Added Security

With the downturn in the economy, crime is beginning to rise. This seems to be a predictable trend. When crime goes up, people need to have more security to make it through the day and night. One thing you need to check out is the home security companies out there that can give you that added security.



One company that you need to check out is ADT. They have great deals on their systems, as stated in the picture, and they have the system that you want. You can either get a simple alarm system to protect your home or you can get a video surveillance system if that's what you are looking for. They can also provide you with medical alert systems as well. They really have the system for you and their products are high quality as well. You want to have extra security in these troubled times. Check out ADT to get your security system today.

Lessons Learned

Throughout the course of my weight loss contest, I learned a lot about eating healthy. There are many ways to do it. You can do some healthy grilling, or you can go on the Atkins diet like I did, or you can cut back on your portions. On top of that, you need to exercise. It's not hard, it just takes some self control and some discipline. I would hope that people would realize that their's and everyone else's lives would be better if they would just diet and exercise.

Finally Over

The Biggest Loser contest at my work finally ended last Wednesday. There ended up being 7 people in the contest in the end including me. I worked and worked and even dropped all the water weight I could. I lost a grand total of 37 pounds or 21.64 percent. Everyone who witnessed my weigh in could not believe that I lost that much weight. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to win the pot. I came in a close third. The guys above me were only separated from each other by half a pound. I was only a pound and a half away from first place. That's how close it was. I'm proud of how well I did, though. The guys who won were either much bigger than me or they have done this kind of thing before. No one gave me a shot at all, but I actually gave the leaders a run for their money. All I did to lose the weight was diet and exercise. That will definitely make me the winner in the long run.

The Passage Of Time

Thanks to the passage of time, my driving record is now clear, as least as far as car insurance is concerned. Our insurance has turned into cheap auto insurance thanks to time going by. I never thought I would see the day when full coverage on two cars would cost less than a hundred dollars a month. It may even get lower depending on what kind of insurance we want to keep on the car once it is paid off in a couple of months. If the insurance is this low with full coverage, I might as well just leave it as it is.

On The Edge

I don't come from a family that owned a lot of big toys. We didn't have any motorcycles, snowmobiles, or atvs at all. We didn't need any Harley parts on a monthly basis or anything like that. I'm kind of wishing we did because I would like to teach my kids how to ride those things in case we ever get something like that or if any of their friends have something like that. My history of riding one of those things is not good so I think having at least one of those things would help with the toy-riding knowledge base.

Snow Driving

Weather in Utah is extremely unpredictable. One day you could be driving on bone dry roads and the next day you will need tire chains just to get out of the driveway. What baffles me is that this kind of thing happens every year and everyone still seems to forget how to drive in the snow. They act like they have never seen it before and don't know how to handle it. Driving in the snow is not hard. Just don't drive too fast, remember that you can't stop as easily, and don't act paranoid.

Busy Weekend

It is the end of a very busy weekend for us. We had Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws and that was great. I then spent the next couple of days hanging up Christmas lights. That is no easy feat considering how tall my house is and how nervous I get when I am on the roof of any house. I had to employ my mom and my little brother, who were visiting, to help with stringing the lights on the edge and corners of the highest part of my house. We had to tie a rope around my brother's foot in order to get lights on one part of the house. The lights turned out awesome, though. I hope they continue to work all month because I'm not sure I would have enough guts to go up there and fix them. They should be okay, though. We then had our own Thanksgiving dinner today in our home and that was also awesome. Now, the weekend is over and it's time to get some sleep and start the week all anew.

What's in a Name

One of the great things about where I work is the golf course that surrounds the building. I don't have any fancy Titleist golf equipment, but I do have golf equipment that I love and I'm still not paying for them. I also don't understand what the big deal is amongst the golf brands when it comes to equipment, especially when it comes to golf balls. In my case, I can knock an expensive brand name ball into the water just as easily as i can any other ball.

Healthy

I'm so glad I come from a healthy family. There isn't any real history of major diseases in my family. Nothing like fibromyalgia or breast cancer or any genetic diseases of any kind. It makes it real easy when filling out doctor forms and you don't need to list all of your conditions, how long you have had them, etc, etc. It also helps with the medical bills when you aren't buying medications all the time. I just keep praying that we will continue to stay this healthy.

Younger Days

When I was a teenager, I had acne really bad. I didn't use any acne treatment for it and now I am paying for it. I have scar tissue near my chin because of all the zits that were there. Because of that scar tissue, I can't grow facial hair very well in those areas. That doesn't help when you are trying to grow facial hair and you want it to be even. Please, if you have acne, get treatment for it and don't pick the acne on your face. You will thank me later.

