And Here She Is.....

Da daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. We bought the Crownline in Iowa. What a beautiful boat! I'm so excited. It's going to be a very, very long winter though. Wave as you drive down the highway past my house. I'll be the idiot sitting in the boat all bundled up in a winter coat and earmuffs.LOL

Here's the boat in a rest stop area on the way home:

I can't wait to share all the pictures of her on the water next year! In the meantime, there are a few small winter projects I have planned including putting up a new boat shed (thought it would fit in the barn--not) so I'll post pictures of those as winter goes on.

Deven Parekh Follows a Balanced Path

Deven Parekh has a great deal of experience in his field that lead him to his position as the managing director of the 3 billion dollar private equity and venture capital firm Insight Ventures Partners. Before Insight Ventures Partners Mr. Parekh was with Berenson Minella & Company, and before that, The Blackstone Group.

His experiences began with a B.S. in Economics from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. From there Deven Parekh always made sure to keep his life well balanced. He blends his professional life with an active private life where he is involved in helping others and encouraging young people to excel.

A board member of Publicolor (http://www.publicolor.org), Deven Parekh follows his vision as a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Devoted to the inspiration of Henry Crown who always gave back to his community and believed in honor, integrity, and philanthropy.

We Bought The Boat

Well, we bought a boat today. We traveled to Iowa, went all over the boat, had a surveyor go all over the boat, and we bought the boat. We'll be in Iowa until tomorrow morning when we actually make the financial exchange and get the title from the seller's bank and be on our way home. I'm so excited. It was everything I hoped it would be. Now it is going to be an even longer than long winter. I have to apologize, however, I was so excited I forgot to take pictures. I'll get some tomorrow, but it looks like it did in the posts below.

Connection to Machines

I guess no matter what type of car you have there are extra things you can get for them to make them really tailored to your desires. Even my Monte Carlo has some extra accessories that I could get to make it more 'mine.' Each type of car has accessories that are geared toward it alone. Ferrari's have Ferrari parts, Mustang's have their own parts, and some accessories work on all types of cars of similar size and style. Learning how to do a lot of things myself for the boat has opened up some abilities to work on my car and truck as well. It makes it more interesting and I have to admit, I suddenly realize why people who work on their own machines feel about them the way they do. It gives you a connection to the machine you don't have if you simply take it somewhere and pay someone else to do it.

Big Waves

This is pretty cool to watch, but I sure hope to never be caught out in anything like this:

Accessories or Peace

Bob got the truck tuned up for the trip next weekend. He still didn't get the step up I want, although that's not exactly a 'tune up' necessity. I like his truck but it is too tall to get in for me. If I were just a few inches taller it wouldn't be an issue. I've wanted him to buy those truck accessories since the day he got his truck. I don't have a problem with my truck even though it is close to the same height because of the way the floor is. It is just low enough to get up on without a runner bar under the door. My truck could handle the boat too, unfortunately I don't think I'm up to driving it. I'll deal with having to crawl up into Bob's cab so that I can have the peace of mind of his being the one driving that monster home.

Getting Closer

I'm doing my countdown now. In three days we'll be on our way to Iowa to check out the boat I posted about below. I'm getting anxious. It looks like such a great boat. I sure hope the pictures measure up to reality. It's amazing how good pictures can make a so-so boat look. Of course, pictures cannot cover up a horrible wreck so I know it has to be at least decent looking.

Long Term Support From Addiction

I'm kind of surprised that there are no drug rehab programs for cigarette smoking. They have rehab for alcohol addiction and it is just as bad as that. Although I supposed because there are no laws against cigarette smoking like there are alcohol and other illegal drugs they don't consider it as necessary to provide a rehab program. While there are laws regarding where you can and can not smoke now, there aren't any felony crimes involved with it as there are, for instance, with DUI from alcohol. I think it would be very beneficial and more smokers would manage to kick the habit and live healthier lives if there were. Some programs for quitting smoking are out there, but they are certainly not on the same level as a drug rehab program.

One of the more vital aspects of most solid substance abuse rehab centers is long term after care and support. Just because you've made it through a program does not mean you won't relapse. The programs that do not provide a way for the rehabilitated user to reach out and get help when temptation arises are more likely to fail. Of course, it is necessary for the addict to seek the help offered as well.

