Abrams Media Group - In the Moment

Vacation! Finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:11:00 +0000

My birthday has come and gone and I was determined to do something different this year. I booked a flight to Dallas to see my girlfriend Rhonda. She and I have known each other about 25 years. Shocking how the years pass, but also very cool! We met in Los Angeles and then Rhonda moved back to her hometown of Dallas, and eventually I left to move to Charlotte. We don't speak very often but we have always stayed in touch.

So, now it was time to visit and get caught up and do something special. Rhonda and her son, Austin, picked me up at the airport and we went to lunch at a Red Lobster. The waiters serenaded me with the happy birthday song and then we headed down to Denison, Texas to drop Austin off at Rhonda's aunt's home. Did you know that Denison is the birthplace of Eisenhower? On the way to Denison we pulled off the interstate to get something to drink (it sure was hot in Dallas!) and that drink turned into Dairy Queen Blasts. Oh my God! I NEVER eat sugar, but in continuing the birthday weekend celebration, I allowed myself to indulge. I'm hoping I didn't set a dangerous precedent. It was so good.

The next day Rhonda and I headed out to Austin, TX. I had brought my trusty GPS, which turned out to not be so trusty. Must be the Texas geography. We kept losing satellite connection. We fought our way around aggressive drivers in pick up truck, after pick up truck, and finally reached Austin. The drive took us through flat, flat land, but as we approached Austin we hit a more pretty, hilly area. The weather continued to sizzle at around 102 degrees, but we were on an adventure and not to be deterred!

That night we hit 6th Street which was a short walk from the hotel. Toward 11:00 pm the street shut down to cars and the freaks began to come out! Goodness. I never thought Texas would be home to something like that. A young woman walked down the street wearing panties and pasties while a very deranged older man stood on a corner sporting a furry, stuffed animal where his pants should have been! I knew that Austin was famous for its music but we kept coming across references to "Keep Austin Weird" so I guess it's just one more thing for Texans to be proud of. Austin weirdness and the George Bush family.

The next day we went to see some caves in San Marcos, TX, expecting something spectacular. Well....not exactly, but we still had a fun time. That evening we were smart enough to ask the concierge for some pointers on where to go and we ended up at a very, dark and cool jazz club, deep in a basement, far from the eyes of tourists. Much better. Wish we had found it Saturday.

So, back to Dallas on Monday. Lots of catching up with Rhonda. All in all, a very good weekend and a fine way to celebrate getting older!

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPYRIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com . Thank you!

Old Enemies - New Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:45:00 +0000

For those of you who have been reading my blog over the past 2 1/2 years (Emily, Mom, Donald and Michael), you know all about my cat wars. Sam Abrams vs. Tom Abrams. Sam came with me from Cali and allowed me to introduce little Timmy Abrams into the mix and soon became fast buds with that little rascal. But then, Tommy showed up. Mean and arrogant, pissed at the world. I would feed him and get my hand bit and scratched just as a thank you. Of course after the capture and snipping, Tommy is now the world's most humble and loving house cat. (Big as a house too.) Sam was not happy with this introduction into our happy little home and his sweet nature soon turned about as surly as Tom's prior disposition. He would growl and hiss at Tom and run him into a corner. It was amazing to see Tom, the former aggressor, acquiesce to these rules, but he knew his place and he wasn't about to give up the comforts of the red sofa for the harsh street life. So, this is all a preamble to the photo of Sam (striped kitty) and Tom (black and white), nose to nose on the sofa. Some kind of unspoken cat truce. Here we are, face to face, even level, we'll just have to live and let live.

Next photo - not as long a story. It's been so dry in the Carolinas and we've been waiting and waiting for rain. Tonight I had my Commerce Connections networking meeting and suddenly the heavens opened, the winds started whipping everything in sight, and the rain poured down! Unfortunately, it deterred some people from making the event, but it still was good to see rain again.

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPYRIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com . Thank you!

I'm Tardy in my Posts!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:24:00 +0000

I guess not much to report. Tons of family in town, my sister, my niece and then my parents (see their photo). Work is good, I'm doing sales for a women's resource guide called Women With Know How.

But the big news is that the quest for my husband continues. We're just about half way into 2008 and I've given myself until the New Year of 2009 so I guess I'd better turn up the heat. I went to an interview for a singles club but it was SOOOO expensive! I'm sure I'm creative enough and innovative enough to figure out a way to meet a man. I need some virtual affirmations out there, so please put out the good thoughts!

