What Did You Do Today?

[gja1000]

I haven't had the heart to hook it up yet!!! I found out what SHOULD work, but you know how that goes. I'm just trying to update it and for some reason the apps that I have purchased may not transfer in the update. They told me what to do in case that happens, so we shall see. Maybe I'll take the plunge here in a bit.

[gja1000]

GUYS! I just found the most delicious flavoring for water. It's called a water enhancer - maybe you know about it, I sure didn't. Since I've given up sodas and I really don't care for plain water, I've been searching for flavored water.

This is called Mio Liquid and it is found in the area where they have the powdered drinks, e.g., koolaid, and Crystal Lite. I got the sweet tea and also the berry pomegranate. You just put a squirt of the liquid into plain water and the flavor is so intense. I can see where you could get too much!!!

My daughter says Walmart has it and our regular grocery store (HEB) has it too.

It's really GOOD! I'm going to take some to school to squirt into the bottled water I keep in my fridge. YUM!

[Janet]

Oh Gayle....I would have been so frustrated. That seems to be the kind of luck I have. I still haven't got my IPad2 updated, but I think I know what's wrong so I'll check it out tomorrow. If not...I'll take it to the store one day this week.

Sandy I hope everything works out the way you want in the divorce. I know it has to be hard...that's why I'm still here. My husband would make it extremely hard for me. We've separated before so I know how awful it will be for me.

Today I really didn't do a whole lot. No ambition. This afternoon I did run to town to make a deposit and then to Wal Mart to pick up just a few items.

About 4:30 my brother Brad came over....grrrrrrr!!!! He had texted and said that when he wanted to see Mom it would be to take her somewhere else to visit...not at my house. Well...he came and brought his B_____ wife with him. I didn't say a thing...just walked on down the hall to my room. I didn't want to cause a scene so I stayed there till they left about 50 minutes later.

I don't want him here....so...I'm going to send an email to let him know I expect him to follow through on his promise. I truly don't want any more to do with him. Also...when/if he comes to pick Mom up and take her someplace....I will no longer tolerate him just dropping by unannounced. This is MY home and he can not come and go like we have no say so or plans.

Tomorrow I'm planning on starting in on the closets and get them totally cleaned out and done. I've got one done, but I'll probably check it out again just to be sure. I want stuff out of here...I feel cluttered...lol.

[Tiramisu]

Gayle, I had seen the commercials and almost bought some at cvs, but I'll def take your opinion and try it now. I'm tired of the crystal lights.

Janet, I'm lonely, but actually enjoy only having my own closets to clean.

[Janet]

We're always here for you Sandy. That's another reason I'm still here....afraid of being lonely....wondering if it could be worse than where I'm at. You're in my prayers Sandy.

[gja1000]

Well I FINALLY got everything up and running on my phone - WHEW! It took hours, I tell ya!

I got some work done today in between trying to get the phone right. I feel better. My class starts July 11th and I think we are going out of town the week before the 11th, so I needed to get things finished up with the course.

When I got home, Gary wanted Chinese food, not so good with my diet, but I ate chicken chow mein without the noodles, so it was OK.

Now I'm home, chillin' - well as much as you can when it is 98 outside. We "may" get some rain tonight or tomorrow. I surely hope so! I think Sandy got some this morning!

[Tiramisu]

My apt got some rain. I spotted and got me some Mio and a small watermelon. Good evening.

[judy]

I don't see anywhere that I have to update my ipad. How do you know when to update, and why do you need to update it? I don't have any pictures or music on it. I never transferred things from my pc.

I want to take these things off of my computers. I walked into a new computer store in my daughter's town, and spoke to the owner. He was great! He told me to just use my 8 g flash drive. He said that will hold all of my pix, music and documents that I really want to save! I have had too many computer crashes, and don't want that feeling of panic whenever the
computer acts up!

Kassidy was playing a game on my ipad on Tuesday. She told me she had to tell me a secret, so we went and sat on the steps. She said she thought she had bought 100 brains on a zombie games, and that they were very expensive. She was going very fast when she got onto the game, and then found out how much they cost, and got scared! She was so cute! She is honest, and very bright, so I was pretty sure she did see how much they cost after she clicked on to buy them. I checked my credit card, and there it was. $89.23 for 100 brains!!!@

I got on the phone, with Brandon whining in the background "when are we going to the pool?" I was ready to really let him have it, but he is only 10, so I just yelled for a second. They shut up real fast, because Grandma never yells at them.

The most annoying part of this whole thing is calling Apple!!! You have to respond verbally and if he said one more time "I'm not sure if you said yes or no. Please repeat the answer," I was going to jump in the car and go to Apple headquarters yelling my head off! It turned out that iTunes doesn't have a customer service phone number, and that I have to email my issue to them on a form. Okay, I filled out the form, and got a nice response yesterday that my money will be refunded, a once in a lifetime event! OMG! The letter also explained that there is a problem with some iTunes apps, and how to prevent this from happening again. Very nice, actually.

So....we went to the pool and had fun.

[gja1000]

WHEW! What an experience Judy and yes, it is a very good day when you get a nice refund without causing a scene! Apple is usually a great company to deal with.

You only update your iPad when a new operating system comes out. Yours is new so no need to worry. I need to put the new operating system on my iPad - well it's been out a few months and I just haven't done it. Some of my apps are not running well and I got a new app (free) last week that won't run at all and I'm sure it is because the app was written for the new operating system.

To update you hook your iPad up to a computer that has iTunes on it - not sure if PC's have iTunes??? When you connect the iPad to the computer (with the cord that plugs into the wall - the cord comes out of the big block and hooks into a USB port on the computer. When iTunes detects the iPad, and there is a new operating system available, it will ask you if you want to upgrade. You can call Apple and they will help you with this the first time, if you want.

[judy]

Easy peesy!!!

I'm going to get dressed to go to Mackenzie's Middle School graduation! She starts high school next year. OMG!!!

I am very excited for her. I can't wait to see my grandkids! I just sent them home yesterday, but I am still excited!

[DianaB]

Gayle....I'm glad that you got everything going again!!!

Judy.....I know that you're going to be the proudest grandparent at graduation!!!!

Today I have Kera, Daya, and Dae Lynn and the kids over. We're cleaning out our two guest rooms for them to come and stay with us. I had the closets just FULL of stuff so this is a big job!!!! They'll be coming back tomorrow to hopefully get it all finished and put away!!!

I also bought a used camera off of Craigslist. I've always wanted a nice camera to take professional-like pictures of the family. I've been looking for awhile and ended up going over what I told Glen that I would spend but I really think that this will be a great camera. I would have liked to have a step up from this one but it just really was too expensive. I'm so excited for it to come!!!!

[Janet]

Glad you have everything working right again Gayle. Sometimes these things can be such a hassle. I did go to Best Buy (to the Apple section) and spoke with a rep concerning updating my IPad2. I told him that when it's done it says that the server timed out. He said that had to do with my Internet provider. That it probably just wasn't fast enough and to try updating between midnight and 5 am when it's not as busy. I have DSL but he said I needed faster. I'll try tonight and if it still doesn't update then I'll speak with my provider.

Be careful buying nice things off of Craigslist Diana. I know that here in Indiana...most things are not what they seem. I hope yours is exactly what you expect. It's so funny that you've mentioned a new camera. I also was interested in a new one with all the bells and whistles, but there is just no way I would understand how to use all the features. I haven't used all the features on the camera I have now or my IPad. I'm really not the brightest when it comes to some of this tech stuff.

Today was a wonderful day. Ricky and I took Mom to her house. Then we donated 2 large plastic tubs of clothing, what a great feeling. They were my mother-in-law's clothing and were very nice. Then we went to Lafayette to the Best Buy store.

While Ricky waited in the car, I went in to a Merle Norman store to check out Vera Bradley purses. Didn't buy one, just looking this trip, then we went to K-Mart. Then we went to a drive-up
restaurant called Dog N Suds. They bring the food to the car. We both had a footlong coney, onion rings and a big frosted mug of root beer. It was sooooooo good!!

After we arrived home, Jerry and Betty brought Mom home and she fell coming in the door. She has two big spots on her shin where the skin is tore off. Yes...we are home and back to reality. :)

[gja1000]

Easy peesy!!!

I'm going to get dressed to go to Mackenzie's Middle School graduation! She starts high school next year. OMG!!!

I am very excited for her. I can't wait to see my grandkids! I just sent them home yesterday, but I am still excited!

JUDY! I know exactly how you feel. Abigail will be in high school next year too. It's so hard to believe!

Diana, I know what you are going through. When my mom came to live with me I had to clean out two closets also. I never thought I could do it, but I did! Then this year when Brooke, Abi, and Emma stayed with us - again I had to clean out space for them. It was much easier since we had just moved and purged before moving, yet, it is still always a chore I think.

I hope things go well with them staying with you. Do you know how long they will be there?

[Tiramisu]

Looks we all had fairly good days. I watched rain falling to replenish the earth, thanks God. I got a call from my lawyer that I should come in tomorrow to look at papers and that we might get this over with in a few days. I might my little house after all.

Gayle, I'm so itchy. Is it because I don't drink enough water?

[Tiramisu]

I think my Chrissy moved to high school too, but she's in a small private school and I'm not sure they separate and I think she is on schedule to graduate in two more years.

[gja1000]

Sandy, you may be itchy because of drinking too little water. But a very likely contributor is stress. Yes, stress can cause all sorts of skin problems. When I am stressed out, the palms of my hands itch.

[gja1000]

Janet, does your mom use a walker? Probably not, but she certainly needs to be using one. Being a nurse, I'd just have to lay down the law, "you want to live with me, you use a walker, you drink yogurt, etc etc." It simply isn't fair to you to have to take care of her when she does things that make it harder for you.

[judy]

Gayle is right, Janet! You really do have to override her objections. Put a little chocolate syrup into the yogurt and tell her it's ice cream.

I do not know how you can convince her to use a walker unless you do like Gayle says. Lay down the law!

I didn't say the word "no" to my mother until I was 13, and I stood in the doorway to her bedroom and shook! I understand how your Mom can intimidate you!!!

Mackenzie's graduation was wonderful! It is a K to 12 school, with only one 8th grade class. She will be with the same kids in high school too. She got a lot of awards, mostly for drama and singing, and one for art.

I'll post pictures when I get them from Jessie.

[DianaB]

GUYS! I just found the most delicious flavoring for water. It's called a water enhancer - maybe you know about it, I sure didn't. Since I've given up sodas and I really don't care for plain water, I've been searching for flavored water.

This is called Mio Liquid and it is found in the area where they have the powdered drinks, e.g., koolaid, and Crystal Lite. I got the sweet tea and also the berry pomegranate. You just put a squirt of the liquid into plain water and the flavor is so intense. I can see where you could get too much!!!

My daughter says Walmart has it and our regular grocery store (HEB) has it too.

It's really GOOD! I'm going to take some to school to squirt into the bottled water I keep in my fridge. YUM!

I have some of that......I just tried it the other day. I have the sweetened tea too and it is really good!!! I haven't tried any of the other flavors yet.

[DianaB]

Sandy, I hope that you're able to get things over and done with in the next few days. I'm sure that you're tired and ready to move on to new things.......I also hope that the little house works out for you.


Gayle, it looks like Dae Lynn and the kids will be living with us for about 15 months. Damon has decided that he wants help for his problem so he's going to Teen Challenge. It's a very difficult Christian based program but it has an 86% positive outcome. Damon really does want to change and he is a good man. I really think that this will help him and help him to overcome his problems.

We think that his jail sentence will be 6 to 9 months but we're not sure until he goes to court next month but he's willing to accept going to Teen Challenge instead of jail. He's been accepted so it just needs to be approved by the judge and then we'll have to get the stuff ready for him to take. He'll be about 3 to 3 1/2 hours from here at first then he'll be in western Kansas which will be a lot further. Dae Lynn and the kids can go and visit twice a month and talk to him twice a week after the first month.

This is a program started by David Wilkerson who wrote "The Cross and the Switchblade" which is about him becoming involved and changing the lives of drug abusers. It is a huge nationwide program that is sponsored by our church so I am very comfortable with him going.

This decision has been very hard on Dae Lynn. She keeps thinking about all that Damon is going to miss.....Christmas, Thanksgiving, Karlie going to kindergarden, most of Dean's first year and into his second, and a lot of other things. Plus it's hard to give up her independence by moving back in with Mom and Dad. We are going to set up some private areas......we're going to put her tv and living room furniture in the basement for her to use and I'm going to make a sitting area in my bedroom with a tv as well. I think that for $10 we can get a couple of satelite boxes set up. I think that we'll do alright......but it will sure be a change!!!!

[judy]

It sounds very promising Diana! Congratulations to Damon for choosing this road!

I will be sending prayers for the judge to allow this option.

Dae Lynn will have you and Glen to share the kids milestones with, so it won't be as hard as she is thinking.

You are such good parents!!!

[Janet]

Gayle.......Mom does use a walker, she has to. Her balance is not good at all. The stroke affected the right side if her body, so when she went to step up into the house (small step) she didn't get her right leg lifted high enough and she went down, scraping her shin. Looks nasty.

Judy, you have got to be so proud of MacKenzie. I wish her the best of everything high school has to offer. I also hope she gets involved in activities that she enjoys plus others that will make a difference. One more thing....I pray she enjoys her high school years because once they're gone..they're gone.

Diana...sounds like your life is going to change a bit. I also pray for you and Glenn, because as much as you love them....it's going to be different for quite some time. I'm glad Damon is getting the help he needs, I liked him in the short time that I met him and I wish him the very best.

[gja1000]

Diana, it sounds like Damon is going to get the help he needs and I am so glad to hear that. It sounds like a really good program. My cousin's son went to some sort of program like that (not the same though) in CA after conviction for selling drugs. He was also a drug addict. He got his life back together and now he is married with a little boy and he just got his associates degree and will finish a degree in Social Work in a year and a half. He is the best young man you can imagine now.

Your life is going to change drastically though, but you can do it. I remember hearing that my grandparents kept my cousins (2) during WWII while my aunt (their mom) followed her husband when he was stationed in CA and then she stayed with my grandparents too while he was overseas. Several years later my mom divorced my dad when I was 2 and we lived with my grandparents for FOUR YEARS!!!

You are so right to set up everyone's private areas, because you will all need to get away from each other, I can promise you that. My mom lived with me for 6 years, and she had her own TV room, Gary had the den, and I had my TV in my office way in the back of the house away from everyone. We also had a TV in the living room (yep, we had FOUR TV's) where we could watch TV together if we wanted.

Things works so much better when everyone has their own space. When the kids lived with us for a couple of months this spring, we did not have our own spaces and it was OK for the short while they were here, but if they had stayed much longer, I would have had to set up my space out in Gary's shop! LOL!

[Tiramisu]

Diana, it will be fun. My daughter and four kiddie stayed with us for 22 months while sil was working in Iraq.

My sil volunteers computer repairs for the teen challenge chapters in this area.

[DianaB]

Thank you so much everyone for your support and your prayers!!!

Sandy, that's so cool that your sil does work at Teen Challenge.....then you're some what familiar with the program and what it's about!!!

[gja1000]

WHEW! Gary and I left the house at 8:30 this morning to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel. YUM! I was good, one scrambled egg, one piece of toast, one slice of bacon and decaf coffee.

Next we stopped at Ross (discount clothing store) and I shopped a little bit. I bought a picture of the guest bathroom, a flexible insulated bag to take my lunch to work, and a spoon holder for the stove.

Then, we started collecting buckets from Firehouse Subs (sandwich place). You might ask, "Why are you collecting buckets from Firehouse Subs" and I would say, "To give to the guy that makes the best catfish stink bait in Texas"! LOL!

Gary has a friend who makes this GREAT stink bait for catfish. Every so often Gary goes around to Firehouse Subs to buy their 5 gallon pickle buckets ($3 each). It's a neat deal though, because Firehouse Subs donates all the proceeds from the sale of their pickle buckets to charity. The catfish bait that his friend makes is pretty pricey, but Gary gets his for free because he supplies the buckets. We went to 6 different stores in Austin and got 18 five-gallon buckets.

One time Gary made the mistake of taking his FJ Cruiser to gather up the buckets. Remember I said they were PICKLE BUCKETS. LOL! His Cruiser smelled like pickles for a couple of months. Ewwwww, not good on a warm day! Since then, he takes the pickup and you can still smell the pickles when you walk up to the pickup. I wonder what people think in the parking lot when they walk by our pickup! LOL!

Last, we had to pick up some medicine from the pharmacy and now at 3:00PM we are home at last. Time to put up my feet.

[Lindsey]

I'm just catching up and everyone has been so busy!! Diana, I am so glad to hear Damon is getting help. I hope things go well with Dae Lynn moving inn with you. Janet, I just want to give you hugs and I think you're doing great with your mom. Gayle.... mmmmm pickles!

Last night Scott's friend had a barbeque. I really like this friend, mostly because he talks to me and is very open and easy to talk to. He is the only friend Scott told about the proposal before it happened, and he seemed very happy for us! I think Scott is considering asking him to be his best man and I am 100% behind that! Anyways, we went shopping for some pork chops and vegetables and the three of us were preparing the meal in the kitchen and it was a lot of fun. When we started barbequeing, more people showed up, and after we were done eating, people kept showing up!

