Where to start?
Larry has been at Fort Campbell three weeks today. He is beginning to acclimate to his new surroundings. It is very hard for him, being away from his home. I believe routine is his security. He is, however, expanding his horizons, learning a lot, and making many new acquaintances and perhaps a good friend or two. Four more weeks to go....seems like an eternity. What a different life I have being alone all the time.
My life has certainly slowed down, not due to his absence, but to my many (so it seems) ailments lately. My heart doc found my Carotid Arteries to be 99.9% blocked in one and 60 to 70% in the other and ordered no dancing or unnecessary movement, especially bending down or over, until he at least unplugged one of them, which was for a five week period! Two weeks before that he found my new stent that was just installed in January to be 80%blocked, which he cleared to only 10% blocked at that time during my November Angiogram! So, three days ago I had the worst Carotid Artery cleaned out. Yikes...came home yesterday. If I recover from this one, I will be thinking twice about getting the other one done...sure was a very scary and painful procedure; not to mention having to spend 36 hours in the recovery room with NO TV!!! That's enough to make anyone go nuts..listening to all the patients before and after surgery and the worried families coming in before their loved ones procedures all worried and then feeling better after their procedures, but scared at how bad the loved one looked after surgery! Also, how scary it was to see the hospital personal so worried about my recovery. Finally, I assured them they didn't have to worry, I felt fine, I was tough and a survivor. When they finally told me what the problem was, I told them to quit giving me that Morphine and give me Tylenol and a cup of coffee and my blood pressure would return to normal. Apparently it was very, very low...not good when procedures are done on Carotid Arteries they told me. Anyway, sure enough, I was right and a few hours later the doc ok'd me to go to a regular room. If they would have informed me earlier why they were so worried, I could have clued them in much earlier. Darn that Morphine..it just doesn't like me or me it. I ended up being the talk of the hospital and they kept pumping me full of the strongest coffee I ever tasted for the rest of my stay. In fact, when I left their yesterday, my BP was 159/78 and the nurses were lovin' it! Hard to believe at a hospital, Eh?
Had a rough nite last nite. Guess I over did it by traveling home 100 miles, visiting my girlfriend's sick sister for an hour, picking up Swiffer, unloading my friends car, then getting in my car to drop off pain med prescription, grocery shopping for milk and 15lbs of cat food for our wild cat (which was really heavy for me to carry), then stopping at Panda Express for a to go dinner, couldn't get their door open and instead of asking for help, I pulled 'til it opened and I think I really strained my incision. By then I felt too bad to go pick up my meds, so went home, took Tylenol and had a very rough, painful, and worrisome night.
Today, I took a shower and boy did it feel good. One thing really different now is that I can feel my scalp a lot more. I guess I have been burning my head with the hair dryer and didn't know it 'cause today it was REALLY hot on my head, now that I have some feeling up there! First thing I think I said in recovery was that my hair hurt! Weird! One of my foster parents picked up my meds for me today, so boy will I be drugged up tonight probably. Hope to get a good nite's sleep.
Hopefully, tomorrow I can make it to church and get my Christmas cards ready to mail on Monday. Then Monday lots of paper work to do and various things to research and unscrew up. You know, if something can get screwed up, the corporate world will figure out how to do it, like hospital bills and stock brokers, and the U.S. mail, etc!
As I close, let me end on a positive note with giving my utmost gratitude to ALL my family (especially my husband, Larry and daughter, Jacque) and friends (especially my friend Shirley and her husband, Ed, who took me to the hospital, supported me through all this, let me stay at her condo the night before the surgery and then took me home to Prescott Valley)for their prayers and support through all this. I know it has been just as hard on them and maybe even more difficult in some instances because of the miles that separate us. I am so very blessed to be loved by so many. Sure don't know what I have done to deserve all this love. Guess that is what God's grace is all about. He gives us so many unearned blessings because He loves us so much! It is such a spiritual feeling to feel so loved (the true meaning of Christmas.)
Merry Christmas and much love to ALL my loved ones and friends and the little ones that I work with that need a lot of love and to their foster parents who try so hard to help them feel loved and safe.
Your mama, grammie, grammie nana, friend and CASA
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Update
Well, much has happened since my last post, so where to start?
Larry has received his Military Task Orders for his first assignment. He is leaving for Fort Campbell on the 28Th for 47 days. That's right, the day after Thanksgiving! Originally, he was supposed to leave the day before, then they changed it to the day after. That will be the last time I see him until the middle of January. So, no Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve, and New Years holidays together. It will be different having absolutely no one to share them with :{ Then, he will leave shortly after his return home for Fort Dill. I think that is by Fort Meyers in Florida for at least 60 or 90 days. This is something he has always wanted to do and he began applying for the opportunity last June, I believe. His contract is quite an accomplish..and a lot of red tape had to be dealt with. Now that the time is nearing, I am beginning to feel that it will be quite an adjustment.
I have been busy helping him with his training, finances during his absence, packing, travel arrangements, etc. He will fly from Prescott airport to Los Angeles and then to Nashville, which is about 40 miles from Fort Campbell. I understand that during his stay there, two army units will be coming home and one is being sent to Afghanistan, so he and the other counselors will be very busy, we are told.
