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Having No Insurance Is Stressful

May 27, 2012 by

Health and dental insurance is something that everyone should have but due to one situation or another doesn’t.

My family for example doesn’t have health or dental insurance because Melinda is a stay at home mom and I am a contractor for a bank.  Being a contractor has it benefits but its one HUGE drawback is no insurance benefits.  Thankfully our family is pretty healthly so we have avoided having to pay any huge medical bills out of pocket.

I was just talking to Melinda today about having to get Shaun and Shae in to see the doctor as they both need physicals and Shae will probably need a few shots.  Shaun needs a physical to play football in August and Shae because she will be starting school in September (Crazy that she is starting school already).

I am not sure how other people feel about having no insurance but I get freaked out and have even looked into buying it directly but the cost is so high I am having to gamble and pray nothing serious happens to anyone in my family.  I have always taken health insurance for granted because I have also has full time direct hire jobs where health benefits were provided but it has been a stressful year and a half for sure.

Do you and your family have health insurance?  If not how do you get through?

I Disclose




A Good Reputation Is Key

May 24, 2012 by

I was always told that having a good reputation is key to being successful and I agree with that statement 100%.

You wouldn’t buy a car, choose a nanny or get someone to fix your house if they had a crappy reputation. The same holds true for us as bloggers.  Why would companies want to work with us as individuals if we have a bad reputation? I recently discovered a site called reputation.com and the basic premise is that you can get an instant snapshot of what your online reputation looks like.

This service finds existing posts about you online and will send you alerts whenever a new post does appear online about you. It also identifies and alerts you to damaging posts and to me this is the feature that I like the most.

The internet is a cruel world where people can say what they want when they want and most of the time the person they are bashing has no idea that it’s even going on but now with this website that is no longer the case. If someone has an ax to grind with you and they take it to the internet for all to see at least you will now be notified (if you sign up for the free service) and you can now at least defend yourself if you find it necessary.

I know some people could care less about what others say about them on the internet and I tend to be one of those people unless the story is so fictitious. Disliking someone is one thing but saying false things to ruin ones reputation is total wrong and now there is a site to help you combat this problem.

Do you think this is a service you would use? Do you care what others have to say about you online?

I Disclose




USA 7’s Collegiate Rugby Championship Discount Philadelphia

May 23, 2012 by

In our family, we are huge sports fans. So we can’t wait for the weekend of fun on June 2nd and 3rd at this years Rugby Championship.

The 2012 Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) is a two-day rugby event at PPL Park in Chester, PA with live entertainment, gourmet food, interactive games and other activities. The tournament features 16 elite University teams competing in 38 matches over two days, in exciting pool play format. Rugby is the newest sport to be admitted to the Olympic Games, and the CRC showcases some of the USA’s top Olympic contenders. Participating teams for the CRC have been chosen based on their quality of rugby, fan following and the potential for exciting rivalries. Several teams are returning for the 2012 CRC, including Army, Navy, Notre Dame, and 2011 Champions Dartmouth. Local favorites Penn State and Temple will also be returning, and will now be joined by Delaware. The field is rounded out by top teams, Cal, Florida, NC State, Wisconsin, Arizona, Maryland, Notre Dame and “Red River” rivals, Texas and Oklahoma.

Just use the promotional code – dropkick to receive a 30% discount off ticket price.
Single-day and weekend tickets for USA 7’s CRC are also available online at www.USAsevensCRC.com, by phone at 1-800-298-4200 or in person at the PPL Park box office. Group discounts are available by calling 215-389-9543.




Hershey’s Track and Field Games Philadelphia

May 18, 2012 by

There’s more to Hershey’s than chocolate kisses and syrup. This year marks the 35th birthday of the Hershey’s Track and Field Games.

The HERSHEY’S Track & Field Games are the largest youth sports program of its kind in North America, with hundreds of thousands of children competing every year. Everyone has a chance to be among the 480 athletes who qualify to compete at the North American Final. The HERSHEY’S Track & Field Games has produced many Olympic medalists and competing athletes.

On Tuesday May 22nd at Northeast High School’s Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium children and their coaches, friends and families will gather to participate in Run, Jump and Throw activities. While there will be an organized track meet for kids age 9-14 there will be plenty of opportunities for children of all ages to have fun and get active. Step up to one of the many activity stations where you may jump rope, throw bean bags or join a relay race.

This event is free for the community and Hershey’s hopes to stress the importance of youth activity and living a balanced lifestyle while having fun. I’ll be on-site to help guide you and your kids to a fun evening of games and activities. Get all the details of the event and access to a RUN, JUMP and THROW Online Birthday Guide at www. Hersheystrackandfield.com.

Find an event in your area and RUN, JUMP and THROW with your own kids.

