Pardon my absence.  I've had lots of soul searching to do and very little time to do it.  And life ... well, it keeps marching past.  I have a new manager as I mentioned in my last post.  I'm not very happy about the situation: that hasn't changed.  It would be different if she was competent and a great leader.  She's not.  I feel for her situation and am trying to do my best to support her while I explore other career options.  I kind of feel like a traitor abandoning the programs I have worked so hard to grow but ... it all comes down to my personal happiness and passion for the work I do which is seriously lacking. 

I interviewed for two senior level positions in my company but wasn't selected for either.  I feel okay about that because I truly believe that something perfect for me is lying ahead.  Plus, I totally BLEW the one interview -- it was one of those "can't string two coherent sentences together to save my life" days. 

I try to keep my focus on what it is that I want in my next career and the passion I'll feel doing that.  It revs my spirits up and tunes me into what's really important.  I am successfully keeping this in perspective and moving forward while maintaining my current position.  That's a huge leap for me, emotionally.  Normally, I would have resigned immediately and let the cards fall where they might.  Screw that!  I make a decent wage and need to keep making it until I find my next gig.  Theresa helped me through that process in a huge way. 

She's so careful and methodical with things concerning monumental life events.  My emotions tend to get the best of me sometimes and I can make rash decisions or, at least, what appear as rash decisions.  I usually land on my feet somehow.  I've always been lucky that way.  Or maybe I've just always followed my heart/gut to extremes.  *shrug*  I've learned something this time around though in that I can endure extreme hurt and stress and still play through to the next hole. 

God, I hope that wasn't literal.  Hole, I mean.  *chuckle*  THAT would really suck.  No, I guess I mean that I'll be ready for my next soul-filling task on earth and take it on with glee and a few extra bucks in my pocket.  Maybe I should leave golf terminology out of this blog entry. 

Part of me thinks I should purchase a huge apartment complex and just grow the business and use the equity to buy another one.  I LOVE making sh*tholes into livable spaces that people queue up to rent.  I'm a fair landlady and keep up with the maintenance and screen renters like nobody's business.  So, yeah, maybe that's my next gig.  No more nine to five.  I can leverage some assets to make that happen.  Despite what you read in the papers every day about the crappola subprime mortgage crisis, Pittsburgh has been pretty far removed from that.  Thank God.  Properties here generally increase in value in the right neighborhoods although not outrageously so. 

The thing that really scares me about that (DOWN fear ... DOWN boy!) is my lack of knowledge about evaluating properties for a fair price.  I mean, when you start talking about million dollar babies ... that's some cash on the barrel head.  Every real estate guru I follow preaches the same thing though.  Don't be afraid of the huge investments -- that's where you'll find your greatest leverage and potential income stream.  I have been reading tons of information about this to edu-ma-cate myself.  When it comes down the actual number crunching, I will need some help.  I have some contacts that can help me with that part which is awesome. 

I've also been researching franchises but I don't think that's where I want to spend the next 20 years of my life.  I dunno.  It alleviates some of the risk and provides some back room help but ... pshaw ... go big or freaking go HOME!  I'm the type of personality that has to have some latitude in decision making for a business I run to thrive.  That latitude exponentially boosts the upside and the downside.  Risk.  Who bears it and can I afford to emotionally?  Aye, there's the rub.

So the whip is coming down on "what next?"  but I feel confident that with diligent universal messages spun around the stratosphere that the message will find me.  It might not be either of the two things I'm considering but that's okay.  I just know, without a doubt, that VERY exciting and joyful things are waiting for me to call them into my life. 

WOW!  That's awesome to think about!  Isn't it?!  You can do it too.  Read up on the Law of Attraction and read "Conversations with God."  Powerful stuff.  It will serve your life well. 

Cheers!

Stacey

Life's little twists and turns sometimes smack us in the face, don't they?  Here I had been pondering what I wanted to do with my career and lo' and behold, changes came that have wedged themselves like a knife into my psyche and forced me to think more deeply about my next stop ( stop?  did I mean step? ... stop was what I wrote so I'll leave it).  I was passed over for a promotion that I feel I deserved. 

