The Jeffrey And Tracey Info Emporium

One of the best things you can do for your business is to ask
new customers how they found out about you. But when you do
this, don’t expect to get accurate information.

I know this sounds strange, but it makes sense, I promise.

If you make decisions about how to promote your business, then
obviously you want to know how your customers find out about
your business. So, you ask. The trouble is the information you
get when you ask this questions is not always accurate. In fact
it’s mostly inaccurate. My estimate is that it’s about 25%
accurate at best.

There are two reasons for this.

One reason is that people simply do not remember. People don’t
remember because they have other, more important, things to
occupy their mental space. Your business and your marketing are
not tops on their list of priorities. (Sorry!)

But, they want to give you an answer (because you asked) so they
say some thing makes sense. “I saw your ad in the yellow pages”
they might say. Or “I think I found you in the phone book”. I
know because I do the same thing. It’s not that we’re dishonest.
We just want to be helpful.

A friend of mine told me about a survey they did once for an
event they helped promote. They asked people how they found out
about the event and over half of them said they heard about it
on the radio. On the surface this sounded like great marketing
feedback.

But there was one problem.

They never promoted this event on the radio.

People said “I heard about it on the radio” because they wanted
to be helpful and because they listened to the radio a lot. So,
it made sense (to them) that they probably heard about the event
on the radio.

The second reason this sort of feedback is usually not accurate
is because people hear about your business in many ways.

Remember, if you’re doing your marketing well you are probably
using more than one media to deliver your message to your
market. Depending on your budget and market you might be using
five or more different ways to let people know who you are and
what you do.

It’s not hard to find five or more ways to promote your local
business:

*On site signage *Yellow pages *Bus bench *Newspaper ad *Direct
mail piece *Coupon shopper *Newspaper insert *Networking *TV
*Radio *Local sponsorships

And this is good because it builds both awareness and
credibility for your local business. (Remember, the more ways a
person hears about your business, the more credible and
memorable your message becomes to them.)

The trouble is, people are not going to remember (or tell you)
they saw it in all these different places. They’ll give you the
name of one place they saw your ad. (Usually the most recent
place they saw it.)

So, we have a marketing paradox.

To get the best results you want your message to be seen by
people in multiple ways. But, that makes it impossible to
determine (with any accuracy) which media is working best. And
you want to know what media works best so you can make the best
use of your marketing dollars.

What do we do about this?

It would be nice if a complete answer to this question would fit
in the next few paragraphs. But it won’t. A complete answer
covers a lot of ground that I have been writing about for the
past six months. And it depends on a lot of factors like your
business, your budget, your marketing goals, etc.

It also depends on how important tracking marketing ROI is to
your business.

One of the big obstacles to tracking results is scale. As a
small, local business, if you went to the expense of trying to
survey and track every type of marketing available to your
business, you’d spend much more on tracking and surveying than
you would on the marketing itself.

If you have a multi-million dollar marketing budget then you can
afford to do some serious testing. Once your testing shows you
reasonable results, then you roll out the big campaigns on a
larger scale. But that only works because your testing costs are
a tiny fraction of your whole marketing plan.

But, for those of us with small, local businesses, this method
simply does not work. The testing would eat up most (or all) of
our marketing budgets.

However there are some things you can do to try to monitor what
is working. Over the next few months I will be writing in more
detail about these. (We don’t have room here in one article to
cover them properly.)

In the meantime, here are some tips to make your local marketing
work better and to help you monitor it.

1. Establish a budget and commit to it. Consider this as
important as your rent or payroll. Don’t make it a low priority
unless your revenue and profitability are low priorities. 2.
Decide what you want to say and whom you want to say it to. Keep
the message simple, clear and concise. 3. Decide if you want to
increase awareness for your brand or if you want a direct
response. These are two DIFFERENT goals and they require
different tools and strategies. 4. Remember your goal is
EXPOSURE. You want to expose your market to your message as
often as you can within your established budget. So spend your
marketing dollars to buy this exposure as effectively as you
can. 5. Stick to it for a reasonable amount of time. Don’t quit
after a couple months. Give it time to work. 6. Get feedback
from customers, friends, business associates, employees. Try to
find out WHO is seeing your message and HOW they are seeing it.
Always be willing to tweak and tune it as you go, based on
feedback. 7. Watch your revenue and your new customer activity.
Does it go up or down as you implement this marketing?

Remember, they key to getting more customers is to let more
people know who you are, what you can do for them and why they
should consider doing business with you. Focus your resources on
making sure your potential customers know you and remember you.
Then they will consider doing business with you.

