You Know Who Likes 500-Point Rallies?

The flood of tears is now more of a trickle.

Home Sales Rise; Beat Expectations

From the WSJ, below. But shouldn't it read, " ...climbing above expectations, BECAUSE prices plunged..."? Yes, it should. It's called a "market" and the WSJ should know that.

WASHINGTON -- Existing-home sales rebounded in February, climbing above expectations, but prices plunged again.

Home resales climbed to a 4.72 million annual rate, a 5.1% increase from January's unrevised 4.49 million annual pace, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.

Foreclosures and short sales reflect about 45% of total existing-home sales. Distressed properties are discounted, so the abundance of these sales prices new homes out of the market, discouraging construction and weakening the overall housing sector further.

With so many distressed sales, the median price for an existing home fell last month. At $165,400 in February, the median price was down 15.5% from $195,800 in February 2008. The median price in January this year was $164,800. The 15.5% plunge is the second biggest ever, behind January's 17.5% drop.

Hey Look A Post!

Sorry I haven't blogged in so long. LOTS of work to be done. And, when I'm not working, I'm writing. Thus, two, more-than-full-time jobs.

Trying to think if I have any news -- Yes! "I Love You Man" is hilarious! Can't believe it wasn't No. 1 movie this weekend. Apparently "Knowing" sucks.

Quote of the Week, March 18, 2009

The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

-- William Faulkner

Anniversary Flowers....

Yes, that's right -- 35 years ago today, two 'very' young adults said "I do" and the clock started ticking. The years have been busy -- jobs, kids, college, weddings, vacations...and it all goes by so quickly.
Dad's creative touch is evident again this year in the flowers. There are 3 white roses with blue tips (these were the kind used in our wedding) for each decade, and 5 red roses -- to total 35 years.
I wish you could smell them. They are lovely.

This is Ridiculous

Typically, I'm very much on the side of corporations. However, this is ridiculous.

CHICAGO (AP) — The tallest building in America is getting a new name.
Chicago's Sears Tower will be renamed Willis Tower after London-based Willis Group Holdings. The insurance broker announced the name change and other details of its agreement with the building's owners Thursday.
Willis is moving five local offices and nearly 500 employees into the 110-story building. The move is expected to be completed by late summer.
Willis will occupy more than 140,000 square feet at $14.50 a square foot. The company says it's not paying anything extra for the naming rights.The 1,451-foot skyscraper is owned by a real estate investment group formed in 2004 to buy the tower

While we're at it, I plan to call my congressman and see if we can change a few more things for a quick buck. What do you think of:

The Empire Cheese State Building in New York?

The Golden Arch in St. Louis?

The Virgin Galatic Space Needle in Seattle?

The FedEx Beale Street in Memphis?

Just brainstorming here ...

Come On!

Chicago weather has been more frustrating than usual lately. I left work on Tuesday and it was around 60. Yesterday morning greeted me with a balmy 20 and WINDY. At least it's supposed to be around 45 on Saturday. Rach, you want to go to the beach?

Quote of the Week, March 11, 2009

There are no great people in the world, only great challenges which ordinary people rise to meet.

-- William Frederick Halsey, Jr. (1882-1959) Military Officer

Greetings from the Vatican! (I just mean my desk)

So, I’ve been pretty bad about correspondence lately; not just on this blog, but with everyone. Many apologies. I’m going to try and be better about posting. Ironically, I don’t have much to report. However, Rachel and I did just host Melissa and John last weekend and had a blast! We covered museums and neighborhoods and fun dinner destinations. Also, Melissa about has me talked into a Triathlon in August. Yikes.

Let’s see, what else … Rachel and I picked a Nintendo Wii not too long ago! It’s very fun, though we don’t have a lot of time to play it. I’m trying to carve out more time to play, and to watch TV. And I’m trying to start smoking. Kidding.

I guess that’s it for now, but like I said, I plan to be better about posting!

Love all.

Josh

Rough Seas.......

Okay, so I'm struggling here. I"m trying to catch a line and get back on board.

