I'm with you, Wanda! Tomorrow morning. I plan to do the 8 minutes in the morning and then do the WATP after work. I love to walk outdoors, just wish I had someone to walk with. I will probably alternate the WATP with walks at the track. (There is sure to be someone there to walk with) Our track goes around the football field and there is an exercise I do on the bleachers for my abs. It works those muscles like no other exercise I've ever done! I used to walk one mile around the track, then do my ab exercises and some steps (18"ers) on the bleachers, then do 4 or 5 more miles on the track. I felt wonderful!!! I had to stop doing the steps because my legs were getting too muscular. I had so much energy that I couldn't hold still. I sure wish I could get back in that condition again. I hope this coming week is a great week for everyone!

Thanks so much everyone! I called the CCB who told me that regardless of ANY paperwork or contract that my contractor wants me to sign, I have the state right to file a report with the CCB and get money from his bond if need be. In other words, the contract I'll sign will be meaningless because I can still file a claim in the future, regardless. Whew - that makes things a lot easier! At the same time, the contract - written by he and his partner - shows that they're releasing me or at least that's their intention, in writing. That can't hurt. Lascatx - CCB stands for construction contractor's board. I won't mention the cushion, thank you. If the rest of the work goes of without a problem (not holding my breath) I will consider giving my contractor some much smaller amount of money for any work he did that he didn't goof up. Dianalo - thank you! :) Oldhousegal - yes I've looked into him and he has nothing negative on his record. He's been a contractor for 5 years - those are the only two things they could tell me about him - oh besides that he has a $20k bond. Thank you for all that info as well as the link! Shar-az - thank you for your support. I hear what you're saying. The problem is that even the CCB said they can't guarantee that I'd "win" the case because the issues with his work are mostly aesthetic. They'd be more likely to find a compromise for us and I think his walking out the door, giving up his 1/3 final payment is better for me. I've gone through enough stress and awkward feelings that I honestly don't feel like I have the strength left to pursue this further with him and file a claim, even though I understand your point. I truly believe he's learned a HECK of a lot on this job - to the extent that yes he should be paying me as if I were "contractor's college" - haha. I don't think - under these circumstances - that I'm being unusually nice NOT to report him if I get what I want without having to do so. I believe that in the future, he'll think twice about tackling a job that's beyond his ability. Even though he brought it on himself, this was a real nightmare for him and while he's not a good contractor, he's not that stupid, either. He lost a lot of money on this job. The first 2/3 of the money went almost all to sub-contractors, a new electrical panel, plumbing, permits, etc. Not saying "oh poor guy" necessarily but I just don't think he's willing to lose that much ever again - and I do think he learned a lot -the hard way. Weissman - Thank you. The contract that he wants me to sign has a release of lien written into it (not by a lawyer but I think that's good enough). As others here have pointed out, I think I have enough evidence via emails that he couldn't come after me and really expect to have a positive outcome, and I think he knows that. Johnliu - Thank you for making that list for me! Much of what you wrote, I have done, though not all. I didn't send anything certified mail but I have printed-out copies with concise lists as well as plenty of email exchanges. Haha to needing to turn up my b*tch dial. That dial's well used actually, but admittedly not so much when it comes to using it in these types of situations. I have a friend (who happens to be a lawyer) who is SO quick to be confrontational that I find myself just not wanting to be like that. I don't mind being assertive usually (although I admit I've been a real wuss with this guy, in some ways - not in others obviously) but confrontational people seem so toxic, you know? Generally though I agree with you. I will INDEED be getting and checking references in the future as well as checking with the CCB in advance, etc. ABSOLUTELY! Man oh man have I learned a lesson! The guy I got a good hit off of charges a bit much according to a friend of my mom's who is a contractor/designer (I won't work with him because of his personality - long story - but he's very helpful in many respects). He said I think $3,500-3,800, possibly less (he said a week's work @60.00/hour) to repair all the things my contractor goofed up on, plus to remove the