karlthebunny

Ron Paul Interview with AARP - Nov. 2011

2011-11-14T23:49:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone can see this interview. we can make a change.

click the title above to see the video

Ron Paul Inteview with Concord Monitor - 2011

2011-11-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

click on the title above to see the interview with some skeptics of Dr. Paul's philosophies

it discusses economics, international policy, the middle east, war, and why we should End the Fed

What will 1 trillion dollars in cuts mean to US?

2011-11-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

Ron Paul is proposing a 1 trillion dollar cut in Federal Gov. spending in his first year as President. In the debates and in subsequent interviews, the media personalities and debate moderators show a lack of basic economic understanding. They ask, “what will happen to those people who will lose their Gov. jobs?”. Dr. Paul’s budget cut jobs, not thru mass firings, but thru a hiring freeze. What the media doesn’t seem to understand is that in order for a Government to spend money, it must first take it from someone who produces goods and services. Obama spent 1 trillion dollars in stimulus that went to special interests (political supporters) and the populous saw none of it. In addition, the way in which he chose to do it ADDED 1 trillion to the money supply (and our debt). President Paul’s 1 trillion dollar stimulus would go directly back to the tax payers (aka the citizens) and would do so by cutting expenses. What is implicit in the cuts but isn’t said is, THERE WOULD BE A ONE TRILLION DOLLAR “STIMULUS” GIVEN (BACK) TO THE ECONOMY EVERY YEAR THERE AFTER. One Trillion dollars in the private sector will create enough jobs to absorb all the Gov. bureaucrats, all the graduating college students, plus all of the 99% protestors combined. It would create prosperity for all. But first we have to give up on the idea that Government knows best how to take care of US.

War, Money, and the Federal Reserve

2011-11-12T12:55:00.001-08:00

No Fed Reserve = no WWI = no WWII = no Vietnam = no cold war = no middle east conflict. One can not wage war with out men and money. To acquire the men, the gov. institutes a registration, from which it can instigate a draft. This implies the gov owns its citizens. (When Lincoln tried to instigate a draft in the Civil War, there was a revolt by the people and it was crushed.) Where does the money come from then? WWI, the War to End all Wars, the the largest conflict up to that date, began in 1914. Upon review of the history of war, the Union instigated fiat money (Gov. issued paper currency) to fund the war. To pay for this, taxes were levied. In 1913, one year prior to WWI, select congressmen passed the Federal Reserve Bank act which allowed the Gov to print money (in direct conflict with the Constitution). This allowed the powers that be to create the money needed in a democracy to fund war. (Dictators control their banks, and so they "always" have the money to attack their neighbors) This allows Govs to grow and to reward their supporters (think 'too big to fail'). With the inflation of the currency the labor needed to earn a specific sum of sound money (money that can not be created without labor) is diluted (when you add water to concentrate, it is diluted), prices increase, (there is more "koolaid" in the jar to support higher prices) and the people unknowingly pay a hidden tax (thru higher prices) to pay off the created political currency. The Constitution was created to protect our Liberty. To protect our freedoms, we must come to the defense of the Constitution. Sound money = smaller government, more prosperity, and no war = support of our troops. To find out more, visit the Austrian School of Economics, Mises.org.

Christmas 2010 II

2010-12-26T13:46:00.000-08:00

Down at the Grans this holiday. It is becoming our tradition. Nice to have parents to visit (both mine are long gone).

That being said, I'd like to get away from it all for the holiday.
The tv, the phones, the internet *gasp*, and live in a "different time".

Looking thru the National Geographic laying about the house, the stories are now more and more reporting not new discoveries of new animals, but of declines and "crashes" of species populations.
the tiger...
bats...
bees...
human population of 7 Billion.
when I was born (40 years ago) we had crossed over 3 Billion, by the time my daughter is grown and ready to have a family of her own, we will be at 9 Billion...

The way we are headed, we are not going to be able to sustain civilization as we know it.

Pinned down

2010-12-12T19:51:00.001-08:00

Who am I?

I work for a man my age who clearly knows who and what he is.
He knows his priorities, how to present him self, his thoughts, and has focus.

I have to learn from him what I can while I have the time with him...I have been in this business long enough to know nothing is forever.

self reflection...

I have a friend who has the energy, drive, and passion to be constantly on the go.
She loves what she does and who she does these things with, to, and for.

What do they know that I don't?

THOUGHTS

2010-12-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

Didn't trim the trees as the city would like and they fined us.
also threatened a lien if we didn't pay..

pissed off for days...

will choose to look at it differently.

I control my philosophy,
the way I look at things..

be great full i have a tree they could complain about.
be great full to have a house they could lien,
great full we have the money to pay it.

great full pennies are legal tender,
and
great full my wife has a wicked sense of humor...

Great full

2010-12-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

Great full to have a job,
Great full to have a job I like,
Great full to have a job where I am learning.
Great full to have a job where I am stretched.

Great full to have a home to go too,
Great full to have more than enough food on my plate,
Great full to have a plate on which to put said food.

Great full to have my family,
Great full to have a healthy baby girl,
Great full to have a girl,
Great full to have a wife who loves (and puts up with me)

Truly spoiled am I.

clingy

2010-12-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

baby c goes to daycare.

understandably she's clingy on the weekends...

can be over whelming at times...

Really C... can I please put you down?

I GOTTA PEE!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

A little over a year ago, we had to move back into the "old house".

Baby C is walking, talking (as clearly as a 19 month old can), and getting into everything.

The three projects I've been working on for Large ISD is coming to an end.
We've hired a full time sales man to work the market for us.

Office Christmas party is next Thursday.

I really like this office an hope to continue with them for some time.
Learning quite a lot.

Facebooking now...steals time from here...

In the last 8 months or so on facebook, I've had three friends pass, including my cousin.

And this last year has flown by...

good news!

2010-02-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

Today it snowed! 6 plus inches. The most snow I've ever seen here in North Texas in the 35 plus years I've lived here.

Zelda is loving it and so am I.
The nice thing, the sad thing, is it will all melt, and we won't have to deal with weeks of slush and grit.

***
We were foreclosed back in November, but they rescheduled the sale from the first of Dec. to the first of Jan. Who knows why...
Anyway, we just heard from the attorney that the investor who originally provided the loan bought the house.
That investor would be Fannie Mae, bailed out by us.
Shame the lender, Suntrust, wouldn't work with us to refinance the loan so we could stay in the home.

Anyway.
We no longer have the debt on our books.
***

More good news.
Zelda was offered a job with a new company. She is now making more $$$ than she ever has.

Down side is baby C has to go to day care.

Time to get our debts paid off and back on track with our goals.

double dipping

2009-12-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

Our last house was 180k.
With the interest on the mortgage, it would have more than double the total amount we paid over the life of the mortgage.

Add to that that the taxes were 4k a year and we would have paid yet another 120k over the life of the loan.

Currently the house is on the market for 135k for short sale.

180x2+120 = $480 and the (135k) house is yours! (for only 4K additional each year)

Never again...

Puzzles

2009-12-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

In the cupboard next to the guest room at my grand father's house was a little game. It was one of those puzzles made of little plastic tabs that slid past each other vertically or horizontally in a single plane and they had numbers on them. There was one tab missing and the object was to mix the numbers up and then by sliding the tabs, put them back in numerical order.

Zelda and I are now playing a variation of that same game. Now it's not with numbers, but with moving boxes, and they playing grid is now the rooms of our house. Unfortunately, the missing tab is the space in our house, and we seem to have too many tabs for the board.

We have offers of help from friends to come slide those boxes.
That and help us purge.

Life has been stressful, but it is still good.
***
In Nov. the bank sent us the Foreclosure letter, scheduled for Dec. 1.
We moved.
A week later the bank sent a "we have moved your foreclosure out one more month".
(Along with a "I have been trying to reach you" letter. No name or signature attached to the letter. Just " I have been trying to reach you".)
This week we received a letter from the bank telling us that the cancellation of our insurance on the other house is a breach of contract. (Like our not paying since April wasn't?)

The bank bailout should have been thru the government paying off all the mortgages in America. We'd then have all that extra money to buy things with, some security, and the banks would have not profited.

Anyway...

Granddad's puzzle was much easier...

Christmas Bonus

2009-12-20T10:11:00.000-08:00

Call me jaded.

I was fortunate enough to get a very generous bonus this year.
After taking out 10% for savings/investment and another 20% to pay towards our bad debt, the balance will all go to Uncle Sam in taxes.

How'd that happen?
***
That would be because I WORK for someone else for my living instead of having my money work for me. Nor do I have a business anymore to bring in passive income.
***
One day the politicians are going to wake up one morning to find their heads on pikes.

Until that day happens, I'm going to sock away 10% to savings and investment.
***
Time to write my thank you note to my current employer for the job and timely bonus check.

Back in the old house

2009-12-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

Boxes everywhere, can't find stuff.

The job interviews that Zelda had, were promising, but at the last moment a woman with experience on the software the position required was hired instead.

It has been quite the psychologically downer.
Being back in the old house with two income streams, and with the ability to car pool to boot, we were dreaming about all the things we could do. Pay down our bad debt, put a way savings, pay our house taxes, and now we have to try something different.

Turns out the bank decided to give us one more month on the old house, but they never contacted us. We received a letter three days after the original dead line for foreclosure informing us that the bank had tried to contact us by phone, but could not get thru. We never received the messages, and none were received on my cell.

What number did they call?

optimism... and a plan to resolve...

I'm not sure how this happened...

2009-11-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

but the two singles who live on both sides of us don't have their homes up for foreclosure.

How'd that happen?

We have till the first of December to get moved.

