I've always tried to be a good worker with a good work ethic and trying to do right... I am, however, tired now. Tired of fighting, tired of stress, tired of trying to fight for what should have been done for me when this first happened, when I was first diagnosed... fighting for rights, fighting for balance. Fighting to get time that was donated used for the purpose it was donated...
The stress is spilling over to the new job and the new supervision as they have chosen to NOT stand and fight with me, but to say "no, this has to be worked out by the last division". What they don't seem to grasp is that division failed at supporting me and my needs, so what makes you think they will fight to support me now that I'm no longer there?? This, in turn, leaves it up to ME to figure out and to fight my own battles and a few years ago, sure I would fight and fight and fight for them... but now? Now, I'm just freaking tired!
Is this worth fighting - hell yes! The difference in 17.8 hours is staggering in sick leave time - it will be a two month difference in when I get out of the hole on sick leave. I will be able to get out of the hole April 2019 vs June 2019. HOW very scary is that?? Yes, I will be in the negative in leave until next summer... well past a year from now if I don't fight for this. It was given to me, I should be able to use it. So... cry a little in my cubicle this morning, pull up my big girl panties and start seeking out the solution on my own as no-one else seems to give a rats ass about me and my cares!
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Monday, April 23, 2018
Weekend fun with Angela
I decided since we weren't going to Florida for the weekend, I would take the opportunity to go to Kennesaw to see Angela and spend some time with her.
I got up and took my time getting going... ate some breakfast and watched an episode of Lost in Space on Netflix then headed on out! I DID forget to get additional books on tape on the way out the door and sorely regretted that as my book ended before I even hit Atlanta - boo!
I got to Angela's after getting lost once - yeah, I really needed to turn on my GPS as I got off an exit too soon - dang it! Oh, well, I backtracked and made it to her house in a decent amount of time even with some HORRIBLE traffic slowdowns on the way up. I got there, made it to her apartment and waited while she got dressed, we then headed to Ikea! On the way to Ikea, I announced I was hungry and that we should get some PIZZA before going to shop in Ikea. For those that don't already know because I say this EVERY time we go to Atlanta and Ikea - that we LOVE Antico's Pizza in Atlanta - it's the BEST pizza and almost like you are in Italy.... yes, that authentic! We went and split a Diavola pizza (spicy pepperoni)... having just ONE piece left over! OINK! Then it was off to Ikea - and believe it or not we didn't shop around this time... we cut corners and basically just went in and looked at the bed frames and the mattresses and went out... we did spend a bit of time sitting in one of the displays talking about the cost of what is wanted vs. what should be anticipated... and we came to an agreement. A disappointed agreement, but an agreement... it's not worth it to spend $400 on a bed set for college when $250 would do the trick and get you what is needed to fit the bill AND still leave a little left over to use towards a couch that will have to be purchased in the near future as well. So, the decision was made, no Ikea bed for now. It's not cost effective.... which if you know Ikea, that is pretty shocking, isn't it? Yeah... for most things that we were looking at it wasn't cost effective. The cube storage items were the same way - no need - they are cheaper at Target. I have NEVER walked out of an Ikea without buying something... yeah, that day was a first!
And so we moved on... and went back to Kennesaw to check into the hotel. I chose the Embassy suites which is just down the street from her current and future housing. Bonus! The hotel was nice and comfy... we hung out there trying to decide what we were going to do for dinner. We decided on Cheesecake factory for appetizers and cheesecake! We drove the 20 miles south only to be greeted with TONS of prom goers. Yep, it was a madhouse!! So... we decided to go in and get cheesecake to go! We even had to wait a few minutes for that too! We finally escaped and headed back to the hotel with renting a movie on our brains as we had toyed with going to a movie while down at the mall area...
We eventually decided to try Taziki's for dinner as Angela had never had it before - she loved it! We then got to the hotel - goodies in hand only to discover that they had NO movies on demand! WHAT?? Yeah, it was sad!! But we found a show that neither one of us had seen (Dodge Ball of all things) watched that, ate what we could of our dinner... then I fell asleep - of course, I'm old and I was full :) Poor Angela on the other hand could NOT fall asleep - as in ALL NIGHT. At 5am she woke me up and we chatted for a few minutes before I crashed out again... then she woke me up at 7:30 and we went down for Breakfast. I guess next time she goes home to her room and I stay in the hotel, then maybe she will sleep?? Poor dear!!
After breakfast, I took her back to her apartment only to discover that she had left her phone somewhere... it was in the bed at the hotel - the good news is we checked out of the room at the front desk, so they knew who we were and gave us the key and we were able to retrieve it quickly! Whew! We then went to the gas station and back to her apartment for our final farewell!
It was a short visit, but a fun visit and I enjoyed spending the time talking with her and visiting while we were driving places and looking at furniture. In about a month we'll be back up there helping her get settled into the new apartment and getting her set for the summer semester. Fun times! I have no pictures either... I didn't really pick up my phone until the end of the night... and snapped a horrible picture of the two of us on the bed... but I may post it later when I get home (updating from work via email right now!)
I got up and took my time getting going... ate some breakfast and watched an episode of Lost in Space on Netflix then headed on out! I DID forget to get additional books on tape on the way out the door and sorely regretted that as my book ended before I even hit Atlanta - boo!
