Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Seasonal Pumpkin Recipes
Stuffed Peppers with Spanish Beef & Rice
We first experienced this recipe watching the Rachael Ray 20
minute meals show. It was a Spanish
Style Beef & Rice two meal deal.
Half the beef and rice was served with a spicy chopped salad with Taco
dressing and the other half used for stuffed peppers. It is definitely not something you can do in
20 minutes, more like two hours.
We spiced up the recipe a bit and like the fact that we can make
two meals one a 9X11 and the other a 9X9 casserole. We bake one and freeze the second one. In the spring time for the smaller casserole
we stuff fresh grape leaves and then pour a can of diced tomatoes over
them. Prior to stuffing we cook the
grape leave to tender them up and make them easier to stuff.
Candy’s husband, Rocke Koreis featured in GeekWire about 3D printing
With 3D printing all the rage Rocke continued his legacy of
patenting ideas that integrates new technology into Aerospace applications to
increase efficiency to help reduce the costs of air travel for all of us.
GeekWire referenced patent
application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) by Boeing
where Rocke Koreis was the inventor.
GeekWire indicated, “the patent describes a method and
apparatus for requesting, authorizing, printing, and even paying for
aircraft parts. The published patent
application goes into detail on why 3D aircraft replacement part printing is
desirable, and it has a lot to do with stockpiling and waiting. ‘Receiving
requested parts from the aircraft manufacturer may take an undesirable amount
of time for a client,’ the application notes. ‘Some clients may keep an
inventory of parts on hand to avoid waiting an undesirable amount of time.
However, storing an inventory of extra parts either at an aircraft manufacturer
or at a client may use an undesirable amount of resources.’
Medicare's Annual Election Period (Open Enrollment)
Professional
Alliance member, David Johnson brings to our attention that Medicare's Annual
Election Period (Open Enrollment) has arrived. If you are newly eligible or
already receiving Medicare benefits, they may be wondering... What do Parts A, B and D cover? What's the difference between Medicare Advantage Plans and
Original Medicare + a Medicare Supplement + a Part D Prescription Drug plan? How do I choose which is most appropriate for me? When and how can I switch plans? Should I switch? You may not yet
enrolled in Medicare who are wondering: How
do I enroll? When should I enroll? How much does Medicare cost?
If
you are a Washington resident it is import for you to know that UW Medicine
has just announced that they are withdrawing from the Regence MedAdvantage PPO
network effective January 1, 2016. If you have doctors at UW Medical
Center, Harborview Medical Center, Northwest Hospital and Medical Center or
Valley Medical Center, they will be impacted and may want to consider an
alternate plan for next year.
If
you have any questions on these or other Medicare issues please feel free to
contact David S. Johnson, RHU, CLTC - Vice-President and Principal - Lehmann
Wood Johnson, Inc. at 425-861-8700
Saturday Family Movie – Featuring “Peanuts the Movie”
Candy and her Kirkland Financial Advisor partner, Tim Bovey
invite you to join them for our annual family Saturday at the movies
event. We have a private showing at the
Lincoln Square Theater of the new The Peanuts Movie! Please bring the kids or grand-kids or just
bring the kid-in-you to enjoy a Saturday at the movies.
RSVP to Michelle@CandyJlee.com or call her at 206-384-4390.
IRA and Retirement Plan Limits for 2016
IRA
Contribution limits remain unchanged from 2015. The maximum amount you can
contribute to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA in 2016 is $5,500 (or 100% of your
earned income, if less). The maximum
catch-up contribution for those age 50 or older remains at $1,000. (You can contribute to both a traditional and Roth IRA in 2016, but your total contributions can't exceed these annual limits.) For information on other retirement plan limits click on the link below.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015
On November 2, 2015,
President Obama signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, legislation
that raises the federal
debt limit and establishes the framework for a two-year budget deal. The
legislation, needed to avoid an
impending default on U.S. debt, also contains multiple unrelated provisions,
including an elimination of two
Social Security retirement benefit claiming strategies and a provision to
prevent a significant
increase in Medicare Part B premiums for some.
Commodities – A Leadership Change?
Economist Jim Paulsen posted an interesting article on
September 17, entitled “A Leadership Change?
Jim documents the fact that a collapse in commodity prices is actually
quite common during the middle of an economic recovery, and that in deed once
commodity prices have bottomed, the pace of economic growth has
accelerated. He finds that oil prices
have been in just such a bottoming process since early this year. It is definitely an article worth
reading.
