Sports tickets
My father is such a sports fanatic. He never misses a football game or baseball game and he gets all the channels which sometimes can get a bit nutty. My brother called me and asked what we could get Dad for Father's Day and I immediately thought about how much he loved to watch sports. I suggested that we look into getting him some tickets to something, but I besides knowing that they should be sports tickets, I wasn't really sure which ones. My brother wanted to get him NFL tickets, but I knew that was going to be really expensive, and I really wanted to get him box seats. NFL tickets are probably the most expensive tickets that are out there, at least in our area.
We talked about getting him soccer tickets, which are much less expensive, but my brother Sam thought that would not be as enjoyable to him as maybe baseball tickets. Baseball box seats were not near as expensive as the football tickets, so we thought we had the answer. Then when running the idea past Mom, she made the suggestion that instead of getting Dad box seats like we were thinking, maybe she said we should just take him to the preseason game Bears vs. the 49ers at Soldier Field in Chicago, and give him the whole trip. Well, we thought that would be a great father and son trip, so we agreed. Sam went online and got us all a great deal on airfare and some great club seats at the 40 yard line.
This will be so great. I know my dad will be totally amazed with this years Father's Day gift. The greatest thing about it will be getting to all make the trip together. Now, I am not even a father, but I am looking forward to Father's Day and giving my dad this incredible gift. I am really glad that Sam and I are finally more financially sound and can afford to give Dad a real Father's Day gift that will create a lasting memory for all of us.
As Father's Day draws near, keep in mind that even if you can't afford to get your father tickets to a football game that the time spent together is the most important gift that we can give to each other. Spending time together is the greatest gift of all.
umbria villas
I got a call from a friend of mine who decided to go to school in Italy. She has really been loving it. She absolutely loves the apartments in Umbria where she has been staying. When Lori talks about Umbria, all she can say is how beautiful it is, and how I must see it. She said that there are lots of things to see and that the countryside is unbelievable. She came up with a great idea, she suggested that instead of coming home for the summer, that she will stay in Umbria and I can come visit her. I thought this sounded like quite the adventure, so I said to myself, why not? I have never been overseas, ever, and now that I am old enough it would be a great excuse to take a trip and see a good friend. I am a little leery of traveling alone, but knowing that she will be there waiting for me, made it a little easier to swallow. I just love Lori for bringing out my adventurous spirit. Her lease with the apartments Umbria is up and she is looking for a new place to stay. She suggested that we shack up in some of the luxury Umbria villas over the summer while she finds a new place to stay. She said that she would love to stay in the Umbria villas year round, but she doesn't think that she can afford them by herself. Although she has suggested that I move in with her and we split expenses, I would have to go see the region before committing myself. I have never been outside the US, and it seems a little bit strange to me right now, the idea of living in a foreign country, I mean I don't even speak Italian.
Anyway, this trip to Italy should be a definite experience; I really am considering moving in with her if I think I can make a go of it. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I look forward to this adventure and truly hope that Umbria sweeps me off my feet in the way that it has swept Lori off hers. I can think of no one better that I would want for a roomie. She is the right balance of serious student and adventurous spirit, both of which I need to nurture a bit more in myself.
elementary & secondary education
This summer I have lot of stuff to think about. I have just finished my first year of college and racked up more debt than I thought I would, and still I have not made a final major or even a minor choice. I have been debating a sort of scheduling in a way to try and figure it out through experiences and how they make me feel. I think that I may have it boiled down to two options that have really peaked my interest but to continue with either one I would have to schedule my fall courses accordingly. The first one is a split between Elementary & Secondary education. Either way I know that I would love to be a part of an educational environment because I helped tutor with kids this past fall for a work-study and it was so much fun. They were middle school kids so I am not sure where I would fall because they were sort of in the middle, even though a secondary education degree covers middle school too. So that is one option that I have put on to the table. The other option is some type if counseling or rehab degree. If I took this path I would eventually go on to do a Masters degree in Social Work so that I would both be licensed and covered under people's insurance. From there I would probably start my own business or a coalition of different types of counselors and alternative therapists. That is my real vision when I think of going down this path. With either of the education degrees I think my end goal would be to open up my own school or some type of alternative learning environment based on the program I went through for high school. Obviously I will have lots of things to consider so that is why I will be taking summer classes that fall on either side and then I will decide by the fall, I hope. I think that it sounds like either way I am going to have a pretty interesting future and that somewhere down the line one of my big dreams is going to be met if I work hard and keep going day by day.
Alcohol rehab
Alcoholism is a common problem that is not entirely treated as a pressing issue until it manages to wreak havoc on one's life. Before this affliction completely destroys your loved one's life, you will want to consider your options concerning enrolling him into an alcohol rehab. The problem with alcohol addiction is that it's difficult to determine whether or not a person is already suffering from it. This is mainly because drinking is considered a social act - a norm if you must. There is virtually nothing wrong with the act of drinking so long as it is within proper limits.
Identifying alcoholism
Drinking becomes a problem when an individual goes beyond the limits set by the social construct. But where does one draw the line? Alcoholism is difficult to detect from the onset. Only when it begins to cause irreparable damage does one decide to consider an alcohol rehab.
Studies show that over thirty percent of the US population is suffering from alcohol abuse but only a small percentage of this number ever gets proper treatment. This is mainly because no one will readily admit that he is already addicted to drinking - not when everyone else is doing it. According to those who have already recovered from the affliction, it's really difficult to stop drinking on your own.
