Monica Hess

Anyone seen Al Gore lately? I'm betting he'll show up about August with sweat on his brow and hope in his heart that we might have forgotten another cold and snowy winter.

Here in Lexington we're about 18 inches over the average snowfall. It sure seems like a lot more. We've had snow on top of snow this year and there doesn't appear to be any end in sight. I'm expecting snow in March! When I was a little girl...long, long ago, we were told in school that the weather patterns and rock/dirt layers (all sorts of mysterious things) were pointing to a new ice age any time. I wouldn't be surprised. Between that and Tampa having to redo the coordinates of their runways 3* due to the pole shift, I think we're in for a wild ride. It may not be getting colder at the north pole, but it's sure getting colder here. (polar bears are thriving in record numbers, by the way)

Maybe Al's moved south...way south. That's ok, Lexington's beautiful in the snow, too. The horses love it! No bugs to worry with, no heat! I love watching them playing in fields of white.

I'm all for city life. It's exciting, it's fun and it's driving me nuts. I'm ready for a place in the country where I can have a few cattle, a goat and a donkey or two. I love donkeys. I already have city chickens, so you can tell the city life hasn't converted me.

So, yesterday I put the city behind me and drove until I didn't quite know where I was anymore. The farther I got, the more comfortable I became. I've decided that I need solitude and I need water around me. Feng Shui is all about balance and making the most of your surroundings. My current home has made me sure of one thing...I'm sure that I'm ready for a change. ;-)

I found something else in my travels that I'm not so sure about. Maybe someone will enlighten me.

What is that?

There's money out there for the taking! Grant money! The government is giving it away, so you'd be foolish not to take it. After all, somebody will. They'll go out, apply for those grants, buy property, "employ people to fix up that property" and then sell that property to build their own wealth.

That's about the gist of the sales talk I heard the other day. Of course, this company wanted to get a fair share of the money to be made for helping you get your business going. It sounded great, until I started wondering about the grants. After all, I like money, too. I'd love to be rich and I'd love to make a few million in the property market. There's a lot of money to be made now. So, lets look at it closely.

Lets say I go out and get a $20,000 grant to buy and rehab a piece of property. I add to the community by hiring people to work on the house, so that's good. I provide decent housing for the community, so that's good. I make money, lets don't underestimate how good that is! So, what's the problem? I don't have to pay it back!

So, where does grant money come from? Our goverment hasn't been working in the black for years, so the grant money is borrowed money. Borrowed in the name of the people of the United States of America. And, yes...somebody is going to have to pay back that $20,000 . Who? The taxpayer. My children, your children, all of us. So, what's the big deal? It's only $20,000 after all. But, it isn't only $20,000. It's millions, billions...even trillions. As it is, they're giving away borrowed money.

One day that money is going to come due and here's the worse part. All those years it's waiting to be paid, that debt is growing. It's seeped into every nook and cranny of the government...one department keeps track of it, the other dispenses it, the other finds more to give away, and one (our beloved IRS) sucks it out of each and every taxpayer.

All that government overhead does nothing but build up more debt and I want no part of it.

Not such a good deal anymore, is it? More like, really bad karma.

Hello Active Rainers!

I've got a secret...and it might just make you some money! A new technique has been unearthed that seems to be moving houses very quickly...houses that had been sitting on the market for a year and more are selling within two weeks of implementation.

So...I've decided to use the Active Rain group to help me study this phenomenon...if you guys are willing to give it a try!

Here's the deal. I'll need the address of the property, the year it was built, a facing direction... (I'll tell you how to do that) and then, with that information, I'll give you some advice. If you follow my advice and get a contract within 2 weeks, and it closes...I want .25% of the sale price for my consultation. If it does not draw a contract within those two weeks, you owe me nothing.

So, on a $100,000. property, a quick sale would earn me $250. All you'll have to do is get that compass measurement and follow a few simple instructions. Each property will be different, so I can't just tell you guys what to do. I have to figure out "where" to do this.

Oh, and by the way...you don't have to tell anyone you're consulting me. Anything I learn will be the subject of a blog, but scrubbed of any identifying information. And, of course, I have to trust you to pay me. You have nothing to lose, but a few minutes of your time.

Any takers?

Here in Lexington we have a Starbucks where the management has thoughtfully planted Blackeyed Susans for those of us who use the drive-thru. I don't know if they realized that their flowers would be only part of the show for us.

If I hadn't looked down at the beautiful flowers at the drive-thru; If the flowers hadn't been found by this little bird; I would have simply bought my coffee and moved on down the road. Instead, I got to watch this little guy enjoying his feast of seeds, and it made my day so much brighter.

Thank you little bird.