Numerology Class

New numbers to share for this afternoon:
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In the Context of History,

America's Best Days Are ...

31% In the Future

53% In the Past

16% Not Sure

Rasmussen Reports Poll

1000 likely voters

APR 21-22, 2011

MOE: +/- 3%

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Rating Your Personal Finances

(Excellent/Good)

43% September 15, 2008

35% Januarty 20, 2009

30% April 26, 2011

(same poll as above)

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Your Home (house)

50% home is worth more than mortgage value

50% buying home best investment for family

19% owners believe value of home will go up over next 12 months

(reported in interview, Scott Rasmussen, "America Live" FNC, 26APR2011)

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(btw - in a speech at Ellis Island, President Obama equated the ancestory of African-Americans who were brought over on slave-ships to those of illegals crossing the southern border ... apparently that wasn't recieved too well)

Numerology Class

The American Dream
26% Exists for Everyone
41% Exists for Some
21% Doesn't Exist for Most
09% No Longer Exists

source:The Hill/Penn Schoen Borland (via Fox News)

Oct 12-14; approx 400 voters

MOE +/- 4%

{I've got to say, I think its an awfully big generalization to make for that few of people polled}

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Today:

• 1 in 6: Unemployed or Underemployed
• 4 in 10 Unemployed: out of work for 6 months or more

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House Hold Debt

• 1950: 30% of the Disposable Income
• 1970: 60% of the Disposable Income
• 2010: 125% of the Disposable Income (people spend more than they have)

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House Keeping - of sorts



FNC - 18Oct2010 map of housing forclosures



So here is a quick shot map from Fox News of the number of home foreclosures which have occured in the last 18 months ... the reason this is significant is because the banks are sitting on these houses and losing money ... so there is a concern that the banks will dump these houses into the housing market just to recoup part of the loss.

You would think this would make a 'buyers market' but what it will actually do is drive down the property values of houses which are NOT in foreclosure ... it would cause too many houses on the market ...

it is like a catch-22 for the banks ...

if they sit on the houses waiting for the housing market to build up so they can recoup their money, they start to lose money on upkeep (although usually these assessments show up on the sale price of the homes) ... but if they dump them now they will not get what they invested.

Its too bad that they can't rent the houses during the down times ... but that would make the banks 'landlords' and I don't think they are allowed to do that.

Gremlins

I am being beset upon by gremlins, I swear. And they aren't the cute kind either!

First my yarn went missing .... then I couldn't find my yarn bobbins for winding off enough yarn for the toe part of my socks so I would be sure to have plenty.

Then it was pointed out by my daughter that - gee won't that make the foot too small for your partner? ... yes it will ... thank goodness I didn't pull all the stay-stop threads out, it will make it easier to fix the pattern (it just won't go up her leg as far as I had thought, she won't be able to roll them down now)

Then last night was the last night of my daughter's school's fundraiser -- we always order last so I know how much I need to spend to get her to her goal ... or should I say I need to know how much to over spend? anyhow -- made up a list so that when we added things up I would know what stuff I wanted.

I should have did it last night -- figured I had my list, I knew right where my checkbook was, and it isn't a big deal adding it all together .... until the gremlins showed up.

I started at 6am trying to crunch the numbers -- then I couldn't find the blooming list I made -- so I went thru and made a new list ... no biggie right? wrong. I know I had MORE on my second list than my first. okay so I found that I would be kicking her up into the next prize catagory from where she wanted to be (I've got plans for one of those prizes though, she just doesn't know it yet).

Then the checkbook went missing -- I knew right where it was last night, in my backpack where I keep it so I won't over spend by keeping it in my Scout To Go bag -- not there. So I went to grab hubby's, he always keeps it in the same spot -- accept for this morning when I needed it. It was in the van - stupid place to keep it.

So then I figured out how much to make our check for -- we convert all cash to our check so that if it goes missing its easy to cancel and write a new one -- and messed it up TWICE. First time I got the amount right, the wording so wrong .... the second time I got the amount wrong but the wording right. Third check's the charm.