If you focus too much on tracking, you can end up wasting time
and money on efforts do not build your business.

I’ve gotten several inquires about how to attain the coveted
six-pack. The range of difficulty of getting shredded physique
with a washboard stomach will vary person to person (especially
in increasing idling America). And why is everybody so
infatuated with abs anyway? I once saw a guy’s t-shirt that had
an arrow pointing to his gut and exclaiming “fuel tank for the
sex machine”. Now a sense of humor can more sexier than a
six-pack!

To be painfully honest, getting shredded abs is not going to be
easy for anyone. But its not impossible. Let me give you little
story:

I have to pictures on my wall of when I was back in college.
They both had beaches in the background. Once was in Hawaii and
the other in California.

My Hawaii photo was taken on spring break. This was one week
after I competed in NCWA wrestling nationals. I had spent the
prior 2 months working my butt off training. Tons of cardio to
cut weight, weird dieting of vegetables, grains, lean meats. I
had to make weight (165 lbs for competition) and I was already
skinny.

Anyway to my unpleasant surprise I had a little stomach in my
Hawaii photo. This was even more surprising since I just
finished a 40 mile bike ride!

And then a few months later I started lifting heavy. During the
summer I did a body part training program with little cardio
except wrestling practice twice a week. It was early September
and I decided to visit Santa Monica on a whim (I live in
Denver). During this time I had to admit I’d been doing a little
bit of drinking too (hey it was my last year in college). To my
pleasant surprise, I had a shredded six pack at this time. Why?
My resistance training had increased my metabolism rate and
helped get rid of extra body fat.

So here are some tips for you guys (and girls)

1. Resistance Training: I recommend resistance training over
cardio but both are very important. Heavy lifting that promotes
muscle hypertrophy should be the initial approach of your
program. I’ll go into more detail about this in part 2.

2. Cardio: most people do this wrong. If you want abs you can’t
go for a 20 minute nice easy jog in the park and expect to
incinerate a ton of fat. Your cardio needs to be tough and
challenging. You needs to focus on INTERVAL training. My
favorite is doing repeat miles on the treadmill. You got 1 mile
at a very uncomfortable pace (but not to the point you can’t go
on) get off the treadmill and immediately hop on a stationary
bike (or elliptical machine) for a moderate 5 min recovery. Get
back on the treadmill for another mile. Repeat 4-8 times. This
will help boost testosterone levels and spike your metabolism.

Warning: although I think swimming is an awesome cardiovascular
workout I strongly advise against this method of training for
fat loss.

3. Dieting: this one is so complex I’m going save it for part 3.

4. Supplements: did someone ask for the magic pill for abs?
Almost as wishful as asking for the magic pill for financially
security or a significant other. Alright I take that back. There
are supplements available that can expedite your fat loss
training regime. I just don’t want you folks downing a bottle of
ephedrine everyday and doing nothing else. Here are my favorite
weight loss supplements (I linked to where you can find them).

Hot-Rox (http://www.discountanabolics/p/HRX) I used this while I
was getting ready for my last fight. I got my body fat down to
around 6% (it’s normally around 8-9%). Hot Rox will increase
your metabolism for up to 24hrs. Be careful though. Too much of
this will give you the jitters. I recommend taking a max 3
capsules early in the day.

Hoodia Gordonni (http://www.discountanabolics.com/p/AP04) This
supplement is very effective appetite suppressant. Might not be
a bad idea to help cut down on holiday/winter time binging.

Axis Labs SesaMAX (http://www.discountanabolics.com/p/AX04) -
This nifty little supplement works to control your appetite uses
the lignan sesamin which is a powerful thermogenic (fat
oxidizing) molecule. The SesaMax complex also contains flax seed
oil which help support healthy metabolic function, reduce
oxidative stress, and reduce cholesterol.

Now if you are going to approach your ab routine correctly you
should be doing heavy resistance training (you better not plan
on sitting on the couch and popping weight loss pills). I would
recommend some protein and ergogenic supplements.

Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey
-(http://www.discountanabolics.com/p/ON03) - Out of all the
proteins available I found this one to be the most economical
(much cheaper than myoplex). It’s also excellent for dieting
since its really low in carbs.

Muscle Milk (http://www.discountanabolics/p/CSMM) - this is
best tasting protein drink on the market. It also contains a
special MCT (medium chain triglycerides) that help promote
leanness. Muscle Milk is an awesome product, but just one
warning: don’t overdo it. I’ve seen many folks consume too much
muscle milk thinking that its “safe” since it’s a protein
supplement. Remember that muscle milk does contain a lot of
calories. One scoop before bedtime is what I suggest (I’ll get
more into this in Part 3 about dieting).

