Labor Day Weekend

The Thursday before my very long weekend, I went home from work sick. I had an infection and just had to go to bed. I was very unhappy at this turn of events, as I had things I wanted to do, and it didn't include staying in the bed for two and a half days.

I finally began to feel enough better on Friday evening, that I was able to do a bit of painting. Saturday was a better day, but I still had to take it slow to keep from feeling worse. Today, I had to go to the clinic and catch up, or I would be in a pickle come Tuesday morning. Still feeling a little puny, but it's slowly getting better. I finished some painting for a friend's little girl's room so, at least I accomplished one thing on my to-do list.

In the midst of all this, Mom's labs had to be redrawn because they were so low. It's amazing how much difference two days make. It seems to be the norm now, for her counts to be very very low at the beginning of the week, but the latter part of the week they jump back up. The oncology nurse keeps asking if Mom feels bad or sickly. She feels as healthy as she always has. No complaints whatsoever. Even gets a little touchy when we remind her of all the precautions she must take to keep from catching some kind of virus.

I intended to take her shopping for a new sofa on Friday, but Sister #2 had to take her in my place. If I am well enough tomorrow, we will hit different stores tomorrow and see if we can find something she likes. She's really not much into the newfangled, ultrasuede, pillowy stuff that is so popular these days. And to be perfectly honest, neither am I. I hope we find something.

I'll have a short week, yoo hoo! but the countdown to the last day for our LPN draws ever nearer. Bummer.

My Life in a Nutshell

Surprise Discovery

I was clicking on the "Next Blog" link, just surfing and looking for interesting blogs to read. It's late, and I'm not sleepy eventhough I did wake up early, as I stated in my last post. I came across http://parrishtheartist.blogspot.com/ .
There was a link to her web site on Etsy. If I could have anything in the world, just for myself, I would ask for the talent to do exactly this type of thing. The talent, the time, and the demand for it. What I wouldn't give, to have lessons and be better than I am. To have a specific style of painting. To have the ideas and images in my head so strong, that I they would just pour from my fingers like water.

Writer's Block

I have not been able to think of anything to blog about this week. I've thought about it several times, while at the computer answering emails, or verifying insurance coverage, but nothing came to my brain. There have been things happen, but most were of a very personal nature, and not appropriate for public reading.

I was not able to sleep-in this morning, though I had planned to. I even stayed up way past my normal bedtime last night. Why is it that I must drag myself out of bed every work day but on my days off, I wake up unable to go back to sleep? I refused to get up this morning, eventhough I wasn't able to drift back off, and my mind was a whirlwind of activity.

In the background of my thoughts, was a constant repeat of the song, The Prayer by Celine Dion and Josh Groban. I listened to a cd with that playing several times at work this week and it was playing over and over in my head while the thoughts came and went. You know, when you can't get a song out of your head type of thing. Aggravating. But at least I like this song. Don't you hate it when a song you hate does that? Since I haven't blogged all week, I will list the things going round and round in my mind as I laid there trying to go back to sleep.

1. Not being able to go back to sleep.
2. Husband's new work schedule.
3. Scenes from two books I read lately.
4. Christmas present ideas.
5. Mom's last lab results.
6. My physical therapy issues.
7. LeLe's house hunt.
8. J's house repair issues.
9. The person we hired to take the L.P.N.'s place at work.
10. It's payday.
11. Not being able to go back to sleep.
12. Things going on at work.
13. The need to blog.
14. What to blog about.
15. Not being able to go back to sleep.
16. Why that song keeps ringing in my head.
17. Meds I forgot to take last night.
18. What I watched on tv last night.
19. Not being able to go back to sleep.
20. Wayne's world.
21. The traffic behind my house.
22. The packet of papers I need to mail from the office.
23. Mom's next visit to see the oncology doctor.
24. Our garage door opener main box died.
25. It's Friday, why am I not still sleeping?
26. My back.
27. I need to get the photos Chelle took of us printed out and framed.

Ok, that is most of it. All I can remember right now anyway. And did I mention I kept thinking about not being able to go back to sleep? Sheesh.

2. Husband's new work schedule. For the time being, after years and years of working weekends and being off in the middle of the week, he's off on Sat and Sun. Woo hoo. Although at present, he's working the 3-11 shift.

5. Mom's iron levels and cholesterol are way high, while her immune system levels are way low. She has a bruise and a bump where they placed the IV at her last chemo. She complained about it, but they wouldn't re-insert it because it had good flow. Nurse practitioner said to demand they change it next time.

9. I was under the impression we were required to hire an L.P.N. to replace our current one. She is leaving next month to deliver her second child and won't be returning. This week, we hired someone with years of clinic experience, but has no license of any kind. I'm a bit concerned about that. Too many issues to list here, but I just don't have a good feeling about it. We will see what happens and how it goes. I was in on the interview, eventhough I had no say in the hiring. We only interview the one person, and her references weren't even checked. We had an actual L.P.N. submit a resume, but she wasn't even considered. Go figure.

26. My back is much much better, thanks to a very nice physical therapist. He stressed that it will continue to improve if I continue to exercise. And it will go back to painful if I stop. It's something I must do for the rest of my life if I want to be able to function normally. I hate exercise, hate it with a passion, but will do it because I must. I guess it will be like hating to unload the dishwasher, but it's mandatory if you want to load the dirty ones in.

So, it's been a long blog and evidently my writer's block is gone for the present.

Frustration

The other day I heard someone on the radio say, "If you want to disappoint God, be a complainer." Wow. So, for the record, this is not complaining. This is just stating the facts.



