The American Freedoms Rally

As you may be aware, we are participating in a new rally, The American Freedoms Rally in Corbin, Kentucky. Usually, we do not attend first year motorcycle rallies because attendance is inconsistent. We are making an exception on this rally because of what the motorcycle rally actually stands for. The American Freedoms Motorcycle Rally was designed to bring bikers and the general public together from across the United States to celebrate our Nation's Independence Day. It is also designed to honor the heroes of this great nation, our active duty military, veterans, and those who gave all so that we may enjoy the freedoms that we have today.

If you are not familiar with where this event is held, it is at the David L. Williams Southeastern KY Agriculture and Expo Center. The Center, also known as "The Arena" is located in Corbin, KY, right off I-75 and exit 25. As you exit 25, you will turn towards Corbin, "The Arena" is located on top of a hill, behind the Appleby's restaurant. Turn into the road just past Appleby's and go up the hill. You should see the hot air balloon and tents prior to arriving.

This event starts with a kick-off party beginning at 5 pm on Wednesday, June 30th and goes through midnight. There will be a wide variety of events occurring throughout the rally. There will be a pig roast, burn out pits (if you have not had the opportunity to see a burn out competition, this is a great time for that), mechanical bull riding, dunk booth, lots of food, and some great sounding entertainment. We watched them build the stage today and test some of the sound systems, and if these early tests are any indication, the music is going to be awesome.

They are planning a Louisiana Crawfish Boil on Friday, July 2nd which should be a whole lot of fun. On Saturday, July 3rd, they are going to hold a Military Appreciation Day. According to the promoter, this ceremony will rival some of the best in the Nation. I don't want to give anything away, so if you are curious, come on by and see what happens for this Military Appreciation Day as we pay tribute to the brave men and women of our armed forces and honor our fallen heroes.

Best of all, the American Veterans Traveling Tribute (like the Traveling Wall) will be on display during the whole American Freedoms Motorcycle Rally and Event. If nothing else, this is something that everyone should see at least once.

Hopefully we will see you all here during the weekend. Come on by the booth and say "Hi".

Until tomorrow...

We all need Coaching

Tonight is a continuation from last night's discussion on who needs coaching? The answer to that question is we all need coaching. At some point or other in our lives we all really need to have a coach. Actually, we may feel that we don't NEED a coach, but, if we were entirely honest with ourselves, we could all use a coach from time to time. We all could use someone in our corner, not just rooting for us to succeed, but someone who is honestly there to help you to become a better person overall. A good coach will work with you to identify your strengths and weaknesses and then help you to discover ways to become better in whatever aspect of your life you are looking to improve.

We all need coaching at some point or other. There will be times when we feel that our current situation or problems are insurmountable. That is when we are really in need of a coach. That coach will help you to take a step back from your current circumstances and explore alternative solutions. In recent years, the concept of a Life Coach has become very popular. Life Coaches strive to bring out the best in your personal and professional life. A coach uses their skills to help you to navigate life's turbulent waters. They can act as a guidance system, you choose the course, that is not the job of a coach. Again, the coach is the person who can help you step away from an issue and take a more objective look to see other options or solutions.

Coaching can also help people improve their personal lives, providing them a fresh start in more ways than one. The concept of coaching is to not just resolve one issue, but to find a blended solution that will help in many aspects of your life. A good coach will provide you with the space you need to let your own process of discover flourish. They will not walk in front of you to lead you, they will not walk behind you to push you, coaches walk beside you and work with you. They will help you to possibly identify underlying problems so you can effectively work through solutions.

So, as you can see, we all need coaching at some point in our lives. We at Hawgwash, LLC offer second income coaching, helping you to discover what you can do to improve your financial situation, and to help you work toward achieving those financial goals. If you have questions regarding what we may be able to assist with, please feel free to contact us confidentially at hawgwash1@yahoo.com. We would love to hear from you.

Until tomorrow...

Who needs Coaching?

Ha!! Coaching. That is the newest catchword in the Internet world right now. At least Coaching is one of the really hot topics I have seen bandied about on the Internet. I receive a lot of e-mails about becoming a personal coach, I get people suggesting that I sign up with them to be coached. As you watch, more and more people are talking about coaching, heck we at Hawgwash, LLC are "Second Income Coaches". That begs the question, exactly what is coaching and who needs coaching?

Traditionally, the first use of the term coaching was meant as an instructor or trainer. The term showed up around 1830 in Oxford University. The act of coaching refers to someone developing abilities and skills in another person, originally related to sports. Your coach in sports was the person who observed what you did, and helped you to improve your game. There are different coaching techniques, some coaches yell and scream at their players (as you may have witnessed at various professional football and basketball games) and other coaches take a much quieter approach. No matter the approach, coaches are there to identify your strengths and weaknesses and then to help guide you to improve your strengths and reduce your weaknesses.

Coaching is helping to identify the skills and capabilities that are within the person and enabling them to use those skills and capabilities to the best of their ability. This then increases the independence within the individual. The modern version of coaching uses skills to help clients to shift their perspectives on issues or problems and then possibly discover alternative solutions to those issues or problems. Coaching in the modern sense is a method to help others discover what is already inside, and to help the client develop those abilities. A coach is not a manager or a trainer.

• Managers make sure people do what they know how to do.
• Trainers teach people to do things they don't know how to do.
• Mentors show people how others do something well and help them to do the same.
• Coaching helps identify the skills and capabilities that are within that person, enabling them to use the best of their abilities.

Then that begs the next question, who needs coaching? Actually we all need coaching at some time or another. How can we improve ourselves, better our ability to do business, if we don't have a coach observing and helping us to identify additional skills and abilities to continue to develop. We cannot improve ourselves without outside influences, and sometimes we can get all tangled up in specific problems and not be able to find a viable solution out of those problems or concerns. A coach would be someone who has the ability to stand back and observe the situation and help you to discover alternate solutions that you may not have realized were there.

We will continue this discussion on who needs coaching tomorrow. If you would like to see what we have to offer in second income coaching, please feel free to visit our website at http://www.hawgwash.net/.

Until tomorrow...

Willie Wonka

I spent the majority of the day catching up on paperwork. I am still not done, but needed to do something that would give my much beleaguered brain a rest. For a change, I turned on the TV and started channel surfing. I came across a movie I had wanted to see, but didn't want to see so badly that I was going to pay almost $10 to do it... the remake of Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. This movie had Johnny Depp in it and was called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, created in 2005. I have liked Johnny Depp in several other films (not all, just some) and was curious to see how this movie turned out.

I have liked Tim Burton's (the director) spin on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and due to my mood, thought I could do with some dark humor... so I started watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was very impressed with how the movie was put together, it was not what I had expected. This movie is like a traditional fairy tale (perhaps it really is a fairy tale...didn't look that hard into it..) where there are obviously good children and obviously bad children portraying extreme behaviours. So now, instead of just watching a "simple" film, I was looking for the lesson in the story. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp did not disappoint, the lessons were clear, and the bad children did get their just desserts...

I don't know why, but I had the impression that the 'new' movie with Johnny Depp did not hold closely to the original movie, made 34 years earlier (with Gene Wilder, directed by Mel Stuart 1971). I was very surprised and impressed that this remake kept very close to the original story line. I really liked the background that was provided about why Willie Wonka became who he was and the ending was much more surprising than I had expected. After watching the end of that movie, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the original 1971 version followed immediately after the new version. That was a real treat, because I could now easily compare and contrast the two versions.

