FEELING SUPPORTED

Now you might think I am writing about my ankle, but I am not. I am writing about a situation that occurred recently when some was very condescending toward me. It was a work situation and the person was, in my opinion, very rude.

Today I was given some good news in the form of a phone call by a superior to her. She was told to back off and stop being so pushy. Hurray! I thanked the superior very much.  This pretty much made my day.

In my experience folks that act condescending, rude, pushy in the workplace eventually get their comeuppance. I have outlived many of these types and they eventually get what is coming to them.   You just have to keep your head down, do your work, bite your tongue and ride out the storm.  Most times that works.  Supervisors usually get tired of their BS.

Someday I will tell you about a place I worked. Give you a good laugh!

Until tomorrow...

2ND PHYSICAL THERAPY SESSION

Today was physical therapy session number two.  My therapist is really working me this time around.  Floor exercises and then 10 minutes on the stationary bike.  She seemed pleased that I kept my promise of three days on the recumbent bike and walking my dogs almost every day.

I asked her about wearing regular shoes.  I am tired of wearing sneakers every day.  She said I should bring my shoes to the next appointment so she can assess.  She is worried that my shoes are more clog-like (they are) and therefore I can step wrong and twist my ankle.  But we will see what she says.

I have therapy appointments through the month of December to see if intensive therapy makes a difference.  I will have another physical therapy update next week.

Tomorrow a terrible storm is supposed to come through our area.  Kinda wish I could wear boots!

Until tomorrow...

REMEMBERING ENBREL

I have a problem remembering to take my Enbrel.  Okay I will tell the truth.  I have trouble remembering to take almost all my medications.  I want to take my medications (okay I will try to stop lying), I want to take most of all my medications.  I don't like to take the potassium because it doesn't taste well.  I don't like any of the medications that I have to drink. They make me nauseous.

I will remember to take the Enbrel out of the fridge early in the day but then forget later on when I need to take it out.  I get caught up doing work or watching TV and it slips my mind.

I was supposed to do my Enbrel shot last night but remembered to take the medication out of the fridge at midnight.  Too late to wait the 30 minutes for the medication to warm up and do the shot.

Tonight I remembered to take the shot out at 10:45pm.  Kinda late but I can still do it and get to sleep at a reasonable hour.

I used to have a system but then I stopped taking Enbrel when I had my surgery.   My system was to take the medication out of the fridge at the beginning of Grey's Anatomy and then do the shot at the end of Grey's Anatomy.  That way I had something to remind me to do the shot each week.

I have to create a new system.  Now my shot is done on a Tuesday so I have to pick another show.  I guess Parenthood will have to do.

Well, I am off to do my shot.  Got to get up early for physical therapy and we are expecting a gigantic storm so I am thrilled.

Until tomorrow...

TO FLARE OR NOT

Went to see my rheuma doc today. She asked how it was going. I hate that question. How is it going today? Okay hands kinda swollen. How's it going since last visit three months ago? Gee I don't know. Lets see: Brenda's surgery, I got the flu, shot in my ankle, MRI of leg, no tumor, vacation, fat lobula, and back to physical therapy. Hard to remember it all in one visit. I get home a realize I forgot half the things I was going to tell her.

She is concerned that my ankle is not healed yet. She also wants to check my potassium levels. I told her I have been bad about taking the liquid potassium.

She also brought up changing from Enbrel to Humera again. I don't want to for so many reasons. It is a pain to change meds. I like Enbrel. It is easy to use. Going through the authorization process is such a pain in the butt.

Anyway, I go to see her again in a month.

I will see tomorrow if my swollen hands are the beginning of a flare. I sure hope not.

Until tomorrow...

CONDESCENSION

Have you ever had someone talk down to you?  Or talk to you in a way that you almost feel like they are your boss or a general in the military and you are a private?  I have some like that in my life right now and I am at a loss as to what to do about it. 

