#10 – My First Concert!
In May I managed to get Jayme to come along with me to see Josh Turner in concert. I have always been opposed to live performaces by recording artists because they never live up to the quality of performance you hear on their recordings, but I was pleasantly surprised. Josh Turner put on an excellent show and his live performance quality was very impressive. Jayme and I had a great time and I would definitely consider seeing him in concert again in the future.

#9 – Classical Music Hiatus
After a busy schedule earlier this year I decided not to participate with the Concert Singers of Cary after our last concert of the 2010/11 season. The rehearsal schedule was just too cumbersome with my work schedule. I had an opportunity to participate in a paid role this season, but I had to keep my sanity. Maybe one day I will be able to go back to my craft?

#8 – Church Involvement
I have been singing with the worship team at Hope Community Church for several years now, but this year seemed to take on a new level of participation. I think I had the pleasure of leading worship with the team on average, every other week. This is certainly an example of “serve where you’re gifted.” Being the introverted person I am, this is the best and most rewarding way for me to share the Lord with all those attending.

#7 – Disney Cruise
Jayme and I enjoyed a wonderful, yet short, trip on the Disney Dream in March. It was our first Disney Cruise and Jayme’s first cruise ever! The ship was beautiful and the vacation was so enjoyable. There was one let down. Our last day was supposed to be on the white sands and crystal blue waters of Castaway Cay, but due to high winds the ship was unable to dock. It was the part of the trip that we were looking forward to the most so we were bummed. The good news? We’re going on our second Disney Cruise in May 2012!

#6 – Natural Disasters
Weather seemed to be the story of the year for much of the world, but we had our fair share in our back yard this year. On April 16 we had a close call when a group of tornados touched down in Raleigh and much of the Central North Carolina region. Thankfully none of the family was affected, but that’s not to say that people we know weren’t. In fact, I was scheduled to meet a new client the next day whose home was damaged by the Tornado. Jayme actually saw a Tornado while rushing to his sister’s home. There were so many who weren’t so lucky though!

Then, in September, we were faced with the reality of hurricane Irene. In my 5 years in this state I have never experienced a serious hurricane threat so this was new. Jayme was out of town on vacation and I was holding down the fort at his place. Thankfully he and his family decided to drive home a day early, so besides a little rain they were able to avoid getting caught in Irene’s path. Irene managed to pass through our part of North Carolina with little damage – just some small tree branches and mild flooding. All of this happened in the same week of a rare East Coast earthquake!

#5 – Dave Ramsey: Entreleadership
I have been an avid Dave Ramsey listener for a few years now and I have taken to his small business practices. It took me a while to warm up to his style, but after listening to him for a while I started to get his humor. I decided to attend his 3 hour Entreleadership event in September to see if I could learn anything new. This event was in conjunction with his book tour. I regret to say that I still haven’t read the book. I intend to – very soon! I attended his book signing afterward and was disappointed by the “signature” that he left for me. I took a picture and posted it to Twitter and their service department asked me to email my contact info so that they could rectify the problem. They never did… fail!

#4 – Savannah Half Marathon
In November, Jayme, his brother Kelly, and I drove to Savannah and ran in the Rock and Roll Savannah 1/2 Marathon. This was my 3rd half and it was by far my worst! I was semi-prepared and it showed. I didn’t even come close to beating my best time, but I beat my slowest time by 2 minutes. I had been struggling with some hip pain before the race and I dealt with it for about 4 weeks after. I’m always happy to say that I have completed another 13.1 miles, but this was painful!

#3 – The big 3-0
It was bound to sneak up on me one of these days. On December 12th, I finally turned 30. Oye! This last decade has just flown by. I hope the next 10 years go a little slower. I would like to enjoy them because I know they are bound to be wonderful!

#2 – Business Growth
2011 has been a tremendous year for growth at WigWagWalk! The business has seen an income growth of 110% – although the payroll also increased by 315%. I started the year struggling to find two new employees to replace two who left at the end of the year. One position proved difficult to fill and I actually went through 4 different people. I think we have settled in to a fairly consistent group of Team Members. We went from 4 Team Member in January to 6 by September. I have five extremely busy part-time walkers and promoted one Team Member to Lead Walker. She helps me with some administrative duties and fills in where needed in the schedule. I pray that 2012 will show as much or more growth and I can’t wait to see where WigWagWalk goes this year!

#1 – Sedona, AZ
Jayme and I planned a long weekend trip out to Sedona, AZ in October. I had never been to Red Rock Country before. The trip was amazing! We woke up before the sun each day and had the first few hours of hiking to ourselves pretty much. We did some pretty awesome hikes to Devils Bridge, Cathedral Rock, and Chicken Point. We also attempted to find a few Geo Caches, but we just aren’t any good at it! The scenery was gorgeous and our time together was life altering. After a long, hot, mid-day hike to Chicken Point, Jayme wanted to step off the beaten path to explore some. I was tired, and hot, and fighting a headache, but I forgot about all of those things as soon as Jayme asked me to marry him. I said, “yes” of course! We will be getting married in April 2012 and our new chapter will begin. I’m looking forward to it!

As I reminisce on 2011 I can’t help but look forward to 2012. The year will be unlike any other in my past. I cannot wait to experience all that it will hold for me. I am so grateful for everything in my life. Business is good and that is a true blessing this day and age. Jayme and I will continue writing our story together and there’s no telling what we will experience together tomorrow and well into the future. I am so blessed to have him and his family in my life. I love them all so much and I thank God each day for bringing us together. We have so much to be thankful for and I just don’t want to forget that. I love you Jayme and I look forward to our 2012 together!

