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!

Quick Picture

Sleeping beauties....Chelsea on her back, Abby on her side underneath.

pictures and babble...

This is Abby sitting so pretty, She has grown as you can tell and is somewhat well behaved. They have their playful side and can raise a whole lotta hell when they want to. They like to sit on the furniture which is a definite no. Paul and I always chase them off, but they think they are part human. At the last Vet appointment Abby was 47 pounds. What a moose. But she is solid muscle and doesn't have a lot of fat. This is Chelsea on the very same day. She was 44 pounds at the last vet appointment and has a very serious side. She is considered my dog as I am the one she comes to all the time. You wouldn't think that two dogs could be so different. Chelsea is the calm one. Abby is hyper and a jumper. Which drives me crazy. We are still trying to break that bad habit of hers.

Yesterday, we went for a ride just Paul, myself and the dogs; as the girls were with their grandmother overnight. Well the dogs were great until we hit Indian Lake. Chelsea started whining and wouldn't stop. When I turned and looked at her, She was drooling and was a shade of green. We were about 1/4 of a mile from the rest stop.There really wasn't any room to pull over. I kept looking at her and saying, "Hold on we are almost there". Well, she couldn't hold on and all of a sudden she vomited between Abby's legs as, Abby was laying down. It was gross. Abby had dog vomit all over her chest. Needless to say we got them cleaned up, walked and offered them water and decided it was time to turn around and head home. I got some great pictures, although the leaves are definitely past their peak. It seems like their really wasn't any reds, mostly yellow, deep orange and brown as you can see in the following pics. Enjoy.

Route 30 North, Just outside of Gloversville NY

Route 30 North just above Northville, NY.

Route 30 North, Right after Lewy Lake.

Indian Lake Rest Stop. Looking North East.

WOW

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I have posted. It has been a busy one. Work and the move and some major personal issues have gotten in the way of my peaceful and happy little home.

The dogs have matured alot in the past month. They can now get on the furniture :( and are housebroke, finally. The move to the new house really screwed them up. At the last vet visit Abby weighed 36 pounds and Chelsea weighed 32 pounds. Their personalities have remained pretty constant. Abby is still hyper and jumps when she gets excited, kinda hurts when her nails need a trim. Chelsea is mellow, she just wants her bone and a good belly rub. Both dogs come to us when they need to go out and put a paw on our legs and sit there patiently. Looking at whomever like, "Hey, I am here and it is that time again."

The cats have pretty much adjusted to the fact that the pups are here to stay. We still have the occasional hiss and swat of the paw, but other than that there has been no major confrontations. The pups are pretty good and we have been able to leave them alone for a short period of time. We have been working on "Stay" and "Come" outside. Some days I am pretty surprised at what they have accomplished, when it has been a bad day I feel that I am dealing with 2, two year old children. The "ME" Stage is upon us.

The kids had started school 3 weeks ago and while it is going ok we have had some problems with the girls leaving the pups in the morning. As the pups cry for a few minutes. Then turn around and start playfighting with each other to get attention. They generally calm down about 2 hours later and take a nap.

The crap in my personal life is about to get more intense so I am not sure if I am going to be posting alot, but I will try. I have to download pics off my camera of the pups and I will post some later on.

Sleeping Beauties

This is a rare occasion lately. The pups have definitely moved on to the toddler stage. They are very playful with each other, sometimes we have to seperate them as they get a bit rough. They have grown a lot in the past few weeks. We had a setback in the housebreaking, but are trying to rectify the situation by getting them out every hour or so when they are awake.
They have gotten bigger.They seem to be growing like weeds. Abby can now get up on the couch by herself. We are trying to break that new habit as quick as possible.
We are getting ready to move this week. The pups seem a bit confused with all the packing. I am confused with all the packing. But it will be over soon. Well off to pack...

What a week...

Well, this week, I have to say has been absolute hell. It started off on a good note, The pups went to the vet and have doubled their size. Had a good check-up and came back negative for worms.

After a major family emergency and sitting in hopital waiting rooms; it was good to come home to see my two chocolate monsters, wagging their tails, happy to see me. They are very active now. It is a good thing we have the area for them to run around and play. The pups have really grown these past weeks. Housebreaking was successful. Even with all the stress we are doing well. They are very playful.

Abby and Chelsea have switched roles, Abby is a bully. Chelsea is docile. Abby puts her nose where it shouldn't be and has gotten slapped by one of the cats. Abby comes back for more. She is jumping like crazy, which we are trying to stop. Chelsea is not a jumper and will sit and wait patiently for her food. Abby will jump all over the place. They are certainly not hungry since they eat twice a day and have quite a few treats in between. Abby is also the ringleader and will get Chelsea to follow her everywhere. I expect a couple more personality changes in the future.

I'm Tired...

Abby getting ready to take a nap.

Early Picture

This picture is 3 weeks old. This was when we first brought them home. This is Chelsea.

Another picture

Sitting on the steps waiting for dad. Duck and Goose squeaking toys are fun to chew on.

Just a pic...

Resting in the air conditioned air after playing.