And I Thought "I" Was in Control of MY Money!

I know that everyone is feeling the economic crunch, and to be quite honest...it's COMPLETELY understandable that everyone wants to hold onto their money as tightly as possible. But I have been warned this week, that MY money that is in the bank...really isn't MY MONEY!

You could have fooled me, because I thought that since I worked for it, and my husband worked for it, that it was ours to use at our discretion (of course after all the bills are paid and Uncle Sam gets his share). Seems like our county tax office didn't receive a payment for one of our auto taxes by the end of last year, and sent a garnishment to our bank for the fee. Funny thing, WE NEVER GOT A NOTICE. We paid the taxes on one of our cars, but didn't get a notice for the other. Well, I noticed on our bank statement online that the garnishment for the taxes had been taken out...that's fine, we owe it, we don't mind paying it. HOWEVER, on top of that, our bank charged US, their account holder, a fee of $100 to "process" the garnishment. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? You can imagine I was livid, as was my husband.

Here's another kicker, we contacted the tax office, and they admitted they had not sent us a notice of intent for garnishment (it would have been sent certified). They also stated that they had not received any funds from our bank, and told my husband he could come down to the office tomorrow and pay the taxes.

Long story short, we are still fighting with the bank to find out where the money went to since the county tax office hadn't received it, and for the refund of the "processing fee" which is absolutely ridiculous.

Isn't it sad that (1) someone can find out your banking information without you telling them and (2) that you have NO control of your money when it is in the bank??


The tarp funds weren't enough for these banks, now they want to take everything they can from US, the consumer!


I think the only safe "bank" to keep our money in these days is this...

Please Hold… BLAH BLAH BLAH!

Ok, maybe it’s just me, but I am so sick of calling a place and hearing that some old message every time. I know at some point or another we have all heard it…
“Please hold, all of our representatives are currently assisting other callers. Your call is very important to us, so please hold for the next available representative.”

If you are like me, you probably either call the place that has the awkward silence in between the times that the statement above is mentioned…and you kind of wonder if someone is listening in really really quietly to see if they can hear me complaining. OR, it’s always that weird ‘elevator music’ that they have playing. That drives me crazy too.

It’s never a song or music that I really would like to sit and listen to as I’m passing the minutes waiting to speak to a human. THEN it happens…someone comes on the line that I can barely understand…why is that? Because they are usually in India or some other country OTHER than the good ole USA. Listen ladies, I sell Avon…and they are one of the worst about this.
Just once I would like to be the person that doesn’t have to wait. The person that gets right through without ever hearing that stupid message. If I can’t be that person, I would like to meet that person and find out what is so great about THEM that they don’t have to wait. Why is THEIR call more important than mine!
I mean seriously, if my call is really that important to you, why am I on hold for, I don’t know….10 minutes??? Maybe I’m mistaken, but there are a lot of people out there that are looking for jobs. Give them that job to answer those calls. Obviously you don’t have enough people staffed for the phone calls you are getting.
Ok, I’m stepping off my soapbox now. I just had to share a little frustration this Friday morning. I hope that you all have a great weekend.
Muah~

"You look nice today"....as compared to what?

I've kind of been sitting on this for a day now, debating on whether this was "blog" material or what, and obviously you can tell that I gave in and thought I would share this.

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in the NC, and despite the fact that I had to get up at 6:30 to get ready for work, I woke up knowing it was going to be a great day! First off, we were suppose to have a clear day with the temps in the 60s.
Because of this, I decided that due to the high temps, I was going to put on a dress or a skirt. Frankly, I was getting tired of pants & jeans and heavy sweaters.
As for my hair & make-up...nothing special. I actually ran out of time, and just left my hair up in a clip from when I was putting on my face.
Anyway, EVERYONE at work kept telling me how nice I looked and wondered if I was going anywhere for the evening. Of course it's always nice to get compliments (I love them actually ;)), but you have to wonder..."I look nice as compared to what exactly? Do I normally look ugly or not put together?"
I think it's important to look your best and take pride in how you present yourself in public, and this is something I DO take pride in....SO, it kind of makes me worried that I have slacked off on that the past few days...or maybe even weeks. Lord I hope it hasn't been longer than that!

