31 Aralık 2012 Pazartesi
Contest: We Are the Art
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Los Angeles based independent rock band Nico Vega and the International Child Art Foundation have paired up to develop the "We Are The Art" Campaign.The campaign invites children from around the world to make short video clips on the art in which they create. This includes all forms of art such as painting, sculpture, a piece of music, a theatrical or dance performance, or any indigenous for of art. The children participating in ICAF's programs will email their videos to ICAF headquarters by January 31, 2013. From there a jury will select the best videos to create an official video for Nico Vega's song, "We Are The Art".In regard to the partnership, Aja Volkman (vocals) stated, " Children and art are two of the most miraculous parts of life: Art is so important for the evolution of man and children are the future. The ICAF is a great organization for bringing art to children, especially with the shortage of art in schools."We Are The Art" is currently available for purchase and will be included on the "Fury Oh Fury" EP set to be released in February of 2013 (Five Seven Music). The band will be hitting the road with Imagine Dragons in February as well.
Parenting Pointers: Six Steps to Cope With Your Spouse's Scary Driving
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Riding with a driver who exhibits road rage can be a helpless and frightening experience. More often than not we have a choice of who we ride in the car with, but when a spouse is the driver with road rage, escape can seem impossible. The good news is that driving habits can be changed, and a concerned spouse is one of the most effective ways to alleviate rage on the road. By using the following steps as a guide, you can show your spouse how road rage isn't the right way to handle upsetting or dangerous road conditions.
1. Lead by Example
If your spouse is exhibiting road rage, one of the most important things you can do is not show rage on the road yourself. React to situations the same way you would want your spouse to react. Make your spouse aware that you are purposefully reacting to conditions on the road with a calm and patient mind. This behavior will help normalize a more calm and considerate presence on the road when you are together.
2. Communicate Your Anxiety
Most issues in a marriage revolve around a lack of effective communication. Make sure that your spouse knows that you are not comfortable with the way he handles himself on the road. Try not to bottle up your emotions until they explode, which is exactly the behavior you want him to avoid. When your spouse shows signs of road rage, immediately let him know it's bothering you and ask him to stop, but do so in a calm and loving way.
3. Avoid Blame and Empathize
When you are talking to your spouse about road rage issues, it's a good idea not to assign blame or become accusatory. Many people exhibit rage as a defensive mechanism on the road, and therefore may respond the same way if her driving skills come under attack from you. Tell your spouse that you know why she gets angry on the road, but explain there are better ways to deal with other drivers.
4. Evaluate the Situation Together
When an incident is likely to induce road rage in your spouse, try to calmly explain why getting angry does nothing to solve the problem. For example, if another driver cuts off your vehicle, explain why yelling and making obscene hand gestures makes no difference. It won’t change the other driver’s behavior, but it will surely upset the children riding with you. The realization that road rage scares the children is one of the strongest deterrents for angry drivers.
5. Emphasize Safety and Defense
Make sure your spouse knows that safety is the number one priority for your family on the highway. As a married couple, your goal together in life is to grow old and happy. Explain how road rage tendencies like tailgating and aggressive driving lead to more accidents than they prevent. It's easy enough to find stories in the news about accidents caused by road rage and aggressive driving.
6. Drive More Often
If none of these approaches help, it might be time to become the primary driver in the family. This probably won’t be necessary for most couples, but it remains an option if things get bad enough. Most spouses will be open to changing driving habits when they know the safety and comfort of the family is at stake.
Jessica Bosari writes about road rage and other driving dangers at Kanetics.
1. Lead by Example
If your spouse is exhibiting road rage, one of the most important things you can do is not show rage on the road yourself. React to situations the same way you would want your spouse to react. Make your spouse aware that you are purposefully reacting to conditions on the road with a calm and patient mind. This behavior will help normalize a more calm and considerate presence on the road when you are together.
2. Communicate Your Anxiety
Most issues in a marriage revolve around a lack of effective communication. Make sure that your spouse knows that you are not comfortable with the way he handles himself on the road. Try not to bottle up your emotions until they explode, which is exactly the behavior you want him to avoid. When your spouse shows signs of road rage, immediately let him know it's bothering you and ask him to stop, but do so in a calm and loving way.
3. Avoid Blame and Empathize
When you are talking to your spouse about road rage issues, it's a good idea not to assign blame or become accusatory. Many people exhibit rage as a defensive mechanism on the road, and therefore may respond the same way if her driving skills come under attack from you. Tell your spouse that you know why she gets angry on the road, but explain there are better ways to deal with other drivers.
4. Evaluate the Situation Together
When an incident is likely to induce road rage in your spouse, try to calmly explain why getting angry does nothing to solve the problem. For example, if another driver cuts off your vehicle, explain why yelling and making obscene hand gestures makes no difference. It won’t change the other driver’s behavior, but it will surely upset the children riding with you. The realization that road rage scares the children is one of the strongest deterrents for angry drivers.
5. Emphasize Safety and Defense
Make sure your spouse knows that safety is the number one priority for your family on the highway. As a married couple, your goal together in life is to grow old and happy. Explain how road rage tendencies like tailgating and aggressive driving lead to more accidents than they prevent. It's easy enough to find stories in the news about accidents caused by road rage and aggressive driving.
6. Drive More Often
If none of these approaches help, it might be time to become the primary driver in the family. This probably won’t be necessary for most couples, but it remains an option if things get bad enough. Most spouses will be open to changing driving habits when they know the safety and comfort of the family is at stake.
Jessica Bosari writes about road rage and other driving dangers at Kanetics.
Credit History and Divorce
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Do you have a history of bad credit or have a tendency to lie to your spouse or significant other about purchases you've made? Research now indicates that these tendencies can all provide important clues about how your relationship is working out. If you didn't think bad credit could hurt more than your ability to qualify for loans, think again. This infographic shows how experts believe credit usage can actually predict divorce.
Thrifty Thinking: What Every College Grad Needs to Know About Credit
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When it comes to credit score, there's no such thing as throwing out the lowest test grade or offering a chance for extra credit. That's why college students need do their homework early on so they can pass the credit test during those vital first few years in the "real world."
The first rule of credit: Use it or lose it.In other words, in order to create a strong credit profile (and qualify for future auto or home loans), you have to demonstrate that you're able to use credit responsibly. You'll likely have to start out slow, like opening your first credit card account, making small but manageable purchases with it, and paying your bill on time every month. From there, whether you have an auto loan or a cell phone bill, the key is to make on-time payments.
You'll have to pay your dues.As is the case with breaking into a new field right out of college, sometimes your youth goes against you and you have to prove yourself. In other words, you won't get the best credit card rates in the early years of your credit history because you haven't earned them. But you can and should still shop around for a card that has terms you can live with for a while (for starters, look for cards with no annual fee). The reason being you want to keep your first major accounts active for a few years to establish a strong history. Opening and closing new accounts all the time will negatively affect your credit score.
Don't screw up your parents' credit.If your parents put you on as an authorized user on any of their accounts or co-sign to help you open a credit account or car loan, that's an additional reason to be responsible with payments. If you don't, it will ding their credit scores as well as yours.
Late payments arenot “no big deal.”As soon as you are late -- even one day -- on a credit card payment, your lateness is reported to one or all of the credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian). The longer it takes you to pay, the worse it is (being 90 days overdue is worse than 30 days, for instance). To avoid being late, be sure you don't spend beyond your means, and set an email, text, or calendar alert so you have a reminder to make your payments on time.
Minimum payments will keep you in debt for decades.Paying your bills on time is the easy part; paying your balance in full is the challenge. If you run up your accounts and begin carrying large balances, paying just the minimum won't do much to bring down your debt thanks to interest that keeps accumulating. And when it comes to credit scores, how much debt you have as compared to how much credit you have available is a big part of the equation. So if you have a $1,000 credit limit and a $700 balance, you have a 70 percent debt utilization (not good!). Experts say to keep it under 30 percent, or even better, pay your balance in full each month.A healthy credit start takes discipline, especially for college grads who are just beginning to deal with financial independence. But it's a much easier road than trying to dig out from under a credit score that tanks.
Todd Hills is the CEO of Pawngo , the first full-service online pawn shop in the United States. After more than 25 years owning and operating brick and mortar pawn shops, Hills decided to bring this 3,000 year-old industry online. In 2009, he launched a successor to “Internet Pawn” called Pawngo based in Denver, Colorado. Hills got his first job at a pawn shop in 1985 before opening his own shop in 1990. Seven years later Pawn Onewas established. Pawn One was able to expand to 18 different locations by the year 2004 before he sold 15 of them to a public trading company. Hills goal was to take the pawn shop business to the next level, which was accomplished in 2009 when he launched Internet Pawn, the first online pawn shop in the US. Hills continued to grow the business and re-launched the company in 2011 as Pawngo withLighthouse Bank as its main investor.
The first rule of credit: Use it or lose it.In other words, in order to create a strong credit profile (and qualify for future auto or home loans), you have to demonstrate that you're able to use credit responsibly. You'll likely have to start out slow, like opening your first credit card account, making small but manageable purchases with it, and paying your bill on time every month. From there, whether you have an auto loan or a cell phone bill, the key is to make on-time payments.
You'll have to pay your dues.As is the case with breaking into a new field right out of college, sometimes your youth goes against you and you have to prove yourself. In other words, you won't get the best credit card rates in the early years of your credit history because you haven't earned them. But you can and should still shop around for a card that has terms you can live with for a while (for starters, look for cards with no annual fee). The reason being you want to keep your first major accounts active for a few years to establish a strong history. Opening and closing new accounts all the time will negatively affect your credit score.
Don't screw up your parents' credit.If your parents put you on as an authorized user on any of their accounts or co-sign to help you open a credit account or car loan, that's an additional reason to be responsible with payments. If you don't, it will ding their credit scores as well as yours.
Late payments arenot “no big deal.”As soon as you are late -- even one day -- on a credit card payment, your lateness is reported to one or all of the credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian). The longer it takes you to pay, the worse it is (being 90 days overdue is worse than 30 days, for instance). To avoid being late, be sure you don't spend beyond your means, and set an email, text, or calendar alert so you have a reminder to make your payments on time.
Minimum payments will keep you in debt for decades.Paying your bills on time is the easy part; paying your balance in full is the challenge. If you run up your accounts and begin carrying large balances, paying just the minimum won't do much to bring down your debt thanks to interest that keeps accumulating. And when it comes to credit scores, how much debt you have as compared to how much credit you have available is a big part of the equation. So if you have a $1,000 credit limit and a $700 balance, you have a 70 percent debt utilization (not good!). Experts say to keep it under 30 percent, or even better, pay your balance in full each month.A healthy credit start takes discipline, especially for college grads who are just beginning to deal with financial independence. But it's a much easier road than trying to dig out from under a credit score that tanks.