I had only seen the original Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory once as a child so was again interested in watching it through adult eyes. Again, it was definitely presented as a fairy tale with traditional good children and bad children. I was extremely impressed with this version too, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Comparing the two interpretations of Willie Wonka, I was impressed that they both portrayed the character basically the same. Obviously Johnny Depp's interpretation had a darker angle to it, but overall both actors kept the character the same.

You may think that watching either Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would be just for children, but there are very adult lessons to be learned in both films. You just have to keep an open mind and to look at what is being said, not just what you see.

Sometimes "children's" films do apply to adult themes. Take a look and let me know what you think...

Until tomorrow...

Kentucky Ride In 2010

Today was the last day of the Kentucky Ride In 2010 put on by the local GWRRA (Gold Wing Road Riders Association). This was not a typical motorcycle rally for us, more like a weekend for Gold Wing Riders to literally ride in and just hang out together. It was a nice change of pace for us, we were able to present our Waterless Cleaning Products to the riders and not feel like we had to work hard. One reason for that is our table was set up inside an air conditioned pavilion. So even though it got over 90 degrees outside with a high humidity, we were very comfortable.

Since the majority of riders at this event were Honda riders, we focused on presenting our Waterless Cleaning Technology products for them to see. Since we were essentially at an indoor event, we did not have much opportunity to demonstrate our Waterless products. The good news is that many of the riders were familiar with Waterless Cleaning Technology, so demonstrations were not super critical. What was really nice about an indoor show is that all the attendees were happy to be indoors and had a good attitude when looking at the products we had to offer.

This event was a great way to connect with many people. Since it was not a crowded event, it gave us a lot of time to wander around and spend time talking with people instead of constantly demonstrating our products. For many vendors, this may not have been a good thing because it was a very casual event, designed more for socializing than selling. But in these casual events, you get to learn more about what people are interested in and you actually have the time to spend time with people instead of looking for that next customer. We had great opportunities to talk with the District Staff and find out more about what Gold Wing Riders like to do. This is great information for when we attend other Gold Wing Rallies in the future.

Since I spent a LOT of time socializing, it is VERY late right now (after midnight) so I am going to call it a night. We are looking forward to attending next year's Kentucky Ride In assuming that it will be held after Memorial Day (for us personally...) otherwise we will be sure to have one of our associates attend the Ride In so that our Waterless Products continue to be represented here.

Until tomorrow...

Stay Motivated?

Ha!!! That is a major task that many of us may occasionally have problems with. It could also be something that a lot of people consistently have problems with. Who me, stay motivated? How do you do that? Heck, I can stay motivated for a little while, but there are days, where I just don't want to play anymore.... Then after a day like that, I am able to rebuild that feeling and get going again.

So tonight, I would like to cover some "tricks" I have used to stay motivated. It works a lot of the times, but as I mentioned before, they don't always work, so don't feel bad because you don't find these "tricks" won't keep you motivated all the time. Motivation is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, driving forces in life. If you were not motivated to do something, why would you do it? Pretty simple concept. Motivation makes the difference between success and failure. Motivation requires great strength, endurance and clear thinking.

In order to stay motivated, you must be inspired by something. You really have to love what you do and why you do it. If you are not inspired by what you do, you will find that you will put off the actual doing of the task until such a time that you MUST complete the task (you are INSPIRED to get the task done, whether you like it or not..) Getting into some version of networking with other people will help you stay positive and focused on what you want to do. Sometimes these people may help re-inspire you in your tasks. Networking groups can help you in life and contribute in your business motivation. You will feel less alone and will be more inspired to continue working your business.

Another way to stay motivated is to strive to ignore the unimportant problems. This is very difficult for many of us to do, because we sometimes have trouble differentiating what is important and what is really unimportant. When you identify an unimportant issue, and then choose to ignore it, you will find that you have been able to free up some of your much used energy which you can now focus on the important problems.

Sometimes I read success stories of others who have overcome major obstacles when I am feeling a strong lack of motivation. These success stories help me to get re-inspired and help me refocus on the important items (see paragraph above) that need to be dealt with. You may also pick up tips on how to be successful by reading these stories too. There may be occasions where the person in a story found an alternative way to solve a problem which you may be able to apply to a particular issue.

Most importantly, strive to be around positive people. Positive people will help you to stay motivated and focused on the tasks at hand. Angry, depressed and negative people will tend to suck your enthusiasm and motivation dry. Negative people will always find reasons for why things aren't going to work, you will spend more time and energy defending your decisions instead of implementing those decisions. Positive, energetic people will help you to remain motivated by supporting your ideas, or offering positive solutions to issues you are having.

If you are looking for alternative income opportunities, please check out our website. We specialize in second income coaching and consultation and have a wide array of opportunities to look at. One of those may be just the opportunity you have been looking for. We would love to help you find an opportunity that would meet your needs and help you to stay motivated.

Until tomorrow...

How is your Brain?

Ha!! Got you there. Bet you are wondering where I am going to go with a title like, How is your Brain? Actually, since I am on a health kick this week, (since I know several people who are not healthy..) I thought I would bring up some questions regarding the health of your brain and some simple things to help keep your brain sharper...

The health of your brain plays a critical role in everything you do. If your brain were not functioning effectively, you may have trouble walking, or talking, or even remembering what you were doing ten seconds ago. I know some of us have that problem on a regular basis, but it is not do to lack of brain health...for me it may just be due to lack of brain...(not).

Honestly though, people exercise their bodies and can see results, but you also need to remember to exercise your brain. It too is a muscle and an organ, and does need to be exercised in order to remain sharp. Don't get me wrong, physical exercise is not only good for the body, but it is also good for the brain. The more exercise you get, the better the blood flow will be to all parts of your body, including your brain. Sometimes if you are feeling particularly stressed, if you take a brisk walk, you will find that the problems that seemed overwhelming are not so bad anymore. By increasing blood flow to your brain, you are helping it to relax and then you are able to see alternative solutions to the problem you were wrestling with. Also, as we talked about before, as you exercise, your body releases endorphins which make you feel better and relax you. That relaxation is also a benefit to your brain, it will work better and you can remember better if you are not under a tremendous amount of stress.

You may also want to consider foods that are good for your brain. Some researchers are finding that foods low in fat and cholesterol may reduce the chance of stroke and therefore reduce the chance of brain cell damage. By eating foods high in antioxidants (dark vegetables and fruits), you may also help protect those same brain cells. Cold water fish contain beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids which will also help protect your brain cells. You may also want to take some nutritional products that are high in antioxidants if you are unable to eat the appropriate fresh fruit. MonaVie Active is a great addition to your diet. Also our StemEnhance stem cell nutritional product can help your brain regenerate some of those brain cells that are not working as well as they used to. Both of these product lines are natural and contain high levels of antioxidants.

Remaining socially active can also help keep your brain healthy. Social interaction will force you to remember names, places, events as you recount stories to others. Social interaction can also help you to mitigate the stress you may be under by talking about what is bothering you. You may even have your friends help you to work out a potential solution to your problems. If they can't find a good solution, they could joke around enough with you that you start laughing and then the problem does not seem as bad anymore. All the same, the concept is that social interaction will help to reduce stress and by interacting with others, you are forcing your brain to work (so you are exercising it).

Another way to exercise your brain is to make an effort to learn something new. By forcing yourself to learn new things, you are exercising your brain because researchers have found that the mental stimulation of learning can limit the effect of aging on your memory and your mind. Some say the best thing for your brain is to combine learning something new things with physical activity. Haven't you noticed that you tend to remember things better if you were doing a particular activity at the same time? I find I learn new dance moves much faster than if I was sitting at a desk trying to remember a new language. If I were moving around while learning the new language, I also tend to remember the new words much better. Give it a try, the worst thing that could happen is people think you are crazy, but hey, you are having fun...