Anyone who is battling addiction of any kind needs a lot of support from family and friends as well, and that support must not stop once the person has quit the habit either. It must continue for months, years, and a lifetime afterwards. The people that have that type of support are most likely to succeed.

141 DAYS!

141 days and just over 900 dollars. That's how long it has been since I quit smoking. 141 days isn't that long, really. It's just closing in on 5 months. Less than half a year. And still, that 900 dollars (902 and some change to be more precise) is what I have saved so far. That means that in a year I will have saved just a few dollars shy of TWO THOUSAND dollars. That's a lot of money that I've been throwing away on such a destructive habit. Well, to be fair, that figure is based on the current price that jumped up drastically. However, I've easily spent at least half that in years past. The biggest benefit, more than money saved, is how much better I feel.

Yes, there are still times I think about it. I no longer obsess over cigarettes, or desire to smoke, but it does cross my mind. Sometimes I worry I will stumble. When I get those thoughts I wonder if at some point it will happen at just the right time, just the right moment, and I won't talk myself out of it. In reality when I have those thoughts the very next thought is---why? Why do you want one? Smoking never really was all that great. It was a horrible addiction. You don't really want that back... but I do fear that some day that reason won't be there in time and I'll stumble. Many do. I have to pray that as time goes on and the length of time I have been away from them widens the less likely I'll be to stumble even if reason isn't right there with an argument against smoking.

Carl Sgro Exemplifies Success on All Levels

It's interesting to read about successful people, and learning about their methods of success can really help you get the most out of your own endeavors. Seeing how Carl Sgro developed his SEO/SEM solutions for the health care industry and how it all came about is incredibly interesting. What I find even more interesting is how people who are very successful attack their personal lives.

Carl Sgro is not only a successful businessman he is a terrific bass fisherman as well. This has a great deal of interest for me on two levels. The first reason is because I think understanding and learning how successful people handle their entire life, not just business aspects, is a great way to learn how to successfully handle your own. Secondly I want to catch some really big bass myself on our new boat.

In his versatile and well-rounded personal life, not only an accomplished tournament level fisherman but a harmonica player as well, you find that Carl Sgro has learned the true meaning of success in life. Business success has to be balanced by a degree of personal fulfillment and happiness. I think too many of us starting our own businesses forget that and soon feel overwhelmed because we lose sight of our personal lives.

Weather Blues---or Grays.

Well darn it, I think winter is finally here. The entire first half of the month of November was actually prettier, warmer, and definitely drier than the whole month of October. I am not sure you could actually call it Indian Summer, but it was certainly a lovely fall. The rain is back now though and I really feel bad for local farmers. Most of the harvesting was delayed for the whole month of October. In November everybody went into overdrive to get the crops in but half of the fields are still full and this cold, nasty rain is going to stall it even more. The sun decided to completely hide out today and it is gray and dreary. Just a bit of a foreshadowing of months to come I suppose. I am not looking forward to it. The older I get, and each time winter rolls around now, the more sure I am that I want to retire to someplace very warm all year round when the time comes.

Flower Delivery Makes Gift Giving Easy

A friend of mine has an anniversary coming up. I am going to send flowers. For me the best way to do that is to order a flower delivery service like 1-800flowers to get the best quality and freshness with the least amount of hassle. Flowers make a fantastic gift especially at this time of year, or early in the year like on my anniversary in April. Flowers aren't blooming outside so having a beautiful spray in the house makes you feel more alive and gives your spirits a lift.

For an occasion such as a friend's anniversary, or birthday gift baskets are perfect. Not only can I give flowers, but special treats as well. This wine basket is perfect for my friend who is a real vinophile:

1-800flowers has so many types to choose from you're sure to find the right one. Most of the time it is difficult to not find several I want for myself as well. That, however, is a bonus rather than a real problem.