NE2 Nitric-Ester (http://www.discountanabolics/p/AX03) - While
you’re doing resistance training you should consider nitric
oxide supplements for quicker recovery. It’s believe to be more
powerful than NO2 since it keeps L-Arginine molecule is coupled
with ester to keeping the arginine intact is it passes through
the large intestine. I found that nitric oxide helped me become
leaner as well.

5. Patience, patience, perseverance

If you think your going to get a six pack in two weeks you are
out of your mind. You can only lose about 1-2 pounds of real fat
(any more is water and muscle) a week. You should plan on
sticking to your program for at least 3 months.

I got plenty more to write on this topic. Stay tuned for abs abs
abs Part 2 and 3.

Fear is a universal emotion, if not a primal instinct. Each of us has felt it - recoiling from a sudden burst of flame or a snarling dog, for instance, or grasping at a railing and backing away from a sudden drop-off. But there’s another type of fear: the fear that comes with serious illness and the prospect of death. This fear has less to do with self-preservation. It is fear of an uncertain future, fear of change, and perhaps most importantly, fear of facing one’s life squarely and coming up empty-handed.

When Matt, a 22-year-old I knew, was stricken by a malignant lymphoma a few years ago, we talked about this fear, and those conversations have stayed with me ever since. Like most patients who have just been diagnosed with a serious illness, Matt was primarily concerned with his physical condition, at least at first, and peppered his doctors with all sorts of questions. What was the cause of the lymphoma? How effective was the treatment supposed to be? What were his chances of survival? What did this or that medical term mean? Within a few days, however, his overriding concern had changed to his spiritual state. It was as if he sensed that his life had taken an irreversible turn and that no matter what the outcome, he needed to set it in order.

Matt changed greatly over the following months. At the time he was diagnosed, he was a brash and often loud-mouthed joker; happy-go-lucky on the surface, but privately terrified. Six short months later, however, he was a different person. True, he never lost his silly streak, and was still scared at times, even near the end. But having gone through days and nights of the most excruciating pain, he had developed a new, deeper side. And having stopped looking for an escape from the hard fact that he was dying, he had come to terms with the thought, and faced it head on. In doing so, he found strength to meet the agonies of death calmly.

Not everyone dies peacefully, and it’s not just a matter of emotional make-up or personality. Peace cannot be found solely by “working through” one’s feelings on a personal level. After all, we are never alone, but are surrounded at all times by the cosmic forces of evil and good. And though the battle between them is played out in many arenas, I believe it is most intense wherever the soul of a dying person hangs in the balance.

Dorie, a close friend of my mother’s who felt continually tormented by this conflict, lived with it not only at the end of her life, but for decades. Dorie lived next door to our family for many years, first as a part of my parents’ household and, after their deaths, as part of my own.

The Dorie most people knew was a happy person who found great joy in helping others. When a baby was born, she was the first to arrive with fruit, flowers, and an offer to clean the house. It was the same when guests were expected. Nothing satisfied her as much as making sure the extra room was dusted and the bed freshly made. She was endlessly cheerful, it seemed, and willing to do the most mundane chore. She never expected or wanted thanks.

Underneath, however, Dorie was a nervous, anxious person. She had trouble sleeping at night and always wanted to have someone nearby. She worried over every symptom of aging and dreaded the prospect of physical ailments or disabilities. By fifty she was already worrying about dying. Thankfully, her determination to be of use to other people and brighten their day kept her afloat - and prevented the fears that plagued her from driving her to the brink.

Then cancer struck. Initially Dorie underwent several rounds of chemotherapy, and enjoyed several cancer-free years. Then came a relapse. This time the cancer grew rapidly, and we knew Dorie did not have long to live. She was in severe pain, and radiation provided only partial relief. Sitting with her and talking seemed to help more. With her, my wife and I sought for answers to her questions: What is death? Why do we have to die? Is there life after death? Together we read many passages from scripture about death and resurrection, searching for verses that would strengthen her. I reminded her that she had served God and those around her for decades, and said I felt sure he would reward her.

All the same, the last weeks of Dorie’s life were an enormous struggle, both physically and spiritually. One sensed it was not just a matter of ordinary human anxiety, but a vital fight for her soul and spirit. She seemed besieged by dark powers. My wife and daughters nursed her for days on end and accompanied her through long hours of inner torment. Once she cried out that something evil had entered her room. With what little strength she had, she threw a pillow at it, shouting, “Go away, darkness! Go away!” At such times those of us with her would gather around her bed and turn to God in song or in prayer. Dorie loved the Lord’s Prayer very much; it was always an encouragement to her.