Zelda is stressing over it.

We can do it.
We will do it.

We'll get thru it with a little help from our friends.

Ironically, the move won't help us much with the financials, even though the monthly house payments at the old house are a fraction of this place.

Oh, and Hope Now, the program to help distressed home owners keep their homes...

is a joke. (and it's on US.

Tesla Motors New Toy

2009-10-31T18:57:00.000-07:00

Tesla Motors is releasing their first production car in 2011.
Very sweet car.
(click the link above)

0-60 in 5.6
No oil changes.
No emissions.
All electric.

And that's their slower car.

Hook up some solar panels and you can fire the oil companies and save the lives of those in the middle east.

That's my goal...

wtf?!

2009-10-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Stopped by to catch the latest Foamy the Squirrel.

It's now got pop ads (that cover the bottom of the video) and it takes you to YouTube.

Foamy has sold out!

Real Money 9/18/09

2009-09-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Spot price 9/18/09
gold = $1,006.10
Silver = $16.95

date night

2009-09-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

Last week we visited the in laws for September birthdays. We have three of us so we have started a tradition of group celebrations.

From my portion of the birthday loot was two gift cards.

Last night I used one of those for date night.

I miss date night and Friday lunches with my beautiful wife.

Coffee turned into a light dinner and desserts at a local bakery.
Good to get out of the day to day rut.

From there we walked the outside (read that "pretend" old down town like) mall. We were surprised to find a store dedicated to selling take out Mac and cheese. At first we thought it was a cheese shop, but nope, not in our part of the world.

Another shop was dedicated to gourmet popcorn.

We finally made our way to the bookstore to relax a little.
After a scare with baby c almost falling backwards out of my arms to the concrete 3 feet below, be still my beating heart, we settled into the big comfy chairs and began to read. We ended up in conversations with two separate women about baby c.

Interesting really.
I have visited these book stores for years and never ended up interacting with others as a single man.

Now that I am married, and even more so, have a small child, I have become a part of the bigger world of common experiences. The world has reached into my small universe and "adopted" me thru my child.

We listened as one "older mom" (we are probably the same age, but her son has graduated college) shared how fast time flies. How she worried about "scaring" her son with her reactions to his bringing her a frog. (He's fine and so is she).

Baby C is quite the flirt, smiling at everyone. People love babys.

The second mom shared with us her experience of home schooling.
Z and I have talked about home schooling. This woman brought home the value of it, and what is involved.

With home school, everyday becomes a learning oportunity. School becomes a vehicle for giving back to the community. Her children learned a second language. Every Wednesday they participated in charity work, giving and helping others. Something the school system doesn't promote.

Her childern also developed their own special gifts and because they were not taught in the public system, they didn't have their spirits beaten out of them thru year after year of group think.

I want that for baby c, for Z, and for me.

Septmber 2009

2009-09-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

We are working to get ourselves moving again.
Our lives have stalled along with the economy.

Zelda has been out of full time work since before the new year.
She has enough billable hours to cover her business expenses (so far), but she has paid her self only one paycheck all year.

She's been on two interviews in the last month. One position is pending. (They have to figure out what it will be) and the other position she was over qualified.

There is one more that a former coworker of mine turned her on to and just posted with a major university in the area.

It would be ideal and she has the experience needed. The benifits are incredible.

We are still waiting to see if they will ask her in for an interview.

It means daycare for baby c. Zelda has found a place she really likes with a local hospital group.

The notion of having that second income and paying off our debts is nice.
So how do we continue to live below our means, save $$, pay off debts, and build up our assests...
***
We met with our attorney last week to start proceedings against our former tenant for damages.
The former tenant didn't clean, one of the contractual requirements for renting and early termination.

Some how he feels (yes, he used the word "feel", to describe what he should be required to pay and what we should pay) that cleaning is not part of his responsibility.
Neither is paying for damages caused by his children.

He was in the military for crying out loud! Neat and clean is part of their mantra!

Anyway, we will get everything together, make our case, and the judge will decide.
***
We have not had anyone come see our new house so we informed our broker and he has reduced the price.

Hopefully that will garner some activity.
I was ready to just give the house back after the 90 days, but Z has reminded me that the wise thing is to hold out for the short sale. It impacts our credit less harshly.
***
Baby C has gotten to the point where she recognises the bottle, will open her mouth, and reach out for it. She also will push it away, pull it back, push it away...

We are trying vanilla extract to help her with teething. Being a foodie and former 4H type, Z knows that alcohol is used in making the extract. It's in small enough amounts that it numbs the gums (we tried it), but isn't harmful.

It sweetens the breath as well.

forward motion

2009-09-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

Our former tenant backed out on his verbal agreement to pay the repair bill.
I had revised a contract agreement for him to sign, but he decided we should speak to our attorney.

We have paid the retainer and our attorney will schedule the court date in JP court.

JP court is for damages less than $10,000.00.
It is also the quick down and dirty court. 15 minutes max in and out.

So instead of paying us 3,000.00 a month ago with us eating some of the expense, he'll be paying close to 3,600.00 plus court costs, plus attorney's fees plus additional damages. 3,000 becomes more like 7,000.00 to 8,000.00.

The judge will make that decision.

We just want to get it back into rentable condition.
And in the end we will have still lost 4,000 dollars.

bed time!

Real Estate is still the way to go

2009-08-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

Having said all those things in the last couple of entries. Real estate is still the way to go!

Baby C is now the $200,000.00 baby.
An excellent return on our $300.00 first insurance premium paid the month she went in to the hospital.

But 200k is small beans compared to our secretaries nieces. They are the Million dollar babies.
(Premi)

Additional learing

2009-08-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

I also didn't get a break out estimate from our contractor on a line item bid prior to work beginning.

That is no one's fault buy mine.

Again, in thinking about it, I wanted to be liked.

A personal weakness of mine has turned into a priceless learning opportunity for me.

It DOES matter in doing it right.

It DOES matter to pay attention to those little, "hey, the sink is chipped, pay attention to that" voices and not write them off because another little voice chimes in, "the repairs I had made didn't hold up as well as I thought, next item".

Now I have to go back thru and do the job I should have done in the first place.

It would have been proactive and helpful to me to have prepared my tenant for the up coming bill. To have informed him every time something came up instead of dropping a bill on him.

Again, why did I let this happen?
New parent hood distractions and work.
It is wrong for me to blame my baby, wife, or work for my failure to act.

I'll apologize, list everything out, show him the items, the costs, the contract, and work out a deal.

Other wise this whole experience will lead to me suing someone in small claims court.

I never thought I'd be "one of those people".

I will not throw out the option.

But I will not make this same missteps again!

Mistakes as learning devices

2009-08-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

As I watch Baby C trying out her new muscles and putting everything she can reach and pull to her into her mouth, I realize how much work we do as children.

Now that I am older and "know it all" I coast.

And it kills my spirit.

I was feeling bad about the situation with our tenant.

Back ground:
He is getting married and asked to be released from his contract early.
Cost to us $ 2925.00

Why should we let him out?
It is an advantage to us to get the house back so we can short sale our home and have a place to live.

It also practices Win/Win.
He wants out, we amend the contract so that we get the house back early, he pays a financial penalty and any repairs. He keeps 1,500.00 as a wedding gift.

We sent him the estimate last week and he has balked at paying it.
$3,100.00

We pushed, and now we are not on speaking terms.

Zelda is prepared to go to small claims over it.

The tenant is under the impression he is not responsible for the damage. (Because they are not on the list)

While I took photos of the items, I didn't list every thing on the walk thru move out list as I thought I had. (I was too busy photo graphing things and trying to make sure I was using the right column on the form)

There have been subsequent damages found by our contractor caused by the tenant.

I didn't prepare for the move out walk thru.
Why? I had to think back to what was going on at the time leading up to it all.

We should have scheduled a pre move out walk thru to get all the pick up items on the list for our contractor.
We were instead at the hospital.

The walk thru was on Sunday morning.
We were released from the hospital the day before and I was up that night taking care of Baby C.

I was lenient on some of the damages to the house because I was not prepared.
I did not know the contract. I had not memorized it and kept up with it.
I also under estimated the costs to repair them.

Contractually, the tenant is liable for the extermination of the bugs.
The replacement of batteries and light bulbs.
Leaving the property clean, neat, and as he received it.

He didn't.

Light bulbs needed replacement.
The bathroom had not been cleaned in two years.
The kitchen was dirty.
The vinyl flooring in the dining room/kitchen had been ruined.
The carpet in the living room had been damaged and then covered over.
The bathroom door was damaged by furniture along with the door jamb.
The closet doors had been removed from the bed rooms.
Items were left in the garage.
The tub caulk had severe mildew, had dried out, pulled loose. Subsequently two of the tiles came loose during the re caulking and had to be repaired.
The smoke detector battery needed to be replaced and chirped the whole time we were there.
And there were numerous little dents and damages to the sheet rock in all the bed rooms as well as the kitchen.
Kara was startled by a large roach.
There was a mysterious whole in the back splash which our contractor said looked like termites and our tenant later stated (in an email) that it was water bugs aka a 3" cockroach.
The back door stuck. (Which we attributed to an attempted break in and later realized was from foundation settling.)
The foundation was not watered (to prevent movement of the slab and is out lined in the contract) and sheet rock tape in two rooms came loose.

I did not list all items on the walk thru.

We didn't insist on getting pre move in photos of our work.

We backed off enforcing the contract.

In thinking on this and looking at the financial as well as emotional and personal impact, I have to admit to myself that I backed down in an attempt to be liked.

I wanted to be liked...

I am proud to say I am learning from my missteps.