This person sends me emails that are the type that my old boss (who I called "The Devil") used to send to me.  Maybe that is why these communications are really needling me.  She says "please" but you know she doesn't mean please.  She means do it.  Comments like "Please be available for this meeting".  Now we all know what "Be available" means.  It means I don't care about your schedule get your butt to this meeting.   I just don't think a colleague talks to another colleague in that way. 


I just don't treat people this way.  I come from a different place.  This type of communication causes me such stress.  On Saturday I got an email that, I am not lying, got my blood pressure to rise.  I don't even have high blood pressure but I swear I could feel it go up.  My hands were shaking and I had to put my phone down.  The email was full of "Please do this."  "Please do that".   

Then to top it off, I cc the person I report to and she keeps taking him off the cc list in her response.  I hate that!   

This weekend I spent a lot of time clearing out.  I filled a quarter of the recycle bin!  I am in a throwing away mode.  I cleared out so much paper and stuff.  I have a bit more to go before I have an organized office again.  I also had to clean out the pond filter again.  I also cooked brussel sprouts again.  I made some honey butter sauce and they came out really good. 

Until tomorrow...

E-WASTE

Today marks the day we finally got rid of the old TV out of the dining room. Yay! Easily four months ago our very large, very heavy, very old TV died. We inherited the TV from my stepmother's mother. It was a nice TV to watch television on. It had a large flat glass screen but an enormous tube in the back.

Today the e-waste guy came to pick it up to recycle. His helper canceled on him so I had to ask a neighbor to assist. They estimated that the TV weighed 175 pounds. The two of them struggled getting it down the stairs and into the truck. There is no way Brenda and I could have gotten that TV down those stairs by ourselves.

We are so happy to have it gone and to have the space back in our dining room. While I was at it I also recycled an old laptop, monitor, scanner and camera.

All this clearing out and cleaning out is renewing my soul. I have been needing to light the load for a long time. Maybe start out the New Year right.

Until tomorrow...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I hope you all had a very nice and safe Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving is very low key. Since Brenda's surgery we decided to take it slow. At 3:15 we met our neighbors for a bit outside to toast Thanksgiving and to wish each other well.  It is our yearly tradition.

Then we ate and watched the football game. I spoke to a few family members. Then I watched a movie.

Yesterday we received a phone call from Sam. If you remember Sam has been a friend for almost 20 years and out of the blue decided he didn't want to be our friend anymore. See post.   Out of the blue he calls to make sure we know about a mutual friends funeral this Saturday. He wanted to make sure we were going and that we knew we were invited to the after gathering. We have already decided that we will not discuss what occurred at the funeral or gathering. We are not the West Coast Housewives!

Ankle Commitment update: walked the dogs but probably ate too much stuffing, mashed potatoes and stuffed acorn squash.

Until tomorrow...

THERAPY COMMITMENT

Today was physical therapy. Yay! I went in and my therapist said I am having pain because I have to strengthen my ankle and I have to gain more confidence. More confidence that I won't hurt my ankle when I step down. The way to do that is to keep up the therapy exercises, walking the dogs and using the stationary bike.

So, I have made a commitment to walk the dogs just about every day/night and ride the bike between 10-20 minutes at least 3 days a week. Plus, go to therapy every week to keep on track.

There it is in writing. Tonight I walked the dogs. During therapy I rode the bike for 10 minutes. I am going to get strong again so I won't be so frustrated. I know skiing is out of the question this winter but I can still go on the trip and participate in other activities like inner tubing.

Happy Thanksgiving! I will write all about the amazing food I cook.

Go Cowboys!

Until tomorrow...

PRE-PHYSICAL THERAPY

Starting physical therapy again tomorrow.  After getting the shot in my ankle with the really long needle, I felt better for a long time.  I could walk without pain.  I could almost walk fast.  I could almost close to jog across the room.  I could go quickly down the stairs.

