In Rememberance

Today is my birthday, and no I'm not telling you how old I am.....but it is also a day of remembrance. It was 36 years ago on my birthday that the second victim of the Oakland County Child Killer was found. Jill Robinson was found lying in a snow bank on the side of a snowy shoulder of I-75 just north of 16 Mile Road. Jill was just 11 years old....too young to die....today and in all the years that have past since her death .....I light a candle for your soul Jill. My heart still breaks for the loss of your life....

Merry Christmas

I wish everyone a very Happy Holiday!  I am trying hard myself to relax and enjoy spending time with my family and friends......life is too short to stress about the stupid stuff like work....

Happy Thanksgiving.......and ummm

First of all Happy Turkey Day to all my peeps, and if you decide to watch the traditional Thanksgiving Day football game with the Detroit Lions please enjoy the half time show featuring my boy Kid Rock........however if for some insane reason he decides to sing his new song Detroit, Michigan I implore you to please mute the TV!

Don't get me wrong I love, love love the Kid, however I will be the first to admit that that song is absolutely horrible, actually I think it's the worst song I've heard in a long time. It basically sounds like it was composed in like 5 minutes and without any care. It's simply torturous. Hopefully he'll give us some old school style Kid with his new song Cucci Galore....yeah it's about what you think, but what do you expect it's Kid Rock.

My Sunday Post Secret

The Relinquishment

“They’re not mine, well at least I don’t think so”. The baby girl barely old enough to walk, the boy just a year older, but wise beyond his years already. “Their Mother has run off and I've got three others to care for, I just can’t do it anymore”. He hastily scribbled his name and address on a crinkled receipt and handed it the woman at the church. There began their journey……both experiencing completely different lives, separate but still connected in a disjointed twist of fate…..both enduring their own pain, insecurities and traumas…….both surviving it all.

The road to a stable life was difficult at best, shuffled between temporary foster homes, each time being handed over to strangers whom you were told would take care of you. Some tried; others simply couldn't have given a shit about your well- being.   Survival is the ultimate goal, don’t get attached.. not to anyone or anything at any cost.

The next time the man appears is in a court room before a judge…..”Do you relinquish your parental rights Sir?”  The man lets out a long heavy audible sigh………”Well I never thought they were mine to begin with.” They say kids don’t understand what adults say at a young age……..I can tell you for a fact that isn’t true…..I can still hear those words ringing in my ears and the sound of a pen scribbling across crisp paper on a hard wooden table top.  The words stinging like a final verbal slap in the face, one final attempt to add insult to injury. Couldn't you just pretend for thirty seconds that letting us go hurt you as much as it hurt us that you didn't want us?

And there began their journey………brother and sister by birth…..distant relatives by law……..never again the same.

No Yankees allowed

This door hung in the clubhouse of the old Tiger Stadium....I so wanted to buy this when they tore down the stadium last year....

The Words...

I know you want to appear anonymous and for all too familiar reasons I can understand why. I get that you can't announce your presence, that this is how it has to be.....how it's supposed to be. I'll let you observe from afar as it is destined to be....but know this.... the few precious words you chose to scribble on paper will forever resound. They speak truth, and come from a place of endearment....for that I will forever be thankful.

My Sunday Secret

I noticed my last post was number 666....I can't in my right mind leave that as my most recent post....
so here is my Sunday Secret

The intended

It overcomes me at times, sometimes it’s a low familiarity, a smell, a song, a phrase. A memory that slowly creeps into the frontal lobe of my brain. Other times it’s a rush of emotions that wash over my very being, sending a wave of emotions that punches me straight in the gut, taking my breath away...tears welling, overflowing with the flood of sweet nostalgia. 

The smell of fresh clean laundry…lavender and roses….the soft pile of the blanket trimmed with satin… cool to the touch…wrapped in warmth. Safe and secure…would it be untrue to say I remember the feeling of being swaddled, and that I long for that  feeling  just one more time.

Alas the memory is fleeting and moves from safety to uncertainty........this memory morphs into another time, another place….another emotion….no longer surrounded by safety….the feeling of losing something precious, never to be reclaimed. Stolen, ripped from my very soul.

