Itty Bitty Hooves

Do Overs.

Okay, the jury is out now after a few days as to whether the weight loss pills I bought last week are doing any good. Maybe they just can’t beat the stress I’m dealing with. I know I woke up for the second time this week with a killer migrane and it is still nagging at me although I can now once again stand and sit upright. I think it may be time to go back to the drawing board and do some more research. There are some great weight loss pills research websites out there. They help a lot to weed through the incredibly confusing products available. Just standing in front of the shelf at my local store was mind-boggling. I confess that I ended up picking a brand just because I knew the name. Not really the best way to decide but when there are forty different products all claiming amazing success and knowing that some of the products might be outright dangerous, it can be difficult to decide–at best. This time I am going to do what I always tell everyone to do. Study the differences and pros and cons of each product. It is better to shop on line for the products anyway as far as I am concerned. Even better selection, although if you don’t do the research that can make it even more confusing. You can usually get much better prices too if you shop around online. I guess everyone deserves a ‘do over’ now and again. So here’s to a new try at getting back on track.

Getting a Helping Hand

Okay, like I said I broke down a few days ago and bought some appetite suppressant. I’m back here today to say it is working. Thankfully. I really do think a lot of it is stress. I wonder if that has always been my main problem. All last year when I was doing so well all on my own life was pretty stable. Not completely without stress, of course. Whose life is completely without stress? Just not a massive amount. The last seven months have been extremely stressful here. For awhile it was okay and I managed to at least keep stablized at the weight I was but the last couple months took a toll and things started going up. I was not going to have that. I am still hoping I can just use the diet aid to get back on track. Hopefully the stress won’t last much longer. A lot of things in my professional writing life are looking way up and going great over the past few months. It looks like it will continue that way for many more months to come so I’m not feeling the strain there. It is just the home care for MIL that is doing it. I’m hoping her treatments won’t go on much longer and that will level out too. I read an article that stress is a huge factor in obesity and I can really understand it more now. It is. Besides, everyone needs a little helping hand now and then. I think its okay as long as you are careful about the products you use and research them carefully.

Samsonite tough?

Do you remember the old Samsonite commercials? I don’t remember if it was the 70’s or the 80’s but they used to show a gorilla pouncing on a piece of luggage to prove how durable these pieces were. I was reminded of it just this weekend when i was packing up for a short trip. I have always used Samsonite luggage and my set has lasted for years. Of course I don’t travel near as much as my husband but even his, also Samsonite, has withstood a long test of time. Both of us could use new luggage sets. Neither of us would settle for less than Samsonite, but the real reason I brought it up is I was looking out at Mickey my 3 year old Boer buck thinking… hum…. I think Samsonite could use a new commercial. I wonder if it could stand up to HIM.

It probably could but it would be a fun test.

A Losing Spiral

Okay, I’m about to break down. I had been going along GREAT on my diet all year until about 4 months ago when my mother-in-law moved in to be cared for during chemotherapy. At first although the weight loss stalled it stayed level and considering all the stress and having to cook so much and such rich things she would eat I was fine with that. At least it wasn’t going up. However, the last month has been brutal. Stress overload and I can’t stop eating. Literally can’t stop. I tell myself I have to as I watch the pounds come back. I manage for a day or two to get it back under controll and lose a few again and then wham I can’t stop.

I am going to the store tomorrow to pick up some weigh loss pills. I’ve been doing okay without them but now I absolutely need them. I need to get back on track, get rid of the few pounds I’ve gained AT LEAST… and hopefully get back to losing.

For Me or the Grandkids?

That may be the big question. When I first saw the video for the SunL I thought wow that is the coolest thing. It’s small and stable and the grandkids will LOVE it. Then I thought… if they ever get near it. I may just be having too much fun to let them play with it. Take a look at this video and see what I mean:

SunL makes a lot of cool products from scooters to 4-wheelers but this little gem just takes the cake. In our wide-open fields around here I can just imagine the thrills it would give me… a, um, okay the kids. Perhaps I need to buy a few because my husband, son, and daughter might even hog all the joy before me or the grandkids could get near it.

I like that it could be fun in any weather unlike a lot of ‘toys’ of the outdoor nature. That little ‘bike’ plays in the snow and in the sun. When you have active kids in the family giving them something they can have fun with all-year-round is a real plus.

Whose Hands Are You In?

