Book Review for Texas Promise

Book Review for: Texas Promise The Cameron Sisters Series, Book 1 Written by: Celia Yeary Desert Breeze Publishing ISBN:978-1-936000-95-1 4.5 Stars

Reviewed by: S. Burkhart

Yeary pens an engaging adventure full of suspense and love with "Texas Promise." Josephine (Jo) King think she's a widow, but when her husband, Dalton King, shows up unexpectedly, she realizes that life and love is full of unexpected turns.

Set in Austin Texas during the 1890's, the story opens with Jo meeting her sister, True, who has returned from finishing school. Jo opens up a dress shop. She's slowly adjusting to widowhood. Her husband, Dalton, was a Texas Ranger who was killed in battle trying to bring in an outlaw. Steven Bailey, her husband's partner, tries to court her, but Jo's heart isn't ready.

One day, over a year later, Dalton shows up. He was badly injured in his confrontation and a band of Apache Indians helped to heal his injuries after he was left for dead. Dalton still has physical scars, but it's the emotional scars that are fresh. Dalton believes the lies that Steven Bailey has told him - that Jo didn't want him back.

Jo and Dalton have an awkward reunion. Jo is upset over Dalton's poor treatment of her. If one shock isn't enough, Jo is visited by a lawyer sent by her birth father. He's dying and wants to see her. Jo commits to the journey.

Dalton learns there are discrepancies with Bailey's official account to the Rangers. Taking a chance, he reaches out to Jo and accompanies her to see her birth father. Will the journey bring Jo and Dalton closer together or tear them apart for good?

Yeary fashions a solid plot with "Texas Promise," engaging the reader on the first page. She uses a good economy of words, which allows the reader to paint vivid visuals of the old west in their imagination. The dialogue brings another layer of authenticity to the story.

Yeary's characters are a delight to discover. Jo is a solid heroine, strong in her convictions and firm in her beliefs. Her love for Dalton is tested with his poor behavior.

Dalton is emotionally distant when he reconnects with Jo. He believes Bailey's lies, but over time he comes to question them, especially in the face of Jo's loyalty. Dalton's inner strength and courage is tested just as much as his physical strength.

Yeary's love scenes are tasteful, capturing the essence of love and the flavor of the old west. "Texas Promise" has it all - adventure, excitement, fulfillment of dreams, and love.

The Dodd-Frank Reform Act Makes Raising Private Equity More Difficult For Entrepreneurs

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act) passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law on July 21, 2010. Unfortunately, one of the provisions of this recently enacted bill will make it harder for start-up and developing companies to raise funds from their friends, family and middle class investors.

Background: The Private Equity Fund Raising Process

Early stage companies typically secure capital from private investors through equity offerings commonly referred to as "Private Placements." Securities are being "placed" with investors privately, not in a public offering. You may have heard the term "IPO," which stands for initial public offering. IPO's and subsequent public offerings require a lengthy, complicated and expensive process. Moreover, investors in a public offering must receive a document (called a prospectus) that discloses a significant amount of specific and detailed company information, including audited financial statements. Investors in a private placement do not need to receive a prospectus and private placements can be completed in a shorter timeframe with less complexity and expense. The rules that pertain to various private placements are codified in Rule 501 through Rule 506 of the Securities Act of 1933, also known as Regulation D.

Under Regulation D, as long as the Company has not engaged in a general solicitation of its securities to the public and has met certain other requirements, it can sell securities privately to certain targeted investors. Furthermore, the procedure for a private placement is much simpler if you only sell to investors who meet the definition of an "accredited investor." In summary, a few elements of the definition of an accredited investor are: (i) a company or financial institution with over $5,000,000 in assets, (ii) any director, executive officer, or general partner of the company issuing the securities or (iii) an individual with either a net worth of $1,000,000 or an annual income of $200,000 alone or $300,000 together with his or her spouse.

