Dear France, THANK YOU

DEAR FRANCE,

THANK YOU!!

SINCERELY,

ME

You could read my statement and think that I want to stick it to the rich, because they have the money and should be  handing it over for the good of the country.

WRONG

I want to say a BIG FAT THANK YOU to France.  Because this is going to be the case study of the century.  Economists at Universities all across the country er, the world, are biting their nails in anticipation of what happens next. 

Because you slap a 75 percent tax on the wealthy and business and what happens?  The wealthy and the business leave. In droves.  Because guess what, if I am rich enough to be slapped with that tax, I am also rich enough to take my money and my business across the border to say,  economically stable Germany perhaps?  Or even relocate to South America--where business is growing like crazy.

I bet other European countries are just giddy with excitement.   Much like colleges court the most talented of High School football players--sending in their recruiter with promises of this or that just to get them to cross the border to their university--so will be the countries trying to win over France's disgruntled rich.

Mark my words--the rich will flee.

And hopefully, just hopefully, America will get it.

If they pull their head out of their asses long enough to read the paper.

F.M. Radio

I yell at the radio. EVERY MORNING. I talk outloud in my car and the kids says--"Who are you talking to?"

I'm talking to the radio. The hosts of NPR's morning edition have had some words from me. Well, more it's the people the are talking to, and most importantly--what they are talking about.

This morning's edition: Politics.

 I am starting to call it Anger 2012. At least that is what it is for me.

Today's piece was on businesses leaders on opposite ends of the spectrum, one that ran and op. ed article in the Washington Post and another who took out a full page ad in the Times.

 The ad read--if "Obama is elected I am going to shut down my business and lay off my 12 employees". They interviewed him and he told a story of how he built the business he has and has worked his butt off for, and with Obama's idea of taxing the rich--they will be taking 50% of what he makes. That pushes him over the edge.

 The other man's piece supported Obama's taxing of the rich. Stating that Jesus took care of the poor and that is our duty. He had received Government grants to put him through school, therefore the Government is good

. . . and that is when I yelled at the radio.

Being a good Jesus follower myself, I agree--Jesus wants us to take care of each other. But since when does that mean through the Government? Jesus also wants us to freely give of our time, talent and yes--MONEY. But forcing the rich to pay the government more than everyone else in the name of "helping our fellow men"--not what Jesus had in mind. Did he read the Bible? Jesus is not too keen on corrupt Governments. Who do you think killed the man? And no one is going to get into heaven stating that they paid their taxes. Come on, for real??

And yes, I think our Government is corrupt.

 Does the first man hate the poor and want to squish them under his feet? No. Actually I don't know his opinion, they didn't ask him. But I tell you this--what I know of the wealthy are not those kind of people, although the media and Obama's political team would love for you to think that.

Remember my degree from college--Non-Profit Health and Human Service Administration. Those stiff and formal words mean--I know about taking care of the poor--and the sick--and the unfortunate. And all of those places exist because of . . . THE WEALTHY. *GASP!* Those horrible people that make so much money and keep the little guy down. They provide funds to establish an entity that allows collaboration among horrible rich men and the normal middle class and the poor man. Together they to help those who need it most. And their financial books? Public record. And if you don't like what they are doing--you go down to the board meeting and say so. Or you take your time, talents and MONEY elsewhere. It provides a choice. And throws red tape beaurocracy out the window.

People need to see that those left wing hippy socialists and the right wing capitalist pigs and anyone in between actually agree on that the poor need help.

 They just differ on who should provide it.

 And me? Where do I fall? The government has it's role and place--limited but also essential. Let the rich, poor and anyone in the middle be taxed equally so no one can cry foul to the other. (flat tax people--and get rid of the Tax season)

Increasing tax on the rich will cause two things.
1. The rich will leave the country (as evidenced in France)
2. They will give less to non profits--who are far more efficient and effective than the government at taking care of those in need.

Both will hurt our country, create more need by loss of jobs, and excacerbate the current state of those in need.

Why does the Government think that because someone makes a certain amount of money--then they are entitled to part of it? Does that scare anyone else other than me? The Government could someday choose something I own or earn and say they are entitled to it "for the greater good". And if you think the government won't--you have been duped by the powers that be.

Wow. I feel better now. And I didn't even make it too long. That is just one thing that got me talking to the radio.

 Don't even get me started on the national debt. 6 trillion in four years, when all of the previous presidents combined spent 10 trillion. Does this not scare the pants off of anyone else than me? How is that possible? Who can spend that much--and on what??

 Oh no, I said don't get me started.

There are times when I think that my kids will only remember my scolding, and reprimanding. And then sometimes, I find pictures like this one. And I think--maybe times like this will trump all the others. Cuz--this is a good one.

I can cure warts!

My oldest daughter had a big patch of ugly warts on her knee--and although she didn't notice or care, I knew that someday she was going to absolutely HATE them.

So while I was at a well visit about 2 years ago I asked the Nurse Practitioner what to do.

And she gave me a natural remedy.

And it totally worked!  We have used it so many times and it's worked on all three girls and Hyrum.

I'm too perfect to have warts ;)

Check out my natural blog HERE to find out what we did.

Did you know the governor has a summer reading program? If your kid reads 5 books from her list then they get free admission to the AZ Science Center.

Check it HERE.

Mi Amigos sweet deals!

People!!!!  Mi Amigos is hooking up some sweet deals for their 35th Anniversary.

Support your locally owned restaurant (my brother in laws! :))

Go.

Spread the word.

Eat.

Love it.

Spread the word some more.

If you can't read the flier then go  here:

http://www.miamigos.com/58.html

I have sharing time on tithing tomorrow, and as usual I have so far prepared .. .um . .


NOTHING.

Any ideas out there?