Everything is now a blur….thoughts, emotions, feelings swirling around in my head all fighting for attention, demanding my acknowledgment, screaming to be heard. I can’t remember the time and place of that one distinctive event that changed me forever….but that does not mean it didn't occur…it did.  That day every cell in my body was turned inside out and manipulated as every last drop of innocence was drained from my being........Today I choose to remember the sweet smell of lavender and the soft slippery feel of satin.......today I choose to remember my innocence.

How We Get Through the Hard Times

...Today my boys play their first post season playoff game, and those of you who know me from my old blog, know what a baseball freak I am. See we love our Tigers in this ghetto town. I say we because we're all proud of the tradition of baseball here.

We are proud that history considers the 1915 Detroit Tigers to be the greatest team EVER-even though technically the winning percentages were better in 1934. We know of the healing that occurred, when our boys won it all in 68' a mere year after it seemed the whole town would burn to the ground amongst racial tensions and riots. We all remember that once upon a little league mound we talked to the ball hoping it worked as well for us as it did for The Bird. And as adults we still try to turn 2 while playing softball just like the greatest double play tandem of all time.

We all know where we were at exactly 7:41 PM on October 14, 1984 and we understood what tears of joy meant. We know the entire roster of the "Bless You Boys" and their batting averages during the 84' Series--The year that we WON it all with just a 3- man rotation...THAT'S RIGHT...a three man rotation. Unheard of by today's standards.

We know there is nothing more beautiful than that white old English "D" sitting atop your head on a hot Detroit summer day. We know the joy of being an underdog and fighting our way to the top in O6 and knocking the mighty Yanks down a few pegs along the way.

When we win titles, it's more than a celebration, it chaos, pandemonium and euphoria all rolled into one. Sure we all miss the corner of Trumbull and Michigan, that familiar Corktown where many of our fondest baseball memories originate. But hearing that Tiger growl and eyes light up after a Cabrera walk off home run helps to make up for it. This is our team, THIS IS MY TEAM, and good or bad we love you just the same....Good Luck this year Boys, this city needs a winner more than ever. Do us Proud. I am Kat and I am proud to say I will always be a Tiger.

And So it Goes.....

Emotions are a jagged little pill, and it boggles my mind how they can lead to so much angst in my attempt to understand them. Keeping them in check only adds insult to injury as those around you just don’t get that you are trying to let your emotions explain your true feeling and that you aren’t trying to let them run amuck.

So you store them away in that secret box kept hidden somewhere deep in your soul……..

It’s just that your heart and mind can’t begin to fathom the true depth and intensity of the feelings that are hidden away in that secret box. It’s the place where your love for a child dwells, but it is also a dark place, where you store pure hatred, the deep abyss where all those intense feelings live and are stored, because if turned loose they would be in such pure, raw, uncontrollable form that even the sanest of minds wouldn’t be able to manage them. And so it goes another mask is added to the collection…and you’re the only one who knows.

The beauty of life....the good, the bad and especially the Ugly

I am fed up. Fed up of second guessing, of walking on eggshells for supposed friends, of censoring my thoughts in case it might offend the easily offended, of not being true to myself because they are afraid to lose control over me, and holding back for the sake of others who are faint of heart. You can't please everyone, isn't that how the saying goes?

To have a blog and to have such personal thoughts out there for anyone to see. Why?

I believe in the beauty in life. At its happiest and darkness moments. "It's such a mysterious place, the land of tears." One that we rarely get a glimpse of and if we are lucky enough to, those who can appreciate it will see the power in such raw emotions, unfiltered. I believe that life isn't just captured on a movie screen, after being carefully edited and airbrushed. It is made more real by those courageous enough to bare their souls, to let the world see that here, this is it, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing to be embarrassed about in sadness, simple joy, quandary, or misdirection. 

Mistakes will always be made. They are an essential part of growing. But to hide them and tuck them away like it is something wrong is such a shame. To acknowledge them is so much more empowering, so much more graceful. I think art imitates life.

I think the biggest weakness in man is pride and our greatest strenght is honesty.

