Laughter..the BEST medicine...

The Press Enterprise (9/26/12) had a question to a columnist who writes about employment issues, which gave me a HUGE Laugh Out Loud moment ! Really, it's Jon Stewart, Colbert Report,  funny...

So the person asks: "My boss recently called me in for a review (consult) about my being late for work. Now, the writer complains, my boss watches me very carefully, all the time, and I don't like it." 

NOW, the employee, who has been negatively reviewed for being late....frequently....asks the question no one would ever expect:

'Why should I be punished for my poor time management skills?'

Have you stopped laughing yet? Thank you Press Enterprise for a soul lightening moment! There's a reality show here somewhere.

It's better when you grow your own..or build your own

Think only the "BIG BOX" home improvement stores can help you with that patio, garden, lawn, and gravel or stone work? ... Well here's the LOCAL company that is 4th generation and can make your life not only simpler, but your project easier - or your yard more beautiful. Since 1929...we've been in the building materials business... and we know our stuff. Come on by...let's talk. I bet we can help...and we DELIVER! Whether you need to make a vertical garden or a water conscious stone walkway - we can make it happen for you. Plus...local business is business that cares about your satisfaction.

When you gotta have it....WE GOT IT

Think only the "BIG BOX" home improvement stores can help you with that patio, garden, lawn, and gravel or stone work? ... Well here's the LOCAL company that is 4th generation and can make your life not only simpler, but your project easier - or your yard more beautiful. Since 1929...we've been in the building materials business... and we know our stuff. Come on by...let's talk. I bet we can help...and we DELIVER! Whether you need to make a vertical garden or a water conscious stone walkway - we can make it happen for you. Plus...local business is business that cares about your satisfaction.

Need to "GIT 'er DONE...Fast. Friendly, Focused on YOU!

Tools, Trucks, Cement Mixers - or we can mix it for you. We got you covered. When you need to do a job the right equipment is under our roof... Ready for you. Come on in and we can make the work a little bit easier...after all the right tool for the right job makes it happen.We're here in Norco, CA - Horsetown USA....LOCAL & Ready to serve you!

Get Thee to a Lawyer....

Younger & Associates are on YOUR SIDE. I know that lawyers are a group that we "love to hate", but that's when they are working for the other guy. When you need a "corner-man" who will take on your fight & make it their own...you need Younger & Associates. Sometimes we need a new best friend..call them and see how simple it can be to even out the playing field.

FLOWERS....always a good idea!

Think of all the holidays....Think of all the special days in you life...Think of how much "that certain someone" would feel seeing these arrive at the door. Now think about how good it will feel...Think.flowers....and you will be thought of...

MANY trees Grows in ....Riverside... BIG TREES

Dale Roley & his team will make your tree problems, and you know you have them - go away. Got one that's too big, about to fall over, uplifting your patio - going under your pool - Roley & Associates are your answer. Yes, he's an arborist, but don't hold that against him - LOL. He knows his stuff and will make your yard safer, more beautiful, and you can drink a beer while PROFESSIONALS do the work. Sounds pretty good, huh? Seriously, give him a call - he can come to your home or office

It's going to be HOT - and YOU WON"T CARE !!

Okay, we know where we live. Southern California - it gets hot here - and as much as we appreciate Southern California Edison and the air conditioning they deliver to us on those days when we can't take the heat anymore...we have options. Yes - I said "options" - a different way to make us cool...although I am certain you, personally - are cool - remember temperatures rise and these guys at MOHR POWER will make you life better...certainly cooler - and in the middle of a Southern California summer - cooler is better......Oh, I forgot - and you will SAVE buckets of MONEY. Give them a call - its a free estimate....free is good...

This is why LOCAL works...

So, when you go to list your home we can all go online, and my guess is that when you type in REALTY the "BIG" guys will pop right up on your screen. You know the drill - want a "nationwide" - anything - there they are. Hey, it's the way it seems to be, but LOCAL business..LOCAL service people, LOCAL companies...are all around you. Check out Vera's video - maybe she's not a pampered TV star with experience in front of a camera - but you can feel the sincerity. She will work hard for YOU. Give it a try .....LOCAL WORKS!

