One Step at a Time - April 2018

[bird]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Hi all,
Nora:hug:...sounds tough. .......Lizann, I love flea markets....Pauly, you must be looking very young!.....oh, Nora...I have tried so many times to get off of my diet pepsi addiction. It doesn't even taste good anymore......talked to a guy I used to work with about taking over my job. If my employer isn't going to find someone I will look myself. Sounds crazy huh? It is a crazy place that does everything backwards. Some absolutely wonderful smelling flowers blooming in the trees. All around the yard. Saw a snake yesterday so that means it is officially hot! Rain moving in, a big storm. The air is thick, thick...b

[Lizann]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Nora, I didn't mean you should stop posting those articles! I enjoyed your pictures yesterday. I hope you and hubby can get out for breakfast today!
Pauly, you do look like you could be the boy's mother, and honestly you really could be. The girls in the salon where I get my hair cut couldn't believe I was old enough to have kids as old as they are. Think they were just looking for a good tip, lol.

Bird, a snake eek! We are expecting a lot of rain today and tomorrow too. The temperature dropped thirty degrees from yesterday, brrr and I put all my winter stuff away.

Rusty, what are you up to this weekend?

Off to church in a bit, then to my parents. There's a leak or something hubby needs to take care of. She was sounding pretty down yesterday, sigh. . .

[paulywogg]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Morning friends,well I'm jealous of your rain it's been sooooo windy here its got my allergies running wild! I think we all know how bad alcohol is for our bodies,,it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out,yet we all ingested it anyways,I was watching Dr.Oz the other day and he was going on about the "health Ben if its" of al and I was getting irritated! Sure maybe if you have ONE glass there's a minute bit of benefit but honestly I'm sure you could get those "benifits" from something else like a juice or probiotics,etc it's all hogwash and an excuse to drink,Nora,nobody expects you to be perfect,I still drink diet coke once or twice a week but at least it's not the 3+ bottles I used to drink everyday! And you can rip the taco bell out of my cold dead hands,I'll never give up my faves! the only thing I is I want to cut back on sugar,,not quit but cut back cuz I'm getting hypoglycemia feelings again from it,feels shaky,anxiety,etc then I eat a meal and I'm fine again,Bird,sounds like you have a lot of nature around you,how nice Liz,I look youngish some days but old other days haha,you look fabulous all the time Rusty,how's things with you? Mom doing ok? Off to get breakfast with hubs,Nora hope you get your chance today too,wishing us all a day filled with love,gratitude and happiness!

[Rusty]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Good Morning, Steppers!!!

Yesterday was wonderful! My sister hosted her youngest daughter's bridal shower and it was fantastic! My sister and her husband live on a 76-acre equestrian farm with an in-ground pool, a barn, etc., and my niece, Elizabeth Rusty, wanted a farm theme for her shower and she got it! The tables were made from saw horses and leftover wood they had used to construct a building which my BIL uses to store his classic vehicles, and it also has a beautiful living area in it and that's where the shower was held. My sister and her oldest daughter decorated to the nines, lots of beautiful floral arrangements and they bought small pine trees that they decorated with ivy and other greens, and they used those trees to segregate the garage area from the bridal shower area. It was so cool! Mom felt great yesterday and my niece was so appreciative. I am so grateful to enjoy days like that without being under the influence of AL. I took in every moment. 15 guests could not make it to the shower because of our ridiculously wintry weather which dumped 10 in. of snow in the northern part of the state.:cuss: It's snowing here now and they are predicting up to six inches!! GRRRRRR!

The roads are horrible so I won't be going to my mom's to pick her up for church. Ah, this is typical in Wisconsin. LOL. I am so glad she is comfortable in her apartment and doesn't make me feel guilty for not visiting her. She is finally on some pain medication that gives her relief but doesn't make her feel woozy. She has more good hours during the day than bad so we are all very relieved!

Nora-oh please don't stop posting articles, pictures, etc. :hug:You always bring food for thought to this thread! So sorry you and hubs couldn't go out for breakfast yesterday so I hope you can get away for a little bit today. So sad your mom didn't recognize the people in the picture. I feel for you, hon. I fear it won't be long before my mom is where your mom is as far as her memory. Big hugs to you today. I wish I could be a fly on the wall for the bridal shower you are hosting for C and J. I am sure it will be a huge success. I have never been a soda drinker. OCCASIONALLY...once a year, I would drink diet soda when I was at a client's company...BUT...I saw this story on Facebook about 10 years ago that showed all the industrial ways you can use Coke (I'm sure you could use Diet Coke, too) and one of them is that you can use Coke to clean bugs, dirt and gravel off your car's fenders. I haven't touched it since! [MENTION=18725]NoSugar[/MENTION], please feel free to provide your well-educated commentary if you see fit. I always welcome and sincerely appreciate your input. :-):hug:

Pauly IS young enough to look like her grandchildren's mother....lucky Pauly, she has Native American blood so she inherited beautiful olive skin. Enjoy breakfast out with hubs, Pauly. Sorry to hear about the allergies....UGH!!! So Dr. Oz was talking about the BENEFITS of Al? Hmm...I wonder which AL manufacturer lined his pockets with the free advertising? No Bueno, in my book!