My first Celebrity Follower on Twitter

Well at least to me..................I got an email saying I had a new follower on Twitter. Admittedly I followed Griffin first, I wanted a heads up when he might be coming back to the ghetto to do a show in the future and thought If I followed him that'd be a good way to know. I didn't expect him to follow back. If you don't know who Griffin House is, you are missing out on a great artist. I was introduced to Griffin's music about 5 years ago by a dear friend and have been a huge fan ever since. His songs lament his struggles with relationships, love, drugs and his faith. I had the pleasure of seeing Griffin in concert one cold February night a few years ago and I was truly impressed with his humble persona. (And when I say a cold February Night I mean lit was below zero! ) During the intermission I went out to the foyer of the the cozy theater in which he performed that night to see if he was selling his latest Cd which I hadn't yet purchased. There I found a a little table with some shirts and Cd's for sale. I asked the volunteer running the table how much the Cd's were as there wasn't a price tag or sign stating the price. His response was ...".Mr. House will accept whatever you can afford"...........I was simply taken back by the statement.. and promptly pulled out a twenty dollar bill out of my purse and purchased a CD. It was the best $20 I 'd spent in a long time.  The show that night was far from sold out, but I suspect the weather had a lot to do with that, however it didn't matter. It was an intimate, raw and heartfelt performance none the less. My only regret was that I wasn't able to stick around after the show to convey my appreciation for his performance that night.....but hey it was a school night and I had to teach bright and early in the morning.  So click the link to his website below and give him a listen and let me know what you think....

Griffin House

@GriffinHouse

www.facebook.com/griffinhouse

Nashville, TN · http://www.griffinhousemusic.com

Following: 2369 · Followers: 4523

Hometown Pride

Is it just me???

Is it just my imagination or is Dax Shepard channeling Chad Kroeger from Nickelback?

I still think that Chad looked better with the curls..........just saying

Small Town Dumbass Government

I hate it when government, especially small government interferes with people just trying to do a good thing. Case in point, Angela Prattis who is being threatened with a huge fine because she is feeding the needy kids in her neighborhood.

Here's a woman, who sees a need in her community, finds a way to solve it and is told if she continues to do so she will have to pay a $1000.00 zoning fine. It's not like she's selling the food to make a profit, the food is given to her to distribute from the church she volunteers at.  The State has even approved her residence as an approved site in which to distribute food. But of course this isn't good enough for her local government.

In all honesty it's a wonder anyone wants to get involved to better their community anymore, especially when the few that do invest the time and energy are blocked by red tape and bullcrap! I say she needs to set up a GoFundme.com site, I'd promote the hell out of it and even donate.  So much for trying to help your fellow man.  I digress.

No more free lunches for you young man, signed the Delaware County Township Government     

Michelle Obama....get off your soapbox!

Michelle Obama I think you need to check yourself.  Now I'm the first to agree that kids need to eat better and exercise more. Let's face it as a nation we've got some pretty sedentary kids. They sit all day in school, get a few minutes of recess a day and when they go home they are pretty much parked in front of the TV or computer. Although it's safe to say the majority of school age kids aren't physically engaging in sports or daily exercise, there is a population of kids who are. And for the most part I am in favor of the First Lady's initiative to get kids moving.

Now getting to my point about why Michelle needs to check herself...........her comments on the Tonight Show to Gabby Douglas....to lay off the McDonald's was a bit extreme.....Let's break this down, the girl has been training hours a day for the majority of her life to go to the Olympics....which she did, and won GOLD. So what does she do the next morning? She indulges in a McDonald's breakfast sandwich, to which she get's a lecture from the First Lady for eating. Are you freaking kidding me Michelle? This girl probably burns more calories in a day than you do in a month. Look I'm all for kids developing good eating habits and exercise regimes but you are preaching to the wrong audience. She's an Olympian and in the best shape of her short life.....there isn't an ounce of fat on that girl so for the love of God LEAVE HER ALONE! Oh and by the way, you and your husband need to quit going on all these late night talk shows, every appearance you make just lessens the credibility of the White House.  But just in case you can't help yourself here is a perfect candidate for you to bellow at.

Future Gold Medalist 

One is a Lonely Number

So I read an article about a woman  in Jackson Michigan who kept the dead body of her boyfriend in her house for 18 months.........now at first I thought gross what would possibly possess someone to do such a thing. But as I read the article and the following quote from the woman it all became sadly clear to me. 

