Brigita's Blog: October 2008

Winter and cold weather are fast approaching.  Some of us have even experienced freezes.  Now is the time to warm up your home and save energy with some easy, and sometimes less obvious fixes.

Here's how:

• Either add or change weather stripping to doors that lead to the outside of your home. 
• Add fireproof electrical insulation around switch plates and outlet plates around the home.  You'd be surprised how much cold air comes in around those plates.
• Add insulation around your window trim.
• Add insulation and/or weather stripping around attic trap doors.
• Insulate or add weather stripping around bathroom fans vented to your attic. 
• Insulate your garage and/or attic.
• Keep your fireplace damper closed when not in use.  A lot of heat in your home can be lost through the chimney.

In the basement:

• Insulate the perimeter (the rim joists) of the basement.
• Seal ducts and insulate any spots where pipes intersect with the floor or ceiling.
• Insulate your basement.
• Insulate your water pipes.

Most of the above fixes are quick, easy and inexpensive, but will save you hundreds of dollars in energy costs over the year.  At least you will be warm and cozy in your home during the long winter nights ahead.

Someone just sent me this political funny and I thought I would share it with everyone.  By this time, I think we all can take a break from the political campaigns and use a good laugh.  Enjoy!

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St . Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem.  We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up.  What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven.  Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind.  I want to be in heaven," says the senator.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.  The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course.  In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress.  They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes.  They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises......

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing.  They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven.  Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. "I don't understand," stammers the senator.  "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time.  Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable.  What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning.....

Today you voted."

Sadness has darkened our home this week.  A close friend and co-worker of my husband's died a tragic death Tuesday.  Even though I never had the opportunity to meet the man, I feel as though I knew him well since my husband talked about him constantly.

They both work construction and were working down in the Philadelphia area.  The tragedy happened only a few minutes after arriving at work.  I won't talk about the details, but the friend was hit by a car speeding down an off ramp (in a construction zone), running a red light with the driver possibly talking on the cell phone.  The friend was behind barriers in the safe zone and she headed right towards him.  He never had a chance.  The accident is under investigation.

Fortunately, Bill, my husband, never saw the accident.  The truth is, there would have been 2 killed if Bill hadn't gone back to the truck to get a flag.  Within the 1 - 2 minutes, all this occurred. 

Bill took the death hard.  As soon as his friend was taken to the hospital, he was right behind them.  The friend's wife flipped when she was given the news at the hospital and Bill was there to support her.

Bill is feeling better now after talking that evening and then talking to the family the next day and helping with the funeral plans. 

I am thankful to God that Bill was not hurt, but feel what the friend's family is going through.  He left behind a wife of 3 years and a daughter who just celebrated her 1st birthday.

Where am I headed with this post?  Well, there are a few reasons I decided to write about this: 

1.  Speeding to get where you are going is not necessarily going to get you there sooner.  Chances are good that it will cause a major delay due to an accident of some sort at some point.  It may end up costing someones life or possibly your own and hurt many others in the process.  Be on time instead of trying to make up lost time.

2.  Talking on a cell phone while driving definitely distracts from your driving.  If you need to talk on the phone, use an earpiece of some sort.  At least this way you have both hands on the wheel.

3.  There is a reason the speed limit in construction zones is lower.  People are working on the side of the road where it can be dangerous.

4.  Spend time with your loved ones as much as possible.  Live one day at a time.  You never know when it will be your last.  

I have seen too many people in a rush these days.  If you are in a rush, start slowing down.  Rushing tends to have consequences down the line.  Start to appreciate life and what's important to you.  You may not have a tomorrow to put things off to.

Once again it is the Presidential Election time.  With the finger-pointing and promises being made by the candidates, here are some words for you to ponder before deciding on which candidate to vote for:

* You cannot help the poor, by destroying the rich.

* You cannot strengthen the weak, by weakening the strong.

* You cannot bring about prosperity, by discouraging thrift.

* You cannot lift the wage earner up, by pulling the wage payer down.

* You cannot further the brotherhood of man, by inciting class hatred.

* You cannot build character and courage, by taking away men's initiative and independence.

* You cannot help men permanently, by doing for them what they could and should, do for themselves.

