Sandy Hook Stinks

I'm sorry, I know that most of you out there are still sending snowflakes to the school, are praying for the families, are posting little signs on your FB pages about "remembering the children, not the shooter" or how we need to pay attention to abortion like we do to Sandy Hook...

First, there was the superintendent.  I watched a video interview with this woman - she's in CHARGE of the school system, and all the children therein, mind you.  She said that she checked the database and couldn't find Nancy Lanza in their files, BUT... in the next breath said Nancy Lanza could've been a substitute?  If that isn't in the files, they'd better get a new system!  You'd think they would KNOW who is teaching those children!!!  Wouldn't you?  Do you KNOW who is teaching your children?  When you send them off to school, do you KNOW who will spend eight hours with your child?  What they believe, if they're on medications, if they pissed off someone with a history of substance abuse or mental illness who could show up and put a bullet in your baby?  The Sandy Hook superintendent didn't know.  Wanna see the video?

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She also said in the video that every day at 9:30am the doors of her school were locked so that no one could get in without being buzzed in, and that she didn't know how the shooter gained access.  Don't you think - as a superintendent - she ought to KNOW how he gained access?  Otherwise, the 'security measures' aren't worth a wooden nickle! 

Then two days ago NaturalNews sent me a link to their article on the Sandy Hook tragedy.  According to the article, the Sandy Hook fundraising relief page was created THREE DAYS BEFORE the actual shooting even occurred.  And Natural News took a screen shot of the Google search page to prove it!. Would you like to read the article?  Click Here.

Now there are things that I do know.  For one, I do know that the government wants to revoke the second amendment.  I know that Obama, in particular, has been really pushing for that.  It's like Adolph Hitler said, 'To conquer a nation, first disarm it's citizens."  Every nation on earth that has allowed this ended up with mass genocide as a result, complete repression of citizenry as a bonus.

I also know that fear is the best motivator.  So if you convince the people that it's terrifying to have 'weapons' in the hands of the public, if you can convince them that there will be unpredictable threats to the masses if the people are allowed to have firearms... then you can convince the people that getting rid of the firearms will fix the problem.  Except it doesn't:

Worst School Massacre in US history: Bath, Michigan School Massacre. 1927. Murder accomplished with explosives. 44 victims (equal to the Columbine and Virginia Tech massacres combined).

Worst Domestic Terrorist Attack in US History: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing. 4/19/95. Murder accomplished with a rental truck full of fertilizer based explosives. 168 dead (including many children in an onsite day care).

Worst Foreign based Terrorist Attack in US History: September 11, 2001 attacks on NYC, PA, Pentagon. Murder accomplished with box cutters and commerical airliners.

No guns needed.

But what is the first thing people were shouting for after Sandy Hook?  Get rid of the guns!!  What laws are they trying to pass?  Gun control laws.  What's dominating the news, lately?  This huge push for gun control laws.  Here are some fun articles, if you're interested:

I'll tell you what else I do know.  That it's the SCHOOLS that are the problem.  It still blows my mind that - after all of this - people STILL send off their children every day... some even back to the same places that shootings have occurred!  They have children, and ditch them at these (shall I add GUN-FREE?) government  facilities for eight out of twelve waking hours, five out of seven days of the week for nearly two decades?  To be under the supervision of one or two people per every TWENTY-FIVE children?  To be controlled by the gov't, which, btw, is all protected by guns while the children are NOT.  These school  holding facitilites have dismally mediocre ratings in the world... I read that we're in 18th place out of 36 nations... that's halfway down the list.  In case you'd like more info on that... but honestly, it's just another fun link:

To me, the problem isn't security for the barrel of fish. 

           The problem is the barrel. 

                      But then, I'm a homeschooler,

                                 and they're trying to strip citizens of THAT right, too.

So I guess if I were going to think like 'the other guy', and I wanted to get rid of guns and control the populace... I would build government facilities and herd the people's children into it.  Heck, you could even use them as 'shelters' to herd people into during hurricanes and stuff.  It'd be a great place to release a disease, too, wouldn't it?  Then I would make those government facilities gun-free, for the children's protection, of course.  Then I would buzz in some unstable maniac and load the weapon for him, and let him have a field day... and have the superintendent tell the people we had NO idea how he got past security or if his mother worked there... for that matter, we don't know WHO works there.  Then I would turn the focus from the shooter to the children, those poor babies, to pull every heartstring I could.   We already have the relief funds set up, three days before the event is even slated to take place! 

