feeling fat...

My dear daughter Kathryn and I at the park the other day...


And this is before cropping...cropping a pic sure cuts off the fattier parts, eh? Ah well, a work in progress, that's me. I hate to go on and on about it, and around here I try to keep my battles to myself, as I don't want to damage my kids, especially my girls, by obsessing about weight. But the honest truth for me is that I have to be strict with myself, because when I don't consume sugar, I am nicer and calmer and make better choices. When I cut back on carbs and eat mostly fats and proteins, I lose the puffiness and feel so good.

And here's the truth of the matter:
Several years ago, I lost 70 pounds. I had to. I was so sick and tired of it, and then my blood pressure started to climb. I didn't stay at that weight, a few pounds found me again, and I maintained there for a few years. This last winter, a few more came trickling back on, and now I am at exactly 50 pounds less than my BEFORE weight. That's not terrible, but oh no, I am NOT going back to the huffing and puffing weight. BRAKES are ON. I am serious again. No spoonfuls of cookie dough for me.

The problem here is that it's ice cream season. I heart ice cream. It calls my name. There's a local place that sells this homemade stuff, and it's almost to die for. Then another place that makes it's own, The Cayuga Creamery. Just the name makes me drool.

Emily is finished with school, and although that's a huge topic, I am only mentioning it because she suggested a hike today with the little girls, and I can go with Anne too if I want. First thought I had: it's near the creamery. If I hike, I can have ice cream. First thought. And second thought, and third...

Anyway. My battles don't go away just because I have good resolutions.

Yesterday afternoon we gave away the last kitten. The very very last kitten. Mama kitty is spayed, and our Orange Guy is getting neutered next week. Finally, right? The guy we gave the kitty to seems like a great guy. I got numerous responses from the ad on Craigslist, including some scathing ones, and yeah, I did reply to one. I can't help it. I simply said, "You're right! I lied about the mama cat being spayed! I am really stupid, and am going to give the kitten to someone who will feed it to their snake! I am irresponsible! How on earth do you know me so well?!"

The guy I chose: middle aged guy, a little plump, married, deferred to his wife before committing, showed up on time, had a kitty cage to bring kitty home in, and explained to kitty that this was to keep her safe. He had a cat for 14 years and said it was a long time before he and his wife could even think about getting another, they were so crushed with the loss. He also has a ten year old, gentle dog at home who is lonely, and used to sleep with the cat. So I feel 100% certain that he is either a good liar and missed his calling in Hollywood, or that I found an excellent home for the kitty, despite being stupid and irresponsible, ha.

So tomorrow, Paul and I are going to Emily's graduation ceremony. I am so proud of her, I could cry. She is a smart girl. She graduated third in her class in high school, took a year to travel and visit friends, then went to nursing school. She then worked for a while at a hospital in the city, then spent a year in Norway. She came home, back to work, and school...classes and classes, four year degree, then on and on, until now...she is finished. She already has a job at an office north of here, in the city where Margaret and Adrian live. She will be doing primary care. She will be working M-F, no weekends, and ahh, it'll be so nice for her.

My weekend plans are totally exciting, a sisters' conference at church! It's a North American conference, so I get to see friends from far and near. My friend Tereza, I haven't met in person yet, will be there! Emily, Abigail, Mirielle, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, and Charlotte Claire, and Ashley, will be there. (Kathryn is staying here with Camille, we thought Paul would be in India again, but he won't be.)

Anyway. Some of us are staying in the camper, and I have yet to go vacuum it and clean it, but why do today what you can postpone until tomorrow?

And....today is Sonja's birthday! She is sweet sixteen! I might surprise her and take her to get her driving permit...:) Sonja's birth was special, and I'm sure any 16 year old would be glad that her mother is writing about her birth on the blog. My sister came to visit me when I was in labor for Sonja, and back then, not many people had other people at their births, as is more the trend now. But anyway, my sister had six girls with her, a few of hers, a few of my older ones, and one of our brother's girls. I was in a huge birthing room, and happened to be only like an hour away from the big event, and I was so glad to see them all, I said they should please just stay. So they did! They were all lined up on the side, so they didn't see everything, but oh dear, it was one of those dream births...I knew baby was coming, and with every contraction, she was moving down, but I didn't say anything, until bam, it was time to push, and she was born with very minimal effort. I wouldn't say it was an actual piece of cake, but it was a really good birth.