Well, that has gone a bit by the wayside.  After the 10 sessions of physical therapy, I had the bump on my leg. It turned out to be a fat lobula so it was nothing.  No tumor or anything serious.  Then Brenda had her surgery and I got sick.  One thing after another.  I stopped physical therapy in order to deal with life.

Now that life has calmed down and I have gotten things under control, I am ready to go back to physical therapy.  Now that my ankle hurts it is time.  Isn't that always the way?  Once your body part hurts, then it is time to go get help.  Hopefully she can help me strengthen my muscles and ligaments. Get me strong again.

I am excited.  I want to get my walking going so I can go back to walking more and losing weight. Yay!

Until tomorrow...

PREPPING FOR THANKSGIVING

Is everyone prepping for Thanksgiving?  I did my shopping on Sunday.  Okay, not all my shopping but all the stuff that I could get that would not spoil in the next few days.   I also forgot to get cranberry sauce.  Can you believe it?  Cranberry sauce!  What is Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce?

I have to pick up the rest on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Just a quick run to the store.  Okay we know it will not be a quick run but a slow walk through the store and checkout line.  

This year we are having a low key Thanksgiving.  No one over. Just us.  I am cooking an acorn squash with some wild rice stuffing, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mushroom gravy, green beans, salad, and apple crisp.  Enough food to last for days. Yum! Leftovers.  Brenda is having a Cornish hen.

What are you having for Thanksgiving?  Anything exciting?  Any family recipies?

Until tomorrow...

ORGANIZING

Yesterday I cleared out weeks of built up unopened mail. Today I invoiced my clients and began cleaning up my desk. My job requires a tremendous amount of paper. Sometimes I feel I am being swallowed up in all the paper.

My biggest problem is when my bag gets too full I pull papers out and pile them up. Then they sit until months later I get annoyed and then I move that pile to another pile. Then the piles grow. Now I have those piles to sort through.

My dream is to have an uncluttered office. A place that is less stressful. A place I actually want to work in and be in by the end of the year.

Until tomorrow...

JUNK MAIL

Okay, raise your hand if you like junk mail. No one. Are you sure? Okay. I personally don't like most mail at all.

I get mounds of mail. Yes we all get mounds of mail but I get more than most. I have my home address where I get a regular amount of mail. Then I have a PO Box where I get a whole other regular amount of mail including all my business mail. Sometimes I get the same mailer three times! To my home address, my business at the PO Box and my person at the PO Box.

Today was my least favorite day. Today was part two of Operation Clean Up Mail Pile. Last weekend I worked for hours to decrease the pile by 2/3 before movie night. Today I wanted to get rid of the pile completely. I did it. I worked my way through the 16" pile of letters. Plus I went through a bag of old mail that had been sitting. It was just junk stuff but it needed to be gone through before being recycled. Now I have a very large bag of recycling.

Each time I go through the mail pile I swear it will never get this bad again. It doesn't for a while then it creeps up again. I try, I really do! Just life gets in the way.

I should remember how sore my hands are going through all that mail in one sitting. All that opening and ripping up and sorting is not good for joints.

Today I will revel in my clear table and make a pledge to keep the mail pile off my clean table.

Until tomorrow...

SOON TO BE HOT TUBBING

(Not our backyard or our hot tub)  HotSpring Portable Spa

Not sure hot tubbing is really a word (or two words).  But I am so happy I am going to break the word law and use it.  The hot tub service guy came out today (in the rain) and fixed the hot tub!  He pulled out the motor, panel where you program it and replaced wires and the main plug and voila!  It works. 

Now we have to have the service folks come and move it and clean it but the hard part is done.  It took 1/2 hour and cost less than $400.  I can't believe I waited this long! 

We then called the retail outlet and ordered a new cover. Since our hot tub is 16 years old, they have to make a cover that will fit with a tight seal.  Our cover is in horrible condition and if you know anything about hot tubs, the whole idea is to keep the heat in.  So a bad cover can cost a lot of money by not keeping the hot tub hot.  The service guy agreed with me that our cover has seen better days.  He is also going to get me a new door for the motor since the, ahem, rats, chewed a large hole in the current door. 

