people who have not seen the movies or read the books, but they at least have heard of Harry Potter and his creator J.K. Rowling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Her Potter books are available in English, Welsh, Ancient Greek, Irish and Latin (Latin? Who reads contemporary literature in Latin? I am amazed.) In addition, Rowling wrote <i>The Tales of Beedle the Bard</i> and <i>Quidditch Through the Ages</i> as accompaniment pieces to the Potter series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In 2012, Rowling wrote her first novel written specifically for adults, <i>The Casual Vacancy.</i> Many adults read the entire Potter series, and as Harry aged so did the story line. The last two books dealt with more of the adult wizards in Harry's life (along with a few Muggles) and the plot line became progressively dark and serious. I would not recommend children read the last two books unless they were very advanced readers. In fact, I found <i>The Deathly Hallows </i>so dark and harrowing at times that I needed to set the book aside for a bit before continuing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My husband actually chose <i>The Casual Vacancy </i>for me to read during a recent library visit. We both read the Potter series, and he knew of my penchant for novels set in the English countryside. The book is not one you can pick up and read casually; I would not classify the 503 pages as a "beach read". For me, reading this book took a certain amount of dedication on my part.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The Casual Vacancy</i> is a novel set in "Pagford", a small, picturesque English</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vaWFFgGFxyA/U9bWNUY7fkI/AAAAAAAAAcU/K-WeHD8uhYQ/s1600/casual+vacancy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vaWFFgGFxyA/U9bWNUY7fkI/AAAAAAAAAcU/K-WeHD8uhYQ/s1600/casual+vacancy.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> village, complete with quaint market square and ancient Abbey. "Pagford" is located a few hours from London, and although the village has a pretty facade, the inhabitants are anything but. It's a small town ruled by a small parish council with big political aspirations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first character we meet, and really the main protagonist, is Barry Fairbrother, and he is dead by page 5. His death leaves an open seat on the parish council, and no sooner is the body pronounced "dead" than the infighting and jockeying for the "casual vacancy" begins. Rowling explains the vacancy: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"A casual vacancy is deemed to have occurred: (a) when a local councillor fails to make his declaration of acceptance of office within the proper time; or (b) when his notice of resignation is received; or (c) on the day of his death"</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Almost everyone in the village was fond of Barry, but no one could foresee the hotbed of nasty activity to come. He and his wife Mary had what looked like a happy marriage, but you never really know what goes on behind closed doors. The inhabitants of the village are either at war with their family or neighbors, hiding a pathological behavior, experiencing teen-age angst and/or lust, or just struggling to meet their everyday needs in a depressed economy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The council members themselves are a very diverse group with strong opinions that (surprise) conflict with the self-proclaimed leader. They, along with their offspring, are a jumbled mass of insecurities, fears and self-hatred covered with a thin veneer of respectability. The only characters even remotely true to themselves are the assorted and dysfunctional Wheedon family members, and their truth is seriously depressing. If you thought abject poverty, addiction and violence are not to be found in the English countryside, think again. I wish there had been some positive outcome for at least one of those characters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The Casual Vacancy" paints a very dark and depressing picture that just drags on for what seems like actual weeks and months. I found it difficult to find a character I actually liked. (Those people were probably minding their own business, working on their relationships, and enjoying small town life.) I absolutely felt sympathy, anger, and sadness but there is no happiness to be found in this novel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found myself really longing for the ending, and yet I could not stop reading until I knew how all was resolved. The novel followed the same path some of the PBS mysteries follow: a slow and winding unrolling of the events involving people with extremely convoluted lives, brought to a rapid end 15 minutes before the end of the program. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rowling took her time getting there, then ended the tale wrapped up in tragedy and more death. The ending was not particularly surprising, but it was very sad. I would have appreciated a bit more "story" about the light at the end of the tunnel for the characters, along with a ray of hope for them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found the ending unsatisfying, given the volume of characterization and detail that came before. Although Rowling hit all the dark and despairing areas of the characters' souls, she for the most part neglected to find the faint spark of light that was hidden in some dark corner. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rowling certainly does have a knack for showing people at their worst, but even the house elves had some brightness in their strange little lives. I read online that this novel will be turned into a BBC drama. Maybe the drama will be better than the book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-64677355009408414932014-07-27T20:19:00.001-04:002014-07-27T20:19:25.073-04:00Day 27 Blog Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4ZoqYKe9TFU/U9WS491TcSI/AAAAAAAAAbw/7DJNuYZ5CbI/s1600/July2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4ZoqYKe9TFU/U9WS491TcSI/AAAAAAAAAbw/7DJNuYZ5CbI/s1600/July2014.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is day 27 of the July Ultimate Blog Challenge. I am proud to have made it this far, to have written one post a day, beginning on July 1. Sometimes the post is finished in the afternoon, but it's more usual for me to write in the late afternoon/evening hours. In fact, one day I almost forgot all about writing my post! I did write it, posted it after midnight, and made certain to publish another post that day; I had come so far, and did not want to give up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will be honest, I wasn't certain I had the discipline to participate in this challenge. Writing a blog is voluntary for me; one of my goals was to have people read what I write. I suppose it's a form of validation for me. My family and friends have been telling me for quite some time that they enjoy reading what I write. Why is it that I feel I need validation from perfect strangers? (Well, that is assuming that at least one person unknown to me has read at least one of the posts.) I have great admiration for those whose source of income is derived from blogging. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will also admit that I'm relieved the Challenge is coming to an end; I am certain I cannot sustain writing a daily post, but it has given me the impetus to schedule future posts. My goal is to write at least 2 per week, one business-geared and the second geared to whatever piques my interest. I never before scheduled time to write, so this Challenge has definitely taught me a valuable skill. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am even considering keeping a personal journal. That is another goal I have yet to carry out; and I have some really beautiful journals in which to write. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today I wrangled with technology for several hours until reaching the point where I could get online to publish a post. I sometimes think there are tiny, nasty gremlins living in the inner workings of my laptop. They always know when I am against a deadline or when I have a form that requires printing. Swearing causes a high-pitched gleeful keening, shutting down and restarting becomes a lengthy process that continues for what feels like hours and hours. They are particularly nasty on hot, humid days...like today. I am so not a summer person. My idea of summer heat is 78-83 degrees with 52% humidity. Humidity makes the gremlins hateful! <a href="http://www.killdisk.com/">#sledgehammer</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes. My laptop is old. Intellectually I know this. Emotionally, I am frustrated by the quirks and glitches that sometime take over my day. Today all I could think of was "Oh, no! Today is the 27th and NOW you're going to die on me?" Ah, I live to write another day. <a href="http://www.ultimateblogchallenge.com/">#blogboost</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-69283105152387759092014-07-26T21:40:00.000-04:002014-07-26T21:40:09.295-04:00An Interview With the AmeriPlan Programs<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to thank Jaye Carden, Network Marketer, MLM, Affiliate Marketer,owner of JayCarden.com for today's inspiration. Jaye and I are LinkedIn connections, and he posted some wonderful questions in the "I Work From Home" group.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today I have the AmeriPlan Medical and Dental Plans here to answer Jaye's questions someone should consider when choosing a work from home opportunity. The AmeriPlan Medical and Dental Plans have been in business for over 20 years. In fact, Dental Plan is the "grandfather" of the group, being introduced in 1992 in Dallas, Texas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All of the Plans agreed to be interviewed for this blog post. Without further ado, I would like to introduce AmeriPlan Dental Plus, AmeriPlan MD Plus, and AmeriPlan Healthcare. AmeriPlan Freedom Plan could not be with us today, but sent a message along.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome! Let's get to those conditions Jaye listed for consideration.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Is the product way over priced?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Dental Plus</b></span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">: "Let me field this concern. We have four programs available. The Dental Plus is $19.95/month per household and saves our members money on Chiropractic and Vision care as well as dental care. Plus, we offer great savings on prescription drugs! The MD Plus is $29.95/month per household, (includes AmeriDoc and Hospital Advocacy along with Prescription and Dental). The Healthcare Plus program is $49.95/month per household, includes everything in Dental and MD Plus <b>and </b>includes discounted services for Doctor Office visits, podiatry, hearing and wellness programs. It's pretty much the whole deal! </span></span></div>
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2. Will people want this product OTHER than to join the opportunity?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: lime;"><b>MD Plus</b></span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">: "Oh, let me take this one! Hail Yeah they will!! How can anyone not want to save money? That's what you do with us, you save money!! And talk about convenience; with me you have access to a doctor 24/7, just pick up your phone or send an email. Don't even have to take the car out of the garage! Plus, each and every one of our team members receives the full magilla coverage for their entire household. Talk about value!!"</span></span></div>
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3. How much is the autoship, is there an autoship?</span></b></span></h4>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Healthcare Plus</span>: "</b>Please allow me to take this concern. What we have is a small overhead fee. When you enroll with us as an Independent Business Owner, <i>you do own your own business</i>! Every business in the world has overhead. In fact, if you go out and find yourself a j.o.b. (you know, just over broke), you might need to go out and spruce up your wardrobe, buy new shoes, maybe even buy another car or pay for transportation or parking. Then there is child care, lunch money, and how about those collections for co-workers' birthdays/retirements or buying the stuff your co-workers' kids are always selling for school? Oh, and what about the money you spend on gas now that you're leaving your house every day for 8 or more hours. Yeah, there's that time away from your family too. The overhead with us will cost you $99.95/month, but that's taken out of your monthly residual pay, like a payroll deduction."</span></span><br />
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4. Does this product bring a life changing result for many people?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: lime;">MD Plus</span>: "</b>You betcha, bucko! If you save money on your medical and dental services, doesn't that leave you more money for bills or fun stuff? And you can't put a price tag on better health for you and your family! Plus, knowing you have someone to fight for your financial health when you are hospitalized (the hospital advocate that comes with my plan) can make your whole recovery process go smoother. No one wants to go into forever-debt after a hospitalization. Think of all the stress that saves!"</span></span></div>
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5. How long will it take for a customer to see results?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; line-height: 115%;"><b>Dental Plus</b></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">: "You got almost immediately? You enroll, make your payment, get your ID number and call the dentist for an appointment. Doesn't take much time at all. You can use a credit/debit card or ACH payments directly from your checking account to cover the cost. Easy peasy and even if you don't need it on day one, it's ready and waiting for you. Oh, <i>you do have to be a member for 3 business days </i>before you can use my Hospital Advocacy. Other than than, you are in like Flynn!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">6. Is it easy to duplicate?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Healthcare Plus</span>: </b>"Absolutely! With AmeriPlan you never have to reinvent the wheel! Everything is in place for you! Sample ads and brochures to print, scripts to use, and all you do is generate leads, contact leads, rinse and repeat. The business is so easy. What you do is share the information about the great products and/or the business opportunity. The products are, after all, for everyone to use regardless of age. Everyone needs medical and dental care, so you're not telling folks about something they'll never use.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You know how to talk to people, right? That's what the Independent Business Owners do. There are no crazy gimmicks, you don't need to be a genius. There are no parties to go to, no weekly home presentations, you don't have to drag stuff around in your car. There are no products to stockpile in your garage. Anyone can do it, anyone can teach it. Follow the yellow brick road!"</span></span></div>
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7. What training, and leadership is in place?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: lime;">MD Plus</span>: </b>"Oh, the training is my favorite part! It's all done at home on the computer and telephone! You don't have to go to school and you do it in your own time. There are six steps to start, and when you've finished them, you are ready to rock and roll. You learn how to set up your websites. Oh, did I tell you that when you enroll you get your professionally designed e-commerce sites? And a training website? And a back-office website? Yep. All included as part of your monthly overhead, along with the total support of the Corporate Office. They take care of all the membership stuff when you enroll someone, and they handle any and all problems that arise. It's a sweet deal!</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After you finish the first six steps the training doesn't end there! There are daily training calls that the Freedom At Home Team leaders do. If you can't get on the phone live when the calls take place, they are all recorded and stored in our great library for you to access 24/7. Not only that, but the leaders have set up great Facebook group pages for the IBOs use. You can go there to connect with other team members all over the country.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the library and on the Facebook group pages there are loads of scripts, ads, instructions on finding prospects, and all kinds of marketing help! You can learn how to set up your own blog, how to make a Facebook Fan Page, how to use Instagram and other Social Media sites. There's so much info your head will spin!</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The best part of all is when you enroll you get your very own, <i>personal mentor! </i>Those mentors are there to help your get up and running and independent ASAP, but they don't go away! They, along with the rest of the Freedom At Home Team, are there to support and help you throughout your whole career. You're in business <i>for</i> yourself, not <i>by</i> yourself!"</span></span></div>