Sonja K. is one of my favorite kids. She has a sunny outlook, and keeps us laughing.


And I'll leave you with a good pic...Samuel and his little guy, Grant...my sweet grandson Grant...

finally, nice weather!!! a matter of perspective...

I started this post this morning, then Anne arrived...so here I am 12 hours later.

Vacuuming and mopping and wiping down counters, then sitting in my chair for a breather...then Miss Anne arrived. Miss Camille needed a trip to the library, and yes, I mean NEEDed. She cannot sleep at night without a book, even if she goes to bed really late. I know this because I slept with her when we were in Florida, and even after a long day at the Magic Kingdom, she had to read before going to sleep.

Anyway, Cam, Anne, and I went to the library. Then "real quick" into the grocery store, I wanted some chicken to put on the grill...the warm weather arriving made me think of barbecued chicken.

Then to the pharmacy, the Walgreens, to get some gauze bandages for Jonathan because he has a bad rash/reaction to poison ivy, and Emily says he needs to have it covered up. Emily knows what she's talking about, she graduates on Friday, and is a Nurse Practitioner...she still needs to take her boards, but she is DONE with school!

Home...ah, home. Anne took a nap, I mopped the floors again because we had a few extra doggies visiting, Margaret and Adrian's. Then we spent some time outside. Ashley came over with baby Elise and little Anya. We enjoyed the sunshine, and when Anne woke up, she came out to play too.

The chicken was par-boiled, then I grilled it before heading to the Walmart to meet the guy from craigslist who was taking the last kitten. Don't worry, I screened the ad responders well, and this guy was really nice. He and his wife had a cat for 14 years, and after it died, they couldn't bring themselves to get another, they loved their cat so much...then they saw the pic of our kitten, and because she was raised with the Labradors, they decided it was the kitten for them...they have a 10 year old dog, all gentle and kind, who used to snuggle with their old cat...I think I found a good home for kitty.

So 24 pieces of chicken doesn't go too far around here, but I set a piece aside before I left. Suzanne drove to Walmart, she needs to take her driving test soon.

There are kids here wanting to talk to me, and it's too distracting to write anything profound...so goodnight, and maybe tomorrow I'll get something worthwhile written...

the fourteenth child....

Jonathan Robert turned fourteen yesterday. I was going to write that my 14th child turned 14, but in reality, Jon is #15, because little tiny baby Robert was #14.
Anyway, Jonathan and I found ourselves quite alone yesterday, as the little girls were with Kathryn. So we went out and about on his birthday, first to the diner. I started with a cup of coffee, and Jon said to the waitress, very grown-up-like, "I'll have the same." I smiled very big-ly, because it was so cute. He drinks his coffee black. He is taller than me, calmer than me, the very voice of reason. He is smart and snarky, but has been working hard on not contradicting or talking back, so spending time with him is very pleasant.

I had written a meal plan for the week, a grocery list, and had cut some coupons. First we went to Target, and guess what? Jon doesn't really like Target...so we did the extremely quick route, deviating from my normal pattern, which admittedly was hard. But I did want to pick something out for Sonja K., she's turning 16 on Thursday. (Can you BELIEVE IT? My five-little-girls-in-a-row in five years will be 21, 20, 18, 17, and 16!)

We ended up getting a patio umbrella for the table on the deck, we get shade there in the afternoon but not at lunchtime...it's something we could live without, but...:) I also got a little something for Miss Charlotte Claire, she turns 12 on the 11th of May...can you believe it's May?

Anyway...Jon had such a good attitude in Price Chopper. He helped, and had his head in the game, as I call it, when a kid actually suggests things we might need with certain meals, and helps put things in the cart, without having to be told to put the iPod or phone away, ha.

