Go to the best!

My dad is a plastic surgeon so I've heard horror stories of people who have gone the cheap route or to someone they didn't quite trust and had bad work done.

In fact, my dad has a whole scrapbook of people who have received bad care and needed to be "fixed".

First of all a place needs to be reputable and have references. I think if you're looking to have any medical care you should be confident in the place you're having the procedure and equally impressed with the doctor.

The Times has rave reviews about MYA Plastic Surgery in the United Kingdom.

Plastic surgery is one of those things that you don't want to cheap out on and you only want to go to the best for your care! God knows if you do try to take short cuts you could have to pay for it later and it might be something that is damaged for life.

This post sponsored by: Mya.co.uk

YIkes.

We are totally strapped for cash these days. I just got a call from Shawna that the fertility center wants her to do another one of the $1,400 transfusions again. Last time I tried to get it paid for within the month so that we didn't have to pay interest on it...

Now, it seems like it's snuck up on us again and it's a lot of money!

I know we should just do it without thinking twice at least I'll be getting back a nice chunk for our taxes and most all of it is tax deductible.

Cop friend.

We have a new friend who is a cop and I must say that it's quite interesting when we hang out. I'm always afraid that I'm going to say something against the law and admit to speeding or doing something bad!

Of course, I seem to be more sensored and just know that Shawna's going to open her trap and talk about egging houses as a kid, or something else that she did in her terror years.

I'm sure our friend has 5.11 Tactical gear. She's a park police right now but they really handle just about everything including park incidents and they get calls for the local area - which includes our area.

511TacticalOutdoors.com offers some great gear for police who are in the field. When it comes down to it ... in this line of work. You only want the best out there with you.

This post sponsored by: 511TacticalOutdoors.com

WTF?

was I thinking by not coming in this weekend to work? Last weekend although we had quite a few appointments I was still able to get in forty hours.

This weekend I don't have any appointments scheduled except maybe a haircut appointment and I can see some overtime in my near future.

The harsh part about this is that it's dog work and I'm sure that a full 40+ hours of dog work is going to make me a major bitch by Friday!

Viva!

I'm not sure I would mind going to Vegas again. The first and second time we went it was for infertility treatments and it really wasn't that much of a getaway because we were pretty stressed out - plus we brought Graem with us!

I think it'd be a great place to go and do the nice dinners and go to the shows. Since I'm not into the gambling thing I'd more than likely choose not to waste my money at the casinos!

The shopping at the outlet malls wasn't too bad either. We were able to get some good deals!

Golf carts!

When we used to go golfing I used to have a great time driving the golf cart. God knows, I couldn't golf to save my life! So I was surprised to see half of the carts sitting on the side.

When asked what was wrong the guy replied

"we are having a hard time looking for golf cart parts!"

Being that we're so isolated I think it's pretty hard to be able to go to one store and buy locally. That's why I'm glad that we now have access to online stores and shops and are able to buy and compare stores in order to get the best deals!

Graem's pictures!

This morning I picked up Graem's pictures from school. They are so cute and she's smiling in all of them! Of course, this makes it pretty hard to select the cutest ones to keep!

This would actually be the perfect gift for Grandpa and Uncle Dennis. Maybe I'll just get some nice frames for their desks and call it a day!

Good times.

We're always looking for good weekend trips. Lately, we've been staying close to home because we've been pretty broke - plus we've been somewhat leary of Shawna's pregnancy and not wanted to venture too far.

One thing that's really caught our eye is St. Augustine shopping. On the last Saturday of October and November or October 27th and November 24th the city becomes a wonderland for shopping, adventure, music, and train tours.

All of the participating stores offer goodies including wine and and refreshments and you walk from shop to shop.

This is a great idea for those who are looking to do their Christmas or holiday shopping and don't want to spend a long time doing it.

You might want to head out one Saturday night with an idea of what to get your loved ones. By the end of the night you are sure to find something for the whole family.

GetAway4Florida.com offers a great website and useful information on how to have a nice Florida get away. The great thing for northerners that are interested in getting away is that Florida has great weather year round!

