Happy Birthday to Toby - Our $40,000 Basset Hound

Toby Welcome Sign created by Phyllis Levine

Happy 10th Birthday to Toby! Tobias Wang Helfand was born December 5, 2001. Toby is a full bred Basset Hound. His parents' names were Sir Studley Dudley II and Lady Daisy May XIV. He was the first born in a litter of eight, records indicate his nickname was TOPS and the litter was chronicled by the attending vet of being all male pups. Here is a very quick overview of how we came to buy Toby.

Let me go on record right now. I take full responsibility for finding the classified advertisement in the local Irvine/Newport Beach paper. The ad nicely described Basset Hound pups for sale $400. Ever since I was a little girl and became aware of Hush Puppies shoes I have wanted a Basset Hound. I showed the ad to Daniel, our youngest son, who was at the time a high school senior. Daniel signed on immediately to the idea...remarking to his father: "Don't worry, I will walk the puppy. This dog is going to be a chick magnet!" And so, on January 28, 2002, Dennis and Daniel made the short drive to Mission Viejo, CA, and eagerly paid $400 cash for a pure bred Basset Hound.

"Tobias Wang Helfand"

Ten years really does help you put things in perspective. Looking back I now know I should have been suspect when the Bill of Sale said: "The basset hound puppy is not returnable at any time. The buyer accepts all responsibility for the basset hound puppy on 01/28/2002. Once the basset hound puppy is removed from the Seller's residence the Seller accepts no further responsibility."  My radar should have started buzzing when we took Toby to the vet for the first time. This was to be a quick check-up, but it started with the very nice vet questioning whether or not Dennis and I were aware that "basset hounds are not the sharpest tool in the shed?"  Whew...this has been an interesting 10 years and the financial toll really is right about $40,000.

Most of the $40,000+ is due to vet bills (Toby gets fatty cysts that need to be removed when they explode or get infected) and home repairs (Toby really is not the sharpest tool or the brightest bulb---real housebreaking did not occur until we brought him to Tucson where we have a fenced yard, and then even now he still has accidents on the saltillo tile).

Here is a run down:

1. $13,075 Veterinary bills
2. $22,317 Home repairs, new flooring and decking
3. $  2,000 Boarding
4. $  2,400 Food
5. $     500 Judy's out-of-pocket medical expenses for permanent hand injury
6. $40,292 TOTAL 

I don't want to give you the wrong impression. I like Toby. Who am I kidding?  I love Toby. He takes great photos and often serves as the headliner for holiday letters. But every time someone tells me they want to get a dog, I caution them to think about the real expense, not just the emotional attachment and companionship. I jokingly remind them that if it weren't for Toby I might only need to vacuum twice per month! By the way, that $40,000 figure does not include any furniture damage, leashes, harnesses (he used to chew through them) or prescriptions (only Toby would acquire Valley Fever two months after moving to Tucson).

So here's to Toby. Happy Birthday to Toby.

"Should I expect party favors and cake?"

"Ears which sweep away the morning dew."

Your thoughts?  

Related articles

• Is the Basset Hound a good breed for inexperienced dog owners to own (wiki.answers.com)
• What was the Basset Hound first bred for (wiki.answers.com)

Midnight Train to Los Angeles

This year AMTRAK turned 40! So when I realized that I would be able to attend Blog World Expo 2011 in downtown Los Angeles, I decided to travel by train from Tucson, AZ to Los Angeles Union Station.  Round trip ticket (1000 miles) for a reserved coach class seat (which totally reclines like a La-z-Boy), sans meals, was $70.

Leaving Tucson

Have you ever traveled a long distance by AMTRAK? I have. Every trip is slightly different. This trip I was traveling solo, so I didn't have children to wrangle or a mother-in-law to assist or a husband to convince that he should not opt to disembark from the train three states early!  It was just me and a few hundred other travelers who were taking the Sunset Limited / Texas Eagle from Tucson to Los Angeles.  The train was to leave Tucson at 10:30PM, but on November 3, 2011, it really was the midnight train to Los Angeles!

Palm Springs Wind Farm

The funny thing is it really didn't matter to me that we left Tucson late. I knew we would be traveling through the night and if sleep escaped me there was a Club Car complete with a snack bar and an observation car to visit. As it turned out, I slept comfortably and awoke around 6:50AM as we approached Palm Springs. The view from my window (captured with my RAZR phone) was the "wind farm".  Pretty eerie, don't you think?

For the next two hours I experienced a trip down memory lane. You see I lived a good many years in California's San Gabriel Valley - Pasadena, South Pasadena, Alhambra, West Covina...my oldest son was born in San Dimas, I finished college at Cal State Los Angeles (East LA), externed at LA County Hospital and Los Angeles Juvenile Hall and worked in downtown Los Angeles from 1974- 1981. I felt comfortable both on AMTRAK and in Los Angeles.

Arriving Los Angeles Union Station

Los Angeles Union Station

It had been 17 years since I was in Los Angeles Union Station.  Then my family and I were about to go across country First Class to New York's Pennsylvania Station. So again I felt at home and quickly found my way to the Taxi stand to take a short ride to the Los Angeles Sheraton Hotel. Union Station is still quite busy, people coming and going from all over the world.

As I said earlier, I was in Los Angeles to attend Blog World Expo 2011 (you can see a link to my review below).  Downtown Los Angeles still looks good. It was my first time in the Los Angeles Convention Center on the same campus as the Staples Center.

Los Angeles to Tucson

LA Convention Center / Staples Center

My few days in Los Angeles passed quickly. I met a lot of nice people and enjoyed downtown. By Sunday afternoon I was returning to Union Station and believe it or not I was boarding AMTRAK's 3:10PM train to Yuma, AZ and then on to Tucson. I arrived safely in Tucson at 1:30AM, after enjoying dinner with three strangers in the Dining CAR and a five hour nap in my recliner. All in all not a bad way to travel.

I hope you will think about traveling via AMTRAK. Many people complain about train travel, but I find it totally enchanting. Over the years AMTRAK has had a number of tag lines...

"All Aboard - AMTRAK"
"There's something about a train that's magic."
"Enjoy the journey."

In closing, please enjoy this video of vintage AMTRAK television ads.  If you listen carefully you'll hear Richie Havens singing "All Aboard"

By the way, have you ever traveled by train in the USA?  Would love your comments.

