The Fourth Turning

I am in the middle of the book, "the Fourth Turning" which I mentioned the last post. It is pretty heavy stuff, especially when you are 8 mos pregnant. I actually took a break from it and read some nice fluff by Lynn Austin. I really really like her writing style and her story-telling. She writes teh kind of books I would write, if I had/made the time!

On another note, I am nesting hardcore again. On monday I prepped and froze 6 dinners. today, after my cleaning and prenatal appointment I will be making 3 meatloafs and about 100 meatballs. yum. I think. Garrett isn't too thrilled with the casserole idea, he is used to food not touching =) but most of what he likes can't be prepped ahead and just tossed into the oven and left alone. this is top priority for me when we have a new baby. I try to always prep at least two weeks worth of food....last time I had six weeks worth, but we also didn't have a working oven so it was mostly crock-pot cooking. I have to wait untill friday to assemble my lasagne and ziti, as I am out of freezer space and will be re-locating some food then.

I am also trying to re-arrange and minimize everything in our house, as well as stock up on key items without overwhelming us! Hopefully I can find a place for everything, I might be stockpiling soda and stacking it under whatever furnature has room (it is on sale at Safeway, buy 2 get 4 free) as Garrett goes thru alot of it.

sigh, in reality, I just don't want to be in the kitchen again. I do get tired of always cleaning up the same messes. well, it can't be helped, I'll just have to look for the positives!

overdoing it

Whenever I am doing something I shouldn't be doing, I get stopped. Yesterday it was simply walking to the store with the kiddos, and, well, shopping, losing my coupon organizer (which had coupons, store credits and gift certificates in it) stressing out, finding it, then taking a phone call I should have let go to voice mail, then letting said phone call stress me out, then walking back home with a cranky 3 year old in tow...and all without eating a proper meal first. I almost didn't make it home. We wound up sitting under a tree at the gas station a block form our home, raiding our groceries for a snack. I had to go slooooowly and pause every ten yards or so. It helped that J. was totally enthralled with the dandelion seed flowers and kept stopping to pick and blow them. In retrospect I can see that i was "Setting myself up for failure" but at the time I was just working down my "to-do" list and ignoring my instincts. I had to spend the remainder of the day resting, and coping with lots of annoying (but not painful) braxton-hicks contractions...they seem to be triggered by stress lately.

God gave us instincts for a reason. I firmly believe He speaks to us in that way, allowing us to choose weather or not to listen. I am listening loud and clear.

I will not go out alone like that again. I will allow my hubby to take care of me. I am (slowly) learning not to let others and my own guilt have so much power over me--realizing that I can control how I let things get to me.

Today I feel free. I am happily resting and puttering about. I found an adorable crochet pattern for a little girls poncho and I hope to finish it by the time the baby comes. Just for today, I will forget the outside world exists and do what my mind and body wants to do...relax, focus inwards, and enjoy this little blessing growing inside.

Impression without expression...

...leads to depression.
and was I "depressed" yesterday! I was having an off-day and decided to putter about online a bit. I found some radio and video programs by the author of "from boom to bust and beyond" Jerry Tuma. The man is an economist and he uses demographics to predict/explain the current economic and social crisis. It is AMAZING stuff! There was just so much in it, and I had nobody really to share it with, my darling hubby was just too exhausted from the daily grind to listen to the complex details. Poor guy, but I guess that is my privilege in being able to stay at home and manage my own days. I do get to spend quite alot of time learning new things. I really really enjoy listening to lectures and sermons online while I putter about the house doing chores and playing with the boys.

Back to Jerry Tuma. He predicted the housing market bubble, quite easily and used demographics (the study of populations) to explain what may happen next. Here goes..
Most People reach the peak of their "spending" power in their late 40's, this is when they buy the house and all the fancy stuff inside. The baby-boomers have been buying up homes for quite some time now. The last--and biggest wave of boomers hit that critical time in 2005. The market was peaked (also super inflated due to the large demand for homes) builders kept on building, the next generational wave is MUCH smaller than the boomers (thank you birth control and the changing attitudes towards children in society) and therefore we wound up with too many houses and not enough people to buy them. If you pair that with the fact that people took out unsustainable loans and were foreclosed on housing values plummeted. We have NOT bottomed out yet. The ARM loans (the ones where your rate is fixed super low for 5 years then go up) as well as the "liars loans" (those that required absolutely NO income verification and had adjustable rates) are about to come due. Nearly 7 million more homes will be foreclosed on in the coming two years. It looks dire.
BUT there is good news! It will be prime time to invest in real estate in the next 2-3 years! Start saving every penny you can now, and perhaps you may find a real bargain coming up!