I had assumed it was just a barbeque... eat, visit a little, and come home. At 8:30 I asked Scott if we'd be home in time that I could call my mom. He said probably. Then he was offered beer and I said I would drive if he wanted to have one drink with his friends. Then it was two drinks. Then it was 10:00 at night and there was no way we'd get home before my mom was in bed. We were sitting in his friend's living room and there must have been 15 people there and they were all in their groups talking, and then Scott got up to talk to other people, and I sat there on a chair for half an hour staring at the floor! I'm not super outgoing so it's tough for me to jump into someone else's conversation and it was so awkward. I felt like crying! I asked Scott for his cell (I forgot mine at home) so I could check facebook and whatever, and I sat there for another half hour. We didn't leave until 11:30 and I was not happy! I drove home in the dark, and had to slam on the brakes when two deer jumped out on the road. I HATE driving at night. Oh yeah, and none of his other friends said a thing about our engagement, except one called him over and said "So how'd you propose?" to let him know he knew about it... but no congratulations, nothing.

Today we got up early and went into town to the farmers market. I needed flowers and tomato plants. We walked past a few vendors and when we got to the far end of the market, one vendor was selling ALL little sets of flowers and tomato plants for $1 EACH! Wow! I am waiting this long next year lol! We spent $14 and got two tomato plants, and enough flowers to fill 8 planters.

When we got home, I started pulling weeds and Scott started cutting the lawn. Oh my gosh were there a lot of weeds after a month!!! :eek: Then I pulled out some boxes of our summer yard stuff and put it around, and put our little patio lights up on the deck and in the tree by the deck, and we cut a huge branch off the tree. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we just came inside at 4:00 and it started to pour, and now there's lots of thunder and lightning. I love thunderstorms!

[Janet]

You had a busy day huh Gayle....all day. Hope you got all rested up.

Lindsey....I hope you didn't stay angry too long. Also...when you're in a situation like that again...look around. There is probably someone there feeling just as you were feeling....go talk with them...they may be shy too and who knows....you may find another really good friend.

This morning I washed 3 of the 4 bed sheets. I'll probably do the last one on Monday. I drove to town and picked up a prescription, bought a bottle of the Glucosomine, bought some healthy breakfast cereal and a couple of other items. Mom wasn't dressed so I left her here. I've been making her get dressed everyday and when she doesn't do it on her own...I find someplace I need to go because she always wants to go with me. I get tired of seeing her in a nightgown and house dress...lol.

Didn't really do much else...just picked up a bit around the house.

My neck is still (after a week) giving me pain. It's now in my neck, shoulder and upper arm. Monday I am calling the Dr. to see if I can get in. The pain is so horrible it makes me sick to my stomach. This can't be from a stiff neck...I've had them before and they've been nothing like this.
I'm just worried I did something when I lifted Mom up off the floor when she fell in the kitchen.

Did get word that a friend's mother is in the hospital. They think she had a stroke, because she is slurring her words and confused. She is also in kidney failure. The Drs. told her that her mother will not be able to go home, that she will need a nursing home. My advice to her was to let her go to the nursing home. As much as I love my Mom....I wish that's what I would have done and stuck to it. I pray my friend doesn't have to go through the same thing.

[Lindsey]

I wish someone else were feeling the same! They are all really good friends and see each other very often. I thought the two other girls might include me since they were sitting right next to me, but they literally turned their backs to me and talked to each other. I didn't stay mad long... I went to sleep as soon as we got home and I didn't hear Scott even come to bed, but we both apologized when we got home... me for being upset about driving, and he for not including me in his conversation when he knew I was feeling uncomfortable.

[gja1000]

Janet, yes you need to see someone about your neck - that is classic pain from a neck injury, going to the shoulder and down the arm. It is usually helped by physical therapy, but goodness knows, you don't have time to go to physical therapy. There is a medication for nerve pain called Lyrica. They gave Gary some for his neck pain, but he didn't take any of it. I've heard others say it works good for pain caused by a nerve.

Lindsay, I am the same way. I am very uncomfortable at a gathering where I don't know the people very well, and if I don't know anyone, I am just miserable. Sometimes I feel left out when Gary is with his sisters and their families, so I just take my phone or iPad and read or surf. It still feels funny and uncomfortable.

[gja1000]

Funny story :D I was sitting in the kitchen at the computer and Gary was in the living room. He was unloading a box of his "junk" that he still hadn't unpacked from the move. :rolleyes: All of a sudden I heard him yell, "OH SHIT FIRE, OH SHIT FIRE" I jumped up and ran in there and he was holding his stun gun. He THOUGHT the batteries were dead and so he was fiddling with it and shocked himself. Now, in reality that is not funny because it could cause his pacemaker to malfunction but thankfully, it did not. The funny thing is that just a while back someone sent him a very funny story about a guy who thought he would "test out" his taser and so he did it to himself deliberately. His description of what it felt like was hilarious. So, now Gary tases himself. After I was sure he was OK, I laughed so hard I was crying. When I told my daughter what he did, we laughed so hard we were both crying. THEN, not 15 minutes later, her husband leaned back in their lazy boy rocker and tipped over backward. It was not a good afternoon for our husbands. :eek:

[Tiramisu]

I drove up last evening and got a good night sleep. Abby and her dad were up at five to get her goats validated for FFA showing. They unloaded goats and Sarah and I went to the feed store with them.

I took the girls to a movie and out to eat, while their parents went out to eat for their 10th anniversary. Yes, Ma's tired.

[gja1000]

Oh, that sounds like a FUN time!!! I love doing things outdoors and farm related. Doing them with grandkids would triple the fun! Have a great week!

[judy]

Gayle, that is too funny about Gary, but not funny after your SIL fell with his chair! I bet you are glad that day is over!

Janet, are you putting heat on your neck and shoulder? It helps me a lot. I hope it checks out to be minor!

Linds, what is up with Scott's friends? They do not sound like such nice people, or maybe you two have outgrown that type of crowd. You will want to be with young marrieds soon enough!

Sandy, being with the family sounds so nice!

I went to the pool. My friends are up this weekend, so it was nice. I think they went out last night for Debby's birthday. I am always invited, but was not asked this time. They may have gone somewhere expensive, and the husbands would have felt obligated to pay for me. I did feel left out though. It is sometimes hard to be the only single person with friends who are couples. I remember hating to go to things like weddings as a single woman.

Yet, I am not actively looking for a man!!! :confused::confused::confused:

[gja1000]

Judy, your life is so calm and peaceful right now, at least it sounds like it. I would not be actively looking for a man either - then again, I don't think I would be actively looking for a man ANYTIME (if Gary were gone of course). I like to be alone, I like to be with friends too, but I like to be alone, so I would love your life!!!

Gary doesn't feel good today, he can't wake up!! He said he didn't sleep well last night, but he just can't wake up this morning. He got up and got dressed, then sat down in the chair and went right to sleep. Then he woke up and I fixed breakfast and I found him sitting asleep with a half eaten pancake!!! Now, he's back asleep in the chair.

I think everything is OK, his blood pressure and blood sugar are both just fine. His blood oxygen level is normal for him. He acts like he took a sleeping pill late in the night and just can't wake up, but he swears he didn't. Oh well, I'll just let him sleep till he wakes up. Hope he is OK.

[Lindsey]

Linds, what is up with Scott's friends? They do not sound like such nice people, or maybe you two have outgrown that type of crowd. You will want to be with young marrieds soon enough!


I have definitely outgrown that type of crowd, but Scott is still hanging on. Even though most of them are around 30 years old, they are still college students and living the college student lifestyle. They party and drink all the time. I have friends like that too, but I don't really see them anymore. And you know what? They are still happy for me!!! Anyways, a few of Scott's friends sort of invited themselves over today too so Scott and I went out and bought steaks for them to eat, and it's a Sunday so I'm hoping they don't stay very late :( I try to go to bed by 9 or 9:30 because I get up at 5:45 for work in the morning.

I wish I had a pool to hang out by!

Gayle, I hope Gary is doing well and he just didn't sleep well last night.

[gja1000]

Girls grow up faster than boys. And I think some of the guys are secretly jealous of what you two have together. They would never admit it and maybe they don't even know it consciously, but your life is the life they really want deep down inside. So, they are ignoring it, consciously or unconsciously.

I remember my nephew, he is about 40 - he never settled down - was out partying and drinking all the time, running around living the "good life". Well a couple of years ago, some of his married friends confronted him about his wild life - part of it was on facebook, that's how I knew the confrontation happened - and he denied tooth and nail that he wanted to settle down. He said he loved his freedom to do what he wanted, etc etc.

Well you know what - I think the confrontation did him good. About 6 months later, he started dating the sweetest girl, they got married a few month later. She already had a little boy and they are expecting another baby. He did a 180 turnaround about 6 months after that confrontation by his friends - even after living the playboy life for some 20 years. That tells me deep down inside he wanted a wife and family - but for some reason, he held on to his old partying ways far longer than most people do.

So, I bet Scott's friends start to come around in the not too distant future. I wouldn't worry too much about it, and I know you are not, but it has hurt your feelings and I think you just need to let is slide off your back. They are being juvenile and you know how sometimes guys can just be so inconsiderate. You'll see them in the future with wives and families and you and they will wonder how they ever thought "party time" was better than "family time"

[Janet]

Just loved your story Gayle and so glad it has a happy ending. Men....why do they do these things?? ...LOL. Then to top it off with your SIL's chair flipping back. :D

Sounds like you had a great time Sandy, especially getting a good nights sleep.

Judy, I haven't tried heat yet, been popping pain pills till I can get into the Dr...hopefully Monday. I'm with Gayle....I like being alone too and your life sounds so peaceful. If I ever get rid of this man....I'll never go looking for another.

I hope the stun gun isn't what is causing Gary not to feel his best. Has he gone through this sleep thing before?

[gja1000]

I hope the stun gun isn't what is causing Gary not to feel his best. Has he gone through this sleep thing before?

LOL! I did think about the stun gun thing - thinking maybe it messed up his pacemaker in some way. But his blood pressure and pulse are normal for him, so I think it is just a sleep thing. He has had insomnia all his life, and with heart failure it is even worse. But since he's been wearing his c-pap, it is much better. I should check his machine to see if any water is gone from his c-pap humidifier - if not, that means he didn't wear it much last night. If he didn't use it much, then that may be why he didn't sleep very well. He's a stubborn as a mule about some things and he hates the c-pap - even though he has objective evidence that is helps him a lot. GRRR.

Yes, he has gone through this before, but not in a while now. People with heart failure have good days and bad days and sometimes you can pinpoint what causes the bad days, e.g., too much salt in the diet, dehydration, or over exertion. Other times, it is a mystery as to why they feel badly, they just do.

Usually a day or two of being in the rocker recliner all day, will do the trick. So, we shall see. He has an appt with his heart failure doctor the middle of July - so if he doesn't get to feeling better, he can get checked out. We are leaving for Oklahoma June 30 for 10 days, so hopefully, this will pass quickly and he'll feel better soon.

[judy]

You are right! My life is so peaceful and I am so content. I am like you, Gayle. I like to be alone. Why mess up a good thing? On the other hand, I want to fall in love. It really has been years since I have been in love. :confused::confused::confused:

I hope Gary just needs a couple of recliner days, Gayle, and that you can go on with your plans to go away!

[Janet]

Today has been the longest day! Rick was at some gun shooting thing and Ricky was at work. So it was just Mom and I.....boring boring boring. I did clean up the kitchen a bit and watched a movie. Mom didn't even bother to get dressed. If I don't make her get dressed, she doesn't. She doesn't wash her face or anything, not even her teeth. She only gets a bath on Fridays...she won't do it any other time. I didn't mean for this to turn into a gripe post, but like I said...it's been a long day. Tomorrow I have to make a deposit and hopefully get to see my Dr. Oh...I'm going alone.

[gja1000]

That is so typical of a caregiver, "Yay, I get to go to the doctor -ALONE! I'm sorry iyts been a long day.

I got my mom today and brought her over for dinner. Gary fixed a pork roast (yes, he's feeling better) and I made new potatoes and grilled okra. Oh and dinner rolls (frozen). We also had fresh tomatoes and no I didn't eat any - didn't eat a roll either. It was a really good dinner. Then I took mom to pick up a few groceries and back to her place. Now I'm just chillin' till it cools off enough to go outside and check the garden and listen to the birds.

Oh I did work on putting some things away in the garage this morning before it got too hot. We need to get out the John Deere and trailer and haul some camping things back to the storage shed. That may have to wait till we get back from OK.

[Tiramisu]

Looks look most of us chilled today. I rode with Jeff and Abby to buy two mini Rex rabbits for Abby to show. They're cuties. I don't get to spend much alone time with my son, so I'm enjoying this.

[gja1000]

Looks look most of us chilled today. I rode with Jeff and Abby to buy two mini Rex rabbits for Abby to show. They're cuties. I don't get to spend much alone time with my son, so I'm enjoying this.

I'm so glad that you are having a good visit before Katy Sue arrives! It will be BUSY after she does.

[gja1000]

I walked out to check the garden this morning and a possum walked right by me, about 5 feet away. Scared the living daylights out of me. I heard the bushes rustling and then the possum popped out. It was a juvenile, so I don't think he had grown his brains yet (LOL), otherwise he wouldn't have walked right there beside me. He didn't run or anything, just sauntered by. He walked down my fence line and then disappeared. I have heavy bushes at the end of the fence, so either he is still out under the bushes, or he went under/over the fence.

[judy]

They are so odd looking! I walked out to one on my porch one day.

Great that Gary feels better!

I have a 2:30 appointment, and it is a pool day. Annoying!

[Lindsey]

I have never seen a possum! We don't have those here!

I'm excited today to go have our meeting at the hotel! But I realized this morning only one of the rooms has a window... I had thought all of them did. I really liked the thought of the river views at night! Oh well, it might still be worth it to have everything else we like. The room with river views has a maximum of 90 people and that just will not happen!

[DianaB]

Wow......everyone has been so busy!!!!

Dae Lynn came over last week and we cleaned out the closets to the guest rooms where they'll be staying so they can get their own things in there........now I have a living room FULL of STUFF that I need to put away........somewhere!!! I have a couple of large totes full for a garage sale and now I have things that need to be put away........but a lot of them are projects and if I put them away.......it's out of sight.....out of mind!!! Oh well.....I guess they'll just have to go down to the basement anyway. The mess is really starting to bug me!!!

Saturday Dae Lynn and I went to some garage sales. It was so hot!!! I found a few things but not much! There were a lot of sales in town but we only went to a few because of the heat. Then I brought Dean home with me while Dae Lynn wen to clean at the church.

Then Saturday evening we had a friend's 50th birthday party to go to but Glen and I were late because he was planting and almost finished so I told him that we could go late. I was surprised when we got there because Karen's family had also planned for her and her husband to renew their wedding vows!! Roger was in on it and he bought her a beautiful ring for the occasion!!! They had probably 80 people there and there were some old friends of ours that we were so happy to see!! Karen's daughters and DIL had gone so far to have bought her a couple of dresses and shoes to wear for the wedding renewal!! It was just so sweet!!! They had a catered meal and a DJ so we were able to dance a little bit by the pool with a string of lights lighting the night.......so nice!!

Then yesterday after church we had a church picnic up at a local lake. It was nice....but windy!!! Then Jaci had sent us a text and invited us over for supper so went over there and played in her creek then ate supper with her and Nate!! After supper we played cards.......we're going to have to change partners next time!!! Nate and I keep trying to beat Glen and Jaci but we're just not getting it done so maybe it's time to do some trading around!!! He's a good sport about it though!!!

Wow!! We had a busy weekend!!! Ok......now to get this living room cleaned!!!!

[judy]

You had a wonderful weekend Diana! Filled with family, friends and food! The wedding vow renewal sounds like it was beautiful! What a sweet husband!

[gja1000]

I had a pretty boring day. Went to work, got a pedicure, came home, ate supper, picked up around the house, sat in the swing. Ho Hum!

[Janet]

I went to the Dr. about the pain in my shoulder, neck and arm. He put me on prednisone and flexeril. It made me very sleepy the rest of the day and evening. Hope it will work.

I've been thinking of getting a pedicure myself. Planning to call in the morning...I've always wanted one and since I can't do much else...I'm calling. It's a fellow bus driver who does them at the same shop I get my hair cut. Plus...it gives me another excuse to get out of the house. :)

[judy]

I need one too. Wish I could go with you,Janet!

[Janet]

I wish you could go with me too. I didn't make the appt. Yet.....got up this morning in a lot of pain in my arm and shoulder. Sure hope these Meds kick in soon, not sure how much longer I can take this.

Didn't do anything really, just lied around in bed most of the day and cat napped.

[gja1000]

Janet, if your pain is radiating from your neck, across the shoulder and down your arm, it is nerve pain. Flexoril is a muscle relaxer and although I'm sure your muscles are tensed up and sore, if the pain is radiating down to your arm, that is not muscle pain, it is nerve pain. You need Lyrica, which is for nerve pain, or at the very least, some regular pain meds, rather than a muscle relaxer. The prednisone will help reduce the inflammation but it takes a few days for the inflammation to recede. I think you may need an MRI to see if you have a bulging disk in your neck that is pressing on a nerve. I'd ask for Lyrica or a pain med tomorrow, and that should help, but if it is not a lot better by next week, an MRI is definitely in order.

[judy]

Do you have the kind of doctor that you can tell you want Lyrica instead of the other drug? I hope so! Maybe you need both for a few days? Don't drive though!

I hope it just goes away the way it came!

I went to Jessie's today. She and the kids have strep, so I went to visit the sickees. They are all on antibiotics, so I probably didn't catch it. I only stayed a few hours. I really didn't want to hang out there. It's very muggy and sticky out, and I just wanted to be in my own house.

