This month keeps getting better

Things just go from bad to worse, last week Hunter was sent home from school for having the sniffles and sneezing. Then Ashley was kept home because the school nurse is in a tizzy over Swine Flu. Come on people its a flu, normal cold symptoms with a touch of stomach issues. Ashley had the stomach issues Saturday and Sunday. Fevers too. I also got the cold portion of this bug and it has turned into a cough which means, sticking close to the inhaler. I have to get Hunters glasses to the eye doctor as the screw has come out of the frame. It seems like one thing or another this month and I am glad it ends next week.

Something has got to give as I can't handle much more bad news and issues. My mother has to have knee surgery next month, total replacement. Her blood pressure is sky high and she is moody. I am concerned that the blood pressure is so high and having the surgery. On a good note my anniversary is next week, 13 years, amazing.

I have been thinking about Christmas. I have to considering we are on a strict budget. Paul and I decided to buy a little each month and just put it away. That way I am not overspending in December. Its so hard with a teen and a preteen in the house. All they want are electronics and expensive clothing. So I am going to try to get them each something they like and stuff they need. I am going to get more games for the Xbox and they will need some clothing. Ashley wants a "grown up" jewelry box. Hunter wants a DS, I have stayed away from it for two years now and I think that maybe I will get her one, depending if I can find a deal someplace. I am also thinking about getting them their own Ipods, they have mp3 players, but Hunters is a bitch to load and doesn't charge at all lately. Ashley's is a Disney version of an mp3 player. Maybe I can find a deal on those as well. We will just have to see. I am pretty sure they will get some jewelry as they do every year. The things I think about.

Until next time...

Another bearing

SQUEAK. That is the sound of yet another bearing going. This time its in my dryer. Jeez, when it rains it certainly pours in my house. What else could possibly go wrong? Thankfully I paid for that extra protection plan when I purchased the washer and dryer. The dryer has been making that awful sound for about 2 months now, it has just finally gotten so bad and so loud that I couldn't take it anymore. Needless to say it is going to be fixed free of charge. WOOHOO!

I am glad this week is over, I don't think I could take anymore. On to the next hell....

Just a rant, warning not for the faint of heart, nor those that get ill easily

Well, I am cleaning apartments that have been vacated, either by evicted tenants or tenants that choose to move for whatever reason. I totally understand why landlords are worried about the tenants that might move in.

The apartment that I am cleaning out is local to me. It is an upstairs apartment and the tenants had lived there for about 5 years, as I was told. Well there must be five years of grease on the walls. The kitchen was absolutely disgusting. As the tenants had left stuff behind in the cupboards, I had to clean them out along with 5 years of mouse crap. Now in this cabinet, I found baby nipples and bottles, some with mouse crap in them. Talk about friggin' gross. These people took sugared drink mix and dumped it on the counters then added just enough water to make it like a paste and left it there. The white stove which was relatively new was covered in grease and burnt on stuff. It was also covered in Mouse crap. When I started cleaning it was black, now it is back to the original white again. The tenants left food in the refrigerator and the power was turned off. That was nasty. The mold is like 1/2 an inch thick. I have finally started cleaning that, one part at a time.

There is a room off of the living room that the tenants must have left dogs in or perhaps their baby was left with a full diaper all the time. The room is nasty and the carpet has to be removed. The door to that room was finger painted with feces. Yup, you read that right. FECAL MATTER. Now, that's fucking disgusting. I don't think I need to go into detail about the bathroom, just know that instead of cleaning the toilet, it will be replaced. I am surprised that it was so dirty considering the feces in that other room.

There is something seriously wrong with these people. Even worse is the fact that they work for an Ambulance Service. UMMMM, I got issues and I am glad that neither me nor my family won't need an ambulance ride in that town.

Now, I understand that some people lose control and get cluttered. Disorganization is one thing, Little stuff laying around, papers that need to be thrown away and such. I have that bad habit, but I clean stuff up every couple weeks. These tenants were absolutely gross. Hopefully the landlord thoroughly checks out the next tenants and makes sure they are clean. If he doesn't I am sure I will be back again.

The joys of owning a car...

