"The State governments possess inherent advantages, which will ever give them an influence and ascendancy over the National Government, and will for ever preclude the possibility of federal encroachments. That their liberties, indeed, can be subverted by the federal head, is repugnant to every rule of political calculation." --Alexander Hamilton, speech to the New York Ratifying Convention, 1788
http://amplify.com/u/a1i08s
Monday, November 14, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Today Is GONNA Get Better, I Claim It In The Name of #Jesus!
My day started out an hour too early with my 31MO grandson retching in bed next to me. (Since hubby works nights, often I will waken to find little Leelan in Pete's spot, where he climbs in while I'm sleeping.) Thankfully, at some point during the night he had "that" cough, with a bit of a gag to it, so I got up and brought a towel to bed...just in case. At that time my lower back was sore but I thought with more rest it would be ok by morning. (I probably didn't blog this, but I spent half the night in the ER, unable to move due to EXTREME pain and spasms in my lower back from arthritis a couple of weeks ago. I was sent home with strong drugs, and still have a few left...)
An hour before my alarm went off, I woke again to "Ugma, HELP ME!" "UGMAAAA!" I grabbed the towel and rolled over in the nick of time to catch it - an entire, unchewed and undigested, 6" long string bean from dinner last night. Thankful that problem was solved, I tried to get out of bed...Let's just say I was also thankful that the closet is about 2' from the side of my bed - able to grab the wall to pull myself painfully up...unfortunately my walker is in the car since I don't usually need it so much in the house (there's something within reach almost everywhere)...but standing from the toilet there's nothing to grab. Still, I made it up, painfully, and even managed the 4 steps to the back door to let the dogs out.
Well, 2 of the dogs at least... Little chi-mix Curly, Pete's precious pet who has no use for me, wouldn't come. After letting the other 2 out the back door, I hobbled back up and to the living room to call Curly again, and this time he followed me. I gingerly got back down the steps, opened the door for him - and Pharaoh and Bing ran back in...followed by Curly! Fed the cat (he eats in the music room, which doubles as his room), and when Curly went into the sunroom I blocked him in there so he wouldn't potty in the house (which he probably already has during the night somewhere, I just haven't found it yet, and couldn't manage it right now anyway).
Meanwhile precious grandson is crying to be picked up (no can do baby, sorry :(...) so I got him cozy in Umpa's recliner (Umpa Pete is still at work, with our only vehicle which also has my walker in it, and is sick and miserable with a respiratory bug, my sweet Petey for whom I would do anything in the world!)...his favorite Booples video playing, and I've got a percocet and half a valium on board, hoping that will nip this back thing in the bud! Now that everyone else is settled - such as it is - I will put an ice pack on my back and wait for the blessed relief that I have faith is soon coming! Lots to do today, got a little boy to play with and dress and feed and do his ABCMouse "lessons" (to him it's all play and he LOVES it!), a sick hubby who will be getting his much-needed rest since he works all night and needs to get better - and who will have a 12-hour shift tonight - dishes to do, food to prepare...at the minimum. Today was going to be laundry day and am hoping I can still do it before we run out of undies - lol - but if not there is always tomorrow!
(Did I mention that during the night I developed a fever and a sore throat and a cough? Looks like I'm catching what Pete has...)
So...just waiting now, but thankful Leelan is happy with his video and it will keep him occupied for a while, my Petey - and my walker - will be home soon, the drugs will do what they're supposed to do without knocking me for a loop (I'll also be taking bug calls today), and all will be well in my world :). I'm everso thankful that Jesus is next to me, with His Spirit within me and enabling me...even though I'm here in the world and afflicted with the world's issues in this temporary flawed body, I can't even imagine getting through it all without Him and His strength!
An hour before my alarm went off, I woke again to "Ugma, HELP ME!"
Well, 2 of the dogs at least... Little chi-mix Curly, Pete's precious pet who has no use for me, wouldn't come. After letting the other 2 out the back door, I hobbled back up and to the living room to call Curly again, and this time he followed me. I gingerly got back down the steps, opened the door for him - and Pharaoh and Bing ran back in...followed by Curly! Fed the cat (he eats in the music room, which doubles as his room), and when Curly went into the sunroom I blocked him in there so he wouldn't potty in the house (which he probably already has during the night somewhere, I just haven't found it yet, and couldn't manage it right now anyway).
