Friday, October 9, 2009
Politics: I think I may be sick...literally.
"The Nobel committee praised Obama's creation of "a new climate inDisregarding the complete farce of "climate change," Pres. Obama has done nothing but make this a more dangerous place to live...well, that is, if you are a Christian & don't want to be told how to run your life) by alienating our allies, cozying up to our enemies, & completely retreating on the missile defense plan in Europe.
international politics" and said he had returned multilateral diplomacy and
institutions like the U.N. to the center of the world stage."
"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama
captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better
future," Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Committee said. "In the
past year Obama has been a key person for important initiatives in the U.N.
for nuclear disarmament and to set a completely new agenda for the Muslim
world and East-West relations."
"We trust that this award will strengthen his commitment, as the leader of the
most powerful nation in the world, to continue promoting peace and the
eradication of poverty," the foundation said.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
States Exploration: Assignment 1: Bordering States
w many states border your state?: 4 Which ones are they?: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, & Louisiana
Have you ever been to any of them?: I've been to all of them multiple times.
Was there a reason you visited or are they close enough you visit often?: Usually trips to Louisiana & New Mexico were driving through on vacations. Same with Oklahoma except we use to have our family reunions up there. With Arkansas, I went to college in Fayetteville & I have family who live there too. I go with my family quite often to Little Rock to a fantastic dinner theater there (Murry's Dinner Playhouse). We have a mini-family reunion (almost every summer) in northern Arkansas & stay in a cabin & trout fish on the White River. I grew up near Texarkana which is a city that is half in Arkansas & half in Texas so I use to go there all the time just to go out to eat or shopping or to visit someone in the hospital or to go to college when I was in x-ray school. I will be going back to AR in a few weeks for our Thanksgiving family reunion & I can't wait!
Of the ones you have visited which is your favorite?: Arkansas
Bonus Question (do not look this question up on the web and don’t look at a map. Just guess!) – Which two states have the most bordering states?: I have no idea...I'll have to look it up...anyone want to take a guess?....I'm not going to tell you...you'll have to look it up too....hehe. :D
States Exploration: Assignment 3: My Part of the State
Name of the county you’re in and surrounding counties: I live in Denton County. The surrounding counties are: Cooke, Grayson, Collin, Dallas, Tarrent, & Wise Counties.
How many counties total are there in your state?: There are 254 counties in TX.
The state capital is in which county? The capital, Austin, is not in Austin County like one would think but, instead, it is located in Travis County.
Post a picture of your country courthouse: I'm not going to do this because my county court house is quite a drive away & I only go up there if I have to. Since I have no other reason to drive to that town right now I don't want to waste gas going up there...sorry...trying to be more frugal.
Post a picture map showing your state’s counties:
How close is the next town/city from yours?: Most of the towns in my area are pretty much on top of each other.
What is the population of your city/town? There are approximately 101,624 people in my town...however I am planning on moving to a nearby town in about a month that has about 20,773. Ah, that is so much better. Personally, I would live to live in a place of less than 1000 but this will be much better regardless. I'll feel like I can breath at least.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Another change I may be making soon.
I have had DirecTV for the last 5 yrs & I have loved it. I use to have a pretty serious TV addiction but I have broken that in the last couple of years. Now, the only programs I really watch is Monk (this is the last season), Psych, & The Office. I sometimes also watch Life Essentials, a scrapbooking show, & a cooking show on BYU (no, I'm not Mormon but they have some great homemaking shows on there) if they are topics I'm interested in & I'm not doing anything. Other than that, if I just want the TV on, I usually turn it to FOX News. With those exceptions, if I want to watch TV, I usually stream some movie or show from Netflix via my x-box.
Anyway, since I can get most of the programs I really like online or just wait until it comes out on box sets, I can't really validate spending $75 each month. I was seriously considering cancelling my TV completely, even though I would miss FOX News. However, I listen to AFR (American Family Radio) a whole lot & I kept hearing them refer to "SkyAngel" so I decided to research it. SkyAngel is a TV programing service provider like cable or DirecTV or Dish Network but it is provided via the Internet. The thing that separates it from the others is that it is a Christian service &, guess what....it includes FOX News. Also, it is a little over $50 cheaper. I was concerned that it wouldn't be DVR compatible but it will work with TiVo. I'll need to get a TiVo because the one supplied by DirecTV is leased (another negative, in my mind because you have to pay an "up front" fee too). However, TiVo has some refurbished ones for $80 as opposed to a new one for $150.
The Christian programing is a huge benefit. There is so much on TV now days that is not worth viewing. We have become so numb to much of what we see these days. I would one day like to have a family & I know I would not want my children to see 90% of what I see just flipping around the channels so I should get in the habit of analyzing what I watch with discernment now rather than after I have a house full of kids. This kind of programming just takes the thought work out of a lot of it but also removes much of the temptation of watching something that, as a Christian wanting to guard my heart more, has no business watching.
So, what do you think? Any thoughts?
Adventures in Homebuying: The Inspection
Friday morning my Realtor & I met my home inspector at the house for the inspection. The inspector was very nice & open about what he was doing, his findings, his opinions, & patient & thorough in answering my questions.He was very impressed with the condition of the house especially considering the age of the house (23 yrs). There were only a few minor issues that could be resolved with a trip to Lowes & 20 mins. There was only one issue that would require a quick stop of an electrician & a couple that would require a handyman or daddy.
I've asked the homeowners to fix a couple of the problems that need fixing sooner rather than later & the rest of them I'll fix along the way. Nothing I asked them to fix will cost much money or time & they seem to be pretty miticulous about how well they've kept their home & I doubt they will mind fixing them. We had a storm the night before & a couple of shingles were blown off & there are two cap things that go around the vents in the roof that need replacing. The only other things were some insulation on the refrigerant coolant tubes that are connected to the AC & the shower diverter is stuck in the master bath which means you can only run the shower & not the tube faucet. Two other things I've asked them about are if their sprinkler system has a backflow preventer/shut off & if so, where it is, and there was a light switch in the living room that we couldn't figure out what it went to.
I emailed my broker & told him I definitely want this house so he said he would order the appraisal & now, I've just got to find some property insurance.
