A couple things...

I have shared my cat obsession with you and if you are tired of hearing about it, well, you should stop reading! I have more to share.

I emailed the lady who fosters Alexandra. Her name is Beth. She said Alexandra is a lover. She also said Alexandra takes her paws and lifts up her hands to be petted. Long story short...Beth and I both think that it's meant to be. :) Do I think that Alexandra is going to take her little paws and lift up my non working paralyzed arms so I can pet her? No! My point is this kitty and I will make a great pair. :) I honestly want to adopt Pierre, Alexandra's son, also.

Today was dog training class. We took a little tour of their dog park and the play area and learned the do's and don'ts when handling the dogs. We took Elvis (a Bichon Frise) for a walk, which was fun. :) Next week is cat training and then we will be finished with the training.

Crazy cat lady part 2 Skype Jason Leffler

My cat saga continues, but now I'm back to square one. My "roomie" has now retracted everything he said and has denied saying I could get a cat with claws. I'm finished with negotiation! He is being so closed minded! :(

I created a Skype account today. I have really never been interested in a Skype account before, but a company I make telephone calls for, some of their clients require it. I must say I didn't realize how sophisticated it is. I was setting up my account and I got to the step to check for audio and recording settings and OMG I was on my monitor. I was on my webcam that I didn't realize I even had. I was like Shit, how do I get my mug off of here? LOL! #mortified"

The NASCAR family lost one of their own Wednesday night at a Sprint car race. Jason Leffler was killed when his car hit the wall twice and flipped several times. He was 37 years old and left behind  a son who was only 5 years old.

Crazy cat lady

Happy Thursday! :) I have become obsessed with finding me a cat. Notice I said me?? Not us.. ME. :) I know the person I live with wants nothing to do with a cat. That's ok though. He has been adamant about not getting one up until two nights ago. I caught him in a semi good mood. I told him he wouldn't have to clean the litter box or have anything to do with it, just please let me have a cat. He sort of said ok by saying that it will need to have it's front claws to defend itself against Buddy. So, now I'm on a mission to find a cat, especially before he changes his mind. My perfect kitty search, It's taking over my whole life! I still have my sights on Molly at the Humane Society along with many more from the petfinder website. I thought about allowing the viewers of my blog to help me pick out my furry feline addition for me, but I know how busy you both are right now. :) Here they are anyway. Tommy Sanford Alexandra

Have a good night!

Humane Society

Hi! Today was a beautiful day! It was sunny and hot, my kind of weather!! :) I went to the Humane Society of Greater Dayton for a 30 minute basic training session, the first of three. The next session is dog training and the last is cat training.

When we went in to the cat room 20+ cats swarmed around my wheelchair. Some were skittish and used great caution, but others went under my wheelchair and one in particular was at my feet pedals being nosy. :) Her name is Molly and she is 4 years old and a beautiful calicoat! I have had my eye on her for weeks. I visit the website often and admire her and a number of other long hair cats. :) Meet Molly by clicking on the Molly link. Molly

We then went in to the dog kennel area. There were two big dogs who saw my wheelchair and ran out their doggy door to get outside. LOL. At one point I went outside and one of the same dogs was outside, saw me, darted inside, peaked outside the doggy door and that was the last of him :) LOL

I think I will really enjoy volunteering and being around animals. I know it's not all warm and fuzzy, though. Today a lady tried to drop off a box of preemie kittens, but was told there was no room. She then attempted to leave without the box of kittens, but was warned her license plate number would be reported. :(

Take a look at some animals in the shelter. Humane Society of Greater Dayton

Weekend

Hello! :) Hope you had a great weekend! My weekend was nice and quiet. Saturday my nursing assistant and I spent some time on the back deck with the furbabies. My nursing assistant threw the Frisbee to Lady for awhile and threw the ball to Buddy. Lady is a bit on the portly side so I have been making sure the nursing assistants take her outside twice a day to chase the Frisbee. She does pretty good for a couple tosses, but then she begins to slow down. She brings the Frisbee back half way and lays down, then eventually she lets you know she is finished when she walks the opposite direction. :) A few years ago Steve was throwing the Frisbee to her over and over and over again until she was tired. Well, the last time he tossed it she chased it but then she stopped and needed to do a #2. He told her to bring the Frisbee to him and she just laid down and looked at him. He walked over to get the Frisbee and saw that she #2ed in the Frisbee!!! :) I thought that was a clever way to be finished.

