We came home from vacation last summer and found that the house had been broken into and ransacked.  We lost thousands of dollars of belongings.  Some lost things were covered by insurance, but we could not replace some things.  We then looked up and began choosing a home security company.  It was something we never had to do before, but more and more homes in the neighborhood were being broken into.  Debbie called a number of companies, and some came out to visit.  One salesman came out, looked at the house and quoted us a rate immediately.  The rate seemed high, so we told him we would call him back if we were interested.  He then got kind of cocky, and said the rate was only good for the time he was there, and that we would have to buy at that rate now or a higher rate later.  I was really put off by this, and so was Deb.  The next company that came out treated us a lot better.  He took his time, looked at all the entrances and windows.   He gave us a rate and told us it would be good for as long as it took until we could take a decision.

We knew what to get Todd and Sissy when we went to their house and all the stuff in the baby's room came tumbling out of the closet when Sissy opened the door.  We just looked at each other.  They neededKolcraft Baby Organizers. I couldn't help but laugh, but not out loud.  It was a scene out of a sitcom.  When we left their house we stopped at the store and picked up one organizer.  I wondered when we could deliver these back to Todd and Sissy, and Debbie suggested that we invite them out to dinner or have them over to our home.  We decided to have them over, as we knew that money was tight for them.  Because Debbie didn't know Sissy at the time of her baby shower she thought that this could be a nice post shower gift.  Debbie insisted that we wrap the box, but it was a big box.  I helped her with it.  Todd and Sissy came over and brought the baby.  She was a good baby and slept most of the time.  Todd and Sissy brought a bottle of wine, and I grilled some steaks and pork chops.  We polished off the bottle of wine, and I mixed some margaritas later.  It was a great day.  The weather was nice, and we found out that we had a lot in common with Todd and Sissy, even though we are older.

My hair started thinning when I got into my late twenties.  I was concerned about my image, but not too crazy about the idea of rubbing some synthetic chemical into my scalp every day.  I wasn’t too keen on getting any kind of surgery, so transplants were out and every toupee I’ve ever seen has looked absolutely ridiculous.  In light of all that I didn’t want to do, I began my search for some herbal treatments to stave off my male pattern baldness.  So far I’ve found and tried quite a few herbal products:  capsules, creams, shampoos and other various potions – some of them seem to be very effective in keeping me from losing more hair, but I haven’t found one yet that has seemed to stimulate any new hair growth.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be happy if the herbal products put an end to me losing my hair, but I really wish that I would come across a natural remedy that could restore the hair that I’ve already lost.  I should probably count myself among the lucky, I was at least able to catch my thinning hair early on and have been able to effectively put it on hold – there are a lot of guys out there who spend tons of money and still end up losing all of their hair.

Lasik in Orange County is big business.  I suppose it has something to do with the population and the importance of looks in California.  We had no shortage of doctors to visit.  This time I went to several myself, as Tara wanted to spend time with Carol.  Carol was getting a divorce from Sam, after only being married six weeks, and she was upset.  I was upset too.  We had just gone to Carol's wedding — her fourth– and she was now getting a divorce.  Before I left I told Tara that her friend should give us a refund for our gift.  Tara said I was insensitive. I didn't think so.  We had attended two out of four of Carol's weddings, and I didn't think she was through yet.  In fact, Carol was working in a name of another man, Tyler, whom she met through a friend.  Tyler, I guess, was serving as her listening post for troubles.  I couldn't believe it.  Carol was really fond of Tyler, but that was it, according to Carol.  I didn't care.  I just got in the car and drove to the first doctor.  He was attached to a clinic.   I waited about a half hour and was in to see him.  Later I called Tara and we met for dinner.

