I have probably 7-8 loads of laundry to do before I can go on any trip. I have to leave the house clean and in good shape for when we get back or in worst case scenario, if we do not make it back. I realize this is a bit morbid, but I do not want my mother-in-law going through my house and commenting the whole time what a dirty mess it is. Also, then things are done and organized for when we get back. Getting back from a trip means more laundry. All the dirty clothes that you bring back in your suitcases and all the new clothes you bought while you were there.
I think that I pack lightly, but when it comes time to getting home and doing the laundry I realize that just is not the case. I cannot imagine those that actually check bags on trips. Their laundry must be double or triple the amount that I do as I only carry on a bag. I do not mind doing laundry. It is not a real big chore to me. I can usually get things folded no problem. Sometimes they sit in one spot folded for a couple of days before they get put away, but no harm done that way.
I think days in advance what I will pack and how much liquid toiletries I will take. I make a list and check it twice. I print directions, tickets and receipts with confirmation numbers on them. I get the trash out, the mail stopped, the insurance checked for rental car coverage and arrange for someone to get our papers for us. I think it's down to an art now. I cannot imagine those that travel weekly or bi-monthly as all of this would have to be done all the time. I can imagine that those people have to have maid service or some help. I do not have that kind of help so the job falls squarely on me. I'm the planner. I hope to take a trip soon. This would be great as I have earned some sunshine in a warm clime. At least my sinus headaches have lessened the last 2 days. Hooray!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
There is something to be said for a Root Beer float
I have wanted a Root Beer float for a while and just have not made it happen. I like to savor my treats. I have soda pop probably about 3 times per year. I found Blue Sky Root Beer. I used to have the Blue Sky Cherry Vanilla when I was young. Delicious in my memory. I thought I'd give it a whirl. I put a twist on the float using Neapolitan ice cream as well. Breyer's has 4 ingredients and I like the simplicity of knowing if I'm having and that if I plan on having sugar, I know I'm just indulging in sugar.
Mmmm... turned out to be a great float. Definitely sweeter than I'm used to. I can only take small quantities compared to when I was younger. Now everything is too sweet or too creamy for me. The creaminess and variety of flavors with the chocolate, strawberry and vanilla within the Root Beer is great. I really like the ice crunchiness when the creaminess melts. The iciness and the Root Beer are what I remember best for this sweet treat. I sometimes end up adding more Root Beer because I have ice cream left over.
What I like about this treat is also that I get to watch men's college basketball. The #11 seed VCU is currently beating the #1 seed Kansas. Does not get better than that because I want Kansas to go down. That would mess up so many people's brackets it would be funny! Especially because Michigan and Arizona both lost by one bucket. Ridiculous! I hope UNC loses also and that the only ones left are not the "normal" teams that keep showing up. On a side note for the girls college hoops, Michigan Tech. girls placed second in the nation in their category. They made it to the big dance and then got man handled by the other team without the refs calling virtually any fouls. It was tough to watch because it seemed the officials had to have been paid off to so poorly call that game. Still, a great season to be #2 in the country.
I smell potato pancakes being made in the other room. I hope they are crispy and done for dinner. Now, if only this sinus headache would ease. I just can't believe the extent that sinus and tension headaches have been dictating my life this month. I would otherwise never believe it. I'm going to lay down with a heat pack on my forehead now.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Emergency situation that I helped out with
It was a few days ago this happened. Life is fast and furious these days. Showings, realtor materials and classes to be taken, the time is endlessly running along. I do not have a set schedule and I have been going into Curves as I can. I go at varied times of day and there is no way to predict when I will be free to show up. I ended up going to Curves at 6 PM. They close at 7 PM so I knew I'd be one of the last people in the place because many women do not go in this late in the day.
Sure enough, when I arrived there was only the attendant (worker) and one other woman working out in the whole place. I started working out and the other woman left before I was finished with the first half of my workout. I talked with the attendant and found out it was her birthday that day. She said that she wanted to get the closing tasks done early so she could leave right away at 7 PM because she was meeting family for her birthday dinner. I tried to hurry through getting my workout done so I could get out of there and free her time up. The attendant started cleaning in the workout room and then went to vacuum in the back room. I had then finished my workout and was stretching when I heard three screams increasing in volume each time.