I'm going to stop advertising Prepaid and whatever else I've got going on here and just direct people to MySpace. And you know me...I've got some other ideas I'm playing with! All virtual, baby. All virtual. It's the only way to go what with the cost of gas almost $4.00 a gallon and the price of having a brick and mortar store front.

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPYRIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com . Thank you!

A Real Weekend, For a Change

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:31:00 +0000

I was invited to Ocean Isle Beach, NC this weekend. Had a blast! It was so beautiful and I was told that I HAD to relax. Kind of hard for me to do but I think I pulled it off. I even have the sunburn to prove it! There was a car club down for the weekend, the youngest car was from 1927! It was so interesting to see this preserved history. The cars were on their way to an old age home in Calabash to give the residents a treat.

Hope your weekend was awesome!

..

Governor Pat?

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:24:00 +0000

Mayor Pat McCrory of Charlotte, North Carolina is affectionately called "Mayor Pat" and he may well be on his way to being Governor Pat. I went to his Primary Party last night where we were able to watch the returns and celebrate his win with him. As usual, I knew about 10 of the people in the room. One of whom wouldn't return my calls or emails and probably didn't recognize me, but dude, not nice, not cool. Be courteous and return phone calls and/or emails. It's okay to say you're not interested, and everything will be fine, but I will never forgive rudeness.

Anyway, back to my Mayor Pat story, it's amazing to me, coming from Los Angeles, how you can know so many people in such a short time. I'll go on the record to say that I'm not a Republican (big surprise to those who know me) so I wasn't able to cast my vote for Mayor Pat in the primaries, but I absolutely support him and will work for him over the coming months. He has strong values, good morals and has done a bang up job in Charlotte. I've only been here three years so I can only imagine the growing pains and planning that the city has undertaken during the 12 years (I think that's right) that Mayor Pat has been mayor. He's very accessible and has a good sense of humor. I think he'll be a great governor.

The problem that I had with last night was that the crowd was about as white as they come. I don't know if that's an indicator of the Mayor's supporters, or if that just happened to be the crowd that evening, but if that is the makeup of his constituency, then we need to diversify that up. Okay?

Now for the really good news, I'm off to the beach for the weekend. I FINALLY met a friend who has a friend who owns a condo. I couldn't be happier!

Keep the faith.

Sara

My Niece Is Visiting

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 06:45:00 +0000

It's been family, family, family. My sister visited about two weeks ago for a few days. We squeezed a lot into those days. We went to Lake Norman and we went to Charleston, SC for the day. Then a week later her 22-year old daughter came to visit on her way back from South America. She had been touring there for about six months. Then at the end of the month my parents come for a few days!

I'm working as hard as ever. The sales for Women With Know How have been going well. It's a good niche and I feel like I'm finally connecting with people over the product. Keep sending good thoughts!

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPYRIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com . Thank you!

Another Ezine Article!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:23:00 +0000

March 26, 2008

I Guess I’m Happy?

Where do the years go? I’ll be 52 years old this summer. I feel like a kid, I guess I look okay and I just feel like there’s so much more to do! I’ve done a lot, in a sense, but on the other hand I haven’t accomplished half of what others have. I never finished college and I never raised children. I wrote some screenplays but never had the burning fire in the belly to make them happen. I’ve been a good pet mother. Not quite the equivalent of raising kids but it sure did cost a lot!

Sometimes when I think I haven’t done enough I have to give myself a pat on the back and understand that just surviving every day, paying my bills on time and not jumping off a roof are major accomplishments. (Which reminds me, I need to call Alltel. They sent me an obnoxious text message saying my bill wasn’t paid, but of course it has been!)

Speaking of bills, being self-employed has so many joys but the fear of not paying my bills on time is truly a persistent, gut gnawing, anxiety. I’m trying to think positively and use the law of attraction to attract abundance and success, but it still is scary at times. Just as I’m starting to panic I hear about another person being laid off, or an entire department being outsourced, and I vow to keep pressing ahead and believing that I can survive on my own. To be beholden to a “boss” again and then to be discarded without any say or defense would have to be a million times worse than my daily struggles.

I’m still looking for a husband but at this point a kiss and foot rub would be something to put in my journal. The man market in Charlotte is really rough. First, it’s such a conservative city that people seem to stay married (although they do cheat…). Then secondly, I’m very spoiled on a visual and esthetic level. Let me explain that. In Los Angeles not only are the women the most gorgeous in the world, but the men are too! In Charlotte…not so much. The good news is that I’ve gone from a 2 to an 8.

Oh please. You know I’m just kidding. I’ve never been a 2. At least not in my mother’s eyes!

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPYRIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com . Thank you!

