We often hear about the right to vote. It is in the Constitution that we have that right. However, I contend that it is also a responsibility. Many times as Americans, we sit back and are too lazy to drive to the polls. Worse yet, we just do not care. This my friend is the beginning of the end for freedom.

As much as we want to bury our heads in the sand, it is not possible. We must drag ourselves to the polls and let our voice be heard. We must stand up for what we believe and vote in those who believe the same things. It is your right, but it is also your responsibility to DEFEND  the nation from take over by those you do not share values with.

This past election was just for local offices. I heard many say they do not vote except for the big elections. Guess what? Your voice carries tons more weight in local elections where many candidates win by a few votes; some as few as one. Your vote can make the difference who gets in office.

I share the frustration of many who feels like giving up because all the candidates seem to be out for number one, themselves. However, I march myself in every election to try to send then message to them. I am not a Republican, I am not a Democrat, I am an American exercising my right and responsibility to vote for the best man or woman for the job. I encourage you to never miss another election again; your freedom depends on it!

Please feel free to share your opinion and comments.

OK, I have been quite slack in posting so I got  a lot of catching up to do. One of most active post was when I reviewed the iPad when they first came out. Well I decided to address the long term review. I ordered my iPad when they first came out in April 2010. Yes, I still have it!

I have had the iPad for about a year and a half. It still works great and I use it everyday. Has it always been perfect? No! Some of the updates sucked. The current IOS5 update has messed up my Safari browser and caused me a few headaches. Some of my apps did not keep up and now are playing catch up to be able to function properly. I had a couple of times when I had to do a reboot to fix problems. The 3G did not always work like it should. So your question is, do I still recommend the iPad?

I am the biggest cheerleader for the iPad. I have gotten many hours of fun, used it for many business purposes, used it when I did not have Internet at home, and much more. I do not believe in the whole time I have owned it, there has been a single day when I have not used the iPad. I travel with it, it is the first thing I check my Internet with in the morning, and I use it during my TV watching. I was told to wait to buy it until they added new features. I f I did, I would have missed out of all the fun and use since I bought it. Is the new iPad2 a little fancier? Yep! However, I have no desire to replace my old iPad. The camera is cool but I have so many cameras; one my phone, one my computer, and two digital cameras.  Do I really need another one. Not really! Most of the other features are of no use for me to spend the additional funds to update to a new one.

For those of you who have rode the fence about getting an iPad, I still highly recommend it of you can afford it. I do most of my internet browsing on the iPad. I can read books, watch videos (you tube, Netflix, and more), and play tons of cool games. I am cheap as a rule and I have spent less than $25 in apps. Most of what I want can be had for free or really cheap. Yes the iPad is costly and no it is not a need but if want one, you will not regret it. I had minor quirks but nothing that ever makes me regret my purchase.

Please feel free to share your iPad experience. Very curious to here from those who upgraded from iPad one to iPad two.

It has been a busy time and much has happened since I last posted. I have built a new modular home almost a year ago. It is a beautiful yellow house on 75 acres of land. I am planning soon to write a post about my experience with going with a modular builder.

Next life change is I lost my job about two months ago. It was a hard hit and the job market is weak. I have sent many resumes and received no responses. I went to work the second day of the school year and received a call that my position was being cut. No notice, no warning, just someone will be up to get keys and cell phone. Good Luck!

I am glad that I planned out my finances so that we could make it without my job if needed be. It puts a strain on our life plans but we will make it until the market opens up. Many people are not prepared and this causes great hardship.

Others things happening is that we no longer raise chickens and we have no pets at all now.

Life has its ups and downs but now this give time to reconnect to my readers and update my blogs. Look for an in-depth article soon ob buying the modular home way.

I will try to be more regular with my updates. Thanks and feel free to share some life happenings on the comment sections.

I have read tons of reviews about the Ipad. The problem is, many of the reviews come from people who do not own one or that have never even used one. This review is an honest review from someone who owns one hand has used it for over a month.

I received my Ipad on April 30, 2010. As I opened the package, I was still wondering of I made the right decision in spending the $858 for the 32G 3G Ipad. I am cheap and this was a huge expense and I had buyers remorse as I was unwrapping the package and preparing to sync up with my computer.

