Purple Elephant....

Purple Elephants....

Not quite what to think about that one huh? Its a long gruesome story that I wont go into all the details of. Maybe.

After Cami was born, I was diagnosed with post pregnancy high blood pressure. Oh the joys of that. So yes I am on medication for it. Nothing too serious but enough that I cant have certain things. So the topics of birth control kept coming up and I was told strictly that I cant have one with a hormone as it will raise my blood pressure. So I was thinking, what else is out there besides something made from latex and could pop. Not what I wanted at the time. Also not that I ever wanted to have sex again after what she did to me but there was always that chance that I might. But I didnt want any more kids. And I wasnt mentally ready to be permanently fixed.

So my doctor suggested Mirena. I did the research for over a year because I had heard all of the horror stories about an IUD. But this wasnt like those old ones from the 70s. This was something much different. So I checked it all out with people who have it and also went through all the sites I could find on the internet. I really couldnt find too much wrong with it so I went ahead with it. It went in fairly smoothly with just some minor discomfort for about an hour or so. It should be removed in 5 years. Ok. No big deal.

I didnt have any problems with Mirena at all. Those five years came and went and it was time for removal. But the scary thing is, the doctor that inserted it wont be the one to remove it. I had to change doctors. But I already posted about that so Im not going through that story again.

So I made the appointment with the new doctor and went it to be evaluated. Had the annual exam and we talked about all the options available to me. He also suggested something called Essure but, once again, Im not mentally ready to be "fixed". So we went with getting another Mirena inserted. The next appointment was for that.

That appointment came and I went in thinking that this was going to be an easy process. Remove the old and insert the new and send me home with some pain meds. So up in the stirups I went. Crap, I think I forgot to shave my legs that morning. Oh well. He will just have to deal with it. I did leave my socks on because those stirups are cold. Even with the pads on them.

He went in for a look and then asked me how long it was in there. I told him the normal five years like it said. He then told me that there might be a problem. Thats when all the bells and whistles went off and I started to panic. But Im not showing my panic because right about then, the pain hit me like a brick wall. This was not going to be an easy deal like I had thought. Breathe. Long deep breaths. Nope, the pain is still there.

He said that because of my difficult pregnancy and delivery of my daughter, my uterus became misshapen. Somehow the lining grew around the Mirena and now it is lodged into the wall of my uterus. Oh this is not good. He went through each step with me because he knew it wasnt going to feel good. Ya know, he was right. It was hurting like hell. He had to peel away the lining from the device slowly. In one area he had to cut the thing out of the uterus. Ouch would be a minor word for it and it wasnt even in my vocabulary that day. But I kept quiet as to not scare away my new doctor. My old doctor was used to hearing what I had to say. Although I dont swear much, I do when Im in pain. I have a very high tolerance to pain too. So when I said that this hurt, trust me, it was screaming hurt.

He finally got it out and then sat to talk to me about what to do next. A pain killer shot would be nice. But then again, I would take any sort of shot right now. Whiskey was also an option. I didnt think he would have any handy at the office though. But one doesnt know that. It was worth a try and no he didnt have any.

The only option at the moment was to allow the area to heal before he did anything else. So he inserted a shaped balloon into my uterus to allow the area to heal and to reshape it in the process. He told me that we could try this again in a month to make sure that everything is back in working order. He also offered the Essure again to make sure that this doesnt happen again. I informed him again that I just wasnt ready for that. Im too young but I also dont want any more kids. Its my mental state. Its a female thing. Im not ready to call it quits. Weird, I know.

So he sent me home with some pain meds and a balloon in my uterus. So the joke went out that I was now pregnant with a balloon animal and my friends were making comments about a purple elephant or a pink poodle. Even a blue puppy and a dragon were thrown in there. I had to wait the month out and then call the doctor when my "friend" came to visit me and schedule something for a few days later.

So all month long I was feeling bloated with that damn thing inside me. I didnt overly exert myself for fear of it popping. I knew that wasnt going to happen but with my luck, I wasnt taking the chance. I felt miserable when "the time came" and it was worse than normal. Bloated and cramped. This sucks majorly. But I was on the mend and hoped that something good would happen soon. I think that might be short lived though. Nothing good comes out of having something ripped from your uterus.

So today was the appointment to have the balloon removed. I was up all night last night worrying about this. If there was going to be a major problem again, then I would consider the Essure just to be done with this whole crap. But that would also leave me with the real reason I needed birth control in the first place. I really needed it for regulation. So going permanent wouldnt stop that from coming and also wouldnt regulate me. This is so damn frustrating. The female body is so screwed up. Why cant we humans be more like seahorses. Not a question but more of a statement. We make eggs and the male has the uterus. But then again, the human male would never survive childbirth. They whine too much.

So I went to the doctor and sat in the waiting room. The clock ticking down was pissing me off because I just wanted to get it done and over with. The nurse came out to tell me that she was sterilizing everything and it would be a few more minutes. So I read through a few more magazines. I was also hungry and my tummy was growling. Bill had taken me there because I knew there was no way I was driving after this. Cami had the day off from school so she was there with her DS and she was being well behaved. I was just nervous. I wasnt sure what was going to happen this time.

After about a half hour, she called me in and brought me to the room. She took my vitals and talked to me about what they were going to do. Apparently the doctor had changed his mind about what he wanted to do and included the camera to go in and see what was up before he did anything else. Ok, I can deal with that. Ive had that done before and I knew this wasnt going to feel too well. But its what he recommended and I knew he was right.

So he put in the clamps and opened up my inner being for the world to see. Yeah that must have been impressive huh? Hey, I gotta have something to laugh at here. Oh right, laughing still hurts. So anyways, he put the camera in and told me to take a deep breath and then exhale because I was going to feel some slight discomfort. Slight? I beg to differ honey. That wasnt slight at all. But I tried what he told me and ended up holding my breath. So he let it sit there for a minute or two until the slight discomfort settled. It was feeling like my ass was filled with 5-alarm chili and exploding through my stomach. Seriously. It felt like severe intestinal cramping. Like I needed to use the toilet and it was going to be really soon. So of course your muscles tighten from the feeling and that sort of makes it all worse.