Cars, where I live we can't live with without them, not a lot of public transportation, and you can't afford to fix em. We have a 99 Dodge Intrepid ES, the 3.2 liter engine. Well a couple weeks ago we noticed a puddle under the car, ok no big deal since it wasn't oil. Well it was the power steering line, so we will limp it along, cost a fortune in power steering fluid until we can afford to replace the damn pressure line. NOT CHEAP!!! About a week ago, we hit a pothole, a big one. Why can't NYS maintain the roads? I have no friggin clue but DOT workers have the greatest job ever, that is a rant for another day. We immediately started hearing a grinding/thumping noise. OHH Great. What can be wrong now? So we heard the noise and then it went away and then it came back again with a vengeance.

This morning I had my job interview in Amsterdam NY, about 15 miles away, well the trip took much longer than it should. It was definitely bad on my anxiety. I imagined every car crash scenario including the car landing in the Mohawk River. Losing a wheel and hitting another car and then being creamed by the tractor trailer that went by. Or better yet was losing a wheel and flipping over and over again. Needless to say, I am alive and well. My husband says I have no faith in him. I do, I have no faith in the fact that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. The whole front end shook and the thumping got worse. And worse. I had white knuckles all the way home. I am so glad that we made it home in one piece. The car did as well, the wheel didn't fall off.

The car is now sitting at the garage because I have made a deal with our mechanic, who used to be a friend of the families. Thank you, Tony C. I truly appreciate what you are doing for me. Hopefully, things are going to change. This bad luck streak is seriously depressing me. Something has got to give.

My favorite time of year...

This is my favorite time of year. The kids have returned to school. HOORAY!!! No more full time referee. No more fighting children all damn day long. No hearing, "I am bored, there is nothing to do." I love them dearly but they can get on a person's nerves. They have been in school since Wednesday. So far no major problems, Hunter is joining the International Club and Student Council. She is excited that she is back in school. Ashley is in a small class and likes her teacher so that is a bonus. Ashley is not so glad to be back in school, messes with her inner clock. So, she wakes up miserable most days.

Another reason why this is my favorite time of year is the definite weather change. The changing of the leaves always makes me feel better. This is also the month I got married, 13 years ago. Yes, its been that long. I am feeling older, certainly not wiser.

Not much is happening lately, the job prospects have been dismal at best. But there is another Job interview on the horizon. So I am prepping myself for that. Hopefully, I can land this, again its only part time but atleast it is a foot in the door. I really must be screwing up my interviews so I will stand and practice in front of a mirror this weekend. Ahhh fun.

How come everything that could go wrong does? Our vehicle needs some work. The power steering lines need to be replaced and the wheel bearings are shot. It would make it easier if I could fix it myself. But I really don't have the space. So I need to find a decent mechanic. Thanks to my Uncle I know what is wrong with it. Its nice having a Chrysler Mechanic in the family. I would never ask him to fix it for me, thats just not cool. But at least I have the knowledge of what is wrong so no one can tell me that the car "needs this and this and this and ohh thats going to have to be replaced" So it will be a fun day trying to get a mechanic to listen to me.

Well thats really all that is going on so far this month. Maybe next time I will have exciting news.

The Cabinet

The finished top piece. I think I did a good job considering I hadn't a clue before I started. Now I just need to finish the base. This piece of furniture known as a Hoosier was manufactured by the Sellers company in Indiana, sometime in the late 1920's according to the ship date (November 1930) papers that were still stapled to the back. The closest I can date this from newspaper ads is 1927. The before pictures are the ones with the white and gray paint. (LOL) These are not the best pictures. I didn't think to take pictures when I acquired this piece of antique furniture.

I have one hell of a headache this evening, it came on about 10 pm and it hasn't let up. I have taken something for it and it still hasn't relaxed. I am in a severe amount of pain and the pressure behind my right eye is immense, to the point where my vision is blurry. So instead of sleeping, I am sitting in front of a computer in the dark waiting for medication to kick this sucker out of my head. Not such a great idea.

Well summer is almost to an end for the girls. I couldn't be happier. I am tired of playing referee. They are both getting excited about going back to school. New school clothes will do that. I am feeling old as Hunter starts high school this year. Four more years and its off to college. I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday she started school. Ashley is going into sixth grade this year. I am not sure how I feel about it yet.