A Woman and Her Little Dog Monty

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:00:00 +0000

I feel so bad that I haven't been writing. Life has been so busy. I've been doing sales for Women With Know How (www.womenwithknowhow.com) and it's just been non-stop. The photos are Cindy Curtis and her dog Monty who she brings to her pet store. He's a sales magnet! The clients adore him. The store is Wags of Baxter in Baxter Village in South Carolina. Please promote this independent sales woman! www.wagsofbaxter.com. I'm off to do a photo shoot of a friend and his cat so look for that in a few days. I can't wait.

I'm also gearing up for a visit from my sister and then her 25-year old daughter will visit for about 3 weeks. I can't wait to show them Charlotte and Charleston and the mountains. I deserve a break! It's been non-stop for months now. But I'm happy and fulfilled, so all's good. Still haven't found a good man (Donald?), found some bad ones, but we're over that, so have to keep looking!

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPYRIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com. Thank you!

Another Ezine Article for All You Spy Bots

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 03:01:00 +0000

It’s The Little Things That Count!

Life can be hard and complicated, no matter how much we try to simplify with the Law of Attraction’s positive outlook and other simplistic approaches. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for looking at the sunny side of life, but sometimes our daily life can be a struggle. For myself personally, I’m on an especially tight budget while I try to maintain being self-employed and until I make some moola. One of the costs that I’m trying to stretch as far as I can is anything to do with cosmetics. One of the most frustrating things for me is pumping pricey eye cream out of a miniscule size bottle, only to have the pump sputter into nothingness. Now I know there’s more cream in there so I uncap it as best I can and try to coax the precious elixir out. This is a monthly struggle with the result being that I toss the offending bottle with that much needed cream still nestled on the bottom and sides. But this time was different! It suddenly dawned on me that I could take a q-tip and retrieve the remnants of the cream and put off another trip to Sam’s Club for a few days, all the while fighting those fine lines of wisdom around my baby blues. Why I never thought of this before, I don’t know, but this little insight was enough to put a smile on my face for days.

Continuing along the lines of “little things”, I was appalled last week when I pulled into a parking spot at a local coffee shop next to a car that was running, with no one inside! As I was trying to figure out what was happening, a man walked out of the coffee shop holding two cups of coffee. I told him that I had been concerned when I realized the car was running and he said that he does that all the time. Keeps the car on while he runs into the coffee shop. I was absolutely floored. I have been living in Charlotte, NC for two and a half years and I would never leave my car running and unattended, even in my driveway! When I commented to the gentleman that we could never do something like that in Los Angeles, he responded that he had been living in Charlotte for 14 years and never had a problem.

Good luck to him. The arrogance of his statement, which reading between the lines meant, in this neighborhood of Charlotte it was safe to leave the car with the keys in the ignition, reminded me of another arrogant statement that was made to me. Years ago I worked for a wealthy political “celebrity”. I was in our office in Century City and the riots in Los Angeles had just broken out. From our high-rise offices I could see parts of Los Angeles literally smoking. My employer called and asked that I come to work out of the home office in Beverly Hills. I told him that it didn’t feel safe to me. He countered with, “They’ll never come here.” So, again, reading between the lines, he had no concern for my safety, because I certainly didn’t live in Beverly Hills, and he had full blown arrogance that his neighborhood, Beverly Hills, would be shut down tight against hoodlums and rioters. I’m proud to say that I stood up to him and left for the safety of my little apartment.

So, back to the little things, those little gestures that make a difference. Scooping eye cream out of the non-pumpable holder, or standing up to a bullying boss who cares nothing for your safety. These are the highlights of our days. I would take it one step further and make someone else’s day happy with a small gesture such as an encouraging or loving text message. Maybe a handwritten note (not an email!) to a friend. How about telling someone you love that you appreciate him or her. Simple gestures, huge payback, for you and them. Give it a try!

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPYRIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com . Thank you!

DNA Identity Theft! The Identity Theft of the Future

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:48:00 +0000

This article wil appear in www.ezinearticles.com. I'm an "expert author" y'all!

I’m going to take a leap of faith and write about something I know nothing about! I have immersed myself in identity theft for over a year now and have talked to hundreds of people explaining our growing ID theft crisis and how to protect themselves and their family. I always talk about five specific areas of identity theft, which are financial, social security, drivers license, medical and character/criminal. Lo and behold, I stumbled on an article about DNA identity theft! I was overcome with curiosity, and some healthy skepticism, and set out to see what I could find.

Why would someone want our DNA id? What could they possibly do with it? Well, as our high tech world continues to expand at the speed of light, one of the pieces of information that will be found in your medical records (maybe even employment records) will be your DNA. A criminal could use your DNA genetic code either to make others believe he is you, or to create false whereabouts for you (such as being at a crime scene when you actually were not).

