Holes In The Road

The Path Less Traveled.....

2012-01-21T20:02:00.001-08:00

The Path Less Traveled.....

I know I havent written anything in a long time. Its been a very difficult road for me this past summer. Ive come to that fork in the road way too many times. Let me see how I can put this all together and catch up on the many events. Over the summer, and the past year, I have lost so many relatives and friends. At one point there were two funerals in one week. Some from old age, some from cancer, one from a terrible accident and another from a suicide.

We have dealt with some minor earthquakes and even a hurricane. The hurricane left a lot of damage here. Her path went right through here and there are some nearby towns that were completely wiped out. Not just a few houses. I mean the entire town is gone. There are some areas in my city where the water rose to over 10 feet. for many homes here, that means the entire first floor was under water. The cleanup is still going on.

I still have my job. Its a lot different this year. A completely new set of kids and a completely new way of doing things. These new kids are a lot of fun and they are so darn cute. But they are more of a challenge for us all. We are getting through it though. I will say that the give us one hell of a workout everyday.

Having some serious issues with my father. Over the summer, he completed a round of radiation for his cancer and dealt with it with some difficulty. But he made it through and as far as I know, the tumor stopped growing and he was okay for a while. Then he suffered some severe pain. They discovered a fracture and a compressed disk in his back. We are still not sure what caused it but they think it was a weakening of the spine due to the radiation. He cant lay down flat for any scans to see if the cancer might have spread though. They arent ruling that out.

The pain meds have completely cut off his outside life. He cant drive, walk or even operate a scooter to get around. He can walk for a shot period. Nothing more than from the bedroom to the bathroom or to move around the kitchen. Hes constantly complaining about it. Sometimes he will just stand and lean on something for a while because he cant sit. The pain meds that he is on dont seem to help so the doctors keep changing them. At one point, he was on morphine. That caused other problems so he was taken off them. Although it did work better.

We had a huge set back last week. He decided he was fed up with the pain and took more than he was supposed to take of the pain meds. He was rushed to the ER and we almost lost him a couple of times. As it stands, he may not make it home. There is a big meeting coming up and decisions have to be made regarding his future. We are looking into a nursing home now. I cant trust him to be home on his own while I am at work and I cant be there all night with him. I am not sure how I will be able to afford this. The stress is killing me. Somehow something good has to come of it all. I believe in Karma. Ive done everything right. Something has to give sometime. I can only hope it is soon.

Its Finally Here....

2011-06-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Its Finally Here....

School is out for the summer. It was a crazy year. I was getting a little impatient for my papers for the upcoming year. Nothing like waiting til the last day to hand them out. The good news is that I will be back for next year. I really hate these year by year contracts. You would think that being in the union would make it so there is a definite deal. Its really nerve racking.

Cami survived another year as well. Shes now moving up to the middle school level. Although the school she attends is a PreK to 8th grade. Sixth grade is technically middle school but in her school its still elementary. Now she will be in 7th grade. The 7th and 8th grades have their own section of the building. They change classes and have lockers. I do have the chance to send her to a different school district. Im not sure Im ready for that yet. Well more like shes not ready. The school district that we live in doesnt like kids with ADHD. They feel that they belong in a special ed setting. There is no way I am going to subject my kid to that when she clearly doesnt need it. She aces all her test scores and is one of the smartest kids in the school. Why would I put her in special ed?

I finished off the last week of school with a nasty head cold. Why is it that I always get a cold at this time of the year? How stupid is this? Im guessing that I must have picked it up when I was doing my recertification. Nothing like being in a hot, sweaty, wrestling gym while doing testing for restraints. It was so hot in there and just crazy. We were all complaining. I think next year, I will do the recert in January.

The fourth of July parade is coming up at camp. We went shopping today for all the stuff to decorate. I think we did fairly well. Im not sure how it will all tie into the theme but we will do our best. The theme is Happy Birthday America. The float will be a giant cake. Im hoping my mom doesnt decide to jump out of the cake in a bikini but you never know. Just kidding. She wouldnt be that crazy. But she has done some crazy stuff in the past for these floats. We shall see on Sunday.

My father has completed his radiation treatments. Im not sure when he has to go in for a scan to see if the cancer tumor shrunk. We are hoping that it did. He refuses chemo. They may have him do another round of radiation though. What ever works. Hoping for the best. I think he is a little scared though. He has been going through his coin collection to get it ready to sell. Then Im buying a house. He yelled at me that his granddaughter needs a house. Ok. Im not going to argue with him. And he wants to make sure its a good one for her.

So heres to the beginning of summer vacation. Im hoping its going to be a good one.

Yard Sales part 2....

2011-06-19T20:35:00.001-07:00

After we left the doctor, we decided to just go home and rest. She was in a lot of pain. Her poor arms hurt the worst. On the way home, she spotted a sign for yard sales. Yup, here we go again. I asked her if she wanted to stop and look and she said yes. So we pulled in and checked them out. Sure enough, she found a couple of things. She said we should go home and map out a few more sales. So thats what we did. I mapped out some local sales and off we went.

She was able to find some knitting needles and a tin filled with buttons. I picked up some bottles and a decanter. I also found some Christmas stuff for camp. Then we went to one that was off the path where we normally go. I marked this one because it said there was a lot of antiques. Of course that would be the major thing for me.

I pulled up and looked toward the back. What I saw was amazing. As I got closer to the garage, I thought I was going to pee my pants. The things this man had. I was blown away. As those picker guys say, this was a real honey hole. I walked into the garage and it was even more amazing. I couldnt take it all in. This man had everything. From ship wheels and anchors to lamps and coins. I cant name it all. But there was a lot of it and he had it all hanging from the ceiling and on shelves. In cases and stacked outside.

I noticed he had some chimneys for the lamp I have. I found the perfect one. For a quarter!!! Whoohoo!! I swear I was in heaven. I noticed a lamp that I have been looking for. But this one was cracked. It was so pretty though.

I was looking in and out of the shelves. He had stuff stacked in deep. You really had to look for things. I swear I could spend a week in there and still not see everything. But way in the back of the garage. Up on the top shelf, behind a fan, I saw what I wanted. A lamp. A lamp that I have been looking for. And it was pink. And it was parlor size. And it was dirty. But I asked him how much. He looked at me and looked at the lamp. And looked at me again. Ten dollars. I think my eyes fell out of my head. I handed him the money. He wrapped it up. I paid for the stuff Cami found and off we went. I was in heaven.

That now sits on the dresser. Thats two. Im starting the count because we know where this will go. That is, if its anything like what happened with the trunks.

Ouch....

2011-06-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

We had an incident the week before last. Every morning, it is Cami's job to take the dog out for her morning pee and then bring her back in and finish getting ready for school. Only this time it was going to be a little different.

She took the dog out as usual but then came in crying. I rushed out to see what was wrong and there she was, standing, with blood running down her arms. I nearly screamed. Then what came out of her mouth next, well, I nearly screamed for a different reason. She must have called the dog every name in the book. I hope she realized that I did excuse her because of the injuries. On a normal day I would have washed her mouth out.

So I took her into the bathroom and washed her arms with soap and water and then put some antiseptic wash on. Her elbows were scraped and all down both forearms. She had some scrapes on her wrists and some knuckles. Her ankles got it too. She was a mess. After I got her all cleaned and bandaged up, I asked her what happened. She told me that when she opened the door, Mindy spotted a couple of squirrels and off she went. She said it was just like Marmaduke. I asked her why she didnt just let go and she said that she didnt want to lost her dog. But yet she wanted to kill her for what she did.

I got her ready for school and off we went. Today was her concert. I didnt think she would be able to play so she didnt bother to bring her violin. She went to the nurse and I went on to work. At about 845, I got the call to come get her. Shes in pain and wants to go to the doctor. So I left work and went and got her. I didnt think she should have gone to school but I have to make the effort to be at work so I dont get in trouble. Crappy deal but thats what they want. So I picked her up and went to the doctor. Everything was ok and just to give her something for pain.

What a way to start the day huh?

Yard Sales....

2011-06-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

This is a post that you all have been waiting for. I know its a few weeks late but there had been a lot of things going on. Im sure I will catch up to them in a few months. Just kidding. Im in the mood to write a little tonight.

Spring is here. Its almost Summer. Its time for.... you guessed it... Yard Sales!!! Im a yard sale junkie. I have this urge to stop at every one I see. Of course that isnt felt by everyone who lives here. I keep bringing home more junk or so Im told. But thats really not the case. I really dont spend a lot of money. And I really dont buy a lot of stuff. Im just interested in a few specific items. If anything gets purchased that is not on my list, then it was for Cami.

Well one day, I decided that I wanted to get out of the house and go to some yard sales. Cami is all for doing this. She has a lot of fun. Plus being a people person, I always make new friends this way. So on this particular occasion, I decided to spend the evening before mapping out some local places. I dont go out of the area for yard sales. I tend to stay within a mile or two. Even if it only a couple of sales, Im happy. So this time, I had them all mapped out where I was going to go first and then second.... you get the picture. So off we went.

First stop was a couple of blocks away and it was an estate sale. We all know how much I love antiques and you know there will be some at an estate sale. We pulled up and it was exactly what I expected. I saw all sorts of antiques all over the yard, driveway and in the garage. We parked and started to look. A man approached me and asked what I was interested in. I told him and he said he didnt have that sort of thing there. But he did have other things that I would be interested in. We chatted about some trunks but they werent what I wanted. Also they were a little more expensive than I was willing to pay. Like well over $100 more. But we had some nice chats regardless. He gave me his business card in case I wanted to sell any of mine. Yeah, like that will happen.

Cami found some old jewelry and a couple of books. The man gave her the jewelry though. Nothing great but she liked it. So she paid him for the books and off we went. On the way out, she noticed a Barbie doll house and camper bus. This thing was in three pieces. It was massive. Plus all the furniture was with it. The bus was about 3 feet long. And here she was, begging for me to buy it. I kept telling her no. She doesnt have the room for it. And also her bedroom is a mess. So shes putting on the pouty face and swearing that she will clean her room. Pinky-swear. Then the man offered $5 for all of it. So stupid me, bought it. I had to make two trips home. Thats how big this thing was.

We went to a few more sales that we saw some signs for. Nothing much at those and then we went off to sale number two that I had written down. This was an exciting place. I noticed there were a lot of items from the 80s here. Boom boxes like I used to have. I could also tell that someone in this house was a Spice Girls fan. She had some really interesting stuff. I went into the garage and I notice a pair of milk glass, hobnail, lamps. As I approached them, a lady picked up one and started to wrap it in paper. I asked if they were sold and she said yes. Damnit... this was on my list.

I have a desire to own a specific type of lamp. That one was close to it though. You see, my father had this lamp in his room for as long as I could remember. He decided that he didnt want it anymore. He offered it to me and at the time I was moving. I told him to wait a few days and I would take it home. When those few days were up, I went for the lamp and it was gone. He had given it to someone else. When he asked her about the lamp, she said she lost it in her move. In other words, she tossed it. I was furious. I have always wanted one of those lamps. They are expensive too. I can get a reproduction one for cheap. But his was an original.

Well anyways, back to the story. I told the lady what I was looking for and she then told me that she sold a set of them the day before. * smacks head * Why do people have yard sales on a Friday when they know people work? So I lost out on that one. Twice. Cami picked up a couple of things there and at the one next door. Of course, she got them for free. It must be her cuteness.

So off to the next sale. Of course, on the way, we saw some signs and checked out a few more sales. Nothing we wanted and then we arrived at the next one on the list. This one I had to park on the road and then walk way in. There were some tables outside and some in a garage. I noticed a wine decanter and grabbed that one quick. Cami found a cute stuffed bunny. We paid the lady and started out. I noticed on one of the tables there was a lamp. Its one that I want but it was missing the top piece. Only the bottom and the brass ring were on it. I picked it up and looked at it. The cord was cut. But the bottom globe was so pretty. But it wasnt working and missing parts so I put it back on the table.

As we walked back down to the car, I kept thinking to myself, I can order a top for it and it wouldnt be hard to put a cord on it. So I went back and bought it. The lady sold it to me for $2 because of the cord and the top. I knew that if I left it there, I would regret it. It was a pretty bottom. It was a clear amber color with white roses.

Then it dawned on me. I saw a white hobnail top at a previous sale. But which one? Ive been to over a dozen sales. Which one had that top? This was going to kill me thinking. So we went back to each and every one of those sales looking for that top. And just like Murphys Law, it was at the first sale we went to. The one with the doll house. There, on a table on the side of the garage, was this top. I tried it to the base and it was a nice fit. He sold it to me for $5. The white glass went well with the white roses on the bottom.

We went home after that. I thought that was enough for me for one day. I took the lamp to my father so he could rewire it for me. It took a little work because we needed a cord that was small enough for the hole in the bottom. But we finally got it all set up and it looks nice on my stand. Its just missing the center chimney. But there is always another day to search for that.

One of those days....

2011-06-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

The other day I had a couple of encounters that both amused me and scared me. Not sure which is a better way to describe them.

Saturday morning started out just like any other morning. I had plans to go to the mall with my father and Cami to see her art work for the annual art show for the school district. This was the first time she had a piece on display and I had no idea what it was. Then again, she didnt know either.

I got out of the shower and told her to get in and get hers done. This is always a dragged out deal. I warn her ahead of time that Im almost done. You would think she would then get ready to step in. Nope. There always ends up being about a half hour process before that happens. This is nothing new. But this time, it was different. During her shower, I found out that I wasnt alone in mine. Of course, I wasnt about to let her know that though.

As she was taking her shower, the curtain close to the mirror was open a little. I was putting on my makeup when I happened to glance in that direction and saw something on the wall. She wouldnt have seen it because it was behind where the scrubbies hang. I have a shower caddy that hangs from the shower head. From there I hang the scrubbies. They arent touching the wall though. So this little critter was taking refuge on the wall and thought he wasnt being seen.

I always help her with washing and rinsing her hair. She doesnt get all the soap out and it just saves an argument later when she gets upset that her hair is all gummy. I pushed the curtain open and grabbed the shower head. We have one on a hose to make this task easier. I still didnt say anything to her about the monster on the wall. Just to clear this up, it was one of those house centipedes that creep the hell out of me. It wasnt a big one but it was still big enough at about 2 inches long. Where it came from, I dont know. Im particular about having bugs in my house and I make sure I clean everything pretty well. Especially the floors where I know the bugs might be.

Anywho, I carried on with her hair like nothing else was going on. Once in a while I would check to see if it was still there. Just so it wouldnt move and she would freak out. We finished up and I handed her the towel and sent her to her room to get ready. In the mean time, I turned the water back on and aimed the shower head towards the beast. Well, stupid me moved the scrubbies in the process and it latched onto one of them. Great. Now its not going to be easy to get it down the drain. So I sprayed the scrubbie and sure enough, it went deeper into it. I cant even see it clearly. I can see part of its legs sticking out so I know its still there. I reached under the sink and pulled out a small trash bag and wrapped it up over the scrubbie and knocked it into the bag. I tied it tight and patted myself on the back for being so brave. Little did I know that there was soon to be a question about what I was doing. Cami had been standing behind me the whole time. I told her about the bug and she ran screaming back to her room. She then accused me of not telling her about a possible attack. I never heard the end of that all day.

The other thing that amused me was that I was out and about and I noticed a car on the side of the road. On top of the car was a small blow up pool. Not a big one. This one was about the size and a couple of little kids could sit in. The interesting part was that this guy was trying to tie it to the roof of his car. This must be the man that I saw at the gas station near the air pump. Seriously? You couldnt spring for the $5 air pump and do it at home? I think after about a half our or so you could have blown it up with your own lungs. It wasnt that big.

But here he was, about a mile from the service station and hes tieing it to the roof of his car. I stopped to make another errand and watched this man. I was watching him leave and not far down the road, that pool took off flying like a UFO.

Some people never learn.

Ego Damage Part 3...

2011-05-02T20:26:00.001-07:00

The next morning I had to be up and on the road at 630am. Like this was going to happen willingly. I remember seeing the clock show 4am. I had to be up at 5am to shower and get ready. I can hear the rumbles of thunder outside and thought to myself that this was not going to be a good day. I have no idea what transpired outside after I got home and I really didnt want to know. I just know that it sounded pretty bad.

The alarm went off and I really wasnt ready to move forward with the day. I was so tired. My head hurt. I hate waking up with a headache. Especially the one I went to bed with. I briefly turned the tv on for a weather report and it was the same crap. More rain and storms. Apparently Mother Nature isnt listening too well. I think we have all had enough of this.

Bill decided that there was no way I was in any condition to drive out there again and had offered to take us. I wasnt going to refuse. Besides, its not like he would be around people he wouldnt be confortable with. My relatives are all hunters and fishers. Country people too. We are all friendly people. How bad could it be? Seriously.

So the morning began and off we went. We stopped at McDs to get some coffee and I was ready to face the world. Even with a headache. We picked up my father and hit the thruway. He will drive on it. Somewhere along the way, I fell asleep int he back seat with Cami. She was watching a movie on her little portable DVD player and I never got half way through it. I woke up when we pulled into a rest area about an hour later. Im wondering if I was snoring or not. Probably. I really was in a deep sleep because I dont remember anything up to that point. I went in and got my father a coffee and Bill got some Munchkins for Cami to snack on. Back on the road. The weather was fairly clear and it was warm. The sun was shining. I was hoping it would stay that way.

We arrived on time to the funeral home. There were already a few people there. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by David with a card with his email address on it. He asked for mine and I wrote it down. This was a great feeling because now I know we wont lose touch again. My cousin Larry showed up right behind us and he too was passing around his little Ipod and everyone was putting their info on it so that he could create a list for everyone else.

We all chatted and enjoyed the company. The girls went off again to play their games and watch the movie. It was so great they were getting along. What was a sad situation was turning out to be more pleasant to deal with. We all had each other the way a family should. We all leaned to each other and too shelter in that. I went outside for air a few times. Funeral homes always make be generally uncomfortable. Not for the death but just in general. They arent supposed to be happy places.

On the way back in, I ran into another cousin that I hadnt seen in a few years. On the way in, we both went to the ladies room and chatted. Yeah, some people think its weird but thats what females do. We hang out in rest rooms chatting. We can do that. So we had a nice conversation about my father's cancer and just how were both were in general.

At about 11am, it was time to gather up and head to the cemetery. We all joined in a small service with prayer and said our final good bye. Then we waited outside for the hearse and began the last journey. At the cemetery we all gathered and began the ceremony. At this time I noticed the sky was getting dark and the wind was picking up. There were no seats and no overhead covering. The two girls cuddled up to me. I stayed to the back of the crowd. Not just because of the whole service, but because if the storm came up, I needed to be able to make a run for it fast.

I think the minister figured that something was coming and moved the service along. Soon we were back in our cars and headed to the hotel where they had a luncheon set up for the family. The restaurant was called Moose River. Seemed fitting for the crowd it was about to recieve.

One of the things my cousins and I chatted about was playing hide and seek in my grandmas house. Upstairs in one of the bedrooms was another little hidden room. It wasnt such as hidden that you didnt know it was there. Just wasnt used anymore and the door was painted to match the walls. This was once my great grandmas bedroom. Not its just a room with an old bed and storage stuff. My grandma didnt like all the stuff my uncles had hanging around the house. Especially the trophies of their hunts. I never knew where they all went. But I was soon about to find out. I decided that the room would be a great place to hide. I opened the door, snuck in and closed it. Since I hate the dark, I hit the light switch and was greeted by about 20 pairs of eyes staring at me. Eyes that had heads but no bodies. And horns. Big horns, little horns. I was scared out of my mind. I also remember not being able to move except for the screams that came out of my mouth. I lost at hide and seek that day for sure. I never went into that room again. That also went for the dining room with the lynx rug that was laid out on the table. With the head raised up and those eyes staring at me.

Now we sit in this restaurant that has the walls covered in hunting and fishing things. I should also add a couple of heads on the walls. Moose. Not that its any different than other restaurants I have been to that have the same stuff. It was just the company I was with and the giggles from my cousins when they reminded me of the past. We had the laughs about it and then moved on to lunch. But it was in the back of my mind that these heads are now watching me eat. Guess those meatballs werent going to be as good as I thought they would be.

While lunch was going on and we all chatted and visited, there were three tvs on around the room. On the tvs were various news channels reporting on the weather from the day before. I learned that about 45 minutes away from where we were, there were tornadoes. Yes, that storm that followed me home the night before contained tornadoes. They reported that in Syracuse, there were 260 cloud to ground lightning strikes in 10 minutes. Holy cow. There was a lot of damage. Trees down and houses torn apart. And guess what? It was happening again. More serious storms were coming. We decided that it was time to head for home. We all hugged, cried and promised to stay together no matter what. Soon we were on the road home.

Later that night, I was watching the news on line and tracking the storms on various weather sites. Those were more nasty storms and causing more damage. And yes, more tornadoes. The next morning I checked the sites for storm reports and that area was hit again. This time closer to me from Utica. Herkimer county reported tornado damage. Binghamton also reported tornadoes. This was insane. Im glad that I was able to make it home in one piece. Of course the storms did hit here but werent as strong. North of here got the worst part of it.

Good thing I live in a house of bricks and no longer in the house of sticks.

Game Over...

2011-05-02T19:40:00.001-07:00

Game Over...

I spent the great part of last night with a pair of head phones on listening to every broadcast about bin Laden. I watched the Presidents speech on line. I was still in a bit of shock about the news and really wasnt sure it was real. I was waiting for someone to come on and announce that the DNA didnt match or something. It was too easy. The battle wasnt easy though and was almost foiled. But the mission was complete and all forms of DNA were settled as 100% accurate and that it was him.

My fears now are more attacks for revenge or attacks done in his honor. How weird is it when a world just cant find some sort of peace? There is always a whack-job waiting around the corner that just isnt happy enough with what he has. If its not bin Laden, then it will be someone else. My thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies go out to all those families that were affected by what has happened. Some are accepting this justice and some are not. Some already accepted what happened and have tried to move on. Now they relive the horrors. This wont go away any time soon, if at all.

It just seems that history keeps repeating itself over and over. I wont get into the religion of it all. I wont get into the politics of it all. I just think that its mindless and childish. There are more people out there that will suffer for this. Some that remain hidden because of who that man was. One of his sons was trying to turn the tables on what was going on and to get the people to listen that he wasnt one of his fathers minions. His life will be forever in a hell that no one wants to live in.

I watched the news last night seeing all the people at the Whitehouse and in NYC cheering in the streets. What were they really cheering for? I was thinking about it last night and all day today. A lot of those people out there were very young. Some were just children when 9/11 happened. These people have never known a life without a war going on. I looked at my daughter today and saw that same thing. Then I thought to myself, have I ever lived without a war going on somewhere? This is what I mean about history repeating itself. There is always someone out there that doesnt like someone else. But these people cant seem to get past it and move on. You live your life and I will live mine. Im not breathing down your back trying to make you believe in what I believe in. Why are you doing that to me?

Once again, Im not going to get deeper into that topic because its just not worth any arguments. Im just glad that this particular nightmare is over.

But the worst could be coming.

Ego Damage Part 2....

2011-04-30T22:03:00.001-07:00

The trip out was quite eventful. Firstly, we didnt take the make route. I hate driving the thruway. That is just nuts to me. Yes, it is the faster way to go but I prefer the road off the the side that runs along the whole route to where I need to go. I dont have to worry about cars on my ass or trucks flying around me. Im more relaxed on the country road. I can look at the houses and the small towns along the way. With the thruway, its all fly by and nerve racking. Plus I can stop in the towns to stretch and walk a little and plenty of places to use a bathroom or get a drink. And its much cheaper for gas and such. Some people reading this will understand my issues with thruway rest area bathrooms. Eeewwww.

There are a lot of sites that I like to see along this route. Houses that I like to look at. Most of these towns have old victorian houses that I love and would dream of having as my own. The view is up much higher than the thruway at some points and the view of the Mohawk Valley is beautiful. I make the same amount of time as I would on the highway as I do on the side road. Just better and more relaxing.

We got into town at about 230pm. Not bad timing. We went to the cemetery to see what was there and where my aunt would be buried. We couldnt find the spot as they hadnt dug it up yet. But we needed to take some time as the viewing wouldnt be til 4pm. We stopped off to BK again to get a drink and use the bathroom. Cami needed to change her clothes too. She always brings a change of clothes in case she gets car sick. Shes known for that. So she wore regular clothes up and changed into something suitable for the funeral home. By the time we got settled and back on the road, it was almost 3pm.

I thought for sure we would head to one of the relatives house first before the funeral home. But my father wanted to go straight in. I told him we wouldnt be allowed to go in til 4pm. He didnt seem to understand this. Yes, we are family but the immediate family would be in early for something more private before everyone else showed up. This immediate family would include her sons and her husband. Yes, siblings were immediate family but this was something different for them. Not us. Its only out of respect for them that we remain outside til 4pm.

The sun was getting hot so I parked in the back lot area. We could see the side parking lot and would see who came in after us. Soon, my cousins and uncle showed up. They went right in and I once again had to tell my father to stay put. Let them have their private time first. They still had to do a final meeting with the funeral directer and the minister first. He wasnt thrilled but remained in the car.

He remained til about 345 and then needed to use the bathroom. I cant say no because I needed to as well. So we went up to the door and they let us in after asking if we were family. He still didnt understand this. But anyway, after all, the time he takes using the bathroom would put us past 4pm. So we went in and did what we needed to do. I had to fix my makeup because my allergies caused my eyes to burn and run. Im not vain. I just prefer to look good.

Upon entering the room where we would have the viewing, my cousin David jumped up and gave me a hug. We hadnt seen each other since we were kids. When I spent my weekends at grandmas, he and his brother were always there and were my closest friends. We did everything together. It was so great to see him. Of course now we are in our 40s. He lives in Dallas and his brother lives in Buffalo. Mark came over and hugged me too. I was just as much in tears for this moment as I was when I went to my aunts casket. I come from a huge family on that side and there are a choice few that I was able to grow up with and play with. I was hoping more of those cousins would be there tonight.

I met the wives of my two cousins and we hit it off right away. Cami met Marks daughter and off they went to a corner to play video games and talk and get to know each other. They were fast friends. David and I chatted about the old times. Mark joined in with all the stories of things we did when we were kids and the trouble we always got into. We talked about how everything at my grandmas house was the same. Two of my uncles lived there with her and remain there. We laughed more than we cried. Soon other family members came in and we all gathered in groups to chat. Most I havent seen since I was a child but it was like time never seperated us. We picked up where we left off. It was great.

Time was ticking down and it was getting after 6pm. I asked my father what he wanted to do and he said he wasnt feeling all that well and wanted to go home instead of getting a room. He doesnt like hotel rooms and neither do I. But the thought of driving two hours home and then back again in the morning was a bit much. But thats what he wanted and who was I to argue.

We left at about 630 with the promise to return in the morning. On the way out, we ran into my Uncle David. I was wondering why he wasnt there with my other uncle and cousin. He said that he was told that the viewing was at 7 to 9pm. I said no, it was 4 to 7pm. So he ran in and said he would see us in the morning. Not like we hadnt seen him recently. We had lunch with him a few days earlier when we came up with my sister. So all was well and we left the funeral home.

The sky was looking a little unsettled and I had heard thunder earlier when we were inside. I wasnt looking forward to the drive home and I was hoping it wouldnt storm and we would make it before dark. Back out onto the side route and I was ready to beat the clock. I know I should have taken the thruway home though. We would have made faster time. But driving on that in a storm wasnt on the top of my thrill list for the day. I had a headache from the pollen and wasnt in the mood to fight traffic.

I could see the storm clouds to the west and they didnt look inviting. I could hear the thunder and see the lightning. This was the picture all the way home. For the next two hours, I was in a panic to make it home before dark and stay ahead of that storm. It looked to be pretty bad. I made it home with about an hour to spare before the storm hit. It was another long sleepless night with the lights on.

Ego Damage....

2011-04-30T19:02:00.001-07:00

Once again, I havent blogged in a while. Im not getting lazy. There has just been a lot going on here lately. The weather has been insane. I feel bad and pray for those down south. They got slammed more than a few times too many. Mother Nature has some serious issues. She needs to cool her crap.

We all know that Im scared to death of thunder storms. Its not the thunder. Its not the lightning. Its the chance of damage, fire and power outages. Im scared of the dark. I admit it. Im terrified of what I cant see. If I ever go blind, Id go insane. Its it night time and the power goes out, I panic. If Im not near a flashlight or something, I sit where I am and I cry. Im not ashamed to admit this but its true. Im a blubbering baby.

A couple of weeks ago, my aunt had a stroke. She has been suffering major health issues for years now but this was the major deal. It left her paralized and unable to speak. She passed away last Sat. Being that she was living in PA at the time, I didnt expect a funeral so fast. I was expecting it later in the week. Come Monday, I told my boss to expect that I would be out for a couple of days. The funeral would be out of town and Im sure my father would want to get a couple of hotel rooms. You figure on the viewing and then the funeral on two seperate days.

At about 2pm on Monday, I got a call from my father that the viewing was on Tuesday and the funeral on Wednesday. So I let them know and I went to see my father when I left work. We had some plans to make and no time to make them. We decided that we would go to the viewing and see about a room then. Ok.

The past couple of days before that, the weather wasnt being too kind. We had some storms and the ones down south seemed tobe heading my way. I wasnt thrilled about having to be two hours away from home and dealing with storms. I dont like to drive long distances as it was. Doing it in the rain only adds to my misery.

I had spent Sunday night up all night with the storms. I had my flashlight with me in bed and was watching tv til I fell asleep with the lights on. I deal with it better during the day and I dont mind watching the storms. The previous Wednesday we had a nasty one too. I was on my way to my fathers house when the skies opened and a crack of lightning came straight down close to me. That made me scared enough but I wasnt going to be driving out to Utica that day. My sister was going to do the driving. Considering that the storms come from west to east, we had a nice day out there. It was storming here though.

Now its my turn to drive out there. I wasnt thrilled. On Tuesday morning, I got up early, went to my fathers house and picked him up. We had to go to Albany to the VA for his cancer treatment meeting. He has been having some major issues with the radiation treatments. Hes been refusing to get them because of the method they have to use. Meaning he has to lay down on the table with the donut rotating above him. He doesnt like this and panics and they refuse to take him out til the treatment is over.

This time Im going to be there to talk to the doctor about this and see if there is another way he can get the treatments without feeling trapped and scared in the machine. He can take the treatment but cant take the time they use to line everything up. He has serious breathing problems and laying flat makes this worse for him. He cant breathe and therefore panics even more.

