Lupus complications and chemo treatment

It has been a rough 2 months for me...this flare is the worst since my diagnoses in 1995. Things have progressively went from bad to worse. (Read previous blogs for those details)

Recently, I have become very fatigued...and things just havent seemed "right" to me. Even with an increase in Prednisone, I was not getting better. My doctors and I became concerned when even after 3 to 4 weeks of 70-80+ mgs of Prednisone hasnt made an impact on this front.

So after half my blood was taken (yes, I know Im exaggerating) and several tests were ran, we found out what the culprit is that has been stealing my energy. First, it seems that my previously diagnosed mitral valve prolapse is...well....I dont know how to exactly explain it, but its getting worse and I now have pericarditis, which is inflammation of the heart tissue. The pericarditis is basically the real culprit of my pleurisy as well as my main energy stealer. I also have some kidney issues, but most of that is spilling of protein. Neither my doctors or myself are "too" concerned about that right now...even tho they will be keeping an eye on things.

So, I went to the doctors to explore my options, which apparently are few...I immediately got a second opinion - and well, basically my only option is to undergo low dose chemo for approximately 4 months. Without speaking to a specialist, they believe I will be on Cyclophosphamide (more than likely RevImmune)

To say that Im not angry and afraid would be a lie.
Ive also been told that if this treatment doesnt work, my only other option is a bone marrow transplant...and as much as I dont want chemo...I certainly do not want to undergo a bone marrow transplant.

All I ask, is that readers of this post say prayers for my doctors, my family and myself. We appreciate them!

People can be so rude with their comments

So, most of you may know I am smack dab in the middle of a horrid lupus flare. And while I do not want to turn my blog into a woe-is-me-I-have-lupus pity party...I feel the need to revisit the YOU DONT LOOK SICK topic.

So, last week I fought off some major brain-fog - an inability to concentrate. Most of the time, this occurs when doctors mess with my dosage on the meds.

Some of you may be aware of the heat and humidity that "finally" moved in on the Baltimore area, but its generally not a good thing for those suffering from lupus to begin with....let alone someone flaring. I went to the races and completely wore myself out, which - most likely did NOT help!

On Sunday, we went to dinner and came home-well, I did stop by one of the thundercar drivers house that I see at Lincoln...So later that night, I start to really feel the joint pain, the muscle pain and the general fatigue. By Monday morning, I completely feel like an alien has taken over my body. It is now Thursday and it has NOT gotten any better.

Truthfully and honestly, I just want to stay in bed. I just want to scream and cry.
Get the picture?


However, many people rely on me, so that is not an option. So, I go and take care of business. Im not going to complain about that.

My CHIEF complaint is still those who look at me and say..."What's wrong with you?"
(This after having to walk gingerly because of joint and muscle pain)

HELLO? Lupus flare? Its like people hear you tell them this, but forget almost instantaneously. A flare normally isnt over within a day...and mine has gone on since mid June. Thats almost 2 months that Ive been flaring.

Just because I choose to smile, be happy and say positive things (most of the time) does NOT mean my flare is over. It just means that I have chosen to think positive and try not to let my illness get me down.

So before you say something rude to someone (especially those with invisible illnesses) think. And, another thing - just because you know someone else who has lupus, dont think our illnesses act the same way, because more than likely, our symptoms might be totally opposite from each other.

A lupus update-from remission to flare 09

In early-to-mid June, I started feeling - well....blah.
I was tired and just not myself. I started having headaches, low grade fevers as well as muscle cramps.

Right before my birthday, everything came to a head. My building (at work) was being painted, so I blamed everything on that...however-I just went from feeling bad to worse--AND quick. For those who are not aware, once you go down the road to a flare, its pretty quick to drain you, both physically, emotionally and financially.

After several trips to the doctor and a few mis-diagnoses including a belief that I was just having some sort of infection and going on antibiotics...I FINALLY got the blood tests that confirmed that yes, I was in the midst of a full-on flare.

Getting the news that you are flaring is a double-edge sword...You are relieved to know why you feel bad, but at the same time, know that you have a tough road to go down. Some flares last a long time and some are very short. There is no way of knowing, nor is there no way of knowing how you will feel the next day....let alone any way to make plans.


So, I was started on 80 mg of Prednisone...which is pretty high. It is the highest dose that Ive ever had to take, including when my lupus was outta control when I was first diagnosed. I have felt pretty leery about taking so much, knowing that you have to wean off of the medication little by little.

But there is a silver lining - My appetite has returned (in full vengance) and Im gaining the weight Ive lost back. My blood work is looking better and Im feeling better. So I am hoping that each week, I get good news from the doctors. I AM listening to their advice and listening to my nutrionist as well.

Today, I received the news that I can wean back to 75 mg of Prednisone. I am taking this as good news :-)

ONE MORE UPDATE
Yesterday, lupus was in the news! Lupus patients may have a new drug after 50 years of getting let down. The last medication that was approved was plaquenil (an anti-malarial). For some of us, these drugs are the only way we can feel "human" again...so lets just pray that the next months bring further good news about this new drug!!

Obama and Notre Dame

This blog is my reply to the above referenced blog:

Gary

Im not sure if those tweets you were reading were mine, but I know I was vocal about the issue...so-heres my take (without going into the abortion issue).

Notre Dame is a Catholic Ivy League College. For MANY years, ND had a repuation of being very hardline on Catholic "issues", even going so far as to not hire non-Catholics (I am led to believe that this practice ended several decades ago OR when it had to do with their football program.)

In the past decade, ND has turned their back on the foundation upon which it was built.

For example, ND hosted the play "The Vagina Monologues". Now, by most standards-you will say-"Whats wrong with that?" Nothing if it was done in any other University. Notre Dame should have been held accountable by the Board of Trustees.

When it was announced that Barack Obama was invited-and subsequent drama that unfolded up to his visit-I must admit, that I was truly appalled. This has nothing to do with the fact that he is now our President. This has EVERYTHING to do with legislation that he supported and/or signed. Supporting abortion rights, embryonic stem-cell research, tax-payer funded abortions outside of the United States --and the list goes on.

I asked myself-How in the world can an Institute such as Notre Dame invite someone who is so opposed to principles within the Catholic faith? And then to give him an honorary degree? HELLO? Our President, Barack Obama was educated in an Ivy League college and obtained a law degree...What sense does it make to give him a "fake" degree?

I want you to know that I did listen to his speech to the graduating class. I was thoroughly disgusted by his remarks (and his garb that honors Mary) and felt as if I was watching one of Obama's election speeches. His remarks in no way were directed to Notre Dame graduates.

If class Valedectorians have to have their speeches approved, why wasnt his? 3/4 of his speech directly went against the teachings of the church.

Notre Dame has allowed blasphemous events to be held on campus and invites those who do not uphold our Catholic values for far too long...And THIS is why I am no longer a supporter of Notre Dame.

How has your past shaped you?

This weekend brought much news to me on a personal front. There are some happenings, well, happening that have me looking inward at who I am today.

As with pretty much everyone, I am not the person I was when I was a teenager. (Thank goodness for that) While I am not proud of some of the things done back in those days, I CAN be proud that I do NOT carry myself off the way I used to.

That said, life experience can change a person.
I know that every experience I have had, has a direct bearing on who I am today. Without those experiences, and the pain/happiness from those, I could not form the thoughts that have shaped who Ive become.


Furthermore, I have found it most healing to make amends with those Ive hurt in the past. I have been extremely lucky to have had that opportunity. For those that I may have hurt and havent had a chance to talk with, please send me a message~it is important to have peace and an explanation.

What EFT can do for you

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor - I am not a scientist. This blog is posted based on my opinion only.


What is EFT? It is the Emotional Freedom Technique. It may sound wishy-washy, but this technique will do wonders if you let it. (If you click on the title, it will take you to the EFT wiki page)

I stumbled across EFT a few years ago, in the midst of one of those "self-help" crazes. I was struggling with personal issues as well as some major health issues. As someone who struggles with lupus, I know how important your emotional health is.

EFT uses some of the same accupuncture energy "spots" to target emotional blockages. These blockages can be anything. Sometimes we do not even know WHY we feel the way we do. This process can assist you in targeting your "problem" areas ~ However, this process wont work if you are not honest with yourself.

Some have labeled EFT as pseudo-science, however many individuals have gone thru this process and believe that it helps. Personally, I believe that it is a combination of the tapping along with the facing of whatever your problem is.

There is really no need to pay someone to go thru the EFT process. If you feel that you need professional help, by all means - do it.


So, if you clicked on the title, you pretty much have an overview with the exception of any details. So, without further addoo...

This is the front page to the FREE EFT Course on Dr Mercola's site:
http://www.mercola.com/forms/eftcourse1.htm
NOTE: At the bottom of this webpage, click on the link that takes you to the next part. There are 7 pages in total to look at. Please do not skip these steps, including page 4.

This is a pretty comprehensive site. There is a little bit of everything here.
http://www.eft-therapy.com/


I hope that I have opened your eyes as to how EFT can help. It is by no means the ONLY way to solve some of your emotional problems, but positive thinking can go a long way.

How I Use Twitter

Apologies for not blogging in almost a month! Ive been sick.

Twitter has received a great deal of attention in the media lately, and it comes as no surprise to those who use it. Many of my friends do not see the value in this service.

In my opinion, any type of social networking site is what YOU make of it-and this includes twitter. If you dont want to associate with someone, you dont follow them-and if you dont want someone following you--you block them from seeing your updates. Its that simple.