We got home, and I put the pork chops in to marinate...lemon juice and olive oil, with lots of Jamaican jerk seasoning and pepper. I also marinated some London broil, it was $1.99 a pound! Tonight's dinner:) Anyway, I grilled the chops and oh my goodness, yummers. The lemon juice is a good tenderizer, and it tastes so tangy and good. I made rice and fresh steamed broccoli, too. The girls were all going to a soccer kickoff, so they were eating dinner there, and Kathryn and the little girls aren't here...Jon ate a plate of food before going out the door to his friends' house, so Paul and I sat there and ate dinner...just us and the dogs. Joseph was going out the door to be with his fiance...life is changing, that's for sure. Sometimes the house is overflowing with people and kids and noise, and sometimes we find ourselves actually able to carry on a conversation without interruptions.

Anyhow, I felt kind of bad, taking Jon grocery shopping on his birthday. But we needed stuff. And today, we are going on a picnic! He got a long board for his birthday, and a helmet. A long board, for those of you with no teenagers, is a skateboard. So we are going to the park today so he can ride it. Kathryn and I and Jon, and Char and Cam, and little Anne, and we're meeting Abigail there for lunch. Ab is my second oldest, and works close to a nice park/playground.

So we are packing our lunches, and going out into the sunshine today. 75 degrees and partly sunny. I can deal with that.

Anne is arriving soon, so I sign off now...maybe I'll take some pics today...

after pics: white painted cabinets!!!!

Not a very good "before" pic, but of course I forgot to take them.



The tile behind the stove was chosen and installed in 1992. I was 27, is that a good excuse? "Country" style was all the rage.


So I decided to paint it. I picked out a light gray, teetering between that and a shiny white, but then discovered I could get the small can of premixed semi-gloss for $3.87, so I dark gray won.



Again, it could have come out better, but it still looks better than it did. I just primed it, and painted it. Suzanne is going to help me by touching up the grout lines with white paint so it looks more like a new tile job.

We spray painted the hinges, and put the knobs on, Adrian installed the drawer pulls and hung the doors back up.

Phew.

And in the process, I lost a day. Yes, a whole day. I spent most of the day yesterday thinking it was Thursday. So...off we went to the big mall in the big city.

We were blissfully shopping the clearance racks when my phone rang. Paul was calling to tell me my guests were at the house. What? What guests? The three children who were coming for the weekend were there. Um, why? They were supposed to come on Friday...wait. I was getting a niggle. I got off the phone, and asked my daughter what day of the week it was. Friday, Mom. oh no. All day long I thought it was Thursday. I thought I had a whole day to prepare for the coming of these little children, for Jonathan's birthday bash...I thought I would go to the grocery store on Friday morning, but little did I know, Friday morning was already in the past.

So with some scrambling, we got our act together and had a good weekend with the extra three little children.

cabinet makeover part two: reality.

I have read probably hundreds of stories about kitchen cabinet renovations. Blogs and articles and how-to's, scouring for the perfect way. I wanted to do it right, but also, was scared of such a huge undertaking. And seriously? I don't have a huge-0 garage laden with power tools! Our garage is one of those tent-like gray monstrosities, with ripped flaps for doors, with our lawn mower, bicycles, and old lawn chairs in it. And the pictures in the articles, the houses with the gorgeous counters, with spotlessly clean cabinets, all cleared out for the work...ha. We are in knee deep right now. Chaos-city here. The living room is overflowing with stuff that was in our way.

So I read that you can hammer four tacks into the back of the cabinet door after painting it, then rest it on the tacks while you paint the front. That didn't work for us, even after we gathered up so many tacks. Evelyn didn't actually use the hammer though, she said it didn't work, and she "tried with the scissors." Yes, that is our reality, why run and find a hammer when you can pound with scissors?

Our solution was better though, and to be fair, I did steal it from one of the articles I read...we propped the doors up on canned food covered in clean hand towels. We then realized that boxes of cereal and crackers also worked well.

The paint we used went easily and dried quickly. We did two coats, and think it might be enough. The cupboard doors had lots of issues, and we used wood filler and sanded it off. There are areas where it wasn't sanded off enough, and there are drawers where you can see where the old screw holes were. We're hoping the new hardware will cover those.

The reality of this project is that it is long and tedious. Even with a really good work crew, it takes forever.

And it's not done yet. We have cabinet doors and drawers all over the place. It takes a while for them to cure, and one thing I didn't realize was that we shouldn't have done the second coat so soon after the first coat, oops. Even if it feels dry to the touch it needs to cure more. And, we should have used the semi-gloss. So learn from us.

