Getting It Done Wednesday

 Today, I will be sitting on the porch and enjoying the day. 

 Mom went home yesterday to live at her house and get back on her own.  We first went to MD Anderson to get her chemo treatment and then stopped by Publix to pick up a few groceries for her.  She was anxious to get home and sleep in her own bed.  Today she will be driving herself to a doctor's appointment and tomorrow she will go and get her taxes done.  We are so proud of her for fighting so hard to get back to her normal!

 Yesterday I worked all afternoon on organizing our taxes.  Definitely a brain drain.  I finally pulled together the eBay and rental info and I think it will all be good.  Just a few last minute things to double check and I will turn them in tomorrow.  Such a relief!

I did call in sick today.  I have been feeling so overwhelmed with taking care of mom and her appointments AND getting the taxes together.  I needed to have the house to myself and catch up on my sleep.  I hated to call in today, but after catching up on much needed sleep this morning I am glad I did.    Sometimes I have to remember to take care of myself or I will crash and burn.

Today List of Things to Do:

• Go to Publix to get a few BOGO deals.  Oscar Mayer hot dogs are my grandson's favorite.

• Get the ingredients to make my own hazelnut creamer.

• Try a natural shampoo recipe.

• What about this natural deodrant?

• Pick up some White Poster Board for eBay photography

Later this afternoon, I will grab my grandson and bring him over. He definitely makes my heart smile.

Have a great Wednesday!

Things Are Progressing!

My backyard

Yesterday, my husband met with a gentleman about doing the tile work in the bathroom that we are remodeling.  If you remember, my parents may  be moving in with us, and to better accommodate them we gutted our hall bathroom removing the tub, to replace it with a walk in shower.  We are also putting a new toilet,and vanity and lights.  Complete makeover. 

The tile guy gave my husband a great price to do the tile work and he is suppose to get it started on Saturday.  then my husband will be able to install the toilet, vanity and other stuff.  My sons are also coming over this weekend to help with the new front door and new storm door.  Oh.... there is still another coat of paint to go in the yellow bedroom.  I can't change it now, since my mom may be moving in with me.  She likes the color.

Mom is still talking like she only wants to come out for a couple of weeks.  I have not asked my dad what he thinks about it.  Last time I did that, he said " I want to die here!!"  I doubt that answer will change at all.  And why does my mom think she will only be out there two weeks?  I sometimes think here thought process is still a little goofy after the seizure.

Honestly, I am getting a little cagey here at my folks home.  My husband is staying at our home to keep an eye on the projects and the dogs.  I am here by myself.  If you knew my parents, you would understand my caginess.  It may be late next week before things are all done at my house and we can or I can go home. 

While here I have been keep busy ( or sane) with my Ebay.  This week has been fairly good.  There sure is going to be a lot of stuff to haul back to my house.  There is a good variety of Thrift Stores in the area, and I am finding some pretty good deals.  The Ebay is keeping me sane, that's for sure!

Wednesday Odds and Ends

Tomorrow is my dad's 90th Birthday.  My husband and I went to visit my mom and dad today to celebrate his birthday one day early.  Dad is a proud veteran of WW2 and Vietnam with 27 years in the service.  If you look closely at the picture you can see two small American flags on the counter.

Earlier this year, the rope on the  25 foot flag pole in his front yard broke.  So for his birthday we bought him a new 4x6 flag and NEW rope.  After borrowing the neighbor's extension ladder and a few confused moments on how to thread the rope through the pulley, we got the flag up and flying again.

Dad was thrilled!  And no one fell off the ladder or the roof.

Happy Birthday Dad!



Mini Goals for Tomorrow

 I am watching Top Chef and already I have a list of things to get done for tomorrow.   I don't know about you but if I don't write down just about everything I will forget it and it will be lost forever!

So here we go!


1.  Call the county animal control to see if they have a spay/neuter program.  I have a fear that our English Bulldog is coming into heat again.  Animal control gave me a number of a low cost clinic.  They don't pick up and have left messages.

2.  Pass by the accountant and sign our taxes.  We have a refund coming!  Electronically filed.  Waiting for refund to hit the bank.