One morning, after a particularly restless night, Dorie’s fear was suddenly gone, and she said, “I want to depend on God alone.” She was full of joy and anticipation of that great moment when God would take her, and felt it would be very soon. She said, “There’s a surprise today: the kingdom’s coming! When it comes, I will run downstairs and outside to welcome it!” That same afternoon she exclaimed, “All my pain is gone. I feel so much better! Thank you, thank you, God!” A little later she said with a smile, “God will call me home tonight.”

In the evening, she called my family - her adoptive family - together and hugged each one of us in farewell. We sang and prayed by her bed, and she remained peaceful through the night. She slipped away from us for good as dawn was breaking.

Having fought as long and hard as she did, Dorie’s departure was nothing less than a victory. She knew what it was like to be gripped by cold fear, but she clung to her belief in a God who was greater than her anxieties and never let them completely overwhelm her. And as she breathed her last, she did so with the calmness of those who have come to realize, as the first Christian believers expressed it, that the world is merely a bridge between earthly and eternal life: “Cross over it, but do not build your house on it.”

You may reprint this article free of charge providing you use the following credit box:

Article by Johann Christoph Arnold (http://www.christopharnold.com/). Arnold is senior pastor of the Bruderhof - an international communal movement dedicated to a life of simplicity, service, sharing, and nonviolence. (http://www.bruderhof.com/).

(NC)If you are of Italian decent, you are well aware that panettone is the traditional Christmas fruit bread of Italy, offered to family throughout the season and to friends when they drop by. In Canada, authentic panettone is readily available now sent by bakeries like Motta. Better still, the fruit bread - shaped like a cake - is packaged in shimmering gold paper at this time of year, perfect for ready-made, pre-wrapped gifts. You can bet that a gift of panettone for the uninitiated will be original indeed - and will likely spark conversation about this and so many other Italian customs at Christmastime.

Tell the recipient of your gift that the traditional candied-fruit and raisin panettone makes a nice light dessert when it is served warm from the oven with cream or ice cream. In Italy, it is also served with butter and jam for brunch, toasted for breakfast, and it is also known to produce exceptional french toast. At parties panettone may even be offered when sipping a glass of champagne. The tradition - spearheaded by the Milan baker Angelo Motta at the turn of the previous century - gradually embraced a variety of panettone-style cakes, such as tartufone filled with chocolate drops, chocolate icing, or frosted with white sugar.

“Panettone maintains its soft, light texture and fragrance if it is kept in its original packaging in a cool, dry place,” says John-Paul Violante, spokesperson for Motta. “And do tell your friends that panettone will be even softer and tastier if it is warmed in the oven at a moderate temperature for a few minutes. In addition to the festively wrapped product, panettone is also available in the familiar Motta box for easy transportation.”

Check the label before purchasing however to be sure the contents originate from Italy, even if the packaging appears to be Motta. The company says there are fakes of lower quality hitting Canadian shops from places like Peru.

“Authentic panettone, baked with natural yeast, and butter, eggs and fruit, will maintain its freshness if wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap,” Violante said, “or it can be frozen for up to a month. Even so, remember to tell your friends that leftover, slightly dry fruit and raisin panettone is destined to make unforgettable toast.”

- News Canada

About the author:

News Canada

Albert Einstein once said, “You can’t solve a problem with the
same mind that created it.”

To solve a problem you’ve obviously helped to create, you need
to start with a new and fresh mind. For example, a woman thinks,
“If I can change my job, my life will be better.” Possibly. But
life doesn’t usually work that way. That woman is likely doing
and thinking the same thoughts as always. Nothing new or fresh
gets in. If you want to effect a change, get outside yourself
and look at the situation with fresh eyes. See how you might
assess your problem using a different mindset.

Try these six ways to think with a different mind–and nudge
your genius into action:

1. Break patterns. You find yourself walking or driving home
only to jolt alert and wonder how you got there. The road is so
familiar you followed it automatically. The same thing happens
in your mind.

Your mind’s neural pathways are like roads connecting bits of
information. You learn something by connecting the bits. Then
you do it over and over until following that pathway becomes
automatic, which enables you to effectively give a speech or
swing a golf club.

Patterns are rarely easy to break, yet breaking a pattern is a
splendid way to find a new solution to a recurring problem.
Grocers entice us to overspend by stocking their stores in a
pattern designed by shrewd marketing executives. But smart
shoppers impose their own buying patterns, purchasing
nonperishables first so their frozen foods won’t melt on the way
home.