Related articles

• Amtrak adds trains for Thanksgiving travel (thenewstribune.com)
• BWELA 2011: 7 Key Takeaways from BlogWorld Expo 2011 (businesswire.com)
• Cheers To Blog World Expo Los Angeles 2011 (webconsuls.com)

Overbooked Children 20 Years Later

For the record I am not a mommy blogger. Or on second thought maybe I am one of the original mommy bloggers; consider that I started writing my yearly "painfully honest" holiday letters around 1985 and when I published Innovations for our Cranmore Mt. Lodge I frequently opined about raising our sons, Aaron and Daniel.  This past week my friend, Angela DeCicco, Facebook shared a New York Times article: Family Happiness and the Overbooked Child.

Whatever your current status is: parent with small children, grandparent, aunt, uncle, parent with teenagers, please read the article. I did. And it made me think back 20 years ago when our children wanted to participate in activities or learn a musical instrument.  We had to weigh each request carefully, not just from the monetary impact, but also impact on their time, our time and quite frankly their real interest.

So let's see. Here is a quick rundown of formal ACTIVITIES that Aaron and Daniel enjoyed: alpine skiing training and competitive racing (both), soccer camp (Daniel), little league baseball (Aaron), Nordic skiing training and competitive racing (Daniel), Cub Scouts (Aaron) and guitar lessons (both).  From my "edited" memories I am happy to report:

• Our spare closet still plays home to the alpine skiing trophies, medals, ribbons and I can still remember 10 year old Aaron returning from the 1991 Junior Ski Meisters Awards night. He had received a number of awards and exclaimed: "This was the best night of my whole life!"
• Daniel won some kind of recognition at summer soccer camp, but for the life of me I cannot remember the details. (But be assured I have photos.)
• In 1992 Aaron played baseball for the John Fuller Farm League and he was the first recipient of the James Reed Memorial Trophy for being the "most improved player."
• In 1996 Daniel participated in the inaugural "Ski to the Clouds" race. He still holds the record for the youngest person to x-country ski UP the Mt. Washington Auto Road.
• Guitar lessons...my clearest memory is: after multiple months of lessons, Grandma Birdie asked the boys to play her a song. They managed to "pick" out "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!" Grandma Birdie was a pretty good audience (just a little eye-rolling), after all that is a grandma's duty. But Aaron and Daniel soon put down the guitars. Playing a musical instrument seemed not to be part of their DNA...the lessons ceased.

Today I am writing this post to share with you my thoughts about providing opportunities for your children. I have mentioned before that my mother insisted that my siblings and I learn how to play a musical instrument. I have no idea what this cost my parents over the 15 + years that we took lessons. I was never good in sports, but my parents did allow my middle sister to take tennis lessons and we all experienced rudimentary horseback riding (it was free).  My brother played sports; he has a lot of trophies and mended bones.  But details aside, I have always been thankful for these opportunities which allowed me to learn and appreciate the arts.

Opportunities are not always wrapped in a formal training program, be it a camp or team. Sometimes we can provide our children with opportunities by allowing them to learn a skill and practice the skill in day to day life. For example, when Aaron was about 12 Dennis encouraged or invited him to learn how to cook breakfast for our inn guests. Aaron found he liked cooking and he could be rewarded with compliments and a small paycheck. If you like to write then encourage your children. My dad liked to write silly poetry. I had an uncle that loved to draw - pencil sketching, and all these years later that innate ability has come alive in my sisters and at least one of my nephews. My husband loves to play the piano. It comes naturally to him. As little boys, Aaron and Daniel watched intently.

To my friends that have little children or are expecting babies, enjoy the moments. Encourage your children, but remember they will always keep surprising you. Want to know what our "overbooked children" are doing now 20 years later?  Well, I am going to tell you.

Aaron and Dennis at the CIA - August 2, 2011

Aaron is now (eight years after his college graduation) enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America's ACE Program. In fact earlier this month we visited with Aaron at the CIA. (see photo of Aaron and Dennis).

Daniel plays a great harmonica (see YouTube video below- Daniel is the one on the right). And now we have learned he is teaching himself how to play the piano! And believe me, he gets it. Music is part of him. So what if he is not a classical guitarist...Grandma Birdie was proud to have Daniel play piano for her friends earlier this month. By the way, he took up downhill skiing again this year.

Daniel playing the piano - August 2011

The truth is most children will find their way, their passion.  And when they do, learning becomes fun and they will happily spend hours with their chosen art.

Your thoughts? Are you overbooking your children?

Witnessing Egypt 2011

Witnessing Egypt 2011 is remarkable. I know most of us have been following the events on the streets of Cairo for the past few weeks. Obviously social media has allowed us to have 24 hour access to the events. Today, 02/11/2011, will now be a date that we will call to mind for ever so many years. On January 28, 2011, my friend, Allison Boyer, who owns After Graduation and also writes for Blog World, wrote this post Social Media's Role in the Egyptian Protests.

Alli Boyer

It caught my attention. I hope you will read it. It occurred to me that Alli's perspective as a young woman (she is younger than Mubarak's regime) was interesting and hopeful. It made me recall my feelings from some 32 years ago when I was Alli's age and the news about Egypt also brought hope.

Here is my OP-ED...
January 29, 2011

Hi Alli,
I just want you to know that I appreciate you writing about this world event as it unfolds or doesn’t unfold (due to a black-out) in the social media. As you say we can “listen”. And maybe by listening we will take the time to read and learn about the most recent history that has brought Egypt to this point. 

I remember distinctly watching as the Camp David Accord was signed by Carter, Sadat and Begin…one week before my wedding in September 1978. While we watched on television, this was before the days that you would run to your phone and call your friends long-distance. Afterall…long distance calling was still a luxury. But we did write letters and I remember receiving one letter from a good friend marveling at the miracle of the Camp David Accord. The actual Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty took affect March 26, 1979, the day stays in my mind as my father passed away the next day.

Thinking back over the past 30 years…Sadat was assassinated by fundamentalists in October 1981, shortly after Mubarak took office and he has remained ever since. Begin’s life history is one that is most interesting. Leaving office in 1983…well time goes on.

I guess what I am trying to say is this: For half of my life, the Camp David Accord and the subsequent treaty helped to keep things just a bit calmer. But it seems that what passed for calm to those of us so far away and wrapped up in our own worlds was not really calm, but simmering, and now we all need to take the lid off of the pot and dare to look inside!

