Busy busy, 8 days left to go, still so much to do. Thanks be to U-Haul for being totally useless. 7 years ago when I moved to Toronto we'd booked a trailer a month in advance and when the time came, no one anywhere near me had one available. The same may happen for this move. We won't know until 24 hours in advance. Why can't their reservation system let people enter their return date and location so that U-Haul can estimate what equipment will be where? I know things will still turn up late, but still at least there'd be the chance of knowing if you've got a shot. Not that there's much choice. I wracked 4 brains trying to find another company that rents trailers for one way moves, no such luck. If things go badly we may end up getting a rental van or something instead even though mom already paid to get a hitch installed on my brother's car. *sigh*
Then I called the local electric company in Virginia and that's all set up to go. Then I called Comcast after learning that the deal on the website has tiny print saying that you only get the special price for the first 6 months IF you also get another service at the regular price. Tricky tricky. But I'm looking to get internet and phone anyway so the possible costs per month would be better getting them through Comcast together than getting say Comcast internet and Vonage phone. I was all set to sign myself up, but then learned that they could not create my account until the tenant called in to set up a cancel date. So mom sent him an email asking him to call Comcast. We haven't heard from the tenant since before we got confirmation that he received the certified letter from mom. Dunno what's going to happen when we get there.
*Giant hugs* for my friends, R & N, whose grandfathers are still in the hospital :( More *hugs* for R, because her family there are acting like children.
<3 <3 <3 <3's for my friend, AR, whose apartment was robbed on Tuesday. Everything was taken, the TV, PS3, the computer my husband and I bought her 2 years ago including the web cam and headphones we got her last year, the external hard-drive I sent her in April, her engagement ring, and I'm sure lots of other things. :( I was robbed when I lived in Georgia back in 2000, but at least I found comfort that they were stupid fucks and by ripping things out of the walls, they broke most of the cables. I hope these bastards at least pulled some muscles!!! :<
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
I'm shocked that you're strutting..
Woke up at 6:30am to get my brother's car down to the mechanic for 8am. It needed an oil change and we wanted the mechanic to check the shocks and tell us if it could pull a trailer if we got a hitch installed. The manual says that it can take a class 2 hitch but I wasn't sure if it was in good enough condition. We went to breakfast then drove back because it was on the way home and the call forwarding we tried to set before leaving wasn't working so we'd have to go all the way home to get the message then drive all the way back.
The mechanic said that the car actually takes struts and if we wanted to replace them it would cost $400 but that they were in decent condition. So we told him we'd get them later if he thought they'd survive the trip to VA. He said they would and also that the hitch would be $550 to install. So we declined on both and went home, I spent the next hour looking up hitch prices, comparing to truck rental prices, with or without a car dolly and presented all the info to my parents.
Then we drove to my eye exam appointment. My glasses have been bent out of shape several times since I've been here and I didn't think they'd last much longer so mom decided to buy me new ones. The appointment went well, no issues, only a slight change on my prescription from 2 years ago. The doctor put several drops in and I was having a real hard time seeing afterwards. When it came time to pick the lens type and frames the girl was obviously new and trying to hard sell the expensive lenses. I was trying to ask mom what she thought because she was paying for them, but the girl kept cutting me off and telling me how great an investment they were. Mom got fed up and berated the girl, then my brother chimed in and we left.
After lunch we found a Lenscrafters half an hour from there (1 1/2 hours from the house) so we drove over and picked out some decent frames. They were having a sale on frames, $100 off, so that was ok, the frames I picked were $140. Mom chose the featherweight lenses, which were $190 but didn't have the anti-glare coating that my old ones did so it's taking some getting used to, but at least I have a non-broken pair. Lenscrafters also had a lab in the store so the glasses were ready in an hour and a half.
If the old ones had broken while I was in VA I'd have to drive to the eye place with hopefully patched enough glasses to see and then wait up to 10 business days for them. Not a pleasant thing to do, not by myself.
Mom and Dad decided tonight to get the hitch installed and book the trailer, so I'll be doing that tomorrow after the 8am meeting with the garage contractor. The weather today was supposed to be massive rains so we'd planned on doing inside chores but it ended up being a super bright, hot, muggy, foggy day but we were out for more than half of it. Dunno what else we'll have to do tomorrow but I've still got a huge list of things to get done before my move.
Thanks to my friend, C, for helping me test out the call forwarding before I left for my eye appointment today. Since we don't get cell service at all up here, we had no way to check ourselves. By the time we get down to town and have service it's too late to fix it if it doesn't work. It worked great! Definately a great feature to have out here in the sticks when it takes at least 2 hours to get anywhere and back.
Welcome back to my friend, AR, who finally has her internet turned back on after a month! And also congratulations on the internship.
*Crossing my fingers and giving hugs* for both of my friends, R & N's, grandfathers in the hospital tonight. I hope both get well soon!
*Big hugs* for my friend, D, things will get better!
The mechanic said that the car actually takes struts and if we wanted to replace them it would cost $400 but that they were in decent condition. So we told him we'd get them later if he thought they'd survive the trip to VA. He said they would and also that the hitch would be $550 to install. So we declined on both and went home, I spent the next hour looking up hitch prices, comparing to truck rental prices, with or without a car dolly and presented all the info to my parents.
Then we drove to my eye exam appointment. My glasses have been bent out of shape several times since I've been here and I didn't think they'd last much longer so mom decided to buy me new ones. The appointment went well, no issues, only a slight change on my prescription from 2 years ago. The doctor put several drops in and I was having a real hard time seeing afterwards. When it came time to pick the lens type and frames the girl was obviously new and trying to hard sell the expensive lenses. I was trying to ask mom what she thought because she was paying for them, but the girl kept cutting me off and telling me how great an investment they were. Mom got fed up and berated the girl, then my brother chimed in and we left.
After lunch we found a Lenscrafters half an hour from there (1 1/2 hours from the house) so we drove over and picked out some decent frames. They were having a sale on frames, $100 off, so that was ok, the frames I picked were $140. Mom chose the featherweight lenses, which were $190 but didn't have the anti-glare coating that my old ones did so it's taking some getting used to, but at least I have a non-broken pair. Lenscrafters also had a lab in the store so the glasses were ready in an hour and a half.
If the old ones had broken while I was in VA I'd have to drive to the eye place with hopefully patched enough glasses to see and then wait up to 10 business days for them. Not a pleasant thing to do, not by myself.
Mom and Dad decided tonight to get the hitch installed and book the trailer, so I'll be doing that tomorrow after the 8am meeting with the garage contractor. The weather today was supposed to be massive rains so we'd planned on doing inside chores but it ended up being a super bright, hot, muggy, foggy day but we were out for more than half of it. Dunno what else we'll have to do tomorrow but I've still got a huge list of things to get done before my move.
Thanks to my friend, C, for helping me test out the call forwarding before I left for my eye appointment today. Since we don't get cell service at all up here, we had no way to check ourselves. By the time we get down to town and have service it's too late to fix it if it doesn't work. It worked great! Definately a great feature to have out here in the sticks when it takes at least 2 hours to get anywhere and back.
Welcome back to my friend, AR, who finally has her internet turned back on after a month! And also congratulations on the internship.
*Crossing my fingers and giving hugs* for both of my friends, R & N's, grandfathers in the hospital tonight. I hope both get well soon!
*Big hugs* for my friend, D, things will get better!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Seeing Double Trouble
Big HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to my girl, L! Have a great day :)
Been such a busy time lately getting ready for my move. So much work to do, such a long list of chores to finish also dealing with the garage contractor and the new one I found. 12 1/2 more days to go.
My glasses are so bent and broken that it's been giving me a headache lately. I really don't want to use my birthday money to get new ones, since I'll have to live on that in Virginia until I find a job.
That's about all I have time for right now. So tired.