I am partnering with Hershey’s on this event




Fun Facts About Monster Jam

May 17, 2012 by

Shaun and I will be attending the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam show in Baltimore, MD on 6/2 (Saturday) and we are super excited.  If you are interested in attending we are holding a giveaway and you can click HERE to enter.

Shaun and I have attended a few shows since last year and are becoming really huge fans and recently learned a few things that we found very interesting.

Not sure how much you know about Monster Jam or the trucks but I will share some fun facts with you.

Trucks: Usually 12 feet tall and about 12 feet wide, a monster truck must weigh a minimum of 10,000
pounds, with some Monster Trucks weighing as much as 12,000 pounds. The less the body weighs,
the more strength and weight can be put into the frame and engine without sacrificing speed and
maneuverability. Average cost: $250.000.

Engines: Custom-built, supercharged and methanol-injected, a monster truck engine burns up to 2.5
gallons of methanol per run. The size of the motor is limited to 575 cubic feet of displacement. The
average monster truck team will go through five engines in one year. Average cost per engine: $50,000.

Body: Made of fiberglass, a monster truck body is custom designed. A fiberglass company generally
owns the mold to the design. Average initial cost: $15,000. Average cost of remakes: $8,000.

Tires: Manufactured by Goodyear and Firestone, monster truck tires must be 66 inches high and 43
inches wide. Tires are customized and hand cut to accommodate track conditions and reduce weight.
Cutting one tire takes approximately 50 hours. Average cost: $2,600 each.

Shocks: Most Monster Trucks run with nitrogen gas shocks. Some trucks run with one shock per tire,
while others run with as many as two per tire. The complete shock package includes a coil-over-shock kit
and spring. Average cost: $1,600 each.

Paint: A monster truck must be painted to cover the rough fiberglass body. Airbrushing logos and
specialized artwork add to the cost. Average cost: $5000.

Race Team Budget: A monster truck team incurs a number of expenses throughout the year from repairs
and maintenance on a monster truck and the hauler to fuel, racing uniforms, lodging and food. Average
cost per year: $250,000

Crushed Cars: Steel body full-size cars are the vehicles typically crushed during a monster truck event.
Cars, as well as vans, buses, motor homes, airplanes and ambulances, are attained from local junkyards
and returned after each event. Average number of cars crushed per year: 3,000.

Tracks: A crew of eight works 18-20 hours for three days to construct a monster truck course. It is not
uncommon for dump trucks to make more than 200 trips to deliver the dirt to each stadium. Average
amount of dirt used per track: 700 cubic yards for an arena, 3,500 cubic yards for a stadium. Each year
700,000 cubic yards of dirt are used to put on Monster Jam events.

Tickets: More than 3.5 million people annually attended the Monster Jam events in North America,
Canada and Europe.

Hopefully Monster Jam will come to an arena near you so you can get a chance to experience how awesome Monster Trucks really are!!

I Disclose




No Child Should Ever Go Hungry

May 17, 2012 by

Then why is SNAP Funding in jeopardy of being cut. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was put in place to keep families fed during times of need. Unemployment, medical emergency and even a simple change in payroll could cause a family to need assistance they never needed before.

no kid hungry, cuts to farm bill, cuts to snap program

Congress is looking to make changes to the Farm Bill, the legislation that provides funding for the SNAP Program. The changes could mean radical cuts to a program that puts food on the tables of millions of families. Nearly half of all SNAP participants are children. That means even more hungry mouths in our schools, playgrounds and community.

As the wealthiest country on the planet how can we let this happen? Speak up about Share Our Strength and spread the message of No Kid Hungry, the SNAP Program and The Farm Bill to everyone that will listen.

  • SNAP helps struggling families buy more food and fresh produce
  • SNAP provides important economic benefits to the community. The For every SNAP dollar spent $1.79 stays within the community.
  • 1 in 5 kids don’t get enough to eat each day. The lasting affects malnutrition are poor health, stunted brain development, reduced performance in school and future psychological issues.
  • More than 2/3 of the SNAP funding goes directly to Federal Nutrition Programs to feed children.

Let Congress know you aren’t sitting by and letting them take away the basic needs of 46 million Americans. Take a stand and TAKE A PLEDGE to tell Congress to protect the Farm Bill and keep our families safe from food insecurity.
I Disclose




Time To Make Those Home Repairs

May 16, 2012 by

Ok people, now that spring is here it is time to walk through your house and take note of things you may want to update or may need to fix due to the winter weather.

I know when spring hits the first thing I check in our house are all of the pipes, pvc fittings under all of the sinks.  Now I know that may seem weird but there is nothing worse than a broken pipe or fitting which could cause major damage and cost a fortune.  I am not saying that a visual inspection will find all problems but it doesn’t cost any money to walk around your house and check so why not do it?

