A brief tutorial on creative financing in today’s market

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L4v–DUzyg&hl=en

Happy Black Friday! Yes, Wade and I were among those crazy shoppers out and about during the wee hours of the morning. We left home at approximately 2:45 a.m. to hit up Kohls and Wal-Mart. Two years ago, I randomly woke up a little before 5 and decided to go purchase two items at Wal-Mart. Crazy spur of the moment decision, I know…but I got what I wanted and I never waited in line. So when Wade and I started discussing the thought of Black Friday shopping, he voiced is skepticism of seeing lines of people at Wal-Mart at 4am. After a quick status update on facebook, we were quickly told that ‘YES’ there are crazy lines at 4am. Well, we braved it anyways and were still surprised by the insane amount of people standing outside Kohls…we really didn’t think Kohls would be “the place to be.” Obviously, we were wrong.

We only had to wait in line for 20 minutes or so. When we entered the store, the adreline started to rush. We quickly walked (we were so NOT running) to the back of the store to retrieve our foam matress we wanted so badly. The nervousness increased as everyone in the store seemed to be headed the same direction. To our surprise, we passed them and continued a few more feet on our own to the item on our purchase list. However, I was curious. “What on earth were all those crazy women after?!” Mobs of women hurled over boxes of bedding???? Strange if you ask me. When I looked closer I saw that it was actually a $150 down comforter for $30. Yes, $30. “I’ve always wanted one of those!” I announced to Wade. So he forced himself through the crowd and with less than 10 comforters left, he grabbed the exact color and size that matched our current bedding. We ended up saving more money at Kohls than we actually spent! Isn’t that just madness?!

Overall, it was a good experience for us. We’ll probably do it every year now!

Upon our return home, we cleaned house, put up and decorated the Christmas tree (and our 5 lonely Christmas decorations), and watched Alabama almost blow their chance at a National Championship. Talk about a stress-filled day! Surprisingly enough, I’ve made it the whole day without a nap and am now being productive with photography! I’m very proud of myself actually.

So while I’m being productive, I’d like to share South Shelby senior, Darcy Long. Darcy and I met up on a very cold and windy morning here in Macon, MO. We braved the unusual weather and managed to have a really great session! Despite the below average temperatures and the ridiculous wind, we shared some stories and laughs and captured some amazing photos of Darcy. She looks beautiful and I am blessed that she chose me to help capture these moments in her life.

Grâce à la recherche médicale et à des avancées scientifiques sans précédent, notre société actuelle nous donne toujours plus d’espoir de vivre longtemps. Mais si l’espoir de vivre plus vieux existe, il faut qu’il s’accompagne de l’espoir de vivre mieux car qui voudrait vivre plus longtemps pour vivre plus mal. Heureusement le fait d’arriver à un stade plus mature de sa vie donne également, dans la plupart des cas, droit à des privilèges plus palpables que celui de la simple sagesse !
Les seniors ont ainsi la chance de consacrer une part plus importante de leur budget aux loisirs et au bien-être. Et cela tombe bien car aujourd’hui, le mieux vivre va de pair avec le mieux être. Ce rapport du soin de l’âme par le soin du corps se ressent très distinctement pour la génération née après 1945 qui a été nourrie avec les valeurs « peace and love » ayant une approche plus holistique de la santé. Ces seniors ont une plus grande sensibilité pour les méthodes ancestrales et une plus grande confiance dans les médecines douces qui puisent leurs origines en Orient et notamment en Inde à l’époque du bouddha. Cette génération a suivi les chemins de Katmandou en quête de l’autre mais surtout de soi-même, cette recherche de la paix intérieure à travers notamment d’autres philosophies, d’autres thérapies. Et sans doute poursuit-elle toujours cette quête…
Plusieurs méthodes existent aujourd’hui pour retrouver cette paix intérieure, cette synergie entre le corps et l’esprit. Loin des clichés qui ont d’ailleurs largement faits leur temps, le massage thaï traditionnel est totalement en phase avec cette philosophie. Et comme il agit aussi bien sur l’esprit que sur le corps, il est avant tout une vraie source régénératrice qui permet un mieux être au quotidien. Par ailleurs, la pluralité des massages proposés permet à chacun de choisir son massage en fonction de son état du moment. Et leur efficacité vous garantit l’essentiel, sortir de ce moment privilégié, reboosté, détendu et tout simplement heureux.
Pour reprendre Arthur Lambert, directeur et fondateur de l’institut thaï aux Etats-Unis, « le massage Thaï aide le corps dans sa volonté innée de retourner à un état de performance et de santé optimum, contribuant à un sentiment d’aise et de bien-être. On commence à sentir la justesse du concept d’individu, de l’Etre, et de la Vie ».
Mais tous les instituts qui se disent avoir ces qualités n’en sont pas pour autant garants dans les faits. En poussant les portes du Laï Thaï institut, vous découvrirez un cadre chaleureux et harmonieux où les massages prodigués par des masseuses expérimentées et diplômées de l’école de Wat Po sauront vous transporter au cœur du bien-être. Et l’efficacité du massage est telle que cette sensation de bien-être absolu vous enveloppe au-delà de votre visite. Ainsi avec un bon massage, le moment de détente s’apprécie sur place et à emporter !
Bénéficiez de ce type de massage de façon régulière est un véritable confort de nos jours et si on ne peut profiter de ces bienfaits dans sa jeunesse, heureusement pour les seniors la vie leur offre une seconde jeunesse ! Alors on comprend mieux certains qui déclarent qu’ « enfin la vie va commencer » !

