Herriman Wildfire in My Backyard

Taken from my backyard at 6:00 PM ©LayZDaisy.com

The recent Herriman "Machine Gun" wildfire has left us feeling very grateful that we still have a home to live in. The scary thing is the fire was only a few blocks away from where I walk Daisy on a regular basis.

It was scary to watch it from smoking on the other side of the mountain to seeing 50 foot flames come down the mountain. Our neighborhood was evacuated as the smoke got so thick you couldn't breath. As we watched this fire progress I kept taking pictures until I couldn't stand the smoke.

As I drove up today to survey the damage to some of the homes, it is amazing to me that more homes were not burned down. So many homes you could see that the flames got as close as 5-10 feet away, the homes survived the fire untouched. There were only 2 homes that burned to the ground, 1 of them no one lived in. A few homes will have to have their roofs replaced and some minor damage repaired.

There very easily could have been a huge loss of of more than 100 homes. The city of Herriman was very well organized with the fire and police in keeping this under control. I am proud to live in a great community and I feel so grateful that so many people were spared from a disaster that could have been much worse.

Here is another perspective of the fire.

Photo by Jay Hyer

Photo by Don Cole

Memorial Day: Be Proud of a Free Country

I think of Memorial Day as a day to remind us of our freedom, and a day to remember our fallen hero's that fought for our country. From the time this country began, many people came over from other countries in search of a new dream. To live in a land with the freedom to worship in their own religion, and not have to be ruled by kings or queens dictating how they should live. I am grateful for the freedoms we have in our country and that we have the freedom to choose to make our own decisions.

Many people take the US Constitution for granted. It was written for a purpose to protect the freedoms we have in our country. It troubles me to think there are many people that are trying to abolish or change our constitution. When that happens, we lose our freedom to act for ourselves and make our own choices. Some of the founding fathers of our country died while trying to protect our freedom. Be grateful for the freedom you have and enjoy everyday that you have to live in freedom, be proud of our free country.

Raising Money for March of Dimes Charity

Every year I participate in some way to donate to March of Dimes Charity. This is an important organization to me because I had a premature baby and this organization was a great help to me in that time of my life, this is my way of giving back. March of Dimes is on a mission to help prevent premature births, and help families in need of their services.

Donate as little as $1 or as much as you want. It's tax deductible and you can print a receipt online. Please donate and help me reach my goal!

What is Gratitude?

It is a sincere appreciation for things around us, a feeling of thankfulness for what we have or benefits we have received. I think gratitude is something we should feel each and every day throughout the year. It is gratitude that will get us through tough times. I have so much to be grateful for, I can't possibly list everything in one blog. I hope that what I can do is list some things that will help remind us different ways to show gratitude. I hope that by showing gratitude it will impact others in a positive way that they will want to do the same for someone else.

1. Attitude - A grateful heart is the beginning of greatness. You are happier when you have a grateful attitude. A grateful attitude will bless us and others.
2. Be Kind to Others - Treat others with the same respect as you would want others to treat you.
3. Give a compliment - Show a smile, give a compliment to someone for something you like about them, or something good they have done.

Cayenne's Puppies

My whole family pretty much has Dachshunds. Although I grew up around many other breeds of dogs, the Dachshund is the breed I that has become my favorite. They are fun dogs, they are easy to train and do best when you keep them on a schedule. They will always keep you entertained and much of the time they think they are human.

Cayenne is my Dad and Step Mom's dog. On May 14, 2009 these Miniature Dachshund AKC puppies were born. One Black and Tan male, and two Red females. They are very cute and playful. The father has champion blood lines and is Black & Tan, Cayenne is a very pretty Red. I took pictures yesterday and thought I would post them. Click here to see more pictures of Cayenne and her puppies.

Lessons of Life

These are some kind thoughts that a friend of mine emailed to me, and I thought I might share them.

We will be fulfilled in the best way possible and as quickly possible. But some things take time. Sometimes, we have lessons to learn first, lessons that prepare us so we can accept the good we deserve. Things are being worked out in us, and in others. Blocks in us are being removed. A solid foundation is being laid.