They sat with us and we talked about other options. There is another machine that is open and he would be elevated a little but the treatment itself will take more than the ten minutes the other machine offered. We agreed to try this option. So they took him into the room and laid him on the table. They marked the board for him and where the treatment spot would be set up for this other machine. He felt a little better by this. We shall see about it next week when he starts the treatments again.

After that we went to BK for something to eat. Once that was done, we stopped at his place for anything he needed for the trip to Utica. Then we stopped at my house to do the same. At about 1pm, we were on the road headed west. The sky was clear and it was starting to get warmer out. It was going to be a good trip.

Busy As A Bee

2011-03-28T20:44:00.001-07:00

Busy As A Bee...

Well not quite. But I have been working on a few things. Spring cleaning. Bought a car. Got sick. The usual stuff. The weather has been Hell here. The same crap all the time. Warm one day, cold the next. 60F on Sunday, snow on Monday. I thought for sure my face and head was going to explode. On one of those warm days, I was going to take Cami to a local park that has a huge waterfall. At the time, the ice jams were forming on the river and I thought it would be cool to watch them go over the falls. We didnt quite make it that day. I wish that we had because my cousin went and said the eagles were out in full force and were all over the park. He took some pictures to show to me. Seems the eagles are making a big come back around here. Last summer I watched one fly overhead down at the camp. It was the first time that I have ever seen one. Other than in pictures.

One day, about two weeks ago, my uncle was putting some feed out for the birds. He has a very large yard surrounded with woods and a big farm across the street. Plenty of birds. While watching the birds come in to eat, he notice that there were a lot of crows. But then three large brown birds came in to feed. At first he thought that they were turkey buzzards or something of the sort. They went outside to get a closer look and they flew up to the trees. He took some pictures and wants to compare them to something from a bird book. He had never seen anything like them. I looked at the pictures and they were three young eagles that havent turned color yet. The white on their heads wasnt there yet. He was very shocked and excited.

Not long ago, a young eagle flew into the windshield of a moving car. She was badly injured but has survived the ordeal. She will make a full recovery and be set free soon. The driver of the car sustained injuries but not too bad. The windshield got the worst of it. Im sure it made a full recovery as well.

Spring time seems to have made its way to the city. The snow has melted and what has fallen here and there they past few weeks has melted as well. But it has been very cold and the wind makes it worse. Thats the one thing that I cant tolerate with the cold. The wind. It cuts right through you. But at least the sun has been shining. In like a lion and out like a lamb isnt working this time. Seems the lion wants to stick around for a while.

Ca,ping season opens in a couple of weeks. I have seen pictures of the grounds and its pretty muddy and some flooding. The usual for this time of the year. No serious damage to decks or trailers like last year. My mom wont be comign up from Florida wil the first weekend in May though. I may go down to do some cleanup. I cant wait for a small campfire to relax at even if the trailer isnt opened up. Its the mountains and the area that I love so much.

Im getting really tired of Mother Nature. Its almost like she is in menopause.

Whats That Smell?

2011-02-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

What an unbelievable day. Its a wonder I havent had an aneurysm yet. It just gets better and better.

Woke up this morning and didnt feel like getting up. I hit the alarm one too many times and was 15 minutes behind scedule. Yes, in this house, we keep a tight schedule. Its a strict routine for Cami to follow. If this routine gets broken, she gets all out of whack. Its almost like she gets ready for school in her sleep. Actually, I think she really does. Its not like everything is timed down to the minute. I give about a 15 minute leeway to get things done before we have to walk out the door. Also included in this time schedule is that fact that my alarm clock is 15 minutes fast and the clock in my car is too. Which means I will always arrive on time. You know, in case there is traffic or I get up late.

Anywho, things were going pretty smoothly this morning despite the little set back. Cami didnt want to get out of bed though. But I told her that if she didnt get up within the next few minutes, I would call her teacher and tell her that she couldnt participate in the party today. That got her up really fast. Thats the benefit of being friends with the teacher.

Everything was fine til it was time to take the dog out for her morning business. I opened my front door and WHOA... Mind you that it opens to a hall and the main front door is about 20 feet away. But what assulted my nasal passages was enough to kill a horse. The smell was aweful. Even Mindy wanted to go back inside. Thats when I realized what it was. Skunk.

Skunk? Its the middle of winter. The coldest part of the year. Why am I smelling a skunk? Especially inside. No one else has a dog in my building so I know nothing was sprayed. It wasnt strong enough that it was inside but it was definately close by. I went to the front door and looked around. I didnt see anything so I let Mindy out fast, she peed and came back in. She didnt want to smell it either.

After that was settled, Cami and I gathered our coats and away we went. Of course, the closer I got to the parking lot, the stronger the smell. Thats when I realized that there was indeed a skunk. Dead in the middle of the main road. Of course my car was parked about 4 spots in. Definately a fresh kill. Im awake. Trust me.

We get in the car and I left the lot. I didnt bother to turn the heater on because you know what would have happened then. I wasnt about to smell that all the way to the city. That is also when I realized that I didnt need to turn the heat on anyway. It was quite warm out. Not that it was about 20F yet, but that is warm compared to what it has been lately. So I left the heat off and went about my way. I was making good time too.

Of course the roads were clear til I got to the Hill. Then the roads were the same crappy way as they were the week before. High snowbanks, cars parked everywhere, no sidewalks, kids wandering in the middle of the road. Same crap, different day. You have to weave in and out of the cars and empty parking spots because its pretty much down to one lane traffic. Normally, thes streets are wide enough for two lane traffic with a car parked on the curb. Its a disaster. But then again, thats what happens when no one cares to move their cars for the plows.

I finally made it around to the front of her school and dropped her off. But only after having to give her money for lunch and what ever she has charged. She claimed to have a charge bill. So I handed her $5 and she went on in. Now the real fun begins.

I have to either go back out the way I came and do some rounding out for one way streets, or I could take my chances on the narrow streets going the other way. I took my chances and got caught behind a bus. Of course the bus couldnt get through so I had to back out and take the other route. This is getting so stupid.

I finally make it to the street I need to be on and I pulled into McDonalds for coffee. I get to the drive thru order thing and a voice tells me that they are closed for the morning due to renovations. What? On a Monday morning? Are you nuts? So I pulled back out and decided to go back down a block to the DD. Of course the corner that it is on is a one way street. So I have to go all the way back down to the main road and swing around that way. I get to the drive thru order thing and slid on some ice. I passed the order thing by about 5 feet and had to yell back to the person. I couldnt understand what they were saying so I just pulled up to the window anyways.

Oh, I also forgot to tell you that while I was on the way to McDs, there was a car in front of me spewing something nasty from their exhaust. Im glad I didnt have the heater on or it would have been worse.

So anyways, I get my two large coffees and away I went. I work across from the McDs so that was a hassle getting back through there. I had to cut back through the parking lot or take my chances at the light and go in front of the other school where I know there will be buses blocking the road. I finally make it to school on time and get inside where I could take a breath.

There is one more problem though. I am a coffee junkie. I admit it. Normally I only get the one large coffee. Some mornings I get two. But there is a difference. At McDs, I get the regular large and also a medium carmel mocha. McDs coffee isnt as strong as DD. Its more mellow and less bitter too. This is why I drink it. Stupid me didnt think about what I had ordered at DD. I got two large regular coffees. At about 10am, I was about halfway finished with the second one and I was all jittery and shaky. Not a good thing. As Im sitting here right now at 11pm, Im still feeling that affect. You can bet that I wont be getting any coffee tomorrow. Im thinking its a juice and milk morning.

Oh, and who thought of getting the kiddies all sugared up with a holiday party and then sending them home? I dont mind it for my class but my kid was all sorts of wired all evening.

Winter Blues

2011-02-13T17:52:00.000-08:00

Time flies by when you are having fun. Yes, it has been a long time since I updated this space. Life has been a little interesting. Winter is not kind. Im still getting settled into the new place. I know it has been a few months but there was a lot going on.

Im not sure that I mentioned this but Cami got her ears pierced. She did very well for the past couple of months with it but then one of them got infected. We arent sure how it happened. It was weird. I mentioned to her that her ears looked good and they were ready for new earrings. Then the next day, it was a balloon. I tried to get it all cleaned with the antiseptic but it didnt work. The next day it was so bad that you couldnt even see her earring. We checked on it and it came right out the back of her ear. Then all the puss came with it. It was aweful. So I put in a wire earring that clipped in the back so it would be easier to move while we drained it. The next day, we went to the doctor and she was put on some antibiotics. That was about two weeks ago and its looking fine now. Maybe in a week or two, I will get her some new earrings.

Mother Nature has not been kind to us lately. We have had all sorts of weird weather. The snow just keeps coming. The snowbanks are taller than I am and the roads are extremely narrow. Not so much here where I live now but where I used to live, they are nearly unpassable. In some areas, even one car cannot go down the street. And of course, there are a lot of one way streets that make traveling a nightmare. The route I have to take in the morning will cause me to have a stroke before winter is over.

We have also experienced varying temps. Some days its below zero and then we will get a nice day that starts to melt the ice and snow. This of course doesnt last long and what melted is now frozen again. Then we had some thindersnow the other night. I thought I was hearing things. It sounded like the plows were going through and then I saw the flashes of light. I looked out the window and sure enough, it was thunder and lightning and snowing. I checked the news the next day and there were some reports on it. I wasnt the only one.

Yesterday I was at the mall with my father, sister and Cami when we noticed that it was bright and sunny out. And snowing. I really wish Mother Nature would make up her mind. Im getting really tired of this.

Work has been getting better. Things are lightening up a bit. I was also informed that there will be some mass lay offs in June. They have stated quite clearly that it will be a last hire/first fire deal. I know I am not the last on the list but Im still a bit nervous. I need this job. If not, then I will have to take on a part time job or a full time job at night. Im not wanting this option. I have this job because of the hours and days off. I work right along with my daughters schedule. I cant afford a sitter. Im hoping that I wont be on the cut list this year. Fingers crossed.

Ten weeks left til the camp season starts. Im getting itchy to get Spring on its way. Even the stores are putting out the Easter stuff and the patio stuff. Its a good sign. I was watching the Groundhog Day thing and he said that we would have an early Spring. Of course he didnt see his shadow because it was 10 below and snowing. Do we really have to rely on a rat to tell us whats happening? Im thinking poor Phil was telling his handlers to put him back in the hole for a few more weeks. I know I wouldnt want to be woken up in a blizzard so that people could watch me look around for a shadow.

I just found out the other day that the mayor here has decide to resign and take on the Canal position under Cuomo. This should be interesting considering how botched up this city is. This was once a wonderful city that has gone straight to hell and back a few times. He seems to think that the home owners dont notice the fact that there is more crime here than in all of NYC. I shit you none. Check any website that shows the comparisons. They all say the same thing. Dont move here or you will be paying the highest taxes and will face robberies and shootings from the gangs that have taken over. Its the main reason I moved out.

Also he wont call in a state of emergency for the city to clean up the snow. This means that cars are parked everywhere and the plows cant get through. Its a war zone out there. Everyone complains and there is no place to put it. He needs to call it in so that cars have to be moved or be towed. That way the plows can clean the streets and the dump trucks can haul it away. I think the best option is for them to dump it in the canal. Then the soon to be ex mayor can clean that up too. Loser.

All in all, winter has been crappy and its not over yet. More snow tomorrow. Im not looking forward to this.

Happy Valentines Day.

Happy Holidays

2010-12-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays

Yes a simple title. I know I havent updated in a long time. And Im sure there are a lot of things that I have forgotten to write about. Its been nuts here. Seriously. Nuts. Bonkers. Crazy. I could go on and on but I think I will stop there.

Thanksgiving went through uneventful as always. We ate and lazed around doing pretty much nothing. Although at dinner, we did go through the sales in the paper. Its a tradition. Check out all the things we want but cant afford. Its nice to dream. Its not that I need to know what my child wants. I listen to that every time a toy commercial comes on.

Christmas was a little hairy though. You see, the meds my child is on arent working anymore. Things were getting way out of hand. She was way out of control. We went to her therapist and he was recommending a solution by adding another medication. Take the ones away for the night time and replace it with a new one. We went through this before without luck. The Abilify was a nightmare. Then we tried Intuniv. It worked wonders but she wasnt sleeping at night. Had to pick and choose and we wanted to to sleep. So the Intuniv stopped and we wre back at the beginning again.

Then he wanted us to go back to the first doctor. The one that didnt really treat her in the first place. She was also the one that sent us to the therapist. So I guess you could say that we made a full circle in this. Since we were at the end of the rope, we went back. We talked to her for a while and she saw no need to put her on a mood drug. She increased the dose of what shes on and spread the times out. Take the meds earlier and take the afternoon ones later. We shall see how that works. So far so good but Im not jinxing it for at least another week.

Things were so bad with this that I didnt even bother to put up a Christmas tree. Yeah, can you imagine that? I usually put the tree up on the day after Thanksgiving. Its always been a tradition for as long as I can remember. My mom was the best at keeping a dead tree alive for a little more than a month. I dont know her secret. I wont have a real tree in my house so I guess I will never know.

I was buying little gifts here and there but I was unsure if Christmas was actually going to happen. It was sad and depressing. I couldnt stand it. I love Christmas but all this fighting and anger was getting me down. It was a constant battle and struggle that I was trying to hold on to loose ends.

Then came the battle of finding the things she really wanted. Of course I saw these things but that was only when she was with me and I couldnt buy them at the time. So when the chance came that I was shopping without her, do you think I could find these things? Hell no. Everything was sold out. She specifically wanted a Minty Moose Webkinz. I called every store that I thought would have one and they were all gone. She wanted a Barbie wardrobe for her doll clothes. Do you think I could find one? Nope. She wanted a CD of some new band. Walmart didnt have that either. I cant afford to shop at expensive stores. This was becoming so frustrating.

I still didnt have my tree up. When we moved, everything was shoved into the garage and not organized. We eventually got the tree and some boxes of Christmas stuff out. It sat under the kitchen table for a couple of weeks. The sofa bed was moved to her room so there was a spot for the tree. All the frustrations caused that to change. The sofa bed was moved back to the livingroom and the crap started all over again. Even the decorations werent the right ones. Those boxes were still buried in the garage somewhere. I was near to tears for weeks about this.

A week before Christmas, I called my father and asked him to pick me up a small tree from Walmart. They had a pretty 3 foot white one with lights on sale. He was able to grab the last one. It was the display model and he got it for $10. Not bad. I always wanted a white tree. I think they are so pretty and they show the colors of the decorations really nicely.

That sat for two days in his car and the rest of the time in the trunk of mine. I finally told Cami about it and we went shopping for some decorations for it. She chose red and green. Actually she wanted gold and silver but they didnt have anything in the silver colors that she wanted. So we got a big box of mixed ornaments and some pompom garland. Really cute stuff. I only buy the shatter proof stuff and this was perfect.

Christmas Eve came along and we cleaned up the house and put the little white tree on top of the trunk in the corner of the living room. She decorated it herself and it came out looking really cute. Being that the tree was on the trunk made it appear as if it was almost the regular height of the other tree we have. She wrapped the gifts that she bought and put them under the tree. Everything was starting to fall into place and I was feeling much better.

About three weeks ago, my niece wanted to have a cousins cookie night. The older girls were going to be there and one of my nieces brought her daughter. Cami and Kiya made the sugar cookies and decorated them and the others made various types of other cookies. We had some wine and ordered pizza. It was a great evening with the girls and I enjoyed it very much. We all had a lot of fun and enjoyed the company. These girls always make me happy.

Christmas Eve was a busy time though. I spent about 3 hours wrapping gifts after Cami went to bed. They were all stacked on the trunk, the end table and the floor in front of them. She had a wonderful surprise in the morning. But she wasnt allowed to open them til we had breakfast with Grandpa. It took about two hours to go through everything and she was happy.

I know I complain about this every year, but who the hell puts the dolls in the boxes? You need a degree in engineering science to open the damn things!! Tape, tabs, strings and bands on everything!!! I can deal with the tape and I think some of that booger glue would work great to keep other things in place. What a time I had getting those things apart. At one point, I was pulling a doll off the backing and the head fell off and rolled on the floor. Cami screamed that I killed her. By this point I was laughing so hard. I had revenge!!! But apparently it was supposed to come off so that you can change the wig. Huh? Ive never heard of this before but at least my fun wasnt spoiled.

After all that, it was time to put the ham in the oven and take a little nap. All that Baileys and nog was getting to me. You think I was going to go through all that and not have a little nip of the bottle? Its not Christmas without the nog. And its not nog without the Baileys. Good thing for that half bottle of wine too. That was for after dinner. He he he....

All in all we had a great weekend. Its now Monday and it snowed last night. We didnt have a white Christmas but it was good enough. I prefer that no one has to travel in a storm. Im sure Santa can install wheels on the sleigh. The south got blasted though. The storm dropped about 5 inches of snow here but points south to NYC and Boston got buried.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and stay safe and warm for the new year to come.

Godzilla Loves Me....

2010-11-02T19:42:00.001-07:00

Godzilla Loves Me....

Not sure if you remember my friend that once took a shower with me. I cant find the original post but its somewhere back near the beginning of my blogging days. Mr. Peepshow destroyed by a plunger. Well I do believe his friends have followed me to my new place. I honestly thought I was done with all that and that I could shower in peace. Boy, was I wrong.

When we first moved into the new place, I made sure we set off some serious heavy bug bombs. There are a few things that I cant stand when moving into a new place. Bugs and left overs from former tenants. Seems I ended up with both here. The woman that once lived here was hairy. Not sure about body hair but I know she must have had something. All over the bathroom walls I found long dark hairs. And she liked to use red nail polish and hairspray. I found this out while cleaning before I moved my stuff in. Red nail polish drops on the bathroom floor. Long hairs on the walls. Hairspray residue everywhere.

Another thing that really got to me was the kitchen sink. Im not sure if you are familiar with a garbage disposal left unattended to for a while. Its not pretty. Believe me, its stomach churning. A garbage disposal left uncleaned will generate a life form all its own. Maggots. Yeah, sounds nasty because it is. I had them replace mine because of that. I wasnt about to do that sort of battle.

But the main issue is with spiders and those ugly hairy things called a house centipede. I can deal with one or two house spiders but I cant deal with those other creepy things. Ive only seen one of them here and thats one too many. But getting back to the spiders. Ive seen quite a few. I think they may have hitched a ride. They didnt want to see me leave so they came along. They love me so. Too bad the feeling isnt mutual.

Ive killed a few and Im sure my kitty has had a field day with them too. I hear her at night chasing something and then when I turn the lights on, I see her batting around an eight legged freak. So far they are not Godzilla though. Just common little ones. A midnight snack for her. But one night about two weeks ago, I woke up to something painful on my leg. Sure enough, I batted off a spider but not fast enough because it already bit me. I had a welt on my leg already starting to form. He didnt live long though.

The other night, though, was the final draw. I was woken up in the middle of the night with the feeling that something was on my neck. Mind you that I do have a cat and a dog and sometimes I can feel whiskers on me. But this was moving and moving fast. I grabbed for it and flung it. I scrambled out of bed and turned on the light. I found it on the floor writhing in pain. When I grabbed it, I also smooshed it. It was looking back up at me with what was left of its 16 eyes and a couple of legs twitching. Im sure that if it could speak, I would be cursed to hell for what I did to it. Well too bad buddy. This was my bed and my flesh you were stalking. I dont take kindly to that.

While it cursed me with its evil 10 eyes, Im sure it was missing some, I grabbed a tissue and finished off the job and sent him down the swirly river. I have waged war. I sleep with the lights on.

Oh Look, A Rainbow...

2010-10-21T21:25:00.001-07:00

Oh look, a rainbow !!

Seriously. This wasnt one of those comments where you see someone drool or they are wearing multiple neon colors. This was a day of rainbows. Im not sure of the meaning of seeing one but I was able to see three today. One was a double that was so bright that you could clearly see the purple.

At about 3pm today, I was out on the playground with the kiddies and a couple of my co-workers. We were watching the kids play when I looked over across the street at the McDonalds. Arched up and over was a beautiful rainbow. So of course you can imagine the wisecracks we had about a rainbow over McDs. Not like you see that every day.

We called some of the kids over to look at the rainbow. Of course they were looking at the place they worship. No, not the church next door. The greasy pit under the golden arches. We had to direct them to the sky above it. Then they said Oh, and went back to playing. Well that was a thrill.

But of course there were one or two of them wanting to know where the pot of gold was. Greedy, arent they? So I looked at the direction that the rainbow was coming from and where it was going. My assumption on that direction was that the pot of gold was located at the Dunkin Donuts on the next block. That perked their attention. Of course for us adults, it was all about the coffee.

The next one was on the way home. We had stopped at the local gas station minimart and while waiting, one of the guys that works there stopped to say hello. It started to rain a little and I noticed that there was a rainbow forming. I quickly grabbed my camera and by that time, we saw two rainbows. One abover the other. One was so bright that we could actually see the purple really clear. They were so beautiful. So once again, the question popped up about where the pot of gold was. I couldnt see where it started but I could the the approximate location to where it ended. My guess was the local Walmart.

But there are other places over in that direction. The liquor store, the chinese take out and Adult World, just to name a few.

Its Called Climate Control....

2010-10-15T20:47:00.001-07:00

Its called Climate Control.....

I could be talking about the weather. But then again, I might not be.

I think we can officially call it Fall... or Autumn. Which ever you prefer. I like calling it Fall because not only do the leaves fall, but so does the thermostat. Im not sure how they work it here but the heat hasnt kicked on at all. I called the landlord and he hasnt called back. I will call again in the morning but damnit, Im cold. I never bitch about the cold but I am now. The rain and the winds outside dont help much either. Its cold out there too.

It rained all day and its supposed to rain all night. Mom made it to Florida just in time because the little radar screen in showing mixed weather and some light snow in the higher areas. That includes the Catskills. Im sure she is heartbroken that she didnt get to see the snow fall. Oh look, there is that word again. Its why they call it Fall.

I am also having another issue with this weather lately. Like I said, I dont normally complain, but I am now. About a year or so ago, one of the little climate control knobs in my car broke. I have three knobs. One to control the fan, one to control the heat, and one to control the option of heat and airconditioning. The one that broke was the one that controls the heat and airconditioning. So I have been taking the one off the temperature and putting it on the other one to be able to turn it and then putting it back.

The other morning, there was some frost on my car windows. Of course, the knob was on the temperature one and it was set to cold because the other setting was on the AC spot. Murphy must have something against my set of laws because you will never guess what happened next. Yep, you guessed it. I took the knob off and put it on the other one to turn the AC off and it broke. Now what am I supposed to do at 7:30 in the morning and I have to be on the road on my way to work?

There was only one thing that I could do. I took the knob off and threw it on the floor, said a few choice words and then turned the temperature thing with my fingers. I was able to get it to the heat setting. When I tried to do that to the other one, I wasnt able to get it to move. So its stuck on AC and there is nothing coming out of the vents near the windshield. This isnt looking too good. I have a few more words for Murphy and then I turned all my AC vents upward in the hopes that I could thaw something out. I also used about a half a tank of washer fluid as well.

I made it to work on time but it was a hell of a trip. Usually you can only see out of the bottom of the windshield but this time, I could only see out of the top. Learn something new every day. It also doesnt help that Im driving right into the sunlight for the first half of the trip. I probably scared the hell out of some people standing on the sidewalk. But then again, I wouldnt know because I couldnt see!!!! People probably thought I was some blonde chick that couldnt figure out how to thaw out her car. Wrong, I figured out how to but I just didnt have the time to do it the right way. * rolls eyes *

Yesterday on my lunch break, I called some junk yards for some knobs. Its not like I could call a dealer. They dont make my brand of car anymore. Figures. Once they stop making them, thats when shit happens. Murphy strikes again. I called the one I prefer but no one answered. I figured that they were on lunch so I would call them back later. A friend suggested another one so I called them and I was told that they do have them but there is a $25 part charge. What? For a freaking knob? You have got to be kidding me. That would be $50 for two knobs. I guess I was thinking out loud because the man then told me that he would sell both of them to me for $30. Still, not happening. I thought out loud again because he then changed it to $25 for both. Nope, still not happening. But this time he said that I could just use my credit card over the phone and he would leave them in a little box by the door and I could come and get them later. I didnt give him a chance to let me think out loud this time. I just hung up the phone. If he heard me, he would have learned a new word or two.

Really I dont swear that often but I wasnt thrilled with the offer. So I called the first one again and this time someone answered. They must know me by now because she knew who I was. Either that or it was the caller ID. But she was very pleasant regardless. I told her what I needed and she said she would call me back if they had it. About an hour later, she called back and said she had two of them and that they would be $10 and I could come get them. I said that I was at work and she said to just stop in later and she would have them by the door and to slip a 10 through the key box. That works for me. So I now have two knobs and she has $10 for the morning. Im an honest person and I appreciate that she trusted me to do so. Then again, I was a customer for them a few times before so Im sure that played a part in it.

I havent put the knobs in yet. They are soaking in some KaBoom in the kitchen. Im not sure what is on them but it didnt come off with Windex. But at least the color matches.

Movin On... Part 5

2010-10-05T20:07:00.001-07:00

Movin On ... Part 5

I think this will be the last part to this little tale. Thus beginning a new beginning. We are finally out of the old place. Good riddance. My old landlord was sad to see us go. But he understood the need to get the hell out of Dodge. Well thats not where we were living but you get the point. I couldnt stand it any more. Even he himself moved out of that house at one time. Yeah, can you imagine that one? He himself lived there with his family. And you would have thought that he would have fixed up some of that stuff. But he didnt and now he has to figure out what to do next. I highly doubt I will see my deposit though. Ten years of that. And even he commented on that. He saw all the trash outside and commented on it being ten years worth. Well not really but it was a lot. I dont have the room here for it all. I still have a bunch in the storage to go to an auction house.

There are a few cool things here though. I honestly like it here so far. I havent lived in an apartment complex in about...oh, ten years. He he he. I missed having a dishwasher. I was tired of doing that myself. Once you have a taste of it, you regret leaving it. I also missed having a bathroom that I could move around in without having to climb over something to get to something else. Meaning, slide between the shower wall and the sink, just to get to the toilet. If you are thinner than 17 inches wide, then you wouldnt have a problem.

My mom and her boyfriend came to visit one day. We had planned to go out to dinner. It just so happened to be the day we needed to get the rental truck back to Uhaul. So while we took care of that, they stayed here with Cami. Well Cami talked my mom into letting her play on the playground out back. Yep, a playground. Actually there are two. One in the front and one in back of my place. Nice huh?

Well the one out back here has one of those old merry-go-round things like we had when we were kids. You know, the ones that are pretty much banned from modern playgrounds. I remember as a kid, we had them in all the playgrounds including at the drive-in. The playground was located in front of the place, right under the screen. So anything we did, everyone saw it.

My brothers used to get all the kiddies on it and then get that thing spinning so fast that the G-force would suck you all the way to Saturn. You didnt dare let go. If you did, it would hurt like hell and probably require a trip to the ER. So you hung on really tight or you learned to spread your legs around two bars and leaned inbetween them. Just in case you had to puke, it would land somewhere outside of the thing. Preferably on the one spinning the hell out of it.

Well Cami had never been on one before. She really didnt know what to do with it. So she stood outside of it and started spinning it. She got it going fast. Not sure what went through her mind or possessed her to attempt to either stop it or grab it to jump on. We still arent sure which. But she grabbed it and Whooosh..... she was off the ground. She went around twice and then she let go. She ended up with a nasty egg on her shin. I honestly thought it was broken or something. It was every color of the rainbow. After about 2 hours though, the swelling went down and she was walking on it just fine. I think she learned not to do that again.

Another interesting thing that I learned about this place is that someone famous once lived here. Its a cul-de-sac sort of place. So there is a road in and then the circle at the end with apartment buildings all around. This place was once an old military housing unit. Im guessing it was built somewhere in the 50s. The place is quite solid. I no longer live in the house of sticks. I now live in the house of bricks.

I noticed a sort of marker in the middle of the circle at the end of the complex. When I first came here to look at the place, it was in the middle of a circle of grass. But since I have been living here, the grass was removed and it is all blacktop around it. I never thought about what it was til one night I was out walking the dog. Yes, I can do that here. I can go out at night and not have to worry. Imagine that one. Anywho, I was walking the dog and I got curious. So we walked over to the marker and I read it. Whoa. I had to read it twice. And even then I wasnt believing it.

I did my research and yep, it was true. Jimmy Carter once lived here.

Movin On.... Part 4

2010-08-31T20:52:00.001-07:00

Movin On... Part 4

I have been going absolutely nuts the past few days with getting everything cleaned out and packed. I have thrown away a ton of stuff. I went through Cami's clothes today and threw out about two bags and there are three bags sitting in the corner waiting to be taken to her school for the nurse to have. She likes it when I do this. She uses the clothes for kids that have accidents or spill something on their clothes. This way they can have something dry to wear home. So I do this every year before school starts. This year, there is more than usual.

I cleaned out my linen cabinet. This one will be taken to the new place for the kitchen. Although I do have a lot of cabinet space now, this one will be for things I need locked up. I wont be able to lock the other cabinets. I have 4 cabinets here that will be given to anyone that could use them. I no longer need them or have the space for them at the new place.

I will be working on my front foyer tomorrow to organize coats and shoes and what not. Some will be put in storage and some will be put in the closet at the new place. There will be some that will go to Cami's school if anyone needs them there. Although we do have closets in the new place, they arent very big. So cutting back on all this stuff is a good thing. Also we got a garage to use as a storage room for things too. The pallets are there and ready.

Tomorrow morning, I have to be up at 6am to get ready to go to the new place to wait for the new furniture to be delivered. Im so excited. I havent had new furniture in 13 years. Im almost paranoid about it. I have hardwood floors over there and I dont want them scratched up so Im going to Walmart tomorrow for some brown felt to put under the legs of everything. My bed will also be going over there this week so I can get that set up. I emailed someone tonight for a new computer desk. Im praying I get this one because I really like it. Fingers crossed.

This has been really stressing on me. I have no idea where half this crap is coming from. We have lived here for ten years. Most of this stuff will go into the garage for storage. Its all the sorting of stuff I want in the place, in the garage or in the trash. There will be some stuff going to an auction. I do not have time for a yard sale. Maybe if my mom wants to have one, thats fine. I will bring it all to her. The painting is what has taken my time away from what needs to be done here.

Tomorrow after all is done with the furniture, I have a couple of errands to run and then Im coming home to pack my kitchen too. Whew.... Im exhausted just thinking about it.

This is for Fermi...

