New Abode

On Wednesday Steve, Tonya and I started moving stuff into the house. My friend Rosemary's son, Joey helped also. Steve is doing lots of work on the house and Tonya and I are going through her "Shabby Chic" storage. Steve calls it "Chubby Chick". Do you think that has underlying meaning? So we cleared out all the staging furniture that Steve and Tonya had in the garage and I now have a furnished house. By now I am getting very excited. Very little cleaning was needed as everything is brand new or close to it. Tonya and Steve have done wonders with this house. It is fresh and lovely and updated. The yard needs some work but there will be plenty of time for that. I am still surprised at the generosity of strangers (well, strangers to me). Tonya and Steve have friends who donated a stove, microwave and refrigerator. I am so appreciative and the items all are in great shape. Anything I ever had "extra" or stored in the garage was usually on it's last leg. These appliances were "slightly used". I feel very blessed.

Serenity and Jessica will be here on Saturday. We are very excited to see Serenity's reaction when she sees the house. She saw it in June when we were in Arizona, actually we both saw it for the first time together. When she first walked in she said "this place is a dump". Aunt Tonya told her it just needed lots of work and Serenity said "it's going to take a whole lot of work". Serenity is much more demonstrative then her grandma. Grandma is generally hard pressed to show much emotion, good or bad. Tonya says it's a family thing. We learned years ago to not get excited about anything until it actually happened, because there was always the chance that it wouldn't happen. Many times this was a distinct possibility and more often than not it was the end result. Example: the playhouse/clubhouse my kids never got. I think this was something I learned in my childhood and I must have passed it on to my children. What a terrible heritage. I know all this sounds very negative but it is actually just realistic. This way, if it doesn't happen, the let down is much less harsh.

When I spoke to Serenity on the phone, I asked if she remembered the house. "I don't know," she said, "but did you get a new brick put in?" Of all the things for her to remember. You'd think it would be one of the holes, in the wall, or the ceiling, or the middle of the living room floor, but no, it was the brick. There was a brick that had come out by the front door and it was sitting on the ledge of the brick trim. She wanted to know if I got a new brick for it.

This morning we pick Jessica and Serenity up from the airport. I can hardly wait. There's never a dull moment when "Miss Serenity" is around. She keeps grandma on her toes.

Stitching With Love

Finished my second rag quilt today. This one is for Chris. It'll be an early birthday present. I love making these quilts because they are so easy and fast and I love the way they look. The picture doesn't do it justice (lighting you know) . I was worried about the fabric. I really wanted this to be pretty but manly. I had to forgo the flowers that I like so much and of course the lovely colors that I like to use (especially "pink"). It turned out very nice. I was afraid it would be drab but it has it's own beauty. Happy "early" Birthday Chris (Rich). I love you more than you may ever know. Be looking for a blog on your birthday. Don't be scared...I'll be gentle.

Chubby II

Sorry, I absolutely could not resist posting this little update from yesterday's blog. Tonya had this little stuffed dog in storage with all her other "valuables". I remember the little dog but did not remember I gave this to her when her little Chubby died. She remembered and has saved it all these years. We know that all our best efforts can't replace something we have lost but I think this is proof that a "friend" can have an important place in our hearts and help us get through the pain. She has had this since she was five.

Tonya had a little confession after reading my blog. She told me that she use to sneak Chubby into the house and hide under my bed with him and watch the Mickey Mouse Club.

Chubby the Puppy

When Tonya was in elementary school she had to write an essay (if memory serves me right) on who she most admired. One of the most memorable times in my life was when I read her essay (years later) and discovered she had written about her mother. Can you even imagine that. I child who most admires their mother? I was both proud and honored. I will warn you that the story involved her mother breaking the law. Yes, her honest (well most of the time), law abiding, trying to set a good example mother broke the law. Okay, so it was just a little tiny law, probably a misdemeanor not a felony but the law none the less.

We lived in Houston for many years when the kids were little. Houston has (or at least had) a law about pets that die. You can't bury them in your yard. You have to call a certain department of the city and they come and remove the pet from the side of the road where you are instructed to leave it. They don't always make it the same day. It could be several days before your beloved pet is picked up. I use the term picked up very liberally. We had lived in Houston about four years and we moved to a house on a very busy road. In a very short time several pets (and, I guess, one big wheel) met their demise on that road.