During his absence, I have two doctor appointments at the Ariz Heart Inst on 12/4 to discuss my future. Between now and then, my Ventrical Physician is going to figure out how to fix my 2 Carotid Arteries. The right one can maybe be stented according to the my cardiologist that did my Angiogram days ago , but I heard him say to his assistant that he was really worried about the left one, which might mean they either have to open it up and clean it out or do a bypass. Whatever it takes, pain, time flat on my back, no dancing for a couple more months (he stopped it last month after seeing my ultra sound and told me to rest, do nothing that might jar the blockages loose, etc) and being laid up over the holidays. it will be worth it as living like this is certainly not me! There is so much to do and so much dancing to be done before I leave this Earth! Also on the 4Th, my Cardiologist is supposed to have figured out why my stent in my heart plugged up 80% in 9 months and what he is going to do to prevent that from happening again. So, it looks like the month of December, again this year, will be spent trying to become a whole person, again, as it was spent last year. My, my..a year of tests, procedures and Doctor appointments and the problems still aren't fixed!
On a happier note, last Saturday was National adoption day. I had one of my CASA kids get adopted. The newspaper wrote a front page story about it. If you are interested, click on this link.. http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=61378 It is always great to have a happy ending for more kids or shoud I say a happy beginning and future?
I now only have two CASA kids left...one ages out the day after Christmas and then I will be down to my CASA baby of 16 mo old. Hopefully, I will , also, have a happy story to tell about her soon. Then I think I will take a few months of from being a CASA 'til I get all fixed up heart wise and I get the things done around here that have been pending for years....and believe me, that is quite a platter full!
Well, must run to the store now to get a turkey to cook this week for Larry. We are invited to his son's on Thanksgiving and every time I go to someone else's house for the holiday, I really miss my cooking! So, we will have two Thanksgivings!
If I don't blog for a while, God be with you all, now and during the holiday seasons.
Love to all my babies, big, and small, and tiny. Love yo mama, sister, grammie and great grammie nana and auntie and great auntie and special friend.
Larry has received his Military Task Orders for his first assignment. He is leaving for Fort Campbell on the 28Th for 47 days. That's right, the day after Thanksgiving! Originally, he was supposed to leave the day before, then they changed it to the day after. That will be the last time I see him until the middle of January. So, no Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve, and New Years holidays together. It will be different having absolutely no one to share them with :{ Then, he will leave shortly after his return home for Fort Dill. I think that is by Fort Meyers in Florida for at least 60 or 90 days. This is something he has always wanted to do and he began applying for the opportunity last June, I believe. His contract is quite an accomplish..and a lot of red tape had to be dealt with. Now that the time is nearing, I am beginning to feel that it will be quite an adjustment.
I have been busy helping him with his training, finances during his absence, packing, travel arrangements, etc. He will fly from Prescott airport to Los Angeles and then to Nashville, which is about 40 miles from Fort Campbell. I understand that during his stay there, two army units will be coming home and one is being sent to Afghanistan, so he and the other counselors will be very busy, we are told.
During his absence, I have two doctor appointments at the Ariz Heart Inst on 12/4 to discuss my future. Between now and then, my Ventrical Physician is going to figure out how to fix my 2 Carotid Arteries. The right one can maybe be stented according to the my cardiologist that did my Angiogram days ago , but I heard him say to his assistant that he was really worried about the left one, which might mean they either have to open it up and clean it out or do a bypass. Whatever it takes, pain, time flat on my back, no dancing for a couple more months (he stopped it last month after seeing my ultra sound and told me to rest, do nothing that might jar the blockages loose, etc) and being laid up over the holidays. it will be worth it as living like this is certainly not me! There is so much to do and so much dancing to be done before I leave this Earth! Also on the 4Th, my Cardiologist is supposed to have figured out why my stent in my heart plugged up 80% in 9 months and what he is going to do to prevent that from happening again. So, it looks like the month of December, again this year, will be spent trying to become a whole person, again, as it was spent last year. My, my..a year of tests, procedures and Doctor appointments and the problems still aren't fixed!
On a happier note, last Saturday was National adoption day. I had one of my CASA kids get adopted. The newspaper wrote a front page story about it. If you are interested, click on this link.. http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=61378 It is always great to have a happy ending for more kids or shoud I say a happy beginning and future?
I now only have two CASA kids left...one ages out the day after Christmas and then I will be down to my CASA baby of 16 mo old. Hopefully, I will , also, have a happy story to tell about her soon. Then I think I will take a few months of from being a CASA 'til I get all fixed up heart wise and I get the things done around here that have been pending for years....and believe me, that is quite a platter full!
Well, must run to the store now to get a turkey to cook this week for Larry. We are invited to his son's on Thanksgiving and every time I go to someone else's house for the holiday, I really miss my cooking! So, we will have two Thanksgivings!
If I don't blog for a while, God be with you all, now and during the holiday seasons.
Love to all my babies, big, and small, and tiny. Love yo mama, sister, grammie and great grammie nana and auntie and great auntie and special friend.
Friday, October 31, 2008
What Next?
Got home from my Illinois trip on Wednesday.....landed in Phoenix on Monday...went to girlfriend's house in Scottsdale by cab...went the next day to Arizona Heart Institute for a 64 slice CT with contrast at *AM (Tuesday) only to be told I couldn't have the test because my heart was beating too fast. At my 11:45AM appt with the doc, I was told that he didn't like unanswered questions and that I had to have another Angiogram ASAP (I had two of those already in January of this year.)
He told me to have a seat in the waiting room and the nurse would schedule it for me. After an hour, I checked to see if they forgot about me and was advised that, NO, the doctor had ordered an Echo Cardiogram of my Carotid Arteries in my neck and that I would be next. Well, the results were not positive, of course. While taking the test, I noticed that up by my jaw(on the screen) it looked like fireworks going off. I asked the technician what that was about and was told that the red, white, and blue fireworks display I was seeing on the screen was my blood trying to get through my clogged artery! Then he checked the other side and I saw the same thing. Maybe that explains all the jaw pain I have been having for years.