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8. Will I love the product and believe in it?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: orange;"><b>AmeriPlan Lifestyle</b></span><span style="color: #333333;">: "Hey, am I too late to get in on this discussion? I wanna tell everyone about the great deals you get with me! In addition to all those other guys, you can have me too for only $99.95/month per household. My program includes everything you already heard about with those other guys. So, you get all of that plus: ID Theft protection, discounts on dining, automotive, recreation, shopping, business and technology, hotels, home and garden, movies, and printed or digital grocery coupons. What's not to love?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Plus, you can use your memberships all over the country, not just in your home stomping grounds. Now remember, we are NOT INSURANCE, and that's a good thing because our members don't need preauthorizations, or referrals, and you can use your memberships even if you do have insurance or even Medicare. You gotta believe in products like that: affordable and available no matter what your age or medical condition. There really is something for everyone. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you want more information, go to <a href="http://www.iboplus.com/DBAchatz">http://www.iboplus.com/DBAchatz</a> to read about the memberships. If you want to enroll and start making money, go to <a href="http://www.freedomworksathome.com/">http://www.FreedomWorksAtHome.com</a> for information and an application."</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, I'd like to thank our panelists from AmeriPlan today. I'd also like to thank Jaye Carden again for his inspiration. I hope these questions and concerns help you to make the best decision for you and your family! </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have a great evening!</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-68033292567296326032014-07-25T23:26:00.000-04:002014-07-25T23:26:48.455-04:00Not-Quite Pennsylvania Dutch Corn Pie<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For as long as I can remember, my favorite vegetable has been corn. Whenever my mother asked me what vegetable I wanted for dinner the answer was always the same, "corn".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did eat other vegetables when I was a child, and coming from a home where my dad loved having his meat and potatoes every dinner, my mom did a great job feeding us whatever vegetables she could manage. My dad was second generation Ukranian, so meat and potatoes played a large role in every dinner. To his mind, dinner was not dinner without meat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My mom, on the other hand is German, Pennsylvania Dutch Welsh and English, and grew up in a mostly Pennsylvania Dutch household. I have to say I never really cared from my maternal grandmother's cooking. It was very plain, and unexciting as far as I was concerned, and she had a tendency to boil lots of things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Both my parents grew up during the depression years but the difference in their diets was profound. My dad's parents always had butter on the table, my grandma always had a huge garden and she canned vegetables, meat was served at every dinner accompanied by mashed potatoes or home made pierogies. My mom's parents raised chickens, so there were always eggs and eventually, chicken to eat. My mom told me stories of how she used to help knead the yellow coloring into the margarine they used. Meat, however, was not served at every dinner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Corn has always been abundantly grown in the Pennsylvania countryside, and when corn season arrives, people buy it up as fast as it hits the farmstands and grocery stores. My mom remembers them all having corn on the cob for dinner. They would butter a slice of bread and roll the corn in the butter; it sounds like a tidy way to handle the buttering aspect.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you eat at any Pennsylvania Dutch establishment, be it a homestead or a restaurant, you will always find fresh corn pie on the menu during corn season. I remember attending our local fair when I was growing up, and every church stand featured little individual corn pies. It was the best! Today you have to visit restaurants in the Lancaster, PA area, or visit a diner in a town where there are still considerable Pennsylvania Dutch people residing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I was a child growing up my mom would make corn pie using fresh sweet corn she cut off the cob. She would first make a 2 crust pie crust, fit a pie pan with one crust and then fill it with fresh-cut corn, sprinkle it over with a bit of sugar and salt, pour milk over the top (not to cover, but not too skimpy), dot the top with butter and then place the top crust on the pie and bake it. When it was finished baking, much of the milk was absorbed so you could pour a bit more over the top of your slice when it was in your dish. It was, to my mom and me, a complete meal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, for the purists who may be familiar with corn pie, sometimes a diced potato was included in the corn along with diced hard boiled egg. We preferred our pie sans potato and egg (the egg white always seemed to toughen up in the pie). If fresh corn isn't in season canned corn can be used and I've even seen creamed corn used along with whole kernel corn. You can find many recipes for corn pie in any good Amish cookbook, or Amish cooking website. Although plain cooking, the Amish and Mennonite housewives produced many delectable dishes! If you ever visit Lancaster County, you can take your pick of Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch Smorgasbords! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I mentioned, my dad would not accept eating corn pie for his main dinner...unless my mom prepared some sort of meat to go with it. She would often serve hamburgers with it, sometimes country sausage; but my mom and I would stick with just the pie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My own non-traditional corn pie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aKJgi8RIuVY/U9Mfi2uAhjI/AAAAAAAAAbI/8Xw6El4Kr7I/s1600/cutpie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aKJgi8RIuVY/U9Mfi2uAhjI/AAAAAAAAAbI/8Xw6El4Kr7I/s1600/cutpie.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wanted to find another way to make my favorite pie without using a traditional pie crust. I usually keep frozen pie crusts in the freezer because I cannot construct a flaky crust to save my life. I've tried. I really have! It doesn't matter what recipe I use, or what method I use, it never seems to be really flaky enough to suit me. I believe I over-handle the dough in the rolling out process. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Years ago I discovered the most wonderful invention Betty Crocker ever invented: the "Impossible Pie". Oh, I was in heaven with this discovery. It's perfect for a non-making pie crust person like myself. I started out making the traditional coconut custard impossible pies and graduated to all sorts of savory or sweet concoctions. Give me a box of Bisquick, some eggs and milk and I am set! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the uninitiated, impossible pie is a crustless custard pie. The Bisquick in the egg and milk mixture actually sets up during the baking process into a very light "crust" on the bottom of the pie. They are super easy and quick to bake, and taste delicious. I often whip one up with left-over meat and or veggies when looking for a quick dinner. If you Google "Bisquick Impossible Pie" you will find an endless list of recipes to suit any occasion. Meat, savory or sweet, and Impossible Pie is hard to beat! Even people who claim to "hate" coconut custard pie, absolutely love an Impossible Coconut Pie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tonight I found myself with fresh corn on the cob and no frozen pie crusts. I wanted to make a corn pie so I thought "Impossible Pie"! Bisquick to the rescue! (You can even buy low fat Bisquick now.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I husked the corn and cut it off the cob (I used 4 cobs). Then, for something different, I pan fried the corn in an iron skillet with a bit of salt, Adobo seasoning and black pepper sprinkled over it. I placed the corn mixture into a 10" quiche pan, spread it out and sprinkled a combination of grated sharp cheddar cheese along with some smoked cheddar cheese. Over that I poured my impossible mixture: 3/4 c Bisquick, 3 eggs and 1-1/2 cups milk. Easy, peasy and popped it into the oven at 400 degrees F until the custard "set". And there you have it, my version of Pennsylvania Dutch Corn Pie. (A touch brown, but very tasty!"</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-85120157288335086332014-07-24T22:56:00.001-04:002014-07-24T22:56:06.073-04:00How Do I Get Out of This Slump?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have you ever experienced a slump? It does not matter whether the slump is work related or personal, sooner or later we all find ourselves in Slump Valley.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Merriam-Webster defines "valley" as: a low area of land between hills or mountains and a low period, point or level. What is a "slump", but a low period, point, or level? No matter what the slump refers to, it is a low point surrounded by the hills and mountains of "I should be doing...", "I'm overwhelmed", and "I think I'm burning out". And like many valleys, Slump Valley has its own little river running through it, "The Long and Whining River". Like every river, it has a music to the flow of the water; Long and Whining sings "I'm so tired. "Why is this happening to me?" "Why is it taking so long to reach my goal?" "I'm so bored". "I'm not good enough." "I don't have what it takes."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How long are you going to visit Slump Valley? Listen, the longer you stay, the more difficult it is to leave. You can really get into that comfort zone of pain. (Just because it's painful, doesn't mean you won't be comfortable.) That's one of the worst things about Slump Valley. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Comfort usually means there is no physically unpleasant feeling, and if you are visiting Slump Valley there are definite, unpleasant physical feeling. When in a slump you suffer from the constant tightness in the pit of your stomach because you don't want to be there. You can manifest other symptoms too: headaches, anxiety, nervousness, stomach aches; the list is endless. You don't <i>want</i> the pain, but if you stay in the slump you can get used to the pain, and use it as an excuse for maintaining the status quo. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The reason why we stay in a slump is because to climb out we need to get out of the comfort zone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What was the straw that broke your camel's back? Find out why you went into a slump. Was every hour of every day in your calendar filled? In your enthusiasm to try something new and exciting, did you choose one too many new somethings? Did you over-promise, and now have to deliver? (You do know that you <i>under-promise </i>and <i>over-deliver</i>, right?) By the way, it doesn't matter if you over-committed to your boss, your family, or yourself; over-committed will cause burn out before you can blink. Are you one of those super-driven people who start a project and expect to meet your goal in an unreasonable period of time? Are you, excuse my French, a per-fec-tion-ist?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Slumps are costly</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now you can stay in Slump Valley for a week, or a month...or (gasp) more. The longer you stay, the more expensive it becomes. If you are in a work slump the money will not flow in when you need it. If you are in a fitness slump, those fat cells will plump right up again and your muscles will begin to feel "soft". If you are in a relationship slump, your level of personal happiness and self-confidence will continue to plummet. How long can you afford to stay in your slump?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is normal to feel sorry for oneself when things are not going along at a rapid enough pace. Realize that Sorry Lodge is a very costly place to spend your time in Slump Valley. Sorry Lodge has doors that do not open, and windows hung with thick curtains that shut out the sun and the fresh air. Sorry Lodge does not encourage visits or conversations. You need to break out of Sorry Lodge immediately! Feeling sorry for yourself does nothing to change your situation. The past is done. The past, on any plane, no longer exists! The future does not exist either, except in your dreams and aspirations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tips to get out of Slump Valley</span></h4>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take advantage of what you </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">do</i></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b> have, the present</b>. Do something! Set a timer for 10 minutes and something that will help you reach your goal. Organize your desk. Clear your calendar; eliminate any unnecessary tasks. Write a to-do list of only the essential things that can be done in one day. Stretch your body. The time will pass quickly, and you may just find the encouragement to continue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Do something for someone else!</b> The act of doing for another takes your mind off yourself and the way you feel, and forces you to focus on another person. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Get your heart rate going!</b> Pick an activity that you enjoy and use your handy timer set for 10-15 minutes. Take a fast walk. Do some squats. Touch your toes and as you bring your arms up, do a little jump. Get that blood pumping! Find something to do that will invigorate you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Be sure to get enough sleep.</b> If you have trouble getting to sleep, try mediation; or just take 3-5 deep cleansing breaths and continue to count your breath (count "1" in, count "2" out and repeat) . This simple tip will relax you to the point where you will drift off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Develop a morning routine. </b> Try this simple routine: wake up, before getting out of bed stretch your body for 10-20 seconds. Get out of bed, drink a full glass of water; perform your normal bathroom routine, get dressed, have breakfast. It's important to not skip breakfast. Have a bit of fruit and some protein (yogurt or cheese), maybe a piece of toast if you're not a breakfast person. An easy morning routine that you don't have to think about takes the pressure off you to "get right to work", and eliminates anxiety.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remember, your morning routine should set you up for the day, not continue until lunch time. Learn how to say "no" to the things that will make you a slave to your calendar and set you up for rushing around to get things done. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Ask for help.</b> There is no shame in asking for some assistance. People who care about you are usually very willing to lend a helping hand. Just be careful not to take advantage of this, it's your life and your slump and your intention is to take control of getting where you need to be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Last, but not least</b>, if you are a spiritual person, take time to remember that God knows what you can accomplish, and He has set things in motion to help you reach your goals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-33480961701257418162014-07-23T22:32:00.004-04:002014-07-23T22:55:03.105-04:008 of Mine! What's Your (Guilty) Pleasure?<h4 style="height: 0px;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all know that pleasure is a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment. Experiencing pleasure is one of the finest joys you can have in your life. What brings pleasure is different for every person, but what about "guilty pleasure"? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You know what a guilty pleasure is, it's those things we like that we shouldn't like, but we do and like anyway. AND, we don't tell anyone about them! It's that last part that adds the little bit of naughty, spicy devilment, the secrecy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Disclaimer time!</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the purposes of this post, we are talking only about <i>legal</i> pleasures. We're not going to debate what is moral, that's between you and your conscience!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cat's coming out of the bag</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the interest of authenticity, I'll post some of my <i>own </i>guilty pleasures:</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Reading what I refer to as mind candy</b></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You know them, People Magazine and those other celebrity gossip magazines. My favorite issues are the issues that come out immediately following the award issues. I can be as judgemental as I please, and no one has to know! Oh, the "who wore it best" feature?? LOVE them! "She's too skinny, her butt is too big, WHAT was the stylist </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">thinking </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">with that hairstyle? Oh, that dress is so ugly! Does he ever shave? Why does that hair look so greasy?" Yeah. Those comments. Out loud! The fact that I am SO imperfect next to the beautiful people has no bearing on this...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Recording all the Brit Mystery shows and Masterpiece Brit Mysteries</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> on </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PBS stations and spending a Sunday watching them all day (if it happens to be a work day for my husband). He finds them rather slow, and I just love the English countryside, the actors and all the accents! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. I am a shameless Anglophile</b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; display: inline !important; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was one of those Americans who got out of bed early to watch Prince Charles marry Lady Diana Spencer. I also watched her funeral and cried the entire day. And when he married Camilla, well, suffice it to say the commentary was unflattering.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>4. Adding vodka to the tonic water I sometimes drink to avoid Restless Leg Syndrome</b></span></h4>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QpVpm0ZI0sY/U9Br-f31AmI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/a1BqurLiguQ/s1600/grey+goose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QpVpm0ZI0sY/U9Br-f31AmI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/a1BqurLiguQ/s1600/grey+goose.