Gasolunacy

Today I had to travel around a little for work and I noticed that at a Valerco Gas Station in Pleasant Hill the price for regular was $4.49 9/10. It was $4.29 9/10 on Wednesday! Hello, it is only Friday...two days later. I also noticed there were way fewer cars out than usual and I went into a store with three clerks just standing around chatting...there was no one else there.

I saw a list of who imports from the Middle East and who doesn't. Valerco wasn't even on the list. So they are not in the top ten, but then we knew that, right?

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:

Shell......................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco........ 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon/Mobil.............. 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway... 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco.......................62,231,000 barrels

Citgo Gas is from Venezuela a country whose dictator, Hugo Rafael Chavez hates Americans.

Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:
Sunoco................0 barrels
Conoco................0 barrels
Sinclair.................0 barrels
BP/Phillip..............0 barrels
Hess....................0 barrels
ARC0...................0 barrels

All of this information is available from the Department of Energy
and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much
they are importing.

I was going to run down to Sam's to pick up a few things tonight~I changed my mind. So I sat down to look at the paper and the Governor has declared a statewide drought. The last major drought was from 1987 to 1992 and since then our water supply has been drastically cut and our population has increased by 8,000, 000. GM is closing plants, and oh, yeah, unemployment is the highest it has been in 20 years at 5.5%. Hey, maybe I should have canceled the paper and gone to Sam's?? We are not alarmists in anyway, but the thought keeps going though my mind tonight...he that hath ears...and you know the rest.

Jim and I are getting very concerned about the state of things. Are any of you preparing in a different way than we always have? We are spending less, saving more and staying put and stocking up. What about you? If you are not a commenter and have something to share feel free to e-mail me. Thanks! Maybe we can create a little synergy by sharing our good ideas.

Whew, I just had to look at something pretty after all that!

Work Work Work!!

Interiors by Design~Behind the Scenes

On a good day this is what our Gallery of Goodies looks like. We have an identical unit right next door that we call the Warehouse. It houses all our bigger furniture, floor lamps, large trees and florals and large art pieces and bedding ensembles, as well as a lot of other accessories and cool stuff.

This is not a good day at the Gallery and Warehouse. I have been procrastinating putting the decorative items from three destaged houses away because both storage units are full to the rafters and I need to get in there and organize, organize, organize.

I should know better because as this week, out of the blue came an appointment that resulted in my spending one whole day decorating a house. And, also out of the blue the sleeping real estate giant has awakened. I have been to consults which are resulting in three stagings between now and July 1. So moral of the story is...Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. You never know what tomorrow will bring!

There is a lot of behind the scenes hard work that makes a home staging business run smoothly. Today I am doing paper work all day and getting ready for two consultations!


I love owning our own business but it is not all fun and games. Lots of work is required but like with anything worthwhile~it is worth the blood sweat and tears when a project is completed, a house is sold and everyone is happy. I am telling you all this because I just didn't want you to think I don't do anything but blog all the time. LOL!

Family Dinners

"“It isn't so much what's on the table that matters,
as what's on the chairs."

--William S. Gilbert

Over the years of raising a family I think one of the most important things to bring unity to us was eating together every night. It seems like when I was growing up this was not "an option." Everyone I knew ate dinner together as a family. Of course there were nights when it just couldn't happen but for the most part it was always a priority in our home. We are so happy to see that this time tested tradition is now a part of the family lives of all of our children.

As our lives get busier and busier it just seems to be so important to have those few minutes together to feel grounded, to communicate, to pray together, and to share the events of the day. Although I have never been a major fan of cooking as a pleasurable hobby, I found it to be very satisfying to plan and prepare a nurturing meal for my family each day. We also tried to keep interruptions to a minimum...no phone calls, no blaring TV going on, no newspaper reading, etc.

We still carry on this tradition after nearly 11 years as empty nesters and I think we always will. And I also agree with the aspect of the quote which implies it doesn't really matter so much what you are eating as who you are with. Although I enjoy making it a little fancy once in awhile, hot dogs and paper plates definitely have their place too. The important thing is doing it together.

This just always seemed like for the effort it took~it paid back in spades.
How has doing or not doing this affected your family?

An Endowment

Several months ago I attended a Sunday School Class where Brother Tony Damiano was giving a lesson that really got me thinking. I have wanted to a post on it ever since and today's the day.

He talked about how commodities and things change hands between various individuals.

1. A Gift~ A person chooses something that they find valuable and hopes the recipient will love it also. The gift is given as a token of esteem, love or appreciation for their association and nothing is expected in return.

2. A Sale~One person has something of value and another person wants it. They negotiate a price that seems fair in both of their eyes and an exchange is made. This works best when each feels that got the better end of the deal.

3. An Endowment~One person has something of great value that he wants to give to another but in exchange he wants something of far less value from the recipient.

He then told the story of Duke University to illustrate his point.

Duke University in Durham N.C. was originally known as Trinity College. A very wealthy family endowed the college with three $100,000 gifts. This endowment was huge by the standards of the day and since 1925, it has given over a billion dollars to the people of North and South Carolina. The Endowment makes gifts to support child care, hospitals, churches, and higher education in those states.