I got to Angela's after getting lost once - yeah, I really needed to turn on my GPS as I got off an exit too soon - dang it! Oh, well, I backtracked and made it to her house in a decent amount of time even with some HORRIBLE traffic slowdowns on the way up. I got there, made it to her apartment and waited while she got dressed, we then headed to Ikea! On the way to Ikea, I announced I was hungry and that we should get some PIZZA before going to shop in Ikea. For those that don't already know because I say this EVERY time we go to Atlanta and Ikea - that we LOVE Antico's Pizza in Atlanta - it's the BEST pizza and almost like you are in Italy.... yes, that authentic! We went and split a Diavola pizza (spicy pepperoni)... having just ONE piece left over! OINK! Then it was off to Ikea - and believe it or not we didn't shop around this time... we cut corners and basically just went in and looked at the bed frames and the mattresses and went out... we did spend a bit of time sitting in one of the displays talking about the cost of what is wanted vs. what should be anticipated... and we came to an agreement. A disappointed agreement, but an agreement... it's not worth it to spend $400 on a bed set for college when $250 would do the trick and get you what is needed to fit the bill AND still leave a little left over to use towards a couch that will have to be purchased in the near future as well. So, the decision was made, no Ikea bed for now. It's not cost effective.... which if you know Ikea, that is pretty shocking, isn't it? Yeah... for most things that we were looking at it wasn't cost effective. The cube storage items were the same way - no need - they are cheaper at Target. I have NEVER walked out of an Ikea without buying something... yeah, that day was a first!
And so we moved on... and went back to Kennesaw to check into the hotel. I chose the Embassy suites which is just down the street from her current and future housing. Bonus! The hotel was nice and comfy... we hung out there trying to decide what we were going to do for dinner. We decided on Cheesecake factory for appetizers and cheesecake! We drove the 20 miles south only to be greeted with TONS of prom goers. Yep, it was a madhouse!! So... we decided to go in and get cheesecake to go! We even had to wait a few minutes for that too! We finally escaped and headed back to the hotel with renting a movie on our brains as we had toyed with going to a movie while down at the mall area...
We eventually decided to try Taziki's for dinner as Angela had never had it before - she loved it! We then got to the hotel - goodies in hand only to discover that they had NO movies on demand! WHAT?? Yeah, it was sad!! But we found a show that neither one of us had seen (Dodge Ball of all things) watched that, ate what we could of our dinner... then I fell asleep - of course, I'm old and I was full :) Poor Angela on the other hand could NOT fall asleep - as in ALL NIGHT. At 5am she woke me up and we chatted for a few minutes before I crashed out again... then she woke me up at 7:30 and we went down for Breakfast. I guess next time she goes home to her room and I stay in the hotel, then maybe she will sleep?? Poor dear!!
After breakfast, I took her back to her apartment only to discover that she had left her phone somewhere... it was in the bed at the hotel - the good news is we checked out of the room at the front desk, so they knew who we were and gave us the key and we were able to retrieve it quickly! Whew! We then went to the gas station and back to her apartment for our final farewell!
It was a short visit, but a fun visit and I enjoyed spending the time talking with her and visiting while we were driving places and looking at furniture. In about a month we'll be back up there helping her get settled into the new apartment and getting her set for the summer semester. Fun times! I have no pictures either... I didn't really pick up my phone until the end of the night... and snapped a horrible picture of the two of us on the bed... but I may post it later when I get home (updating from work via email right now!)
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Military Wives Reunion
We were friends in Aviano 23 years ago. Three of us me, Peggy and Wendy had babies the same year and one, Amy, had her baby girl one year to the day after Elizabeth! Talk about a great history for all of us! I have seen each of them at some point in the last 23 years and they have each seen one or more of the others but THIS is the first time in that long that we have all been in one place at the same time! It was like NO time had passed and it was wonderful!
Amy, Wendy and Peggy on Thursday before I was able to make it in!
Friday beach day! Dinner at Props Brew Pub and a night visiting.
Waiting on the boat and having a snack of fried shrimp before the cruise!
Saturday Amy had to head back for work and school, I was so glad I got to see her for the time I had! Saturday evening the rest of us headed to a dolphin cruise, dinner at Dewey’s and a stroll along the boardwalk area. Cute area.
Crazy hair and just don’t care!!
THIS is the pictures that normal people take in a hammock
This is what I end up with LMAO!
Not a cool bone in my body :D
I vote we do this more often than every 23 years!!
Amy, Wendy and Peggy on Thursday before I was able to make it in!
Friday beach day! Dinner at Props Brew Pub and a night visiting.
Waiting on the boat and having a snack of fried shrimp before the cruise!
Saturday Amy had to head back for work and school, I was so glad I got to see her for the time I had! Saturday evening the rest of us headed to a dolphin cruise, dinner at Dewey’s and a stroll along the boardwalk area. Cute area.
Crazy hair and just don’t care!!
THIS is the pictures that normal people take in a hammock
This is what I end up with LMAO!
Not a cool bone in my body :D
I vote we do this more often than every 23 years!!
Monday, April 9, 2018
First World Problems
So for the last few days I have been filling out my periodic security clearance review. The questions they are asking now are ones I sit and shake my head... like where all my siblings were born. Well, I have NO idea as Dad was in the Navy and all over the West Coast when we were all born... so, not a clue.
Then they asked where I had traveled overseas for the last 7 years. Yeah, THAT was a FUN thing to relive. I have been so many places!!
I have been to:
Other than that, life is moving a snails pace right now..waiting, waiting, waiting... but this too shall pass!
This coming weekend I will be meeting with three other gals from Italy - two of them had babies the same year I had Liz and one had her daughter on Elizabeth's first birthday - fun, eh? It will be great to have everyone in the same place at one time again! It's been a long time! It will be nice to see them all!