Then I would - because there's no logical explanation for anything else - turn to the one thing people DO know... and that's that a gun was used.  Remember, no mentioning the unstable shooter... we don't want a face, we want a weapon to be demonized.  Without the face, the gun becomes the killer.  And then?  We tell the public that in order to be 'safe', we need to take away all the guns.  And as for all of the pesky pro-arms christian righties?  Distract them.  Compare Sandy Hook to abortion, get them talking in circles, making a metaphor of it, philosophizing the sanctity of life.  Tie them up in distractions so that they're utterly useless.  Because if they're chasing bubbles, they won't be a threat, won't organize and prevent anything you want from happening.

And honestly?  I see it happening.  I see our nation being stripped of the right to bear arms.  I don't think it will be stopped, and I don't think enough people will fight back.  They're afraid.  I was talking to this (laughable) dude on FB one day... he's the type who posts TONS of pro-firearms, pro-liberty, pro-patriot stuff on his page?  So I asked him... if it came down to it would you fight back?  If they came for your guns, and you knew you'd go to jail for resisting, would you go?  And y'know what he said?  "My kid has diabetes... I have to work to have health insurance for her meds.  I can't go to jail."  So for all that bluster, for all the pictures... nobody's gonna stand up.  We will lose our rights, I see it coming.  And we will lose our guns.  The little, registered ones, anyhow.  ((Have fun trying to track down what everyone has as far as rifles, shotguns, and the like.))

I know that they took guns away from people in Chicago.  I also know that Chicago's gun-related deaths doubled in 2012, as a result.  I know they took guns away from people in Britain.  Here's a chart of what has happened there - as the gun ownership went down, the crime went freakin' off the charts.  It's been proven over and over and OVER again... and yet people just don't seem to get it.  HALF of the Americans want gun control.  Are you OUT of your minds???

In Israel, they armed the teachers, and the incidents dropped practically to nothing, from very high levels.  But do we take the hint?  Good heavens, no!!

Something about Sandy Hook stinks.  Something smells of a set-up.  And the more time goes by, the more information comes out, and the more I see... it's wrong.  Something's wrong with the whole picture.  I don't know who is behind it, but I'm pretty certain the whole thing was orchestrated for a purpose.  And that I may just live to see that purpose fulfilled.  So pardon me for not sending out snowflakes or donating money to people who chose to throw their children into a barrel with who-knows-what-person watching them.  Forgive me if I don't fall for the ol' circle-talking discussions about how life in the womb is as apt to be murdered and get less attention than the Sandy Hook children, etc.  Because I think I'm seeing a bigger picture... and frankly, it's got me pretty upset.

Bullet Blog

• G'morning.
• I'm ((sort of)) back.
• Yesterday I pretty much did what Isaac had done...
• I hid under a blanket and shivered half to death. 
• I've never been so cold in my life.
• By seven this morning, I couldn't stand laying down another moment.
• My muscles were cramped up from being so tense/shaking.
• ... and Aaron has got it today.
• With the littles, I give them meds for pain/fever.
• For me, I typically don't.
• I just got in the habit of not from years of nursing/pregnancy.
• But last night I broke down and took Dimetapp.
• It made ALL the difference.
• Anyhow, this means no dance class for us this week.
• I don't care.
• I'm still not... focusing.
• I folded laundry and got some of the dishes off the shelf, but...
• Even that wipes me.
• Weren't we just sick in November????
• Isn't there a limit - like once every quarter, tops?
• (((Well, there should be.)))
• My face hurts.
• I think it's from gritting my teeth/chattering for so long.
• That is SO weird.
• That's probably the reason for my killer headaches, too.
• We discovered the sweetest little movie this weekend while sick.
• It's called 'Penelope', with Christina Ricci.
• We all loved it - ended up watching it twice in a row.
• We're doing the faerie tale, 'Beauty and the Beast'...
• ... and 'Penelope' is a reverse version of that tale.
• It was really cute.
• The Rebecca deMornay Beauty & the Beast was cute, too.
• There's supposed to be a b/w version coming in the mail, today.
• We watch as many versions as we can,
• ...then compare/contrast them.
• VERY sick of chicken broth, btw.
• Everyone is.
• When/if I get the energy, I'll come up with something more.
• It's gotten sunny around here the past few days.
• What dusting of snow we've had is almost gone.
• I kept telling everyone we won't be getting snow like we used to...
• ((((nobody ever believes me.))))
• I think that has a lot to do with the sicknesses.
• Weather change always makes it worse.
• The body doesn't like toggling back and forth between temps.
• S'why I was rarely sick when we lived in the U.P.
• ((It's another one of my personal theories, anyhow.  LoL!!))
• I... am sitting up too long.
• Gonna go lay down.
• Will talk to you later.
• Have a nice day.

