Never Fails

I think of something great to tell you all, but then my age steps in and kicks the thought right out of my head.
One thing I did want to share is that my husband declares that he hates the cats but what does he do?? We were at church last night and when we got home, Vernon had the camera in his hand and was showing off the "great" pictures he got of the two cats and how disappointed he was that he wasn't able to get one of the big dog and the cats all sleeping on the sofa. Apparently, he went to get the camera and when he turned the camera on from the other room the big dog heard it and hightailed it upstairs out of shooting range. Vernon still got several pictures of the cats and I'll try to post them tonight. As much as he states he hates the cats, I think he does enjoy them a little bit. Loki, the white one, even likes to sit on Vernon's legs when he is watching TV. Amazing , huh?

Christmas Summary

We survived Christmas with little craziness. Christmas Day, Amy and Colt served the 9 am mass, then home to open presents. It is a little less magical with no visits from Santa to our house. But the kids had great fun with their presents. We then had turkey dinner with Vernon's dad. Friday, I got to take my car in for it's 60,000 mile service, now I'm good for another 3,000 miles. The best part about getting your car serviced is the time spent reading because their is nothing else to do. I got to finish The Alchemyst, the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Micheal Scott. Now, I've got to locate book 2 in the series. I also got to finish Salvation In Death by J.D. Robb. Yes, I do usually read 2-3 books at a time.
Saturday, we went over to my Mom's for a Kurzy Christmas. It was so great to see my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. I guess I am getting more sentimental as I get older, but these times spent with family mean so much to me. I find myself getting emotional about the smallest things. My sister, Mary, is going to be moving to England, and when we hugged, she held on so tight! then one of us, and I'm claiming Mary, let loose one of those quick breaths to keep from crying. That let me do my own quick gasp and them Mary says, "Hey, don't start." I had to laugh because I knew it was her who gasped first, so I had to say, "You started it!" Even now I tear up just thinking how much I am going to miss her. (yes, I know you all are tearing up, too, sorry) Now years ago, this wouldn't have bothered me. I think as my mortality comes more into view, I find myself so grateful and awed by the family and love that I have in my life. It is not that I am afraid to die, but that I realize how blessed my life has been despite any ups ( my loving husband) and downs (Amy's birth). I will truly miss earthly life when it is my time to move to the next dimension.

On a less morbid note, Vernon and I got this turntable you can connect to the computer to transfer LPs to digital recording and then burn them to CDs. I'm still trying to figure out how to manage that feat. Any requests?

May I have some more, please?

My husband was in heaven yesterday. Despite having his groin shaved and needles stuck in him, he felt wonderful due to the drug Versed. The truth serum allowed my children to have the most fun with him asking all kinds of questions that he might not normally answer. Amy and Colt were rolling on the floor with laughter at the hospital while their Dad was recovering from the procedure. I don't think he remembers much of the Q & A session, but the kids will for a long time. When it was time to go home, Vernon kept asking for a goodie bag of Versed for home use, needless to say they turned him down.
Thnigs are back to normal today with me at work and the school people off on Winter Break, supposed to be cleaning the house. Although, more than likely, they are goofing off. Gotta' love 'em - They are my darlings!

What is it with waiting rooms?

We took Mr. Vernon for his heart catherization today. Had to be at the hospital at 6:30 AM. Both of the kids wanted to go so we were all up at 5AM and left the house at 6:15 am. Got to the hospital okay but then couldn't find the entrance to the cath lab. Once we got there we got whisked in right away. Vernon got his clothes taken away and the lovely "Look at my butt" gown and then got his IV started. They asked us to leave to shave the groin area so we went to the waiting room.
The waiting room was a row of chairs across from a major entrance to the hospital. In and Out go people no fewer than 1 every 2-3 minutes. Now, don't get me wrong but it was FREEZING this morning!! Really, 31 degrees and a frigid Arctic wind. I was ready to die of frostbite, while waiting for them to come out and get us back into his room. After 45 minutes, I told the kids screw this, we are going down to the main lobby. We warmed up there fro 15 minutes and went back to check on Vernon to find him finished and back in his room, high on the Versed and morphine/fentanyl cocktail. Good news, no blockage but definite narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis) from all the years of smoking. So now we made it back home, Vernon is sacked out in his recliner. AND - it is still FREEZING. Yep, 30 degrees out there.
And what is my point to all this??
Why would a hospital put a WAITING ROOM across from an entrance?? In the summer it has to be hotter than hell here in Houston.
Really, people, make a new waiting room!!