In one Hollywood version of DNA theft, in the 1997 movie Gattaca the movie tells a futuristic story about a man played by Ethan Hawke. The character has a congenital heart condition which will not allow him to travel in space. He takes on the identity of an athlete so that he will be genetically able to pursue his dream.

“The potential for DNA identity theft is enough to make us all wear a gauze mask and keep our hands in our pockets. DNA can of course be easily copied -- after all, its architecture is designed for duplication -- but that is the least of its problems. Unlike a credit card number, DNA can't be retired and swapped for a new sequence if it falls into the hands of crooks or snoops. Once your DNA identity is stolen, you live with the consequences forever,” according to Paul Saffo, a writer for the Washington Post.

Biometrics, which is used by many corporations to identify an individual, can be duplicated too. Again from Paul Saffo, “DNA is the gold standard of biometrics, but even DNA starts to look like fool's gold under close inspection. With a bit of discipline, one can keep a card safe or a PIN secret, but if your DNA becomes your identity, you are sharing your secret with the world every time you sneeze or touch something.” Scary stuff!

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPY RIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com. Thank you!

Network Marketing – A Good Place to Begin Your Road to Financial Freedom?

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:23:00 +0000

This is an article that will be published on www.ezinearticles.com!

My name is Sara Abrams and I am a network marketing addict!! There, I’ve admitted it to the world. I’d like to share with you some of my adventures in the world of multi-level marketing and hopefully spare you some heartache and loss of cash!

Let me start by stating that I really believe in multi-level network marketing. If you can find a product that you LOVE and believe in, and you can buy in for under $200 you might just be able to build a money generating business. The problem is that you’re going to have to weed out the enterprises that are only going to cost you time and money and dash your hopes of entrepreneurship.

Let’s start with the positive. If you’ve never sold anything in your life but work in an office with a safe, but not very lucrative, paycheck, the beauty of network marketing is that you will learn invaluable sales tools and gain major self esteem. Every time you go to a “rah rah” meeting, or listen to a group phone call with your upline and their upbeat message of financial freedom, you are learning tips and tools that will help you in life, and hopefully in your business. I tend to be a glass is half empty person, and I hate that about myself. One of the wonders of MLM literature and verbal rhetoric is the unstoppable enthusiasm in the power of the product and how every individual in America, and sometimes the world, must have this product to make their lives complete. For myself personally, it is always a good reminder that I can be that upbeat, positive person, and that’s a good thing for my self esteem and outlook on life. You will also meet people just like yourself who have a dream of bettering their life and their family’s life and you’re likely to form some wonderful friendships.

Here are a few tips to save you some heartache. When you are looking at a product ask a few important questions:

1. Would I use this product? Do I believe in this product? If you do, put your money where your mouth is and go ahead and buy the product! Someone at some point is going to ask you if you use it and you’d better be! Otherwise, how will you be able to truly recommend it?

2. How much money out of pocket will I need to begin this business? Include the membership fee and all materials. If you’re not careful you can lose your shirt on training costs, brochures, logo inscribed clothing, and handouts.

3. How many levels deep is my downline and what is my commission when they sell? This will help motivate you to build a team and let the team begin to work hard for you.

4. If I develop a team, can they surpass me in earnings, i.e., if they do more sales than I and get to a management level above me, will I lose any potential earnings? For myself there is no incentive in seeing someone I brought into the company end up succeeding wildly and my not being able to participate in the earnings outcome.

5. Who is my upline? Will I be provided with good support? Will someone be there to train me and answer my questions?

6. Find some people who are NO LONGER involved in the company and ask them why they left. Most people currently involved will only paint a rosy picture, which is what they are supposed to do, but sometimes you need to peek behind the smiles in order to see if this is the right product for you.

7. Do not believe the people who tell you that they spend 1 or 2 hours a day and reap unbelievable financial wealth. It’s just not true. The people who I have seen who succeed in MLMs spend many hours of hard work, at least in the beginning, to get their money making machine well oiled and producing.

Use this as a primer if you decide to get involved with an MLM email me at abrams.sara@gmail.com for some specific MLM companies that I would recommend to you. Good luck!

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To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPY RIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com. Thank you!

It's Snowing in Charlotte and a "Historic" Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:30:00 +0000

The snow's falling very lightly in the Queen City. It's not that cold out and it may or may not stick, but it's a magical thing for a late Saturday afternoon. I'm snug and warm in my beautiful house, with the three cats and a fake fireplace. My bills are paid and my heat is turned on. I think 2008 will be a great year for me (God willing) and I'm feeling very peaceful and blessed.