My brother worked for a dog kennel that raised speciality hunting dog. When the dogs would get old or sick and be of no use, someone was responsible for putting them out of "their" misery. We inherited more then one dog when my brother had a favorite dog that he could not "put down". One of these dogs was a Brittany Spaniel that was hit on the highway in front of our house. Our neighbor saw what happened and told me I had to call the city because I was not allowed to bury that dog in my yard. I totally would have buried him but I was afraid the neighbor would turn me in. Out of fear, not good citizenship, I called the city and was instructed to put the dog on the curb in front of the house and someone would come and pick him up and he would be properly disposed of. Several days later a city truck pulled up and a man got out of the truck and picked up a pitch fork and walked over, picked up our dog "on a pitch fork" and threw him into the back of the truck. It all seemed so heartless and cruel. I am all about the cycle of life and this is the way it is and accepting what needs to happen but at that moment I couldn't believe how indignant I was. The kids and I watched this through the living room window. If I had any idea what was going to transpire I would not have had allowed them to watch. Don't ask me what I thought. I'm sure I wasn't expecting them to drive up in a hearse and put him into some little doggy casket. I vowed never again. Of course my idea of never again was we wouldn't have anymore dogs and that would solve the problem. Tonya's heart was broken and it wasn't too long before her dad came home with some puppy that he picked up God knows where. I was livid. I absolutely did not want the kids having to deal with losing another pet. I relented, after all, the kids had already seen the new puppy and were ecstatic. This little brown puppy was a little round ball. He could have been one of those little soft Nerf balls. Of course, Tonya named him Chubby. Tonya never let that puppy leave her side. I'm pretty sure she put him in her bed at night and needless to say, that was never allowed. Not good for the puppy, the child or the linens. We had never even had a "house" dog. It was just a matter of time before the little guy got away and it was time for another doggy funeral. Under the cover of night we buried this puppy under the biggest prettiest tree in our backyard. Actually, it was the only tree that wasn't a pecan tree. He had a respectable ceremony and we never owned another dog for many years.

So Tonya most admired me because I broke the law and buried that dog with a proper funeral in our backyard. I guess if I were teaching by example, at least it involved some compassion and not total lawlessness. Aren't I a lucky mom?

My Alibi? I was devouring my pasta!

Last night, Tonya and Steve, took us to a Murder Mansion Mystery Dinner Theatre in Phoenix. This event was in celebration of McKenna's 14th birthday. McKenna's friend, Bailey was born on the same day as McKenna so Bailey joined the party. We had an enjoyable evening of food and entertainment. It was immensely fun and I enjoyed it as much, if not more, then the kids did. What a nice remembrance for a 14 year old. Something fun, entertaining but so "adult".

Thanks for the inclusion. I haven't laughed so much in a long time.

Happy Birthday McKenna and Bailey.

Sunny Daze

The weather is beautiful today. It is unbelievable what a difference the sun can make in a person's attitude. It seems that when you bask in the sun you just have a more positive attitude and you feel more energetic and renewed. That warm sun touching your skin makes you feel somehow safe and at ease deep into your bones. We all know the sun can clear up skin problems. Of course over doing it can cause some totally different "skin" problems. As my friend Susan Neva says, everything in life is about moderation. Dr. Porman told me that 20 minutes in the sun each day would give me most of the Vitamin D that my body needs and since then I have heard Dr. Oz and many others say the same thing. It is like our bodies soak up the power of the sun and turns it into power for us. Another one of God's miracles. There is scientific proof to all this, of course, but I'm just talking about cause and effect in terms of feelings. There is nothing like the feeling of the sun on my face to start me on a great day!

Computer Jonesing

Can we talk about computers and the cost of staying connected? This could very well be a "soap box" moment so you might want to run, while you have the chance, otherwise take a deep breathe and get ready for the rantings.

