I'd Like to Get to Know You

In order to get to know one another better, I created a new game to play on my team call last night.  Although each of us owns our own business, we also work as a team.  I believe that knowing one another makes for a more cohesive group.

So, prior to our team call, I sent an email to everyone asking them to send me one thing about themselves that no one on the team was likely to know.  Several people sent me their “secret,” and I presented them on our team call, without saying which belonged to whom.  I read them and asked the team who they thought each one belonged to.

The “secret” statements were really varied.  Here is a sampling of those submitted.

I have lived, worked or traveled in 14 countries with three mission agencies.

I am a certified Stock Broker and Commodity Analyst.

I love “beading.”

I am a HUGE Bugs Bunny fan.

I am Portuguese and was born in the Azores.

I love riding motorcycles.

I love gardening.

I have a 10 year old dog named Lola.

No one could positively identify which statement matched which team member.  I suggested that they take guesses.  By taking guesses, only three people were linked to their own statement. We laughed and chatted a bit about each person’s statement and were really surprised by a couple of them.  (A stay-at-home mom is the one who loves to ride motorcycles.)

This game only took about ten minutes, leaving plenty of time for our topic presentation for the night.  Everyone enjoyed it, and we now know one another just a little better.

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To learn about Julie Klein and the Xpress Healthcare Business Opportunity, please visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.  You can work from home and earn residual income.

For information about how you can Save Money on Your Health and Dental Costs AND Save on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and much more, please visit http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings   (NOT insurance)

What Happened to Commitment?

Why do so many people today struggle with commitment? Maybe you are having difficulties yourself. This is happening with our personal and business relationships, careers, large and business small businesses and network marketing. It seems to span all age groups. For example, young children who don’t want to be bothered going to soccer practice after the novelty wears off. Another example is Baby Boomers who suddenly tire of and dump their spouses after 40 or more years. Why do so many people launch with great enthusiasm into new ventures, but then lose interest with the first obstacle? Why do so many people so easily abandon their goals. Many justify giving up by blaming the economy, the recession, the company with whom they are working, whatever excuse sounds good – even the weather. In most cases, in reality, the real reason is lack of commitment. Why are so many people lacking commitment? Some reasons are based on our background, our upbringing or lack of self-discipline. Some of the reasons related to a specific goal could be: The goal is too big and feels impossible to achieve. The goal is too small, so the reward is not worth the effort. The wrong goal … setting goals on others’ expectations, not your own. Is it too late to hope for improvement? No, the poor economy has brought many people face-to-face with a new reality. A new generation is learning that a college education is no longer a ticket to a job for life and a pension. Today financial security often depends more than ever on developing our own income. So what is your level of commitment?  ******************************* To learn about Julie Klein and the Xpress Healthcare Business Opportunity, please visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.  You can work from home and earn residual income. For information about how you can Save Money on Your Health and Dental Costs AND Save on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and much more, please visit http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings   (NOT insurance)

You Are Related to Whom?

I have written before about my husband and my interest in genealogy.  We only research our own history as a hobby, not as a business.

Being of Eastern European Jewish descent, although I love finding new family links, there are no well-known, famous or infamous people in my family tree.

My husband’s family, on the other hand, is amazing.  We have known for a long time that he was distantly related to the actor James Dean, Daniel Boone, one of the “Manson” girls (if you are unfamiliar with the name, you are fortunate), Abraham Lincoln, American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman and Robert E. Lee.  It is exciting to make these discoveries.

Over this past week or so, we began tracing another of my husband’s family branches and found that he is related to far more prominent and legendary people.  It has been such fun!

Among the kin to my husband are the American actor Humphrey Bogart who was his 13^th cousin, once removed, privateer and pirate Sir Henry Morgan (his picture is on bottles of Morgan’s Rum), and the late Princess Diana Spencer and her sons Harry and William.  Diana was my husband’s 14^th cousin, once removed.  Other historic figures who are related are U.S. President Millard Fillmore, and Miles Morgan, a Pilgrim whose statue was erected (and still stands today) in Springfield, Massachusetts to honor his services in settling the town, governing the colony, and fighting the Native Americans during the King Phillip's War. 

On the subject of wars, John Hunt Morgan, a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.

Also related is J.P. Morgan, a powerful American banker who financed railroads and helped organize U.S. Steel and other major corporations.

Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III, the playwright who wrote “The Glass Menagerie,” “The Night of the Iguana” and many others, was a distant cousin as well.  “Speaking” of writers, the poets John Robbinson Jeffers and Archibald MacLeish were also cousins of some sort.

Genealogy is a fascinating, frustrating and amazing hobby.  Going back another generation is always exciting to me, and when we discover names we know from history, it adds to the excitement.

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To learn about Julie Klein and the Xpress Healthcare Business Opportunity, please visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.  You can work from home and earn residual income.

For information about how you can Save Money on Your Health and Dental Costs AND Save on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and much more, please visit http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings   (NOT insurance)

It is so cold… How cold is it?

