It's a work night

I have to work tomorrow, so why am I still up at 12:32??? The kids (DM/A) are here, I've got a kitchen full of dishes that need to be done & I don't sleep well at night. So... that's a reason to stay up??? Nah. I don't think so.

Last night I was up until 3:40. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone. I was reading a book & it wasn't the scriptures.

Don & I text each other every night. Sounds funny huh? Did you know we are separated? Not legally. Just that I live with Mother across town & Don lives at our house. He told someone that I went home to Momma.

They (Don-Mike & Don) have started tearing into the downstairs. It looks funny with no furniture, pieces of carpet pulled up & bare studs. Amber's been helping.

Remind me I need to get the money so they can start buying materials to finish it. Don said when they tore into the walls, the space between the walls went right down into the crawl space. Mother said it wasn't constructed very well. Don said no that wasn't what he was saying. Back in the early 1900s they weren't concerned about insulating the walls.

One more day

I found my cool stainless steel water bottle, under some clothes in the front room. So, I'll wash it out & start on my water habit 6 weeks late.

Also, I found the money order for the audiologist. It was not made out, so since Mother paid that bill, I'll make it out to her & deposit it in her account.

Now, I need to find our marriage certificate, so Don's insurance won't drop me.

Swishing & swiping is coming along very good. It happens almost every day. Maybe by the time the end of the month comes, the toilet will be sparkling clean. Basin still needs a new finish. It is still hard to swipe that up, when it doesn't even look like it's been cleaned.

Tiffany did the dishes on Sunday, did I already mention this? The sink was sparkling clean & the dish drainer was empty!! Wow! I could've cried. She even got Eddie & Nick to help. I'm sure I already blogged about this, but it was just so amazing. Today is the first day the sinks are even filled up & it's FRIDAY!!!

I went to bed at 9:30 last night & slept til 9:30 this morning. Fitfully, but still slept. I didn't feel much better when I got up this morning that I did when I went to bed, sigh. I was going to go to bed early tonight too, because the headache is still with me.

Saturday, June 6

Just another day in paradise ... not the one Bertie Higgins wrote about, the down & out in the tropics or paradise, but the Phil Vassar lyrics

Yeah it's ok. It's so nice.
It's just another day in paradise.
Well, there's no place that
I'd rather be

there's also a line about the dog barking at the mailman bringing another stack of overdue bills - argh - sometimes I'd like to bark at the mailman :\

But, just a normal day & I'm off to bed. Thank the good Lord for the Internet. Last night I spent 2 and half hours chatting with a friend in Mississippi. Tonight I chatted for a few minutes with a neighbor through the block. She ignored some of my questions, but hey, without Facebook, I would never have talked to either of these wonderful women. Sometimes just through the block is as far away as Mississippi or New York or California. Nor would I have got updates on my baby blogs.

I have this brown spot that just showed up on my arm yesterday, I think I'll have it checked out Monday or Tuesday, looks ominous.

When I went to pick up my meds today my lexapro, normally $90 was only $15!!! Woo hoo, doin' a happy dance.

Another baby blog

Dave & Tanya's blog for their baby Jonah opened a whole new addiction for me - blog surfing. Is there such a thing? I "subscribe" to & read way too many blogs. And one blog leads to another.

One journey sent me to Little April Rose, a young single mother, whose unborn daughter is diagnosed with Trisomy 13 and Holoprosencephaly & isn't expected to live through the birth experience. This young mother, "B," is amazing. A few weeks ago she started a prayer register, if I may call it that. People were emailing her ASKING for HER prayers. So, she started "His Will Wednesday." Through yesterday's entry I found little Gwendolyn Strong who has spinal muscular atrophy or SMA. I have buttons for both of these blogs in the sidebar on my blog.

I try not to read through them all at once. I admit, I did Dave & Tanya's, I couldn't stop reading. Little Gwendolyn is 20 months old & since I didn't find her until tonight, there are almost 2 years of entries to read. Her parents celebrate each month's birthday, as children with SMA don't usually live past 2 years old.

Through a cousin's blog, I found a really cool website. Janelle writes:

I tend to read the emails that come to my inbox. I read my blogs. I read my facebook page. But I struggle "finding the time" to read the scriptures. I just forget. So this site sends me an email with the days scripture chapter. I can read it or listen to it. Then tomorrow it sends me the next chapter. Today it took 6 minutes for it to read the first chapter. If I have the time to spend 10 minutes on facebook (at least), 10 minutes on blogs (multiple times a day) and however many minutes on email, then I have the time to read 6 minutes a day before all of that.

So, I subscribed to Read The Scriptures & decided I'd "read" the Doctrine & Covenants, since Don & I are in the library & don't get to Sunday School, Relief Society or Priesthood. I tried listening to it, & found that I'd just as soon read it to myself. So, today I read the first chapter of the D&C.