History repeats itself, during the great depression when so many lost everything, those who were prepared for the coming crash made MILLIONS. Properties were picked up for pennies on the dollar, good stocks and investments were purchased at all time low prices and when everything recovered, their net worth did too. The same can happen for us if we look at this as an opportunity and not a time to panic.

We are also, living in a time of a generational and a demographic change. Neil Howe has written a book "The fourth turning" using History to describe what is/may happen in the coming years. His book was written in the mid-90's when we were in the middle of the greatest economic upswing in our history and nobody paid attention. He accurately predicted the economic crash...as an event that would change us all starting in about 2005. HMMMM....did you know this has all happened before? Holland and the tulips anyone? His point of view is a generational one. Basically that every 'fourth' generation there is a rebirth or death of society. Every generation in history has connected with and acted like a previous one, and economics and politics have reflected that as well. We (those of us born in 1982 and after) are now emerging onto the political scene, and things are going to be shook up. Basically we all follow the same pattern: Generation 1 experiences a conservative high after a major war, the 2nd gen hits the spiritual revival mode, 3rd Gen has the wild unraveling of all the values that have come before, and the 4th generation experiences the Crisis that will reset or change everything. Generation 1 raised gen 3, Gen 2 raised Gen 4. Gen 4 has little contact with Gen 1 and therefore does not learn from their experiences so society must re-invent the wheel. This could be very very good, or very very bad. During this time of Crisis a political party will set itself up and try their darnedest to patch things up, but it most likely will not work...its the ones that come immediately after that will establish what America will look like for the next FOUR generations.
Once again, there is hope. WE can change things, as long as enough of us wake up and start voting our values and shaking up the political and social systems. Don't be afraid to express your beliefs and values, live the life you want to live and change your corner of the universe!

The third thing is mentioned a bit by both authors (please note, I haven't been able to read the books yet, I am discussing based on their interviews and radio broadcasts) Is the demographic switch. Europe is in the middle of a demographic crisis. The birth rate in many countries are FAR below replacement levels (in fact, the world birthrates are just about there as well) Meaning there are less young workers to support the elderly retired. (china, anyone?) this is BAD for our current economy, and our social programs--all of which are based on an ever-growing economy. America is about 10-15 years behind Europe (I still find it odd that half of Europe is going bankrupt due to unsustainable government funded health care, retirements ect. and yet our politicians keep saying we NEED to be like them, it will save our society!) Basically Europe is dying off, and we are quickly following. Now, there are three things that can be done about this. 1.people can have more babies--many countries now offer tax breaks and outright payments to native-born citizens who are willing to have more children. This has not worked so far. 2. Active immigration. Allow those from developing countries (who have growing populations) to become citizens and start paying taxes. or 3. Change the system. (Yeah right, who wants to give up all their "free" government benefits and start doing things on their own.)

SO, in reflection of all these ramblings here are my thoughts: This has all happened before and it will all happen again, there is nothing new under the sun. History has shown that. We will not repeat it exactly but it will echo the past. WE are in the midst of a great change, and if we stand strong and trust in God there is a chance for a great rebirth of society and even personal economic prosperity.

What will I do? Save every penny I can squeeze out of my budget and get ready for the second wave of real estate foreclosures. I will continue to support politicians who want to radically change government BACK to the values of the constitution and who practice sound fiscal policy, who have strong moral character and a sense of absolute truth. I will keep having babies and not let this crisis mode destroy our dreams.

whew. that was a tiring post, I hope it made sense! I am off to find some more stuff to study!

