The best places to eat

I am not a culinary expert by any means.  That being said, I do think that I know good food when I taste it.
-I went to a Ruth's Chris Steak House with my wife on two different occasions.  The first time we loved it.  The staff was very attentive and it was an incredible meal.  The steak was to die for.  The second time around not so much.  My steak was still great but my wife's was not so great.  Plus the second time we went the staff all but ignored us it was such a stark contrast from our first experience.  But my steak was still amazing. 

-The Carnegie Deli is one stop I have to make if I am in Las Vegas.  I absolutely love the Reuben sandwich there.  Always a huge hit with me!!
-In Arizona down in Tuscon at a restaurant called El Guero Canelo resides the best hot dog on the planet.  It is called the Sonoran dog.  If you don't like hot dogs you will like this one, if you do like them this will become the standard you measure all other dogs by.  If you are even close to Tuscon you have to go.
- Jackson Hole Wyoming.  Billy's Burgers.  Just get one, you can thank me later.

These are just a few of my favorites, if you are close to any of them give them a try.

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Heart attack signs and symptoms in women

A very good friend of mine suffered a heart attack just the other day.  She is a young female, and it got me thinking about recent literature I have seen indicating that women can have some very different symptoms from what men typically experience when it comes to a heart attack.  There are many stories out there about how women can suffer a heart attack and get a misdiagnosis.  I looked on WebMD and found a story about a lady from New Jersey who was experiencing "a feeling of indigestion and extreme fatigue. Later, she had nausea, vomiting and fainting."  But she never experienced the typical symptoms of chest pain or pressure.  In fact one study found that nearly half of all women who have a heart attack never experience chest pain.

So I thought I would try to find and list all of the symptoms of a heart attack.  Because according to one study the average heart attack sufferer arrives at the hospital almost five hours after the symptoms start.  Which can significantly increase their chances of dying.  It is extremely important to become familiar with the warning signs of the number one killer of women in the United States.


The average heart attack sufferer gets to the hospital almost five hours after the onset of symptoms. This delay significantly increases their chances of dying. That's why it's so important to know the warning signs of a heart attack and what to do if you experience them. Being educated could save your life.




Common Warning Signs include but are not limited to:

Knowing these common warning signs of a heart attack could help save your life:

-Chest pressure, tightness, and heaviness

-Pain in shoulders, neck, jaw, or arms

-Lightheadedness

-Fainting

-Paleness


-Sweating

-Nausea

-Shortness of breath with or without chest pain


Studies on what doctors call cardiac events in women reveal that many women may experience early signs or symptoms of heart trouble in the days, weeks, or even months leading up to a heart attack. Unfortunately, many of these signs may be dismissed as nothing out of the ordinary, by both women and their doctors. The most common early warning signs include:


Unusual fatigue:  In one study, more than 70% of the women surveyed experienced marked fatigue in the days or weeks prior to their heart attacks.

Sleep disturbances:  A recent study revealed that almost half of the women who had recently suffered a heart attack also experienced sleep disturbances in the days or weeks leading up to their attacks.

Indigestion.

Anxiety.

Back pain.

Weakness.

Lets face it, all of us experience some these symptoms from time to time, have a bad week and anxiety sets in or fatigue or even indigestion.  So how do you know if the symptoms you are experiencing are serious?  Pay attention to your body.  Note the common aches and pains you have, take notice of things in your life and connect them with any anxiety your feel or sleep loss you experience. Basically just be in tune with your body.  Not f you experience changes in your energy level, comfort, or sleep habits, that are out of the ordinary and make you worry, you should discuss your concerns with your health care provider, especially if you have heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, a smoking habit, or a sedentary lifestyle. 

I also encourage you to search the Internet and learn about the causes and how to prevent heart attacks for yourself and those you love especially women as they experience.

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Thrive not just survive

Often times in life it seems we get so busy with work, school, kids, grand kids, church, friends, etc. that we don't take time to enjoy the simple things in life.  The other day I was riding in the car with my wife and she was reading a book and she would periodically share parts of the book with me.  One sentence she read to me was, The key to happiness in life is learning to thrive not just survive.  I am quoting from memory but that was essentially it.

I really had to stop and think about that for a minute.  There are so many things in life that are beyond our control.  We never know from day to day or minute to minute if something bad will happen to us or some one we know.  We never know when tragedy will strike or hardship will reign supreme in our lives.  The only thing that is certain is that we will all experience tragedy and hardship.

So how do we thrive instead of just survive when the bad times come?  I am not 100% sure I have the answer.  But I often think that it is all about how we look at it.  When events in life come we have the choice to be angry or be happy.  Let me give you an example.  When I was a kid I would ask my dad to tell me a story at bed time.  I used to say if he could make me laugh the story was over.  Well as you can imagine I would do my best to not laugh, and I was quite good at it.  I was taking a happy event and nullifying it.  Now I know this is very different from a tragic event in life but I believe that the same principal applies.  We choose how we feel.  It isn't always an easy choice but I truly believe we choose how we feel.