So much to learn…listening is a good beginning.
Judy

___________________________________________
It would be great to hear your thoughts about Egypt now and even then....

Related articles

• Foreign Policy: Why You Should Care About Egypt (npr.org)
• Cairo: Finding the city behind the headlines (cnn.com)

84 Things You May Not Know About Me!

Ridgely Johnson

Meet Ridgely Johnson. She writes a blog called Savor the Ride. This is the first time I am featuring Ridgely on my OP-ED blog; however, she and her blog were the inspiration for a May 31, 2010, post I wrote for Webconsuls: Bystander Effect on Broken Blogs and Websites.

Jorja White

Do you remember Jorja White? I introduced you to Jorja in July when I wrote about Peaks and Valleys. I actually met Ridgely because Jorja re-tweeted one of Ridgely's tweets, thus the Webconsuls' post. Since that time, Ridgely, Jorja and I have become "friends" and we often talk about how some day we will meet in person and sit on a porch and get to know each other.

About a month ago Jorja wrote a post: 84 Things, she followed up by writing a post about Why Lists are Good, then she took it step further and convinced the author, Theo Nester, to write a guest post 84 Things from Theo. This past week Ridgely wrote her own list of 84 Things and she coaxed me to write a list of 84 Things You May Not Know About Me. Here is my list:

1. I was born in San Diego, CA.

2. I have lived in five of the 50 states, CA, KY, AK, NH, and AZ.

3. I am 100% Irish.

4. My maternal grandparents emigrated from Ireland; my paternal grandparents were 1st generation Irish Americans.

5. My father was one of 13 children, my mother was one of four.

6. Both of my parents were fraternal twins, they each  had a twin sister

7. I have two older sisters and one younger brother.

8. I went to an all girls high school, I graduated in 1967.

9. I was the high school ASB president.

10. All of my high school awards were for science. 1st place Biology, 2nd Place Chemistry, Greater San Diego Science Fair 1966, 1966 Ford Future Scientist of America.

11. I moved to San Francisco late summer 1967!

12. I attended University of San Francisco, just across the panhandle from Haight-Ashbury!

13. I love San Francisco, I do not like vegetables.

14. I love New York City.

15. I met my first husband when I was 13, we married in November 1968, we were 19!

16. My first husband and I divorced in late 1974. The day he left I learned how to drive a manual transmission.

17. I completed college at California State University, Los Angeles. 1974

18. I have a degree in Sociology, with an emphasis in Social Welfare and Corrections.

19. I have never been a social worker or a corrections officer.

20. I once met with the U.S. Navy recruiter, that same summer I was recruited to be a community organizer for Cesar Chavez. Cesar Chavez was born in Yuma, AZ.

21. I was inducted into Alpha Kappa Delta, somewhere packed away is a certificate!

22. I have never had a manicure.

23. I have had two pedicures.

24. I can watch certain movies over and over again.

25. I have very curly hair…especially if I live in a humid climate. Some days I like curls, some days I don’t.

26. I met my husband Dennis at Oakwood Garden Apartments in 1977, March 5. I was paying my rent.

27. We were married September 23, 1978.

28. We have two sons, Aaron and Daniel. I write about them quite often. 

29. I like to take photos. I have a lot of photographs.

30. I was one of the high school photographers; I worked on the school annual(s).

31. One of those annuals is now available on Classmates.com.

32. I ran the darkroom for Cal State University Los Angeles daily college paper, The University Times. 1973-1974, circulation 30,000.

33. I love to smoke, but quit smoking the last time on March 26, 2009. Too expensive!

34. I do not like camping of any kind. Almost died too many times.

35. Though I grew up in San Diego, I am not very fond of water. Almost drowned too many times.

36. I took piano lessons.

37. My last piano recital was 1962. I played the Warsaw Concerto, from memory.

38. I always like to have a piano in my home. My husband is a very good pianist.

39. For my first job I was a hotel maid, summer 1968. I went to work for Wells Fargo Bank in January 1969.

40. I was an Assistant Vice President for Crocker National Bank and a Vice-President for Indian Head Bank North/Fleet Bank

41. I was once featured in a TIME magazine ad.

42. My husband and I owned and operated a country inn in the White Mountains of New Hampshire from 1986-1997. The inn slept 120. From 1939-1949 the Inn was owned by Babe Ruth's daughter, Julia Ruth Flanders Stevens. Julia (Judy to her friends) would come and visit us and gave us the guest book that her father signed when he stayed at the inn! Julia Ruth Stevens lives in AZ.

43. For some reason I have met a number of famous people.

44. Richie Havens.

45. Dallas Taylor (drummer for CSNY – Woodstock)

46. Congressman Don Young (Alaska), Senator Ted Stevens (Alaska), Senator Frank Murkowski (Alaska) been to his home, Governor Tony Knowles (Alaska) Governor Sheffield (Alaska)

47. Had private breakfast with President Jimmy Carter in the first class lounge of Alaska Airlines. Actually the secret service and Aaron and Dan, then 4 and 1, were with me.

48. Chatted with Johnny Carson in another first class lounge, he gave me his autograph.

49. I like traveling by train.

50. I learned how to create stain glass artwork. I like it a lot. I am not an expert.

51. I like writing my yearly holiday letter. Friends and family will call me if it is late!

52. I did 20+ performances of the play “Love Letters” by A. R. Gurney. I played the part of Melissa Gardner; my husband played the part of Andrew Ladd.

53. Met Pamela Anderson Lee and Tommy Lee. She was hosting SNL. Dennis' boyhood friend was a cameraman for NBC, invited us to rehearsal. My husband, our two sons and I were the only people in the audience.(Oh, yes, Father DeGagne was also with us.)

54. I like to cook. I was the dinner 'chef' for about four years at our country inn.

55. I make great pies.

56. I make great brisket and I am a pretty good project manager.

57. I converted to Judaism in 1979.

58. I served on the board of directors for the Mount Washington Valley Theatre Company. It was real summer stock.

59. I once attended Strawhat auditions in NYC. I was not auditioning…but casting.

60. I wear glasses, have since 7th grade. I am near sighted. I am also left-handed.

61. I know how to sew. I have my mother’s original sewing machine.

62. I also have the Singer portable that my first husband gave me for Christmas 1969.

63. Had dinner with Roy Scheider in Alaska. My husband was on the board of the Light Opera Theatre and Mr. Scheider came to a fund raiser. He was very nice.

