Thanksgiving Day!

God is so good. A friend of mine and her two kids were able to come over to my parents house for Thanksgiving dinner, as well as a bunch of relatives, and even my brother who has been activated for deployment to Iraq shortly. Lots of laughs. Our little miss Isabeau (4) has fallen in love with Zachary, and spends as much time as possible in his presence. All the kids took off after dinner up to the barn where JJoy and Zachary introduced us to 'Extreme Bowling'. They had a lane set up with 2x2 lengths of wood, complete with a side strip for rolling the bowling ball (nerf ball) back to the bowler. Plastic pins finished out the bowling alley. Zachary, Gabe and I also tackled the ping pong, which I had not even attempted in years. When the adults joined us 'kids' up there, Joanna and I challenged each other as well. Everyone enjoyed the day and between mom and Joanna (my friend) there was plenty of food and some to spare.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with my family, some relatives, and my roommate and her two kids. Lots of food, good fellowship, and even some ping-pong and 'bowling' in the barn after dinner. Here are some pics from our day.

Talk about accident prone!!

Yep, that would be me. I slipped on the wood stairs in our house last Saturday, and managed to get my shoulder stuck under me as I slammed down all 10+ stairs, landing with a thud at the bottom and waking my roommate with a bang. We're pretty sure it's the rotator cuff this time, and unfortunately on the same side as the previous injury, therefore inflaming the other muscles as well. I saw the doctor, who thinks I should wait to see what happens, as there is a good chance it is simply swollen, but not torn. Pray that's the case!
I am finding it's difficult to remember not to use that arm, because now it flares up randomly if I move it, and sometimes if I don't. Ugh.
But God is amazing. The other day I had a very cool conversation with a friend about how easy it is to see God's touch in creation. Seriously, everywhere I look, I see beauty that only a master artist could come up with. Isn't it gorgeous?! I love to go walking - in the field, down the road, through the woods, and anywhere else. How can people say there is no God? I just can't understand it. His love for us is displayed everywhere. Out in nature, particularly by or on the ocean, is the one place I feel at peace regardless of anything else going on.
I'm babysitting for a friend, so I'd better go check on the kids. One was sent to bed in tears for disobedience, and it seemed the end of the world - she wanted to see and be with 'Miss Lisa', and anything else was terrible. Another time, hopefully soon. I do love this family, and each of these 4 kids.
A cold day, but nice enough. I spent the afternoon making cookie dough to freeze and cranberry relish. Getting ahead feels great, but I'm having difficulties finding a place in the freezer for them.

Fall is too good to be over so soon!

The weather went from nice, warm, and feeling like fall to cold, raining, and miserable all too quickly. Today we are stuck inside freezing (my toes are numb) and trying to get the house straightened up. My good friend Carmel is arriving tonight, and I'm so excited! She gets to be here a week, so I'm hoping it clears up soon. Maybe a trip to Boston, or NYC or something.
My little sister, Joanna, is sick, so she, Zachary and I had to postpone our camping trip to the cabin. It would have been a challenge getting things up there anyway ahead of time, so it worked out, but it's still very disappointing. We played games yesterday afternoon instead.
It's been a busy few weeks, so I'm hoping to slow things down this next week. With Carmel being here, I cancelled all my doctors' appts for the week, so there will be nothing we actually HAVE to do. On Tuesday we are having my birthday party at my parents' house, but even that will be pretty laid back. A movie night I think. Then again, whenever I think one thing, pretty much the opposite usually happens, so we'll see.

Fall in NY is a beautiful time! And oh, the joys of kids!