Glassie-were you able to take a break from your work and spend time with little HRH this weekend?

Liz-how was the seminar yesterday? At the shower yesterday, my niece told me that a dear friend of hers just had her first baby...a boy they named Logan.;-). Oh how well I know about getting those calls when something breaks/doesn't work at your parents' house. Owning a home from a very elderly person just gets to be too much. My mom couldn't admit it until after that last painful fall where she was in so much pain, the thought of taking care of her condo was too overwhelming. I'll be thinking of you today. HUGS

[MENTION=2634]bird[/MENTION]-what do you do for a living? If you are not comfortable revealing that information here, I totally get it. I hate snakes!!!!

Well, I am off to work out and grocery shop. I am home every day except one this week! Ooh la la!

Happy AF Sunday, everyone!

[NoraC]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Oh my goodness. I only have a minute but I wanted to be very clear because I think my post didn't make sense.

I will still be posting stuff that I find interesting. But, I will pay more attention to the 'facts' that are in them. I really appreciated [MENTION=18725]NoSugar[/MENTION] making her post. She knows that I can't stand it when people post and don't fact check. (then I did it) :rotlf:
NoSugar is a great friend and very knowledgeable. I always appreciate her input. :heartbeat:

[NoraC]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Well - I'm back. Seems like a high pain day for hubby. Mom isn't having a great day. So, I'm back here sitting on the couch avoiding everything. LOL

I probably already said all of this so excuse the repeat. The hospice doctor is coming out next Saturday to review Mom. So, I imagine that she will be taken off hospice. She has declined but she is not at end of life. I called my brother the other day. Tried to explain that Mom has declined and it was getting to the point that hubby won't be able to take care of her. She is going to need more intimate care when I'm at work. We needed to start thinking about what we were going to do regarding having a caretaker come in each day or a facility.
He wasn't much help. He said that his two cents are that it would be better for me to have a caretaker come in. But, that I'm here and know so whatever is needed I should do. And he's right but it doesn't make it easier.

Rusty - so glad that you are getting some at home time this week. I can't believe the weather back there. I see the pictures my friends are posting on Facebook. So much snow and ice. Oh an my brother experienced his first tornado warning huddled in the closet. Luckily didn't touch down near them. Sorry that you couldn't go to Church with your Mom. I'm so glad to hear that she likes it there.

Liz - I hope you enjoy your day. Please let us know how your parents are doing. I know that you worry about your Mom as well as your Dad. :hug:

Bird - No thank you on the snake. We have lizards running around but no snakes in our area at all. It does sound gorgeous though with the trees and everything. Has the rain hit yet?

Well - I'm totally antsy. Guess I might need to go clean something. Oh my gosh - I must be desperate. :rotlf:

[NoraC]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Rusty - that bridal shower sounds amazing. I have to agree with you, isn't it amazing being at a celebration and enjoying it with clear eyes? Definitely the way to enjoy life.
Decided to google some of the glassware I brought home. Have you ever heard of milk glass? I have some type of fruit bowl sitting on my table just because I remember it from my childhood. Today when I was looking in another box, I realized that I had the matching snack plates/cups. Here's a picture I found online milk glass. Sort of cool to see them.

[Rusty]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Nora, that milk glass is so cool! I love the design and you can never go wrong with white! Timeless. Oooh...I like the vase. Hmm...I think the milk glass would like MUCH better at my house than yours! Hahaha!! Just kidding.