I ran back into the back room and found the attendant sprawled in a sitting position on the floor with the vacuum spread out fallen onto the floor next to her. She was crying and screaming and I asked her what happened. She said she fell, but could not describe exactly what happened. Looking at her forehead she had a forming goose egg that was bright blue. Her shoulder on the right side, the same side of her goose egg, was shorter in height than her other shoulder. She then tried to move her right arm and screamed out and cried harder. The she became more hysterical and said, "I can't move my arm. I can't move my arm!" She asked for a cold water bottle to put on to her goose egg so I got one for her.
We called the owner, whom the attendant was substituting for because she was sick. The owner said to look for someone to help in the nearby offices. I ran down the hall and no one answered any doors. I came back and got a cold compress for her further enlarging goose egg, now a golf ball size. We hung up and the owner said she'd call the family that was waiting for her at the restaurant to come and help her. Once we figured out she couldn't stand and couldn't move from that spot, we would not be able to walk her to a car and would not easily get her standing. Even if she could stand, she may pass out from the concussion she incurred from the head trauma.
We called an ambulance to come get her. I told her she did not have to stand up because that is what she was worried about. She needed to calm down, stay conscious and to get to a hospital to get evaluated. The shoulder was either dislocated, broken or both. Any way it is, the shoulder needed to get evaluated prior to trying to move it. Her head was now swollen to the size of a tennis ball and getting larger. She was bleeding from the goose egg, but not profusely. I rubbed her back as she periodically cried and tried to keep her calm. She kept saying, "Its my birthday."
Her friend and grand daughter showed up about 5 minutes prior to the ambulance. We tried to shield the grand daughter, but the friend that showed up did not really keep her away from the scene. The ambulance showed up about 15 minutes after we called them. The EMTs were an obese woman and a man in his late 50s to early 60s. These two did not look like the team I expected. What she needed, in my opinion, was to lay back on a board and for someone at each end to lift her onto the gurney to ferry her to the ambulance. Instead, then put a sling on her arm, ice pack onto her now softball sized swelling on her forehead and the male EMT basically yanked her standing by her other arm while she moaned and screamed in pain until she was standing. She was very unsteady on her feet.
They brought the gurney near and had her try and sit down onto it. They finally got her situated and wheeled away to go to the hospital. I left directly from there and didn't get an update as to her condition until the next day. I was surprised as to the lack of procedure the EMTs followed and how incapable they seemed to me. I would not have been alright with them up righting me in the manner they did to her. Although, I did not offer solutions as that is not my job. I just watched. Liability-wise I had to let them do the work.
Update is that her swelling went from her forehead and fell next to her eye and cheek with a black/purple color the next day. She did break her shoulder. A small fracture leading to a hairline fracture. She will be out of commission for weeks now. She has to sleep upright essentially and cannot get around by herself nor drive.
What I think happened is that she got new shoes with non-skid heels and soles on them. She was vacuuming and she went to pivot, but the shoe stuck and her momentum took her over and she had nothing to break her fall. Her full weight came down and her forehead and shoulder took the full force of the impact onto the vinyl tiles on top of the concrete floor.
If I had not been there, there is no way to tell how long she would have sat in the back room by herself. She would not have been able to scoot or stand up on her own. She would have been screaming and screaming until someone went down the back hallway or until the people she was to meet decided to come looking for her. She had no cell phone on her and the room had dense walls with little likelihood anyone would have came around as they would assume that everything was closed at that time of night. We estimated a minimum of 45 minutes that she would have sat there. She may have passed out, went into shock, who knows. We are thankful that she did not have a cracked skull or worse injuries and that she got help as soon as possible in those circumstances. I wish her well and am glad I was experienced enough with first hand witness to trauma that I could keep calm and get her help. Best wishes to her and her family. I hope in the future she can prevent this from happening again as this was her fourth fall in the last 3 months. This being the worst fall. Anything worse than this, she won't leave the hospital. Scary, what to do?
