AnotherHotCornerHasBeen

Thanks for the guest post by Esteban Vinson

Being the boss is sometimes wonderful and sometimes not all it’s cracked up to be. I love owning my own company but it is a lot more responsibility than I ever thought it would and I think the worst part is having to market the store. I hate making people listen to me when I’m trying to sell them something and that’s what this feels like all the time – I just wish there was an easier way to get things done and get customers in the door! But anyway, there’s really not so I’m just thankful I get to go into work everyday and MOSTLY do stuff that I love to do. I recently got into small business xo for the technology side of things and that’s helped a lot – I feel like when clients come in they see how professional we are and that helps them understand what kind of value add we have. You can’t sell yourself to everyone but we sure are going to try – business is booming as of now!

One of the great joys in life is being Granddad. I’m blessed with three grandsons and one gorgeous granddaughter. They are all spoiled by their grandfather, but my granddaughter really has me wrapped around her little finger. Sometimes that costs me money, but then again it’s only money.

A few months ago my granddaughter went horseback riding with a friend, and she was hooked. She has been taking riding lessons now for a few months, and I suppose you can guess who’s paying for the lessons. But it is worth it to see her smile and to know that she is chosen something she can do for enjoyment for a lifetime. She was happy to ride in blue jeans and a shirt, but she was delighted at her birthday present – – Grand Prix riding apparel – – from her grandparents.

When our girl saw the movie Secretariat, she began to dream of being an owner of thoroughbreds and being a part of the horse racing scene. I hope she gets a good education and make lots of money, because Granddad surely can’t afford to fund this dream.

This guest post from Werner Rogers

There’s something to be said for living way out here in the country. I was really resistant at first because I’ve always been somewhat of a city girl and I was nervous I wouldn’t adapt very well. But my new husband grew up on a farm and really wanted to continue that tradition so there wasn’t much I could do about it if I was going to marry him, which I was! Anyway, we’ve been here about a year so far and I’m actually really enjoying the peace and quiet. I had to do a few things when we moved in like go to http://get.wildblue.com/pricing.html to look at internet and talk to a pest control guy about dealing with all the mice but other than those things there aren’t a lot of noticeable changes in how I handle day to day life. I make a lot more pies than I used to and sometimes I sell our produce at the farmer’s market but other than that my life is pretty normal out here!

When my wife’s older brother retired from the oilfields of South Texas, and moved to a rural part of southern Missouri. He had built a nice house on the acreage he had bought years ago. He wanted to get away from the rat race. A few days ago my wife took our 15-year-old granddaughter and are grandsons, 11 and 10, to visit and see his new place while I was out of the country.

When I got home the boys were all excited about the things they have been able to do, shoot a BB gun, swim in Doug’s pool, and drive his four wheeler. It was the first time for the boys to have been on an ATV, and apparently there were some scary moments. One of the boys panicked on his first outing and managed to actually turn the ATV over. No one was hurt and no serious damage was done. But the boys said, “Uncle Doug spent the rest of the day looking for ATV accessories and replacement parts on the computer.” They were impressed that he bought from a company in Canada because it had what he needed at good prices.

My wife said she offered to pay for the new parts, but her brother refused. Such is brotherly love.

When my family was young we did a lot of camping on our vacation trips. We have pitched our tent in the Rocky Mountains and the Smoky Mountains and even across from Disneyland in Anaheim while we were in Los Angeles for the Olympics. Since I’m nearly 63 years old, I had thought my camping days were over.

But now my wife and I are raising two of our grandsons, they are eager to go camping. When I began looking around online for a place to purchase camping and other athletic equipment, I came across become.com. I like the way their store is set up, and I like their prices.

When shopping online I usually try to stay with brand names that I know and trust. I found a Coleman cabin tent that will sleep six. I think it will do very nicely for our needs. When my wife saw that I was shopping she decided she needed some women’s tennis shorts and some new shoes if she was going to take part in more athletic activities. She decided on a pair of ProGrid Stabil CS shoes that were on sale. While we were there I decided that I would look to replace mild sneakers and I found a pair of Nike turfs for a price I couldn’t resist.

It seems as though another item on our boy’s wish list is about to be fulfilled.

The Author of this post is Velma Baird

My mom and I live out on the farm and I’ve really started to love it. Since I’m only 18 I spent the last few years getting really irritated that all my friends lived in town and I was stuck all the way out here but lately I’ve really started appreciating that it’s really quiet at nights and there’s so much land to walk around and think on. I don’t know, maybe in a few years after college I may want to move back out to a farm ad start growing my own vegetables or something! The only thing I don’t like about it is how scary it is at night once we all go to sleep. It’s quiet at first but then the wind kicks up and you can hear every deer and cricket and it kind of creeps me out. I asked mom to go to http://www.AllHOMESECURity.com to look into an alarm and she said she would but I’m sure we’ll be fine out here in the meantime, I’m just being silly!

Authored by Rickey Combs

My wife is really unhappy with her job as a data analyst, so lately we’ve been using our CLEARWIRE to search for new positions online at night when she gets home. I feel so helpless when she complains about work, but I’m excited for her to find something she’s really excited about. Turns out, all these years she’s wanted to be in education! I always knew she had a soft spot for kids and she’s long been a Sunday School teacher, but I think she’s finally ready to make the jump and go back to school to get her teaching degree. Ideally, she’d find an administrative position at a school to work during the day, then once she obtains her degree and licen! se, parlay that into a position teaching at the school. So for now, we look through the public school records to find open positions and do research on coaching gigs and the like that would get her into a particular school. Hopefully soon she’ll find something she’s passionate about and she and I both will be much happier and more fulfilled!

May 31 1957 was a magical night for a young baseball fan from South Texas. My family was visiting my mother’s family in Bordentown, New Jersey for a couple of weeks. My dad and my uncle took me to Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia to see my first Major League game in person.

The Phillies’ pitcher that night was the awesome right-hander Robin Roberts. He was in the midst of 6 consecutive seasons of 20 wins. And he was facing the Brooklyn Dodger with their awesome line-up, Gilliam, Cimoli, Snider, Furillo, Hodges, Campanella, Neal, Zimmer, and the Don Drysdale as the opposing pitcher.

The game lived up to my imagination. There was excellent pitching and defense. There was a majestic by the great Dodger catcher, Roy Campanella, off the top of the stadium. But Roberts only gave up three hits, pitched a complete game and got the win. For years after that magical night I would want to be a second baseman like Junior Gilliam. And, in my mind, I would pitch, copying Robin Roberts and throwing the perfect pitch in the pressure situation.

Robin Roberts passed away yesterday. But the memory of his mastery will live as long as I do!

It is getting closer to baseball season, I can feel it. Every day now there is some baseball related story in the newspaper. Two of the Astros arbitration eligible players signed contracts yesterday–Jeff Keppinger and Chris Sampson. In a month the players will be in training camp and we will see pictures on the evening news of the workouts and then Grapefruit League games. I know the football playoffs are going on right now, but for me that is just a diversion till baseball gets back underway!