Plus, you can get to Florida on less than a $200 round trip ticket and it's a nice weekend getaway!

Of course, you might not want to do this on a snowy weekend because God knows they love to close the airports down these days over anything and then you'd be stuck in Florida. (Poor thing!)

Monday.

I'm so sick and tired of our house.

This weekend our windows became so fragile that as I was putting in the damn storm windows I almost had one break in my hand. So I went to Lowes to get this caulk and materials to try to remake the windows. Hopefully, that will hold them through the season.

As I'm doing that the rednecks down the street are riding their four wheelers up and down the street...but get this, they are using a truck and a rope to pull the four wheeler in order to get it started.

This morning I think we have something funky going on with our septic and Shawna's going to call out the septic guy to take a look.

Ugh. I'm ready to move.

More website traffic?

We're constantly looking for ways to increase traffic to our websites. It's amazing how much a pregnancy or the announcement of a birth will send ratings through the roof!

However, not everyone has that option or the drama that we have in our lives!

We've even looked at getting more website traffic by purchasing advertising and links on some of the bigger search engines such as google.

Since we blog a lot and page rank is everything it's important to be one of the first websites that comes up when someone does a search on something.

Since our websites deal with infertility, babies, and gay parenting we'd love to be one of the first links that someone finds when looking for specifics.

If you're looking for more website traffic you might be interested in ThinkBigSites.com.

They have been around for a while and they're starting to get a good reputation on the internet for helping the "little guy".

They offer a search engine where you can purchase spots and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

In order for us to even consider doing advertising on one of the big search engines we'd have to put out quite a bit of money --- which, very honestly, we don't want to do!

Maybe we should just -- THINK BIG!

Nice rack!

Boy, do I miss my truck. I admit that I probably should have never bought domestic and the reason why I don't have a truck now is that the Dodge was about to bite the bullet even though it didn't have more than 15,000 miles on it!

I've been drooling over my bosses truck - a Toyota Tacoma for some time. It has four doors and perfect for a family and someone who might have to go to contruction sites like me.

Of course, I'd want all of the trim on it including a truck rack.

Isn't it funny that the whole time we were renting I had a truck and then a month after we moved into our house I sold the truck and ended up getting the X-Terra? What were we thinking?

It should have been the other way around!

BuyAutoTruckAccessories.com offers a great selection of truck accessories and has great prices too!

Life insurance.

I swear we have every type of insurance that is offered! We pay about 20% of my net earnings on insurance premiums! However, I have piece of mind at night and I know that if anything ever happens my family is protected.

Now I've read about life insurance for kids!

It makes sense really and I know when I was a kid was when my father took out a life insurance policy on me and my brother.

To this day it's been nice because he rolled it over to me and I'm able to use it in case something happens to me it will help my family out financially.

Getting excited?

Tomorrow we go for our 8 1/2 week ultrasound and I'm pretty excited about what we're going to see. I'm guessing the kid will be bigger but we might actually get to see him/her move on the ultrasound.

Originally, Shawna was going to go to the appointment alone since I've been missing so much work but I decided that I really didn't want to miss seeing the baby move for the first time on the ultrasound!

Yikes!

This isn't suppose to be happening! The other night I weighed myself and I was back at my pre-pregnancy weight! It seems like since Shawna's pregnant I feel the need to eat just as much as her. But of course, I'm not feeding a growing baby.

I think at some point I might need to hook up with some hoodia. I have a few friends that have tried it for weightloss and it's helped them get off the unwanted pounds.

This is just another reason why I want to nurse the new baby. WIth Graem I lost around 20 pounds in the first three months of nursing!

ROCK ON!

I've never been much for rock-n-roll, however I do love many of the classics. I'm always surprised to see listings that some of the oldies are touring.

In fact the other day I just say that they are selling Van Halen tickets. I feel like at some point we should just take the plunge because you never know when they might not be touring.

Plus, I think it's pretty cool to say that you've seen a legendary band like Van Halen. Who would have guessed they'd all make it out of their 70's drug induced haze?