“It’s not that I’m heartless. ... I didn’t want to be alone. He was the only guy who was ever nice to me,”

Suddenly the fact that she had a dead body in her house for a year and a half wasn't as sad 

as the reason she felt the need to do so.

I don't know which is sadder, her overwhelming feeling of loneliness or the fact that he was 

the only guy who was ever nice to her. I get the loneliness .... it's one of the worst feelings in 

the world. The emptiness you feel when there is no one there for you to turn to.The absolute 

worst is when you feel lonely even in a crowed room, or surrounded by people who love you, 

or so they say. I think that's the saddest part, when you feel alone because you feel no one 

gets you....how you feel, what you think, who you are. Maybe he was the only one who truly 

understood her......made her feel safe,  kept her company...accepted her 

unconditionally.....who would want that to end? Even in death his presence fulfilled her 

needs, in her mind  that  wasn't such a bad thing...........I think she just wanted that 

unconditional companionship, friendship, and need to feel safe. Sadly on a personal level, I 

can't fault her for that.

And once again she sits alone

Sitting across the restaurant table from her he can tell she's up to something. It's that look she gets when her mind is spinning a mile a minute. Never meaning malice but always wondering, questioning.  "So tell me, she says..... What was your childhood like?"   Hesitantly he replies, "What do you mean?   "You know, she says with an pleading tone... tell me a story from when you were a kid."   "I'd rather not go there" he replies. 


In her attempt to coax him into sharing she wrinkles her eyebrows and says please. 
He's obviously annoyed, but knows she will continue to press him till she gets what she wants. It's a skill she she's mastered that he's quite immune to. A certain ability to drive him to a vulnerable state and spill his deepest pain. He hated that aspect of her, but he knew she had the ability to suck the very marrow from his bones with what seemed like little effort. 


Fixing his eyes downward on the white table cloth  he gives into the inevitable, swallowing hard he begins his decent into the deep recesses of his childhood memories........"You want a story? Well let me think....it's so hard to choose because I had such a fucking fantastic childhood. Maybe I should start with how my Mom was a complete drunk and completely negligent. Or how about, all the times she was so drunk she couldn't go to the grocery store to buy food and my sister would go and steal food from the neighbors while they were at work. Or maybe I should tell you about how I flunked the 2nd grade because she was so drunk off her ass every night she couldn't get her ass out of bed to wake me up for school ...........is that what you want to hear?


His eyes rise to meet hers and she can tell, he's not finished by a long shot.She sips her water trying to wrap her head around his anger and pain, bracing herself for round two as her eyes are now fixated on the white table cloth as he once again begins speaking.


"But you know what? As bad as that was, nothing compares to to the last time I saw her when I was a kid. Luckily my Dad got some sense knocked into his ass and realized what a piece of shit she was and I moved in with him. Years later I walk into a party store on my way home from school, grab a mountain dew and candy bar and walk up to the counter to pay. There she is in all her glory working the cash register. She looks at me and says a dollar twenty. That's when I realize she has no idea who I am. She doesn't know me from fucking Adam. You don't recognize me do you? I ask her. "No, do I know you?", she says to me.  "I'm you son, your baby boy" I say.


"You know what she says to me? Nothing..........that's right, she doesn't say a god damn thing.....just gives me my change. Her own flesh and blood standing before her, that she hasn't seen for 8 years and she has nothing to say.....I just say fuck it to myself and walk out of the store."


As if exhausted he runs his hands down his face, and finishes off the remainder of his beer in one quick slam. She raises her head to meet his eyes realizing the consequences of her manipulation. Quickly standing he pulls a wad of cash from his wallet and tosses it on the table. "Dinner's over" he quips. "I'll pull the car up, meet me out front in 5 minutes.


And once again she sits alone.

Happy 4th of July

Yesterday the greatest question was decided which ever was debated in America; and a greater perhaps never was, nor will be, decided among men. A resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, ''that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.''
John Adams

Somethings gotta give..........

In case you've wondered I haven't died, nor retired. I simply took some time off from posting anything personal on my blog. To say that this past school year was a challenge is an understatement. To put it bluntly it f-ing sucked. It's been a year of challenges and lesson learned. And I'm sorry to say that my whole aspect toward the teaching profession has become tainted. I no longer trust any of my fellow colleges in this dog eat dog profession, where no one is willing to help or even be civil to each other because they are all conspiring to make themselves look better than their fellow co-workers. 