Been such a busy time lately getting ready for my move. So much work to do, such a long list of chores to finish also dealing with the garage contractor and the new one I found. 12 1/2 more days to go.
My glasses are so bent and broken that it's been giving me a headache lately. I really don't want to use my birthday money to get new ones, since I'll have to live on that in Virginia until I find a job.
That's about all I have time for right now. So tired.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Lowe blow
Went to sleep at 2am, woke up at 8am, took the dogs to the groomers a mile down the road. Went home picked up mom and the lawnmower then drove an hour to the Lowe's where we bought it. I had called them on Sunday and asked about getting it fixed, the girl I spoke to asked me if we'd purchased the extended warranty and I said no. She said to just bring it in and that I wouldn't need an appointment. However when we got there, I went inside to the customer service desk and the girl called another girl, Becky, and said she was about to do a return on a lawnmower. I said we didn't want to return it, just repair it.
When Becky came up to talk to me, she asked me about the warranty and when I told her we didn't have the extended plan she said they only service things on the extended warranty unless it was within 30 days of purchase. We bought it May 21st but had only used it maybe 3 or 4 times. I told her what the girl on the phone had told me and she said "oh I know who that must have been", shook her head and said "she was wrong, I'll have to speak to her about that." Then she said we should go get the mower out of the car. After we got it, she took the receipt and went to talk to her manager. He came out and said there was nothing they could do for us. I explained that we had been told to bring it in and that we live an hour away. So he went back inside and when he came back he said they could either send it out for us, which would take at least a week plus whatever time was needed to fix it and send back, or they would exchange it. So we got it exchanged. Since I hadn't planned on needing to exchange it I hadn't brought all the parts like the bagger, so I told him he could take the new one out. After he helped me load the new one into the car I went and parked and I guess they thought we left because when mom and I went back inside to look for a bulb we needed they were all standing around bitching about us. I dunno if they even saw us, but it made me giggle anyway.
They didn't have the bulb we needed, so we went to Walmart and they didn't have it, same with Home Depot but then we had to get home to pick up the dogs so we stopped to get drinks from Starbucks and drove home. Picked up the dogs and then my brother G went to town to get a haircut and check the mail. While he was gone the delivery of the wooden swing seat and adirondack chairs came. Finally got to take a shower and mom wanted to go to Concord to eat and pick up dog food from Petco.
She wanted me to sign her up for the Petco discount card and the cashier told us that if we purchased 200 pounds of dog food we would get 10% off, we already had 120 pounds so G went to get 2 1/2 more bags. 6 big bags of dog food and one small bag.
After that we went to Ruby Tuesday, I got a half rack of ribs and a salad bar. Mom and G got the salad bar and southwest spring-roll appetizer. We all got ice cream & strawberries on a pastry for dessert.
Busy but not a bad day. Now the rain has knocked out the internet and may be out for awhile. :/ But I wrote this up offline and will post it when it comes back up.
When Becky came up to talk to me, she asked me about the warranty and when I told her we didn't have the extended plan she said they only service things on the extended warranty unless it was within 30 days of purchase. We bought it May 21st but had only used it maybe 3 or 4 times. I told her what the girl on the phone had told me and she said "oh I know who that must have been", shook her head and said "she was wrong, I'll have to speak to her about that." Then she said we should go get the mower out of the car. After we got it, she took the receipt and went to talk to her manager. He came out and said there was nothing they could do for us. I explained that we had been told to bring it in and that we live an hour away. So he went back inside and when he came back he said they could either send it out for us, which would take at least a week plus whatever time was needed to fix it and send back, or they would exchange it. So we got it exchanged. Since I hadn't planned on needing to exchange it I hadn't brought all the parts like the bagger, so I told him he could take the new one out. After he helped me load the new one into the car I went and parked and I guess they thought we left because when mom and I went back inside to look for a bulb we needed they were all standing around bitching about us. I dunno if they even saw us, but it made me giggle anyway.
They didn't have the bulb we needed, so we went to Walmart and they didn't have it, same with Home Depot but then we had to get home to pick up the dogs so we stopped to get drinks from Starbucks and drove home. Picked up the dogs and then my brother G went to town to get a haircut and check the mail. While he was gone the delivery of the wooden swing seat and adirondack chairs came. Finally got to take a shower and mom wanted to go to Concord to eat and pick up dog food from Petco.
She wanted me to sign her up for the Petco discount card and the cashier told us that if we purchased 200 pounds of dog food we would get 10% off, we already had 120 pounds so G went to get 2 1/2 more bags. 6 big bags of dog food and one small bag.
After that we went to Ruby Tuesday, I got a half rack of ribs and a salad bar. Mom and G got the salad bar and southwest spring-roll appetizer. We all got ice cream & strawberries on a pastry for dessert.
Busy but not a bad day. Now the rain has knocked out the internet and may be out for awhile. :/ But I wrote this up offline and will post it when it comes back up.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Dizzy Day
Not a bad weekend over all just really really busy with chores and stuff.. Still very little sleep. Mom is slowly getting stronger, eating more, walking around more, going out more..
Today was all about yard work, thankfully I'm not sore or anything yet, just exhausted. Still so much more to do. I was getting really dizzy this morning though, odd for me, not just a few seconds of discomfort, but full on everything went dark and my head spun and had to sit down for awhile to clear it, kind of dizziness. :/ Thumb has been ok today though so I guess I can't complain :)
Today was all about yard work, thankfully I'm not sore or anything yet, just exhausted. Still so much more to do. I was getting really dizzy this morning though, odd for me, not just a few seconds of discomfort, but full on everything went dark and my head spun and had to sit down for awhile to clear it, kind of dizziness. :/ Thumb has been ok today though so I guess I can't complain :)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Don't read, you'll catch it!
Why do so many people treat sadness as a taboo subject or as if it was cooties? I believe that sadness is as natural as any other emotion, and just like any other emotion if extreme and prolonged it's unhealthy but otherwise it needs to be acknowledged and not hidden. There is nothing worse in my opinion than being told to just snap out of it when you're feeling low.
Wood
I'm not sure how mom was last night, I passed out around midnight and was dead to the world until 5am, then went back to sleep till 10am. This morning she was still complaining of stomach pain but she hadn't thrown up since she started the zantac so that's great. She decided she wanted to go out for lunch and she felt up to it so we went to Friendly's. She managed to eat a good amount of her clam basket and had most of an ice cream sundae as well.
She started to get tired by the end of the meal but still wanted to go pick out her swing seat that the family got her for her birthday. We stopped at a store that sells all types of handmade wood furniture and she picked out a nice birch swing, which happened to be their only one in stock at the time, and also picked up 2 adirondack chairs with foot rests for the porch, 1 end table, a media cabinet for the living room, which she wanted stained, and 2 special order adirondack chair cushions. They had lots of nice stuff, it made me want to pick up a bench for the porch in Virginia. Mom said she might be willing to provide that.
Mom took a little nap once we got home and it's so hot and humid here today that we all were a bit wiped out. I ended up having a really great conversation with my husband too, really cheered me up but also gave me a lot to think about.
While I was making dinner mom tried to scan a piece of mail that came for my brother D, she had trouble with it and got really upset and beating herself up for being stupid and kept saying she doesn't have a brain anymore, what good is she. I tried to do it and it seems like the software wasn't installed or something is wrong with it so I tried telling her that we'd need to look at the manual and it doesn't mean she's stupid. This printer has been a bit difficult with other things. She wouldn't hear it, she kept crying and blaming herself. *sigh*
I hope she'll be able to sleep tonight and be stronger in tomorrow. We've got the garage contractor coming over to discuss everything and hopefully start planning out a date to start this thing finally. The whole thing won't be done this year, we're hoping to just get the ground dug out, leveled and cleared, then get the concrete laid for the floor. Then we can get the generator installed, get the new 500 gallon propane tank placed, get the electrician to hook those up to the house and get a car-turn-around laid on one side of the foundation with the same ledge pack we got for the driveway.
