How To: Clean Breyer Horses

A common question I see on the model horse Facebook groups and web forums is how to clean Breyer horses, most commonly how to remove black marks. I thought I would document my process. I have used this on numerous models, and have been amazed by some of the results! I wish I had the photos from a Stablemate lot I recently cleaned!


Supplies:
Dirty Breyers
Dawn Dish Soap (original strength Blue, don't get the cheaper one, it's not as effective)
Soft toothbrush
Towel
Microfiber Cloth
Generic Magic Eraser *****USE with CAUTION*****



Step 1: Soapy Warm Water
Clean your sink. I scrub mine down with Dawn dish soap to get rid of any food or other residue. No sense trying to clean in a dirty sink! Add Dawn, and fill the sink with about 3" deep of warm (not hot!) water. You don't want the water too warm as it could cause legs to warp!

Step 2: Soak

Soaking in the tub

Soak horses. For this demo, I was primarily focused on the Pluto as he is the worst of my childhood herd. As Breyers float, I make sure to cover the exposed side in suds, and flip them over 1/2 way through so each side has a thorough soaking.
(Note to self: never try to use white out to color over black marks! Stupid kid {me}!), however the knockoff fighting stallion needed to be cleaned although he is going to be my first custom and the little Stablemate was quite dusty! In this case I soaked them while I browsed ModelHorseBlab.com for a little while. I'd soak 10-15 minutes if I were to time it.

Step 3: Scrub

Covered in suds

Put a little Dawn straight on to the soft toothbrush. Make sure it is a soft one, otherwise you may damage the paint. (Caution: use EXTREME CARE on the older Dapple Grey Models. Their paint is much more delicate and will come off very easy, so skip this step, or only scrub lightly on the marks you want to remove! Ask me how I found this out? Lol...poor Saddlebred Stablemate.) Generally I cover the entire horse wth suds, paying special attention to black marks, and the mane and tail (especially on dusty models). I use medium to hard pressure. As I scrub, I will occasionally rinse off the horse to check my progress on the marks as the suds can make it hard to see.

Step 3.5: Magic Eraser CAUTION, use very carefully!
In this case, Pluto was especially difficult to clean, so out comes the Magic Eraser. In case you don't know, Magic erasers are basically a super micro fine sandpaper. They will remove paint! Use with care and only on the marks you wish to remove. As I mentioned, stupid kid me decided to try and "fix" Plutos black marks with white out....so he needed some extra care. Thankfully he is white, so I was able to use the Magic Eraser to "erase" his marks. Most marks come off with very light pressure. Sadly, white out is stubborn and I had to scrub and scrub and it still didn't come off entirely, but it is a huge improvement.

***I did try out the magic eraser on a particularly marked Palomino Family Arabian Stallion. I very carefully and lightly stroked the Magic eraser over the marks quickly. Most came off easily without any damage to the underlaying paint! I still would suggest EXTREME CAUTION as too much would cause the paint to come off, but it does work on minor marks! Do not use in one spot too long or with too much pressure!



Step 4: Dry
When you are done scrubbing/cleaning, rinse off the horse with warm (not hot) water. I set the horse aside on a towel to dry while I work on the others. Towel dry.

Step 5. Buff
Once you are pleased with your models, I like to take a microfiber cloth and buff the horse to restore it's "shine". Even the matte models have a small amount of shine to them. As for shiny marks, I have heard a standard pencil eraser helps. I haven't spent much time with that.

I apologize for the poor quality pictures, sadly the black marks didn't show up very well on this model, but I swear there is a huge improvement after cleaning!

Before

Before

After

After

Packing Up Model Horses for Safe Shipment (Cheaply!)

You read the horror stories, model horses arrive with ears sticking out of the boxes, broken limbs, no padding....the list goes on and on. I wanted to make an easy to follow guide on how to pack a model horse such as a Breyer for safe travels with the least cost to you. This post is geared to model horses, however the techniques can be used for packing nearly anything for shipment!

Step 1: Pick The Right Box! Size does matter!

Make sure you don't accidentally pack up your feline assistant!

Remember me mentioning the horror of models with ears/tails/hooves poking through their shipping box a minute ago? Well that is easily prevented by choosing a box that is large enough to contain your model, with a nice cushion of 2+" around. That being said, the model doesn't have to sit square in the box. I have gotten by with placing the model in at an angle in a smaller box but still having that nice safety cushion. The box should be reasonably strong. You don't have to spring for heavy duty, but you should get something reasonably strong. Find free boxes, save boxes from the items you order online. It's ok to reuse a box provided it is not damaged! It can even have writing on it. Ask friends, neighbors, stores, anyone to save boxes for you! Storage an issue? Flatten the box and slide behind furniture, behind a door, under the bed...you get the picture.

Step 2: Mummify Your Horse. 
I start by wrapping the horse in a soft material. I have a nice box of thick soft  low lint paper towels by Scott (like the blue ones used by mechanics). I go for the white to avoid color transfer. Ideally you don't want the bubble wrap touching the horse, although from my understanding that is more for customs rather than original finish as the top coat is sometimes affected by temperature.  I completely surround the horse with the soft material, using tape (on the material, never tape to a model!) to keep it in place.