Then they asked where I had traveled overseas for the last 7 years. Yeah, THAT was a FUN thing to relive. I have been so many places!!
I have been to:
- Italy and Netherlands in 2012
- Dubai in 2012
- Honduras, Belize, Mexico in 2014
- Guam in 2015
- Ireland and England in 2016
Talk about first world problem, right? Trying to remember all the places I have been in the last 7 years... yes, just in the last 7 - what a fun ride it has been, eh?
I still want to GO, GO, GO! LOL
For now I guess we're staying closer to home and not going out of the country. I DO need to renew my passport as it will expire in a year.
Other than that, life is moving a snails pace right now..waiting, waiting, waiting... but this too shall pass!
This coming weekend I will be meeting with three other gals from Italy - two of them had babies the same year I had Liz and one had her daughter on Elizabeth's first birthday - fun, eh? It will be great to have everyone in the same place at one time again! It's been a long time! It will be nice to see them all!
Sunday, April 8, 2018
Discoveries in the new office
So, one of the things that I discovered when cleaning out
my new cubicle, besides the fact that it was FILTHY, was a whole drawer of
crushed water bottles. I'm telling you
this drawer was large enough to fill a medium size garbage bag full! What sort of person moves out and leaves his
empty water bottles behind for the next person to clean up for them? YUCK!
What else did I find? Lots of HUGE
dust bunnies... and lots of YUCK on the floor.
What I have discovered in my 6' x 6' cube is that a) my power cord is in
the WORST place ever, it's not under the desk where it would make sense, it's
in the corner behind the desk. What else
is weird about these cubicles is that they have upper cabinets that are 4' long
- two will fit across the wall behind me.
But NOT on the wall in front of me.
Nope, that wall is only 6' long.
The 8' long wall is to my back and has a 2' "wall" between me
and my cube mate. Yeah they are TINY
cubicles. Thin is more like it... I
guess my other cubicles in my old office were almost this small but it was less
noticeable because the overheads were over the desk, not behind you causing you
to have much less "standing room".
I guess I could find out who can reconfigure these things, but honestly,
it's not worth it. I'll just live with
my rickety little cube and move on. Hey,
at least I have a computer, right? That
took three days to acquire and it's a loaner... but I'm happy because I have
email and IM to "chat" with folks and see what sort of data I CAN get
my hands on... so far that would be a big old goose egg of information.
After day one where I was bored out of my skull I decided
that there was NO use in fighting this and brought in a book. I have read the whole thing. It was a paperback, but still no data, I read
what they brought me, I read it three times, I highlighted it, I told the gal
who brought it to me that I understood most of it, but it was the acronyms that
were throwing me as they are different than where I came from. Legacy vs. Air Craft = whole NEW world in acronyms. So, I was promised an acronym sheet... that I
haven't seen yet. I don't want to pester
her as she is working her OWN project and just helping me...
I have sent stuff to my boss asking questions. Waiting to see what I get back....
BUT I'm learning patience....
Sort of....
Monday, April 2, 2018
What was I thinking???
So, today while sitting there reading documents and waiting for my computer to get there... I was thinking "what was I thinking?" BIG changes!! I'm trying to adjust - it's only Day 1... no computer, boss leaving for two days... WHAT WAS I THINKING??
Change is good.. change is good... change is good... repeat over and over and over... change is good... now repeat in a rain man fashion.
7 years, 5 months and some odd days... no phone in the office, so I have no way at the office to now what my count down is anymore while at work.
But, really, I do need to remember this is day ONE nothing can be determined on day one....
EXCEPT they don't point you to soda machines, the break room was a in passing "Oh, yeah, that is the break room" then the guy I sit next too is an open mouth chewer... UGH!!! My worst pet peeve. Made me cringe during lunch. I need to bring in a physical book to read as I don't have any of my electronic books with me anymore.. no phone, no book at this point. Sigh.
The other insult to injury is that I have to be escorted even to the bathroom... yeah, that's NOT awkward. I have to remember it's temporary... really temporary... until I get my building badge. Sigh... so I had no drink with my lunch. I guess I should have had more balls and just flat out asked "where can I get a drink around here".
So, I ditched out about 15 minutes early in an effort to go to the office and go to my OLD office just so I could log into a computer to check email.
Goodness.
Change is good.. change is good... change is good... repeat over and over and over... change is good... now repeat in a rain man fashion.
7 years, 5 months and some odd days... no phone in the office, so I have no way at the office to now what my count down is anymore while at work.
But, really, I do need to remember this is day ONE nothing can be determined on day one....
EXCEPT they don't point you to soda machines, the break room was a in passing "Oh, yeah, that is the break room" then the guy I sit next too is an open mouth chewer... UGH!!! My worst pet peeve. Made me cringe during lunch. I need to bring in a physical book to read as I don't have any of my electronic books with me anymore.. no phone, no book at this point. Sigh.
The other insult to injury is that I have to be escorted even to the bathroom... yeah, that's NOT awkward. I have to remember it's temporary... really temporary... until I get my building badge. Sigh... so I had no drink with my lunch. I guess I should have had more balls and just flat out asked "where can I get a drink around here".
So, I ditched out about 15 minutes early in an effort to go to the office and go to my OLD office just so I could log into a computer to check email.
Goodness.
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Friday, March 30, 2018
Work update
After working for the 78th Comm Directorate for 15 years - back before it
was a directorate, before it was even a Comm anything and was part of
Maintenance... I will be moving on.