It's times like these that give me pause at the core of my being.  Feeling ripped to shreds emotionally and, after such sorrow and pain even physically, I turn to my spiritual roots to search for answers. 

The hurt has seeped into every part of me and lies there, waiting for validation that comes in the form of advice from all corners about not making any rash decisions (i.e. resigning) and coming to terms with what may lie around the next bend.  So many have reminded me about my value and worth and how important my work has been over the years (nearly 18 now) and how it should not define me.  So many cautious "if it was me" words that come from outside perspective that are meaningful but often don't register.  It cuts like a knife being passed over.  If it happened to you, I'm sure you can relate. 

I hear, comprehend, and yet feel depleted all the same.  I have felt that there is absolutely nothing left at times - a husk of humanity.  In the past, under similar gut-wrenching circumstances, I have chosen to bury my feelings and not acknowledge the possibility that this could be a greater sign, a universal turn-signal pointing toward the off ramp toward a destination I know nothing about.  Fear and lack of confidence can overcome us to the point of staying put.  I know that too well. Familiar misery is misery nonetheless. 

Lately, though, I can hear very clearly the call of change and greater purpose.  I did, after all, call this into my life.  I am a strong believer that we call into our lives the very things we fear and love the most.  It's the Law of Attraction and it is stronger than anything in this world.  I've witnessed its power in calling Theresa into my life and the peace I've found with my parents.  I've seen it make people appear in my life that I had NO IDEA were necessary for my growth until years later when their purpose in my life was revealed through a casual conversation.  It happens all the time.  We bring into our lives the very things we fear and love the most. 

But ... we have to listen closely to life's clues to hear the messages.  And ... we must approach every hurtful situation with love; love for ourselves and those around us working their paths.

If I were to ask myself in each moment of absolute emotional distress "What would love do now?" and then act upon that guidance, I'd be much better off.  I'm human and make human mistakes.  I say things I don't mean and mean things I don't say.  I know the answers I seek are just around the bend if I am quiet and let them come to me with guided intention.  Each day, things become clearer to me but still hazy.  My thoughts and words are powerful, that much I know.  I must choose wisely as the man who found the genie bottle did with comical outcomes for his desires. 

I thank God that I have the chance to choose and choose again.  And I thank God for the ability to feel all of these feelings and grow under their oppression.  It's a huge world ... a massive universe ... and an endless black hole of otherness that gives me hope where once it gave me despair.  I have so much to give this world.  It's just a matter of finding my passion again, asking for it and then acting on it. 

And thank God that I am not the sum of my feelings at this time.  Only a tiny speck of greatness reaching out to find other.  That's the hope and faith that religions try to preach but miss the mark so awfully.  God is not vengeful nor arbitrary.  God is aware and listening if only we can stop to hear.  God does not prescribe with lists of commands nor fault us for being human for it is through our humanness that he/she/we learn together.  God can only experience human emotion through us and is thankful for it, not to mention having a very good laugh at some of our obvious gaps in missing the lessons he provides through word, sound, scent, and experience.  God does not speak in religious doctrine tones -- we hear through our experience, the soul experience, and when we are tested the most, we should listen to the hidden messages more fully. 

I don't know where my path may lead me but I trust in it.  I wish the hurt would end tomorrow but I know that it is part of my healing and a tributary toward my next journey on earth.  That ... is a great comfort.  I am grateful for so many things in my life.  I am truly blessed.  Pain is temporary ... as they say.  I look forward to where I might next venture in this fantastic adventure called life. 

If you get the chance and you're open to it, please read "Conversations with God."  It's a beautiful work and has inspired me to become a more loving, passionate, and happy person.  I'm here anytime you need or want to talk about your life path.  And remember, as I do in times like this when my world feels upside down, that this IS a JOURNEY not a classroom filled with lessons.   Learn to love who you are in this moment and each moment after.  That is the key to a happy life. 

Cheers!  Here's to life and living!

Lately, the media is converging on one issue like rabid dogs in a gutter littered with trash.  Just what are they salivating over?  Health care.