You can use twitter many ways.


Here are ways I use twitter
1 RSS feed (for news-twitter has actually replaced my newsreader)
2 Local information (school closings, traffic, local news)
3 Keep up with "celebrities" (political, bands, actors)
4 Streamline my real social networking sites (In correlation to #3-I can then delete them from myspace and facebook, allowing me to only use those for those I know in real life)
5 Follow bloggers


I receive LOCAL school, traffic, and news tweets via my cell phone. My suggestion is to keep mobile updates to a minimum.

So, do you use twitter? If so-what do you use it for?
If you have not yet jumped on the bandwagon, why not?

Small Savings - Economic Stimulus

So we have an Economic Stimulus plan now....Most people will use that extra money but I am suggesting that you put it aside every week.

So starting in June we are supposed to be seeing an extra $13 in our checks. That gives us 26 weeks to save.

13 X 26 = 338.00

Thats not so bad. A little over $300 to save in 6 months. Thats enough to pay most monthly utility bills.

But, next year, we are supposed to be getting an extra $8 a week in our checks. Thats a whole year to save!

8 X 52 + 416

Thats a little better....what can you do with an extra $416 a year?

Small Savings - Eat at home

Since there is no turn-a-round in these hard economic times, we must still find ways to save money. Since we are already pinching our pennies at the grocery store by using coupons and puchasing items while they are on sale-it makes no sense to spend more money on eating dinner out.

It doesnt matter whether you are eating at McDonalds or an expensive restaurant...you are still spending money.

If you frequent a restaurant/fast food joint more than one time a week, it will take some work to change your habits. Try decreasing the amount of days for a few weeks until you get down to eating out once a week. Even if you "hover" at the once a week mark for 6 months, you are still saving money from your past habits.

Here are some examples for a family of 4 (using averages)
McDs = $30 for one meal
Restaurant = $80 on up

Now do the math for dinner out one time a week and look at how much money you are throwing away!

McDs = $1560 a year
Restaurant = $4160

AND THOSE ARE JUST AVERAGES!!!!!!!
Most families are throwing away a months rent/mortgage on eating at a fast food place once a week for a year! And for those who are eating at a restaurant-well, I think Im in shock!

In looking at those numbers, I think I can find where most families could start saving for their family vacations!

Think you are up for the challenge?

Small Savings - Magazines

Most of us are pinching our pennies and wondering how to cut out expenses that wont "hurt" us. What I mean by that, is cutting out things we wont really miss.

Buying magazines in this economy is a waste. It does not matter if you are purchasing them in the check-out lines or if you have a subscription - this is a very wasteful expense.

By the time you read about something in a magazine, it can probably be heard about on tv. If you have access to the internet, you can peruse these sites for no cost.

By eliminating JUST 3 magazines (purchase or subscription) you can save as much as $300 a year. Again, the savings adds up.

What can you do with an extra $300?

Small Savings - Make your coffee at home

I need to open this post with the fact that if given the opportunity, I would drink coffee from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed! Granted, I do not drink coffee all day-just in the morning.

For those of us who LOVE our coffee and NEED it to get ourselves started....do you make your coffee at home, or buy it at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? If you buy your coffee on-the-go, you are throwing money away!

Since I do not buy my coffee out, I will do some examples with some averages I found on the internet.

For a $3.00 cup = 3*5=15 wk / 15*4=60 mo / 60*12=720 yr
For a $1.50 cup = 1.5*5=7.50 wk / 7.50*4=30 mo / 30*12=360 yr

Even saving $360 a year sounds good to me!


If you are sitting there saying- But, I only drink one cup a day...Well, let me tell you that they sell decent one-cup brewers now. You can brew your cup of coffee in a little over a minute with some of the newer models on the market.

If you make your coffee at home, you can also make it as strong or weak as you like. I feel that is a plus for me (I love a STRONG coffee!)

I am in no way suggesting that you NEVER buy a coffee out. I love to give myself a treat getting a mocha latte! But buying coffee out everyday should be something you cut out of your expenses. The economy is slumping and trimming unneccesary items out of your expense column will save you money.

Some utility bills hover around the $350/mo mark...just cutting this expense out is equal to having a month's utility bills paid. If you think of it that way, you will not have a problem trimming this out!

Small Savings - menu planning, grocery circulars, coupons

In this economy, saving a few dollars on a grocery bill each week, can really help stretch your dollar. This savings adds up over the course of a month/year.


Planning your menu for at least a week out (2 weeks worth of meals) and coordinating with whats on sale at the local grocery store can save on the average, $20 a week. If you combine this savings, with using coupons, you can save about $40 a week. This can save you upwards of $80-160 a month. All you have to do is multiply that those numbers by 12 to get a yearly estimate....($960-1920 a year!)

Now, I dont know about you, but I can really use that money! What can you do with an average of an "extra" $1000 a year?


Some additional hints
I also suggest using AND sticking to your grocery list. NEVER shop when your hungry!

Living Well - Establishing a Routine & Intro to Small Savings

If you have kept up with my blog so far, you have accomplished ALOT! So far, I introduced you to computer housekeeping-I hope to revisit this subject and educate you on some additional computer topics. We have also organized our bedroom and kitchen. Not too shabby for one month!

In order for your house to get and stay in order, you have to establish a routine that will work for you.


Here are some tips that might help you out:

FILING TIPS
- Make sure you open your mail in the area you pay, file, shred, recycle. Toss recyclable junk mail, shred identifable mail/files at least once a week.

- Make sure you shred old bills, once you receive the new one and it has properly credited your last payment.


COMPUTER TIPS
- Make sure you schedule a virus scan at least once a week.

- Make sure you organize your Favorite links as you are saving them. Go thru your Favorites once a month to ensure that your links are current.

- Defrag your computer at least once a week. Schedule this if you tend to forget.


BEDROOM TIPS
- Make sure you put your clothes away after you are done laundry.

- If you add something to your dresser or closet, make sure you get rid of 1 or 2 older items.


KITCHEN TIPS
- Wipe your fridge, microwave, and toaster daily-if you do this when you are doing dishes, its easy to get this to be a habit.

- Vacuum the coils and under the fridge to help with the "maintenance" of this appliance.

- Circle expiration dates to ensure freshness.


I hope you stay tuned for February's topic: Small Savings.
I will be suggesting some ideas that will help you save money. Some of these ideas do not require much in order to save alot over the course of a month-or even a year!

Living Well - Kitchen (small things)

Today we will be tidying up a couple of the small things some people tend to overlook when cleaning their kitchens. Namely-the microwave and toaster.


I have a few tips to help these smaller jobs go just a little quicker.

MICROWAVE
Before you start jumping in and cleaning your microwave, place a microwave-safe cup or dish full of water inside and heat up 1 or 2 minutes. This will loosen some of the stuff that dirties up the nuker. You should be able to use a damp rag or sponge to wipe the inside of the microwave.


TOASTER
Make sure that you unplug the toaster before you clean it! I like to shake my toaster into the trash can. If its been awhile since youve cleaned your toaster, you may want to do this outside to eliminate another mess.

If you have pull out "drawers" on the bottom that catches crumbs, make sure to do this after you use the toaster EVERY time. Make sure you wipe up under your toaster after use as well. Eliminating the crumbs will assist in the prevention of ants and other "bugs" that are attracted to the food left around.

Living Well - Kitchen drawers

Today, we will be concentrating on our kitchen drawers. This project tends to be time consuming because many of us stick things that do not belong in our kitchen drawers. It is my hope that you will change those habits, making this "chore" quicker and easier.


GET TO IT!
As is always the case, we start by emptying out the kitchen drawers. Once we have emptied them, we can clean them out. I like to vacuum the drawers before I start wiping things down. This way, I dont have to keep rinsing off the sponge or rag because crumbs are on it.

Once you have emptied and cleaned out the drawers, we can begin to go thru the items that were in the cabinets. The first thing we ALWAYS need to do is to throw away anything that has expired.


FIGURING OUT THE LAYOUT
I find that the easiest way to plan how you will layout your kitchen - whether its the cabinets, drawers, fridge is to see how much room you have, AND then see what you have and how you work in that area....

I find that most kitchens use their drawers for: silverware, saran wrap/aluminum foil etc, assorted loose utensils...and then most people have a "junk" drawer.

Once you have sorted thru everything you took out of your drawers, you will see where your needs truly are.


GETTING RID OF THE "JUNK" DRAWER
Since I did mention that almost everyone I know has a "junk" drawer...I want to propose that you do not include this space in your kitchen. You should find places for these items-and if there has been something lingering in your junk drawer, and you havent used it within the past year-GET RID OF IT!!!

Living Well - Kitchen cabinets (Finishing the job)

I just noticed that I hadnt posted this blog yesterday. My apologies...I hope you are enjoying the snow day if you live in the Baltimore area.

This is Day 2 of our kitchen cabinet project, so-if you have been keeping up, your cabinets should be empty and cleaned.

The first thing we need to do, is go thru all the "stuff" that was in your cabinets. This means to throw away anything that has expired and sort the types of things that go together.

In a nutshell: spices tend to stay together-cereals- etc.
Once you have sorted what you have, group things together according to where the cabinets are. To make things easier, place the items close to the area you use them.

An example of this would be to group all your spices, cooking oils/sprays etc in a cabinet nearer to the stove.

One more helpful tip is to place older items in the front of the cabinet, and place newer items in the back. Circling the expiration dates on items will also help keep things up to date.


