Tuesday, May 24, 2016 -
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Side note: Vertigo is NOT my friend. No way, no time, no where.
I've woken up with vicious bouts of vertigo both of these days, and it is not pretty.
Tuesday was pretty much a regular day - after finally getting up after my tableting and reading, I ran uptown to do some errands. I went to Gold Star for my lunch while there, but I only ate one Gorito there because I was very aware that I had to weigh in tonight. I brought the other one home with me after all my errands were run.
I just sat in my recliner until I heard from Ron, then I walked out to meet him. And when I walked out to meet him, I took my walking stick with me. I was still that tired! I was determined to get some exercise in, though, so I did it. I didn't even make it to the curves this time. I guess the two times I stopped had something to do with that...
Back home, I just sat there until just before time to leave for my meeting, then I went out and cut some of my irises for everyone at the meeting to enjoy - and they did! When I weighed in, to my dismay, I found out that I have gained. Only .2 of a pound, but a gain nevertheless. I don't get it! All those salads....sigh.
I come back home and eat my other Gorito for my supper and that was it for the day. That's all I ate for the whole day - no ice cream, no peanuts, no nothing. I was disgusted.
I also got a text from my daughter-in-law. My grandson's award ceremony is tomorrow - at 8:30am. 8:30am!! Ye gods!! I told her I'd try, but I'm not promising....
Well, the alarms started going off this morning and I laid there trying to decide if I wanted to get up and do this or not. I finally made the decision that since my brain had started thinking, I might as well. I staggered my way into the shower and vertigoed my way through my shower. Oh, my, was that fun (NOT!)!! I don't know what is causing this, but it can quit any time now.
I managed to get dressed without falling over, and finally left only 10 minutes later than I had wanted to. I get to Corgan's school with five minutes to spare, thanks to construction on 52.
The award ceremony was great! The principals and teachers were wonderful to the kids, and Corgan got his awards - 4 or 5 of them - and Super Granny took a blue zillion pictures, at least half of which didn't turn out. After all the grades (5th - 8th) were done, we got to leave.
Chelle, Jean, and I went over to Maysville to grab a bite to eat and for Chelle to go to Walmart to get some stuff for them over the next couple of days. We went to Frisch's, where Jean got her fish sandwich with a salad and baked apples, Chelle got a chicken wrap with a salad and onion rings, and I got a Buddie Boy (with American cheese) and a cup of chili. See? I can be good!
I also stopped over there and put $10.00 worth of gasoline in my car, since it was 15 cents per gallon cheaper than over here in Ohio! Then I dropped them back off and came on home, where I went back to bed, though I never did get back to sleep.
When Ron texted me, I didn't walk out to meet him since I was expecting a phone call (that never came - maybe tomorrow). When he got home, he went out and finished mowing before the rain starts, since the ground is slowly drying up enough to drive the rider over.
Then he came in and we talked about supper. Neither of us really wanted salads tonight, even though it was so hot. Ron finally made himself some chicken salad, and I made myself some potato soup, and that was supper. We had our ice cream bars for dessert a little while later, and that was that.
Getting on the computer a bit later, I find out that a friend needs a truck tomorrow, so I ask Ron to drive my car tomorrow. He wasn't real happy about it, but as I explained, he understood and agreed. So, now, I have to get up again tomorrow morning and be in Georgetown at 9am. Ai yi yi!
Can I do this two days in a row? (Sure I can!)
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Monday, May 23, 2016
Weekend, weekend, weekend!!
Friday, May 20, 2016 -
Monday, May 23, 2016
After my normal tableting and reading, I got up and went over to Felicity to get our real ice cream bars. Of course - you know me - while I was out, I had lunch. I had the loaded potato skins at the FeedMill Restaurant before doing my little bit of shopping. I also "stocked up" on the ice cream, buying three boxes of 'em, so that we have plenty in reserve and won't run out for awhile, as well as getting some of the 5/$20. meat (I love that stuff!) and some puff corn.
I got home and got the stuff put away, then just plopped in my recliner until Ron and Corgan got home. Then our fun evening started! Yeah, not really - just our normal Friday evening. Ron trying not to sleep but failing miserably, Corgan watching the TV (Mythbusters this week), and me either tableting or reading. Whee!
Saturday went a little differently than normal. I had to go uptown to get meat to make supper tonight for the whole family (the meat I get is only enough for me and Ron) and we decided to go to Subway for lunch. Well, Little Mr. Corgan had to go with me because I sure can't order his sandwich correctly all by myself, now can I? (Ha - the little turd forgot to put the banana peppers on it anyway!) That was certainly a surprise that he wanted to go uptown with me instead of staying home with Grandpa, but definitely okay with me. So, off we go. What a trip that was....
After we get back home - WAY later than I expected - and we're eating our lunch, Ron is extremely unhappy with them (the sandwiches) and so am I. They are nothing like what we used to get, and they are so much more expensive! I do believe that this is our last trip to Subway.
Ron and I were supposed to be going somewhere this evening, but now this family stuff is going to happen instead, so our plans are the plans that are changing. Phooey! Oh, well, it happens.
Then, for whatever reason, Jean decides not to come up with Josh and Chelle - which is fine, her choice, but kinda weird - and when Josh and Chelle come up after Chelle gets off work, showers and changes, the evening starts. I, helped by Corgan, had bought some small steaks to make for supper. I also got asparagus and spinach, and I made fried potatoes to go with it all. Fried potatoes! Yum!!
After supper, we all sat around the table and talked, then we got out the cards. We played Spades while Corgan finished his supper (he eats even slower than I do!), then we played Poker. Yes, we are making the gambler in that youngster grow! After that, we taught Corgan how to play Up and Down the River. He lost, but that's not a surprise when you're still learning the game - the surprise was that Josh won the game, not Ron! Usually Ron totally kicks everyone's ass at this game - everyone's.
Then they got things together - Chelle and Corgan both were getting tired - and left. There weren't too many leftovers for them to take home this time, though. We all had eaten like pigs!
When they had been gone for a little while, I asked Ron if he still wanted to go over to where we were planning to go earlier. That event was going to be going on for awhile yet, and it would be no big deal if we came in late. He said no, he was too tired. (He is getting old!) I asked him if he minded if I went, and we discussed it for a bit, and finally, he agreed that I could go but I had to be extremely careful, etc., etc. I went to change my clothes because I might be outside, and off I went!
I spent a very relaxing hour/hour and a half with my old classmates and friends, listening to the band and dancing in my chair (I don't dare chance really dancing on a dance floor yet!) and talking to people and all. It was a great time! The band played until midnight, and me and the friend I was talking the most with both left around 12:30, with me getting home around quarter til one. It was an interesting way to end my evening, let me tell you!
Sunday. Church and lunch. Not today! Well, they both happened, but again, not as planned. We were going to go to Amelia after church today because we were getting an oil change for Ron's truck and then going shopping, and all that is in Amelia. But we saw, and talked to, friends at church, and they were going to Country Inn up in Georgetown, joining other friends, and invited us to join them, too. So....change of plans, once again. We went to Georgetown for lunch - well, Ron had lunch (chicken livers) and I had the big breakfast - and, about two hours later or so, we finally headed down to Amelia for the oil change.
We're sitting there in the stall ("bay," they call it) and we can hear them talking. "This is the last filter," one says. We look at each other. Uh-oh. They are bustling around, doing the things they do and then POOF they aren't doing anything. What's going on? Ron looks up from his DS and I look up from my book and we both look around. Finally, one dude comes to the window. "We only had one filter to fit this truck and when he was putting it on, he dropped it. It hit the ground and has a big dent in it. We have to run down to the parts store to get another one. We're sorry about your wait."
He goes away, then comes back. "Let me have your receipt. I'll give you $15.00 off your next visit." I laugh and say, "That's good, because we're planning to bring my car next week!" and then we get to talking about what kind of car my car is - he wants to make sure they have the proper filters for it, he says - and other little stuff. I'm thinking - why isn't someone ordering filters?
We finally get out of there and go get the grocery shopping done and make it home right around 4:30. 4:30! What a day!
We collapse into our recliners and that's it for a great long time. I finally stir around 7 or so to make us some supper (more steak (remember, Jean didn't show up yesterday) and potatoes (I mashed these) with some corn), but it was all easy to make and didn't take long. Then, for some reason, I didn't feel well and went to bed around 9:30.
Monday was my Happy Homemaker Day. Although I was fighting dizziness and/or vertigo all day, I got my dishes (ye gods, were there dishes!) done and I also did a load of laundry and swept the kitchen floor, too.
When Ron texted me, I rushed and got dressed, then walked out to meet him. I got past the halfway mark, too. I even made it past the little white house! I didn't make it to the big farm house, but it was a real nice walk today.
When we got home, we made our big ol' salads and that was our supper, and then it was dead guys for the rest of the night. Yep, exciting life.
No plans for tomorrow until time for my TOPS meeting. Hoping for more good news, what with all this salad eating...
