Thats What I Say

Foreclosure rates are up. Mortgage interest rates are down. It is a buyers market according to nearly every newscast and article I have read pertaining to real estate.   If you already own a home this is not the ideal time to try to sell your home. Market values are down and it is difficult to get what you paid for a home much less make enough profit to get into another home.  If you are thinking of purchasing a home I have a few suggestions that might make you change the way you search for your new home.   Pull your credit report but do not pay for it.  You are allowed to pull your own credit report once a year without charge through the credit bureaus such as Experian without signing up for anything. Look over it carefully for lines of credit or credit cards that are not yours or open and forgotten.  Even if you don’t use a credit card that credit limit that is available to you affects your scores and ratios.  If you have a credit card with less than 25% of the credit limit available to you that can adversely affect you as well. It might not be necessary to pay off your credit card but if you pay it down to where you owe 60% of the limit it will affect you less when applying for a mortgage.  If there are any incorrect entries on your report file a dispute. It can take 30 days or more for a correction on your credit report to show up so allow time for that.   While you are getting your credit report straight you can start thinking about where you want to live. Neighborhoods are very important and can affect the value of your home.  Do a little research on crime statistics, schools, proposed developments.  When we moved to Papillion, Nebraska I was surprised to find that they do not provide busing or transportation for public school students. As a homeschooler this did not affect me personally but it is a struggle for many people I have met here to get their children to and from school and work full time. You can’t know too much about your potential neighborhood.  www.familywatchdog.us   is a website that will show you a map of registered sex offenders in any zip code.  Another good thing to check on is the tax rate in that county. Your property tax can change your monthly mortgage payment and keep in mind that the taxes rise but when is the last time property taxes were lowered? Are there many rentals in the neighborhood? The number of houses that are rentals or foreclosures can affect the look and feel of a neighborhood. Vacant homes often times invite vandalism and crime.  Once you have an idea of where you would like to live it is time to go talk to a loan officer or mortgage lender. Check their credentials first. Look at Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints about them.  Many people see a realtor before getting qualified or prequalified for a mortgage which is a mistake.  Why waste your time and the realtor’s time looking at homes that you may not be able to purchase. Make an appointment with a lender and bring in your tax returns, pay stubs, social security numbers and any other financially pertinent information.  Based on your income, debt and credit score your lender will be able to tell you what price range you are able to purchase a home from.  Based on what loan you qualify for you may have to put up a down payment. Zero percent down loans are becoming increasingly rare.  Often mortgages require 3, 10 or even 20 percent down. If you borrow the down payment that affects your debt to income ratio.  The interest rate that you qualify for is determined by credit history, loan type and down payment amount in some cases.  To receive the better interest rates for many loans you must have a credit score of 720 or higher.  Once you know your credit score and what you can afford to buy then you can contact a realtor. Ask friends and neighbors if they recommend a realtor. Again, checking the Better Business Bureau is a good idea. Meet with several realtors to make sure you are compatible as you might be spending alot of time together. Someone who is unorganized and unprofessional is not who you want involved in one of your most important financial transactions of your life. Does your potential realtor have your needs in mind or their sales quota? A competent , licensed realtor can make all the difference. They know the neighborhoods and can provide some great advice. Just make sure you are on the same page. They say knowledge is power and that is very true in today’s market. Knowing what you want and what it takes to get it will help you get into your next home.

To quote Forrest Gump  ”Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”  That is very true. Sometimes what you get is royally screwed. The author of Forrest Gump and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button got screwed out of his royalties and everything else in the Madoff/Ponzi scheme debacle.    Eric Roth who earned millions from Forrest Gump (both book and movie) found out on the same day that he was nominated for a Golden Globe award that he had lost all of his retirement savings due to Madoff.  He is suing his financial advisor and probably be one of many plaintiffs in the sure to be numerous suits against the swindling Madoff who is currently out on bail. I can’t imagine that Madoff acted alone and kept all of this huge scam a profitable secret for so long. I think that more people will be arrested and unfortunately I also think that very few of the victimized investors will recoup much of their lost money.  To quote Forrest Gump again  “sometimes I guess there just aren’t enough rocks. “

The youngest woman ever to give birth to conjoined twins has lost both of her little babies.  Laura Williams from England is only 18 years old. Her conjoined twin girls Faith and Hope were born November 26th of this year.   Born via c-section the girls were joined from their navels to their breastbone. While they had separate hearts they did share a liver.  On December 2nd they had surgery which lasted 11 hours  to separate them. Waiting until they were both healthier to have the separation surgery was not possible due to their declining conditions.  Hope passed away shortly after the surgery because her lungs were too weak.  Faith endured two more surgeries to improve circulation and to close her chest. Faith passed away Christmas afternoon.   The grief that Laura Williams is experiencing at the young age of 18 is unimaginable.  I have prayed for her and I sincerely hope that you do too.