Todd Hills is the CEO of Pawngo , the first full-service online pawn shop in the United States. After more than 25 years owning and operating brick and mortar pawn shops, Hills decided to bring this 3,000 year-old industry online. In 2009, he launched a successor to “Internet Pawn” called Pawngo based in Denver, Colorado. Hills got his first job at a pawn shop in 1985 before opening his own shop in 1990. Seven years later Pawn Onewas established. Pawn One was able to expand to 18 different locations by the year 2004 before he sold 15 of them to a public trading company. Hills goal was to take the pawn shop business to the next level, which was accomplished in 2009 when he launched Internet Pawn, the first online pawn shop in the US. Hills continued to grow the business and re-launched the company in 2011 as Pawngo withLighthouse Bank as its main investor.
Parenting Pointers: How Not to Turn Your Kids into Troubled Teens
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The best way to avoid turningyour kids into troubled teens is to help them build character. Kids can't learnhow to be moral by reading school textbooks or from day-to-day lessons. This isa lesson they learn by watching the adults in their lives, especially theirparents. You need to use proven strategies that are simple enough to make anactual difference in the lives of children. Once you find what works for youand your kids, be consistent and stick to it. Here are five simple tips forhelping to build character in your kids so they won't turn into troubled teens.
Kaylee Wilson is a proudsingle mom and a professional writer. She currently contributes at The FamilyCompass. The Family Compass brings together a vast collection of resources thatwill help families find their bearings.The Family Compass can help. Click here for boarding schools for troubled teens.
The best way to avoid turningyour kids into troubled teens is to help them build character. Kids can't learnhow to be moral by reading school textbooks or from day-to-day lessons. This isa lesson they learn by watching the adults in their lives, especially theirparents. You need to use proven strategies that are simple enough to make anactual difference in the lives of children. Once you find what works for youand your kids, be consistent and stick to it. Here are five simple tips forhelping to build character in your kids so they won't turn into troubled teens.
5 Tips for Building Character in YourChildren
1. Stay Committed to Your Morals – If you stay committed toyour own personal morals, you have a better chance of raising a child with goodmorals. Remember that your kids are watching your every move. The choices youmake in your daily life will have an impact on theirs, one way of another. So,stay committed to living your life morally, and they will like follow suit.2. Share Your Beliefs with Them – It's impossible to raisea child with high values if you're not clear what yours area. Take time tothink about the values you truly believe in. Spend quality time with your kids,sharing your values with them regularly. Also, be sure to explain your reasonsbehind the way you feel. In life, your kids will continuously hear and seethings that are against what you believe in. They need to feel strongly aboutyour standards in order to go against the immoral ones in the outside world.3. Teach Moral Lessons During Disciplining –Discipline is an important part of parenting. Children need to know thatthere are consequences to negative behavior and decisions. Effective disciplineinvolves helping them to recognize why their negative behavior was wrong. Italso involves helping them learn how to reflect on the consequences they mustface because of this behavior. Discipline is not all about punishment. Itshould also be able helping your kids learn from their mistakes so that theycan continue to grow morally.4. Make Strong Character a Daily Priority – Encourageyour children to make a difference in the world, their communities and withintheir family structures. The goals behind this is to help them become lessdependent upon your guidance, while incorporating positive principles intotheir daily lives. In time, many of these principles will also become theirown. This can be made possible if you continuously instill important virtues,and recognize those virtues, letting them know that you approve.5. Follow the Golden Rule - “Do untoothers as you would have them do unto you” is one of the best values youcan teach your children. Children who understand and honor this rule are almostcertain to grow up to be good teens. Making this the moral principle of yourparenting tactics is one of the best ways to ensure that you don't turn yourkids into trouble teens.About the Author:Kaylee Wilson is a proudsingle mom and a professional writer. She currently contributes at The FamilyCompass. The Family Compass brings together a vast collection of resources thatwill help families find their bearings.The Family Compass can help. Click here for boarding schools for troubled teens.
27 Aralık 2012 Perşembe
Thrifty Thinking: Getting Honest About Money (Guest Post)
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5Money Secrets: InspiringNew Ways to Think About Your Money
One of the main reasons you and Iare working together is that you’re tired of being driven by fears and desires.Throughout this lesson, I’ve pointed out that identifying finance as a strictlyintellectual endeavor has not served your needs. My goal is to lead you towardliving your one best financial life.Although what money alone can do islimited, its power to create happiness or cause suffering is immense. Thefollowing 5 Money Secrets provide a powerful way to guide your decision makingso that you can take genuine control of your financial life.
1. Your life will be filled withtough choices.2. Your entire life is determinedby how you make decisions.3. Your biases will affect everydecision you make.4. You will be distracted by thingsthat really don’t matter.5. You must have a good process to make good decisions.Money Secret 1: Your life will be filled with tough choices.YouWant It AllPart of consumer culture is thatfrom early on, we’re taught to think big. Every American can dream of owning anicer car. We drool over bigger TVs. We vow to take more vacations. We fantasizeabout fancier shoes and jewelry. With a combination of envy and disdain, weread stories of the super rich with their mega mansions and private jets. Sometimesit’s a blessing; other times, it’s a curse. In either case, we humans have alimitless ability to dream bigger and to always elevate our aspirations. Thisis true whether you’re a schoolteacher struggling to make ends meet or you’re abillionaire, like Bill Gates, debating how to improve the lives of as manyimpoverished people as possible—and, for the moreself-interested super rich, how biga yacht they can afford! At some point, however, you must acknowledge thereality of your circumstances. Usually, you can’t have it all. Soyou have to make choices.Neglecting to make tradeoffs canlead to credit card debt, a persistent inferiority complex, and constantfinancial pressure. To reach your fullest potential requires you to identifythe intersection between two elements:• Your currentdreams and goals• Your finiteresources
Money Secret 2 Your entire life isdetermined by how you make decisions:
BigDecisions Can Be Both Scary and ExhilaratingMajor decisions can keep you up at night.They sometimes nervously walk the line between big payouts and failures of mythicmagnitude. Consider some of the most significant ones you’ve made in your life.I’ll list a few possibilities: • Who will be myprom date?• How will I tellmy parents about the car wreck?• What collegewill I attend?• Should I takethe job?• Should I quitand start a new career?• Should I launchmy own business?• Will I getmarried?• Will I havekids?• Do I want adivorce?• What’s the bestcancer treatment?• How will I livethe rest of my life?• What do I donow?These supersized decisions arestressful because we don’t have control over their outcomes. Despite this lackof control, however, we manage to spend an exorbitant amount of time runningthrough countless what-if scenarios.
Money Secret 3 Your biases willaffect every decision you make:
Everyone perceives his or herfinancial situation in a particular way. We each have our own perspective thatis shaped by our personal history and upbringing. I have already discussed thefact that money helps you do the following three things:1. Avoid pain—by protecting youand helping you to take care of what you’re afraid might cause pain in thefuture2. Feel good—by getting youthe things that provide you with happiness and satisfaction3. Take care of theones you love—by meeting your obligations to family, community, and society at largeWe all want money to take care ofthese things for us. But because of who we are and the life we have led, one ofthe three is usually more important to us than the other two. And when it comesto important or stressful financial decisions, we generally have a primaryfocus.I call this primary focus your Money Mind. There are only three Money Minds.They are as follows:1. Fear (The Protector)2. Happiness (The PleasureSeeker)3. Commitment (The Giver)Whenfaced with important financial decisions, you will revert to your dominantMoneyMind, which will always affect the way you make decisions.
Money Secret 4 You will be distracted by things that really don’tmatter:
Your Two Worlds: External and InternalWith so much competing for your attentionevery day, determining where to direct your resources is a daunting task. Nodoubt, there are limitless ways to spend your time and energy. Unfortunately,you have a limited amount of both. In this regard, time is fair: Whether you’rethe president of the United States or a newborn infant, your daily dose of 24hours is the same. Therefore, to reach your goals, you must determine whereyou’ll direct your focus right now and what you’ll postpone until later. Inthis lesson, I’ll first describe what is competing for your time and resourceswhen it comes to your financial life. From there, you can determine how toseparate essential tasks from nonessential ones. Each of us lives in twofinancial worlds: external and internal. Our external world includes taxes,inflation, the country’s economy, the stock market, and more. All of these willaffect us, but we cannot control them. Meanwhile, our internal world consistsof our job, salary, spouse, and family—in other words, things we can directlyimpact.
Controlthe ControllableImagine that you’ve planned to loseone pound per week over the next ten weeks. You’ve made it to week three, andyou’ve proudly stuck to your plan. As a result, you’re three pounds lighter.Two activities havecaused your weight loss: You’vewalked three miles a day, and you’ve cut your total caloric intake.It’s now Monday of week four. Atthe start of your daily walk, you trip and sprain your ankle. The doctor saysthat you cannot bear weight on it for two weeks. Suddenly, an accident, whichwas out of your control, has presented you with two realities:
1. You can’t change what happened.2. You can only change how youreact to new information.
Money Secret 5 You must have a good process to make good decisions.1. Complete InformationThis means you have a comprehensiveunderstanding of all the issues related to a particular decision you need tomake. Complete information includes a decision’s possible ramifications,consequences, and long-term costs. You also need an accurate assessment of theresources you have available to pay for your decision.2. Objective AnalysisIn order to move forward in a waythat will help you avoid hazardous obstacles, you must remove all personalbiases that could cloud your judgment. This is why I had you complete the MoneyMind exercise. Now you must have a methodology to assess the costs, benefits,and tradeoffs required to move ahead with your decision objectively.3. Deliberate ActionSimply put, this will answer thequestion, “As far as going forward with my proposed decision is concerned, isit yes or no, or both yes and no?” Once you’ve come to a conclusion, you mustfollow a clearly defined and well-organized series of action steps in order torealize the best possible outcome. The most systematic way to do this is tohave a disciplined process that walks you through all the important steps you needto take.
Joe John Duran is CEOand founding partner of United Capital, which consistently ranks as one of thenation’s fastest growing wealth counseling firms. He’s fueled by his passion tochange the industry and improve lives by empowering people to make better, moreinformed financial decisions. From CNBC to CNN, Joe frequently providescommentary on TV. He has been profiled in numerous publications, including the NewYork Times and Smart Money.
Please check us outon: www.mymoneycode.com
5Money Secrets: InspiringNew Ways to Think About Your Money
One of the main reasons you and Iare working together is that you’re tired of being driven by fears and desires.Throughout this lesson, I’ve pointed out that identifying finance as a strictlyintellectual endeavor has not served your needs. My goal is to lead you towardliving your one best financial life.Although what money alone can do islimited, its power to create happiness or cause suffering is immense. Thefollowing 5 Money Secrets provide a powerful way to guide your decision makingso that you can take genuine control of your financial life.
