Chrysalis Weekend

What an amazing 3 day weekend, I had the opportunity to serve on the team that watched 18 young men grow closer to God.

I missed the family, but it was for a worthwhile cause. Bon and I actually had the opportunity to give the Marriage talk, and sharing our story of how God has been such an amazing factor in our lives, the guys had a ton of great questions afterward as well.

Our table name was the "Cabbage Patch Assassins", one of the leaders has set-up a Facebook group for us, which will be a great way for us to stay in touch and see how the lives of these young men unfold.

God is good, all the time, all the time, God is good...

Ideals that I live by...

The Nine Principles

1. America is good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

If you agree with at least 7 of the 9, shoot me an email or post a comment here on the blog, there is an opportunity to be heard on the horizon...

Kids are Great!

Rese and Tru had their routine check-ups, and got an A+ from Dr. Bawa. All of the nurses were shocked at how Tru just smiles, all the time, at everyone. ..

I am getting pumped for the Chrysalis flight this weekend...

We started the "Fireproof" small group last night, and had a great time, I continue to be amazed at the phenomenal people we meet through 4 Corners...

Closed my first new Thomas deal today, God is good...

This wind is fierce, anxious to see if we have any shingles on the ground tomorrow morning...

God help us...

Back Again...

OK, now that the biz stuff is somewhat under control and we are making some ground on deals, I can re-engage in the Heat Stadium.

This is a pic of Truett's face when I told him what is in the current "stimulus package"

I have officially decided that I do not want to carry the label of either party in our current government, it seems that most of the people in DC have forgot what common sense looks like.

As I look at what is included in this "stimulus package", I cannot help but hear Rahm Emanuel in my ear saying "“Rule one: Never allow a crisis to go to waste,” which Mr. Emanuel said in an interview. “They are opportunities to do big things.”"

The things that are in this bill are CRAZY, and it sure looks like this crisis is an excuse for them to implement some things in the name of "saving our economy".

Want proof? According to the CBO, only $26 billion — just over 3 percent — will be spent this year. Another $110 billion — or 13 percent — will be spent next year. Which means that by the time President Obama's term is halfway through, just 16 percent of the money will have been spent.

Even if they were all valid programs, is 16% in two years enough to "stimulate" the economy?

2009, get ready!

2008 ended with a bang, and we are ready to roll into 2009!

On December 29th I resigned from the Enquirer, now...

I have officially launched my own sales, marketing and financial services consulting firm and signed a contract to represent ThomasNet in the sales arm of the company.

Thanks to some creativity and diligence by our legal counsel and friend, Brian Furnish, Momentum Solutions, LLC, is alive!

I have received some great advice in my life, one of the best pieces is that multiple revenue streams are better than one, hence the 3 pronged approach of Momentum Solutions.

This has been a total God experience from the start, it is by His hand alone that we are in a position to accept this challenge.

I will continue to offer financial services through Ovation Advisors, and our friend Dave Buffenbarger. I will eventually pass the Series 7 exam, so that I can legally sell and service investments, and will follow that up soon after with the Life and Health Insurance certification.
(I maintain the mortgage license, even though it has been "cool" to say the least for some time)

The marketing piece, I will offer my services to any company who may feel my media experience will be valuable in assessing their marketing strategy.

I get the amazing opportunity to work from home, and will be fulfilling a dream by having my own company.

Bonnie is a huge part of this, and none of this would be possible without the strength and support she has shown me for the last 10 years. I am sure she will be called on to make some calls or send some faxes along the way as well, she is amazing.

The journey officially begins tomorrow.

It is going to be a great ride,

(www.getmomentumsolutions.com coming eventually, looking forward to Wiseacre Design working on this)

Zoo, Christmas, and More...

This was an amazing week.

Last Friday, the 19th, Bon and I took Reese to the Cincinnati Zoo's Festival of Lights. We are big fans of being diligent about spending solo time with each of our kids moving forward, and this was Reese's first opp. Mamaw Beth stayed with the TruDawg for the evening, we had an amazing time!

Christmas was unbelievable, have a GREAT clip of Reese I will try and get up here on the blog. I am very much looking forward to the addition of the Blackberry Storm to make video and photo uploading a lot more simple...

Expect some big news regarding 2009 to be posted here on the Stadium early next week...






What an amazing week with the family...

You wanted more pics, you got 'em...

Learning to fail...

Learning how to fail again, sometimes, is not a bad thing necessarily...

I did not pass my Series 7 exam today, will have to go get it again in a few months.

OK, allow me to elaborate, and vent/whine...

I took 21 practice exams with my study software, on the last five exams I averaged an 83, so needless to say I was feeling pretty good. But, alas, the material on the exam was no where near the same as the practice exams, so I went down in a blaze of glory. You know what the worse part is, the time I have not been able to spend with Bon and the kids, I cannot get it back and it was clearly not well spent...

I will put this on the back burner, and address it again in a few months, there will be some other things that need focus the next few months.

On to more important matters, tha fam is rockin'

Gizmo is awesome, and has become quite fond of having her picture taken, I will post some new ones tomorrow.

Tru-dawg is now in the crib, in our room, as he has outgrown the bassinet. Actually, he had spent the last week or so sleeping in the swing every night due to a little congestion/cough he was knocking out. He had his 2 month appt at the doc last Thursday, and had grown 2 1/2 inches in a month! He is now at just over two feet long, and weighed in at 10lbs and 9ozs. He is one chill baby, if he is not hungry, he pretty much just hangs out and laughs at the three of us. His "voice" is starting to come out too, making some funny noises that are not cries.

