Chad Nelson Ramos

I've moved!

2009-09-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

At the request of my beautiful bride, I've moved my blog over to OUR blog. So for this week's entry, and from now on, GO HERE.

The Most Interesting Things of the Week

2009-08-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

So, I've officially returned to blogging regularly. Once a week, to be exact. And what I'm going to be doing is passing on the most interesting things I find every week. So, without further adieu:

La Familia -

My little brother Jesse signed up his first two fundraisers this week. A couple of teams of High School Cheerleaders will now be working their hearts out to sell Jesse's books. I told Jesse that this is seriously the tipping point of his business. So congrats little bro, or I guess more appropriately: GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Jesse!!!!!

iPhone -

Snap A Screenshot on your iPhone - This feature has been out for awhile now, but I just started using it regularly, and it is so friggin handy. There's a ton of reasons for doing this, but I mostly use it to take a picture of whatever's on my screen and emailing it to myself so that I can refer to it later. Text messages, web pages, calendar reminders, etc... It's awesome. Here's how to do it.

The quickest way to send common emails and text messages - There's this new iPhone App called Pastie. I use it all the time now. If you have someone, or some ones, that you send emails or text messages to regularly, you'll love this app! Check it out HERE

The Best Workout App on the iPhone - Yes, I'm fat. I've gained about 20 lbs since I got engaged.And the fact that I have to buy a new suit cause my other suits don't fit me, has stirred me up unto repentance. So, I got this awesome App called 365Workouts. There's 3 reasons why I love it. 1. Everyday there's a new workout. 2. You can do all of the workouts at your house/park. 3. There are quick video explanations of all the workouts. (and yes, these are screenshots I took on my phone using my newly-found screenshot ability! )

Online -

Rev Run's Words of Wisdom - Ever since it came out, I've loved watching Run's House. I've only seen a handful of episodes, but I've loved every one of them. He's just funny. At the end of every show, he gives these little words of wisdom... they're actually pretty good! Well, now he sends out daily emails. And they are really good little inspirational thoughts. Subscribe to them HERE.

Shark Tank on Hulu - Marleah and I recently decided to get rid of cable in our house. It was costing us $94 a month and we literally watch an hour or so a week, so we decided to cut it and do something fun with that money every month. But even though I don't watch very much T.V., sometimes you just want to veg out and turn on the tube. Thus enters Hulu! It seriously is the coolest thing on the web. They have thousands of full episodes of TV shows for free... with very minimal commercials. The show I'm watching these days is called Shark Tank. It's such a cool concept to have on TV... People trying to convince investors to invest in their businesses/products. American Ingenuity at its best!

OUR NEW WEBSITE

2009-04-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well, we're officially getting married. We have a date, a time, and we even have a website. So come check out all the pictures, Our Story and the dates and times of our Wedding Weekend. We are so excited and can't wait to share it with everyone!

That Night

2009-03-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

When I asked Marleah to marry me that night, I had one of those Digital Picture Frames with a bunch of pictures of us. Also, I had recorded some audio of me talking about each of those pictures. Here's what she saw and heard...(except for the very last slide)

An interview with Marleah Wilson

2009-01-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have never met Marleah, I thought you should have a little glimpse into the girl I'm so fond of. So, without further adieu, here is my interview with Marleah Wilson, Part 1.

One of your favorite places on earth is Paris... why?

I'm a complete romantic and Paris was by far the most romantic city I've ever visited. Hopefully next time I go there I won't be traveling with my brother. :)

We are reading a few books together right now, and you really want me to read the Twilight Series with you. What are your 3 favorite books and why?

When Times Are Tough: 5 Scriptures That Will Get You Through Almost Anything, because it helped me get through a rough spot.

Twilight Series (Don't judge), because it makes me feel like a teenager again when life was a lot simpler.

The Sunflower, because it's a feel good love story and I love all Richard Paul Evans books.

Your mom's a pretty conservative person in a lot of ways, and yet she's a huge Obama fan. So, in your estimation, what are a few of the biggest things that your mom and I are going to disagree on?

