As some of you might know, I have been looking for an apartment for damn near a year now. Maybe I was being too picky, but if you would have seen my first apartment... ...I didn't want to be too hasty. My first apartment was a tiny, completely not renovated, old apartment on the top floor of a five-story walk-up. Wow. Everytime I went grocery shopping, I had to lug the shopping cart up five flights of steps. Everytime I did laundry, same problem. It was hard. Moving in the furniture was... OMG! Wow! But I desperately needed an apartment, so when the landlord offered it to me, I jumped at the chance. I didn't think that I should "shop around", to see if I could find something nicer at the same price (or at least on a lower floor...) I just took it, and all the negatives that came with it. The kitchen and bathroom had this horrible black & white "checkerboard" tile... the white part would become so filthy, I had to mop every other day. Then, there were WATERBUGS!!!!  OMG!!! I am DEATHLY afraid of waterbugs! Not a good situation!

Now, I have two kids, and I am not planning on moving anytime soon, so I need to choose a place I can stand for years. My kids need a home that's stable, cozy, and comfortable. I now have TWO (2) places being offered to me. Yup, TWO! One is a house in the "suburbs", four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a BACKYARD (with a basketball hoop - my son is going to pass out! He is the only 7 year-old in the world who gets up on a Saturday morning and turns the TV to ESPN!!!) That one is $1,100/mo ($1,120 if I want to keep the washing machine) and electric is not included. The other is an apartment in a complex that is 3 bedrooms G&E included in the rent (which I am not sure how much it is yet, but am told it will be no more than $1,000/mo), but it is in "tha hood", as opposed to the "suburbs"...  Both are "two-fare" zones (I'll have to take a bus to the subway), so convenience is not really a determining factor... The house sounds much better, but the apartment is closer and more convenient for my mom, who is confined to a wheelchair...

Just look at that... where I once had NO OPTIONS, I now have to CHOOSE.

GOD IS GOOD, Y'ALL!!!!!