I just watched the preview for "Sicko," Michael Moore's latest thought-inducing film installment that targets the U.S. healthcare system - health insurance in particular.  Monday, I read the newest Centers for Disease report on your chances of dying from heart-attack related problems at any major hospital.  Yesterday, I spent some time reading through the pro's and con's of expanding the national SCHIP children's health insurance funding to an unprecedented $15 BILLION.  And, last night, I watched the first installment of Shaquille O'Neil's new series working with obese children. 

I work in health insurance and *insert legal language here* NOTHING I AM ABOUT TO SAY represents anything my company supports or endorses.  It is solely my humble opinion.  You may not publish this post nor portions of it in any media outlet nor any local, state, or national news story.  Trackbacks and links from personal blogs is encouraged but must include the bold and underlined text.

That said, I have a few thoughts about all of this.  And I'm not just a neophyte - tunnel-visioned - pro- insurance person either.  I have participated in many think tanks about how to address this serious problem of rising costs and the uninsured.  Aside from my street cred, I am absolutely passionate about helping people get access to care.  Alright, so call me a bleeding heart but ... it is the right thing to do ... give every U.S. citizen access to quality healthcare.

First, I think it's great that Michael Moore has made a film about health insurance and healthcare.  His films are thought-provoking though not all-encompassing.  He pinches the most tender issues surrounding something affecting us all and then hopes for some dialogue.  While I haven't seen the whole film, it's common knowledge that insurance companies take the brunt of this particular squeeze. 

Insurance companies are profiteers or so everyone would have you believe.  And I can say that the past few years HAVE been good to insurance companies; however, it's a very cyclical industry and highly regulated when it comes to rate filings (or should I say, for Blue Plan filings - the commercial giants like Anthem and Aetna and Wellpoint don't have to get approvals).  We're headed for a downturn for the next several years.  It has been, historically, a seven year cycle of gains and losses.  Barring an unforeseen catastrophe or epidemic (which we won't touch on for now but would be DISASTROUS to the entire health care system), that's the cycle.

Most consumers only know how much their share of the pie is each month and that the share they pay is going up every year.  Their employers bear the brunt of the cost for health insurance (if they cover it all anymore due to the insanely high costs to insure an aging population).  Everyone knows that when you hit 40, you start seeing a hell of a lot more of your doctor for back pain, foot issues, diabetes, heart, migraines, cancers, etc.  The body starts showing signs of wear and tear as we age. 

Those same consumers are shocked to the point of near cardiac arrest when they try to buy insurance on their own.  HOLY EFFING CRAP?!  It COSTS that MUCH?!  Well, yeah, it does ... and your employer has been paying most of that for you up until you had to buy your own (plus ... the employer group's risks were spread over the entire group with younger dependents).  But there are limits on how much an insurance company can keep as profit margin from that estimated premium.  Actuaries (the number crunchers) look at how much they think it's going to cost next year based on how many claims they paid last year (that's called experience rated for a particular group's claims and community rated if they have to apply the experience of the claims across a broad spectrum of groups lumped in under community).   

If claims we pay out come in lower than we expected, we make a gain.  Higher, and it's a loss.  Most of that money gets socked away for the next downturn (when claims start to exceed what we guessed they might) or poured into infrastructure like systems to make paying claims more efficient or poured back into the communities we serve (the latter only in the case of non-profit Blues Plans).  And might I say that, in Pennsylvania at least, this is NOT a level playing field between Blues and commercial carriers but that's an entirely different story.

What is driving these escalating costs?  Lots of things. 

1. Technology and every facility that has to have it (how many MRI machines does one town need?) 
2. Litigation against providers so they practice a lot more defensive medicine to ward off potential lawsuits (hey ... let's have that pain in your neck verified with an MRI just to be sure it isn't brain cancer - at $10,000+ a pop). 
3. Mandated benefits by states that health plans MUST include for their members (like prostate cancer screenings for men ... and hey, what male legislator ISN'T going to vote YES to that one?).  We get five or more mandated benefits we must add to benefit packages each year (that adds cost) and while a lot of these make sense, the legislators and special interest groups seem to think there's no correlation between rising premiums and what we have to cover. 
4. Lifestyle and technological wonder drugs that cost bazillions of dollars each year and are bolstered by incentives for providers to push them and big bucks ad campaigns urging people to use them (lest they suffer uncontrollable defication with that GERD). 
5. Along with all of this, we have the first generation of kids that are more likely to die younger than their parents.  Really.  Think about that statement for a minute. 