2010-08-31T20:37:00.001-07:00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B003922IJC/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=284507&s=kitchen

I hope this link works... Its called Spunky Monkey. Im not sure I would want to sit on something like this.

He he he....

Thats A Lot Of Bull...

2010-08-30T16:05:00.001-07:00

Thats A Lot Of Bull....

Today we went to Utica to visit my aunt, uncle and cousin. We usually make this trek about once a month. You know, these people arent getting any younger. These are my fathers siblings and he likes to see them.

This day started out just like any other day. Trying to wake Cami up is becoming a chore in itself. School starts again next week and I dont know how shes going to make it. I cant get her up at 8am, how will she be up at 6am? Well she could just stay up all night like usual. * grumble *

I finally got her up and out of bed at about ten minutes to 9. She had her morning pill at 8 but went back to sleep. She still needs to shower before we leave. I called my father to see what the game plan was and he said that my sister was picking him up any minute. So I told Cami to take a quick shower. Thats when I heard the back door close. Too late. She took the dog out back.

I waited a few minutes and called them both inside. She didnt want to shower but I told her that if she didnt shower, she couldnt ride in my sisters car. So she stomped her feet a few times. I picked up the phone to call my sister and thats when she ran to the shower. Ok! Ok! I'll take a stupid shower. Smart or stupid, I dont care. Just take one.

The phone rang and it was my father telling me that he was on his way over to pick us up. Cami was almost ready. Out the door with a brush in her hand and carrying a bowl and a book to read. We get outside and she runs back up to get her MP3 player. Just then, my sister pulls up. Talk about cutting the times close.

I didnt get to have my coffee and that is a must on a trip like this. I cant function without it. So we zipped into a DD and pleasure was to be had. Now its time for the highway. My father isnt all that quick on directions. He is one that will let you know where to turn just as you are passing it. So my sister was zipping this way and that way. Im glad I was in the back seat. I think my father crapped in his drawers a few times.

So we made it to the main road that will take us to where we need to go. It was one of the back roads. The thruway is a pain in the ass so we stay to the back roads. Better scenery and less traffic. Along the way, Cami decided to point out the corn fields before I did. Ruined all my fun. But there was one interesting conversation that took place.

Me: Look Cam, cows!
Cami: Where?
Me: Over there.
Cami: Wow, there are a lot of them.
*grabs her head and turns it away*
Me: And a bull.
Cami: How do you know its a bull?
Me: It was doing bull things.
Cami: What are bull things?
Me: Things that bulls do.
Cami: How do you know?
Me: You will know when you are 40.
*looks back*
Me: Yep, it was definately a bull.

My sister was laughing because she saw it too. That cow must have been really sick because that bull was pushing it to town.

We arrived on time to the location where we all meet. Not to mention all the turns and highways and circles and lane changes that we endured to get there. That city is pretty much all highways. They all connect to each other and its very confusing. So once we arrived at the plaza, I think my father had to shake out his shorts again. I know I pick on my sister but its true, you have to be able to stop on a dime and turn at any given second because you dont know until he points to it. Im sure she pissed off a lot of people on the road. But hey, what can you do? I was just glad to touch solid ground.

While waiting for the others to come, we usually hit some of the local shops in the plaza. As we were walking to them, my aunt and cousin showed up. We hurried to shop and then we all went to the buffet to eat. During the meal and long after, we chatted and visited. Cami and I went shopping some more and came back. They were still chatting. We shopped a little more. They were still chatting. The conversation was still the same topic because neither my aunt nor my father could hear each other. So there was a lot of 'what did you say' and 'huh' and 'what'.

The topic turned to funerals and who was buried where and when so my aunt asked my father if his was all paid for and then asked me if I knew where the funeral home was. I said no. My father looked at my cousin and asked if she was coming. She said yes. He said something else and she said for him not too worry and she would come put flowers. She said, I know you will be up there watching me. He said, there are no eyeballs in ashes. So that will be my motto for now. I got a kick out of that one.

On that note, we all stood up and finally left the restaurant. My father needed to go to a store there to get cheese. The really stinky stuff. For some reason, they dont sell it in my area. So we have to go in search of it somewhere else. So we were back on the highways and the twists and turns to get to the store. Cami and grandpa went in and my sister and I waited in the car. They came out a few minutes later with that cheese and some cheese curd. Cami loves that stuff. Its now time to head home.

My sister hits the thruway. Shes tired and wants to just get home. We stopped at one of the rest areas on the way to get more coffee. Cami decides that shes hungry. She doesnt eat much at the buffet because there really isnt anything there that she likes. Its one of those chinese ones. So while at the rest stop, I got her some McDonalds. Back on the road again.

We made pretty good timing and we got home at about 4pm. Not too bad. Its now 7pm and she wants dinner.

Im Movin On... Part 3

2010-08-26T23:53:00.001-07:00

Im Movin On... Part 3

This is where it gets good. What to take and what to leave behind. Im not going to have munch time to sort and divide. What we decided on was to take it all and store it in the garage and sort it there. We need to get out of here asap. Not that I have to but I need to. My car was broken into recently and just last week, my tires on the truck were slashed. Im sick of this neighborhood. It used to be so quiet here but now its turning into a party street with cars and gangs. Yeah, gangs way over here. Im far from downtown but seems that its moving out to the good places now.

We decided to get most of the stuff out of here first and just keep the main stuff to live on over the next few weeks. We are pretty much here til mid month and the final deal is about Oct. But we will be moved out by then. It also gives us a chance to get this place painted and ready for the old landlord to see and give us our deposit back. He will have to do that because this place is in 100% better condition than when we moved in. Trust me, I have pictures to prove it.

We also decided to leave behind some of the old furniture. Its old, and falling apart and we cant really take it with us. The couch is 13 years old and the cushions are held up with plywood. Thats staying. In fact, thats going to the curb. My daughters bed is staying because its broken. Its one of the cheap ones you get at Kmart and the side of it broke. A friend of mine is giving her a day bed to use. She has the matresses for it. We just need the bed. But my friend is also taking my kitchen island and a cabinet that we are also leaving behind. There are a few things in the attic that are not coming with us. They may end up at an auction. Im sure that when I go through the stuff after we move, there will be a lot more stuff for the auction.

But now we dont have anything for the living room. No couch or anything. We need a tv stand too. The one we have here, will stay behind unless someone else wants it. Its a tv armoire with no doors on the top part. But there are doors on the bottom. Its not in bad shape. Just too big for the new place. We want a simple stand that the tv sits on top of with a cabinet under.

So we set off in finding a living room couch. That was the game plan. A couch. We have a sort of sofa sleeper that is all foam that folds out on the floor that we are taking with us. But we want a new couch. I went on line searching the sales at the better known furniture places. I couldnt believe how much they wanted for a couch. The cheapest deal I found at one place was $700. Then I thought of the economy place where I bought my last set and they wanted about that same price. I thought this was going to be a mess. Boy, was I right. Then I thought of another place that I know they have a clearance section. I thought that would be the first place to look.

So last night, off we went in search of the perfect couch. With the perfect cost. We went in and I was actually floored with the prices. There were tons of couches with decent prices. Less than the economy place. I was sure to find something. So after about 2 hours, we had found about 4 couches that were within the price range. But then there was one set that kep me coming back to it. I would check out one couch and then another and back and forth and I elminated them down to one couch and then one set to choose from. Then I thought, the cost of the set is a lot more than just the couch of the other one. But the thing is, this set is a clearance and has to be purchased as the set. So I thought about the cost of the other couch and how much that would be as a set. They were the same. But which one do I like better? I couldnt decide at that moment but I thought that I better get a credit check first. I have the money to get the set but I would rather get the credit so that I have some extra money to get other things I need.

Well the credit was denied. I was shocked because I do have good credit. But they saw that I do have another loan out there and thats why I was denied. Are you kidding me? They figured that I needed to pay off my other loan first. Well that wasnt going to happen in the next week so I needed to go to plan B. I need to see about borrowing some cash from my father. It would be a loan so he wouldnt complain. But I didnt want to break myself by spending the little bit of cash that I had left. I made the choice of the clearance set because I really liked it better. So I decided to talk to my father in the morning and see what he says.

I pretty much sat up all night debating on this. Did I really want to do it this way or just get it and be done with it. This was hard to do. Im already stressed out. I didnt need even more stress. So today I went to him to ask him for help. He was cool with it and we went to the store and got it all taken care of. I paid him half of the money for the set I wanted. And we came home with all the pillows that came with the couch. We didnt want them lost in the delivery. So on Wednesday morning, my couch set will be delivered to my new apartment. The cable will be turned on too. Im getting more and more excited.

I went to the new place to see what I needed to have right away. The place needs to be cleaned and a quick coat of paint will do it well. Cami wants purple in her room so I said she could have a light lavendar color. Something I can easily paint over with white when I move out. Im not concerned about it. The rest of the place will get a nice coat of white paint. Im just picky about who lived there before me and I want the place cleaned from top to bottom. Whether or not the landlord had it cleaned or not, I want to know for sure by doing it myself. So that is the game plan for tomorrow and Saturday.

Oh and I need a new toilet seat because there is no way Im using one that has monkeys on it. Yeah, monkeys.

Im Movin On... Part 2

2010-08-26T23:27:00.001-07:00

Im Movin On... Part 2

We were apartment hunting for a while now. Years even. Seriously. I just couldnt find anything that we could afford. Plus I have a dog and a cat. People dont want pets. But they need to realize that sometimes pets are better than people. I really think that landlords need to get to know the tenants and the potential pets before making a decision on letting them rent or not. They would do good with some families that have pets. But I understand their reasons. Their loss.

So a few weeks ago, we finally got up the cash to go looking again. I went bonkers looking in all the media outlets and finally found a few on craigslist. I know, I know, some people hate that website but I love it. I find a lot of goodies there. And I found a few places to check out. As I went down my list, it was getting pretty bad. The places that did allow pets were really expensive. And those that had the cheaper rents wanted huge deposits or extra rent each month. Or they were simply in neighborhoods that were less desirable. I was getting to my whits end.

Then I saw one that interested me. It stated that there would be a deposit for each pet and also stated that kids are more than welcome. Oh, did I mention that there were some places that didnt even want kids? Yeah, can you imagine? But this place looked promising so I gave them a call to go look at the place.

On the phone we talked about the kid, the cat and the dog. I was told that there would be a one time deposit for the pets but the kid comes free. Also there are two playgrounds on the property for kids. The statement that I was given was that the landlord wants a place for families. And pets are members of the family. I think Im going to like this.

So we went over on a Wednesday afternoon and checked the outside. The buildings were once an old military depot and these were the officers housing units. Apartments as some would say. The landlord was renovating some of the units and they had a two bedroom and a 4 bedroom available. I would have preferred the 4 bedroom but that was double the rent. I couldnt afford that one. So we looked at the two bedroom.

It was a little smaller than the one Im in but the room size was a lot bigger. Thats a plus. Im getting tired of being cramped in these tiny rooms. The bathroom was about the same size as the closet one I have now but the layout was much better. I can get my ass in there without having to climb over the sink to get to the toilet. Another plus if you ask me. There is also a linen closet just outside the bathroom door. Yet another plus. The bedrooms are about double the size and the living room is about the same size as my living room and dining room combined. Although the new place doesnt have a dining room. There is an eat in kitchen. The kitchen is decent size with a ton of cabinet space. The washer and dryer has a spot next to the fridge, which has an icemaker. There is also a dishwasher. I havent had one of those in 10 years. Oh, bless you.

The entire place just recieved all new hard wood floors. This could be a problem when having a dog though. So I will need some area rugs. Anyone want to donate to that fund? I also need some drapes because there are lot more windows. I need some donations for that too. But I really liked this place. And they told us that there are two playgrounds there that the kids can play on. While looking out the kitchen window, I noticed a couple of girls, about my daughters age, playing in the yard. Heck, there were kids everywhere. There were toys outside all over the place. This tells me that its also a bit safer. Where I am now, you dont dare let the kids out to play. There are some weirdos on this street and cars are broken into and my tires were slashed recently. Ok, so this was going to be a better deal. And my pets were welcome. But also, they restrict what pets are allowed. No big dogs or dogs that are on a danger list. So that tells me that this is pet friendly and also safe for kids. I can handle this.

Then Im told that there is a fee on top of the rent each month. This extra fee is seperate from the rent check and will cover all utility expenses. I was a little shocked at first but then realized that this total with the rent is still pretty cheap when you add up all the utilities for the month. I can deal with that. The man said that we can have the airconditioners, the washer and dryer, the dishwasher and what ever else going all the time and its only a one time fee each month. My heat is free here but my electric bill is about $300 a month. This fee at the new place is half of that and the heat is with it too. Hell yeah, Im taking this shot.

So then the man takes the information down and wants an application and a couple of pay stubs for the background checks. Hmmm... background checks. This means the new landlord was serious about who he rents to. I can deal with that too. I have nothing to hide. So then this man says to put a deposit down to hold the place while they process the background check to approve. I didnt have the money with me so he told me to come back by friday with it. I said ok.

Well come friday, I wasnt able to go over there and I also checked craigslist and the apartment wasnt listed anymore. I thought to myself, shit, its gone to someone else because I didnt have that little deposit on me at the time. But they had my application. Maybe there will be another opening soon. Then on Wednesday, I got the call that the apartment was mine. The landlord himself called and wanted to know if I was still interested because the lady that was supposed to have a deposit didnt show up. Ha ha ha. I had to laugh and I told him that was me anyways. So he had me come over to sign a lease for the middles of Sept. Of course, I was there in a flash.

So now I have a new place to move into. I need to get my butt in gear to get all my junk packed up and ready to move.

Im moving on....

Im Movin On...Part 1

2010-08-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

Im Movin On....

Had the song from Rascal Flatts in my head but it was coming out more like the Jeffersons theme. Yep... Im movin on up.... Got that one stuck in your head now huh. Its not like that though. The new apartment is a first floor. No sky view for me. In a way, thats a good thing because I needed a first floor apartment because most of my family cant climb stairs.

Being on a first floor always makes me a little nervous. Im always conscious of people looking in my windows. Not that Im the type that shuts myself up, but I just cant stand the thought of people knowing more than they should about me. I am a private person. My home is my castle. Although, I wish it was a castle. But we all know that wont be happening any time soon.

In a way I will miss this old house. But there are a lot of reasons to haul on up out of here. The cons list is longer than the pros list. I love old houses, but they require a lot of upkeep that is just not being done. I dont own this place so there is not a lot I can do about it. The place is getting worse and worse and the work isnt being done.

About 10 years ago, we moved in here to help the landlord fix the place up a little since the previous tenants completely destroyed it. The original agreement was a couple of years of maintenance in here and we would move on. Well its been 8 years too long. We held up our end of the deal and its time to go. The walls are cracking worse, the ceiling is cracking worse. The doorways are leaning. Oh, did I meantion that the walls are cracking? Yeah, its getting bad.

The house has been settling more than it should be. The basement needs floor jacks, the first floor needs floor jacks and so does the second floor. This was never done. The house needs new siding. This was never done. The slate roof needs to be removed because of the severe weight. This was never done. Now the damage is too much. We have tried in vain all these years to fix the cracks but now we just cant keep up.

The rooms are too small. I want a real bathroom. Not a water closet. Literally, I have a closet that was converted into a bathroom. The tub didnt have a shower. When we moved in, we created one. Walls and all. Its not a bad job. The sink was too big so we installed a smaller one. There was no way to fix the size of the room though. Its a narrow room. You have to squeeze your ass between the shower and the sink to get to the toilet. Its about 17 inches of space to do so. Not happening for some people. I was getting really tired of that. And the toilet was always breaking.

The bedrooms are really small. My bedroom is only a 9x10. There is no room in here. The front bedroom is even smaller. Can you imagin? The livingroom and diningroom are decent size but still a little cramped. The kitchen is a decent sized room. The biggest in the apartment. But one doesnt live in just the kitchen. And there are hardly any cabinets. The washer and dryer take up most of the space. The stove is old and has to be hand lit when you needed to use it. And there wasnt a dish washer.

There is a huge fenced in back yard though. That would be the only highlight feature. Not having to walk my dog and clean up every time. I could just let her out and rake it up later. But we were the ones that had to do the yard work in the summer and winter. I got tired of that too. Especially when the landlord borrowed the mower and broke it. And we used our own snowblower to do the winter work.

The place was always loaded with spiders. I know its an old house but it was getting a little out of hand. I refuse to go up in my attic for fear of whats up there. I know its all my own stuff up there but its really creepy. I dont use the basement. I wouldnt go down there either.

I really believe that a new place would be much better. But its also very hard to find a place that allows pets and still has decent rent and decent living. Ive looked at more places than you can shake a stick at, and believe me, people do more damage than the pets do.

Its time to move on......

The Countdown Begins....

2010-08-17T20:12:00.001-07:00

The Countdown Begins....

So Im counting down the last days of my summer vacation. This really sucks. The summer went by way too soon. Im not ready to go back. Yeah, can you picture me stamping my feet and crying like a little kid. And to think, thats what Im going back to. You know those kids are going to feel the same way. But they love us. And Im sure they miss us as much as we miss them.

The summer came and went way too fast. I didnt get to do all the things that I wanted to do. Money was tight and now that we are moving, its even tighter. Im having some neighborhood issues. My car was broke into. The tires on my truck were slashed. Its just been one thing after another. I was reading in the news that Im not the only one. There are some kids that are going to various neighborhoods to do these deeds. All for fun. I really hope they catch them so I can go downtown and beat them with my slugger.

Is it me or am I alone in this. Parents should know where their kids are at all times. If my child was out there roaming the city, I would be having a heart attack. Why cant parents watch their kids? I understand to give them a little freedom but this stuff is happening long after midnight. Maybe Im a bad parent for making sure my kid is sleeping and tucked all snug in her bed at night.

I was chatting with my neice a little bit earlier. We were talking about todays kids. Now mind you that shes not that far off from highschool. And she recently graduated from college. But the topic was how girls are dressing. We both agreed that they are little tramps. That brings the above topic back into focus. What are these parents thinking? These little girls were at the mall and she said they looked at about 13 years old. They were wearing next to nothing and showing off everything. And then the parents wonder why bad things happen. Its like you can almost predict which ones will end up in a ditch someday. Once again, I must be a bad parent.

This week will be an interesting one. My child has had another medication change and shes not sleeping again. I know I have posted about this a dozen times or more. ADHD is a very difficult thing to handle for both the child and the parent. School will be starting soon and she needs to be up at 6am to get ready. Im seeing that this is not going to be happening. The new medication is supposed to allow her to have calmer mornings. So far that part is working but the sleeping is still difficult. I dont know about you but when I dont get enough sleep, Im a pain in the ass. Can you imagine a child with ADHD and ODD? Its hell. Pure hell. For both of us.

I was debating on starting the 6am routine a little early so that should break a cycle. No more sleeping til 8am. She has to be to school at that time and I need to be to work as well. So Im thinking we need to start this now and get into the old routine. This should prove to be very interesting. Anyone want to do this for me? But the good part is that there is a DD and a McD across from my school so I can get all the coffee I need.

We are going to the camp on Thursday to spend the night. There is a local resort that has fireworks. I dont like to drive through that area at night so we will be sleeping over. Not a bad deal. I love spending the night at the camp. Sitting by the fire and making s'mores. But then all that sugar leads to an all nighter with my kid. Oh well. Lets have one last blast before school. Not like it makes a difference. Shes up anyways.

We will be moving soon to a new apartment. I cant wait. Im dreading the packing and unpacking but this will be a good thing. There are some benefits to living in the new place. Bigger rooms. Better neighborhood. Safer place. Then there are the downfalls. Less rooms because Im losing a third bedroom. No attic for storage. No big fenced in yard or the dog to run. Now I will have a garage to store stuff but I also have to walk my dog on a leash and clean up after her by hand. Nothing like doing the two handed deal with a shopping bag. I dont have a large dog but she does have some pretty large piles. Also another benefit is that I dont have to shovel the driveway or mow the lawn. We shall see how this all works out.

I havent been doing too much this summer with my jewelry business. Ive been more relaxed and just living life. I need to get back into the swing of things with that. The sanity is a blessing both ways. I need the cash as well. With the new bigger room, I will be able to have more space to work. Also with the garage, I will have some work space for my trunks too. I havent worked on them all summer either. I need to get some of those done and sold soon.

Let the countdown begin til I have to go back to work. In a way Im looking forward to it, and yet I like being at home. But I love my job and I really do miss the kids.

Happy Birthday!!

2010-08-10T21:23:00.001-07:00

We have come full circle....

Eleven years ago, on this very day, a beautiful little girl was brought into the world at 2:50 am. It was a Wednesday morning just like this one. She weighed in at 11 lbs, 11 oz. So that makes it that she was born on the 11th, and her weight added to the fun. This year is the full circle on the calendar where the days match up and she turns 11. So tomorrows lucky number will be 11.

Happy Birthday to my little peanut. I luvs you more than life itself.

A Mid Summer Nights Dream....

2010-08-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

A Mid Summer Nights Dream....

Once upon a time.... Yeah, yeah, yeah, and so the story goes. It is officially the middle of my vacation. Its going by way too fast. Today is already the 2nd of August. In just a few days, my darling daughter will turn 11. Its amazing how this is all falling into place. She was born on August 11 and she weighed 11 pounds, 11 ounces. So this year on the 11th she will turn 11. Everyone go play the lottery. Just kidding. No one play it but me.

This past Thursday, my mom was in another car accident. This time I think the car is done for. Its been a jinx since she got it. The thing is, its brand new. She traded in her 2007 for a 2010. I told her that she shouldnt have done that but she wanted the new model with all the bells and whistles. I like the new bells and whistles, but now they dont work.

This time it was someone who decided that she didnt need to look at on coming traffic before cutting out into a busy four lane highway during rush hour. I wonder if she enjoyed getting hit in the driverside at about 50mph. Everyone is ok and no one got hurt. She admitted her guilt and also a few witnesses verified that for her. So now my mom is driving a loaner car again for a while. This time its a PT Cruiser and she hates it. I hate them too but what can you do.

My daughter is doing well on the new medication. She takes it at night and it helps ease her mornings very well. Shes perky and in a good mood. Nothing groggy and no side effects. I should knock on wood. But the thing is, In order for her to take this, she was taken off one of the other night meds. Now shes up half the night again. The only time she will sleep is when you are watching her because she knows she cant play or walk around the house. But even then shes just laying there in bed til the wee hours of the morning. I myself havent slept in days. We are averaging about 3 hours a night, if that. I called her doctor but hes on vacation til Wednesday.

I have decided to contact a specialist for my skin. For some odd reason, this summer I have had really dry skin. I drink a lot of liquids but that doesnt seem to work. Im not dehydrated. Just dry skin. Its annoying. If I use a moisturizer, it makes it worse or it makes my skin scaley. I have talked to others about this and consulted some websites. I was pretty muc told that it could be hormonal because of my age. This really sucks. Also I have noticed the same thing with my hair. Its turning towards being curly and frizzy. I have always had straight hair and I always take care of my hair. Thats a major thing with me. But maybe it is hormonal and things are changing. If so, then this sucks even more.

It gets better and better....

2010-07-21T11:39:00.001-07:00

Not...

It just gets better and better. The past few weeks have been hell. Some days were good and some were just horrible. Back in June I was in a car accident. Nothing major but it was enough to rattle me. Not in a scared sort of way but in a more angered sort of way. Just the sheer stupidity of it all.

I was on my way home during a break to pick something up and as I made a left turn, someone came out from the curb and we hit. I was about 3/4 into the turn and we hit the corners of the passenger side bumpers. It was a tap. A tiny scrape barely noticable until you actually walked up to the car to look for it.

The lady gets out of her car screaming at me. Uh.... Huh? I was already making my turn when you entered the roadway. Then she proceeds to tell me that she just recently moved here from Queens. That explained a lot. Really it did. We dont drive like that here. Sorry. They do in MA though.

So we proceeded to pull the cars off the road into a parkinglot that was right there on the same corner. There was a man outside on a smoke break and he called the cops. Im not sure if he witnessed the whole thing but he was very sympathetic to the situation. I was leaning against my car while she was ranting and raving that her precious was hurt. All in all, about an hour later, two cops showed up and took seperate statements. Then we were on our way.

I called it all in when I got home that night. I gave my statements to my broker and my company. Then her company called and I gave my statement to them. Her company called me the next day to set up someone to come look at the car and appraise my damage. Then mine did the same. Apparently they were both there together because when I went out at lunch time, there were two statements on my windshield. And oddly, both came out the same. Well, I shouldnt say oddly, because Im sure they were going to use the same garage to fix it.

Now mind you that I drive a little sports car and she was driving an SUV. I couldnt even see the damage on hers as well as mine. So technically the damage on my car was worse and the appraisal people agreed. So when I was reading off the statement to my broker, he was actually chuckling. It wasnt even worth claiming. The parts, paint and materials totaled $138. The labor, of course was $300 and change. My deductible was $500. What was the point? So I told him to do what he needed to do because I wasnt going to bother claiming it. I can get a little touch up paint and buff it out myself. All those years playing with cars taught me something.

Well the SUV lady was a different story. She was still flipping out. So my company and hers butted heads. So they called me up and started their mumbo jumbo. I guess that her insurance company didnt realize that I once worked for the claims unit of their mother company. I guess that they also wouldnt think that I was smart enough to get a copy of her policy and read it. So I went back at them with their own mumbo jumbo that she couldnt claim on a no fault accident unless the damages were over $1000. Of course, hers wasnt. Hers was less than mine. So case closed. And to think that I wasnt even in the fault.

Lately though things have been just irritating the hell out of me. We have had a skunk hanging around and its spraying something outside. I can smell the bugger when it walks past my window but the past few nights its been lingering. I get nervous when I have to take my dog out at night. Ive been putting her on a leash just in case I have to reel her in fast. I think the skunk lives under the shed in the yard next door. No one lives there so Im left holding the bag til someone gets rid of it. I wont harm it. But something needs to be done soon.

My child has now been officially referred to her old doctor. She had her appointment yesterday and one of her medications was removed and a new one added. He said that this one should have no side effects. She is to take it for one week and I have to call him to report whats happening. It will be taken at night so it should even her out in the morning. Im hoping it works because she is driving me nuts. Once shes on her day meds, she is fine. Its the time that she wakes up til its time to take the morning med that is the hardest. Sometimes this is a two hour deal. She can be so bitchy. Its not her fault though. I just ignore what I can and deal with it later.

Also yesterday morning, I went down to get in the car to take her to her appointment only to find that my car was broken into. Everything from every cubby was emptied out all over the seats. I usualy keep change in my drink cups and that was taken. Good thing I took all the quarters out a few days before. Also I had a couple of scratch offs that I was going to use for gas money. They took those too. I know these were older crack heads because they didnt take my CDs. Guess punk rock wasnt what they wanted. If it was a couple of kids that did it, they would have taken those. So all in all, they got away with about $10 total. Thats enough for a fix, right? Asshats. They even rummaged through my trunk. And they didnt steal the arm that I keep in there. Losers.

Today Im sitting here trying to relax because Im still burned about this. Im also looking to move soon. I need to get the hell up out of here because Im getting so tired of the neighborhood getting worse and worse.

Slacker

2010-07-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

Yes I have been slacking. Big time. Im sorry for this. I did start a birthday post in the beginning of June and its in storage. I promise to finish it because I know you will enjoy that one.

Finished up school and we are on vacation. We havent been able to do to much because the heat has been so friggin high. All in the mid to high 90s. Its insane. We beg for rain and we get a little here and a little there. Nothing to write home about.

I did get my notice to return in September to work. But as we well know in the past, that could change. Fingers crossed that I still have a job. Im not sure who would want my job though. Its not like I get rich from it and not too many people want to spend most of their time sitting on a floor tied up like a pretzel.

We had the 4th Of July parade as usual at the camp. We did take first place with the float. There was one chick that took 3rd place with her golf cart but personally, she shouldnt have gotten anything. There were at least 8 other carts that should have had that trophy before she did. Im sure there are some pissed off people out there. How do you get Best Dressed when you dont have anything decorated?

We are getting ready for Christmas In July at the camp tomorrow. Its supposed to be hot yet again so Im sure Santa will show up in his Bermuda shorts. I would be completely surprised if he doesnt.

Everyone has been doing fairly well though. Nothing upsetting to report. Oh and Cami is now officially referred to her old specialist to be treated. We gave up on the chick she had this past year. She was a nut case. Ha! Thats pretty amusing to say that about a shrink huh? She had Cami on a medication that was causing an opposite effect and it was a disaster. So we took her off the med and the doctor had the nerve to yell at me and tell me I didnt know what I was doing. Ummmm, last I knew, that was my job and Im also the one that lives with my kid. She sees the kid for about 15 minutes once a month. How the hell would she know what goes on in her life. Also she couldnt even pronounce one of the other meds she was on. I had to correct her a few times and the doctor yelled at me telling me she knows how its pronounced. Trust me, she wasnt even close.

So thats the news for now. I promise to have some more posts up that I started.

In the fish bowl.....

2010-05-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

The weather is warming up. Im starting to like it now. I was able to go to work this morning without a jacket. The sky is blue and clear. I know Im going to jinx it though.

Not a whole lot has been happening lately. Just the same routine day in and day out. We didnt go to the camp this weekend. Cami was having one of her drama trips. Shes on the kick now of just answering everything with 'I dont care'. Its so frustrating. I want to wring her neck but you know I wouldnt. If this is the beginnings of PMS, get it over with fast.

We did go to a carnival on Sunday. It was at the local mall. Nothing spectactular. Just a small little area of the parking lot with some rides and some games. Some of the usual foods. We pulled in and got a great parking spot and grandpa hands Cami some money for some ride tickets. She really doesnt do much for rides so she got the smaller pack. My sister and father went to go get some food while Cami and I went to the rides. She did a few of them and we walked around a little.

We came back to the table and she said she was hungry so we got her a cheeseburger and my sister got a couple of plates of fried dough. We munched on that and then grandpa gave Cami some money to play some games. Cami is pretty good at them. She played the dart game wher eyou have to pop the balloons and she won something there. Then she moved to another booth where she had to pop something and she won something there too. Then we played the little duckie thing and she won something there too.

Then came the fun part. She wanted to play the gold fish one. This one you had to put the ping pong ball in the little gold fish bowl. Like this was going to happen. When I was a kid you put a dime in the bowl. You had a better chance at it. The balls are just small enough to fit in the top of the bowl. And the more you throw, the more they bounce all over the place. For $5 you get a whole bucket of balls. There must have been at least 20 of them.