3.  Paint (for the fourth time) the yellow bedroom.  I can't wait to get this finished!   We are changing color.  I really don't like the yellow my mom picked out.

4.  Make time to visit Thrift Store(s) to search for living room curtains.      Nearly impossible to find four panels that are the same at the Thrift Store.  Off to JCPenny's.

5.  Send out more resumes and job applications.  Probably not.

Tying Up Loose Ends Wednesday

Yesterday went by like a blur!  I had  my one week follow up appointment to see the orthopedic surgeon.  The stitches were removed and the doc said just take it easy and don't try to do to much.  Otherwise, he said to follow up in two weeks and at that point we will decide if physical therapy is needed.

After my appointment, I stopped off and grabbed lunch for my mom and myself.  She only lives about 4 miles from the doc's office so it was not out of my way.  We had a nice visit, and after we finished eating we went to the local Thrift Store.  It is a huge place with lots of stuff!  I was up and walking on my knee for about 2 hours.  ( no walker or wheel chair... although if I could have found one there I would have used it! )

At the thrift store, I found 8 Hawaiian shirts that I think will sell well on Ebay.  We have had success with them before and I think the ones I picked out yesterday are really nice.  Truth be told, you really never know what people will want to buy, you just hope it is something that you are selling.


Now, on a different note.....

Not too long ago, I was reading Carla's blog and she had mentioned that she makes camera strap covers for DSLR cameras.   I mentioned to her in her comments that I would be very interested in purchasing one.

She asked me what were my favorite colors ( I am a big fan of Pinks and Purples) and she said she had just the fabric for me. 

Not too long ago, I received a package wrapped in brown paper  from Canada.......

 Can I tell you how excited I was to see this package?  There is nothing like the pleasure you get from opening "present" that you received in the mail.  Makes you feel all special and such!

 I LOVE the colors in my new camera strap cover.  They are wild, soft, vibrant and expressive.  Perfect.

 It is amazing the difference in comfort that the camera strap cover can make.  Extremely comfortable ! I could not be happier!  You know, if you need a gift for that someone special for Christmas, (hint, hint) you should contact Carla!

Happy Wednesday....

.......But it feels like Thursday today. In my mind, I have jumped ahead and skipped a day. On Wednesdays, I am scheduled to be at work to start a 9:00 AM.   Today, I guess I thought I had to be at work at 8:00 AM because I was on the road at 7:20 AM.  It probably took me about 10 minutes, but I finally figured out that I could turn around and go back home as it was WEDNESDAY today!  When I got back to the house,   I was able to get a load of clothes going and get the dishes out of the sink and into the cupboard.  Man.... talk about a blonde moment!


Yesterday, was an exhausting day! We were in court participating in a trial than involved my son J ( Yeah... I know... I said I was not going to post about him again...but THIS is not related to his jail experience).  Last May, on Mother's Day weekend, J was a victim of random violence.  In a nutshell, he was out with friends and when he was getting ready to call it a night, he was "sucker punched" in the side of the head by a guy with supposedly brass knuckles. The blow knocked J out, he fell back and hit the parking lot pavement.... with the back of his head.

He was unconscious, his head was swelling, he was bleeding from his nose and his face.  The ambulance/paramedics bypassed the hospital closest to the incident and took him to the Level 1 Trauma Hospital downtown.  By the time I was notified by his best friend, ( my cell phone was on silent) he had been at the hospital for about 2 hours.  I called the ER and asked to see if J was there, they said yes..... "Let me get the Chaplain for you".  What??????  My heart sank to the floor. I thought for sure the Chaplain was going to tell me the worse had happened to J.  At that moment, my world stopped.  And then the Chaplain spoke....