Okay.  That's really bad news.  And, if I'm to believe the statistics being advertised, nearly one in every 154 children has autism.  Not to mention ADD and ADHD and type two diabetes requiring insulin.  It's a pathetic bunch of kids we've got growing up in the U.S.  Sorry, kids, but your future looks dim.  Unless ... we can get this under control ... which I have every hope we will.  The word is getting out and changes are happening, thank God. 

KUDOS to Shaq for doing what he's doing with the kids on his show.  I can't really fathom a child of 10 years weighing 263 pounds.  Can you?  I mean ... HOLY EFFING CRAP!  And their parents are clueless.  These kids will die of cardiac arrest, diabetes (YES, it KILLS), and countless other comorbid (simultaneously occurring health problems) conditions before they hit 40.  Really.  It's no joke.  And what do you think the health insurance premiums will be like when they hit their 30's?  *GASP*

We need to insure every child.  That's a no-brainer in my book.  It's the funding that's problematic.  But if we can spend TRILLIONS of dollars on a war without an end in sight and unchecked accounting, why can't we spend a few billion on making sure every kid gets the healthcare they deserve?  The SCHIP program makes a huge difference in these kids lives.  I can personally attest to that fact.  You would not believe how many parents tell us that they wouldn't let their kid do anything physical (as in ride a bike, play baseball, jump rope, or go away to summer camp) because they were so afraid they'd get hurt and they wouldn't be able to pay for the care.  Obesity ... ?  Yep.  Insured kids perform better in school because they can see the chalk board and aren't experiencing the crazed frenzy of having untreated ADHD (although that has been diagnosed far too prevalently IMHO).

When the CDC published their hospital rates of mortality and treatment patterns for hospitals, it was a good step forward.  We need more transparency in health care and information to help consumers make better choices.  But ... the study wasn't all that fair.  Hospitals that treat highly complex cases weren't evaluated any differently than those that treated easy cases.  There has to be a better way to present the data and I'm sure they'll find it.  The other thing that consumers and employers need desperately is cost information from provider to provider.  If it costs $100 for an office visit at one doc and $50 at another, we need to be able to see that.  Especially, as health insurance falls more and more into the hands of the consumer with health spending accounts and extremely high deductibles in the $1000+ range. 

Health insurance is not an easily understood topic, by a long shot.  There's so much jargon and heady statistics to consider when weighing options but we have to start somewhere and make good advances if we're to solve the problem. Hopefully, you learned something. 

Drop me a line with your comments on this hot topic.  I'd love to hear from you. 

I have a dirty dog.  Not muddy or anything.  Just dirty.  As in, her doggie vulva is dirty and infected.  And stinky.  This happened once before a few years back and I had to take her to the vet.  Dr. Babik is an older guy; waiting out his time before making golf his full time job. 

When he came into the exam room to ask me what was wrong, I explained that Zoe had been licking her ... um ... her ... privates ... a lot.  I told him that I thought someone should look at it. 

"I don't want to look at it," he said, smiling.  "Do YOU want to look at it?" he asked me, pulling her tail up high. 

After he finished "looking at it," he announced that she was a dirty dog.  This must be some kind of insider vet lingo that I'm not acquainted with so I played along with the dirty dog diagnosis.  He prescribed a "flush" antibacterial scrub and some spray twice a day.  Sure enough, after a few weeks of daily application, she wasn't dirty anymore. 

Now that was an uncomfortable moment.  I guess I could have phrased the issue better.  Tomorrow night, I'll have my chance because her ... um ... her ... privates ... are dirty again.

