I don't usually post about such private matters, but I think this issue needs addressing. I see comments all over social networking sites, comments on articles, blogs, etc talking about how stupid people are for getting in over their heads and (by doing so) contributing to the global economic crisis.
I know a lot of people think that the families that got in over their heads (the upside down mortgages) were just plain stupid and risky, but you don't understand HOW it happened. I'm one of those people, and I can tell you how it happened to me. Maybe you can better understand then.
We were looking for a house in the $80k range when we were first looking to relocate to another state in 2004. We have a small daughter, she was 5 at the time and is 10 now. We wanted a better area for her. A nicer house, better school, more opportunities. We were flying back and forth from the east to the west coast looking at houses, and finally decided it would be easier to rent in the area while we look instead of flying all the time. It cost us $10k to move, far more than we expected. But I guess everyone was taking advantage of the boom.
Once we were in the rental property (Sept 2004) the house prices started quickly climbing. In no time our realtor was telling us there weren't any houses in the $80k range anymore. We spoke with our mortgage broker and they said it would only be a few dollars more a month for a $90k house than an $80k house. Sounds reasonable, we started looking at $90k houses. Oops, no more of those either. Well, only a few dollars more for a $100k than a $90k house right? And our broker said we could afford it. Looking at $100k houses.
I know this may sound crazy if you haven't lived through it, but this pattern continued for months. Each time with "experts" assuring us it was just a little more a month and telling us we could afford it. It sounds dumb looking back, but it was persuasive at the time. Especially to 2 people starting to panic.
Before you know it, the houses were $200k. So we found one for $189k (a real deal it seemed) and bought it ASAP. It was panic. It was fear. We knew we were outside of our comfort zone, but we didn't feel we had a choice. The houses were LITERALLY going up $10k a month. In fact, the house we bought for $189 was $149 less than 3 months previously. We felt if we didn't just grab something, anything, we'd be priced out of the market permanently and we didn't know what our future options would be then.
We ultimately mortgaged $195k after rolling in closing costs. It's insane. $195k after looking at $80k houses. If you haven't been through it, it is hard to understand.
We can't afford our $195k mortgage. And our mortgage company won't try to restructure our loan unless we are current. How much sense does that make? Unless we make our payments they won't help us find a way to make our payments. I have to prove I can pay, and prove I can't at the same time? Talk about a lose - lose situation.
And to make matters worse? My floors are cracking up. They are separating, and one side is rising... or is the other side sinking? I don't get it, because the house was 7 years old when we bought it. It had been inspected, and passed. I don't know how it developed these problems AFTER we bought it when it was that old already? And (even worse still) my husband is having a lot of trouble with his back. Standing AND sitting for more than 20 mins (sometimes less) at a time hurts him. Although I don't know how much it matters that it hurts him to work, since he is in home improvements & repair and never gets calls for work anyway. Also, I have my own online business that has done fine since 2002. Now my sales are dropping drastically. Sales were never high enough that I could fully support the family, but then it became hard to even pay utilities and bills like that. This last month, for the first time since 2002, I've had trouble even paying the expenses of the business much less making a spendable profit!
Not trying to post a sob story for sympathy or attention. I don't get off on revealing my dirty laundry to the world. I just think many people out there are unaware how many of us got in this mess. Maybe this helps clarify it for you. I didn't want to put my family in this mess. I didn't want to have to think about this stuff 24 hours a day. I didn't want to have anxiety attacks nearly every day, and heart palpitations at only 32 years old. Did I make a mistake? More than 1 I am sure. I put my faith in "experts" who (I thought) were supposed to help me and guide me. I am guilty of trust, faith and ignorance. And I am paying for it every minute. And worse than that? My child is paying for it too. She knows far too much about debt and mortgages at 10 yrs old, and she worries. Children shouldn't worry. They should feel safe and secure.
So before you judge so harshly, please consider maybe those of us upside down on our mortgages aren't total idiots. Maybe we are just people who wanted a better life for our children, and became convinced by experts that what we were doing was safe, reasonable and neccessary. We have learned, but unfortunately it is too late. Now we suffer for our mistakes. Please don't make that any worse.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
What was Jesus?
There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:
1.He called everyone brother
2.He liked Gospel
3.He didn't get a fair trial
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1.He went into His Father's business
2.He lived at home until he was 33
3.He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1.He talked with His hands
2.He had wine with His meals
3.He used olive oil
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1.he never cut His hair
2.He walked around barefoot all the time
3.He started a new religion
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was anAmerican Indian:
1.He was at peace with nature
2.He ate a lot of fish
3.He talked about the Great Spirit
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.