1. Your life will be filled withtough choices.2. Your entire life is determinedby how you make decisions.3. Your biases will affect everydecision you make.4. You will be distracted by thingsthat really don’t matter.5. You must have a good process to make good decisions.Money Secret 1: Your life will be filled with tough choices.YouWant It AllPart of consumer culture is thatfrom early on, we’re taught to think big. Every American can dream of owning anicer car. We drool over bigger TVs. We vow to take more vacations. We fantasizeabout fancier shoes and jewelry. With a combination of envy and disdain, weread stories of the super rich with their mega mansions and private jets. Sometimesit’s a blessing; other times, it’s a curse. In either case, we humans have alimitless ability to dream bigger and to always elevate our aspirations. Thisis true whether you’re a schoolteacher struggling to make ends meet or you’re abillionaire, like Bill Gates, debating how to improve the lives of as manyimpoverished people as possible—and, for the moreself-interested super rich, how biga yacht they can afford! At some point, however, you must acknowledge thereality of your circumstances. Usually, you can’t have it all. Soyou have to make choices.Neglecting to make tradeoffs canlead to credit card debt, a persistent inferiority complex, and constantfinancial pressure. To reach your fullest potential requires you to identifythe intersection between two elements:• Your currentdreams and goals• Your finiteresources
Money Secret 2 Your entire life isdetermined by how you make decisions:
BigDecisions Can Be Both Scary and ExhilaratingMajor decisions can keep you up at night.They sometimes nervously walk the line between big payouts and failures of mythicmagnitude. Consider some of the most significant ones you’ve made in your life.I’ll list a few possibilities: • Who will be myprom date?• How will I tellmy parents about the car wreck?• What collegewill I attend?• Should I takethe job?• Should I quitand start a new career?• Should I launchmy own business?• Will I getmarried?• Will I havekids?• Do I want adivorce?• What’s the bestcancer treatment?• How will I livethe rest of my life?• What do I donow?These supersized decisions arestressful because we don’t have control over their outcomes. Despite this lackof control, however, we manage to spend an exorbitant amount of time runningthrough countless what-if scenarios.
Money Secret 3 Your biases willaffect every decision you make:
Everyone perceives his or herfinancial situation in a particular way. We each have our own perspective thatis shaped by our personal history and upbringing. I have already discussed thefact that money helps you do the following three things:1. Avoid pain—by protecting youand helping you to take care of what you’re afraid might cause pain in thefuture2. Feel good—by getting youthe things that provide you with happiness and satisfaction3. Take care of theones you love—by meeting your obligations to family, community, and society at largeWe all want money to take care ofthese things for us. But because of who we are and the life we have led, one ofthe three is usually more important to us than the other two. And when it comesto important or stressful financial decisions, we generally have a primaryfocus.I call this primary focus your Money Mind. There are only three Money Minds.They are as follows:1. Fear (The Protector)2. Happiness (The PleasureSeeker)3. Commitment (The Giver)Whenfaced with important financial decisions, you will revert to your dominantMoneyMind, which will always affect the way you make decisions.
Money Secret 4 You will be distracted by things that really don’tmatter:
Your Two Worlds: External and InternalWith so much competing for your attentionevery day, determining where to direct your resources is a daunting task. Nodoubt, there are limitless ways to spend your time and energy. Unfortunately,you have a limited amount of both. In this regard, time is fair: Whether you’rethe president of the United States or a newborn infant, your daily dose of 24hours is the same. Therefore, to reach your goals, you must determine whereyou’ll direct your focus right now and what you’ll postpone until later. Inthis lesson, I’ll first describe what is competing for your time and resourceswhen it comes to your financial life. From there, you can determine how toseparate essential tasks from nonessential ones. Each of us lives in twofinancial worlds: external and internal. Our external world includes taxes,inflation, the country’s economy, the stock market, and more. All of these willaffect us, but we cannot control them. Meanwhile, our internal world consistsof our job, salary, spouse, and family—in other words, things we can directlyimpact.
Controlthe ControllableImagine that you’ve planned to loseone pound per week over the next ten weeks. You’ve made it to week three, andyou’ve proudly stuck to your plan. As a result, you’re three pounds lighter.Two activities havecaused your weight loss: You’vewalked three miles a day, and you’ve cut your total caloric intake.It’s now Monday of week four. Atthe start of your daily walk, you trip and sprain your ankle. The doctor saysthat you cannot bear weight on it for two weeks. Suddenly, an accident, whichwas out of your control, has presented you with two realities:
1. You can’t change what happened.2. You can only change how youreact to new information.
Money Secret 5 You must have a good process to make good decisions.1. Complete InformationThis means you have a comprehensiveunderstanding of all the issues related to a particular decision you need tomake. Complete information includes a decision’s possible ramifications,consequences, and long-term costs. You also need an accurate assessment of theresources you have available to pay for your decision.2. Objective AnalysisIn order to move forward in a waythat will help you avoid hazardous obstacles, you must remove all personalbiases that could cloud your judgment. This is why I had you complete the MoneyMind exercise. Now you must have a methodology to assess the costs, benefits,and tradeoffs required to move ahead with your decision objectively.3. Deliberate ActionSimply put, this will answer thequestion, “As far as going forward with my proposed decision is concerned, isit yes or no, or both yes and no?” Once you’ve come to a conclusion, you mustfollow a clearly defined and well-organized series of action steps in order torealize the best possible outcome. The most systematic way to do this is tohave a disciplined process that walks you through all the important steps you needto take.
Joe John Duran is CEOand founding partner of United Capital, which consistently ranks as one of thenation’s fastest growing wealth counseling firms. He’s fueled by his passion tochange the industry and improve lives by empowering people to make better, moreinformed financial decisions. From CNBC to CNN, Joe frequently providescommentary on TV. He has been profiled in numerous publications, including the NewYork Times and Smart Money.
Please check us outon: www.mymoneycode.com
Gulfstream Park's Wide Open Spectacular Bid Stakes May See Price Repeat
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The $100,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes at Gulfstream Park has never produced a Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands winner but Groovy still ranks third on the list of all-time fastest quarter and half-mile fractions in the Run for the Roses. After winning the inaugural Spectacular Bid Stakes in 1986, the Texas-bred Groovy lead for just about six furlongs before faltering and finishing last in that Derby.
The last Spectacular Bid Stakes starter to make it to Kentucky was Discreetly Mine, a fourth-place finisher behind A Little Warm in the Spectacular Bid two years ago and 13th in the subsequent Kentucky Derby.
So don’t look for the winter future book favorite to come out of Saturday’s featured Spectacular Bid Stakes for opening day at Gulfstream Park. The Specatular Bid, named for the 1979 Kentucky Derby (photo right) winner and 1980 Horse of the Year, the Spectacular Bid has traditionally been the first 3-year-old stake of the prestigious Gulfstream Park meeting. This year, the seven furlong Spectacular Bid will be run for 2-year-olds for the first time due to the early opening day for Gulfstream Park. At first glance, no Kentucky Derby winner jumps out of the Daily Racing Form, but it appears there are some colts with potential.
Morning line favorite Luke of York makes his first start on dirt after narrowly winning his first two races on Polytrack. The humbly-bred son of Put It Back broke his maiden by a nose at Arlington Park in late September then came back to win the $125,000 Keeneland 75th Anniversary Stakes Oct. 15, again by a nose. Rajiv Marach rides Luke of York for trainer James P DiVito and is 5-to-2 in the morning line.
Vexor, the second choice among the field of eight at 3-to-1 morning line odds, backs down in class after finishing ninth behind Secret Circle in the $454,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs. Vexor is the only Bid runner with graded stakes experience adding a grade 2 victory in the Nashua Stakes at Belmont October 2 to his past performances. Also of budgetary friendly bloodlines as a son of Wildcat Heir, Vexor was eighth in the grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, some 42 lengths behind winner Currency Swap. A close look at the John Kimmel trainee before the race may indicate which Vexor will be breaking from the starting gate in Saturday’s Spectacular Bid. He runs as if he has handicapped the race running well against grade 1 or less, but flopping when in the grade 1 Hopeful or on the national stage of the Juvey Sprint.
Town Prize, 8-1 in the morning line, and Ancient Rome, (4-1), have a little more blue running in their blood being by Speightstown and Roman Ruler respectively. Ancient Rome moves out of maiden company for the first time in the Spectacular Bid after winning his second start by more than seven lengths. Town Prize has won two of three races including a maiden and an allowance, but finished third in the $150,000 Colin Stakes at Woodbine in July. Town Prize is another making his natural dirt debut after all of his previous starts were on Polytrack.
Town Prize, Ancient Rome and Vexor are the only three starters to have a wire-to-wire victory under their belts and should provide an honest pace. Vexor will have a slight advantage, breaking from post three while Ancient Rome is number seven and Town Prize eight. Most of the other Spectacular Bid entrants are true stalkers with a fondness to run within two-to-four lengths off the leaders early. Longshot Rex’s Last Tour is the only Bid foe with a win coming from as far back as five lengths. Number one Jordon’s Image (8-to-1 morning line), rallied from ten lengths back four starts back, but only managed a third and it was against maiden claimers.
For Oby may be the choice for some as he is the only starter to have won at seven furlongs, having done so in his last out in the J. Price Juvenile over fellow Spectacular Bid runner Jordon’s Image. At 6-to-1, For Oby is at an attractive price and gets Alan Gacia in the saddle for trainer Pedro Maestre.
Selections
7 - Ancient Rome
2- Rex's Last Tour
3 - Vexor
The last Spectacular Bid Stakes starter to make it to Kentucky was Discreetly Mine, a fourth-place finisher behind A Little Warm in the Spectacular Bid two years ago and 13th in the subsequent Kentucky Derby.
So don’t look for the winter future book favorite to come out of Saturday’s featured Spectacular Bid Stakes for opening day at Gulfstream Park. The Specatular Bid, named for the 1979 Kentucky Derby (photo right) winner and 1980 Horse of the Year, the Spectacular Bid has traditionally been the first 3-year-old stake of the prestigious Gulfstream Park meeting. This year, the seven furlong Spectacular Bid will be run for 2-year-olds for the first time due to the early opening day for Gulfstream Park. At first glance, no Kentucky Derby winner jumps out of the Daily Racing Form, but it appears there are some colts with potential. Morning line favorite Luke of York makes his first start on dirt after narrowly winning his first two races on Polytrack. The humbly-bred son of Put It Back broke his maiden by a nose at Arlington Park in late September then came back to win the $125,000 Keeneland 75th Anniversary Stakes Oct. 15, again by a nose. Rajiv Marach rides Luke of York for trainer James P DiVito and is 5-to-2 in the morning line.
Vexor, the second choice among the field of eight at 3-to-1 morning line odds, backs down in class after finishing ninth behind Secret Circle in the $454,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs. Vexor is the only Bid runner with graded stakes experience adding a grade 2 victory in the Nashua Stakes at Belmont October 2 to his past performances. Also of budgetary friendly bloodlines as a son of Wildcat Heir, Vexor was eighth in the grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, some 42 lengths behind winner Currency Swap. A close look at the John Kimmel trainee before the race may indicate which Vexor will be breaking from the starting gate in Saturday’s Spectacular Bid. He runs as if he has handicapped the race running well against grade 1 or less, but flopping when in the grade 1 Hopeful or on the national stage of the Juvey Sprint.