* You can fool some of the people all the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.

Any idea who the author was?

It was Abraham Lincoln.

Maybe we have had too much change and it is time to go back to the "good old days" when everyone took responsibility for their actions.  Would you want the government run all aspects of your life?  You are the only one that knows what is good for you, not any one else. 

So, think about the words of Abraham Lincoln and then make a choice.  The future is in our hands.

This past weekend I went out to Harrisburg, PA to see the 63rd Annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show.  There were many classes and different types of riding to see.  Saturday's highlight of the day was the $75,000 Budweiser Grand Prix de Penn National, World Cup Qualifier sponsored by Anheuser-Busch. 

A field of 29 Grand Prix Show Jumpers competed in this class, including a few from the Olympics, such as McLain Ward, Beezie Madden, and Canada's Ian Millar.  A few of the riders were new to the Grand Prix.  The jump course was very challenging consisting of tight turns, in and outs, water jumps and triple bars.  The course designer was Michel Vaillancourt.

After the first round, 10 riders had clear rounds and continued on to the jump off.  Out of the 10, Kent Farrington aboard Upchiqui won the competition with a clear jump off round in a time of 37.94.  Todd Minikus riding Pavarotti came in second, with a clear round and time of 39.33 and McLain Ward on Phillipa, third, also with a clear jump off round with a time of 41.04. 

In 4th place was Danielle L. Torano on Vancouver D'Auvray, 5th Christine McRea aboard Vegas and 6th place was Michael R. Morissey riding Crelido.

At the end of this class, the Pennsylvania National Horse Show closed with an Exhibition of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride.  It was absolutely fabulous to watch.  32 horse and rider combinations in the ring riding patterns and mirror riding.  Their ride was spectacular.  That was a great way to end the 10 day long Show.

The prestigious Spanish Riding School of Vienna in Austria is changing its ways.  The institution has broken tradition and accepted 2 female riders-in-training.  This is a first in its history.

The Spanish Riding School of Vienna is well known world wide for its famous, white Lipizzaner stallions and their performances of airs above the ground.  The school was founded in 1572 and up until now, only admitted and trained qualified male riders.  It was time to adapt tradition to current times.

The 2 women that are making history are 21 year old Hannah Zeitlhofe from Austria and Sojourner Morrell, a 17 year old British national who grew up in Saratoga Springs, NY.

I'm all for traditions, but traditions need to keep up with the times.  It's been long overdue for qualified women to be accepted into the Spanish Riding School.  Positive news starts when strong, skilled women can compete and express their physical prowess.

"Construction seems to be at a standstill." 

"We are headed for a depression."

Have you been hearing the above headlines lately on the news?  Afraid that there may be no new jobs? 

Despite the bad news about the economy, the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvaniaseems to be booming.  Yes, some businesses are placing a hiring freeze and others are laying workers off, but there is development occuring and, hence, new jobs.

Right here in the Nazareth area, Tractor Supply is constructing a store in Lower Nazareth Township, with plans to open in spring of 2009.  This will be the first one in Northampton County.  In this same area, a new car dealership is being built along with a children's learning center.

A little further down the road, near Route 33, a brand new Target is currently under construction along with a Nissan car dealership. 

Just this month, a Sonic opened it's doors, another first in the area, with cars lining up all the way out onto the major road, waiting to get in.  Right across from Sonic, a building is being erected for more businesses.

This is just one area in the Lehigh Valley.  So, with all this construction going on and new businesses moving in, there will be plenty of employment in the area. 

I'd say that sounds like good great news to me.  Growth may have slowed down a bit, but the point is, the area is continuing to grow.

I recently wrote a post titled "A Positive Attitude Makes a Difference"  I also read posts from Katerina Gasset "Active Rain Is More Than Meets the Eye - It Meets the Heart!" and Danny Thornton "A Positive Attitude Makes A Difference" about their experiences with positive attitudes.  I thought I would share one of my experiences and how keeping a positive attitude got me through it.

A number of years ago, I was in the process of going through a divorce.  My husband at the time, had moved out of the house and I was living on the farm with my daughter, who was attending a local college, and my son was living on campus of a college within commuting distance.