I haven't really kept up on my "moving" since May is over, but I'm still thinking of it & still don't park close to the door, unless I have Mother with me. I walked the stairs at the clinic on Tuesday, but took the elevator down with Mother. June's habit is drinking water. Ewww :( that's a toughy. One I try ever few months, but Lent taught me something. I can focus on a "habit" for a set period of time. I've also kept trying to make it to bed at midnight & most nights I do pretty good.

Moving in May, 5/1

I did it. I walked for 15 minutes today. I took the kitchen timer with me to work. I was almost a half hour early, can you believe it? So, I set the timer for 7 minutes & took off. I didn't walk fast & didn't have to stop & rest either.

I decided to walk around the Benson Park, what used to be the City Park back in the day, before the City of Preston decided they didn't want it any more & gave it back to the LDS Church. I got clear over to the Oneida Stake Academy at 6 minutes & 30 seconds, that's 2 sides of the park. I stopped & took a couple of pictures of the Academy.


Then took off again. I walked clear over to South State Street, down to the Danish Gates, aka the park entrance, aka as the entrance to the dentist offices & a short cut to the alley. Through the entrance & seriously thought about sitting on the bench. Actually, I started noticing benches over at the Cache Valley Transit District (CVTD) bus stop on First East. There's a nice metal bench there. Then, as I came around the corner from East Oneida onto South State, I noticed the flower boxes that line the street are all nice places to sit, plus a cement bench just outside U.S.Bank. The last bench is the one in the middle of the entranceway. But I didn't stop & rest. I walked down the alley & back to where I started from with 2 minutes left. I walked around the sidewalk at the South Stake Center & made it back to the car in 15 minutes. I was beginning to wonder if my legs were going to make it.

I got seriously dizzy later. It made me worried as the world just kind of slipped on it's axis as I was making a left turn from West Oneida onto North State. I started praying to the Lord to let me get Mother home. Then I ate, went back to work & again the world kind of slipped. When the alarm clock went off at 6 p.m. for me to pray, I prayed.

Nick told me that if I couldn't remember why I had set the alarm to pray, just pray my own prayer. So, last night I did. I prayed Don-Mike would make it home safely from Orem, Utah. Tonight, I thanked the Lord that Don-Mike had a safe trip to Orem & back. I also prayed for my health. This is an extra prayer from my bedtime prayers.

Moving in May

FlyLady's habit for May is going to be moving for 15 minutes a day.

We are going to have a virtual walk around the world visiting 89 countries that represent where FlyLady members are from.

Am I ready for this? This means not only am I going to have to walk or exercise for 15 minutes a day, but check into my FlyLady account, sigh. The arch of my left foot hurts. It could be plantar fascitis. I'm not going to the doctor or the nurse practitioner to check on it. I've been wearing some support on that foot & it helps. I'm also trying not to wear the shoes that caused it. I will definitely try moving or exercising.

Here's an update on making the bed every day. It has been done. Maybe some days it's not as neat as it could be, but the covers are pulled up, the CPAP reservoir has been filled and my pillow has been fluffed. It's kind of hard to make a bed with cats piled on it. We walk by the bedroom & check to see how many cats are on the bed & who they are, LOL.

Bedtime, I'm still trying to do this, it's still around midnight, but not nearly as late as it used to be.

We're watching American Idol tonight. I like Kris. I still don't have a favorite this season. I was so disappointed last year when David Cook won & not David Archuleta. I'm afraid Adam Lambert will win, but then he's good, so why not?

I just found out today one of my online friends died in FEBRUARY!! And we just found out!!! The good news is she didn't die alone and we found out. It's just that I've known this lady for almost 10 years & even though we didn't email every day, we could go for months, usually my fault for not staying connected. She would reach out to me & now she's gone & I didn't even realize I hadn't heard from her for a while. Of course, now I'm worrying about Junior, her cat. She lived alone, what about the cat & the rabbit in the back yard? Mother thinks the cat was probably turned loose.

Easter Sunday

I woke up this morning about 5 in pain. I ached all over, I thought I might throw up, then wondered if it was diarrhea. Nothing that easy, just pain. I came out in the front room & sat in the swivel rocker/recliner. I swiveled it away from the bright light from the network server & sat there dozing fitfully until Don got up, gave me some ibuprofen & I went back to bed.

Nick woke me up about noon to tell me that I wasn't needed in the library. Don had called & said it was "covered." Instead of going back to bed, I got up & put the roast on. I bought a 5 pound pork roast last night. Eddie has gone home, so I don't have to worry about having dinner ready & over by the time he has to be home. I'm using a recipe that is appearing in the Citizen this coming week, Coca-Cola brisket or something like that. They didn't have a brisket at the store last night, not that I would have been able to afford it anyway.