64. Once accompanied Congressman Mo Udall to Prudhoe Bay. 1983

65. I now live in Arizona, the home state of Mo Udall.

66. I was once interviewed by Al Roker. My two sisters and I stood in 15 degree weather outside the TODAY program. Al couldn’t resist us. We were wearing funny hats!

67. I once made a television commercial for NBC’s hit show American Dreams.

68. I served on the board for California Repertory Theatre.

69. I met Richard Carpenter (The Carpenters)…his season ticket was next to mine at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center at California State University Long Beach.

70. I really love Broadway musicals, but I cannot sing.

71. I have raised puppies, pigs, sheep and one lovable Jersey cow, Sarah Louise.

72. I have had many dogs. Queenie, Lady, Tango, Sasha, Benjie, Maggie, Juneau, Max…and now TOBY. Toby is a not so bright basset hound. Never again. Farm animals are easier to tend than dogs.

73. I met Bobby Unser, Dan Gurney and John Peterman (the real Mr. Peterman, of Seinfeld fame). I have Peterman's autograph on one of his catalogs!

74. I love my husband…but he usually says I have him packed and ready to go.

75. We have moved a lot in our married life. By choice… every place interesting.

76. I am a poll worker, since 2000.

77. I have never served on a jury.

78. I have only been called for jury duty once in my life. That was in NH and I was dismissed because I knew all of the policemen from our small town.

79. I like listening to the news. I have been on the news in AZ twice!

80. I was a substitute teacher in New Hampshire.

Judy and JFK, Jr  March1991

81. John F. Kennedy, Jr. stayed at our country inn in March 1991. He came with his fraternity brother to ice-climb. There were 100 other people at the inn; no one, except me, recognized him! The greatest compliment was he tried to return the next year, but we had no vacancy.

82. In 1983 I once spent a day on the Ocean Odyssey. I was four months pregnant and had to reach this mobile drilling rig in the Gulf of Alaska by helicopter. Until this year, I never thought about how dangerous this adventure might have been.

83. I do believe my father was one of the nicest people I have ever met. He had loving eyes and enjoyed telling stories.

84. I can write 83 stories based on these aforementioned 83 things that you may not have known about me me.


Well, nothing very remarkable. Right? But maybe you have learned a little more about me. I must also say that I like Ridgely and Jorja. I am glad I met them. I learn from them most every day and they make me laugh.  Here are a few photos to go with the list.

Let me know what you think about my list. I would love to hear from you and maybe you will write your own list.

Aboard the Ocean Odyssey, 1983

My Front Porch waiting for Ridgely and Jorja

A wedding gift for the President's daughter

Saturday mornings are a good time for memories. Today while watching news coverage of Chelsea Clinton's wedding, I was taken by a segment on Luci Baines Johnson's wedding, August 6, 1966.

Yes, it was 44 years ago this week that I was given my first official assignment as Associated Student Body President of Cathedral Girls' High School, San Diego, CA. It was July 1966. President Lyndon Johnson's 19 year old daughter was getting married, having converted to Roman Catholicism just the summer before on her 18th birthday, Luci was marrying Patrick Nugent, a Roman Catholic. Rest assured I did not know Luci, but my school principal and the new Bishop of San Diego, Francis James Furey (this photo is Bishop Furey accepting the Mass offering from me, 1966) thought it would be a nice gesture for his Catholic girls' school to send a wedding present to the President's daughter, a young Catholic woman. My difficult task was to not spend a lot of money and to find a present that would represent San Diego. To tell you the truth even today, if you asked me to send you a gift that "says" San Diego I wouldn't know what to buy.(Of course you know if I were in San Francisco I would buy Ghirardelli chocolate, sourdough bread or a great photo of the Golden Gate Bridge.)

I actually made my way to an interesting candle shop. This shop was/is located in what is now referred to as Old Town San Diego. I found a beautiful candle and wrote, what I am sure was, a "touching" letter and sent it to Luci.  On August 5, 1966, (the day before her wedding) Luci Baines Johnson signed a thank you letter to me.  It is pictured here. The return address was simply The White House and the 1st Class postage was five cents!

Later today Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky will celebrate their marriage. Here you can enjoy a public video of Luci's wedding. Patrick "Pat" and Luci were divorced in 1979 and their marriage was annulled by the Catholic Church. 

To Life!


If you are having trouble viewing the video, you can see it here.

Do you have memories of the weddings of President's children? I would love to hear from you.

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Man on the Go Listens With Big Ears

Image by Michael Mistretta via Flickr

This past May Chris Brogan launched a new travel blog: Man on the Go. Have you seen it?  If you follow Chris on Twitter or read Chris Brogan, then you know Chris travels a lot: long trips, short trips, by plane, by train, by auto, regionally, national, internationally, with business associates, on his own or with family and friends. Chris will stay in touch, via twitter, with his followers, so one can get drawn into the drama of the travel day. This can include delayed flights, cancelled flights, lost phones, noisy children, noisy adults, rain, heat, etc. At some point Chris decided to share via a blog (really more a video blog) travel tips about hotels, restaurants, airlines, travel gear, etc. He also recruited some of his friends, business associates, and travel industry employees to be guest bloggers on Man on the Go.

Here is what I like about Man on the Go: none of the bloggers (including Chris) claim to be experts, but they've logged a lot of hours in their particular field (hotelier, restaurateur, health practitioner, business traveler or pleasure traveler) and can address the subject in an engaging way. PLUS: if you write a comment, make a suggestion or ask an additional question THEY LISTEN with Big Ears and RESPOND.

Let me give you an example. Recently Chris wrote a post about First Moves When Getting to a Hotel. You might be interested, I was. I wrote a comment that was based on my personal experience and my resume as a former owner/innkeeper.  Chris seemed genuinely pleased to read my tip, writing: "Oh, that's a good tip, Judy. Thank you!"
____________________________________
But wait, this week I had a different experience with another TRAVEL BLOG (with slightly smaller ears). I visited this blog because someone that I follow on Twitter is a travel writer. She tweeted about another blog and I thought I would take a few minutes to visit a travel blog that deals with traveling with children. In my mind I said to myself..."I have traveled with children of all ages and by many modes...so let's see what is new!" Imagine my surprise when I got to this blog post and it dealt with a weekend trip to the Mount Washington Valley in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Yes, the same valley where for 11 years I had owned and operated a country inn that slept 120 guests. So here is what I wrote in a comment to this travel writer/blogger:

"I happened by here today because XXXXXX RT your tweet and I was curious to see your blog. Much to my surprise you were writing about traveling with teens and tweens to the Mount Washington Valley. From late 1986-late 1997 I was an owner/operator of a country Inn/Bed & Breakfast in the Village of Kearsarge, Town of Conway, Carroll County, New Hampshire. Kearsarge is a lovely village northeast of the Village of North Conway, so to speak. It is so wonderful to read your various posts of all the adventures you were able to enjoy with your children. I remember as an innkeeper we would hope that the Boston Globe travel editor or Yankee Magazine would visit the valley…and then wait for printed publications. OMG…if you were lucky enough to be mentioned you had to hope it was good and accurate information."