Break old thought patterns by trying new ways of doing a
familiar task. Go to an unfamiliar coffee shop to brainstorm
ideas, and you may discover fresh solutions.

2. Seek new patterns. The concept for today’s computers
originated with hole-punch patterns used to weave ornate
jacquard fabrics. On the huge early looms, holes punched in a
paper pattern allowed hooks to penetrate and grab the thread at
assigned positions, creating the intricate weave. Early census
takers tweaked this pattern to create hole-punched cards, which
recorded details about immigrants entering the United States.
Later, IBM expanded this pattern to extraordinary levels.

Likewise, I use my nurse’s diagnosing pattern
(assessment-diagnosis-intervention-evaluation) to successfully
tackle issues in my business. This process of incorporating
techniques and patterns from one discipline to creatively solve
problems in another can result in ingenious solutions that might
otherwise never occur.

3. Change a small action or behavior. Instead of going
immediately to your computer when you get to the office, if
that’s your habit, stop instead to write out a short list of
what you want to accomplish. Then power up. Changing an action,
even a small one, will often change your thought process. Shake
up your internal genius and discover sensational new
possibilities.

4. Challenge your obstacles. Let go of the notion that you don’t
have enough time, energy, money or discipline to do what it
takes to succeed. Ask yourself frequently, “What beliefs, ideas
and activities are obstructing my progress? What must I change
to abolish these obstacles?” My biggest obstacle is believing I
don’t have enough time. When I challenge that thought I
magically make more things happen.

5. Become your own other voice. Law school taught me to think of
both sides of a problem, like boxers who anticipate an
opponent’s every punch. The more you anticipate opposing ideas
and their impact, the better you can strategize for success and
avoid tactical blows. Successful attorneys spend as much time in
the mind of their opponent as they do in their own. Whether it’s
a career issue or a personal problem you’re resolving, practice
being your own other voice.

6. Question every assumption. Another Einstein quote I like is,
“The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Being the most
computer-illiterate person in my office, I have no preconceived
notions about what software can and cannot do. I think with an
entirely different mind than our techs. Many times I ask them to
make the software perform a certain way. After they tell me all
their preconceived assumptions for why it can’t, I shrug and
tell them to do it anyway. Two days later the software is
usually working exactly as I envisioned. A questioning mind is
more likely to get answers.

Beginning today, think about which mind you have working before
you tackle a challenge. Your problems won’t disappear, and you
may not find a solution instantly, but by keeping the
possibilities in play, you allow your brain to easily hit upon a
solution later. I’ve had to slip out of my yoga class to jot
down ideas because I’ve had “Eureka!” moments in the middle of a
pose. You may never think like Albert Einstein, but new
patterns, new thinking and new behaviors will nudge the genius
within you.

Whining. They all do it. It’s not so much what they’re saying as the creepy little tone of voice that gets under your skin and makes you want to stab yourself in the neck with a pencil. Or maybe that’s just me.
It’s a horrible habit to get into and it can seem like an impossible habit to break your child of, but let me tell you the really scary thing: You, yes you, are actually the person who taught your child to whine - and you are the one who will be able to make it stop.
Whining is one of the ways that our children use to manipulate us into getting their own way. Yes, I said “manipulate.” A lot of people don’t like it when I say that, but our little buggers are brilliant manipulators - and it’s okay. Every person has to learn how to be happy in the world and for a certain span of time - say from the age of 1 until 30 - we think that getting things will make us happy. So, it logically follows that we learn how to manipulate our environment to learn how to get stuff.
As the major vehicle in your child’s life, they learn how to drive you like a fine Porsche. If I push this petal, I’ll get this result and if I push this one I’ll get this. Don’t just be a passive petal, sitting there waiting to be pushed around. Take the wheel and teach your children how to negotiate the world in a healthy, respectful way.
Following, you’ll find the keys to breaking the habit of whining and learning how to use Direct Communication. This is one of the most important skills to teach our children - especially our girls.

Keys to Learning Direct Communication

• The first key is to stop rewarding the behavior that you no longer wish to see. This first step is very important. Every single time your child whines, simply say, “I am going to say ‘no’ to that request because you whined instead of asking me. Next time, try saying, ‘Mom, may I please ________.’ instead and give me the choice of saying ‘yes’ or ‘no.’” That’s it. Say it the same way every time and NEVER give in to whining. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your children will learn this new way of getting what they want. Remember: you teach people how to treat you. This is especially true of your children.