My maintaining sugar levels proved harder than I thought, and I had no idea why.  I began following a much better diet, based on those books that I bought, and I was getting much more exercise.  But I would have these wild swings in levels.  Tara threatened to take my kit away from me if I didn't just stop it.  I said I was worried. My great grandfather had lost his legs and sight to diabetes.  She just shook her head.  How do I feel, she asked. I told her I feel fine, especially because I've lost a few pounds, and I am getting regular exercise.  So she told me to stop looking for trouble, or trouble would find me.  I agree with that somewhat, but you do have to be careful.  Health is the most important thing.  Without it, all the rest doesn't matter.  I did put the kit away for a few days, but ended up pulling it out again to check my levels.  This time I did it away from Tara.  She didn't know.  Surprisingly, my levels weren't up and down and all over the place.  Tara would say it's because I'm not worried and stressed and thinking about it all the time.  She is right about that.

There has been a major decline for many jobs in the state of Washington to name a few are pharmacist, Personal Injury Attorney in Washington, and correction officers. The reasons are people do not like living in this state because it is to cold, to much empty land, and no city life what so ever. People feel as if they are living alone because they rarely see neighbors and the only neighbors they see is wildlife. They believe that moving to another state that already is popular and is known to be a high population city that they will feel more comfortable. To add dislikes people think about Washington is that it is too cold to live there. And states below will be warmer year round. The reasons stated above are why jobs are drastically declining every year because people want to relocate. Except for the old timer they love there state and will not move out of the state of Washington because this is there home. They do not like noisy city life, enjoy all four seasons to its fullest, and enjoy nature as this is the most beautiful thing for a human to see everyday through out the year.

There’s really nothing like a good taco.  Not in my opinion anyway.  That’s why when I move somewhere new or visit a friend in a new location of the city, I am on the lookout for all the local taco joints. 

 If almost everyone I know has a favorite taco restaurant, then they certainly have a place they wouldn’t buy a taco at to save their lives and we’re all sure to argue about which one is the best.

 There’s Arturo’s on the corner of Western and Armitage and right next door is Lazo’s, a sprawling affair of a restaurant where blaring karaoke music can be found at almost any time, day or night.  Both are twenty-four hour locations but I’ve never been able to clarify if they are competing businesses or sister restaurants.  You’ll get shitty food at either one and frankly my sope has been hard as a rock at Lazo’s on more than one occasion.  To their credit, I’ll admit that their salsa is one of my favorites but it is mild to comparison to that of, say, El Barco Mariscos.

 El Barco Mariscos on Ashland Avenue has two of the spiciest and most unique salsas that I have ever tried.  Horchata is a must for the salsa connoisseur at this location, as a margarita is not enough to fan the flame from your tongue.  The food is excellent and a bit pricey but well worth it once you see that one wall of the restaurant is a giant glass alcohol cabinet filled from floor to ceiling with different brands of Tequila.  When you order dinner, you get not just the standard fair with beans and rice but you get a two foot oblong plate filled with a cornucopia of vegetables in addition to your beans and rice.  Each table has a basket filled with key limes, which you may or may not choose to accompany your shots of Patron, which at four dollars each, come pretty cheap.

 If you get a cornucopia of vegetables at El Barco, then at Puebla, a little farther north up Milwaukee Avenue, you get a cornucopia of margaritas.  Their margaritas come in several flavors, on the rocks or frozen, and you can order one in an astounding four different sizes.  The food is great, the atmosphere brightly colored, and the salsa a bit more manageable for the mouth, which make for this restaurant easily being one of the best twenty-four spots in the city hands down.

 My favorite local taco joint though is Cardona’s.  At 18^th and Laflin in Pilsen, it’s a little off the beaten path now that I live up north but it’s well worth the trip, I swear.  And you can make that trip anytime twenty-four hours a day.  The place has zero ambience and I’ve even had the experience of stepping over a drunk customer who passed out in front of the entryway but the food is divine.  It’s so divine that I never even liked chicken tacos until I ate one at this place.  It’s all in the way they prepare their chicken.  Most Mexican restaurants either have shredded chicken or small pieces of cut-up chicken.  Cardona’s serves their chicken tacos with a thin chicken breast on a bed of warm corn tortillas.  Add lettuce, tomato, Chihuahua cheese with avocado slices, a dollop of sour cream and splash of red or green salsa and there you have it: the best taco in Chicago.