[Janet]

Thanks Gayle...I'll speak with him on Thursday since he's out of the office on Wednesdays. Matter of fact, I just saw an ad on TV about Lyrica. I'll definitely need it if I'm still having pain. This is really horrible.

[Janet]

I sure hope you don't get sick Judy....being sick when it's hot out is no fun....not fun when it's cold either, but worse I think when it's hot.

[gja1000]

I've never had strep so I'm probably immune. I hope you are too. If they have been on antibiotics for 24 hours, then you are safe (probably). It's the pits to be sick in the summer when you could be out running, playing or swimming. I hope they all get well soon!

[DianaB]

My granddaughter, Kera, has strep too. I think that she's about to get over it though. Judy, I'm sorry that their whole family has it......that's not fun.

Janet, I was on Lyrica for awhile and I felt so good on it!!! If you have nerve pain it will certainly help!! You'll feel so good you'll want to dance!!!!

I'd love to go with you and Judy to get a manicure and pedicure!! I've never had one!!!

I've got kids again today.......I had them yesterday. I've about got the living room back to order.......but I've shoved it all in the dining room!!! LOL I'll need to get someone to help carry most of it downstairs. Dae Lynn's planning on moving in this weekend and has already brought some stuff over.

Karlie's bed isn't in good shape and there was a captain's bed for sale in the paper so we're going to buy that. It will give some extra storage for the kids clothes. With a bed and baby bed in the same room there's not a lot of room for dressers. It's a good thing that the closet is really big with shelves on each end.

I'm not sure how this is going to work.......Karlie is being so demanding today and I'm getting REALLY tired of it and can't wait until Dae Lynn comes and takes her home........I guess that's going to change in a few days. Dean's cutting his molars so he's a bear!!! This is going to be interesting!!!!!

[judy]

Uh oh!!! Until you get some boundaries set up, stay calm Diana! If you start to get too stressed, go into your room and relax.

Dae Lynn will be there at night to take care of the kids, so you can go for a walk, or watch TV. Take Glen out with you! This could be romantic, and walking will be good for you.

It will work itself out!!!

[DianaB]

FINALLY they're gone!!!!! Dae Lynn apologized for being gone so long and for the kids being bad. I think that things will be better after they move in and things get put up. I have never had a day like today and don't think that I could do another but I guess we do what we have to do. I will survive!!!!!

Tomorrow Dae Lynn has planned with Amy to come over and clean out MY basement. I'm already stressed about my living room, dining room, and kitchen!!! I'm not sure that I can take much more........however the kids won't be here.......I think!!! I'm so NOT ready for all of this!!!!

[DianaB]

I know it will. Today's just been a really hard day and I don't think that tomorrow's going to be much better. I'll be glad when they are finally moved in and everything is settled.

[Janet]

It will probably be hard at first so like Judy said...make sure the boundaries are known. Like when you escape....they are to leave you alone. Man I wish I had done that.....

[gja1000]

We are getting ready to head to Oklahoma for a week. I have to go to school this morning till about 10:00 and then we are heading out. I'll have my iPad and I'll be checking when I can, but probably won't be posting as much. I'll be thinking about you all and hoping things get better for everyone!!!

[Tiramisu]

Safe trip, Gayle.

[Janet]

Stay safe Gayle and have a great time. You'll be missed for sure.

[judy]

The kids are coming over! It is a pool day, so they will have fun. I have to leave them here for an hour or so, so I can go grocery shopping. They are probably sleeping over too.

The only downside is that I had the house cleaned yesterday! Oh well, I will have to do a cleanup when they leave.

[judy]

I was going to go to a new vet today. Max is much too fat, and I want a good checkup for him. I don't trust the vet I have been using anymore.

It was so beautiful this morning, that I cancelled, and called Jess to leave the kids here for the day, so that they could go swimming. It turned out to be partly cloudy, but they had such a good time! Kassidy wanted to sleep over again, but I said not tonight honey!

They just left, and I am worn out, but happy!

I must buy a new camera. They are growing up soooo fast, and my camera is broken.

[Janet]

I'm thinking of switching Vets too. Mine is just too expensive so Im pretty sure I know who I'm gonna pick. You can sure tell how much you love them grandkids Judy. Sounds like you had a great day and knew when it was time to rest.

You do need a new camera, we haven't seen pictures from you in quite some time.

Today I went to visit my brother Jerry, the one in the hospital before I went to my appt. It was less than a mile from where he is at.

I wasn't too keen on doing anything else, but we were a little low on groceries so I took Mom with me to WalMart. She is like a Hell's Angel on those scooters....runs into everything..lol.

We're home now and we'll probably stay here the whole weekend... :(

[gja1000]

So Janet what did the neurologist say?

[Janet]

He was the same Dr. that checked for my carpal tunnel...very nice, but weird..lol. He asked me lots of questions, manipulated my neck, shoulder and arm and even made me walk. For a fat girl that is so embarassing. From all that I told him and from his examination he's pretty sure it's a pinched nerve in my neck....caused from picking Mom up off the floor.

Since it was so close to the holiday I will have to wait until next week...he is scheduling an MRI and then physical therapy. He also gave me a prescription for pain killers. I'm not having them filled unless I just can't stand it any longer. So far the Advil at least helps me get to sleep and when it does get horribly bad during the day...I take a Loritab.

He said it won't heal fast, but believes it will be fine. We'll know more after the MRI.

[gja1000]

I'm glad you are getting the MRI!

[Tiramisu]

Yes, Judy, get a new camera!

Janet, do what your doc says!

I slept this evening and am pulling baby duty tonight. Mom's still taking pain pills, so baby's gassy! I'll go home tomorrow for some chill time and to get out of their space.

[gja1000]

Hi Everyone, having a good time on our trip. We took some furniture to my cousin who lives near Lawton OK and we had a nice visit with her. We went to eat at Meers, just a soot in the road near the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. http://www.meersstore.com/menu.html. Here is a link to the website, it is a wonderful old old old old (Ha!) place. They are famous for their burger and there is a pic of it in the link. A half pounder. I only ate 1/4 of one, it was great! We also drove through a little bit of the refuge but only saw some turkeys. Then it was on to Norman which is near Oklahoma City.

Three of Garys sisters live here and the other one from Kansas City will be here about noon today. We are having a Mexican theme dinner tonight. Gary and I brought homemade tamales (no we didn't make them) and salsa from Texas.

Some of you may have seen the fishing pictures on FB last night. We were fishing in a tiny pond (tank for thr Texans) near one of the sister's home. I didn't bring my adapter to put the pictures on the iPad so I can't post them here. If I have time, I'll email them to myself to get them on the iPad and post them in the picture thread. Gary caught a 12 pound catfish. Everyone was so excited.

Gary is really really really tired but having a good time.

[judy]

A pinched nerve hurts!!! Sounds like the prognosis is good though! This is an important thing to remember when considering a nursing home for Mom. You cannot physically do this.

I hope brother Jerry is feeling okay. He will go back if he has enough pain!

Sandy, I don't have your fb name, so I can't see little Katey Sue's pix!!
I bet she is just precious!

Gayle, I saw the catfish on fb. Large one!!! How nice that you threw it back! Probably would taste tough anyway, for such an old fish!!!

:42:HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO ALL:42:

:usaheart::usaheart::usaheart::usaheart::usaheart: :usaheart:

BLESS OUR TROOPS!!

[judy]

AND...


HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!


:love032::love032::love032::love032:

[Tiramisu]

Judy, I'm sandy sue west on fb. Didn't want to leave the babies. We were all crying. Hope to go back up on Friday for the weekend. Nice drive back in. Couldn't stop with doggie in the car. Going to bed soon.

[Janet]

Let's see...what did I do today. Well, something really fun ....I took the sheets and blankets off Ricky's bed and washed them and then put them back on the bed. I cleaned up the kitchen a bit. Made Mom wash her face, teeth and then get dressed. Mowed the yard. Ricky usually does, but he was working today and he had been so helpful for me that I mowed so he wouldn't have to. Called and spoke with Jerry. He's home...has to go for a stress test on Tuesday and then they'll think about doing the surgery. Yay....he's going back. Then I took Mom into her house to pick up her mail. Came home drank two glasses of wine and now, I'm lying in bed with the laptop on my lap listening to the thunder. I do hope it's a good storm, love storms...bad storms...not so much. That has been pretty much my day. Not sure what I get to do tomorrow...hopefully it won't be quite as hot and humid as it was today.

[DianaB]

After breakfast I went out in the yard. My front porch has been used for storage for all kinds of plants and pots and anything else I have used in the yard lately. I got it all straightened up and washed off the porch. The front yard looks so much better than it did except for mowing the yard.

Dae Lynn left to go to her house to pack up some more stuff. She's wanting to take her time and while she's there the kids will take a nap.

Jaci, Nate, and a friend came over this afternoon. Nate and the friend went 4-wheeling and Jaci came in and learned how to can green beans!!! She's got quite the little garden and has been eating so much from it!! I'm so proud of her. We canned 11 pints!!

This evening we're all going over to Amy's to shoot off fireworks plus we'll be eating supper over there. It should be interesting because Amy has joined me on the Atkins diet!!! However......Jaci brought puppy chow!!!! I'm sure it will be a fun evening!!!

[Janet]

Yesterday and today I slept most of the time. Took some Lortabs for the pain and it makes me sleep. I pray I can get into do the MRI tomorrow...not sure how much longer I can take this. Don't remember ever having pain like this.

I've kept holed up in my bedroom most the time....I'm so grouchy because of the pain, I'm having very little patience. I'm sure fireworks are going off somewhere now...it's dark....I'm still in bed. Gonna play a couple games I think and then go to sleep.

[Tiramisu]

If I must go to work after such a special time off ... You must make the MRI.

[DianaB]

Janet, I hope that you get to feeling better soon. I don't like you being in pain.

[gja1000]

Janet, I'd the MRI shows abnormality of the cervical spine area, e.g., bulging disk, ask if they think a cervical epidural injection in the spinal area will help. They should try conservative therapy like that along with physical therapy before surgery.

[Janet]

Okay...I will ask. I called them at 9:30 this morning to see when it's scheduled but they haven't called me back. I'm so upset over this because the pain is horrible. I'll give them until noon and I'm calling again. I did explain that I am still in pain and need something as soon as possible. Just can't believe it's taking so long.

I do know he sent a prescription for PT but I was waiting for the MRI so they would know what kind to do. This waiting is so ridiculous.

[Tiramisu]

Janet, did you get in?

I went to work ... Didn't have much to catch up on between Sunday's covering for me and my new boss being out a couple days ... I'm trying to add back some fb friends I deleted last week ... Watching the trial circus, blaming the media not the jury.

[DianaB]

I babysit the kids today but Dae Lynn got home early so I went down to the pond and swam since I was alone. The water was sooooo warm that it was almost hot but the pond is so deep that if you stir the water a little it cools off. So the swim was really nice........and I didn't see the snake!!! I'll be glad when that little bugger is gone!!!

The we had our Children's church.....The Alley.......this evening. I enjoy the kids......and I love the music!!! We all get to dance around and be silly!!! Everyone once in a while the D J will play surfing music and the kids get to jump up on their chairs and pretend that they're surfing!!! It's just a blast!!! Tonight we had confetti to throw around and last week it was silly string!!!!

[Tiramisu]

Diana, sounds like fun. My daughter's church does that kind of stuff.

[Janet]

I called the Dr again in the afternoon, still didn't call me back. Getting ready to call again in about 5 minutes. My regular Dr is out on Wednesdays so this other guy better have me an appt scheduled for the MRI. This morning lying in bed I thought ...wow...no pain..but when I tried getting up, it wasn't fun. I'm so tired of this crap. Then to top it off, Mom has some blood in her bowels again and is weak. The nurse is coming today. Guess I'll go down a couple more Lortabs for now.

[judy]

Did you get in for your MRI, Janet? I sure hope so!!!

[Lindsey]

AND...


HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!


:love032::love032::love032::love032:

I just saw this :D Thanks Judy, I hope you had a great Fourth of July too!

Janet, I hope you got your MRI. It must be terrible to be in so much pain and have to wait!

Diana, I am so jealous of your pond! It has been very hot here too. We went away for the long weekend and when I came home all of my flowers I planted a week ago were fried. I have been watering a lot and a few look like they're going to live, but I think I've lost some for sure.

I've pretty much just been working lately. I am so lazy when I get home, I haven't really gotten anything done. I go home, make some food, watch some tv, have a bubble bath, and go to bed :D Good enough for me! Tonight I will need to do some laundry though. Scott has a ball game tonight so I'll be home alone anyway. Tomorrow we will take my grandma out for supper and maybe play some cards, and then on Friday afternoon we leave to visit my family at the lake for the weekend!

[DianaB]

The pond is nice, Lindsey. We put some stuff in to help with the algae and some blue coloring to make it look better. We're very careful about what we put in though because Glen wants to make sure his fish are alright and I want to make sure that my water lilies are alright!!! It's a small pond but just perfect for swimming!!!

With all of the hours that you work, Lindsey, I wouldn't think that you'd have time to do much more than you're doing!!! You should have had a friend or neighbor come and water your plants while you were gone.......or you could have paid a neighbor kid to do it.

Janet, I hope you get some relief soon. I don't like you being in pain. Hugs, Dear Friend!!!

[Lindsey]

It sounds so nice!! I haven't been swimming yet at all this year. The water is so high at the lake where Scott's parents have a cabin, that the beaches are totally gone. The concrete pads at the boat launch are about 10 feet into the water, and the gravel slope is just a steep drop because it has all been washed away. The docks are all underwater and they even moved a whole general store about 40 feet to higher ground so they wouldn't lose the building! But at my parents' lake, I don't think it's so bad. Maybe we'll find a beach this weekend :)

I didn't think about asking someone to water our plants over the weekend because we were supposed to have thunderstorms :rolleyes: Instead, we just got the heat. Actually, the storms did hit the city, but we're 20 minutes away and got nothing!

This week so far I haven't done any overtime so it's been nice! We've been getting home around 6:00. I really want to start being in bed around 9 or 9:30 but when I need to get stuff done, it just doesn't work out. A few hours isn't enough time to make a meal, clean up, do other housework, and relax!

[judy]

What a shame that you lost your plants! Are you going to replace them?

I still haven't done my deck boxes! We had out houses painted, so I didn't plant. I'm going to get some very easy greens, I think. I have a pot of coleus, which I take in for the winter, and a pink flowering plant that seems very hardy. Steve gave it to me for Mother's Day.

[Tiramisu]

Woohoo, we got good rain"

[judy]

Hurray!!!

[Janet]

Mom wasn't feeling well today...didn't look good either. I didn't take any pain pills just in case. The neurologist called and they have me scheduled for 8:45 am on Friday for the MRI. Finally, but can't believe I have to wait. What's wrong with these people.

The nurse came today and validated that I thought Mom needed to be in the hospital.... so... here we go again. Blood and mucas in stool, very, very weak. She looks so bad. I took her in at 3:30 m and left the hospital at 8:00. I'm just too sore and tired to stay. Both of my brothers are there so they can handle things tonight. I'll head back over tomorrow.

[judy]

My prayers are with you, Janet.

[Janet]

Thank you Judy. I'm with Mom at the hospital. She acts a little better, but doesn't look so good. Her legs have been swelling, but today, even her face, looks swollen around the eyes. My brother Jerry will be here sometime around 1:00. I'll probably stay for just a bit after he arrives and then I'll leave. My other brother will be here around 4:30 but of course can't stay long, other things to do, ya know. Can't believe he can drive to another city to visit her two days in a row, but hasn't been to see her for 17 days just 3 miles away.

Okay.......lol....I'm done.

[Lindsey]

I'm sending you and your mom good thoughts today Janet.

[gja1000]

Hi All! Home from Oklahoma. Lots to do, more later.

Janet, hope your mom is doing better soon. Maybe discharge to a nursing home would be the best strategy.

[DianaB]

Janet, I just saw on FB that your Mom is in the hospital again. I'm so sorry. Maybe with her there you can get some rest for your arm though. You need to take care of yourself. I agree with Gayle......maybe it's time for a nursing home. You can't keep doing all of this much longer.....it's starting to take its toll on you.


Gayle......I'm glad that you're home!!! I hope you're all relaxed and de-stressed!!!!

[gja1000]

Just for Janet!
http://ageofaustin.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/guest-blog-respite-means-time-to-breathe-by-mel-brower-elderhaven-program-director/

“Respite Means Time to BREATHE”

[Janet]

Thank you for that Gayle. Reading it really made me feel that it's something I MUST do, to save my health and my sanity.

Today I went over to have the MRI done. Those machines are very tight fitting for an overweight gal...lol. It crunched me up so tight that it made my shoulder and arm hurt so bad, plus it was so uncomfortable to breath. So....I have to go back with a 'driver' and be given a seditive of some kind. They should make 2 sizes of those machines.

I left there still in pain and went to the hospital to see Mom. She looked horrible when I got there and then she started crying. She was feeling really bad. She cried on and off throughout the morning. The Dr is considering putting her on some kind of antidepressant. She ate a decent breakfast but vomited her lunch. She only ate a couple bites. She was also having trouble breathing and taking a deep breath so they put oxygen on her and were calling in her cardiologist. To top it off, the C-dif is back, so it's not going to be a nice at all for a few days. I feel so bad for her and wish she didn't have to suffer so much, it just breaks my heart.

I'm home for the evening but will head back to the hospital in the morning.

[gja1000]

Janet, are you having the MRI done tomorrow? I'm sorry to hear that your mom is not feeling better. I think an anti-depressant is a good idea. I hope they can get her stabilized.

