Dec 12.

Its Dec. 12, less than two weeks to Christmas.  Im sitting here on the couch waiting for Jenna to go so sleep, but it could be quite awhile as she took a late Nap AGAIN today and last night it was almost 11 before she finally fell asleep.  Tonight is the Perigee for the Moon and its full so the Moon is spectacular and I want to get out and photograph it some but I cant till she goes to sleep.

Sam is snoring away so loudly its almost unbelievable.   I have my Christmas shopping done and I know its driving Yvette crazy with what is in the boxes I got her.  Work has been fairly slow the past few days and thats good, but I have to put out my Goals for the coming year and I have no idea what to shoot for.  

Its Coming

Chrismtas that is.   Tomorrow is the first of December.  I still have to do my Christmas shopping, but I will probably do most of that online.   I still don't know exactly what I am going to get for Yvette, but I need to think of something good.  I have the wish list to go by so I can find soemthing there.   Though i am hoping to think of something to come from my heart or that she hasn't thought of.   Its been a long weekend over Thanksgiving and tomorrow is back into the routine of work and school.   Then next week I have another short week as I have two days of vacation.  I had 5 days left for the year and needed to burn them up since they won't carry over and I won't get any payment for them. If I didn't use them then they would be gone. I also need to sit down with a 2009 calender and figure out what we are going to do for the year as I am supposed have my vacation scheduled for the entire year.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  I suppose I should give the traditional "What are you Thankful for" list.

First of all I am thankful to The Lord for all the blessings and grace he has shown our family and myself.  I am thanjkful for a wife who loves me, four healthy children, a house, a stable job, enough money to see that our needs are met and even most of our little wants.    I am thankful to live in a country that I can be free to say what is on my mind, to worship God and tohave a say in our governmental process.   

I know that we often minimize or even forget Thanksgiving in the headlong rush toward Christmas.  The actual event is overshadowed now by "Black Friday."  We need to make sure to take the time to really stop and thank the Lord for the blessings we have in our lives.  

 

Tuesday night

Sitting here in bed on a Tuesday night, not doing much other than some surfing and playing Stargate Wars.  Yvette is watching "Paris Hilton's BFF" and just taking it easy this evening.  Tomorrow is the day before Thanksgiving.  So far the past two weeks have been quiet at work for the most part and its nice to have time to breathe and think.

Christmas is approaching fast and I;m trying to finish getting the lights up on the house.  And as was mentioned, I need to get the front porch cleaned off.  I want to finish getting lights on the porch and the candy cane lights along the driveway.  I will make  sure to get pictures once its gets finished.  Also coming up is a spectacular conjuction of Venus, Jupiter and the moon, but I don't think I can get a picture from home. Too many tall trees. I may be able to get it from up on the roof.  But may have to find somewhere clear to the southwest to get what I want since it is only going to be around right after Sunset.

Thinking of Christmas I have to figure out what to get a certain person.   Gas is down below 1.70/gallon right now which is nice.   

Trying to think of what else to write about  but I don't want to rant anymore about politics or the economy right now.  I'm being told, blog about me, blog about the kids, or life.  

The kids started the thanksgiving break with an early release day today.  Its nice that I don't have to be up at 6:30 tomorrow morning.  I can sleep in for a little bit and snuggle.  Then on Thursday is Thanksgiving dinner with the family at my sister's place.   Monday is back to work, but then I get a couple of days vacation.  I had about 5 days I had to burn before the end of the year.   After that its normal work days till the 23rd when we are taking the kids up to Bryson City to do a "Polar Express" train ride.  Back to work for Christmas Eve and then off for the rest of the week.  I get the 29th and 30th, back for the 31st.  THen of course new years day off, but we are taking a mission trip so I start off the year with a vacation day, which is my birthday as well.

Of course I have a feeling that the slow reprieve we have had at work will be short lived.  The first of the year is always really busy with everyone cramming to finish year-end reporting and doing 1099 forms.

 

--not much

Not much to say tonight.  Sitting here waiting for the twins to go to sleep watching "Sword in the Stone"

Once they do will go join Yvette in our room for some quality time.  I'm glad its the weekend.  I hope its not too cold tomorrow, I'd like to try and get the lights up.

I know, I know

Its been forever since I blogged. 

Well the election is Over, and Obama is our president Elect.  Congratulations to him.  It is a historic moment in American history.  In some ways I feel it shouldn't be.  Don't get me wrong, this is not a racist statement.  But rather a comment on race and racism.  Yes we have moved great strides forward in race relations to get to the point where a black man can be elected.  But how much greater a comment on race relations would it be if race were not even mentioned or a factor on either side.  If we could truly be color-blind and not even think twice about it.  It seems to me that many of those who scream most loudly about racism are the same who keep pointing out race and racial issues.   To me, his race was a non-issue.  No portion of my decision to vote or not vote for him was based off his race.  I looked at his policies, his stated goals and formulated my decision from that.   