Sure enough, when I arrived there was only the attendant (worker) and one other woman working out in the whole place. I started working out and the other woman left before I was finished with the first half of my workout. I talked with the attendant and found out it was her birthday that day. She said that she wanted to get the closing tasks done early so she could leave right away at 7 PM because she was meeting family for her birthday dinner. I tried to hurry through getting my workout done so I could get out of there and free her time up. The attendant started cleaning in the workout room and then went to vacuum in the back room. I had then finished my workout and was stretching when I heard three screams increasing in volume each time.
I ran back into the back room and found the attendant sprawled in a sitting position on the floor with the vacuum spread out fallen onto the floor next to her. She was crying and screaming and I asked her what happened. She said she fell, but could not describe exactly what happened. Looking at her forehead she had a forming goose egg that was bright blue. Her shoulder on the right side, the same side of her goose egg, was shorter in height than her other shoulder. She then tried to move her right arm and screamed out and cried harder. The she became more hysterical and said, "I can't move my arm. I can't move my arm!" She asked for a cold water bottle to put on to her goose egg so I got one for her.
We called the owner, whom the attendant was substituting for because she was sick. The owner said to look for someone to help in the nearby offices. I ran down the hall and no one answered any doors. I came back and got a cold compress for her further enlarging goose egg, now a golf ball size. We hung up and the owner said she'd call the family that was waiting for her at the restaurant to come and help her. Once we figured out she couldn't stand and couldn't move from that spot, we would not be able to walk her to a car and would not easily get her standing. Even if she could stand, she may pass out from the concussion she incurred from the head trauma.
We called an ambulance to come get her. I told her she did not have to stand up because that is what she was worried about. She needed to calm down, stay conscious and to get to a hospital to get evaluated. The shoulder was either dislocated, broken or both. Any way it is, the shoulder needed to get evaluated prior to trying to move it. Her head was now swollen to the size of a tennis ball and getting larger. She was bleeding from the goose egg, but not profusely. I rubbed her back as she periodically cried and tried to keep her calm. She kept saying, "Its my birthday."
Her friend and grand daughter showed up about 5 minutes prior to the ambulance. We tried to shield the grand daughter, but the friend that showed up did not really keep her away from the scene. The ambulance showed up about 15 minutes after we called them. The EMTs were an obese woman and a man in his late 50s to early 60s. These two did not look like the team I expected. What she needed, in my opinion, was to lay back on a board and for someone at each end to lift her onto the gurney to ferry her to the ambulance. Instead, then put a sling on her arm, ice pack onto her now softball sized swelling on her forehead and the male EMT basically yanked her standing by her other arm while she moaned and screamed in pain until she was standing. She was very unsteady on her feet.
They brought the gurney near and had her try and sit down onto it. They finally got her situated and wheeled away to go to the hospital. I left directly from there and didn't get an update as to her condition until the next day. I was surprised as to the lack of procedure the EMTs followed and how incapable they seemed to me. I would not have been alright with them up righting me in the manner they did to her. Although, I did not offer solutions as that is not my job. I just watched. Liability-wise I had to let them do the work.
Update is that her swelling went from her forehead and fell next to her eye and cheek with a black/purple color the next day. She did break her shoulder. A small fracture leading to a hairline fracture. She will be out of commission for weeks now. She has to sleep upright essentially and cannot get around by herself nor drive.
What I think happened is that she got new shoes with non-skid heels and soles on them. She was vacuuming and she went to pivot, but the shoe stuck and her momentum took her over and she had nothing to break her fall. Her full weight came down and her forehead and shoulder took the full force of the impact onto the vinyl tiles on top of the concrete floor.