Getting help
The assistance to get an individual into an alcohol rehab starts from his family and loved ones. Only the people who care for him will be able to take the first step towards helping him gain control of his life free from alcohol. The rehab facility is basically responsible for additional intervention in case the patient gets too difficult to handle.
For the most part, treatment starts with the person's admission that he has a problem that he cannot resolve on his own. From there, various treatment methods are administered to address both the physiological and the psychological aspect of the drinking problem. Counseling, detox and focus-group discussions are just some of the many activities that a rehab may employ to help an individual attain sustainable sobriety.
I think it is important to get your loved one the best type of alcohol treatment. Combining a Christian-centered technique with traditional rehab methods to help individuals overcome their substance abuse is the most effective method according to many
dahn yoga
For many years I have truly enjoyed doing yoga, and recently got a friend into it as well. I have always felt that it has helped balance my energy mental, physically and emotionally. Yoga has helped through many difficult and stressful times in my life, and I have found it as a very useful tool.
A few weeks ago a friend of mine began inquiring about Dahn Yoga and decided to give it a try. From what I can understand this form of yoga is based in principles which are over 5000 years old. It deals with the Ki - energy which essentially is the connection between the physical body and the conscious mind. It supposedly not only provides you with more balance but more consciousness as well. You become more aware of yourself and your purpose as well as become more creative and sensitive. I am not exactly how well it works, or even how it works, but my friend Kari has started using this technique and she loves it.
I think I will give it a try since I am a true believer in not only yoga, but in most of the oriental practices of mind body as well as holistic healing. I am always looking for new and better ways to get the most out of my body and mind, and this sounds like a terrific way to accomplish that while doing yoga which I so enjoy. Dahn Yoga has become very popular from what I researched on the internet, and Kari will take me to her classes. She says that her instructor is excellent and the group welcomed her in almost immediately. She taught me some of the terms that they use. Like they use the term BR which is short for brain respiration, which sounded really strange to me at first, but once she explained it, it really did seem to make sense. See in this form of yoga they believe that the brain is the absolute key to everything. They believe the goal of the BR system is to develop what they call a Power Brain. A Power Brain is a productive, creative and peaceful brain, which is the most powerful tool that we as humans have available to us to promote peace in the world.
I think that these concepts sound really interesting and I can't wait to go check it out for myself.
Games
I love playing online games. These games I do find, however, a bit addicting to say the least. I have played a few that my daughter has downloaded from shockwave and some of them I just have to play just about continuously until I finish them. I really only like certain games though. I really enjoy the games where you have to serve up food and the mystery games with the find the items list. Recently I found one game that combined serving the food with finding the items and I really enjoyed it. I can't remember the name of this particular game, but once I find a game I like I just keep playing it for a few day until I finish. I have now realized that I become a little too obsessed so I try not to find one I truly enjoy. If I don't I will just forget about it and not spend so much time on it. Usually, I do realize that I am doing it, so once I finish that game, I am careful not to hop on and immediately find another game.
I have noticed something which I find kind of scary. At night when I close my eyes to go to sleep, I can see whatever online game that I have been playing inside my head. I think that I am not one of those people who gets very hooked on these games, and I consider myself the type of person who is not easily influenced by things like advertising, etc, but when I see this game in my head at night I think oops I guess they got me. I wonder how my kids see these same games. Do they imprint on their brains even stronger than they imprint on mine? I worry about how playing these computer games are affecting their brains. I mean are they making them any smarter or faster with their reflexes, or are they just eating away their brain cells while they are sleeping?
I guess we can't really be sure how the long term effects of game playing will play out in the future of America. I do believe that this new form of recreation in the world will definitely affect the future of the world, especially by people who play video games or online games all the time. I am just not sure if the long term affects will be good or bad. I guess we will just wait and see.
Low back pain
Chiropractic is not just for the treatment of symptoms and pain, but helps with whole body wellness. Many people initially seek out Chiropractic care for the relief of neck pain, headaches, or low back pain. After arriving in the office, they may find to their amazing that their Chiropractor believes in their body's ability to heal itself.
Many Chiropractors use the idea of a cut healing on its own or a broken bone that grows back together without any medical intervention. Chiropractors teach people that their bodies are smart and that all the symptoms their bodies create have a purpose.
Chiropractic is based on this concept: Your nervous system is the most important system in your body, controlling every action, movement and response. The nervous system works by transmitting the messages from you brain to your body via the spinal cord and nerves. The spinal cord is surrounded by 24 moveable bones called vertebrae. These vertebrae move around to allow you to bend and move however, the spinal cord is a very sensitive structure and its nerves service your organs via the spaces between these bones. If one bone moves out of place and gets stuck, it may interfere in the healing messages that your brain is sending to different areas of your body. Things such as pain, swelling and tissue damage will most likely result over time, however, it is better to get your spine checked out on a more regular basis, before the pain arises.
Many people are afraid because of the popping noise that can be heard during some adjustments. They will sometimes describe this sound as bones cracking. The fact is that this noise is caused by an air release within the body and does not hurt. Most people who have been adjusted will tell you that they were surprised at the benefits of regular chiropractic care. They tell of symptoms and illnesses that they have had for years being cleared up after just a few Chiropractic adjustments.
Regular Chiropractic care is necessary for all beings that have a spinal cord and moveable vertebrae. People of all ages need regular Chiropractic care, and it is safe for all, but sometimes certain positions and techniques must be adapted for the young, old and feeble patients. A Chiropractor should be able to adapt these adjustments to suit their individual patient's needs.