After the soft material, I start in with the bubble wrap. I end up wrapping each horse differently depending on leg position. For this horse I wrapped each leg with a strip of bubble wrap, secured in place with tape...in this case masking tape. I like masking tape as it is easy to see when unpacking! Sometimes I will cut strips of cardboard to place between the legs so they cannot bend into each other, however that wasn't really an option with this model. After the legs are done, I wrap the head and the tail. These are the most vulnerable parts, so extra wrap here is beneficial. Then the whole horse is wrapped in bubble wrap. In this case it was about 2 layers of the small bubbles. Ideally I would do one layer of little bubbles and one layer of big bubbles. As the horse is protected by the soft material,  go ahead and go bubble side down. If you don't wrap the horse in a soft material, go bubble side up in case there is a problem with the finish. However, you must have a couple paper towels laying around?

Where do I get my bubble wrap? I save every scrap from any packages that come into the house. My boyfriend is a mechanic,and he will get large pieces that come with glass shipments. Once again, ask friends, neighbors, coworkers to save packing supplies for you! Yay, more free stuff! However if you are doing more shipments than you can get free supplies for, I have found decent bubble wrap for cheap from a seller on Amazon (no, they aren't paying me or anything, I am just a happy customer).

Step 3: Everyone wants a comfy ride, even model horses!

Cushion Cushion Cushion. Did I mention Cushion? Remember how I said you need a box with some space around the model? This is why! When you pack, you want to be certain no part of the horse is in direct contact with the box. When a box takes a hit, the item touching the edge is what will absorb the impact. These horses are not rubber, you don't want them to absorb impact. That is why there are air pockets, or newspaper, or more bubble wrap. Ideally, air pockets are great, but they are hard to come by. If you have a place to store them,  an  Amazon seller has a great price! I am stingy with my air pockets, as you can see. I have them placed between the head and tail of the box and under the feet. I fill in the rest of the space with newspaper, packing paper. I don't subscribe to the newspaper, so I get those free local newsletters (which I have found are worth reading before using as packing material! Coupons and event calendars!). Once again, save all the packing materials! Seriously! I have even gone as far as to take bubble mailers that have been used and I open them up and use them as a cushion on the top and bottom of the box!

Step 4: Check for Movement
After filling in all the empty space in the box, hold it closed and give it a gentle shake from side to side and up and down. Does anything shift? If so, open the box, recenter the horse and add more packing materials! A well packed box will not have anything shift inside, but there also will be nothing exerting pressure on the outside of the box either. You do not want any bowed sides! Just think how if it moves under a gentle shake, how much more impact your poor model will receive in the hands of the shipping service! We've all likely seen/heard the stories of employees who just don't care. Sad but true.


Step 5: Use Online Labeling 
So now we are to the dreaded final part. You have taped up the box and it is ready to go. You have a couple choices....either print at home or go to the Post Office/Shipping Center. I personally HATE going to the post office...nothing against the employees, there just is often lines and it is very hard/painful for me to stand for that long. Obviously, I chose the print at home method. If you know me in person, I am a printer Nazi....seriously. I don't want to waste a drop of ink. I have my printer set to print on Black and White Draft Setting. It comes out plenty dark, I have yet to have a complaint. Through eBay, I changed the settings so it only prints the label, no receipt. Obviously, most people aren't as obsessive over saving ink, but I am. I will print out my label (which is half a page) then save the 2nd half to run through again! For smaller boxes, you can adjust the "zoom" in the printer setting! On some of my small boxes and envelopes I do as little as 75% of the full size page so it fits.

So you are wondering what is involved in printing your own labels? The only thing you need is a scale, ruler/tape measure and a computer hooked to a printer. I use a food scale. Once again, I have yet to have any issues with weights being off. You can pick up a cheap digital scale. I do recommend one that has a bowl on it for larger packages so you can still read the display!

My preferred shipping provider is USPS as 99% of the time for the items I ship they are the most affordable option. For that 1% of large (multiple dimensions over 12"), overweight (5lbs+) packages, I now turn to UPS. I ship the most through eBay. It is extremely easy. When your buyer pays, hit "Print Shipping Label" A page will come up with a place to select the shipping service, enter the dimension and weight of the box, and add additional services. For items less than 13oz, USPS First Class Package works great, almost all my packages get to their destination before the estimated date. Tracking is included as well, but no insurance. It's up to you if you want to add it. I generally don't, it's a risk I'm willing to take. For items greater than 13oz but less than 16oz, you can still use first class, but for a few cents more you can go with Priority and get insurance included! A Breyer Traditional will be around 2-3lbs packed properly, so Priority is your best choice. There are a couple economy class services by USPS, but for the price difference I prefer Priority, plus it is 3 days or less to the buyer! Customers like quick shipping!

The process through PayPal to print a shipping label is similar if you invoiced your customer (very easy, but another post for another day). Basically you select the shipping service you want, enter the dimensions and weight, select any additional services like insurance and click calculate shipping. From there you can pay and print your label. Very straight forward.

As a semi related side note: always pay for and have your customers pay for Goods and Services. Never use the send to friends feature unless you are actually friends. Both you and the buyer are covered under Goods and Services if something goes horribly wrong...the fees are minimal, you can always add that extra to the price of your item to cover it. As a buyer I have even offered to pay the fees just to cover myself. There are online fee calculators to help you know how much to send!

Want to know a random secret I found one day while researching how to ship cheap? This link right here takes you to a PayPal page where you can print First Class Postage online (normally you can't do that through the post office website or without an existing PayPal transaction) You even get the discount! Yes, despite what you heard, PayPal and eBay still offer shipping discounts to sellers! You're welcome. Easy to use, input your address, buyers address and then the usual select shipping service, enter dimensions and weight, select additional services, calculate, purchase, print, done.

You can also print postage direct through the USPS site. Once again all you need are the address, dimensions and weight of your package. This applies to Priority Mail and First Class International.