Town Prize, 8-1 in the morning line, and Ancient Rome, (4-1), have a little more blue running in their blood being by Speightstown and Roman Ruler respectively. Ancient Rome moves out of maiden company for the first time in the Spectacular Bid after winning his second start by more than seven lengths. Town Prize has won two of three races including a maiden and an allowance, but finished third in the $150,000 Colin Stakes at Woodbine in July. Town Prize is another making his natural dirt debut after all of his previous starts were on Polytrack.
Town Prize, Ancient Rome and Vexor are the only three starters to have a wire-to-wire victory under their belts and should provide an honest pace. Vexor will have a slight advantage, breaking from post three while Ancient Rome is number seven and Town Prize eight. Most of the other Spectacular Bid entrants are true stalkers with a fondness to run within two-to-four lengths off the leaders early. Longshot Rex’s Last Tour is the only Bid foe with a win coming from as far back as five lengths. Number one Jordon’s Image (8-to-1 morning line), rallied from ten lengths back four starts back, but only managed a third and it was against maiden claimers.
For Oby may be the choice for some as he is the only starter to have won at seven furlongs, having done so in his last out in the J. Price Juvenile over fellow Spectacular Bid runner Jordon’s Image. At 6-to-1, For Oby is at an attractive price and gets Alan Gacia in the saddle for trainer Pedro Maestre.
Selections
7 - Ancient Rome
2- Rex's Last Tour
3 - Vexor
CashCall Stars Can Emerge From Long Shadows Cast by Breeders' Cup Juvenile
To contact us Click HERE
Our last look into the 2011 chrystal ball that is next year’s road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands presents itself Saturday in the $750,000 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park. Run in the shadow of the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the CashCall Futurity has neither the $1 million purse nor history of producing divisional champions like the more prestigious Juvenile, but they are both grade 1 and their winners have donned an equal number of rose blankets – one each. Street Sense is the only horse to win both Juvenile (2006) and Kentucky Derby (’07) while Real Quiet won the 1997 CashCall and the Derby the following year.
Both races are also run at distance of 1-1/16 miles.
Championship voters don’t seem to emphasized the similarities between the two races however, and have given the Juvenile significantly more weight in determining their selections. For disclosure, I agree the Juvenile should have greater importance than other grade 1 races in determining the year-end champion. If the industry is going to call the Breeders’ Cup a World Championship, they (we) need to treat it like one. The Eclipse Award voters have that well since the Breedeer Cup first ran some 27 years ago.
Since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was first won by Chief’s Crown in 1984, 20 winners have been named Champion Two-Year-Old Colt or Gelding for that year. Since Roving Boy won the CashCall (then Hollywood Futurity) in 1982 and the corresponding divisional championship, only CashCall winners Declan’s Moon and Looking at Lucky have been honored with Eclipse Awards. The four others named divisional champions during that 27-year span without winning either the CashCall nor the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile were Forty Niner (1987), Easy Goer (1988), Dehere (1993) and Maria’s Mon (1995). All four were named 2-year-old male champions after winning their respective Champagne Stakes in New York but losing or not running in the Juvenile.
Forty Niner, Maria Mon’s and Declan’s Moon were champions that did not start in the Breeders’ Cup while Looking at Lucky, Dehere and Easy Goer won the divisional honor after losing in the Breeders’ Cup. Looking at Lucky and Easy Goer were second to long shot Vale of York and Is It True in 1988 and 2009 Juveniles respectively. Dehere was eighth as the odds-on favorite in the 1987 Juvenile won by Success Express before winning his 2-year-old male championship.
What makes the CashCall of more interest is the annual participation and sometimes domination by three-time Derby winning trainer and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Baffert has won two of the last three CashCall Futurities and a record five total. Known as the other silver-haired fox from
Arizona (former University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olsen being the first white-haired legend from the Grand Canyon State), Baffert has won the CashCall with Real Quiet, Captain Steve (1999), Point Given (2000) (photo left), Poineerof the Nile (‘08) and Looking at Lucky.
Also adding to the uniqueness of the CashCall is the artificial Cushion Track material that makes up the main track at Hollywood Park. Last year, Comma to the Top made the CashCall his fifth-straight win, but all were on artificial main tracks or grass. In his first race on natural dirt, Comma to the Top came back to run second in the Santa Anita Derby and then last in the Kentucky Derby, also on dirt. Looking at Lucky would eventually win the Preakness and then repeat as the division champion and show he could run on natural dir and Pioneerof the Nile was second on natural dirt in the Kentucky Derby.
Now, Santa Anita will have their natural dirt for the second time for their winter prep races leading up to the Derby, so any natural dirt-challenged winner of the CashCall will now likely be exposed sooner or prepare the Kentucky Derby over the PolyTrack surfaces at Turfway Park and/ or Keeneland. (see 2010 Derby winner Animal Kingdom.) Any plans to take the Southern California, New York, Arkansas, Florida or Louisiana roads to Kentucky, mean running on natural dirt.
According to Daily Racing Form’s Steve Andersen, Baffert will again be loaded for the CashCall with three 2-year-olds set for the 1-1/16-mile race. Del Mar Futurity winner Drill will try to return to the winners’ circle after graded stakes loses in the Norfolk, Juvenile and Delta Jackpot. Maiden winner Sky Kingdom and Real Quiet Stakes winner Liason will also be saddled by Baffert in this CashCall Futurity.
Not sure other CashCall contenders Basmati and Longview Drive, the place and show horses in the Delta Jackpot in their last start, don’t appear to have enough credentials for the championship, even with a big performance in the CashCall.
No matter, the CashCall winner is sure to move up near the top of many Kentucky Derby 2012 lists of contenders. Winter Future Books will be adjusted and for some, rosy dreams will begin to bloom for others. Regardless of who gets honored with the 2-year-old male title, it will be the Derby that holds all the glamour and history and the CashCall Futurity is more than a month closer than its Breeders’ Cup brother-race. The CashCall Futurity now crawls from beneath the long shadow cast by the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and at least one shining star will emerge and walk into the Hollywood Park winners’ circle Saturday.
Then on to the road that may lead to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
Our last look into the 2011 chrystal ball that is next year’s road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands presents itself Saturday in the $750,000 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park. Run in the shadow of the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the CashCall Futurity has neither the $1 million purse nor history of producing divisional champions like the more prestigious Juvenile, but they are both grade 1 and their winners have donned an equal number of rose blankets – one each. Street Sense is the only horse to win both Juvenile (2006) and Kentucky Derby (’07) while Real Quiet won the 1997 CashCall and the Derby the following year.Both races are also run at distance of 1-1/16 miles.
Championship voters don’t seem to emphasized the similarities between the two races however, and have given the Juvenile significantly more weight in determining their selections. For disclosure, I agree the Juvenile should have greater importance than other grade 1 races in determining the year-end champion. If the industry is going to call the Breeders’ Cup a World Championship, they (we) need to treat it like one. The Eclipse Award voters have that well since the Breedeer Cup first ran some 27 years ago.
Since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was first won by Chief’s Crown in 1984, 20 winners have been named Champion Two-Year-Old Colt or Gelding for that year. Since Roving Boy won the CashCall (then Hollywood Futurity) in 1982 and the corresponding divisional championship, only CashCall winners Declan’s Moon and Looking at Lucky have been honored with Eclipse Awards. The four others named divisional champions during that 27-year span without winning either the CashCall nor the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile were Forty Niner (1987), Easy Goer (1988), Dehere (1993) and Maria’s Mon (1995). All four were named 2-year-old male champions after winning their respective Champagne Stakes in New York but losing or not running in the Juvenile.
Forty Niner, Maria Mon’s and Declan’s Moon were champions that did not start in the Breeders’ Cup while Looking at Lucky, Dehere and Easy Goer won the divisional honor after losing in the Breeders’ Cup. Looking at Lucky and Easy Goer were second to long shot Vale of York and Is It True in 1988 and 2009 Juveniles respectively. Dehere was eighth as the odds-on favorite in the 1987 Juvenile won by Success Express before winning his 2-year-old male championship.
What makes the CashCall of more interest is the annual participation and sometimes domination by three-time Derby winning trainer and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Baffert has won two of the last three CashCall Futurities and a record five total. Known as the other silver-haired fox from
Arizona (former University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olsen being the first white-haired legend from the Grand Canyon State), Baffert has won the CashCall with Real Quiet, Captain Steve (1999), Point Given (2000) (photo left), Poineerof the Nile (‘08) and Looking at Lucky.Also adding to the uniqueness of the CashCall is the artificial Cushion Track material that makes up the main track at Hollywood Park. Last year, Comma to the Top made the CashCall his fifth-straight win, but all were on artificial main tracks or grass. In his first race on natural dirt, Comma to the Top came back to run second in the Santa Anita Derby and then last in the Kentucky Derby, also on dirt. Looking at Lucky would eventually win the Preakness and then repeat as the division champion and show he could run on natural dir and Pioneerof the Nile was second on natural dirt in the Kentucky Derby.
Now, Santa Anita will have their natural dirt for the second time for their winter prep races leading up to the Derby, so any natural dirt-challenged winner of the CashCall will now likely be exposed sooner or prepare the Kentucky Derby over the PolyTrack surfaces at Turfway Park and/ or Keeneland. (see 2010 Derby winner Animal Kingdom.) Any plans to take the Southern California, New York, Arkansas, Florida or Louisiana roads to Kentucky, mean running on natural dirt.
According to Daily Racing Form’s Steve Andersen, Baffert will again be loaded for the CashCall with three 2-year-olds set for the 1-1/16-mile race. Del Mar Futurity winner Drill will try to return to the winners’ circle after graded stakes loses in the Norfolk, Juvenile and Delta Jackpot. Maiden winner Sky Kingdom and Real Quiet Stakes winner Liason will also be saddled by Baffert in this CashCall Futurity.
Not sure other CashCall contenders Basmati and Longview Drive, the place and show horses in the Delta Jackpot in their last start, don’t appear to have enough credentials for the championship, even with a big performance in the CashCall.
No matter, the CashCall winner is sure to move up near the top of many Kentucky Derby 2012 lists of contenders. Winter Future Books will be adjusted and for some, rosy dreams will begin to bloom for others. Regardless of who gets honored with the 2-year-old male title, it will be the Derby that holds all the glamour and history and the CashCall Futurity is more than a month closer than its Breeders’ Cup brother-race. The CashCall Futurity now crawls from beneath the long shadow cast by the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and at least one shining star will emerge and walk into the Hollywood Park winners’ circle Saturday.
Then on to the road that may lead to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
'Twas The Night Before Racing
To contact us Click HERE
‘Twas the night before Christmas
Inside the barn area fence
Not a creature was stirring
Not track maintenance.
The hay nets were hung
From the stall doors with care
Hoping the guy with the sweet feed
Soon would be there.
The horses were all standing
Asleep in their bedding
While the grooms played the tunes
Of the Spanish Helen Redding
(Soy mujer, me oigo rugir!)
With mama closing the tack room
And I shutting light
We took a look down the shed row
Before calling it a night
When suddenly we heard
A bang and clang
It sounded as if
The starting gate rang
But the race track was closed
And the gate crew was drinking
So I turned to mama while wonderin’
What she was thinking?
