I know it's Sunday, only because I looked at the calendar just before writing. Between days off due to the holiday, and days off because of my vacation, and days off because it's the weekend, I am so confused. I have to stop and think what day it really is.
So last week I only worked Thursday and Friday-- that was wonderful. Two out of five days-- that is awesome! We had full schedules both days, but everyone showed up, and was on time, and there were no problems.
Christmas was also a very happy day. We opened presents in the morning, and J surprised me with new earbuds for the gym (I can also use them here if he wants to watch something on TV and I don't, then I can listen to music), and a beautiful pair of indoor house slippers. (He also repaired my old slippers...love that.)
He also gave me an unusual necklace. Honestly, I'd seen it in a store and mentioned it casually to him because it was so different; he insisted on driving right back there and buying it, and wrapping it up for Christmas. It's not my "usual style", so I wasn't sure about it, but I like it more and more. It's rose gold, and crystals. Very unusual.
MissS gave me a necklace also so now I have two more to choose from. This one is more vintage looking. And Sis gave me a pair of beautiful pearl dangle earrings. I'd given both her and MissS some earrings, too , so it was a pretty- jewelry Christmas. Of course there was lots of chocolate, and food treats, too.
The other spectacular gift from MissS for me was a stunning incense burner: a many headed black dragon, and you put the incense cone in the base. The smoke then comes out of holes strategically placed throughout the dragons' heads, mouths, ears, etc.
Sis and BIL then came over around 12:30, and we played Scrabble til it was time to eat our late lunch of ham, salad, and home-made fettucine Alfredo. Sis brought a vegan main dish thing which was yummy. Pies for dessert, and we were comfortably full. We had Christmas music playing in the background, and it was so nice.
Later we watched "It's a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart. I haven't seen the whole thing in years, and turned out MissS hadn't ever seen it, so despite my fears she would find it hopelessly old fashioned, she did like it. It was good to see it again.
She and I both had the next day off, and she had a doctor appt. I don't remember what I did that day, except maybe hit the shops again looking for some after-Christmas bargains. I was quite surprised to see that the shops have whisked away all the Christmas decorations all ready, and they are getting ready for Valentine's Day!
Yesterday after my AlAnon meeting, I went to a restaurant in Ponce Inlet with some of the other female members for lunch. Only about 8-9 of us gathered, and while the weather was dry it was very foggy--we were sitting on an open deck facing the ocean but could barely see it. The member who organized this had decided she wanted to socialize outside of the meeting, and asked a few others, of which I was honored to be asked; I was happy it was a weekend too. Apparently I'm one of only 3 who are still working full-time. We had a happy time talking and getting better acquainted.
Tomorrow I'm off work again, and it's NY's Eve, and the sibs and spouses are coming here. It will be potluck, casual. It will be great to see Bro and SIL again. They drove down from New England, arriving yesterday.
The solar panels are heating up the pool, or trying to. The weather has not been sunny for enough days in a row to make enough of a difference for swimming yet, but it's gone from 62 degrees to 72 degrees so far. Five or six more degrees and I will be getting in...
Then I have Wednesday off again --- I'm lucky enough to have another five-day stretch off work. Two five-day stretches in two weeks! Then Thursday and Friday, which is payday again.
I'm waiting to hear from one of the granddaughters--I know three of them at least got their presents. And I'm waiting to hear from SonN on how the move went--that was yesterday.
Time to go walking on the beach with Sis and MissS.
TYG.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Sunday
It's another Sunday, and the weather is cold! Definitely had a fire this morning. It is supposed to be slowly warming up every day, up to almost 80 by next Saturday even. But today it's only 47 right now and that's warmed up from the low it was when J got up at 6. The high will be 65. That used to be a lovely temperature in Oregon. In Florida it's considered quite cool. Ha.
By 10 we will be meeting Sis to go walking on the beach. Yesterday we went Christmas shopping for a few specific things after I got back from my Meeting. And then I did gardening work outside, ripping up and clearing out one of the beds which had just gotten out of hand. Looks much better now.
Before the meeting J and I did our finances: the best part of that was "paying off" the AC fix and the solar panels. (What that translated to was moving money online from the savings account to the line of credit which we had used to pay for those. I had actually previously taken some cash from the IRA and stashed it in savings until I knew what we were going to do with it. So it ended up going to the AC and the solar panels.)
We have some cash leftover from the IRA withdrawal, which will go toward the final big expense, the breaker panel issue. The electrician still hasn't gotten back to us on when this will happen, which is frustrating. It would be nice if it were done before the end of the year, just for the sake of completion.
Shopping took longer than expected: just went to Kohl's looking for something for J, and sunglasses for MissS, and then picked up stamps and my rx at Publix. It's so nice to get my meds for free at Publix.