Two years ago, for Christmas, Dale bought me a laptop computer. I was so surprised and excited I was actually shocked that this material item made me so happy. Several weeks later we were at WalMart and Dale purchased the extended warranty they offered. I never, and I mean never, buy extended warranties. I've never had a computer that didn't last ten years. This is where I say, "Thank goodness he did". I didn't have the internet at home so that new and shiny laptop set around for six or eight months and was turned on once. I had my old desk top computer that I used for Chamber of Commerce and personal stuff. I could write letters, do reports and make flyers. I have worked with computers since 1980 but I worked with balance sheets, profit and loss, budget and expense reports, inventory, payroll and all that mundane stuff. My world knew spreadsheets, ledgers, and the such. It was a world of analysis, projections, facts and yes, even a little fiction.

When I was unable to work I made a really huge decision and got the internet at home. I was about to learn the true meaning of addiction. That USB cable could have been my umbilical cord. My computer got turned on the minute I got up and didn't get shut off until I was ready to go to bed. I had been using email for sometime and Tonya even had to set that up for me. Now I was learning the world of myspace, facebook, Google, You Tube and all the other good stuff (with Tonya's help). I could do research, take a peek into other peoples lives, learn a new recipe, spend my money on eBay, play solitaire and much more without even leaving the spot I was planted in.

This past Christmas, Christmas evening to be exact, Serenity was watching a Scooby Doo DVD and the sound went out on the computer. I absolutely tried everything I could think of to fix the problem. It was obvious this was something I had no knowledge of. I pulled out the papers with the warranty information and several days later I made the phone call for technical rescue. This was on December 28th. They had me backup to a prior date (date before the problem) and this didn't work. They had me uninstall and reinstall this and that. I went to places I didn't know existed. After the third call they decided I needed to totally deleted everything on my computer and do a restore. This was very scary, knowing I was going to lose everything and hoping I could get everything back. First I had to go buy an external back up drive. Now I had to call back and get help saving the info I was going to lose. This included all my music, Outlook info, documents, pictures and all the other goodies I had put on my computer. Now I had to load the recovery disc that came with the computer. First disc, all is well, second disc, a problem. Unable to read-bad disc. Back on the phone and the person tells me I'll have to call Toshiba and get a new recovery disc. He'll give me the phone number. You mean I'm not talking to Toshiba? Okay, call Toshiba. There's a problem. My warranty expired over a year ago. In November to be exact. I argue with them that the computer wasn't even purchased until December, the week before Christmas and I did buy the extended warranty. The warranty wasn't through them. I should have purchased it from Toshiba. I thought I was purchasing it through Toshiba. WalMart sold the unit, I thought they were selling the warranty for them also. How was I to know. It wasn't like the person at WalMart said buy this warranty but it's through us not Toshiba. I can buy the restore disc for $26.95. Now it's a matter of principal. Why should I have to pay when they provided me with a defective disc? Are there scratches on the disc? Maybe I didn't store it properly and the extreme heat or cold damaged it. Give me a break. At this point the only thing damaged here is my brain and that has nothing to do with heat or cold. I think they should replace it free of charge. Only a supervisor can approve that. Okay, so give me a phone number that I call for a week and it rings and after being on hold 2.5 minutes I get a message that says they are unable to complete my call. This is their idea of good customer service. They don't want you to be on hold for too long. Back to the original Toshiba phone number. This call is not as friendly as the previous calls. I want to talk to a supervisor and I don't want to be disconnected. Of course, he has a number that won't go to the automated system but I may have to hold for awhile. I'll be glad to hold for three hours if necessary. Sure enough, not 1.5 minutes later I'm on the phone with a supervisor. Up until now everyone I have dealt with has been pleasant and as helpful as they possibly can. I'm talking to this woman who lets me know that there is no way I'm getting a new disc for free. I have no choice but to pay for it. After all I have a blank computer. I could just picture this woman, looking up and to the right, rolling her eyes and tapping her fingers on the desk. She could care less about my "matter of principal". For once I wasn't my usual courteous and polite self. Without use of too much profanity I told her what I thought of the whole thing and gave her my credit card number. The four to seven day delivery time wait (I refused to pay the extra for overnight) was over when I received my disc 10 days later. Thank goodness I had them send it to Arizona. So I restore the system and still no sound. I backup everything I was told to save. All the Outlook info is gone and my iTunes were finally found in some hidden hole. By now it's almost the end of January. I have to send my computer into MicroMedicsInc. which is part of WalMart. I'll be without it for no more than 10 days (including the 2 day air shipping). I shipped the computer to them on January 30 and I just got it back yesterday, March 3rd. The longest 10 days in my life. I wasn't without a computer all this time. I have been using Steve's kids computer that they use when they are here. If I had spent that much time without my "fix" I would be in a straight jacket today. The sound is back on my computer. The button for sound is stiff and not smooth. Hopefully that won't be another issue. Well, my consolation is I have an extended warranty until the end of the year. LOL My blackberry pearl isn't uploading info but that's just a matter of figuring it out and I'm sure the iTunes can be recovered. My pictures all seem to be intact. I no longer have Publisher because I had that courtesy of the Chamber.