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't drink vodka often, but when I do, I prefer Grey Goose. Stay thirsty..I mean, sleep well, my friends.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NSLgr9Tl8Lg/U9BsK_6aFDI/AAAAAAAAAZo/jOIk47WFpX4/s1600/scrabble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NSLgr9Tl8Lg/U9BsK_6aFDI/AAAAAAAAAZo/jOIk47WFpX4/s1600/scrabble.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>5. Playing board games</b></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No one plays board games anymore. I love them. I really love Mexican Train (for you domino aficionados out there). Except for Monopoly. I hate Monopoly. Thank the friend my ex-husband had for ruining Monopoly for me. He freaking played for blood!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>6. I am a Bryan Adams fan</b></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I do not apologize, I just consider myself in good company with every other Bryan Adams fan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>7. I am a popcorn fanatic</b></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There's always room for popcorn! I will even eat it air popped without butter. Popcorn is really good with Brewers Yeast sprinkled on it...honest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>8. I will never turn down a nut-topped sticky bun</b></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sticky buns are very popular where I live. They are raised cinnamon sweet rolls, usually baked 8 to a pan, with a beautiful sticky, dark caramel-like topping and covered all over with chopped walnuts. Some bakeries place just raisins on top, others have both nuts and walnuts. Some are just plain. Give me the walnuts every time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Okay, those are the 8 I am willing to admit to. What are some of <i>your guilty pleasures</i>? Don't be shy! Share them, please.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-38033786993087463422014-07-22T13:45:00.003-04:002014-07-22T13:45:47.403-04:00<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e_QHJjYjTh4/U86hatOxQSI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/s7kkJOqT1zI/s1600/ameriplan-md-plus-logo-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e_QHJjYjTh4/U86hatOxQSI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/s7kkJOqT1zI/s1600/ameriplan-md-plus-logo-a.jpg" height="288" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On July 16 I gave you 4 important reasons to buy the AmeriPlan MD Plus discount medical plan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today I'm going to give you an example of how well the program works! Now, keep in mind this disclaimer: AmeriPlan programs are NOT insurance, however the plans can be used by anyone, with or without, insurance. In fact, the MD Plus plan, which includes Dental, Prescription and Hospital Advocacy in addition to the AmeriDoc Telemedicine is one I will never relinquish!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, the medical Hx:</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Sunday I started with what I thought was a sinus problem. I've been prone to sinus problems for years, and usually my allergy medication keeps them in check. When I have problems, however, one of the first things I do is to use a </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">neti pot. </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A neti pot????<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bao_i5dFJJI/U86SJ80t7ZI/AAAAAAAAAYA/wb4RQcVCFs4/s1600/neti+pot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bao_i5dFJJI/U86SJ80t7ZI/AAAAAAAAAYA/wb4RQcVCFs4/s1600/neti+pot.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you are unfamiliar with this item, it's simply a way to irrigate your sinus cavity with warm filtered water containing a saline solution. It is <i>not</i> an activity for which you want an audience. You fill the pot with the solution, position your head sideways over the bathroom sink and pour half of the warm solution through one nostril, allowing the water to pour out the opposite nostril. You then reverse the position to pour water through the other side. It's very simple and takes just a few minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The procedure works quite well when you have a head cold as well. The salt in the solution soothes the membranes in the sinus cavity and the procedure thoroughly washes away any disgusting junk that was harbored inside. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you suffer from seasonal allergies that include pollen, using a neti pot in the evening before bed will help remove the pollen, giving you relief. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The pots can be found in your local drug store, and on the Internet and often come with little packets of saline used with the neti pot. They are available in various materials, shapes and prices. Since I keep mine tucked up in a bathroom closet, I prefer something simple and unbreakable, similar to the illustration above.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moving on to the topic at hand</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I used my little neti pot, but the pressure and pain I was developing throughout my sinuses was not relieved. That was my first clue about the situation. Usually one session with the neti pot relieves both pressure <i>and</i> sinus pain. I still had the pain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In fact, I developed a good deal of pain as the day continued, and Monday it had reached the point where cold compresses did not help for long, and the OTC pain relievers worked for only about 2 hours. I was constantly clock-watching and counting hours between doses. Not only that, I just could not concentrate on anything but pain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had been operating on fits and starts of sleep lasting no more than 2 hours at a time, and that alone was taking a toll. The worst was yet to come.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And then there was swelling</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Monday evening the left side of my fact began to swell. Oh, this was just lovely! As if I didn't look and feel miserable enough, now my face was puffing up and I was beginning to look like a lopsided blowfish. Not to mention the FGXpress pain strips I had placed on the left side of my face, which just added to my weird appearance. <i>FGXpress Power Strips</i> are wonderfully effective, strips coated with all natural pain relievers. I had about 5 strips placed strategically on the left side of my face, and by 7pm last night the pain was negligible. (The Power Strips will soon be another blog topic).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite all my efforts to self-treat, it was the swelling that pushed me over the top. The situation worsened overnight. I have difficulty sleeping with more than one pillow under my head, and laying with my head somewhat flat did nothing to dispel the swelling. Tuesday morning I looked in the mirror and it was really and truly an awful sight to behold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">AmeriDoc to the rescue!!</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I spent a few early morning hours trying to sleep sitting in a comfortable office chair, but I realized I was fighting a losing battle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm like everyone else with a computer: I input symptoms to see what's causing my problem. (C'mon, admit it, you do the same thing...it's too easy to do, and wow, the diseases you discover are just amazing in their scope!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had already decided I needed a prescription to recover from what I now suspected to be a tooth abscess. Odd, I thought, because I didn't encounter pain while eating or brushing my teeth, but the situation could not be ignored! I also decided to take advantage of my AmeriDoc plan as soon as reasonably possible. Even though I knew I could call for a consult 24/7, I decided to wait until daylight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I accessed my AmeriPlan member account, and requested the consult. I was happy I had input my medical history into the system when I purchased the program...<i>before</i> I needed to use the plan, as I was in no mood to list everything this morning. It was such an easy procedure!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I filled out a brief form and described my problem. Since I was pretty sure I needed an antibiotic at this point I requested a medical consult. Less than one half hour went by and my AmeriDoc doctor was on the line to talk to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The doctor was very pleasant, asked pertinent and thorough questions and then gave me the diagnosis: tooth abscess. He asked if I was allergic to any antibiotics, told me what he was going to prescribe and gave me follow-up advice to call my dentist in case the abscess needed to be drained. There I was, in my p.j.'s, sitting in the family room, talking to a licensed and certified medical professional! He had access to my entire medical history (which he was able to review before he even called me), and spent the same amount of time my personal family doctor would have spent with me at his office. He also called the pharmacy with the prescription. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All this happened well before 9am. Had I called my family doctor I would have had to wait until 9am, then I would have had to wait to be fit into an appointment time. I know from past experience that Monday mornings are a very difficult time to schedule a same-day appointment. I was saved from having to drive to the doctor and then wait for the prescription. My dear husband was able to go to pick up the prescription for me, and I had my first dose of antibiotic before noon. We had to wait a bit for the prescription to be filled as they didn't open before 9am, but waiting for prescriptions to be filled nowadays is a commonplace procedure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To top it off, the cost for the consult was only $17.50. That alone saved me money as my insurance co-pay is higher. Plus, I didn't have to drive the extra distance to the doctor's office (saving in gas money), and I didn't have to wait until sometime this afternoon for an appointment. Having the option of calling AmeriDoc was truly wonderful and I finally got to witness first-hand the value of this program. I will never hesitate to call an AmeriDoc doctor. Naturally if you are experiencing any kind of medical emergency, you are directed to dial 911; my family doctor's office has the same advice when I call.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Had I not needed a prescription, but was just looking for medical advice, the call would have been free. Each time I walk into a doctor's office, it costs me money. Each time I have an infection of some sort (and we all know when infection sets in), the doctor will require an office visit. And if I call with a question, well, it's time to schedule an appointment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I know as well as anyone that there are circumstances where I absolutely need to be seen by my family doctor. But if I'm out of town, and I cannot reach my doctor or if I don't have access to an Immediate Care facility, having AmeriDoc is invaluable. I know for a fact that had I visited either my family doctor or an Immediate Care facility, the cost for the consult would have been not only more money, but more physical discomfort.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As for the prescription, in this case the cost for the antibiotic was $9.99 with or without the prescription card. Usually when you are prescribed a generic drug, the pharmacy already has discounted it to equal the discount you'd receive with the prescription card.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love this new Ameriplan MD Plus discount plan! Imagine how much more valuable it is to someone without an established physician!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Follow up advice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7o8yH78Zu0s/U86jKNI-TaI/AAAAAAAAAYc/OFCpa30eYMQ/s1600/animated_coverage.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7o8yH78Zu0s/U86jKNI-TaI/AAAAAAAAAYc/OFCpa30eYMQ/s1600/animated_coverage.GIF" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, I know, I still need to see the dentist! I do have a broken tooth, and that most likely was the site of the bacterial infection. Fortunately for me, I can use the Dental portion of my AmeriPlan MD Plus program to locate a participating provider less than 5 miles from my home! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I really, really, really dislike going to the dentist, but I'll give you a report after I've seen one. For now, I'm hoping the chipmunk cheek will slowly disappear. The <i>FGXpress Power Strip </i>I placed on my cheek is<i> </i>taking care of the residual pain, and I still have the ice packs to help resolve the swelling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a Monday, the day is actually improving!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-61316903549818170582014-07-21T20:57:00.002-04:002014-07-21T20:57:52.267-04:00When to Filter, When to Censor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Yh294tJC3s/U8221C7HaoI/AAAAAAAAAXw/mNlJxAlLc-g/s1600/foot+on+ground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Yh294tJC3s/U8221C7HaoI/AAAAAAAAAXw/mNlJxAlLc-g/s1600/foot+on+ground.jpg" height="320" width="259" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I recently wrote about being grounded, and what keeps me grounded. I sincerely believe that living in the moment, being present, is an honest way to live (that is if you are being true to yourself).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, if you do try very hard to live in the moment, if you censor yourself are you still being true to yourself? Is it appropriate to censor yourself, and if so, under what circumstances?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Something I forgot to list as keeping me grounded is my sense of humor. Notice that I said "my" not "a". I have an odd sense of humor, sometimes even a black sense of humor, but without it I am not me. And a sense of humor does keep me grounded: it reminds me to laugh at the world, and finding true humor at any time is a real and "in the moment" activity. And really, there is just <i>so much </i>material out there! Think politics, think "rich and famous", think WalMart, think circuses and monkeys. Oh, it just goes on and on! Having a sense of humor also forces me to laugh at myself, and there can be nothing more grounding that laughing at yourself!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Filter or Censor?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s8gEvBIQx-A/U821_BdqFEI/AAAAAAAAAXk/KYa5YnNDCg0/s1600/duct+tape+emoticon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s8gEvBIQx-A/U821_BdqFEI/AAAAAAAAAXk/KYa5YnNDCg0/s1600/duct+tape+emoticon.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I must admit there have been many times in my life when my filter was off-kilter. Sometimes thoughts just come into my mind and flow right out my mouth without taking any time to rumble around my censor or flow through my filter. Lucky for me, the thoughts are very often considered by others to be funny and I do love to make people laugh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To differentiate, my filter is there to prevent me from making humorous, angry or frustrated comments to people at the inopportune time, i.e. being as soon as they pop into my head. My filter is there to remind me to forego humor if the comment would be offensive or hurtful to another. My filter is there to remind me that sometimes I say things that make perfect sense to me because I hear all the other comments in my head that lead to the comment I make out loud. My filter is <i>supposed </i>keep those thoughts in my head.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A "filter" example</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For example, when we lived in California we were very good friends with another couple V. and J. that we met at a Western Dance Class. We usually got together once a week for dinner, we spent time together at each other's homes, had picnics and parties. We didn't always agree on politics, so we never discussed them at length. We went kayaking together, we went dancing, we had wonderful times. J. easily became my best friend in California, and our husbands got on famously. V. died suddenly the week we moved to Pennsylvania and his loss left a huge hole in our lives and hearts. There wasn't anything we couldn't say to each other, and that is the background story to my filter example.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One evening they were over to our home for dinner, and we were dining al fresco on our patio. As V. leaned over to pluck some little bits of lint off J's sweater, I looked at my best friend's husband and said "Oh, look, you're her monkey!" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You might guess that there was a beat or two of silence before I had the presence of mind to back peddle and explain why that very strange comment came out of my mouth at that time. (I wasn't even drinking anything stronger than iced tea!) They had no way of knowing I had recently seen some sort of animal program on television (All About Monkeys, or something), and when he plucked the lint from her sleeve it reminded me of grooming, and I made the colossal jump to monkeys. God Bless them, my best friend pretty much instantly found the humor in the comment, but it took V. a bit of time to comprehend. There could not have been a redder shade of red than what was on my face. I even tried to remain silent for the next few minutes. There you go, really lousy filter!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The "censor" example</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although I forgot to filter, I did remember to not make any disparaging or mean comments about monkeys. That was censoring.