Monday, May 23, 2016
After my normal tableting and reading, I got up and went over to Felicity to get our real ice cream bars. Of course - you know me - while I was out, I had lunch. I had the loaded potato skins at the FeedMill Restaurant before doing my little bit of shopping. I also "stocked up" on the ice cream, buying three boxes of 'em, so that we have plenty in reserve and won't run out for awhile, as well as getting some of the 5/$20. meat (I love that stuff!) and some puff corn.
I got home and got the stuff put away, then just plopped in my recliner until Ron and Corgan got home. Then our fun evening started! Yeah, not really - just our normal Friday evening. Ron trying not to sleep but failing miserably, Corgan watching the TV (Mythbusters this week), and me either tableting or reading. Whee!
Saturday went a little differently than normal. I had to go uptown to get meat to make supper tonight for the whole family (the meat I get is only enough for me and Ron) and we decided to go to Subway for lunch. Well, Little Mr. Corgan had to go with me because I sure can't order his sandwich correctly all by myself, now can I? (Ha - the little turd forgot to put the banana peppers on it anyway!) That was certainly a surprise that he wanted to go uptown with me instead of staying home with Grandpa, but definitely okay with me. So, off we go. What a trip that was....
After we get back home - WAY later than I expected - and we're eating our lunch, Ron is extremely unhappy with them (the sandwiches) and so am I. They are nothing like what we used to get, and they are so much more expensive! I do believe that this is our last trip to Subway.
Ron and I were supposed to be going somewhere this evening, but now this family stuff is going to happen instead, so our plans are the plans that are changing. Phooey! Oh, well, it happens.
Then, for whatever reason, Jean decides not to come up with Josh and Chelle - which is fine, her choice, but kinda weird - and when Josh and Chelle come up after Chelle gets off work, showers and changes, the evening starts. I, helped by Corgan, had bought some small steaks to make for supper. I also got asparagus and spinach, and I made fried potatoes to go with it all. Fried potatoes! Yum!!
After supper, we all sat around the table and talked, then we got out the cards. We played Spades while Corgan finished his supper (he eats even slower than I do!), then we played Poker. Yes, we are making the gambler in that youngster grow! After that, we taught Corgan how to play Up and Down the River. He lost, but that's not a surprise when you're still learning the game - the surprise was that Josh won the game, not Ron! Usually Ron totally kicks everyone's ass at this game - everyone's.
Then they got things together - Chelle and Corgan both were getting tired - and left. There weren't too many leftovers for them to take home this time, though. We all had eaten like pigs!
When they had been gone for a little while, I asked Ron if he still wanted to go over to where we were planning to go earlier. That event was going to be going on for awhile yet, and it would be no big deal if we came in late. He said no, he was too tired. (He is getting old!) I asked him if he minded if I went, and we discussed it for a bit, and finally, he agreed that I could go but I had to be extremely careful, etc., etc. I went to change my clothes because I might be outside, and off I went!
I spent a very relaxing hour/hour and a half with my old classmates and friends, listening to the band and dancing in my chair (I don't dare chance really dancing on a dance floor yet!) and talking to people and all. It was a great time! The band played until midnight, and me and the friend I was talking the most with both left around 12:30, with me getting home around quarter til one. It was an interesting way to end my evening, let me tell you!
Sunday. Church and lunch. Not today! Well, they both happened, but again, not as planned. We were going to go to Amelia after church today because we were getting an oil change for Ron's truck and then going shopping, and all that is in Amelia. But we saw, and talked to, friends at church, and they were going to Country Inn up in Georgetown, joining other friends, and invited us to join them, too. So....change of plans, once again. We went to Georgetown for lunch - well, Ron had lunch (chicken livers) and I had the big breakfast - and, about two hours later or so, we finally headed down to Amelia for the oil change.
We're sitting there in the stall ("bay," they call it) and we can hear them talking. "This is the last filter," one says. We look at each other. Uh-oh. They are bustling around, doing the things they do and then POOF they aren't doing anything. What's going on? Ron looks up from his DS and I look up from my book and we both look around. Finally, one dude comes to the window. "We only had one filter to fit this truck and when he was putting it on, he dropped it. It hit the ground and has a big dent in it. We have to run down to the parts store to get another one. We're sorry about your wait."
He goes away, then comes back. "Let me have your receipt. I'll give you $15.00 off your next visit." I laugh and say, "That's good, because we're planning to bring my car next week!" and then we get to talking about what kind of car my car is - he wants to make sure they have the proper filters for it, he says - and other little stuff. I'm thinking - why isn't someone ordering filters?
We finally get out of there and go get the grocery shopping done and make it home right around 4:30. 4:30! What a day!
We collapse into our recliners and that's it for a great long time. I finally stir around 7 or so to make us some supper (more steak (remember, Jean didn't show up yesterday) and potatoes (I mashed these) with some corn), but it was all easy to make and didn't take long. Then, for some reason, I didn't feel well and went to bed around 9:30.
Monday was my Happy Homemaker Day. Although I was fighting dizziness and/or vertigo all day, I got my dishes (ye gods, were there dishes!) done and I also did a load of laundry and swept the kitchen floor, too.
When Ron texted me, I rushed and got dressed, then walked out to meet him. I got past the halfway mark, too. I even made it past the little white house! I didn't make it to the big farm house, but it was a real nice walk today.
When we got home, we made our big ol' salads and that was our supper, and then it was dead guys for the rest of the night. Yep, exciting life.
No plans for tomorrow until time for my TOPS meeting. Hoping for more good news, what with all this salad eating...
Thursday, May 19, 2016
...and the week plods on
Tuesday, May 17, 2016 -
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Tuesday was my Happy Homemaker Day this week. Dishes, laundry, and all the fun stuff that occurs while housekeeping...blah. I also worked in a few minutes on the exercise bike, too! Only about three minutes, but I figure that's a good start. I also walked out to meet Ron, bundled up because I've been on the cold side all day, even drinking hot tea instead of iced tea.
Then it was time for my TOPS meeting - as I mentioned yesterday, I was hoping for good results this week what with eating salads and starting a bit more exercises - and LO AND BEHOLD after all the weighing in was done, I ended up being the Loser of the Week!! I had lost 3 pounds - even - and I was so happy (yes, happy dance occured in my head!) because it's been a long, long time since I have been LoW.
Then it was home to a nice hot supper (Manwich, corn, and pork&beans) made by Ron, to be eaten while watching NCIS and NCIS:NO, which were both the season finales. Thank God they were not big cliffhangers, but just big life-changers for some characters and, therefore, were not traumatic. Just tear-jerkers.
Wednesday and Thursday were just long boring days. Luckily, I wasn't as cold as I was on Tuesday, but I did make myself ride the exercise bike for those three minutes, as well as walking out to meet Ron - well, on Wednesday, anyway.
On Thursday, Josh stopped to pick me up to take me home with him - Corgan has a band concert tonight! Ron will go there from work instead of coming home, and we will eat supper down there, then go to the concert.
Chelle made a meat loaf, baked potatoes, green beans, and mixed greens (collard, spinach, etc.) for supper and it was very good! After supper, we all headed to the school for the concert.
The kids did very well at the concert - you (well, me) could really tell how much they've learned since their first concert at the beginning of the year. Corgan, Jean, and I posed for pictures afterward since we were wearing the Ripley music T-Shirts that matched, and goofball Ron (yeah, he was tired) photobombed us. That was funny, because usually we can't take his picture at all!
Then Ron and I came home, had our ice cream bars and that was that for the night.
I put my food into MFP and I was still short for the day! Yay, me!
And, believe it or not, no plans for tomorrow! Well, maybe a trip to Felicity for our good ice cream bars, but that's it. I'll wait and do our real shopping Sunday afternoon this week.
How strange is that?
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Tuesday was my Happy Homemaker Day this week. Dishes, laundry, and all the fun stuff that occurs while housekeeping...blah. I also worked in a few minutes on the exercise bike, too! Only about three minutes, but I figure that's a good start. I also walked out to meet Ron, bundled up because I've been on the cold side all day, even drinking hot tea instead of iced tea.
Then it was time for my TOPS meeting - as I mentioned yesterday, I was hoping for good results this week what with eating salads and starting a bit more exercises - and LO AND BEHOLD after all the weighing in was done, I ended up being the Loser of the Week!! I had lost 3 pounds - even - and I was so happy (yes, happy dance occured in my head!) because it's been a long, long time since I have been LoW.
Then it was home to a nice hot supper (Manwich, corn, and pork&beans) made by Ron, to be eaten while watching NCIS and NCIS:NO, which were both the season finales. Thank God they were not big cliffhangers, but just big life-changers for some characters and, therefore, were not traumatic. Just tear-jerkers.
Wednesday and Thursday were just long boring days. Luckily, I wasn't as cold as I was on Tuesday, but I did make myself ride the exercise bike for those three minutes, as well as walking out to meet Ron - well, on Wednesday, anyway.
On Thursday, Josh stopped to pick me up to take me home with him - Corgan has a band concert tonight! Ron will go there from work instead of coming home, and we will eat supper down there, then go to the concert.
Chelle made a meat loaf, baked potatoes, green beans, and mixed greens (collard, spinach, etc.) for supper and it was very good! After supper, we all headed to the school for the concert.
