Trying To Remember...

Today is my mom's birthday - she is 3/4 of a century old.  She spent the night last night since I had to take her in to the lab early this morning to get bloodwork done.  There is a Ruby's across the street from the lab so I took her to breakfast also.  And we had a good time.  I kept having to remind her that she is 75 - she wanted to remember so she could tell her friends if they asked.  So we are sitting there and I'm just staring out the window watching the trees blow around in the wind (can you believe the wind?!) and my mom all of a sudden asks me what I'm thinking about.  Not much - just watching the trees in the wind.  So I ask her the same thing about what she is thinking about and she says she is trying to remember that she is 75 years old today!  I just thought that was hilarious!  We had a really good laugh about it!  And I think she is losing her taste - every time I ask her how her food tastes - she always says not very good.  And with the amount of milk and sugar she puts in her coffee nowadays (she never put sugar in her coffee when I was younger) - she might as well just order sweetened milk!

When we got back to her place - she told me that she needed a new TV remote because hers was missing.  So as I rummaged her drawers for laundry - I looked for the remote also.  Didn't find it in her dresser or the nightstand - so I started poking around in the closet - I knew it would be around somewhere.  I eventually found it wrapped in a sock, stuffed in one of her slippers in the bottom of the closet!  No wonder it's missing!  God Bless Her!

So I'm working on a new class at work - we have been creating some specialized classes on destinations in the USA and Canada and I'm working on Vancouver and Victoria.  To do some of the research, I've checked out some books from the library.  I found a few more books today and left work early to go pick them up since they were from a library closer to my home.  So I drive up to the library - and the parking lot seems a bit empty - and then it hits me - I should have known - but I walk up to the door anyway - yep - they are closed for Columbus Day!  You would think I'd remember - we have been getting reminders all week that our offices may be busier today since the DMV is closed - oh well!

And finally - I was able to replace the shoes that stank of the North Sea (oh - that's right - I haven't gotten to that day yet in my chronicles of England!) - the shoes that I kept and dragged around England and then eventually threw out when I got home.  I was able to get the same pair and they were even on clearance!  Most excellent.

Must go for now and make a few decisions about what I'll take up North with me.  Looked at the weather and it should be in the 70's - what to wear, what to wear!  Hope to be able to get some internet access while I'm up there so maybe I can post a few more England entries!  Ok - must go...

She Won't Be Able To Find Them Again

Went to visit my mom today and I can just tell that she is deteriorating.  She wasn’t there when I arrived which was good since it gave me time to go through and do some cleaning and find her reading glasses that she told me someone stole – at least she didn’t accuse me this time of stealing them!  I found them in her dresser – with her TV remote that she hides in one of her socks – and then can never find – people steal it all the time too.   Anyway… she showed up just before I was getting ready to leave and had a friend with her and her friend said she was all upset – so I asked her what she was upset about and she said that someone had stolen her glasses – at which point I took the glasses out of her dresser and gave them to her.  She then told me they weren’t the right ones – she only has one pair of glasses.  And even before I left she kept insisting that they weren’t the right glasses – I noticed her putting them in the nightstand drawer as I was leaving – great – she won’t be able to find them again.

 And I tried so hard to be kind and generous with her – but when she gets that bordering nasty tone – it’s hard not to react.  It just rips my heart out every time I go see her – to see this woman who looks like my mom but isn’t the woman I called mom for so long.  Anyway – it was a tough visit – although I do have a fun mom story from a couple of weeks ago…

 I had gone to see her about two weeks ago on a Monday evening after work and right after her dinner time.  When I got to her room – she told me that I should have arrived sooner because one of her dining table mates has a son who comes for Monday at dinner time to have coffee with them and he is kind of cute – I might like him.  Sounds intriguing – although I remember when I first noticed her memory problems  -  her doctor sent us to a specialist and after we saw the specialist, my mom said he was kind of cute – and I joked with her about liking him and she said – not for me – for you.  This guy was old enough to be my father!  Not sure I want to know what this new guy looks like!  God Bless Her!