No Interest in Posting

This happens to me every once in a while.  I just don't have a pressing need to write anything here.  In all actuality, I've been thinking about going back and protecting everything that isn't on my sidebar, and just quitting, altogether.  Honestly, I just don't see the point of making everything in my life so public.  Will wait to see if that persists or not... because I've been here, before, and I haven't closed up, yet.  But it is niggling, and... well, there it is.

As for what's happening around here, we're sick.  Lydia got it first on Thursday night (I think she picked it up at dance on Wednesday) and got up Friday just sobbing... highly unusual behavior for a 12-year old.  Isaac followed shortly after, and transformed into some subspecies of human for about two days straight, refusing to eat or emerge from under a blanket.  If you looked in his direction, he burst into tears.  Owen was next... and that's a rough one.  Aaron's still doing okay, but this morning Ethan joined the crowd, and I think Brian's on his way in, too - he's claiming to be dizzy and feel 'outside of himself'.  It's not the flu - nobody's doing anything I have to clean up, but it seems to be a fever with a hacking cough and massive dizziness with loss of appetite.  A head flu?  Is there such a thing?  I don't know, but we're laying low around here, waiting for it to pass.

And that's all I've got for today.

Story of the World --- Chapter Twenty-Six

FINALLY...!  We have made it out of Greece and across the Atlantic to a completely different people group.  One that I have never heard of in all my born days, if you want to know.  A people found in Peru that were called the 'Nazcas'.

Apparently the Nazcas drew pictures... but the interesting thing about these pictures is that they were miles long.  You can't see the pictures, except from an aerial view.  Here are some of the pictures/symbols that they carved into the land, apparently for their gods:

If it weren't below freezing, we could go outside and try to make a huge picture, perhaps using the whole beach out at Tunnel Park.  There's a big lookout over it, and that would be the perfect place to try something like this.  Maybe we'll do that this spring, and I'll add the pictures later.  But right now?  We're covered in snow, and we're just adding this picture to our Book of Centuries, for documentation purposes.

On the other hand, as I was typing this, I stumbled upon an article (LINK) about snow pictures.  Take a look at this!

Invisible Animals

My friend CHorsey posted a link on Facebook that I thought was absolutely amazing.  It's a page full of pictures of animals, using their natural habitat and coloring to hide.  It's not easy to find the critters, so have your children help you, and see if you can find the Invisible Animals!

Thursday Thankful

• Ellie finally getting treatment for her heartworm.  Last year when she was diagnosed, they said they'd have to keep for a long time, she wouldn't be able to move, she'd be given the equivalent of chemo, it'd be painful and could result in death... so I passed and tried holistic treatments (that did nothing).  THIS year, they tell me they have pills that will take care of them within three years time.  So THAT I will do... but why couldn't they have told me that LAST year, so we could be a year into it, by now?  HATE doctors.  Any doctors... but glad to have a positive course of action for our dog.
• New Dance Studio!  I e-mailed a place after the holidays, and asked if they'd take kids at the mid-year point... and they said YES.  So we drove down on Monday to check it out.  Now, we were with FRDC for five years, and LOVED it, because Miss Marci-Anne was a friend of mine, and loved kids, ran a clean, organized, family-friendly studio.  But then she moved to North Carolina (and we moved a two-hour round trip away!), so we looked elsewhere... and Ho.Mi.GAWSH, the skank that's out there is un-Believable. 