The kids did very well at the concert - you (well, me) could really tell how much they've learned since their first concert at the beginning of the year. Corgan, Jean, and I posed for pictures afterward since we were wearing the Ripley music T-Shirts that matched, and goofball Ron (yeah, he was tired) photobombed us. That was funny, because usually we can't take his picture at all!
Then Ron and I came home, had our ice cream bars and that was that for the night.
I put my food into MFP and I was still short for the day! Yay, me!
And, believe it or not, no plans for tomorrow! Well, maybe a trip to Felicity for our good ice cream bars, but that's it. I'll wait and do our real shopping Sunday afternoon this week.
How strange is that?
Monday, May 16, 2016
A pleasant Anniversary weekend and then...back to normal
Saturday, May 14, 2016 -
Monday, May 16, 2016
May 14th. Our 39th anniversary! We don't have anything planned, even though it's on the weekend this year, because we don't have any extra money and we are hoping to have a yard sale (Bethel's free weekend) so maybe we can do something next weekend....life is a bitch sometimes.
But it ended up so much better than we could have planned!! It was great!
We got up around 8:00 and the rain was pouring down. That put all yard sale plans to an end - no way could we set up in the rain! We both went back to bed, and when I got up around 10:30, it wasn't raining any longer but everything was so soggy, that we figured it was not a good idea to set up, so the whole yard sale idea was scrapped for this week. There was more rain called for during the day, and the sky didn't look all that good, either, so we agreed on this.
After that, we agreed to go out for a special anniversary lunch. Even though we probably shouldn't have spent the money, we decided that we'd only have one 39th anniversary on a Saturday, so - why not? We finally decided on Longhorn's, so that we could each have a good salad. We're doing good with having our salads for supper, so why not keep it up when and where we can?
I had my almost-perfect salad (the chicken-strawberry salad) and he had the salmon salad. We also shared the bread (we were bad - 2 loaves) and a bowl of peanuts, but that was it. No dessert, no drinks, no nothing else. We came back home to just chill for the rest of the day....no big deal, right?
Well, after a bit, we got to talking about Sunday. We then decided to go to church tonight so that we wouldn't have to get up in the morning, and, besides that, tomorrow morning was First Communion at the Mass we attend and did we really want to "do" that? (No.)
So, at the last minute, I got everything together to take up to church and off we went. We were a few minutes late, but nothing too bad.
When Mass was over, we visited with friends and were invited to join them up at Frisch's. Now, we hadn't planned on any kind of supper, but - why not? After talking to other friends, finding out about some people who have been ill and also starting to spread my news, we finally got up to Frisch's. Our little party has turned into a dozen people! Ron and I were the last ones there and we had to scoot another table over to add to what was already there. We had such a joyous time, visiting with all these friends who had, for various reasons, decided to come to church tonight. Some almost always come on Saturday night, but some, like us, usually come on Sunday, but had family plans fall through or whatever and so came tonight. It was great. One couple at a time started leaving, and we were one of the last to go...we had to get over to Save-A-Lot before they closed!
We went over to Save-A-Lot to get our bacon and sausage for our breakfast tomorrow morning - I did already have eggs and bread - and then we went home. Needless to say, Ron didn't last too long once he was ensconced in his recliner, and the night was over.
Sunday. Church and lunch - NOPE!! Not today!! No alarms, no rush. WhooHoo!!
Ron was already up when I woke up, but he came back into the bedroom when he "thought he heard" me moving around. (I got up to go to the bathroom...silly man.) After we talked for a few minutes about the luxury of no alarms and not having to go anywhere, we got up and started our breakfast.
Bacon, sausage, eggs. No toast, just bread, because we don't have a toaster, but since he wanted a bacon sandwich that worked out just fine.
As we ate, and after we ate, we watched dead guys and continued to do so all day long. We didn't even get dressed as the day went on - just lounged. All day long. It was a wonderful day!!
Ron, of course, dozed off and on all day long, too. I guess he needed more sleep than either of us knew! Around 6pm, I cooked up the small steaks that I had thawed out to cook for our suppers the day before along with buttered noodles and mixed vegetables, and that was the most energy expended all day.
Doing nothing makes you more tired than doing all kinds of stuff, I think, because I went to bed early, too - I turned my light off before midnight!
On Monday, everything was back to normal. Ron went to work, and - once I got up after tableting and reading - I got right into Happy Homemaker mode. Dishes, laundry, and straightening up my desk. It's just about time to move all the mail out to the kitchen table and go through it all again....ugh, ugh, and double ugh.
I had to go uptown to buy our salad stuff for supper tonight at Save-A-Lot (can you tell we're glad there is a store in town again?) and went to Gold Star for my lunch. I had two Goritos instead of my normal Gorito and Chili Cheese Fries. Back home, I finished up some housework and when Ron texted, I was ready to walk out and meet him. I even made it all the way to our half mile mark, too! Of course, he had stopped for a bag of ice and that helped...
Once home, Ron went to take his shower after checking the news for the weather. Then we got to chopping and cutting to make our salads for our supper. Then it was dead guys for the rest of the night.
Nothing planned for tomorrow until time for me to go to my TOPS meeting. I'm hoping for good things there - no "just went out to lunch" like last week and all these salads we've been having for supper. I'm hoping, I'm hoping, I'm hoping!!
Monday, May 16, 2016
May 14th. Our 39th anniversary! We don't have anything planned, even though it's on the weekend this year, because we don't have any extra money and we are hoping to have a yard sale (Bethel's free weekend) so maybe we can do something next weekend....life is a bitch sometimes.
But it ended up so much better than we could have planned!! It was great!
We got up around 8:00 and the rain was pouring down. That put all yard sale plans to an end - no way could we set up in the rain! We both went back to bed, and when I got up around 10:30, it wasn't raining any longer but everything was so soggy, that we figured it was not a good idea to set up, so the whole yard sale idea was scrapped for this week. There was more rain called for during the day, and the sky didn't look all that good, either, so we agreed on this.
After that, we agreed to go out for a special anniversary lunch. Even though we probably shouldn't have spent the money, we decided that we'd only have one 39th anniversary on a Saturday, so - why not? We finally decided on Longhorn's, so that we could each have a good salad. We're doing good with having our salads for supper, so why not keep it up when and where we can?
I had my almost-perfect salad (the chicken-strawberry salad) and he had the salmon salad. We also shared the bread (we were bad - 2 loaves) and a bowl of peanuts, but that was it. No dessert, no drinks, no nothing else. We came back home to just chill for the rest of the day....no big deal, right?
Well, after a bit, we got to talking about Sunday. We then decided to go to church tonight so that we wouldn't have to get up in the morning, and, besides that, tomorrow morning was First Communion at the Mass we attend and did we really want to "do" that? (No.)
So, at the last minute, I got everything together to take up to church and off we went. We were a few minutes late, but nothing too bad.
When Mass was over, we visited with friends and were invited to join them up at Frisch's. Now, we hadn't planned on any kind of supper, but - why not? After talking to other friends, finding out about some people who have been ill and also starting to spread my news, we finally got up to Frisch's. Our little party has turned into a dozen people! Ron and I were the last ones there and we had to scoot another table over to add to what was already there. We had such a joyous time, visiting with all these friends who had, for various reasons, decided to come to church tonight. Some almost always come on Saturday night, but some, like us, usually come on Sunday, but had family plans fall through or whatever and so came tonight. It was great. One couple at a time started leaving, and we were one of the last to go...we had to get over to Save-A-Lot before they closed!
We went over to Save-A-Lot to get our bacon and sausage for our breakfast tomorrow morning - I did already have eggs and bread - and then we went home. Needless to say, Ron didn't last too long once he was ensconced in his recliner, and the night was over.
Sunday. Church and lunch - NOPE!! Not today!! No alarms, no rush. WhooHoo!!
Ron was already up when I woke up, but he came back into the bedroom when he "thought he heard" me moving around. (I got up to go to the bathroom...silly man.) After we talked for a few minutes about the luxury of no alarms and not having to go anywhere, we got up and started our breakfast.
Bacon, sausage, eggs. No toast, just bread, because we don't have a toaster, but since he wanted a bacon sandwich that worked out just fine.
As we ate, and after we ate, we watched dead guys and continued to do so all day long. We didn't even get dressed as the day went on - just lounged. All day long. It was a wonderful day!!
Ron, of course, dozed off and on all day long, too. I guess he needed more sleep than either of us knew! Around 6pm, I cooked up the small steaks that I had thawed out to cook for our suppers the day before along with buttered noodles and mixed vegetables, and that was the most energy expended all day.
Doing nothing makes you more tired than doing all kinds of stuff, I think, because I went to bed early, too - I turned my light off before midnight!
On Monday, everything was back to normal. Ron went to work, and - once I got up after tableting and reading - I got right into Happy Homemaker mode. Dishes, laundry, and straightening up my desk. It's just about time to move all the mail out to the kitchen table and go through it all again....ugh, ugh, and double ugh.