One last thing that you can do to help keep your brain healthy is to be sure to get enough sleep. Lack of sleep can adversely affect the brain and cognitive functions. A 2001 study indicated that sleep deprivation can lead to mental illness including psychosis and bipolar disorder. One study found that lack of sleep causes the brain to become incapable of putting an emotional event into the proper perspective. It can also cause you to become incapable of making a controlled, suitable response to the event. How many times have you been so tired that you "couldn't think straight"? Well, there is an actual physical reason for it. You need to keep your brain healthy so you reduce the chance of developing these problems.

So, how is your brain? Is it as sharp as it used to be? Do you feel like you are forgetting more than you used to? Try some of the ideas above and let's see if we can get that brain working better and helping you to feel better.

If you want more information on MonaVie product line or StemEnhance, please feel free to visit our website for more details. You can (almost) always reach us by e-mail at hawgwash1@yahoo.com too.

Regarding the picture at the top, are you looking at a young woman or an old lady? Look again, it is both...

Until tomorrow...

Are you Healthy?

Today we are going to change the topic a bit. We have talked much about what is going on, where we have been in the last 2 months, and our pet's health. But beyond all of those items, tie biggest question that you need to ask yourself is, Are you Healthy?

If you are not healthy, you cannot do a fraction of the things you want to do. Not only that, but your attitude may also reflect your declining health. If you are not healthy, you will find yourself doing less and less and before you know it, you are letting things fall apart around you. The funny thing is, if you are not healthy, you may not even notice that you are letting little things slip at first. Sometimes you may look at a task that you would have in the past taken for granted, and decided that the task was too much for you to handle now. If that starts happening, you need to ask, are you healthy?

"A life filled with quality in work, thoughts, companions and activities can strengthen your natural immunity to germs, viruses and negative hereditary influences". - Stephen Blauer

You may have noticed that when you don't feel great, not sick, but just tired, that little tasks seem insurmountable. Most likely those tasks seem so difficult because your body is trying to heal itself and doesn't want to be distracted being forced to do other things. In this busy world we are currently in, and especially in this extremely stressful job market, it is very easy to forget to listen to your body and determine if you are healthy. Many people get really stressed about their financial situation (actually, I don't know ANYBODY who doesn't get stressed about that..) I realize that the term "healthy" is a relative term, but you know when you are not performing at your best, or when you are feeling run-down. It is important to at least listen to your body and be aware that something may not be good. As you become less healthy, you may also tend to make bad business desisions. It is critical to remain healthy so that you can make the best decisions possible when decisions are needed.

High stress levels can constrict circulation and can negatively affect the organs of the body. If you notice that you are under a lot of stress, you may want to consider some methods of relieving some of that stress [and no, shooting the object of your stress is NOT an option ;-)]. Some people believe that meditation is a good tool to promote relaxation and manage stress, others believe physical exercises can do the same. I know when I am really stressed, meditation is the last thing I need to do, I need the release of physical energy before I can even consider meditation. After a good work-out (which could simply just be a brisk walk outside for 30 minutes) I am much more inclined to effectively meditate, but that is me. Everyone has a different way of dealing with stress, and relieving it.

Physical activity does release endorphins, which do make you feel better. So, if you can do physical activity for a brief time, you may feel better and then be able to get a better perspective of how to handle the stressors of your life. Stress is a part of life, the key is to find ways to manage it so it doesn't manage you. If you continue to remain stressed, it is like having your body in overdrive for extended periods of time. That will wear your body down and you will start finding that you are not as healthy as you used to be.

Little things will wear you out, little annoyances will seem huge, you may find that you catch colds easier, or your allergies bug you more. If you start seeing some of these warning signs, take a step back and ask yourself, "Are you healthy?"

We at Hawgwash, LLC may have some nutritional items that could help reduce the effects of stress on your body, but you will need to not just rely on nutritional products to keep you healthy. Nutritionals are good in addition to a healthy lifestyle, but do not expect the nutritional products to "fix" all that is unhealthy in you. A sound nutrition and exercises plan are among the most important factors in reducing your stress levels. If you are interested in working towards improved health, please check out our website, we carry two types of nutritional products that may work well with your lifestyle. One is Stem Cell Nutritionals by STEMTech, which help support your natural stem cell physiology. The other nutritional product is a variety of juice blends by MonaVie.

If you have questions regarding either of these nutritional lines, please feel free to contact us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com. We would love to hear from you and we will strive to answer your questions quickly and accurately.

Until tomorrow...

How is Your Pet's Health?

Today we went back to the Surgeon to find out how our little Yorkie, Hawg, is healing. For those of you who may have missed the last several days of blogs, Hawg, had to go in to the Animal Hospital for emergency surgery, he had kidney stones that he could not pass. This is a scary experience for anyone who cares about their pets, but even more frightening when you are not near your home and have to go to an unknown vet in a town you are visiting. How is your pet's health?

We thought our Hawg was healthy. We take both him and Gypsy in to the vet for their annual physical, we get their annual shots and nothing came up as unusual for either dog. We were introduced to a new nutritional line of products that are completely different from all the others we have seen on the market. This line of nutritional products from STEMTech are based around naturally increasing the amount of your own adult stem cells in your circulatory system so that your body can better replenish and refresh itself. I have been taking StemEnhance since late December and started taking StemFLO in early February.

Personally I have seen significant improvements in my overall quality of life since I started on the STEMTech products and expect to continue to see improvements overall. Since STEMTech also offers stem cell nutritional products for Dogs and Horses, I figured that if I was experiencing improved quality of life issues, then perhaps our dogs could also benefit from the same improvements in their quality of life. I started giving StemPETS to both of our dogs in mid-May.

If you know our dogs, their quality of life is pretty darned good, especially because they Hawg is 4 and Gypsy is almost 5 years old. They have been experiencing good health and are lean and active. I figured that in order to keep them happy and healthy, I should start them on the stem cell nutrition regimen early on so that they have a longer and better quality of life. Since they exhibited no health problems, I figured that taking StemPETS would keep them healthy and active over the years and that they may experience less aging issues along the line.

What I did not expect was to see the benefits of putting them on a nutritional product before problems arose. It appears that Hawg had been developing kidney stones for months, if not years prior to my putting him on StemPETS. The advantage that Hawg had because he had been on StemPETS for at least a month prior to this incident is that he remained relatively healthy and strong, even through the surgery.

The Surgeon was impressed with Hawg's overall health and was very impressed with how well Hawg recovered after his surgery. By day 3 after surgery (today), the bruising around Hawg's incision is almost completely gone. He has started playing with his toys again and wants to go on longer walks. He does not look like a dog that had major surgery three days ago. At Hawg's re-check after surgery, he was not running any fever and was as perky as ever. I would like to attribute Hawg's strong health and recovery to the fact that he had been on a steady regimen of StemPETS prior and right after his surgery.

If you have a dog or horse, how is your pet's health? StemPETS is a natural stem cell enhancer for your dog, and a great way to help them achieve optimal health. The tablets are chewable so you don't have to struggle with shoving a pill down your dog's throat. Better yet, the pills apparently taste great to the dogs, they eat the pills willingly, if not eagerly. Remember, as your pet ages, the amount of adult stem cells decreases. StemPETS supports your pet's ongoing health by supporting the natural release of your dog's adult stem cells from their bone marrow. You will be happy and your dogs will be very happy...and healthy.

If you have specific questions regarding StemPETS, please feel free to contact me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com.

Until tomorrow...