I'm on the fence on how I feel about this. I'm excited for new challenges,
but sad that I will be leaving the familiar setting of the 78th. I have
been with them for so very long. So, why am I changing? Well, I had sent
my resume out a number of times to folks in SMXG Software Development for
years in an attempt to move over there.. I had a huge nibble a few years
back, however, my bosses essentially blocked this move by asking that the
division wanting to pull me in provide a one for one swap... well, that was
the issue, they wanted me because they had NONE of my type of personnel over
there... so that died on the vine. Sigh. This time, the way it all worked
out was rather interesting. I sent my resume out and within 24 hours I had
a bite... someone wanted me. They reached out and asked about a transfer
and I did tell them about the time prior and our division would want a
trade... so they were welcome to try, but I didn't know that it would be
beneficial for the new division. In the mean time I applied for two other
positions in another area over there and just watched and waited. So - two
weeks ago I got an IM asking if I was still interested as they were going to
select me via my resume. They had apparently done some horse trading and
gotten the position that was NOT advertised for their area directly and were
pulling me in from that application. Sweet. So, I accepted the job offer.
It was very QUICK once things got moving as they wanted me to start work the
very next Monday... uh, I still have to wrap up two contract purchases on
this side... so I made the announcement to my boss and they got to discuss
just how soon I would be moving over. In the meantime I was transitioned to
the other areas pay within two or three business days. Goes to show you,
when they want you, they can move mountains to get you where they need you!
So, flash forward a week and my new boss finds out I'm part of a program
called Emerging Supervisor Development Program (those classes I did during
the last 6 months) and she realized I may get there just in time to just
leave to take a 13 somewhere else... she said as much and I told her I would
like to come over and stay put and advance there... the issue is they don't
really have advancement opportunities there... so they moved me to a NEW
position that will hopefully give me a way to advance while staying there.
Again, amazing feeling to know you are WANTED and they will do what they can
to keep me in place and find ways to help me advance in the long run.
And with that, I have been packing my office out.. and finding out just how
much CRAP I have accumulated over these last 15 years in this one business
area!! YIKES!! Elizabeth came to help me put boxes of books and odds and
ends into my car while I was still teleworking the 19th or 20th...
And the scary part? THIS is just what was not VISIBLE as I wanted to move the bulk without anyone knowing as I hadn’t announced I was leaving as I hadn’t even come back to work yet!!
I had another full bag (orange bag) of poopers as well!! I did cull through it all, go through all my pens and such and make sure they all worked.
What I ended up with was two bags of holiday things, two bags/box of books and one smaller box of office supplies. I will go check out the digs and see what I’ll bring in with me to the new office next week. I will definitely pare down I’m sure!!
I have a small box of essential things I had left in here to get me through the rest of the week. I also brought back some holiday things as well. I’ll just leave them here for the old crew to have. BUT they wanted some of the things I’m not willing to part with. Silly things, but things with good memories over the years. Yeah my new office will be doomed too I’m sure!!
was a directorate, before it was even a Comm anything and was part of
Maintenance... I will be moving on.
I'm on the fence on how I feel about this. I'm excited for new challenges,
but sad that I will be leaving the familiar setting of the 78th. I have
been with them for so very long. So, why am I changing? Well, I had sent
my resume out a number of times to folks in SMXG Software Development for
years in an attempt to move over there.. I had a huge nibble a few years
back, however, my bosses essentially blocked this move by asking that the
division wanting to pull me in provide a one for one swap... well, that was
the issue, they wanted me because they had NONE of my type of personnel over
there... so that died on the vine. Sigh. This time, the way it all worked
out was rather interesting. I sent my resume out and within 24 hours I had
a bite... someone wanted me. They reached out and asked about a transfer
and I did tell them about the time prior and our division would want a
trade... so they were welcome to try, but I didn't know that it would be
beneficial for the new division. In the mean time I applied for two other
positions in another area over there and just watched and waited. So - two
weeks ago I got an IM asking if I was still interested as they were going to
select me via my resume. They had apparently done some horse trading and
gotten the position that was NOT advertised for their area directly and were
pulling me in from that application. Sweet. So, I accepted the job offer.
It was very QUICK once things got moving as they wanted me to start work the
very next Monday... uh, I still have to wrap up two contract purchases on
this side... so I made the announcement to my boss and they got to discuss
just how soon I would be moving over. In the meantime I was transitioned to
the other areas pay within two or three business days. Goes to show you,
when they want you, they can move mountains to get you where they need you!
So, flash forward a week and my new boss finds out I'm part of a program
called Emerging Supervisor Development Program (those classes I did during
the last 6 months) and she realized I may get there just in time to just
leave to take a 13 somewhere else... she said as much and I told her I would
like to come over and stay put and advance there... the issue is they don't
really have advancement opportunities there... so they moved me to a NEW
position that will hopefully give me a way to advance while staying there.
Again, amazing feeling to know you are WANTED and they will do what they can
to keep me in place and find ways to help me advance in the long run.
And with that, I have been packing my office out.. and finding out just how
much CRAP I have accumulated over these last 15 years in this one business
area!! YIKES!! Elizabeth came to help me put boxes of books and odds and
ends into my car while I was still teleworking the 19th or 20th...
And the scary part? THIS is just what was not VISIBLE as I wanted to move the bulk without anyone knowing as I hadn’t announced I was leaving as I hadn’t even come back to work yet!!
I had another full bag (orange bag) of poopers as well!! I did cull through it all, go through all my pens and such and make sure they all worked.