So, my new "project" for the month is to continue striving to make it to bed "on time." But I'm changing my bedtime to midnight. Also, I've been a FlyLady fan for a long time & the monthly habit for April is making your bed every day. That is something I've pretty much mastered. Even if I go back to bed in the middle of the day, even though people die in bed, I get up & remake the bed. I have a selfish reason for that. Our bed is "catland."

As you can see by the picture, our cats share the bed with me in the morning. Here I am working on a daily to-do list & Jae is practically on my lap; Prissy is on my right side, against my knee; Sammy, the yellow cat; Brackin, at the end; and Marsha, the gray cat sitting up.

Lent, Day 40

The last day of Lent & tomorrow is Easter Sunday, Christ's resurrection. The time in the tomb is almost over. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'd never really thought of the meaning of Lent. I think I'll have a deeper appreciation of Christ's sacrifice for us. Perhaps I should watch The Passion of the Christ every Easter season.

Last night was a very rough night for me. I put my CPAP mask on & the hole had ripped bigger, air was just rushing out. So, I thought I'd try Mother's old mask, but I hate that mask. It hurts. So, I had no choice but to pull out the full face mask I got. I fought with that all night. This morning when Don got up for work, yes, he had to work today, I got up to put the salve in Prissy's eye, then hauled out the CPAP bag & pulled out all the literature on the mask. I messed with it for about an hour, got it to fit & laid down & went right to sleep.

Tonight we went to the grocery store & I thought it was 11, closing time, but it was only 10. I'm so tired & have such a headache. I'm hoping tonight is better.

I have my phone calendar set to chime 4 times a day so Prissy gets the salve in her eye. Nick has been a great help & Prissy's eye is starting to look better.

Today Eddie was standing in the door & saw Chris Garrett's big mastiff bite Colton Hull. Colton was over on Gwen's lawn & I don't know if the dog was playing or what, but Colton kicked at him. Chris called the dog home & put him in the kennel. Colton was crying, so I went over to Hulls & rang the doorbell. When Cindy came to the door, I told her what Eddie had seen. The dog had bruised Colton's shoulder, but it hadn't broken the skin. Like Eddie said, the dog is bigger than the kid. Matt was supposed to be watching Colton, but usually when Matt is "watching" Colton, Colton is wandering the neighborhood. I guess Chris was watching his dog too, he was in the driveway & the dog was roaming the neighborhood.

Colton said it was Spillet's dog, the people that lived across the street. They've moved & taken their animals with them. They were there today, but their dogs weren't. When we left Hulls, Eddie said Chris & the Hulls, Matt & Cindy, were yelling. I guess that's one benefit of being hearing impaired, LOL, you can't hear your neighbors yelling at each other.

Tonight when I went to feed Mufasa, I told him that was why I don't let him out. I can't control him & I don't want him wandering the neighborhood.

Lent, Day 39

Lent is almost over & I really didn't meet my goal of giving up late nights, although I did make a valiant effort. Up at 6:45 again this morning, but this morning I went back to bed. I think it was midnight again last night when I made it to bed.

Today would have been Don's moms 80th birthday. I didn't even make the connection that today was Bertha's birthday, much less her 80th. Don thought of it as we came out of Matthews Mortuary in Montpelier tonight after going to his Uncle Clyde's viewing. So we drove up to the cemetery to visit her grave.

Clyde is Bertha's brother just younger than her. He is 75 & has had cancer the last 4 years. I guess he really suffered the last few days. I didn't recognize a lot of the family, but Don said the only one he didn't recognize was Clyde. I didn't think it looked like Clyde either.

I didn't recognize his Aunt Merlyn (not Merlin, but Mer-Lynn). OMG, she looked like an old lady! I thought she looked like she was in her late 80s. I know she's only in her early 70s, so I guess that isn't very nice. I don't think she's very well either. When asked how she is doing, she just fluttered her hand, like so-so. I know it's not nice to "keep track." But she didn't make it to Bertha's funeral. She lives in the Vernal, Utah, area. She had just been up for the 4th of July & had not recuperated from her trip when Bertha died on Aug. 10. I remembered what Jessi, my supervisor, said you never know if you're going to offend by ommission or whether you're going to offend by saying something. She has decided it is better to offend by saying something. So, anyway, I said we missed her, Merlyn, at Bertha's funeral.

Don may have to work tomorrow & since he won't know til morning, it was better to go to the viewing tonight.

Lent, Day 38

Bedtime last night was 12:30. I turned off the computer at 11:30, but didn't make it to bed until 12:30. But, I was up at 6:45 to get Don to help me put the drops in Prissy's eye.