But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:
1.He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there wasvirtually no food
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who justdidn't get it
3.And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was still work to do
Can I get an amen?
hehe, isn't that cute? :)
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
1.He called everyone brother
2.He liked Gospel
3.He didn't get a fair trial
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1.He went into His Father's business
2.He lived at home until he was 33
3.He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1.He talked with His hands
2.He had wine with His meals
3.He used olive oil
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1.he never cut His hair
2.He walked around barefoot all the time
3.He started a new religion
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was anAmerican Indian:
1.He was at peace with nature
2.He ate a lot of fish
3.He talked about the Great Spirit
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.
But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:
1.He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there wasvirtually no food
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who justdidn't get it
3.And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was still work to do
Can I get an amen?
hehe, isn't that cute? :)
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Friday the 13th - history
Why all the fear of Friday the 13th?
In France, on (Friday) October 13, 1307, King Philippe IV attacked the Knights Templar. All the Templars in France were arrested, accused of heretical acts, imprisoned, tortued, and executed. The day forever branded Friday the 13th as an unlucky day.
An interesting little fact (found in Seventh House's Season of the Witch planner) The greatest number of Friday the Thirteenths that can occur in one year is three, and that is the case in 2009: Feb 13, March 13, Nov 13.
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
In France, on (Friday) October 13, 1307, King Philippe IV attacked the Knights Templar. All the Templars in France were arrested, accused of heretical acts, imprisoned, tortued, and executed. The day forever branded Friday the 13th as an unlucky day.
An interesting little fact (found in Seventh House's Season of the Witch planner) The greatest number of Friday the Thirteenths that can occur in one year is three, and that is the case in 2009: Feb 13, March 13, Nov 13.
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
I don't understand it?
The other day I sent a previous customer a discount on her next order as a thank you gift, and received a response asking me to remove her from my mailing list? She wasn't on a mailing list, she was just getting a one time discount offer in response to her satisfaction with her previous order.
Then today I decided I should get rid of the couple calendars I have left. Sure I could discount them and sell them off that way, but wouldn't it be more fun to give them away? So I spend the afternoon writing up a giveaway page on the website. I twitter it, direct message a few people I follow, post it in my yahoo group and blog it on my other blog. So far the only responses I have received were from:
1. A person the direct message got double sent to on twitter due to a traffic overload. The twitter gave me an error page telling me to try again, so I did. Apprently that made it double send.
2. A person asking me not to direct market them by sending them giveaways.
3. Someone who actually thanked me for letting them know.
So here's what I don't understand. How come if I want to give people discounts (that I can't even really afford to give with sales down due to the economy) and give away free items, how come I am either getting no response or complaints? Seriously, it's beyond me. Personally, I love discounts and freebies and even have a special folder for them in my yahoo mail. It makes me feel terrible. I never wanted to annoy people, and I'm not sure how I did? I have a very personable family run shop that isn't coming close to paying the bills at the moment, a husband that has been unempolyed for over a year, and yet I still think about how I can save others money and maybe brighten their day, and that is somehow a bad thing? Do people just assume it is like a big corporation who is just trying to milk every dollar they can out of everyone? The ones that give discounts just to make you buy things you don't want or need because you feel like you are getting a deal? Because that's not me. In fact, when I run specials I don't really see a big jump in my sales, probably because I have a much smaller customer base than big guns like Best Buy and Amazon. If anything, I have to work harder for the same amount of money or less. That doesn't really benefit me. But I do it for others. Which I guess is pointless, because it would seem no one takes it that way. It seems the harder I work, the more I think of others, and the more thoughtful I try to be, the less favorable response.
Maybe I'd be better off dropping my small town family run mentality and adopting a selfish corporation mentality. I am starting to feel like people would respect me more if I was just out to get their money instead of actually caring and being there when they need help or advice. But then I would just be going against my nature.
*sigh* just can't win.
Then today I decided I should get rid of the couple calendars I have left. Sure I could discount them and sell them off that way, but wouldn't it be more fun to give them away? So I spend the afternoon writing up a giveaway page on the website. I twitter it, direct message a few people I follow, post it in my yahoo group and blog it on my other blog. So far the only responses I have received were from:
1. A person the direct message got double sent to on twitter due to a traffic overload. The twitter gave me an error page telling me to try again, so I did. Apprently that made it double send.