GWRRA Georgia Wing Fling

Last night was the closing of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) Georgia Wing Fling rally. Personally, I had never participated in a Gold Wing rally and am very, VERY impressed about how they organize it out here in Georgia. I also was not entirely sure how we would be received at a Gold Wing rally, I had no idea what Gold Wing riders were interested in. Generally the rallies we attend are basically Harley-Davidson focused, even though other bikes are more than welcome. What I have learned is that rallies for different types of motorcycle brands have different ideas of what happens at a rally.

For instance, at the BMW rallies we attend, the riders are more focused on light-weight camping gear and clothing for riding rather than cleaning their bikes. Actually, they seem to find it a mark of pride to have a dirty bike. The more bug-caked their bikes are, the higher their standings are. Their focus is on riding, not cleaning their bikes. Therefore, our Waterless Wash products do not really go over too well with BMW riders. The only thing they really liked our products for was cleaning their windshields and face shields on their helmets.

Harley riders tend to like lots of leather. Leather jackets, chaps, vests, purses, belts, basically any type of wearable leather. Harley riders do like cleaning products for their motorcycles, especially our Waterless Technology cleaning products. That is mostly because there can be a whole lot of chrome on Harley-Davidson motorcycles and with a waterless cleaning product, they can quickly and easily clean their chrome without making a mess.

Gold Wings are large bikes and do not have their engine showing like the Harley's or even BMW's usually do. There is a lot of fiberglass or plastic on a Wing, and usually not a whole lot of chrome. The Gold Wing riders take a lot of pride in their bikes and like to keep them clean, so we figured that our Waterless Wash Technology products would be a good fit for the Wing riders. I just wasn't sure about the reception of the other products we had to offer (like our Doo Rags and our wheel cleaning stands). I should not have been concerned. What we had to offer for the Wing riders is what many of them were looking for.

Back to why I really liked the planning of this particular GWRRA Georgia Wing Fling. what I really liked about this type of rally is the fact that they not only had poker runs for the riders, but there were seminars and educational lectures for the riders and their passengers (also called co-riders). The BMW rallies we have attended also had seminars for the riders, and it is nice to know that other groups also find seminars worthwhile. Some of the seminars covered a wide variety of topics from "How to have fun at a Rally", "Remembering Names" (boy do I need that one...), to "Motorcycle Awareness" to name a few of the choices available.

The theme of this year's GWRRA's 25th Annual Georgia Wing Fling was the American Bandstand, so they had 50's style dance contests, bingo, a "Twist it up Talent show" and all kinds of activities. There was even a scavenger hunt and a trivia quiz that included many vendors. I thought that the wide variety of activities really kept the participants very busy and having a whole lot of fun. Everyone we met was in a good mood, and that could have been a major challenge because it did get quite warm during the days here.

Not only did the rally organizers have all these activities going, but they were going on in a timely fashion. There seemed to be no delays, and when they say something was to occur at a particular time, golly, it did. The vendor organizers also had their ducks in a row. They had already had areas set up for the vendors and worked very well with the vendors to make sure everyone was satisfied with location. What I thought was awesome was that the Assistant Georgia District Directors continued to wander around the vendor area making sure the vendors had cold water to drink and checking to see if the vendors needed any assistance with anything. It is extremely rare that organizers take that much care of the vendors. It is wonderful to find people that care about others. We have found a whole lot of people here in Georgia really care about other people....

We are looking forward to attending next years GWRRA's Georgia Wing Fling.

Until tomorrow...

Update on our Sick Little Yorkie

Our Yorkie, Hawg went through surgery yesterday to remove some kidney stones from his bladder. I didn't sleep well all night on Thursday night, worrying about if I had made the right decision, if I had picked the right vet (he was the only one in a 50 mile radius..so that was sort of a no-brainer) and if I should have gotten a second opinion. It is probably very common for anyone who has to take care of a child, person or animal to second guess decisions that are a little risky. By Friday morning, I was almost a basket case, wondering if I did the right thing.

The Animal Hospital told me that Hawg would be out of surgery by noon, so of course, I called at 11:30 to see if he was out yet. My hands were sweating when I dialed their number. Imagine my stress when they told me he hadn't even gotten into surgery yet. They probably had some other emergencies that took priority, but I was even more worried, because my waiting wasn't close to being over. The nurse did tell me to call back by 2 pm to see how he was doing, she was sure he would be out by then. Two hours can be an eternity for someone worrying...

At 1:30 I received a call from the Animal Hospital. My heart leapt into my throat, I figured something went terribly wrong, but was glad to hear the nurse on the other line tell me Hawg came through surgery just fine, but there were some complications...minor, and fixed, but complications all the same. He had not 1 but 3 kidney stones lodged in his ureter. Prior to the surgery, they had tried to flush the stone back into the kidney, to no avail. So the vet had to open part of his "wanker" (this is a 'G' rated blog...;-0) to get out the stones. It turns out that the vet removed a total of 7 kidney stones versus the 5 we had originally seen in the X-ray. That really was the only complication. Hawg came through the surgery fine, but they wanted to keep him overnight in case of any complications.

Well, after much worrying on my part, I called the Animal Hospital to find out if I could still pick Hawg up today. I worried that something bad happened overnight, and wanted to know for sure if he really would be OK. They did confirm that I could come and get Hawg shortly. You can bet I jumped right on the bike and hustled my little butt right over to the animal hospital. By the time I got there, I was a nervous wreck. The nurse told me it would be a few more minutes before they could get him ready to see me.

Next thing I know, I hear this noise, and here is Hawg, wiggling like mad to get to me. Boy did that do my heart good. He was as wiggly as usual. Then I looked quickly at what I thought would be a relatively small incision. I probably should not have done that, but I wanted to see what we had to deal with. Poor Hawg, it looks like he has about 5-6 stitches (I couldn't really count that well) running along the side of his "wanker" and a few stitches where his kidneys were. I am not sure if there are more stitches, his hair is pretty matted and still a bit messy, so until I can bathe him, I am not sure how many more stitches there are. My bet is he has probably a total of 10 stitches in a 6 pound little Yorkie. No wonder he was a bit sore. To top that all off, because they had tried to flush the kidney stones back into the kidney, he had been catheterized too, so he was bruised a bunch too. Poor little guy...

How many guys are squirming uncomfortably right now? Steve did the same thing when I tried to tell him what they did to his little Hawg. As it stands, Steve tried to look at the incision, and turned at least 10 shades of white, cringed and ran off. Some support system... ;-0 Glad I don't have to clean the area yet. The good news is that on the request of the Surgeon, we will be staying through Monday, so he can check Hawg out and be sure he is healing OK. Then it will be 10 days before the stitches can be removed. We will have to find another vet to do that, there is no way even I would want to try to remove stitches in Hawg's most private parts...heaven forbid if I twitch and nick him...(OK, you guys squirming again?).

Anyway, Hawg is back with us and on the mend. We are striving to keep him quiet and not jump so he doesn't pull anything. Gypsy is glad to have him back, but she thinks he smells funny and she is a bit jealous of the attention we are providing Hawg. He gets picked up if he wants up on the couch, and Gypsy still has to jump up herself. The good news for Gypsy is that she still gets walked by herself. I do not want to be walking two dogs at the same time when Hawg is still healing. I am trying to give Gypsy extra attention, so she won't feel too left out.

Hopefully in the next 14 days, Hawg will be back to his old self and this will just be a bad dream to him. Looking forward to quick healing. The even better news is that the vet said it was OK for us to start giving Hawg his StemPet immediately. He took it with no problems. I will probably double his dose during these early healing days, so that he can heal a little quicker. I will let you know how well that works. I still believe that StemPet kept Hawg from getting major infections while he was trying to pass those kidney stones. He could have been in bad shape by the time I brought him in. The surgeon kept telling me how impressed he was with Hawg's overall condition. Gotta thank StemPet for that to some degree...