After that, if she's still up for it, she wants to go to lunch and maybe go to Staples to get a new mouse for her laptop. G and I also have to make a trip to the dump and clean the house up really well because we've been having ants lately. I also still have a lot of bigger chores to get to before I leave here but it keeps raining or we end up dealing with mom or out all day.
She started to get tired by the end of the meal but still wanted to go pick out her swing seat that the family got her for her birthday. We stopped at a store that sells all types of handmade wood furniture and she picked out a nice birch swing, which happened to be their only one in stock at the time, and also picked up 2 adirondack chairs with foot rests for the porch, 1 end table, a media cabinet for the living room, which she wanted stained, and 2 special order adirondack chair cushions. They had lots of nice stuff, it made me want to pick up a bench for the porch in Virginia. Mom said she might be willing to provide that.
Mom took a little nap once we got home and it's so hot and humid here today that we all were a bit wiped out. I ended up having a really great conversation with my husband too, really cheered me up but also gave me a lot to think about.
While I was making dinner mom tried to scan a piece of mail that came for my brother D, she had trouble with it and got really upset and beating herself up for being stupid and kept saying she doesn't have a brain anymore, what good is she. I tried to do it and it seems like the software wasn't installed or something is wrong with it so I tried telling her that we'd need to look at the manual and it doesn't mean she's stupid. This printer has been a bit difficult with other things. She wouldn't hear it, she kept crying and blaming herself. *sigh*
I hope she'll be able to sleep tonight and be stronger in tomorrow. We've got the garage contractor coming over to discuss everything and hopefully start planning out a date to start this thing finally. The whole thing won't be done this year, we're hoping to just get the ground dug out, leveled and cleared, then get the concrete laid for the floor. Then we can get the generator installed, get the new 500 gallon propane tank placed, get the electrician to hook those up to the house and get a car-turn-around laid on one side of the foundation with the same ledge pack we got for the driveway.
After that, if she's still up for it, she wants to go to lunch and maybe go to Staples to get a new mouse for her laptop. G and I also have to make a trip to the dump and clean the house up really well because we've been having ants lately. I also still have a lot of bigger chores to get to before I leave here but it keeps raining or we end up dealing with mom or out all day.
Wood
I'm not sure how mom was last night, I passed out around midnight and was dead to the world until 5am, then went back to sleep till 10am. This morning she was still complaining of stomach pain but she hadn't thrown up since she started the zantac so that's great. She decided she wanted to go out for lunch and she felt up to it so we went to Friendly's. She managed to eat a good amount of her clam basket and had most of an ice cream sundae as well.
She started to get tired by the end of the meal but still wanted to go pick out her swing seat that the family got her for her birthday. We stopped at a store that sells all types of handmade wood furniture and she picked out a nice birch swing, which happened to be their only one in stock at the time, and also picked up 2 adirondack chairs with foot rests for the porch, 1 end table, a media cabinet for the living room, which she wanted stained, and 2 special order adirondack chair cushions. They had lots of nice stuff, it made me want to pick up a bench for the porch in Virginia. Mom said she might be willing to provide that.
Mom took a little nap once we got home and it's so hot and humid here today that we all were a bit wiped out. I ended up having a really great conversation with my husband too, really cheered me up but also gave me a lot to think about.
While I was making dinner mom tried to scan a piece of mail that came for my brother D, she had trouble with it and got really upset and beating herself up for being stupid and kept saying she doesn't have a brain anymore, what good is she. I tried to do it and it seems like the software wasn't installed or something is wrong with it so I tried telling her that we'd need to look at the manual and it doesn't mean she's stupid. This printer has been a bit difficult with other things. She wouldn't hear it, she kept crying and blaming herself. *sigh*
I hope she'll be able to sleep tonight and be stronger in tomorrow. We've got the garage contractor coming over to discuss everything and hopefully start planning out a date to start this thing finally. The whole thing won't be done this year, we're hoping to just get the ground dug out, leveled and cleared, then get the concrete laid for the floor. Then we can get the generator installed, get the new 500 gallon propane tank placed, get the electrician to hook those up to the house and get a car-turn-around laid on one side of the foundation with the same ledge pack we got for the driveway.
After that, if she's still up for it, she wants to go to lunch and maybe go to Staples to get a new mouse for her laptop. G and I also have to make a trip to the dump and clean the house up really well because we've been having ants lately. I also still have a lot of bigger chores to get to before I leave here but it keeps raining or we end up dealing with mom or out all day.
She started to get tired by the end of the meal but still wanted to go pick out her swing seat that the family got her for her birthday. We stopped at a store that sells all types of handmade wood furniture and she picked out a nice birch swing, which happened to be their only one in stock at the time, and also picked up 2 adirondack chairs with foot rests for the porch, 1 end table, a media cabinet for the living room, which she wanted stained, and 2 special order adirondack chair cushions. They had lots of nice stuff, it made me want to pick up a bench for the porch in Virginia. Mom said she might be willing to provide that.
Mom took a little nap once we got home and it's so hot and humid here today that we all were a bit wiped out. I ended up having a really great conversation with my husband too, really cheered me up but also gave me a lot to think about.
While I was making dinner mom tried to scan a piece of mail that came for my brother D, she had trouble with it and got really upset and beating herself up for being stupid and kept saying she doesn't have a brain anymore, what good is she. I tried to do it and it seems like the software wasn't installed or something is wrong with it so I tried telling her that we'd need to look at the manual and it doesn't mean she's stupid. This printer has been a bit difficult with other things. She wouldn't hear it, she kept crying and blaming herself. *sigh*
I hope she'll be able to sleep tonight and be stronger in tomorrow. We've got the garage contractor coming over to discuss everything and hopefully start planning out a date to start this thing finally. The whole thing won't be done this year, we're hoping to just get the ground dug out, leveled and cleared, then get the concrete laid for the floor. Then we can get the generator installed, get the new 500 gallon propane tank placed, get the electrician to hook those up to the house and get a car-turn-around laid on one side of the foundation with the same ledge pack we got for the driveway.
After that, if she's still up for it, she wants to go to lunch and maybe go to Staples to get a new mouse for her laptop. G and I also have to make a trip to the dump and clean the house up really well because we've been having ants lately. I also still have a lot of bigger chores to get to before I leave here but it keeps raining or we end up dealing with mom or out all day.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Brain Dead
Last night was really rough with mom. She was up every hour or so with really bad stomach acids. She threw up at least twice. I finally got to sleep at 5:30am and woke up at 7am to wait for the contractor but he called at 7:56am and said he was going to pick up the roof shingles first then come over. So I went back to sleep until just before 9am.
The contractors were really fast, then he told me that one part of the roof that has a skylight was covered in moss and mold. He gave me an estimate to fix it. He also said he'd be coming by on Saturday with the excavator guy so he can make an estimate for digging out the hill for the garage.
After he left I spent the next 4 hours calling, the dog kennel, a second generator company, 2 of mom's 401k companies, the contractor again, the home health aide place, then 3 other places they referred me to, my sister-in-law, and in between calls checking on mom, helping her to the bathroom or downstairs, getting her to drink and eat and checking if her zantac was helping any, talking to my dad on IM to keep him updated on mom and explaining the results of each call to both mom and G.
Mom seems to be doing a bit better today, she's got a bit of strength back and the zantac seems to be working so far. She ate a few times, so that's great. She also walked herself up the stairs and to the bathroom a few times.
I'm tired, I'm emotionally exhausted, I want to cry. I know things will get better but that doesn't mean I need to ignore how I feel.