Then a sudden red light
And with little alarm
I saw something land
Atop the test barn
It was the thoroughbred season!
There were no sulkies around!
So certainly this was
A sleigh that we found
I recognized the harness
And the reins were no mystery
But those were sure reindeer
“Track security is history!”
Then out from the sleigh
Jumped the driver dressed in red
He looks at me smiling
And says “Can you watch my sled?”
“I have peppermints here
Maidens and Claimers by name
Then suddenly he vanished
And I’m holding Rudolph’s reins
In less than a second
He was back and set to go
“How fast is this sleigh?”
He said, “You’ll never know!
“I use Christmas Spirit
To power this thing
For this team of reindeer
The world’s a bullring
“This is a very fast group
And this is a magical little bag
But don’t get ideas
They don’t run for a tag!”
Then a little toy trumpet
He brought to his lips
And he played Boots and Saddles
With his hands on his hips
I laughed then looked up
And he was gone in a sec
Then I looked down
And saw the win pic
As I looked at it closer
What a wonderful sight
It was Santa on the left
And me on the right
Donner was center
The rest were in back
And I don’t know who they were
But there were elves in the sack
He sprang to his sleigh
to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew
to Los Al then to Thistle.
But then I heard him say
with a laugh and a roar,
"Happy Christmas to all
And hit a pick-four!”
‘Twas the night before ChristmasInside the barn area fence
Not a creature was stirring
Not track maintenance.
The hay nets were hung
From the stall doors with care
Hoping the guy with the sweet feed
Soon would be there.
The horses were all standing
Asleep in their bedding
While the grooms played the tunes
Of the Spanish Helen Redding
(Soy mujer, me oigo rugir!)
With mama closing the tack room
And I shutting light
We took a look down the shed row
Before calling it a night
When suddenly we heard
A bang and clang
It sounded as if
The starting gate rang
But the race track was closed
And the gate crew was drinking
So I turned to mama while wonderin’
What she was thinking?
Then a sudden red light
And with little alarm
I saw something land
Atop the test barn
It was the thoroughbred season!
There were no sulkies around!
So certainly this was
A sleigh that we found
I recognized the harness
And the reins were no mystery
But those were sure reindeer
“Track security is history!”
Then out from the sleigh
Jumped the driver dressed in red
He looks at me smiling
And says “Can you watch my sled?”
“I have peppermints here
Maidens and Claimers by name
Then suddenly he vanished
And I’m holding Rudolph’s reins
In less than a second
He was back and set to go
“How fast is this sleigh?”
He said, “You’ll never know!
“I use Christmas Spirit
To power this thing
For this team of reindeer
The world’s a bullring
“This is a very fast group
And this is a magical little bag
But don’t get ideas
They don’t run for a tag!”
Then a little toy trumpet
He brought to his lips
And he played Boots and Saddles
With his hands on his hips
I laughed then looked up
And he was gone in a sec
Then I looked down
And saw the win pic
As I looked at it closer
What a wonderful sight
It was Santa on the left
And me on the right
Donner was center
The rest were in back
And I don’t know who they were
But there were elves in the sack
He sprang to his sleigh
to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew
to Los Al then to Thistle.
But then I heard him say
with a laugh and a roar,
"Happy Christmas to all
And hit a pick-four!”
Gary Coleman's catchy call for cash campaign
To contact us Click HERE
I was just checking out the Gary Coleman CashCall Advertisements. I have to say it is a very clever campaign. Notice when he says "No one would lend me money, not even my relatives". Brilliant line - having an audience relate to a person in an ad (not to mention a celebrity) is Marketing 101. Unfortunately with the down economy, many Americans are in the same situation. Call for Cash!
20 Aralık 2012 Perşembe
Sweepstakes: Snapware (Facebook)
To contact us Click HERE
Hate the day after clutter from hosting parties? Get organized with Snapware and Emeril. They’ve teamed up to share organizing and entertaining tips to alleviate party hosts stress. This might be a great addition for a holiday clean up blog post. Chef Emeril and Snapware want Americans to get ahead of the game and prep for National Organization Month (January) with solutions from Emeril® by Snapware®. A winning combination of chef-tested food storage containers are available starting today on HSN.com. To celebrate the collaboration, Snapware launched a Facebook sweepstakes for fans to win a chance at skipping hosting duties for a once in a lifetime trip to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. One lucky winner will receive airfare, accommodations, game tickets AND dinner at Emeril’s restaurant in New Orleans. Entering is easy and encouraged daily: simply “like” theSnapware Facebook page and enter online today thru January 13th, 2013. Fans will also have access to Lagasse’s big game recipes and entertaining tips on the Snapware Facebook page.
Gary Coleman's catchy call for cash campaign
To contact us Click HERE
I was just checking out the Gary Coleman CashCall Advertisements. I have to say it is a very clever campaign. Notice when he says "No one would lend me money, not even my relatives". Brilliant line - having an audience relate to a person in an ad (not to mention a celebrity) is Marketing 101. Unfortunately with the down economy, many Americans are in the same situation. Call for Cash!
Gulfstream Park's Wide Open Spectacular Bid Stakes May See Price Repeat
To contact us Click HERE
The $100,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes at Gulfstream Park has never produced a Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands winner but Groovy still ranks third on the list of all-time fastest quarter and half-mile fractions in the Run for the Roses. After winning the inaugural Spectacular Bid Stakes in 1986, the Texas-bred Groovy lead for just about six furlongs before faltering and finishing last in that Derby.
The last Spectacular Bid Stakes starter to make it to Kentucky was Discreetly Mine, a fourth-place finisher behind A Little Warm in the Spectacular Bid two years ago and 13th in the subsequent Kentucky Derby.
So don’t look for the winter future book favorite to come out of Saturday’s featured Spectacular Bid Stakes for opening day at Gulfstream Park. The Specatular Bid, named for the 1979 Kentucky Derby (photo right) winner and 1980 Horse of the Year, the Spectacular Bid has traditionally been the first 3-year-old stake of the prestigious Gulfstream Park meeting. This year, the seven furlong Spectacular Bid will be run for 2-year-olds for the first time due to the early opening day for Gulfstream Park. At first glance, no Kentucky Derby winner jumps out of the Daily Racing Form, but it appears there are some colts with potential.
Morning line favorite Luke of York makes his first start on dirt after narrowly winning his first two races on Polytrack. The humbly-bred son of Put It Back broke his maiden by a nose at Arlington Park in late September then came back to win the $125,000 Keeneland 75th Anniversary Stakes Oct. 15, again by a nose. Rajiv Marach rides Luke of York for trainer James P DiVito and is 5-to-2 in the morning line.
Vexor, the second choice among the field of eight at 3-to-1 morning line odds, backs down in class after finishing ninth behind Secret Circle in the $454,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs. Vexor is the only Bid runner with graded stakes experience adding a grade 2 victory in the Nashua Stakes at Belmont October 2 to his past performances. Also of budgetary friendly bloodlines as a son of Wildcat Heir, Vexor was eighth in the grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, some 42 lengths behind winner Currency Swap. A close look at the John Kimmel trainee before the race may indicate which Vexor will be breaking from the starting gate in Saturday’s Spectacular Bid. He runs as if he has handicapped the race running well against grade 1 or less, but flopping when in the grade 1 Hopeful or on the national stage of the Juvey Sprint.
Town Prize, 8-1 in the morning line, and Ancient Rome, (4-1), have a little more blue running in their blood being by Speightstown and Roman Ruler respectively. Ancient Rome moves out of maiden company for the first time in the Spectacular Bid after winning his second start by more than seven lengths. Town Prize has won two of three races including a maiden and an allowance, but finished third in the $150,000 Colin Stakes at Woodbine in July. Town Prize is another making his natural dirt debut after all of his previous starts were on Polytrack.
Town Prize, Ancient Rome and Vexor are the only three starters to have a wire-to-wire victory under their belts and should provide an honest pace. Vexor will have a slight advantage, breaking from post three while Ancient Rome is number seven and Town Prize eight. Most of the other Spectacular Bid entrants are true stalkers with a fondness to run within two-to-four lengths off the leaders early. Longshot Rex’s Last Tour is the only Bid foe with a win coming from as far back as five lengths. Number one Jordon’s Image (8-to-1 morning line), rallied from ten lengths back four starts back, but only managed a third and it was against maiden claimers.
For Oby may be the choice for some as he is the only starter to have won at seven furlongs, having done so in his last out in the J. Price Juvenile over fellow Spectacular Bid runner Jordon’s Image. At 6-to-1, For Oby is at an attractive price and gets Alan Gacia in the saddle for trainer Pedro Maestre.
Selections
7 - Ancient Rome
2- Rex's Last Tour
3 - Vexor
The last Spectacular Bid Stakes starter to make it to Kentucky was Discreetly Mine, a fourth-place finisher behind A Little Warm in the Spectacular Bid two years ago and 13th in the subsequent Kentucky Derby.
So don’t look for the winter future book favorite to come out of Saturday’s featured Spectacular Bid Stakes for opening day at Gulfstream Park. The Specatular Bid, named for the 1979 Kentucky Derby (photo right) winner and 1980 Horse of the Year, the Spectacular Bid has traditionally been the first 3-year-old stake of the prestigious Gulfstream Park meeting. This year, the seven furlong Spectacular Bid will be run for 2-year-olds for the first time due to the early opening day for Gulfstream Park. At first glance, no Kentucky Derby winner jumps out of the Daily Racing Form, but it appears there are some colts with potential. Morning line favorite Luke of York makes his first start on dirt after narrowly winning his first two races on Polytrack. The humbly-bred son of Put It Back broke his maiden by a nose at Arlington Park in late September then came back to win the $125,000 Keeneland 75th Anniversary Stakes Oct. 15, again by a nose. Rajiv Marach rides Luke of York for trainer James P DiVito and is 5-to-2 in the morning line.
Vexor, the second choice among the field of eight at 3-to-1 morning line odds, backs down in class after finishing ninth behind Secret Circle in the $454,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs. Vexor is the only Bid runner with graded stakes experience adding a grade 2 victory in the Nashua Stakes at Belmont October 2 to his past performances. Also of budgetary friendly bloodlines as a son of Wildcat Heir, Vexor was eighth in the grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, some 42 lengths behind winner Currency Swap. A close look at the John Kimmel trainee before the race may indicate which Vexor will be breaking from the starting gate in Saturday’s Spectacular Bid. He runs as if he has handicapped the race running well against grade 1 or less, but flopping when in the grade 1 Hopeful or on the national stage of the Juvey Sprint.
Town Prize, 8-1 in the morning line, and Ancient Rome, (4-1), have a little more blue running in their blood being by Speightstown and Roman Ruler respectively. Ancient Rome moves out of maiden company for the first time in the Spectacular Bid after winning his second start by more than seven lengths. Town Prize has won two of three races including a maiden and an allowance, but finished third in the $150,000 Colin Stakes at Woodbine in July. Town Prize is another making his natural dirt debut after all of his previous starts were on Polytrack.