There is no easy way to play this game so she was just randomly throwing them in. Of course she gets one in. And then another. I was hoping that she would have won a stuffed animal or something. But noooo, she got to take home two gold fish. Yes, real live gold fish. What the hell am I supposed to do with these? I know I have done this to my mom in the past but at least we had other fish in the house. We dont have any here anymore. So that means I will have to dig out a tank from somewhere. I know I have a few.

We went home and of course she remembered that there was one of the small hexagon tanks on the back porch. So I got that out and cleaned it all up and put some marbles in the bottom. I dont have a filter for it though. It will have to do. We set it up and got the fishies swimming in it. Then she fed them a little and that was that.

I asked her what we should name them and she said Pip and Pop. I thought of lunch and dinner for the kitty cat. LOL Im sure she wasnt too thrilled about that. So no kitty cat has her own entertainment.

Lets see how long they last.

This Totally Sucked....

2010-05-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

I had a nice title picked out for this but since it contained a four letter word, I dont think the server would have liked it. So I will just leave it as &#@^#&!! crap. Does that work? What a crappy past few days. Litterally. I cant even begin to tell you how bad it sucked.

You would think that after what we have been through with the eye stuff, that life would hand us some lemonade but you and I both guessed wrong on that. Actually I think the lemons would have burned like hell. Just like everything else did. Please dont mind my typos on this post or any other post. Im typing fast to get all my thoughts out because I have a ton of posts to catch up on and Im in the mood to actually write them. Just go with it and be entertained. Im in the mood for that too.

It all started Wednesday night. Cami's dad was sick for a few days with a sort of stomach ailment that we summed up as dehydration from working and not eating or drinking. Well Im stating it as wrong now. We found out the hard way what it really was. His started on Saturday last week. It hit him really hard on Sunday but he still went to work and then went to the doctor. The doctor told him it was dehydration. Wrong. You cant spread dehydration.

On Wednesday, Cami said she wasnt feeling all that well but she managed to pull through the day. She was suffering from minor diarrhea. Which was also what her dad was too. But he also had a day of vomiting. So pretty much, Wednesday night, guess what started. Yup, vomiting. She was letting loose about every 20 minutes. It was both ends at the same time. The thing is, it was uncontrolable. She was hanging out in the bathroom just waiting for it to hit. She was scared to leave the room. She threw up her pills so she wasnt going to sleep any time soon.

At about 2:00am, her dad took her to the ER. It was that bad. Constant by then. She was puking in the sink and crapping on the toilet at the same time. Or she was puking in a bowl and crapping in her pants. This was some serious stuff and I was feeling bad for her. I stayed home to get some sleep because I knew that when she returned, I would be up with her.

At about 5am, the returned and she was given a pill to soothe the nausea and she was able to sleep. At about a half hour later, I was in the bathroom puking my guts out. I was on the toilet with one end and puking in the bathtub. It was so horrible. I was crying and not knowing what to do. There was no way I could take the day off either. We had a field trip with the kids in a few hours and I couldnt do a damn thing about it. I HAD to be there. So at about 7am, I woke Cami up to get her ready for school and I tooke my shower to get ready as well. Before we left, I hit the toilet and the tub one more time.

I got to school and told them what happened. I said that I was there but not feeling well at all. They understood and told me that I looked like hell froze over. I agreed. We went on about the day as usual though. I knew I had to just get through it. Im strong. If Cami had problems, her school was to call her dad so he could come get her. As long as he made the effort to go to work, they would be ok with him leaving early to get her.

We loaded up the kids in the car and off to the theater for the show. I was a litle queasy but I pushed through it. I held it in the best I could. We got to the parking garage and I was tightly walking down the three flights to the ground floor. How I made it that far, I dont know. Then we walked to the theater to wait for the bus that brought the rest of the kids. We waited for a while and I was hoping to get inside soon because I didnt know how much longer I could take it. I needed to stay with the kids and the rest of the group though. They were more important.

We finally got inside and we were directed to the balcony. Geez, more stairs. Im not sure I cant make it. But I did. We got to our seats and I requested the end seat because I wasnt sitting there for long. One of the other teachers sat behind me so that she could be at that end to waych the kids from there so I could run to the can. Once the lights went down, I was gone. I went back down the little ramp to the ladies lounge and, of course, there was a line of kids waiting to use the toilets. Damnit, Im not making it. So I went off to a corner of the lounge and got up close and personal with a little trash can.

Mind you that this is one of those opulant opera houses so you know that the lounges are all fancy and stuff with nice furniture. Im sure that whome ever was coming in after me wouldnt be too thrilled. Neither would the cleaning crew. But I couldnt hold it in. After that, I needed to get to a toilet and fast. I butted in line but I didnt care. There was a teacher from my school there and she knew what was going on with me so she let me go on ahead. I chose a stall and went to work. I got personal with the little trash can in there too while the toilet became my best friend. This was not an enjoyable day so far.

After a few more minutes, I was able to contain myself long enough to go back to my seat and finish the show. It was a great show and Im sad that I missed the first few minutes of it. When it was time to leave, I made one more pittstop though. Just to make sure I would make it to the park. This is why we didnt take the kids ont he bus. We had other things going on after the show. A nice picnic in the park and the playground.

I graced the bathroom at the playground a couple of times. For lunch I was able to get an iced tea to hopefully settle my stomach and it did for a while. I was thankful for that. Then after lunch, we went to get the kids some icecream. I was able to contain myself through that because there wasnt a bathroom there. I had no choice but to suffer that one out. I didnt eat anything or drink anything. I didnt dare. My boss told me that when we got back, I could go home. I was looking forward to that. They once again told me that I was looking pretty green. Well green is a nice color, but not for me.

Once back at the school, I made a mad dash to the toilet once again and finished out that part of the day. This was not fun. I left there and went to go get Cami. She wasnt well at all. So we went straight home. I passed out as soon as we got home and slept the rest of the night. I had such a headache and was so sick. She was as well.

The next day, I attempted to make it to work and Cami wasnt going to. She was crapping in her pants by then and there was no way I was letting her go through that. I was so sore and my butt wasnt going to make it either. I called in for both of us. There was no way that we could do it. If I lose my job over this, so be it. I have a valid excuse. I couldnt even breathe. I was in such pain. We spent the day in bed with all sorts of medications from the hospital.

Today I am feeling a little better and I was able to have some soup last night. Tonight I ate something a little more solid but Im still very sore. I can move more though and my headache is pretty much gone. I dont know what it was but I wouldnt wish it on anyone.

The Eyes Have It....

2010-05-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

The Eyes Have It....

What a hell of a time we had with this. I will start by going back in time a little. Back to vacation week with Cami's eye issue. She developed a hemmorage in her eye. We still have no clue how or when it happened. But little by little over the next week, it went away. All but a small spot like how it started. Of course when vacation was over, it was also spring picture day at school. There is no retake day so this was it. Red spot or no.

So she got dressed up and did her hair pretty and all that jazz. I sent her to school and then I went to mine. I was in a small panic all day. I knew she would do well with her pictures but I didnt know if the photographer would take note of the message I left on the payment envelope about fixing the eye thing when they delevloped the pitcure. That was all I was worried about. Then again, I really didnt over care too much because it was one of those childhood things that will always mess up a picture. Sometimes its bad hair, or a stain on the shirt from lunch or even dirt from the playground. Something always screws up a school picture. But nothing like having an evil eye looking back at you. I got through it and Cami said she thought she did great with the poses that they made her do. Ok, I good with that.

On Wed though, we had another issue to deal with. She woke up upset that he eye was hurting. I thought that it might have broken again and I looked at it. The red spot was almost gone but the whole eye was all puffy and looked sore. I thought maybe it looked like a allergy or something. I gave her a cold wet cloth to put on it to soothe it. I told her that if it wasnt better byt the end of the day that I would make an appointment with the doctor. Well that came too soon because at about 11:00, I got a call from her school nurse that she might have pink eye and to take her out of school and to a doctor. Oh great. I told my boss about it and they told me to go get her and not bring the illness back with me. As you know, it is contagious.

So I went to get her. I walked into the nurses office and there she was with an icepack on it. I looked at it and it was all swollen, red and bloodshot. It was pussing and everything. Damnit, it was pink eye. I called the doctor right then and there and they got me in for a 1:00 appointment. We went home first to wash out the eye a little and I told her not to touch anything. Of course she did though. But shes a kid. Thats what kids do.

We went to the doctor and they took a swab of the puss and sent it to the lab. Came back as bacterial conjunctivitis. Not pink eye. Pink eye is viral. This was bacterial. Not much of a difference but still contagious. I was given a Rx for it and told to keep her home for the next few days. Well that would mean two days home from school and then the weekend. She would be able to go to school on Monday. Ok. I can deal with that. I would have to call in because I dont have a sitter. Oh well. Nothing much I could do about that.

So for the next few days, I was spraying everything with Lysol and following her around with the can. My house smelled like bleach and it was so clean that I didnt even recognize it myself. I was doing laundry every day. I washed her bedding constantly and cleaned all surfaces. I thought that the skin left my hands because of it all. But at least i would go away.

Oh, did I mention that the next day after the doctor visit, that it went to both eyes? Oh the joy. You could sit there and watch the puss form in her eyes. I would constantly tell her not to rub or itch her eyes. But of course she did. And she hated the drops. And she hated the antibiotics. And then there was more itching. But by Saturday she figured out to run the area under her eye without actually touching it. By Monday, she looked like a panda bear with huge red marks under her eyes from all the rubbing. But at least you could see her eyes were white and bright. But we still have her the drops for another week just to make sure.

Whats next for this poor child? Stay tuned because the best is yet to come. * grumble *

Suffering Final....

2010-05-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

So here I was sitting here waiting for the hammer to fall. I went to work after dropping Cami off at her school. I knew this was going to be a bad day. I did what I had to do. I didnt tell anyone the real reason for me to leave early. But they knew it was something inportant. I was visibly shaking and several asked what was wrong. I told them that I would tell them when I got done with the day. I couldnt tell them before I knew the outcome.

I left work at 11:45. My appointment wasnt until 1:30. I had some time to myself to figure out my escape plan. Yeah, I try to cover the bases. So I decided to relax a little. I went to McDs to get something for my daughter for lunch. I fingured that spending a little time with her would calm me. I got her a happy meal and went to her school. We sat in the staff lounge there and talked a little about what was happening. I can talk to them there because they are close friends of mine and they help everyone. So it was comforting to know they were on my side.

The happy meal came with a prize that was a dinosaur from the dragon movie. It had wings that moved and a button to push that caused a lighted flame to come out its mouth. Encouraging huh? I didnt let her take it back to class with her so I put it in my purse. I left there and went on to downtown. I stopped at the library first to check out a book to read. The line was long so I told them I would be back in a little while to pick it up. I went on to the courthouse from there. I walked across the street. I ate a chocolate bar on the way. Im not supposed to eat the whole thing but I didnt care at that moment. I was hungry and shaky from not eating. I needed this or I knew I would pass out upon arrival. Not a good thing.

I got inside and found where the court room was. Second floor. So I went up the stairs and saw a police man sitting at a desk with all the scanner stuff for the court room. I put my stuff in the tray and handed the man my purse. He put it in the scanner and I walked through the metal dector. As I was gathering my things, the man was giggling and I was a little suprised. He asked if I brought my monster to do my dirty work. I said huh? He pointed to my purse. I had completely forgotten about the happy meal prize in there. Now I giggled and said yes. He he he. That made me feel a little better. But only a little.

I went into the court room and signed in. I was the first on the list. Sometimes that can be a good thing and sometimes it can be a bad thing. The good part was that I would be called up first and can leave first. The bad thing is that I would be called up first and look like a total jackass. So I sat there all alone for what seemed like forever. I found a partial news paper so I was reading that when someone else finally came in and signed in. It was almost 1:00. Soon a few more came in. And then a few more. The room was filling up. More and more people there to see what an ass I am. I was getting more and more nervous and more and more heated. This was not going well.

A lady sat next to me. She was in a car accident and was there to face her fate as well. You could see she was in pain though. Sitting on that hard bench wasnt helping either. So we chatted about small talk and we were both concerned for the same thing. Everything was going to be public knowledge and everyone in that room was going to know why we were here. I dont think that was fair though and I didnt want to speak into that mic either.

We were there for a while longer before the lawyers started coming in. One in particular struck up funny though. He was a really large man with a cheap suit, a lot of gold on his neck and hands and dark shades. Sort liek Mr T went legal. It was silly. That kept us entertained for a little while. Then there was a little red headed one with glasses. Looked smart and well dressed. I hoped he was mine. A few minutes later, I heard my name and sure enough, he called me in to a meeting. Yay, I get the smart looking one.

I went up with him for my meeting. He said he had to be quick because time was running down. I said ok. I had no idea what was about to happen though. He started rambling about the charge I was there for and that he would try to get it reduced to some other numbered code that I had no idea what it was. He said this was the best he could do and for me to just plead guilty to it and that everything would be ok and I would be free to leave. I nodded and went back to sit down. I was all confused but he assured me that it was a good thing. Its now at 1:30 and the laywers are calling up the people one by one for their meetings. By the time they got done, it was about 2:30. I had to pee so freaking bad. The lady next to me told me to go but I was afraid to miss my name being called so I decided to wait it out a little longer.

At about 2:45, the judge finally came into the room and everything was about to start. I knew I would be the first to be called up. But that was shortlived when someone else was called. I was a little stunned but then relieved that I wasnt the first to look like an ass. The man went up to the bench to see the judge. Good because we couldnt hear anything. That means that no one would hear my case either.

A few minutes later, he left and I was called in. Im shaking more now and Im about to piss my pants. I hope this will be quick because I will be sure to let everyone know that Im scared in a few minutes. My bladder wasnt going to be kind. I walked up the the judge and my lawyer was there at my side. Good thing this man is getting paid huh? Im not paying him though because Im classified as poor. Whoohoo. Hope this works.

The judge rambles off the same codes and jibberish that the lawyer did and then asked me what I pleaded. I looked at the lawyer and he smiled and nodded. I said that I plead guilty. The judge then asked if I was paying today and I said yes. The secretary handed me a slip of paper and said to go out to the hall and to what room I needed to go to. So I took the paper, thanked the lawyer and walked out the door.

I stood outside the door and broke down in tears. I was sobbing quite loudly. The officer from earlier came over to me and asked if I was ok. I told him I needed a bathroom. He asked me if my little monster helped me out in there. I started to laugh and that made me feel a little better. He asked if all went well in there and I handed him the slip. He asked what I was originally there for and I told him. He then laughed and said I was damn lucky. I asked why and he said that what I was charged with was no where near what I was there for. I asked him what I pleade guilty to and what he told me next almost caused me to faint.

I was there to face a fine of $400 and 5 points on my license and possibly have it taken away. I walked out of there with a $70 fine, no points and a charge of ..... ready for this? Parking on pavement!!!! Are you freaking kidding? I nearly hit the floor. Then I asked him what that was. I had never heard of that before. He told me it was basically that I was parked on a sidewalk. Ha ha ha... Im nearly dieing now. Are you serious? I totally forgot that I had to pee.

He directed me to the door to where I had to pay and gave me a hug and said good luck to me. I went over to the door and waited behind the man that was called in front of me. I was there for a few minutes and my body started to do the potty dance. I really had to go and it wasnt going to be long before my bladder exploded. I was called up next and handed my slip to the lady there. She asked for the payment and I handed it to her. She handed me my reciept and sent me on my way. As I was walking back towards the stairs, the officer told me that the bathroom was down on the first floor to the right. I thanked him and told him that next time I would bring a monster just for him. We both had a good laugh.

I went to the bathroom and sat there for a few minutes longer to take in all that just happened. I couldnt believe it. I wanted to go back upstairs to hug that lawyer. Maybe someday I will get to thank him but I wasnt going back up there for any reason. I left the building and went outside into the sunlight. I felt such relief. I walked back to the library and picked up my book. I went to my car and called Cami's dad to tell him that I would go to pick her up as it was only 3:15. I called the school to tell them that I would be there to get her and to not let her go outside.

When I got there, my friends were waiting for the outcome. I told them what happened and they hugged me and we all laughed about the monster. It was a much better day.

Trust me, I will never put myself through that again.

Suffering Part 2....

2010-04-23T21:24:00.001-07:00

Suffering Part 2.....

I knew you would be waiting for the rest of that post. I will try to get it all in one post now. Its late at night so most of this will be ramblings. Of course, most of my posts are like that.

The waiting was endless. Time was passing way too slow. The initial incident happened in late February and Spring break was coming. I was beginning to panic more and more. I was counting down the days that I had left to be able to drive. I was thinking of ways to avoid telling certain people that I had no car. How was I going to get to work? How was I going to get to a store? Or take my father to the hopsital when he called. I didnt dare want to tell him this. He would kill me. I would never hear the end of it or live it down. This was really eating me up. I was completely devastated. I was depressed. But I was also hiding behind a mask to appear happy and normal. Inside I was dieing a slow death. A slow, painful and choking death. I was choking on my own fear.

When I drove through that area, I was nervous. I avoided that particular street. I went the long way around to go home. I didnt want to go through that again. It was consuming me. I know Im being silly about it but this was something very serious to me. The waiting was getting to me more and more.

Finally I got a letter in the mail from the court. I was dreading opening it because I knew my fate. But it wasnt what I expected. It wasnt a bill. It didnt tell me that I needed to pay or anything. It was a letter from the city DAs office telling me that there was a pretrial conference set up for me and that it would be wise for me to attend. It also said that I had pleaded not guilty to the charge. But I did plead guilty. Im confused and scared even more now. I dont want a trial. I dont want a conviction weighing on my mind now. What the hell was this all about?

The date was set for April 19th at 130pm. That would mean a half day. I know my boss wasnt going to like this. What else could I do? I cant miss this. I cant risk it. I have to meet with this man and hope for the best. I went all through the week of Spring break with this on my mind. Knowing that I would only have a few days of freedom left. How was I going to get to camp? How was I going to get to work? If I lose my job, I cant get the insurance that we need. My child wont get the medications she needs. I could taste the bile in my throat.

This all may sound so dramatic. I admit now that it was. But at the time, this was really how I was feeling. I was happy and smiling on the outside but scared and sick on the inside. I hated to pretend but I seriously didnt think anyone would understand.

The time passed slowly but yet too fast. The day approached and I wasnt ready to face it. I didnt sleep at all the night before. I didnt even eat the day before. I have low blood sugar so you know that just made it all the more sickening for me. I went to work as usual. I told my daughter that her dad would be there to pick her up from school. I had made arrangements so that she would be able to take a bus in the morning to go to school. How I would be able to pick her up afterwards was yet unknown. But I was trying to cover all the bases. I wanted to be prepared for the worse.

And yes, it was still yet to come.

Anniversary...

2010-04-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

This post has nothing to do with the previous one. I just checked the sidebar on my main page and noticed that I have been blogging here for four years. I just wanted to make it official.

Four years of listening to me tell my lifes stories and rambles. All the excitement and sad moments in time. There is so much more to be said though.

Heres to another four years. Or more for that matter.

Cheers.

I Suffered Alone....

2010-04-23T20:39:00.001-07:00

I suffered alone....

There are times that I write personal stuff and there are times that I dont because the stuff is too personal. Somewhere in my documents files are dozens of posts that I write but never post. They are either too personal or too embarrassing. Or I write them so that I can read them 20 years from now. Yeah, like computers will be around then.

Well this post I would like to make public because there were a lot of people asking me questions for the past couple of months about the way I have been behaving. I was either too quiet or I was too hyper. Either way, I wasnt myself and I was trying to hide it as best as I could. It was just one of those things that I couldnt tell anyone. Something that I felt inside that I was a little ashamed of. Not because it was a completely bad thing, but to me it was. It was devastating to me. I felt scared, angry, embarrassed and ashamed all at once. I was in a constant state of panic. I wasnt sleeping. Well not that I sleep now but it was less than normal. I was either eating too much or not eating at all. I felt sick to my stomach. I was nervous. I was angry.

Why was I feeling all of this? I am somewhat a bit of a perfectionist for some things in my life. Not everything. Just some. Its not a psychological thing either. Its more of a success thing. There are some things that I would prefer to be good at. And I want it to stand out. One of them would be my driving record. And this is pretty much what this was all about. I have a perfect record. I have never been in trouble before. I have never failed at this before. Any accident I was in was not my fault. Yes, on this account, I was innocent at all times. Even when that jackass of a cop gave me a ticket for not wearing my seat belt even though I was wearing it. It was under my boobs so you know what he was looking at. And I did win that one in court. And proved he was an ass. But regardless, this was something worse.

One day I was driving home from work and the roads were a little slick. I was coming around a corner and at the same time there was a school bus approaching. I was almost upon the bus when the red lights came on and that little stop sign popped out of the side. I hit the brakes but was unable to stop in time. I slid past the little stop sign. This is a mistake and Im sure others have done this before as well. I cant be the only person in the world that has done this.

I was stopped but not where I was supposed to be. But do you think I could tell that to a cop? Well I tried to because when I stopped and looked up, there was a state cop behind the bus and he put his lights on and swung his car out and around to greet me. I sure he had a big smile on his face too. At this moment, I started to panic because in my eyes, I didnt do anything totally wrong. I tried to stop. But being where he was located, Im sure that was out of his line of vision.

So I sat there like a total fool waiting for him to approach my car. I know he was running my plates. He then came up to me and wanted all my information. I handed it to him and he looked at me like I had two heads. I was near to tears at this point. He told me what he pulled me over for and I told him what had happened. He said that I would need to wait there and he would be back.

It seemed like hours passed before he came back to my car. I hated sitting there while he had his lights on. Other cars were driving past me and looking at me like I was some sort of scum. Or they pointed at me. I was freaking out and literally sweating. I wanted to cry. He handed me the ticket and said for me to have a nice day. What? How can I have a nice day? Then he got back in his car and waited for me to pull away. But I sat there waiting for him to leave before I started my car up. I wasnt going to let him follow me while I was driving in a panic. That was asking for more and I wasnt about to have it.

I cried on the way home. I was also angry that the man didnt listen to me at all. And it wasnt a local cop either. This was one of the state ones and he had an ego just as big.

When I got home, I went on line to look up what the fine would be. I was stunned and shocked when I read the screen. It was a fine of a minimum of $250 to a max of $400. Also it was going to be 5 points on my license. I cant have that. That would make my insurance go up or canceled. I cant have that happen. This was now starting to piss me off more and more.

I read the ticket over and over. I checked the box off that said guilty. I figured that I would pay the fine because I didnt stand a chance in fighting it. It would be my word against his. Which do you think a judge would believe? I would just have to take the courses to reduce the points on my license and hope the insurance company would understand.

I sent the ticket in and began to wait to hear back from the court on what the fine would be. It was like waiting for death. Day and night I thought and dwelled on this. I didnt say a word to anyone about it. One night soon after, I got a message from a friend that asked me what happened because someone had seen me pulled over by the cop. So I told her what happened and she told me that I should fight it. Well maybe I could but I would have to wait to see what happens.

I never said another word about it to her or anyone else. I still felt sick to my stomach all the time about it. The waiting was so long. I think that was the worst part at that point. But it was about to get worse.

Pink Is A Pretty Color...

2010-04-22T20:11:00.001-07:00

Pink Is A Pretty Color....

Well it is one of my favorite colors after burgundy and yellow. But its not so pretty when its your eye color. Monday morning was a bit of a crazy morning. Cami wasnt wasnting to go to school. She was cranky and whiny. Moreso than usual. Durning the break, I took her off the Abilify. It seemed to make her worse. She was gaining weight. Constantly complaining that she was hungry and just moody even more. It was turning into a nightmare at school too. She was becoming a mess. Now that shes been off of it for a while, shes been doing a little better. And shes not constantly complaining of wanting food all the time. It was a side effect of the medication.

Her psychiatrist wasnt thrilled with her not being on it. I dont care. She sees her for about 15 minutes. She needs to have her move in with her for a week to get the total effect of it. But then she wants Cami to go see another specialist to get to the bottom of her moods. He anger issues. Well this doctor is about to see my anger issue. I will give the other doctor a chance to see whats up.

I chalk it all up to either lack of sleep or too much sleep. But with the medications, its hard to regulate that. Without the abilify, she doesnt sleep too much and shes cranky in the morning. WIth the Abilify, shes sleeping all night in a deep sleep and doesnt want to wake up in the morning. Therefore, shes even worse. And it was carrying into the day where she was still cranky and tired. At least without the Abilify, she can get through her day as a normal kid.

Also this week, Wednesday was crazy. Cami woke up with a swollen eye. Its the same one she had a problem with over the break. The red spot cleared up to almost gone. But now its all puffy. I chalked it up to allergies and put a cold cloth on it to soothe it. Seemed to help. But at about 11am, her school nurse called me. She said that her eye is looking bad and pussing. Its all red and she might have pink eye. Oh great. Now what do I do?

So I left school and picked her up. We went to the doctor and they said it was a bacterial conjunctivitis. Wonderful. Pink eye is a viral. He did a culture on it and said this was bacterial. He gave me an Rx for some antibiotic drops for it. If its not cleared up by Monday, she needs to come back for something more.

I called in to work today because Cami has a doctor note for Thursday and Friday off. I have no choice. I dont have a sitter available for her. I know Im going to catch shit for this. Nothing more I can do.

I spent the entire day cleaning and washing all her stuff. I was chasing her around with a can of Lysol. Washing hands, spraying surfaces. I cant put her in a bubble. But today, the swelling was down and no puss. Thats a good sign. But now the other eye is all red and bloodshot too. But nothing like it was Wednesday morning. You could watch the puss forming. It was gross.

Shes been fighting me with the drops but she has to take them. I showed her some pictures on line of the worse cases if she doesnt allow this to be treated. She agreed that she didnt want her eye to fall out either. LOL Im hoping it clears up soon and that no one else catches it. I really hate this.

Spring Has Sprung...

2010-04-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

Spring Has Sprung...

I do believe that Spring has finally showed its head around here. The trees are budding and some are blooming. There are a few trees outside of my work that have pretty pale pink flowers all over them. I was thinking about taking a picture or two. Hope I remember to do so before the petals fall.

The week off was a blessing. Its something that was much needed. I wish there was a way to have a couple more days off. It really went too fast. Can I have a recount? Seriously though, that week off is a great way to get away from a lot of the stress. It does get to you .

But there is only a few more weeks of school left. I havent counted the days but its more around 45 or so. Not long to go. Also not long to go before mom comes up from Florida for the summer. She called the other night to let me know that they will be leaving on the 28th of this month. I cant wait. Ive been itching for the camp.

The week off was interesting though. On Saturday we decided to take Cami out for a fun day. We dont do the whole Easter Basket thing because Cami cant have the candy and she doesnt eat the eggs. Her Easter gifts are usually a couple of stuffed animals and some new clothes. A game or a new CD are added as a bonus. She doesnt go without. Believe me, she gets the goodies.

But this time we decided that a fun day would more than make up for it. She had already gone out with grandpa to do some Spring clothes shopping. She has gained alot of weight with the Abilify and her jeans werent fitting. But she was able to get some capri pants and a few new shirts. We have an addiction to Webkinz so I picked up a couple of them for her for her Easter basket and her dad got her a couple too.

We left in the morning and started heading to Saratoga. Of course there was a stop at a DD so I could have my first iced coffee of the season. It was a warm day out. Beautiful. We headed to a few places to look at some scenery and then went to a bowling alley up there. They have an arcade so we would have some fun. When we walked into this place, it was like heaven. I swear this is true. We all love to bowl and this was a regular bowling alley with about 28 lanes. But as I turned to my right, I nearly peed my pants. They have an arcade in there that would make Chuck E Cheeses look like a dump. I couldnt believe all the cool things they had in there. Plus they had a full size Ball City!!! THis is the coolest thing. Also they had full size bumper cars!!! In a bowling alley!!! Yes Im shouting.

We were there for about 4 hours. Before we left, Cami and I went into a photo booth and got our pictures taken together. It was fun. Then we headed to a Hallmark store there to see their supply of Webkinz. I was blown away with the selection. They had a few retired ones there too. So we grabbed a few and she also got a whole stack of free trading cards. We made out fairly well. After that we headed to the local Walmart. We needed to grab some last minute items for Easter dinner. As we were checking out, her school nurse saw us and came over to say hello. She looked at Cami and asked what happened to her eye. I didnt notice anything wrong until then. She had a small red spot. The nurse said it didnt look too bad but to watch it and see if it gets worse.

Monday we went to Utica with my father, sister and neice. We visited the family out there and had a nice lunch. We then went to see some houses that the family once owned and even the one where my father was born. It was nice to see that. Every time we go there, I get to learn something new about my family. Then we headed for home. On the way home we stopped at a gift store and I picked up some stones to make a bracelet.

Tuesday came and her eye was looking worse so I took her to the doctor. We were told that it was a subconjunctival hemorrhage and not to worry about it. It would go away on its own. I asked how it could have happened because I looked at the pictures of Cami and I from the arcade and it wasnt in her eye then. He said that it could happen just from coughing. So we had a whole week for it to heal. But it was now covering half of her eye. As the week went through, it did get more and more white again so I was relieved.

There were some rainy days and there were some nice days. The vacation was too short. Counting the days til Memorial Day weekend.

Spring Break

2010-04-01T19:37:00.001-07:00

Spring Break

Its that time of the year again. Allergy season. Well its not too bad so far. And Im not complaining. Today was the last day of school. Well not for the year but for a week. I enjoy this break almost as much as summer vacation. The weather forecast is going to be awesome this week. A far cry from the past few days for sure. The winter wasnt all that bad and because we didnt use up all the snow days, we get that extra day for Memorial Day weekend.

It has been a bit stressful with Cami lately. Im not sure what it is but shes being a royal pain in the ass in the mornings again. She has been taking her medications but I think the one is too strong. It knocks her out and she does sleep at night but she is a pain to wake up in the morning. Because shes so bitchy, she doesnt care what happens. I could take away Christmas and she doesnt care. She has a doc appointment coming up so Im hoping something can be resolved.

This part of the message is for the @&$(#&# that decided that I shouldnt be driving on my own side of the road. I was on my way home from school today and suddenly had to jerk the car up onto the sidewalk and into someones driveway to avoid a head on collision. I saw the big white SUV coming toward me and it was in my lane. It didnt show any signs of moving into its own lane so I had no choice but to dart out of the way fast. Good thing Im a conscious driver.

To make it worse, the bitch slowed down to yell out of her window to get the f*** out of her way and she proceeded to flip me off. Well la-tee-da for me being on my own side of the road. Where the hell are the cops when ya need them? Oh yeah, they were watching the streets for a funeral of a gang member shooting that happened last weekend.

I need to haul up out of this place.