If I had not been there, there is no way to tell how long she would have sat in the back room by herself. She would not have been able to scoot or stand up on her own. She would have been screaming and screaming until someone went down the back hallway or until the people she was to meet decided to come looking for her. She had no cell phone on her and the room had dense walls with little likelihood anyone would have came around as they would assume that everything was closed at that time of night. We estimated a minimum of 45 minutes that she would have sat there. She may have passed out, went into shock, who knows. We are thankful that she did not have a cracked skull or worse injuries and that she got help as soon as possible in those circumstances. I wish her well and am glad I was experienced enough with first hand witness to trauma that I could keep calm and get her help. Best wishes to her and her family. I hope in the future she can prevent this from happening again as this was her fourth fall in the last 3 months. This being the worst fall. Anything worse than this, she won't leave the hospital. Scary, what to do?
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Finished with Anna Karenina, now what's next?
I found out what ultimately happened to Anna Karenina and I can't believe it! What a change in tone at the end of the book. Less historical, more spiritual. Very interesting. I'm on to what's next to read? I read long ago the Drawing of the Three by Stephan King. I recently found out that The Gunslinger will be coming out as a movie. I think it's time for me to read The Gunslinger to prepare myself. The book will definitely be better than the movie and I don't want to spoil the story.
I feel these days like I'm working and working, and getting nothing done at the same time. I know experience is the only way to progress in the future and I can't wait to get going, but these sinus headaches are terrible. I really want to get passed the pain in my head and be able to concentrate for long periods of time. I stare at all the newspapers I want to go through, but I feel like I just want to recycle them. Oh the amount I have missed, but does it matter now? Not really, I've survived and will keep going.
I long for the sun in Arizona. Even if we do nothing while there, I'm excited just to go. I'm so excited that the 16 inches of snow fell near Green Bay, WI instead of here! I am so ready for winter to be over. I want a moderate summer with lots of property time, walks and grilled foods. Oh, sounds like heaven to me! I want people to share it with, but Tony will suffice. Anyone of our friends and family are welcome to come and enjoy also. Camping this year? Maybe. We didn't last year. There is something to be said for air conditioning some nights. We'll see what this summer brings. I have a feeling it will be a busy one.
I feel these days like I'm working and working, and getting nothing done at the same time. I know experience is the only way to progress in the future and I can't wait to get going, but these sinus headaches are terrible. I really want to get passed the pain in my head and be able to concentrate for long periods of time. I stare at all the newspapers I want to go through, but I feel like I just want to recycle them. Oh the amount I have missed, but does it matter now? Not really, I've survived and will keep going.
I long for the sun in Arizona. Even if we do nothing while there, I'm excited just to go. I'm so excited that the 16 inches of snow fell near Green Bay, WI instead of here! I am so ready for winter to be over. I want a moderate summer with lots of property time, walks and grilled foods. Oh, sounds like heaven to me! I want people to share it with, but Tony will suffice. Anyone of our friends and family are welcome to come and enjoy also. Camping this year? Maybe. We didn't last year. There is something to be said for air conditioning some nights. We'll see what this summer brings. I have a feeling it will be a busy one.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Counting My Blessings
I am looking at the media and all the horrible natural disasters that have happened in Japan the last week and I am struck by how delicate life is and how much I take for granted every day. I wanted to take a moment and appreciate some simple things that I am blessed with every day.
I am blessed with a warm bed to sleep in at night that is free from bed bugs and has clean sheets. I have clean running water I can get a drink or take a shower whenever I feel like it. I have a working toilet that keeps the water supply separate and clean as can be. I have local grocery stores with food in it that I can purchase something to eat. I have the peace of mind that my friends and family are currently safe and not in harms way. I have the ability to communicate via phone, computer etc. with those that I love. I have no reason to live other than in the moment right now and enjoy what life has to offer right in front of me. I currently have no life threatening illness that I am worried about. I have a car and the means to put gas in my car to travel to places I want to go. I have the new opportunity to try my hand at a different occupation as my health mandated a change in lifestyle for me. I am thankful for all of these things and countless more that I have not named. The biggest blessing is the love and companionship that my husband provides everyday and for years to come in the future. I send up a prayer of thanks and hope to give back to those around me so that they too can feel blessed.
Hope everyone had a Happy St. Patrick's Day and I wish Happy Birthday to Ms. Sawyer Marie Linna who was born yesterday to Jamie and Steve. I wish Steve a Happy Birthday today. Take care of each other!