"I am familiar with the XXXXX XXXX Resort. I remember when it first opened in the late 80s. I know it is a nice setting and they have continued to enhance the property, but I really think if I were traveling with teens and tweens I would want to be staying closer to the center of North Conway Village. The reason I say this is that to be five miles south of North Conway Village when traffic is an issue (or at least it used to be) can be a nightmare with children. If you stay in the center or nearby, the children can enjoy shopping, movies, Conway Scenic Railroad, live summer stock theatre, Arts Jubilee, Mt. Cranmore, Saco River …all within easy walking distance or a quick bike ride."

"Last year I wrote a blog about Mt. Washington. You might enjoy reading it."

I want to be very clear here. Normally when I comment on a blog post I use my full name, my business email address and business website to identify myself. But out of respect for this travel writer, who was clear to point out that her trip had been "arranged" by the Chamber of Commerce, I chose not to use my business email address or website and never mentioned which property I had owned. I didn't insert links to all of the venues I referenced, I simply gave my opinion from YEARS of experience and I offered the link to my post about the one and only Mount Washington.

Imagine my surprise when my comment was "moderated", "edited" AND "published" on a post that I did not comment on. Do you understand what I am saying here?  I wrote a comment on POST A and the travel writer moved it to POST D! Here is the edited version of my comment:

"I really think if I were traveling with teens and tweens I would want to be staying closer to the center of North Conway Village. The reason I say this is that to be five miles south of North Conway Village when traffic is an issue (or at least it used to be) can be a nightmare with children. If you stay in the center or nearby, the children can enjoy shopping, movies, Conway Scenic Railroad, live summer stock theatre, Arts Jubilee, Mt. Cranmore, Saco River …all within easy walking distance or a quick bike ride."

The travel writer sent me an explanatory email that said: "Just FYI, I moved your comment to the XXXXXXXXXXX (resort) page and shortened it up a bit. You have a valid point although if you are doing things like shopping and monkey trunks or thinking about canoeing then the south end of the strip is better. We took West Side Road and never had traffic problems if we wanted to get to the center of North Conway during rush hours. I think we only hit one minor traffic jam in 3 days and that was up at the junction to 302 heading south.  Thanks for stopping by."
________________________________________________________

Now here is my question to you: Am I being over sensitive regarding this matter? Have you ever encountered something like this? I understand not approving a comment for spamming (with or without links) or questionable language...reject it. But edit? Please, let me know what you think?

By the way, here is a link to a really provocative article Travel (and Writing) Free and Easy.

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• Exploring Side Streets with Chris Brogan (webconsuls.com)
• 4,000 feet once - why not aim for 48? (boston.com)  (I just read this article, written by Marty Basch, whom I have known since the late 1980s')
• July snow falls on Mt. Washington (boston.com)

Escheatment Is Not an Expletive!

Normally, when I write a post on this blog it is in response to another blog that I have read and commented on. But today I would like to talk to you about that other social media tool, FACEBOOK. Do you have a Facebook account? Do you use it for business or pleasure or a combination of both?  Quite honestly, my Facebook account started out as a personal account, but it has evolved over time. Now I find it to be a pretty good way of staying in contact with clients, as well as friends.  But all this aside, this post deals with escheatment and how my FACEBOOK "friend" helped me find some very lost money! Do I have your attention yet?  Just remember, escheatment is a strange word, but it is not an expletive!

Let me introduce you to Nicole. Nicole and I have known each other for about 10 years. She and I worked together in the IT department of Mercury Insurance Services. The photo you see here was taken at our holiday party in December 2002. Nicole is the sane looking one! But let's get back to escheatment.

On May 14, 2010, Nicole posted the following status on her Facebook page:

"Reminding everyone to search their names on the unclaimed property sites to see if the State is holding funds in your name. Reclaiming is easy and free. Good luck!"

Here is the link she provided: Missing Money Free Search for Unclaimed Property - Officially endorsed By The States and Provinces

I couldn't resist. I checked the site and found my husband's name listed as having funds being held by the State of New Hampshire, we moved from NH in October 1997. I sent a message to Nicole:

"This was fun. I am thinking you are still part of the Escheatment Project! Anyway, it seems Dennis left some money behind in NH. I will keep you posted."

Nicole messaged back to me:

"It is a curse Judy. Everyone I train to take over the darn thing leaves the co or the dept. I saw this topic trending on Yahoo last night and thought I would post the reminder. I see infomercials are trying to sell this as a secret to wealth (you contact owners and charge them a finder's fee). Best of luck to you guys on the journey of reclaiming!"

Here is the bottom line, as you might be able to discern nobody really wants to be assigned to a company's Escheatment Project. It is complex law and each state has their own way of having a company interface with the state's treasury department to account for the abandoned property and to transfer the property from the company to the state. This is a Quality Assurance manager's testing nightmare!

But now many states are participating in this Missing Money site and you can search the database and follow the simple instructions. You never know...Dennis was pleasantly surprised.

Thanks to Nicole and FACEBOOK.

Let me know if you find any lost money and be sure to tell your friends to read this post about ESCHEATMENT! (Who comes up with these words?)

Do You Know Scott Adams?

You know Scott Adams. He is the creator of DILBERT. A while back I wrote a blog post about Dilbert 2.0 and I said: "Most working people found this cartoon to be really very funny and perceptive, to the point that it was almost as if Scott Adams was secretly infiltrating corporate America to obtain material on which to base his cartoon." It turns out that I wasn't too far off. According to a 2004 Design Boom Interview: Adams "worked at Crocker National Bank from 1979 to 1986, in a number of humiliating and low paying jobs: teller (robbed twice at gunpoint), computer programmer, financial analyst, product manager, and commercial lender."