I have to say, the remorse was gone quickly after I started using the Ipad. I wake to the Ipad and I go to bed with the Ipad. This has almost replaced my PC for everything I do. I take it almost everywhere I go and with the 3G network, I am hardly every out of range of the Internet.

First, lets talk about the 3G service from AT&T. I chose to go with the $14.99 plan which gives me 250 MB of service for a month. This has supplied me with more than enough to check email, check Facebook, and play a few games on the go. This service is with no contract and you can change it at anytime. When you sign up, you sign up for automatic renewal but you can change before the plan ends and it will cancel or change plans. They use to have unlimited for $30 a month but I just noticed that the plans has changed to 2G for $25. I am guessing that too many people were watching videos on YouTube and using a lot of data. I save the videos for when I am hooked to WiFi. The Ipad will pick up a WiFi service and use that first unless you tell it otherwise. Many places have free WiFi and with either plan, you get free WiFi at any AT&T hot spot even if it normally cost money. I do not use the 3G a ton but I still think the original cost upgrade and the monthly fee is worth having it when I need it.

The next thing I want to talk about is the book reading. I have found this one of the coolest features on the Ipad. There are so many readers that my head spins. The main two I use are iBooks and Kindle. These offer tons of free books and you can also purchase new releases of top selling books. Most of the free books are classics or old titles but there are still many to choose from. I have loaded a bunch of books and find reading a joy on the Ipad. It is much easier to carry than a bunch of books. There are also many PDF apps that work great to download free eBooks. All together, there are access to thousands of books for free even if you never want to buy one.

The overall choices for apps was a bit limited when I first received my Ipad. Many of them were iPod apps that needed to be enlarged to use on the Ipad, However, more and more apps have updated or been created just for Ipads. If you are not careful, you could spend a ton of money on apps. I spend very little because there are always free apps that meet my needs or I watch for them when they go on sale for free as a promotion. Yes, there is a app for that too. I have a couple of apps that keep track of apps when they change to free so I can grab them. I check daily and grab what I want.

Gaming on the Ipad is a whole new experience. I have many games and they are fun and I could play for hours. My favorite is Bejeweled 2. Though they have not made a Ipad version yet, it works just fine expanded from the iPod version. This was one that I did purchase for $3 and it was worth the money. Many other games I have downloaded for free and I can always find something fun to play. Again, one could spend toms of money to get all the coolest games. However, I am happy with a few good ones.

Business use is another thing that I use my Ipad for. I use it to check my emails, type up short notes, and text those I need to contact for work. There are many apps that are designed to help with business needs. I have downloaded a few for free and I plan to purchase a few in the future. Apple offers their equivalent to Microsoft Office for $9.99 per app for a total of $30 for the three main ones. I plan to purchase Pages, the word type program, sometime this summer., The other two, I do not need so I will save money on those. My understanding is that you can save in work and transfer the document to your computer for printing. I just bought a wireless printer and I am going to work on figuring out how to print to the printer from the Ipad. I know there is a way but I have not had time to even hook up my printer so I will have to figure that out.

Emailing is a breeze with the Ipad. It is easy to read, reply, delete, or create. The built in email app offers multiple accounts to set up web based email from all major services. There are also separate apps for Gmail and others but I like the built in app best. I find it quick to check all my emails in the morning while getting ready for work. It saves me time from having to start the computer and I can carry the Ipad wherever I am getting ready, Yes, even the toilet.

I have always wanted to journal but hated keeping track of a journal. With the Ipad, I have added an app that lets me have a password protected journal that is fun to write in and I can even back up on my computer through the iTunes software. This was one of the other app that I sprung a little money for. This was well worth the money and I enjoy using this almost daily.

Another thing I do with the Ipad is watch videos. I love to sit and watch You Tube videos and they play nicely and are easy to load. The app is already loaded on the Ipad and it is easy to use with very little hangups. The other videos you can watch are Netflix, To do this, you must have an account with them that offers unlimited online movies. The movies play great and will be great when I start to travel more this summer. You can also check your account and update you queue for Netflix right from the Ipad.