I talked to mom and G today about Virginia. They've told me that there is a bus but they don't know much about it.. ++ They also said that there are several after school programs and classes and daycares that will pick the kid up from school. ++ A friend gave me some links for temporary jobs from home that AR could do until we get everything set up for her daughter. ++
My brain needs a break and my thumb really hurts.
The contractors were really fast, then he told me that one part of the roof that has a skylight was covered in moss and mold. He gave me an estimate to fix it. He also said he'd be coming by on Saturday with the excavator guy so he can make an estimate for digging out the hill for the garage.
After he left I spent the next 4 hours calling, the dog kennel, a second generator company, 2 of mom's 401k companies, the contractor again, the home health aide place, then 3 other places they referred me to, my sister-in-law, and in between calls checking on mom, helping her to the bathroom or downstairs, getting her to drink and eat and checking if her zantac was helping any, talking to my dad on IM to keep him updated on mom and explaining the results of each call to both mom and G.
Mom seems to be doing a bit better today, she's got a bit of strength back and the zantac seems to be working so far. She ate a few times, so that's great. She also walked herself up the stairs and to the bathroom a few times.
I'm tired, I'm emotionally exhausted, I want to cry. I know things will get better but that doesn't mean I need to ignore how I feel.
I talked to mom and G today about Virginia. They've told me that there is a bus but they don't know much about it.. ++ They also said that there are several after school programs and classes and daycares that will pick the kid up from school. ++ A friend gave me some links for temporary jobs from home that AR could do until we get everything set up for her daughter. ++
My brain needs a break and my thumb really hurts.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The previous title to this post might have put me on some watch lists :)
Today hasn't been too bad so far. I got a lot of phone calls and appointments set up this morning. Mom has been trying to drink her gatorade but she has been complaining of stomach acids all day. She's also had hiccups for the past few days which was making the acids burn her throat. She ended up throwing up a lot, but I told her it was ok as long as she really tries to replenish herself. All the gatorade probably shocked her stomach a bit.
Today was the second day of the JobSerf company applying for jobs for me in Virginia. Out of the 28 they applied for yesterday, I rejected 9 for either needing security clearance, being too far, or needing too much experience. Out of the 26 today, I rejected 11 of them. 2 of them were repeats, several require security clearance and 1 required that I speak Arabic.. Still that's 34 good jobs that I wouldn't have likely found myself. Still I don't know if I want to continue using them after the time is up. Maybe I'll wait a couple weeks and see if I get any bites, then I'm moving down to Virginia so I'll see if I need them again.
Today was the second day of the JobSerf company applying for jobs for me in Virginia. Out of the 28 they applied for yesterday, I rejected 9 for either needing security clearance, being too far, or needing too much experience. Out of the 26 today, I rejected 11 of them. 2 of them were repeats, several require security clearance and 1 required that I speak Arabic.. Still that's 34 good jobs that I wouldn't have likely found myself. Still I don't know if I want to continue using them after the time is up. Maybe I'll wait a couple weeks and see if I get any bites, then I'm moving down to Virginia so I'll see if I need them again.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Why for Birthdays?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to mom.. though it was a rough day for all of us.
Mom had a rough night last night, she was struggling not to cry and cry out for her mom like she's been doing because she knows it's not right. Then this morning she had an appointment with her eye doctor for a checkup. She had a hard time walking down the stairs and to the car but then when we got there she was really feeling weird and kept feeling like she would throw up.
She had trouble answering questions and sitting in the exam chair and was acting strange. When we were done I had to carry her to her wheelchair because she couldn't walk at all. On the way out she threw up, but I don't know if it was from me lifting her, the eye exam, the 1/2 an antivan I gave her to calm her down or lack of food or any number of other things.
G and I took her to the ER after trying to call her neurologist and get in to see him but he was on vacation until the end of the month. The ER staff was great, they took us in right away even though they were pretty busy. The doctor came right in and ordered a CT scan of her head because I told him about her fall last week. They also took blood work and an EKG. The doctor came back and said he was worried about her blood work and that she was extremely dehydrated and wanted her to stay over night to get IV therapy and monitor her kidneys. At that point mom decided she wanted to leave.
We tried everything we could to get her to stay. I ended up yelling at her that she didn't care how it was affecting us. She yelled back that if she was dehydrated then it was G and my fault for not getting her drinks. I almost lost it on her. G and I have been staying up with her at night comforting her when she's crying for her mom, carrying her to the bathroom when she can't walk. We try to push food and drink on her all the time but often she just yells at us to leave her alone. I was steaming mad the whole way home.. which ended up taking an extra hour because the GPS took us on back mountain roads, many of which ended up being dead ends. It was an adventure. Everyone was mostly cheered up by it though, laughing at the GPS telling us to u-turn off the mountain, but by the time we got home I had such a massive headache.
Mom swears she'll drink gatorade twice a day and try to eat more. We'll see how long that promise lasts. She was well enough to chat up the nurse as she was removing her IV and walked out of the hospital mostly on her own. So at least I know she can get better if she can get past the dehydration.
I got another talk with AR today, a nice long one, but she still kept shutting down the conversation window whenever her boyfriend walked by so he wouldn't see what we were talking about. Things still look good to go so I can't wait to be able to talk to her as a real friend again :)
Mom had a rough night last night, she was struggling not to cry and cry out for her mom like she's been doing because she knows it's not right. Then this morning she had an appointment with her eye doctor for a checkup. She had a hard time walking down the stairs and to the car but then when we got there she was really feeling weird and kept feeling like she would throw up.
She had trouble answering questions and sitting in the exam chair and was acting strange. When we were done I had to carry her to her wheelchair because she couldn't walk at all. On the way out she threw up, but I don't know if it was from me lifting her, the eye exam, the 1/2 an antivan I gave her to calm her down or lack of food or any number of other things.
G and I took her to the ER after trying to call her neurologist and get in to see him but he was on vacation until the end of the month. The ER staff was great, they took us in right away even though they were pretty busy. The doctor came right in and ordered a CT scan of her head because I told him about her fall last week. They also took blood work and an EKG. The doctor came back and said he was worried about her blood work and that she was extremely dehydrated and wanted her to stay over night to get IV therapy and monitor her kidneys. At that point mom decided she wanted to leave.
We tried everything we could to get her to stay. I ended up yelling at her that she didn't care how it was affecting us. She yelled back that if she was dehydrated then it was G and my fault for not getting her drinks. I almost lost it on her. G and I have been staying up with her at night comforting her when she's crying for her mom, carrying her to the bathroom when she can't walk. We try to push food and drink on her all the time but often she just yells at us to leave her alone. I was steaming mad the whole way home.. which ended up taking an extra hour because the GPS took us on back mountain roads, many of which ended up being dead ends. It was an adventure. Everyone was mostly cheered up by it though, laughing at the GPS telling us to u-turn off the mountain, but by the time we got home I had such a massive headache.
Mom swears she'll drink gatorade twice a day and try to eat more. We'll see how long that promise lasts. She was well enough to chat up the nurse as she was removing her IV and walked out of the hospital mostly on her own. So at least I know she can get better if she can get past the dehydration.
I got another talk with AR today, a nice long one, but she still kept shutting down the conversation window whenever her boyfriend walked by so he wouldn't see what we were talking about. Things still look good to go so I can't wait to be able to talk to her as a real friend again :)
Monday, July 13, 2009
One Day At a Time
First of all a big giant HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to my homie, N. :) Hope you're having a great day!!
Mom has been more alert today, which is good, but G and I have still had to carry her a few times. My thumb is really owwie today as a result. Hoping she continues to get better and even gets back to being able to walk by herself.
I've done most of my phone calls today. Still a few more to go, and waiting for calls to be returned. I'm trying to set up doctor's appointments for mom, also setting up an interview with a home health aide, and getting her retirement money transferred.