Sticker Shock!

2009-07-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

The insurance statements have been trickling over the last two months.

Today we received an updated Statement from Children's.

Fortunately we have a maximum we have to pay.

Today's bottom line... $139,930.25

That's a pretty nice house...

4th anniversary

2009-07-18T21:42:00.001-07:00

Zelda and I have now been married 4 years and a couple of days.

so far so good.

made a pretty cute baby a little while back.

Time or lack of it

2009-06-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

It shows how much time babies take to care for that Zelda has been home for some time, four weeks prior to the hospital stay and one week since, and has not updated her blog since prior to baby C's birth...

To Facebook, or Not To Facebook

2009-06-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

Zelda has been in contact with her high school friends thru facebook.

During our stay at Children's Medical Center, Zelda bought Crackberrys so that she could keep up with her friends and posting of Baby C's health.

It was a buy one get one free sale...

She picked up one for me.

I'm hooked....

25 days

2009-06-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

May 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th.
May 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st.
June 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th.

What started out on a Tuesday evening last month with a trip to the drug store for a children's thermometer has come to an end today with return home for Baby C, mom, and me.

On to the next chapter in life...

Foreclosure...

2009
What a year it's been!

Parent Advocate

2009-05-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons Baby C is still here is Grammy.
We asked for her help when we knew we were going to be re admitted.
It was she who noticed Baby C's tummy was getting larger.
She told Zelda and together they pointed this out to the nurse.
The nurse in turn informed the doctor.
The doctor then made it her sole goal to get the surgery team to take this case seriously and get her bumped to the top of the list.

It took persistence on Zelda's and Grammy's part.

Once we got Baby C back to the 6th floor after the ICU, Grammy broke down and we called Zelda bunny brother and his wife to take her to their house for a couple of days to rest...

Dude! This is Rough!

2009-05-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

Lots of tests Wednesday.
MRI requires general sedation for children Baby C's age.
That put her into the PACU (Pediatric Acute Care Unit).
There is nothing "cute" about it... But she returned to her room for some rest before Thursday's procedure.

The surgeons wanted a Cat Scan prior to draining the abscess.
They didn't get it.

She took a turn for the worse over night.
At about two o'clock that afternoon I got that night mare call from Zelda.

"She needs surgery, they are placing her in ICU and They Want you here now!"

I got up to her room where she was pale, bloated, and the surgery team was taking a look at her.

I carried her down to the second floor where we met the head surgeon for Children's.

He took a look at her and agreed with the Hopsitalist (the term used for dedicated pediatricians) and she was bumped to the top of the list for surgery and she went under the knife.

45 minutes later he was back with us, smiling.

In his 20 plus years with Children's, baby C is the youngest child he has ever heard of to have appendicitis....

From recovery we were transfered to the ICU.

Her tummy is still bloated, but the color has returned.

Yesterday, Saturday, afternoon, we were transfered to the 6th floor for the week or so of antibiotics and observation.

She is on oxygen. A NG line in her nose helps drain fluids from her tummy till her intestines "wake up". Seems they don't like being handled.
She has a folley line to drain her bladder, and hasn't eatten since Wednesday morning.
In the mean time, she is on IV drip.

Emotions...

Relief to Fear to incredibly INTENSE EMOTIONAL pain that I have never experienced before.

More painful than either of my parents deaths.

Baby C would have, almost, died...Thursday...

Thanks to modern medicine,

she's ALIVE!

More later....

We like you but we really don't want to see you again

2009-05-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

I awoke Tuesday morning...

"Oh shit! 102.2f, we have to take Baby C back to the ER".

"I'll pack my bags, you get her ready."

We like the nurses and doctors and technicians at Children's.
And they like baby C, but we really didn't want to see them again so soon.
And to be honest, as much as they like baby C, they really didn't want to see her again under these circumstances.

"I can't do this again!"

"I've got a call into your mom and I've asked her to come up and help us this week"

This time they put us in a part of the floor under the watch of a dedicated Pediatrician vs. a group of residents as happened last week.

One day to watch her "trends". High white cell counts.

Lots of tests today.

Blood work.

Urine cultures.

Nose swabs.

Heart scans.

Infectious disease specialists.

MRI.

The MRI found the problem.

A large pocket of fluid, infection, on her right side on her abdomen...

Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow.
Until then, it's IV fluids and no formula till after surgery...

Don't mess up her chances to be a swim suit model!!

sigh....

Thank you Children's for helping our baby girl!

(And thank goodness we go her covered by insurance... more about that later).

Sleep well Zelda.

Home finally

2009-05-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

Let's see, baby C is a little over 30 days old.
She has spent 1/3 of those so far in Hospital.
But she's home now with no fever.

Little baby's tend, if they have fever, to spike temperatures at night. Baby C was right on the mark for her age.

The highest was Thursday at 101.8.
Friday she was in the 101.4 range.
So the doctors (residents) decided it was best to keep her one more night for observation.

She topped out Saturday at 100.6, no fever (for a baby).

The IVs were removed Saturday afternoon.

Zelda was able to go home both Friday and Saturday to get some sleep.

Thankfully we have Memorial Day to sleep in.

Adventures in Babies

2009-05-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

Or is that adventures with babies?

The plan for Tuesday was relax, put baby C down early and snuggle with Zelda.
Everyone catch up on some needed sleep.

What happened instead was Zelda noticed baby C was feeling a little warm.

"What does the baby book say?"

"For new borns less than three months, a fever is anything over 100.4 f. Call your doctor".

" We need a rectal thermometer, please go to the store and pick one up, along with petroleum jelly. We need to know her temp."

30 minutes later...
"101.3 f I'll call the doctors and speak to the on call nurse."

30 minutes later...

"Mrs. Bunny? Yes, please take your baby to Children's Bright Building to the Referral Center. They close at 10:00 so you need to leave now".

30 minutes later...
"Your doctor's nurse called baby C in. What was your baby's temp?"
"101.3"
"And how did you take it?"
"Rectal".

"We are about to close and the procedure takes a couple of hours so we are going to send you across the street to Children's admitting. Please follow me".

There was additional conversation that went on prior to our leaving the Referral Center.

As we found out, any child younger than 30 days old who presents with fever, and baby c "has fever", automatically gets admitted through to Children's ER, no waiting, gets a room, and under goes blood test, urine test, and a "lumbar puncture" (spinal tap). The results take 48 hours, which means they are admitted to the hospital for at least two days.
We finally got into a hospital room by 4:30 am.

So far, things are going well. She has responded well to the fever reducer meds. She is hungry, and her short term virus results came back negative. The long term should come in by tonight.

She's unhappy. And both Zelda and I are exhausted...

I'm staying home tonight to rest up so I can work tomorrow.
I"ll stop by after work and spend some time with Z and C, give Z a break, and we will find out early Friday what the tests show.

I am optimistic.
The nurses and doctors have been great, from the on call nurse, to the Referral Center, the ER, and Children's.

Maybe I jinxed myself a week or so back while walking thru Children's on the way to the pharmacy, I told my self, "C, I hope you never see the inside of this place."

More later...

Non Stop!

2009-05-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

Babies are NON STOP!

Zelda's mom has now gone home and it's just us...
FEED ME!
CHANGE ME! (well not really, I don't like getting my diaper changed)
BURB ME!
HOLD ME!
And when I do sleep,
I wet my second change of clothes at the last diaper change,
spit up on my third, (not to mention you),
my fourth, and need you to make up more formula,
wash and dry those clothes.
And I'll let you sleep...
some day...

Love you!
B*U*R*P !!!
sorry...

gratuitous baby pictures!

2009-04-25T15:49:00.001-07:00

1.Snoopy, 2.Baby C, 3.Mom and C, 4.Tired...5. Our doula, 6.Baby toes!, 7.Bunny and baby Bunny, 8. Mom's not the only one who's tired!

Going home day!

2009-04-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

We check out of the hospital hotel today.

It will be nice to get home to our own bed, the kitties, and "normal" (new) life.

So far baby C is a quiet one. She only complains if you hold her bottle too long from her.
Mom is attempting to breast feed and see if she can produce enough milk to supplement the feedings. Hopefully all will go well.

We start the refinancing process on the old house next week.
It's a battle against time.
Can we get the refinancing done before we can no longer afford to pay the full amount on the mortgage.

Again, in the long run, all will work out.
Cash is king as they say.
(We are gambling that inflation won't erode cash savings. But we have alternative ways to protect our money)

I am praying that the bankers and polititions who made this all possible swing from the yard arm so to speak.

If we as citizens keep on the pressure, something will happen.

It's a Girl!

2009-04-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

Baby C came into the world Tueday at 6:24 pm, weighing 6 lbs 10 oz, via c section after 18 hours of gentle eviction notices.

Our Doulas were by our side helping out with the birthing process.
Don't have a baby with out one.

Gak!

We have a BABY!
***
My father could not be here to see this.
March 8, marks his passing and celebrates Zelda's birthday.

My mother could not be here to see this.
December 26 marks her passing and celebrates the day Zelda and I first met.

Zelda's first husband could not be here to see this.
April 21 marks his passing and celebrates the birthday of Baby C.

As my dad used to say, "Who'd a thunk it?".

Hopeful

2009-04-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

No matter what happens this year with the houses, I feel hopeful that we will be in a situation where we can put money aside and still pay off our debts, as we were doing last fall.

And by moving from this house that bleeds us monthly, and living, not below our means, but within our means, we will be able to get ahead.

I look forward to being able to dream about planning a vacation, maybe camping, and know that I can pay for it in cash.

***
Monday evening Zelda is booked at the Hospital Hotel for a baby reduction.
Yes, we will have a baby in the house this week.