After Frisbee and ball throwing they both got their fur brushed. Neither one like when the brush comes out for some reason. They walk away and it takes a lot of coaxing (and a treat) to bribe them back. They lost a boat load of hair, so they should feel better. :) 

After coming inside I stood in my standing frame for about an hour and half. That feels wonderful as it stretches my back, hips, ankles and feet. :)

Hello! Happy Friday! :) It is suppose to be a nice weekend here in Ohio. I don't have any plans to go anywhere, but that's ok. I will stick around here and go outside for a while with my nursing assistant and furbabies. :)

I am still not getting up for long periods of time because of my "area" not being completely healed. Today it appeared to be gone, but it still hurt. This makes me think it's not healed completely and still might be bruised. So, I will take it a little easy this weekend. :)

On Sunday I had plans to visit a a lady who lives in a nursing facility. She is coming home soon. Unfortunately my van went in the shop today and won't be fixed until Monday or Tuesday. I hope to go meet her next week or the week after if she is available. :) I always like to hear stories about residents leaving nursing homes. It's so easy to get put in one, but getting out is a different story.

Happy hump day!!

Hello! Today is absolutely beautiful outside! My area is 95% back to normal but I still need to be careful with my time in my wheelchair. I listen to my body's signals. After being up for an hour today I began to feel a bit tired and light headed. This meant my blood pressure was getting low and I needed to elevate. My hour up was spent outside on the back deck getting my hair shampooed. It felt nice feeling the warm sun on my face! The furbabies were outside with us also enjoying the sun. :)

I watched Monday night's Push Girls this morning. I have always had mixed feelings about this show. It annoys me that on every episode that at least one of the four talk about able bodies stereotyping people in wheelchairs. For instance they say, people think that people in wheelchairs can't do this or that. Then she/they do exactly what the able bodies said she/they couldn't do and then its like "woohoo I showed those stupid able bodies that I could do it!! Woohoo for me" I know I'm being a little dramatic, but it's honestly like nails on a chalkboard! They're stereotyping able bodies at the same time they are being stereotyped.

There are parts of the show that I do like so I'm not going to stop watching it altogether. Not now anyway. :) My favorite push girl is Angela, who is actually a quadriplegic. She is the most down to earth it seems. She lives with her Aunt Judy and that is who has taken care of her for the past year and half. She is going through a divorce from her husband, Dustin Nguyen, who is an actor.  I like Auti, too. She is married and they started counseling on this episode. He first told her there is no way he was talking to a counselor. He said he saw one for years and they just fill your head with things you didn't say. The next scene was them going to the appointment! :) LOL! Awhile back she told her husband that she got drunk and had an affair on him. Out of anger and hurt, he ended up pushing her over in her wheelchair. Now they both have that monkey on their back and can't forget about the past, which brings me to this....

I never understand when someone is married or in a relationship and has a lapse in judgment or doesn't use discretion for whatever reason, why don't they just try to forget about it and let it go? I guess I don't understand coming clean and perhaps causing hurt that could be avoided? Don't get me wrong I don't make a habit of making bad choices, but I guess the way I have dealt with those moments isn't the right or wrong way??

Hello! Well, I was finally able to get in my wheelchair today, the first time in 8 days. I only managed to sit upright for about 45 minutes before my blood pressure dropped and making me feel uncomfortable and causing me to lay back down. Later this afternoon though I got up in the standing frame which was fabulous for my achy back, ankles and hips! :) I think I will sleep better tonight. :)

My area is looking much better today! I still need to be cautious and not stay up too long at one time. That area is vulnerable as it is bony and not much meat on it. :)