Oh no....I said International! Yes I did. It really is nothing to be afraid of. I personally limit which countries I ship to. I avoid places like the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. I am not being prejudice at all. If someone were to contact me from a place I don't normally ship to, I would definitely look into it and try to get it done. I have shipped to Canada, Australia, Germany, and the UK. The biggest thing is to be honest on the customs forms. Use online shipping from the Post Office or PayPal if you are nervous, they walk you right through it, much easier than trying to decipher the paper customs forms! Always say you are shipping merchandise regardless of what your buyer wants you to put, as you are. Unless of course it truly is a gift and no money is changing hands. eBay offers the Global Shipping Program you can use for no charge, although some buyers seem to not like it. I often offer it and have used it multiple times with no problems. All you see is a domestic shipment to a center in KY (at least on the East Coast), then they take care of the rest for you.

Once your postage is printed, cut it out (seriously, don't be that person to stick half a sheet on the box!) and I simply use standard scotch cellophane? tape, you know, the tape every office has; clear or matte, about 1/2" wide. Some people laminate the label with packing tape, but that just runs up costs. Scotch tape is less expensive and works fine. Side note: don't cheap on shipping tape! You want your box to remain closed the entire journey! I personally like Duck brand (once again, no compensation) as it is the least expensive yet quality. I buy it at Walmart for $7.44 for 4 rolls. It does last a while.

Controversy: To Mark Fragile or Not to Mark Fragile, that is the Question
So there seems to be controversy over whether or not a package should be marked fragile or not. I never was marking packages as fragile, and they seemed to arrive fine. I started marking as fragile, or simply writing "Please Don't Crush". I avoid writing in all caps. I use Please. Who knows if it makes any difference, I just think if I were a shipping employee, I'd appreciate a nicely written message rather than all caps yelling at me! It's up to you though.

Well, this turned out a bit longer than I had planned....to recap:

1. Size Does Matter. Choose a box that will allow at least 2" of padding all the way around your model. 
2. Mummify your model. Use a soft material such as low lint paper towels to wrap your model, then use copious amounts of bubble wrap. Remember: there is no such thing as too much bubble wrap. Use at least 2 layers. 
3. Everyone wants a comfortable trip. Center your model in the box, use air pockets or rolled/balled up newspaper to fill in the cushion space, and the rest of the space. 
4. Check for movement. A properly packed item will not shift at all if you shake the box, nor will the sides of the box be bowed out from too much padding putting pressure on it. 
5. Label your box. Printing postage at home is not as scary as it sounds, even international postage! All you need is a scale (food scales work!), ruler/tape measure, and a computer hooked to a printer! 

The potential total cost for shipping like this? Less than $1, maybe a few cents for tape, a piece of paper and ink (draft setting is your new best friend!). Save packing material from your own purchases. Ask friend, family, coworkers, employers and businesses for free boxes and packing materials that were destined for the dumpster anyway. As long as it is clean, there is nothing wrong with recycled materials! 

Here are three more of my money saving shipping methods: 

• Did you know you can get FREE shipping supplies directly from USPS that are not flat rate (Flat Rate is never the best unless your item is very heavy!)? You can. I recommend:
• Priority Mail Box 4
• Priority Mail Shoe Box 
• Priority Mail Box 7 (small traditional, classic scale fit well!)
• Priority Mail Stickers (for your own box)
• 1092,1096L, 1097, Board Game Box, Large Priority Box are all ones you can send without Flat Rate. 
• Did you know USPS will pick up packages for FREE at your door? I am not sure if it is available in all locations, but I live in a mobile home park and they do it! The only places I think it may not work is in apartment complexes, but who knows?
• Did you know you can drop off prepaid packages at your local Staples for both USPS and UPS? You just walk in and leave them on the counter. No lines no waiting. Works great if you miss the mailman! You can also buy Priority mail postage and UPS shipping labels there....but why bother when it is so simple to do yourself! 

After rereading this...I think USPS, Amazon and Walmart should pay me to write this! If only....lol. 

Turkey and Savings

Well, it's that time of year again; the obligatory "What am I thankful for?" blog post.

This year it is very hard to find reasons to be thankful. I mean, I am thankful for my two cats (well, most of the time...although if it weren't for them, I probably wouldn't be here to type this.....) and I'm very thankful for my boyfriend who puts up with me. Poor guy.

As far as health goes, that has been a mess. I know I should be grateful I don't have something worse, but at this point, maybe something worse wouldn't be so bad if it either ended my suffering, or was treatable so I could enjoy life again instead of just existing most days. Don't get me wrong, there are fun, happy days where I feel slightly better than my "normal"...but they are few and far between.

I lost my job that I loved. I was finally in a good district. I loved the buses, and the kids, and my coworkers were generally ok. But my health caught up to me and ended it. Now, I can't even sit up at a desk for more than a few minutes without a lot of pain. I tried, and failed. Driving was what I really enjoyed, but even a non-commercial job isn't an option because there are too many days I would not be safe, and the last thing I ever want to do is hurt someone.

So I sit here. I am slowly selling off my possessions on eBay to be able to afford just to keep my car insured, but it's going to need tires, and at over $100 a piece...ouch. Why do I always pick vehicles with stupid tire sizes?

My Black Friday this year, usually my favorite day of the year, involves finding the best deal for toilet paper, batteries, and cat litter. Exciting.  :-( I would much rather be shopping for fun things, like a new wifi DVD/BluRay Player, or a sound bar, or a new laptop, or plastic ponies... cause there are certainly some nice deals out there. But nope. Boring household products is it. Ugh. Oh yeah, we need a new microwave too. Because I guess a year and a half is old enough for them to just die suddenly.