We will also have grandparents, aunts, and family to help us along with this new experience.
This next phase of our lives...

We'll let you know as we find out!

Tight spot

2009-04-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

Sphere of concern....
everything 'out there'.
ie. banks and politicians robbing us blind thru printing money...

Sphere of influence...
"what I can do".

Move Rental out of our name and protect it.
Negotiate with our home lender for a reduction in payments (something!).
Maybe even sell this house and move back to the rental.

Sphere of concern
Values have fallen and we owe more on the house than we can sell it for.

Sphere of influence...
Short sale the home...

Sphere of concern...
Those with more than one home do not qualify for Government forgiveness of "capital gains" in selling for a loss...

If we short sell this house, we may not have that house to go back too!
(fortunately? we owe more than they could sell it for as well and so there might not be much advantage in their trying to take it...)

Crap!

Fortunately, if you pay cash, folks don't care what your credit's like...

Sphere of influence...
Baby time...

8 days and counting

2009-04-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

The doctor has decided that April 21 is the day our baby will come into this world.

Gestational diabetes has a high still birth rate the longer the baby goes past its 9 month birth date.

So, we will have technology make the decision...

Baby, get here soon so we don't have to induce.!!

The truth about Democracies...

2009-02-28T07:30:00.000-08:00

Zelda constantly reminds me that we, the United States, as formed by our founding fathers, are NOT a DEMOCRACY, as the politicians would like us to believe, but a REPUBLIC.

Click on the link (or copy it to your browser), title above, to find out why she and the founding fathers are RIGHT.

The video is from David Morgan of Silver-Investors.com

Democracy is rule by the majority.
Republic is rule of law.

One is open to the whims of the masses (mobs arise from group think), while the other is limited by a set of principals which extend to all.

Pregnant Zelda

2009-02-28T07:04:00.000-08:00

Zelda has moved into the last tri-mester.

Her blood sugars are bouncing around again. Hormones...
The hypno-birthing class ended Monday, more time in the evenings free, now it's time to practice.

Zelda has some fears of pain from bad cramps in her 20's.
I hope she can let them go, the success of hypno birthing is to be able to relax, mentally, which will help translate into physical, and make the birthing process much easier.

Part of the class shows videos of births by mothers using the technique.
Very uneventful, if you can call having a baby, uneventful.

Yet again another example where proof is given that TV and mass media (with their tramatic birthing mother episodes on what-ever-sitcom-drama-has-a-pregnant-mother-and-needs-a-ratings-boost) is BAD for it's consumers.

Another thing I would leave behind with this house and its bills would be the TVs.

So little time

2009-02-28T06:55:00.000-08:00

Now that I am working again, thank the Lord, I find, as with the last company job, I am giving up MY time to work for someone else... When I had my time, I spent it looking for a job where I could give my time to make someone else's dream come true...

The mortgage company has recalculated the payments on the house based on the taxes owed.
In order to bring everything up to speed, unless we can pay the $4,100.00 for last year, they will add it to the new billings... along with the fee for escrow for this years taxes.

Our housing costs just went up by $700.00 a month or 8,000 a year...
(Our principal payment for the first loan is only $800.00 per month. We made some bad judgements when we decided to buy this home...)

I'm ready to get out of it and find some place more reasonable. Translation = won't eat up every last penny we have (to make someone else rich)...

"modern society" blah!

Work world

2009-02-19T17:44:00.000-08:00

The drive is tiring, but I am WORKING!

Healthcare is quite the complicated animal.

Now I understand. Code requirements for just about everything.

My pod mate, P, is a silver and gold investor, so we have Ron Paul in common!

I have a window seat and from the 8th floor over looking the suburbs, I can see 15 to 25 water towers depending upon the air quality.

Life is good, if not busy now.

Tomorrow is

2009-02-15T19:19:00.001-08:00

my first day at my new job!

Zelda and I are working to get out of the situation to get out of the rat race.
***
Motel 6 is running ads for it's new interiors.
First, the company is French.
Second, I worked on the Construction Documents for the new design. The company I worked for didn't actually win the interior design for Motel 6, but we did do the new exteriors and the construction drawings.

Bible Study

2009-02-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest mistakes Christians make in reading the Bible, is forgetting, ignoring the fact, that to be a good Christian, we must study the Christ, and the Christ was a very good Jew.

So in my opinion, in order to be a good Christian, you first have to be a good Jew...

The "Old Testament" is actually the "Torah".

My pastor now addresses the Old Testament as the Torah.

Respect for all beliefs.
***
Jews, in my studies, and I am no expert, never refered to the serpent as Satan, as the Christians do.

The serpent wasn't evil, it just was...

G*d placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the center of the garden and placed a great big "HEY, DON'T EAT THIS FRUIT,OR YOU WILL DIE" sign on it.

Why'd he/she do that?

No fence, no guards to protect it, no obstacles to surmount, no bottomless pit to cross.

It was meant to be eaten.

How can that be a sin?

Jobs

2009-02-10T20:33:00.000-08:00

The company Zelda used to work for and moved on to do contract work for them cut 9 people on Friday.

Why they didn't cut work weeks and salaries to keep as many people working is unfortunate.

I feel numb now that I have employment. Happy, but numb. False sense of security.

I'm tired...
***
Wednesdays have become my favorite day of the week.
We have Bible Study. It is open study, meaning we don't have a program other than reading a chapter and discussing it.

I can share my studies as well as speak openly about it being a group of stories. And in doing this, I learn even more.

Chapter One of Genesis is the Creation story where G*d creates the world in six days. "And it was Very Good".

Then it moves on to chapter two where Mankind and Giver of Life (Adam and Eve) come into the story. Because it is a UU church with multiple beliefs, I am able to talk about how the Adam and Eve story is a political statement used to suppress the existing Earth Goddess/Nature religions.

Most of the women in the group cringe at the Adam and Eve story. In the second creation story, woman is created from Man's rib. (again, a political statement by the Biblical author).

It makes me look good, I can share my knowledge, teach, and learn from those in the group with extensive biblical back grounds.

I do not have to be fearful about talking about the political side of things.

Zelda, who won't go, mentioned the time in Catholic University Bible study where she asked the professor about Adam's first wife, Lilith. He divorced her because she liked to be on top...

This week we will start on chapter 4, Cain and Abel. Again a political story. One is a farmer, the other a rancher. Who is G*d's favorite? The farmer of course...
Why? The authors were farmers...

Zelda Love

2009-02-09T08:45:00.001-08:00

Zelda laments the fact that I have not blogged about her inner and outer beauty, her beautiful eyes, her great lips (and even Better Kisses), the fact that she is taking excellent care of her self, and in turn our baby, and that I love her.

Love you babe.

Unconstitutional

2009-02-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

The Sixteenth Amendment (Amendment XVI) to the United States Constitution was ratified on February 3, 1913. This Amendment overruled Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895), which greatly limited the Congress' authority to levy an income tax. This Amendment allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the States or basing it on Census results.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution)

This law over threw the US Supreme Court's decision in 1895 that Income Tax was Unconstitutional.

When the politicians try to seduce you into thinking "Taxes are Patriotic", remind them and your self that the Boston Tea Party was about paying Taxes to the King...
And the participants were called Patriots.

End the Federal Reserve Bank.
End the Fed.

Like a Mickey Mantel rookie base ball card, the more of them, the less valuable they become.
Same goes for your dollar bill in your pocket.

The Federal Reserve has the legal ability to print as much money as it wants.
And they do not care what happens to the value of the ones in your pocket.

End the Fed.

There's no place like home

2009-02-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

Zelda and I met with the Short Sale expert last night.
He's got a nice system down and seems to know his stuff.

He does not seem to think, with the rate we have, that we will be able to renegotiate the loan payments. He did not recommend, but did suggest that short sale would be the better route to think about.

Since we are current with all our bills at the moment, he can't do anything for us...
Is that crazy or what?

We would have to miss a couple of payments.
Not a problem in about two months...

We would then have the leverage with the lender we need to get the short sale and would have about 45 days before we would have to move...

Problem is, our rental is in our name and not yet protected from our personal finances.
We could potentially lose both homes...
Texas has homestead exemption which protects primary residences and autos, etc. from just about everyone but the Federal Government, the State, and our Home owner's association...

We have our first meeting with our real estate coach this Friday and will see if he can offer a suggestion. We would have to evict our tenant to claim the rental as our primary and that is unthinkable to us...

March, April (baby), May, June, July move out...
August, September rental available...

Zelda is thinking about meeting with the VP of her main client to present her advantages as a contract employee. They actually make money on her when she works due to the type of client contract in a addition to the fact that she has no overhead burden to them...

She has to decide if she wants to use this approach...

Trickle Up Economics

2009-02-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

More wisdom from a comedian...

John Stewart continued his point that the consumers should be bailed out and not the banks (who are in bed with the politicians) in his interview with Lawrence Lindsey from Feb. 2, 2009.

As Stewart pointed out, it should be called "Revolution Insurance".
Lindsey offered tax breaks and reduction of the income tax, which would provide more money in the worker's pockets and lessen the employer's burden. (7.5% comes out your paycheck and another 7.5% is paid by your employer for a total of 15% income tax that is used to fund government follies.)

Again, pardon the commercial embedded within the link above...

Hypno birthing

2009-02-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

Zelda has wanted to take a hypno birthing class since she first heard about it.
I like the idea as well.

She found a doula thru our church and had her come out to interview for my sake. (She's also a yoga instructor).

A doula is an avocate for the mother at the hospital, and a teacher/coach thru the process.

We had begun to budget for her services when everything fell apart in the economy.