[Janet]

No....I can't have it done tomorrow. Their computers were down so they couldn't reschedule. I have to call them back first thing Monday morning for a new date to go. I have never had a problem with confined spaces before, but it did this time along with the pain. Is there any other way that it can be done? I'm not a small female and I mean I was all scrunched up in there. Very uncomfortable. Anyway...I'm gonna try it and see what happens.

She takes so many meds now....I hate seeing them add to it. If it will help her okay...but I hate for her to have to take more. The Drs. know best, but I will question it with the other meds being taken.

[gja1000]

They do have different kinds of MRI machines, there is a more open MRI, but probably not at your location. So, sedation is the best option, I think. Sorry you have to reschedule. I've never had an MRI, but I've seen them done.

I know you don't want her to take any more medication - but sometimes a little antidepressant really helps, it is usually protocol in any catastrophic illness like your mom has. It helps people to not feel so badly about their circumstances. Gary takes an antidepressant, and he is the most NOT depressed person in the world. But because of his heart failure, diabetes, lung problems, etc. the doc wanted him to take one, and I think it helps a lot because you can get really down about your circumstances.

[gja1000]

I am planning a full day today. If you remember, Gary is still in OK, so I am a freebird all day!! LOL! I'm watering the yard right now. At about 8:00, I'm going to my favorite Mexican restaurant for breakfast. Then I'm going to the farmer's market. My squash just didn't do a thing this year so I want some summer squash and whatever else might look good there! No tomatoes though, as you remember I'm not supposed to eat them (well not many), and when I got home I had 12 large ones and 55 cherry tomatoes that were ripe. I'm gonna have to give them away!

After that, I'll bring things home and putter around here a bit. Then I'm going to the Container Store. I found a slide in plastic box that fits perfectly in my bathroom lower cabinets. The are narrow and deep and I have to get down on my hands and knees to see what is further back than right on the front edge. It's a pain, so I stopped by the Container Store yesterday and found the perfect box - actually it's a slide out drawer that fits right into the cabinet. now, I can open the cabinet door and slide out the drawer and all my things are in perfect reach. I only bought 1, to make sure it would work, so today I'll go back and get 3 more.

I'm going to take all my big tomatoes out, they are finished producing. I'm going to plant some new tomato plants for fall tomatoes. I have some green beans, and they all have lots of beans, but they are tiny beans and the beans don't seem to be growing any larger, so I may take them out too, who knows! LOL!

[judy]

Busy day Gayle! How nice to be able to do whatever you feel like!!!

Janet, if you take the sedative, that should put you out, or at least make you very relaxed. I think an MRI is about 45 minutes. I hope you can tolerate it, or you will have to travel to a place that gives open MRI's. If you weren't in pain, that wouldn't be so terrible, but you need it done right away.

Sucks!!!!

I cannot tolerate the closed MRI, but in NYC, I had a lot of choices. I wasn't in any rush either. I hope you get to do it early on in the week!

Mom needing more meds is the doctor's job, not yours! You have enough on your shoulders right now, and anti depressants are very widely used with chronic illness. I think Jessie takes them.

[judy]

Mackenzie was AMAZING last night!!!

She was so nervous, she spent the whole time telling poor Jessie how much she hates her for making her do this! She told her, "I don't care how this turns out. I will hate you forever!"

She went up to sing, looking so beautiful, and Jessie and I were hanging onto each other with nerves. She sang like she was born singing! I kept punching Jessie's arm, and shaking I was so moved! Jessie had tears in her eyes. Mackenzie owned the stage, the song, and the audience!

She just opens her mouth, and such beauty comes out! She has a real gift. I am so thrilled for her! She was really happy and smiling when she was done! She said it feels really good to be able to sing like that. She smiled from head to foot! She was most happy though that it was over! Poor kid! She really had stage fright.

Some of the famous performers told her how wonderful her voice is. She is too young to understand how important that is. Jessie was happy though. I am clueless as to who they are, but it made Jessie very happy.

I will try to get pictures.

[gja1000]

Judy, maybe she could take a bit of Inderal (propanolol) - it is widely used for stage fright. Of course, she is young, so you'd need a doctor to prescribe the correct dosage for her and her stage fright. I feel like I am always pushing drugs for things, and I am one of the most anti-drug people I know. But sometimes, drugs are good. Inderal for stage fright is one drug that is very good. It is extremely cheap too.

[judy]

Jessie probably wouldn't allow it. Steve, for sure wouldn't! They are over protective of the kids, but it is a good idea!

Maybe when she gets older....

[gja1000]

Got up at 6:00 this morning and started in on the garden. I pulled out all my spring tomatoes, they were beginning to look really ragged. We are lucky in Texas, I can plant new ones now, and have more tomatoes in the fall. Oh yeah, I'm not supposed to eat them, but one every now and then is OK, right????? :D I think I'll only plant 4 tomatoes, now watch, I'll come home with six! LOL! I'm going to try some peppers and summer and winter squash. For some reason, I never have any luck with squash, but I'ma try again! :p.

Well, I'm off to shower and go get something to eat, then to the garden center, then pick mom up for lunch, then home, then to the train station to get Gary at 5:30, then out to get something to eat with him. I hope the train is running on time!!!

[judy]

Did it all work out Gayle? So much energy! You are very lucky!

[DianaB]

Gayle.....you ARE busy!!! Do you have squash bugs there? If so, then you need to start spraying them as soon as your plants come up. They kill the plants once they get started on them. We only got a few squash from our plants before they died and Glen's talking about planting more too.

Judy.....I'm so glad that Mackenzie's performance went so well!! I'm sure that "your buttons were about to burst"!!!! She'll get over the stage fright the more that she's in front of people. Also the better she knows her songs will help too. When I sing a song that I don't know well then I'm more worried about messing up.

Janet, I hope you get your MRI soon and find out what's going on with your arm. I'm ready for you to be better!!!

I'm finally done with all of my tests. I've had several blood tests, a sonogram, and a c-t scan and found out that I have a fatty cyst on my liver. It's nothing to be concerned about and hopefully by losing weight I can help it. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning to discuss things over with her. I wasn't really worried about it but I know that Glen was.

[judy]

Jessie had that Diana! They even did a biopsy, and it hurt her for a long time after they did it. I am so glad that you are okay!!!

Whew!

[Janet]

Gayle...you make me so tired...:D I don't have anything planted...not even some flowers.

Diana...you let us know ASAP, so we know you're alright, okay? I want you happy and healthy.

Today I didn't do anything but get dressed... lolol. I didn't even venture outside in this heat and humidity. It's our county fair week and it seems every year it gets hotter and more humid. I feel so sorry for the kids and the animals. Last year I didn't even go because of the temps. Can't think of anything else I've done for the day or that I plan to.

[Tiramisu]

Diana, I have a fatty liver, too! I was told it's something that can happen if your gallbladder has been removed or isn't working properly.

I went up and pulled baby duty friday night, then sarah and i went to ihop for breakfast while getting oil changed in my car. Then we went grocery shopping for her mommy. Abby and I slept in a little this morning, ate breakfast and I headed back to Houston. I'm in a really happy space in my life now.

Still no divorce but closer. Hubby is still sending texts wanting to get back together. I told him that I won't go back, but he doesn't get it.

The owner of the little house I want agreed to let me rent until the divorce is over, but she wouldn't repair anything going out. I passed on that offer and will wait to see if it's available when the time comes, hopefully in a couple weeks.

Gayle, did your man make it home?

I have an appt with the plastic surgeon tomorrow and hope to get released, but I still have the one place thats not healing well.

[gja1000]

Yep Sandy, Gary made it home. The train was on time which it is more than not, but occasionally it can be late and sometimes REALLY late. Once when I was coming home, the train I was to get in Ft. Worth was going to be 8 hours late. :eek: I called my daughter who lived in Austin and said, "COME GET ME" :D It's only a 3 hour drive to Ft. Worth from Austin, so we were home before my train even left Ft. Worth.

I just got out of the shower, but I got everything accomplished I wanted to do today. It took stops at 3 nurseries to find all the plants I wanted, and I stuck to my guns for once and only got 4 tomato plants. I also got one eggplant, one pepper (I still need to get a jalapeno plant) and one pretty cuban oregano plant. I got some squash seeds and will plant them tomorrow.

I only planted the tomatoes this evening. I had to put shade cloth around the cages to keep them a little cooler since they are young and tender. It took some time to cut the shade cloth the right size and get it attached to the cages.

Then I had to put another soaker hose out in the garden. I had been using an overhead sprinkler and with the shade cloth around the cages, I was afraid the tomatoes wouldn't get enough water. Plus, you are not supposed to sprinkle tomatoes because there are soil born diseases that can splash up on the tomatoes from a sprinkler. So I had to put another soaker hose out there. And it was my homemade soaker hose. I wasn't happy with my regular soaker hoses, so I had taken a regular hose and drilled holes in it so it would leak more water in less time. Then when I got the tomatoes planted, I had to drill some more holes so the water would come out right on the tomatoes.

Next, I had to put pine straw around the plants - that also keeps the roots cooler and keeps the water from evaporating so quickly. All in all that was a big job. Last I had to rig up a sprinkler where I had robbed the soaker hose (in my okra) and then put back the bunny fence.

WHEW! I'm tired. But it was a good day and Gary is home safe and sound. My summer class starts tomorrow - I'm ready, but it's always a big day!

[Lindsey]

You guys are all so busy!

Scott and I went to visit my family at the lake this weekend. My aunt and uncle were up there too. I actually had to work late Friday (:rolleyes:) so we didn't get to the cabin until about 9 pm. Some other guys were out at their cabin and were visiting my dad and aunt and uncle (my mom had to work Saturday so she was at home) and they were all drinking around the fire, so we didn't get to visit much and we went in to bed early. I think my dad came in at around 3 am. How funny is it that my dad is 30 years older and can have later nights than me? Lol

On Saturday everyone went golfing but I stayed in and watched tv because it was kind of drizzly outside. They got soaked! Later that night, my mom came out and we looked through all of our Europe pictures.

On Sunday, Scott and my dad and I went fishing, while my aunt and uncle went golfing, and my mom stayed back to cook chili! We were fishing for pickerel, with no leader on my line, and not long after casting I got a bite. It was so hard to reel in! I finally got it right to the surface of the water and it was at least a 10 lb jackfish! Biggest fish I've ever caught! My dad tried to get the net under, but at the last second, my line broke! I should have kept a leader on it. Oh well! At least we all saw it. We didn't get any other bites and we went in when it started raining again!

I really wish we could spend more time out there but with how busy summer is, I don't think we'll get there again until September :(

[DianaB]

My doctor appointment went well. She's wanting to change some meds and add some more but I asked her to wait for awhile to see what being on this diet will do. My blood pressure is really good and my blood sugar is coming down a lot so my A1C will be much better next time. My cholesterol and triglycerides are high but hopefully will come down.

I have "fatty" liver and a fatty cyst on my kidneys......nothing to be overly concerned about and as I lose weight should diminish. I have to go back in a month to check my liver enzymes and see how things are going with my diet. I really like my doctor!!! She's so easy to talk to!!!!

[Janet]

I'm so glad that it's nothing that you can't do something about. Your Dr sounds like she listens to you very well. You're very lucky.

My MRI is re-scheduled for this Thursday. I'm going to see if my brother Jerry can run me over since they will be giving me a sedative. I'm so frightened and I don't know why. I hope it knocks me out because I think I was more terrified of the tight fit than I realized. I can't quit thinking of how I felt as I was being moved farther into the machine. I wish it was already overwith so I wouldn't think of it all the time.

[DianaB]

Just lay there and get some well deserved rest.......take a nap!!!! If you're too anxious about it ask your doctor if he will give you something before hand. I had to do that once before I had surgery.

[Janet]

They are giving me a sedative, so Jerry is going to drive me over.

[gja1000]

Janet, I hope everything goes well, and that they find the root of your problems!

Well folks I did it again. I found two more tomato plants this evening that I just HAD to have. Remember I said I went to three nurseries on Saturday looking for plants. Well, one of the things I was looking for was heirloom tomatoes - rather than hybrids. Of course, in the three nurseries that usually ALWAYS carry heirlooms, none of them had any, so I got all hybrids. Well today we went to Whole Foods, an organic grocery store, and wouldn't you know it, out front they had the exact heirloom tomato plants that I was looking for. And of course, I bought them! Sigh. I also got 2 jalapeno plants that I couldn't find on Saturday either. Oh and I also got 3 crookneck squash plants. I had bought squash seeds on Saturday, but since they had really good looking transplants, I just went ahead and got them. I'll save the seeds for next year.

Diana, we do have trouble with squash borers, so I am going to get some BT (bacillus theringensin - sp?). My organic gardening book says to spray the plants weekly with BT to control the borers. I hope it works. My biggest problem with the squash I planted in the spring was that the female blooms wouldn't open, so they didn't get polinated so very few of them grew into mature squashes. I'm hoping these are a different variety and I won't have that problem!

[judy]

You got shy little girl squashes! Hope these are more forward with the boys!

We had a speaker with heirloom veggies at one of our womens network meetings. She had such beautiful pictures of her plants! She gave out a lot of little plants to us, and I gave them to Jessie. I was having my house painted, so I couldn't put a box out on the deck until the first week of July. I figured this was too short a season to grow anything.

Yesterday was Brandon's 10th birthday. I went over for cake, and got to see everyone. I stayed away over the weekend. My ex was there, and Steve's mom. I love her, but there is negative tension when they are all there, so I keep away as much as possible. Jeannie is a lovely woman, and Dennis, her boyfriend is a good man. I also like to keep away because the kids are closer with me, and I want her to have their attention when she comes up. I did get to see them at Mackenzie's show though.

Today is very hot. A good pool day!

[Janet]

Days like today and yesterday is when I miss having a pool....the only time. LOL. I don't miss the keeping it clean part at all. Today the nurse is coming for Mom.

I'm in such a sleepy bad mood because of little sleep last night. I honestly don't remember how we got along without air conditioning. I was lying there in bed sweating until I put the fan directly on me. I was able to sleep, but woke up a few times during the night. I'm staying in again today because of the heat advisory. As soon as the nurse leaves I think I'll be heading back to bed.....yawn.......

[Lindsey]

Judy, someday I will visit you, and I will lay by your pool all day every day!

Yesterday I got home and made supper while Scott put Layla in her wheels and went for a walk. When they got home, we ate, and I started getting such a bad headache. I finished eating and felt nauseous too so I told Scott I was going to go upstairs to rest my eyes. The next thing I knew, I woke up with my face planted in my pillow, and it was after 10:00! I went downstairs and found Scott fast asleep on the couch too :rolleyes: I woke him up, got ready for bed, and passed right out again. This is the first day in a long time that I can say I'm not tired!

I also got an email from my best friend's mom yesterday. She sells candles at home. She said she was going to make me an offer she makes to special people for their weddings, and if I want any candles or centerpieces, she will supply me with them, her treat! I was not expecting that at all!

I just checked online and there are a few things that I like, but in the catalogues they are SO expensive! I don't really want to put her out that much... but I do realize there's a mark-up from the price she pays. I just don't know how much of a mark-up! Does anybody else know? There are some really nice tealight holders, but if I were to put them on approximately 18 tables, it would cost over $600 based on the catalogue price. That's way too much!

[DianaB]

Lindsey, I would talk to your friend. If she does this for others she may already have a supply to loan out. That's really nice of her!! Candles with a little round mirror underneath is really pretty!!!

Janet, I hope your air conditioning is fixed soon......it's been waaaayyyyyy too hot to be without....even for a day or two. We've been over 100 degrees here for the last few days and the crops are really hurting. At the moment we have a storm brewing near us and we're praying that we get a good amount on the crops!!! Every bit of rain is money in our pocket!!!!

Gayle, you can also use Seven dust and spray on your squash. That's something that's pretty easy to find and works really well.

I'm watching Dean and Karlie today......and right now it's tough!!! Dean's into EVERYTHING and hitting his sister. Uggggghhhhhhhh.........

Besides Dae Lynn moving in......mess still not cleaned up.......taking care of the kids......Glen's not happy with me either. I seem to ALWAYS be in trouble for one thing or another........and I'm so tired of it. I've tried talking to him but he always turns it around and it's not even worth having a conversation with him. I think that I'm just having a bad day......hopefully tomorrow will be better.

[gja1000]

Judy, that was nice of you to stay away when the other grandma was there - I have the same thing with my grandkids other grandma. Yes, I hope my new squash plants are more forward than the old ones! LOL! ;)

Lindsay, I don't know anything about candles, so I am no help at all.

Diana, I imagine that Glen is feeling a bit stressed from all the hubbub in the house too, so that may be part of why "you" are in trouble. I know what you mean about the heat, so so terribly hot. It's been over 100 for 20+ days now and we are only at the middle of july. August is our hottest month, and September can be unbearable too. Oh well, might as well just go with the flow.

I just worked today to get my class together for tomorrow. Actually i have a guest speaker coming, so it wasn't too tough! :D

[Janet]

Today has been a bit of a long one. The visiting nurse came to check out Mom. She can see that Mom is weaker than before the hospital stay. She hasn't used her walker since she's been out of the hospital. We've talked about this before and I told her I won't be able to handle it if she becomes wheelchair bound, so she said she wants to try the walker tomorrow.

I've been having a little of a pitty party and it's really for no reason... lol. We only have 35 days left of summer break and I haven't done anything constructive or for fun and haven't been anywhere. Time is sure going by fast.