I guess at least a tree hasn't come through the house yet like last year....

Temporary Hiatus

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much. Unfortunately, all this medical stuff is catching up with me and making even everyday tasks challenging. I have been on what seems to be a steady decline for the past year or so.

Turns out I have a bulging disc in my neck, which makes is very painful to sit for more than a short time (like 15 minutes...) especially to type on a computer, so blogging regularly has been kind of out of the question. I attempted physical therapy, but even they are at a loss of what to do with me. The medications the doctors tried seem to have no effect, I get better results from a combo of Tylenol/Advil. Unfortunately, my insurance doesn't like to cover medications either, so it really limits what the doctors are able to do for me.

It just sucks being "30" and being unable to do much of anything. I hate being a burden. I hate not having the energy to do even normal activities. I try to do things, but it just wipes me out so much it takes the next day to recover. I hate being broke all the time. This is not the sort of life I imagined myself living.

Everybody hurts, don't they?

I'm talking physical pain here, not mental anguish or anything like that. 

Seriously, up until a couple weeks ago, I thought that it was completely normal to wake up in the morning stiff and sore and with at least one body part hurting. I can't blame my mattress, I have one of those fancy memory foam ones that is supposed to take away pain, not cause it. It's not a cheap one either.

For as long as I can remember, I have physically hurt in some way or another. I wake up with a lot of muscle soreness and often a feeling of weakness, like when you overdo it or do something that uses new muscles, yet I don't do anything different usually to cause it. Getting out of bed I am like a Rice Krispie, snap, crackle, pop!

I always thought pain was just a part of life, that everybody hurts on a daily basis. That everybody hurts when they have to stand for more than a few minutes, regardless of their shoe style. That everyone hurts sitting at a desk. But I guess I was tragically mistaken.

I recently found out that it is not normal for everyone to hurt all the time, or while doing daily activities of life. Really? I would love to know what that feels like, to not be in pain. Right now as I type this, there is a pulling pain in my neck, my hips are sore from sitting (I've been on the reclining sofa for about 1/2 hour),  my eyes are itchy, and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open...this is completely normal for me. Everyday is like this. No matter what I do. God forbid I do something different like go to an event with a lot of walking, demo ride a motorcycle, or go horseback riding or anything like that I may enjoy, by bedtime I am so incredibly stiff I can't move a muscle without pain! The next morning, forget about it, I am in near agony. I still try and do things I enjoy even though I will pay for it later as I don't want to miss out on too much of life.

Over the years, I tried to ignore it, putting it off as normal aches and pains of living. Once in a while something would be unusually sore, but there was often a reasonable explanation, like doing a new activity that may use different muscles. But recently, things have been unusually sore without a reasonable explanation. I just wake up hurting. There is a legitimate cause for the neck/shoulder/upper back pain due to a bulging disc in my cervical spine. However, the rest remains a mystery. There is no reason for me to be sore and hurting daily. I'm only 30 for goodness sake!

I haven't even mentioned the sudden, random, stabbing pain that comes out of no where and can strike any part of my body. It is a sharp burning radiating sort of pain that lasts anywhere from seconds to minutes. Then it goes away just as quickly as it came.

I guess my epiphany came when I asked my boyfriend, who is several (well, a few more than several) years older than me about how he feels on a daily basis. He is a very hard working diesel mechanic who is always on his feet on a concrete floor, and he does not have any pain from it. If I visit him and stand on that floor for a few minutes, the pain and pressure in my feet and legs is extremely uncomfortable, I always find a place to sit down. I can wear sneakers, work boots, Toms, doesn't matter, same results.

I just wish I could know what it feels like to wake up refreshed, pain free, and ready to start the day.

Unplugged

Purple Dot is about where we live, 

Blue Dot is Pittsburg.

I was very lucky to be able to getaway for a perfect, unplugged 4th of July weekend. Yes, I realize it is now 10 days later....but better late than never I guess?

My boyfriend and I literally got away from it all. We went up to Pittsburg, NH. For those of you not familiar with New Hampshire, Pittsburg it at the very top of the state, about 200 miles from where we live, and right at the Canadian border.

There is almost no cell service, and very few wifi spots. I was worried about that at first, as I am ALWAYS on either Facebook or Instagram if I am not doing anything else. But you know what? I didn't miss it. Not even for a minute. Spending time with the one I love was so much more fun!

We stayed at a cute little motel/cabin place called The Buck Rub Pub. The room was very nice, loved the country cabin look! My only complaint was the awful water, they definitely needed a water softener!   The restaurant was delicious too and excellent, friendly staff! So nice to have that right there within walking distance, plus you got a discount off food if you were staying in the cabins.

Rouger trail, so fun!

So what do you do to spend your days in the middle of no where? Drive around! Well, there are TONS of ATV trails, and hiking, and the lakes; we don't have ATVs, I can't hike very long, and it was chilly to be in the water! We went exploring. There are tons of very well kept dirt logging roads (which were actually smoother than many paved back roads....). The scenic vistas you come across are absolutely breathtaking! The one in the panoramic image is called "Top of the World" and you literally felt like that standing there. The picture doesn't do the beauty justice.

My favorite part of of the trip was seeing a moose!!!! My boyfriend's son has a camper in Pittsburg and he told us that he would often see moose around 2-5 in the afternoon, so we headed up Moose Alley. Before we got too far, we saw a car pulled over on the side of the road in front of an opening. And there it was. A GORGEOUS moose in the flesh! I took a ton of photos!

You can see an entire album with more scenic vistas, moose pics, etc here.