MissS had some changes at her work, one of which means she will need a new wardrobe--for her new job! We are so excited, so proud of her, so happy for her. This job not only gives her a significant pay raise, but an office, all her health care is covered, and it uses her journalism degree. At her current job the nasty manager was fired and the ass't manager is now the new manager.
MissS has been working many hours of overtime and not getting paid for it...so she will be reviewing all her pay stubs to see how long this has been happening, and then possibly reporting the "oversight" to the Labor Board. She might have a chunk of back pay coming to her.
My Christmas lunch at work was also a staff meeting. Such a nice lunch though, catered by BJ's with a yummy salad, and rice and chicken, and giant chocolate chip cookies for dessert; then opening our stockings. It was a great day, everyone was happy and filled with excitement and thankfulness.
The work week was fine; many patients didn't show up, or cancelled due to the poor weather. We had lots of heavy rain, and even a tornado warning one morning, and some people just didn't want to take any chances with driving. So every day went well.
I did the gym two days this week, and finished Christmas cards, and repaired J's jeans, and will be repairing the dog's squeaky toy today. I have the next three days off--yay! SO nice to still have three more days to look forward to...
Tomorrow night we go to Sis' house for dinner and hot tub time.
Christmas Day will be a late lunch here with Sis and BIL, because MissS and BIL both have to work the next day. J and MissS and I will open presents in the morning. And then he starts meal prep.
Quiet time today, lots of reading, and resting, and some TV.
A couple more things to get tomorrow morning after MissS goes to work, and then we are done.
Wrapping up the year, preparing for a New Year. I am trying to remain positive and up beat and hope-filled. Thanking God for family and dear friends, and good health. We are blessed.
By 10 we will be meeting Sis to go walking on the beach. Yesterday we went Christmas shopping for a few specific things after I got back from my Meeting. And then I did gardening work outside, ripping up and clearing out one of the beds which had just gotten out of hand. Looks much better now.
Before the meeting J and I did our finances: the best part of that was "paying off" the AC fix and the solar panels. (What that translated to was moving money online from the savings account to the line of credit which we had used to pay for those. I had actually previously taken some cash from the IRA and stashed it in savings until I knew what we were going to do with it. So it ended up going to the AC and the solar panels.)
We have some cash leftover from the IRA withdrawal, which will go toward the final big expense, the breaker panel issue. The electrician still hasn't gotten back to us on when this will happen, which is frustrating. It would be nice if it were done before the end of the year, just for the sake of completion.
Shopping took longer than expected: just went to Kohl's looking for something for J, and sunglasses for MissS, and then picked up stamps and my rx at Publix. It's so nice to get my meds for free at Publix.
MissS had some changes at her work, one of which means she will need a new wardrobe--for her new job! We are so excited, so proud of her, so happy for her. This job not only gives her a significant pay raise, but an office, all her health care is covered, and it uses her journalism degree. At her current job the nasty manager was fired and the ass't manager is now the new manager.
MissS has been working many hours of overtime and not getting paid for it...so she will be reviewing all her pay stubs to see how long this has been happening, and then possibly reporting the "oversight" to the Labor Board. She might have a chunk of back pay coming to her.
My Christmas lunch at work was also a staff meeting. Such a nice lunch though, catered by BJ's with a yummy salad, and rice and chicken, and giant chocolate chip cookies for dessert; then opening our stockings. It was a great day, everyone was happy and filled with excitement and thankfulness.
The work week was fine; many patients didn't show up, or cancelled due to the poor weather. We had lots of heavy rain, and even a tornado warning one morning, and some people just didn't want to take any chances with driving. So every day went well.
I did the gym two days this week, and finished Christmas cards, and repaired J's jeans, and will be repairing the dog's squeaky toy today. I have the next three days off--yay! SO nice to still have three more days to look forward to...
Tomorrow night we go to Sis' house for dinner and hot tub time.
Christmas Day will be a late lunch here with Sis and BIL, because MissS and BIL both have to work the next day. J and MissS and I will open presents in the morning. And then he starts meal prep.
Quiet time today, lots of reading, and resting, and some TV.
A couple more things to get tomorrow morning after MissS goes to work, and then we are done.
Wrapping up the year, preparing for a New Year. I am trying to remain positive and up beat and hope-filled. Thanking God for family and dear friends, and good health. We are blessed.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Sunday
Today is a good day. It's actually been a good week.
Got to see Sis and BIL last night at dinner here; first time we've gotten together in two weeks, and we had a lot to catch up on. J made a beans-and-pasta kind of mixture with different seasonings which simmered for an hour or so, and had hamburger on the side to add in for the meat-eaters, and biscuits, and Sis brought a beautiful salad with greens from her garden. For dessert I'd made gingersnaps which turned out perfectly, and MissS had peanut butter snowballs.