I Didn't Want To Get Busted For Fraud

I was looking back at my past entries and realized that it has been two weeks since that fateful day of the three letters!  And I just cannot express enough how good our God is and how thankful I am to Him for His faithfulness and blessings - He is an Amazing God!

So back two weeks - it was Labor Day weekend - I'd been having a wonderful weekend and then I opened the mail to find out that my mom's Medi-Cal benefits had been cancelled - to put it in perspective - her benefits save her (really me) around $200 - $300 a month - they pay for ALL of her medical expenses - God Bless the state of California!  So Tuesday morning - I immediately got on the phone to the social worker and left a message - didn't hear anything that day.  Blogged that night - was feeling a little more calm about things.  

On Wednesday, the social worker called me back and spent about 1/2 an hour with me explaining everything to me - and I was right - it was a $637 per month deductible that they wanted her to pay before any benefits would kick in.  After that kind of deductible - she would be left with about $650 to live on - crazy - the social worker agreed!  The social worker was so helpful - she explained to me how they calculate everything and told me that she makes $200 more than she should to qualify!  So she gave me a phone number for an agency that would work with me to find the best solution in terms of benefits for her - she also explained how we could work around the system to try to get full benefits - and then at the end of the conversation - she noticed that my mom's residence address was different from her mailing address and asked if she was living in an Assisted Living facility?  Of course my first thought is - what should I say - would it be better if she was living in Assisted Living or better if she lived on her own?  I was concerned that she might not qualify at all if she was in Assisted Living - but I figured I didn't want to get busted for fraud so I told her - yes - she was in AL.  As it turns out - that worked to our benefit.  All she needed was a letter or receipt showing that my mom was a resident of Assisted Living and there would be deductions that should qualify her for her benefits - so I let her know I would find the info and fax it to her the next day.

Went home that night - found the receipt - faxed it back the next morning - and within an hour she called me back and told my that my mom was back "on the sunny side" of the benefits - full benefits - everything paid for.  I was so overwhelmed and thankful - I had to cry - gee, what a surprise!  I went out to get lunch that day and I was just so overwhelmed with thankfulness to God that I just couldn't express it enough - I am still awed - I know I probably shouldn't be - He is the God that makes all things possible - but it is such a blessing to see it so specifically worked out in your own life.  Anywho... I know that I've started to ramble - so am going to go expend some of my energy and go running at the gym - stayed tuned for another entry tonight - I have a couple of gym and treadmill stories - as well as an analogy to prayer.

I Don't Want To Be The Responsible Parent Anymore

And it's been such a great day.  Then I made the mistake of checking my mail (I knew there was a reason I didn't get yesterday's mail last night).  So I received 3 letters - all in the same envelope from Social Services.  The first was an apology about the first termination letter telling me my mom's benefits had stopped - it says they will continue unchanged.  The second is a letter of termination as of 9/30/08 because her income exceeds the limits ($1306/mo - can you image living on that?)!  And the third is a letter of approval with what looks like a $687 a month deductible!  Are they crazy?  We never paid anything like that before we had Medi-Cal!  Why would we continue with Medi-Cal when we can get a Medicare HMO plan for cheaper - granted - I will be subsidizing my mom again (there goes my trip to Israel) - but it's much cheaper than $687 a month?!  I just don't understand and I'm so frustrated right now I can barely stand it (nice way to finish off the Labor Day weekend) - I know, I know...  have Faith because God has a plan - I've been listening the last several weeks at church - but I'm just sick and tired of it all - I don't want to be the responsible parent anymore.