This past week my friend Lisa Petrilli wrote a three part series called The Introvert’s Guide to Getting Promoted. Do read Step One, Step Two and Step Three. No, Lisa did not discuss DILBERT!

Here's my OP-ED to Lisa's Part One
June 22, 2010

Lisa,

I think if you asked most of my family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances they would probably tell you that I am more of an introvert than an extrovert. On the other hand, once I am inclined to step out of my comfort zone, then I become the go-to person in the organization.

Here are a few things to know about me: My husband and I actually met our current business partner (of 10 years) at an Executive Leadership Training seminar. It was 1981 and both my husband and Dick were part of middle management of Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). The training took place at ARCO’s Executive Training facility in Santa Barbara, CA. It was a two week course, with employees flown in from all over the world, the second week of the course they brought in the spouses. Yes, indeed, I needed to be trained on how to be a Corporate Executive’s wife!!!

I am familiar with the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator. I worked for company that actually made all of their new hires take this “test.” It sometimes bothered me that the test results could control your chances of promotion for the rest of your corporate career with that company. I think sometimes corporations don’t realize that not everyone wants to listen to or follow an extrovert.

But here is my best life story about how I made myself visible in an organization. It was 1978. I was a consumer loan officer for Crocker National Bank in Los Angeles, CA. I worked as a "floating" loan officer, which meant that I would fill in for loan officers that were going on vacation, sick leave, maternity leave, etc. It was a fun job, I was able to meet a lot of different people and I never got bored. At the time I was assigned to a branch in Altadena, CA. I was filling in for an Assistant Branch Manager who had suffered a heart attack. About five weeks into this assignment the branch was robbed, with the masked bandits jumping the counters wielding sawed-off shotguns and ordering everyone to get on the floor.

After the culprits left the bank it was my duty to call "Headquarters" to report the robbery and to ask for a robbery team to be dispatched to meet with the FBI. As luck would have it, the gentleman that took the phone call was the Executive Vice President – Consumer Lending. I had never met him, but I knew of him.

In my telephone conversation, the EVP finally said to me: "What do you want to do when you grow up?" I responded: "I want your job or I at least I want to work directly for you!"

Within two weeks, he personally visited the branch, sent in internal auditors to check my work quality and then made me an offer to work directly for him. New position: Assistant Vice President, District Retail Banking Specialist. (Before I transferred to downtown Los Angeles, my branch was robbed again.)

I agree; great CEOs are always on a talent search. So you need to know who is in your molecule and who interacts with those in your molecule. Be available to get involved and be supportive. But, as one of our mutual “friends”(Chris Brogan) said: sooner or later you need to "Make the ASK!"
Judy
_____________________________________________________________

Here is Lisa's reply:
June 23, 2010
Judy,
I just know you and I are meant to meet and share all kinds of amazing stories some day! Kudos to you for your smarts and your boldness. As usual, you are way ahead of me – we’ll get to “asking” tomorrow…!

Thank you, as always, for sharing your experiences and insights with me and the other readers!

Lisa
____________________________________________________________

It seems bank robberies can be real career boosters. I am just "sure" I must have met Scott Adams when we both worked for Crocker National Bank. What do you think?  Can you share some of your promotion stories?

Don't Break Up Over the Mud Room

We are back at the Hornby Island home building project today having moved from the perfect kitchen to the Mud Room. I understand that Mud Rooms have become quite fashionable around the country, even in environments that don’t have a MUD SEASON. In Alaska the Mud Season is often referred to as break-up season. (And I am not talking about breaking up with your loved one, I am talking about when the thaw comes and the frozen landscape turns to 12 inches of MUD). I bought my first pair of break-up boots in 1983, just plain black…this is not about fashion; it is about survival. Buying your first pair of break-up boots is a rite of passage. (This photo is of my oldest son and his little friends at the Alaska Zoo, Anchorage, AK-Circa 1983-Break-Up Boots galore.)

My friends, John and Darren, are contemplating the design and what to include in the MUD Room. You really need to read their post and all of the comments they have received, because it seems a good MUD room is worth its weight in keeping your homestead running smoothly. By the way, one friend cautioned them so: "Most important, home design and agreement is one of the most trying occupations for relationships. This is the real testing ground!"

Here's to The Break-Up Room (AKA: The Chesterfield Room)

Here is my OP-ED...
June 24, 2010

Ok, let’s see. I think before I can really weigh in on this, you need to let us know a bit more about your lifestyle and Hornby Island weather.

1. Are there any small children in the family…the reason I ask this, is that sometimes you need to design with different heights in mind. How high to place a hook, how low to set a bench, etc. If small children will only occasionally visit, then it matters not: except for resale.

2. Do you have cats? Some people hide the litter box in the mud-room.

3. Does it snow on Hornby Island? Enough that you might enjoy alpine or Nordic skiing? Ski racks, ski boot placement.

4. Do you intend to have a garden? Do you have deer, moose, rabbits, etc on Hornby Island?

I think the operative word here is ROOM. For two reasons, you want it to be a room-not just a space or section and you want it to be roomy. I think it should have a door that separates it from the perfect kitchen. Here are my thoughts:

• I had forgotten all about life in the North Country. You see, when you live in most of California and Arizona you don’t think about cellars or basements. I have lived with many basements and for the most part found them to be a waste of space, filled with clutter, usually musty, constantly being pumped to remove groundwater or worse. In one home the laundry was in the basement! Oh, my god. It was a granite basement which allowed critters to creep in. My husband adopted a cat to be a mouser, but one day I went down the stairs and there sat the cat staring at the mouse, like Tom and Jerry. You need to face two facts: you are not getting any younger and just because the clothes will magically arrive in the basement via a chute this doesn't mean that you or your guests will not face mobility issues down the road. You don’t want to argue about who is going to go "down cellar" (as they say in New Hampshire). Put the laundry appliances in this ROOM; make sure you have a pull-down ironing board. Remember, if the laundry appliances are in the ROOM, then when you come in from outside soaking wet, you can put the wet clothes in the dryer or the dirty clothes in the washer.

• Let's talk about colorful vegetables – I stopped being enchanted with the idea of gardens when I lived in Anchorage and the moose would graze through the neighbor's gardens. But let's assume you will have a garden. If you plan the ROOM with plumbing, (think laundry) have a potting sink. A restaurant-style pot washer might also be installed to handle large pots and buckets.