In other news, Congress is raking Paulson over the coals in what they see as, deception in the Bailout plan.  The stock market continues to plummet despite the re-assurances of the Federal Government and treasury department.  Japan has officially slid into recession and that sent stocks plummetting again.  One bright spot in all this is that the collapsing stock market has also cause the commodities futures market to take a serious dive as well and Oil has dropped below $60 a barrell.  This translates into gas below $2.00 a gallon around here.  As the price drops, hopefully this will offset some of the economic worries and encourage some consumer confidence.  Retailers are already cutting prices because of the economic slump and dropping gas and energy prices can only help.   However, I understand that some congressional democrats are proposing a massive federal Gas tax to get prices back up.  They are worried that with lower gas prices, consumers will start buying large SUV's and other vehicles with lower gas mileage.  And in fact since gas has come down there has been an increase in large vehicle sales.  But why is this a bad thing?  Because there is still a push to reduce CO2 emissions for global warming.    

Let me get this straight, our economy is in the dumps, and we need to encourage investments to get it going again.  So Obama proposes increasing capital gains taxes, which would stifle investment.  Not because there is a need for increased revenue, but to promote economic fairness.   Energy and gas prices are dropping, which could add to economic recovery on the consumer side, but because it might lead to buying big vehicles the government wants to increase gas taxes to make sure that it is painful to fill up at the pump. Once again reducing economic recovery.  

Anyway... enough ranting for now.

I will try to post again soon

at Great Big Sea

Not the best Shot, but we had a great time.   After the concert we hung out at the bus for a bit.  Didnt get to meet any of the band, but did get Andy (who works with them) to take some stuff on the bus and get it signed.

Monday Night

Its Monday, about the only quiet evening we will have this week, especially for Yvette.

The babies actually went to bed earlier than they have in awhile, mostly because we insisted on turning off the TV and not watching Blue's Clues for 30 times in a row!

They fussed for a while but calmed down and finally went to sleep.  Tomorrow night is the Great Big Sea concert that Yvette and I are going to, then Wednesday night is Yvette's favorite, New Kids on the Block.  The night after that is Cheetah Girls for Yvette and Stephanie and then Friday Night is Halloween.  Told you its going to be a long week.  I think by saturday we will be ready to stay in bed till Monday and not move!  Of course the kids probably won't let us do that.  Its starting to actually get chilly around here.  I forgot to get a jacket this morning when I left, but the jackets work got us (with the company logo) came in so I had something to warm to wear on the way home.  Gas is still going down in price, its 2.29 at the cheapest station I saw, 2.36-2.39 most everywhere else.  Let's hope it goes down further, below $2 per gallon would be nice.  And as I mentioned in another post it might help get the economy going again. If energy prices come down, then other prices can come down too and that will hopefully raise the consumer confidence and stimulate spending.  Since this is coming together with the first "payouts" from the bail out package it might turn things around.   The stock market is still taking a pummeling, but the dollar seems to be gaining strength in world markets.  

On the other hand, Obama seems poised to take the presidency and bring in super majorty in the senate with him.  Combine that with an increased majority in the house and just as this country gets its feet under it economically the Left will veer this country sharply socialist with the attendent economic stagnation that brings.  Look at Europe, they are moving quickly back toward capitalism after seeing the disaster socialism has brought, especially France.

McCain is trailing in the polls, but not by much and he could make a comeback.  I pray he does.  I have my strong disagreements with him, but I am much more worried about an obama and Democratic congress.

--coming up blank

Well, I know I should keep up with this better, probably going to be a short blog tonight. I can't think of anything much to write about, so I will just put down whatever randomness comes to mind.
Right now I am wishing My daughter would just fall asleep already. Its getting late and she is showing no signs of wanting to sleep. This is getting later and later every night. How can you FORCE a 2yr old to go to sleep?

Gas prices are on the way down. We are at 2.44/gallon locally. If we can get it back down to around 2/gallon then things will be much easier and maybe prices of everything else will ease off. Of course if that happens then people won't feel as pinched, maybe consumer confidence will rise and we can get the economy on a real positive note again.

THe alphabet song, twinkle twinkle little star, and "Ba Ba black sheep" all have the same tune.

I am concerned about the presidential election, but more so about congress than the presidency. Yes the president can influence his party to get his policy ideas into and through congress, but ultimately he is has little real domestic policy power. If the democrats get Congressional super majorities and the white house, we are in for some very serious times in this country. But then again I think that happens whenever any party maintains the control of the Executive and legislature. Afterall it was under the republicans this last time that the federal government doubled. Neither major candidate really supports cutting the size and scope of the federal government. Obama appears to be a Marxist, and McCain has a dubious record on really wanting to follow the constitution. Its a shame that 3rd party really isn't viable. It most often reduces the vote to "who one dislikes the least" instead of "who is right for the job."

I am looking into options for getting large prints of some of my better pictures. I created one that would have been about 36x27 inches I think and the framing options and everything brought it to almost $400 dollars (ack).

The one?