Bon, as always, is amazing, she was/is so supportive of all of the "projects" I want to tackle, and basically was a single Mom for the last week as I studied.

Peace out...

Great Time

Need a Blackberry?

My gently used silver Blackberry 8830 can be had for $125, post a comment on the blog here or shoot me an email at furniss13@gmail.com if interested. I will be posting on Ebay in a few days.

Link HERE

Overview

The BlackBerry® 8830 World Edition smartphone is the stylish way to get things done. It’s the first CDMA BlackBerry smartphone capable of roaming globally on GSM®/GPRS networks*. So you can travel the world with full mobile voice and data coverage, without having to change smartphones, phone numbers or email addresses.

The BlackBerry 8830 World Edition gives you phone, email, organizer, web browsing and instant messaging. And then it goes a step further, providing GPS*, BlackBerry® Maps, a media player for your video clips and music, and expandable memory to ensure you’ve got the room you need for your media files.

Did Someone Leak Treasury 4.5% Mortgage 'Plan'?

It's truly amazing to me that a lobbyist who really needs something from the government would leak just the possibility of that something to the media, when that leakage would only harm their industry. Of course, I'm talking about the Treasury proposal/possibility/plan to buy mortgage debt at a rate that would allow lenders to offer buyers a 4.5 percent interest rate on the 30-year fixed.

Read more about it HERE

Definition of Lame Duck...

Now here is an idea..

CONVERT PAULSON'S LAST $350 BILLION INTO TAX HOLIDAY, SAYS U.S. CONGRESSMAN

Press Release : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 28, 2008

Convert Paulson’s Last $350 Billion

into Tax Holiday, says U.S. Congressman

"Billions of Dollars for Taxpayers, but Not One More Penny for Executive Bailouts"

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As millions of Americans are hoping to maximize their holiday shopping budgets on today's Black Friday bargains, one U.S. Congressman is fighting to prevent more outrageous spending sprees by Washington with taxpayer dollars going to executive cronies.

With $350 billion of the $700 billion bailout still available to Paulson pending Congressional approval, a conservative Texas lawmaker is proposing to put that money towards a tax holiday from both personal income tax and FICA tax for Americans during January and February of 2009.

He stated, "By instating a temporary tax holiday, we could electrify the American economy and provide overwhelming relief to taxpayers, all for less than the cost of the current failed Paulson-Pelosi bailout system."

Read more about it HERE

Scary...

Pentagon to Detail Troops to Bolster Domestic Security

By Spencer S. Hsu and Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, December 1, 2008; A01

The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.

The long-planned shift in the Defense Department's role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts, defense analysts said.

There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement.

But the Bush administration and some in Congress have pushed for a heightened homeland military role since the middle of this decade, saying the greatest domestic threat is terrorists exploiting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, dedicating 20,000 troops to domestic response -- a nearly sevenfold increase in five years -- "would have been extraordinary to the point of unbelievable," Paul McHale, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense, said in remarks last month at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But the realization that civilian authorities may be overwhelmed in a catastrophe prompted "a fundamental change in military culture," he said.

The Pentagon's plan calls for three rapid-reaction forces to be ready for emergency response by September 2011. The first 4,700-person unit, built around an active-duty combat brigade based at Fort Stewart, Ga., was available as of Oct. 1, said Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., commander of the U.S. Northern Command.

Read more HERE

Happy December!

(Check out this sweet action shot of Jum)

Well, I had the privilege of watching Notre Dame and the Bears get kicked in the head this weekend...

Enjoyed Turkey Day with some of Bon's family in Frankfort...

Bon knocked out 98% of the Christmas shopping on Black Friday! She is awesome, stayed well within budget, got some great stuff, and Truett went along for the ride, like a rockstar...

We have a new bed, from Ikea, the story goes like this. We were gifted a new mattress, decided to pass our bed and mattress on to Beth for her new place. We tried to use Bon's old water bed frame, but that did not work out so well. So, on Friday night, I walk into Ikea at 8:57 to try and pick up a new bed. The elderly greeters at the door tell me, we close in 3 minutes, I said, "Uh, OK, this is what I need," they proceed to send me to the upper most quatrant of the megaplex, where the lady there tells me, "Those are right up front, near the checkout."

Awesome

So I run down, get what I need thanks to some helpful Ikea "co-workers", and exit the parking lot at 9:32pm.

We absolutely love the bed, it is much more functional for Reese to jump in and out of!

The Christmas tree went up last night, Reese absolutely loves the decorations.

Been studying for the Series 7, trying to get right...

Peace out

Photo Time

Reese and I walking at the pumpkin farm

TruDawg Weighs in at...

8lbs 5ozs, five weeks old, still has huge mitts for hands, built like his Uncle Jase right now...

New Beginnings

I apologize for the delay, things have been a little hectic.

First of all, let me address the election. I clearly disagree with the policies of the President-elect, but this is still the greatest country in the world. I hope he keeps it forefront in his mind that 50 million people did not think he was the right choice for President. I will pray for him, disagree with him, and start planning my own run for public office in 2010...

I spent this past weekend with my bro SBraine in Richmond. It was an honor to be there as he was baptized on Sunday afternoon. He has an amazing testimony, and I know God is going to use him and his infectious personality to spread the love of Christ. It is an amazingly humble feeling to see Christ work on someone you care about, and watch them publicly commit their heart and life to serving Jesus Christ. I am so proud of you Steven, your impact on my life is more than you may ever fully realize.

There has been some great stuff happening behind the scenes for us that I cannot quite share publicly yet, but stay tuned, God is definitely at work in the Furniss house!

Truett has his one month appointment today, we are taking bets on his weight

Happy Election Day

God's will be done...