Looking for brochure printing?

A few years back when Shawna started her business we decided to build a whole marketing theme. We devised a catchy phrase, logo, and even made a brochure. We went through an online website for the Brochure Printing and were so impressed at the quality and price they were able to offer.

Of course, when we went to get a second batch we realized that they had almost doubled their prices and they didn't have our old brochure on file.

What a pain...especially, since we had spent hours designing the brochure and saving it to their website.

It's really hard to find a place that does 4 color Brochure Printing. Locally, they want to charge an arm and a leg and we really couldn't afford to have it printed.

Not to mention, we'd get the exact same product whether we ordered it online or through a local vendor.

PSPrint.com offers a great website for all of your printing needs. They offer brochures that are professional and sure to leave a mark!

Not to mention, right now they are offering $100 off brochures! That's a savings you can take right to the bank. Whether you're a small business or a large business - it pays to shop around and look for savings.

Man.

Well, I thought it was hard before doing everything around the house, cooking, cleaning, yardwork. Now Shawna's back is down which means that even the little stuff that she was doing is no longer.

I think at some point it might be best for us to go ahead and hire our old housekeeper back. It'd be worth it for me to work another 2 hours to pay for her so that I don't waste 4 hours of cleaning and still not getting it done.

I love coupons!

Shawna's become quite the shopping professional when it comes to getting good deals. In fact, we have friends who have asked her to look for things around town and she always ends up getting them a good deal too!

The past few months we've been using Coupon Chief for all of the best promo codes out there!

This holiday season I'm sure that I'm probably going to have to get the following gifts:

Shawna - books, music
Graem - toys
Dennis - music
Dad and Gala - something house related

That's why I'm glad that I can get Target coupons and Best Buy coupons online!

It makes my shopping a piece of cake and I might even be able to get it done before December 25th this year!

Yikes.

This morning Shawna was suppose to take Graem to her first gymnastics lesson at the local gymnastics place.

I got a call at 8:30am that Shawna's back was pulled and she couldn't move. To say the least...this sucks. We both wanted Graem to get in lessons and this morning they were pretty close to actually getting out of the house and to the lessons on time.

Maybe we should just take Graem to the Saturday morning lessons. That way we can both watch and it's later so we can both work on getting her out of the house by 8:15.

I need some no medical exam life insurance!

With a new baby on the way I'm sure at some point I should really consider getting more life insurance.

The last time I looked to increase my policy I was told that they had to take out a completely new policy. SOmeone came out to the house and took my weight, blood pressure, and also asked tons of medical questions.

Come to find out since I have asthma it's nearly impossible for me to get coverage that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

I think my best bet would be to go through no medical exam life insurance. There are a few places on the internet that offer life insurance where you don't have to give medical information.

My asthma has been controlled for years so I'm not sure why it's really such a big deal!

IFGINS.com offers a great insurance website where you can get more information about life insurance and the other types of insurances available.

At some point I should see if they offer no medical Senior Life insurance for my dad.

I know he has many policies, however, since he's been diagnosed with cancer and treated I'm not sure he'd be eligible to sign up for any other insurance policies.

Gotta love it...you buy health insurance to keep you alive and life insurance once you die!

I swear after life, home, health, and car insurance I spend about 20% of my income each year!

Thinking about a life settlement?

I never knew what Life Settlements were until I started researching it.

When I was a kid there were times when we barely had enough money to pay for food. My dad was in and out of work and we owed every in the world. At that point I would have thought that my dad would have let all of our life insurances lapse. I mean putting food on the table does seem a little bit more important that making premiums!

Little did I know that despite everything he was able to keep the premiums up and now I am in charge of a life insurance policy that he's invested in for my future and family.

Many people who have invested in policies and just can't afford to make the premium have the option of doing what's called Life Settlements.

Life Settlements allow you to get cash for your policy that you've invested. Basically, if you don't make your payment to your insurance provider you can lose all of the money that you've invested.

With Life Settlements they purchase the policy from you and you can actually receive a percentage of the money you've put into the policy.