Be patient, Relax and trust. Let go. Then, let go some more. Good things are planned for us. We will receive them at the first available moment. We will have all our heart longs for. Relax and trust.

I will identify what I want and need; then, I'll be willing to let go of it. I will devote my energy to living my life today, so I may master my lessons as quickly as possible. I will trust that what I want and need is coming to me. I will let go of my need to control the details.

~ by Melody Beattie "The Language of Letting Go"

"Every act of self control leads to a measure of self respect!"
~ Abraham Low

Blogging: Not Just a Hobby Anymore

Blogging is a great way to express yourself, keep in touch with family and friends. Blogging is not just something you do for fun anymore. It is a great tool to also increase traffic to your website and your business. While we have had a tough economy, it's also one of the best avenues for free advertising. There are many ways you can blog and make money. I see blogging as one of the best Marketing tools to help boost my business, and any leads I get from it I see as a bonus to what I am already doing.

Blogging has been very successful for many people, but don't count on it to be a stable income. What you want to do is build multiple streams of income. Most successful bloggers have been doing it for several years. I have been now blogging for one year, and I am happy when I do get the occasional paid blogging job.

Here's a great post:
13 Tips to Recession Proof Your Blog

Some of my friends have great blogs:
http://doubledeej.blogspot.com/
http://www.joelcomm.com/


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Memorial Day: A Day of Remebrance

A US Marine marching at Arlington Cemetery

I would like to take a moment to honor everyone who fought for our freedom. Not only do I want to remember our fallen heros, but also everyone who lived to fight for our freedom when our country first began, and those that signed the Declaration of Independence and put into law the Bill of Rights and our United States Constitution. I am greatful to live in our country and enjoy the many freedoms that we have.

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Memorial Day Roll Call Honors 148,000 Veterans

This Memorial Day, Honor the Fallen

Pancreatitis in Dogs

Over the last three weeks my little dog Daisy became ill with Pancreatitis. This something that is very common in dogs and cats that eat something that they are not supposed to. Pancreatitis is a digestive disorder that is usually cause by eating people food that is high in fat. This was set off when Daisy ate a small piece of ham. She usually doesn't eat anything but her own food. That a couple hours after she ate she started throwing up. She continued to throw up through the night, then the next day she had the runs. I made her some rice to help settle her tummy. She did not want to eat at all that day, and was not feeling well. After a day or two she started feeling better, she was eating the rice but not touching the dog food. In the middle of the night she threw up bile every night at 4:00 Am for the next few days. On Monday I took her to the Vet they put her on a prescription dog food. She ate well for the first four days, then started having the tummy trouble again in the middle of the night. I took her to the vet again the following Monday. He prescribed for her a soft prescription dog food I could mix with rice and eventually mix with dry. He also put her on Flagyl a medication that is supposed to help reduce any inflammation in her intestines and make it easier to digest her food.

I am sorry to be so graphic but, I wanted to illustrate how serious Pancreatitis can be. If not checked, it can develop into a chronic condition and cause other health problems. Pancreatitis is common in pets around Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter (because of table scraps). Not all dogs will get it, but seems to be more common in small breed purebred dogs.

Daisy in the Desert

This weekend we went camping in the desert with our dog. Daisy loves to run and play in the desert. She loves to go for rides in the truck and on the four wheeler, she will chase almost anything that moves. When our trip has ended she will sleep for a week.

Motivate Yourself to Do Something Great!

I think I found a new calling in life. To motivate. I have been teaching some seminars in various subjects based on my experience in Graphic Design, Marketing etc. Every time I finish a seminar I feel excited that everyone in my group is excited to apply the new knowledge they have gained. This is a motivation for me to do bigger and greater things. I love to surround myself with positive people. It is just like when I used to run everyday it was much easier to go farther and run consistently when I had a running buddy.