Town Prize, Ancient Rome and Vexor are the only three starters to have a wire-to-wire victory under their belts and should provide an honest pace. Vexor will have a slight advantage, breaking from post three while Ancient Rome is number seven and Town Prize eight. Most of the other Spectacular Bid entrants are true stalkers with a fondness to run within two-to-four lengths off the leaders early. Longshot Rex’s Last Tour is the only Bid foe with a win coming from as far back as five lengths. Number one Jordon’s Image (8-to-1 morning line), rallied from ten lengths back four starts back, but only managed a third and it was against maiden claimers.
For Oby may be the choice for some as he is the only starter to have won at seven furlongs, having done so in his last out in the J. Price Juvenile over fellow Spectacular Bid runner Jordon’s Image. At 6-to-1, For Oby is at an attractive price and gets Alan Gacia in the saddle for trainer Pedro Maestre.
Selections
7 - Ancient Rome
2- Rex's Last Tour
3 - Vexor
CashCall Stars Can Emerge From Long Shadows Cast by Breeders' Cup Juvenile
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Our last look into the 2011 chrystal ball that is next year’s road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands presents itself Saturday in the $750,000 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park. Run in the shadow of the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the CashCall Futurity has neither the $1 million purse nor history of producing divisional champions like the more prestigious Juvenile, but they are both grade 1 and their winners have donned an equal number of rose blankets – one each. Street Sense is the only horse to win both Juvenile (2006) and Kentucky Derby (’07) while Real Quiet won the 1997 CashCall and the Derby the following year.
Both races are also run at distance of 1-1/16 miles.
Championship voters don’t seem to emphasized the similarities between the two races however, and have given the Juvenile significantly more weight in determining their selections. For disclosure, I agree the Juvenile should have greater importance than other grade 1 races in determining the year-end champion. If the industry is going to call the Breeders’ Cup a World Championship, they (we) need to treat it like one. The Eclipse Award voters have that well since the Breedeer Cup first ran some 27 years ago.
Since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was first won by Chief’s Crown in 1984, 20 winners have been named Champion Two-Year-Old Colt or Gelding for that year. Since Roving Boy won the CashCall (then Hollywood Futurity) in 1982 and the corresponding divisional championship, only CashCall winners Declan’s Moon and Looking at Lucky have been honored with Eclipse Awards. The four others named divisional champions during that 27-year span without winning either the CashCall nor the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile were Forty Niner (1987), Easy Goer (1988), Dehere (1993) and Maria’s Mon (1995). All four were named 2-year-old male champions after winning their respective Champagne Stakes in New York but losing or not running in the Juvenile.
Forty Niner, Maria Mon’s and Declan’s Moon were champions that did not start in the Breeders’ Cup while Looking at Lucky, Dehere and Easy Goer won the divisional honor after losing in the Breeders’ Cup. Looking at Lucky and Easy Goer were second to long shot Vale of York and Is It True in 1988 and 2009 Juveniles respectively. Dehere was eighth as the odds-on favorite in the 1987 Juvenile won by Success Express before winning his 2-year-old male championship.
What makes the CashCall of more interest is the annual participation and sometimes domination by three-time Derby winning trainer and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Baffert has won two of the last three CashCall Futurities and a record five total. Known as the other silver-haired fox fromArizona (former University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olsen being the first white-haired legend from the Grand Canyon State), Baffert has won the CashCall with Real Quiet, Captain Steve (1999), Point Given (2000) (photo left), Poineerof the Nile (‘08) and Looking at Lucky.
Also adding to the uniqueness of the CashCall is the artificial Cushion Track material that makes up the main track at Hollywood Park. Last year, Comma to the Top made the CashCall his fifth-straight win, but all were on artificial main tracks or grass. In his first race on natural dirt, Comma to the Top came back to run second in the Santa Anita Derby and then last in the Kentucky Derby, also on dirt. Looking at Lucky would eventually win the Preakness and then repeat as the division champion and show he could run on natural dir and Pioneerof the Nile was second on natural dirt in the Kentucky Derby.
Now, Santa Anita will have their natural dirt for the second time for their winter prep races leading up to the Derby, so any natural dirt-challenged winner of the CashCall will now likely be exposed sooner or prepare the Kentucky Derby over the PolyTrack surfaces at Turfway Park and/ or Keeneland. (see 2010 Derby winner Animal Kingdom.) Any plans to take the Southern California, New York, Arkansas, Florida or Louisiana roads to Kentucky, mean running on natural dirt.
According to Daily Racing Form’s Steve Andersen, Baffert will again be loaded for the CashCall with three 2-year-olds set for the 1-1/16-mile race. Del Mar Futurity winner Drill will try to return to the winners’ circle after graded stakes loses in the Norfolk, Juvenile and Delta Jackpot. Maiden winner Sky Kingdom and Real Quiet Stakes winner Liason will also be saddled by Baffert in this CashCall Futurity.
Not sure other CashCall contenders Basmati and Longview Drive, the place and show horses in the Delta Jackpot in their last start, don’t appear to have enough credentials for the championship, even with a big performance in the CashCall.
No matter, the CashCall winner is sure to move up near the top of many Kentucky Derby 2012 lists of contenders. Winter Future Books will be adjusted and for some, rosy dreams will begin to bloom for others. Regardless of who gets honored with the 2-year-old male title, it will be the Derby that holds all the glamour and history and the CashCall Futurity is more than a month closer than its Breeders’ Cup brother-race. The CashCall Futurity now crawls from beneath the long shadow cast by the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and at least one shining star will emerge and walk into the Hollywood Park winners’ circle Saturday.
Then on to the road that may lead to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
Our last look into the 2011 chrystal ball that is next year’s road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands presents itself Saturday in the $750,000 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park. Run in the shadow of the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the CashCall Futurity has neither the $1 million purse nor history of producing divisional champions like the more prestigious Juvenile, but they are both grade 1 and their winners have donned an equal number of rose blankets – one each. Street Sense is the only horse to win both Juvenile (2006) and Kentucky Derby (’07) while Real Quiet won the 1997 CashCall and the Derby the following year.Both races are also run at distance of 1-1/16 miles.
Championship voters don’t seem to emphasized the similarities between the two races however, and have given the Juvenile significantly more weight in determining their selections. For disclosure, I agree the Juvenile should have greater importance than other grade 1 races in determining the year-end champion. If the industry is going to call the Breeders’ Cup a World Championship, they (we) need to treat it like one. The Eclipse Award voters have that well since the Breedeer Cup first ran some 27 years ago.
Since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was first won by Chief’s Crown in 1984, 20 winners have been named Champion Two-Year-Old Colt or Gelding for that year. Since Roving Boy won the CashCall (then Hollywood Futurity) in 1982 and the corresponding divisional championship, only CashCall winners Declan’s Moon and Looking at Lucky have been honored with Eclipse Awards. The four others named divisional champions during that 27-year span without winning either the CashCall nor the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile were Forty Niner (1987), Easy Goer (1988), Dehere (1993) and Maria’s Mon (1995). All four were named 2-year-old male champions after winning their respective Champagne Stakes in New York but losing or not running in the Juvenile.
Forty Niner, Maria Mon’s and Declan’s Moon were champions that did not start in the Breeders’ Cup while Looking at Lucky, Dehere and Easy Goer won the divisional honor after losing in the Breeders’ Cup. Looking at Lucky and Easy Goer were second to long shot Vale of York and Is It True in 1988 and 2009 Juveniles respectively. Dehere was eighth as the odds-on favorite in the 1987 Juvenile won by Success Express before winning his 2-year-old male championship.
What makes the CashCall of more interest is the annual participation and sometimes domination by three-time Derby winning trainer and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Baffert has won two of the last three CashCall Futurities and a record five total. Known as the other silver-haired fox from
Arizona (former University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olsen being the first white-haired legend from the Grand Canyon State), Baffert has won the CashCall with Real Quiet, Captain Steve (1999), Point Given (2000) (photo left), Poineerof the Nile (‘08) and Looking at Lucky.Also adding to the uniqueness of the CashCall is the artificial Cushion Track material that makes up the main track at Hollywood Park. Last year, Comma to the Top made the CashCall his fifth-straight win, but all were on artificial main tracks or grass. In his first race on natural dirt, Comma to the Top came back to run second in the Santa Anita Derby and then last in the Kentucky Derby, also on dirt. Looking at Lucky would eventually win the Preakness and then repeat as the division champion and show he could run on natural dir and Pioneerof the Nile was second on natural dirt in the Kentucky Derby.
Now, Santa Anita will have their natural dirt for the second time for their winter prep races leading up to the Derby, so any natural dirt-challenged winner of the CashCall will now likely be exposed sooner or prepare the Kentucky Derby over the PolyTrack surfaces at Turfway Park and/ or Keeneland. (see 2010 Derby winner Animal Kingdom.) Any plans to take the Southern California, New York, Arkansas, Florida or Louisiana roads to Kentucky, mean running on natural dirt.
According to Daily Racing Form’s Steve Andersen, Baffert will again be loaded for the CashCall with three 2-year-olds set for the 1-1/16-mile race. Del Mar Futurity winner Drill will try to return to the winners’ circle after graded stakes loses in the Norfolk, Juvenile and Delta Jackpot. Maiden winner Sky Kingdom and Real Quiet Stakes winner Liason will also be saddled by Baffert in this CashCall Futurity.
Not sure other CashCall contenders Basmati and Longview Drive, the place and show horses in the Delta Jackpot in their last start, don’t appear to have enough credentials for the championship, even with a big performance in the CashCall.
No matter, the CashCall winner is sure to move up near the top of many Kentucky Derby 2012 lists of contenders. Winter Future Books will be adjusted and for some, rosy dreams will begin to bloom for others. Regardless of who gets honored with the 2-year-old male title, it will be the Derby that holds all the glamour and history and the CashCall Futurity is more than a month closer than its Breeders’ Cup brother-race. The CashCall Futurity now crawls from beneath the long shadow cast by the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and at least one shining star will emerge and walk into the Hollywood Park winners’ circle Saturday.
Then on to the road that may lead to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
'Twas The Night Before Racing
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‘Twas the night before Christmas
Inside the barn area fence
Not a creature was stirring
Not track maintenance.
The hay nets were hung
From the stall doors with care
Hoping the guy with the sweet feed
Soon would be there.
The horses were all standing
Asleep in their bedding
While the grooms played the tunes
Of the Spanish Helen Redding
(Soy mujer, me oigo rugir!)
With mama closing the tack room
And I shutting light
We took a look down the shed row
Before calling it a night
When suddenly we heard
A bang and clang
It sounded as if
The starting gate rang
But the race track was closed
And the gate crew was drinking
So I turned to mama while wonderin’
What she was thinking?
Then a sudden red light
And with little alarm
I saw something land
Atop the test barn
It was the thoroughbred season!
There were no sulkies around!