The Effect of the Dodd-Frank Act

Prior to the Act, individuals were able to incorporate the value of their home into the calculation of their net worth. In states with expensive home values (such as New York, Massachusetts and California) this enabled quite a few individuals to qualify as accredited who might not meet the annual income criteria. For the entrepreneur seeking to raise funding for his or her company or project, there was a higher likelihood that friends and family members in New York or California would meet the $1 million net worth threshold because of high real estate values.

One of the terms of the Dodd-Frank Act expressly excludes the value of an investor's primary residence when calculating his or her net worth, for purposes of determining if the investor is accredited. As a result, the pool of accredited investors has shrunk, and the probability that a friend or family member of an entrepreneur will meet the accredited investor criteria is significantly diminished. Furthermore, on July 27, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a "Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation" based on the Dodd-Frank Act. The SEC clarified that while the value of a home is to be excluded from an investor's assets, the value of its mortgage may likewise be excluded from an investor's liabilities, unless the home's value is "underwater," meaning the value of the home is less than the current mortgage. If this is the case, the amount the mortgage exceeds the home's value should be considered a liability and deducted from the investor's net worth.

Private Placements with Non-Accredited Investors

Regulation D allows for several private placement exceptions, based on the amount of money being raised. If your company is raising less than $1 million in any 12 month period, you are allowed to sell to accredited or non-accredited investors.  However, you will need to deliver to your investors, among other things, a written document that describes your company and the risks of investment and contains no material misstatements and no material omissions. This document does not have to meet the requirements of a prospectus and is typically referred to as a private placement memorandum (PPM).

However, if your company is raising over $1 million, only 35 non-accredited individuals can participate. Furthermore, the disclosure required when you sell equity to non-accredited investors is onerous. If only accredited investors are participating in your offering, you only need to provide them with a PPM. Unfortunately, if any non-accredited investors are investing in your offering, ALL of your investors will have to receive a document that generally meets the requirements of a prospectus, including audited financial statements. This adds considerable complexity, time and expense to a company's private placement.

Finally, if your company is raising over $5 million, all non-accredited investors participating in your offering, either alone or with a purchaser representative, must be "sophisticated." This means, they must have sufficient knowledge and experience in financial and business matters to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of a prospective investment in your company. Your friends and family, who cannot meet the accredited investor net worth threshold, may not be able to satisfy the test to be a sophisticated investor. Therefore, you would have to incur the additional expense of hiring a purchaser representative to advise them in order for them to make an investment in your company.

Lastly, in addition to the federal rules, many states place additional burdens on your company if you raise money by selling equity or debt to non-accredited residents of their state. These states may require additional filings and fees.

Conclusion

The Dodd Frank Act has decreased the likelihood that your friends and family can participate in your offering as accredited investors, which could mean that it may not make sense for them to invest at all.  The increase in legal, accounting and operational expenses the company must pay due to non-accredited investor participation may be greater than the investment made by your friends and family.  If you are contemplating an equity raise, you should address the accredited investor thresholds with your friends and family early on, so you can intelligently manage this issue. Also remember, if you are considering a follow-up offering, investors who met the accredited investor threshold before the passage of the Dodd Frank Act, may no longer satisfy it now. It is a good idea to consult a securities lawyer during the initial stages of your equity raising process.

© Clem Turner, 2010. All rights reserved.

Debt Management - Make the Debt Game Easier to Win

Debt management is an art that may not come easily. It involves taking a lot of important decisions that ought to prove to be wise in the long run. This involves a lot of judicious calculation and good knowledge of the market. For a working professional busy with his job and other engagements, this can be a headache, as to tackle with debts. And often, due to lack of time or sufficient market knowledge, it would be rather wise to avail to professional services.

These services available online as well from financial experts can provide a viable solution for your debt situation. These experts, who by virtue of their years of experience of the market help to prevent your financial losses and to help you to repay your debts in a suitably elongated time-period. This may involve not only debt advice, often free, but also negotiation with your lender where you may be charged a small percentage of the amount you would gain thereby, as when the advice you get from the informed people helps you make informed decisions.

