Justin Germino Ramblings

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

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If you are looking for a quick vacation there are many options and packages available at the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and my favorite one would be the Romance Package where you and your partner can arrive to in room sparkling wine, enjoy full breakfast for two (which can be exchanged for lunch or dinner discount) and have access to the health club, pool and whirlpool spa.

Other specials include early discounts, 25% of savings when using your Visa and the Bed & Breakfast package.

You can also find the same specials at the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel as well, and both hotels are located close to the Payne Stewart Golf Club if you want to kill some time and just relax.

If you enjoy fishing you could go and enter the Master’s Trout Championship which is on January 30th, and a two man team can go out and see if they have what it takes to catch the biggest trout. Since I love fishing this would be one of my must do activities while staying in Branson, though I would want to spend at least one day visiting Silver Dollar City and riding on the new Tom and Huck’s RiverBlast ride as well as checking out Marvel Cave and all the other attractions.

This is the Wildfire ride in Silver Dollar City and is one of many rides and attractions.

This is Marvel Cave, and is a popular attraction at Silver Dollar City

You can also visit the Branson Auto Museum at the strip with over 100+ auto’s to look at as you shop around the surrounding stores. In may at the White House Theater, The Legend of Kung Fu performance with over 50 cast members looks to be quite interesting. This touring show has done performances in Beijing, London, Vancouver and Australia and is coming to Branson in May.

If you are looking for a getaway or vacation you can easily spend weekend enjoying the local attractions and activities in Branson at one of the Hilton hotels. They have great specials right now, and there are events and deals throughout the year.

-Justin Germino

I was in the car with my son the other day and he asked me a barrage of questions like he always does in car rides.  I was able to answer most of them but I came up with an “I Don’t Know” for one of his more obscure questions, and rather than fabricate an answer I would rather tell him that I didn’t know.  He responds “Google it Dad” just like that, six years old and already telling me to Google stuff to find the answer.  I wanted to come back with “you mean Wiki it?” but he wouldn’t have understood the reference and I promised to Google the answer when he got home from school.

Alas, though he did arrive home from school and we both forgot what the question was in the first place so the issue was dropped.  At six years old he can barely read and write, and he can play flash games on the web, but he hasn’t actually Google anything yet, I know that six years old today is vastly different than when I was six years old twenty six years ago.  This was my first “my kids are in a totally different generation” moment as I reflected how different their world is growing up with the Internet than mine was.

Information literally at your fingertips, no library books to check out, you can get virtually anything you need instantly online.  If knowledge truly is power, then the power at your fingertips is limitless.

-Justin Germino

For readers who have been here often you already know the drive for perfectionism that has been a battle since my childhood. From my earliest years I was bombarded with messages to improve, perfect and be the best at whatever I chose to do. This isn’t a bad message to instill in your kids if you teach it properly and be very careful. Perfectionism, criticism and cynicism are close neighbors in my opinion.

If you use positive encouragement and reinforcement to inspire one to be the best, you are going to help raise a child who is more confident, happy and enjoys life more. You have to teach children to learn from mistakes and failures and take away a positive message and inspiration, not taint it with criticism, judgement and cynical remarks. One only needs to look at celebrity sports figures to see how some have achieved greatness in their profession but were psychologically scarred to achieve it.

I myself have never reached the almighty and unattainable perfection in any field, hobby or trial I have faced. I always try to be the best I can be, but I don’t ever consider myself the best at anything. I believe my determination and hard work ethics help me do better than some, some who are smarter, or some who are more knowledgeable but lack dedication, patience and determination.

I do however still get upset with myself if it takes me too long to figure something out, suffer great disappointment with myself if I feel I am not meeting high enough standards or not being as good as I should be. These aren’t as dramatic in my early thirties as they were in my teens and twenties, but the pang of regret and failure is still there.

I share with you this:

Strive to do the best you can, and learn from mistakes to improve. Do not strive to be the best there is, the people who are the best there is are often the ones who weren’t trying to be deliberately, they were just doing there best and ended up there. In some fields Talent really exists and realize that if you don’t have it, find where your gifts lie.

If you have children encourage them to try as many things as possible and you will find what they naturally will gravitate towards. Encourage them to try their best, but if they do try and give it their best shot and fail, do not criticize and tear them down for not doing better.

-Justin Germino

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of iCoke.ca. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Coca-Cola is running a special that if you purchase any two 591ml Coke products from a Mac’s stores, you will receive collectible Medallions commemorating the upcoming Olympics. For those who like collecting Olympics paraphernalia or coins in general this is a nice way to collect something that is only available for a limited time.