Once that is done if I find anything that seems questionable when it comes to the plumbing I fix it immediately because the cost now is far less expensive before it breaks rather than after.  Who wants to call a plumber in the middle of the night at rate of $50 – $100 hour when it could have been replaced at a much more reasonable cost and on your time.  I typically go to Home Depot if I have time otherwise you could go to a site like CIS and have the stuff shipped right to your front door.  

I know not everyone has the ability to do their own home repair but if you do have the ability you should make every effort to do it yourself.  It does sometimes take me a few days to a week to get to a project because of either work or something else going on that prohibits me from getting the job done right away but once I do have a free opening I am sure to get the job done before disaster strikes.

Do you make a list once spring time rolls around of things that you need to get done around the house? Or am I the only one?

I Disclose




Do You Love Where You Live?

May 16, 2012 by

They saying buying a new home is one of if not the largest purchase you will ever make in your life time and I agree.

Finding just the right home in the right area is extremely important and even more so if you have kids because you need to think about school districts and what school will be best for you child.

I thought when we were in Maryland about two years ago that we would be there for a while and that was where we were going to call home. it’s too bad we moved because Southern Maryland new homes were on the rise at the time and a place we could have called home for sure.

I am not saying that I’m not glad we moved back to Delaware because I am since we are a lot closer to family but I am not sure Newark is the place where we will live forever. We have committed to living in our current home until Sabreena graduates from high school in two years because we really don’t want to uproot her in her junior year. That isn’t fair to her plus it’s super hard to make quality friends at that point in your high school career and Melinda can attest to that because that is something she went through.

When Melinda and I discuss where we would really like to live we both agree North Wilmington is for us. North Wilmington is where we lived before we moved to Maryland and in a way I wish I was able to turn the clock back because I know if we could do it all over Melinda and I would have decided to stay in North Wilmington.

Like I said we are in our house for a least two more years but I can totally see us hitting the road for North Wilmington once Sabreena leaves for college. For those of you wondering, yes I will tell Sabreena that we moved to North Wilmington. LOL.

I Disclose




Getting Into Shape Is Hard Work

May 15, 2012 by

Melinda and I have always tried to live a somewhat healthy lifestyle.  Do we fall off the wagon sometimes?  Heck yeah but this time we are both really making an effort to get healthy and stay healthy.

Melinda and I started running and are currently training for a 5k so that shows how serious we are about this because Melinda and I are not big runners.  I must admit though I am starting to enjoy running just as much as I do cycling.  Not sure Melinda is at the enjoyment stage yet but she is hanging in and trying to get to that point.   

I have started taking a daily vitamin and protein powder to try and keep my body in the best shape I can while trying to lose weight.  Also, why is it so easy to put weight on but SOOOOO hard to take it off?  Wish there was an answer to this question and now I understand why more people don’t work out because it is hard work and sometimes it just down right hurts. 

Recently someone told me about LiveTru and how they have a great selection of essential oils as well as health and wellness products.  Finding a place that has good quality products is hard to find because when it comes to exercise and healthy living everyone is trying to make a quick buck off of the consumer.  So when someone I know makes a recommendation I am sure to check them out.

I was searching LiveTru last night for some kind of oil or cream that I could apply on my calf which I seemed to tweak this past Saturday while running.  Hopefully I am able to get it back into shape before this weekend because on Saturday I am planning on running my first 5k and then I am riding 65 miles on Sunday with two friends.

Working out and getting into shape is super hard but I know when Melinda and I are at our ideal weight we are going to be glad we did all of this hard painful work.

I Disclose




It’s Finally Up There

May 14, 2012 by

It’s already been almost 2 years since we moved into this house. While we are constantly making changes, purchases and improvements we’ve finally gotten the TV off my dresser and onto the wall. In previous homes we’ve had the tv on tv stands but for some reason lately my dresser has become it’s home. I’ve always hated it.
wall mount tv stand
My dresser should be home to my jewelry box, clean laundry waiting to be put away or the rogue hair bands Shae leaves around the house.

Having the tv on the dresser always meant propping up pillows on a rock hard headboard to watch a show through my toes. Laying on my side worked but after a few minutes my arm would fall sleep or my hip would ache. Then there’s the issue of the pillow putting a bit of a damper on my hearing. Now that the tv is floating high above my head I can lay comfortably in bed with a remote in hand and click click click to my heart’s content.

Unfortunately this also means that my dresser has become the catchall. I say WHATEVER; it is MY dresser right. Rob uses the dog crate as his iPad and magazine holder so it only seems fair.

Thanks Dad for upgrading your tv so we could inherit your stand!

I Disclose




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