Then he said for me to turn my head and check things out. I could see what I looked like on the camera. Good gawd. Yeah thats what I wanted to see. Oh look, its my cervix. And the camera is moving. And we go through the cervix and into the uterus. This is like a really sick amusement park ride. You know, the ones where you watch it all on the screen and the seats move. Well my seat isnt moving and this is just way too weird. But cool at the same time.

So he moved the camera all around to make sure there was no scarring. He went up one tube and then went up the other. It was all in full color too on a nice Sony TV. What a show. So you know I had to make the comment about putting it on YouTube. But of course that was not going to happen. It was really cool to look inside though. I had never seen the inside of one before. Let alone my own. So now I know what it looks like and it did look comfy in there. Like a soft pink pillow. But it was also cool to see the fluids moving in there too. Not blood but just .... hmmm... how do I put this... Like water. Nothing gross and slimy. Just really cool to see. But it was all pink and soft and comfy.

Now that he took some pictures with the camera to put in my file, he felt confident that all was well and very healthy in there. Thats a good thing right? Yep, I agree. So now he needs to take the camera out. I know this isnt going to feel too well so I brace for it. Im not supposed to because that tightens up all the muscles. And the uterus is a muscle. So the slight discomfort thing is going to happen again. Pulling it out felt like my ribs were coming with it. The thing is, its not really a pain but more of a big cramp. Like the pain with a stomach virus. Like you feel when constipated. Its the only way I can describe it. I gave birth to a 12lb kid so this is nothing like that. But some local pain killers would have been nice.

Now he has to insert the new Mirena in there. This will be yet another tube going in and coming back out. But at least he was quick about it this time. Yeah it hurt and yeah I felt that slight discomfort again. I should tell him that he needs some new wording on this. There is no such thing about this slight discomfort thing. There is nothing slight about it at all. Its a big discomfort. Huge, in fact. Not slight in the least. But at least its over. Now I need to figure out how to sit up. He wanted me to lay down for a little while but that wasnt going to happen. I wasnt feeling like laying down at all. To do that would have made me feel worse. I cant lay on my back. So they helped me to sit up and I was told to breathe for a little while before getting up to walk. I agreed and sat there for a few minutes while the nurse went to get me some motrin. She gave me four. I wanted about five more but she said no. I tried.

So I got up and got dressed and sat back down in the chair for a while. I wasnt dizzy or anything but I wanted to use the bathroom. I didnt want to risk getting locked in there again so I opted to wait til I got home. It wasnt urgent or anything but that feeling of the cramp was still there and I thought that maybe using the bathroom would help relax the muscles in there. He then came back in to check on me and told me that he will be giving me some antibiotics to take and to come back in two weeks for a followup. Not a problem.

I gathered up my things and headed to the nurses desk for my script and to make the next appointment. I set that all up and he came out to ask me if I was still ok. I was but I wanted to just go home. He said to call him if I needed anything more or if things got worse. Not a problem there either. So I did what I needed to do and then made the slow trek to the car. Of course I have a sports car so I have to slide down in low and that bothered me a little. Of course I felt every bump on the way home and tried to just breathe through it. The Mirena part wasnt the pain, it was the removal of the balloon and the camera that did that to me. It was already sore before the Mirena went in.

When I got home, I immediately put on my ratty old sweat pants that are three sizes too big and laid down in bed. My daughter made me a sammich to eat and she was just wonderful. I love my baby so much. I slept for a couple of hours while she watched TV in bed with me. It was nice to cuddle her and for her to cuddle me. She knew I wasnt feeling well and she took care of me. I did get up for something to eat a little while ago and I might lay back down again. But the best thing for me is to move around and get the muscles to loosen up a bit. I am feeling better now.

Oh and it wasnt a purple elephant or a pink giraffe. It turned out to be just an orange balloon party hat. He he he...

Obsession Part 3

Here is where it gets a little interesting. This particular stop was one of the places I had called earlier about a trunk. She had one advertised and when I called she told me that a man was there for it. But she then told me that she had another one that she might be willing to part with. So I figured that I would make this stop to see what it was. The original one she had was still there. Apparently the man didnt want that type. It was a black metal one that would go ont he back of an old car. Not what I was looking for either. The other one she had was a large metal one that was an ugly color green. But it was clearly marked that it came from Italy. How interesting but not interested. I want an old wooden one. So we bought some books for Cami there and moved on the the next one.

On my little list of sales, I did have a couple of places that were near the final trunk that also advertised trunks for sale. But we still had a lot of time before going to get the brown one. So we hit a few more sales and then moved south. I decided to hit those two first before any of the others. The first one was on a long back road way out in the middle of nowhere. We pulled up to a small house in the weeds and parked the Blazer. Immediately a grey trunk caught my eye. I went over and looked at it and took out the cash to buy it on the spot. It was then taken to the Blazer and locked inside. The trunk was in excellent condition. Tray inside and very clean. There were two old ladies there and they told me that the trunk once belonged to their brother and it was in his attic for many many years. These women were so fun to talk to and we looked at other things they had to sell. I picked up a couple of other items and Kim did as well. But what was interesting was that one of the ladies told me that a man was there at about 7am to get the trunk. She said he was there specifically for that. But being that the sale didnt start til 9am, they told him no early birds and sent him on his way. He said he would be back later for it. Well too late for him because its mine now.