Luckily, I'll get to see Dr. Whinney instead.  No, he's not a horse.  In fact, he loves birds - that's his specialty.  But he loves other animals too.  Dirty dogs don't phase him. At least, I hope they don't.

God, I hope this goes better with him.

RUFF!

Jeana posted a few questions for me so I thought I'd answer for everyone.  Here's her question:

I was wondering how you got your start in real estate? Is it hard? You see all those advertisements for courses and such, but it seems like they are just another scam. I'd love to hear how you got started and how your portfolio has progressed!

There are scams everywhere in life, especially on the internet!  Real estate investing is not for the timid nor the disorganized.  It takes research to really learn about it like anything else in life.  There are no easy shortcuts unless you've got a bundle of cash and someone to manage everything for you.  I got into it by chance as many people do.  I had no idea what I was getting into when I purchased my first property.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad I did it but ... lions, and tigers, and bears ... oh my!

The short story is this: the apartment building I was renting a unit in went up for sale.  I'd been renting there for seven years and the former owners were ready to unload their cash cow vacuum.  The place needed lots of repairs that were obvious and some, not so obvious, that were pointed out by the local borough code enforcement folks.  There are many more requirements that must be met for rental property.  And, you know, it's not just code enforcement that has a concern with them -- it's also your lender.  One lawsuit can bankrupt you.  No money ... no loan payments.

It went up for sale back in 1999 and I purchased it with a regular lender using a straight 30-year mortgage.  It was my first house and I figured I could break even with the apartment that was rented.  I had saved up quite a bit and was making a decent salary so I started the repair list.  A long, long ... list of *must fix* stuff ... and some *wouldn't that be nice?* stuff. 

It took me several years to renovate and tens of thousands of moolah (it's a huge Victorian in a desirable rental area- LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION).  I renovated the third floor and added a fire escape so I could rent out the vacant third unit.  All the while, I lived there and saved as much as I possibly could in between writing out checks for taxes, utilities, and repairs.  I finally bought my own house in late 2002 and began renting out all three units.  So, it was a slow process as I worked my way through my plan.  It's so key to have a plan.  And money.

The real lessons came when I bought my first landlording book and, quite frankly, this one probably saved me more headaches than any book I've bought on the subject since then.  It's titled "LANDLORDING: A Handmanual for Scrupulous Landlords and Landladies Who Do it Themselves."   Start there.  When you catch your breath after imagining everything that can possibly go wrong in landlording (and that's the abridged version), buy yourself a good state specific law book.  Find out what your state allows. 

Sometimes, landlording keeps me up at night.  I can't lie.  If I start imagining ever conceivable thing that could go wrong, I'd be in the local looney bin.  The key, and I can't stress this enough, is to insulate yourself from some things with personal liability insurance and SCREEN SCREEN SCREEN tenants.  This is your property and your income.  Once they're in, they're HARD to get out!

Don't mess with family, friends, or other "gee it would be so great to rent from you" types that can't pass a credit check.  If someone comes across as the "dream tenant" because they're willing to shovel snow, cut the grass, balance your checkbook, and command the corner ... RUN ... don't walk away from them.  They either have lousy credit or are in a lousy situation.  Red flags in tenant screening are learned tricks.  Once burned, you never forget.  And don't forget to learn from others who have suffered the skin charring in your place -- learn from other landlords via bulletin boards and message boards.  MRLANDLORD.COM is a good place to start.  Join a local landlording group -- they're everywhere and can provide sample leases, advice, and investment opportunities.

Taxes.  Ahhhhh .... taxes.  I am not an accountant nor a bookkeeper.  I do not understand what depreciation goes with which assets.  I do not immerse myself for months on end in the new tax laws that are written each year.  I found a decent CPA to do all of that.  It still costs me a few hundred to have them do the taxes each year.  Depreciation of assets and direct write-offs are a great side benefit to owning property.  Plus ... you earn equity in the property as you improve it and pay off the loan.  You can leverage that money to buy other properties.  I haven't, as of yet.  Keep IMMACULATE records.  Buy a ledger and record every receipt. 

