Sunday, May 29, 2011

Sugar Sugar

I am an avid animal lover and am rather ruled by my adorable pets. I would do anything in my power to make sure they are safe, healthy and happy. While checking my Etsy shop activity this evening, I noticed a seller had added my shop to her favorites. I had to go check out her shop and noticed that she makes lovely jewelry and all proceeds are going to pay for her adorable dog, Sugar's needed surgery. Sugar is 3 1/2 years old and must have surgery on her knees as she has torn the ACL. You can even help out by purchasing jewelry or even a $5 print of Sugar (which I did). It does feel good to help someone out!

You can check out Sarah's shop here.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Complimentary Panhandler

Today my mom and I ran some much needed errands. I was very proud of her as she chose to go out without her walker today. Since her fall in March when she fractured her pelvis, she had become quite dependant on first a wheelchair and then a walker.

We went to Target and she pushed the shopping cart in lieu of having her walker. I did weigh it down a bit with boxes of cat litter and it finally did get too heavy for her. I then took over the cart and she held her own beautifully.

We left Target and went to Petco for cat food. We had the pleasure of meeting two little adorable brother and sister Pomeranian puppies! They were so precious and active and just loved the all the attention my mom and I showered them with.

While wrapping up our shopping trip and climbing back in the car to go home, a panhandler approached and asked if I had any change to spare. He was very polite in his approach. I told him, "sorry I don't have any cash on me". He "blessed" me and complimented my hair. Said he loved the "frizzy" look! What?? I use leave-in condition and thought that was under control. LOL.

So, we left the Petco shopping center and drove to the Ralphs by the house. We picked up grocery items needed, but this Ralphs didn't have everything I needed for the dinner I planned to make, but my mom was tired and ready to go home. So, home we went and I unloaded the groceries and purchases with the help of my sister and got my mom settled. Then my sister and I headed out to a different Ralphs to pick up the final groceries needed.

While at the second Ralphs, I ran into a co-worker and we briefly chatted and then my sister and I checked out and then got lottery tickets (duds, I might add). Then, as we were chatting and walking out of the store, two men (a blonde and a brunette) were walking in. The blonde was yelling at a woman behind them and this caught us off guard as we were busy chatting. The guy was yelling, "I'm an American and you're going to call the cops on me! You were talking on your phone while driving and could kill people (or something like that). We don't do that here." The woman, in her thick accent, said, "you're sick", all the while holding her phone to her ear. Then, out of the blue, the blonde guy said with such attitude, "Honey...". Well, I heard that and suddenly lost all other words out of his mouth because I could only think, "oh he must be gay with that tone in his 'honey'!"

This was truly the most interesting shopping experience I've experienced and I only wish I would have caught that encounter in it's early stages and had a phone with video so I could have made a fun short film of it. Oh well, maybe next time.

Neil Young by Jimmy Fallon

I'm a long time Neil Young fan. Whether he was solo, in Crazy Horse, CSNY, or Buffalo Springfield, I just loved the music and songs. A few days ago, a friend shared this video of Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen singing the Willow Smith song, Whip My Hair. I thought, "really?", so I watched it. I died laughing! It was not only hysterical but the best Neil Young I've seen (besides the real Neil Young). Considering I don't stay up late enough to catch Jimmy Fallon, I had no idea he was so good at imitating Neil Young. Bruce Springsteen is played by Bruce Springsteen. I am now going to have to surf Youtube for more Jimmy Fallon as Neil Young songs. Enjoy.

Monday, May 23, 2011

It's Been A While...

Since my last post here, I have been busy getting things ready around this place to move my mom in. After she fell and fractured her pelvis in March, the decision was made that she shouldn't live alone (although in a senior apartment complex) any longer.



Well, between cleaning up at her place, getting her house ready to rent out, cleaning around my place to make room for her, and going to a day job, my time has felt less like my own. There is still so much to do - changing her doctors, finding her meds, calling in prescriptions, making her lunches in the morning, etc. I am also looking for a place that I can take her for a few hours one day a week so that she is out mingling with people. Maybe a senior center would be good.

I also had my own accident. I was getting ready to crash one night a little over a week ago and was carrying clean laundry to the room to put away. One of the cats was laying on the bed stretched out and looking so cute and I was walking towards the dresser looking over my shoulder at him and BAM, I walked right into the cat scratching post, tripped and fell. Lucky (not) for me, I fell face down onto the dresser! Ouch. My nose began to bleed and I ran to the bathroom to stop the bleeding. Amazingly, I managed to get to the bathroom and grab a towel without dropping blood anywhere! Once I got the bleeding to stop and my nerve up to look in the mirror, I could see the swelling on the bridge of my nose which made me look like the Beast from Beauty and the Beast!

I then grabbed an ice pack and went to bed. In the morning, I had two black eyes and went to urgent care. Everything is OK. Thank God my nose wasn't broken - just a minor fracture. The swelling has now gone down considerably, the bruising is going away and the black eyes are disappearing!

I hope to get our new arrangement into a groove so that I can get back to creating art. I had ordered supplies to make glass pendants but haven't done them yet. I also tried making badges with the manual Badge-A-Minit, and they kept falling apart. I know if I can't make a badge with that thing, I'll never be able to make a pocket mirror. I may need to invest in a better machine!

I am really happy that I now have my mom with me and am happy knowing she isn't alone at night. In the past, her blood pressure spikes and her fall (all landing her in the hospital several times this year) happened at night when she was alone.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Rest in Peace, Dad



I can't believe it was six years ago today that I lost my dad. I wonder what he'd think about my finding his mother, Lola! If he was still alive, he'd not be happy with me.