We also ordered a cover lifter.  I have wanted one of these for years.  I have an awful time getting the cover off the hot tub and can't do it by myself.  It takes two of us to get it off and then we have to find somewhere to put it.  We don't want to put it on the ground because it gets dirty and the dirt gets in the hot tub.  We don't have grass in our backyard so putting in a grassy area is not an option.  Don't even get me started on getting it put back on.

We also ordered a step to get in the hot tub.  We had a step made out of wood but it has since deteriorated and we are throwing it away.  I would be afraid to step on it for fear my foot would go right through it. 

So it will take about one more month to get it all done.  We are going to have them come out all at once to do everything.  We want them to move the hot tub away from the foliage so maybe any critters will be less inclined to live in the hot tub.  The service guy says this is a recurring problem.  The critters like to live in the hot tubs whether they are in use or not.  Lovely!  I was hoping once we turned it on it would dissuade them from living in the unit.  No such luck.  Urgh!

I can't wait to take a hot tub. Tonight would have been a perfect night.  Cold and rainy.  Yum!  Well, one more month.  We have waited this long, a few more weeks won't kill us.  At least we should be able to use it by Christmas.

It is funny, as soon as you say you have a hot tub, it is like bees to honey.  Everyone suddenly wants to come to our house.  People who never showed any interest in visiting before suddenly want to be my friend.  I guess it is like owning a truck.  You own a truck and when folks need to move something, suddenly you are their best friend. 

I will dream of a steamy hot tub tonight.  My achy muscles and joints will wait in anticipation.

Until tomorrow...

RETURNING PHONE CALLS

I am probably the worst person at returning phone calls.  I just hate returning phone calls.  I am not sure why.  I have a hard time even listening to the messages.  I get so busy that forget to check the answering machine until another phone call comes in and then the answering machine picks up on the second ring.  I can't get to answer the phone fast enough and that means I need to go into the kitchen to turn off the answering machine in order to talk to the person on the other end.  Then I get lazy and just let the machine pick up and listen to who is on the other end.

It's not that I don't want to talk to people, it's just that the whole phone thing is a pain.  First you have to look the person's phone number up.  Then you have to get the phone and dial.  Then comes the good part, the talking to the person.  But if they aren't home, you have to leave a message and then the person calls back.  Sometimes they call back at an inconvenient time and the process starts all over again.  Rinse and repeat!

Have you noticed that people don't leave their phone number anymore?  I find that people just assume you have caller ID and don't leave their phone number.  I hate that!  I don't have caller ID so I then have to look up the person's phone number to call them back.

On the flip side, I am really good at answering emails.  Usually I answer them very quickly.  Nothing to look up!  I guess email is the way to go to contact me!

Until tomorrow...

MORE ABOUT PERSONAL SPACE

A few weeks ago I wrote about personal space.   I had a situation with a person who just didn't seem to understand her desk was her space and my table was my space.  I understand I am a contractor and she is an employee but it really isn't welcoming when I come to their worksite and the workspace I am given is covered with her stuff and her coat is on my chair. 

Well, the personal space situation has reached a pinacle this week.  I was in a meeting and I didn't bring my cellphone with me.  It was on vibrate and in my zippered up handbag.  I come back from the meeting and I walk in the office and she has my cellphone in her hand.  She quickly explains that it was ringing a lot and she thought maybe there was something wrong and if it rang again she was going to answer it.  She thought maybe it was Brenda trying to get a hold of me.

My first reaction was "what was she doing with my phone?"  I thanked her and took my phone back.  I checked it and it said it rang three times.  Two times from Brenda and one time from a client.  Brenda has a habit of calling a few times in a short time if she wants to tell me something.

I talked it over with Brenda and I got more and more anxious and angry about it.  "What was she doing going in my bag and taking out my phone?"  What a violation of personal space!