Ce blog crée par l’Institut de massage traditionnel Thaï de référence à Paris, Laï Thaï, est destiné à tous les seniors qui à la retraite ou pas ont envie de profiter de moments de bien-être et de relaxation. Pour se dire qu’après 50 ans, il y a toujours une nouvelle jeunesse qui nous attend. Car si l’esprit est parfois aussi trompeur que frappeur, le corps, lui,  ne se trompe jamais. Alors mieux vaut le bichonner et se dire que si la vie nous offre encore plusieurs heures autant qu’elles soient remplies de bonheur…

Un proverbe thaï nous dit : « Il n’y a pas d’autre bonheur que la paix ». Mais avant de partir à la recherche du bonheur, voici quelques citations sur lesquelles méditer. A vous de faire vôtre celle qui vous ressemble le plus.
- “Donnez moi le superflu, je me passerai de l’essentiel.” Orson Welles

- “Si tu diffères de moi, loin de me léser tu m’enrichis.” Saint Exupéry
- « Ce qui est passé a fui, ce que tu espères est absent, mais le présent est à toi ». Proverbe Touareg
- Une bonne alimentation, une lutte contre tout désir excessif, une méditation quotidienne… Tout cela peut conduire à la paix de l’esprit… et cette paix de l’esprit est bonne pour le corps. Dalaï Lama
J’ai décidé d’être heureux parce que c’est bon pour la santé. [Voltaire]
 
« Se connaître soi-même, c’est s’oublier. S’oublier soi-même, c’est s’ouvrir à toutes choses ». [Dôgen] Extrait de GenjoKoan
« Non anxieux ici, non anxieux toute la vie ».[Koan zen]
« Jour après jour, c’est un bon jour ».

Recently, economic times have been tough on us all, but probably no tougher on any other group than senior citizens.  Senior’s have seen their savings shrink while their expenses rise and they need to be careful that all of this does not catch them in a tricky tax situation, to boot.

Seniors need to watch out for the “Make Work Pay” credit.  This credit proposes to reduce taxes for 95% of families while opening a loophole that can suck in unaware seniors and leave them owing taxes they had no clue they would owe.  Non-working senior citizens do not qualify for the credit even though it may automatically add 6.25% to their withholding.  If such affected seniors do not change their withholding, they can wind up owing at tax time.

There are specific procedures to determine whether your social security payments are taxable or not.  Seniors need to know if their social security income is taxable.  Failure to pay taxes owed on social security income can result in IRS underpayment fines.  Those fines added on top of any tax owed plus interest could soon become trouble for a senior on a fixed income at tax time.

If you should have withholding taken from your pension disbursements depends on many things, like your number of dependents, what status you file under, additional sources of income, how many pension payments you receive, and your personal exemptions.  If you need to withhold and you do not withhold enough, you could face owing back taxes to the IRS.

Remember to take full advantage of all the exemptions and credits offered you by the IRS.  Don’t miss any possible deduction of your total tax liability.

If you are planning to get into your retirement account before age 60, remember that you will face an additional 10% tax on the money you withdraw.  The Roth IRA is an exception to this along with some others.  Learn how you might avoid this tax before deciding to take the money.

The best and easiest way to avoid the IRS back taxes as a senior citizen is – have a tax professional prepare your income tax return.  Tax professionals are trained and accredited and have the knowledge to work with you on your particular tax obligations.  They will know the best methods of obtaining every legitimate tax exemption, deduction, and credit you deserve.  They will know how to help you avoid making any decisions that might lead to owing the IRS back taxes.