On two days this week the solar panel guys were here. We are all installed now. J saved us some money by digging the trench along the enclosure straight back to the pump. That's where the pipe was laid. They also moved the pump out from behind the pool, and now it's set onto the concrete pad next to the back screen door. Easier to get to now.
The only bad news is that during the process of digging the trench and hammering out the concrete....he lost a hearing aid. Oh, the howl of grief and anguish that night when he reached up to remove the devices and discovered one was missing! He is so frustrated with himself, so angry, so upset. He borrowed a metal detector from a friend in the neighborhood and has walked the yard countless times. No sign of it.
Next step is to carefully sift through the dirt/sand as he fills in the trench, and maybe, just maybe it will turn up. I hope so, but the odds are slim. He will check with his health insurance on when he can get a replacement, but jeez, he hasn't had these for very long at all.
So the solar panels are in place: we wait now for a couple of sunny days, and then see how warm the pool gets! The solar people said that it was not unheard of to get to 85 degrees. Wouldn't that be amazing...
The weather here has been cold and definitely not sunny, though. I thought J would have a fire going a couple of mornings, but he didn't. There was actual frost on the windshield one morning, but we didn't lose any plants.
Christmas packages were mailed to all the granddaughters, including the one I had debated on. It will probably be the last time I mail anything to her though, since I haven't heard anything from her or her mom. Shipping costs too much. And while I love that granddaughter, I don't know how the mom is explaining my relationship to her daughter; I don't know if I feel comfortable being a part of any kind of deception. But I also want to remain in their life. Just not sure how to do so, honestly.
Anyway, packages are gone. And then more good news: I've been so concerned with what would happen with SonN. I've been praying extra hard, trying to strengthen my faith that everything happens for a reason. This has been a real test of that faith.
Something happened with the trailer they went to look at, and it didn't work out (thankfully), but their caseworker approved them for a one -bedroom apartment. The only hitch was they needed $750 for a deposit.
Well, they knew I wasn't going to give it to them, so Amber was trying to get a loan. But later that day SonN texted me: his dad and his grandmother were giving him the money for the deposit. Oh, my God. I was so grateful, so shocked, so relieved.
I didn't know how relieved until I felt my shoulders drop down-- I've been so worried.The thought of them living in their van was...well, of course some people do, but it certainly wasn't something I wanted to think of their being forced to do.
And it's one thing to hold a person accountable for their actions, but it's quite another when you know a child is going to be involved. She is too young to know what is happening, and I'm sure Amber would have made living in a van sound like a game, of course, but still...I'm so damn relieved. TYG.
Ten more days til Christmas. Our house is decorated and the lights are up. It all looks festive. My office Christmas lunch is Tuesday.
Last night we agreed that Sis will have Christmas Eve at her house, and we'll have Christmas lunch at ours, since BIL and MissS have to work the next day. It will be so nice to have five days off in a row.
I may not get a traditional two week vacation, but in many ways it's nicer to have multiple long weekends through out the year.
TYG, again.
Got to see Sis and BIL last night at dinner here; first time we've gotten together in two weeks, and we had a lot to catch up on. J made a beans-and-pasta kind of mixture with different seasonings which simmered for an hour or so, and had hamburger on the side to add in for the meat-eaters, and biscuits, and Sis brought a beautiful salad with greens from her garden. For dessert I'd made gingersnaps which turned out perfectly, and MissS had peanut butter snowballs.
On two days this week the solar panel guys were here. We are all installed now. J saved us some money by digging the trench along the enclosure straight back to the pump. That's where the pipe was laid. They also moved the pump out from behind the pool, and now it's set onto the concrete pad next to the back screen door. Easier to get to now.
The only bad news is that during the process of digging the trench and hammering out the concrete....he lost a hearing aid. Oh, the howl of grief and anguish that night when he reached up to remove the devices and discovered one was missing! He is so frustrated with himself, so angry, so upset. He borrowed a metal detector from a friend in the neighborhood and has walked the yard countless times. No sign of it.
Next step is to carefully sift through the dirt/sand as he fills in the trench, and maybe, just maybe it will turn up. I hope so, but the odds are slim. He will check with his health insurance on when he can get a replacement, but jeez, he hasn't had these for very long at all.
So the solar panels are in place: we wait now for a couple of sunny days, and then see how warm the pool gets! The solar people said that it was not unheard of to get to 85 degrees. Wouldn't that be amazing...
The weather here has been cold and definitely not sunny, though. I thought J would have a fire going a couple of mornings, but he didn't. There was actual frost on the windshield one morning, but we didn't lose any plants.