I made some real hard decisions this year, which I will share with you in another post, let's just say change is gonna come............and I'm hoping it will save my love for teaching because something has got to give.

Are you kidding me?

So what's the deal with all these food companies trying to sell me stuff that's supposedly new and improved but really is just a clever way to rip off the consumer by offering less for the same price.
Case in point.........have you seen these?  Yeah they are these chips that well .....they are burnt...and guess what people are raving over them. That's right people are buying this shit and it's flying off the freaking shelf .....all because they are overcooked and burnt. Listen people this is the same shit that the potato chip companies used to sell to their workers at the end of the day as a defective product for 25cents a bag. Now don't you feel like an idiot. That's right you are lining up and paying upwards of $4 a bag for burnt, rejected potato chips......now whose's stupid?

3 years Later....and you are still missed

It's been three years since my friend Rodney left this world...........lovingly missed by the love of his life Tina, his daughter Emily.... and of course myself.

Rodney and Tina

One rung at a time

I'd like to believe that people that you connect with help you along all levels of the Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, including the ultimate goal of self-actualization. When you simply aren't able to communicate with someone on a fundamental level, be it language or difference of beliefs or opinions or personality, it completely undermines your ability to achieve the last level or two of needs.

Sooner or later, you feel like you're missing something, and you feel empty or inadequate. Be it your faith or that connection you have with people, or that burning desire to find your own place in the world, I think that the people I get along with the best make all levels of the pyramid seem within reach.

Maybe it'd be easier to think of it like ladders going up the pyramid. Each person you meet is a ladder of a different height. The ladders of the people you truly connect with are a lot taller and oftentimes seemingly insurmountable. To get where that ladder will take you seems precarious and risky. But you know it can take you higher up than the shorter ladders you've been climbing.

When you've fallen off of a high ladder, you're wary of climbing up another one whose top you can't see. You settle for small ladders and you get to the top and realize you probably could have gotten that far on your own. And those people serve their purpose, don’t get me wrong, but I really feel that for the most part very few people really “get me”.

As humans, we're bound to slip now and then. Tonight I looked down and was unnerved by how high up the ladder I was going. The journey up the high ladders is seldom easy, otherwise we'd all be doing it all the time. There is a quote that goes "I never said it would be easy, I only said that it would be worth it."

It may take you longer than you had hoped, but every rung higher is a step closer. It may be treacherous at times, and you will feel that you can't go on, but you have to have faith that the solid foundation that you built will hold. That the journey you've embarked upon is worthwhile. Life isn't just about the destination, but the journey. And you should enjoy every ambiguous step and not be in such a rush as to miss out on what is unfolding around you.

I can't stop watching this

I admit it, I have hit play a dozen times, and every time it cracks me up, I love the lighting bolt graphic!

Rocking the DSO

My boy Kid Rock pulls off what some would never thought could work.....a collaboration with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra...............all I can say is that's some Ghetto Rock. Enjoy

Happy Mother's Day

An open letter to all you Lousy Teachers

Yes this is directed to all you lame ass teachers out there that make all of the good teachers in this country look bad. I am sick and tired of you idiots who should never have been granted certification in the first place giving my profession a bad reputation.

It's bad enough that the politicians in this country have basically claimed open hunting season on my profession. The incessant opinion that we are overpaid, should be stripped of our bargaining rights  and don't deserve decent medical coverage and pension is sickening enough. We don't need any more bad publicity, and when educators demonstrate poor judgement and behaviors in the classroom.....well you aide those very politicians with even more ammunition.

I know not every teacher is a good teacher.........just like every doctor isn't a good doctor. But the majority of us work tirelessly to create a safe, nurturing environment for children to learn. I know I personally put in a long day that not only includes teaching 5 different subjects, but also includes endless paperwork, individualizing lesson plans, emailing and calling parents, not to mention after school meetings several times a week.  Of course I can't fit all that work into one school day so I easily log an additional twenty plus hours a week of work at home.  I do it because it is what it takes to be a good teacher......to give my students the best chance to succeed academically. 