Whether you call him Father Christmas, Saint Nick, Papa Noel or just good old Santa Claus it is nearing December 25th and he is coming soon to a chimney near you. When I was a kid I remember being excited when the news would track Santa’s sleigh it made it more exciting, more real and more official to me. He is coming! Santa is coming! Believing in Santa is a magical time for young children and it all culminates on Christmas Eve. Of course sometimes you need to find something to keep the kids busy until bedtime.
Once the cookies and milk are set out for Santa and some carrots for the reindeer you and your child can now track Santa online. This could be a new tradition for you and your child (or grandchild) to enjoy the anticipation of Santa’s arrival.
There are a variety of websites that will give you a glimpse of where dear Saint Nick is and where he is headed next. Norad is the most popular Santa tracker and has a Christmas countdown clock as well check it out here at http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.html and see how close Santa is to your home.

Another fun site is http://www.santaclaus.net/SantaTracker.asp which has the Santa tracker as well as games, the reindeer barn that has a short biography about each of Santa’s favorite reindeer and Christmas songs. There is a North Pole weather page and Elf House that is very cute.

If you want to see some action you can check out http://www.santaspeaking.com/TrackSanta.aspx and watch when Santa leaves the North Pole to make sure he is on his way to you with presents in tow. You can click to hear Santa on his sleigh phone, look at his flight plan , watch the Santa tracker and there is also a page indicating Santa’s sleigh systems which details the number of toys delivered and cookies eaten and so on. That is my favorite page on that website.

A very interactive site with many activities is http://www.northpole.com. There you can find dancing elves,stories, printable pages to color, find recipes, write to Santa and a Santa tracker.

Games, crafts, science, coloring and many other fun activities plus you can track the big guy in his red sleigh at http://www.santanews.com/santa-tracker.html. There you can also write to Santa and read safety tips.

If you want to take a break from tracking Santa you can enjoy many other child friendly activities on the internet such as games, coloring, naughty or nice list and Christmas trivia which can be found at http://www.emailsanta.com . Another terrific website I really like for Christmas games to play online is http://www.merry-christmas.com/games. There they even have some Christmas movie trivia that had me stumped!

Unbelievably Congressmen and women get a pay raise that starts in January. This cost of living raise gives each member of Congress an additional $4700.00 per year when so many Americans are facing cutbacks and layoffs.  A slap in the face from Washington who seems woefully out of touch with the people they are supposed to represent.  With banks and auto companies failing and unemployment lines getting longer the lawmakers should be too ashamed to accept this raise.  The typical member of Congress earns approximately $168,000 per year.  The Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi brings home more than $217,000 annually.  Congress should not accept this pay raise if not on principle than on common sense.  The small difference of a raise less than $5000.00 is not going to affect their lifestyle one way or another but what does Congress’ pay raise mean for American’s who are footing the bill?  That pay raise is going to cost tax payers two and a half million dollars.   With the unemployment rate at 6.7%  and the recent automaker bailout included the stipulation that auto executives only receive a salary of one dollar per year.  Congress is sending a clear message to America of what they think of themselves and what they think of you.

No, this isn’t someone I know personally and am giving a celebratory shout out.  Quite the opposite in fact.  I am speaking of Drew Peterson of Illinois who the sole suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife.  Wife number three died of suspicious circumstances in March of 2004. That case is still considered an unsolved homicide. Wife number four Stacy Peterson disappeared in October of 2007.   Drew Peterson was still married to Kathleen who was wife number three when he became engaged to the now mysteriously missing Stacy. 

I think there is an undeniable ”ick” factor when becoming engaged to someone who is still legally married but add in that they have  already taken four jaunts down the aisle, two of those spouses are dead or presumed dead and you have got to scratch your head and wonder what woman wants to be the fifth Mrs. Peterson?    Did I mention the age difference?  He is 54 and his bride to be is 23.  Thirty one years is a big gap.  Where is this girls family?  Why aren’t they seeking the help for her that she so obviously needs.   I wonder if she is seeking morbid fame by getting involved with him or desperately seeks attention.   Perhaps she is an undercover officer but I can’t imagine the hazard pay would be worth it.   His shady marital history not withstanding Drew Peterson is not a fetching fellow.  He is not filthy rich or a Hollywood standout.  I can’t figure out what fiancé’ number five sees in him.  Maybe she thinks he is the love of her life and given his history he just might be.

