ROLAND John Speir doesnt miss the days when after he rolled out of bed, his back immediately would ache, his ankles would throb and his knees would feel as if they were burning.

In 2013, Speir weighed 398 pounds. He admits that at that time, he had succumbed to a lifestyle seemingly overrun by fast food and soft drinks. Time for exercise, he said, just wasnt in the cards, until a routine visit to his physician served as an unintended wake-up call.

I got on the scales at the doctors office and saw the number 398 pounds; it scared me, said the 43-year-old Speir, a 1989 Sallisaw High School graduate who now works as the Roland Junior High School principal. It then hit me. I knew that I had to do something about it.

Speir immediately thought of his wife, Misty, and their two daughters, Britton, 14, and Emily, 9.

The thought of leaving them hanging really scared me, Speir said. I didnt want to do that. I want to see my girls graduate from high school and college. I knew I wanted to spend time with my family.

Speir was referred by his doctor to the Cherokee Nations Healthy Eating for Life Program (HELP), which is offered through W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah, Okla. The program has a team of nurses, a surgeon, psychologist and counselor certified in the medical study of obesity, who provide patients with nutrition education, weight loss support groups and, if appropriate and desired by the patient, the option of bariatric surgery.

I actually went on to lose 100 pounds at first, just from the HELP program, before any surgery; that was from August 2013 to June 2014, Speir said. I cut out soft drinks and fast food and started eating chicken and turkey-based meats, and I would go to the gym to exercise. I go four or five times a week to the gym, doing cardio walking and running and then things like free weights.

The HELP program has participants attend monthly meetings and keep daily food journals. Both tools help keep HELP participants on track, Speir said.

The changes in eating and exercise habits were an adjustment at first, yes, but I was OK, he said. A month after I quit drinking soda drinks, I dropped 25 pounds, and my doctor later cleared me to have the laparoscopic vertical sleeve gastrectomy surgery.

Its not as intense as bypass surgery, and its where they take a percentage of your stomach off and reform what is left into a smaller, sleeve-like structure, Speir added. Now surgery isnt for everyone, but it was something that worked for me.

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Roland Jr. High Principal Sheds 180 Pounds

For the past several months, the sounds of power tools and the smells of construction materials have wafted from the kitchen at the new ETALIA restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Until today.

Now, the sounds of laughter of satisfied customers and the smells of wood-fired pizza and Neapolitan cuisine fill the new restaurant, which opened today.

"It puts a smile on my face," said ETALIA owner Stan Herman. "How can you not smile when the smell of that wood-fire oven reminds you of some of the happiest times of your life."

The opening comes six months to the day that fire destroyed P.ZZA, an artisan wood-fire pizza restaurant in downtown Southern Pines.

Located at 290 W. Pennsylvania Ave. in thebuilding formerly occupied by Rue 32 restaurant and The Rose Cottage.

The restaurant features wood-fired pizza first featured at P.ZZA, as well as a variety ofNeapolitan entrees as part of an expanded menu, Herman said.

The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and brunch and dinner on Sunday.

During lunch today, several customers congratulated Herman for re-opening the restaurant after a June 16 fire destroyed P.ZZA.

Customers Gala Bunch and Jackie McDonald said they are definitely happy to have ETALIA open.

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ETALIA Restaurant Opens Six Months After Fire Destroyed P.ZZA Building

Dealey Media | 214.775.0022 | Pest Control Commercial/Contact Info Sample
This video is a high converting Video Commercial for Pest Control. Customization is an option.

By: Dealey Media International

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Dealey Media | 214.775.0022 | Pest Control Commercial/Contact Info Sample - Video

Cimexa Dust vs Bed Bugs
A test of the effectiveness CimeXa Dust has upon Bed Bugs. In this simple test, I expose two bed bugs to CimeXa dust. CimeXa shows great effect after a check up of 24 hours of exposure. The...

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Cimexa Dust vs Bed Bugs - Video

Taunton Brockton Exterminator Wareham MA
http://thepestdetective.net The Pest Detective Inc (781) 447-0834 64 Chestnut St Middleboro, MA 02346 svaller@thepestdetective.net Large enough to meet your needs -- small enough to know your...

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Taunton Brockton Exterminator Wareham MA - Video

Ultrasonic Pest Control Equipment Can Benefit Many Consumers
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By: Raghavendra Delhi Rao

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Ultrasonic Pest Control Equipment Can Benefit Many Consumers - Video

The NanaWall folding patio doors are designed for large glass openings. The elegant, precision, engineered NanaWall folding patio doors meet the most challenging architectural specifications.

The custom made NanaWall folding patio doors are available in aluminum, wood or clad frames with a selection of over two hundred colors. Independent testing confirms that NanaWall folding patio doors meet or exceed industry standards for air infiltration, water penetration, structural & thermal performance and forced entry.

Enjoy the best of both worlds: a room with a view that opens to the outdoors yet gives you the peace of mind only weather resistant NanaWall folding patio doors provide.

NanaWall's are panels connected together in a train. Panels can be hinged off both side jambs to meet in a number of ways. When open, panels remain 90 degrees to the opening.

With NanaWall folding patio doors you can choose from hundreds of configuration options. Shown below are some examples. The total number of panels in your wall opening depends on your design and the combination of panel height, width and glazing. With a limit of six hinged panels stacking to one side, a maximum width of about 36' is recommended for exterior applications and about 40' for interior applications. With top-hung systems - with additional unhinged paired panels - the maximum number of panels and width is virtually unlimited.

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Patio Doors | NanaWall

Lawrence Halprin Biography: Becoming a Landscape Architect [3 of 10]
Learn what experience while visiting Taliesin East proved life changing. Interviewed by Charles A. Birnbaum, March 2008. For more information about Lawrence ...

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Lawrence Halprin Biography: Becoming a Landscape Architect [3 of 10] - Video

Charlie Meeks Landscape Architect promo

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Charlie Meeks Landscape Architect promo - Video

Its the second day of winter 2014 and the Eckerts landscape surrounding their Vail home is green and leafy with trees, bushes, yuccas and succulents.

The front yard welcomes visitors with a groomed version of the natural desert.

Water tumbling from the spa to the pool and several comfortable seating areas with Rincon Mountains views make the backyard an inviting gathering spot.

Its a lush setting of low water-use plants that mimic the Sonoran Desert beyond the property.

Those features helped earn two Tucson companies the 2014 Xeriscape Award from the Arizona Landscape Contractors Association. The award was shared by landscape designer Shelly Ann Abbott of Landscape Design West LLC and landscape contractor Sonoran Gardens Inc.

Chris Niccum, owner of Sonoran Gardens, hopes the attention the award brings will help people better understand xeriscaping.

Homeowners continue to be surprised and confused that something so green and lush as Betty and Jerry Eckerts gardens is called xeriscape, a term that combines two Greek root words to mean dry landscaping.

People still imagine that the term means zero-scape, essentially a dull, stark view of some rocks and cactus, says Niccum.

Xeriscape came up as a water-saving principle, says Niccum. I believe it has developed into a landscaping style.

For Tucson, that style means using native plants that thrive in low-water, desert conditions, he says.

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Xeriscape means dry, not dull