• Now that your children are asking direct questions, you have to make sure that you are also practicing direct communication with them - and your spouse. If you are modeling manipulative, indirect ways of managing things, they will continue to try to manipulate you. There are many, many small ways that we manipulate our families and friends and it’s time to STOP! If you use the techniques of half-truths, white lies, going behind someone’s back, talking over each other or simply ignoring one another, passive-aggressive manipulation, assuming authority for everything without including your partner, sacrificing yourself and your needs to make yourself feel superior, or any combination of theses to get what you want from your spouse and others, you are teaching your children to use them as well. It’s time to cut the games, stand in your authentic Self and use direct and clear communication. This opens the door for every person in your home to be themselves, with no apologies, able to negotiate (and re-negotiate) healthy agreements for themselves. Life becomes about happy cooperation, not sneaky manipulation.

• Practice, Practice, Practice. Really work on asking clear, direct questions. Give others the opportunity to say “no” to you and practice saying it to others. The reason people use manipulation to get what they want is because they feel powerless in the face of a situation. You are never powerless. As you learn how to be clear and direct, you access more and more of your own inner power. And, what’s most important, you model for your children how to make healthy requests and to learn to be okay with a yes or a no answer.

Shelly Walker is the mother of two beautiful children and the author of Awakened Power and the upcoming book Parenting Keys. Shelly is passionate about children and believes that every child deserves healthy, happy parents. For free tips and to find out how to get a free copy of her new book, go to http://www.parentingkeys.com.

The recent destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita serves as a reminder of the type of havoc Mother Nature can cause. Water, wind, fire and earth movement can be hazardous to your home, perhaps your most cherished and largest investment. But, there are actions you can take now to protect your property and prevent major damage should one of these elements strike. Depending on the age of your home and the building codes in your area, some of these improvements may already be in place.

Water

Apart from major flooding, most damage occurs when water seeps in through cracks and leaks. Make sure that windows and doors are well sealed. Seal any cracks and holes in the foundation and exterior walls. Repair or replace roof shingles around any area that allows water to penetrate the roof sheathing. Check for holes or air leaks in the attic and basement. Your basement windows and doors should have built-up barriers or flood shields. Inspect your sump pump regularly to make sure that it is working properly. Install or make sure that the flashing, a thin metal strip, around the doors, windows, thresholds, chimney and roof are in tact.

Wind

Minimize the damage by keeping the wind from getting inside your home. Windows and glass doors should be fitted with impact-resistant laminated glass or covered with impact-resistant shutters. Consider solid wood or hollow metal doors, which are more likely to resist wind pressure and flying debris. There are also roofing products with high wind resistance available.

Wildfire

Some inexpensive home improvements that you can make include installing a spark arrestor on your chimney, eliminating brush and debris from around your property, and modifying your attic, sub-floor and basement vents. More expensive improvements include replacing single-pane glass windows, doors or skylights with tempered glass, recovering your exterior walls with a more fire-resistant material, and re-roofing your home with a Class A roof covering.

Earthquake

California isn’t the only earthquake zone. Other zones include the New Madrid region, west and just east of the Rockies, the southern Appalachians, New England and Alaska. Steps you can take to protect your property and possessions include anchoring appliances, water heater, dressers, and other heavy items to the wall. Attach your TV, computer and other small appliances to desks, tables or countertops. Secure ceiling lights, chandeliers and other hanging items to the permanent structure of your home. Apply safety film to windows and glass doors. It is also a good idea to install a main gas shut-off device.

Of course, there may be times, when no amount of prepping can protect your home. However, homeowners insurance can help protect you financially in case something happens to your property or its contents. Most standard homeowners insurance policies include structural coverage and personal property coverage. Depending on your location, you may also need additional coverage against earthquake, hurricane and fire.

Be aware that flood damage is not covered under the traditional homeowners insurance policy. Flood insurance needs to be purchased separately through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a federal program. It is available to nearly 20,000 communities across the U.S. and its territories that participate in the NFIP. Flooding can be caused by heavy rains, melting snow, inadequate drainage systems, failed protective devices such as levees and dams, as well as by tropical storms and hurricanes. So, although you may be in a low to moderate risk area, you may still want to consider this coverage.

Periodically review your homeowner’s insurance policy to make sure that you are adequately covered to rebuild your home and replace your contents.
If there is ever damage to your personal property, having a home inventory can make it easier when filing an insurance claim. Start with a sheet a paper for each room in the house. Go around the room and list every item. Don’t forget the attic, basement or other storage places. For each item, write the original cost, purchase date, replacement cost, model number, brand name, where purchased, and a general description. In addition, take photos or video of each room for visual documentation. It is also a good idea to arrange valuable collections, silver, jewelry, etc. and take close up photos. Make sure you update your home inventory photos and list at least once a year.