More Boat Decisions

Well, irregardless of whether the boat we put an offer on is accepted we haven't solidified anything on that one, we are still going to look at that boat in Iowa on the 22nd. If it is as represented it is a much better deal all around. I've liked it for a long time but logistics have prevented us from going to see it. I posted a picture awhile ago but here is another one:

I also arranged to have a boat surveyor meet us there to check it out. Usually I would do what we did last weekend, go look at the boat, make an offer pending agreement AND a successful survey, but with the Iowa boat such a long distance to drive, if we go there we want to either buy the boat and come home with it, or leave and be done with it. So our surveyor is going to meet us there so we can know that day if we can reach an agreement on the purchase of the boat or not. I hope we can because I have been in love from afar with this boat for a long time. The boat in the picture below that we looked at over the past weekend has one HUGE factor in its favor, but this boat in the picture here has many, many extras so it can be a little bit of a tough decision. The main deciding factor will be how the boat here is kept in regard to how it was described.

Having a Blast on the Water

One of the things we are very determined to do with our new boat is cruise the 'great loop' which is down the Mississippi, around Florida, up the East Coast, through the Hudson by New York, around the Erie Canal to Lake Michigan, down past Chicago, down the Chicago river to the Illinois River to the Mississippi again. After that we want to go down the Mississippi to Florida, then head across the Florida straights to the out islands of the Bahamas at Bimini Island. We'll stay on the boat, and even get a nice room at abermuda hotel, head out back to Florida, maybe even the Keys for awhile and then back up the Mississippi. We are going to have a ball on that boat.

And the Winning Bid Is...

At least we hope it is.

Okay, at the risk of really jinxing things (I'm starting to wonder if posting about my searches is screwing with success: nah, not really, shopping for boats is hair pulling and aggravating until you find the perfect one) this is the boat we put a bid on yesterday:

Life and Hobbies

I'm getting to the point now where I am going to have to start looking for a good wrinkle treatment. I've never had to worry about that before. I have been blessed. Even though I had some grey hairs, I wasn't really getting wrinkled. I am starting to show my age more in my face now though. Wrinkle creams are actually pretty amazing. I used some for the darkness around my eyes and it puts moisture in the skin to help puff it out a big to reduce the sunken areas and that's the way wrinkle creams work, too. Since we plan on spending a lot of time in the wind, on the water, in the sun I'm going to have to be even more careful not to let it get to my skin and by protection along with treatments. Just another part of getting older and enjoying hobbies, I suppose.

Boat, Boats,Boats, and it's too cold to even go on the water.

This boat search thing is really going to take a while. We went up to the Frankfort area yesterday and looked at a couple of boats. One really nice, but no trailer, the other had a trailer but was pretty run down. The run down one with the trailer was out of the question even if it would have been nice to get one for 4 grand less than our boat buying budget. The other one, however, we made an offer of, meet their price if they put a good trailer under it, or we'll buy a trailer if they knock the price of the boat down to reflect the cost. Probably won't be getting that boat even though I do really like it. Still going up to Iowa to look at the boat up there but that's not for almost two weeks yet. Keeping my eyes open for a deal until then.

Travel Needs

When we get the new boat I'm going to have to concentrate on getting a new computer too. One that I can take along with me when we're out for days at a time. The computer I have now is a laptop, therefore transportable, and has a big computer memory ability. It's too much though really. All I need is something smaller and easy to pack that can let me get online. I will still use the more powerful, bigger laptop at home. I don't want to take this one in case something happens to it. It could get banged around a bit if seas get rough, it could get wet and damaged, any number of things could happen and I always want to have my home computer no matter what happens when we're out.

Next!

Boy boat hunting is a trip. We were supposed to go out last weekend but finally getting some detailed pictures I'd been bugging the seller for saved us the trip. I won't go into the problem that showed up, but the worst part wasn't that the problem was there, but that the seller stumbled around trying to come up with a reason for it. No reason for that, just tell the truth. Not sure this seller knew what the truth was anymore, or simply didn't want to say what it was. Whatever the case may be we didn't go look at that boat. We're going to look at a different one in two weeks. I'm excited because this one the seller was quick to get me more pictures when asked for them, has been quick to answer all questions, and even upfront about a reason for a repair when asked. It's a long drive to get there, but hopefully it will be worth it. Here's one of the pictures of the boat.