  Remember B-a-M, where we went for two years until they choreographed my Lydia strangling a kid to death?  That's when I found out they wanted to choreograph to Britney Spears' "Three" (three-way sex).  It was... explicit, and the adult dances were bleeped out for expletives.  I have no doubt why it folded.  Then we tried the studio run by two college girls out of an elementary school cafeteria... where they drank water and never taught the kids any dance moves... while I babysat up to nine children in the halls?  Or how about the place on Division we tried this summer, which was cramped, dirty, taught by women busting out of spandex in nasty ways... and my boys were being taught by this guy with huge holes in his ears, jeans around his kneecaps, tatt sleeves, and whose idea of dancing was throwing gang signs to "I'm Sexy and I know It".  Not to mention Lydia's class was 'floating' - we were supposed to come at 5pm and find out who could teach it, and when they could squeeze it in, and then we got to wait until then?  Yeah... not. 

  So I wanted to SEE this new place before I did ANYTHING.  To our surprise, it's clean, it's spacious, it's organized, it's overseen by mature adults, AND the music is kid-friendly.  There are three big studios, and they have a TON of discounts - if you pay your costumes by X date, then you get two free recital tickets.  If you pay up front for the year/half-year, they discount X dollars.  It's buy three, get one free.  For my FOUR children to take classes, it's $70/month... that's incredible!  And their theme for the 2013 spring recital is "World Tour" - my boys will be dancing Asian-flavored hip-hop in Oriental costumes with Chinese sticks - they're over the MOON. 

  And even better still?  Their class is at exactly the same time as Lydia's acro (gymnastic-dance) class - and at such a time that Brian gets out of work, comes home, we get in the car, and we're off and make it there at just the right time, then can go to dinner together.  Four kids, one hour/stone!  I'm so happy.  It's almost too good to be true.  But I have high hopes!
  

• Brian's eye better.  Sunday morning, he woke up in the wee hours and said his eye was 'buzzing'... by morning, he could barely open it, and it was so swollen his lid was doing odd things.  We Benedryl-ed him to death, with compresses, and by the end of the day he was able to open it, but it was still pretty bad - they teased him Monday at work, said his wife's beatin' on him again.  (As if!)  Anyhow, it's calmed down a LOT, and is almost better, now.  I'm glad, because he got really testy for a while there!
• And that just on the heels of his good deed.  Saturday we went to a thrift store to drop off a box of donations, and I took Lydia and Aaron in to do a quick run thru (and got some great older Disney VHS tapes - Thomasina, Shaggy Dog, etc).
  
  While we were inside, there was a man there trying to pick up an entertainment center for his wife... and it was NOT going to fit in his work van. Brian watched the man struggle with the thing, and then he got out and said, "If you're not too far away, why don't you just load it up in our truck and we'll take it home for you?" (We drove the truck to town, because we had to get trim from Menards for the finish work of the drywall project from the past weeks.)
  
  So Isaac comes in the store and says, "Mom, are you done? Dad's gonna help a man move something *BIG*!!" So I thought he wanted me at the truck to watch the littles while he helped load something. Then the lady said, "Ah. You're married to our Good Samaritan!" I. Had. NO. Idea what she was talking about.
  
  But there they were, loading it up in the truck, and we followed the man home, and Brian helped him unload it and it was our mitzvah of the day. The kewl part was that BRIAN was the one who offered the help. Usually I'm the zany one talking too much and offering stuff and trying to help people out. But he actually did it all, himself!
• School back on track.  The holidays did a NUMBER on us, and I thought I would NEVER get it together, again.  It actually came together again rather painlessly, so I'm really grateful that the kids got back into the groove with no major problems.
• So many signs to watch.  This morning they're saying there's going to be a bigger near-asteroid than we thought, which means a bigger quake than I was anticipating.  Ure is also calling for a big quake (based on 1/11 numbers, I think), but the asteroid makes more sense.

  Then (LINK) there's this news, that they've found bodies of 10-foot tall people in Iraq, and there's speculation about Nephilim or Giant tribes mentioned in the Bible.  It's crazy stuff out there, all of it confirmation of scripture, and some of it just mind-blowing.

  On top of that, the Jewish sites are saying that we're seeing the 'ten plagues', redux... that Hagel (the anti-Semite just made US Secretary of Defence) is 'hail' in Yiddish... and today a new species of flying frog was discovered. Weird, weird, stuff...!!  But kind of fun, too!
  

• Goals and aspirations.  I'm keeping up pretty well, truth be told!  We planted Basil and Thyme in my kitchen this week, Brian and I are shredding regularly, I'm reading and working on projects... it's fun!  We're having a glorious time, over here!
• Home projects are coming together, too.  We got Lydia's room totally finished, the painting done in the Parlor (and most everything put back), although we're re-papering this weekend, and finishing the boy's room.  It's almost done!!
  