So, the doc had left for surgery and hadn't seen the results by the time the nurse came to me to discuss my pending angiogram. She said she would call me on Wednesday after he sees them to discuss the prognosis. Well, it is 3 days later and I am still waiting with jaw pain.
Anyway, my angiogram is set for 11/12 at 12PM and the blocked Carotids resolve is still pending.
Now, not to mention almost having pneumonia, which I apparently brought home from Illinois with me....haven't slept over a couple hours each night because of coughing....like the title says, "What Next?"
Tomorrow, Larry and I will celebrate his upcoming 60Th birthday with friends at dinner and then we have season tickets for the theater. Hope I feel strong enough not to be a drag on the party!
Larry will be leaving the end of November for Kentucky where he will counsel our troops who are reading themselves to be shipped to Iraq. He will be gone for six weeks! I wonder how that will feel? I hope to get much done in his absence. However, spending Christmas and New Years alone doesn't sound like the best way to celebrate the holidays.
Enough for now...must try to get some rest for this weary body...:(
He told me to have a seat in the waiting room and the nurse would schedule it for me. After an hour, I checked to see if they forgot about me and was advised that, NO, the doctor had ordered an Echo Cardiogram of my Carotid Arteries in my neck and that I would be next. Well, the results were not positive, of course. While taking the test, I noticed that up by my jaw(on the screen) it looked like fireworks going off. I asked the technician what that was about and was told that the red, white, and blue fireworks display I was seeing on the screen was my blood trying to get through my clogged artery! Then he checked the other side and I saw the same thing. Maybe that explains all the jaw pain I have been having for years.
So, the doc had left for surgery and hadn't seen the results by the time the nurse came to me to discuss my pending angiogram. She said she would call me on Wednesday after he sees them to discuss the prognosis. Well, it is 3 days later and I am still waiting with jaw pain.
Anyway, my angiogram is set for 11/12 at 12PM and the blocked Carotids resolve is still pending.
Now, not to mention almost having pneumonia, which I apparently brought home from Illinois with me....haven't slept over a couple hours each night because of coughing....like the title says, "What Next?"
Tomorrow, Larry and I will celebrate his upcoming 60Th birthday with friends at dinner and then we have season tickets for the theater. Hope I feel strong enough not to be a drag on the party!
Larry will be leaving the end of November for Kentucky where he will counsel our troops who are reading themselves to be shipped to Iraq. He will be gone for six weeks! I wonder how that will feel? I hope to get much done in his absence. However, spending Christmas and New Years alone doesn't sound like the best way to celebrate the holidays.
Enough for now...must try to get some rest for this weary body...:(
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Back in Rainey Illinois
This has to be a record, blogging again so soon, I mean!
Where to start? Firstly, I am in Illinois now where the sun has decided to shine for only the second day since I came here six days ago! If there is anything I would miss the most, if I ever left Arizona, it would be the 355 days of sunshine and beautiful blue skies, which are so prevalent where I live in the 5200 ft elevation in the mountains of the high desert in northern Arizona and the oh so fresh, clean air.
Went to my sister's memorial service in Pekin, Il last Saturday. I was telling her daughter that Ruth and I used to chat about the big party I would give her for her 70Th birthday, which she would have celebrated last May if she hadn't passed away. Well, we did have a BIG gathering for her, not to celebrate her 70Th birthday, which would have occurred on May 29Th, but to celebrate her almost 70 years of physical life on this Earth. Even though she was not there physically, she certainly was there in spirit and I am certain she was so very proud of how almost her entire family came from many corners of the U.S., including Hawaii, to add to the celebration in their own special ways. Yes, that is how I feel about that day. I feel, we truly celebrated her life and what she meant to our family through the different family member's talks of what she meant to them. It seemed unbelievable, what is so impressionable in little children's minds and thoughts and how those thoughts never seem to go away as we grow older. Mostly happy memories of Ruth were mentioned and then there were some comical memories, too! Kudos to her daughters who labored long hours, I am certain, preparing for the event, especially her daughter, Deb, who lives in Pekin and carried most the responsibility.
I know Ruth is very proud of all their efforts.
It was great to reunite with family members I hadn't seen in years and to meet for the first time some of my great-nieces and nephews that I had never met before. Wow, do I ever feel old when I see my grown-up nieces and nephews. My granddaughter's husband said to me at one point, "Let me see, you are Tim's mom and he is Shana's dad and Shana is Aubry's (his daughter) mom. Wow, that makes 4 generations, doesn't it?" "Yes, I said. All I have to do is stick around for about 20 more years, 'til Aubrey has a baby and then we will have five generations!' "That's doable," he said!
The bad part of the day is that it had to end and we were not able to spend more time together. It is sad that, in my family's case anyway, it seems that we only get together for funerals. What is wrong with that picture?
During this next week of my visit here, I am looking forward to happier times, celebrating my daughter, Jacque's, birthday and my granddaughter, Stephanie's, 16Th birthday, before I head for home on Monday.
Last night I babysat my 2 year-old great-granddaughter for about two hours. What a little whip she is. So bright and intelligent...as I walked by the Jonas Bros pictures on the wall while holding her, she started telling me their names and pointing at them! Unbelievable! She is such a happy and beautiful little girl...YEA to her parents for the gentle and loving ways they have exposed Aubrey to these first two years of her life.