She Is Now Done With Him

Did you feel it today?  It was quite the excitement at work - we even ducked and covered under our desks - only after the insistence of one of our supervisors, though.  It brought back memories - of June 28, 1992 - the day of the Landers and Big Bear quakes - I was living in Big Bear at the time and it was the scariest thing I’ve lived through.  Today after it happened our manager told us all to go to lunch and evacuate the building - not sure if the evacuation was a building wide thing or just our department - but she didn’t have to tell us twice - we left and went to lunch!  Enjoyed a good lunch at Souplantation (even though they don’t give an AAA discount anymore) and a quick trip to Costco.

And then this evening I went to pick up my mom for another doctor appointment in the morning...  last week when I picked her up one evening, she was telling me about how she and Bob had gone walking and he held her hand.  A couple of days later when I picked her up again - we saw Bob out walking with her naber (her spelling), Helen.  Well, today when I was asking her about him - she said that she hasn’t really talked to him in a long time (not exactly sure how much a 'long time' is in her world) and that he and Helen were always playing Bingo and that he was always pulling out the chairs for all the ladies.  I jokingly said that she was jealous and she said - yeah - because he would hold her hand when they would go for walks.  She said that she is now done with him (I've heard that before).  I didn’t tell her that he was flirting with me when I got there tonight - told me how beautiful I was and that I should be a model - yeah.  God Bless Him!

Reminded Me Of My Own Home

Had my mom over to spend the night last night.  She had a doctor’s appointment this morning and it’s just easier to make the appointment in the morning and have her spend the night.  When I got there last night - she, of course, doesn't remember that I told her I would be there - even though she told me that she would write it down.  And when I got there last night - the place was a mess - reminded me of my own home!  And again with the bras - she was all concerned that she didn’t have any bras - if I could only get her to keep all her undergarments in one drawer - it might be so much easier.  But I try to organize and then the next week everything is in all three drawers and in the nightstand.  God Bless Her!

So I brought her back to my place and gave her a shower.  We watched some TV and then went to bed - such excitement!  The next morning, I wanted to make sure that she got something to eat since I know she always has breakfast - so I made her half a peanut butter sandwich.  Of course, after the doctor’s appointment she kept telling me that she was hungry - she couldn't remember that I had fed her - well, I didn’t have time to stop anywhere for a sit down meal - I had to go to work - so we stopped at Corner Bakery and I got her a muffin and coffee.  And when I drop her off she says she is going to go back to bed until lunch - without eating her muffin and coffee - WHAT?!   As it turns out - she did eat the muffin and coffee.

When we were at the doctor’s office - he was asking about the medication she was taking - which I used to carry with me all the time - but didn’t have it with me this time and was trying to reconstruct it.  I don’t remember so much anymore, now that I don’t have to administer the medication - praise God!  So as we are talking about the medication, my mom says that she is going to keep the medication they give her one day - so I ask her what she is going to do with it and she says she just wants to see what each of the pills are - so I tell her that I will explain them to her the next time she is over.  The funniest part though - was watching the doctor - he’s a specialist and has only seen her once before - so he isn’t completely familiar with some of the oddball things that happen with her - and when she was talking about taking the medication - he just looked over at me like he was going to follow my lead - can’t really explain it - but it endeared him to me - which is good because I wasn’t so impressed the first time I’d met him.

Now I’m just rambling - it’s actually been a tough day - I just miss my mom so much...

It's Like She's Nesting

So here are just some random stories....

I’ll start with my mom...  went by this week to drop by her laundry and see how she was doing.  First off - she lost her TV remote - and is convinced that someone came in and stole it - of course, I saw it last week tucked away in one of her drawers - so I’m sure it is around somewhere - but who knows where.  So I started looking for it in her dresser and she has started stashing away toilet paper rolls - with just a little bit of toilet paper on them - I didn’t ask her what there were for (maybe she is saving them for Sadie) - but I gathered up about a dozen of them and hid them with the laundry that I took with me - keep in mind that there were still about 7-8 that I left in her dresser!  It’s like she’s nesting!   It was like all the crap that I found in her closet when I moved her out of her last place.  God Bless Her!