If you're not able to afford things... this is a good option to get out - while you still have a sturdy investment.

Plus, it's a nice way to get a little bit of money.

I can't believe it...

but in 8 months from now we'll be sending out birth announcements again! WOW.

It sounds like a long time from now but I know the next 8 months are going to go pretty darn fast.

Tomorrow we go for our 7 week ultrasound and I can't wait to see the little bean on the ultrasound with his/her heart flickering away!

At least this time we won't have to buy all of the baby gear that we used last time! I wish someone would have warned us on the baby wipe warmer! Boy, that was a waste of money!

Do you collect?

When Shawna was a kid her grandmother used to collect dolls and stuffed animals. I remember going to her house and seeing all of these amazing old gund bears that I'm sure were worth a fortune.

Maybe at some point we could continue the hobby of collecting with Graem. I'm sure at some point she'll find something of interest aside from Backyardigan dolls!

Of course, now we just have to hope and pray that it's not the Bratz dolls!

Poker!

A few years ago our friends M&E had a fun game night party. We had the best time and of course this was before we all had kids.

We played poker, trival pursuit, and video games! The house was packed and there was great food and drinks.

They had everything but poker tables for the occassion! We played on their kitchen table and it was a little small so only a few people can play at a time.

Maybe for the next game night they will invest in a nice game table and professional poker chips!

What are you watching?

A few years ago I purchased a nice watch for Shawna for Valentine's day. She still wears it and it's been through the ringer. I'm guessing over the next few months I'll have to purchase a new band since her old band is bent.

I have my eye on a nice Patek Philippe watch. The pieces are timeless and quite classy.

I like the watches with a leather band and some of them have a few dials. All of them are sophisticated that you can wear them to work or relaxed enough to wear on the weekend.

Do you know what PPHN is?

A few years ago Shawna used to work at the newspaper and there was a guy who used to live on his daily doseage of Paxil. He was a nervous wreck half of the time and you could really tell when he didn't take his medication.

Then of course, we heard of the horrible effects of Paxil and we instantly thought of our friend and possibly the ill side effects he might be experiencing.

It's good to know that there are attorneys out there who are fighting for the rights of the people that are suffering from the pharmaceuticals mistakes. Paxil Attorneys California offer a group of attorneys who are specializing in the PPHN.

They are handling the cases of many clients who have used Paxil in the past only to have horrible effects and have life changing situations.

Our friend recently became a father and we're just hoping that he stopped the Paxil in time and that the horrible effects are not going to be shared with his newborn child.

As an expectant parent and someone that has trusted drug companies to have my best interest at heart --- I'm saddened to know that Paxil has withheld information that has hurt unborn and newborn babies.

PPHN is know as Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension and affects children whose mothers were on Paxil while they were pregnant. The mothers were not warned nor were they stopped from taking this horrible medication.

Looking for swimming pool tile?

When I was a kid we always had a swimming pool. Many times it was the type of pool that you can purchase at Sears. One year we even made ours collapse and it ended up flooding our back yard!

Being an adult with a kid I always think about what it would be like to have a nice in ground pool in our back yard. I realize that with that I'd have to provide a fence around the area and also make sure that it was well maintained through the winter.

That really doesn't sound too bad though. Our friend, Diane, has an above ground pool and she really doesn't have to do too much maintenance other than add some chemicals, cover the pool, and get the water tested every so often.

She got a great deal on her pool too. I think she was able to get the whole thing for around $4,000 installed.

I'm sure at some point we'd have to get the swimming pool resurfacing option so that the pool stays like new. God knows when you make such an expensive investment you want to maintain it's integrity and obviously it's health by taking good care of it.

There are so many great swimming pool tile options available that I'd take forever and probably change my mind a million times before choosing the perfect tile. I think I'd go with a nice blue or aqua glass tile.

That's what I'm most familiar with and it seems to keep clean the longest.

I love a good deal with a reverse auction!

I'm constantly looking for good deals. Just a few minutes ago I was looking on ebay for some summer baby clothes. It seems like many of the popular websites out there have become too expensive and the asking price or auction price exceeds the amount of the value!