Please let me know if you have any questions about the StemPet products or the human products, StemEnhance.

Until tomorrow...

What to talk about?

Well, tonight I have been struggling for the last few hours, actually all day long, trying to find something interesting to talk with you about. I usually start each day with the question, "What to talk about?" and usually have something already on my mind or have made notes of talking points. Today, I have drawn a complete blank. You may find this funny, but I already have a blog topic for tomorrow and for Sunday, but have still been struggling today.

Perhaps my biggest issue was my concern about our Yorkie, Hawg. He went into surgery this afternoon, and I got a call from the vet later in the day saying he was fine and recovering. If all goes well, we get to pick him up tomorrow around noon. They warned me that he is in pain, and will be in pain for a while. I don't know about you guys, but looking into a dog's eyes knowing that they are hurting, just breaks my heart. Hopefully I am worrying about nothing. The only reason I knew something was wrong with Hawg was because he wasn't urinating, he didn't indicate any major pain. He is one tough little bugger...

But after my all-consuming worry about our Yorkie, we also have the Gold Wing Road Riders Association Georgia Wing Fling to work at. The people are great, and the weather has been much better than we have dealt with in the last two weeks. The only wrinkle in this show has been the brief rain-shower that occurred (not on the weather report...need to have a chat with the weatherman on that one...) late this afternoon. If the weather man listened to me, we can't have rain until after the event shuts down, after 5 pm. But nobody talked to me about that rain shower. I will have to have a chat with someone about that. I will not allow another recurrence of a rain shower until after 5 tomorrow afternoon...my rules...

So, as you can see, again, I have nothing to say...(not) Hopefully this was a little entertaining. Stay posted, I will have interesting topics for the next two days....

Until tomorrow...

One Sick Little Yorkie and StemPet

Well, today was far more stressful than it should have been. Our little Yorkie, Hawg, had been exhibiting some discomfort when going to the bathroom. We had assumed that because of the excess heat and humidity they had been in, he was just uncomfortable and nothing serious was wrong. What we found out though was that we had one sick little Yorkie.

Last night I noticed that Hawg was straining a whole lot when going to the bathroom. He was straining so hard you could hear this little guy fart. Normally you do not hear dogs fart, but this guy was making farting noises. I found it somewhat funny, but was worried because I know he is sick when you can hear him fart. As I observed, he was really straining with his urination. Since we try really hard to make sure our dogs are well fed, healthy and have enough exercise, I couldn't believe that we were seeing health problems with Hawg.

I was relatively diligent (sometimes forgot to give them their dosage) in giving Hawg and Gypsy their StemPet to keep them healthy. Except for the straining, there were no other obvious signs of illness or listlessness in Hawg. By this morning, he appeared to be unable to urinate at all. We were able to locate a Veterinary Clinic within 3 miles of our rally site (actually the ONLY Vet within 50 miles of this site) and shuttled him off to the vet first thing in the morning.

As luck would have it, by the time we got to the vet, Hawg was having minimal problems urinating all over. I was almost tempted to leave assuming that all was well, but knew better. The vet looked at Hawg and could see no physical problems, even no evidence of any type of kidney stones (the symptoms I described seemed to indicate he had kidney stones). After X-rays, we discovered that Hawg had 5 kidney stones. No wonder he wasn't feeling too good. We think that the brief motorcycle ride from the rally to the vet may have knocked one of those stones enough that he passed it, but he was a ticking time bomb for the other stones.

Hawg is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning, to remove the remaining 5 stones. I am worried sick since this will be the first time in 4 years that he has not been with us overnight. Theoretically, we don't get him back until Saturday, two nights without our little monster. We will survive, but just barley.

The good news in all of this is that I truly believe that the StemPet that we have been giving both dogs has been instrumental in keeping Hawg healthy in all other aspects. Kidney stones do not form overnight, and he has only been on StemPet for the last month and a half. What I believe is that Hawg was not running any fever, nor was he exhibiting any other problems because the StemPet was working to keep him as healthy as possible. His weight is good, he remained alert and active, heck, if I didn't notice the straining when he went to the bathroom, we probably would not know anything was bothering him. We currently have one sick little Yorkie, but he will be on the mend quickly.

As soon as he can, we will put him back on StemPet after his surgery so that he can heal quickly and safely. I would like to believe that he didn't have any other problems because StemPet was helping his immune system do what it does best, keep him healthy. We should get Hawg back in two days (the two longest days of our lives...) and I will keep you all posted on his progress.

If you have any questions regarding what StemPet may be able to do for your dog, please feel free to contact me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com. We also offer products that will help us people to stay healthier too. We offer StemEnhance (StemPet and StemEquine are the animal equivalents) which allows your body to release 25% more of its own adult stem cells into the circulatory system, thereby allowing your body to better regenerate itself.

Until tomorrow...

More traveling to Motorcycle Rallies

After Milledgeville, GA, we spent a little time with a friend in Fayetteville, GA and then it was back on the road for more traveling to motorcycle rallies. This week we are headed off to Hiawassee, Georgia for a Gold Wing Road Riders Association state event. We have arrived for the Georgia Wing Fling. Since vendor setup was today, we were able to take some time and find out about the township of Hiawassee.

Hiawassee was incorporated on October 24, 1870. The drive up to Hiawasse from Atlanta is absolutely beautiful. The roads are small, not too heavily traveled but really great for motorcycling. I was so wishing I was on a bike on the way up here, the views were incredible, and the roads were well maintained. The only downside to the ride up here was the fact that the roads were small and winding. Fun on a motorcycle, but not so fun in a motor home pulling a trailer. There were a few knuckle-biting situations, but nothing that we couldn't handle. Next year it probably won't be as intimidating, since we know where the roads will go.

Hiawassee is almost 2,000 feet above sea level, nestled in the North Georgia Mountains about 2 hours Northeast of Atlanta. The name Hiawassee is a derivative of the Cherokee word meaning "meadow". Riding up here, you pass through a very cool town where all the buildings are designed to look like an Alpine village. Once here, there are wonderful areas for motorcycle riding. The views are breathtaking, and if you like to fish, the fly fishing here is top-notch. There are year-round trout streams and rivers here and some compare the fly fishing here to those areas in the western region of the U.S. The City of Hiawassee and the Hiawassee River continue to be popular tourist areas. Did you know that in the 1800's through the 1930's wealthy families from the lowlands would "summer in the mountains" to escape the heat and disease more prevalent in the more heavily populated areas.

I realize that tonight I sound like a travel blog, but once and a while I thought you would all enjoy some descriptions of where we have motorcycle rallies instead of just hearing about the motorcycle rallies. The Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds look to be a great location for any type of motorcycle rally, and we will provide you with a full run-down of how the event was on Sunday evening. Until then, I am going to try to sneak away and explore this beautiful town we are currently in.

Until tomorrow...

How Hot is it?

Today it is HOT. How hot is it you ask? Well....it is so hot, no, won't tell you that joke either. This is a sort of PG rated Blog.... As you probably know, I have become somewhat used to the Arizona dry heat. For those of you who might start in on me with the "dry heat" jokes...don't. As much as I know you can tolerate a higher air temperature if the humidity levels are low, once you get over 105 degrees, hot is hot is hot. But, if you are talking about mid- to upper 90 degree temperatures with the humidity levels over 60%, well, now that is a different kind of hot.

