How a squeegee changed my life... (Part One)

It wasn't too long ago when a squeegee and a question from my daughter changed my life.  Weird, right?  A squeegee.  I know.

Well let me explain.  I had recently moved into a new home that had a glass shower enclosure.  To prevent hard water build up on the glass, I bought a squeegee.  Before getting out of the shower I would squeegee off all the water drops.  It didn't take too long before the novelty of the squeegee wore off and it hung lonely and unused in the shower.

Then one day my then 9 year old daughter asked me a question when I was getting out of the shower.  Caitie asked, "Why didn't you use the squeegee?".  To this I replied, "I don't know, I guess I just got tired of using it".  The next thing she said changed my way of thinking.  She said, "Why did you buy it, if you are not going to use it?".  I didn't know how to answer this question.

Did I purchase the squeegee for the fun of it?  Did I really want the glass to stay in nice condition?  Was squeegeeing to much work, or take too much time?  Was I just lazy?  Did I know when I bought it that I wasn't going to keep on using it?  Was my own expectation of myself to only use it until I got bored of it, then push it aside?

I picked up the squeegee and quickly ran it down the shower walls.  It takes about 30 seconds to do all the glass.  Surely I can fit that into my schedule, and it was worth it to keep the glass looking nice.

I didn't know it at the time, but this moment, brought to me courtesy of a 9 year old child, would change my life and what I believed about myself.

I squeegee my shower EVERY time I use it.

The problem was that I didn't expect myself to keep on squeegeeing the shower, and there were lots of other things that I would start and not finish, or sometimes not even start, because I didn't expect myself to finish, so what was the point.  I had come to accept this about myself - this was me, this was my make-up.  I didn't like it and it impacted my self esteem, but I accepted it.

Though this belief ran deep and affected many things in my life, I realized that it may not be 100% true.  This idea stayed with me, and one day something happened that began to weaken that belief even more. I was getting out of the shower and realized that I had just squeegeed.... and didn't even realize that I had done it.

Sounds silly, but I was floored.  Could it be that I could have developed a habit, where a habit didn't used to exist?  I didn't believe this was possible.  The realization of this changed my life, my way of thinking, and made me recognize some other self imposed limitations I placed on myself, and made me question the other beliefs - things I believed true about myself and lived my life around.

Well, that squeegee represents a lot more to me today than spot free glass.  The squeegee serves as a reminder everyday - that I can choose who I am - and what I want to do, and who I want to be.  The commitment to using the squeegee has helped me form a new belief - I can and I will do so much more than I previously thought I could.

Part Two to follow

Marika Hamilton

KitchenAid Appliances, Problems, Poor Design, a Disappointment

Ahhh... new kitchen appliances, what can do more to bring new life into a tired kitchen...? The type of purchase that you make just a couple times over the course of your life. So you try to chose wisely, go with a brand that not only adds a touch of class to your kitchen, but that will perform well.

Shortly after buying my home, I decided that new appliances would add great value to my kitchen, aesthetically and otherwise. I went the route that is so common nowadays and went for all stainless steel. Now the very top brands were out of my budget, not to mention unrealistic for the price range of my home. But I chose KitchenAid, as I believed in their brand, and I suppose had bought into and believed their marketing campaigns. KitchenAid, that's a good brand right?  It's certainly not at the bottom of the appliance food chain.

So after much debate, I purchase a new slide in range, microwave, dishwasher and side by side refrigerator. The cost, almost $5k.

They look lovely. Too bad I actually have to use them.

My side by side refrigerator has an ice dispenser in the door. Yeah! This was a new feature for me, but unfortunately, I can't get it to dispense ice. After the repairman visited, I was told that it is common problem with this brand. The dispenser trap door lets enough warm air into to partly melt the ice... and once this happens it will no longer dispense ice, because all the ice freezes into a giant lump inside. We live without ice now, because I am not strong enough to break the ice container free (I stopped trying after I was yanking on it, my hand slipped and I punched myself in the face).

My dishwasher is kind of crazy... usually you can open a dishwasher's door add an item and when you close the door it resumes... not the KitchenAid. You have to push buttons to get it to restart... why? My dishwasher does not drain the water out when the cycle is done either. I have to push the cancel button and then the bottom of the dishwasher will drain.  My dishwasher smells bad and so do my clean dishes when I unload them.  Last night I cooked salmon and later ran the dishwasher with the plates from dinner.  This morning I opened up the dishwasher and about gagged.  Everything smells like dirty salmon water at the bottom at the dishwasher.... lovely.

My oven has the touch panel controls on the front. This is ok, I guess. But when the kids go to use the microwave and lean up to push the microwave buttons, the oven control panel is activated turning the oven on. Not exactly what you want to happen when the kids are trying to fix popcorn. But the worse part is the gas range top. It looks great. But I have never used a gas range that took so long to do anything. I swear it takes 30 minutes to boil water. This is an $1800 range. It occurred to me that the problem must be that the grate is too high, and too far away from the actual flame. How did this get missed in KitchenAid's R/D department? I have now turn the grates upside down so the bottom of the pans are closer to the flame. it looks like crap, but at least I can feed my children before they pass out from hunger.

My microwave automatically turns on the fan if the cook top below produces a certain amount of heat.  Not a bad idea, I guess.  But it is extremely irritating that you cannot turn it off if you want to.  It turns on by it's self and it will turn off when it is ready to.  You can not override it - and my table is in the kitchen and it is very noisy to try and eat and talk with the fan in the background for another twenty minutes after you are done cooking.