The sandpit.
A sturdy backstop is important

Another fun activity to do is go shooting. Yes, as in a real gun. There are these amazing sand pits where everyone goes to shoot. The best one was taken, of course, but this one worked fine. I had never been before. I have always been afraid of the recoil and the noise. But I decided to suck it up and try. My boyfriend is a nearly 20 year veteran of teaching hunter safety in NH, so he is the perfect instructor. He brought a .22 caliber rifle which is just the right size to learn on. To me it's the right size period lol. Even that comparatively "tiny" bullet has deadly force, so why do I need anything more? I couldn't believe how heavy it was, although I probably should say I can't believe how weak I am...5 shots was about my limit before taking a break!  I started with paper targets, but then we quickly moved on to the fun stuff! I had been saving water and soda bottles which I then filled with water. It was fun shooting at the bottles. I did ok, I actually hit them, as you can see in the pic I posted. )

Bullet hole and festive nails!

After we were done, we were responsible adults and picked up all of our trash. Luckily it seems most people do, but I did see the remnants of a laptop...how fun would that be? Go all Office Space on an old computer?! The cleanup would totally be worth the satisfaction of murdering technology!

Speaking of technology, the only time I bothered to even look on my phone was while he was in the shower as we had just enough 3G signal. It felt so good to be unplugged.

 Oh yeah, on the way home, we saw ANOTHER MOOSE!!!!!!!! The perfect ending to a perfect trip!

Stress, stress, and more stress

Due to losing my job for medical reasons I'm having a very hard time finding something that I can safely commit to as far as a new job. Ideally, I need a work at home job, or a very part time office job very close to home.  Although I am trying to work with vocational rehab (helps people who can no longer work in their field of expertise find new work), it is an extremely slow process. I have to have a neuropsych evaluation to see what I can actually do, but that was over a month wait to get an appointment. Ugh.

I am not usually the type of person to stress out. Stressing out really doesn't accomplish anything except making you feel worse. But when it comes to finances, I stress. Big time. I have contacted my credit card companies to try and work with them as far as attempting to pay my bills, however because I don't have a steady source of income, they won't talk or do anything to help. It's awful. I have worked so hard to always pay my bills on time, and now, that is physically impossible. I am literally draining my accounts to be able to keep my car one more month. I am so lost as to what to do. The fact the banks won't even accept partial payment is beyond me! They want all or nothing. It's ridiculous! I hate how everything has turned into huge corporations with no heart. I'm sure if it was a small local establishment, they would see my history of excellent, timely payments and understand that things happen.

On a happier note, I get to go on a mini vacation with my boyfriend. Nothing fancy, but it will be a welcome break from all this. For once, I will be unplugged from social media for a few days and focusing on enjoying quality time with my boyfriend and exploring this beautiful state we live in. Hopefully I can forget about my troubles and just enjoy life for a few days.

So What if I'm an Adult?

My First Breyers

If you follow me on any form of social media you've noticed I've been posting A LOT about Breyer Model Horses.

Traditional and Classic Sized
Collection

What is a Breyer Model Horse? To most people, they are expensive plastic horses, ranging from $3 to  thousands depending on the rarity, size, collectibility etc. I am not sure what drew me to Breyer. I was given a Desert Arabian Family from my parents when I was 7 or so as a gift (pictured to the left). My collection has expanded since then; currently I have 220. Oops. Just calculated that number from my spreadsheet that contains every model. Only thing it is missing is pictures, as I haven't gotten around to that yet.

Stablemate Collection

As you can see my collection is quite extensive. The scary thing is I got rid of over 50 models in May when I attended my first model horse show. I had never been to one before and was curious what was involved. It was a cool experience, but I don't think it's for me. I just don't have the time or money to invest in it.

Examples of my props

Breyer hosts an annual event called Breyerfest at the Kentucky Horse Park, and it is on my bucket list to attend. Ever since I found out about it as a child, I have wanted to go. Each year has a different theme, and there are special events, special run models, guest real horses, performances, plus it takes place at the Kentucky Horse park. It sounds like heaven. I guess it is like "nerds" and Comic Cons. Just my nerdy thing is plastic horses!

However, I have gotten into making scale model horse props. Jumps, stable accessories, custom blankets, and whatever else I can come up with. I design for both Breyers and Schleich. It is fun and I have learned a lot of new things, like woodworking. In a perfect world, I would be able to turn it into a little business. As work seems to elude me, and my health has been questionable of late, being able to stay home and do things at my own pace that I enjoy sounds like a dream. If I am having a bad day, I don't have to do anything. If I'm having a good day, let the creative juices flow!

I dunno what it is about these painted plastic ponies, but I just really enjoy them. So what if I'm an adult.

Day in the Life: Idiopathic Hypersomnia and Dizziness

I wanted to share with you what it is like to try and live with Idiopathic Hypersomnia and dizziness during a typical weekday day for me. Right now, I am unemployed and trying to figure out my future. I do have some medical evaluations that I am desperately hoping will help determine why the heck I am so dizzy, and determine exactly how severe my daily life is affected. 

How I describe what it feels like to have IH is to compare it to taking a sleeping pill or drowsy medication or stay up for over 24 hours and try to function. Add in the fact I often feel like the room is tipping to one side or the other, or often when I stand up I get lightheaded, often to the point of "blacking out" and losing my vision for a second, or just to the brink of that point. If I look around too much or at things that are moving, things start tipping. Although my heart has checked out ok so far, I have a rapid resting heart rate, and it skyrockets easily and often feels like it is pounding.  

