Karen’s Opinion

Did you know that all infant formula must meet FDA requirements? Well, they do. That is good news because it means parents can rest assured that any formula they buy will be good for their child. There is no need to buy the expensive brands. You will not be buying any better formula by spending more money so save your hard earned money. Buying lower priced store brand formula is just as good and will help your budget to allow you to buy other needed items such as fresh vegetable for the rest of your family.

Having said that, I have to interject my opinion on breast feeding vs formula feeding your baby. I don’t think it matters. The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes breast feeding as the best infant nutrition. I feel that there are instances when breast feeding may not be the best. Some lactating moms are taking medications that should not be passed on to their newborn. There are other instances where breast feeding is just not feasible. It is a mom’s choice to breast feed or not. It is their choice to choose which formula they want to feed their baby.

WIC is changing their program with regard to infant formula. They are trying to push more mothers into breast feeding their children. I don’t think they should make the program require moms to choose. It is not the governments place to force decisions on families.

And there you have it; my opinion.

After 30+ years with a certain insurance company, we are contemplating making a change. We have 5 autos insured with this company yet they don’t feel we are worth giving a discount for our loyalty. Perhaps it is time to look elsewhere.

I just saw, on my friend Rebecca’s blog, that free auto insurance quotes are available at Premium Auto Insurance.net. That means it is easy to compare rates. Hallelujah! I was dreading the chore of calling individual insurance providers. It seems as if, once they get your name, they hound you to get you to buy. That reminds me of a car salesman. We always look at new cars on the lot, but, only on Sunday! muwahaha!

At PremiumAutoInsurance.net, it is simple to compare insurers in my neck of the woods. I simply enter my zip code to bring up available insurers in my area.

From there, I am able to compare types of coverage offered by multiple competing companies. I can make an informed decision and one that will save me money. So, not only do I save time but I save money too and it is all done online with the click of my mouse!

Because I like that cute Justin Case, the spokesman for Safe Auto, I compared rates at that company. I am pleased with the results when compared to the rates we have now. I also checked out other well known companies like Geiko and was amazed at the savings.

It looks like the time for a change has arrived. Check out Premium Auto Insurance.net and get the lowest rates on your auto insurance. We all need to save money!

It is the month of August, a resort town sits next to the shores of
a lake. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is
tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.
Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town.
He enters the only hotel, lays a 100 dollar bill on the reception
counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one.
The hotel proprietor takes the 100 dollar bill and runs to pay his
debt to the butcher.
The Butcher takes the 100 dollar bill, and runs to pay his debt to
the pig raiser.
The pig raiser takes the 100 dollar bill, and runs to pay his debt
to the supplier of his feed and fuel.
The supplier of feed and fuel takes the 100 dollar bill and runs
to pay his debt to the town’s prostitute that in these hard times, gave her
“services” on credit.
The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the 100
dollar bill to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented
when she brought her clients there.
The hotel proprietor then lays the 100 dollar bill back on the
counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything.
At that moment, the rich tourist comes down after inspecting the
rooms, and takes his 100 dollar bill, after saying that he did not like any
of the rooms, and leaves town.
No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without
debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism .
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States
Government is doing business today.

If there is one thing I have learned from having two adult children, it is that college is expensive and I am not just talking about books and tuition fees. Most students find it difficult to hold down a job and do well in their studies. That means they have to watch where what little money they have goes. We hear the jokes about eating Ramen noodle soup 7 days a week and counting the number of squares of toilet paper used. It would be more funny if it weren’t true. Being a college student is rough.

Sears is stepping up to the plate to make it easier for parents and grandparents to help their struggling students out. By offering reload-able gift cards, available for purchase in their stores, Sears makes it convenient to add funds online to a students gift card. The student is then able to buy needed supplies such as toiletries and Ramen noodles at Sears and Kmart. You will be amazed at all the dorm room supplies available at sears.com/campus. If you are new to the college experience or simply want to be in the know about what college kids need these days to make their college experience successful check out Sears CampusReady at http://www.facebook.com/campusready. I had a great time designing my dorm room at CampusReady on Facebook!

I just have a problem with eating all that Ramen Noodle soup! LOL

I received the following excerpt in my email inbox this morning. I would like to share some words from Lee Iacocca.

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He’s now 82 years old and has a new book, ‘Where Have All The Leaders Gone?’.

Lee Iacocca Says:
‘Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, ‘Stay the course.’
Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned, ‘Titanic’. I’ll give you a sound bite: ‘Throw all the bums out!’
You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we’re fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving ‘pom-poms’ instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise of the ‘ America ‘ my parents and yours travelled across the ocean for. I’ve had enough. How about you?
I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re not outraged. This is a fight I’m ready and willing to have. The Biggest ‘C’ is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C’s of leadership, with crisis being the first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here’s where we stand.
We’re immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.
We’re running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We’re losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.
Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you’ve got to ask: ‘Where have all the leaders gone?’ Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We’ve spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone’s hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn’t happen again. Now, that’s just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you’re going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when ‘The Big Three’ referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough? Hey, I’m not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I’m trying to light a fire. I’m speaking out because I have hope – I believe in America . In my lifetime, I’ve had the privilege of living through some of America ‘s greatest moments. I’ve also experienced some of our worst crises: The ‘Great Depression,’ ‘World War II,’ the ‘Korean War,’ the ‘Kennedy Assassination,’ the ‘Vietnam War,’ the 1970′s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: ‘You don’t get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it’s building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That’s the challenge I’m raising in this book. It’s a “Call to Action” for people who, like me, believe in America ‘. It’s not too late, but it’s getting pretty close. So let’s shake off the crap and go to work. Let’s tell ‘em all we’ve had ‘enough.’