Well - what's my point with all of this...? That's a fair question. I suppose to give people a heads up when considering any sizeable purchase. Just type in Google the brand name and the word "problems". When I recently typed in KitchenAid Problems... I was shocked at what came up. Lots of poor souls just like me that gave a manufacturer the benefit of the doubt... and wound up with the short end of the stick.
If you have your own problems with KitchenAid - please post it here and perhaps we can help other avoid making a costly mistake.

Thanks - Marika Hamilton

Haiti Update - Platter Winner and Fund Raising Results

Hi Everyone - Thanks so much for checking in... I'm saving you some reading!

Check out the video below and find out how much we raised and..... drum roll, please....


WHO WON THE PARTY PLATTER!!!!

Thanks so much -

Marika Hamilton

Helping Haiti - American Red Cross - Jimmy John's

As you are aware, there is terrible suffering in Haiti.

It a good time to count your blessings and know that your family is safe and sound.

I hope you can join us on Friday, January 22nd to help raise some money for the Haiti Relief Fund. For every sandwich we sell at Jimmy John's on West Jefferson Blvd, in Fort Wayne, on Friday - we are going to donate $1.00 to the American Red Cross.

This is an all day event.

Please help us spread the word and encourage your friends and co-workers to have a sandwich for Haiti on Friday.  Please post this on your Facebook and Twitter accounts so we can hopefully get a big turn out for this event.  This is valid on dine-in, take-out and delivery orders.

Any questions, please leave a comment below.

Thanks so much for your help -

Marika Hamilton

Twas the night before....

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear..
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile..
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."

" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities.. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

Bob Parsons - GoDaddy Founder - 16 Rules

I use GoDaddy to register and host the different domain names that I use. I have noticed that the founder of GoDaddy, Bob Parson's has a video blog. I didn't take the time to check it out, partly I think because of the GoDaddy girls.... if you're familiar with the culture of GoDaddy (picture a Hooters version of Google)... it's not too hard to imagine some of the content of the video blog. Not being a dude... I really wasn't enticed to watch a video that features "smokin hot blondes"... or brunettes....--->

Well, something caught my eye today, and I decided to take a look. Ok... yes there was of course a smokin hot blonde... but it would be a mistake to let that detract from the message.

If you get a chance check out Bob's site at http://www.bobparsons.me and if you don't want to do that... check out Bob's 16 Rules below:

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.

I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."

2. Never give up.

Almost nothing works the first time it's attempted. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn't have an opportunity.

3. When you're ready to quit, you're closer than you think.

There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.

Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences." My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, "Well, Robert, if it doesn't work, they can't eat you."

5. Focus on what you want to have happen.

Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."

6. Take things a day at a time.

No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don't look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward.

Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide.

Remember what General George S. Patton said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

9. Measure everything of significance.

I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.

If you want to uncover problems you don't know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven't examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you're doing.

When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance.
Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.

12. Never let anybody push you around.

In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you're doing as anyone else, provided that what you're doing is legal.

13. Never expect life to be fair.

Life isn't fair. You make your own breaks. You'll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems.

You'll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you'll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others." There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."

15. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck.
None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There's always a reason to smile.

Find it. After all, you're really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother.
He always reminds me: "We're not here for a long time, we're here for a good time!"

Relationships.... what are they?

Life is busy. Time goes by too quickly, and before you know it you are looking backward over the years, wondering where it all went.

It has been said that your life can be measured by the quality of your relationships. I think that is true.

But with time being our most precious asset, why do we spend time on so many relationships that aren't quality?

I think it is important to take an inventory of the important relationships in your life. Just because they are important, doesn't make them quality. I'm going to say that again - just because they are important relationships, doesn't make them quality relationships. For example, a relationship with your father is important, but it is not quality if he is an abusive person.

A painful process to be sure, but can you take a honest look at these important relationships and determine whether they are worthy of your time and attention?

What is a quality relationship to me, maybe not be for you. But I do believe there are some basic truths. Do you trust them? Can you count on them? Are they reliable? Do they have integrity? Are they consistent? Are they honest? Are they kind hearted? Do you respect them? Do they exhibit respect for you and others? Can they accept you for who you are?

You can pick and choose what your basic truths are, heck you can even add your own. What is important to you? If you don't know, it's important you find out.

Relationships are a two way street, right? That means that each party has to want and value the relationship. Each party has to care about the other. Each party is willing to invest in the relationship. What if you have an important relationship that isn't a two way street? What do you do then?

Well, first you have to get honest with yourself, and second you have to get honest with the other person. It may be a relationship that you think should be important, but it really isn't that important to you. If that's the case - you can just let it go. Or it might be an important relationship to you, because it is an important relationship. In that case, you need to tell the other person how you feel.

Here's the scary part. You have to be willing to give these relationships up. You are only part of any relationship. If it is more important to you than the other person you need to let it go, so you can make room for a different, quality relationship.

You only have so much time and energy to expend on your relationships. You can't afford to cheat yourself by investing in a relationship that the other party doesn't value. If you find you have one sided relationships - like you only ever hear from that person when they need something, or you check in on them, but they never contact you - it's time to evaluate the situation.

It can be painful to face the reality that someone you love values the relationship differently than you. But it is what it is. You cannot make someone love you, take an interest in your life - it's free will. You can however, respect yourself enough to cherish and nuture those relationships in your life that are quality, and are mutually satisfying.

Life is short - so whether it is family or friend, it's time to trim the dead wood and embrace the new growth that will certainly emerge.

Enjoy - Marika Hamilton