You can make your choice of repayment through the ways which, as calculated by the experts, could cater best to you after a careful analysis of your debt situation. Their services are valuable in more ways than one. You benefit by repairing your credit history, which may be dented due to the debt situation and the inability to make repayments at the right time.

And as far as debt management is concerned, debt consolidation is perhaps the best means. It gets you to conveniently merge the debts with a single interest rate which comes about to be much lower. It is like cutting off the edges of numerous debts and have one rounded figure with which you can play ball with a set clear goal, instead of numerous lenders with different interest rates, high and low. It makes the debt-game much easier to win for you.

Fight Depression - Three Tips To Help You Fight Depression

Are you constantly trying to fight depression? Hey, don't feel alone. Sometimes it seems to just pop up out of the blue for no apparent reason. Medications have helped in the past, but only to a point and even then, the side effects are awful. You definitely pay one way or another. Unfortunately, if you suffer from depression, you may never completely get rid of it, depending upon the type of disorder you have. There is always hope though and by changing a few simple things in your life you can do a much better job of controlling it. Here are three tips that have helped me a lot over the years.

#1. Try to avoid negative people. There are some people out there that just don't get it. Just because they don't get depressed, they seem to think that everyone that says they do is putting on an act. It doesn't matter to them that it's been medically proven or that millions of others suffer from it. Some people are idiots and I recommend staying away from them. Your self esteem is very important and these folks won't help it.

#2. Exercise regularly. Working up a good sweat 3-5 times per week will really help your depression. It will also make you more confident and give you a better overall feeling about yourself. Make sure and see your doctor for a physical before you start an exercise program.

#3. Get in a self help group. Some days I can do this and some days it triggers my own issues. I have a tendency to do things on my own, but sometimes it does help to dump some dirt on others that understand what you're going through. I recommend personal counseling even higher.

Bottom line - Don't just sit there depressed. I know how difficult it can be, but you have the rest of your life to live. Don't live it in seclusion, unhappy all the time. Get up, get out, get some help and try to get on with your life. God bless.

RSS, Feeds, and Aggregators

When you work online all the time, immersed in bits and bytes, hands automatically resting on the keyboard, where the lingua franca is a mish-mash of acronyms and abbreviations - it is easy to forget that the average person has no clue what we talk about. It can be very daunting for the Internet neophyte with all these terms, technology and hardware. That's why I wrote this. Because I don't want people to be afraid to either ask (via comments on this thread) or to click/use buttons they don't know or use.

Way back when I started blogging (6-7 months ago!), I was a complete n00b in these blogging terms too. Now while I'm not exactly the lead programmer at RSS central I do know a thing or two, but when I really think about it I'm only just paddling at the moment so maybe I can help others get into the paddling pool too!

RSS

Really Simple Syndication, let's break it down into the real basics. It is essentially a broken down look at the web page/site, stripping all the presentation and layout, and removing all the neat graphics and cool toys that generally clutter webpages. What's left is an RSS file (in XML format).

Surprisingly out of 1,000 blog readers (who are themselves a small elite minority among Internet users) 66% have not even heard of RSS and 23% said they understood but did not use it. Where do you stand?

Feeds

This is just a another way of writing what RSS can do. Feeds are a blog's (or site's) method of syndicating content, arranged concisely in an XML format and, as mentioned above, stripped of any extraneous presentation. The "feed" comes from aggregators requesting that RSS file to display as content for their subscribers (feeding their need for your well-written articles!).

Aggregators

It's a straightforward description for what it is: it aggregates RSS feeds from whatever source you tell it. These are also sometimes called "newsreaders" although this term is falling out of favor.

There are two types: software and web-based. Software has a following - see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_news_aggregators#Desktop_news_aggregators], but web-based is beginning to draw more of the usage. Rapidly expanding online aggregators such as http://www.bloglines.com/, or http://my.yahoo.com/ are leading the way. With blog traffic up 31 percent since the beginning of the year, readers will need a way to sort through the blogosphere, and aggregators are that way.

