Food for Thought

I read this on another blog, and thought it was worth passing along.

We are deceived and lied to on a constant basis. We’re marketed to by folks who only show us the good side and hide the bad.

The church should be different. We should be real.

I should be real.

Every time I present my best and hide my worst - I isolate someone. I’m one more affirmation that they’re just not together. They’re just not good enough. They just can’t figure it out.

Hurting people don’t need to know we’re perfect, they need to know we understand.

Time for Some Audience Participation

Ok...you have to contribute...if you're reading this, you MUST comment...at least once. Even if you're a lurker. Even if you only come here once a week. Even if this blog entry is 2 weeks old by the time you read it. Because I like comments. Because they make me feel validated. Because I want to know what you think. Because it's kindof FUN. Because I said so.
Or I'm taking my blog and going home.

Finish this sentence:

It would make my day if....

Don't You Guys Feel Smart??

TV Reviews

Glad I can help contribute to your ever-burgeoning perspicacity.

I Would Like These

Was perusing TheOnion.com this morning, and I would like the following tshirts for my birthday (it's not until May, but you can plan ahead):

Stereotypes

How Fat I Am

New And Depressing

Oh, and A Few Pint Glasses and THIS Bumper Sticker makes me laugh too.

And just to make you laugh:


In The Know: Is The Government Spying On Paranoid Schizophrenics Enough?


Happy Friday!

So...How do Things Look for You?

Here's what my 'ole buddy Gary Fong had to say about the value of the average American home today:
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Here is an example from the "real homes of genius" website:

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In 1998 this house sold for $78,000. Sounds reasonable. 1 Bedroom, 1 bath, 551 square feet. In 2005, a year before the market peaked, it sold for $299,500. The current owner is trying to sell it for $349,999 (dropped from 370k). If they sold this house at 349k, the payments would be $2,465/month. Yet in the city of "Bell" california, the:

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Average/Household Income: $41,464
Median Rent Price: $900

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The price historically should be triple household income, or about $123,000. The fact that it hit $370,000 in a pre-crash economy shows the size of the speculative bubble. This house, with emerging India and China taking hold of the world's economic rein (they are still growing at double digits) will NEVER SEE $370,000 again.

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In fact, it won't see $123k in a long time because of two things. 1) property values 'stabilize' to triple household income. That's after the crash panic. 2) Household income goes down in a prolonged, severe recession or depression as unemployment skyrockets. So say that 10% of the people lose their jobs, and wages go down 10% because of oversupply. Take that average household income to say, 32k, and this house will stabilize at 96k. Now that makes sense. But when that happens, the bank won't be able to give it away for the simple reason that PEOPLE BUY REAL ESTATE ON THE ASSUMPTION IT'S GOING TO GO UP IN VALUE. Nobody in their right mind would buy knowing that in a year it's going to go down in value - or they'd wait a year, right?

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If you want to know what prices are going to be like in your neighborhood in about two years, take the U.S. census data for your city (google it) and multiply the average household income by 3x. Now take about 20% off that to reflect the glut in inventory. This is how you can find out what your house will be worth in 2010.

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So I DID google it....for Albany, GA the average household income is: $28,639 (as of 2003, the earliest data I could find). Multiply that by 3x=$85,917 minus 20% = $68, 735. So Fong is saying that your house (if you live in Albany) will be worth no more than $70,000 by the year 2010? Am I right on that? Does that sound right to you? I'm skeptical that things would get THAT bad...but then again, what do I know? What do YOU think?

Some Macro Shots

I've been wanting to try some macro photography...just for fun or possibly as art for our walls. Easy, right? Just get some flowers, take some closeups?? Um...yeah, it's a lot harder than I thought. Here's all I got, but I'll be trying again soon. Or maybe I'll just BUY some art at Hobby Lobby! LOL :)



This is actually a cactus, and Owen seemed to have some trouble remembering the name "cactus" so he kept calling it my cowboy. "Mama, where's your cowboy?" "Can I hold the cowboy, mama?" "ooooh, mama - this cowboy is SOOoo pretty!"

A Strange Request

Does anyone in the Albany area have or know of anyone who has a kitten or two at their house right now? I need one or two to borrow for a photo shoot with kids this weekend......

