Pay No Attention To The Man (Woman) Behind The Curtain!

Hi!

My name is Diane Forster-Dennis and I am the webmistress for this website (and no doubt that I dated myself with the above headline which is a line from "Wizard of Oz"). :)




But my greatest achievement is being the proud mom of my two wonderful children, my daughter Shelby who is now 20 and my son Cameron who is almost 18 (guess they're not really children anymore!). :)




I've been doing my construction-related websites ...

• http://www.thecontractorsgroup.com


• http://www.download-construction-forms.com


• http://www.construction-business-forms.com

... since December 1999, and I've added a couple non-construction-related websites over the years.

• http://www.aspergers-and-pdd.com


• http://www.history-of-the-titanic.com

My Background...

I am told that people will find my story interesting and that I should put it here. Well, this page is it. :) I am very long winded though so my "in a nutshell" version is still quite a bit of reading. Anytime you feel you want to get back to what you were doing, please hit the back button in your browser window and the page you were on should be where you land. :)

Okay, that being out of the way...

We were licensed suspended-ceiling contractors in Southern California for many years (I was born and raised in Southern California). I was often asked for advice by other small contractors about how to do various things, usually paperwork, and how to get through various "scrapes".

That and they always wanted to know where to find the construction legal forms that contractors need in their businesses.

I was told often that I should write a book because of all the scrapes we'd been through; we had/have quite a story to tell.

But I figured a website might be better because it would be available 24/7 and every time I update it you won't have to buy an updated copy like if it were a book.

I had created my construction forms in my computer for our own company so I set up my website so that my visitors could:

• Buy downloadable construction contract legal forms


• Read free construction office management tutorials


• Obtain free advice and support for their construction businesses


• Receive free answers from top construction attorneys, employment attorneys, and insurance brokers


• etc.

Because we had such trouble finding good employees, we ended up closing our own ceiling business company (C and D Acoustics out of Victorville CA) and my husband went to work for a big ceiling business in San Diego (3 to 4 hour commute each way from and to home) while I ran my websites from home.

He had scored an absolute dream job: cushy office; high pay; excellent benefits; incredible retirement and bonuses; company-sponsored events (like a big, really neat picnic they put on for their employees and families); dressing nice instead of having to wear T-shirt, jeans, and work boots (not that I don't love seeing a man dressed that way); no more installing ceilings or even being on the jobsite directing others how to install a ceiling; etc. and our goal was to eventually move down there.

But there were other things in store for us...

Our kids...

By running my websites from home, I was available to our kids (they were still in school) while helping pay the bills.

Our son (10 years old) was falling apart emotionally (daily - hourly even - terrible, terrible melt downs).

There'd always been something "different" about him for his entire life (and he suffered countless very severe illnesses, one he almost died from) and when he "graduated" from elementary school to middle school everything exploded in regards to his mental/emotional health.

He always desperately needed rigidity (transition was horrendous for him, and still is tough for him to deal with) but with having to move from class to class through the day and having a different teacher every 30-45 minutes, his rigidity and sameness that he so desperately needed wasn't there for him. Without the "sameness" that he needed day in and day out he was falling apart.

In addition, Curtis (my husband and the kids dad) wasn't home when Cameron and Shelby woke up in the morning and they were often already in bed asleep when he got home. Our entire way of living had changed. We had to work so much around Curtis's San Diego job that it added to Cameron's emotional distress because not only did he lose the rigidity and sameness at school, he lost it at home as well.

My husband left his San Diego job to find a job closer to home so that we could have the rigid lifestyle that Cameron needed in order to function. But he opted to not get another job so I became our sole financial support.

I continued to run the websites while doing everything I could to try to help our son, and our daughter who was now on the back burner.

I don't remember at this moment if it was before Cameron was diagnosed with Asperger's or after he was diagnosed that he attempted suicide, pulled a butcher knife on us another time, and made statements to a police officer that he was angry and wanted to hurt someone (but he didn't know who).

He was on several medications, in and out of psychiatric wards and seeing psychiatrists, and he was bullied mercilessly both in our neighborhood and at school. His life was absolutely miserable, he was the most unhappy child I had ever known and I didn't know what to do for him and the specialists couldn't tell me. It sometimes got so bad that we had to involve the police.

It was a middle-school psychologist who finally mentioned Asperger's Syndrome (Autism). I ran home and googled it and sure enough it was like someone was living our life and writing about our experiences. We were dealing with everything that I was reading.

