That Blozzz

Well it has been an interesting and rainy summer here in Northern New York. I have not been keeping up with much with my blogs. Karen and I have finally decided on our vacation for this year. It was a little more than I planned to spend but we ended up booking a Disney World Vacation.

We booked directly through Disney and we booked 8 nights at the Coronado Springs Resort. Our package includes the dinning package, airfare, and 7 days worth of tickets in the theme parks. This is our second time in Disney World and the first was just a 3 day trip. The trip is planned for August 24th through September 1st and we are super excited.

We have been searching for Disney tips and planning just about everything. Here are a few tips that I will share for those who are planning a trip.

1. If you have the dining package, book reservations for table service restaurants as early as possible. (up to 90 days ahead) We had trouble getting reservations for many places we wanted. We found out on some forums that people book more than one dinner in a night and cancel the ones they don;t want when they get there. Others are selling their reservations. Neither practice is fair or right but each to their own.
2. Bring your own snacks and bottled water or other drinks. At $2.50 and up per bottle, you can spend a small fortune in water. You can get free ice water at most food stands but the water taste bad. If you are flying, you can ship stuff ahead to the resort. We are going to order a case of water and a case of organic milk in non-perishable packages from Amazon. You can also ship it yourself but if you find free shipping, it will be cheaper.
3. Plan and plan more ahead of time. Disney’s website offers a free itinerary maker to plan your trip. We planned out the theme parks to match the extra hours offered by Disney for their resort guests.
4. If you have something to celebrate even if it is not the exact date, let Disney know. Our anniversary is in June and we are celebrating late due to work schedules. We were told that their may be perks like free snacks, gift cards or other treats. It does not always happen but the cast members jobs are to make your stay magical.
5. Watch email and phone messages. Many people have received free upgrades prior to their trips. It seems to be the value resorts that this happens but you never know. This is rare but their are many claims of receiving them.
6. Be willing to compromise to get what you want. If they do not have a dinner open for one of your restaurant choices, call the reservation phone number and see if they have a late lunch or something a different time. We end up booking our big meal for lunch one day because that was all that was open.
7. Plan carefully so you are in the same location any certain day as where you are eating dinner. It would suck to figure out that you have to travel an hour to get to your reservation.
8. Be sure to take advantage of Disney shuttles. They are free to all guest not just resort guest.
9. Have loads of fun and don’t stress.

If you have any other tips that you would like to add to help us and others, please leave a comment.

I was shocked and angry to hear the news about Governor Mark Sanford’s recent scandal. The whole thing is nothing new in politics; however, this one hit me personally. I have had very little faith in politicians over the last several years. Lies, scams, and lack of morals have infected our nation and have taken all our faith in public representatives. I have not heard or seen any candidate that I could believe in or trusted.

That was until I first heard Mark Sanford speak. He said the right stuff and stood for true fiscal responsibility. He stood up against the stimulus package and even fought not to take it for his state. I was excited to hear him speak and it did not hurt that he was from South Carolina which was my home for fifteen years. I finally felt that there was hope for our future and that he was for sure the up and coming leader to take the White House in the 2012 election.

I have not had this kind of faith in a politicians in several years and I was excited. Well all I can say is “Thanks Mark!” You have restored my pessimistic attitude towards politicians. I once again am restored in my belief that politicians are sleazy double talkers who care about nothing but power and self-interest. It is like the feeling you get when you have evidence that there is a real Santa Claus only to find out that it was all fake.

Affairs happen and his marital business is between him and his wife. However, his lies and cover up and possible taxpayer trips make me crawl in my skin. This man is lower than the creeps like Barney Frank who do not hide their sleazy underhanded nature. If he has any respect for his state and the nation as a whole, I think he should man up and resign tonight!

I am glad this came out now instead of later when he became a candidate for president. Are there no clean respectable leaders left in the world. I am not asking for perfect! I am just asking for a leader who has some self respect for himself/herself, respect for their family, and respect for the people they serve. A leader with morals and character with honesty to admit they have flaws but have the desire to give their very best to do what is right for the people. I do not think such a person exist! If he/she does exist, they have no desire to climb into the sewer with the scum we now have leading our states and country.

Please let us have one true hero step forward to serve with dignity and respect!

How do you feel about Sanford? Should he resign?

I have been extremely busy with work this school year and have hardly even had time to check email. I have not had time to do much in the way of updating my blogs. Here is a quick update why.

First since the first of the year, I have been going to the YMCA gym to work out and get in better shape. This was tough at first but now I love to go to the gym and even got my wife to join. I lost about 29 pounds and packed on some much needed muscle. I now have some definition in my biceps and legs and I am still working on my abs. I am also trying to eat a bit healthier.

I am heading into summer vacation so I will have even more time to focus on my weight loss and health. I also am reviving my blogs with new and updated posts. This blog has suffered a wee bit from some Google voodoo but I am working hard to get back my rankings in both the SERPS and the Page Rank.

More updates soon about the new spring chickens and other happenings. Take care for now and please drop a comment or two!

Many promises of change that Obama promised were out right lies. He promised fiscal responsibility and that he would pay as he goes. He turned around and passed the largest spending bill in the history of the world. This is pure flat out lies.

Listen carefully! “You pay as you go.”

Liar!

Do Obama voters still trust him? I never have and he has proved me right!

Can you say socialist?

I tried weight loss diets before and lost weight but it all came back. I have decided to really try to change my life style. The beginning of the year, I joined the YMCA and Karen and I have decided to eat at home a majority of the time. Real health comes from long term and not quick fixes.