Once everything is put away (nicely) you are now done with the cabinets! Congrats!

Living Well - Kitchen cabinets

If you have been following along at home, you should have finished cleaning out your fridge....So now that you are up to speed, we are going to tackle the kitchen cabinets. Some of you may be groaning, but I can tell you that having things organized makes your life easier.

I like to break this project down into 2 days. This way, I can be assured that I am not rushing things. Day One will consist of emptying and cleaning and Day Two will consist of organizing and putting things away.


I have a system that makes things easy. I will take it step by step-and hopefully you will be able to encorporate them into a routine that works for you.

First, as always, you need to have an area to place the contents of your cabinets.
Next, empty those cabinets.

I will not suggest a cleaning agent, as this will vary due to the differences in kitchen cabinets. Make sure that the cleaning agent you use will not damage the cabinet. Make sure that you use a dampened rag, ensuring that you do not leave residue behind. If you need to, you could have a fresh rag to wipe the area dry.


Thats it for tonight. Tomorrow, we will complete this project.

Being Thankful - The Unexpected

My latest goal with my blog is to use each Sunday to blog about Being Thankful / Sharing your Blessings. Because of the current economic environment, I thought this would be something that I would really have to work at finding. So far, this has not been the case.

At work, I am thankful that I did not find any mistakes when reviewing all end of year financials...and I was able to complete all the tax reports and w2s! So - it was a very productive week.

BEING THANKFUL FOR THE UNEXPECTED
So yesterday (Saturday) I am sitting in my office, just lurking on facebook, when WRBS DJ, Mike Alley announces a contest for a pair of tickets to the Chris Tomlin show. So, I respond and actually win! So exciting! I went from having no plans last night, to attending a fantastic concert.

Heres a recap of the evening:
We arrived at the Baltimore Arena right around 6 and headed to will call to pick up the tickets. We got into the venue and went straight to our seats....FRONT ROW!!!

We met Renee and her daughter, who also won tickets that afternoon. They won the seats right next to us!

During the intermission period, Mike Alley came over and we were able to get a picture with him. He must have went over to where the RBS crew was because right after, Erin Branham came over! I was able to get a photo with her as well.


And then....the lights went dim---and Chris Tomlin took to the stage. Chris did an amazing set and really got the crowd into it. Not to take away from Chris' performance, but I was really impressed with his guitarist....(gotta find out his name). The energy levels of both Israel & the New Breed and Chris Tomlin was amazing.


FAVORITE MOMENT
I brought Frank to this concert. He is not really someone who listens to this genre of music-he prefers hard rock. Part of me wondered how we would process the evening. It is worth noting that he enjoyed this concert. I wont embarass him but I will say he was uplifted by this experience.

Living Well - Whats in your fridge?

This last week of January - we will be concentrating on our kitchen. I will be concentrating on the fridge today...

Every refrigerator needs a good cleaning out a few times a year. This ensures that food that has expired is tossed out and the shelves and doors get wiped. This will also cut down on weird odors that can emit from the fridge.


LETS GET STARTED
As with every project, we will need to empty the fridge. As you are emptying things, make sure to look at the expiration dates and toss anything that has expired.

Do not forget to go thru your freezer as well. Your freezer doesnt see the amount of action that your fridge does, but it is good to go thru it and give it a wiping down every few months.

Once you have emptied the fridge, its time to wipe things down. If your fridge has removable shelves, remove them and wash them in your sink. If not, mix a small amount of water and detergent in a bucket.

Make sure you take out the vegi and lunchmeat drawers. Things can spill in the area underneath and cause stains and odors. Make sure you wash these drawers as well.

It is also necessary to wipe the door shelving off as well. You would be surprised at how much "gunk" can collect in those shelves!

Once you have wiped the entire inside of the fridge, its time to put everything back.
It is your perogative if you choose to place a box of baking soda in your fridge-but I do suggest placing one in your freezer to keep ice cubes from absorbing tastes/smells.


YOURE NOT DONE YET
You really should wipe the outside of the fridge, as well as the handles. I suggest wiping the handles every evening after you wash the dishes.

A vacuum hose with a narrow attachment works the best for under the fridge and the back of the fridge. Not only will this make your job complete, but it will help in the routine care and maintenance of your refrigerator.

Being Thankful

No matter what is going on in our lives, we should take some time and be thankful for something. Many of us have spent so much time in our lives learning how to complain, and cannot see how we are blessed.

I can see my blessings everyday.


This week I am thankful for: a good job, great friends, activities that enrich me spriritually.

What are you thankful for?

Living Well - Keeping your closet organized

So you have spent a couple of days going thru your closet...getting rid of things you dont like, things that dont fit, or things that are damaged. If you go and take another look in your closet, you should smile and be proud of the accomplishment.

So now that you have done this awesome thing...how can we keep from allowing our closets get back into that state?


ASK YOURSELF SOME QUESTIONS
As with everything else, you have to change the way you deal with your clothes.

Are you a compulsive shopper? If so, ask yourself- Why do you purchase things that you do not have a place for in your home?

Do you hate putting away your clothes? In order to keep your closet organized, you must put things away, like it or not.


CHANGE YOUR HABITS
If you can, do laundry twice a week. Doing your laundry twice a week ensures that each load placed in the washer is a full load. This not only saves on your overall load amount, but time and money.

If you have a larger family, you may not be able to cut your loads in this way. Alternates could include sharing this responsibility.


COMPLETING THE TASK
After your done washing and drying your clothes, you must fold or hang them. You are not done yet. You must complete the task and put these clothes away.

The easiest system is to fold and organize into piles by person.

If your children are old enough, they should learn how to put their own clothes away. And Im not talking about shoving them into a drawer. There are videos online that you can show to your children, instructing them on how to fold their clothes to fit them into their dresser drawers.


BRAND NEW DAY
You may find that doing laundry and putting away your clothes is a much more enjoyable chore now that things have their own place.


Once the task is truly done, and all the laundry has been cleaned and put away...give yourself a hand. Look around and enjoy.

Living Well - Lingering Paperwork Project (Organizing & Setting up a routine)

In todays blog, I will be teaching you a few ways to handle all that paperwork that seems to pile up. I purposely stretched this project out so that you could prepare for what lies ahead.

DEVELOPING A PLAN
Hopefully, after reading- you will adopt some of these strategies. Once you change your habits, these strategies will become routine for you and your way of dealing with file management will be different.

Since we have already purged most of our files and have them organized by person, it will be easier to set up your system. You will see that organizing by person makes all steps involved simpler and not as time consuming.

TIME TO GET STARTED
Grab the first persons pile.
Divide this pile into like-type piles. If you did some of the primary categories when we purged, these categories should be easy to identify. We will also be identifying our sub-categories as well.

Here are examples of files you would find in each category
* IMPORTANT: birth certificate, Social Security Card, Immunization Record
* SCHOOL: HIGH SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
* COLLEGE: INFORMATION, SCHOLARSHIPS, LOANS, MISC FINANCE/ACCOUNTING, HOUSING, SCHEDULES
** INFORMATION: letters from the college
** SCHOLARSHIPS: files pertaining to scholarships
** LOANS: files pertaining to loans
** MISC FINANCE/ACCOUNTING: Financial papers pertaining to items not related to schol/loans
** HOUSING: room assignments
** SCHEDULES: semester schedules
* MEDICAL: Current medical bills
* PAID IN FULL: Any bill that is Paid in Full
* RECEIPTS: Misc Receipts

Once you have identified your categories and sub-categories, you can start printing out your labels. If you do not use a label-maker or a template (i.e. Avery software) please make sure to PRINT CLEARLY WITH A FINE TIP SHARPIE.

Never use a pencil to print labels. Even fading occurs with pen, so I recommend using a fine tip Sharpie to print labels.

Once you have everything in order and sorted-its now time to start labeling and placing in folders. Be sure to use a pocket folder if you have alot of like-type papers.

We are going to be doing some minor tuning to what we have and to make sure that something did not get mis-categorized. This also means that we should be double-checking to see if someone elses stuff is mixed in.

MOVING RIGHT ALONG
Once you have completed filing and labeling for that person, its time to move on to the next person.

Please be aware that I have assumed that the first pile you would grab would be a childs and not your own. For an adult, the categories can be similar-only adding an EMPLOYMENT category.

In this category, you would find: W-2s, employment contracts and the like. I also include tax information under my employment category.

Once all the members of your household have their files organized and filed, its time to move onto the HOUSEHOLD category.

Household sub-categories will include: Utilities, Vehicles, Home, Insurance, Warranties, Instruction Manuals

Again, double check what you have in your piles to make sure you are starting off right.

Once you have all your paperwork labeled and filed, take a break and reward yourself. This process does take time and deserves a reward.


BREAKS OVER
Now that you did all that hard work, you need to develop a routine to keep your file management system straight.

In a previous blog, I suggested that you open your mail near the area you keep your files. You should also keep a recycle bin and a shredder nearby. This will alleviate having your papers scattered throughout your house.

I also suggest filing your papers as soon as your fingers touch them. There is no logic in placing a paper somewhere and then picking it up later to file it away. There is no excuse for not filing now that you have spent this time setting up an easy to use system.

I also shred old utility bills once I receive the current one- as long as I have received the proper crediting for the previous billing cycle. This also helps keeping your files from becoming stagnant.

Choosing one day a week to pay your bills makes filing go a little quicker. If you plan which bills to pay each week, you can also save some time.