So the cat...  I took this picture the other day and it just fascinated me that way she was sleeping with her tail all curled up at the end.  And this week I broke down and picked up a new brush for her - the vet had talked about it when I took her in a couple of weeks ago and I was telling him about the hair balls she has been getting.  He had a client tell him about this brush called the Furminator - which was a bit pricey - but worth every penny.  It is amazing the amount of hair the brush takes off of her - and she doesn’t mind it at all.  And she is so funny - I’ve been working at home the last couple of days and she follows me around and always wants to be in the same room as I am - like I’m going to be evil and leave her again for two weeks.

And finally - my confession...  I went in today and confessed to Jill that I had broken the light bulb and what I had done in the copy room.  The funny thing was that I asked her first if she had been in the room and she said yes - but hadn’t noticed anything!  Of course, I forgot my camera - so I didn’t get a picture of the mosaic - but I figure we are going to grout on Sunday, so I’ll take the pic when we are completely done and post it then.

I Can't Believe That It's Already April!

Happy Fourth to you all - am off to a couple of parties today (check back later for pictures of me on my roller skates!)  - but wanted to make a quick post in honor of my mom!  She always made Fourth of July fun with the wonderful tradition of going to what she called 'the biggest cocktail party in town' at a local park.  So here's to mom...

And with a title like the one for today – you have to know that this entry will be about my mom.  Haven’t told any mom stories in a while – so here are a few from my last visit (Sharon - enjoy!).  So I went up there one evening this week after work – and as I went by one of the office buildings – the temperature said 108F!  Now – it was warm – but not quite that warm!

So when I get to my mom’s place – she keeps asking me about this sweatshirt that she can’t find – which I, of course, had taken to wash.  So I showed it to her and she was happy to have it back and then proceeded every few moments to ask what happened to it (I swear – it’s just like Tom in the movie Fifty First Dates).  Well, I decided that she needed a shower (I’m not sure if she showers on her own). So I helped her in and afterwards – I put some clothes out for her to wear – a brown pair of pants with this cute tshirt that has a picture of her grandkids on it.  So she starts putting her clothes on and now she is all concerned about her bras – since I take stuff to be washed – did I leave her with any – then she couldn’t find them – and then she asked again if I was leaving her with any.  So I finally convince her that she will be fine with the bras – she puts the tshirt on and then looks at the pants and we come across another dilemma.

You see, the pants are part of a set – and she isn’t wearing the shirt that goes with the set.  So now I’m trying to convince her that she can where the pants with other things – but she keeps talking about this set – and now wants to know where the shirt is – and is also concerned because it is a winter set – which seems unusual to me since the pants aren’t that thick and the shirt is short sleeved – but there is no use trying to debate that – I’m not even sure I’ll be able to get her to wear the pants.  So she starts looking for another pair of pants and then goes back to the brown pair and comments that they are part of a set and wants to know where the top is that goes with the set and so on and so forth – this went on for a good 5 minutes or so – I just sat and watched.  Finally she decided it would be ok to wear the brown pants with a different top.  It’s a wonder that she is able to get dressed in the morning at all!

As I’m sitting there watching all this – I notice that the activity and menu flyer for the complex is sitting on her end table – so I pick it up to look at and notice that it is from April.  So I say to my mom – not even thinking about what I’m doing – ‘this is for April’ and she says ‘I know, I can’t believe that it’s already April’ – of course I say back to her – ‘Then you really aren’t going to believe that it’s July’! God Bless Her!  I should know better than to think that a woman with dementia is going to know what month it is!

I Am Exactly Like Her

Just a quick note tonight to keep you all coming back.  I'll have some mom stories later in the week - although depending on how life is going this week - might be this weekend.  And I know that I promised another entry about England - again, this weekend I think will be the magic time to do all that - yeah - that's it!