If you would like to donate or even participate in this event please consider joining my team! Team WigWagWalk! CLICK HERE to access my participation page. You can choose to make a monetary donation to the organization or you can sign up to walk at the event from this link. The page looks like this:

You can see the large round DONATION badge next to my photo and underneath that is a bar you can click to join my team and I’ll see you there on Saturday! Please consider helping my fundraising efforts. As an avid dog lover and owner of WigWagWalk, it is important to me to show my support for this local NO-KILL animal shelter!

I hope to see you there!

Why do I disapprove of this health care bill? For many reasons. Most of which I have a difficult time verbalizing.

First, I do not see the need to rush this bill through congress. It is obviously a one-sided bill with none of the Republican party in favor of. If the leaders of our country feel the need to make these changes why don’t they really sit down and try to work with one another and come to an agreement incorporating ideas from both sides of the aisle. No more back-room deals please. That is immoral in my opinion. I’m just afraid that these politicians and our president have such a strong desire to do something that no president or congress before has been able to that they irreverently ignore the people of the of America.

It can all be fixed if we would just take a little time to be more responsible for ourselves. No one person needs to take care of another. We all should learn how to become financially and personally responsible for ourselves. Is your argument that health care is too expensive? Work harder! Take on more responsibility at your current job. Take on a part-time job. Spend less/Save more! Don’t go out to eat. Differentiate between needs and wants. Cancel your digital cable. Melt your credit cards. Put money away into savings. Don’t spend beyond your means! If we had been doing this from the beginning the housing market might not be in crisis either (but that’s another debate for another day). Eat healthy! And exercise. Maintain a certain level of health. I mean, heck, if you work hard enough to save enough money in your lifetime for emergencies (which everyone should do out of common sense) and you maintain good health, you shouldn’t even need health insurance. You can pay as you go!

If we were to heed all of the above advice we certainly wouldn’t be complaining cost. We’d be making enough money and saving enough money to pay our premiums. And if we were in relatively good health thanks to good old fashion hard work (diet and exercise) we wouldn’t be suffering from elevated premiums due to high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc.

When did we turn into a country operated on the basis of entitlement? We are a country built on freedom, individualism, and hard work. I work hard and I am responsible with my money so that I might be able to make decisions for myself. Because of that I can afford health insurance…as well as cable TV, satellite radio, a gym membership, and a car. No one gives me these things or even offers them to me at a discounted rate. I earn them on my own merit! I don’t expect anyone else to give them to me. Certainly not the federal government. I know that I am the only one who can determine whether or not I will have these luxuries. The government doesn’t provide us with affordable car insurance so that we might be able to drive a car. If we can’t afford it we ride the bus or some other means of transportation.

I will be the first to say that I used to expect my employers to provide my health insurance. But then I realized that it was called a “benefit” for a reason. It was not something they had to provide. It was something used to entice employees to the company. NO employer HAS to provide you with health insurance. At least I don’t think they should have to. You know what the benefit to buying your own health coverage is? You don’t have to worry about a laps in coverage due to losing your job. You’ll have it whether you’re employed or not. And you don’t have to pay for coverage you will not use because it happens to be in the employers plan. I can choose my co-pay, the type of coverage, the amount of deductible, etc.

While there is not much I can say about the subject of pre-existing conditions today because they are, in fact, pre-exisitng, I revert back to my earlier point of being responsible with your money. If we have been financially responsible all of our lives we might be able to afford to care for the medical needs that pop up out of our own pockets. That’s just a foreign concept to most people though. Health insurance is supposed to pay for all of my medical needs!! Actually, back in the day it was only intended for emergencies…not the common cold. For children born with medical complications, perhaps this should fall onto the financial responsibility of their parents. Pre-existing conditions are a touchy subject and I really don’t have an answer for it, but I know that I don’t want to have to pay for the health problems of everyone else.

Because most of us have been able to experience a dependence on health insurance it will be difficult for most to even consider paying out of pocket a concept, let alone an option. You know that big number the politicians have been spouting out…that 30 some-odd million American’s are uninsured…most neglect to tell you that they choose to be uninsured. Don’t let those big scary numbers make you feel sorry for people. I most definitely do not want my tax dollars to be used toward insuring someone who has no desire to be insured!

Under this bill “children” would be covered on their parents policies until the ripe old age of 26. Why, can you tell me, would that be one of the big selling points? If you ask me, that is simply delaying maturity – something that many young adults today are already lacking. Let your “kids” be grown adults with real jobs so that they can afford to pay for their own insurance. There is simply no need for them to mooch off of their parents until they’re nearing 30.

I wish that I could have said it all more eloquently, but alas, what is said is said.

RepairPal is a user friendly website that helps you find an auto repair shop in your area, Houston Auto Repair, you can look up simple information on your particular vehicle make, Acura TL, and you can even get a ballpark price quote for routine maintenance such as an Oil Change or Brake Repair.

One of the most valuable feature on RepairPal is the My Car page. You can store all of your vehicle information including your scheduled maintenance visits, repair work, and vehicle recalls and safety alerts are automatically loaded to your vehicle profile.

RepairPal is your one-stop-shop for vehicle maintenance and repair. I highly recommend utilizing their services!

Currently serving Johnston County, NC they have plans to serve every county in NC and potentially the US! If you live in or near Johnston County please visit their site to peruse postings and make some of your own.

ALSO, right now they are running a promotion in association with their Facebook Fan Page. Become a Facebook fan of COUNTYfieds or become a register user on COUNTYfieds.com, post an item and you will be entered to win a brand new iPod Shuffle. Click HERE for complete details!

Petition to bring COUNTYfieds to your county!!

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