Maryland Chiropractors and Bethesda Chiropractors are some of the best Chiropractors that I have dealt with. They seem to be really on top of the latest in patient care, and give first rate services to all their patients.
security system
My mother and father were recently robbed, and this was very scary for them. Thank goodness they weren't at home at the time, but still since that day, they have felt that there is no where sacred or safe anymore. Within 24 hours of being robbed, my father contacted a company that specializes in surveillance security, and had them come out for an estimate. He priced another few companies and found a company that seemed to offer the best most secure security system with the best price.
The system my father purchases was one with motion detectors and surveillance cameras all around the perimeter of the house and the inside as well. I think he and my mom are afraid that whoever did this will possibly return again and maybe while they are at home. I think he just wants to insure to my mom that this won't happen again. She is truly frightened.
Now that he has been through this situation, he wants to pay for everyone in the family to have security cameras installed as well as a full alarm system. I tried to tell him that it was unnecessary for him to pay for us to get a security system, but he said that he did not want to take any chances with the ones he loves, so I reluctantly agreed. I know that he is just wishing to protect all of us and keep us safe, but I do think that the whole alarm system thing might be a little too much, but I will do as he wishes so that he and my mother can feel a little more at ease. I don't want them to feel panicked and on edge all the time, that wouldn't be fair to them. I guess because they have never had this happen to them before, and live in a nice community with a community watch and everything, that it really never occurred to them that this could happen. I know it sounds a bit naïve, but when you live in good areas of towns, you don't really expect that anyone is going to bother you. It seems that only the rich and famous really have much that anyone would want to take, but my parents lost quite a few items that insurance can't replace, and memories like jewelry from deceased relatives, can not be replaced by money.
Sugar Daddy
Many beautiful women are looking for a sugar daddy to have to hold as long as they both shall live. I once stumbled across a millionaire dating site which advertised that you could meet rich sugar daddies. I thought this a little crude, until I came to the realization that these men were putting themselves on the internet saying “I’m rich and lonely and looking for beautiful women to come spend my money”. I guess if they are willing to have women who are only interested in their money courting them, well then so be it.
I found however, that this was not the only scenario on these millionaire match sites, there are also lonely rich women, looking for wealthy men to marry. Also there are rich women personals where rich women are looking for everything from a wealthy man to a hot stud who wants them just for their money.
I think it is a shame that these people are so lonely that they will flaunt the money that they have just to have a companion. I am not sure why people search the internet for that special someone. I guess I always think that anyone on the internet can just be playing a part, or running a scam. If I did have this much money, I wouldn’t want to put that info all over the internet.
I guess every time I think about sugardaddies all I can think of is Anna Nicole Smith and how she married that really old guy and then got all his money. I guess if you can pull it off, I mean to marry someone who is rich and 90 years old, I mean honestly, how long can that relationship last? It can’t really be too bad, since you know the guy only has a couple years left anyway, and then heck, you’ll be living the high life on all his money after that. Pretty good deal if you can get it. Besides, we are always saying help the elderly in this country, and what better way to help an old guy than to be his constant companion and plaything in his old age. Isn’t that what every guy would want as he was on his way out of this life? And would he even care if she got all his money after he was gone? I don’t think so!
mission travel
Recently, as part of my end of the semester sociology project I have been researching different religions, especially several that require mission travel as part of their beliefs. I have learned a lot about these journeys and how they are supposed to help a person further develop their beliefs and make them their own. At first this sounded a little bit bizarre to me, as I couldn't understand why missionary travel would require such things as paying for the airfares yourself and would require complete separation from your family and friends. I think that perhaps I have a better understanding of these concepts now.
First, I believe the reason for the separation from everything familiar is to test your knowledge, strength, and belief in God. For instance, while on your own in the world, you will have to look disbelievers in the eye and hold steady to your own belief system without support from anyone earthly. The only shoulder that you have to lean on is God's. I think that this allows you time to reflect and ask for God's guidance as needed. This tests your faith and your ability to stand behind your belief even when up against the biggest of obstacles.
Second, I think that paying for the missionary flights yourself and supporting your own mission, shows your belief in the mission travel as well as your faith in God and your innate drive to spread the word as taught by God. It also shows a level of independence and maturity that you are ready and able to handle your own finances as well as religious tours of this magnitude. Although, paid for by the individual the church airfares are at a cut rate, which does help these missionaries out a lot.
Lastly, I think actually getting out of your padded, insulated environment helps in toughening up your beliefs and making them your own. By being in an environment, every day of people who are constantly challenging your beliefs it creates a need for you to search deeper for the bigger meanings of your beliefs beyond what you were taught. This kind of soul searching gives the individual a relationship with their own beliefs and makes them look deeper for the meanings of the things that they can't explain to non-believers. Without this experience to set in their beliefs for them, their beliefs would remain superficial at best.