Larry is at home planning his life for the next six months away from me.:( He has accepted a contract with the military and his first assignment will be in Kentucky for six weeks and then on to Florida for who knows how long. It will certainly be an adjustment for us, but I am happy that he will have these new experiences and, also, that he will be there to help our military families, as they go through these traumatic times. God bless our soldiers for keeping us safe and their families for the daily sacrifices they make living without their loved ones!
O'Bama is holding his own! God be with him and protect him and his family. We are praying for him daily.
"Til next time"..Yo mama, yo Grammie and Great Grammie Nana, yo sister and
yo friend..Kathleen
Where to start? Firstly, I am in Illinois now where the sun has decided to shine for only the second day since I came here six days ago! If there is anything I would miss the most, if I ever left Arizona, it would be the 355 days of sunshine and beautiful blue skies, which are so prevalent where I live in the 5200 ft elevation in the mountains of the high desert in northern Arizona and the oh so fresh, clean air.
Went to my sister's memorial service in Pekin, Il last Saturday. I was telling her daughter that Ruth and I used to chat about the big party I would give her for her 70Th birthday, which she would have celebrated last May if she hadn't passed away. Well, we did have a BIG gathering for her, not to celebrate her 70Th birthday, which would have occurred on May 29Th, but to celebrate her almost 70 years of physical life on this Earth. Even though she was not there physically, she certainly was there in spirit and I am certain she was so very proud of how almost her entire family came from many corners of the U.S., including Hawaii, to add to the celebration in their own special ways. Yes, that is how I feel about that day. I feel, we truly celebrated her life and what she meant to our family through the different family member's talks of what she meant to them. It seemed unbelievable, what is so impressionable in little children's minds and thoughts and how those thoughts never seem to go away as we grow older. Mostly happy memories of Ruth were mentioned and then there were some comical memories, too! Kudos to her daughters who labored long hours, I am certain, preparing for the event, especially her daughter, Deb, who lives in Pekin and carried most the responsibility.
I know Ruth is very proud of all their efforts.
It was great to reunite with family members I hadn't seen in years and to meet for the first time some of my great-nieces and nephews that I had never met before. Wow, do I ever feel old when I see my grown-up nieces and nephews. My granddaughter's husband said to me at one point, "Let me see, you are Tim's mom and he is Shana's dad and Shana is Aubry's (his daughter) mom. Wow, that makes 4 generations, doesn't it?" "Yes, I said. All I have to do is stick around for about 20 more years, 'til Aubrey has a baby and then we will have five generations!' "That's doable," he said!
The bad part of the day is that it had to end and we were not able to spend more time together. It is sad that, in my family's case anyway, it seems that we only get together for funerals. What is wrong with that picture?
During this next week of my visit here, I am looking forward to happier times, celebrating my daughter, Jacque's, birthday and my granddaughter, Stephanie's, 16Th birthday, before I head for home on Monday.
Last night I babysat my 2 year-old great-granddaughter for about two hours. What a little whip she is. So bright and intelligent...as I walked by the Jonas Bros pictures on the wall while holding her, she started telling me their names and pointing at them! Unbelievable! She is such a happy and beautiful little girl...YEA to her parents for the gentle and loving ways they have exposed Aubrey to these first two years of her life.
Larry is at home planning his life for the next six months away from me.:( He has accepted a contract with the military and his first assignment will be in Kentucky for six weeks and then on to Florida for who knows how long. It will certainly be an adjustment for us, but I am happy that he will have these new experiences and, also, that he will be there to help our military families, as they go through these traumatic times. God bless our soldiers for keeping us safe and their families for the daily sacrifices they make living without their loved ones!
O'Bama is holding his own! God be with him and protect him and his family. We are praying for him daily.
"Til next time"..Yo mama, yo Grammie and Great Grammie Nana, yo sister and
yo friend..Kathleen
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Four or Five Month Update?
What can I say...the world goes on, I guess, even when we fail to update our blogs. The excuse I use for being so remiss is that I am so overwhelmed with life that when a few down minutes exist, I choose to crawl in the recliner, turn on CNN and worry about what is happening in this world and/or take a nap! What is wrong with that picture, I ask?... :( Now, having just gotten caught up on reading my family's blogs, including my granddaughter's from September!!!!, I feel it is very selfish of me not to share What's Up In AZ on a more consistent basis. Therefore, I am really going to try to do better in the future. ;)
Why am I overwhelmed, one might ask! Let's see....
I am a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for three foster children who each have a separate case. so that means three times the paper work and three times the monthly gatherings with my foster kids and their families.
I am on the Removal Review Board for Foster Children (two /24 hour on call commitments per month.
I am on the Foster Care Review Board for 8 hours each month, which doesn't include reading about 10 cases prior to the review each month ( about 10/15 hours to prepare)
I am a home bound Eucharistic Minister for my church and give communion to two shut-ins weekly.
I serve communion at church two to three times per month.
I have just been appointed to our church council by my priest, which meets monthly and we are just beginning a financial drive to build our new church! (I wonder how much more time that will require?)
I am responsible for doing the administrative duties and billing for my husband's mental health counseling private practice.
I dance 3 times a week at practice from 7AM to 9:45AM, plus we perform 2 or 3 times a month at various places.
I am, again, preparing my dance routine to "Big, Blond, and Beautiful" from Hair Spray for the MS. Senior AZ Pageant next April 2009.
I am revamping our landscaping in the front of our house...