The main advantage of aggregators is that they allow you to gather all your feeds in one place, and read them without having to navigate all over the place.

Adding Your Feed

You will have noticed button labeled RSS, often times they are orange rectangles (they are also labeled XML). That is the feed button - clicking it will show a lot of XML code. Note the URI, copy it. Then go to your aggregator, software or web-based, and paste that URI as the feed address and save. That will allow the aggregator to know where to fetch the feed and it will do it automatically from that point on.

What's The Advantage?

A big advantage to RSS is that you, the subscriber, is in control. Let's say you go to xyz.com and look for an article on Blogging software. You find it, but there are advertising banners, fly-ins, pop-ups, and then just as annoying you have to click three or four times to go to the "next page" with yet more of the same. With a feed (and appropriate aggregator) you get just the article (content) without all of the extra stuff.

The Future of RSS

So what is in store for us with RSS? I don't have a crystal ball but some things are plain to see. The future of RSS is bright and yet at the same time likely to be mired in specification wars, mainly due to Microsoft's insistence that they rename RSS to 'web feeds' for the upcoming IE7 release. You can read more about this hotly debated subject at [http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/76104/microsoft-defends-rss-rebranding.html] and at [http://www.microsoftmonitor.com/archives/009849.html]

There is no doubt though that RSS is here to stay. It has become an integral part of the blogosphere, a method of aggregating large amounts of content from hundreds of blogs into one place. From a blogger's point of view RSS is essential to building and keeping an audience. Wary of clicking on subscriptions, Internet users finally have a way to grab your content (updated every day, right?) when they want it. For the blogger they now have a way to syndicate their articles, sharing them among other sites who publish those articles. Those who syndicate get content, and the blogger gets exposure.

Emergency Contraceptives That Work

The risk of unintended pregnancies remains when you are into frequent sex. You never know when the condom might break, or worse, you may forget to take your regular birth control pills for 2-3 days at a stretch. But the good news is that you can avoid an unintended pregnancy with emergency contraceptive pills. Meant to be used only in emergency, these pills can be taken after unprotected sexual intercourse or failure of contraception to prevent pregnancy. ellaOne is the only morning after pill which you can take within 5 days from unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. Levonelle is another popular emergency contraception choice for women in the UK. You can take this pill within 3 days from sexual intercourse and be confident about its ability to prevent fertilisation of eggs.

Which pill to take?

With ellaOne, Levonelle and so many other pills available, it can be a bit tricky to decide which pill you can take just in case something didn't go as planned. The best option, as always, is to go to a doctor and discuss everything ranging from safety of emergency contraceptive methods to their possible impact on your health. Progestin-only pills such as ellaOne and Levonelle are generally safe and effective.

How does ellaOne work?

ellaOne contains ulipristal acetate as its active ingredient. It is a synthetic version of the female hormone progesterone and can stop or delay ovulation. The drug was approved by an FDA Advisory Committee in June, 2010. Ulipristal acetate offers a twofold protection against pregnancy. First, it stops any egg from being fertilised by sperms. Second, if fertilisation occurs by accident, it stops the fertilised egg from getting attached to the womb.

What about ellaOne's safety and effectiveness?

Clinical trials have shown that 98 out of 100 women taking ellaOne immediately after sex can prevent pregnancy. The average rate of success for ellaOne is 60%, which is quite impressive considering you have 5 days to take the pill.

As far as side effects are concerned, ulipristal acetate may cause mild nausea, headache, abdominal pain and period pain.

How does Levonelle work?

Levonorgestrel, the active ingredient of Levonelle, is also a synthetic sex hormone that can prevent pregnancy if taken immediately after sex. Unlike ellaOne, Levonelle should be taken within 3 days from unprotected sexual intercourse. It works the same way as ellaOne does.

Is Levonelle helpful?