Here's a photo, finally, of the bad cat sitting on my lap. Look how happy, tame and mellow he is. My oh my. Not even a trace of the bad boy who used to saunter on up to the front door and demand to be fed, or else! He did bite me a little this morning, but really just a love tap. Just a reminder that he's still got those wild ways.

Now for the "historic" photo. My new roommate Jonah was upstairs, my former roommate Dan came by to get something and my FIRST roommate Gary, just happened to be in the neighborhood and actually wanted something that he had left in the garage. I had to memorialize this once in a lifetime event with a photo! I have been in Charlotte 2 3/4 years and Gary moved into my house after about a month. He's from Chicago by way of India. Has been in the US for many years. He was a great roommate. Polite, clean, nicer than can be. Then he moved out after a year and a half and Dan moved in. Dan is big guy with a big personality. He walks into a room and demands attention. He was lots of fun and kind of knew when to hang out with me and when to leave me alone. When Dan moved in with his girlfriend, Jonah arrived. Jonah moved to Charlotte from Orlando and is looking for a job as a graphic designer. He's also a musician and photographer. We emailed and talked and he pretty much moved in right after Dan moved out. He's very quiet but sweet and so new to the city that it's been fun to take him around and try to make some job introductions for him.

I feel really blessed that I've had such good experiences with roommates. I did do background checks, etc., but that never will let you know if someone is compatible with your personality. I grew up in a family of girls and I feel like my three roommates are surrogate brothers. I know that if I'm in a pinch I can count on them to help me and I hope they feel the same way toward me.

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPY RIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com. Thank you!

Happy New Year and My PC Finally Died

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:01:00 +0000

I decided to throw a New Years Eve party, rather than sit at home moping. And as it turned out - it was a smart thing to do! A lot of people I know had absolutely no plans of their own and were excited to come by. I had about 20 people stop by at different times throughout the evening and we partied like rock stars. Okay, I kid. We partied like middle age fogies, but we still had a marvelous time! I picked up my friend Mimi around 2:30 and we did some additional food shopping at Sam's Club, came back to the house, and we proceeded to start toasting each other around 3:30. Let me preface that with, small toasts, but for me, the non-drinker, always in control, control freak, it was a fun, fun way to bring in the New Year. Mimi brought Taboo to play but we were able to generate enough conversation to keep the party lively without playing a board game. One of the disappointments was that I had invited a new friend who teaches Salsa but he didn't make it. Mimi and Terry were hoping he would teach us some salsa dance moves. Instead I played some Marc Anthony (English and Spanish) but I guess it just wasn't a dancing kind of party.

I do feel that I am well entrenched in the south now that I've been in Charlotte for 2 1/2 years. We talked about NASCAR and the race track controversy in Concord, a comedian named Bubba, and the use of mayonnaise in a spam sandwich. As we approached the countdown to the new year, while watching Dick Clark of course, I announced to the crowd that I was getting married in 2008! The fact that I don't even have a boyfriend will hardly deter me. I was immediately offered a marriage proposal, but it came with a request for a green card. Good start, in my opinion!

Now, to the bad news, my PC is dead.... I think fixable. I could see out of the corner of my eye throughout the night that the computer kept re-booting. This morning I turned it on and realized I had a serious problem. So, here we go, starting off the New Year with a financial hassle. Luckily I have the MAC Powerbook, but there are things that I have to do on my PC.

But let's not dwell on the negative. Let's find me a husband in 2008 (good to me, smart, financially secure, hot, passionate and Jewish would work too), let' s get me on a good financial track this year. It's time for me to make money! And let's try and get back on that peace train! Time's a wasting if there's going to be peace in this world in my lifetime, so com'on! Let's do it.

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPY RIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com. Thank you!

Benazir Bhutto

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:36:00 +0000

I guess my blog is here for me to express my thoughts and feelings so let me spill my guts for a minute. I'm very much into escapism at this point in my life and warm and fuzzies. I just think the world is in a terrible state right now. That's why I started a pet magazine that only touted positive stuff. Love, hugs, wet doggy kisses and warm purrs from our cat friends. Sorry - but that's just me. I really don't want to dwell on the bad. Now with that in mind, I've got to tell you that I just this minute heard about the assassination of Ms. Bhutto. This is not how I wanted to start my new year... With all the turmoil in the world it was such a pleasure to see a bright light such as hers, standing up to death threats and the government, bringing hope to some of the people in Pakistan. To see a woman in the Far East making her way politically, with all it's ups and downs, to me was just astounding. I am deeply saddened by this news and I wish I could just tell all the crazies out there - STOP IT! Enough already. Enough.