Insurance is such an important part of a healthy security. I prefer to have insurance companies that can give me what I need in one place. I don’t want a bunch of various bills. I want to be able to get my health and life insurace as well as other really great protection plans with one company so I don’t have to keep track of a whole bunch of different ones. Different places to file claims. Different places to get benefits. with United American Insurance Company I get health and life insurance as well as cancer protection, retirment insurance, medicare part D plans to help with what is coming up really close.

UAIC has customer service available 24/7 to answer any questions I have and that’s really important to me. I think everyone now is used to immediate answers with the internet and call centers. Any company that can’t be bothered to be available to me when I want them is probably not going to be a company I will deal with. I mean especially insurance companies. When do the things you need insurance for happen on a schedule? Not often that’s for sure.

The final reason I think United American Insurance Company is so great is they have a durable track record. Who needs fly by night companies protecting their well-being? UAIC has been around since 1947–that’s longer than I’ve been around. They certainly have a long term track record for success and that makes me feel comfortable leaving my insurance future in their hands.

Tickling the Ivories, or Plucking the Strings.

Music is an important part of my life. I always wanted to learn how to play an instrument but never had the time. As a child I took guitar lessons but as I got older other things pushed that aside. There are places you can turn to in order to learn to play instruments that will work with any schedule. It’s great for parents who homeschool their kids to give them music lessons, or for kids in school with busy work loads and lots of other after school activities, or… hey, it’s great for those of us oldies who would like to learn how to play an instrument but don’t have the time, or are too embarrased to go to a store front music school.

Amadeus Home Music School gives its students complete music instructions right from the comfort of their home with well trained teachers who will work with your schedule. They have professional teachers who can guide you through your lesson plans regardless of your previous training or skill levels.. You can plan your lessons around your schedule and go at your own pace. Music should be a source of joy, not pressure. You never lose your love for music because of the constraints and demands of rushing to lessons.

People all over the world are learning to play instruments and having a great time with the teachers from Amadeus Home Music School. Any instrument, any time, Anywhere.

Happiness Is Pets

You know, I grew up in the Chicago area, and still live within striking distances although much more rural than my suburban upbringing. All my life as a child I had pets and 99% of them came from pet stores. Not puppy mills, real honest to goodness caring stores whose owners cared about the puppies, cats, birds, and other animals they had in the store. I even worked in a couple. Yes, there were bad ones around but because there were some that were unethical didn’t make the good ones bad.

That’s the problem I have with organizations like PETA. Well actually I have more problems with them that this but it is a big one. Now you can barely find a pet store that has small pets available. I miss those days. Thankfully there are still some wonderful places like Happiness is Pets. These are wonderful folks who have been in the business of providing well cared for, happy, healthy puppies for families in the Chicago area for 23 years. PETA attacks places like this without cause just on the basis of the fact that they have pets for sale. It doesn’t matter how they are cared for or what conditions they are in, they simply label them as bad.

Happiness Is Pets provides all puppy shots, health guarantees, exchange policies, vet exam, and most of all happy puppies. They have black Labradors, English Bulldogs, Maltese and more. They never buy from puppy mills and have only the healthiest and best bred animals possible available. I bought some of my very best, and longest lived pets from stores like this and I think not having them around to provide those that have trusted their services for so many years would be a true shame.

Pets provide such a big part of our happiness. For some people the only place they can find them, and get reliable answers about their health and care is from a local place like Happiness is Pets. The good ones should be allowed to exist in peace.

Stess and Work, and a Little Play

There is something going on with this Word Press blog. It takes forever to get ‘into’ it. That can make it really difficult to work. I’m having enough stress as it is and stress isn’t good. It can lead to all kinds of things from acne to weight gain and I don’t want either one of those. I’ve decided I do love my new laptop very much after several weeks now of using it. It has some really weird little quirks but it does a great job. It’s a little heavy but that’s mainly because it is a 17″ screen and I thought long and hard about it because I considered buying a smaller one just to make it easier to carry. I don’t want to give up size for a little less weight. I thought one of the speakers was broke when I got it but after messing with it I finally found where the adjustments were and for some reason it came set to one side. I have no idea why but it was so now it’s fixed and works fine.

Sharing the Fun

Because I spend most of my time on the computer for working I play a lot of games to ease the tension in between assignments. I play them on here though. My son loves to play games afterwork too but he usually plays them on his xbox 360. He loves that thing and I kind of look over his shoulder now and then to see what all the excitment is about. The games are so involved now. I remember back to when games like that were much simpler. We used to have game machines like that back when they first came out but now there is so much more you can do. He wants to get ‘guitar hero’ for his xbox and I told him if he did he may have to share. I played it once at a friend’s house and that thing is really addictive.