Meanwhile precious grandson is crying to be picked up (no can do baby, sorry :(...) so I got him cozy in Umpa's recliner (Umpa Pete is still at work, with our only vehicle which also has my walker in it, and is sick and miserable with a respiratory bug, my sweet Petey for whom I would do anything in the world!)...his favorite Booples video playing, and I've got a percocet and half a valium on board, hoping that will nip this back thing in the bud! Now that everyone else is settled - such as it is - I will put an ice pack on my back and wait for the blessed relief that I have faith is soon coming! Lots to do today, got a little boy to play with and dress and feed and do his ABCMouse "lessons" (to him it's all play and he LOVES it!), a sick hubby who will be getting his much-needed rest since he works all night and needs to get better - and who will have a 12-hour shift tonight - dishes to do, food to prepare...at the minimum. Today was going to be laundry day and am hoping I can still do it before we run out of undies - lol - but if not there is always tomorrow!
(Did I mention that during the night I developed a fever and a sore throat and a cough? Looks like I'm catching what Pete has...)
So...just waiting now, but thankful Leelan is happy with his video and it will keep him occupied for a while, my Petey - and my walker - will be home soon, the drugs will do what they're supposed to do without knocking me for a loop (I'll also be taking bug calls today), and all will be well in my world :). I'm everso thankful that Jesus is next to me, with His Spirit within me and enabling me...even though I'm here in the world and afflicted with the world's issues in this temporary flawed body, I can't even imagine getting through it all without Him and His strength!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Being Online, #Twitter, #Facebook, #YouTube, #Blogs, and all that...
You know, I used to love getting online, couldn't wait to catch up with my friends on Facebook every morning while I had my coffee...again at lunchtime...then during an afternoon break...in the evening while I wound down for the night... Now I have to force myself to go there. Oh, it isn't my friends, I still like to catch up with them! But it's no longer worth the effort. When I sign on I have to click all those little blue triangles to remove all the top stories. Then as I attempt to scroll down to see what's left, I am constantly interrupted by pinterest-like photos and posters - so many that there are more of those than of actual newsy posts by my friends! I hide them all, they irritate the heck out of me, if I wanted a half-dozen copies of each of a hundred cutesy sayings in graphic form cluttering up my wall, I'd have just joined pinterest! By that time I've caught up with the news from SOME of my friends - the ones that Facebook deems important enough for me to see easily - and I now have to go to my "Everyone" list that I had to make just so that I could see what's going on with everybody else. By the time I scan that (and since I can't hide the freakin' graphics on a list page I have to visually pick out the updates from the graphic flotsam and jetsam) and go back to my FB wall, there's a whole new crop of top stories and graphics junk littering the place! All that work leaves me no time to post my own updates or comment on others' updates, and I've wasted all of my FB time on just housekeeping. So most of the time, I don't even bother with FB anymore - once a day of frustration and wasted online time is more than enough for me, and I only endure it because I truly love the friends and family that I connect with there.
Meanwhile, Twitter remains neat and clean and simple. I scroll down a list and see what's new with my tweeps, comment on their posts, share my own updates, thank my new followers, post some personal notes, check the twitter pages of a few "favorite" tweeple, and I'm done in a matter of minutes, off to the next thing in my day. No muss, no fuss.
Since I've grown to dislike FB so much I've been spending more of my online time at YouTube. I have never seen before that there is a real community there, as I used to just go watch random videos. But I've discovered vlogs and, even though I only follow 3 of them, they are very satisfying to me. I've grown to care about these 3 people, pray for them, and someday may even learn to vlog myself! Again, what you see is what you get, the relationships forged there can be very satisfying (as the vloggers point out), and it's simple to get to what you want without a whole lot of junk getting in the way or wasting my time.