I also got to speak to my friend, AR, for a few minutes today and she says she's still willing to come move in with me in Virginia. She said she was going to tell her boyfriend over the weekend that she was leaving but he was acting "stupid" so she didn't. I told her it might be best to wait to tell him until I come help her move. I couldn't imagine staying with him for several weeks of ranting and fighting. I don't really think he deserves the courtesy of notice either. She and I still have a lot to talk about and work out and I still can't call her.
I've been reviewing the jobs that the job company applied to on my behalf today. I requested that they change my search location to Virginia because I'm moving there by the end of the month. Out of the 28 they applied for, only 9 were unsatisfactory. Mostly due to requiring a security clearance which I don't have. I'm just hoping that the New Hampshire phone number I've got listed on my resume doesn't throw people off. Plus I'll likely be changing that number once I've moved to Virginia, hopefully I will be able to afford it. I will have to request that G give out my new number if I get any calls after I move.
I really miss my husband. I love him so much and being apart this long is horrible. I don't know if he's any closer to figuring things out, I just keep telling myself to be patient, be patient.
Mom has been more alert today, which is good, but G and I have still had to carry her a few times. My thumb is really owwie today as a result. Hoping she continues to get better and even gets back to being able to walk by herself.
I've done most of my phone calls today. Still a few more to go, and waiting for calls to be returned. I'm trying to set up doctor's appointments for mom, also setting up an interview with a home health aide, and getting her retirement money transferred.
I also got to speak to my friend, AR, for a few minutes today and she says she's still willing to come move in with me in Virginia. She said she was going to tell her boyfriend over the weekend that she was leaving but he was acting "stupid" so she didn't. I told her it might be best to wait to tell him until I come help her move. I couldn't imagine staying with him for several weeks of ranting and fighting. I don't really think he deserves the courtesy of notice either. She and I still have a lot to talk about and work out and I still can't call her.
I've been reviewing the jobs that the job company applied to on my behalf today. I requested that they change my search location to Virginia because I'm moving there by the end of the month. Out of the 28 they applied for, only 9 were unsatisfactory. Mostly due to requiring a security clearance which I don't have. I'm just hoping that the New Hampshire phone number I've got listed on my resume doesn't throw people off. Plus I'll likely be changing that number once I've moved to Virginia, hopefully I will be able to afford it. I will have to request that G give out my new number if I get any calls after I move.
I really miss my husband. I love him so much and being apart this long is horrible. I don't know if he's any closer to figuring things out, I just keep telling myself to be patient, be patient.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Dunno really
Mom was more coherent this morning but still mostly slept. Tonight though she's been really bad. She started calling out "help me mommy" for almost 15 minutes, she didn't say anything else, just kept repeating it. This morning she told us that she didn't want to take her ativan or oxycodone anymore until her stomach stopped hurting but we had to give her 1/2 a pill because she was working herself up to throwing up. I think she's sleeping now though, at least she's stopped crying. I don't know what the hell is wrong with her now. Her eye is better, she should be getting back to the way she was before the surgery, the way she is at times when she's good. She's still not eating much. All she's had today is a bite of a reese cup and an ice cream sandwhich. I wish I knew what to do. Tomorrow I'm going to call her doctor's and set up some appointments and hopefully be able to describe what she's been feeling well enough to get some answers. But I hardly know what to tell them because she hasn't really been able to tell us what she's feeling.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Tough Times
Another rough day with mom. All she's wanted to do since we got back from picking up G at the airport yesterday is sleep. This morning we woke her up to take her medicine and spent an hour trying to get her to take them. She kept refusing, crying and yelling at us to leave her alone and telling us she didn't want them. She finally did take them though.
She wouldn't eat anything though. So I just asked her if she would try to eat a cookie I had just made. She said she would try, when I came back with one and tried to give it to her she kept saying that she was trying. I told her that she didn't have to get up, just to take it from me and try to eat it. For 10 minutes I kept asking her to just take it from me. She kept saying that she was trying but she wasn't moving and didn't even open her eyes. Then she started screaming at me to get out and leave her alone and that she was trying. Her blood sugar is probably extremely low right now, so we will end up having to take her to the ER to get an IV or something, which won't be fun and she's already made it clear that she will refuse to take her medicine tonight and when we told her that she needs to or she'll get sicker, she said she doesn't care, she wants to. It will likely be a very rough night because she will crash soon.
This morning I got a phone call from the tenant in Virginia about the email I sent him regarding leaving the house by August 9th. He was practically crying and said that he was sorry he misunderstood my mom's last email which told him to get the training for the AC maintenance or leave. It also said that she wanted to hear back from him as soon as possible about what he intended to do. He said he thought that he had until the end of the month to get the training. When I brought up that it also said to respond he said he misunderstood that and it would be so much stress for him and his wife to find a new place right now and wanted to stay. I told him that I would pass his message along to mom but that I didn't think there was much hope of changing her mind. She's been so stressed out worrying about the house and his lack of communication, I really don't think it would be good for her to change her mind. It's not like I couldn't find somewhere else to live either and it's not my decision to make so I just kept telling him that I would pass his message along.
Since mom has been barely coherent today I wrote to my dad about it and he said that he'd really like to wait to see if we could ask mom about it but that if we couldn't by tomorrow to just tell the tenant that we're sorry but we're ending the lease.
There's so much stuff I have to help finish before I leave too but dealing with mom is so draining that it's likely going to be very difficult.
She wouldn't eat anything though. So I just asked her if she would try to eat a cookie I had just made. She said she would try, when I came back with one and tried to give it to her she kept saying that she was trying. I told her that she didn't have to get up, just to take it from me and try to eat it. For 10 minutes I kept asking her to just take it from me. She kept saying that she was trying but she wasn't moving and didn't even open her eyes. Then she started screaming at me to get out and leave her alone and that she was trying. Her blood sugar is probably extremely low right now, so we will end up having to take her to the ER to get an IV or something, which won't be fun and she's already made it clear that she will refuse to take her medicine tonight and when we told her that she needs to or she'll get sicker, she said she doesn't care, she wants to. It will likely be a very rough night because she will crash soon.
This morning I got a phone call from the tenant in Virginia about the email I sent him regarding leaving the house by August 9th. He was practically crying and said that he was sorry he misunderstood my mom's last email which told him to get the training for the AC maintenance or leave. It also said that she wanted to hear back from him as soon as possible about what he intended to do. He said he thought that he had until the end of the month to get the training. When I brought up that it also said to respond he said he misunderstood that and it would be so much stress for him and his wife to find a new place right now and wanted to stay. I told him that I would pass his message along to mom but that I didn't think there was much hope of changing her mind. She's been so stressed out worrying about the house and his lack of communication, I really don't think it would be good for her to change her mind. It's not like I couldn't find somewhere else to live either and it's not my decision to make so I just kept telling him that I would pass his message along.
Since mom has been barely coherent today I wrote to my dad about it and he said that he'd really like to wait to see if we could ask mom about it but that if we couldn't by tomorrow to just tell the tenant that we're sorry but we're ending the lease.
There's so much stuff I have to help finish before I leave too but dealing with mom is so draining that it's likely going to be very difficult.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Morning Headache
Mom was doing ok for the last 2 days, but then this morning after I gave her some breakfast and her morning pills I left the room for a few minutes and heard a loud crash. I ran into her room to find her on the floor next to the fan. She'd tried to get up to turn it off, fell and bumped her head on the window sill. She had a bump on her head and was only able to say "help help" and "I don't know" when I tried to ask her where she was hurt. I let her rest a little while, then got her to sit up and talk and she said she was feeling better. I hope she doesn't have a concussion or anything because all she wants to do is sleep. She said she doesn't feel nauseous though and she got dressed.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Getting Ahead of Myself
I got to talk to my friend, AR, today and I mentioned that I might get to stay in my parents VA house after all and she said she'd be willing to relocate. We talked awhile about what that would mean and how we'd go about it and she seemed pretty serious about it. So I talked to my mom and she said she'd thought about it as well and was tired of the tenant anyway. He's been hard to get a hold of, cost almost $200 to get the air conditioner repaired because he lied about cleaning the filter every month and hasn't responded to mom's email about requiring that he get training on how to maintain the air conditioner properly because he refused to let my brother show him how when they gave him the keys to the house.