What I ended up with was two bags of holiday things, two bags/box of books and one smaller box of office supplies. I will go check out the digs and see what I’ll bring in with me to the new office next week. I will definitely pare down I’m sure!!
I have a small box of essential things I had left in here to get me through the rest of the week. I also brought back some holiday things as well. I’ll just leave them here for the old crew to have. BUT they wanted some of the things I’m not willing to part with. Silly things, but things with good memories over the years. Yeah my new office will be doomed too I’m sure!!
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Conversational frustrations.
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it 30 time “at least they caught it early” and I wanted to scream.
Number one i have discussed my staging with very few people so just how do you know it was early? This bad boy was growing 10 plus years. Early for me would have been 10 plus years ago when this was just a pesky polyp.
Instead I answered “yeah, I’m in the positive side of the 60/40 split for 5 year survival”.
I know it’s mean but it’s good to see their jaws drop. Yeah. This is my statistical number, but you know what? I’m more than a statistic. I’m firmly on the 60% and going no where folks!
Then again if it rears it’s ugly head again I’ll do like I did this time, put one foot in front of the other and deal with it. Although this time I would ask a ton more questions with my tiny knowledge base and my HUGE reach back to the folks at Colontown.org (yes that was a shameless plug!)
Number one i have discussed my staging with very few people so just how do you know it was early? This bad boy was growing 10 plus years. Early for me would have been 10 plus years ago when this was just a pesky polyp.
Instead I answered “yeah, I’m in the positive side of the 60/40 split for 5 year survival”.
I know it’s mean but it’s good to see their jaws drop. Yeah. This is my statistical number, but you know what? I’m more than a statistic. I’m firmly on the 60% and going no where folks!
Then again if it rears it’s ugly head again I’ll do like I did this time, put one foot in front of the other and deal with it. Although this time I would ask a ton more questions with my tiny knowledge base and my HUGE reach back to the folks at Colontown.org (yes that was a shameless plug!)
Reflects on my time In Florida
My posts make it seems like I’m doing fine 99% of the time...and really I am...then I have days like today and the 10th and I wonder just how “fine” fine is. I’m spending time with clustering (aka multiple trips to the potty with the feeling of not being able to fully empty among other things I won’t torture you with in detail). It’s tedious and very inconvenient, but not the end if the world really.
I keep thinking “it could be worse” and really it could. I could have issues with diarrhea. I’m not sure which is worse constipation that tends to put me into clustering or just getting out in a long torturous bout of diarrhea and a raw bum.
My accounts of this weekend seem like I have been super active but as always it comes in fits and spurts and has been a lot of hurry up and wait time. I’m good with that too. I am supposed you be recouperating. And I am. No lifting. No strenuous things. I have slowly emptied out the closets of items that need to go home with me or go in the shed or the laundry room to get them out of the way. The stack is growing of things that are headed home with me. Once they’re at home I’ll sort through and take a load to consignment. My work is never done.
Next up is fence install - that will happen on the 5th of next month. Here’s hoping the A/C stays where it is until the fence is put in! Pray for me! Tomorrow I have a drywall guy coming in to look at the hall ceiling to see what he can do for us and the attic fan fiasco. And tomorrow night Butch comes in (late). Liz is staying home. Can’t say as I blame her, she doesn’t want to drive down for a short time and come fuel again in a wee, to see her friend in Tallahassee. Fair enough.
As for me and the remainder of my time, I have zero plans..I’m pretty well finished with what I needed to get done (and blinds too). Next major thing would be to have the house painted...so maybe we could pick colors this weekend? Who knows.
I keep thinking “it could be worse” and really it could. I could have issues with diarrhea. I’m not sure which is worse constipation that tends to put me into clustering or just getting out in a long torturous bout of diarrhea and a raw bum.
My accounts of this weekend seem like I have been super active but as always it comes in fits and spurts and has been a lot of hurry up and wait time. I’m good with that too. I am supposed you be recouperating. And I am. No lifting. No strenuous things. I have slowly emptied out the closets of items that need to go home with me or go in the shed or the laundry room to get them out of the way. The stack is growing of things that are headed home with me. Once they’re at home I’ll sort through and take a load to consignment. My work is never done.
Next up is fence install - that will happen on the 5th of next month. Here’s hoping the A/C stays where it is until the fence is put in! Pray for me! Tomorrow I have a drywall guy coming in to look at the hall ceiling to see what he can do for us and the attic fan fiasco. And tomorrow night Butch comes in (late). Liz is staying home. Can’t say as I blame her, she doesn’t want to drive down for a short time and come fuel again in a wee, to see her friend in Tallahassee. Fair enough.
As for me and the remainder of my time, I have zero plans..I’m pretty well finished with what I needed to get done (and blinds too). Next major thing would be to have the house painted...so maybe we could pick colors this weekend? Who knows.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
We have heat!!
I spent all day from 9am to noon with all doors open in 57 degree weather makes for a popsicle me. Burrr!
The old!
From everything we could tell the unit was from 1997. Twenty years is a good run for a rental unit and a house that was totally trashed be the prior owners.
The inspection note on the side was from 1990. Scary!
Taking the first look at the mess!
The removal had begun.
It took two trucks ;)
The new being staged to be installed.
The old lines coming out!
An empty closet!!
Prepped for the new unit note the fence is removed or part of it.
The old coils - rusty!!
The new
Old...note no insulation inside.
New! Insulated.
Old. Doesn’t look too bad.
New. Looking good.
And the great unveiling. We haven’t seen under this since we bought the house. Just never pulled it down.