Everything you touch feels hot, which is similar to Arizona. The difference with higher humidity is that you can't move without feeling like you have to push the air aside. The air feels thick, you are sweating. The advantage to this is you know that you are sweating and may tend to drink more water because you see that you are sweating. In a dry heat, you sweat, but it dries so fast, you don't even realize that you were sweating. It is very critical to keep your water intake up in dry, hot climates because you forget that you are sweating since you don't have evidence of the sweat.

I am here in Georgia, sweating like there is no tomorrow, and trying to figure out what to do in order to cool off. With a lower humidity, cooling off could easily be by placing a wet towel on your face and sitting by a fan. The evaporation will allow the towel to feel cooler to the touch, instant air conditioning. Out here, where the humidity is insanely high, that technique does not work nearly as well. I sit in front of a fan, and have things STICK to my sticky, sweaty body because the fan is just tossing all kinds of stuff my way. Did I mention it was HOT here? The bigger question is how do I keep the dogs cool in this humid heat?

This afternoon, I stuffed them in the shower stall and rinsed them off with cool water. They were initially not thrilled (really??? I wonder why???) but seemed to perk up a bit after they were towel dried and allowed to run like maniacs around the rig. Problem was that in their running, they got hot all over again. I am thinking about stuffing them in the fridge, but then that won't work, (not for the reasons you may think) because they will most likely eat all the good stuff in the fridge. I have put ice in their water dish. Now all they do is stare at that lump of clear stuff floating around in the dish. Great, do I tie a lump of ice around their neck now? (just kidding)

The bird has a fan dedicated to her cage, it takes up about 2/3rds of her cage, so she has a constant flow of air blowing over her. She is not thrilled about this heat, but she seems to be doing OK just sitting in the breeze. The dogs do have a fan they too can sit in front of, but they choose not to for some stupid dog reason no doubt. So here I am, sitting in front of a hot computer, sweating all over the keyboard, typing, while the fan spins in the bedroom, waiting for these goofy dogs to get some sense and lay in front of it. When I rinsed the dogs off earlier, Gypsy did have the sense to stand in front of the fan to dry off. Don't know if it made her feel any better, but she did spend time in front of the fan.

I will continue to sit and sweat here, hoping for some version of inspiration on keeping the dogs cool. Actually, right now, they don't look too uncomfortable right now. They are sleeping peacefully on the cool parts of the floor. Perhaps I am the only one feeling the pain of the heat. Maybe, I should stop typing, get away from this hot computer, let it cool down, and go sit quietly in the shade too. Perhaps I too will not feel as hot... Maybe the dogs are on to something here...

So, to answer your question, how hot is it? Well, it is currently 93 degrees with 45% humidity. The heat index states that it feels like 100. It may feel like 100 for an East Coaster, but for use out of Arizona, it feels like 120...

Until tomorrow...

Check My Attitude at the Door

Today is another day I decided to Check My Attitude at the Door. There is a reason for this, even though you think I may be overly up-beat and positive, that is not always the case. How long would you continue to read about depressing issues? Heck, I get tired reading the headlines in the papers and on the Internet about how bad it is in the "cold, cruel, world". Personally, I get tired of the body counts, the thefts, the abuse of people upon other people. Because of that, I strive to write about more positive issues. There are many days where I have to check my attitude at the door, because sometimes I would rather wallow in the doom and despair that is rampant in the news.

Managing a home-based business is not easy, especially in these economic times. Your success is determined by many factors, but one major one I believe is in attitude. If you are stressed, depressed or just plain angry, what customer would be willing to come up to you to ask a question? If you are having a bad day, odds are that any decisions you make while in that black mood will be not in the best interest of either you or your business. Attitude plays a big role in your success, and not just your mental success. I am not promoting a Pollyanna attitude, not by a long shot, but you need to do a check of your attitude before making any type of business decision. Sometimes your bad mood will translate into you seeing a situation as negative, and consequently you will respond accordingly. If you have a good handle on your attitude, you may be able to see a positive spin to the situation you find yourself in.

There will be days that no matter what you do, you can't shake that negative attitude. Those are days that I just want to crawl into a hole and then pull the hole in after me. I believe that everyone has days like that, perhaps we need to have days like that. If you are having one of "Those" days, then try to put off making any type of business decision, since you would probably regret the decision you do make. If you must make a decision on a day like that, then call someone you trust and get their opinion. Even if they can't help lift your mood, perhaps they can validate the decision you are considering. If I am having a bad day, I have a few techniques that I use to at least tone down the bad attitude.

One way is to take some time off and focus on something that makes me happy. I may choose to carve some stone for a bit, or if that is not possible, I will pick up a book and get lost in it for an hour or so. Otherwise, I may choose to look at some pictures to remind me of some fun times, or I will call a friend and let them tease the daylights out of me. Each person has to find their own way to deal with stress, so what I do may not work for everyone. Sometimes I just take a walk and force myself to look at the surroundings. Walking and / or exercises will release endorphins that will make you feel better too. You have to force yourself to remember that troubled times are a fact of life, and if you are having problems today, it does not mean you will have issues tomorrow. At the time it may seem like you will have troubles for the rest of your life, but in all honesty, you know that is not true.

If I find myself on that negative spiral, thinking bad thoughts, not liking my current situation, I strive to check my attitude at the door and hope that it blows away before I come back out. I realize that is a goofy thought, but hey, if it works, why not use it. Don't candy-coat your bad mood, that won't work either. The key is to not let your bad mood translate into bad business decisions. Be honest about why you are in a dark mood and then either focus on changing it or try not to make any business or life decisions until you can think clearly again. Again, being positive is not necessarily the right answer, you don't want to be overly optimistic because you could fall flat on your face with that too. Unchecked optimism is almost as bad as a bad mood, you may not make the right business decisions in that state of mind either. You need to be sure to balance your business decisions with well thought-out ideas and not to make snap decisions. It is not easy, and I am the first one to admit that, but, there can be positives in all negative situations. If we all quit when the going got tough, we would still be sitting at home, with all the windows and doors closed and locked. How many times did Thomas Edison try to make a light bulb before he was successful? Did you ride your bicycle the first time you ever got on it?

We all have to remember that the bad times are what makes us learn and be successful. No, that is not a bunch of hooey, we wouldn't have inventions if people quit after their first efforts. Making mistakes, failing even, are necessary. If you fail at trying to do something, then you know not to do that one thing again, now you can move onto another option and see if that one works. Check your attitude at the door and see how successful you can really become.

If you are interested in starting up a second income business, check out our website at http://www.hawgwash.net/. We may have something that will tickle your fancy...

Until tomorrow...

Synopysis of Milledgeville Thunder Rally

Well, I was SUPPOSED to submit a blog last night, but I had zero Internet access, so for those of you who thought I blew you off, I didn't. The Milledgeville Thunder Rally ended today and even though we had a blast, I am glad this motorcycle rally is now under out belt. Quite honestly, the only negative to this whole rally was the weather, which could not be controlled.

Everything else about the Milledgeville Thunder Rally was great. We were set up next to some seriously fun vendors, the people that came to visit us in our booth were great and, again, the promoter was fantastic. Please do not think that I would be saying this if it was not true. This is the second rally in as many weeks that we actually had a lot of fun at. Usually, the motorcycle rallies are fun, but more work and a lot more stress. Also, setting up at the other rallies can be a serious test of patience. Milledgeville Thunder Rally was one of those rallies where the vendor set up was great, and the promoter really knew what was going on. You have no idea how refreshing it is to be at an event where things occurred like they were supposed to.