Joke Of The Day

I sometimes wonder about how some big shot CEO's get the positions that they do. From the ones I hear about in the news, the CEO's get paid a ton of money, enough to feed a small country, and yet they do the least work. They are always off on some retreat and spending the company's money. Then, when it comes time to save money by laying people off, the CEO's layoff a bunch of people who are actually doing the work. Why don't they get rid of the high-priced CEO's and save millions of dollars a years and spared thousands of workers from losing their jobs. I'm sure the CEO's will find a new job fast enough. They have the severance packages anyway, perhaps they would never need to find one again. If I had that kind of money, I know I would be just fine.

Joke Of The Day

Does anyone know what to invest in anymore? The stocks that were solid yesterday are tanking today and commodities aren't even worth investing in anymore. I think there are many stock brokers out there who are soon going to be out of a job. Reason being is they don't have any answers on what is worth investing in anymore. That's their job, right? They're supposed to be the ones you can ask and they will tell you where to put your money. Right now, though, they don't have any solid answers anymore. I think the safest place for your money right now is under your mattress. You don't need a stock broker for that kind of advice.

Inviting Home

Each person's home is their own. Whether they have their own style of drapes or their own style of furniture, you can tell what a person's taste is just by walking in their front door.

There is a great website out there where you can buy things like decorative hardware to put that special touch into your home. If you go into a regular hardware store, you're going to be buying the same things that everyone else is going to be buying. You want to have a unique style and that is why you need to go to invitinghome.com to purchase that special touch for your home.

The possibilities with their website alone are endless. For example, you can look at an inspiration gallery where you can go to just get ideas of what you want to do with your home. They also have a section where you can get installation guides for the do-it-yourselfer. If you aren't really looking for decorative hardware, you can look at their great selection of home lighting. Here's a sample of their hardware:

These knobs come in all kinds of styles and colors. You can actually pick the one that is best for you. They have silver ones, brass ones, round ones, and even knobs shaped like leaves and even rope knots. The possibilities that you can have just with their knobs are endless. But there is so much more to look at. There's also their handles:

Their handles are also just as stylish and endless. You can get round ones, copper ones, silver ones, and brass ones. That is just a few of the styles they offer. These handles are just exciting to look at. Imagine what they would look like in your home. Your friends will be wondering where you went to get your interior design degree.

If you want to add that special touch to your home, you need to go to invitinghome.com. You will have the best experience you can imaging and you will find all the things you need to add that special touch to your home.

Great Nursing Program

Over the course of the last few days, we have met many nurses at the hospital. Because the hospital we went to was a learning hospital, many of the nurses were working on becoming a nurse or looking to increase their field of knowledge.

If you are looking for a nursing degree or want to increase what you already know about nursing, you need to check out the MS nursing program at Saint Xavier University. You can even do most of the degree online. The way they have their program set up is you can do the weekday education online and use your weekends for practical learning on campus. They have financial aid available and you can apply for the program all straight from their website. With 70 years of experience and 3500 graduates under their belt, you can rest assured you are getting a great education. Many of their past graduates even hold key positions both nationally and internationally. This truly is a great nursing masters program. Start your masters program at Saint Xavier University today.

We're Home

We brought baby Nathan home today. And wouldn't you know it, he has been asleep the entire time. He only started fussing when we changed his diaper. Grandma Margaret was here when we got here and she visited for a few hours. The cute little guy even did well on the ride home in his car seat. When we brought our middle child home from the hospital, he screamed and just hated his car seat. So far so good with Nathan when it comes to riding in the car. Now the home seams so quiet when it is just me, the wife, and baby Nathan at home, especially since baby Nathan is so quiet. Hoping the first night at home will be just as quiet as it is right now.

What About The Husband

With my wife in the hospital and all, I'm up here with her all the time. I'm not sure they realize that the husband of these newborns will do that from time to time. The cot they have for me is a lot more comfortable than the recliner they have or the floor, but it has been used a bit and sinks in the middle, both lengthwise and width wise. Falling asleep in the recliner isn't exactly a smart thing to do either. My neck has gotten really sore from falling asleep in that thing. If we stay much longer, I'll be admitted for having a severely cramped neck.

Another Tactic

One thing I hadn't thought of trying during this weight loss contest is cheap Phentermine. It may have worked to suppress my appetite, but my appetite wasn't the problem. My problem was that I ate way too much junk food and drank to much soda and didn't exercise at all. Suppressing the appetite and still not exercising may not have helped my lose weight in my situation. I'm content with just losing weight the old fashioned way: just eating right and exercising.