cracked farm sink and replace it with the new one, scribing again but a good job, and painting, etc. So on one hand it's less than what I'd be paying my contractor but I'll still meet with a couple of other contractors so I can know how reasonable the first guy's price is. Athomesewing -thank you! As I wrote at the top, it appears I don't have to worry after all. :) Buehl - I didn't research him well enough. I checked with the CCB and knew he had no complaints. I hired him cause my neighbor who is a pretty close friend (was??!) highly recommended him after he landscaped her back yard and remodeled her basement, which looks nice, at least if you're not going around and looking at details closely. She spoke highly of his work ethic and said how he cares about the environment and how he and his partner-brother are really decent people, etc. etc. Then that same lawyer friend I was talking about above checked on Angie's List and said she saw positive comments (how stupid was I not to ask her to go into more detail?? We were in a hurry when we talked and we never talked further about it!) and THEN my close friend hired him - having heard what I'd heard - to do her small bathroom (it was probably a pre-fab kit job, in retrospect) and she said he did a great job. It was after my contractor had begun work on my kitchen that she called me to say he did a bad job installing windows on a second project...I remember thinking "uh oh." So there's my long-winded answer to whether I researched him ahead of time. Not so much. I went on those two friend-references which usually holds more weight, right? Not enough... As I was saying to someone above here, I think my project was like going to school for him. I think he learned a lot, the hard way. I feel better about his work in the future for other people, actually, though you might think that's me just being in big-time denial. My assumption is that he's done projects for friends and family prior to my neighbor's basement but who knows. Artemis78 - BINGO. I totally agree. And in fact - in his defense (oh no there she goes again, defending him! ;) he was originally only supposed to take my ugly, pre-existing and non-original lower cabinets and make them look better by making the doors stay on better and repainting, etc. (much less removing and installing essentially custom-made cabinets with inset doors, yes) and then neither he nor I discussed which type of sink I'd be getting until after the contract was signed. I didn't have enough experience to know it would be an issue (do now). Furthermore, neither he nor I realized i'd be picking a wall-mounted faucet, and that therefor the farm sink would have to sit back more rather than stand out proud (the latter case of which would result in a much easier job, and for which he'd done in the past he said) so he'd end up having to do 3-dimensional scribing. Then to top it all off, neither he nor I realized I'd be picking out an integrated dishwasher door, sure enough. So basically he walked into the project thinking it would be a much easier job, though when I told him I wanted to do these upgrades, he never said he couldn't do it. He said it would be a little tougher and would take a bit longer in some cases (more money) but that he's good - he can do it. That's where things went south. :( How was I to know he was challenging himself to figure it out and was actually too inexperienced when it came to these complications? I didn't even know enough about kitchen remodels to know these things could be a problem at all. Thank you. Morgne - Thanks for having sympathy. Crazy huh? I didn't know I was having issues with the cabinetry in general either (!) until I had other carpenters come in - when my contractor was out of town - to give me an idea of what it could cost to remove the sink without damaging (hopefully) areas around it, and then to reinstall the new sink. I was worried my contractor would deny having cracked the sink and could possibly refuse to be accountable and fix it himself, so I wanted to get ahead of the game to save time. It was when these carpenters showed up that they looked at the rest of the cabinetry and said things like "what happened here?" and "why is the dishwasher framed in so that it can't be removed?" and "I'm really sorry to have to tell you this but this is pretty shoddy work" and "who did your cabinetry?" and "your doors and drawers aren't on evenly and have no reveals - they're on too tight - these should be 1/8 of an inch" and "this scribing is - hehehea (awkward laugh) pretty awful (wince) ." One guy said right off the bat that he wouldn't touch this guy's work with a ten-foot pole and another guy said I should report him to the CCB and tear it all out and start from scratch. So there you have it - that's what's been going on! :-/ I will post pics, thanks. The old pics will show some of it, though the bad scribing probably can't be