It's a Cagle Thing: Positive Thinking Day

Yes, I have been a tad bit less positive the last week or so. I have worked very hard to build good credit, after a hard time when I became disabled, as our medical system is flawed. The " Affordable Health Care " plan fails miserably in many cases, such as mine, as I fall into some black hole in their numbers.

The only issues with my credit is collections from medical bills. Bills that should not have been sent to me at all, as for those few times I had to use medical care, other than my regular check ups, were due either to emergencies, or when I had to prove to the Social Security System that I was indeed disabled. Those bills should have been paid for by either Medicaid, or Hillsborough County Health Care, as I was not working due to my disability, so, our income was clearly way under the poverty guidelines.

Still, while the hospital always seemed to get paid, the departments that were associated with them, such as the ER physicians, who bill separately, or the radiology departments , which do the same, never seemed to send the bill to the appropriate party, resulting in an unpaid bill, I did not become aware of until the credit report checks done as I was preparing to buy a home in the past month. It is too late for them to bill the correct agency, and attempting to pay these bills would actually adversely affect our credit, so, what a quandary!

All of our other bills, such as the auto loan, the small credit card, etc, and of course the ones that do not count on credit, such as utility bills or rent, do not count on credit. The home I paid for in the past, for 15 years, has been removed due to inactivity. They not only remove bad credits, over time, the good ones disappear as well.

We are just so close, and yet so far. Today, we go to see the lender we were referred to , to see if a
"referral waiver" will be accepted by USDA loans, as our scores qualify us, but, the medical collections put a " flag" on our application. Today I choose to be Positive. After all, we were told " No", but, we were told with a down payment, we could get an FHA loan. We do not have enough saved to do that, but, I had just enough knowledge and I armed myself with the power of God, to say just the right thing to our lender, to have them rethink our situation.

So, Onward. Today is the day!

Are you aware of USDA Rural Home loans? Neither was I until a good friend of mine, told me about them. I am posting a link for you to get more information. http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/single-family-housing-direct-home-loans.

That link takes you direct to the United States Department of Agriculture site for the info, and if you need a home for your family, here in the USA, this is a good start to check out for more information. I gain nothing by posting this link, but, to be helpful. Why?

Because....

So, that being said for now, and update to come, we cooked for Meals on Wheels, yesterday for 55 of our local residents. The head cook of the day was Nancy F, who chose Tuna Noodle Casserole, with peas on the side, a fresh fruit salad made with apples, bananas and pineapple. There was a dinner roll, and desserts! We came out in the middle of our Tropical Storm weather, and ensured those people in need got a good hot meal!

8 ounces cooked noodles
1 can (about 7 to 8 ounces) tuna, drained, or 2 small cans
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion chopped
1/2 finely chopped green bell pepper
1 Stalk Celery chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt or seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
buttered soft bread crumbs, or crumbled potato chips
Heat oven to 350 degrees F
Prepare a 2 quart casserole by spraying with butter cooking spray
Place the noodles into the pan and mix all in the pan, saving the bread crumbs or potato chips for the topping.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until heated through, and topping browns up a bit.

Tips:

Saute the veggies first in a small amount of butter , then add in if you prefer the veggies a bit softer. We like the crunch.

Serve as is for the main meal , or add some bread and/or a salad. Serve with another vegetable, such as broccoli or green beans .

Use another shape of pasta, as desired, such as elbow macaroni.

Use a can of chicken instead of the tuna.

You CAN use canned peas, but, I do not like mushed peas..

More when I get back from this meeting .

THE MEETING

Nothing too new to report, just had to provide a letter claiming medical hardship during the years the medical bills came along. Waiting game, again.

So, I made dinner tonight, and tried something I never made before, possibly for lack of courage! A " Blooming Onion", like the ones made by restaurants such as the Outback. Well, the only difficult part of this onion, is knowing you have to stop eating it, if you are planning to save some for your husband when he gets home from work.