MAINTENANCE
I like to go thru my filing cabinet twice a year. If nothing else, it allows me to make sure that there are no unneccesary papers still lingering. This is most helpful when going thru your Household files.

SOME HELPFUL HINTS
* If you no longer own an item, you do not need to keep the Instruction Manual or warranty information.
* If you change insurance carriers or your policy has been renewed, you can shred the previous policy.
* Once you receive your W2 and the amounts match your last paystub of the year, you can shred the paystubs for that year.

Living Well - Shoes, Why do we love them so?

Yesterday, we emptied our closet and went thru our clothes. We will be handling the organization of our shoe collection in a similar manner.

First, we need our work area. Second, we need to gather our shoes in one area.

As with our clothes, there are some guidelines about how to decide whether or not to keep various pairs of shoes. Believe it or not, we are just as attached to our shoes!

This process again involves going thru each item and making one of 3 choices. (keep, donate/sell, trash)

Some general guidelines for purging shoes:
* If you cannot locate one it can be tossed
* If the shoes are damaged/broken heel they can be tossed
* If the shoes do not fit (try them on to be sure) donate them
* If you have not worn the shoes within at least the last year, donate them
* If you do not like the way the shoes feel on you, donate them

Make sure that you absolutely love each pair you keep. There is no sense in being uncomfortable or having shoes you cant wear taking up your space.


Now, I like to group like-type pairs together....all my dressy shoes, casual type shoes...that is up to you. I find it makes what I want to find easier.

Now put your shoes away!

Dont forget to bag up or box the shoes you will be donating. Like yesterday-make plans to get this clutter out of your house THIS week!

The shoes you have to toss, make sure you toss them.
Finally, take a look in your newly organized closet. Take a deep breath! You are almost done!

Tomorrow we will wrap up closet organizing as well as finalizing our paperwork project. Be sure to check back for tips on how to keep your closet maintained.

Living Well - Cleaning out the closet

Today, I have provided a link to a pretty sad story. A woman died after her clutter fell on her - burying her alive.

To be honest, this story does not surprise me. On cable networks like HGTV and The Style Channel, you see shows where they swoop in and "rescue" families from their hoarding ways.

In viewing these shows, I notice that many of these families start out saying "There was no room in my closet, so I put it......" So, today- and for the next 2 days (Wed, Thur, Fri) we will be doing the closet thing.

What is important to remember, is that in breaking down these projects into simpler and smaller tasks, and over the course of many days- makes the PROCESS theraputic in a sense.


Having an Objective
There is nothing like being able to go in your closet and find whatever it is you are looking for. There is also something to be said concerning having EVERY item that is in your closet loved!

Have one of these mornings?
I find that several of my friends spend a good deal of time in the morning just staring into their closets....or madly looking for some piece. This is because many of us have closets that overflow. This causes our clothes to be "smooshed" and hard to locate.

The time to start is NOW!
By spending some time organizing your closet and learning techniques to keep it that way, you will find that you have a closetful of clothes that you love and clothes that FIT!


As is true with most of my projects, I like to empty the area out completely. So first, you need to pick the area where you will be working. Make sure you have enough room to sort.

Once you have that taken care of, its time to empty your closet. EVERYTHING.
If you have items of clothing in other parts of your house, I would go get them and bring them in also.

Depending on your lifestyle, various categories of clothing will be obvious. Here is a start: dressy shirts, dressy pants, dresses, casual shirts, jeans , tshirts

We will be doing other various items found in closets tomorrow, so those items can be placed somewhere out of the way for now.


The first step is to sort everything into their categories.
Once you have your clothes sorted, its time to evaluate what you have.

This part of the process is usually the hardest for people. This involves going thru each item and making one of 3 choices. (keep, donate/sell, trash)


Some general guidelines for purging:
* If the item is damaged/ripped/stained it can be tossed
* If the item does not fit (try it on to be sure) donate it
* If you have not worn the item in at least the last year, donate it
* If you once liked the item, and no longer do - donate it

Make sure that you absolutely love each article you keep. If something fits but you dont like how you look in it, donate it. There is no sense in keeping it if you are not going to wear it!


I like to also gather "like" items of clothing together while purging. All my white dressy shirts, my black dressy shirts....then all my brown casual shirts, all my black casual shirts...

You may notice that you have 5 or 6 of the same type shirt/pants. Why dont you donate 3? Unless you wear that type of shirt/pant almost exclusively, there is no need for this many.

If you truly have a closet that is overflowing, make sure you donate or toss HALF.
I know this might sound extreme, but your life will be filled with calm without unneccesary items.

Once you have that narrowed down-take a good look at your closet.
Ask yourself if your clothing would fit back in there comfortably, or do you need to resort thru again?

If you honestly need to resort, ask yourself why you are holding onto that item?
Sometimes we hold onto these things as a "just in case" and it ends up just something taking up more space.


Now, go back and look at your closet. Decide how you are going to put things in there. I like to keep all my clothes categorized on the rod--so I have a "section" where all my work clothes are. I also like to keep all the like colors together as well within that category. It may seem a little ocd, but it makes for less stressful mornings.

Whatever system works for you, go ahead and hang up those clothes. Congratulations! You are 1/3 of the way done!

Not QUITE Done Yet
Dont forget to bag/box the items you will be donating. Who and where you donate is up to you, but I like to give to the local programs that GIVE my donations to those in need, rather than sell them.

Make sure that you arrange to have your donation picked up (if they wont give you a date within a week, take your donation to your chosen program.) OR take your donation to your chosen program.

Items that you have designated as trash should be gathered and taken out as well.

It is important that these steps be done as soon as possible. Your objective is to be rid of the clutter, not store it somewhere else.


Tomorrow: Shoes-Why do we love them so?

Living Well - Whats in your dresser (Pt 2)

I hope that you found the time to go thru your dresser last night. Sometimes, we get so involved in tv (myself included) that we do not do the little things that can help us get uncluttered and organized.

I find that on the days there are shows I like to watch (and I keep that to a minimum as well) I do smaller things during commercial breaks. You would be surprised to find out that alot can be accomplished during those 2 minute breaks!


Anyway, back to the subject at hand.


So we now have various piles of clothes...hopefully you kept each drawer pretty much in their own area. I always suggest this tip because its easier to re-organize each drawer when you know how much space was taken up in each one before purging.

Of course, it also helps when reconstructing where everything will be put back away too!


SO basically-what you have to do is decide if you will be keeping your items in the same dresser drawers or readjusting things if you have purged alot. Hopefully, you have purged the clothes you dont like, are ripped, or just dont wear and have a bunch of empty space.

If you have purged and have a bunch of empty space, you should NOT buy anything to fill those spaces! (Of course, if you went thru your sock drawer to find your toes were "hungrier" than you remembered, then-by all means-get more socks!)


Good luck putting everything away, and I hope you find some empty space!

Living Well - Whats in your dresser? (Pt 1)

Yes, today is Monday AND it is a wonderful day to get your dresser in order! I love to have an organized dresser.

For the most part, my dresser gets the LEAST messed up, but once or twice a year-I gotta thru it. So, the next two days are devoted to this project.


We will be doing this project in three steps: Empty, Purge, Organize
Tonight we will be focusing on emptying and purging.

The first thing we need to do, is to select a space to empty out all of the drawers. Once you have selected the space you will be working in, you just need to put everything from your dresser in that space.

I like to keep each drawer in as separate an area as possible. This helps once we are re-organizing.

Once you have everything that was inside your dresser in that area, we are ready to purge. Many people are afraid to purge their clothes. This is mostly because our clothes are personal for us. There are some "guidelines" to follow when purging that will help you deal with this process.


* If you have item that is damaged, (i.e. ripped) toss it.
* If you havent worn an item of clothing in a year, donate it.
* If an item does not fit, donate it.


I also like to go thru and donate "doubles/triples". These are items that we loved so much, we had to get them in various colors or sizes. Many times, these items are forgotten about, so it is best to donate them to someone who can and will use them.


NOTE: You can also decide to sell your extra items, however-I beleive that in order to truly purge, these items need to be out of the way. If you do decide to "store" items for a later sale-try to place them in bins out of your living space. And PLEASE remember to sell them!

Coming this week

I wanted to let you know what we will be tackling next week.

I have two days planned for straightening your dresser. I dont want to rush letting you know about my system to keep your dresser drawers empty of clothes that you will never wear.

I also have two days planned for cleaning out the bedroom closet. This is also an area which needs a purge day and an organizing day. I have a wonderful system that keeps everything in order.

On Friday, we will be putting together our filing system. I hope you have your files and labels ready!


Beginning on the 18th, every Sunday-I will be blogging on Sharing Your Blessings and Being Thankful. This is not only in preparation for Lent, but for personal growth as well. I hope that in reading these posts, you will gain perspective about me, as well as get some possible insight.

Happy Reading!

Living Well - Lingering Paperwork Project (Shopping list)

Whether we are at work or maintaining our homes, we need to get a handle on our paperwork. It can quickly get out of control. For some of you, this past week has "undone" some of the purging done....for others-you have started your system and are getting the "kinks" worked out.

Which ever one is the case, we now have to get a more permanent filing system than piles or boxes. Below is a simple list-a starting point for those just getting a filing system in place. I will be going into detail Friday on what to do with these items, so check back to see just how we will turn these piles into an easy to use filing system.


Various manilla folders - Some people like to categorize each person by color. I find that once you run out of that color-that persons files seem to never get around to being filed. I simplify by using the regular folders.