Mapping on the go is one of the cool features that the Ipad offers. It has built in GPS locator that allows you to map from anywhere you are at. This is great when you are travelling to a new area and need to find a hotel or another location. This even picks up my house which is normally not shown when I use online mapping services. Since I normally carry my Ipad with me, I can always check for directions and I can use the yellow book app to find local diners or other attractions. I am never out of touch with the Ipad with me.

The Ipad comes with a built in microphone and offers a voice over which will speak everything on the Ipad. This feature is cool but if you fail to read the directions in the online Ipad manual, you could have some grief from this feature. I turned it on to try it out and I swiped the screen and lost my display. I could not figure out how to get the display back and stress set in. I researched online and could not find any answers. I finally found set up on the Ipad using the voice and touching around and was able to shut off voice over. This restored  my display and I laster found the reason in the manual. It seems if you swipe with three fingers, you can turn off the display and do the same to turn it back on. I did not like the fear that my Ipad was damaged so I have not used voice over since.

The sound quality is great on the Ipad and it is quite loud without any additional speakers or headphones. I have watched many videos and heard everything clearly. The volume can be adjusted on the side of the Ipad or on screen. The display rotates on all directions and can be locked in any position. This is an improvement over the iPod touch because you do not have to worry about moving the wrong way and your screen flips.

When purchasing the Ipad, I do recommend the Apple case that is made for the Ipad. It cost $40 but it fits great, offers good protection and looks good. I also would put on a screen protector which keeps the glass safe. Many people complained it was hard to install the screen protector but I did it the first time and had very few bubbles. Once in the case, The Ipad looks like a little notebook and is easy to carry. Many complaints about the case is that it is tight and hard to  remove the Ipad. This is true and it would be a pain if you use a docking station. I have found no need for a docking station so I do not need to remove it. The power cord plugs in fine and the Ipad is always protected.

I also purchased the camera connector so I can load pictures directly from my camera or a SD card. This works great and the pictures load quickly. They also look great on the Ipad. You can turn your Ipad into a digital picture frame to share the pictures with a friend.

There are loads of other things I could say about the Ipad but then I will be risking writing a book. However, I do need to add the cons of the Ipad to give it an honest review. The one most annoying thing is that just like the iPod touch, the Ipad attracts fingerprints and is hard to keep clean. The other thing that I wish the Ipad had was multitasking so that I can listen to a radio app while doing other things. As I type, I am updating my iPod touch with the newest software that now allows multi-tasking. Steve Jobs promised this for June and he delivered. He also promises the same update for the Ipad in the fall and I have no doubt he will deliver.  The final thing that is a little disappointing is that you can not load anything from the Internet that uses Flash. This can be frustrating when you find something you want to watch. However, many sites are changing so that they can be viewed by the Ipad.

Overall, I love the Ipad. I use it daily and I very seldom go on my computer to do the normal tasks. It is easy to surf the web and the key board is easy to use once you get use to typing on a touch screen. In landscape view, the keyboard is about the size of a netbook keyboard. I even sold my netbook because I found I was not suing it since I got the Ipad. For those who have trashed the Ipad as a toy, try using it for a while and see the possibilities. I can do many of the same things a full size computer can do with the ease of a tool that weighs  under two pounds and it small enough to carry everywhere. I can take it to work for notes, I can watch videos, I can play games, and I can read before bed all with this little toy.

If you are looking for a great tool or just a fun toy, the price is high but not for what you get. I highly recommend the Ipad if you are riding the fence trying to decide. It is a computer, a game, platform, and computer all built into a small compact package. I have been approached by many people as I sit using my Ipad. They are amazed at the features and the beauty of it. This is truly a worthy investment and I have not a single regret!

Please feel free to share your comments about the Ipad.

I have done a lot of reading about the new Apple iPad. There are many who love it and several people who do not.

One of the biggest arguments is the price. I can not disagree with this argument. However, I am sure that this kind of technology is expensive to create for the first time. I also say that if you afford and want it, buy it. If you do not want it or can’t afford it do not buy it.

I drove to the Apple store today to see all the hype for myself. I have to admit, I love my iPod touch. With that said, I tried to keep an open mind.