Today I spoke to her about it and told her that I understand she thought it was an emergency but it was not okay to go in my bag and take out my phone, it made me uncomfortable.  I have clients calling and it would be awkward if she answered the phone.  If my phone was ringing that much she should have let me know and not taken the phone out of my bag.  I told her to please not do that again.

It is just funny.  I really never thought I would have to have that conversation with a full grown adult who has two full grown adult sons.  After I had the conversation with her I told her boss.  I told her boss about the personal space situation and her going in my bag.  I wanted her to know now just in case it becomes a problem in future.

Oh, the hot tub folks are coming on Friday to make an evaluation!

Until tomorrow...

TIRED

I am so tired. Like can't keep my eyes open kinda tired. Trying to watch Private Practice. ZZZZ...

Until tomorrow...

WHAT IS TODAY?

Okay something is going wrong. Last Thursday I missed my friends book signing because I forgot. I sat down to watch TV and around 10 pm I suddenly remembered I was supposed to be somewhere. Too late.

Then I missed my nieces birthday. Then I parked in a metered spot today and got a ticket because I thought today was Sunday and didn't feed the meter.

Then to round it all out, I was putting on my PJs and settling down in front of the TV with critical work earlier tonight when the doorbell rang. It was J from book club. They were meeting down the street and were wondering where I was. Especially since I PLANNED the meeting!

What is wrong with me? Am I losing my mind? I blame it all on retail stores. They are rushing us more and more each year. Some stores had Christmas decorations up before Halloween! They keep rushing us more each year. Hurry up Christmas is coming! It is crazy and making me crazy!

Until tomorrow...

I'm Blue

I went to the doctors today and had my cast replaced. She ran out of white cast stuff so I have a blue cast! I will have draw some crazy picture on it.

We talked about my fevers and she is convinced they are not from the incision. The incision looked good and she took out the stitches.

I called my primary doctor and we spoke about my test results and my appointment with the surgeon. My white blood cells are high so I have an infection but the question is where? Sinus? Urinary? Deep in the surgery site? Hard to tell. Meanwhile I am going to take antibiotics that are broad spectrum. I will also take anti-fungal medication to keep the yeast at bay.

After five days I call and give an update. I do have to admit my ankle is throbbing a bit tonight from being wrapped and unwrapped. Oh, I am no longer using the crutches!

Now we wait and see! Yay!

Until tomorrow...

BASEBALL

Sitting here watching the World Series with the San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers. For those of you who don't follow sports, that is baseball.  The Giants are winning and from where I sit that is a good thing.

This started to bring up some good memories for. When I was a kid my dad used to take us to New York Mets games. The company he worked for had box tickets at Shea Stadium. Not box tickets like they have now high up in the stadium with food and booze but the old fashioned boxes. A box meant you were close to the players, we were right off third base. There were no special features other than we were close to the players. We were about ten rows up and we could see all the players coming in and out of the dugout.  We ate peanuts (in the shells) that we brought and bought soda.  If we were really lucky we got ice cream. Sometimes we brought our lunch and sometimes we got hot dogs.  We all wore our baseball caps and  we got the stat sheets so we could keep track of the baseball players stats.  Since we sat off third base we had to pay attention when we heard the crack of the bat. No, I never caught a ball. I was more likely to be ducking. I saw too many people get hit with a ball. Off third base the balls usually go up to the higher levels when there were fly balls with right-handed hitters.

We would take the train to the stadium then walk through Flushing Meadow. These were times that I loved spending time with my dad. Even though he usually had one eye on the game at all times. But it was great. My brother and I would go walk around Shea Stadium.  We always wished we could meet the players but that never happened.

I still follow the Mets. They will always be my team. But during this World Series I will be rooting for the Giants. Go Giants!

Until tomorrow...

HAPPI IS A WINNER

Yesterday we took the dogs to a dog event and dog show. It was a local event for a middle school. Our neighbor children go to the school and we try to support the kids/school as much as we can.