I got a phone call today from Instacare. Blood work came back from LRH as "good." However, the doctor found a lesion on my spine that he wants me to follow up on ASAP. Of course, my first thoughts are "cancer." I did stop at Nurse Practitioners on my way home from work. I'm not sure when I can make the time to get in & see them. I thought maybe Roxanne might want to see the x-ray before she sees me.

I also wanted to see if there were a possibility of getting a box of samples of Topamax. Medicaid did give Nick the Prior Authorization (PA) but the pharmacy has given us 10 days of Topamax, so we're always going to be behind on getting his refills. I thought by getting some samples, we could maybe catch up & be on time or a little ahead.

Lent, Day 37

Just a few more days of the Lenten season & then I'll have to come up with new titles for my subject line. I have had trouble trying to figure out what day of Lent it is. I hope I've numbered them all correctly.

Don made it to bed before I did last night. I had to fill the humidifier of my CPAP machine & then put it in after the lights were out - grrrr. So, it must have been about midnight again.

I spent the morning trying to figure out why the bank wouldn't let Luana cash Mother's rent check on Monday. I still don't know the answer to that, but she got it cashed. Then I checked on the vet charge account to see if there would be enough available credit to pay for both cats & saw only $23 available. So, I spent the morning, what was left of it after I got up at 10:30, working on finances. I was supposed to be to work at noon & didn't make it. I was going to have a piece of toast & take my meds before I took the cats to the vet.

But Nick has been obsessing about Daddy's little red jeep. How he wants to get rid of it & nobody will let him. I told him I did not want to get into an argument about the jeep. I didn't have time.

Nick & Don-Mike did put Brackin & Prissy in the carriers & carried them out to the car for me. By then, I was running late, still had to go up to the Citizen & tell them I'd be later than I was, but I'd still come in.

Prissy's eye has been gray, like Boots' was when I took him to the vet. Dr. Larry, the older, retired vet, was working today, I didn't ask where Dr. Cliff was. I like Dr. Larry better. He looked closely at Prissy's eye. He wanted to see if there was a "foreign body" in it. He found a ripped 3rd eye lid. He said, "Huh, I thought so." Somebody had swatted at Prissy & scratched her in the eye. We all know who did that. Miss Marsha Lu thinks she is God's gift to the Bartlomé family. She's always swiping at the other cats, especially Prissy. And poor little Prissy has been the pariah since the boys (Boots & Astro) died. Astro was the pariah before. Prissy has never fit in, but she & Boots seemed to have a rapport.

I think I know now how Boots died. Nick told me that Sam had run Boots off. We found him out under the lilac tree, so weak, he couldn't stand up. So, I'll bet his gray eye was the result of a swipe from Sam & it got infected.

Anyway, while I was explaining to Becca, the receptionist at the vet's office, that I didn't know how I was going to pay for this because I couldn't find Mother's credit card, I had a sudden, extreme gut ache. OMG, it felt like someone had taken my gut & was twisting it. It hurt SOOOOOOO bad. Becca & Marie, the vet's assistant, gave me a lollipop, they got some Ensure for diabetics, but I could only drink 3 swallows of the Ensure, then I tried throwing up, sticking my finger down my throat & gagging myself, in the bathroom, of course.

I had not had anything to eat before I left, the appt. was at 2 & I was about 5 minutes late. So, we wondered if it was low blood sugar. I hadn't had any of my pills either. I handed Becca my cell phone & she called Don-Mike, but I didn't know I had Big J's programmed as his default number. I always just use the speed dial. So, we tried his speed dial, it went to his voice mail, so she left a message. Then she called Nick. Luckily Don-Mike was at Big J's in Richmond & came back & got me. He called Nick to tell him not to come, but he was already in Franklin. Nick opted to keep coming. Don-Mike stopped at Big J's & picked up his food & while he was in getting it, I swiped 3 big swallows of his drink, still thinking it might be low blood sugar.

I curled up in the fetal position, trying to get some relief from the pain. He asked me what side of the road Instacare was on & I finally sat up. He was on 1400 North, headed for the hospital. I told him I wanted Instacare, but we could go to the hospital, if he wanted. He said ERs are so stinking expensive. I said Instacare was on 4th North & 2nd East. He took 4th East & wended his way to Instacare. OMG, those roads are bumpy. I'm so glad he had his new truck. I could stretch out in the back seat, not that I did.

Nick pulled in right behind us. I think he went directly to Instacare though. I am so glad Nick was there. He stayed right by my side. Don-Mike went right back out to the truck to eat his lunch. Nick helped me at the registration desk, stood by me through the triage room, helped me to the examining room & sat there with me. He left when I told him to go out to the truck & get the cell phone to call Jessi, my supervisor. Don-Mike came in then with Nick. Don-Mike had called Don, so he came up after work. The boys left when Don came & stopped in Richmond to pick up the cats.