seen closely enough and the dishwasher door which looks terrible may not have been installed yet either. Also - since last taking pics - my contractor put hand-made lightrails in (just strips of wood cause I didn't want anything fancy looking to go with my simple shaker hundred-year-old upper cabs) and when he nailed them in place, he didn't have them attached flush. Why oh why is beyond me. They're almost flush, but enough not that he had to try to putty it in (probably the wrong kind of putty too) but that didn't hide the off-ness. I'll take pics soon, thanks. Oy! Ci lantro - I agree. I'd asked him if he could handle that (it was actually he who suggested inset with the face frame to match the look of the original uppers more). I remember asking with some concern about the scribing job and he said something to the effect of "no it's not a problem - I'm actually really good at this type of work, though it's time-consuming due to it being 3-dimensional..." I didn't even know what scribing was before he introduced it to me! I will DEFINITELY make sure the new person knows how to do this type of work, thank you!! Chrisk327 - that's why I'm okay with paying more (e.g. the $3,500-3,800 guy, if need be). I'm not screwing around anymore and I'll take full advantage of this opportunity to pay the same or less, but to have it done right. Not everyone gets such a second chance, you know? I agree that ripping it out is extreme. I'm assuming the general plumbing and electrical is okay (though truth be told, there's a leak under the sink which is the reason the sink got hairline cracks in the first place: because my contractor was trying to fix the leak and tightened the flange! And then a few days later the leak came back, regardless). The only concern about the cabinets is that they're a bit uneven. E.g. if you measure the left side of one cab's opening in height, then measure the right side of that cab's opening in hight, there's a discrepancy, which makes the cab doors uneven. So the new guy will have to remove the doors and carefully cut them to fit the opening unevenness. I am being very specific about what needs to be fixed, and have a very detailed list based on the comments from the various guys who came in to see the kitchen. I also agree that he's at least on the surface entitled to come back and fix the problems himself - even the CCB more or less said as much (they're not allowed to say much at all, without a case being opened). Davidro1 - hahaha thanks! :) Lascatx - yes I see your point - but the good news is that now I don't have to give up my CCB rights! Yahoo! Igloochick - I see your point too! Thank you for your frankness. I only wish I didn't feel pushed into the corner of having to defend him - haha. As I wrote in one of the paragraphs above (you may not each be reading what I've written to every one of you) - I do honestly believe he'll never make this mistake again. I think that the changes we made once started were not anything he predicted (the original plan was something much, much simpler) and he thought he could handle it but found out he couldn't. Next thing he knew he was in over his head. I think he knows that now and won't make the mistake again of allowing difficult scribing or anything else too challenging. He even said next time he'd pay someone else to help him if it came to that (like a sub-contractor). He lost a LOT of money on this job, as most of the money I've already paid went to the sub-contractors or materials. It's also not every day that someone asks you to push back a Shaws farm sink with rounded front corners. Usually they stand out proud - I'd say 95% of the time if not more. He also learned a lot from my job - even though yes, at my expense. He's robbed me of my time, yes, I won't argue with you there - but not my money at this point. I don't feel guilty about what he'll do in the future because both he and his partner were very humbled by this experience, and embarrassed even and I just don't think he's going to make the same mistakes again. He had a clean record before this and he wants to keep it clean and doesn't want to trick people. He just made a huge mistake and is dealing with it now. People aren't all black or white. I'm NOT defending him as much as it might sound like I am - I think he did me a terrible disservice but I don't think he meant to and I know he'd never put himself or the client in this position again. I simply don't perceive him as a villain. If I really thought he was capable of doing this a second time, I wouldn't think twice about reporting him, honestly. I can tell by the way it panned out that he's never gone through anything like this before. Now all that said, I wouldn't be able to refer him, if I were to get a phone call in the future or if a friend wondered how I liked him. I'm just not going to file a claim over this since he - in the end - was willing to work with me.