Fridge Ornaments

I wish we had more fridge magnets. We used to have a whole bunch of letter magnets on our fridge, but they disappeared as the kids would always be trying to get them off. Also, we have a couple of cats who love to play with them as well. We never seem to have a magnet around when we really need to place something on the refrigerator. I hesitate to buy more of them because I know what will happen to them. Maybe if we are lucky, we'll get plenty of magnets that businesses hand out for advertising.

One Of My Dreams

One thing I would love to have one day is my very own franchise for any given business. I think it would be great to own a business where I can set the rules and make all the decisions. I know I can do a great job. It's just getting to the point of having enough money to have one of those businesses without breaking the bank for the rest of my life. I've known a few people who have owned franchises and they seemed to really enjoy it. In addition, if I had my own business, I wouldn't make the mistakes I have seen other managers of mine make in the past.

Timing

The biggest loser contest ends in a week and a half. Just as the weight was really melting off, our newest addition to the family put us all in the hospital for a few days. That means I can't work out as much because I'm not at work and I'm not doing much in the hospital. I'm doing the exercise that I can while I am here. I'm doing crunches and jumping jacks and I even drank a quart of salt water to get some internal cleansing going. I'm just hoping this slow down in the exercise and the slight increase in food won't come back to haunt me in a week and a half and cause me to really lose the contest. I'm just going to have to work hard this last week to not let this speed bump prevent me from really completing the contest.

A Lot Of Them

Before starting this weight loss program, I had no idea how many different diet pills there are out there. There seems to be one for every flavor of person. Does each one do the same thing or are there different side effects depending on the brand? Do they come in different flavors or do they taste the same? I guess I just don't understand why there are so many of them. I also don't understand why there are so many different energy drinks out there. Everyone has their own twist on the same subject.

Almost Done

My weight loss contest at work is almost over. In a week and a half, I won't have to look for the best diet pills anymore, not that I did anyway. I sure am excited for it to be over. As of Wednesday before all the excitement happened, I had lost nearly 26 pounds. For me, that is 15 percent of my original weight gone. It shocked me to see that because I hadn't expected to get to this point for another couple of weeks. I'm not sure how I will pan out compared to everyone else. I'm just hoping I can win since our expense for this new baby will jump a little since we had to go to the hospital and have a c-section instead of being at the birth center. I hope the next week and a half goes by quickly.

Needed Item

Because we weren't planning on spending days in the hospital, I had to make a trip home and pack some clothes for me and the boys. It had to happen fast and I needed just a small bag. I didn't want to haul in a huge luggage bag or a Swiss Army luggage item, so I packed everything into a diaper bag. Good thing I wasn't planning on staying a week in the hospital because that diaper bag was stuffed full.

A New Addition

Baby Nathan Joshua Andrus finally made it here on Thursday. He wanted to have his own unique birth story so he came rather dramatically. The plan was to have him in a birth center and then go home shortly afterwords. Things didn't quite end up that way.

Things started off just fine. My wife went into labor and things were progressively moving along. She started pushing hard around 6:15 am on Thursday morning. She pushed and pushed and pushed. After two hours of pushing and trying every position we could think of, all we could get to appear was a lock of hair. My wife was in a lot of pain as well and exhausted. She had delivered our last boy all naturally and was in pain then as well, but there was progress with the pain. There was no progress with this one and my wife felt like there was a knife stabbing into her hip the entire time. After talking it over for a bit, we decided that the best thing to do was transfer to the University of Utah hospital. That's were more excitement entered into the picture.

If you have ever lived in the Salt Lake Valley, you know that if you want to get somewhere fast, you don't try and do it around 8 am or 5 pm. Well, we had to go from Murray to downtown Salt Lake during rush hour. Luckily for us, my father-in-law was with us, along with the heavens above, and he did anything he needed to to get us there. He broke every traffic law in the book. He did some major speeding, drove on the shoulder and even the sidewalk, drove in the turning lane, and drove in the middle lane. At one point, he even drove in the opposite lane of traffic. Amazing how when you are in an emergency, no one else is. At one point, we even found a sheriff's office police officer radarring people at a crosswalk. We asked him to escort us to the hospital and he said he couldn't. What a joke!!! We made it to the hospital in about 15 to 20 minutes. That says a ton considering the distance traveled and the traffic at that time of the day.