The doctor examined me. By that time the pain had let up & I was able to straighten out. I told Nick by the time the doctor came, I was going to be better. Still tender & still having some pain. My urine sample was good, my blood work was good, slightly anemic, no surprise, but my potassium level was up, woo hoo!! My sugar level was 125, slightly elevated, but good considering I hadn't had anything to eat. They took an x-ray & found that there was a lot of stool backed up. I KNOW that wasn't a blocked bowel. The doctor suspects a gall bladder attack. They had to send that blood work to Logan Regional's lab, oh groan, more medical bills.

Anyway, the doctor told me to drink lots of water & they would call in the morning with the results of the blood work they sent to LRH.

Don stopped at the vet's for me to pick up the car. It was 10 to 6 & I told him I was going to go in & tell them I was ok. Whoever went in to pick up the cats told Becca & Marie it was gall stones. I told Nick to tell them the doctor thought it was gall bladder.

Lent, Day 36

We have some idiot racing up & down our street & revving his engine right outside our house. I'm so tired of the "kids" on the corner. I was so psyched Saturday, I thought they had moved, but ... no such luck, as we can hear. He does it at 2 a.m. in the morning. I was talking to a neighbor about half a block away about this neighbor a few weeks ago. He called him "ignernt." It tickled me. Something I didn't expect to hear. It's supposed to be ignorant, but means rude, LOL. Supposed to be Cache Valley-ese, but supposedly found in Canada. Hell-oooo!!! Some parts of Canada were settled by people from Cache Valley.

Anyway, today was much better, health-wise. Again, the attempt to get to bed by 11:30 failed & I made it to bed by 11:55. I was awake at 6 this morning & couldn't get back to sleep. My CPAP mask is ripped & air was leaking. I didn't want to get up & disturb Don. So, once he was up & out of the bathroom, I was in the bathroom & up for the day. I guess I'll have to try Mother's "old" mask again (above).

Speaking of CPAP masks, Mother wore her new CPAP mask (left) until 5 a.m. THIS MORNING!!! Woo hoo!! The longest she has worn it since she got the CPAP machine. She just kept the mask on her face when she got up & went to the bathroom. That's when it has been coming off in the past. Don-Mike told her to take the hose off the mask when she goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night & leave the mask on. She said she did that last night. I asked if it didn't bother her & she said yes, but she hurried. I wouldn't be able to do it, I'd fall or hyperventilate or both.

She said she didn't feel very good this morning when she got up. She'd had a weird dream. I told her it was good for her to dream. People with sleep disorders usually don't fall asleep soundly enough to dream.

I cut Don's hair tonight, almost gave him a buzz by using the shortest guard we have. A buzz will be the next cut, no guard on the clippers. The short hair looked so cool, as in not warm, but not cold , LOL, I was tempted to do it to my own. He actually looks cool, as in sharp, with the short hair too. Could be I'm prejudiced :)

Mother's protime was 2.7 today, within normal limits, keep on the same dosage of coumadin & recheck in 2 weeks.

A work day tomorrow & vet appointment for both Brackin & Prissy. Our vet is in Richmond, Utah. I picked up a cat carrier at the vet's today on our way home from Logan. I'd have forgotten if Mother hadn't reminded me. With 2 cat carriers, ours & the vet's, I can take both cats. Then Don can return the vet's carrier on Thursday on his way home.

Palm Sunday

Another day of General Conference, therefore no local church meetings are being held, thus a holiday for Don & I from the library.

Bedtime last night was - drum roll please - 11:30 p.m. Wake up time was 9:15. Nick woke me up, but I was laying there without the CPAP mask on my nose. He figured I was awake. My nose was so plugged up, I couldn't breathe through it, sigh. I haven't been taking my Zyrtec-D because Nick needs it & I've been giving it to him because Medicaid won't pay for Zyrtec. I guess I'll have to buy some OTC so we can both use it. My mouth was so dry. We're out of prilosec too. I've got to buy that also.

Now, for confession time. I was sitting on the bed, ready for bed at 11:30 p.m. I turned out the light at 12:30 because I finished reading an Anne Perry book, A Christmas Beginning. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's past due at the library & I need to return it. I have 2 other books out too. The librarian told me she couldn't renew one of them anymore. So, I need to read that too, or just bite the bullet & return it.

Don is finally doing our taxes. He needs a couple of things, but that's why I wanted the taxes done now & not April 15. I can look for them now, I've got a couple of days to do it. It's probably out in the basket of mail on the front seat of the car. I've been going to sort through it at Mother's.

Don-Mike's decided it's time to upgrade his daily driver. Nick found him a truck at Axtell Chevrolet in Logan. Speaking of dealerships, Tapper Motor in Montpelier has closed. Not that he was planning on checking with Tapper, but I remembered when he was talking about checking Hunzeker Chevrolet in Soda Springs.