luxury Italy villas
Well my parents are flying the coop once again. It is no surprise to me now and it is the obvious reason for my having a hard time sticking to one c college without getting bored and restless. My family has been moving around for as long as I can remember. Right now they live in Hawaii and it was actually my youngest sisters idea this time which my parents thought made sense, and now they are searching for luxury Italy villas. They both know that they can't afford to live there for very long so unless they get a lucky financial break they will be moving soon. So they are trying out Italy and I am actually finding myself excited and helping them find places while I have a break from classes for the summer. I have been looking at luxury Sardinia villas for them. They said that they only want to to see places that were just amazing so they could make this like a dream vacation for them since they may have to move back in september. My sister is really excited to learn how to speak Italian since they don't offer it in her school and that's the only language she wants to learn. She has been looking up luxury Tuscany villas because she really wants to live in the wine country areas and spend her time in cafes. She is a very art centered type of person and wherever she goes she manages to find all of the artists and make them come out to her even though she is only in high school. My parents however have been looking mostly at the luxury Sicily villas because they really like the historical sites around Rome and they also think it will be easier to find a job in the south of the country since none of them speak Italian. I am really excited for them even though I won't be able to come and visit. I am leaving in a couple of days to go on a bike tour. I will be doing a ride of the entire east coast from Main to the tip of Florida. It is my hope to not set foot inside of an automobile for the entire summer and to not stay anywhere that I have to pay for. If anyone can do it I think ti's me.
replica discount sunglasses
My friend is having a birthday, and I know the perfect gift for her, sunglasses. Some girls collect shoes and some collect jewelry, but this girl has more sunglasses than any one I know. She buys a lot of those wholesale discount sunglasses, and I swear she gets them delivered by the case. I have never seen anyone who has sunglasses to match every outfit. She has a lot of those sunglasses that adapt to the light and most of the time she wears them indoors as well as outdoors. And even on a not so pleasant day, this girl is always sporting sunglasses. She many times will play with them too. She sticks the end of them in her mouth and sometimes even bites on them.
I have gone online and looked for replica wholesale sunglasses and have found so many different styles and colors to choose from. I just hope that I don't duplicate any that she already has. I found this awesome pair that are neon green and have orange and pink flowers on them. They are kind of psychedelic, but that is kind of her style. She is the type that will always stand out in a crowd. As a matter of fact, I am starting to think that the whole sunglass thing is really just a ploy to get her noticed. Quite honestly, it works. Many times I have had people talk to me about her, and when I don't know which friend they are talking about, they will all of a sudden say to me, you know the girl who is always wearing the sunglasses. That lets me know beyond a shadow of a doubt, which friend they are talking about.
Actually, I think I am going to buy her those sunglasses I was just talking to you about. To go with them I have actually found a cork board in the shape of sunglasses in neon colors as well. I know that would make a great pin up for her apartment. I am not that kind of girly girl, but she definitely is.
It is a lot of fun when someone has something that are really crazy about like Lisa and her sunglasses. It definitely makes it much easier to buy her a gift, then someone who does not like one particular item. Sometimes, I struggle with what to get someone, especially at these little school parties, where you don't want to go overboard, but you want to get someone a little something that they will really like.
Alcohol recovery
Today there is a huge amount of problems exist due to alcohol and drug dependency. The youngsters all over the world follow the tendency to show themselves in front of others, or just to "relax" and leave out of daily problems. These people use a lot of ways and some of them are drugs and alcoholic beverages. They drink an alcohol alone or together. The alcohol consumption and drugs, especially, influences the human's health in a extremely horrible manner. These "poisons" destroy the organism overall with a special emphasizes on liver and brain. Moreover, the person becomes dependant of the alcohol and drugs. This dependency is tremendously hard to recover sometimes. Substance Abuse Treatment is popular in today's world. There a number of special centers which specialize on Alcohol Recovery and Drug Recovery. For example, a lot of eastern European countries experience tremendous amount of alcoholism and drug dependency. Some of the centers in Eastern Europe are not able to present an acceptable level of Substance Abuse Treatment unfortunately, and people need to move to other countries for that kind of therapy. This therapy is highly costly and demands a lot of efforts on the part of the patient and his/her family. If a patient is not willing to cooperate in the treatment, no matter how much the personnel tries, the effective result will be much harder to achieve.For example, some of the websites define alcoholism, one of the most devastating addictions, as a "brain disease", meaning that the person most likely would not be able to cope with the situation on his/her own. Overall, the drug rehabilitation programs help individuals become healthy again, help them start to achieve their goals. It is hard for me to imagine, though, what the people with addictions go through, especially when they have to do sometimes more than they can to stop the addiction. I think that anyone who puts his/her mind to stop their addiction deserves deep respect, since sometimes it could be so hard to quit. It is definitely very heart ranching though when someone ends up not having enough inner strength to go through the entire program of treatment, and falls out of it, not having gained full healthy benefit of the treatment.
Safari
Some friends and I really needed a break from finals earlier and whenever we have needed these breaks during the semester, we always have found some interesting task to both take our minds off of studying, and keep us in a working mode. Usually it involves trying to find something funny or some cool pictures on the web and it turns up some good results as all of our moods are lifted and we can get back to work relatively quickly and stay on task for a while afterwards. Today we decided to try to get a little more intense, what with finals being the most intense tests of the whole semester and all. So we decided we would try to set up three different trips. The keyword for the trips would be that all the countries we would have a full trip "booked" for would center around a safari. That's right I said it, a safari. None of us had ever been on a safari so we thought it would be really cool to just pick some countries and see if we were to take a trip with a safari in it which country would be the cheapest. So i chose to look up some Kenya safaris because I just assumed that there were some in Kenya. I had some good luck and blew right through my research and found a bunch of discounts. Sarah found Botswana safaris, don't ask me how, and Jim found Tanzania safaris. We all got our research done in about ten minutes and laid them all out on the table. In the end the Kenya safaris trips came out to be the best, and by best I mean cheapest. Now that we have all this really cool research though i can't stop thinking that I really should try to go on a safari sometime soon. I mean seriously name just one person you know who wouldn't love to chill out in Africa a see lions and zebras and tons of other animals running around you while you sip from a canteen in a jeep. It sounds pretty great to me, but I am me.