Even after Cameron was officially diagnosed by a psychiatrist, still many times we were rebuffed by the school. The school and district started harassing us, verbally and on paper, with false accusations. This was all because we refused to stand around and let him get beat up on like he was and treated badly by teachers because they thought he was a "problem kid", etc.

Eventually, one of Cameron's psychologists told us that maybe it was time to throw in the towel and move. He said that there's no failure in standing back, recognizing that even though you've given it your all you're still not getting anywhere ... and then find another place to live.

Our life takes quite a turn...

We listed our house in mid-2006 (I loved that house and the backyard and still today I miss it incredibly, and I won't lie, I even fantasize about being able to live in it again some day...); sold it in Sept 2006; closed escrow in November 2006; piled 2 kids and 2 dogs, luggage, cooler, etc. into the truck and drove on up here to Whidbey Island Washington ... sight unseen.

We were going to visit in the summer of 2006 but then Cameron snapped the bones in his arm and had to be re-casted every few days for a couple months to line the two bones back up. So that ruled out our planned visit here.

So we bought a house here in Washington through emails and pictures and my friend walking through the houses with our agent. I told the kids that we were modern-day pioneers. :) We picked Whidbey Island because my friend had lived here for two years and since we had no clue where we were moving to, she said "move here" so we decided that it might as well be Whidbey. :)

If it weren't for my websites, we never could have made the move. Because of SBI!/SiteSell I was able to "carry my job with me" (because it's an Internet-based business). I didn't have to find a job when we got here, and I was able to take care of my customers during the entire move. :) SBI!/SiteSell is what has allowed me to be home with my kids for 17 years (since Cameron was 15 months old and came down with Kawasaki Disease).

As it turns out, it was the absolute best thing we could have done for the kids, for both of them. If we hadn't have been able to make the move I don't know that Cameron would still be living at home. That's how important it was that we be able to do this and if I didn't have my websites through SBI! then I know we wouldn't have been able to swing it.

Cameron still has his Asperger's/Autism and always will but he is improving. Shelby came out of her shell and has become a confident, beautiful young woman. And I am plugging along like everyone else trying to make ends meet. :)

Our Future...

After 20 years of marriage Curtis moved out in October 2010 and started a new life with another woman and her son. Our divorce should be finalized sometime early 2012.

It is again thanks to SBI!/SiteSell that I'm able to, so far, afford to keep my family (two "kids", one dog, three (3!!) cats, and me) afloat all while being available to help my kids through this incredibly difficult time. :)

A typical day for us is that Shelby leaves for her school at 7:00 am, Cameron leaves at 8:00 am for his school, and then I'm jumping onto my computer to work.

I usually end up working on and off up until 10:00 pm - more off than on when Cameron gets home from school at 2:30 and then Shelby gets home at 7:30.

So that's me and my family in a nutshell. A very big nutshell but compared to the whole story it's a nutshell indeed. :)

In Closing...

I incorporated my business in January 2011 so I am now Monk and DBug, LLC. Monk = Monkey (my daughter's nickname) and DBug = DoodleBug (my son's nickname). :)

The sales of the downloadable forms are what have allowed me to continue, for the past 11 years, to provide an unlimited amount of information; free support; and free answers from top construction and employment attorneys and construction liability insurance brokers for questions that my readers have.

I certainly hope that you'll give me a chance to be your provider of construction and other business-related forms. And if nothing else, drop me a line when you have a question about construction.

My California construction attorney (David Barnier) will answer questions for California for free; my California employment attorney (Christopher Olmsted) will answer questions for California for free; my Wisconsin construction attorney (Mark Hinkston) will answer questions for Wisconsin for free; and for all other states that I don't have attorneys for yet, I have affiliated with a company that has attorneys available to answer questions (for all 50 states).

And my super A-#1 California construction liability insurance and bonds broker (Gary Oltmanns) will answer questions free of charge as well.

These attorneys and insurance brokers were our attorneys and insurance brokers when we were contractors in California and I've maintained close contact with all of them since we moved.

If you have any questions or need any help with anything, please email me here.

And now I have to get back to work... :)

Have a great day!
Diane

Monk and DBug, LLC - TheContractorsGroup.com
866-480-7105 fax

Mailing Address (which is also my home address):
555 NW Fairhaven Drive
Oak Harbor WA 98277
760-490-2557
diane@thecontractorsgroup.com