It is far easier and in the end more profitable for Inman as well as other media outlets to attempt to place the blame on the average person Âas opposed to the hugely powerful RE/finance community. AndÂsince they have a certain percentage of the population eating out of their hands in actually falling for the party line that it is all because of the borrowers, one canÂt really blame them for continuing to pretend that the emperor really is wearing clothes. Which begs the real questionÂwho is the most "stupid"? Those who did not know better, and got themselves into a pickleÂÂ.or those who continue to remain in denial in terms of the fact that those who caused the problem, have made millions and more doing soÂand, are rewarded for their "accomplishment"? Once againÂfollow the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Here is another story about just how far reaching this game has become..with a whole new twist...lengthy, yes...but worth reading... Excerpt: "....The Mahers claim Lehman's money managers were negligent and violated federal securities regulations when they placed more than half of the $600 million in so-called auction rate securities allegedly tied to two now-troubled bond insurance companies, MBIA and Ambac Financial. The outcome of the dispute, experts said, may hinge on whether the Mahers can prove the choice of investments was a deliberate attempt by Lehman Brothers to dump securities on an unwitting client as the sub-prime mortgage crisis boiled over last summer. For years, auction-rate securities were considered good investments for institutions and wealthy individuals who wanted to park their money for a short time and still earn an attractive interest rate. They were seen as alternatives to money market funds and short-term commercial paper. They were also considered safe. Auction-rate securities are debt instruments -- issued by entities such as municipalities, hospitals and housing finance agencies, as a way of generating money. While they are rated as long-term bonds, they are sold as short-term securities at periodic auctions, hence their name. The auctions occur as frequently as every seven days when the interest rate is reset. Every time an auction is held, investors are able to pull out their original investment plus interest as other buyers replace them. While the high yield and ability to access the money are benefits, the single biggest risk is that an auction will fail -- that there won't be buyers to replace the original ones. When that happens, the value of the security can plunge. But it's so rare as to be almost inconceivable. That's why no one was prepared for what happened last summer when subprime mortgage market collapse. THE AUCTIONS FAIL The lion's share of the Mahers money, according to the claim, was invested in auction-rate securities tied to the bond insurers MBIA and Ambac Financial. Bond insurers write policies ensuring lenders will be reimbursed if the borrower can't pay back the money, and they play a critical role in the debt market. State governments, for instance, cannot raise money by selling bonds without insurance. But over the last few years, the insurers entered into riskier investments such as subprime mortgage securities. Now, they're under fire from debt rating agencies, who fear they don't have the cash to cover claims. In early August, the Mahers claim Lehman used nearly $168 million of their money to buy auction-rate securities despite an earlier failed auction, which prevented a set of similar corporate securities from being sold, according to the Mahers claim. Around Aug. 14, Lehman tried to sell a security held by the Mahers. That auction also failed. Four days later, the Mahers allege Lehman reinvested more than $57 million despite three more failed auctions. Lehman declined to comment on specific allegations. By late August, roughly a month after the account was opened, John Liu, the Mahers advisor-friend, received a monthly portfolio statement from Lehman detailing some of the investments. In two e-mails to Will Gourd, one of Lehman's money managers, Liu complained about the firm's choices. In the claim, the Mahers said Lehman liquidated a small portion of securities in their portfolio, but "either did not or could not liquidate a majority of them, as the auctions associated with them failed and continue to fail." At least one of the securities that could not be sold, dubbed Double Oak Trust Series 2007-1, was insured by MBIA. What that means for the Mahers is this: $286 million remains tied up in securities that cannot be sold because no one wants to buy them. But what's worse, no one is certain what the securities will be worth once the credit crisis passes. Typically, brokerage firms require investors to sign an agreement saying they will arbitrate any problems. So, it will be left to the arbitrators to decide whether Lehman did something wrong or whether the Mahers were swept up in a set of circumstances that turned what would be an ordinarily safe bet into a bad one. "It's likely Lehman is going to tell a different story," said Thel, the Fordham professor, before adding, "If the facts are as they allege, they (the Mahers) have a substantial chance of prevailing." Charles Jones, a finance professor at Columbia's Graduate School of Business, said arbitrators will take into account what was promised by Lehman and the sophistication of the Mahers. "They could be sophisticated businessmen, but that does not always translate to sophistication about investments," he said. "It will depend on a whole set of factors that are impossible for us to see as outsiders." "