Whether or not my diaper bag is from Coach or Target... Honestly probably anything to do with politics or ridiculous purchases.

Give me 2 truths and 1 lie about yourself (ie... i have been to every continent. i have skydived twice and bungee jumped 3 times, etc....)

Thank you for the example Captain Obvious...I'm Mormon...pretty sure I've played this game before. I'm related to Johnny Cash, I have webbed feet, and I'm an Australian citizen.

For those people who have never met you, give us your vitals... age, height,

27 years and 57 days, 5'10"

You and I like to travel...Name 5 places we're going to go in 2009.

Considering we're in a recession...Pahrump, Henderson, St. George, Laughlin, and Hawaii because Paul owes us a honeymoon. If it were my choice: anywhere in the Caribbean, France, Spain, Italy and Fiji.

Give me 1 experience in your life that was a huge testimony builder

A few year's ago I woke up with a virus called Bells Palsy, which paralyzed the right side of my face. My eye wouldn't shut unless I held it shut, my eyebrow didn't move, half of my nose had no feeling, and only half of my mouth would smile. When you're 23 and single, your face can be somewhat of a big deal. Plus I was leaving the country so I was even more bummed about the condition of my mug. I went to see a doctor that day and he told me that most cases eventually go away, but that it usually takes about 3 months. He told me to follow up with him in a week. I got a blessing from my friend Kylee's dad that night. In the blessing he told me that Heavenly Father wanted me to know that this was a very temporary condition and that after a trial of my faith I would be quickly healed. Exactly one week later I woke up to a completely normal face. I had full use and feeling in the right side again. My doctor was shocked and said he'd never seen anyone recover so quickly. Although I never care to experience Bells Palsy again, I'm grateful for a trial the Lord gave me to gain a testimony of the power of the priesthood. It's been one of the greatest miracles I've witnessed and has helped strengthen my testimony of His love for me. (I should have included a picture of when this happened.... it was crazy. But she came out of it like a champ!)

What's your first memory of Chad Ramos and what did you think........BE HONEST!

I don't remember to be honest, but whatever it was I thought you were cool enough to invite to a Keane concert.

How many kids do you want to have and why?

Probably 3 that are really close together, because 2 aren't enough and 4 would mean I would be popping out kids in my mid-30s.

Name 3 friends that have shaped your life.

Jaron - my brother and one of my bestest friends

Christie Kerr-Harris - my best friend since 9th grade

Kylee Stewart-Rowe – one of my closest friends in Vegas

Last but not least, describe for the people, the first time you thought... "Hey, I could kick it with this Chad Ramos guy for the rest of my life"

I don't recall an exact time or event that made me feel this way. It's been a gradual process over the past 5 years unbeknown to the both of us. I always thought he was an amazing guy and the fact that we've been really good friends all this time has helped build a foundation most couples try building after months and months of dating. Since our first kiss everything has happened really fast or as I like to say, Chad Ramos style, but everything that's happened since then has led me to feel this way. However, I would have to say that our "3 day weekend" together really solidified everything for me. It was a big deal to spend three whole days with him and still want to be with him when he left.

Well folks, there you go. I can't wait for you all to meet her. She's incredible in every way. Her optimism is inspiring to everyone around her. Her laugh is contagious. Her love is simply unrivaled to anyone I've ever met besides good ol' Nola. She is a joy to be around and I'm lucky to call her a friend... and more ;)

A Christmas Poem, by C.N. Ramos

2008-12-05T09:16:00.000-08:00

All year long, i've been quite good
Stayed out of trouble, did most things i should
So i've made a christmas list, for my good friend Saint Nick
I don't need everything, so feel free to take your pick

First things first, on the topic of dating
Ive got such a great idea to get people procreating
I've got an agreement that would literally change the world
It just needs to be signed by all the single guys and girls

Here's the agreement, "A DATE'S JUST FOR FUN"
If there's mutual attraction, then you can go on another one.
But life would be grand, and so much more social
If a first date was just a date, not a marriage proposal!