My best friend has a daughter leaving for college this weekend. I know he is feeling old and getting ready to deal with the dreaded Empty nest syndrome, Dude have a party! LOL

The top part of the cabinet hit stained stage today. Woohoo. I am working on stripping the paint off of the latches and hinges, as I type actually. They are sitting in stripper. Hopefully tomorrow when I feel strong enough to go outside, they will be ready to be washed down and polished up. Then I get to reattach the doors including the roll up door. The cabinet will go on the wall sometime this weekend. Have to find studs in the wall that I want to hang it on. Because the base is not even close to being done, its barely started. I am proud of the work that I did on it and hopefully the base will be able to be saved. I may not get to it until next summer, I guess it depends on how much energy I get after the kids go back to school. I want to go back to working on the woodwork in the dining room as I would like to have that finished by the time Holidays come around. I put it off as summer came around because it would just be too hot for me working on it. I just realized that I have lots of storage in my kitchen. A bonus since my kitchen isn't all that large. Its a good size but the cabinets are extremely high and I need a step stool to get into the upper reaches of the cupboards. I am really not that short either. 5'4" last time I looked. Well I am not really tall either. I was thinking about making the upper cabinets into display shelves by taking the doors off them then I can put my cat collection in those shelves. I wanted to redo the kitchen with this country kitties pattern I found anyway, so maybe that is what I will do. Too many things I want to do, so little money. Ahh well. At least I have learned how to do things on my own.

I really need to make myself sit down and work on cross-stitch pieces. I have two started right now that have been waiting for my attention. Hunters stocking and a tree skirt that I started a long time ago. I also have some felt Christmas ornaments for my mother that need to be finished and a snowman painting that needs to be finished. All these projects that need to be worked on. I have a bad habit of moving from one thing to another. I guess I get bored pretty easily.

Its been about 40 minutes since I took some medication and I am still throbbing. This is going to be a major headache. I was getting nauseous and now that I think about it, its still there. I hate migraines, they are getting worse as I get older. They are not as frequent but they are so much more painful. The worse thing about them is getting them. I can't move my head with out pain. Blinking even hurts. sitting here in front of dreaded computer screen is not the best idea either. Sound hurts. Light hurts. Moving hurts. Being Nauseous is well, ewww. I guess its a good thing that it hit at night this time. No arguing girls at this time of the morning. I have a feeling that I am in for a long haul this time around. Tramadol isn't even touching this and I took 2. Only supposed to take one. I am thinking about taking another but that would upset my stomach even more. So I guess I am going to go crawl back into bed and see if I can shut my eyes to the pain. I swear if the phone rings in the morning, I am going to throw it out the window.

Just another Sunday

OK Its Sunday! Another fun filled week ahead. ZZZ! OK I am trying to look positive on this. I get to spend time with my family. I get to work on the antique Hoosier cabinet I acquired, I did two coats of stain on the inside doors and I am not really happy with the finish, I have to look at them in better light. Thankfully its the inside of the doors and not the outside. I have to finish sanding the roll top door, that's a pain. Have to get inside all the slats. FUN! Getting ready to stain the main upper piece of the cabinet. Not too worried about the inside, its the outside that is my main concern. Most of the inside is sanded and ready to go except for the bottom where the roll top door goes. Need to finish sanding that. As for the base, I am hoping I can save it. Some flood damage, so I am not sure. I started removing layers of paint on it today with a heat gun. Noticed lots of warping and cracks in the wood, my husband says it gives it character. I plan on using this cabinet for storage. I will be using the top piece long before I use the bottom. After this project I need to finish stripping the woodwork in my dining room. Then Paul suggested that I will be tearing apart the kitchen cabinets to strip and stain. He's right, that was my next big project. So at least I have time to do all these wonderful things. But time is short and the school year is fast approaching. One starting high school, one in sixth grade. Ahh the fun things. I have to spend the extra money I have saved for school clothes. Its not a lot, by any standards but its something. I was hoping to save that towards Christmas, but I am not working as of yet. Maybe this week I will get some good news. Keeping fingers crossed. Wishing on stars and all that. Well laundry calls as it always does. I saved it for tonight when it wouldn't be so muggy, hopefully I can get most of it done. Doubt it. One good thing is that I am sleeping somewhat decently, Paul says that I am out and he has a hard time adjusting to the silent mummy like being next to him. Well that's a good thing, better than being awake until the sun rises.