Building good habits

I have read before--many many times that in order to build a good habit you need to do the same thing for over 22 days, and viola, you have a new good habit. I could never do that. I always miss a day, or get this streak of rebellion halfway through my "Goal" time. I had to find what worked for my personality...

"Right now, I'm going to choose to (insert whatever habit you want to establish here)"

Here is how it works, In trying to give up soda--simply choose something else to drink when you are thirsty. Don't go cold turkey or wean yourself off, don't make some elaborate plan. The next time thirst strikes, choose something else "just for now" if you have to.

I've been using it on my laundry. When the dryer beeps, I choose to fold and put it away immediately. As my dryer is well, rediculously small, this only takes about five miunites. I peacefully get it done, stacking it on my washer as I fold which keeps the kiddos out. After it is all folded, it goes straight into the drawer or hanger. It WORKS! Laundry dosn't seem like such a daunting chore...I used to always feel I was drowning in it. Now I am not. I used to just toss the clothing on a chair untill It built up to monumentous proportions, then put on a movie and sit down to fold...forever.
This has cut down on the need to iron as well. not that I actually did it, I just needed to.

The next habit to build.... WASHING THE DISHES! not waiting for a "reasonable" sink-full to build up, just quickly doing each dish as it is dirtied. I am a bit behind for now, but I think after I finish this I will choose to quickly catch up...just for right now.

The beginning of the end....

Less than 2 months to go...and boy am I feeling it! I have noticed a pattern in my pregnancies. Introversion always follows a long period of frantic nesting. I spent the last 4 months re-organizing and cleaning up my home and now I am done. Not all of the projects are, but I am. Now is the time to slow waaaaay down and focus on the changes to come, and on my little ones who are already here. I must say I love this time. Guilt is almost non-existent. I don't always feel like I should be doing more, I want to do less and I have the perfect "excuse" to get out of almost anything. I am quite sure extended family and friends hate this time, as I quite literally forget that anything else exists. I forget to return phone calls, I forget to make play-dates, I forget birthdays. It really is terrible. But not.
So now, we have a gentle rhythm to our days. I putter about the house and do whatever chores my body and mind will allow, and I don't fret when it doesn't get all done.
If only I could capture this inner peace and attitude permanently, ditch the guilt for not always doing and still remember to call my family.

finding ways that work

I usually like to rely on tradition to help me figure out how to do things. This makes sense in homemaking, as it is, indeed, a nearly "lost" art. Traditional skills are having to be re-learned and are experiencing a bit of a revival. I like the old ways, but they do not always work for me. Here are two things I do very very differently!

I do my floors first. traditionally you work around the room, from top to bottom but I just can't do it. If my floor is cluttered with toys and littered with crumbs and scraps of paper, I start to loose my focus. So I clean my floors first, and vacuum or mop too! this really makes me feel satisfied and boosts my enthusiasm to clean the rest of the room.

I also work in sections. Usually, when sweeping and mopping one would do all the sweeping first then the mopping. Our kitchen is quite small, and I have too much in it! I find it is more effective to first move everything out that i can (usually the table and chairs) , then sweep, mop and dry the first section. I move the furniture back and then commence on the next portion. The trick is to sweep a bigger section than you plan to mop, so you don't get crumbs in your mop water, or mop water in your crumbs! I do use a rag to scrub my floors, and I often get the walls and baseboards as I go. I dry with a used bath-towel. Drying is important as my little ones often run thru and slip on the puddles!

I think the best way to go about tradition, is to find what still holds wisdom and value and work with that. the rest you can adjust to your own personal needs.

Camping in style!

we just got back from our annual church camp out up in Leoni Meadows, just north of Sommerset. It is one of the more beautiful mountain areas in my humble opinion. This year we were able to obtain a cabin, and I must say it made things so EASY! no tent! we had our own bathroom with shower, and a working stove and refrigerator. In fact, we were quite content to stay and it gave me a better idea as to what we really need to get by.

Garrett drove us home by way of Jackson, so he could show us his new job site. The area is absolutely beautiful! If it weren't for family and financial obligations I would drop everything here and move. I did some playing online and found some pretty reasonable real estate. sigh. someday maybe.

Not much to tell today. going to get going.