Many retirees in America today would love to live in their homes, as they feel that their own haven of rest and comfort will give them a sense of security and peace to live out the remainder of their days. But when children grow up and move out, it becomes difficult for elderly people to run the household by themselves as they are responsible for every thing, right from doing chores and paying bills to commuting for shopping and handling everyday problems and repairs. This can take its toll on a senior whose energy and strength is not the same as it was, many years before. 

To help seniors enjoy life to the fullest by providing them basic needs for everyday living, a senior housing facility is the right place for them to live in. Chateau Cupertino is one such upscale retirement housing facility in the South bay area that provides help in tending to daily household chores, security for apartments, transportation facilities and entertainment activities for all those who choose to make it their home. To reserve place in their apartments visit http://www.chateau-cupertino.com/new-Index-contactus.htm and fill in your personal details or call (408) 446-4300.

The senior sessions continue as the New England weather for this time of year is unusually warm. It was a bit drizzly today but not enough to stop the session. Alex is an interesting teen. He is a fairly laid back kid, and has lots of great ideas. I think someday he will become famous from some invention he has come up with! We did the session in downtown Manchester NH as I found some spots I really liked a few weeks back when I did another session there. I loved Alex’s look and had a great time doing his session. You can see the full gallery on my smug mug here

A little background before any reveal. Now AdLand Suit for those who don’t know, is an anonymous character who moves among you in Advertising circles around London. Self proclaimed Senior. Self proclaimed Top Ten agency type. The kind of chap that people who are none of the above would like to know.

Of course anonymity brings both good and bad. It certainly attracted more attention than if he’d been open about his identity. I even get around 5 people a day coming to this blog just to try and find out. Anonymity is a formula which has been played out by some of Britain’s best known comic books and films – the masked, mysterious types. It’s all down to our human nature of wanting to know more. Wanting to make sense of the unknown in it’s more natural survival form it’s how we’ve survived as a race.

But AdLand Suit’s popularity is not one some online fictional character. For those who’ve engaged with him online, he has brought us wit, advice, charm, X-Factor, swearing, but importantly a highly personable, approachable flow of words. He is a talented communicator if nothing else, and a genuine online friend. And those who have socialised with him in real life speak fondly of the man.

You see Twitter and blogs allow you to get to know people more than some may think.

I speculated and fanned the flames a while ago about who he may be. But now the time has come for  ***** to be revealed. Is he a bird? Is he a plane?

Find out who AdLand Suit really is by clicking here…

Disneyland is free today! Well, that is if your birthday is on November 25^th.  In a brilliant promotion for 2009, Disney offered free admission on one’s birthday – hoping, of course, that you bring along a dozen or two of your closest friends. And I seriously thought about taking the bait. But, with Thanksgiving tomorrow, I didn’t want to leave my mother alone on my birthday – or on Thanksgiving.

Currently “Betty” is living in an upscale independent living (senior) apartment complex (more on how and why she moved there another time). They have a wonderful restaurant (really – it’s VERY good) and her rent even includes twenty dinners each month. She’s excited that the daily specials tonight include Prime Rib and Salmon, and I agreed to join her for dinner tonight. After all, she gets a lot of credit for today being my birthday!

But, as is typical in spending time with my mother: it’s never enough time. A quick trip to a doctor’s appointment will usually be a 6+ hour excursion for me, and tonight is no exception. At least where her expectations are concerned.

Mom plays Bingo at the apartment every Wednesday night and tonight should be no different. But when I agreed to have dinner with her tonight, she asked if I’d stay for BINGO. When I declined the invitation for BINGO (it’s my 50^th birthday and BINGO with a room full of 80 and 90 years olds isn’t how I want to top off my evening), she said she wasn’t going to play tonight if I didn’t join her. Yep .. you heard that right: No BINGO if I don’t join her. Talk about a guilt trip – I’m a frequent flyer!

Betty’s Daughter

November 25, 2009

Briana is a 2010 senior and has a heart of gold! We had a great time working together and even more fun when it came time for posing

INGENIERIA DE SISTEMAS
Fecha de Registro: 23 de Noviembre de 2009

DESCRIPCION DEL CARGO: Dba Senior Oracle

Profesional SENIOR, ingeniero de sistemas o afines.

Experiencia en administración y consultorías base de datos ORACLE 9i o 10g o 11g.

Administración de bases de grandes volúmenes de datos

Experto en instalaciones ORACLE en diferentes sistema operativos.

Experiencia en afinación de sentencias y bases de datos.

Amplio conocimiento en backups y recuperación de base de datos.

Instalaciones comprobadas de real application cluster o dataguard.

Conocimiento en pl/sql

Diseño de almacenamiento para base de datos.

Desenvolvimiento con la gente.

Espíritu investigativo.