promotional products
Our school just had their logo merchandise tradeshow. They filled up the commons area with about a hundred tables of their newest products. They do this every year to ask the students and faculty which items we all feel should be the next lines of products for sale on campus. I always love to go to these things because they have lots of tradeshow giveaway items and lots of promotional gifts. I know from my marketing classes that these things are perfect for sales because of the high level of free advertising they offer. Kids are going to be walking around all summer with these things on and people are going to say to themselves' hey I have never seen that shirt or hat before.' I love going there more for the promotional products rather than the school merchandise. They give out lots of coupons and free things to redeem for other sports goods and clothes. I usually make my rounds for a couple of hours and then go out to the sports store to get all of the stuff that I really want. It's really just a good time because there are lots of different new products and lots of vendors telling you the differences in the style and the materials that you would never hard really understood if you just walked in to the store in the next year and bought it right off the rack. I think going to these things is also important for that reason for consumers. It is becoming increasingly important for consumers to know what they are buying and where their products are really coming from. We can't just buy things blindly anymore because there can be a lot of fallout from making poor purchasing decisions in both a personal function, as well as a social and economic level. What ever we buy we are really supporting in the only real way that we can, with money. The marketing of these products we are being told is one thing, but the real story and the information we need to make conscious decisions is up to us as individuals to seek out and assimilate in to our world view.
chicago cubs tickets
It sure is a lot easier to get things done now that we have the internet invading all areas of our lives. I mean I have always grown up with technology. I had my first computer when I was about five years old, but that was the great grandfather of the computer I have now. Now I can do just about anything I like with the push of some kind of button my computer or my cell phone. There are tons of venues that have been created all for the sole purposes of trading things such as music downloading programs and other sites where more tangible items are transferred. My favorite of course is relatively newer which is the access to major league baseball tickets you find online. My loyalty is just to the sport but I do have some favorites. For school I travel a lot to Boston and Chicago so before I leave for any trip I always check the net for Boston Red sox tickets or Chicago cubs tickets. These are items that ten years ago I would have had to go to the actual stadium to find. Even if I had found a way to buy them online there was a much higher risk back then of them being counterfeit, It is pretty great for me that I can just sit at my computer right now and find Boston Redsox tickets or Chicago cub tickets without much difficulty. This is just one of the huge and ever-growing ways in which technology involved with the internet is just becoming amazing. Every month it seems that my cell phone can do something new or get some new feature. Every year a better, faster computer comes out that wipes the slate clean from last year's model. I wonder if we can ever catch up to the speed of innovation and just relax in the fact that we have created such an amazing machine? Or is it part of the speeding up of the computer that continuously speeds up our personal lives to match? I don't claim to know and I don't think we will until long after this time is over. But what I do know is is that it sure makes my life a lot easier.
party supplies
Goodness knows, we all love a good party. Some of us would rather throw a good party and some of us would rather attend a good party. Either one you choose, here is what you will find (hopefully). The party supplies will be fun and plentiful. Of course, it depends on what kind of party you are planning or attending. If it is an adult party, it will have much different party favors than others. Who knows, it could be glow sticks that if you imbibe too much might help you find your way home if you just live in the neighborhood. If you cannot find your mate or date, it might be glow necklaces in assigned colors. Simple party favors, like funny hats and blow horns might also be things that SOME adults might enjoy. I think that if they want to make me happy at a grown up party, their party supplies need to be all about the food and drink. Let me eat something incredibly delicious that I won't be making for myself on a regular basis and let me drink something, alcohol laced or not, that I won't be making for myself. To me, the party is all about the food and drink. I can forego the glow sticks and the glow necklaces and the funny hats and the blow horns and the truly stupid games. If you want me to come to this party and have such an enjoyable time that I want to attend the next one, feed me. Doesn't even have to be exotic food or expensive food. Just something that I have either never had or something that I have never had made that way. Same thing with the drinks. Most of us like sangria, but put a little something different in it like mango essence or pomegranate essence and have appropriately related food. The party for me is all about the friends attending and the delicacies you are being invited to share. I think if I ran a party supplies store, I would have to include at least some interesting ideas for party foods and some interesting ideas for party drinks. So those things I believe count big time whether you are throwing a fun party or attending that expected to be fun party. People are just people and it doesn't matter if you have the best party favors in the world if the food and beverages are blah and bland and unimaginative.
Mesothelioma
After years of prolonged asbestos exposure in the construction industry, my father went to the doctor for a routine checkup. He complained of chest pains and occasional difficulty breathing and so we sent him off to our long trusted family doctor. Well, the doctor looked him over and ran a few tests and informed us that my father had Mesothelioma.
Well, quite honestly, from that point on, I really tried to listen to what the doctor was telling us, but I was in a haze. Once I heard the words cancer of the lining of the lung, I was petrified. He said that there were some treatments that my father could try, cancer treatments, and that he would make him an appointment with an oncologist right away.
Needless to say the whole family stayed at mom and dad's that night and we shared a dinner and some tears. We talked into the wee hours of the morning and then when everyone else had retired, I laid there in bed, just needing to know more. I looked up Mesothelioma online and discovered information that devastated me. My father fit the profile of prolonged asbestos exposure and white male 52 years old. The website said that the survival rate from the time of diagnosis was only five years. Basically, it said that the chance of any type of treatment being successful was not good and that five years was a generous estimate on life expectancy, as most people only lived about three years following initial diagnosis. This illness is a silent killer.