Overcoming The Holiday Blahs

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 14:09:00 +0000

You probably think it’s funny that a Jewish woman is writing about struggling through the holiday blues since I don’t celebrate Christmas, but you’d be surprised how hard it is to cope. Maybe even harder because we don’t share in this beautiful tradition and I tend to feel left out and alone more than ever.

Having grown up in Israel, I am very founded in my Jewish identity, yet living in America for umpteen years, I still feel overcome with sadness when the holidays roll around. We start with Thanksgiving and I begin to count my blessings, but sometimes it seems that the negative can outweigh the positive. I still haven’t found my knight in shining armor, I never started a family, my immediate family live abroad, and I’m tired of being the orphan at other people’s dinner tables.

Okay, I get through Thanksgiving. On to Christmas. Now I will give thanks that I don’t have the pressure to give gifts to friends and family. It usually just boils down to some co-workers and close friends that I give something to. I don’t know how I could afford to have a sumptuous Christmas with a tree bursting with presents. I’ve pretty much lived paycheck to paycheck my entire life, so I have no idea how people pull this off financially. On the other hand, I’m home alone with my cats (how could I not have cats?) and thinking about all the families surrounding me, celebrating the most important day of their year with food, love and laughter.

And let’s not forget about New Years! Because, once again, I’m alone (except for the cats) and I’m about to spend New Years eve by myself, again. I don’t even get my fill of Dick Clark anymore since his stroke. I have to put up with obnoxious Ryan Seacrest. I usually have no problem going to clubs, restaurants or movies by myself, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to a New Years Eve party alone. No, no, no.

Let’s get to the inspirational part of this article since I didn’t know what other heading to put it under. With all that negativity I just imparted, I do want to say that I handle the holidays like the soldier that I am. I take deep breaths, I take long walk/runs in the re-freshing cold and ENJOY my solitude. I try not to overeat because that would just make me more miserable. I do count my blessings, over and over again, and I do try to phrase my hopes and dreams through use of positive Law of Attraction. Otherwise I feel that I may fall into an emotional morass that will be too hard to get out of. The beauty of the New Year is that you get to re-examine and start fresh. You can learn from mistakes made over the past year and you can take that deep breath and leap into the newness with faith and conviction that this will be the year of change. This New Year will be the best ever!

Here’s wishing you and yours a stellar New Year too.

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams
visit: Team National and shop!

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPY RIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com. Thank you!

The Year In Identity Theft!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 21:44:00 +0000

This is taken from my ID Theft Protection Newsletter which I will send out by e-blast on Monday:

This is the year end re-cap issue for my identity theft prevention newsletter. There was so much that happened this year including the T.J. Maxx scandal. It is now reported that the number of credit and debit cards breached increased from 45.7 million to 97 million. Unbelievable. Still think you’re immune to potential identity theft? Universities were also hit very hard. Can you imagine being a student and starting off your career in the workplace by having to state on employment applications that you have been a victim of identity theft and that the employer needs to be aware of it when your background check comes back?

Let me share with you that every time there’s an identity theft breach I jump for joy, because it just reinforces my point that we are in the middle of an epidemic and you need my services to curtail the damage! Let’s start locally. Last newsletter we had the EMT worker in Cabarrus who lost a computer that fell off his ambulance’s bumper when he drove away. That loss could have potentially put at risk 28,000 North Carolina residents’ medical history. And continuing to keep it close to home, as of a report of December 4, the Duke Law School’s website was illegally accessed putting at risk 1,400 people’s social security numbers.

And what about the United Kingdom? About half the population became victims of identity theft through the loss of computer disks which contained their bank account numbers. Will this have any affect on those of us who live in the United States? Yes and no. No, because it was contained to the UK, yes, because we need to look closely at the breach and learn from it to make sure that we cannot be affected in the same way. We need to watch how the UK government handles and responds to this outrage.

There’s a new law that allows consumers to freeze their credit. Sounds like a great idea at first, but do some research. You’ll need to unfreeze your credit in order to purchase a car or home, and consider that the lender is looking at you as a potential risk because the act of freezing your credit is sending out a message that you may have been an identity theft victim.

To close out this re-cap I, of course, want to wish everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year and in that same vein, please consider beginning monitoring of your credit. I can set you up in 5 minutes with the Identity Theft Shield and the cost is only $12.95/month which covers you and your spouse (or significant other). At a minimum, request your free copy of your credit report and check it carefully. You can do that at www.annualcreditreport.com. Keep healthy and safe this holiday season and throughout 2008!