Well, it's noon. Onward & upward, or in other words, I need to get up, take my meds, get dressed & go over to Mother's.

Lent, Day 34

Saturday evening. I'm glad I decided to take this challenge of giving something up for Lent, actually, it was to improve myself. I was rather naive when I started this. We've all heard of giving up something for Lent. I always thought it was rather strange. For the last 34 days, plus the 5 Sundays, so 39 days, I've thought about bedtime. I've also thought about why Lent is observed. At first I had this rather grandiose plan, I'd read about the last days of Christ in the New Testament, I'd get to bed at 11:30, no sweat, & I'd declutter the end of the bed, the easier to get in bed, huh!

I found this on a friend's blog:

An accurate depiction of Christ’s suffering contains objectionable material: Intense, Graphic Violence, Blood and Gore, plus Nudity. Not my style at all.

Nor is it my style. When I saw the movie, The Passion of the Christ, I wanted to see it in the theater, but couldn't find it in the valley. We rented it & Don & I watched it at home. I'm glad I got to see it at home. I asked several people if they had seen it. The response I got was that it was rated R. Well, duh, why wouldn't it be rated R? I had never seen such intense, graphic violence, my mind couldn't even wrap itself around it. It made a profound impression on me. Until that point in time, I couldn't even fathom the intensity of the violence.

I got to hear a little bit of LDS General Conference today. I wish I'd heard more, but I was running errands. And truth to tell, I'd forgotten it was conference.

Let's see bedtime was midnight, wake up time, Don said it was 10. I'd been awake for a little while trying to order in my mind what I needed to do today. Nick is out of topamax. I tried to get it the other day & was told to wait until the 10th. He ran out last night. I was hoping it was close enough to get some. Medicaid is playing god again. I so do not want to go to the bishop again for help. That is extremely hard for me to do. The good news is topamax is finally generic!!! Woo hoo! I just hope the generic helps as much as brand name. I know prozac helped until it went generic, then it was just like giving me a placebo.

The pharmacist asked me if the topamax was for seizures. No. Migraines? No, it's for his bipolar. Bipolar? He didn't know it was indicated for bipolar. Sigh. I got 4 pills for the weekend. Monday is a work day, but I guess I'll have to run an errand in the morning to see if I can get this worked through.

Speaking of seizures, a young man I worked with at the Deseret Industries died this week. He was 33. He had a seizure & fell & hit his head real hard. Bob, assistant editor, said it was a brain aneurysm. Whatever, it has haunted me.

Kim Kent & her daughter Shari Hokanson, left Endfield, Conn., this morning & are spending the night in Niagra, N.Y. They were in Schnectady this morning & the wind was blowing so hard the large lightpoles that have 4 lights on them were swaying in the wind.

Nick & Eddie went to see the movie, Fast & Furious, this afternoon. It is an auto-racing film. Don-Mike's been wanting to see it, so he took his dad with him to see it this evening.

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General Conference is also broadcast live on TV in the Salt Lake television market, which Preston is part of. We get Utah TV stations, but not Idaho.

Lent, Day 33

I follow a blog called "A Year of Crockpotting," you can find it down under "Other Blogs I Like to Read."

Here is a recipe I want to try, Crockpot Albondigas (Meatball) Soup. We really like meatball soup. Later in the comments she says you can use parsley if the mint weirds you out. The mint weirds me out.

Today's entry is Poor Man's Chili Crockpot Recipe. She says it is similar to her Clean Out the Pantry Soup. We call our clean out the pantry/freezer soup Minestrone Soup. I fixed that last night. I used pork broth left over from some pulled pork we had a few months ago. I don't do very good at labeling stuff I stick in the freezer. Never quite sure what I'll pull out. I didn't drain any of the veggies, so my soup was quite "broth-y." Is that a word? So, I wanted to thicken it. I used 1/2 cup bread crumbs. I found that in an allrecipes.com recipe.

Here is the real reason I decided to blog this, Crockpot Rice Pudding. I love rice pudding. I love crockpots. I just don't like to CLEAN crockpots. I was afraid if I didn't put it somewhere obvious, I'd never find it again. May never find it again anyway.

Speaking of a word being a word, I told Mother yesterday that I don't like to bathe, rhymes with lave, which is where she got Javen out bathing. How do you spell bathe-ing?

Since RaNae has a long "a," I sometimes get in trouble when someone says "Hey!" I mistake the long "a" for my name, LOL. This happened to me earlier in the week. I was SOOOO embarrassed. No one saw me, so it was ok.