An Off Day

Today, I took a TOWP (time off with pay) day to kinda' ease back and prepare for the next week. The kids and Vernon are in school. Tried to donate blood but my hematocrit was only 36 so I got deferred. Then I hit the stores, to get my Mom presents and one of our name draws a present. I went ahead and got something for me, too.
Now I am home and getting ready to update the will as Vernon is going to have a heart cath on Monday. Nothing serious, we hope, but a baseline on the recommendation of the MD who can't really tell us what is happening to Vernon's heart. We got a call from one of Vernon's brothers whom we haven't seen since his mom's funeral 3 years ago. He was checking in to, I guess, say good luck or something, having been told by Vernon's Dad that Open Heart surgery was going to happen Monday. It was a WOW- random call.
Well, onward to the will re-write and the a Junior High semi-formal dance to night at the church - Won't that be fun!!

Phones and glasses and cats

Despite our best efforts the stolen cell phone has not shown up. So we have decided to activate one of our old phones and give that one to Amy. Apparently, three other students had their phones stolen also.
Amy got her contacts back after a week long punishment. And during the week without contact her behavior was so sincere and heartfelt. She made all attempts to gain back our trust. She was somewhat successful. Now she just needs to maintain that inspiring behavior.
Her cats, Loki and Esmeralda are growing like weeds and have intergrated themselves into our lives. We are using SoftClaws to keep them from stratching on every surface. We had quite a time putting them on, White tips on Esmeralda and black tips on Loki. This makes it easier to spot if one fell off. Then they walk around for the next day trying to shake off the caps. It has really made a difference to Amy's arms. No one a s school thinks she is EMO anymore. This is a good thing.

Perimenopausal

I hate Periods!! I have entered Perimenopause. That means that I can have a period at any time and any length and any flow. So I am going anywhere from 18 days to 37 days between cycles. Shorter is good, it is lighter. But the longer ones are like OMG!! How frequently can you change a pad?? And having to be careful because you could mess up not only clothes but other things too. Sorry if this is TMI, but you have to vent. I'll be glad when the whole menstrual thing is done and gone.

Lost Phones

Joy, oh Joy! Amy called yesterday afternoon to tell me someone stole her cell phone. She had it yesterday morning and when she went to get it out of her messenger bag after school it was gone. The only time she left it alone was when they had practice for the concert last night. Questions abound - truth or lie? Was it taken away because she was using it during school? Did it fall out? Was it really stolen? (See what a little lie gets you - remember the toothbrushing lie?) By the time she called me the school had already closed. I called T-Mobile and had the account suspended for both text and all calls. But now where is the phone? It will cost me minimum $60 to get a replacement phone and if I do not reactivate the number within 30 days I have to pay a major contract early termination fee. So I will obviously replace it but I'm not sure I'll give it to her. I may give her Vernon's crappola phone that need to be replaced anyway.
The next part is to teach my child where to store her phone. The outer pocket of a messenger bag is not the place for either a phone or her wallet(which only contains her student ID). How do you teach a child common sense??

SNOW in Houston

Can you believe it? It is actually SNOWING in Houston. No one seems to know what to do, smile or scream in terror. Nothing is sticking, the ground is too warm after a 78 degree high yesterday. BUT it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Cold Noodles for Lunch?

Where did my son come from? He swears that I served him noodles in ranch dressing at some point in his life. I do not EVER recall giving him noodles with ranch dressing. So Yesterday, he asks me at 7AM, "Mom, can you make me some noodles to take in my lunch?" Me - "No, it is too late to make noodles that won't cook the rest of your lunch. Remind me tonight and I'll make some." He forgot, I forgot. This morning her hit me up at 6:50 am for some noodles. I had him put water in a pot and set it on a burner at high. I looked in the pan and the water was up to the top, I'm not sure how he got the pan to the stove without spilling. I then emptied out 1/2 the water and set it back on the stove. The noodles got cooked in @12 minutes then were drained and rinsed in cool water. My strange son then scooped noodles into bowls and topped each bowl with ranch dressing, all the while licking his lips saying "Oooh, it looks so good!" He packed it in his lunch kit and off he went, happy as a clam, while I was grimacing and saying "gross".

