Mary Thomas PV,Torr,Beach Cities,Pas,Realtor & more*

Urgent Message regarding this election from Focus on the Family. You are really needed to vote in this election because so many moral and family values are trying to be revised.

Ten Commandments outside the Supreme Court. Pic courtesy of Google...

Now more important than ever do we need to make a stand. Here is an excerpt from an email I received from Focus on the Family. Don't forget to watch for my Christian Voter Guide which I will post as soon as I recieve it. Vote MCain/Palin and vote to keep our values the same.

This week as the Republican National Convention convened, you heard many issues raised. Issues that experts feel will have a lasting effect on our family values. As the Presidential Election approaches we need to recall how important it is to "vote your values" on Election Day. While this has always been important, the stakes have never been higher! That's why it's so important for you to be an informed voter by reading Focus on the Family Citizen^®. Month after month, this can't-put-it-down magazine sets the record straight on issues affecting your family, your community, your church and the freedoms you hold dear.

Our next president will likely replace one or more Supreme Court justices who will make decisions on issues like these:

The way the Supreme Court votes on these and many other issues depends in part on how you vote this November.

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Ok, THis brought me to tears remembering just how awesome is the God we serve and how loving and kind is his Son, who died on the cross for our sins.

I hope this brings you some love and peace in your day...it sure did mine I would love to know the author of this. Please let me know.

. pic. courtesy of google.com blackthang

DADDY'S EMPTY CHAIR

A man's daughter had asked the local minister

to come and pray with her father.

When the minister arrived,

he found the man lying in bed with his head

propped up on two pillows.

An empty chair sat beside his bed.

The minister assumed that the old fellow

had been informed of his visit.

'I guess you were expecting me, he said.

'No, who are you?' said the father.

The minister told him his name and then remarked,

'I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew

I was going to show up.'

'Oh yeah, the chair,' said the bedridden man.

'Would you mind closing the door?'

Puzzled, the minister shut the door.

'I have never told anyone this,

not even my daughter,' said the man.

'But all of my life I have never

known how to pray.

At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer,

but it went right over my head

I abandoned any attempt at prayer,'

the old man continued, '

until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me,

'Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter

of having a conversation with Jesus.

Here is what I suggest.

'Sit down in a chair;

place an empty chair in front of you,

and in faith see Jesus on the chair.

It's not spooky because he promised,

'I will be with you always'.

'Then just speak to him in the same way

you're doing with me right now.'

'So, I tried it and I've liked it so much

that I do it a couple of hours every day.

I'm careful though . If my daughter saw me talking

to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown

or send me off to the funny farm.'

The minister was deeply moved by the story and

encouraged the old man to continue on the journey.

Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil,

and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called

to tell the minister that her daddy

had died that afternoon.

Did he die in peace?' he asked.

Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock,

he called me over to his bedside,

told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek.

When I got back from the store an hour later,

I found him .

But there was something strange about his death.

Apparently, just before Daddy died,

he leaned over and rested his head on the chair

beside the bed. What do you make of that?'

The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said,

'I wish we could all go like that.'

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.

I asked God for water, He gave me an ocean.*

I asked God for a flower, He gave me a garden.*

I asked God for a friend, He gave me all of YOU...

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.

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.'

Yes, you read this right. I predicted that the buyers who were still waiting needed to stop 6 months ago.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/487163/Interst-Rates-up-Dont 4/28/08

Courtesy of Google, moneytips.com

Why because it is a common known denominator in this down turned housing market that rates will go up when prices go down. Just as rates are going up now.

As a buyer in the South Bay you need to do the math and see that waiting is costing you money. Unless you can predict the interest rate future, it does not look like it is going down. Don't wait.

I have worked in this market for over 25 years and seen interest rates at 17% in 1981, 7% jump to 11% in 1986 and now from 2005 to 2008 we have watched interest rates go from 5% to 6.75% and more.

What this means to you the Buyer:

House in the South Bay -Example: Torrance 90505

Torrance Homes- Sale Price 2006- $950,000.00 with 20 % down(190,000.00)

760,000.00 Loan at 5% Pymt. $3166.66 Int. per month

Same home in 2008 8% drop in price-$874,000.00 with 20% down (174,800.00)

699,200.00 Loan at 6.75% Pymt. 3933.00 Int. per month

You say I saved $56,000.00 by waiting to buy but did you really?