I had to go uptown to buy our salad stuff for supper tonight at Save-A-Lot (can you tell we're glad there is a store in town again?) and went to Gold Star for my lunch. I had two Goritos instead of my normal Gorito and Chili Cheese Fries. Back home, I finished up some housework and when Ron texted, I was ready to walk out and meet him. I even made it all the way to our half mile mark, too! Of course, he had stopped for a bag of ice and that helped...
Once home, Ron went to take his shower after checking the news for the weather. Then we got to chopping and cutting to make our salads for our supper. Then it was dead guys for the rest of the night.
Nothing planned for tomorrow until time for me to go to my TOPS meeting. I'm hoping for good things there - no "just went out to lunch" like last week and all these salads we've been having for supper. I'm hoping, I'm hoping, I'm hoping!!
Friday, May 13, 2016
A bittersweet day, and then...Friday and the weekend!
Thursday, May 12, 2016 -
Friday, May 13, 2016
May the 12th.....always a bittersweet day for me, because that's my Mamma's (Mamma is pronounced Mammaw) birthday. This year, if she were still alive - and I'm glad she isn't - she would be turning 110. 110! She was my mother's mother, and she was the main everything in our young lives. If it weren't for her, God only knows how we would have turned out. It is very hard to believe that a woman such as my mother came from a woman such as her mother, but I guess each made decisions that made it so.
Anyway, she was the driving force behind us, and she made sure that we had things (a new school outfit, for one) that we would not have gotten otherwise, and she was always there as a sounding board if we needed one. She lived in a trailer (they weren't called "mobile homes" back then, they were trailers) in our back yard, and she was always available to us.
I still miss her an awful lot. I miss talking to her. I miss her cooking for us, and I still can't make cole slaw worth a damn. I just don't have those Mamma germs.....
My Thursday was a strange day because I still wasn't feeling great. Still rather blah-ish, but now I feel as though if I don't get out of the house, I will explode! I have no reason to go anywhere, but I must. I MUST. So I finally talk myself into going up to Gold Star for my lunch - nothing else, no other errands, just lunch. I have not done that (come up with convenient excuse(s) to go uptown or down the road, just to have lunch) at all this year and feel disgusted with myself doing so today. But I did it. Went uptown, had lunch, came back home. Ugh.
When Ron texted me, I walked out to meet him and that was the extent of my exercise for the day. I have been trying to ride the exercise bike a little bit every day, but it's so easy to "forget" to!
After he got home, we did our weigh-in on the Wii, and we have both lost weight! Eating those salads does some good! He had lost 5+ pounds, and I lost 1.3 - which, after the gain at TOPS was good to see! - so I guess we'll continue with the salads.
I also remembered to turn on Bones tonight, too, only ten minutes late. Sigh. After that, it was dead guy time for the rest of the night.
Friday was a normal Friday. Wake up, tablet, read, shower, dress, drive down the road to eat lunch and SHOP.
Gas had gone up, too - again! - up to $2.29 or so, and when I passed a station where it was $2.07, I quickly turned around and pulled in there. I put $20.00 in my car, when I usually only put $10.00 in every week. At 20 cents plus difference per gallon - why not?
I got home from shopping, got everything carried in and put away, and then my phone started going off. It was Chelle - she wanted to know if we wanted to come down and meet them at Hibachi for supper. Well, it's barely 4:00 and Ron isn't home yet, so I can't answer that. We are trying to get ahold of him and it takes quite a while before he answers anyone. But he does agree to go, so we make our plans. After a flurry of texts, everything is settled and our evening is set.
We drive Ron's truck down the road, and that gas station IS still at $2.07, so we were able to fill his truck up for next week at this wonderful price, too! How awesome is that?!
We had our usual scrumptious dinner at Hibachi - those guys do love their crab legs! - and then came on home. Josh (and Chelle) stopped to help Ron move the picnic table around to the front yard, just in case it does not rain and we can have a yard sale tomorrow. It's not likely, but we want to be ready if we can. I sure can't help him carry that picnic table, that's for sure!
They leave, and Ron and I come in the house. He plops in his recliner, turns on the TV, and - you guessed it - falls asleep. I am here on the pute, and our happy evening is drawing to an end.
We are very pleased with this Friday the 13th.
Here's hoping we will be just as pleased with our 39th anniversary tomorrow!
Friday, May 13, 2016
May the 12th.....always a bittersweet day for me, because that's my Mamma's (Mamma is pronounced Mammaw) birthday. This year, if she were still alive - and I'm glad she isn't - she would be turning 110. 110! She was my mother's mother, and she was the main everything in our young lives. If it weren't for her, God only knows how we would have turned out. It is very hard to believe that a woman such as my mother came from a woman such as her mother, but I guess each made decisions that made it so.
Anyway, she was the driving force behind us, and she made sure that we had things (a new school outfit, for one) that we would not have gotten otherwise, and she was always there as a sounding board if we needed one. She lived in a trailer (they weren't called "mobile homes" back then, they were trailers) in our back yard, and she was always available to us.
I still miss her an awful lot. I miss talking to her. I miss her cooking for us, and I still can't make cole slaw worth a damn. I just don't have those Mamma germs.....
My Thursday was a strange day because I still wasn't feeling great. Still rather blah-ish, but now I feel as though if I don't get out of the house, I will explode! I have no reason to go anywhere, but I must. I MUST. So I finally talk myself into going up to Gold Star for my lunch - nothing else, no other errands, just lunch. I have not done that (come up with convenient excuse(s) to go uptown or down the road, just to have lunch) at all this year and feel disgusted with myself doing so today. But I did it. Went uptown, had lunch, came back home. Ugh.
When Ron texted me, I walked out to meet him and that was the extent of my exercise for the day. I have been trying to ride the exercise bike a little bit every day, but it's so easy to "forget" to!
After he got home, we did our weigh-in on the Wii, and we have both lost weight! Eating those salads does some good! He had lost 5+ pounds, and I lost 1.3 - which, after the gain at TOPS was good to see! - so I guess we'll continue with the salads.
I also remembered to turn on Bones tonight, too, only ten minutes late. Sigh. After that, it was dead guy time for the rest of the night.
Friday was a normal Friday. Wake up, tablet, read, shower, dress, drive down the road to eat lunch and SHOP.
Gas had gone up, too - again! - up to $2.29 or so, and when I passed a station where it was $2.07, I quickly turned around and pulled in there. I put $20.00 in my car, when I usually only put $10.00 in every week. At 20 cents plus difference per gallon - why not?
I got home from shopping, got everything carried in and put away, and then my phone started going off. It was Chelle - she wanted to know if we wanted to come down and meet them at Hibachi for supper. Well, it's barely 4:00 and Ron isn't home yet, so I can't answer that. We are trying to get ahold of him and it takes quite a while before he answers anyone. But he does agree to go, so we make our plans. After a flurry of texts, everything is settled and our evening is set.
We drive Ron's truck down the road, and that gas station IS still at $2.07, so we were able to fill his truck up for next week at this wonderful price, too! How awesome is that?!
We had our usual scrumptious dinner at Hibachi - those guys do love their crab legs! - and then came on home. Josh (and Chelle) stopped to help Ron move the picnic table around to the front yard, just in case it does not rain and we can have a yard sale tomorrow. It's not likely, but we want to be ready if we can. I sure can't help him carry that picnic table, that's for sure!
They leave, and Ron and I come in the house. He plops in his recliner, turns on the TV, and - you guessed it - falls asleep. I am here on the pute, and our happy evening is drawing to an end.
We are very pleased with this Friday the 13th.
Here's hoping we will be just as pleased with our 39th anniversary tomorrow!
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Sisters lunch, Mother's Day weekend, and more medical appointments
Friday, May 6, 2016 -
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
This has been a very hard week for me. I have come to dread the first week - ten days of May, most especially this year, and my emotions have been all over. I keep telling myself to not let it (as in everything) to get to me, and that works for a little while, but then thoughts present themselves in my brain again...
I don't want to be like this, so I have just been stewing in my thoughts while watching dead guys far into the night instead of writing my blog. I probably should have written my blog and got these thoughts and feelings out of me, but I didn't. I didn't want to depress everyone else!
Why this first week of May, especially this year? Let me tell you:
May 2 - officially diagnosed with CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia). Cancer. Sigh.
May 4 - 2-year anniversary of falling and breaking my back (fracturing L1 disc) and the resulting hullabaloo (discovering the degenerated disc and arthritis all through my spine).
May 5 - the second mammogram, which is a diagnostic one. Meaning they saw something on the first one...THEN they insisted on immediately doing an ultrasound, too. Ai yi yi.
May 9 - Doctor appointment. My regular (every 2 or 3 month) diabetes checkup.
May 10 - the baseline CT Scan that the hematologist ordered
May 12 - my maternal grandmother's birthday. She would be 110 today. She is the shining star of my life, and she is the most missed. This is the most bittersweet day of all, and my heart hurts all day on this day. I loved surprising her with flowers once I was old enough and able to do so.
May 14 - my and Ron's anniversary. 39 years this year. Just one more year til we hit another "big" number - our last one - 40, and that is hitting me harder than usual this year, too.
