Grandma is actually doing fairly well. I’m really uneasy about putting her back on all those m medications, but I’ll be talking to the nurse practitioner that has been seeing her tomorrow to discuss what the next steps might be. I visited her on Tuesday, what an awesome day for me! I don’t even know if anyone else got in to see her Tuesday, but we had a couple hours of talking. She had incredible clarity that day. It was almost like talking to her before she went into the hospital or on our regular Monday night calls, which were often hour-long phone calls. I told her the minutes on my phone were for her and Kelly because I don’t really talk on the phone for any more than I absolutely have to with anyone who is less than an hour away! I don’t like talking on the phone and I’d rather say, “meet me half way for coffee.” But Tuesday was a special day. She had almost full control and memory. I considered our time together that day a treasured gift! Dad said when he visited her Wednesday she was in good spirits, but without that same clarity and she didn’t remember me being there the day before. So it really was a special gift from Grandma, just for me.
Pumpkin Spice Season is Here!
I stopped at a gas station on the way to see Grandma, because I can’t get all the way there without a potty-stop, no matter how little I drink. I usually eat something salty before I go anywhere so I can cut down on the stops when I’m driving, but Grandma is just far enough away that I can’t avoid it. That was a good thing Tuesday, because the gas station I stopped at had PUMPKIN SPICE CHEAT-A-CCINO!! It was my second Pumpkin coffee treat this fall. Last weekend, David and I stopped to put gas in the car at our local Speedway. I told him that I’d pump if he’d go in and see if they had pumpkin spice yet. He came back out, empty handed and said that they had pumpkin spice creamers, was that okay? Hehe...creamers are even better! The wonderful man who complains about how much coffee I drink brought me 7 creamers and a 24-ounce coffee! I was set on coffee for the rest of the day (and then some) but oh it was GOOD coffee!
We also have a pumpkin spice pudding cake that I’ve been having little nibbles of the past few days. That was on sale at Kroger. The Pudding cake is great because it’s so moist that a half-ring can be nibbled for a week without getting dried out if you keep the cover on the package.
Dr. Frank’s
My bottle of Dr. Franks joint and muscle pain relief spray came in yesterday. I haven’t been happy with the results of therapy and if I can avoid drugs, I’ll do that. I ended up with an even weaker hip and pain in the hip and knee joints that was chronic! I’m taking glucosamine and condroitin every day and icing my hip do while I’m doing homework. I’m just now starting to have periods of time without pain and can comfortably shower standing up without fear of falling! The doctor said I could take as many as 4 Advil if the pain was really bad or he could prescribe something stronger.
Something stronger?? Than FOUR Advil???
Okay, I have to remember it’s a new doctor. I’ve been in to see him twice and apparently he doesn’t believe me when I tell him drugs are an absolute last resort. Yeah, I totally get that doctor and patient have to work together for things to work. I’ve done the month of therapy the insurance company requires for an MRI, I just have to have the doctor’s okay to get one. In the mean time, I’ll continue with the ice and glucosamine and try the Dr. Franks and we’ll see if things get any better.
All I’m going to say about healthcare reform is that making everyone have insurance is basically saying it’s even if we’re all tortured the same. Fixing a failing system by increasing the problem is not really a great solution, even in theory.
CONGRATULATIONS VEELANA!!
Veelana's Designs is one of the three new SAS-y Ladies! Vee is a pal of mine, so I’m VERY happy for her. In fact, look to see a few more layouts from me using her kits soon!
Retiring
What opens me up to do more layouts is that I am retiring from designing. Keeping up with the requirements is just a big commitment when I add it to school, and what I’m working towards in school will supply a much bigger paycheck!
Last month I was the assigned Designer of the Month for the store CT. Where there had been multiple pages of links to the layouts in previous months, the CT did the minimum required with my store and most of the layouts were with my templates but someone else’s kits. That kinda was a good indicator for me about why I don’t have much in the way of sales! I don’t think my stuff is awful. The pages I’ve done with my own kits have looked great, but my scrapbooks are digitally done but paper-style. The focus is still the photos and journaling. A page I create is not the work of art; the life my pages tell about is the work of art! Still, I make things for the pages I do in a style I can use. In a saturated market, simple is not really going to sell!
So now, I'm going to concentrate on doing pages for my scrapbooks and get caught up. I’ll still have the occasional freebie here and I suspect I’ll do templates more often. I seem to do those well!
I’ll find out soon what my last day at Scrap Bird will be and I expect there will be a “going out of business” sale. Then the items from the store will retire, I’ll enjoy less stress in getting my homework done and my scrapbooks might even think we’ve finally reached 2007 by Christmas!
1 comment:
Good morning Nana. It's been a while because I've been quite busy getting my home redocorated a bit, and you know how life gets in our way.
Don't be too hard on yourself about retiring from designing. My stuff is plain and it keeps me busy and happy and that is all that counts. If someone buys it (not that they do), that's even better. I do it to relax.
You are a natural born story teller. I love your stories and photos. You have a gift of tying the paid products right into your storyline.
Good luck with your classes, and you have a magnificent day now. Hugs, Edna B.
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