Christmas packages were mailed to all the granddaughters, including the one I had debated on. It will probably be the last time I mail anything to her though, since I haven't heard anything from her or her mom. Shipping costs too much. And while I love that granddaughter, I don't know how the mom is explaining my relationship to her daughter; I don't know if I feel comfortable being a part of any kind of deception. But I also want to remain in their life. Just not sure how to do so, honestly.
Anyway, packages are gone. And then more good news: I've been so concerned with what would happen with SonN. I've been praying extra hard, trying to strengthen my faith that everything happens for a reason. This has been a real test of that faith.
Something happened with the trailer they went to look at, and it didn't work out (thankfully), but their caseworker approved them for a one -bedroom apartment. The only hitch was they needed $750 for a deposit.
Well, they knew I wasn't going to give it to them, so Amber was trying to get a loan. But later that day SonN texted me: his dad and his grandmother were giving him the money for the deposit. Oh, my God. I was so grateful, so shocked, so relieved.
I didn't know how relieved until I felt my shoulders drop down-- I've been so worried.The thought of them living in their van was...well, of course some people do, but it certainly wasn't something I wanted to think of their being forced to do.
And it's one thing to hold a person accountable for their actions, but it's quite another when you know a child is going to be involved. She is too young to know what is happening, and I'm sure Amber would have made living in a van sound like a game, of course, but still...I'm so damn relieved. TYG.
Ten more days til Christmas. Our house is decorated and the lights are up. It all looks festive. My office Christmas lunch is Tuesday.
Last night we agreed that Sis will have Christmas Eve at her house, and we'll have Christmas lunch at ours, since BIL and MissS have to work the next day. It will be so nice to have five days off in a row.
I may not get a traditional two week vacation, but in many ways it's nicer to have multiple long weekends through out the year.
TYG, again.
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Sunday
So, updates first: SonN had the eviction date wrong. He actually has to be out January 1, not December 1. (Phew.) I put a notice up on my FB page asking if any of my OR friends knew of any rooms/apartments/trailers that my son and his gf and their baby daughter could live in. I did get some responses, and one of the suggestions was that they get a caseworker who can help them with emergency aid/housing. My son now has an appointment with a caseworker tomorrow. So I'm relieved.
They are looking at a cheap--as in fixer-upper-- trailer about 40 miles out of town as a viable option to live in. I strongly tried to dissuade them from this option, but they went to look at it this weekend. I seriously hope this doesn't work out for them. He sent me photos of it, and it looks like a trash heap.
I also learned that the two older girls would be staying in the current house, because their father, Amber's ex, is getting out of prison and will be moving in to take care of them. This house belongs to his mom. She is the one kicking Amber and SonN and the baby out. There is just so much wrong with this picture I can hardly know where to begin. So much sadness, and anger, and frustration. (What kind of a grandmother kicks out her grandchildren's mother??? Well, I can't even get started on that. I don't know the whole story, nor do I want to.)
Next: After multiple phone calls this week back and forth between J and the three electricians and the city's codes person, it turns out the breaker panel does not have to be moved outside after all. (We have names and dates of the final inspector who said this. There were two, giving us conflicting information. That was so confusing!!) Therefore we are going with the original bid, the one who installed the AC also. Hopefully that will be this week. That will be such a relief. It's the $1450 bid, not the $2200 bid. Phew.
Thank God for J: he has been managing this all week. One electrician came Monday, took a long look at it, scratched his head, and said, Ok, I'll get back to ya. Never did.
J also filled out the forms and mailed them so he can get his Pradaxa free for a month, I think, maybe more. That required a certain number of pages of documentation-- copies of tax forms, my pay stubs, his SS form, a letter from his primary doc.
He is also out of his lorazepam, which he uses to sleep at night, otherwise he has nightmares. Our usual pharmacy didn't have his supply but told me they were holding a quantity at a different location, so I went there after work to pick it up. That pharmacy wouldn't give them to me, saying his 90day supply wasn't due to be refilled until later this week. Sigh. Frustrating. So he has not been using them. So far he is doing alright, although his sleep is quite restless.
This last week also the AC company came and installed more pipe and duct work directly from the AC unit to the kitchen, so that helps a lot with the issue we were having. We are pretty satisfied now. Of course it's been much colder this week and in fact we haven't needed the AC at all. I think this did fix the problem we were having.
My MRI was as expected, normal. I'm to continue using the muscle relaxer at night. Meanwhile my headaches have been worse this week, maybe due to the colder weather? Who knows. I am using more Excedrin, but trying not to do so every day.