Tomorrow I'm suppose to get my haircut. It doesn't really need it that bad, but Mom is wanting hers cut. If I can get her to the car I may let her take my appointment and then schedule me a new one.

Thursday will be the MRI. I'm taking a pain pill before I go and hopefully I'll be knocked out so I won't notice the tightness. I wish they could put me in feet first....it would make me more comfortable. Oh well....we'll see. I just don't want it put off any longer. Decided Ricky will take me over and then my brother Jerry will pick me up. That way no one will have to sit around waiting on me. I really hate to inconvience people.

Looking forward to tomorrow.....

[gja1000]

Gary and I are at the second of FIVE doctor's appointments in THREE days. WHEW! Two today (then I have class this afternoon), one tomorrow, and two on Friday.

[judy]

I hope the MRI goes well, Janet. Aren't they giving you a sedative too?

Gayle, wow! 5 visits! I hope they are just checkups, and that Gary is going well!

[Janet]

Yes...they are giving me a sedative....sure hope it's a good one... :)

For some reason I'm just really nervous and scared.....so not like me.

[DianaB]

Gayle, I'm sure that Glen is stressed but the truth is.....that we don't get along as well as we used to. I truly believe that men learn from their father about how to be a husband and while Glen had a fantastic Dad....he was a lousy husband.....not that I could blame him with a hoarding wife. It will work out.....it's just getting past all of this.

Janet....I'll be so glad for you when your MRI is over. I know that you're not comfortable with the thought of it. I also hope that you can get great relief from what they find out from it. You're in my prayers!!!

Judy, staying away while the kids' other grandmother was there was very nice of you. I know exactly how you feel and try to be the same way when Damon's Mom is here. She doesn't get to see the kids nearly as much as I do so I try to let her have all the attention whenever she's around. She's been in the hospital lately with congestive heart failure. I'm also worried that she won't be around to enjoy the kids much longer. She is a nice lady though.

Gayle, I'm so sorry that you have so many doctor's appointments with Gary. Is he having problems or is he just in for checkups?

I've been swimming in the pond almost every day!!! I love it!!! It's so nice and handy to just walk (or ride the 4-wheeler) down the lane a ways and jump in!!!! I would absolutely love it if I could swim year round!!!!

[judy]

I would like to swim everyday too!

Here's my fantasy....Either living right here, but having a clubhouse with a heated, indoor pool, sauna, and exercise room, movie night, discussions groups, and other fun things. Or...going to South Florida, on the beach, for 2 months every winter!

Dreams are fun!

Janet, I would be nervous too. You had a bad experience already, and you have been in pain for a while now. It will be okay, but I know you wish it was over and done with!

[judy]

Jessie and a friend did her table centerpieces for her wedding. She used candles, and very inexpensive stuff. It was very pretty, but I just don't remember what they looked like.

I bet if you go into a craft store, you can find wonderful, inexpensive materials to put together to make beautiful centerpieces.

[Tiramisu]

Y'all are all so busy. I feel like all I do is go to work and come home. My neck is hurting really bad. Can't tell you how disappointed I am that the surgery didn't help. I'm going in for another injection tomorrow.

[gja1000]

Oh Sandy, I'm so sorry the surgery didn't work. Both my sister-in-law and her daughter (only 15 years old) had to have surgery for bulging disks in the neck. Both had successful outcomes too.

No, Gary isn't sick and these are all just followup appointments. They are grouped so close together because we were supposed to be gone until about July 7th, so all his routine, every three month appointments landed on this week. How lucky are we! :p

Actually, he has not been feeling very well, he gets quite short of breath of minimal exertion - which is not unusual for someone with heart failure, but he had been doing better before the past few weeks.

Well, I guess technology is good, sometimes. His pacemaker continually measures his fluid volume status and with a monitor the doctor can see a printout of how much fluid he has had during the past three months. People with heart failure get fluid volume overloaded because their heart can't pump blood well enough to go through the kidneys efficiently enough to get rid of all the water that those of us without heart failure get rid of every day. He takes 40 mg. of Lasix (water pill to get rid of fluid) every day, which is a lot and he still has problems with too much fluid. The fluid gets into his lungs and viola, he is short of breath on exertion.

So he started on a new water pill today. It is so powerful you only take it once a week! :eek: They started him on a very low dose because of his kidney problems, if he gets rid of too much water, he will go into kidney failure. Oh joy! So, he took a pill today and another one next Wednesday and then we go back to the doc so they can check his bloodwork to be sure his kidneys are OK. If they are OK and he still has too much fluid on board (they will look at his pacemaker readings again), they will up the dose of the super duper water pill. I hope it works!

His other doctor appointment today was with his neck doctor. He had a neck injection back in May and this was just the followup. He is completely pain free (Sandy, I hope your shot works as well), and he doesn't have to go back unless he has pain again. YAY!

His appointment tomorrow is with his urologist (we call her the pee doc). He has an enlarged prostate and his doctor changed his medication to help him pee more easily. IT IS WORKING GREAT! So this is just a routine followup and thankfully all is well on the pee front! :D

One of his appointments Friday is with his diabetes nurse. He has to go see the nurse (or doc) every three months, or Medicare will not send his diabetes supplies and his insulin. I guess that's OK, but I bet some people don't go and just go without their supplies and insulin! :eek: If you have diabetes, you absolutely 100% should go to the doctor every three months, but I"m not sure if I agree with "we won't send your medication and supplies if you don't go".

His other appointment on Friday is with his lung doctor. It's just routine every three month checkup and I think everything is OK on that front.

Oh yeah, after the two doc appointments I had class this afternoon from 1-5. YIKES. Thankfully, I had a guest speaker and I just sat and veged out!

[Janet]

Didn't really do too much today. I had an appt. for a haircut, but Mom had been complaining that she needed one so I let her take my appt. and I have another one for Friday. I spent most of the day in my bedroom. I did do some laundry, but that was about it. I can tell with Mom here that I'm not getting up and moving as much and I feel it. Usually I'm working in the yard or doing something, but I've been very lazy and doing just what needs to be done.

I am planning to walk when I get up of a morning, but I'm sure something will somehow screw that up too.

Tomorrow morning is the MRI...very nervous, but I've got to get it done no matter what. I'm tired of the pain and I need to find out what to do with whatever is found.

Wish me luck tomorrow in being able to be in that tight space. Hopefully the sedative will work wonders for me.

[gja1000]

You will do fine! You will likely be so sleepy you won't know what is happening, or you will be so sleepy you won't care! :D

[DianaB]

I think that once you get your sedative you'll be fine and hopefully the doctor will get right to you about getting some help for your shoulder.

Gayle, you have seen doctors, doctors, and more doctors!!!! At least Gary will be all tuned up and roaring to go!!!! LOL

Dae Lynn and the kids went to her house this afternoon to work on packing. It was a good thing because Dean spilled a whole cup of coffee on the carpet and broke one of my nice coasters. I'm getting really tired of things breaking and have several things sitting on the counter waiting for glue!! All of you should probably buy stock in Super Glue!!!!

This afternoon I went swimming before they got home. The water was so nice and cool!! Then I came home and worked on the hosta beds. They look soooo nice!!!

[Janet]

Diana...I know you're busy, but I would love to see the Hosta beds.

[Lindsey]

Janet, I hope the MRI goes well!

Judy, I think we will try to do our own centerpieces too. I found out we can get really cheap flowers from Costco and they're apparently really good quality, so we can either rent some vases or buy some cheap ones (dollar store) and put something together like that. We almost bought some vases from a woman online a couple of days ago but decided against it. The centerpieces my friend's mom was offering are BEAUTIFUL but very expensive and I don't want to inconvenience her that much. We can just use a vase with flowers and maybe some simple candles around it. If she'd like to supply the candles, that would be great!

[judy]

I think a lot of people use mirrors, flower petals, floating candles in inexpensive glass containers, and flowers to put a really nice centerpiece together.

Gayle, it sounds like Gary will feel better if the water pill works. Here's hoping!

Sandy, how upsetting that the surgery didn't work! It would be great though if the shots do the trick!

Janet, I am praying for you that your MRI is over and that you are just fine!

Diana, it sounds like you cannot leave anything breakable out. Little Dean seems to be an ambitious little toddler, hunting for Grandma's things to break!

[Janet]

MRI is done!! Yay!! Ricky took me over and then my brother Jerry came to pick me up. It took them three stabs to get the IV in me. I know I drifted off, but I do remember hearing the machine. It only took 25 minutes. When they first took my blood pressure....they could tell how nervous I was.....my BP was 178/127. When I left....117/76.......big difference..lol

When they first took me in to where the machine was the first time....I didn't see that both ends were open and once I got in there besides the pain....the closeness got to me. This morning I noticed that both ends were open and I immediately felt better. Wish I would have noticed that the first time...maybe I could have gone through with it.

Anyway, the results will be sent to the Dr. in 2-3 days. My appt. with him is Aug.1 so I will be calling early to see if they will tell me the results.

Thank you all for being so supportive. Sometimes I just get myself so worked up over nothing.

[judy]

I don't think you got worked up over nothing! What an awful feeling to be in there, and in pain!

As long as it is over! Whew! I bet your arm will feel better for today!

You should take it easy today. Adrenalin is probably still rushing around your arteries, and you need to settle your body down.

So glad it is over :D:D:D:D:D:D

[Tiramisu]

Janet, glad you got rough it ok.

Diane, I know it's tough and having kids constantly moving in is part of what ended my marriage. Be patient and know that it's a lot like being in labor. It will be painful but it will be over.

[DianaB]

Thanks, Sandy. I do know that this is just temporary and I am still putting things away......but it's finding where to put them so I can still enjoy them. They'll go to the basement if I can't find a spot. I do love having the kids around......just not when things get broken!!!

Janet, I'm glad that your MRI went well. It sounds a lot like the c-t scan that I had the other day. It was just a big circle that I went through.....not a tube like I was expecting!!! I guess that I've watched too much tv!!!

BTW.....I do have some pictures of my hosta beds but I'll see if I can get some better ones. You have to remember that they are a work in progress!!!! I'm not sure when I can get them on but I'll try soon.

Jaci had her wisdom teeth pulled this morning and wanted Glen and I to go with her and Nate. We drove a couple of hours away to get to the doctor's office and then she was in for an hour. We took Glen home then I went home with them to help take care of her today. Nate's not very good with people who are sick.....most guys aren't. Poor girl......her stomach was still queasy when I left and she was having trouble keeping anything down but she was still numb so she's not in much pain......yet. We did get a prescription for pain pills and antibiotics and I'm sure she'll be using them this evening. I was suppose to watch Karlie and Dean tomorrow but I'm going to beg off so I can be with Jaci. Right now she needs her Mama more......so that's where I'll be most of tomorrow.

[gja1000]

We are at our last of five doctors appts since Wed. YAY! We just saw his diabetes nurse earlier this morning and his A1C was higher than we think it should be so she is running a special test to see if it is falsely high due to his low iron levels. The A1C will read falsely when the iron is low. Gary has low iron because of his bad kidneys.

[Lindsey]

Last night I set up another interview. A guy at Scott's office called me and I just missed the call (took Layla for a walk) so I had to call him back. I have to say, I am thrilled at the way they are handling things now. Every person who has contacted me for an interview this time has either emailed during work hours, or called after hours. I hate when they call me on my cell at work! I don't want to answer it in front of everyone, because I don't have a private office! Anyways, I will go and meet with him at Scott's office building downtown after work on Wednesday.

I got another email this morning from someone wanting to set up an interview next week, and he wants to know what I expect for a salary. I feel weird about that one so I think I will tell him what my current salary is and say it's negotiable. I am willing to take a pay cut, but not too much, and I just want to see what he offers. It's a junior position, and I have more experience than is needed. They know that already and they contacted me anyways, so they may be willing to be flexible.

I feel awkward at work today. Everyone is being really nice to me and I have to keep telling myself that I hate being here most of the time!

[Lindsey]

Oh yeah, we met some more people around town last night too! There was an older man who was so enthusiastic when he saw Layla, and he said he's seen a lot of things in his life but that dog in that cart is the best! We also met the man and little boy from across the street and they were super friendly too, and really interested in Layla! BUT these people are feuding with our neighbors and we are friends with our neighbors too so it's just weird. Personally I think it's very childish of all of them! Their two boys had a fight and now the families are fighting. The boy from across the street wanted to come over and the woman next door wouldn't let him in her house with the other kids. The boy's parents got mad about that. I guess while we were gone on holidays there were screaming matches and threats were made and cops were called... I don't know! The neighbor filled us in on it when we got back and she said the whole neighborhood just hates that family, but they seemed really nice to us last night. I will just stay out of it!

[Tiramisu]

I have such a boring life. Up at 530, to work by 630, lunch at my desk, left at 400, prescriptions at cvs, nails done, two ritas and tacos, home on couch by 630. I really wanted to be bad, but all my buddies are married.

I think I'll go get my first pedicure tomorrow and find a couple of new work tops. What a highlight.

[Janet]

Sandy I can relate. My life is boring too. Taking care of Mom....marriage sucks.....can't do anything.....can't go anywhere........school will be starting soon and I haven't even had a break yet!

What should we do about it?

[DianaB]

I hurried and straightened the house this morning then I went to Jaci's again. She wanted me to come back and be with her again today but when I got there she was doing really well. She said that she was afraid of being alone and not feeling well. So we ended up just watching movies, taking naps, and snacking around!!!.......a real tough day taking care of my daughter!!! LOL I did offer to wash her dishes but she said that she'd be up to taking care of them tomorrow. It was nice just relaxing with her and having it just be the two of us!!! I'm going to have to go up there and do it again!!!!

[Janet]

That sounds very nice Diana....quality time.....we all need it now and then. I'm glad Jaci is doing so well.

[DianaB]

I'm glad too. Even her swelling is better than what we were expecting.

[Janet]

I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled at the same time and didn't have anynproblems at all...no pain or swelling. I was very lucky I hear.

[Tiramisu]

Diana, sounds like you had a great day and deserved it.

Janet, we'll think of something.

[Tiramisu]

I didn't make it to the fabric store for quilting goodies. I decided to look for me some new work tops, stopped for lunch, had two ritas and came home. It was great to shop smaller and I ended up with five cute tops. Yeah me!

[Janet]

I didn't do anything today either. Well...I did run to Mom's and pick up her mail and bring her yard swing out so she can get some enjoyment out of it. Oh...I forgot....I also took my desktop in to be fixed finally. It still works, but the defragmentor is gone...just disappeared, it runs really slow and needs cleaned. It also makes a noise like a small airplane...lol. So I told them I was in no hurry, but I'm sure it will be ready sometime next week. It will be so nice to have it run good again.

The rest of the day I didn't do anything. Tomorrow....I'm going to try and get off my "you know what" and get some stuff done around here.

[judy]

I spent the day helping with Kassidy's birthday party. It was fun, and it felt good to be such a help to Jessie. I went over yesterday for a while too, and we made some decorations.

I stayed late at Jessie's, then ran home, fed the dogs, and met my friends at a Creedance Clearwater Revisited oncert. It was wonderful!!! We sat on the lawn, which was really nice because it was such a beautiful night out. We danced and sang, and I really had fun! They sounded really terrific! They did all their famous songs.

I may not be able to move tomorrow! After running around for a good 5 hours at the party, and then going dancing, this body might be sore. I don't care. First of all, I should be in better shape, and second, all I have to do is drive the 2 minutes it takes to go to the pool and lie down!

[gja1000]

I'm at the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Gary is at a hunting/fishing show nearby. I thought I'd skip the show and come to the riverwalk. It's not hot yet but will be soon. I'll migrate inside to the mall when that happens.

[Janet]

Doing laundry today. Fixed Mom some lunch and now she is napping. Way too hot too be outside. Don't know how people can stand this heat and humidity. I perspire so bad its embarrassing, wish there was something I could do about it. I literally get soaked.

I need to get some groceries, but will put it off until later this evening or tomorrow after Mom's appt. Hope you all are keeping cool.

[judy]

I know you won't do it, but people are getting botox for perspiration problems!

I don't think I would go anywhere if I didn't have the pool. I love summer, but only because I have always spent it either at the beach, or in the country near a pool or a lake.

Who is in the midst of the heat wave?

I hope none of you! According to the weather map, almost the whole country from middle to the east coast are in the midst of it. I am honestly not sure if my town is included. I would say no. It cools down at night.

Anyone who wants, come to my house!!! A pool, cool nights, cool mornings, a pool and more pool!

[gja1000]

ME ME ME!!! I want to come Judy!!! If only I could - but alas, summer school has me tagged right now.

We have been unbearably hot since the first of June. They said May temps were above normal, but it felt OK to me in May. June and July are another matter - we've been above 100 or close to it almost every day, sometimes 103, 104, 105.

I still get out every morning and evening, but usually wait till about 8:00PM. Mornings are only in the high 70's low 80's but the humidity is usually so high, I sweat more than in the afternoon!

Yesterday however, I was in and out all day as I was watering the yard. I have to work all day to get it all done - of course, we were gone for a few hours, so when I was here, I was in and out. I'm only out 15-20 minutes at a time, then I come in and cool off. If I had to be out all day, I couldn't do it. It's just too darned hot.

[DianaB]

We're in a heat wave!! It's miserable outside!!!! I too have been going out in the morning or evening because mid-day is just too hot. The crops are really, really hurting and a lot of farmers aren't going to have corn to harvest unless we get some rain. It always worries me because that's how we earn our living and if we have a bad year then it means we have to be a lot more careful with our money.

Gayle, I'm so jealous!!! I've been to the Riverwalk once and would so love to go back!!! San Antonio is such a nice city!!!! We went to Sea World when we were there and rode the little boats down the Riverwalk!!!