I was amazed from the moment I picked up the iPad. It is an amazing device. The quality was great and the apps and videos were crisp and easy on the eyes. It was so cool when I checked out a book and it was clear and the pages even turned like a real book. I watched a YouTube video and it played larger and clearer than on my desk top computer.

I found as an iPod touch user, there was not much of a learning curb. Yes, this is like a big iPod Touch but offers a lot more features. I was hooked right away and was ready to buy. That was when I found out that they did not have any in stock. They had sold out quickly and the only way to get one was to order from the Apple website. That brought up another decision.

If I bought today at the store, I would have bought the Wi-Fi only model since the one with 3G capacity will not be available until the end of April. At&T offers a data plan that is $14.95 for 250 mg of Internet usage or $30 for unlimited access over their mobile network. The problem was, to get the upgraded model, it was an additional $130. I also needed to decide if I wanted the 16gig, 32 gig, or 64 gig memory. This too became a cost issue.

OK, you have figured out by the title, I ordered one. I ended up going with the 3G and 32 gig memory. I added on a case and an adapter for a SD card or digital camera. All total with tax, it came to $858. I know it is a lot but as I said before,  I love my iPod touch and this is just too cool to pass up. I do not spend easily and it took a little nudge from my wife but I hit the order button and placed the order. I will return to write a full review as soon as I get the iPad and use it for a few days. Until then, if you have one of the iPads, please share you likes and dislikes by leaving a comment or two.

This is the first time I decided to use my iPod touch to update my blog. I am excited because I love using iPod.

The Word Press app is cool and seems easy to use. Most people hate typing on the touch screen but I love it. I will start updating my blog more often (hopefull) by using my iPod.

Anyone else use the iPod touch to update their blogs?

This has to be one of the best things so far in the terms of cell phone plans. Tracfone and Walmart has come up with a great cell phone plan that will save hundreds for many cell phone users.

Straight Talk is a new plan that offers two prepaid plans with no contracts to sign and no extra hidden fees. You can choose from a $30 for 30 days plan or an unlimited 30 day plan.

The $30 plan offers 1000 minutes and 1000 texts for 30 days along with 30 meg of Internet usage. The only additional fee is sales tax unlike most regular cell plans that have all kinds of hidden fees and taxes that add another $16-$20. If you run out of anything before the 30 days, the rest of the stuff still works. You also can add a new card at anytime. This is normally more than enough for the average person.

If limits are not your thing, they offer the $45 unlimited plan. This plan offers unlimited texting, talk, and Internet usage. This is great for those who talk a lot or loves to text. The Internet leaves something to be desired and many of the applications from other carriers do not work because the phone does not have Java capability. If you are buying a cell phone to use tons of Internet features, this may not be the phone for you. However, you can search the Internet, surf most pages, and check email.

Straight Talk offers a few different phones and the prices range from $39.95-$328.88. We purchased the Samsung R451C for $99.98. This has a slider with a keyboard for easy texting. We bought it for my wife and she seems to like it quite well. If you add a micro SD card, it also becomes a full MP3 player. It also comes with a camera, that takes some descent pictures.

Overall, for the price, I see very little downside to the Straight Talk. We were on the NET10 phone for two years and it is from the same company so we know the coverage is good. The only negative was having to buy the phone for $100. I figure we will recover that over a traditional plan in very short time.

If anyone else has any experience with Straight Talk, please share by leaving a comment.

Here is the list! These are how your Representatives voted. It is time to find them and oust them on Dump The Chumps Group. It is time to stand up and vote out these crooks!

ALABAMA Democrats: Bright, N; Davis, N. Republicans: Aderholt, N; Bachus, N; Bonner, N; Griffith, N; Rogers, N.

ALASKA Republicans: Young, N.

ARIZONA Democrats: Giffords, Y; Grijalva, Y; Kirkpatrick, Y; Mitchell, Y; Pastor, Y. Republicans: Flake, N; Franks, N; Shadegg, N.

ARKANSAS Democrats: Berry, N; Ross, N; Snyder, Y. Republicans: Boozman, N.