I'm also looking for a baby turtle.

Weird, I know.

Back to our Regulalry Scheduled Shmutz

You had to have seen the original, Freaky-Deaky Tom Cruise Spewing-What-the-He*#$-are-you-Talking-About Scientology Video and then you'll understand why THIS made me laugh for quite some time this afternoon:

Read This if You Own A Home, or Are Even Mildly Interested in Economics

I apologize in advance for this VERY lengthy blog, but I think it's worth reading if you have any investment in real estate or the market...and I'm really interested to hear your opinion (especially from the following people: Dad Nowack, my brother Rob, and Dan-0, although I'd like to hear from everyone). Wait till you have about 30 minutes, then sit down with some coffee and read this:

I read the blog of this guy Gary Fong. He's a photographer/entrepreneur/businessman...and a dang good one at that. He's a millionaire. Seriously.
Anyway, I started reading his blog about a year ago...and he frequently writes on the economy and at that time he was touting the virtues of buying gold. Saying it was a solid investment, that the US Dollar was going to decline, etc. etc.
Well....one year later and what do you know? The US Dollar has, incredibly, for the first time in like 40 years dropped in value below the Euro, below the Canadian dollar and the price of gold per ounce has more than tripled. So I've really been paying attention to what he's had to say lately.

He wrote this on Jan. 12:

I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE CRASH

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I have been struggling with ways to be inspiring, and encouraging. I constantly wrestle in my mind about why I have to write my financial forecasts when so many people are stuck. I don't want to be insensitive and go on and on about what is going to happen if you are stuck in a situation that you cannot get out of.

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But I can't not share what I've learned in all of my volumes of reading and experience. I am a person who has foreclosed on another individual (he was fine about it, it was totally friendly - there was nothing he could've done to save his home). Having foreclosed on someone, I know what happens in this mechanism and I totally understand the foreclosure process.

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It takes at least a year. The ranch had gone into receivership and the previous owner was forced to move out. By the time I came onto the scene, I tried to rescue it in preforeclosure, but the previous owner went bankrupt. Therefore, he no longer had the title and couldn't sell it. I had to buy the mortgage (the right to foreclose) from the bank. It cost me nearly a million bucks and all I had was a piece of paper. Not even keys to the ranch. Only the right to foreclose. Then I had to start the foreclosure process (either I was going to do it or the bank was going to do it, so it was not an aggressive move on my part). I had to take the property to court, have the court foreclose the property and only then did I get the keys. To a ranch that was an absolute mess.

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In Canada, bankruptcy is a completely different animal than the U.S. To paraphrase, in Canada you still get a fresh start. In the U.S. - thanks to President Bush's recently signed legislation - let's just say that you don't get a fresh start. In fact, even under bankruptcy a debtor can attach your wages far into the future, even for the rest of your life. So walking away from a property in the U.S. is not something one should do without really good legal advice.

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The fact that foreclosures hit a record (and it was so obvious that it was coming) is only the beginning because THESE foreclosed properties have not yet hit the market. When they do (and it may be up to a year from now because many would have to be fixed up, etc) then they get sold at "foreclosure" prices because the bank just wants to dump and liquidate and reduce the bad assets in their holdings. So if you have a house, and all over your neighborhood foreclosed properties are being put on the market - that means the "comparable" values that the appraisers use to grant financing will for sure go down. In other words - regardless of if your house has been foreclosed on - or not - the value of it in a year's time will be foreclosed value because of the number of deadbeat properties competing against you for buyers.

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How are you going to find a buyer for more than loan value - when you are competing with banks dumping their losses right in your own neighborhood?

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Is that scenario scary? Now remember that the banks are in the business of making money by lending people money to buy homes. Would they have money to lend you if they are up to their eyeballs in deadbeat homes that they cannot dump? The banks in theory would face a liquidity crisis with NO MONEY TO LEND. That would be a nightmare scenario in a future where real estate collapses.

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But in a historic situation where the tail wags the dog, the liquidity crisis occurred BEFORE THE CRASH - causing the crash. You see, Countrywide nearly went bankrupt because it had no source of funds to lend. Mortgage-backed securities have all disappeared, and there literally is no money to lend for house purchases. With no money to lend for mortgages - who is going to buy your house???