When I hear about teachers, like the ones who were recently the focus of this youtube video

it makes me sick to my stomach. Here is  a well educated special educator who not only carries on inappropriate conversations in front of her students, but actually bullies her special needs student. What probably sickens me the most is that she encouraging her classroom aides to join in with her. This is a prime example of a teacher who should not be teaching. But guess what......she is and she probably will be teaching again next fall. She'll continue to come to school with an admitted hangover from staying out to late the night before, running late because she had a case of the dry heaves, and will be completely unprepared to teach her students that day's lessons.

And Me.......I'll be the one knowing I've done my best to prepare myself and my students for the school day....knowing I'll never be like her.

 

My Sanctuary

It's that one place you can go, where your thoughts are your own. Not to be judged by others, picked apart or analysed. The one place where you don't have to justify and argue your truth. It's simply what it is....your thoughts, whether fleeting for a second or ingrained in your psyche for an eternity.

But what are thoughts if they aren't shared and birthed into this world with the roll of the tongue, shared with loved ones, the masses or simply a stranger on the street? Is their significance increased simply by choosing to draw in a breath and utter them in front of an audience, or do my thoughts retain their importance as I crack a sly grin and place them back into to recesses of my mind, never to draw a single breath.

I'm oblivious

Yes oblivious to some things that well just seem a waste of time.....case in point.....renewing your drivers licence...........really what's the point if you have a perfect driving record. Why should I have to go and renew that stupid piece of plastic every 4 years? Honestly I wouldn't be bitching about it if I didn't forget to renew the damn thing when it expired 4 months ago.....now every time I see a police car my heart beats a thousand times a minute and I'm cursing myself thinking that damn $25.00 renewal fee is going to turn into a $200 fine if you don't get your ass to the DMV.  Of course this always happens after 4 P.M.  when the place is conveniently closed.........and the vicious circle begins again.

How We Get Through The Hard Times

.......Today is the opening of the MLB Season, and those of you who know me from my old blog, know what a baseball freak I am. See we love our Tigers in this ghetto town. I say we because we're all proud of the tradition of baseball here. 

We are proud that history considers the 1915 Tigers to be the greatest team EVER-even though technically the winning percentages were better in 1934. We know of the healing that occurred, when our boys won it all in 68' a mere year after it seemed the whole town would burn to the ground amongst racial tensions and riots. We all remember that once upon a little league mound we talked to the ball hoping it worked as well for us as it did for The Bird. And as adults we still try to turn 2 while playing softball just like the greatest double play tandem of all time. 

We all know where we were at exactly 7:41 PM on October 14, 1984 and we understood what tears of joy meant. We know the entire roster of the "Bless You Boys" and their batting averages during the 84' Series--The year that we WON it all with just a 3- man rotation...THAT'S RIGHT...a three man rotation. Unheard of by today's standards.

We know there is nothing more beautiful than that white old English "D" sitting atop your head on a hot Detroit summer day. We know the joy of being an underdog and fighting our way to the top in O6 and knocking the mighty Yanks down a few pegs along the way. 

When we win titles, it more than a celebration, it chaos, pandemonium and euphoria all rolled into one. Sure we all miss the corner of Trumbull and Michigan, that familiar Corktown where many of our fondest baseball memories originate. But hearing that Tiger growl and eyes light up after a Cabrera walk off homerun helps to make up for it. This is our team, THIS IS MY TEAM, and good or bad we love you just the same....Good Luck this year Boys, this city needs a winner more than ever. Do us Proud. I am Kat and I am proud to say I will always be a Tiger

I Can't Wait...............

Are you kidding me?

I can't believe I've been teaching as long as I have and still every spring I have to worry about having a job the next school year. It's ridiculous! How much more does the administration except teachers to do to ensure we keep our employment?  I tell you if I thought I had other options I think I would have considered leaving this profession years ago. But I'm a teacher, and if I do say so myself a good one. I am just sick and tired of constantly worrying about budget cuts that supposedly are for the good of the district when I know that my students are going to suffer because of them............and I wait...........again............