She has offered her services to us gratis, which is emotional for us, and wonderful.

We started our first hypno class last night.

The Bible, and the media, would have us believe that there is PAIN!!! in child birth.
(gotta sell that car ad! and you NEED that chopper slicer that also cleans your clothes!)

This goes against nature. While there is the potential for pain, alot is going on in the birthing process, she pointed out that the uterus, its muscles, and all are DESIGNED (intellegently or thru evolution, I can believe both at the same time with out discounting the other) to deliver babys. And if the mother doesn't have the fear and expectation of pain, thru proper breathing and relaxation, mothers thru the ages have had what Dr. Grantly Dick-Read discribed as "uneventful" and "boring" births.

As one woman told him when he asked why she'd declined pain relief, "It didn't hurt. It wasn't supposed to, was it Doctor?" ('HypnoBirthing, the mongan method' by Marie F. Mongan)

Zelda will have a painless, natural birth. No horror stories for us thank you very much!

Helping out

2009-02-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

Thanks to income taxes, Zelda and I still won't be able to cover our expenses.

But we will speak to the real estate agent Tuesday to see if we can get the loan payments reduced to less than 36% of my income...

We also spoke to a young couple from church who have three children, one with learning difficulties, who have lost income due to reduction of hours and overtime.

It's a scary idea to let strangers in to the house, but if we can help them out...

Ron Paul could help us out with that one.
End income taxes for the Citizens of America.
(Would require discipline and actual budgeting by congress.)

And we'd have more $$$ to save and invest on and for ourselves.
(No more sponsoring bombs and earmarks).

Woman in charge

2009-02-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

Zelda, my beautiful wife, is the leader of our family.
She's in charge.

I'd like to THINK that I am directing our future, but that simply is NOT the case.

I have to step up my game, because she's going to be taking care of our baby, and I'll need to take care of her.

What are some simple, quick, easy recipes I can put together after work (yeah) that will be good for her?

Homework time...

bail out

2009-01-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

Except that the whole "bailout" was a government scam and never actually intended to help out the citizens, (if it were, they would not have written so many loop holes into it preventing tracking to the money) it would have been better, if you are going to throw out that much cash, to give it to the citizens.
After all, it's our tax money...

My thought was pay it directly to us to
Pay our mortages so we
a) would not lose our homes, and
b) would have the cash available to pay bills and buy things.

And as John Stewart pointed out this week on the Daily Show, wouldn't it have been better to have used the bail out money to pay our mortgages and our consumer debt which would
a) get money back into the banks (where the bail out was supposed to do),
b) put Americans back on firm footing, and
c) allow us the money to continue buying stuff...

But hey, what do we know?

check out the link above (sorry for the attached ad)
click on the third section of the time bar for the Gwen Ifill interview.

False Sense of Security

2009-01-31T17:32:00.000-08:00

Mentally Zelda and I are exhausted.
Which we did not realize or experience, till Friday evening after I accepted the job offer.

I don't want to forget the fear, the sense of powerlessness, and dependency of not being in control of life. That needing someone else to provide us with a livelihood.

It would be too easy to slip back into that false sense of security that working for someone else gives you..

I want, NEED, to turn that energy towards starting our own cash flowing businesses.

At my last company, I felt frustration at spending my time working for someone else.

Reality is...
one hour a day,
10% tucked away each month,
can create freedom,
even while working
for someone else.

Forward momentum

2009-01-31T08:27:00.000-08:00

As "quickly" as the crisis hit, it has "dissolved".
( I won't feel 100% comfortable till I am sitting at a desk at my new office working on a project.)

I must be the luckiest guy in Dallas.

Not only have I been given a job,
but it's in one of the biggest demand areas for architecture in this economy,
health care.
Doing Lab work.

The only better job markets I am aware of are

teaching and nursing...

I am grateful to the universe...
***
It seemed things panned out every time Zelda and I moved forward with something.

Friday Z and I took a leap of faith and signed up for Rich Dad Coaching to put a fire under us in moving on long time personal goals. (At about 4k, it's a bargain. We should have our next positive cash flowing property by mid year.)

When I signed up for substitute teaching, other offers came my way.
***
Sunday we will speak to the family at church about offering a place to stay in our home.

And share our joy in finding work.

Zelda is still under employed in the work world.

When baby comes, that will change (diapers).
***
Two weeks to enjoy Zelda and clean house.
In my interview I mentioned I was studying for LEED.
Time to follow up on that!
(In speaking to my new employer, he felt it's more of a gimmick to sell stuff.
I agree. LEED is more about government paper work than the best energy savings. LEED certification is dependent on convincing the developer or client they want it. Most of them are on tight budgets and will not want to pay extra. It doesn't need to be LEED certified to be "GREEN".)

Anyway, it's a great sales tool for Architects if they have clients who want it...

blessings

American Policy

2009-01-30T19:27:00.000-08:00

“What happens on the ground is for every one of those impacts you get five or ten times as many recruits for the Taliban as you've eliminated. The people that we’re trying to convince to become adherents to our cause have become rigidly hostile to our cause in part because of bombing and in part because of other killing of civilians from ground forces. We’re dealing with a society that’s based on honor... They have to resist being invaded, occupied, bombed and killed. It’s a matter of honor, and they’re willing to die in unbelievable numbers to do that.”

former Pentagon official Pierre Sprey on the US missle policy in Pakistan

Hi Baby!

2009-01-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

The baby has been kicking Zelda today.

She had me place my hand on her belly.

I felt the BABY!

Sad news...

2009-01-30T19:17:00.000-08:00

To balance out the good news,

some sad news...

Thanks to the Adkins diet,

and other low carb diets,

the company that makes Twinkies

has filed for bankruptcy.

Good news!

2009-01-30T17:23:00.000-08:00

While we are not out of the woods yet, we received WONDERFUL news this evening.

The company where I interviewed last week called to let me know that they want to hire me! and I start on the 16th!

We meet with the real estate agent on Tuesday to work out the single income for a double income house.

Blessings and thanks to all who kept us in their prayers.

You are in ours...
***
We heard today from a good high school friend (another of Zelda's friends) that he was laid off today from the chocolate company.

He has a couple of leads, so he's not too concerned.

If we help each other, we can make it through this together...

Laughed so hard

2009-01-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

Zelda and I needed a good laugh and last night, Stephen Cobert gave us just that. (jan.29,2009)

My stomach hurts this morning. We laughed so hard we cried. What was so funny?
His interview on NOT ENOUGH CHICKEN FOR THE SUPERBOWL with Richard Lobb.

too funny!

check out the link above, "Laughed so hard"
(please forgive the add that runs prior to the interview)

Some more positives

2009-01-30T07:34:00.000-08:00

Zelda's doctor is Her Doctor.

We will qualify for medicaid for the baby.

Zelda wanted a Dula for the birth and we had begun to budget for it. Upon hearing our situation, the dula will give us the service gratis.

Did I mention We are having a BABY?

I can drive truck and get home each night, make enough to pay the bills, and by the time we move into the rental, be able to support us on one salary.

Driving truck has medical benefits and I can pick up extra work.

Our neighbor pays for his home and a new car on a driver's salary after only one year driving.

I have access to architectural drawings on medical labs, the hottest work going right now, because Zelda works in space planning of hospitals. Not quite the same thing as drawing them, but I will have a leg up on those who haven't.

Friends are feeding us possible job leads...

Obama is President.

Time to look at the positives...

2009-01-30T07:15:00.000-08:00

Zelda and I still love each other

We might be able to keep this house for 3 months after the money runs out.

There are a few job leads in Architecture showing up here and there.

Our church will make a room for us to stay in should the worst case happen.

My sister and brother in law have offered to house and feed us.

My sister has been tracking down baby things for us.

Our church is collecting baby things for us.

Our church family has been very supportive of us.

We have the possibility of short selling the house (selling the house for less than we owe) and being forgiven on the taxable "gains" from such a sale. (yes, sell your house at a loss and the government see the difference owed as a taxable event. fortunately, they have given a forgiveness exception on this due to the numbers of people foreclosed upon).

Zelda and I did not buy more house than we could afford, this is not our fault.

We can avoid a foreclosure black eye by short selling or deed in lieu of foreclosure.

We will both be gainfully employed as soon as this banking crisis breaks as we both have desirable skills.

We have the rental to move back too, and it will take care of itself thru at least October of this year.

We don't have to make a lot of money to pay for the rental so Zelda will be able to stay home and care for our baby.

Zelda will be able to work from the house again when this breaks, allowing her to stay home with our child.

Zelda is a great cook!

She was able to get a forbearance on her student loans.

We have wonderful friends willing to come help us clean house and pack up to move...

We have wonderful church family.

We have wonderful family willing to take us in close by...

Consumer credit counciling will be able to help us pay off our consumer debt should we have to fall into selling the home.

With our regular jobs, we should be able to pay off any outstanding debt quickly.

We had savings in place to buy us a little time...

We have each other...

Short Sale

2009-01-30T06:52:00.000-08:00

I checked in last week with my last company to see how they are.

Still waiting on word and work from clients.

I was the only one let go so far.
Had they been able to keep me on, there are things Z and I could do to stay in our home.

The real estate agent called yesterday evening and we spoke for about ten minutes.
He asked if we would like to keep the house, which we do, and that it might be possible to restructure the loan to our reduced income.

That is, if we had any income.

We have to focus on moving forward. This last week has been more of a waiting game, hoping to hear back from last week's interview.

I am doubtful I will get the job. In the past it has been quite clear by the end of the interview whether I am in the running or not. I didn't get a good feeling.