• The solution to the dog or your muddy boots is a hose-down area. A ground-floor basin with a drain and a wall-mounted handspray easily accommodate dirty boots, feet, and paws.

• Now about the Freezer. When we moved to Anchorage from southern California, my mother thought we should buy a freezer. Her reasoning was this: "what if you get snowed in and need to survive for days on end". (This from a woman that was born and raised in Butte, MT and had never owned a freezer.) But my husband thought it was a good idea, so we bought a really large chest freezer. It was delivered and moved into our heated garage (you know the one with a drain). For three years the only thing that was ever placed in that freezer was some salmon, that I did not enjoy cleaning. Truth is we never ate the salmon! When we moved to New Hampshire, the first home we lived in had a poured basement (rebuilt farmhouse). The freezer was moved into the basement through the bulkhead door and sat empty for a year. When we bought our Country Inn, the freezer was moved to the country inn kitchen. FINALLY, a legitimate use. But then again we slept 120 guests. A freezer is up to you…but remember if you fill it, be sure to have a generator for power failures, as you can lose a lot of inventory.

Finally, here are some links to sites that offer pretty good information about MUD/UTILITY/PANTRY ROOMS.
This Old House Episode 1 | This Old House Episode 2 | How to Plan a Mud Room
P.S. It seems you have a lot helpers on this. Vestibule is a nice word and for some reason I like Chesterfield Room. (For no reason, I just like the ring of it.)
_____________________________________________________
Here is John's reply:

June 24, 2010
Judy, we can’t believe all your great questions and advice. What a help this is being between you and Susan Davis and the others.

I’ll answer a few of your questions to begin with:
1. No small children unless they visit with someone else so we can probably not worry too much about that. Hooks and benches can probably be at adult height.
2. No cats and not likely to have. I’m allergic to them.
3. Snow. Hornby Island gets more snow than Vancouver which means it gets a few days per year. Nothing to speak of. Occasionally it can get a massive dump and have a few feet around but it usually only lasts for a week or two at the most because it usually warms up and rains. In other words, no winter sports. It’s a damp climate in the winter.
4. We do intend to have a garden and this is something that needs to be designed into the whole property from the beginning. There are a lot of deer on the island (they aren't very big) but they eat anything. All gardens on the island need to be fenced because of the deer. Making something attractive is needed so it doesn’t look like wire everywhere.
The other weird thing is possums. Some idiot brought them to the island to raise in the 80s and they got out and the rest is history. Though Simon, the lab up the road has killed a few in his day, they are around and probably eat garbage and other things. Yuk. There are no other beasts except for the odd bear that swims over once every ten years or, a few years ago a cougar. They end up getting shot and removed, eventually.

Regarding basements. We are not inclined to one unless it's where the water cistern goes or that sort of thing. I’m with you about basements. They collect junk. Ok, the chute idea is out, for sure. I kind of said it for fun, but obviously, it captured my imagination and that of others. It does have an "upstairs downstairs" ring to it though I don't believe we will be hiring maids and butlers.
If you see my mother's comment, she is a proponent of the pull-down ironing board. I like the idea too. I remember how sturdy hers was in our kitchen growing up.

Clearly, the ROOM is getting bigger. We now have washer and dryer, sinks for washing, tables for organizing, a bench, and ironing board, place for boots and jackets and, it could even act as a pantry of sorts with a door to the kitchen. It could also have the hot water tank and electrical panels.

Darren is the real gardener and will truly take a deep interest in this so having things set up well for it would be good.

I LOVE your story about the freezer. The honesty of it is great. It's so funny when you have things that get carted around through your life only for you to find out later that it’s been a waste of energy. It's very much like mental attitudes we carry around through life only to look back on and wonder why the heck we ever did!
We will have emergency backup for the house, but you have me wondering now whether an additional freezer really is worth it. They always seem to be a pit that stuff gets stuck in and never used. We may be better to get a really big fridge with a good sized freezer in it (we have started looking, but that’s another post).
We'll head off now to look at the sites you've recommended. (I have always loved watching This Old House on PBS)
Lastly, I'm intrigued by your Chesterfield Room comment. Very interesting. I thought "Chesterfield" was a Canadian thing only. We always call a sofa, a chesterfield. My mom still has the same chesterfield she got shortly after being married sixty years ago. It's been refinished a few times, but it's in great shape, it's heavy as a tank, and it was a great day-bed for sick kids to lie on.
I guess if we called it the Chesterfield Room, we'd have to add one to the room. Gee, the room keeps getting bigger. Maybe we should just make the whole house one room. Ha ha.
______________________________________________________
The comments, as I said above, continued. They are a must read.

Let me know what your experience is with MUD Rooms. Would love to hear from you.

#DellCAP On-Line Passion Required

Just about a month ago I was introduced to Mack Collier by Lisa Petrilli. In addition to writing an interesting blog and tweeting helpful information, Mack also runs a Twitter #blogchat every Sunday evening at 9:00PM EST/EDT...and by the way he helps companies understand the "social" part of social media. What I learn from Mack, I in turn share with my Webconsuls' team members and clients. All good. This past week Mack facilitated and moderated Dell's Customer Advisory Panel which took place in Round Rock, TX. Yesterday Mack wrote a blog about this experience: "Teaching a Brontosaurus to run; My review of #DellCAP". I hope you will read it whether or not you are a Dell customer. I took the time to comment to Mack and he agreed to let me share my thoughts here. I now understand the importance of on-line passion!

Here is my OP-ED...
June 22, 2010
Hi Mack,

I enjoyed reading this recap today. I was sort of following you on Twitter last week while you were participating in #DellCAP. I have a couple of questions/observations. But first I want you and your other readers to know a little about my Dell user experience.

First of all, you should know that our small company has been a Dell customer since July 2001. In the past nine years we have spent $12000+ with Dell. We are obviously not their largest customer or their smallest, but maybe we are one of their smaller consistent customers.

Second, when we first started buying from Dell their customer service was excellent and it was provided from staff located in the United States. When it became obvious that Dell had begun to outsource their customer service, we made a conscious decision to purchase Dell ProSup port. We have found if you time your calls just so…you might actually speak to someone in the United States!