Even though I've known this for awhile, having your mortality slap you in the face doesn't feel so good.
Friday was a good day - it started with a sisters lunch, which I had requested. My sister Ruth requested Frisch's here in Bethel, and that's where we went. I really needed to talk to them about all this happening to me, and our unique take on things would go a long way in easing my mind, I thought -- and it did! They, of course, knew and know my background (and theirs) and we were able to talk freely. They could understand where I was coming from and why I was having some of the feelings I was having. I felt SO much better afterward! Then it was on to do my shopping and all, as I usually do on a Friday.
Ron brought Corgan home with him and he was going to stay all weekend this time, since we had plans for Sunday. It was pretty much a normal Friday evening.
Saturday morning found Ron and Corgan working outside, as usual, and I puttered around inside. I had them quit working at 3:00 to go get showered and changed so that we could go to church tonight. After that, we went down to Hibachi to have supper. We had a blast!
Sunday morning started with Corgan and me getting up and getting ready for our big day at the Cincinnati Zoo. Josh and Chelle would be here to pick us up around 11:00, and we sure wanted to be ready! Ron sat in his recliner and just watched us.
Once they got here, we got everything together and took off. We first headed to Eden Park to have our picnic lunch, but we couldn't find a place to park close to any picnic tables, so we decided to go on over to the Zoo and have our lunch there. We parked in the "back" parking lot, and got into the Zoo and under a shelter just as the downpour started. Boy, were we lucky there! We enjoyed our lunch while it rained and rained. Corgan gave his mom her little Mother's Day gift - a deck of cards with a family picture and monogram on the back - and we ended up using them to wait out the rain after we were done eating and it was still raining. It had quit pouring, but was still raining hard enough to not want to go out into it. Eventually, though, it did let up just enough and we ventured out. Josh took the stuff back out to the car and we went on out into the park. First of all, of course, was a pit stop, and that was where Josh met us. Then we hit a store, looking for jackets or something, but all they had were Youth sized ponchos. I got one of those. Yes, I fit into a Youth size poncho!! WhooHoo!!
Then we wandered all around the Zoo all day, until they were starting to kick us out, which was 5:00. 5:00!! Who knew the Zoo closed that early?
We called Ron and Jean to come meet us at Bethel Frisch's for supper, and to our surprise, both agreed to. So the whole family was together for supper on this Mother's Day.
It was a very good day!
Monday was my doctor appointment. Now, when this appointment was made, it was just a 2-month check-up for my diabetes and HbA1c, which was not doing very well. It was considered "out of control," even and Doc was keeping a close eye on it. That's why it was every 2 months instead of every 3 months. But, in the meantime, all this other medical crap has happened, and we had a LOT of stuff to talk about as well as the diabetes problem.
Luckily, this time my A1c was 9.0. I was a little discouraged at that number at first, but Doc reminded me that my number was 12 last time, so this is very good - a step in the right direction. I sure did feel better after that! We had a good chat about everything, and he assured me that I could call at any time if I had any questions. I go back in 2 months.
Tuesday was the big CT Scan. I was not certain how long this would take - I mean, I know how CT Scans works, going in the machine and all, but I didn't know how long a baseline (with contrast) whole body (torso) CT Scan would take. Do they move you slower? An inch at a time? What? Those kind of questions I just didn't know. Plus, how would I feel afterward?
I had Josh drive me. He was the logical answer to the driver question because of his job, and he arranged it so he could with the least amount of trouble. I had to be at the hospital at 9:30 to start drinking the contrast (so they said) and the test would be at 11:00. Yeah, right.
The scan itself only took about 15 minutes, and that was that. Whoopedy doo.
That night, I thought seriously about not going to my TOPS meeting. I wasn't feeling great. Not bad, just not great. I didn't feel like dressing again, I didn't feel like driving, I didn't feel like making the effort. But I did. I probably shouldn't have. I gained 3.6 pounds, but I'm hoping that was because of the big meal I had on the way home from the hospital. Josh and I had stopped in Williamsburg at Mama's Grill and I had the Breakfast Sampler. But once I got home, I just flopped in my recliner and didn't do anything except a few dishes. No exercises, no walking out to meet Ron, nothing. I paid the price, and I'm hoping that next week there will be a serious change in the other direction!
Blah.
I didn't feel very good all day on Wednesday, either. I did play Happy Homemaker a little bit, but not a whole lot. I just felt blah all day long. No energy, no nothing. I'm hoping that it's because I'm still flushing that contrast junk out of me...
That's been my big fun exciting week.....ugh.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
This has been a very hard week for me. I have come to dread the first week - ten days of May, most especially this year, and my emotions have been all over. I keep telling myself to not let it (as in everything) to get to me, and that works for a little while, but then thoughts present themselves in my brain again...
I don't want to be like this, so I have just been stewing in my thoughts while watching dead guys far into the night instead of writing my blog. I probably should have written my blog and got these thoughts and feelings out of me, but I didn't. I didn't want to depress everyone else!
Why this first week of May, especially this year? Let me tell you:
May 2 - officially diagnosed with CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia). Cancer. Sigh.
May 4 - 2-year anniversary of falling and breaking my back (fracturing L1 disc) and the resulting hullabaloo (discovering the degenerated disc and arthritis all through my spine).
May 5 - the second mammogram, which is a diagnostic one. Meaning they saw something on the first one...THEN they insisted on immediately doing an ultrasound, too. Ai yi yi.
May 9 - Doctor appointment. My regular (every 2 or 3 month) diabetes checkup.
May 10 - the baseline CT Scan that the hematologist ordered
May 12 - my maternal grandmother's birthday. She would be 110 today. She is the shining star of my life, and she is the most missed. This is the most bittersweet day of all, and my heart hurts all day on this day. I loved surprising her with flowers once I was old enough and able to do so.
May 14 - my and Ron's anniversary. 39 years this year. Just one more year til we hit another "big" number - our last one - 40, and that is hitting me harder than usual this year, too.
Even though I've known this for awhile, having your mortality slap you in the face doesn't feel so good.
Friday was a good day - it started with a sisters lunch, which I had requested. My sister Ruth requested Frisch's here in Bethel, and that's where we went. I really needed to talk to them about all this happening to me, and our unique take on things would go a long way in easing my mind, I thought -- and it did! They, of course, knew and know my background (and theirs) and we were able to talk freely. They could understand where I was coming from and why I was having some of the feelings I was having. I felt SO much better afterward! Then it was on to do my shopping and all, as I usually do on a Friday.
Ron brought Corgan home with him and he was going to stay all weekend this time, since we had plans for Sunday. It was pretty much a normal Friday evening.
Saturday morning found Ron and Corgan working outside, as usual, and I puttered around inside. I had them quit working at 3:00 to go get showered and changed so that we could go to church tonight. After that, we went down to Hibachi to have supper. We had a blast!
Sunday morning started with Corgan and me getting up and getting ready for our big day at the Cincinnati Zoo. Josh and Chelle would be here to pick us up around 11:00, and we sure wanted to be ready! Ron sat in his recliner and just watched us.
Once they got here, we got everything together and took off. We first headed to Eden Park to have our picnic lunch, but we couldn't find a place to park close to any picnic tables, so we decided to go on over to the Zoo and have our lunch there. We parked in the "back" parking lot, and got into the Zoo and under a shelter just as the downpour started. Boy, were we lucky there! We enjoyed our lunch while it rained and rained. Corgan gave his mom her little Mother's Day gift - a deck of cards with a family picture and monogram on the back - and we ended up using them to wait out the rain after we were done eating and it was still raining. It had quit pouring, but was still raining hard enough to not want to go out into it. Eventually, though, it did let up just enough and we ventured out. Josh took the stuff back out to the car and we went on out into the park. First of all, of course, was a pit stop, and that was where Josh met us. Then we hit a store, looking for jackets or something, but all they had were Youth sized ponchos. I got one of those. Yes, I fit into a Youth size poncho!! WhooHoo!!
Then we wandered all around the Zoo all day, until they were starting to kick us out, which was 5:00. 5:00!! Who knew the Zoo closed that early?
We called Ron and Jean to come meet us at Bethel Frisch's for supper, and to our surprise, both agreed to. So the whole family was together for supper on this Mother's Day.
It was a very good day!
Monday was my doctor appointment. Now, when this appointment was made, it was just a 2-month check-up for my diabetes and HbA1c, which was not doing very well. It was considered "out of control," even and Doc was keeping a close eye on it. That's why it was every 2 months instead of every 3 months. But, in the meantime, all this other medical crap has happened, and we had a LOT of stuff to talk about as well as the diabetes problem.
Luckily, this time my A1c was 9.0. I was a little discouraged at that number at first, but Doc reminded me that my number was 12 last time, so this is very good - a step in the right direction. I sure did feel better after that! We had a good chat about everything, and he assured me that I could call at any time if I had any questions. I go back in 2 months.
Tuesday was the big CT Scan. I was not certain how long this would take - I mean, I know how CT Scans works, going in the machine and all, but I didn't know how long a baseline (with contrast) whole body (torso) CT Scan would take. Do they move you slower? An inch at a time? What? Those kind of questions I just didn't know. Plus, how would I feel afterward?