More days than not I am dizzy. Sometimes lightheaded (like feeling like you are going to pass out), sometimes vertigo. I try to still get things done. Most days I don't want to drive. Unless I have an appointment I have to attend, I get nervous about driving just because I am dizzy or I just can't keep my eyes open anymore, at the same time I have struggled for years, so I know I am not actually a danger, and in my own car I can easily pull over. It's to the point 1/2 hour is intimidating, and an hour is very nerve-wracking. I just don't want to make a bad choice and hurt someone. Even going to the store has become a problem, just looking around shopping will make my dizziness intensify. Looking around makes me feel like the world is spinning very fast. I can easily become unbalanced and feel like I will tip over. I avoid aisles with fragile items, especially in antique shops. Forget about stair cases, especially ones that are open in a tight space. But if I am out and about, I try to get everything done in that one trip so I won't have to go at another time. 

Somedays, like today, I even have trouble focusing, not only my eyes focusing on the page, but my brain focusing on the task at hand. I forget why I went into a room, so I leave, remember,  go back to the room only to forget again!! I'll look up the date, sign a paper, then have to look the date up again for next sheet! From what I have read, it is called "brain fog" and is part of having IH. As I said, you can describe IH as how you feel if you stay up 24-48 hours in a row. I have never been drunk, but the slowed reaction times and forgetfulness and all can probably be compared to that as well. 

MY DAY

Between 7:00AM and 8:00AM- "Wake up" well, that's what is supposed to happen for most people. My eyes will open and I will be in a semi alert state. I sync my Fitbit Charge HR to see how I slept. Sometimes, I end up falling back asleep while it is doing that. Then I check my Timehop, Instagram feed, email, and Facebook, once again, sometimes falling back asleep. It is incredibly hard to keep my eyes open.  I am just as tired, if not moreso in the morning after a decent night's sleep as I am when I go to bed. I have absolutely no idea what it feels like to be refreshed when I wake up. It has never happened in my entire life. Ever. 

I have had two overnight sleep studies, both showing absolutely no reason for me to not be rested. No apnea, no excessive movement. Nothing. Just a basically normal sleep pattern. 

9:00AM- To try and stay in a "healthy" routine, I force myself out of bed. I get up, make my iced coffee and take my medicine, which is a handful of vitamins, one I am deficient in, and several others that are supposed to help with energy and two prescriptions, one to try and make me happy, one to try and keep me awake for the day. Usually I sit down on the computer. Do a little job searching, follow up with any email, things like that while I have my coffee and let the wake-up meds kick in. 

10:00AM- Noon- I try to get on with the day and do something productive.   A couple weeks ago I was full out making model horse props in preparation for my first vendor experience (I will go into more detail in another post about that hobby of mine I'm trying to turn into a successful "business".) Yesterday I worked on a commission T-Shirt design for a friend (which btw came out great!). Somedays it's just chores around the house. I'm very slowly learning how to be a better housemate. Sadly, it took making a chore chart for myself and forcing myself to pay more attention to my surroundings. I have an awful tendency to not notice things until they become glaringly obvious, like chunks of cat fur on the carpet...or the strainer full of clean, dry dishes. 

Noonish: Lunch time. Usually a short text conversation with the boyfriend. The hardest thing is trying to decide what to eat. These days as I don't do a whole lot, I'm usually not hungry, but if I don't eat I will feel even worse. I will either turn into a super mega crazy bitch or become extremely weak and dizzy. 

1:00-4:00PM - I try to continue to do something productive, chores, work on my Etsy shop inventory,  do something, anything. My thought is if I can try to stay busy then maybe my symptoms won't be so noticeable. Nope. No such luck. Sometimes I just can't, especially when the dizziness is bad. I have to give up and sit on the couch and try to watch TV. By 3:00PM I am usually struggling to keep my eyes open. I try not to give in as if I were to take a nap, I just feel worse afterwards. Other times, I just have to close my eyes if I have any hope of continuing the day. I can at least reset the severe desire to close my eyes. 

4:00PM - 6:00PM - By now, the boyfriend is usually home. I am trying to be more open to leaving the house and going for a motorcycle ride (as a passenger!) or doing basically anything besides sitting on the couch and watching mindless TV. He is just not that kind of guy, and I don't blame him. But I have to struggle to do anything. At this point, all I feel like doing is laying down and sleeping. I am trying though, and I notice we are closer and happier. He shouldn't have to suffer from my condition as well and miss out on living. Luckily he does understand I have no control over how I am feeling, and has been really great as the severity has increased in the past year. 

6:00 to 8:00 PM - Usually my best time if I get to have a break from my symptoms. Happens maybe twice a week. The dizziness will subside, and I won't be falling asleep. It doesn't last long or happen too often, so it's a nice break. I guess it is closer to how a "normal" person feels? 

8:00-10:00 PM- Right back to the normal dizzy/sleepy feeling. Watching TV then it's bedtime. I usually have no trouble falling right to sleep. 

Then it's morning and the whole cycle of misery starts over again. 

This Whole NFL Deflategate Debacle

Let me start out by saying I am not a fan of professional sports (unless they are equestrian related). I hate baseball and basketball. I can tolerate football, but only NFL, and only because of the video game Madden 64 for teaching me how the game works. I live in NH, so the "home team" is the New England Patriots. 

As you all know at this point unless you have been living under a rock as it is all over the news, the Patriots were involved in a "scandal" about using deflated footballs in the playoffs. Supposedly, less air makes the ball easier to grip, I'm not sure, I know there were scientific studies done, because there aren;t more important things like cancer research that could be done...</sarcasm>. 

