Would You Name Your Baby Marijuana Pepsi?

Someone did!  It’s the truth. Marijuana and Pepsi are her legal first and middle names, and the woman embraces them as a symbol of her struggle to succeed and to help other children overcome obstacles.

No Mary or Mary Jane or Mary Wanda for her. It’s Marijuana, thank you.  Check out her photo.  She is a tall, striking, self-assured, motorcycle-riding woman and a schoolteacher with a master’s degree in higher education administration.  Soon, she’ll start work on her doctorate.

Wow, you think you have an uphill battle?  Why do parents saddle their kids with goofy names.  Isn’t life tough enough?  Why make it more difficult by naming your baby something sure to bring on the jokes.  Ah, free will!  Click here  to read the story.

February existing home sales rise by 5.1 percent

Good news folks:  Sales of previously occupied homes jumped unexpectedly in February by the largest amount in nearly six years as first-time buyers took advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures and other distressed properties.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of existing homes grew 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 4.72 million last month, from 4.49 million units in January.

Economists said sales, while still at levels not seen since 1997, may finally be coming back to life after declining sharply following the stock market plunge last autumn.

Why Do We Have To Pay?

Here is the question: Why are State Taxpayers on the hook for the bone head acts of some pathetic judge in Seattle?

Here is the story. A former Seattle Municipal Court employee said a presiding judge insisted on kissing and fondling her after she ended a sexual relationship with him, according to a $135,000 settlement agreement released by the City Attorney’s Office recently.

The judge, the city of Seattle and the employee reached the settlement in November, with the city and Mamiya each paying $67,500, according to documents provided by the city in response to public-document requests by the media.

The good Judge said “I want to acknowledge my horrible lapse in judgment. I have no excuse for my role in this incident, and my actions have hurt many people important to me, including my wife, family and my community. I take full responsibility for my behavior.”

Our state’s updated revenue forecast came in recently. It projects that tax collections will be another half billion dollars below what was forecast – that pushes our state deficit up to over $9-billion. I’ll ask the question again: Why are State Taxpayers on the hook for the bone head acts of some pathetic judge in Seattle?

It’s In the Text , or is it, The Text is In?

It’s a pretty sure bet that you have a cell phone. What about text messaging, do you use it? If you don’t, consider yourself in a very small minority.

Nielsen Mobile surveys shows that by the second quarter of 2008, text messages had exceeded the number of cell phone calls by an impressive margin.

And, if you think it’s all just teenagers, think again. The facts show that every age group up through 44 years old sent more text messages than they made cell phone voice calls. And it was close on the 45 to 54 group.

Text messaging is becoming a wildly popular way to exchange information. Marketers and retailers are now doing text message marketing. You can actually get a coupon text message and show it in a restaurant for a discount.

What if every person who drove by one of our listings could have text messaged a code to get price and other information? What if you needed to get a message to your kid in school but didn’t want to have the phone ring in class. How about text messaging a restaurant reservation. All of this is currently available technology.

Start looking at how you might use text messaging to enhance how you communicate. Just don’t do it while driving!

Are We Up, Down or Sideways!

Everybody from Los Angeles to Boston — your mom, your doctor, your dry cleaner — is puzzling over which way the nation’s real estate market is headed. Up or down? Sideways or not?

It’s a debate that’s been raging for months, and recently there have been clear signs of a up tick. The Northwest MLS reported 4,559 pending sales during February for a 4.7 percent improvement over January.

That total, was the highest volume since September 2008. We have seen a noticeable increase in open house activity, with part of the surge coming from transferees moving into the area who are looking to buy rather than rent. Home values are finally at a point where affordability has returned and the market is slowly beginning to respond to the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers.

The $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers does not have to be repaid. . . and first time buyers who purchase before April 15 can apply the tax credit to their 2008 tax return.
The combination of historically low interest rates and increased affordability is an opportune time for buyers to take a look at purchasing their first home.

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Today is St Patrick’s Day and my kids came downstairs to the table decked out in green. Their chairs were wrapped in green, we have green dishes, Lucky Charms for breakfast and of course some green milk. 4 year olds don’t understand St Patrick’s Day but to break up the normal routine with something different is fun! OK, it’s fun for me too!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

It just keeps getting better!

It seems like each week we bring you news you can use . . .and it just keeps getting better – in spite of the Media!
 
Buy a Home in 2009 – Get a check for $8,000 as part of their 2008 tax refund!!  The IRS has revised their form 5405 that allows a first time homebuyer to get a tax credit for $8,000. The most important part is they can claim it on their 2008 taxes!!

Yes you read it right.  If a buyer buys a home in 2009 they can check off a box that states they are collecting the $8,000 on their 2008 taxes and get the money immediately!  If they filed their 2008 taxes already they can revise their taxes with this form and resubmit.

This is a great incentive for anyone you know that hasn’t owned a home in the last three years.  Buy a home between now and December 2009, file an amended return for 2008 and get your $8,000 in a few weeks.  Share this important news with people you know that haven’t owned a home in the last three years as well as new home buyers.

Shoreline, WA Is On The List – Yikes!

As many of you may or may not know, Shoreline, WA is one of the proposed sites for a 640-bed municipal jail facility. The site is located at 2545 NE 200th St which lies on the Northeast side of Shoreline bordering Lake Forest Park.

In November, we posted the news release from the city identifying the six sites. Since then, there have been public forums and meetings held by both the city and the surrounding neighborhoods. If you would like to get involved, review tapes of the public forums, or simply find out more information about the proposed site you can visit http://www.necmunicipaljail.org/ .

You can also read more and submit written comments regarding the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) by visiting these links; http://www.necmunicipaljail.org/SEPA.htm and http://www.necmunicipaljail.org/docs/NEC_2008_EIS_Scoping_Notice.pdf.
Please note the following notice received from a local resident:

Dear Neighbors, Friends and Shoreline residents,

The community is organizing opposition to the proposed jail site at the residentially zoned, Aldercrest Annex. Comments on environmental impact and ideas are needed on an appropriate use of this property such as park, soccer complex etc.

The following are two web sites with updates and information on what you can do to help.
Concerned citizens of Lake Forest Park have started this web site, check it out:

www.NoShorelineJail.org

Someone we all know of once said . . .

Someone we all know of once said “There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns….there are also unknown unknowns.”

 

Yup, it was Don Rumsfeld, but it doesn’t sound too different from the gobble-dee-gook coming from Timothy Geithner.

 

Besides drowning in toilet paper (I mean bad loans – or do I?), credit defaults, and collateralized debt obligations, we seem to be inundated with unknowns.  Do you get the sense that there are fewer unknowns than we’re being told?

Great Deals on Kids Clothing and Equipment!

Two times a year the Snohomish County Mothers of Multiples Club holds a baby/kids clothing and equipment sale. Each year the sale gets bigger and bigger and the line to get in is longer and longer! The SNOMOM’s spring sale is tomorrow March 7th and doors open at 8:30am at the Lynnwood High School Auditorium across from the Alderwood Mall.  Trust me when I say get there early!

At this sale you will find car seats, strollers, pac n plays, cribs, toys, books, clothes, clothes, clothes,  did I say clothes?shoes, everything for a baby or young child. The items are gently used but the prices are amazing! SNOMOMS is very organized, everything is grouped by size and gender, all the shoes are spread out so you can see them, the equipment is set up so you can check it out, and there are staff members to help with questions.

If you are looking for baby equipment or anything for a young child this is the sale for you! For more information check out SNOMOMS website.