In other news, the camp opens soon and the weather is so nice. I was hoping to get down there to clean up a little and just relax with a fire in the pit. Im not sure I will get to do that though. We shall see. I also want to hit some yard sales this weekend. I went to one today after school but they didnt have what I wanted. I need to hit some of the back roads ones for what I want. No one in the city would have it.

Also tomorrow I want to clean my car out. I plan to do this sometime soon. Note that I said plan. It really needs it. And then there is the yard work that has to be done. The weather is perfect for it. I also want to get Cami's bedroom cleaned out and all the clothes that dont fit her anymore need to be sent to the school nurse so she can use them for the kids that dont have much.

I have a few items that need to be brought back to the storage unit. Like the Christmas tree. Yeah its still boxed up and sitting in my storage room here. Taking up space. A few other boxes can go over and I also need to load up the stuff from the back porch too.

I did say this was a vacation right?

Orange Glow

2010-03-25T20:36:00.001-07:00

Orange Glow

Just what the title means. Actually I couldnt think of anything else. No, its the nothe product endorsed by the late Billy Mayes. I do miss him though. Had that strange quality about him. Either that or the world was under the command of that black beard. Sort of weird how it was so.... black. Anywho, the orange glow was from the sky tonight.

The weather this past weekend was glorious. But the past couple of days have been miserable, gloomy and cold. Rain was the main forecast. Not something I wanted to deal with after the wonderful weekend. Well I should say mid weekend. Its didnt end so well.

Let me start by explaining the glow. It wasnt from some alien space ship. Although that would have been really cool to see. Its one of the mysteries of living in the city. Seems the city lights cause weird things to happen in the skies. When the sky is cold and cloudy, the city lights reflect. I went out tonight to take the dog out for her final business. Its one of the times that I do enjoy. No matter how hot or cold it is, I just like standing out there in the dark. The city tends to be so quiet at this time of the night. No one is out in the streets.

I explained in the last post about how the light flickers green and then to orange. Its that orange light that reflects in the misty rain. Its kind of cool to just look at. And while Im standing there, I like to listen to the trains in the distance. To the right would be the Amtrak. To the left would be the freight trains. Either way, the sound is soothing. The city sleeps, but the trains dont. I can hear them clacking on the tracks and the whistles blowing. I grew up with them so its comforting to me. Not like when I lived right next to the eastern end of the runway at the airport. That wasnt too comforting at all.

But I needed a few relaxing moments of peace. This weekend was absolutly crazy. I couldnt wait to get out of work on Friday. It was just one of those weeks you wanted to end quickly. Saturday was going to be a big day. I always enjoy a trip to see my relatives. As crazy as they sometimes can be, they are great to be with. SO the morning started off early. Cup of coffee and Im ready to walk out the door. My father was picking me up at about 9am. A little early for me on a Saturday. So that mug was warm and inviting. Now mind you that the mug I have is a two cupper. So I had one in my hands when we left.

By the time we were about half way there, we were at a service station and I was getting another refill. We arrived with a few minutes to spare. Actually 45 of them. So Cami and I went to do a little shopping. We like hitting one of the bargin stores there. Picked up a couple of things there and then went on to the Hallmark store to look for a specific Webkinz. I will explain my addiction to that later.

We didnt find the one I intended but I was able to pick up a retired one. She got a couple of figurines and some stickers. So we made out fairly well. Then it was off to meet the family for lunch. It was pleasant as usual and then a visit from a cousin I havent seen in a while. His daughter and her son came too. It was fun. But soon it was time to leave. We had to hit the Polish market on the way home. And we all know how much I love going there.

After spending some cash at the market and also getting some chocolates, we were off to home. But something happened along the way that I dont think I will forget. I am a huge advocate on mental illness. I cant stand when people abuse those that are "different". Just gets to me. There are some words that I refuse to use. They hurt me and Im sure they hurt those they are meant for. You know what words Im refering to, so I wont mention them.

I also have an interest in the old places that once housed the "insane". Of course we all know that back in the 1800s and early 1900s, people didnt know too much about mental illnesses except that they needed to be locked away and forced to endure cruel treatments. No one knew what a seizure was so they figured that they could lock people up and forget about them. Let the doctors have them. Experiment on them like they were nothing more than a lab rat. We all know differently now.

I have done extensive research on some of these former facilities. But not only was I curious into the history of the diseases and the treatments but also the buildings. The sheer size and designs of these places amaze me. The workmanship that went into building them was also amazing. Some of them are truely works of art. A few stood out. Even a few of the treatments that went on behind the walls interested me. Devices long ago destroyed because of inhuman abuse. One such device was called "the crib". Its sort of like an ancient restraining crate. Of course they are no longer used. Although some patients liked the use of it because it provided a sort of comfort to be contained. They knew they couldnt hurt themselves or anyone else while inside it.

My research to this item was limited and I didnt think much more about it til last weekend. As we left the market, we drove down a street I wasnt really familure with. I saw a really nice looking building. It was of red brick and it caught my eye. It was also old and boarded up. But I was curious and I asked my father what it was. He said it was the old lunitic asylum. That alone perked my interest. But he went by it and nothing more was said. Then about a block down there was this massive structure that blew me away. I asked him what that place was and he told me that was the new lunitic asylum. Of course he went on past that one too. So I didnt get a chance to really look at it or take any pictures.

When we got home, I went straight to my computer and went on the hunt to find out more about it. Not onloy did I find it but also the history of it. What it once looked like and what went on there. I also found out that the device I mentioned earlier was created there and that was the original name. The Utica Crib. You can look it up. There is some information in the following links and some pictures too. Although I couldnt find much for the red building. Im still looking for that one.

http://newyorktraveler.net/the-old-main-or-utica-lunatic-asylum-ny/

http://www.asylumprojects.org/tiki-index.php?page=Utica+State+Hospital

http://nysasylum.com/utica/index.htm

Sometimes I often wonder what those places were like. What stories they could tell. I would never go inside one. Not sure what to expect.

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. There are many treatment options out there today. More and more patients live happy normal lives. You wouldnt even know they had an "illness". I work with them every day and I live with them.

More on the weekend in the next post. This one is way too long.

Is It Spring Yet?

2010-03-19T22:52:00.000-07:00

This time zone thing is driving me crazy. My computer gets so screwed up with it. I set it and somehow it goes back to what it wants. Im sure Im not the only one this happens to. So the other day I set the time ahead like I was supposed to. I rely on this clock because when Im on line at night, its the only one I see. This is the one that tells me when I have to go to bed.

So anywho, last night I was sitting there chatting with some friends. Someone that would normally come on line at about midnight came on at about 11:15. You would think this would set me off but I didnt really think about it. I just chalked it up that he came on early. That at about 1:30am, another friend said we were all up late and he left to sleep. So to me, that 1:30am thing was time for me to sleep too. So I said goodnight and left. When I got into bed, I looked over at the alarm clock and it said 3:00am!!! I was stunned.

Needless to say that I knew I wasnt getting enough sleep last night. But I had the strangest dream. One more thing, dont eat cheese before bed. I know I say this alot but its true. And of course I eat it. Anyways, this dream was a really good one. I was wearing clothes though.

I was walking through the city in the middle of the night. It was pouring rain. I had on a denim jacket and over that I put a hoodie on inside out. I dont know why I would do that though. But the hood was up and my hair was a wet mess. As I was walking home, a car pulled up. It was towing a boat. My stepdad was driving it and told me to get in the boat. I wouldnt so he got out and threw me up in it. As he was pulling away, I jumped out and ran.

As I was running, some dude started chasing me. So I ran up to a house and told them to call the cops. Apparently he was just trying to help me because I was screaming. But I wasnt hearing that part. As I was yelling at him to get away from me, he was telling me that I was at the house he lived at. So this made me panic more and I started running again.

I reached an alley and I took off my jackets. I put the grey one the right way so it was now black. I tucked the hood inside. Then I put the denim one on over that. I combed my hair back into a ponytail and put some makeup on. I then walked into a minimart to get something to eat and a coffee. As I was leaving, the cops came up to me and asked me if I saw some crazed screaming woman running in the street. I told them no and then moved on. I went on home and thats when I woke up. How weird is that? But all in all, that running made me even more tired. So needless to say, I didnt get any sleep last night.

This morning was strange too. Usually Im arguing with my kid to wake up and get ready for school. This is a constant struggle. So I told her last night that she had to have a good morning if she wants her TV and DS back. THis morning I got up and she was sitting on the couch eating her breakfast. She was dressed and ready to go. I was so shocked that I asked who she was.

After I was all ready to go, I walked past my cabinet and grabbed the deoderant and the body spray. I do this as my last thing in the morning. Maybe I should start it after my shower. Anywho, I ran out of my usual deoderant. I normally use a solid. But I had one I bought a while back to try and didnt like. Its one of those "liquid/solids" sort of gel like thing where you dial up the bottom and a white stuff comes out of the holes in the top.

So in my still unconscious state, I took the top off and proceeded to dial it up. I the put it to my armpit and started to apply. Apparently the part with the little holes came off with the cap and now I have this huge chunk of smeared nasty gel stuff running down my side. Cami started laughing. I wasnt thrilled with this. So she gave me a towel to clean it all up and I had to change my shirt. She then handed me her deoderant to use for the day. So I went to school smelling like powder fresh on one side and Hannah Montana on the other.

The day was a great day. Its been a really warm week. In the high 50sF and low 60sF. Im hoping that Spring has actually arrived. I know I will jinx it and we will get a snow storm soon. But who cares. Im liking this now. This past winter was pretty miserable for alot of people. All the snow is gone in my back yard. Now I cant see the dog when she goes to the back fence to do her duty. But its still nice out even at night.

I like standing outside late at night to look at the few stars the city lights would allow me to see. Its so peaceful and quiet. I can hear the trains in the distance. I can hear the cars on the road. But in the back yard, the spotlight from my porch only goes just so far. After that its dark. I live on a corner as the second house in. I can see down the side street. Down near the end of it is a street light. Every 30 seconds, it comes on flashing that blue/green color. It flashes a few times before it goes to a solid green light. As it brightens, it changes to orange. About 30 seconds later, it turns off and starts the process all over again. That would annoy the hell out of me if I were living in the house where it is. But at a distance, its pretty cool to watch.

I recieved an email last night from the lady that does the new letter for the camp ground. The camp opens in 29 days. Its a good sign for summer to come. I cant wait for the camp to be opened so that I can bring my trunk back down to finish it up. Ive been waiting all winter for this. I opened the email and she takes pictures of everything that goes on down there. The winter pictures are for those that cant get down there to check on their trailers. Its a sort of thing where we can still see whats going on.

For the last few weeks, the snow was really piled up down there so she wasnt able to get into the park. But this weeks photos show something bad. The lake is still frozen. Most of the roads still have about a foot of snow. The ones that are clear are all mud and some are flooded. But there are alot of trailers that have their decks caved in. So Im looking to see if mine is in any of the shots. I dont see it. Im taking that as a good sign. I called my mom and her boyfriend to tell them. They will call the lady up and see about the trailer. So Im waiting for news for that. I wont be in town this weekend to drive all that way to check on it myself. But mom also said that they wont be coming north til the first week of May.

I cant wait that long.

Its In The Air...

2010-03-09T19:42:00.001-08:00

Ok Ok... Its been a while since I last updated. Its a habit. Some good things have happened since then and some things are the same ole stuff. We did have a snow day after that storm. In total we ended up with about 15 inches of snow. Not too bad. But it continued to snow off and on for a few days after that. Of course, there was school after that too. You dont think they would allow that one last snow day would you? We need that one for the Friday before Memorial Day weekend.

Today was a brilliant day. The sun was shining and the weather was wonderful. It got to 52F out there. It has been nice for a few days now. I know I will prolly jinx it by saying it. But Im not complaining at all. This is the weather that I like the best. A little cool but bright and sunny. I cant stand the heat.

I do have something a little amusing to tell though. I have this insane addiction to McD's coffee. Im not sure why but I really do like it. Its a new blend that was put out by Newmans Own and Green Mountain. Nice and mellow and not bitter at all. I used to go to DDs but now Ive changed. And change is good. This stuff is cheaper and tastes better.

Every morning I get up a little earlier than usual to get Cami off to school and then I have some time to stop and get my coffee on the way to my school. McDs is right across the street from my school. How convienient huh? So I zip in there, hit the drive thru and order a coffee and go. Usually there are no other cars ahead of me. That works too.

But there are some mornings that are just too crazy and there isnt time to stop to get a coffee so I have to suffer. Its a sad morning. Im not cranky in the morning. I just like the taste of coffee. And I only have two cups. That one large one that I get equals the two cups. But on the mornings I cant get it, I get a Pepsi. Ok ok, I like the caffine too.

But here is the amusing part. One morning I wasnt able to get my coffee. I went in to work without it and people commented that I was empty handed. So my usual statement was that my kid was running slow. Which is the truth. But they noticed that something was different. Am I that predictable? I must be.

So the next morning I made sure to be up and early to go get my coffee. I pulled up to the drive thru. Made my order and went on to the first window. The cashier, polite as always, asked me where I was yesterday. Caught me a little off guard. But I told her that I was running late. Then I drove up to the second window and the same thing. She said she had my coffee waiting for me at 8:05. Strange. This is McDs. They have tons of customers in the mornings. It was a little shocking to say the least. But I got my coffee and on I went to work. Of course my coworkers commented that I had my coffee. Like its a part of my wardrobe or something.

I havent missed a day since. But this morning was a little awkward. I pulled into the lot and there was this huge truck blocking the speaker for the drive thru. Of course I was in a panic on what to do. I didnt have time to go inside to get the coffee. But there was no way for me to pull up to make my order. Talk about disrupting my morning. Geesh. So I thought about it and then went directly to the first window. There was no way I was going to miss out on my coffee and go to school empty handed.

I pulled up to the first window and the cashier there said she already put my order in and said she was sorry for the truck. I handed her the change and then went on to window number two. As I pulled up, the lady there already had my coffee ready and off I went. I sometimes stop and think about what they do when Im on vacation. If one day missed makes them all flustered. What would a whole week do?

So the weather has been pretty nice. The kiddies have been able to get outside and run around to play. Its good for them to get out now. Spring is surely coming. But then again, they always say that March comes in like a lamb but goes out like a lion. Im not looking forward to that part. Im liking it the way it is. Mom called today to say that they wont be home til the first week of May. I dont want to wait that long to get the camp opened up. Scary to mention it but I was dreaming of working on my trunks. Seriously. I want to get that one done and I cant until they come up.

I really should continue my writing about them though. Just to catch everyone up on the latest. There were more posts about them and more trunks to add to the list. Im up to 8 of them now. But there are three in particular that are interesting because of the history behind them. Two were once owned by someone of notable fame. I wont mention who until I do the post. So look forward to that in the future. You will be amused by that too.

Until then, Im off til next time. Toodles.

I Think Winter is Finally Here...

2010-02-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

I think Winter has finally arrived here in NY. It was looking really strage for a while. We got all the arctic winds while the deep south got all the snow. And they say there is no such thing as global warming. Im sure those southerners were things something completely different though. Hell must have been freezing over. But to me that was quite strange.

I had all last week off fom school and I didnt get to have a good relaxing vacation. I was sick. Literally. A bad cold that left me in bed most of the week. When I did venture out, it was to the dentist but I was still feeling like crap. Visited my sister and she fed me some yummy stew that made me fell a little better. But I was still feeling like crap.

Cami was on the war path the last few days of the vacation. So that made it a bit worse for me. Shes currently back on the good med. This is day two of the upped dose of it so we shall see what happens. So far she was still bitchy this morning. But not nearly as much. She complained as she was doing what was asked. So thats a small start. But she did sleep through the night. I didnt though. Started coughing again. I need a break from being sick. A vacation from a vacation.

Went back to work yesterday. Some of the kids were so strung out and tired. That can be a good thing though. But some were so wired up that they just couldnt contain it. So it was a mixed day. Quite exciting. But all in all the day went quick. I was happy for that.

Today was an interesting day. Starting late last night, the mixed rain and snow started coming down. I took the dog out and it looked like rain but yet it was freezing as it came down. So I guess you can call it sleet. I was dreading what this morning would bring. My dread was right on. When we left this morning, it was snowing and it was coming down pretty good. I was able to get Cami to school and still be able to go get some coffee before I started work. Thats a definate must. Cant function without it. But I didnt have anything for breakfast. So a loaded coffee on an empty stomach. Im good to go.

The snow didnt let up at all. In fact, it got heavier as the day went on. Large flakes and coming straight down at a very fast pace. It was collecting quite well. It was a natural beauty out there. I wasnt looking forward to driving home in it though. For me, that is a drive into the ba part of town to get Cami and then find an alternate route that doesnt have bridges to go down. Going up them isnt a problem. Its the slide down that I dont like.

As the day went on, the snow was getting more and more heavy. And of course, my anexiety did too. I was getting nervous about driving in that crap. I was sitting by the window watching the cars sliding all over.

It soon came time to put the kiddies on the bus. There is a general rule to wear your pajamas inside out so that there will be a snow day. Not sure how this works but Im willing to try anything. But I forgot that when the kids were getting on the bus. I told them to wear their underwear inside out. Im sure that something drastic will happen now. Oops.

I was just outside to take my dog out. The snow is really piling up out there. Im going to guess at about 6 inches already and its still coming down fairly well. The news man says that we are supposed to get at least 12 inches tonight. But around here, that usually means.... Ok, Im not going to jinx myself on this one. I will explain that theory later.

My dog however, is soaked from playing with the dog downstairs. They get along great and they have a lot of fun together outside. Rolling and chasing each other seems to be the main game. Such a good life.

Cough

2010-02-17T20:53:00.001-08:00

I know I havent updated this thing in a very long time. Its been a little on the crazy side. I know I say that a lot. But its true. Its always crazy here. So lets see where we can start. The new medication that Cami was put on worked but the insurance cap decided to run out after the first month of it. Seems that the camp is at $1000 a year and that one medication was $470 in one shot. Add all the others in for the month and it was toast. Personally I think its a big joke to think that $1000 is enough for one year. So needless to say, she wasnt on it very long.

Her dads insurance was closed out due to the fact that he suddenly became a victim of the lay off list that is happening all over this wonderful land. But that was a good thing because now I can get insurance through my job and its so much better. Same insurance company but a much better policy. I just need to wait for the books to come so I can see what the cap is on that. If there isnt one then Cami can get back on the right track again.

Its been weird here with the weather. Cold and warm, rainy and snow. All in one day. And they wonder why we get sick. We also had a few showing of what I like to call ghetto fog. I know it sounds silly when you say it out loud a few times. What it means is that when the weather is bad and everythign freezes, then it warms up the next day, the warm air and the frozen ground create a fog. Not just in the morning but all day long. So the city was shrouded in a sort of eerie fog. Sounds interesting, I know. But not such a good thing in the ghetto. When I went to pick Cami up from school one day, the fog was so thick that you couldnt see down the street. Anything can happen in the fog. Watch the movie and you will see what I mean. Only the movie wasnt in the ghetto of my city. Big difference, but same crap. So we got out of the ghetto and then headed home as fast as my little car would chug.

Cami also started some after school class on Thursdays. Shes taking African Drums. Its rather cool. A few of the kids and some instructors from the arts center get together and play drums. They learn new beats and I think they sound incredible. I hope the put on a small show for the school when they are done.

This is vacation week. Of course we are sick with a good head cold. It never fails. We missed all the really big snow storms. They all went south while we stayed pretty dry. Cold but dry. I could just hear Jose down there now telling all the belles to run to the safety of the north. Makes ya giggle. But we did get one yesterday and its currently snowing fairly well out there now. I had a dentist appointment scheduled for Tuesday but due to the fact that Im sick and also that I didnt want to drive for an hour in the snow, I canceled it and rescheduled it for Thursday morning. I then found out that my father has one the same day in the afternoon. You would think that they would be scheduled a little closer in time. So he will pick me up in the morning and we will go to mine. Then we will go see my sister and then go back for his.

Im hoping that the rest of my week off will be a little better. My head is killing me and my nose is stuffed. Poor Cami lost her voice for a couple of days. In a way thats a good thing but she was so sick.

There is nt much else really left to update. Its just been the same thing day in and day out. I guess in a way it is a good thing that nothing terrible has happened. If anything else comes up, I will post it up. But for now, life is ok. We are ok. Im just waiting for spring.

Once In A Blue Moon...

2009-12-31T17:35:00.001-08:00

* Once In A Blue Moon...

Or so the old saying goes. Seems that its a reality again this year. Sadly I wont be able to get to see it here. Its too cloudy and snowy out to see much of anything.

In all honesty, I dont mind the snow. If its cold enough to snow then its warm enough to breathe without freezing your lungs. Did that make any sense? It does to me. Its been so cold here that just breathing can kill you. Last night was a beauitful night. I went out on my back steps and took a good look around. The stars were out, the air was clean and brisk, and the wind had finally stopped.

The nights before this were cold and windy to the point that it was dropping the temps. The real temp would be 11F but the "feel like" temp would be 2F. My cousin was telling me that she was out walking her little dog and the wind was so bad that it was pushing him across the ice on his belly. I took my dog out and I had all I could do to keep the door open.

So I guess I could change my earlier statement to "when its warm enough to snow".

Also something that I posted on my Facebook page...

Remember as a kid, we all thought 2010 Space Odyssey was cool. Well not as cool as the one before. But we all thought that when we reached 2010 it would be like that. Or at least living like the Jetsons. Boy were we let down.

Here we are at the doorstep of 2010 and its nothing at all like that. Not sure if I would have liked it to be all that. Think of the in air traffic jams while dodging all those houses on poles. And where were those pole connected to? Were there actual cars on the ground somewhere? Were they driving antiques like a 57 BelAire? Yeah right. I dont see anyone with a robot maid or some suction pole to get to your pad in the sky. And what the hell are those cogs used for?

I would have liked some of the other things they had in their homes. Like all the buttons that you push for the gormet meals and the ones that automatically did your hair and clothes. That would save me a lot of time in the mornings. And that wonderful thing to walk the dog. Although I wouldnt want to be below the dog while shes out there. Good thing we only have the pigeons to worry about for now.

But think of the crazy chick flying in a bubble trying to put on makeup. Or the jackass rushing to work causing serious road rage. Where would you pull over to beat the daylights out of him? Its not like you can step out of the car without falling 30,000 feet. Well, you could if you had one of those jet packs attached to your back.

But thinking on it all, where would we be if we really could tell Scotty to beam us up?

Wishing everyone a safe and happy new year for 2010.

Year End Clearance...

2009-12-28T19:49:00.001-08:00

I wouldnt even know where to begin for this post. I know I havent written anything in a long time and Im sure people are starting to wonder whats been happening. Or if I simply fell off the face of the earth. I will make this as brief as possible but sometimes I tend to go longer than that.

The holidays have been crazy. Starting with Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I woke up at about 7am on Thanksgiving to start the task of cooking. My friend called me and asked if I would watch her dog for her for Friday but I needed the key. So I agreed to take her to work at 5am and that way I could also get the key from her. After dinner, I went through the sales flyers and found something that I really needed to take advantage of so I decided that since I was going to be up early, I would need to shower and stuff to also go out after for some shopping. I never go out on Black Friday. Thats just plain stupid. And here I am, being stupid.

Since a shower before taking my friend to work would require me to be up at about 4am, I decided to just pull an allnighter. And that is what I did. I took my friend to work and then drove to the next city for the specific store that sold the items I needed to get. The store was closed. I didnt realize that this one didnt have the early morning Black Friday hours like every other store in the whole damn country. So I went back home to wait for the next couple of hours. On the way I stopped to get gas and coffee and ran into some friends that were either on their way out to the shopping spots or they just came from them. We chatted a while and then I went home.

Once home, Cami was awake and wanted to go back out with me. So off we went and we picked up the items on the list and then hit another store and picked more up there. By the time I was able to settle in and take some sleep, it was about 4pm. So yeah, that was my weekend there. I slept all day that Saturday too.

From that day til now has been extremely difficult. Cami's medications have been off the wall. Some days they work and most days they dont. Its all coming down to the sleep disorder thing again. We were able to get the daytime med adjusted to two hours earlier but in order for that to happen, something very bad took place. Its hard to describe. She has ODD and a mood disorder as well as ADHD. Its crazy time here in the mornings. Most of the time it can be very agnry and aggressive. And she was in one of those moods one morning and took it out on the dog and the dog responded the only way it knew how. It wasnt too bad but it was enough that it scared everyone including the dog. We are all back to normal again but it was still enough that it prompted a visit to a new doctor to take care of these disorders.

The weeks leading up to Christmas were stressful. There were a couple of times where Christmas was canceled and the tree came down. Cami herself put it back up because I had had enough. We did have Christmas but it was pretty much a surprise for her because she had no clue that we bought anything for her at all. She was there with us when we bought her a new coat and some boots and pajamas. But she knew of nothing else. It was upseting to her that she wasnt going to get anything more because she knew she was having some serious issues. But she was surprised that there was presents under the tree on Christmas morning for her. Do you honestly think I would skip Christmas? Actually at that moment, I was.

She now sees a new doctor. This one is a psychiatrist. Before it was a balance between a psychologist and her primary. Now its the big time. But there is something in this that you might find amusing. Back in 2001, an old age home went up for sale. I will give you a brief history of this particular house. It was built in the late 1890s by a doctor that had a large family. Its a three story house with a very different style porch. A beautiful and stunning house to behold. In the front was the doctors small office and the rest of the house consisted of a kitchen, two formal livingrooms, a couple of sitting rooms and a formal diningroom that could hold a ball for Cinderella. I should also include that there were 12 bedrooms as well. Like I said, he had a big family. There were a lot of kids.

Over the years this place was used as a residence as well as an office. When it was converted to an old age home, there were some appartments added on to the back and the third floor. So back to when it was sold. The building came up for sale and the neighbor next door to the house bought it for the use of a bed and breakfast. It was perfect for that because of all the bedrooms. Made sense right? Well thats what everyone thought. The man had different plans for it. Oh dont get me wrong, he really did use the main house for its intended purpose. But he had a secret in the basement. He was also using it for a swingers club. Yep, you got it. Parties gallore. Mostly this took place in the basement where he had some interesting toys and bondage stuff going on. Yep, chains and all.

Well for a few years, the neighbors and the city itself were fighting tooth and nail to get this shut down. They succeeded after a long battle. The man said that he only closed shop because he was moving south. Yeah, right. But Im sure that he intended to have his business where it was warmer regardless. The place was put up for auction. A clear sign right there that he knew he was beat. The place went up for auction and was sold to a medical doctor for just about $200,000. Can you imagine this place? The mere size alone should have brought a much higher price.

Anywho, this place is now a medical office for psychologists and psychiatrists. There little offices are now in what was once the bedrooms. Really nice place. Im glad that the jerk that owned it before didnt destroy the true beauty of the place. The sliding panel doors are still in place, the three story grand staircase in the center is still there with all its grandure. All the ceiling moldings and the carpet is still there and most of the antiques are still there as well. Its truely a site to see. I love old houses and antiques and this place is definately eye candy for me. Im jealous of the owner. Really I am. But the place is also haunted and we figured that out with doors opening on their own and mysterious cold spots coming and going. I wont get into that though because if I said anything to the doctor who also saw the same things I did, Im sure she would have had me locked up with my own personal jacket in a rubber room.

Now Cami is on a different medication that is added to her nighttime routine. So far its been working for her but I really dont like the idea of it. But I hated to see her struggle. It was necessary and all her doctors talked about it and they all agreed about it. If it doesnt work then its back to the drawing board. Shes on her third night with it so there is still some time left for it to fully kick in.

We have a week off from school til we have to go back on the 4th. We shall see how this week goes.

Now to get ready to end the year and start a new one.

Purple Elephant....

2009-10-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-12T20:43:00.001-07:00

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....

2009-09-30T19:34:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-09-14T18:11:00.001-07:00

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.

2009-09-06T23:32:00.001-07:00

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....

2009-09-04T23:19:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-09-04T22:53:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-09-04T22:41:00.001-07:00

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....

2009-08-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

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.

Ok... Open Wide...

2009-08-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

Ok...Open Wide...

Yeah that should be something we all want to hear when we go to the doctor. Not.

On Wednesday I had a doctor appointment. Im sure I explained all this in a past post somewhere. Either that or I didnt actually finish writing that one. But let me refresh it for you. At one time in my life, a long time ago, I had a doctor that we will call Dr. H. Dr. H. was my primary doctor. But being that I am a female, I would also need a secondary doctor too. We all know that that is for. So I found Dr. S. Both doctors are wonderful people and know what they are doing. Very highly trusted for what they practice. Ive had both of these doctors for a long time. When I was pregnant, Dr. S. was the one I had to go to see all the time. Also at this time, he changed to a womens primary and well as all the other specialties. So in the long run, I just stayed with Dr. S. for everything I needed. That was more than 10 years ago.

Dr. S. recently decided to close up shop, move somewhere closer to his family in another state and then retire. So this meant that I have to find another doctor. I decided to go back to Dr. H. But he couldnt do all the other stuff so that meant finding another secondary doctor. This was not easy to do. A few months later I found out that Dr. S. decided to stay in the area and was working in a clinic downtown for low income patients as an OB/GYN. I was a bit miffed but I decided that the trauma was enough with losing him once that I didnt want to lose him twice. So I called up Dr. H. to see who he would recommend. He recommended Dr. M. Being that what I needed to have done was a minor sort of proceedure that couldnt be done with any other type of doctor and this wasnt just the annual exam. So I called and set up an appointment with Dr. M.

This was the day of the appointment and I was so nervous. Its one thing to meet a new doctor but its another to meet a new doctor that will be looking at parts of you that you would rather he not see. But then again, this is something that has to be done every year and he sees a lot of different patients. He wouldnt remember one from the other being any different. But then again, he hasnt met me yet. I seem to leave a lasting impression. And no, its not because he is looking at my parts.

Mind you that its still summer vacation here and I have my kid along for the fun. Shes 10 years old now so this is something she will have to prepare for in the future anyways. Shes been to Dr. S. with me during these times as well so this should be nothing new to her. Otherwise she has met Dr. H. a few times and the other doctor that shares his office and patients. But that was only for the pain in my feet. But she likes all my doctors so thats a good thing. Someday they might be her doctors. And the have lollipops. Thats the bonus.

So we are on the way to see Dr. M. I explained to her what he would be doing to me and I gave her the option of being in there with me or waiting in the waiting room. I actually would rather have her in the room with me because I know the trouble she can get into when shes bored.