We noticed the 4 bird feeders outside in the back yard hadn't been being used at all. Very strange. Fiona likes to go out into the enclosure--the birdcage as we call it-- and wander around in there, keeping an eye on what's happening out in the yard. One afternoon this week when I let her out, I saw her charge toward something so fast, and so hard, she crashed into the screen. And then a big black cat popped out of the bushes along the edge, and leaped up onto the fence, which is behind the bird feeders. Aha. That explains why we've noticed the lack of birds, and for that matter the lack of squirrels.
So J and I then went out to check on the bird feeders a bit more closely. Apparently it's been longer than I thought since we filled them. Each one was so solidly and so firmly in its container that we had to take each feeder apart and knock the seed out in big clumps. One tray of seed actually had grass growing out of it. J apologized to me for not noticing this sooner--he is supposedly in charge of the yard stuff during the week, watering, etc, but just hadn't noticed this.
I felt badly too, because there's no reason I can't get out there after work and weed or prune or something too. There's usually about a half hour of light left when I get home before its completely dark. I just get bitten by the no-see-ums or whatever they are. For some reason they don't bother J.
We had a good week at work: finally almost everyone is over their sickness and colds. It's still very cold in the office, so we all wear our lab coats almost all the time. This week was pay day, and for the first time in a while we were caught up on bills. Enough that even with doing Christmas shopping yesterday, and MissS and I doing more Christmas shopping today, I went and bought myself a new lab coat. I felt like I needed to splurge.
This is literally the first one I have bought since I graduated from MA school in 2007. The other one just doesn't get clean and white anymore. I was so excited when I asked what it cost-- $16. All this time, all these years, and I'd been thinking I better wait until I could afford it. I came home and promptly went on Amazon and ordered a second one in a different style--which was only $13. Hey, Big Spender, that's me... Merry Christmas to me!
This Christmas shopping was 99% for my office coworkers. We all have stockings with our names hanging up in various locations, and we are encouraged to fill them with inexpensive items for each other. (There is also the option to do a Secret Santa thing if you want to, but I bowed out of that as I do every year.) But I did have to spend more money on the Docs' presents. Still didn't spend more than $10 on each one, but I'm happy with those choices. MissS and I had fun going to various places and oohing and aahing over the choices, and variety of stuff. So many pretty things.
J has also spent a lot of time this week researching certain growth stocks; we did decide to invest a third of my IRA funds into those, and leave the rest in a money market account.
And finally he decorated the outside of the house. His vertigo was kicking in so he had to wait until I got home to help finish the lights, which we will do today. Here it is 3pm on Sunday, and almost the whole weekend is gone. I need another day!!
They are looking at a cheap--as in fixer-upper-- trailer about 40 miles out of town as a viable option to live in. I strongly tried to dissuade them from this option, but they went to look at it this weekend. I seriously hope this doesn't work out for them. He sent me photos of it, and it looks like a trash heap.
I also learned that the two older girls would be staying in the current house, because their father, Amber's ex, is getting out of prison and will be moving in to take care of them. This house belongs to his mom. She is the one kicking Amber and SonN and the baby out. There is just so much wrong with this picture I can hardly know where to begin. So much sadness, and anger, and frustration. (What kind of a grandmother kicks out her grandchildren's mother??? Well, I can't even get started on that. I don't know the whole story, nor do I want to.)
Next: After multiple phone calls this week back and forth between J and the three electricians and the city's codes person, it turns out the breaker panel does not have to be moved outside after all. (We have names and dates of the final inspector who said this. There were two, giving us conflicting information. That was so confusing!!) Therefore we are going with the original bid, the one who installed the AC also. Hopefully that will be this week. That will be such a relief. It's the $1450 bid, not the $2200 bid. Phew.
Thank God for J: he has been managing this all week. One electrician came Monday, took a long look at it, scratched his head, and said, Ok, I'll get back to ya. Never did.
J also filled out the forms and mailed them so he can get his Pradaxa free for a month, I think, maybe more. That required a certain number of pages of documentation-- copies of tax forms, my pay stubs, his SS form, a letter from his primary doc.
He is also out of his lorazepam, which he uses to sleep at night, otherwise he has nightmares. Our usual pharmacy didn't have his supply but told me they were holding a quantity at a different location, so I went there after work to pick it up. That pharmacy wouldn't give them to me, saying his 90day supply wasn't due to be refilled until later this week. Sigh. Frustrating. So he has not been using them. So far he is doing alright, although his sleep is quite restless.
This last week also the AC company came and installed more pipe and duct work directly from the AC unit to the kitchen, so that helps a lot with the issue we were having. We are pretty satisfied now. Of course it's been much colder this week and in fact we haven't needed the AC at all. I think this did fix the problem we were having.