I saw on the news that a family in Michigan have a pet deer and have had her since she was born 5 years ago. Her Momma died after giving birth to her in front of the family who has her now. The deer lives inside, lays on the couch, plays with the dogs and cats and wears a red bandana scarf around her neck. :) The neighbor's friend (asshole) called the authorities and now they are trying to take Bambi away. Ok, Lilly not Bambi. On one hand I understand that this pet is considered wild and could be dangerous, but on the other hand this has become a member of the family. Why is it ok to hunt and kill deer and then turn them in to jerky and burgers, but not okay to treat them humanely? It just seems so twisted! I'm not against the hunting of deer, don't get me wrong. I know there is an overpopulation of them which causes a large amount of accidents, so something has to be done. My heart goes out to the family and I'm routing for them!! Lilly the pet deer

Lets move to the Huber Heights family who had a pet alligator for 15 years. There was a video that showed the alligator getting mistreated so animal control has it now and they are moving it to Florida. I heard that because he lacked sunlight and lived in a pool in a basement, he was unhealthy and didn't grow. He was missing teeth and his nose was damaged. :( I hope he gets well and can survive! Pet alligator }

Rage and rant

Hello! :) Today has been a pretty good day, despite it's rough start. I got a call at 7:15 this morning and it was my nurse saying she was having issues getting here. My nurse assistant, Heather, ended up coming in at 10:45 to help me with my morning routine and well, she was my little lifesaver this morning. :) She actually left my house at 2am this morning and didn't hesitate coming in when my nurse called her. Thank you Heather!!! :)

Being in bed is wearing thin. I'm to the point now where I'm not responsible for my actions if I'm crossed! Actually, I don't even have to be crossed! I'm hot and uncomfortable! My feet, ankles, legs, butt, hips and back hurts!!!I want to lay on my back, I want to sit on my butt and I want to stand in my standing frame!! I'm close to saying f#$k it and getting up. :(

TGIF

Hello! Happy Friday! :) It's storming terribly here, which is great for all my new flowers! I don't think I will need to water them tomorrow. :)

My area. Hmmmm. It seems to have went the other direction slightly as far as showing improvement. Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible. It's just a little more pink than my last peek. I will look at it tonight and hopefully will see improvement again. Fingers crossed. :)

As far as the reunion Sunday. I think I will need to for go that as I don't want this spot to get horrible. Those who are familiar with pressure sores aka decubitis ulcers know that a pink area can turn in to a stage 4 sore in hours. Here is a link describing them and showing how they progress. Decubitis ulcer

Fifteen years ago I had a stage 4 sore that kept me in bed for two months. The hard part at first was finding the treatment that worked for me. For me it was polymem dressing. It was a foam that was placed over the sore and from what I understand it absorbed the infection and eventually closed it up. So anyway, stay away from those pressure sores. :)

It has dawned on me that my modesty has flown the coop!! I have very little and I can't say I'm disturbed by it. Yesterday my sister put some tea tree oil on my area and I felt a little weirded out at first, but she reminded me she used to be my nursing assistant. Before my injury 21 years ago I would have never talked about 75% of the stuff I talk about now. LOL

Pressure sores and Lady bug

Hi, happy Thursday! It's a beautiful day, I wish I could be out enjoying it. On the up side though my little area that is keeping me down is getting smaller!! Woot! Today my nurse measured it at 1 cm x .4 cm. and about 8 hours later it's a bruise with very little color. Hopefully in just a couple more days and I will be up. :)

My sister brought me a bag full of melaleuca samples which included pain cream, tea bags, flavored supplement powder to stir in water, protein powder, tea tree oil and more. Tea tree oil is an oil that is in many of their products and has hundreds of uses.  It promotes the healing of pressure areas that are not open wounds which is the main reason I was intrigued to try it! :) I think it's time for me to join under her. :)

My sister said Lady (my border collie) was a fat ass!! I couldn't believe my ears. I asked my nursing assistant if Lady was fat and she said yes!! I am in denial, but I guess I need to make sure she gets less treats and more exercise!

Melalueca, beef jerky, work from home opps

As I lay here flat on my back, legs in the air, trying to stay off my hiney my mind is thinking about moolah!  :) My sister is encouraging me to join melalueca, a company devoted to all natural and eco friendly products! If I join under her, she earns residual income and if people join under me, I receive residual income, etc. etc.