So certainly this was
A sleigh that we found
I recognized the harness
And the reins were no mystery
But those were sure reindeer
“Track security is history!”
Then out from the sleigh
Jumped the driver dressed in red
He looks at me smiling
And says “Can you watch my sled?”
“I have peppermints here
Maidens and Claimers by name
Then suddenly he vanished
And I’m holding Rudolph’s reins
In less than a second
He was back and set to go
“How fast is this sleigh?”
He said, “You’ll never know!
“I use Christmas Spirit
To power this thing
For this team of reindeer
The world’s a bullring
“This is a very fast group
And this is a magical little bag
But don’t get ideas
They don’t run for a tag!”
Then a little toy trumpet
He brought to his lips
And he played Boots and Saddles
With his hands on his hips
I laughed then looked up
And he was gone in a sec
Then I looked down
And saw the win pic
As I looked at it closer
What a wonderful sight
It was Santa on the left
And me on the right
Donner was center
The rest were in back
And I don’t know who they were
But there were elves in the sack
He sprang to his sleigh
to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew
to Los Al then to Thistle.
But then I heard him say
with a laugh and a roar,
"Happy Christmas to all
And hit a pick-four!”
‘Twas the night before ChristmasInside the barn area fence
Not a creature was stirring
Not track maintenance.
The hay nets were hung
From the stall doors with care
Hoping the guy with the sweet feed
Soon would be there.
The horses were all standing
Asleep in their bedding
While the grooms played the tunes
Of the Spanish Helen Redding
(Soy mujer, me oigo rugir!)
With mama closing the tack room
And I shutting light
We took a look down the shed row
Before calling it a night
When suddenly we heard
A bang and clang
It sounded as if
The starting gate rang
But the race track was closed
And the gate crew was drinking
So I turned to mama while wonderin’
What she was thinking?
Then a sudden red light
And with little alarm
I saw something land
Atop the test barn
It was the thoroughbred season!
There were no sulkies around!
So certainly this was
A sleigh that we found
I recognized the harness
And the reins were no mystery
But those were sure reindeer
“Track security is history!”
Then out from the sleigh
Jumped the driver dressed in red
He looks at me smiling
And says “Can you watch my sled?”
“I have peppermints here
Maidens and Claimers by name
Then suddenly he vanished
And I’m holding Rudolph’s reins
In less than a second
He was back and set to go
“How fast is this sleigh?”
He said, “You’ll never know!
“I use Christmas Spirit
To power this thing
For this team of reindeer
The world’s a bullring
“This is a very fast group
And this is a magical little bag
But don’t get ideas
They don’t run for a tag!”
Then a little toy trumpet
He brought to his lips
And he played Boots and Saddles
With his hands on his hips
I laughed then looked up
And he was gone in a sec
Then I looked down
And saw the win pic
As I looked at it closer
What a wonderful sight
It was Santa on the left
And me on the right
Donner was center
The rest were in back
And I don’t know who they were
But there were elves in the sack
He sprang to his sleigh
to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew
to Los Al then to Thistle.
But then I heard him say
with a laugh and a roar,
"Happy Christmas to all
And hit a pick-four!”
16 Aralık 2012 Pazar
Parenting Pointers: Garage Organization
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If you're like most people, you don't really think about your garage much. It's a place to park your cars and hide all the random junk that goes outside. Some people turn their garages into masterpieces, putting everything in its place, giving it a spiffy paint job, and making it look like a nice, sharp, well-organized space. Others have so much stuff in their garages (or it's so poorly organized) that the cars don't even fit. Most of us are somewhere in between.
It is helpful to have your garage well-organized (although having a great paint job isn't necessary but does look cool). This can save you time looking for things you know you have, and it can save you money by preventing you from buying things you already have or by minimizing the amount of toys and things that get broken from improper storage or getting other things dropped on them or tipped over into them.
One important piece of garage organization is the organization system itself. Sites like gladiator garageworks sell a wide variety of garage organization products, including cabinets, flooring specifically designed for use in the garage, ceiling storage implements, wall storage, a refrigerated designed for garage, and lighting. It's a good idea to use products designed for use in the garage, because garages are often subjected to extreme temperatures (even attached garages have more fluctuation than the house), more moisture, and other debris and liquids such as engine fluids if there's a leak or carpentry debris.
If you have a lot of time, the best way to organize your garage is often to empty it and start from scratch. Take everything out, and as you do, make sure to inspect for anything not currently in working condition. Make piles: broken and not able to be repaired, broken but fixable, no longer needed, and things that will go back in the garage. Toss anything you can't repair (or list on a free site like Craigslist; someone else may know how to fix it). Things you don't need, like tools that were for a one-time project or toys your kids have outgrown, can be donated or you can try to sell them on Craigslist or in a garage sale. Set aside one small area for items that need repair, and then work with the rest of the garage.
Keep items that are in the same category together, and use baskets or bins to collect small items that would roll around otherwise. Maximize use of space by hanging hooks and brackets from the ceiling or using rafters for rarely-used items. Place the largest and hardest-to-store items first, and then fit smaller things around them. If you have little kids, it can be helpful to use pictures to show them where to put their toys back when they're done.
If you don't have a lot of time, then work on one section at a time, following the same process. Now is also a good time to clean out the inside of your car, too - take out any garbage, give it a quick vacuum, etc.
It is helpful to have your garage well-organized (although having a great paint job isn't necessary but does look cool). This can save you time looking for things you know you have, and it can save you money by preventing you from buying things you already have or by minimizing the amount of toys and things that get broken from improper storage or getting other things dropped on them or tipped over into them.
One important piece of garage organization is the organization system itself. Sites like gladiator garageworks sell a wide variety of garage organization products, including cabinets, flooring specifically designed for use in the garage, ceiling storage implements, wall storage, a refrigerated designed for garage, and lighting. It's a good idea to use products designed for use in the garage, because garages are often subjected to extreme temperatures (even attached garages have more fluctuation than the house), more moisture, and other debris and liquids such as engine fluids if there's a leak or carpentry debris.
If you have a lot of time, the best way to organize your garage is often to empty it and start from scratch. Take everything out, and as you do, make sure to inspect for anything not currently in working condition. Make piles: broken and not able to be repaired, broken but fixable, no longer needed, and things that will go back in the garage. Toss anything you can't repair (or list on a free site like Craigslist; someone else may know how to fix it). Things you don't need, like tools that were for a one-time project or toys your kids have outgrown, can be donated or you can try to sell them on Craigslist or in a garage sale. Set aside one small area for items that need repair, and then work with the rest of the garage.
Keep items that are in the same category together, and use baskets or bins to collect small items that would roll around otherwise. Maximize use of space by hanging hooks and brackets from the ceiling or using rafters for rarely-used items. Place the largest and hardest-to-store items first, and then fit smaller things around them. If you have little kids, it can be helpful to use pictures to show them where to put their toys back when they're done.
If you don't have a lot of time, then work on one section at a time, following the same process. Now is also a good time to clean out the inside of your car, too - take out any garbage, give it a quick vacuum, etc.
Shopping Savings: Free Shipping Day
To contact us Click HERE
Free Shipping Day is Monday, Dec. 17. With over 1,500 stores signed up and more being added over the weekend, the one-day online shopping event is expected to break records.
Luke Knowles, creator of Free Shipping Day, credits the event's first-ever Monday occurrence as a big reason for its high-earning potential. "All past events have been scheduled on a Friday, typically one of the slower days for online shopping," says Knowles. "We broke records in 2010 and 2011 with this handicap, so I'm excited to see what this year will bring." Free Shipping Day's 2010 was the third-heaviest online shopping event in history. In 2011, the event generated over $1 billion in online sales and surpassed Black Friday's online earnings for the second year in a row.
Shoppers are attracted to the late-season deals and promise of delivery by Christmas Eve. In fact, a recent Rasmussen Reports survey shows only 15 percent of shoppers have completed their holiday shopping, with 59 percent admitting they haven't yet started. "Free Shipping Day is the procrastinator's holiday," continues Knowles. "It's meant to give last-minute shoppers an opportunity to save money on gifts and still receive them in time for Christmas. I think that's why it's so popular; it speaks to a lot of people."
Offers will go live on FreeShippingDay.com at midnight EST on Dec. 17.
Luke Knowles, creator of Free Shipping Day, credits the event's first-ever Monday occurrence as a big reason for its high-earning potential. "All past events have been scheduled on a Friday, typically one of the slower days for online shopping," says Knowles. "We broke records in 2010 and 2011 with this handicap, so I'm excited to see what this year will bring." Free Shipping Day's 2010 was the third-heaviest online shopping event in history. In 2011, the event generated over $1 billion in online sales and surpassed Black Friday's online earnings for the second year in a row.
Shoppers are attracted to the late-season deals and promise of delivery by Christmas Eve. In fact, a recent Rasmussen Reports survey shows only 15 percent of shoppers have completed their holiday shopping, with 59 percent admitting they haven't yet started. "Free Shipping Day is the procrastinator's holiday," continues Knowles. "It's meant to give last-minute shoppers an opportunity to save money on gifts and still receive them in time for Christmas. I think that's why it's so popular; it speaks to a lot of people."
Offers will go live on FreeShippingDay.com at midnight EST on Dec. 17.
Parenting Pointers: Music Lessons
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Did you know that music lessons as kids can help adult hearing? Even a year or two of music lessons as a kid helped adults pick up sound waves, which aids in hearing in noisy environments. So if your kids show any interest in music at all (or even if they don't), consider giving them at least some formal musical training. As a private lesson teacher, married to a music major, I supported this already - but now there's yet another scientific reason why it can benefit kids.
Mealtime Magic: Unique Chicken Coatings
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Do your kids like chicken fingers, but you get bored of the same coating all the time? Try something other than cornflakes. After coating with flour and dipping in egg, roll in these combos before baking (400 degrees for 20 minutes) and pair with suggested sauces.
Bread crumbs-crumbled bacon-cheddar cheese --> sour cream or ranch dressing
Coconut --> fruit salsa or marmalade
Tortilla chips --> salsa
Bread crumbs-crumbled bacon-cheddar cheese --> sour cream or ranch dressing
Coconut --> fruit salsa or marmalade
Tortilla chips --> salsa
Gary Coleman's catchy call for cash campaign
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I was just checking out the Gary Coleman CashCall Advertisements. I have to say it is a very clever campaign. Notice when he says "No one would lend me money, not even my relatives". Brilliant line - having an audience relate to a person in an ad (not to mention a celebrity) is Marketing 101. Unfortunately with the down economy, many Americans are in the same situation. Call for Cash!