This is starting to bother me..

I am wide awake, it is 1:15 in the morning. I have mopped the floors, the house has been cleaned earlier. I can't do any cleaning upstairs because everyone else is sleeping. I gave the cats their bath. Usual hated looks. I am not sure why I am up. I am not really feeling any stress. I feel like I need to go, go, go. I wish I could do the laundry but again, most dirty clothes are upstairs. So here I sit in front of the computer. CRAZY!!! Well I guess I am off to find something to occupy my mind for a little while.

The Dreaded Job Search

Yesterday, I interviewed for a job in Saratoga. It was fun driving in 'toga now that the flat track is up and running. Thankfully I was at the interview after Post time. WOOHOO. I think I did really well with this Job interview. I am hoping I get this position. I followed up with a Thank you note. I have done everything right. Or at least I think I have. It seemed that I hit it off with the HR Director and the program Director. Truly wasn't much to the interview. Didn't get the strength or weakness test. I was waiting for that. I have the qualifications, and I have the experience doing intake. I should get this position. I hope I do. I just hate the wait. I don't want to seem like a pain in the ass so I will not bother this person until Monday. I was hoping to be working by Monday, but ahh well not much I can do about it. Keeping my fingers crossed. I really like the non-profits. Well I am trying to vent. But it is just making me more self conscious about what I may or may not have done right. So Off to read a book.

More soon....

Looking for a Job again....

Well I am looking for a job again. OF course I am applying to everything that I am suited for in a 25 mile radius. Hopefully something will happen. I am tired of this routine. I think I really need to change something. Perhaps its time to go back to college. I am not sure that I can handle it though. We will see. I am trying to get a job with the school district as an Special Education Aide. I think it might be a good thing for me. Perhaps I will get the job and go to college part time. I must think positive. I just need a break, I need to find something.

Having major problems with Hunter. I do not understand anymore. We have tried everything and nothing is working. Last week I got into a major fight with her paternal grandmother and father, who isn't involved like I thought he would be. I feel he is the part of my problem. Hunter called them and asked if she could live with them for the rest of the summer. They called me and told me they wanted me to sign over full custody. I said no way. It wasn't happening. Hunter called them because she is angry that she has rules and consequences that need to be followed. Hunter has a lot of mental health issues and requires medication. Personally at this point I am not sure the medication is working the way it should. And her paternal grandmother has shown that she doesn't listen when I tell her things. I have dealt with her because her father refuses to deal with me. I think it has been for nothing, all these years of trying to get him to participate in her life. It really made me angry when after not being in contact with Hunter for three years, her father didn't make the trip to see Hunter, he claimed he needed to stay with the dog. Ummm, HELLO? Is the dog more important then your daughter? Then at her 8Th grade graduation, he didn't show up either, the dog again. At least he is consistent. I am tired of my daughter being angry at me, for his shortcomings as a father. Three long years they had no contact, I was told it was because his mother was sick. So you couldn't drop a note, pick up a phone, send a birthday card. Hunter has done some scary things in the past, including telling mandated reporters about sexual abuse, that may or may not have happened (the jury, me, is still out on that one) As a parent you don't run away because you are being investigated again, you deal with it and move on. You don't disappear from a child's life. When given the chance to be part of that life again, you don't say that a dog needs your attention. Three years is a long time for a child to wait. Now, because this child wants her father, as she has all along, they make me out to be the bad guy. Hunter has some very big decisions to make in the next few weeks. As I was writing this Hunter called her Paternal grandmother, and she is now very angry with them. I am not sure if this is a positive feeling or not. I am concerned that Hunter will not be able to deal with this in a constructive way. She needs to deal with it in therapy. I guess we will see.

I love both my children dearly and have made some mistakes, but I guess that is what parenting is about. Maybe one day I will look back on this hellish time and laugh.

Well I am off, I have to get ready to take a child to the doctors for her monthly appointment.

As I had said Life will improve...