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I find that both my filter as well as my censor fail me when I am in pain. Fibromyalgia is an extreme sensitivity of the nerves that cause pain, and sometimes I fail to find the humor. At those times I neglect to take the time to find alternative words and fall back on all the swear words I've learned throughout my life. It's just being lazy, but sometimes (and I am ashamed to admit it) those words just need to be uttered. I really need to find some over sized bandages to plaster over my mouth at those times!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The other time I find my censor beeping at me is when I am very, very angry. I still need to learn that I am the only one who "makes me mad!". Push my buttons all you want, I'm the only one who will be responsible for responding to the pushing. An attitude can be controlled, and anger is an attitude.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most of the time, if I'm not swearing at my laptop or some other form of technology, I do stop to think before I blurt out something irretrievably horrific. Words said in anger or any other negative way will cut the psyche deeper than any knife blade and wound more critically than any bullet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like the words you put on Facebook, words said aloud can never be recovered. Put a bandage on a wound along with some antiseptic, and there is a good chance that wound will heal in time. Some wounds caused by sharp words will never heal. In fact, depending upon the delivery, even kind words deeply wound. You just can't take words back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have become much better at using my censor. I'm more casual with my filter, and my filter is all about humor. A filter gives you a bit more leeway, and more of a chance to channel your humor. Understand, humor that is hurtful, mean or spiteful will hurt every bit as an uncensored word so be careful when you tread that pathway. Misunderstood humor is very difficult to explain away (especially if in written form).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And my point would be...</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my humble opinion, it is more pleasant to live in my present moment if I utilize my abilities to censor myself. I can still express all the feelings I have and be true to myself by refraining from deliberately inflicting harm. Notice the use of the word "deliberately". There are times when you have a thought and after expressing it in what you believe to be free from harm, you are shocked to find that what you expressed caused pain to another. We all make mistakes, I always hope to make small mistakes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been on the receiving end of filterless and censorless people. They are always most unpleasant, and usually devoid of social conscience. It's really difficult to find something good in that kind of personality, and my first thought is always "don't judge, you don't walk in their shoes". I find it best for me to just ignore those people and that behavior. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many years ago I was taught that if you allow yourself to hate someone, that person controls you. It's true, if you hate, your entire thought process is about the object you hate, therefore, you are controlled by your hatred. That is not a pretty sight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Parting words</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be true to yourself without inflicting pain, and use your censor. You can hurt yourself with the words you use, so don't limit that thought to only dealing with other people. Try to find the humor around you; sometimes the only person you need to laugh is you.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-33975455824403240722014-07-21T00:22:00.000-04:002014-07-21T00:27:32.080-04:00Being Grounded<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eJtuRet5rDk/U8yWgkiMFWI/AAAAAAAAAXU/Kb0OTJuezvg/s1600/grand+canyon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eJtuRet5rDk/U8yWgkiMFWI/AAAAAAAAAXU/Kb0OTJuezvg/s1600/grand+canyon.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Disclaimer: Today's post is brief; I just let the day go by in "grounded-ness".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the things I really enjoy about participating in various LinkedIn Groups are the questions people post. I like that people actually want the answers to the questions. I like that other group members take the time to post thoughtful answers. I especially like that other group members take the time to read the answers others have posted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There has been a question circulating for a while now, and I've wanted to respond to it, I just keep getting side tracked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A simple definition:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U0FiPVu7cwM/U8yUY20WarI/AAAAAAAAAW8/9hNO5DXOryk/s1600/grounded.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U0FiPVu7cwM/U8yUY20WarI/AAAAAAAAAW8/9hNO5DXOryk/s1600/grounded.jpeg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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The question asked is "What does being grounded mean to you"? There is, of course, the "dictionary definition" of being grounded and I think the following explains it quite nicely: Being grounded means being fully conscious and fully present in the NOW moment.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My opinion is that although the definition is simple, the actual method or methods of keeping oneself grounded takes focus and definitely takes care. By care, I mean taking responsibility for your own "grounded-ness". It's easy to read a few trips and ideas and adapt them as your own, but becoming grounded means you need to have a real conversation with your "soul self" to know what it is you need to actually <i>be</i> grounded. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How do you know what you need unless you examine that which is keeping you from grounding yourself?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What keeps me grounded:</span></h4>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taking time first thing in the morning to look out my window and absorb the sunlight, or to watch the raindrops falling from the sky. Some days it is just an acknowledgment that the night has ended, and it's overcast and humid outside. It the placing of my presence in the day.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Believe it or not, the aroma of freshly brewing coffee. That alerts me to the upcoming day in the way a buzzing alarm clock never could. That distinctive aroma makes me aware of how I am moving, if I am experiencing pain, if I am still sleepy and that the day is most definitely beginning for me.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our dog Mollie. You have to be in the present when you care for an animal. Every day begins the same for your pet, every pet has it's own wake-up ritual. Once you are made aware of the ritual, it varies little. No matter what you do, what you wear, how <i>you feel</i>, your pet needs your attention, and that never changes. Our pets' rituals become added to our own. I am especially aware of this because my husband is the one who deals with Mollie's morning rituals, unless for some reason he is unable to do so, and <i>then </i>it becomes a ritual I need to add to my own. Believe me when I tell you how grateful I am that <i>he </i>is <i>her </i>#1 person!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Prayer. Prayer is a wonderful tool for keeping grounded. You cannot pray without being in the moment. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nature. Birds singing, sun shining, rain falling, seeing my breath on a chilly morning, the scent of coming rain, the sound of the wind rustling the leaves, the feel of snowflakes on my eyelashes: you need to be aware in order to hear or feel these things.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Simple, minor but necessary chores: making the bed, washing dishes, folding laundry. I call them mindless, but these little chores are a mental break in a stressful day, and a chance to connect with the world around me. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are innumerable occurrences throughout the day that will take my focus, when I find myself totally unobservant of anything other than what I am thinking or doing for work. When minutes and hours disappear into the endless void of busy-ness, when I feel flattened by stress or frustration, when the day suddenly seems to grind is when I know I need a "ground check".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is when I "surface" for air, and I feel disoriented because I have been so focused on a single task; when I have to unbend in stages to rise from my </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">desk chair...that is when I know I need to feel grounded in order to go on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know I feel like a complete person when I take the time to be in the moment. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Being grounded, and grounding myself is what allows me to continue day after day. Taking the time to become grounded each day is what gives me hope and inspiration. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Call to action:</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is it that keeps you grounded? I would very much enjoy reading your comments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-9757288878497164712014-07-19T17:09:00.000-04:002014-07-19T17:11:22.346-04:005 Thoughts (how ironic) on Life Hack Mania<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ED7IWXE8bQc/U8rdRzOgJaI/AAAAAAAAAWs/tmes35Hna5Y/s1600/keep+calm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ED7IWXE8bQc/U8rdRzOgJaI/AAAAAAAAAWs/tmes35Hna5Y/s1600/keep+calm.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whenever I happen to be using my laptop, my smart-phone or even my Kindle Fire I come across some variation of a Life Hack list. I've actually become rather fond of Life Hack lists, and I wanted a bit of background.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Naturally I went to my browser and entered the words "what is a Life Hack", and clicked on the enter key. You might know one of the first things to pop up was the Wikipedia explanation:</span><br />
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em;">
<b>1. "Life hacking</b><br />
refers to any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life. It is arguably a modern appropriation of a <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordian_knot" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Gordian knot" wotsearchprocessed="true">gordian knot</a> - in other words, anything that solves an everyday problem in an inspired, ingenious manner.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.5em;">
Coined in the 1980s in <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_culture" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Hacker culture" wotsearchprocessed="true">hacker culture</a>, the term became popularized in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogosphere" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Blogosphere" wotsearchprocessed="true">blogosphere</a> and is primarily used by computer experts who suffer from information overload or those with a playful curiosity in the ways they can accelerate their workflow in ways other than programming.</div>
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The terms <i>hack</i>, <i>hacking</i>, and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_(term)" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Hacker (term)" wotsearchprocessed="true">hacker</a></i> have a long history of ambiguity in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computing" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Computing" wotsearchprocessed="true">computing</a> and geek communities, particularly within the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open_source_software" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Free and open source software" wotsearchprocessed="true">free and open source software</a> crowds."</div>
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2. About 49,300,000 results</h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wow. Interesting. Just for grins, I typed in "what is a hack" and had "about" 182,000,000 results returned. I could have played this game all day. If you want the answer to a specific question that you post in your browser bar, you had better be <i>really specific</i> with the words you use.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Getting back to the term "Life Hacking", I was surprised by the timing of the phrase. Oh, I've been quite aware of the use of the word "hack" in combination with the word "computer" for many years. But I wondered why I only became aware of the term "Life Hack" within the past year or two. Perhaps it is due the fact that every single day an invitation to view a Life Hacking list appears in my e-mail box. I honestly don't recall receiving these invitations in the past. The terminology alone was enough to pique my interest. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also admit that because I had the opportunity to read these various lists, I have read some very good advice. For instance, this morning I read the "12 Quiet Rituals of Enormously Successful Humans", found in the Marc and Angel Hack Life Blog. They put together quite a collection of interesting and useful lifehacks. (www.marcandangel.com)</span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Thinking outside the box</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wonder if the term Life Hacking is replacing the often over-used term "thinking outside the box"? The whole purpose of a lifehack is to use a novel approach to reaching a goal, and people are encouraged to find novel solutions to common problems. Well, let's face it, it is faster to use two words instead of four, right? And the use of the word "Hack" to indicate a shortcut, skill, trick or novel method to increase one's productivity and efficiency is very effective when used with an accompanying number.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It has been proven that more people will read an article with a number in the title. For example, an article titled "17 Ways to Maximize Your Work Space" will probably garner more readers than if that article were titled "How to Make Your Work Space More Productive". The information contained therein may be the same, but today's readers want their information in list format, and they want productive ideas without the research that went into finding the idea or the explanation behind the idea.</span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Information overload on the information highway</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is such a vast volume of information available on the Internet, and so many articles, blogs, videos, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">vlogs, ezines</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, and newsletters that in order to capture a reader's attention, the creators of these sources of information had to design a unique way to grab that attention. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Someone, at some point in time, determined that a really clever <i>title</i> to a piece would entice readers. And because such a volume exists, it became easier for people to absorb information presented in <i>list form</i>. All the proof you need is contained in any lifehack list you find of interest</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When someone creates a lifehack list on any topic, some type of research must precede the writing. If people wanted to know all the research details, they'd do the research on their own; but people don't want to work too hard to glean the shortcuts they want, so the author condenses the research into more easily digestible bits of information.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The best lists do include enough research for each item to be compelling to the reader. After all, we do like a concise <i>reason why</i> the particular shortcut will work along with instructions for the best way to implement the shortcut.</span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. I'd rather read a list than write a to-do list</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">America may have missed out on loving the metric system, and there are many individuals who are math-challenged, but we nevertheless love numbers. It's fun to read lists of shortcuts! Although each of us has the same 24 hours in every day, we want to get the most out of the time we have. (Even if we spend a lot of that precious time reading lists of shortcuts to maximize our lives!) </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you are looking for ideas, or shortcuts, to make your life easier, read a Life Hack list! They are easier to find than dust, and like dust, there is always more to be found tomorrow.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I could read lists of shortcuts for days on end. I literally </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">could</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> read lists of shortcuts for days; I wonder how many days it would take to read all 49-million plus results?</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-44103486092680624022014-07-18T16:42:00.000-04:002014-07-18T16:42:38.847-04:00Who's Your Manager?<div style="color: rgb(4, 143, 189) !important; font-family: arial; font-size: 17px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 23px; text-align: center;">
"There are managers so preoccupied with their e-mail messages that they never look up from their screens to see what's happening in the non-digital world."</div>
<div style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">
-- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Professor of Psychology and Published Author</div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today's disclaimer:</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The quote listed above arrived in my daily e-mail from Brian Tracy. Brian is an entrepreneur, public speaker, and author. He is also a personal and business development trainer. I had the privilege of meeting him and attending at least one of his seminars when living in San Diego. He is not only very successful at his job, he is also very charming. I recommend people read his books and attend his seminars. This quote is today's blog inspiration.</span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who is your manager? <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q9_aOb3UnXI/U8mFgL3IObI/AAAAAAAAAWc/y8YHWwqhauo/s1600/pointy+haired+boss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q9_aOb3UnXI/U8mFgL3IObI/AAAAAAAAAWc/y8YHWwqhauo/s1600/pointy+haired+boss.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Created by Scott Adams</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I read today's quote I was struck by the word "managers", because I see the scope of the quote as much wider than the business world. It then occurred to me that the word "manager" deals with a concept, and not just a job title.</span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What does a "manager" do?</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I discovered that there are more definitions of the word "manager" than I ever realized; I also discovered that the word is almost always associated with "business". I am much more interested in how this word actually applies to people in general and how they live their lives.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NgaI5CN3axA/U8mCcs0Zo1I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/___ipB3cTAQ/s1600/Peter+Drucker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NgaI5CN3axA/U8mCcs0Zo1I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/___ipB3cTAQ/s1600/Peter+Drucker.jpg" height="266" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter Drucker, Management Consultant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyone who has taken a management course has heard of Peter Drucker. Mr. Drucker was <i>the</i> expert in management studies of his time, and his work is still studied and his applications used today. He divided the "job" of manager into 5 basic tasks: A manager</span></div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sets objectives</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Organizes</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Motivates and communicates</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Measures</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Develops people</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Think about yourself for a moment and how you tackle these tasks on a daily basis. I will venture a guess that you don't think of yourself as a manager, and yet if you think about your day from the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep at night you will be able to look at each task and give at least one example or action you take that fits into these categories. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I really want for you to think about this, so I will refrain from giving you examples. I want you to realize that you are the one who manages your life. You may be surrounded by people who help you with these tasks, but ultimately it is <b>your</b> "job" to be <b>your "</b>manager". You have to take responsibility for you.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I will ask you to pause and think on these five tasks and how they relate to your life with the intention of improving one of these five areas. I am asking, in essence, that you stop your preoccupation with your e-mail, texts, voice mails and other electronic interruptions. Stop, and look up from your computer screen to see what's happening in the non-digital world.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take some time today to be in your own company and take stock of where you are and where you want to be. While you are contemplating, really see your surroundings. Feel the temperature, smell the air, hear the sounds, let it all sink in. You don't need to spend a great deal of time doing this, but separate yourself from all of your technology and appreciate your humanity. Technology can do many things, but it cannot totally substitute for your all of your senses. Use the senses you have to appreciate what you have. There are millions of details we take for granted every day. It's a good thing to be grateful.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Go ahead, just do that.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-37129131534383981712014-07-17T20:10:00.000-04:002014-07-17T20:10:09.347-04:00Rude People...WHY?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B19ljLAWtG0/U8hgyOb9gvI/AAAAAAAAAVw/3bN8sJZIQLo/s1600/rudeness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B19ljLAWtG0/U8hgyOb9gvI/AAAAAAAAAVw/3bN8sJZIQLo/s1600/rudeness.jpg" height="115" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have worked with the public in various capacities for many years. I don't know if my opinion of rudeness has altered due to my age or if, in fact, people are more rude in 2014 than they were ten years ago. It just seems to me that people I worked with, or customers and clients were more considerate of others' feelings. I have also noticed a change when observing interactions between family members. There is a certain insidiousness about this societal change that appears vaguely evil in its intent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rudeness is not a new concept by any means. In fact, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, although there are 2 basic definitions of the word "rudeness", there are lists of synonyms, antonyms, related words, and near an</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tonyms (that's a new category to me). (See </span><a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rudeness" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rudeness</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did you know the first known use of the word "rudeness" occurred in the 14th century? Apparently humanity overall was more civil in the years preceding the 14th century, although I doubt that. When you consider that "writers" or chroniclers were few and far between in the preceding centuries, my opinion was that the word itself made its debut sometime during the 14th century in order to succinctly describe someones undesirable behavior. Perhaps people tired of inventing related terms. Whatever the reason, we now have one word that describes a multitude of unappealing behaviors.</span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a question of rudeness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a0oeYUir6Iw/U8hgm-q_j7I/AAAAAAAAAVg/kjuVUgBA_q8/s1600/response+to+rudeness+at+work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a0oeYUir6Iw/U8hgm-q_j7I/AAAAAAAAAVg/kjuVUgBA_q8/s1600/response+to+rudeness+at+work.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a></div>
</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You may wonder why I chose to write about rudeness today of all days. Dear reader, the answer to this question can be found in an e-mail I received from a perfect stranger. I work in direct sales/MLM, and have come across a wide variety of rudeness. It appears to be cross all of us in the industry need to bear. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The e-mail arrived yesterday in a response to an auto-responder e-mail. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When people visit my website and complete a form requesting their name, e-mail address and phone number, an auto-responder system or CRM (Customer </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Relationship Manager software system) sen</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ds out a pre-written-email containing additional information about my company, the products, and my contact information. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is important that you understand the process because the individual who responded with a rude reply to me HAD to complete the form initially in order to ever receive an e-mail from me. The way I view this situation is that she ASKED to be contacted. So, for her to turn it around and accuse me of bothering her seemed to me an extreme act of rudeness.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With all the technology available at our fingertips today, it's beyond my understanding why anyone would complete such a form unless they wanted additional information. Seriously, why would you want all kinds of junk mail about a company or job in which you have no interest?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every e-mail I send out has, at the bottom of the message, a link the recipient can use to unsubscribe from future contact. This is because I work with a legitimate company offering a <i>legal</i> business opportunity. Trust me, if my company was a pyramid scheme, it would not be that easy to opt out of further contact.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I send e-mails only to those who opt-in by way of completing a form or by giving me verbal consent during a conversation with me. Even with family, friends and str</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">angers who have opted-in, I realize that the recipients may decide they have no interest in the information. That's fine. My products or opportunity will not appeal to everyone. I do not take it personally when people unsubscribe. It's part of the business. It is the same thing as walking into a brick and mortar business to look around, and replying "no thank you, just looking" to the question "May I help you?"</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Using e-mail and telephone calls are how I contact prospective customers and partners. I do not use e-mail or telephone calls to annoy others or to offend. </span></div>
<div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Does a response to another's rudeness mean you are also rude?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pt48ONfVZPw/U8hg8UnqBFI/AAAAAAAAAWA/57-txYNtUq4/s1600/rudeness+quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pt48ONfVZPw/U8hg8UnqBFI/AAAAAAAAAWA/57-txYNtUq4/s1600/rudeness+quote.jpg" height="254" width="320" /></a></div>
</span></h4>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my humble opinion, the answer to that would be "yes" as I would consider that to be lowering myself to that person's level. It would change nothing, it would accomplish nothing. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: center;">In order to express my frustration with such behavior, I blog about the behavior. It is not my intent to tell anyone how to respond in any given situation. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My reason for today's post is to tell my kind readers that sometimes people are rude for their own reasons that have nothing to do with you <i>personally</i>. I would suggest you not waste your own valuable time worrying about it. (Unless of course you were threatened in some way, then I'd suggest calling your lawyer or the police.) </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Accept that over which you have no control. What you can control are your thoughts (your attitude) and the words that you say. You may as well save yourself a lot of stress, live in each moment, and save yourself the aggravation. Perhaps that is why people are more rude today. Perhaps they are frustrated over the lack of control they have in their lives. Control is perception, not reality. We would all do well to consider that.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ksjorcf0Cl4/U8hgsDDxJ8I/AAAAAAAAAVo/4TSUZ2Qx4GA/s1600/rudness+diagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ksjorcf0Cl4/U8hgsDDxJ8I/AAAAAAAAAVo/4TSUZ2Qx4GA/s1600/rudness+diagram.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just in case you want to use another's words instead of your own to respond to rudeness, and happen to be signed up with "Goodreads" (it's free to sign up at <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/">www.goodreads.com</a>), you can visit the website listed below.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/rudeness">https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/rudeness</a> with its</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">quotes about rudeness. Each quote is attributed to its author. It's an interesting read. I was just as surprised as you to find a page of quotes about rudeness.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-34869698363581117092014-07-16T21:05:00.000-04:002014-07-16T21:16:10.506-04:004 Major Reasons to Buy Our MD Plus Discount Plan<h2 style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s7Q7-T4XC0A/U8cdi13bPfI/AAAAAAAAAUk/1T0X-8-ZXP8/s1600/ameriplan-md-plus-logo-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s7Q7-T4XC0A/U8cdi13bPfI/AAAAAAAAAUk/1T0X-8-ZXP8/s1600/ameriplan-md-plus-logo-a.jpg" height="288" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Disclaimer:</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I prefer to get my disclaimers out of the way <i>before </i>I educate people about our products. I like putting all the facts that people may not know they need to know in the beginning of my presentation.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My company is the largest supplier of discount medical plans in the United States. Membership in our programs entitles you to discounts available only to our subscribers. The programs are NOT health insurance or a MediCare Prescription Drug Plan, so our programs can be used by everyone regardless of age, pre-existing medical condition or medical insurance status. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Membership in these programs entitles you to discounts for certain medical services and prescription drugs by providers who have agreed to participate in these programs. All payments are made directly to the providers of the medical services and prescription drugs by the member and the member gets the benefit of quality medical care along with a healthy savings on those services. That makes everyone happy: the providers, the members and the members' bank accounts! </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Imagine choosing your provider, and setting appointments without the need for preauthorizations and multiple forms to complete...and without a referral! The best part of all is the affordable membership price!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today you will learn about the newest 100% satisfaction guaranteed health program announced last week by the company: Ameriplan MD Plus!</span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A little background information</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Corporation was founded in 1992 in Dallas Texas, and the headquarters can be found in Plano, Texas. It is the largest and fastest growing Health and Dental Company in the United States.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The company is a member of the Consumer Health Alliance, National Association of Dental Plans, Chamber of Commerce, and holds a very impressive "A+" Rating with the Better Business Bureau.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, the reasons why, for $29.95 a month per household (plus a one-time registration fee of $25) you should buy our MD Plus Membership Plan:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reason 1: AmeriDoc Plus (Telemedicine)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVrfJHQy1AU/U8cdv3EbXgI/AAAAAAAAAUs/7UUe_kEXrQ0/s1600/medical-doctors-485px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVrfJHQy1AU/U8cdv3EbXgI/AAAAAAAAAUs/7UUe_kEXrQ0/s1600/medical-doctors-485px.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The AmeriPlan MD Plus membership is like having a Doctor in the family. With AmeriDoc you have around the clock 24/7 physician access. Convenient, quality care is only a phone call or click away. This is a great alternative to in-office doctor visits, and is a God-send when you or your child becomes sick in the middle of the night, or during severe weather conditions!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">AmeriDoc includes diagnostic consultations for only $17.50 per call (that's a 50% savings off the $35 regular charge per call. If you want an information medical consult, (for medical information and general advice) the calls are unlimited and free. You can obtain information and recommendations, via telephone or e-mail. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your medical history and personal health records can be stored privately on your computer and shared with your personal physician. Our providers are U.S.-based, licensed and board-certified specialists and physicians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">AmeriDoc currently offers access to informational medical consultations by telephone and secure email to physicians in all US states, and access to diagnostic medical consultations by telephone to physicians in all US states except for Oklahoma.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reason 2: Instant Savings on Prescription Drugs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNWYK_ap68U/U8cekOI5dhI/AAAAAAAAAU8/3S5wM0Lgl2w/s1600/pill+bottlers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNWYK_ap68U/U8cekOI5dhI/AAAAAAAAAU8/3S5wM0Lgl2w/s1600/pill+bottlers.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With a Nationwide Network of more than 56,000 participating retail and independent pharmacies, our members can save anywhere from 10% - 85% on most brand name and generic prescription drugs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Members also save on over-the-counter (OTC) medications, smoking cessation aids and diabetes supplies. There is even a mail order option available for our members!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reason 3: Hospital Confinement Patient Advocacy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you or a loved one has ever experienced a hospital stay, you know that your relief received with the care given you will shortly be followed by an enormous hospital bill. Not only do you have ER charges, test charges, med charges, room and board charges...charges, charges everywhere...but you have charges from each physician who examines you. The cost of hospitalization can wipe out your savings in a blink of an eye.