I talked to my dad and made sure it was ok with him, it was. So now I need to write up an official "get out of the house" letter and mail it to the tenant and should be able to move in by August 10th or so.
Mom also said I could take the twin bed I've been sleeping on, the air mattress and maybe the extra microwave & tv but we'll work that stuff out later.
I had that job search company sending me job information that they applied to today, so I sent them an email and asked them to change their location focus to Virginia. Hopefully everything works out :)
At least the "Where to live?" question is now answered :) Now on to making it happen and getting work.
I wish I could call AR and talk it over some more but she's had her internet and phone cut off for the last month :( She said she'd try to get somewhere to call me soon.
I talked to my dad and made sure it was ok with him, it was. So now I need to write up an official "get out of the house" letter and mail it to the tenant and should be able to move in by August 10th or so.
Mom also said I could take the twin bed I've been sleeping on, the air mattress and maybe the extra microwave & tv but we'll work that stuff out later.
I had that job search company sending me job information that they applied to today, so I sent them an email and asked them to change their location focus to Virginia. Hopefully everything works out :)
At least the "Where to live?" question is now answered :) Now on to making it happen and getting work.
I wish I could call AR and talk it over some more but she's had her internet and phone cut off for the last month :( She said she'd try to get somewhere to call me soon.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Happy Birthday to me
Yesterday was a rough day. It was my birthday but my mother was having a lot of issues, so G and I spent most of the day trying to stabilize her and canceling our trip to Florida to see my other brother, D and his family.
Today G was supposed to drive himself to the airport but mom woke up and wanted to take him so I drove him to the airport and we had lunch. My tuna melt was far too greasy and upset my tummy a bit. Then mom and I drove back to my orthopedic appointment for my thumb. The doctor said that since it wasn't hurting or triggering today that he would suggest giving it more time to heal or if I couldn't live with it, getting the surgery. I told him that overall it had been much better but some days it ached real bad or I'd get a sharp pain if I pressed something with it. He said again that if I could live with that, it wouldn't be a problem, but if I couldn't to book the surgery. Kind of a let down but I'll have to wait and see if it's going to be bearable or not. Then decide about the surgery.
Mom was feeling really bad and slept most of the trip. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get her upstairs to her room or not, but she made it and now she's sleeping with some valium.
Today G was supposed to drive himself to the airport but mom woke up and wanted to take him so I drove him to the airport and we had lunch. My tuna melt was far too greasy and upset my tummy a bit. Then mom and I drove back to my orthopedic appointment for my thumb. The doctor said that since it wasn't hurting or triggering today that he would suggest giving it more time to heal or if I couldn't live with it, getting the surgery. I told him that overall it had been much better but some days it ached real bad or I'd get a sharp pain if I pressed something with it. He said again that if I could live with that, it wouldn't be a problem, but if I couldn't to book the surgery. Kind of a let down but I'll have to wait and see if it's going to be bearable or not. Then decide about the surgery.
Mom was feeling really bad and slept most of the trip. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get her upstairs to her room or not, but she made it and now she's sleeping with some valium.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Lazy Sunday
Mom did a bit better today. I had Dad give her a call so that seemed to calm her down a bit. Plus I've been giving her a steady dose of oxycodone every 3 hours to keep the pain from getting too bad. She didn't really want it but it did help. Tomorrow I'll try every 4 hours. She also took regular doses of the valium which really calmed her down a lot so we'll have to keep that up.
Tomorrow I have a few errands to run and phone calls to make. If it's nice outside then G and I will need to get some yard work done.
That's about all that happened, I got a good 5 hour straight nap finally. I'm still worried about AR, I spoke to her for about 2 minutes online again today. She told me that she and her boyfriend had a really bad 3 hour fight about everything then went to his family BBQ for the 4th of July. I really need to talk to her and find out what's going on.
Tomorrow I have a few errands to run and phone calls to make. If it's nice outside then G and I will need to get some yard work done.
That's about all that happened, I got a good 5 hour straight nap finally. I'm still worried about AR, I spoke to her for about 2 minutes online again today. She told me that she and her boyfriend had a really bad 3 hour fight about everything then went to his family BBQ for the 4th of July. I really need to talk to her and find out what's going on.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
4th of July
Happy 4th of July! Most of today wasn't too bad, and we did hear fireworks which we think were lit at the national park but didn't see any. Though I'm too tired to really be excited about it. I had a 2, then 4 hour nap on Friday, then a 1 then 4 hour nap on Saturday.
I stayed up with Mom again last night. She actually slept well but when she woke up at 6am she tried to walk to the bathroom by herself and got weak and called for help. She wasn't in pain or nauseous though so I thought today might be ok for her. Then she tried to get up again at 9 but by the time she called me for help her legs were already giving out and I barely got to her before she fell. I grabbed her arms and tried to move her towards the chair we put in the hallway so she could rest but she didn't even make a step before she fell. She busted her knee pretty good, it's all scraped up.
I spent the early morning cleaning the kitchen and upstairs bathroom then decided to go get some coffee from the grocery store before it closed. There wasn't much of a selection so I picked up some regular columbian dark roast along with some chili powder, chocolate flavored non-dairy creamer and a cinnamon grinder. My brother, G, asked me to get him a hazelnut coffee. There was a farmer's market being held at the middle school in town with big signs for the apple orchard that's near the house but I didn't check it out. I picked up some lunch at the diner and went back to the house.
The ditches in the road and at the end of the driveway are much wider than they were last time I went out. Any further and the jeep may not make it across either. The driveway is in really good condition still so I'm pleased with that at least. I would have gone out to do some yard work and maybe fill the ditches in a bit but it kept pouring rain off an on all day. Driving back from town it was coming down in sheets of water and then stopped and got sunny. I'll take more pictures of the ditches and try to see if the town maintenance crew can fix it soon.
I had a long talk with my friend, R, who's leaving to go take care of her grandfather for maybe a year in Guam on Monday. We had a good long talk, which isn't hard to do with her because she can talk for hours but we actually discussed a lot of things. Including our other friend, AR, who told me today that she'd found messages on her boyfriends ps3 account from some girl he talks to while she's at work all day or sleeping at night, even telling the girl that he will talk to her later because AR was home and awake. Very sleazy, especially since he freaks out about checking who she's talking to, even if it's me he's sometimes picked up the phone to make sure. She didn't mention any messages about cheating but she said he lied to her about the girl and the messages were more caring and supportive than he's ever been with her.
I've always thought he was an asshole, I never liked him for her. She knows that but I respect that it's her choice to be with him. AR was going to confront him about the messages but since her phone and internet have been cut off for the last 3 weeks (because he hasn't worked in almost a year) I don't know what happened. I suggested that she try to figure out what she wants from him before she talks to him, so that she can stick to it despite any attempts from him to argue, lie or yell about it. Whether she decided to ask him to delete his ps3 account, or to leave the apartment, I don't know. I only suggested that she be sure of what she wants and not let him talk her down. She's been fed up with him for a long time now so I'm hoping this gets him out of her life so she can focus on herself and her daughter. I'm worried about her tonight :(
Mom has had a rough night despite her relatively good night last night and today. She started crying in pain and threw up. Then started calling G "daddy" and calling out for her mom. Both of her parents are dead and this is the same thing she did after her anuerism back in 2001. She's also been asking us to kill her, or threatening to take all of her pills. I know she's in pain and I don't think she really means it but either way she's killing herself by not following the doctor's instructions. It's a fight to get her to eat anything, to take all of her pills and eye drops or even to drink something other than diet coke all day. I'm pretty sure her stomach is a wreck right now from all the medicine she takes, lack of food and acids from the diet coke. Hell diet coke makes my stomach burn if I have more than a couple.