I think having all natural products in the house and having all natural products going in your body is a win win! On the other hand I question if all the toxins and other crap I have ingested and poisoned my body with over the past upteen years can be erased by starting the "all natural" lifestyle at this time of my life? Am I too late to start? Make sense? :)

Another little egg she has found is beef jerky direct. Two bags a month for $12.30 and there are no hidden costs. Again, if people sign up under her, she gets $2.00 an order, etc. I can eat my weight in beef jerky, not sure how many people I know, though who have the same passion for it. :)

Happy Memorial Day!!

Happy Memorial day!! I hope you get to enjoy your day with family today!  Mot importantly, thank you to the past, present and future armed forces!! Many aren't able to be with family today because they are deployed out of state or overseas, but a big thank you for your sacrifice!! You are appreciated everyday not just today!

I'm in bed and afraid I might be here longer than anticipated!! This area is not improving and today I have a small bruise above the red area!! Fu#$ity Fu#$ Fu#$! It's maddening!

On Sunday June 2nd I'm hoping to attend a reunion for the Mercy St. Johns employees and residents. This is the nursing home I lived in for 10 years after my accident, but they have since closed their doors. (a year ago). As much as I don't recommend a nursing home for a place to reside, I have to say some of the people there became my family! I met a couple girls there that are still my greatest friends. Thanks to social networking, I get to keep in touch with many who took care of me. :) St. John's catered to young residents so I wasn't the only young one who lived there. There was a large group of us who were under 30. I inherited the nickname Princess from another young resident and my friend Pat got the nickname Queen. :) These were not compliments, lol. It was nice to have a group of younger residents there, but it also brought a little drama to the center and some animosity. Unfortunately, they have all passed away, many too soon.
Anyway, I hope to make the reunion Sunday!!

Dumps and new nursing assistant

Oh goodness, my mood has plummeted! I need out of this bed! In all honesty I have been down in the dumps for a while now and I was relying on family and outdoor time to bring me out of my "rut" somewhat. Now that I'm stuck in bed, I'm back to that dark place where I don't like to be!! Ugh!! When I get this way I'm a Debbie downer! I hate facebook, I hate music, I just want to be left alone and sleep is the best state to be in because I don't have to think about anything! I bet you're glad you are reading this, right??? :/ I did enjoy time out and about yesterday and will enjoy our company today and tomorrow regardless! :)

I have a new nursing assistant. Her name is Jessica and she is really sweet! She will be with me 3 days a week one week and 4 days a week the next week. :)

Ancestry - bad ass -Saturday May 25

Hi, happy Saturday! :) I hope everybody is enjoying their weekend! Today Jean (Steve's Mom) and I went to Walmart, Meijers and Lowes. We were shopping for outdoor decorations for the deck in the back yard and flowers for the window planters in front of the house. It was a nice time together! :)

When I got home I started to feel uncomfortable in my wheelchair so I stood in my standing frame for a couple hours. I then went to bed and this is when I found a red area caused by me sitting too long. This means I will be in bed until the red area heals. :( I'm so frustrated because I hate being out of my chair and being in a position where I cannot be on the go!! I'm fortunate though that I caught it when I did and can prevent it from getting worse by staying off of it.

I have recently begun to research my family ancestry on ancestry.com and it's very interesting! I have a two week free trial that ends in a few days and I'm not sure yet if I will continue beyond the free subscription or not because it's pretty costly. My interest in my family ancestry started when I was talking to my sister a while back. Our father has twin sons and a daughter in Germany and we have often talked about how wonderful it would be to find them. They are probably in their early to mid 50's. I have no information about them so it won't be easy! Unfortunately, those who had the details (names, ages, mother's name) have passed away. My Mom also gave birth to a son at the young age of 16 and was forced by her father to give up the baby to Children's Catholic Services in Cincinnati. He did what he felt was right for the baby. My Mom at that age could not provide for a baby. My sister and I have also talked about finding him, too. :)

Memorial Day weekend

Hi, Happy Friday! :) It's May 24th today and the beginning of Memorial Day weekend! I hope everybody has a great weekend! It's only going to be a high of 63 today and 68 tomorrow and Sunday. I'm wrapped up in my snuggie right now silently wishing someone would turn the heat on. :) It looks beautiful and sunny out, but it's deceiving because it is a wee bit nippy! :)

The jury for the Jodi Arias trial could not agree on whether she should get life or death so a new jury will be selected in July. (This will be just for the penalty phase). It was based on eight jurors who thought she should get the death penalty and four jurors felt she should get life. The prosecution had the option to throw the death penalty off the table, but Jaun Martinez' boss rejected that as he felt they have a strong case for the death penalty.