I have always enjoyed blogs. I subscribe to a whole heap of them on Google Reader. I rarely read blogs on the computer, but when I have down time (ie, falling asleep at night, in a waiting room at the doctor's, waiting for the final spin cycle to complete, whatever) I open my gReader app and catch up on a few. Oh, I'm never completely caught up, but always make sure I start with my favorites and work from there. (In ideal world I would only subscribe to my favorite blogs, but sometimes I click that RSS button when I get caught up in the excitement of the moment - lol.)
(Where does email fall into all of this? I check it first thing, every time I get online, do my replies or file away the info, and then move onto the rest. But I've left almost all of my yahoogroups - probably a year ago - and my email load has been reduced by about 90%, so it isn't as significant, time-wise.)
I can't, and don't want to, let my online time take over my life. During the busy seasons when I'm at my computer taking bug calls anyway, I spend a little more time doing social online things during business hours, between calls. The rest of the year I have many other things to do besides sit at my computer (as I did the last few years when I was too sick to live a "real" life most of the time); when I am here, my time has to count. Not be wasted by a bunch of useless housekeeping tasks, but really communicate and interact with other people, or research and learn, or be blessed or be a blessing. The internet is an adjunct to my "real life", not a replacement for it, and for me it's all about the people.
Meanwhile, Twitter remains neat and clean and simple. I scroll down a list and see what's new with my tweeps, comment on their posts, share my own updates, thank my new followers, post some personal notes, check the twitter pages of a few "favorite" tweeple, and I'm done in a matter of minutes, off to the next thing in my day. No muss, no fuss.
Since I've grown to dislike FB so much I've been spending more of my online time at YouTube. I have never seen before that there is a real community there, as I used to just go watch random videos. But I've discovered vlogs and, even though I only follow 3 of them, they are very satisfying to me. I've grown to care about these 3 people, pray for them, and someday may even learn to vlog myself! Again, what you see is what you get, the relationships forged there can be very satisfying (as the vloggers point out), and it's simple to get to what you want without a whole lot of junk getting in the way or wasting my time.
I have always enjoyed blogs. I subscribe to a whole heap of them on Google Reader. I rarely read blogs on the computer, but when I have down time (ie, falling asleep at night, in a waiting room at the doctor's, waiting for the final spin cycle to complete, whatever) I open my gReader app and catch up on a few. Oh, I'm never completely caught up, but always make sure I start with my favorites and work from there. (In ideal world I would only subscribe to my favorite blogs, but sometimes I click that RSS button when I get caught up in the excitement of the moment - lol.)
(Where does email fall into all of this? I check it first thing, every time I get online, do my replies or file away the info, and then move onto the rest. But I've left almost all of my yahoogroups - probably a year ago - and my email load has been reduced by about 90%, so it isn't as significant, time-wise.)
I can't, and don't want to, let my online time take over my life. During the busy seasons when I'm at my computer taking bug calls anyway, I spend a little more time doing social online things during business hours, between calls. The rest of the year I have many other things to do besides sit at my computer (as I did the last few years when I was too sick to live a "real" life most of the time); when I am here, my time has to count. Not be wasted by a bunch of useless housekeeping tasks, but really communicate and interact with other people, or research and learn, or be blessed or be a blessing. The internet is an adjunct to my "real life", not a replacement for it, and for me it's all about the people.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A Little of This, A Little of That - Something for Everyone :)
God is rich in blessings toward me! He never fails me, never leaves me, always sustains me, and always inspires me to do ever-greater things for His Kingdom!
Topic #1 -
Pete & I went camping this past weekend with some people from our church. We were offered a camper to borrow/sleep in which we gratefully accepted. The trip itself was beyond wonderful (I will be posting some photos at the RoscoFMC Facebook page later today.), the weather was absolutely perfect, the fall colors were magnificent, and the fellowship was stupendous! However, I wanted to write about camping in general. It is the first time that Pete and I had camped together, and he really really loved it! I enjoyed getting away with him the most; even though it was a heck of a lot of work getting ready, it was worth it for the time we spent together but mostly for the new experience and the new memories we made together. He's been looking at camping equipment websites online since we got home :). While we won't be able to afford a camper, we've been talking about getting a 2nd vehicle next year. Now we're thinking it might be a full-sized van, or something similar, something we can sleep in. And a screen house for daytime outdoor "living". Something to think about, and dream about, and talk about together, for 2012...