We were only going to take Lucky (the small dog) since she easier to handle in crowds. She is only 10 pounds and I can pick her up and easily carry her. Our neighbor told us to bring Happi (the big dog) too. So we did.

We loaded up the dogs in the car and drove over to the school. The dogs were on high alert as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.  We got them out of the car and walking down to the event. There were tons of dogs of all sizes.  There were booths with vendors. We started to walk around and check everything out. We skipped the auction. We heard there was a category for dogs who were adopted and were mixed breeds. Both of our dogs fit in that category! We had to choose one to enter. First, we scoped out the competition. we looked around; no other three legged dogs! We thought Happi's story could win her the prize. So, we entered her. There were a bunch of small cute dogs so Lucky would have to wait until next year. She could enter the small dog category next year when we more prepared.  She is cute but there were ALOT of small cute dogs.

Then we had to wait around. And wait. And wait. Finally, the time came for Happi to do the cat walk with Brenda.  Happi worked it. The other dogs were good to.

Then we sat and waited.  Five minutes later they announced "The Winner is Happi!!!"  Brenda and I ran down the carpet yelling Yay Happi!

Happi's prizes were a water bubbler, a gift certificate, new collar, new leash, professional photo of all of us, and free nail trim. Oh, yeah, and a 1st Place Medal.

What a great day! Next year will be Lucky's turn.

Until tomorrow...

MOVIE NIGHT HAS ARRIVED

Tonight was movie night. We had a great time. There were only three of us because Brenda was tired and S's friend got ill. We watched The Godfather II. This was a continuing saga from an earlier movie watching night with S where we watched The Godfather. See post Sleepin' with the Fishes to read the story of why we had to watch The Godfather.  I can't believe that was more than a year ago.

So S, K and I met at 7pm at my house. We spent the next hour catching up. Then at 8 pm we decided we better start this movie! We took one snack/pee break and the movie ended at 11:30 pm. Those Godfather movies are LONG.

I will admit I started to doze a few times.  It was so long and it was hard to keep the characters straight.

I also will say other than me using my iPad to look up the characters, there were no electronics used during movie night.  We did have plenty of snacks. Chocolate macaroons, vegan chocolate cookies and veggies and dip.

We decided to do it again next month up something lighter and more upbeat!  We will save Godfather III for six months from now.   So, movie night was a success!

Tomorrow I will tell you all about our fabulous dog day.  I will provide photos of the day!

Until tomorrow..

REMEMBERING

We all know I have a lousy memory.  I can't remember when I was a kid never mind what I ate yesterday for lunch.  So remembering dates is really hard for me.

I have tried many things to remember dates.  I have tried the post-it method, you know putting post-its up to remember things.  I have tried apps on my phone.  I tried the little notepad method.  Carrying around a little notepad to write notes on it.  I have used a calendar, a computer calendar, a write on/wipe off calendar all to no avail.  No method seems to work.

Why do I write about this you ask?  I realized last night that my niece's first birthday is this Sunday.  Did you catch that?  Last night, Thursday night, I noticed that my niece's birthday is in a few days.  I didn't even remember.  I saw it on a calendar.  I didn't even have it on my electronic calendar.  I didn't even put it in my electronic calendar!

Now it is too late to send a card or present and have it get there on time.  If she were older, I could send her an electronic present, like an Itunes card but 1 year old babies don't really need Itunes.  So I will be late with my present.  Ergh...

I wish my brain was connected to my body.  So tomorrow I will have to go shopping and get that little tyke something.  I have an idea but since my sister-in-law reads my blog, I will keep my idea to myself.

If anyone has any great ideas on how to remember birthdays, I would love to hear them.

Don't worry Reese!  I have not forgotten you.  I am just horribly late as usual.  Happy 1st Birthday! 

Until tomorrow...