And I don't like using expensive paint, but after all this work, I wanted to choose something that would hold up.

I do not get paid to endorse products, but so far have been happy with the primer:

Zinser 1-2-3 water based.

And the paint:

Sherwin Williams Emerald in satin, color - Alabaster.

I also paid an un-Godly amount of money for one of the paint brushes, a Purdy, and it was SO NICE compared to the Walmart brushes.

Here's something I learned from the process: patience is not only a virtue, it's a necessity. I am the queen of thinking I am the most careful, but my girls were coming behind me and finding drips. I checked a drawer this morning that I had painted yesterday, and dried drips, oops. I also learned that having the four girls here helping was worth golden treasures. We had more fun than humans beings should have doing tedious work, and they also warmed my heart with their thoughtfulness. I didn't want to break for brekky yesterday when only Sonja was helping, so she made me Ezekial toast and some pepperoni. They kept working when I thought they must be sick and tired of it, fixing things and giving touch-ups and cleaning up spilled drips. Kathryn cleaned all the brushes and paint bowls, voluntarily. Suze and Evelyn just kept on like Energizer bunnies, until we were certain it was done.

Now the doors need to go back on, so off we go to get spray paint for the hinges. Don't be like us, get it ahead of time. These hinges could have/should have been painted already, but we live and learn.

But we didn't decide for sure what color to get until we got to the paint store yesterday, so what do we know? Sonja K. was the best helper there though...she didn't roll her eyes and focus on her iPod, she actually helped make a good decision. Who knew there are like fifty shades of white?

cabinet painting, the DIY nightmare...

After day#2 of painting, still smiling in spite of ouch...hunching over and painting hour after hour. Imagine what it would be like to do this every day all day for a living, I mentioned to some daughters. NO WAY no how, they say. We did take a trip to the small city this fine morning, Sonja K. and I. We had to buy the cabinet paint! Since I was too scared to buy the gray stuff and regret it, I decided to go with white. Alabaster, to be exact. It's a tad bit creamier than a stark white. I made a huge mistake in getting the satin finish, should have gone with the semi-gloss. I went to Sherwin Williams because I thought they would give good advice, but the guy said satin should be fine for cabinets, then I google it this evening and whoa, not so sure. It was pricey, but it was only one gallon of paint. The primer was $19 in Walmart, then this stuff, Emerald latex satin, was eighty something dollars a gallon, but they gave me the 40% discount even though it expired yesterday. First the one boy suggested I wait until Friday, it'll be on sale for 30% off....um, no. My kitchen is torn apart. We are all ready to paint...we have cleaned and de-greased and filled holes and sanded and primed.

So we got the paint, which came to $55. ouch.

We also went to the store and got food, because the kids are all on vacation...eggs and sliced turkey and M&M's...

So, the cabinet restoration: it has been going well, the girls are amazing. They have been working so hard without complaining. Their cousin Grace came over today and helped for a while (Davian and Anne's older sister).






It's a mess, but we do like the new color.

I was planning to spray paint the hinges and put the doors back on tomorrow, but now I am reading that they have to cure for longer. We have to go buy the spray paint, and the new knobs and drawer pulls. We figure that after all this work, we may as well get new ones.

Tired as can be, but here I am, staying up well past midnight. The girls are watching, "Letters from Iwo Jima". wah.
(I do love school vacation, three high school girls get to stay up late very night...:))

what in the world have i been doing?

Taking my morning walk - three days in a row! Yesterday's walk was cut short, as I was walking down the road admiring a black and white kitty, who was sauntering down the middle of the road...not a good idea. The propane man came barreling down the hill, I waved to him, then looked up the road to see where kitty was, and wah. He was down, and it was hopeless. I wanted to help him but it was too late, and I couldn't bring myself to drag him out of the road, because he was looking at me, but not breathing, and I sort of freaked. I love kitties, this one wasn't mine, but still. I turned around and went home. Walk over.

This fine morning, I ventured out again, and I did not look at that kitty.