Mom and I had a frustrating day at her chemo treatment. We waited for TWO AND A HALF HOURS, oops, I mean two and a half hours, for the pharmacy to send down her treatment meds. We wound up eating our lunch in the waiting lobby, and then got hungry half way through treatment. We weren't able to leave LR until 4:30, which is obviously the beginning of rush hour. Fortunately, I was only honked at once because the traffic was so heavy, I couldn't get over to let someone merge. I was thanking my Lord I didn't have to drive in that every afternoon.



Mom reminded me we drove in traffic worse than that regularly when I was a kid and we lived in Washington D.C. I have very few memories of that time, I was so young. One was of my Dad standing in the Whitehouse in front of a fireplace. Another is of driving by the reflecting pool in front of the Washington Monument. I would dearly love to go back and see all those places again, but I doubt I ever get to. I would have to travel with someone less phobic about the traffic and unknown.



But, getting back to my facts, we made it fine getting home and she will see the doctor next time. She feels good, but her blood counts have been low. That is to be expected, and we are just glad they haven't dropped so low that her treatment has to be postponed.

More Adventures in Painting

Friday I drove up to J's place to help him pack for moving and get started painting rooms in his newly purchased home. We had big plans of getting all the little things boxed up, then Friday evening begin painting at least two rooms. We did get things packed, and I cleaned up the kitchen and bathrooms, but the painting plans were smashed. The previous owners were not out by the time they originally planned, and we were unable to even get the keys until about 9:30 Friday night. J was thoroughly disgusted with the monkey wrench thrown into his plans. We did go to Lowes and buy the paint, and it was comical to see J's face when he had to pay up for all the paint and supplies. Imagine the cartoons where the main character's eyes bug way out of their sockets and his jaw drops all the way to the floor with a resounding CONK!

Saturday morning, we went to eat a good breakfast, then I began painting his bedroom while he and his roommate began moving boxes and furniture. The comment was made that we all knew who wore the pants in the previous family, because two bedrooms, a half bath, and the enclosed carport were all painted pale pink, with a dark blue floral wallpaper border around the top. It took me quite a while, and quite some energy removing the border before I could even begin to paint. In J's bedroom, we decided on a dark mossy brown for one focal wall and the other three we painted a khaki color. J wanted to paint the entire room the brown, but I vetoed it, afraid it would be too too dark in there with only one small window. It took me all day long to get that one room painted. It took two coats of paint to cover that pink, and I was up and down on the ladder constantly, cutting in around the ceiling and in the corners where the two colors met. But, at the end of the day, it looked fabulous and it was very rewarding to see the transformation. We will tackle the adjoining half bath as soon as I can get back up there. (If he doesn't decide to try it himself.)

His roommate's room was painted Kelly green with a dolphin border. We discussed taking the border off and just leaving that paint color since roommate is ok with it. The other bedroom is one of the pink rooms but has a border of the solar system. Don't ask me why they thought pink worked with that. It will be painted eventually.

I will post photos when J gets things all situated like he wants. We were so tired and didn't even have the beds put back together when I left his place at around 5:00. However, he is relieved to be in a place of his own, and anxious and excited to get it all "fixed up". He wants LeLe and me to come up and help him decorate. He has very good taste, and is very much into how his home looks. ( Must take after his Momma.)

This is the photo of the front the realtor had online.

Today, I am so sore and tired I can hardly move, but I would do it all again and again. We Moms love doing for our children.

A Bit of Good News

I visited a physical therapist today. I finally decided to do something about my back pain. The good news is, my back is pretty much normal for someone my age. And my pain is not due to the degenerative disk disease that is also common for folks my age. It's a muscular problem that should be helped by specific exercise.

I'm not much of a lover of exercise, but if it will allow me to walk around, shopping for groceries, antiques, etc. and be more physically active, I'll do it. I'd be crazy not to. I will also be visiting the therapist a couple of times a week for a short time to accelerate the process. Therapist suggested pilates. Ugh. I tried those once, and they must be pretty awesome things because they nearly killed me.

Insert Caption

I'm inviting all to suggest comical captions for this photo. I love it.

"Now kids, let Grandmaw tell you about the time that old Black snake joined me in the outhouse."

For Your Viewing Pleasure

These are just a few of the pictures Chelle took of us last Saturday at Mom's. If you didn't already know, she has her own photography blog and is very gifted.

A Day to Rest?

My own personal R.N.P. advised me to go home last night, take something strong, sleep all night and most of the day today. Together we have sorta-kinda diagnosed me as just being totally exhausted. My blood pressure has been up the last few days, I've had a slight headache, and I'm so tired I can hardly function. No other symptoms though. Unfortunately, anything that will totally knock me out, does so for days instead of hours. Otherwise, I would be in la la land as we speak (write.) I did get to sleep late today and that was nice. Not enough, but nice.

I think I've been on the go for so long, my poor body has just about had enough. I work from 8 to 6 four days a week, then go down to Mom's at least one day, do all my grocery shopping and errand running one day, and then try to do housework the third off day. I can't remember the last time I was able to stay home all day long and rest. Again today, I am required at my Mom's because the dish network guy will be there sometime between the hours of 12 and 5 and I have to be there to sign papers. While I'm there, I might as well work on trying to finish up the painting we still have left.

Tomorrow, J is coming to pick up some furniture items we are giving him for his new house. I'm hoping I can sleep in again. I will be thrilled to see my baby boy, and give him some things he needs. I fear the day will not be restful however.

I don't mind doing all these things. I'm just really worn out. I hope I can get some rest on Sunday since it is supposed to be a day of rest.