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once you have had our MD Plus program for three (3) business days from the active date of your plan, you will be able to utilize this program. When hospitalized and the anticipated charges exceed $2,500 we will assign an advocate to you. Your advocate will negotiate the best discount on the hospital bill and work out a payment plan on the balance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Depending on your financial situation, and if you are eligible, your advocate will apply for financial assistance from various groups to pay off the hospital balance on your behalf. Throughout this process your advocate will keep you updated on the status of your case. Historically, the average discounts negotiated for our members has been greater than 80% off of the hospital's total charges!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reason 4: Instant Savings on Dental Services<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even if you are fortunate to <i>have</i> dental insurance coverage, there are always co-pays and deductibles to consider. Plus, there is usually a "cap" on the total amount that will be covered by insurance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With our MD Plus plan you can choose from 75,000 dentists in our nationwide network. There is no paperwork, no waiting for coverage to "kick in", no limits on visits or services, no age restrictions. Ongoing dental problems are accepted, you can change dentists anytime and you can save on oral exams, X-rays, teeth cleaning, fillings and crowns, orthodontics (braces) and cosmetic dentistry. We even have specialist providers in some areas of the country. With our plan you could be able to save anywhere from 60% to 81% on some procedures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Go to http://www.APDentalPlan.com/DBAchatz for additional information and to become a Member!</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-83883580578075921162014-07-15T12:38:00.001-04:002014-07-15T19:05:52.929-04:00Half Way There<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today is July 15, 2021 (almost 12 noon), bringing me half-way through the month of blogs. I decided to participate in this exercise because I wanted to become more disciplined with my writing. Some days the ideas flow readily, other days no so much.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wonder what is the percentage of people who actually earn money blogging. I know there are professional bloggers, I'm fairly certain I will not be one. If nothing else, this exercise is teaching me about time management.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That being said, today is my first day "back" working my business after taking some days off for a vacation. I wish I could say I'm glad to be back on track, except I'm having difficulty with that today. I know the track is there, but each wheel seems to be turning a different direction, independent of the others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For starters, I need to revamp presentations and marketing to reflect the exciting new changes made by one of my companies. I'm feeling rather overwhelmed at the moment, but I expect the feeling will pass. The other thing I need to do is revamp my entire working schedule. One reason I needed to take some days off was because I had reached a level of stress I do not wish to repeat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Further impeding my forward progress is the fact that I am unable to locate the pages needed to update my Daytimer. I know I put them somewhere I would be sure to find them, however that "somewhere" appears to have left my memory. One day I will locate all the objects I placed "somewhere safe", and I will wonder why they are there. Perhaps that stress level is still rather high.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am sitting here writing this post and all the while thoughts are bombarding my consciousness like pesky gnats on a hot summer day at the beach. I swipe at them, but they just return and with each return they appear just a bit larger and with sharp little teeth. I close my eyes and take several deep breaths, and the nasty little buggers submerge again into my subconscious. I know I will pay the price for this when weird dreams assault my senses tonight while I sleep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I find it most peculiar that while I'm surrounded by silence (by the way, WHY does Pandora keep going silent on every station???) I can still "hear" nagging thoughts! So much for living in the now, "now" just happens to be working on my last nerve. And yet...I find I am able to quiet my mind by focusing my attention. I focus on Mollie, who has plopped down, tummy-side up for some attention. She paws at me and makes little groaning sounds geared to make me feel sorry for her. So funny! I rub her paws; she likes that. It's very soothing for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My brain seems as soggy and slow as the weather outside. Cloudy, there is no breeze to ruffle the leaves on the trees in the back yard. Even the bunnies and squirrels have given in to the weather. The day is still. Thunderstorms are predicted, the prediction lends expectancy to the remainder of the day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For now I choose to listen to the music while it still drifts from the speakers, and I will listen to Mollie as she goes about making herself comfortable in "her" chair. I choose to listen to the clacking of my keyboard keys, the feel of the keys beneath my fingertips. I choose to take this time to quietly work out a plan of action for the days to come. I choose to feel my breath. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At last I feel a sense of calm floating around me like a puffy quilt. I know that in 30 minutes I will be immersed in a telephone conference call, and afterwards inspiration will once again bubble up around me, and I'll feel like the normal "working me". But not now, not yet.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-3423647557580732522014-07-14T22:29:00.003-04:002014-07-14T22:29:45.889-04:00Day Trippin" With Googlemaps and Mapquest<h2 style="height: 0px; text-align: center;">
Day Trippin' With Google and Mapquest</h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today was the last day of our vacation-staycation. At the end of the day, everyone had a good time, but I certainly had my doubts this morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Connor and Kacie's grandpa dropped them at the house this morning at 8:30am so we could get an early start to our day. The itinerary was a trip to Lancaster County to visit the Miesse Candy Factory followed by a tour of Herr's Foods (can you say "snack attack"?). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The candy factory, founded in 1875, is located on Water Street in Lancaster, and if you drive past it not knowing what to look for, you'd never recognize it as a candy factory. It is a small, family-owned concern where the candy is made year-round using both automated methods and hand-crafting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our tour reservation was for 10am, but at 10am we were still somewhere in Shillington along Business Route 222...thanks to Google Map! The directions given from our house to the factory were ridiculously convoluted, and easily took us miles out of our way. We followed the directions as given, and what should have been an hour long trip took more like an hour and 45 minutes! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wonder just who it is that is providing these directions from my house to my destination. I have this vision of a really old person, not fully enamored of driving a gasoline-powered vehicle with a love of all back roads and all the time in the world to arrive at a destination. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Had I followed my instincts, we would have arrived for the 10am tour with 15 minutes to spare. Fortunately, it's a Monday and we had no problem rescheduling for 11am. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although they weren't actually making candy this morning, we had a very thorough tour given by the current owner's son. He went into great detail for us, explaining each and every piece of machinery, describing the types of candy made and showing us the various stations in the kitchen where the treats are created. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DWzVG7Ha7hQ/U8SLsUh9AmI/AAAAAAAAAT4/FxOTAW_KXsU/s1600/Miesse+candy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DWzVG7Ha7hQ/U8SLsUh9AmI/AAAAAAAAAT4/FxOTAW_KXsU/s1600/Miesse+candy.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The distinction between Miesse and other factories, such as the Wilbur Chocolate Factory, is that Miesse makes candy using chocolate purchased from other chocolate makers. A large company such as Hershey (for example) makes their own chocolate from cacao, sugar, butter, cream and other ingredients because they work on a much larger scale. The smaller, craft candy makers have their own special blends of chocolate obtained from several chocolate makers. These chocolates are specially and carefully blended to obtain their "signature" taste.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was interesting to learn about how easily the perfect balance between heat and texture can be affected by the weather! In a small candy shop like Miesse, all the thermometers and gauges are monitored by people, not electronics. We saw the chocolate in their copper pots, constantly being stirred and kept at that perfect temperature and texture. We saw all the various molds used for shaping, and learned that some clients have special molds made for Miesse to use when they place special orders.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the fun things we saw were the trays of different colored nonpareils they have. Nonpareils are the little tiny candy balls sprinkled over solid chocolate discs. At Miesse the melted chocolate is pushed through a funnel, one at a time, onto a tray of nonpareils. There is, in fact, an art to making those little discs and the whole procedure is dependent upon the amount of pressure used to drop the discs onto the tray. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All in all, we had a very thorough tour of how the candy is crafted in a small establishment without actually seeing something made! We did have samples to taste, and that made it easier to grasp the steps involved in the crafting. Then, of course, we had to make a few purchases in the shop. What's a candy tour without a take-home sample to be eaten later?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We left Lancaster at approximately 11:45. The day was hot and steamy and it didn't take long for us to decide to forgo the late afternoon Amish Buggy ride. We did see several buggies during the day and a few pony carts, along with some beautiful horses! We all decided to take full advantage of our air conditioned vehicle; not as special as a horse and buggy but way more comfortable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next stop Nottingham!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G0WR9Ndts9E/U8SLNx4LlRI/AAAAAAAAAT0/dtnkFS1zq2Q/s1600/Herrs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G0WR9Ndts9E/U8SLNx4LlRI/AAAAAAAAAT0/dtnkFS1zq2Q/s1600/Herrs.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I picked up my binder with the typed directions and we set out for the next tour. These directions by Google were more direct, and not nearly as confusing to follow. We arrived for the 1pm tour fully 35 minutes ahead of schedule. It gave us more than enough time to browse the gift store and pick up a few bags of snacks that I have not seen in our local grocery stores. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Herr's Food Inc. factory tour begins with a 10 minute movie about the founders (Jim and Mim Herr), their family and the history of their business. I learned the surprising fact that Americans consume about 2 pounds of pretzels a year...except for the folks in Philly who manage to ingest 20 pounds a year! Following the movie we were led in smaller groups on a tour that took us to 3 separate buildings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first stop was the pretzel "room" where we watched through viewing windows as the dough was mixed, cut and sent to the extruders for shaping and then cooking/baking. This process, like almost all of them, is all done by machines and/or drones. Even with all the automatic processing in place, the company still employs over 1400 people at the Nottingham facility. They also have over 500 product routes! There are employees in quality control, packing and other phases, including the areas we didn't actually get to visit such as the unloading </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">area where the potatoes are delivered in huge truckloads from all over the east coast. There is another site in Chillicothe, OH that produces nothing but potato chips.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had purchased a bag of peanut butter stuffed pretzel nuggets and I asked where they added the peanut butter. Turns out the nuggets for those stuffed pretzels are shipped to another company to receive their peanutty goodness. In that way, Herr's can keep their manufacturing equipment peanut-free!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next stop was the popcorn "room" where they were currently making their hull-less popcorn. That was where we learned that all the boxes used by Herr's are recycled, along with the potato peelings (fed to their Black Angus cattle), the reclaimed water from the potato processing room (used to water crops) and the starch water (sent to a fine-paper factory). This company uses as much of everything as they can! What a great example of ecology awareness!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The last stop on the tour was the building where they prepare and cook the potato chips. We watched the chips come down a conveyor belt, all crunchy and delicious and that's when the highlight of the tour occurred: each visitor gets a hand-full of warm potato chips right off the line! You can't fully appreciate potato chips until you try one of these 6-second old chips, a product of North Carolina grown potatoes, perfectly cooked, seasoned and warmly crunchy. I found it quite amazing that they will tell you on the tour where the potatoes for the days' production originate. We all agreed, they were the best chips any of us had ever eaten. We also saw a video about the preparation of the corn they use in the tortilla chips. From delivery of fresh corn, through the corn preparation and massa production, to the rolling, cutting, cooking and seasoning, every step is observed, and the products are all quality controlled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This company prides itself on the quality used in the production of their products, and in the treatment of it's employees, who all get to participate in profit sharing. Herr's is still family owned and all the Herr children continue to work at the facility. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No visit to Lancaster County is complete without a visit to a restaurant featuring a Pennsylvania Dutch Smorgasbord. In my online research I discovered the Lititz Family Cupboard Restaurant. We decided to try it in lieu of one of the larger, more tourist attraction establishments. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My best decision of the day was to include a Pennsylvania map with my binder of information, so finding our dining destination was less frustrating than it might have been. Save for one false directional turn (when we crossed the Mason Dixon Line into Maryland and back out into Pennsylvania in one U-turn; Nottingham is close to the MD border), we found our way without incident. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We've been to Shady Maple, and Millers, and Yoders. All delicious and with more selections that you can imagine! The Lititz Family Cupboard received rave reviews and is one of those restaurants that draw a lot of local business. We always love to try the restaurants the locals patronize and this restaurant is definitely a gem. You can order from their extensive menu or try one of their buffets. The food is authentically Pennsylvania Dutch: fresh, affordable, abundant and delicious! There may not have been as many selections on their dinner buffet, but each selection was so tasty! This may be a little secret I should have kept to myself! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next outing...</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next time we decide to visit a new site or take another factory tour, in addition to directions provided online, I'm making sure I have a dashboard compass and a state map at the ready. (Until we get a GPS!) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And to Google Maps and MapQuest, well, improvement is most definitely called for!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-4899978656032133522014-07-13T19:46:00.000-04:002014-07-13T19:46:44.138-04:00Grandma Bowls and Other Memories<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My "Grandma Bowls"</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My paternal grandparents were both Ukranian and came here to the United States from Austria Hungary. They met here in the United States in Philadelphia, PA. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sister to sister...</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My grandma's name was Fanny and she arrived in the United States because her sister Katy arrived first, worked and saved her money until she could bring her sister to the land of opportunity. I'm not certain of the date, but as my grandma was born a few years shy of 1900, I'm guessing she arrived sometime after 1914.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Katy got my grandma a job in the candy factory where she worked in Philadelphia and together they worked and saved until all sisters arrived. Eventually Katy, Fanny, Tassie and Mary all came to America.