So who is Horace Mann? - And what can he do for me?

An insurance company with a mission.We have a full line of products tailored to meet your needs coupled with programs specifically designed for teachers. Find out why Horace Mann is right for you. Founded by educators and with many additional benefits for clients who are educators, Horace Mann Insurance Company is a company that gives back to its community. Auto - Property - Life - Financial Services, including Mutual Funds & College Savings Plans. Give us a call and see what we can do ....for you.

Not just a Senator - a Family friend

Last Thursday I revealed to the world (the world of Corona, Riverside,Norco and Eastvale), how I "assisted" Senator Feinstein during her appearance at the Good Morning Corona Valley (GMCV). 


My "assist" was basically comprised of NOT spilling a glass of water on her red suit, while I tried to do my own David Copperfield disappearing act as I grabbed my ringing phone from beneath the podium. All this while my friend "Diane"(that's Senator Feinstein to you), was speaking to the business people of our community. I am certain I was big help. 
Well, imagine my surprise when my sister Lorraine, after reading my post, called & explained that our family has a long history with the Senator. Hell, we're practically family...


Here's the story.....Once upon a time when Diane - was running for office (Senate?) she made an appearance at an event in Mendocino, Ca for the newly established Ocean Sanctuary Foundation (yes....my sister is a tree hugger, and ocean protector on the side). Lorraine attended the event, in fact, she was in charge of selling the newly minted T-Shirts that proclaimed "OCEAN SANCTUARY" in various hues of blue. Now, you know the deference & respect I showed the Senator when I was bending over basically between her skirt and the podium....well it's evidently a family trait to be ....shall we say....less than subtle when in the presence of Diane Feinstein.
The Senator had, like Julius Caesar, come to the event - saw - and conquered. The crowd was dispering and she was making a strategic exit....surrounded by her escorts - or are they guards? When my sister looked up and saw her walking away. Always the subtle "marketeer" of the family she proceeded to yell out - "SENATOR SENATOR SENATOR or maybe Diane, Diane, Diane..... who stopped dead in her tracks to see who was yelling at her - and that tiny pause, was Lorraine's opportunity. She said (loudly), "You want to by a T Shirt don't you? And now the people standing nearby turned and gazed at our Senator - who, good politician that she was, said....and I quote..."Well I guess I do now"! Lorraine's memory is hazy after that because she thinks the Senator borrowed the money from an assistant and got the hell out of Dodge. But she had accomplished her T-Shirt mission.


So there you have it....our family keeps running into Diane - literally, that's me, and figuratively - that's my sis.... We are bound together - 2 goofball chicks, and the dignified Senator from California... and that's the way it will stay. At least until my niece and nephew have their own encounters with the good Senator - and I'm sure they will  - it's in the stars..


P.S.(Why didn't Diane hug me - when she saw it was one of the crazy Ardaiz girls - is what I want to know) 

The bells are ringing for me & my Senator....

An object lesson in turning off your cell phone while in a meeting or group: (FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE - MINE!) So, as the co-host of GMCV this morning, we had a surprise visitor, the Senior Senator from California, Diane Feinstein. As she stood at the podium, which has a little shelf built in - where my purse sits, a very loud ringing of a phone begins to go off. She's a pro and she keeps speaking....  Me, I'm looking around wondering why the idiot whose phone is ringing away doesn't turn it off......Okay - you got me - I'm the idiot. It's my phone on in my purse....So I hunch over like Quasimodo - so I'll be small (yeah, like that makes a difference) and I go up on the stage - with the Senator - and reach down to get my phone - almost knocking a glass of water onto my new friend Diane. Here we are - the Senator and me, up on the stage one of us standing tall and speaking the other hunching small and looking like a ground varmint begging for its life. Got the purse - kept the crouched position - and yelled out - Sorry Senator. What a morning ! PS. she was very gracious....and my back hurts from hunching over.....