We have louvres!!
From the back of the house looking towards the kitchen.
And up into the attic they go. Only to find out we can’t remove the fan. Drat it. There is a cast iron pipe over the end of the unit and right smack dam in the middle is a water line. Why? Because they felt it was necessary. A man plan. Why not figure out the fan isn’t used anymore and just remove it then? Why not plan to remove it and not place water lines over it!??? Sigh!!
And with that bad news the guys went to lunch and I shut all the doors and turned on the oven to cook lunch and the stove top to warm up.
They came back fairly quickly.
Note the lines are coming in through the attic vent hole... assuming they were just “measuring” how long the lines needed to be.
All gone!
And all put back together!!
And the new surprisingly quiet indoor unit. It heats fast!!
And the guys doing the install spoke Russian. That was a fun change for the day. Listening to them talk in Russian to the one worker who didn’t speak English.
The old!
From everything we could tell the unit was from 1997. Twenty years is a good run for a rental unit and a house that was totally trashed be the prior owners.
The inspection note on the side was from 1990. Scary!
Taking the first look at the mess!
The removal had begun.
It took two trucks ;)
The new being staged to be installed.
The old lines coming out!
An empty closet!!
Prepped for the new unit note the fence is removed or part of it.
The old coils - rusty!!
The new
Old...note no insulation inside.
New! Insulated.
Old. Doesn’t look too bad.
New. Looking good.
And the great unveiling. We haven’t seen under this since we bought the house. Just never pulled it down.
We have louvres!!
From the back of the house looking towards the kitchen.
And up into the attic they go. Only to find out we can’t remove the fan. Drat it. There is a cast iron pipe over the end of the unit and right smack dam in the middle is a water line. Why? Because they felt it was necessary. A man plan. Why not figure out the fan isn’t used anymore and just remove it then? Why not plan to remove it and not place water lines over it!??? Sigh!!
And with that bad news the guys went to lunch and I shut all the doors and turned on the oven to cook lunch and the stove top to warm up.
They came back fairly quickly.
Note the lines are coming in through the attic vent hole... assuming they were just “measuring” how long the lines needed to be.
All gone!
And all put back together!!
And the new surprisingly quiet indoor unit. It heats fast!!
And the guys doing the install spoke Russian. That was a fun change for the day. Listening to them talk in Russian to the one worker who didn’t speak English.
Monday, March 12, 2018
Personal shopping.
I needed some spring tops.
Ok so the burgundy sweater in the front isn’t spring but it was soooo soft and it’s been chilly here so I justified it! The black with flowered has cute sheer ruffled sleeves for work... the others are shirts that are self explanatory until you get to the white. Yeah, that is a robe. A NICE robe that was like brand new at Goodwill. Butch grossed out at Goodwill however it went straight to the wash when I got home. It’s a VERY nice robe and really was new as the fabric still had the stiffness that only a new robe would have had with the waffle weave....and since I forgot my robe this time I could justify this purchase as well for $4.xx.
The rest of the shirts are from TJ Maxx and Ross so I’m STILL not a big spender!!
Ok so the burgundy sweater in the front isn’t spring but it was soooo soft and it’s been chilly here so I justified it! The black with flowered has cute sheer ruffled sleeves for work... the others are shirts that are self explanatory until you get to the white. Yeah, that is a robe. A NICE robe that was like brand new at Goodwill. Butch grossed out at Goodwill however it went straight to the wash when I got home. It’s a VERY nice robe and really was new as the fabric still had the stiffness that only a new robe would have had with the waffle weave....and since I forgot my robe this time I could justify this purchase as well for $4.xx.
The rest of the shirts are from TJ Maxx and Ross so I’m STILL not a big spender!!
Work around the house
Someone painted over the house number. Wow, just wow!!
You can’t even see it from a distance. Nada!
So I painted the numbers! Gotta love paint pens :)
Looks good. When we pain the whole house we will pull that plaque off and do it proper.
AND because we have garbage can thief’s I painted the number on the trash can.
AND the recycle. What isn’t shown is I ALSO bought a length of chain and a lock to chain these bad boys to the post to hopefully put a stop the thief and make the point that they are NOT welcome to take the cans as they see fit.
What else did I do? I finally put the toilet paper roll holder back on the wall and tightened the towel hook that was coming loose. I didn’t really “tighten” so much as replace the anchors in the wall with new ones. And with that we’re back in business.
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Today’s accomplishments
Hope you’re sitting down because this is ALL I accomplished and it took two of us to get this headboard in. It was just awkward.
I think I like it and as I lay here in bed leaning against a WARM headboard instead of a cold wall I definitely like it.
Much nicer than bare wall and the price was the kicker!
Normally $179.xx on sale for $79.xx which I thought was awesome anyway and they gave me a further discount and I walked out the door with it for $67.xx. Yep, you read that right! Can’t beat that deal. It was meant to be!!
I’m excited for both the comfort and the price for sure!!
I think I like it and as I lay here in bed leaning against a WARM headboard instead of a cold wall I definitely like it.
Much nicer than bare wall and the price was the kicker!
Normally $179.xx on sale for $79.xx which I thought was awesome anyway and they gave me a further discount and I walked out the door with it for $67.xx. Yep, you read that right! Can’t beat that deal. It was meant to be!!
I’m excited for both the comfort and the price for sure!!
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Shopping and poop talk.
For those that don’t want the poop talk, I will limit it to the BOTTOM (haha see what I did there?) of this post and you can skip it.