One reason I started teaching these seminars is I love to help people and I want everyone I share with to gain some value. Also my appointment book was getting rather full and I wasn't spending as much of my time being productive. I love helping others, my goal is for everyone that I coach that they in turn will help someone else. It's this type of thinking that will get us through our tough economy. I have started a daily routine to keep myself motivated and positive.

1. Start out your day by listening to music that makes you feel good about yourself.
2. Pass on a positive thought to someone else.
3. Surround yourself with positive people.
   

Everyone has the POWER to be LARGER than you think you are. Be the best person you can be and influence others!

Direct Selling Home Decor Business Review

Last month I wrote an article on "Questions You Should Ask an MLM Company Before You Join". The same kinds of questions apply if your thinking of starting up your own business in direct selling. I recently had the opportunity to review several companies all with similar products. All of the companies I reviewed are all MLM companies but are all structured differently. With this review I have listed the companies that are the best to work with, all others that I didn't care for I left off this list. They were graded on several factors; Cost of startup, Consultant Benefits, Customer Service, Ease of Selling, Quality of Products, Tech Support and Training.

Home Decor Direct / Cuadros Y Cosas A+
Startup Cost - $0 if you sell $150 (supplies are free with this method) or $59 for products and a supply kit ($150 value). A
Consultant Benefits - The very best income opportunity over any other company I reviewed plus you are rewarded for everyone you recruit and get cash bonuses for extra sales. A
Quality of Products - Excellent quality, most products are hand crafted in the USA and reasonably priced. A+
Ease of Selling - I signed up with $0 and got $268 in orders my first month. A
Customer Service - Most items are received within 1-2 weeks after you place your order. Customer service is excellent. A
Tech Support and Training - I had the opportunity to attend two training seminars before I started, with excellent one on one support. I was able to meet personally with the Vice President of the company. A

Southern Living At Home B+
Startup Cost - $199 for a $400+ value of products and supply kit A-
Consultant Benefits - Consultants get discounts one item one time per year and 25% commission, plus you are rewarded for every recruit. B+
Quality of Products - Excellent quality, not a big variety of home decor items, lots of dishes. A-
Ease of Selling - Not too hard to sell, but some items are pricey. B+
Customer Service - Can't contact customer service via phone, email took 4-5 days to respond. Items shipped slow, took more than 2 weeks. B
Tech Support and Training - Training was over the phone and audio CD's. B+

Celebrating Home / Home & Garden Party B-
Startup Cost - $99 for $200 in product or $149 for $300 in product. B+
Consultant Benefits - Consultants get 30% commission, plus you are rewarded for every recruit. A-
Quality of Products - Some items are not very high quality. Products range from reasonably priced to pricey. B-
Ease of Selling - Good variety of products, some quality issues. B
Customer Service - Can't contact customer service via phone, email took over a week to respond. Most items received within 2 weeks. C+
Tech Support and Training - No one offered any one on one support, I did find some videos on You Tube. C

For your convenience links to company websites have been posted in this blog.

Positive Thinking is the Key to Surviving Tough Times

With our current economic crisis and hundreds of thousands of people getting laid off across the nation, it is troubling to think where we are headed. Our nation is in a full blown depression. The fall of our economy was caused by greed and dishonest people that worked at the top of major corporations refusing to accept accountability. I refuse to buy into the political schemes of these companies that are seeking bailouts. The majority of these bailouts have not been used to recover losses or save jobs. They have been used for the wrong reasons to cover there own ass-ets. There is a way to turn this around. POSITIVE THINKING, and helping others.

I am determined to make the best of my own resources, while educating myself to find creative ways to make money and utilize every resource that is available to help everyone where ever I can. Recently I have posted a job board on my website www.LayZDaisy.com/jobs.htm I hope by having this job board on my site it will help those find a job that needs one. I think when ever we can help someone else, it is this kind of thinking that will turn around our economy. Here are some other tips that will help.