Hello, friends! Oh, I love the fall, with the gorgeous colors, the leaves on the ground to be raked up and jumped into, and the cool evenings while still keeping the warmth through the days. Wait...the weather part isn't exactly the way it's been - sort of cold, colder and coldest is more like it! I know it will get colder, and yes, there are still a few days where a light jacket is enough, but for the most part, it is chilly. We've had a few rainy days, but tomorrow is supposed to be the beginning of a sunny stretch, and I am excited! Particularly because it is Gabe's birthday, and we are having some of his friends over for a small party. I made chocolate cupcakes for him to take to school today, and apparently they were a hit, since he didn't bring any back home. :)
I may be heading to the Adirondaks with a friend some day soon to see the colors up there (I can only imagine! They are supposed to be way better than around here even!). I'll be taking a lot of pictures I'm sure.
God has been blessing my SS class, as we started the year with 5 kids, and now we have 3-4 kids from the community that have started coming as well! Their parents are telling me they talk about our lessons at home through the week, so I know they are reall getting what we talk about.
I am still looking for work, but times are tough, and I haven't found anything so far. Most places won't even give out applications anymore since so many people are out of work and asking for them. But guess what?! The gas prices are going down a bit, and for us, every bit counts! It's now at $2.42/gal. I'm curious what the rest of the country is at. :)
I am currently helping take care of a very precocious 3yr old, Isabeau, who is adorable and drives me insane! Don't get me wrong, I love her, but she doesn't stop talking! However, she is very sensitive to when people are having a bad day, and does try to help. For instance, this afternoon I had a headache, my shoulder was sore from the injections I got this morning, and my leg is throbbing now whenever I go up stairs, drive, etc. I flopped down on the couch after a couple hours, and she was calling her mom on her play phone. I heard her close the conversation with "I have to go mom, Miss Lisa's head is hurting and I have to go give her a hug to help fix it, and then I'm going to read her a book." She proceeded to climb up on the couch beside me, give me a hug, and then sit by my head and 'read' me a story. I was touched by her concern, and it makes all the time we've spent with her so worthwhile.
Yesterday her brother Gabe (11) was working on cleaning his room, and I was keeping him on task pretty regularly, but I had received some mail that made things look a little bleak, and though I was hiding it pretty well I thought, he came out and asked if I would let him give me a hug. After the hug as he went back to cleaning his room, I was in tears because of the compassion of an 11yr old boy. They're both good kids.

Dental work and a Missionary Conference

This has been one of those weeks where I do not understand why God is making me go through this, and can't He see that I can't handle it? I have a lot on my plate right now. Last week I had the pleasant responsibility of taking Isabeau to the dentist to have some cavities filled. Well, the pleasant part ended right about when I picked her up from school. The appointment was supposed to be next week, but they had a cancellation and called me at noon, asking if she could be there by 3:45, oh, and not to eat or drink anything for 4 hrs prior. No problem, the school was great about holding her to that. I attempted to get my things done before we had to leave, but most of it ended up getting shoved into tomorrow's workload. She was slightly cranky, thirsty, and hungry, which made our 50min drive somewhat stressful for me. The appt went well - they sedated her, and once that had kicked in, they wrapped her up like a papoose and went to work. The normally 1/2 hr ordeal turned into over an hour as she kept kicking herself free of the blanket and straps that bound her. I had to hold her arms and knees down, while others held her feet and head. She screamed pretty much the whole time, though we had brief moments while we rewrapped her and scooted her back up the bed each time. A root canal and 10 cavities filled, complete with silver caps, and we were done. Unfortunately, my work was only half over. Every time her head started to hang forward (at least once or twice every 5min or so) I had to pull the car over and prop her up again. She screamed, cried, howled, etc the entire drive home (almost 2 hrs). She was still under the sedation the whole trip home, so the next day she remembered nothing. I, however, was exhausted, and quite willing to hand her over to her mom when we arrived home.
There is also a lot of stress within my family, which only adds to everything else.
We had a missionary from Bosnia in town this weekend for a conference. He seemed like a great guy, and very much a family guy. He had no qualms about playing with the kids, hiking up the Phippens hill, and talking with anyone and everyone. One evening during the service the nerve in my neck acted up, and I went in the other room, hoping it would go away. It didn't, only got worse, and when Sue came in, she went and asked the pastor to come pray for me. I ended up going home, but there was no relief until almost 5am. At church in the morning the missionary made a point of coming to ask how I was doing, and wanted to know more about it. I didn't know it, but apparently he had also come in to pray for me the night before. He's a very caring and compassionate guy, and I can see how he and his wife would be perfect for the Bosnian people. He loves them so much - it's obvious in how he talks about them.
So no, I have no idea what God has in mind, but I know He's with me, and He will carry me through every step.

the days of relaxation - NOT!

So much for having time off to relax! Between taking the kids to doctor appts, picking up and taking care of Isabeau 2 days a week, dealing with unemployment and other paperwork, all my doctor appts, and all of the other things that come up in between, I am pretty busy.
The last few days have been CRAZY! I went apple picking on Saturday with my friends Joanna, Gabe, and Isabeau, who I live with. It was so much fun, and the kids had just as much fun as Joanna and I did. A beautiful day, perfect for getting out and enjoying the weather. I'll be putting some pictures up soon. I finished off the day by going out to dinner with my family and some friends from CO who were visiting.
Yesterday my wonderful brother Seth came over to put up a shelf in my room (I have no clue how to find the studs), so it's starting to have a lived in effect, rather than a 'guest room' feel. Since our friends were leaving in the afternoon, I went over to visit for awhile after church. Mom made an awesome meal, complete with fried chicken, etc. Mmm.
So today my shoulder has bothered me quite a bit. Actually, the last week or so the pain has been worse again. So I have an appt set up for another procedure. Hope it works.