And of course it wasn't like I didn't have any time yesterday - unfortunately, we got our 4 disk set of the 7000 England pictures yesterday at church, so I had to look through some of those.  Then I had to procrastinate and do other things - but Diana, I really did get my house a bit picked up last night!  I'm a slob - but I did get my piles straightened a bit.  When I was at my mom's today - I was looking at her room and thought - I am exactly like her! God Bless us both.

So stay tuned - have a cute cat picture I need to post also - Blessings to you all!

She Always Refers To As Daddy

So I went by to see my mom today after church.  When I got there - she told me about how one of the slats from her blinds fell off - so I put it back for her.  Of course a few minutes later as I was changing her sheets - she told me again that one of the slats from her blinds fell off and if I would fix it - God Bless Her!

After I was done making her bed - I laid out her clean clothes so she could put them away.  When I first arrived, she was wearing the sweater that I gave her from England - she always tells me that she doesn’t wear it to meals because she doesn’t want to spill anything on it  - and she told me how cold they keep it in the building - which must be an old person thing - it was rather comfortable considering it was 90 F outside!  So she is sitting on the bed and decides that it is hot - so she takes off the sweater and is wearing a tank top - and when she stands up to go to the closet - I notice the tags on the back of the top - she’s wearing it inside out!  She then decides to give me the tank top so I can wash it since I brought another clean tank top for her.  Of course by the time she takes the top off and gets to the bed where the clean clothes are - she forgets what she is going to put on - so she puts on a shirt sleeved top - then decides that it is too cold so she takes that off and puts the sweater back on - and once she gets the sweater back on - she wonders where the original tank top is that she had on!  It’s simply fascinating!

Since it is father’s day - I asked her questions about her dad - whom she always refers to as daddy.  She teared up and said that he was a kind man and she misses him very much.  He died before I was born so I never got to know him.  She talked about the farm she grew up on - my grandfather was a potato farmer in Idaho.  And it was interesting that she could remember all about the farm - the swing in the tree, the garden, the shade trees, but when it came to college - she remembered her older sister went to nursing school, but couldn’t remember that her younger sister ended up at the College of Idaho with her.  She also couldn’t remember how she met my dad - but does remember that he is the one that left her.  A friend was telling me that he has a digital recorder so whenever his dad starts talking about the past - he switches it on and starts to record - I need to start doing that also.  And as my mom misses her daddy - I miss my mommy.  And right now - I miss my dad also.

I Don't Want To Be The Parent

I'm struggling tonight. Had a nice dinner with my brother and his family and their friends. He picked up my mom and I took her home and I just struggled - the whole evening. I miss my mom. I know that sounds crazy - but I do - very much tonight. I just have such wonderful memories of the family getting together and the joy and fun... Not that we didn't have any fun - we did and we had some great laughs tonight - but I just miss talking to my mom the way we used to - I miss her being the mom - I don't want to be the parent.

Are You Going To Take A Shower Too?

Here I am with the birds! These are the paper birds we cut out - glued together and then hung from the shadow box. And as much as I wanted to kill all the birds on Saturday when we were putting it together, it looked really cool on the alter - if I must say so myself!

So I went by and saw my mom again last night - and when I walked in the lobby door - I could hear her laughing from down the hall! I went into her room and put some stuff away before I went down and broke up the group. When I got down to where they were all sitting and chatting - she was sitting next to her boyfriend, Bob! She was so cute - the way she was talking and playing with him - just like a schoolgirl flirting with the boy she likes! God Bless Her.

So I got the shower ready for her again - she did much better this time - mainly because I figured out how to make the shower head taller! I was wearing a skirt yesterday with pantyhose (a must at work) and before I left, I decided to take the pantyhose off and she looked at me and said "Are you going to take a shower too?" She thought I was taking my clothes off for a shower at her place - it was pretty funny!

And last but certainly not least - a shout out to my Taco Tuesday friends tonight! What a fun evening - we'll have to do that more often - especially if I get carded again - hee, hee, hee! Must be the blonde highlights that make me look younger - whatever it is - I'll take it!