When weather-related disasters strike, what’s most important is your safety and that of your family. However, by taking precautions to protect your home, you can possibly help keep damage to a minimum; or in the case of severe damage, make sure that you have the financial means to rebuild.

For more information go to www.ibhs.org or www.fema.gov.

Neda Dabestani-Ryba is a licensed Realtor in Maryland. She is a member of the President’s Circle of Top Real Estate Professionals. She can be reached at (800) 536-3806 or visit her website for more information: http://neda.dabestani.pcragent.com/
Prudential Carruthers REALTORS is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial company. Equal Housing Opportunity

For some women, getting pregnant is very easy. They find that it can all happen within 3 months. However, on the other side of the coin, some women find it very difficult to get pregnant. There are many reasons for this, such as; Age, stress, and overall physical condition.

Nowadays there are four fertility tests that you can take in order to find out the reasons as to why you can’t get pregnant. The four fertility tests are; Hormone testing, Ovulation, Chlamydia and gonorrhoea cultures, and Sperm analysis.

Hormone testing consists of a series of blood tests that are taken at different times, which helps to verify the normal hormone production. This blood test measures the amount of progesterone you have, and finds out if you have enough of it to carry on a pregnancy. Another blood test is done to test your prolactin levels. Prolactin is the hormone which is responsible for producing breast milk. Having elevated levels of prolactin can impede with conception. There is also another blood test taken to test your thyroid function. Having an under or over stimulated thyroid can cause problems with getting pregnant.

In the ovulation test, your gynaecologist is looking for regularity in your cycle. A good way to track your cycle length is by using and ovulation predictor kit. This kit is recommended by most gynaecologists.

Chlamydia and gonorrhoea cultures are taken in order to detect these two viruses (Chlamydia and gonorrhoea). These two viruses are preventable but also difficult to detect. Chlamydia and gonorrhoea can cause infertility.

Sperm analysis is done by taking a sample of your partner’s sperm. With this sample, one can easily evaluate sperm count and quality. The quality of the sperm is measured by its shape and movement.

Taking these 4 fertility tests will help your doctor to find out where the problem lies in you not being able to get pregnant. Once your doctor knows this, the next part of the procedure is finding a solution to rectify this problem. Good luck!

By Paul Ghossain
http://www.multitheme.com

Are you still afraid to answer phone calls from numbers you don’t recognize? Take a look at debt settlement after considering 3 important points of which you need to be aware. Debt settlement is a viable option when you’re still trying to make monthly payments only to see your balances continually rise and the ol’ pick-up and hang-up routine hasn’t scared away the debt collectors.

Debt settlement is a program where you hire a company to act on your behalf in settling your debts with your creditors and may be a strong consideration for you if you owe a high dollar amount (10k+) in unsecured debt.. Typically these debts have already landed in a debt collection agency. The program works like this: you stop making monthly payments to your creditors and pay instead to a savings or escrow account set up by your debt settlement company. They negotiate with your creditors and use the accumulated funds to settle your debts. Sounds good doesn’t it? There are negative impacts to debt settlement programs you need to be aware of before you begin.

#1-Your credit record will take a negative hit
When you stop making payments to your creditors, that is going to show as a negative mark on your credit record. If you are to the point of using a debt settlement company, your credit record has probably already absorbed several negative hits and you may be thinking that it can’t get any worse. Well, it certainly can. Read on to the next section.

#2-Watch out for the summons
Any of your creditors may elect to turn the debt over to an attorney in your area who will secure the debt as a judgement. No, you don’t have to own assets to get a judgement filed against you. To avoid this happening to you, make sure your debt settlement company is actively working your file and not making ridiculous offers for settlement that are damaging to your efforts. If they keep making offers that are too low and decide instead to sit back and let your escrow account get a little bigger, that is a good way to wear out the patience of the creditor. Next thing you know, someone you have never seen before walks up to you at your kids baseball game and hands you an invitation to defend yourself in in court. If it gets to this point, settlement is no longer an option. It’s balance in full and you may even get awarded the attorney fees and court fees it your creditors had to pay to sue you.

#3-The forgiven amount of the debt remains on your credit

Debt collection agencies used to have a great tool to entice debtors to settle. After the money changed hands, creditors would show the debt as “settled in full” on your credit record and show a zero balance. Not anymore. The forgiven amount remains on your credit record. One other little known fact: you get a 1099 at the end of the calendar year if the forgiven amount is $600 or over. You may have been forgiven a large part of your debt, but now you have an obligation to the IRS to pay income tax on the forgiven amount.