Zachary's Birthday Party

My younger (can't say little anymore) brother asked me to make him a 'football' cake for his 15th birthday. So I made the cake this morning, but when I went to take it out of the pan, it came out in so many pieces I couldn't put it back together again very well. Since I want Zachary's cake to be perfect, I drove all the way to Bennington and got another cake mix, came home, made the cake again, and this time it was a success. Next on the agenda is to go over to my family's house to decorate it (Joanna asked to watch the decorating part of the process). The party begins at 5:30 this evening, and I think he'll have a great time, and the rest of us as well. :)

Living in Hoosick Falls, NY

I'm done moving, and loving my living situation. It's working so well to be with the Pattersons. Joanna works during the day, so I take the kids - Gabe(11) and Isabeau(3) to any appts they have, and pick Isabeau up from school/daycare on Joanna's two late days at work. Gabe has football practice several evenings, so Joanna and/or I will usually take Isabeau out to watch him, and she enjoys the playground right beside the football field. His first game was the other day, and he played very well. Their team won, something like 25-0. We're proud of him.
Isabeau is quite the talker. I don't think she stops talking for more than a couple seconds at a time from the moment she wakes up till she goes to sleep at night. I love her, but at times it is a bit much. Ok, a lot too much. :) She has more 'friends' (stuffed animals) than I've seen in my life! Her room is filled with books and 'friends', all of which are usually on the floor within minutes of cleaning the room. Oh well. She loves cuddling, and often comes to join me on my cot or gets me to come to wherever she is.
Joanna is one of my closest friends here, and she is always an encouragement to me. No matter what is going on, she's willing to listen and offer advice if she can.
So all in all, living in Hoosick Falls isn't as bad as I thought it would be. But then, I'm not out and about in HF either. Time will tell.

the crazyness of August

Hmmm. Lots of decisions to be made, and they all came about very quickly. I've been looking for a car for awhile, so the Hyundai Santa Fe I bought a couple weeks ago has been wonderful. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, and I'm not sure I could go back to a 'little' car again.

I was laid off from my job at the Coffee Connection due to the economy crisis, so I'm not sure what is in store in that aspect. September 1 will be my last day. I've spent the last few weeks working on packing up my things, to be ready for a quick move if that worked. I now have a place to stay in Hoosick Falls, so I plan on moving this Thursday or Friday.

A major decision has been what to do now that I'll be jobless. I've come to the conclusion that now (or soon, at least) would be a good time to drive west. So yes, I'll be packing up my Santa Fe and leaving the East coast. Not quite sure when though. I had wanted to go the end of Sept, but my doctors want me to try one more set of procedures before I go, which could put it into the middle of winter. If that happens, I'll probably sit tight until spring, since my final destination is going to be Homer, Alaska, if all goes well.

So a lot is up in the air right now, and until I know more, I'll just stay in this area, helping my friend out with her two kids as needed, and hoping that the rest and relaxation will help my shoulder/neck heal much quicker.

For now, I've been exploring and enjoying the scenery around here. This picture is at Grafton State Park.


I have some good friends in Petersburg that have the cutest daughter, and I had the opportunity to hold her for awhile on my latest visit to their house.

My darling Isabeau had to go to the emergency room one night, and the nurse was wonderful and gave her popsicles and a stuffed animal to take home! She is much better now, and full of her usual energy. She is one of 'my girls' from Sunday School and I love her and her family to death! Isn't she adorable? I get to pick her up and watch her and her big brother for a few hours once or twice a week. They are like siblings to me now.