Pocket folders - These folders are great to hold items that tend to be lost in a filing cabinet due to falling out of a file folder. I also like to use them for instruction manuals.

Labels / Label maker - While I do like to see everything wonderful, a label maker is not necessary. If hand printing labels, please print clearly and legibly.

"Rubbermaid" file totes - This is a great start to organizing files. This is also a great way to keep files on hand for your college-student.

File Cabinet - Clearly, if you have alot of files or desire a more permanent storage solution, a file cabinet is the way to go. A good suggestion is to purge your files before you go file cabinet shopping. You may find you do not need as much room as you thought.


Hopefully after Friday, you will think this is the easiest filing system you have ever been introduced to. Bottom line: an easy filing system is one you will use.

Living Well - Defrag, for regular people

Today, I am celebrating a small victory! I got thru 95% of my Favorites folder!
It is important to celebrate each step you take (no matter what you are trying to accomplish).


Today we are going to talk about defrag.
You may not know exactly what it is or what it does - but after today, you will be able to explain this program without using any technical terms.


Defrag is a system tool that comes with MOST versions of Windows. Download.com does have a free download of this program, so if you find that your system doesnt have it, you can download it there.


There are two ways to get to this tool:
1-Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools
2-By navigating within Windows Explorer. If you right click on C: you will find a menu > Select Properties > Tools


DEFRAG EXPLANATION - A SIMPLE VISUALIZATION
A simple way to explain what Defrag is, is to compare your computer to a filing cabinet. Imagine for a moment, that each time you open a program, you physically open a folder located in your filing cabinet.

So, you open a document that you already had saved OR you are creating a new document...Think about that as well in terms of a filing cabinet. Now, imagine yourself typing and saving your work. Let me remind you at this time to save early AND often!

Each time you open OR save your document it is saving it to any free spaces on your hard drive. Over the course of time, these saved "pieces" or "chunks of work" are scattered all across your hard drive.

So, in terms of our filing cabinet visualization, each time we are saving that document-we are spreading our files across many drawers. If you have a filing cabinet nearby, go over and look in a couple of the drawers...Ill wait

So, are your files nice and neat? Or does it literally look like everyone with access forgot to straighten up? With almost all of us, those files have been used, looked at and then pushed back down real quick. Some of our folders may have some papers still sticking out...not allowing us to view the folder name.

When your filing cabinet has papers all sticking up and not in order, it may take a little longer to find what we are looking for. And if you just "plop" files any place in the drawer, it may take you several minutes to locate what you are looking for.

This is true for your computer as well. When your computer files are degragmented, it means alot of your files are scattered across your hard drive and need to be straightened up.

Defragging basically takes all your programs and folders and straightens each paper in each file. If there are "pieces" of your files scattered throughout the system, it will gather them all and put them together all "nice and neat".

To even better describe how this works, it is most appropriate that we went thru our filing cabinets last week. If you were like me, you were able to clear out some space in your filing cabinets. All this new empty space created a spot. Theres a few things we can do with this newly empty area. Will we fill it with new files? Will we scoot up the back to hold up our files and keep the empty space?

With a computer, each time you open or save a file, it uses that new empty space, scattering or piecing it all over the place. Sometimes we complain when opening a program file if it takes so long. If you havent ran a defrag in a few months or EVER, it is no surprise that your file takes a minute or so to get it together!


NOW THAT YOU KNOW, CLOSE OPEN PROGRAMS, AND GO!
A few tips to help defrag run a little faster:
- Close all open programs
- Turn off your screensaver
- Restart your computer
- Dont watch your computer!!

Defragging your system (that means ALL drives if you have more than 1) can take hours. Be prepared!

I suggest not watching your computer run while this is going on! Not only is this boring, you may wonder why you get to 80% and then BAM, back to 5%. This is typical.

Remember, your computer stores your file wherever the next "blank" spot is on your hard drive. If part of your file is near the "beginning" of the drive, your system collects all that it sees at the time, and moves on. Then it will go along and hit another piece of your file, it has to go back to your file - "straighten" it, and move on again.

This could occur several times, and is really frustrating to watch! So, use this time away from your computer to go outside-smell some "fresh" air, talk to people in person!

Living Well - You're My Favorite

First, congratulations to all of you who made it thru the Lingering Paperwork Project so far. A shopping list will be coming - and we will be revisiting that topic on the 16th.


Today, we will be discussing your Favorites folder. Dont look at me like that!
This is a subject very near and dear to my heart (remember the "good ole days" of AOL?).

I, for one, have to admit - that I am a Favorites collector.


There! Ive said it! Whew-I feel much better....well, not really-I have a ton of links I cant find! Since we all fall short on time, and cant get to everything we see, we are known for saving it to your favorites for "later" (which, have you noticed NEVER comes?)

I even thought I was doing good- I made a "To Look at ASAP" folder to put em in. Do you know how funny that was? If, nothing else, I made THAT folder overflow to the point IT scrolled a few times.

Well, it doesnt take long for that to get old. I decided one day to go thru my Favorites and clean them out! I wasnt even setting out to ultra-organize them-that sorta just happened naturally.

HERE WE GO....
First, make sure that you have an internet connection and have some time (this depends on how many sites you have saved).

PUT THE TOP DOWN
Now, I recommend starting from the top-so you dont lose your place. This is for those of us who are compulsive savers!

Click on the first site you have saved....if the link doesnt go anywhere (you get a page removed error) you can delete this now.


YOU HAVE THE POWER!!
Go back into your "Faves"
Right click that site
Select delete.
Thats ONE down!


FEELS GOOD - DOESNT IT?
Alright, it might not feel good to do JUST one...thats why you keep going!

SOMETIMES SHORTER IS BETTER!
Yep, you heard it here! It pays to be short.

Do you have sites saved where the name just goes on and you cant even tell what it really is for? Well, this next little tip will shorten that name in no time!

WHATS YOUR NAME AGAIN?
First-click on the site. Once you see what the page is, go back into it in your Favorites, right click and select rename, type what you want it called-hit enter.

DONT DESPAIR!
Sometimes, your site will put itself at the end of your list-so if you go click on your Favorites again, it may look like it has disappeared. Remember this later, so you dont think you saved it twice and delete it.


FILE ON THE FLY
Even better - you can organize it right there, on the spot.
Now, I tend to save it to the folder as I am renaming, but that may be a little advanced for some of you. So heres a crash course....

Instead of renaming the file by right clicking it, you can re-add it and organize at the same time. Say your next site saved, needs to have its Name and location changed.

Well, just click on it to bring the site up. Check it out and choose what your gonna call it. (Example: www.lincolnspeedway.com is Named Lincoln in my Favorites)

So, you click on: Favorites > Add to Favorites
In the box that pops up- Type chosen Name
Then decide whether or not you have a folder already for it (just navigate to it)
Or will you make a new folder?


Once you have decided where to place the site, you will need to delete the original site saved. Now, just repeat this process along with deleting the "dead" links.

SERIOUSLY, A BREAK ALREADY
If I havent done this in awhile, I will set a time limit between breaks. This time will vary due to physical limitations and other obligations.

BORING!
Since this is a dull process and you really shouldnt surf these sites as you are going thru them - watching tv or listening to the radio really helps with passing some of the time.


YEP, IM DOING THIS WITH YA
I estimate that it will take me approximately 2 1/2 hours to effectively organize and go thru all of my favorites. Luckily, I weaned them down last summer so I really have a thinned down list.

But you know how it goes....save a site here, save a site there.

GO THE EXTRA STEP
For an added bonus...you could alphabetize them by name by dragging them in order. However, Ive been told that Im the only person they know who does this! (If theres anyone else out there who does this, please let me know)

DONT WORRY
If you dont get thru them all tonight, choose a time each week to devote at least 15 minutes to going thru all of your Favorites. Its a chore that is always ready to do!

Keep posted! More tips on the way!

Living Well - Lingering Paperwork Project (Day 3)

I hope that your Saturday was filled with the happiness that only occurs when you open up your space to the present, instead of the past!

For me, that happiness is summed up best while shredding the past right out!

Wow!
Last night I purged a file cabinet drawer! Even though I do go thru my files regularly, I still had loads of files that were not needed. It feels good to have some space to put my CURRENT files!

So, today we will be getting down to business!
You should have a couple of piles....one for each person in your household and a household pile (this will mostly be utility bills)


BEFORE YOU START
Since this project takes some amount of time, I suggest that you read my computer blog for today after you finish reading this blog, and organize your files while you are scanning your computer! This way, you "kill two birds with one stone".


BACK TO THE TOPIC AT HAND
You have several ways to organize each persons files. If you have 4 file cabinet drawers, you may just want to give each person a file drawer or you may want to use portable file storage. This is totally up to you. What IS important is that the files are easily categorized.


NOTE:
For now, use cardboard pieces or cereal box sides to divide the categories. We will not be totally organizing these sections today. We are just making sure that each subsection is labeled and started. We will be coming back in a couple of weeks to complete this project.


So here are your subsections:

- Important - This is for birth certificate, shot records --anything you will need to find in a hurry.

- Medical - For medical papers

- School - Anything school related

- Receipts & Bills


Repeat this process for each person.


HOUSEHOLD FILE
So you are left with your household file....what to do, what to do? There are so many things that can be placed in this file, it can simply just get out of hand.

These categories an be tricky...Instead of getting specific, we can leave a little more leeway to simplify the system.

Your household categories should be: Utilities, Vehicle, Insurance, Home, Warranties & Instruction Manuals

- Utilites: These files should never be stagnant. Every month, you should shred the prior month once you make sure your last payment was recorded.