For my second wish, something very dear to my heart
Its not just for singles, its for every one who ever drives a car
Its a concept so simple, yet so very sublime
when the "F"ing light turns green, we should ALL MOVE AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!

last but not least, for my final request.
in my humble opinion, its also the best
pause for a moment, just to build the suspense
what i want is a pill that would give common sense

i meet far too many people, each and everyday
that need this pill in the very worst way
we've already got pills that cure diseases and kill rats
what we need is pill to make Republicans out of all these damn Democrats!

So those are my wishes, as this year comes to an end
Remember wealth is what you are, not what you spend
I'm excited for '09, its gonna be tight
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

BEFORE AND AFTER

2008-11-24T15:53:00.001-08:00

This is my kitchen when i bought the place:

And this is my kitchen after my DEAR SWEET BESTEST MOM IN THE WORLD and I got done painting the cabinets and stuff:

I think it makes such a HUUUUUUUUUGE difference. Man, I tell you, as my buddy Ian just said "Houses are such projects". I agree 100%. I'm going to go searching all over Las Vegas this weekend trying to find what i want to do with my front and backyard. I really don't even know where to start, so if you have any cool ideas... please let me know.

2008-10-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

This is for Susan Bunker, my future mother-in-law. Sorry for the delay!

8 TV shows I like to watch:

Fringe
Life
CSI
The Office
Life on Mars
Chuck
House
Eli Stone

8 Restaurants I like to eat at:

Buca Di Beppo (now more than ever since its a block away from my house)
Outback
Noodles and Company
Orange Pearl
Gramaldi's
Cafe Rio
Beto's
El Pollo Loco

8 things that happened today:

Went to the airport
Ran into an old ex-girlfriend of mine at the airport and sat with her on the plane.
Got a frantic phone call from one of my tenants cause his toilet was exploding
Negotiated a contract for one of our properties
Got mistaken for Tod's "partner" as we shopped at Banana
Went to a great NBA game with Tod. (If it weren't for a BS call at the end, it would have been even better!)
Ate at Beto's

8 things I am looking forward to:

getting a washer and dryer
getting a dishwasher (and Rosalita doesn't count!)
figuring out what the freak i'm going to do with my front and backyard.
becoming fluent in Spanish (i'm gonna be the best slum lord ever!)
paying off my house
getting back my six pack :)
going to the World Cup
getting married (Susan's going to be the best mother-in-law ever!)

8 things on my wish list:

The complete and total elimination of every democrat on the planet
A Photographic memory
A conversation with my favorite actor of all time, Mister Denzel Washington
Becoming a master chef
A six pack (for the first time)
an indoor lap pool
A tailored wardrobe
getting married (Susan would be the best mother-in-law ever!)

There you go. And if Susan kills me (cause it's entirely possible that she won't be as amused with this as Tod and I are), then Tod, i leave you my car. Jesse, I leave you my house. Mom, I leave you my dog.

Pictures of you

2008-10-02T23:17:00.001-07:00

Ok, so here's the wall of my house that I am turning into a giant photo collage. Here's how its going to work: I sent out an email to everyone on my Facebook account (and if you're not on my Facebook account and didn't get the invitation, consider this YOUR invitation) as well as everyone in my Gmail Contact list, asking them to each send me 2 good pictures of themeselves. Its only been a few hours and i'm getting tons of people responding with awesome pictures. I am seriously soooooo excited to do this cause it's going to be such a great opportunity to see all of these friends of mine in random situations with random people. i love it! and i'm even happier that i'm going to get to see all their smiling faces everyday. So, all of you who are reading this, please please please email me your two favorite pictures of yourself to chadramos@gmail.com. then, come see my house and my wall!

My First Dog!