I am blessed with a warm bed to sleep in at night that is free from bed bugs and has clean sheets. I have clean running water I can get a drink or take a shower whenever I feel like it. I have a working toilet that keeps the water supply separate and clean as can be. I have local grocery stores with food in it that I can purchase something to eat. I have the peace of mind that my friends and family are currently safe and not in harms way. I have the ability to communicate via phone, computer etc. with those that I love. I have no reason to live other than in the moment right now and enjoy what life has to offer right in front of me. I currently have no life threatening illness that I am worried about. I have a car and the means to put gas in my car to travel to places I want to go. I have the new opportunity to try my hand at a different occupation as my health mandated a change in lifestyle for me. I am thankful for all of these things and countless more that I have not named. The biggest blessing is the love and companionship that my husband provides everyday and for years to come in the future. I send up a prayer of thanks and hope to give back to those around me so that they too can feel blessed.
Hope everyone had a Happy St. Patrick's Day and I wish Happy Birthday to Ms. Sawyer Marie Linna who was born yesterday to Jamie and Steve. I wish Steve a Happy Birthday today. Take care of each other!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Sinus headache is my Kryptonite
I welcome spring with open arms, but these sinus headaches are horrific! I cannot kick the headache that lasted on and off from Friday to today (Wednesday). I finally took a medicine combination that worked enough to knock the ache down to a negligible amount and no pounding or squinting of my eyes. I just cannot concentrate when my head is pounding and I cannot focus mentally nor visually on what I am doing. This makes getting virtually anything accomplished invariably impossible. I have been muddling by, but I feel like I am just existing, trying to suffer through the day and hoping for the next day to be better. What a waste of my time.
When I wake up and I already have a full blown headache, there is little I can do to make my head feel better short of taking a medicine that makes me go back to sleep again. The humidifier helps greatly, but it can only do so much and I am only in it's presence while sleeping. I massage my sinuses, temples and forehead. I have been doing heat compresses. Benadryl and Motrin are some of the best inventions ever, second to antibiotics of course, but happily I do not think I have a sinus infection at this point. I will be so happy when summer is here and this spring transition is over! It helps that the rain is coming tonight to get some of the particulates out of the air and to wash away that dirty snow. Ugh, can't wait for this curve to be over. I am getting dizzy from this business. So if you see me squinting or sluggishly unfriendly, please do not take it personally, I am just in sinus pain.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
TAXES 2010
Taxes got started today. I collect all of my tax documents as they arrive in the mail and put them in the fire safe until it is time for getting down to business. This year I made it really easy on myself as I collected medical mileage and number of appointments etc. prior to starting the paperwork. I knew I would file an itemized deduction because I spent thousands of dollars, miles and hours of time dedicated to medical appointments. I thought for certain I would have enough to deduct something and sure enough, despite everything, we cannot deduct a single mile nor a single cent. Ridiculous. The terminology they use is just to throw you off and to inhibit getting justified taxed monies back into our pockets.
Next year, we are taking all of our receipts into the office of a CPA and dropping them off so they can prepare it for us. I am ready for a professional to handle the complexities that are coming in this new year. Being a subcontractor, starting a business, medical deductions, etc. all kinds of changes. It will all be interesting and worth it. So fun to hand that responsibility over to a professional. Saves me a whole weekend of toiling over it next year. Not the funnest task, taxes, but the rewards of getting back our hard earned money will be worth it. That tax refund is so good to look forward to. Money that is coming our way without an ear mark can be used for all the new business expenses I am having for being a real estate agent. Who knew that would be so expensive? Dues, materials, exams, licensing, etc. all add up to money out of my pocket when I am not making any money to bring into the bank account thus far. That will be an extra pleasure, the first commission check from a hard day's work.
Yay for taxes being done and yay for taxes being completed while March Madness college hoops plays in the background all day long. I feel I am leaning into the curve right now, but man, the sharpness of the change is making me motion sick. There is no slowing down this train. I am taking it as it comes. Duck, bob and weave as much as possible. Curse you that inner ear imbalance. Hah.
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