You need a good, strong lease for your outstanding tenants to adhere to.  You need to sit down with them and splain it all, Lucy.  You need to do a walk through of the unit before they move it to note any problems with the unit so when they move out (assuming they've been outstanding tenants) they can get their deposit back.  You need to check the apartment every so often to make sure it hasn't become a hell hole festering with rotten food and cigarette burns.  If you've done a good job of screening, this shouldn't be a huge problem but it's still a good idea to do a walk through every so often.  Beg them to call you if the littlest thing (like a constantly running toilet that can add hundreds to your water bill) isn't working. 

Hopefully, this answers some of your questions, Jeana.  It's not a cash cow in the short run - this landlording thing - but, if you play your cards right, you can establish some great equity and continue buying properties with it.  When I retire in 20 years, I'll have some well-maintained properties with good rental records to sell that are mostly paid off.  That's a nice thought in these days of no defined benefit pensions and questionable stock markets.  The markets, over time, pay about 8% by the way.  Real estate really depends on the market and the interest rates but it's usually (if you buy at the right price and get a good interest rate) a fantastic investment that increases over time.  Housing prices rarely go down although I suspect that the bubble is about to burst in some over valued markets.  Pittsburgh ain't one of them.  Sometimes it's nice to live in a really stable town where nothing much ever happens.  *wink*

Oh ... and one final thought -- the investment property market is not an emotional market, meaning the price is established with hard numbers.  Investors look at the annual rents and multiply those by a market factor to establish the offer price or they look at the rents minus expenses for income and express their offer on that.  So you can't really look at what houses are selling for in a neighborhood to figure out how much to offer.  It's totally based on forecasted cash generation.

If anyone else has any other burning questions, I'll be glad to answer them as best I can.  Thanks for reading.

Cheers!

I'm watching the stock market climb, climb, climb ... like some crazy Blue Angel's stunt plane and I have to wonder when I should sell.  This market has to bottom out at some point, doesn't it?  It was huge news when the Dow broke 13,000 and it's now hovering under 14,000.  WHAT?!  Crazy times for sure in the market.  I read the analysts reports about the impending recession that are prominently placed just above the next analysts' report about no recession and it boggles my mind.  I have a small(ish) portfolio so I don't stand to lose that much but still ... I watch ... and wait.  Should I sell?  Not time to buy, that's for sure. 

The other hot topic for investors and home owners is the housing bubble.  Pittsburgh, as a market, is pretty immune to the grand fluxuations of say, a Florida or California market, so it's a pretty safe bet to buy or sell in any situation but I'd still like to see housing prices tick down a few points.  That would be a great time to buy my next (much larger) investment property.  I'd love to make real estate my full-time occupation and you need (or so many investors say) at least 10 properties to make that a reality.  The great part about real estate is the equity you build.  My first property is nearly paid off so I need to look ahead at my next purchase to enjoy those write-offs I've come to enjoy.  I can use the equity in that first property to buy several others which is ... quite simply ... f*cking awesome!

On the weight loss spectrum, I'm doing fine.  I reached a plateau after losing 10 pounds but know that if I cut back on the beeeeeeeeeeer (mmmmmmmm ... beer!   , I can lose another five fairly quickly.  But why kill myself?  I'm alotting myself three beers each day which is my total carb allowance.  Damn!  Counting carbs kind of stinks but, hey, it works!  I've been walking a lot more too which really helps.

Cheers!

T and I finally got to see Anne McCue perform last Friday and it was worth the wait.  We had tix for Valentine's Day but she was snowed in and canceled. Man, can that woman wail on the guitar!  She's an awesome musician.  You can check her out at her web site: http://www.annemccue.com/  One of the tracks features Lucinda Williams which sounds great.  Her drummer had to fill in for Lucinda's vocals at the show and joked that he probably wasn't drunk enough yet (guess either Lucinda fell off the wagon or he doesn't know she's sober these days).  Great show though!

