If you had any idea how dirty your keyboard alone is, you would quickly do the keyboard shake and dance over the garbage can in your office or home to eliminate the dust and muck that collects as you work and play! The best way to clean this piece of electronic piece of equipment is to unplug it from the back of your computer (or the computer itself) and turn it upside down and tap the sides to loosen up any crumbs and dust. Follow that up with a small brush (a paint brush works great) that can get between the keys and whisk away anything left between the keys. To finish off and help eliminate germs, take a moistened cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and gently clean the tops of the keys.

Using micro-fiber clothes on the rest of your electronics including the monitors will help take the dust and lint. Use these same clothes for televisions, radios and anything else that draws dust. Don’t forget to clear off your desk and wipe away any debris and disinfect you phones and anything else you touch. Especially with the flu, you will need to make sure to keep your hands clean and your desk!

I recently sat in on a home owner’s insurance seminar and learned a couple of things that I didn’t know. Most insurance companies don’t re-rate policies due to weather related claims but they DO RE-RATE for preventable claims. The number one preventable claim is water damage from two sources; your washing machine hoses and frozen pipes and both are very preventable for the amount of money far under most people’s deductible.

There are several different types of leak detectors that can be used for your washer that range from simple alarm sensors to let you know there is a leak to those that have an automatic shut off. If you tend to leave the house with the washer on, you really will need to get an automatic sensor that will shut off the water source. As far as frozen pipes go, the number one thing you can do to prevent this mess is to keep the heat on in the winter whether you are at the house or not. Just doing these two things will save you a ton of headaches and money that you need for other things right now. You are talking about the difference of preventative action that might cost a couple hundred dollars at the most compared to $7,500, which is the average water claim these days.

I have read many books that tell you to find the balance in life everyday and you will find peace. I have come to the conclusion that this is bologna! There is no way I can cut every one of my days up and dedicate an equal slice to family, work, spiritual, physical, etc. Life does not unfold this way; at least in my world.

That’s not to say that when you get to the end you can’t look back and see a well balanced life. It’s just impossible to do on a daily basis. I now look at my life holistically, from beginning to end. It makes since that there are times and seasons for everything and if you force one season into another, nothing grows and blooms. The balancing act we do in life is more about flow. The Universe moves and you can either move with it or fight against it. If things are moving in your career, go with it until that season is over and look to see where the next one is; a marriage, a birth, a death. Find your balance in the whole of life, not forced in the day to day struggle of life.

If you have had a good experience with The Sam’s Club Travel Appreciation Certificate then you are the exception. I thought I was the only one who “didn’t get it”. It a definite lesson in “reading the small print” as the front of the certificate says you get this great $100 discount if you ”book a vacation package that consist of an E-Special Rate Hotel along with one or more of the following: airfare and/or car rental”. Not true.

My wife and I tried to book a hotel and car rental, which should have worked according to the front of the card, but our plans didn’t fit their idea of a vacation. Funny, I didn’t read on the front or back that I couldn’t rent a car in one place and drive to my destination and stay in a hotel; alas we cannot. You see, according to their idea of a vacation, your hotel and rental have to be at the same time in the same town, which means you have to FLY there. Some “offer of appreciation”! With this type of hype and service, it’s no wonder that everyone I know is moving to Costco’s. Maybe there I really will be appreciated when I upgrade my membership!

After many years of eating whatever I wanted to, I have found myself with the unusual desire to eat better and get really healthy. Though I’m not really sure where this desire has come from, I am on a mission for better health through food and so far so good.

By eating more raw vegetables and fruits as well as nuts and cutting out processed, junk and fast foods, I have lost weight and cut my cholesterol down to a manageable level. What I have found to be unique to this diet is I don’t count calories or limit the amount of food I eat; I just eat high nutritious foods. As easy as it sounds, these foods are not always readily available. When you make a consorted effort to eat well, you start reading the labels and looking at what is really in the food we ingest and the picture ain’t pretty! Our bodies are amazing machines that have allowed us to pollute it for years before getting run down and sick. I am now awake and see what’s been happening and just sorry to the generations that follow that we didn’t do more to keep you health in this world.

Though it would be great if there was a magic pill or wand that could be waved through the air and your back pain would magically go away, it just doesn’t work like that. I know. I went through 7 years of frustration and pain chasing the magic anything that would make take the pain away. The MRI I had didn’t really show anything but a little deterioration in the lower back area and no one could explain why I was in so much pain; and I have a high pain threshold! (Really; just ask my dentist)

Over the first five years I did improve enough that I could get through the day without anything stronger than Ibuprofen but I wanted to be able to get through the day without any medication at all. I had been to two chiropractors along the way as well as a pain doctor and my internist so I when another chiropractor was recommended to me, I didn’t drop what I was doing and run to his office. It took a friend of mine six months to convince me to give Dr. Olsen a try. I am going on four months of being under his care and feel better than I have in years! I am not a doctor so I can’t tell you what the difference is but there is a difference. I can go without any medication most days and Dr. Olsen has been great to work with. My friend has already told me, “I told you so”, so all I can say is get a recommendation and try another chiropractor! It’s how I am getting rid of back pain.