I saw that the boy scouts have decided to lift the ban on disallowing gay scouts to join. I had no idea there was ever an issue of gays joining boy scouts! Gee, now maybe blacks can sit at the front of the bus and women can vote! PFT! Here is the link.  Boy scouts

Family is here

Hello! Family arrived today! As usual they arrived at 12:30 and within 30 minutes they were outside working in the flower beds! :) I wish Steve had half their energy. I'm not sure what we will do while they are here, but my guess is have some cook outs, sit by the fire in the evenings and watch movies.

Steve went to the doctor today. The doctor put him on some medication and said he will refer him to another doctor if that doesn't help. So, hopefully in a few days he will be better.

I have spent the afternoon filling out job applications. They are work at home positions that I don't have much information (legitimacy) about, but we will see. :) The website I found them on is work place like home. It's a great place to go to find work at home positions and ideas for making money from home.

We just watched Silver Linings Playbook. It was the second time I watched it and it's hilarious! I highly recommend it, especially if you are a Philadelphia Eagles fan. :)

Family

Tomorrow Steve's Mom & Dad are coming and will be here until Tuesday. They come once a year for Steve's birthday and to also help us with all the outside work. His Mom loves planting flowers and basically doing anything that involves being outside. :) His dad is the same. He also enjoys being outside and always likes to be busy.

Steve has been experiencing excruciating stomach pain for the past few weeks. He ended up going to the emergency room last week in hopes to get a diagnosis, but unfortunately that didn't happen. The doctor drew blood and everything came back normal. Tomorrow he has an appointment with an internist who specializes in the gastrointestinal tract. I think it's a good time for his parents to come out, especially if he is put in the hospital for tests.

Anniversary and another one bites the dust

Today marks the 11th year I have been out of the nursing home!!  I'd like to start this post off by saying how very fortunate I am to have such an awesome group of people working for me!! I appreciate them every day and cannot be where I am without them. Thank you!! On the opposite side of the spectrum, though, there are the select few that I wonder how they can call themselves caregivers. Why are they in the caregiving field? Do they understand caregiving ethics?

I have had two nursing assistants quit without notice, no call, nothing in the past three weeks!! Well, one quit in a facebook message and the other just didn't show up. Seriously, I'm not that bad!! I will just look on the bright side and know I will find good replacements and it's for the best! :) I could throw that karma word in here, but as you know from my previous post I'm not happy with karma! :)

Today my aunt and I spent the afternoon at our local Goodwill store. We are always trying to be thrifty! :) My aunt makes me laugh when we go thrifting and especially when we go somewhere where we can bargain with the sellers. She always tries to jew the sellers down and it mortifies me!! LOL! I always roll away right before we make our purchases. I attempt to get myself out of her shadow because god forbid I'm hanging out with a tight wad. :) Hehe! We had fun!!

A year gone by

Hello, I cannot believe it's been a year since my last post. I knew it was a long time, but had no idea it's been THAT long. I'm hoping to get back in to blogging more frequently now and not allow so much time to lapse between posts. :)

The Jodi Arias trial has kept me glued to the television the last five months and I'm happy it's about over! There is still the aggravation phase where the prosecution will try to convince the jury that Travis Alexander suffered as he was murdered. I think if this is proven she can get the death penalty, but not entirely sure. I cannot imagine the jury concluding that Travis Alexander did not suffer after getting stabbed 29 times, getting his neck sliced from ear to ear and then getting shot in the head.

I am taking steps to become a volunteer at the Greater Dayton Humane Society. In order for me to be a volunteer I needed a nursing assistant to also be a volunteer, so I nominated Steve. He attended the volunteer open house last week and has three courses and tests to pass before he is caught up with me. When he finishes we will go to the humane society together and attend a one on one session with the volunteer coordinator. Hopefully we can volunteer a few times a month. :)