I had Josh drive me. He was the logical answer to the driver question because of his job, and he arranged it so he could with the least amount of trouble. I had to be at the hospital at 9:30 to start drinking the contrast (so they said) and the test would be at 11:00. Yeah, right.
The scan itself only took about 15 minutes, and that was that. Whoopedy doo.
That night, I thought seriously about not going to my TOPS meeting. I wasn't feeling great. Not bad, just not great. I didn't feel like dressing again, I didn't feel like driving, I didn't feel like making the effort. But I did. I probably shouldn't have. I gained 3.6 pounds, but I'm hoping that was because of the big meal I had on the way home from the hospital. Josh and I had stopped in Williamsburg at Mama's Grill and I had the Breakfast Sampler. But once I got home, I just flopped in my recliner and didn't do anything except a few dishes. No exercises, no walking out to meet Ron, nothing. I paid the price, and I'm hoping that next week there will be a serious change in the other direction!
Blah.
I didn't feel very good all day on Wednesday, either. I did play Happy Homemaker a little bit, but not a whole lot. I just felt blah all day long. No energy, no nothing. I'm hoping that it's because I'm still flushing that contrast junk out of me...
That's been my big fun exciting week.....ugh.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
The life and times of ..... medical appointments
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Today started out a little different than most Thursdays do. First of all, I had that second mammogram appointment today, although not until 1:30. But since I am going down the road, it only made sense that I do other errands as I can, doesn't it? And to do those errands, I have to have money, so I have to start out by going up to Georgetown and getting Ron's check. It's the opposite direction of everything, so that has to figure into the time scheme.
After getting my shower and deciding what to wear, I left home around 11 - sometime between 10:30 and 11, when Ron called me to say he was on his way back to the dump with a box - and the plan worked! We both got there just about the same time. That was a relief, that neither one of us had to wait for the other.
After talking to him for a few minutes (and getting his check from him), I headed back toward Bethel in Ron's truck, leaving him my car. Once in Bethel, I went to the bank, to the library, stopped at Gold Star for a Gorito to eat while going down the road, and finally got going down 125. I stopped at Walmart to put gasoline in the truck, since the gasoline there was $2.06, and it is at least $2.39 in Bethel, Hamersville, and Georgetown. Might as well save a little bit of money where we can!
I made it to the lab for my appointment with plenty of time to spare - I had wondered while driving because people just don't know how to drive...to GO...and I was very glad that I gave myself plenty of time today. You know (if you are a woman) that you don't wear deodorant or lotion or anything when getting a mammogram and I sure didn't want to sweat on the way! But the traffic....I made myself not be worried about it because I had plenty of time.
After the fun of the paperwork, I got called back and the mammogram got done. She told me to wait in the dressing room until the radiologist looks at the film, then someone will be in to talk to me. Well, that someone was that same nurse/technician who told me that the radiologist wants to do an ultrasound to clarify some spots. WHAT?? Are you kidding me? Now I have six million thoughts going through my head that probably shouldn't be in there at all....
I am led to the ultrasound room and that commences. That technician has problems with my boobs - aligning my boobs, I guess - with me lying on my back and my side, so she finally has me sitting up with my arm up over my head while she does the test. UNcomfortable!! But that's the only way she can do or see what she needs to. Damn boobs.
She does her thing, stopping the machine to take pictures and all that every once in a while. She goes and gets a pen to mark little circles on my boobs so she can try again with me lying on my back. She needed to know exactly where to look/wand, so that's why she circled the spot. Damn boobs.
She's finally done, and goes to let the radiologist see the films. Both she and the radiologist come in to talk to me (finally!!) and I am told that she (the radiologist) thinks that these spots are just little benign lymph nodes (in my boobs?) and I need to come back in six months to see if they have grown.
I go to get dressed - get that icky ultrasound gel off of me! - and get the hell outta there!!
They must have scared ten years off my life. At least.
I had made tentative plans with Bert and Teresa to meet at Don Rigo - the Mexican restaurant in the Kroger plaza - for lunch at 2:30, which we figured would be well after my boob squish would be over. Well, Bert decided not to come today (she was watching her great-niece), and now, at 2:30, I am still in the ultrasound! I text Teresa as soon as I could to let her know that I am gonna run late and for her to call Bert to find out her final decision. I got out of the lab at 10 til 3, and made good time getting back up to Amelia. After all, Teresa - and maybe Bert, too - was already waiting! I am the one who is late this time. I'm glad I had a good reason....
We had a wonderful time! I thought that they would have had a bunch of fun stuff going on because of Cinco de Mayo, but they didn't. They had some decorations up, and they had CdM on their shirts, but that was about it. Maybe they had drink specials, but that didn't concern us, so we don't, or didn't, know about those. Oh, well.
It was going on 6:00 when I finally got home, and that was that for the evening. Ron made himself one of his frozen Chinese things for his supper, and I finally made myself chicken noodle soup around 8:30. I did remember to watch Bones tonight, then turned on dead guys.
Tomorrow is a sisters lunch, then grocery shopping. Yay!
Today started out a little different than most Thursdays do. First of all, I had that second mammogram appointment today, although not until 1:30. But since I am going down the road, it only made sense that I do other errands as I can, doesn't it? And to do those errands, I have to have money, so I have to start out by going up to Georgetown and getting Ron's check. It's the opposite direction of everything, so that has to figure into the time scheme.
After getting my shower and deciding what to wear, I left home around 11 - sometime between 10:30 and 11, when Ron called me to say he was on his way back to the dump with a box - and the plan worked! We both got there just about the same time. That was a relief, that neither one of us had to wait for the other.
After talking to him for a few minutes (and getting his check from him), I headed back toward Bethel in Ron's truck, leaving him my car. Once in Bethel, I went to the bank, to the library, stopped at Gold Star for a Gorito to eat while going down the road, and finally got going down 125. I stopped at Walmart to put gasoline in the truck, since the gasoline there was $2.06, and it is at least $2.39 in Bethel, Hamersville, and Georgetown. Might as well save a little bit of money where we can!
I made it to the lab for my appointment with plenty of time to spare - I had wondered while driving because people just don't know how to drive...to GO...and I was very glad that I gave myself plenty of time today. You know (if you are a woman) that you don't wear deodorant or lotion or anything when getting a mammogram and I sure didn't want to sweat on the way! But the traffic....I made myself not be worried about it because I had plenty of time.
After the fun of the paperwork, I got called back and the mammogram got done. She told me to wait in the dressing room until the radiologist looks at the film, then someone will be in to talk to me. Well, that someone was that same nurse/technician who told me that the radiologist wants to do an ultrasound to clarify some spots. WHAT?? Are you kidding me? Now I have six million thoughts going through my head that probably shouldn't be in there at all....
I am led to the ultrasound room and that commences. That technician has problems with my boobs - aligning my boobs, I guess - with me lying on my back and my side, so she finally has me sitting up with my arm up over my head while she does the test. UNcomfortable!! But that's the only way she can do or see what she needs to. Damn boobs.
She does her thing, stopping the machine to take pictures and all that every once in a while. She goes and gets a pen to mark little circles on my boobs so she can try again with me lying on my back. She needed to know exactly where to look/wand, so that's why she circled the spot. Damn boobs.
She's finally done, and goes to let the radiologist see the films. Both she and the radiologist come in to talk to me (finally!!) and I am told that she (the radiologist) thinks that these spots are just little benign lymph nodes (in my boobs?) and I need to come back in six months to see if they have grown.
I go to get dressed - get that icky ultrasound gel off of me! - and get the hell outta there!!
They must have scared ten years off my life. At least.
I had made tentative plans with Bert and Teresa to meet at Don Rigo - the Mexican restaurant in the Kroger plaza - for lunch at 2:30, which we figured would be well after my boob squish would be over. Well, Bert decided not to come today (she was watching her great-niece), and now, at 2:30, I am still in the ultrasound! I text Teresa as soon as I could to let her know that I am gonna run late and for her to call Bert to find out her final decision. I got out of the lab at 10 til 3, and made good time getting back up to Amelia. After all, Teresa - and maybe Bert, too - was already waiting! I am the one who is late this time. I'm glad I had a good reason....
We had a wonderful time! I thought that they would have had a bunch of fun stuff going on because of Cinco de Mayo, but they didn't. They had some decorations up, and they had CdM on their shirts, but that was about it. Maybe they had drink specials, but that didn't concern us, so we don't, or didn't, know about those. Oh, well.
It was going on 6:00 when I finally got home, and that was that for the evening. Ron made himself one of his frozen Chinese things for his supper, and I finally made myself chicken noodle soup around 8:30. I did remember to watch Bones tonight, then turned on dead guys.
Tomorrow is a sisters lunch, then grocery shopping. Yay!
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Life has its UPs and DOWNs
Tuesday, May 3, 2016 -
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Tuesday
Not really much of a day. I did make my lazy ass do some exercises today, though. It had been a while and I had been telling myself that May was going to be the month to get back into this. I need to get back into this! I did some of my floor exercises, and I rode the exercise bike for a commercial break, too. I thought that was enough for the first day. It didn't burn many calories, but it was a start.