I have stuck now for a little over a month with going to the gym 5-6 days a week. The YMCA has a mileage system that tracks how many miles you perform. For cardio, it goes by the machine and for weight lighting you get 1.5 miles per hour of strength training. I have been averaging about 25- 30 miles a week for over a month. I feel great and though I am extremely busy, I look forward to going to the gym everyday.

As far as diet, we are just trying to eat 90% healthy and cutting out the fried and overly processed foods. I have upped my protein which includes my fresh eggs every morning for breakfast. We have one anything goes meal a week and otherwise, we try to eat as healthy as possible.

I have lost about 10.5 pounds since January 3rd but I have gained a bit of muscle mass so I rely very little on the scale number. I have about 35 or so pounds to go but if i keep gaining muscles, that number may change.

Anyone else trying to get healthy? What are you doing?

The following is a sponsored post.

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One of these companies is I/O Data Centers which is a Scottsdale colocation service provider. They are set up in a beautiful and easily accessible area of Arizona. They are not just a storage area. They will work with companies from a small business to full size corporations to design and build the perfect data center to handle the needs of the client. Once they create what the company needs, their fully specialized staff will oversee it and provide top of the line security to ensure your networks are up and running all the time.

Unlike many other centers, they offer their clients a full Concierge Service that will handle any questions or problems that arise. This is very reliable provider and they are widely used by many companies who find it more efficient and cost effective to outsource their data centers.

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I first saw Thought.com when it was first created. I thought that it was going to just be another free blog site. Honestly, I thought it would be a fly by night and not be around for long. I was wrong on both accounts. It is still around and has grown into a very interesting site.

Thought.com is a great social site that offers its member a chance to have their own Blog for free. However, unlike Blogger and the free Word press site, they have a full and active community to meet people and form bonds of friendship. Besides their free blogs, they offer very interesting forums that allow you to express opinions, share your thoughts and even have a heated debate or two.

The site seems to have a balance between a social site like MySpace and the free blog sites like Blogger. It is a cool place to check out and a great way to get your feet wet with blogging without paying any money. Whether you want to upload pictures and videos or you just want to browse the sites, this site will provide hours of entertainment and maybe build a lifelong friendship.

The whole site is set up with an easy to navigate system and everything is very easy to find with great tags and very clearly laid out web design. If you are looking for a cool place to set up a free Blog, Thought.com just might be the right place for you.

Many professionals are too busy to do many of the chores needed around the house. This could range from gardening to cleaning to a big summer project. When this need arises, it is time to seek out some quality help to do the job or assist you with the job.

I found a great site that offers a search for local help for all areas of the country. The site, Hire A Helper.com offers a great place to connect workers an people who need to hire them. It is an easy way to compare prices and there are even reviews to see if the person you are trying to hire has a good reputation.

If you are planning to make a move and thinking about hiring one of the Moving Companies, this website has a great selection of options to find the right mover. It does not matter if you are looking for New York Movers or you need to Hire Chicago Movers or some other area of the nation, this site can connect you to the right people. By hiring your own moving truck and helpers, you could save a bunch of money over many of the major moving companies.

The process is quite easy. It is easy to navigate the site and easy to make a purchase. As a customer, you provide your payment credit card to the website. In exchange, they provide you with a code. Once the worker completes the job and you are satisfied, you give the code to the worker and they claim the money from Hire A Helper. This is a safe way to make sure the price quoted is honest and you pay nothing to the worker until the job is complete. You may cancel anytime up till the time the job is completed.

This is a great way to do business and keep your money safe until the job is done. This is the wave of the future and I highly recommend checking out Hire A Helper.com if you are in need of local help.

Here are two current coupons for the site:
$20/off coupon for military!- thx2mil
$10/off coupon for bloggers – blogme

The following is a sponsored review.

The economy is in a critical time in world history. Everyday we see on the news about how banks and financial institutions are in peril. We here on the news that people can no longer get credit or loans because we are in a credit crunch. Well that is true to a point. The truth is that people now need to do more research in order to find a deal on credit.

Extra Credit Cards.com is a site set up to help people seeking real news on Credit Cards and how to obtain them. They offer a bunch of up to date information on the latest low interest cards on the market.

Even with the credit crunch, this site still points to many offers for people with great credit down to the people with bad credit. They also have articles explaining how credit works and what a credit score really means. They even offer information about purchasing prepaid debit cards so you can still do transaction requiring a credit card without paying the interest and charges associated with many credit cards.

I have reviewed a few different credit information sites and I found this similar to many others. However, it is loaded with tons of useful information and does a lot of the research for you. Though I am not a huge proponent of credit cards, I do know that people are still using them. If you are one of these people, sites like this Extra Credit Cards will help you be an informed consumer when applying for Credit Cards.

I am not a huge fan of loans of any kind but I do know that many people use them when the need arises. The one key to getting any type of loan and most importantly lonas is that the person does their research. It is important to research the cost, the terms, and the reputation of the loan company.

PaydayLoansABC.com is a website loaded with reviews on the various types of Payday loans. They have a load of information designed to inform the consumer prior to obtaining a loan. They also have several offers listed on their site with an easy to apply for format.

There are many types of Payday loans and many require credit checks and faxing signatures and other time consumer processes. This website offers a No Fax Payday Loan from many providers to make it a quick and easy process.

The whole process of the loan processing looks quite easy and is just a matter of a few simple forms and some proof of income along with having a checking account. The information is designed for your particular state and there are some informative articles about Payday loans and the laws involved.

Though I am not a fan of Payday loans, I found this site a great resource for those people who do rely on those types of loans in emergencies. I highly suggest searching through the site thoroughly prior to applying. They provide the information and research, but it is your job to read that information.