All you need to do is go to the website and find your nearest local Mac’s store by using the Find Store feature. Then just drive down and pick up a minimum of two Coca-Cola product sand you will receive your FREE Coca-Cola Collectible Medallion, its that simple.

I was interested but learned that there is no Mac’s store in Phoenix, and I would have to drive almost 150 miles to Payson which is the closest destination for a Mac’s store. So it looks like I won’t be picking up my collectible medallion this time around.

Regular Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Sprite products are eligible for this contest, so you can purchase a few bottles of Sprite if you don’t drink caffeine or coke, and you can purchase the diet brands if you are trying to cut down on calories.

So Let your Olympic Spirit Shine and purchase your next Coke products from Mac’s.

-Justin Germino

I have been drinking Earl Grey tea on occasion since I was ten years old. When I was a boy I idolized Captain Jean Luc Picard and his favorite tea on the show Star Trek: The Next Generation was Earl Grey, at ten I had never heard of the tea so asked my mother to buy some. I have been hooked on the unique flavor ever since and drink it at least once per week, sometimes more.

The unique flavor of Earl Grey tea comes from the Bergamot essence that is used in the tea, this is a type of orange and the rind itself is where they extract the oil from instead of the flesh. Some Earl Grey tea’s are very potent and the bergamot can be overpowering and bitter, others are too light and delicate. The trick to brewing Earl Grey tea is to never let it steep more than 3-4 minutes for optimal flavor, it brews fast and in some brands you can steep in less than 60 seconds under boiling hot water and achieve the right balance.

Earl Grey tea is delicious hot, but can be iced and served cold as well. Though the flavor of the Bergamot becomes a little stronger when cold, I do occasionally drink iced Earl Grey tea but this is not very common.

Recently I tried a new brand of Earl Grey tea while I was in Las Vegas, that usurps the Bigelow Earl Grey which was my favorite brand previously.

Here are my reviews of the Earl Grey tea’s I have tasted.

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Numi Earl Grey Aged Tea – I have only tried this brand recently and it rapidly became my favorite brand of Earl Grey Tea, it is very quickly brewed and the flavor of bergamot is not bitter at all. This tea is fantastic with breakfast, plain or as an after dinner tea. The brand says it is one of the only tea’s that you can brew a little darker and it should be able to handle milk added, but I have never tried adding milk to Earl Grey tea, normally Earl Grey is too light and I can’t picture the bergamot and milk flavor combining. This tea is slightly more expensive than the other Earl Grey tea’s listed because it is organic and aged.

 

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Bigelow Earl Grey Tea – Prior to tasting the Numi Organic Aged Earl Grey, Bigelow Earl Grey had been my favorite for seven years. The tea brews quickly, the bergamot flavor a bit potent but not too strong, though it gets bitter if you brew it dark and this one worked well as an iced tea. I used to drink this every morning in the winter on some weeks as my first drink of the day.

 

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Stash Earl Grey Tea – Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey tea is still one of my favorites and actually has a more potent bergamot flavor than any other brand I have tried, though it is a little more sweet instead of sour and bitter as long as you brew it lightly and don’t let it steep too long. I once sat down and drank Stash and the Bigelow brands side by side in a taste test, and though I favored the Bigelow Earl Grey slightly more, I would never complain if Stash was the only brand in my cabinet.

 

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Twinings Earl Grey – I first tasted Twinings Earl Grey tea while dining at Cracker Barrel and thought it was moderate to okay. I later found out that I was drinking the decaf Earl Grey which I am linking to here. This explained why the tea was so much “weaker” than the other brands, but because it is so much lighter and more delicate you can steep it longer. It is a good choice if you are looking for cheaper and especially decaf Earl Grey tea. I also learned that Twinings makes Earl Grey Tea Loose Tea which can buy loose leaf and steep your own tea, but I have not tried this yet so I don’t know how it compares to the teabags I have tried before.

 

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Lipton Earl Grey – Though I think Lipton makes the best tasting “Iced Tea” and I am quite fond of their Cold Brew Tea products, I am not as fond as their Earl Grey. I have tried it before and just don’t like the mixture of black tea’s with bergamot essence and leaves a sour taste in my mouth and a funny aftertaste sometimes. I have only tried it twice, but with several other better tasting brands, I usually pick a different tea if this is the only Earl Grey available to me.

