Christine Emmick

Hey activerain family! I was just looking through some of my writing samples to get something ready for a potential client and I found an activerain link among them!!

I've missed you! I will try to keep in touch about my upcoming children's book (it should hit the market in November or December I hope!!) and my new blogs, Gluten Free Fantasy, and That's What Breasts are For.... If these topics are of interest to you, stop by and consider becoming a follower!

Oh and we have a new addition! Little Jess is 6 months old!

Love and kisses,

Christine :)

We are due to have our fourth girl in just a few days. I should, based on the number and frequency of my contractions, be asleep. Instead I'm here with you folks contemplating time.

When we knew we were having this bundle, just after a recent miscarriage, I knew I needed to cut back. My husband and I were expanding our real estate horizons searching out new property prospects, I am homeschooling two pre-schoolers and cyber schooling a 3rd grader, I'm working on my first children's book, I had several business writing clients, and I volunteered for our church's Sunday school program.

I usually leave these things out of my business blog, but I am a Christian, and I know everything happens for a reason, and in it's season. I had to cut back and my writing seemed the best place to do so. But what about the missing income? Yep, that was a concern, but God provided, just in time. For how long, we don't really know, but for now the cash rolls in in just about the same amount as I was making.

Now, when is the right time to jump back in? When I do, do I woo my old clients or search for new ones? Will the break in the action severely affect my skills, my prospects?

I guess this matters little in the grand scheme of things. God is in control after all, and a baby, even the fourth one, changes everything. :)

I was just watching a youtube instructional video about the housing crisis. According to this guys math, housing prices artificially rose up to 60% between 2000 and 2006, while incomes per capita actually went down.

I'm in southwestern Pennsylvania and we, as investors, can still find homes, livable homes in half decent neighborhoods, in the 20 to 30k range. My husband's parents bought their home for less than 10K in 1970 and had it paid off in less than 10 years. My parents in the 80s bough their home for 70K at a horrible interest rate, and just made their last payment last month. Was this a housing bubble too that never burst?

My question is how far can these prices rise over time? Do we really need to spend over 100K for a starter type home? Should home prices be out of reach for those people with an hourly paying job?

As nice as it may seem to have your home's value skyrocket, normal everyday people, with normal every day jobs simply cannot, and should not have to, shell out a grand for a house payment every month. I also think everyone deserves to own where they live. It makes for a better community, and therefore better neighborhoods and less crime, mostly because people care about what is theirs. I've seen first hand what renters can do to properties they don't own. It is not pretty.

House prices must come down if this is going to happen. People making minimum wage should be able to buy a home of their own and not spend an eternity paying it off. I'm not talking newly built homes in chopped up farms, I'm talking about renewed old neighborhoods, infused with the extra cash these workers will have to fix up these unpolished gems by having a $300 house payment, instead of a $1300 house payment.

Then, maybe the housing market will look more like it did in the 1950s, no 30 year mortgages, no artificially inflated house prices, and modest bank profit.

"Subway Helps Students in Need" promotion lets Delmont Wal-Mart Subway Customers Give Kids the School Supplies They Need to Get the School Year Off to a Great Start

By Christine Emmick

Now through the end of September the owners of Subway Restaurant inside of the Delmont Wal-Mart store will offer $1.00 off any item on their menu with a donation of new school supplies. They will distribute the school supplies to the families of students at Greensburg Salem, Jeanette, Penn Trafford and Christian Fellowship Academy schools.

The idea sprung from a wish to help those families struggling during these tough economic times. When assistant manager Jessie Staymates decided to offer an incentive to help give kids get a great start in school, she never dreamed her customers would be so giving. Folders, notebooks, pencils highlighters and stickers poured in. Because of the generosity of their customers, the Delmont Subway will have hundreds of dollars of school supplies to distribute to families in these school districts.

To get more information or to make a donation, call Jessie at 724-468-3010, or simply stop by the restaurant. To get directions to the Delmont Wal-Mart Subway, visit http://www.subway.com/Applications/locator/index.aspxand click the "Restaurant Locator" tab at the top of the page. The "Subway Helps Students in Need" promotion runs through September 30th.

Christine Emmick is a freelance foods and business writer based in the Pittsburgh area. You may contact Christine through her blog site at www.activerain.com/cemmick.

The new federal appropriations bill will grant a 9% increase, over $300 million, to President Obama's Office of Management and Budget for 2010. These funds will be used for computer upgrades at the President's office and "pilot programs" to improve federal/state communication.

This passed bill requested more than a 7% increase overall. The biggest increases were for President Obama's office (Executive Office of the President), the District of Columbia, and the Treasury Department, including over $5.5 billion for IRS tax enforcement to combat tax evasion. This represents more than a 12% increase from 2009.

A report of all the increases can be found at http://republicans.appropriations.house.gov by clicking the "7.14.09 FY 2010 Financial Services Appropriations" sidebar. A summary of the bill can be found at http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/FS_FY10_FC_Summary_as_amended_07.07.2009.pdf.

-Christine Emmick is a business and real estate writer based in the Pittsburgh area.