CALIFORNIA Democrats: Baca, Y; Becerra, Y; Berman, Y; Capps, Y; Cardoza, Y; Chu, Y; Costa, Y; Davis, Y; Eshoo, Y; Farr, Y; Filner, Y; Garamendi, Y; Harman, Y; Honda, Y; Lee, Y; Lofgren, Zoe, Y; Matsui, Y; McNerney, Y; Miller, George, Y; Napolitano, Y; Pelosi, Y; Richardson, Y; Roybal-Allard, Y; Sanchez, Linda T., Y; Sanchez, Loretta, Y; Schiff, Y; Sherman, Y; Speier, Y; Stark, Y; Thompson, Y; Waters, Y; Watson, Y; Waxman, Y; Woolsey, Y. Republicans: Bilbray, N; Bono Mack, N; Calvert, N; Campbell, N; Dreier, N; Gallegly, N; Herger, N; Hunter, N; Issa, N; Lewis, N; Lungren, Daniel E., N; McCarthy, N; McClintock, N; McKeon, N; Miller, Gary, N; Nunes, N; Radanovich, N; Rohrabacher, N; Royce, N.

COLORADO Democrats: DeGette, Y; Markey, Y; Perlmutter, Y; Polis, Y; Salazar, Y. Republicans: Coffman, N; Lamborn, N.

CONNECTICUT Democrats: Courtney, Y; DeLauro, Y; Himes, Y; Larson, Y; Murphy, Y.

DELAWARE Republicans: Castle, N.

FLORIDA Democrats: Boyd, Y; Brown, Corrine, Y; Castor, Y; Grayson, Y; Hastings, Y; Klein, Y; Kosmas, Y; Meek, Y; Wasserman Schultz, Y. Republicans: Bilirakis, N; Brown-Waite, Ginny, N; Buchanan, N; Crenshaw, N; Diaz-Balart, L., N; Diaz-Balart, M., N; Mack, N; Mica, N; Miller, N; Posey, N; Putnam, N; Rooney, N; Ros-Lehtinen, N; Stearns, N; Young, N.

GEORGIA Democrats: Barrow, N; Bishop, Y; Johnson, Y; Lewis, Y; Marshall, N; Scott, Y. Republicans: Broun, N; Deal, N; Gingrey, N; Kingston, N; Linder, N; Price, N; Westmoreland, N.

HAWAII Democrats: Hirono, Y. IDAHO Democrats: Minnick, N. Republicans: Simpson, N.

ILLINOIS Democrats: Bean, Y; Costello, Y; Davis, Y; Foster, Y; Gutierrez, Y; Halvorson, Y; Hare, Y; Jackson, Y; Lipinski, N; Quigley, Y; Rush, Y; Schakowsky, Y. Republicans: Biggert, N; Johnson, N; Kirk, N; Manzullo, N; Roskam, N; Schock, N; Shimkus, N.

INDIANA Democrats: Carson, Y; Donnelly, Y; Ellsworth, Y; Hill, Y; Visclosky, Y. Republicans: Burton, N; Buyer, N; Pence, N; Souder, N.

IOWA Democrats: Boswell, Y; Braley, Y; Loebsack, Y. Republicans: King, N; Latham, N.

KANSAS Democrats: Moore, Y. Republicans: Jenkins, N; Moran, N; Tiahrt, N.

KENTUCKY Democrats: Chandler, N; Yarmuth, Y. Republicans: Davis, N; Guthrie, N; Rogers, N; Whitfield, N.

LOUISIANA Democrats: Melancon, N. Republicans: Alexander, N; Boustany, N; Cao, N; Cassidy, N; Fleming, N; Scalise, N.

MAINE Democrats: Michaud, Y; Pingree, Y. MARYLAND Democrats: Cummings, Y; Edwards, Y; Hoyer, Y; Kratovil, N; Ruppersberger, Y; Sarbanes, Y; Van Hollen, Y. Republicans: Bartlett, N.

MASSACHUSETTS Democrats: Capuano, Y; Delahunt, Y; Frank, Y; Lynch, N; Markey, Y; McGovern, Y; Neal, Y; Olver, Y; Tierney, Y; Tsongas, Y.

MICHIGAN Democrats: Conyers, Y; Dingell, Y; Kildee, Y; Kilpatrick, Y; Levin, Y; Peters, Y; Schauer, Y; Stupak, Y. Republicans: Camp, N; Ehlers, N; Hoekstra, N; McCotter, N; Miller, N; Rogers, N; Upton, N.