I went back to work and have been working about 2 weeks, I like what I am doing so far. Its not hard and the woman in question is very easy to get along with. My husband and I are looking into a Hyundai santa fe, used of course, but new to us. We loved our other Hyundai. We will see. Of course the woman I work for owns the SUV and is looking to get rid of it. We are getting caught up and school clothes first.

I feel much better about our situation now. I am not so depressed, because there is a finally a break in the clouds. Its just been so hard lately, and with everything that was going on, including the kid stuff, I really sunk into my depression. I am slowly climbing out.

This week is Hunter's eighth grade graduation ceremony. I am hoping it doesn't rain. Rain will limit the amount of people that can attend and Hunter has an extended family that is driving a long way to see her graduate, OMG they have begun participating in her life, I think I might fall over. Kinda funny it took this long. We will see how long it lasts. I am sure my daughter who hates me more that she loves me, will start asking to live with them. That ought to be an interesting discussion. Already, the answer is NO!

Ashley is doing well and looking forward to the summer. She just wants to play after she gets home from school and it is really hard with the longer days. Because she needs to get her sleep. We have started listing ideas for things to do this summer which will be much easier with an income. Maybe we will get to the state fair after all. I will live for the weekends and the time spent with my family as I will now be able to enjoy instead of dreading.

I am truly feeling better and glad I am finally earning a wage. I will shed all those issues. HOORAY!

Until Next time...

Life will improve...

Well I got a job. Hooray! Its only PT. But it is a foot in the door. I am no longer worrying about school clothes for the kids and I will be able to pay my bills. I am so happy. Now if I can get the Doctor's office to send the damn physical to the HR dept. I will be happier. So things are beginning to look better, as I said life will improve.

Well, I am off.

Summer's coming

Well I have not been busy, lazy, but not busy. I had gotten stuck playing a game last week and finally beat it by Sunday morning. My downfall happens to be RPGs. So I really didn't accomplish a thing this week. Actually I did accomplish something. I got two desks for free and painted one of them. I use the big one for my computer and the smaller one is being used to store spare computer parts and is used when I paint. Then I organized some of the stuff I have in my space I use for my office. So I guess I accomplished more than I thought.

The kids are getting excited as school is coming to an end. Ashley is set to go on her 5th grade field trip. Hopefully the rain will stay away. It has been raining every two days it seems and there is always the daily threat of a passing shower. Hunter is not as happy that school is coming to an end. She actually likes to be at school. She has the grades, minus the D in social studies, but she has assured me that has come up to a B. We will see. She is going to be a freshman in HS next year. She has confided to me that she would like to go to summer school, not because she has to, but because it would keep her occupied. Unfortunately, I can't afford to send her. We, the school and I are trying to get her more involved. She loves to write, so we are going to be looking at the school newspaper and yearbook staff. She has the vocabulary, prose and spelling covered. I am concerned though that she takes her ideas from others work. I have explained to her that it is plagerism and I am trying to guide her to work through her own brainstorms with free writing, -thank you Ms. House, college English professor. I have a feeling that Hunter will be at the library more than she will be at home. At least by living in the area, she can ride her bike there.

So with one week left to go before school is over for the summer, I am stuck finding ideas of things we can do on a budget. We have a bike trail really close to the house and there is a nature trail behind the local school so I have a feeling we will spend some time on those. We will be taking the kids fishing a couple times as my husband and I both enjoy that. I figured we would also plan to go to one of the county fairs. I would love to take them to the State Fair again, but you really need to have the cash and I don't think my budget can really afford it. Fourth of July we will do the local fireworks. I thought about a couple days at the beach. Just looking for cheap or free things to do that are local.

Well I am off to get Ashley going for her day. I truly hate mondays. They seem to be the worst when getting kids up. Until next time...

This is Mischief, the gray stripped puffball lying next to Chelsea on the couch. We lost her for a bit last night as she is so small and can fit under the strangest things. Amazingly our other cat, bottom, found her. We call him Moose. She eats well and is very playful. Catbox use is good. Overall I am happy so far with how well she seems to be doing.

Chelsea hates her picture taken. That is because my oldest ran around and took pictures of everyone last Christmas(07) with a digital camera she got from her grandmother. Not once or twice, but it seems like a million times. So Chelsea is looking away.
This is Moose... To the left
This is Abby, fathead...Below

Yesterday, a friend and I got together and played a couple games of Chess. Well I got beat soundly as I usually do. But He gave me a lot of insight on how I do things and hopefully I retain that information as I was exhausted from not sleeping.