Jaws

I have been grinding my teeth since I was born.  Probably ground my teeth in the womb.  I am one of those people who grind my teeth so loud I wake people up.  It is an obnoxious sound.  I have been known to wake myself up.  Before you ask, yes, I wear a night guard.  A very expensive, custom made night guard.

If I forget to wear my night guard, I wake up with a sore jaw.  I know I should wear it all the time when I sleep but sometimes I forget to put it in when I go to bed.  A few hours later my grinding wakes me up and I put it in.  I can even grind if I take a nap.  A few times I forgot to wear my night guard for a full night and I end up with a REALLY sore jaw for many days.  It gets hard to chew food.

Teeth grinding is called bruxism.  Bruxism is teeth grinding and clenching. 

When I was a kid I would sometimes sleep in my mom's bed.  She would wake me up every few minutes telling me that I was grinding my teeth.  As if I had any control over it.  Like I have any control over my dreams.  How can you tell someone to stop something that they do in their sleep?  They don't know they are doing it.  Especially something they have been doing since they were born!  Waking me up didn't stop the grinding it just made us both sleepy and grumpy (I was sleepy and she was grumpy!)

I have been grinding for so long I have ground down and cracked almost all my back teeth.  I have crowns on all my back teeth.  I have to get gold crowns because I grind so hard that I would crack the porcelain ones.  I tell Brenda that I have a fortune in teeth!

Sometimes I find myself clenching my teeth.  I try to be conscience of doing this during the day.  I clench and then I get a headache. 

I try very hard to remember and wear my night guard these days.  I know that not wearing it means wearing down my jaw bones and could mean bad stuff for the future.  It is really hard to replace jaw bones. 

Until tomorrow...

Creaking

I had that cold/flu/bronchial thing last week and went on antibiotics. I am feeling better. But that also means I had to stop taking Enbrel.

I stop the Enbrel and my joints get creaky. I start walking like I am an old woman. One flight of stairs suddenly seems like climbing the Empire State Building. The hardest is going downstairs! Each step feels like I have a ton of bricks on my back. Every morning my hands are swollen and stiff. My feet feel like I have steel bars in them; like Wolverine.

This weekend I will take Enbrel again. I like to wait until I have been off the antibiotics a few days before I go back on the Enbrel.

What happens when you stop taking your meds?

Until tomorrow...

SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT

Gosh I was settled in for a long night of watching election results and by 8:35 pm the answer is in: Barak Obama is President. It happened so fast. It makes me wonder how in the world these news stations figure this out so fast.

Another interesting piece of news is that you will soon be able to legally buy cannabis in the state of Colorado. I guess the term "Rocky Mountain High" will have a new meaning. I think this great for those who need it for medical reasons. Medical marijuana is super but really it is costly and a bit of a hassle. The medical marijuana card costs $125 per year just to have the card. Plus you have to see a doctor to get the card and you have to buy the marijuana. It ain't cheap!

I no longer have to worry that my healthcare will disappear or I will be dropped. At least for four more years! Hopefully by 2016 people will be happy with the changes and nothing will change. Wouldn't that be nice? Not having to worry about healthcare? Just worrying about my health. That is the way it is the way it is supposed to be!

Anyway, the election is finally over and the ads have stopped (yay!)

Until tomorrow...

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE

One thing I won't miss after tomorrow will be the ads for the elections. I get so tired of hearing the same advertisements over and over. It is like seeing the same Viagra commercial again and again. I also get disgusted with the amount of money spent on all the commercials. The amount spent could feed small countries!

Then the debates. Asking the same questions over and over and hearing the same answers.

Tomorrow will not come soon enough for me. Here is another ad. Ergh...

Vote!

If you can please donate to your favorite cause to help those on the East Coast. The Red Cross is not the only place to donate. If you are a pet lover you can donate to the Humane Society to help rescue pets.

Until tomorrow...

HOT TUB: FIX OR BUY NEW

For those of you who read my blog all the time, you know my hot tub has problems. For the rest of you I will recap quickly.