2. A person asking me not to direct market them by sending them giveaways.
3. Someone who actually thanked me for letting them know.
So here's what I don't understand. How come if I want to give people discounts (that I can't even really afford to give with sales down due to the economy) and give away free items, how come I am either getting no response or complaints? Seriously, it's beyond me. Personally, I love discounts and freebies and even have a special folder for them in my yahoo mail. It makes me feel terrible. I never wanted to annoy people, and I'm not sure how I did? I have a very personable family run shop that isn't coming close to paying the bills at the moment, a husband that has been unempolyed for over a year, and yet I still think about how I can save others money and maybe brighten their day, and that is somehow a bad thing? Do people just assume it is like a big corporation who is just trying to milk every dollar they can out of everyone? The ones that give discounts just to make you buy things you don't want or need because you feel like you are getting a deal? Because that's not me. In fact, when I run specials I don't really see a big jump in my sales, probably because I have a much smaller customer base than big guns like Best Buy and Amazon. If anything, I have to work harder for the same amount of money or less. That doesn't really benefit me. But I do it for others. Which I guess is pointless, because it would seem no one takes it that way. It seems the harder I work, the more I think of others, and the more thoughtful I try to be, the less favorable response.
Maybe I'd be better off dropping my small town family run mentality and adopting a selfish corporation mentality. I am starting to feel like people would respect me more if I was just out to get their money instead of actually caring and being there when they need help or advice. But then I would just be going against my nature.
*sigh* just can't win.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Boycott ~ Chili's & Macaroni Grill
This was so terribly disturbing, I just had to share. I was reading an article on Spark People today about the worst foods of 2008. Some of these nutrition facts were beyond astounding! I post it here in the hopes that people will boycott these items (at minimum) or (hopefully!) be proactive in contacting these restaurants to let them know that this is unacceptable! The info below is taken from the (very informative!) ariticle on Spark People worst foods of 2008.
Chili's Texas Cheese Fries with Jalapeno Ranch dressing
Whose idea was cheese fries? They're delicious, sure, but really, did we need to top deep-fried potatoes with greasy melted cheese and bacon and dip them in dressed-up mayonnaise? No, we did not. Now they're a staple at chain restaurants, who try to one-up each other with signature ranch dressings, extra toppings and, ultimately, more fat.
Chili's boasts: "homestyle fries topped with melted cheese, jalapeños, applewood smoked bacon & jalapeño-ranch dipping sauce."These fries lost the contest for the worst cheese fries in America (that dishonor went to Outback Steakhouse's cheese fries), but it was a tight race.
One hundred and sixty grams of fat. One-six-zero. 160! (Oh, and you'll get 1 1/2 days' worth of sodium in one meal!)
2,070 calories
160 g fat
73 g saturated fat
73 g carbs
85 g protein
8 g fiber
3,730 mg sodium
I mean come on, is that really neccessary? Don't these places care about branding and repeat business? They aren't going to get it when all of their patrons have heart attacks!
Mad enough to do something about it? Then please A. Pass this article on and B. Write or call Chili's to let them know that you think this is ridiculous!
http://www.chilis.com/contact/comments_guestrelations.asp
1-800-983-4637, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central Time, excluding holidays.
Romano's Macaroni Grill Seared Sea Scallops salad
Why bother even calling this a salad? Could we ask restaurants to have a calorie and fat limit for the salad section? I'd like to be able to order salads without worrying I'm consuming an entire day's worth of protein and fat. Judging from the Macaroni Grill menu, it's impossible to create a salad with more than lettuce and dressing for under 500 calories. Macaroni Grill flunked the Men's Health restaurant review.
"Seared sea scallops, tender leaves of spinach, arugula, feta cheese, crispy prosciutto, toasted walnuts and Parmesan crisps with light citrus dressing."
Psst… vegetables and lean protein taste good. You don’t need to douse them in fat for us to eat them. (Don't you just love that it comes with a "light" citrus dressing? Nothing in this salad is light, judging from the nutritional info!)
1,270 calories
94 g fat
27 g saturated fat
2,740 mg sodium
42 g carbs
76 g protein
6 g fiber
Mad enough to do something about it? Then please A. Pass this article on and B. Write or call Macaroni Grill to let them know that you think this is ridiculous!
http://macaronigrill.com/LetsConnect/Feedback.aspx
1-800-983-4637 Monday through Friday 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. Central Time.
I get it, really I do. Restaurants claim they wouldn't make these things if people didn't want them. But isn't that a chicken and egg scenerio? Don't people want them because they are available? I mean really, how many have times have you heard someone wish that restaurants would just create more 1200 calorie salads? Or burgers with enough saturated fat to last you 3 days? I don't know anyone they wants that, requests that, or even knows that is the case! Ok, chili cheese fries should be a no brainer maybe. But salad? I would have looked at that Macaroni Grill salad on the menu and have thought it was probably a decent choice. I guess I still have a lot to learn.