Sally and I went out to breakfast with Ina this morning. It was good to see her again. Wednesday night Sally and Ina had their girls dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s and they invited me along. There were 8 total including me. Most were in their 70s and 80s with the exception of one gal and me. I think she’s probably in her 50s as well...maybe younger I’m not a good judge of ages. Anyway it was nice to meet them all and have dinner with them.
It’s always nice to see Ina. She seems to be doing OK after the loss of her husband Robert.
After breakfast Sally and I headed to Elgin to get some fruits for her fellowship meal tomorrow at her church. I dropped her off and went over to the Bx to look for a headboard as I had seen them at out BX a while back. I had my mind set on a black leather one but THIS one caught my eye immediately:
What I didn’t realize is that they were selling me the floor model. BUT it was in great shape. We took it apart and put it in the back with minimal issues.
That being said I was having some “issues” today and had more than my fair share of potty stops. BUT I did make it through the a small part of the BX, a bit of the commissary, Lowe’s and a bit of Sams club as well before I realized as I was getting gas that my issues needed me to be home for a bit. And we headed to the house.
I didn’t accomplish much else, as evidence of the headboard still in the car! Soooo life is still good, just working through today’s issues and hoping things will calm soon.
I did come home, take a shower and put my sweats on and did some laundry and took a nap (short one as the phone woke me, but that’s OK too).
**poop talk**
This is what I posted on my reversals group.
Ok over the last few weeks I have come to the conclusion that if things are going well I have a HUGE sense of guilt and don’t want to say anything to everyone on the group because of the number who are suffering after reversal and, well, it feels like bragging. BUT for this facing their reversal, there is hope, and a few let downs. (Sorry long winded)
Im 4weeks4days post reversal, 1ft rectum/sigmoid colon removed, stump of a rectum left (1/2” maybe) and a side to end connect (tiny pseudo-pouch?)
For the first three weeks it was poop central. I decided because I had the time off work I would let my body do it’s thing. I would see if it work out it’s own issues and behave, if not I had fiber and all that Jazz to fall back on. I don’t take pain pills and am only taking Gabapentin, a stool softener (too chicken to stop those just yet), a multi vitamin and a probiotics (gummies type)
I was shocked that at about three weeks of constantly pooping myself at night and living in fear of pooping myself (with protection) in public that the switches started flipping. I started to NOT poop at night. Lots during the day still but my nights were mostly mine!! Yay
Then things started to slow down during the day and for about 5 days I had been pooping at 9pmish and not much during the rest of the day. As long as my stools were easy to pass I kept going with everything the same on meds.
I got so Cocky I drove 5 hours to Florida to get some work done on our little House here behind my mother-in-laws. I was wondering what the drive would do to my schedule but I’m happy to report things stayed pretty steady the first 4 days.
Today is day 5 and I’ve had a bit of diarrhea and urgency. Happy to report that Always incontinence pads work pretty good and my clothing survived. So. If it’s only every 6 days I get a “clean out” day I can live with that. But there IS hope. Your body can adjust. It’s not like it used to be, but it’s all good!!
I joked to my MIL that I can stay out until I run out of supplies! So what that I had to poop in three stores today. Then as the uncontrollable urges hit again while getting gas I realized that, nope, supplies or not, it’s time to go home and let this play out close to a potty!
Sally and I went out to breakfast with Ina this morning. It was good to see her again. Wednesday night Sally and Ina had their girls dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s and they invited me along. There were 8 total including me. Most were in their 70s and 80s with the exception of one gal and me. I think she’s probably in her 50s as well...maybe younger I’m not a good judge of ages. Anyway it was nice to meet them all and have dinner with them.
It’s always nice to see Ina. She seems to be doing OK after the loss of her husband Robert.
After breakfast Sally and I headed to Elgin to get some fruits for her fellowship meal tomorrow at her church. I dropped her off and went over to the Bx to look for a headboard as I had seen them at out BX a while back. I had my mind set on a black leather one but THIS one caught my eye immediately:
What I didn’t realize is that they were selling me the floor model. BUT it was in great shape. We took it apart and put it in the back with minimal issues.
That being said I was having some “issues” today and had more than my fair share of potty stops. BUT I did make it through the a small part of the BX, a bit of the commissary, Lowe’s and a bit of Sams club as well before I realized as I was getting gas that my issues needed me to be home for a bit. And we headed to the house.
I didn’t accomplish much else, as evidence of the headboard still in the car! Soooo life is still good, just working through today’s issues and hoping things will calm soon.
I did come home, take a shower and put my sweats on and did some laundry and took a nap (short one as the phone woke me, but that’s OK too).
**poop talk**
This is what I posted on my reversals group.
Ok over the last few weeks I have come to the conclusion that if things are going well I have a HUGE sense of guilt and don’t want to say anything to everyone on the group because of the number who are suffering after reversal and, well, it feels like bragging. BUT for this facing their reversal, there is hope, and a few let downs. (Sorry long winded)
Im 4weeks4days post reversal, 1ft rectum/sigmoid colon removed, stump of a rectum left (1/2” maybe) and a side to end connect (tiny pseudo-pouch?)
For the first three weeks it was poop central. I decided because I had the time off work I would let my body do it’s thing. I would see if it work out it’s own issues and behave, if not I had fiber and all that Jazz to fall back on. I don’t take pain pills and am only taking Gabapentin, a stool softener (too chicken to stop those just yet), a multi vitamin and a probiotics (gummies type)
I was shocked that at about three weeks of constantly pooping myself at night and living in fear of pooping myself (with protection) in public that the switches started flipping. I started to NOT poop at night. Lots during the day still but my nights were mostly mine!! Yay
Then things started to slow down during the day and for about 5 days I had been pooping at 9pmish and not much during the rest of the day. As long as my stools were easy to pass I kept going with everything the same on meds.