I was at Stokes grocery store in their new little dining area which has an outside door. It is only an exit door with no handles on the outside. I was standing there getting myself a soda refill & I heard someone yell, "RaNae! Open the door!" And I heard some pounding & the door rattle like someone was trying to get in. My first thought was how did anyone know I was standing there. Second was that it was an emergency door & I couldn't open it. I stepped back to see who was at the door. No one! No one was at the door, but I could still hear the rattling. Now, remember, I have a substantial hearing loss & a hearing aid. A lot of times I can't tell where a sound is coming from. So, I thought maybe it was the door into the store. I turned & looked there. The doors were standing wide open & there was no one around. I KNEW I had heard the door & someone call my name demanding to be let in. I was still hearing things so I swung around. There on the wall is a large screen TV. There was an animated show playing. I think it was "Kung Fu Panda," with this huge panda shaking a door & demanding to be let in. He had yelled, "Hey!" not RaNae. LOL

Last night was a miserable night. I got to bed a little after 11:30, maybe 12 again. I decided I was going to use Mother's "old" CPAP mask, the one she's been cursing for the past 3 months. I don't like the mask over my mouth either. When I breathe, the air blows on my mouth. She'd been complaining about that. When Don finally came to bed at 1 a.m., I had enough of the "new" mask. I ripped it off & put on my old nasal mask. I loosened it. When I woke up this morning, I thought maybe there was something in the fact that a too tight mask might have something to do with my toothache. By afternoon though, the toothache was back, not as fierce as it has been, but it's there.

Don-Mike woke me up about 10. He said I was moving so he thought I was awake.

Lent, Day 32

Yesterday, The Preston Citizen was the talk of the town. It was so fun. I've had a hard time not talking about it. My poor family heard all about the April Fools joke we were going to play on the town.

There was a mixed review. One lady was so angry, she canceled her subscription. Another lady called & reamed Rhonda out because it was so tasteless. My aunt Luana didn't think it was funny either. One lady was crying at the Conoco because the county had gone bankrupt. Yet, people were laughing & loving it, too. I went into the Conoco today & saw that there was not a single copy of The Citizen on the counter. I asked where all the Citizens were & the clerk said they sold like hotcakes. There wasn't a single paper left when she went off shift yesterday afternoon. A lot of times Hidie has to pick up a whole stack of papers from the Conoco because they haven't sold.

So, here is a rundown of the April Fools joke we played. The Citizen was spelled Citzien. The top of the paper where it says "... bringing you the news since 1890," says "... bringing you the stuff of 1890." The top kicker says "DEQ closes Franklin County Landfill, page 16." The bottom kicker has a picture of the PHS cheer team's trophy saying they won the stunt contest at state & says, "PHS cheer team wins rumble competition, page 15." Then the Index has things like Illegals, page 16 (DEQ), instead of Legals & Hitchin' Post instead of Weddings, Boonies instead of Rural Route, Eatable Page instead of Recipe Corner. I don't have the paper in front of me, but there were other things like that & each of them reference a page that isn't even there, LOL.

The three main stories were county goes bankrupt with people driving to Soda Springs (45 miles north in Caribou County) to license cars & etc., Montpelier City (45 miles east in Bear Lake County) wouldn't answer any questions about whether they were in trouble or not instead of Preston. A band of wolves kills an entire herd of sheep, using a Bear Lake ranchers name. The final one was alligators found in Glendale Reservoir. The pictures were of the county commission chair, Richard Westerberg, standing on the front steps of the courthouse with a sign posted on the door that says, "Closed until further notice." He's standing there with dark shades & this little smirk on his face. Another picture has a picture of Glendale Reservoir with an alligator near the shore (which was put in with Photo Shop). The third picture is a picture of Robert Crosland, the PJHS science teacher, holding his alligator with a big grin on his face. Everyone knows that Cros teaches at PJHS, but the caption reads he is the PHS biology teacher :D

The stories are jumped to page 2 & at the end of each story is APRIL FOOLS! Page 3 is the REAL front page & everything is back to normal. Citizen is spelled right, the index has correct information AND pages. The kickers are correct too. It was a challenge to jump the real front page stories to other documents, so it took longer to get the jumps right.

Today, I went over so Mother could take a bath. I didn't get over there until 2. Don-Mike fed her such a big lunch, she had to sit & let it settle before she could take a bath. She didn't have her hearing aid in because she was going to take a bath. I asked her if it gave her out to take a bath & she said no. I said, "Bathing gives me out." She said, "What did he do?" I said, "Bathing gives me out." She said, "I heard you. What did he do?" I'm a little frustrated by now. I went up to her & said distinctly in her ear, "Bathing gives me out." She said, "Oh, bathing." I said, "Yes, what did you think I said?" She said, "Javen gives you out." I laughed & laughed over that. "Javen? I haven't seen Javen for a long time." Javen is our little neighbor boy. He's 4 & is on the autistic spectrum, so yes, he could give me out. But it's winter & I haven't seen him for a long time. I did watch him & his big sister come running out the other morning & clean off their aunt's car before school. Javen was cleaning the grill & the head lights & Burkley was brushing off the windshield. It reminded me of when my kids were little & Nick wouldn't ride the bus.

