UNC Tarheels

Tonight my son and I watched Carolina beat Virginia Tech in their gym. It was a good game and Hansbrough finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Next they entertain the Duke Blue Devils in Chapel Hill on Sunday. I can't wait! Isn't YouTube the best? Check out this video, It's awesome!!

How to Build Credit--When You Have None!

This is just a note to let you have some incite into how I built my girlfriends credit score up. She is a bit younger than me and we have been together for four years. She did not have any credit at all at that point. When we got serious in our relationship and as things progressed with us, I decided to do something about her credit. She ,of course, could have eventually gotten credit on her own just be applying for it. However, I think I read somewhere about an easier way. I have had a decent credit score for some years now(not always, I learned somewhat-lol) and have been very faithful in paying them on time. I just had too, too much debt that accumulated over time! Anyway, I added her as an authorized credit user on one of the cards that I had for a long time and that had a high credit limit. She received her own card and everything, but she never used it. That action alone established her with some credit history, and eventually she took on two more cards. I then took her name off of my account as a user. By the way, I don't want her to go on the path as a "bad debt" accumulator , so I hope that she will stop there. Right now we cant afford the debt we have! Neither one of rarely use our cards right now, but we hold on to them because of me not having a job.One of her credit card companies gives her monthly credit scores and she is right at a score of 700. Also with this years tax refund, I paid an extra $200 to her two cards--that already have low credit lines. The plan was to pay them off, but we need some of the money just to pay bills.Last year I paid off a card and the rest of my car loan. It was still gratifying to pay off that much on her credit cards and hopefully her score will jump up alot more! I cant see any reason why we cant get her score up into the 800's! Well, that's how I established her credit! You just have to remember to not be like me and let your debt get out of control. A cash advance here and one there and paying utilities, and insurance, and groceries on your cards will certainly add up--Trust me!!!

March 4th

For those of you that might not know, I am currently unemployed and I am kind of a stay at home Dad right now. It's not what I want necessarily, but it is the situation I find myself in since my girlfriend is currently working and I am not. I keep my son Ryan Parker Jarrett, age 3 on April 7th, everyday and try to keep the house clean,job search,blog, and take care of the dogs,etc.
Today I am excited because Ryan and I went to sign him up for soccer at the local YMCA. He will play in the 3 and 4 year old age group. He will probably be the youngest kid out there since he will not technically be 3 for another month.At this age, it will all be just for fun and to introduce him to the sport. He has had a soccer goal since like 2 Christmases ago. You should see how good he already is scoring goals! I am excited for him and he is already looking forward to playing and making new friends!
After that we went to work out at our gym, The Rush. Well he goes to childcare, while I go work out!They have childcare with a two hour limit. It's nice to be able to take him with me and have the convenience of them watching him. He loves it too! He gets to slide, color, and play with other kids. I have been sticking with working out and I am usually up there 5 to 6 times a week! Still trying to get in shape!

Joe Montana - Greatest Quarterback Ever!

I just wanted to post something about my favorite quarterback growing up. Joe Montana is arguably the greatest QB of all time!!

In Memory of our Mother Elaine/ & Granny Brisson

This was a poem that I half wrote and pulled some from other sources. I put it together to read at my Mom's funeral. It definitely something fitting for my Granny as well. This is for both of their memories. I love them both!



God saw you getting tired, and a cure was not to be,
so He put His arms around you and whispered, "Come to me."
With tearful eyes we watched you, and saw you pass away,
and although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best!

I find an old photograph
and see your smile,
As I feel your presence again,
I am feeled with warmth,
and my heart remembers love.

I remember who you used to be,
the laughter we shared.
I ask the Lord for wisdom
that I might understand,
Just why the death of my Mom
was included in His plan.

I found there is:
No more sadness or sorrow.
No more heartache or pain.
No more Earthly hurt or harm
Because she's resting in God's arms.

And though we can't touch Mom again
till Earth and Heaven are one,
Know that everyone who met her,
especially her three sons,
Loved her very, very much!
We could never forget you!
Mom, I love and miss you!

Have You Lost a Loved One?