This Coffee Is Cold

I know it's been a while - and I didn't originally intend to write tonight - but am struggling this evening - so I thought a few good mom stories would make me feel better. Have been doing fine - as you all probably know - got my mom moved in this weekend to a place in Orange and she seems to really like it - my Aunt even called me after she had talked to my mom and told me how much my mom was enjoying the place after just a day. So why am I struggling - well I went by my mom's old apartment this evening to pick up a few things we forgot and I started cleaning a few things up and there were just memories there - memories of when my mom was truly my mom and then there was a box of pictures and then it was just all over after that... but before I get myself all boo-hooey again - enjoy some stories...

Before she moved, I was over packing some things up and just going through the dresser and my mom to keep herself occupied was washing some dishes - after she was done with the dishes, she decided she was going to wash the 4 dish towels since they were wet. So I started to gather a few other things she could wash so that she wasn't spending all that money just on the dish towels - so I go up to her and start to hand her the stuff I had and she said, "Are those things wet too?" And I told her no - but I thought she could go ahead and wash them to make a bigger load - she wouldn't take them - they weren't wet! I could not convince her to put the dry items in with the wet dish towels! Of course I've told this story to several people and they all said they would have just gone to the sink and made everything wet - I was just so stunned about the whole situation - didn't even think about it at the time!

So the first night she was in her new place, I stayed and had dinner with her. She asked for coffee and I asked for milk with dinner - well she wanted milk in her coffee - so I just put a few spoonfuls from my cup. A few minutes later she again said she needed milk in her coffee - so I put some more milk in her coffee. The third time she wanted milk for her coffee, she stopped the serving guy and started to ask him for milk and then noticed that I had milk and she said - "oh, she has milk" - well, not wanting to give up all my milk for her coffee, I asked him to bring her some milk. When he did, she poured about half the cup in her coffee. A few moments later she took a sip and said, "This coffee is cold." God Bless Her!

Should We Tell...

So I took my mom to see the place in Orange today. She was in a good mood when I went to pick her up and we had a fun drive up. When we got there - we took a look around and it seemed to be going well. As we near the dining room, they are rounding up the patients in the assisted living part of the facility who need help to the dining room (she will be in the independent living part). My mom makes a comment to me that everyone seems so old. I assure her that they are in a different part of the facility and need help to get to the dining room. We got to the dining room and were shown the menu calendar and my mom makes the comment about how she likes to make all her own meals. I, of course, tell her how nice it will be that she won't have to cook for herself. And it's not like we haven't been through all this before! So we sit down in the private dining room for our meal and we are left alone for a few moments so I ask her what she thinks - she says she doesn't like it - she wants to be able to go on her walks and make her own meals - I try to assure her that it will all be ok and to give it a chance. The meal was good and we have a nice chat with the Resident Director. We assure her that she can still go out for her walks - she just needs to sign in and out when she does - and that there are several people that walk - so she can see about walking with some of them. So we finish up lunch - pick up some paperwork and leave.

When we get to the car - I ask my mom her thoughts - and she makes another comment about not being able to cook her own meals - and all I could think was - putting a TV dinner in the microwave is NOT cooking your own meals - and then she indicated that she didn't think she needed as much care as this place was giving - as she is trying to wrap the seatbelt around her neck because she can't figure out how it works! God Bless Her! It just makes me laugh. So I told her that it would really make me feel better to know that she is in a place that has that kind of support. She seemed the most concerned about her walks - so we drove around the neighborhood so she could see that it was a nice neighborhood and she could walk around there - just what I want her doing - walking around a neighborhood she isn't familiar with!