Mean while here's my 9yr old "mom today's the last day to turn it in!" ... "I've got to catch my bus" .... thanks for the pressure kid .... so I sent her off to school - I'll have to drop it off later.

so I'm filling out the form and for the total amount for the orders I put in my check amount - wrong - its EVERYONEs orders they want the total of .... argh! Easy to fix.

Until I started doing the calc to make sure I had enough money to cover the order -- $12 too much. WHAT???? how the heck did that happen? So I had to run the numbers a few more times. (by now all the kids are gone to school, even missed the second bus). Found my error.

So now I have to go back and fill out the form again and update the TOTAL ... I accidentally counted something twice ....

Okay, take total $$ of purchased material and subtract $$ from checks ... should come out even, right? That $12 reared its ugly head again. What the f----? suddenly it dawned on me ... another voided check. the error was in the check I wrote. damn.

4 checks later .... I finally got the form done correctly and everything is adding up proper -- now I just have to seal the envelope so the checks don't get lost and get it to school.

they don't put lick-em glue on the envelopes any more .... and the gremlins hid all the glue sticks .... no problem, I'm a scrapbooker - I'll use some of my adhesive ... which ... the gremlins hid also! Every bit of sticky stuff was gone from its spot! not even the containers they were in are there.

Damn gremlins.

fine I'll use tabs from my label gun the do it then and just "tape" it down .... haa haa haa, they hadn't thought of that .... but just to add insult to injury, they knocked the package out of my hand -- labels rolled on the floor ... and they pushed the roll out of my hand while I held the end so that I would have to curl it all up.

Now I just have to wait for hubby to get done splitting wood (he took the day off to boot) ... and have him run it down on the way to the bank. Then I have to have him pick up a new towel paper holder springy thing ... the gremlins lost that from the guest bathroom, too. I'm sure somewhere they are having a blast playing with the giant spring.

Damn gremlins. See if I feed you after midnight any more!

Well the house is still standing

In case you are wondering what that is about -- I learned an important lesson today.

Never cook sausage under the electric broiler.

Yes .... I thought I could do it. I've cooked steaks under there without a problem, so thought that the sausage wouldn't be that much different -- boy was I wrong!

I set the timer for 5 minutes and walked out of the room for less than a minute (remember I had the timer going) and thought the grease spatter was way too much for being in there for less than a minute.

So I started to open the oven door when flames came out .... luckily my first instincts proved correct ... shut the door, turn off the broiler. I opened the door again and still a bit of flame popped out. okay now what? call 911 -- or just wait a bit. between the flame & the smoke I wasn't sure.

The smoke was white & not black so I figured that it was just the grease ... but was it the grease on the boiling element or on the pan? I had to look again .... I just had to.

Very carefully I opened the door -- flame was mostly out, but a little flare up when I opened the door ... it was the grease hitting the element (better than the pan, less fuel to feed it). closed the door and got the silicone mitts on.

Opened the door again and moved the pan to the bottom rack (it was too hot to put on the counter) ... sure enough once I moved the pan the flare ups completely stopped. But the fear wasn't done yet.

See there was this horrid smell of burnt plastic - like the covering of wires (at least that's what I was thinking) ... so got a hold of hubby and we talked about it .... found a flashlight and took as good a look as I could at the way the oven was made to see if there was anyway that the flames could have gotten into the insulation between the oven and the cabinetry -- we have a build in oven -- but I didn't think there was a way.

On the bright side -- today is our 20th wedding anniversary so hubby took us out for dinner. It was pretty funny actually .... wait I'll post seperate on that one!!

hubby took a look at it though when we got back and we turned the broiler on just to make sure it was still getting juice and everything looks okay. oven will need a bit of cleaning, I will have to be careful though when I do the broiler unit so I don't damage it but that will need the grease wiped off too - its between the coils as well as on them and I don't want to remove it to do it.

Like I said ... the house is still standing and nothing horrid happened.