Changes, changes, changes

In just a quick few days my life has been turned upside down. Not all bad. In fact, I'm excited about a lot of it, or at least some of it.
I'm going to be leaving the Coffee Connection at the end of August, so I'm looking for another job. A few possibilities for here, but most likely I'll be heading out west. Either to the Seattle area or Alaska, probably. As many of you know, I hate change. And yes, I'm nervous about this, but excited at the same time. I've also been looking for a car for the past 3 months. A couple weeks ago I was a victim of an online scam, and lost thousands of dollars by attempting to buy a car off of Craig's list. So if you were planning on using that site anytime soon, I'd recommend against it. Shortly after that, I found a car I liked, went down and looked at it, signed a bill of sale for one price with two thousand as a deposit. The next day on my way down to pick up the car I received a phone call from the salesman informing me that they had to do more work on the car and it was going to cost $1500 more than the original price. I argued for half an hour, and then asked for my money back, since I was not going to pay what they wanted. That's when they told me they couldn't get my deposit back to me for another 5 days, for various reasons. I took a look at the car, and they hadn't even done most of what they said they did! The car wasn't clean, hadn't been detailed, only had 1 of the 4 brake rotors replaced (they had claimed the extra $1500 was mostly due to the cost of replacing all 4). The manager I spoke to told me that it was my word against her salesman's, and his story was 100% different, and she chose to believe him. I won't recommend Nemer VW to anyone. I don't trust them at all.
Yesterday I finally found a car I think I'll be buying. And yes, you may all give me a hard time about it, because I'm going a totally different route than I had planned on. Instead of a small sedan that gets good gas mileage, I chose a Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, which is an SUV and gets bad gas mileage. But I do like it, and it's a private sale (see Ben, I was listening to you!) from a friend of mine. I'm also going to be moving out, though whether I'll get a room at a friend's house or an apartment I don't know.
I'm still trying to deal with my shoulder/neck injury, and am now also trying to take care of my recently fractured finger (I slammed the car door on myself - it was early and I was still half asleep!). I'm still going to Amsterdam for injections once a week, and I've been sent back to the chiropractor (for injuries to the other side of my back due to the last car accident) twice a week. I'm also going to see another pain management doctor an hour north in VT on the 20th. The hope is that he'll have more of a plan as to what I can do besides long term narcotics, which is what everyone seems to want me to do.
Work has been extremely slow, and I'm feeling it more so recently, due to the fact that more guys are stopping to 'say hi and visit' a lot more frequently. They are there anywhere from 15min to 4hrs, depending on when more customers drive up behind them and make them leave. It's kind of funny actually, and the other girls who work for us give me a hard time, because apparently they saw it happening before I realized it.

Housesitting and Friends Coming to Visit!

I'm currently housesitting for a couple from the church while they are on vacation. I'd forgotten how much I love my quiet time, and relaxing after a long day at work. My friends are gone until Sunday afternoon, and I have been given the opportunity to take care of their cat (who needs absolutely nothing!) and water their plants (all the ones outside are taken care of by the rain we had today). Nice and easy, and on top of that, I get a comfy bed and was able to sleep last night! Another advantage is that because it is in the village, I am much closer to work and can sleep in an extra 10 minutes in the morning. Yay!!!
On a side note, my good friend Heather is coming to visit me soon! I'm super excited, and can't wait till the dates are finalized and the countdown can begin. Another good friend is coming in October, and those dates are finalized and I'm just as excited for her to see NY. Carmel wanted to come for my birthday, so she'll be here at the end of October. It will be so much fun to celebrate with her able to join my family for the week. I'll get to be a tourist again with her. Heather and I had a blast when she was here for the first time a couple years ago. Fun times!

Car Shopping

I absolutely hate car salesmen! With a passion! I don't think they should be allowed in business. They are awful, and they try their level best to take advantage of me. I actually had one guy chew me out royally for asking a friend's opinion and then not buying the car. He informed me that I was letting others rule my life and I should have just bought the car as is, without asking anyone else about it, because asking showed my weakness and proved that I was unable to handle decisions or choices myself. Wow. I tried to explain that I don't know cars, and he does, but the salesman told me that I must not like the car, since if I liked the car, I would have bought it at his price, and since I checked blue book (it was over $1000 less than he was trying to sell it for) and talked to others, he knew he wouldn't be able to help me anymore and I had better get his car back to him ASAP (I was using a different car while they cleaned the one I had been looking at). So after work I took it back, had a friend give me a ride to Bennington, and drop me off. My plan was to walk to various car dealerships and buy a car that night, since I had no vehicle and no way home, etc. Unfortunately, the places were all closed by the time I got there, so I stopped at the Rescue Squad (not knowing what I was going to do, stranded in Bennington). One of the guys was about to get off, and he said he'd give me a ride home. 5 min before he got off, a call came in and he had to leave. The other guys headed to dinner, so I was out walking, this time in the rain (a major thunderstorm had just begun). Within a minute I was soaked clear through, crying, without a destination or a friend. I walked over to the police department, and sat in the lobby as I called everyone I could think of to come pick me up. I finally reached Jason, and he drove over from West Hoosick to pick me up. I called another guy out there to take me to work in the morning, and then used the other employee's car to do deliveries. Our mechanic came to pick me up in a '65 split window corvette, and took me over to pick up our truck (he had been working on it that week). So after that, I was out of the desperate stage, although I still did, and am, looking for a car. I think I may have found one. Too soon to know, but hopefully in the next couple days. No more car salesmen!