When most people think of Arizona, they think about the hot desert.  While Phoenix and Tucson and a few other cities have extreme heat, such is not the case where I live.  My town is at 4900 feet elevation. The next town is a mile high.

This past Thursday, we woke up to lots of snow.  We only get snow here two or three times a year, and it is never so deep we have to shovel a drive way.  Even so, we got six inches of snow on Thursday, and it was beautiful to see – from inside my house!

My husband and I woke up this morning to find our house really cold!  We played with the heater, and it simply would not go on.  It was 26 degrees outside.  It was very early, so we planned to wait a couple hours before we called a plumber.

When we started to make oatmeal for breakfast , we discovered that the stove wouldn’t go on.  Light bulb moment!  There was nothing wrong with our stove or heater.  We were out of gas!

We must use propane gas where we live.  For convenience and financial purposes, we are on auto payment and a level pay plan all year.  We also are on auto fill, which means that the propane company tracks the level and fills the tank when necessary.  When we checked the tank, it was at ZERO!

Still very early in the morning, we called the propane company’s “emergency” line. We tried repeatedly and tried a couple other numbers for the company, but no one answered.  Great!

Finally at 8 AM, we made contact with our local propane office. A receptionist answered, but she was alone in the office and could do nothing.  She called their regional office and the General Manager called me. 

Apparently they use a formula of sorts to determine when we will need gas.  It is based on the size of the home (ours is 2250 square feet) and the number of gas appliances in the home.  Although we’ve been with the company for years, for some reason those numbers were not in their computer.  She informed me that we had no delivery since APRIL!

Within an hour, the manager had arranged for someone to deliver propane to our home and relight all the appliances.  She said we would get 50 gallons free due to the inconvenience.  Our tank took 212 gallons to fill. If we weren’t on the level pay plan, it would have cost $742.57!

So, here I sit in my home office wearing a jacket, a wool scarf around my neck with a blanket covering my legs.  I am drinking hot tea and holding the cup to warm my hands.  It will take a couple hours to warm the house up.  I realize that am fortunate compared to all the people who lived in much colder weather for a long time after Hurricane Sandy and other storms.

The moral of this story, we are looking for a new propane company.

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To learn about Julie Klein and the Xpress Healthcare Business Opportunity, please visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.  You can work from home and earn residual income.

For information about how you can Save Money on Your Health and Dental Costs AND Save on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and much more, please visit http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings   (NOT insurance)

Hooray for the U.S. Postal Service!

The United States Postal Service was established on July 26, 1775, with Benjamin Franklin being the first Postmaster General.

Throughout my life, I’ve heard jokes about the poor service the USPS provides. Then between 1986 and 1997, more than twenty incidents of workplace rage occurred with dozens of people shot and killed, bringing about the term “going postal.”  These incidents only brought about further negativity toward the USPS.

In more recent years, United Parcel Service and FedEx have grown and expanded their services, competing with the postal service.  During the last couple decades, the Internet and email became commonplace in nearly every home in America, further reducing the need for the USPS. Over the past several years, USPS has contracted with UPS and FedEx for air transportation for US mail.  The price of postage has increased numerous times and will be raised once again in 2013.

“For centuries, our universal mail system has strengthened the bonds of friendship, family, and community. Our system has encouraged civil discourse, disseminated information, and bolstered the national economy — both as the hub of a vital industry and as a trusted courier of the nation’s and world’s business.”

This quote from the USPS website is a brief synopsis of what postal service has done for our country.  Although people complain about lost mail or slow mail service, I find it amazing that they successfully handle and deliver millions of pieces of mail and packages with so few being lost.

Over the years, mail has been delivered by stagecoach, on horseback, on trains, airplanes, boats, cars and trucks, in addition to the thousands of letter carriers that still walk routes delivering mail. 

At one time, mail was hand delivered to the recipient. Over the years mail boxes became the norm, and standards were established for the size of them.  Most people don’t realize it, but it is a Federal offense for anyone other than a letter carrier to place anything in mail boxes.  In fact, mail boxes  belong to the US Postal Service.

Over the last few years to mail packages, I have been creating address labels and paying postage on the USPS website. They now even offer door-to-door pick up of Priority Mail packages.  I use this service frequently for my personal and business packages.  When I sent out all my Christmas packages this year, they were picked up right at my front door. 

The USPS even added a Flat Rate service in a variety of envelope and package sizes. No matter how much it weighs, if it fits inside, you’ll only pay the rate for that size package.  You can pick up the envelopes and boxes at your post office at no charge or order them online to be delivered to you.

I know this seems like a commercial for the post office, but I am simply a fan offering well-deserved praise to the much-maligned USPS.

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To learn about Julie Klein and the Xpress Healthcare Business Opportunity, please visit joinxpresshealthcare.com . You can work from home and earn residual income.

To learn how to Save Money on Your Health and Dental Costs AND Save on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and much more, please visit  ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance) 

What Are You Waiting For?

I avoided all the stores on Christmas Eve day altogether. My husband and I “walked the mall” on Monday as we do early every morning. Normally, all the stores are closed, and the only other people we see are the other “mall walkers.” On Monday, however, though only 8 AM, all the stores were open, and there were many people shopping.