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I tried so hard SO HARD a couple of years ago talking about stagflation and the coming crash in real estate - and I was saying it before it hit the high. And some of you didn't believe me and I am so sorry I tried to warn you. Just do a search backwards on this site - you will see - or those of you who frequent this blog will know that I've been telling you to BE CAREFUL and not invest in U.S. real estate. I stopped buying real estate in the U.S. SEVEN years ago.

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Now the panic is just beginning, and the disaster is coming in the comparable values. Appraisers will be giving your house a valuation compared to foreclosed homes. Those appraisers will give the banks really low values - and then the banks will have no money to lend to any potential buyer for your house. If you think real estate has hit the skids I have to tell you - again - it hasn't even begun.

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I really want to give inspiration and motivation, but all I keep coming up with is a call to awareness. India and China are emerging so fast, and if we think, "well if the US goes down the world goes down" is egocentric. Other countries diversify into the U.S. with their investments, and while they wouldn't be happy if the world's largest economy collapses - they will pick up the slack and take over. Nobody ever took India or China seriously a few years ago. Look at them now, and they haven't even begun.

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I wrote this post in response to Nuyokaandco's comments in earlier posts about maybe purchasing a property in Florida with his brother. The fact that he was contemplating purchasing this property prompted me to take more action and explain more fully what is coming with the economy.

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If you try to take your US Dollar to europe, you'll find that it buys very little. Historically it is worth less than at any time in history. To think that "if the US crashes, so will the world" is that example of the pompous impestuous, bratty attitude that gives an attitude of impunity that we never have to pay our bills. Good heavens, did everybody think that they would never have to pay these debts????

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My goodness I am so sorry. Tell me what I can do to help, but do not ask me to calm your nerves by telling you that everything is going to be fine because I'm not going to do that. One can say, "well I will just wait out the cycle" because the U.S. real estate has usually 10 year cycles - but honestly, with what I know, once the market collapses (and it hasn't hardly begun), it will not come back. EVER.


Interesting, don't you think? Steve and I discussed it a lot. What would that mean for us? For our family? How could that play out? I drew Steve in, showed him Gary's predictions, etc. Steve thinks he's a little "doom and gloom" but we both kept up with his blog now.

Then, yesterday Fong says this:

Last night I was having dinner with Tiffany, Jenn and Melissa and I got really sad not only because we had seen a tear-jerker movie (p.s. I love you) - didn't affect me at all by the way... but because of the economic data reports that I had been seeing from around the world.

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The markets are going to crash, I said. I called Amy and asked her, what should we do? I'm trying to come up with an answer that makes the best of things. I said in an earlier post that the DOW is poised to fall 2,000 points by the looks of it, and what little stock I had left in the market was Apple computer, that I sold at $200.10

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People are dumping their stocks now because they realize that owning securities is not a good place to be in the event of the collapse of the largest economic superpower. I think the U.S. Stock market is going to crash - and only then will the collapsing economy be talked about at dinner tables across America. Then we hit the next stage - panic.

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I think it's a great time to sell every piece of junk you have on ebay, or craigslist. And turn it into gold.

And then later in the day, said this:

TOMORROW ON WALL STREET...

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The international markets were open today, as they do not celebrate MLK holiday. There was a very very heavy selloff in securities in response to the U.S. economic data. The world pretty much is in consensus that the U.S. is already in a deep recession.

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When the market opens tomorrow, brokers will be completely swamped with sell orders. This is one of those semi-rare opportunities in being pretty certain what the market will do tomorrow. I no longer have U.S. securities, but if I did, you betcha I would dump everything I had at the opening bell.

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I've been getting a lot of emails and comments about what is a photographer to do in a great depression, and I'm still tossing that one around. Regarding U.S. real estate I would at least list it right away and consider whatever offer comes in, but I doubt anybody would buy anything right now, and even if they did, they couldn't complete the loan because the banks have no money to lend.

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Tomorrow is going to be a wreck at the opening bell. Once the market crashes, oh good heavens there go jobs. And once jobs go here come entitlement programs to rescue those in need - for a U.S. economy that is so thick into a war that has no end. Sure is a good thing that the U.S. is spending all of that money to rescue the Iraqis in the name of democracy.

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Everybody in the U.S. had a real sense of wealth, but built on completely borrowed money. Now everybody realizes it and the investment dollars are going to go to other economies.
In just a few hours, by the time most of you wake up and read this, Wall Street is going to open to a crash. It is so odd to know what is going to happen in tomorrow's market hours in advance, but this is because of Global trading of U.S. Futures prices. While the U.S. markets were closed for the holiday, the world reacted to the U.S. subprime collapse and responded by massive drops in value.

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It is so weird knowing that in just a few hours, the U.S. Stock market is going to crash, and when it crashes this will start the collapse of the U.S. economy. I think that global investors are diving for safety right now, and liquidating their positions in a panic, but when they realize that the emerging economies have strong fundamentals (especially with them being net savers and investors, rather than borrowers on credit like the U.S.) the international markets will stabilize, even after Wall Street crashes.

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Well, we are all in this together. There are many international visitors to this site, and I'm sure we are all very concerned about the collapse of the U.S. economy. I am really sad right now because I see what's coming, and when my bond broker friend said that the bottom is "unimaginable" - I can imagine. I'll try to think of some suggestions for those of you who are unprepared. I'm not coming up with anything brilliant if you are late to the preservation game.

And what do you know? This morning when Steve gets to work he emails me the link to CNN and they report:


Wall Street Tries to Fight Back and articles like Don't Panic, Don't Sell and stuff about the Feds dropping rates, etc. etc.


So....doom and gloom? Or a realistic concern? What do you think?

Things I Thought I'd Never Say

Today...around lunchtime:

"Do NOT put jelly on your bottom"

Tidbits

Kids up and at 'em by 6:00 AM. It was STILL DARK OUT. That is sin.

Friend Dan was in town for the extended weekend. Flew back to NY this morning. Sad friend Lisa left in the wake. Bummer.

Burnt my finger making Mickey Mouse pancakes this morning. Ouch.

Our one and ONLY tv broke this morning. Damn.

Steve-o will be gone until late tonight to a basketball game. Bored children, cold weather, no good ideas for fun activities. Ugh.

Somehow managed to get coffee grounds in the entire pot of coffee this morning. Elww.

The day is NOT off to a good start.

Attempting to be an optimist, I'm expecting things to turn around any minute now....maybe I'll even buy a lottery ticket.

Zucchini Yogurt Multigrain Muffins

I don't usually share recipes because...well, I don't bake all that often. And you might think, "elwww...zucchini" but you can't really taste a whole lot of zucchini in in and it's a healthy way to get a serving of vegatable...or to sneak it to your kidlets. Especiall with Tyler starting on table food now, I'm racking my brain for ways to sneak in healthy food (especially veggies) for him to eat.

Here's a yummy muffin recipe that's easily customizable to whatever you may have on hand. Feel free to tweak and play to suit your tastes and preferences....I did. And another tip: Double the recipe and freeze half - it freezes really well. And i have a thing for freezing stuff. But that's a blog for another day.

Zucchini Yogurt Multigrain Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oat flour (I used oatmeal, ground up in the food processor to make it more fine)

1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (or smooshed bananas will work too)
1 cup plain yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt...sour cream would work too)
1 cup sugar (I used half a cup)
1/4 cup honey (I omitted this since babies aren't supposed to have honey)
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup shredded zucchini (make sure you squeeze all the liquid out of it)
1 cup shredded carrots ( once again, squeeze out all the juice)
1/2 cup raisins (soak 'em in hot water before you put them in, to soften them up)
I also threw in a couple tablespoons of wheat germ

1. Oven - 375 degrees
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl
3. Mis all the wet ingredients (except for the zucchini, carrots, and raisins) in another bowl
4. Combine wet and dry and then fold in the zucchini, carrots, and raisin.
5. Bake for 18-20 min.

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Like I said this is easy to play with (I made quite a few revisions)...if you don't like carrot, skip it and increase the zucchini. Or add more veggies. Or skip the white flour and use all wheat flour, or use whole wheat pastry flour in place of white flour. Or add bananas. Or chocolate chips, or nuts, or whatever. They rise beautifully and are really moist. Try it!

Just a Test....

Just trying to post a video online...which I've never done before, but thought that family far away might enjoy getting to see the boys every now and then. Although, if they act like this when I turn on the video camera.....





