I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about six years ago. I was at the doctor’s office because my thyroid was swollen, and he said my bloodwork showed very high sugar levels. My mother has diabetes, which started later on in her life, and doctors have said to me, “Well, either you, your sister, or your brother will have diabetes,” and I thought, “That will be me!” My sister’s is perfect, my brother’s is perfect, and of course I have it.

I went to a new doctor about three years ago and she changed my medicine entirely, because she wasn’t happy with my sugar levels and wanted to try something different. We tried one that made me feel really sick, but I’m on something different now that controls my sugar but doesn’t make me sick.

I test my blood sugar every day, once a day, usually in the morning before I take my medicine. I just had my A1C level tested and my doctor told me it was 6.1 — she said it’s perfect. I’m really happy about that because for so long my numbers weren’t where they were supposed to be. So I think the medication has really done it.

Besides taking medications, though, my life hasn’t changed that much. My diabetes is well managed and the medication pretty much takes care of it. Since my diagnosis, I’m not drinking sodas with sugar, you know, things like that, and not eating sweets. I look for sugar-free now, everything I get.

Sheila

My type 2 diabetes was diagnosed because I kept urinating. I couldn’t work; every five or ten minutes I was running to the restroom. I can’t say I was totally surprised because everyone on my dad’s side of the family has it – his mother, his siblings, and now me and my younger sister.

I knew that food habits had to change when I got diagnosed. My grandmother was a diabetic for 40 or 50 years, and she really took care of herself. When I would visit her in the summer she would teach me how to cook. She would say, “Fix my plate,” and she would hand me a cup, a drinking cup like a tea cup, and she would say “Put my peas in the cup. Don’t fill the cup up.” That’s how she measured her servings. And she was really good about it.

I test my blood sugar every morning. Some days I take it twice a day and I alternate from the lunch to the dinner time.

At the beginning of the year I lost 20 pounds. I don’t believe when people say, “If you lose weight, you can do without the medicine.” I know people who have lost weight — a lot of weight — and they still need medicine for their blood sugar. But I do know that taking care of yourself is important. I have been doing more physical activity, and I’d have to say I do feel good.

Sharon

I had a brother with diabetes, and I was aware of the symptoms. So when I started being thirsty all the time and waking up quite a few times in the night to go to the restroom, I thought that I better get tested. Sure enough, my doctor told me that I definitely had type 2 diabetes. And, of course, nobody wants to be a diabetic, but he pretty much told me that it’s controllable if you do what you need to do. Then he started me on medicines right away.

Some weeks are harder than other weeks. When I was first diagnosed, I thought, “Oh, there goes everything. I can’t eat this. I can’t eat that. I can’t have sweets.” That was the biggest thing. But I learned that I can have a sweet every now and then, just as long as I don’t go overboard.

I changed my activity level after I found out that I had diabetes. I love sweets and I wasn’t as active as I needed to be. I was taking medicine and changed my eating habits, and now I try to walk more. When I go shopping I park further out so that I have to walk in. When it’s feasible, I’ll take the steps instead of the elevator. So I have increased my exercise, but even at that sometimes I fall off. Right now, it’s down to twice a week, but I’m trying to do more again.

I hear about people who stop taking their diabetes medicine, but I wouldn’t do that. My blood sugars are good. I may have missed a day of medicine because maybe I forgot, but never two or three days because I just know that I feel good and I’m too afraid to go the other route. I don’t want to develop diabetic retinopathy or neuropathy or anything like that.

I hate that I have diabetes, but I’m awfully glad that I have something that treats it. I don’t think I’ll ever be a person who say, “Oh, I’m glad I have diabetes and I can work out all the time” — never that! But my future, I think, looks pretty good to me right now.

Troy

I had my doctor test me for diabetes every time I went for a checkup, because my mother and her father both had type 1 diabetes. Between my sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits, I thought I’d better keep an eye on my blood sugar.

One of those days he came in and said “Well, I think we better start treatment.” So I wasn’t really surprised. I figured it would come along eventually with my family history and my lifestyle. But I knew it was time to be more serious about dealing with it.

Not long ago, my new doctor gave me a really thorough physical and decided to increase the dose of the medicine I was taking, and she added a second medicine. She said the two together would help to control my blood sugar better, and it has.

I have not made a lot of changes to my diet, but I have cut down on sugars and I don’t eat desserts any more. Actually, my diet was never really that bad – there was just too much of it! So I have cut back on the portions, too I’d thought that giving up desserts would be a lot harder than it was. I discovered quickly that I didn’t miss it at all, but I miss rice a lot.