You say it Reagan

Stuff

My Canadian photography friend posted this on her blog--and I have heard it before, but loved to see it as a reminder.

“We invest a great deal in the acquisition of stuff. Companies bombard us with slick, relentless propaganda as to why we must have their stuff and judge an individual’s success by their stuff’s sheer quantity and supposed quality. I like stuff. I especially like the word stuff. But consumption never was creativity; it brings few lasting satisfactions and can bring burdensome debts. Stuff beyond our basic needs does not liberate. Consider the overall investment of your time. You have to shop for stuff. You have to clean, maintain and organize stuff. You lose stuff. You look for stuff. You polish stuff. Secure it against theft, trip over it, recharge it, upgrade it, accessorize it, pack it, move it, unpack it, insure it, fix it, and eventually sell, trash or bequeath it. Stuff has no use beyond this life and it takes a lot from us. Very much unlike stuff, knowledge has few such liabilities. Knowledge does not depreciate but grows deeper, stronger and more valuable with each use.”
                        - Shawn W. Miller, BYU Devotional, August 3, 2010 (punctuation altered)

I am blessed to have many friends who subscribe to this way of life.

I am not a stuff person.  In fact, my poor kids have often asked where their toys went--because they just up and disappeared on them.

I hate paying for bullcrap. Toys, clothes that kids will outgrow, Pajamas--does anyone else hate paying money for pajamas??

But what I will spend a bazillion dollars for is memories.  Road trips, camping, outings.  Now that to me is where I have to watch myself with money.

We are still in the middle of trying to buy a car. I just can't bring myself to spend that much money on a vehicle.  It seems ridiculous.

The only thing that I have realized that is going to make me do it----road trips. Having a car with no mileage on it, a good engine and a warranty.  So in short--memories.

That major deciding factor on which vehicle we choose--cargo room. How many coolers and suitcases can we fit back there??

I am already planning our east cost trip for next summer, and the West coast to Canada trip for the summer after that.

I love the reminder this quote gives me. 

Now I am going to go throw away some STUFF.

Fuse

My girls are performing and it's AWESOME. You should go.

Bahhahaaa

I didn't hear the conversation leading up to this--I just heard this:

 3 year old cousin: "My buttocks"

 Kizzy:   "You're butt talks????"

Ford Flex

Does anyone know someone who owns one of these? And do they like it? I'm considering this instead of the minivan. Let me know.

Ballet shoes?

Does anyone have a pair of these lying around? About size 12 or 11?  Josie lost one of  hers and her dance performance is Saturday and I am NOT going to buy her a new pair.

Mothers Day Video

I had a great mothers day, minus when I was napping and was awakened with a wet washcloth tossed on my face and a giggling 3 year old. 

Watch this sweet video.

Sup with me?

hey Jill--what's up with you?

Well, thanks for asking

We went camping with friends and that was beyond loads of fun. We went swimming in freezing cold water and laughed our butts off, and sent the kids to bed early and sat around having fun adult time until the wee hours.  See marlo's laughing it's so cold face. We had a created the 1 minute club and you had to stay in up to your shoulders for  one minute.  That is one long minute.


Then we came home and Hyrum got a migraine so severe that he had to go the ER (this was his first trip for a migraine), so we spent all sunday night until 3:30 a.m. there.  The doc was talking to him about it and then she asked what he did for a living, and when he replied nurse she said, "well why didn't you say so? Here I am talking to you like a baby."  And then gave him the low down. She was great.  And then the nurse that was taking care of him said that he should have mentioned that he worked for one of their hospitals and we could have been hooked up with a room faster---isn't that random?  It's like getting a good table at a restaurant.  The only thing good about Osborne hospital is they have a cool hot chocolate machine--why did I know this?

OH-because one week prior I was in the same Emergency room with Beck and his head that was split open. Not clean split--big chunk missing split.  ceiling fan. Luckily he slept through the whole stitches thing.

OH, so anyway, on the way back from best camping trip ever, the ol' '94 Suburban starting making rattling noises.  But not at high speeds--so when we got home I took it to the mechanic, and it is something to do with the air conditioner. Which was fully replaced two years ago.  Lame.  So now we have to spend more money to fix the same thing.  And it needs new tires.  So that is over a grand, so we thought maybe we should buy a new car. So we looked into how much our suburban would be for trade in.  $216.  BAAHHHHAHHHAA  Isn't that crazy?

So we decided just to keep the burb for life because it doesn't cost that much to register or insure.  But then we need to buy a new car, because that thing is almost 20 years old and the other car isn't going to last forever either--so we need to stagger them.

Yeee--ikes!! Cars are so flipping expensive. Well, if you need to have 6 passengers. And minivans--if you want a good reliable one, like Toyota or Honda--those puppies hold on to their value. So a used one is only a few thousand less than a new and it has tons of miles on it. And there aren't very many for sale. UGH.   I looked for a used one and I would have to pay $13,000 for a car that has almost 100,000 miles on it. Ridiculous!  And we haven't had a car payment since 2004. And it makes me want to vomit having one.  So we may get a new car, like brand new. And I think that is bratty and weird and I don't like the idea of it. Because then I will care where I park and what the kids eat etc. etc.

I called my friend who is a Dave Ramsey follower as well, and talked to her about it. And she tried to go used too, but it ended up being  a better deal to get a new one.  I told her I thought it was bratty to have a brand new car and asked her if I was old enough to own a brand new car. And she said, "Newflash. You're old."  So apparently I am old enough.  It still seems weird though.  I blame this weird feeling on my father--damned penny pincher.  I inherited that which is mostly a blessing, but sometime a curse because I don't like to spend money much.

Hyrum asked what I wanted for mothers day and I said I'd rather have money in the bank than a present.  Pretty lame of me eh?

There is more, but I"ve talked enough already