Just call me what I am

So today one of my students called me a bitch. Well I really wasn't that offended considering that I was a complete bitch today.......maybe I wouldn't have been if I didn't have to repeat myself constantly......what page did you say? what was the homework?...... And of course the constant disciplining, sit down, stop talking during the test, keep your eyes on your own paper, hands to yourself, stop cursing, spitting, and harassing each other. So today was a bitch day....what can I say some days my tolerance is absolutely zero...........and tomorrow is a new day.......hopefully it's a bitch free zone.

New Start

This economy has been tough on everyone's credit. Let's face it sometimes just surviving can be a task in itself. We've all been in those tough spots where we've had to make tough choices and at times our credit will take a ding or two.

 But that doesn't mean you can't still get that mortgage loan you need. Advantagehomerates.com is a great resource for individuals who are in the market for a new construction mortgage loan, a refinance loan, or loan modification.

Extending the length and terms of an existing loan is also a great option for current home owners to help bring their mortgage back to a more reasonable monthly payment. 

First time home buyers can apply for an FHA Loan. Although most FHA loans have a purchase limitation of two hundred thousand dollars, the market currently offers quite a bit of home for that amount of money. It is a buyer’s market right now and pursuing an FHA loan is definitely one option first time home buyers should consider. 

I really Hate It

Man don't you hate when you rent a movie looking forward to watching it .....only to figure out that ten minutes into the damn thing you realize that you've already seen it. How is it possible that out of all the freaking movies available at RedBox I rent one I've already seen!!! UGHHHHHHH

Does Anyone have a clue here?

Ok my faith in my bank has dwindled to next to nothing lately.  Back in the last week of January I claimed a fraudulent charge on a  savings account through paypal.  It's a seperate account that I use just for my paypal stuff and at the time I didn't have a balance so of course when the charge went through it overdrew the account. So I contact paypal, file a fraudulent charge with them and get my money back within 48 hours, only problem is my bank continues to charge me overdrafts even though I've filed a claim with them. So what the hell I pay the fees and call the bank to ask them what specifically to do which they said just let the account go till it is settled. They said it would take less than 10 days ......well it didn't and the fees again started racking up.........so I go into the bank branch, ask them for an update on the investigation. Their response "We have no idea what is happening and can't tell you anything" ...........Are you kidding me!  So I hand them over a check for the fee's and they tell me I am still 10 cents overdrawn.

At this point I'm completely annonyed considering I had just called for the balance 10 minutes before I walked in the branch.....so not only are they completly ignorent in the custustomer service department they are also dyslexic when it comes to reading balances. At this point I dug out a dime from the bottom of my purse, laid it on the counter and calmly through gritted teeth slid it across the counter it to the teller. What made matters worse is that the teller and the woman who claims she never processed my claim acted completely annoyed that I was bothering them with my little problem....personally I don't care if you've got a million dollars or a ten dollars in a bank they should treat all their customers with respect and value.

Determined to get down to the bottom of this problem I called the main customer service number and asked to have someone tell me what is going on with the investigation..........Well guess what.....they wrote claimed the fraudulent charge on the WRONG account! WTF, seriously I read you the account number, I told you it was a savings account, I toldddddddddddd you every single little detail of the charge in question..........how on earth did you screwwwwwwwww it up!!!! Needless to say it will be another 10 days before I get my hundred bucks back in overdraft fees. Just shoot me now people! Oh and I hope I win the lottery just so I can walk into your branch and say.............guess whose bank I'm not depositing this check into? HA!!

What's the deal

What is the deal with cashiers wanting to look at all your purchases? Really come on I've waited in line on a busy Saturday afternoon, the last thing I want is for you to ask me a zillion questions about my purchases. Yes it's new, No I haven't tried it yet, yes it looks good, interesting and like a good deal, and yes I will tell you where I found it so you can go get one before you shift ends. UGH just ring me up already and enough with the 20 questions..............

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Thanks to my friend Rylie for this post

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Back to the grind

So it's bye bye Christmas break and back to the grind......and wouldn't you know my students don't miss a beat, the first student I encounter of the day proclaimed to me "I'm not very smart today, in fact I am little bit retarded"....really! What the hell am I supposed to do with that? Look I'm not a miracle worker...when the students don't even take the least bit of interest in learning what am I supposed to do? I digress...