At first, my diagnosis didn’t change my exercise habits. I started to do more exercise a few years ago, when my doctor increased the dose of my medicine. She told me, “You need to start changing the way you live because at some point these medicines may not work for you and then we’re going to have to look at insulin injections.” It was kind of a surprise to me that I might be headed in that direction, because I didn’t think that could happen with type 2 diabetes. So I decided to start working out.

I think I’m living with diabetes very well. It’s not something that consumes my thoughts most of the time, because doesn’t really impact my life much. I just have to be sure and take my medicines. I think about exercise as something I do for my general health and to lose weight – something I’d do with or without diabetes. I know that losing weight will help my diabetes, too, but I didn’t go into it with a goal of improving my diabetes, really. I feel like as long as I’m in regular contact with my doctor to keep an eye on things, that I’m not going to let it rule me.

Lauren

I expected to get type 2 diabetes. When I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy, my physician told me it’s not a matter of if, but when. I’ve heard about diabetes all my life because my grandmother and my aunt both died from diabetes-related issues.

One summer I was drinking a lot of sugary drinks. My vision started getting blurry, and I just knew. So I saw my doctor, and my blood sugar numbers were off the charts. So I cut out the sweet drinks and when I went on medication, my numbers came back down.

After my diagnosis, I started eating healthier. Not eating fast food as much. We always ate a lot of fast food, but now if we go out to eat, I make healthier choices.

I checked my blood sugar a lot when I was first diagnosed, but not as much now – maybe four times a week, just to make sure I’m on target. I do it mornings to get a fasting blood sugar level, and then sometimes to see how I react to a certain food or something, like, an hour after I eat.

I try to
walk more places than usual or just get out and walk the dog – basically, just be more mobile instead of sedentary.

I’m hopeful that I can keep myself healthy and not have circulatory problems or other diabetes complications, but I know that have to be a part of it. My mom had a massive stroke nine years ago and was paralyzed on her left side. She had just been diagnosed two years before that with diabetes, and she stopped taking her medicine. So I could see what the future could hold for me if I don’t take care of myself.

When you first decided to set up your own bar, in your mind you had an image of what that bar will look like. Perhaps your image was based on your favorite bars of the past where you and friends bonded, laughed, played pool and passed many a happy evening together. Maybe it was based on popular bar images from movies or television like the place where everybody knows your name – Cheers from the TV situation comedy. But you immediately knew how your bar should look to fit that vision.

But decorating your bar isn’t just about how it looks. The interior design that creates the atmosphere you are looking for is about a feeling that your guests or customers will get when they spend time in your bar. It’s that familiar feeling you know well of walking into a bar that immediately takes you to another world and everything outside the walls of that bar just seems to disappear for a little while. That bar becomes the perfect place of rest, relaxation, friendship and fun.

It is that almost magical quality of a bar to transport you to another place and time and makes the retro look so perfect for the feeling you are trying to achieve. So its worth it to invest in making every detail of your interior design contribute to that fantasy of being in another place and another time. A retro bar table decorating scheme can lead the way in setting that kind of tone. Now, the retro look in bar tables goes through waves of popularity. But if you invest in decorating your bar with a retro feel, those trends will not affect the popularity of your lounge as you see happy social times happening around those bar tables every time your bar is open for business.

The feel of your pub or lounge will be set long before the first coat of paint goes up or the furniture is moved in. It will start with a design that you and your interior decorator develop together to fit that vision in your head. When laying out your bar area, you will make the determination where you will have customers seated or standing and how the traffic flow will work. And by providing the right kind of bar tables at each location, you create centers of energy where groups can gather and have a table at just the right place to rest their drinks and talk and enjoy themselves. Tall bar tables encourage socialization and movement so there is lots of mingling. Tables suited for seating a half dozen of people encourage intimacy, romance and create a space where people will pass hours getting to know each other in your pub.

The interior space of a bar is such a unique environment, there really is no other place like it. It’s at the same time a very adult place and yet the atmosphere is created for simple relaxation to leave the complexities of life outside those doors. But in addition to being a big contributor to the atmosphere of a commercial bar, bar tables can become a great part of your home decorating scheme as well. The tall tables with plenty of room for drinks or dishes can be just the thing for a lawn party or a social event where you want people to circulate and get to know each other.