On a better note, we are busy doing lots of projects. I need a good kick in the pants for not capturing the Before and After pics. We had these chairs from the thrift store...and later I'll post at least the after pics, but right now, I am sitting here having coffee after my walk, after feeding the kitties and taking care of the pups. Anyway. The three chairs were structurally sound (except for one which tilts at a weird angle, but it's still fine). They were straight out of the eighties, rose/mauve seats with cream painted metal bases and arms, swivel chairs on round bases. Anyway, I bought some iron gray metallic spray paint, and we sprayed those chairs, mesh seats and all. They look amazing. Five dollar chairs, and six dollar spray paint.

Then, there was sweeping off the deck, washing the deck window, wiping down the side of the house, washing all the deck chairs and table, painting the outside door...(our outside door had a rough winter...there was a piece of the vinyl torn off, then one day the dogs were out there with their "cousins" (Margaret and Adrian's dogs), and they got rambunctious. There was ripping of vinyl, the bottom panel of the screen door was just exposed wood, and it wasn't pretty. We do plan to get a new door, but it has to get in line. You know, the list of things the happy homeowners "need". In the mean time, I took a can of paint I had gotten marked down to five dollars at Walmart, and just painted the door, right over the exposed wood, right across the tear, and it looks...better.

Then...the kitchen cabinets...they are being painted, but not right this minute, because duh, I am taking a break and blogging!

Before we started painting...




(this is the view of the kitchen from my chair right now. utter chaos.)

We have run out of surface area to put cabinet doors. So far, the most difficult part has been the cleaning. It took sooooo long. With plastic sheeting spread on the deck, the girls sat out there scrubbing, blue gloves on, music playing, with iced tea and coffee. Not a fight to be heard. ha. We started bright and early with the drama, some of us don't know when to stop, myself including. I mean, all these girls! Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, and Sonja, and ME, all trying to get along! A few of us know how to do things, and when to do things, and then there is Suze, hardest worker prize goes to her, but Ev is an excellent manager. We had a rough start, mostly kidding around and there's always one, and usually a different one each time just to make it fun, who gets offended, leaving the rest of us scratching our heads and wondering what we said. Then there are apologies, and we vow to be nicer, and encourage each other to forgive and forget, and then we have a glorious time together. Margaret arrived with baby Wulf, and needed some help with him, since she just had surgery the other day. Adrian was building us a front porch over the cement slab which was our "stoop" all these years, using mostly old deck lumber from the old deck. Charlotte Claire, Camille, and cousin Dani were playing in the creek with the dogs. Seriously? Getting all wet and muddy while we were doing all this work? Those dogs were going to need baths...

Then we all needed to stop working and go to a training class for working the concession stand at the amphitheater this summer. That was majorly a pain, I worked until the last second. Then we came home, did some more painting, then ahhh, the hot tub. That thing was worth it's weight in gold last night.

Anyway. The kitchen is a grand mess, and we still have to live here and eat, and I have to get it done because we are having three extra children here for the weekend, as their parents are going away. Then a birthday gathering for Jonathan on Saturday night, lots of boys here...so we have to get it put back together, and I hate rushing it. AND, all of my girls are going out to do a cleaning day at church...ouch. I don't like to tell them they can't go, because it's good for them to go, it's fun for them, it's nice for them to be with their friends, ect...but ouch. We are in the middle of a mess and they're leaving!

Paul has been exhausted since his return from India. He got home on Saturday, and his sleep schedule is all messed up. He gets up at three or four a.m., and is a zombie by evening.

And, I woke up this morning with a pounder of a headache. I decided not to be a martyr, and took a few ibuprofen. And I went on my walk. Now I am home, sitting here with my coffee as the girls get up and get ready for their day. The little girls and I are going to go pick out the cabinet paint. We have not yet decided: dark gray or white. Any votes? I am the absolute queen of indecision as it is, but this, this is just too hard to decide! I bought two paint samples yesterday morning, and I am so stupid sometimes. One sample was gray, the other...ha, white. I did not realize that we are priming the cabinets with white primer, so we get a pretty good idea how they would look white, without spending $3.49 on that tiny jar of paint. I don't like the gray we got, it is too blue-y, and I don't know...I am leaning towards white.

Lots of coats of primer still, and buying the paint, and it's gorgeous outside, I just want to lie in the sun...but painting awaits.

Stay tuned for progress pics, and yay...one of these days: after pics!!!!!!!