Sunday, April 8, 2012
Homeschooling in Charlotte
When I first decided to homeschool, I was so glad that I lived in Charlotte. Perhaps living in Charlotte was the main reason why we made our decision. Not only do we have many friends at church and in the community who homeschool, there are so many organizations and opportunities at every turn for support. Most churches have homeschool groups to join, and these groups are a great way to stay connected with other moms and for the kids to have plenty of time to play with their friends. Our church, for example, holds Friday afternoon homeschool classes that are basically free and run for two hours. This year we had P.E., art, drama, and health. Field trips are held at least once per month, and we're planning on a springtime spelling bee. (We'll see if we can work that out before summer vacation starts:) ) There are so many museums to join and battlefields to explore. Even Disneyworld holds annual homeschool days. For those preferring to stay closer to home, the local Great Wolf Lodge also holds discounted homeschool days. I highly recommend that anyone homeschooling, whether you're in Charlotte or not, to find other families to enjoy the journey with. We have had a wonderful two years in our homeschool, but the best part has definitely been joining a Classical Conversations community.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Charlotte Classical Conversations
I am so excited to announce our new location for Classical Conversations in Charlotte, NC! Starting in August 2012, we will be meeting at Crossway Community Church on Eastfield Drive in the University area of Charlotte. For homeschoolers who are familiar with Classical Conversations, this news should come as no surprise. There are almost 200 hundred campuses across the country and the number is only growing. The University area of Charlotte, and more specifically, the Highland Creek area, was desperate for a home CC location. Many of its residents have been driving long distances to attend other campuses outside of the city. The new location, known as Mallard Creek Classical Conversations, is the first campus in North Charlotte within the city limits. Although spots are filling quickly, there are still several openings remaining in each of the Foundations classes as well as in Challenge A, the seventh grade level. Please visit the CC website, www.classicalconversations.com and click on the state of North Carolina at the top of the home page. Scroll down the list of locations and you will now see Mallard Creek listed as one of them. In addition, you may contact Pam Burton at beehive4@carolina.rr.com for more information about Classical Conversations or the new Charlotte location.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Cleaning Your Microsuede Comforter Set
So you’ve finally moved into the twenty-first century — at least as far as home decorating is concerned. Your feather-filled down comforter or old-fashioned “bed-in-a-bag” has been replaced with a modern, sleek, and sophisticated microsuede comforter set.
These fashionable new additions to bedrooms worldwide provide more than a quick and easy boost to a room’s appeal, however. They are simple to clean and maintain as well. Here’s how to keep your microsuede looking its best:
◦ Once a week, while handling your general household cleaning chores, take an extra minute to smooth out the comforter’s wrinkles and check for any dirt or grime. If there are no noticeable problems, a quick spray of Febreze in the air above the bed should suffice. Do not spray directly on the comforter itself. Every two to three weeks, the comforter should be washed in your home machine, provided that there are no stains.
◦ If you do find any marks or spots; there are several steps you should take before resorting to the washing machine. As with any stain, the quicker it is treated, the easier it will be to remove completely. If treated immediately, a clean rag soaked in hot water can fix almost anything. So don’t procrastinate and give a stain time to set up camp on your home furnishings. Get up and get busy and you will save yourself time in the long run.
◦ Take a small towel and blot any trouble spots, soaking up excess liquid or solid material.
◦ Using a small amount of gentle detergent on a damp washcloth, dab any stains repeatedly. Do not rub or scrub into the material. Firmly pressing straight down and up will remove dirt and stains without spreading them and making the situation even worse.
◦ If the detergent or soap has not proved successful, rubbing alcohol is another alternative that will usually do the trick. Small amounts of nail polish remover can be substituted if you do not have rubbing alcohol available. Be careful not to use it as its name implies, by rubbing. Only pat and press it into the fabric.
◦ Spot-treat any stubborn stains like pen or blood with a specific cleanser formulated for them such as Ink Remover.
◦ Wash your comforter in the washing machine on the delicate cycle with a gentle detergent.
◦ After washing, fully inspect the stained areas BEFORE putting it in the dryer. The heat of the dryer will set any stain that still exists. Permanently.
◦ Only when you have thoroughly checked the former stains and verified that they are removed can you then machine dry your microsuede comforter set.
◦ If all else has failed, take the comforter to your favorite dry cleaners and let them work their magic!