I sure don't want to be picked up by the Fashion Police!

The Change of Tides---In the waters of friendship

Do you remember how your friendships were when you were 5, 10, 13, 16, 21 and so on? It's amazing how friendships change over the course of our lives. As we grow and change, the qualities we look for in friends change too. There is a small percentage of people who remain friends with their childhood buddies, and of that small percentage, the friendship is much different now than it was in the early stages. I remember many of my elementary and high school friends, very fondly in fact! I had some great memories back then, and one of the things I remember from those days was thinking that we would be friends FOREVER!

Sadly, forever doesn't usually happen with those friendships. People grow up, move away & sometimes might even forget why they ever liked you to begin with! Sad...but true!

Thanks to some online social networks like myspace, twitter and my favorite, Facebook, it is easy to get reconnected to those old school friends from years gone by. I love finding out how they have been living their lives over the past decade & seeing pictures of their beautiful families and how they themselves have changed over the years.

Now as an adult woman in my 30s, and after going through some things in my life over the past few years...I step back and evaluate my friends; Those that are true friends, that stand by me through it all. Those that are there and listen (but I can tell that once I've hung up the phone, they have forgotten all about our conversation). And those that "say" they are your friend but you NEVER hear from them and when you call they are always too busy or maybe don't even answer the phone...you know the kind, the one's that are you friend when it's convenient for them!?

I want to share with you an email that was forwarded to me, just yesterday that kind of sums up friendships for us women. When I read it, I knew that this was my subject for my next blog....

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
When I was little,
I used to believe in the concept of one best friend,
And then I started to become a woman.
And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up,
God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man.
Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom.
Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities..
Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be together,'
Another , 'Let's fight together,'
Another , 'Let's walk away together.'

One friend will meet your spiritual need,
Another your shoe fetish,
Another your love for movies,
Another will be with you in your season of confusion,
Another will be your clarifier,
Another the wind beneath your wings.

But whatever their assignment in your life,
On whatever the occasion,
On whatever the day,
Or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back,
Or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself .
Those are your best friends.

It may all be wrapped up in one woman, But for many, it's wrapped up in several..
One from 7th grade,
One from high school,
Several from the college years,
A couple from old jobs,
On some days your mother,
On some days your neighbor,
On others, your sisters,
And on some days, your daughters.


Anway, for me, I've always taken pride in my friendships and tried to be the best friend I possibly can be, even when I felt that I wasn't getting the same in return. It was ok, and although I would like to say it still IS ok, really and truly it's not. I want to know that I am important to my friends, because I feel it's important to let those you care about know they are important to you. So if it's been a while since you have called and spoken to a friend of yours...pick up the phone and call them, or send them a card. Trust me, it will truly be the right decision to make. ESPECIALLY IF THAT FRIEND IS ME! :-)

It's A New Year!

WELCOME 2010
Not only is it a new year, but also a new decade and as you can see, all my previous posts have been deleted…WHY, you might ask!? Because there’s no looking back! If you’re looking back then you aren’t moving forward. And after the year I have had, and most of us have had, we probably don’t want to look back. With every new year, there are always new resolutions, maybe even some that we had the previous year that we were not able to tackle and achieve. It seems that happens to me A LOT!
I have several things that I hope to accomplish this year…one is to get hired permanently with the job I have been temping at since October of last year. Another is to lose weight, and not just some weight, but a lot of weight! I don’t want those that follow behind me to see this…

The last two things that are on my list for 2010 are going to take a lot of work, prayer and determination...and those of you who have found my blog and follow my blog will probably go through these struggles along with me. The first of these two is that the hubs and I are praying to add a bundle of joy to our family. So keep that in your prayers as well, because this is something that is very dear and near to my heart, and obviously something that I am very sensitive about. Lastly…PATIENCE! I hope to really work on my patience. I have always been one who wants things NOW!

This is going to really come into play with the baby making and the weight loss…because these two things obviously will be taking longer than I would hope for them to, but I know that God is in control! He is the only one who can see the full picture, and no matter what… I will continue to show him the Glory the Honor and the Praise!
I hope that you will enjoy the journey throughout 2010. And I pray that it is a great year for each of you, filled with blessings and memories!