And now for my earlier e-mail. As former long-time sober MWO member doggygirl used to say, "this is a sandwich post. You might want to make yourself a sandwich before you start reading. It's gonna take a while for you to read it!!!"" LOL

Nora-I am avoiding cleaning so I am just as antsy as you are. So, I am procrastinating on here, even though I STERNLY told myself 40 minutes ago, "At 1:00 PM, you will start cleaning!" I wish one of us could beam the other to our homes. :hug: But, maybe you wouldn't like all of our snow! LOL. Your post DID make sense...and please don't worry that we misunderstood you. We knew what you meant.:love:

Wow, the big decision you have to make regarding your mom.:sad: May I offer my two cents of unasked for advice? If you do NOT want it, I totally understand. I just want to share my experience and my huge (GULP) lessons learned with regards to my mom when we had the in-home care or facility debate going on in our family. First off...my two sweet brothers are great guys but totally clueless so they were no help at all in the decisionmaking process...kind of like your brother. OK, your brother is not living your life or hubs. SOOO, What do YOU and your HUSBAND want to do? If she is needing more intimate care, then probably a facility is the best choice, IF you can find a really good one you can afford. It will give your mom the quality of life she needs and give you and your husband the chance to enjoy life a lot more often. Nora, I love you dearly even though I have never met you, and I don't mean to upset you, but you and hubs are chained to your house and the loving care you both give your mom. If you or your husband burn out taking care of her, you might put your job in jeopardy and your husband might starting feeling really, really resentful. My sister was responsible for my mom 24/7 and the last two years, she has been on the verge of becoming resentful. I could see a shift in her personality. I was missing the sister who would lovingly leave sweet messages on my voice mail to a sister who was constantly exhausted and burdened every time I talk to her. One thing to think about is that your mom probably wouldn't mind being in a facility where she would get 24-hr. care, because she doesn't have the spatial cognition to know whose home she is in right now. With in-home care, you would constantly have to worry about people not showing up, etc. Plus, it means having a stranger in your house for several hours per day. Is hubs OK with that? My mom fought that like crazy. I get it now that I can take a step back and look at it objectively.

I wanted desperately for my mom to have in-home care because she was fighting, nicely, but still fighting, going into a retirement community or assisted-living and I simply could NOT picture her being happy in a retirement community or assisted-living. But she IS happy, and my sister sleeps at night now, and she doesn't have to rearrange all her family plans to accommodate my mom's endless doctors' appts., requests for fixing things at her condo, driving her to special events (50 miles away), etc. Although my mom and I have always been extremely close, we are even closer now (hard to believe). Mom gets phenomenal care there, and the other residents are SO nice and SO protective of her...it's wonderful. If your mom is in a facility, you and hubs can visit her whenever you want, take her places, etc.

Financially, I don't know what the cost difference is....in-home care v. facility, and I know that is a HUGE factor, if not the biggest one, but you will make the right decision. We will all stand by you here, no matter what decision you make.

Well, nice. You've made me cry. Hahah! There goes my make-up!!!! HAHAAHHAHAHAH

Email me later.

xo
Rusty

[NoraC]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

:hug: Rusty :sad: - yep, made me cry too. LOL Seriously, thank you so much for that. I am sad to say that you are right. Having a caretaker come in each day isn't an option. We have a tiny house, it just would not work. I am going to start looking at facilities so I will have the information for when we need it. I am still thinking several months down the line. But, sadly, it is coming............

[Rusty]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Nora:hug:-Only you know how to insert the link to Jackson Browne's "Here Come Those Tears Again." They are here, dear friend.:sad: I am so, so, sorry. If I may offer one more piece of advice: do what my sister did with our mom....find a facility or facilities you see as serious possibilities and get your mom on the waiting list for the next available room/bed/apartment. You may think you have several more months to plan, think, and take your time to look around but you may not be so lucky. The key is to move your mom in the minute there is an available space. If you pass it up, you may be waiting more than a year from now. Are there facilities close by?

[NoraC]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

[NoraC]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Hey guys. Rusty, thank you. I needed that. :hug:
I have been feeling very stressed/anxious. Very much looking for something to take away the pain. Not sure how to explain it, not thinking about actually drinking. But, wanting something to stop these feelings. :sad:
It helped to talk it out here. Instead of letting it continue to build. :heartbeat:

[Lizann]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Well thank you [MENTION=1214]Rusty[/MENTION] for your helpful advice. We are debating on what to do about dad. He has been better the past three days, but he had a very bad few days. The one night he became agitated and pushed my mom out of his way. She fell and has bruises on her arms. She doesn't believe it was intentional, nonetheless she was scared. I knew she was having a rough few days, but she didn't tell me anything until today. Spoke to my sister today and we are researching our options. Mom is considering a nursing home, not sure that's affordable. Now I'm crying. Anyway, thanks for sharing. [MENTION=1214]Rusty[/MENTION], on a happier note, the bridal shower sounds absolutely lovely! I did see some of the pictures and they were lovely. She is named after you? Beautiful name for a beautiful girl!

[Lizann]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Save me some room [MENTION=9757]NoraC[/MENTION], I'm coming in too!

[NoraC]

Re: One Step at a Time - April 2018

Save me some room @NoraC, I'm coming in too!

Oh [MENTION=19302]Lizann[/MENTION] :hug: :hug: