Don’t you just love friends who send you all the right YouTube videos? Honestly, turn on your speakers or pick up your head phones and see how a simple game show host whacks 1.5 (not just 1.2) TRILLION from the Federal budget (using monkeys!):

So there you go… was that so hard???

Today I received this from a good friend (via email), and I just couldn’t help but think that while it circulates into inboxes, posting it might be a good idea, too. Sure makes a person stop and think (or it would if politicians thought that far ahead). No matter if you are religious or not, your actions do speak louder than words:

While walking down the street one day, a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

‘Welcome to heaven,’ says St. Peter. ‘Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we’re not sure what to do with you.’

‘No problem, just let me in,’ says the senator.

‘Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.’

‘Really, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,’ says the senator.

‘I’m sorry, but we have our rules.’

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him. ‘Now it’s time to visit heaven.’

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

‘Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.’

The senator reflects for a minute, then answers: ‘Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.’

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ‘I don’t understand,’ stammers the senator. ‘Yesterday I was here, and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?’

The devil looks at him, smiles and says…….

‘Yesterday we were campaigning….Today you voted.’

Now it’s your turn! Please leave your comment! I’d love to know what you’re thinking and what’s your strategy for living?

The value of attending a class on foreclosure mediation cannot be over stressed. With housing prices continuing their downward spiral in many areas, particularly in the West, as the homeowner you need as much information as you can possibly gather.

Here in the Las Vegas area, the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada in conjunction with UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law, regularly hold classes to help homeowners facing lender foreclosures. Their class is a few hours long and worth every minute. You will walk away armed with the information you need should you choose to go the route of Mediation with your lender.

We have firsthand experience with this – due to a long span of unemployment for my husband. Our dilemma is similar to many who, through no fault of their own, purchased homes they could afford before the economy took its nose dive affecting so many. However, having exited Round 1, we came out winners. Being prepared – having every single piece of paperwork ready and with you – is your key to a successful mediation.

For us, the lender side was unprepared. This is a sharp stick in the eye for them, and a winner of a conclusion for us. It’s not over, but we have high hopes that when all is said and done, we will have something we can live with – an affordable payment to make each month.

Whether you decide to keep your underwater home or not, choosing Mediation is your best choice for both individuals and families. There are numerous other factors to consider that go beyond the stay or go decision. Six states are labeled recourse states. Be sure to know what sort of laws govern your state, and take these factors into consideration.

Your life strategy lesson for the day… do not sit back and let things happen to you. Be proactive. Be prepared. Be knowledgeable. Take the bull by the horns. After all, those you “go up against” are mere humans working in a highly flawed system. These are two points in your favor if you are prepared!

This post will be deliberately short. Not only am I spending more and more time doing followup stories about the unemployment situation over at WorldNewsVine, and keeping track of what Congress is (or isn’t) up to, but today we received some shocking news.

My son was all set to head to his friend’s house (right next store) when he said, “I’m back!” even though he’d never left. His friend had IM’ed him that he apparently was “going out” and would contact my son soon.

Well, we did hear back – he was in the hospital!

Turns out he not only is anemic, but also his kidneys are shutting down. A blood transfusion later, and kidney biopsy still not back (they shipped it out of Nevada over to UCLA and it could take a week to get the results back!), but he was clearly bleeding internally.

The root cause of his condition may – but no one is sure – be based around the fact that he was “dieting”. And not in a good way.

I’ve spoken about “dieting” before – how important it is to get proper nutrition, to know your body mass index, to understand the concept that “dieting” never works, but eating healthy and exercising are the only way.

Lots of people want to believe in the c-r-a-p claims out there, but please stop! First educate yourself on not the old-fashioned food triangle we were all taught years ago, but the true way to balance good eating habits to achieve good health.

I’ve known “the kid next door” (who is 20 btw) for about a decade now. And I could not be more worried if he was my own son. I’m trying very hard to be positive. Yesterday he looked a heck of a lot better (after they found and stopped the bleed), but he’s most likely going to end up on the kidney transplant/need a donor list.

Prayers all around please. You don’t know him, and I won’t use his name, but he’s a great “kid” and we all really love him!

So if I’ve been distracted, and if it’s not Congress driving me insane, you’ll know why I’ve been “missing in action.”

Thanks for reading and say a prayer please!