I think it's safe to say that a career in film is probably not an option....There isn't a big market for be extremely obnoxious for 29 seconds in Hollywood. They should probably just stick to photos.

You Just Never Know...

It Could Happen To You.

Perfect Love

I've been thinking a lot lately about L*O*V*E. And not just your hearts and candy Valentine's Day kind of love....true love. Hard love. Everyday love. For my husband, for my kids, for myself, for people I know, for people I can't stand. Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes I fail miserably. Sometimes I do it...but with expectations, or conditions or underlying motives. Love. Seems so simple, so easy, so everyday... "I fell in love" "Oh, I love that guy!" "I love that movie" " I love Mexican food!" "I love my ipod!"

With Tyler, I am often humbled by his unadulterated, pure love. My friend Lisa commented once that when Tyler looks at me that you can tell that he loves me so much as his eyes affix to my face and almost always gives me a smile. Quite simply, he adores me. Needs me. Loves me unconditionally. And that's a nice feeling.

It's interesting how kids will love you unconditionally for a few short years. It's beautiful. And scary. Think of all the kids in the world being hurt by the people who are supposed to care for them the most, but they love them back anyway. What a gift...the love of a child. Makes me feel so unworthy. I wish I could love others the same way.

Love is patient; love is kind
and envies no one.
Love is never boastful, or conceited, or rude;
never selfish, not quick to take offense.
There is nothing love cannot face;
there is no limit to its faith,
its hope, and endurance.
In a word, there are three things
that last forever: faith, hope, and love;
but the greatest of them all is love.”

Being Real

Have you ever felt just really sick and tired of....

yourself?

I am.

Lil' Bear

You're kidding, right??

Oh bother.

Couldn't decide if I like black and white or color better....I'm thinking bw. You?

It's a Snowman, It's Grover, It's..

well, it's just plain silly.

I have a hard time getting myself going in the mornings these days (especially days when the boys have no school and there's nothing pressing to accomplish), so today, while the boys were playing with their Christmas toys and Cooper was napping soundly by the fireplace, I thought it was high time that I wrap this ridiculous scarf thing around Tyler's head and take his picture.



This is the point at which Owen starts giggling uproariously and gasps out, "mama, what are you DOING to Tyler?".
I'm putting this silly scarf around his head of course.
"He looks like a snowman!" he gasped out between snorts of laughter.
A snowman?? I was thinking he looked a little more like:

But to each his own, I guess. Here's the thing....although I knew that this funky blue ratty fluffy scarf thing was a little...er, bright...and...fuzzy...and incredibly BLUE, the texture is what appealed to me. I love me some texture...and when taking photographs, texture is important a lot of the time. And I had this idea in my head, that if I could just get a good picture of his beautiful eyes, with that scarf thingy framing his gorgeous face......
That I could convert it to black and white and it would look stunning. Wouldn't you agree? (Click to enlarge and get the full effect).

Tell Me You've Seen This....

Have you seen this Meerkat Manor show on Animal Planet?
I flipped on the t.v. while I was feeding Tyler and good Lord! It's fascinating! I'm totally enthralled...you must check it out! It's surprisingly good....

Say what?!

Our cable has an annoying habit of randomly switching over to BET....it's difficult to change it back to what you were originally watching and it basically drives me batty.

and that's all I have to say about that.