That's why I'm all about looking at Reverse Auction websites. Hedgehog.com connects sellers and buyers in one place and offers a website where they can meet and exchange information and ideas. What a great idea!

Reverse Auctions are becoming quite popular in the business world because you can find just what your looking for and really cut out the middle man or just pay a small fee and be done with their services.

Plus, with an auction you can see what your purchasing before making the investment. Many times the auctions can be for as little or big as you want and it doesn't matter if you're buying or selling products or services. Many times there is always a demand and whatever you have --- it can be marketed positively.

If you're looking for something to complete your business --- look no further. Check out hedgehog.com and see if you can find the missing piece for your puzzle!

Not enough hours.

With all of Shawna's appointments and then the big scare last week I didn't have enough hours next week. Which meant that I had to use vacation time. Ugh. Totally sucks and I'm really not happy about it.

I think I'm going to try to stay late tonight so that I don't have to take out anymore vacation time. I'd really like to be able to take off 6-8 weeks when the little guy gets here.

What is colloidal silver?

I bet you are wondering what I’m talking about and at first I would have had no clue! However, I’ve been reading up on colloidal silver and its use as a potent antibiotic. From a chemical standpoint it just makes sense that it would work in a positive way without the awful side effects of antibiotics.

When we were in the Phillippines I had a terrible case of dissentary. I am guessing it was because the water is horribly polluted and as much as I tried to stay away from it I had to have ice cubes! Plus, I used it when brushing my teeth.

One morning I woke up and had the worst stomach cramps. Then the diarreah and vomitting started. Within a few minutes I went from feeling fine to feeling like I was going to die.

Margot ran out to the pharmacy and was able to find Cipro. I took two tabs and instantly I felt better. Then I continued to take the medication for the next five days.

The reality though is that I hate taking heavy duty antibiotics because I know at some point my body will become immune to the antibiotics when I really need them.

Colloidal silver is a natural antibiotic and has been known to prevent infections. I’ll try anything once!

Tired

Mama is silly...

See No Evil...
Hear No Evil...
Pee No Evil...
Speak No Evil!

San Francisco: Day 1

We started our day at 6 AM, seeing as it was actually 9 AM for our bodies! Our choice of morning nourishment consisted of a nice heavy breakfast at Mel's Diner.

We started our day at 6 AM, seeing as it was actually 9 AM for our bodies! Our choice of morning nourishment consisted of a nice heavy breakfast at Mel's Drive-In--a touristy diner that had reasonably priced, basic American fare.


Grammy's first cable car ride to Fisherman's Wharf














Mommy and Grammy at the transfer at the Ferry Terminal

Yesterday's results--and a cool graph!

So as you can see above, our numbers are rising nicely. Great news to start our first morning in SF!

It's the new billboard!

I'm talking about web site marketing! Almost all websites that you go to have some kind of marketing or advertising.

Of course, the advertisements that actually work are the ones that are geared towards the clientele.

I just came across a great article that highlights effective web site marketing. I was just viewing one of my Landscape Architecture websites and lo-and-behold but they have some advertisements for pavers that we use.

Now that's directed marketing and almost scary that they can pinpoint such an audience who would actually be using their product.

Of course, with the right amount of money, research, and brains, you can probably get just about anything you want these days!

Shaw's next gift.

Since Shawna found out she was pregnant, last week, I swear she goes to the bathroom every 10 minutes. There have been times when she's had some close calls too.

I think at some point when she gets bigger and the baby is putting more pressure on her bladder she might need to think about getting some protective underwear.

That way if she does have a little accident at least she's covered and it won't get on her clothing or be an embarassing situation.

The best Valentine's day gift...

A few years ago Shawna had made the comment that she loved Skagen watches. Of course, it was just left at that and she never even told me which one she wanted.

Well, I guessed and for Valentine's Day I wrote her a nice card and purchased the stainless steel Skagen watch from the local jewelry store.

I'm surprised she hasn't lost it and wears it almost daily!

Score one for Mommy!