2008-09-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Rox. She is my first dog and I am so stoked! I actually got her from cousin Brock, so thank you buddy, I promise to give her a great home! She is a blue Pit Bull with a beautiful grey coat and perfect posture. She is truly a gorgeous dog. But the best thing about her is how well behaved she is and how mild mannered her personality is. Its kinda weird, but she doesn't behave like a normal dog. For instance, when we go on walks, she doesn't bark at other dogs or try to chase after them. She doesn't get all riled up when dogs bark at her. She just looks at them, and back at me and kinda shrugs it off like "what are they freaking out about." My favorite thing is when she's riding in the car. She is so chill! she doesn't freak out and jump all around, she just sits up in the seat and hangs her head out the window. I love her! I can't wait to move into my house next week and have her there when i come home everyday. it'll make living by myself not as lonely!

Sorry about the lengthy delay in blog postings, i'll make sure you don't have to wait that long to receive the pearls of intellectual curiosity that normally fill this blog!

2008-08-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

Go ahead and call me a dork, but I vowed to write about things that i find interesting and this one of them. Recently I saw a big billboard truck driving around with an ad for this new journaling service, LDSJournal.com. and for the last few weeks, i've been using it, and i have to report that I LOVE IT! Ok, here's the basics.

1. Its a Free service that you can use from anywhere you have access to the internet (they even have a app for the iPhone so you can write entries from your phone)

2. you can add pictures, afterthoughts, scriptures, videos, etc... to your entries at anytime

3. You can print all of your entries and soon you will be able to have a book made as well as a DVD made of all of your entries

4. Its just so handy having the option of recording entries wherever you are...instead of having to have either your computer or your journal with you.

5. You can even set up reminders that will send you an email after a certain amount of days if you haven't written something lately (you can choose how often that is)

6. It has an "about me" section with specific categories for you to write about... personal, spiritual, accomplishments, education, etc... Since you are obviously the only person who will read this, i think its for you to record specific things about yourself at this time and see how things progress... or maybe its for you to pass on when you pass on... ha ha.

Check it out guys, I think you'll like it.

Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Luda!!!

2008-07-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

Only at a USA Basketball game could you see the world's richest men sitting next to a rapper (which is who you are listening to right now). Classic! Once again, The Bunkers treated me to a wonderful evening. They are truly "gente boa" and I feel incredibly blessed to have them in my life. I'm really not sure what was more fun though, seeing the world's greatest basketball players exchange passes or seeing the world's greatest businessmen exchange high fives. Either way, it was a great experience! I literally cannot wait for the Olympics this year, as i will be following the USA Basketball squad intensely. U S A U S A! What you can't see in the pictures above is that right next to the famous folks on the front row were about 12 members of the military that had been invited to sit on the front row. At half time they brought them out onto the court and personally introduced everyone of them. The entire stadium stood up and cheered. I'm not gonna lie... i got a little teary eyed as i watched even the basketball players stand and cheer them. it was an amazing sight and as they walked off the court, the whole stadium started cheering "U S A, U S A!" It was AWESOME!

"and i'm proud to be an American, where at least i know i'm free... and i won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me"

ISIS DEI

2008-07-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend I hung out with a bunch of friends up in Utah and one of their friends is the owner of Isis Dei. They do the sickest laptop covers!!!! I am the proud owner of "The Hyde", courtesy of Ian (thanks man, you're the best!) Aside from really innovative designs, the coolest thing about their covers is that they are filled with Memory Foam! Its the perfect combination between Safe and Cuddly... basically its the feeling that girls get with me! ha ha. anyways, I had to give a shout out to Ian and the guys over at IsisDei.com, cause they have an amazing product!

2008-07-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Check out this new website, MyGallons.com. Basically they let the public buy gas just like the big whigs on Wall Street... as futures! Here's how the program works, you buy gas now, at the price it is now, and they give you a MyGallons credit card which you can use to buy gas at any gas station. Then, instead of paying what the price is at the pump, your account is deducted how ever many GALLONS you had purchased with MyGallons. So, if you buy gas now, and the price of gas goes up, you save money.... a few catches. 1. If you buy gas now, and the price goes down, you lose money. 2. MyGallons.com doesn't have a credit card company who is willing to issue cards for their service. They had US BANK signed up to issue their cards, but US BANK backed out at the last minute. (sucks for MyGallons). anyways, it might be interesting to see what happens with this business.