My mom passed away in May 2003 at the age of 47 when I was only 29, and my grandma passed away last year-August 2008 at the age of 76. Those were the two most important women in my life, so to say that I missed them would be an understatement. My Dad's side of the family were never close to me or in my life until my Mom passed away. I also have two brothers, and without them I would not what to do with myself at times. I was really depressed and distraught after my Mom's death. It took a long time to get over that and to get readjusted to life. We did not always get along and I held major resentment against her for the way I felt she treated me at times. Not treating me with the love and support that I felt I needed. Honestly it felt like I was kept around sometimes just so she could keep receiving a welfare check on me, and when I was too old for her to receive the checks anymore, she didn't want me around. But she was still my M0m, and I loved her very much. My dad had been an alcoholic all of my life, and he married another woman before I was 4 or 5 and had more kids with her. My brother has always been closer to him. He even went to live with him for a few years when he was about 14 or 15. We would get to know each other a little better when my Mom passed away in 2003. I handled all the funeral arrangements. That was hard in itself! She died with no insurance and I had to scramble to pay for the costs of the funeral. Anyway, my Dad came to the funeral and then his brother came to my Mom's old house when I was trying to clean the place up and sell some things. My uncle owned his own business and I eventually would go to work for him. That meant seeing my Dad on a daily basis. By the way, Dad had stopped drinking for a couple of years. He still chain smoked and sipped on non alcoholic beer all day. Essentially still drinking, because it still has a very small amount of alcohol in them. None the less he was trying, and that impressed me all in itself. A year or so later though, he would be back to being a full time beer drinker. I had started to think that maybe God had some kind of plan for things working out this way. You know over the years I didn't think about him that much. I was not overly obsessed like I have seen some people are on talk shows, etc. with not having a parent in their life. When our paths crossed though, I found that I had started to have hope for him. Now that my Mom was gone, it wouldn't be so bad to have a Dad right? It of course would not work out.I think that it just reinforced some of the negative impressions I had of him and maybe gave me some new ones.
Back to my Mom. During that time I just tried to follow my Aunt and Uncle's advice. My Aunt told me that I would probably never fully get over it. She was right, if I hear an old song that Mom liked for example , it makes me think of her. The other advice they gave me was just to put myself into my work and to keep moving. Not dwell on it so much! That's what I did, I worked my butt off at their company for the next couple of years. Now I wonder if their advice was somewhat self serving as well, but regardless it helped get me past it. I made a lot of money at the time as well. Money has always been a big motivator for me, and I liked having it!
My grandma (granny) had always been like a second Mom to me, especially after my Mom passed. I have to admit that I was a little mad at her for various reasons after the funeral. Eventually I would come around and get over it! I loved her very much and she provided love, hugs, and support that I needed even as an adult. I always told her that she could live to be 100 when she would have various complaints about old age and being sick. But God took her when He was ready! I would love to still have her and my Mom here! But with Granny, at least she got to live a long life of 76! I love them both, and God bless them! Grandaddy is still alive, he just turned 81. He has never been that social towards the family.He has had his good days though at times. He himself coincidentally is an alcoholic to this day. He like to be social at beer joints--lol--from what I hear!
I just wanted to tell a little about myself and this topic is something that has greatly influenced my life. I know that many people out there have experienced loss in their life and have dealt with it in different ways. In my next posting I want to share something I wrote for my Mom at her funeral. Granny always loved it and said she wanted a copy of it. I never did give her one! Although I spoke at Granny's funeral, I didn't read this poem there. It is fitting for her as well, so I thought that I would honor both of them by posting the poem/ letter.

Fox News-Immigrants Environmentally Dangerous

Let me start by saying that one of my biggest pet peeves is littering. I can not stand to see trash on the sides of our road, highways, or anywhere other than the dump or a trashcan. Littering is a huge issue in America that has spread to our lakes, rivers, and even our oceans.Can people not wait till they stop to throw the trash away properly? Well today while I was on the treadmill at the gym, Fox News had the nerve to run the story on T.V. that illegal immigrants are trashing our border and thus are creating an environmental hazard. Well, I must say that they are guilty of leaving tons of garbage at the border--as evidenced by the T.V. footage they showed to back up their statement. Don't get me wrong! I am not taking the side of the illegals to be here or the side of legal American citizens, etc. What I want to point out is that a lot of Americans are guilty of littering up our states, no different than any illegals. So if Fox wants to run a story, why can't they include what the people of this country are doing as well? Neither group's actions are any more environmentally hazardous than the other's. Let's all just stop the littering and pointing of the almighty finger!