Off we went back down that back road towards the second sale in that area. It was about five more miles down another road. But this one was a multi family so there was sure to be something there. I asked about the trunk that was advertised and the man told me that another man was there about half an hour ago to buy it. He also told me that it wasnt in the best of shape and needed a lot of work. But the man took it anyway. He said that he had to go back to another place to pick one up. Hmmm. I think I got that one first. Wont he be surprised. But my thoughts earlier were now confirmed. There was someone going around grabbing at them all. I have no idea what the big deal was though.

But I was pretty darn happy right about now. I have a trunk. A nice one that wont need a lot of work. The canvas was in pretty good shape. The inside was clean. The tray needed to be fixed a little but nothing that some glue couldnt do. I was satisfied. But I still have the brown one as well. I patted the envelope in my pocket because I knew that what I wanted was going to happen.

We decided to go to lunch. We were all hungry and wanted a bathroom bad. We were going to go to McDonalds but thought that Subway was a better choice when you are out on the road. McDonalds always seems to either sit in your stomach like a rock or it makes you want to constantly have to use the bathroom. In not so nice a way though. So Subway was the choice.

After that it was time to head over to get my brown trunk. We pulled up to the front of the house and there was a man there mowing the lawn. He asked if I was who I am and I said yes. He then went inside and came out with the trunk. It was in near perfect condition. The canvas was clean. The handles were original and strong. He carried it by the handles. The inside was clean. He said that it was his wifes aunts trunk and that they were using it for about 10 years or so. I handed him the cash and he handed me some rope. This trunk would be going up on the roof of the Blazer. I felt bad for it though. I didnt want anything to happen to it so far from home. But thats about all we could do. I knew I should have brought a blanket with me.

By the time we finished strapping the trunk down, the lady pulled up and came over to talk to me. She told me that she is happy that her aunts trunk will be going to a good home. I assured her that nothing bad would happen to it. Then she told me that a man was there to buy the trunk soon after I had originally called. She told him that the trunk was sold and he was then offering higher prices. She knew something wasnt right about it all so she hung up on him. I told her that she made a good choice because who knows what would have happened to it. This man obviously has something he is doing with all these trunks. Im still not understanding why though. The resale on them isnt all that high unless you are ripping them apart to restore them. And that takes a huge amount of time and work. Especially for that many trunks. I just dont get it.

So now I have three trunks and Im happy. More than happy. Im beyond thrilled. And these latest two dont require really any work to be done on them. That makes it what I wanted in the first place. One I could just clean up and put my stuff away in. And that is exactly what I did. They now sit in my spare room with things in them. The small one is out in my dining room and I know I have some work to do on that one. But that blog will come later when I actually start that process.

But my yard sale travels werent over yet. After we headed for home, I said that there was one more place that I wanted to go to. This one advertised music equipment. Remember that my daughter plays the guitar and the violin. I was curious as to what sort of stuff these people would have. I was more interested in a music stand to be exact.

We pulled up to the house and something felt odd. Not a bad odd, but a good odd. Like I was supposed to come to this place. I get these feelings now and then and this one was a sure thing. We went to the door and a lady let us all in. There was a man standing in the kitchen area. This was an estate sale. Everything goes. The lady informed us that they were moving to Florida and wouldonly be taking the bare minimum. A few keepsakes would be kept and they were already on the way there with the moving van. Everything else that was left in the house would be gone.

So we made our way to the kitchen first. I recognized the man. I didnt say anything at first because he was talking to other people that were there to buy stuff. So I wandered around for a bit before I heard my name. It was the man asking if I was who I was. Well of course I am. Then it hit me who he was. My former neighbor when my mom and stepdad had the house had a band. This was one of the guitarists from the band. Skip has long passed away a few years ago but it was nice to see his old guitars and friends. It was a sad moment but we soon turned it into some happy memories. Cami asked him if she could hold some of the guitars and he let her. They talked about music and how shes learnign to play. She noticed a music stand and asked if it was for sale. He told her that he is impressed with her love for music and then handed it to her and told her to take good care of it.

Now it was time to go home. It was an exhausting day and I was ready for a nap. I succeeded in getting two really nice trunks in great condition. Im happy and very pleased.

Obtained another....

Sept 30

What a messed up day. Its started out just like any other day. A struggle in the morning rush to get out of the house and to get to school on time. Im not sure what it is but Im going to blame the ADHD and ODD on her bitchiness. It was at full swing this morning though. But it set my mood for the day and I was so drained.

I went to class tonight and the funniest thing happened. I know I havent posted up my posts on the trunk adventures yet. I will get to that. More than likely, they will go up before this one will but I had these thoughts and I wanted to get them out of my head.

My friend Colette is a gem. She really is. Anywho, I walk into the shop and Kathleen tells me that Colette wants to talk to me about a trunk. He he he. So I told her to have her call me and we will chat. And sure enough, right then and there, the phone rings and its her. She said she was on her way over with a surprise. I get excited over surprises and also the fact that it is a trunk.

I looked into the back of the van and what do I see? A leather covered dome top trunk in decent condition. Nothing that some saddle soap, a little glue and some steel wool cant clean up. The inside is wonderful with a full lithograph and all. I was so thrilled. I will be picking it up on Sat and taking it to my storage unit til I can work on it. I will take pictures of it then and also the other two smaller trunks that I got from her.

I just wanted to get this post in because I was so excited.

Patrick Swayze Dies...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/14/patrick.swayze/index.html

This was just posted up a few minutes ago.

He was one of my favorite actors and this completely breaks my heart. I cant even begin to explain.

May he now rest in peace from all the pain.

I will miss you terribly and my heart is broken.

My Obsession Part 2...

This will probably be a little witty tale to some. Boring to others. But as we go down this journey, Im sure you will get a few laughs along the way. I know I can do that now that the worst is over. Or is it?

We begin this journey with a yard sale. Yes, a simple yard sale. Now mind you that I have wanted a trunk for a long time. But my search hasnt been that long. I figured these things to be somewhat expensive and I really didnt have the resources yet. Looking at the ones on line, they were all appearing in the hundreds of dollars range. I didnt have that for something to just put my blankets in.