Some -Isms To Start Your Morning

Public Restroom -Ism:
Owen is notorious for stripping down completely naked whenever he has to poop. We've tried to convince him that this is not necessary....I've threatened, pleaded, cajoled, bribed, begged....PLEASE, just sit on the toilet like a normal person and poop! to no avail.
On our way back to Georgia from Michigan, we made a pitstop to get out, stretch, and take a potty break at a Wendy's just off an exit. I took Owen inside since we both had to go to the bathroom. He took one stall and then announced, "I hafta go poop!"
I go in the stall with him and command: "Ok. But do NOT take off all of your clothes. Pull down your pants and then just sit on the toilet and go"
Owen (begrudgingly): "O---kaaaay. But you get out. Go away so I can poop mama."
I leave the stall but stand outside so that I can make sure he doesn't strip down. He sees me peeking through and gives me a cheeky smile but sits compliantly on the toilet. He wiggles and squirms for a few moments, with me asking about every 10 seconds...."are you done yet?" to which he hollers, "NO!"
At one point he says concernedly, "mama!?"
"Yes, Owen?"
"I HAFTA take my clothes off! So I can poop mama!"
"No owen, do it the way you are right now"
I decide to go to the bathroom myself in the stall next door while I wait. As I'm peeing, I hear him poking and prodding at the toilet paper dispenser in his stall.
"What's that say mama?" he asks, pointing to the company name on the toilet paper dispenser.
"It's says SCA" I said back.
"Mama. I have to take off my clothes to poop"
"NO. YOU. DON'T." I said as I finished up, my patience starting to wear thin.
"But it says so right HERE."
"Where?"
"RIGHT. HERE." he insists.
By this time I'm done and I peek through the crack in the stall and see him pointing at the letters SCA on the toilet paper dispenser. He points to each letter and deliberately tells me, as if he's talking to a very stupid dog,
"RIGHT THERE!" He loudly insists. "It SAYS, "Take. Off. Your. Pants. When. You. Poop."

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Feed the Children -Ism:
This morning, after breakfast, Owen brings some trains out to the kitchen and lines them up on the counter. One of them is an empty cargo train that Owen likes to fill with various items - rocks, marshmallows, crackers, bits of rolled up toilet paper, etc. He sets them on the counter and says, "mama. i need some smarshmallows to put inside Bill & Ben's freight train."
Me: "no, owen - you just ate breakfast. you can have some marshmallows for your train at snack time" I said as I spooned pureed bananas and yogurt into Tyler's mouth.
Owen: "But MAMA. Please, please, PLEASE can I have some smarshmallows for the train?"
Me: No.
Owen (talking in a high pitched Bill & Ben train voice): "But mama...we need some smarshmallows for our train because we need to take it to the children"
Me: What children would that be Bill & Ben?
Owen: The HUNGRY children over the mountain! They have no food!
Me: Well, they'll have to wait until snack time
Owen (as Bill & Ben): But mama, they are SOOooooo hungry!
Me: Sorry. They'll have to wait.
Owen angrily intervenes on behalf of the hungry children and says in his normal voice: MAMA! The little children are SO hungry! They are STARVING and they just need SOME SMARSHMALLOWS!
Me: They can wait a few hours until snack time Owen.
Owen angrily and with a clipped tone says, "Fine! You killed them mama" and stomps off to his room.

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Common Sense Train-ism:
Shortly after I killed the starving children by not feeding them marshmallows, Owen and AJ both come out to the kitchen, trains in hand, and set them up on the kitchen counter. I'm still feeding Tyler and I listen as they play:
Owen (as Bill & Ben trains): Thomas! We need some smarshmallows for our freight train"
AJ (as Thomas & Percy trains): yeah! that's a good idea Bill & Ben!
Owen: Thomas! Can you go to the cupboard and get us some marshmallows??
AJ: No. I can't.
Owen: But Thomas, we need some marshmallows for our train!
AJ: I CAN'T!!
Owen: Thomas! PLEASE! We need some smarshmallows!
AJ: BUT I CAN'T Bill & Ben! I DON'T HAVE ANY ARMS!!

New Year's Resolutions...a Diet Pill of Course!

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions, but I know that a lot of people are. The most popular resolution?? Lose weight!
Have you seen that new diet pill in stores?? Alli?? Read the following...thought you might find it interesting:

Have you guys heard of this? I was curious so I checked out their website and read the following statements. Seriously, word for word, these statements were on their official website.

What are treatment effects?
alli™ works by preventing the absorption of some of the fat you eat. The fat passes out of your body, so you may have bowel changes, known as "treatment effects". You may get:

gas with oily spotting
loose stools
more frequent stools that may be hard to control

The excess fat that passes out of your body is not harmful. In fact, you may recognize it as something that looks like the oil on top of a pizza. Eating a low-fat diet lowers the chance of these bowel changes. Limit fat intake in your meals to an average of 15 grams.