I was hoping it wasn't true, that a team as big and popular as the Patriots would not be cheaters. As it turns out, they were and the quarterback was aware of it. The quarterback that women seem to worship for some reason, I just don't see it, but whatever. To each their own. I know he is a very talented quarterback, and the fact that he cheated is despicable, when he has proven to have the skills to get the job done the right way. 

From my understanding of recent events, he was suspended without pay (boo hoo, not like he doesn't already have millions) for 4 games. Ok. That actually seems like a fitting punishment. He cheated, he was aware of the cheating, he deserves to be punished. I honestly would make him sit out the season, but that's just me. 

There is the graphic I posted to the left that shows other football players and their criminal charges. I realize in the grand scheme of things that cheating compared to physically hurting someone is a lot less severe in the grand scheme of things, but it is still wrong! Cheaters never win, well except in this case when they get some bragging rights, a pretty ring and a trophy...but as far as I know, the actual Super Bowl was played by the rules and was a good game. Had they not cheated in the playoffs, who knows? But they are a very talented team with skilled players, so they likely would have made it there anyways. 

My issue comes with where people are crying about how it's not fair that Brady was punished for cheating. HE CHEATED!

As for these other criminal players who have physically hurt another person or animal, they should not be allowed back into the NFL.

 I was driving the bus one day and the elementary kids were talking about football, there were only a couple left at the end of the route. One boy said that he thought Michael Vick was an awesome player. First, I had to ask if Michael Vick was currently playing, because I couldn't believe he would be allowed back after hurting those poor dogs. Then,  I had to put my two cents in and asked the boy if he knew what Michael Vick had done. I explained in a very simple sense that he had hurt dogs (this is elementary school mind you, so I didn't want to say too much). The boy said that was in the past and he thought that Michael Vick had a lot of skill on the football field, so I agreed to that, he may be a very talented player, but he is not a good person. Anyways, I was completely disgusted that Michael Vick was playing football again, making millions of dollars again after causing so much pain and suffering to those precious dogs. He should be in jail and never allowed in the NFL again. Sorry, that is just how I feel. He hurt helpless animals. 

The NFL needs to get their act together. So many young people look up to these "superhero" sports professionals as role models. They need to make sure that the punishment fits the crime. If a NFL player is convicted of any crime against a human or animal, they should never set foot on the field as a member of a team again. If they cheat, like Tom Brady did, then they should get a significant suspension, one that will hit them where it hurts, in their bank accounts. They should also have to talk to students about why what they did was a mistake. 

Let's hope some good comes from all this. 

Mobile Home Living: One Year Later

A year ago we moved into a delightful little mobile home in a wonderful community (no, seriously, this place is awesome).

Overall, when we moved in the house was in good condition. It didn't need any repairs. Everything we have done has been primarily cosmetic, as the previous owner(s) had "interesting" taste. Pink floral wallpaper is not my idea of good design choices.

Our first major project was simple. Paint the living room. It had already been primed, so it was just a case of taping off the trim and picking a color! We went for a nice light-medium slate blue.

The second project was the bathroom. It started as an awful striped pink floral wallpaper. *shudders at the memory* We found a lovely medium green color (and one shade lighter for the bedroom when we get around to it). As I am a hater of faux gold, the knobs on the cabinets were quickly replaced.

In between project, we were able to replace the old, inefficient washer and dryer with a brand new washer and dryer (yay early Black Friday deal), as well as a new refrigerator we got a huge deal on as it was a floor model ($400 instead of $750!)

Our third project was to replace ALL the gold cabinet hardware throughout the house (see my post about 99centknobs.com and my post about how we got rid of the gold.). I told you, I really really really hate that fake gold! The new hardware made a huge difference in the kitchen.

Right now we are working on the spare bedroom, which is our hobby room (and the room the tree came through on Thanksgiving). It was painted a bright paleish yellow color, with a yellow and light blue wallpaper border. I found the exact grey color I was wanting on the mismatch shelf at Home Depot for $10! It was better than the paint chip sample I had selected. What I am looking forward to most is finally being able to bring home my 200+ Breyer model horses that I have collected since childhood. After the walls are painted, I'm going to get shelving put up around the perimeter of the room, about a foot from the ceiling to display my collection.

I'm looking forward to the warmer weather and seeing what grows in the garden. I planted some bulbs in the fall and it seems some are starting to grow. It'll be nice to see what comes up as I can't remember what I planted! We spent an entire day raking the storm debris and years of built up pine needles from the previous owner. Forty five bags later, we were almost done!

After a year, I am thrilled to be living here. I love our little mobile home!

Missing in Action

Sorry I have been a bit scarce around these parts lately. As I am between jobs at the moment, I thought I would take the opportunity to take a free 3 week class at my local community college to better my skills as an employee. The course is called WorkReady NH and it focuses on developing soft skills such as communication. It also gives you the opportunity to receive a National Career Readiness Certificate that shows your skills in Reading, Mathematics, and Locating Information. Both of these programs are designed to boost your resume.

The class takes up much of my day between the actual classroom hours and the minimum 5 hours I have to spend online a week preparing for the Certificate test at the end of the course.

In my now-limited spare time I am trying to restart my Hobo Cat Creations Etsy Store. I will be branching out from the cat toys I started with and including polymer clay figurines and hopefully Breyer and Schleich model horse tack and accessories. There is a good chance I may get to participate in my first craft show in June, so I definitely need to build up an inventory.

I have a couple blog entries in the works about getting "stuff" for free, and about life in the mobile home after a year and the improvements that we have made.