Anyways, we get to the place and I check in. They give me tons of papers to fill out and I sit down to do so. Cami of course is the charmer and the receptionist offers her some hot chocolate. What kid with ADHD says no to something sweet. So she shows her how to use this really cool coffee maker for it. Cami thought it was the best thing in the world and offers me and everyone else in the office some coffee. But she wants to use the cool machine to make it. We all declined as it was a hot day out and being in a doctors office, we know we have to eventually pee in a cup and our bladders are already full. Thank you anyways.

So now its my turn to go in. Im dreading this. I have no idea what is behind that big heavy oak door. The nurse is really nice and she goes through all the questions that I need to answer. She checks my blood pressure and all that jazz. Cami is playing with her DS and just chilling out in a chair. Then the nurse told me to come with her down the hall to the bathroom so that I could relieve my overflowing bladder into a cup. Ahhh.... Relief is in sight. So she shows me this really beautifully decorated room and showed me where everything was. Ok, I can handle this right? Wrong. This is where all hell broke loose. This is where I will leave my lasting memory.

The room was all decorated in beautiful furnishings and everything looked victorian. The handles of everything and all the towels and even a curio cabinet with pretty vases and flowers. Even the doorhandle was beautiful. Thats where it all went wrong. I did my thing in the cup. Washed my hands. Dried everything off. Cleaned up after myself and then I reached for the handle. It wouldnt move. It wouldnt go up. It wouldnt go down. The lock button wouldnt pop out. I tried again. And then I tried again. Thats when I heard on the other side that I need to pull up. I did pull up and Im pulling up again. The voice said to pull up harder. So I did. Nothing happened. So then the voice pulled on the handle and it opened. Boy was my face red. They then told me that it happens all the time. It unlocks from the outside but gets stuck on the inside. Im thinking that they need a new door handle. So I shuffled down the hall to another room where I would get my height and weight checked. Im still red and I think I might have shrunk in my shoes a bit.

I stood on the scale and the nurse said I was two inches taller than I thought I have always been. Wait, I thought I shrunk into my shoes. So I told her what my height should have been and thats when she informed me that due to my special moment in the bathroom, she forgot to tell me to take off my shoes. Oh. Thanks for reminding me. So the height thing came out correct after that. Then she checked my weight with my back still turned away from the scale. Which was a good thing. I didnt want to know what that said.

I stepped down and went back to the original room and waited for the doctor to come talk to me. Cami was still sitting in there playing her game. She giggled a little and reminded me again that I got locked in the bathroom. Will this ever end? The doctor came in a couple of minutes later and introduced himself. He seemed like a great guy. Then he asked me what I was there to see him for. I told him that I was there so that I could try out his bathroom and he started to laugh. He knew what I was talking about and apologized for it. I said that it wasnt a big deal and it broke the ice and the nerves that I had. So that was a good start. He was really cool about it and we had some good stories.

So then we got down to business. I told him what I was there for and we chatted about a few things. Then he told me to get undressed and he would be back for the usual exam. At this point, Cami decided to bail out on me too and she went to the waiting room. I was hoping that she would stay out of trouble. Im sitting there with one of those gowns on with it opened in the back and he came in with the nurse. He did the exam as he was supposed to do and then he said he wanted to talk to me about some options for the reason I was there. So we chatted about that and then he told me that I needed to go and get another exam. You know, the one where they seem to remove your chest for a while and twist it into shapes that were not intended for their use.

We also discussed the possibility of whether or not I want more kids. Well that thought occurred to me the day Cami was born and the decision was not a hard one to make. Nope. No more kids for me. But I wasnt ready to make that choice final yet. So he told me to think about it some more and to call him with what ever my choice was. I will call him on Monday to let him know that I am not ready to make it all final. Even though there wont me any more coming from my body, Im still going to hold out. Not for hope. Just the mental thing.

When I was ready to leave, I went to the waiting area to see my daughter reading a book to a little girl about a year old. It was so cute and sweet. I thought for sure she would have made some sort of mess for me to clean up. You know, like magazines and stuff. The little girls mother thanked her and told me what a wonderful and polite child I have. That felt really good.

And as we were walking out the door, she thanked Cami for the cup of coffee.

This needed repeating...

2009-08-26T14:10:00.001-07:00

I do have some blogs that I need to post. I hope to work on them soon. I have a lot on my mind right now and its been a crazy past few weeks. But I needed the laugh and I know I posted this one before. It deserves repeating. Also today I went to a new gyno doctor. It was interesting to say the least so I will blog that one later. But I hope you all enjoy the laugh at this one and it explains a lot. Thank you to my Aunt Jeanne for emailing it to me. I needed it.

The Trip to the Women's Room

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under th e stall doors. Every stall is occupied.

Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall.

You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for the modern ‘seat covers' (invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR! ), yank down your pants, and assume ' The Stance.'

In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to shake.. You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold ‘The Stance.'

To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, 'Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!' Your thighs shake more.

You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It' s still smaller than your thumbnail

Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn’t work. The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet. 'Occupied!' you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT .. It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, 'You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get.'

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.

At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You’re exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks..

You can’t figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting.

You are no longer able to smile politely to them.. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, 'Here, you just might need this.'

As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men’s restroom. Annoyed, he asks, 'What took you so long and why is your purse hanging around your neck?'

This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with public restrooms (rest??? You've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the door!

Wheres My Riot?

2009-08-07T18:58:00.001-07:00

Wheres My Riot?

I dont even know where to begin this post. Things just got a whole lot more interesting for the neighborhood. At this point I might want to start calling it the 'hood. Nothing bad happens here. Yes, we do have a drug dealer on the street but they dont bother anyone. In fact, I think they moved out a couple of years ago. Shows you how much activity happens here. Practically none. But that is all about to change in a matter of time. I guess it could happen anywhere. I just didnt expect it here.

Let me start by saying that there is a construction company near by. I live on a side road. So for me to get anywhere I would have to go up one block to hit the main road. Considering that I do live in the city, there are a lot of main roads but Im only going to focus on one in particular. Lets label it as H Ave. It is a long road that connects into two areas. Half of the road is in one town and the other have is within city limits. You dont notice it too much because this is a residental area.

Anywho, when you get to the corner of my street and H Ave, you obviously havve to look both ways before pulling out into traffic. But there are times that you cant do this because the man that has the contracting business parks all his trucks on either side of the H Ave and also on both sides of the opening to my street. You will see very large pickups, box trucks and sometimes larger trucks that have construction equipment on flatbeds. This tends to block out the view of oncoming traffic either way. Basically you are taking a chance when pulling out on the H Ave. Just hope that you can do it fast enough so you dont get slammed.

The mans house in across H Ave and a couple houses down. So when you do pull out of my street and take a left, you will see this mans house on the right. It is well manicured. Large house with a nice lawn, big driveway and large garage in the back. You would think he could park his trucks in the driveway. He doesnt. In fact, there are no cars in the driveway at all. Ever. They are all parked on the street. What a loser. A lot of people complained about this and then the vehicles would all disappear. In a couple of weeks, they would all be back again.

Well, what I am getting to is that Thursday morning, there was something going on. If you went down my street and came to the corner, you couldnt take a left onto H Ave. Crouched in full riot gear was the big boys. Cops. CNET. State Troopers. The works. Black Humvies blocked the street off. Weapons and assault rifles drawn and aimed.

Im thinking wtf? This doesnt happen here. Who are these people and what is going on? So of course, everyone is locked up in their houses out of fear of gunfire. In this city, you tend to avoid it. Even if you see what happens, you "dont know anything". So you look the other way and hope to find out on the news.

Well I checked the news and there was nothing. After midnight last night, they finally put up an article on the online news. Of course you have to be an online subscriber to get it though. This means I will have to wait and purchase a paper in the morning. Well after a long day, I was able to sit down and read the article. Seems our contracter got busted in a big raid. They went all out on this guy. He was busted for weapons and drugs. BooYay!!!

I hope they take all his trucks off the street now too.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

2009-07-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

Rain Rain Go Away....

Im sure I used this title once already. But it deserved to be resaid.

Im really getting tired of all this rain. I would like to enjoy my summer sometime this...well... this summer. All day long the news was flashing severe flood warnings for all counties around. In some areas they reported four feet of flooding. Underpasses are glooded out and the warnings include telling people not to use secondary roads. Ummm.... Hello? Mother Nature? I think we have had enough.

Well tonight its raining again. Not just raining, pouring. Its coming down in buckets. Raining cats and dogs. Well, let me explain. I have a dog that needs to go out. The downstairs neighbor has a cat outside that needs to go in.

So tonight, just like any other night, I go out the back door and flip on the switch that lights the inside stairs and the outside yard. Nice little arrangement so I dont have to keep hitting switches. Mindy runs down the steps. I walk after her. There is no way I am about to run down a flight of stairs while wearing rubber Crocs. You know, the ones with the big holes that go around the front. As if the holes on the top of the shoes dont give you enough breathing air.

I opened the door to the back yard and out she went. But she wouldnt go off the step. I told her to hurry and pee and run back in. At that moment, the neighbors cat came up over the fence and meowed. Scared the bejeezes out of me. But I should have expected it. Poor kitty. Always left out in the rain. But then again, he has other families that take care of him too. I wont get into that though.

So I scooted Mindy back inside because she wont let the cat near the door. She gets along with her own cat but not any others. Now I have the task of thinking about how I will get to the other door without getting soaked in the rain. You would think that I would be a rocket scientist to perform this task. Well you are right. And I was not one. Well that was a little confusing. Lets move on, shall we?

Normally there would be enough room to go to the other door considering that it is a long patio under the overhang of my porch upstairs. But nope. Not counting the tent poles and the chairs and all that stuff in the dark that I cant see, there isnt room. But I can scooch between the grill that is on the ground in front of the patio and the post from my porch. Nope. I was met with resistance in the hip from the tent pole that I used to put up the tarp over the grill. Damn. Now what do I do?

I thought about it for all of 10 seconds before I decide to dodge the rain drops. Not and easy task. But remember, Im not a rocket scientist. No matter what they say about me. So I decided to make a run for it. I can take about 2/3rds of the trip under the tarp. So I make the mad dash across under the tarp. Now mind you that its dark under there because the tarp blocks out the light from the spotlight shining on the rest of the yard. Yep, another stupid idea at the time. But it works to keep the rain off the grill and off me when Im using it. Well, for the most part.

So I took the first step and off I went. Then something happened. Something completely unexpected. I stepped on something and it made an aweful sound. More like a squish and a sploosh and then a splat and a smoosh. No I didnt step on the cat. The sounds would have been completely different. This was me on my rear. On the ground. On a very wet and slippery piece of cardboard that someone left in the mud. Well it didnt do anything for the mud because that was now running down the back of my pants. My shoes were filled with mud and water. My hands were at least a foot into the wet grass, mud and my yard that resembles Lake Erie.

I got up, put the cat in and then I had to decide how to make it back. I guess now it doesnt matter because I look like a drowned rat. Covered in mud and soaked. So I just took a few steps out into the rain and reveled in it. Not like it made a difference. I walked back to my door. Went back up the stairs, opened my kitchen door and told Mindy to go back out and pee. I went back down the stairs and waited for her. I wasnt going back off the steps again. She peed on the grass that was under the tarp so that she wouldnt get wet. I guess shes the rocket scientist.

Ho Ho Ho...

2009-07-24T23:43:00.001-07:00

Christmas in July...

Yes its that time of the year again. This was supposed to have been written on July 18th but you know I tend to be lazy or forget to write. Well the case may be that but this time, I was just too busy. And also a couple of days in there, I was sick. Like yesterday and the day before. Its the freaking weather. Mostdays its raining and a few days there have been sunshine. But of course there is the humidity. We all hate the humidity. If you like it, you are insane.

We were actually worried that the rain would ruin this day for the kids. Last year it was so damn hot but this year its just wet. Wet and muddy all the time. Im quite sick of it. But I know complaining wont change it. Then again, the way the seasons have been, we will have summer and sweltering weather sometime in November. Before you know it, ski resorts will be opening up in June for the snow fall. Who the hell knows? But this is July and the show must go on. Of course its a lot of fun too.

So we got up a bit early to make sure we get there in time. Sometimes they have it at 10am and sometimes at 1pm. They never post the times in the news letters. So we got our butts there early just in case. Of course its 930am when we arrive and the sign on the board says that the party starts at noon. Ok, so there is time for some breakfast first.

We head to the camp and hang out there for a while. Then I get everythign ready that I need to take with me to the party. In other words, get the gifts set in a bag and taped up with her name on it. I need to get that there before she sees it. Not that she knows that this is a real deal with a real Santa or anything. Well, maybe she does. But thats besides the point. Its still fun to do.

So Cami and mom get in the cart and the gifts are hidden under the back seat. I drive the cart up to the rec-hall and Cami goes to play on the playground til Santa comes. This gives me the opportunity to get her gifts into the sleigh without her knowing. Thats not easy to do with all the other kids around knowing that its Santa that does the gifts, not the parents.

Eventually Santa shows up. Of course he is wearing sun glasses. He does need to change his outfit though. I think the red suit is just a tad too hot for this weather. But then again, his pants were hanging from the rafters. Yep. Tis true that they were. But he was wearing a different pair when he showed up. He isnt that much of a perv ya know.

And just like every year, Cami went out to greet him. And of course shes one of the only ones to thank him. I have to make sure to put that in here because its true. Sad but true. Not a lot of the kids really care except for the fact that they are getting something out of it. I mean really. Parents need to teach manners. Im not saying all. Just some.

After all the presents were handed out, the kids get a sort of hayride with Santa around the park. The kids all love this. I think its a great thing to have in a campground. They do a lot for the kids. Coming up on Aug 8th, there is a kids day with all sorts of activities to do.

And then of course, Cami's birthday!!

Alls Well That Ends Fair...

2009-07-24T22:26:00.001-07:00

Alls Well That Ends Fair...

I know I forgot about writing about the fair. It was a great day. We had a lot of fun. When we first got there, of course I had to go into the Antique barn to see all the good stuff. Im a nut for antiques. I must have lived in a past life. Call me nuts but I like seeing the inside of older funeral homes because of the cool antiques. But enough of funeral homes. I dont talk about them too much.

Inside the door, the first thing we see is the old set up of circus trains on a track. Usually this is about 4 sheets of plywood laid out with all sorts of old electric trains and some sort of miniature town and circus. An older man was at one end with a switch box and you could tell he was enjoying the fun of playing with trains. Trust me, you wouldnt think it was fun but I grew up in a house that had a very simular set up. My brother Pat was big into trains.

Cami walked over and of course she was havign a blast watching them. The old man asked her if she wanted to drive a train. Of course she said yes. So she went over to the box and the old man told her which switch to hit and which dial to turn. Within a couple of minutes, she had that train going around the track and giggling. She then told the old man that her grandpa worked on the railroad and woudl always say that it sucked. So the old man explained to her that working on the railroad and playing with the trains were two different things. Cant have fun while you have to work.

Then we went looking at some other goodies. Everything was either behind a sort of low fence or behind glass in cases. In other words, look but dont touch. Which is a good thing when it comes to displays like this. All the antiques in there belonged to someones personal collection and quite frankly, I wouldnt want someone touching my very old valuables. Well not so much as touch, but think of 5,000 hands on your grandmas china and thinking that it could fall and break. Id be pissed.

But also, Cami was pointing out all the things she knew. Mostly the things we had. I collect antiques. But I use mine. Trust me, there is nothing better than frying an egg in an old enamel fry pan from 1920. Its the best out there. Nothing cooks better. Plus there were a couple of trunks there. So she did get excited to see that the ones I have are in much better condition. Some old bowls, and some utensils were things she was picking out that we use at home. Its not that Im too poor to get new stuff, I just prefer the old stuff. It was made better.

This brought the attention of the little old ladies that were sitting in the corner. The ones that volunteer to sit there all day and tell stories about the old times. One started to tell me that they do judging on the condition of the old things that are on display. Of course that would explain that everything had some sort of color of ribbons on them. We knew that though. But she was telling me that she heard Cami talking about all the things we have at home and that we should display them at the fair for next year. I said that we couldnt as we didnt live in that county. She said not to worry about that because she liked the idea that I had nice antiques in near mint and usable condition. Finally, someone that agrees with me. Too bad shes as old as my grandmother. Made me feel really young. *sarcasim* Its hard to explain that you have so much in common with someone three times your age. In a way that is a good thing because I love the past and I love history in general. Like I said, I lived in a past life.

The next stop was the agricultural area. The farm animals and all the things to do on a farm. Yet another area I like. I grew up on a farm so none of this stuff shocked me. It shocked a city kid though. Butshe went into the 4H archery area and shot some arrows. She did a hell of a great job too. Something she discovered that shes good at. She had great form and great height. Out of the seven arrows she fired, 6 of them hit the target. I was impressed and she won a little ribbon for it.

After that we went to see some of the smaller animals like rabbits and chickens. Cami even found a long haired guinea pig that had three different colors. She said, Mom, your hair looks like that one. I couldnt help but laugh. But you know I will be checking out a mirror soon. I just dyed my hair.

It was drizzling rain out but that didnt stop anyone. It actually kept the dust down and the air cooler. We headed for the midway and to get something to eat. Nothing better than the greasy mess of fair food. I stopped and grabbed us a couple of smoothies. Of course we have to get them in the cups that advertize the fair. We do that every year. Then she wanted pizza so I got some chicken. We sat in the chicken bbq tent and thats when all hell broke loose.

The rain came down in buckets. And I do mean a lot of it. Within about five minutes, the roads were flooded and people moving for cover. Of course that also meant business for the bbq tent. The stuff is good. I look forward to it. Of coure I look forward to the funnel cakes too but thats another tale.

After the rain, we moved out to the midway again and she played some games and won some animals. Another thing shes good at. Then she wanted an airbrushed tattoo and then we started for the gate to head home. It was a long day.

Of course, on the way out, we stopped for that much desired funnel cake.

Monsoon Season... again...

2009-07-17T20:43:00.001-07:00

Monsoon Season...

I know I have been slacking. Well just slacking on the blogs. In real life though I have been busting my ass as usual. I promise those old blogs soon enough. But I will set up something in this one that I hope to sum up the past few weeks. Ok, that last sentence made no sense to me. But then again, nothing has lately.

As we all know, New York has four seasons. I know I posted about this before but this year something has changed a little. We have Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and Monsoon/Construction. This year has been extremely wet. There has been hardly any sunny days. Its just no feeling like Summer to me. Its been raining and more to the cooler end of the thing with the red bulb. It sucks. It seems like all the plans that are made have to have a backup plan for something indoors. And usually that is how it all ends up. Indoors. Quite frankly, Im tired of it. Its dreary and dismal. I want some sun. I dont want extreme heat though. Just sun. I seem to be lacking in that area though.

The fourth of July parade went off really nicely. It was alot of fun and there were so many carts this year. Over 30. It was a great turnout. We never know what the theme is until about 2 weeks prior. Then we sit and brainstorm for a week before we can get everything up and running at the last minute. We cant really put it together til that morning anyway. There is a contest every year for the Best Theme and the Best Decorated for the carts. Yep. Carts.

In the campground, just about everyone has a golf cart. For some, it is a means of transportation because of some reason or another. For others, its a form of letting your teens drive them through the woods like a maniac. But I degress. These carts come in all shapes and sizes. We used to have a regular cart with regular wheels and a big blue hat on the top. The reference to that one can be found in my earlier posts.

Our carts, yes that is with an s, are the off road type. Clay Cars they call them. The roads in the park are rough in most spots and potholed with deep puddles. These are the perfect carts for this. Great suspension and big knobby tires. We have a whilte one that now has that big blue hat on top and we also have a red one that has mag wheels. Looks like a HotWheels car. Both have a roof and windshield. Yes, these are golf carts.

The white one has a trailer hitch on it and we tow a trailer for the parade. Every year we do very well in this little contest. But each year, there is more and more competition. And tougher themes. But also this year, we decided to enter both carts into this little bit of insanity. The theme this year was What or Who is and American? This was a tough one. But we settled on a covered wagon/pioneer/explorer thing. We brainstormed for days on this one.

My mom dressed up as a pioneer lady and Cami was Laura Ingalls. Wait, thats not spelled right. Oh well. My head is pounding right now so Im not going to bother to look it up. Mousie wore a coonskin hat and did the Davie Crockett thing. Even one of the signs on the trailer was something about Davie Crockett and the Bowie dude. So all day I was making comments about David Bowie. Good thing there were people there that knew what I was talking about.

I did my cart all in a sort of immigrant thing with signs that said I AM AN AMERICAN, YOU ARE AN AMERICAN, that sort of thing. Of course I didnt have a whole lot of time to do this. I think if I had an hour more, I would have done a better job. We all got up at about 530 am and went down there to get this all ready before 10. This was quite a chore to turn a simple small utility trailer into a covered wagon. Complete with pots hanging off the back and a bench for a seat. Even reins and some wooden horse heads too. I think it turned out wonderful. My cart was completly covered in anything red, white and blue. Streamers, garland, banners, ribbons, you name it.

The parade was alot of fun and I came in second place for the Best Decorated. No trophy for me. The covered wagon came in first place so we do have the trophy for Best Theme. Whoohoo!! It was well worth it and a great time by everyone. The person who did take the Best Decorated realy deserved it. She did alot of work on hers, and also had better signs and banners. She did the melting pot theme I wanted to do but my time was spent on the other cart. Maybe next year.

Back to the whole monsoon thing. Its been raining again. A couple of weeks ago, we went out to Utica to visit my relatives. On the way there it rained and on the way back it rained. Well for that trip, it was pouring with thunder and lightning. That seems to be the normal thing. Alot of electrical storms. I really dont like them. And I really hate the flooding and all the really nasty stuff that comes with these storms. They have been exceptionally bad this year. Power out, flooding, hail, high winds. Im not impressed and it can be very depressing and mood setting.

Yesterday was a day of the norm. We went again to Utica to see my relatives but this time we made another stop. The last time the other stop was to the Polish market for some meats. This is a treat because I love this stuff. I also like watchign Cami wander around the shop trying to read all the things they have. They have everythign from cookies to breads to milk and chocolate candies. All in foreign languages. The meats are butchered and made right there by little old Polish ladies. The best kind of goodness comes from them.

Also last time, we went on a side track of the old neighborhood. Well the trip was to tell Cami the history of her ancestors and all the land before it became the neighborhood. At one time, the whole area was all farmland. Not surprised? Neither was I. Its true though. Everything out there has some reflection of my ancestors. The names of the roads, the hospital, the factories. They all carry the family name. But there was one thing that set it apart. There is a small cemetery that I knew nothing about. I thought that the people in reference to that cemetery were actually buried somewhere else. This was a treat for me because I love doing my family history. Now I will finally get to "meet" them. But that was not to be that day. He kept driving past because we had to meet the living relatives at a restaurant for lunch.

So yesterday was the trip I wanted. He promised me a trip into the cemetery. This excited me. I have a thing with the dead. Not a morbid thing. One of those "feeling" things. I wont go into it because I dont want anyone thinking Im some sort of nut. But I really wanted to go in there and feel some history. We got up early and he picked us up at about 9am. On the way out there, it was raining. Of course. Such is the norm. We got there and I immediatly sought out one stone in particular. My great great grandfather. I also carry part of his name. This is the man I wanted to see. I had no idea that he was there. I thought he was at a cemetery 4 hours away. There are other ones that are in that cemetery that I want to find. But that will be an all day trip. I would like to take that one soon. That one also has my great grandfather there. But this place was the one I really wanted to see.

It was the old family cemetery from back when it was all farmland there. There are some other families buried in there but somehow everyone is related and you can see the areas marked off with chains or group plots. Most of my family are all in the front and they are all seperated with massive monuments. Their smaller stones are around the big ones. These are very impressive monuments and well fitting and deserved. Fancy carvings and beautifully engraved. Not at all what I expected. I was impressed and thrilled to see this.

This cemetery is very old and some of the stones are clearly marked with dates that go back to the mid 1700s all the way into the very early 1900s. My great great grandfather died in 1910. He once served in the Civil War and I have letters that he wrote home about all the things that happened and he even met Abe. They are awesome to read, even though he didnt spell too well. He mentioned alot of the other relatives in them. Also there are letters from the mountain house where the others are buried. It told me alot of their lives and where they came from. Now I get to "meet" some of them. I had no idea they were here. Even the first ones to come to the area were buried in there. I took alot of pictures of the stones and the areas around them. It was so peaceful and beautiful in there.

We even had a small visitor. A cat appeared out of nowhere near one of my relatives stones. She wandered with us for a little while. When we left the area of that section, she disappeared. It was a little strange. I went outside to take pictures there and then went back in. I went back to that area and she appeared again. As soon as I walked out of that area, she vanished again. I will chalk it up to her being a part of them. It was conforting and soothing. I enjoyed it and I enjoyed her company. I took pictures of Cami petting her too.

We met up with the family for lunch. Then we went to the nursing home to see my aunt for a while. While we were there, it started to storm. So we left and raced the storm home. A two hour drive. Once we got home, the sky opened up and it was raining and the wind and the hail. Rusty asked me if I played golf with the hail. They were that big. It was like Lake Erie out in front of my house and most of the underpasses were flooded out. As usual. Im tire of all this @^#&$)%( rain!!

Next post.... The county fair!! See you then.

Elvis Said Hello...

2009-07-09T23:11:00.001-07:00

Elvis said hello...

I know that I havent blogged in a while but I wanted to post this one in the mean time before I finish the others that I have started. I know Ive been slacking. Actually I havent been slacking. Ive been very busy lately and its taking up my vacation time. Im supposed to be slacking now but that hasnt happened yet. I plan to work harder on being lazy. I promise.

I just had to post this one up though because it is true. I saw Elvis today. No I wasnt drinking or smoking anything. Im not one of those tabloid freaks. I really saw him. I went ot pick up my father today and he was there. At his apartment. I swear this is true.

When we got back from lunch, we were in the apartment when the manager came across the hall and said that the handyman was there to fix some things around in the building. He would be in to fix something with the kitchen counter and to measure the windows. As she put it, Elvis would be in soon.

The apartment manager is an Italian lady in her 60s. Shes a wonderful woman and shes a lot of fun. But when she said Elvis was going to be in, I thought she was off her rocker. But as she said it, in he walks.

He was a guy about 25 or so and looked like a young Elvis. He said he gets that reaction all the time. He said he tried to grow out his hair and change his looks but that didnt work. Im not much of an Elvis fan but this one was cute. And since he was in the foyer fixing something and Carm was watching his every move, Im thinking that she was thinking the same thing.

Elvis is in the house.

Winding down again....

2009-06-25T18:53:00.001-07:00

Winding down again....

Its that time of year again. Today was the last day of school. In a way I am so glad that it is over. But I will miss the kids.

This morning was like any other morning. I dreaded going to work because of being up half the night with my daughter. Its not that she was actually up but that Im up on watch duty. Its a habit now. Today they are celebrating summer birthdays with one big party. I went in with a giant cookie that was decorated like a cake with the whole Happy Birthday Cami thing on it. Lets sugar them up for the last day.

I had to take half days for these two last days. They are half days for the kiddies but not for the staff. I find that to be pretty raw. Like what will we be doing anyways? Apparently we are to move everything from room to room for those teachers that are trading places. I would have stayed to help but there was no way that I could. I had to leave to go get Cami and there was no way that I was going to bring her back to the other school. Plus this would give me some time to hang out with my friends at her school. I miss them terribly. Its like I lost my family.

I parked the car out back and went inside. A feeling of sadness went over me. It was so good that people were welcoming to me and gave me hugs and that they missed me. We all exchanged email addresses and phone numbers. I will get together with them over the summer. That is for sure. I need Ami Jo to model stuff for me.

Leaving was very sad to me though. They were having a luncheon and I just couldnt sit there. The kids werent allowed and I didnt think it was appropriate for them to just hang out in the hall while the adults had fun. There was a meeting and all the new staff would be introduced. It wouldnt matter to me or not if I met them because I wont be working there next year. That alone is depressing enough.

I did receive my notice to return for next year. I will be working at the new school. More than likely in the special ed room. I dont mind working with the kids there but when I started there I was met with great hostility. I dont belong with them. At least that is the impression that I get. Im exclude out of everything. But the good thing is that I am included with the rest of the staff. Believe me, I didnt choose to be there and Im not there to steal anyones thunder. Everyone knows that I hate being in the spotlight. I guess they just need to get that point. Maybe next year they will be more welcoming. I dont know. Somehow I highly doubt that though.

After school we went to see grandpa and went out to lunch. We went to the mall and then we came home. It was a decent afternoon. My father wants to go to the park tomorrow. The one where I go hiking at. I have no idea what he wants to do there. He cant walk the trails. There really isnt much else to do there for him except hang out in the hot sun at the lookout. A picnic maybe. But there is alot of walking. From the bathrooms to the playground and all that stuff. I know he wont do that and I dont want to do that when it is hot and humid. Im a cold weather person.

We shall see what happens in the morning when he calls. The weather man is also calling for some storms so maybe that will deter him from wanting to go up there. It wouldnt be pleasant to be in such a high place with lightning. I could take him to the nature center and hang out there for a little while. We shall see.

Saturday I have a copper wire class with Juan. Then Sunday will be at the camp. I hope it will be a good weekend for that. I know right now my mom is getting some serious storms there. I was tempted to call her tonight but Im sure she wouldnt be able to hear me. I will call tomorrow.

Til then, Im going to chill out and relax.

Baaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!

2009-06-21T19:54:00.001-07:00

http://video.telegraph.co.uk/services/player/bcpid1137883380?bctid=17075685001

This is a video made from people with way too much time on their hands.

Very cool though.

Not By The Hair Of My....

2009-06-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

Not By The Hair On My.....

Neck. I dont have chin hair.

I wish that I could have saved a video of the weather that was here yesterday. Holy Moly. It wasnt pleasant at all.

During the afternoon, I was in the room upstairs at the school when suddenly, out of the blue, the lightning flashed and the thunder cracked. I was sitting on the window sill with the window open when it happened. Scared the living daylights out of me. I really dont like thunderstorms and when they make the sharp cracking sound, that scares me even more. A few of the kids were a little shaken. Not stirred. But they had a good laugh because they said that I jumped. All the hair on the back of my neck was standing on edge though.

Later that evening, I was home chillin' out with the cat and the pooch. Cami was watching tv and everything was relaxed. I had the shades closed and everything was closed up because I had the ACs on and cooling the house down. I didnt have a chance to prepare as I didnt see the flash of lightning. The crack of the thunder was so loud and so forceful, I jumped out of my skin and the cat tried to get under the matress. Im sure that if someone saw me, they would have called me an Xray.