To top my day off, I received a call from Hunter's school, she's at it again. Not really much I can do, I am tired of the bullshit. I am tired of Therapy, cause it hasn't helped. Hospitalization is not a great idea this close to the end of the school year cause she will screw up her finals. I am just tired of dealing with the same stuff every day. I am tired of being ignored, lied to, mouthed off at, yelled at; as she did last night. I am tired of being the bad guy. I want to enjoy being a parent but I can't. I have to be the corrections officer. It truly sucks. We are all at our wits end. My mother brought up the fact that we could do a planned hospitalization. But the therapist has to initiate it. Perhaps that is how she will spend most of her summer. Unfortunately it has to be long term, because Hunter has a great honeymoon period. About 2 and 1/2 weeks, so the doctors think I am full of crap. Then they release her and we start all over again. I am sure that if this doesn't improve my daughter will end up in care of the state.

On the other hand, Ashley is student of the month in her class. I am so proud of her. It really hurts to not be able to make a big deal of this with Ashley because of the crap that goes on with Hunter. I am certain I am going to praise Ashley for a great accomplishment. I am just not sure how. Well I am off, other blogs to read and things to do.

Hell?

Well, here I am my morning has begun already and its barely 3 am. I can't sleep again, Let me rephrase, I went to sleep but I woke up and instead of tossing and turning for the next 3+ hours I am up and making coffee. I haven't posted here in a long time.

We have a new addition to our family. I will post pictures of her later. She is just a little fluff ball. We still haven't figured out a name for her. But she is definitely spunky. Stands up to three year old chocolate labs like she is much bigger. She fits in the palm of your hand and can curl up on a shoulder. I probably shouldn't have, but after losing two cats within 6 months of each other, it was a little easier to do. Ashley had been asking about a cat for some time. And my older cat, had been acting strange lately, we think he was lonely. I needed another cat like I need a hole in my head, but maybe I will become the hero. Ahh who knows! She is so cute. Gray little puffball. Maybe I just needed something that wants me to take care of it. I am not having anymore children, that boat has sailed. After having two children with some type of disability, I think the chance to have another with a disability is too great a risk. Besides we really can't afford a child. So we got a kitten. She needs a name. I need sleep.

This blog was originally for the pups, which are now adult labs. Each with a personality of their own. Abigail is the dominant female and takes charge, while Chelsea is very docile. We call her Chicken Little some days. They are both very well behaved and do not chew. Abby tends to be the hyper one and repeatedly sniffs everyone who walks in the door. Sometimes we have a hard time separating her from the milk man as he comes every Monday and says good morning just to her. We have a food delivery guy who brings treats for them when he visits, he brings the good treats from the vets office, so Abby makes sure to love him up. Abby is still a jumper, something about her, we can't get her to stop, no matter how much we try. Eventually one day we will figure it out.

Usually the dogs sleep on the couch when I get up this early, but this morning because of the new addition, they are posted in the dining room. The kitten is exploring the kitchen, it appears that she has explored the bottom half of the house and will be exploring the top half soon. Abby is trying to be a mother. Chelsea is still unsure. My fixed male Persian is trying to figure her out, but is making friends with her. He hasn't hissed or swatted her. I take that back, he just hissed and Abby is right there to diffuse the situation. She is hissing at him now. I am sure the next few days will be that of adjustment.

I picked up the kitten after the kids had gone to bed. When Ashley came down to get a drink, I had the kitten in the cat box and was blocking the view. Ashely said " What do you got, Mom?" Then came over and looked and didn't see the fuzzball at first, then looked again and got all excited. All the questions came, the typical when, where, what questions. We have to name her. So that will be my chore during the day to name the kitten. I must be crazy.

I will have to post updated pictures of the dogs and that will come soon, maybe I can get one with the new kitten with the dogs, in a couple of days I think. Well off to surf the net and read all the news that happened the last 4 hours. By the way its Stanley Cup Playoff time again, Detroit and Pitt. Detroit leads the series 2-1, lost the game last night at Pitt. Go Redwings!