The Duke Family asked for a few things in return, one that women be admitted with the same status and criteria as men and two that they rename the college, Duke University in honor of the family. There may have been a few more stipulations but, the point is that what they asked in return was nothing compared to what the University received by complying with the family's wishes. Much was given ~ very little was expected in return.

I thought this was really brilliant as a way to more fully understand how little our Father in Heaven and the Savior ask of us to inherit all that they have. I just love lessons like this that stay with you a long time~and get you to really ponder things of the spirit.

Unwrap the Gift!

Unfinished Woman

"An Unfinished Woman"
by: -Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards


Here am I, Lord,
The dishes barely done and night long since fallen,
The children would not go to bed
And would not go and
Would not go
And now they are gone.
Gone to places of their own with children of their own
Who will not go to bed and will not go...
And I have taught them what I could and
They have learned the things they would
And now they've gone their way alone to learn the rest
Most on their own.

And I remain, not half spent.
And I remain, not yet content,
So much to do, so much to learn.
So much to fell, so much to yearn.
My past mistakes make stepping-stones,
Not millstones great around my neck but
Stones to guide my searching feet
And I must search; I'm incomplete.

I watch my years go tumbling by
And I must use them better, I
Have yet so much to learn and do
Before I can return to You.

The hour is late. The night comes on,
My celestial self I would become.
Ah! What wisdom thou gavest to mortal life---

I,
As sister, mother, daughter, wife
In earthly roles have seen Thy face.
In my womanly life Thy heavenly place
Is taught through humble tasks and pain.
So, if royal robes I would obtain,
To wear as all Thy glories burst
I'll need to do the laundry first.

This lady, mother of 12, recently passed away and my friend's mom attended her funeral. What a great talent~just loved this poem and wanted to share it with all of you who do not read Laura's Blog.

Jen's SUMMER Project

Here is how it looks in Jen's house...check her site
for more details. The spray glitter doesn't really show
in the photo but adds a lot to the excitement!

It is so chunky and cute.
(How come things can be chunky AND cute?)

Presidential Political Poppycock

I almost ran this yesterday but thought it would be passe with Hilary's eminent concession. This woman, like a bad case of nail fungus~just refuses to go away no matter what you do.

"John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack were walking down a Washington, D.C. street when they came upon a homeless man.

John McCain gave the man his business card and told him to come to his office for a job. He then took $20 out of his pocket and give it to the man.

Hillary Clinton was very impressed, so when they came upon another homeless person she decided to help. She walked over to him and gave him directions to the welfare office. She then reached into John McCain's pocket and got out $20. She kept $15 for her administrative fees and gave the homeless man $5.

When they came upon yet another homeless person, Barack told him to "have hope . . . change is coming . . ." and gave him nothing."

You will rarely see me publish anything too political on my blog, but in this election year I am going to do a few. This is my opinion on the whole politics arena. No one person can politically "fix" the mess we are in right now as a society. The problems are too systemic and too complex. To make empty promises for resolution and to come up with moronic, shoot-from-the-hip, instant solutions, is ludicrous.

The problems we face daily can only be remedied over time by each person doing their part. The basic unit of society, the family, is the place where real change will take place. In the heart of each person is the potential for fixing the ills of the culture. The family is where we form our values and practice responsible living, love for our fellow man, basic civility, integrity, and the like. A good family teaches us how to be decent humans. These things cannot be legislated and they certainly take longer than a four or eight year term in office affords.

I want lower gas prices, an end to the war in Iraq, more economical stability, and good health care for everyone too...wanting it and getting it are not the same thing and no political platform has a magic wand powerful enough to insure it.

The game of politics is just annoying to me and I am really tired of people that are arch enemies for several months and then overnight decide they want to "unify the party" and run on the same ticket! What they really believe and want (aside from power) will always remain a mystery in the thing we call "politics." And how they think they can make it happen is an even bigger mystery.

I am tired of voting for the "best" of two evils. I am also tired of the system that uses the electoral college so my entire state swings in one direction or another. Does anyone actually know any of these delegates that have the final nod for our state? I know this borders on blasphemous but does my vote really count? I know the idea of my vote is important but are we locked into a voting system that discounts my individual vote in reality? And why do I have to know who wins the elections hours before they actually close the polls on the west coast? How many people don't even bother at that point? Arrgh!

No matter who we vote for, we will end up questioning our own sanity and feeling guilty for having contributed to the current mess, by the time the next Presidential Election year rolls around~ anyway.


Maybe I am just being totally naive, but I think I want more. How about you? I don't expect overnight miracles but maybe by the time our grandkids are of voting age the current system will evolve into something better for the country and better for everyone in it. I don't pretend to have all the answers, it is not my area of expertise, but I do know something is rotten ~and it isn't in Denmark.

Where is the integrity and dignity in what is going on politically? We get so wrapped up in what they say before the election~ but what they do after the election speaks for itself. We keep getting sucked in by the way it ought to be.