We went to church this morning and then went out to eat in another town because we had to go and get Karlie (She spent the night with her other Grandma, Grandpa, and her Aunt.). I wasn't impressed with the mexican place we ate and I felt that for what I ordered I was shorted so I came home hungry. We also stopped at a flea market that I really like and I got some gardening things to go in my flower beds. When we got home we (Dae Lynn, the kids, and I) dropped Glen off at church and we came on home.......so here I am.....on the computer.......listening to Dae Lynn spank Karlie for lying.......and watching Dean yell "No...no....no" at whatever he can find!!! Can you tell what he's been hearing?!!! I'm headed to the pond here in a little bit. I've been swimming almost every day!!! I love it!!!

[gja1000]

Oh Diana! I completely understand your pain regarding the rain, farming and crops. The farmer across the road from us just cut his corn and baled it for hay. There were hardly any ears on it because we just haven't had any rain - only about 3 inches since last October. We are about 12 inches in the deficit. It's the same in western Oklahoma, where the wheat harvest was just pitiful. It is very very bad out there, and they were saying we were going to come out of this drought in Sept/Oct. Now, they are saying they are not sure and the drought may continue into the winter. Oh. My. Goodness. This is NOT good. All we can hope for is a drenching tropical storm that does NOT do much damage or flooding at the coast, but gives us some much needed rain.

I know your house is chaotic right now - it's hard with the little ones. They feel the stress of the move too, but that doesn't make it any easier.

[Tiramisu]

Yes, we need rain badly. My son sold all his cows except two because the grass wouldn't sustain them all and he couldn't find hay within decent driving distance. He put the money back to buy more later. He had just paid off his loan to buy the herd a couple months earlier.

I goofed off again today, after church upgraded my cell phone to one of the $49 iPhones to replace the one Delaney lost. She's on my account and wasn't due an upgrade. I'm very satisfied with my iphone4, even with a newer one coming out in a couple months. Worked on my list of things I'll need IF I get the little house. Plan to go see the lawyer and try to get this settled this month. Oh, and I rejoined weight watchers. I enjoyed going a couple years ago and can use he socializing too.

[gja1000]

Sounds like a productive day Sandy, even though you called it lazy. I know lots who enjoy WW and I think it is great that you are going. You might make a new friend!

I have class tomorrow and so I should go to bed - but not quite ready to give it up.

We had a nice trip to San Antonio - it's about 80 miles from my house. Gary enjoyed the hunting show and I enjoyed the river walk and river mall.

After I got home I picked up my mom and we went to Luby's for dinner. It was GOOD!

Brooke and Emma are coming for one night this week. Abi is going to a volleyball camp at Texas State University, about 40 miles south of here. Brooke will drop her off on Thursday and then she and Emma will come up to our house and spend Thursday night with us. Camp is over at 9:00PM on Friday, so they will just drive back to Houston after that. It will be a short visit and I won't get to see Abi, but we are going down there the first of August, so that is OK.

[Janet]

I know you won't do it, but people are getting botox for perspiration problems!

I've heard of people doing it for perspiration....but you're right....I won't, UNLESS...lol...I ever lose enough weight then I would to help me look my best.


I have to take Mom to the kidney Dr and it's just going to be way too hot. We're going in the morning so hopefully we'll be back home before noon. I let the dogs outside and it just took my breath away. Only a couple of the dogs took off to go pee...the others turned around and went back in the house...lol.

[Tiramisu]

Yuck day! Fnally got an answer on the divorce and it's a really really sad one. Trial date set for oct 31st. What a rip. I'm taking a break from online venting for awhile. I'm very confused and stressed. I'm ok, just taking a break which is what I do when I start feeling bogged down. I think I was a turtle in a previous life because I pull in to my shell and wait for the storm to pass. I'll be back soon!

[Janet]

We'll always be here for you Sandy....I hope you don't take too long....it's been wonderful having you back. Love ya!!

[gja1000]

Very yucky day Sandy. I am so very very sorry. I understand that you will cope in the best way for you, but I will really miss you! Come back soon, or when you can. We'll be here waiting and hoping that you will be in a better place at that time.

[Lindsey]

Heat wave here too! It's so gross and humid outside. This morning the radio said there was 80% humidity!!! This afternoon it was supposed to get to 43 degrees with humidity, that's around 110 F. When I left my nice air conditioned office, it was just like a wall of heat as I walked outside. Thank goodness for air conditioning in this house! If I still lived in a place without it, I'm sure I'd be sick. My cousin and her husband live in a basement suite in the city with no air conditioning, and her husband said that in the middle of the night it was 30 degrees (86 F) in their place. He was up most of the night because of it!

We're supposed to get some bad storms again with this heat. There were tornado warnings around my parents' house today, and my dad is here in the city and my mom is home alone, so I hope everything's okay.

[gja1000]

LOL, Lindsay. The way you said it, "a wall of heat"! That is a very good way to describe this oppressive heat! That's the way I feel pretty much every day from June through September. Sometimes when I go outside, if the wind is blowing, it feels like a blow dryer is hitting me in the face. Of course in Texas that is how it feels pretty much all the time in the summer. However, you all are having more humidity now than we usually have and heat with humidity is just miserable. We will have this heat through September - it doesn't begin to cool off till October when it will be up and down. I'm so sorry those of you up north are having to deal with this. It's a way of life for us, and it isn't any fun at all. Of course, we are not supposed to be 100+ EVERYDAY, so maybe we'll get a break from the 100 degree temps too, but not likely for several weeks now. The weather is just not nice right now!

[judy]

Sandy, I know you will be okay, but we will be waiting for you, and supporting you whether you post or not. I also go into hibernation when it all gets to be too much. We will miss you, and I will be praying for you.

I cannot believe the heat you are having Linds! Your weather goes from one extreme to another! Stay cool!!!

Gayle, I heard on TV yesterday that Austin Texas is the highest rated place for the baby boomer retirees to move to! Lots of music, culture, fun, and an easy, interesting place to live! I guess that included living in an air conditioned place, but most people do.

[DianaB]

Sandy, I understand about needing some time to yourself and we'll be here when you come back. I'm sure that going through a divorce is hard. I don't understand why it has to go on so long.

The heat here is pretty unbearable too. I've been watering the yard because if I don't I won't have any grass at all!!! And our water has just gone up so I'm really hating this!!! Glen's talking about getting a pump and pumping the water from the pond up to the yard.....but he's got to figure out if it's cheaper to do that compared to just buying the water.......cost of electricity compared to cost of water!!!!

It's a good thing that we don't raise livestock because we'd be broke!!! We bought 100 chicks this spring.........we lost half of them when they all tried to huddle under a warm light during a cool spell.......then Glen put them in a chicken coop and as they grew he wanted them to wander around the yard so he's let them out of the pen every day......so we've been losing anywhere from one to four a day sometimes. NOW we're down to FOUR chickens!!!!! It's a good thing that we don't make a living at this!!!!! Glen's wanting eggs but the last I knew we only had two hens!!!! I don't think that we're going to have any surplus!!!! :sidesplit:

Oh....and Glen and I went to Wichita yesterday. My camera was having problems with the lens and we had an extended contract on it that was about to expire. I had called but they wouldn't let me send it so we had to go out which worked out alright because Amy's airconditioner went out and we picked up a new one for them. It was soooo hot out there with all of the pavement!!! I was so glad to get home!!!!

[Lindsey]

Sandy, I know you will be okay, but we will be waiting for you, and supporting you whether you post or not. I also go into hibernation when it all gets to be too much. We will miss you, and I will be praying for you.

I cannot believe the heat you are having Linds! Your weather goes from one extreme to another! Stay cool!!!

Gayle, I heard on TV yesterday that Austin Texas is the highest rated place for the baby boomer retirees to move to! Lots of music, culture, fun, and an easy, interesting place to live! I guess that included living in an air conditioned place, but most people do.

Usually it doesn't get this hot. Usually it's mid-30's, but the humidity this year is just crazy! We usually have dry heat. But yes, we can be close to -60C with windchill factors in the winter (-70's F) and around +40 in the summer (100-110 F). We're built for all kinds of conditions lol! I overheard someone else saying that there's only one other spot in the world that gets such extreme temperature changes over a year, but I don't remember where that was. Someone in the office was talking about it!

Diana, I couldn't bear to be outside either! But at least you were able to pick up an air conditioner for Amy, I'm sure she needs it now!

Scott and I finally went to the dentist today. It's really bad, I hadn't been for 5 years, and he hadn't been in at least that long. I am TERRIFIED of dentists. Anyways, I had a cleaning and check-up, and luckily even after 5 years, no cavities! My biggest fear about dentists is having needles in my mouth :rolleyes: You would think that would encourage me to go MORE, but nope! Anyways, I lucked out this time. I've only had 2 cavities in my life, when I was around 12 years old, but it still scares me!

Apparently, Scott and I have both developed a habit of grinding our teeth at night. I never thought I did that. But, they're showing enamel wear and cracking :( So they're going to order a night guard for me. It's about $250 but my insurance may cover part of it.

Scott also needs his wisdom teeth removed, which I have been telling him for ages. Unfortunately, he can't just have them pulled because they're coming in sideways. He needs to go to an oral surgeon and have the gums cut open and the teeth extracted. The cost is about $1900 and his insurance will not cover that. He hasn't made an appointment yet, but it looks like we're going to have to look at this wedding budget again and probably cut some things out.

[DianaB]

Lindsey, I don't like going to the dentist either and I have a hard time making appointments so I schedule the appointment when I'm there......a year ahead of time. Then they call and remind me when it gets close. Otherwise I probably wouldn't go every year.

[Lindsey]

I should have made an appointment too, but we're so unsure of what our plans will be like next July with our wedding and whenever we might get time off for a honeymoon! Oh well, the scraping hurt and it won't hurt so much if there isn't so much build-up. That might get me back there sooner.

We had troubles finding a dentist who would take new patients! Both of our last dentists were in our hometowns (well near my hometown) and we needed to get one in our city now.

I am glad we got in where we did! This office is in the medical tower attached to the biggest mall in the city. After we got our work done, we went down to the jewelry store where Scott bought my ring, and they all knew each other :rolleyes: That's where got our Swiss watches sized! They didn't size them for us in Switzerland. I'm wearing it now for the first time. I just love it! I'll attach a picture...

[Janet]

My brother Jerry called today and said he was going to come and stay with Mom so I could get out for a little while. I get so emotional ya know. It was all I could do to keep from crying until he got here. Then...I got in my van and cried all the way to town.

I stopped by the Cellular store to get info about internet. I still can't really afford it...it would be cheaper for me to pay the $15 a month for the service on my IPad2. I just didn't want to have to carry it everywhere and take a chance on something happening to it. With a phone...it's usually in my pocket.

While I was in town, my brother called and said that the computer place called and my computer was done. So I picked it up and was shocked to learn there was no charge. It didn't make the noise I told them about so they just cleaned it all up...and now it works great.

When I got home I cleaned up a cantelope and cut it up into pieces in a bowl. It is so sweet and so juicy so I know what I'm having for breakfast in the morning.

[gja1000]

YES! That's why you need Janet, some time away from the house. Times like that are SO IMPORTANT for persons who are doing fulltime caregiving!!! You need to be thinking ahead a little bit. What are you going to do when school starts and you have to leave to drive the bus?

[gja1000]

I have class this afternoon but I am completely ready for it so there's not much to do this morning. I have a gillion other things that I need to do so I will make some headway on those.

My daughter Brooke and Emma are coming tomorrow afternoon to spend the night!!! Abi has a volleyball camp at a small college 30 miles south of Austin, so Brooke will drop her off at noon at the camp tomorrow. Then Brooke and Emma will drive up here and spend the night with us. We'll get mom and go out to eat tomorrow evening. Then on Friday, Brooke and Emma will be here all day so we can go shopping! I am in the process of making some changes in my kitchen - I'll tell you all about that later, and she can help me make some of the decisions. She'll be here all day as she has to pic up Abi at volleyball camp at 9:00PM on Friday. They are just going to drive on back to Houston at that time, rather than driving all the way back up here and then getting up Saturday and driving home. It will be so good to see them. We plan to go down there Aug 4-6, only a couple of weeks away, but it will be good to have them here.

[Janet]

If I need to make a quick run to town or when I'm driving the bus (1.5 hours morning and again in the afternoon) Mom just stays in bed while I'm gone. Our TV went out again so I ran to town to get Mom's and she just stays in bed...matter of fact I've been home for 30 minutes and she's still asleep.

[DianaB]

I was wondering what you were going to do when you start driving the bus again as well. It's really time for you and your brothers to do some serious talking. You can't keep doing what you're doing and work too. You're too stressed out the way things are now. I hope you know that I'm concerned for you.

Gayle, that's great that the girls are coming for a while. You don't mention it but I know that you miss having them close by. Enjoy your time with them!!!

Today I've had the kids while Dae Lynn and Damon have been cleaning out their house. Damon can get out on work release to help with some things. His court date today was for NOTHING!!! Everything is put off until August 8th. I just don't understand how things operate with all of this.

This evening we're helping to take some of our church kids to a neighboring town's pool. It's about 15 miles away and they just got a new pool this year so we're excited to go. It will be a hot trip over since we'll be going in the church bus but at least the trip will be fairly short. Really.....I'm just ready for some time alone!!! Oh well.....maybe next week!!!!

[Janet]

Gayle I'm so glad you get to visit with your girls. I know you'll have a great time. I love hearing about your visits with them.

Diana....I think the court system sucks about as much as the medical profession in Indiana....lol.
Going swimming in a nice pool sounds so wonderful right now. One of these days I need to get me a bathing suit in case the time ever comes that I get to swim again.

Today I ran to town to get Mom's mail and her TV. We thought ours went out, but it was something else. Not sure I understand it all, but Rick had to put in a new electrical outlet. The breaker kept blowing and we couldn't figure out why except maybe because of the heat or maybe because there might have been too many things on the breaker. Neither were the reason. When the breaker blew the last time Ricky smelled something burnt. It was an outlet that had my digital frame plugged into it.

All seems to be fine now and the TV still works great. Now we'll have to take Mom's back to her house. I just don't have room for another TV right now.

The HHA came today and gave Mom a bath. She is younger than I and I just love her to pieces. So fun to talk to and Mom just loves her too.

The rest of the day....I ended up in one heck of a bad mood. Not sure why, but it sucked...lol.

[Tiramisu]

Missed y'all more than my shell or a margarita.

I think we should definitely plan that meetup. We all need some time away. Can we hold out until it gets a little cooler?

[gja1000]

Sandy! You make me smile!!! :) I'm so glad you couldn't live without us!!! Yes, we need to plan that meetup - and we DEFINITELY need to wait till it's cooler!!!

Are you doing OK?

[Janet]

Sandy.....we love you!!!! :D So glad you didn't stray too far. I pray whenever there is something scheduled that I can make it. It would absolutly break my heart if I couldn't meet with all of you.

[Blueyes]

Count me in for a meetup!! It's been a crazy summer so far for me. Kids are moving to Paris Aug 28th. Just shoot me now:p

[gja1000]

Well now, Paris is a lot easier to visit!!! And the 28th is over a month away!

[DianaB]

Count me in for a meetup!!!! Nothing will keep me from being there........I think!!!!

Betsi.....I'm sorry that your kids are leaving again. I'd sure be saving my money to go and visit......after all....you wouldn't have a hotel expense and they'd know their way around to all of the good areas!!!!

Our swim night went really well!! The pool was so nice....there was a water slide and a nice play area for lilttle kids. A lot of the kids went plus we had some families from church that went as well. Karlie had learned to swim the end of last summer so she's going pretty good now but we still stick a life jacket on her. Last night I was swimming around the deep area near the diving boards and I looked up in time to see her jump off of the low board and swim to the side!!!! None of us knew that she was planning on doing it!!! Thank goodness there were life guards watching but they weren't needed!!!! She surprised us!!! She also went down the water slide alone but there was a life guard at the bottom to help the little kids out!!!

This morning the kids from church came out and had a scavenger hunt!! This has been a special week of doing things with the kids. The kids all got good and muddy then we took them to the pond to clean up and took them home. I stayed at the pond and swam a little longer after they left......the water felt so good and wasn't so hot. I may start going down more often in the mornings!!

Other than that I've been moving hoses around trying to water the yard. It's been never-ending with this heat!!! I do love my little tractor that is a sprinkler!! It's so cool!!!!

[Tiramisu]

Let's set a date, please! A cozy colorado cabin with a huge fireplace, lots of wine, coffee and snacks. How about the last few days of Christmas break for the school people, second weekend of janurary.

I got a double injection in my neck this morning and a huge scrip for hydrocodone that I'm not getting filled. And, I agreed to go for pt. Had an easy day at work because the boss is out. Went with a couple of girls for margaritas and am now horizontal on my couch.

I went by the house for some things AXH (almost ex husband) said he'd put in shed for me. Still not giving me the main things I want, but I'm not dealing with him any more.

[judy]

Good for you Sandy!!! You don't need stuff, just peace of mind!

[DianaB]

Sorry Sandy. I'm sure that there's a good reason that you're divorcing him!!!!

A meet up would be great but personally I'd like to wait until Janet can come too. Right now she's so tied up with her Mom and I know that later on she'd really enjoy all of us getting together.

[Lindsey]

I would love to meet everyone too, but I don't think I can really fit it in when our wedding is coming up next year. But I hope you all have fun!