It so happened that I was laid off from my job at this same time and my soon-to-be-ex was not paying the mortgage.  This put me in a bad situation where I had to find a job, a place to live, support my children in college and find a place for my horses.  Not only that, I had to keep up with the bills.

Not being able to afford to pay the mortgage, and being behind by 3 months in payments, the farm went on the market.  An offer was made on the farm within a few weeks, but that fell through.  My future looked bleak.  It looked like I was going to be homeless along with my 2 children and horses, with nowhere to turn.  I kept a positive attitude and prayed to God for help.

Now, while all this was going on, my horse, Chanty, that I owned since he was a 3 year old, was not doing well health-wise.  Long story short, I had to put him down.  He was my first horse and I we spent many times together, good and bad, for 24 years.  I took this very hard. 

After this, things started to fall into place.  A few offers were placed on the farm, and the best one was accepted by both myself and my husband (or soon-to-be-ex).  Now for my next dillemma.  Where do I go?  A friend of mine had 2 bedrooms available since her children were away at college and she offered them to Julie and me.  Plus, she had a barn that we could store our belongings until we found a place to live.  I also found a self-care barn to board Eddie, my horse.  We were so grateful.

I had a hard time finding an apartment due to no job.  I did look at one apartment that Julie and I both liked and the landlord was very nice.  Even though I did not have a job, he felt that I would be a good tenant and he took a chance with me.  He had faith that it would turn out well for me, so he rented the apartment to Julie and I. 

A few months later, I did find a job.  It was a low paying job, but hey, it was a job. 

Through all of this, I managed to support 2 kids in college, a horse, and myself.  I kept a positive attitude through all of it, even though it was hard at times.  Plus, my faith in God helped very much.  I prayed daily and He helped me through the hardship.

I found this story about a positive attitude and I think everyone can learn from it.  I do not know who the author is. 

Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.  When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"  

He was a natural motivator.  If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. 

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"  Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today.  You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood.   I choose to be in a good mood.   Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it.  Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life.  I choose the positive side of life.   

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.  "Yes, it is," Michael said.  "Life is all about choices.  When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice.  You choose how you react to situations.  You choose how people affect your mood.  You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.  The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."  I reflected on what Michael said.

Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business.  We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. 

Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.  After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw Michael about six months after the accident.  When I asked him how he was, he replied "If I were any better, I would be twins! Want to see my scars?"  I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.  "The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon to be born daughter, "Michael replied.  "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices:  I could choose to live or ...I could choose to die.  I chose to live."  "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.  Michael continued, "...the paramedics were great.  They kept telling me I was going to be fine.  But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.  In their eyes, I read "he's a dead man. I knew I needed to take action."  "What did you do?" I asked.   "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,"said  Michael.   "She asked if I was allergic to anything.  "Yes, I replied."  The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply.  I took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity." Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live.  Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."    

Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.  I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.  Attitude, after all, is everything. 

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

I hope we all take a lesson from this story and put it to use.  I think we can all use a positive attitude in our every day lives.  We'll all feel better.

The Pennsylvania National Horse Show is set to begin Thursday, October 9th, 2008 and will run through Saturday, October 18th, 2008, in Harrisburg and the Farm Show Complex.  The show will run from 8AM to about 10PM daily.  The week is filled with many competitions and demonstrations to watch and things to do. 

The Show will have many equine competitions including Grand Prix Show Jumping, Roadsters, Saddle Seat finals, Junior and Amateur finals, and many, many more.  New for this year there will be a Walk/Trot Equitation finals class. 

Some of the demonstrations will include the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride (4 days only), the Budweiser Clydsdales, the Valley Forge Military Academy Band, terrier races, and much, much more.

Here is a rough schedule of the events:

Not only can you watch the show, but you may visit with the many vendors and possibly start your Christmas shopping for your horsey friends and relatives.  Or if you need a new saddle or bridle, you'll certainly find it here.

You can also go down to the stable area and see the horses and check out the decorated stalls.  Some are quite interesting. 

Come on out anytime during the 10 days to see what it is all about.  The day will be full of fun and excitement.  Click here for more information on this event.  Hope to see you there.