We were driving down the road one day on the way to somewhere that I now forget. I saw the yard sale. I saw the antiques and then I saw five trunks. Five of them!! So we pulled over and I went out to look. I had my eye on one in particular but I didnt have the money for it with me. He wanted $85 for that one. But there were others there. Mostly well worn and missing parts. I was hoping for one that I could bring home and load my stuff into. I was soon to discover that wasnt going to be the case. Well, unless I wanted to spend $600. Of course, that wasnt happening either.

Well I could kick myself in the ass for not grabbing that trunk when I had the chance. I went back the next day and it was gone. Along with another one. So now there are three to choose from. One was a small tin trunk that was in fairly decent shape. Nothing that a good cleaning couldnt hurt. It also had a key. Another was a dome top trunk that someone obviously painted an ugly black and brown. It was missing the lock and the handles. The third was a very large beast that had seen better days. It was obvious that it sat in water as it was warped on the bottom half and you could see the water marks on the outside. It was missing a couple of the latches and the lock was badly damaged. So I think you can pretty much tell which one I chose. Yep, it was the small one with the key. Less work and all the parts were there but the handles.



So I paid the man $12 and loaded it into the Blazer. Yes, $12. Thats all he wanted for it. The big one was $30 and the ugly one was $45. Could you believe it? So we went onward to the camp to meet up with my sister and her crew for a BBQ that day. We hit a few yard sales along the way and picked up some interesting things for Mousie. Couldnt resist. It was a statue of an umpire picking up a kid by the scruff like he made a bad play. He he he... Mousie is an umpire so it suited the joke quite well.

That night, as I stared at my new project, I was also debating on another trunk. The one I now have is small. Not the doll type ones that were made and sold during the same time period, but it was what they refered to as a ladies trunk. More so a tall type that was used more for a carry on piece. Later these trunks would be more to the size of a large suitcase. So you can very well guess the age of this trunk. An expert at a trunk restoration shop quoted me an approximate date to about 1865 to 1870. Not bad for $12.

But I was still debating on a larger trunk. So I was thinking about going back to that place and picking up the big trunk and restoring it. How hard could it be? So I went back over to his house and asked about it. He told me that what didnt sell that weekend, was sent to a dealer. Bummer. But thats ok. Im sure I can find another one of that size somewhere else. And so the major search began.

This was a long and frustrating process. If you are thinking of doing the same thing, always shop around for ideas before you buy. Know exactly what you want before you get it. And if it could be what you want, dont pass the opportunilty. Grab it with both hands and run like hell.

My first stop was on line. I noticed a really beautiful one for sale near by. I called the man and told him I was interested and that I would be coming that night to pick it up. About 15 minutes before I was to leave, he called me back to tell me that someone else was there to pick up the trunk and that it was sold. I was devastated because this one was a wonderful piece with shelves that moved up with the lid. Something I still want. Ok, on to the next one.

I was searching in an area that covered about a 100 mile radius around my home. Yes I was that serious on this. Places almost half way across the state and some places almost to NYC. I would contact the people, set up a pickup date and then I would recieve a message that it was sold to someone that got there before me. Now Im beginning to think that something was up. So over a two week period of time, there was someone going around buying up trunks. Everywhere. All of them. We are talking to the tune of about 40 trunks here. I dont get it? Who the hell needs that many trunks? And all of the people referred to this person as a man who is a dealer. So that would explain something. But what is the rush on such a demand? I still dont get it.

So now I need to step up the pace a little. I need to be on the ball and grab at what I can. I found a nice brown canvas trunk in a town not far from here. I contacted the owner and told them that I was willing to pay cash and would come asap to pick it up. She told me that she would be out of town for a few days. I explained the situation to her about the dealer going around and grabbing them all. She told me that I was the first to call and that the trunk was definately mine. I set up a pickup date for that Saturday. It was confirmed. I have a trunk. Whoohoo!! Its mine mine mine all mine.

Later that night, I talked to Bill and Kim about going to yard sales for that day. It was a sort of birthday gift to me to be taken around the world so to speak. If you have ever gone to yard sales with me, thats the feeling you will get. I go everywhere. And I map it all out to where I want to go first. And then to where I will end up. So on this day, the last stop would be at 2pm at the house where that brown trunk was.

I sat at the table for a couple of hours mapping all the sales out in various neighborhoods. Working my way to that town would be the last of the sales. I set them up by priority. It was a work of art. I took the money that I was allowing myself to spend and put that in one envelope and the cost of the trunk in another. That way I would have the cash to give her. By 8am, we were pulling into the first stop.

I have an obsession....

I have an obsession....

This is going to be an on going blog that Im starting for the 29th of August.

I have an obsession. My obsession is trunks. Not swimming trunks and most definately not elephant trunks. Although swimming trunks would mean that it is still summer. Yeah I could use another month of that. Im not ready to go back to work.

But my obsession started about a year ago. I love antiques. But with my antiques, I use them. I dont just show them and dust them off now and then. I like to use them because they are made better than modern things. I have a lot of them. My bedroom set is actually unused because I dont have the room for it here. But someday I will have a larger room again. I also have some kitchen things that are quite old. Like old enamel fry pans and some burner covers for cooking things. You put them under pots and they distribute heat evenly. I gave used some new ones of these but they tend to burn out quick. The old ones were made better and are still working perfectly. I also have some old cast iron ones too.

My diningroom table is actually and old enamel top kitchen table. On some of these, the sides come up to form a square table. I had a couple of those before but sold them as I didnt have the room. But the one I kept is one where the ends come out to form a longer table. I like this one better and they are more rare.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Trunks. I have always loved the old trunks. When I was a kid, we had a few and I liked them then. We used one as an old coffee table. The wooden box type. Some refer to them as steamer trunks. Some have a dome top and some are flat. Some have metal over the wood and some are canvas. You know the kind I am talking about. Some open up to be a closet with drawers too. They come in all sizes and shapes. Some are low and flat. Some are so big that an adult can crawl inside them.