The success rate of Levonelle is 95% when taken within 24 hours from sex. Studies show that the effectiveness of this pill decreases when it's taken on the 2nd and 3rd day. It is among the few emergency contraceptive methods that underage women (16 years or above) can use, but only under medical supervision.

As both pills are hormonal contraceptives, there is hardly anything to choose from between them. The only noticeable difference is in the amount of time you have to take the pills. The plus factor of both pills is that they are available only on prescription. So the risk of being fooled into buying an unreliable contraceptive is minimum. But don't consider either of them as a substitute to your regular contraceptive pill.

Exercises For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), is a condition of the median nerve in the wrist being compressed as entering the inflamed carpal tunnel. Carpal tunnel is most common in heavy computer users, and seems to be most common at approximately age 50, although, can be acquired at any age. According to Wikipedia approximately 10% of the population will get CTS, however, risk can be reduced through proper exercise.

Known very simply as the Warm-Up Exercises, these exercises and stretches will help warm up the muscles and nerves and prepare the tunnel for heavy work. Start simply by stretching your fingers as far apart as you can and holding your wrists in a as-close-to-90-degrees position as you can, without forcing them out of place: hold this position for about 10 seconds. This will elongate the tendons and surrounding area without doing damage, allowing further movement, etc. while working. Once this has been held for 10 seconds, move on to a tight squeeze: squeeze your hands in to the tightest fist you can, and hold for 10 seconds; then, bend your wrists in a downward position, while retaining the squeeze. This has the same effect as the previous exercise, but in the opposite directions.

The rest of these exercises can be dangerous if you already show signs of CTS, and damage can occur. These are meant for preventative measure, not as a recovery method.

Any of the following CTS exercises which rely on weights should not be done with weights heavier than 2lbs. One pound dumbbells are ideal for these exercises.

Before any use of the wrists, one should perform these, or similar exercises for optimal effect. Begin by loosening up the hand: massage your hand, bend it in all expected directions (with your other hand), stretch as best you can. Bend back all your fingers, putting pressure in both directions.

To continue the warm up process, rotate your wrists in full circles. Do 10-15 of these in either direction, with both wrists. Ensure your arms are at an approximately 90 degree angle while doing these.

Do "wrist twists," with or without dumbbells. Rotate your wrists as far as they will go in either direction, slowly.

Perform a similar motion in a "locked" position, bending your arms toward the sky, perform "window wiper"-like motions with the dumbbell in your hand.

Holding your dumbbell in your hand in a tight fist like shape, bend your wrists toward the floor, then slowly back up 90 degrees. Hold for 10 seconds, and repeat 10-15 times in either wrist.

Help for KP - Your Starting Point For Managing Your Keratosis Pilaris

There is help at hand for KP sufferers. Chicken skin or scientifically known as Keratosis Pilaris is the appearance of small patches of tiny bumps on the skin. These bumps are very rough to the touch, almost like sandpaper or goose bumps. They usually have the same color as the skin, but sometimes they can be reddish and inflamed. KP typically appears on the arms, buttocks and thighs but in rare conditions they can appear on the face which looks a lot like acne. It is hereditary so it runs in the family. It commonly affects children and it is worst in adolescents. But adults can also be affected as well.

If you have KP, you are not alone. It is not a rare condition. It is said that half of the world's population is affected by this skin condition. It is also not contagious and definitely does not affect your overall health. It is not even painful so there is no need to panic. However, you may be concerned with the appearance of your skin. KP can be unpleasant to touch and see and in the effort of covering up your affected areas, you may not be able to wear the clothes you want. Also, there are parts of the body that can be difficult to hide like the face. It can be embarrassing.

KP is caused by excess keratin trapped around the hair follicles of the skin. Sometimes the hair gets trapped and cannot grow out to the surface. This causes the tiny bumps. As to why this happens, it is not known. So when you seek help from your doctor, they will tell you that there is no cure. Do not be disappointed though. There are many treatments that can be done to manage the symptoms of KP. These vary from expensive laser treatments to affordable moisturizers that can be bought from your local store. There are also many natural remedies that can be found in your kitchen that can help treat this skin condition.