I got so Cocky I drove 5 hours to Florida to get some work done on our little House here behind my mother-in-laws. I was wondering what the drive would do to my schedule but I’m happy to report things stayed pretty steady the first 4 days.
Today is day 5 and I’ve had a bit of diarrhea and urgency. Happy to report that Always incontinence pads work pretty good and my clothing survived. So. If it’s only every 6 days I get a “clean out” day I can live with that. But there IS hope. Your body can adjust. It’s not like it used to be, but it’s all good!!
I joked to my MIL that I can stay out until I run out of supplies! So what that I had to poop in three stores today. Then as the uncontrollable urges hit again while getting gas I realized that, nope, supplies or not, it’s time to go home and let this play out close to a potty!
Friday, March 9, 2018
Shopping and adventures in Fort Walton
I went to TJ Maxx but they weren’t quite open. Soooo I went to Salvation Army. I know, I know. But it was a huge one and I resisted a lot of “project” items that had temped me quite a bit.
So what I DID buy I had been thinking about for a few years and determined if I ever found a house canister set I would buy it. Why? Christmas mantle pieces. I had been looking fir ones I could paint,but this one was much better. It’s already ready to go. Ones I have seen in the past were $30 or more which is why I passed on them. I was looking for a bargain.
Here is what the front looks like. Obviously a canister set as it’s confectioner shop, bakery and coffee shop. There was s 4th one but it was broken and glued together. It got left behind. I purchased these for $5. I think they will do just fine.
And here is the backs. Now you can see why I wanted them. Nicely plain for decorating at Christmas.
After that, back to TJ Maxx. I bought three shirts (yay me!) and more importantly to my poor feet in tile floors was this:
A cushy set of rugs for my bath so I don’t have to keep moving the rug all over the bath! My poor feel are a mess here. The tile just NEVER warms up in the bathrooms. The floors are so cold and the neuropathy is really messing with me while I have been here. Feel aching and feeling cold although when I feel them with my hands they are perfectly warm. It’s just my nerves not working right. Sigh. Oh well problem solved with more socks and rugs ;)
Saw this cute towel (didn’t buy it!)
So I THEN went to Ross. Hummmm bad store!!! Really GOOD store but bad for my wallet!!
I found Three MORE shirts. Sweet. Spring shirts for me!!
Well I found shells to put on my glass containers on either side of the TV. Nice. I like them.
I also bought some things for Georgia. I got a plant rolling caddy for my lemon tree. I then picked up a super soft fake sheepskin for the office chair. Either at work or Home. As yet to be determined.
I then went to K Mart. Bet you didn’t know they had any more. Yeah it’s one of the few left I think. I picked up the last of my odds and ends items on my list - laundry soap, plungers, fun stuff like that - ha!
This is my car after the fact! Ha! Time to go home when your car is full.
But:
The one thing I noted today was my hair! Goodness. It’s a mess!! AND I just got it cut. It’s either too short or not short enough. Sigh.
It won’t lay right.
You can see all the new hairs growing in and waving at the world.
So I bought a headband or two at KMart. We shall see if we can’t figure something out a Pt taming the beast!!
So what I DID buy I had been thinking about for a few years and determined if I ever found a house canister set I would buy it. Why? Christmas mantle pieces. I had been looking fir ones I could paint,but this one was much better. It’s already ready to go. Ones I have seen in the past were $30 or more which is why I passed on them. I was looking for a bargain.
Here is what the front looks like. Obviously a canister set as it’s confectioner shop, bakery and coffee shop. There was s 4th one but it was broken and glued together. It got left behind. I purchased these for $5. I think they will do just fine.
And here is the backs. Now you can see why I wanted them. Nicely plain for decorating at Christmas.
After that, back to TJ Maxx. I bought three shirts (yay me!) and more importantly to my poor feet in tile floors was this:
A cushy set of rugs for my bath so I don’t have to keep moving the rug all over the bath! My poor feel are a mess here. The tile just NEVER warms up in the bathrooms. The floors are so cold and the neuropathy is really messing with me while I have been here. Feel aching and feeling cold although when I feel them with my hands they are perfectly warm. It’s just my nerves not working right. Sigh. Oh well problem solved with more socks and rugs ;)
Saw this cute towel (didn’t buy it!)
So I THEN went to Ross. Hummmm bad store!!! Really GOOD store but bad for my wallet!!
I found Three MORE shirts. Sweet. Spring shirts for me!!
Well I found shells to put on my glass containers on either side of the TV. Nice. I like them.
I also bought some things for Georgia. I got a plant rolling caddy for my lemon tree. I then picked up a super soft fake sheepskin for the office chair. Either at work or Home. As yet to be determined.
I then went to K Mart. Bet you didn’t know they had any more. Yeah it’s one of the few left I think. I picked up the last of my odds and ends items on my list - laundry soap, plungers, fun stuff like that - ha!
This is my car after the fact! Ha! Time to go home when your car is full.
But:
The one thing I noted today was my hair! Goodness. It’s a mess!! AND I just got it cut. It’s either too short or not short enough. Sigh.
It won’t lay right.
You can see all the new hairs growing in and waving at the world.
So I bought a headband or two at KMart. We shall see if we can’t figure something out a Pt taming the beast!!
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