The next day, we went to see the oncologist, who only confirmed my worst fears. My father was not a candidate for treatment, and that his prognosis was not good. The doctor said that he probably only had about a year left, before he began to deteriorate, and lose the ability to breathe on his own. Well, my dad he is a fighter, and we spend a lot of time together as a family now, just appreciating the time we have together. Maybe the reality of my father's illness, made us all realize that there is no time like the present to express our love for each other. My parents will be traveling to Europe next month and will stay there for 3 weeks. It is a trip that they have put off making for years, and now they know that they must do it now, or not do it at all. I know my father will push right through until the end. I hate the idea of watching him die, but I am grateful that right now I get to watch him live.
Family health insurance
My family has always had issues attaining family health insurance. For many years, my husband worked in small offices that, even years ago, did not provide health insurance to their employees or their families. They did give their employees and families access to group coverage, but made no attempt to pay even a small portion of the cost. These were the years when almost all employers paid 100% coverage for their employees so we were definitely in the minority and had to absorb this expense in addition to all of the normal ones that everyone else paid.
When my husband finally was able to open his own company and hire employees, he always provided family health insurance for all. He had learned how hard it was to pay for this out of pocket and resolved to never force his employees to struggle with this difficult addition to all of their expenditures. We learn from our experiences and my husband's employees certainly benefited from this lesson which he learned so well.
Even today when Fortune 500 companies only pay small portions of their employee's health insurance coverage, my husband is still paying 100% of the premium for his employees. He will never do to them what was done to us, as he will always remember how difficult it was.
After my husband was in his own business for many years, I went to work for a Fortune 500 company back in the 1980's when benefits were still wonderful. I was given family health insurance from my company at a very small premium. This was so beneficial to us that my husband cancelled the policy he was paying through his own business and I took over the coverage for our family. I am pleased to say that I stayed employed by this company for twelve years and, over that time, contributed only a small amount of my salary for our health insurance coverage.
When I left this company, however, we moved out of state and were forced to sign-up for COBRA, a government-mandated coverage offer extended to people who leave their jobs for a period of 18 months. Although the availability of COBRA is beneficial, the cost can be very prohibitive. The ex-employee must take on the total cost of the policy and many are unable to do this, especially if you have just lost your job and your income.
Health insurance quotes
Today has been such a long day. I went to class from 9 to 3, and dance classes from 4 to 6, then a meal with some friends. Around 9 pm I finally was able to make it back to my dorm room. I open my door to see...my roommate curled up in bed, wrapped in three blankets with a half empty box of Kleenex and a mountain of cough drop wrappers on the floor. Yuck. I could almost see the infections swimming about in the air. Disgusting. "Go to Health Services!" I said to her, wanting to yell.
"I don't have health insurance," she meekly replied, to my extreme displeasure. I had told this girl like three weeks ago to check for health insurance quotes to find out what was the best and cheapest health insurance to get. I thought she had followed up on that, but apparently she hadn't. Now I was stuck in this room with this sickly excuse for a being with no way to escape for the night. Her nasty sick germs were probably in conference rooms right now, trying to make Mission Impossible style stealth plans to attack my hypothalamus and from there assault and torture my immune system. How selfish of my roommate to not have health insurance!! Didn't she know that she was going to get sick one day and that she'd need to seek medical attention? Even further, didn't she know that she'd need to get medicine so that she wouldn't spread her germs to me?
I had always thought health insurance was something that was granted to every person. Coming from a well-off neighborhood, I was under the false impression that everyone got health care (kind of like in Canada). After living with my roommate, however, I have never been more thankful that I have health insurance. It feels really good to know that if I get sick, I have access to health care with no reservations, and that I can get prescription medicine. I feel bad for my roommate...I think everyone deserves to have this type of medical attention at all times. But unfortunately, things don't work that way.
"Told you to get those health insurance quotes," I muttered under my breath, still feeling bad for her all the same. I decided that the next day I was going to go to the store and buy the poor girl some soup. And as soon as she got well, I was going to be sure to yell at her until I watched her look into health insurance. For now, there was nothing I could do but lay in bed (thankfully on the other side of the room), pull the covers over my head, and hope the cotton would keep the nasty unsterilized germ beasts away from me long enough for me to rub the entire room (including my roommate) down with alcohol and to ingest an entire package of Halls Defense Vitamin C Drops.
Pet meds
I seem to associate with a large number of pet owners. Almost everyone I know has some sort of pet and enjoys them tremendously. Pets make great companions and are especially wonderful for people who are alone, although families with children also love to have pets around their home.
I often believe I am surrounded by "cat people". Most of my friends and family members who own cats just love to have them around. I have noticed, also, that many of them have more than one cat. For some reason "cat people" seem to want several of these animals living with them. I also have quite a few friends who have two or three cats and one dog. The cats and dog do get along amazingly well in almost all of the cases that I am familiar with. These, however, are a few too many animals for me. I enjoy having pets but think I would prefer to keep the number of them at a maximum of two.
I believe "cat people" are just certain types of people. They are very tolerant of their cats' behavior and don't seem to mind some of the places they visit. They really do seem to be very pleased no matter what the cat decides to do next and are very content with the fact that the cat rules the house. All cat owners tell me that you cannot make a cat do anything. They live to serve themselves and no one else. They think their owners are there to serve their needs. Some of the cat owners I know keep their pets in the house while others allow them to go outside. I would be very concerned that my animal would be injured or lost outside on its own but it would appear that this does not happen too often.
