Flipping Houses

Have you seen the shows on TV about how someone with no experience can quit their day job, and without permits, closing or transaction costs, and certainly without any waterproof backing behind the kitchen sink tile and stone that they all insist on, can make a bunch of money in 3 weeks flipping a house.

I saw recently for the first time at the opening of the show, a warning that went something like this: “These are real people investing real money. You can lose money flipping houses.” Words to ponder and it’s about time!

What’s The White House Worth?

White House

The people over at Zillow decided to tackle a huge challenge and come up with a Zestimate of how much the White House is worth. Since there is nothing to compare it to (I mean how many people have a bunker under their home that could withstand a nuclear blast?) it was hard to come up with an accurate price tag.

Well, after a lot of research they cam up with the price of $308,058,000! That includes:

• 132 rooms
• 55,000 square feet
• 18 Acres
• underground bunker
• 3 kitchens (that’s all?)
• 35 bathrooms

The White House is open to the public and is free! To find out more information click here.

All In Good Fun

I came across this great video clip that Late Night with David Letterman put together on former President George Bush. This is all in good fun, no harm intended!

The White House Has A Blog

It never occurred to me to even see if the White House had a blog but as of yesterday, they do! On their new blog they say the White House website was one of the first changes to be made as President Obama took office.

The new websitewill be centered around Communication, Transparency, and Participation. The President plans to have a weekly video address posted every Saturday morning on the site, and there were some photos of past presidents and their pets in the slide show section.

The site had a personal touch to it, very inviting and open. It will be interesting to see how it developes over the next few months.  Visit www.whitehouse.gov for more details.

Free Coffee From Starbucks – Again!

I applaud Starbucks! Honestly I don’t go there much any more (now that I brew my own at home) but I am really loving how they are offering incentives to people to be more patriotic.

On Election Day Starbucks offered up free coffee to anyone that voted. It was on the honor system too, it’s not like you had to physically prove you went and voted. Now they are offering free coffee to anyone that commits to 5 hours of community service with a program called “I’m In.” Between January 21st and January 25th simply fill out a card pledging to do more and Starbucks will give you a free coffee!

What I love about Starbucks is they are offering their customers an incentive to be better Americans. Maybe other companies are doing this too and I’m just not aware of it or maybe they just have the finances to advertise their incentives, either way it makes me happy that a giant company will reward you for doing a good deed!

How Many Times Have You Said “I Wish”

Sometimes, I think about going for a stroll, knowing how good it is for my physical state and how wonderful I will feel afterwards.  But then I too lazy, and prefer to watch TV instead. Can you relate to this?  You know you need to change your eating habits or stop smoking, yet, you don’t have the inner power and persistence to change these habits.

How many times have you said, “I wish I had will power and self discipline”? How many times have you started to do something, only to quit after a short while? I think most folks have experiences like these. 

Everyone possesses some addictions or habits they wish they could overcome, such as smoking, excessive eating, laziness, procrastination, or lack of assertiveness. I have committed myself for 2009 to increase my awareness, will power, and self-discipline. My goal is to make changes in my life, and increase my inner strength, self-mastery, and decisiveness.  Check out my blog entries to see my thoughts and progress.  And don’t hesitate to make a comment or share your thoughts, tips and advice for everyone to share.

Just In Case You Haven’t Heard…

Just in case you have not watched, listened to, or read any local news Western Washington is flooding and has caused many road closures including I-5.  A  stretch of Interstate 5 from mile post 68 to mile post 88 is closed due to water over the roadway, many highways in the area are closed making it tough to get out of Western Washington  in any direction.

Please check the Washington State Department of Transportation for up to date road conditions and closures. It might not be a bad idea to stock up on food, batteries, and fresh water too, just in case!

Another Round of Snow!

I was so happy to see the snow start falling again last night. I know a lot of people are tired of the snow but it’s just so darn pretty! Luckily I’m able to work from home when the weather is bad. I guess the snow will melt by this afternoon but it was sure nice to look at this morning!