I am finishing the interior painting of our entire household that I began in 2004..since last week my husband's therapy area now has the same colored woodwork throughout.
I try to maintain a 1700 sq ft home in an orderly fashion, which at this time is good in some areas, but quite lacking in other areas.
Oh, don't let me forget, I have purchased the needed materials to scrape, patch, sand and paint the outside trim on our home and, also, to install rain gutters where they have never been before to keep the wood from rotting again!
Lastly, I have an appointment upon my return from Illinois on 10/ 28 at the Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix for a 64 slice CT scan to figure out why I still have Stable Angina, even after having two stents put in the main inlet to my heart last January.
I am certain that I have failed to mention other things, eg; trying to keep my husband happy and helping him through his trials of obtaining new contracts, which ,by the way, we just did with the militart branch of the government. Last week, after three months of pursuing this, he was accepted as a mental health counselor for our military. This means his assignments can range from 3 days to 30, 60, 90 days...counseling at various worldwide locations! They have promised that they will not send him to Iran or Iraq...how comforting is that? One positive is that during his absence, I will not have to cook and clean the kitchen every day, which takes up about 3 to 4 hours of my days!!!
During his absence today, I will do about 12 hours fo monthly reports and reports to the Judge for my foster kids, make a pot of chili, a pan of corn bread and a carrot/spice cake with cream cheese filling. I have two days left to prepare him, his business, my volunteer activities,the house and me for my trip to Illionois, where, hopefully, I will have a chance to catch my breath and give and receive lots of kisse and hugs to fill my bucket enough to last me 'til next May when I visit Illinois again to attend my daughter, Jacque's, graduation from grad/school.
Thank you Lord for my many, many blessings and Your grace because I certainly don't know what I have done to deserve them all. I guess that is why we speak of Your grace, because You give Your love and miracles without our having earned or being deserving of them. We love you Lord.
Lots of hugs and kisses 'til we meet again to all my babies big and small from yo mama, yo grammie, yo great-grammie, yo auntie, yo great-auntie, yo sister and yo friend.
Why am I overwhelmed, one might ask! Let's see....
I am a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for three foster children who each have a separate case. so that means three times the paper work and three times the monthly gatherings with my foster kids and their families.
I am on the Removal Review Board for Foster Children (two /24 hour on call commitments per month.
I am on the Foster Care Review Board for 8 hours each month, which doesn't include reading about 10 cases prior to the review each month ( about 10/15 hours to prepare)
I am a home bound Eucharistic Minister for my church and give communion to two shut-ins weekly.
I serve communion at church two to three times per month.
I have just been appointed to our church council by my priest, which meets monthly and we are just beginning a financial drive to build our new church! (I wonder how much more time that will require?)
I am responsible for doing the administrative duties and billing for my husband's mental health counseling private practice.
I dance 3 times a week at practice from 7AM to 9:45AM, plus we perform 2 or 3 times a month at various places.
I am, again, preparing my dance routine to "Big, Blond, and Beautiful" from Hair Spray for the MS. Senior AZ Pageant next April 2009.
I am revamping our landscaping in the front of our house...
I am finishing the interior painting of our entire household that I began in 2004..since last week my husband's therapy area now has the same colored woodwork throughout.
I try to maintain a 1700 sq ft home in an orderly fashion, which at this time is good in some areas, but quite lacking in other areas.
Oh, don't let me forget, I have purchased the needed materials to scrape, patch, sand and paint the outside trim on our home and, also, to install rain gutters where they have never been before to keep the wood from rotting again!
Lastly, I have an appointment upon my return from Illinois on 10/ 28 at the Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix for a 64 slice CT scan to figure out why I still have Stable Angina, even after having two stents put in the main inlet to my heart last January.
I am certain that I have failed to mention other things, eg; trying to keep my husband happy and helping him through his trials of obtaining new contracts, which ,by the way, we just did with the militart branch of the government. Last week, after three months of pursuing this, he was accepted as a mental health counselor for our military. This means his assignments can range from 3 days to 30, 60, 90 days...counseling at various worldwide locations! They have promised that they will not send him to Iran or Iraq...how comforting is that? One positive is that during his absence, I will not have to cook and clean the kitchen every day, which takes up about 3 to 4 hours of my days!!!
During his absence today, I will do about 12 hours fo monthly reports and reports to the Judge for my foster kids, make a pot of chili, a pan of corn bread and a carrot/spice cake with cream cheese filling. I have two days left to prepare him, his business, my volunteer activities,the house and me for my trip to Illionois, where, hopefully, I will have a chance to catch my breath and give and receive lots of kisse and hugs to fill my bucket enough to last me 'til next May when I visit Illinois again to attend my daughter, Jacque's, graduation from grad/school.
Thank you Lord for my many, many blessings and Your grace because I certainly don't know what I have done to deserve them all. I guess that is why we speak of Your grace, because You give Your love and miracles without our having earned or being deserving of them. We love you Lord.
Lots of hugs and kisses 'til we meet again to all my babies big and small from yo mama, yo grammie, yo great-grammie, yo auntie, yo great-auntie, yo sister and yo friend.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Where To Begin?
Shock, shock..we are all still alive here in the high desert! So much has happened since my last blog..hard to choose what to talk about, so will try to stick to the main points, so as not to write a mile-long blog.
Firstly, the Ms Senior AZ pageant was a vast learning experience for me. Although I did not win or even place in the top five, I learned quite a bit about pageantry, made many new friends and qualified to become a member of the Cameo Club. So, why is that so great, you ask? Now my friend, Shirley, and I can perform duets at their shows, which they have to earn money for Alzheimer's. Who knows, maybe I'll try again next year, "God willing and the creek doesn't rise."