Ron got home from work pretty early, too - around 3:30. He wanted to take the car down to Tire Discounters to get that tire (the one with the wire showing through) looked at. Even though we had a 50,000 mile warranty on the tires and had less than 22,000 miles actually travelled, we figured that they would somehow throw all the blame over onto us and weasel out of the warranty. And that's exactly what happened - what a surprise! They first started out with a big story about how where the wires were showing proved it was an alignment problem, and that wasn't there fault. We asked them about them doing the alignment and it was - oh, no, we only do the alignment the first time we put the tires on the car! - can you believe it? Then they discovered that we were 3,000 over on bringing the car in for the next rotation (I can't believe how fast the miles go by!) and suddenly, that was a big cause of the problem, too. Ron and I were just looking at each other by then. The dude did offer to sell us new tires at a discounted rate - which just happened to match the rate we bought the tires at two years ago - but our credit wasn't good enough, so that fell through, just I told them (him and Ron) that it would.
Ron did talk him into putting an old tire (he had kept them when we bought the new tires two years ago) onto the rim the bad tire was on, so he could change the tire himself once we got home. I was really surprised when the guy agreed to do that, but he did. Once that was done, we drove home and then it was raining so Ron couldn't change the tire anyway. Such is life! Good thing I have nothing planned for tomorrow...
I drove Ron's truck up to my TOPS meeting, where I find out that I have lost another 1.2 pounds. Yay, me! The exact same number I lost last week! I will take it! I also told them all about my official diagnosis, and it went better than I expected. A couple people had questions, but everyone was very understanding.
After I got home, Ron and I made our big salads for our supper, which we ate while watching NCIS and NCIS:NO. Then Ron went to bed and I watched dead guys. Typical night.
Wednesday
May 4th....the two year anniversary of my falling and breaking my back. Two years already! I wish my back knew that it's been two years, but I think that's more the arthritis than anything else, but some days, depending on what I'm doing, or trying to do, it still barks ferociously at me. Thank God for the Australian Dream cream that I found that works so well for me!
I didn't have anything planned for today, just Happy Homemaker crap. Josh called me and wanted me to come meet him over at Meijer (to buy me some geraniums for my square flowerboxes). I agreed, got up and dressed, and went out the door. I saw the car sitting there with the little donut wheel on it. shitshitshit - I went back in and texted Josh to let him know that I can't come because of the tire. So -- phooey!
He called me once he got there, and we did the flower shopping over the phone. That was a riot!
Josh stopped on his way home to drop off the geraniums, getting here just after Ron had gotten home. Seriously. He got here maybe five minutes after Ron - it was some weird timing. Ron went out to start changing that tire, because I need the car tomorrow. Josh carried the flowers up to the front of the garage - I didn't want to leave them out by the boxes - and then just chatted for a few minutes before heading on home.
I made Ron and me bacon for supper while he took his shower and all, then we went up to church. I had a quick Altar Society meeting, and then we enjoyed a free concert there at the church. It was a very good concert - we saw this guy a couple of years ago, and he has improved greatly. He has his family (six kids!) singing with him now, as well as quite a few different instruments in his repertoire. I'm glad we got to go - it was a pleasant evening!
We got home in time for me to watch Criminal Minds, and that was our night.
What an anniversary!
You know - I think I'm really starting to dread the beginning of May.
May 2nd - my official cancer diagnosis (even though it's not so bad, it's still cancer)
May 4th - the fall/broken back and resulting everything
Tomorrow - the second, diagnostic big boob squish. Yeah. Dreading it. May 5th may join the list.
But - could be fun Cinco do Mayo with Bert and Teresa at Don Rigo afterward!
Monday, May 2, 2016
It. Is. Official.
Monday, May 2, 2016
I had to get up this morning to take Ron to work - well, to ride with him to drive the truck back home - so I'd have the truck to go to my appointment today. He discovered that one of my tires is totally shot, with wires showing through, and doesn't want me to drive my car. I've been telling him that it's been driving funny and I guess he believes me now!
I got up this morning in time to make a phone call before leaving the house, then doing a couple of errands up in Bethel before going to my hematologist appointment. I was feeling pretty proud of myself, let me tell you! It's hard enough to get up in time to go somewhere, but to get things accomplished beforehand, too....whoohoo!
The hematologist appointment went pretty much as expected. He gave me my official diagnosis: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Stage 0. I am still asymptomatic (despite his bazillion blood tests - they have all been negative) and there is nothing to do but observe - both me and the disease. I was saying things wrong - I was saying 'lymphatic,' but he said that means that it is in my lymph nodes, and this is not. It is in my lymphocytes, so the correct word is lymphocytic. He said that I don't need to come back for three months, and I will get a baseline CT scan before coming back so that other decisions can be made then. He also ordered another blood test, too, Yes, another one! Yippee Skippee!
I ate my lunch at Mama's Grill over in Williamsburg, which ended up being breakfast - that big sampler breakfast Bert got when we both went over there - and oh, boy, was it good. I took my time and enjoyed every single bite, sending and receiving texts the whole time.
After that, I came home and went back to bed. Interrupted sleep doesn't sit so well with me any more...
I am not sure how I feel about this diagnosis. I mean, I knew it was coming. And I know that, of all the things it could be, this is the best of the worse choices - it could definitely be worse! - and I am okay with it being what it is. I am okay with being asymptomatic. I am okay with not going back to the doctor for three months. I am okay with all the negative tests.
But I am not okay, not deep down inside, that I am having this disease at all. I don't think it's one single bit fair that I am going to be costing us - again. Even though it's not much now, it's still gasoline and copays and things like that. And, eventually, it will be percentages of this and that and - hopefully years down the road - hospital costs. I am not okay with that - at all.
I am not okay with having any form of cancer, either. That really sticks in my craw. Of all the things I wanted to die from, cancer was not even on the board. (I wanted to die quickly, not slowly.)
But I will BE okay (this is a disease you die with, not from), and I will still be around to bug the piss outta all of you for a while.
Prepare yourselves!
I had to get up this morning to take Ron to work - well, to ride with him to drive the truck back home - so I'd have the truck to go to my appointment today. He discovered that one of my tires is totally shot, with wires showing through, and doesn't want me to drive my car. I've been telling him that it's been driving funny and I guess he believes me now!
I got up this morning in time to make a phone call before leaving the house, then doing a couple of errands up in Bethel before going to my hematologist appointment. I was feeling pretty proud of myself, let me tell you! It's hard enough to get up in time to go somewhere, but to get things accomplished beforehand, too....whoohoo!
The hematologist appointment went pretty much as expected. He gave me my official diagnosis: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Stage 0. I am still asymptomatic (despite his bazillion blood tests - they have all been negative) and there is nothing to do but observe - both me and the disease. I was saying things wrong - I was saying 'lymphatic,' but he said that means that it is in my lymph nodes, and this is not. It is in my lymphocytes, so the correct word is lymphocytic. He said that I don't need to come back for three months, and I will get a baseline CT scan before coming back so that other decisions can be made then. He also ordered another blood test, too, Yes, another one! Yippee Skippee!
I ate my lunch at Mama's Grill over in Williamsburg, which ended up being breakfast - that big sampler breakfast Bert got when we both went over there - and oh, boy, was it good. I took my time and enjoyed every single bite, sending and receiving texts the whole time.
After that, I came home and went back to bed. Interrupted sleep doesn't sit so well with me any more...
I am not sure how I feel about this diagnosis. I mean, I knew it was coming. And I know that, of all the things it could be, this is the best of the worse choices - it could definitely be worse! - and I am okay with it being what it is. I am okay with being asymptomatic. I am okay with not going back to the doctor for three months. I am okay with all the negative tests.
But I am not okay, not deep down inside, that I am having this disease at all. I don't think it's one single bit fair that I am going to be costing us - again. Even though it's not much now, it's still gasoline and copays and things like that. And, eventually, it will be percentages of this and that and - hopefully years down the road - hospital costs. I am not okay with that - at all.
I am not okay with having any form of cancer, either. That really sticks in my craw. Of all the things I wanted to die from, cancer was not even on the board. (I wanted to die quickly, not slowly.)
But I will BE okay (this is a disease you die with, not from), and I will still be around to bug the piss outta all of you for a while.
Prepare yourselves!
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Lazy Sunday? Yeah, right...
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Another month has started! Another one - this year is flying by!
Sunday. Church and lunch. A nice lazy day is planned...yeah, you know better than that, Rita!
It started out as planned, but almost as soon as we got to church, the Change of Plans happened.
We had driven Ron's truck so that we could drive it down to Amelia to put gasoline in it (at 15 to 20 cents cheaper than Bethel, Hamersville, or Georgetown) and save a bit of money. We figured that we'd eat lunch at either the Barn or Bob Evans while in Amelia, which is not uncommon for us. Well, when we got to church, our friends were there and asked if we wanted to go to Frisch's for lunch afterward! Well, okay...