Stay tuned....class ends on the 27th so hopefully things will be back to normal and I will be back to having too much free time!

Review: 99centknobs.com

I LOVE Pinterest. Whoever came up with that site is an absolute genius! I have spent countless hours dreaming and planning. Being able to save all those ideas in one easy, organized area is perfect.

A couple weeks ago, a pin came across my board for 99centknobs.com. It was like Pinterest was reading my mind!. I have been trying to get rid of the fake gold that was all over the house for the past year. The cabinets were a large source of it. Between the old, discolored, broken hinges and those hideous gold and white cabinet pulls, it was time to update.  I had no idea how I was going to afford the replacements though. Then 99centknobs.com came into my life. Now, my kitchen, and all the other cabinets in the house are beautiful!

I was skeptical at first. What is the catch? How can they sell knobs for $0.99 when they are usually $2 to $5 a piece at the hardware stores? Are the knobs super cheaply made? Are the hinges going to fall apart in the first use? I tried to research reviews of 99centknobs.com with minimal success. Their BBB rating was good. There were no product reviews on their site, so it was a gamble. The only "expensive" part of my order was the shipping. They have flat rate shipping of $13.95, so if you only need a couple items, it's not really worth it, however if you need to order 27 pairs of hinges, 9 pulls, and 1 knob, then it is completely worth it. Those items are heavy!! (On a side note, I did order 20 pulls from Lowe's for the main part of the kitchen because I completely fell in love with the design, more about that in a future post.)

As I received some birthday money from my Grandma, I decided to use some of it to make this purchase. I was defiantly nervous as there was no information about this company. However, I was pleasantly surprised when 2 days later, my shipment arrived on my doorstep!

The pulls were very nice. They are slightly more grey in real life, but they are nice, solid and sturdy. I understand that computer monitors are not accurate in displaying colors. They did not include the screws, but I just reused the existing ones, so no big deal. Online, the hinges were listed as being manufactured by Liberty, and I found the identical product at Home Depot for three times the price (literally, listed for $2.98 per pair). I was very pleased to see that was the same product that I received. Everything was new in package.

I am thrilled with my purchase and would definitely recommend 99centknobs.com for large quantity knob, pull, and hinge purchases.

Sorry for the bad pic, but you get the idea!

(For the record, I did not receive anything in exchange for my review. I simply want to share this great company with you!
)

Tutorial: Scarf/Belt hanger

As I have been going through the entire house eliminating clutter and unnecessary items, I decided I wanted to make my closet just a little bit neater with a scarf/belt hanger. Money is tight, and while there are some very nice store bought options, I thought I would use some items I already had laying around the house.

SUPPLIES:
Hangers
Shower Curtain  Rings (cheap plastic ones are perfect)
Electrical Tape

Optional:
Yarn
Crochet Hook recommended on yarn
Yarn Needle


INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1: Lay out the shower curtain hooks inside the hanger.


Step 2: Tape the Rings to the hanger and to each other. I found bring the tape up from underneath worked the best.

Optional:

Step 3: Single crochet around the outside perimeter of the hanger, going inside the rings when you get to them.  Don't crochet around all the rings in the center.

Step 4: Wrap yarn around the center rings. When you reach a section you have already wrapped, use your yarn needle to "tunnel" through it to the other side, then continue wrapping.

I made the crochet one for my belts. I felt that the yarn would help keep them from slipping.

For my scarves and pantyhose, I just used tape as I needed the items to slide and I did not want fibers from the yarn getting on my scarves.

On a side note, I used a belt hanger I had but didn't care for as a belt hanger to organize my tank tops. I am not much of a tank top person, but I have a few for layering. By using the belt hanger, I was able to free up precious space in my drawers.

I'll cry if I want to...

Some say turning 30 is a big deal. It's the start of a new decade of your life. You have officially been an adult for 10 years. I fail to see the significance. Age is just a number to me. It means nothing. Supposedly these are the best years of my life.

Part of my life is going great. I have an amazing boyfriend who always makes me laugh even when I don't want to and has been extremely supportive throughout this awful time in my life. We have a beautiful little mobile home that we are slowly making our own. I wouldn't trade him or our life together for anything.

The rest of my life is not, and runs the risk of jeopardizing the only thing going well. He deserves so much better, someone who can keep up.

Ninety nine point nine percent of mornings when I wake up, I feel like crap. The Idiopathic Hypersomnia causes me to never feel rested, no matter how I much or how long I sleep. I get dizzy randomly for no apparent reason. Don't even get me started with my digestive system. If I don't eat regularly, I get either crazy angry or weak and shaky. Everyone else I know has no problem if they skip a meal once in a while. Of course, when I go to the doctor, all my test results are normal. I even made a real effort to start exercising. No improvement. On paper I am technically healthy, so why the *explicative* don't I feel it?

I am terrified as I feel so awful all the time that I will never be able to enjoy life; that feeling so awful day in and day out will never improve. I was hoping finally getting a diagnosis would help get me back on track, but the medication causes just as many problems as it solves. Is it better to be tired and sleepy all the time or dizzy and anxious?  I can't live with either of those. I want to function.

I'm trying to find a job. I want to be able to pay off my debt, contribute my share to the household, and be a productive member of society. I don't want to be a leech. The job search is going awful. There are plenty of local jobs I've applied to, but they always want someone with experience. Who's going to hire someone who used to drive a school bus and had to stop because they have a medical condition?

I just want to have more days where I feel good than days I feel bad. Is that really too much to ask? I can't keep going on like this. I don't know what to do anymore. Lately all I feel like doing is crying, but that won't solve anything either.

:'(