Here are my questions/observations:

1. How did Dell define/select its most passionate customers? What were the parameters used to invite these "passionate customers"? Individuals, businesses (large and small), multiple purchases, social media flare, clever complaint letters, clever complimentary letters, etc. It seems that one pre-requisite for being invited as a customer who had had a negative experience was that they "had used social media to voice their displeasure." If that is the case, what about the customer who writes a letter, sends an email, etc, as opposed to blogging, tweeting or facebooking about their negative experience? Does old fashion passion not matter?

2. I am not surprised that #DellCAP participants wanted to see Dell succeed. I think it is human nature that we want our purchase choices to be validated and we want to know there is a viable company to turn to should we experience problems.

3. Has Dell pushed a pencil to determine the "cost" of their decision to outsource customer service? By this I mean, Dell believed or assumed that most customers weren't willing to pay higher prices just to get better service; however, how many customers did they lose as a result of this decision which was based on an assumption?

As a Dell customer, here are few things that Dell might like to know about my user experience:

• Once an order is placed, make sure the sales person is reachable, post sale – prior to delivery.

• The itemized receipt/invoice should have a unit price and amount for each item, as opposed to just listing each item with Unit Price 0.00 and amount 0.00, with the exception of the Tower.

• If a customer has paid by personal check or business credit card in the past, don't make the sales call so confusing that your customer ends up with a Dell Financial Services Credit Card with an interest rate of 17.99%. To add insult to injury, they spelled our business name incorrectly on the account! Don’t worry we paid it in full.

• In days long ago, the new PC came with a wall map size glossy Start Here Set-Up Guide. But our latest purchase came with a flimsy 10 page Setup and Features Information booklet, with a font size of maybe 6. (See photo below)

Well, Mack, I will enjoy following the impact of #DellCAP. I can tell you this; it seems your GUYNamedNathan is enjoying his new Dell notebook: "#DellCAP attendees, if you kept the box to the notebook Dell gave us. It makes a great mousepad for BlueTrack mice."

I know this is a long comment, I am hoping you will not mind if I use it on my Judy's OP-ED blog. Let me know if that would be ok with you.
____________________________________________________________
Here is Mack's reply:

June 22, 2010
Judy thanks for the comment, and it's yours, you can use it anyway you want.

I think with this first meeting, Dell was trying to be 'all things to all people'. I think they wanted to bring in some business customers, and some personal customers. I do think they placed a premium on selecting customers that had either voiced their displeasure or excitement, via social media. My guess is they chose social media because it would be easy to collect a pool of potential participants quickly and easily.

My feeling was that the #DellCAP meetings were extremely beneficial to Dell when it comes to how their customers view customer support, especially outsourced customer support. I don’t think Dell realized how important this was to customers, OR that so many of the participants seemed to be willing to pay more for the computer, if exceptional customer service would be included as part of the purchase.

This was obviously the 'first step' for Dell, and I am sure that they have a ton of tweaks/changes in mind if they continue this effort in a similar form. I can't wait to see what they do next!
______________________________________________________________
Let me know what you think?  Do you exercise on-line passion to improve your customer service experience?

Which Set-Up Guide Enhances the User's Experience?

Lisa Petrilli Wants You to Have a Clear Vision

Lisa can help you define your vision!

I first met Lisa Petrilli on May 14th. She was just launching her new blog C-Level Strategies & Awakenings. I was curious to read her blog and I left a comment and Lisa commented back to me.

Lisa's post this week, The Business-Altering Difference Between Vision and Mission interested me as a business owner and as someone who works with other business owners on a regular basis.  I hope you will take a few minutes to read Lisa's ideas. Here is what I had to say.

Here is my OP-ED...
June 13th, 2010

Lisa,

I think I have it: a mission statement is a given, whether it is spoken or not; however, a vision will drive the engine of success.

Now the questions, as I see them, are:

1. Why do people (business leaders) struggle with these concepts and their subtleties?
2. Once they get through the struggle and actually define their vision why are people (business leaders) reluctant to publish their vision statement?

To me it all comes down to accountability and a word that, at best, is fuzzy… vision. I mean if you just take out an ordinary dictionary and look up the word “vision” most of the definitions are filled with verbs like this: sensing, anticipating, hallucinating, perceiving, imagining, discerning, seeing. The word “vision” doesn’t seem concrete.

Maybe if we started very young to think of life with mission statements and vision statements it would be easier for the new entrepreneur to articulate both. I remember being a fairly young executive and we were having a workshop with Human Resources. Someone asked us to write down our five year and 10 year goals. How far do you think this exercise went before the HR person had lost control?

You see, if I state a goal with a vision and I announce it to my world (parents, sibling, peers, high-school counselor, mentor, professors, spouse, business partner, friends, neighbors, relatives), then not only will people know when I succeed, they will almost certainly know when I fail.

This is a scary proposition. Publishing a vision statement forces one to be accountable, for better or worse. Or at least it should.

LG Life’s Good

"LG’s vision is to deliver innovative digital products and services that make our customers’ lives better, easier and happier through increased functionality and fun."
 
This is a great vision statement, but LG does not always execute the mission to achieve the vision.

I was not having fun the evening I discovered the casing around the refrigerator light was melting and it smelled funny. When I called customer service they demanded that I pull the fridge away from the wall and unplug it. When I questioned why, they said it could start a fire! Imagine if I had not been home. It took over a month for them to agree to fix this 18 month old refrigerator. Mine was not an isolated case and they knew it.

On another note and back to your main topic, last evening I came across a quote:

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”

This quote is often attributed to Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) and also to Jack Welch (1935…)

Do you know who really said it first?

P.S. I would love to feature you and this post on my new blog Judy’s OP-ED.
What do you think of that idea?
_________________________________________________________________
Here is Lisa's reply:
June 15, 2010

Judy,

My concern is that part of what drives this is the very short-term focus on results and the fact that many executive tenures are so short. This may inhibit an ability to think boldly about what the organization can really become if it challenges itself to an audacious vision.

You are also right about fear of failure – if I tell you what I’m working towards and I don’t seem to be making any progress towards that vision will you judge me harshly? Is it safer just to follow the mission and hope it gets me somewhere?

My experience is that a mission with no vision leads organizations to walk in circles…

I love the quote – absolutely embrace it! Thank you for sharing it. And yes, I would be honored to be featured on your blog.
____________________________________________________________
I don't need to know if you own an LG refrigerator, this really is not a blog about kitchens. But if you own a business, will you share your VISION?