Collectibles and Necessities

Causes I am Involved With

Creating awareness for causes is one of my passions, as you will see by the URL's I've listed below. My son and I have been involved with Golden Retriever Rescue since 1999. They are destructive puppies, however they make wonderful pets, especially around children. These animals have become throw away dogs here in Texas, and we have aided many Golden Retriever Groups across the US in transporting goldens to State borders to be lovingly placed in wonderful new homes throughout the US. This is a wonderful endeavor and if you are looking for a new pet, please consider chosing a rescue organization.

I am a grass roots activist. I believe in insurance and builder reform here in the State of Texas, as well as in the US. Did you know that most residential builders in this country are not licensed? On top of that, most States allow builders to use "binding arbitration" to settle problems with a defective home. This clause takes away your 1st and 7th amendment rights, and gives you limited access to legal recourse with today's builders. It would not be so bad if the arbitration firms were not owned by the builders. Buying a home is one of the biggest investments one will ever make in their lifetime, and why should we the consumer not be able to hold builders accountible for building a home in a deficient or cost cutting manner? My belief is that if a builder is honorable, and builds a good product they should not have to hide behind a binding arbitration clause in their contract. If you're buying a new home, or look to, ask the builder to strike that clause from the contract. If they won't then run. Also, a new ploy builders are adding to their contracts are releases from harm if the new home ever forms toxic mold. If it is a well built home, with the plumbing properly installed, it should not need a mold clause. Ask to have that striken as well.

Another driving force for me is Federal Mold Legislation, which is in progress, and has been introduced. With amendments, those of us with freestanding homes will have more consumer rights then we've ever had. What we have now is very little, and the only way we can change what we don't have is to speak up, and fight for laws that mandate change.

If you are interested in any of these causes that I devote a good 50% of my time to, please email me, and let me get some information to you.

Nobody wants to lose a home, much less all that you owned, loved and treasured, including your health, due to a deficiently built dwelling, like my son and I did! My son and I've been chronically ill for 10 years now due to our former "dream home" having toxic mold; which was not disclosed. Todays homeowner's warranties are about as meaningful as our home insurance policies - costly pieces of worthless paper. Let your State and Federal Legislators know that we the consumer must have more legislative protection.

My Internet store and site have been a source of peace and contentment for me; most of the time. It has become a source of creative expression where sometimes I feel I have none. I have met many wonderful people from all around the world, and love making new friends. Along the way I've even aided a few regarding toxic mold, how to spot it, treat it, and help them link health issues they have as a result of exposure. This has given me a sense of purpose, while living in limbo for 56 months, since we abandoned our home due to toxic mold, and have been tied up in litigation.

Why Us?

The court case was dismissed by an "old" (and he was) judge who said it had been on the docket too long! Was justice served? Absolutely not. Do I continue to fight this particular case? No, I've dropped it as on 04/12/2008 my son and I will have lost our home 7 years ago. We both had to move on and not live in the past. We finally bought our own home in May 2007 after moving 8 times in 6 years!

We lived in limbo for six years.  I gave the "toxic" house back to the bank after 4.5 years of waiting to go to a jury trial.  The house was sold at auction to a buyer with non-disclosure. I know that the bank did not have the home remediated; thus I worry about this family of 5 being exposed to what we were exposed to.

Two house payments broke me financially. It cost me $140K to hold onto that house, for litigation purposes according to my former attorney, for 4 1/2 yrs. which is a travesty. The trial was set for the end of April 2006, which ironically was five years and two weeks after we abandoned our home and everything we owned. The waiting was hell. I have been chronically ill for 10 years in August 2008. My 19 year old son for 9 years in May. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in October of 2005 after an auto accident. Another interesting malady to live with! 

This knocked the wind out of my sails. Apparently my body was prime for such a condition, and my body suffered a "blunt force trauma" in that accident; which apparently triggered it. So now, I'm chronically ill, and live in pain. I cannot take steroids thus will have to learn to live with it. Hopefully physical therapy will help me figure out how to lead a semi-normal life again. I had gotten use to being sick however smelling like Ben Gay is not my preference of fragrances. I prefer Cartier Parfum! Remember toxic mold is to be taken very seriously as it can be lethal. I now live with 3 life sentences where there is little or no treatment and no cure.  "We" have more character then we're ever going to need!

All I can say is that G-d must have chosen us, as my son is his Mom's son and we both have voices! Thus I have come to terms that I was suppose to be using my knowledge and voice for issues of great importance for all of us.

My Motto

Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off of your goal.

Favorite Quotes

Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. Harriet Tubman 

Hobbies: Working in my yard - that's my zen. I read a lot, love to watch movies, enjoying my teen for his last 1 1/2 year at home. Loving on our pets, we currently have two goldens, a doberman and a black lab. To round out our household we also have a black Persian cat with attitude, a loud mouth Conure and a cockatiel. I am on the internet a lot and do research, networking, etc.
What I like to collect: Books, Lladro, Fine Art, Crystal cats and elephants with the trunks raised up!
What I like to sell: Books, Lladro, Fine Art, Crystal, Southwest Decor, WW Posters, etc.
What I like to buy: Books, Lladro, Fine Art, Crystal cats, elephants, WWi and WWII posters and Bing & Grondahl.