Maybe next year, I will not be sick as a dog with a horrible cold at pageant time, as I was this year.
My three CASA cases are moving along towards permanency of adoption, some more smoothly than others. With my poor health and busy schedule on top of it all, I have been a bit remiss spending time with my CASA kids. I, now, plan to correct that, beginning with taking them all to the circus in the next few weeks. My thirteen year-old and I did go on a hike three weeks ago, which was great fun..she is such a dear young lady. In the next couple weeks, I have three court hearings and two foster-care review boards and three child-family-team members to attend and three CASA reports and two reports to the judge to write, files to organize and dispose of and then I will make an attempt to organize the office.
The best happening I have experienced in the past six weeks, or so, is my visit to Illinois to see all my babies, big and small and, yes, even the tiny one! Where to begin? My time was very busy there for two weeks doing movie going (the Narnia Movie), mini putting at Volcano Falls (my favorite course!), attending and providing transportation to My 12 year-old's three girls fast ball games, attending and providing rides to swimming lessons for Brennan (5Th level) and Kristina (junior lifeguard) classes, lots of eating out (especially great to see and eat at my friend's restaurant, yum, yum!), lots and lots of shopping...praise God for Marshall's dept. store, where one can buy great quality for half the price), cooking a few good homemade dinners, which my 14 year-old grandson informed me about, saying even though he loved me and enjoyed my visits, two weeks of homemade food and no fast food was really hard for him! Sorry Brennan, I really fear your health on all that fast food and hope your liver doesn't begin to fail like the guy's that ate only at McDonald's for 30 days! What else, oh yes..took a ride up to see my son and daughter-in-law in Kenosha, WI. It was great to see where they live now temporarily one block from Lake Michigan..cooked goulash for them and one would have thought I made fillet Mignon! They were both sooo delighted! Took a 12" stainless steel fry pan for a gift and have since heard back from them that it's the best pan they have It browns so well and even their hamburgers taste sooo much better! Ah yes, tricks of the cooking trade passed onto the young by the elderly. I slept on their 3rd floor guest room air mattress. The bed was fine, however the climb was a challenge, at best! I do believe, however, it did make my heart stronger from the experience.
I had the opportunity to see my great-granddaughter for two weekends as her mommy and daddy had to work, along with spending an afternoon at my granddaughter's apartment, swimming and eating Subways...YUM, YUM! Aubrey, was quite ill the last weekend and just wanted her Grammy to hold her for three hours, sure brought back a lot of memories of raising and holding and cuddling all my babies when they were not up to par.I cannot express how much I grew to love her and her mom more during that time. In fact, now that I am on the subject of love..let me say that .."One always loves family, because they are family..even from a distance", but when our lives intertwine in close proximity, we acquire a bond that cannot be broken. A bond that brings us sooo much closer and helps us to relate to one another's feelings so much more intensely than loving one another from a distance. I have always felt that way, especially since in the past, I had 4 grandchildren nearby and one 500 miles away many years ago. Today, having just spent two weeks with my children, 4 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, I feel such great love for them and their families and a much closer bond to them than I feel for my granddaughter and great-grandson, who I haven't seen but only twice, I think, in the past two or three years. I do worry so about them and our lack of contact, however I cannot control the situation and have put them in my "God Box", knowing He is in charge. I love them both very much, want the best for them, and wish we could be closer...maybe, some day.
Next to lastly, even though I was quite sad to leave my family in Illinois, it was great to return to my loving husband in Arizona and structure in my life, again. I have been home almost four days now, and with each day, things are becoming a bit more organized and I am beginning to feel my head above water a bit from my neglected duties caused by my two week absence. Some calamities that needed caring for were not caused by my neglect..just by my absence and having had to leave them up to Larry..such as watering my little plants on the coffee table that were over watered, causing the dark brown water to leak on the coffee table,and rip down onto my off whit carpets..through the area rug and onto the big rug underneath, along with the bottom drawer of the freezer being left open an inch for a week, causing the thawing of all the food in it, a big ice build-up which would not let the drawer close again until it was defrosted, and probably, as a result, a huge electric bill on its way here! Other than those major events, all went pretty smoothly in my absence.
What's coming up in the next few weeks? My CASA Belle group is performing about 6 times..making pretty big bucks each time..$75 to $150 per performance, A lot of yard work, painting inside house walls..revamping master and guest bedrooms, more tests ordered by my Cardiologist yesterday, and hopefully, a visit to the Arizona Heart Institute to get a second opinion, clean all closets..removing clothes to big for me and too small for Larry..organizing office..much, much ironing...replacing missing roof shingles before the monsoons start..just for beginners. A busy summer ahead.
Lastly, Larry and I so very blessed with loving families and friends and, also, for an abundance of material acquisitions and a sufficient income, at this time. We pray daily for all the troubled people in the world and especially for those folks close to us, knowing that even though their lives are experiencing trauma at this time, that they are all in His tender loving care.
Bye for now and much love to all my babies, big and small and tiny..mom, grammie and nana
Firstly, the Ms Senior AZ pageant was a vast learning experience for me. Although I did not win or even place in the top five, I learned quite a bit about pageantry, made many new friends and qualified to become a member of the Cameo Club. So, why is that so great, you ask? Now my friend, Shirley, and I can perform duets at their shows, which they have to earn money for Alzheimer's. Who knows, maybe I'll try again next year, "God willing and the creek doesn't rise."
