That's What Jenni Said

Notes from John Bradshaw's book RECLAIMING VIRTURE:     Prudence is key-     To be brave rather than cowardly or ruthless To be just rather than dishonest or legalistic To be self-controlled rather than compulsively controlling or impulsively out of control To be compassionate to others suffering rather than being self-absorbed or enabled others by overdoing for them         Moral Totalism<Prudence (the mean)> Subjective Relativism    

Our major vacation this summer was a 10 day trip to the southwestern United States to visit family, see some great national parks and take a breather weekend in Vegas. Because having this much fun all by ourselves would be selfish we of course invited our favorite couple along- Dani and Clayton. None of us were sure we could handle 10 straight days of each other's constant companionship but it actually worked out perfectly. D&C were the best traveling companions we've ever had.     To start the trip, we hopped on a Delta plane and flew to El Paso, TX where Jon's parents picked us up. This was on a Friday, and we spent the entire weekend with them doing our usual NM activities (which mostly consists of eating excellent Mexican food).     Over the weekend Jon and his dad took Dani and Clayton out to the desert for off roading with the jeep and I made time another afternoon to go to the wedding of *my* flower girl Katherine. Hard to believe she's all grown up and gett...

Summer has come and in two days will be gone. The time passed so quickly as we carried on with our adventures.     There has been a lot of family events since the summer began. Jon's brother Jeff and his family transferred from Yorktown, VA [about 2.5 hours from us] across the country to Colorado Springs. They had transferred [Jeff's in the Air Force] here about 3 months after we moved to the DC metro area and it had been so nice to have them nearby so that we could visit often and watch our nieces grow. Hopefully we will still make it out to see them at least once a year in their new location. My sister Suzie came down from Detroit in April to stay with us for an extended visit, returning home in the beginning of July. My oldest sister Sonia dropped in unexpectedly from NY as well, staying with us for a little over a month before she headed down to visit her daughter in N.C. She has now returned to the DC area and is living with my parents until further notice. My sister Alix ...

Jenni's strategy on picking great stocks:     beta greater than 1 is risky (good for under 45 years old)     Look for growth stocks (if you're under 45)     eps=1.50 or higher     Small cap - 5% of portfolio or so. Look for $7/share or greater, 25% growth in sales and earnings, net profit margin >7%     Net income/shares=earnings per share (EPS)     Share price/Eps= Price equity ratio low Pe= good by (or could mean bad news is looming ahead) Stock screen: p/e less than 30         PE/EPS expected growth % 1 yr= PEG <1=good buy 1=1 fair >1=overpriced -use to evaluate growth stocks     PE/EPS expected growth 5 year=YPEG <1=good buy 1=1 fair >1=overpriced -use to evaluate regular stocks     REVENUE value: Price Sales Ratio = PSR (Shares outstanding * share price + debt)/revenues over past 4 quarters= PSR -the lower the psr the better     Shareholder equity/# shares outstanding = book value -the closer you can buy to or lower than book value, the better     Sh...

Everything is about me - about what I want or, when I'm "trying" to be selfless it's to please God or others so he (or they) will love me. Not often out of a sense of gratitude and love for God am I joyfully spurred to love those he loves but instead a deep insecurity that God does not love me because I'm not good enough and a never ending drive to gain his love and approval.     Have I ever *really* loved anyone selflessly, unconcerned with earning approval (by God or man) or filling the emptiness in my heart? Rarely. Only at chance moments with my husband, with my friends, with our dogs, and even with celebrity strangers that I pray for. Usually it comes about paired with pity or empathy when I sense one is victimized or hurting in some way and my heart yearns to comfort them and there seems to be no trace of selfishness in those moments.     How do I move past this now that I am aware? (And I am only aware of it this week due to a thoughtful question posed by ...

First weekend in June I took the Travel group to Myrtle Beach for a relaxing weekend. It was an empty itinerary to be populated as everyone saw fit- swimming, relaxing in the pool, etc. It went as planned except that we could never find the restaurants we wanted to (stupid GPS), a blind man literally smash-walked into our rental car on my side (he missed the crosswalk by about 5 feet), and my fellow attendee got the shock of learning her boss passed away suddenly while we were in MB as folks from the office called her to ask where he could be. We also learned that North Myrtle Beach is the shagging capital of the world (apparently it's a dance of some kind?!).     Definitely a weekend I will not forget.     Pics or it didn't happen: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123957&id=603259739&l=0ab5a5d3cb    

As I mentioned previously, the weekend of May 15th, I took a mileage run to Rome and brought a friend along from the travel meetup ( http://www.meetup.com/nova-travelers ).     It was simply phenomenal. Not only a cultural journey but a spiritual one as well.     All the pics are here in these two albums and I suggest you open them up in a separate window to peruse while reading along:     http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123915&id=603259739&l=48578dc285     http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123942&id=603259739&l=8a0ce6e112     All the videos are here (look for the 4 labeled Rome): http://www.youtube.com/jenniparks         We set off for Rome on Friday evening, arriving in the city Sat morning. This gave us 2 full days (Sat and Sun) in the streets of Rome before heading back to the States Monday afternoon. I know many of you think it's crazy to spend just a weekend overseas but my philosophy is solid. I can go to bed Fri night in my own bed like...