Cat ownership also requires that you give proper care to the animal. One of my friends has a very old cat, named Mouse, who has to visit the vet frequently. Mouse has been with my friend for almost twenty years and is currently on a variety of pet meds. This cat is extremely well cared for but is suffering from old age. I believe that it is only the endless supply of pet meds that is enabling Julie to keep Mouse with her. I know that it won't be too long before she will loose her trusted and adored cat. As every pet owner knows, this is a particularly difficult separation and the more years you've spent with the animal, the more difficult this is to handle. It is always nice to know that friends and family are there for you to share in your grief when this does take place.
Flowers
Mother's Day is rapidly approaching and, as always, everyone's thoughts turn to what they can give to the many mothers in their lives. Of course, like many people, I have my actual mother, my grandmothers, my husband needs to remember me, the mother of his children, and everyone's favorite, my mother-in-law. This should keep each of us busy just sending cards, planning visits and trying to think of a little something special we can do for or give to this important lady in your life. There are many suggestions being made in all of the local ads, so I thought I would review the ones that seem appropriate and make a decision. But I must do it soon or I may not be able to get the gifts I really would like to send.
Some of the more typical Mother's Day gifts include of a blouse or sweater, nightgowns, stationery, jewelry, robe and slippers, etc. I've also thought of having a family dinner and inviting them all to attend, but this would be difficult for some of the older ones. I can't just choose one or two and invite them for dinner, as that wouldn't seem fair to the others. Because of this, I'm ruling out a dinner invitation. I've reviewed the list of suggestions I made earlier and do not think this is what I would like to do this year.
I have decided that the nicest gift of all would be to send each recipient flowers as a Mother's Day remembrance for all they've done for me. This would enable me to treat them all equally and every one of them can receive a specific bouquet or arrangement of their favorite flowers.
While out doing errands, I did stop by at a local florist. They were very busy and I was left waiting in line for sometime. They were explaining to me that this was one of their busiest days of the year and I could see that the lady was very flustered. She seemed in a hurry, lines of people were forming behind me, and I decided that I was never going to have her full attention to my list of requests. I excused myself and returned to the comfort of my home and made my choices online at my convenience. This plan worked very well for me.
I do know what type of flowers each family member prefers and so I visited an online florist and viewed all of their offerings. I was easily able to match my family's preferences with their offerings, and completed my shopping in a very short period of time. This was such a convenient way to purchase flowers that I will definitely be considering it again for birthdays throughout the year and I might even choose to make this a Mother's Day tradition.
car insurance
Some of my fellow students and I have noticed something strange this holiday season. By holiday season I mean the coming of finals week and the beginning of summer. About two weeks ago when the weather here broke and all of the students in protest of various things, including myself, came out in full force to teach someone something there was something strange in the air. The first day I went out to play ultimate frisbee on the commons I was mid jump when I noticed something off in the distance. It looked like a plane but there was either something following in much too closely or it was towing something. As it got closer the latter became apparent. When it got closer we all realized that on the back of the plane was tied one of those signs you see streaking past the shore at any popular beach from memorial day until labor day. On this particular sign was an ad for a certain auto insurance company. Some people, myself included, have felt a bit alienated and uncharitable about this new product placement. Now I have no problem with car insurance ads I mean I spend a good month every year picking through a mound of auto insurance quotes for a good deal. When we all have taken offense to it the fact that these types of ads have never been around here. With an area as beautiful as this, it is a bit of thorn in our sides when we can even get away from advertisements without being shown one. I mean this ad could have been seen for miles, which though good for the company, does make me feel as if I cannot get away from advertisement. I am all about the free market and about public property, but if people can create a whole government control on radio waves an fine you to death if you encroach on that in any way, then how can I defend myself from these arial attacks. That is the way it really feels, as if my eyes and my mind are being attack now not only from television, radio, magazines, but now they are dropping thought bombs on us and I for one do not like it one bit.
Refinancing
I have purchased two homes in my life, and sold one. I have purchased and financed a few cars. I have never refinanced a car, but refinancing my equity line on my home was a wise choice. When I bought my house, I had a conventional loan with a low interest rate on the mortgage. But it wasn't for the entire purchase amount. The rest was paid for with an equity line, which my mortgage lender failed to tell me until closing. We were moving out of state, and had just arrived in town the day before, so what could we do? Little did I know the rate was variable and I was pretty much making interest only payments. The market was getting worse, so we decided to refinance to a fixed rate loan. It isn't the greatest rate, but not too bad. When refinancing, we also rolled some of our other debt into it. Which, of course, we hve run back up again. I would suggest getting all the facts before refinancing. Such as faxed or variable rate, is there an early payoff penalty, what the closing costs are to get the loan. It may not be worth it in the end. I am not sure about all the details in refinancing a car or boat. A friend of mine had her husbands boat rolled into their mortgage when they refinanced. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but they eventually divorced and she kept the house. So now she is making payment son his boat. Not so great. I think he had to buy her out of the house, but still. Just the fact of knowing that each month when you pay the bill would be enough to irk me. A lot of times if you refinance and combine two loans from different companies into one, you can get a better deal, becuase they want your business..