17th Century - The Rice Futures Market
Click here to read full article
Trends and Innovations: 3D printed house for $5,000
Chinese company Shanghai WinSun Decoration Design
Engineering used a massive 3D printer to make 10 houses in 24 hours. The huge 3D printer – which, like smaller
versions, layers materials to form various items – measures about 35 yards long
by 11 years wide and is capable of printing all materials to build a 557 square
foot house for under $5,000 using all recycled materials. The company plans to build 100 recycling
facilities in China to keep up with demand.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Great Moments in Financial History - Full Collection
Click on the links below to view our "Great Moments in Financial History." Keep checking back as new posts will be added as we go.Introduction
3000 BC – Money!
2342 BC – Urukagina Stands Up For Property Rights
600 BC – Olive Press Call Options?
976 AD - The Greatest Invention Ever?
12th Century: The Medieval Cloth Trade and the Champagne Fairs
1288 AD - Birth of the Corporation
1300 AD - Medieval Italy and the Foundations of the Modern World
© Russell Investments 2013. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
1288 AD - Birth of the Corporation
1300 AD - Medieval Italy and the Foundations of the Modern World
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Petrale Sole Albert
Trends and Innovations: Scientists discover key driver of human aging
Salk Institute findings on premature aging syndrome could lead to a way of slowing or reversing the aging process. In theory with this new discovery your aging
process could be reversed; even if you are 80 it could send you back to your
early 30's. We just have to stay live
long enough for them to perfect a
treatment.
Supreme Court Issues Historic Decision on Same Sex Marriage
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex couples in the United States have a constitutional
right to marry, no matter where they live.
This means that same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states.
Understanding Greece and the European Debt Situation
For the past several
weeks, attention has focused on the debt crisis plaguing Greece and the
contentious negotiations with its
creditors. The situation in Europe is probably affecting your portfolio to some
degree right now. But how can
the problems of a country so small and so far away create such turmoil in the world's financial
markets? It may be helpful to consider
how Greece got to this point, what might happen from here, and,
equally important, how events in Europe might impact the markets in general and
investors specifically.
1565 AD: The start of the Manila-Acapulco Silver Run
Contrary to popular belief, the contemporaries of Christopher Columbus did not thing the world was flat. Nor did Columbus’s sailors fear that they would sail off the edge of the world. What they did fear was that here would be nothing but more ocean past the western horizon, long after provisions had ran out. If the ocean was to great, the crew would be doomed, with East Asia and all its trading riches not yet in sight.
Rotary Seafair Celebration
Candy
is a member of Seattle 4 Rotary, the largest Rotary Club in the World. Annually the club meets at Bell Harbor and
welcomes the Admirals of the West Coast and joins them in welcoming the Fleet
to Seafair. This year the program
included our good friend Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann; current Seafair Queen Alcyone (retired Boeing. Former
777 Chief Test Pilot and Chief Training Pilot) along with Vice Admiral Nora
Tyson, Commander, U.S. Third Fleet
(first woman to command a fleet in the Pacific arena) and,
Capt. Katie Higgins, U.S. Marine Corps pilot with the Blue Angels (first female
pilot in the team’s 69 year history).
My husband, Rocke joined in
on the celebration and of course he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get his
picture taken with the first female Blue Angel.
The following is a link to a video highlighting this young woman that we
found very interesting and thought you might like to view it as well.
Beer Batter Sage Leaves with Lemon Garlic Aioli
With our expanded garden we ended up with an expanding selection of items to cook. This year our Seattle Sage plants leaves were enormous and plentiful. Our best year ever so we ventured into the realm of fried sage leaves. You can just fry the leaves without batter but the batter was amazing. They are very light with the crunching sage leaf in the center. You will find you really need to make a big batch because they are so good.
Ricotta-Stuffed Squash Blossoms
We have never been fans of Zucchini but planted some in Yakima mainly to hide a pump head in the vegetable garden. The two hills of zucchini are very prolific. When I bring them into the office to share they instantly disappear. Although we are not fond of the Zucchini’s we are very fond of the zucchini blossoms. Fried Zucchini blossoms are good all by themselves but we like to add a tomato coulis sauce that adds a bit of tang.
COPES Payment to Caregivers, including Parents, May Be Excludable from Federal Income Taxation
Professional Alliance Member Sean Bleck of Isenhour Bleck P.L.L.C. brings to our
attention new development in care providers taxation. As of April 21st the IRS will now consider payments to certain individual care providers under the COPES Medicaid waiver program as "difficulty of care” payments excluded from federal income tax. The exclusion applies when a care recipient resides in an individual care provider’s home, regardless of whether the care provider is related or unrelated to the eligible individual. Income is excluded for providers caring for as many as 10 eligible individuals under age 19 or five eligible individuals who are age 19 or over.