- Vehicle: This file should contact information about your vehicles.

- Insurance: This file should contain information regarding the insurance that you have for your household.

- Home: If you are a homeowner, this section should contain all the information that pertains to your home, including repairs. Home purchase and refinance papers really should be kept in a fireproof location.

- Warranties & Instruction Manuals: pretty self explanatory


KEEP IT UP! / ITS ALL ABOUT A ROUTINE!
Now, that you have the system started, it should be easy to maintain. Once you establish a routine for how you DEAL with your paperwork, it will become a habit.

Make sure that you open your mail wherever your filing system is. That way you can choose to recycle, toss, or file every piece of mail that comes into your space.


ARE WE DONE YET????
We will be returning to this project on January 16th. Keep an eye out for some reminders and shopping supplies!


THIS WEEK: Computer week! Keep watching for computer tricks and tips. Something new every day!

Living Well - Is your computer sick?

Do you know what it takes to keep your computer well? Well, if not - I have some simple tips that will help you stay away from those nasty viruses and spyware!


BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Please read my paperwork blog (In 3 parts). This may give you something to do during your "down" time.


TIPS
- Do not click on attachments from those you do not know.
I dont know why we have to keep repeating this tip, you would think most people just would delete the email with the insane subject title or wouldnt open an email from someone they dont know!

- If you get an email that seems to be from your bank, ebay, or wherever stating you need to check your account, do NOT click the link that is provided in the email!
This tip also works for links in Instant Messenger Programs.
This is a known tactic for "phishing", which is a way for the bad guys to steal your logon information.

- Do not click on links posted to your social networking site!
This is a new tactic for phishers! I have seen these on facebook, myspace and twitter, so BEWARE!


DONT WANT TO BE SICK ANYMORE!
Now that I have some of tips out of the way, you need to decide on which anti-virus provider to use. Each one has their advantages/disadvantages....Some ISPs include virus protection. If your ISP provides this service, I recommend you use that combined with a regular online scan.

It is also important that you keep whatever anti-virus software you use up to date. New viruses are created all the time, so you need to stay on top of it!


BEFORE YOU SCAN
-Close all programs, restart your computer
-Turn off your screensaver
-Dont use your computer


Scanning can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 3 hours (even longer) depending on how big your hard drive is and how many files you have. If you have partitioned your hard drive or have multiple hard drives, you should scan those as well.

It will take longer to scan your system if you are using the computer or if your screensaver pops on. I suggest turning the screensaver off and working on something else for the time being.



Here are some FREE online scans:
BitDefender - http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html
Panda Active Scan - http://www.pandasecurity.com/activescan/index/
PC PitStop - http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/default.asp
TrendMicro - http://housecall.trendmicro.com/



DONT SPY ON ME!
I also recommend that you use a spyware program. Spyware is just as destructive as a virus. I use Webroot's SpySweeper. I beleive that there is a free version thru download.com.


NOTE:
I also restart my computer and turn off the screensaver during this scan also.


FIREWALL
Not only is it important to protect your computer with anti-virus and spyware software, but it just as important to protect your computer with a firewall. You have a choice whether or not to use the version that comes with Windows, or to get third party software. I personally use a program called ZoneAlarm.

It might nag a little while you are setting it up, but it is definately worth it to know if programs are trying to contact the "outside world" or if outside programs are trying to contact your computer.


SPEAKING OF NAGS
Theres nothing worse that surfing along, minding your business when you get to a site that is pop-up heaven....If you arent paying attention, you could click on one of these pop-ups - and a number of things could happen...

- you could trigger a pop-up avalanche! Clicking on one, normally causes more to pop-up. You will definately know if youve triggered an avalanche!

- you could trigger a download for software you do not want installed
(Mostly spyware related)

The point being, you should install a pop-up blocker. Again, many ISPs provide this software. Some of the more popular search portals also provide pop-up blockers in their "toolbars".

I recommend using the pop-up blocker software provided by your ISP. There are many aspects of "toolbars" that resemble spyware as well as include options that are unnecessary.


ESTABLISHING A ROUTINE
Yea, Yea....Im still on this routine stuff. However, if you use your computer alot-this really needs to be stressed. Make sure that you set your anti-virus, spyware sweeper and firewall to automatically update and scan.

Once you pick a day and time for everything to update and scan, put a sticky on your monitor so you remember to leave your computer on so the work can be done when you are not using it.


TOMORROWS TOPIC
Your favorites list!
Guess what were gonna do?

Living Well - Computer week!

I know Im almost done with my Lingering Paperwork project, but I just have to tell you how excited I am about next week! My "passion" is computers! I will be sharing some computer related tips that even newbies will understand.

Most people will say that they are addicted to their computers...like their email, their myspace/facebook, or just addicted to lurking online. However, there are some things that will make those activities just a little more enjoyable.

There are several topics for next week that are sure to get some of you motivated!
I will be going over virus protection, explaining defrag and scandisk, introducing you to new ways to organize your computer files, and helping you back up your files.

I know we wont get to every topic I would like to in just a week, but I hope to revisit them later on in the year.

I also have plans to give gentle reminders for those of you who wish to continue using the tips I will be providing next week. Like anything, sometimes we need to establish a routine in order to change habits.

I hope that at the end of next week, you will understand why we need to keep our computers organized also!

Living Well - Lingering Paperwork Project (Day 2)

So how did last night go? Did you go thru all those papers laying around? Did you make your two piles? I surely hope so....

We will be concentrating on dividing and conquering today!

The simplest and lowest maintenance way to file is to divide your files by person. What this means is that if you have 4 people living in your house, you should have 4 main sections.

This way, you never have to "decide" where to file that receipt for school rings, senior pics....lol

Most sections will have 4 main subsections: important documents, medical, school, receipts and bills. Now before you go labeling folders-and making this project take more thought than needed....theres a small "shortcut" I need to tell you about.


If you get a few boxes (hint: you have 4 family members=4 boxes) and just label each box with your family members' name - you can do the sorting within subsections later.

Items such as your mortgage/rent, utilities should get their own section apart from these files.


Now, make sure you have some space for spreading out!


If you have a filing cabinet, you may think you are on top of things....however, if you havent purged thru it in a couple of years, NOW IS THE TIME!

Go thru each and every file...


WHY YOU HOLDIN ONTO ALL THAT OLD STUFF?

Many people are confused when it comes to records retention. If you are unsure about receipts, please check the IRS website for retention requirements. I personally choose to keep all tax returns, but it is not necessary.

Cancelled checks may also be shredded (these are listed on your bank statement) so keeping them just takes up important space.

If you have paid off bills in the past (and I hope you have) there is no need to keep an entire file for that old debt. Make a PAID IN FULL file and place the letter received by the company stating you paid that bill off. If you have checked your credit report and its listed as paid in full there (make sure its listed on all 3 credit reports), then you can shred that letter.

Old utility bills also use up valuable space. Once you receive your current bill with your last payment, you can shred the older statements.

Some of us love to save our check stubs! Seriously, why? If you are like someone who will go unmentioned....you may have an entire drawer filled with stubs from your first jobs up to and including your current job. If you save your prior tax returns, this is unnecessary. Once you receive a current W-2, compare it with the last check stub of the year....if it all matches, toss the stubs. If it doesnt match, contact your employer.

NOTE: Older check stubs may include your SSN. If any of your stubs contain personal information, make sure you shred them.



GET TO IT!

Some of you may be thinking....why should I take a Saturday to purge and organize? Why should I be doing this when I could be kicking back waiting for the football game to come on?

Well, unless you are going out - or hosting a party- why CANT you sort while watching the game? If you are worried about the noise from the shredder, only shred during commercials!


Tomorrow we will start on the actual filing system. I promise you that my filing system will make sense to you and is so low maintenance that you will not have a problem figuring out what to do with all of your Lingering Paperwork!

Living Well - Lingering Paperwork Project (Day 1)

I dont think I have met anyone who likes paperwork (unless you are me!) And, unless its organized, you will dislike it even more.

One of the simplest things you can do to minimize the amount of paper shift, is to change some of the ways we treat our mail. Make sure that when you are going thru your mail, you are in your office space. This way, you can recycle your junk mail-sort thru your bills, and file any important papers.

My biggest help was to unsubscribe/cancel print editions of magazines. Many times you can visit a website, or receive digital magazines via email. This eliminates paper passing thru your home.


I have decided to break this project into 3 days. I will also be running the first part of my computer week series....


Tonight-we will keep it easy. We will just concentrate on what might be laying around your kitchen, living room, dining room and/or bedroom. This includes: magazines, newspapers, sale papers and any mail.

You will also need a box or paper bag to hold papers for recycling. If you have a paper shredder, thats even better.


First tackle any newspapers. This tends to be the quickest pile to go thru. I do not save newspapers unless its for something Historic. If you happen to have something you are saving for Historic purposes, please make sure to store it appropriately.

Any newspaper older than 2 days prior should be placed in the recycle pile. You should also read thru the more current papers as soon as possible, so you dont accumulate more lingering paperwork.

Next up is the magazines. I like to read my magazines during any down time I have. If you read before bedtime, you should place a basket of magazines near this area. Make sure that you go thru this collection once a week to ensure that magazines do not accumulate.

Throw any sale papers that are out of date into your recycle bin. Most sale papers are only good for the week they print.