[Janet]

Diana...you're so sweet and I love you, but please. If someone could set a date, keeping in mind that some of us just don't have a whole lot of extra money...it takes me a bit to save up, but I can do it. I want to meet you all so bad. I just can't sit by waiting on my Mother to pass on, so if I can do that date....I will certainly try my best to be there. The only thing that would keep me from getting there would be work, if Mom was taking a turn for the worse..etc. You know...health reasons for me or for Ricky.

I would definitely want as many as possible to be able to come.

[Tiramisu]

Janet, when do you go back to school after Christmas? Gayle, I think you're out until mid January. As for me, I need a date to work towards. A place would be nice, too.

I worked a nice quiet day. Delaney and I went to see the Monte Carlo movie. We were going to eat out but were so full on popcorn that we just stopped for her a dessert and me a margarita, after the bookstore for her to get a new book for her church camp road trip. Odds are she'll be finished before she goes home tomorrow afternoon.

[DianaB]

Today was so busy here.....it felt like Grand Central Station!!!

Dae Lynn went and picked up Damon (he's on work release to Glen to help with the farming) and he fixed omelets for breakfast for all of us. Glen's brother, Mark, came by and a friend from church brought back a saw that he had borrowed. Then Jaci came over to help me get my flower beds in shape (which turned out great). Since Jaci was here Kera and Daya came over to help and I had Karlie and Dean outside with us while Dae Lynn worked on laundry!!! Jaci and the girls all stayed for lunch and through the afternoon so we stayed pretty busy though the day as well!!! It seems like it's 9:00 p.m. before everything finally gets settled down......it's crazy!!! About the time I finally get the kitchen cleaned up then someone thinks it's time to eat again!!! Whew!!!!!

[gja1000]

I'm out over Christmas till about Jan. 20th. I'm thinking we should go some place like St. Louis. It's only about a 5-6 hour drive for Janet. Those of us in Texas could fly up for about $350 (fares today) or take the train up for about $200. I've ridden the train to St. Louis and you arrive about 7:30AM. The return trip leaves St. Louis at about 8:00PM, so it would be fine for a weekend or longer trip. The trip for Judy would be much longer, but then she lives soooo far northeast.

[gja1000]

OK, back to the real world. Brooke and Emma left yesterday evening about 7:30. It was so much fun having them here, but whew! what a whirlwind they are, especially Emma. She's so much fun though. She 4 1/2, she'll be five in November, so she won't go to kindergarten this year. Brooke has stayed home since she was born and being a school teacher, they have "school" everyday. Emma loves it and is learning so much. She's pretty smart!

We went out to eat Thursday evening and had a fun dinner at a local restaurant. The food was really good too! Mom was with us so it was nice to all be together.

Friday we got up and went out to eat at their favorite breakfast spot. Then we ran some errands, did a little shopping and came home for the afternoon. Brooke wanted to take a nap since she had to drive home to Houston later in the day. I got mom and brought her over to see Emma.

We fixed dinner here - a really easy meal. Soft chicken tacos. Brooke put a chicken breast and two thighs in the crock pot with a package of taco seasoning, covered them with water and we cooked it all day. The meat just fell apart and she shredded it. Then we just served it with tortillas, shredded cheese, pico de gallo, salsa, chips, sour cream, avacados, Mexican rice, and jalapeno cornbread we got at the deli. Everyone got to fix their own. It was a really easy dinner and everyone liked it.

After we cleaned up dinner, it was about time for Brooke and Emma to leave. Gary and I took mom home and then we looked for computer desks at Office Max and Office Depot. We found one that we really liked at Office Depot. We looked on Craigslist and the thrift stores a few days ago, but didn't find anything exactly like we wanted.

There is a computer desk and workspace in the corner of my kitchen. I considered taking it out before we moved in, but we had so many other things to do I just didn't want to bother with it. I like having the computer in the kitchen, but it makes it look cluttered. We are getting ready to replace our counter tops, so I decided to go ahead and have the corner office taken out. It's too big to move to the bedroom where office is located, so we will just sell it. So, that is why we are looking for a computer desk with some storage. There is lots of storage in this kitchen corner office, but I don't have too much in it - however, I do need a desk in the bedroom office with some storage and I think we may have found it.

We've got to decide on the tile for the backsplash and I think we have decided on the tile but now we need to compare some prices and get a bid on installation. That will probably take up most of today.

[judy]

Everybody has been busy, especially with family!

I went over to Jessie's at about 7:30 yesterday morning. Brandon had out patient surgery on his ear. He has an extra hole, which keeps getting infected. The doctor closed it up, and hopefully got the whole issue solved. He just had his tonsils out! He is getting to be quite a trooper!

Kassidy got sick fro9m the heat on Thursday, so I went there to take care of her until they came back from the surgery. She is not a little girl anymore!!! She is 9, and beginning to become a betwixt and between-er. We watched TV, played a board game, and just relaxed. She had not eaten the day before, so she ate all day!!!

Brandon got a new video game, so they went right upstairs to play with it! He is so sweet, I can hardly stand it! Mackenzie was still at camp, but I went home. I saw her in the morning before she left.

Jessie talked to me about wanting to get off of her pain medication. It is very strong, and she feels very sleepy when she is driving. It is also addictive, so she always has to be on top of her prescriptions, etc. I am only worried about what she could take as a replacement. The pain meds now are addictive in a different way. People crave more and more of things like oxycontin and vicodin, and get in way over their heads. Her medication doesn't have that side effect, but it is addictive physically.

I fell asleep, then went into the pool when I came home, and that was my day. My friend Deb called at 10:30 last night to see if I wanted to go back to the pool. I said no- my day was over. Truthfully, I am afraid of bears that late. We have seen bear poop at the pool, so I know they go there at night. Do you think they are swimming and frolicking in the pool?

It's another hot one, so back to the pool for me today. I bought some plants for deck, so I am going to plant them if it is cool later. I got some gardenias, and other deck box flowers, and two gorgeous coleus plants. I can bring the coleus in for the winter, so I love those!

[Tiramisu]

Let's work towards an early january meet up?! We're such busy bees.

Delaney and I slept in this morning, went to Denny's for brunch, half price books and then it was time for her to go home. She's so much like me that we don't talk much. We just buddy around and have fun. We understand each others weirdness.

Now I'm washing clothes and doing some organizing.

[DianaB]

Glen and I had an outside afternoon wedding!!!!! One of Jaci's best friends that I'm also close to got married. She's such a sweet girl but who in their right mind would have an outside wedding in the middle of the afternoon in July????? It was 103*!!! At least the wedding was short!!! We sat on haybales right in the sun!!! Then we went to a senior citizen's center for a supper and reception. They were also having a dance but we left right after supper because it was so hot even in the building. I hated missing the rest of it but I just couldn't take the heat......plus I kept looking at the cake and homemade mints and I was trying to tell myself that MAYBE I could just have a couple of bites......then it was three bites.......or maybe four!!!! Anyway....we left before I had to think about it much longer!!!! LOL

[Lindsey]

Yesterday Scott and I did some house cleaning and I went shopping for some food for the barbeque. We had 5 people show up, out of the 20 or more that were invited. Scott's best man showed up and brought 2 others. We had some drinks outside, ate on the deck, and then came inside to play some games. One of them had brought a game called Smart Ass, and it was pretty good... mostly because I kept winning.

They all left at 10:30! So on a weeknight, they'll stay until 1 am, but on a weekend, they leave early! I don't get it!

At least we got to sleep a little earlier. We're going into the city again today because Scott needs some work boots and we also need a wedding gift for a wedding next weekend. We may also be picking up 20 black vases I found used on a classifieds site. I thought they'd be perfect for centerpieces!

When we get home this afternoon, we have a woman coming out to meet Layla. She answered our ad online looking for someone to care for her. At first she thought she could drive out here daily (she's from the city) but then suggested maybe we could just take her in with us and leave her at her house. We'll see how it goes! She has 3 chihuahuas and 3 daughters, but I asked if Layla could be in a seperate room, and she said she'd probably keep her with her older male who is also very timid. Anyways, we'll meet her today and see how things go. We haven't had a chance to call her references yet. She was going to charge $15/day to come out here, but I think it will be cheaper leaving Layla at her house. We were trying to avoid driving with Layla, but in reality it might be for the best. I can't tell you how many days in the winter the weather turns around completely from the time we leave the house in the morning to the time we come home at night. Sometimes it's just not safe to drive, but we'd have to try it if we had Layla at home. If she's in the city already it would be easier to stay for the night if we need to!

[gja1000]

I've tried to write this twice and got interrupted both times. Then I hit the wrong button and lost all I'd written. :rolleyes:

I had a really good time with brooke and Emma. We went out to eat, shopping, spent time gabbing and getting caught up and just lots of general fun stuff.

Yesterday Gary and I ran around and looked for office furniture, backsplash tile and a cook stove. I think we found everything we want and we bought a stove. It was hard to buy the stove because we need a slide in model and most stoves in the stores are free standing. There are lots of slide in models for sale online but I refuse to buy a stove I haven't seen. Only sears had slide in models in their store, so I bought one that was on sale. I really like it. I hope I like using it. It has both a conventional And convection oven. I don't really need the convection part, but I have a convection oven in my trailer and it really does cook well and faster. It will be nice in the summer heat to be able to cook something in the oven twice as fast. Basically I just don't cook in the oven now.

This morning we got up early and went to breakfast at cracker barrel. I had the lo fat yogurt parfait and it was good, but now I'm already hungry :confused: when we got home I washed down the trailer (outside) and when it cools off this evening, I'm going to put the cover on it. I've needed to do this for 2 months, but kept putting it off.
:rolleyes: I'm going to get a pedicure later and Gary said he was going to get one too, we will see if he actually goes :D

[gja1000]

He not only went with me but he got a pedicure :D. He liked it but nearly jumped out of the chair when they used the sanding scrub thingy on the bottom of his feet. He is VERY ticklish! But he really enjoyed it. The shop owners are from Vietnam and Gary was there in 1968-9, so he visited with them about places in Vietnam. Well, as much as he could, given that he could barely understand them. But he had a good time.

[DianaB]

That's surprising that Gary got a pedicure!!!! There is NO way that Glen would ever get one!!!!

Sounds like your kitchen remodel is coming along.....I can't wait to see pictures when it's done!!!

Lindsey.....I hope you find just the right person to take care of Layla. I would just hate it if she ended up where someone didn't take good care of her. She's been through so very much and is so special. Good luck with this lady.

We went to church this morning and then went out to eat with our pastor and his wife. They are about our age and are fun to be around. We went to Alco and the grocery store for awhile before we came home........mostly because I just needed to get out for awhile!!!! Dae Lynn's been picking up groceries so I really haven't needed to go to town at all. We have church on Sunday evenings too but tonight we have a church meeting about buying some property near the church for expansion some day and we need to vote on it. Finances haven't been very good for the church lately so I'm not sure how I'm voting. Anyway.....after church we're having a get-together and are bringing snacky food. We're cutting up a watermelon.....yummmmm........but it's not on my diet. :(

[Lindsey]

This lady seems great! She had her youngest daughter with her, she's 4 years old, and she was respectful of Layla which was good to see. We tried expressing but she didn't get it very well, but she's ready to try again. She thinks Layla would get along great in her house. We're going to try going over there to see her place and see if Layla is okay with her dogs and everything. I really hope it works out because she is so nice and so in love with Layla already! She said she's been showing everyone her picture that I had with the ad!

She lives near my new workplace so we would still have to bring Layla in every day, and I would drop Scott off, then drop Layla off, then go to work.

I also just sent an email to my manager at my office to say I wanted to let her know before Monday morning, and it has been a very difficult decision but I decided to take a design position at another company. I said I just wanted to move my career in a different direction and that it has been very hard for me because I like the company and the people and it will be tough to say good-bye. I attached a PDF of my resignation, and told her I will take a signed copy to her office on Monday morning.

Now I'm drinking Bailey's on ice. I haven't heard back from her but I really want to know when she reads it. I am feeling sick about it :( The receptionist said people do this over email a lot, so I shouldn't feel bad about it. But honestly if I were to do it in person I would cry, so at least I am easing into it. I will talk to her about it in person tomorrow.

[gja1000]

Lindsay, I'm sorry, I didn't see your birthday party update, so I asked about it below. I'm glad that you all had a good time. Sometimes small celebrations are the best!

[Tiramisu]

I didn't no enough to post anything today. Glad to see you're all active. I've had a nagging headache all day, probably not drinking enough water. Back to work tomorrow!

[Janet]

Got up this morning and just didn't feel like staying home. I fixed Mom and Ricky a nice breakfast and then Ricky was off to work. Then Mom and I went to her house. She can't really walk much anymore so waited in the car while I ran in and picked up her mail. Then we went to Wal Mart. I thought Mom needed a change of scenery so we picked up a few meds and then I we just kind of went through the store.....me pushing her in her wheelchair. It really wore her out....maybe it was the short time in the heat..I'm not sure, but she came home and went straight to bed.

She did have a friend come to visit with her for about 45 minutes or so. As soon as she left...Mom wanted to go back to bed. I mostly just loafed around the rest of the day just enjoying it. Then.....Rick came home from his weekend trip....:lolol Oh well....I knew it wasn't going to last.

[gja1000]

I can understand Janet, sometimes I just can't stay at home either - and I'm gone out to work almost everyday - crazy! But you definitely need to get out of the house - I think one gets housitosis when you are cooped up too long. :D

I've been enjoying watching the birds in the backyard over the weekend. I kept the feeders full so they birds were thick. They empty the feeders in about a day (4 feeders) so I can't keep them full everyday or I'd go broke. LOL! Mom really enjoyed watching the birds too when she was over on Thursday and Friday. I feel very lucky to have a wonderful backyard with so many pretty birds.

[Janet]

Just wondering what kinds of birds come visit you... I have feeders up for the Hummingbirds and Gold Finches and that's all. We do see others now and then but I'm really not bird person.

[DianaB]

I'm sure that your Mom enjoyed the birds. We have feeders outside of our living room windows and enjoy seeing the birds in the winter but we don't feed them in the summer. There are plenty of other things to eat at this time so they really don't need fed. I do enjoy watching them though.

This morning I was sitting in my chair that has an ottoman and Karley made a big jump to sit down on the ottoman and hit my little toe. I think that she may have broken it!!! I heard a pop and it hurts like the dickens!!! It's a little bit swollen and I can see some bruising. I was NOT very happy with her. She acts like the house is a jungle gym and I get really tired of it. Some things are going to change around here!!!!

I sure hope that it doesn't bother me while I swim or I'm not going to be happy. At Lloyd's that's what we do.....is swim but it should be a little better by then.

Karlie did apologize to me but actually it was the second time that she had jumped on me. I'll be glad when things get a little more settled because everyone seems to get moody........me included.....and I'm tired of it!!!!

I'm so ready to go to Lloyd's this weekend. Some of my cousins are going to be there and I really enjoy being around them. I think that Glen's going to go on over to Beaver Lake and get his Scuba Certification. His instructor was from Joplin and with the tornado he hadn't bothered to contact him about getting certified but I think that this is one of the weekends that was planned. Beaver Lake is near where we'll be so it will work out well for us.

[Janet]

Hope you have a good time at Lloyds.

[Tiramisu]

Diana, sorry about your toe. Karley must be so confused with all the changes she's had in her short life.

I had a regular Monday, having a blast with match.com. Might meet one guy at a coffee shop in a couple days ... Probably won't. Just want some male conversation, NOTHING ELSE

[gja1000]

Oh Diana, I wish we were going to Beaver Lake!!! It is so beautiful there. We missed going this year due to the high water in our campground.

Janet, I'm just getting into bird watching, so I don't know some of the birds I see. We have lots of mourning doves, cardinals, mocking birds, house finches, yellow finches, sparrows, and some birds I don't know the names. I got a bird identifier for the iPad but haven't had time to really investigate. Yesterday I saw what looked like a cardinal, but it had an orange beak, orange top knot, and a greenish breast with brownish tail feathers. When I looked it up, it was a female cardinal. I had never seen one like that, it was very interesting. I also saw a fat little black, grey and white bird yesterday. It was so interesting looking and had very distinctive markings, but I haven't looked it up yet. We also had a pair of blue jays yesterday. I've seen the male before but both were here yesterday. I have a hummingbird feeder up but I only see a hummer about once every two weeks or so. I saw one Saturday and again Sunday. I wish they'd come around more.

[Janet]

Today has been a horrible day. Didn't do much because the PT came for Mom. Mom was weak when he got here and didn't want to do anything, he showed very little compassion and it made me a bit angry. Mom got through the exercises, but it wore her out and made it hard for her to catch her breath. After being on the meds to raise her BP...after the exercises it was still only 109/55.

She ate very little for lunch. My niece came out to bring Mom a small lap quilt she had someone make for her. It is so pretty and Mom really loves it. We then started talking about her shower and that she was going to have it remodeled. I showed her a shower stall that I had seen and thought of her. It wouldn't work for her bathroom she said. I asked her if she really needed to remodel the shower because of a leak.....that her Mom and Dad said it was because she gets out and shakes her hair and water everywhere. Well....I stuck my foot in my mouth again! I asked her to tell me more about her ideas and she said "no" that she had to go. She hugged Mom and left. I was following her out the door to ask what was wrong and that we should talk and she said she didn't want to talk....got in her car and left. This niece is in her 30's.....35 I think.

It had me so upset all evening and the tear just fell. My eyes still feel very swollen from crying so hard and for so long. Rick came home and just as he did I heard Mom yelling for me. It made me a bit angry because she is always yelling for me and I said "quit your damn yelling, I'm coming". Well....she got out of bed to get on the commode and her feet slipped out from under her. I yelled for Rick to come help me get Mom off the floor. He comes in and gets on his knees!!!!! I said "what the sam h-ll are you doing? You can't pick someone up on your knees". Rick always makes a bad situation worse because he has no common sense.

