The President's Speech - do you feel more at peace?

OK, I know many of you watched the President's speech last night. One of the first things Victoria asked me this morning was if I watched it. I, reluctantly, had to say no, but jokingly said I didn't watch because I knew she would break it down for me in a brief and plain-English summary, which she did. I wont tell you what she said to me because you probably watched it, unlike me, but I will tell you something else she said; after the President was finished, a lot of the media criticized him for not going into more detail than he did, but she thought he did a fine job of explaining the situation without putting fear into the viewers. I found that interesting for some reason, and the more I thought about it, I realized it's because the media does put so much fear in our hearts, so to hear that someone, other than Victoria, remained calm during this time addressing the American people is...well, refreshing.

So what is your take? How did his speech make you feel? Do you think we will come out of this like we have done throughout American History?

Jennifer

A New "Face"

May I say, what a busy week it has been in the market and in the office! If you are like me, this whole mess can be very confusing, but thankfully, I work for the Diva, so I have the luxury of receiving first-hand knowledge of what is going on, why it's happening, and what we should do about it (which Victoria's answer is always the same, ingrained in my head..."don't panic!" In fact, she often jokes that I could fill in for her on the news segments she does since I have heard her answers so many times! But fortunately for me, she is the expert - not me).

Before I rant further, let me introduce myself, because some of you know who I am, but others are saying "who is this clever blogger?" I have worked as the Diva's assistant for over 2 years now (that's it??) doing anything and everything you could possibly think of for her, the business, and her clients. My Title is actually "Office Manager", but I sometimes change it depending on what I'm doing that day. Personal Assistant, Party Coordinator (oh, I mean Event Coordinator), Leasing Agent, Radio Show Co-Host, Gatekeeper, and the list goes on. I have learned many a thing since I started here and continue to do so. Victoria is one of the most clever business women I have ever come across and I am not just saying that so that she will buy me another Armani Suit!

The sole purpose of my post is (and this should come as no surprise) that the Diva is BUSY! She can not always post Blogs every week, when she is already doing so many other things. So, silly me, I volunteered to help occasionally in order to keep our bloggers(YOU) happy with their continuous chat. So today, I title myself Blog Manager - another to add to my list.

So after all that, here's what I want to ask - did anyone see "The Women"? I saw it over the weekend with a girlfriend of mine and I must say, it was a pretty good flick. My friend thought it was hilarious, and has seen it twice now already. She's one of those that laughs at everything though, whereas it takes a bit more to get a chuckle out of me. I did laugh quite a bit, so that's a pretty good sign. If you Divas have not seen it, I do recommend this one. The surprising thing is that there is not one Male in the entire movie! This was kind of wierd if you are looking for it, but it worked quite well for the movie. So if you consider yourself a Diva, you must see this film! If you have seen it, please let me know what you thought (and also so I can feel special that someone is reading my Blog!).

Thanks for reading my rant,
Jennifer

What is Your Perspective on Long Term Investing?

Some are saying "this is just like 1987". Really? In 1987, the market dropped by over 22%. But the market dropped Monday just less than 5%. If you were to listen to the media, you would have thought the market dropped by 50%! Let's keep things in Perspective. It's alarming enough without added "hype".

Today I was reminded of the quote from earlier in the quarter from Portfolio Strategist Litman/Gregory who stated the following, "it is often when the overall trend is negative that disciplined investors can build a portfolio for long-term out performance....It requires patience and the ability to weigh long-term analysis above short-term fear..."

Fear-based overreactions can make a temporary loss permanent. Long-term investment plans expect that tough markets - even bear markets - are a fact of investing life, and are often a catalyst for new opportunities. The key, and the most difficult challenge for advisors, is helping clients avoid the most significant risk they face: emotions.

How are your emotions holding up? Are you scared, frustrated, uncertain, confused, even mad? Or do you feel like you've been here before and don't like it but understand the opportunities?

Palin; How Absurd

What do think of our New Vice Presidential Candidate?

Does she inspire confidence?

Is it time we have a Woman representing all the women who care about the Economy, Taxes, Education for our children, and our safety?

We don't have to ask the question "can she do both?"....be a Mother and be the Vice President; how absolutely absurd! We have been much more than that forever! As Women we manage our homes, take care of our husbands, our families, our children, our friends, our parents, his parents, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc, etc, etc. Oh, and by the way, all while running successful businesses! Do we bring the children to work if necessary? Yes. Do we rock them while on the phone? Yes. Do we give them little jobs and Barbies to play with while we attend a board meeting? Yes. Do we take a pump to work in order to breast feed? Yes. And we run successful companies. Can she be a Mother and be a service to her country as Vice President? Absurd.