Marriage counseling
I have often wondered what kind of credentials you have to have to be a marriage counselor. I would imagine that you would need a lot of training and experience before being able to accurately assess whether a couple is in need of marriage help or not. When is it time for an outside party to step in and save my marriage? I would hope that there is a lot of training involved to be in the marriage counseling business. If I ever have to resort to that, I think I would probably find a Christian marriage counselor, or even a pastor. I would definitely want the biblical perspective on how my marriage should be. A lot of marriage counselors and therapists are so liberal that they encourage divorce. And their own backgrounds and lives are questionable in themselves. But I guess you will get that in any profession. I think about the same things with teachers. I know a few that I went to school with, and know how they are in their private lives, and think- I would not want them teaching my kids. They are supposed to be examples for our children. I wonder if anyone else thinks about these things. It is just like people without children having opinions on how to raise a child, when they have never done it themselves. Or an obstetrician who has never had a child. Or a pediatrician with no children. Or- a vet who has no pets. That would be hilarious. I wonder if there are any vets out there like that. Anyways, marriage counseling has to have some sort of regulations. I wonder if they are just people who go to school for social work and do not like that profession, so they do this instead. I am going to look into it. They should have a list of references they can give you. Of couples who have used that particular counselor and success stories. Maybe even a cheesy scrapbook in the lobby of happy couples. Hey, eharmony does it.
opiate treatment
These days you can not turn on the television without hearing about drug and alcohol abuse problems in this country. One reason for that I believe is that the human spirit is slowly drifting away. The hopeful and blissful times of the past are long gone, and instead of living the American dream, we are now all living the American nightmare. Instead of like generations before us, we are constantly seeing and hearing the negative outlook on the world. I do believe that partly to blame for this are the television and radio that are constantly focusing on the bad. It seems to me that as human beings we are just totally frustrated, fed up, and tired of the whole system. We would gladly work harder, but we have watched as it takes us nowhere. I think that there are only a handful of people in the US right now that are not on some type of substance to keep them upbeat. There are illicit drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, and antidepressants. In all honesty, I don't think that anybody can take it any more.
We are all working to overcome drug addiction, alcohol addiction and even prescription drug addiction. It is a pretty sad and overwhelming world that we live in, spending everyday running through the rat race, trying to be the one with the biggest piece of cheese. Unfortunately, there is no end to the rat race or the maze we are in. We just need to find happiness in the little day to day things and try not to be so obsessed about the materialistic stuff or what others think of us.
If you are one of these people, just trying to numb yourself to get through each and every day, rest assured that you are not alone in your plight to be happy, but realize that there is no happiness in being an addict. You are just going from letting society ruin your life, to allowing a substance to do it. If you find yourself in this boat, don't be afraid to seek the help you need. There are many treatment programs and drug specific programs available out there for you. There are alcohol treatment programs, opiate treatment programs, cocaine treatment programs and many other specific issue programs available to aid you in your road to recovery.
Murder mystery
I think I have found a totally new strategy to beat those old finals week blues. With the end of the semester rolling towords that brick wall that is finals week with ever increasing speed, everyone I know is trying their best too keep their stress levels under control. My yoga classes that I teach have been so packed that we have had to change the room layout to keep up with the huge class sizes. On the one hand I am glad people are turning to my business for their needs, but I have been trying to think of some other ways to help out with the problem. About two weeks ago I had the idea when I was reading one of my favorite murder mystery novels and realized that even with all of the suspense and plots turns throughout the novel, I was extremely relaxed. I tried stopping and then going back to the book and I found that reading about all of these exciting twists and turns of another person's life made me even more relaxed in my own. So I I had an idea that maybe I could organize some kind of get together. Now I know that this time of year there aren't too many people doing leaisure reading because of both the huge workloads and the amazing weather pulling us outdoors. So I thought maybe I could try to organize a murder mystery party. That's right I said it. I wanted to bring together a bunch of murder mystery fans in one place to discuss and just have fun around the common theme of the murder mystery novel. We are all getting together this friday night after classes and just chill at our local coffee shop to see what we can talk about. I don't know if this really constitutes the label of being a real party, but I think this may be the seed that will eventually grown in to an all out party some time in the fall when we are feeling this push again. I am thinking about some kind of game where everyong has to follow a certain plot written up by another member that leads them to the party.
Addiction
Today I just had to take a big break from all of the lead up to finals week. I called up my old friend who I used to teach health and wellness classes with and we had some coffee. It was great to unwind a little bit knowing that tonight I still have another six hours or so of studying to do. We chatted about all of the usual things like our classes, yoga practices, and music. Eventually we got on to what she is doing right now for work. I have been looking for my work experience and we got on to the topic pretty quickly. She had been doing her work hours for her rehabilitation and addiction counseling degree at a drug detoxification clinic. She eventually wants to do counseling with teenagers in inner city Philadelphia and thought that this would be a great experience for her. The place is also an alcohol detoxification clinic where they bring people who have been arrested and want to settle out of jail. She said that the job is pretty difficult at times, and understandably so. I mean she is basically spending the day with addicts who don't really want to be where they are. She said there is some type of violent activity every single day. Even with the tense nature of the job, she said that she is very satisfied with the experience and taste for the job that she has gained so far. I am in secondary education and need the same hour requirements but if I wanted to work in that environment I would have to work with high school aged kids with those same problems. I think it may kill my drive to teach if I am put in to an environment like that for a whole semester. Though I can never tell what experiences will change my whole view on life for the better or worse. After we had chatted today I looked up a few places like hers where there are kids and just put the number in my date book. I think I will save those for if I can't find anything else and need the hours to graduate. I am sure they never send away volunteers from places like that.