1. Stop the worry and have POSITIVE THINKING. If you worry it will take you ten times longer to accomplish something than if you have POSITIVE THINKING. Worrying is a waste of time. POSITIVE THINKING will get you a lot farther in life and you will reach your goals in less time. POSITIVE THINKING will help you accomplish anything that you desire by attracting these good thoughts everyday and sharing your good thoughts with others. We need to lift each other up and filter out the negetive.
2. Be Creative and find other ways you can make an income with NO investment. Some of these ways can be selling a product or service you can provide through free internet classified advertising. www.craigslist.org
3. Prioritize the things that are most important. By prioritizing I mean prioritizing everything in your life starting with your finances, cleaning your house etc. Prioritizing will also relieve a lot of stress and you will be able to look at everything with a clear picture.
4. Cut expenses and be frugal, you can live with less. When times are tough financially being frugal is way to cut the expenses you don't need without being cheap. If you remember to recycle and reuse this will in becoming frugal. Then when ever you can prepare for the future.
   
5. Share the lessons you have learned with others. Be willing to help someone and share your POSITIVE THINKING. Then if everyone helps someone else it will spread like wild fire.

Questions You Should Ask an MLM Company Before You Join.

How many people out there signed up for an MLM company with big expectations of making money then find out later that it’s a very hard way to succeed. There have been many times I have been sucked in the pretty picture they paint. I hate when some of the people working with these companies lie to you just to get as many people as they can underneath their organization, then offer you no help once you join. The majority of MLM companies make it sound easy and say “anyone can be successful”. I don’t want to knock all MLM companies out there. There are some good ones that are legitimate. There are details you should look at with every company before you spend the money to invest. One of the most important things you should do is research. You will need to find out how stable each company is are and compare them to their competition.

1. What is the start-up cost and what does it include? Beware of huge upfront fees, the risk is usually much greater and make sure you are getting a good value for the money.
2. What kind of training do I get once I start? Make sure if you sign up that you sign up with someone that has proven to be successful and is willing to spend the time with you to properly train you.
3. What type of service or product will I be selling? Is this something you can truly believe in and feel good about selling?
4. Will I be expected to put in a minimum order every month or every quarter? Make sure you can sell more than the minimum amount required each month or quarter.
5. Will I be expected to recruit a minimum amount of people? Many MLM’s require you to recruit a specified number of people in order to make money in your downline.
6. How much commission will I make?
7. If I want to purchase something do I get a special discount off the retail price?
8. Is shipping & handling additional or does it come out of my commission?
9. How long do items typically take to ship to my customer?
10. What kind of Guarantee or Warranty does the company have on their products?
11. Will I need to purchase supplies such as Catalogs, order forms, etc.?
12. What other company benefits or incentives does this company have and how easy is it to achieve those goals?

Something US Auto Makers Have Forgotten

It seems that today many companies and their officers are driven by greed. The Government bailouts are not being used in the proper manner to save these companies from failing. This is disturbing to me that General Motors plans to close 500 dealerships and layoff thousands of jobs. Even more disturbing is that GM officials say that without the second installment of $5.4 billion dollars they will run out of money by March 31, 2009. It makes you wonder what are they doing with all that money that would make them run out? With $5.4 billion dollars you could save a whole lot of jobs. I think this is poor management to get this far into debt and not be able to pay your bills and save jobs.

When the whole auto industry is in trouble, instead of looking at the bottom of the food chain to cut costs, they should start from the top. This rather large house cleaning project should begin at the home corporate offices and look at over spending that is unnecessary, then go down to the branches of the company. Top executives refuse to take a pay cut when there are families that have worked in the Auto Industry for years living from paycheck to paycheck. Chrysler and GM need to take notes from a few competitors take some responsibility for their actions and realize it is their employees that are the core of the company and it’s what makes a company better.

As I was browsing around the internet I found a quote that I think the US auto makers have forgotten about. “There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.” ~ Henry Ford

BMW makes a strong statement that they take responsibility for their actions and they exist to make the world a better place. They wouldn’t be where they are today if it weren’t for the employees that make up the most important part of their company.