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sadly, none of the details of their arrival were ever recorded, so I know only what I remember my grandma telling me about her youth. I don't remember how my grandparents met, but I well remember their wedding portrait. It showed my grandpa (Frank) seated on a straight-backed chair, my grandma (Fanny) standing to his left in her white dress, her right hand on his shoulder. In retrospect, when I think on it, that portrait was quite large, and something I would not have thought they could afford. The portrait was about 3x4 feet and hung in their upstairs hallway above an old battered trunk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I was a little girl and visited them (they lived in a small row-house in Lansdale then), I remember climbing the stairs just to see that portrait. For those unfamiliar with the term "row-house", in cities like Philadelphia, Reading, Allentown, Lansdale...cities all throughout the state...rows of identical-fronted houses were built. They had tiny front yards, if they had front yards at all, and yards at the back of the house, usually large enough for a garden and a shed or two.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today such homes are called "townhomes". There are townhomes in many cities both here and in Europe. In fact, London has some absolutely gorgeous townhomes. If you were working class here in the U.S. and lived in such a home, it was a rowhouse. The style was fairly utilitarian, and the rooms arranged in what I believe are referred to as "shot-gun" style. This means you entered by the front door into an existing room and each room on the first level was directly behind it, usually a dining room and then the kitchen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my grandparent's house the stairway was enclosed and accessed through a door along the left side of the diningroom. The door was always kept closed in the winter months, the better to keep the heat in the downstairs rooms. The stairway itself was narrow, dark, and a bit twisty; it always gave me a little thrill of fear when I climbed those stairs. At the top of the stairs was a landing/hallway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From the top of the steps if I looked left I could peer out a window facing the back yard. Straight across from the stairway was a bedroom. To the right, if I walked a short distance, there was a small area that held a toilet and a dresser. This was the "upstairs" bath, and the area had a curtain drawn across for privacy. This part of the upstairs was directly above the dining room and part of the kitchen. Directly above the "front room" was another bedroom, at that time shared by my grandparents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I honestly have no idea where all the children slept in this house! My grandparents had five children. I don't recall anyone telling me exactly when my grandparents moved into that house, but I know my Dad and his siblings spent some part of their youth there. My Dad was the 4th child. The eldest, Peter, died as a result of a childhood accident at age 12, leaving Nicholas the eldest, followed by Helen, Paul (my dad) and Anna. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My grandfather worked at a company (Andale) within walking distance of their house. I don't remember exactly what he did, but he worked with his hands in a factory. Unfortunately there is no one left for me to ask; my Aunt Ann was the family historian and she died more than 6 years ago. Their way of life was nothing unusual or even special to them. How I wish I had thought to write down my memories of them, their life, and our time together!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Back to the bowls!</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I never ever saw my grandma use a recipe when she cooked! All the cooking instructions were stored inside her memory, and she was more than happy to teach you how to cook certain things (pierogies come to mind first). She, like most housewives of the era didn't use what we consider standard measuring cups or spoons. She had certain tea cups to measure flour, etc., and certain spoons for other ingredients. She used her eyes and sense of touch when she cooked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I loved visiting on a Friday because that was the day she made pierogies! It was the highlight of any visit. I loved to watch her peel and cook the potatoes, mix the dough on a big floured board (putting out the flour, making a little well and then adding eggs), knead it smooth and then pinch off little balls of raw dough that she then flattened, filled with the wonderful potato/cottage cheese/cheddar cheese filling, folded over and then pinched the ends together. After they were formed, each pierogie as then boiled in hot water until the dough cooked and then went into a frying pan full of butter, sauteed onions and sometimes bacon to be fried to a light caramel color. When finished, they were piled on our plates and slathered with sour cream. Words can never do justice to the finished product! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes grandma would fill the dough with sauerkraut (not a family favorite) or with cooked, pitted prunes (yes, you read that correctly). I can remember my Aunts and Uncles complaining around the table when the alternate pierogies came out! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dinners at my grandma's house was usually roast beef or chicken. She often made a wonderful chicken broth served as a soup course. No noodles or even chicken, just rich, golden chicken broth with a bit of chopped parsley for garnish. There were potatoes (or pierogies), and some sort of cooked vegetable along with a salad. I don't recall a lot of details about Sunday dinners, but I know that not one person ever walked away from that table still feeling hungry!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Easter dinner is the one meal that never varied: baked ham, served with hand grated horseradish, asparagus, red beet eggs, and Paska (the best holiday bread ever...and made only on Easter). We ate every Easter dinner at my grandparents' house for as long as I could remember until after my grandpa died. Butter was always served in abundance, and everything was homemade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My grandma had a huge garden planted every summer, and we had all sorts of wonderful treats from her garden. I especially remember the cucumbers and the tomatoes for some reason. She never called the cucumbers anything other than pickles, because aside from the few we ate in salads, she used that variety for homemade pickles. I remember her growing leaf lettuce and cabbage as well. The tomatoes were enormous. I can still see her in later years, working in her garden. For years after my grandpa died, my own dad made a yearly trip to dig her garden for her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">um...the bowls???<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh, yes, the bowls. My grandma had a set of heavy earthenware mixing bowls that she used daily. They looked very much like the bowls in the photo. I loved those bowls because such wonderful foods were prepared in them, and I came to think of them almost as extensions of my grandma's hands. I came to love those bowls she used, along with the Blue Willow patterned dishes she used. I remember one of her measuring cups was the cracked blue patterned tea cup that she used to measure flour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I could write grandma stories for days, I suppose. She died in the early '70s and I still miss her so much! She had more of an influence on my life than I ever realized. The day I saw the set of mixing bowls at Restoration Hardware in Westlake Village, CA was the day I felt forever bonded to my heritage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I could not wait to get those bowls home, and I guard them carefully when I use and wash them. The make me feel like a little girl in my grandma's kitchen, "helping" her cook. They also make me feel like a "real" grandma!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our grandchildren live a significant distance from them, and I very seldom have the opportunity to cook for them. When I do, I especially look for reasons to use my Grandma Bowls. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because our grandchildren live far from us, I can't give them the typical "Grandma" legacy many of us have experienced. I am very grateful that the grandchildren have some grandparents living nearby. If I can't be there, at least a few of their grandparents are able to take my place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope that one day my grandchildren will read my blog posts, and learn a bit about me and the rest of their family. My writing will, I pray, be my legacy to them.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-59741676539990625032014-07-12T20:51:00.002-04:002014-07-12T20:51:55.148-04:00Write Your Life Story In 6 Words<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A life written in 6 words, a condensation of time</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some weeks ago an individual in one of my LinkedIn Groups posted a challenge: write your life story in six words.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I actually spent one semester in college learning how to write a one-page term paper. I believe it was a psychology course, but I remember that it was a very challenging course. When the instructor told us the scope of the class and that the only grade to be received was the grade on the term paper, every student mouth gaped open for what seemed an eternity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the end of the class I truly appreciated the course material and received an "A" for my effort. It was a grade of which I will be forever proud.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The challenge question definitely took me back in time, but limiting my answer to just six words led to prolonged thought. I remember the six words I used, but I wonder now if that story could be improved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Criteria?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What set of criteria does one use to answer such a challenge? Surely there is more to one's life that the number of years lived to date. The story of a life is not what one lists on a resume. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The information contained on a resume certainly contributed to one's life, but that does not a story make.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Does family help define a life story? A family, or the lack of a family, contributes to the experiences and choices one makes in life, but again, not a life story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What about work experience? Well, people like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Nobel Peace Prize winners, inventors and scientists can certainly claim their work experience contributed to their life stories, but people invent things, win prizes and cure diseases throughout their lifetime. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Age can be a good criteria, but you can not really determine a "cut off" age. No one knows how long their life will last. If death is used to determine the time when a life's story can be written, the story becomes a report...an obituary or a biography and is third-party written.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When do you write an autobiography?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That question is purely subjective. Would I write an autobiography? No; I cannot imagine anyone wanting to read my autobiography. My opinion is that one writes an autobiography upon the completion of a noteworthy goal. Just because an autobiography is written is no guarantee the material will be found interesting, and yet if someone considered a celebrity writes an autobiography, a publisher will be found or the book will be self-published, and depending upon the celebrity the books will fly off the shelves and go into multiple printings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What I'd want someone to know about my life</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are things about my life I would share for "public consumption":</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have reinvented my life no less than 4 times. Typically, a reinvention occurs after a major life event. Major life events mostly fall into the "challenge" category, and although challenging I always find gratitude for the events and the ability to rise above in the guise of a stronger person.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like everyone else, I have made mistakes, lots and lots of mistakes. I have learned from these mistakes. Learning from mistakes is infinitely better than reliving the pain caused by the mistake.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am greatly blessed to have family and friends who love and support me, children and grandchildren who love, respect and also admire me, the unconditional love of a dog (although technically I accept I am her #2 person), and a husband who is in every way exactly the life partner and love that I need and want.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have found great happiness in my life through many avenues. Life is, afterall, a path one follows. I have been blessed with opportunities of choice. I have been blessed with a certain amount of talent. I have been blessed.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are the six words about my life that matter:</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reinvented, challenged, enlightened, and blessed: Alive!</span></h3>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-35535720709451806902014-07-11T21:33:00.001-04:002014-07-11T21:33:53.314-04:00Why Eric Clapton Loves Nazareth<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why Eric Clapton Loves Nazareth PA</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The photo below is a hint!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eric Clapton loves Nazareth, PA. To be more accurate, Eric Clapton loves Martin Guitars and Martin Guitars are build in Nazareth, PA. The photo is of a design collaboration, the third in a series, between Clapton and Hiroshi Fujiwara. The instrument is lacquered and polished with a striking dark navy. </span><a class="taggedlink" href="http://www.martinguitar.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #d3bba2; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today we were going to visit the zoo, but instead decided to visit the Martin Guitar Factory. The kids had been to the Lehigh Valley Zoo, but although Kacie is the only one who plays an instrument (she studies piano), we all were very interested to see how the world famous Martin Guitars are built. I am an Eric Clapton fan, and when I found out he played Martin Guitars I really wanted to visit the factory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">C.F. Martin & Co.: A love story of a true craftsman</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pennsylvania, by the way, has a lot of factories, and many of them give guided tours, making the state an especially fun place to visit if you love to see how some of your favorite products are made. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">C.F. Martin Guitars has been building instruments since 1833. The company has a rich history, and it's obvious the people who work there love their craft!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The guided tour takes place in the "new" building at Sycamore and Beil. There is a round lobby area surrounded by the museum and display area, gift shop and area where you can actually try one of the famous guitars and a waiting area where you can relax until called for your tour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tours are Monday through Friday from 11am until 2:30pm, and as they fill up fairly quickly (they are first-come/first-serve), it's best to arrive a half hour before the tour is scheduled to leave. They are all very well organized and everything moves smoothly. Each tour guest is given a headphones and a receiver, the better to hear the tour guide. You move through the 84,000 square foot factory, stopping along each step of the construction. All but the custom built guitars are built using a combination of machine and hand crafting. The custom guitars are all hand built.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The woods, the lacquers, the humidity</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the beginning of your tour you get to handle various components of the guitar in full view of the largest Martin Guitar built (as a float in the Nazareth centennial parade). From there on you are given a thorough explanation of every step along the way to the final product. I found it very interesting, even though I know absolutely nothing about guitars or other similar stringed instruments. The woods are exquisite, and the fragrance of the lacquers linger in the air, but as you may have guessed it was the humidity that did me in. The raw (unprocessed) woods used must be carefully monitored and kept at the proper degree of humidity in order to keep the wood in the optimal condition for working. It's quite amazing to learn about the processes used to shape the various components, and heat and water are both employed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, if you are an original Martin Guitar owner, and you ever need to have your guitar fixed (oh, and there were some really disturbing examples of battered instruments), you just contact the company, and they will fix your instrument. The base price of a guitar, including custom models start at about $2000; from there the sky's the limit but the craftsmanship is truly superb. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The display area is filled with various models and accompanied by pictures of many of the famous owners. I saw beautiful, hand-tooled, leather guitar cases. Some of the most gorgeous inlay work to be found, and the bling on the 1,000,000th Martin Guitar built is breathtaking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have you heard of...</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eric Clapton is not the only famous musician to own and love a Martin! Here are just a few names you might recognize: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Kurt Cobain, Gene Autry, Chris Martin, Eddy Vedder, and Woody Guthrie to name a few. Quality chooses quality! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Martin has a Signature Model Series and the names of the various artists with their Signature Models read like a who's who of American Music. Martin Guitars are just simply superb.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The trip worth more than a thousand words</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Words don't really do the tour justice, you need to visit the facility even if you don't have a musical bone in your body. It is so worth the trip!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lt1564p1QPw/U8CPXEwC-kI/AAAAAAAAAS0/xm6gL-9yJ_c/s1600/Kacie+at+MartinGuitar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lt1564p1QPw/U8CPXEwC-kI/AAAAAAAAAS0/xm6gL-9yJ_c/s1600/Kacie+at+MartinGuitar.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kacie giving the guitar a try<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found the entire tour fun and the kids really enjoyed it...actually more than they thought they would! Coming from an 11 year old and a 13 year old, that's high praise. They were very appreciative of the tour and we had a super fun time. Followed by a pizza dinner with s'mores dipped graham crackers for dessert we ended the day with a quick game of Zip! </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-34502174805646217682014-07-10T22:13:00.000-04:002014-07-10T22:13:14.153-04:00Today I Decided to Breathe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">BREATHE</span></h2>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-niBlufpA3-Y/U79Bg25cFPI/AAAAAAAAASI/chCUQLjVigU/s1600/Breathe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-niBlufpA3-Y/U79Bg25cFPI/AAAAAAAAASI/chCUQLjVigU/s1600/Breathe.jpg" height="354" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I looked inside my head and ... I got nothin'</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I spent what I thought was a great deal of time deciding what to write today. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think the "vacation" mentality is finally affecting me. It's taken me most of this week to reach the point where I'm not constantly thinking about my to do list or my to call list. I've reached the point where I'm having to remember the day of the week. This is surprising to me because I work at home, and when you work at home the days are not quite as regimented as they are when you work outside the home. I have been finding it difficult to "let go" this week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know I needed a vacation because I had been feeling physically tethered to my laptop, my phone and even my Kindle Fire (where I can check emails). I don't usually keep a total of the number of hours I work each week. I now believe it is a practice I should begin at the end of our "staycation". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week I have been checking emails, have done limited prospecting and contacting leads and have been writing the daily blog, but not much else of what I normally do. Somehow I felt guilty about that until today.</span><br />
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What I realized today</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today we took Mollie to New Tripoli to visit and play with her pack at True Blue Acres. Mollie was born there and we visit all the other Irish Red and White Setters when we can as we love them all and consider all 10 of them part of the family. (Excuse me, 12 of them. Ten IRWS and 2 hunting terriers.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We sat in the sun and watched the dogs just being their usual IRWS silly selves, gave belly rubs and got lots of doggy love. It was fun and had the added benefit of expending a lot of Mollie energy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the way home we stopped at the grocery store for a few things. I waited in the car with Mollie, all the car windows down and a gentle breeze serving to cool us down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I sat there looking out the window, watching people and cars come an go and I started looking at the sky and leaves on the trees. And I thought: "What if this is the last summer day you ever see? What if this is your last day on earth?" Why don't you take time to really enjoy it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't focus on mortality (mine or that of anyone else) very often, in fact it's rather rare that I do. But today, I just stopped thinking of everything and just:</span></div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Felt the heat and the breeze</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Listened to the birds</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Watched the leaves stirring on the branches</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Observed people as the store shift changed</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Watched the "cart lady" returning all the orphaned carts to the corral and then to the store</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Breathed in the scents of summer</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Watched the clouds in the sky</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Enjoyed every single minute of that brief quiet time</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then I decided to spend some time each day to just...Breathe, and appreciate every present moment. And give thanks, definitely give thanks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So now, before it's too late tonight, I'm going to watch "The Hobbit, The Desolation of Smaug" with my husband. It's a movie he's wanted to see for some time now, and it's a vacation night afterall.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-51004552137903390192014-07-09T19:57:00.003-04:002014-07-09T20:13:12.581-04:0012 Symptoms Of Weather-Sensitive People<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beware the weather monster! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lBqL0FY5TfM/U73SkbCaa7I/AAAAAAAAARE/61WY51ulTxk/s1600/monster.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lBqL0FY5TfM/U73SkbCaa7I/AAAAAAAAARE/61WY51ulTxk/s1600/monster.JPG" /></a></div>
</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am a weather monster.
Perhaps I should rephrase that: “I
am a monster when the temperature and humidity are high. “ That statement is not an exaggeration, ask
anyone who knows me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some of them will
be polite and deny this declaration; these are the people I especially love for
their willingness to accept me and their proclivity for denying unpleasant
facts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Other people will nod sagely in agreement and then quote you
chapter and verse of all the times they witnessed the monster.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are the people I actively avoid
because, hey, I’m expert enough at finding my flaws.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, I find those people to have little or
no sense of humor.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I ignore you, that’s
probably why.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If we are related, that is
why I rarely visit you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am extremely weather-sensitive and have been for many,
many years. If the humidity is high
(inside and/or outside) I can be found dripping sweat while simultaneously
shivering from the cold. I will also be
anxiety-ridden and perhaps depressed, fatigued, listless, and/or irritable. Wh</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">en those symptoms apply to me it spells: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">m-o-n-s-t-e-r.</span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Behavioral changes</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although the weather can affect anyone, those especially
sensitive to the weather often suffer from fibromyalgia, MS, osteoarthritis,
rheumatoid arthritis or asthma.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Air
temperature extremes (cold or hot) can cause discomfort, but it is more likely
that a combination of temperature extremes and humidity extremes cause the most
discomfort.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Weather changes can affect
your well-being and may worsen the symptoms of existing disorders, in
particular pain.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In fact, as far back as
1981 the New York Times published an article about the affect wind-created ions, as in the Santa Ana winds, had on behavioral and emotional states, (read the article at </span><a href="http://nyti.ms/1okoA7R" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://nyti.ms/1okoA7R</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">).</span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">12 Weather Sensitivity Symptoms</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are 12 symptoms to look for in weather-sensitive individuals.
You may notice that weather-sensitive people become irritated and have
exaggerated symptoms a day or two before a major weather front arrives. I find that I absolutely cannot sleep during
the night before a major storm (rain or snow).
And I can usually predict with amazing accuracy when a system is approaching
simply by ticking off the number of severe symptoms I experience at such times. (Notice the first symptom listed)</span></div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Increased irritability and aggressiveness</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Anxiety</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Depression</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Listlessness</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Fatigue</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Lack of concentration</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Sleep disorders</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Headache and migraine</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Heart and circulation irregularities</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Nausea</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Dizziness</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Scar pain/phantom pain and rheumatic pain.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If someone you care about has m</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ore than one of the symptoms, crank up the A/C
this summer, offer them lots of water to keep them well hydrated and stand by
with extra TLC.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I promise, you will be
appreciated and revered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">**P.S. add another symptom: screaming at your dog for neurotic barking (well, she stopped barking; nothing else worked and she was working on my last nerve.) </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569289865799600869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695774764724376329.post-45827812403372209282014-07-08T17:06:00.002-04:002014-07-08T17:06:52.357-04:00The Grandchildren Have Arrived! Hope You Are Rested!<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hooray for Grandchildren!</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having grandchildren is your prize for surviving your child's puberty. This is especially appreciated if you (an only child) have more than one child and eventually multiple grandchildren arrive. The thought of having grandchildren some day may be the only thread you hang on to when your own children are testing their independence of you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have to laugh when I remember my dad telling me, "I hope someday you have a child Just Like You". I laugh because I used to think that was a compliment. The day I realized what he really meant by that phrase was the day I determined to get my own "revenge" on some future day.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My two sons tested me daily, as most children do. It's a natural product of growth. I remember waiting for them to become more independent, and when they did, I remember wondering why I wished that upon myself. That began at approximately 2 years of age for them...the terrible twos was not a misnomer.</span></div>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I can laugh!</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I remember some of those days; now I have to laugh. There was the day that my youngest son came toddling down the steps from his bedroom, a narrow plastic tube held in his mouth like a cigarette. (Neither of his parents smoked, but he had grandparents who smoked). I intercepted him navigating his way down the stairs and said "where did you get that?" as I removed the tube from between his little teeth. He pointed up the stairs and said one word, "Chris". </span></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Uh oh, I thought it had been a bit too quiet in their bedroom. I quietly walked into the room looking for big brother Chris (who was about 4 or so at the time) and found him quietly lining things up on his windowsill. Little white mouse-shaped objects made of white cotton and tailing strings.</span></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yep, half a box of tampons opened, "disassembled" and placed in a line like so many little white mice. Just when you think you have everything put away out of reach.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then there was the day big brother found a hole in a bedrest, and proceeded to pull out as much stuffing as his chubby little hands could manage out of the corduroy-covered pillow and...throwing all the stuffing on to his brother, napping in the crib on a 85-degree summer afternoon.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like sun following a rainy day</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There were lots of "rainy day" moments when I wondered how I was going to make it through mommyhood. I read lots of childcare articles and all my friends and I commiserated with each other after "bedtime". I never looked so forward to bedtime as I did during those early years of motherhood. Two babies in diapers and neither one anxious for potty-training! Oh, the humanity. And their lucky Daddy got to go to work every day! </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time passes along with all the various stages of childhood and it is at that point that you find yourself not only wishing where the time went, but wishing you could have some of it back. Before you know it your babies are in high school, college and out into the world. </span></div>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My wish was realized!</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In time, both sons married and children were welcomed to the family. Hooray! Kyle in 1997, and over the next 5 years or so joined by siblings Connor and Kacie and cousin Elias. Boyhowdy! Now I was going to be the Nana! That meant I could remember all those days and activities spent grooming their fathers for manhood and fatherhood, sit back and...wish I had lots of those days back to enjoy.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Being a grandparent means you relive the days when you were just a "parent" and wondering if you were ever going to "get it right". It's when you become a grandparent, look at your adult children, and really see if in fact you DID get it right. I am truly blessed to be able to say that with a lot of help, the babies who grew into little boys and then adult men are now both amazing fathers to their own children. There are many people in that journey to thank including the boys' father, the grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends and teachers. Every person in their lives contributed a bit to who they are today.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even today, both men are still listening to and even accepting some advice from their parents, step-parents and even a great-grandmother! As I said, I am truly blessed!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The summer week that is just beginning...and the one I am dreading to see end</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Connor and Kacie's flight arrived from Orlando to Philadelphia where they were met by one set of grandparents. They stopped by our house to say "hi", play with Mollie and visit with their Great Grandma. It's always so exciting to see them! Fred and I haven't seen them since Thanksgiving, and Connor has had a major growth spurt!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Both he and Kacie are, well, they are both truly extraordinary..intelligent, talented, goal oriented, and so personable! OK, maybe I am just a teensy bit prejudiced! Hey, if you do not believe your own grandchildren are the best and most precious things alive today, then I have serious doubts about your motives.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Their week here in Pennsylvania will be chock full of activity, and much of it has already been planned out for them by the eager grandparents. I don't know who is more excited for the fun to begin, but we are going to have absolutely wonderful adventures! As the week progresses I will be able to add our own experiences with them. In the meantime, we have a little photo to display of Kacie, their Great Grandma (my mom), and Connor. Bring on the</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">fun! More photos to follow!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qCeHHOazQs0/U7xVDwA8SbI/AAAAAAAAAQY/3zHJx0mnHnQ/s1600/july82014photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qCeHHOazQs0/U7xVDwA8SbI/AAAAAAAAAQY/3zHJx0mnHnQ/s1600/july82014photo.jpg" height="400" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Kacie, Great Grandma, Connor 2014</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XSWAT4wDrrc/U7xcSlrUKoI/AAAAAAAAAQw/DxEZgF5iMQ4/s1600/grandkids2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XSWAT4wDrrc/U7xcSlrUKoI/AAAAAAAAAQw/DxEZgF5iMQ4/s1600/grandkids2010.jpg" height="318" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Kyle, Connor, Kacie 2010</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Elias, Dave, Great Gradma 2013</span></td></tr>
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