Today we got our first real snow of the season. Enough of the white fluffy goodness to play in this time. I bundled up the kids and we romped around outside leaving the tell tale boot prints of everywhere we had been. I didn’t even mind shoveling the driveway and sidewalks, surely that will change as winter wears on but for now it is still fresh and new. Now it feels more like Christmas. The big day is just around the corner but the snow makes it feel more Christmasy. I love how the snow looks falling at night under the streetlamps and glistening on the railings with our garland and lights. It makes me want to listen to Christmas carols and drink hot cocoa with miniature marshmallows. As I look out the window I can still see the indentation of where my daughter giggled in the snow drift making snow angels. Wearing her pink snow pants with matching puffy pink coat, mittens and hat she pranced through the snow looking like a little sweet gumdrop. I savor every moment of this season, of this time with my kids. Not every Christmas has been brimming with joy and I know that not every Christmas will be. I guess that is why I want to remember every moment of this magical season and make it special so my children have wonderful memories to recall when perhaps they are having a Christmas that isn’t quite what they wish it to be. It isn’t about the presents that make my favorite holiday memories stand out but rather special times with my grandparents who are passed away or the feeling of innocence and belief before I grew up and have the stresses now that all parents do. I try to keep traditions for the kids that I passed on from my childhood like the red and green construction paper chains and cutting white snowflakes out to tape to the windows. Traditions they can pass on to their children someday. Every year on Christmas Eve we read Christmas stories and bake a birthday cake for Jesus and have a birthday party for him. It seems funny to have a birthday party with cake and songs but that is what makes it more memorable for us. Tis the season. Make it special. If this is a tough year, remember the softer years the ones that were the happiest and know that if you believe, then there will be happier days to come.

I am not on crack but apparently I am not too far from it.  According to an article on Health Day News  sugar can be addictive.  Mmmm brownies.  Sorry, my mind wanders. Anyway studies on lucky, I mean lab rats suggest that sugar can affect the brain in the same way as cocaine.  No wonder it is called a sugar rush.   The lab rats also were studied after their sugar was taken away and they exhibited classic withdrawal symptoms.  My family can attest to my crankiness and other unpleasant traits when I am on a diet this study explains why.  I want a new drug as Huey Lewis used to sing but I don’t think he meant brownies.  The stages of addiction  typically include bingeing (who me? I didn’t eat all the brownies!), Withdrawal (where are my &*#%#@ brownies?!) and  craving (Hey, I’ve got a great idea! Lets make brownies!)  This pattern makes it easy to see why the cycle is hard to break making it more difficult to lose weight.  I don’t know what they did with the lab rats after the study. Rat rehab maybe?   Do I need rehab? Some days I think I do. I’d be willing to go, it would be a nice break from the kids but can I lick the spoon first?

My kids and I decided to trek into Omaha from the suburbs today  to find a Whole Foods store. They always have new and interesting foods to try. My son picked out sushi and ginger beer (non alcoholic of course!), my daughter chose cranberry, walnut bread (yum) while I was perusing the aisles I came across a Hanukkah display.  While I may be a Christian my sister is an atheist married to a reformed Jew. Yep, makes the holidays very interesting. That is another blog altogether though.  While I was looking at the items I reached for a dreidel kit at the same time as another lady.  We both smiled and apologized, offering the item to each other.  She told me to go ahead and take it since it was for children younger than hers. I told her it was OK and for her to have it since it was for my nephews and there were plenty of other things to choose from with the Hanukkah theme.  She told me she was not Jewish but  a Messianic Jew rather. She said she was from Papillion and told me the name of where she worships (which escapes me right now). I told her I was from Papillion as well and how odd that we both ended up at a store thirty minutes from our homes looking at the same dreidels.   I confessed to her that I did not know anything about Messianic Jews and since she seemed friendly she seemed like a good person to ask.   Her eyes lit up as she explained that she converted to Judaism but believes that Jesus is the Messiah and she observes Hanukkah instead of Christmas.  She tried to explain to me some of the basic tenets of her beliefs but with two kids with me in the middle of a store I did not quite catch it all but what I think is most important about this encounter is that a stranger told another stranger about something that was important to them. She talked and I listened.   She wasn’t trying to convert me, she was just trying to converse with me.  I left that store a little happier. It makes me feel good to know that there are people in this world who hold their beliefs strongly but are willing to communicate them gently. 

 I hosted a cookie exchange party this past weekend and despite my anxiety which I had blogged about in an earlier post here it turned out fine.  Surprisingly I had ten guests show up and soon my dining room table was filled with delicious cookies.  I didn’t make chocolate chip as I was sure there were going to be several plates of those but I suppose that everyone thought that as there were no chocolate chip cookies to be had.   My mom came and contributed Tea Pot cookies that I had never tried before. They were good with a very subtle spice flavor.  I made Church Window cookies that were easy and delicious.  I had all the munchies and appetizers on the kitchen table so of course that is where most people congregated.  We played Christmas trivia games for door prizes and everyone seemed to have a good time.  The only bad thing about the evening is I still had too many cookies left over and not enough willpower to resist them!