My MRI was as expected, normal. I'm to continue using the muscle relaxer at night. Meanwhile my headaches have been worse this week, maybe due to the colder weather? Who knows. I am using more Excedrin, but trying not to do so every day.
We noticed the 4 bird feeders outside in the back yard hadn't been being used at all. Very strange. Fiona likes to go out into the enclosure--the birdcage as we call it-- and wander around in there, keeping an eye on what's happening out in the yard. One afternoon this week when I let her out, I saw her charge toward something so fast, and so hard, she crashed into the screen. And then a big black cat popped out of the bushes along the edge, and leaped up onto the fence, which is behind the bird feeders. Aha. That explains why we've noticed the lack of birds, and for that matter the lack of squirrels.
So J and I then went out to check on the bird feeders a bit more closely. Apparently it's been longer than I thought since we filled them. Each one was so solidly and so firmly in its container that we had to take each feeder apart and knock the seed out in big clumps. One tray of seed actually had grass growing out of it. J apologized to me for not noticing this sooner--he is supposedly in charge of the yard stuff during the week, watering, etc, but just hadn't noticed this.
I felt badly too, because there's no reason I can't get out there after work and weed or prune or something too. There's usually about a half hour of light left when I get home before its completely dark. I just get bitten by the no-see-ums or whatever they are. For some reason they don't bother J.
We had a good week at work: finally almost everyone is over their sickness and colds. It's still very cold in the office, so we all wear our lab coats almost all the time. This week was pay day, and for the first time in a while we were caught up on bills. Enough that even with doing Christmas shopping yesterday, and MissS and I doing more Christmas shopping today, I went and bought myself a new lab coat. I felt like I needed to splurge.
This is literally the first one I have bought since I graduated from MA school in 2007. The other one just doesn't get clean and white anymore. I was so excited when I asked what it cost-- $16. All this time, all these years, and I'd been thinking I better wait until I could afford it. I came home and promptly went on Amazon and ordered a second one in a different style--which was only $13. Hey, Big Spender, that's me... Merry Christmas to me!
This Christmas shopping was 99% for my office coworkers. We all have stockings with our names hanging up in various locations, and we are encouraged to fill them with inexpensive items for each other. (There is also the option to do a Secret Santa thing if you want to, but I bowed out of that as I do every year.) But I did have to spend more money on the Docs' presents. Still didn't spend more than $10 on each one, but I'm happy with those choices. MissS and I had fun going to various places and oohing and aahing over the choices, and variety of stuff. So many pretty things.
J has also spent a lot of time this week researching certain growth stocks; we did decide to invest a third of my IRA funds into those, and leave the rest in a money market account.
And finally he decorated the outside of the house. His vertigo was kicking in so he had to wait until I got home to help finish the lights, which we will do today. Here it is 3pm on Sunday, and almost the whole weekend is gone. I need another day!!
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Sunday
Just got back home from the gym, MissS and I. It was a good workout but I am exhausted. I think that's partly because I didn't sleep for more than a few hours last night.
Sometimes I think I have a certain "window" of time where I can fall asleep. If I miss it, it's too bad, and so then I don't fall asleep. That's what happened last night: I was awake until about 2:30 or so, then I was dozing off and on. I was waking to look at the clock, realizing 15 minutes had passed, or 45 minutes, or 10. Ugh. Hate those nights. I finally gave it up at 7am, and got up. I felt drugged, despite a good hot shower.
Yesterday however was great. I slept well Friday night after a great day at work, I went to a wonderful meeting, came home and had productive discussions with J and MissS on what Christmas plans would be like and what we'd be doing for the day and weekend.
Then we three headed to Sis and BIL's house, where we all hopped into BIL's truck and drove to the nearby movie theater. We saw a wonderful movie called Bohemian Rhapsody, about the lead singer in the band Queen. It was so moving, so well-acted, so full of joy and drama and I learned so much. I was so happy to have seen this film. Not quite a documentary, but just what I love to see--live music (or at least plenty of filmed live music) from someone I so admired. What a loss...but what a lifetime of fabulous music he has left.
Anyway, it was a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. Back at home we put our Christmas tree up, and most of the decorations. Fell into bed around 9:30. And then I promptly could not fall asleep. What. the. hell.
Friday night Sis and BIL had come for dinner, which was excellent. J made a fabulous chicken stew and a kale salad. We all sat and talked and laughed, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was nice to get caught up.
The work week went well: we had been a bit anxious because every single day there were 14 patients on the schedule, even on DocLady's schedule, most unlike her usual day. That's a busy day. However, every day we had no-shows and cancellations, so that didn't happen! Not once. One day we were prepared for 14, and actually saw 7. That almost never happens. So weird.