But for Zelda's sake, I will keep an optimistic out look.
***
Z does not want me to drive truck. She does not want to be alone when the baby comes. She's worried about my safety.

I am at a loss as to where to turn for employment that will bring in adequate income in a hurry.

I haven't heard back from Costco. 24 hours a week at $6.00 an hour...

What to do...

I'd rather be poor with Zelda than rich with out her...

Expecto Patronum!

2009-01-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

Nope, the scary recession is still here...

But I have been making a point of eating bits of chocolate here and there...

Zelda's having a hard time

2009-01-29T14:26:00.000-08:00

She needs to eat for the baby and to keep her blood sugar balanced.

The stress is affecting her appetite. She doesn't want to eat...

I'm going to email bunny sister and Z will email bunny in law about staying with them after we can no longer live here in our home.

What I want to do is find a piece of land, build a small, energy efficient home, pay for it with cash, get off the grid and say *#!) to the utilities, cities, and red tape used to take money out of my back pocket.

Come on Zelda friends, give her a call and let her know you love her.

At the moment

2009-01-28T10:50:00.000-08:00

I need to call the real estate agent today to get our house on the market.
The fear is some one will actually BUY the house, which is a blessing and a sad thing.

Zelda's friend has the house looking Great!
Something both Z and I feel bad about not being able to do ourselves...

I feel a twinge of guilt when I think that an architect and interior designer can't keep their home in presentable shape.

Z's friend doesn't have the emotional attachment to the Stuff that we have collected over time.
She also didn't spend much if any time while she was here in front of the tv.
Something Z and I do too much...

Two more resumes out to possible employers.

The ice is beginning to melt here in the Dallas area.
Glad I didn't have to get out in it...

blessings

Still in the running...

2009-01-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

There are jobs in Architecture opening up a little here, a few there, in the medical field.

I checked in this morning with the company I interviewed with Friday to see if a decision had been made.

"no"

He's a 'too the point' kind of guy.
***
I just got a call from the HR department from a local hospital and they are looking for a registered architect.

He will forward my resume to the Facilities Office for an interview...

Hope against hope.

the hunt continues...

they are also looking for a interior designer, Z may apply as well...

What to do...

2009-01-26T18:17:00.000-08:00

Last week and the weeks prior were busy with getting resumes out and tracking down possible leads.

Now the slowing down is happening...
The leads are drying up...
The money is flowing out...

Baby's kicking.
Wife is just as beautiful as ever.
House is clean and nice thanks to friends.

Self doubts about how I prepared and handled Friday's interview.
I'll call to touch base Wednesday to see if a decision has been made.

Mean while, I might have a job with costco collecting carts and helping out.
It has to make more than 370 a week or it's "better" to stay on unemployment.
***
Rather than send billions on bad bank loans, it would have been better to pay unemployed persons one year's salary.

It would (potentially) keep people in homes and give them time to hold out till this blows over.
***
It would also help if social security was available for each person as an emergency fund for such occasions such as this.
(Though there would actually have to BE something in the account)

Thank you government for *&!^ everything up so royally.

help

2009-01-25T14:51:00.000-08:00

A high school friend of Zelda's came down from Oklahoma to help us clean house and organize for showing the house and getting ready to pack.

She went through the kitchen sorting and putting things away we could not find homes for.
We took items to good will, half price books, and our church.

She and her husband where able to start clearing a hole in our garage pile that we have started working on, but due to emotional attachment, weren't able to make any progress.

The front rooms, dining, kitchen, and living room are cleaner than they ever have.

We are grateful...

Interview

2009-01-23T11:37:00.000-08:00

I had an interview today with a company that I would fit right in.
Turns out the principal I spoke with worked for an old boss of mine whom we invited to our wedding.

While I wasn't told I was out of the running, I didn't get a feel for whether or not I was on his 'top of' list....

I was not as prepared for the interview as I should have been....
I have always been hired on my work.

There too many Architects out there to not be prepared.

He will let me know next week if the position has been filled.

Please keep us in your prayers.

I know I can do the work.

I just need the opportunity.

Gakkk!

2009-01-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

On the way to take Zelda to get her hair cut, the phone rang.

Her client called to let her know that the company is taking all projects in house.
Doesn't matter that she has two years of working relationship with this particular client, nor that she is faster and cheaper than doing it in house, the new pres of the company is trying to keep his folks employed...

While it was only 8 hrs a week for Z, it covered all her monthly expenses...
That would include our cell phones and internet...

I have an interview tomorrow am.
A friend called with two possible leads with interiors firms.

He's a fellow Aggie.

Cross your fingers...
***
Zelda is sad for a number of reasons.
One being she wanted to have her business so she could stay home to care for our baby...

Had the economy not turned south, we had everything in place for her to be able to take two months off after the birth...
***
We currently have too much in our savings, (two month's expenses) to qualify for medicare.

Our mortgage company can't help us until we are behind in our payments.

They will allow a Short Sale - allowing the house to sell for less than we owe on it.

They will allow a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, but the house will need to be on the market for at least 90 days... that would be the week the baby is due...
***
We are keep on keeping on...

The weather is too nice to be sad...

Babys

2009-01-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

I'm still not quite coming to terms with the notion that in a few short months I will be a Father (and no longer have a life of my own).

Zelda is looking forward to meeting the little person who is kicking the inside of her tummy.

blessings

Some hope

2009-01-21T16:52:00.000-08:00

In addition to the new President and what he is doing.

Tuesday I visited the AIA (American Institute of Architects) web site to check on possible new job postings.

There was a cryptic one that I saw was new and forwarded my resume into the void.
That afternoon I checked back in to my email and there was a note described as "interview".

Yes, I have one for Friday morning in North Dallas.
I am confident I can perform the tasks and meet the requirements for the job.

If so, it will save Zelda and my butts from potential homelessness.

If so, we will make a call to the church family currently in our same spot with potentially no home in a few months, and offer them rooms and space in our home.

They are a young couple with three school age girls. The mom approached Zelda about helping each other with baby sitting.

Wish us all luck!

New President

2009-01-20T10:15:00.000-08:00

Zelda and I were able to watch the swearing in of President Barack Obama. (Someone needs to update blog spots spell checker, "Barack" and "Obama" need to be added to the dictionary).

It was moving.
I'm glad we could see it live.
***
Resumes are flying out the door.
No one is biting...

Isn't it supposed to be better yet?
***
Wish I had been better disciplined to have had more $$$ saved so Zelda and I could ride this storm out with reduced or no income.

Moneys

2009-01-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

Tonight we will visit with Bunny brother in law.
He's in accounting so he will help us with suggestions with our cash flow.

All last week and early this week it has been all blow and go.
Surprising how long the days seem to last.

Now begins the personal character, can you get up and make a go at it when there does not seem to be a goal line.

Tomorrow I'll visit with Texas Workforce to find out if I can get grant money for retraining in something.
I wonder how long the paper work will take?

If I can get in to driving school, I should hopefully have some cash flow coming in by mid Feb.
$400.00 would cover the cc bills.

Zelda's business handles some of the regular bills we have.
***
In order to stimulate the economy enough to begin building again, I worry it would take more infusion of printed money. Printed money is easy, but it causes inflation...
Possibly Hyper inflation...
Good for those with fixed rate loans and regular raises...

Bad for those in the bottom rungs of the economy...

Day 8

2009-01-14T09:40:00.000-08:00

Zelda and I have about two months before our funds run out.
I have applied for unemployment, substitute teaching, and a number of architectural listings.

The recruiters I have spoken with have bleak things to say.

Today I'm off to have lunch with a former coworker to gather some portfolio work I did while with his company.

The position I was given, Mr. Restaurant, at that firm, is the only business line that seems to be bringing in business right now.

I took a risk. It didn't pay off like I thought. But it was the right thing to do.

The recruiters have also told me that I have been under paid for the last number of years.

Home Hope is program thru the mortgage companies and the gov. to help those in a bind with their house payments.

The best case senario as I see it right now, is we could get our new home sold on short sale. It would ding our credit, but not show up as a foreclosure.

I am also applying for truck driving. Our neighbor is doing quite fine for himself driving truck.

Zelda is going to give us a baby in 3 short months. I will do what it takes to take care of her and our new one.
***
In the worst case situation, we will have food and shelter provided by friends, church, and family.

God bless those in this same mess...

Caught off guard

2009-01-10T18:28:00.000-08:00

Zelda and I have a long term plan to "get out of the rat race".
We've miss stepped a couple of times.

But you make mistakes and correct.

I am surprised at how much on autopilot life has been.

In an okay market, I can get a job making a nice salary without too much trouble.
In a down market, as good as my skills may be, training is needed to get me up to speed in a different industry. Making equivalent money is a challenge...

The concern now is...how long will this last?
How saturated is the current real estate market with existing product?

I have heard that the strong will survive this down turn and the weak will fall.
This of course was said by a man I have worked for in the past who has grown his company to an international firm in the 13 years since I was let go from his firm.
He is international and very wealthy. He also has a certain amount of money he's going to make each year, and it does not matter who or how many people will be cut to ensure that number.

My last company, on the other hand, is small, and the owners take a cut in pay to keep their employees. All take a cut to keep all in work. That is where possible.

Sadly, the former is positioned to survive, and the latter is not.

Pastor reminded me that there are people in the world who strive to make others feel inadequate.

It is our job to remember that they are wrong.

Day 4

2009-01-10T17:43:00.000-08:00

Zelda has been good to me.
She allowed me to have a break down earlier in the week and guide me out of it...

I am praying for Obama and sending out resumes to as many places as possible.

Zelda also helped me find a number of leads.