So on the way home I worked on convincing her that it was the best thing for her - she talked about how she would adjust and how the place she is in has just gone downhill since they've taken the chairs out of the lobby so she and her friends can't sit there anymore. Of course, by tomorrow she may decide that she isn't going to move. At one point on the way home - she asked if John was going to move her - and I told her no - my friends and I were - then she asked "Should we tell him I'm moving?" Go Mom! I told her that it was up to her whether she wanted to tell him or not. So while we were talking, she told me about when my Aunt Jean was here they went to see John - and instead of meeting at John's house, they went to this park - which was good since Luke could run around. She had no recollection that I was there. God Bless Her!

Anyway - Family Fun Night went great tonight - we had a great crowd and the astronomy evening seemed to go well. And looking at the moon from the telescope they brought - VERY COOL! Enough for now - going to bed.

Obessions

My aunt left today after visiting with my mom and I over New Year's and I cried after I dropped her off at the airport. She and my mom seemed to have such a nice visit - and I really enjoyed the visit also - even though I slept on the couch (and Brandy, you were right - the cat did sleep with me). We had such a good time the last several days - I was sad to see her leave. The only downside is the reminder of how my mom used to be - I want my mom back and this week, I'm really struggling with that.

I've had some time to really reflect on the year and count my blessings - and I certainly have many. I am tremendously blessed with an amazing group of friends that I know love and support me no matter what. But the year has been bittersweet also, as I've watched my mom slowly get worse. But even as bad as it gets - I know that the Lord is always watching over me (even when I have angry conversations with him - hey - at least I'm talking to him - right?!) and I know my friends will always be there for me - God bless all of you!

Enough melancholoy - I have to laugh a little - this posting is beginning to sound a little like those Christmas newsletters that you get from people that tell you about all of the diseases or loss of life or family problems they go through during the year - let me fix that by including a list...

A list of my mom's latest obessions:
The birds - you know they go one way in the morning and the other way at night
Checks - she only has one check left - and it's for the rent - it would help if she would put her checks in her checkbook correctly and not stuff all but one into the sleeve
Money - how can she buy any groceries if I don't give her any money - I told her I would give her money and I never did - shame on me - I'm so terrible won't order her checks either (she was surprised to see the $80 I found stashed in an envelope in her dresser)

Her keys - she lost them one day and that was all she could talk about - of course the next day we were talking about making new keys and she says to my Aunt - 'You lost your keys?' - no mom, you lost yours - we found them

The chairs in the lobby - you know they took the chairs out of the lobby that she and her friends used to sit on and she just doesn't understand why (truthfully, I'm not sure either) - but she has remedied that by bringing her lawn chair down to the lobby to wait for the mail! Go Mom!
Her tooth - actually this hasn't been much of an obsession - don't really hear about it much anymore - she has so many new obsessions to worry about!

One last story - her doctor signed a handicap placard application recently and she asked what the paper was and I told her it was the application and that I was getting a handicap placard for her and she says to me 'How long am I going to be handicapped?'! God Bless Her. And Happy New Year!

All Dressed Up

When I went by my mom's yesterday to refill her medication, I told her that I would come by on Christmas Eve and pick her up for church. We talked about what day it was and when Christmas Eve was and some doctor appointments that are coming up on her calendar. She has decided that she doesn't want to use her day by day calendar anymore - so I truly have no idea how she keeps up with what day it is - actually, I do know - she just doesn't keep up - as was evidenced by the phone call I got this evening. About 7:45pm tonight she called and wondered when I was going to pick her up for church - she thought it was tonight and told me she had gotten all dressed up and was waiting for me. God Bless Her! It's enough to make me want to cry. But I'm not going to - at least not tonight - going to go to bed (and B - I never made it out to run my errands - sat on the couch and watched TV instead!). Goodnight.