Tuesday's staff meeting went fine: LadyDoc provided a lunch for us and reviewed some possible dates for the Christmas party. The other subject addressed was my doing, although only she and I and my two coworkers knew about it ahead of time: The RN who works with me on Fridays has been less and less helpful, grumbling and complaining, making it clear she doesn't want to be doing this. It's awkward, because I then end up chasing her around, begging her to help with such and such, asking her to do certain things, etc, and she sighs and acts like it's a huge imposition. I absolutely hate that attitude.
Whereas the RN that works with LadyDoc and CoWorkerRN on those Fridays is wonderful--she jumps in, she's proactive, she reviews the schedule, she offers to do certain pts, she is right in there as an active participant.
I'd finally talked with LadyDoc about this, after discussing it jointly with my usual two co-workers, and the three of us brought it up with LadyDoc. She actually apologized for not noticing this had been happening, and promised to address it in the staff meeting.
And her solution was to assign patients to each of us on Fridays. So each of the 6 of us had three patients that day, in turn. It sounded childish in a way, but frankly it took a lot of pressure off, knowing I didn't have to chase down this other person and ask her for help. And it worked.
Late in the day, LadyDoc caught my eye across the room and raised her eyebrows at me, mutely asking how it was going, and I nodded and gave her a thumbs up and a big smile. I'd had no problems with the problem child, at all. It went so smoothly. It was such a relief.
And even later, when everyone had gone, we were the only ones left, she told me I'd need to have my doc do this while she was gone on vacation, as we would continue this for the foreseeable future. My doc is a total sweetheart but he doesn't see the problem with the problem child. (Then again he has no problem with tracking her down and telling her to do something, and of course she doesn't argue with him or give him any attitude. But she does with anyone else. And on Fridays it's too freakin busy to spend time arguing.) Anyway, that's why Friday went so well, for the first time in a long time.
Wednesday we had an employee appreciation lunch and gift; the gift was a doohickey that enables one to be charging multiple devices at once. And the lunch was a yummy chicken wrap sandwich, and fruit, and a piece of fudge. It was all very good.
Meanwhile this week J dealt with getting bids from electricians for replacing the breaker panel-- one guy came and said $1200, then came back the next day and said "Oh, I checked the codes and now it's going to be $2400 because I have to move the breaker panel outside." That set off alarm bells for me.
Another guy came and said it will be $2200, but the breaker panel does not have to be outside. Hmm. J has another guy coming tomorrow. So far both of these are much more than we were expecting to pay.
And on Wednesday the AC company came; and they say they fixed the back half of the house's AC...but we are not really noticing a difference. So J had them come out again the next day and complained politely but firmly. They agreed that if the customer isn't happy this isn't a good sign... so they will probably be coming back to re-do what they say they fixed. For $1250, they better do a damn good job.
Monday I saw my neurologist for a follow up on the headache issue. This time since the headaches are not improving and in fact they are worsening again, she insisted I do the MRI. I came home discouraged, because I wasn't sure what the cost would be. Last time I had an MRI it was several hundred dollars and took months to pay off. I was told it was normal. That was about 10 years ago.
So I had the MRI done Saturday morning at 8am. I didn't remember it being done this way last time, and was quite anxious, but it was done in about 15 minutes. My doc will have results on Monday. I'm assuming it will all be normal. It's very rare to have physical findings be the cause of headaches, and since I've had them for years, there's not likely to be any change this time.
Happily, my current insurance is quite different. I have met my deductible, and so the cost of this was only $55.30. Phew. And I'm back on the nightly muscle relaxer, at her suggestion.
My one about-to-be homeless son didn't have a clue where they were going when I was texting with him Thursday night. Yesterday was the deadline, so I don't know what is happening. Hard to be patient.
All in all an exciting and stressful and eventful week. I just need a quiet day or three... but I'm still very grateful for my life. Thank god for J. He is such a rock.
Sometimes I think I have a certain "window" of time where I can fall asleep. If I miss it, it's too bad, and so then I don't fall asleep. That's what happened last night: I was awake until about 2:30 or so, then I was dozing off and on. I was waking to look at the clock, realizing 15 minutes had passed, or 45 minutes, or 10. Ugh. Hate those nights. I finally gave it up at 7am, and got up. I felt drugged, despite a good hot shower.
Yesterday however was great. I slept well Friday night after a great day at work, I went to a wonderful meeting, came home and had productive discussions with J and MissS on what Christmas plans would be like and what we'd be doing for the day and weekend.
Then we three headed to Sis and BIL's house, where we all hopped into BIL's truck and drove to the nearby movie theater. We saw a wonderful movie called Bohemian Rhapsody, about the lead singer in the band Queen. It was so moving, so well-acted, so full of joy and drama and I learned so much. I was so happy to have seen this film. Not quite a documentary, but just what I love to see--live music (or at least plenty of filmed live music) from someone I so admired. What a loss...but what a lifetime of fabulous music he has left.