A few changes at the coffee shop

I was about to head home from my trip to the Big Apple when I found out that we had an employee quit (for a better job) and two more were hired (kind of spur of the moment, I think). So when I returned, I jumped right into training the two new gals. The part of my job I like the least is training. Nothing against any of the trainees, it's just hard to train someone to do something when even I am not sure what I do to make it work just so. Such is the case with the espresso shot, and steaming the milk. Two things that seem easy until you try them. As each employee then finds out, there is a lot more to this job then handing out regular coffee, with cream and sugar. So many different aspects can make a shot of espresso bitter, too strong, too weak, and even give it an aftertaste. Only doing it 'just so' will make it work. So hours upon hours go into practicing it. My dad has been gone since the beginning of July, only returning last night, so in addition to my normal hours, I've been filling in for him. We are down to one remaining employee who knows the routine, and even she is heading to college soon. So I also had to be there during the new employees' shifts, to continue training. I'm about ready to be done with the whole 7 days/wk 10-15 hrs/day, and all the stress that goes with it. :) The 'new' gals are doing well, and one is already doing some shifts on her own, calling me with questions. I do believe things are going to be pretty much back to 'normal' soon. Or at least I hope.

More of NYC - part 2

Ok, so I have had an insane few weeks. No time to even get on, much less write anything. So, to summarize the rest of the NYC trip, we had an awesome time, did a ton of stuff, including the aquarium, Coney Island, the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and a trip out to the Hamptons to visit Steve and his wife Sharis (I love that name!). It was really nice to have Mike and Scott there. Relaxing with friends is something I haven't had much of here. Steve and Sharis have an amazing house, and Steve took us on a tour to see some of the mansions the rich and famous people build. To me, Steve's house was a mansion! He has done so much to it, and it is still homey, with lots of room, and the hosts were wonderful. We had a barbecue (the famous Nathan's hot dogs) out on the porch, and I spent some time relaxing in the hammock by the in-ground pool and hot tub. Let's see, the aquarium was interesting, and I enjoyed seeing all the varieties and colors of the fish. There was a turtle that instantly brought back memories of home group - Dude!!! I managed to get some pretty good pictures, too. Coney Island was fun, walking on the beach after eating chili and cheese fries (REALLY good) and corn dogs (NOT great). The day we headed to see the Statue of Liberty was cool, but not bad. It was a good day for some pictures, and we weren't miserable because of heat and humidity (one of the days was REALLY muggy and I don't handle muggy very well). But this one was not, and while we spent some time on Liberty Island, the majority of it was spent on Ellis Island in the museum. Vic and Marco were the tour guides. Another day Marco took us to the Museum of Natural History, and then we headed downtown Manhattan (I think) to watch 'UP' at a theater - 3D even! Oh, it was wonderful to walk down the street, take the subway (though Marco always seemed to get mixed up at that point) and just have fun, being myself, without the stress of work or any particular schedule. Another day we went to a Mets game. I like baseball, though I'm not as into sports as those guys were. Walking around the stadium, seeing it from all angles, was cool. I even had my picture taken with the Reese's guy. :) Vic and Marco are both Italian, and one night we went to their friend's house (also an Italian) for a home-cooked italian meal. Mmm. Joey did a really good job, complete with wine and salad for starters, and then a goulash type dish with a different wine for the main course. Justin and Vinny are brothers who brought back memories of Mano. Though I didn't have a chance to talk to Justin much, Vinny came with us on the ferry to the islands, and then was also there at Steve's for the bbq, so I chatted with him a little more. Mary, Vic's sister, played the Wii and came downstairs in the evenings (I stayed at their house), and she was able to get off work for the bbq as well. One of my most enjoyable memories from the trip was my morning chats with Vic's mom, Peggy. The others slept in, so I went upstairs when I got up, and talked with her each morning. I don't think she minded, and I was so blessed to be treated as a part of the family. I wish they had been able to join us more often, but even so, they went to great effort to make sure we had anything we needed or wanted. Oh yeah, I can't forget the empanadas (is that right, guys?). Before the Mets game we went to this small place that made them, and just got a few to have during the game. They were sooo good! After the game, we went back and got a bunch more (30-40) and ate them all within a couple days. We did save a few to take to Steve's. Apparently Sharis loves them (I can see why!).
All those things are in random order, but the basic thing is we had a lot of fun. We came back from Steve's just in time to grab my things from the house, say goodbye to Tony and Peggy, and head out for Penn Station where I took the train home. What a trip!