12 Aralık 2012 Çarşamba
Shopping Savings: SkinnyGirl
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To ease your growing holiday gift list, check off what to get your health and fitness loving friends and family this year with products fromSkinnygirl Daily. Bethenny Frankel’s fun and easy nutritional line for busy women on-the-go, Skinnygirl Daily boasts products that leave you feeling energized, healthier and more confident. For members ofGiltCity.com, there are two great, exclusive offers now through December 19th on product packs, including: The SkinnyGirl Daily Body Essentials set includes a 30-day supply of Cleanse & Restore, Stress Relief & Calm Vitamin Power Packet and a Skinnygirl Daily Shaker Bottle. With the exclusive GiltCity offer, this $85 retail value package is only $39. The SkinnyGirl Daily Complete Wellness Package includes Weight Management & Energy, Cleanse & Restore, your choice of either Naturally Thin, A Place of Yes, or Body by Bethenny DVD, and a Skinnygirl Daily Shaker Bottle. With the exclusive GiltCity offer, this $120 retail value set is only $59. Either of these two packs can be purchased on Gilt City National on the following link:http://www.giltcity.com/national/skinnygirlnat. From SkinnygirlDaily.com, also find great sales, including:
Skinnygirl Daily’s new and improved on-the-go bars are a perfect stocking stuffer for your friends and family who are always looking for healthy snacks for their busy lifestyles. The bars are available in four delicious flavors: Banana Oatmeal Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Multi-Grain Pretzel, Coco-Nut with Peanut Butter and Greek Yogurt Blueberry Crisp with Probiotics. Each bar is only 180 calories and are all-natural, kosher and gluten-free. Packs are currently on sale for $9.99 each or $34.99 for a pack of each flavor! Currently discounted on SkinnygirlDaily.com, The“Gift of Skinnygirl Daily Pack” is a fantastic treat for the Skinnygirl fan with the entire line of products for nearly 30% off regular price. Included is Cleanse & Restore, Stress Relief & Calm Vitamin Power Packets, your choice of 1 box of On-the-Go Bars, your choice of either Naturally Thin, A Place of Yes, or Body by Bethenny DVD, and a Skinnygirl Daily Shaker Bottle. Retailing for $124.99 retail, the pack can be purchased now through December 25th for $94.99. ABOUT SKINNYGIRL™ DAILYSkinnygirl™ Daily was envisioned by Bethenny Frankel, chef and television personality, who has strived to make healthy food delicious and accessible. Inspired by her love for natural foods and a healthy body, she created the Skinnygirl™ Daily nutritional line of products to make health and wellness accessible and easy to women. Products currently include Skinnygirl™ Daily Cleanse & Restore, Skinnygirl™ Daily Weight Management & Energy and Skinnygirl On-the-Go Bars. The high-quality, natural products are designed for busy women of the 21st century who are committed to an active lifestyle and balanced diet. For more information, please visitskinnygirldaily.com.
Skinnygirl Daily’s new and improved on-the-go bars are a perfect stocking stuffer for your friends and family who are always looking for healthy snacks for their busy lifestyles. The bars are available in four delicious flavors: Banana Oatmeal Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Multi-Grain Pretzel, Coco-Nut with Peanut Butter and Greek Yogurt Blueberry Crisp with Probiotics. Each bar is only 180 calories and are all-natural, kosher and gluten-free. Packs are currently on sale for $9.99 each or $34.99 for a pack of each flavor! Currently discounted on SkinnygirlDaily.com, The“Gift of Skinnygirl Daily Pack” is a fantastic treat for the Skinnygirl fan with the entire line of products for nearly 30% off regular price. Included is Cleanse & Restore, Stress Relief & Calm Vitamin Power Packets, your choice of 1 box of On-the-Go Bars, your choice of either Naturally Thin, A Place of Yes, or Body by Bethenny DVD, and a Skinnygirl Daily Shaker Bottle. Retailing for $124.99 retail, the pack can be purchased now through December 25th for $94.99. ABOUT SKINNYGIRL™ DAILYSkinnygirl™ Daily was envisioned by Bethenny Frankel, chef and television personality, who has strived to make healthy food delicious and accessible. Inspired by her love for natural foods and a healthy body, she created the Skinnygirl™ Daily nutritional line of products to make health and wellness accessible and easy to women. Products currently include Skinnygirl™ Daily Cleanse & Restore, Skinnygirl™ Daily Weight Management & Energy and Skinnygirl On-the-Go Bars. The high-quality, natural products are designed for busy women of the 21st century who are committed to an active lifestyle and balanced diet. For more information, please visitskinnygirldaily.com.
Gulfstream Park's Wide Open Spectacular Bid Stakes May See Price Repeat
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The $100,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes at Gulfstream Park has never produced a Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands winner but Groovy still ranks third on the list of all-time fastest quarter and half-mile fractions in the Run for the Roses. After winning the inaugural Spectacular Bid Stakes in 1986, the Texas-bred Groovy lead for just about six furlongs before faltering and finishing last in that Derby.
The last Spectacular Bid Stakes starter to make it to Kentucky was Discreetly Mine, a fourth-place finisher behind A Little Warm in the Spectacular Bid two years ago and 13th in the subsequent Kentucky Derby.
So don’t look for the winter future book favorite to come out of Saturday’s featured Spectacular Bid Stakes for opening day at Gulfstream Park. The Specatular Bid, named for the 1979 Kentucky Derby (photo right) winner and 1980 Horse of the Year, the Spectacular Bid has traditionally been the first 3-year-old stake of the prestigious Gulfstream Park meeting. This year, the seven furlong Spectacular Bid will be run for 2-year-olds for the first time due to the early opening day for Gulfstream Park. At first glance, no Kentucky Derby winner jumps out of the Daily Racing Form, but it appears there are some colts with potential.
Morning line favorite Luke of York makes his first start on dirt after narrowly winning his first two races on Polytrack. The humbly-bred son of Put It Back broke his maiden by a nose at Arlington Park in late September then came back to win the $125,000 Keeneland 75th Anniversary Stakes Oct. 15, again by a nose. Rajiv Marach rides Luke of York for trainer James P DiVito and is 5-to-2 in the morning line.
Vexor, the second choice among the field of eight at 3-to-1 morning line odds, backs down in class after finishing ninth behind Secret Circle in the $454,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs. Vexor is the only Bid runner with graded stakes experience adding a grade 2 victory in the Nashua Stakes at Belmont October 2 to his past performances. Also of budgetary friendly bloodlines as a son of Wildcat Heir, Vexor was eighth in the grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, some 42 lengths behind winner Currency Swap. A close look at the John Kimmel trainee before the race may indicate which Vexor will be breaking from the starting gate in Saturday’s Spectacular Bid. He runs as if he has handicapped the race running well against grade 1 or less, but flopping when in the grade 1 Hopeful or on the national stage of the Juvey Sprint.
Town Prize, 8-1 in the morning line, and Ancient Rome, (4-1), have a little more blue running in their blood being by Speightstown and Roman Ruler respectively. Ancient Rome moves out of maiden company for the first time in the Spectacular Bid after winning his second start by more than seven lengths. Town Prize has won two of three races including a maiden and an allowance, but finished third in the $150,000 Colin Stakes at Woodbine in July. Town Prize is another making his natural dirt debut after all of his previous starts were on Polytrack.
Town Prize, Ancient Rome and Vexor are the only three starters to have a wire-to-wire victory under their belts and should provide an honest pace. Vexor will have a slight advantage, breaking from post three while Ancient Rome is number seven and Town Prize eight. Most of the other Spectacular Bid entrants are true stalkers with a fondness to run within two-to-four lengths off the leaders early. Longshot Rex’s Last Tour is the only Bid foe with a win coming from as far back as five lengths. Number one Jordon’s Image (8-to-1 morning line), rallied from ten lengths back four starts back, but only managed a third and it was against maiden claimers.
For Oby may be the choice for some as he is the only starter to have won at seven furlongs, having done so in his last out in the J. Price Juvenile over fellow Spectacular Bid runner Jordon’s Image. At 6-to-1, For Oby is at an attractive price and gets Alan Gacia in the saddle for trainer Pedro Maestre.
Selections
7 - Ancient Rome
2- Rex's Last Tour
3 - Vexor
The last Spectacular Bid Stakes starter to make it to Kentucky was Discreetly Mine, a fourth-place finisher behind A Little Warm in the Spectacular Bid two years ago and 13th in the subsequent Kentucky Derby.
So don’t look for the winter future book favorite to come out of Saturday’s featured Spectacular Bid Stakes for opening day at Gulfstream Park. The Specatular Bid, named for the 1979 Kentucky Derby (photo right) winner and 1980 Horse of the Year, the Spectacular Bid has traditionally been the first 3-year-old stake of the prestigious Gulfstream Park meeting. This year, the seven furlong Spectacular Bid will be run for 2-year-olds for the first time due to the early opening day for Gulfstream Park. At first glance, no Kentucky Derby winner jumps out of the Daily Racing Form, but it appears there are some colts with potential. Morning line favorite Luke of York makes his first start on dirt after narrowly winning his first two races on Polytrack. The humbly-bred son of Put It Back broke his maiden by a nose at Arlington Park in late September then came back to win the $125,000 Keeneland 75th Anniversary Stakes Oct. 15, again by a nose. Rajiv Marach rides Luke of York for trainer James P DiVito and is 5-to-2 in the morning line.
Vexor, the second choice among the field of eight at 3-to-1 morning line odds, backs down in class after finishing ninth behind Secret Circle in the $454,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs. Vexor is the only Bid runner with graded stakes experience adding a grade 2 victory in the Nashua Stakes at Belmont October 2 to his past performances. Also of budgetary friendly bloodlines as a son of Wildcat Heir, Vexor was eighth in the grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, some 42 lengths behind winner Currency Swap. A close look at the John Kimmel trainee before the race may indicate which Vexor will be breaking from the starting gate in Saturday’s Spectacular Bid. He runs as if he has handicapped the race running well against grade 1 or less, but flopping when in the grade 1 Hopeful or on the national stage of the Juvey Sprint.
Town Prize, 8-1 in the morning line, and Ancient Rome, (4-1), have a little more blue running in their blood being by Speightstown and Roman Ruler respectively. Ancient Rome moves out of maiden company for the first time in the Spectacular Bid after winning his second start by more than seven lengths. Town Prize has won two of three races including a maiden and an allowance, but finished third in the $150,000 Colin Stakes at Woodbine in July. Town Prize is another making his natural dirt debut after all of his previous starts were on Polytrack.
Town Prize, Ancient Rome and Vexor are the only three starters to have a wire-to-wire victory under their belts and should provide an honest pace. Vexor will have a slight advantage, breaking from post three while Ancient Rome is number seven and Town Prize eight. Most of the other Spectacular Bid entrants are true stalkers with a fondness to run within two-to-four lengths off the leaders early. Longshot Rex’s Last Tour is the only Bid foe with a win coming from as far back as five lengths. Number one Jordon’s Image (8-to-1 morning line), rallied from ten lengths back four starts back, but only managed a third and it was against maiden claimers.
For Oby may be the choice for some as he is the only starter to have won at seven furlongs, having done so in his last out in the J. Price Juvenile over fellow Spectacular Bid runner Jordon’s Image. At 6-to-1, For Oby is at an attractive price and gets Alan Gacia in the saddle for trainer Pedro Maestre.
Selections
7 - Ancient Rome
2- Rex's Last Tour
3 - Vexor
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