When we moved into the house it had an outdoor hot tub. We used it frequently until we had construction done on the house and then we had to drain it and store it. It is in a far corner if the backyard. A few months ago the City tore up the streets and rats began eating every thing in their path. Fruit trees, gardens, and hot tubs. They ate the insulation and some of the wiring.

Today was the day to go look at hot tubs. We met this nice salesman who showed us everything. He also explained that the customer service folks would be able to fix the current hot tub. This made me happy especially when I found out the cost of a new hot tubs would be $7,800.

The new plan is to get the current hot tub fixed and buy some accessories. Now that I know it can be done, I am really impatient. I want it fixed now!

My achy muscles will be soothed shortly.

Until tomorrow...

SPACE THE FINAL FRONTIER

Personal space. I don't normally have a personally space issue. I don't care if people sit close to me or stand too close. Hopefully not within spitting distance.

I do think there is a natural distance one should sit or stand from another person but when people are friends I may sit closer. If I am ill I stand even farther away.

When I am sick I try not to cough in elevators or sneeze in groups. If others are ill I hope they will do the same.

Recently I have had this situation with someone who repeatedly puts her stuff in my area whether I am sitting there or not. I will be working and she will put her coffee mug on my workspace because she doesn't want to accidentally knock it over on her workspace. I will arrive to work and her papers will be strewn all over my designated workspace and her coat on the chair.

I try to give subtle hints like walking in and saying "look at all this stuff in my work area!" and I move it and move her coat. Today she wanted to put her big binder on my work space and I said no. But I know next time I show up it will be there.

What would you do with someone who moves in on a space that is designated as yours?

Until tomorrow...

STORM NEWS

We saw photos of my brother's neighborhood. It looks horrible. Under many feet of water. His house is not but the neighborhood is. I have not heard if they have electricity yet.

Brenda's sister still does not have electricity. Unfortunately she was not prepared. She called yesterday and I was appalled to hear that someone charged her $1 to charge her phone! Talk about price gauging. It probably cost pennies (if that) to charge a phone. Then I saw some adorable little girl in New York who has set up an Internet cafe at her house so people can charge their phones, computers and electronics or check their email. All for free! She just wanted people to be able to let their families know they were safe. She said she felt lucky that her house had electricity and she should share it.

Brenda's sister has also had a hard time finding gasoline. She waited on a long line earlier in the week but after taking her stepdaughter back to school, she needed more gas. None to be found. She also has been told her work is shut down indefinitely. That means no income.

Thank you for all your concern for my family. This has been quite a week.

Today we took Brenda to her two week check up. Everything is fine. She admitted she is happy she had the surgery done. Thank you for your thoughts and kind words.

I am feeling better. Coughing less. Yay!

Until tomorrow...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Today was fun.  Our neighborhood has been working really hard to bring the kids back.  The kids around us have been going to other neighborhoods to trick-or-treat.  Our neighborhood is so empty.  For the last few years we have been making a concerted effort to bring the kids back.  Some folks offer the kids candy and adults wine. Others made hors d'oeuvres to hand out.  There is music playing and lots of folks decorate.

This year a woman around the corner had a bunch of families bring their kids.  Thirty of them.  I bought three bags of candy and I only have about 20 pieces left.  That was 150 pieces of candy!  I was so glad I bought the third bag.  It was so fun seeing all those kids.  I wore my tiara and I had a wand with sparkly stuff on it.  Like a fairy godmother handing out candy.

I wanted to tell you that the antibiotics seem to be working.  I am coughing less and less.

I also went today for my yearly check up with the breast surgeon.  Her physician's assistant checked me out and she says I look good.  I have to go for my yearly mammogram and then an MRI.  That would be my 5th for the year!?

Today was also the San Francisco Giants victory parade.  Black and Orange everywhere!

Update on family: Brenda's mother lost her phone service.  Sister still no power.  My family I have not heard from today but I saw photos of their town on the internet and it doesn't look pretty.

Until tomorrow...