murredduo Here is a thought to avoid simply walking away and having the lender foreclose. Simply give the lender the house. Have a deed prepared transferring it the lender as the new owner. Record the deed. By certified mail send the deed and the keys to the lender. Check with a real estate lawyer in RI to see if you can do that. Had it work here. The contract is if you don't pay, they can take the house --- so short-circuit it and give it to them. After you sign the deed and record it and send it, you no longer own it - the lender does and there is no one to foreclose against. (1) Thought you would qualify for the Medicare Savings Program through Medicaid - means the Medicaid program pays your Part B premium and picks up the deductibles and copays. Also your Part D (prescription plan) should have 0 premiums so long as you pick certain plans (make sure your drugs are covered by the plans) and you copays will be in the $5 or $6 range. (2) If you are getting a lump sum, paying off the credit cards and buying a small house with no mortgage is an excellent plan. (3) BUT - and here is a big 'but' - the idea of putting it solely in your wife's name (and your son ....a minor?) is not a good idea. Statistically 65-73% of people who become disabled end up divorced. The sudden poverty of disability destroys many marriages - even long term strong marriages have trouble withstanding poverty due to a spouse's disability. The better way would be to (a) Keep a life-interest in the property for you and (b) have your wife and son on the deed as the owners of the estate in the entirety interest with a reversion to you if they died before you. (That means you have the right to the property while you live and when you die, it goes to them and if you die first, it is theirs.) You really really really need to talk to an estate planning lawyer about how to title any property. If you have a life interest, no creditor will go after it -- can't sell that. If it is just tilted to you and your wife straight up and your wife is on the deed at all, they can file a lien against your interest in the new home but will have trouble foreclosing to collect on the lien because they have to give half of the money from a sale to her. If your son is on there, they only get a 3rd - not worth the trouble unless you all went to sell the house. (4) I seriously doubt that your wife can get a credit card in her name. She has not been on the mortgage and she doesn't have - and has not had - any income. She has to have a credit rating in HER name - not yours - to get a credit card. To have a credit rating that means she has had to have been on car loans or house loans to show she pays her bills. She also MUST have a source of income - your SSDI will not count for her income. About all she can get in the way of credit cards until she has an income and credit history would be 24%++ interest cards with annual fees of $75 -120 a year and credit limits of $300 -500. It will take her 4 - 5 years to even get up to a $2500 with credit limit increases. That is why not working, staying home and not having an independent financial life is a seriously bad idea for women. Something happens and they have to show a credit history or income to do something and they don't have it --- they do NOT exist in the financial world. Bottom line is she really needs to get a job -- it can be McDonalds, clerk in a gas station, retail clerk etc working part-time but work she must. If she does not work, she can not get credit for credit cards or loans. She also needs to be named on all accounts - like car payments etc (utilities aren't good enough for a credit rating). BTW having her on your accounts - 2nd card for a family member thing - does NOT get her a credit rating. The account is not in her name. Might be better to pay off the cards, keep them in your name and lock them in a drawer for emergencies. Just use them enough to keep them from getting cancelled for non-use like this month pay the electric with the card and them immediately pay off the card out of your income with the amount budgeted for electric. --- When the kids are all 18, your household size will drop to 2 people for the purposes of food stamps and a $25000 SSDI income will put you ABOVE the income limits for the Medicaid savings program and Medicaid and Food Stamps with a household of 2. (Assuming that is all straight SSDI and does not include dependent's benefits for minor kids.) Now when she is 65, imagine trying to pay for Medicare B for 2 people ($122 per person - $244 a month), Part D prescription plan ($45 a month per person -$90 per month), Medigap