Topic #2 -
I work for a pest control company on a seasonal basis, and have since 2001. During their busy season (April-Oct) I answer their phones during business hours and set the appointments for the technicians. I LOVE my job, and always feel a void during the months I'm not working. Right around February I start looking forward to getting back to it every year. Well, I'm excited to say that this year they have decided to use my services on a part-time, as-needed basis through the winter! I am thrilled! Even though I won't be working a whole lot, especially in the coldest parts of the winter, I will still get to do what I love to do :). The extra $ will be nice but mostly I'm just happy I'll get to work. And, I just ordered a brand-new fancy headset :). My old one was inexpensive and did well for several years, but now some of the wires are exposed and starting to fray, so it's time to get a really nice one with stereo sound (my netbook has Dolby in the earphone jack!) and a noise-limiting mic. I have it on order from Amazon.com and it will be here tomorrow - stoked!
Topic #3 -
I'm just loving being a grandma to my little grandson (now 2-1/2) Leelan, and am looking forward to having more time to spend with him this winter too. My daughter, working to make a better life for her son and herself, is now working every day at a bank as a teller - a very nice step up from her last 4 years at her first job at Burger King! She's still working part-time at BK as well, for financial reasons, and is also going to college part-time; I am SO PROUD of my girl! (I want to say here that Casey spends every spare minute with her son, he is her top priority, she sacrifices time with friends and her social life for his sake since every minute she can spend with him is more important to her than anything/anyone else...he is her world!) Casey's doing what she feels she needs to do to make a good career and provide future stability for them, and this is just temporary. But she needs lots of babysitting support, which her dad, "Big Grampa" (he's very tall!) and I help with as much as we can. Through the winter I'm excited about spending a lot more time with Leelan too! She is doing an AMAZING job with raising him, and both Big Grampa and I love spending time with him, helping her, and being there for them both...so I'm really looking forward to spending time with Leelan and, hopefully, more time with his mom!
Topic #3 -
I haven't spoken much about my mom lately. Her LBD is progressing, her memory is worse, she is more and more dependent on the routine of the nursing home for her sense of security and wants to spend less and less time away...but her hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, and behaviors are being very well-managed with an ideal cocktail of carefully chosen meds, and her personality is intact. I still bring her home or take her out on Sundays, although she doesn't like spending time away and wants to go back sooner and sooner. In the past she's been happy to spend a whole day - up to 8 hours - with us, and would only start asking to go back at dusk. Through this summer, though, she wants to go back sooner and sooner, and many days after only a couple of hours...and taking her out more than once a week also causes her to become anxious to the point that she doesn't enjoy it. Because she doesn't recall the things we do together when she's out with me anymore, I'm now concentrating on giving her beautiful moments. She can only live in the moment, once it is gone, it is out of her memory. And she can't look forward to anything because she doesn't remember a future event after she's been told about it. So she lives in the moment, and I try to make each of those moments count. I think Leelan and I will be spending more time with her in her own environment this winter, as I'll be working less. But she seems happy, and is very loving, her sense of humor is still there and she makes very very funny and clever jokes that crack us all up. For now, even with LBD, she is in a good place.
Topic #4 -
A good place. My mom lives in a small (61 bed) nursing home about a mile from my house. I'm there in 4 minutes. So many people talk about nursing homes as if they were awful horrible dungeons - and maybe some of them are. But not all are like that. I know for a FACT that without the wonderful care, the attention, the one-on-one work, and the love that my mom gets at King's, she would be so much worse off than she is today. NO WAY could I have provided for her even 1/10th of what they have, and I am so grateful for all they've done. And it is home to her, and she has friends that she can spend time with every day, and has even had a couple of romantic interludes with other residents that were good for her well-being! To hear all nursing homes lumped together as hell-on-earth, or to hear exhausted, stressed caregivers struggling to meet even the minimum needs of their loved ones, all because "I promised him I'd never put him in a nursing home" - it is heart-breaking! There ARE good ones out there, and they are trained to deal with the issues our loved ones are facing, round-the-clock, and assist them in every way. They CAN give our loved ones so much more than many of us are able to do - we are just one person, they are a team who can meet nearly every need that our loved ones have. Speaking for myself, I know I couldn't have provided that. And I know that my mom would be so much worse off if not for the professional care, specifically designed for her needs, that she has received. I wouldn't have deprived her of that for anything! Don't tell me that nursing homes are last-resort options, akin to deserting a loved one or taking the easy way out at the expense of their health or well-being. Many times caregivers sacrifice everything out of misplaced guilt, and still can't help their loved one as much as the professionals can. Yeah, some nursing homes really suck. But don't assume that they all do. Some are also lifesavers - for our loved ones AND for us.