They Were the Lightest

Goodness - it's been a week - but give me a break... I had jars to make for our Family Fun Night, I took my mom out for her birthday (more on that in a moment), we had a fabulous Family Fun Night at church - I went to a wonderful wedding, taught a class at church, watched the Colorado Rockies win the NL Pennant (that's what it's called, right?), and had to go movie hopping - "We Own the Night" and "Michael Clayton" - I'd recommend both. Phew...
So I thought I'd better catch up - went to the gym tonight with Craig - and we worked on cardio, biceps, triceps, shoulders and abs, oh my! And yes, I will be sore tomorrow - but it was nice to learn how to use some of the machines. Saw eminem again - he didn't have as much bling as last time - but had his cap on. And when we were in the weight room - there was some annoying guy lifting and being all loud - we finally just left. Great workout though - which is good because it has been a tough week in controlling the food intake.
So my mom... it was her birthday on Saturday, so I took her out shopping and back to my place for lunch. I wanted to get her new shoes - so we went to pick some out and she wanted light shoes - she picked them all up and them picked them up again and decided on a particular pair with velcro. And you would think - what a great idea - velcro would be so easy to use. The problem - it's a new concept for her and she had a little trouble figuring out how to use it - so I'm not sure exactly how the shoes will work out for her - but I saw my brother today and he said when he picked her up to spend Sunday with her all she could talk about were her new shoes and how she choose them because they were the lightest! God Bless Her!

New Obsession

I know, I know, it's been awhile! Hope you didn't give up on me just yet. So what's been going on - Sunday - hit the jackpot shopping. Kris and I went shopping for a wedding this weekend - where our friend, I'm sure, will be the second most beautiful woman there (behind the bride, of course)! We ended up at Macy's and got some amazing customer service - apparently that's all I get - is one good customer service experience for the week - have had some pretty lousy service since then. Anyway - back to the shopping - in the end - we both found new outfits to wear - and I think everything we got was on sale. I ended up with a new dress for the wedding, a cute casual skirt and a new suit. And best of all - the dress for the wedding - originally 159.99 - marked down to 19.97! Can't beat that - the shoes I bought for the outfit cost more than the dress! And B - I ended up buying the wallet we saw a couple of weeks ago. Kris got some amazing deals also. So it was a good day.
Hadn't talked to my mom in a couple of days - so called her tonight and she seems to have a new obsession - the TV. Yes, she had complaints about the TV again - tonight she wanted to know what I did to the TV last time I was there since she can't get all of the shows she used to watch and all that seems to be on now are ads. Bummer. Didn't know exactly what to tell her - although at least I don't hear so much about the tooth anymore! God Bless Her.

Mom and the TV

I know it's probably been the longest time between posts! Last week was just... tough - and this week has been busy. I do have a couple of mom stories though. So the remote for my mom's TV stopped working about a week or so ago and originally she told me she threw it out (I'm not sure what's up with her obsession of throwing things out) - then she told me she had it - so when I went to pick it up, she kept complaining that her TV didn't work. So I took a look at it and she said she needed a new one because the people are all red. Apparently, she must have been hitting the menu button on the TV and changing the color and tint! So I fixed that. So today I went to give her the remote back (it just needed new batteries) and this time she told me the TV didn't have any sound - well, it helps if you turn the volume up! God Bless Her! And of course, it's October 2 and I should have given her the daily calendar back - but forgot it! Oh well, she thought it was Wednesday anyway.

October 2

Had to take away my mom's daily calendar again last night - she thought it was Tuesday, October 2! God Bless Her. Unfortunately, I got a little more frustrated with her than I intended - which left me feeling lousy even though I'm sure she doesn't remember any of it today.

On a brighter note - lost 4 pounds - even though I had a pretty tough beginning of the week. Which is promising since I stopped counting points tonight at dinner! After a great breakfast and fabulous day (I got to see a bunch of my favorite people today) - I had dinner with some church friends and had one of the best cakes I've ever had! Not sure what all was in it - but I think it was chocolate cake and there were peanuts and toffee and very yummy frosting - this was after the steak and corn casserole and beans and bread and salad. Yummy! Will have to visit the gym tomorrow and think I'll try another new recipe. Enough for now - must go to bed!