You Will Forever Thank Me
(if you take action)
The past week or month or so was pretty cool. I started a new church and found many things which were missing. After two months in limbo at a temporary room, I finally moved into my great house. My son, Josiah, contacted me after not hearing from him since the Monday after Thanksgiving, 2005. He's a long hair now just the way I'd envisioned him since he was born - like a Larry Norman. Larry Norman, look him up. he's dead now but left quite an impact around the world. His biggest ever was the song, "I Wish We'd All Been Ready". But, anyway, my son Josiah (JP) I named after the good king for a reason.
My sister, Jeanine, contacted me and also sent one of the best CDs I've ever heard produced by her husband. Its not only one of his best, but one of the best CDs now in my collection - period. Jeanine plays on it with Shane alongwith some other types. And the music totally screams. Best ever - its called Luther-N and I forget the title. Oh, just looked it up - Dogmatics. I can't stop playing it and it has around 8-9 solid tracks out of 11. Totally jams and I can tell that Shane really let go and also I can imagine my sister's playing and her role in the making of the music. Good stuff. Chicks playing music can be soooooo sexy.
Link to Luther-N and their CD, Dogmatics. Its on MySpace, Facebook and others:
http://www.myspace.com/luthernband
http://cdbaby.com/cd/luthern http://www.facebook.com/pages/Luther-N/30792859920
First link on myspace is coolest since it opens with the music. Totally....I don't know what to say. It is good stuff.
http://www.fnchiropractic.com/
http://www.bionicdoc.com/
Yes, I'm still onto the bionic band. When I've taken it off I don't function as well as with it. Also the great and sometimes disturbingly vivid dreams stop. Need to get a few more bands again and will do that this week. I just don't really market it as it is so time consuming.
Okay.
If you've ever given thought to your living circumstances, then maybe you don't need this sermon. I have found that most do not give parts of their living much thought. Like say for instance I have this very large monitor and I kept switching back and forth from business computer (slooowww) to my laptop (faaassstt) at work. I got to thinking - why not just get a DIP switch and wireless keyboard/mouse with USB so I only have to use one setup for both PCs. So I did. You know what? My eyes and patience are now saved. Got everything on ebay for next to nothing. Paid 1/5 retail store price. Once again, ebay my hero.
You see the pic above of the sheets? They are 1000 thread count. Do you have any idea what these kind of sheets feel like when you go to bed? OMG! I look forward to hopping in the sack every night and every night I go through oohs and ahhhs. I am not kidding. And here is the thing I realized years ago: We mostly are up 16 hours of the day and are in the bedroom the next 9 hours. Okay, just kidding, 10, I mean 8 hours of the day.
Its funny because a many of us populace out there will spend proliferate dollars on the rest of the house and neglect the bedroom. I had one roommate who had this $25,000 setup in his living room and his bed was on the floor and his sheets mostly made up of clean laundry and a cheap bed-in-a-bag throw. Go figure. Do the math. 8 hours a day is one-third of your lifetime - except when you are in med school or are a lawyer or are Donald Trump. The Don reportedly sleeps about four hours per night. He still probably has only the best anyway. So on average we are in the bedroom 1/3 of our lives. Why would you ever even conceive of slacking on that department? That is the first department to invest in, in my opinion.
If you have not experienced the luxury of great bedroom accommodations, you are missing out. You are missing out on feeling great when you draw down and you are missing out when you wake after the best sleep ever. We have enough stress all around us just in everyday living. Why add to it in the home especially during the most important part of reloading your batteries?
There is a combination, though. A good foundation is required. This is the bed itself. Has to be a good one which is comfortable to your tastes and your back. The most important part of the bed is the supporter which is the boxspring. The Box is one thing you cannot go cheap on. Then the sheets - 1000 thread count. Comforter has to be down with max fill and at least 600 thread count cover. I prefer no duvet as I have never found one I didn't fight with to get my comforter straight. I have a light down for summer and an overfill for the other eight months which is all fluffy and stuff. That is really all there is to the bed. It is quite simple. No bed-in-a-bag, though. Pillows, I just go light and fluffy for a few, memory foam for one and then cervical pillows for two others. Mix and match the pillows for comfort and cervical pillow for neck support as the primary pillow. When this formula is followed you feel like a little kid waking up and are so grateful for giving yourself abundance.
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1000 thread count and down comforter and totally great bed? You've got to be crazy; you know how much that would cost? Okay, Okay. The cost does not have to be all that much. Its an investment and on every budget, where there's a will, there's a way. When I was thinking of this stuff years ago, I had nothing to really go on monetarily to get my thoughts into action on this subject. I researched and found Denver Mattress through my buddy, JP Ferraro. Great bed and no middleman. Found what I wanted and then requested scratch and dent and mentioned that I could refer others. Got 25% off an already great value. Another way to push your value on a buy is to offer cash and request cash discount. This takes a few cojones but works. You know how many bed dealers there are out there competing for your earnings? The comforter: Tuesday Morning. I don't like ebay for the comforter. You really have to touch and squish the thing and put it against your face and stuff. Tuesday Morning is everywhere and has tremendous buys. The sheets: ebay. Always look at the seller's ratings, read some reviews and read the ad to get a "feel" for repute.