MINNESOTA Democrats: Ellison, Y; McCollum, Y; Oberstar, Y; Peterson, N; Walz, Y. Republicans: Bachmann, N; Kline, N; Paulsen, N.

MISSISSIPPI Democrats: Childers, N; Taylor, N; Thompson, Y. Republicans: Harper, N.

MISSOURI Democrats: Carnahan, Y; Clay, Y; Cleaver, Y; Skelton, N. Republicans: Akin, N; Blunt, N; Emerson, N; Graves, N; Luetkemeyer, N.

MONTANA Republicans: Rehberg, N.

NEBRASKA Republicans: Fortenberry, N; Smith, N; Terry, N.

NEVADA Democrats: Berkley, Y; Titus, Y. Republicans: Heller, N.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Democrats: Hodes, Y; Shea-Porter, Y.

NEW JERSEY Democrats: Adler, N; Andrews, Y; Holt, Y; Pallone, Y; Pascrell, Y; Payne, Y; Rothman, Y; Sires, Y. Republicans: Frelinghuysen, N; Garrett, N; Lance, N; LoBiondo, N; Smith, N.

NEW MEXICO Democrats: Heinrich, Y; Lujan, Y; Teague, N.

NEW YORK Democrats: Ackerman, Y; Arcuri, N; Bishop, Y; Clarke, Y; Crowley, Y; Engel, Y; Hall, Y; Higgins, Y; Hinchey, Y; Israel, Y; Lowey, Y; Maffei, Y; Maloney, Y; McCarthy, Y; McMahon, N; Meeks, Y; Murphy, Y; Nadler, Y; Owens, Y; Rangel, Y; Serrano, Y; Slaughter, Y; Tonko, Y; Towns, Y; Velazquez, Y; Weiner, Y. Republicans: King, N; Lee, N.

NORTH CAROLINA Democrats: Butterfield, Y; Etheridge, Y; Kissell, N; McIntyre, N; Miller, Y; Price, Y; Shuler, N; Watt, Y. Republicans: Coble, N; Foxx, N; Jones, N; McHenry, N; Myrick, N.

NORTH DAKOTA Democrats: Pomeroy, Y.

OHIO Democrats: Boccieri, Y; Driehaus, Y; Fudge, Y; Kaptur, Y; Kilroy, Y; Kucinich, Y; Ryan, Y; Space, N; Sutton, Y; Wilson, Y. Republicans: Austria, N; Boehner, N; Jordan, N; LaTourette, N; Latta, N; Schmidt, N; Tiberi, N; Turner, N.

OKLAHOMA Democrats: Boren, N. Republicans: Cole, N; Fallin, N; Lucas, N; Sullivan, N.

OREGON Democrats: Blumenauer, Y; DeFazio, Y; Schrader, Y; Wu, Y. Republicans: Walden, N.

PENNSYLVANIA Democrats: Altmire, N; Brady, Y; Carney, Y; Dahlkemper, Y; Doyle, Y; Fattah, Y; Holden, N; Kanjorski, Y; Murphy, Patrick, Y; Schwartz, Y; Sestak, Y. Republicans: Dent, N; Gerlach, N; Murphy, Tim, N; Pitts, N; Platts, N; Shuster, N; Thompson, N.

RHODE ISLAND Democrats: Kennedy, Y; Langevin, Y.

SOUTH CAROLINA Democrats: Clyburn, Y; Spratt, Y. Republicans: Barrett, N; Brown, N; Inglis, N; Wilson, N.

SOUTH DAKOTA Democrats: Herseth Sandlin, N.

TENNESSEE Democrats: Cohen, Y; Cooper, Y; Davis, N; Gordon, Y; Tanner, N. Republicans: Blackburn, N; Duncan, N; Roe, N; Wamp, N.

TEXAS Democrats: Cuellar, Y; Doggett, Y; Edwards, N; Gonzalez, Y; Green, Al, Y; Green, Gene, Y; Hinojosa, Y; Jackson Lee, Y; Johnson, E. B., Y; Ortiz, Y; Reyes, Y; Rodriguez, Y. Republicans: Barton, N; Brady, N; Burgess, N; Carter, N; Conaway, N; Culberson, N; Gohmert, N; Granger, N; Hall, N; Hensarling, N; Johnson, Sam, N; Marchant, N; McCaul, N; Neugebauer, N; Olson, N; Paul, N; Poe, N; Sessions, N; Smith, N; Thornberry, N.