I talked to G for awhile tonight about what will happen when I find a job and leave here. He said that mom is really tired of the tenant in Virginia, that he hasn't responded about her demand that he get training from the AC/Heating maintenance company about the proper operation and cleaning of it. She just had to pay a huge fee and repair cost because he hadn't been cleaning the filter every month since he moved in to the house in March. He refused to let G show him how to do it when he came to go over the house and get the keys. He has until July 30th to show proof that he's completed the training. If he doesn't, then he will have to move out by July 31st because my mother notified him on June 30th that she wants him out of the house if he doesn't. I told G that I couldn't really plan for that to happen because he may do the training and if I get a job offer that I feel is decent I will be taking it.
I suggested to him that we find a nurse aide or some other type of health aide because it's been crazy dealing with the house and mom even with both of us here and that he deserves to have a break sometimes. He kind of resisted the idea saying that if he was here anyway then he doesn't mind doing it. I brought up the fact that he can't even mow the lawn when mom is bad, much less do grocery shopping or any other chore. He's also trying to get into college in the fall to get a teaching license and would be away for most of the day for that. I suggested that even if he's home, it would be good for him to be able to get things done and trust that mom is taken care of, and also to get to know the aide and get them aquainted with mom's routines before he's gone for school all day. It would also be good for mom to not have to rely soley on G for everything. At times she feels really guilty and depressed about her kids having to carry her or clean up after her. So really it would be good for both of them to get some space sometimes.
It's really up to G and Dad though. G will be the one dealing with mom and the aide and dad would be the one paying for it. I just think it's the best option so I hope they really consider it. We still don't know if mom will be up for traveling on Thursday.
While I was writing this I heard her footsteps and went to go see what she was doing. She was halfway down the stairs to get a soda. :( Given how bad she's been walking today that could have been a trip to the emergency room or worse. She blames me for "letting" her fall earlier today. She didn't tell me that but told G. So she refused my help back to her room. Things like that really piss me off but her brain is broken from the strokes, on top of her original stubborn personality and the pain and medications now, I can't really hold it against her.
I stayed up with Mom again last night. She actually slept well but when she woke up at 6am she tried to walk to the bathroom by herself and got weak and called for help. She wasn't in pain or nauseous though so I thought today might be ok for her. Then she tried to get up again at 9 but by the time she called me for help her legs were already giving out and I barely got to her before she fell. I grabbed her arms and tried to move her towards the chair we put in the hallway so she could rest but she didn't even make a step before she fell. She busted her knee pretty good, it's all scraped up.
I spent the early morning cleaning the kitchen and upstairs bathroom then decided to go get some coffee from the grocery store before it closed. There wasn't much of a selection so I picked up some regular columbian dark roast along with some chili powder, chocolate flavored non-dairy creamer and a cinnamon grinder. My brother, G, asked me to get him a hazelnut coffee. There was a farmer's market being held at the middle school in town with big signs for the apple orchard that's near the house but I didn't check it out. I picked up some lunch at the diner and went back to the house.
The ditches in the road and at the end of the driveway are much wider than they were last time I went out. Any further and the jeep may not make it across either. The driveway is in really good condition still so I'm pleased with that at least. I would have gone out to do some yard work and maybe fill the ditches in a bit but it kept pouring rain off an on all day. Driving back from town it was coming down in sheets of water and then stopped and got sunny. I'll take more pictures of the ditches and try to see if the town maintenance crew can fix it soon.
I had a long talk with my friend, R, who's leaving to go take care of her grandfather for maybe a year in Guam on Monday. We had a good long talk, which isn't hard to do with her because she can talk for hours but we actually discussed a lot of things. Including our other friend, AR, who told me today that she'd found messages on her boyfriends ps3 account from some girl he talks to while she's at work all day or sleeping at night, even telling the girl that he will talk to her later because AR was home and awake. Very sleazy, especially since he freaks out about checking who she's talking to, even if it's me he's sometimes picked up the phone to make sure. She didn't mention any messages about cheating but she said he lied to her about the girl and the messages were more caring and supportive than he's ever been with her.
I've always thought he was an asshole, I never liked him for her. She knows that but I respect that it's her choice to be with him. AR was going to confront him about the messages but since her phone and internet have been cut off for the last 3 weeks (because he hasn't worked in almost a year) I don't know what happened. I suggested that she try to figure out what she wants from him before she talks to him, so that she can stick to it despite any attempts from him to argue, lie or yell about it. Whether she decided to ask him to delete his ps3 account, or to leave the apartment, I don't know. I only suggested that she be sure of what she wants and not let him talk her down. She's been fed up with him for a long time now so I'm hoping this gets him out of her life so she can focus on herself and her daughter. I'm worried about her tonight :(
Mom has had a rough night despite her relatively good night last night and today. She started crying in pain and threw up. Then started calling G "daddy" and calling out for her mom. Both of her parents are dead and this is the same thing she did after her anuerism back in 2001. She's also been asking us to kill her, or threatening to take all of her pills. I know she's in pain and I don't think she really means it but either way she's killing herself by not following the doctor's instructions. It's a fight to get her to eat anything, to take all of her pills and eye drops or even to drink something other than diet coke all day. I'm pretty sure her stomach is a wreck right now from all the medicine she takes, lack of food and acids from the diet coke. Hell diet coke makes my stomach burn if I have more than a couple.
I talked to G for awhile tonight about what will happen when I find a job and leave here. He said that mom is really tired of the tenant in Virginia, that he hasn't responded about her demand that he get training from the AC/Heating maintenance company about the proper operation and cleaning of it. She just had to pay a huge fee and repair cost because he hadn't been cleaning the filter every month since he moved in to the house in March. He refused to let G show him how to do it when he came to go over the house and get the keys. He has until July 30th to show proof that he's completed the training. If he doesn't, then he will have to move out by July 31st because my mother notified him on June 30th that she wants him out of the house if he doesn't. I told G that I couldn't really plan for that to happen because he may do the training and if I get a job offer that I feel is decent I will be taking it.
I suggested to him that we find a nurse aide or some other type of health aide because it's been crazy dealing with the house and mom even with both of us here and that he deserves to have a break sometimes. He kind of resisted the idea saying that if he was here anyway then he doesn't mind doing it. I brought up the fact that he can't even mow the lawn when mom is bad, much less do grocery shopping or any other chore. He's also trying to get into college in the fall to get a teaching license and would be away for most of the day for that. I suggested that even if he's home, it would be good for him to be able to get things done and trust that mom is taken care of, and also to get to know the aide and get them aquainted with mom's routines before he's gone for school all day. It would also be good for mom to not have to rely soley on G for everything. At times she feels really guilty and depressed about her kids having to carry her or clean up after her. So really it would be good for both of them to get some space sometimes.
It's really up to G and Dad though. G will be the one dealing with mom and the aide and dad would be the one paying for it. I just think it's the best option so I hope they really consider it. We still don't know if mom will be up for traveling on Thursday.
While I was writing this I heard her footsteps and went to go see what she was doing. She was halfway down the stairs to get a soda. :( Given how bad she's been walking today that could have been a trip to the emergency room or worse. She blames me for "letting" her fall earlier today. She didn't tell me that but told G. So she refused my help back to her room. Things like that really piss me off but her brain is broken from the strokes, on top of her original stubborn personality and the pain and medications now, I can't really hold it against her.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sleepy Post
Today was a really rough day. Mom was up every few hours last night in pain or nauseous. I didn't get any sleep until 9am but then had to get up at 11am to watch over her while my brother ran down to the pharmacy to get some medicine for her. I passed out again at 3pm and slept a few hours till 7 then made dinner. My brother and I managed to spend a few minutes cleaning out the gutters and during dinner watched 2 episodes of So You Think You Can Dance. Mom's just been in so much pain and throwing up. I'm so exhausted.
