Quote

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
~Isaiah 6:8 NIV
"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
~Micah 6:8 NASB

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Paint the Town Purple: Domestic Violence Awareness


October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

National Domestic Violence Awareness Month is observed every October across the country. National, state, and community organizations for violence prevention and victim services, businesses, health care providers, and others mark the month with educational programs, recognition and memorial ceremonies.

To find out about local awareness events click on the purple ribbon.
Domestic Violence Hurts Everyone-Here are some ways to help put a stop to it.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Girls Night Out and Windows Weekend

This weekend was fun and busy. On Friday, Shere, Tabby, my sister, and I got together for our Girls Night Out. We went to Pottery Schmottery in Elkhart. I am so not talented when it comes to crafts, but it was really fun. I think my project turned out pretty good actually. We pick them up next Friday, so I will post a picture when I get it back. After created our masterpieces, we went to an Italian restaurant called Lucchese's Italian Restaurant in Elkhart. Yummy!

We got our windows this weekend. Steve started to project on Thursday created the rough opening for the big window in the front of the house. The orginal window went almost all the way to the ground and the new window was going to be not as tall. That meant that Steve had to create a new opening and put new siding on the outside. Our friend Bobby came over to help him on Thursday. Thursday we also had Mighty Ducts come over and clean our ducts out.

On Friday, Pella came and installed the big window in the front. Since it was so big, we decided to have them install it and Steve installed the rest. When I came home from work on Thursday, I came home to a big whole in our house. I was excited when I came home from the Girls Night Out on Friday to a new window. :o)

On Saturday, my dad, our friend Bobby, and our friend Josh came over to help Steve do the rest of the windows. Steve originally thought that we would have to take the drywall off the walls to make them fit. The side frames of the window on our house are part of the stud of the house, so he thought he might have to create the rough opening. It turned out that after some discussion and testing of some things that we did not have to take off the drywall. Unfortunetly, they decided this after we had already removed the drywall in the middle room and part way in the back room. :o( Oh well. Steve is going to keep the old insullation and put it in the attic and put new insullation in the two rooms, so I guess something good is going to come out of it.
My mom and I worked on the drywall removal and the cleaning up of the insullation and dust that came from all that. Of course, we had the Ohio State and Notre Dame games on while all the work was being done. OSU pulled a huge win and Notre Dame won but it was close.

Thank you so much to my parents, Bobby Athey, and Josh Gulledge for all your hard work to help us put in our new windows. We appreciate you guys a ton.

Sunday, we got up for church and then came back home to finish the job. My dad came back over to help Steve put back on the siding and my mom and I cleaned some more. It was a busy weekend. I was so tired Sunday night.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Weekend Fun: Date Night, Stripping Wallpaper, Ohio State



Steve and I decided to go on a long overdue date night on Friday. I can't even remember the last movie we saw in the theater. We received a gift card to Olive Garden for a gift, so we decided to go there. We also has a coupon for Olive Garden, so that kinda sealed the decision. We both had the Never Ending Pasta Bowls. They were very tasty. I love that resturant, but we don't get to go out very often. After dinner, we went to the Dollar Theater and saw the movie UP. That movie was so cute. It actually started out really sad. The whole movie is about the man's desire to keep a promise he made to his wife. A little Wilderness Scout goes with him along for the journey. I won't spoil the ending for you, in case you haven't seen it, but it's so worth going to see. Very fun! I give it 2 Thumbs WAY UP! haha. No pun intended, of course.

On Saturday, Steve had to go into work and clean the carpets. When he got home, we finished stripping the wallpaper in the "Ohio State Room." The wallpaper has completely removed from the wall. Now we just have to prime and paint the walls. I can't wait to be done with the room. Hopefully, we get it done before the season is over. I think Steve wants to be able to watch a game while sitting in the "Ohio State Room."
While we were we working on the room, we were listening the Michigan/Notre Dame game on the radio. Michigan won in the last few minutes. We were both very happy.

The Ohio State game ended, unfortunetly, just about the same way. Last year, USC killed Ohio State so it was nice to Ohio State ahead for a good part of the game. Both teams fought very hard, but unfortunetly OSU lost in the last few minutes when USC got a touchdown and managed to win by 3 points. I was hoping OSU would be able to get back within field goal range and tie it up...but they didn't. :o(

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Book 7: Rich Dad, Poor Dad

I just finished reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I must say that I was a bit disapointed in it. It came highly recommended. For the most part, I liked the book. He compared his real dad, who he called Poor Dad, to his friend's dad, who he called Rich Dad. His Poor Dad was highly educated and had a government job and his Rich Dad was uneducated and was self-Employed.

My main dislike of the book is that he seemed to discount the value of education. To me, it seemed like he didn't see the value of education and he thought the only way to be successful was the own your own business. His plan seemed like a get-rich-quick plan, but hardly works for most people. According to the other books I have read this year, I have learned that financial success takes time, effort, and a "crock pot" mentality. Wealth building takes time.

He tells the story about how he made all his money in Real Estate. Real Estate is a really great investment, but it does come with risks. He said he took a $500 weekend seminar and learned how to flip Spec Houses. It's a good idea but it doesn't always work and to suggest that it does, is wrong. Houses don't always go up in value. Sometimes markets bubbles burst and if you have a bunch of debt piled in Spec houses, you will get foreclosed on (ie. Our House). The man who owned our house watched the weekend seminar, drank the kool-aid, and bought a bunch of rentals and now my dad's bank owns most of them. If you want to invest in Real Estate pay cash for it.

"Studies show that 100% of the foreclosures happen on homes with a Mortgage." - Dave Ramsey
He did have some good points where he says too many people let their money control their lives. That they go through life working for money and never really making it, instead of letting their money work for them.

"Many great financial problems are caused by going along with the crowd and trying to keep up with the Jones." (If you remember the information from The Millionaire Next Door most of the "Jones" are broke.)

Roberts doesn't like to pay taxes...and I don't think I know anyone that does. He made some interesting observations about them though. At one time, Americans were anti-taxes. It wasnt until 1913 that an Income tax became permanent in America. Before that the only taxes collected were temporary to pay for wars.

"It is the idea of Robin Hood, or taking from the rich to give to the poor that has caused the most pain for the poor and the middle class. The reason the middle class is so heavily taxes is because of the Robin Hood ideal. The real reality is that the rich are not taxed. It's the middle class who pays for the poor, especially the educated upper-income middle class...The idea of taxes was made popular, and accepted by the majority, by telling the poor and the middle class that taxes were created only to punish the rich...Although it was intended to punish the rich, in reality it would up punishing the very people who voted for it, the poor and middle class."