Now your loan costs you more in interest and here is where you lose more by waiting.

Buyer 1 pays $1,139,997.60 over the 30 year life of the loan, purchased in 2006

Buyer 2 pays $1,415,880.00 over the 30 year life of the Loan purchased in 2008.

($56,000.00) in Sale Price

A loss of $275,000.00 over the life of the loan by Buyer #2.

Don't gamble on the interest rate, the only one saving money in this market is all cash buyers.

If you are not an all cash buyer than I suggest you buy now and don't risk your interest rate and loan approval. Lenders have made it very difficult to qualify but I am predicting that they will loosen up in the next few months so stop renting and buy your dream home asap.

Here is my sources from Trend Graphs that I used to estimate the Sales in 90505.

2005Avg. Active Price	912	908	915	899	898	899	905	920	911	891	892	886	901	903	899
Avg. Sld Price	917	905	878	908	893	901	914	884	888	913	906	895	880	900	893
Avg. Sq. Ft. Price	364	476	459	350	393	457	445	482	395	375	468	406	465	426	400
Sold/List Diff. %	100	99	99	100	102	100	97	100	99	99	98	99	97	98	98
2008Avg. Active Price	882	881	897	888	888	886	906	897	882	905	900	900	905	890	886
Avg. Sld Price	883	904	908	885	0	912	885	897	877	0	880	907	0	884	895
Avg. Sq. Ft. Price	471	400	424	455	0	442	720	547	406	0	450	427	0	415	352

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http://activerain.com/blogsview/487163/Interst-Rates-up-Dont Save money on interest buy now

http://activerain.com/blogsview/452990/Los-Angeles-County-Grea FHA

http://activerain.com/blogsview/377623/New-California-Real-Estate appraiser

http://activerain.com/blogsview/403208/Palos-Verdes-Home-Owners

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http://activerain.com/blogsview/500245/-Top-4-Best Brunches in the Pv & South Bay

http://activerain.com/blogsview/142901/Searching-for-Best-Schools

http://activerain.com/blogsview/233943/Internet-Safety-for-Children

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http://activerain.com/blogsview/467528/Reverse-Mortgage-is-it

http://activerain.com/blogsview/472230/Keep-Safe-Coalition-Protecting

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Here is a guide to people with alergies that are thinking about relocating. This is a list of the top ten worst allergiy cities in the United States.

# 1 City is Greensboro, North Carolina and #2 is Greenville, South Carolina. The Carolina's are not fairing well in the allergy department. I have just given quotes and some info on the cities for the full article amd more detailed information about each city here is the link:

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/health&id=6365103

Here is some excerpts courtesy of the Tuesday, September 02, 2008 | 8:56 AM LAUREN COX

"To the allergy-free person, red eyes and stuffy noses may look like mild discomforts amplified by whiners and drug companies. But for the victims of outdoor allergies, the dreaded pollen of spring and fall can drive people to desperate measures.

"People are struggling with allergies so much that they're willing to move," said Angel Waldron, communications manager for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). "We speak to consumers daily and that's probably the most popular question I can get it: 'where can I move to make this better?'"

After years of such phone calls, the AAF decided to make an annual list of the most challenging places to live with fall allergies. The list takes into account pollen levels, how much allergy medications residents buy and how many allergists are in the city to help.

However, allergists say when, where and how hard pollen strikes each year depends on many more criteria than the AAFA use

"Ragweed pollinates in different parts of the country at different times," said Dr. Harold Nelson, an allergist at National Jewish Health, in Denver, Colo. Nelson explained that ragweed, which is the source for most early fall allergies, moves from north to south with the changing temperatures.

In fact, location matters even within a city. "It's certainly, in part, about where you put your pollen counter," said Dr. John Cohn, chief of the adult allergy section at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pa.

"I have patients who live on the Jersey shore, and their symptoms depend on whether there's a land breeze or a sea breeze," said Cohn.

Waldron says the goal is not to create an allergy sufferer exodus from the fall allergy capitals. Instead, she hopes allergy sufferers living in the cities on the list will take their home ranking as a call to action in September.

"Don't start packing yet. There are things you can do in your home town before you overturn your life," Waldron said.

1. Greensboro, N.C.

Topping the AAFA's fall allergy capital list is Greensboro, N.C.

Greensboro -- once spelled Greensborough -- played a historic role the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the 1800 textile boom in North Carolina.

Greensboro is also known for a large amount of green trees, although allergists say the trees aren't responsible for putting put Greensboro at the top of the AAFA Fall Allergy Capital List.

"Usually the fall is weeds and mold," said David Shulan, fellow of the American Academy of Asthma and Allergy Immunology, and a partner of the certified allergy and asthma consultants in Albany, N.Y. Shulan says those pollinating trees strike in spring, not fall.

But sitting midway between North Carolina's coast and the Smoky Mountains to the West, the tree-filled Greensboro apparently also had the right climate to get a "worse than average" rating on ragweed pollen count.

The city also ranked worse than average on the number of allergists in town and on medication use. All total, Greensboro scored 100 on the AAFA scale. Not far behind, was another "green" city.

2. Greenville, S.C.

Tucked in the northwest corner of South Carolina, the small city of Greenville came in at a close second on the AAFA Fall Allergy Capital list with a score of 97.33.

Greenville is located in the lush foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. At that location, most residents would enjoy the moderate climate -- unless, the AAFA calculation proves correct. This year, Greenville jumped from it's 45th 2007 ranking.

While the spring rainfall and other weather patterns can change local allergies year by year, some allergists who study pollen counts were surprised by that high of a jump.

"You got to ask yourself, why? It's not like housing stocks," said Cohn. "Why would a city change? You'd think the flora and fauna wouldn't change."

Nelson had at least one explanation: while most of the weeds that contribute to what people call "fall' allergies actually bloom in late summer, an October in a warmer climate like Greenville resembles the temperatures of August in other parts of the country.

"If they (AAFA) really mean September by 'fall,' that may make more sense, because the ragweed is pollinating more down there," said Nelson. But in August, "the pollen counts in North Carolina and South would not even approach the Midwest counts."

3. Little Rock, Ark.

Coming in at 3rd, up from 14th last year, is Little Rock, Ark.

Little Rock can lay claim on many historical movements. The city's area was inhabited by Native American tribes including the Choctaw and Cherokee and later occupied by French traders. In the 20th century the city became famous by the desegregation story of the Little Rock Nine, and the city was home to former President Bill Clinton.

"You're not going to be able to cure allergies or escape them," Waldron said. "If you know what your triggers are, and know how to avoid them, then you can live anywhere comfortably."

Part of knowing your triggers, Waldron said, is to go to an allergist and get tested and that's why AAFA included a ranking by a shortage of allergists.

4. Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

Since Raleigh is known as the City of Oaks for its many oak trees, residents in the city may face tough allergy symptoms in the spring, as well as living in the AAFA's 4th most-challenging city during the fall.

"Even though we talk about rose fever in the spring, it's not rose," said Cohn. "We talk about hay fever in the fall, it's not hay."

Cohn explained that's because roses and other flowering plants actually don't release pollen into the air for reproduction, unlike oaks and maple trees.

"The flowering trees and grasses send out the pollen on the birds and the bees," said Cohn. "It's the less attractive plants that need to put lots of pollen in the air."

Less attractive to the bees, that is. But the City of Oaks attracts many others. Raleigh-Durham, and nearby Chapel Hill, welcome thousands of students each fall to the 10 colleges and universities in the area.

5. Jackson, Miss.

Jackson, Miss., namesake of Andrew Jackson, can lay claim to the great writer Eudora Welty and a tumultuous past from the civil war and through 1960s Civil Rights struggle. It also ranked 5th on the AAFA's list of challenging places to live with fall allergies.

With a relatively small population of 180,000 for a state capital, but seven large parks and a humid subtropical climate, at least some of its inhabitants are likely to run into allergies.

Waldron has some year round advice for outdoor allergy sufferers: "Once you come home it's good to remove your shoes and clothes." Changing out of pollen-ridden clothes will ensure the offending irritant doesn't follow you around the house. Then, there's hair care.

"It acts like a mop while it's outside and then you bring it in," said Waldron. Allergy sufferers who don't wash their hair risk accumulating the pollen on their pillow case, making for horrible mornings. "It's a whole mess."

6. Knoxville, Tenn.

Located on the west side of the Appalachian foothills, Knoxville, Tenn., landed at 6th on the AAFA's list of fall allergy capitals.