Maybe next year, I will not be sick as a dog with a horrible cold at pageant time, as I was this year.
My three CASA cases are moving along towards permanency of adoption, some more smoothly than others. With my poor health and busy schedule on top of it all, I have been a bit remiss spending time with my CASA kids. I, now, plan to correct that, beginning with taking them all to the circus in the next few weeks. My thirteen year-old and I did go on a hike three weeks ago, which was great fun..she is such a dear young lady. In the next couple weeks, I have three court hearings and two foster-care review boards and three child-family-team members to attend and three CASA reports and two reports to the judge to write, files to organize and dispose of and then I will make an attempt to organize the office.
The best happening I have experienced in the past six weeks, or so, is my visit to Illinois to see all my babies, big and small and, yes, even the tiny one! Where to begin? My time was very busy there for two weeks doing movie going (the Narnia Movie), mini putting at Volcano Falls (my favorite course!), attending and providing transportation to My 12 year-old's three girls fast ball games, attending and providing rides to swimming lessons for Brennan (5Th level) and Kristina (junior lifeguard) classes, lots of eating out (especially great to see and eat at my friend's restaurant, yum, yum!), lots and lots of shopping...praise God for Marshall's dept. store, where one can buy great quality for half the price), cooking a few good homemade dinners, which my 14 year-old grandson informed me about, saying even though he loved me and enjoyed my visits, two weeks of homemade food and no fast food was really hard for him! Sorry Brennan, I really fear your health on all that fast food and hope your liver doesn't begin to fail like the guy's that ate only at McDonald's for 30 days! What else, oh yes..took a ride up to see my son and daughter-in-law in Kenosha, WI. It was great to see where they live now temporarily one block from Lake Michigan..cooked goulash for them and one would have thought I made fillet Mignon! They were both sooo delighted! Took a 12" stainless steel fry pan for a gift and have since heard back from them that it's the best pan they have It browns so well and even their hamburgers taste sooo much better! Ah yes, tricks of the cooking trade passed onto the young by the elderly. I slept on their 3rd floor guest room air mattress. The bed was fine, however the climb was a challenge, at best! I do believe, however, it did make my heart stronger from the experience.
I had the opportunity to see my great-granddaughter for two weekends as her mommy and daddy had to work, along with spending an afternoon at my granddaughter's apartment, swimming and eating Subways...YUM, YUM! Aubrey, was quite ill the last weekend and just wanted her Grammy to hold her for three hours, sure brought back a lot of memories of raising and holding and cuddling all my babies when they were not up to par.I cannot express how much I grew to love her and her mom more during that time. In fact, now that I am on the subject of love..let me say that .."One always loves family, because they are family..even from a distance", but when our lives intertwine in close proximity, we acquire a bond that cannot be broken. A bond that brings us sooo much closer and helps us to relate to one another's feelings so much more intensely than loving one another from a distance. I have always felt that way, especially since in the past, I had 4 grandchildren nearby and one 500 miles away many years ago. Today, having just spent two weeks with my children, 4 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, I feel such great love for them and their families and a much closer bond to them than I feel for my granddaughter and great-grandson, who I haven't seen but only twice, I think, in the past two or three years. I do worry so about them and our lack of contact, however I cannot control the situation and have put them in my "God Box", knowing He is in charge. I love them both very much, want the best for them, and wish we could be closer...maybe, some day.
Next to lastly, even though I was quite sad to leave my family in Illinois, it was great to return to my loving husband in Arizona and structure in my life, again. I have been home almost four days now, and with each day, things are becoming a bit more organized and I am beginning to feel my head above water a bit from my neglected duties caused by my two week absence. Some calamities that needed caring for were not caused by my neglect..just by my absence and having had to leave them up to Larry..such as watering my little plants on the coffee table that were over watered, causing the dark brown water to leak on the coffee table,and rip down onto my off whit carpets..through the area rug and onto the big rug underneath, along with the bottom drawer of the freezer being left open an inch for a week, causing the thawing of all the food in it, a big ice build-up which would not let the drawer close again until it was defrosted, and probably, as a result, a huge electric bill on its way here! Other than those major events, all went pretty smoothly in my absence.
What's coming up in the next few weeks? My CASA Belle group is performing about 6 times..making pretty big bucks each time..$75 to $150 per performance, A lot of yard work, painting inside house walls..revamping master and guest bedrooms, more tests ordered by my Cardiologist yesterday, and hopefully, a visit to the Arizona Heart Institute to get a second opinion, clean all closets..removing clothes to big for me and too small for Larry..organizing office..much, much ironing...replacing missing roof shingles before the monsoons start..just for beginners. A busy summer ahead.
Lastly, Larry and I so very blessed with loving families and friends and, also, for an abundance of material acquisitions and a sufficient income, at this time. We pray daily for all the troubled people in the world and especially for those folks close to us, knowing that even though their lives are experiencing trauma at this time, that they are all in His tender loving care.
Bye for now and much love to all my babies, big and small and tiny..mom, grammie and nana
Thursday, May 15, 2008
And Life Goes On!
Well, here I am, almost 2 weeks to the date of my judge's interview for the pageant update!
The week after, I was totally worn out and could not do my Cardio Rehab. The nurse threatened to report me to my doc if I didn't TOTALLY rest for one week, eating lots of veggies and fruit. So, that I did and this week I am totally renewed!
Received my labs from last week and they are the best ever! My Cardio Rehab, also, went very well on Tuesday. Surprising what a little rest will do, EH? So, on with LIFE!