Salario: $3.700.000

Ubicación: Bogotá, Medellín, Cali

SALARIO: $3.700.000

INFORMACION DE CONTACTO:

Correo: dianasup@hotmail.com

3140603   โครงงานวิจัยปริญญาบัณฑิต   Senior Project

โครงการวิจัยที่เกี่ยวข้องกับสัตวแพทยศาสตร์ของกลุ่มนิสิตโดยมีอาจารย์เป็นที่ปรึกษา เริ่มตั้งแต่การเสนอโครงการวิจัย การดำเนินการศึกษาวิจัย และการเขียนรายงานฉบับสมบูรณ์ รวมทั้งการเสนอผลการศึกษาวิจัยในการประชุมวิชาการ

(Research projects related to veterinary science under the advisor’s supervision, starting from research proposal submitting, experimental study, writing a full report and presentation of research results in the conference.)

(3140603 จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย)

A girl.  I just loved the fact that one Saturday I had TWO senior shoots.  I just love them.  It’s an exciting time in a life when you’re growing up, leaving home, and getting ready for the biggest adventure ever.  “T” is a sweet heart!  I’d never met her, but with her bubbly, outgoing personality, we hit it off real quick!  “T” has a heart on fire for God, and I know she’s going to do great in her mission. 

Last weekend I got to shoot one of my best friend’s little niece.

…At least she was little. Yes it had been a couple of years since I had last seen her. And yes I was aware that she was about to graduate high school. BUT, I did not expect her to be all growed up. And almost taller than me! However, she has grown into such a beautiful young lady.

So off we were to Marina del Rey to get some shots of her in her cheer-leading outfit and homecoming dress!

Last Saturday we spent a couple of cold (sorry Katie!!!) hours with Katie at the State Park.  She was totally a trooper and you can barely make out the goose bumps on her!  Here are some of our favorites from the editing so far:

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I thought that all that time in shorts and bare feet might have done her in, but she kept on going!  Awesome!

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We called it a day when we lost our light and we couldn’t feel our toes anymore!

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Thanks Katie!  We had a great time!

News headlines report of senior citizen abuse, most everyday. Long gone are the values and moralities of our grandparent’s generation. Time was when a handshake, or your word was all that was necessary to honor commitments. Gone are the days on an unlocked house, open windows, or sitting out back alone.

The elderly in today’s society can, unfortunately, encounter many traumatic events for no cause of their own. Predators watch and learn learn an old person’s schedule, like, when they leave their homes and when they are likely to return, what times they get up or go to bed, and if they are handicapped or ill by the comings and goings of a visiting nurse.

Many in the society of today appear to have lost all respect for other people’s property. It seems these people are without limits, with nothing more important than self-serving tactics. Who cares if an old person is lonely, in pain, or needs assistance?

Many times, the media tells us about a kid that brutally beat elderly parents, grandparents, or elderly strangers. Without any motivation, other than pursuing what they want, senior citizens can become their prey. And, if they want something you have in your home, you could be their next victim.

But, not all attackers are strangers, and the elderly person might not be beaten, robbed, or brutally murdered by the hands of an unknown person. Sometimes, the attacker is a family member, relative, or friend.

When elderly people are attacked or threatened, how are they to protect themselves? Many don’t possess the strength or agility to fight back or run. They can fall down stairs, against door jams, or be trapped in a wheelchair. Many times they do not understand what or why this is happening to them, because the person doing them harm is someone they trusted.

Perhaps a friend or relative lives in the senior citizen’s home to provide assistance and/or companionship. This person might get angry because they don’t want the responsibility of caring for an older person. Perhaps they feel as if their freedom has been taken from them. If the elderly person has adequate finances, the one that is supposed to be looking out for the well-being of the senior begins to feel that they should be compensated or rewarded excessively.

An elderly person who refuses to give money or sign over their property, risks being violently attacked by a family member or friend. It could be an adult son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter, or a friend. Most elderly people hesitate to report abuse from a relative or friend. Many are in failing health, and don’t know who to turn to for help. Or, perhaps, they fear the attacker will retaliate and things will get much worse, if they report the abuse.

Aging can be a lonely and painful experience. Some senior citizens were attacked and left alone to endure the pain and shame. Many could not get to their phone to call for help. But, if they would have had an emergency alarm, the help they needed could have been summoned.

A small device, disguised as a pendant or wristwatch can save lives, literally. There is no need to get to a phone. Help and assistance is no further away than the end of the finger. As easy as pushing a button on the device calls an emergency operator, and help can be on the way.

Many times, long-term injuries or death can be the result of not being able to get the care when it is needed. A personal security device can provide peace of mind, and is a true friend in need. Senior citizens can live independently knowing they have the ability to get help whenever they need.