USANA!!!

What up all! The purpose of this post is to get back into the swing of things. I've been gone for a while and haven't done a blog since 2008. Shame on me I know. I got a new found passion and am eager to share it with anybody who's willing to listen, or read. USANA Health Sciences is my new business venture and I think each and every one of you should be interested. Degenerative diseases are now the number one causes of death and disability around the world. Things like heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, respiratory disease, and osteoporosis are tops among those. The people of the world need to start taking the necessary measures to prevent these degenerative diseases and achieve optimal health.

The food we all eat these days does not give us the necessary nutrients and antioxidants that our bodies need to combat the trillions of free radicals in our bodies. Free radicals destroy the cells in the body and inhibit long term health. They are produced from the toxins, radiation, pollution, and stress that we encounter on a daily basis. Our food is full of fat, sugar, salt, synthetic chemicals, drugs, and pollutants, and doesn't have anywhere near the amount of vitamins and minerals our cells need to keep our cells healthy. Along with watching what we eat and staying away from bad foods, everyone needs proper exercise and activity to help achieve good health.

USANA's focus is optimal cellular health. They strive to create the highest quality nutritional supplements to give the cells of our bodies the nutrients they need to stay healthy and be able to combat free radicals that jeopardize our health. USANA voluntarily follows Good Manufacturing Practices that are used by the pharmaceutical industry. This means that what it stated on the label has to be in the product. The supplement industry is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, therefore allowing products to be placed in the marketplace without knowing for sure what is actually in the product, regardless of what is stated on the label. There are only four pharmaceutical grade manufacturers in the world, two of which are in the United States, one is USANA.

Hope this peaks your interest as much as it did mine. I have to leave you wanting more, but I will be along again to continue feeding your curiosity. Stay tuned.

I Need a Spring Training Break!

In these hard times in Chicago, dealing with the frigid temps and all the snow, I find myself wanting to be in spring training with the teams. How sweet would it be to go to Arizona right now and trade sub-zero weather for mid 60s or 70s? I would love it. This being my first winter free of work for six years, I'm also bored out of my mind. I might just hop on a plane and go. I got family out there no more than thirty minutes from the White Sox spring facility in Tucson. I could watch the battle at third base between Joe Crede and Josh Fields. I could help welcome Nick Swisher, Orlando Cabrera, Carlos Quentin, Scott Linebrink, Alexei Ramirez, and Octavio Dotel to our South Side team. I could even see Bartolo Colon, who is possibly heading back to the Sox after a few years in Anaheim. I could see the battle for three spots in the outfield with five or six viable candidates, or the fight for the starting rotation. Just imagining the possibilities and the potential of this team would be something to see.

I'm pumped up about all the newcomers to the team. I think the pitchers add some much needed help to the staff. The relievers should help strengthen the bullpen, which struggled mightily last year with giving the ball to "Big Bobby" Jenks with a lead. Adding Colon, or another starter, to the rotation would help lessen the sting of losing Jon Garland, even though John Danks and Gavin Floyd should be ready to contribute. I see the position players adding speed and extra pop to the already stacked lineup that the Sox boast. I like these moves that Kenny Williams has made and hope he does what he needs to do to make this team better than it's 72-90 record of 2007. Just two years after the greatest season I've ever seen, ending with a Championship parade through the streets of the CHI, we had to go through a season filled with anger, angst, and anguish.

This years Sox have a lineup of bashers but need a spark, similar to Scott Podsednik in 2005, to jump start the team, give us early leads, and fill the clubhouse with energy. The new third-base coach Jeff Cox wants the team to be aggressive on the bases and make other teams think about the Sox running on them. Even though the team doesn't have a stand out speedster, they do quite possibly have three of the slowest guys in the league in Paul Konerko, Jim Thome, and A.J. Pierzynski. With guys like Jerry Owens, Swisher, Cabrera, Juan Uribe, Ramirez, Danny Richar, and Pablo Ozuna, the Sox would like to run, run, run. Some previously mentioned will be starters and some will platoon with chances to pinch run or hit in the later innings. But, they all have potential to rattle opposing pitchers and get some stolen bases.

That spark remains a mystery for now, but it would be great to scout the team from Tuscon and catch a glimpse of who it might be. Will it be Owens? He might not even be the starting center fielder, with three spots for him, Jermaine Dye, Swisher, Quentin, and Brian Anderson to fight for. Will it be Richar or Ramirez? Will it be Swisher, who some liken as a clubhouse presence similar to Aaron Rowand of the 2005 Champion White Sox? That spark is key for the Sox success this season, and I don't really care who it comes from. To have success in this league, and especially in the AL Central, we need to go back to the "Ozzie ball" of 2005. Good pitching, good hitting, smart base-running, and taking any and every advantage you can is "Ozzie ball". With this lineup, whatever it may be, and with solid pitching, the Sox can go far. How far will be determined by team unity, trust, and some kind of spark.

The newspaper is twisted and covered with gasoline, laying in the firepit. The logs are in place above the paper, nearly pilling out of the pit. There is enough reserve fire wood to last all year. All we need is that spark, and this team will have a fire under it's collective ass with hopes of returning to the glory of 2005. Go Sox!