I have done a lot of research on them. I wanted one badly. I have a stack of blankets and things in the living room that I would love to put in an old trunk. I looked on line for some and, for the love of god, they were so expensive. Trunks are very different than most antiques. When you restore and antique, you decrease the value. I dotn care how good you make it look, it wont be worth as much. But with a trunk, the better you restore it, the more it it worth. To restore a trunk, takes a lot of time and money. If you can keep it as original as you can, it will be worth more. But there are so many parts that need to be cleaned.

Usually you will find these trunks to be well worn. Handles and straps missing or in bad need or repair. Usually you cant repair them so they will be replaced. The casing of the trunks is made of wood. Usually pine. Over that they will use canvas or sheet metal. Most people will call this tin, but it wasnt. Tin doesnt rust. And a lot of these old trunks are showing signs of rust somewhere. They can be smooth sheet metal or they can be embossed with a pretty design. The hardware it usually very ornate and a lot of it. Its needed to hold the trunk together. And they are filled with brass nails and tacks to hold everything in place. And believe me, there are a lot of nails.

The canvas trunks are the more common ones you will find. Sometimes the canvas is in decent shape to where all you will have to do is clean it up a bit. Most of the time though, it is in rough shape and will have to be removed. But thats ok. Under that canvas is some nice wood that can be sanded and refinished with a stain. This is where these trunks gain in value. The beautiful wood looks wonderful when stained. Makes a nice addition to any decor. You can check out all this on various websites that restore trunks. And you will also see before and after pictures and will know what I am talking about. Also check out the prices they want for these beasts. Outrageous. But they are beautiful. The work they put into them is awesome. And expensive. Which is why I want one of my own, but Im going to have to do it all myself. I cant afford what they want.

So my journey begins with the search of a trunk of my own. Little by little I will be posting about various adventures along my route of trunkdom. Im sure you might be bored but then again, it could inspire someone to do something similar. Not so much as a trunk but something else that you may want to have in your home. Could be a table or even a special couch. Who knows.

On with my obsession......

Time is ticking down...

This is another post I was working on. This was started last weekend.

What a crappy day today. It was raining and a little chilly. I had to wear a jacket. It was also a busy day. Went out shopping with Bill and Cami in the intent of opening a bank account for her and then go get her some shoes and let her spend her gift cards from her birthday.

So we started out at the bank. We both had to sign for her new savings account. She was thrilled to have the account but disppointed that she had to turn over her cash to do it. She wanted to spend it but I told her that there will be a time when she wants to buy something and wont have the money to do it. Plus she had $45 in Walmart cards in her pocket. I think that was enough for her to spend today. She loved the new tshirt and the piggy bank that the bank gave to her. Plus if she does a book report for them, they will put $15 in the bank for her. I will make sure she does that this weekend too.

Then we went to the post office to mail Lindas package. I cant wait until she gets it. There is the watch necklace that she ordered and two gifts from me in it. I know she will love them all. While we were there, Cami and I watched some lady walking around on the post office lawn. She was looking at the bricks on a sort of little park and she was walking backwards in circles. It was odd but at the same time, it was interesting to know what the hell she was doing. I guess people do their own thing. I just hope I dont meet up with her again. Im not sure what she was doing and I didnt want to find out.

Next stop was Walmart. We chose to go to the super one because we were hoping for something different than the local one. The objective to this day of shopping was to get some more stuff for Cami for school and a few shirts for me. I took some money out of my account to do this. Things didnt go as planned.

Went to the store and they went looking for something for her to spend her gift cards on and I went in search of some shirts. I picked out a few and headed for the dressing room. They are doing some remodeling in the store and wouldnt you know it, the dressing rooms are part of it. So I ended up in a room with no mirrors. How are you supposed to try stuff on without a mirror? After about 12 shirts later, I emerged discouraged with one shirt to buy. That put me in an even more sour mood.

On the way home though, there was a car that pulled up along side. It was so hot. 1967 Camaro. When they pulled out of the lot, he slipped the tired a little. I didnt say squealed because thats not what it was. It was a slip on the wet roads. So as we were leaving the lot, he went to the right and we went to the left. I thought for sure he was going to smoke the tires this time but he didnt and I called him a p***y. I didnt mean for it to come out of my mouth out loud but it was funny.

I needed coffee so I stopped at DD for a quick fix. I was too lazy to brew my own at home. Plus I did have one earlier at the bank. Ive become a coffee drinker again. Not a good sign. But it does get me through the day. All in all it wasnt too bad of a day. I got a new shirt and Cami walked out of there with a new shirt, sneakers and three new video games. Two for the DS and one for the computer. None of us is ready for school to start. I think this is why we are so dragged out. Time is slipping really fast. Only a few days left til we go back. Im so not looking forward to it.

Cat Tails...

Cat Tails...

This post was started about a month or so ago. Yes its one that I started but didnt finish. Well here is the finished one.

Yes I spelled it wrong on purpose. Or maybe I spelled it right. Eh, who knows. Depends on how you take it for what this post is about. Its about my cat. Yep. My cat.

Its been hell here for the last couple of weeks. Between my daughter pulling her fits, staying up all night and just generally being hyper, its been a long week. But its the cat that Im more worried about. Even as I post this, she is staring me down like she knows I am talking about her. Oh wait, she wants her box cleaned. Be right back.

Ok, Im back. While I was at it, I took the dog out for her final business for the night and I also gave kitty her medicine. Yes, medicine. She has been so sick the past couple of weeks. This is how it started...