 

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In Summary:

This was an honest and fair review of all of the Earl Grey tea brands that I have tried to date, I will add more brands if I try them. I have not tried Tazo Earl Grey, even though that is a popular brand and it is on my to do list next time I am at Starbucks. If you drink Earl Grey tea and have a favorite brand, whether it is one listed here or one I have not yet tried, feel free to share it here. I would be happy to try it and review it myself.

The Tao of Tea Blue Flower Earl Gray looked pretty good too.

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-Justin Germino

Some friends of ours had a chilling encounter in early December. My friend had arrived home at just past nine at night to find a burglar in his house ransacking his home office! Being unarmed and with no weapons inside, there were less than 10 seconds to make a decision what to do. It is very hard to know how your body will react to the instant adrenaline rush to such an incident, and his instinct was to shout out at the robber. The burglar was started and ran off making away with tens of thousands of dollars of jewelry, electronics, and cash. My friend was plagued for weeks about the instant decision he made and regretted not grabbing a kitchen knife or blunt object and coming up on the robber from behind, or slipping outside quietly and dialing 911 while the burglar was unaware.

Meanwhile he has since installed an alarm system and purchased four guns now that he keeps inside the home (they don’t have kids) and he plans on being more prepared if their home should suffer an invasion again in the future. It is reports like this that people should be more proactive about discouraging a home invasion and take steps to make it “less likely” your home will be broken into in the future. As most law enforcement will tell you: You can’t break in proof your home, you can only deter would be burglars by making it more difficult. A criminal will usually take the path of least resistance, meaning they will choose a home that does not have an alarm system, does not have a dog and does not have a light on or motion light. Though this isn’t 100% guaranteed it is a pretty good measure to reduce the chances that your home will be broken into.

An alarm system is one of the most common means of protection and works well for people who spend long periods away from the home, a nice medium sized dog (doesn’t have to be a giant mastiff, but a chihuahua offers little protection from a burglar) acts as a deterrent two ways. The first is that the dog barks and it can alert neighbors to something potentially going on in the house, the second is that the dog itself might inflict a leg or hand wound on the burglar and these are usually enough to deter most common break ins.

Having motion sensitive lights also can startle a burglar as most criminals avoid being seen and target places that are poorly lit or completely dark. In addition having visible security camera’s mounted on the outside of front and back doorways show the criminal that they are being taped and can be a deterrent as well. Wireless camera systems that record to the internet and let you check your home while you are away are cheaper than ever now, I used to use one back in my Mesa home several years ago.

Owning a gun is a good way to protect yourself and your home but is only valuable if you are actually at home during a break in, also you need to make sure the gun is well hidden and only you can retrieve it or you might actually arm an unarmed burglar if he finds it and steals it. If you choose this route, I would invest in a safe or lockbox that allows only thumb print analysis and allows quick access to the weapon for only the owner and a spouse if you have one. If you have children in the house you must make extra sure that you are careful not to allow or enable them to have access to it by any means, don’t assume they won’t find it if they don’t know about it. Kids are snoops and when parents are away, they will explore all closets, crevices and corners of the house eventually.

Above all, if you encounter a burglar in your home and are unarmed, then call the authorities right away before you do anything. Only put your life at risk if it is a matter of defending yourself or your family who would be in jeopardy, remember all material items stolen are just material items and not worth your life.

-Justin Germino

As you know we have started to potty train our three year old on Saturday, this involved me spending 14 hours non-stop glued to being near the side of my three year old and helping him go back and forth to the toilet every ten minutes. By Sunday he was starting to recognize “when he has the urge” and heads toward the toilet by himself, but he is easily distracted and can forget or ignore it if he is busy playing or engaged in another activity. So he still needs constant reminders.

My wife called in Grandma as backup for the whole week since I am back to work today, and she is busy with her business as well. Grandma will help ensure our son can continue to keep the same pattern of using the toilet and help us potty train him. Thank goodness Grandma only lives three miles from the house and is able to come over on such short notice.

Meanwhile, Potty training is messy business people and everyone who thinks about having kids needs to realize that kids are not for the squeamish. You will be covered in urine, poop, filth and muck for many years before they can take care of those things by themselves without assistance.

In review, here are the fool proof tactics that helped us potty train our two kids:
#1 Know if your child is ready (this usually is when they declare that they go to bathroom right after or before, and if they show interest in the toilet. It’s a judgement call I know some people who potty trained their kids at 2, and others at 3 1/2) ours weren’t ready until after 3.