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To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens!), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams
visit: Team National and shop!

USE OF ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS BLOG IS BY PERMISSION ONLY! THESE ARE COPY RIGHTED IMAGES AND NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. Contact Sara Abrams at Abrams Media Group, Inc., 704-543-8843, abrams.sara@gmail.com. Thank you!

Good Bye to The Boulevard

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 07:15:00 +0000

Oy veys mer. Life is kicking my butt. I need to start making some money and I am so scattered. I'm doing event planning, marketing and Pre-Paid Legal along with some internet commerce and the occasional work for the attorney. It suddenly dawned on me that I don't really need to be in Charlotte, as much as I'm happy here. I think I want to go back to Israel for a month just in case I need to take a full time job. This would be my last opportunity to spread my wings and not have to report to an office. I can keep a journal while I'm there and do my photography, blogging, etc. I think I need to get out of here and have an adventure.

I'm shutting down Sara's Spot at The Boulevard. It's been fun but hasn't made any money. I'll have it through Christmas and then I have to get out of there. I'm including some goodbye shots for those of you, Don, who never made it down there.

Anyway, happy Thanksgiving to everyone and keep those wallets under lock and key during your holiday shopping. Call me if you want to start your Identity Theft Shield!
To all my readers (Mom, Emily and Donald), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams
visit: Team National and shop!

A Little Holiday Precaution Can Help Maintain Holiday Joy

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 05:55:00 +0000

The following willl appear in my Identity Theft Protection newsletter later this week. You're getting a sneak peak!

The holidays seemed to arrive earlier than ever this year! As soon as the Halloween candy was moved to my store’s discount shelves, the Christmas decorations began making an appearance. I guess it really is that time of the year again.

If you’ve begun your holiday shopping, you’ll want to be extra careful regarding identity theft. Thieves are on the lookout to take advantage of the holiday rush and weary shoppers who have let their guard down. You might be the victim of purse snatching or a pickpocketed wallet, a shoulder surfing incident while you withdraw money from the ATM, or a sophisticated attack on your computer through phishing or other means in order to infiltrate your bank account(s). You should be checking your account balances electronically on a daily basis during the holidays to watch for any purchases that are not yours.

Before you head to the mall, make a copy of the front and back of your credit and debit cards and keep these in a secure place. Make sure that the company phone numbers are legible. In case of a theft, you will want to have easy access to this information in order to begin immediate cancellation of your cards. Don’t give out your bank account number over the phone or on the Internet unless you have generated the call. And NEVER respond to an email asking you for personal information such as your password. Your bank will never request that, yet I was receiving a number of “phishing” emails that looked exactly like my bank’s website and logos.

Here’s a simple trick you may already be utilizing. Instead of signing the back of your credit card write, "Ask for Photo ID."

Hopefully you’re lucky enough to be planning a wonderful holiday getaway. If so, notify the post office to put a hold on your mail. Unless you have a locked mailbox, you definitely don’t want pre-approved credit card offers sitting in your mailbox just waiting to be taken. Better yet, you may want to put a stop to those solicitations. You can call 888-5 OPT OUT (567-8688).

Let me take this occasion to wish everyone joyous, and safe, holidays!

To all my readers (Mom, Emily and Donald), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams
visit: Team National and shop!

Quick Post - I WENT TO THE POLICE CONCERT!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:07:00 +0000

Hey everyone! I was invited to the Police concert. What a blast! I never in my life thought I would get a chance to see STING live. He was so awesome. I forgot how many hits they had. I'm attaching a photo of my new best friend, Tommy, the wily tom cat. He's been domesticated in such a quick amount of time that it's just astonishing! Last night he came to my back door where I have my office and asked to be let in. It was 1:30 in the morning and COLD outside, so of course he was let in. I kept my other 2 cats in the rest of the house, shut Tom up in the back office and prayed that he would figure out how to use the kitty litter. Well, the next morning he went right back outside without so much as a thank you, but he does love me. I only get bitten once a day now! HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!

To all my readers (Mom, Emily and Donald), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams
visit: Team National and shop!

Commerce Connections for 11/6/07!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 05:30:00 +0000

As usual, I never know who is going to show up at the Commerce Connections meetings, so of course I'm a little nervous before the event. The biggest surprise tonight was that even though it wasn't the largest gathering, there were lots of new people to meet. That was very exciting to me! We'll take December off for the holidays and then start up again in January. I'm hoping to designate a set day, like the first Wednesday of the month, and a set place, which will more likely than not be the Renaissance Hotel in SouthPark, as our permanent networking home. I think it will be easier to grow that way.