A city near by was reporting hail the size of golfballs and I wasnt looking forward to that. The booms were loud, the lightning was bright and the rain was coming down in buckets. I checked the severe weather stations and there wasnt any reports of tornadoes around. Im thankful for that. The sky sure as hell looked it though. I was watching the clouds change directions a few times before the storm finally settled down. Yeah, dummy me, watching the storm from the windows. I was watching for signs that we would have to hit the basement. Like that would happen anyways because we would have to go outside to get to the basement door.

The only time I like a thunderstorm is when I am at the camp. The camp is located at the base of a mountain so when the thunder hits, it echoes through the mountain range. One roll of thunder can last a long time and it does sound really cool. I dont like thunderstorms at night. Im always afraid of a power outage and that just fuels my fear of the dark. Im not ashamed to say that I am scared. I have my reasons. But I always have a flashlight nearby.

40 is the new...40...

2009-06-05T20:01:00.001-07:00

40 is the new...40....

Im using that quote from Tony. I prefer not to accept it though. Im not ready for. Sounds depressing doesnt it?

I think what Im trying to get at is that I really didnt want to be 40. I didnt want to be 30 either. I dreaded 30. This year is no different.

I think back on my brothers words to me. On my 30th birthday he said to me, "I know Im getting old when my baby sister turns 30." Im wondering what he is thinking now?

I really dont know why it bothers me so much. Im just not ready to accept it. I know I dont look 40. But its just one of those things where I think I have a fear of getting old too fast. I havent done all the things that I wanted to do yet. Maybe thats it.

I know in past blogs, I have told stories about past birthdays. I really dont actually have them. I dont really celebrate them. To me its not a big deal to be excited about them. This year it is no exception.

My morning started out like any other. My daughter was being a pain in the rear as always that early in the morning. Getting her to school is a challenge. Once shes there though, she is usuallyfairly good because her medication has kicked in. Now that I am in another school, I dont see that child. I only see the one that her meds are worn off.

But today she wasnt all that good. She had good intentions but that just lead to trouble. She was trying to stop her friends from fighting and ended up in the middle of it. So she spent the day in the Time Out room. I got the email from Mary telling me to call her about it. But at least she didnt start it. She ended it though. Not sure if I should be proud of that or not.

I went on to my school this morning thinking that I wasnt really in the mood to deal with crap. I felt that I should just adapt a mellow attitude and it will all go smooth. It pretty much did. Some of the kids remembered me talking about it being my birthday. But that was mentioned last week. Good thing they can remember that but they cant remember the school rules. Go figure. Selective memory.

The morning went pretty smooth. My one on one was doing a great job and he is adapting to me very well. He knows he will be rewarded for good behavior. He likes the computer so he knows he has to get his morning work done to get some play time til mom comes to get him. Hes getting used to this.

My afternoon was a little different though. Just before school ended, one of the kids was in flip out mode and I somehow got the brunt of it. He started to kick me and I had to restrain him for a little while. Its not all that fun when they are full of anger, adrenaline and sweaty. Oh the joy of holding down a sweating kid. To make matters worse, after I was able to calm him down, he sat there and peed his pants. Im glad I have that sort of impact on him. He wasnt scared of me. He was being defiant and then ended up going home with wet pants. Dont worry, I wasnt mean and put him on the bus that way. His mom came in to get him and she took him home that way. Not my problem when mom comes in the door.

So I decided that I was going to brush that off my back and get on with my day. I headed to Cami's school to pick her up and I was told to come to the break room with Kim to see the new goodies she bought. She had some really cool beads. That is the thing with us. We are both bead addicts. Of course she blames me for it. He he he. Moi? I know not of what you speak.

I was going to get some chicken at the BBQ but I realized that I didnt bring any money with me. So I figured I would go cash my pay check and come back to get some. I ended up hanging out at the school with my friends though. I spent too much time there and wasnt able to cash my check. But she also came out with some hand made birthday cards that brightened my day. She had the kids from my former class make them. I miss them really bad. I will have to make an appearance to see them before school ends.

I decided to just go straight home though. It was being to wear thin on me. My day was getting more and more exhausting and I wanted nothing more than to just take a shower and wash that sweat off me. It was gross. I got home and then thought about getting the plans ready for some yard sales for tomorrow. Kim is going with me and we will have some fun. I hate doing it alone and she finally has some time off. I like hanging with her. We have a good time.

So I ate some dinner and planned out the day. I will be getting up early tomorrow to go. I have some that I particualrly want to go to. Yep, Im pretty anal when it comes to yard sales. I get out the street maps and the note pad. I mark all the ones I want in the paper and then on the note pad I map them out in order of location. Its a mad dash to hit all the good ones before noon. Kim has to be home because she has to work and I have an appointment with a lady abotu a trunk at 2pm.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I have an addiction to antiques. Wait, I know I mentioned that before. I use them though. I like the look and the feel of something that has been around and worn in. Things were made so much better and the quality is great. The new stuff today just doesnt last. Think about it. I can get a new bedroom set now and in about 10 years it will be pretty much shot. The bedroom set that I have now is over 100 years old and its still strong and sturdy. It makes a big difference. But I also like the story the piece has to tell. Not so much in words but the history itself. I like to know where it came from and how it got here. Yeah, Im weird like that. I like history.

So tonight I will be turning in a little early to get some extra sleep so that I can be fresh in the morning. Of course a trip to get coffee will be in order though.

So thats how I spent my 40th birthday. Just a normal day.

Lets Rock The House....

2009-06-04T18:52:00.000-07:00

Lets Rock The House....

Yeah, I know I havent put up the other posts yet that I have been working on but this one was more important.

As you all know, my daughter is nine years old. Last year she decided that she wanted to play the violin. Actually she wanted the drums but that wasnt happening. Even though my mom indulged me in my musical whims, we dont have a garage here. Trust me, a drumset in the livingroom is not going to happen any time soon.

Originally she wanted a guitar too. I picked one up for her for Christmas and she seemed to take right to it. She got the book and a little CD thing but she prefered to play on her own. Im the type that can usually figure out how to play an instrument and I have played quite a few. Guitar was not one of them. I took lessons in various instruments wen I was in school but I always had this one thing that held be back on it. I cant read music. I have tried and tried with various teachers to show me, but I just couldnt do it. I could play by ear very well though.

So when my kid tells me that she wants to play an instrument, Im all for it. But Im going to makie sure that she has the best teachers I can afford so that she will be able to read music. Not that I didnt have great teachers. I just couldnt read it. Anywho, last year, the strings teacher announced to the school that she applied for a grant for more string instruments and it was granted. She received 20 new violins for the school. That was so awesome.

After the assembly was over, I saw my kid go up to her and ask if she could play one of them. At this time, she was 8 and in 3rd grade. This was not allowed because instruments are to only be played from 4th grade and up. But Colleen, being the sweetheart that she is, let Cami play one and said that since she was ADHD, this would be a great tool for her to use as a structure for learning. But we cant let the principal know. Not that it wouldnt really be allowed but for the fact that she might have a problem with a 3rd grader doing this.

Well she picked up that violin and started to play somethign random on it and she was good. She really liked it and it was set in stone that she would be taking lessons. This was a little late in the year for anything serious but she would try. And try she did. She was able to play in the Spring concert last year and she did very well. She only knew one song but that was enough. I was proud. But then came the big one. All City. Would she be able to play for All City? You bet she did. My mom came up from Florida early so that she could see her little baby play at one of the most beautiful places here. I myself have never played here and to see my child on that stage was just wonderful. I cried through the whole thing.

But remember that last year was not a serious thing regarding her learning to play. But she was playing and she ended up with the older kids. The violin seems to be a true talent for her. But then there was also the issue of the guitar. Colleen also teaches guitar at her house. So every Thursday after school, Cami went to her house to learn to play the guitar. We stopped those lessons when Colleen had her daughter. I figured that it might be too much on Colleen to do alot at the time so we decided to resume the lessons in the Fall.

I am sorry to say that we havent picked up on the guitar lessons but we focused more on the violin. Grandpa bought her a violin. I got a great deal on a very very nice one for her. One that was slightly used. Actually it was used three times when the previous owner discovered that he needed a larger size. So it was traded in. We bought it for Cami for a much less price that it should have gone for. A couple hundred less to be exact. So she became the proud owner of a Palatino.

Now comes the Fall of this year and she started back up with lessons at school. She was placed again with the older kids because she was able to keep up with them and she was learning very quickly. She is now in 4th grade and she really started to advance more and more. Then I got the notice for NYSSMA. This is the New York State School Music Association. This is a big deal for kids that are serious in their performance. It may sound geeky but really, this is a big deal.

Cami told me that she wanted to go to this and I asked Colleen if she was ready. She said that she was more than ready but kids that tend to go to this are more older and have done this for a few years. But she said that she knows that Cami will do a great job and thats when I signed the papers and paid for the regristration for her to go. But it was only three months away and I was hoping she could handle it.

Cami was given the piece that she needed to learn to play. Within a week she had the first half of the song pretty much down pat. I give her credit for this because I would not have been able to do so. Especially in such a short period of time. But each week, she had her normal lesson and then a private lesson to prepare for this event. I was a little shocked that she was the only one that was going from her school. Colleen said that she had some other kids from other schools that would be going but Cami was the only one from her school. Not that there werent any kids there that couldnt do this, just none that didnt want to.

As the time ticked on, I was a little worried that she would change her mind. But she told me that she was determined to get this song done. Yesterday (Sat the 30th) was the big day. Im not sure who was more nervous, me or her. But we traveled to the location of the festival and we went inside to get the papers she needed. Mind you that we are abouat an hour from home.

We made it there at about noonish and her scheduled time to perform was at about 230pm. Its always wise to get there early to get parking and find the room. Plus time to warm up and make sure everything is ready. Like I said before, to a muscian, this is a serious thing.

We went up to the room and signed in there. I called Colleen to tell her that we were there and that we found the room. She was not in the building as she was getting coffee somewhere else. The judge said that we could have gone in then and there but Cami wanted her teacher there with her. So we opted to just stick with the original time. We then went down to the gym to practice and all that good stuff.

While in there, it was overwhelming with about a hundred others playing various instruments and songs all at once. Cami watched some of the others and then said to me that she didnt think she was as good as they were and that she wanted to go home. I told her not to go by that because those kids have been playing alot longer and that some day, she would be playing just like them and some little girl would say the same thing about her.

That sort of boosted her confidence and she picked up her violin and started to practice. Colleen came in with a few other kids that she teaches and they all sat down to warm up as well. There was another girl that sat next to Cami that was playing the same song. Cami leaned over to tell me that the girl didnt know how to play it right. I told her that she was just learning as well and that everyone doesnt play the same. So Cami continued to play and the girl said that she wasnt sure she was good enough to be there because Cami was better. I told the girl the same thing that I told Cami. This isnt a competition with other kids. Its something that you do for yourself. That boosted her up and she continued to play.

The noise was getting to be too much so we decided to go get a snack and walk around outside for a while. We had another hour to kill before we had to be back upstairs. We watched kids come and go with all their instruments and one was even carting in a full size harp. I would hate to see how that thing was getting down stairs to a gym or even upstairs to a performance room.

The hour ticked by and it was time for Cami to go upstairs to the room. We are both very nervous now and I called Colleen to meet us there. There were two kids ahead of us so we waited out in the hall for our turn. It seemed like hours went by. Actually it was only about 20 minutes. Colleen waited with us and then it was time to go in. I waited out in the hall with her dad and we were both pretty quiet so that we could try to hear through the door. Of course, we couldnt hear anything.

It seemed like an hour went by and then Colleen came out. She had a big smile on her face and said that she was doing awesome. She was amazed at how well she performed. She had a couple of little minor things that she did wrong but nothing thathad to do with the music itself. She just paused a couple of times and her bow slipped once. But she said that she did great. No one could be in the room for the sight reading part though. This is where the judge gives her a random scale to play to see that she knows how to read the music and that she is not just playing something from memory.

Cami came out of the room and said that it was too easy. She said that she was all worried for nothing and that sort of relieved me but not enough. We needed to hear what the judge had to say. Apparently he was quite pleased that a 9 year old performed the way she did as a Level 1. Being that this is the first year of her lessons, she probably couple have done a Level 2 or higher. He said she played beautifully and perfectly and he was thrilled to have heard her.

Colleen told us that she would call us to let us know about her final score. It could take a half hour to at least 4 hours before she gets the paper. She said to go on home and she would call later. So we drove all the way home and we waited. Very nervously, I might add. I called her at about 4:30 and left a message. She called back at about 5:30 with the result. They judge on a series of items. Posture, bow handling, tone, you name it. For a level one, they can get an Outstanding at 26, 27, and 28 points. Excellent are the numbers just below that. It goes down so forth. Good, Fair, Poor. You get the idea.

She said that she was amazed that Cami did so very well and that she was proud of her and knew she could do it. I knew she could as well but I wanted to hear that magic number. She scored a 24 out of 28 points!!! I was blown away. I honestly thought it would be lower considering that this was her first time. Talk about confidence. The best part was that she lost points for things like posture and pausing. Her music performance was near perfect.

I am extremely proud of her. She is extremely proud of herself. This just renews her confidence in herself. Basically that is what this is. It is a competition within yourself. Not with others. It shows you where you stand in your own performance. As you go up the levels, the judging gets tougher. Im sure she can handle this.

Swimsuit Hell....

2009-06-04T18:42:00.001-07:00

Its the only way to describe it.

This is one of the blogs that I started one night but I didnt finish. I have a few of them so bear with me. I want to get all these thoughts out of my head so I can be somewhat normal minded again. As if.

You have got to be kidding. Those were my words all day today. It was so friggin hot today. My brain is fried. I think I left it somewhere on a hot sidewalk. It was like an egg sizzling on a hot pan. I dont remember any butter being involved though. I know there are some of you that will know that reference. I only wish that was the case but sadly its not. It was just really really hot.

The morning went really well. The only issue I had was with myself. Scary huh? But my alarm went off and I woke up to hit the snooze. I then realized that my bladder was quite full. You know I cant just shut the alarm off and snooze a little more because that body organ is the control center for keeping me awake. So I got up and went to the bathroom but then went back to bed. It seemed like a good solution at the time. I then hit the snooze two more times before I crawled back out of bed and hit the shower. I was exhausted. It was like I hadnt slept at all.

I managed to make it through the morning routine and got to school on time. There was no time to stop off to get a coffee though. So I had to settle for a diet pepsi because the machine at school was sold out of everything that was fully sugared and exploding with caffine. Which is what I truely needed.

My one on one didnt show up today. Technically that meant that I should have gone upstairs to the containment room. But I decided to play it safe and stay in the morning room to see if he came in late. He didnt. Oh well, that made my morning a little easier. I went through everything in there with the other kids and then I took them to the cafeteria for lunch. We went outside for recess and I played with them for a little while before I had to take my own lunch.

After my lunch time, I went upstairs. It was like walking into a heated sauna. There is a ceiling fan and a floor fan in the room but that wasnt cutting it. Being on the top floor in the direct heat was killer. One of the other teachers from down in the basement offered her fan for us to use. The basement is always cool enough to where she has a sweater on in her room. Lucky her. We got through the afternoon without too much crap. The kids were hot and it showed. We were all miserable in the heat. Even with three fans blowing at us.

After school, I picked Cami up and we headed home to let the dog out before going to grandpas. I washed up and Cami changed her clothes. She was wearing shorts but she was all sweaty and I knew she would feel better in clean dry clothes. We then picked grandpa up and went to the buffet for dinner. From there we went to the mall. This is where the fun starts.

I decided that she needed a new bathing suit. The one she had last year was big enough to fit her around her body but the top was a little too low. She grew taller and the suit went shorter. Im not sure if you have ever had to go clothing shoping for a preteen that shoots up like a weed. You buy something now and in a month it no longer fits. Can be quite frustrating.

Im sure you will all agree that bathing suit shopping is a bitch. For some reason, they are all made for the same person who is the same size for every damn one of them. The makers obviously dont realize that people come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you weigh 300lbs or 100lbs, that suit was made for someone that was either taller or shorter than you. They just never fit right. Pisses everyone off. Its one of the reason I dont bother buying one.

Well add that shape and height thing to someone that is picky with colors. She must have tried on about 40 different suits. They all fit her in some sort of strange way, but she hated all the colors. I was running out of suits and patience. She finally settled on two that were acceptable for her to be seen in public. But I should also add that it only took three hours to do this.

But I will guarentee that she wont wear them without a shirt to cover herself up. *smacks forehead* Hers.

Busted My Butt....

2009-05-28T21:54:00.001-07:00

Busted my Butt....

I would have used the other word but I prefer to keep the ratings on here on the low side. But everyone knows how sensitive the topic about my butt is. But Im sure I will slip up and say ass.

I would also like to add that I have a couple of posts in the workings but I was too lazy to finish them up. Im in a sort of decent mood and working on those will only sour it.

As I write this, my darling little baby is on the couch feeling sick to her stomach. It concerns me because of this whole swine flu thing that is going around. There is a confirmed case here in this school district already. She doesnt have a fever but she says her stomach is all cramped up. We shall see what this brings. I will be up for a while til I know she is ok. Yeah, Im the worry type. Im a mom.

This morning was pretty interesting. I will start by saying that Im poor. Ha ha. Laugh. But its true. I dont have a lot of cash and when I do have extra, I tend to spend it on the things she needs more than I do. But I will add, that now I have to spend on myself.

Everything was going smooth this morning until I got to work. I was wearing a pair of jeans that have seen better days. The jeans themselves are ok but they have been patched in certain places. Like the pocket corners were wearing a little thin. But the patches were on the inside. Like I said, Im poor. But they were comfy jeans. In my job, thats a requirement. Wear comfortable but presentable clothing. Oh, and comfortable shoes. You never know when you have to take off running at a blink of a second.

Well, I get to work this morning and I was wondering about how loose my jeans felt. I know I have lost some weight but this was a little more loose than it should be. I was also wondering why my ass felt soft. My car seat covers are velvet. I was summing it up to a new pair of underwear. But I guess I was wrong because by the time I made it into the building and to the office to sign in, I was feeling a draft.

I reached back and low and behold, I was feeling my ass. Actually not the skin of my ass but the soft material that was covering my ass and it wasnt my jeans. My jeans werent there. No, this isnt one of those naked dreams. That was my first thought though. In my dreams, Im topless. Yes, I did check to make sure my boobs were covered. I knew this wasnt a dream. It was my ass. Hanging out of the back of my pants.

Good thing I had on a hoody that covered my butt. If not, then the whole world got a nice view of my pink underwear. It was one of those moments where I could almost hear my mom telling me to make sure I was wearing clean underwear in case Im in an accident. I would most certainly call this an accident because I, for damn sure, didnt plan it. I told the secretary that I was sneaking home for a moment to change and then I told my boss the same thing. He was cool about it.

I went home quick and changed and came back to work. He was happy I was there and thats when he handed me my review forms to fill out. Eek. Review time and here I was running around with my ass hanging out. Yep, thats how I needed to start my day. Good thing I have a sense of humor because I would have been freaking out if I didnt. But I chalked it up to just something that happens and moved on with my day. If I hadnt noticed, it would have been interesting for the concert that we had this afternoon. Could you imagine? I could. But then thats me.

I will work on the other posts tomorrow night. Right now Im going to go snuggle my peanut.

Oh and the pants went into the trash. I will be shopping for a new pair tomorrow. And no, I wont be going to work pantless tomorrow. I do have two other pairs I can wear. I also dont plan on a topless dream. Or reality for that matter.

Help Me!!... Ive Lost My Links...

2009-05-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

My dear readers, I have lost my links to your pages. Please help me link you all back on here. If you see some that I once had, please link me to those as well so that I can put them back on.

Madre, I know you have most of them on yours. I cant find some of the ones I visited.

Im Melting...

2009-05-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

Im Melting...

I think I may have already used this title but even if I didnt, its the way I was feeling today. Its starting to feel more and more like Summer. I printed out a couple of calendars today that are blank. I did that just so that I could write in them and make sure that it is known to the world that there are 23 days of school left before summer vacation. It also means that there are 23 days more left til I am unemployed. There is always something to spoil my joy.

My daughter was really off her rocker this morning. I just couldnt see through her logic today. Either I was blind or I was just not fully conscious. Usually I can see through so that means my eyes were open but my mind was still in sleepyland. My alarm went off and I went to hit the snooze. You know when you get that unconscious feeling that you are being watched? Well I usually get that with the pets when they wait for me to wake up because they want something. But they tend to stare at you til you do. Its a creepy feeling and sometimes can interact with your dreams. But this morning was a little different. I didnt wake to the cats ass in my face or the dog ready to lick me because shes so damn happy Im alive to feed her. Such a dull life they lead. I want to be just like them.

Nope, this time it wasnt the pets. It was the kid. As soon as the alarm went off, I bolted up to snap the snooze when I hear "MOM! I NEED A DRINK!" Yes I did the uppercase letters on purpose because thats how I got it this morning. I was in such a daze and not awake but the ringing in my ears wouldnt stop after that. She was about 3 feet from my head when she yelled. It was like a freight train went past. I was about to pull the rails out from under it though. Crash. Oops.

What in the world made her think that I was moving out of my bed before I absolutely have to get up? Oh yeah, Im the one with the keys to the fridge. Sorry but I refuse to let anyone here drink the tap water. Its gross. So I stagger out to the fridge and unlock it for her so she could get a drink. I locked it back up and went back for my 6 minutes that I had left on the snooze. Hey, 6 minutes is a long time for me in the morning. I will take what I can get. Of course I hit the snooze one more time after that.

I got up out of bed and saw her on the couch. She was wearing a tshirt and jeans. Her shoes were on and she was pretty much ready to go. I jumped in the shower and got myself ready. When I came out to the kitchen to get a drink, she was wearing pink pants and a tanktop. I know Im awake enough to know the difference but I was confused as to why she changed. She was putting something in a bag. Something that resembled jeans. Odd.

So I told her that she wasnt allowed to wear those pants to school because they didnt really fit her. And there was no way I was sending her to school with an old tanktop on. I have no idea what was going through her mind for that fashion disaster. So I made her change. I got the rest of my stuff ready and then walked into the diningroom just in time to see her walking out of her room wearing something different. But she was still stuffing something in a bag. She now has a tshirt on and jeans again. Different ones than the first set.

I asked her what she was putting in the bag and she told me that she was putting a skort in the bag. For those that dont know what a skort it, its a skirt with an attached pair of shorts under it. I asked why she was putting them in the bag and she said that she was bringing them so that she could change once she got to school. I can understand the logic to that part because I knew it was going to be really hot. I told her to just go put the skort on now and not bother with the jeans. She grunted yet again at me and went to change. I also told her to put a bra on as well and got another grunt for that. But at least she didnt scream at me and start throwing things. I honestly expected that.

We made it to her school without any battles and I thought it was going to be a great day. I will add now that it was a great day for her. For her. Not me. I mean, it wasnt a bad day. It was just a pissy day. I could have done without the heat. It was so hot. The downstairs part of the school isnt so bad as the upstairs. It was sweltering up there. They really need to allow for airconditioning.

Today was the first day on the half day schedule with my one on one. He is to be leaving at about 11:30am and then I am to go to lunch. After lunch I return to the classroom upstairs as I was before. Seemed like an easy day at the time because usually the kid does fairly well in the morning. Usually. Today wasnt going to be one of those days. This kid has such a hard time gathering himself that when he goes wild, he is just placed on a computer and plays games so that he can be contained to one area. I dont follow that rule. Im not going to give the kid the privilage of having fun while the others have to work. Its not fair.

So my rules are that he has to do some work to earn the computer time. For all the amount of time he works, he will get that time for computer play. When I came into the classroom, he was sitting at his desk working on his morning paper. He had a few wrong but Im not allowed to correct him. This is the stuff that gets put in his file to show what he knows and what he doesnt know. And I do admit that he did make the effort and it was neatly done. Then he was allowed to play with a learning toy. These toys are things like shape blocks or numbers and letters. Even dominoes. When its time for the morning announcements, the bags are all put away and then the kids go to sit on the carpet for the morning circle time.

During this time, they do morning greetings to everyone in the room, they go through the day of the week thing and then some word wall stuff. Then they sing some daily songs and read a story. Not too bad. He didnt want to do this though and asked me nicely for a walk. Ok. He was getting wiggly on the carpet so this will be a five minute thing for him to get some energy out. He was doing great for the most part. We walked to the library where he asked if he could have some computer time. I told him that he can have about 5 minutes and then go back to class. That was a mess from the start.

He did his computer time. He then decided that he would go back to class but he took off running. Oh joy. Im not running. But he did make it back to class. He went back to the carpet and did some more work for a few more minutes. I told him to get through his centers and then he could have more computer time later. I figured an hour of work and then the rest of the time on the computer til mom came to pick him up. I was soon to see that wasnt going to be the case.

As the kids were getting up from the carpet, he hit one of them and kicked at her. I had to remove him from the room and he took off again. I chased him to the office and told him to wait there. I went back to the room and got all his center work and told him that he needed to do this or there would be no computer time. He didnt like that too much and I had to chase him down again.

Finally I trapped him in the hall down in the basement where the lounge and the learning rooms are. I sat him down and forced him to do the work while he stared at the computer in the corner. After some grumbling and slapping the table, he finished it all and I told him that he was allowed some play time. He did his work and I did promise him. So we went back up to the library. At about 11:45am I pulled him out of there to go to the office to wait for his mom. While in there he went through everything and caused some issues. Very stressing and I was at my whits end by 12:30. Mom wasnt there yet. She is an hour late. She finally came about 15 minutes later and then I was off to lunch. I needed that break.

The rest of the afternoon was fine. It was sweltering hot in that room upstairs but at least there wasnt any serious problems. Just one kid whining and one kid running around the room. I was sweaty and exhausted by the time I left. I picked up Cami and went home to an airconditioned house. I was beat. And to think that I get to do this all over again tomorrow.

Im glad its the weekend coming and that it is also a pay week. I just hope its not as hot.

I Cant See....

2009-05-21T18:44:00.001-07:00

I Cant See.....

Today was a real winner of a day. The morning started off interesting. I honestly didnt intend to hit the snooze more than twice. Somehow I hit it three times. But thats ok. I still leave myself plenty of time to get ready. Its just that Im one of those people that cant spring out of bed in the morning. If I do, then I will just spring right back into it. Im not a morning person. Yesterday I was up early enough to make a pot of coffee. I made up my thermo-mug but I forgot it on the kitchen counter. Sucks to waste perfectly good sugar and caffine.

Today was no different. But the weird thing is, as I hit the snooze for the third time, I heard something out in the kitchen. I have a pair of Crocs next to my bed. The one good thing about those is that they leave no sound when you walk. My bedroom is right off the kitchen. I could see in the reflection of the oven on the counter that someone was in my kitchen. That someone could only be my wonderful child. The only time she goes in the kitchen in the morning is to get something. Now mind you that everything is under lock and key because she will steal it if its not. Its an ADHD thing.

So I slipped on the Crocs and jumped out in the kitchen. Sure enough, she was on my step stool with my keys in hand, trying to unlock the snack cabinet. Busted. Her response was to throw my keys on the floor and stomp out to the livingroom. The thing is, I was awake when I hit the snooze all three times. I just didnt want to get out of bed. That means that she snuck into my room, picked up the pants I had on the floor and took my keys out of my pocket. Shes smooth but not that smooth.

So she was pissed off that she wasnt able to get a second strawberry straw for her breakfast. Those things do rock though. You drink your milk through them and it turns the milk to a strawberry flavor. We have chocolate ones too. They arent the NesQuik ones though. I dont know where my mom got thembut Im going to assume somewhere in Florida.

She got over her snotty attitude fast this morning. I told her that if she didnt wise up quick, she wouldnt be allowed to watch The Jonas Brothers on tv. That did the trick. So I went about my morning and then went to the fridge for a drink. It was unlocked. So was the freezer. Hmmmm.... I could have sworn that I locked them last night. I opened the fridge and my candy was still in there so I know she didnt get into there. I need to be more careful before bed.

I would like to take this time to tell you that Im am beyond exhausted. If there are any typos, too bad. Im not fixing them. Im too tired to. Im sure there might be some good ones though.

I was able to get Cami to school early and then I was debating on going for some coffee before I went to school. That didnt happen because I got stuck in traffic on the way and there wasnt any time after. I walked into the building and went to my classroom. There would be a substitute today because there was a big meeting regarding my one on one. Im hoping that he goes to a half day deal because the afternoons suck. Im tired of running the halls.

The morning itself went great. The kids were a little off but thats expected with a substitute in the room. I did my best to maintain normalsy though. Is that how you spell it? Anywho, at about lunch time with the kids, I took mine outside to play. He was joined by his classmates and he was having a great time. Normally he wont eat anything and I dont make him eat. I know that feeling with Cami not eating because of the medication. So I dont force the kids to do it. But he did grab some pretzel sticks and ate those. I was happy.

But once I got outside, I started feeling a little sick myself. My vision was blurring and I could see heat waves. You know, like the ones in a Scooby cartoon. Or the end of Waynes World. Which ever you choose. Only this time they were in the form of a rectangle. I know this is a migraine coming on and its going to be a bad one. My one on ones mother showed up from the meeting and we chatted about how it all went down and when he will be coming for half days. I also told her that he had a great morning. She took him home with her and I decided that I was not needed now and went to the nurse for my headache. Or I should say, the one that will soon be hitting me.

I got to the nurses office and by this time, I was losing vision in my left eye. This was not a good thing. She gave me some Excedrine but that wasnt helping. I then went to my boss and told him that I was going to take a half day. When this happens, I know what to expect and it would be best that I get home as soon as possible before I wouldnt be able to drive.

He let me leave and I went straight home. I took some meds and crashed on the couch. That was the end of me til I had to go pick up Cami from school. I would just like to add that at that moment, Imitrex was the only answer. I was able to become conscious enough by then to go get her. That is the ultimate miracle drug. I just wish it wasnt so expensive.

I was able to go to class and I finished off a necklace that I had been working on and also the project for the evening. A crystal beaded dragonfly. I bought an extra kit to make one for a friend because she needs some cheering up. She recently lost her pooch and I know she is very sad.

Im sure that will give me something to do for the weekend coming up. Whoohoo. A three day weekend.

Exhausted....

2009-05-17T21:19:00.001-07:00

I had really thought I was going to be able to rest before her concert. Oh, I should also mention that this is a part two to the previous post. It was really long so I thought that I would break things up a little.

I should also mention that during the early morning, I was getting ready for work and trying to figure out the day. There were some things that I needed of a couple of different stores. I was scheduled for the half day. That would have left me some time to go get these things and be back in time for the concert. I couldnt do them after because I had a class that I couldnt miss that was at 6pm.

