One of the main features within a home, although largely overlooked, is the windows. Many people decide to use curtains to cover their windows, adding both colour and character to a room. However, patterned roller blinds are a great way to make sure that personality and sophistication is incorporated into a home. Not only are they visually appealing, relatively cheap to buy and easy to navigate, they are also energy efficient.

It is important to allow a substantial amount of natural light into the home. Once rolled up, a roller blind is virtually invisible, permitting light into the room, whilst when rolled down, an equally attractive view can be achieved as the pattern becomes visible.

The very design you chose will help to add personality to your décor, an important element of any area that is used regularly by an individual or family. A favourite amongst homeowners and interior designers is the use of flowers stamped on blinds; a great look to brighten up any kitchen, living room or hallway. Bedroom designs can vary. Depending on your interior décor, a blind can become a noticeable and attractive centre piece within the room. Children can portray their latest obsession by adding a roller blind that features their favourite character, activity or programme.

The main advantage of these blinds is that they are easy to use and easy to install. Most people will be able to fit their roller blind without help from a professional, meaning added convenience. Also, this particular type of window treatment is easy to clean, allowing you to constantly keep your home looking clean and polished.

With such a wide variety of styles, designs and colours to choose from, a home owner will be spoilt for choice and will easily find the perfect blind for them and their home.

The iNitro Speeder is a micro RC car that can. E controlled with either the included controller or with your iDevice with the included IR adapter. If you choose to use the IR adapter there is a cool app that you download that adds more functionality then just your standard left/right/backwards/forwards. With the app you have the following options (screenshot below) -

• Dual Stick: choose from 3 styles of dual-stick controller skins. These work like typical RC controllers.
• Motion: in this screen you can control your vehicle’s acceleration and steering by tilting and turning your Apple® device!
• Slide: in this screen you can control your vehicle by touching the screen on your Apple® device and moving your finger!
• Set Route: this screen lets you select from a variety of pre-set driving patterns that your vehicle will drive.
• Draw & Drive: this screen lets you create your own driving routes two ways! You can choose to have your vehicle drive the route as you are drawing it – or draw the route first, then have your vehicle drive it afterwards.

This is a brand new product hitting the shelves so there are t too may videos of this little car in action yet. I will post videos as they become available. In the mean time here are some shots I was able to take on my own.

Call me a happy man. I just stumbled upon gluten free Teriyaki sauce while visiting a new Korean supermarket. It is made by Kikkoman which is one of the most popular makers of Soy and Teriyaki sauce.

In all honesty when going to a gluten free life style, not being able to eat chicken Teriyaki was a big deal. I didn’t used to just put it in chicken but would put it on plain white rice as well. I am pretty certain that the taste will be comparable to the regular sauce since I have their Soy sauce and it tastes the same.

So if you are feeling like some stir fry Teriyaki style then I would check out your local Asian market to see if they carry it.

The Heli Cage has the same electronic setup as the latest Havoc Heli’s as it is advertised to have 5-way control (as opposed to the previous generations 4-way control) . The controller also has the new Turbo Forward button from the Havoc Heli in order to give more control over forward flight. On the side of the box it states that you can “Crash and Keep Going” along with a note that the heli always lands upright. Finally the box notes that the cage can be removed for regular flight.

I just purchased the Heli Cage so the full hands-on review will come after I get some time to play with it. In the mean time here are some pictures of the Air Hogs Heli Cage in the box:

As a part of my overall health management I had my regularly scheduled CT scan last week and it came back clean – no cancer to be seen. As you can imagine this is welcome news. Officially I have now been cancer free for 1 year since it has been that long since my last treatment. I will have another scan in 3-6 months as apart of my overall follow up plan. It is sure nice to be cancer free .

The New Year

I think the nicest thing about going into the new year is that I do not have any procedures scheduled. I don’t have any tests scheduled. I don’t have anything wrong with me that leaves that little bit of uncertainty in the back of your mind. It is nice to be in this place after 2 1/2 years.

I do have my ailments and am on medications to help with those. But if I am given the opportunity to recover and heal like I need to then those should dissipate as time goes on. From here on out the posts about my health should be few and far in between.

Thank you to everyone that supported me during this time. All of your prayers and positive thoughts really helped me make it through. I look forward to returning to as much of a normal life that is possible.

Sunrise photo courtesy of Hassan9 via deviantart.com

I am having esophageal reconstruction surgery on November 16, 2011.