You should have a pile of various assorted mail. Make sure that you make a decision about where each piece of mail will go. If its junk, then put it in the recycle bin-If its a bill, place it with all your bills-If its something to file, then file it--or make an "To File" file.


Homework: We will be making two piles: "Bills" and "To File".
Collect all your bills and all the papers you need to file. I will be telling you how to keep organized with these lingerers tomorrow.

Living Well - The mobile office

Most of us consider our vehicles our mobile office. Depending on what business you are in, you can spend most of your day in your car. Im lucky that I am not one of them.

No matter how much time we spend in our cars, we like them to be comfortable. We personalize them with bumper stickers and listen to our favorite tunes. We even get defensive if someone doesnt like the make or model we have, the color, or whatever bumper sticker is on it...

But no matter how much we love our cars, sometimes we "junk" them up. Sometimes our children "junk" them up. Lets see: McDs wrappers, candy wrappers, assorted cereal pieces, various small toys from fast food places, cards, gum wrappers...this list could really go on!

Adults tend to leave items in their cars as well...and Im not talking about a jackstand or jumper cables either!

The one Im most guilty of is leaving a jacket/hoodie in the van. After a couple days of this, there can be 3 hoodies in the van...I now make sure that once a week, I bring in whats left out there!

I find the easiest way to get rid of trash is while Im filling up my tank. I like to keep a few plastic grocery bags for this. While gassin up, I do a quick look and then start collecting-if theres a bag ready to get the heave---it goes right in the can right at the gas station.

Another thing to do when you fill up your tank is check the air pressure in your tires. Air pressure gauges are inexpensive and easy to use. Driving with the correct air pressure saves money.

If you are a parent, you spend alot of time waiting in your car....
Use this time to go thru your glove compartment or windex the windows.

If you just dont want to be seen windexing your windows waiting for your child -- maybe do this while waiting for your car to warm up in the morning. I like to Armor Arm the dashboard when its warming up.

Once your vehicle gets clean and straighted, put a bag in the back and tell the kids to throw the trash in there. If theres no place to toss it, it will end up on the floor.

If you need to keep items in your vehicle for business purposes, I suggest keeping them in a tote in the trunk. Not only will they be "hidden" but if there is ever a leak, your items remain dry.

Business items can vary, but make sure that your vehicle isnt becoming "storage". Items in your vehicle should be those you use often and therefore are current.

There are some items that you MUST keep in your car: jumper cables, jackstand, tire iron, flashlights, blanket, flares etc. Many stores like Pep Boys and even Walmart carry these kits.


Once you make it a routine to do these small things, it will become a habit. I just hope you arent like me and want to clean out other peoples vehicles while they are filling up!!

And just for your information, I havent done that in years - so unless you have a Lambourghini or Porsche - I aint goin for a ride!

Living Well - Books, Books, Everywhere!!

Some friends have asked me to start blogging about how I keep things so "tidy" at my house and have everything organized. Well, first - EVERYTHING is NOT organized. However, my living space is greatly uncluttered.

Anyway, books....where do I even begin?

I love books - I love to read -- But I have learned that you cannot keep every book you have ever read (unless you have a mansion). Normally, we acquire books thru our friends or family members, usually passing them to someone else when we are done.

My favorite way to get books is thru the public library. Not only can you "check out" books, you can also purchase gently used books for as low as 25 cents!

The problem is when a book costs a quarter - you tend to get many more! You get home and realize, you do not have room for these books.

Well, you have a few solutions:
1) trash the used book (which I am NEVER for)
2) recycle the used book (better than just tossin, but still)
3) donate old books
4) Book Swap!

I have found several ways to pass many books along, instead of them collecting dust or wasting space in my house.

My local public library accepts gently used books, vcr tapes, and cds. This is a bonus for them, since alot of those books are donated by others, or out of circulation at the library - and they make some money reselling it.

You are going to hear this alot from me....technology is WONDERFUL!

You can get lost in the world wide web visiting the thousands of websites specific for "books". I have found a handful of sites that work for me. These sites allow you to send a book to someone who requests it without obligation to return it. You can also request books to be sent to you.

Here they are:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/
http://bookmooch.com/
http://www.cash4books.net/
http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php

There is also a site that allows you to view entire books online. Obviously, this is fantastic on many levels!
http://www.fullbooks.com/

The World Lecture Hall is a great one for FREE course material.
http://web.austin.utexas.edu/wlh/

Now that you know where to buy, donate, and trade books....what do you do with the ones you have?

Well, you organize em! First, you really need to empty your bookshelves completely...Thats right! Find an open spot somewhere and stick them all there. Now, seriously clean your shelving. This really should be done once a year.

Next, group all your books by topic. That means, all of your cookbooks together-all of your pet books together--you get the point.

After you have all your books organized by topic, go thru them to see if there are books that you no longer want or use. Look thru them to see if they are damaged in any way. The books that are damaged can be recycled, but place all the ones you arent going to use in a box to donate, sell or trade.

Dust off the books you will be returning to the shelves (can of air works as well) and then place them on the shelf.


I find that grouping by topic works better than alphabetizing your entire book collection. Grouping by topic allows you to see the "collection". Sometimes it takes having all those books together so you can see JUST how many books you may have and that you do not need more.

Hope this helped someone!

My stress-free Christmas on a budget

Because of the economy, many of my friends have stated that they are cutting back on what and how much they buy. Some of these same friends have complained that they have had to purchase gifts for various people in their lives.

Heres my idea...Instead of "cutting back" or even complaining about it, why not CHANGE the way we celebrate? We do not have to forego tradition when changing these celebrations, instead change the mindsets of those involved.

We need to celebrate this holiday within our means! So, while contemplating on these things, we need to understand what is specifically important to us. These priorities will be different for everyone.


Here are some of my Christmas "tips"


DECORATIONS

I still need my decorations, but unless something breaks, I will not purchase new ones. How about where you store your decorations? If you dont have room for it, dont keep it. This allows you to concentrate on saving/using only the decorations you absolutely love! This also helps when it comes to setting everything up - and putting it away for the following year.

When you are pairing down your collection of Christmas decorations, there are many ways to "get rid of" any extras. You can always give it to another family member, box some of them and give them to your adult children, donate to your church, or donate somewhere else. I suggest that ornaments/decorations that are broken in any way, be thrown away.

CHRISTMAS DINNER

I like to host Christmas dinner. This is mostly due to everyone else in the family having animals or a smaller space to celebrate...but no matter who hosts the Christmas dinner, we have to remember to economize.

Instead of having the host family prepare everything, make your Christmas dinner "potluck". Since most of us are pretty traditional when it comes to our Christmas dinners, we dont really take a chance with crazy off-the-wall dishes. If this is a concern, make sure to speak with those attending, and "assign" dishes to each person.

THE HORROR! GIFTS!

If there ever has been a year to cut back, it is 2008. Most families remember Christmas pasts when they got "that awesome video game system" or the year that they got that "big screen tv". Many of our Christmas memories just straight up involved gifts....and most of us can recall some time in our lives when under our Christmas tree, was a mountain of perfectly wrapped gifts.

Even though some of my friends still bought a couple of the big ticket items - Im sure they saved awhile for it-or will face a sticker shock come January when the bill rolls in.


DIVING INTO CHANGE

Last Christmas, I had JUST moved. I beleive that my gift was that the house sold quickly, and we were able to find exactly what we wanted. But anyway, because of all that was involved in showing the house, packing, painting-etc we really could not have fit in shopping...not to mention keep track of what was bought.

So we spoke to our friends and families and said, Hey-we still want to host Christmas (potluck idea started last year too) but can we NOT exchange gifts? Amazingly, everyone thought that was a good idea. I dont think anyone minded.

THE LUCKY ONES!

We did however still get my daughter and son presents. They wrote lists of ideas with a certain money limit - and we got the top two things they wanted. Both were happy with their gifts.


I have to mention that our one tradition has evolved into something else that has made Christmas a little less stressful. When I was a kid, I was allowed to open ONE gift Christmas Eve. Granted, those gifts were basically Christmas pajamas from your folks....and youd better wear em for the morning for when they take pictures!!

SEE, I AINT LIKE MY MOM & DAD

I have always let my kids do the same, but I never did the pajamas thing to them. I gave them real gifts (like a cd or dvd) My motive wasnt for the pictures tho-mine was to have them occupied so that we could get stuff separated for the "morning set-up".

SLEEPING IN CHRISTMAS DAY = PRICELESS!

Anyway, a couple of years ago, we started letting them open everything Christmas Eve (after Mass the years we were able to go) so that we could sleep in Christmas morning. This alleviated alot of stress Christmas day...mostly because the kids stopped waking up at the crack of dawn to open and play with whatever they got.

CHRISTMAS MUSIC

Heres an awesome discovery-Comcast has a Christmas digital music channel. For those of you who are starting out....you wont need to purchase music to set the mood. For those of us with umpteen Christmas tunes cds-we can keep them in the cd rack. There is something for everyones taste.


I STILL SEND SNAIL MAIL!

I have neglected to mention something that I need to address now.
Christmas cards.
I dont feel like Christmas is complete without sending Christmas cards. I have a Christmas card list that is somewhere around 90-100 names long. I really try not to bump anyone off this list, no matter how much money I will save on postage. I know everyone feels differently about sending cards-even if they love getting them....and maybe my card is cheering one of them up. So I do NOT skimp here.


THE MORAL OF THIS STORY

We spent hundreds of dollars less this year, but enjoyed Christmas 100% more!
Not only did we save money, our ideas have been passed around amongst our closest friends and we have heard stories about how much they saved!