So, as you can most likely assume, it was HOT and HUMID at the Milledgville Thunder Rally this weekend. It was so humid that many people looked like they were swimming through the rally. As I noted on an earlier post, there were times that the weather reported 100% humidity and temps in the 90's. I had never experienced humidity that high without rain, so this was a first for me. Even through the heat and humidity, the participants of the rally kept a really great attitude. Granted, they moved slowly, who wouldn't? But all the people we met were just having a fun time at the rally. When you feel that hot and sticky, it is unusual to have people in a jovial mood, but that occurred here.

Throughout the rally, our neighbor, Carmen of Unique Glass Etching, and I continued to sing Christmas songs. I believe we actually had people coming up to our booths to see if we were really that crazy. Unfortunately, we were unable to get anyone else to sing along with us, but hey, perhaps next year we will have an official sing-a-long....

The rally had bike games that were a blast to watch. The games were held in the middle of the vendor set-up, and due to the arrangement of the vendors, there was no problem whatsoever regarding the bike games interfering with business. Actually, it allowed all of us vendors for a change to be able to watch the events without leaving our respective booths. That also made this rally fun, we usually don't get to watch all the fun stuff that goes on for the riders. The organizers did have some events at the band stand which was near the campers, they had a hooter bounce (use your imagination...), some mud wrestling, and what looked like a pillow fight. Since the band stand was quite a distance from our booth, I couldn't really see what was happening, just hear it and laugh. There was also a burn-out competition that happened on the other end of the campground, we could only hear the motorcycles and see the smoke. I don't know who won that event...

Prior to the bike games, there was a bike show (See Pic of Steve & his first place trophy) that again was set up in the middle of the vendor area. Both of these were great not only because we could see what was going on, but also because it drew people up to the vendor area. The motorcycles in the bike show were a sight to behold. The setup for this event was that there was a lower field for the campers and the band, and then an upper field for the vendors. The only issue was that in this heat, many people didn't want to wander too far from their campsites, so when events were arranged closer to the vendors, the people did follow. We are already planning on next year's rally here and trying to figure out if we can squeeze the October event into our travel schedule too. We will keep you posted, just check out the Schedule of Events on our website.

The pictures of the rally are taken from our booth. It looks hazy out there, but it was actually pretty sunny most of the time. The haze was that 100% humidity I was talking about. This is a motorcycle rally that everyone should attend if you are in the area, it was a lot of fun.

Now that the Milledgeville Thunder Rally is finished for this month, we are cooling off in the motor home enjoying the dry air-conditioning. Tomorrow we start preparing for our next rally, hopefully it won't be as humid, but no matter what, we will have fun.

Until tomorrow...

Milledgeville Thunder Rally

Well, today was the "official" first day of the Milledgeville Thunder Rally. As you know, we set up our booth yesterday and then spent the rest of the day networking with other vendors and chatting with the other participants that had also arrived early. Today, was the real opening of the rally.

Unfortunately it was an extremely HOT day to open too. I currently live in Arizona, so am relatively used to the heat, but Arizona usually doesn't have really high humidity unless it is mid-July through September. The weather website noted the humidity was at 100%. I thought 100% humidity meant rain, but trust me, there was absolutely no rain to be found here today. There were some really cool looking clouds moving around us, but nothing even hinted of rain today.

With the heat so intense today (the sun was out in full glory) and the humidity up so much, it was very difficult to get excited about much of anything. I had forgotten how bad humidity can feel, and completely forgot how to stay cool in situations like this. I remember when I was a child that when the humidity got to be too much, we just all hung out in the pool. Didn't have that luxury here today. Got to sit in, around, near the booth but no pool was in sight. I did get a good lead on a pond that was about a half a mile away. If it is this hot again tomorrow, you will find me in the pond, with a very long string to the booth. That way, if someone wants something, all they need to do is to tug on the string, and I will be there promptly (yeah, right, in my dreams...).

Anyway, I did survive a beastly hot and humid day today. What made the day fun was that the other vendors near us also made the best of a very uncomfortable situation. Carmen, the woman who sells this awesome frosted glassware, and I were singing Christmas carols throughout the day. If the song had the word "Snow" in it, we were singing it. Needless to say, the customers thought we were truly off our rockers. The good news was that the customers also enjoyed themselves when we were fooling around so much. You would normally expect people to be very crabby when it gets that hot and muggy, and perhaps they may have been if it had not been for Carmen and I singing Christmas songs... still makes me smile thinking about it. What is even funnier is that I can't sing worth a darn. You really don't want to hear the caterwauling that comes from me...but, in this heat, we all thought it was very funny...

Anyway, after singing our way through the worst of the day, the evening cooled off nicely. I am not sure if it is really cool, but the sun went down, so we were not baking, so by definition, it got cooler. Again, according to the weather forecast, it is not scheduled to get very cool tonight, but right now, I don't care, I am finally in a moderately air-conditioned motor home. 80 degrees with single digit humidity is just the ticket for me right now. Actually it feels a little nippy in here...may need a blanket tonight...and who is kidding who here???

After this rally is done, I will post pictures, you hopefully will enjoy where we have been. The views have been fabulous, the people even better (despite the heat and humidity) and the overall planning so far has been good.

Until tomorrow...

Setting up for a Motorcycle Rally

Well, today was setup day for the Milledgeville Thunder Rally. We got up early, and arrived at the venue a little after 9 am in anticipation of a possible gaggle of vendors arriving for setup. Setting up for a motorcycle rally is not for the faint of heart. More times than not, even when the promoter recommends that you show up by a certain time, there will be many vendors who would have cued up the night before.

It seems that you can never accurately anticipate what set up will be like at a rally unless you have attended it in prior years. Even then, knowledge of how a rally was run in prior years does not necessarily mean it will be OK this year. All the same, Milledgeville Thunder Rally is a new rally for us, so we had no idea what we were going to encounter when we arrived at the staging area.

What we found was a beautiful open field with electrical boxes scattered around and three vendors already set up. Seeing other vendors set up sometimes makes me feel like I missed the memo stating we needed to arrive a day earlier... The good news was that it was only three vendors, not three dozen already set up. Even better news was that the promoter had already confirmed we had a space, so our anxiety was somewhat reduced. The promote arrived shortly after we did and we were able to get the motor home placed, our electric set up and identify where our booth was to be set all by noon.

Setting up for a Motorcycle Rally can be a stressful experience especially if this is either the first time you have ever been a vendor at this type of event, or if this is a new event for you. The best way to prepare for a Motorcycle Rally, or any other weekend event is to do as much homework as you can in advance of the event. You can look on the Internet for pictures of prior years' events, you can talk to the promoter (more on that later) and you can contact other vendors who attended the event in years past. Even if you do all of the above, there is no guarantee that this particular event will be good for you. Keep that information in mind if you plan on participating as a vendor at events. Even if the event went very well last year, there is no guarantee that it will again go well this year. People change, economic conditions change and the weather can be a huge factor.

Assuming you have done your homework prior to an event and still decide to attend, the best thing to do is to be sure you arrive no later than on time. That shows the promoter you respect their time and their event. It also usually allows you enough time to set up before people come around to purchase what you are offering. We love to come as early as possible so that we can not only be set up, but can take the extra time to walk around and talk to the other vendors at the motorcycle rally. Talking to other vendors is a great way to network, usually, if they are already set up, they are more than willing to spend a few minutes chatting with you about the event, their products, the attendees of the event and possibly other events that are coming up.