But when I got home, I called my father to see if he needed anything while I was out. It ended up as me picking him up and going to the the mall and BJs for some water. One of my stops was at there to pick up some contacts but the optical thing wasnt open til after 11am. So we got the water and left. We went to the mall for the next thing on my list and also we had some lunch. It was a nice afternoon and I was back in time for the concert.

I went to the school a little early so that I could see the kids. Normally when I get there, all the kiddies are gone home and I was missing them. I stopped into my old classroom and was nearly knocked over from all the hugs. They missed me too. It was so good to be back there. The concert was wonderful. All the kids did such a great job.

Cami and I went home and then I had to go to class with Juan. We made a beautiful pendant and a ring from copper. I love his classes. They are a lot of fun and I like working with the stuff he comes up with. I also learned how to do knots in leather cording so that it can be adjusted.

Friday was an ok day. Cami was a little on the wild side though. Seems shes been like this for a couple of days now. She gets on a sort of high with the ODD thing and it tends to be a little frustrating. Saturday was absolutely out of this world. She was flying off the handle big time. It was a very difficult day and after I got home from class, it was even worse. Im going to make an appointment with her therapist this week to see what can be done. The meds dont need altering. Her attitude does. But I cant totally blame her because this is something she has a hard time controling.

Sunday was a much better day. I think I may have gotten through to her for a little while. Lets hope for a better week for her.

Run, Forest, Run....

2009-05-15T22:25:00.001-07:00

Run, Forest, Run....

I thought this was an appropriate title for this one. It was an interesting week. Just for the record, Im writing this one on Friday, May 15th. You know, just in case I start it and not finish it. Im good for that.

After the bout with food poisoning, I returned to work on Tuesday. I was still in a lot of pain but it wasnt nearly as bad as the day before. It was just pain. Not like the bruising, kicked feeling I had the night before. Not having the cramps or the nausea, also indicated that this was quick and was definately food poisoning. I called my doctor later in the day to let them know. They assured me that I was on the mend and blood work was not needed. Me and some Pepto got along great. It was the new cherry flavor too. Just so you know, I do not like the new flavor. I prefer the old. When you are sick, you expect medicine to taste like medicine. The new cherry stuff is way too sweet for that. It actually made the feeling worse because I dont like things to be too sweet. That alone will turn my stomach. And of course, I got the economy size. Figures.

I walked into work on Tuesday morning without any incidents from Cami. I think she knew I wasnt playing games. I was sick still and she knew it. Of course, she was asleep on the couch when I woke up though. But at least she was dressed and ready to go to school. That helped a lot. I wasnt about to fight with her to get dressed and all that jazz.

I told the ladies that I work with what happened and turns out that one of them also had food poisoning before. She agreed that the symptoms that I had were the same that she had felt when it happened to her. Ok, so I know I will get some sympathy today and hope that the kids wont be too rough on me. I wasnt in the mood to restrain anyone. That would make it hurt worse than I was already feeling. I was pretty much stiff. Not so bad though. And my head wasnt hurting so that was a plus.

I went downstairs to my post at the back door. My morning duty is to be at that door because that is where the buses stop and also where the kids go in and out of for breakfast or to the playground. I was still somewhat sore. Im sure I mentioned this a few times before but I really was. I have to stand there and smile and tell everyone good morning and make it a positive day. Its almost like answering the phone at Sears.

That reminded me of something really funny. When I worked at Sears, I was in the catalog department when I first started there. The main phone switchboard was located there and we always answered the phone and transfered the calls. Eventually I was the one that made the morning or the closing announcements because I sounded very happy and pleasant on it. Yeah right. So it was always the same thing. Hello, thank you for calling Sears, this is so-and-so, how may I direct your call. Now they have the automated one. But the announcements were funny because everyone would stand in the doorway to see if they could make me laugh over the loudspeaker.

The funny part was when I worked at a sporting goods store. I was a cashier and we all had to answer the phones. I always had trouble doing this because I refused to say what they wanted me to say. I couldnt so it holding a straight face. It went something like this. Hello, Its a great day at Dicks, this is so-and-so, how may I help you. I also hated working there because they lived up to their name. But that is another story I may tell you at some time.

Back to the original story. Im at the back door and my boss comes out. He asked if I was ok and I told him I was. He went on to the playground and I continued my morning routine. The kids there are great and they are polite. Most will tell me good morning first. Most have gotten to know me already and they like hanging out with me. So I have to push them on to the playground because I dont want them to get in trouble standing there. But they understand.

After the whistle blew and the buses left, the kids all come inside with their teachers. I greet them again and also the staff that I see. They are all friendly to me and I have made some new friends there. That is a relief due to how my job started there. At least these people liked me. Oh and I should mention that I am being treated a little better in my class now too. they see that Im a nice person and Im not a threat. Yeah, like that can happen. I dont have a mean bone in my body. Well some of those bones hurt but they arent mean.

After all the kids go on inside with their teachers, my boss comes up to me and wants to chat. Hes a great guy and I do like working for him. He asks me if I can help him out a little with a certain child. I havent met this one yet though. He said that they are having a difficult time with him and Im needed to guide him. Im almost questioning this. Almost. But then again, I should have known better. You know, this is when you agree to something and kick yourself in the ass later. I was soon to find out that my ass was going to be kicked hard.

But I agreed because I know that my boss has faith in me. I liked that feeling because I know that he isnt using me. There is a difference. He knows I can do the job and do it well. Its one of those things that I refer to as job security. Remember, I have a job where as some dont. I have mine because I know what I have to do and I do it. I do it well. Sometimes that can bite you but when there are layoffs happening, its nice to have that bit of a pat on the back to know that I still have a paycheck.

Anywho, he then goes on to tell me the issue at hand. There is a child that is pretty much uncontrolable. Its not the childs fault and its not the parents fault. Its the systems fault. Im back to where I was four years ago. When my training was put into place in the processing of a kindergarten child. This is a child recently diagnosed and was in the middle of being placed where he should be.

Its hard to explain. There is so much paperwork and testing that has to be done on a child in this grade level. You cant just put him in a room somewhere and expect it to be where he should be. He is medicated but not to the degree he needs to be at because of the way the system works. The proper papers need to be filed and all the meetings need to be done before the clinic will alter medications and place the child in the right place.

So this is a special ed child placed in a mainstream room where he isnt getting the one on one that he needs. He tends to be a runner because he has no place else to go. He cant control the urges he has. So now Im there to take him under my wing and guide him. Yeah right. Ive been up and down those stairs at least a hundred times a day and walking those halls with him. He will sit still at a computer and play games all day though. Its the only thing that keeps him still. So I put him on some educational games. But in the mean time, his work isnt getting done. He does listen to the teacher out of one ear though. He is learning but not where he should be. They are trying to get him into the containment room where Im supposed to be. There is a process to go through in order to get that done though. And that wont happen til Sept. So from now until then, hes mine. But they are trying to get him into a half day program. That will benefit him and my feet.

I think this week, I have lost about 15 lbs with all the running and walking I have done. He has kept me on my toes for sure. But he is a good kid and he likes to chat and he will work with me. Ive spent some time talking to his mother and shes ok with me working with him. She cant do anything more for him either and its frustrating her. But she likes that I am able to occupy him more than having no one at all. So Tuesday and Wed went fairly well. I got a lot of excersize.

Thursday was another story all together. I cant even begin to describe how crazy it was. I wouldnt even have a name for it. Well I have one but its too raw to post here. The morning was insane. Yeah, insane was a good word. Today is the Spring concert at her school. This means that there is a set rule for attire and she also has to do this whole thing alone in the morning. Rehearsal and all that. First off the bat, she had on a pair of jeans and a white shirt that was a little too big for her. She wore this shirt a couple of years ago for a concert but she has lost a bit of weight since then. The collar is a sort of wide V neck with crystals on it. Its a pretty shirt but its falling off her now. Also she wasnt wearing a bra. This is not good. Im sure that when she reads this someday, shes going to be a little bit pissed at me. But you know what? I can show this to her boyfriend and embarrass her.

So I made her change her shirt. She has other white shirts. She complained a little but I wasnt in the mood. But she refused to wear the black pants. I wasnt going to argue with her about that either. Let her teacher tell her. So off we went. I got her to school and she was more calm by then. I left there and I was on my way to my school when my cell phone rang. I cant answer it while driving so I waited til I was in the parking lot. I checked the number of the caller and saw that it was the phone number to her classroom. Why is she calling me this early? I was about to find out why and this is what started the ball rolling for the day.

I called her school and got ahold of her teacher to find out what was wrong. Apparently in the rush to get to school, we forgot her violin. I didnt even notice that she didnt have it with her. *facepalm* This is not good. I cant leave to go and get it. Its at home. Its not in my car. I dont have time. I have to get the kids off the bus. I am scheduled for a half day to go to her concert. I told her teacher that I would bring it to her then.

I got to my post at the back door and no sooner do I get outside, the phone rang again. It was Cami this time and she was crying and so upset. She has a rehearsal at 9:15 and needs the violin. Shes carrying on and it was heart breaking. What was I supposed to do? I did what a mom has to do. I found my boss and explained to him what happened and he said that I needed to get the kids off the bus and then I could go and get the violin and bring it to her. We both then thought about it a second and decided that I would be better off to just get the kids off the bus, go get the violin and take the whole day off instead. Ok. I can deal with that. Im tired and I could take a nap before the concert. Or so I thought.

Mothers Day....

2009-05-15T20:39:00.001-07:00

Mothers Day....

I know Im a week late on this post. Its been a rotten week.

Mom is home from Florida. She came home the week before and I was anxious to see her. I havent seen her since November. Yes, I missed my Mommy.

The drive down to the camp couldnt go fast enough. I wanted to get there. We pulled in at about 11:30am. It was so awesome to see them. We had Mommy Day presents. Of course I forgot the leaf vase that I bought for her while she was in Florida though.

The day was warm and cloudy though. I knew that it was going to rain. But it was still a thrill to be there. I love the place. Its so quiet and relaxing. But there has been some changes. Hard to describe though. Seems that the owner just cant get enough money. That was sarcasim. The man is rolling in cash but still wants more. You know the type. You would think that having all the campers that he has there now would be enough. Nope. Not him. He has to have more.

The reason that I complain about this is the fact that the campground is in the mountains and the woods. Its the perfect place. But every year, he clears out more and more trees for more and more sites. This takes away the beauty of the place because its not so quiet and its not so wooded. Its more open and a lot more people.

The area where our site is located is away from the main drag. Its on a small side area where its one small road that loops. If you look down the road that the camp is on, it looks like a dead end. Not many people go down it for that very reason. The road takes a turn at the end and looks like you would be driving into the woods. The trailer is the last one on the left. When the road turns, it goes down a small hill and goes around to the area in back of the trailer. Across from those trailers on that road is an open field that used to be the tenting area and it was surrounded with woods. Its far enough from the lake so that we dont get the noise or the bugs. Holiday weekends are full in there but that area was always still quiet.

In the last couple of years, the field was converted to an area for campers. There was no sewer hooked up but the weekenders were in there. It wasnt bad at all. Up in the front entrance though, the area was all cleared out and about 30 new sites were created. There was another area in the middle cleared out as well. But now the field and the wooded area around it are cleared out for about 20 new sites. Now when you go around that turn by my trailer, you see the clearing and it looks horrible. The woods are all gone. Im sure that by July, that will be full and the noise and traffic will be a pain in the ass.

We had a great day though. Cooked burgers on the fire. Sat and chatted and relaxed for a while. I was home again too. The ride home was a bit interesting. The camp is located in a major mountain range. To get home we have to leave those mountains and travel through some others. Those always look misty when you go through. Most of the time, its raining. This was no exception. Remember when I drove through that tornado? Same area.

Today was gloomy skies and sure enough, in that same area of the tornado, the wind picked up and the rain started coming. It was coming sideways and making it hard to travel. There has to be a better way. Well there is but the trip is longer and I dont like to drive it. We made it home safely though. It was a wonderful day. I cant wait til next weekend to do it again.

Sunday was a bit different. I didnt have anything planned for the day but to sleep late and be lazy. Which is what I did. But something bad happened. I have no idea what or when it actually started though. At about 7pm, I was feeling sick. Nausea and cramping. I blew it off and called it from all that traveling and stuff. My body started aching and my head hurt. It wasnt a migraine so it wasnt too bad. I went back to bed at around 1am. I was feeling a little worse but decided to sleep it off instead. That didnt happen.

At about 2:30am, I woke up to a sick feeling and I ran to the bathroom. It was aweful. I spent the rest of the night on the floor in there. Both ends were constantly emptying. I dont have the vomit reflex so it was all forced. I needed to expell what ever was in me and I really didnt have too much of a choice. It was quite painful. At about 6:30 am, I finally went back to bed and I knew I was calling in. This was not going to be something I was bringing to work with me.

At about 7:30am, I was up again and in the bathroom. Another round. Cami was up and ready for school. She knew I was sick and I wasnt going to keep her home. I needed to rest and I also needed to call the doctor. I called in from the bathroom and I thought for sure I was going to lose it again. I took Cami to school at about 8:30am. I was able to get a shower before that though. That seemed to help a little. I was really sore though. But I got her there and I went straight back home.

I called the doctor when I got home and was told that the symptoms I had were sounding like food poisoning. I didnt have a fever. I didnt have the shakes or the chills. It wasnt a flu. I was told to keep a watch on it and if it continued, to come in and have blood work done. But this shouldnt last. I then decided to sleep it off and passed out. The cramping was gone and so was the need to expell. At about 11am, Bill was called to go pick up Cami from school. Seems she got into an argument with another girl and was hit in the face with the wooden hall pass. She had a little bump on her head but she was fine. I really wanted a quiet afternoon to sleep but that wasnt happening.

Cami was pretty good about letting me rest though and the whole episode was behind me. Now all I had was pain. Severe pain to my lower back and side. I thought for sure that if it wasnt food poisoning, it was a kidney stone. Thats what the pain felt like. I felt bruised like someone was kicking me. I spent the rest of the day and evening in bed.

The next day was going to be interesting because I had to go to work. I had no choice. I need to keep my job. This was the first day that I took off from work for myself being sick. Every other time, it was because Cami was sick. I went into work and they understood why I took the day off.

That was something I wont forget. I had never had food poisoning before and I hope to hell that I never get it again.

When it rains, it pours....

2009-05-15T19:51:00.001-07:00

When it rains, it pours...

That is basically how the week ended.

The week started off slow. It seemed to drag on. Isnt that typical of a Monday? Tired and cranky was the mood forthe whole week. And my daughter as well. My feet have been bothering me more and more and I really need to take some time to rest them. I cant take the time off from work to go to the foot doc. I will have to tough it out til Im on vacation again. So that means I have to suffer til the end of June. I can handle it. I mean, I did go over a year with the pain. I just dread the two big field trips that I will be on in the beginning of June. Both will require a lot of walking. I might have to bring some ice for the trips home.

Tuesday and Wednesday nights were my TCI refresher classes. Im already certified but I have to take this refresher yearly to keep my certification. Some would say that Im definately "certified" but thats another story. This is something that I need to use in my job. I dont have to take the courses but it does help to have this knowledge to back you up in case its needed. In my school and the one I was in, its needed daily.

Let me define this class. Its called TCI which stands for Theraputic Crisis Intervention. Its the training you get for when a child loses control of himself and you have to make sure that you, the child or anyone else doesnt get hurt. That you can talk the child back to normal and also be able to safely restrain the child if needed. Trust me, these kids are strong and when they get full on fire, the adrenaline goes through the roof. But at the same time, you dont want the child to get hurt.

So this was a fun time for me and the others in the class. I want to thank those that were there with me for the fun and the laughs. They know what Im talking about. I nearly peed my pants Tuesday night. Wednesday night was a little stressful for me. The physical part nearly ripped my legs and feet off. Both of these nights had me exhausted.

The rest of the week went off without a hitch. It wasnt so bad. Thursday was interesting. Yeah, thats a good word for it. Interesting. Dean Davis came to the school. Most of you wouldnt know this man. But around here, he is a sort of legend of his own kind. This man has to be the wildest person I have ever known. Ive known him for a few years. Actually, I think some of those reading this would know him. He is from that small town area where I grew up. And some of my readers are as well. You know who you are.

Well Dean is a sort of, how do I put it, zoologist in his own right. He really is one but not like the typical one. This man likes the animals that no one else likes. He has quite a collection. Most of his pets come from homes where they couldnt be cared for anymore. Some are exotic pets that people should not have had in the first place. So he has them now and he takes care of them. He brings them to places to show people. Mostly schools to educate the kiddies on howthese animals help the environment. But also why they are best left in the wild. They wouldnt make good pets.

When he shows these beasts off, he tends to be talking about them at the same time. He holds them and wont let them loose so there is nothing to worry about. Also he is missing a finger so that shows how much he loves these critters. And yes he does love them. Its weird how they respond to him like its nothing new to be held and moved around. He tends to talk with his hands to the animals get a fun ride around in the air. Interesting is the word, remember?

The lizards were cool. The snakes were awesome. The turtle was just about as amazing as it gets. I grew up with these things in my yard so that was nothing new. But the reaction that the kids had was priceless. He got that baby snapping and looking around. The head alone was huge. It would have taken off his arm in a snap.

The scorpion was trying to pinch him and he was telling the kids that the stinger was like getting stung by a big bee. Well he was stung at least 30 times while it was being moved around in the air while he talked. If I was moved in the air that much, I would have stung someone too. Well, that is if I had a stinger. That would be cool to have huh?

The one thing that I just couldnt handle was the spider. We all know how much I hate spiders. I know they are a benefit to the environment and that they eat the things that freak me out. But they need to do it when Im not looking. I dont want to see them or the food supply. Thank you. But Im sitting about five feet away from this man and when he brought that spider out, I nearly pissed my pants and vomited.

I excused myself to the bathroom but when I came back, he was still waving that hairy Godzilla thing around the room and I had to pretend not to be afraid of it. You know, for the sake of the kids. Yeah, ok. I can suffer it. Now put that damn thing away. To make it worse, there were pictures being taken so Im sure that somewhere is one of me with a freaked out look.

Today was the cream of the crop though. The morning was really stressful with Cami. She was a bit off the hook. Somehow she had sneaked into the kitchen and stole the last of a can of frosting that was used on some brownies that she couldnt get to. Yep, sugar. And unmedicated. This is not a good thing. She was flipping out on me because she got busted. Yeah, that seems to be her logic.

So the whole day was pretty much shot for me. I was in a miserable mood all day waiting for the bombs to hit later on. But it ended up on an entertaining note with the kids flipping out. It was actually funny. Im learning to adapt fairly well now. I just love a friday with wild kids. But at least they dont come home with me.

Friday was fun. Just to let you know, I forgot that I started this post and am now just picking it up again before I write a new one. Anywho, after school on Friday, I went to my fathers as usual. He wanted to go shopping but wanted to eat first. So we went to a chinese buffet. There is nothing like eating at one. Im sure you all have at one time or another. I love them. The only sad part about chinese food is that you can stuff your face and then feel hungry again in about an hour.

After this we went to BJs. I prefer to shop there because I can stock up on the things we like to eat. Also laundry soap and things like that. Everything was fine and dandy til the end. I should also add that we ran into some friends there as well and Cami ended up hanging out with them.

After we cashed out, Cami wanted a drink and I needed to go to the optical dept to order some contacts. They are a lot cheaper there. And of course, I needed them. So grandpa and Cami sat down and waited for me. This gave him a chance to rest a bit. I no sooner got back to them and I heard the rumble of thunder. Shit. I dont like the sound of that. We moved pretty quickly to the door on that note.

I looked outside and it wasnt raining yet so I told my father to wait by the door and I will load the car and then pick him up. He walks slow and this was not the time to wait for him to catch up. So Cami and I raced to the car. About half way there, the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed. Shit. We all know how much I hate this. Especially since I had that weird dream about being struck by lightning.

So we ran a little faster. Pushing that heavy cart filled with stuff wasnt easy but I managed to get there. But not before the sky opened up and drenched us. When I say drenched, I mean it was monsoon. I opened the door and told Cami to just get in the car. I opened the trunk and she decided that it was a good idea to help me put everything in there. Ok. I can use the help and she really did a great job. No, Im not being sarcastic either. We had that truck loaded and the back seat too. It was so quick. I didnt bother to sort anything. I heard the car door slam and thought she had gotten in anyways. Nope. She was standing next to me. I dont even remember leaving it open and there wasnt any wind. I looked in and there was my father in the front seat. Guess he didnt want to wait.

I put the cart away and got in the car. Cami obviously got in before me. We were both soaked. My hair was matted to my face and my clothes looked like I just ran them through the washer and put them on. Good thing I wasnt wearing white. That would have been a hell of a show. Of course my father was quite wet too. And he was bitching. Sometimes I think he does this stuff just to find something to complain about because he sure did a lot of it on the way home. I told him to wait at the door.

There is nothing like the smell of wet hairspray. And it was running down my face. The drive home was interesting because of the wind and the rain. It was coming down hard and I wasnt liking it. We pulled up in front of his house and it was still coming down hard. I backed right up to his door area because I knew that bringing all that stuff inside wasnt going to be fun. I told him to wait in the car til the rain slowed down but he wasnt listening to me. He got out and went inside. Of course he got a little more wet. Of course I was going to hear about that too.

I decided that this wasnt going to happen so I got on the phone to call for back-up. There would be at least 6 trips in and out for me and also the sorting of the stuff first. I wasnt about to do this alone in the storm. So Bill came about 10 minutes later to help me carry it all in. Of course when he showed up, the rain slowed. It was a drizzle by now. But still, it was a lot easier on me to have help. What would have been a lot of loads ended up being about 3. I was able to sort while he carried. Worked for me. It also made it easier carrying it all into my place as well. I took a long hot shower after that and felt better. I was like a drowned rat.

The FURminator.....

2009-05-03T17:01:00.001-07:00

The FURminator...

Sounds interesting huh? Check this out.

http://www.furminator.com/

I was sitting here at my computer last night and this ad popped up. It looks very eye catching. But then I thought, whats the catch? Im sorry but there is no such thing as making a dog shed-free. Its impossible. I have lived with dogs all my life. They shed. Even the K-9 variety. 'Nuf said.

But I got to thinking. Hmmmm... I might want to give this a try. Now, you do remember that you cant outfox the fox right? Im going to check the listings for some place near by to have this tested on my own ball of fur. The K-9 one. What? I have a cat too.

All of my life I have been around all sorts of animals. I think at one point, my house could have been labeled as a small petting zoo. My brother used to bring home everything from school or strays. We have just about every farm animal and all the wild animals that needed help. So its no surprise that we always had a dog. I dont remember a time when we didnt have one. Or two. Or seven.

Now in my adult life, I wanted a dog of my own. This is where Holly and Caesar came into the picture. I have always loved German Shepherds. If you have ever believed that a dog has no soul, then you have never looked into the eyes of a German Shepherd. The beauty, the loyalty, the courage and the love that these dogs possess are none to be matched. Of course this is true for all dogs but Im playing favorites here. I love all animals equally. But this post is about shedding and let me tell you, these dogs can shed.

Holly was the love of my life. My first born. I treated her as I would have treated my child. And even after my child was born, she was still treated the same. She became my daughters best friend and "sister". Holly went where Cami went. She even slept under her bed. Due to her age, it was difficult for her to get up and down from her bed. So she opted for the best place and it was closest to be with her under the bed.

Holly was a very large dog. She topped out at about 130lbs. She was soft and cuddly. Very huggable. But she was hairy. Not a nice thing to say about a lady but it was true. She could shed. Where ever she went, there was sure to be fur left behind. Thats one of the ways we knew she was sleeping on the couch all day watching cartoons. Yes, when we left the house, the tv was turned on and the cartoons were what she watched. Any other channel and you could tell that she wasnt in the livingroom. She was more human than dog.

One day, I was at a sort of police dog show thing going on at a local park. There was a vender there that sold a special food that was supposed to curb shedding. I could see their dogs and how shiny and beautiful their coats were. I thought I would give it a try. It worked. It actually worked. But Holly wasnt all that thrilled with the food and didnt really like it too much. Plus the cost factor was enormous. I couldnt believe the cost and having a dog of this size meant that you needed a second mortgage just to by this food.

So that option was out and I was looking for a better solution. I personally didnt mind having hair here and there. But it wasnt making a fashion statement with those in the public eye. Wearing a fur coat that wasnt actually yours, wasnt a good thing. And also having to wash the dog constantly wasnt an easy thing to do. My tub was clogged beyond all repair at times. There would be so much hair in the drain that it would have to be snaked out after every washing. And then came the constant brushing. I could stuff a pillow case with it every week.

So for me, the best option was to take her to a groomer. There was a grooming place in town that allowed me to wash and dry her myself at a fraction of the cost. This was great because it was quite expensive to have a pro do this. At this place I could use their specially designed tubs and their products included all in the small price of about $20. That is a $60 savings to me. Washing a dog really isnt all that hard to do. Well at least to her it wasnt. She liked a bath. Most dogs dont.

So that is the way I controlled the shedding to a point. But the hair was still coming. Where it all came from? I have no idea. I very well couldnt shave her. I have never seen a shaved Shepherd before and I wasnt about to do it to my own. So eventually I gave up and just let it be. She was going to shed whether I liked it or not. My burgundy carpet was hairy and I would just simply have to clean it more often. I loved my dog more than the torture it was to keep the hair at bay.

But then came the cat. Although cats tend to clean themselves, the hair and the shedding is still an issue. So now I not only had the dog shedding, but the cat hair was everywhere too. I was sleeping with both animals and the hair was all over me. I had my own fur blanket.

After Holly passed away, a sadness came over me. This was obviously normal in the loss of a loved one. But one thing that I also missed was seeing the hair. Yes, I didnt have to clean the floors from all the hair, or use the vac on the couch. But it was still a loss that I wont get over too soon. So now I have another dog. And yes, she is just as hairy. And yes I need to figure out what to do with her. Especially right now. This time of the year is the worst. I can see thehair just falling off her when she walks by.

Im wondering if this new system will work for her and I am also wondering what the cost is going to be. I washed my bedding last night and the lumps of fur in the washer and the dryer was unbelievable. There was more fur in there than on my cat total. It was like I gained a third pet. Both are lazy so having this huge hair and lint ball on my floor wouldnt have made a difference. No one would know. Sorry but that third pet went into the trash can. At least I hope it was the hair ball.

Right now, my cat and my dog are asleep on the bed behind me. I know I will wake up in the moring with a mouth full of fur. I know that before I go to work, they would be leaning on me and rubbing fur all over me. Its like they put it there so that I wont forget them while I am away all day. A sort of haunting reminder and a guilt trip for leaving them. And yes, they know how to pour on the guilt trips very well. The sad brown eyes. The whining as if to beg me to please not go. Believe me, I really dont want to leave but someone has to make the cash to feed you all.

Oh and just so you know, the new As Seen On TV PediPaws thing does not work. It sucks and the pets are scared shitless of it. I think I will end up using it to grind down some of my jewelry wire that I work on. That way it wont be a total loss of cash.

I think this week I will set things up for next weekend for Mindys bath outside in the back yard. Im glad for the summer months because then the drains dont get clogged up. Nothing like using the garden hose and having some soapy fun. I cant do it this week because the forecast is for thunderstorms. That would not be a fun thing to be out in it while washing your dog and holding a hose in your hand. Yeah the rubber will ground a lightning strike but Im not taking that chance.

Drop And Give Me 10....

2009-05-03T15:25:00.001-07:00

Drop And Give Me 10...

Take that any way you want to. :D

We need real smilies on here. Im too lazy to load them to photobucket though.

Well it was a decent week gone by. Started out shitty and then pushed forward to a few good things. But sadly its ending with a nasty headache. You know, the kind where you want to take a jack hammer and bust open your skull and rip all the contents out to find what the hell is causing the pain. Ok. That was a great visual. It didnt help though. So far today I have taken about 1600mg of Advil and 2 Alavert. If that doesnt kick it then nothing will. I even took a 3 hour nap.

So anyways, lets start on the events of the week. The beginning of the week wasnt too bad. Wednesday, Cami was sick so we took the day off. I wasnt feeling all that great either so in a way it was a blessing for both of us to just get the extra rest we needed. My allergies always act up at this time of the year and also catching a cold wasnt on my "things to do" list.

But something fun and interesting happened this week. Wednesday night I went to class as usual. The necklace we worked on was really pretty. A lot of potential for add ons as well. But Im not sure I will be doing this. One of the guys that I worked with at the old school would buy things from me for his girlfriend. He was very specific and picky with what he wanted for her. Well now I work with her at the new school. So of course on Thursday, she asked me what I have made recently. I told her that I would bring in the latest project on Friday.

Friday rolls around and I brought the piece in to show her. She loved it immediately. She offered to buy it when its finished. Yep. I sold something before it was even finished. That is actually very exciting to me. It really is a wonderful piece. I would hate to see it go before I had a chance to wear it or what not. But thats ok. I know it will go to a good home. I think what surprises me the most is that its not the colors that her boyfriend always picked for her. Not even close. When it is done, I will add a photo or something here for it so that it can be fondly remembered.

The other interesting thing that happened on Friday was that I was asked by the boss to sib for the gym teacher. I have subbed in just about all the other capasities but this one. Now remember that I have issues with my feet. Not something I would pride myself in to stand on them all day long. But I figured that moving around in the gym wouldnt hurt as much as standing in one small area would. I also thought that if I had been asked to do this 6 months ago, I would have had to refuse due to the pain factor. But today, I thought, hmmmm, I can handle this. It sure as hell beat sitting up in that classroom with the hostile one.

This also gave me more of a chance to meet some of the kids and staff. There are alot of teachers that I havent met yet. Most of the kids see me every morning at my post at the gym door to the playground. The faces will be added with some names now. The day got easier as it went along. We played some basketball and some soccer. Low impact things that I know couldnt harm the kids and that they couldnt use to harm each other. They had fun too and they seemed to like me. We shall see on Monday morning how that all went.

This weekend was pretty mundane for the most part. My highlight was going to class but Ive had a raging headache all weekend that just wont go away. I talked to my neice for a few hours last night and that was fun. I miss her and I hope we get to hang out soon. Also, mom called this morning and she is pretty much home. At about 11am this morning they were in PA. She said that they might take a night at a hotel there though because of the storms in the mountains makes it hard to drive in. But either way, she will be home tomorrow and I will get to talk to her then.

I debated on telling her that the week was going to be all rain and storms but then thought that she might turn around and go back to FL. Yep, I thought better of it and didnt tell her.