God Bless Joe the Plumber from Holland Ohio who inadvertently became a national spokesman for all of us Girly Girls and all of America when he simply asked a question of Sinister Osama….oops, I mean Senator Obama.

Little did Joe, or Samuel J. Wurzelbacher (his given name), know that he would end up the victim of the media and their attempts to smear him.  They are sifting through his background, declaring he is not a real plumber and that he is some sort of bad person because he is divorced and owes taxes?!  WHAT?  That is what happens to many middle class Americans who get divorced….they go through rough times financially.  Who doesn’t know that?  Should he just have taken a page from Bill Ayers and bombed his ex into giving him everything so he could walk away financially set?!

Poor Joe, he just wanted the truth from a person who claims to have all of our best interests at heart and instead he has become a victim of those who are attempting to squash him in the name of Democracy.  Is this the “CHANGE HE NEEDS” from Obama and his Cronies?  I doubt it?

We need to support Joe and the others like him who are putting the truth ahead of personal gain.  We need true heros in this day and age.  If I had the extra money right now, I would send it to him to help pay his taxes.  Keep up the good work, Joe.  Love ya, man!!

As a mother, this issue sickens me.  I have had very few occasions to deal with someone like Casey Anthony, but the few times I did I was astounded.  Pathological liars are truly ugly people.  The pain they inflict on the people around them is astounding.  I would think that once you have dug yourself into a hole so deep, you would want a way out after realizing that your current plan isn’t working.  Instead they create distractions through rage or other poor behavior so they can cover their indiscretions.

Caylee Anthonyjust needs to be laid to rest properly and her mother needs justice served.  I don’t know about my Girly Girls out there but sometimes if I let myself think too much about what may have happened to this poor little defenseless child at her mother’s hands, I get so upset in the pit of my gut.  Crimes against children should be dealt with severely and maybe that would help deter them.

I must also say that I am glad that it seems that the investigators dotted every I and crossed every T in this case so as to make it stick.  May justice be served for this little girl.

Poor old bloke!  Hugh Hefner is sad about loosing ONE of his girlfriends.  Some how I find it hard to feel sorry for him.  I have no doubt that he will bounce back quickly and somewhere deep inside I have to wonder if it is just a ploy to help with faltering ratings?  What is your thought?

Seems to me that he survives in an industry where I find it hard to believe that emotions play a bigger role than upward mobility; and I mean that both literally and as a pun!!  Although I would think the only upward mobility he sees without the help of Viagra is lining his bank accounts!!

So Holly Madison gets smart!!  National news?!!  Wow, they must be backing off of Sarah?!!

Girly Girls pay attention.  I ran across this article from Glamour and it is definitely a must read.  Take a minute to check it out!

The article gives some simple ideas about how to accentuate the wardrobe you already have, so not only do you look great but you don’t have to break the bank to do it.  Sometimes we don’t have to completely overhaul our wardrobe, just give away a few items and freshen it up.  Basics always work wonders so use them and build on them!!

Building on simplicity is always a good idea.  You can look like you have 15 closets full of clothes if all you do is change accessories.  A bright splash of color on a neutral dress completely changes the look, as does a belt and chunky necklace.  Get back to basics all my Girly Girls and the next time you need a little retail therapy, make it really count!!

A continuation of “Bad Renters In Michigan”.

So Thursday, October 2 was our day in court and as I said previously, I was looking forward to it so I could get these heinous people out of my house.  In their answer to the complaint, D had written that I broke into the house and threatened her.  She also stated that the rent was in an escrow account because I refused to fix the heat and air and that the roof was leaking.  Line one said that she never signed the lease and did not agree with it.  I figured we were good because the judge sees this stuff all day long so he will know she is lying and he will sort it out!  Plus, I had a lawyer and they didn’t!

I came to court with the info about the money my church gave them in Jan, her IOU, her Thank You note stating what a blessing we were to them, a Christmas card with her signature that looked remarkably like the one on the lease and many court notices I dug up on the Internet showing her many evictions in the past.  I also had the receipts from having the furnace fixed in January and having the air conditioning unit looked at.  I had the phone records of my many attempts to contact them when they would never return my calls.  I used to deal with union issues so I know how to document!!  I was prepared!!

Needless to say, D got on the stand and lied through her teeth.  She claimed that she never signed the lease. My husband was even there as a witness to that.  My lawyer tried her best but the judge wouldn’t hear what she had to say and gave E & D free reign to say what ever they wanted.  They didn’t have to follow court procedure.  He also never looked at any of my documentation.  He awarded me a monetary judgement and gave them 10 days to pay up, minus $450.00 because they didn’t have air conditioning all summer!  I couldn’t believe that!  I don’t even have air conditioning in my own house, but I am suppose to provide it for these people!  Unreal.  He also admonished them for not letting me in the house to inspect, which he told them by state law, they are suppose to do!