I think that is Cap'n on the boat throwing the life preserver. He lost another 2.5 lbs this week!

Beach life is good...

Since everyone else weighs in on Monday, I will too. As of this morning I've lost 5 lbs. YAY!!

Keep those recipes coming. I'm doing ok, but I think John might revolt if I feed him one more salad.

Surfing in on The Beach...

Okay -- we're back where the action is with sand between our toes. We can't worry about the storm damage now -- just repair and push forward.

Loss for the week.....

Mommy 9.5 lbs (I guess I swallowed a lot of water during the storm).

Cap'n 0.5 lbs

(tee-hee -- I win).

I'm on my way...

Started the beach on Tuesday morning and already lost 2 lbs. Yay! If only that rate would keep up I'd be Kate Moss by a week from Thursday.

To My Beach Bunnies!

http://www.southbeachrecipes.com/

http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/recipecollection.html

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/trusted-brands-recipes-and-tips/south-beach-diet/phase-1-recipes/main.aspx

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food/healthy/south-beach-diet-recipes-jun04

http://www.southbeachcenturyclub.com/

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=114

http://www.prevention.com/cda/categorypage.do?channel=weight.loss&category=diets&topic=south.beach.diet

http://www.lowcarbrecipescentral.com/

http://weightloss.about.com/od/southbeachdietrecipes/

http://www.recipezaar.com/cookbook.php?bookid=35439

http://recipegal.com/SouthBeachDiet/

http://foodgeeks.com/diets/southbeachdiet.phtml

http://www.south-beach-diet-recipe.com/south_beach_diet_recipes.htm

possible beach help...

I found this blog that is essentially a cooking blog, but the chef lost a bunch of weight on South Beach, so she adapts a lot of her recipes to it. Plus the recipes actually sound good as opposed to some cooking blogs - yuck.

You might want to check it out:
Kalyn's Kitchen

Storm Damage Report

After Hurricane Thanksgiving, Monsoon Wedding, and Tropical Storm John & Melissa -- we went into a Tropical Depression and have been lost at sea for a couple of weeks.

However, we have latched onto a piece of romaine lettuce and are trying to paddle toward the beach. Is that a mirage or do I see a friend in the distance?

The damage report is too embarrassing to tell. Maybe next week after I have the sand between my toes again I'll give more details. The Cap'n did much better than I -- but he has all that sea experience :-)

paddle, paddle, paddle....

The Beach Beckons

Okay, so John and I are headed to the beach tomorrow. I'm getting all of the stuff ready tonight. I need tips and recipes (especially crock-pot friendly ones).

Are we going to see you guys there?

We are weathering the storms

Contrary to speculation, we have not been lost at sea. We weathered Hurricane Thanksgiving and are still hanging out on The Beach, gripping the sand by our fingernails, and doing okay.

Mommy 31 lbs
Cap'n 42 lbs

We are headed for Monsoon Wedding.

May Day, May Day, May Day...

Autumn on The Beach

Baby it's cold outside!

Here's our weekly check-in.........


Cap'n 40 lbs

Mommy 30.25 lbs

Yippee - skippee!

Lucky 13 on The Beach

Yep, 13 weeks!

Cap'n 39
Mommy 29

Hurricane Thanksgiving is coming.
We're boarding up the windows.

Schwamorto!

We got the prettiest wedding invitation in the mail. We haven't gotten the mail in a couple of days, so I can't say exactly which day it came, but it's here. No backing out now, Josh.

Rachel- we'd still understand if you did though.

Milestones on the Beach

We've made it to another big milestone! 12 weeks on The Beach! That's a record for us!

Weekly weigh-in:

Cap'n = 38 lbs
Mommy = 26 lbs

He's ahead of me, but I don't care because I'm still losing!

Head of the Lake Regatta

Yesterday I was in a 3 mile rowing race starting at Gaswork's Park, going through the Montlake cut, and ending by Husky stadium. In case you were wondering, 3 miles is far. Just thought I'd clear that up.