The information you can obtain from other vendors can be absolutely invaluable. We have received excellent leads regarding upcoming motorcycle rallies, who to talk to, and where to avoid. We have also found vendors selling items that we had personally been looking for. What also comes out of chatting with others is that they will ask you what you are offering. Again, this is an excellent opportunity to network and promote yourself. Even if the other vendor is not personally interested in your products or services, they will have in the back of their mind what you do, so if a customer wanders up and asks them about a certain product or service, there is a very good chance that they will point that customer to you if you are the one who can provide the product or service. Networking with other vendors is almost like creating a local directory of products and services for that motorcycle rally. you would be amazed once a rally starts, how many people will be in attendance. Many times the customers are looking for a particular product or service, but due to the crowds and possibly the layout of the motorcycle rally, the customers are not able to locate you. If other vendors are aware of who you are, where you are and what you have to offer, they will point the customers in your direction.

Good luck setting up for a motorcycle rally or any other weekend event. Motorcycle rallies and weekend flea markets are relatively similar events, so what I have suggested here can apply to flea markets, craft shows, etc. If you have specific questions regarding setting up for a motorcycle rally or other event, please feel free to contact us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com. If you are interested in starting up a home-based business and need ideas, please check out our website at http://www.hawgwash.net/.

Until tomorrow...

Helping others and StemTech

For the last few days, we have been helping a dear friend catch up on miscellaneous work and help get her business chugging forward. Yesterday, we helped her to organize her garage so she could easily find what she needed when she needed it. (How many times have you wandered into your own garage, only to see a huge mess and not find what you initially went out to locate?). We were able to recruit her 18 year old son to get much of the heaving lifting done and by the end of the day, she had a great-looking garage, with everything neatly stored and sorted and on shelves for easy access.

Now that her garage is organized, we are working today with her in getting her StemTech business rocking and rolling. The StemTech products have been able to help her body feel a little better, thereby improving her quality of life. Because she is experiencing positive results, we want to help her to get the word out to her friends and associates to at least take a look at what StemTech products have to offer and see if perhaps those same products can help improve other people's quality of life.

Our ultimate goal here is to help her first to feel better. I know that sounds suspicious, since there are so many people out there looking to line their personal pockets with money first, but honestly, we would rather see her healthy and happy and then see all of us becoming financially free. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the StemTech product line, they offer stem cell nutritional products that allow your body to naturally release it's own adult stem cells into the blood stream. It is being found that stem cells are the building blocks of the body, and if you have more adult stem cells floating around in your blood stream, you have a higher likelihood of those same stem cells repairing and/or replacing damaged cells and tissues in your body. If your body can naturally heal many of it's problems, your quality of life will improve. By taking the StemTech products, you are not putting additional chemicals and additives in your body and risking negative side effects. StemTech products are a completely natural botanical and in most people have been found to have no negative side effects.

Your own body makes and stores much of it's adult stem cells in the bone marrow. What some of the StemTech products do is to allow your body to release about 25% more of those stored stem cells into your circulatory system so that you have more adult stem cells essentially running around able to repair/replace cells and tissues faster. By being able to heal yourself faster, your quality of life improves, your attitude improves, and you want to go out and do more. We are working to help our friend resolve some of her stressors, so that she can continue to improve her quality of life, both physically (through StemTech) and mentally (by helping organize her garage for instance) so she can then have more energy to enjoy everything else.

So, we have been busy helping her with various small tasks, but more importantly, helping lighten her load so that she can focus on getting healthier. This is the best part about being in business for ourselves, we can not only work our business, but we can help others improve their quality of life without worrying about a job back home. One of our main business goals is to be able to help others improve their quality of life. Well, we need to get back to work and start working on a press release for her, so she can explode her business as her health continues to improve.

Until tomorrow...

Adventures in Traveling

Well, I bet you are all frustrated with me for not posting last night. I have a really, REALLY good reason why I didn't get this post out last night. We had another ADVENTURE in traveling yesterday and by the time we had a place to stop for the evening, it was past midnight and I was past coherent. Traveling around the country is very enjoyable, but there is always some kind of adventure involved in traveling.

Yesterday's adventure started very early on and really threw a monkey-wrench into the day...and evening. To start with, our first and on-going adventure in traveling is the fact that I am still using an outdated computerized road map to navigate with. Usually this is not a huge issue, but we have discovered several places in the East coast that the roads on my 8 year old map have been added to. Some of the main highways have been re-routed or have had a bypass created. That makes things very interesting when you are bouncing down the road at 55 or 60 looking for an exit that no longer exists...

Because we lost faith in my map, I started surfing the Internet and pulling different maps out in order to cross-reference directions. Can you imagine how difficult that can be when you are looking for an exit a mile ahead and Internet service is spotty at best? Well, after much frustration and tension, we were able to get ourselves into Milledgeville, GA the other day. That was fine and dandy, but then we had a business appointment in Fayetteville, GA (90 miles away) yesterday at noon. Well, 90 miles in a motor home usually means about a 2 hour drive. No big deal. We left the RV park around 10 am with the expectation that we would have minimal problems getting to our next appointment. HA!!!

First off, I was running two maps, one on-line and the other was my old off-line map. I had been given specific instructions to be more careful about which roads to take because some of the roads on the on-line map were great for cars and motorcycles, but not RV's. As I am struggling to cross reference directions with wide roads, all of a sudden, bells, whistles, and lights start going off in the front of the RV. We hadn't gone more than 6 miles from the RV park when it looks like Armageddon had arrived... Next thing we see is the temperature gage for the engine go from normal to red-line in the blink of an eye. With the fail-safe systems in this RV, when that happens, we have all of one minute to find a safe place to pull over before the engine is automatically shut off.

So, here we are on a highway that we just turned onto, going up a hill and around a curve. We quickly navigate to a relatively wide section of the highway, hoping the shoulder is not too soft so we don't sink into it, and then the engine shuts down. After we check that everything else is fine, there are no other issues occurring, we go to the back of the RV, lift the bed (the best access to the engine...don't ask me, I think it is dumb having mechanics in your 'bedroom' fixing the engine) and hear the radiator bubbling away. We really do have a seriously overheated diesel engine. Not good news by any one's standard. The next thing we notice is that there is no belt (fan belt) in sight. Great... After about 10 minutes, we start the engine again as I watch to see if the radiator fan even twitches, which it doesn't. Well, now we know what happened, we threw the serpentine belt that runs everything that turns on the motor, the crank shaft to the valve train that runs the water pump, that runs the alternator, that runs the radiator fan, all the external moving components of the engine. Fun. We can't drive the motor home more than 2 feet before more problems occur.

We go on-line looking for a mobile diesel mechanic, to no avail in Milledgeville so our next step is to find a tow truck. Towing is an exciting task because we also have a trailer that is pulled behind the motor home. Finally we locate a company that will tow both the motor home and the trailer. They come out from Macon, GA, about an hour away, so in about 2 1/2 hours our tow trucks arrive to drag us to a certified diesel mechanic in Macon. After about 45 minutes of disconnecting the drive shaft on the motor home (you have to do that prior to a tow) and hooking up the front wheels so they can be lifted off the ground, we are ready to slowly head toward Macon. An hour drive there gets us safely into the diesel shop, where they spend about 2 hours putting the drive shaft back on the motor home and installing the serpentine belt. After paying the bill, we are now finally able to get back on the road toward Fayetteville for our very late business appointment.

I must say that everyone we met during our escapade yesterday was wonderful and very helpful. Even some of the mechanics in the shop came over to see what our problem was and to ask where we were headed off to. We were provided directions to get us going and we finally hit the road at rush-hour, which is always gobs of fun in an RV. Once we arrived at our destination we had our late meeting and by then, I was verging on comatose so couldn't post the blog.. See how much fun traveling can be. There are always adventures to be had while on the road...

That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Until tomorrow... actually until later this evening...this was supposed to be yesterday's post...