Disrespectful relief.

So I paid only $3.91 for gas yesterday and was relieved and insulted at the same time. Last year I was so upset when gas was over $3.50 a gallon, when it went down a little I was happy again. Two years ago I was pissed when gas was over $2.50 a gallon, when it went down a little I was happy again. Now gas has gone from around $4.20 a gallon to $3.91 and I'm still pissed that they want me to be happy about paying a dollar more a gallon than I did last year. I don't want to pay $4.20 a gallon again but I will not smile, or get excited about $3.91 either. Screw the stupid oil companies for making us pay more every year and then lowering it just enough to shut us up.

Stephen's Monday Life Thoughts

When cleaning and organizing your home, less really is more. Get rid of the crap and enjoy a life with less crap.

Another color

Last night we decided to paint our old office. It will be the room that our girls will be sleeping in so it had to be a feminine color. We painted it a light shade of purple. This is now the 7Th color (not counting white) in our home, and we are not done yet. We need to paint one last room and that is the master bedroom. Not sure when that will happen but possible this summer. I hate to paint but I really enjoy color on the walls.
How many colors are in your home?

Dork growth!

I'm becoming a dork!
Everyday I learn something new about computers and I'm becoming pretty good at dealing with them. My grandmother came to me with a problem. Her computer took a crap and all of her genealogy was on it. The computer being from 98 I told her it wasn't worth repairing if I could get the info off of the hard drive. I purchased her a laptop from dell, took the hard drive out of the old computer, opened up my desktop tower, plugged the hard drive in to it, then transferred all the information on grandmas old hard drive to a jump drive, then I loaded all the information into the new laptop from the jump drive. When I was done, I sat there for a minute in disbelief at what I had just done. I have never taken a computer class in my life. But everything that people have taught me and the things I have learned on my own. I'm becoming a computer guy. Or at least to my grandma that has been working with windows 95 the past couple of years.

Minus my cut.

We sold our old home about 2 years ago. Since then, we have been getting calls and letters from many different people wanting to give us 1,200 dollars that is owed to us by the government. But there is a catch, they want their cut of the money owed to me. I'm very confused about the whole thing and was hoping somebody out there would help shine some light on this subject. The first 5 - 10 people I just figured were a scam but now we have had like 20 people contact us on this. I would love to get 1200 dollars these days but it is weird. They don't want money up front either.

Stephen's Monday Life Thoughts

Not sure what is worse getting older yourself or realizing how much older your parents are getting. This weekend my dad turned 52, and I remember his 30th birthday. I will be 30 next year, and it's a little scary to remember my dad at my age. Do you remember your parents at your age?

Doing a manly Tiger pose. Right?

On Saturday for the first time ever I tried Yoga. Walking into a dark room, with 12 women, me being the second man, and the silly rain forest music, I felt my man hood being questioned as I giggled at the idea of becoming one with myself. But I decided I would give it my best and see if I liked it, or if was just some silly thing for chicks. It took me 20 minutes or so to get over myself and actually start to enjoy the class. The more I relaxed the deeper into my own little world I went. Before I knew it an hour had passed and I was completely relaxed. I never thought I would walk out of a Yoga class willing to face the day with a deeper feeling than before. It's not just another Saturday it's a great day to be alive and enjoy everything life has to offer. Yoga is the way I hope to start every weekend. I do need to work on my core strength to help with my balance, I had a hard time on one leg. But I think I mite actually be sore from a class that is just a lot of breathing and stretching.

Flat Furniture.

Yesterday we finally put together the last piece of Ikea furniture for the office. It has been a 3 week project that is finally over. Every time I buy a piece of furniture that comes in a flat box, I always say I will never do that again. Apparently never, means until the next time. I always forget what a pain in the butt it is. But now we have 2 desks, one large file cabinet, and 2- 3 drawer storage units. We are now one step closer to opening our business.

Influencing Children.

Last night I had the first meeting about the football team I will be helping to coach this year. I'm getting very excited to enrich the lives of many children. Coach Mitchell just sounds funny but I think I can adjust to it. Our first practice will be on July 28Th. This is the first year of the tackle football program at this school, so things will be a little unorganized at first. But I think we will be able to put together a great group of kids.

Garage workout!

Today as the family and I went to go to the gym our garage door broke. 1 and 1/2 hours later I finished fixing the door. I put all the wheels back on rewound the pulleys and had it running great. Working in the garage in phoenix for that long at 3pm is a good enough workout for today.

Stephen's Monday Life Thoughts

After a very busy and expensive weekend the thought seemed simple this week.
Dreams are not easy or cheap. But hard work is the only way they may come true.

The virtual assistants, assistant.

This weekend I have been organizing and gathering information to start our virtual assistant business. I'm very luck that I know some people that own a business similar to the one I'm starting. Their business is small and almost completely online. They have answered all of my e-mails with a great wealth of information. I would not even consider starting this business without there opinions. They are my inspiration and I can only hope to be as successful as them one day. Thanks for everything Chris and Ong your my savior.

Holy crap!!! I must have one.

A lot of thought went in to this product. I want a jack doll for the kids.
http://www.thebrowncorporation.com/

Your dog does not have shoes you idiots.

In Phoenix the summer heat can be very intense. The black top can easily reach temperatures of 150 degrees. For some stupid reason I have seen a large amount of people out walking their dog at the hottest part of the day. I'm not sure if the people think since it is so hot they will lose more weight or what. They jog or walk along in their tennis shoes as they scold the feet of their poor dogs. How can you be so stupid as to think it will not harm your dog in any way. If you are stupid enough to go out in the extreme heat. Please leave your dog at home or take of your shoes.

Truth in advertising.

I found this sign on the side of the road. I could not pass it up without taking a picture. Most politicians are schmucks. I just never thought I would find one with that name already established. http://teamschmuck.com/

MMMmmmmm, My $10 jug.

My brother in-law has turned me on to a great wine. A gallon of Carlo Rossi - Paisano. It has a screw on cap, is only $10 bucks, and tastes great. It is a table wine. But don't let the cap, or the price fool you it is a pretty good. I'm not a wine drinker, so give it try and let me know what you think.

Stephen's Monday Life Thoughts

You must dream, before your dreams can be reached. So for 10 minutes or so on this depressing Monday, close your eyes and just dream. I suggest finding a quiet place like the bathroom. I love to dream in there. It's cool, quiet, and it's much more peaceful than the office.

Lost holiday.

This past week has been out of control, but we made some serious head way in our office. It has been transformed from a pink baby room into a very nice office. I did lose a holiday weekend getting it done, but I think it will be worth it. In case you didn't know, the wife and I are on our way to starting our own business. We have applied for our business license and will be open for business in the next month or so. I will of course announce the grand opening of our business and what we will be doing when our name has been approved.

Insane Week!!!!

I entered my Monday work day excited and refreshed after vacation. That all quickly changed when I walked into the fire storm of an insane week. As you can probably guess July 4Th is a holiday that people will be drinking allot of beer. Especially with the holiday falling on a Friday this year. I get to do more work then I usually do in 5 days in 4. To add to the work mess, Kristina and I have started a with our personal trainer 3 times a week, Jenna started swim lessons Monday to Thursday, and our home is limbo from my office remodel project. I can't wait until Friday when I will have the day off so I can get some work done. There is something not right about that. I guess vacation is over and I must return to a normal life:(