If she doesn't get better soon, both my brother and I think we should skip the trip to Florida.
If she doesn't get better soon, both my brother and I think we should skip the trip to Florida.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Thumby Weather
Tuesday was my brother's birthday. Mom wasn't feeling well all day so we stayed home instead of going out to Longhorn Steakhouse like he wanted. I drove down to the grocery store and picked up some good hamburger, a small birthday cake and stuff and made him hamburgers. They turned out really well. Everyone deserves a good birthday.
That night I stayed up to keep an eye on Mom. She was sleeping in the recliner in the living room and my brother slept on the couch. I heard her throwing up so I ran down to help her. Then a little while later she decided to move up to her room because she's afraid of lightning and there was a massive thunderstorm. The living room has huge windows and doors that lead out to the porch. I personally thought it was gorgeous.
A few hours later my brother ran upstairs and said mom had been calling for help but I seriously didn't hear her. I don't have very good hearing with one ear anyway but I usually manage. I had a small fan pointed at me and it was hard even hearing people on the phone with it so close. So I moved the fan even though it's so hot in this room all the time. I checked on her a few times and she seemed to sleep well the rest of the night.
She had a doctor's appointment at 8am so we had to leave the house at 6:30am. She wasn't feeling well at all. The doctor said that a blood vessel burst, either from all her throwing up or just from the general diabetic retinopathy. He said that was what was causing all her pain and that he couldn't really see how the surgery was healing through all the blood. She had an appointment last week though and it was clearer then so he still felt good that it was healing well. He changed all her medications and eye drops again and gave her more oxycodone for the pain. Her next appointment is on the 6th and we're hoping she'll be well enough to fly to Florida on the 9th to see my other brother and his family for almost 2 weeks.
She's always in pain, she barely eats, she's often abrasive. It's been tough dealing with her. When I made dinner tonight, she was sleeping in her room. Since she hasn't eaten a real meal in almost 2 weeks and had been naseous all day I assumed she wouldn't want any so I didn't wake her. She then started yelling that we hadn't invited her to eat and that she would just eat an ice cream sandwich because no one cared to feed her. I had just made it, it was too hot to eat still, my brother offered to get her some but she said no. Yet she still complained for another hour.
Next Tuesday, the 7th is my 30th birthday. Which kinda sucks because I'd been dreaming of having a really fun party for once, ever since I planned my husband's 30th 2 years ago. I haven't had a big birthday party since I was really little. I always thought I'd be dead by 30, so I guess anything is better than that :) My family has been planning a party for me on the 11th at my brother's place, but while I'm sure it will be nice, it's not the same.
On Wednesday I take my brother to the airport at noon. He's flying to Texas to pick up our nephew from visiting his mother's family. Then they're flying to Florida to meet up with all of us. After I drop him off I have to rush back north almost 2 hours to get to my Orthopedic appointment for my thumb. It's my last shot (figuratively and literally) to avoid surgery on it. The first shot helped a LOT, but I still get shooting pain when I press something like the sleep button on the iphone or gps or turn a screwdriver. Sometimes for no reason at all it will just ache all the way to my elbow. I hope it works, luckily I can cross my fingers :p The shot is only $50 but the surgery will be expensive given that I have no health care or job.
I received my draft copies on Monday of my resume and cover letter from the Monster.com writing service. I think it looks pretty good. Certainly much better then I could have ever come up with. I've got to write them back with a few changes I think, then I'll start posting it everywhere and use the job finding company that my husband also got me for my birthday present. Crossing more fingers that they can find me something good, not just bareable.
We've been having so many strong thunderstorms here lately that the internet has been off for long periods of time. Even the cable went out a few times and the power shut off several times but only for seconds. The storms also carved out ditches in the dirt road up to the house and a giant crack between the driveway and the road. If they don't come fix it soon, I may have to go try to fill it in some. It's almost hard to get the jeep across the ditches, but my brother's car is barely able to make it.
Lastly I just want to say Happy Canada Day to all my (soon-to-be) fellow Canadians!
That night I stayed up to keep an eye on Mom. She was sleeping in the recliner in the living room and my brother slept on the couch. I heard her throwing up so I ran down to help her. Then a little while later she decided to move up to her room because she's afraid of lightning and there was a massive thunderstorm. The living room has huge windows and doors that lead out to the porch. I personally thought it was gorgeous.
A few hours later my brother ran upstairs and said mom had been calling for help but I seriously didn't hear her. I don't have very good hearing with one ear anyway but I usually manage. I had a small fan pointed at me and it was hard even hearing people on the phone with it so close. So I moved the fan even though it's so hot in this room all the time. I checked on her a few times and she seemed to sleep well the rest of the night.
She had a doctor's appointment at 8am so we had to leave the house at 6:30am. She wasn't feeling well at all. The doctor said that a blood vessel burst, either from all her throwing up or just from the general diabetic retinopathy. He said that was what was causing all her pain and that he couldn't really see how the surgery was healing through all the blood. She had an appointment last week though and it was clearer then so he still felt good that it was healing well. He changed all her medications and eye drops again and gave her more oxycodone for the pain. Her next appointment is on the 6th and we're hoping she'll be well enough to fly to Florida on the 9th to see my other brother and his family for almost 2 weeks.
She's always in pain, she barely eats, she's often abrasive. It's been tough dealing with her. When I made dinner tonight, she was sleeping in her room. Since she hasn't eaten a real meal in almost 2 weeks and had been naseous all day I assumed she wouldn't want any so I didn't wake her. She then started yelling that we hadn't invited her to eat and that she would just eat an ice cream sandwich because no one cared to feed her. I had just made it, it was too hot to eat still, my brother offered to get her some but she said no. Yet she still complained for another hour.
Next Tuesday, the 7th is my 30th birthday. Which kinda sucks because I'd been dreaming of having a really fun party for once, ever since I planned my husband's 30th 2 years ago. I haven't had a big birthday party since I was really little. I always thought I'd be dead by 30, so I guess anything is better than that :) My family has been planning a party for me on the 11th at my brother's place, but while I'm sure it will be nice, it's not the same.
On Wednesday I take my brother to the airport at noon. He's flying to Texas to pick up our nephew from visiting his mother's family. Then they're flying to Florida to meet up with all of us. After I drop him off I have to rush back north almost 2 hours to get to my Orthopedic appointment for my thumb. It's my last shot (figuratively and literally) to avoid surgery on it. The first shot helped a LOT, but I still get shooting pain when I press something like the sleep button on the iphone or gps or turn a screwdriver. Sometimes for no reason at all it will just ache all the way to my elbow. I hope it works, luckily I can cross my fingers :p The shot is only $50 but the surgery will be expensive given that I have no health care or job.
I received my draft copies on Monday of my resume and cover letter from the Monster.com writing service. I think it looks pretty good. Certainly much better then I could have ever come up with. I've got to write them back with a few changes I think, then I'll start posting it everywhere and use the job finding company that my husband also got me for my birthday present. Crossing more fingers that they can find me something good, not just bareable.
We've been having so many strong thunderstorms here lately that the internet has been off for long periods of time. Even the cable went out a few times and the power shut off several times but only for seconds. The storms also carved out ditches in the dirt road up to the house and a giant crack between the driveway and the road. If they don't come fix it soon, I may have to go try to fill it in some. It's almost hard to get the jeep across the ditches, but my brother's car is barely able to make it.
Lastly I just want to say Happy Canada Day to all my (soon-to-be) fellow Canadians!
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