Finally....

I was away from the Internet for a short while because we had to move.  Although we did it on very short notice, we accomplished what I thought was the unthinkable.  Thank you all so much for your positive thoughts, well wishes, prayers and of course the funds that made it possible for me and my family to be able to find another home.  Without your help this would not have happened.  Words are not enough to express how I feel about each and every one of you.  I have been truly blessed.

The last couple of days have been a whirl wind of craziness and exhaustion but well worth it.  Although the home we are in now is in need of a lot of work, we are grateful for what we have and a part of us is looking forward to making this house a true home.  We may not have a life insurance lead but we are looking into getting renter's insurance.  My husband and I both think that insurance is imperative because my business office is from home.  We are not wanting to take any chances with my computer getting damaged if the roof leaks.  So far there is no leaks in the roof but there are a few where the foundation meets the outer wall in one of the rooms.  My office is set up in the kitchen for now until that is remedied. 

We are organizing and finding places for everything.  I find that a whole lot easier to do than packing everything.  I am hoping that we are here for at least a few years.  I did a little researching before we made the decision to move to this house.  There is no mortgage on this house. It was paid in full five years ago, so there will be no chance that this house gets foreclosed on.  I made sure of that before we agreed to move in. 
Score one for me.....

Getting ready for school early

With College resuming at the end of August, the "boys", meaning Jeff and Chris, are brainstorming on what is needed for their classes.  Jeff already has a laptop which has been convenient for his downtime during classes.  Chris is thinking of getting a notebook computer to due assignments when he has to wait for either Jeff to finish his classes for the day.  I am not sure if that will work though because I don't think you can run office or anything like that on it.  I think I have heard that those kind of computers are only good for surfing the net but I may be wrong. 

Both Chris and Jeff lucked out on their schedules.  They attend classes pretty much the same time with a few classes that are an hour or two apart from each other, but that will just allow them to get their homework done while waiting for the other to finish their class.  At least there will not be two vehicles needing gas on a regular basis and that alone will save money every month.  I think the experience of a father and son attending the same college will make them both accountable for keeping up the grades.  Knowing them they will make a competition out it.

Doing the necessary evil,

And by that I mean getting the house ready to move. In the process of going through our belongings and deciding what we need, or what we can donate to either the Salvation Army or Goodwill, we are downsizing considerably.  We could have had a garage sale but the last time we only made $20.00 for four hours of sitting in the hot sun.  We are not going to go through that again considering that we need to be out by June 30th. We are however, using Craigslist to sell the more valuable items.  There will be at least one sofa sleeper going up on Craigslist and a few other not needed items.  It may not bring in much money but it will save us from having to drag it with us.  I absolutely do not want to be taking the cumulative junk to the next house.  I was very clear on that with the family. 

When we cleaned our patio furniture, we discovered that our propane grill is rusting and falling apart.  The grill plates themselves have corroded considerably and we had to come to terms with getting rid of it all together.  Chris would like to invest in an electric grill in the far, far future.  He thinks that maybe that would be far more economical in the long run and we wouldn't have to worry about the propane tanks running out in the middle of cooking.  For now, we can survive not grilling anything or just borrow his parents portable grill. 

I also wanted to update everyone that we have indeed secured a home, but we will still need to come up with last months rent before we can move in.  Since we have to be out of the existing house by the 30th, it leaves only a few days to come up with the rest of the funds.  So again, and I am sorry if I sound like a broken record, if you could spare at least $1, it would help more than you know.

For Dawg

For Dawg

So Close but yet so far....

We have been searching for a new place for almost a week and a half.  When I am not working or packing up the house, we are driving all over to look at the next dwelling.  We have spoken with many potential prospects which have all fallen short of obtaining the keys because of one problem.  We do not have the full funds. 
Every single one of the houses that we have looked at require security,first and last months rent.  We are close but still fall short.  A very kind person wrote to me to say that it is does not take a weak person to ask for help but a strong one, and with that I am going to keep on asking. So please, if you can, would you donate to help us out?  If you are new to our situation then by all means please visit my post here which will bring you up to speed.  If your heart is moved to our plight you may make a donation on my paypal account.  I have a donation button set up in my sidebar. 
I know that there may be people that do not agree with what I am doing and that is ok too, but, put yourself in my shoes and tell me if you wouldn't do anything you could to avoid what we are faced with. We are doing everything we can to take care of our family, even if it means we have to ask for others help.

Moffit Update.

I had completely  forgotten to update about the medical dilemma that I faced back in November of last year.  A week ago, yesterday, I had my six month check up at the Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa.  I was a little nervous going in, considering that I was experiencing the same symptoms, minus the noticeable lump in my throat. I figured that maybe another cyst was starting to form that hadn't gotten big enough to be visible.  My appointment was for 9:45a.m. and I arrived at 9:30.  The waiting room was packed. I had to wait about 5 minutes for a chair to become available.  Not that it really mattered since I drove for an hour to get there, so sitting was not a priority. 
What was annoying, was listening to this woman rant about how her husband, who was sitting right next to her, was a crybaby when it came to his Mesothelioma treatment and about how it was his own damn fault for getting the disease in the first place, because he worked for over thirty years as a school janitor in a school that oozed asbestos.  Really lady? I mean do you honestly believe that your husband would willing put himself in danger? How ignorant could you possibly be?  I felt so sorry for her husband who was just sitting there looking down at his feet not saying a word.  How can you treat someone you supposedly love like a piece of crap?  I will never understand that kind of mentality.