The information in the blog is the opinion of the writer, articles were provided from the following sources;

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aEBxMmCfl0xY

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090121/gm-henderson/

CES: The Most Exciting Place to See Cars

The CES show (Consumer Electronics Show) is the largest convention held in Las Vegas every year. I have frequented to many Auto Shows, but none of them compare to the mobile electronics section at CES. You can see everything from the absolute wild to just your everyday car. There are many exciting things to see, but my favorite part is always the cars. I have posted some of the most popular exhibits.

Aston Martin

Kit - Knight Rider 2000 from the 80's Show

Nissan GT-R

Black Death - The Extreme

A New Year's wish for Everyone!

It is new years day. A time to start new. Although everyday is a new day. Why not make some new years resolutions that will impact your life as well as the life's of others. This is what I hope to do this year. I am very grateful of what I have. Even though the economy is in some tough times, I wish everyone the very best of New Years to have a great year of good health, prosperity and happiness. This is a great time to reflect on the good things you have in life and remember there is always someone else that has things worse than you do. I think if you smile and be grateful, more good things will come to you.

Selling Products Online: Writing a Good Ad

In my years of experience in the print and advertising industry, I found that writing a good ad is one of the most important keys in advertising. If you are currently selling products on eBay, eBid, Etsy, Bid Owl or other auction websites, it is important to write a good ad. This works well especially for advertising a business, or for informational advertising. Your ad can make or break a campaign. It's important that you have good content; All of the information in the ad should give an accurate description with correct information. Get to the point and give as much detailed information as you can without making it lengthy. If you are going to sell a product, here are a few tips how you can start writing your own ad.

1. Have a few key words to make your ad catchy.
2. Have a good design. If you can't design a good looking ad yourself hire a professional.
3. Keep your ad short and sweet, with good content.
4. Give accurate and detailed information.
5. If you're going to sell a product, more pictures are always better.
6. List contact information in case anyone has any questions.

Bailouts: First the Banks, now the Auto Industry?

Over this past year many national banks have been in trouble. This happened because of bad investments and bad judgments of people that worked for these banks that did unethical loans. Because of the giant loss of banks across the country, the Federal Government decided to step in to bail out these banks in an effort to save the economy. Unfortunately it wasn’t a very well thought out plan. There were banks that used the money to pay themselves big bonuses and pay for luxury vacations, instead of using the money for what it was intended for. Then there were banks that used the money to pay for new investments, some of these banks didn’t even need the bailout money. Now the auto industry is seeking bailout money from the Government. Should these companies be bailed out? Or should they be held accountable for their actions, and file a Chapter 11 while they clean up their act.

The Government I think is going to go about this in a smarter way this time. Some things to consider are what will happen to the economy if they give the money to the auto industry? What type of stipulations will be enforced? We as tax payers do not have a choice. When ever the Federal Government gives a large sum of money to anyone, we pay for it, and usually the money comes from one of two sources, they raise taxes to pay for it or it comes out of social security.

Here are some additional articles related to this post.

How the Feds will Govern GM and Chrysler

Potential GM Bankruptcy Catastrophic for Economy

Wallstrip: Does the Auto Industry Deserve a Bailout?

Making a Difference in Your Community

We have been faced with difficult times in our economy. Especially this year. The unemployment rate is high and may only get worse with all of the companies going bankrupt these days. Even if your not unemployed many peoples finances are tighter than ever this year. I have been thinking how can I make a difference in these difficult times? Here is a website I came across for additional ideas to make a difference. Charity Guide Even if you don't have money to donate, chances are you have something in your house that you can donate. All of these organizations welcome volunteers you can donate your time.

There are a number of charities looking for things you can donate that can be used items. Some items I never would have even thought of. There are many families living in shelters or apartments that have nothing.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters - This organization will take used clothing, bedding, books, toys, recreational items, motor vehicles, boats, motor homes, airplanes, construction equipment,
  
• Local Food Bank - I have donated food from my pantry. I look at the items in there and if they have been sitting there for a few months and it's not expired than I will give it to the food bank.
• Local Shelters - Many of the local shelters will take clothes, bedding, toys.