Anyway, it was a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. Back at home we put our Christmas tree up, and most of the decorations. Fell into bed around 9:30. And then I promptly could not fall asleep. What. the. hell.
Friday night Sis and BIL had come for dinner, which was excellent. J made a fabulous chicken stew and a kale salad. We all sat and talked and laughed, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was nice to get caught up.
The work week went well: we had been a bit anxious because every single day there were 14 patients on the schedule, even on DocLady's schedule, most unlike her usual day. That's a busy day. However, every day we had no-shows and cancellations, so that didn't happen! Not once. One day we were prepared for 14, and actually saw 7. That almost never happens. So weird.
Tuesday's staff meeting went fine: LadyDoc provided a lunch for us and reviewed some possible dates for the Christmas party. The other subject addressed was my doing, although only she and I and my two coworkers knew about it ahead of time: The RN who works with me on Fridays has been less and less helpful, grumbling and complaining, making it clear she doesn't want to be doing this. It's awkward, because I then end up chasing her around, begging her to help with such and such, asking her to do certain things, etc, and she sighs and acts like it's a huge imposition. I absolutely hate that attitude.
Whereas the RN that works with LadyDoc and CoWorkerRN on those Fridays is wonderful--she jumps in, she's proactive, she reviews the schedule, she offers to do certain pts, she is right in there as an active participant.
I'd finally talked with LadyDoc about this, after discussing it jointly with my usual two co-workers, and the three of us brought it up with LadyDoc. She actually apologized for not noticing this had been happening, and promised to address it in the staff meeting.
And her solution was to assign patients to each of us on Fridays. So each of the 6 of us had three patients that day, in turn. It sounded childish in a way, but frankly it took a lot of pressure off, knowing I didn't have to chase down this other person and ask her for help. And it worked.
Late in the day, LadyDoc caught my eye across the room and raised her eyebrows at me, mutely asking how it was going, and I nodded and gave her a thumbs up and a big smile. I'd had no problems with the problem child, at all. It went so smoothly. It was such a relief.
And even later, when everyone had gone, we were the only ones left, she told me I'd need to have my doc do this while she was gone on vacation, as we would continue this for the foreseeable future. My doc is a total sweetheart but he doesn't see the problem with the problem child. (Then again he has no problem with tracking her down and telling her to do something, and of course she doesn't argue with him or give him any attitude. But she does with anyone else. And on Fridays it's too freakin busy to spend time arguing.) Anyway, that's why Friday went so well, for the first time in a long time.
Wednesday we had an employee appreciation lunch and gift; the gift was a doohickey that enables one to be charging multiple devices at once. And the lunch was a yummy chicken wrap sandwich, and fruit, and a piece of fudge. It was all very good.
Meanwhile this week J dealt with getting bids from electricians for replacing the breaker panel-- one guy came and said $1200, then came back the next day and said "Oh, I checked the codes and now it's going to be $2400 because I have to move the breaker panel outside." That set off alarm bells for me.
Another guy came and said it will be $2200, but the breaker panel does not have to be outside. Hmm. J has another guy coming tomorrow. So far both of these are much more than we were expecting to pay.
And on Wednesday the AC company came; and they say they fixed the back half of the house's AC...but we are not really noticing a difference. So J had them come out again the next day and complained politely but firmly. They agreed that if the customer isn't happy this isn't a good sign... so they will probably be coming back to re-do what they say they fixed. For $1250, they better do a damn good job.
Monday I saw my neurologist for a follow up on the headache issue. This time since the headaches are not improving and in fact they are worsening again, she insisted I do the MRI. I came home discouraged, because I wasn't sure what the cost would be. Last time I had an MRI it was several hundred dollars and took months to pay off. I was told it was normal. That was about 10 years ago.
So I had the MRI done Saturday morning at 8am. I didn't remember it being done this way last time, and was quite anxious, but it was done in about 15 minutes. My doc will have results on Monday. I'm assuming it will all be normal. It's very rare to have physical findings be the cause of headaches, and since I've had them for years, there's not likely to be any change this time.
Happily, my current insurance is quite different. I have met my deductible, and so the cost of this was only $55.30. Phew. And I'm back on the nightly muscle relaxer, at her suggestion.
My one about-to-be homeless son didn't have a clue where they were going when I was texting with him Thursday night. Yesterday was the deadline, so I don't know what is happening. Hard to be patient.
All in all an exciting and stressful and eventful week. I just need a quiet day or three... but I'm still very grateful for my life. Thank god for J. He is such a rock.
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