Stimulate What?

The Man(kiw) has done it again. He went on CNBC's Squawkbox to talk about different ways to stimulate the economy.

Bottom Line: Tax cuts seem to have a larger multiplier effect than direct government spending. Though spending is a good way to stimulate the economy, it should have to pass a cost benefit analysis, indicating that the spending project is worthwhile. Tax cuts, however, already pass the cost benefit analysis*. Though I am not a macro-economist, I tend to agree with the Professor.

Also, on a side note, the US Representative who appears with Mankiw seems to know his stuff pretty well. For the 3 or so minutes he was speaking, I was partially convinced that he was not a moron.

Watch the video here

* That one is for you, Scott, and all the other libertarians out there.

Another Demotivator

This one is quite self explanatory. I would be more upset if she weren't so cute.

Get to know us better

Sorry, its been a long weekend and I still can't think, so I am going to fill out a tag.

What is his name: Miracle Gro
What is her name: The Gardener
How long have you been together: 8 years
How long did you date: 15 months, including being engaged.
How old is he: 29
How old is she: 28
Who eats more: M.G. does. But, during 2nd trimester of pregnancy I can give him a run for his money.
Who said I love you first: Miracle Gro. I said it 30 seconds later. (One of the most memorable/special moments of my life.)
Who is taller: M.G. (by almost 11 inches)
Who sings better: Definitely M.G. He is always singing to me and the children. We love it!
Who is smarter: If its any type of math, economics, physics or statistics, M.G has the upper hand. As for the sciences and history, I have a bit of an edge. We complement each other nicely in the brains department.
Who does the laundry: When I am not pregnant I try to do it all the time, but M.G. is always willing to help no matter what my physical condition is.
Who pays the bills: I write the checks and M.G. delivers them.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed: M.G. I have only slept on the right side once and that was because I didn't know I preferred the left side until the 2nd night we were married.
Who mows the lawn: Ohh...what I would give to have a lawn to mow. Sigh...
Who cooks the dinner: I do. M.G. does do his fair share of Sunday dinners. He makes some great fried chicken, chicken parmesan and chili pork chops. YUM!!!
Who drives: Me, when its just me and the kids. M.G. when its the whole family.
Who is more stubborn: Definitely me.
Who kissed who first: We were sitting on the couch in M.G.'s apartment and he leaned in and pecked me quickly, sat back and said "there". It was over before I realized what had happened. I turned to him and said "you missed". (he didn't quite make it to my lips) Then he laid one on me and he did not miss. Poor guy; it had been over 4 years.
Who proposed: M.G. On the beach with just the seagulls at sunset and I was so surprised. :)
Who has more friends: Me. But I attribute that to having children and not my bubbly personality. ;)
Who is more sensitive: Me. I have yet to see M.G. cry and probably won't, unless I am on my death bed before him.

Bachelor and Basketball

Since the Gardener has left, I have "let my self go", so to speak. I haven't shaved in a while. I don't brush my hair. And I have no real motivation to do so. I still shower and use deodorant, though. Truth be told, I like to be clean-shaven and looking nice and all that; it's just that there is no one here to appreciate it. So why do it? I took this picture with my phone, in my office. I look pretty pathetic.

Now, I know there are some blog readers who grow facial hair at a more rapid pace than I do. I have yet to ever grow a full beard, so I really don't know how long that would take me to really get a beard. Just don't hate because my week's worth of growth looks like your 5 o'clock shadow.

In other news, our basketball team won again today. Today, we beat the other basketball team from our ward. We have enough elders to field two teams, though quite a few from the first team didn't show up today. We had 10 players to their 6. We ran a lot. They got tired. I did okay, though I had some missed defensive stops. I got an "and 1" situation on a layup and missed my free throw. In other words, my Shapley value was lower this week than last week.

EQ Basketball

So I have decided to become a little more active in my Elder's Quorum activities. This includes playing the stake EQ basketball tournament. A while ago, I sprained my ankle playing at school, so I didn't think that I would be able to play at all. But after talking with Karl, I wanted to give it a try. So I am now into week two of playing (week three of the tournament) and my ankle feels pretty good. Since I have joined the team, we haven't lost!

This week, I had the Gardener come and cheer us on. There wasn't so much cheering, as the garden bugs got quite bored with the whole notion of basketball. But there were some good action shots.

Last week, I went 0-5 from the field, but I think I made this one (This week, my field goal % went up drastically from last week).

See the bald guy in the blue shirt? I totally owned him. Blocked shot, stole the ball, the works. He thought he was all bad at the top of the key trying to juke me out. I swatted the ball away, took it to the other end and got fouled on the lay-up. I made my free throws. Pwned!

Anyways, stay tuned for more updates from the basket ball court.

Fathers Day Recap

Here are some pictures of Miracle Gro opening his gifts from the children. After church, we went to his parents for a fabulous steak and potatoes dinner. All miracle Gro asked for was well behaved children on his special day. They weren't perfect, but they did a pretty good job of being well behaved.

My hope is that these children one day realize how incredibly lucky they were to have this man as their father. He is very involved in their lives and spends a lot of time with them. He is always there to play games, act silly, read books, give baths, make them breakfast, take them on bike rides, etc....

Old Spice

These commercials make me laugh and I have never taken them seriously. Now I do! Miracle Gro needed some deodorant and the brand he usually uses wasn't on sale, but the old spice was, so thats what I came home with. I am so glad I did! M.G. comes home smelling just as good as when he left.

Men don't have baby showers...They have a

Man Party!

This weekend was very busy for us. Friday night kicked it off with a party in honor of Miracle Gro and the upcoming birth of our child. Due to a small apartment living area and only 4 remote control jacks, the party had to be limited to a few men. But, they still had a lot of fun while they ate and played video games (come on, what more could a man want). All the men went home with lifted spirits and a feeling of appreciation. M.G. can add more details if he has time.

Here is a little poster Dragonfly made to hang up for the party to tell his daddy how much he appreciates him.
Take a moment today and appreciate your man and all he does for your family.

Leaving on an Airplane

This morning Miracle Gro left for his campus visit to University of Southern Indiana. We are very excited for him and wouldn't mind a move to Indiana. The job market has been tough, but Miracle Gro has been a real trooper slaying dragons for his family.
Good Luck!

Sunday Afternoon Activities

Part of the Sunday afternoon routine is for Dragonfly and I to play games. We usually start out with "Fast Car, Police Car". I am the police car trying to catch the fast car. The fast car usually wins, because it can defy gravity. Well, the second activity was a session with dominoes, which we haven't played in a while. Dragonfly wanted to set them up so that they knock each other down. So that's what we did, and this is what it looked like. I wish I could say that I successfully set them up without Dragonfly knocking them down, but I can't.