• A penpal for Ethan.  Lydia and Isaac both had people to write to, but now Ethan has been making cards/projects, and has decided he wanted someone to write to, too.  So I messaged my friend Missy and asked her if her son might be willing to get some things from my Ethan.  And hence the beginning of something fun and educational!
• My new parenting technique.  The past week or so, Isaac (9) has gotten really sullen and cranky.  He has nothing positive to add to any conversation, he belittles and gripes... and Brian (recall he's been testy cuz of the eye thing) has been snapping at him over it, and I was getting mad at both of them... that's a LOT of negative vibes, between the three of us.  So Tuesday morning I told Isaac that I think he's not getting enough LUVV.  So everytime he gets his grump on, I'm going to hug him.  So I've been running over for the better part of the week, wrapping him up in a big bear hug.  He's so squirmy about it, but always comes out of it with a smile, so... I'd call it a success!  And of course then Aaron and Baby O come running for *their* hugs, and shocking, Ethan (7) has been running over to get in line, too!!  Besides, you know how easy it is to back off when boys hit that age.  He still needs his parental affection, whether he thinks so or not!

There's a LOT more, but this is long, and... well, we're just blessed, plain and simple.  I'm happy.  And we're doing so good.  Oh, and I had to update the 'challenges' post I put up the other day, because I forgot one, and it's SO GOOD, I couldn't leave it off, so be sure to scroll down and read it, k?  Talk to you later!

Pending PanSTARRS

PReFaCe:  Several days ago, I posted a blog called 'He Who will Pour Out', and it was about the end of the Age of Pices.  Pices being the two fish (or two harbors, if you follow Biblical Astronomy based on the Genesis 49 prophecy... or two millinnea/denari of the Good Samaritan, if you prefer NT prophecy).  Basically, the article said that the Age of Pices ended at the autumnal equinox of 2012, and that the Age of Aquarius begins at the spring equinox of 2013.  Ironically, the Mayan 'reset' date is in the middle of the period of change... did anyone else catch that?

Regardless, it means that the spring feasts - when things kick off with Pesach - will be fun to watch.  Because it is very possible that this will begin the Wrath - the time of the Pouring out of wrath upon the earth.  Aquarius is 'He that Poureth Out'... and that sounds like a Messianic reference to me, if ever there were a one.  So watching for things that might occur around the feasts is the next thing I need to do.  So I have to consider this article, that came out about a week ago:

http://earthsky.org/space/comet-panstarrs-2013

There is a lot of excitement about Comet ISON, which might become a very bright comet, visible across the globe, by the end of 2013. But, before that happens, a second comet might become visible to the eye alone around the time it is closest to the sun in March of 2013.

The Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii discovered this comet in June 2011. ...Only the largest telescopes on Earth could glimpse Comet PANSTARRS when it was first discovered, but amateurs telescopes began to pick it up by May 2012. By October 2012, its surrounding coma was seen to be large and fine at an estimated 75,000 miles wide. In March 2013, by some estimates, this comet should get as bright as Venus, but do remember that comets are notoriously difficult to predict.

March 10, 2013. The comet passes closest to the sun – as close as our sun’s innermost planet, Mercury – at... about 28 million miles.  Comets are typically brightest and most active around the time they are closest to the sun when solar heating vaporizes ice and dust from the comet’s outer crust. Not only will the comet quickly brighten, but it should also develop the long classic comet dust tail.   The comet should be visible in the Northern Hemisphere evening sky low in the west after sunset. It will higher each night ...as it moves from being in front of the constellation Pisces to being in front of the constellations Pegasus and Andromeda. At this time, the comet should have its bright dust tail, and be visible to the unaided eye. It should, at least, if it lives up to expectations.  ...it’ll be an awesome photo opportunity!