Caveat: buy your warranty from the manufacturer.

Outcome: I have made my first step to recovery by admitting I have a problem! Well, isn't that how it works? Now I need the other 11 steps.

Food For Thought

This morning I was on Facebook and made a comment regarding the health care system. My friend Willma has a granddaughter who has had multiple surgeries the last few weeks. She is waiting for another one on Friday. This surgery had been scheduled previously but had to be delayed due to insurance approval or something. There were several comments about the workings of our health care system. I wrote that I felt like it is often a matter of "crossing our fingers and saying our prayers". Really, I should have added that "sometimes it's a matter of bending over and kissing our asses goodbye".

I have been very lucky. I was lucky to have health insurance when I needed it this time. That first year I was covered I had a pre-existing conditions clause. I was lucky that the first two appointments I made with my doctor for my annual checkup had to be cancelled due to not being able to get off work. When I finally got in it was a week after the year was up. Of course it took another 6 weeks before they actually diagnosed me. If I had gotten in six months earlier it may not have changed the diagnosis but I wouldn't have been covered.

Of course having coverage isn't the only issue. You still have to come up with co-pays and annual deductibles and all that stuff. All of this applies to in-patient, out-patient and prescription coverage and in network and out of network. It can take a heavy toll mentally and financially. If you're sick enough to not be able to work, whether it is temporary or permanent, you better be ready for those monthly Cobra Insurance payments. God forbid you can't make that payment each month. Sure, you may have no income coming in or maybe you're getting a percentage of your income and now you have the same bills as before and the full cost of your health insurance. You bought the extra disability insurance not realizing it isn't on top of Social Security. It works in conjunction with...the good thing though is they might help you get on Social Security sooner. At first you think it's because they are looking out for your best interest and then you are informed it's because they will deduct the amount of your Social Security check from the amount of your benefit from them. It's all good though. You have to be positive and realize you could be getting 60% of your previous income instead of 65%.

God forbid you are too sick to administer your own benefits. You need to be at least familiar with your benefits and coverage. Be on your toes so deadlines are met. You will need to make a lot of decisions. Thank God I was able to do all this and no issues came up when I was so sick I couldn't deal with them. Thank God also for Tonya who gave me suggestions on checking things out and who to call. We all know that Cobra offers 18 months of coverage if you lose your job for any reason. God must have been watching over me the day I was speaking to Cobra and for some reason mentioned I was on disability. They had no record of that from my employer and thank goodness the rep on the phone informed me that I would be eligible for additional months of coverage. I had worried endlessly about what I would do when the 18 months was up and I would be uninsurable. Thank goodness Cobra had never sent me the election letter so the time limit didn't apply. Mostly, thank goodness the young lady on the phone was honest and didn't try to tell me they sent this document which I knew I had never seen. I had to fight for it but I finally qualified. Thank goodness my former employer was cooperative. There was only one benefit I was denied and after several appeals they finally approved it (well, they approved after I made a third appeal directly to the labor board).