Still a good option
Debt settlement is still a good option for those facing insurmountable principle balances and interest charges that just keep piling up. Just make sure your debt settlement company is making fair offers based on your ability to pay and not based on how much they want to try to stick it to your creditors. Also be sure to get letters from your creditors showing your account as being settled and hang on to those letters forever. Despite the best efforts, sometimes things fall through the cracks and you get a call from someone demanding payment on a debt you already settled. If that happens, dig out the original settlement letter and fax it to them. Case closed.

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Many people who don’t vote and remain aloof to all political
participation are unaware of the long history of the American
Civil Liberties Union. That is one of the ACLU’s greatest
strengths. Although much newer the ACLJ has quite a different
history and it would cause little embarrassment if it were
discovered by more Americans.

The ACLU has championed many causes since it was founded in 1920
by Mr. Roger Baldwin. Some of the most notable causes or rulings
the ACLU supported have to do with abortion rights, homosexual
and lesbian rights and removal of prayer from the public
schools. Some of its most notable positions were of lesser
significance but created much more press because they bordered
on the frivolous and were more a nuisance than a legitimate
cause. They adopted positions against bible studies and prayer
groups in public schools and the removal of manger scenes in
public during the Christmas season. Can’t you hear the voices of
many grateful Americans in a resounding…gee thanks?

Not to be mistaken for something that actually qualifies as the
protection of our civil liberties is the new battlefield
conjured up by the ACLU in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The three
crosses adorning the city logo is a point of pride and history
for the residents there but for the ACLU, they have given cause
for it to rear its head and wield the battle axe. It has
resulted in making “what ever happened to common sense” being
the most oft used phrase in internet blogging history. But wait,
it doesn’t stop there.

The latest fit the ACLU has begun; concerns prayer offered by
the U.S. military’s chaplains. In short the ACLU thinks it
should be stopped. Whew! That’s good thinking. I don’t know
about you but the last thing I would want to have happen to me
just before I went to battle for my country is to have my
country tell me I couldn’t go to God in prayer. In particular
they are trying to stop chaplains from praying in the name of
Jesus Christ. In a volunteer force made up of mostly Christian
men and women isn’t that an infringement of their religious
freedom? In fact it is more than that.

The constitution says “Congress shall make no laws touching
religion, or to infringe the rights of conscience.” What genius
does it take to see that the ACLU is actually crying
“unconstitutional” while they are proposing laws that are
clearly unconstitutional? Don’t want to be crass but perhaps the
ACLU lawyers and aides should all take a day off to watch
Forrest Gump together. If I remember correctly the most often
repeated line in that movie is, “stupid is, as stupid does”

Diametrically opposite the ACLU is the newly formed but no less
formidable, ACLJ. The American Center for Law and Justice
founded in 1990 is headed by Jay Sekulow who is the ACLJ’s Chief
Counsel. He is a well respected advocate for constitutional
freedoms and has argued many cases before the U.S, Supreme Court.

The Center for Law and Justice has successfully argued cases and
supported positions in other cases which resulted in an
impressive list of good common sense decisions and rulings. A
short list of the accomplishments of the ACLJ is as follows.

* A guarantee for minors who want to be involved in the
political process by protecting their free speech rights in
political affairs.

* Rulings to protect the constitutional rights of religious
groups to obtain equal access to public facilities.

* Protection for the free speech rights of pro-life demonstrators

* The right for public school students to form and participate
in religious organizations such as Bible clubs.

The ACLJ is currently on the radio waves daily soliciting
signatures for a petition to stop the ban on prayer by the
military chaplains. The response is said to be very powerful at
the least. Upwards of ten thousand people a day are asking to
have their names added to the petitions.

It is shameful that Americans must pound away to ward off
organizations like the ACLU whose agenda looks like it
originated in la-la land. The constitution is under attack by
those who feign that they are working to protect it. After all
this is America and they have a constitutional right to mess
with the constitution. Let’s not mess with their right to do
that, but lets hope and pray (if they don’t stop us) that they
don’t prevail.

The Bible tells the believer to respect the rulings and laws
provided by the secular rulers because the powers that be, are
all ordained of God. Romans 13:1. Almost all bible believing
Christians take this mandate seriously and endeavor to be law
abiding citizens. You would think that this respect for secular
law would hold things in balance between those who believe in
the Bible and revere the constitution and groups like the ACLU,
but it does not. The ACLU seems bent on removing all reference
and allusion to God on any level. What would the result be if
they were successful in this plight? I choose to let the Bible
answer that question.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which
are not convenient; Romans 1:28