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The Soul Surfer lending a helping arm

My daughter and her friend watched the movie Soul Surfer.  I have not seen this movie but my daughter really liked it.  She and her friend decided that they wanted to base a fund raiser on that movie.  They decided to donate any money they made to the Make a Wish Foundation.  The idea behind their project was simple really, they would find sponsors, and the sponsors would agree to pay them a certain amount for every hour they went around with their hand tied behind their backs.  They called it lend a helping arm.  I was surprised at how many girls made it the entire 9 hours with the use of only one arm.  They raised almost $200.00 to give to the Make a Wish Foundation.  I was very proud of my daughter, I know at times she was discouraged by this event but she stuck with it and got it done.

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Tyler Perry why did I get married

I watched Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married the other day with my wife.  I really enjoyed the movie I have to say.  I was actually caught off guard by how much I enjoyed it.  I am not sure what I was expecting from the movie but it was really good.  My wife ordered it through netflix, which until very recently was a great stock to own. 

I wanted to share with you a line from the movie.  Tyler Perry's character is talking with three other guys and they are talking about marriage.  Tyler's character is trying to convince another character to stay with his wife.  Tyler's character talks about the 80/20 rule.  He says that in a relationship a person will usually only get about 80% of what they need.  He says why would you leave the 80% and go chase the 20%.  It doesn't make any sense.

I think in life that there are many many instances where we get 80% of what we need, it could be in a job, or in a marriage, or in a place to live, in an education, it can happen almost anywhere.  So why do we look at the 20% we aren't getting and long for it?  I honestly think it is because we take the 80% for granted.  We as humans tend to forget how blessed we are and look at what we don't have.  It is so easy to compare yourself to the neighbors or friends or colleagues, and say to yourself, why don't I have that?  I am about to spoil the movie a little if you haven't seen it, but in the end the one guy does leave his wife and he ends up regretting it.  The second movie really shows how much he regrets it.

My point is, if you are unhappy with something in your life, make a list.  One side put all the things that are great, all the areas you feel blessed.  On the other side put all the things you don't have.  I am fairly confident that you will find the list of good is much bigger than the list of bad.  I think that the secret to happiness in life it to always look at the 80% and ignore the 20.

I am a Tyler Perry fan for sure now!  Although I didn't like Why Did I Get Married 2 nearly as much.  Mostly because of how it ended.  Go see the movies, you might just enjoy them. 

Kim Kardashian Marriage

The other day I subjected myself to the worst thing imaginable.  I went to Walmart on Saturday afternoon.  I know I am completely insane aren't I? 

I admit, that Walmart is a far cry from horrible events in life, but of all the life experiences that don't really matter in the big scheme of things, Walmart on a Saturday afternoon is at the top of my list of terrible things.  I am standing in the longest check out line in the world watching old women dig in their purse for the checkbook or for that last coupon, and I cant help but over hear an older woman behind me.  She picks up a magazine with the Kim Kardashian wedding stuff on the front and she says "That silly girl finally got married".  Her husband grunts "Huh"?  The woman replies, "Her she finally got married".  The man mumbles something incoherent.  I am sure he was more concerned with the huge line we were in than the fact that Kim Kardashian got married.

I like to think about the generation gap when a situation like that arises.  I can only imagine what it was like when that elderly couple was young.  I highly doubt that anyone was a celebrity simply because they were alive.  I am positive that when that couple was young they didn't have a show about keeping up with people, who as far as I can tell, are only famous because the oldest daughter was seen out with Paris Hilton, and that she is naturally beautiful.  I am not saying I have anything against any of the Kardashians at all.  I am just merely reflecting on what our current society finds fascinating as opposed to what society found fascinating back 60 years ago.  What would people have thought about Snookie, or any of the other Jersey Shore characters?  No idea but I tend to think they would have found them ridiculous.  Again I am not saying get rid of Jersey Shore, just contemplating why they are famous.

I am happy that Kim got married, I really hope she is happy and that they are both willing to put in the work it takes to make their marriage last.

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Organizing the garage.

I saw a very funny cartoon once it was a Family Circus.  Billy was standing in the garage with his dad and the garage is a mess.  Toys bikes and kids stuff all over.  Billy says to his dad something like "Dad when I grow up I am going to keep my garage clean.  I think of this comic all the time as I am hurdling bikes, and trikes, and scooters, and wiggle racers etc. 

My wife is the greatest, on Friday afternoon I started moving all the kids stuff out of the garage so I could organize.  Out of the house comes my girls with my wife and they are going school clothes shopping.  I decide to go along mostly as a referee to keep my three daughters in line and make it easier for my wife to help them shop.  Because I went shopping I didn't get my garage cleaned out. 

Saturday morning my wonderful wife organized the children, which is something akin to herding cats, and we proceeded to clean and organize the garage.  I was amazed at how much junk accumulates in a single house.  Most of what I had to organize was stuff that belongs to my children.  We had a big load we took to Deseret Industries, which for those of you who don't know is like goodwill.  I was very pleased to get all that stuff cleared out.  I was able to almost completely empty one gigantic shelf that I built in our garage.  I almost don't know what to do with all the room.  But alas I am sure my children will have it filled back up in no time at all.  Until that occurs however I will enjoy pulling into my nice clean and organized garage.