By the way, Comet PANSTARRS is considered a non-periodic comet. It probably took millions of years to come from the great Oort comet cloud surrounding our solar system. Once it rounds the sun, experts say, its orbit will shorten to only 110,000 years. It is, for sure, a once-in-a-lifetime comet.

aNNa'S CoMMeNTaRy:  Comets in Biblical Astronomy are a 'heads up' sign.  Whenever there's a comet, it means something is going to happen that we should be paying attention to.  This comet hits its brightest point three days before the New Moon that kicks off the spring feasts - three being a very biblically significant number.  The comet is to get as bright as Venus (the Bright Morning Star)... which is also a significant comparison.  And as if that wasn't enough, it's going to move right thru Pices as it hits its brightest point.  Sounds like a definite heads-up to me!  A signal that the ending of the Age of Pices has reached its completion?  Completely possible.  And note that this is NOT a reoccuring comet that passes us every so many years, like others.  This is a one-time event.

A Challenging Year

I swear, as if my resolution list wasn't enough...!!

First, my New Year's Challenge group decided to keep going with new goals over at MyFitnessPal... so we are now aiming for Valentine's Day.  My new goal is 10 pounds lost.  As you know, I aimed for 15 pounds lost between Oct/New Year's, and I managed 13 of them, so I am pretty happy.  We'll see how I do losing weight by Valentines.  But regardless... I'm on a weight loss challenge.

  Then my friend J directed me to a 'January Cure' - a thirty day challenge to get our homes more organized, more comfortable, and more beautiful.  Now, praytell who wouldn't want THAT?!  And while my house is lovely, comfortable, and fairly organized, there are some... well, I have things that I can't seem to get a fire under my hiney to take care of.  So I joined the Cure.  Day One was making a list of three things each room needs.  Day Two was setting up an 'outbox' - things to donate.  Which is hilarious, because I have an outbox for recycle, an outbox for paper, an outbox for compost, an outbox for donation... yeah.  Day Three was buying flowers, Day Four was going thru cleaning supplies and restocking/discarding.  Day Five was the Mega-Vaccuum... which I actually am doing today, because Day Five at my house was painting the parlor and boys room, hanging trim in the hall, parlor, and Lydia's room, and putting the parlor back together.  Vaccuuming comes AFTER all that.  But still... I'm on a cleaning/organizing challenge.

Yesterday my friend Missy posted on her FB that she was doing a Reading Challenge at GoodReads.com.  Now you have to understand, she already wrangled me into getting an account there last year, so we could review things and share/recommend books.  I loved it, because I wanted a reading log, and it works perfectly.  But apparently the site also has a challenge app, and keeps track of where you are in your goals.  On my resolution list, I wrote that I want to read three books off my Kindle a month - that's 36 books this year.  Why not use GoodReads to track me?  So... I'm in a book challenge.

Then one of my homesteading sites linked me to a site called 13Skills... where you choose thirteen things from the list, and learn 13 new skills in 2013.  Since I already want to learn to count in 10 languages, and a bunch of other things from my resolution list fit, I thought I'd just plug 'em in and see what I can do.  So I'm also in a skills challenge.

In the same vein, I've 'liked' two preppers who are doing month-by-month prep challenges:  Backdoor did it all thru 2012, prepping people to handle a short-term situation, but for 2013 she's going to do a more long-term plan, and I'm interested in seeing what she has to say.  And then there's an LDS site (NoTe:  I do NOT endorse anything having to do with the LDS, EVER.) but from a prep standpoint, she's got an amazing list that she is blogging thru, this year.  In case anyone is interested.

When I first signed up at Pinterest, I found these papers... '10 Ways to Play In _____' (insert month) I printed them all off, and put them in the back of my school notebook, and forgot about them.  But over the winter break (when I was putting a bunch of stuff away), I found them again.  So I pulled them out, hung one up, and put a number on every third day of January on my calendar in blue.  So we're doing the Kid Activity challenge, too.

uPDaTe:  I forgot one!!  My friend Carrie (CHorsey) showed me this photo, and I totally fell in LOVE with the idea.  Basically, it's a financial challenge... you put away the same number of dollars as is the week of the year.  So week one, you put away one dollar, week two, you put away two, etc.  By the end of the year, you have about $1300 saved up.  That is SO kewl... except I think I'm going to do it backwards, starting with week $52, so it doesn't hurt so much.  And I'm going to do it twice for each child, so that I have $2700(ish) to give each child as a downpayment on their first car.  Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to help them, and I like the idea of giving them something to help them out.  So I've printed this, and am going to be working hard on it! (/update)

Is it me, or is that a LOT of challenges?  Part of me says that's a lot to bite off and chew, but another part says that there are so many good apps and tools out there, if utilized properly, they could just make everything fall into place easier.   I guess time will tell!!