Theres another bonus as well....no malls, no lines!
NO ADDITONAL DEBT!


So what are your thoughts? Do you think you could implement any of these ideas?

Noticing Christmas decorations

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas. Since changing some of the financial obligations of celebrating Christmas, we had a most relaxing day.

I may blog about how to change those obligations, since it adds to the meaning of Christmas instead of going into debt. But, before I do that, I must get something off my chest...something that has been bothering me for some time now.

I have noticed recently (within the past 5 years) that Christmas decorations are less Christmas-and more ridiculous.

Here are some violators:

* blue lights - Unless you have green, red, yellow, white, you should not have blue. Decorating your house or yard with blue lights does NOT make me think of Christmas. It makes me think you are depressed.

* characters inside snow globes OR any other type of blow up decoration - These things make me crazy. Some of these do not even contain Christmas-like scenarios. For the amount of electricity these things consume-you could have lights all over the place! The other issue with these type of decorations is that when they are not "up" they lay in a pile on the front lawn. Not attractive!

* Nativity sets that do not use Biblical characters. Mickey Mouse playing Joseph is WRONG! Minnie Mouse as Mary is WRONG! If you are going to have a Nativity scene, please stay true.

* The reason for the season is NOT Santa. Really....you didnt know that?

* Unless you live on Baltimore's Christmas Street, you should not insist on having decorations on every inch of yard. Its just tacky especially if there is no "theme".

* Decorations saying "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" - Come on...if you decorate for Christmas, why are you being so politically correct? Your friends, who may not share your religious beliefs really shouldnt be offended...I mean, you dont expect to see the same types of decorations in a Jewish friends home.

* This really isnt a decoration, but - Christmas songs with words changed
(for example - "Silent Night, Holy Night" changed to "Silent Night, Regular Night")

* While I am talking about songs....I love Christmas music at Christmas. I do not like to hear it non stop BEFORE Thanksgiving. I would like to be able to enjoy one holiday before another thrusts itself in my face. Do like most of us do--the weekend AFTER Thanksgiving to the first weekend in January.

* Speaking of enjoying holidays....for some of my friends, I ask that you please attempt to hide the fact that you dont take your decorations down all year! I have friends (and you know if this is you!) who have led me to their house by telling me, you cant miss it-it has the Christmas lights on it--in July.

* And my last one, well, Im sure will make some of my friends will be mad.
BLINKING LIGHTS!!
Before you think about commenting me on this, hear me out -- Unless you have them synchronized-its gonna look horrid. Seriously-your roof blinks and your porch blink, and your bushes blink...problem is -- 4 or five strands on each thing blink and you kinda cant tell what its supposed to be lighting up....(I have the same issue with blinking Christmas trees) And those chaser lights - need I say seizure?


I am very sorry if Ive offended anyone....personally-Ive been guilty of one of these--but saw the error of my ways!


Well, Im off to "un-Christmas". Gonna do little bits at a time tho-dont want to wear myself out.
Comments are of course, welcome....but please keep it polite.

But....you dont look sick

First, please take a moment to read the "Spoon Theory"
It is an amazing explanation of lupus.

This is a pretty personal blog entry. Those of you who know me, may not be aware of all the struggles someone diagnosed with lupus deals with. Some of you may have even uttered the statements listed below to me...maybe you were not aware of how hurtful they are-this is just an explanation.

Some of you know that I am a "go-getter" and "to the hilt" organized. To many, these traits do not go with someone you think has lupus.

People with a diagnosis of an auto-immune disease go thru many different stages before they get to acceptance. Most of this process includes a "looking at self" aspect. We all get thru this process at our speed, and I might add, with our own attitudes.

Most of the looking at self process is looking at where your priorities are and eliminating or changing what isnt a priority. This priority list changes depending on energy levels....And there is no doing "more" because if you try to do too much, you will pay for it days on end.

Since people who do not have lupus cannot begin to fathom how limiting it CAN be, we cannot blame them for not knowing what they are saying hurts.



So here are some statements Ive heard and a couple comments

-What do you mean, you are tired? You havent done anything today.
For those with lupus/FM, we DO get tired, just doing nothing. You can wake up and just HURT. Every bone, every joint, every muscle. Its just the way it is. We HAVE to accept this.


-You just had a cold, why are you still sick THREE WEEKS later?
Our bodies just have a way of destroying anything...even stuff that makes us better. So while your body is fighting your cold-helping YOU get better, my bodys immune system attacks even the good cells-keeping ME sick.


-What do you mean your cold, injury caused a flare?
See above explanation.


-What in the world is fibromyalgia? Ive NEVER heard of that!
Simple explanation- aches and pains everywhere, anywhere, at any time for any length of time. Your body just HURTS.


-What do you mean you have insomnia? I thought you said you were tired!
Well, I cant say that I understand this myself...all I know is that there are times when I lay in bed all night long, tossing and turning - never have slept before the alarm goes off.


-What? Youre not going to come to _______ to see us?
Sorry guys. If I cant come, its because the total drive time involved takes a toll on my energy levels and soreness. Did you really want me to come and hurt all night - wanting to lay down?


-I know someone who has lupus and they are hardly ever sick. Whats wrong with you?
Everyone who has lupus is different. The disease may manifest itself as a rash, arthritic pain, cramping, UV sensitivity... More serious cases of lupus even include organ failure-mostly kidneys. Also note, not all people with lupus have symptoms during periods of remission.


Im sure I could list more....but I think you get the drift.

I was diagnosed after the birth of my son (now 13) and an experience with a pulmonary embolism that Id rather forget (rather, I have no recollection of). Ive had a mix of flares and remissions during that time, recently going 6 years almost symptom free.

I have learned that I do not have to make excuses for how I feel. I choose to educate those who are either misinformed or just dont understand. Even after 13 years, there are things I do not fully know the WHY or HOW.


And yes, there are days when I feel up to doing something -like cleaning - its just more enjoyable to surf the internet or jam out with Guitar Hero!

Cant be all bad because, According to GH, I rock!
And.....Im still the GH queen in this house...but I gotta practice because Matts catching up!


For those of you still waiting on my Lost theory - Part One will be posted Monday, Part Two Tuesday, Part Three Saturday. I promise you will want to go re watch it from the beginning to see if Im spot-on!

My year in review

So, I did my part and voted today- Have you?

I have had quite an exciting year. Im doing this from Nov-Nov because thats about the time frame involved.


So, last year - mid October-ish....after going to a race at Lincoln (missed all but 2 races because of my back-and were skipping my year of pain and recovery) -- Frank and I started our weekly routine. That Monday, I came in from work and Frank said-"know what Im thinking?"

I replied, "Sell the house, move to PA?"


Well, the PA part is just a dream still, but I was dead on on the selling/moving idea.


So, by this time last year, we were painting, boxing, storing -to prep the house to show. BTW, our real estate agent---WONDERFUL and gets the job done! (Dont ride in a car with him tho) In two weeks, we had prepped and were showing the house.

Within 6 days, we knew we had an offer-we were asked to have the furnace and all checked-to see how much it would cost to convert into Central Air....(that was about $5,000) After careful consideration, we beleived that with the housing market facing what they were, we should adjust the asking price, and we were signing a contract on that 9th day.

So, last Thanksgiving, we were taking a vanload and truckload of stuff to the new place.....which, I should also tell you- we couldnt look for a new place until the house was inspected. (like one week) So we found the place and moved within that 2 week period.

We did have our usual Christmas here tho...Franks parents, brother, gmother, aunt and uncle. We moved into a wonderful house that has enough room for all of us to sit comfortable in the living room as well as in the dining room.

And this Halloween? My friends in Arbutus would be bored. Not ONE trick or treater! I was so relaxed, not having to walk anyone around or keep a handful of candy on me at all times...(For those of you not in Arbutus-we started at a measely 2 bags of candy....and we quickly learned that our neighborhood was a 12-pounder.)

I was able to watch a movie, uninterrupted. And then-go to bed!
And how nice, not to see parents dressing up their kids to beg for candy! Every rule I learned as a child was allowed to be broken on Halloween....not walking over someones lawn, not talking to strangers, not going to unknown houses.


Since the move I have:

----learned things I NEVER knew about cows (some I wish I didnt know)
----joined a wonderful church
----been elected Secretary of the PTO (PTA)
----truly downsized
----RELAXED
----I dont hear trains, fire engines, ambulances, police cars
----I dont see brick, roads
----I dont have a crazy neighbor who calls the cops 3 times on a 10 year olds birthday party because bubbles hit my fence

Chain of Flowers

I decided since I don't feel well to do a personal blog about my favorite band-The Cure. Ever since I was 8, I have loved Cure songs. No matter what kind of day I've had, I can listen to The Cure and feel better.

My favorite website featuring the latest news is Craig Parker's-Chain of Flowers. He recently created a blog just for his news page.

Craig has given me an idea to list a few of my favorites about The Cure. So read on if you want....

My 5 favorite Cure albums:
Pornography
Wish
Bloodflowers
The Top
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

My 5 favorite Cure songs:
Letter to Elise
Strange Day
In Between Days
The Empty World
A Night Like This

My 5 favorite Cure videos:
A Night Like This
Just Like Heaven
Lovecats
Hanging Garden
Hot Hot Hot


Many of you only know the band as those with crazy hair and make-up, but once upon a time, Robert had a crewcut. And not that I am nitpicking my favorite band or anything, but they made the right choice not to have synth-