We took 2nd. Since there were only 3 boats you could say we were next to last, but I prefer "1st runner up".

Hannah's Dream

This is a good one!

Oh boy...

Looks like I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year (which of course, you're all invited to if you're in the neighborhood). So if you guys have great recipes, send them my way.

Hanging out on The Beach

I bet you guys thought we were washed out to sea because we didn't report in yesterday.

But no -- we are still hanging out on the beach. No storms or sharks circling yet.

Cap'n -- 34.5 lbs

Mommy - 24.5 lbs.

Yep, he finally pulled ahead by 10 lbs. It's not fair, not fair at all -- but I understand it is normal.

So -- upward and onward.

Quote of the Week, November 3, 2008

When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either.
--Leo Burnett, Advertising Executive (1891-1971)

WHERE IS EVERYONE??????????????

The Wednesday Letters

I read this book last week. Fast, simple read. Uplifting and inspiring.

October 27

Yep. It's snowing.

The Sun Shines on The Beach

Here's our weekly report --

Mommy 24 1/4

Cap'n 32.0

la la la la la......

Halloween

What is that yellow thing?

This was the picture on my home page weather report today...

I'm so confused. I have no idea what that yellow dot means. I've only ever seen this...


I'm frightened.

Boss of the Year 2008

I was invited to attend the monthly meeting of NALS (National Association of Legal Secretaries) of Greater St. Louis and did so last evening with several staff members. Much to my surprise I learned that I had been nominated and was chosen for their annual Boss of the Year Award. I received the award last night at J. Bucks downtown.

Woo-hoo!

Now Josh can stop calling me Debbie the Ax.

Another Excuse Gone ...

My building opened up a gym for tenants. It's not much, but it's free! The picture is what I'm going to look like in about a week, I think.

Competition on The Beach

We just completed a full 9 weeks on The Beach. We're hanging in there but Cap'n is pulling ahead again. I'm thinking of packing bologna and crackers in his lunch box so he'll give me a chance to close the gap again. We plan to reward ourselves with a trip to the St. Louis Art Museum once we hit 30/25 goals. We also have a bottle of champagne chilled which will only be opened if we complete a full 12 weeks!

This week:
Cap'n 30.5
Mommy 23 lbs

We've been good beach bums, except for Friday night when we left the beach to have dinner at Del Pietros. They had this unique little side dish there called "pasta" and it was too delish to pass by.

Stay tuned for next week's Beach report.

Pumpkins in the Park 5K

Josh and I ran our first 5K Race yesterday! Pumpkins in the Park is a Halloween themed event in Lincoln Park. The first 3 pictures are the "before" shots and the last one is the "after". So, as you can see...we survived! We had a great time and hope to do more 5Ks! I was unsure if I could do it...I'm not much of a runner...but it was very motivating to be in a crowd with everyone, all different paces (people going for speed, recreational runners, and walkers). We had no problem running the whole time and finishing the race!

It was very entertaining, too, because people were dressed up in Halloween costumes while they were running! We went as "5K First Timers" :) But we also saw 2 guys dressed up as Barbie and Ken INSIDE the big pink Barbie boxes, a 2 person camel (where the second guy is under the sheet and crouched down), a farm scene (a barn, cow, chicken, pig, etc.), and some girls dressed as big bunches of grapes with green or purple balloons attached to their whole body! They ran the race like that--even the 2 guys in the camel suit! It was great.

We are currently taking suggestions for our costume for next year's run!!!

Had my test today...

I think it went well. There were 47 multiple choice questions and I wasn't dead sure for only about 5. Most of those were true/false, so I got a 50/50 shot on those. I'm pretty sure I clinched a B+ and maybe higher (but I want to be pleasantly surprised).

John was so nice to come down with a really bad cold yesterday so that I could use him for a model while studying. Now THAT'S supportive!!

Buffet Speaks: It's Time To Buy

The Oracle of Omaha, the richest man in the world, gives a nuanced view of why he believes it's time to start investing again.

Let me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.

Finally -- someone explained the bailout to me!