My cat is very attached to me. I cant go anywhere without her following me and making sure that Im still there. I adopted her from a home where she was a lap cat to two elderly people. She was also there with her sister. She was adopted the same day but to a different family. Right from the start, this was my kitty. She called out to me from her little glass cage at the adoption clinic at Petsmart. The adoption clinic is actually run by a private rescue agency. I was there to bring my dog to the groomer. Upon leaving the dog there, I was walking out of the store when I looked over at the kitties in the cages and I could see her staring at me. Drawing me to her. Within the hour, the papers were signed. When I came back later for my dog, I also picked up kitty and brought her home too.

When kitty has issues, she comes to me. She is very particular about her box. Holly never did it but now Mindy has a thing with the box. Im not sure why dogs do it but they think it is some sort of cookie jar. Sara is a very clean cat so she wants her box cleaned out. Not sure if it is mostly because she wants a clean box or that she doesnt want the dog to eat it. Its like she uses the box and then comes to me to say "clean the crap out of there before the big black hairy thing eats my present for you". Weird. But thats how she is. I keep the box clean because thats just how it is. I wouldnt want to use a dirty toilet, so my cat doesnt have to use a dirty box. And I also keep the back yard clean so that my dog doesnt have to use a dirty spot either. Im not anal, Im just clean.

A week ago this past Thursday, I noticed something on the floor. It appeared to be a spilled chocolate shake. Oh, I must warn you that this will be technical and quite gross about the bodily functions of a cat. If you are eating, you might not want to read this. Put the food down or finish it fast before continuing.

Anywho, I cleaned up the mess in the kitchen because I thought that Cami might have spilled something. You never know with her. But then again, how did she get a chocolate shake in the first place? I didnt give her one and no one has been out to get one. Chocolate shakes ususally come to this house via BK. But we didnt go. But also, this mess didnt smell. I dont know what it is but I cleaned it up anyways. Also, the cat didnt alert me to it.

During the day I was alerted to the sound of heaving. There is nothing like the sound of a cat heaving up a hairball. Its such a pitiful sound. When she released the contents, it was just green/yellow foam. A sure sign of bile. Nothing else came up with it. She did this a few times. I chalked it up to her trying to lose a hairball. But then I thought about it for a minute and remembered that she was tracking something in the kitchen for a couple of days. I wasnt sure what it was. I know that it was under my counter inside the cabinets that no one is allowed into. She has a way of pulling the doors open and going under there so I have little locks on them. Its like I child proofed the house. Then again, I do have locks on pretty much everything because of the child. But thats another story.

A house centipede was caught in that time so I thought maybe she found another and ate it and it was upsetting her tummy. She has been known to catch other various insects and eat them. Sort of like a protection thing. Look ma, I caught Godzilla and ated him for you. As many of you know, Godzilla is a large spider that lives in my bathroom and gets free peep shows. But we wont go into that.

So I figured I would give her a day or two to get rid of what was in her tummy and if that didnt work then she would have to go to the vet. Shes a tough kitty so I would give her the chance. She was drinking and eating at the time so I wasnt too worried. Friday came and the same thing was happening. She was vomiting up bile. Nothing else with it. Also her food dish was still full and untouched. I went to clean the litter box and there was nothing in it. This is odd. If I dont get to it in time, the dog will eat the "cookies" but there wasnt any pee in it either. I went through the house looking for spots that she might have used instead. She wasnt the type to do this though. She is very particular about her box. She is a neat and tidy kitty.

I didnt find anything but her little puddles of foam on the kitchen floor. But then I noticed there were spots on the carpet and she was pretty much just sleeping in the diningroom under the table in the corner. This is not like her. Shes a dominating one for a spot on my bed. She wasnt there. Now Im getting worried. Also she prefers to drink from the dogs water bowl and she hasnt been to it.

A little later I saw her head to her box. I thought that everything would be ok. She didnt go into it though. But I heard the sound of the heaving again and went to investigate. Sure enough, there was the tell-tale foam but also a spot where I noticed some with a brownish color in it. I assumed that this was also bile with some blood in it. I should also tell you that this is Saturday morning now. I called the vet and they didnt have hours for me to come in and told me to watch over her until Monday morning and to call back. If it got really serious then I was to call the emergency vet but they didnt see the dire need for it at this point. Well I do, but the emergency vet was an hour away and I would have prefered her go to her normal vet.

So by Monday morning I was really nervous for my kitty. She hasnt eaten and she wasnt using the box or going anywhere else. I called the vet back and they told me to bring her right in. I did. They checked her out and got everything in order. They told me what they wanted to check her out for and then showed me the estimate. I nearly choked. But this is my baby and I couldnt let her die. So I filled out the paperwork for the credt so that I could make payments on all this. If not, I didnt know what I was going to do. I didnt have that sort of money in my pocket and I needed to make sure she got better.

In the mean time, Cami was crying over her kitty which got me crying. A few minutes later I got the message that they approved me for the bill on credit. Whew. What a relief. So I signed all the papers and they took kitty to the back to start the xrays and stuff. They told me to call at about 5 to see whats up and then I could come get her. Ok. Lets go home and pace the floor there. And that is what we did.

At 5pm sharp, I called and they told me that kitty was ok and that I was to come to get her and the vet would talk to me then. Ok, that is a mixed reaction. What will the vet tell me? Im nervous but I went to get my baby. As soon as I walked in the door, they took me to the back to see my kitty. The doctor showed me the xrays and said that she does have a UTI and that she was dehydrated. They kept her on fluids all day and that did wonders for her. They said that because she was dehydrated, there was a stool blockage and that everything was all fixed. She said that they gave her some strong antibiotics and that within the next day or two, she will release everything like no tomorrow. So they sent me home with her and some medicines for her to take for two weeks. Yep. Nothing like giving a cat a pill.

it was only two medications. A liquid antibiotic and a pill that will help her sick tummy. I can deal with this. Shes pretty good about taking a pill. But I know she wont like it for two weeks, twice a day. But she did well with it. My total bill for all this was just under a grand. Im glad I can pay it in installments. Kitty, dont get sick for the next two years.