A friend asked me today, How did I know Yvette was "The One?"
Its a good question, one I should answer and always remember the answer too.
It wasn't immediate, there was no instant knowledge. But then of course, we didn't meet face to face for months after we first started communicating. First on the havens, then by phone, and letters. We had up and downs even while never having seen each other. Then finally we did meet face to face and spent about 3 weeks together before she had to go back home. I was pretty sure by then she was the one for me. If possible, I would have asked her to stay. As it was, it was almsot 2 more years before we got married.
Love is not a feeling, or perhaps its Far far more than a feeling.
Love isn't just happiness and rose petals. Love, real love, is staying there when you are so pissed off you can barely see straight and not disappearing. Love is giving yourself FOR the other person, not just to them.

1 Cor.13: 4-8

4 Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. 5 It is not rude. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people's wrongs.

6 Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. 7 It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up.

8 Love never fails.


Now I pray that I can live up to that standard because sadly I fall far short far too often.
Yvette, I love you and how you have forgiven me so much just humbles me.

wicked!

a few pictures from Today

A few pictures taken today, from Burt's pumpkin farm, and Amicalola State park

the mountains

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

Took this from the Amicalola Lodge with my phone and uploaded it. I will post more pictures later and blog about our day

mmmm caffeine

mmmm caffeine

yah friday but have to

yah friday but have to do early morning run to work tomorrow

The economic situation

I guess my first REAL blog post here. My take on the economic situation. Its a highly complex situation with literally dozens of factors and probably beyond what I see. But both parties are guilty of demagoguing the causes and reducing them to one sentence causes. The left blames evil greedy mortgage lenders preying on innocent Americans who only hoped to achieve the American dream of owning a home. And these greedy lenders were allowed to do so because the right stripped away regulation and oversight The right tends to blame greedy home buyers going after loans they cant afford, and the democrats for forcing the banks to lend to people who could otherwise never afford to get a home to increase diversity.

This is my humble take on it. Bear with me, this might get long. For decades Real estate has been seen as the Sure-thing-long term investment. Everyone knew that real-estate in the long term went up in value and for the most part it went up a predictable level. Given how fast real-estate began to grow in the 90s It was inevitable that at some point we would reach a point where the market could no longer sustain ever increasing prices and would move back down.

Here we have the influx of multiple factors all converging at around the same time frame causing the current crisis.
First off, real-estate prices were hitting the upper level the economy could support in the classic signs of a "bubble"
Second Political pressure, combined with greed led to lots of "bad loans" being made witht he expectation that in most of them the people holding them would be able to "flip" the property and get out of a bad loan before it caught up to them.
Third Rising energy prices. With Unrest in the middle-East, the unexpected prolonging of the Iraqi Conflict, and then Hurricane Katrina, Energy prices rose sharply and far faster than many anticipated.

With the rising Cost of energy filtering through to all aspects of the economy and increasing prices for everything, the money people invested with was spent elsewhere on the essentials.
As home buying slowed, prices began to stagnate or fall. People began to be unable to make payments as their ARMs and other loans that are not good ideas unless you sell quickly came due and suddenly the market began to be flooded with homes that were being foreclosed. This pushed prices down further. Energy prices continued to climb and instead of buying people began holding on to their money. Suddenly we find that millions of loans are in default, and major institutions, that were percieved as, if not in fact, holding up the stock market and economy began collapsing. A rush was on to sell as fast as possible to minimize losses and prices plumetted.
At this point we realize that our entire economy was being held together by an artifically inflated real estate market, which has just collapsed threatening to take the rest of us with it.

So the government steps in and promises 700 billion dollars to guarentee the solvency and stimulate lending and trading. So far it doesn't seem to be taking hold. Is it because we dont actually have the money sitting around? The only way to get it is to borrow it from other countries, or print it up and massively increase the number of dollars floating around which decreases their value.
The threatening meltdown has spooked world markets and is leading to uncertainty in the future's markets. Oil is dropping in price even faster than it rose. If this continues the reducing price of oil will lead to lower overall prices and may help with getting our economy back on track as people feel they can afford to do more than just survive.

We are blessed that I work for a company that is privately held and in good finacial shape, also we are somewhat sheltered from the economic chaos as we provide a service to businesses in an industry, that will takes a hit in poor economic times is not likely to collapse unless things are very bad.

I think if most people will hold on and not panic things will get better.

well another day at work.

well another day at work. i hope its an easy one

Inagural Blog

Ok, starting up a new Blog page here, maybe I will keep up with this one more regularly than myspace. Its Wed. and the kids are headed back to school after Vacation and Fall Break. Stephanie has an upset stomach but still wants to go to school. I am afraid I am going to have to go get her later. I am still trying to get used to getting up early again. On the plus side, Sam slept ALL night last night, Jenna still was up a fair amount however.
I am still having to go through all the pictures we took on vacation and clean up and process the good ones. I started a set on my Flickr account for pictures I think would make good Large prints and will need to decide which ones are the best. I need to look up how to register or ensure my copyright on them and then maybe print and see if I could even sell them. I am going to continue to look for photo contests to enter and need to keep up practicing to increase my skills. I still don't get how to evaluate correctly for exposure etc, I may need a light meter. I think a class would be helpful as well.