◦ When fully clean, place your microsuede comforter back on your bed and smooth the fibers with your hand so they are all leaning in the same direction. This will leave a perfect finish that would make any decorator proud.
These fashionable new additions to bedrooms worldwide provide more than a quick and easy boost to a room’s appeal, however. They are simple to clean and maintain as well. Here’s how to keep your microsuede looking its best:
◦ Once a week, while handling your general household cleaning chores, take an extra minute to smooth out the comforter’s wrinkles and check for any dirt or grime. If there are no noticeable problems, a quick spray of Febreze in the air above the bed should suffice. Do not spray directly on the comforter itself. Every two to three weeks, the comforter should be washed in your home machine, provided that there are no stains.
◦ If you do find any marks or spots; there are several steps you should take before resorting to the washing machine. As with any stain, the quicker it is treated, the easier it will be to remove completely. If treated immediately, a clean rag soaked in hot water can fix almost anything. So don’t procrastinate and give a stain time to set up camp on your home furnishings. Get up and get busy and you will save yourself time in the long run.
◦ Take a small towel and blot any trouble spots, soaking up excess liquid or solid material.
◦ Using a small amount of gentle detergent on a damp washcloth, dab any stains repeatedly. Do not rub or scrub into the material. Firmly pressing straight down and up will remove dirt and stains without spreading them and making the situation even worse.
◦ If the detergent or soap has not proved successful, rubbing alcohol is another alternative that will usually do the trick. Small amounts of nail polish remover can be substituted if you do not have rubbing alcohol available. Be careful not to use it as its name implies, by rubbing. Only pat and press it into the fabric.
◦ Spot-treat any stubborn stains like pen or blood with a specific cleanser formulated for them such as Ink Remover.
◦ Wash your comforter in the washing machine on the delicate cycle with a gentle detergent.
◦ After washing, fully inspect the stained areas BEFORE putting it in the dryer. The heat of the dryer will set any stain that still exists. Permanently.
◦ Only when you have thoroughly checked the former stains and verified that they are removed can you then machine dry your microsuede comforter set.
◦ If all else has failed, take the comforter to your favorite dry cleaners and let them work their magic!
◦ When fully clean, place your microsuede comforter back on your bed and smooth the fibers with your hand so they are all leaning in the same direction. This will leave a perfect finish that would make any decorator proud.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Hmm.. Bush didn't cause this financial meltdown
The New York Times
By STEVEN A. HOLMES
Published: September 30, 1999
In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.
In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.
''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''
In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.
''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''
Under Fannie Mae's pilot program, consumers who qualify can secure a mortgage with an interest rate one percentage point above that of a conventional, 30-year fixed rate mortgage of less than $240,000 -- a rate that currently averages about 7.76 per cent. If the borrower makes his or her monthly payments on time for two years, the one percentage point premium is dropped.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, Fannie Mae is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings.
Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify for a mortgage.
In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed that by the year 2001, 50 percent of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolio be made up of loans to low and moderate-income borrowers. Last year, 44 percent of the loans Fannie Mae purchased were from these groups.
By STEVEN A. HOLMES
Published: September 30, 1999
In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.
In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.
''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''
In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.
''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''
Under Fannie Mae's pilot program, consumers who qualify can secure a mortgage with an interest rate one percentage point above that of a conventional, 30-year fixed rate mortgage of less than $240,000 -- a rate that currently averages about 7.76 per cent. If the borrower makes his or her monthly payments on time for two years, the one percentage point premium is dropped.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, Fannie Mae is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings.
Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify for a mortgage.
In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed that by the year 2001, 50 percent of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolio be made up of loans to low and moderate-income borrowers. Last year, 44 percent of the loans Fannie Mae purchased were from these groups.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
The Great Apes at the Capes
OK, here's the sad truth. Little Fido, our "surf dog", faithful compadre, catnrat chaser, four legged vacuum and walking flea experiment was eaten by the shark you see. We were all surfing when the shark jumped up and ate Fido and then spit his bones out. Dan, being the biggest, jumped on the shark while Ted bit his fins, George jumped off his surfboard and did a kunk-fu kick right in the chops!! Brad poked his eyes out with a true Three-stooges move (moe would be proud) right when Eric ripped across a wave and shredded his surfboard right over the shark, cutting him to pieces. It was a sight and the first time I saw a shark cry!! Little Fido is now enshrined at the Smithsonian Museum. And you heard the truth here....so you can share this sacred story with your children when you visit. We will always remember little Fido. 
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