Start trimming fat from your diet now, even before you begin taking alli. Then pick a day to begin taking alli, such as a weekend day so you can stay close to home if you experience a "treatment effect". Make the timing work for you. If you're getting ready to travel or attend a social event, hold off on starting with alli until the event is over

You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of any "treatment effects", it's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work

You may not usually get gassy, but it's a possibility when you take alli. The bathroom is really the best place to go when that happens

Can I have a show of hands of everyone who wants to take a pill that will make you poop uncontrollably and will make you have "oily gas" that looks like the grease on top of a pizza?!! I think that visual alone is enough to make me stop eating for good.

And tell me, if you have to eat a very low fat diet while using this pill to avoid an oily gassy crapathon, then why bother taking the pill at all? If you're eating a healthful lowfat diet, then you don't need some stupid pill. Just my opinion, but seriously who, who, WHO would purposely take a pill that would make everyday seem like you're getting ready for a colonoscopy? I think I'd rather stay fat and not have to bring a change of pants with me everywhere I went.

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LOL
Happy Thursday! :)

Rewind!

Ready? Let's go back a week or two, shall we? We'll head back to Ohio....an inch or two of snow left on the ground and some minor sledding for the boys....
Here's Owen enjoying a push from Steve-o:

Whoops! Sleds and snow are a slippery combination!
Things got hairy for a minute there....no worries. He recovered quite nicely.
Whenever AJ was outside, he was eating snow about 95% of the time. He really really likes snow.
A lot.
I guess it's tasty.
And yes, i told him to avoid the yellow snow.
But when he wasn't eating snow, he was sledding.
On to Michigan then!
Christmas Day.....and fun times with the entire side of my family.
Here's my niece Abby, posing for me.
And showing me her beautiful new jewelry....
And with my sister Shari....(Abby was in a picture-taking mood that day)
And my nephew Kendrick - the smiley-est kid I know. Next to Tyler. :)
Abby's big-girl makeup....
Which she thought would look good on me...
And A.J.....
Even the dogs got presents....
Johnathan got his own camera, as did A.J.....see? runs in the family....
My dad and Kenny.....
My mom with Tyler...
My brother Rob, attempting to stay out of the way of the barrage of children and toys....his preggo wife Amanda trying not to doze off on the couch above him....
Nephew Robby playing with his new MP3 player....
A new train for Owen...
Tyler chilling with his Uncle Joel, who was checking out his new phone....

And then we were off to the hotel/water park.
As mentioned before, Robby was the first brave soul to head down the slide....


But AJ thought it looked cool too.....
So he got Steve-o to go with him. About 35 times. In a row. Steve-o says it is QUITE possible (hypothetically of course) to be very sore the day after water sliding.


A few days later....a Christmas stand-by: Gingerbread houses. The kids all did one together.





Yes, it's rubber-banded together. It was rather gooey and structurally unsound until the frosting dried...
While we waited for the icing to dry, Amanda took a nap...because apparently pregnant women need a lot of extra rest. **rolling eyes** I know...she's such a wimp. I'm so glad I wasn't such a pansy about sleeping, eating, and whining the entire time I was pregnant - aren't you?
My mom stayed inside with Tyler and Owen (who wanted to play video games on the computer), and dad came outside to take pictures and help. Steve and my brother were out on a "man-date" to the movies and a hockey game so it was just me and the kidlets.
The snow wasn't very good packing snow, so a snowman was out of the question. We built a snowfort instead.

Snow-forts are a crucial childhood snow structure. They're necessary to defend yourself from evil siblings and snowball-wielding neighbors. And Yeti's.

Cooper was on the lookout for Yeti's.

Did I mention that Cooper LOVED the snow??



Robby sneakily enlisted my help in making a kick-butt snow fort and promptly threw snowballs at me when my back was turned. Traitor.






This was a highly superior snow fort. AJ called it the snow castle. it had an upper level and a lower level. The lower level was reinforced with ice-snowbricks and also boasted a dug-out cave for extra protection. To the right of the photo was AJ's snow fort. On the back there was an escape slide for a quick exit if things would go wrong...

Unfortunately things DID go wrong. For me.
Too bad there was no escape for the photographer/snow fort engineer. The ratty traitors. They turned on me.



Every last one of them.....


Even the cute "pwincess", whom I valiantly defended against the Yeti's.


punks.



Hmmmm....what else??

Oh yes.....Did i mention that Tyler is sitting now?

The end.