When I finally got in to see my doctor, she had nothing but good news.  I am free from all cysts at this moment and I won't have to go in for another check up unless something noticeable happens.  The only unfavorable part is that the numbness that I still have from my left ear down to my left shoulder will most likely be permanent and I will never get rid of the stiffness feeling in my neck.  When I described to her that it still felt like a brick was inside my throat she told me that was part of the stiffness.  So I guess I will just have to deal with it, which is way better than what could have been the alternative.  Because then, I would most likely be the crybaby in the waiting room, but my husband would be my rock and love me through it anyway. Attitude, tears and all.

We have begun the search.

I can't believe how sparse the Sunday Paper was for rentals. I mean there was barely anything we could afford and the ones that we could, were in a bad part of town. Searching through Craigslist for homes to rent has been a very interesting experience. We have come across a few houses where the owners are admitting to being in the process of foreclosure but if you just give them x amount of money you can stay until the bank makes you leave.  Who does that?  More importantly who would even consider "renting" a place with the impending doom looming just around the corner?  Quite honestly that made me mad as hell, given our current situation. 

We went and scoped out a few houses. We started out in the general area of where we would like to be, given that we want Katie to be kept in the same school she is in now for her special needs.  We liked a particular house that fit well below our budget (which is what we are striving for) but the street is very busy, even for a well kept neighborhood.  We saw at least 3 teenagers atv racing up and down the street.  I don't even think they are allowed to have them on public streets, but there they were zooming along like they didn't have a care in the world.  

There weren't too many houses that we looked at that we really jumped out at us. I know that beggars can't be choosers but I don't want to end up in some rat hole or undesirable neighborhood.  Been there and done that.  I don't think June is a very busy month for finding rentals anyway, but we will keep on looking because that is the only thing we can do at the moment. 

Needing Help Please!

Things have not been good recently around here.   Chris and I just recently found out that our landlords must sell the house that we have been renting since October of 2008.  It wouldn't be such a big deal because normally tenants are allowed to stay until the house does sell.  Not in this case. They have asked us to leave by the end of this month.They are in the midst of a foreclosure and are wanting to sell asap and the easiest way to do that is get rid of the occupants so that it will be a smoother transaction for all parties involved. Except of course, US.  We didn't have a lease renewal so we were on a month to month basis and either party can give 15-30 days notice.   We have no deposit to look forward to because they only required a non refundable pet deposit. This leaves us with nothing to put down on any house we may find.  We may have first months rent but nothing more.  We have been looking and most renters now are required to pay security deposit, first and last months rent up front. That is a lot of money to come up with in just a few weeks.  A goal that we will not be able to make on our own. 
Our parents are all retired. They receive their social security and are budgeted to that alone.  They are willing to help as much as they can but the reality is, it will not be enough.  My biggest fear is that if we do not come up with enough funds that we need, we will be homeless.  And that idea has been keeping me up at night worrying and crying because I feel like I have failed my family and it just doesn't sit well with me.  I have never been faced with this kind of situation before and it's taking its toll on me.

I am physically, emotionally and  mentally spent. Not only has this been a huge blow to us, but financially we have been struggling as well. Mind you that we always had the rent paid before anything else because that is the responsible thing to do right? I never dreamed that it would come down to this.  With Chris' little unemployment check and whatever money I bring in and of course our son, Jeff, does help out a lot.  We we're barely making ends meet. But, we were still doing it. There was always a way.


I have never been the one to ask for people's help but we are in desperate need.  Please if your heart moves you to, would you please be willing to help us out?  It doesn't have to be a large amount. Even if all you can spare is $1 than that is $1 closer. I have implemented a donation button from paypal that is directly linked to my account. It is located at the end of this post and also on my sidebar at the top right.   I have never had to resort to asking people for money in this manner and even as I write this I feel like a total failure, but this is our last hope.  As it stands now we won't be able to secure another home without outside help.

**UPDATE**

I just wanted to thank everyone that has either left encouraging comments, emails and of course for those of you that donated already. I can't grasp the support that has been shown to me and my family and it really shouldn't boggle my mind that there are people willing to give so effortlessly. If someone else was in my shoes and if I had the means, I would not hesitate. But still, it is a very humbling moment when it is me in those very shoes.


For those of you that I have not commented back on, please do not worry. I have read all my emails and even though I have teared up through every one of them, I will answer all of them here shortly.

Some of you came up with very good ideas and suggestions, but I think some of you have misunderstood our plight. It is not that we can't afford our rent, albeit it has been very tight some months, we have always managed to have the rent paid. Our plight is that we do not have any money in savings to be able to move and in such a short amount of time. My husband is unemployed and has been for quite some time. The sole requirement to continue receiving unemployment benefits is to show proof that he is seeking employment. We have a One Stop Center in our area that helps individuals seek employment and he has been utilizing that avenue already. He averages about 3 days a week actively searching for work in and around our area. He has also chosen to go back to school to get a degree in his field. Although he may have plenty of years of experience, most companies now are requiring that you have the degree behind it. I have a very small cleaning business that is slow due to it not being in season (meaning most of my customers live up north for the summer and come down here for the winter months) I have a very small customer base that I do on a regular basis. Our son works and contributes most of his paycheck to the household already. That has been by his own choosing and I can't be anymore proud of him than I am already.

I know many of you have given advice towards just staying beyond the notice we have been given. We have thought about doing that also. But, to do so, we would still have to pay rent otherwise it would be considered a means for the landlords to go ahead and file for eviction and we do not want that on our credit. It's bad enough that our credit has been affected already due to the economy. We have consulted with an attorney that understood our situation but had no positive solution in our favor. It is what it is and we have accepted that.