Topic #5 -
Pete and I watch an old 26" TV with a pretty fuzzy picture. His eyesight (cataracts, glaucoma, and double vision on one eye) is declining to the point that he can't see it very well and can't read the menus or guide without walking across the room to get up close. Anything written on the screen as part of a movie or show is lost to him. (He rarely bothers to turn it on anymore, even for shows that he enjoys.) So we have been looking at the flat-screen TVs at Walmart. (We won't necessarily buy from Walmart, but they have a good selection to look at.) He can stand 20' back from them and be able to read the writing on the screen, they are so clear. We have decided that our Christmas gift for ourselves this year will be a new TV that he can actually watch. Because I have Amazon Prime I would like one that will get on the internet and let us watch content through there. Price will be a factor of course (I've already started tucking away a few extra dollars where I can), but if we're going to do this we want to do it right, and get the best that we can afford. We have a small living room, so 32" is what we are looking at for both price and practicality. If you have any suggestions or recommendations I would love to hear them...thanks! :)
That about wraps up what's been on my mind...if you're still with me, thanks :).
Topic #1 -
Pete & I went camping this past weekend with some people from our church. We were offered a camper to borrow/sleep in which we gratefully accepted. The trip itself was beyond wonderful (I will be posting some photos at the RoscoFMC Facebook page later today.), the weather was absolutely perfect, the fall colors were magnificent, and the fellowship was stupendous! However, I wanted to write about camping in general. It is the first time that Pete and I had camped together, and he really really loved it! I enjoyed getting away with him the most; even though it was a heck of a lot of work getting ready, it was worth it for the time we spent together but mostly for the new experience and the new memories we made together. He's been looking at camping equipment websites online since we got home :). While we won't be able to afford a camper, we've been talking about getting a 2nd vehicle next year. Now we're thinking it might be a full-sized van, or something similar, something we can sleep in. And a screen house for daytime outdoor "living". Something to think about, and dream about, and talk about together, for 2012...
Topic #2 -
I work for a pest control company on a seasonal basis, and have since 2001. During their busy season (April-Oct) I answer their phones during business hours and set the appointments for the technicians. I LOVE my job, and always feel a void during the months I'm not working. Right around February I start looking forward to getting back to it every year. Well, I'm excited to say that this year they have decided to use my services on a part-time, as-needed basis through the winter! I am thrilled! Even though I won't be working a whole lot, especially in the coldest parts of the winter, I will still get to do what I love to do :). The extra $ will be nice but mostly I'm just happy I'll get to work. And, I just ordered a brand-new fancy headset :). My old one was inexpensive and did well for several years, but now some of the wires are exposed and starting to fray, so it's time to get a really nice one with stereo sound (my netbook has Dolby in the earphone jack!) and a noise-limiting mic. I have it on order from Amazon.com and it will be here tomorrow - stoked!
Topic #3 -
I'm just loving being a grandma to my little grandson (now 2-1/2) Leelan, and am looking forward to having more time to spend with him this winter too. My daughter, working to make a better life for her son and herself, is now working every day at a bank as a teller - a very nice step up from her last 4 years at her first job at Burger King! She's still working part-time at BK as well, for financial reasons, and is also going to college part-time; I am SO PROUD of my girl! (I want to say here that Casey spends every spare minute with her son, he is her top priority, she sacrifices time with friends and her social life for his sake since every minute she can spend with him is more important to her than anything/anyone else...he is her world!) Casey's doing what she feels she needs to do to make a good career and provide future stability for them, and this is just temporary. But she needs lots of babysitting support, which her dad, "Big Grampa" (he's very tall!) and I help with as much as we can. Through the winter I'm excited about spending a lot more time with Leelan too! She is doing an AMAZING job with raising him, and both Big Grampa and I love spending time with him, helping her, and being there for them both...so I'm really looking forward to spending time with Leelan and, hopefully, more time with his mom!