So what is the outcome?  They still live in my house for another 10 days, I have to have the furnace fixed and I am wondering what was wrong with that in July when it is 90 outside?  It was in working order all winter.  Was it sabotaged?  And I don’t have the slightest idea why they say the roof is leaking?  Oh well, my lawyer says they won’t pay, I will probably never see a dime of the $2,500.00 they own now and on Oct 13, they will be evicted for sure!!  Stay tuned for round two and if you have any thoughts, be sure to send them my way!!

OK, all my Girly Girls.  I  must tell you all that happened today.  It is somewhat disheartening, but I know my God is in control so I must have faith and move forward in this arena.  Thank God for my husband who lifts me up!

I have been waiting for this day to come because I felt I was wronged so going to court was going to be a good step, I believed.  It all started last year when I rented my house in West Branch, Michigan to the E & D Davis family who was in great need.  They were not the only people who were interested in renting the house, but I rented it to them because they had four young children and were living in a very small travel trailer on someones property.  Sure there was a part of me that thought it an odd story, but another part of me had empathy, especially after hearing of all of the hardships they have been through.  I figured letting them rent my home would be a blessing to all of us, especially since the market was down and I was having trouble selling the house.  They did have a GLOWING reference when I checked them out.  That should have been my first clue but I admit I am new to the rental business (game)!

Well indeed, they wanted the house but then all of a sudden they wanted to move in immediately and didn’t have all the money for the rent and deposit.  They wanted me to negotiate a deal; if they helped me finish moving my stuff out of the house and took stuff to the dump for me, I could lower their security deposit for them so they would have more money to help them move up from Flint.  I also explained to them that I knew there were three things wrong with the house.  The toilet in the master bath needed some work and I was going to fix it before they moved in.  They agreed to fix it if I let them move in right away.  The other two things;  the central air did not work and the switch for the whirlpool tub needed to be replaced.  Neither of these I deemed important for a rental and told them I would not invest in having them fixed at this time.  I did agree, however to have a technician out to look at the central air system and recharge it if that was all it needed.  Done deal!  Everyone seemed happy with the arrangement and I felt good knowing their children finally had a good home.

Red flag number two!  She (D) didn’t want to sign the lease!!  Who in their right mind thinks they rent property without having to sign a lease?  D needed the lease papers to enroll her children in school, which was about to begin but she didn’t want to sign the lease.  When we moved the rest of our belongings out of the house, D came up to me and stated that she didn’t agree with the lease and didn’t want to sign it.  Her husband (E) had signed it and I told her it was a standard lease and if she didn’t sign it, she couldn’t live in the house.  She ended up signing it and at that point is when I think the “Fasten Your Seatbelt” sign should have dinged and lit up!!

Things went swimmingly until January of this year, when all of a sudden, NO RENT.  Mind you, the rent had not been paid on time yet (the first of the month), but it was usually paid 7 – 10 days late.  Now it was the 12th and no correspondence was received and no phone calls were returned.  When I finally got in touch with her, she appologized and told me all about her financial snags.  She told me they didn’t want to move and asked if we could work something out.  I agreed but only because she was going to be getting some government assistance to help pay the rent.  She agreed to write me an IOU for the rent not paid for January and I had to ask repeatedly for the IOU before she finally sent it to me!  I also asked my church to help them out and my church generously donated $100.00 to their family.    She stated they would make up the rent for January and sent the payment schedule for her government assistance checks so I knew when the rent would be coming.

Then came June.  I received a phone call from D stating that she wanted the air conditioning fixed.  Again I told her that it was not a simple fix and I was not investing that much money into the property.  Then she told me they were thinking of buying my house and wanted to know what I would to sell it for.  I told her I wasn’t sure and that is when she told me that E said to offer me $50,00.00.  I told her I am sure she would want to buy it for that because it is worth a lot more than $50,000.00!!  There was no way I would sell my house for that amount.  It was ridiculous.

Then the rent stopped!  July remained unpaid and I went to the house on the 14th to collect the rent and D wouldn’t answer the door.  She talked to me through the screen window.  I left the Notice to Quit on the front door along with a 24 hour notice to inspect.  When I spoke to my lawyer, she told me to go and attempt to inspect but not to enter the house if she doesn’t let me in.  When my husband and I returned to the house the next day to inspect, she never answered the door and called the police on us.   We ended up talking to the state trooper who responded and nothing was accomplished. 

Now off to court!!

CONTINUED:  see Evicting Tenants in Michigan