This surgery is similar to the one I had in June of 2010 except that it is going to be in Houston with a different surgeon. The reason that I am having this second surgery is that there were a couple of areas that were brought together during the first surgery that never had the tissue and/or blood vessels connect. This is what has been causing the scar tissue to grow all this time. With this new surgery I will also have a plastic surgeon who will concentrate on these connections to try and ensure that this does not happen again.

The Long

The journey leading up to this second surgery has been one filled with tens of procedures, tests, and unfortunately emergency hospital stays. The funny thing is that all the procedures that I have endured for the last year+ were to try and save me from having the surgery that I am about to have. Unfortunately all the procedures that I endured ended up becoming more dangerous then the surgery itself, go figure.

This is the tally of procedures, tests, and hospital stays that I have had since my last post in March:

• Stents: 1
• Dilations: 3
• Laser ablations: 10
• Emergency Room visits: 5
• Tests (CT, swallow, etc): 5
• Days in Hospital: 22 days
• Units of blood transfused: 14-16
• Ambulance rides to emergency room: 1
• Helicopter rides to trauma center: 1

On average I was having a procedure, emergency, or test every 2-3 weeks for the last 6-7 months. That’s one reason why I was not posting here on my site. There was just too much going on in such a small time frame that it was impossible to keep up with it here.

The event that stands out most to me during this period was an emergency hospitalization that happened in early September. It included the helicopter ride, 10-12 units of blood, and hospitalization for 7 days in which 2 were in ICU. It was this event that caused my wife and I to reevaluate everything and decide on having surgery. I will spare everyone the details but I believe this is the closest I have ever come to losing my life. I didn’t see the white light or anything but for all intents and purposes most people don’t live through what I went through in early September.

Surgery Details

My wife and I talked with 3 different surgeons before deciding to go with the one in Houston. She is a specialist in the type of surgery that I need and considered one of the best in the country. Her patients and the staff that she works with speak very highly of her. I have already been under her care for a test and a couple days in the hospital and am convicted that she is the best choice for this important event.

If everything goes as it should in the surgery I should be out of the hospital within 2 weeks. I also should not need any follow up procedures and should be able to sleep lying flat again (Yah!). Acid reflux should no longer be and issue either.

I am really looking forward to getting this surgery done, recovering, and getting on with my new life. I am not sure what that entails but I am looking forward to finding out.

I don’t expect to give blow-by-blow updates of the surgery or my recovery afterward but I will update here and there to let folks know how I’m doing. I will probably update more often on Facebook so if we are friends there you’ll be privy to more info. If we are not Facebook friends yet and we do know each other make a request and I’ll approve it. Here is my page – Dan Masters on Facebook

Kellogg’s has recently released gluten free Rice Krispies. This is great since I haven’t had Rice Krispies since going gluten free.

On the box Kellogg’s states that they use brown rice since brown rice is naturally gluten free. Either way we all know that brown rice is generally better for you then white rice so that makes these Krispies even more attractive.

The best thing about the new box of Rice Krispies is that they include the recipe to make gluten free Rice Krispies treats. That is something else that I haven’t has in a long time. This is another snack I can stuff into my backpack for a quick bite.

It is nice to see more and more companies jumping on the gluten free bandwagon.

I guess that is the what the emnemy wanted.

For some reason I got it in my mind that if I was going through difficult times then I must not be in right standing with God. After taking a step back I realize that is not true. In fact the opposite seems to be reality. If you are truly being effective for God then the enemy is not going to leave you alone.

The bible says:

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. (Psalm 34:19 NKJV)

The Last 8 Months

I think I have had more affections in the last 8 months then I did in the previous 8 months. That is saying a lot since I battled cancer twice during that time. For me the last 8 months have been filled with tens of medical procedures, ER visits, and hospital stays. In fact as I write this, I have been in the hospital for 3 days after a very scary medical emergency that landed me in the ER, which resulted me being admitted into the hospital.

I won’t go into details because that is not whist this post is about. This post is about God’s faithfulness.

See, even though I have been through so many things in the last 8 months God has delivered me out of each and every one of them. He has done that regardless of how much time I have spent in prayer or read my bible. His faithfulness to me has been consistent regardless of my inconsistency to Him.

Seeing His faithfulness it makes me so grateful to have Him in my life.

Yes, I have been through a lot of trials and tribulation in the last 8 months. But in the same time I have seen God do amazing and wonderful things. I look forward to what the next 8 months have to bring!

Thank you doctors and God!

I am still going through some procedures in order to clean up some of the side effects of the chemotherapy and radiation but those are nothing compared to actually going through chemotherapy/radiation. I will be done with them soon so I will just concentrate on getting my strength and endurance back.

Thank you to everyone that has sent their prayers and positive thoughts my way. They definitely made a difference over this past year!