to cover copays but not deductibles ($135 per person -$270 per month) and the Part A and B deductibles (around $1447 per year per person - $2894 a year.) That will be $604 a month in just premiums and over $10142 for all premiums and deductibles (and not including drug copays.) That will be nearly 41% of your $25000 income leaving you only $1238 a month for food, dental & vision, clothing utilities, cars etc. Now if as I suspect that the total SSDI of $25000 includes dependents benefits for minor children - anywhere from 50% to 80% of what you are getting is for the kids - that changes when they hit 18 (or finish college at 21-22). So then when they are 18 (or until out of college at 21-22), your SSDI will probably drop to maybe $13888 -16666 a year or an average of $1272 a month. With just that income she could stay on Medicaid and you could stay in the Medicare savings program and both on Food stamps. At 62 she can draw a spousal benefit - but will take hit of around 25% less because she is not full retirement age (around 37% of what you get). At 66 she would get the full spousal benefit of 50% of what you get - and even if your SSDI drops because of the kids turning 18, her spousal benefit would send your income back up to over the limits for Medicaid, Medicare savings program and food stamps. Say she waits until age 66 to draw the spousal benefit * if the $25000 is just your SSDI and no dependents, then your combined income would be $37500 -- and you have to pay all the Medicare premiums, copays etc for both of you out of that. You are way over the income limit for Medicaid, Medicare Savings and Food Stamps of 135% of FPL for 2 people (right now $FPL is $16020 for 2 so multiple it by 1.35) * if the $25000 is, say, 65% higher than it would be because of dependents. when they are over 18 and she is 66, then your combined income would be $22727 - again above the income limits fore Medicaid, Medicare savings and food stamps --- and you have to pay all the Medicare premiums, copays etc. ($25000 divided by 1.80 = SSDI without kids + 50% of SSDI for her spousal benefit = $22727 vs Medicaid income limit of 135% FPL for 2 people of $21627) It is situations like this that cause what is called a "Medicaid divorce" so that people can keep their eligibility for Medicaid and get medical care because they can not afford the costs of other insurance. When you are planning, you have to think about how it will be in 10, 15 or 23 years. If you die before she reaches age 60 she has ZERO income. Nothing nada zip. Your SSDI will not continue except for any kid under 18 and then for the kids it would only be around 75% of what your BASE SSDI (not including extra for the kids) and are getting right now. At 60 as a widow she could get 75% of what your SSDI is (without the additional for the kids.) At 66, as a widow she would get your full base SSDI (assuming no additional for minor kids.) Right now you are at maximum income and benefits - Medicaid, food stamps, Medicare Savings Program etc --- kids leave SSDI will probably go down and she reaches the age for spousal benefits it goes up......and it can all affect whether or not you have to ante up the Medicare costs for 2 people. ANd again she needs to work if for no other reason than to stash what she makes in a retirement account for the future. If you have 2 adults and 3 minor children in the house, Medicaid cut off eligibility would be 135% of Federal Poverty Level - $28440 is FPL for 5 people. 135% = $38394. She could make $1000 -1050 a month (or $220 a weekly pay period) and not affect Medicaid & Food Stamps. That would mean $11000 or so to stick in the bank. If she does that for 22 years, you all would have saved $242,000 plus any interest. (Note her gross - not after-tax -earnings can't be anymore than that $1000-1050 in a month or Medicaid eligibility is affected for that month. If paid weekly, there will be 4 months with 5 pay periods and if paid every 2 weeks, there will be 2 months with 5 pay periods. Those are the typical pay periods for unskilled work - only kind she can get .She would just have to watch how many hours she is working a month - can't be full time) Bottom line is when you became disabled, life as you and she knew it ended -and that included the luxury of staying home with the kids and never working in a job. They can go to public school and she really needs to get a job. She is going to have to step up and get a job to help keep the family provided with electric, clothes and other basics. Living below poverty level (where you all are) is really hard. By getting a part-time job, she can ease that a lot - like increasing household net income by over 42% without effecting Medicaid and Food Stamps. Add in what would she do it if you died before she was 60 (some 16 years from now) and she only got $900 or so a month in SS benefits for the kids under 16 or got ZERO because there were no minor kids? Job - now - anything will do even stocking shelves. You are gonna need that money down the road. BTW adult kids living with you do not count in your household for figuring Federal Poverty Level.