Topic #3 -
I haven't spoken much about my mom lately. Her LBD is progressing, her memory is worse, she is more and more dependent on the routine of the nursing home for her sense of security and wants to spend less and less time away...but her hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, and behaviors are being very well-managed with an ideal cocktail of carefully chosen meds, and her personality is intact. I still bring her home or take her out on Sundays, although she doesn't like spending time away and wants to go back sooner and sooner. In the past she's been happy to spend a whole day - up to 8 hours - with us, and would only start asking to go back at dusk. Through this summer, though, she wants to go back sooner and sooner, and many days after only a couple of hours...and taking her out more than once a week also causes her to become anxious to the point that she doesn't enjoy it. Because she doesn't recall the things we do together when she's out with me anymore, I'm now concentrating on giving her beautiful moments. She can only live in the moment, once it is gone, it is out of her memory. And she can't look forward to anything because she doesn't remember a future event after she's been told about it. So she lives in the moment, and I try to make each of those moments count. I think Leelan and I will be spending more time with her in her own environment this winter, as I'll be working less. But she seems happy, and is very loving, her sense of humor is still there and she makes very very funny and clever jokes that crack us all up. For now, even with LBD, she is in a good place.
Topic #4 -
A good place. My mom lives in a small (61 bed) nursing home about a mile from my house. I'm there in 4 minutes. So many people talk about nursing homes as if they were awful horrible dungeons - and maybe some of them are. But not all are like that. I know for a FACT that without the wonderful care, the attention, the one-on-one work, and the love that my mom gets at King's, she would be so much worse off than she is today. NO WAY could I have provided for her even 1/10th of what they have, and I am so grateful for all they've done. And it is home to her, and she has friends that she can spend time with every day, and has even had a couple of romantic interludes with other residents that were good for her well-being! To hear all nursing homes lumped together as hell-on-earth, or to hear exhausted, stressed caregivers struggling to meet even the minimum needs of their loved ones, all because "I promised him I'd never put him in a nursing home" - it is heart-breaking! There ARE good ones out there, and they are trained to deal with the issues our loved ones are facing, round-the-clock, and assist them in every way. They CAN give our loved ones so much more than many of us are able to do - we are just one person, they are a team who can meet nearly every need that our loved ones have. Speaking for myself, I know I couldn't have provided that. And I know that my mom would be so much worse off if not for the professional care, specifically designed for her needs, that she has received. I wouldn't have deprived her of that for anything! Don't tell me that nursing homes are last-resort options, akin to deserting a loved one or taking the easy way out at the expense of their health or well-being. Many times caregivers sacrifice everything out of misplaced guilt, and still can't help their loved one as much as the professionals can. Yeah, some nursing homes really suck. But don't assume that they all do. Some are also lifesavers - for our loved ones AND for us.
Topic #5 -
Pete and I watch an old 26" TV with a pretty fuzzy picture. His eyesight (cataracts, glaucoma, and double vision on one eye) is declining to the point that he can't see it very well and can't read the menus or guide without walking across the room to get up close. Anything written on the screen as part of a movie or show is lost to him. (He rarely bothers to turn it on anymore, even for shows that he enjoys.) So we have been looking at the flat-screen TVs at Walmart. (We won't necessarily buy from Walmart, but they have a good selection to look at.) He can stand 20' back from them and be able to read the writing on the screen, they are so clear. We have decided that our Christmas gift for ourselves this year will be a new TV that he can actually watch. Because I have Amazon Prime I would like one that will get on the internet and let us watch content through there. Price will be a factor of course (I've already started tucking away a few extra dollars where I can), but if we're going to do this we want to do it right, and get the best that we can afford. We have a small living room, so 32" is what we are looking at for both price and practicality. If you have any suggestions or recommendations I would love to hear them...thanks! :)
That about wraps up what's been on my mind...if you're still with me, thanks :).
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