Is Thursdays the new Friday?

2008-07-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

Today i was watching the FOX Business channel and Governor Huntsman from Utah was on it talking about his mandated 4 day work week program. Utah will be the first state in the nation to go to a 4 day work week on august 4th, where over 17,000 state employees will switch to 4, 10 hour days. He made a lot of pretty impressive claims on the benefits that a 4 day work week provides, not only to the state and community, but to the individuals who work that 4 day work week. It will be very interesting to see how many states follow Utah and what real impact it will have on things like, energy, pollution, traffic, oil cost, oil consumption, and overall quality of life (all of which Gov. Huntsman and others are claiming will be effected positively). Many private companies offer flexible work schedules and with products like GoToMyPC (which my mom lives by!) and other remote access software available, it could be the one solution to the high gas prices that everyone agrees on (not that i care one bit about the retards who call themselves democrats!!!!) ha ha. anyways, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years. There's even one Minnesota school district that's going to a 4 day week! For some great additional info, here are a few articles:

The Four-Day Week Challenge

The Four Day Work Week: Sixteen Reasons Why This Might Be an Idea Whose Time Has Come

Utah Adopts 4-Day Workweek to Save Energy

RentBureau.com and Zillow.com

2008-07-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

Many of my friends and family are getting into the "buying foreclosures to sell or rent" business, and as you know, the foreclosure market is insane right now which has many unable to sell their house, even when they have purchased another property at a great low price... which means they have to find renters! This is a scary task indeed, especially when you don't know the person who you are going to be renting to. Recently I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about a brand new website that just launched last month, its called RentBureau.com. This site could make your decision much easier once you've found someone who wants to rent. It uses all kinds of data, including rental payment history, to give renters a score... from 1-999. I know many of you guys could use this, or know someone who can, so I just wanted to pass it on.

Another really good service right now is a website called Zillow.com. I'm sure many of you have heard of it, but if not, it gives you pretty good estimates of the value of your home (and any other)... which could come in really handy if you are deciding whether or not to sell your place, or buy another.

Being Learned is Wise!

2008-06-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my friend Tod Bunker and I started a Book Club of sorts. We decided that we would each give eachother a book to read that we loved, then we would write a little report on what we read and turn in that report with another book. We are now on the 3rd exchange but the books that we started with were The 4 Hour Work Week (My selection) and The Peacegiver (Tod's). Obviously you can see who is the more spirtually minded of the two, but hey, I'm trying. Both books are AMAZING and I highly recommend them. If you guys would like to read the reports of either of them to get a feel for the books, just shoot me an email and i'll email them to you. And if you guys have any great reads that you think we should put on the list, please let me know!

ShowTickets4Locals.com

2008-06-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Amy and I just saw Danny Ganns (at the Mirage) for free last night! Thanks to my step-mom for introducing me to the raddest program EVER!!! it's called ShowTickets4Locals.com. Basically when shows have open seats, they let this website know and they email the offer to all of their members...then, its simply first come first serve. If you call in time, they ask you how many tickets you want (you can have up to 4) and you simply go to the box office that night and the tickets are waiting for you. Here's the thing, you MUST have a local I.D. and you must be 21. But you can assign the name to anyone, for instance, I still have my Utah Driver's License, so I just put them under Amy's name and she picked them up. Now, the program is totally free and each day you'll get several emails about free shows for that night, but for $99 you can sign up for their "Premium Membership" which gets you the emails 30 minutes before everyone else.... which is TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! anyways, let me know if you guys have any questions.

2008-06-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Amy and I have been wanting to take cooking lessons for quite awhile, so I asked my cousin who works at the Bellagio if he knew anyone who could give us some private lessons. He did, so I had a chef over to my parents place and he taught us how to make an amazing 3 course meal! I have the full recipe if anyone wants it.... it really was one of the most amazing meals i've ever had!