So, after church, it was Frisch's for lunch, and not only did we meet our friends John and Beverly, but another couple, who usually go straight home after church, decided to join us, too. We had a great time with Larry and Marti there, too! Ron found out that Larry has his lake ready and he can go over and go fishing whenever he can manage the time to, which pleased him. After our nice long lazy lunch, we did go on down to Amelia to get Ron's gasoline (saving money is still very important!) and came on back home.
That's where the lazy day with Ron went right down the tubes. After sitting down and chilling for about fifteen minutes, he decided to go do the weedeating out by the long flowerbox, since he noticed the other day when he carried the bag of topsoil over that it really, really, really needed it. As soon as he had done that, it was, "Okay, come out here and get the planting done." What? No, no, no, this is a lazy day! But he talked me into it.
So I got the seeds planted in the long flowerbox (and discovered that I have one iris already bloomed, and a bunch more ready to bloom in the iris patch on the front hill) while he planted the gladiola bulbs down along the garage. Then we planted the narcissus bulbs that we've had at least three years all along the front hill, and the impatiens that I got from Community Savings Bank under the maple tree (they need shade - hahaha in this yard). Then we moved to the back yard and planted our new strawberry plants in the square box sitting on the cistern lid. Remember - we tried tomatoes last year, and they didn't do so well, so this year, it's strawberries! I thought there were only six or eight plants in that little bag, but there ended up being ten, so it looks kinda crowded, but we'll see what happens.
After this, I came in and literally collapsed into my recliner. I was exhausted! I felt like I'd been through a wringer...and I ended up falling asleep, too.
I had remembered to put sunscreen on before going out, but it was very hot doing that work. You've got to remember - I am lazy, especially now. I did not feel well at all, but I did feel better after my little nap.
When Ron finally came in, he woke me up to make sure I was okay (which I was), and then we got to work here in the kitchen. We cut up our vegetables for our salads, which will be our supper on Monday and Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday. I made him his cabbage dish for supper tonight, and I made myself chicken noodle soup. Chop, chop, chop, cut, cut, cut.
THEN Ron tells me that I have to take him to work tomorrow, because one of the tires on my car is shot - it is showing wires and he won't let me drive it. Ai yi yi! Wonderful. Just what we need.
So now I have to get up at 4am to take him to work so I'll have the truck to go to my hematologist appointment, which I really don't want to miss. I'll be getting my final diagnosis, so this is pretty important to me.
I guess I should get to bed early tonight!
Another month has started! Another one - this year is flying by!
Sunday. Church and lunch. A nice lazy day is planned...yeah, you know better than that, Rita!
It started out as planned, but almost as soon as we got to church, the Change of Plans happened.
We had driven Ron's truck so that we could drive it down to Amelia to put gasoline in it (at 15 to 20 cents cheaper than Bethel, Hamersville, or Georgetown) and save a bit of money. We figured that we'd eat lunch at either the Barn or Bob Evans while in Amelia, which is not uncommon for us. Well, when we got to church, our friends were there and asked if we wanted to go to Frisch's for lunch afterward! Well, okay...
So, after church, it was Frisch's for lunch, and not only did we meet our friends John and Beverly, but another couple, who usually go straight home after church, decided to join us, too. We had a great time with Larry and Marti there, too! Ron found out that Larry has his lake ready and he can go over and go fishing whenever he can manage the time to, which pleased him. After our nice long lazy lunch, we did go on down to Amelia to get Ron's gasoline (saving money is still very important!) and came on back home.
That's where the lazy day with Ron went right down the tubes. After sitting down and chilling for about fifteen minutes, he decided to go do the weedeating out by the long flowerbox, since he noticed the other day when he carried the bag of topsoil over that it really, really, really needed it. As soon as he had done that, it was, "Okay, come out here and get the planting done." What? No, no, no, this is a lazy day! But he talked me into it.
So I got the seeds planted in the long flowerbox (and discovered that I have one iris already bloomed, and a bunch more ready to bloom in the iris patch on the front hill) while he planted the gladiola bulbs down along the garage. Then we planted the narcissus bulbs that we've had at least three years all along the front hill, and the impatiens that I got from Community Savings Bank under the maple tree (they need shade - hahaha in this yard). Then we moved to the back yard and planted our new strawberry plants in the square box sitting on the cistern lid. Remember - we tried tomatoes last year, and they didn't do so well, so this year, it's strawberries! I thought there were only six or eight plants in that little bag, but there ended up being ten, so it looks kinda crowded, but we'll see what happens.
After this, I came in and literally collapsed into my recliner. I was exhausted! I felt like I'd been through a wringer...and I ended up falling asleep, too.
I had remembered to put sunscreen on before going out, but it was very hot doing that work. You've got to remember - I am lazy, especially now. I did not feel well at all, but I did feel better after my little nap.
When Ron finally came in, he woke me up to make sure I was okay (which I was), and then we got to work here in the kitchen. We cut up our vegetables for our salads, which will be our supper on Monday and Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday. I made him his cabbage dish for supper tonight, and I made myself chicken noodle soup. Chop, chop, chop, cut, cut, cut.
THEN Ron tells me that I have to take him to work tomorrow, because one of the tires on my car is shot - it is showing wires and he won't let me drive it. Ai yi yi! Wonderful. Just what we need.
So now I have to get up at 4am to take him to work so I'll have the truck to go to my hematologist appointment, which I really don't want to miss. I'll be getting my final diagnosis, so this is pretty important to me.
I guess I should get to bed early tonight!
Busy day, not so busy day....
Friday, April 29, 2016 -
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Friday is both Happy Homemaker Day and Run Errands Day. It is also Let's Piss Rita Off Day - which the people at two of my three stops did. As a matter of fact, they pissed me off so bad, I went back home to calm down before going on down the road to finish the shopping and all. But let me start back at the beginning...
When I got up, I restacked the dishes (so they'd be easier to do later, also to see just how many there were) and got a load of laundry started. Then I went uptown to do some errands, most important of all to pay Ron's ticket/citation from last Sunday. We had gotten a letter saying that he didn't have to go to court, so that was a relief, but the ticket still needed paid. When I got there, they told me an amount that was $5.00 MORE than what the letter had told us the fine would be. When I asked why, the only response I got was that "that's what the computer says." UGH!!
Then I went to pay our April mortgage, finally getting it caught up to date - that's been a long time coming - and I found out that there is a fee added to our account that I am pretty sure they told me they were going to waive, but now they didn't, and aren't. UGH!
After going home and calming down, I went on down the road to do my shopping. I had lunch at Don Rigo, too, and felt much better. I really watched what I was doing while shopping, too, and stayed well within my budget, and that made me feel good. I did get two 40-pound bags of topsoil - lifted them onto the bottom of the cart, then into the car - and my back did not like that too very much. I did have enough sense to leave them in the car once I got home.
That was it for the day. I was exhausted when I got home, and didn't do a damn thing the rest of the day except put the clothes into the dryer.
Ron had to work on Saturday, and when I got up it was raining, so my plan of working outside and getting the seeds planted in my long flowerbox was shot to hell. That ended up being a good thing, because it was another blah day for me. I didn't feel sick, just didn't feel like doing anything. Just blah...
Ron got home from work around 3, and I made us supper around 7. I made Manwich, and it was good!!
Looking forward to a lazy Sunday with him tomorrow - church and lunch.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Friday is both Happy Homemaker Day and Run Errands Day. It is also Let's Piss Rita Off Day - which the people at two of my three stops did. As a matter of fact, they pissed me off so bad, I went back home to calm down before going on down the road to finish the shopping and all. But let me start back at the beginning...
When I got up, I restacked the dishes (so they'd be easier to do later, also to see just how many there were) and got a load of laundry started. Then I went uptown to do some errands, most important of all to pay Ron's ticket/citation from last Sunday. We had gotten a letter saying that he didn't have to go to court, so that was a relief, but the ticket still needed paid. When I got there, they told me an amount that was $5.00 MORE than what the letter had told us the fine would be. When I asked why, the only response I got was that "that's what the computer says." UGH!!
Then I went to pay our April mortgage, finally getting it caught up to date - that's been a long time coming - and I found out that there is a fee added to our account that I am pretty sure they told me they were going to waive, but now they didn't, and aren't. UGH!
After going home and calming down, I went on down the road to do my shopping. I had lunch at Don Rigo, too, and felt much better. I really watched what I was doing while shopping, too, and stayed well within my budget, and that made me feel good. I did get two 40-pound bags of topsoil - lifted them onto the bottom of the cart, then into the car - and my back did not like that too very much. I did have enough sense to leave them in the car once I got home.
That was it for the day. I was exhausted when I got home, and didn't do a damn thing the rest of the day except put the clothes into the dryer.
Ron had to work on Saturday, and when I got up it was raining, so my plan of working outside and getting the seeds planted in my long flowerbox was shot to hell. That ended up being a good thing, because it was another blah day for me. I didn't feel sick, just didn't feel like doing anything. Just blah...
Ron got home from work around 3, and I made us supper around 7. I made Manwich, and it was good!!
Looking forward to a lazy Sunday with him tomorrow - church and lunch.
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