Monday I have interviews with two head hunters.
I'm also sending in resumes for construction related professions that are not architecture.

Jobs are there for those with experience in medical and schools.
Two areas I've had some work, but not the type they are looking for.
Time to SELL myself!
***
Advice from family has also been helpful.

Sell our house and the rental and work to save our credit.

Sell the rental to give some cash for staying in this house. The thought is, it has positive cash flow, has been fixed up, and would give us survival time.

We have been in the mind set of moving back into the rental because the expenses are low and letting the new house go back to the bank and work our way back to good credit on the other side.

The notion of having zero debt and just surviving is good too.
***
Father in law suggested we put together three plans.
1. Best case.
2. Bad case.
3. Worst case.

That way we would have a plan of action and could be flexible.

Mom in law suggested speaking with our pastor. She also thought selling the rental might be good. It has some equity still which our new one does not. If it did, we could in the extreme case, sell it to an investor who would take it off our hands for the equity in it.

Pastor let us know that in the worst case situation, he would "make a bed room in the education building for Z, me, and our new baby". He is also will collect baby stuff for us.

Sister has told us she and brother in law will give us a room as well as feed us.
She and pastor pointed out that Obama is now in charge and he's working to do something.

I am glad he is. Let's hope it clears this up....

And everyone has reminded us that there will be "the other side".

It's the getting there that is scary.

Change...

Good luck to you who still have work.
G-d bless those who don't.

We can get through this if we help each other.

I am blessed that Zelda is here to help me through this.
Our marriage will help us make it no matter what the out come...

It's official

2009-01-06T18:25:00.000-08:00

Today was my last day...

Funding...

I have a good friend who's firm also has the work lined out, but the funding can't be found...

From what I've heard on the news, the banks are holding on to cash waiting for the next wave of bad home loans to pop up.

If they wait too long, we might be one of them...

Time for the resume blits.

Architecture is making me old...

I guess it could be worse, we could be having a baby...
***
Zelda informs me that the baby is kicking up a storm!
Makes it challenging to sleep.

My beautiful wife!

Should we PANIC!?

2009-01-05T18:00:00.000-08:00

Zelda's line of work is slow right now.

As is mine.

The company I'm with has the jobs, but the clients can't get the funding.

So it maybe I'm changing my line of work to truck driving...

Our neighbor next door has been able to provide a good life for him self driving locally.
***
Z and I are both fearful... at the moment.
I have some time to act...
***
I wish I were smart enough to create my own future.

Maybe I am...

I won't panic.
It won't help.
***
Zelda is healthy.
Our baby is kicking.
Life is good.
We'll ALL get through this...

the Draft

2008-12-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

At age 18 I received a letter from my Uncle, Sam, how told me I had better stop by the US post office to register myself for the draft.

After wards I received a number of catalogs from "Adam and Eve".

I wish someone had told me then that the Draft is UnConstitutional.

Growing up in the early 70's, we heard about the Draft Dodgers and it was implied that they were bad.

The Constitution does not give the Congress the right to take your children and make them US government property to dispose of as it decides.

If it were, the Revolutionary war would have been fought with draftees. After all, not everyone agreed with the Founding Fathers that America should break with England.

The Revolutionary war was an all Volunteer Army.

They fought for Freedom on American Soil so that we, their descendants would have, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,".

"Liberty" and "Government Ownership" are mutually exclusive.

How do I protect my unborn child from a Government would "rule the world"?

Big Brother is watching

2008-12-29T20:21:00.000-08:00

I googled, Karlthebunny, to find my link.

Up came just about every link I have posted too with Karl the bunny, along with some I didn't...

too close to home for me...

Amen

2008-12-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

"There is nothing in the preamble to the Constitution

which defines the purpose of the United States of America

as remaking the world in our image,..."

ANDREW BACEVICH

Closing In

2008-12-22T20:58:00.000-08:00

Zelda and I are both doing well financially.

We both work in an industry that is sensitive to the banking crisis.

My boss sat down with us last Friday to give us the State of the Union of our company.

We have the jobs to keep us busy.

We have the clients who want to have us do work for them.

There is a market for their product.

Unfortunately... they haven't been able to get the financing to start the projects...

Fortunately, the owner of the company I work for are willing to cut us back in pay rather than cut us loose.

We hope Obama's inauguration will relax the purse strings...
...
While we are bailing out the Auto Industry, I came across an article by Bill Moyers that high lights the tax breaks the Big Companies have been getting from the Congress over the last decades.

They used to pay 20% of Fed taxes.
Now they pay less than 8%.
You and I pay 15% plus.

their bail out

My beautiful, patient wife

2008-12-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

Zelda wants to know the sex of out baby.

I want to let the baby tell us.

She has been very patient.

We went in today for a sonogram.

Both nurses were really good to honor our wishes.

It was our doctor, who KNOWS we don't want to know, who slipped up and ...

She back tracked pretty well and there is some doubt...

Betrayed by our DOCTOR, (who looks like Alanis Moresette).

Bankrupt

2008-12-22T20:31:00.000-08:00

In his book, "Grunch of Giants", Buckminster Fuller documents the origins of the concept of "I own the land under your feet", which is the basis of Governments.

He also runs the numbers.

The Great Depression was brought about by the US involvement in the European war.
We, the US Government, spent $$$$ to fight someone else's folly.

And because of it, the Governments around the world spent more money than they had.

As Fuller observes, the US went bankrupt due to it's participation in World War I.
The Great Depression was the outward expression of that bankruptcy.

World War II was the world wide expression of the bankruptcy of the world's large countries.

Hitler was a result of war, of the depression, of the world's folly.

Who will pop up around the world to be the next Hitler?

The US government is bankrupt. And in turn, we all pay.

It's History repeating itself...

Obama's mis step

2008-12-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

I disagree with Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at Obama's swearing in.

Warren supported Pro 8 in Calf. that amended, changed, the California CONSTITUTION to take away the RIGHTS of diverse peoples to marry.

On Warren's web site, he claims that "every religion" for the last "5,000 years" has described "marriage as One man and One woman for life".

He claims to be a preacher and will tell you what the Bible says.

If that were true,
he'd have noticed that in the book of Genesis 29:14, Jacob, who will fight with the Angle of the Lord and be renamed Israel (He who struggles with the Lord), was deceived by Laban, and married not one, but two women, sisters. Leah and Rachael.
Chapter 35:23 goes on to name the children Israel had with both women.
The 12 tribes of Israel, the youngest goes on to preform in his own musical about a multi colored coat. (And should we mention the children he had by his wive's maid servants...?)

Shall we not let Mr. Warren know that in 2 Samuel, Chap. 5:13, King David, most favored by G-d, "...David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem,..." (from the New International Verstion Study Bible).

I hope you noted the "s" in that quote.

And do we need mention that David's claim to fame was having an affair, Sexual that is, with the beautiful Bathsheba, 2 Samuel Chap 11:1, and having her husband sent to the front line where he was killed?

By verse 24 he's already married to her...

But as Warren has so keenly noticed,
and his followers blindly swallow,

one woman,

one man,

forever...
***
And I hope you didn't miss the

"Amend the Constitution"

when it suits those

who want to limit

the freedoms

of those

they disagree with...
***
A bigit

is a bigit

no matter

what the clothes

he wears...
***
a bigit is not someone,

with whom the President of the United State of America,

should be speaking,

unless

to expose him

for the bigit he is

Do you know where our money comes from?

2008-12-09T20:59:00.000-08:00

Interesting thing money.

We used to be on the Gold Standard, meaning I could stop into any bank, hand the clerk a $20.00 bill and get a $20.00 gold coin.

In order to increase the money in the system, more gold had to be found, mined, melted, and made into a $20.00 coin.

It limits inflation, which is not, as many would have us believe, an increase in prices, but instead, a decrease in the buying power of our money...

Over time, the middle class increased. My grandfather was able to build his first home in his twenties and live a good life.

We went off the gold standard in 1971.
But before that, we talked the major countries of the world into basing their currencies, their Marcs and Francs and Canadian Dollars on the US dollar.

Now nothing backs the US dollar.
And in turn, nothing backs those other currencies...

The US constitution requires US money to be backed by "...Only Gold and Silver..."

That's why I support Ron Paul's House Bill "HR 2755" to End the Fed.

Testing, Testing...

2008-12-09T20:54:00.001-08:00

The lab screwed up the Zelda's blood work testing for possible problems with the baby.

The latest results came back today with three out of four good results. It's the potential for that fourth bad result that has us concerned. (As if there isn't anything else to cause worry in the world today)

So Zelda and I will be going in tomorrow for additional tests, ones that require very long needles.

Damn lab...

Not in My House

2008-12-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

I would have to say that most church folks are not intellectuals.
This doesn't imply that non church folk are.

Church is more of an emotional thing?

By example.

Gay Marriage.

Conservative Church goer doesn't read the Bible for themselves.
(The average church doesn't promote serious Bible reading as a whole by their parishioners).

They work in the original Sound Bites.
Mark chapter 3, verses 1 thru 10.

So the average Conservative Church goer hasn't a clue what and where they get their beliefs.

Sex out side of marriage. (Jesus doesn't speak for or against it)

Homosexuality. (Jesus is not concerned with it, and never talks about it).

What Jesus does speak about is Love, Compassion, and Moving On.
***
Conservative Church goer is fearful that what goes on in someone else's house will somehow affect what goes on in their own home.

So in a preemptive strike, they do unto others what they fear will happen to them.

They decide what someone else can or can't do in the privacy of their own home.

Jesus did have something to say about that,

He called those folks,

Hypocrites.

