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One of the best shopping habits that I’ve developed over the years is the habit of bringing a pen and notebook along with me when I shop. This helps me in so many ways. Those ways include:

• I can remember what I want to buy. I’m usually pretty good at getting the basics without a list. However, if there’s a new product that I want to try I need to write down the name of it or I’ll forget it at the store. For example, I wanted to try out hydroxatone but couldn’t remember that and got hty gold instead. That turned out to be a good product too so it wasn’t a big deal but I like having a notebook with me to remember what it is that I actually wanted to get at the store.
• I can write down things I see that I can’t buy now but want to get later. I often see things when I’m shopping and want to get them at another time. I may want to wait until they are on sale. I may want to keep them in mind as gifts for someone else. I jot it down in my notebook in the store. If I didn’t then I’d forget before I went home.
• It’s great for making other little notes. I’ll often answer the cell phone when I’m shopping. I’ll need to write down information from the call (such as appointment times). The notebook is great for this.
• I can always doodle if I get stuck in line. Hey, it’s always nice to have something to pass the time - especially at this time of year when shopping lines everywhere are getting longer!

Technorati Tags: hty gold, hydroxatone

It’s that time of year again. We’re fast approaching the Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas parties and phone calls wishing us a Happy New Year. It’s a wonderful time of year. However it can be really tough on people who have a problem with hearing loss.

Part of the fun of the holidays is being able to hear everything that’s going on around us. We want to be able to make conversation with people at big family gatherings. We want to be able to hear the Christmas carolers who pass by our doors and the choirs that sing at churches we may attend. We want to be able to call our long-distance loved ones and say hello.

All of that can be really difficult for people who use hearing aids. One of the biggest complaints received by people who offer audiologist services is that hearing aids are great for hearing intimate conversations but they’re not so good when it’s really noisy and they’re terrible for hearing on the phone.

Luckily hearing aid technology has improved a lot in recent years. If you’re dreading the holidays because you think that your hearing aid might not hold up then it’s time to invest in a new one for yourself. Consider it the first Christmas present of the year!

Technorati Tags: audiologist services, hearing aids

One of the things I hate most is when people of a certain group act in a way that reinforces stereotypes and helps to give everyone else — the honest ones — a bad name.

Let me explain what I mean.  I remember an ex-boyfriend telling me a story about a supposed disabled vet sitting out in front of the downtown library in a wheelchair, begging for handouts.  My ex figured that a guy in a wheelchair really did need it, and gave him some money.

Later on, as my ex was leaving the library, the guy asked him, “Is the library closing?”  When my ex said yes, the guy stood up, folded the wheelchair, and walked off with it.

My ex was horrified, and no longer gives people money.  I was horrified too, but for a different reason: because of the suspicion this guy was creating toward people who have genuine disabilities.

Here’s another example: How many times have you been at the store, and seen someone young and perfectly healthy get into a car that was parked in a handicapped spot?  Or how often have you seen cars parked in handicapped spots even though they don’t have handicapped parking permits?

These spots are created with handicapped people in mind: They have enough space on either side so that a van with a wheelchair lift has room to operate, and they are close to the entrance so that a person in a wheelchair or crutches doesn’t have very far to go.

My grandmother was in a wheelchair, and for many years my grandparents’ house had stairlifts on all the flights of stairs in the house.  I hate to see people with dishonest intentions screwing it up for people with real disabilities and a genuine need for special treatment.

Technorati Tags: handicapped parking permits, stairlifts, wheelchair lift

We have been wanting to buy a new car for some time now, but our current finances have just not allowed it.  Even though my wife and I work fulltime, it seems like we can never get ahead.  So, I have taken a second job working in a call center providing software support.

I like the job a lot as I get the opportunity to help people out, and truth be told, the job isn’t really that hard.  I have been assigned to offer support on both some Scout software and some team management software.  I had to be trained on both platforms for about a week to become an expert, but now I could use both software packages blindfolded.

What I really love about the job is talking to the users to see how they are using the software and how it is benefiting their organization.  I often think that it would have been much easier in my scouting and baseball coaching days if we had software to help stay organized, but unfortunately it wasn’t available back then.

I love this job so much that I think I might stay on even after we bought the new car as it gives me something to do and a little extra spending money in my pocket.  I can’t complain about that!

Technorati Tags: scout software, team management software

You know what one of my favorite times in a relationship is? It’s the time for pillow talk. It’s that time of night when you’re just laying there with the person that you love. You’re talking about all of the random things under the sun. You’re not fighting or debating. You’re not stressed out. You’re not even gushing in love for one another. You’re just enjoying simple conversation.

Pillow talk can be about almost anything. You can daydream together about doing a Canadian Rockies train ride or talk about other Canada vacation ideas. It doesn’t matter that you can’t afford to travel together right now or that you don’t know if your relationship will last long enough to actually go on the trip. You can just enjoy daydreaming together. Or you can talk about your individual plans and it doesn’t matter that these plans may not include one another because it’s just talk.

Pillow talk is fun. It’s relaxing. It’s the time when you’re guard is down and you’re just being yourself. You’re not worried about what the other person thinks. You’re not reacting (or overreacting) to what they say. You’re just talking. That’s my favorite time of the day and my favorite part of all of the relationships that I’ve had.

Technorati Tags: canada vacation ideas, canadian rockies train ride