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!

Nesting...Hardcore

So, I usually "Nest" Throughout my second trimester, but this time it was quite busy with other crises. I am just ending it now, and starting my little projects. Perhaps little is an understatement. Garrett has been bitten by the home improvement bug as well and has been a massive help in my de-clutter/organize/re-arranging schemes. We have both finally resigned ourselves to living here for several more years, our original plan was to sell within 5 years of purchase, we have now been her for 4.5 years, so I guess it is time to settle in and make it truly our home.

In the last two weeks we have:
emptied out and re-distributed everything in the front closet
Built and installed 4 shelves for dvd's (housed in the former closet)
Removed everything from the toddlers closet, sorted it and returned it.
sorted, gave away and re-organized all toys after massive birthday haul.
Sorted and re-packed all baby clothing by gender and size
re-arranged living room furniture
gave away several pieces to the good-will
obtained a new chair
built, installed and painted a bathroom cabinet
painted the bathroom
painted the existing bathroom cabinet
re-organized my closet
re-organized under the bed
removed and re-organized everything in the hall closet.
re-organized and sorted crafting supplies and put them in the hall closet
touched up all the paint in the house
Hung two additional shelves in the toddlers room.

all this, while of course, keeping up with the housework, helping out family and staying up way too late watching star trek. the eventual goal is to have everything stored in the room it will be used in. sheets are now under our bed, towels and extra tp will be stored in my new cabinet, and the kitchen needs a total overhaul. I still have a list of about 25 more little tasks and projects I want done before the baby gets here. It looks like we may just finish. or not.


Next month:Potty training, sewing and crochet projects and learning to use coupons more effectively.

Depression hurts....Purpose can help!

I have spent the last two weeks in an incredible funk. My amazing hubby has been taking care of his dying grandfather and is therefore, not here. I miss him. Alot. I didn't realize how much I depended on him until he was gone. I would up getting "depressed" Meaning, basically, I was tired, irritated, didn't feel like doing anything and wallowing in self pity and self hatred.

Two nights ago I couldn't sleep, and I cried out to the lord in desperation.

Today I feel fantastic. I have a renewed vision for this particular (hopefully short) season as well as some coping ideas.

I had made my marriage/husband my idol, and the Lord has corrected me.

So, today I woke to a nearly clean house, having stayed up later doing a little more cleaning than I would have liked, but I slept well. Today I managed to get the dishes cleaned and went grocery shopping. It was a real treat to wander around Winco again. I did toss in a few extra items that I wanted into the cart, as did J. In fact, he was quite energetic and ran back and forth along the isles while I read labels---don't worry, the store wasn't crowded and I was able to keep an eye on him--but we had a good time overall. I was super excited to find a 50 lb bag of whole wheat flour for $20. I didn't buy it, as I couldn't lift it at this point, nor do I have a way to store all of that in my small condo. Maybe when Garret's back we can get a bag and i can freeze some.
Back to the previous line of thought. Living with purpose helps the moody-blues. I realize now that I need to live a life pleasing to God, not just my Husband. The manner in which I do things is just as important as getting them done. I also have to keep my spirits up to help the children cope...I ant them to handle all of life's bumps with a (somewhat) positive, flexible attitude and therefore I need to model it.

So there you have it, all the deep stuff that has been rolling about my head.

The weather out here is just beautiful! I will be bringing out my drying rack for the laundry tomorrow, and we may even plant some seeds. It is actually a little late to be starting indoor plants, even late to begin our spring planting here in the valley, but I will be growing mostly herbs and some mid-summer/fall harvesting crops. When our tax return comes I want so bad to get some new window-boxes and grow some strawberries in them! Woo hooo! With the big pine-trees gone my little balcony area actually gets some sun. I think I'll head out there and fix up some of my plants before the boys wake up. Afternoons are mine now, I do my own projects and rest. I love it!

The "best" mom I can be...

My darling hubby has a real problem with the term "best" in his mind there is always room for improvement, which can be a very good thing, never settling for something lest than your whole effort...or at least not calling it your best when it really wasn't. For simplicity's sake I will be using the word "best" but in the context that it means the best at this moment with constant striving to do better.

I realized something yesterday. well, I may have realized it many times before but I seem to be one of those slow-changing stubborn types. I can't look at other women to be my example of the "perfect" mother, housekeeper, cook, wife, ect. God has made me utterly unique. I cannot be as organized and prepared as Kate Gosselyn, nor can I be as peacefully serene as Michelle Duggar. I can be me. I can be the joyful, nutty homemaker who would rather snuggle with her kiddos and watch "toy story 2" for the 15th time this month than go mop the floor for the third time. I am now endeavoring to be the "Best" Wife, mother and homemaker that God wants me to be. I can be inspired by the examples of other impressive women, but I will no longer strive to BE them.

We are out of olive oil and I am truly annoyed. It was one ingredient I didn't stock up on, as it can go rancid if on the shelf too long, but alas, now I can't make lots of my favorite foods! We use Olive oil in place of almost all other oils...with the exception of a rare deep-fry now and then. sigh. I may just break down and buy some as it is on sale at Safeway this week, and we can easily walk down there with the stroller and cart our "haul" back. Chicken is also on an incredible sale $.99 for FRESH cut up chicken.

Today's menu:
Pancakes and fried egg

Not sure what to make for snack

Tomato soup, chicken "nuggets" and french fries (Baked)

Orange chicken, steamed rice, stir fry broccoli and carrots. Yummy! (chicken will be purchased today, but I don't view this as a total compromise as we do have a freezer full at my mom's house, but I have no way to get there...waaaaay too long to walk! will remember to stock up after church this week!)

introspection continued

You have the most amazing epiphanies at three in the morning while you are covered in vomit whilst attempting to calm down a very sick two year old.
This is what I was meant to do. This is the task I am doing for the Kingdom of God. There is no one else who can soothe the children that the Lord has given me in the way I can. Who else would be willing to cherish and tenderly care for TWO sick children, who like to take turns interrupting mommy's sleep with pitiful cries and lots of messes. Who else would strip their bed clothing, wash and change them and rock them back to sleep? It is the small things that add up to powerful memories.
My challenge is to do all with a cheerful heart. I didn't succeed too well, especially during nap time when I tried to catch a few winks to catch up....and got disturbed and woken up 5 times in 1 hour. This is my cross to bear, it is also one of the greatest rewards.
The boys are both feeling much better. The first night was the worst...I had no idea so much could come out of such little bodies...from both ends no less. The second night I prepped ahead, both boys beds were double-made with waterproof layers in between, I had spare jammies, diapers and towels laid out in the bathroom, and the washer filled up with sudsy water just waiting to go (it is loud on the filling and I didn't want to disturb anyone). It came in handy, but luckily we only had one up with tummy troubles that night.
I am quite contented, now that the worst is over. This is my Mission field. My Calling. Now if I can just keep eternity's values in view and not get all caught up in the grouchies.