I got Mom on to the commode but by then it was too late. She was on the commode and also throwing up in the waste basket. So not only did I have a crap mess on the floor, her and the commode, I had to clean up vomit as well.

When I got it all cleaned up and I went to the kitchen, Rick decided to tell me he was tired of getting yelled at all the time. I told him I was tired of yelling at him for no common sense and since he was unhappy and I was unhappy we should just get the marriage overwith. I really don't remember much what was said after that because I zoned out. He did say he wanted to make it work. I told him I didn't know if it was possible and he started in saying there was too many 'things' in the house meaning Mom, that we had no privacy. I didn't know we needed privacy!

I just know when my brother Jerry and his wife come out tomorrow to give Mom her Epogen shot that something will be probably said about Dusti (my niece, their daughter). I told Mom it seems I'm alienating everyone and if she wanted to see people she should go live somewhere else. I'm so tired. Tired of all the drama, the work and life period! I honestly don't know if I want to wake up in the morning. It's all just too hard. I'm so unhappy!

[judy]

I am so sorry your day went so badly, Janet!

Is there a social worker, or a counselor you could go to talk, or maybe find a support group of caretakers? It sounds like the stress is getting really hard to deal with by yourself. Finding some ongoing support would be nice for you.

By the way, I think your niece acted like a child. She is an adult, and so what if her parents said that? It's her shower, and she can do whatever she wants. It was awfully nice of her to bring the quilt though.

[judy]

It rained yesterday, and I was so glad! We needed the rain, and I needed to stay home for a day. The sun has been so hot at the pool.

I also needed a day to myself. I truly love my summer friends, but I am finding that I am getting really bored with the pool every day. We did have a book discussion group last night, and that was very nice. We discussed "Sing You Home," by Jodi Picoult. She is a formula writer, who I would never read, except for this group. She does discuss interesting, current topics, but is a very lazy author. This book is about gay parents and that is really current. She also talks about music therapy, which is very interesting. I just started "What Alice Forgot," for our next discussion. Looks good!

I am going to my writers' group on Thursday. They all really liked my story, which made me feel wonderful! These are amazing writers, and most of them have had their work published, so when they like my writing, I feel goooood!

Today will be another pool day, which will be nice, since I had yesterday off!

I put out a hummingbird feeder, and no birds have come! It's still full. ?????

[DianaB]

Judy, sometimes it takes a while for the birds to find the feeder. Be patient.

Janet, I'm so sorry that all of this is going on. I know that life is hard for you. You've got to reach out and find some help for yourself. If things are going so badly then you really do need to consider a nursing home. You would much rather go and enjoy being with your Mom then to be resenting her and your situation. Hugs!!!

[DianaB]

Janet, here are some other forums you might be interested in.

http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Caring-For-Aging-Parents/forum

http://www.christianforums.com/f453/

On these forums you can chat with others who are going through the same things. Love ya'!!!

http://www.helpguide.org/elder/caring_for_caregivers.htm

http://caregivers.supportgroups.com/

http://mikegamble.websitetoolbox.com/

[Tiramisu]

Oh, Janet, you're strong, but you need a break. Set your priorities somehow. I'm thinking about you.

[gja1000]

Judy is right, you are depressed, you are trapped in more ways that one, and you are spiraling downward. You need some relief NOW. You need a social worker in the worst way.

[Tiramisu]

Worked 8 hours, went to an awesome physical therapy appointment, ate Casablanca ole to watch the rain, had a nice talk with my son asking him car questions I know the answer to making him feel needed, walked awhile with my doggie, laying on the couch, about to take a pain pill and muscle relaxer.

[gja1000]

Sandy, you have been BUSY! I hope you feel better soon. I know how miserable PT can make you feel, at least initially. Thank goodness you have drugs! :D

[Janet]

I went to therapy too and I'm very sore. Hopefully it will get better soon. I wrote more in another thread so I won't repeat myself.

About 8:30 this evening I heard Mom calling me and found her lying on the floor again. She had tried to get on the commode and missed.....everything missed. She's okay and I was able to get her back in bed. Tomorrow I take her to the neurologist so hopefully we can find out why she keeps passing out. We also have an appt a week from Thursday to see her regular Dr. I need to find out why Mom can't keep food down and if she's not eating much, why there is so much waste. She is having problems swallowing. It was the soonest they could get her in unless there is a cancellation so they have us on list.

[judy]

I am glad you finally got to the therapist. I will look for your other post.

Mom sounds like she is having a very hard time. I hope tomorrow is a better day for her.

[DianaB]

I'm so worried about your Mom. I sure wish that the doctor would find out what was going on. For her sake and yours!!! I know that you're so tired of everything that's going on but you're a good daughter!!!

We had an absolutely crazy day here!!! Dae Lynn has Damon's neice spending the night with us. Taylor is a sweetie but she's not used to being away from her family. She's twelve and Karlie just adores her!!! Then we had Daya stay because Taylor was here.....then Kera decided to stay too. So they all but the tent on the trampoline and spent the night......except for Taylor, who got scared!!!

The phone has rung all day long....which I just hate.......it was mostly Damon needing rides to other places. He's on work release but hasn't been able to drive ever since he and Dae Lynn have been married so it's a real inconvience to Dae Lynn. Then Dae Lynn decided to make some salsa and freeze some butternut squash but she was in and out of the house while she was doing it. I was trying to get some furniture rearranged and my bedroom cleaned out but had to keep helping out Dae Lynn.

THEN.....we had a swim party at the lake with Amy and church kids. It was fun.....but before we left we had a low tire and Glen was aggravated about it. He backed up and backed the side of the Tahoe into his pickup and put a dent in the driver's door. He's been so grouchy about everything and I'm just so tired of it!! He knew it because I didn't hardly talk to him......he's kissing up now and apologizing so he knew he was in the wrong.

I have been so ready for evening. Taylor decided she wants to go home so Dae Lynn is running her home and going to Wal-mart so she'll be out late tonight but at least the kids are in bed!!! Yay!!! Jazzi and I are snuggling and relaxing together so our evening is so much more calm!!!

Tomorrow I'm going to start packing and getting ready to go to Lloyd's. I can't wait to get away for awhile!!!! My Aunt Marva is going to be there!!! Yay!!!

[Janet]

Tell more about Lloyd's. I've tried checking other posts for more detail but I've been having quite a few brain farts lately. Is this where you went with all of your aunts that time?

[gja1000]

I agree with Diana about being worried about your mom. The more I think about it, I agree with Sandy that this could be clogged carotid arteries. Now, there may not be much they can do about that particular problem, because the main fix is surgery which your mom probably can't tolerate. But there may be some medication to increase blood flow to the brain which would definitely help.

Oh and Diana, I definitely empathize with your crazy household. We were like that, but only for a couple of months, and didn't have a toddler. I might have to retreat to my bomb shelter (if I had one, he he).

[judy]

Diana, you need an RV! You could stay in there, nice and comfy, and let everyone else deal with the craziness! I think you are amazing! I would be unable to do what you are doing!

I am glad that Glen is sorry!

[DianaB]

Tell more about Lloyd's. I've tried checking other posts for more detail but I've been having quite a few brain farts lately. Is this where you went with all of your aunts that time?

Yes, this is the same place we've gone before with my aunts and uncles....and my Mom's cousins....that's who Lloyd is. It's in a huge cabin that's like camp......four bedrooms with 5 or more beds in each room!!!! The good part is that there's 3 bathrooms!!! The house is made for being lived in....nothing very fancy!!!!

Here's a map. From the red spot for Big M.....we are on the opposite side where the sharp point is. Lloyd's cabin is right on that point!!! It's so cool and we swim right off of that point sometimes. It takes us about 4 hours to drive there.

http://activities.wildernet.com/pages/activity.cfm?actid=US0658NRRS1036cg&areaid=MO&rectype=Camping&startrecord=1&fromPage=summary&CU_ID=1

Here's a post when we went before. It shows the cabin and what all is there. In the last picture is my aunt, Joan, that we lost a couple of years ago. She is still missed so much and was always the life of the party!!!!

http://www.4womentalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5263&highlight=lloyd%27s

I don't think that we'll be back home until Monday. Glen's wanting to go towards Kansas City and pick up some parts for something. Maybe we can stop at some flea markets or something on the way!!!!

[Janet]

I took Mom to the neurologist today for the scan type thing. She had 29 little things connected to her head. For a about 10 minutes out of the 40, the tech thinks it's perfect for the Dr. to read....the rest...will be a little difficult. Mom did sleep for those 10 minutes, but the tech said she was too tense for part of it. We'll just have to wait and see. The tech told me that if the Dr. didn't get back with me in two weeks....to call them back for the results. She thinks it will be sooner but is not suppose to say so.

When we first got there I pulled up front and got the wheel chair out of the back. I helped Mom get out of the car and then she collapsed. I didn't know if I was going to be able to hold her up off the hot pavement or not. A very nice young lady that was driving a wheel chair van, helped me get Mom in the wheel chair and Mom was just lying back with her eyes open. She was out cold. I finally got Mom to come to and we got her into the building and up to where she was to have this procedure done. The tech is hoping it will show up since it just happened.

So...that makes 3 times Mom as passed out/lost balance or just plain ended up on the floor/ground in less than a week. I hope they can get it figured out quickly.

[gja1000]

Two weeks is too freakin' long to wait for the results. I'm telling you Janet, you are lucky I'm not up there with you - I'd be doing some ripping a new A-hole on several different levels. There is just no excuse for this kind of lag time. It is utter, complete, senseless nonsense.

[Tiramisu]

Two weeks is inhuman. Drives my bp up just thinking about it. Ugggh. I'm praying she doesn't break a hip or something in these falls. Janet, I'm sending you some of my strength.

[Tiramisu]

Worked 10, made an offer on a house, sent in my foster/adoption applicatiion, and am on the couch for the count!

[DianaB]

Personally I think that two weeks is too long too!!! I'm sending Gayle up there!!!!!

[gja1000]

This know-it-all nurse would probably just pi$$ them off and it would take them 3 weeks to get back to me. LOL! But I would patiently explain the lack of empathy and how morally wrong it was to make someone in such need wait 2 weeks. Of course the sweet little nurse/tech knows the issue, so perhaps she will advocate for a quicker turnaround.

Have you ever seen the movie "The Doctor" with William Hurt - where he develops throat cancer and become a patient. If not, you should rent it. It SOOOOO applies to this situation which is that doctors rarely have a clue what they are putting their patients through, until it happens to them. Here's the movie trailer:

Jack McKee is a doctor with it all: he's successful, he's rich, and he has no problems.... until he is diagnosed with throat cancer. Now that he has seen medicine, hospitals, and doctors from a patient's perspective, he realises that there is more to being a doctor than surgery and prescriptions.

[Tiramisu]

Similarly, I tell my girls at work to be very nice to the caterers so we don't worry about our food being peed on.

[Janet]

It's bad for some of us lay people because I really have no idea how long it should take for the test results to be read and then given to us. The tech did say it usually doesn't take that long, but she's not allowed to say how long. I figure I will wait one week and call to see if the results are back. In all honesty Gayle...about how long do you think it should take? I mean they do have other patients and all. I hate waiting...but I'm not in the medical field to know the time frame.

[gja1000]

Any time a test is done for an acute problem, like your shoulder, or your mom passing out, then the wait time should only be a day or two, at the most. Of course, there may be some tests that take longer to interpret, like some blood tests have to be sent out to another lab. Perhaps this neurological test has to be sent out to be interpreted, but I doubt it as there is a neurologist on staff.

As I said before, if the doctor was hurting as badly as you were, he/she would NOT wait two weeks to get the results. If he/she were picking his/her mom up on the floor every other day, he/she woudl not wait. Now, for a chronic issue, like mild pain or blood work when the problem is not immediate, it's OK to wait a few days. Usually when the wait is so long, it's because the office is disorganized or there is not enough staff to get the work done.

Gary had a doctor once, where you had to leave a message to get someone to call you back to make an appointment. They never called back the same day you left the message. That is just ridiculous and we didn't see that doctor but a couple of times. That kind of service tells me the doctor really doesn't value his patients enough to provide quality service. Gotta cut back on the staff don't ya know, to be sure to pad the money bags.

Yeah, I'm pretty cynical when it comes to doctors. Gary has a few I really like, but by and large, I can do without them. I only see nurse practitioners - don't like to mess with docs. Of course, there will probably be a time when I need a doc, and I'll go at that time. But until then, I like my nurses.

[DianaB]

I know that on my C-T scan the other day I was called with the results in a couple of days. I knew the results before I went to talk to the doctor about them. Actually on all of the tests I had I was called in a day or two about the results. I chose not to go back to the doctor until all the results were in but I wasn't in any pain either.

I would finish up with this doctor then look around for a different one. Ask around and find out who others are using.

[DianaB]

I'm getting ready to start packing!!! We're planning on leaving around noon......which means it will probably be later.....we're not known for being on time!!!!

I'm not sure if my Mom and step-dad, Art, are going. Art has a daughter, Melissa, that has her heart backwards and she's in the hospital with pneumonia and an infection. Every time something happens there's a big worry about how it will sffect her heart. Please keep her in your prayers.

I don't think that we're going to be home until sometime on Monday. Glen wants to go and pick up some parts up near Kansas City. It's really out of our way but he needs to get the parts. Maybe we can hit some flea markets along the way!!!!

On a different note......Glen ordered some tires for our Tahoe and the price has really gone up.......anyone needing tires may want to go ahead and purchase them soon!!!! No telling what the price will be in a few weeks....they're going up THAT fast!!!

[gja1000]

At the heart doctor w/ Gary. He's OK but the med they started two weeks ago is not working as well as they want it to in terms of getting the fluid out of him (mMing him pee). I'm sure they will just do blood work and the up the med. He's feeling OK but would feel better if he were a little drier.

It doesn't look like we are going to get much, if any rain from the tropical storm. Sigh.

[Janet]

Went to my 2nd therapy session. Did deep massage and some kind of ultra sound where the sound waves are suppose to do something. :) Also did some stretching exercises. Still sore, but really doesn't seem to be keeping me from doing anything at this point.

I go Monday to the neurologist for the follow-up appointment. I'm anxious to see what he says and hopefully actually 'see' the actual MRI pictures. Then Tuesday go for theray again.

This weekend my hometown here is having it's yearly festival. It's called the HotDog Festival. Not sure why other than the Frankfort school sports teams are the "Hotdogs". There are lots of garage sales in town and up around our town square there are flea market booths and just lots and lots of homemade things. I'm hoping to go up there for a bit, but it's just so hot and humid. By the time I park the car and get up to the square, I'll be soaked from sweating so much...lol.

I am gonna try to go for awhile....we'll see. Oh and one of my bus students has a band and will be playing this evening at 8:30....would love to go see him. I'll have to see if I can get Mom hooked to the dialysis machine sooner maybe.

Diana have fun at Lloyd's.....sure wish I was going with you!

[judy]

Diana, have a wonderful time and a safe trip! Prayers for Melanie!

Janet, I know that living in a small town, good medical care can be difficult to find, especially when you cannot travel far with Mom in her condition. But, 2 weeks? They should be ashamed of themselves!!!

I am so glad that your PT is not hurting too badly!

Good luck Gary! Pee a lot!!! I also try to use nurse practitioners whenever possible, Gayle. The NP I was using is too much of an alarmist though, and I had to change. I found a very good doctor though, so I am really happy. He reminds me of the doctor I went to in Brooklyn, and who I trusted a lot. For a gyno, I think the hospital nearby has an NP. It's not that I don't trust doctors. In NYC, there was enough choice that I could find doctors I did trust. It is just that I trust NP's more! They have a whole different agenda.

I am very lucky though. I have had good health all of my life, except for headaches. A doctor did tell me once that the good news about my headaches was that they would never kill me. I liked that perspective!

We have rain a'coming, so I think I will relax in the house today. I have plants to put into my deck boxes, some coleus to repot, and maybe some laundry. I have some pictures to hang too. I could make some phone calls! This is looking better and better! The sun is out now, so I may go down to the pool for little while.

I am having the most relaxing summer! I am so grateful every time I think about it! I have the beautiful pool, my friends are here, the kids are close by, but have been busy enough so that I have some free time. I began my writing class, have some pottery cooking in my pottery teacher's kiln, and am so relaxed it is amazing. The kids are finished with camp today, so I think they will be here a lot, but they are going on vacation the last 2 weeks of the summer, so I won't get worn out by them. They are going to Hatteras Island, right on the beach. I am worried about the long drive, and them being away, especially in hurricane season, but I am excited for them too. Steve has been complaining, in his professional victim way, that he wants to leave this area. He isn't treated fairly here. I could go into a tirade right here about how self destructive he is, and how he causes his own problems 99.5% of the time, but I won't. I just hope that he doesn't plan on getting Jessie to love North Carolina and want to move there too!

[Tiramisu]

Glad you could all check in and that all is well Worked, went to PT and it's working, meet my daughter and her family for supper. Andrew came home with me and they went to a movie. Have a date with the match.com guy I've been talking to. Not sure what we'll do. I told him I want to see cowboys and aliens. Hope I get more excited about it.

[gja1000]

Sandy, you seem to be getting along with life and that is very nice I think! I hope the date goes well, I can't imagine dating again!!! I don't think I will, given the opportunity, but hey, never say never! LOL!