This A.M. I spent about an hour on line looking for a new gown for next year's pageant..;)
Well, I don't know if any contestant ever one on their first try and I am beginning to get excited about next year! This Sunday I will attend the Post Pageant Party in Peoria, AZ and receive my gifts and dvd's and professional pictures. It will be fun to see all the gals again.
For today, however, I intend to spend a couple hours cleaning the garage, as we are getting a new door on Tuesday, and maybe plant my plants that have been waiting for almost a month to go into the ground, before they all die. I will do all this after I sit down and pay bills for an hour!
Yesterday, I caught up with the regular laundry and next I will strip the beds of flannel sheets and ready them for this Spring weather we are having, which also includes taking the down comforter off the bed that has been much too hot for the past couple weeks!
Yesterday, I took Leo to the train..As we left his house, he said, " Guess that's it!" I responded, "Yes, another chapter in your life." He said, "And what a chapter it was!" He seemed to take it much better that I expected. In fact, I think I was more sad than he as we left the house for the last time. He offered to have me take anything I wanted from the house that was up for sale, but I just couldn't bring myself to accept his offer as everything just brought back sad memories. So, we left with my sister Ruth and Misty (as Leo put it) in the suitcase, which was in my car's trunk! Guess he didn't trust leaving the ashes out of his sight and is hauling them home in his suitcase! As I attempted to lift it, I asked him, "What ever is in this suitcase, bricks?" As I have never lifted such a heavy one! "No," he said, then added, "Just a few things, not that much." He didn't tell me at the time about the heavy ashes in there, maybe 'cause the last time he handed me a velvet bag with Misty's ashes in it explaining to me that I was now holding Misty, I almost threw up! So, he didn't tell me about the ashes in the case until we were on our way.
We had lunch at Denny's and shared a strawberry shake (Ruth's favorite) almost in celebration of Leo taking her and Misty home, it seemed...:( We drove to Flagstaff and had no trouble finding the historic four story hotel Leo had reservations at. It is two blocks from the train station. This A.M. at 4:30 he was to be picked up by a cab and taken to the station to catch his 5:15AM train. So, buy now, he, Ruth and Misty are on their way home to Illinois. Another chapter in my life closed, too. (I am very sad now, thinking about it..don't know if I will ever get over the loss of my big sister, who was the only constant I ever had throughout my lifetime, until last October. "You are severely missed, my dear, dear sister and almost mom.)
We must all move on now, knowing she is better off where she is and is now experiencing the love of those that went before her and of our merciful and forgiving Lord. "Til next time, luv to all my babies big and small, yo mama and grammie.
The week after, I was totally worn out and could not do my Cardio Rehab. The nurse threatened to report me to my doc if I didn't TOTALLY rest for one week, eating lots of veggies and fruit. So, that I did and this week I am totally renewed!
Received my labs from last week and they are the best ever! My Cardio Rehab, also, went very well on Tuesday. Surprising what a little rest will do, EH? So, on with LIFE!
This A.M. I spent about an hour on line looking for a new gown for next year's pageant..;)
Well, I don't know if any contestant ever one on their first try and I am beginning to get excited about next year! This Sunday I will attend the Post Pageant Party in Peoria, AZ and receive my gifts and dvd's and professional pictures. It will be fun to see all the gals again.
For today, however, I intend to spend a couple hours cleaning the garage, as we are getting a new door on Tuesday, and maybe plant my plants that have been waiting for almost a month to go into the ground, before they all die. I will do all this after I sit down and pay bills for an hour!
Yesterday, I caught up with the regular laundry and next I will strip the beds of flannel sheets and ready them for this Spring weather we are having, which also includes taking the down comforter off the bed that has been much too hot for the past couple weeks!
Yesterday, I took Leo to the train..As we left his house, he said, " Guess that's it!" I responded, "Yes, another chapter in your life." He said, "And what a chapter it was!" He seemed to take it much better that I expected. In fact, I think I was more sad than he as we left the house for the last time. He offered to have me take anything I wanted from the house that was up for sale, but I just couldn't bring myself to accept his offer as everything just brought back sad memories. So, we left with my sister Ruth and Misty (as Leo put it) in the suitcase, which was in my car's trunk! Guess he didn't trust leaving the ashes out of his sight and is hauling them home in his suitcase! As I attempted to lift it, I asked him, "What ever is in this suitcase, bricks?" As I have never lifted such a heavy one! "No," he said, then added, "Just a few things, not that much." He didn't tell me at the time about the heavy ashes in there, maybe 'cause the last time he handed me a velvet bag with Misty's ashes in it explaining to me that I was now holding Misty, I almost threw up! So, he didn't tell me about the ashes in the case until we were on our way.
We had lunch at Denny's and shared a strawberry shake (Ruth's favorite) almost in celebration of Leo taking her and Misty home, it seemed...:( We drove to Flagstaff and had no trouble finding the historic four story hotel Leo had reservations at. It is two blocks from the train station. This A.M. at 4:30 he was to be picked up by a cab and taken to the station to catch his 5:15AM train. So, buy now, he, Ruth and Misty are on their way home to Illinois. Another chapter in my life closed, too. (I am very sad now, thinking about it..don't know if I will ever get over the loss of my big sister, who was the only constant I ever had throughout my lifetime, until last October. "You are severely missed, my dear, dear sister and almost mom.)
We must all move on now, knowing she is better off where she is and is now experiencing the love of those that went before her and of our merciful and forgiving Lord. "Til next time, luv to all my babies big and small, yo mama and grammie.
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