Your Exceptional Life » Shout out http://www.valeriecrowell.com Shining in the shadow of Mount Diablo Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:58:33 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Well I was up all night well wonderin’ what to do http://www.valeriecrowell.com/2008/08/31/well-i-was-up-all-night-well-wonderin-what-to-do/ http://www.valeriecrowell.com/2008/08/31/well-i-was-up-all-night-well-wonderin-what-to-do/#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:41:15 +0000 Valerie Crowell http://www.valeriecrowell.com/?p=54 It could be argued that the horse is already out of the barn and closing the door is superfluous.  It could also be argued that it is too little to late.  I would simply argue that it is a great tool for consumers.  The Federal Reserve has published a tool for mortgage consumers.  It’s easy to read and covers all the bases.  It even has a tool to calculate your break even point.  That’s a number I always want to know.  I recently switched to a smart phone.  If I had stayed with my current provider, it would have cost me $756 more over the term of the contract than if I left them, bought out the last three months and went with another company.  For cell phone service, that’s a lot of money over a two year period.  I switched.   That break even point is probably the most important number in the transaction.  That tells you whether or not it’s smart for you in your situation to refinance your property.  This web page shows you how to figure it out.  So we’ll give a shout out to the Fed for setting up a great tool for the consumer.

]]> http://www.valeriecrowell.com/2008/08/31/well-i-was-up-all-night-well-wonderin-what-to-do/feed/ 0 I need you like a lighthouse needs a coast http://www.valeriecrowell.com/2008/07/23/i-need-you-like-a-lighthouse-needs-a-coast/ http://www.valeriecrowell.com/2008/07/23/i-need-you-like-a-lighthouse-needs-a-coast/#comments Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:17:33 +0000 Valerie Crowell http://www.valeriecrowell.com/2008/07/23/i-need-you-like-a-lighthouse-needs-a-coast/ Unfortunately, sometimes in the middle of the night, I need these guys. I’ve needed them on Saturdays and Sundays. And they’ve always been there. I have taken a stray hit by a car to them and they did right by him. I took my dear Xica to them once she had expired. Toby Doby went to the bridge with them. On the night of June 17th I needed them again. Contra Costa Veterinary Emergency Pet Hospital was there on a Saturday afternoon when my beloved Doberman Pinscher Beauregard was having a hard time breathing. I knew in a 9 1/2 years old dog it may very well be bad news. It was. Dr. Matt Harsch delivered the bad news with compassion and understanding. Three days later when Beauregard couldn’t get his breath at all and was gurgling at 3 o’clock in the morning, Contra Costa Veterinary Emergency Pet Hospital was there. The only words I could say was “my dog’s in distress.” Dr. Dannucci was kind but firm with where we were and what would unfortunately do right by my dear boy’s soul. In the worst of conditions, the entire staff was beyond kind and understanding. I would say they couldn’t understand the connection between me and that dog, but he’d been there so many times before that they absolutely knew that we had captured lightening for 9 1/2 years. For that kindness I will always be indebted to their Doctors and their staff. So today, we give a shout out to the Contra Costa Veterinary Emergency Pet Hospital. I’m glad you’re in my neck of the woods.

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]]> http://www.valeriecrowell.com/2008/07/23/i-need-you-like-a-lighthouse-needs-a-coast/feed/ 0 The conflict rubs against my grain http://www.valeriecrowell.com/2008/05/11/the-conflict-rubs-against-my-grain/ http://www.valeriecrowell.com/2008/05/11/the-conflict-rubs-against-my-grain/#comments Mon, 12 May 2008 03:30:21 +0000 Valerie Crowell http://www.valeriecrowell.com/2008/05/11/the-conflict-rubs-against-my-grain/ It was an interesting weekend out here in Coco County. Gorgeous warm weather on Saturday and nice, but funky wind thing going on today. I took my new bike out and road it along the Canal Trail this afternoon. It’s much simpler to ride the trails than take your chances on surface streets. I really wish that drivers would follow some basic laws, like stop behind the white line and look and then start into the intersection. It’s unnerving for a cyclist when they don’t. Every single time a cyclist has to determine if they’re going to dump, go airborne or evade collision. See, when a bike hits a car, the cyclist gets hurt. If it’s the cyclist’s fault, the cyclist gets hurt. If it’s the car’s fault the cyclist gets hurt. The common thread is what scares me. Once I got on the canal trail it was a great ride. Strangely, everyone was pretty much paying attention, which is unusual. Only one family stopped on a curve to look at something in the canal. While I understand the need to show children new and interesting things, stopping on a curve and remaining stopped on the trail is dangerous. Just step off the trail with your children and everyone will be safer.

I’m getting to ride again because Dr. Elkind at Integro got my back fixed in record time. The last time I injured myself like this, I was unable to bend over and tie my shoes for over a week. They couldn’t settle my back down enough to make the adjustments for over a week. I had to sleep on my living room floor because the bed was too painful. I was down for a month. This time I was back on the bike a week later, I deadlifted successfully yesterday, only 14 days after the initial injury. I thank Dr. Elkind and Active Release Technique for the remarkable results. It’s nice to have such a gifted practitioner right in our back yard.

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