Anyway, Mother told me to go over to her house & take a shower. That gives me out too. I just hope that once the femara is out of my system, bathing won't be so tiring.

Luana let Mother borrow a toilet riser & Mother's been complaining about how the bathroom stinks. So, while she was in the tub, I decided I'd clean the toilet. I knew I wouldn't be able to clean the whole thing because I'd get tired. But I thought I'd see how far I could get. I took the riser off & went out to the laundry room & got some Borax, came back dumped some in & cleaned the toilet. I'd taken my water pill late & the shower running was causing some discomfort. I thought I'd use the bathroom while the shower curtain was shut & Mother wouldn't know. Well, I forgot to put the toilet seat down & I fell in the toilet & screamed. It almost gave Mother a heart attack, LOL. She's yelling, "What's the matter?" So, there I sit with my feet in the air, my butt in the toilet & I ripped open the shower curtain & said, "Nothing! I fell in the toilet." She said, "How are you going to get out?" I said, "I'm going to stand up." LOL

We had a fun time, which was better than leaving her in tears like I did last night. She was upset over her new CPAP mask. She spent about a half hour working with it.

I asked how it went last night & she said she got a tooth ache from the mask being so tight. I laughed & said that must be why I've had a tooth ache the last few weeks. My CPAP mask is too tight. The head gear is stretched out so much, I just keep tightening it. It's hard to get it on at night. Actually, that is something that can happen, but I didn't know it until I read it in the literature yesterday when I was trying to adjust Mother's new mask. The new mask just fits over her nose, which is what she's been wanting all along. She also said she couldn't keep her mouth shut & it was hard to breathe in the mask. I said that was why she had the other mask, to go over her mouth.

She asked how you're supposed to keep your mouth shut. I said I didn't know, I'd done it for 10 years, until the last few months before I got the new CPAP machine & the pressure was too high. For over 9 years the pressure has been set at 11, but I was having problems with it & so the doctor ordered a new sleep study & they found that I only need the pressure set at 8. Before the change, I'd rip the mask off because the pressure was too high. Other times the CPAP machine would stop & start & stop & start or just stop all together.

Last night Don made it to bed at 11:30 & I, of course, didn't. I woke up at 10 this morning, to see someone walk through the hall. I called out, "Who is that?" Eddie came back & said, "Me." He didn't have service today & so he got to come spend the day.

Lent, Day 31

Another short post, another missed bedtime. Darn! I read somewhere that someone gave up fast food for Lent, now there's an idea. Why didn't I choose something easy?

I've not had any femara since Sunday night. I should've taken that last pill instead of leaving just one, sigh. Can't see any difference yet, not that I really expected side effects to be gone overnight.

Lent, Day 30

Nick was giddy tonight, I'm a bad daughter & Don went to bed at 11:30. I'm still up, 12:41 a.m., obsessing about finances & what a bad daughter I am.

Lent, Day 28

Notice there is a new section on my blog. I put it right at the top so it would be noticeable.

The most exciting entry there is The Preston Citizen. I've worked there for almost 12 years. I've tried to get a website for most of those 12 years. I was browsing through my blogs. Since I changed the layout, I can't see who has updated lately. It had been a while since I checked Preston Idaho Digital News. I love that blog. The latest entry was new website in Preston & had a URL for The Citizen. So, I copied, pasted & entered. There it was!!! I've heard Kelly talking about a web site, but nothing's ever been said.

I need to get dressed, go to the pharmacy before it closes & take the mail basket over to Mother's & sort. I'm still here, wasting time. Can you say I am depressed? I am. I just want to sleep my life away.

I got to bed about midnight last night. This morning I woke up & Don was still in bed. He's always going to bed so late & never gets a chance to sleep in. So, I knew if I got up, he'd get up. So, I laid there & went back to sleep. The next time I woke up, he was still in bed. I laid there some more. Finally he got up, about 9:15, but I went back to sleep. Then Nick came through the hallway. I woke up, or maybe I was awake, anyway, he came in, apologized for waking me up. We talked for a minute & I went back to sleep. I finally got up about 10:30.

Lent, Day 27

Today was a better day, healthwise. I was awake at 9 a.m. I got to work about 11 a.m. There was a memo on our type tray saying that the corporation is tightening their belt & we may be facing some layoffs, telling us that March is "ugly."

I didn't get to bed last night until 12:30. Started trying to get to bed about 11. I told Don this is one of the hardest things I've ever tried to do, get to bed at a certain time. But I've always been very persistent. I had an online friend tell me that I remind her of a dog with a bone. I latch on & won't let go, LOL.

"I will persist until I succeed," Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World