Me - ready for the doghouse

Register...It's NOT just for voting anymore!

Every single web site you go to wants you to REGISTER, BECOME A MEMBER, SIGN UP FOR OUR SPECIAL OFFERS! Ever get tired of it?

I can assure you that if you register, sign up, or become a member, you will be subject to much love, and many, many emails. That's why every day since I bought a lipstick at ULTA there is a new special offer - just for me! Well, me, and the other 50,000 people they send the same offer to.
I like being able to look things up at stores on-line but this is a bit much. I don't want to be tagged like those cattle you see with the "earring" that identifies them as "well-done".

I am not a rare and exotic species who needs to be reminded daily that I need what they have, In fact, it irritates me. How about you?

Will you have that with a side of Marketing Expertise?

Tomato - Tomato....slightly different pronunciation, but the taste is the same. Well, I feel that way about ALLEGRA Printing, (formerly known as ZAP Printing). The same good people, the same excellent service, the same high level of creativity - So....it's not quite tomato-tomato, its ALLEGRA - ALLEGRA...if you are a Corona, Norco, or Riverside business you know them.....they have been your local printing source for over 20 years. Go in and say hello....and check out what they can do to make you look your best!

How the hell did we get here?

For all the help, GPS, MapQuest, and Google Earth assists we have at our fingertips, how did we get so lost? A few years ago things were going along fine and then almost literally, we discovered there was a financial and economic meltdown going on - and we were, not just invited, we were the main course. Seems that big, (read giant, huge, ginormous) businesses had been acting in a greedy, self serving, and possibly illegal manner, in order to MAXIMIZE their profits, MINIMIZE their risks, and, best of all, let someone else take the fall - that would be MOST ALL OF THE REST OF US.
When we were young we were watched and corrected when we did things wrong - a kind of oversight. As we progressed in school there were tests and exams that also checked to see if we were actually learning - more oversight. Even as working adults we have "ride-a longs" with our employer, or other forms of oversight.....so how did the entire USA get to the point where no one was watching the store? Or is it possible that the lunatics ARE ACTUALLY running the asylum?? Got an opinion?

Body Work ...by the Pros

Riverside is the home of Woodcrest Paint & Body. Cars -Trucks - Repair & Paint - the people you can trust with your vehicle. For 18 years Woodcrest Paint & Body has been a premier choice to take your injured car or truck to be put back together - like new. If anybody can do it - they can. Remember, in this day of insurance companies steering business to their "preferred" shops, you are still in control. You can send you car where you want the work done... At Woodcrest Paint & Body - YOU are the preferred choice.

Fire up the grill...we're ready for summer!

A vacation in your backyard.... Holiday at    home.....Fun that doesn't need an extra tank of gas....Anyway you say it - its a Mike Jenkins Pool or Spa - just outside your back door. Maybe there are waterfalls, soothing waterfalls, maybe it's the best way to end a hot and muggy day - dive in and swim to your hearts content. Your best vacation spot. Mike is your guy...knowledge, attention to detail, and quality. Resistance is futile.....you will LOVE your new pool! 

What's in a name?

Except for celebrities, who are infamous for naming their offspring with some pretty unusual monikers; "Moxie Crime Fighter", "Kal-El" and the like, business people spend time & effort trying for the "PERFECT" name to exemplify the company they are presenting. But there can be serious problems with some of the outcomes. I know you want people to know you are "reliable", "trustworthy", "responsible", and all, but keep in mind that the first time something goes wrong....and it will....even for the most careful owner, you will have that name used against you. Suddenly you will be "UN-reliable Widgets, "UM-trustworthy Knick-Knacks, and NOT-Responsible Whatever".

Nobody means it to happen, but it does. So think hard and use words that actually describe what you do.... Maybe you really are "Fast & Pretty", but unless you add "Make-Up Specialist" the jokes will just keep on coming.

Just saying........