UTAH Democrats: Matheson, N. Republicans: Bishop, N; Chaffetz, N.

VERMONT Democrats: Welch, Y.

VIRGINIA Democrats: Boucher, N; Connolly, Y; Moran, Y; Nye, N; Perriello, Y; Scott, Y. Republicans: Cantor, N; Forbes, N; Goodlatte, N; Wittman, N; Wolf, N.

WASHINGTON Democrats: Baird, Y; Dicks, Y; Inslee, Y; Larsen, Y; McDermott, Y; Smith, Y. Republicans: Hastings, N; McMorris Rodgers, N; Reichert, N.

WEST VIRGINIA Democrats: Mollohan, Y; Rahall, Y. Republicans: Capito, N.

WISCONSIN Democrats: Baldwin, Y; Kagen, Y; Kind, Y; Moore, Y; Obey, Y. Republicans: Petri, N; Ryan, N; Sensenbrenner, N.

WYOMING Republicans: Lummis, N.

If you have not used Swag Bucks before, it is a great time to join. My wife and I have been using them for a long time and they always pay out. It is simple to use and you get swag bucks for doing what you already do, search the Internet.

So far, we have cashed in for many Amazon gift cards and no I just cashed in for a free t-shirt which arrived in the mail today.

The shirt is cool looking and only cost 55 swag bucks.

To earn bucks, you search and the bucks come randomly. You also get bucks when people you refer search and earns. It is fun and easy with no crap like many other prize sites.

To join, go to Swag Bucks and follow the instructions to sign up. There are no hidden fees or credit card sign ups or any other tricks. This is straight up, you earn bucks for free searching and referring and they pay out great prizes from Paypal money to gift certificates to free clothing.

Hope you join and have fun and let me know when you cash in for your first prize.

I have been working hard at losing some weight since the beginning of the year. I was at 205 pounds when i joined the YMCA on January 2nd. I have been hitting the gym between 4-6 days a week every since. I have lost over 6% body fat and have lost thirty-five pounds of weight to a current weight of just under 170. I am very excited that I am getting very close to my weight loss goal of 50 pounds to reach a goal weight of 155 pounds.

I am 5’7 and I was in a size 40 waist for pants and I was beginning to feel like crap every time I buttoned up a pair of jeans. I just got back from Walmart where I tried on a pair of 34 jeans and they not only fit but they were a little loose.

I have always been told that once you hit your forties, it is very hard to lose weight. I have found that to be the case. I am currently 42 and five years ago when I tried to lose weight, it fell off quick. This time, it has been a struggle and I hit several plateaus. It was hard hitting the gym and not seeing any weight come off but I kept going. Not only have a lost the weight, I have improved my strength and increased my weight lifting ability. When I started struggled to get five reps on the bench press with 90 pounds. I am currently benching four sets of seven reps at 155 pounds and have a quick recovery time. I would most likely be able to do even more but I do not try to push too far since I lift solo with no partner to spot for me.

As far as my eating, I have cut way back on crap and try to stay at 1800 calories a day with a little protein with every snack or meal. I take one meal a week and eat anything I want. This seems to help keep my metabolism pumping. I did not count calories for the first few months but started to count when I could not budge below 175 pounds. I am now back on a slow steady weight loss and I am hoping in the next couple of months to finish off and star on maintaining my weight. At 175, I started eating a little bad for a couple of weeks but seemed to maintain no matter what I ate as long as I exercised. I am hoping with sticking with this for seven months now, I will be able to maintain once I reach my goal weight. I think adding a little more muscle mass has helped to speed up my metabolism a bit.

I encourage anyone of any age to get up and get going. You will feel better and once its a habit, you will start to crave exercise and eating great. You can take ideas from different diet plans but most are crap, the key is will power, exercise, more exercise, and eating right. I will write more about what I did in the next couple of weeks. Please share and success you have had by leaving a comment here.