The next day, she did vomit a little and the brownish stuff was gone. The vet had told me that it wasnt vomit when she did that. She said that was forced unrine with blood in it. She did use the litter box and thats what I found in there too. But she peed a lot. And I do mean, a lot. She wasnt so dragged out and she did take the meds very well. Like she knew she didnt have a choice in the matter. I dont think she wanted to go back to that vet any time soon.

By the next day, she was up chasing the dog as usual. This is another good sign. And also she pooped a little. Yay!! Like I should be excited that my cat pooped. But she came to me to tell me that there was something in her box for me. Shes good that way. She hates a dirty box, so I have to clean it as soon as she uses it. That and I didnt want the dog to eat medicated snacks. Sounds so gross doesnt it?

The next day she was doing much better and she pooped some more. Shes been eating like a starving rat. So there was a lot of poop this time. Another good sign. And shes so snuggly. I figured she would hate me after putting her through all that. But she has seperation issues so she knows that mom is the one to go to when something isnt right. And also when everything is right. She clings to me.

About a week after all this happened, she was back to tracking something again. It was driving me absolutely crazy. She would go to the cabinet and dart around trying to get into it. Then she would run to the wall where the washer and the stove was and go back and forth. She has a growl that would scare a bear away. So of course Im out ther with her trying to see what it is. I couldnt find anything so I went back to bed. This was 230am. I was tired and needed sleep but she wasnt about to let that happen.

Right outside my door is a sort of cabinet that has doors on the bottom and a few shelves on top. She was trying to get at something under there. I got the flash light out and saw nothing under there. Yes, Im laying on the floor even with the thought that there will be some nasty bug in there. But I wanted whatever it was so I could sleep. I even got the broom out and went behind the cabinet and still nothing.

I went into my room and sat on the bed. She came in and laid down next to me. Soon, she would growl again and dart out to the kitchen. Still finding nothing I went back to bed. Again. Now its about 4am and she decided to go sit up on the counter. I watched her from my bed and she was stalking something. Listening intently. Her ears perking. He head darting back and forth. Suddenly there was that growl. She lept off the counter, sprung to the table, down to the floor and landed near the dogfood bag. I heard the rustle and then nothing. I came out and clicked on the light and there she stood with something in her mouth. i saw the tail and the smug look on her face. She dropped it at my feet and said, here you go mom. It was a mouse. Alive still and it was trying to get away. I caught it and tossed it down the street outside. I cant voluntarily kill them. So it will go find a new home somewhere else. I hope that got rid of that. I dont want anymore. I spent the next day cleaning everything in my kitchen.

Its been over a month now and shes been doing great. No signs that anything went wrong with her. I have the first payment due for her bill tomorrow. They will take it directly out of my account so that makes it all the better. Shes currently laying in front of the AC and the dog is next to her. Good thing they sort of like each other.

Happy Birthday Cami....

This post is one of those that I was working on. Her birthday was on Aug 11th. So yeah, this one is a little late.

I dont even know where to begin with this post. The past week or so has been a blur. Once again, I do have posts that I started and never finished. But we will get to them later. This happens to be one of them. Im a few weeks late with this one.

Im going to refer to this post as the birthday week. Yes, week. Cami turned the big 10 last on the 11th. But the party hasnt ended yet. It just seems to go on and on for a long time. Thats kinda cool for a kid though.

First off, for her birthday, she was going to be going to the Drive-In to see a couple of movies. The weather forecast was aweful and we decided to cancel. She flipped out. Its perfectly understandable but she didnt seem to actually get a grip on this one. She was more concerned with the movie thing rather than just sitting in a car and not seeing anything but rain. So we talked her out of it but she wasnt happy at all.

To compensate for this, she recieved some of her gifts early. We didnt go to the camp this week because of the bad weather. Its really no fun to do things in the rain there. Yes, can you tell this whole summer had a lot of rain?

On her birthday, we went to the mall with grandpa and had a nice lunch. She wanted some weird icecream thing at the 99 so I let her have it. I knew she would be wired up and it was her birthday. Let her enjoy herself. She got a new outfit to wear and she was happy. Afterwards we went to the other mall to Build-A-Bear and she got a bunny with some Hannah Montana clothes. She likes going there. Sadly, this time I didnt get one for myself. What? Its fun. Afterwards we had cake and icecream.

We had plans to go to the camp for the upcoming weekend after her birthday so that grandma could have the chance to party with her too. Its been hot and humid out and finally feeling like summer. Wednesday night, Tim and Lisa came over for a nice visit. I havent seen Tim in about 8 years and Lisa in about 10 years. We had a nice visit and they got to spend some time with Cami. I wish we could have had more time with them. Maybe now we can visit more often.

The time spent at camp was great. We left late on Thursday. We had alot to do and to prepare for a sleep over here on Saturday when we got home. So by the time we got to the camp it was dinner time. Mom made one of my favorites. Ham and cabbage. Cami ate the ham and some potatoes. Then we had some cute butterfly cupcakes. This was a guarentee that she would be up all night.

After this we decided to chill for a little while and go to the fireworks at a local resort. They put them on every Thursday and I promised her that she would get to see them. Of course they dont start til its long after her bed time. But Im sure the cupcake earlier will compensate for it. Im hoping she might be a little more calm by now. So we packed up the lawn chairs and off we went. Once there we set everything up and prepared to sit and chill to wait for the show to begin. Its still a little light out but you have to get there early or you wont get a place to park. Or at least not one that you will be able to get to the road easy when its time to leave.