#2 set aside a “start date” and stick to it, throw away all diapers and know that there is no “fail back” This way you have no choice but to succeed. Plan for this to take about 2 weeks and make sure you or your partner have the time to devote. You may have to take off of work, start on a weekend day so you have two days extra.

#3 every 10 minutes like clockwork take your child to the toilet and make him/her sit there until they have gone to the bathroom, after about 5-10 times of them recognizing that they go potty in toilet, you can start doing constant asking and reminders, and give them a chance to let you know before they go. If they have accidents repeat until they start to catch on.

Above all know that this will be very frustrating for both the parents and the child, the child will cry, fuss, fight and be frustrated that they have to sit on the toilet for so long. The parent will get frustrated and upset when accidents occur, naturally the key is to relieve stress and not be upset. Keep the child in a room without carpets for the potty training duration to minimize the cleanup, and don’t get angry, but instead reassure and just say “uh oh, did you listen to your body?”. Remember not to scare you child and instead do your best to encourage them.

Good luck fellow parents, this is one of the toughest jobs of parenting.

-Justin Germino

I have watched The Simpsons for a long, long time now. I started watching since the first episode of the first season twenty years ago when I was just twelve years old. Since I was only twelve I didn’t catch more than an occasional glimpse of The Simpsons on The Tracy Ulman show which was where it originated and was not really a show my parents would let me watch back then. Since the first seasons I was hooked and even though I was a kid my favorite character was Homer Simpson himself, while many others were wearing “Bart Man” T-Shirts and “Cowabunga” shirts at the time when it was popular.

Tonight is The Simpsons 20th Anniversary special and I really am feeling a little dated knowing that the show has been on this long but it is no surprise that the show has lasted this long, it continues to be an excellent entertainment source that finds new and creative ways to lampoon society, politics, religion and more on a weekly basis. It does so without being as crude and vulgar as other shows and in much wittier fashion in my opinion.

Here’s to The Simpsons, a Television Classic that will endure forever. We will be seeing reruns of this show for a hundred years I predict and it will be timeless.

-Justin Germino

“Do or do not, there is no try” -Yoda

Today starts “Potty Training” for my 2nd son who is just over three years old and we don’t “try” in this household. To make sure we didn’t failback and give up, we don’t own any more diapers, didn’t buy any backups. It is going to be a messy weekend in this house. My wife even put together a “cleaning kit” full of towels, cleaners, stain remover, paper towels and about 80,000 baby wipes in preparation for this marathon event. See, we are so well prepared because our oldest child was among the most difficult children to potty train, he fought us tooth and nail and was only able to be convinced to use the toilet after setting him on the toilet every 10-15 minutes 8 hours a day for two weeks straight. My wife did most of the work, I was really only able to help enforce after my day job and on weekends.

This time though it looks to not be such a brutal task, the little one is already curious and wants to try to go to the bathroom in the toilet, he even tells his brother “Wow, how did you do that” after seeing his brother use the toilet and genuinely appears to be ready. He doesn’t have the fear or resistance, and is looking forward to wearing “Hulk” underwear tomorrow for the first time instead of diapers. (we do still resort to pull ups at night, but regular underwear during the day).

One thing you don’t want to do is get mad or frustrated if your child has accidents, they don’t yet know to recognize the feeling of “having to go” you have to accept, and be calm and just help encourage them. Repetition is key, don’t stress or scare them or they will resist and fight you back. We learned the hard way from our older son and now are going in with a much different approach with our younger one.

So, because I will be having to be around my child every waking moment Saturday and Sunday, I will not likely be able to do any blogging during the daylight hours.

Wish me luck, I am going in armed.

Also, feel free to share your potty training stories about your own kids. Good, Bad, Ugly, I want to hear from you?

We have friends whose kids were potty trained by 2 1/2, not sure why ours both were resistant until after 3, our first until he was 3 1/2.

By the way, non-parents this is one of the things we get to look forward to as parents.

-Justin Germino

A recent Baylor College of medicine study shows that 108 students who chewed gum during math classes did 3% better on tests, had an higher rate of paying attention and even took breaks less frequently to step out of the classroom. I would look at this as the following, the chewing and moving the jaw up and down and saliva reaction might help slightly reduce fatigue and keep the person more alert even if it is an almost subconscious like habit that is done. If this is even a remote chance of being true, wouldn’t you encourage students to chew some sugarless gum during class and during taking tests so that they might absorb more information or do slightly better?

-Justin Germino