I just had a thought about why of all the places I have been for treatment, my favorite place to go is the St. Francis Oncology Center in Grand Island, Nebraska. I thought it was because the treatment rooms are larger and more private and the nursing staff is so pleasant. I think the actual reason is because it is the only place I go where the first thing they don't do is make sure they have that co-pay up front. What if I didn't have my $40.00 that day and I needed to wait for my monthly check. They always bill me. At the other places you're pretty sure they might not see you if they don't get that money upfront. Just the way they say "I need your co-pay now" makes me feel like they think I'm a deadbeat. Hell, I just signed in, give me enough time to pull out my checkbook. I know I have to give it to you. I should just start having the check in my hand when I walk in the door and hand it over before I sign in. If you didn't have the money you would have to discuss it with a receptionist in front of a waiting room full of people. As if your privacy hasn't already been invaded enough.

My main thought about health care is what it covers. Isn't it strange that they will pay someone to fry you with radiation and pay someone to poison you with chemo but they won't pay for all the other stuff that you may need to help you get better or even to live more comfortably with your disease. Massage therapy for neuropathy, nutrition training for eating healthier (or handling your chemo treatments better), hydro colon therapy for digestive health etc. etc. So my insurance has no problem paying over $5000.00 per chemo treatment but won't pay for my $75.00 massage. Oh hell. They probably think I'm sitting at a spa living the high life.

Life is all about perspective. You know is the glass half empty or half full. I may have cancer but how lucky have I been? I know that I could still lose my house if I were to require long term nursing home care etc. but I am counting my blessings every day. As usual, this blog is all about me...me...me but my heart goes out to all those people without health care and the means to pay for health services and those people with health insurance who can still stand to lose everything they have worked their whole lives for. I have been there and it's a very scary "black hole" to be in. I am not advocating universal health care or handouts from the government. I have made it my rule in life to never argue about politics or religion. I just feel that people deserve the basic necessities in life. I am no "bleeding heart" liberal but I would like to think that I have compassion for my fellow man. I don't know what the answers are for reform but, isn't that what the "experts" get paid for, to know the answers or to find the answers? Even if reform isn't the answer maybe some accountability from insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies would make a big difference in cost to the consumer. The health care industry had unbelievable profits this year but rates keep going up because of the "cost" of health care. Oh, or was that because of the "cost" to produce those profits. Have we all forgotten the $5.00 a gallon gas prices that were supposedly due to the cost of obtaining the fuel then the gas companies reported record profits? Do these people think all Americans are ignorant or just too passive to speak up? Okay, I'm off the soap box. Obviously, that was one of those "don't get me started" things! Blessings to everyone (regardless of your health insurance coverage status or position).

Taking Care of Business

Today I attended two real estate classes. I had been thinking my license expires in July so I need to get my renewal hours in. I need eight, three hour classes. I took a class online in December and took three online classes last week. Tonya found some free classes so I took advantage of that today. So, I'm sitting in class and it occurs to me that my license doesn't expire until July 31, 2011. As Tonya says, I'll just be ahead.

The reason I was writing about this is I remembered that a friend asked me months ago why I was renewing my license still. I said, because it wasn't exactly easy to get in the first place and there is no way I could possibly ever pass the state exam now. I also always planned on using it when I became a "snowbird". This actually wasn't the usual question I have had over the years about why I kept an Arizona license. This question actually related to the fact that I have "terminal" cancer. The answer actually is this. If I truly believe that I can lick this thing, I need to live as if I believe it. That means I need to continue taking care of business and live as I would if I didn't have cancer in the first place. You can call it denial or you can think the way I do. It's positive attitude, the law of attraction, visualization and many other things important to my recovery. It's all a balancing act and one day I hope to be good enough at it to join the circus!

My Guardian Angel

I was thinking how fast time goes. February made this fact even more apparent. I didn't even realize it was the end of the month. When I was 15 I'll never forget saying I couldn't wait until I was 16. I don't remember why but it was the magic age. I'm sure it must have had something to do with driving, you know permit in hand and all (little did I know I would be 27 before I ever had a driver's license. Who would have thought?

The point is my mom would say you are just wishing your life away. I asked her what that meant but she would say "Some day you'll understand". At about forty I was starting to understand and by 50 I totally knew what she was talking about. She was a wise woman. Too bad, like most kids, I didn't really appreciate her wisdom until too late.

Thanks mom for all the lessons. I have learned to value them and have a better appreciation of you. Even in all the difficult times I realized you were the mother who chose me, not the one who had no choice. I love you and know you are an angel watching over me.