After some great advice

Hello there,
After some great advice, and some self control. I am going to continue to get this blog right. I have blogged in the past however it was never anything substantial as this. I am adding a pic....of my house. The after pic. When the job was done. I will be adding a photo of my self as soon as I can. I might as well start out being honest, or none of you would like to read my blog, and I feel that if I want to get to know my neighbors, HONESTY is the best policy... I shouldn't hide cause well I am here and that is all there is too it.
So with that, I will start by saying My name is Stacy. I have 4 children and a husband. I just bought a house (end of July) on 4th St North. After literally blood, sweat and tears and a diamond (which I believe in some where in the mud, after skim coating) this is our house....Some of the pictures are like crap...but it was taken by my cell phone, we lost the camera card with the good photos.
We hired a contractor and subcontractors and after 3 months our house was done. With any house that is yours the work is never really done is it? I am new to the Hawthorne Neighborhood and well to be honest have been scared of this area for a very long time. I pick up people via my church and didn't like coming thru here. However, my view has changed, when we were looking for the home we wanted to buy, we noticed all the houses that were boarded up and said " What could possibly go wrong there?" We didn't see the prositution like we had, or the drug dealers like it was, altho I know that they are still here mostly on 22nd and Lyndale we bought here.
Since we bought this place I have met one prostitute that was standing on the corner of 4th and 22nd, (while my kids were playing out side and johns were approaching) I walked up to her and told her like this, " It is bad enough that you are disrespecting yourself in this manner, but, your disrespecting me and mine too. If you do not get off my block and all this is mine, I will call the police and I will continue to call until you are gone, that goes for your pimp too!!!" Needless to say I haven't seen either of them since.

Also, so if any of you have been wondering...The house next to me is complete, and it will be a rental. They hope to have new tenants in there by Jan. 1, 2009. The owners "assure" me that they have very strict policies and if there is any trouble from any tenant, not to hesitate to call. They still haven't given me a business card as of yet. As soon as I know if there is some one in there I will let you all know.

Until our Paths meet again, Stacy