Click here for more information
Monday, May 4, 2015
New Rates Released for Veterans Pension
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
provides a tax-free, supplemental pension to qualifying wartime veterans and
their families. To be eligible, veterans must have limited income and assets,
and they generally must have a period of service that includes at least one day
on active duty during wartime and 90 days total active duty time. Veterans who
entered active duty after September 7, 1980 generally must have served at least
24 months or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active
duty. Also, veterans must have been discharged under conditions other than
dishonorable. In addition to these basic
service requirements, to be eligible, a veteran must be:
·
Age 65 or older, or
·
Totally and permanently disabled, or
·
A patient in a nursing home receiving skilled
nursing care, or
·
Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance, or
·
Receiving Supplemental Security Income
1356 AD: The Hanseatic League: A community of commercial interests
Trends and Innovations: Old age doesn’t officially begin until 74
IIASA, an Austrian research group, said it’s generally
accepted that old age is defined as having 15 or fewer years left to live. In the 1950’s, a 65-year-old in England could
expect to live 15 years. Today those
reaching 65 in that country are expected to live 24 more years, so your middle
aged up to 74, according to the report.
Sweet and Sour Shrimp
We believe the key to a happy marriage is good communication. My husband and I sit down to a cocktail each
night and share the events of the day before we start cooking. His drink of choice is a very dry martini,
not stirred and me a very dry Brandy Manhattan with a very light touch of
maraschino cherry juice. It doesn’t take
long before we have a jar full of cherries and no more juice. This prompts us to turn to this wonderful
Shrimp recipe to use up the left over cherries.
If you don’t have left over cherries it is still worth the effort to
make this delectable and colorful offering.
Click here for the full recipe
All New! Home Mortgage Forms and Review Periods
The old HUD-1 Settlement Statement is replaced by a new
Closing Disclosure form – no more line numbers on two pages: the charges are
categorized into seven categories. In addition to these new forms there is a
requirement of the lender to deliver the Closing Disclosure papers then allow three
days for the borrower to review the forms before signing (not
counting Sundays or Holidays). For owner occupied refinances, this means
a three day review period before the actual document signing, then there
still is a three day right of rescission period before the loan can be
funded.
Contact Conrad Wouters at Evergreen Home Loans for
information on your personal mortgage needs at 206-422-9197 or
cwouters@evergreenhomeloans.com
See http://www.consumerfinance.gov/knowbeforeyouowe/
for more details.
Conrad Wouters is not affiliated with Candy J. Lee Financial Planning & Money Management or fsic.
Conrad Wouters is not affiliated with Candy J. Lee Financial Planning & Money Management or fsic.
2015 Seattle Flower & Garden Show
The opening night party at the flower and garden show is an
annual favorite. We get a chance to chat
with our local iconic gardening expert, Ciscoe Morris and wander the gardens
before the mass of people arrive the next day.
The funds raised go to benefit our local Arboretum Foundation and we always
come away with new ideas for our gardens.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
100 Year Old Bird Houses
My husband, Rocke Koreis and I enjoy woodworking and this year we built Wren and Blue Bird Birdhouses out of reclaimed 100 year old cedar fencing that we salvaged from our neighbors fence several years ago. We built 14 birdhouses to share with family and friends over the holidays. My main contribution to the project was helping with the roofing since each roof has 300 shingles which were individually secured with a spot of glue.
Sautéed Pork Chops with White Pan Sauces
The sautéed Pork Chops are easy to make and complement a variety of vegetables. Bone in pork chops are a must otherwise the chops get to dry and loose flavor. The bone keeps the centers moist and this easy wine deglazing makes an instant very flavorful sauce.
New Alliance with Tim Bovey of Kirkland Financial Advisors
I have always
encouraged everyone to plan for all possibilities and then live for today. I am pleased to announce I have completed my
will, healthcare directives and retirement plan for Candy J. Lee Financial
Planning and Money Management. Tim
Bovey and I have been colleagues at fsic
for over 15 years and share the same commitment to comprehensive financial
planning and diverse portfolio management.
Tim Bovey, ChFC
Trends and Innovations: Robots
In the late 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci
sketched a plan for a “mechanical knight” that could sit, stand, and move its
arms. Powered by pulleys and levers,
it’s often regarded as the earliest know example of robot design. Now many robots are found in hospitals. A surgical robot called the da Vinci performs
minimally invasive surgery and has been involved in over 1.5 million
procedures.
Good news for 529 Plan Savers: More Investment Flexibility
Call it a holiday gift. Thanks to
legislation passed in December, beginning in 2015, owners of 529 accounts will
be able to change the investment options on their existing plan contributions
twice per calendar year instead of just once. This increased flexibility is a
welcome option for parents and grandparents who use 529 plans to save for their
children's or grandchildren's college education.
1346 AD: European Sovereign Debt Default!!!
Front page Headlines in 2012? Guess again:
try Florence, Italy, in 1346. The Compagnia de Bardi and the Peruzzi, the two
biggest European merchant banks, went bankrupt: the Peruzzi in 1343 and the
Bardi in 1346.
These two merchant banks are described as
“super-companies” as they were larger than any other medieval banks, including
the Medici bank that flourished in the 15th century. Europe had to
wait until the 16th century for the rise of the Fuggers to see
anything approaching their size.1 The failure of these two banks was
catastrophic for the medieval European economy.
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