Curiously, Knoxville's ragweed pollen score fell smack in the "average" rating of 300 grains per cubic meter air. That didn't impress Shulan.

"When I did my allergy fellowship in Iowa City, we got 5,000 (grains per cubic meter air)," said Shulan. "If you're ragwee- allergic, the Midwest is a bad place to be."

Rapids, Mich.

Even though the city ranked 7th on this year's AAFA Fall Allergy Capitals, Grand Rapids can proudly boast one public health accomplishment.

Grand Rapids and other Michigan town's were the first to add fluoride to drinking water in 1945. The city was became known for furniture, and was dubbed furniture city because it was a center for lumber and furniture manufacturing.

Although many may associate manufacturing towns with poor air quality, Cohn said nature and all its glorious ragweed is just as horrible of an irritant.

"I sort of joke in the office, if DuPont manufactured pollen, they'd be in trouble," said Cohn. "I see much more disease from natural products than I do for pollution."

"It sounds bad if you're saying bad things about Mother Nature," he joked.

With its cooler climate, Grand Rapids is likely to see an early peak to the fall ragweed season. Cohn said just to be careful driving by the highway where the plant often grows.

8. Wichita, Kan.

Wichita is known as the air capital of the world. The city claims that title because it is home to six aircraft manufacturing companies and the McConnell air force base.

Smack in the heart of the American plains, ragweed in Wichita can carry pollen a far way with strong winds. The area is also prone to severe thunderstorms and sometimes tornadoes.

.Otherwise, "You might just have to keep your windows closed," said Shulan. With closed windows, and hypoallergenic air conditions, Shulan estimates an indoor environment can cut down pollen count by 90 percent.

"We used to die in the Midwest years ago, air conditioning was quite helpful," said Shulan.

9. Oklahoma City, Okla.

Although Oklahoma City still made the AAFA's top ten fall allergy capitals, the 9th ranking was an improvement of its third place last year.

Both Oklahoma City and Wichita scored approximately 70 out of the 100 AAFA scale for fall allergies. Both cities are on the American plains (with their wind) and both cities took their name from neighboring Native American tribes.

Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw words 'okla,' meaning 'people,' and 'humma,' meaning 'red.' Literally translated, the name means 'red people.'

10. Madison, Wis.

According to the AAFA's calculations, students returning to University of Wisconsin-Madison may be in for a hay fever shock.

Madison ranked number 10 on the AAFA Fall allergy capitals, showing average pollen counts but high medication use and lower than average access to allergists.

Still, allergists don't believe pollen should dissuade anyone from going to the college, or city of their dreams. In addition to having four lakes to enjoy Lake Mendota, Monona, Waubes and Kegonsa, Madison is consistently ranked Money and Forbes magazines as one of the best, cheapest and safest places to live in the U.S.

"Back in the 19th century they used to publish lists of places where you could go to get away from ragweed," said Nelson, mostly in Main the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Rocky Mountains.

"You could go to all those places where there was nothing but pine trees and get away from the rag weed pollen," said Nelson. "To move now a days would be a rather extreme thing when there are really very effective ways to treat allergies,"

Real Estate for the Soul's Featured Property of the Week:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/388938/32646-Coast-Site-Rancho Rancho Palos Verdes

Best Ocean view Condo

http://activerain.com/blogsview/306368/4134-Pacific-Coast-Hwy Torrance Newer Home

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Real Estate Articles:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/503521/Still-Have-an-Adjustable

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http://activerain.com/blogsview/452990/Los-Angeles-County-Grea FHA

http://activerain.com/blogsview/462789/Renting-Versus-Buying-In

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http://activerain.com/blogsview/487163/Interst-Rates-up-Dont Save money on interest buy now

http://activerain.com/blogsview/452990/Los-Angeles-County-Grea FHA

http://activerain.com/blogsview/377623/New-California-Real-Estate appraiser

http://activerain.com/blogsview/403208/Palos-Verdes-Home-Owners

Family Info & events
http://activerain.com/blogsview/500245/-Top-4-Best Brunches in the Pv & South Bay

http://activerain.com/blogsview/142901/Searching-for-Best-Schools

http://activerain.com/blogsview/233943/Internet-Safety-for-Children

Senior Care & Events

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http://activerain.com/blogsview/467528/Reverse-Mortgage-is-it

http://activerain.com/blogsview/472230/Keep-Safe-Coalition-Protecting

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