Let me know if your company wants to be our next sponsor in January!

To all my readers (Mom, Emily and Donald), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams
visit: Team National and shop!

Working On Saturday Night! Not Good!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 23:47:00 +0000

Hey everyone. Congrats to all of you who are self employed entrepreneurs. It's not easy by any stretch of the imagination. So why do we do it? Has your dream of "time freedom" come true? Are you rich beyond your wildest imagination now that all your hard work goes to promote your dream and not those of "the boss man"?

Probably not. Here I am, on a Saturday night, racking my brain trying to come up with resourceful ways to sell identity theft protection and a new thing that I'm dabbling in that shortens the life of your mortgage. It's 7:30 pm and all I can think about is getting in the car and going to Rusans or Tin Tin to feast on Sushi. But my budget is telling me – NO!, this isn't the right weekend for that kind of indulgence. My gut is telling me that I need to keep working and keep promoting and eventually I will have all those things that were un-imaginable when I was in a capped salaried position.

I don't know how many of you buy into the law of attraction belief. I do and don't. My ask, believe, receive mantra to find a good man who will love me has not come true yet but my request for monetary security seems to have taken off this week. I was offered commissions by three different individuals if I were to make connections for them to sell their products, and you know I'm the connections/networking queen! I've been given three writing assignments this week (which of course I haven't started yet!) and I was just hired to do some marketing. In addition I had several great meetings for the Pre-Paid Legal products.

I'm not there yet financially, but I would like to give all of you who are struggling to be self employed a virtual hug of encouragement and let you know that it does take time. If you truly believe in your product(s) and yourself you will achieve those lofty goals that we all desire so much!

Send me your success stories. I would love to hear from you.

To all my readers (Mom, Emily and Donald), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams
visit: Team National and shop!

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 01:27:00 +0000

I know I probably shouldn't post this since my blog is so family friendly, but #1 - no one reads it (no offense Mom, Emily & Donald) and #2 - this is the first and last time that anyone will ever see me looking like this! I went to a Halloween house party and dressed as my ultimate fantasy - Naughty Catholic School Girl. There - the secret's out! And all along you thought I was a serious business professional. I don't know what it is about dress up parties, but people do get to express hidden sides of themselves.

Anyway, happy beginning of the holiday madness. Now it's time to get back to being the serious Identity Theft specialist that I truly am!

To all my readers (Mom, Emily and Donald), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams
visit: Team National and shop!

Something New

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 04:20:00 +0000

I'm going to post an article that was in my Identity Theft Newsletter. Let's see how that goes. If you're bored - SKIP IT! But it's a good one!

October 12, 2007

My Tranny Roommate Stole My Identity, And Other Identity Theft Horror Stories

Now that I’ve got your attention - here’s what happened. According to WFTV.com in Orlando, Florida, a transgendered man was arrested for prostitution and booked into the jail using his former female roommate’s name. Once someone is booked under a certain name in that jail, the records cannot be changed, and even though there will be a note in the arrestee’s file, the female roommate will have to carry papers for years proving that she wasn’t the one arrested for prostitution.

Yes, the tranny roommate story is sensational, and most likely is not going to happen to you, but what about when Lind Weaver took a call from a bill collector saying she needed to pay for her foot amputation? Glancing at both her feet she assured the caller that she had had no such surgery. And yet…harassing collection attempts continued for months, even after she took a print of the alleged amputated foot, notarized each toe and mailed the print to the collection agency.

A sadder story in USA Today of June 4, 2007 focuses on David Hernandez who served abroad for four years in the Air Force, only to return to civilian life to find his good name in shambles. His nightmare consisted of 20 delinquent accounts being collected on, his name linked to a string of felonies, including a drug charge, which led to problems with his hiring at Best Buy, and the final insult, state regulators began garnishing his wages to pay child support to a woman in Chicago he had never met. And the nightmare continues. Just recently he received notice that someone tried three times to take out auto loans using his name and Social Security number. Fortunately, Hernandez had placed fraud alerts on his credit records, so the loans were denied.

There is a misconception that identity theft only affects our finances and that it is a victimless crime. The reality is that there are five major areas of identity theft including financial. There is social security, drivers license, medical and character/criminal. Call me to find out how to protect your identity in this growing epidemic.

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To all my readers (Mom, Emily and Donald), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams
visit: Team National and shop!

Sam's Starring Video

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Abrams) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:16:00 +0000

Let's see if I can post this video -

Introducing Sam Abrams

Add to My Profile | More Videos