As it turned out, J was in the ER and he was alive. We left the house and got to the ER only to see J on a stretcher, swollen face, almost unrecognizable, practically unconscious.  The neurosurgeon was there and was debating on if he was going to have to do brain surgery to relieve the swelling from the bleeds in his brain. What?????  You know... when you hear this kind of news.... everything kind of moves in slow motion.  All you see is that doctor repeating that he is almost certain that J will need to have brain surgery.  But.... he did decide to wait.  In about 12 hours J was transferred to a trauma unit.  He was given injections of Mannitol every 4 hours to reduce the swelling in the brain.  He was in the trauma unit for 7 days.  Each day, the neurosurgeon would come in and check, he would also evaluate the latest CT scans of J's brain.  The swelling had stopped, the bleeding had stopped, and the doctor said the swelling was actually going down. Huge sigh of relief.....



J was then transferred to a rehab floor, the injections still continued.  He was not allowed to get up by himself, he was not allowed to walk anywhere by himself.... in case he fell and re-injured his head. He suffered from Brocca's Apahsia.  This means what he was thinking is not actually the words that would come out of his mouth. Towards the end of his stay, that did improve significantly.   As of today, J still has an indentation in his right cheek from the alleged brass knuckles. 



On day 13, the injections to reduce the swelling were stopped.  He was alert, eating, and definitely ready to go home.  On day 14, he was released.  Back to the trial..... Yesterday, we all got to relieve the event, different and conflicting stories were told to the jury.  The defense attorney was very aggressive, but I understand that is his job.  The state attorney did a great job as well.  Closing statements and jury instruction were given at 530 last night.  The jury came back today at noon with a verdict of "not guilty". 


Well, it is what it is.  As I said both sides of the stories were conflicting.  The jury did the best that they could.  And.... J will tell you himself... he put himself in that situation.  Praise the Lord.... I think he is finally learning.  He had a long way to go to get back to  a  some what normal life.   We remind each other daily ... One day at a time.  That is all we can do. 


Anyway... I am glad tomorrow is Thursday.  Payday is just around the corner and I still have 30 dollars cash left in my wallet.  Yoo Hoo!!  My next post will be more on my money than on my family.  Enough drama for one week! 

Hope the rest of your week is wonderful!!

House Update

We received an Email from our Realtor last night regarding the status of house we have a contract on.  She was told by the listing Realtor that a BPO was done  on December 28th, and that we could expect to hear from the Bank within the next week or so regarding our offer.  I had to look up BPO (Broker Price Option) and it is a "reliable estimate of the current value of the property, compare it to the mortgage balance and recommendation of solutions".  My Realtor explained it as " not an appraisal, but an opinion of the work put together by an individual which is not necessarily a licensed Realtor or Appraiser".   Okay... whatever it is, at least we are moving forward and should hear "something" from the Bank. 

Our loan has come back from the underwriter and all is well with that, so we are just waiting on the Short Sale Bank.  Fingers crossed!!

Wednesday Happenings

Today was another beautiful day. The sun was out and the sky was blue, temps were in the 70's. Could not ask for anything more. I went to CVS today at lunch. In the past, I was really into ECB's and coupons. I stockpiled a bunch of stuff and then I felt that I really did not need anymore for a while.


Well, now my stockpile has dwindled down to a small amount of supplies. So, I thought today I would get back in the game so to speak. My first purchase was the Colgate Toothpaste for 3.99 and get 3.99 in ECB's in return. Then, I picked up three St. Ives hand lotions that were 3/10.00 and get 3.00 ECB in return. After the 3.99 ECB from the toothpaste, I ended up paying a little over 6.00 dollars. Next, I went back and got the two Oil of Olay body washes for 10.00 dollars. After using the 3.00 ECB I ended up spending a little over 7.00 dollars for both.


Using my receipts, I estimate that I would have paid over 35.00 full price for the above items, After using my ECB's and the sale prices, I ended up spending about 18.00 dollars PLUS I still have a 5.00 ECB to use next week.


I did go a little overboard, it was a flashback of sorts when I would get caught up in the saving money frenzy! I will need to watch it in the future. I am hoping that Dove conditioner will go on sale next week, I really need to stock up on that.


Did not pay tolls today, I forgot my toll pass in my husband's car so I had to go out of my way a bit, but did save 2.00 dollars by doing so.

Survivor is on tonight! Love that show!

~~~Wednesday Highlights~~~

• Beautiful weather
• Pleasant work day
• Survivor is on tonight