I am not a shopper. I don’t enjoy shopping, and I especially dislike shopping at times when stores are crowded. Obviously, I am in the minority. Driving by Walmart on Monday, I saw that the parking lot was totally full, with people driving in circles looking for a space.

I don’t really understand it. It isn’t like Christmas was a surprise. Everyone knew it was approaching. What makes some people wait until the last week, or the last day in particular? I have a theory when it comes to many men. (This is a generalization and does not apply to all men, so don’t be offended guys.) I believe that in most families, the women do the Christmas shopping, which leaves the men to shop only for their wives' gifts. Men think and think, trying to think what to buy their wives. Finally, in the last couple days, they get desperate and go shopping to get something, anything! Often it ends up being jewelry since nearly all women like receiving jewelry. 

For those in the United States, we’ve been watching our “leaders” in Washington fighting about how to prevent the US from going over the “fiscal cliff.” THEY knew it was coming for months! In this case, the procrastination was pure politics. They weren’t about to begin to discuss it until after the Presidential election. Now, it’s down to the wire, and what do they do? They go on vacation!

Am I the only US citizen who thought they should have stayed in Washington until the situation was resolved? Sure, everyone wants to spend Christmas with their families, but this is an emergency situation. We are paying them to do what is right for the country WHEN it needs to be done – not at their convenience. So they will likely come up with a temporary agreement and kick the can down the road. 

Then there are those who want to work at home. For weeks, maybe even months, they browse the internet looking for a business. They call reps from a variety of businesses, asking question after question. But, for some reason, they are not quite ready or they are afraid to take a chance.

“I don’t like making phone calls.” “I’m no good at sales.” “I don’t think I have enough time to work a business.” “I tried network marketing with the ABC Company and failed.” (Translation, they quit before putting in any effort.) Etc, etc, etc.

Get your holiday shopping done before the crowds get chaotic. Congress and Mr. President, behave like grown-ups and negotiate a deal! If you’re seeking a home business, find one and stop making excuses. 

As Napoleon Hill said, “Don't wait. The time will never be just right.”

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To learn about Julie Klein and the Xpress Healthcare Business Opportunity, please visit  joinxpresshealthcare.com . You can work from home and earn residual income.

To learn how to Save Money on Your Health and Dental Costs AND Save on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and much more, please visit  ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance) 

Another One Bites the Dust

As we approach the end of 2012, I’ve been thinking about the many things that happened, both good and bad, in the United States and worldwide. Before looking on the internet to remind myself of what transpired during 2012, a few things stood out in my mind. Several terrible weather-related events occurred in the United States and in other countries. I am saddened to remember the many mass shootings, mostly in the United States, once again bringing the gun control/gun rights debate to the forefront. The United States Presidential Election was in the news throughout the year, the results of which angered some while others rejoiced. The Summer Olympics was a very bright spot among the many negative events of the year. I was practically glued to my TV for two weeks, cheering on the U.S. team and thrilled that they won so many events; and I was in awe of the athletes from so many countries demonstrating their talent and determination. I did browse the internet after thinking about my quick recollections, and I was reminded of more events and details of those I mentioned above. We lost several celebrities this year. Dick Clark and Whitney Houston were the first to come to my mind. Very recently actors Jack Klugman and Charles Durning died, and Larry Hagman, Andy Williams passed earlier this year. Zig Ziglar, the self-help author and motivational speaker, died not long ago after helping millions of people. We lost Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the moon last August. Many more actors, singers, politicians and other well-known people passed away this year, but listing them all would fill this page. Each loss saddens us. There were actually 16 mass shootings during 2012. How they can be prevented is a very complicated issue, but I hope the matter remains in the forefront and we begin initiating ways that we can thwart further killings. In total, eighty-four people were needlessly killed this year. All but five were murdered in the United States. I am neither so brilliant nor so bold to think I know how this should be handled, but something must be done. Hurricane Sandy, the “Super Storm,” killed and injured people throughout the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Cuba and the United States. The losses from Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey alone are estimated at $71 billion! There were other hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, floods, fires and extreme snow storms this year as well, causing havoc, deaths, a great deal of damage and injuries. What do you think folks? Is it “Climate Change?” In the United States, there were heated discussions about abortion, gay marriage, immigration, tax cuts, the environment, the national debt, and high gas prices (which have thankfully gone down – at least temporarily). I doubled my Xpress Healthcare business income since 2011, which definitely enhanced my year! My family is healthy and doing well, a very good thing. My husband and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary on January 1st to begin 2013. I am looking forward to a wonderful new year, and I pray for far fewer horrible events next year than this one. My wish for us all is that we have a healthy, safe, happy and profitable 2013! ******************************* To learn about Julie Klein and the Xpress Healthcare Business Opportunity, please visit  joinxpresshealthcare.com . You can work from home and earn residual income. To learn how to Save Money on Your Health and Dental Costs AND Save on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and much more, please visit  ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance)