Are you tired of me talking about this??

Ok, so I have another post about the economy. I'm sure many of you are tired of hearing about the cause & effect of this whole mess. I just wanted to share a story that Chris called & told me about today. First I want to mention that I hope we can all LEARN from some of the things happening & learn to be frugal & save & stay out of debt. I hope this doesn't imply that Chris & I are perfect because we have a LONG way to go but we are slowly inching in the right direction.

To start this story out I'll kind of explain our neighborhood. We are fortunate to live in a really nice part of town. In this part of town all the neighborhoods run into each other & the only way to tell the difference is by the house. We drive by some beauties just getting onto the main road. I'll quickly mention that our home & our small little neighborhood is very modest & that when I talk about some of these homes that ours doesn't even compare. Ok so to my story....

We've been watching the most amazing home go up in our neighborhood. We can't recall ever seeing a home this amazing, especially on a lot that wasn't super huge. We've always wondered who was building this home & what they do. These past couple of months we noticed that there wasn't any progress on the home. The outside is all done plus all the extra building but there were a few loose wires & other things that just weren't getting done. Today Chris found out the story. The would-be owner of this home was a stock broker & only worked with clients that put down a minimum of 1 million dollars. Well apparently this whole finacial mess forced him to go belly up. Guess how much this home is valued at....11 million dollars & in Idaho that is a BIG house. The master bath alone is valued at 80 thousand dollars. Apparently the window people came to try to get their windows back & because they've been bricked in they can't retrieve them. So who owns this home now??? The bank; I'm not sure which one but our tax dollars will probably have to bail out the bank that gave this loan.

I guess the moral of my story is simplest is best. Who needs a home like this. It's stunning to drive by & it will probably raise my property value (or maybe not if it doesn't sale:)) but those are just things. Hopefully this Christmas we can enjoy the spirit of the holidays & enjoy being close to family and friends.

Don't Envy Me

A couple months ago I was in a conversation with my VT Ginger about politics & the election. Then she mentioned that she had seen us at the rally that Mitt Romney had came to & had tried to grab us so that they could take us around but we had quickly left at the end because the boys needed to go to bed. We continued to talk about Mitt Romney because her husband accompanied him on the campaign trail & I had a lot of questions. It was fun to get a little more information about inside the campaign.

A couple of weeks ago Jinger then went on to tell me about "Romney Beer" & that they had a few in their garage that they save for Special People. Well guess what, I'M ONE OF THOSE SPECIAL PEOPLE. Today she brought me over not one, but two.

So you'll see my special collection in an enclosed case that only special people can see. HaHa....I'll let you touch them if you are very careful.

Moving Forward

I hope to make this an uplifting & non-offensive post. I've heard some interesting opinions post election that I wanted to share. It's so important that our country moves forward & that we unite.

1. I never watch The View but it seems like there is tidbits of their show replayed on some of the news shows because of their extreme differences regarding political views. It seems like the Co-Hosts on the view (minus Elizabeth) aren't huge Bush Supporters & have some very negative things to say about him (again, I never watch so I'm relying on the news for this portrayal.) As I caught 5 minutes the other day Barbara Walters said something very interesting. She said that when the Clinton Administration left the White House they left in anger & cut phone lines, made a mess of the White House & made a difficult transition for the Bush Administration to come in. She mentioned this because she was impressed how gracious President Bush has been to invite the Obama family to come & visit so that the girls are comfortable when they move in. I didn't give it a lot of thought until Barbara mentioned this but THIS IS IMPORTANT. We don't want President-Elect Obama to have to have a long transition. He needs to be able to take action immediately & not miss a step & how wonderful (so far) that President Bush is helping him to do this.

2. A caller called one of the radio programs the other day & made a comment that helped me realize I was wrong in my thinking. He said "I don't want Obama to fail." Failure means that our economy continues to struggle, jobs continue to be lost, distrust & anger will surround our country. We should hope & pray that he succeeds & put aside our personal differences. I was originally wrong....we need to support him & hope that he takes our country in the direction that we need to go.

3. This may be the most controversial issue that we saw this election. The initiative in California to define the definition of marriage (I'm not listing the proposition for fear of google searchers.) I hope that those disappointed in the results can realize that it wasn't an anti-gay initiative but an intiative to define that marriage is between a man and a women. I hope that this issue & anger can be laid to rest so that we can come together & support one another. I hope that those who did support this proposition did so for the right reason & not because of hatred & intolerance. The beauty of our electoral system is that it was put to a vote by the people & the people have spoken. I can't think of anything more fair then that.

How to workout even harder

At home we only have CNN. Not a great station for a conservative person so I get excited when I go to the gym & Fox News is on.

This evening we went to the gym & fox news was on...this determined where I would start my workout so that I could watch CONSERVATIVE news. Since I usually don't carry headphones I get to squint my eyes & read the captions that are always behind. As I'm 20 minutes into my workout I started seeing clippings of the O'Reilly show that was going to come up. Anyone catch it???? It was an exposive argument begin Barney Frank & Bill O'Reilly. Each commercial break they keep saying that it's coming so I push on as my legs are burning. I don't want to miss this. FINALLY...I'm ready to faint as that portion of the show comes up. Holy moly!!! Now I do think that Bill was a little tough & I don't think that Barney Frank is totally responsible for the collapse of our economy but I had to give Bill credit. He was passionate in getting Barney to take some credit for what has happened. I had to laugh as all that Barney could do was talk about Bill's show & his borish style. Admitting mistakes is probably the hardest thing to do but Barney BLAMED everyone else. Not impressive in my book. It was a crazy clip so look it up...it will pump you up. It pumped me up & I continued on the machine for 5 more minutes following the interview because my blood was pumping from the argument. I'll probably pay the price tomorrow.

AND the Debate. WOW!!!!! I saw the Palin that I saw in her convention speech. My confidence is coming back. I found Biden to be kind of boring & some of his answers weren't simple enough for my mind. Or as Palin called him O'Biden...anyone catch that. Chris & I chuckled. So hopefully the O'Biden ticket has been slowed down. Drill BABY Drill!!!!

Future President of the United States

This title may be confusing but I went to a rally yesterday for Jim Risch (running for a US Senate Seat) & guess who came!!! DRUM ROLL....Mitt Romney. I admit that is actually the reason that I went.

We actually didn't know about it & Chris was driving to an appointment & heard about the rally on the radio. He quickly called me since he knows I'm obsessed with politics. Since the late notice we had two options; I go by myself or we take the kids. Chris really didn't care to go but I kind of wanted Jaden to see it thus the whole family went.

I want to get more involved & be aware aware of issues & candidates even on a local level although most of my attention is on a national level. It was so fun to listen to the speeches (they were short which was surprising but nice). Mitt was perfect of course. I really wanted to run Jaden up to him for a photo op but it was getting late & I didn't want to be obnoxious. That picture would have been worth a lot when Mitt wins & yes, he will win in the future:)

Remember to catch the VP debate tonight. I'm very nervous for Palin...I think nerves are interfering with her abilities. It's funny but having a women running I often compare how I'd be feeling; sounds strange I know. I bet last night she was lying in bed with her husband with nervous ramblings & possible tears for the debate tonight. I'd imagine she continues to question her decision & whether it was best for her family. She probably has moments of 100% confidence & other moments of feeling 100% overwelmed. I know that those are the emotions I would be experiencing if I were in her shoes. BUT you'll never catch them admit it:) We are definately living history at this moment...hopefully we'll be able to look back on it as a time America grew, not a time of hardship.

A nation in trouble..

I'm worried. Our economy is in trouble. I don't believe that there is a perfect solution & won't even begin to think I know how to fix this. Everyday it seems like another bank is failing.

I think that this will affect everyone. This is how I think that it will affect me. I'll be paying more taxes to cover this huge bailout of AIG & so many banks. PLUS I think we'll see a decrease in spending. I actually am a huge supporter of this & believe in purchasing something only when you can afford it BUT a decrease in spending affects everyone. As an example, Chris (my hubby) sales advertising. Chris is paid mostly on commission. As businesses fail (because we aren't spending) they won't be advertising. Other examples are the jobs that will be lost, the businesses that will fail, homes will be lost.

Regarding the housing market. This is probably the saddest thing. It's disappointing that there was so much corruption. I do think that the homeowners hold some responsibility though. An ARM loan sounds great but that was a huge part of the problem. When we were looking for our first home the first mortgage company that we talked to tried to convince us to get this type of loan. The positive was that the interest rate was low to start with & could stay that way. I'm conservative & I told Chris I wasn't comfortable with this type of loan & didn't like the push in this direction by the mortgage company. Thankfully we made a different decision & I wish so many others had done the same thing. I also hope to see the end (I think they might already be gone) of 100% financing. If you can't afford a down payment you can't afford a mortgage. So many go into a home under a false sense that they could afford it. Homes are expensive. There are so many expenses that you don't have when you rent. Sometimes the excitement of a home clouds our judgement. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE, before you get into a home.

I do want to mention that I think there are unfortunate circumstances that may cause someone to lose there home & it's out of their control. Examples may be a medical emergency or loss of a job. These things aren't forseen & you can't always plan for it. I just don't want to see anyone else lose their home because they were greedy & wanted more of a home then they could afford.

This morning I was with some ladies from our ward & one of them had mentioned that they've been trying to sell their home since February. Her husband got a new job in Salt Lake & her & her three children have stayed behind to try to sell their home. I'm sad for her...this has to be a HUGE trial. It's hard with the market the way it is to have a lot of hope but her attitude was great.

I wish I knew the perfect solution at this time. I try to listen to recommendations & can only hope & pray that our country will choose the best one. I'm very happy that Senator McCain has chosen to suspend his campaign so that he can get to Washington & try to assist in fixing this problem. Although I think it may be politically motivated this is where he needs to be & this is what he should be doing. It's his job. I only wish Obama saw it this way also.

I hope that all of you will be impacted minimally; I think everyone will be impacted. Be wise & work hard!!!