Bar table manufacturers have a diverse assortment of sizes, heights and designs of tables so when you are looking at a room or space in your home you wish to devote to entertainment, you will be able to find just the right thing. For a smaller space where you want a simple table design that is functional and portable, a small bar table with one or two stools to relax your guests is just the ticket. And this kind of furniture investment won’t break your budget either. And the strong variety of styles and materials which include metal tables, wood bar tables to match the stools or chrome or aluminum to name just a few, means that you can easily make these unique tables fit right into your interior decorating scheme even if that has already been put in place.

As we mentioned concerning a retail bar environment, the retro look seems to be endlessly rejuvenating and always a welcome place for a time of retreat and maybe a few drinks. But most homes are decorated in a contemporary scheme and you are probably looking to develop a bar design that fits your existing decor. But there are many great bar table designs that fit beautifully with an existing contemporary home decor. And if you are using your living room to have double duty as family space and occasional entertainment zone, bar tables and stools are easy to move in and out to transform that area quickly to welcome your guests and entertain them in grand style. Another advantage to the contemporary approach that may help you finalize your decision what design to go with is that contemporary bar tables are usually made of chrome or aluminum with veneer tops So they are very easy to clean and keep nice for many uses over the years.

Its fun to plan and design and then show for what fits your dream room that you want to transform into a sophisticated lounge or bar. And because the planning and designing of your decor for that room is something you can change and develop, you can go from the shopping phase and then back to the drawing board over and over until you have just the right interior design for your bar. The internet opens up that process and makes it go faster because you can browse the different bar table options and then see which fit your vision of what you are trying to achieve.

Many designs will be sold as a table and chair or stool set so you don’t have to worry about matching units together. That can be helpful. But if you feel you want complete creative control, there is plenty of room for that as well. And then if you have put plenty of time and creative thought into just what you want, when you create that wonderful bar atmosphere you are looking for, the bar room furniture will be a perfect fit for a perfect room.

When you are negotiating a short sale or note purchase through the bank on a defaulted property it’s easy to overlook the possibility of a mortgage judgment being filed against the homeowner after the sale. It can be common practice for a bank to file a judgment against homeowners fro the remainder of a mortgage after a property has been sold for less than its mortgage.

A typical short sale involves negotiating with the bank to let you buy a property at a lower price than what is left owed on the mortgage to the homeowners. This allows you to pick up a property cheap, the bank to unload a mortgage that the homeowners just can’t make payments on and the homeowners to get out from under a mortgage that’s downing downhill fast.

What Happens after the Short Sale?

Sometimes you’ll find that the homeowners don’t get away from this deal as Scott-free, as they were led to believe. The bank may say okay, we’ll let you buy this mortgage or this property for say $60,000 when the homeowners still owe $100,000, but we’re also going to court later on to get a judgment against the homeowner.

This judgment against the homeowner basically says that the now former homeowner still owes the bank $40,000, which was the amount of the write-off the bank took on the sale of that property to you. That judgment will remain attached to the homeowner for 2 years and can really mess up their ability to get into a new home. It can also attach to another house that the homeowner buys after selling you the property. So the homeowner automatically gets a $40,000 debt tacked onto their other mortgage.

The bank can also decide not get a deficiency judgment against the homeowner for the write-off on that defaulted property. While you are negotiating with the bank for that property you can also negotiate with them to not get that mortgage judgment against the homeowner. When the bank doesn’t get a judgment, it is required to send out a 1099 form to the homeowner. This 1099 form shows the $40,000 write-off by the bank as income for the homeowner for that year.

What to Do about the 1099 Form?

As you can imagine, most homeowners will be terrified by this possibility. Either they get a deficiency judgment against them for the remainder of the mortgage or the IRS views that $40,000 write-off as income. Be sure to tell the homeowner, that when they get this 1099 Form they need to see their CPA or someone who is certified to do their taxes.

The CPA will be able to tell them how to work with the IRS, so that this 1099 isn’t shown as income. The homeowner may qualify for an ‘exclusion’ from the 1099 for selling their own home if they have lived in that home for the past 2 out of 5 years.

In addition, there is a Form 982 that the homeowners may be able to fill out that shows they are ‘insolvent’ and have no funds from this sale. If they qualify through this form the IRS may not require them to pay taxes on that $40,000 write-off.

Don’t blame the banks for this little predicament that can pop up and ruin the homeowner’s deal. They are required by law to get a judgment against the homeowner or to send out a 1099 form to the homeowner. Just make sure that you lee the homeowner know in advance that if they take the short sale or note purchase deal they will face one of these two possibilities.