Of course Cami was not going to sit still for anything. And to make matters worse, an icecream truck parked next to us. Not only was this a major distraction to Cami but the music was annoying as hell. The man was selling icecream but he also had his tiny little daughter with him. Although she was about 4 years old and quite cute, she wouldnt stop playing with the music machine that makes all the ding-a-ling songs. So we were forced to listen to bits and pieces of nursery songs. Or we listened to some repeatedly. And then there was the special effect of a duck quaking along to the music. I swear I wanted to rip the wires out of that thing. If there was any form of torture that could be used against enemies, that music most certainly would have been my choice. And the ducks would have been dinner.

So while that was annoying, the night sky made up for it. It was a beautiful night. Not to hot and not to cold with a nice breeze. We are used to coming here for the fireworks so we know the routine. There is a cemetery at the end of the long lawn of the resort. That is where they set off the fireworks. At the far end corner of the cemetery. I can see the torch where they were setting it all up. Some of the kids waiting for the show will play on the lawn on the other side of the fence. Thats fine with me. But I wonder if they knew about all the bats that were flying above their heads. There are about 5 willow trees that line a small lake on the other side of the lawn. The bats were darting in and out of the trees. The kids were playing on the lawn. As the sky got darker, the bats were coming closer and closer to the street lights on the road. So we just leaned back in our chairs and watched them. Cami ont he other hand was too interested in dancing and prancing around to the music of the icecream truck. But my now, she realized that my answer was still no. She was not going to be buying anything that involved more sugar tonight.

We watched some planes in the sky and watched the stars slowly make their way into view. The clouds over the mountains have moved away and the view was beautiful. Of course my camera was back at the camper so I cant show anyone how pretty it really was. But the Catskill mountains have their own special beauty. Rolling in so many different heights and layers and covered with trees. The bigger ones are more south from where we were but the way they just look there is pretty enough. Its a hell of a view in the fall.

Cami was still doing her dance and I noticed that she was interested in the speed limit sigh that was near us. So of course I made the joke about it being "her" sign. Only because she was going on about a mile a minute. The sign said that the speed limit was 40mph and I pointed that out to her that we were sitting there for about that length of time. She understood what I meant and it was funny. Just not to her. Suddenly the 5 minute warning sign went off. A loud boom that echoed through the mountains and nearly caused Cami to jump out of her skin. She chose that moment to sit down and wait for the show. Now why didnt I think of that sooner?

Soon the sho began. The colors were spectactular. The blooms were stunning. But thats when things went awkward. Well in a funny way. My mom made a comment about one type of bloom. When the shot goes up in the sky and the bloom bursts, the sparks seems to make a squealing noise and then swirl around for a few seconds. She said that they look like spermys. I giggled a little. Cami said that it was pretty and waited for the next one to shoot off. A couple of blooms later, she leaned against my shoulder and said that she liked the spermy ones and wanted to see more sperm. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. I know she didnt know the meaning of it and just took it as something we said they were. Not the sexual reference. She was being so innocent about it and that made it more funnier. I didnt say anything to my mom but I did tell Cami that she shouldnt say that anymore and to just called them the swirly ones instead. She said ok and of course when that bloom happened again, she remembered to call them swirly ones. But I was still laughing about it.

The show was great and lasted for a while. Then it was time to go home. Back to the camp. Mouse had already set up the fire pit for the bon fire we have every night. Well the nights that it doesnt rain. And this was a great night for it. Cami took her night meds and decided on some popcorn and a movie in bed. Mom set up the sofa bed in the livingroom and turned on the tv for her. We went back outside for the fire and just to chill and relax. It was a great night and we spent our time around the fire telling stories and laughing. I told them about the spermy thing and we all laughed that time.

The next day was a great day. I wasnt feeling all that great though. Even though Cami went to sleep, she kept waking up in her sleep and talking in her sleep. So around lunch time I decided on a nap. Mom was going to take Cami up to the pool for a while so I took the chance to catch some Zzzs. Mouse had already gone in to take a nap. So he sacked out in the bedroom and I sacked out on the couch. Suddenly, as I hard moms cart leave, Mouse got up and headed out the door. I heard his cart leave too. So I just went into dreamland and took int he peace and quiet.

I woke up a couple of hours later to the sound of the carts returning. Cami came running in, changed out of hr bathing suit and ran back outside. Mouse came in and went into his room to change and came back out. The next thing I know, they leave again. Mom is just sitting on the deck reading the paper. She said they went to the lake to play. I said ok. I pulled out some beading and went to work. I dont get too much time to do this now that shes around all the time and wanting me to do stuff with her. You know me, my kid comes first. About an hour later, Mouse comes back alone. Ummmm... Where is my kid? He said shes up on the dock with some friends and he came down to get his fishing pole because they got the RC boats stuck in out in the lake. Ummm.... Ok. Soon they bothe came back with the boats and told us the story. Apparently one boat got stuck in some weeds so they were using the other one to get it out. That boats battery died and they couldnt reach them. So they decided to get into a regular boat to go get them but they couldnt get into the cove enough to reach for them because the RC boats drifted into some logs. So they were using the fishing poles to get them out. It worked and they had a lot of fun. He really enjoys having her around. This is the grandchild that hes never had. He has thembut they dont spend time with him. And his own kids abuse him. Well the ones that are there all the time. Two of his sons that come to visit do treat him well, but the others are just nasty to him. So Ive taken that spot. Hes a great guy and he takes care of my mom. Thats all I need.

Late that night we roasted marshmallows on the fire and just chilled out. We left early the next day because Cami had a friend coming over for a sleep over. The weekend was exhausting. I was pretty burnt out. But I enjoyed it and so did Cami. The following weekend her friend came over again and I took them to the camp to go swimming. Her friend liked it there and we will plan to do it again. Halloween is coming soon and I know that she would love it there when we celebrate. Its a month earlier than the normal holiday so that makes it double the fun.