We got to the hospital and immediately got my wife into a wheelchair and ran her into the ER. The midwife had already called ahead and told the hospital we were coming. They were ready for us. As we came into the door, they knew who we were and started getting my wife prepped for an emergency c-section. Keep in mind my wife was still going through all the pain of contractions and that stabbing feeling in her leg. As I went to register at the front desk, they ran my wife into surgery. When I came back, she was gone and a nurse told me they had taken her into surgery. I just started bawling because I couldn't be with her. In about 2 minutes, 10 minutes after getting in the hospital, the doctor came in and said the baby was out and had come out screaming. He was perfectly healthy and was getting prepped to go into the nursery. They said it would take a couple hours to get my wife ready for everyone to see her again.

I got to the nursery to see little Nathan for the first time. He had a full head of hair and was huge. He weighed in at 9 pounds almost 4 ounces and was 21 and a quarter inches long. Because of how fast they had to get him out, he got a scratch on the bottom of his left arm from the scalpel. Nothing to worry about, though.

Both mom and baby are doing fine. We get to go home tomorrow. Everything worked out fine and I am grateful I had the people around me that were there to help make this work out without any negative circumstances. It was crazy. From the birth center, to leaving in a hurry with our other 2 kids screaming because they didn't know what was going on, to the race to the hospital. Quite an exciting way to enter the world. But he is a beautiful baby and such an easy going one, too. He usually only cries when he is getting his diaper changed and needs burped. Lets home the excitement he provided when he came into the world is the most excitement we will receive from him for a long time.

On The Range

I grew up in a family where there were uncles and cousins who raised horses and sheep. My immediate family didn't do any of that, but I have or have had grandfathers who had farms. I think I remember seeing some english saddles always hanging in the garages or sheds. I was never able to use one because I was never around when there were horses in the family. I'm not sure I would have really enjoyed them, though. I don't like riding on something that can be scared by any loud noises. It would be fun, though, to just take a nice horse ride through the countryside on a nice evening with my wife.

Nice Benefit

Another thing I love about my job is their term life insurance policy that they offer. It offers great coverage and a very reasonable price. The coverage is for me, my wife, and my kids in case anything were to happen to any of us. I still need to fill out the health papers and get a physical before the coverage can take full effect. I'm just glad there is something out there for when the unthinkable may happen. Here's knocking on wood that I will never have to use the life insurance policy.

Saving Money

With the downturn in the economy, we have been cutting back on a lot of things. We don't go out to eat much any more and we take a calculator shopping with us so we don't go over what we have to spend. We haven't gone as far as getting a tankless water heater to save money on water, but they may be something to do in the future. It is nice to know, though, that our water bill will go down thanks to the fact that we aren't watering the lawn anymore. We are trying as hard as we can to save money.

Joke Of The Day

My career field has many people in it who are from India. I'm not sure why there are so many of them, but they have been part of my education and my work experience so far. In fact in some of my classes in school, I felt like I was the minority. Howbeit, I did not treat them rudely like the guy in the cartoon did. Also, I never heard of any one of them making someone's head turn into a skull. Of course, I've never made any of them mad, so I guess I really can't know.

Don't Go To Sleep

Now that gas prices are falling. Not just falling, but tanking. Now that that is the case, I'm seeing more and more SUV's and big trucks back out on the road again. Don't people realize that by pumping more gas into their tanks now, they are just going to drive the price up again in a few months. Just because the price is falling, that doesn't mean you can pump it like crazy. There is still a tight supply and when the driving season starts, with the high demand being driven by the SUV drivers, the price will spike again. Don't go back to sleep, America. Keep dropping the oil consumption. If you continue to drop the demand, we will continue to push alternate energy and oil prices will never have a chance to spike ever again. Don't go to sleep and don't forget what it is like to have gas take a huge portion of your monthly budget.

Joke of the Day

At work, everything dealing with electronic communications is monitored. Legally, that is allowed. When you sign on to be an employee, you agree that all electronic communications are property of the company. That's really not a huge deal for me since I am there to work and I don't really send that many or receive that many emails. It still seems a bit odd that a company would want to monitor their employee's communications. Perhaps they don't want people giving out company secrets or defaming the company. However, I have never heard of them deleting emails. What is funny about companies who try and do that is that emails are never really deleted. There is always a way to get them back. It's just a matter of how much are they willing to pay to get those deleted emails back. Moral of the story: If you can't say or send anything nice, don't say or send anything at all.

Joke Of The Day

Is there one of these kinds of employees in every office environment? I'm reminded of the character Creed on the show The Office. He doesn't even know what his title is yet he continues to show up to work and get paid. He's supposed to be in quality control, but he never seems to do any work. There has to be more of these kinds of people out there. They meet the minimum requirements in order to keep them around, yet they never seem to do anything. Let's hope that those who fit this bill don't get paid a whole lot.