The weight loss is going well.  I'm in my fourth week and the weight is still coming off a little bit every few days.  I've been hitting it really hard though so I'm weak sometimes which isn't good but ... I have to get a good start on this downward turn before I can have any semblance of normal portions and beer.  MMMMMMmmmmmm ... BEER!  That's what I miss the most, so far, althought the first week without sugar and nearly zippo carbs was MURDER!  If a giant pool of whipped cream had miraculously appeared in my backyard, I would have swam in it.  And the headache was hell.  I'm still drinking coffee too ... had to have one thing I reaaaaaaaally loved to make this bearable. 

CHEERS!  Thanks for reading.

Sometimes, when I look at gathering storm clouds forming over Pittsburgh, I wonder if there might be a little ocean water in them.  Oh, wouldn't it be so grand to smell the beach in Pittsburgh?  Sure, we've got three rivers here but no salty beach. 

I miss the beach.  I haven't been on a beach vacation in several years.  There's something about the smell of the beach as I near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge that lifts the worry and stress immediately from my shoulders.  I love a cold beer after a day at the beach swimming and reading.  I love the way the sand feels in my hand and underneath my feet and the soothing crash of waves as I slumber. 

Theresa and I briefly discussed planning a beach vacation together.  I have been wavering because I can't envision myself in a bathing suit at this point.  I've packed on the weight after this peri-menopausal crap started.  T isn't a beach person - she doesn't really care for being in the sun all day.  Of course we could buy an umbrella for her so that's not an issue.  And she's been really keen on doing this because she knows how important it is to me. 

I've started moving toward my beach dreams by starting a diet last week.  If things are going well later this summer, maybe we can make some reservations for Rehoboth Beach.  That's my goal and it has been inspiring me to really stick to this low-carb program.  Things have been going really well so far and the success is inspiring me even more which is awesome.  T hopped on the low-carb plan this week!  So we're both working it which feels even better.  It's always nice to have someone dieting with you.

If you're serious about losing weight, you might want to check out this cool software program that costs $10 and tracks all of your weight, lets you enter measurements, has a daily diary for notes, shopping lists, and fitness info.  Very cool!  You get daily messages too and a graph of your weight over time.  I love it!  It's called Weight Commander.  Check it out.

It's getting pretty dark outside - storm's are rolling in - so I'll sign off now.  Hope you are well and enjoying spring.

It's been a dreary weekend in Pittsburgh; perfect for staying in and watching the built up recordings on my DVR.  An invitation to meet some friends at Sun Penang restaurant in Squirrel Hill (Forbes Avenue at the former Pi Pizza location) got us off the couch last night.  I have to say this is some of the best Asian food I've experienced in Pittsburgh.  Sun Penang offers a fusion of Thai, Malaysian, Indian and Chinese foods with some spicy curries, chilis, sweet basils, and fruit dishes.

Sun Penang offers a huge selection of fried and soup noodle dishes, vegetarian selections, and a three-page menu of poultry, beef, and seafood entrees.  We began our meal with shrimp puffs that were out of this world  -- fried lightly, the minced shrimp wrapped in thin bacon, was nicely flavored and balanced well with the dipping sauce.  Theresa tried the shrimp wonton soup and Patty gave the herbed beef soup a go -  both were suprisingly light and generous in portion.  The wonton soup came in a bowl with a side plate of sesame flavored noodles and what looked like steamed kale. 

For entrees, our group tried the mango chicken which came served beautifully presented in the carved mango rinds with huge strips of mango and tender chicken (a bit on the sweet side for my taste).  Bill and I ordered nearly identical noodle dishes with chicken, shrimp, and squid in a light brown sauce - mine added fresh basil which upped the fusion of tastes.  Theresa had the eggplant casserole featuring the small asian eggplants sliced into a slightly sweet sauce with a little bit of spicy kick to it. 

They only offer two desserts - we tried them both and liked the sticky rice in coconut milk better than the potatoes in coconut milk (both were exceedingly sweet). 

Most dishes are $6.95 with the exception of the mango chicken and the eggplant which were $12.95.  It's BYOB with no corkage fees.  The small dining room was crowded for a dreary Saturday night at 7 p.m.  We will definitely go back!  The food and service was excellent and the prices unbeatable.