Ask help from your dermatologist and he will provide you with the treatment options you can choose from. You could also seek help from family members or friends with KP for tips to reduce its symptoms. The basic thing that should be remembered when you have KP is to keep the skin hydrated or moisturized. Drinking plenty of water every day or using a humidifier in dry places also helps. Very dry skin is bad for this skin condition and only worsens it.

Before taking a bath, you can apply petroleum jelly on the affected areas. Only use mild soapless cleansers or washes; there are many brands to choose from. You can also use mild scrubs and exfoliants. Also, gently apply special lotions such as those containing lactic acid to the skin at least twice a day. Never use harsh ingredients or try to scrub or scrape the rough bumps. Do not expect that these creams or moisturizers will miraculously clear KP. Be patient and try each treatment for one to two weeks. When one treatment does not work, there are many other alternatives.

Insider Tips for Claiming Social Security Disability Benefits

Becoming disabled brings with it a whole pack of extra stresses and things to worry about. In the midst of medical appointments and trying to get through each day, filing a Social Security disability claim is often the last thing on a person's mind.

However, anyone who believes he or she may qualify for Social Security disability should apply immediately, as disability claims take a long time to process and benefits are paid based on the date of the application. Following are some tips for claiming Social Security disability benefits:

Applying promptly. The application process should ideally begin as soon as a patient's doctor has determined he or she is disabled. A person is considered disabled under Social Security law if he or she passes the following steps of the application process:

-- Step 1: Income. Work that brings in more than $1000 per month after appropriate deductions is considered substantial gainful activity (SGA) and disqualifies an applicant for disability benefits. Unsuccessful work attempts of up to 6 months typically don't count.

-- Step 2: Severity. An applicant must have a physical or mental medical condition that limits his or her ability to work full time. He or she must have suffered or be expected to suffer from the impairment for 12 months. Claimants with symptoms that wax and wane may still qualify if the active periods of illness keep them from working.

-- Step 3: Impairment List. The Social Security Administration keeps a list of illnesses that automatically result in being considered disabled. If your impairment does not fall under this list, you continue to Step 4.

-- Step 4: Inability to Work. At this step, the SSA considers whether the applicant is able to do any work he or she has performed in the past 15 years.

-- Step 5: Other Work Available. At this point, the SSA determines whether the applicant is able to do other work that exists in the national and local economies in significant numbers. In this part of the process, the older you are, the more likely it is that you will be found disabled.

Getting ongoing medical attention. It's a good idea to be regularly seen by a medical provider during the process. Your disability claim will be evaluated based on your medical records, so it's important to have current medical records available to substantiate your claim. Additionally, your physician will be more likely to cooperate by providing a supporting statement if he or she has seen you recently. If you lose your medical coverage before your disability claim is approved, you can try visiting a free clinic, county health department or emergency room.

Keeping meticulous records. The more information you can provide when filling out your forms, the better. It's a good idea to utilize the following practices:

-- Maintaining a diary, which will help you in providing specific examples of how your condition affects your life.

-- Complying with all medical advice from your provider, and keeping a record of doing so.

-- Keeping a detailed record of medications you take, how often you take them, reactions you may have, and any changes in medication.

-- Keep track of time spent traveling to and from your medical care provider, how many days per month you do this, and how much time you spend in the waiting room.

-- Speaking to a doctor or nurse anytime something is wrong to ensure it is entered in your medical record.

Requesting reconsideration. If the initial decision on your application is unfavorable, you can request reconsideration. Don't get discouraged -- many applications are not granted until they reach the hearing stage of the process. Your request for reconsideration must be filed within 60 days of the day you receive your denial.

Seeking legal help. A staggering number of applicants fail to properly complete their paperwork or fail to submit forms before the deadline. If you have any difficulty completing the paperwork for your application, you can seek the help of a disability lawyer, who can guide you through the process.