What would Jesus Buy II

2008-12-07T08:52:00.001-08:00

I am like most Americans, I believe I am in control of my life.
But reality would be quite different.
Being human, I get caught up in the crowd. I also do not control what I have been taught to believe.
We did after all, buy a new house at the top of the market.

We are surviving...
***
One comment made Tuesday at the screening of "What would Jesus Buy?" was made in response to my observation on free speech.

Comment:
*The Supreme Court ruled that Corporations have the rights of US citizens.*

It is easy to point fingers, and this comment struck me as such ("it's the Government's fault", etc.), but I didn't have a counter thought.

Now I have had time to think it over.

My comment was worded to place the responsibility on Us, the Citizens. How did we get to a place where this could happen? That a non living thing, a piece of paper in a file drawer, could have more power than We, the citizens do?

The court ruling happened in the 19th century. I don't believe anyone even knew about it or could see the ramifications. Those who did, were the people who would benefit from it.

Amongst similar minded people at the church, it was easy to get into the Corporations are the Bad Guys frame of thinking.

Reality... We the People CAN do something about Corporations being qualified as having the same rights as We the People.

California's supreme court recently ruled that Gays have the right to marry.
The People of the state of California voted to Create a Constitutional amendment over ruling the Supreme Court.

If enough of the population felt strongly about Corporations as people, we could make the Change.

But it's up to Us to care enough...

And the corporations main job is to keep us docile, fat, and happy...

What would Jesus Buy?

2008-12-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

That was the name of the film we saw Tuesday at church.

The big haired Rev. Billy, (comedian/political protester) preaches against the commercialization of the holiday.

Christmas as we know it was drummed up and promoted by companies wanting to sell stuff.
They wrap it in a religious "giving" theme and get the churches in on the act.

"Christ" really ISN'T the reason for the season.

It's based on the pagan festival of lights.
Darkest time of year and all...

We light candles in the Church and turn out all the lights at evening service.
Jesus didn't do that in his ministry...

Back to the film.
"The Rev. Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping starts in New York and over the month of Dec. make their way to LA. to Disney Land where the "Great Satan" lives.

He makes his points...

After the film the Pastor at our church passes the mike around for thoughts and comments.

The initial impact for me was, "How did we get to a place where on a public street in NY, there are hundreds of company billboards and advertisements expressing "free" speech
*I have always thought that free speech should be Exactly That, FREE, as in, speech for the sake of speech, and NOT SPEECH for the intent to make money*, there in Times Square.
Later in the film Billy enters shops and eventually Disney Land to express his Free Speech, STOP SHOPPING and enjoy each other!
Of course it's private property and he is arrested.

Christmas in the religious sense is about family and being together.

Christmas in the commercial sense is about making a profit.

Christmas in America seems to be more about the Shopping and less about family.

I think there is something holy in the act of giving.
As a well known author has said, "G-d doesn't need to receive things from us, but we need to give things to G-d".

The question becomes for me...

What is it that I am giving?

and in turn,

What is it that I SHOULD give...?

Zelda and I are making donations to Heifer International in honor of our family members this year.

Now there's a give worth giving...
***
What I wish I had said in the comments period of our time the other night is Rev. Billy gives us an answer to "How do we compete with the Disneys and Starbucks of the world?" when the constant messages we hear are "Consume".

The Bible gives us one shield as it were...

I believe it's commandment 4, Honor the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
(I may have blogged about this in the past, but it's worth repeating)

I tried this back a number of years ago and the results were surprising.
1) G-d gives us the ability to make something Holy.
2) I used the Law to set my priorities. How do I keep this day special?
Orthodox Jews have created rules to make this happen.
Do not work, nor allow anyone else to do work for you.
Do not watch TV.
Do not shop.
Spend the time with family and church.

What I came to find out as I did this was, Sunday became the center of my week.
I have to get milk today, Saturday, or I'll have to squeeze it in Monday.
Friends wanting to go shopping after church, or out to lunch, I can spend time with them (the intent of the law), but I won't be buying anything.

It's a great discipline.
But not many of my Christian friends were willing to even consider trying it.
(I only had one friend out of hundreds who told me they'd tried it)

It occurs to me that I miss it and will work (I am married now) to en corporate it back into my life.

Watching TV with the family is not the same thing as Being with family.

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas

I Do Believe

2008-11-16T08:13:00.000-08:00

My beautiful wife gets
more and more

beautiful every day!
***
New coffee shop with EXCELLENT food.

Our favorite little local coffee shop is just that.
Locally owned, one store in a converted house.

We stopped by last week for a much needed break to find it over flowing with,

dun dun dunnnnn!

Young people...

It is a testimony to the owner that he has a hip place that is popular and safe to hang out.

Sadly, it is not the quiet, have a cozy conversation with your spouse kind of place it once was.

It's too small for a live band AND older customers with or with out small children...

So we kept our eyes and ears open for a new place.

We have found it in Buzzbrew, a 24 hour dinner that serves great coffee and excellent food.

We are hooked!

When in Dallas, check it out!

(Interestingly enough, they buy their deserts from another local, independent, favorite restaurant of ours, Zaguans)

Livid!

2008-11-16T07:26:00.000-08:00

After listening to Ron Paul's book, "The Revolution: A manifesto", I have changed my views on a number of things.

Modern politicians would have us believe that the only way to take care of the poor, sick, the weak, is to form regulations and have the Government take care of them.

This requires money most of the time.
Where to get this money?

Your back pocket.
My back pocket.

Each year we Americans work aprox. 5 months out of the year for the Fed. Gov.
(This does not include the hidden tax that is Inflation caused when the Gov. prints more money. $700b bailout anyone?)

Ron Paul, an OBGYN, asks the question, "How did we survive and take care of those in need of help prior to Government Programs?"

We the People helped each other out.

Fraternal organizations raised money, Ie. the Shriners, to provide FREE hospital care for children below a certain age. (My brother helped sister's son get that help).

In addition, Doctors reduced their prices, bartered for goods in return for medical services, or worked gratis for those who could not afford to pay.

What has happened is the Fed has stepped in, created Medicare and Medicade, the Insurance Industry has blossomed and now very few of us can afford anything.

Unintended consequences...

On his congressional web site he has video of his speaches to the House on the financial problems they have created and which we now see in our economy.

And unlike most everyone else, he has a step by step plan to help fix the problems.

The founding Fathers created the Constitution to protect us from Big Gov., to protect our Liberties, a French word by the way, meaning Freedom.

I visited my House Rep this week to see what she was doing for me.

I am LIVID!

Passing bills to do "great things" by the Gov. (Great things that get votes.)

Things we could do, and did in the past, more effectively, more economically, on our own with our neighbors, churches, and Fraternal societies.

Things we were all Free to do.

I have a black congress woman taking more of my money out of my back pocket to pay for things that are not the venue of the Feds.

She has no idea what her spending is doing to her constituents.

Abolish Slavery!

babies, dollars, and presidents

2008-11-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

In high school they made baby making sound so easy and simple.
She got pregnant and presto a baby nine months later.

They didn't tell (us boys) bout the sick stomach, gestational diabetes, and all those other adventures.

Z is testing her blood sugar 5 times a day and is now on insulin.

***
Z and I voted for Pres.
In the past elections, it's been a choice of who's the less bad of the two.

In this election, it's been obvious that Obama is the better leader of the two.
I am not sure he is willing or able to fix the problems with the economy.

There were three options for President on the Texas ballot.
I chose to write in the best man for the job, Ron Paul.

So one could say that I knew my choice would lose. But I also can say that I chose the best person versus the lesser of two evils.

That being said, I am so hopeful and relieved that our next president will be President Obama.
I'm hoping his leadership and political smarts will help him work through what needs to be done.
***
Gold takes energy and time to mine, process, mint, and distribute. It can't be burned, it does not tarnish or ware out.

It's takes the same amount of energy and resources to print a one dollar bill as a thousand dollar bill.

What is to keep the government from just printing their way out of debt?

Newton said that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Pump money into the system ...more money means each dollar becomes worth less (and eventually worthless).

That's what they have been doing for decades.

But since 1971 our currency has not been tied to anything other than paper.

Prior to 71 our dollar was tied to one ounce of gold. $20.00 paper dollars would be exchanged at any bank for one ounce of gold, a $20.00 gold coin.

The currencies of all the other world are tied to the dollar through the Bretton Woods agreement.

The emperor has no clothes.

Free market tells us that the more something is in demand, the more it should cost due to limited supplies.

Prices go up...

There is a 6 month delay on receiving silver bullion. This has been true for three months now.
Yet the price of silver has actually dropped...

The big boys are playing with the markets...

***
The good news is...

there is a way out of this mess,

let's hope the new pres will make it happen...

Ron Paul for President!

2008-10-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

We the people own the US government.

So why is it that the US demands that we work 5 to 6 months a year for the government?
We fought a war in the 1860s to do away with slavery.

If we chose to not pay, we will have our freedom, our Liberty, taken away by the government, We the People.

We the people paid our taxes, our money, to fund NASA and the Manhattan project that developed the bomb and the memory foam used in modern beds.

So if WE paid for the R&D, why is it that the Utilities, Military, and bed manufactures aren't paying We the people monthly royalties for Our ownership rights?

Just something to think about...

***
The revolutionary war was an all voluntary, defensive war.

Each person provided their own weapons and there was no big industry in Killing People as there is today.

The draft is not provided for in the Constitution because it goes against the very nature of
Liberty for all.

How can there be freedom if the Government can come in and take your sons, fathers, and brothers to kill and be killed?
***
The same thinking is being used for Retirement plans.

"Give me Liberty
or give me Death."

The Federal government is taking that quite literally...