Don't let these restaurants make people junk food addicts! Stand up! You may not think your lone voice matters, but don't let it be your lone voice! Tell friends, families, post it on your social networking sites. Get the word out. If together we demand healthier choices, plus the removal of the worst health culprits, we CAN make a difference. Educate yourself and educate others. Don't let these places make us fat and unhealthy while we turn a blind eye.
Want to do more? Visit the Spark People article worst foods of 2008 for a list of more heart stopping, people killing foods. Contact and/or boycott these restaurants.
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com/
Chili's Texas Cheese Fries with Jalapeno Ranch dressing
Whose idea was cheese fries? They're delicious, sure, but really, did we need to top deep-fried potatoes with greasy melted cheese and bacon and dip them in dressed-up mayonnaise? No, we did not. Now they're a staple at chain restaurants, who try to one-up each other with signature ranch dressings, extra toppings and, ultimately, more fat.
Chili's boasts: "homestyle fries topped with melted cheese, jalapeños, applewood smoked bacon & jalapeño-ranch dipping sauce."These fries lost the contest for the worst cheese fries in America (that dishonor went to Outback Steakhouse's cheese fries), but it was a tight race.
One hundred and sixty grams of fat. One-six-zero. 160! (Oh, and you'll get 1 1/2 days' worth of sodium in one meal!)
2,070 calories
160 g fat
73 g saturated fat
73 g carbs
85 g protein
8 g fiber
3,730 mg sodium
I mean come on, is that really neccessary? Don't these places care about branding and repeat business? They aren't going to get it when all of their patrons have heart attacks!
Mad enough to do something about it? Then please A. Pass this article on and B. Write or call Chili's to let them know that you think this is ridiculous!
http://www.chilis.com/contact/comments_guestrelations.asp
1-800-983-4637, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central Time, excluding holidays.
Romano's Macaroni Grill Seared Sea Scallops salad Why bother even calling this a salad? Could we ask restaurants to have a calorie and fat limit for the salad section? I'd like to be able to order salads without worrying I'm consuming an entire day's worth of protein and fat. Judging from the Macaroni Grill menu, it's impossible to create a salad with more than lettuce and dressing for under 500 calories. Macaroni Grill flunked the Men's Health restaurant review.
"Seared sea scallops, tender leaves of spinach, arugula, feta cheese, crispy prosciutto, toasted walnuts and Parmesan crisps with light citrus dressing."
Psst… vegetables and lean protein taste good. You don’t need to douse them in fat for us to eat them. (Don't you just love that it comes with a "light" citrus dressing? Nothing in this salad is light, judging from the nutritional info!)
1,270 calories
94 g fat
27 g saturated fat
2,740 mg sodium
42 g carbs
76 g protein
6 g fiber
Mad enough to do something about it? Then please A. Pass this article on and B. Write or call Macaroni Grill to let them know that you think this is ridiculous!
http://macaronigrill.com/LetsConnect/Feedback.aspx
1-800-983-4637 Monday through Friday 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. Central Time.
I get it, really I do. Restaurants claim they wouldn't make these things if people didn't want them. But isn't that a chicken and egg scenerio? Don't people want them because they are available? I mean really, how many have times have you heard someone wish that restaurants would just create more 1200 calorie salads? Or burgers with enough saturated fat to last you 3 days? I don't know anyone they wants that, requests that, or even knows that is the case! Ok, chili cheese fries should be a no brainer maybe. But salad? I would have looked at that Macaroni Grill salad on the menu and have thought it was probably a decent choice. I guess I still have a lot to learn.
Don't let these restaurants make people junk food addicts! Stand up! You may not think your lone voice matters, but don't let it be your lone voice! Tell friends, families, post it on your social networking sites. Get the word out. If together we demand healthier choices, plus the removal of the worst health culprits, we CAN make a difference. Educate yourself and educate others. Don't let these places make us fat and unhealthy while we turn a blind eye.
Want to do more? Visit the Spark People article worst foods of 2008 for a list of more heart stopping, people killing foods. Contact and/or boycott these restaurants.
~Anyanka
http://www.thewitchescupboard.com/
Monday, January 12, 2009
Mercury Retrograde began
I must be out of it to have missed the Mercury Retrograde which began yesterday.
For those who do not already know, the Mercury Retrograde is when (from earth's perspective) Mercury appears to be moving backward through the Zodiac. Things done during this period often get confused, require more work, have to be done repeatedly, or unravel themselves.
Just a few reminders during the retrograde period. This is a bad time to start new projects, but a good time to finish up old ones. Also a good time to organize and plan for the future. Watch for possible miscommunications! Communication of all kinds can get scrambled and confused during the Retrograde.
This Retrograde started yesterday January 11th and continues through Sunday February 1st.
)O(
Anyanka
You can visit my website at http://www.thewitchescupboard.com
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