My current bed system cost only $630. And its killer and probably better and more luxurious than well over 90% of them out there. Even those purchased for over $2500. I know because I've slept on some of those over-priced wonders. Only thing which has come close to my setup is the Westin's. They are close, but something is just a shy miss. I think its their bed itself since they have a one size fits all deal.
Next subject and this is a little shorter - maybe - but its been on my mind. I think next blog I write is solely on working out. This next deal is on shoes..........
What you see in the pic is a pair of Allen Edmonds. I've actually tried on this style shown (in black, of course) but just didn't like 'em. They just made me feel kind of funky. But thats not the main point of this subject. There are $30 to $60 pair out there at Famous or whatever (I mean the cheapies, not Edmonds). I would go through these cheapies about every four to five months and then return to spend another $45 on average every four to five months. On average that is $120 to $150 per year. The four to five months was because of wear and tear and breakdown. I started thinking about this around seven or so years ago. On one hand, its fun to buy new shoes. On the other hand, it's not fun to spend money out of pocket. At around $300 every two years, you have only one pair of shoes. What if you did this with a rotation of three different styles? That's $900 per two years. That's around 700 cheeseburgers you could have had for lunchtime or two weeks of bar-time. (Just kidding). Its season tickets to Arena ball or CHL hockey. Its two gym memberships. Almost 1/4 of a yearly IRA investment. You get the picture.
I checked into it. Companies like A. Edmonds, Cole Haan and others are life-time shoes. They cost. To the tune of $200 and you-name-it. The pair shown is $300 retail. Go to Nordstroms and check it out. I'm not kidding. Over time, though, the cost outweighs the re-buys of the cheapies. The shoes begin paying for themselves after about 1 1/2 to 2 years.
So I ran the guys and ladies over at Nordstroms and Macy's over a number of days and discovered that I like Allen Edmonds for classics and Cole Haan for a little less classic, but sporty. My next step was specific styles. For this I went directly to the websites and then tried the shoes on at Edmonds and Haan. I'm fortunate that they have retailers here in PHX. I ran those guys. I found my best size for each and chose my favorite style(s) - told them I'd be back later or send my assistant (sure). Okay, I fibbed a little, but given that they served me for an hour and their belts even cost +$100, I wasn't buying and I felt guilty. Oh, by the way, when I was in Tulsa, I initially started this process in Dallas.
So, anyway, I went to ebay. Tracked the things until my styles popped up at prices I adored. After probably a total of three months tracking in intermittent spurts, I now own three Haan and two Edmonds. The cost was from $60 to $90 pair of my specific styles and respective sizes. On average thats $75 per pair for what retails at average $225 per pair. One of my Cole Haan's is ready for resole at cost of $55 and they lasted six to seven years without repair. Pretty darn good if you ask me. You do have to buy classic to semi-classic to get by with this. Don't do the trend thing. Those look atrocious after four months anyway. Another thing is that you only buy new. Shoes have to be new for proper breaking in and proper support for only your unique foot.
I do ebay. There are options. Here, there is a place called Nordstrom Rack where good buys are to be had. In Kansas City I know of a place called Bob Jones. Only problem is that its a crap-shoot and you have to fight with old blue-hairs since they know what they are looking at. Then all around you there are the screaming kids and annoying moms giving in to the kids and you feel like slapping them up side their heads for being such push-overs to their bratty kids no one seems to know how to control any longer. Just sort of kidding there.
Thats the shoe buy lesson. Take it or leave it. Just do the math and make a decision. Some are just satisfied with ruining their feet in mediocrity and that is fine. I could go with just one pair, but then I would get bored. That is me and may not be you. If you are just a Sunday nice shoe person, go with one. If you are only Christmas Eve and Easter, go with a classic cheapie and store them with shoe tree in a box with mothballs. No one will know the difference. My uncle Mike does the Hush Puppie and that is totally stylin'. He is the semi-Sunday, once in a while dresser so thats cool for him.
I do wish I never had to think this shoe thing up as it would be nice to show daily as a pro in shorts, T-shirt and flip-flops. Don't have that option. What I've written is the solution.
Next blog is working out. Its been put off for a while, but I have promised a few people. I still have yet to find anyone who works out the way I have implemented. It will be the base style of the majority of my workouts.
God Bless and Abundance to all who seek it and take action. Scott
This is my son, Josiah (JP). He is a long-hair soon to be Larry Norman and a fun, introspective kid. His mom recently had a bike race in Prescott, AZ. That's about a two and 1/2 drive from my place in Chandler. For about the first time in three years, Josiah invited me to visit with him over the weekend last and that was way cool. Last I saw him was the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2005. About 3 1/2 years. I got to visit on Friday and had to leave for patient visits on Saturday. I should have stayed in Prescott, but planned on making the drive back late Saturday to stay over through Sunday and visit some more. We got to touch base, anyway, on Friday - played frisbee, ate and kicked back.