It's a Male Thing

I hate to stereotype but over the years of caring for men women and children I have come to the conclusion that stereotypes are there because they tend to be true.
Are men terrible at being sick. By and large, I believe yes, they are wimpy when ill. My husband thinks that when he is sick, like flu, fevers, etc., the world should come to him. He becomes incapable of common sense. "Do you think I should drink something?" "What should I take for this fever?" I really wonder how he survived for the 10 years between wife 2 and 3(me).
I have many male patients who come into the office and just are like a 3 year old, whiny and dependant. I tell them eat and they look at me like "eat" is a foreign word. I tell them "do not lie in bed all day" and they tell me "I don't feel good" I then tell them that if they want to lose muscle mass, become constipated, and/ or develop blood clots/pneumonia they better get up out of bed. I have to tell them to shower and brush their teeth. Then remind them to move around. I feel like I have more children. I expect this behavior from my son, not from a grown adult. I am guilty of taking my frustration with this behavior out on my husband. When he asks me the same question for the third time, I just lose it and screech out "I've told you this before." and he replies "I'm old, I don't remember." I take a deep breath and remind myself he is not the problem and then pray he doesn't get sick anytime soon.
There are some male patients who are strong determined people, unfortunately the strong women outnumber them when they get ill. Maybe it is because when women are ill/pregnant/menstrual we just get on with it and learn to live with the minor inconvenience of being sick/feeling bad. And the fact that if we don't care for our families when we are sick we might risk their lives also.

Lying

Why do kids lie? I should know the answer to this and I kinda' do. I used to lie because 1. it was an adventure or 2. it got me out of doing stuff (i was lazy). And my kids know that I used to lie and how much I hate lying. So what do I have? The typical lying - "Did you brush your teeth?" "yes" "why is your toothbrush bone dry" Man, Oh Man, why can't they admit that - no they did not brush their teeth? Here I stand wondering, if they lie to me about the small things then are they telling the truth about the big things? Don't they realize that I can't trust them on ANYTING if they don't tell the truth. I have told them that they may get punished for doing something stupid, but it will be ten times worse if they lie.
And I know that they don't want to listen to their dad lecture them about whatever it is, but when they lie to escape the inquistion it makes the situation much longer and louder. Truth is always better!!
Here's hoping for a better tomorrow.

7th Grade SAT

Colt is getting ready to take the SAT tomorrow as part of the 7th grade Duke Talent Identification Program or TIP. We have reviewed and practiced. He thinks he is ready and then we looked at the use of a graphing/scientific calculator thet the are able to bring. Uh-Oh, Houston, we may have a problem here. I'm not sure what the expectation for the Duke TIP is, but Colt will have at least participated and felt good about himself Taking the test in 7th grade. I have been really impressed with his grasp of the writing essay portion. I'm not sure I was close to where he is intelectually in 7th grade.

Passive-Agressive Part II

So yesterday I was glad to have the attitude leave and like the nice person I am, I covered the area and worked the machine with some phone assistance from the director. I tried to do all that I could to assure I didn't mess up anything. This morning the attitude person comes in and I apologize if I made any messes and asked what I needed to do better if there is a next time. Her reply really chapped my ass, She said, "Oh, I don't know. I just threw it all out this morning and put your name on everything." WHAT!! "But did I need to do anything different."" Her - "Don't know, I didn't even look at it." Okay, I'm pretty tolerant but this along with the fact that she was going in and out last week with the fire department and SMOKE in the suite(she is also the safety officer), caps it all off. I am going to send it up to the managers and tell them this is not acceptable.
Why do people have to be such butts?

Passive -Agressive

I hate it when people hide their emotions and yet you know they're pissed. I had to tell a co-worker that due to illnesses people had called in sick and that she would need to go to another office after our first patient. She gets up and stomps around. I apologize that she is being pulled to another office and in a generic voice she says, "Why? It's not your fault" I said "But I feel bad you have to go" Her generic reply is "Well, that just the way it is" as she continues to slam things around.
Hey, you're angry and irritated, I get it! You're not fooling anyone and we are going to have to deal with your behavior until you leave then the other office gets to have your bad attitude. It just sets a bad tone for everyone.
Me, I'd just vent and get it out and get over it.

Ms. Burnham, I Object!

CCE class again. I stand corrected. We were reading about devotion to the Virgin Mary and one of the students raised his hand to tell me "1. I'm hungry and 2. Why would Mary get her job changed?" Huh? Her job changed?
"Yeah, you said she got demoted" No, No, No, We are DEVOTED to Mary.
Then we got into the discussion of who did Cain and Abel have children with if Eve was the only woman? Minds gathered that piece of information and we had the unison "EEWWW" and a clarification that biblically we can only say that they were "fruitful and multiplied". I passed on the scientific and clinical explanations, I'll leave that for their parents.
I have to go say my Rosary for my Marian 'demotion' Have a great Tuesday!